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!

The Great Gatsby

“Life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat...the redeeming things are not 'happiness and pleasure' but the deeper satisfactions that come out of struggle.”
–Letter, October 5, 1940, to his daughter, Frances

I think of this quote as very true one. Life sometimes is unfair and confusing, but you have to overcome it all and get your satisfaction out of it. Sometimes things aren’t going to always go your way so you will just have to deal with it, and eventually get over it. When Fitzgerald says, “the deeper satisfactions” I think that’s just how a person feels about themselves and their achievement. To me, it’s not all about revenge, or anything of that sort.

I read this quote as if Fitzgerald is telling his daughter that when she overcomes something in life, she wont just feel happy about it, but more importantly she will realize how she struggled to accomplish and overcome something. The hard journey that your on will only make you stronger. After a while, you will realize that you could overcome anything and be a better person. Even though you may feel pleased that you overcame something, you have to think about the lesson learned. If Fitzgerald’s daughter was handed everything on a silver platter and she didn’t have to do anything or worry about having money, how would her life be? I don’t think she would be able to face certain things. She wouldn’t be used to having to struggle and work things out in order to succeed. She would be a very greedy and corrupt person, with no ambition or morals in life.

I definitely consider “The Great Gatsby” to be an expression of the quote. I think the quote is a great tie with the story because of how the characters, such as Gatsby, seem so superior and almighty. With his fancy parties, mansion and cars he seems like the American dream, but in truth, he isn’t what he really wants to be. He had dreams of being with Daisy, his long lost love, but those dreams have now vanished because of the corruption that his wealth has done to him. I'm sure that's not how Fitzgerald wanted his daughter to become, so that's most likely why he wrote that to her.

The Great Gatsby Journal

When I began reading chapter two, I thought that T.J Eckleburg was an actual person. Not until I read over it, did i realize that he was actually a billboard. From this I now know that when reading, i really have to read closely and attentively. I interpret this billboard with its "retinas one yard high" and "non-existant nose" to be the eyes of The Valley of Ashes. Watching over all of the corruption. Also, I noticed on the cover of the book the shape of a face with the non-existant nose, over top of the city. I think that is supposed to be the face of T.J Eckleburg.

In chapter two when Nick and Tom were getting off of the train, i wondered why Tom wanted Nick to meet his "girl" so bad. Nick refused, but Tom insisted that he meet her. I'm puzzled as to why Tom isn't trying the least bit to keep this affair a secret, especially from Nick. He acts as though he isn't a married man, going around showing off Myrtle Wilson like his prized possession. Myrtle actually called his house, during dinner one night with Daisy right there, and I wonder why Daisy didn't do anything about it. Also, Nick and Tom are old friends from college. They're hardly close, so why is he trying to become so close with Nick all the sudden? I'm shocked at Nick's trust in Tom.

On the other hand you have Myrtle Wilson, who is also married to Mr. Wilson. Tom and Nick meet Mr. Wilson at his his garage at the trail of ashes. What is ironic is that Tom and Mr. Wilson are old friends, but little does he know, Myrtle is cheating on him, slyly sneaking around town with Tom.

American Poetry Supermarket

I chose the poem "Richard Cory," by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American poet, born on December 22, 1869. From several sources that I've read, Robinson describes his childhood as an unhappy one. His brother Herman died from a drug overdose. There are speculations that "Richard Cory" relates to the death of his brother. He wrote his poems in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. This period was around the time of the great depression. The lines, "So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat and cursed the bread;" relates to the people struggling and starving to survive through the depression. These poor people who cant even find something to eat, and are struggling to survive, watch Richard walking down the street as if he didn’t have a care in the world. They even used the word "glittered" to describe his carefree strut. At the end of the poem, I was shocked when he committed suicide. Throughout the poem he seemed that he was happy because of his money and his carefree act. Little did we know, he wasn’t. The poem didn’t say why he did it, but I think of it as one of the movies that end with "to be continued." Then there would be a sequel to the poem where we would find out why he killed himself.

In this poem, I think Robinson's use of rhyme scheme is an important element. The last word of every other sentence rhymes with each other. For example, in the first stanza “town” and “crown,” and “him” and “slim.” He seems to do that for the other three stanzas also.

Another poem from Robinson is “Cliff Klingenhagen.” In this poem, cliff and his guest are having dinner, when cliff pours a glass of wine and a glass of wormwood. Cliff could have easily taken the glass of wine over the bitter wormwood, but instead he gives the wine to his guest. It seems like he is a pessimistic person. He seems to accept the negative things and deal with them. He doesn’t seem to try to be happy or find happiness in his life. He could have easily poured himself a glass of wine. The link below has both of the poems that I've wrote about, as well as another poem called "Luke Havergal." http://www.serve.com/Lucius/Robinson.index.html.

As for the question, besides the poet being American and the structure of the poem, I don’t think there is anything that made the poems distinctly American. The poems that I've read are about things such as negativity and suicide. These problems don’t occur only in America, they’re happening everywhere, all over the world.

All in all, I actually enjoyed reading Robinson's poems. I really liked how I fully understood all the poems that I've read. It made me think more into the poem and get into the characters shoes. Also, I enjoyed the shocking twists and mysteries of each of Robinson’s poem.

The website that I used to find information was http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/391.

Jack London

After reading “To Build a Fire” and “The Mexican” by Jack London I could recognize a difference between London’s writings and the writings of the American romantics. Writings from the realist authors, such as London, focus more on common people-people with flaws and imperfections. In the works of realists, there’s more of a concern with social problems and the thought of being materialistic. For example, in “To Build a Fire,” the character was alone, out in the wild but that didn’t he mean he knew everything. He wasn’t perfect. He built the fire, and because he wasn’t perfect and all knowing, he didn’t realize that he was building a fire under a snow-coated tree. It was a mistake. As for the American Romantics, their philosophy was individualism and nature. The romantics felt that their intuition, feelings and emotions were more significant than logistical reasoning. Whatever happens, happens. They embraced nature as their model for a superior society.

