Maus and Persepolis

Last quarter I read a graphic novel called Maus. It is a memoir where the author Art Spiegelman listens to his father retell his Holocaust survival story. It goes back and forth between past and present, so readers are able to experience the actual situation while also experiencing the father's current feelings. It is an awesome read, and it is even the only comic book to have won the Pulitzer Prize. Immediately as I began to read Persepolis, I started to make numerous connections between the two books. Aside from the obvious connection of them both being graphic novels, I found similarities in the drawings, technique, quality, and historical aspects.

The first connection I made had to do with the simplicity of the drawings. Maus definitely had a bit more detail than Persepolis; however, both styles manage to draw your eyes towards the important aspects of the scenes. They are also both in black and white which makes it less distracting on the eyes.

The second connection that I made had to do with just overall quality of the books. Although I haven't completely finished Persepolis, the beginning has definitely caught my attention. This leads me to believe that, just like with Maus, Persepolis will be an excellent read.

The last connection that I made was that both books had some very important historical events. Both Art Spiegelman and Marjane Satrapi managed to capture this importance while also incorporating some humor into the novel. Both books first come off as if they aren't serious, but as you read further and further into the book, the seriousness of the events are surprising. This is perhaps why graphic novels are often challenged in school settings. People are often upset with the idea of having a funny work of art cover a serious, horrible event. What those people don't realize is that the books actually help a lot in understanding the event. By reading these books, you are reading a style that you are not used to which makes you pay attention more and more. Also, with graphic novels, you are exposed to pictures that reveal emotion and usually historical accuracy about the event. As you can probably tell, I think that graphic novels should be regarded as high as normal novels. Do you like this graphic novel? Should we even be reading it in school?

Slaughterhouse-Five

I really enjoyed this book because of the writing style of Kurt Vonnegut. I thought it was awesome how Vonnegut explained a lot of the least meaningful details really far in depth, while he was super vague on some of, perhaps, the most important parts. I also found it kind of amusing how Vonnegut was so abrupt about what was happening. For example, the first sentence of chapter nine on page 182 was "Here is how Billy Pilgrim lost his wife, Valencia." Furthermore, I thought it was interesting how he stated her name at the end. Did we really need him to clarify who he was talking about? Maybe it's just me, but I would think it was pretty clear considering that just pages before they were having their 18th wedding anniversary. I just think that overall Vonnegut's style was super cool, and it made the book really good.

I do have to say, however, that I don't completely know if I caught on to the purpose of the book. I figured out that Vonnegut is a fan of repetition (well, at least he is in this book), but I don't think I understood the full meaning of all the repetition. I think that I will have to read the book again to understand it entirely.

Life Is Beautiful (war movie)

Life is Beautiful:
This movie is about Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian, who is imprisoned at a concentration camp with his family, and he has to use his imagination to keep his son and wife alive. Guido and his son are separated from his wife, and Guido is left to keep his son alive while not knowing what is happening. Guido creates a game to keep his son optimistic. He wittingly goes against all the rules and does what nobody would have ever consider doing. His main goal is to reunite with his wife, and he constantly sends little messages to tell her that they are still there and alive. This was a really good movie, and it was different from other movies in the way that it included a lot of humor. Some people may ask whether a war movie can be humorous and serious at the same time, and this movie definitely showed that it can. I don't cry while watching movies, but if I did, this would definitely be one of those movies where I both laughed and cried.


I think that the point of this film was to show how innocent people were affected by war. It really emphasized the fact that some of the victims of war were optimistic and never gave up; in fact, the victims often helped eachother out even though they barely had enough for themselves. This movie showed how the people who were considered "unhuman" were perhaps the most human in their attempts to live in the terrible conditions. The filmmaker most likely wanted to show that good often shines through all the bad.

I don't know if there are really many similarities or differences. One of the similarities that I noticed was the idea of sticking together during war. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Roland Weary and the two other scouts banded together to become "The Three Musketeers." In Life is Beautiful, Guido and his family come together to fight until the end. Another similarity had to do with the theme of childhood. In Life is Beautiful, one of the main characters is a child, and the movie really showed how war affected his childhood, beliefs, and how the father had to treat him. In this movie, the idea of childhood innocence plays a huge role. One difference I noticed was the role of the characters. Slaughterhouse-Five is about the soldiers of the war, while Life is Beautiful is actually about the Jewish victims. Both have to do with the people of war, but they played different roles in the actual war.

