Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

 The Platypus Is Cute But Far From Harmless by Henry Fountain

The article The Platypus is Cute But Far From Harmless by Henry Fountain from the New York Times Science Times, is about how dangerous platypi can really be to other predators. Many people thick they are harmless because they are so charming and likable. Henry Fountain interviewed an expert to tell us more, and wrote the article to inform us on how threatening these lovable mammals are. He interviewed experts to show that this issue is the legit. For example, “Dr. Maturin states ‘A platypus is among the few mammals that produce venom.” This example shows that Dr. Maturin nows what he is talking about and that Fountain knows what he is writing.

Interviewing experts makes it seem real and more reliable then just researching things on the internet. That is why he interviewed Dr. Maturin. Dr. Maturin also stated, “That a new study shows that [because of the venom] they can be [more] harmful to predators [than we thought].”
“… That can produce venom (only the males can produce the venom). That same study also proved “that is more harmful because we didn’t know what chemicals were in the venom. The chemicals in the venom are very toxic. Another study is trying to show what is really in the toxic chemicals that make it so painful. For example, “Using high-performance liquid chromatography and other techniques, Masaki Kita of the University of Tsukuba, Daisuke Uemura of the Nagoya University and colleagues analyzed venom samples and identified about a dozen peptides, small chains of amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins.” Experts and people studying to become experts in an area, know what they are genuinely talking about which is why they are so reliable.

I think this article was helpful in answering questions about the unknown venoms in this incredible animals. And it informs the reader about how harmful these cute mammals are. And most importantly that we need to protect these animals since they currently only found in Australia, and are or is on the verge of going extinct. But for me it raised more questions than answers like: why don’t females have the venom? How will the females [in that case] protect themselves? How do they produce it? Where is it stored? Maybe other studies and articles and experts can tell me more.
 

Blog Post on Independent Reading Book

 The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, is about an ordinary girl who lives in New York and goes to school and isn’t exactly popular, but one thing happens that flips her world upside down, and changes everything. Her father comes to town with some news about his country Genovia. It turns out Mia’s father is the Prince of Genovia [which Mia never knew], which means Mia is Princess of Genovia, when her father is ready to give up the thrown. Her father had cancer, and they got rid of it, but when it came back, her decided to tell Mia, since he realized his time is short. Even though her life got turned upside down, and she changed in many ways, she still kept a bad habit; lying.

First, [before Mia life changes] she lies to her mother and her close friends, just out of habit. For example, she lies to her mother about her feelings for multiple things. One, her feelings about her relationship with her father [since they aren’t married], second, about her feelings about her friends, and thirdly, about her mother dating her algebra. Mia is currently failing algebra. Her mother then tells her to write down her feelings in a journal. Clearly, I think Mia has trust issues with her mother, and with people she is close to.

Also, Mia lies to her best friend about a couple things. Mia lied to her best friend Lily, who she has known since kindergarten, about her feelings about her mom dating her algebra teacher. In addition, Mia lied about her liking Lily’s older brother Michel, because Lily thinks it would be so weird if Mia and Michel dated, since Mia was friends with Lily first. Lastly, Mia lied about the secret that turned her life around. Mia didn’t tell anyone, but when the press found out, and Lily found out she wasn’t one of the first people to know, she got really mad at Mia. For a while it was hard for Lily to forgive Mia, since she lies all the time. Lily wants Mia to stop lying, because if she doesn’t stop she is just going to keep doing it. 

In conclusion, I think Mia lies to people is because she is scared to deal with the reaction of the people who find out the truth. But when she does she their reaction she keeps not telling them, because she still doesn’t want to deal with the consequences. But she keeps doing it, and it because a bad habit, that keeps going around and around like a cycle that never ends, because she is scared to break it, and deal with the truth, whether or not the truth will hurt people, Mia needs to learn who to tell the truth the first time, and break her bad habit.

An Old Blog Post Turned Into A Literary Essay

  Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Vanleer

The book Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Vanleer, involves a girl who is a very introverted 15 year-old girl, Delilah, who finds a magical book. The characters in the book are living, and Delilah has a connection with the main character Oliver who is a prince in the book. Oliver is part of a fairytale, and she is a real person in real life, and something magical happens when their worlds collide. The book has three different perspective, with each perspective, it gives you a deeper look into the characters to get to know them better. Also, Between the Lines has characteristic magical realism.

