Compare And Contrast The Stories

The two stories we were told to read were "Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" and "Upon the Burning of Our House". We were told to compare and contrast the two stories in this blog.
The first story I read was "Narrative of Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson". The story was mainly talking about a women and her travels of being captive to master after master. It talk of her struggles and slight triumphs. The second story was about another women who's home had burnt down. The story HUGE comparison was the large amount of religious views and christian belief. During the first story she was constantly praying to God, thinking of God, and reading scriptures from the Bible. "I repaired under these thoughts to my Bible (my great comforter in that time) and that scripture came to my hand." is just one of many examples of where she used the Bible and God to help her through her everyday problems in life. (Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.) The second story also was very Christian based. She put everything on God and in Gods hands. She said everything was about "Him". " It was His own, it was not mine,; Far be it that I should repine."(Wilhelm, Jeffrey D) is an example of how she really led her life in the was of the Christian faith whole heartily. God played a huge part in both these ladies lives, especially in their times of trouble. Another similarity is just the simple fact that both are going through really hard times during their stories but still look to God and are optimistic. Both stories have a supreme optimism to them making the stories very appealing, although both are fairly sad. A third similarity is that both of the stories have a very prominent sense of optimistic sadness. With that I mean there are very sad and sorrowful parts in each of these stories. The optimistic part comes in in the women's words of pureness in their hope and faith. Their unfailing beliefs make them very strong and honorable characters.
One difference in the stories is that the women are in totally different situations. The first story the women is in captivity and is taken away from her home, children, and her whole life. The women in the second story lost only her home in a fire. The big differences in the women but yet the same amount of faith between the two shows how truly unfailing it is. The most prominent difference is that the first story is written in a narrative format and the second one is in a poem format. The first story is actually an exert from a larger story. The second is just a poem not taken from any other source. This is one of biggest things that separates the writing styles of each story very distinctly. The first has a very formal paragraph- sentence style. Where as the second is a poem so it consists all aspects of a poem. Big difference!


Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann. Chin, and Jacqueline Jones. Royster. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.

Hospitality Rules from the Nice Mice and the Rude Rat

In the home of Mrs. Mouse she had two young children. Mrs. Mouse had two mice, a boy and a girl. The children were very nice and well mannered to their mother and others. The kids were always saying please and thank you when asking and receiving things. It was the first day of school and the two young mice were waiting for the bus at the local bus stop. There is where they met the rude rat who lived down the street. When the two mice saw him they greeted him with a friendly hello like they knew they should. That rude rat just snarled at them and turned their back. The nice mice didn't like this but they just let it go because they didn't want to start a fight. The bus arrived and just as the mice were about to offer to let the rat go through first he barged through them and got on the bus. The two mice didn't mind him and got on the bus. They greeting the bus driver with a good-morning and a friendly hello. The bus driver was pleasantly surprised to see these cheerful pair of mice. The boy mouse joined his friend in one seat and the girl joined her friend in the other. The young girl became curious of where that rude mouse went. When she looked up she saw him in the very back seat of the bus all alone. The girl felt bad that he was sitting alone and knew that her friend she was sitting with now was very popular and would have plenty of people to sit next to her, so at the next stop she moved. The young girl mouse went all the way to the back and plopped down next to that rude mouse with a smile. She greeted him and again was ignored and snarled at. Finally the young mouse asked him why he was being so rude. He finally responded to her by asking what she meant. She then told him that he didn't great them back at the bus stop, like he should have. He also didn't even offer to let someone get on the bus before him or even greet the bus driver, like he should have. He gave her a blank stare because he didn't understand what he was supposed to do. He wondered why no one wanted to sit with him and why everyone put their backpack next to them when he passed. The young mousse explained that simply smiling, saying hello, and small acts of kindness will make people want to be your friend and sit with you. Then by the young mouses surprise, that rude rat stuck his hand out and smiled, "Hello!". That rude rat was not very rude anymore.

Journal #1 Native Story

There is a story of a rabbit and a turtle. I am sure you have heard about it! The story that slow and steady wins the race, and that he did. Now I ask you , have you heard of the story that sometimes slow and SMART wins the race. One day there were two cheetahs. The cheetahs were always fighting because they both could never beat each other in anything. They cheetahs were always matching each other in everything. The first cheetah was very brawny and strong. The second was smaller but this also made him very quick on his feet. Each of them ran as fast as the other for different reasons. No matter how many times and different places they raced they could not beat each. One day the cheetahs were fighting because they were tired of always being in a tie with one another. They were growling so loud that half the forest could hear them. All the animals came running to see the fight. The scared rabbits hid behind the shouting roaring lions. The rowdy zebra screamed "Fight, Fight, Fight". Many of the animal followed in the zebras chants besides the young bear cub. He slowly walk up to the two cheetahs and asked why they were fight. They cheetahs explained how they were tired of always ending each race in a tie. So the young cub thought and thought and finally said, "What if we had the animals of the forest make the hardest race ever and then we will see you gets to the finish line first, and of course I will be in the race too." The cheetahs laughed at the little cub, and soon the whole forest was laughing along with them. The little cub didn't mind them and waited for the answer. The cheetahs agreed to do the race because they knew that they could beat the cub in any race that any animal could make. A week later the three animals were at the start line. With a ready, set, go they were off. The two cheetahs neck and neck up front and the little cub hobbling behind. The cub was running as fast as he could, but soon the cheetahs were out of sight. The cub studied and knew the forest very well. While the cheetahs were running everyday gearing up for the race, he was studying every inch of the forest and because of this, he knew every short cut and every hard spot of the forest. The cheetahs didn't know the forest nearly as well so as soon as they were off they ran into a huge lake. They look across the lake to see that little cub already passing around it. You see the little cub knew it was there so had already made the short cut to go around it. Yet again soon enough the cheetahs zoomed off and went around the cub. The cub did not mind them though. He just kept running as fast as he could. All of a sudden the cheetahs ran into the edge of a rocky hill, and stopping dead in their tracks they peered out to see that little cub running as fast as his little legs can take him to the finish line. The cheetahs tried to run back down and around the rocky cliff but they were too late! The little cub knew the cliff was there, so he went around that pesky cliff and crossed that finish line still running as fast as he could. The cub used his brain to know where to go while the cheetahs only used their brawn to try and win. Although the cub was going as fast as he could, he also used his brain! This is why that little cub became the famous winner of the two cheetah race.

Favorite book of the three and why!

The three books I read for summer reading were Old Man and the Sea, Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye. There were things about each book that I did like. I liked how in Old Man and the Sea it had a strong message of how strength can come from other places besides just the gym. I liked how in Grapes of Wrath the author allowed the story to have huge amounts of detail and depth that made the story very well rounded. I liked how in the Catcher in the Rye the story was very relate-able and easy to understand. I loved how all three books had that timeless essence to them that allows them to be favorites for many many years. Although I did have things I liked about all of them, my all time favorite was Old Man and the Sea. The book was just all around good to me. There were things here and there that I would have changed but they were so little in comparison to the things I liked. I loved how the younger boy was the strength to Santiago when he needed it most. I also likes how there was a lot of symbols and repetition throughout the book. This gave it a more emotional appeal to me as the reader. The meaning behind it all and the message it gave was so good that the book couldn't be beat by the other two. The runner up would probably have to be Grapes of Wrath just because of the amount of detail the book had. Although this was kind of boring at times there was just so much to the book that it gave a lot of ways to relate no matter who you were. The third book Catcher in the Rye was not my least favorite because I didn't like it or anything, it just wasn't quite as good as the other two. All in all, all three of the books were worth reading and I learned something from each of them.

