An After Thought

Yes, yes, outside reading for quarter one is over, but I wanted to add this to my blog. See, I was watching Gossip Girl a couple nights ago (because I'm that cool), and realized that the character Dan reminds me a lot of Cal (From Until They Bring The Streetcars Back)! Dan is cute, atheletic, sweet, lovesick, and brave, the same characteristics Cal has. Dan sticks up for his little sister, Jenny, against Chuck, is head over heels for Serena, and in general, just a very nice guy. In comparison, Cal sticks up for Gretchen and is head over heels for Lola! If they ever made a movie out of this book, Penn Badgley (aka Dan Humphrey) should definitely play the part of Cal!

P.S. They should have kept the streetcars in Minnesota; I would have loved to ride them.

Prediction....

We've begun reading the play All my Sons by Arthur Miller in English class. We just finished Act II, where we find out that Joe Keller, the main character, is guilty for selling faulty airplane parts- which resulted in the death of twenty one soldiers. Chris Keller, Joe's son, believed his father to be innocent all this time, and is shocked to discover he was wrong. Additionally, Chris's fiance, Ann, has a brother who knows Joe is guilty and wants to take Ann away from the Keller's- especially since their father is in jail because of Joe's stunt.

In Act III, which we will read tomorrow, I believe that Ann will leave with her brother, and that Chris will join them. I want for Larry (Chris's deceased brother from the war and Ann's former lover) to come back home- because Mrs. Keller believes he is still alive. However, this type of thing never happens in the plays or books we read for English class, so I am settling for predicting that Chris, George, and Ann will abandon the Keller residence instead.

So Close I can Smell it 2

Well, that last post turned out much longer than planned, but I am nowhere near finished with telling you what happens, so let us continue.... Cal's new plan involves breaking the law. (This can't turn out well....) He begins stealing liquor from his delivering job and stashes in an abandoned shed. Hum? What in the world!? You'll see.... Meanwhile, Lola and him begin dating! Cal is ecstatic, and the two even profess their love for each other. scandalous. Cal is feeling pretty good about his life, getting more confident about his plan to put Lutterman behind bars, but it goes horribly wrong when he is caught red-handed stealing the liquor! He is sentenced to a month in jail, and additionally is expelled from high school. He cannot graduate, Lola breaks things off with him, and during his last days in prison, his father dies. Without seeing Gretchen, who is now contemplating suicide, will his efforts be completely wasted? Cal is ready to frame Lutterman, but cannot while stuck in a cell. He therefore takes advantage of the time out of jail for attending his father's funeral. Before returning to his cell, he hot-wires Lutterman's car, fills it with the stolen liquor, and drives it into the display window of a drug store. The police come to investigate at Lutterman's home, and Lutterman actually stabs an officer! (Definitely not helping out the situation buddy.) When Cal hears Lutterman has been thrown in jail, he is joyful for the first time in weeks. Gretchen is safe. When he is released from jail, Cal gets a job as a construction worker. He is pretty miserable after being kicked out of school and dumped by Lola. But Gretchen is put in a foster home with her sisters, and looks so much better. She is well fed, dressed more appropriately and cut her hair. She also smiles. :) Cal takes her to her first high school dance, and Steve (Cal's friend) even wants to ask her out! But, Cal and Gretchen have to testify against Lutterman in a trial, and Gretchen's not sure if she can....

So Close I can Smell it

Ah. MEA. Finally. However, my vacation has been dampened a tad by the fact that I am sick with an infuriating cold. But, with a day off Thursday, and nothing to do but recover, I was able to read my outside reading book. For hours. I have exactly fifteen pages left and plan to finish it later tonight. So much has happened. The story took on a major turn, but I cannot decide if it was for better or for worse. Perhaps after reading my post, you will be able to decide. Now, where did we leave off?

Yes. Cal's situation with Gretchen.... trying to witness the terrible things her father does to her. Cal begins to take watch in a tree in Gretchen's backyard from where he can see her second story window. This proves to be a fruitless effort because the curtains are always drawn. But while on watch, Cal discovers that Gretchen's father leaves the house at precisely the same time every night. Cal is still not sure how he will help Gretchen, but is fearful she will go crazy before he can save her. So one day, he helps her ditch school to take a trip to Minneapolis, where Gretchen has a swell time, possibly the best time of her pitiful life. During this trip, Gretchen admits to Cal that her father made her sister, Helga, kill her own baby (little Jacob). She tells him he made Helga hold the baby underwater, and now keeps the baby in their FREEZER. (Talk about disturbing.) So, Cal gets this brilliant idea that if he can get the corpse and show it to authorities, Lutterman (Gretchen's father) will be put behind bars. One night, after Lutterman leaves and Cal has been keeping watch in the tree, he sneaks into their house, and grabs the baby from the freezer. Home free? NO. Lutterman ends up being right behind Cal, and starts chasing him with a butcher's knife! Cal runs for his life over the icy, winter roads, with a madman on his heels. At the last minute, he jumps on a passing streetcar, but drops little Jacob. Scarred out of his wits Cal derives a new plan, for he knows Gretchen's life is literally hanging by a thread....

