Final

No Country for Old Men is one of those books where you start expecting things and just end up getting slapped in the face with what you didn't think of. The characters importance and the complete dismissal of the importance in human life. It shows the world changing in ways that people can't use what worked before. Everything is constantly changing and evolving in a way that is a steep learning curve, you either sink or swim. The most important idea I took away from it that wasn't really new to me but I found a new meaning to was that life keeps going on and the world keeps spinning. Characters in the book either die or keep living and either way it doesn't really matter. This is all symbolically represented through the character Anton Chigurh. He is neither swayed by drugs, money, mercy, or begging. He is not moved by emotion or people's influence and it does not matter to him what is said or done because everything that will happen will just...happen. He is not here or there, he just, is. From on looking eyes, he is just a killer that can't feel emotion towards anything or anyone. But, looking closer, to me at least, he is just swimming. He has his own set of rules and perceptions of how life is and what his role in it is. It's a free for all, it is a survival of the fittest. Cars, drugs, money, relationships, and civility aren't factors when it comes down to basic survival. In the beginning of the book he steals a police car and pulls over a man to swap cars. He tells the man to get out and he does. I don't know if its just me but if someone pulled me over with a police car and was holding a weapon and told me to get out, I'd say piss off and keep driving. Does this make me dismissive or speculative? It's just common sense. Chigurh walks on people like ants because they are abiding by the rules that society has set for them, like sheep. When he is sitting down with another "killer" and he has him sitting there knowing he is going to die, he says "Alright. Let me ask you something. If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?". It really is thought provoking to think about that. If all your rules and precautions brought you to being killed then what was the point of those rules. The same man that he was killing said something before that perfectly sums up who Chigurh is and what he represents. " No. You don't understand. You can't make a deal with him. Even if you gave him the money he'd still kill you. He's a peculiar man. You could even say that he has principles. Principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that. He's not like you. He's not even like me."

The other character that is influential in a way that the best way I can put it is, our sinker. Chigurh swims and Officer Bell sinks. After chasing the mess that Chigurh left and not finding anything or helping anyone. Only seeing drugs being spread and people dying. He chooses to retire and basically give up on it. He was "outmatched" by Chigurh and there was no real way to stop what was coming. At the end of the book he says this, “I always thought when I got older that God would sort of come into my life in some way. He didn't. I don't blame him. If I was him I'd have the same opinion about me that he does.” This is probably one of the best quotes in the book because of how real it is. How down to earth this man is. He thought that just being older or living life that he would have some sort of knowledge that one else had, and in a way he did. He realized that he wasn't going to just know things, or that something higher above him would take influence. Life is made up of days and every step you take is forever. (9 out of 10)

 

Reflection 9

3 Great Moments

 The book I'm reading right now is No Country for Old Men and one of the moments is the examples that were given for the coin flip scene. If you aren't familiar from class then, the scene begins with the antagonist Chigurh walking into a gas station eating a bag of peanuts after he has already killed several people. The reason this scene is one of the best moments in the book is because it really sets up who this character is. He has no rhyme or reason, he makes sense in his own world and that is all that matters to him. After asking his questions, he pulls out a coin and tells the man to call it. The man hesitates but then finally calls heads and calls it right. Chigurh tells the man to put the coin anywhere but his pocket because he will lose it, and it is his lucky coin. 

Another great scene in the book is when Chigurh is waiting for Carla Jean Moss after he has already killed her husband. He is waiting for her and he begins to tell her that her husband missed the opportunity to make a deal to let her live. That if he was given the money he would not kill her. He brings out his coin again that he only used one other time in the book. He tells her to call it. She says “The coin don’t have no say in it – it’s just you.". This makes him pause but then come back with he "got here the same way as the coin did.”. She says you don't have to do this and he replies with everyone says the same things. (Throughout the book before he killed people they would say "you don't have to do this") I really like this scene because you get the personality of Chigurh coming out again but this time, someone doesn't play his game where he only knows the rules. She says she will not call it and as far as we know, she died for it.

