The Road (Section 3)

While reading this section of The Road, I came to realize that a huge part of the adversity faced by the Man and the Boy lies in the fact that they know that any good things that may happen to them will not last. So essentially, they must face the fact that the rest of their lives will be, for the most part, struggle and horror. This is shown in a number of situations. For example, when they find the bunker (which happens to be relatively well-stocked with food, a scarce commodity in this post-apocalyptic world), they eventually leave it, knowing that staying in one place would make them sitting ducks, regardless of the amount of protection and security the bunker seemed to be able to provide. They've had to accept the bleakness of their lives and of the world they live in, and this has clear psychological consequences for both of them. Their situation is kind of horrifying to me in that an underlying concept-- that the Man and the mother brought the Boy into such a trrrible world, and must deal with the guilt/stress/other consequences of this (if that makes sense?)-- is not too far from what I think some people do/will experience. Of course, this similarity in real life doesn't reach quite the degree that it does for the Man, but it's hard for me to avoid that connection while I read.

The Road (Part 3)

When reading this third section of the book I was confused on why the man and boy left the bunker which was filled with goods and could have possibly been a safe place to live in. At the beginning of this book the man and boy's goal was to go to the other side of town because they thought it was a better place to be able to survive in. If survival is their priority the bunker could have been their sanctuary. A thing I found very instersting in this part of the book was when he man and boy bumped into a old man who called himself "Ely." The old man said that name wasnt really his and that he doesn't tell people his real name because he doesn't trust them. I understand the old man's point on this but the man and boy had helped him by giving him food. Living in a world where most people are against each other and everyones priority is survival, I believe this was something worth giving ones name to.

The Road Part 3

The boy continues to show innocence and compassion towards others despite living in a world where outsiders can't be trusted. He persistently begs his father to help others, absent thought of the danger that may come with it.  And it strikes that he still has faith that there are "good people". The father convinces his son that "good people" still exist, but I'm beginning to question whether their morals and principles of survival make them "good" or weak.

The Road - Section 3

While reading this section of The Road, I couldn't stop thinking about that bunker they had found, the solution to all their problems. In that bunker, they had a warm place to sleep, bathe, eat, and a large supply of food that could have lasted them quite some time. And yet, they chose to leave and walk along the road in the freezing cold, sleeping out in the woods, just wondering when they're going to meet the "bad guys" and die. I mean, isn't their ultimate goal to survive for as long as they can?
There was another part that really caught my attention in this section. As they continue their journey on the road, the father and his son come across a multitude of dead bodies just lying there in horrid condition and the boy was not phased in anyway. So then I started thinking about our topic of adversity, and I realized that maybe all of this isn't that hard for the boy considering he has grown up with it and it's kind of just what he has always done and seen. Once you grow up with something, it just seems normal and you don't see the real adversity in your situation, but like for us, it seems so horrific and terrifying.

Life of Pi Section 3: A Word About Fear

“ ...if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.”

I believe like Pi, that fear is truly one of the greatest, if not the very greatest source of adversity because as we're forced to confront the unknown, the uncertain, the unsafe, we're compelled to acknowledge our limitations as human beings. As Pi ventured from the lifeboat onto the make-shift raft to escape Richard Parker he demonstrated an enormous amount of courage in being able to finally take action to ensure his safety, however, even through that action, the threat of shark attacks and Richard Parker's return still loomed above his head.

But I believe as much as fear is a source of adversity, it's also a source of power. In recognizing one's limitations one can also observe the limitations of others. In Pi's case, Richard Parker was indeed a formidable enemy, however, just as Pi was, Richard was also limited by his circumstances. He faced fear just as Pi faced it. And though this fearfulness didn't necessarily make them equal, it gave Pi a bit of leverage.

Getting back to the quote, I believe Pi realized that his avoidance of Richard Parker would inevitably come to an end, and he'd have to confront him eventually. As the quote says, avoiding fear only makes you vulnerable to future attacks, so in the end we must face our fears (we must overcome our adversities) in order to protect ourselves against vulnerability.

Life of Pi- Section 3

In this 3rd section of Life of Pi, our main character continues with his struggle of being stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a tiger. This section illustrates the various ways that Pi is dealing with this adversity. By the end of our section he has more or less tamed the tiger, and kept him restricted to small section of the lifeboat, similar to a zoo enclosure. I thought it was really amazing how there was such a connection between his upbringing in the zoo and how this helped him overcome such an enormous obstacle. I predict that he will continue to use the things we heard about earlier in the book, and the knowledge he acquired will help save his life. 

Gone for Good (The Road Section 3)

Many times in the book so far, the boy has wanted to help some person, or even animal, but his father has declined. In my opinion, the man made the right decision by declining. In the post apocalyptic world they’re living in, the only thing the father has to live for is his son. Without him, “surviving” is pointless. There doesn't seem to be any foreseeable future. It appears that they are only prolonging the inevitable, in case they eventually do find some sort of salvation, and I think the man knows that. His goal seems to be to spend as much time as he can with his son, and make sure that his son is safe. I don't think he plans on finding salvation. He has accepted that that the "civilized" world of before is gone for good.

