Figurative Language is an Important Language to Speak

 

     Today I have decided to blog about figurative language in Divergent. I think I should mention that Veronica Roth isn't one of those authors that fills every page with figurative language. Its not like a metaphor here then a simile and hyperbole over there and then two paragraphs of imagery on the next page. I think it's totally fine too. Not every author has to pack their writing with figurative language to make an effect on the reader. In fact, sometimes figurative language can be over done and it takes away from the story itself. Maybe that's why Roth uses subtle figurative language. There's enough to please the reader and it still allows the plot to be what attracts their attention.

     One thing about Roth's use of figurative language is that it doesn't jump right out at you so you recognize it write away. It blends perfectly into the writing like a chameleon (Did you see what I did there? I used a simile in my blog about figurative writing, I'm so clever). I had to be on alert and looking for it to find some examples to show you guys. One example of a metaphor can be found on page 262. Roth writes, "It makes a lot of sense, which makes me suspect it is a call for revolution wrapped in the clothing of rationality" (Roth 262). Here Tris is talking about an article Erudite released about Abnegation controlling the government. She uses this metaphor to explain how the argument was valid but it had a deeper purpose of trying to start an uprising against the government.

     An example of a personification can be found on page 265. Tris thinks to herself, "Too long-and now, even longer, my heart even louder, his tranquil eyes swallowing me whole" (Roth 265). Tris and Four find themselves staring at each other. Obviously Four's eyes aren't literally swallowing Tris-that would be very creepy. This personification is used to show how deep and strong Four's gaze is and the effect is has on Tris. There is also some imagery in this quote. We can see Four's eyes and hear Tris' heart beat. I really like the small bits of figurative language Roth uses. I don't think she needs to use too much because her story is already so powerful. The literary techniques just enhance her writing to make it even better. Author's definitely should use at least some figurative language so their writing doesn't become a lecture. Figurate language is a universal language that makes sense to everyone.



Readers can be Psychic

     I'm moving further into Divergent and I am loving every page turn! Right now I'm at the part where Tris just got beat up by Peter in their duel, which I believe was a totally unfair match and it was all Eric's fault, who I really don't like, he just gives me this bad feeling and- sorry I'm ranting aren't I? Anyway, Tris and the rest of the initiates have just visited the fence to learn about Dauntless jobs. She had a brief conversation with Robert who was from Abnegation and switched to Amity. Then Four warns her about the decisions she makes. The chapter ended with Four and Tris talking and it really got me thinking...

     First off, I think that Four is really Tobias (the son of one of Marcus who is one of the Abnegation political leaders). Earlier in the book Tris' father eplains the story of how Tobias switched factions. He said, "'Two years ago, Tobias, left us for the Dauntless, and Marcus was devastated'" (Roth 34). Later on when Eric tells Four that Max wanted to meet with him, we find out it was to talk about a job. Eric asks if he's interested and Four replies, "'I haven't been interested for two years'" (Roth 68). Even farther into the book we learn that Four finished first out of all the initiates in his group. The top initiates get to pick form the best jobs in the Dauntless faction. From all of this information I am led to believe that Tobias switched to Dauntless, changed his name (just as he advised to Tris who changed her name from Beatrice), finished first in his group, picked the job he wanted, and that job wasn't the job Max wanted him to pick.

     I also predict that Four and Tris develop a sort of romance. When on her way to the fence, Tris constantly finds herself admiring Four. Tris explains, "Every few seconds, though, my eyes shift back to Four...I do it without thinking" (Roth 122). From her subconscious tendency to look at Four we can start to see her affection growing for him. I also have picked up on some hints that indicate Four has his eye on Tris. When the two are talking at the fence Tris asks him why he left when she was getting beat up by Peter. He replies, "'It wasn't something I wanted to watch'" (Roth 129). We can guess that Four wasn't able to do anything about her getting beat up due to Eric being there and the ways of the faction. However, he may have left because he has feelings for Tris and couldn't bear to watch her get hurt, unable to do anything about it.

     I hope my predictions are right and that I am truly a psychic reader. It helps if you really pay attention to details and pick up on the little hints from the author. Of course it also helps if you see the movie previews do to the show being so widely advertised. And then overhearing your friends talk about the book before you have even picked it up can help with figuring out what happens next too. Obviously I only used the context clues because I'm just skilled like that (*Wink*). I guess the only way to find out if my predictions are correct is to continue reading. Divergent here I come!




Online you can figure out what faction you belong in! Take the Aptitude Test now!