In London’s writings, I noticed the individualism of both characters. The characters in both stories were alone. In “To Build a Fire” literally alone, and in “The Mexican,” the character was emotionally alone. None of the soldiers of the Junta were fond of him. Some of them were frightened of him, but others, like Vera, were appreciative of him. The soldiers of The Junta said things such as “He is not human,” and “I feel like a child before him.” Given that his parents were killed when he was a young boy and that he could hardly survive on berries he had to rummage for, the soldiers were shocked at the fact he was even alive. Some were also uneasy about how youthful he was. Also, survival was a theme I noticed in both stories. In “To Build a Fire,” he had to survive through the sub-zero, unbearable chill. Also, in “The Mexican,” Riviera had to survive through the revolution and the boxing fight. I think that London’s outlook on life was to be able to survive. Mans survival against nature. In “To Build a Fire,” the man had to merely build a fire so he could survive. It was as simple, and as complicated as that.

I feel that Jack London’s audience were people struggling in the world, trying to survive and get through the day. He may have also been writing to them to reach out and help. Furthermore, he could have been writing for the courageous and independent people, comparable to how he made his characters. But also, I feel that probably would have wanted anyone and everyone to read and understand him and all of his writings.

What drew me to London was his choice of strong, bold, and courageous characters that really make both of the stories. Also, the settings of the stories added emphasis on his works. If his stories weren’t set in places like the bitter cold Klondike, or the harsh war zones of the Mexican Revolution, they wouldn’t have that wow factor. They just would have been boring, simple stories.

“But before he could cut the strings, it happened. It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake. He should not have built the fire under the spruce tree. He should have built it in the open. But it had been easier to pull the twigs from the brush and drop them directly on the fire.”

In this passage above, from “To Build a Fire,” I felt that this was the main part of this story. It was the turning point where you knew everything was going downhill. To me the passage compares to the take the easy way out mentality, and not thinking before you act. I feel that he is trying to get across that not everything will always go your way, but you have to think about what you do, before you take action, and really feel it. Don’t just do something because its going to be easy. Take the challenge and live your life to the fullest, but even more, how you choose to.

Does writing have the power to enact social change?

Yes, I think that writing truly does have the power to enact social change. If you think about it, what would the world be like without writings such as the Bible, the Qur'an, and the Declaration of Independence etc.? People follow not only these writings, but others also, as a guideline for their lives. Without written laws and regulations, what would we do? Who knows, criminals might be running around the streets. That would be pretty awful. Would their still be police officers and judges? I think it’s a really interesting subject to think about.

Through writing, an author has the ultimate power to persuade people. Readers get a lot of information from writings and they may just happen to agree with what they read. If they do agree with it and like it, they might also want to make a change. It’s essentially a huge chain effect.

In the “The Bombing of Baghdad,” by June Jordan, Jordan describes the horrific events that occurred in Baghdad. She feels very unhappy and feels horrible about what happened. Jordan wrote this poem to inform her audience of the seriousness of the appalling events. I liked how she started off many lines by saying “we bombed.” I feel like she does that to make us realize how many horrible bombings and attacks there really were. To me it felt like the list was never-ending. As the list went on it saddened me, but shocked me as well. I’ve never read something on this topic as descriptive as it was. She, as well, was trying to make a chain effect with her poem.

All in all, writing is a very influential topic that could easily persuade someone into what they’re reading. Whether the subject matter be good or bad, an authors goal is to persuade the reader into what they are reading. By using repetition, powerful words, and phrases such as, “we bombed,” as I talked about earlier, I feel as though June Jordan did an excellent job in achieving that.

Chapter 14: At last

I saved the house to the best of my ability. I did what I could do, but I don’t think anything could go much worse right now. My poor father is slowly dying, and I don’t know what I could do. Houses burning up and Bea is drunk all of the time, life could not get any much worse. But Thanks to Bea …I can’t believe it! I can’t believe my eyes. Ten thousand dollars it cannot be true. Someone pinch me! Please someone tell me if this is a joke. It’s actually true, but how can this be? How could Roland and Bea keep this a secret? This is truly a miracle! I have been waiting and dreaming for this money from since I can remember. This is our ticket out, our ticket to the life we all want to live, but mostly take pleasure in. I thought I would have to leave everyone behind if I decided to go to Canada with Mercer, but now, this is just a dream come true. We can all go to Canada together. No one will be left behind and left to rot. I’m just still so shocked, but overjoyed at the same time. It’s a miracle from God.

We are all so excited for Canada. Everyone is so ecstatic; no one can stop talking about it. We all believe that it is a gift from God. I don’t know what I have done to deserve such good, but I am beyond thankful. I will never forget the day that I discovered that money. It was one of the worst times in my life and that really helped me through it all. It is our ticket to the life we have always sought after.


Finally were here! Were ready to start our new life and live it to the best of our ability. We are getting Bea to sober up the best that we can. Its gonna be pretty tough but we can get through it. Also, Mercer and I will be getting married in a few days. This is the happiest I have ever been in my whole entire life. We are so close and in love it’s truly a dream come true. She’s everything and anything I could ever ask for in a friend and lover. Well, Mercer and I are awfully tired from all this excitement brought to us all so quick, so we will go rest now.

Chapter 15: Hopeless Dreams

Wow, that was the best sleep I ever had in my life. I wish I could sleep like that every night. Wait…this isn’t Canada?