The third great scene from the book is yet again when Chigurh sits down with his victim but this time with a fellow murderer, Carson Wells. He is a scavenger or a roamer, a mercenary that kills for money. Wells is looking for Chigurh and the money as well, he thinks he knows the situation and how to handle it but when he is confronted by Chigurh he soon realizes that he as been outmatched. This time there is no coin flip and there is no mercy. The reason I like this scene so much is because its like one hunter talking to another hunter but one of them knowing that they are going to die. Wells tries to offer him money in a desperate attempt at life even though he knows the outcome. Chigurh even mentions this, that there would be more pride in acknowledging his demise. Wells then says "you don't have to do this" in which Chigurh just shurgs it off (because everyone says that) and kills him and moves on. 

Reflection 8

Top 5 Book from Childhood

 The book Pendragon was a memorable book from my childhood. Well, it was more of a series of 10 books each one following a pattern of plot and story line in similar ways. The book follows a boy named Bobby Pendragon and he unknowingly has amazing powers and abilities to travel to other worlds known as "Territories", trying to stop a evil man named Saint Dane. (in retrospect) journey where he finds out who he is by going through experiences and growing as a person, mentally and physically. He meets these new people that even though they are different looking and have different culture than him, they are similar in a lot of ways too. I liked the book because when you are a kid at least, and really anyone else who is a day dreamer, following Bobby along his journey let you go to places that aren't real and experience things that wouldn't be possible otherwise. I started reading these books when I first started reading so I would recommend these books to someone just starting out. Its easy to follow along and the story is not awful even if you are older.

  The second book in my top 5 childhood books is Rebecca. I remember my brother having to read it for a English class and he explained it to me while he was reading it so I thought that I mind as well just read it for myself and it became one of my favorite books. Again, perhaps its just from nostalgia that I think so fondly of the book and maybe if I read it now I wouldn't think the same but, I'll keep it the way it is in my head. Rebecca is about a girl that is trying to fill the shoes of a dead wife and her struggles through it with all the twists and turns. The book is basically telling you a story about what happened before everything, if that make sense. I probably would recommend this book to someone that actually wants a good thought provoking book and can follow along with everything that comes with it. Song about the book here.

The third book in my top 5 childhood books is Cirque Du Freak, a series of vampire books. Basically, in a series of unfortunate events, a young boy is force into becoming a vampire because of his friend's ambitions, which in turn, makes his friend his rival. The entire series follows his journey of learning to cope with being a vampire living on the road with a Circus filled with creatures or "freaks". I think the interesting thing is that a lot of the things in the book are explained in a way that make sense in real life but with a twist of fantasy. I'm pretty sure that they made this into a movie and it was awful. They didn't do they book justice in any way shape or form because to me it was an adventure that I can still remember going on. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes vampires but not in a twilight way. There is death and gore and all of those lovely things that make it more realistic. Review of the movie here.

The fourth book in my top 5 childhood books is The Demonata series also written by Darren Shan. In this book there are three different main characters and narrators for each book. In this book, the narrator and main character is called Grubbs Grady. The book starts off with Lord Loss killing his entire family, mutilating them in a horrible fashion. Grubbs is so shaken by this that he is sent to an asylum, considering his family was killed by a demon. His uncle comes to take him out of the asylum and teach him about demons and magic. So the book is pretty much the same stuff as Pendragon as far as the whole cliche, him finding himself and growing through experience but, the reason I liked this book as well as the Cirque Du Freak series is because of the graphicness. You don't usually get that gruesome with books and its almost refreshing for someone to do it that way. I would recommend this series to anyone who would enjoy that graphicness I mentioned.

Last but not least, my 5th book for my top 5 childhood books is The Outsiders. There was is so many things I love about this book and the movie adaptation I'm not sure if I can list all of them. I like how everything in the book is relatable to my life even though it is in a different time period, which I love. It would be awesome to be one of the greasers and have the one of those cafe fight breakouts. Get those greasers! But really though, they are kids with problems and they all deal with them in a way that isn't really the same as it is nowadays. The book is in the perspective of Ponyboy who is part of a "gang" who runs track and has two older brothers. Really, the whole book is almost like the breakfast club but with more problems but seeing how Mr.Coates is the only one that read this far. You know what I'm talking about. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to enjoy and know what a classic is.

