Trojan Remake

Author's Note- I wrote this piece to explain why I liked the remake better and how they are different.

The Trojan Horse is an old story that is basically the Trojans and Greeks had been at war for a while against each other. Out of the blue, the Greeks decide to surrender and "leave" the Trojans land. A few days later, the Trojans notice a big wooden horse on their land, and they're told it's a gift from the Greeks. Later that night, the Greeks jump out of the wooden horse and attack the Trojans; flooding the Trojan streets with Greeks.

The modern version was a lot different because instead of carving letters into a piece of rock, they were texting and saying things like dude all the time. It still has the same plot and everything with the whole story, but it's a lot more modern and easier to understand while reading it. Another thing, is that you really understand the characters more in the modern version. For example, Paris looks like this really strong jock that all the girls adore, but in the end he's just a big coward.

I thought that the remake/modern version was really good and it definitely helped me understand the story better. The plot stayed the same for the most part, it was just the words like "dude" and the way they said things that changed mostly. I think they made these changes to help students understand the story better because reading the original version is kind of confusing.

Shug

Author’s Note- I wrote this piece on theme and to show quotes from the book, Shug.

In the book Shug, by Jenny Han, Annemarie or “Shug”, falls for her best friend growing up, Mark Findley. The two of them have known each other since they were born and they grew up down the street from each other. Even though she’s just 12, she’s fallen head over heels for Mark, and he’s oblivious to it all. Throughout the whole book, “Shug” and Mark go on a rollercoaster of good and bad times together. Young love is the main theme in the book, as well as many other great novels.

When you’re younger, everyone tells you you’re too young to love someone, but Shug says differently. The way she feels about Mark is indescribable and her heart hurts just thinking about it. I can relate because last year I thought I was in love, but all my friends would tell me I’m too young or that I’m crazy. However, now they know what I was talking about, because you can’t even put your emotions into words. Shug truly does love Mark with all her heart, but she just doesn’t know how to tell him.

“Make love or make war Shug, but make something happen.” This is some advice Shug’s older sister Celia gives her about Mark and her whole situation. Shug’s sister is the most beautiful girl in their whole town and all the guys drool over her every move. Shug on the other hand is underdeveloped, tall, and just plain awkward. Although her body isn’t the way she wants it to be, her heart pushes right on past that and loves anyways. Shug’s new at the whole loving thing, so she goes to Celia for help and she just tells her to go for it!

Another book with this same theme of young love is Romeo and Juliet. When they fell in love they weren’t even 16 and although these stories are very different, they both fall in love at a very young age. Whether it’s at age 16 in 1303 or age 12 in 2008, it’s inexpressible love. In the book Shug, her family is very supportive about her liking Mark, while in the book Romeo and Juliet, they have rival families that cannot know about their secret adoration for one another.

Another great novel with the same theme is Twilight. Edward can’t fight his overwhelming feelings towards Bella, even though his kind shouldn’t be around mortals. However, his heart takes over and he romances Bella and they end up having a half vampire, half human baby. They’re love isn’t like anyone else’s because Edward is immortal and falls for a mortal, it’s very rare. Again like Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella’s love isn’t wanted.

Overall, there are many books with the theme of ‘young love’ and many reasons as to why that’s the main theme, especially in Shug. Nowadays, young love is a very popular theme in books because that’s what teenage girls like reading, but to find old stories such as Romeo and Juliet with the same theme is isn’t very common. There are many more themes in this book but young love is definitely the main one. It shows that no matter what age you are, you heart has a mind of Its own and it’s okay to let it do what it wants sometimes.

Trojan Horse

Summary:
The Trojan war was going on for about 10 years,  and finally the Greeks gave up and sailed off. However they left a huge wooden horse behind as a "gift". They weren't sure if it was safe or not, so they didn't know whether to burn it or not. A Greek came by and made a very convincing story as to why it was a gift and the belly of the horse was filled wit gold; later that night the Greeks piled out of the wooden horse and flooded the streets of Troy. In the end, the Greeks won the war of Trojan.

Overall, it was just a very devious plan of the Greeks to hide in the big wooden horse and attack the Trojans when they least expected it. In my opinion, it was a really good idea though. I don't think that anyone would hide in a huge wooden horse to attack someone nowadays, but I think something similar to this could happen. Maybe if someone was having a "red vs. black" volleyball game or basketball game, one team would do that to the other to find out they're plan, just kind of as a joke. Nothing to start an actual war though.The same thing goes with school or a small work place, friends or co-workers might do it to each other as a joke.

The Lucky One

Author’s Note- I wrote this piece to show my understanding of character development. While reading this piece, look for really good body paragraphs.

Beth Green’s best friend growing up was her brother Drake. They did everything together as kids, until they grew older and he decided to go into the military. Some time, after Drake joined the military, her family received the news that he had been killed. Beth’s world was shattered, and her brother’s death caused her to isolate herself from others; until the day a stranger named Logan showed up on her doorstep. Although Beth didn’t know it, Logan helped and changed her not only emotionally and physically, but as a person.

