To Build A Fire

We read this in 6th grade. And it is just a... simple, story. I did not enjoy it then and it was almost worse the second time because I already knew what was going to happen. Compared to the short stories we have previously read... well it doesn't even compare!  The main character is not the brightest guy around and he just bugs me with his very little use of common sense. That's pretty much all I've got to say.

The Odyseey; It's Finally Over!

Well as you all know, we finished The Odyssey! YAY! This week it was actually enjoyable, though. I really liked the part when there was a total massacre of the suitors. They didn't stand a chance! I was a little confused, was the shooting the arrows through the axes inside or outside? I was very confused... But other than that, I really liked the reading this week. I will be a little sad to see some of the characters go, like Odysseus, he was cool, a little deceiving (he never actually told anyone hos real identity until he had too). In hindsight, I realized that Athena was really good at getting involved with other people's business and that just bugged me sometimes! But alas, the book is done, and I am relieved. Peace out!

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

This is a very amusing comedy based on the book The Odyssey. There are three main characters; Everette, Pete and Delmar. Because the movie is based off the book, there are several similarities between the two.

One is, at the beginning of the movie when the trio escapes from prison, they reach a train track and just miss the train that passes. As they stand there looking after the train, and old man in a push cart comes along and gives them a ride.That instance is like when Minerva aids Telemachus and tells him to go search for news of his lost father, Odysseus.

Another is that when ever they are very close to being captured by the police, Everette says, "damn," and then a statement complaining about having to flee. That is like all of the epithets Homer uses throughout The Odyssey like, "rosy fingered dawn".

One more similarity that I found so far is that in The Odyssey, there are beautiful Sirens that attempt to lead people to their death by singing about what the person desired most. In the movie there are women sing to Everette, Pete and Delmar and lead them off to sleep. When they awaken, Pete is gone and a toad is sitting where he was so Delmar thinks that the women turned him into a toad and he is very distressed.

There are probably more similarities, but those are just a few I picked out!

This Week's Reading

Well we read part of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It was... interesting. I had no idea what was going on until the end and let me just say, I was shocked and a little creeped out. I can't believe that they would have stoned a little kid! I wasn't very surprised when I read that it was Tessie Hutchinson who got stoned, just because of how much of a big deal she made about everything not being fair and so on. What was the most astonishing to me was that they made the family of that person throw stones too. It was just a generally depressing story.

And of course I read The Odyssey books 13-17 and that was... well it's required reading. I don't really enjoy the book but we've had to read worse (example: Habibi in Comp. & Lit. 1 :P).

Last Weeks Reading Posted This Week (oops)

Well The Odyssey was ok this week. Very good descriptions and I enjoyed getting some background on Odysseus. His story was pretty interesting.

I really, really, really liked A Good Man is Hard to Find. My favorite character was June Star, she was so funny! I loved some of the things she said like, "I wouldn't live in a broken-down place like this for a million bucks!" She was quite a card. A few things were confusing, like why there was a monkey outside of Red Sammy's restaurant. That threw me for a loop... Also, The Misfit was probably the most insightful murderer I've ever read about. My favorite lines of his (which was my favorite lines in the story) were, "there was never a body that give the undertaker a tip." and, "It's no real pleasure in life."