Reaction to "Tuesdays with Morrie"

          From the first day that Mr. Kain gave us Tuesdays with Morrie, I couldn't put it down. I got so into it that I read half of the book in the first night. That is especially impressive considering that I'm not really a fan of non-fiction books on general principle, I'm more of a science fiction and fantasy kind of girl, and I also don't usually like the books we read in English class. However, I actually enjoyed  reading Tuesdays with Morrie. This is probably because most non-fiction books are, in my opinion, boring, and most of the books we read in English are really depressing and disturbing, like The Stranger, and Tuesdays with Morrie isn't. I'm not saying that Tuesdays with Morrie is a feel good book, I mean the entire thing is pretty much about an old man's trip to death's door, but there is so much more to it. 

          This book conects with real life because it actually happened, but not all non-fiction books are as relatable as Tuesdays with Morrie. All of Morrie's lessons are things that people can relate to. Whether it is how to deal with the death of a loved one, how to find meaning in life and make the most out of the time you have, or how to be your own person and not what people and society tell you that you should be. Even if you have never lost someone close to you and think that you know who you are, there is still a lesson to be learned from this book. Teenagers in particular can relate a lot to this book. The teenage years are the time for you to find out who you really are, not just who your parents or teachers want you to be. It is when you find yourself. That may be why I enjoyed this book so much, because I am trying to find my place in this world and I don't neccesarily want to be exactly who my parents want me to be. I love my parents, but that doesn't mean that I want to be exactly like them. They instowed important values in me, and now it is my turn to take those values and use them to become the best me that I can be, while doing what I love.

          There are many literary devices used in Tuesdays with Morrie, including tone, conflict, theme, and foreshadowing. The book uses very basic language, since most of the words are word-for-word conversations between Mitch and Morrie that Mitch recorded prior to Morrie's death. The tone that Mitch uses in these conversations is nothing less then adoring. There are two main conflicts in the novel, one that centers on Morrie and another that centers on Mitch. In the book, Morrie has to come to terms with his gradual death from ALS, while Mitch has to deal with his disillusionment with popular culture. The two main themes of this book are love and culture. Morrie often told Mitch that he needed to create his own culture and that love was the only rational act you can have in life. One of Morrie's many aphorisms that he wrote towards the end of his life dealt with death, saying "When you're in bed, you're dead,". This is foreshadowing because, before Mitch's last visit, Morrie was moved from his study to his bed, where he died a few days later.

"Tuesdays with Morrie"

        Mitch and Morrie discussed many topics in Tuesdays with Morrie. The value on the list that I hold most dear is family. When I say family, I include my closest friends in that because they are like family to me. I hold my family and friends most dear because they are always there if I need them. If I’m having a bad day, I can always count on my dad to say something that he thinks is funny to try and make me feel better. I can also count on my friends to be there if I need advice or just need to talk. My family and friends are my support base and I don’t know what I would do without them.

        In many ways, the value of family was taught to me. My dad has moved around a lot for his job so, for my entire life, we have lived hundreds of miles away from the rest of my family, but every year my parents would use many of their vacation days to take us to visit them. Even now, we normally spend Christmas and part of summer vacation with them. Also, for as long as I can remember, my mom has called my grandma every Sunday so that we could talk to her. For the past few years, my dad has also made time to go and spend several days fishing alone with his dad.

        Throughout the rest of my life, I plan on going home and visiting my family as often as I can. I also plan on making as much time for my friends as possible. I will even go and visit some of my friends if any of us move away after we get out of school. I want to keep my friends and family as close as possible for the rest of my life because I honestly can’t picture my life without them.

Reaction to "Groundhog Day"

There are many films like Groundhog Day that have the same day repeating over and over again until the main character learns some life lesson or accomplishes something. Personally, I don’t think that Groundhog Day was one of the better ones. The main character, Phil, spent many of his repeated days either trying to kill himself or trying to get Rita in bed with him. I think that's a little screwed up. I wasn't until the last few minutes of the film that Phil actually starts to give purpose to the day.