Captivating Word Usage

     I have done it. I have finally done it. I'm reading Divergent! Boy am I glad I have too. I know some of my friends would be proud of me and now they can stop badgering me to read it. I haven't seen the movie yet, I wanted to read the book first. I like to get all the details of the story and then I can better understand the movie. Plus I rather read the book and know the ending of the movie instead of watch the movie and know the ending of the book. Does that make sense? Well I guess as long as I know what I mean I'm good. Anyway, the point is I have started Divergent and so far I love it!

   
      First off can I just ask where on Earth these authors get inspiration to write books like this? I mean Veronica Roth has to have a pretty imaginative mind. And a great vocabulary might I add. One thing that has really stood out to me is her word usage. I am only 60 pages in and yet I have found a bunch of examples of unique words. Here are just a couple that lept to me off of the page:

"We don't need stoplights, either, but in some places thay dangle precariously over the road like they might crash down any minute" (Roth 24).

Precariously means exposed to or invloving danger. Using the word dangerously or unsteadily has been over done and people are used to seeing these words. Using a word not as familiar intrigues the reader. It also really demonstrates the state of the old stoplights. We fully understand how unsafe they seem.

"The reason for simplicity isn't disdain for uniqueness, as the other factions have sometimes interpreted it" (Roth 27).

Disdain means to think unworthy of notice. This word shows how some of the other factions think Abnegation live simply because they don't like individuality. I really like this word and haven't  heard it a whole lot. Again Roth uses her great vocabulary to enhance her writing.

"He and I have been exchanging looks for the past year as Susan and Caleb flirt in the tentative way known only to the Abnegtion" (Roth 29).

Tentative means uncertain or hesitant. This word is a little more familiar than the others I have shown. However it still is a great word to describe the shy sort of flirting going on between Susan and Caleb.

     You can see from these examples what a great vocabulary Veronica Roth has. She uses very nice elevated diction that gives her writing a sense of sophistication. I can't wait to keep reading and see what new words I can discover!



A Letter to the Author

 

Dear Rick Riordan,

 

     Currently I am coming to a close with your novel The House of Hades. First can I just say how excited I was for the release of this book at the end of last year. The Mark of Athena left all of your dedicated readers hanging. I know it's how you keep people coming back to read your work but it creates an agonizing wait to find out what happens next! If only books could be written, edited, and published in a matter of days (sigh). Although, if this were true novels wouldn't have near as much quality as they do!


     There are a couple of things about your writing that I really enjoy. First off, your genre. For whatever reason I love fantasy books. Particularly, I tend to be drawn to books based off of mythology. You can see that The House of Hades fits comfortably under this category. Greek mythology really intrigues me. I enjoyed your Percy Jackson books and when I saw the Heroes of Olympus series I just had to get my hands on the books. It's really cool how you included Roman mythology this time and connected it with the Greek mythology. The fact that you incorporate mythology into modern life and include details of historical events is really creative.


     Your use of literary techniques is always really impressive as well. On almost every page you found an exciting way to describe a setting, character, mood of a scene, etc. For example you wrote, "In the fiery light of the Titan's armor, her Death Mist disguise made her look like a burning ghoul" (Riordan 471). In this single sentence you use not one, but two, that's right two techniques. You describe the Titans armor using imagery so we can picture how bright it glows. You also used a simile to explain what Annabeth looked like after spending so much time in Tartarus. Of course you know why you used these techniques (I am simply explaining for the benefit of my blog readers who also get to view this letter).


    One more thing that I really enjoy about your work is how you put personality in your characters. I feel like I know each demigod very well. You use direct and indirect characterization throughout the whole book. Readers are told what people look like and we learn their character traits when we see how they react in certain situations and around other people. Towards the end of the book Leo meets a goddess Calypso and we learn a little more about him from their encounter. You wrote, "But Leo? He was the annoying guest she couldn't get rid of. She'd never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league. Not that he cared. She wasn't his type anyway. She was way too annoying, and beautiful, and - well, it didn't matter" (Riordan 379). Here we can see Leo has some self confidence issues. We also can see that he is starting to fall for Calypso but he doesn't want to admit it to himself.