The Internal Flame (The Road Section 2)

An overlying theme in the book, and especially this section, is one of hope and despair. This can be illustrated by the sort of situations that the man and the boy encounter. Many of these situations are those of despair, however there are several situations that provide just enough hope to keep them trekking forward. The scene in the large home outside the small town, that was a trap and almost got the two protagonists killed, was definitely a traumatic situation. It seemed to crush the hope that had already been severely crippled. However, they were fortunate enough to run into an apple orchard, and find that bunker that contained plentiful amounts of food and other supplies. Those two situations seemed to help the man and the boy greatly, considering that they seemed to already be at their breaking points.
Also, the internal flame that is mentioned throughout the book is symbolized by the candle that the man found while searching through the charred remains of a house. Even though the man felt that the whole world had already been pillaged, there still remained a candle, to keep their flames of hope burning. That hope, that had been kindled by the orchard and bunker, was made illustrated by the boy's inquiry about crows. Something that seems so trivial to their situation was on the mind of the boy, showing that he no longer believed that his end was near, and rather, that there was hope for a future.

The Road Section 3

In this section I noticed a connection between what the man had done and what the boy does. Previously, the man had thrown away his wallet as a symbol of him letting go of the past and looking to the future.  In this section the boy threw away his flute, possibly with the same intentions as the man.  If the boy did not do this with the same intent as his father, I fear that he threw away his flute because he is starting to give up.  He has already seen horrific sights such as a roasted baby and people suffering in a basement.  Perhaps he has been pushed to his limit.  I hope, however, that he still has hope and they both can continue on.

I know why the caged birds sing 9-18

During this section of my groups reading what really shocked me was the fact that even when she did meet her parents, she still felt out of place. In the beginning she felt as if she didn't belong, she didn't have a "place". Surely I thought that when her parents came back into her life things would change. It shocks me that she sees it as one stranger passing her on to another stranger. Even if she doesn't "know" them I would think that it would hurt it again to have her dad hand Maya and her brother down to there mother. The reaction Maya's brother had was normal to my eyes. Also when she was mollested by her mothers boyfriend that freaked me out. I think that is so disgusting and it was too disturbing to read. The saddest part is that she's young and not independent enough to get out of her situations so I pity her.

Breaking Night (CH 7-9)

We've seen Liz's relationships with people change throughout the book and, for me, the hardest one to observe is her relationship with her mother. In this section, Liz finally goes to the hospital to visit her dying mother and I found this scene to be particularly heartbreaking. For her entire life Liz has tried to do everything in her power to capture her mother's attention, and her mother has become so sick that she can't even slightly focus on Liz (who is sitting right beside her). I think it's extremely sad that Liz never really had the attention she deserved from her mother, and even more so that instead of finally having some closure before her mother's death she is only filled with such intense sadness, fear, and disappointment that there will never be that closure between them. I think that Liz uses her experiences with her mother to guide some of her other relationships -- she now knows that no matter how hard she tries and no matter how much it pains her, some people will always be who they are and continuously do destructive things. This lesson that she's learned is what's given her the strength to leave Brick's house and be able to confront Carlos through the letter after she discovers he is using drugs.

The Road Part 3

During this section of the book, I was focusing on the boy more often. I was trying to understand how the boy viewed the world. A world he never knew. And it seemed like he had to grow up trying to imagine these things to go another day without thinking of death. However I've noticed that the boy isn't really afraid of death. I mean yes he has cried and he's afraid of pulling the trigger on himself but I feel like he's prepared for it. When the father asked the son what had happened to the flute he had made him, the son said he had thrown it away. To me, I see the flute as his way of letting go of the present and accepting what may happen to him during that moment. I don't know about anybody else reading this, but I honestly don't think the boy shares his father's view on survival, they are so opposite. It's heartbreaking to say this but the boy reminds me of his mother. However I understand why it would be so difficult for them to have a connection with both growing up in completely different worlds. This could be another adversity they have to overcome, differences.

The Road (pages 73-145)

The most horrific portion of this part of the novel, for me at least, was when the Man and the Boy discover the humans in a basement of a house. The first time I read this part, I didn't pay very close attention, but a particular detail stuck out that made me realize what was happening. One of the men in the basement had his legs cut off to the hip, and the end of him had been cauterized. It became apparent to me that these people were a stock of food for the people inhabiting the upstairs portion of the house. While at first I was very focused on how disgusting and grotesque the situation was, I started to think about what this might show about how people face and try to overcome adversity. In the case of these people who turned to cannibalism, I think it showed that their way of overcoming the adversity of their situation was to do anything they could to survive. In contrast, the Man and the Boy tried to uphold their "good guy" status, at least to some extent, and I think this is mostly due to the encouragement of more moral behavior by the Boy. This ties back to what I said in a previous post or comment, that I feel that the Boy has maintained a level of compassion because this post-apocalyptic world is the only one he has ever known, whereas the Man has probably become a more hardened/bitter version of himself as a result of this onslaught of adversity.

