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 #2- Song Lyrics - Linkin Park- Numb

The song Numb by Linkin Park is one of my favorite songs! I have never thought about giving the poem more meaning, to go deep in the poem and unravel what the song is trying to say. Obviously, everyone just likes music, there's no explanation. Numb has a good rhythm in my opinion, and the singer just makes you fall asleep. Many like this song but never think about the lyrics, just like me until I did this blog post.Throughout the poem, there is repetition and strong words. I think that this song is about someone having a difficult life and is unpopular and gets bullied.

I think this because of two of the repetitive lines in the song. The lines says "I've become so numb, I can't feel you there/Become so tired, so much more aware". This line is repeated three times throughout the poem, this makes me believe that this is an important line. When it says "I've become so numb, I can't feel you there", I think that this means that the person has already experienced so much bullying that it's like nothing anymore. It's happened so much that the narrator can't feel that bullying is a threat anymore. The second line "Become so tired, so more more aware" is also repetitive. I think that this line means that the narrator is tired of the bullying, but he/she is becoming more aware of the situation. The most important repetitive line in this song is "Every step that I take is another mistake to you". I think this because it shows that the narrator is getting ignored and not cared for. I don't think that Linkin Park meant that "every step he/she takes is another mistake" for real. I think that this line means that everything the narrator does is ignored and that no one cares. This is why it says "another mistake to you", it's considered a mistake and a bad thing every time the narrator does something it likes to do. Even though the narrator likes it, the crowd and other people or classmates don't like it so that's why it's a "mistake". If it's not bullying, then it's some other sort of problem.

This is probably another song about social problems like bullying if I'm correct about my theory. Bullying is one of the world's top issues, it has constantly strained many peoples' lives. Bullying has forced many to commit suicide and many to suffer from the pain everyday. Cyber-bullying also affects kids and others. Bullying happens mostly at school because people judge others and just doesn't like someone in particular. They feel that they are superior just because they think that the person they are bullying is ugly or whatever. Bullying is a huge issue, it could turn someone down and make them feel depressed and sad. It is recommended that if you are bullied, you are suppose to tell someone you trust. But what if you're in a situation like the narrator of the poem, no one likes her and she has no one she trusts. This would really make her life feel miserable and possibly lead to suicide. Even if people tell others, many don't do anything to change bullying. Just because you don't get bullied doesn't mean that the issue doesn't apply to you. Many are bullied and you should care, it is the right thing to do and is also a good way to open up new friendships.

Life Is A Story- Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a very interesting book about a 14 year old boy called Piscine Molitor Patel.He changed his name to Pi because many people called him "Pissing Patel"  which he didn't like. Pi was born a Hindu, but as a fourteen-year-old he is introduced to Christianity and Islam, and starts to follow all three religions as he "just wants to love god."He tries to understand God through the lens of each religion and comes to recognize benefits in each one. His family owns a zoo, eventually his family encountered a ship wreck and they died except for Pi. Pi's ambitious struggles make up his true character. Getting trapped on a boat, he has to find food and water for himself and for the tiger that is also in the boat or else he will get eaten. Experiencing death, learning different religions to understand the world better, gathering food and living by himself makes his life very difficult. I think that all these difficulties make Pi a very ambitious and responsible person.

I infer this because first of all, if he doesn't go find food and water for himself, then he wouldn't live. This makes him ambitious to survive. This also makes him a responsible person since he now has to get his own food and water. There are many people in our world that also has to live by themselves because their parents aren't there to take care of them. I think that this book also teaches the readers more about society and a better understanding of society. I can also connect this book to another book I have read in my past years called Hatchet, it's very similar except the main character is trapped in an island due to a plane crash, and Pi is trapped in a boat.

Second of all, he's very ambitious  because he knows 3 religions, many people that I know of only know one or none. This shows that not only does he want to learn more about God and our society, he wants to learn more about different beliefs of different cultures. Since his family owns a zoo, Pi is also really interested in animals. I think that Pi's ambition to know more about animals moved  Knowing 3 religions is actually really hard to learn in my opinion, I don't even know all the beliefs of one religion and he knows three.

Even after all that he's gone through; he's still willing to live on and struggle on with his life. If I was Pi, and my parents died, I don't think I would have the effort to keep living and gathering food and water. I probably would be crying everyday. He's also a really caring and considerate person, not only does he feed himself, he feeds the tiger too. It must be really hard to find food near a deserted island, finding two meals a day must be pretty hard for Pi. 

In conclusion, I think that Pi is a very ambitious and responsible person. Adding to that, he's also a nice caring person since he saved the tiger. He put his life on the line just to rescue the tiger, he could've let him drown but he saved him. If I was Pi, I wouldn't have saved the tiger if it cost my life. I would've saved it only if it was right next to me. Pi is also brave since a tiger is a very fierce animal and you don't know what it'll do to you after you save it. Many people these days aren't really determined about their work or ambitious, I think that we should all become more ambitious towards our goals.