Ansley's Amazing Blog

The Good Earth continues after a famine forces Wang Lung to move his family to another city. There he steals a bag of money and O-lan steals a sack of jewels. The stolen money allows the family to move back and buy more land from the declining family, Hwang family. The Wang’s family has several years of good harvest until a flood washes their lands. Wang Lung blames O-lan and bullies her by calling her ugly. O-lan dies of a terminal illness and Wang Lung regrets what he said realizing all the good O-lan did for his family. In Wang Lung’s old age, his sons fight over selling their land. Wang Lung dies surrounded by grandchild just like he imaged but his children end up selling his hard earned land.

I am still bothered by how women are treated in this book. Wang Lung blames his troubles on O-lan and finds fault in her looks. He chooses to look at the faults and not the amazing skills she has. O-lan does everything for him and their family and it sickens me that Wang Lung couldn’t see this till she died. Though Wang Lung treated O-lan poorly, his eldest daughter was mentally retarded and he loves her dearly. Wang Lung even hires a maid to look after her for when he dies. I thought this shows love and compassion to women, and also changed my opinion of Wang Lung.

I have enjoyed the honors program this year. Without it, I wouldn’t have read as many books as I have. I think by completing the honors program, I have expanded my literature library. I enjoyed reading some great classics such as Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. At the same time I was allowed to read popular books such as The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  I plan on doing honors next year too.

I didn’t like The Good Earth. I think it repeats a lot and is boring. Also it makes me upset how poorly the women were treated, even though it probably is an accurate description of women in the time period of the industrial revolution. I am still looking for to doing honors English next year

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Work Cited

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth. New York: Washington Square Press. Print.

The Good Earth takes place in China during the Industrial Revolution. A simple young farmer, Wang Lung is living with his father and buys his wife, O-lan, from the rich and powerful Hwang family. Wang Lung and O-lan have a great relationship but rarely speak. O-lan gives birth to their first born son shortly after being married. After a profitable year O-lan and Wang Lung visit the Hwang family to show off their new son and wealth. Wang Lung soon learns that the Hwang family is experiencing financial problems and he wants to buy some of their land.

Pearl S. Buck writes this book in third person omniscient and it takes place in China during the 1800s. I am not really sure to think about this book yet. In my opinion the book skips over large amounts of time and is repetitive. I have a feeling this book is going to be a mental journey rather a physical one. I’m not quite sure what Wang’s journey will be about, but I predict it will be about him gaining wealth.

In History, my class recently learned about the Industrial Revolution which is when The Good Earth takes place. Japan and Europe are both trying to conquer China for their natural resources and also tried to modernize China. The Good Earth does a great job betraying that not all the ways of modernization are good. For example, the Hwang family becomes addicted to opium, a drug the Western World introduced. The Hwang family also don’t work themselves. Instead, they hire others to work in the field and Wang Lung thinks that this is other set back of modernization. Wang Lung also believes that you can’t achieve wealth by sending others to do the work for you. I believe this to be true because every person should have to earn their wealth not have it passed down.  In the long run China needed to be modernized but maybe not so harshly, forcefully, and violently.

This book should be interesting. I predict it will be a mental journey but I’m having difficulty pinpointing what the journey will be about. I would recommend this book to older students interested in Chinese history.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Work Cited

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth. New York: Washington Square Press. Print.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay is a truly amazing story about the Holocaust and its effect on the modern day world. Her husband’s family lived in a house previously owned by a Jewish family taken during the Vel’d’Hiv Roundup. Julia decides to track the life of the little Jewish girl Sarah who lived in their house.  She learns that Sarah escaped the camp and came back to her house only to find her little brother dead. Julia then tries to track down Sarah in the real world but learns she has died. Julia meets William, Sarah’s son, who gets angry when Julia tells him about Sarah. The book ends years later after Julia moves to New York with her two children, one of whom she names Sarah.

