Main Character, Henry, Analysis

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Henry is the main character of the book ” The Red Badge of Courage” and when first introduced, he is refered to as
young soldier” Immediately, this shows how inexperienced he is in battle. In a flashback at the begginning of the book, he is portrayed as a mamas boy of sorts, with the idea that war is a thing of the past. This puts him in a percarious situation when he actually signs up for the military. he wants to make a name for himself, to remembered as a soldier. However, when in battle, this changes. He forgets trying to make a name for himself, he just tries to surive along with his fellow soldiers. Through this act, he breaks this mamas boy persona and becomes a man.

What drew me towards “The Red Badge of Courage”?

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I am rather interested in war novels, which is what intially drew me to this book. At first I found myself hesistant to continue after the first few pages, since the book goes at a rather slow pace. However, after a while i found myself glued once actually introduced the main character of Henry, because after his flashback, it became apparent that it would be a coming of age story. I like coming of age stories since i shows every point of a character growing and evolving. The knowledge of this made me interested in continuing.

What do you think of the author.

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In my opinion, the author takes thing rather slow and takes his time describing every infantile detail, even in battle scenes, which i would expect to be fast pace. It annoys me, because while i respect getting the most detail, i like the plot to advance. When an author is taking entire pages to explain what color a characters hair looks like, i think he need to learn how to trim the fat.If he could do that and more the plot a little faster, it would have been a lot easier for me to really get into this book/

Why is it called “The Red Badge of Courage”

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I think it being called the red badge of courage foreshadows that the main character will do something couragous during the book. In the later chapters, when in battle, he fights furiously against the enemy, when completely outmatched and outnumbered. This shows the emence courage he developes in this book and show the transfer from boy to man. In the end, there was no reason that Henry didn’t deserve the title of veteran soldier.

Revisions and Reflections

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Romeo and Juliet, a classic tale of love, fate, tragedy, and…violence. Lots of violence. This is not your average chick flick filled with comedy and a clumsy, yet lovable protagonist. Not, this one is a suicidal, whining, desperate 12-14 year old who marries a 16-18 year old boy. However, there is a twist, of course, that there families hate each others, and that is were the violence of this classic comes from. This isn’t you kind of neighborly feud to see who has the better Christmas lights, or better picnic, or some other trivial thing, oh no no no, not Mr. Shakespeare.  The beginning scene is just a huge brawl. Yeah, just start out with them talking smack and then whip out there swords and swinging them at each other.

In the second scene, Romeo and Juliet, who have only known each other for a day, get married and, about an hour or so later, Juliet cousin, Tybalt, stabs Romeo compadre, Mercutio. Romeo, not to be outdone, in turn, stabs Tybalt.

It was about then I realized that the people in this story have some anger issues.

In the 3rd scene, nothing truly violent happens, except Juliet trying to off herself.

I did say in paragraph one that she is desperate.

In act 4, the grand finale happens and normally there would be a spoiler alert, but if you know anything about the end of it, you know that Romeo and Juliet end up killing themselves over a HUGE miscommunication.

Miscommunication destroys marriages, people.

Since there is so much violence in this story, its pretty easy to find something to write about in this field. In fact, I would say it is as easy to write about as it is to write about love and all that.

The first piece I chose to post is the poem. Kinda lame, but what are you going to do. Its hard to find inspiration to find something to write about in something that is already written…if that makes sense to you.

Montague boys were

Talking their big talk

When Capulets and the prince of cats

Told them to walk the walk

Bickering and big talk ensued

The outcome. everyone knew

Would end in bloodshed

Everyone pulled their sword

A long sword, rapier, or kris

They swung, stabbed, and jousted

No one ever missed                      

The guards were useless

And peasants stood by

And young fell, slain

This is how they chose to die

Its pretty straight forward, I believe. This is depicting the fight scene in the first scene. Of how the Montagues were all like

“Dang! Those Capulets be a bunch of fools!”

But the Capulets didn’t say nothing, like

“…”

Then the Montagues were all like

“Man, we be smarter, faster, stronger, and better looking then all ya’ll!”

But the Capulets just stood there, like

“…”

Finally the Montagues broke down and were like

“You gonna say anything or what?”

Then the Capulets were like pulling out there swords saying

“BUT DID YOU REMEMBER THESE?!?!”

And the Montagues were all like

“OH CRAP!!”

…

Okay, so maybe I’m paraphrasing there, but that’s the basic idea.

