Blog #9 Anticipating The Phoenix and The Carpet

I am very anxious to start The Phoenix and The Carpet.  Until getting the reading list for this class, I had never even heard of it.  I read the back of the cover and read some things on the internet and it seems like it is going to be a fun, cute book to read. I am a little nervous its going to be more like The Hobbit and I didn't really love reading that one.

Blog #8 Analysis of Redwall

For me, Redwell was MUCH easier to read than The Hobbit.  It was so much easier for me to get lost into. After I finished reading, I thought about the reasons why this way and this is what I am up with.

First, I would forget that I was reading about animals and would think I was reading about people. Of course this wouldn't last long because they called each other mice and rats every other sentence.  Jacque did such a good job giving the animals human characteristics. It was easy to connect with the way the characters were feeling.

Second, there were many relationships in Redwall.  Matthias and Cornflower had feelings for each other throughout the entire book.  Methusela and Mattias built a great friendship around their bond for finding Martin's sword.  The relationship of all the Redwall mice and creatures was very close and loving as well.  Then there were relationship that weren't so positive.  Cluny's relationship with his army was full of hatred, abuse, and murder.  The sparrows also had bad relationships in their nest.  

Although, being nineteen and reading this book kills the "suspense" part of wondering if Cluny will win the battle and take over Redwall, it was still exciting to reveal the outcomes of the book.  I would get lost in the story and seriously read for like three hours at a time even though I knew what it was going to be.  If I would have read this book as a little girl, I think I would have read it in one sitting for sure.

The only downfall of the book was that it drug on in some parts.  For a while I didn't think Matthias was EVER going to find the sword.  The same thing was happening over and over and over again. He would go try to find it and it wouldn't be there then it would repeat. 

Blog #7 Notable Moment in Redwall

The  most notable moment for me was when Methuselah and Matthias figure out what "I am that is" means.  Matthias had always wanted to be just like Martin the Warrior, and when he figured out he was "the chosen one" to take Martins place as the Abbeys warrior, he was determined to find Martin's sword. This marks the beginning of "the quest" in the book, which to me, was the most important part of the entire story. After cracking the first code, Methuselah and Matthias begin to solve all the other riddles that would lead Matthias to the sword.

"It couldn't mean anything else! Your name has eight letters in it. So has 'am that is.' An M, two A's, two T's, an H, an I and an S. Whichever way you look at it, Matthias or 'am that is,' it comes out the same."

Blog #6 Anticipating Redwall

Until this class, I had never even heard of Redwall. I am anxious to see if I will like it better than The Hobbit. I've been asking some of my friends and the ones that have read it said really great things about the book. I am definitely staying positive about it and will start it with an open mind!

Blog #5 Analysis of The Hobbit

While reading The Hobbit, I never loved the story. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't very interested in it, until I was talking to some of my friends about the book. One of them mentioned that they didn't like it because there was no romance of any sort in it. I started thinking about the story, and thats when I realized that that was absolutely true. As I kept thinking about the book, I then realized there aren't any females ever mentioned in the story.  During the last in class lecture, Dr. Du Plessis mentioned this.  I think it is a huge part of the reason why I didn't enjoy the story.  The book is definitely more appealing the young boys.  In fact, Bilbo reminds of of an average boy who lived in the 1930s. The decisions he had to make, resembled decisions little boys make everyday.

Although I wasn't very interested in the story, I enjoyed the overall lesson in book (at least that lesson I got from it).  Most people are very greedy for materialistic things, like the dwarves, and we shouldn't care about these things nearly as much as we do. If we were all more like the hobbits and cared about the important things in life, it would be a much better world.  Thorin learns the lesson on the exploration before he dies. I think this is a message everyone needs to hear, especially at a young age. 

When Dr. Du Plessis mentioned that Tolkien used the different characters to represented different races, I went back and looked at detailed that portrayed this. It especially shines through for the dwarves being represented as Jews.

Overall, I didn't enjoy The Hobbit near as much as I hoped I would. Whether it was the lack of romance and female characters or if it was the high fantasy, I hope I like the rest of the stories more than this one. I am definitely keeping an open mind though!

Blog #4 Notable Moment in The Hobbit

As I read The Hobbit, I marked the moments I believed were notable. After I finished I went through those moments and picked out the one I thought was the most notable. I came down to two different moments. The first one was when all the dwarves showed up at Bilbo's hole. This moment is very important to the story because as each dwarf is arriving, their unique personalities and characteristics begin to unfold. Each one has a unique quality about them that sets them apart from the others. It is crucial to take note of these characteristics because they shine through all throughout the book and it is easy to get to dwarves confused because there are so many of them.  

The other notable moment was when Thorin was dying. I read this part of the book on Friday after class and while I was reading, I couldn't get over thinking how valuable this part was to the story. When Thorin says "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world," it was a turning point the book stating that Thorin had learned a very important lesson on the exploration.  This statement defines hobbits because they are not greedy for gold and materialistic things like the dwarves are. During the book, Thorin was the most greedy dwarf of all and the fact that he learned this lesson before he died makes this part the most notable moment in the entire story.

Blog #3 Anticipating The Hobbit

I have never read The Hobbit, but I am SO excited to start it. I've actually never read the Lord of the Rings series either. And as much as I hate to admit it, I've never seen any of them movies. I am excited that I get to read it without knowing anything about it. I'm hoping I will want to start reading the others and watch the movies after I read The Hobbit. I was looking at my roommates bookshelf the other day and noticed she had The Hobbit on it. When I asked her about it, she raved about how awesome it was and how much I am going to enjoy it. I am a Harry Potter fan, so I am anticipating on really getting into this book.

Blog #2 Rhetorical Analysis

I love reading fantasy novels. They are definitely at the top of my list. I can already tell I am going to enjoy reading the books assigned for the class because they are so easy to get consumed in. I love reading a book and escaping the real world.  After looking over my survey answers, I would have to say that mystery books are my all time favorite to read. When I read mysteries, I seriously don't put the book down from start to finish. I have to know what is going to happen next.

As far as resistance goes, I don't think I have any. I am excited to read all of the books. The ones I have read like Harry Potter, James and the Giant Peach, and The Giver are three of my favorite novels, so I have no doubt that I will enjoy the rest of them.