The Monkey's Raincoat Posting #1

For my next set of blogs, I will be reading The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais. This book is about a detective and his sidekick who are solving a case about a missing person. So far, we learn that a woman's husband is missing along with her child. Right now the detective is just asking the wife about the husband. He hasn't figured too much out yet.

I like this book so far because it is funny but at the same time it is serious. I also like the characters. The main detective is a big smart alec. His partner is a very big man who doesn't really talk, but he beats everyone up. I started reading this book because everyone in my family said it was a really good read.

Third FD/HF Blog Assignment

So far I like everything in my book. It's interesting and fun to read. I think the dialect can be a little hard to understand sometimes, but it still makes it interesting.

Second Reading Circle Blog Assignment

I think Mark Twain writes in a southern dialect. A lot of vowels are taken out of words like when characters say the word "going", Mark Twain writes it as "gwyne". When he writes dialogue, it is often very hard to understand. An example of some really difficult speech is when Twain wrote: Jim told it to me. He says: "Yo'ole father doan' know, yit, what he's a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he'll go 'way, en den agin he spec he'll stay. De bes' way is to res' easy en let de ole man take his own way." This dialogue continues on for another half of a page. I had to read this a cople of times, each time understanding a little bit more. Although it is difficult to read, I think it really adds to the book. It makes you understand how they really talked.

So far I'm rily enjoyin' dis book. I like how Huckleberry wants tuh be a bad kid, but he still follows rules. I enjoy readin' 'bout wen all uv thuh kids go into fantuhsees 'bout robbin' peeple and killin' 'em. I look forward to readin' more uv dis book.

First Assignment for Huck Finn

1. You don't know me, without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but that ain't no matter.

I think the first sentence shows that the book is going to be contrary to previous beliefs. It's saying that if you have read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", this book will explain things differently. I also think it shows that this character who is speaking could be untrustworthy. I believe this because he is saying something totally different from what his friend previously said. This means that one of them is lying, or bending the truth.



2. The author ends chapter one by telling us that Huckleberry Finn snuck out of his house. This shows that he is a very sneaky character. This backs up my idea that he could be lying/bending the truth. In chapter two, he is continuing to be mischievous by sneaking out with a group of bad kids, including Tom Sawyer, to go do bad things. Chapter one was introducing Huckleberry Finn and showing what his life would be like without all the trouble caused by his friends.



3. I really think I am going to like this book because I enjoy reading stories with the main character being the same age as me. This helps me relate to what's going on. Also I think I am going to like it because I like adventure stories and everyone I know that has read it says it is one of the greatest books they have ever read.

"Angels & Demons" Posting 2

Leonardo Vetra was the foster parent of Vittoria. He was a priest and adopted her when she proved that she was smart in mathematics. Vittoria and Kohler showed Langdon a particle accelerator under their facility. He was amazed by it. After that, Vittoria showed Kohler and Langdon a secret project that she and her father had been working on, anti-matter. A small amount f anti-matter was very unstable and could cause a large explosion. After Vitoria showed them a small example, she wanted to show them a hidden container of anti-matter, a much larger container. When they went down to see it, they stopped at a retina-scanner. When she put her eye to it, she realized there was blood on it. She looked down and saw her father's eye.

I still really like this book. Dan Brown writes very well in the sense that he is introducing all this stuff like particle accelerators and anti-matter, but he explains it so well, you would think you had prior knowledge of these things. I thought the end of the chapters that I read was very suspenseful because I realized that bad people used Leonardo's eye in order to break into the hazmat room and steal the large quantity of anti-matter. I can't wait to read more and post about it.

"Angels & Demons" Posting 1

The second book I am reading is Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. At the beginning of the book, the main character, Robert Langdon, receives a mysterious call by a man named Max Kohler. Following the call he receives a fax by a group known as the "Illuminati". The Illuminati are a satanic cult. Kohler wants Langdon's help to investigate the murder of a co-worker. It is very urgent so he sends for Langdon very quickly. When Langdon arrived at the research facility, he was greeted by Kohler. Langdon was escorted to the room of the murdered man. Leonardo Vetra was his name. The first thing Langdon noticed was that Leonardo's eye was missing.

