The Old Man and the Sea

 

(made by Maxwell)

    Dozens of miles out at sea, where the shores of Cuba have already disappeared over the horizon, there is nothing but salty ocean water as far as one can view. Yet as one looks closer, they can see that this lonely picture is teeming with life. Birds, fish, marlins, dolphins, and sharks, they are all living in this field of view, searching for food, or trying to avoid getting eaten themselves. In the middle of all the wildlife, is an old man, riding a skiff with a fishing rod, hoping desperately to hook something good after 84 days without a single fish caught. But on the 85th day, one massive marlin would give the old man a chance to break this unenviable streak. 

    The old man, and the events surrounding him, are all the making of Ernest Hemingway, in his brisk novella titled The Old Man and the Sea. Despite being only just over 120 pages long and using simplistic language, Hemingway's novella manages to create a complex main character and a unique atmosphere of loneliness that makes this a great read.

    

   In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway manages to forge an air of loneliness, which makes the book much more engaging to read, as it feels like it is only the old man and his thoughts that are relevant. For one, the only person who interacts with the old man is a boy that he mentors on how to fish. Hence, the only person the old man converses with is the boy and himself. The old man's isolation is compounded by his fishing trip, in which he sails away from all other human life, where the only things left in view are the old man himself, and the sea. This voluntary separation from the rest of society makes the book unique, as the old man is stuck with his thoughts, waiting until he finds a good time to sail back. 

    The pacing of the novella also makes it very fun to read, with large portions of the story being less action-packed, providing time for the old man's mind to wander. This gives us insight to his ideas, his plans, and most importantly, his obsessions on things outside of the present moment. The amount of time that it takes to catch a marlin gives us interludes where we can see what he is musing about, whether it is what his baseball player would do in his shoes, what he wish he had when he came into this fishing trip, or the marine wildlife around him. 

    There are many more reasons that The Old Man and the Sea is a good book, such as the old man's character, the way poverty affects the story, and the ambiance of the sea one can visualize while reading the story. However, what separates this book from the others is in fact the two main points listed above. These qualities make the book enjoyable to read while being able to tell an engaging story, and that is why I recommend that people read this book. 

What Would You Do in a Crunch?

"But now in this second week in a hot July, suddenly shortage wasn't the right word anymore. Shortage would mean there wasn't enough. Instead, there wasn't any. "Vincent hit the nail on the head. "'This,'" he said, "'is a crunch."' This passage accurately describes the situation that the Marrisses are in. Lil, Dewey, Vince, Angus, and Eva, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Marriss all live in this nearly dystopian reality without fuel. Living in New England, the Marrisses own a small farm off of a highway ramp near Elm City. Already living in an unimaginable future, the Marriss children's parents are stuck in Canada because of the Crunch, leaving the children alone at the house to raise two five year old twins, while also taking care of the farm and their father's business. The story details the lives of this family during this difficult time and how it forces them to undergo a lot of character development in learning how to live in a new fuel-less word. The surreal world you are thrown into in Crunch is what makes this one of my favorite books to this day.

Throughout the book we also see how the crunch affects the rest of the world. In just the first few chapters we see that highways are almost completely empty of cars with people and bikes taking its place. The fuel crunch and change in society's transportation sets up many changes and conflicts in the story. One being the new change at the Bike Barn, the family business where the new dependence on bikes as transportation causes a spike in business at the Bike Barn. Vince and Dewey are forced to run the business in its most hectic time ever without the help of their Dad. Society's dependence on biking leads to a new demand for bike parts, which in turn leads to trouble for the Marrisses and their Bike Barn later in the story.

Two themes that are consistently present in the story especially by Lil are responsibility and pride. When her parents are stranded up north, she is forced to take care of the four other children while still trying to pursue her art. Being is eighteen years old, she feels obligated as the oldest child in the family to take care of the rest and is seen as a second mom to the other children causing a lot of responsibility to fall on Lil when the crunch hits. Lil's prideful attitude causes conflict and is shown by her aversion to Dewey's help when he offers to pick her up on a bike when she has to walk home from the city and her aversion to help from others when another family offers to help them cook meals. Throughout the story Lil is forced to find a way to balance her pride with responsibility and taking care of herself and her family. This need to prove herself to her family makes her an interesting character to follow in this coming-of-age story as she learns that only with the help of her family can she pursue her artistic dreams and make it through the crunch.

This book does an incredible job of describing the strange new world of Crunch and how the characters adapt to it as well as hinting at the mystery behind the fuel shortage. Besides being well-told, the story provides incredible imagery that leaves much to imagination in passages like where Dewey bikes down a highway filled with bikes and people rather than cars. This novel is one of my personal favorites and is good for someone looking for a unique and charming book about a quite possible future.