The second one was the letter from act 2. This one was fairly easy, considering in the story, there is actually a part where Tybalt sends Romeo a violent letter…You know, before Romeo whacks Tybalt. So basically, I had to think like Tybalt, the most violent, homicidal character in the entire story. It came out like this:

June, 3, 1666

Romeo Montague

You have quite the nerve to show up to a Capulet gathering uninvited, not to mention your a MONTAGUE and our sworn enemy. Or did you forget this? It wouldn’t surprise me, considering that you Montague aren’t to bright to begin with. If it were up to me, you would’ve died right on the floor in Capulet mansion, but you were, unfortunately, at the mercy of my uncle. However, Romeo Montague, you better watch your back, and don’t be showing up at ANY Capulet gatherings. You may have gotten away with it once, but if you try it once more, it’ll take more than my uncle to hold me back, or to save your wretched life. I think you should acquire the skill to sleep with your eyes open. Or, better yet, don’t sleep, period. Whether you are asleep or awake, I see no difference in the outcome. Romeo Montague, consider this your warning

                                                                                                           The Prince of Cats,

                                                                                                                 Tybalt Capulet

Pretty nice if you ask me. I don’t find it hard to portray a homicidal maniac. And I’m not quite sure if that’s something to be proud of.

Not that that’s out of the way, on to the hard part.

The entire experience of reading Romeo and Juliet has been something else. Mainly because we spent about 2 weeks just learning how to understand what the characters were saying. Once we figured out how to read, it was easy from there. This story certainly doesn’t dance around itself. It’s very straight forward and gets to the point…as long as Romeo and Juliet aren’t together. When they are, things can become pretty redundant.

J:I love you

R: I love YOU

J: But you’re a Montague

R: But I love you

J: and I you

R: But you’re a Capulet

J: I love you

SO yeah. However, this play can be very thought provoking (though usually the thoughts are “What did he just say? Did he just call her a “HO!”?) It really shows how to people can love each other and what ends they’ll go to just to be together

Rushed 2: A post in minutes

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Okay, so I’m need to write something quickly about Vladimir Todd.

Got it. Unanswered questions

  1. What spf sunscreen does he use to go outside?
  2. Why is he to much of a pansy to drink from humans
  3. Why are all vampires in books to much of pansies to drink from humans?
  4. What happens when he needs to go to a dentist?
  5. If a vampire dies an no one is around to here it, does it make a sound?
  6. How would a vampire die if no one is around?
  7. (spoiler alert) how did he survive being staked?

 

Well that didn’t work out to well. Only 7 questions isn’t enough.

Well, I think that this is sort of like my other post. If you have to many questions after the end of a book, then obviously the author needs to explain things a little better. Granted Vladimir Todd isn’t a good example since I don’t have many questions about it, but it is still a good thing to notice in a book.

I mean, if you’re setting up a sequel, I guess you can have questions left to answer, but a lot of books give closure, but still have sequels to them. I.E Star Wars. Sure, it may not be book, but I couldn’t think of a good book example.

Deal with it.

Well this is my last independent reading post, and probably my weakest.

Again, I say, deal with it.

Rushed

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Well, I need to make 2 independent reading posts, and I didn’t read anything during the living histories report.

Well, time to improvise.

I guess I could write more about Vladimir Todd, but its been so long since I last thought about it, I can’t remember anything.

Hmm, idea?

That’s it! I know what to write about!

If isn’t memorial enough to make you remember for quite awhile after you finish the last page, it probably wasn’t the best book. I can still remember a lot from “Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows” which I read LAST YEAR! But I can’t remember much from Vladimir Todd.

Yet again, the reason I could remember more from “Harry Potter” is because I have read every one and have come to know the characters, but for “Vladimir Todd”, I have only read 2 of the books, so I haven’t been with the characters for a long time.

But I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse. I can name several books that I can remember events from that I’ve only read once. I remember a lot of stuff for “Jurassic Park”, and “Saving Private Ryan”, and I’ve only read those once.  So I think that Vlad Todd needs to step it up.

Well, now I need to think of another independent reading post in the last couple minutes of class.

Win or Fail? final; reflection cyber journal

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Okay, so in my last cyberjournal, I lied. THIS will be the last cyber journal I will post. It may also be my last post ever. Hip hip, hooray? I don’t know if I should be excited or sad over the lose of my blog, but even if I’m sad, I think I’ll get over it by having a summer free of doing anything!

So, win or fail.

That is a win

I’m probably going to set up a blog over the summer though, just because they’re a lot of fun to write in. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m probably going to just vlog on youtube, which I think will be easier, but I digress. They’re the same thing just pronounced differently. I would say a clever joke here, but the only one that pops into my head at the time has something to do with booze and Lindsey Lohan.