This book was amazing and not what I would have anticipated. I love how the ending wasn’t straight forward, it lets you image what will happen. Even though I have like to know exactly how Julia’s life would continue, I think Rosnay does a great job and lets the reader’s imagination run wild.

Throughout the book the point of view changes from Sarah’s, third person omniscient, to Julia’s, first person reliable. I enjoy Sarah’s point of view more the Julia’s probably because the book is focused on Sarah and Julia telling Sarah’s story is hearsay. You can image how upset I am when after discovering her brother’s body, Sarah’s point of view stopped and the rest of the book followed Julia. Not that I don’t like Julia. In fact, I admire her for her bravery and determination; I just wish I could have heard from Sarah.

As my class continues our World War II unit in history, I find myself wondering how people could do these horrible things to people. After watching a short video, I learn that children were taught that this wasn’t wrong, foreign countries did it so there wouldn’t be more war, and adults were told that this was good for their children and country as a whole. The war crimes of World War II were horrible and should never be repeated again, which is what the book stresses. Rosnay tells her readers that people today are still suffering consequences of the effects of war, such as Julia’s family. World War II reminds me of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina is the Axis Powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan, destroying everything in its path. After the hurricane destroyed people’s lives thousands of people came to help our city recover. The volunteers are the Allies, Europe, Russia, and the United States, who helped Europe clean up the Axis power’s mess and fought for the people of Europe. Though the city is clean and is rebuilt, our city has permanent scares. New Orleans is forever changed by the path of Hurricane Katrina and so is the world after World War II. This is the theme Rosnay expressed to her readers.

I loved this book and I touched my heart. I plan to see the movie to see how well it is adapted to the screen. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in World War II or the Holocaust. This book taught me that history isn’t just about the past; it’s about how it affects the future.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Work Cited

Rosnay, Tatiana de. Sarah’s Key. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin

Sarah’s Key is a touching story following the lives of two women in two different times. Julia is a journalist who is assigned the story of the French Vel’d’Hiv Roundup. Julia is fascinated about why there is barely any documentation. As Julia continues to pry for clues into what happens, the reader learns the story of a young girl living in 1942. Sarah is rounded up during the French Vel’d’Hiv Roundup but locks up her brother to keep him safe. Sarah is desperate to get back to her brother but is only transported to a camp far away.

Tatiana de Rosnay has excellent writing skills. I love how she switches up the point of views up. The point of view is interesting because it switches from Julia’s point of view in first person to Sarah’s in third person omniscient. I think this is cool because both the points of view give you their thoughts and what the characters are feeling. In France, mainly Paris, is where the setting is. Sarah’s key is a symbol of how Jews were locked up. Though Sarah didn’t realize she was sentencing her brother to death by turning the key, it symbolizes every Jew who was locked up and sentenced to death.

The theme of Sarah’s Key is anti-Semitism which is the hatred of the Jews. Rosnay does a great job of expressing how it wasn’t only the Germans who treated the Jews poorly, it was also the French. Through Sarah’s point of view, the reader sees she is not scared of the French police because they normally protected the Jews. During the Vel’d’Hiv Roundup, Sarah realizes it’s the French harming her not the Germans. Anti-Semitism didn’t just happen in France, it occurred in most European countries. Though some people were against this belief, the nations as a whole thought they could create a master race and killed millions. The Holocaust is one of the darkest moments in human history and shouldn’t be repeated because of the horrible consequences.

This is perfect timing for me to read my book. We are learning about WWII and the Holocaust in history and are visiting the National WWII Museum next week. I look forward to learning about WWII with personal stories of what happened. This book has very mature concepts such as marriage and the horrors of war; therefore I would have to recommend it to high school students and adults.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Of Mice and Men continues with a conversation between George and Lennie about their dream farm. An old man named Candy overhears them and wants to pitch in. Eventually George agrees and discovers they will have enough money by the end of the month to buy their dream house. A few days later Lennie is in the barn with his new puppy which he accidently killed. Curly’s wife walks in trying to make conversation with Lennie.  She lets Lennie touch her hair but Lennie accidently breaks her neck. When Curly discovers his wife dead he knows it was Lennie who killed her. George goes to find Lennie and comforts him as he shoots him in the back of the head.

