26/10/12
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Pages 96-175
1) This section of the book begins with Thomas waking up after a long night of no sleep. Newt wakes him up, and Thomas asks about Runners. This time, he gets answers. He then goes to work in the gardens with Zart, the Keeper of the track-hoes, those who works in the garden and farm. Alby and Minho had gone out early in the morning to check out the dead Griever that Minho had found, but didn't return near their return time. This worried Newt very much, and when dark approached, he and Thomas waited outside the West door for the two missing Gladers. Just as the doors were scheduled to close, Thomas saw a faint image of figures moving toward him. It was Minho, dragging a very disoriented and injured Alby. Minho was screaming that Alby had been stung. It was apparent that they were not going to make it in before the doors closed, and disobeying the #1 Rule of the Glade and Newt's orders, Thomas ran out to them just as the door slammed shut. After Minho shunned Thomas for doing so and the darkness of night set in, Thomas could hear the chilling sound of Grievers coming toward them. Minho fled immediately, leaving Thomas there alone with a near death Alby. Thomas got to work trying to hoist Alby and himself up the wall of the maze using the vines growing on them, and there he waited, about 30 feet above the ground. They waited there, and soon a Griever turned down the corridor they were on. Thomas stayed completely still, but he was panicking severely inside. The Griever stopped right below them, and started to climb the wall. Trying to divert the creature from Alby, Thomas started to swing vine from vine to escape. The Griever began gaining on him, and a couple close calls later, Thomas found himself cornered, facing 3 more Grievers with the previous one still behind him. He decided to go down fighting, and charged the Griever that was chasing him. Thomas jumped over it and turned a corner, running into Minho. Minho told him to be quiet and follow him. He had an idea. Minho led him to the Cliff, an infinite drop off. They would use the same tactic that Thomas used, and wait for the Grievers to charge them. Then they would jump over the creatures as they fell off the Cliff. The creatures approached them, and they did exactly that, nearly dying in the process. The last Griever fell off the Cliff, and the two boys collapsed in exhaustion. As dawn approached, the boys made their way back to the Glade, barely managing a slow walk for they had been sprinting the entire night.The doors opened, and they were greeted by the Gladers, amazed that they survived. The three boys were the only ones to do so. They were escorted to the Homestead, where they were healed, fed, and they slept. Alby was stung by a Griever, so he began the Changing. When Thomas was well enough, a Gathering of the Keepers was held for him. Each Keeper gave their input on what they thought should be done with Thomas, some saying he should be rewarded, and others say he should be put in jail. Minho said he thought that Thomas should replace him as the Keeper of the Runners, which caused an uproar of approval and objections. Gally, a very irritable and mean Keeper, said this was a stupid idea and insulted both Thomas and Minho. Minho pushed him over and warned him, disregarding the respect rules of the Gathering. Gally left in a huff, almost psychotic, warning Thomas that something was wrong about him, and that he'd watch himself if he was Thomas. The Gathering was disbanded, and Chuck ran in, saying that Alby wanted to talk to Thomas. Thomas went to him, and Alby told him that he knew where they came from, and he knew their life before the Glade. Alby then began to strangle himself and twitch. Thomas yelled for Newt, and they contained Alby. As Thomas and Newt left the room, Alby told them "Be careful with the girl." The door was closing, and Alby said "Protect the Maps," and rolled over to sleep.
2) "Newt caught Thomas's gaze and gestured for the door. Thomas had no problem leaving that crazy house-he followed Next out and into the hall. Then, just as they stepped through the doorway, Alby mumbled something for his bed.
Both boys stopped in their tracks. "What?" Newt asked.
Alby opened his eyes for a brief moment, then he repeated what he'd said, a little more loudly. "Be careful with the girl." Then his eyes slid shut.
There it was again-the girl. Somehow things always led back to the girl. Newt gave Thomas a questioning look, but Thomas could only return it with a shrug. He had no idea what was going on.
"Let's go," Newt whispered.
"And Newt?" Alby called again from the bed, not bothering to open his eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Protect the Maps." Alby rolled over, his back telling them he'd finally finished speaking.
Thomas didn't think that sounded very good. Not good at all. He and Newt left the room and softly closed the door." I chose this quote for a few reasons. One of these would be just the fact that this quote finished off a chapter. Generally, author's want to end chapters strongly with some type of cliffhanger ending that has significance, and this chapter is no exception. This ending of the chapter definitely seems very significant, mostly because of what Alby says. Alby had just recently gone through the Changing, which it is rumored that you can see your life before the Glade. Alby says that Newt and Thomas should be careful with the girl, and that they should protect the maps. The girl is constantly being mentioned throughout the book, so you can assume that she will play a big part of the future of the Glade after she wakes up from her coma. Also, the maps are the the most important part of Glade life, and Alby saying that they should protect them is very worrying. Alby's words contain enormous amounts of foreshadowing that one can expect to see later in the story, which makes the quote even more significant.
3) In this section of the book, as well as the rest of the book, I believe that I am very similar to Thomas in the way that he thinks and acts. The first similarity that caught my attention was when Thomas impulsively runs out to meet Minho and Alby as they fail to get to the doors in time. I think of myself to be impulsive sometimes, and never really planning my next move, but doing things strictly from what thoughts flash past my brain. I also think that the way that Thomas thought leaving the two Gladers out there alone was inhumane is comparable to what I would think in that same situation. I consider myself to be equally considerate to other humans as Thomas was.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
1) As I wrote my story, two movies that I have seen previously influenced my story. My story seems to be somewhat of a mixture of these two movies. One of the movies that influenced my story was We Need to Talk about Kevin. In this movie, the psychopath son kills his sister and father, leaving his mom alone to go crazy as he rots in jail. This is similar to my story where Charlie kills his brother and father, but in contrast, Charlie dies as well, whereas Kevin did not. Another story that influenced my writing was Case 39. In this movie, a demon lurks within a child, and in the beginning of the story you believe that this child is very cute and innocent. As the plot thickens you can tell that this child is not so perfect after all. This movie relates to my story because Charlie was thought of as perfect by his mother. It ends up being Charlie that get possessed and kills his family, letting his mother know that he is not so perfect after all, even though he was possessed.