There are three perspectives written in this book. One is Delilah’s perspective, the other is Oliver’s, and the other is the fairytale that Oliver lives in as Delilah reads it. Having different perspectives is a literary device that helps the reader really apprehend the characters, the plot, and how the characters feel. For example, when Delilah discovers some sort of love connection between them, he doesn’t tell Oliver, but you know, because she thinks about it all the time. Also, the fact that Oliver is in a book, he feels that it is a bit weird, but she never tells this either. She never talks about how she feels since she is introspective. In addition, she only has one friends Jules, who isn’t that great about talking about feelings. Oliver’s perspective is really interesting because even though he is fictional character in a book, he is still a living being, and has emotions. He talks about his feelings and emotions, in his world, in his fairytale life. For example, he talks to his best friend who is a dog on the beach, in his book. The third perspective helps because it is a neutral setting. Even though it is Oliver’s world, his thoughts are only written on the page of his fairytale book [nothing about his feelings about Delilah]. And there is nothing about Delilah mention. It helps because even though it seems like there isn’t a perspective, there is because it is the readers. Clearly, the different perspectives help comprehend the story and help analyze the characters.

Magical realism, is when there is something magical happening with realistic characters. For example, Delilah is realistic person in the book [Between the Lines] but Oliver is a person in a fairytale. The magical part is that Oliver is alive, and that they meet, and have a love connection. Truthfully, that isn’t realistic, but it is books. The magical realism about these two people/characters in the book, help make the book unique. For example, when Delilah takes out a children’s book from the library, she would’ve never known the characters are alive if it weren’t for their odd love connection when she admires how heroic Olivier is portrayed. Magical realism is a literary device that is quite common, but most of the time the lives of two people’s worlds don’t meet the way they do in this book.

In conclusion, there are many distinctive literary devices used to help bring Oliver to life to Delilah, and help bring Delilah to life for the reader. A tangible feeling for the two of them is love, they describe it as though they feel it, like when Delilah holds the fairytale, she feels the love connection between them grow, and when they’re apart, she feels the connection weaken. The perspectives may perplex one, only in the way that you are reading a book about a girl reading a book that comes to life. An idea in the perspective’s of the characters is the concept of knowing if something is real. Delilah confides in Oliver how her life may not be real, [when Oliver said his isn’t] which is true to the reader, but to Delilah its real. The mystifying parts of book are explained with literary devices, even though there are some mysteries in the book, but sometimes that can be a good thing.

Blog Post on Independent Reading Book

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

In the book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, is mainly about two very different twins, Cath, and Wren, who go to the same college. They used to do everything together as kids, but that they’re older, its time to try new things. Wren has always been the extroverted twin. She is willing to try new things at college, and doesn’t want to be known as the girl with a twin. On the other hand, Cath has never really been on her own. Wren has always been her security blanket. When it comes time to college, Cath is a bit clueless. She stays in her room studying, while Wren is out partying. Cath worries about their father home alone, when Wren thinks he is fine. In addition, a fight brews between the twins, when their mother (who at eight years old) left them. Now Cath is on her own, and needs to learn how to live at college without help from her sister.

Cath isn’t willing to try new things, she is used to having Wren do it first. College is a whole new life, and Wren wants to start fresh, in a place where she won’t be known as ‘one of the twins’. For the first few weeks, Cath eats protein bars in her room for breakfast and dinner. And occasionally, she would meet Wren and her room mate Courtney. Courtney and Wren, already have a bunch of inside jokes, so even when Cath is with them, she still feels like an outsider. As if she is intruding. Besides her Wren and Courtney, the only other people she interacts with are her room mate Reagan, and her ‘boyfriend’ Levi [they are causally dating]. And one kid named Nick who is in her Fiction Writing Class. She kind of has a crush on him and Levi. She has a thing for both of them, Levi is interested but Nick isn’t. All she wants to do is tell Wren, but she can’t. They are slowing drifting apart, but Cath doesn’t want to, because she feels like she is nothing.