After started this book, i was mesmerized by how quickly the action and suspense starts. The first page starts with Langdon receiving a mysterious call. After that he is whisked away to a secret facility to investigate the murder of a man with "Illuminati" burned into his chest. So far I am really enjoying this book. My parents recommended I read it and I thank them. I have read other Dan Brown books and I think he is a really good writer. I look forward to reading more of this book.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 10 (Final Posting)

For the final posting of this book, I read chapters 29 and 30. In these last chapters, the boxcar that the Joads have been living in starts to flood. While they are all trying to fix it, Ma realizes Rose of Sharon is having her baby. It dies during birth. Pa tells Uncle John to bury the dead baby. Instead, Uncle John lets the baby float down the stream to send a message. They decide to leave the boxcar and spot a barn on a hill. When they get there, a boy is with his father. The boy says his father is starving. Rose of Sharon begins to breast feed the man and smiles.

I think the last part of the book where Rose of Sharon breast feeds the man and smiles, makes her happy because she feels like it is her own baby. I think this was a happy ending because they all find a barn to sleep in, they all have jobs to get money and food, and they aren't sick or on the verge of death. I thought it was a good way to end the book after all of the chaos that occurred earlier in the story.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 9

For this posting, I read chapters 26-28. In these chapters, the Joads decide to leave the government camp because they are running out of money and they can't afford to stay there. They decide to go pick cotton to make more money. The Joads get a job picking peaches. They realize that the food they buy is more expensive. This really upsets Ma. Tom goes outside and sees a strike. In the group is Casy. While they are talking, a man strikes Casy in the head with a pick axe and kills him. Tom steals the axe, and kills that guy. The Joads leave the peach picking plant and go somewhere else. On the way Tom gets out because he doesn't want to endanger them. The rest of the Joads find a job picking cotton and make a good amount of money. Rose of Sharon falls asleep outside. When she wakes up, it is pouring rain and she is chilled.



I think it is sad how Casy died after getting out of jail. Especially when he was striking against unfairness and he did nothing to harm people. I am also glad that the Joads finally got a stable job with a good income to support themselves with. I think something bad will happen to Rose of Sharon because at the end it said she was chilled and sick. This means she could be in very bad condition. I am almost done with the book and I am hoping it will have a good ending after all of the depressing situations that have occured in the book.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 8

For this posting, I read chapters 24 and 25. In these chapters, while preparing for the dance that night, the committee members posted 25 men to watch out in case someone wants to start a fight. Some other migrants came in and caused trouble. They were escorted out. The cops arrived and tell the watchmen to open the gates because they hear a riot. The watchmen just say that it is just the music from the dance.



I think it's good that all the migrants are having a dance after what they've been through. Having to move and give up their farms and land. I feel bad that Rose of Sharon didn't go to the dance because she had a baby and Mrs. Sandry said it would be cursed if she went to the dance. In the end, I think that will be god because I have a feeling the cops are going to try to break in and mess up the party. If the cops don't do that, I also think some other bad people might do it.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 7

For this posting I read chapters 21-23. In these chapters the Joads finally get to the government camp. They are very happy to find out it has running water. The Wallaces get Tom a job laying pipes so he can afford the camp. Pa, Al, and John are having trouble finding work.



I am really happy that the Joads finally found a somewhat good place to live with all the food, water, and everything else they could need. I think it is really sad that Granma and Grampa both died just before they got to the camp. It would have been a good life for them and they probably wouldn't have gotten sick and died. I think that the crazy lady, Mrs. Sandry, is going to do something ad to Rose of Sharon's baby because she says that the baby is pretty much cursed.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 6

For this posting I read chapters 17-20. In these chapters, the Joads stop in the desert. Noah decides to stay and says he can live off of fishing. Also not leaving the desert is the Wilsons. When the Joads finally get across the desert, Ma tells them tha grandma died. The Joads stop at a migrant camp and rest. When Ma makes dinner, some kinds from different tents help her. While helping, they tell Ma about a government camp that is really nice with really nice toilets. Casy takes the blame for knocking out a police officer and is arrested. Tom says he is going to look for the government camp.

Again, this was a really sad chapter. Not only did the grandpa die in the last section, but now grandma dies. I think its kind of crazzy how he is slowly killing off all of the characters. It keeps me wondering who the next person to die will be and when they will die. I also thought it was very brave of Casy to take the blame and get himself arrested. I honestly don't know if I would've done the same thing myself.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 5

For this blog posting, I read chapters 12-16. In these chapters, John Steinbeck says that migrants drive along route 66 to get to California. Along the way, they stop in towns and are constantly told to go back because the California border patrol will just turn them back anyway. The Joad family makes a stop at a gas station to get some water. While they are there, their dog runs onto the highway and is hit and killed by a car. The Joads stop at a campsite to make dinner. They meet Ivy and Sairy. Then they realize Grandpa is sick. He was having a stroke. He ended up suffocating and dying. Along their way to California, the Joad's car breaks down. They fix up the car and leave again.