2) I found the end of my story to be the easiest thing to write when writing my story. I believe this was because of the fact that I had been thinking of the ending as I was writing the beginning. I struggled to start my story, and as I wrote it I was thinking on how I would continue my story after the introduction. I had a mental outline, so it was much easier to write now that I had a guideline.
3) I found that writing the beginning of my story was the hardest. I struggled to even find an idea for my story, so actually writing about this idea was even harder for me. The introduction to a story, in my mind, is the most important part because it tells the reader whats going on. It sets the scene, the plot, and gives an initial conflict that you must resolve later in my story. After I had completed my introductory paragraph, it was smooth sailing for writing the rest of my story.
4) I think that on a scale of 1-10, my satisfaction level with the final product of my story would have to be a 7 or 8. I feel this way because I'm fairly confident on how I did, the idea I thought up, and how I wrote it. Even though I am confident, I still feel like there are ways I could improve my story, as always. There is always room for improvement, so that is why there is a lack of 2 or 3 points in my personal rating.
5) I believe that I deserve a high B or a low A for my story. I put a considerable amount of effort into this, and my finished product isn't bad either. I feel confident about my grade for this project.
6) On my next writing project, I will not procrastinate about writing. I will figure out an idea sooner so I don't have to cram in so much writing into a small amount of time. I will try to describe my five senses in more detail so my reader can feel like they are in my story.
2) I found the end of my story to be the easiest thing to write when writing my story. I believe this was because of the fact that I had been thinking of the ending as I was writing the beginning. I struggled to start my story, and as I wrote it I was thinking on how I would continue my story after the introduction. I had a mental outline, so it was much easier to write now that I had a guideline.
3) I found that writing the beginning of my story was the hardest. I struggled to even find an idea for my story, so actually writing about this idea was even harder for me. The introduction to a story, in my mind, is the most important part because it tells the reader whats going on. It sets the scene, the plot, and gives an initial conflict that you must resolve later in my story. After I had completed my introductory paragraph, it was smooth sailing for writing the rest of my story.
4) I think that on a scale of 1-10, my satisfaction level with the final product of my story would have to be a 7 or 8. I feel this way because I'm fairly confident on how I did, the idea I thought up, and how I wrote it. Even though I am confident, I still feel like there are ways I could improve my story, as always. There is always room for improvement, so that is why there is a lack of 2 or 3 points in my personal rating.
5) I believe that I deserve a high B or a low A for my story. I put a considerable amount of effort into this, and my finished product isn't bad either. I feel confident about my grade for this project.
6) On my next writing project, I will not procrastinate about writing. I will figure out an idea sooner so I don't have to cram in so much writing into a small amount of time. I will try to describe my five senses in more detail so my reader can feel like they are in my story.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
21/10/12
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
75-95
1) In this section of the book, Thomas wakes up after a terrible night of no sleep after Ben's attack. He goes to his first training lesson with the Keeper of the Bloodhouse. Keeper is a term for a person who is in charge of each station of jobs in the Glade. The Bloodhouse is where they raise and slaughter animals. Thomas doesn't think he can stomach working there, because the slaughtering is too bloody. When he was done in the Bloodhouse, Thomas was wandering around when a Runner appeared through the West Door, much earlier than usual. The boy collapsed, and Thomas called for help. The boy's name was Minho, and was the Keeper of the Runners. Minho told Alby and Thomas that he had found a dead Griever, a rare sight, and they made a plan to go see it the next day. After this excitement, Thomas went to rest, but was interrupted by Chuck who told him that Ben was still alive, the arrow just missing his brain. He was to be Banished that night. Later, a gathering was held near the South Door where Ben was put in front of everyone from the Glade, and found guilty of trying to kill Thomas. The Banishment continued with each one of the ten Keepers grabbing a long metal pole, attaching the collar at the end of the pole to Ben's neck. As this happened, Ben began to go crazy, begging for mercy and forgiveness. As the doors closed for the night, Ben was pushed out of the Glade, and locked out, despite his pleading. The pole was pulled back just as the doors closed, and Ben was officially Banished, a fate that everyone feared. Thomas felt bad for he was the reason of this Banishment, and found himself crying.
2) "With one last violent effort, Ben was finally able to twist his neck in the circle of leather so that his whole body turned to face he Gladers. Thomas couldn't believe he was still looking upon a human being-the madness in Ben's eyes, the phlegm flying form his mouth, the pale skin stretched taut across his veins and bones. he looked as alien as anything Thomas could imagine.
'Hold!" Alby shouted.
Ben screamed then, without pause, a sound so piercing that Thomas covered his ears. It was a bestial, lunatic cry, surely ripping the boy's vocal cords to shreds. At the last second, the front Keeper somehow loosened the larger pole from the piece attached to Ben and yanked it back into the Glade, leaving the boy to his Banishment. Ben's final screams were cut off when the walls closed with a terrible boom.
