Beginning The Life of Pi

I have decided upon The Life of Pi for my outside reading book this quarter and am currently three chapters into it. Already, it has grabed hold of my interest-- this book is definitel different from my previous two english novels. Though these chapters are short, and consequently I have not learned very much about the protagonist. The main character's name is Pi Patel, he was named after a glorious swimming pool located in Paris, La Piscine Molitor. He has a brother, Ravi, a mother and father, as well as an uncle figure who he calls Mamaji. Mamaji used to be a competitive swimmer and when Pi turns seven, he teaches him to swim. Right now in the story, I believe Pi is living in Canada and moved there from India. But that is all. Some of the phrases I read almost seem random in this book, but later I believe they will come to make sense. With that, there was a cool quote that caught my attention while reading: "The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity-- it's envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud" (6. Martel). I think this is a fascinating way to regard life and death; comparing Death to an obsessive lover who can never obtain Life, and Life as one who will never return the mutual feelings of Death. Death, however, will never cease his endless tries and will obtain some victims, but Life will live and go on.

Outside Reading Three

I'm undecided about what book to read for my outside reading project this quarter. It's a tie between three different books: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, and The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Rebel Angels is an exciting novel, the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty, which I read earlier this year. I am already half way through it however and am wondering if I would not finish it too quickly. On the other hand, The Life of Pi has recieved rave reviews, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a classic. Since we are required to read a work that is different from our previous two selections, I'm leaning toward The Life of Pi because it is a new kind of story, written in an interesting style. Regardless of my choice, I will finish Rebel Angels and then I hope to read the newly released, last installment of the series, (which my friend is reading at the moment), The Far Sweet Thing.

I'm Baaaack

It's been about a month now from the time I last blogged, and since then, my class has begun to read the epic tale of The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles. The only other knowledge I have of this tale is from sixth grade, when we listened to a version of it on tape. I remember liking that very much, and now I also enjoy reading this more difficult text. Currently, I am on chapter fourteen, when the hero and protagonist, Odysseus, has finally made the return to his home in Ithica, which he has been trying to do for many years. I find it interesting to read about all the struggles and hardships Odysseus went through, hated by some Gods and cursed with misfortune. The fact that Odysseus endured all that the Gods forced upon him and more (such as horrible storms and deathly, luring creatures), even when his shipmates did not, shows what a remarkable man he is. Though the Greek Gods are described as great among mortals, I infer from the text that their one main difference from man is their immortality. I feel Odysseus would blend in among them, for he is described like a God in the text. During his long, seemingly endless journey, while stranded upon the island of Calypso, the nymph offered him the rank of a God, but he could not take it. While there is an allure to being immortal and powerful, being mortal is a gift in itself-- and perhaps this is how Odysseus feels. Today is class, we were asked which character we most felt like at the moment and why. I chose Telemachus, Odysseus's son, because I feel undecided at the moment. There are things I really want to do, but don't exactly have to courage to leave my comfort zone to do so. Similarly, in the beginning of the book, Telemachus struggles in deciding what to do about his torn family. What to believe about his father and how to deal the suitors invading his home for Peneloppe (his mother and Odysseus's wife). Luckily, Athena soon comes to Telemachus's aid, setting him in the right direction where he goes on to act very much like his father. I too, hope that I will soon have the courage and strength like Odysseus to do what I want!

*Note From The Author*

Looking back at my last few blogs, I saw they were beginning to diverge in their overall relation to my enriched language arts experience... so for this new quarter in school, I am challenging myself not to sidetrack so much and instead be more direct and to the point.

Film Review

The film, Much Ado about Nothing, directed by Kenneth Branagh and based off the classic Shakespearean novel, was released in the year 1993 and given a mix of reviews. Hal Hinson, from the Washington Post, described the movie as “insubstantial and uninspired”, yet “easy on the eyes”. I wholeheartedly agree with Hinson’s remarks about the film. I thought the setting was gorgeous, the jokes funny, and the celebrities enjoyable. However, after viewing the film, I felt just as Hinson—uninspired. I was unmoved by the actors’ performances. For example, when Hero cried in agony over being falsely accused of unfaithfulness on her wedding day, her facial features appeared almost comical. Moreover, the bright, joyful sun shinning down upon the scene did little to aid the grave mood. Overall, this film gave little justice to Shakespeare’s great work.

Aurevoir les Vacances d'Hiver

If you haven't noticed, my posts are becoming shorter. Despite my previous mention for want of shorter posts, I miss the old length mine used to carry. It made them seem.... more important and worthwhile I guess. Well, I guess not too much can be expected since over the course of winter break, I have been having difficulty finding things to blog about. As you can tell by the date above, I am cutting it close- tonight I cherish the few hours of break I have left. Over break I didn't actually do much reading. I finished Speak, as I blogged about earlier, and also the Royal Diary book, Princess of Versailles. The latter was not very good, but it did help me a bit in my understanding about the French Revolution and the Austria's role in it. My outside reading project is going so-so. I've started it, but barely. Thus far I have a rough outline. I'm very glad it is not due until Friday, for I must as they say "get back in the swing of things". Sure, I had plenty of time to work on it over break, but I've had better things to do. Such as playing Trauma Center: New Blood on my new Wii, or watching the movie Aquamarine countless times, and then forcing my friends to watch it with me. I got the movie over break as a gift from my best friend, and as have not stopped thinking about it since. For some reason this movie has stuck to my heart. It is light, romantic, and funny. But I think the real reason is that the two best friends' relationship in the film is similar to the one I share with mine, and that is something speacial that I will never get sick of watching.

so close, and yet so far

I would like to start this post by complementing a friend of mine on her blog. We will call her Mirman. Unfortunatly I am not highly skilled in the use of technical devices, and can't figure out how to create links to my friends' blogs from mine. Anyway, last night, while I lay in bed staring at my ceiling and contemplating the meaning of life (as I so often do), I figured that everything we do comes back to love. It is why we live, survive, everything we do comes out of love. Wheather it is a hard decision to make, or something else, all we really want is to be loved. If I could chose, the world would only contain love, and no hate. But when difficulties arise in our lives, it is sometimes hard to find love, even though it's what we want the most. This is when hate (sadly) develops. Why is love such a big deal though? It's the closest thing we have to magic. When I read a post from Mirman's blog about Life and Death, it made me think about how close to us they really are. Death could occur chaque jour, in countless ways. But we stay alive searching for something. We know it is too early to die when we haven't found love, and know there is much more of it to discover and share.

Go for It

I've always wanted to act. Really, its true. I've wanted to have to courage to jump on stage in front of a big crowd and give a flawless performance like it was nothing. It's been a long time that I have been musing over this. It's just that theatre seems very intimidating, but I realize that if I want to do something, I should go for it. I don't want to regret not trying an activity I might love. So, I'm signing up for classes at the Guthrie, a great theatre company where the little brother of my good friend preforms. I'm starting small, one class session at a time, but I hope I'm good at it, and if not, that I can improve and hone my skills so that maybe one day, I will be able to take center stage! It's a miracle that regardless, I will continue to play tennis. Who says I can't become a thespian and still participate in athletics?