I thought this was a very sad part of the book because both the dog and the grandpa died. They were so sudden. I also think it is sad how so many migrants are forced to move to California in order to find work, but when they reach there they are turned back. It makes me wonder what my family would've done had we been in those migrants' positions. So far I am enjoying this book and it is still interesting.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 4

For posting number 4, I read chapters 10 and 11. Tom's mom is worried about moving to California. Tom tells her that the conditions out there are very bad. His mom doesn't believe him. Casy wondered if he could go along with the Joads to California to work with them. Pa is worried because Tom may not be able to go to California due to the parole rules. When Tom was released from prison, he wasn't completely free, he was on parole. The family decides to alllow Casy to join them. Grandpa was reluctant to leave, but the family gave him sleeping pills and snuck him into the truck. As they were leaving it says that Ma did not look back, but straight ahead.

I thought this part in the book was more optimistic because the family is getting ready to move to California. They don't seem to upset because they left the next day. In my opinion this shows that they are ready to start a new life.I think the sentence saying that Ma did not look back, but straight ahead symbolizes that she can't change the past so she may as well look toward the future and hope for the best. I am really enjoying this book, and after reading 11 chapters, I can't wait to read more.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 3

For the third posting, I read chapters 7-9. In these chapters, we learn that Uncle John didn't take his wife to the hospital when she had a stomachache, and she later died from a burst appendix. After that he did anything he could to make up for it. Tom meets his parents and they are surprised and happy to see him. All of the family ask if Tom has escaped from prison. Al, Tom's younger brother comes home. The men start to work on fixing Pa's truck.
The tenants start packing everything up to move. They sell items they have for little money, but at least it's some money. Whatever the tenants didn't sell, and didn't need, they put into a big bonfire and watched it burn. After the flame died out, they all got in their trucks and left.

These chapters started out pretty happy with the Joad family reunion. Everyone just seemed so happy to see Tom, even though they thought he escaped jail. After that the story was sad again because it went to the Tenant side of the story. I thought it was sad how the tenants had to burn pretty much everything they own because they couldn't take it with them.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 2

For my second blog posting, I read chapters 4-6. In these chapters, a man named Tom Joad, one of the main characters, watches the truck drive off from the turtle. He picks it up and takes it to his little brother. On his way he meets Jim Casy. Jim Casy is a former minister who knew Tom as a child. Tom confesses about how he killed in a man in a brawl and is not ashamed of going to prison for it. Jim wants to visit Tom's family and when they get to Tom's house, it's deserted.
Also a lot of tenants lost their jobs and have to move on. They decided to all move west. One of the tenants sees a man driving a tractor. The tractor driver warns the man that he needs to leave his house by dinner time because he is going to have to tear it down.
When Tom and Jim get to the house, they see it has been destroyed. A man named Muley tells them that the Joad family moved to his Uncle John's house to pick cotton. The three of them see a car coming and Muley tells them to hide. It was the deputies. After that Muley takes them to a cave to sleep, but Tom refuses.

I found these chapters to be kind of sad because everybody is realising that their lives are falling apart. The tenants are loaing their jobs and Tom just los his home and is forced to hide from the cops for tresspassing at his own house. I enjoy learning about the Depression because I've never learned it before. I was going to in eigth grade, but I moved here and learned something else. This story helps better my knowledge of what the struggle was like for people living in these times. The way owners would make tenants lose their jobs, just so they, the owners, could make more money. I'm enjoying this book so far. I hope it continues to be good.

"Grapes of Wrath" Posting 1

For my first blog posting, I read chapters 1-3. In these chapters, John Steinbeck talks about the setting. Also, a hitchhiker asked a truck driver if he could have a lift. Despite the rules saying the trucker couldn't pick up hitchhikers, he did it anyway. Then, a turtle starts walking across a highway. A car swerves in order to avoid. Following that, the trucker swerved too, but his intentions were to hit it, which he did. The turtle just got thrown to the side and survived.



I think John Steinbeck did a great job of detailing the environment and what’s going on in the Dust Bowl. The entire first chapter is dedicated to setting up the setting. I think the turtle mentioned in the first paragraph represents mankind in a way. This is because it has to face obstacles, like the highway, which could be a symbol for life. Although it has to cross the dangerous highway, it is well equipped with a shell for protection. Even when it was hit by the truck, which could represent an obstacle in life, it just waited a second, and continued its journey.