Catcher in the Rye- What I did not like about the book

It is hard for me to write an entire blog on what I didn't like about the book because I liked the book a lot, but here I go. To start with I didn't like how the book seemed so short lived. I felt like every story didn't seem to last very long. I thought that more depth could be added to each of the stories told. Like when they talked about Allie's death, Holden's parents, or the fight between Maurice and Holden, they could have added more interesting detail. That was the thing that was missing most from the book was detail. There was plenty of detail when it came to Holden himself but everything else fell a little flat in my opinion. "It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes." (Salinger, J.D. Chapter 9) I feel like this passage could have had so much more depth in it if the author would have just added some more detail. It is hard to relate to a part of a story when you don't really understand what it means. When there is not much of an example to go off of. The book could have also had a little bit more of happiness in it. As much as I liked the sort of depression theme to it, I feel that it could have been lightened up a bit. Maybe simply adding some crude humor or unlikely happiness to keep the theme and flow of the book intact. Just a little bit of a pick-me-up passage here and there would have been nice to see. All in all though I can not sit and bash the book to much because it really is a good read. If you allow yourself to broaden your thinking than the book can be a really good lesson to many people and teenagers especially. The messages it gives are fairly straight forward if you read the book at all.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- What I liked about the book

The book Catcher in the Rye was all in all a good book. One of my favorite thins about the book was the fact that I could read it without ever really being confused. This was unlike the other two books I read for summer reading. Those books at one point or another had me slightly confused. I loved how the book was first person! This is odd for me because normally I hate first person books because I don't feel like I am getting the full story, but in this book I didn't feel that way at all. I think this is because the book was a story about only the main character pretty much. There weren't very many add-ins about anyone other lives but his. This made it easy to follow. This also made it easier to connect with the character. When you can follow a single characters thought about everything you can know exactly how they are thinking and feel about things. Giving the feeling of a bigger connection between the reader and the character because they know the characters thoughts. I believe the author displayed great writing skills when it came to writing in first person. Sometimes in books that are first person the author tends to say "I think" a lot. They just tell exactly what the character thinks by saying I think. Instead J.D. Salinger would write this ""There isn't any night club in the world you can sit in for a long time unless you can at least buy some liquor and get drunk. Or unless you're with some girl that really knocks you out." (Salinger, J.D. pg) By just saying exactly how the character feels and not putting I think, makes you feel like your really in the characters mind, because when you are thinking something you don't out "I think" in front of it. So between the authors writing ability and the relatable story line, the book is a good one.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Character Analysis of Phoebe

Phoebe is Holden's little sister. She is my favorite character in the book because she is very head strong. She knows what she wants and she will do anything to get it. She puts one-hundred and ten percent into everything she does in her life. She also puts a lot of heart and hope into the people in her life. She had an older brother named Allie who she of course loved dearly. Even more than probably anyone else because of how deep she loved things. He brother Holden was also very close to him as well. This played a huge role in Holden and Phoebe's relationship. This brought them a lot closer to one another because they had the loss of their brother to bond on. That was the a big release of pain for them because they had someone to talk to about it. Phoebe also was very persistent. She never just gave up on something because she thought it might be to hard. When her brother was leaving her she didn't just decide that is was okay and that she couldn't do anything about it. Instead she packed her bags and planned on leaving with him. (Salinger, J.D. pg. 208) This is just the kind of strong willed little girl she is. She was not going to let the person she loves so dearly leave without her. This shows the strength and bond of her and Holden's relationship. Phoebe was the only reason Holden ever really found happiness at all. Phoebe taught Holden how to be himself and helped him find the person he really was deep down inside. Although Holden only really acted himself around her, Phoebe was the only real reason he found himself in the first place. This makes he a huge character in the book. Also this makes he my favorite. Phoebe became Holden's true happiness and when he was around her that is how he felt, happy.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Character Analysis of Holden

Holden Caulfield is the main character in the story. The story is told in first person so the story is completely about him and his thoughts. The book is telling of his teenage years. Holden is definitely what I would describe as a pessimist. A pessimist is a person who only sees the negatives in just about everything. This is very true in how Holden views other people. "People never notice anything." (Salinger, J.D., pg. 9) This is just one example of how he feels other people are. He feels that other people are just rude, incompetent, and really have no feelings. This is one of the reason he has no/ very few friends. When he sees everyone as bad it is hard for him to want to be friends with anyone. It would be hard to make friends through such an awful outlook on them. I do like that Holden is very real and truthful. He is what most would call brutally honest. He tells it how it is and he doesn't hold anything back because he doesn't see the point. This makes him come across as mean and arrogant sometimes. Holden does have one weakness and that is his family. He doesn't care much about what other people think or say besides his parents. He is always worried about being a disappointment to them because he does want to please them. This is hard for him though because he seems to always be doing the opposite of what they would want. His other weakness is his sister. She is about the only person he is close to in the story. She really makes him become himself around her and he can definitely tell the difference. With her he finds the happiness in the little things that he has been searching for. When he sees his sister happy he feels just a feeling of pure joy that he can't find in anything else. This is why he becomes so close to her and keeps every promise he makes to her sacred.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 8

The questions I will be answering are “How accurately does this novel reflect events in history? What responsibilities does the author believe exist between various groups in society, such as workers and bosses, men and women, blacks and whites, etc.? What people, ideas, and events probably influenced this author?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. The book itself really did not have any historical events displayed at all. The book was just a story of a young boy and his struggles. There were not historical events to even comment on whether they are accurate or not. So in this case I can just say that the book was neither accurate nor inaccurate when it came to actual events in history. The book just didn’t really need to have specific events because it would not have furthered the story. In fact I believe it would have hindered it because it would make it meaning be sidetracked. Holden is very socially awkward and the book was in first person so there was little talk of other people. The only real responsibly in society I could see was given through the teachers. It was their responsibility to help the children in all aspects of their life. This was a huge thing for Holden because they were the ones that really affected him in the time in his life that the book displayed. By how the book was written he was probably very influenced by his teenage years. Since the book is all about the years of being a teenager the author must have had his own experiences in dealing with these times. Maybe he was exactly like Holden and that’s why it seemed such effortless writing when it came to writing about Holden. It could also be that he was the complete opposite and wrote from the stand point of what he was not and saw of other students or maybe even another student in particular. I can’t really find much other things the author could have been influenced by in the book.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 7

The question I will be answering is “What techniques does the author use to engage the audience and make the story effective?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. For a story to be interesting an author must find unique ways to make the reader want to keep reading the story. There are many techniques that J.D. Salinger uses were suspense, mystery, and the truth of human nature. In the book Holden owes a man five dollars and he doesn’t want to pay it to him. He then begins to get threatened by the man and he begins to punch him in the stomach. Holden is scared and feels as if he is dying. This gives the reader a sense of suspense because you want to just keep reading to see what happens but are a bit scared on how it will turn out. (Salinger, J.D. , pg. 102-104) Will he actually die? Well obviously he does not seeming’s as there is still half the book left, but that technique made the reader even question it. The second technique was mystery. The story was told in first person and because of this you were shut out on what everyone else was thinking and sometimes doing. This leaves a mysterious factor on what really might be going through the family, the teachers, or even the man, Maurice, who beats him up minds. This leaves me as the reader a chance to fill in my own blanks, which is yet another great tactic the author uses. The last technique the author used was just the raw truth of human nature. The raw truth makes any person interested and become invested in a book because even though we hate to hear it sometimes, we all want the truth. This keeps many people wanting to read even more and more of the book. Having used these techniques, gave the author and the book the recognition it got. Many authors have a problem with keeping a book current and interesting but J.D. Salinger did it perfectly.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 6

