The Soloist final post

First, I would like to say that overall I really enjoyed this book. It was very exciting and page-turning. Also, It was definitely nice to read something modern. For once i didn't dread having to get to the end of the book, I was actually anxious to finish it this time.

In these last few chapters, I think that Lopez really got it. In the beginning, he thought that he could completely fix Nathaniel. He was torn between medication or psychiatry. There is no miracle pill or person that could fix someone with a mental disability. Lopez didn't realize that until the last few chapters of the book. The very first paragraph of Chapter 27 says it all. When he says, "I cant quite let go of the possibility that there will be a breakthrough," he goes on to say "I'm not ever going to heal him. Dr. Ragins has had it right all along. The best thing I can do for Nathaniel is be his friend." This paragraph really shows that he realizes that there's no miracle for Nathaniel and being friends with him is the best thing to be. He doesn't need Lopez to be his watch out or his doctor.

I enjoyed the end of the book. It was realistic, their was no fake fairytale ending where Nathaniel magically gets a job, house, and a family. The book had a real ending, just like how it would happen in real life. People cant magically get better, things progress over time. You cant rush things like Lopez tried to do with Nathaniel. Over the past months in the book, Lopez did things like get him the apartment, invite him to rehearsals and shows, and even invited him over his house with his family. A few months cant change a mental person. Its a long process that you have to be patient with. The best thing to do was to be friends with Nathaniel and that's what Lopez did. Staying friends and keeping in touch with Nathaniel over the years is the best thing to do. Though some symptoms of his disease might not fully go away, I know that they both learned a lot from each other and changed each others lives.

In conclusion, this book was very enjoyable. Both Nathaniel and Lopezs lives were changed from the day they met. A loving friendship was formed despite Nathaniel's mental illness. Lopez was willing to help him from the start and their bond grew stronger everyday they were with each other. They learned things they didn't know before and will think and act differently because of the friendship they created.

When reading this, you could focus on the structure and flow of this blog.

The Soloist Ch. 13-22

For this blog, I would like to start off with something that I found interesting. In chapter 14, Lopez asks himself "Is he happy?" Is Nathaniel actually happy with his life? I think that's a really great question that he brought up. He is a homeless middle aged man living in the dangerous streets of LA with no money, no food, no anything. Nathaniel has only the voices in his head and his instrument filled shopping cart. I know for sure that if I was living on the streets I wouldn't be happy. However, for a person with a mental illness, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind sleeping on the concrete ground or going a few days without showering. But does that still mean that they're happy and content with their lives?

Nathaniel seems to have everything he wants in life, and its not much. He seems to be content with his space on Skid Row and his instruments. He doesn't quite understand how dangerous and unsafe it is out in the streets though. It's ironic because he's out there every single day, witnessing what goes on. He sees the people lighting up crack pipes and the prostitutes at work. It's like his illness is blinding his brain from what he sees. It doesn't seem to register in his brain how he is putting his safety on the line, and his mental state also.

At this point, Lopez is getting really frustrated with everything. He is trying his hardest to get Nathaniel into the apartment. He even reserved the place just for Nathaniel. He wants to make sure that when or if Nathaniel comes around and finally wants to move in to the apartment, it will be there and be ready for him. However, I myself don't think the apartment will do him any justice if he doesn't get some kind of medical help. Not necessarily just medicine, but therapy also might steer him on the right track.

Speaking of medicine and therapy, Lopez seems very confused on how to exactly help Nathaniel's mental illness. Even though he's met many doctors the past few months and got advice and such, Lopez still is confused and frustrated. He doesn't quite know if he should force Nathaniel, or continue waiting for him to come around to get help. Will medicine help him, or is therapy that he needs?

Some points to focus on while reading my blog are the structure and flow of it.

The Soloist Ch. 7-12

Now that I'm farther into the book, I see that things are really progressing. I feel as though Nathaniel is also. Even though he is slowly progressing, it's better than no progression at all. In chapter 10, Nathaniel is confronted by Alexis Riviera, he is captivated and decides to introduce himself. Riviera asks him to play at Little Pedro's Blue Bongo, at first he declines, but he finally goes there and preforms. He shows up late and isn't playing perfectly on stage, but it has been a long time since he has done this. The cause is most likely the combination of his nervousness and his state of mind.

