Book Review #4

 
  In the intriguing novel, "The Complete Maus" by Art Spiegelman, Art uses the medium of a graphic text-a comic book-to relate the biographical memoir of Vladek and Anja Spiengelman, his parents. The Spiegelmans are Jews, originally from Poland, who survived the Nazi Holocaust and internment at Auschwitz, Auschwitz-Birkenua, Gross-Rosen Dachau, Ravensbruck, and other concentration camps. After the war the Spiegelmans lived briefly in Stockholm before emigrating to the United States of America and settling in Rego Park, New York. The graphic text uses the extended allegory of anthropomorphized mice-Maus in German- to represent Jews, cats to represent Germans, and other suitable animals to represent other nationalities.
   Vladek Spiegelman, born in 1906, meets Anja Zylberberg, born in 1912, in the town of Sosnowiec, Poland. They court and wed in 1937 and live in various small Polish towns in the Sownowiec area. Their first son, Richieu, is born in 1937 as Vladek becomes commercially successful establishing a textile factory which is initially largely funded by Anja's affluent father. After the couple have their first child. Richieu, Anja suffers a nervous collapse. During this experience, they hear news of Nazism and are then warned of what is to come. They go through many brutal and horrific accidents, for example, Vladek being drafted in 1939. He becomes a prisoner of war in difficult circumstances and performs manual labor for the Nazis. This worries Anja but luckily, he returns home to his family. Over the next months the Nazi Holocaust begins to unfold and the couple are forced to move into various ghettos. Due to these many experiences, the couple hone their genius qualities. In many ways, the always try to demonstrate the genius quality of joy and wisdom. They try to look for the light at the end of every tunnel; the light referring to freedom and the tunnel would be their problems due to their nationality. Wisdom is also a major part of this story because without it, they wouldn't have been survivors of the Holocaust. To clarify such statement, they had to take the best options or paths available in order to have lived through the perilous actions. Vladek is mainly about wonder and inventiveness, which are two other genius qualities, He displays such by having and running a factory. Before any of the hurtful events, he was getting big due to him thinking things out and trying to make himself big. He would try anything to become an even bigger-in-rank guy. On the other hand, Anja consistently shows sensitivity, either emotionally or physically. She was very fragile and many things got to her internally, meaning mentally. She would over think various things such that she took her own life due to her being traumatized of the Holocaust. 
  In conclusion, Vladek and Anja's life had inflicted Art's feelings. Art's parents are very relevant to him and so he describes and illustrates many of the horrific experiences. Personally, I can't connect to Art's parents or himself, but all I can say is that I am positive till' the end of the tunnel, such as Art's parents. They demonstrate this quality throughout most of the scenes and it reminds me a lot of myself since I'm a determined person. Overall, I learned many qualities from Art's parents and made me have a better insight on other perspectives. 

Book Review #3

   In the emotionally overwhelming novel, "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" by: Anne Frank, a young girl's perspective of hiding and luckily living during a perilous time details approximately two years of experiences during World War II. It begins on her thirteenth birthday, June 12, 1942, and ends shortly after her fifteenth. At the start of the diary, Anne describes fairly typical girlhood experiences, writing about her friendships with other girls, her crushes on boys, and her academic performance at school. Because anti-Semitic laws forced Jews into separate schools, Anne and her older sister, Margot, attended the Jewish Lyceum in Amsterdam. The Franks had moved to the Netherlands in the years leading to the World War II to escape persecution in Germany. After the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940, the Franks were forced in hiding. With another family, the van Daans, and an acquaintance, Mr. Dussel, they moved into a small secret annex above Otto Frank's office where they stockpiled food and supplies. The employees from Otto's firm help hide the Franks and kept them supplied with food, medicine, and information about the outside world. The residents of the annex pay close attention to every development of the war by listening to the radio. Some bits of the news catch Anne's attention and make their way into her diary. Anne had initially written about her friends, but as she matures, she starts detailing the news she gets about the war and the way the war is affecting them. She tells what they eat and what they talk about during their days in hiding, leading to profound thoughts of humanity and her own personal nature.
   Although Anne is strongly criticized by the adults in the annex, particularly her mother, who lacks love and affection, she builds relationships with everyone there. Especially Peter van Daan, the teenage boy in the annex who she slowly falls in love with. Mr. Frank doesn't approve of their relationship so it becomes difficult for Anne to establish an actual and real relationship with anyone. During the two years recorded in her diary, Anne deals with deprivation and many emotional obstacles, as well as the complicated issues growing up in the brutal circumstances of the Holocaust. Anne's diary ends without comment on August 1, 1944, the end of a seemingly normal day which becomes a page turner. However, the Frank family is betrayed to the Nazis and arrested on August 4, 1944. Anne's diary, the observations of an imaginative, friendly and somewhat normal teenage girl, comes to an abrupt and silent end. Genius qualities such as wisdom & joy is displayed through Anne's dialouge & actions by interacting with other characters. Anne's father also shows wisdom & an example of it is his business.
   Anne's diary entries are written to a fictitious girl named "Kitty" whom Anne treats as her best friend. I can somehow personally connect with the experiences Anne goes through because I know how it feels like to mature emotionally and mentally because of harsh times. To be apprehensive and valiant at the same time is something both Anne and I went through. Due to such events, we both gained virtues and became gallant. This novel or diary made me have a great insight on what struggles actually are and how I should be appreciative with the things I have in front of me and in my life. 

