3rd Quarter Outside Reading Book Rob
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K.Rowling. Scholastic ,1998.
In the book there is a young wizard named Harry Potter. His parents were killed by the evil lord Voldemort when Harry was just a small baby. Now 11 years later he is visited by the wizard Dumbledore who is the head master Hogwarts, a school for wizards. Harry learns to use powerful spells in which he hope to someday use against Voldemort. At the school Harry meets Ron and Hermione who quickly become Harry's new best friends. During the book Harry, Ron and Hermione face a 3 headed dog, Draco Malfoy and at the climax Harry even meets up with Voldemort himself. After a close shave with Voldemont, Harry returns from the dungeon of Hogwarts to be confronted by Dumbledore. After explaining what happened Dumbledore becomes more protective over Harry.
"A wonderful first novel....Harry is destined for greatness. Much like Ronald Dahl, J.K. Rowling has a gift for keeping the emotions, fears and triumphs of her characters on a human scale, even while the supernatural is popping out all over." - The New York Times Book Review
J.K.Rowling's writing style is very unique. When she writes she uses descriptive language that allows the reader to feel as though they are standing in the characters shoes. I believe, because she is from the U.K. her vocabulary adds a fresh new style to the classic American way of description. This is one reason why I like her books, the use of different rich, descriptive words makes the stories jump out at you that much more. I also like the creativeness of her writing. The whole plot of the book is very unique and makes the book that much better.
"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice [of the Sorting Hat]. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that-no? Well, if you're sure-better be GRYFFINDOR!" (Chapter 7)
I am a pretty big fan of Rowling's work. The description of her stories and the overall unique plots of her books make them a pleasure to read. I have already read all of the Harry Potter books but I wouldn't mind reading them again. My next goal is to see all of the movies and compare them with the books. I also would like to read the British publications of the Harry Potter series because they have some differences in them compared to the U.S. publication.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
OMS Obstacle essay
Obstacles can be the most annoying part of anyone's life. From small ones such as a detour to larger ones like a disease. Everyday people either overcome these obstacles or they fall victim to them. This has no exception in The Old Man and the Sea where Santiago faces many difficult obstacles he has to over come.
In The Old Man and the Sea Santiago faces many challenges such as the size of his boat. In the story he only has a 12 foot long "skiff" to fish in. After reeling in his colossal marlin he faces a huge obstacle; the fact that the fish is bigger than the boat.“He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone,” (63). If Santiago had gone fishing in a larger boat ex. a battleship then the size of the fish would not have mattered. He could have hooked onto Moby Dick and not had to worry but anyway. Santiago uses his resources to overcome this obstacle and ties the marlin to the side of the boat. This gets past the first obstacle but exposes him to the next.
After Santiago ties the marlin to the boat he faces his next obstacle, the sharks. “When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished,” (101.) Santiago had to spear the fish with his gaff to kill it, the resulting wound started to bleed and attracted all of the sharks in the surrounding area. Santiago only had a harpoon, a knife and a broken oar to defend his catch with. He kills 2 sharks with his harpoon, another 2 with his knife and finally wards off a few more with the paddle. Again if Santiago had been more prepared ex. RPH(Rocket Propelled Harpoon) he could have easily defended his catch without even breaking a sweat. Because Santiago did not have an RPH he used his available resources and his wit the overcome obstacle number two.
Santiago faces his final obstacle after he wards off the sharks. He is now faced with the daunting task of returning from 150 miles out at sea with a 1,500 lbs. marlin dragging from his tiny boat. If Santiago had a motor on his boat then he would have gotten back to shore in a fraction of the time saving time and effort. Because Santiago has to row all the way back he actually passes out in his boat miles from the main land. If it wasn't for other fishermen he would have never been found. This is the one obstacle that Santiago can't overcome in the story.
Santiago overcame 2 of the 3 biggest obstacles in the story. His boat was much too small, there were sharks that tried to eat his marlin and he had to row 150 miles back to shore. By using his resources he was successfully able to overcome most of these obstacles. If Santiago wasn't so resourceful or he wasn't as determined and just gave up he probably wouldn't be alive in the end of the book.
In The Old Man and the Sea Santiago faces many challenges such as the size of his boat. In the story he only has a 12 foot long "skiff" to fish in. After reeling in his colossal marlin he faces a huge obstacle; the fact that the fish is bigger than the boat.“He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds and he had caught two of that size in his life, but never alone,” (63). If Santiago had gone fishing in a larger boat ex. a battleship then the size of the fish would not have mattered. He could have hooked onto Moby Dick and not had to worry but anyway. Santiago uses his resources to overcome this obstacle and ties the marlin to the side of the boat. This gets past the first obstacle but exposes him to the next.
After Santiago ties the marlin to the boat he faces his next obstacle, the sharks. “When the old man saw him coming he knew that this was a shark that had no fear at all and would do exactly what he wished,” (101.) Santiago had to spear the fish with his gaff to kill it, the resulting wound started to bleed and attracted all of the sharks in the surrounding area. Santiago only had a harpoon, a knife and a broken oar to defend his catch with. He kills 2 sharks with his harpoon, another 2 with his knife and finally wards off a few more with the paddle. Again if Santiago had been more prepared ex. RPH(Rocket Propelled Harpoon) he could have easily defended his catch without even breaking a sweat. Because Santiago did not have an RPH he used his available resources and his wit the overcome obstacle number two.
Santiago faces his final obstacle after he wards off the sharks. He is now faced with the daunting task of returning from 150 miles out at sea with a 1,500 lbs. marlin dragging from his tiny boat. If Santiago had a motor on his boat then he would have gotten back to shore in a fraction of the time saving time and effort. Because Santiago has to row all the way back he actually passes out in his boat miles from the main land. If it wasn't for other fishermen he would have never been found. This is the one obstacle that Santiago can't overcome in the story.
Santiago overcame 2 of the 3 biggest obstacles in the story. His boat was much too small, there were sharks that tried to eat his marlin and he had to row 150 miles back to shore. By using his resources he was successfully able to overcome most of these obstacles. If Santiago wasn't so resourceful or he wasn't as determined and just gave up he probably wouldn't be alive in the end of the book.
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