"The 400 Blows" review

The 400 Blows gives us insight into the life of a young French boy during the mid-nineteen hundreds. Antoine Doniel, the main character, struggles with school and a dysfunctional family while just wanting to be a normal Parisian kid. The film, directed, written, and produced by Francois Truffaut is a captivating memoir that possesses many themes easy to relate to. In addition, the characters are also easy to sympathize with. After being based off a book, the film conveys literary as well as dramatic and cinematic aspects well. I personally enjoyed watching the movie, and therefore think it was effective in portraying an engaging and entertaining, yet profound story.

Bloggin'

So, we didn't do a ton in english class this week, mostly just finished up The 400 Blows. On Friday we had a "blog day", where we basically worked on our blogs and commented on our peer's. It was fun and relaxing, and I am using this post to thus reflect on my blogging so far this year. I really enjoy it. It's fun to reflect on the things we work on in class, and then go more in depth by sharing your thoughts and/or comparing it to your own life. Easy points! (That is, if I'm getting full credit for this...) Soon, I assume I will be blogging about All My Sons. I have no idea what this book is about, but I hope it is fiction, for that is my favorite genre of book.

There is one more thing I would like to mention in my post however, Zephyrus. The first issue was released this week, and overall I thought it was great! My favorite article was written by Colin Fish and titled "Automatic doors open all eyes to bathroom secrets." However, there is thick controversy in the air about pages six and seven, "Boys and Girls." Many people have focused on Trevor Aufderheide's inappropriate article, "Nice...shirt." Though I feel the same way, I have learned to expect nothing less from the sophomore boy, and sadly, am not surprised he wrote such a piece. I am surprised however, that the paper published it. Reading this article and the neighboring "No means no" made me squirm in my seat. Zephyrus should definitely watch what they publish to make sure that its fun and informative, instead of raunchy things that can make people self conscious and the writers/quoted students sound like jerks.

WOWZA

Phew. It is 3:45 on Sunday afternoon, and I am just beginning to recover from homecoming weekend. What can I say? I haven't had that much fun in a long time! Jumping up and down to the beat, flashing light disorienting you while you get sucked into the hot, sweaty crowd and lose yourself to the music. The vibe in enthralling and even though your hair frizzes and your dress wrinkles, you never know who you might end up dancing next to in the packed room. If you haven't figured out by now, I'm describing my first high school dance. I had an absolute blast going with my girlfriends! We started out with an awesome pre-party photo shoot, and the rest is history. Experiencing my first dance reminds me of my outside reading book, Until They Bring the Streetcars Back. Seriously. Throughout the book, Cal attends many dances, and recently, has begun going with Lola, his major crush. However, the situation is sticky because its implied that Lola and Tom (Cal's friend who she was in a relationship with for some time) still have feelings for each other. The couple only broke up because Tom's dad did not want him dating Lola anymore. So, Lola starts going with Cal, only to meet up with Tom there. But when Lola and Cal share kiss, Cal cannot figure out how Lola feels about him or Tom anymore, which leaves him frustrated and confused.

Surprisingly enough, I found time to read a couple chapters of my book this weekend after the football game Friday. During these short chapters, the one event that captured my attention the most was Gretchen telling Cal that he had to 'see' what her father does to her in order for the police to believe her story. Cal is horrified by the fact of watching Gretchen being tortured, but at the same time wants to help her. I have no doubt that Cal will find a way to see what is happening with Gretchen, but the real question is.... what will he see?

Never Judge a Book by its Cover (or title)

I've made it to chapter thirteen of my outside reading book, Until They Bring The Streetcars Back. A this point, I understand the meaning of the title. Cal, the main character, has a father who drives the streetcars of St. Paul, and is forever complaining about how his streetcars are going to be replaced with buses and cars. Though I see that the title relates to the book well, I feel like the author could have made it something shorter and catchier. Nevertheless, the book is keeping me interested. Following Cal through high school at St. Louis Park shows readers his two main troubles, which both revolve around girls. The first dilemma Cal deals with is getting over his huge crush on Lola, whom he describes as the love of his life. But Lola only has eyes for Cal's friend, Tom. (ouch!) Cal's second dilemma takes the form of a less popular, more homely girl, Gretchen. This troubled girl, nicknamed "Gretch the Wretch", confides in Cal what she can tell no one else; her father beats and abuses her. He makes he wear ugly clothes, she has no friends, and cannot even talk to boys! But Gretchen decides to break her father's rules, and invites Cal to the bakery where she works during her lunch break. Gretchen tells Cal what she's told no one else and he feel great sympathy for her. Cal tries to help her, but does not know how. He buys her a pair of penny loafers that she can wear at school (away from her father's eyes), but wants to help her more. This is the dilemma: Cal is sworn to secrecy not to tell anyone Gretchen's story. So what can he do by himself? What will he decide to do?

Les Quatre Cent Coups

In English class this week, we began the film unit after finishing writing our own memoirs. I immensely enjoyed writing my memoir. It was a good change of pace to write a story from the heart rather than quoting books in essays. I really hope we have more writing assignments like this throughout the year.

In other news, like I mentioned before, we began our film unit and watching "Les Quatre Cent Coups" or "The Four Hundred Blows". This old french film from 1959 is a memoir by Francois Truffaut. My class watches the movie with subtitles, and though I speak french, the actors talk so quickly I sometimes miss what they're saying! However, I get the gist of it and like not needing to read the subtitles. The movie follows a troubled young boy who decides to run away from home. The boy's family life is unstable; his mother seems to be cheating on his father, and the two parents often fight. I must await for Monday to discover how to film ends, so.... until then!