The questions I will be answering are “Why do we still read this book? What is so timeless about its message and characters? What can we learn from reading this novel?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. This book has such a timeless and unfailing messages that everyone can take form it. This book is especially good for those in the adolescence age because it is very relatable. This book allows those who have a more optimistic attitude to understand why some people may be mean or pessimistic all the time. This book may also help those who are mean really begin to understand why they act the way they do. One of the messages it gives is that everyone has their own problems. "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw." (Salinger, J.D.) This is a problem that the protagonist Holden faces in his life. He can’t get over the fact of it, which explains the strippers and the messing around. The more people start realizes that people have actual problems and less time on making fun or judging them, the better everyone will be. I think this is one message the author is trying to convey. Another may be that people who are always mean and bully others have problems with themselves. This is a fact that will never change no matter how much time passes, which is another thing that makes the book timeless. Another message that Holden gives off is the struggle to fit in. He himself has problems with being understood and fitting in. He wants to have friends but he feels that he just doesn’t like people. This message is that many people struggle to fit in but they themselves don’t even know why. This is why it is important that for those of us who do “fit in”, to not judge those who do not because they might not know the reason either. We can learn to accept that no one is ever going to be the same, so we must accept those who are not just different, but completely opposite of everything you are.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 5

The questions I will be answering are “How does this novel reflect the history, behavior and social issues of the time period and setting? What is this book's symbolic and thematic significance?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. The book portrays the time period of mid 1940’s- beginning 1950’s pretty spot on. The fact of showing how there wasn’t a lot of people driving and people more often taking cabs and trains as means of transportation was much like in that time period. The times were a lot different back then for teenagers. First of all most things were just more available. A small amount of money could get you a lot back in those days, and most teenagers only had a small amount of money. They could go to a bar a buy alcoholic drinks and no one would really stop them. They could go and get hotel rooms and strippers and most would just turn the other cheek. Today people would not serve them, most can’t afford hotel rooms, and most strippers won’t do anything for children/ teens. In this time all of these were not only partly acceptable, but they were acts Holden himself did. Holden basically did whatever he wanted to. He slept, ate, and went wherever he wanted to or felt like going. He was never really questioned or got in any trouble. Today you teenagers, and even adults for that matter, cannot say, sleep, or go wherever they want. The symbolic and universal theme to me is the timeless factor of teenager problems. No matter what era or day there is always going to be confused teenagers. "People always think something's all true." (Salinger, J.D. pg. 9) This quote is also a symbolic theme showing that the “truth” is not always true. This is something that many people can take away from the book because even today we believe too many lies. Between television, magazines, and the internet, we believe everything we see or hear.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 4

The questions I will be answering are “Who is the "hero" in this book and what are some of his/her traits? What does he/she accomplish, and how is he/she portrayed? Does the hero represent an abstract idea such as goodness, truth, courage or evil?” from the book Catcher in the Rye. I can’t exactly say that there was an obvious “hero” in the book but there was defiantly and obvious protagonist and that was Holden Caulfield. He was the biggest character in the book because the book itself was all about him. Throughout the book he accomplished many small goals that here huge to him. He had a very hard time at school and dealing with people through most, if not all, the book. In the beginning Holden gets expelled from Pencey Hight School because he was failing most of his subjects. He accomplished the small struggle of having to leave that school knowing that he really didn’t make any mark for himself and be able to move on. He also struggles with the fact that he is worried about being a failure in his parent’s eyes. As much as he normally doesn’t care about what people think, or so he says, his parents are the one huge exception. One thing he accomplishes out of how he acts is his ability to act alone in just about all aspects of his life. He is totally independent, which a trait that many people strive to have. In the book he is kind of portrayed as a confused and lonely teenager who needs someone. "Sex is something I really don't understand too hot. You never know where the hell you are. I keep making up these sex rules for myself, and then I break them right away. Last year I made a rule that I was going to quit horsing around with girls that, deep down, gave me a pain in the ass. I broke it, though, the same week I made it - the same night, as a matter of fact." (Salinger, J.D. pg 63) This is just a small passage that in a nut shell shows exactly what I said before, that he is a confused teenager. He represents more of the abstract idea of being lost. He is lost in his own little world and his own reality.



Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 3

The questions I will be answering are "What universal themes does this book address? What does the author understand about human nature?" from the book Catcher in the Rye. The universal theme is kind of a mix between confidence and happiness in you. The amount of confidence in and happiness in you defines how you will act towards other people and yourself. This book shows how acting mean toward other people and get upset over things that don’t really matter in the end will only hurt you. In this case it only hurt Holden. Holden was such pessimistic people in the book that it made it hard for me to relate to him sometimes and almost dislike him even though I knew he was just a character. This to me made the theme really been shown because it shows how being mean is just another way that people deal with their own insecurities, as don’t by Holden. It is such an important theme also, especially when and if the book is directed toward teenagers and people in their 20’s. The author knows a lot about human nature! “What I was really hanging around for, I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by. I mean I've left schools and places I didn't even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse." (Salinger, J.D. pg. 4) This shows how he knows about the human nature of even a pessimistic and mean boy having trouble letting go. The author realizes that it is really hard to people to let go of things and other people. That is one way the author understands human nature. The second way I found was that he understands how people who have their own insecurities, take that anger and hate towards themselves and try to throw it at other people. The author knows this is unhealthy and shows how in the end it only hurts oneself.


Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown and Company. 1951.

Catcher in the Rye- Question 2

The question I will be answering is "What are the causes, gains, and losses of the conflict dealt with in this book?" from the book Catcher in the Rye. The conflict itself is more internal than anything else because it deal with Holden. He wants to have friends and be social but he can't because he always sees people as fake and phony. He really struggles with belonging in the story. Holden feels like everyone else is putting on an act and he is the only real one which hinders him in relating to anyone. In the beginning of the story, Holden is sitting by himself while everyone else is at the big game at Pencey. He alienated himself from everyone in his school (Salinger 3). This is the point of the book where I really see that Holden is struggling. You can tell he wants to be at the game, especially when his roommate is with Jane Gallagher. One cause is the schools Holden goes to because he is always getting suspended or expelled from where he goes. Leaving him virtually not time to hang out with people and make friends. A second cause is the problems he has with his family and family relationships. Holden's dad is a very well known lawyer which makes him have a lot to strive for. Also his brother is a big shot Hollywood writer, making him easily comparted to his brother. The gains didn't come until the end of the story when he starts to find happiness as he is watching his sister on the merry go round. He begins to be able to really be himself around his sister which makes things easier for him. Another gain from the conflict is that Holden can explore with people. He can go around with people and decide who he wants to surround himself with and set aside the people that do not fit him (Salinger 103). A loss for Holden was when he was not in a good state of mind he lost a lot of opportunities to meet new people.

Catcher in the Rye- Question One

The questions I will be answering are "What does the writing reveal about the author's values and attitudes? From what perspective does he/she write?" fromt he book Catcher in the Rye. The writing itself was sad and generally gave me a unhappy feeling. There weren't many good parts that made you smile or laugh at all. There was a huge pessimistic feel to the book that's for sure. The character Holden was always very tense and even angry about just about everything in the book. Very few things made him happy or brought him joy. For example, when he got to see his sister happy and riding the merry go round (Salinger 213). I think the writing reveals a different viewpoint for the readers. Most books focus on the positive side of things. Even though there may be tragedies and struggles in a story, the plot usually focuses on the more positive effects. In this story though, the reader gets to see what it is like to focus on the more negative side of things. This makes the author give a total new, but not so refreshing look on how to write things. The author was not really afraid to have a different point of view. The main character told it like he saw it, and he really did not care what other people thought. Holden didn't like to listen to others so he didn't even if people didn't like it. The author does have values though, and you can tell in the book. Holden really did want to do that right thing. He tried very hard to please everyone, but everyone knows that is not possible. I think the author did a very good job of using detail to show a different viewpoint. I have never read a book so in depth with detail. Holden really examined everything and that determined his mood. Having a story like this shows a different kind of writing on the authors part.