     I think you're a great author. You do a great job of allowing readers to connect to your writing. Your stories leap off the page and come to life. I can't wait to read another one of your novels! Thanks for your hard work and dedication.
                                                         Sincerely,
                                                                           Kayla Stroud

Stand Out Lines

 

       Recently while reading The House of Hades I came across a line that really stood out to me. But before I tell you what it was, let me set the stage of what is going on. Jason and Nico have just faced Cupid, god of love. The demigods were after Diocletian's scepter. It has the power to summon the ghosts of the Roman legions. The only way Cupid will give them the scepter is if Nico spills his feelings. Nico isn't the type of guy who just proclaims he loves someone to the world. In fact, he hardly talks. He is a child of Hades, so he prefers to slink aroung in the shadows. He bottles his emotions up. After reading this chapter I realized how alone he feels-no self confidence. I think many of us know people like this. I think it's our job to help lift these people up, make them feel wanted.

 

     Nico is scared of Cupid and scared of his feelings. However, he knows he has to confess them to help out his friends. I'm not going to tell you who Nico has interest in for sake of spoiling the book, but he does tell. After Nico fesses up, Riordan wrote a line that really stuck out to me. He said, "Fot the first time, Cupid's gaze seemed sympathetic. 'Oh, I wouldn't say Love always makes you happy.' His voice sounded smaller, much more human. 'Sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now. That's the only way to conquer me" (Riordan 292). I think this line speaks volumes. I see it apply to everyday life as wells as the story. This quote propels the plot and gives some insight to what may happen in the future.


     First off let me talk about how this line is relevant to our lives. Most people probably think of hearts and happy couples when they hear the word love. However, with love comes heartache and I think that's what Cupid was trying to say in this quote. At some point in our lives, we may feel the sadness of loving someone who doesn't love us back. Or we may be hurt by someone we love. That's tough. Some people deal with it in different ways. There are people like Taylor Swift who write world known songs as revenge. There are people who cry and watch movies all day eating out of a gallon bucket of ice cream. And there are people like Nico who bottle their feelings up until they can't take it anymore and then they explode. Cupid also says you have to face love to conquer it. I think this means that in order to move past our feelings we have to admit to them first and accept them.


     I this quote also being very important to the book. The group of demigods all have struggles with love. Each one of them grew up without one parent, due to them being a god. Also, within the group there are four couples and let me just say it's hard when at least a few members are in trouble at every moment. They have to risk their lives for each other. If you have read my previous posts I mentioned Hazel, Nico's sister. She may have to die because she loves her friends. It also possible that her brother has to die instead. Then there is Nico who loves someone who doesn't feel the same way. I think now that Nico has expressed his emotion to Jason and Cupid, he may be able to get over it. This quote could also foreshadow some hardship in the future for the demigods because of certain relationships. Only reading will tell!

Connections can be anywhere!

     Today I'm going to take a break from blogging about my personal book. I figured you guys might want to hear about something different than the same old Greek mythology story. After finishing Fahrenheit 451 for class I realized how much it reminds me of a musical I am currently in. The musical I'm talking about is the school show; Urinetown. Yes, I know it's a weird name for a musical. I assure you the plot line is even stranger! This story is seriously messed up- it's a jumble of angry poor people and singing cops and evil businessmen and random outbursts into intense choreography and a not so happy ending- all adding up to pure chaos on a stage.

 

     Urinetown is about a city where a devastating drought has occured. It's so bad that people have to pay to pee. If you can't pay or if you go somewhere else, the cops take you to Urinetown. In truth Urinetown is really them just pushing you off of a building. I kid you not someone actually wrote this into a musical! What is wrong with people these days? The main character is a young man named Bobby Strong. He leads a rebelion to gain free access. Bobby reminds me of Montag. Bobby didn't question the society much in the beginning, just like Montag. Bobby's call for action was sparked when he met a young woman named Hope. Hope is one of those girls who just loves to love. I mean it gets to the point where you wanna yell, "Hope, not everything is rainbows and hearts! Wake up and smell the stench of Urinetown already!" Anyway, after meeting Booby she tells him to follow his heart. Bobby's heart told him that change needed to happen. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag's questioning began when he met Clarisse. Clarisse asked so many questions that Montag never thought. This caused him to begin to wonder about their society. Ray Bradbury writes, "How immense a figure she was on the stage before him; what a shadow she threw on the wall with her slender body!" (Bradbury 9). We can see how large of an impact she made on Montag. In both stories the main character's change was sparked by a young female. Once these characters get their idea of a new way of life, they go to extremes to fulfill their goal.