Thomas squeezed his eyes shut and was surprised to feel tears trickling down his cheeks" (Dashner, 95.) I believe that this quote is important because it shows how animalistic the Glader lifestyle is. This quote finished off the section that I read, and the ending shows a little bit more about Thomas than you know yet. After you read this section, you see that Thomas is actually a very kindhearted person. Although Ben tried to kill him, Thomas feels sorry for him and his Banishment punishment. One could infer from this discovery that Thomas might have to make a judgement later in the story, and his kindheartedness will affect this.
3) Personally, I have a couple connection to the text that I read. One of these connections would be the kindheartedness of Thomas. I believe that if I was put in his position, I would also feel responsible for Ben's cruel punishment. As the Banishment took place, I would probably have feelings similar to Thomas's. Also, it was said that Thomas wasn't fond of the Bloodhouse where they slaughtered animals. Even though I don't mind blood, I wouldn't want to spend every day killing animals with blood everywhere either.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
75-95
1) In this section of the book, Thomas wakes up after a terrible night of no sleep after Ben's attack. He goes to his first training lesson with the Keeper of the Bloodhouse. Keeper is a term for a person who is in charge of each station of jobs in the Glade. The Bloodhouse is where they raise and slaughter animals. Thomas doesn't think he can stomach working there, because the slaughtering is too bloody. When he was done in the Bloodhouse, Thomas was wandering around when a Runner appeared through the West Door, much earlier than usual. The boy collapsed, and Thomas called for help. The boy's name was Minho, and was the Keeper of the Runners. Minho told Alby and Thomas that he had found a dead Griever, a rare sight, and they made a plan to go see it the next day. After this excitement, Thomas went to rest, but was interrupted by Chuck who told him that Ben was still alive, the arrow just missing his brain. He was to be Banished that night. Later, a gathering was held near the South Door where Ben was put in front of everyone from the Glade, and found guilty of trying to kill Thomas. The Banishment continued with each one of the ten Keepers grabbing a long metal pole, attaching the collar at the end of the pole to Ben's neck. As this happened, Ben began to go crazy, begging for mercy and forgiveness. As the doors closed for the night, Ben was pushed out of the Glade, and locked out, despite his pleading. The pole was pulled back just as the doors closed, and Ben was officially Banished, a fate that everyone feared. Thomas felt bad for he was the reason of this Banishment, and found himself crying.
2) "With one last violent effort, Ben was finally able to twist his neck in the circle of leather so that his whole body turned to face he Gladers. Thomas couldn't believe he was still looking upon a human being-the madness in Ben's eyes, the phlegm flying form his mouth, the pale skin stretched taut across his veins and bones. he looked as alien as anything Thomas could imagine.
'Hold!" Alby shouted.
Ben screamed then, without pause, a sound so piercing that Thomas covered his ears. It was a bestial, lunatic cry, surely ripping the boy's vocal cords to shreds. At the last second, the front Keeper somehow loosened the larger pole from the piece attached to Ben and yanked it back into the Glade, leaving the boy to his Banishment. Ben's final screams were cut off when the walls closed with a terrible boom.
Thomas squeezed his eyes shut and was surprised to feel tears trickling down his cheeks" (Dashner, 95.) I believe that this quote is important because it shows how animalistic the Glader lifestyle is. This quote finished off the section that I read, and the ending shows a little bit more about Thomas than you know yet. After you read this section, you see that Thomas is actually a very kindhearted person. Although Ben tried to kill him, Thomas feels sorry for him and his Banishment punishment. One could infer from this discovery that Thomas might have to make a judgement later in the story, and his kindheartedness will affect this.
3) Personally, I have a couple connection to the text that I read. One of these connections would be the kindheartedness of Thomas. I believe that if I was put in his position, I would also feel responsible for Ben's cruel punishment. As the Banishment took place, I would probably have feelings similar to Thomas's. Also, it was said that Thomas wasn't fond of the Bloodhouse where they slaughtered animals. Even though I don't mind blood, I wouldn't want to spend every day killing animals with blood everywhere either.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
14/10/12
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
36-75
1) This section of the book begins with Thomas getting woken up by one of the leaders of the Glade, Newt. Newt shows Thomas one of the creatures that stalks the maze at night. Its a terrible creature that would make you sorry for being locked out at night. After this, Alby, the other Glade leader, starts a tour with of the Glade with Thomas. There is a farm where pigs, cows etc. are kept, taken care of, and slaughtered. There is a garden in another corner of the huge square courtyard, where many different plants/vegetables are grown and harvested. In another corner there is Homestead, a rickety and musty living quarters. In the final corner is Deadheads, a thick expanse of trees, where Alby said there was a cemetery. This sparked curiosity in Thomas. After the tour was over, and Alby had made his point about never going into the maze, Thomas wandered around exploring. Later that day, an alarm sounded. It caused confusion because it was a signal that another new person was coming in the elevator, and it normally happened monthly, not daily. Also, the person inside was a girl, which never happened. She appeared dead, but woke up saying that everything was going to change. A note in her hand also said that she was the last one to come. Ever. This created a state of confusion throughout the Glade, and the girl was put in the Homestead for safety and recovery. Even later, Thomas chose to explore Deadheads when he saw a mechanical mouse scurry into it. He lost the mouse, but then heard sounds and thought something was following him. It turned out Ben, a boy that had been stung by a Griever, a very terrible thing, was following him. Ben attacked Thomas because the sting made him very sick and crazy, and when Thomas was just about to be killed, Alby turned up and killed Ben. If he didn't, Ben would've murdered Thomas.