Grapes of Wrath- What I did not like about the book

Obviously the book is long so that is the first thing that makes me not like it, but I guess that is more of a personal preference. My biggest problem with the book was not the length so much as it was the wasted words. There were some stories and passages that in no way furthered the plot, depth of a character, or that were merely entertaining. They were just an annoyance to me as the reader because I feel like I wasted time reading and picturing an entire passage that meant nothing. This in my opinion is the authors mistake because he should have realized that if something isn't going to further the story, it doesn't belong. I do not like randomness when I read. I also disliked how the book had times of an overly amount of excitement then complete boring in one chapter to the next. There was no medium ground to where your interested but not on the edge of your seat. It was always one or the other for me which made it hard to read because I loved the exciting parts but it took forever to get to them because the boring parts made me have to put the book down. If I can put a book down and not care one bit, that is not a good sign what so ever. As much as I loved the plot and characters, I could have used a little more organization of the book. Sometimes I felt like I was reading the same kind of thing over and over again. I don't mean that he was using repetition either. He was just repeating a general story line over and over in different versions which made me want to skip a few pages because I knew what was happening already.

Grapes of Wrath- What I liked about the book

First off I would like to say that this book was a very long read for me. The book was a bit challenging at times if you were reading it when tired or distracted. Anyway, besides that I generally enjoyed the book. What I did like about the book were the characters. Each character had a good description of their thoughts and personalities. I felt like each character had their own story that fit perfectly together with the other characters which to me is a very good way to keep the book flowing. I don't like a book that has clashing characters or story lines. They become to confusing and ultimately boring. The book was also very descriptive of situations which allowed me as the reader to be able to paint an exact picture of the story in my head. This is good for me because I am a visual learner, so for me to understand a book I have to be able to picture it exactly. This also helps you to remember the book because you can picture each part of the book as if it were a scene in a movie. Like when in this quote they are talking about buying a tractor, instead of saying that they say ""You're not buying only junk, you're buying junked lives. And more - you'll see - you're buying bitterness. Buying a plow to plow your own children under, buying the arms and spirits that might have saved you." (Steinbeck, John. pg. 110) This gives a more in depth and interest in just a simple concept as buying a tractor. This book also has inspirational characters that have problems many can relate to. Like how Ma and Pa have money problems but use each other to gain strength to get their family through it. Also how Rose of Sharon lost her baby and her husband left, and instead of rolling over and giving up she takes the loss to help others. These are both things that many can relate to how they want to handle that situation or how they would want to.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Character Analysis of Ma Joad

Ma Joad is women in a mans world. She has the strength and guts of any good man but because she is a women she is kind of pushed to the side by society. The only people that realize how fantastic she really is is her family. Especially her husband Pa Joad. He relies on her many times through the book to get strength to move and push on through the unfair tough times the family is put in. She is also the women who mends any wounds the family has. Ma holds the family together when they seem to be falling apart. Whether this mean she is healing actual cuts or injuries, or mending a broken hear, mind, and/ or soul. She can make any hurt go away through who words and remedies. She does this because she loves her family very much and feel it is her job to make everything good, right, and happy for them. ""All right, " said Ma. "We'll go along. We'll stop first place they's water an' shade. An'-- the truck'll come bac an' take you in town to get your part, an' it'll bring you back. You aint't goin' walkin' along in the sun, an' i ain't havin' ou out all aong, is if you get picked up there ain't nobody of your folks to he'p ya"" (Steinbeck, John. pg. 170) This quote is a perfect example of how Ma Joad was always wanting to care for her children. She told them what they were going to do and why they were going to do it because she wanted to keep them safe. She knew that walking off alone would have been a bad idea so she solved the problem while caring for her child. This is the personality of Ma Joad. She can't get out of the wife, mother, and friend role which makes her very wise and compassionate.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Character Analyisis of Pa Joad

Pa Joad was a very important character in the book. Not only is he the protagonists father, but he is the man the protagonist learned all his good traits from. Pa Joad was faced with many conflicts in the book that he dealt with admirably. At first he was faced with the unchangeable fact of bad weather. This amount of pure dead dry weather caused a terrible drought causing his crops to start to fail. This made him have many problems with money because he had nothing to sell. If he had nothing to sell, that meant he had no money to pay his bills. Without money, the banks were going to kick him out of their home. Knowing this he stayed as strong as possible and fought very hard to keep the land his grandfathers had worked on all their lives. As much as it killed him to lose it, he knew that for his family he had to be strong and come up with a plan. This shows the amount of leadership and strength Pa Joad had. When they were moving to California he was one of the strongest people of the entire group which says a lot about his character for what he had gone through. Although he does have strength, he does have his moments where he is completely defeated. At these points he relies on Ma Joad to help him. “We’re Joads. We don’t look up to nobody. Grampa’s grampa, he fit in the Revolution. We was farm people till the debt. And then—them people. They done somepin to us. Ever’ time they come seemed like they was a-whippin’ me—all of us. An’ in Needles, that police. He done somepin to me, made me feel mean. Made me feel ashamed. An’ now I ain’t ashamed. These folks is our folks—is our folks. An’ that manager, he come an’ set an’ drank coffee, an’ he says, ‘Mrs. Joad’ this, an’ ‘Mrs. Joad’ that—an’ ‘How you getting’ on, Mrs. Joad?’” (Steinbeck, John. pg) She stopped and sighed. “Why, I feel like people again.” were some word Ma Joad offered to help him.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath-Character Analysis of Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon is is the eldest daughter of Ma and Pa Joad. Which obviously makes her ,the protagonist, Tom Joad's older sister. In the story she is pregnant. This is hard simply because of what they are going through with having to be traveling and moving around. She is married to Connie in the story and they are together through the entire time on their way to California. They feel that when they reach California they will be able to start a new and fabulous life where they can raise their baby and be a family. This didn't end up turning out as well as they had planned though. When they got to California life was a lot harder than they thought it was going to be. This caused for her husband Connie to leave her with her unborn child alone with the family. If it was not for Ma talking sense into her she might have left as well. Rose of Sharon was kind of a the only sense of hope the family had. She always was giving off a more positive and happy vibe which made it a little bit easier for the family to deal with. This women never failed to have this want to help others. She was always looking for a way to be positive and help those who needed it, even though sometimes she was really the one needing help. After her husband left her and her unborn child dies she is left with nothing (besides her family). This makes her feel the need to be of use. This is what causes her to use her milk left over from her pregnancy to feed a starving man so that he does not die. With such compassion and love for others she becomes an inspirational character in the book. She went through two of the hardest things someone can go through and still came out the enough positive attitude to help others.

Grapes of Wrath- Character Anylisis of Tom Joad

The character I am going to be analyzing is Tom Joad. In the story he is pretty much the main character/ protagonist. From the second chapter he has been the main focus throughout the entire story. He was first introduced in the story as a kind of mysterious/ creepy hitchhiker that was a hanging around a semi-trucker's truck. As the story goes on you learn that he is a convict who just got out of prison for killing a man. He killed the man for "good reasons" though, as the book tells it. He is traveling back to his family home on the farm to live with them. He goes there to find they are gone. He learns that they had to move to California for a job and a home because they got theirs taken away. Tom only has word of ear to help him get to his family. When he finally does he becomes the glue that holds them together. He is the one who takes a lot of risks in the story for his family. Tom was the one that led them into a good life in California. Tom is also the one who protected them. If there was any fight or conflict he was their winning it for his family. His family gained an even deeper love for him and more respect for him as a person as well. He has a very gun-hoe attitude about everything. Even if it's something that might be dangerous, if he hasn't tried it, it isn't dangerous yet. "It don't take no nerve to do somepin when there ain't nothin' else you can do." (Steinbeck, John. pg 221) Tom said this when someone told them that it was dangerous to cross the river. Because of Tom's go get em' attitude this was how he responded. He isn't afraid to take chances but at the same time he is very wise and careful about the decisions he does make. Especially when it comes to the ones he loves.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Character Analysis-Jim Casy

