The Giver

What would be necessary in a utopia? Would there be no sickness? No grief? What about no color, no love, and no sense of family? How could someone think that such a society was perfect? This is the question that comes to mind when reading Lois Lowery's The Giver. This book had me reading enthusiastically from cover to cover until I was done.

The Giver tells the story of a boy named Jonas who lives in a seemingly perfect society. His life gets turned upside down when he turns twelve. In his society, all children are considered adults once they turn twelve. They receive their job and become functioning members of society. Most children get assigned to be judges, teachers, or care givers, but Jonas is chosen to be the new Receiver. This means that everyday he will go to the current Giver to receive the memories that were taken away when this utopian society was formed. As Jonas begins to receive these memories, he realizes that his society is not so perfect after all. An internal struggle begins to take place inside Jonas. He questions what is truly best for people and community. How does Jonas take all of the changes that he can now see in his life?

The setting of The Giver is different from any other book that I have read. In the community in the novel, everything is the same and no one can see colors because they do not have the memories of them. I had great difficulty imagining the setting because The Giver is set in a place that is very different from our own. Lowery did not provide a whole lot of description of the setting. However, this did not prove to be too important in the understanding of the story.

The characters in the novel were very well developed. I grew attached to Jonas and began to feel his pain. I felt sorry for characters such as Fiona who did not know what great things they were missing out on. I worried for the outcome of the questionable Gabe. Each character had his or her own struggles and triumphs. Lowery did a wonderful job in the creation of her characters.

Overall, I enjoyed The Giver very much. I would recommend this book to anyone. The Giver was easy to read and interesting.

Animal Farm

George Orwell's Animal Farm shows the progression of a utopia. This utopia starts as a wonderful place for all of the animals of the farm. However, as time wears on corruption sets in and the utopia soon turns into a distopia. Orwell obviously does not believe that utopias can exist.

Characters are important in the formation of a story and a theme. Orwell chose to use animals as his main characters. This classifies Animal Farm as a fable, but this novel is far from a child's story. Animal Farm shows how corruption can ruin a society. This is a very human idea, yet Orwell used animals to convey this viewpoint.

Many authors could not have pulled this off, but Orwell's use of animals was very effective. The animals had human characteristics, and they acted very similar to people would when put in such situations. I even often forgot that the book's characters were animal and not human. Orwell managed to use farm animals to show how utopias often end up, and with the use of animals, a humorous aspect was added.

Animal Farm used a "fairy tale-esque" style to convey a very deep theme. By using animals as his main characters, Orwell created a perfect balance between a fun storybook and a thought provoking political essay.

Cross-Examined!

I am pretty much a good girl. Despite this, my parents cross-examine me quite often. Sometimes, they can get pretty cop-like.

Generally, they do the interrogations before I go somewhere such as to a friend's house or to a movie. My parents always want to know every single detail.

"Who's going to be there?"

"How are you going to get there? How are you going to get home?"

"How much money do you plan to spend?"

"Are you lying to us? Are you really going to ditch the movie and run off to do something else?"

You get the picture. Sometimes, they can really get on my nerves. However, I know they are just trying to proctect me because they love me and all of that. But, do they really think I am going to run off?

Hope

I get hope from the
sunrise

When nighttime turns to
daytime

I get hope from the
colors

How the blackness turns to
beauty

Celebrate!

My favorite celebration is the celebration of a birthday. April is a big month for my group of friends because four people have birthdays in this month. I love to help people celebrate their birthday with well wishes, gifts, parties, and cake.

Birthdays are very important to me, especially since I am so (relatively) young. They act as a way to tell someone how much they mean to you. Think about what a birthday celebrates. Basically, when celebrating a birthday, you are saying "Hey! I am so glad that you were born 'x' years ago! I think you are awesome, so we should celebrate your birth and having you here!" Who does not want a day all about celebrating them?

I am very excited to help my "April Baby" friends celebrate their big days. And just think, after April comes May. With May comes my birthday! I think that is good cause to celebrate!

I Wear the Mask

I Wear the Mask

My life is a lie.
No, it's not that extreme.
My life is a fib,
And my emotions are unseen.

They say the eyes
Are a portal to the heart,
But mine hide the truth.
My inside and outside are apart.

Outside is ecstasy
With a little anger in my mind.
My mask hides the inside
Making it hard to find.

Under the mask,
I have a different side.
My emotions can be scary,
So the mask helps them hide.