Final Reflection

Emmaline Russell
For my final reflection I decided to use my Blizzard Bag blog. In this post I feel that I used exemplary voice. One example is, "If I am reading something (that in my opinon) is boring, it can be torturous." This shows my personality simply becasue it is my opinon. The format of this sentence is not commonly written. More examples of voice in my post is "If a book is too ordinary I ussually toss it." and,"Even though I am very busy I always enjoy kicking back and reading a good book." Too me this is all my voice. It shows my personality because it sounds like something that would naturally come out of my mouth. I'm not trying to sound sophisticated. I'm not trying to impersonate anyone. I'm just writing down my thoughts and opinions.

I decided to use mostly informal diction. That way I could expand my audience because it would be highly comprehendible. However I din't strain away from my love of using a high vocabulary. I included formal diction by using words such as "conventions", "torturous"and, "despise". My sentence structure is all over the place. None of it is consistent. I don't think I have a punctation trade mark either. I would say that most of my diction is abstract. I include lots of characteristics like, "complex", "prejudging", "admire", "despise" and, "controlling".  However I also use concrete words such as, 'book", "title", "lacrosse", "school work", "bean bag" and, "chapter". Overall I think I included a lot of different techniques in my blog post.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Blizzard Blog

I really like independent reading. I just finished reading A Walk to Remember and I'm about to start reading Divergent. I like independent reading because you get to experience new things while staying cozy on your bean bag. I get to go to futuristic societies and learn their conventions. I get to watch the sappy love novels of Nicholas Sparks unfold in my lap. I can go anywhere anytime and learn anything. My imagination is able to make me a movie, a new scene every chapter. Most of all I can escape from everyday life. Trade out all the school work, lacrosse, and occasional drama for adventures. My vocabulary expands with every page. Don't get me wrong, I really only enjoy reading if I like the book. If I am reading something that (in my opinion) is boring, it can be torturous. I usually don't end up reading the entire book, just snippets and sections that hold my attention and then I skip to the last 50 pages. If a book is too ordinary I usually toss it. A book can't be something I would be able to experience everyday.

To me a good book has to have one of the following; take place in the past or future, action... lots of action, at least one extreme point of view, a controlling force, a complex protagonist with layers that the reader rips off, the characters can't ask too many questions that is just annoying, the plot actually has to be substantial, If the plot isn't substantial then the characters need to make up for it, a character that I admire in someway, a character that I absolutely despise, a tiny hint of romance, MYSTERY, history, and lastly I have to relate in somehow. A bad habit I have is prejudging a book. I know probably one of the worst thing you could do as a reader but it is easy to. Titles, cover pages, even the first couple of lines can ruin a book for me. However without reading my life would be very boring. Even though I am very busy I always enjoy kicking back and reading a good book.

Blizzard Blog

I really like independent reading. I just finished reading A Walk to Remember  and I'm about to start reading Divergent. I like independent reading because you get to experience new things while staying cozy on your bean bag. I get to go to futuristic societies and learn their conventions. I get to watch the sappy love novels of Nicholas Sparks unfold in my lap. I can go anywhere anytime and learn anything. My imagination is able to make me a movie, a new scene every chapter. Most of all I can escape from everyday life. Trade out all the school work, lacrosse, and occasional drama for adventures. My vocabulary expands with every page. Don't get me wrong, I really only enjoy reading if I like the book. If I am reading something that (in my opinion) is boring, it can be torturous. I usually don't end up reading the entire book, just snippets and sections that hold my attention and then I skip to the last 50 pages. If a book is too ordinary I usually toss it. A book can't be something I would be able to experience everyday.

To me a good book has to have one of the following; take place in the past or future, acton... lots of action, at least one extreme point of view, a controlling force, a complex protagonist with layers that the reader rips off, the characters can't ask too many questions that is just annoying, the plot actually has to be substantial, If the plot isn't substantial then the characters need to make up for it, a character that I admire in someway, a character that I absolutely despise, a tiny hint of romance, MYSTERY, history, and lastly I have to relate in somehow. A bad habit I have is prejudging a book. I know probably one of the worst thing you could do as a reader but it is easy to. Titles, cover pages, even the first couple of lines can ruin a book for me. However without reading my life would be very boring. Even though I am very busy I always enjoy kicking back and enjoying a good book.