Part 3 The Road

I've often questioned the significance of the diseal truck and have come up with a conclusion. I believe that maybe the diseal truck is a symbol for the easy way out. In context we are told that those in the truck are "bad guys" which makes me think that these bad guys are also bad because they have no knowledge or have had no true adversity after the apocalypse, they have simply took the easy way. On the other hand the father and son only have a cart which is nothing in comparison to the truck. I think the whole comparison means that even though the father and son have so little they are better people for the path that they have chosen. They have chosen to go through hardship but live a life in which they have no regrets for what they have done because they live an honest life.

Catch-22 Ch12-22

I found it interesting that at one point during the war, Yossarian had actually been a soldier that cared about the war and was brave enough to go back through the bombing zone so that he could drop his bombs and destroy the bridge. I then feel like Yossarian became how he is currently because of how he was treated after that mission as he was reprimanded by Colonel Cathcart, yet he was given a medal and promoted to captain. So because of the inconsistency of the decisions by commanding officers, I feel like Yossarian realized how little sense everything made, such as the Catch-22 policy, so he decided to just get out of there before he died.

Breaking Night Section 1

Nearly each page from this gripping book ignites thoughts of discussion that I wish to share outlaid, but alas I must confine my thoughts for three separate sections. For chapters 1-3, I would like to highlight how Murray's tone distorts my (and I assume other's) perception of normality. From the very beginning Murray addresses her father's jail sentence and both of her parents' addiction to heroine and coke. Nearly every page has the words drug run or getting high. Through the use of extreme repetition, I nearly forget that this is a six-ten year old girl we are talking about that is witnessing the abuse of illegal substances, and everything else that comes along with it: creepy men willing to supply finances/supplies for drugs, late-night attacks/muggings, no food to eat due to money depletion from drugs, and irresponsible parents that fail to supply the children they brought into the world with a decent home. Murray's tone, however, through all of her descriptions of such horrific and unimaginable circumstances comes off as regular and normal - almost natural! I understand why; being born into this way of life, she struggles to comprehend an alternative lifestyle (even when meeting friends with parents that cook meals regularly and have higher standards of living, Murray never questions why she was unlucky enough to be born to drug-addicted parents. She continue to accepts her family and how they live.) Perhaps for a 18 year old that has experienced otherwise, reading how drug addiction is tearing her family apart is normal drives me crazy as I continually wish she would become mad with how her parents choose to live. That's not to say she doesn't experience emotion - she often describes how she cries when particular events occur, such as her mom stealing her money to buy another bag of drugs or when she learns that her mother is contracted with AIDS, but I often find myself yearning for her to be mad at her predicament.

The Road, section 2

As I read more and more into The Road, I keep noticing more and more how the father and son keep coming facing to face with adversity. At one point in the book, the father and son were hiding in the woods from "bad guys" and the father really contemplated killing his son so they wouldn't get him but luckily they were never found.That's why he's been asking himself "Can you do it?" because he doesn't know if he will should the time come. Another was that they were just in the woods, where it as freezing but couldn't do much about it or else they would risk being caught. The father also continues to hear his son say he wishes to die and only worsens the situation they're already in. 

The Life of Pi: Section 2

In this section, I observed the many adversities that Pi experiences as he experiences religious intolerance, abandonment of his home, and eventually separation from his family, but besides these instances, many other characters experience adversity, yet little attention is given to them. 

The fact that his father, mother, and Ravi are so apathetic and questioning of Pi's spirituality is an example of adversity as well. It causes the family to face the idea that despite their "forward-minded" aspirations, they're son has become consumed with the "backward" and "mythicism" of religion. And this division within the family, though small at first continues to reappear again and again as Pi delves deeper into his spirituality.

Ultimately the parents must concede to Pi's persistence and allow him to get the prayer rug and allow him to become baptized. And as these things occur, they must finally face the fact that in spite of all they'd hoped, their son will live life as he pleases.

I know why the caged birds sing 1-9

 Maya explains how she feels in regards to her look and the idea of beauty. She in laughed at and feels humiliated in what is worse, this is at a place of worship where  in gods house everyone is asposed to be accepted for who they are. She does not take pride in being African which is sad but due to the time period it makes sense. I pity her and her story because I feel even if she doesn't feel like she belongs because of her parents leaving her and people telling her she's not beautiful, it should never be okay to run out of a church crying. Later in the book when her dad comes back and she disregards as a stranger speaks a lot too because it shows the concept of "blood is thicker than water" is not true to her scenario.

