book 3

The Help is a story about the struggles the ‘help’ has to go through. They have seen quite a bit of things but have stayed quiet. They know their place and what their job is. They are black and the women that they work for are white; that in itself tells them their place. Even though the colored people are ‘separate but equal’ according to the Jim Crow laws they are still treated differently. Aibileen has taken care of Mae Mobley all her life and has taken care of their family as well, she is stilled forced to have her own ‘special’ bathroom; all this because she is colored and because Hilly said so. ‘They carry different diseases than we do’ is Hilly’s reasoning. However, Minny doesn’t take much from anyone, colored or white. This has caused her trouble finding and keeping a job. When Skeeter starts to see what has always been going on she decides something needs to change. Then the story begins; the book that they decide to write. 

Then we have the Secret Life of Bees. This story is following Lily as she deals with the death of her mother and her dads’ constant anger. Her journey officially begins when she goes with her maid, Rosaleen, to register to vote. The news just announced that colors can vote as long as they can spell their name in cursive. On their way to register, they encounter some racist white guys. Rosaleen decides to over use her new found ‘equality’ by pouring snuff juice on their shoes. This ends in her incarceration and eventually Lily breaking her out and running away with her. They go to Tiburon where Lily believes her mom was before she died. They end up at this pink house where the Boatwrights live. These colored people are the people who might be able to give Lily answers about her mother. She starts to live with them under a lie, her parents are both dead and they are heading to live with her aunt. Her living with colored people stir up a commotion and it eventually leads to her father finding her.

Both of these stories have one major thing in common, the colored people’s struggles and others trying to change it. In the Help we have Skeeter trying to change the situation. ‘They are scared, looking at the back door every ten minutes, afraid they’ll get caught talking to me.’ However, what change can be done if people like it the way it is. Then we have The Secret Life of Bees. Even though you don’t see someone trying to change the way things are, you do see Lily going against the norms by living with colored people. Even the colors see the taboo in what they are doing, ‘But she’s white, August.’

These books aren’t to change your opinion but to give you a different opinion on things. They want to show you that even though things are a certain way, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be a different way. Lily showed us that by loving a colored family and Skeeter showed us by defending the colored maids.

These books had character in a way that they had their own style of writing. They talked about things that were issues of the time. Even if people didn’t agree with the author’s opinion, they stated it any ways. The Help gave us insight into what the maids because the different chapters had different people talking. In the Secret Life of Bees Lily told her story the way she thought it.

These books were very good. They were entertaining but informative. The Help gave us some facts of the Jim Crow Laws. I would rate it with 5 stars. They  deserve the best because the story, plot, purpose was all very entertaining.

trailer

My top 5

My Author

Jana Oliver- Interesting Facts

-'My ultimate goal was a contract with one of the major publishing houses and that came to fruition in April 2009 when I signed with St. Martin’s Press.'

- Wrote Time Rovers Series

- Her Demon Trappers Series in the UK as well as in America.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkAWdarF_4c&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active



Would You Have Thought?

When I was younger I use to love watching this show, Hey Arnold! I know!!! This show was so much fun! For those deprived and weren’t exposed to Hey Arnold, it was about this kid named Arnold. However, he had a strange look to him; to put it bluntly he had a football shaped head. That little fact was what made him different. It didn’t really cause anything to be different but it was a point that Helga liked to emphasize. However, this tough girl front is just that, a front. In actuality she loves Arnold but doesn’t know how to tell him. That brings me to my comparison. Minny reminds me of Helga! For those who have read the book and seen the show (would be uncommon) you can see this to be likely if you just think of some of their characteristics.

An apparent characteristic that I think they share is their ability to get angry easily. Anger is the mask that they both hide behind. They believe that they can use their anger to intimidate people and have their way. The flaw to that is that their anger can sometimes cause them problems. In Minny’s case her anger causes her to lose jobs and makes people hesitant to hire her in the first place. Helga’s anger blocks her true feelings for Arnold which then causes them to not be together.

Another thing that makes them alike is their stubbornness. They want it their way always. This, in turn, leads to their need for control. Helga wants to control her friends and Minny wants to control the women that she works for.

However, the difference between Minny and Helga is the change that occurs in Minny. She learns to show that she cares and tries to control her anger. Even though in the Hey Arnold movie Helga confesses her love for Arnold, she tells him to forget it and goes back to being mean and nasty.

