Mr_Shank

In the section the time traveler learns to go in the future  by pushing the lever just a little. He starts to think there may have problems and gets worried and pulls the lever to a stop this causes him to fly through the air. When he stops he finds himself in a hail storm. He sees a statue and worries what men have become. One of the eloi from that time approached him. More eloi start to surround, which actually makes him feel more comfortable. The creatures have large eyes, curly hair, and red lips. He tried to explain where he came from, but they don’t understand. He laughs at how wrong he was when he imagined the future. They take the time traveler into one of their buildings and he sees strange writing, they give him a meal of strange food. Then he explored the world of 802,701 AD. They have lots of ruins  and many elois live together in one building. He also recognizes that there is no gender or older people. These people live the communist way. They are naive, they try to make life easier, and live without hardships. As the story goes on the time traveler notices his theory was very wrong.

Words to know:

rhododendrons- bell-shaped flowers

hitherto- up to this time

peculiarities- a trate, manor, or characteristic that is odd

sphinx- a figure of an imaginary creature having the head of a man or an animal and the body

             of a lion.

verdigris- A blue or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment

                and fungicide.

sensation- a mental condition or physical feeling resulting from stimulation of a sense

                   organ or from internal bodily change

Questions:

• What is the lifestyle of the murlocks?
• What have we learned about the time traveler in this section? How is he different from the first section we read?

I’m going to start off my discussion with some things I noted about Chapter 3.  The first item I would like to discuss is Gatsby’s character.  Up until now we have not none anything about Gatsby, only that he is considered to be an “outcast” of Tom and Daisy’s social circle.  Every night Gatsby throws elaborate parties that people simply show up at.  I believe this shows how Gatsby is such a polite and well-mannered man. Even though he knows most of the guests were not invited, he allows them to stay at his parties.  In fact, it is suggested that many of the guests do not even know who he is.  People don’t only come to his parties, though.  Nick also notes that they come to use his cars, planes, etc. I don’t know about you all, but it seems like Gatsby is being taken advantage of.  How could this come back to haunt him in the future?  How could his courteous behavior make him lose out in the future?

Next subject: the rumors that circulate around Gatsby’s parties.  Most of the guests concern themselves with talking about all the things that Gatsby has done throughout his life, including but not limited to killing a man.  This seems absolutely ridiculous to me, based on what we know about Gatsby (see above paragraph). These absurd rumors have led me to believe that the guests don’t really know their host at all. The stories are vague and give no insight into Gatsby’s life what so ever.  None of the people seem to care to find out the truth, which makes me question our society of today.  Do you think that people are really this insensitive/corrupted?

One of the characters introduced in Chapter 4 is a certain Mr. Wolfsheim who is rumored to have rigged the 1919 World Series.  Wolfsheim is an interesting character.  In a way, his name personifies who he is: part animal and part human.  His business is shady, like that of a wolf, and he appears to have no heart. Essentially, he is an animal’s soul trapped in a human’s body.  He goes so far as to have cuff-links made out of molars.  Is Fitzgerald trying to make a point in the usage of Wolfsheim?  What is he suggesting about humans in general?  (Think about Lord of the Flies/Freudian psychoanalysis)

Chapter 4 has also brought me to question Nick’s truthful telling of the story.  Up until now he has been a faithful narrator, but his new found relationship with Jordan is slightly suspicious.  Nick himself realizes that the only reason he knew who Jordan Baker was is because of her cheating scandal in a golf tournament. The Nick we have been introduced to so far would not be involved with someone like this.  If Nick’s judgment is being messed up by Jordan, what else has he been confused about so far?  But that’s not the real question. Instead, I would like you to answer this one: How does “love” affect a person’s judgment?  (Note that “love” is in quotation marks) 

Chapter 5 brings Gatsby face to face with realizing his dream of being with Daisy.  Everything he has done up to now has been in pursuit of her, even the purchase of his house.  In some ways this is the climax of the story.  Well, not exactly the climax, but it is certainly where Gatsby reaches his goal of seeing Daisy once more.  Which leads me to ask the final question – Since Gatsby has already obtained his goal, what will happen next in the story?  There has to be a plot twist coming because this novel is not following the normal style of books…

Recap:

1. How could Gatsby’s being taken advantage of come back to haunt him in the future?  How could his courteous behavior make him lose out in the future?
2. Do you think that people are really this insensitive/corrupted?
3. Is Fitzgerald trying to make a point in the usage of Wolfsheim?  What is Fitzgerald suggesting about humans in general?  (Think about Lord of the Flies/Freudian psychoanalysis)
4. How does “love” affect a person’s judgment?  
5. Since Gatsby has already obtained his goal, what will happen next in the story?

