Blog Post #6- Narrative Writing

The series "Cirque Du Freak" by Darren Shan are wonderful and entertaining books. Since the change occurs within the series, I can't do one book so I said "series". These series of books are about a human becoming a half vampire to save his friend, but as the story goes on, his friend becomes the Lord of the Vampaneze which is the enemies of vampires. Darren, the main character goes through a series of adventures as he is one of the vampires destined by a powerful magical man called Desmond Tiny to put a stop to the Lord of the Vampaneze. I have read the first few books a year ago, but during this week, they have been extremely entertaining and I'm up to the last book. Throughout the series, I've noticed a change in Darren.

In the beginning of the series, when Darren was first blooded by Mr Crepsley (the vampire in a circus freak show), Darren didn't like him and wished that he was dead. Because Darren stole his spider, the spider bit his best friend Steve and there was no other cure. The only way was to ask Mr Crepsley for the antidote, but in exchange Darren would have to be Mr Crepsley's half vampire assistant. His life was difficult being a vampire and he hated Mr. Crepsley. For example, during the first book when he was blooded and he was taken to Steve's(his best friend aka the Lord of Vampaneze) room to be cured, Darren pressed the emergency button to try to get Mr. Crepsley to be arrested. Darren tried his best to get rid of him and pretend to be normal, he didn't like him because he turned him into a vampire. Another example was when Mr. Crepsley told him to drink human blood and he instantly became mad and he told him that if he didn't stop bothering him, he would kill him and drive a stake through his heart while he was asleep.

Towards the end of the series, Darren changes his opinion about Mr. Crepsley. Mr. Crepsley was killed while fighting Steve. He fell into a pit of stakes and died, Darren was shocked as they developed a son like relationship. Darren loved Mr. Crepsley, he thought of him as a father because of all the things he'd done for him throughout the series. Mr. Crepsley almost sacrificed his life to save Darren and also made funny jokes together that really made Darren happy through tough times. Darren thought he was a nuisance at first but really studied the ways of the vampires and decided that being a vampire was his fate. When Mr. Crepsley died, Darren was depressed for many weeks nonstop. He always had his mind on Mr. Crepsley. He was a good friend and I would be extremely sad if my friend died like that. For example, Darren sat in one place without eating just thinking about Mr. Crepsley and all the good times they had together. He was depressed and sad without him, he ignored his surroundings and focused his mind on Mr. Crespley. He wanted to get revenge but was reminded by the last words of Mr. Crespley which told him he shouldn't be filled with the desire for revenge and hatred.  Darren changed because he realized he couldn't live without Mr. Crepsley, he needed him and he was nice and gentle. At first, Darren thought he was evil but later discovered that he was doing things for the good. Another example of Darren changing and wishing Mr. Crepsley hadn't died was when he had a dream that the vampires from Vampire mountain had come and saved Mr. Crepsley from falling into the pit and that they were rescued.

In conclusion, Darren changed throughout the series from hating Mr. Crepsley to liking him and thinking of him as a father. This lesson teaches us many things about life. You may have heard the phrase "Do not judge a book by its cover", this means that you shouldn't judge someone base on his appearances. Darren judged Mr. Crepsley by his features. Because he was a vampire, Darren thought that he was evil. He didn't like him, but later on he learned that he was a kind hearted person and had a lot of sympathy, he was willing to give up his life to save his pupil. Life can be bitter and there can be a lot of people you don't like at first, but later on, you will learn that these people that you didn't like at first could play a huge role in your life. They could be your best friend, these people could be really nice people that stand up for you when you're in trouble. This teaches us that we shouldn't judge without knowing someone's point of view or traits. A case could have multiple points of view, what others see can be different from what another one would see. All in all, this teaches us that we shouldn't judge others without knowing their personality.

Blog Post #5- Poetry/Song Lyric Responses

The song "In the End" by Linkin Park is one of my favorite songs of all times. Linkin Park is my favorite band and I love all the music they compose and I believe that all of their music have meanings. This song is a song and it reminds me of all the sad times, the beat is just really... calm. It reminds me of death and sorrow. I have two inferences about this song. One inference is that I think this song tells us that no matter what your status as a person is, ex: rich, poor, famous, pretty) when you die it won't matter. My second inference is that this song teaches us that you shouldn't waste time and that you should value your time.

First, I think that this song tells us that no matter what status a person has in life, it won't matter when we die. For example, the repetitive line ""What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard/ And got so far/ In the end, it doesn't even matter" is repeated many times throughout the song. This quote is telling us that in the end of your life, when you die; all of the fame and wealth or vice versa you had doesn't matter because you are dead. It also tells us that the future doesn't matter and only the present matters because everything you do will determine a different outcome of people's futures. All of it is gone, and nothing matters now. "What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I tried so hard/ And got so far", I think this part of the line means that the person's life use to be full of riches but it will eventually be a memory when he/she dies. The narrator tried so hard and achieved his/her goals of becoming rich but in the end, it doesn't matter.