Put two and two together. Please.

I’m sure what else I’ll miss about school though, for the obvious reasons of tedious assignments, hectic work schedule(took about 20 times to figure it out and spell check did absolutely NOTHING!!!), and then given little to no time to finish the assignments.

Plus, I don’t think I learned anything new in this school year except from class not available from the middle school(like web page in which I probably learned enough for every class) so this school year just seemed like a big reflection year, in which I seemed to doze off to often.

Did I mention that school starts way to early? That has a lot to do with my loathing to this year and school in general.

I was so excited for this school year, hoping it would be something different, but then the order of this school walked up to me and said “ Hey, what did the five fingers say to the face?” and, foolishly enough, I replied, “ I don’t know, what?”

“ SLAP!” he shouted as his five fingers slapped me across the face.

There is absolutely no difference in the school except for the teachers and that we’re the little kids that everyone hates for some reason.

Why does everyone have to be hating on the freshmen?

Oh that’s right, because everyone who does has nothing better to do but try and make them feel better about them selves then make someone a foot smaller feel inferior. Real tough guys.

“Oh, I can bench 280, what bout you?”

“First of all, you said “what bout you” so I think you a syllable in their somewhere. And second of all, I can’t bench 280, but I do know that in order to open a door, you need to twist the knob and push, or!, in some cases, pull” as reply as the Neanderthal of man runs into a closed door.

I can’t wait to get out of here…

SUMMER!(laughs hysterically) May CBJ

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Cyberjournal #?

Date: May 25, 2010

Time:8:29

Mood: Stressed out

Its been nine months since enter this place. I thought I would get easier to deal with the longer I stayed here, but to no avail. Everyday, I glance at the clock, and watch as its hand wave in a taunting manner.

I think I’m losing my mind…

Everyday, unwanted information is shoved down my throat, as my screams of resistance are lost to the reverberations of conformity is the form of voice…

I sneeze, and the person next to me says in a robotic voice “Bless You”, and in the same robotic voice, I say “Thank you”.

…

Is everyone a little creeped out now?

Yes?

Good.

Now for, hopefully, the last Cyber journal I’ll ever have to write. I think I’ll miss writing these every month though, considering they’re possibly the only place I can truly put down what I feel without fear of losing points because I refuse to jump into the metaphorical line of society.

Since I thought all the topics for this month sucked, I’ve decided to choose one of my own (because we can do that!). So my months topic shall be;

How much are you looking forward til the end of the year.

The end of the year still looks like a vague fantasy in the back of my head, and it always does around this time of the year, but it’s approaching faster then most people seem to be able to comprehend. I’m am looking to summer so much, that laugh hysterically when any mentions summer(laughs hysterically). I’m looking forward to it this much
(spreads arm as far as they can go.)

I’MA FIRING MAH LAZOR!!!

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I finished it.

I finished the book, “Vladimir Todd”, and to me, it was boring book.  I have nothing of interest to say about this book, because it didn’t ever really feel important. I never really felt connected to any of the characters, I never cared about their struggles or problems, and I felt the book was a heavy building built on a foundation made of construction paper because the people making it said “ Well, it has construction in the name! DUR DUR DUR!!”.

I hope that their aren’t people like that in this world.

Wait a second, there is…

Anyway, reading this book was like a hurricane was going on, fun at first, but ends in disaster made me feel disappointed, because I had high hopes that it would a half decent vampire books not about angst-y teenagers with emo based problems.

Whats with me and picking out emo books lately?

This book could be way better, I like the idea of story, but there isn’t enough content to keep it interesting enough to keep reading. I reminded me of “Doppelganger” a lot, but reversed. Doppelganger was hard to read at first, but better near the end, while “Vladimir Todd” was fun at first, but turned sour at the end.

Like how I compared “Doppelganger” to broccoli, I will compare “Vladimir Todd” to….Mexican food…yeah, Mexican food.

If you couldn’t figure that last statement above, then you obviously never had a been burrito before…

Still having trouble?

MEXICAN FOOD IS THE WORLDS NATURAL LAXATIVE!!!

…

It makes you go poo a lot…

Was that a little juvenile or sophmoric?

Yes?

Good. 

After all this, however, I will still probably read all the sequels to this book, just because (spoiler alert) it ends with Vlad going all shoop da whoop on someone.

You’re on the darkside now! Stop crying that there isn’t any cookies!!