Erin B.

As we have reached the half way point in the story I would like to discuss some topics about Denn, Cattie, the plot and flashback, and theme.

As we read on we notice a few more things about Denn.  He is flat broke, lives for days with little food, he has loving feeling, and also he drinks beer.  I am very upset with the bank problem.  I see now that gambling can be a lifestyle that people choose, but does he not know from right and wrong?  To me it is very wrong to not have a suitable lifestyle and live off of nothing.  It is just like the communism and socialism that is happening today.  I say this because people are living off of other people, and the people that work hard do no t get anything.  I feel that this is wrong do you guys have any thoughts on this?  Also we see that he starves himself sometimes.  This is very wrong as in my mind I would leave Poker to get money so I can eat.  Why would anyone not want food?  This book relates to kids and adults in the real life.  Everybody needs money because they spend on wants and not needs.  Another thing I would like to talk about is love feelings.  In this part we find that he is losing a lot of money, but is not mad.  He is going sightseeing with a girl he knows not that much of.  What do you guys think of this matter?  I think that this is wrong and is very realistic as some people never know what love is.  Lastly it states that he drinks beer.  This is shows what teenagers do all the time.  They get on drugs and alcohol and blow their money.  What purpose does he need the beer for?  There is none, so he should not kill himself but get involved in a real job.  This Denn character is really annoying me, as he is throwing away his life.

Next I would like to talk about Cattie.  We see that she has set up Denn this whole time, and she steals things.  She meets a Jerry figure where she becomes his assistant because she needs money.  This is very wrong as she could easily get a different/real job.  We find out that she gets the dealing job because of this guy.  Did she really go to college?  I don’t think she did, because I do not remember reading this.  Then in the begging of the reading she steals the earrings.  This is definitely a kid typical thing to do.  Why did she do it?  I think she is getting to a point where she needs to go to jail.  She did it, because she needs money.  That is why when she received Denn’s necklace she put it away.  She is going to sell it.  I am very upset about the charters in the story.

The plot and flashback are very important.  We already know that it is in Las Vegas, but we also learn that he is going to a more specific location like Lousy Lou’s.  Denn needs 10,000 dollars so that he can get in the million dollar tournament.  Do you think that it is going to be another set-up?  I think it will not but, it will be “All-in.”  The flashback I just want to point out.  In the beginning it was present tense, but now it is past tense.  What do you think of the transition?  I think that it is different, but it will excite the ending, and have some crazy twists.

Finally, I want to talk about a theme.  I think it is teenagers.  I think that Pete Hautman is trying to show how the young kids of today are acting.  We are breaking laws, stealing, and surviving off of nothing.  What do you guys think of themes in this half of the book?

We need to keep an eye on how den raises money as he is only at 124 dollars.  Also we shall see if Jerry comes back, and if Cattie turns around.  Another thing is that family is more important than having a no rules life.  What do you think of the family situation that Denn has, and should he return back there to start his young life?

-Alex

P.S.  Keep blogging many things to blog about.

After reading this section of the book, it is clear John Grady’s life has taken a dramatic turn. He’s now a prized employee to a wealthy rancher. He has also fallen for a girl named Alejandra. They’re very first encounter is, from John Grady’s point of view, love at first sight. Their love is jeopardized by the fact that she is his boss’ daughter and he is one of her father’s most prized employee. If the boss ever found out John Grady was dating his daughter, he would fire him and Rawlins and the two would lose the good lives they’ve gained. This is made clear by Alejandra’s aunt, who vaguely tells John Grady that it would be a bad idea for him to date her niece.