Second, I think that this song also teaches us that you shouldn't waste time and that you should value your time. For example, the lines "All I know / time is a valuable thing / Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings /
Watch it count down to the end of the day / The clock ticks life away" indicates that time is a valuable thing. The line "Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings", I think this line means that time is ticking really fast and that's why you shouldn't waste time. The pendulum is the clock and when it swings, time moves by really quickly. The line "Watch it count down to the end of the day" means that the narrator is wasting time and time is going by so quick that it's already the end of the day. Another example that shows this teaching is the lines "Didn’t look out below/ Watch the time go right out the window/ Trying to hold on but didn’t even know / Wasted it all just to/ Watch you go". I think these lines are talking about the narrator not planning his time well, because the narrator didn't plan his time well the time flies and as a result, time is wasted. He/she tries to fix his error but he/she just wasted all his/her time already so the narrator just watches the time fly.


In conclusion, I think that this song tells us that no matter what your status as a person is, when you die it won't matter and also teaches us that you shouldn't waste time and that you should value your time. The rich think that because they are rich, they can boss others and show off. But the value that this song teaches is that everyone is the same and it doesn't matter what clothes you wear or what kind of style you prefer. In the end, it doesn't matter. Everyone should be treated equally regardless of their looks or style. People should also value their time and spend it well, this song tells us that time can only go forward and not backwards. Once time is passed, there's no going back. This is why people should value their time and not waste it because if you're doing something you love like playing video games instead of doing your homework, you'd mostly end up not doing it or doing it late. When people enjoy events, time flies by and goes by like it's only been 10 minutes.

Blog Post #4- Informational/Nonfiction Writing

The article Why is this child so distressed? by Jane Hersey is an article about reasons why children can be distressed. The article tells us many reasons why children can be distressed and it gives us examples of people that are distressed and their causes. There are many children and are distressed because of many reasons, this article tells us about reasons that children can be distressed.

First, the article isn't really trying to convey the readers about a certain topic. The article is just giving information about reasons children can be distressed. Jane Hersey is trying to be informal with us and telling us many things that can make us or children distressed. One example of something that can make children distressed is death. The article talks about a young 7 year old girl and the death of her parents. "Betsy was only 7 years old, but was haunted by thoughts of death; one of the pieces of art work she brought home from school was a black paper with three tombstones, bearing the initials of her parents and herself. She quietly planned on ways that she could end her life, which held no joy for her despite a loving family that desperately tried to help her". This is from the article, as you can see, she is only 7 years old and her parents are already dead. Death is a serious issue that can cause children to be distressed. If I was in her shoes, I would be distressed and depressed! Another reason why children could be distressed is disorders. Disorders are especially common nowadays, they shape a person's personality and their actions. One example in the article is a boy called Joshua with oppositional defiant disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. The disorders often puts him in an angry, aggressive, and compulsive mood. 

In conclusion, there are many reasons that children can be distressed. There are so many reasons that there would be a huge list going on and on. My personal response to this article is how many are unlucky. There is always something that cause something like being distressed. Children are distressed because of many reasons that they can't control and is far beyond their capabilities. If their parents die, they can't do anything about it. If someone has diseases or disorders, they can't do anything about it. The only option is to be distressed or depressed. Although there are many drugs that can help these children wake up from their distressed mood, these drugs are often not risk-free and can come with many deadly consequences. I feel really bad for these children because of bad things are happening and it was all fate. Fate brought it upon them, that is why fate and can be good and it can be evil sometimes. Not all things work out successfully in life and that's why many bad things happen to people, bad enough to change their mood and their attitudes.

Blog Post #3- Narrative Piece of Writing

The boko "The Hunger Games" is a fast paced action book about a girl fighting to survive. Each year, there is an event called the Games, it is an  event in which random people are chosen from each district and the participants (or "tributes") must fight in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. The main character Katniss was one of those tributes. Her sister was chosen as a tribute in the Games, but Katniss loved her so much that she offered herself as a tribute. This book is one of the most popular books of all time. However, many people read the book for enjoyment or because many others were reading it. Since many read it for enjoyment, they don't discover the important themes in the book. I think the main theme in this book is survival.

First, although there are many other important themes like love, survival is the main one. Ever since the start of the games, survival is the main issue that Katniss has to solve. One example of survival in the book is that Katniss has to look for her own food and shelter. Just finding food and shelter in the wild is difficult, but she is doing this when others are targeting her and she is the prey. She survives by using her skill which is climbing trees in order to evade her targets. Another example of survival in the book is other tributes trying to survive. The main point of the Games is to survive, but we have other tributes teaming up to survive. The Careers were one group, each member of the group did a task to make sure they survived. Each one had to gather food in the wild and hunt out other members so that they can survive. Suzanne Collins conveys us by showing us what Katniss and the other tributes do in order to survive.

In conclusion, I think the main theme in this book is survival because of my examples. Katniss has to survive in the wild by hunting and gathering food for herself so that she can continue to survive. This is a clear example how Katniss is trying to survive and how she is trying to fight the wild. Survival is important in the book because if the last tribute was standing, their family would be crowned with riches. Everyone would want to be rich. They are also fighting to show the Council that they have spirit in their families and that they can't control them. Survival relates to the real world because there are many situations with survival. There could be a run-away teen running away from abusive parents and trying to survive in the wild. There could be an accident where you're left on an island and you have to survive by yourself. One example of this situation is the book "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen. There could be many situations that can force someone to live in the wild and look for food and shelter in order to survive.