Reflection 10

Villians are interesting because people don't talk about the bad stuff very often. Most people like to focus on the bright side or the hero (in this context). People don't want to see someone destroyed emotionaly and turn down a darker path. It is interesting because people know of negative emotions and feelings but, most chose not to express or talk about them. So I think when we see those feelings displayed as a villian people want to know more about it or maybe, they can relate to the villian. For example, the villian for the new James Bond movie I could see his side of the story and see why he is hurt, not evil. He was betrayed in the past and it drove him down a path that, he thought was the only path to take. I think that it says something about the reader when they would rather take the side of the villian than the hero because they think the villian is more justified. Maybe it reflects what they are going through or what they have been through in order to see their perspective. Lastly though, there could be the off chance of the writer or director making the piece in that way so it is interpreted that way. Cheers.

Book 2 Project

Enjoy :3

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1f8u7vcjrFAdBECj7J0Xq-sBqBNX_boWWvpeGUbJwgeo/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

Book 2 Review 3

       My book, Cloud Atlas, would be considered a mixture of genres in each story. Overall thought I think it would be considered Fantasy...I guess. I really couldn't tell you what type of book my book is, I could tell you that it is a really good book? There are different stories about different things that all tie together with meanings and metaphors so, I can't exactly pin point what it is. There is a story about love, mystery, futuristic stuff, and everything in between. One story is about a relationship between two men and one of them wants to be a composer but ends up killing himself. The man that did not kill himself is part of another story which is a somewhat like a mystery because of documents that are being hid by a corporation. The man is killed by a mercenary hired by the government and the mystery continues with a reporter following the paper trail. Another story is about a publisher fleeing from thugs and winds up in a old persons home, he and newly found friends try to break out of the place. That was one of my favorite ones, it was quite hilarious. Another story is about a Korean girl that has a revelation about the world they are living in and dies for her cause (also a love story bit in there). The same girl is a god in another story to people that have a survived an apocalyptic situation and are living on a remote island. The last story is about a man sailing with a doctor and a stow away slave but, the slave is a skilled seamen. The man is sick but the doctor on board is actually poisoning him to take all this fortune. So there they all are, although I dumb'd them all down to a sentence, that is the basic idea or genre of each story.

Reflection 7

      In my last reflection I talked about how I don't think that genre really matters in a book and that the quality and content is the key. Its pretty fitting that we are talking about this next, stealing my topic ideas Mr.Coates? Just kidding, or am I? Anyways, what the book is doesn't really matter it pretty much every case. If opera said that it was one of the best stories she has ever heard then is it important if it were true or not? Does it being true make you feel more emotions towards the characters in the book knowing they were real or not? I guess it would but, how do you know Harry Potter isn't real? Prove me wrong and I'm talking hard evidence! I could careless if some guy lied about things in his book because all in all, its just a book and in a book is a story. What really matters if it is a good story with good plot and good characters. If you sold 1 million copies of a book and 100k people took it back, you still sold 900k books. Must've been a solid story with characters and plot that made the reader feel emotion towards it. And if you really think about it, most of those people that bought those books are just sheep following a herd, and the shepard is named Opera. When you watch a movie that says "BASED ON A TRUE STORY", do you really think that everything that happened in the movie happened in real life? Lawless for example, the dude got shot, stabbed, and his neck slit open and lived. I HIGHLY doubt all of that actually happened the way it did. Sure, he probably got cut and shot once or twice and maybe even nicked in the throat but, everything is an exaggeration of the truth in some way.

