Books vs. Movies

     When you ask anybody if they think they like the movie version of a book better a lot say no. I personally agree with these people. I am always very excited to see a movie of one of my favorite books. More times than not, I’m disappointed. TIME in partnership with CNN wrote an article discussing the subject asking readers their opinions.

“...readers of a novel have already made their own perfect movie version. They have visualized it, fleshed out the locations and set the pace as they either zipped through the book or scrupulously savored every word. Often they have even cast it.”

     This is right on the nose. All readers do this. They have their own expectations of a book and are most always disappointed. It is very hard for writers to transform every detail of a book to life. No matter how important we as readers think a chapter from our favorite book may be, a screen writer simply cannot include it all.
     There is also the other side of this argument: the people who like the movie better. In my experience the people who have seen the movie and then read the book seem to like the movie better.  Again I think it has to do with the picture people already have in their heads. If they have seen the movie they have all the sets and characters in mind and don’t necessarily follow the descriptions.   
     I don’t think we will ever declare a winner of this battle between literature and motion picture. There is no fact that states the book is better than its movie version or a movie version i better than the book it portrays. It is a matter of opinion. But, if you are asking me my vote is for the book.

My Perfect World

He finally popped the question. I was finally going to have the big family with a loving husband I always wanted. I raced through the streets full of celebrating couples to my mother and father’s home to deliver the news. It was New Years Eve, one of the most romantic nights, and everybody was happy. Of course my parents knew I would be coming. Gregory had already been by the house to ask for my fathers blessing days ago. They had been waiting in anticipation for me to show up at the house all day. They were thrilled. Gregory was handsome, charming, wealthy, and had a wonderful social status. He couldn’t be anymore perfect. I was going to be the envy of every woman in Fairview. The wedding was to take place in the summer. A perfect summer wedding to go with my perfect new life. I loved him and he loved me. We were going to have a big happy family and live happily ever after.

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The months went by tirelessly. It seemed like the big day would never come. My mother, future mother-in-law, and I spent most of our time at planning sessions, cake tastings, and dress fittings. If it would have been up to me I would have had a small wedding with our families and that would have been it. But, I knew that wouldn’t be possible. He had a very high social status in the community and it would have been unheard of for us not to go through the big fancy wedding. It was tiring and I didn’t care for the planning but I never complained. It was all worth it. I would soon be married to the most eligible bachelor Fairview.

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The day finally came. I was so nervous I couldn’t stand it. My closest girlfriends spent the whole day getting me ready. And when the time finally came they slipped me into my dress. The huge ball gown, covered in lace and tool, required all of my bridesmaids assistance to put on. As I walked through the church to where the ceremony was to take place when the world suddenly went dark and I was yanked from behind and led of the church. My kidnapper had defiantly caught me of guard. They had moved so fast I didn’t even see what they had thrown over my head. I was to disoriented too even scream. I didn’t even get the chance. I was thrown into a car and it sped away. The ride was not a comfortable one. The speed was too fast and the turns were to sharp. I was knocked unconscious within minutes. The last thought running through my mind was “I’m going to die.”

I woke as the kidnapper pulled what had caused the darkness off my head. A pillow case. This plain white cloth that had shut me out of the world. I looked into the face of the kidnapper. This man that had taken me from my perfect world and my eternal happiness. His dark eyes were so dark they looked black. He was a big man with broad shoulders, crowbars for arms, and softball mitt hands.

“Who are you? What do you want from me,“ I asked.
“My name is Jeff. That’s exactly it,” he said. “ I want you.”
    Jeff was not a cruel man. He was actually quite kind. It didn”t matter thought. Jeff never released me and I was his prisoner forever.