Lopez and Nathaniel are quite close now. I definitely think that through these past few chapters they've gotten closer and have a much stronger bond. Lopez has taken him under his wing. He is slowly pushing him towards Lamp, to stay there and get off the streets. He has made his own personal office into a storage space for Nathaniel, just for his safety. Also, he brought him to watch a rehearsal of The Philharmonic. All of these things scream out how important Nathaniel is to Lopez.

While Lopez is becoming closer and more comfortable with Nathaniel, there are important people he is leaving behind. His wife and his daughter. Although I think its great that Lopez has found such interest in Nathaniel, he cant just push his family to the side. Lopez is totally preoccupied with Nathaniel at this point. He even says that he never gets to see Caroline, his daughter, anymore. He says she's sleeping by the time he gets home, that's if he ever actually goes home. He has slept outside on Skid Row with Nathaniel. Lopez couldn't stand it out there so he checked into a hotel for two hours. By putting himself in Nathaniel's shoes, I think Lopez probably feels even worse now.

In the next few chapters, I hope Lopez will manage his time right. He definitely shouldn't be leaving out his family. He could always incorporate them in his ordeals. For example, if Nathaniel was preforming one night or if they were going to watch someone else preform, Lopez could easily invite his wife and child. Lopez is totally overwhelmed with Nathaniel and how to get him better.

When reading this, points to focus on are the actual ideas that I've stated. Maybe you could tell me If you agree with them or if theirs something else on your mind while reading this blog.

The Soloist

After reading these first few chapters, I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm pretty anxious to finish the book because I feel that there are a lot of things yet to unfold. For example, Nathaniel's mental health. I'm wondering what might be wrong, maybe schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, I'm not sure but I'm pretty excited to find out. Also, id like to find out what may have caused this behavior. I'm thinking that maybe his mental disorder is a result of his childhood or family issues.

Obviously, I'm enjoying this book so far. Something in the book I found really interesting was in chapter 6. When Lopez is in Dr. Ragin's office, Ragin's say to him "If Nathaniel is going to get better, it won't be because of a correct diagnosis and textbook treatment program, but because he develops enough trust in me and others to pursue his own recovery." When I read that I thought, wow, that's really true. By searching long endless hours, going around talking to hundreds of doctors will not help Nathaniel, that wont solve anything. I feel that it's very important that Lopez heard that because he can really help Nathaniel, especially now, after hearing what Dr. Ragin's had to say.

I love the contrast between Lopez, the successful journalist, and Nathaniel, the ex Julliard student gone homeless. It's a very different combination. Its sort of a change from the not so modern books we've previously read. Also, this story has a lot of mystery in it, when reading, It gets me thinking and it keeps me up on the edge of my seat. I'm absolutely looking forward to the chapters ahead.

Points to focus on when reading this are flow and structure, but I'm also welcome to any grammatical comments you'd like to make.

The Catcher in the Rye

Throughout the book, Holden often acts as if he's some kind of god, going around continuously pointing out the fake in the world surrounding him. He tends to judge everyone he meets or comes across. To me, Holden seems like he's never happy or satisfied. For example, he refers to a couple of blonde girls not just by the color of their hair, blonde, but added in "whory-looking." Also, He disliked Ackley, his neighbor in his dorm at Pencey Prep. Ackley is described as a "pimply" unpopular kid with bad hygiene. Since Ackley isn't the popular jock of the school, Holden seems that he doesn't want to be, or be seen with him. He basically shuns Ackley. All of these instances really show Holden's behavior towards other people.

I feel that Holden isn't content with himself. Why would he be going around day after day, critiquing and criticizing every person he comes across? Why does he keeps getting kicked out of school? Obviously, there has to be some issues that he has with himself. Maybe he's just trying to cover up his own flaws by pointing out everybody elses. I recall that in the book he said he felt depressed a few times. I believe that could definitely be a factor in his behavior, and it definitely is.