Breaking Night (ch. 4-6)

One thing that I noticed in these chapters was that Liz was able to handle adversity when she made new friends such as Sam and Carlos. Her friendships with them helped  her become happier even though her life at home was difficult. Liz's mother left her father and another guy named Brick. Liz doesn't necessarily like Brick because he disrespects her mother even though she is sick. At the end of the section, Brick kicks Liz and Sam out of the house. At first I was really upset, but I feel like Liz will be ok because she finally has friends that care for her. Her whole life she was surrounded by people who cared more about drugs than her health. Maybe this will be a good transition for her. 

Breaking Night- Section 1

We are introduced to Liz, the younger sister, Lisa, the older sister, and the mother who's unstable due to drugs and other personal problems. The situation was so bad that Liz felt that she couldn't reach out to them, so she resorted to a job at the age of ten which was bagging items and receiving tips from people. While she had to go through the financial and social dilemmas at home she finds a way to overcome the problems by earning her own money. She's taking responsibility for herself at such a young age, which I believe is very impressive; one cannot find ways to earn money so young, but she felt like she had no other choice. While she still does blame herself for her mother's drug (and other forms of) abuse she still subsists and moves on.

The Road

As I read this section of The Road, I was astonished when realizing how well the young boy has taken this whole situation his father and him live in. Yes, he has cried once in a while and has seemed to be worried when asking his father if they're going to live but  they've been confronted with the sighting of human beings in a basement suffering. This is a very gruesome occurance that many people wouldn't be able to handle. A weird thing that I found about this section is that the young boy and the man keep calling themselves "good guys." I believe this may be because they're setting a limit to something they don't want to become.

Chapters 10-18 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

In chapters 10-18 what stood out to me the most was Marguerite’s and Bailey’s adoration of their mother. I can’t understand why they felt no anger towards her when she had abandoned them to live with their grandmother and never visited them. Then, out of the blue, she decides she wants them to live with her and has her ex-husband pick them up from their grandmother’s house and pluck them out of life as they know it. I would harbor resentment towards the person who did that to me. Despite the fact that even though the children now lived with their mother, they still hardly ever saw her. Oddly, they still fawned over her and admired her beauty. For the majority of the time they lived with her, they seemed constantly in awe of her, almost as if she was a mythical creature that they thought didn't exist in real life. 

Ch 1-9 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

In the first chapter of this memoir, the reader is introduced to the narrator, Marguerite, her brother, Bailey, and their grandmother, who they refer to as Momma because she raised them. What struck me in these nine chapters was how much Marguerite looked up to her older brother Bailey. To her, he was perfect and could do no wrong. In chapter four she states "My pretty Black brother was my Kingdom Come.". Throughout these nine chapters, she contrasts Bailey's smartness with her dumbness, Bailey's grace with her clumsiness, and his beauty with her ugliness. Through these adoration's bestowed upon her brother, Marguerite's own insecurities are reveled. She seems painfully aware of her own self-perceived inadequacies, and I wonder, as the book continues, if she ever overcomes these self-doubting feelings.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Section 2

In chapters 10-18, it stood out to me the most how Maya was greatly affected by being molested by her mother's boyfriend Mr. Freeman while living with them in St. Louis. It was easy for him to take advantage of her because she lacked the love and care that most children received from their parents growing up so she equated his inappropriate behavior as him loving her. It was disturbing to read because she had such a child-like point of view and it shows the complete violation of her innocence. After the case and Mr. Freeman's "unexpected" death, Angelou decides to remain silent because she feels that anyone she speaks to will ultimately die too. She blamed herself for everything and was made to feel that she did something wrong by Mr. Freeman. This was just a sad section to read because I saw her transition from being a worry free child to literally carrying all of the weight in her world on her shoulders.

The Good Guys

From the very beginning of this section, the son and the father continue to share the belief that they are the "good guys" and are continually running away from the "bad guys".  I feel that them labeling themselves as the "good guys" creates adversity for themselves, because the father still has to act as a role model to his son even in these grim circumstances. The thought that the post-apocalyptic society would turn to the imprisonment and cannibalism left me really disgusted and terrified for the Man, and especially the son who the Man feared "something was gone that could not be put right again" after witnessing all the things they pasted along the Road. Another theme that i keep noticing is how they are constantly questioning their death, which makes me wonder why they are still traveling the road, and where they really do intend to end up both literally and emotionally.

The Road- What is Lyfe?

To be born into this barren, cannibalistic world is far beyond imaginable. This young boy has endured so many hardships with his father, but to what end? They go days without food and water, scavenging what they can, always in fear of running into the "bad"guys. 

"You put it in your mouth and point it up. Do it quick and hard. Do you understand? Stop crying. Do you understand."

No child should be forced to learn to survive, let alone know how to take their own life. Nor should they question whether life is worth living. I believe this to be the greatest adversity of the book- being born into a world in which the only guarantee is that tomorrow isn't guaranteed.