2) "Then she spoke one sentence-her voice hollow and haunted, but clear. 'Everything is going to change.' Thomas stared in wonder as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell back to the ground. Her right fist shot into the air as she landed, staying rigid after she grew still, pointing toward the sky. Clutched in her hand was a wadded piece of paper. Thomas tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. Newt ran forward and pulled her fingers apart, grabbing the paper. With shaking hands he unfolded it, then dropped to his knees, spreading out the note on the ground. Thomas moved up behind him to get a look. Scrawled across the paper in thick black letters were five words: Shes' the last one. Ever" (Dashner, 57). I chose this quote because it was a very climatic point in this story. Nothing incredibly exciting had happened yet until this girl just happened to show up. Except she didn't just show up. Her arrival was planned by whoever is controlling the Glade. There were three reasons that this occurrence was very weird, interesting, and relevant. The first one is that she is a girl. Every single person that has come from the Box was a boy, until this day. Secondly, the timing of her arrival was odd. Generally, there is a difference of one month between the times that people come from the Box. This time, instead of a month, there is a day's difference. Never has the new person been a girl, came a day after the previous individual, or said the things that she did. My third point is that not only did the girl arrive earlier than expected, she arrived in a manner that was almost frightening. She appeared dead at first, but then when Alby and Newt got her out of the box and laid her down, she immediately sat up and uttered the haunting words, "Everything is going to change." She then laid down and her hand shot up, her fist clutching a note that read: She is the last one. Ever. With the information entailed with this strange girl's arrival, one can draw that something will happen soon, probably involving the girl, and probably Thomas. Because Thomas and the girl arrived so closely together, you can guess that they are connected somehow, and will both be a big part of the plot through the rest of the book.
3) My connections to this section of the text are very sparse. I cannot find anything that really relates to my life. This story is completely fiction. It is not even realistic fiction, so it is very hard to find anything that can be considered a connection. The only thing that I can distantly think of that could be considered a connection between me and this story is the curiosity of Thomas. He follow a mechanical rat, called a Beetle Blade, that is used to keep an eye on the boys, into Deadheads. Like the old saying, "Curiosity killed the cat," Thomas is attacked by Ben and almost died because he was curious and wandered to a secluded enough place. I consider myself to be very curious when it comes to certain things, and sometimes my curiosity is blind. Not to life-threatening situations, but enough that I learn my lesson.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
36-75
1) This section of the book begins with Thomas getting woken up by one of the leaders of the Glade, Newt. Newt shows Thomas one of the creatures that stalks the maze at night. Its a terrible creature that would make you sorry for being locked out at night. After this, Alby, the other Glade leader, starts a tour with of the Glade with Thomas. There is a farm where pigs, cows etc. are kept, taken care of, and slaughtered. There is a garden in another corner of the huge square courtyard, where many different plants/vegetables are grown and harvested. In another corner there is Homestead, a rickety and musty living quarters. In the final corner is Deadheads, a thick expanse of trees, where Alby said there was a cemetery. This sparked curiosity in Thomas. After the tour was over, and Alby had made his point about never going into the maze, Thomas wandered around exploring. Later that day, an alarm sounded. It caused confusion because it was a signal that another new person was coming in the elevator, and it normally happened monthly, not daily. Also, the person inside was a girl, which never happened. She appeared dead, but woke up saying that everything was going to change. A note in her hand also said that she was the last one to come. Ever. This created a state of confusion throughout the Glade, and the girl was put in the Homestead for safety and recovery. Even later, Thomas chose to explore Deadheads when he saw a mechanical mouse scurry into it. He lost the mouse, but then heard sounds and thought something was following him. It turned out Ben, a boy that had been stung by a Griever, a very terrible thing, was following him. Ben attacked Thomas because the sting made him very sick and crazy, and when Thomas was just about to be killed, Alby turned up and killed Ben. If he didn't, Ben would've murdered Thomas.
2) "Then she spoke one sentence-her voice hollow and haunted, but clear. 'Everything is going to change.' Thomas stared in wonder as her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell back to the ground. Her right fist shot into the air as she landed, staying rigid after she grew still, pointing toward the sky. Clutched in her hand was a wadded piece of paper. Thomas tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry. Newt ran forward and pulled her fingers apart, grabbing the paper. With shaking hands he unfolded it, then dropped to his knees, spreading out the note on the ground. Thomas moved up behind him to get a look. Scrawled across the paper in thick black letters were five words: Shes' the last one. Ever" (Dashner, 57). I chose this quote because it was a very climatic point in this story. Nothing incredibly exciting had happened yet until this girl just happened to show up. Except she didn't just show up. Her arrival was planned by whoever is controlling the Glade. There were three reasons that this occurrence was very weird, interesting, and relevant. The first one is that she is a girl. Every single person that has come from the Box was a boy, until this day. Secondly, the timing of her arrival was odd. Generally, there is a difference of one month between the times that people come from the Box. This time, instead of a month, there is a day's difference. Never has the new person been a girl, came a day after the previous individual, or said the things that she did. My third point is that not only did the girl arrive earlier than expected, she arrived in a manner that was almost frightening. She appeared dead at first, but then when Alby and Newt got her out of the box and laid her down, she immediately sat up and uttered the haunting words, "Everything is going to change." She then laid down and her hand shot up, her fist clutching a note that read: She is the last one. Ever. With the information entailed with this strange girl's arrival, one can draw that something will happen soon, probably involving the girl, and probably Thomas. Because Thomas and the girl arrived so closely together, you can guess that they are connected somehow, and will both be a big part of the plot through the rest of the book.
3) My connections to this section of the text are very sparse. I cannot find anything that really relates to my life. This story is completely fiction. It is not even realistic fiction, so it is very hard to find anything that can be considered a connection. The only thing that I can distantly think of that could be considered a connection between me and this story is the curiosity of Thomas. He follow a mechanical rat, called a Beetle Blade, that is used to keep an eye on the boys, into Deadheads. Like the old saying, "Curiosity killed the cat," Thomas is attacked by Ben and almost died because he was curious and wandered to a secluded enough place. I consider myself to be very curious when it comes to certain things, and sometimes my curiosity is blind. Not to life-threatening situations, but enough that I learn my lesson.
