Blog Post #3

Words to describe the character in my novel:

     1. Brave- To have courage or courageous endurance

     2. Caring/kind- a person who has a good heart and looks after the well being of others

     3. Intelligent- Someone who has a high mental capacity

Synonyms:

1. -Bold -Confident

2. -Affectionate -Gracious

3.  -Brainy -Knowledgeable

Antonyms: 

1. -Afraid -Cautious

2. -Bitter -Cruel 

3.  -Foolish -Idiotic

My character Norman Bethune has all of these qualities:

Brave-

 "We walked, slightly hunched, down the stairs and along a cramped passageway for twenty or thirty paces before another explosive thud shook us. We journeyed deeper under the city. I struck match after match and walked slowly so as not to extinguish the flame." (Bock 22)

This is indirect because it makes you think about it. It takes confidence to go underground in a tunnel while there is bombs being dropped above you.

Caring/Kind-

"I saw that little girl in the blue who had so caught my attention our first morning out. Today she wasn't feeding the gulls but standing alone at the railing, beside a life raft watching the sea below. It seemed unsafe to me, a child alone at the precipice. The woman I'd taken to be her mother sat reading on a nearby bench, dressed in a red overcoat and white glasses. I stopped and watched nervously as out from under her bonnet the girl's strawberry-blond hair spilled and danced about the circle of her face. She place a foot on the bottom rung of the rail and lifted her other foot.
"'Wait there,"' I called" (Bock 112)

This is also indirect because you have to clarify what you think is being said. I think that he's caring/kind because in this direct quote he's looking after the well being of other people, in this case the little girl who was about to step on the bottom rung of a ship she is on.

Intelligent-

"Why am I writing? I'm so very busy, and I ask myself this question night after night. I ask it now. I know it is not to spout political slogans for you or to claim idealistic affiliations. None of those may make any sense to you by the time you read this. They're just words, after all, and I'm aware that words change or lose their meaning. What do you think, for example when I write the words "justice" and "society" and "democracy"? They are often used these days, and so they should be. But will they mean anything to you twenty or forty years on? Probably not, and maybe that's for the better. Maybe there will no longer be any need of them. Maybe we have accomplished what we set out to do. When my dear old mother raised me we had no such words. She said only, Do unto him, Norman, as you would have him do unto you. You see how complicated this has become?" (Bock 48-49)

This direct quote from my book's also indirect. He's intelligent because his knowledge is extending and thinking beyond. He's very knowledgable and brainy.

Blog Post #2- Elements of a Story

Bock, Dennis. The Communist's Daughter. Canada: HarperCollins, 2006. Print

    

5 elements of a story that are included in my book are conflict, suspense, trap or obstacle, crises, and that it's plausible.

Importance:

1. Plausible

2. Suspense

3. Conflict

4. Trap or Obstacle

5. Crises

     The most important one I picked was that the story is plausible. I think this one is the most important because it further helps the story be more real. If the story made absolutely no sense with no plausibility I personally wouldn't enjoy it at all. I personally enjoy books that are slightly based on real life events with a touch of Fiction added in.

"I listened to Robert's moans. In the new dark I saw him roll his head toward me, and his eyes opened. They were small white things. I crawled toward him carrying a canteen, an aid kit and my sidearm. 'Robert,' I said, 'it's me, Beth. Stop your groaning they'll hear you.' I examined him and found a large piece of wood piercing his left thigh. His cheek was hanging open like a second set of lips. He was missing his left ear. He was a terrible sight. I told him to shut his mouth. 'I'll get you back,' I said, 'you can survive this. But you have to shut up. They're not far off, and they can shoot with their ears as well as their eyes.'"  (The Communist's Daughter- Dennis Bock pg. 86)

     This part of the book I picked was very plausible since it is based about the life of a medic in the war this is the kind of things they would go through sometimes on daily bases. There's also lots of suspense in this section of the book, making you're heart race with thoughts of the things going to happen next? Will they live? Die? What could be running through the mind of the other character who isn't expressing what he thinks or feels like the main character. There's also conflict going on, they're faced with a trap or obstacle, and there is also crises happening as well. This paragraph from my book explains the top 5 elements of a story perfectly!

Blog Post #1- Qualities of Books

     In a good book, 3 qualities I'd expect it to have is descriptive, has suspense, and should arouse your emotions. The book should be able to deeply explain anything in order for you to actually imagine it and feel as though you're not just reading the book but you're part of it. The suspense it should include because I find it's just something every time of book needs to allow the reader to think about what could possibly happen next instead of the author just telling you. And by arouse your emotions I mean, if it's a sad part and it's meant to be terribly sad it should make your heart melt and tears welt as though it was a loss you had suffered as well.

