A Series Of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room

In the Garden of Beasts is an important historical book with lots of good information, but can be difficult to understand while reading. In the video Erik Larson, the author, helped answer many of my questions. One of these important questions was how he came up with the idea to write his book about this topic. Another important topic covered was Hitler’s rise to power, and the means he used to keep control of Germany. Larson also discussed how Dodd had connections that made him a candidate for the job of ambassador and the process that happened for him to get his job in Berlin. This video gives a great insight to what the author meant to convey through the book that may not have been easy to pick up on while reading this book.

In chapter 1 of Sister Citizen titled Crooked Room author Melissa V. Harris-Perry illustrates a study of subjects placed into a crooked room. The subjects are then asked in a variety of scenarios to attempt to re-align themselves. The results came as much of a surprise to the researchers as what the subjects perceived as “straight’ was heavily skewed. Harris-Perry used this crooked room example to support as well as confront the gender and race stereotypes that black women still face in society today.

My nonfiction book is called “I Have Lived a Thousand Years” and the author’s name is Livia Bitton-Jackson. This book is about a girl named Elli Friedmann who is Jewish. She lives during the time of the Holocaust, were she was taken to many concentration camps. She went from a normal life to being a prisoner in camps, where she was treated so horribly. She is sick, hungry, and having to take care of mother, which she needs her to stay alive. She meets new people, and sees relatives that sadly are taken away. She learns how to stay strong during these hard times, and she has to fight threw everything to stay alive.

There are many ways authors write their books that can vary from style, experience, setting, and language. One author that I would like to talk about is Walter Dean Myers and the book that I would want to analyze would be Somewhere In the Darkness. This novel speaks about a poor little boy who was adopted at the age of two after his mother died and had to move to Harlem leaving his family behind . He also had a speech impediment and couldn’t speak or write as well as others but that didn't stop him. The book “Somewhere In The Darkness” is about a boy named Jimmy who was adopted by a very kind-hearted lady after his mother had passed away and his father went into prison. In the book his father is finally released and gave a surprise to Jimmy and takes him to Arkansas to settle down but Jimmy does not trust him. Walter Dean Myers usually writes his books from his own experiences which makes them inspirational, thought out, down to earth, and somewhere relatable to the reader!

In the essay, The Loss of the Creature, written by Walter Percy, he discusses multiple stories relating to an unknown “creature” in our lives. Life is about our experiences. It is important to explore the world whenever we get the opportunity, but we must look at the world through a new perspective in order to truly see it. Walter Percy indirectly tells us, the most worthwhile kinds of experiences are not the ones we plan, but the ones we don’t quite expect to happen. My mother planned a vacation for my family and I looking for that once in a lifetime experience. She decided that experience would take place in Hawaii, the Aloha State. Unfortunately, that once and a live time experience she was searching for, would not be the highlight of our vacation. It would be something simple, yet surprisingly beautiful and euphoric. It was my “true experience”, my “creature”.

In the essay, “A cruel and unusual kingdom”, by Leonard Pitts Jr. columnist for the Miami Herald, effectively argues that the use of the death penalty in the United States is inhumane, irrational and goes against American values. Though Pitts overall maintains a strong argument, writing style, and voice, he purely targets a supportive audience as he doesn’t include clear common ground nor a refutation of the other bias.

Consistently through Lucius Sims’ life, he is made fun of for looking different, much like how people are bullied today. Throughout the book, Lizard, Lucius Sims is portrayed by the author, Dennis Covington, as a mentally challenged person, and he contributes to the theme of overcoming bullying.

In the essay, The Loss of the Creature, written by Walter Percy, he discusses multiple stories relating to an unknown “creature” in our lives. Life is about our experiences. It is important to explore the world whenever we get the opportunity, but we must look at the world through a new perspective in order to truly see it. Walter Percy indirectly tells us, the most worthwhile kinds of experiences are not the ones we plan, but the ones we don’t quite expect to happen. My mother planned a vacation for my family and I looking for that once in a lifetime experience. She decided that the experience would take place in Hawaii, the Aloha State. Unfortunately, that once and a life time experience she was searching for, would not be the highlight

Nessa had managed to stay under the radar of the law for almost a month. Then Jessie popped up at the Dungeon to pick up a package one night. She lit a cigarette and began to pace the Dungeon floors when he arrived.

The short story “The Rats in the Wall” by Lovecraft, told in first person narrative, gives the reader a strong sense of his feelings and emotions. The narrator is the last of his family lineage, having lost his father, wife, and son. This loss plays and influences the horrifying events throughout the story.

While evaluating how Desiree Valmonde Aubigny, the protagonist of “Desiree’s Baby,” written by Kate Chopin, and Mary Maloney, the protagonist of “Lamb to the Slaughter,” written by Roald Dahl, respond to -somewhat similar- family issues, we notice differences between the two author’s development of their characters’ contrasting “fight or flight” instincts.Though both stories have conflicting- harsh outcomes, they both tell a story of the despondency of a caring woman.

For my second Unit 4 I read The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket, this book takes place in the town V.D.F (the Baudelaire orphans aren’t quite sure what it stands for yet.) In this town the Baudelaire orphans are surrounded by really old people as if they were in a nursing home, all of the villagers are on a committee that makes up their town's law with is really unfair and cause the three orphans a lot of trouble.The main characters in this book are Violet the oldest, Klaus the middle child, and Sunny the youngest, Hector, and Count Olaf. There were a lot of other people but none that really helped or impacted the Baudelaire orphans. I like this book as much as you can like orphans being chased by a crazy person trying to take their fortune.

I read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. This book is about a young orphan child, with a never-ending imagination, named Anne. Anne has been taken in and out of orphanages all her life. Until, one day Matthew Cuthbert and his sister, Miss Marilla Cuthbert, are interested in having a young boy to live with them. They called the orphanage and told them to send the child on the train. He goes to the train station to pick the child up, but to his surprise he found Anne. Anne tells Matthew how she imagines living there would be like. She was so set on staying that Matthew just couldn't leave her at the train station. He takes her to his house, and while on the journey, Anne is enjoying every moment of the beautiful flowered valleys.

The Director of Hatcheries and Conditionings is showing a group of students around the factory that makes humans. While showing them the playtime garden one of the students refuses to play and is taken to Bernard Marx, the psychologist. The World Controller, Mustapha Mond is introducing the idea of family and a home to the students. Bernard had asked Lenina if she would spend a week in New Mexico with him and she accepts. Bernard wants a permit to visit the Land of Savages where the Director of Hatcheries and Conditionings lost his true love. When Bernard and Lenina arrive to the civilization, Lenina is appalled by what is going on but Bernard is fascinated. Linda is the Director’s wife and John the Savage’s mother. They are both taken back

Handler starts the book in a very unusual tone. Instead of encouraging the person to read the en-tire story Handler says ‘If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book. In this book, not only is there a happy ending, there is no happy be-ginning and very few happy things happen in the middle.’ He further continues the story by in-troducing the protagonists of this book Violet Baudelaire. The eldest sibling had a real knack for inventing and building strange devices. Klaus Baudelaire; the middle child, and the