New Book!

I am very excited that I (finally) finished Water For Elephants. I enjoyed the book so much. As good as finishing a book feels, starting a new one is a struggle for me. I chose to start reading  The Help by Kathryn Stocket. It is known to be an amazing book according to NPR.org "This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird...If you only read one book...let this be it." I do enjoy this book so far because i can tell there is a strong meaning to it and very serious topic.

On the other hand this book is hard to follow along with. In the past few days I've only gotten to about page 20. This is probably because of the context of how the book is written. It is about Aibileen, a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississipi. For example "a" is substituted for "of": page 5 "She set her pocketbook on the chair, kind a itch around in her clothes a second." The word "a" in replacement for "of" is starting to distract me from the book. There are other words like "ain't" and more grammatically incorrect sentences take away from the book in my perspective, but I do understand it is supposed to be Aibileen telling the story and give more insight of the character.

A Word to Describe Water For Elephants

Hostilitiy-

A word that drives this book. And more importnantly drives the characters.
Even Jacob who almost kills August with a knife. We all know Jacob as the innocent protagonist. Havoc broke loose in the circus after August's fight between Jacob and Marlena. I definately did not expect any of these events to happen. Personally I did see Marlena and Jacob together in the end (Especially after reading spoilers) but nothing like this ever crossed my mind.

This book was a little rough to start as i've mentioned in my previous posts. But all the pages I had to read that left me dragging along led me up to this point in the book now. With only 30 pages to go I still have no idea what is going to happen. The thought of getting redlighted crosses every member of the circus's mind. Nobody is safe anymore in the circus especially with the manipulative and controlling 'Uncle Al'.

Problems Ensue...

It turns out August has problems. August's shady actions previous to where i am in the book know hinted towards his actions in the book currently. We all know August seemed weird at first even when he first met Jacob. Everything has escalated to this point where August and Jacob get into a fight. Not only were both of them left in horrible state but Marlena had bruises after August hit her. Of course after he hit Marlena they were over and Marlena reveals her true feelings for Jacob. As good as this sounds for Jacob, August on the other hand loves Marlena but is constantly troubled being Paranoid Schizophrenic. Part of me feels bad for him but due to his actions he is overall a bad person.

All of this drama causes problems for the circus as well. Not only have August and Marlena split up but now some new form of love triangle is present. The circus can't afford to loose both Marlena and August cause troubles for every member in the circus, Uncle Al specifically. Jacob is trying to keep August away from his new love, Marlena which is hard considering they are the main act of the show. It is unimaginable how everyone, Marlena in particular put up with August for so long. But things brewed up to quickly and eventually had to spill out into this new mess of a circus.

(August in Water For Elephants Movie)-Not portrayed as a nice guy.

 

Krista: locking into the magic of Legos

This column is about the perks of Legos and how Legos help kids learn and become creative.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

"And out of all those wonderful things that adults want kids to master but never let them learn on their own – process, trial-and-error, deduction, elimination – chaos will turn to order. Meanwhile, a work ethic is built in: If you want to play with the toy, you have to make it first."
This quote has many different uses of syntax and diction within. This whole sentence has 50 words total to make it a very long sentence. There is little punctuation to end the sentence. Instead there are many dashes that keep the sentence continuous. Word choices like "deduction" and "ethic"show elevated diction.
Krista's voice is evident throughout all 3 pieces. "some of us appreciate", "you can't help but worry" and "Really smart parents know", these are sentences that show Krista's opinion without force. She puts her own word into the column without sounding super bias or rude.
To Krista:
Where did you go to college?, Why do you write the columns you choose?, What are your favorite types of articles to write?

Rosie's Affects

In this book August mistreats his animals severely. But most of all he mistreats Rosie. Up until now Rosie is believed to be a stupid elephant that doesn't listen. On page 227 Jacob realizes that Rosie is actually very intelligent. Jacob and Rosie "clicked" once she was brought into the circus especially with Jacob being the vet of the circus he becomes very fond of the elephant, Rosie.

When Jacob catches Greg talking to Rosie in Polish. Rosie then starts to do tricks and performs amazingly when spoken to in Polish. Jacob is astounded and proceeds to teach August Polish for Rosie's future performances. Once August knows this information about Rosie he changes into a completely new person, giving expensive jewelry to Marlena and pocket watches to Jacob. August's new behavior is suspiciously odd considering he hated Jacob before but now buys him gifts and gives him overwhelming praises and thankfulness. Is this just an act on August's part or his a genuinely better person?

Water for Elephants Summary

   This book has followed Jacob Jankowski through his journey joining the circus. Chapter by chapter we see Jacob getting closer with the circus as he tries to gain his respect. Near the beginning of the book the characters in the story didn't exactly like him. Over halfway through the book no, i see that the characters are relying on Jacob in a way; being a "vet" Jacob is always working with the animals and sometimes the members of the circus.
  
   Jacob bravely calls out his circus on page 204 he says; "Of course i'd never heard of the Benzini Brothers before i jumped on your train. Who has heard of the Benzini Brothers? The only circus i'd seen in my entire life was the Ringling Brothers, and they were great." With The Ringling Brothers being a rival of the failing Benzini Brothers this did not go over to well with August who cries and states that he "misjudged" Jacob after he says that insulting quote. Especially since things haven't been going great between Jacob and August and tension is rising I could see Jacob off the train soon.

(A poster for the Ringling Brothers circus during the time this book is placed)