I think that Mary O'Hare would have enjoyed this movie. It really showed how bad the effects of war were on the victims. It involved not only adults but also children to show that the young and the innocent were also affected. Mary O'Hare didn't like that many books/movies encouraged war, and this movie definitely did not. Some people don't like the humor in the movie, but the filmmakers did an awesome job of capturing the pain, truth, and trauma of war.

The Life of Tralfamadorians

The further and further I get into Slaughterhous Five, the more I like the way Tralfamadorians live. Everything they do and think just sounds so smart and sophisticated. They live life so simply and don't ask questions; in fact, their life is so simple that they don't even waste their time with speaking. They communicate telepathically, which to me seems much easier than actually speaking. Contrary to popular belief, I am not capable of speaking telepathically with my twin, so I am completely jealous.

They don't worry about people dying; instead, they believe that the person may be not doing well in this moment, but they are doing just fine in plenty of other moments. If humans on earth believed this, people would probably live much more happily. They don't ask why because they say "there is no why" because the "moment simply is." They don't believe or even know what free will is...well now they technically know what it is because they've studied Earth for a while.

Ever since I have learned these things about Tralfamadorians, I've had major problems deciding whether or not their way of life is better than ours. On the surface, Tralfamadorians seem to live smartly, but is it really what it seems? If you could choose to be a Tralfamadorian or stay as you are, would you change?

Being Part of the Group

One type of group that I feel I am part of is my soccer team. My team gets along very well, so the idea of being a team is very strong. There aren't really any "loners" or anyone like that. We all go to practice, games, and pasta parties together and treat eachother nicely and fairly. It's kind of weird though because this year I feel even more like I am part of the team. I think this has to do with being part of the defense. I used to play goalkeeper, but when I made the varsity girls' soccer team, I was moved to outside midfield and then eventually to defense. As a goalkeeper, even though I knew I was part of the team, there were definitely times in which I felt alone. Now that I play defense, I feel like I have others there with me. Don't get me wrong, I love playing goalie, and sometimes the fact of relying on myself is actually fun, but it is really nice to know that there are three other people who are playing the same position and know what you are going through. I think that it is awesome how I can feel like I am a part of a group within a group. I really like being part of a team because with sports you really have a connection with the other members, and you have the same dreams, experiences, etc. Sometimes it is nice to be alone, but it is even better when you have people there with you to experience what you are going through.

The Ending of Metamorphosis

The ending was crazy. I thought it was interesting how Grete all of a sudden just blew up. She went from taking care of Gregor to wanting to kill him. I also thought it was strange how the family reacted. I think they wanted to show respect by taking work off, but I thought it was strange how Franz Kafka talked so much about them writing letters of excuse.
My overall reaction to the book is....it's interestingly good. I liked how the characters' reactions were all not exactly what the reader would expect. For example, Gregor didn't even seem worried about being a bug; he was more worried about missing work. That was crazy. I also liked the description that Franz Kafka used. At some points, it actually grossed me out, but at other points, I could picture exactly what was happening in my head. His description actually reminded me of Stephen King because he is also super detailed with his writing. Overall, I liked this book because it was different, descriptive, interesting, and unexpected.

Metamorphosis...ROAR!!!

When I woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, I looked down to find a black and orange striped tail twitching from under my sheets. As I felt fear climb up into my body, I prepared to scream, but all that came out was a deathly roar. Immediately, out of both fear and instinct, I sprang from my bed. Instead of landing on my two feet and sprinting to the door, I bounded off the mattress onto four soft paws with gigantic claws. I couldn't believe it. I played the last few seconds back in my head--the orange and black tail, the roar, and the paws. What did this mean? I slowly crept towards my mirror pressing my body to the floor as much as possible as if this action of hiding myself would change everything. As I approached the glass, the reflection stared back at me. The golden amber eyes pierced through to my human soul. I was a tiger.
All of a sudden, the pounding of someone's fist on the wooden bedroom door broke the silence. As always, there was hesitation before the door actually opened. I turned towards the opening, and my mom stood still, afraid to move, as if there were land mines all around her. Suddenly there was a high pitched scream coming from her open mouth. My eyes met hers as she stared with fear.
Without warning, an abnormal feeling swept through my body. It was a mixture of hunger, anger, and determination. As the sensation grew stronger, I realized that not only my physical appearance had changed. I not only looked like a tiger; I also thought like one. I was hungry and nothing could stop me.