Despite the warnings and the dangers, John Grady and Alejandra engage in a secret relationship. This is very connected to Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s play, the star-crossed lovers are forbidden to even like each other because of the feud between their two families. However, just like in this book, Romeo falls for Juliet on sight and they are secretly married secretly. As everyone knows, the play ends in a tragedy with Romeo and Juliet dying.

Do you think John Grady and Alejandra’s romance will end in tragedy like Romeo and Juliet’s, or do you think they will end up living happily ever after? Do you think their relationship had something to do with John Grady and Rawlins being taken away at the end of the section?

As the story continues, it does not seem like Dr. David Henry changes all that dramatically. His outlook on sending his daughter away stay the same even though holding this lie in makes it difficult to continue to have an honest relationship with his wife. Because he does wish to stay in contact with his daughter, he sends and receives letters to and from Caroline, Pheobe’s mother figure. This shows he does care and love his daughter deep down. His character is one that tries to ‘blend in’ with the rest of society, which can have its ups and downs. He is not completely crazy, which is a good thing, but he is far from having unique qualities. He is, in my opinion, a very bland character. He is a very serious character who does try to be a good father, but is not very supportive of his wife or his son. His motives are almost all selfish and self seeking. Although he does have a wife and children, it seems as if he comes first in his life, which is not what one may think of a father.

Some questions to ponder…

1. What has made Dr. David Henry so selfish?

2. What are all of the reasons that he chose to send his daughter away? Are there any “hidden” or less obvious reasons?

3. What are, if any, unique qualities Dr. David Henry has?

~Megan Douglas

I’m going to start out with the 5 words this time.

• Enigmatic: adj. resembling an enigma; perplexing; mysterious. I chose this word because I didn’t know it, but I’m really glad I chose it because now I can quote Patrick Star. “The anatomy of my mind is an enigma.” You can alter this quote using this word–> “The anatomy of my mind is enigmatic.” But, the original is better.
• Mnemonic: adj. assisting or intend to assist the memory; pertaining to memory. Chose this one because I didn’t know what it meant.
• Ascetic: noun. A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion. Also chose this one because I didn’t know what it meant and it is used a lot.
• Tarmac: noun. Tar macadam, or tar. Chose this one because I didn’t know what it meant.
• Frivolous: adj.. Characterized by lack of seriousness or sense. & Chose this one because I didn’t know what it meant.

Alrighty. In the beginning of the “Grove of Ascetics,” we learn about one of Sarath’s college professors. His name was Palipana and he was an extremely tough teacher and an intelligent man. He was known for being great and when he claimed that he had decoded writings in a cave in Sigiyra, he was even more known. But, he could not prove anything he claimed, so he was “shunned” by the archaeology world. He moved to a monastery and became a monk. Anil and Sarath decide that they need held finding out where Sailor was buried first, and they are positive the Palipana can help them.

The next day, they are just described while they eat and hang out. They talk about how good Anil is at what she does and she can guess an age and how a person died just by looking at them and most of the time she is right. That night they hang out in the woods in their ambalama and talk some more about the painting of the eyes on Buddah. “Without the eyes, there is not just blindness, there is nothing. There is no existence.” I don’t see why they are talking about this eye painting; it has nothing to do with Sailor.

Anil starts thinking about Cullis and one of he experiences she had with him in a hotel room. They were laying there and she just wanted to talk with him. He grabbed onto her hair and he wouldn’t let go. She stabbed him in the arm and called a cab and then she left. It was the end to their romantic relationship.

Then, the story goes into finding out that one of the girls in the monastery is Palipana’s granddaughter. Both of her parents died in the war and she was in an orphanage run by nuns. He took her in because she was not safe where she was living, and she has lived with him in the grove ever since. Then, I got extremely confused when they book said that Lakma, Palipana’s granddaughter, would slip into the forest when he died. I thought he was still alive?? Maybe they are speaking about “when Palipana died,” as if it didn’t happen yet. But the wording in this part is very confusing.

The next night, Sarath and Anil leave for Colombo and they come across a weird truck driver in the middle of the street just laying there, spread eagled on this back. Sarath and Anil drive on, but then Anil gets a weird feeling about the man so they drive back to see if he is okay. He is not. When they find him on the street again, he had nails in his hand, “crucifying him to the tarmac.” Sarath and Anil stopped to get help from some strangers who gave them salt and some warm water. They used that to clean the truck driver’s hand and they took him the emergency room in Colombo.

