Catcher: Second Post

I just finished "The Catcher in the Rye" and honestly, I haven't decided whether I liked it or not. As I said in the last post, I enjoyed the writing style. The author, J.D. Salinger, used repetition a lot, and it really interested me. I also liked the way Holden would talk, using curses and what not.. it seemed more realistic then the way most books portray guys his age. But the first thought that came to my head when I put the book down was .. "What was the point?" I am still trying to figure out the plot to this story, or the climax.. or any of the normal stages a book should have. There was no distinct beginning, middle and end.. it was just all bunched together into one 214 page story. I kinda liked it though. It wasn't like the author was trying to follow any writing rules or anything.. he was just writing the story because it appealed to him. Holden's life really appealed to me too. I kept forgetting he was only a 17 year old, rather then practically 25. He was so immature in some ways, involving school and education, but very mature in others. He handled situations very well, and no matter what he knew that his family always came first. He went through a lot in those few days alone in the city, and I think it completely opened his eyes. If I had to predict what happened in his life after the story ended, I would say he applied himself in school and succeeded in getting a job and having a nice life. I loved Phoebe's character probably the most. Even though the reader only meets her in the last few chapters, I find her very interesting and realistic. A little girl always looks up to her older brother, and stays by his side no matter what. She was stubborn, fun and exciting all in one. All of the characters in this book seemed real to me.. not like some made up fictional characters you see in other books. So, in conclusion, I would say I pretty much enjoyed "The Catcher in the Rye" a lot, despite the lack of plot and/or climax. It definitely lived up to the expectations that many people before me have set for it.

*Sorry, I know this is a mess and my thoughts are all over the place(:

Catcher: First Post

When I first began to read "The Catcher and The Rye" I was surprisingly intrigued. I thought because of the boring cover, that this would be a boring book. Yet, I have heard about this novel for years and how amazing it is. Even though I am only about 3 chapters into this novel, and there I really have no idea where it is going.. I have a feeling I will enjoy this book. Holden, the main character, has just gotten kicked out of Pency, an "amazing" private school. He pretty much just doesn't care about his life or where he is going in it, but his teachers try and get the most that they can out of him. I am really interested to see how Holden lives his life and what happens to him when he actually leaves the school. I also noticed how repetitive the book is so far. The characters repeat what they are saying constantly, as if to emphasize what is going on in the novel. I enjoy the way that this author writes his books.

The Bell Jar: Post 2

After finishing the novel, The Bell Jar, I was very happy with it. I loved the way that one second Esther is a happy woman living in New York City and then the next second she is being sent to various asylums. Though I was expecting that Esther was going be insane because of the summary in the back of the book, the way it happened still caught me by surprise. I found it very interesting that no matter how many times Esther tried to commit suicide, she was never able to go through with it. From drowning, to cutting herself, to trying to hang herself.. it seemed as though it was never meant to be. It was almost as though there was some unknown force holding Esther back, and keeping her alive.
One thing I didn't completely like about the novel, was how the author changed from past to present. It usually took me until I was reading for 2 or 3 paragraphs of the part of the novel to understand when the event was taking place. There was no definite show of when the story was taking place at any time.
In relation to the name of the novel, The Bell Jar, it took until the last couple of chapters to learn what the title meant. Esther was trapped in a "bell jar" during the time of her life in the asylums. In this bell jar, Esther was kept in her own world, with no new air to breath. The bell jar was making Esther suicidal because she had no way of escaping the boundaries of the jar. I really enjoyed the way the author used the title in the story.
In conclusion I am very happy with the whole novel. I was constantly captivated and wanting to read more. Even though there is no definite ending, I predict that Esther finally goes back to the life that she used to have. It makes the book more interesting when the reader has to make up their own ending in their head.

The Bell Jar: Post 1

When I was received "The Bell Jar" as my next assigned reading book, I was so excited. From what I heard about it from previous readers, and even from reading the back of the book, I could tell I would enjoy the story. I am happy to say my expectations were completely reached. Even though I have not gotten to the part of the story where Esther actually becomes insane, I am hooked. I love the story behind her, and how she is so different then all of the other girls picked to live in the city. I am excited to see what else Esther will do with her life and how it will effect her in the long run. I am now at the point in the story where she just finished her first date with Constantin, which went better then she expected. I hope that sometime happens between them two because I believe it will make an interesting twist to the story. So, in conclusion I am very happy with The Bell Jar and excited to see what obstacles Esther will take on in her future.

The Bean Trees Post 2

As I said in my last post, I was everything but happy with The Bean Trees yet was starting to be more interested as the book went on. I am sad to say that the interest I held went away very quickly. It took me longer then necessary to finish this book due to the slow plot and lack of a climax.
There were certain parts of The Bean Trees that I enjoyed even though overall I was disappointed. I was very interested in Taylor's character. I admire the strength and courage she had to leave her old life and go some place completely different. She never failed to do the right thing and stand up for what she believed in. I never doubted that Taylor was not the perfect mother for Turtle. Another part that I enjoyed was the story behind Estevan and Esperanza. I liked learning about their past and seeing Esperanza slowly come out of her shell. The connection between Esperanza and Turtle was hard to miss, and as it grow I began to feel even more sorry for the couple and how they had to leave for good.
Many times through out the novel I expected a sort of climax to configure and for the story to take a new turn, but that never happened. I believe it went by very slow and consisted of many unimportant details. I understand that Turtle and Taylor were the main characters, and it was important for them to stay together. Yet, at the same time the many stories around them sometimes seemed irrelevant to me. As soon as something interesting happened in the story, such as finding out that Turtle was sexually abused.. nothing happened. You learned about it for just one chapter, and never heard about it again. This happened a plethora of times through out the novel, and soon it became very disappointing.
I am sorry to say that I personally do not agree with Mrs. McDonald in the statement that this novel will become a classic, or at least not a good one. Overall the book had it's ups and downs, but personally if I was not forced to read this for a grade.. I would have put it down after one chapter.

Blog 1: The Bean Trees

When I began to read "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver, I was everything but captivated. The novel began slowly, emphasizing what seemed to be unimportant details. Yet, as I read on in hopes of finishing at least one chapter, I began to see where this book was headed. Even though parts confused me, and some parts seemed completely pointless, I slowly became interested in the story. The part that caught my interest the most, was the moment when the strange Indian women left a random in child in Taylor's car. At this point in the novel, I was dying to know how Taylor would react and what would happen to her and this new found child. The discovery of bruises on the baby's body shocked me, and I am now very excited to keep reading this book. I hope that it doesn't fail to reach Mrs. McDonald's expectations of being a "future classic"