11/10/12
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
1-35
1) The book begins with the main character Thomas, at least that's what he can remember, in a pitch black elevator going upwards until it stops at a strange place. Thomas crawls out of the elevator and is greeted by around 50 to 60 other boys, some older than him, some younger. Thomas is tremendously confused for his first day, but from what he's been told, he is now in the Glade, a large courtyard surrounded by mile high walls with door in them just as high. He remembers nothing of his life before the elevator ride and the Glade. A younger boy named Chuck befriends Thomas, and Thomas appreciates it, for in a place so strange he feels good to have someone. Thomas also make enemies with one of the older kids in the Glade, Gally, after he stood up for himself when Gally was harassing him. Just as night fell, Thomas saw 4 boys run in from the 4 doors of the courtyard, one from each wall. He asked Chuck who they were, and he said they were the Runners. It was one of the only questions of Thomas's anyone could answer. For some strange reason Thomas felt as though he was meant to be a Runner, although he had no idea what it was.
2) "Suddenly, the Glade, the walls, the Maze-it all seemed . . . familiar. Comfortable. A warmth or calmness spread through his chest, and for the first time since he'd found himself there, he didn't feel like the Glade was the worst place in the universe. He stilled, felt his eyes widen, his breathing stop for a long moment. What just happened? he thought. What changed? Ironically, the feeling that things would be okay made him slightly uneasy.
Not quite understanding how, he knew what he needed to do. He didn't get it. The feeling-the epiphany-was a strange one, foreign and familiar at the same time. But it felt . . . right" (Dashner, 34). I picked this quot for several reasons. The first one being that it is ironic. Throughout the whole first part of the book, Thomas is incredibly confused with his new life. He keeps asking everybody questions that remain unanswered, because for some reason, everybody is afraid to to answer them. Then, suddenly when he goes to sleep for the time, a feeling of peace and calmness washes over him. Maybe because he's accepted his fate and has a goal for himself, to become a Runner. Another reason that I chose this quote was it leads up to a few pages later in the book, when another feeling comes to Thomas. He feels as though he has been there before. The Glade feels familiar. If he hadn't had the feeling in the quote and got the initial overall confusion, he may not have realized that he had been before.
3) Connections to the text for me are sparse, but I could make a couple distant connections. One of these would be that the main character in the story is transported to a completely new place that he's never seen or been to before. Similarly, I've been transported to an entirely new place. I've moved from my home town of Washington Island. I've come to a completely new school and am now living in a new house that I've never seen before. My final connection to the text includes that of Thomas's friend Chuck. In such a strange and foreign place, Thomas is still able to find friends. Similar to this, I've found friends at Gibraltar, even though I'm new. From this, one can draw that if you try, friendships can be made no matter what scenario or situation.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
1-35
1) The book begins with the main character Thomas, at least that's what he can remember, in a pitch black elevator going upwards until it stops at a strange place. Thomas crawls out of the elevator and is greeted by around 50 to 60 other boys, some older than him, some younger. Thomas is tremendously confused for his first day, but from what he's been told, he is now in the Glade, a large courtyard surrounded by mile high walls with door in them just as high. He remembers nothing of his life before the elevator ride and the Glade. A younger boy named Chuck befriends Thomas, and Thomas appreciates it, for in a place so strange he feels good to have someone. Thomas also make enemies with one of the older kids in the Glade, Gally, after he stood up for himself when Gally was harassing him. Just as night fell, Thomas saw 4 boys run in from the 4 doors of the courtyard, one from each wall. He asked Chuck who they were, and he said they were the Runners. It was one of the only questions of Thomas's anyone could answer. For some strange reason Thomas felt as though he was meant to be a Runner, although he had no idea what it was.
2) "Suddenly, the Glade, the walls, the Maze-it all seemed . . . familiar. Comfortable. A warmth or calmness spread through his chest, and for the first time since he'd found himself there, he didn't feel like the Glade was the worst place in the universe. He stilled, felt his eyes widen, his breathing stop for a long moment. What just happened? he thought. What changed? Ironically, the feeling that things would be okay made him slightly uneasy.
Not quite understanding how, he knew what he needed to do. He didn't get it. The feeling-the epiphany-was a strange one, foreign and familiar at the same time. But it felt . . . right" (Dashner, 34). I picked this quot for several reasons. The first one being that it is ironic. Throughout the whole first part of the book, Thomas is incredibly confused with his new life. He keeps asking everybody questions that remain unanswered, because for some reason, everybody is afraid to to answer them. Then, suddenly when he goes to sleep for the time, a feeling of peace and calmness washes over him. Maybe because he's accepted his fate and has a goal for himself, to become a Runner. Another reason that I chose this quote was it leads up to a few pages later in the book, when another feeling comes to Thomas. He feels as though he has been there before. The Glade feels familiar. If he hadn't had the feeling in the quote and got the initial overall confusion, he may not have realized that he had been before.
3) Connections to the text for me are sparse, but I could make a couple distant connections. One of these would be that the main character in the story is transported to a completely new place that he's never seen or been to before. Similarly, I've been transported to an entirely new place. I've moved from my home town of Washington Island. I've come to a completely new school and am now living in a new house that I've never seen before. My final connection to the text includes that of Thomas's friend Chuck. In such a strange and foreign place, Thomas is still able to find friends. Similar to this, I've found friends at Gibraltar, even though I'm new. From this, one can draw that if you try, friendships can be made no matter what scenario or situation.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
If I were to wake up one morning,
and be in the body of anyone I choose, I would be in the body of Michael Jordan
in his prime. Michael Jordan was a basketball great, who was drafted into the
NBA to the Chicago Bulls in 1984. Over his career, he has won numerous awards,
and popularized basketball around the globe. He was a member of the famous
“Dream Team”, a team thought of as the best basketball team ever assembled.