This next part of the book is titled “A Brother.” It starts off in the hospital talking about the beginning of the war and what the hospital was like during the 1980’s. Doctors saw explosion, grenade, and mine injuries more often. The war had turned the hospital into a different scene, and not in a good way. Then the book focuses more on the truck driver with the nails in his hands. After he got out of surgery, he was in a lot of pain. But, he still liked to walk around and see al the different parts of the hospital. The story turns to to the truck driver’s doctor, Linus Corea. He was kidnapped and taken hostage for about a year or two at one point in his life. His wife and children went to him because that was the only way they would ever see him again. He was working in a camp of insurgents while he was kidnapped and he worked for the men that kidnapped him. His life there wasn’t too bad. He had long hours to work, but got time off to sleep and rest. On his birthday, the men took Linus and the nurse he worked with to a lake to swim. They tried to incorporate a swim into their everyday schedule after that. Linus’s family arrived, but he didn’t seem too terribly excited to see them. He even said he didn’t miss them anymore. He said that the camp he worked on was “his life” which is NOT the right thing to say in front of your wife and children.

The story takes another turn to Sarath and Anil again where they are back in the hospital. Sarath’s brother is a doctor and his name is Gamini. They all go out to eat and get into a talk as to what should be done about the government. Gamini thinks that the “freedom fighters” are the main reason why everyone should be scared. He questions why Sarath and Anil are so interested in the killings by the government while there are so many more killings by these freedom fighters.

This book once again goes into random stories about Anil and the one is about her name and how an astrologer tried to get her to change her name but she wouldn’t. But she realized this was just a teen stage and she got over her obsession with her name. Once her parents split, she was much more laid back and didn’t really care.

Now the story goes to Anil and her years in college and her life before the actual story setting. She had a hard time finding her classes and followed her professors around, she was involved in a bad marriage, etc. The book goes more into the marriage with and Anil and her husband who was a doctor. They really really liked each other in their younger years and it seemed as though maybe they were in love. But, things took a turn for the worse after their trip to England. I found one quote quite amusing, thanks to Adam, but it is a little inappropriate, so I’ll keep it to myself. She divorced him and started to focus on her studies a lot more. The first quote she wrote down from one of her professors in college was “femur is the bone of choice.” At page 146, Anil says once again (now in the present tense)”femur is the bone of choice.” I think she’s going to look at Sailor’s femur instead of his skull…

BTW, I read to page 145. Anywhere around there is good I think. Also, I am very sick right about now and this is about the last thing I feel like doing. Plus doing it on a Friday night just ruined my life. AND I would have gone to the play tonight but I’m too sick. Ughhhh!

Sorry this is so long, there’s so much crap in 75 pages, it’s ridiculous.

Well, I would just like to say that these last two chapters of the book were not very boring at all; I would even go as far to say that they were exciting to read and that they didn’t put me to sleep. These chapters were also interesting because of the fact that we were able to see the future that H.G. Wells has thought up for the time traveller to be thrown into. Now to get to the actual questions that I have for you, I have several.

First off, I was wondering do you find it interesting how H.G. Wells predicted our society to become in the distant future? I mean it seems insane that anyone would wish upon future generations years of stupidity and the very things that make us human, such as our ability to be ambitious when we want to get something accomplished. It does make sense that this could happen, but when most people look upon the future they think of brighter times and they think that the problems of the present will be the past of the future. So this brings up the point that I was talking about, why did H.G. Wells look upon the future in a dimmer light than most?

The second thing that I would like to mention and inquire about would be that how fast the time traveller is to make predictions. Just because he was born with the gift of extreme intelligence it seems that he thinks that he knows everything, but when he is wrong he openly acknowledges it. I found this interesting because as soon as the time traveller had entered into the year 802, 701he had been making predictions about things that he could not comprehend, such as the language people, their culture, and their way of life. This also brings up the point that I will be mentioning next.

The point that I would like to further inquire upon would be that why do you think the future ended up like it did. I mean if English is the major language in the world right about now how did it happen that the people of the future had a language that was so different than ours? Another question that I have for you would be that why if people are getting taller each generation, how did the people of this future end up so small? And finally I would like to ask why these men of the future couldn’t find anything that would be wrong with their world so that they could have kept their ambition and intelligence.