The Life of Pi (reading section #2)- Shipped Animals

In this second section of reading, Pi faces various cases of adversity, the obvious one being that the ship he had been on had sunk and he was on a life boat with a tiger and a hyena. However, another notable case of adversity was when Pi and Ravi had been told that they were moving from India to Canada. Moving in general is in itself is a struggle, but moving across the Atlantic Ocean to an unknown country with an unknown culture is even more intimidating. Pi and his family decided (well the parents decided) to leave everything they have ever known and to move to Canada. I am interested mostly to this specific case of adversity because the night I had read this section was the same night I had visited the Holocaust Museum in D. C. And I remember the tour guide stating how hard it was for the Jewish people to get up and leave everything the had ever known even with the circumstances they faced. Even with the motivation the Jews had to leave their homes they didn't because of hard it was for them to leave their lives. And it's the same for Pi, obviously he is not under the same circumstances as the Jews, but how can you imagine your parents telling you that they have decided for the family to move across the world and you will not be living the same life as you once did. I'm not sure that Pi found a way to cope with his family's decision besides just accepting that his parents had already made the decision and the move had already been set in motion.

Catch-22 Part 2

"The soldier in white was constructed entirely of gauze, plaster and a thermometer. "
Yossarian met the soldier in white when he was in the hospital. The man in white couldn't move, speak, and was fed through a tube. Was that living? Yossarian, in my opinion has a twisted view of what life is. If you live life afraid that at any moment you might drop dead from one of the million things we could die from including:
 "There were tumors of the brain. There was Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There were fertile red meadows of epithelial tissue to catch and coddle a cancer cell. There were diseases of the skin, diseases of the bone, diseases of the lung, diseases of the stomach, diseases of the heart, blood and arteries. There were diseases of the head, diseases of the neck, diseases of the chest, diseases of the intestines, diseases of the crotch. There even were diseases of the feet. There were billions of conscientious body cells oxidating away day and night like dumb animals at their complicated job of keeping him alive and healthy, and every one was a potential traitor and foe. There were so many diseases that it took a truly diseased mind to even think about them as often as he and Hungry Joe did"
You only get to live once so why live afraid you might die when everyone must die eventually. instead enjoy the good moments you do have like the sun warming your back or tasting something new for the very first time. if we worry we might die all the time we will miss those moments that make up life.  Yossarian flee's to the hospital when he can't handle life in the war as if he can flee from living life itself. He can't each time he ends up right back in the field. War is nasty but even through difficult times we shouldn't run from our problems we must push through them and see the ways we can support each other in the trials of life.

 

Life of Pi- Section 2

This section of our book is overflowing with adverse scenarios. Pi begins his story of his family's journey to begin a new life in Canada, but that is only the beginning of his adversity. As if being uprooted from his life in India wasn't enough, the ship on which Pi, his family, and the zoo animals which they were going to sell were all on, sunk. Pi is thrown overboard by the crew into a lifeboat on a which an adult tiger, a hyena, an orangutan and an injured zebra are all on as well. He goes 2 days without eating, drinking, or sleeping. He watches the hyena devour both the injured zebra, and the orangutan. He is gripped by fear, but eventually reaches a point where he realizes he must drink in order to survive and sets out for water. This is probably one of the most extreme cases of adversity I have ever encountered, and it seems as if the only way Pi is dealing with it is practically accepting his death and just trying to survive as long as he can. 

The Road part 2

Throughout this section papa keeps repeating to the little boy that they will not die and never seems to lose hope that they will find a way to survive. He finally seems to overcome the adversity when they get into a house that has a lot of food in which the boy will stop being hungry and stop being cold. However, it is bitter sweet because he know that they must journey into another obstacle and face yet more adversity. But, he is positive about the situation he is in and keeps motivating the boy to keep going.

The Road - Section2

The father was really going to kill his son. He feared so much that the "bad guys" would get his son, that he wanted his son to kill himself, and when he thought he couldn't do it, the father was going to. Talk about adversity. That's why he's been asking himself "Can you do it?" He has been wondering this whole time, if he could kill his son if it came down to it. Luckily, the men did not see them hiding in the woods. That's another adversity in itself. They had to hide there, without moving in the freezing cold of the woods in order to keep the bad guys from seeing them.
This book is so gripping that I have trouble putting it down. McCarthy's writing style just keeps you hooked, wanting to know more. It's strange because it so simple, and sometimes hard to follow, but you're always left wanting to know what comes next.

The Road-144

There was definitely a lot going on in this section. We finally get to see the bad guys and to be honest I wasn't sure what I expected them to be like. However I didn't expect the situation to be as bad or gruesome as it occurred. I am surprised how well the boy is handling all these events. Yes he does get scared and cries, it's natural but the way he reacts/acts is not "normal" for a young boy. It could just be the way his father has raised him. He could have raised him to expect these sort of things in order to survive and read dangerous situations better. I did get confused on page 155 though. "Coming through the canebrake into the road he'd seen a box. A thing like a child's playhouse. He realized it was where they lay watching the road. Lying in wait and ringing the bell in the house for their companions to come." I've reread this part multiple times but I'm still not understanding, though I could just be over thinking it.

