Dear Romeo,
I would like for you to just sit back for a second and reflect on your life as a whole since meeting Juliet. What's happened so far? Well, you've been risking your life day and night secretly meeting with Juliet and others to plan your "wedding", keep in mind you've known this girl for less than three days. You have also managed to make the Capulet house hate you more than ever by secretly marrying this girl, their youngest member, and you killed a noble member of the Capulet house, Juliets cousin, in a fight about all this nonsense, and also managed to get your best friend killed in the process. Oh yeah, and let's not forget about the part where you were banished from Verona indefinitely. This girl who you know nothing about, has made your life a living hell in a matter of three days. Is it really worth it? They say love is blind, but in your case, looks are probably the only thing this "relationship" stands on. For all you know, this beautiful girl who is also your enemy, could be a serial killer. If you two are truly in love, then great for you. However, at this point, being alive is a little too risky. You both would just be better off dead (hey, don't get any ideas)...
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Evil Hides In The Most Beautiful Things: The Shining Book Review
This past month, me and my friends formed a book club and read a fantastic book called "The Shining" by Stephen King. In this book, Danny Torrence, the main character who also happens to be five years old, is in a bind when his father gets a job of taking care of a desolate hotel in the Rocky Mountains for eight months. His ability to "shine" causes him to have visions of the hotel. Horrible ones. In his visions, he sees danger, and something called "REDRUM". When he goes to the hotel, he is in fact faced with incredible danger from the supernatural forces hidden in the hotels walls.
The theme of "The Shining", is that evil and suffering linger long after the destruction. Throughout the story, the Torrance family experiences the evil left behind from past people who have died in the hotel. The horrific visions leave Danny and Wendy traumatized, and Jack succumbs to the evil spirits in the hotel. Another theme in this story is that ugliness hides in the most beautiful things. This is shown when the "pretty" parts of the hotel turn against them. The beautiful hedge clipped animals in the courtyard hold sinister personalities that want nothing more than to make the hotel grow more powerful. The elegant ballroom contains the spirits of dead masquerade attendants who work together to overpower Jack and take his body.
In conclusion, "The Shining" by Stephen King can teach readers about lessons in the real world, let alone the morals contained in the books. The author, in my interpretation of this book, is trying to create a different kind of world not known to many writers. In this world, the ending is not happy. In this world, the theme the characters bring out isn't a "do this to make life better" format, but rather a "life doesn't contain happy endings" format, which is closer to the real world. Life doesn't end with everything perfect. It may end happily, but it is virtually impossible for life to be 100% perfect, like most authors portray the endings of their books. This new (yet outdated) style of writing gives readers a dose of reality that may prepare them better for what's to come.
The theme of "The Shining", is that evil and suffering linger long after the destruction. Throughout the story, the Torrance family experiences the evil left behind from past people who have died in the hotel. The horrific visions leave Danny and Wendy traumatized, and Jack succumbs to the evil spirits in the hotel. Another theme in this story is that ugliness hides in the most beautiful things. This is shown when the "pretty" parts of the hotel turn against them. The beautiful hedge clipped animals in the courtyard hold sinister personalities that want nothing more than to make the hotel grow more powerful. The elegant ballroom contains the spirits of dead masquerade attendants who work together to overpower Jack and take his body.
In conclusion, "The Shining" by Stephen King can teach readers about lessons in the real world, let alone the morals contained in the books. The author, in my interpretation of this book, is trying to create a different kind of world not known to many writers. In this world, the ending is not happy. In this world, the theme the characters bring out isn't a "do this to make life better" format, but rather a "life doesn't contain happy endings" format, which is closer to the real world. Life doesn't end with everything perfect. It may end happily, but it is virtually impossible for life to be 100% perfect, like most authors portray the endings of their books. This new (yet outdated) style of writing gives readers a dose of reality that may prepare them better for what's to come.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
The Destruction of Good: a Response to "To Kill a Mockingbird"
This previous month, I read a book named To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that embeds many themes into its perfectly laid out story. Scout Finch is just a small child when the story begins. She was brought up in a very welcoming household, where she could be whatever she wanted. That's not common in the small town of Maycomb. She wasnt raised to think poorly of blacks like the rest of the white 1940's population in Maycomb. When a respectable black man named Tom Robinson is accused by a despicable white man named Bob Ewell of raping his eldest daughter, Scout knows that Mr. Robinson isn't guilty. However, even though Scout and many other non racist people know that Mr. Robinson isn't guilty, the majority of the jury is racist, therefore voting in favor of the plaintiff. Mr. Robinson is later shot to death in the story after trying to escape the prision, where he didn't belong. The symbolism in this story is unmissable. The death of a mockingbird, an animal who does no harm and only provides beautiful music for the world represents the innocent, good people who were destroyed by evil.
At the beginning of the story, Scout recalls always hearing horrible rumors about her neighbor, Mr. Radley. He was supposedly a monster who always stayed inside because he hated people and would try to kill them, as he tried to do to his father. But later in the story, the truth about Mr. Easley unveils. He is a good, innocent human destroyed by the evil of his father. When he was a teen, Mr. Radleys father would molest him. This resulted in him being sent away for trying to defend himself from his father, and more mental abuse was put upon him. He can't leave the house because of his state of mind. Another example of symbolism throughout the story is Mr. Robinson, who was accused of raping a white mans older daughter. He was innocent, but because the man, Mr. Ewell, who actually rapes his daughter, caught his daughter trying to kiss Mr. Robinson, he took his rage out on the poor man, and accused him of raping his daughter. Mr. Robinson was a husband, a father, and a loving, hard-working man. Mr. Ewell represents the evil that exists to swallow the good. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Radley were both Harmless mockingbirds who were destroyed by sin.
This message relates to real life because although this story is fictional, the same type of evil that swallowed the mockingbirds in this story still exists today in real life. It still exists, and because of that, many people's lives are destroyed each and every day by the evil and "sin" of others. And although racism, rape, molestation, incest, murder, and sexism, all things faced in the story, are still around today and will never be fully contained, the good mockingbirds of our society will continue to fight each and everyday for the destruction to end.
At the beginning of the story, Scout recalls always hearing horrible rumors about her neighbor, Mr. Radley. He was supposedly a monster who always stayed inside because he hated people and would try to kill them, as he tried to do to his father. But later in the story, the truth about Mr. Easley unveils. He is a good, innocent human destroyed by the evil of his father. When he was a teen, Mr. Radleys father would molest him. This resulted in him being sent away for trying to defend himself from his father, and more mental abuse was put upon him. He can't leave the house because of his state of mind. Another example of symbolism throughout the story is Mr. Robinson, who was accused of raping a white mans older daughter. He was innocent, but because the man, Mr. Ewell, who actually rapes his daughter, caught his daughter trying to kiss Mr. Robinson, he took his rage out on the poor man, and accused him of raping his daughter. Mr. Robinson was a husband, a father, and a loving, hard-working man. Mr. Ewell represents the evil that exists to swallow the good. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Radley were both Harmless mockingbirds who were destroyed by sin.
This message relates to real life because although this story is fictional, the same type of evil that swallowed the mockingbirds in this story still exists today in real life. It still exists, and because of that, many people's lives are destroyed each and every day by the evil and "sin" of others. And although racism, rape, molestation, incest, murder, and sexism, all things faced in the story, are still around today and will never be fully contained, the good mockingbirds of our society will continue to fight each and everyday for the destruction to end.
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