John Steinbeck did an amazing job with this book. I honestly don’t know why it was such a good book though. Maybe because it was so real and the characters had traits people could relate to. When I read a book I often put myself as the main character but in this book I couldn’t because they were just so different from me. I could only relate to their dreams and ideas. I think this is why Of Mice and Men is a classic read.

Everyone is lonely on the farm. Every person dreams of having a connection with someone. Even Curly’s wife doesn’t feel connected with her husband and longs to talk to someone. Candy finds companionship with his old dog but he agrees to let someone else shoot it. Candy instantly regrets this by saying, “I ought to have shot that dog myself…I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck 108). What Candy means is he betrayed his dog by letting someone else shoot him. Candy meant he would rather a close friend shoot him than a stranger and he didn’t do this for his dog. I think George took this into consideration because at the end of the story George didn’t want Curly shooting Lennie. George shot him himself because of what Candy had said early to him. If I were the person being shot by my closest friend, I would be upset and confused. I feel totally betrayed even if was for their best interest.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a lot of mature context in it which was enjoyable. I felt a connection with each of the characters because everyone was chasing their dreams, just like me. I would recommend this book to high school students and adults.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two grown men starting new jobs at a ranch. Lennie is mentally handicapped but very strong, which is why George travels from job to job to protecting him. The reader first meets the two characters after they have walked all day, at a small pond. This is where George tells Lennie to come here if he ever gets in serious trouble, just like he has in the past. The two men later meet their employer and the staff along with the employer’s family. George reminds Lennie to be good so they can one day buy their own farm and raise their own animals, especially bunnies.

I am enjoying this book because it reminds me of simpler times. The tone of the book is weird, in my opinion. I feel at ease because the men are working on a farm, happily living their life. At the same time, I feel the time bomb ticking because Lennie is struggling to behave and fit in. Of Mice of Men is written in third person omniscient and is set during the 1930’s in California.

I can picture myself as George because he’s always wanting something more and always dreaming bigger. George plans his future but his life is so far away from his dream future. I can relate to George because I feel the same way. I always feel like there are people holding me back from what I want to do in life and I get annoyed when I have to constantly help other people catch up. George and I both have dreams of taking control of our lives and becoming the employer. I think that having a dream future is the theme of the book because it come up more than once and seems to be the thing Lennie and George bond over. Their dream encourages the other workers to dream big too. Their dreams vary from working peacefully on a farm to owning a farm of their own. Dreams and goals are what inspire people to move forward in life. I believe every person has something they want to achieve and they are working towards it. My goal is to have all A’s this semester and I am studying my hardest to achieve this. I hope George will achieve his dream future by the end of the book.

I think this book will be an easy read but I will have a lot to analyze. George is my favorite character but I fear he will take advantage of Lennie or leave him. I can’t wait to finish Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

The Help by Kathryn Stockett continues in Jackson, Mississippi as Minny and Aibileen struggle with the town’s racial attitude while Skeeter struggles stand up for what she believes in. Minny becomes close to her employer, Mrs. Celia, who doesn’t have the same racial standards as most white women. Minny also struggles with her abusive husband, Leroy. Aibileen is the first to agree to work on Skeeter’s book and soon conveniences Minny to join. Aibileen tells her heartbreaking story of how her son died to Skeeter while Skeeter dates Stuart. Eventually, Skeeter gets all the maids testimony for her story and The Help is published. The women then must deal with the consequences that come from the revealing the secrets of the white households.

I loved this story! I loved it so much. I think critics rave it because it’s an easy read but goes into complex ideas. The reason it’s so popular is probably because of its characters. I think everyone can find something to relate too such as having hopes and dreams or being lonely or grateful. My favorite character is Mrs. Celia because she is such a good person and is so misunderstood. If I had a maid I would want to be as kind as Mrs. Celia too.