I would like to thank you all in advance for answering my questions.

     In this section the time traveler meets Weena, and discovers the Morlocks. He finds these vents and discovers that is were the Morlocks live. he starts making up a theory of how human kind separated into these two completely different species. My connection is between the homes and lives of the Morlocks and the civilization in The City of Ember. Of course the similarity between them is that they both live underground. Although in the City of Ember their city starts falling apart. which leads me to wander if there are imperfections in their underground world or if it is destroying the world above or is in danger itself. you would be led to believe that there has to be some sort of conflict that is to arrive. So far all we have seen is the daily hardships and lives of the future. Even though the time traveler is struggling to get home there has to be something stopping him or a real conflict to arise. There technically is no real conflict or worry of his survival right now because we know he makes it home some how.

     So my question for you is do you think there is a more complex conflict at hand and if so what is it? Also what do you believe these Morlocks are? Sorry for making a connection to The City of Ember if you have never read it.

-Taran

Ok, I know that I am supposed to follow the same character through out this blog, but as you all know, Daisy is only in two chapters so far.  So, I am going to switch and follow Gatsby for this and the remaining blogs. 

As a side note I would like to say that this post will be long as I am trying to live up to Erin’s standards (Just Kidding! Haha).

So far here is what we know about Gatsby. Gatsby was a soldier in the Army and was involved with Daisy before he went off to war.  While he was gone Daisy married Tom.  Gatsby returned from war and was heart-broken by the news of Daisy’s marriage.  During the three chapters that we read (Chapters 3, 4 and 5), Daisy and Gatsby have not seen or spoken to each other in five years.  Yet Gatsby is still in love with her.  We know that Gatsby owns a large mansion next door to Nick.  It is revealed in Chapter 4 that Gatsby bought the mansion because Daisy’s home was right across the bay.  Do you think that it is possible to secretly love someone for such a long time?

Gatsby is very famous in New York because he hold large and elaborate parties at his mansion.  We also learn that there are many rumors about Gatsby, such as being a German spy during the war and a rumor about killing a man in cold blood.  We see the repetition of this rumor many times through out the book.  What do you think is the meaning of this?

We see that nobody really knows Gatsby, telling us that he some what sticks to himself, even at his own parties.  Later on we find out that Nick and one guest at the party served together in the same division during the war.  Nick then finds out that this “guest” is actually Gatsby himself. Gatsby and Nick really hit it off and start spending most of their time together. What do you think of Gatsby and Nick’s friendship?

In Chapter 4 we see something that is very odd. Gatsby and Nick are in Gatsby’s car and Gatsby is driving.  They are speeding down a road and they are later stopped by a cop.  Gatsby just shows him a white card and the cop apologizes.  Gatsby the goes on his way.  Why did the cop just let him go and what is the meaning of this?

Also in Chapter 4, we find out from Jordan Baker that Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy over to his house and then Gatsby will just then show up.  Nick sets up the meeting and he and Gatsby what for Daisy to arrive.  While they are waiting for Daisy, Gatsby becomes very nervous and worried that Daisy will reject him.  Daisy arrives and things become awkward.  Gatsby thinks that the meeting was a bad idea and tries to leave but Nick convinces him to stay. Everything turn out ok and Daisy and Gatsby are both happy.  Gatsby shows Daisy his mansion to try to impress her. 

RECAP: From what we know Gatsby is high on the social ladder and is about thirty years old. He has a lot of money and many friends.  Yet he seems like a regular person because he still gets caught up by Daisy.  In the beginning he is portrayed as a rich and stuck up individual which we later see is not true.  Over all his motive through out the book is to win Daisy back.  What do you think will happen between Daisy and Gatsby as the book goes on?

RECAP OF QUESTIONS:

1. Do you think that it is possible to secretly love someone for such a long time?

2. What do you think is the meaning of the repetition of the rumor about Gatsby killing a man?

3. What do you think of Gatsby and Nick’s friendship?

4. Why did the cop let him go and what is the meaning of this?

5. What do you think will happen between Daisy and Gatsby as the book goes on?

~Lauren Gress~