 

Liars

I think that when it comes to books being non-fiction, it should be completely true.  If it wants to be considered a non-fiction there should be no fiction, hence the title of NON-fiction.  If it isn’t true then I’m sorry to break it to you but its fiction! There is nothing wrong with being fiction. I don’t see the big deal if it’s a fiction. If it doesn’t work as a fiction then oh well. Don’t change it to a non-fiction if it isn’t a non-fiction. If you get caught in your lie I think that would be worse for you. Believe it or not…people don’t usually like to be lied to. I know, I know crazy concept!  Trust me it would be better for you if you write a book that doesn’t sell as well but is true to its genre then if you put it as a non-fiction knowing that it isn’t!

No matter which way you twist it, if it’s not completely true then it’s a lie!! Wow I wish I could use there thinking when I get caught in a lie by my mom. I can see how it would work out:

Mom: Did you go out when I told you not too?

Me: No…(shifty eyes)

Mom: You’re lying to me!

Me: Mom, it’s ok. I only sort of lied to you.

Mom:…….Your grounded for the rest of your life!

Me: That’s not fair!! I only embellished a little bit. Gosh it worked for Frey! I bet it’s because he had the support of Oprah!

Yea, it would not be a good day in the Hagerty household. Don’t even get me started on Mortenson!! He was wrong on every sort of level! For one he lied to people, which you can see isn’t too high on my list. And second he is cheating innocent kids and people out of money and an education!! Who does he think he is that he can even do that? He is selfish. I’m just going to leave that there because he isn’t worth it.

I’m into the new but I don’t think that we should remove the boundaries between different genres. I’m not too into being organized but I think that would be chaos. There is a reason that someone thought of that system and I think that we should keep it the way it is. It allows you to like certain books more then others because they fit together.

Readicide

Literary Fiction v. Genre Fiction

I don’t think that Genre Fiction is less worthy than Literary Fiction. I think now a day people would most rather read Genre Fiction then ‘the classics’. I believe that Genre Fiction could be our genre’s new ‘classics’. There is a difference between literary and genre fiction. However, I think that there’s a difference because they classify what they make us read in school as literary fiction. Most of the books that they make us read are boring and hard to understand at some times. My view has been obscured by the constant need to look at it as something I have to do.

When it comes to decide what should be read in school, I think that the people who have to read the material should have the choice. If they have to read it then they should be able to pick it, then they won’t be able to blame someone for making them read a book that they didn’t enjoy. They can form their own opinion about the book.

What should schools do?

I think that there should be an equal balance between literary fiction and genre fiction. I think that will give people a wide range of books; it allows diversity. I don’t think that we should replace or take out the books in our curriculum. I agree that there are some books that are classics and should be shared, ‘never let the classics die.’  I don’t think it would be a good idea if we only had genre fiction. I think that would then cause people to not want to read genre fiction. I don’t think that all literary fiction is bad. I think that students think it’s bad because they make us read it.

~~My book to my MOVIE!!~~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-h0X3TVjUo&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

I think its important to keep:

• the scene when Chiyo is taken from her parents. I think that is the most critical scene. It is the beginning to the entire book and the reason that Chiyo has to become a Geisha in the first place.
• In the movie they took a lot of the first couple of chapters in the book out of the movie. You don't really get a chance to feel bad for her taken away. You also don't really get to know her parents. They aren't vital but they make you think.
• the scene where Chiyo first meets the Chairman. He is the entire reason that she wants to become a Geisha, even though by that point its a little too late to decide that she wants to become one. He is what drives her to be successful and the reason she makes certain decisions.
• I think its inportant to keep the moment when she actually becomes a Geisha. Its the goal that she has been working towards.

The three parts that I wouldn't mind cutting:

• When she ruins Mameha robe and has to take it to her. Its not that big of a part in the book but it does show how mean Hatsumomo is and the lengths that she would go to so that Chiyo gets in trouble. However, there are a lot of other ways that this could be illustrated.
• When Grandma dies. She isn't too important. Her death doesn't really cause the plot to change or anything vital to really change.
• When she catches her sister and one of the boys of the village doing inappropriate things. It also doesn't make too much of a difference. Your opinion of her sister wouldn't really have changed if it was there or not.