I don't believe that Holden thinks he is better than everyone else, but i do think that he's trying to cover up his unhappiness etc., so that everyone thinks that's there is nothing wrong with him. Obviously we know that there is something odd and wrong about how he acts. People don't just go around lying for fun without something actually being mentally wrong. After all of his lying, he goes around judging people like a hypocrite. To him, you're either a phony jock, or an unpopular geek.

When reading this, I'd like the readers to mainly focus on how this writing is structured. I'm concerned that it flows pretty well and is organized.

Death of a Salesman

I feel that many people today are in the same situation as Willy Loman. To define our dreams of success I don't think we should take the road that Willy took. He wanted everyone to love and adore him. He wanted to be the ultimate salesman. Willy was pretty old and worn down and I think that he should have realized that maybe his time to shine was over. By pushing himself on people, I feel that was worse because it made him out to be a desperate, helpless, crazy man, which was the opposite of what he was trying to portray. Just because he didn't get what he wanted doesn't mean he had to try killing himself.

Today, this is the situation with many people. If someones life isn't how they want it to be, they go and attempt suicide. Obviously, that's not the right thing to do. Not everything will turn out how you want it to be. People wont always like or accept you, but you have to accept that. That's something Willy should have done any maybe he would have realized that his life was worth living.

Willy Loman's family wasn't the typical American dream family. He was caught cheating on his wife by his son, he hardly had enough money to survive, and his job and his health were going down the drain. His life was a challenge, most peoples are, but I think he just had to try a little harder. As to why he would go out cheating on his wife, i think their was a lack of respect. When Biff asked him why he did it, he said was just lonely. I feel that he just didn't care or respect Linda enough.

After that incident, I don't think Willy could face communicating to his sons the way he did before, when they were younger. He probably felt ashamed he got caught by his own son. Also, Willy being the father, maybe he felt he should have been a good role model for his sons. But after Biff seen his real side, maybe Willy didn't feel worthy enough to be a role model, a father.

Willy pushed a lot of things aside, including his affair and his suicide attempts. He didn't go to Linda, Biff, or Happy to talk with them or ask them for help. There were many secrets and there wasn't enough communication. I don't think he wanted to deal with them, or as a bigger picture, deal with life.

After reading this, I would like readers to comment mainly on how, and if the story had some kind of flow to it. I'm mainly concerned that it doesn't just sound like a bunch of topics jumbled together.

Thoughts on Blogger

I feel as though Blogger was an extremely useful writing tool for this class. I definitely think that all this blogging was great and valuable! I especially enjoyed using it because I was able to read what everyone else wrote. Previous to Blogger I've never really been able to see what other people were writing and how they felt, more so with 11-1. With Blogger I can now read anyone of my classmates writings and get some use out of them. I could compare other writing to my own, it could help me if I’m stuck or maybe I'm just wondering how one of my classmates felt about our assignment. By reading other peoples writings I could truly get an insight on how my other classmates are feeling.

For me, blogging was a fun, new and interesting way to write. I absolutely would like to continue doing this. It's so much more that just a piece of blank paper and a pen. Sometimes it gets me excited to write and see what people thought about my own writing. Also, I like how I can respond to my other classmates writing and give my insight to them as well. It's a win-win situation.

For you as a teacher, I do think you should continue using blogging as a tool for your present and future students. In these "high tech" times, everyone has the Internet and knows all the popular sites. With blogging, it keeps students interested. I feel like more students would actually do the assignments since it’s on the computer and its not just the same old write and print. After years of doing that it does get boring and tired, as everybody knows.

Personally, It's nice to know that I don’t have to always lag out my printer. It’s heavy and annoying, but also, it's put away in a closet since I have a laptop opposed to a desktop. Given that this is English class, it’s the subject where I write the most. Seeing that I don’t have to worry about making sure I have ink and paper, and that I don’t run out of it, is really a relief.

As for grading goes, obviously you have the ultimate power of our grades, and I think it should be that way. But maybe we could have a post where everyone could get someone from the other class and give them some sort of grade. We would get one person from the other class, like a partner, and take time to go through all of their writing pieces from this marking period. It could be useful to do that because giving one person to one person you could really focus on the one persons writings.

All in all, bravo! I think you did a great job of not boring us all to death. For me, it was a new and refreshing way to write. Its great to have some variety, especially in what sometimes could be a boring subject. Thanks!