 

    The plots of these two stories also have some similarities. The main character tries to start a revolution against those they see doing wrong in their society. For Bobby that is Mr. Cladwell, head of the Urine Good Company which controls the public bathrooms. For Montag it is the government/ firemen and their burning. However Bobby gets an entire group of poor people to follow him, Montag only gets Faber's help. The endings of Fahrenheit 451 and Urinetown both are a bit disapointing, at least in my eyes. If there is one thing that bothers me, it's when a story either ends poorly or open ended. Lucky for me Urinetown and Fahrenheit 451 both end in one of these ways (why?!?!?!?!?). Montag fails in his attempt to overthrow the firemen. Also, he never brings back books the way we wanted him to. At least this story has an ending with potential and hope. In Urinetown Bobby gets pushed off a building, so Hope leads the revolution and pushes Mr. Cladwell of a building. Their revolution succeeds however the water becomes silty and unuseable from over consumption. The result? Everybody dies! Yeah no hope there...

   I find it intersting how two completely different texts can have hidden similarities. I mean who would have thought a book about a society that burns literature and a musical about paying to pee could be connected?

Watch the video below to see the Tony awards performance of Urinetown!
Although the title is befuddling, I promise you it has great music!
 

Where Are They Now?

 

 

     Ok, so I realize my title may be a bit misleading. Sorry, but this post isn't like one of those reality TV shows that tell you where your favorite stars from five years ago ended up. This post is about the setting in my book. Well, one of the settings. There are eight characters and each chapter focuses on the journey of one imparticular. Not all of the characters are in the same place and everyone is constantly on the move because of the quest. It makes the story interesting but it can be hard to follow. The only people as of now who are constantly in one place are Annabeth and Percy. They're stuck in Tartarus, the hell for monsters and Titans. This is the setting I am going to focus on.

 

     First off, let me just say that I would never want to go to Tartarus. Some books have really nice settings that you can easily picture yourself visiting. Yeah, not for this book! The only way Annabeth and Percy can survive in Tartarus is by drinking magic fire, which helps them but it burns their throats as they swallow it. The atmosphere is poisonous and the landscape is treacherous with jagged rocks every where. Riordan writes, "They picked their way across the ashen wasteland as red lightening flashed over head in the poison clouds" (Riordan 161). Sounds cozy huh? Not to mention the fact that monsters who have been destroyed are litterally reborn from the ground. They emerge from large blisters on the surface. The two demigods with the help of a friendly Titan have to travel over this deadly landscape into a dark forest to get to the doors of death. To help you picture Tatarus even more both Percy and Annabeth notice that the land seems to be living. The ground is described to be skin like. Annabeth thinks it's the body of the god Tartarus himself. I have to admit Annabeth and Percy are brave to be traveling across a place like that. They are scared out of their minds though, that's for sure. Who wouldn't be?

The Struggle Inside

 

      So you all may be looking at my title thinking to yourself "Is this some kind of  horror film?" or "Woah that's deep". The purpose of my post today is to discuss the conflict in The House of Hades. More specifically the conflict I see hapenning between some of the characters and themselves. That's why I chose "The Struggle Inside" as my title. I thought it was pretty creative and catchy, I don't know about you guys. Anyway back on the topic of conflict. There definately is other types of conflict in the book. For example, the battle betweeen the demigods and Gaea and her monsters. For this post, I just want to focus on the character to self conflict. I think it's more relateable. I mean how many people do you know who are at war with a Greek goddess who is sending a bunch of monsters to kill you?! If you do know some one who has this issue, I would love to hear their story!

 

     One character in particular that I have noticed who is struggling with herself is Hazel Levesque. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto (the Roman form of Hades). Hazel finds out that towards the end of her quest she will have to face an enemy alone. Hecate, goddess of magic, tells Hazel she will have to use the magic of the Mist to defeat her. There is a chance that Hazel may not survive. Hecate gave her three paths to choose. Hazel picks the most dangerous and difficult path. It was the only one that had a chance of keeping all of her friends alive. However, it's the one where she has the least chance of making it. Hazel's half brother, Nico is also a child of Pluto. If they are to succeed in their quest only one of them will make it to close the Doors of Death to stop Gaea. The text says, "Nico had warned her [Hazel]. He'd communed with the dead, heard them whispering things about their future. Two children of the Underworld would enter the House of Hades. They would face an impossible foe. Only one of them would make it to the Doors of Death" (Riordan 32). Talk about a bad day, poor Hazel. All this bad news she's getting is really taking its toll.