Compare and Contrast

    Folklore is the traditional lore or legends of a people. The stories are often false or greatly exaggerated. Different cultures have differences in their stories as well as similarities. The stories “Axe Murder Hollow,” from Pennsylvania, “Pink,” from Florida, and “The Maid of the Mist,” have some differences but also have their similarities.
    In a way all the stories I read are quite sad. They all have death in them. The murders in “Axe Murder Hollow” and “Pink” are much more similar than in “The Maid of the Mist.” In “Axe Murder Hollow” and “Pink” the murders are fueled  by a rage jealousy. A ghost axeman, who's wife had cheated him, chopped up a young couple because he was jealous of their relationship in “Axe Murder Hollow.” In “Pink” chokes his wife to death when he become jealous of the young garden hand he believes that is a little to friendly. The death in “The Maid of the Mist” is a bit different. The maid’s village water supply is poisoned by a giant serpent. The people get sick and begin to die.
    Only two of my stories are truly scary. “Axe Murder Hollow” and “Pink” both have murder in them by a jealous husband. The ghost man from “Axe Murder Hollow” haunts that dreadful road and searches for happy couples to kill. The husband in “Pink” kills his wife and gets away with it. He just creates a clever story about his wife leaving him and not coming back. The only scary character in “The Maid of the Mist” is the giant serpent. He poisons the water and waits for the people to die so he come back for them.
    The endings of the stories I read were happy and sad. The ending for “Axe Murder Hollow” was sad. The ghost kills the couple. The ending for “Pink” was sort of bitter sweet. Although the husband got away with murder he tragically died of a heart attack soon after he returned home from his extended “vacation.” The ending of “The Maid of the Mist” was also bitter sweet. The giant serpent was killed and never returned but Heno’s home was destroyed. He did make them new home in the end.
    All folklore has it's own style. Each culture will slight differences in their structure or style. They will also have their similarities such as happy endings and disturbing endings.

Those Are Some Big Kids. Wait.......

    In spirit of Halloween I looked up a few articles concerning the spooky holiday. In the article “Scariest Sight on Halloween? Grown-Ups” R. L. Stine notices that grown-ups are becoming more and more involved with Halloween. He has always viewed Halloween as a holiday when children can dress up in crazy costumes and go out in public to gather pounds of candy without the constant nagging of their parents. This is why when he goes to a haunted house to do research for a magazine article he was asked to write he is astonished to find that many of them do not admit children under eighteen. Later he went to a book store and sees Halloween books only for adults. Or, when he walks past a costume store and all the costumes are provocative adult costumes. In some ways I agree with Stine. I think that the level that adults take Halloween to is a bit ridiculous. But, I also have to think about it through the young adult in me.

“Of course, much has been written about how this generation of American adults doesn’t want to give up its inner child. I don’t have to spell out the evidence — it’s everywhere — that grownups want to be kids for as long as they can possibly get away with it. And who can blame us?
But ... no kids admitted to a Halloween haunted house? Talk about a hatchet blow to the head.”

    I can say that I only partly agree with this situation. The haunted house might be scary for very little kids but I’m fifteen years old. I think I am old enough to go into a haunted house that is scary. The scary aspects are a major part of the Halloween tradition. I wouldn’t want to miss out on it. I can also see this from the adult perspective. They don’t want to have to make there haunted houses any less scary for younger kids and loose some of their adult customers.

“Farther down Broadway, I saw a Halloween costume store. Yes, you guessed it — there were no princess costumes with sparkling tiaras, no duck costumes with fuzzy tails. I saw a lot of flimsy negligees as well as studded black leather outfits with handcuffs and whips. A popular item seemed to be fake, black, curly chest hair for men.
I returned to my apartment disheartened. Perhaps in a few years, I would write a 10-year-old character who described his Halloween like this:
‘Best Halloween ever! First, Mom and Dad let my sister and me help decorate the house for their party. Then, they said we could help them get into their costumes! Totally awesome!’”

    I can say that I absolutely agree with his sediment here. I know that adults don’t want to dress up in children’s costumes, but, there is a line that is crossed when adults think of Halloween as an excuse to dress in provocative outfits in public. Adults, you can dress up but there are children around. Please cover it up.

    “I walked away thinking, yes, more adults are celebrating Halloween. And, yes, the best-selling costume this year may end up being the BP oilman uniform. But, no matter. Kids live in their own special and private world. And Halloween is still the holiday that proves it.” After hear kids talk about their Halloween plans Stine realizes that while more adults participate in the Halloween festivities, kids still view it the same way they have for years. Kids still love dressing up and hitting people up for as much candy as they will allow.

    I still stick to my thoughts about the costumes and haunted houses but, Stine does have a point. No matter what the adults do, kids still have a great time on Halloween.

I Am Woman. Hear Me Rowr

    Sara Bareilles lit the music world on fire with her hit “Love Song,” a catchy toon about her refusal to write a sappy love song for just anyone. She has continued in this trend with her new angst-ridden song “King of Anything.” In this song she is telling this boy that she doesn’t really need him telling her what to do because she’s just fine running her own life. This idea has been a growing trend with women since the 50’s. Women have started bringing home the bacon for a while now and I say bring it on.