Throughout the film, Phil struggles with two different questions: How does he make meaning out of life? When does life have meaning? These two questions are tied together because in order to make life have meaning, you have to know when life has meaning. At the beginning of the film, Phil is very self-absorbed and thinks that the world revolves around him. This is why he initially uses the repeating day to his advantage by stealing money, eating excess amounts of unhealthy food, and seducing women. All the while he is failing in his attempts to get closer to Rita.

I think that the turning point in the movie, and the point at which Phil arrives at the conclusions to the two questions, is when he tells Rita about his repeating day. She suggests to him that he use the day to try and make himself a better person, and from that point on he does just that. By the end of the film, Phil was able to make friends with many of the townspeople that he had met during the day, and he was able to use his vast knowledge of the day to save the lives of, as well as help, many of the townspeople. He is also able to get closer to Rita.

By the end of Groundhog Day, Phil came to the conclusion that life has meaning when you live for something greater than yourself. He realized that the way to make meaning out of life is to help other people instead of just focusing on himself. I agree with Phil's conclusions because I know that when I do something nice for someone else I feel like it gives me a purpose in life. I think that these are lasting conclusions for Phil because he desperately wanted Groundhog Day to end and the only way that it ended was when he lived his life based on these conclusions. I think that Phil would be too scared of having that happen again to go back to his old ways.

"Whale Rider"

                “Whale Rider” was an interesting film. I feel like I would have understood it a lot more if I had read the book before seeing it because there were a lot of things about the Maori culture that were important to the story that weren’t really explained in the film. Also, I think that it would have made more sense if they had used English subtitles during the parts where they were chanting. That way I could have had an idea of what they were saying instead of just hearing a jumble of sounds that, for all I knew, could have been meaningless.

                On a more positive note, I did like the overall theme of the movie; having a girl as a hero. Koro was originally dead set on the next leader of the tribe being a boy, like all of the leaders before him. Because of that, he couldn’t open his eyes and see that his granddaughter, Pai, was the true leader. He only acknowledged that she was the next leader after she rode the whale. I appreciated that the author was trying to make a point about how, in the modern world, more men need to adjust to the fact that women are becoming more equal to men. They need to let go of the old ways and embrace a new way of life.

"The Horse Dealer's Daughter"

There are many examples in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” that tie into the numbers in “Professor”. The example I chose is that of the pond. The pond reminded me of the River Styx in Greek Mythology which is why the number it ties intois the one titled “It’s Greek to Me”. In Greek Mythology, the River Styx separated the world of the living from the world of the dead. The pond in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” seemed to do the same thing. Mable went into the pond because she wanted to die, and she was close to death when Doctor Ferguson pulled her out. Also, went the doctor resurfaced from the pond, he “knew he was in the world” meaning that the pond was some unearthly place, like the River Styx. On top of all this, the River Styx means “River of hate”, and when Mable walked into the pond, she hated her father, her brothers, and quite frankly, the entire world, because of the debt and the fact that the horse farm was getting taken away. All of this is why I think the pond is a great example of the “It’s Greek to Me” number in “Professor”.

Why is it, or why isn't it, appropriate to share one's opinion with others?

       There are times when it is important for you to share your opinions with others, and there are times when it is better if you keep your opinions to yourself. If you are working in a group on a project, either for work or for school, it is important that you voice your opinion so that the project contains some of your ideas. Also, if someone asks for your opinion on something, as long as the answer isn't going to hurt their feelings, you should give them your honest opinion.
       On the other hand, if your opinion is going to hurt someone's feelings, it is better if you keep it to yourself. I'm not saying that you should lie to the person who is asking, but you should find some answer that is both truthfull and doesn't hurt their feelings. Also, if you are very opinionated on some really heated topics, unless you want to get in trouble at school, work, or even with the government depending on what the topic is, you should probably keep it to yourself.