Uh... Racism

 

             Alright I'm going to be honest this is an uncomfortable topic. I hate hearing about situations where people have been mistreated. I have always had a problem understanding how someone could act so cruel towards others.

             When looking at the history of Japanese interment camps, I am even more disgusted. The fact that the U.S. government could in act such a policy makes me incredibly angry. It is their responsibility to protect American citizens, and they did the exact opposite. In those sorts of times, I believe it is important to always try to keep a steady mind.

            Another example of  America not keeping a level head was during 9/11. The U.S. government did not react as horribly as American citizens did. People all through out the U.S started grouping together an entire culture and said they were all the same. It is this kind of thinking that holds back our society.

 

            The best way I think for us to prevent this problem of racism is to realizes that people who share a similar skin tone, or culture with these individuals, are just as angry about it as anyone. All throughout the Face to Face stories, it was quite clear that those individuals were disgusted by what the terrorist were doing. If we as a society would realize that, these situations of racism would become much more rare.

Happy Halloween!!!

 

now a happy Pug for all of us to smile with
#PugsPreventRacism



If they can get along so can we!

Reading Response number 4:

Oblivion

by Anthony Horowitz

 

Oblivion is the fifth and final book in the Gatekeeper series, a series I have been emotionally invested in a very long time!!! I started reading it at the beginning of sophomore year, read about a third of it, and then stopped. I again picked it up Junior year and read another third of it, only to put it down again. Now I am hopping to pick it up for the final time.

 

the other gatekeepers because they do not know their fate

Why did I not finish the book? Well the answer is I don't want the story to end! I have loved these books for so long that I feel like if I don't know how it ends, it cant be over. on top of that I just know it will end horribly, because the book itself tells you it will!

 

But before I get in to that I will need to sum up four books worth of information in a couple of sentences. The Gatekeeper series is about a group of five teenagers destined to save the world. Each of these kids has a special power they can use. The problem is there is a group of bad guys called the old ones bent on destroying the world. For these next few responses I will try and focus on just one character so as to not have to do to much back story (side effect of jumping in after laying the book aside for a while).

 

Alright so now that that basic information is out of the way the main thing I want to focus on to day is the idea of fate. This idea, and primarily of knowing your fate is something extremely prevalent in this book. The question Horowitz really poses is, "If you knew your fate would you try and change it, and if you knew someone else's would you tell them?"

 

much like how Matt did not have a choice in his fate,
neither did this pug.

 Matt, who could be considered the main character, is the leader of the gatekeepers. He is the oldest, the most powerful, British and all around just a one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about. In the book Matt finds him self in what they call the dream world, a place where the five can meet up and talk even if they are hundreds of miles apart. While there he finds a library and reads a book about his life.

 

Now needless to say this would be kind of a scary thing. After all this means Matt knows how he will die! (this is not a spoiler, the book spoils it self!) When Matt is done reading he must decide what he will do, go down the path that is written, or try to avoid it.

 

Chapter 25

 

Nobody could be expected to go through that. I mean, nobody would do it if they knew how it was going to be.

 

(and then later when the librarian is asking if matt wants him to go get the others matt says)

 

"It doesn't matter whether I'd like it or not. It's what happens. You leave me here. You climb up the tower and ring the bell. The others arrive. We meet outside. And as for you and me, we never see each other again."

 

 

This quote shows just how demoralized Matt becomes after realizing his fate. He eventually decides to go through with what ever will happen to him, simply because he understands there is no out running fate. Matt isn't just left knowing his own fat though.

 



Chapter 25

 

Matt tried to force what he had read out of his thoughts. He wasn't the only one with problems. This adventure was going to hurt them all.

 

 

Matt makes the decision later on, to not tell the others about reading his own story. He believes that the truth would only make things worse for the other four. This brings up yet another interesting question. If you knew someone else's fate, would you tell them? Is that your right? Is that your responsibility? 

 

 

 

Matt thinking about his life after reading the book

 

 

 



All of the cops in this book

Reading Response #3

Don't Blink by James Patterson

Me when I finished the book

I finished this book a couple of days ago and must say i would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers. 

Just to catch up anyone who has not been following these Responses, the book is about a reporter named Nick Daniels trying to find out who murdered a Mob Lawyer. Through out the story Nicks life is put in danger as well as those he loves. 

One of the most interesting parts of this book is the different types of characters Patterson puts in the story. they are the usual charaters you see in a murder mystery, but with their own personal twist. One of the best examples is Bruno Torenzi.

page339

Finally, it came. The bomb, the echo, the birds... everything. Almost exactly as he'd imagined it would be. But Torenzi didn't stop and look back, not for a second. He had no intrest in taking it all in. He didn't feel the need.

He didn't feel anything.

This is one of those charters people love to hate. Torenzi is one of the most important characters throughout the book, working as a hit man for the highest bidder. Patterson provides little background on Torenzi, and it is because of this that he seems like a ghost. I cannot imagine an actual human being that would be as cold as he is. That is what makes this character so amazing. The fact that Patterson was capable of making such an intriguing character with little background yet a major role shows how talented he truly is.

Another character that Patterson does this with is David Sorren a rising political start.

page 355

"This GUY SHOULD be fitted for a cape!" raved the NY post. David Sorren's timing remained just about perfect two days later when he walked up to the podium on the top sep of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse and, with the sunlight of beautiful day beaming down on him, looked out at a huge, enthusuastic crowd and announced his candidacy for mayor of New York.

Sorren is such an interesting character because throughout the story his motives ch

ange, and Patterson never really tells you his plans for Nick until, BAMMM, it's over. Patterson makes the connection of Dacid Sorren to a superhero, a characteristic assigned to a lot of charismatic people. whether they be politicians, friends, or business owners, if you do something good you are instantly a superhero. Throughout the story though Patterson questions just how just this justices seeker is.

 In the end nothing in this novel is resolved, especially characters goals, until the very last page. Every character seems to be caught in a starring contest with the others and they all are waiting for the other to blink before ending the story. So read this book and find out who blinks, and who wins!

Nick when everything goes wrong