- Kelby

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better...?

     I first read Animal Farm when I was 9 and finished it only with a vague understanding of the message that the author, George Orwell, was trying to present. However, reading it again through the eyes of a brain that is now only 11 years short of being fully developed (25 apparently being the age when the brain is completely matured), was, I have to say, a much different experience. 

    Animal Farm is a tale about the animals on Manor Farm who have become tired of the way they were being treated by Mr. Jones, the farmer, provoking them to initiate a rebellion led by the two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon. The novel most likely alludes to Stalin’s Russia, which was when the Soviet revolutionary-turned-dictator, Joseph Stalin, was in power. In the book, Napoleon is the one who represents Stalin. The other pig Snowball represents Leon Trotsky, who was also a Russian revolutionary and had worked with Stalin until he was later exiled by him. 

The rebellion meant the start of a new life for the animals, a new era of freedom, but the pigs seemed to have a different plan in mind. Right away, there was the question of what to do with the cows’ milk, but Napoleon promptly steps in saying that the matter will be attended to. A similar situation happens with the apples; the animals had expected that they would be shared equally, but it was ordered that all the apples were to be given to the pigs. Squealer, the very convincing messenger pig of Snowball and Napoleon, explains to them why the pigs need the extra sustenance: “‘We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and the organization of this farm depend on us,’” and “‘it is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples’” (Orwell 36), especially in order to keep Farmer Jones away because “‘surely, comrades...Surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?’” (36). 

Earlier, unbeknownst to the others, the pigs had learned to read and write, so Snowball and Napoleon were able to paint the Seven Commandments of “Animalism” on the barn wall that all of the animals were to live by. Unfortunately, not all of them had gotten the hang of reading, so Snowball created an easier phrase to help them remember their main motto: “Four legs good, two legs bad” (34). The saying eventually evolved into: “Four legs good, two legs better” (134) after Napoleon took over (for reasons untold due to spoilers) and was trying to justify his actions that had increasingly become less pig-like. He also changed one of the commandments, “All animals are equal,”(25)  to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (134). These two examples are more obvious cases of how the pigs had slowly begun to take control, but even so, most of the other animals still didn’t recognize how the pigs had manipulated their power and status to the extent that the revolution had lost its meaning. Two of the animals did notice, however. Benjamin, the very old donkey, and Clover, a motherly horse who had her suspicions but doubts herself when she sees some edited “proof.”

 As I was reading, I had a hard time understanding why the other animals couldn’t see what the pigs were doing. It seemed quite apparent, at least from an outsider’s point of view. But I wonder if that was Orwell’s point. If you are within it, it is harder notice it because it is almost normalized. Also, since I am not the one experiencing it, there are no consequences for my opinions, while if an animal were to express their doubts about the leadership of the pigs, Squealer would most likely guilt them into thinking that it is a preposterous idea, and the other animals might treat them like an outsider as well. For example, Benjamin has been around for many years and is the only one who is aware of the pigs’ intentions, yet he chooses to stay quiet. Perhaps he knows that he won’t be able to convince the others and that it might not be worth the fight.                                                                            

Although the pigs start out as the revolutionaries who would lead the animals to freedom and equality, their rules and ideas begin to slowly circle back to ones they had first tried to be freed from. A bit like the revolution of the Cronut. People were unaware of their boredom of regular, everyday food, until the invention of the Cronut. It made everybody excited about this new culinary direction. The arrow was no longer pointing straight; it was now wiggly and pointed nowhere. There were brookies (brownie-cookies), sushi burritos, ramen burgers, and more. A food revolution had started. That is, until somebody took it one step too far, caught up in the competition of new food hybrids, and came up with a Cruffin, a croissant baked in a muffin tin. We had crossed the line so far that we were now back to the normal, everyday food, just in a different shape. Like this odd simile, though much more serious, the animal revolution had begun on a farm that only knew injustice and oppression, and was launched in hopes of changing the direction of farmlife. Yet the final result was ultimately the beginning, only in a different shape. The shape of a pig. 

    I think this book has some very important points and will be an interesting read, especially in these times. I hope you try it.

--Grace

Noreen-Ever Felt Like an Outsider?

 

“You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore. It's a pack.”

As I watched my 7th grade English teacher point to the stack of books we would be reading for the next few weeks, my mind filled with wonder and anticipation. We always read meaningful novels, so I knew our next would be impactful. However, I was not expecting The Outsiders to still hold a special place in my heart today. The coming of age novel by SE Hinton details the conflict between two rival gangs of different socioeconomic status, the working-class “Greasers” and upper-class “Socs.” Greaser Ponyboy Curtis, the teenage protagonist, narrates in first-person perspective. 