Book Review #2

  In the breathtaking novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, characters grow up under extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. The story covers a span of three years, during which the main characters undergo significant changes. Scout Finch, the main character, lives with her brother Jem and their father Atticus in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, and every family had its social station depending on where they live, who their parents are, and how long their ancestors have lived in Maycomb.
  A widower, Atticus raises his children by himself, with the help of kindly neighbors and a black housekeeper names Calpurnia. Scout and Jem almost instinctively understand the complexities of their neighborhood and town. The only neighbor who puzzles them is the mysterious Arthur Radley, nicknamed Boo, who never comes outside. When Dill, another neighbor's nephew, starts spending summers in Maycomb, the three children begin an obsessive quest to lure Boo outside.
  Scout is a tomboy who prefers the company of boys and generally solves her differences with her fists. She demonstrates the genius qualities of curiosity, wonder and wisdom throughout the chain of events in the novel. She tries to make sense of a world that demands that she act like a lady, a brother who criticizes her for acting like a girl, and a father who accepts her just as she is. Scout hates school, gaining her most valuable education on her own street and from her father.
  Not quite midway through the story, Scout and Jem discover that their father is going to represent a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping and beating a white woman. This action proves the genius quality of wisdom in Atticus because he is fighting for racial equality. Due to this courageful action, Scout and Jem have to tolerate a barrage of racial slurs and insults because of Atticus' role in the trial. This is  relevant to their life and everything they do because they learn to mature and grow up by ignoring the claims being thrown at them. After the trial, Atticus reports that Tom Robinson had been killed in an escape attempt. Scout learns valuable lessons about achieving the ideal of womanhood and carrying on in the face of adversity that day through her aunt's Missionary Society meeting: through this her wisdom is strengthened.
  Things slowly return to normal in Maycomb, and Scout and Jem realize that Boo Radley is no longer an all-consuming curiosity. After the Halloween pageant Scout was embarrassed in front of, Jem and her walk home, being randomly attacked. Jem badly breaks his arm during the attack. As the sheriff arrives at the Finch house to announce that Bob Ewell has been found dead under the tree where the children were attacked, having fallen on his own kinfe. By this time, Scout realizes that the stranger is no other than Boo Radley, and that Boo was responsible for killing Ewell, thus saving her and Jem's lives. This illustrates Boo was a good spirit to the Finch siblings and becomes a great friend of their's afterwards, 
  In conclusion, Scout returns to Jem's room where Atticus is waiting, He reads her to sleep and then waits by Jem's bedside for his son to wake up. The genius quality of wisdom is found in all of the main characters and is displayed through their dialouge and actions. Each and every character faces emotional struggle but somehow learn to overcome their obstacles. I can personally say that Scout and I are somewhat similar because we both matured up by going through harsh experiences. This novel made me have a better insight on life and the relationships I have with people. 

Book Review #1

In the suspenseful novel, "Swallowing Stones" by Joyce McDonald, a tragic accident sets off a chain of events that would later on change the small town of Briarwood forever. Michael Mackenzie fired off his Winchester Rifle on July 4th, showing it off to his best friends. But little did he know that the bullet would end up killing someone. 

There are two main characters within this book; Michael Mackenzie, the accidental killer and Jenna Ward, the daughter of the deceased father. After Michael finds out about the event, his best friend Joe, tells him to keep quiet because he could be imprisoned for it. But throughout the book, Michael 

demonstrates guilt and sensitivity. An example of the character's genius quality of sensitivity is when he felt the guilt once he heard it on the radio's news; he could've thought the best of it and imagine it wasn't him, but he did the complete opposite and deep inside he knew he had something to deal with the incident. The bullet he shot was completely relevant  to the accident, the evidence was compelling. During the course of the book, Michael is going through a lot of emotional struggle and starts thinking on deeper and entirely new levels. 

On the other hand, Jenna consistently has thoughts of "what if" she had done something different he wouldn't have been killed, referring to her father. At first she had wanted revenge for whoever caused the death, so she could fill the emptiness inside her, but later she realizes she wanted to come to terms with herself before she could truly accept her father's death. The death of her father mixes with her personal life when she begins to have panic attacks around her boyfriend. Jenna possesses the genius quality of wonder, they are revealed through her thoughts and actions. An example to clarify this quality would be when she starts hyperventilating in a rest room with Amy, she's insecure being around with Jason and isn't so sure about their relationship. 
In conclusion, both Jenna and Michael's privates lives turn into turmoil with misunderstanding, break ups, new friends and broken trust. All of this mixed in with the normal anxiety of a teenager. Although this plot all starts off with a bullet, I can instantly relate to such feelings, actions and morals. I have gone through many experiences, due to those I've learned to have a small circle of friends I could truly trust and can only consider one girl as my best friend. Everyone changes and no one stays by your side anymore, this novel made me realize and have an insight in friendships. 

I Am A Genius

 As I consider this evidence from the "Awakening Genius" article, it helps me understand that people are different in personalities and traits. Not everyone is the same and not everyone acts alike. It's given me a new perception on how my traits affect those around me. For example, I seriously feel that the trait of sensitivity fits me the most because I've grown under harsh conditions in my life, so it opened my eyes at a young age and since then I've matured through experience. The fact that these experiences have made me grow into the young lady I am now, I had to endure a lot of feelings, like doubting myself or pushing myself to become more. I've seen a lot in my life and the article made me understand why most things affect me. According to the article, "The sensitivity of children and adolescents allows them to be more deeply affected by great works of art, music, dance, and literature, and to be moved by the events of history and the discoveries of science and math." This point proves that maybe sensitivity is a good trait and it helps one develop as a being. It gives you a better outlook on a topic than those who don't possess the trait.