The Road Section 2

As I continued reading The Road, I noticed that so much emotion is put into so few words. The dialogue between the man and his son is very brief, yet there so much said between them.  The son expresses his fears, and at other times how he wishes to die.  The man also shows emotion in very few words such as when he saw the horrific sight of starving, naked, suffering human beings locked up in a basement, when he was looking for food for he and his son.  The descriptions of setting and occurrences adds to the detail and emotion that cannot be put in dialogue.

Breaking Night (chs 4-6)

This section emphasizes how important and beneficial it is for people to feel supported as they face adversity. Until this point, Liz has tried to face everything on her own and feels disconnected from her family and from the world. At one point she felt as though she was invading peoples' space rather than feeling like she was a part of anything. After she befriended Sam, Liz became happier and stated that "the world's rejection mattered less because [they] were with each other." She continues to make more friends and compares them to a "little family free of judgements." She knows that her problems haven't disappeared, but having a sense of belonging has made things different for her. It's made her problems more bearable because she doesn't feel so alone anymore.

"The Long and Winding Road"

So far I am really diggin’ this book and its’ post apocalyptic setting. The boy in the story is very young and whatever it was that turned the world upside down has happened several years ago. Soon after this happened the boy’s mother, and the man’s wife, took her life out on the road somewhere. The man kept a picture of her in his wallet, but he eventually dumped it out with the rest of his wallet onto the road. He was also forced to shoot a man in order to save his son’s life. I feel that this showed that he had given up on the past, pre-apocalyptic world, and had realized that at least in his lifetime, they would never return to such a civilized and relatively peaceful life. The man’s wife was in the past, and she was going to stay there. All he has to look forward to is a life with his son.

The Road (Pgs 1-72)

From the very first page, it became apparent to me that The Road was not going to be like any other novel I had read. It seems as though Cormac McCarthy's writing style/structure is meant to emphasize the subject/themes of the novel. First of all, the novel is written in vignettes rather than chapters or any other traditional book structure, which I feel highlights the "in/out" nature of the man & the boy's "higher" consciousness, and the way all of the days blend together since essentially all they do day in and day out is walk around and try to survive. Continuing the analyzation of McCarthy's style, he tended to omit many punctuation marks, which I feel served to make the writing seem hastily done.
I think that the way the author described setting of the novel really helped to illustrate the actual magnitude of their situation. Many words were used quite frequently in the descriptions of the setting including: ash, gray, murk, dark/darkness, etc. I think we all understand that their experience is a pretty tough one, one we wouldn't expect normal people to be able to weather, much less a boy. This leads to my next point...
As we are studying adversity in this unit, it's important to note that the situation presented in The Road certainly exemplifies adversity, and on multiple levels. The man and the boy are entirely alone through the majority of this portion of the book, and must look out for one another and for themselves at all times. There's immeasurable danger in the world, and they are well aware of this, as is shown by the boy's skittishness. One of the most obvious ways that the characters deal with their adversity is through memory. The man sometimes has pleasant/captivating memories/daydreams of his wife, or the woman who was his wife, as well as his childhood, and I think these memories help him because their beauty distracts him from his situation. However, these memories can also be problematic because of their distracting nature. Additionally, as much as they remind him of the beauty of the world, they also slam him with the reality that no such beauty exists anymore. Another way they deal with their adversity is their companionship, for this is the main motivation/drive/factor overall that's making them survive.

(Side note: I feel like the man is trying to prepare himself and/or the boy for something that is to happen, but I don't know what yet. I think this because of some of the man's internal dialogue, eg: "Can you do it? When the time comes? Can you?")

The Road post 1

This first part really seems to keep drudging on. Every day they wake up and travel struggling to survive on the road. What it really shows about adversity is that although every day is tough and monotonous on the road the man always has a goal and I person to keep him going . He uses the boy as motivation to keep pushing. The most interesting part was when the boy asked the man about what he would do when he died and the man said he would die also. The man is using the boy as a way to push through the adversity of the journey. 

Catch - 22 : Ch1-11

So far Catch-22 has been quite an interesting book to read as it is full of paradoxes and irony, with the most notable being that of the Catch-22 clause that prohibits Yossarian from being grounded from the war. Being a war novel, I was surprised as I often found myself laughing quite often at the dialogue and events that occur throughout these first couple of chapters. The book can be confusing as the reader may find some of the things that characters do and say don’t make sense at times, but I think that’s why this story does make sense. Instead of taking a straightforward approach to speaking about war, it displays it in a satirical way where I believe it is saying that war is senseless act, and in a sense a vicious cycle that can be difficult to escape from. This can be seen with Yossarian, who wants to be grounded, but in order to do so he must prove himself insane or fly fifty missions. But by asking to be grounded, it shows that he is sane since he cares about his safety, and cannot be grounded without asking. He could also try flying the fifty missions, except the number keeps getting bumped up by his commanding officer, who he cannot disobey, and thus he cannot get out of war.