Letter to the Author

Nicholas Sparks,

I have just finished reading your book, A Walk to Remember and I really enjoyed reading it. The whole book was very dicriptive and every page came with a new picture in my mind. Also it was full of cliff hangers. At the end of chapter 11 the very last line was " 'I'm dying, Landon.' " It was impossible to put down after that. Although the ending wasn't exactly your fary tail ending you would expect, it was subsatntial and did not leave me wishing for a better conclusion. One of my favorite examples of diction is on page 217 "The sun continued to lower itself, casting its glow as far as the eye could see, before finally, slowly, vanishing beneath the waves. The moon continued its slow drift upward, shimmering as it turned a thousand shades of yellow, each paler than the last, before finally becoming the color of the stars" (Sparks 217). To me this image is vividly painted and even better this kind of diction is throughout the whole book. The only thing I disliked is how sappy this book is. I know I should expect that, it is a romance novel. However I felt like some of it could have been left out. Over all this book was amazing, I will defiantly read another book by you. Thank you for all of your great book!

                                                                                                     Sincerely,
                                                                                                       Emmaline Russell

Character Development: A Walk to Remember

I am nearing the end of my book which is actually upsetting because i really liked it. However for the character Jamie, and unexpected turn happened in her life last summer that the reader is just now finding out about. I can't give too much information away without ruining the book but this plot twist has made this book hard to put down.Over the course of the book the main character Landon Carter has made some biggest character changes. At first he was a jerk. All he cared about was what people thought of him and trying to be cool. Now at the end he is a much bigger person. Eventually he asks Jamie out but it took him awhile to get over himself. Also he used to be embarrassed to be seen with her which is very shallow in my opinion. Now he could care less about what people think about him. He is OBSESSED with Jamie, he told her that he loved her and will do anything for her. He lost a lot of his friends because to them he changed for the worst. Now Jamie has revealed her well kept secret to Landon and it has totally affected him. However this has made him more understanding and patient in my opinion but you can also tell that he is scared for Jamie. He is trying to find a way to fix things which shows how much more determined he has become but he doesn't understand... Some things just can't be fixed.

Nicholas Sparks Biography

Nicholas Sparks is the author of the book I'm currently reading. December 31, 1965 an extremely successful writer was born however, no one could ever guess. He was the middle of three children and moved around the country until he was about eight years old. Finally his family settled in Fair Oaks, California. He remained there until he graduated as valedictorian and then went to  the University of Notre Dame on a full track and field scholarship. During his freshman year Nicholas set the 4 by 800 relay which still stands today. However after that season he got injured which ended his career. He then later majored in business finance. the year after college he met his future wife Cathy Cote. When they were married on July 22, 1989 the new couple moved to New Bern, North Carolina. The first book he ever got published was called Wokini in 1990. After that he needed a more substantial job so he began selling pharmaceuticals and then was transferred to Washington DC. Then in his spare time during 1994 he wrote the Note Book. A literary agent, Theresa Park saw that it had great potential and decided to represent the book. In 1995 the Time Warner Book Group paid 1$million dollars in advance to publish the book.This is how Nicholas Sparks became the successful writer he is today. Since 1996 he has published eight-teen novels, ten of which has been adapted into films.

Backround information 1950s

The beginning of A Walk to Remember takes place in the 1950s. During this time period the United States had the most powerful military in the world. Since WW2 ended the economy was booming which meant new cars, suburban homes, and many other new developments. The Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas took place in the 1950s. This now allowed colored kids to go to school with white kids. When you hear 1950s the first thing that comes to my mind is modesty. Religion was a strong indicator of anti-communism during this time period, because of this people dressed very conservative, men wore suits and women wore dresses.   

Just like today music was a part of everyday life. In the 1950s rock 'n roll was developed from a mix of Southern blues and gospel. Billy Haley, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis were idolized by teens across the nation. Television became the main source of media. Newsman now could not only tell a story but also include videotaped pictures from the event. History programs were widely watched and gave viewers a new perspective. Due to the development of t.v. you would expect that radio would have a declining audience however this is not the case. Radio was still a source of information and a easier way to share music. I believe that all of these aspects will shape the book in the future and possibly impact the main character. 

Works Cited

Bradley, Becky . "1950-1959." American Cultural History. Lone Star College-

    Kingwood Library, 1998. Web. 7 Feb. 2011. 

Setting of a Walk to Remember

Last week I started reading A Walk to Remember. For those of you who haven't read this book, in the beginning it takes place in Beaufort, North Carolina during 1958. This was a small town where the roads were gravel and narrow. All year long it smelled of sea salt and pine, a scent unique to the area. To me the beach setting creates a mood that is chill and relaxing. Churches were on ever corner and that is what their lives were centered around. Landon spent his time making fun of his minister, Hegbert Sullivan. He was old and all he had left was his daughter Jamie. Every year Christmas pageants were thrown and Landon Carter was stuck sitting through every one of them. His father was a congressman for thirty years and was always out of town. In my opinion this makes the town look small and almost insignificant.

Works Cited

Ritika. "360 Degree Thoughts." 360 Degree Thoughts. N.p., 23 July 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.