Logan had just returned from the war, after serving in the same unit as Drake. While in battle, he found a picture of a beautiful girl that had the words “keep safe” written on the back. He carried the picture as a way to give him strength to stay alive and promised he’d find her. Finally, they meet, and she wants nothing to do with him. He tries to tell her why he’s there, but just can’t seem to get the words out, so she decides to give him a job working at the dog kennel. Her feelings about him are very sketchy and not sure, but her mother decides to give him a chance. However, Beth isn’t the only one that has uncertainty towards Logan; her ex-husband Keith and her son Ben do as well.

Instead of thanking her, Logan decides to romance her and they start spending more and more time together. All those uneasy feelings she had about him, slowly turn into love. After some time of getting used to one another, they soon realize that they are meant to be and that no one could get in the way of that, not even her ex-husband, Keith. Unlike Keith, Logan makes a special connection with her son Ben, and they become best buds.

All the characters in this book have a big impact on one another and change each other throughout the book. Beth and Logan were unfamiliar at the start, but after a while they started to realize how big of a role they played in one another’s life. Although I didn’t really like Keith in the book, he played a big role and was a hero to Beth’s son Ben.

Overall, Beth and Logan change immensely throughout the book, as does the reader. The reader gets a sense of hope in the beginning of the book when the picture saves Logan. The moods of the characters definitely rub off on the reader and changes their opinion on the book. In the end, Logan helped Beth change for the better and in the process of that, he changed too. What started off as strangers, slowly grew into love.

Movie or Book?

Author's Note: I wrote this as an opinion based piece on whether I preferred the movie or book for the story, A Clean Well-lighted Place.

In the video version of this story, you really get to see the characters facial expressions more and understand the idea of this story. Even the colors on the wall and the way they're dressed makes all the difference in the world. There is a lot of symbolism in this piece as well. There is thought that maybe Hemingway wrote this in perspective of him once being all of the characters. It shows the different generations and how you mature and age over the years. Overall, I think I prefer the video  over the story because I understood it better. In the written story, I got confused about who was saying what a lot of the time.

I thought the text version was still a very interesting story, but I definitely liked the movie better because it was visual. I think it really helped you understand the story better by seeing the characters and how the young man saw the old man. The young man was selfish and confident and all he wanted was to stay young. In the book, that showed, but it showed more in the movie. The middle aged waiter understood the old man, but he also agreed with the young waiter. He was a wise man that knew the ways of life. The old man was grumpy and alone. He once had everything and now, nothing. It really showed that in the movie by him having a beard and just looking scruffy. Although, he wore really nice clothes because he was a very wealthy old man. In all, I thought the movie explained it better. 

The Notebook

Author’s Note: I wrote this piece to show my understanding of text analysis. While reading this piece, look for text evidence and really good body paragraphs.

The Notebook is a classic love story and a timeless novel. Throughout both the book and movie, Nicholas Sparks, adds a great amount of symbolism to really show Noah and Allie’s love for each other. Nicholas Sparks has written many other love stories similar to The Notebook, and  all of them contain great symbolism. While reading The Notebook, you really get attached to the characters Noah and Allie throughout their crazy, loving life together. The Notebook is all about two people who unexpectedly fall in love with each other, only to find out that Allie’s wealthy parents don’t approve. Whether the symbolism is really noticeable, or you have to dig to find, it’s always there, especially in this book.

The house that Noah builds is a huge symbol in this book. The house symbolizes Noah’s love for Allie and how much he still loves and cares about her even after she’s gone. “I want a white house with blue shutters and a room overlooking the river so I can paint,” Allie explained to Noah, and her wish was his command. Even after she moved away, several years later, Noah still decided to build the house of Allie’s dreams. The symbolism of this action is a turning point in the book that symbolizes Noah’s undying love for Allie.

“I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you every day for a year,” another big symbol in this book is the 365 letters that Noah writes to Allie. This is another way that Noah symbolizes his love for Allie. These letters are a really big part of the book because Allie didn’t actually get and read the letters until years after Noah mailed them. Allie’s mother didn’t want them together, so she took the letters and hid them from Allie. Later, her mom realized that Allie should love whoever her heart desires.

The main theme in The Notebook is love, just like in the book A Walk to Remember. Although in A Walk to Remember, instead of moving away from each other, Landon finds out that Jamie has cancer. They fall in love and get married and Landon stays with her until her very last days. This love story is a little    different than Allie and Noah’s, but overall, they’re both still love stories that both contain a lot of symbolism about the love.

In all of Nicholas Sparks’ books, he puts a lot of symbolism in to really help create an image and describe a scene for the reader. Most, if not all his books main theme is love and the symbolism thrown in is what makes these novels so extraordinary. It is Spark’s use of symbolism that creates a dream world, making his novels difficult to put down.

A Clean, Well-lighted Place

Author's Note- I wrote this about the story A Clean, Well-lighted Place

There are two waiters in this piece that are very different from one another. One is a wise older man who knows the way of life, while the other is a young foolish guy who is all about confidence and staying young forever. I think Hemmingway made the two characters the way they are to symbolize something. The older waiter is more wise and understanding. He understands the old man that won’t leave the café. On the other hand, the young waiter is selfish and is all about confidence. He never wants to get old because apparently, “an old man is a nasty thing.” I think that the younger waiter could definitely learn something from the older waiter.