OMAM Weekly Blog 4/27/15

Of Mice and Men 
By: John Steinbeck
Prompt: Chose at least two conflicts to explore more in depth in this blog. Be sure to include textual evidence and support and also identify the effect that the conflict has had on the plot so far. 

              One conflict in the book Of Mice and Men is that Curley and Lennie fight, which is a Man vs Man conflict. Curley might have a grudge against Lennie for being a big guy and might want him fired. In the book, it said how Candy said, "He hates big guys.", when he was talking about Curley. The effect that this has on the plot so far is the tension that is there between Lennie and Curley. Lennie is trying not to have to do anything with Curley because he is afraid he'll get in trouble.

              Another Man vs Man conflict in the book is between George and Curley. George doesn't like Curley and thinks that he is trouble. They have a conversation in which they say, "We travel together," said George coldly. "Oh, so it's that way" George was tense, and motionless. "Yeah, it's that way." The effect that this has on the plot so far is that it also adds to the tension between George and Curley and to the tension in the bunkhouse. It also shows that Curley is trouble.

               One other conflict in the story is when Candy's dog get shot. It is a Man vs Self conflict. Candy's dog was killed when Candy agrees to let Carlson kill him. It is a conflict because now Candy feels guilt and doubts letting Carlson kill his dog. He wishes he would've done it instead of having some random stranger do it. The effect this conflict has had on the plot so far is that now that Candy doesn't have a dog, I think he feels that he has nothing to lose and starts in on Lennie and George's dream of having a ranch.

OMAM Blog 4/21/15

Of Mice and Men 
By: John Steinbeck
Pages: 1-37
Prompt:
-Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse. Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.
-Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name? 
-What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck trying to send by not giving her a first name? Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

           The atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse is friendly, but sometimes tense. It is friendly because so far, most of the characters introduced have been friendly. Slim for example is really friendly to George an Lennie. He talks to them as if they were automatically friends. Another example would be Carlson. He befriends George and Lennie too and is not suspicious of them or mean to them. It is tense because of Curley and the way he acts and talks. Examples of his actions and words would be, "... he demanded angrily.", "Curley scowled at him...", and "Curley popped into the doorway again and stood looking into the room."

             I think that Curley's wife does not have a name because she might not have a name in general or she might not like her name. She could have never formally introduced herself to anybody and that is why nobody knows her name. She might prefer just to be called Curley's wife because she hates her real name.

             I think that John Steinback was trying to send one of two messages by not giving her a first name. The first one is that women were not respected enough back then to be called by their name. That they were seen as a man's property rather than an actual person which is really sad. The second message is that Curley's wife does not deserve a name because she is too much of a "...tramp..." as George calls her.


       
          

Weekly Blog 4/13/15

The Scorch Trials

By: James Dashner 

Pages: 0-40

Prompt: 

-What do you think is going to happen next? Why do you think that?

-Which 2 characters do you like the best? Why?

              In the story I think that there is going to be some type of thing where they will be forced to get out of the safe building. I think that because since the begging they have been in there. They are safe in there, but the creators are testing them so they are probably going to kick them out and see how they survive. I also think that is going to happen because of how fast they got rid of all the hanging, dead bodies. If they can get rid of them that fast then they can get rid of the characters easily. 

              One of my favorite characters in the story is Minho because of the characteristics he has. In the previous book and in this book he shows leadership. He is the leader of the runners and is one of the guys that are always in charge. He is also brave. He was brave enough to face the grievers and he is not afraid to go out first into the hanging dead bodies to look for the light switch. 

              Another one of my favorite characters in the story is the main character Thomas because of the type of guy he is. He is also a leader considering he knows things most of the other guys don't. He is not afraid the take charge in a situation and when he does, the other guy follow and agree with him. He is also nice and caring. He cares about the other boys in the group and treats them like brothers. He is never mean to any of them.

I commented on Sebastian's Blog, Mia's Blog, and Evie's Blog.