One of the main characters in the story is a man named Jim Casy. He first comes into the story in the beginning when Tom Joad is walking down the road and sees him sitting there. They begin to talk about how Jim was a preacher. They went on to talk about how Tom's father was huge fan of Jim and how he preached. Tom really wanted to bring Jim back to see his Pa and family because they know how excited they would be to see him. Then Jim told Tom that he was no longer a preacher. Tom was very surprised by this because of how much of a spiritual man Jim was. Jim explained that he was still religious but didn't feel like a good one. His words were ""I says to myself,'What's gnawin' you? Is it the screwing'? An' i says, "No, it's the sin." An' I says, " Why is it that when a fella ought to e just about mule-ass proof against sin, an' all full up of Jesus, why is it that's the time a fella gets a fingerin' in his pants buttons?" (Steinbeck, John pg. 23) Jim is pretty much describing here why he didn't feel like he should be a preacher. He was constantly fooling around with younger women and was thinking of sexual thoughts often. Although he knew this was wrong he couldn't stop it and felt like he was being a hypocrite, which he was. This made him take time away to get his thoughts straight before he went back to actually preaching in a church. Since he was on a journey himself he ended up joining Tom in his as well. The two became very close friends and were pretty much together most the book. Near the end Jim Casey gets shot by a sheriff in California. This was such a tragic event for Tom that he shot the sheriff for revenge of his dear friend Tom.

Grapes of Wrath- Theme of Inhumanity

The book is constantly showing how Tom and his family were so caring to others. How they would help others who are poor and how others who were poor would help them. This was a constant circle of loving towards one another. The inhumanity didn't stem form their family at all. The inhumanity started from the money and power hungry people that were in charge. Among these people were a lot of the bankers. The bankers knew that more money meant more power. These men were so power hungry that they wanted more and more money and were going to do anything to get it. This meant charging a lot of money to those who worked on the farms. Giving them high demands of which they could not meet no matter how hard they worked. The bankers wanted their money and if they did not get it, they were going to kick the farmers of the land. They did not care if that meant that all of the families would lose there homes. They were not worried about all the people who could lose their life out of starvation because they had no money to pay for food. They saw it as that if they didn't pay it was their fault and their job to deal with the consequences. The bankers were not only the inhumane ones. The land owners themselves were also very inhumane. They spent more time pointing fingers at the bankers, than looking at themselves and asking how they could help. They would rather the poor people just deal with it and put all the blame on the bankers. This amount of selfishness shows how they have no care for any other human life but their own. As for those who took the jobs as the tractor drivers were selfish in the sense of that they didn't care for any family but their own. "The houses were vacant, and a vacant house falls quickly apart."(Steinbeck, John pg. 149) This quote shows how much hard ships people were going through. Although all this was happening no one seemed to care besides the ones who were being affected directly. This shows how selfish all those who could have helped were.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Theme of Family

Throughout the book family was a constant. In the very beginning the Joad family was waiting for one of their sons, Tom Joad, to get out of prison and come home. Although he killed a man, they did not care. They could not wait for their son to come home because not matter what he does they always loved him. The quote "All we got is the family unbroke." (Steinbeck, John pg. 217) This quote is pretty much what the subtitle of the book could have been. After they lost their land and all their money, all they had was one another. Through this they became closer as a family unit. The slowly began learning more and more about one another and this helped them to become better and more sensitive to one another. Going through such hard times and seeing how hard it was on one another, they began to become more and more self sacrificing for one another. Adding to the family was good friends. The book showed how family doesn't always have to be by blood. It shows that sometimes the closest family you have does not technically have to be blood related to you. The people who love you, care for you, and would make sacrifices for you, is your real family. The book gives you an outlook on both of these concepts. Showing how your blood family should be of the utmost importance but even those who are blood but still love and care about you should also be of utmost importance. Tom Joad did everything for his ma, pa, and brothers and sisters, but he also did practically everything for those who weren't his blood family. We can learn many things from this book! We can learn that self sacrifices is always worth it for the ones you care about. Also you can learn that friends can be the best family members of all. We need to always remember that one thing no one can ever take away is our love for others, so we must use that as much as we can.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 8

The questions I will be answering are "How accurately does this novel reflect events in history? What responsibilities does the author believe exist between various groups in society, such as workers and bosses, men and women, blacks and whites, etc.? What people, ideas, and events probably influenced this author?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. The author reflects history very accurately because he puts in real life situations that were happening at this time. Such as money problems and land problems that caused many to migrate to other states. The author gives many of the characters their exact spots in the society ladder. He puts the bankers on top as the rulers of everyone. Their job is to make the people pay or they take it away. The land owners job is kind of the messenger. His job is to tell the people working on the land that if they can't pay they have to leave. The people working on the land have many jobs. The men are supposed to take care of the land and be able to pay the bank. The women are supposed to take care of the children, home, and support their husbands. The children are basically supposed to stay out of the way and be as happy and cooperative as possible. The author shows how in this time, and even now, that money is power. If you have the money you have the power over anyone who does not. It is obvious that he has more care and sympathy for those who do not have the money. Steinbeck grew up with his parents living above their means and never having much money so the story very much relates to him. (Liukkonen, Petri.) This part of his life made it easy for him to write about the trouble of money. Having this background also makes the book have an underlined opinion that the reader can catch every now and then. This is that he has much respect for those with no money because sometimes times are just to hard for them to make any money.


Liukkonen, Petri. "John Steinbeck." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. .

Grapes of Wrath- Question 7

The questions I will be answering are "What techniques does the author use to engage the audience and make the story effective? Give examples to support your analysis (mystery, humor, symbolism, suspense, etc.)." from the book Grapes of Wrath. The author uses action a lot about midway through the book. There are many fights that break out in the book. "Well, this fella don' want no hangin', 'cause he'd do it again. An' same time, he don't aim to bring trouble down on his folks. Ma - I got to go." (Steinbeck, John pg. 509)This quote was right before Tom went to fight a man. This shows the anger that forced action out of him. The next technique he used was mystery. From the very beginning when he had the trucker talking to the unknown man. The unknown people kept coming up throughout the book many times making me as the reader begin to think about every detail. A mystery technique such as this lets the reader get more involved in the book. "She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously." (Steinbeck, John pg. 578 ) This quote just shows how Steinbeck knew they using mystery would intrigue the reader even more. Another technique he used was humor. If a book is totally serious then the reader will become bored or to emotional about the book. Many readers do not like it when books are either of those. So Steinbeck knew this and used the perfect balance of serious nature and humor. An example of humor is when the Sharon of Rose uses her milk to help the man survive. This little bit of odd humor helped balance the books emotional/serious feel. Using techniques such as these allows the reader to become more engaged into the book. Without these the book would be overrated and boring. If you can't get a cry, laugh, and message out of a story, then it isn't very good.




Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 6

The questions I will be answering are "Why do we still read this book? What is so timeless about its message and characters? What can we learn from reading this novel?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. A book with such prominent historical background will always keep people reading it. The story line itself has a way of capturing your heart because of how personal it is. Many readers want a book that allows them to get lost into the story and put themselves in that position. A time of hardship is easy for many to relate to because everyone has had a hard times. It may not be the hardship the Joad went through but its easy to get so lost into the detail and story that you can feel as if it did. This to me makes it such a timeless book. The message that the book gives is that family and close friends are more important than any amount of money. It shows how Tom was willing to sacrifice a normal future for his family and close friends. Although he could have made a living for himself he made many sacrifices, such as killing the sheriff who murdered his friend Jim Casey. He felt that that was the only way to get justice for his friend. We can learn many things from the novel because of how self sacrificing the characters are. This can help us to be more caring to others over ourselves. That is one of the biggest problems we have in the world today, we are so self centered. Many people choose to think of what is going to get them more rich, more powerful, and/or more popular. People don't think of who else they might be affecting when they do what they do. That is how it was in the book when the bankers just took peoples home and money. They were only thinking of themselves and not all the people they were hurting.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 5

The questions I will be answering are "How does this novel reflect the history, behavior and social issues of the time period and setting? What is this book's symbolic and thematic significance?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. The novel reflects the history perfectly. At this point in history money was very tight. Banks were trying to get money from people who had none to give which caused many to lose their homes. This time was really hard on people and the non-existing money in their wallet. Also at this is time many people were having trouble with farming because tractors became so popular. Tractors could cover more land so many people lost their land to the banks and the people with tractors got them. This caused many people to have to migrate somewhere else for new jobs and homes. This is exactly what the Joad family had to do. They had to migrate which caused them to only have one another. They had to stick together to survive, because they were all they had in this hard time. This quote "Like a bunch a cows, when the lobos are ranging, stick all together. I ain't scared while we're all here, all that's alive, but I ain't gonna see us bust up" (Steinbeck 169 & 170) signifies that their survival at the time depended on each other. This was how it really was in this time period, many families had no home, no job, and money but they had their family. The significance of the book was just the raw reality of what was going on at the time. Many of the government and higher society people may not have liked the book because they wanted to pretend it wasn't happening. The truth was that people were losing their homes, jobs, and lives so other people could be richer. This book symbolizes the hard times for the less fortunate and what was really happening at this time in history.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 4

The questions I am going to be answering are "Who is the "hero" in this book and what are some of his/her traits? What does he/she accomplish, and how is he/she portrayed? Does the hero represent an abstract idea such as goodness, truth, courage or evil?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. The hero, or the protagonist, in the book is Tom. His full name is Tom Joad and he come from a small farm home with his family. He left his home at a fairly young age but managed to get into a lot of trouble. So much trouble that he got himself in prison for killing a man. This doesn't sound like much of a hero but that is what makes him an abstract hero. He displays qualities of heroism many times throughout the book. Although sometimes his ways of making things right might not be exactly what the law permits. The hero accomplishes his goal of giving his family a life in California. Although he has to leave them and is a criminal, he still did the heroic acts to get his family to that point. He is portrayed to be kind of like there Robin Hood. Except he is mainly only helping his family and close friends by doing the criminal acts. He shows a big heart in the book by helping those in need even though he is in need himself. His mother said "Learnin' it all the time, ever' day. If you're in trouble or hurt or need- go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help-the only ones." (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. p. 376), which is exactly what Tom Joad is. He is poor himself but he is one of the only ones helping the poor people out. This is probably because he relates to the poor people because he is one. Tom Joad is the Robin Hood hero for those who are close to him, except in the end he is not as fortunate as Robin Hood because he doesn't get that fairy tale ending.


Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 3

The question I am going to be answering is "What universal themes does this book address? What does the author understand about human nature?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. One of the largest themes I saw was how mean one man could be to another. From the very beginning when the owner says "No. The bank, the monster owns it. You'll have to go." (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. p. 34) The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.when referring to the farmers land. They say this with no sympathy and just blame it on the "monster". Which in reality is the evil hearts that lie within greedy men. This shows that many do not care for the life or well being of another. Another theme was quite the opposite of the first. That was the caring and generosity of fellow friends and family. The book showed many times how Tom Joad was helping old friends, such as the preacher Jim Casy. Also shows his caring and large sacrifices for his family. The next theme was general good verses evil, with a slight twist. The good verses evil was really shown in the story when Casy was killed by the sheriff, with the sheriff being the evil one. And then Joad killing the sheriff for revenge of the death of his friend Jim Casy. (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott.p. 386-387) This was a win for the "good" side. The twist here is that normally the good side doesn't kill people, and normally the bad side isn't the law enforcement. The author understands a lot about human nature. He understands that greedy men do not care who they hurt along the way as shown above by the bankers and owners. He also understands how when it comes to close friends and family, people will do anything! This includes killing someone which the author displayed when Tom killed Jim's killer.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 2

I am going to answer the question "What are the causes, gains, and losses of the conflict dealt with in this book?" from the book the Grapes of Wrath. The main conflict in the book was that there was a large drought that has caused many farmers to lose their jobs and land because they aren't producing enough goods. This is what happened to the Joad family which is causing them to have to migrate to California to find a home and jobs. On cause of the the conflict was the large drought. The loss of this is that they weren't able to keep their crops good and healthy which made them unusable. Unusable crops couldn't pay the banks, and if they weren't paid the Joads had to leave. There wasn't much of a gain from the drought besides that this led to some of the farmers getting tractors and making double that they were making before. For the Joads there was no gain because they were not one of the ones who got the tractors, or agreed to them anyway. The man who did take this job was Joe Davis and his reasoning for doing it was described by him saying "Three dollars a day. I got damn sickof creeping for my dinner-and not getting it. I got a wife and kids. We got to eat. Three dollars a day and it comes every day." (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. p.37) A second cause is that the bankers forced them to travel to California. The loss of this was that is that the Joads had a very long journey which was very stressful. The hard part for them was that they didn't know that after they got to California if it would all even be worth it. The gain was that the family got much closer. They learned a lot about and from each other that they might have never known if it was not for them being forced to move.




Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Grapes of Wrath- Question 1

I am going to answer the questions "What does the writing reveal about the author's values and attitudes? From what perspective does he/she write?" from the book Grapes of Wrath. First of all the author of the book is John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck actually grew up in California, where part of the story takes place. He also grew up on a farm and had many jobs as he was growing up. These jobs include part time writer, laborer, apprenticehood-carrier, apprentice painter, caretaker of an estate, surveyor, watchman, and fruit-picker. (Liukkonen, Petri.) This was all before he wrote his first book. This past of hardships and hard work gave him a good idea on how to write Grapes of Wrath because he could refer to stories of his own life. He grew up having to pay for his own schooling and pretty much anything that he wanted on his own. This makes it obvious that he values hard work because he grew up having to do it. This reflects in the book when the Joad family especially has to constantly be doing hard work in order to survive. (Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott.) The author also has a very large value for family as well. This is displayed throughout the book he talks about the Joad family wanting to wait for their son to be out of prison. When it talks about them all sticking together and helping one another survive. Also he values the hard working poor people and sees them as good people. This was shown in the book when the mother said "If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only ones."(Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott.p.394) The author writes in the perspective of third person. This allows him to write about the thoughts and ideas of every/ any character he chooses. This gives you a better insight to the characters and how they are really feeling and acting.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Liukkonen, Petri. "John Steinbeck." Www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Web. 15 Aug. 2011. .

Old Man and the Sea- Chacter anlysis of the store owner.

Although the character of the store owner may seem small he was a big part of the main characters life. This is one reason why I feel he should have had a larger role in the story itself. The store owners actual name is Martin. He owns the store directly below the main character, Santiago El Cameon. They never really describe his age or his looks in the story which kind of makes sense because Hemingway didn't see him of that much importance. In the story he is the owner of a cafe. This is why he would always give Manolin food and drinks to bring to Santiago. (Hemingway) Santiago never payed for any of the food or drinks. This shows that Martin has a very high regard for the old man. He has a level of respect for him that many of the townspeople do not have. This also shows how he has a very big heart. Most store owners, especially today, would give anyone anything for free. This only happens if they themselves get something out of it. For him to be this unselfish gives the store owner a bigger role in Santiago's life because it shows that someone besides Manoling cares about him. This is why I feel that Martin should have been given a lager part because he was one of the people helping keep Santiago alive because he had nothing to eat or drink and no way of paying for it either. This character shows that there was still kindness in the town but just very little of it because of the Great Depression going on. There were many characters in the book that weren't given very much effort of detail put into them. For some this made sense such as Manolins dad, newspaper guy, and the tourist women. These people didn't play life or death roles in Santiago's life. In my opinion Martin did which would be a reason I would have at least given him a face in the story.

Old Man and the Sea- What I did not like about the book.