Cath doesn’t really have someone to confide. And it doesn’t help when Wren isn’t worried about their father, when Cath is worried out of her mind. Wren wants to let me be on his own, and Cath doesn’t. When their father ends up in a mental hospital again, Cath goes straight home, and Wren doesn’t because he is on place with good help. In addition, when their mother comes back into their life, to make peace with her daughters Cath refuses to meet her. She gets very angry at Wren when she decides she wants to meet with her. Cath thinks she ruined their family, and shouldn’t come back into their lives. And Cath won’t talk to Wren about it after. Wren wants them to meet, but no matter what Wren says Cath won’t do it.

In conclusion, I think Cath needs to grow up. College is place to explore different things. Cath doesn’t want to meet new people. When she sees people regularly, she won’t say hello. The only person she wants to be friends with is her sister, who doesn’t want to be friends now that they are in college. I think the only reason, Cath goes to her father when he is in the hospital, is because she needs to do something. She has nothing to do at college, and she wants an excuse to leave as soon as possible. In addition, she even considers not going back after Christmas just so she can help her dad, when really, she just doesn’t want to go back because she has no friends. But she refuses to make new friends. Cath needs to stop relying on Wren to test the waters, and go out and do it herself. Everyone has fro grow up t college or even before, but Cath hasn’t yet, but will she?

Blog Post on Independent Reading Book

The Summer I Turned Pretty By Jenny Han

This book, The Summer I Turned Pretty, is the first book to the series. I previously wrote about the second book in the series, but in this post, it is about a conflict that goes on in Belly (the main character’s mind). The books take place at a summer house at Cousin’s Beach, with Belly’s mother Laurel, her brother Steven, her mother’s best friend Beck (Susannah), and her son’s Conrad, and Jeremiah. These two families have spent every summer together, (for as long as Belly can remember). Beck, told Belly that she was destine with one of her sons. So as Belly grows up, (and through the books) she is being pulled and pushed with both boys. I am analyzing what happens in her head about how she feels about them, and why. She loves them both, but can she ever pick one of them?

Belly always thinks Conrad (the oldest of all the kids) has been the one, she as admired him from a far for years. Ever since she was little, she has long nursed a  a soft spot for him. For example, he is the oldest, and more broad shoulder and more handsomer (to her). Conrad also, taught her how to dance, and took her to her prom. She admires him a lot, and at age 13 he won her a polar bear (names junior mint) at a carnival. And, he sometimes sticks up for Belly against her oleo brother, thats another reason she admires him.On the other hand, Conrad doesn’t notice her as much, only, when Belly isn’t chasing after him, he also teases her a lot and makes fun of her. Before they briefly dated and went to prom, Conrad thought of Belly as a little kid, even when she was 16. Lastly, Conrad isn’t as open about his feelings, and keeps them to himself. I think even though they dated, and have a history, he shouldn’t be the one because, he doesn’t care for her as much and, doesn’t share what he is thinking, and she can never tell his mood. 

Conrad’s younger brother Jeremiah, has always loved Belly, and he is hurt all the time because he watches Belly love his brother. Belly never notices Jeremiah, only as an older brother, not a lover. Jeremiah and Belly have an important history, for example, Jeremiah was Belly’s first kiss, even though she wanted Conrad. Jeremiah, stood up for her always against her friend, Conrad, and her brother. He taught her how to drive. To Belly they are best friends in the way they share secrets, and feelings. Jeremiah, has always been more open about the way he feels, he will always tell you, or you will be able to tell, what he is feeling all the time. Jeremiah, bought Belly a really nice expensive charm to go with a charm bracelet, for her 16th birthday, even when Conrad didn’t get her anything. Lastly, Jeremiah is always thinking about tBelly, and noticing her, even if she doesn’t know it. 

In conclusion, I think Jeremiah is the on the for Belly. Even when she doesn’t know it. Jeremiah is so much more caring and deserving. Jeremiah and Belly have good times in the time they spend together. For example, they go on a chase look for Conrad, who ran away. From when they were kids, they have always had a good laugh together, on the beach, in the pool, at the movies, or playing truth or dare at night. Even though I think that Belly and Jeremiah should be together, Belly still has to decide, and there will always be a love triangle between Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. 