“You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you're a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don't stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn't a gang anymore. It's a pack” (Hinton 26). These words illustrate the dynamic of the group we follow. Ponyboy, Soda, Darrel, Two-Bit, Steve, Dallas, and Johnny have a strong bond and mature together throughout the story. There are many fights between the Greasers and Socs. In each of them we see the Greasers protecting each other like a family. One example of loyalty within the gang is when TwoBit takes care of sick Ponyboy while his brothers are at work. Not only do the older members look out for the younger ones, but they all have a deep understanding for one another that is shown in the way they communicate and care for each other. 

The boys are quite literally a family. Ponyboy’s parents passed away in a car crash when he was younger and the other kids do not have positive role models or proper discipline. Therefore, they look to the other members for support. We see their strong relationship during a fight with the Socs. Darry says, "Listen, Soda, you and Ponyboy, if the fuzz show, you two beat it out of there. The rest of us can only get jailed. You two can get sent to a boys' home" (Hinton 117). Darry has no choice but to be the father figure. Although the Greasers take each fight seriously, they understand the consequences some members may suffer from if things get out of hand. They know everyones' strengths and weaknesses well after spending so much time together.

All in all, The Outsiders greatly represents socioeconomic issues and the cycle of violence. I am still touched by the themes of loyalty and support it holds. The Greasers show a brotherhood and deep respect for each other. I recommend The Outsiders to anyone who wants to look at life as an outsider or feels like one. Similar to many teenagers today, Ponyboy also feels like an outsider. He faces many injustices and struggles, but grows as a person, becomes more responsible, and understands life in a deeper way as the story develops. The Outsiders is a classic and touching novel that still holds deep relevance today.

Not-so-fun Facts About America with Howard Zinn

 

    As the average child grows up in America, the curriculum seems to have similar themes throughout the story of America's upbringing. It was a noble, almost romanticized journey by key individuals, who advanced the interests of the 17th century colonies, and then the United States. The expansion westwards in the 19th century was a tale of settlers on a benign journey to the West. The American Revolution was a war against overseas tyranny. And what about the fight for workers' rights and against the monopolies of the Gilded Age? Well, if you only learned through the curriculum of most schools, such a thing never existed. The Civil War, the American Revolution, and the migration westwards take precedence over such topics. 

    Howard Zinn's book, A People's History of the United States, doesn't follow the same sort of narrative, instead telling the other side of the story of America, adding facts that the average elementary school curriculum tends to omit. Zinn tends to focus on 3 main themes within his massive 700-page book, covering them in a more detailed and new light as compared to other history books. Those themes are the fight between Native Americans and Europeans, the cost of war, and economic/social inequality.

    Consider the way Indian-European relations are covered in this book. Over the course of my education, the first time I learned about the true nature of colonial expansion was in 7th grade. I had already learned about Columbus and the Mayflower, 2 consistent topics for social studies classes, many years ago. Zinn's book immediately discusses how Indians were pushed back via a cycle of betrayal and annihilation, in the name of advancing Western Civilization, which was in many ways inferior to Indian societies. The part in which Zinn covers the topic of European warfare against the Indians is perhaps the most engaging and best part of the book.

    Zinn also puts forward a new perspective on many well-known wars with famous battles, of which a decent majority made their way into mainstream history textbooks. He does make some mentions of well-known battles, but his focus is on the individual cost of war, and what this meant for military casualties, civilian casualties, and individuals behind the front. Zinn documents individuals and groups opposing needless wars for expansion, turning the tide of public opinion away from war, to such a degree that 2 well-known wars have ended as a result of public opinion.

    Yet the most striking, and possibly the most controversial, addition that Zinn makes is the consistent theme of a struggle between the wealthy high class, and the working lower class. In the early chapters of Zinn's book, he points out the vast inequality between the wealthy landowners and the servants, laborers, and landless craftsmen. The poor sometimes begin recognizing their plight, and rise up against said wealthy landowners, only to be repressed via a system of polarization, deception, appeasement, and force. Zinn fleshes out the concept of class conflict throughout the book, showing the brief times in which the poor majority, or 'the people,' score victories for themselves, even against the opposition of the wealthy.

    I only touched a bit on the different ways Zinn breaks away from the mainstream narrative in American history, offering a new perspective on the events we know from our years of education. Although A People's History of the United States shows clear bias in its depiction of war, social justice, and class warfare, if you can recognize the fact that Zinn is opinionated on many of these topics, you can read about the history of the United States, except now from the view of the people.