They competed in the U.S. Olympics, and wiped the floor with every team they
encountered. MJ, as he is referred to sometimes, won the Slam Dunk Contest,
using his signature dunk to win. MJ would run from and leap from the free throw
line, dunking the basketball. This dunk one him the dunk contest, and is his
logo for his clothing and shoe line, Air Jordan. In his career he developed
several nicknames, “His Airness”, “Air Jordan”, etc. His leaping ability was
widely known. Aside from basketball, Michael Jordan became an icon for various
brands, selling the products on TV. Some of the brands that he worked for
included Nike, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, and many others. The face of Michael Jordan
became so popular that he even starred in a movie, Space Jam. Although his
basketball career was shortly interrupted by a year in the MLB, he returned to
play for several years after, winning 3 more NBA championships, on top of his
already acquired 3. The reasons that I would enjoy being Michael Jordan for a
day mostly pertain to me utilizing his body. At 6 foot 6 inches, I would easily
be able to dunk the ball, something that I would have fun doing for an entire
day. With the athletic talent of Michael Jordan, I could go to the basketball
court, and entertain myself all day if I chose to. Personally, basketball is my
favorite sport. If I would be able to spend a day in the body of arguably the
best basketball player in history’s body, it would be a dream come true.
Choice #1
I don't usually watch scary movies. If i do, it's mostly because I just do it because my friends were. I don't sleep well to begin with, and having nightmares after scary movies doesn't help. If I were to choose a movie that I was incredibly freaked out by, it would probably be Case 39. In the movie, Renee Zellweger portrays a social worker that gets assigned a case on top of her already growing case list. This case happens to be Case 39, where the title comes from. The social worker goes to the household of the alleged abused child, and there she talks to the parents about the complaint and what they can do to help out the abusive situation. The usual social worker spiel. From the first time she walked into the home, the social worker, Emily, could tell that something was off in this house. The parents were reluctant to talk. The child was afraid to talk. Emily grows to like to child in the time she spends with her in her continuing visits, and when the family comes to the agency to talk about their relationship with their child. When the child gets to talk to the workers by herself, she sees her father give her a death glare through the window, and shuts her mouth, too frightened to say anything. This makes Emily’s superiors believe that Emily is chasing a dead end of a case, which you will find out is the exact opposite. The child goes to get a drink at the water fountain, and Emily follows her, hoping she can discover something that will convince her superiors that this case is important. After Emily asks the girl several questions, the child begins to cry, and tells Emily what her parents do. The child explains while choking down tears that her parents are constantly digging a large hole in her basement, and spy on her when she sleeps. She says that her parents tell her that they are going to send her somewhere. “Where?” asks Emily, finally getting the evidence she need. “To hell.” Emily gives the child her number just in case and comforts the child as she sobs. The family goes home, and Emily feels uneasy while they leave. She tells her superiors that she doesn’t feel comfortable letting the child go back to such a household. That night, Emily’s cell phone rings. It is the child, saying in a hushed voice that they’re coming for her, that she needs help, that she’s scared. Emily calls her friend and superior, the police chief, and they rush out to the house. They break in to the locked house just to stop the parents from burning the child in their kitchen oven. Emily and her friend rescue the child and defeat the crazed parents. The parents are imprisoned, and the child ends up staying with Emily for the night. At this point in the movie, I would imagine most of those who are watching are convinced that the child was the victim and that the parents were just insane and terrible. Emily accompanies the child to school the next day, and falls in love with her. The child begs Emily to stay with her, and that she wants to live with Emily instead of the alternative foster home. Emily promises she’ll do what she can. That day, Emily inspects the very house that she rescued the child from the previous night. The housed seemed pretty normal, except for the strange marks on the parent’s bedroom floor. It seemed like they were drag marks, probably from the bed being dragged to the door to barricade it. There also were 4 locks on the door. Emily figured that whoever was in that room at the time had something pretty strong to hide from. Keeping her promise, Emily went to the board of fostering and asked for the child. After some arguing, she gets custody of the child until another foster family turns up and wants her. Emily picked up the child from school and told her the good news. She brought her home, excited to have made the child happy when her life had been so bleak. Since the child had to go to therapy after her experience, the next day, Emily brought the child to her meeting with the therapist, who was also her good friend. The therapist speaks one on one with the child, and the therapist asks the girl questions he is trained to ask all of the children. This particular girl though acts completely different around the therapist than she does around Emily. She intimidates the therapist, and asks what he is afraid of, to which he replies bees, right after he asks the same question to her. After the session, the therapist talks to Emily, and speaks of her strange behavior. He speaks of a weird feeling that he got from her gaze, something wrong, she intimidated him. With Emily, the child was bubbly, cute, and innocent. It was the exact opposite with the therapist. Emily and her temporary daughter return home to Emily’s, and everything is normal. The next day, the therapist is found dead in his apartment. The only evidence is a phone call that was made by Emily’s cell phone very late in the night. The audio sounds just like a bunch of static, but it is much more. The movie does show the therapist that night, getting a random phone call, and then eventually killing himself after he imagines killer bees coming out of him and attacking him. Emily is devastated by the loss of her friend, but cannot believe that the call was made from her phone, or by whom. Life goes on for the two, but when one of the child’s classmates randomly kills his parents, and doesn’t know why, something seems amiss. Also, it seems very suspicious that the killer received a strange phone call from none other than Emily’ cell phone. At this point, Emily realizes that it must be the child that is making these calls, despite the child’s denial of any questions relating to it. Soon the child begins to act differently around Emily. The girl tries to intimidate Emily, as she did the therapist, because Emily has figured out her secret. This scares Emily, so