Blog Review

For this blog review, I read Katie's blog post on her independent reading book, Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Katie does a great job summarizing this book. She explains the concept of 'paying forward.' The book has many different ideas all throughout the book.

I have never read this book, but Katie's response makes me want to read it. It looks so fascinating the idea of paying it forward. I learned a few things about the book Pay it Forward. For example, the main character Trevor, has a project todo. He comes up with the idea to try to change the world with small deeds. He does a nice act for one person and in return, he asks them todo the same but with three other people. In addition, I learned that Trevor, thinks he didn't succeed in doing a good thing to help change the world in a small way. Trevor doesn't just struggle with school problems, but with family ones too. His mother is alone, and his teacher ends with her. But at the same time, Trevor's father returns to try to make a relationship with his son, which is a big social issue not just in the book. Clearly, this book has a few deep issues, and Katie does a great job of making us aware of that in her blog post.

I think one deep issue mentioned in this book, is parent and children relationships. His father abandon him and his mother. Trevor and his mother have a special bond now. And it is common in books to have someone who abandon them, make another appearance to try to rebuild a connection they may have had. But that is a hard thing todo. you can't just pick up where you left off. This issue is big, and doesn't have one answer. Another idea mentioned, is changing the world. Trevor in the beginning believes that he can't possibly change the world, since he is just a young boy. When he starts the paying it forward project, for a bit he believes he can change the world, but a bit later he believes it was a flop. That nothing had changed, and he was back where he started, just a small boy who wanted to change the world in a small way. But in end he did. Even though the world is a huge place, a small boy, with a big dream, and who believes in himself can change the world, even if in the smallest of ways. 

Lastly, the structure of Katie's post is done well. It is done in a good sequence, with a summary, details to support it, and her opinion if the book, and what she thinks of the notion of paying it forward. Katie's opinions are strong, and supported well with evidence from the book. Her response has motivated me to read Pay it Forward and the book itself has inspired me as well. 



http://katie141.blogspot.com/2014/12/reading-response-on-pay-it-forward.html

Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

Cape Cod Mystery: A Surge of Stranded Turtles 

By James Gorman

In the article “Cape Cod Mystery: A Surge of Stranded Turtles” by James Gorman wants to inform us on the fact that turtles, but more specific sea turtles are endangered of becoming extinct due to natural or man made causes. Gorman uses statics of how many turtles were found stranded in the Cape Cod Bay area; for example, “previous record years were 1989, with 100 turtles; 1999, when 163 were found; and 2012, with 413.” He compares the years and how many turtles found with their migration habits and breeding numbers. The numbers compared seem to be increasing as the years go by. Gorman makes that clear with static comparisons. These examples show how a lot has changed in the past twenty years, and the numbers have gotten to big to reverse this obstacle, because of climate change and global warming, which are sometimes man made caused.

James Gorman doesn’t want us to volunteer in Cape Cod, or donate money in this article, but to alert us of what is going on in the seas, and of these ancient, gentle creatures. Gorman wants us to feel pity on the animals and sympathetic towards the turtles. For example, Gorman interviewed experts and volunteers who have helped rescue sea turtles in the past years. An expert stated, “Nesting fell of in 2010, after the Deepwater horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It rebounded in the next two years, but fell again in 2013 and 2014... About 11,500 nests were counted this year, compared with 20,000 in 2011.” He only includes facts, and not opinions or theories of his own or from any experts in the area. The closest statement to an opinion, is when Gorman said, that the numbers of turtles has increased, maybe, due to the temperatures in the waters warming because of global warming, causing larger waves of stranded turtles coming into the Cape Cod Bay. The facts help his position on trying on trying to inform us, but it makes the argument weak because it shows how little Gorman can infer about the situation.

I was moved by this article, and what is happening to these turtles. Gorman does a good job on warning us about the dangers happening to these prehistoric sea creatures. Also, I would like to know if this is happening in other places as well, and not just in the Cape Cod Bay. I think everyone should be more aware about everything happening around us, even if it is small, it still matters. And that is what Gorman is trying to tell us, and I totally agree.