Although I am a big fan of this book there are still many parts that I wish wouldn't have been there or would have been changed. One of these being the continuation from "What I liked about the book" describing repetition. Although there were many good ones there was on that I just did not understand. That was the repeating of the purple/violet color of the fish. (Hemingway) This was described multiple times in the book when talking about different fish that were not a great significance in the book. When I was reading I kept searching for a reason of why this color was so important. No matter how much I have looked into it I still can not find a good reason. This is irritating to me because that made me spend the whole book thinking it would all come together and make sense but then low and behold I am on the last page with no explanation. The next ting I did not like about the book was the very vague ending. I didn't feel like they left me hanging like in many book but I feel like all effort was lost at the end. I feel as if Hemingway put so much effort into the entire book but at the end just kind of lost the flair. There really wasn't much of a formal resolution of the fact that Santiago was deemed unlucky. (Hemingway) That bothered me because that was part of the conflict in a way, the part where he wanted to redeem respect again. I feel as if Hemingway should have given as much effort into the ending as he did the story because with a vague ending the story itself becomes kind of mediocre. It is like when your friend tells this long and kind of interesting story but at the very end they don't really tell you what happened and you feel like the story became kind of boring. So pretty much I loved the story and the storyline up until the very end because Hemingway didn't really give us one.

Old Man and the Sea- What I liked about the book.

I thought the Old Man and the Sea had some very good qualities to it. One of these being the writing skills of the author. The author used symbolism a lot which helped give the story depth and more interest to me as the reader. Some of these symbols included Joe DiMaggio, the harpoon, and the mast. (Hemingway) The author also used the tactic of repetition. This is a hard tactic because it can be overdone but when done right it can be perfect. Hemingway did it almost perfect, and I will describe those in perfections in the blog of "What I didn't like about the book." For this blogs sake I will describe the perfections. These being the repetition of the lions on the beach story because each time it was told there was another detail or part of the story given. (Hemingway) This makes a mini story inside of another story giving the book huge amounts of depth. Writing with depth is a huge plus for me because I don't like stories that just give the exact meaning to everything. That doesn't allow any creativity from me as the reader. My biggest plus that I can give to Hemingway's writing was his use of details. The amount of detail he would put into something was crucial! Whether it was very little because that part of the story had less significance in comparison to others. Maybe it was also the use of extra details to show the amount of prominence in the story. I loved this tactic because it gave me a better idea of what to think about and what not to worry about as much. Some authors tend to add details where they aren't needed making the story drug out and boring. The last thing I loved about the story was simply the story line. The story of someone who most would say is defeated and weak coming through hardships and being somewhat of a hero is always a fascinating story. What made this one even better was how they used the bad verses evil, human verses nature, and mental strength verses physical strength all together made the book a knockout.

Old Man and the Sea- Symbols

There were many different uses of symbols in the book. What is a symbol? A symbol is "something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign. ("symbol.") Through out the book Hemingway used this writing skill to expand the depth of the words by giving them something to symbolize. Having something symbolize something else makes each word have even more invisible words or phrases attached to them. By invisible I mean they have many not actually written out meanings to them. This makes a book more interesting to the reader. One symbol in the book is Joe DiMaggio, who used to be a Yankees baseball player. Joe DiMaggio symbolizes the human strength even through injury because he went his entire baseball career (pretty much) with a foot spur. Santiago, the protagonist in the story, used the strength that DiMaggio had as a reference to how he can't give up because of the injuries he has. The next symbol used was the lost harpoon. In the story when he was fighting the sharks he lost his harpoon which at this point was all he had left weapon wise to fight them. (Hemingway) The harpoon symbolized his strength and sense of power at the time he was using it. When is was lost it represented a sense of loss of the little strength he had left. The next symbol was the mast on the boat. The mast symbolized the cross of Christ, known as the cross Christ carried and was ultimately crucified on. The scene of walking the cross up the hill was sort of reenacted when Santiago carried his mast all the way up the hill to his home. (Hemingway) This was not his death but it was very closing to being so. Symbolizing became a huge part of the story Old Man and the Sea because it was the only thing showing how this old man got his courage and strength. He acted on how the great Joe DiMaggio would have, how Christ himself would have, and ultimately won the struggle



Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.



"symbol." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 15 Aug. 2011. .

Old Man and the Sea-Character Analysis of towns people

I am going to do a character analysis of the townspeople. In the book they live in a small fishing community in Cuba. (Hemingway) The majority of the men and boys are fishermen. This is something that is taught at a very young age because its the villages way of life. The women and girls keep the home and help the men when they are needed. This way of life makes it very easy to pass judgment onto others because when someone is not only different from you, but also half the town then there is defiantly more of a chance of passing judgement. There wasn't to much said about the town passing judgment on store owners though, but this is probably because store owners are needed for them to make their living make sense. Not much point in catching fish if there is no one to sell it to. Here is where the judgment comes in, and it has to do with catching the fish. When you are a fisherman in the village there is little bit of competitions to where who can catch the most or the biggest. This is normal for the town. (Hemingway) It is not normal though for people to not be catching any fish at all. This kind of reputation is unwanted because then you will be known as "unlucky". This is exactly what the old man of the town, otherwise known as Santiago El Cameon was deemed to be. Have this kind of blemish makes it very hard to have any respect for the person because they are doing nothing. Well this is how the towns people of the fishing village saw it. They didn't know why he couldn't just catch a fish when they all were. This is why they deemed him so unlucky and why Santiago became even more sad/frustrated because his entire town was against him. The towns people all in all were just characters who passed judgment and made Santiago push even harder to get the big fish.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and The Sea- Character Analysis of the fish and sharks

I am going to do a character analysis of the fish and the sharks. Although these characters had no dialogue, they were quite possibly one of the most important characters. The fish was definitely a huge part of the story. It came into the story because the old man, Santiago, caught him on his fishing line. The fish could easily being a representation of the Santiago because they are both fighting. The old man is fighting to keep the fish but most of all for the respect of his community again. The fish is fighting for his life and freedom from the line stuck in his mouth. They both fight so hard and give everything they have to give. Then the sharks come into play. They symbolize a challenge and hardship for both the fish and Santiago. The sharks come and begin to eat away at the fish. This causes the old man to have to fight them with spears and knives until finally he lost all his weapons to the beasts. (Hemingway) This causes the fish and the old man to be fighting together against the same enemy. Sadly the fish does not finish this fight which makes the old man fight even harder. Santiago then began fighting for himself and fish which made him fight harder and gain more mental/emotional strength. The fish and Santiago became almost one in the same in a way and the shark became their common enemy. This gives the story a very good meaning of life and strength through just this simple tactic of writing. Also the sharks played a role of being literally the antagonist. This is because they were against the protagonist, Santiago. They were fighting to steal his fish so they could eat, and they were not afraid of Santiago when they probably should have been. The fish and sharks were both fighting for something but they had to go against each other to do it.

Old Man and The Sea- Character Analysis of young boy

I am going to do a character analysis of the young boy in Old Man and the Sea. In the story he is what I would call a secondary character because he plays a party but he himself is not really in the book a lot. He is more of a big subject topic for the old man, Santiago, when he is on the boat. Santiago says many times how he wishes the young boy was there. In the story the young boys real name is Manolin. He is also a fisherman like Santiago except he is much younger and has much less experience. Manolin sees the old man as a role model in his life because he really learns a lot from the old man. He learned how to be a good fisherman and learned many tricks about life and fishing. Little did the young boy realize, was that he was actually teaching the old man a lot of things as well. Manolin taught the old man to gain strength through other outlets besides just muscle. This ultimately saved the old mans life when he was fighting the fish and sharks in the book. (Hemingway) Manolin was always very helpful to the old man because he felt such a strong connection with him. Without him Manolin wouldn't have become such a great fishermen so he also feels a sense of obligation and respect. Manolin would go to the cafe and get Santiago food and coffee many times, so the story told. (Hemingway) Manolin would also help Santiago carry his fishing gear down to the boat. The book told of one specific time, when Manolin was helping carry Santiago's stuff down before the trip that changed Santiago's life.(Hemingway) That was the trip he caught the biggest fish the town has ever seen. Manolin begged for the old man to take him but the old man refused because Manolin's parents saw the old man as unlucky. Manolin saw him as wise and a good fishermen.