Nightshade City: an unexpected world

   

 From the very beginning of the book Nightshade City the tone and narration is very mysterious. You are thrown into a strange world, not knowing what is going on. The prologue especially leaves you with many questions about the story, such as who are the characters in the prologue are and when it takes place in the timeline. These are some of the questions that made me want to keep reading to find the answers. The curiosity and mystery in the book is one of the main reasons this book is a very fun read.

    The first two characters you are introduced to after the prologue are Victor and Vincent, two brothers. The brothers, after many pages of subtle description can be concluded to be intelligent and dynamic rodents, on the run from a underground society governed by rats. Even in the first chapter the author is able to humanize rats and make them seem almost just like us. Over time, it is revealed through context clues that this underground rat society lies directly beneath a city inhabited by humans, or Topsiders as they are called by the rat society. The city is the source of all of their food and the rats strange names for human objects or festivals, immerse you into the viewpoint of the rats. The story Nightshade City is told in third person, and does not focus solely on one character. The narrator frequently jumps between characters both bad and good, either introducing a new one, or continuing the storyline of a familiar character. The narrator helps express thoughts and goals each characters has, hinting at the possibility of character narratives coming together. The book's hinting and mystery leave you in anticipation, waiting for the next intriguing missing detail the book will throw at you.

    When two main characters, Victor and Vincent, are first introduced they are found running from the authorities in an attempt to avoid being drafted into Killdeer's Kill Army. The two brothers barely escape with their lives and flee to Topside, the rat word for above-ground, when the younger brother Victor questions why they are escaping. Vincent recalls his promise to their parents to protect Victor after they were separated during a flood that devastated Nightshade City and assures him that their parents would not have wanted them to join the Kill Army. This scene sets up the story nicely and hints at multiple adventures ahead for the brothers, one being to reunite with the rest of their family. The other being that the brothers see their escape as a sign that they must make a change in Nightshade City by revolting against the cruel leaders in power. The hinting and foreshadowing in the story set the scene for an exciting adventure to bring justice in an unexpected world.

    Although rats are often thought of as vermin, I think this story is a good reminder through the personification of rats, of the big impact humans have on our environment as well as the effect humans have on animals, which is frequently shown throughout the story. The thrilling and peculiar plot, and the stunning artwork helps paint a detailed image of the setting and characters, and helps immerse the reader even more into the story. I would highly recommend this book to readers who like an adventurous plot as well as fascinating fictional storytelling that will keep you reading. 

Rules by Cynthia Lord

When it was time for me to read a new book, I was not sure what to pick. I had to choose one that was engaging and pretty short since I didn’t have much time to read before my next blog post. I searched through the bookshelf in my basement and found Rules by Cynthia Lord. I remember buying it a year ago, but never actually reading it. The cover of Rules drew me in. It shows a fish in water with a rubber toy floating on the surface. Some recurring themes I’ve noticed in this novel are acceptance, diversity, and honesty. Using these themes, Cynthia Lord tells the story of how Catherine, a twelve-year old girl desperate to fit in with her new neighbor, juggles caring for her autistic brother, David, and befriending a boy with a disability named Jason. This story dives into feeling different and finding acceptance in a sensitive and candid way.

 

After the first couple pages, readers learn that Catherine spends a lot of time teaching David various rules in order to head off some of his “embarrassing” behaviors. One engaging aspect of the book is the way Cynthia Lord intertwines David’s rules in the story. Her writing style uses foreshadowing significantly. Each chapter is titled with a rule that foreshadows the events in it. For example, one of the chapters starts with “No Toys in the Fish Tank.” Later in the chapter, David drops another toy in the fish tank. I’ve also noticed that the rules get more complex as the story goes on. For example, the first one is simply “Follow the Rules,” and one of the last is “Solving One Problem Can Create Another.” Without this format, the novel would not be as meaningful.

 

The format of rules foreshadowing events is crucial in understanding the story and thought process of Catherine. It helps readers realize that she longs for a “normal” life with cool friends, and believes David is getting in the way of having that. This is why she is so adamant in giving her brother an abundance of rules and making him follow them. In reality, she learns that she herself needs to change and accept others in order to fit in. While reading, it was saddening to see David have to follow so many rules. However, I understand Catherine’s motives and she later is not so worried about how others perceive her family. It becomes clear that for any of Catherine’s friends to accept David, she first has to accept him and the fact that her family is unique in a beautiful way.

Overall, this book teaches lessons of acceptance through the act of caring and loving. Although it was an easy read and not as complex as books I would usually take on, I believe it is an important story and can be useful for all ages. Especially with everything going on in our world today, everyone needs to find acceptance for diversity and care for others. Cynthia Lord dives into these topics in a careful and understanding way. No matter who you are, I know you will appreciate the characters and moral of Rules.