After finishing the first semester of English 3, I accomplished reading The Crucible, parts of The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, American Sketches, The other Wes Moore, and Of Mice and Men. Obviously, The Crucible was not actually read and was an audio tape, Federick Douglass is still being continued, and American Sketches had only four chapters read from it, but besides from that, every other book was read front to back. The total books I finished was 2: The Other Wes Moore, and Of Mice and Men.
After finishing The other Wes Moore, I felt the strongest message it portrayed to me was, “It does not matter a person’s circumstances or the inequality they face, as long as they develop perseverance deep inside of them, they will find success.” What made The Other Wes Moore worth reading and scary at the same time, was its story aspect. As you followed both the Wes’s around their environments and got to examine where their paths kind of diverged, you could see how quickly two innocent kids framed as trouble makers could grow up in two totally different ways.
Although I was forced to read Of Mice and Men, it turned out to be a very interesting, entertaining book to read. What made it worth reading was the layered writing and character development. It’s like the author purposely put a group completely different personalities together in cage to see what would happen. By combining size, stupidity, anger, and subduction into one book, the author wanted something bad to happen. Of Mice and Men was the book I most enjoyed because it was looking to cause chaos unlike most books out today, however, I felt like I was more entertained then schooled by the book. The one thing I did learn however was, “don’t let Lenny pet anything!!”
The most challenging book I came into contact with this 9 weeks was The Crucible because of its complex syntax and its advanced rhetorical strategies. It also was confusing and disturbing to me listening to the convictions of innocent people. What I learned from the book was, “fear can cause humans to be ironically inhumane in with their reactions.”
Compared to other school years, I’m reading just as much, however, this year I’ve retained much more information about books, and have gone more in depth with analysis and understanding, adding more value to my reading. This 9 weeks has taught me and pushed me to find, and develop answers to the reasons behind rhetorical analysis strategies.
My goal for the next 9 weeks is to read atleast 700 pages; nearly double as many pages as I read last 9 weeks covering mainly historical nonfiction as it could help me learn and prepare more for apush. I also hope to try and read a book every 3 weeks.
Book Blog 2016 