Old Man and the Sea. Character Review- Old Man

I am going to do a review on the character known as the old man. The old man's real name is Santiago El Cameon. Santiago is the protagonist in the story, meaning he is the hero or main character of the story. Santiago lives in a small fishing village in Cuba.(Hemingway) He is an older man which makes him have many stories and facets to him because of his life experiences. The biggest and probably most important part of Santiago's life is his fishing. Not only is fishing his career but it is also his passion. This has been so for most of his life. Santiago is a very wise man and knows many things. He knows enough to where he has taught the young boy in the story, who I will be doing a character analysis on next, all the tricks to fishing. Santiago also is very caring to the young boy. He sees the young boys life and future important to him because he loves the boy, and not in a creepy way! Santiago is deemed from the beginning as unlucky by the people in his community because he has not caught a fish in a long time. This makes him non desirable to fish with, which is why the parents of the young boy do not allow him to fish with Santiago anymore. Santiago says its for the best because he doesn't want the young boy to get hurt. Later on Santiago wishes the boy could have been there to be with him on the boat with him because he ends up needing a lot of help. Santiago all in all ended up with a HUGE fish and deemed not unlucky anymore. In fact he was seen as a hero instead of an unlucky old fishermen. There is much to learn from the old man's strength and sense of life. He gave all his strength when fighting the fish and sharks (Hemingway), but most of the strength came from his heart and mind.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and the Sea. How Religion Played a Role

Many times in the book Old Man and the Sea the author, Ernest Hemingway, used his religion in the story. His religion being of the Christian faith. Although I am not entirely sure he realized how much he used this in the book because it was so known to him that it would only make sense that that would be what his characters know as well. From the very beginning the book talks about God and Jesus multiple times just in the old mans everyday dialogue and thoughts. (Hemingway) It is obvious that Hemingway was very religious. He had all his characters believe in Jesus because that is all he truly believed. It did not make sense for his characters to not have the same outlook on life as he does. Many authors have done this because it is easier to write about things one knows than things that are foreign to someone. Just as it is easier for me to write about a girl character than a boy character because I am a girl. The same goes for things as religious views, general wealth (or lack of), and age can all play into how someone writes. Sometimes this can hinder a writer because it causes the book to be very opinionated, making it hard for many readers to get lost in the book. Which in my opinion is how a book should be, the reader should just be able to be lost into it. When an author begins to put his or her own opinions and thoughts, their thoughts might not be versatile enough for the reader to relate. In Old Man and the Sea, if the reader is not of the Christian faith it might cause them to not like the book because its hard for them to relate. This can also help an author if it is done right. The reader can feel more of a connection to the book if it does relate to them and/or their beliefs. Also many readers do become interested in books about people with totally different lives because it gives them an outlook they aren't used to seeing. So opinionated writing can go both ways depending on how opinionated it is and the reader themselves.



Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and the Sea. Repetition Part Three (that rhymes!)

This is a continuation of giving examples of repetition in the book Old Man and the Sea. I am on the third example which is talking about if the boy, Manolin, was there on the boat to help him. Many times while the old man was on the boat he would speak of things the boy and him would do or how the boy would be of help. (Hemingway) By repeating things about the boy so much it gave the old man, Santiago, a lot of strength and reason to fight for his life. This repetition kind of represented reasons for Santiago to fight for his life. Hemingway did well on this repetition but I feel he could have added more detail about the boy himself just to give more depth to the story. The fourth example of repetition is the great DiMaggio. Known also as Joe DiMaggio, former New York Yankees baseball player who in the book was also this character. In the book Santiago talks about DiMaggio's foot spur and DiMaggio didn't let that effect his game play. (Hemingway) This is how DiMaggio plays into the book because Santiago saw the foot spur as an obstacle. Just like Santiago being old, his hands, and not having help were all obstacles. The author used the repetition to represent the hardships and obstacles the DiMaggio overcame that helps Santiago overcome his. The last repetition happens to be the worst of all of them. This is the repetition of the purple coloring of fish. (Hemingway) This one to me makes absolutely no sense and has no real meaning or purpose at all. It only serves as another repetition but doesn't help the story line. In part one I said "I felt some of the repetition could have been completely gotten rid of", this was the EXACT repetition I was referring to. In my opinion, it only hurt the story instead of helping it. It added more confusion and clutter to a already in depth story. I must say that all in all though Hemingway did do a fantastic job in using repetition in aiding and giving more depth to the story (minus the whole purple fish stuff).



Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and The Sea. Repetition Part 2

In repetition part one I described what repetition is, the pro's and con's, and the how Ernest Hemingway used it. In part two I am going to go through and give specific example on how Hemingway used repetition in the book, the Old Man and the Sea. There are five different repetition topics that I am going to cover in this blog. The first of the five is the lions on the beach story. The story consists of the old man, Santiago, talking about his time when he sailed around Africa. He tells how he looked onto the beach and saw the lions playing. (Hemingway) One of the pro's about this repetition in particular is that he allows new information to be shared every time he talks about the story giving it more depth as it goes. Another pro is that it has a very prominent connection to the story. Every time he sleeps he dreams of sailing around Africa and seeing the lions which reminds him of days when he was younger and stronger. This nightly reminding of days of strength actually gives him more strength when he is on the boat fighting for the fish. The next largely repeated subject was Santiago's hands. They talked about how they were scarred from fish, how they would cramp up when holding onto to big fish, and when they were bleeding the image of Jesus came to his mind. (Hemingway) The quote "saw the old man's hands" (Hemingway)was just one of multiple times that the author talked of the old mans hands. The repetition of his hands made for a perfect way to add more bits of story line and information about Santiago. When it talks about the scars on his hands from fishing, it makes you know he has been fishing for a long time. That is a more complex and yet intriguing way to give a reader information on a character. This is a huge pro in my eyes because he allows the repetition to act in the story and not just a random part of the story.
(To Be Continued In Part Three...)


Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

Old Man and the Sea. Repetition Part 1

Throughout the book the author uses a tactic called repetition. This is meaning the copy or replica of words in the case.("repetition") This is a tactic used to keep the book tied into itself through either meaningless repetition or repetition of important facts to the storyline itself. When using this type of tactic in writing there can be many pro's and con's. The pro's could be; making a story line make more sense, keeping a consistent flow to a story, and even giving the reader a more interest and liking towards the book. The con's could be; giving a reader to much meaningless repetition which would lead them to confusion, lose interest because nothing new is being said, and giving the book a mediocre story line making it unreadable to any good reader. There is a fine line between the two of these making it very hard for authors to use repetition in their writing. In the book the Old Man and the Sea, the author Ernest Hemingway was not afraid to use this tactic! In fact he did not only use repetition, but he used it very frequently throughout the book. He even used more than one subject matter for the repetition. I believe Ernest used the repetition perfectly throughout the book! The reasons being when he would use repetition he would use it more based on a concept, person, or theme. Making it easy for him to add a little more detail or information each time he would repeat that certain subject matter. This kept the repetition flowing but also made it more interesting, even if it had very little to do with the story line itself. Although Hemingway was very good with how he presented the repetition itself, I was not impressed with how well he made it make sense in a story. I felt some of the repetition could have been completely gotten rid of and I would still have the same feelings towards the book. Hemingway should have kept it to the few simple yet important repetitions he had instead of adding the nonsense that only drug me away from the good story line itself.




"repetition." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 02 Aug. 2011. .