I saw the hero cycle in The Help in every character. Minny’s call to adventure is back when she was a young girl and had to become a maid to support her family. Her companion was Aibileen and her mentor was her mother. She crossed the threshold when she stepped on the bus to go to her new job. Minny’s entire initiation is her life as a maid and every day is dragon battle against herself to hold in her sassy self. She loses several jobs which is a ritual death because each time she loses a piece of her reputation. When Minny is fired from Mrs. Hilly and can’t find a job, this is her belly of the whale. As Minny tells her maid stories to Skeeter this becomes a sacred marriage because they both have to trust each other. Minny also has several sacred marriages with Celia such as when Celia tells her of her miscarriages and when Minny tells Celia what she did to Mrs. Hilly. Minny’s initiation continues to go on for most of the book. Minny crosses the threshold when she receives a copy of The Help and people recognize her for her actions. Minny’s master of two worlds is accepting Celia as a true friend while being her maid. Minny’s freedom to live is when she breaks away from her abusive husband Leroy. I think Minny is a true hero who shows strength in ways women of her time where scared of.

The Help is amazing and I would recommend this book to 6^th graders and up. This book has racist ideas but I believe as Americans we should learn about the past in order to change our future. This is why I recommend this book. I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I have.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

The Help by Kathryn Stockett is about two African American maids in Jackson, Mississippi, during the 1960s. The two women, Milly and Aiblileen, endure the trials of everyday life. Minny loses her job because of a gossiping white woman, Mrs. Hilly, and Aibileen raises a white woman’s child while dealing with the loss of her own son. Milly and Aibileen meet with Mrs. Skeeter who is trying to unravel the mystery of her old maid, Constantine.

                This book has received high praise from many critics and I agree. It’s a book filled with insight from the 1960s. I love culture and how it has been affected by the past. The stories of the people bring history to life, which is why I love historical fiction like The Help. Stockett wrote this book in the first person and the narrator is reliable though the point of view can switch from chapter to chapter.  Stockett’s diction is very simple because she is writing from the point of view of the help who never finished school. To add the local color of the South, Kathryn Stockett uses slang words and words such as “law” which is used to say my goodness. I love this so far and perhaps it be become one of my all-time favorites.

In The Help, bathrooms come up often because of a law Mrs. Hilly is trying to pass. Mrs. Hilly believes that African Americans carry diseases that whites can catch by using the same toilet. Mrs. Hilly wants every house to have maid quarters so African American won’t spread their diseases. This symbolizes the crazy tactics society used to maintain the status quo of racism. Just like in “A Rose for Emily” most Mississippians didn’t want to change society and wanted to keep the old ways of racism. The characters are learning change is hard but can result in a better future, which is also the theme of the book. As the characters develop I’m sure I’ll see more hard ships and see more change.

I am in love with this book. Though I’m just beginning, this book has really interests me. I can’t wait to see how maids will cope with the new bathroom laws or how Aibileen continues to raise Mae Moeby. I would recommend this to any age woman because it shows the hardships women had to go through.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Work Cited

The Help. Kathryn Stockett. New York: Amy Einhorn Book. Print.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding is about a group of boys stranded on a small island. Ralph, the leader, and Jack, the hunter, continually fight over ways to rule over the younger children. Ralph wants to have rules and order to focus on getting rescued, but Jack wants to hunt and have fun. Since many of the children are young, they choose Jack’s side because he wants to have fun. Jack raids Ralph’s camp for fire and Piggy’s glasses, so the next day Ralph’s tribe confronts Jack. Piggy is killed and Sam and Eric are captured.  Ralph hides because he knows he will be hunted by Jack’s tribe, which is now everyone. In an attempt to capture Ralph, Jack accidently sets the island on fire. Just when Ralph has given up hope, a British officer arrives and takes the children off the island.