The Road Section 1

There are many examples in the book that show the adversity that the characters have to overcome. For instance, the constant threat of starvation, cannibals, and surviving the cold conditions while heading south require a great deal of perseverance. In addition to this, they each have to deal with their own feelings. They both miss the mother, the only difference is that the boy, at one point, says he wishes he was with her, indicating that he wants to die, and the dad deals with not shooting his son even though it would mean that the son wouldn't have to suffer anymore. 

Life of Pi- No God

Throughout the first 25 chapter of the novel, there have been multiple examples of adversity. An example that stood out to me in particular was how a character (I'm not exactly sure who it was because I read that part while I was feeling sick on a plane ride) decided to no longer believe in a God because of how his "God" did not seem to answer his prayers or assist him while he was going through his sickness. Going through a sickness (don't remember which one) is an obvious a case of adversity, and often people turn to prayers in hope that their "God(s)" will find cure to their sickness. This person however gave up in believing in God and said that his sickness was cured through medicine. While going through a sickness, like I stated, is a type of adversity so is having to accept the fact that you can no longer count on a certain someone. This character in the novel was able to overcome both cases of adversity of having a sickness by medicine, and not being able to believe in God by simply having the mindset that if there was a God, where was he during his time of need?

Breaking Night (ch. 1-3)

Throughout the first three chapters of Breaking Night, there is an apparent theme of survival. Liz and her sister Lisa, struggle to survive in a household where her parents are both addicted to drugs. Drugs have taken over the parents lives so much that they immediately spend their check on buying more drugs while leaving hardly any money for food. The girls are then left to eat eggs everyday and at one point even a tube of toothpaste and Chapstick. The thought of having to live with such adversity breaks my heart. One thing that I found interesting was when Liz had decided to take matters in her own hands and find a job at the age of ten so that she could eat. She worked in a supermarket where she would bag the items and then receive tips from the costumers. To me this is an act of overcoming adversity because Liz wanted to be able to eat and not starve to death. 

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings - Section 1

In chapters 1-9, it stood out to me how segregation and racism were so bad in Stamps, Arkansas that Angelou didn't think Caucasian individuals were real people. ("These others, the strange pale creatures that lived their alien unlife, weren't considered folks. They were white folks." p. 26) I related this to adversity because of how prevalent inequality was back then. Also, how the estranged relationship she and her brother had with their parents really had an impact on her as a child. Angelou thought they were simply unwanted. Angelou and her brother had mixed feelings upon meeting their father - she feared being compared to him and he was in awe of him. They both, however, were reluctant to meet their mother. Angelou says her mother was "too beautiful to have children." They don't really connect with their mother or father in this section. 

Life of Pi- Section 1

In the first section of this book, Pi discusses various scenarios where he faces adversity. The most prominent instance for me was the time when he is bombarded by the "three wise men" of the three religions he is exploring. Pi was first a Hindu, but has recently discovered Christianity and Islam, and become very interested in both. The men each claim he can only practice one religion. Pi responds to this adversity is a very peaceful and logical way, telling them he only wishes to love God. This answer satisfies them and they go on their way. I found Pi's handling of this difficult situation to be mature beyond his years and I am intrigued to see how this ties into the book later on. 

Catch-22

Yossarian works so hard to get out of the war. If all soldiers worked that hard we wouldn't have war. I find Yosssarian point of view very interesting, He believes enemy soldiers want to kill him personally. By taking it personally he isn't desensitized to the effects of his actions he understands that war isn't a game. This concept is the basis for his idea that everyone around him is crazy. Especially Clevinger, who believed that people shooting at him was just the nature of war. Yossarian doesn't see war as a natural behavior and would rather keep his life than to throw it away on craziness. When you don't know what your fighting for war seems more pointless than usual.

The Life of Pi: To live in a zoo

I don't believe that the speakers juxtaposition of staying at the Ritz compared to being homeless, adequately supported his notion that animals must prefer living in captivity to living in the wild. 

Though I understand how the Ritz is supposed to represent the idealism and high-class living that we're all supposed to desire, the speaker can honestly compare that to animals living in a zoo. Yes, maybe living in a zoo does provide a more consistent shelter and food supply, but does that actually make it better? 

Sure things aren't perfect in the wild, and being that none of us are animals, we can really know which environment they prefer, but that being set aside, the idea of free will still remains. People who check into fancy hotels like the Ritz can make a conscious and sovereign decision to do so... The same can't be said for the animals in the zoo.

Perhaps, the speaker is right that the environment provided by the zoo is somehow superior to that of the wild, again, until we determine how to communicate effectively with animals, we may never know the answer for sure, but the big idea that I'm highlighting here is the fact that he speaker is comparing one's purposeful decision for himself with a decision he's made for something, or someone else. As far as I can see, those two scenarios simply are incomparable. 

