Book Review #4

Book Review on Twelve Years A Slave by Solomon Northup

Twelve Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup is germane today since it consists events that are significant to our society. This novel is about the life of a black man, who was enslaved even though he was born a free man. This novel gives readers a different perspective in the fact it is written from a view of a freed man who was abducted and sold into slavery. The author provides us with an interesting perspective into slave life so as to reveal the readers what it felt like to be a slave based on how they were being treated. The events in this book are still relevant today as slavery still prevails in some parts of the world and people's rights being violated by the wealthy people based on their economic status and race. Besides, there are situations that still occur daily where a person is being abased by a wealthy or upper class men. Correspondingly, an event in the book which can be related is when two white men offers Solomon a beneficial work for a circus. Then, he approved the offer without even thinking and knowing that he was being tricked into becoming a slave. Likewise, there are a lot of people who gets scammed and are unaware of the fact that they are being tricked by offering big amounts or other new methods. Thus, I learned that I should always question myself to why I am being offered money and not be avaricious. Also, this will help me hinder from getting scammed or tricked, and being able to handle such situations. 

Moreover, according to the events in the novel, Solomon was kept bondage for 12 years. During that time, he had met a lot of black captives who had been abducted and sold into slavery just like him. This event can be related to our society today, since there is still a presence of sex trafficking which is very similar to the situation that the author mentions. Besides, the way the sex slaves are being treated are similar to how the black slaves in the past were treated. Hence, this is imperative to our society because it shows us how difficult it was for black slaves to achieve their freedom and justice. With that said, this starts to make me think of how some people's rights are consistently being violated in a daily basis. Yet, some people tend to complain about little superfluous things. This novel has also enhanced the way I view things and convinced me to be grateful of not being in these type of situations nor during that time period where there was a lot of ruthless cruelty occurrence.

Book Review #3

Book Review on "The Diary of a Young Girl" By Anne Frank

This novel is about a 13 year old's life experiences during World War II. It discusses about how the 13 year old, Anne Frank, surreptitiously wrote everything that she witnessed in a diary and was hiding from the Nazi authorities. The diary also explains the readers on how she faced adversities and overcame it. The diary of Anne Frank is very important since the events that are mentioned in the diary are still relevant today. The diary is significant as it gives us a message which warns people to avoid wars and how it can negatively affect the people. Therefore, one can see how the diary is still relevant today since there are a lot of Wars occurring and there are people who experience similar situations like Anne Frank. Another circumstance where Anne Frank's Diary is relevant is when the Nazi's were treating the Jews mercilessly and unfair. Likewise, today, racism stills exists and there is still some people who's rights are being violated. Moreover, the children that Anne Frank saw are still relevant today because it shows us how Poverty and child labor still prevails. These events are all significant to our lives and society as well. As it teaches us how disastrous war can be and what the results can be. Not only does it teach us about wars, but it also gives us a unique perspective of what it was like to be living in that situation.

Furthermore, the Diary also plays an important role in my life. It has taught that staying positive in the worst moments can help overcome all of the difficulties no matter how negative the surroundings are. Also, I learned how grateful I am to be living in a hassle free environment where I don't have to witness all of the things that Anne Frank did. Besides, I also feel very blessed to be supplied with all of the daily living stuffs whereas Anne Frank had to live where there was a dearth of education and food and more wars. As one can see how Anne Frank's "The Diary of a Young Girl" is still relevant today and how vital it is towards our society and to our lives considering the fact that we can learn many things and associate from this novel.

Book Review #2

Book Review On "the namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

“My family comes first. Maybe that’s what makes me different from other guys.”

                                                                                                          -Bobby Darin

I chose this quote since it is precise enough to relate the message that the author is trying to convey in this novel. It also describes the importance of family. Contrariwise, the protagonist in this novel lacks the ability of prioritizing his own family. And, rather prioritizing his in laws and his own personal things. Thus, Gogol (protagonist) regrets not doing so. The author in this novel provides us with specific events in the story which  demonstrates the importance of family. The quote above is the perfect example in illustrating the significance of family. This novel has enhanced the way I used to take things for granted and not be appreciative about the things that my parents had provided. I have started to realize the importance of family and how much they mean to me. Also, I have come to realize that every single time spent with my family is precious and rare.