     Hazel constantly battles with herself after hearing all of this news. She isn't sure if she has the courage to go on with it all. During her account with Hecate she learns about a path where she and some of her friends could escape and not have to particiapate in the war. "A small, guilty part of Hazel found that appealing. She'd secretly been wishing for the chance to be a normal girl. She didn't want any more pain or suffering for herself and her friends They'd already been through so much" (Riordan 24).There isn't a one hundred percent chance of everyone making it through the quest. Her own brother may have to die for her to servive. Or it could be the other way around. No matter what though she has to decide if she is going to finish her quest or save her own skin. I think reading this, most of us would like to say we would risk ourselves for our friends. However, when our own life was actually in anger, would we still make that decsion? Let me know in the comments below what you think!

For a full explanation of Hazel's character and role in the book click here.



A New Book Brings A New Theme

     Recently I started the book The House of Hades by Rick Riordan. Its the fourth book in the Heroes of Olympus series, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with. I realize not all of you may know what I'm talking about so let me take a brief moment to explain the plot. The story follows seven demigods (kids with one parent mortal and one god) on their journey to defeat Gaea, the earth goddess, so she doesn't take over and destroy the world. Hera, Greek goddess of marriage, home and family, had erased the minds of Jason- a roman demigod- with Percy (Yes, Percy Jackson)- a Greek demigod. She then switched them in hopes that they would bring the Greek and Roman demigod camps together to help defeat Gaea. By The House of Hades Percy and Jason have already met each other and with their five other friends they met on their journeys to unite the camps they set off on another quest to shut the Doors of Death so Gaea can finally be killed.

     Now that we are all on the same page I would like to talk to you guys about a theme I see surfacing in this book. Yes I know I'm only fifty or so pages in but I guess Riordan is just that good of an author that he has made sure to quickly get his message across to the reader. The theme I have found is the power of friendship can be strong enough to help you through anything. Riordan displays this theme multiple ways. One example would be when Hazel was reflecting on the important roles Annabeth and Percy played in their quest. "Percy had been their back bone. He'd given them confidence as they ailed across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean. As for Annabeth-she'd been the de facto leader of the quest...She was the smartest of the seven, the one with the answers" (Riordan 8,9). Here Hazel hints that it would have been very hard to get through some of their challenges without these friends by her side. Another example is when Annabeth and Percy fall into Tartaurus and land in a river that is full of misery. Annabeth hears wispers telling her to give up her struggle and let herself drown, and she almost does. "Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back to reality. She couldn't see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn't want to die. Together they kicked upward and broke the surface" (Riordan 37). Percy grabbing on to Annabeth reminded her that she had a reason to live and to keep fighting.

     Through this theme I think Riordan is trying to tell us two different things. One is that friends are there to help you get through difficult times. They are always there to support you. Two is that if you're ever in a difficult situation you should think of your friends. They are a reason for you to keeping pushing forward no matter how hard the struggle. I don't think we realize how important friendship is. It may sound silly, but I want all of you to take a moment at some point to hug your friends and let them know how much you appreciate them. I'm not kidding! Do it! And if they ask why, tell them Rick Riordan enlightened you.

Blogging Again!
 

   After a long break about a trimester long, I'm blogging again! It's sad to say that I have also taken a break from reading as well. In my defense I have been extremely busy lately.However I am excited to start turning somemore pages. Since I haven't gotten too far into a new book yet I figured it would be much more intersting to blog about one of my favorite books from tri 1. I have to say the book I loved the most was Tigerlily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Anyone who knows me could tell you that I have a major obsession with Peter Pan. Random it may seem I absolutly love the classic Disney character and his story. Tigerlily is a different take on the tale and adds quite an intersting spin. Instead of the story being focused on the adventurous life of Peter, it's about Tigerlily, a teenage native american girl who belongs to a tribe in Neverland.

    Those of you who have seen Disney's Peter Pan may remeber Tigerlily as the native american princess who is saved from Captian Hook by Peter. In Anderson's novel Tigerlily is considered an outsider in her tribe and accidentally crosses paths with Peter in the woods. In the movie Peter flirted a little with Tigerlily and Wendy (whom he had already met) wasn't happy with this. The novel creates a powerful love connection between Tigerlily and Peter long before Wendy is in the picture. However when Wendy does show up it causes some trouble between the two lovers. I guess the reason I liked this book so much was that it was a favorite story of mine but told from a different perspective and had an altered plot. Instead of rooting for Wendy like always, Anderson had me pushing for Tigerlily to come out on top. Anderson also told the story in a very intersting way. It was written so that Tinkerbell, the fairy, was narrating. I have never read anything like it before. I thought it required a lot of creativity to come up with a story such as Tigerlily's and write it in such a unique way. For this I give Jodi Lynn Anderson major props!

 

 

Here is Disney's version of Tigerlily for those of you who haven't seen it.