“You’ve got opinions, man. We’re all entitled to ‘em, but I never asked.”  People can tell us how hey think we should run our lives but most of the time we don’t ask. We can take their advise if we so choose but after all they’re just opinions. Sara thinks that he can voice his opinion about her life but she doesn’t  really take into consideration.  Lots of people think used to think that the woman’s place was at home. That’s not the case anymore. More women are in the work force now more than ever. Many have a higher status in companies and society than men.

“But you expect me to

Jump up on board with you

Ride off into your delusional sunset”

Sara is putting life into perspective for the guy saying that life is hardly like the story books any more. She isn’t just going to go along with what he thinks is the perfect world. The classic “Night in Shinning in Armor” type is something we see in the movies. Not to say that their aren't wonderful men out there. But there always has to be a heartbreak before there is that someone that comes along to pick up the pieces and put you back together.

I love this song because it’s not the conventional love song. It has a bit of an edge. What was the norm back in the day is not now. Women have power and strength. “Who cares if you disagree? Your not me. Who made you king of anything? So you dare tell me who to be. Who died and made you king of anything?”

Elizabeth Mace
Mrs. Harmon
Pre-AP English 10
14, October 2010

    My eyes drift open. I can smell the premium roast coffee brewing in the kitchen. I know she’s awake trying to let me sleep in a bit because she knows I’ve had a hard week and because my dad will be here soon to take me home. I push off the multicolored quilt and rest my feet on the light brown shag carpet. It feels soft under my feet so I make an effort to drag my feet as I walk. I open the door and jump as another is forced closed by the air. I guess I’ll never get used to that. I walk into the kitchen and sigh because unlike all the other rooms in the house the kitchen floor has a linoleum floor. She gives me a smile as I walk in and open the cupboard to find my usual white mug with green polka dots. I drop in the Nestle milk hot chocolate mix with water and stick it in the microwave. I sit waiting, tapping my foot anxiously, for the loud “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP” signaling that I can sit and enjoy this delicious treat. Finally the microwave is finished and I take out my mug and breath in the rich coco smell. I walk over to the window by the front door and sit in the plush baby pink chair across from my grandmother. Using it as a hand warmer, I cradle my mug and take small sips so I can make it last. I look out the window and see the cars passing by on Harrison, hearing the faint SHOOOOWSH as they pass by. Why my grandmother chose a house on Harrison Street I’ll never know but it’s ok because she has lived here for so long I can’t imagine her living anywhere else. As usual we sit in our chairs and she tells me stories and memories of my late grandfather and other members of our crazy, eccentric family as I drink my hot chocolate and she drinks her coffee.

Through My Children, I'm Reaching the Goal

After we read Langston Hughes’ poem “I Too Sing America” in class I decided to read some more of his poetry. He writes a lot of poetry about racism, slavery, and troubles that blacks faced.  I found one of his poems entitled “The Negro Mother” and it really moved me. This poem describes the horrors of slavery from a black woman's point of view. She tells about how far blacks have come in the years since slavery and how she prayed for the day to come when her children could read and write and be members of society. Sometimes I don’t think we fully realize how hard things were. Langston really puts in to perspective how parents want their goals to be achieved through their children.

In the first stanza she is telling the story of her life as a slave. She describes it as “the story of the long dark way that I had to climb.” She worked in the field and was “beaten and mistreated for the work” she did. Her children were sold away. She was given no safety, no love, and no respect. Slaves were just property to the whites.

Then you see the hope come through in the second stanza.

“Three hundred years in the deepest South:

But God put a song and a prayer in my mouth.

God put a dream like a steel in my soul.

Now, though my children, I’m reaching the goal.”

When you read this you can tell that she has faith that God will watch over her children and that they will one day be a part of the white society.   
    “Sometimes, the valley was filled with tears,
    But I kept trudging on through the lonely years.”
She hopes that through all her struggles that her children and their children will benefit just as parents do today. I truely believe that parents want better for there children than what they had. You hear about so many success stories of people who have come from nothing and are now living a great life due to all of their hard work and most say that their drive was "to give their kids a better life than I had."

introductory paragraph for style analysis

     In the poem "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes the tones of indifference and confidence reflect the characters nonchalant attitude towards the fact that the family wants him to eat in the kitchen and him knowing that one day people won't care about his skin color. The nonchalant attitude is relflected in the line "They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes but I laugh and eat well." Even though the family is abhorrent towards him and they don't want him eating with them he expects that he will one day eat with them at their table. He knows that they will accept him for who he is and be proud to have him eat with them. This shown in the line "Besides, they'll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed--"