The Road

The part I found very interesting when reading the first section of the book was when the man had a flashback to a time when he was with his wife. His wife left him and his son, yet the man is still willing to stay alive because his son needs him to survive. Something I also found very interesting was how both the man and son remain unnamed throughout this portion of the book. I believe the reason why the author didn't want to  name them was because of the situation they're in. They're in a post apocalyptic world so all that matters at the moment is their survival and heading south.

The Road Section 1

Many events that occur in the book show the adversity that the characters must face and overcome. For example, the father and son must deal with the loss of the mother. The boy says at one point that he wishes to be with his mother, or in other words, wants to die. The father and son continue on however, and the father does not give in to shooting his son, like the mother said he may have to. The father and son overcome adversity such as being near starvation, avoiding cannibals, and surviving cold winters. They could take the easy way out, but they instead use what they have learned and overcome to continue and strive for their goal to head south.

The Road

I believe that the greatest adversity that the man has faced was seeing his wife walk away. From what I understood his wife left and decided to end her life. The man could have decided to follow the same steps as his wife but he chose to stay alive for his son. The choice that he made has proven to be  full of hardship yet he clings to his life in a selfless matter. He lives for his son and even though it seems that he is going nowhere, there is no destination in his choice he keeps moving forward. 

The Life of Pi- Piscine Molitor Patel

In the third chapter, Mamaji's description of the pool at Piscines Chateau-Landon stood out to me. It wasn't the best pool in Paris, nor was it the worst. Obviously, on the outside he was just talking about another pool and its lack of cleanliness. Even though this pool was much cleaner compared to some of the other pools in Paris, Mamaji still noted that "There was so much gob and spit floating in the water, [that he] thought [he] was swimming through jellyfish."

And in that statement, I thought back to our class discussion about adversity. The fact is that when comparing people to each other, just as Mamaji compared the pools, we all have different situations going. Some of us may appear to be "cleaner" or more put together than others, like the pools, but in spite of that we all have our flaws. We all have "gob and spit" which can be represented through the adversity that we face.

The Road

I find the McCarthy's writing style extremely interesting from the very beginning because it is so unique, and I don't recall ever reading a book where the author avoids using quotation mark. Another characteristic that is relatively unique about this book is its lack of chapters, and each paragraphs acts as a separation of The Man's thoughts. I also find the fact the author avoids giving the Man and the Boy names through out this section. In the beginning of the section, we get little glimpses of the Man's and the Boy's relationship, and their dynamic is really interesting to me because of the way that the boy has moments where he seems extremely mature, and others where he resembles a relatively young child. The moments when the Man remembers his wife are really emotional to me, because those are the few instances where this book has a real strong emotional focus on something instead of focusing on the bleakness of the two's future.

Breaking Night

In the first three chapters, I think it's interesting to compare how the characters deal with the challenges they face -- Lisa, the older sister, seems to become very hard and distant. The mother turns to drugs and alcohol and is desperate for attention, she's also prone to schizophrenic breakdowns. The main character, Liz, tries to avoid her problems and seeks comfort outside of her home through friends and their family. Liz also tends to blame herself for things that aren't her fault, like how she blamed herself for her mother's breakdowns and how she thought it was her fault that her mother left. This, I thought, was extremely sad, and it also confused me -- I don't understand why she is so quick to blame herself for her mother's problems.

The Road

I have noticed that the paragraphs are rather short. Yet, I find them to be detailed and interesting. Some paragraphs offer an insight into the past, what happened or other details. However, these insights are not random, as in they aren't placed where they are just because, I see that there is a connection with the insight and the previous paragraph about the story line. I see it almost like, something they see or experience triggers a memory and so they (mostly the father) relive it in their minds. Sometimes nice things like his childhood, and sometimes darker things involving the death of his wife. "You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget."

The Road. First Glance

I found McCarthy's writing style interesting. I noticed his use of punctuations was a bit scattered and inconsistent. And he doesn't use quotation marks to distinguish dialogue within the text, which can cause a bit of confusion for the reader. I also found it strange that the two characters, the father and the son, remained unnamed throughout this whole section I read.

The Road - Wife

The part I found most interesting in this part of the book is the glimpse we got into the past when the man's wife left his son and him, but we have no idea when it happened or what sparked her decision to leave. I think what's kind of amazing about this is how the father chose to keep surviving despite all the negative things his wife has pointed out about their situation. He wasn't going to give up on his son the way she was. And his son handled the whole thing like a champ. In the morning all he did was ask if she was gone. He didn't complain or cry, which must have been extraordinarily difficult considering he just lost his mother. I wish we knew who she was talking about though when she said "...they will catch us and they will kill us." The man and his son have continued to survive despite her taking the easy way out and leaving them all on their own in a world of chaos.