she seeks answers and goes to visit the parents of the child. She now knew that they were doing the right thing when she first met them. They told her that she needed to show no fear in front of the child, for it is what she uses against you. They also said that they have to get the child at night when she’s sleeping, which she rarely ever does. Emily was dealing with something larger than life, a demon child that could control people and make them do whatever she wanted. Emily knew what she had to do. She had to kill the child. Emily started by putting locks on her door, just as the parents had done. She also stripped the house of anything that could be used against her if a fight started. Instead of a home, Emily’s house became a warzone that was prepared for the child’s arrival that night. The child noticed what Emily had done to the house, and realized that Emily would be trying to kill her. The following events that night included Emily barricading herself in her room that night and the child breaking in and Emily running from her house to escape the evil inside. After accepting defeat that night, Emily went to bed, feeling shaken and scared, horrified at what kind of monster she was living with. This was no girl. It was a demon, a devil within that showed itself if it felt threatened. The movie even shows the girls limbs transform into demon limbs, and other disturbing images are shown that scare the viewer. The following night, the child sleeps, or so Emily thinks. Thinking that the child is sleeping, Emily douses her house in gasoline, going to all extremes to get rid of this terror. She lights the house ablaze, and flees, finally thinking that the child is gone from her life. But just when you think you’ve seen it all, the child appears from behind one of the fire engines that are summoned to the fire. Emily can’t believe her eyes. The child tells Emily that she cannot win. Whatever the child wants, she will get, and Emily will give it to her, or else she will kill anyone that matters near her. Emily sobs, and accepts this defeat, knowing that her life is now dominated by a demon who can do whatever she wants with her. The following day, Emily is driving the child to school, and it begins to rain. Emily, being fairly tired, accidently veered into the wrong lane on the road. She veered back and looked at the child. A scared expression was on the face of the girl. Interesting, Emily thought, I’ve never seen her scared before. Then, Emily realized, this was the key. If she could scare the one who is the master at scaring, this would be the way to defeat the devil. Emily began veering the car this way and that, with every turn the child getting more and more terrified. Finally, after driving randomly around, off a few back roads and taking random turns, Emily ended up at a dock. She pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Her car soared, landing with a gigantic crash as it hit the surface of the water. Fumbling for her seatbelt, Emily cared not of where the child was, she only cared whether or not she would survive. She broke free, and started swimming toward the surface, as the car quickly sunk. As she struggled to the surface, a hand grabbed her by the ankle. This wasn’t a child’s hand. It was transformed into something horrific, a demon hand. Emily, running out of breath, shook her leg ferociously. The hand miraculously released her ankle, and Emily swam to the surface. She submerged, tasting the sweet air of freedom.
I don't usually watch scary movies. If i do, it's mostly because I just do it because my friends were. I don't sleep well to begin with, and having nightmares after scary movies doesn't help. If I were to choose a movie that I was incredibly freaked out by, it would probably be Case 39. In the movie, Renee Zellweger portrays a social worker that gets assigned a case on top of her already growing case list. This case happens to be Case 39, where the title comes from. The social worker goes to the household of the alleged abused child, and there she talks to the parents about the complaint and what they can do to help out the abusive situation. The usual social worker spiel. From the first time she walked into the home, the social worker, Emily, could tell that something was off in this house. The parents were reluctant to talk. The child was afraid to talk. Emily grows to like to child in the time she spends with her in her continuing visits, and when the family comes to the agency to talk about their relationship with their child. When the child gets to talk to the workers by herself, she sees her father give her a death glare through the window, and shuts her mouth, too frightened to say anything. This makes Emily’s superiors believe that Emily is chasing a dead end of a case, which you will find out is the exact opposite. The child goes to get a drink at the water fountain, and Emily follows her, hoping she can discover something that will convince her superiors that this case is important. After Emily asks the girl several questions, the child begins to cry, and tells Emily what her parents do. The child explains while choking down tears that her parents are constantly digging a large hole in her basement, and spy on her when she sleeps. She says that her parents tell her that they are going to send her somewhere. “Where?” asks Emily, finally getting the evidence she need. “To hell.” Emily gives the child her number just in case and comforts the child as she sobs. The family goes home, and Emily feels uneasy while they leave. She tells her superiors that she doesn’t feel comfortable letting the child go back to such a household. That night, Emily’s cell phone rings. It is the child, saying in a hushed voice that they’re coming for her, that she needs help, that she’s scared. Emily calls her friend and superior, the police chief, and they rush out to the house. They break in to the locked house just to stop the parents from burning the child in their kitchen oven. Emily and her friend rescue the child and defeat the crazed parents. The parents are imprisoned, and the child ends up staying with Emily for the night. At this point in the movie, I would imagine most of those who are watching are convinced that the child was the victim and that the parents were just insane and terrible. Emily accompanies the child to school the next day, and falls in love with her. The child begs Emily to stay with her, and that she wants to live with Emily instead of the alternative foster home. Emily promises she’ll do what she can. That day, Emily inspects the very house that she rescued the child from the previous night. The housed seemed pretty normal, except for the strange marks on the parent’s bedroom floor. It seemed like they were drag marks, probably from the bed being dragged to the door to barricade it. There also were 4 locks on the door. Emily figured that whoever was in that room at the time had something pretty strong to hide from. Keeping her promise, Emily went to the board of fostering and asked for the child. After some arguing, she gets custody of the child until another foster family turns up and wants her. Emily picked up the child from school and told her the good news. She brought her home, excited to have made the child happy when her life had been so