My Final Blog: My Favorite Story

We have read so many great stories and poems. But one story that I really enjoyed reading this semester was The Great Gatsby. It made me smile while reading it. I felt that I got to know what Jay Gatsby wanted as much as we all would want: to rekindle an old love we had and then lost. It made me rather upset when reading that Gatsby was shot because he was one of my favorite characters in the entire story. He was the type of guy that you would want to hang out with and somehow want to get to know the real truth about the guy with the many parties. I wrote a previous blog about seeing the new Great Gatsby movie with Leo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. I really loved the movie but after reading the story before watching the movie, I love the book a lot more. One of the reasons why I'm glad I took this online English course was that I had the opportunity to read The Great Gatsby which I really desired to read for a while now!!

Who Does It More: Men or Women?

Recently I had read John Updike's story Separating and it was about this couple getting ready for a divorce and have to figure out how to tell the children. In the story it mentions that Richard walked past the house of a woman he wanted to marry. Even though they did not say it exactly say but after reading that line of the story I thought that he did have an affair with another woman. Back then it seemed normal for people to have other lovers. These days some view it as still normal and yet some people find it despicable and vulgar to have other relationships when you are married. Back then and now men who often have multiple partners were found cool to be buddies with as well as it was also seen that women who have multiple partners are found as tramps. If anyone asked me I think that a man with multiple partners is as despicable like everyone views women with multiple partners. 

The Great Gatsby Movie

I know this has nothing to do with any stories we have read but I have to mention something I did over the weekend. I had recently watched the Great Gatsby movie with Tobey McGuire and Leonardo DiCaprio. I would have to say one of the many things I liked about the movie was the use of special set design. Everything looked really incredible in my opinion. Another thing I liked was the use of music. It mixed music sounding from the 1920's with our modern music. If I had to pick my favorite actor in that movie, I would have to say Leo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. I really thought he made a Great Gatsby, no pun intended!

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Lately I have been reading one of the books that I have always read when I had gotten the chance, Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I would not say that Captain Ahab is my favorite character but there is a characteristic that he has that I admire. After getting his leg bitten off by the great white whale and he wanted revenge by killing him. But coming out of that revenge he had the desire to get what he wanted and he kept at it and never gave up. All in all, Moby Dick is an irresistible book and I just can not seem to get enough of it.  Another fact about my love for the book is that is my childhood favorite because my Mom used to read it to me and my sisters. I had also seen the Hallmark movie with Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab and I used to watch that movie alot as well. In general, Moby Dick is a book that I could read over and over again and just never get enough.

Class Blog

http://podsofthought7.blogspot.com/

Here is the address!

Abner from Barn Burning

I had recently read Barn Burning in our recent pod and I was observing a certain character in particular. His name was Abner Snopes. We all know that most men with families show love and compassion towards their families, but Abner was more forceful and harsh towards them. He would often yell orders at them and treat them like dirt. Another fact about the character I had stumbled upon was that he had a criminal like nature. In the war, he would often steal Confederate's horses and then one day he was caught and shot in the leg. In general, the character is a really negative one. He is jealous and violent. When I read short stories or stories in general, I hardly find any characters that I disliked even if they were the bad characters. But after reading Barn Burning and seeing how Abner is, there is one character that I had highly disliked.

While reading The Great Gatsby, I have been introduced to so many amazing characters and have gotten to know them for who they are. Out of all the characters in the story, I would like to be Jay Gatsby. The reason being why I would want to be him is because he has a mindset on a dream that he sought to fulfill. He had fallen in love with Daisy Buchanan a long time ago before he had left and when they reunited, the mindset goal he had was to win her over. Sadly the unthinkable happened to him to which being with her was truly short lived. I also have to mention a couple facts of him being my favorite character. One of them is that he went from being the son of poor farmers to being a rich man (rags to riches vision of the American Dream that we all want). Another fact is that he just has a mysterious side that pulls you in in a way and makes you wonder more about him and read on to the end of the book.