I have mixed feeling about this book. The style the author uses makes me confused. I don’t always know what is happening. Sometimes it’s just dialogue and sometimes it’s a page of scenery. The point of view, third person limited omniscient, was confusing in the beginning of the story because it jumped from one person’s thoughts to another’s in the next sentence. Also the story was dark and pessimistic, which is hard for me to relate to. I love Ralph, the protagonist, and Piggy, his companion, because they promoted civilization.  Ralph knew how to survive in the wild and as I child I loved watching shows about survival.

The two tribes, in the story, supported two different ideas, civilization and savagery. Ralph’s tribe wanted to be civilized like the adult world. He wanted rules and a system of authority. He laid down rules but there was no punishment for breaking the rules. Therefore, the rules were broken. Jack’s tribe was wild and out of control; his tribe wanted to hunt and kill. There were no rules only orders given by Jack. Jack was the “king” of his tribe and ordered his “servants” around. The two tribes battled each other and Jack’s tribe would have eventually won if they haven’t been rescued. John Locke says all humans have natural rights, the rights a person would have in a state of nature. These rights (property, life, and liberty) are the rights every human has. When the children’s plane crashed, they were in a state of nature and ruled by these rights. Ralph tried to set up authority but didn’t enforce them which is why his tribe failed. Jack’s tribe had no laws and was ruled by human instinct. They became complete human savages almost animals. Government is there to protect human’s natural rights, which is the reason we need a strong government.

The conch that Ralph found brought everyone together for the first time. The conch was used to call everyone to a meeting which was Ralph’s ideal civilization. In these meetings, everyone was reminded of the rules and allowed everyone to discuss their feelings. The conch brought everyone to civilization in the uncivilized island. These meetings were a daily routine that helped keep the children calm. If you held the conch you could say whatever you wanted because the conch gave you the authority to speak. When Piggy died holding the conch (which was smashed), the authority of Ralph was also destroyed. The whole island became wild and savage.

I still have mixed feelings about this book. It was odd and written uniquely, though the plot was amazing. I would recommend this book to ninth graders at McGehee because they could parallel it to their history class.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

A plane carrying all boys is shot down in the middle of the ocean landing on a small uncivilized island. Quickly the boys gather together and elect their leader, Ralph, and a hunter, Jack, while Piggy suggests ways to be rescued. The boys decide to build a fire on top of the mountain but the older boys soon learn that the younger ones don’t like to work very long. Ralph and Simon try to build shelters for the younger boys but get frustrated while Jack tries to hunt but can never kill. As the story progresses the older boys find it more and more difficult to work without the help of the little boys.

I don’t like the way the author writes because it is overly descriptive and I get lost in the conversations as well as the order of events. I begin to think the author does this on purpose to confuse the reader and add to the madness already at hand. The diction used is normal vocabulary but I find little pieces of slang such as “littluns,” a word for the smaller children. The tone is chaotic but is sometimes peaceful. For example, when Simon is in the jungle taking in the beauty of the island (Golding 57).

I have heard that this story is about how boys lose their minds. I can already see the older boys getting frustrated with the little ones because of their unwillingness to work. The older boys focus on their rescue and survival while the younger ones sit back and play. If something fails, I predict, the little ones will blame the older boys even though they worked hard. The way the group of boys govern themselves sets them up for failure because of competition. Jack and Ralph seem to be competing with each other and each try to prove they can be a better leader but keep failing. Ralph does not know what to do and gets his ideas from others, while Jack knows what to do but has trouble acting upon it. Together they would make a great team. They need to work together and set up rules and punishments in order for their authority to work. In fact that’s what authority is. Authority is given by the people, the boys on the island, to the older ones. In return the younger boys expect someone to take care of them and help them survive. If the leaders would set aside their differences the boys would be a lot safer and more could be done for the boys’ survival and rescue efforts.

I am looking forward to what happens to the boys but I do not like the way Golding writes. He confuses me and I am having trouble understanding the events that are happening. All in all I think this will be a good book.

Sincerely,

Ansley Nelson

Work Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: A Perigee Book. Print.