bleak. Since the child had to go to therapy after her experience, the next day, Emily brought the child to her meeting with the therapist, who was also her good friend. The therapist speaks one on one with the child, and the therapist asks the girl questions he is trained to ask all of the children. This particular girl though acts completely different around the therapist than she does around Emily. She intimidates the therapist, and asks what he is afraid of, to which he replies bees, right after he asks the same question to her. After the session, the therapist talks to Emily, and speaks of her strange behavior. He speaks of a weird feeling that he got from her gaze, something wrong, she intimidated him. With Emily, the child was bubbly, cute, and innocent. It was the exact opposite with the therapist. Emily and her temporary daughter return home to Emily’s, and everything is normal. The next day, the therapist is found dead in his apartment. The only evidence is a phone call that was made by Emily’s cell phone very late in the night. The audio sounds just like a bunch of static, but it is much more. The movie does show the therapist that night, getting a random phone call, and then eventually killing himself after he imagines killer bees coming out of him and attacking him. Emily is devastated by the loss of her friend, but cannot believe that the call was made from her phone, or by whom. Life goes on for the two, but when one of the child’s classmates randomly kills his parents, and doesn’t know why, something seems amiss. Also, it seems very suspicious that the killer received a strange phone call from none other than Emily’ cell phone. At this point, Emily realizes that it must be the child that is making these calls, despite the child’s denial of any questions relating to it. Soon the child begins to act differently around Emily. The girl tries to intimidate Emily, as she did the therapist, because Emily has figured out her secret. This scares Emily, so she seeks answers and goes to visit the parents of the child. She now knew that they were doing the right thing when she first met them. They told her that she needed to show no fear in front of the child, for it is what she uses against you. They also said that they have to get the child at night when she’s sleeping, which she rarely ever does. Emily was dealing with something larger than life, a demon child that could control people and make them do whatever she wanted. Emily knew what she had to do. She had to kill the child. Emily started by putting locks on her door, just as the parents had done. She also stripped the house of anything that could be used against her if a fight started. Instead of a home, Emily’s house became a warzone that was prepared for the child’s arrival that night. The child noticed what Emily had done to the house, and realized that Emily would be trying to kill her. The following events that night included Emily barricading herself in her room that night and the child breaking in and Emily running from her house to escape the evil inside. After accepting defeat that night, Emily went to bed, feeling shaken and scared, horrified at what kind of monster she was living with. This was no girl. It was a demon, a devil within that showed itself if it felt threatened. The movie even shows the girls limbs transform into demon limbs, and other disturbing images are shown that scare the viewer. The following night, the child sleeps, or so Emily thinks. Thinking that the child is sleeping, Emily douses her house in gasoline, going to all extremes to get rid of this terror. She lights the house ablaze, and flees, finally thinking that the child is gone from her life. But just when you think you’ve seen it all, the child appears from behind one of the fire engines that are summoned to the fire. Emily can’t believe her eyes. The child tells Emily that she cannot win. Whatever the child wants, she will get, and Emily will give it to her, or else she will kill anyone that matters near her. Emily sobs, and accepts this defeat, knowing that her life is now dominated by a demon who can do whatever she wants with her. The following day, Emily is driving the child to school, and it begins to rain. Emily, being fairly tired, accidently veered into the wrong lane on the road. She veered back and looked at the child. A scared expression was on the face of the girl. Interesting, Emily thought, I’ve never seen her scared before. Then, Emily realized, this was the key. If she could scare the one who is the master at scaring, this would be the way to defeat the devil. Emily began veering the car this way and that, with every turn the child getting more and more terrified. Finally, after driving randomly around, off a few back roads and taking random turns, Emily ended up at a dock. She pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Her car soared, landing with a gigantic crash as it hit the surface of the water. Fumbling for her seatbelt, Emily cared not of where the child was, she only cared whether or not she would survive. She broke free, and started swimming toward the surface, as the car quickly sunk. As she struggled to the surface, a hand grabbed her by the ankle. This wasn’t a child’s hand. It was transformed into something horrific, a demon hand. Emily, running out of breath, shook her leg ferociously. The hand miraculously released her ankle, and Emily swam to the surface. She submerged, tasting the sweet air of freedom.
What
makes this story so frightening to me is the way that at first, you believe
that the girl is the victim in the beginning. Then, you realize that she is the
evil that is causing the crazed behavior of the parents. The parents also died
in their prison after their daughter caused them to die within their cells. Also,
the settings are very regular, but in the presence of the child, they become
very horrific. The ways in which those who died in this story also add to the
terror.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Group: Evan, Oliver, Kailey, Makenna
We are doing a short skit/newscast.
Responsibilities: Kailey and Makenna will write their part of the script, film their scenes, and be responsible for a general plot summary, description of the main characters, how the setting provides an appropriate backdrop for the story, how conflict shapes the story, and a visualization of the story to show the class.
Oliver and Evan will be responsible for writing their portion of the script, explaining the theme of the story and its relevance, a summary of the literary devices that were found, and explaining what the story teaches us about the human experience.
We are doing a short skit/newscast.
Responsibilities: Kailey and Makenna will write their part of the script, film their scenes, and be responsible for a general plot summary, description of the main characters, how the setting provides an appropriate backdrop for the story, how conflict shapes the story, and a visualization of the story to show the class.
Oliver and Evan will be responsible for writing their portion of the script, explaining the theme of the story and its relevance, a summary of the literary devices that were found, and explaining what the story teaches us about the human experience.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)