This novel is about how an traditional Indian family (Ganguli) from Calcutta transform into Americans. Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli gave birth to a boy, named Gogol after they moved to United States from India. Ashoke named his son after a Russian novelist who's book saved him in a train accident which he was reading while in the train. As time passed by, Gogol grew up and started to notice that he's name was very odd compared to others. He started to dislike the name that was given to him and wanted to change his name. In chapter 5, he gets influenced in changing his name after seeing that actors, writers, revolutionaries and even the European immigrants, have all changed their names. He names himself Nikhil before he attended college at Yale University. Unlike his parents, Gogol wants to live his life in a western style whereas his parents follow their own Bengali tradition and customs. He starts to neglect his own tradition and customs, and considers himself to be American. Besides, he also starts to look for girls with different backgrounds and not the same as him. According to their custom, they desire their sons and daughters to look for partners with similar backgrounds. Momentarily, Gogol starts to get into a relationship with an American based girl. Slowly, he loses all of his mind on this girl and starts to forget about his own family. Gogol is so focused with her family and spends so much more time with them that he ignores his own family. Unfortunately, he's father passes away and now he is guilty of all the things that he had done. As a result, he leaves his girlfriend and goes back to his family and spends more time with them because he has learned a big lesson about how precious it is to spend time with family.

Book Review #1

Book Review On "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" by Frederick Douglass

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world".
                                                        -Nelson Mandela

I chose this quote because it is the perfect example for this literary work. Frederick Douglass' ability to read opened his eyes to the realities of slavery. Besides, after learning how to read and by educating himself more, he understood that the ability to read was a pathway to freedom. This shows us how education can be used as a weapon to change the world. This novel is about the story of Douglass' life as a slave from childhood until he was free. Also, on how he addresses adversities of being enslaved and racial discrimination with the help of education. Douglass' main objective was to get educated and to bring an end to slavery. In the meanwhile, enhancing the society and creating equality amongst the people. This novel has enhanced the way I view things and convinced me to be grateful of everything that I have and not complain about it. According to the novel, it states slave children during that time were not told anything about their age and were separated from their mothers. In fact, Douglass was not even allowed to go to his mother's funeral nor did he know about her death until later on. This starts to make me think how some people's right are consistently being violated everyday. Yet, we still tend to complain about little unnecessary things. This type of ruthless cruelty still occurs in some parts of the world today and there is nothing to stop them.

The author mentions a lot of the things that the slaves had to confront, but the one that most significantly relates to my life is about the kinds of clothing and foods the slaves were provided. The slaves were provided with very little foods and sometimes weren't provided at all. The children were naked and had nothing to sleep on but a rough wool blanket. Looking at this event, I can learn a lot about myself because sometimes I complain to my parents about getting me a junk food and new fancy clothes. In the meanwhile, some people don't even have these things and some live their daily lives with no good clothing nor food. This makes me realize that I am very thankful to have a family, home and a variety of clothes to wear. As a result, I am starting to view things in a different perspective and by doing this, it allows me to open my eyes and see the mistakes that I make and also to think broadly. As one can see, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a very rare and unique book that gives us a view of what life was like as a black slave and making us view things in a different perspective.

My Analysis of "Advice to Youth" by Mark Twain

Analysis of Advice to Youth

The author of the essay starts off by making a valid statement which we all agree to. Also, bringing up facts and advices that elders nowadays gives to their younger ones. With that said, I felt that the author was right and knew what he was talking about. But then later on, the author made a little twist by giving advices to the readers that parents and elders usually don't do. This article is a very good example of satire since it uses irony in a very unnoticable way. Also because of the way how the author makes a twist after giving couple of good advices. 

Literary Term Quiz

Tenzing Younten

Period 8

Literary Element Assessment

• Plot - The sequence of events that happen in a story.

• Setting - The time and place in which a story happens.

• Theme - The lesson or message the reader learns by the end of a story.

• Imagery - Highly descriptive language that appeals to the five senses.

• Conflict - A problem, struggle or obstacle faced by characters in the story.

• Symbol - A person, place or thing that represents something else, usually an idea or belief.

• Narration - The particular perspective from which a story is told.

• Foreshadowing - Indications or hints given in a story for what will happen later on.

• Characterization - Using a character's actions, speech or thoughts to determine who that character is in a story.

• Metaphor - A figure of speech in which two unlike things are directly compared without use of like or as.

• Protagonist - The central character in a work of literature in which the action of the story revolves around.

• Antagonist - Any opposing character or force that acts against the protagonist in a story.

• Climax - Part of the plot structure; the point in a story when the fate of the protagonist is forever changed; the turning point.

• Resolution - Part of the plot structure; the ending of a story when events are usually resolved.

• Exposition - The beginning of a plot of the story when the setting, characters and initial conflicts are introduced.

• Genre - Any category of literature, such as fiction, non-fiction, memoir, etc.

• Simile - A figure of speech in which two unlike things are being compared using the words like or as.

• Personification - A figure of speech in which non-living or inanimate things are given human-like qualities.

• Alliteration - A figure of speech in which the same consonant sound repeats at the beginning of a word.

• Hyperbole - A figure of speech when comparisons are made in an extreme or exaggerated way.