     The book I'm currently reading is The Communist's Daughter by Dennis Bock. I think since its a book based on a medic in the war it contains the descriptive feature, it does have quite a bit of suspense here and there, and it hasn't had any sad parts have have made me cry. In this part of the book it built up some suspense because you ask yourself 'what's going to happen next!?!' this is the part:
    

"We felt the walls and on we walked, using the flame only when we became unsure of our footing or when we found another door. Your mother reached for my hand in the dark. I couldn't help smiling. The world was ending and here I was, smiling because a pretty girl was holding my hand. The Lord's mysterious ways, as my mother would say. I felt the walls with the other hand, reading them as I read the inside of an open chest or abdomen. Now we were inside the entrails, and here I was smiling." (Bock 29)

Works Cited MLA

Bock, Dennis. The Communist's Daughter. Canada: HarperCollins, 2006. Print

Blog Post #9- Meeting the Mentor

     In my book The Neverending Story I think the mentor is Falkor the Luckdragon.

This is an image of Atreyu (left) and Falkor the Luckdragon (right) together.

     The reason as to why I would count Falkor as the mentor in this book is because when Atreyu embarks on his large mission he comes across the Luckdragon. From then on Falkor shares his wisdom with Atreyu to help him complete his mission. Also throughout the mission Falkor protects Atreyu from any harm that may become of him. I think that throughout the book Atreyu had absorbed Falkor's wisdom and will then carry it with him from now on and maybe later on become a mentor for another. Without Falkor I honestly doubt that Atreyu would be able to make the mission on his own, and I couldn't see this book without Falkor it just wouldn't be possible. 

Blog Post #8- The Call to Adventure

     In The Neverending Story, Atreyu is faced with one of the most difficult decisions of choosing whether or not he'd like to complete the mission for the Childlike Empress. Carion the centaur is the messenger from the Childlike Empress to talk to Atreyu about the mission. There were pressures that made Atreyu think before he would make a full decision. Like, he is only a young boy, he must embark on this journey alone with no help from others, he'll probably never see his friends again. I think the reasoning for Atreyu to choose to take on the mission was because it seemed exciting to him. He didn't have a family to miss, and if he completed the mission for the Childlike Empress he'd be a hero to all of Fantastica.

My prediction:
I think his choice of taking on the mission will impact his life and future greatly. I think in the end Atreyu will succeed in the mission and be recognized as a hero all throughout Fanstastica. Of course all the challenges along the way will effect his future for good and bad but that is what makes his character grow and learn along the way.

Blog Post # 7- The Ordinary World

The protagonist in this book his name is Bastian Balthazar Bux. In the ordinary world for him his life isn't the greatest he is a different kid who gets teased all the time at school. His only comfort in life is reading books, so when he runs into a book store to hide from his bullying class mates he comes across this book.

He thought this to be the greatest book ever so he steals it and runs to the school and hides in the attic. He then reads the book and all his worries go away. Reading for him is his only joy in life, after the passing of his mother his father just isn't the same anymore, and it makes him feel very unloved. When he reads he goes to his happy place of imagination and all the bad thing in his life go away.

"Some think their only hope of happiness lies in being somewhere else, and spend their whole lives traveling from place to place. And some find no rest until they have become powerful. In short, there are as many different passions as there are people. Bastian Balthazar  Bux's passion was books." (Michael Ende, The Neverending Story pg# 10-11)  

This image represents his life when he isn't reading and enjoying books.

This image shows his feelings while he is reading, suddenly all the bad things in his life are gone.

Blog Post #6- Hero Of My Book

The book I am currently reading is The Neverending Story- Micheal Ende. 
For those of you who haven't read/heard of this book or the movie, it's about a young boy who is teased a lot and his only way to feel better is to read books. So technically this book is about a book because a majority of the story is about the book the child named Bastain Balthazar Bux is reading.

So far in my book it's still kind of unclear as to who would be the hero in this story, whether it would be someone from the real life or from the world of Fantastica. So I chose to pick a character from Fantastica to describe as the hero. 

Atreyu is the character that I believe to be the hero. In Fantastica trouble has struck, the Childlike Empress is sick and has called upon Atreyu to complete the task of finding the cure for her sickness and saving all of Fantastica. Atreyu is only a young child and yet the Childlike Empress still trust him. He's a lot like the hero because the hero must embark on a journey by themselves without the help from others.

For the qualities of a hero I'd say that Atreyu shows: 

Sacrifice- The Childlike Empress needed him to complete the mission, and he didn't really wanna turn down the Childlike Empress while she's on her death bed so he agreed to participate. 

Courage- he shows lots of courage by being just a child but still risking his own life to find a cure for the Empress.

Bravery- He definitely shows bravery by again being a child and risking his life.

" 'I't's monstrous!' cried Carion indignantly. 'It's doubtful whether even the greatest, most experienced of heroes could carry out this mission...and you!...She's sending you into the unfathomable to look for the unknown...No one can help you, no one can advise you, no one can foresee what will befall you. And yet you must decide at once, immediately, whether or not you accept the mission. There's not a moment to be lost. For ten days and nights I have galloped almost without rest to reach you. But now- I almost wish I hadn't got here. I'm very old, I'm at the end of my strength. Give me a drink of water please.' " (Michael Ende The Neverending Story, #44)

(http://www.famousquotesabout.com/quoteImage/313/heroism-quotes.jpg)

I like this image because it explains how anyone can be a hero no matter what age or who they are.

I think this explains most about heroes because it explains that since there's difficulties everywhere and when

you choose to take on a challenge whether you complete it or not, you're still looked upon as a hero.