Reflection 6

      Genres aren't something that will really turn me on or turn me off with a book or movie or anything else for that matter. I don't really think I have a preference in genre but most of the favorites come from Thrillers and things of that nature. Movies, books, songs, and even art work that just blows my mind. When I saw Shutter Island for the first time it is just the best when you are taken for turns and twists on an emotional roller coaster for a movie. I want something to make me feel emotion for something that isn't even real, that's how you know it is good. That could be said for anything though I guess because if a love movie and can make me feel something besides boredom and frustration then good on them. Maybe what they should do is make genres of things that determine quality such as: Amazing book, good book, If you have nothing else to book, and lastly, you probably shouldn't read this book. Boom, problem solved. I understand that genres are there to distinguish between what type of book it is but in my circumstances, I could careless what kind of genre it is. My question is, is it a good book? Will it make me cry if the main character dies? Will I smile if he saves the day? Will I be horrified? I would hope the answer is yes.

Book 2 Review 2

One of my favorite parts is when these two men and two others are trying to break out from a retirement home

       Although its premature to talk about me finishing the book in a the second review, I want to start off with comparing the book to the movie. I did watch the movie after I finished reading the book and I can safely say that they both were amazing. The movie apparently got bad reviews which is crazy considering I'm pretty sure it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The movie gave you different perspectives at the same time, feeding you more information at once. The book didn't exactly move in a linear way either but, it was more in a chronological order than the movie. You went from one story and time period to another and you made connections that way. In the movie you could make connections at the same time with other time periods. How human nature is circular in the aspect that "history repeats itself", on top of the metaphors and meanings you pull from the idea of the book, you get the movie perspectives that you wouldn't get otherwise. There are even meanings that I can't even really articulate to explain because they are just so, unexplainable. The mixture of love, hate, hope, death, sacrifice, and everything in between makes the book and movie beyond amazing. There are down points too, you can't get instant gratification even with the movie. The book and movie take time to pull in all the information happening at once to bring it to those amazing metaphors and philosophy. I couldn't even tell you what genre this book would be considering all the different stories have something different to offer, so the best way to describe it is, a well written and thought out book.  

Review 4 Book 2

Cloud Atlas

    My first impressions with the book were that it was long, confusing, and had multiple stories but what I came to find in the first couple chapters or stories was that its really not that bad. At first, I admit, I had no clue what was going on or what time period it was or what was happening. If you keep reading though things start to make more sense and things start piecing together. The different settings are a ship crossing the Pacific in 1849; the home of an elderly composer in 1936 Edinburgh; San Francisco and a nearby nuclear power plant in 1973; London and an Edinburgh nursing home in 2012; Neo-Soul, the capital of a half-ruined Korea in 2144; a valley and a mountain on a post-apocalyptic Hawaii in 2321. It's a lot, I know. So far I have only gotten to Edinburgh in 1936 following an elderly composer. I think half way through the ship story it started to make sense, but maybe outside sources helped me understand better. I found this really great quote summing up the book in its own way, if it could be summed up. "The film explores the idea of an eternal soul that reincarnate through time and space in different parts of the world - no matter of race, gender, religion - but based on the past actions, reborn and rejoin with lost loves, and remedy wrongs from the past. Everything is connected - in one way or another." Also you can watch the trailer here. From what I think I know and understand about this book, its one of the best book I'm going to read and after I finish it I plan on seeing the movie, maybe I'll do that for the project but, I digress. The book doesn't explain but explains things enough so that you can make your own connections and projections about it and find deeper meaning in things. From what I have read, it really is a work of art.

Reflection 5

      I think the way I'm going to go about this is listing book covers then explaining why they are bad or good in their own ways. I don't think generalizing things about what makes a good or bad book cover would be fair considering something might work in other contexts. The book with a cat and a ring of fire with a title of Virgin Heat is just...I don't even know. The cover has literally nothing to do with the title or probably the book. I mean maybe on the other side of things, that could be the thing that makes you want to read this book. Like, why is there a cat and a ring of fire and what does it have to do with Virgin Heat? The cover on the left I think to me would be a good book cover, it's simple and works with the book as far as relevance. The text is clear and understandble. I just think that you can normally tell between a good and a bad book cover. Good ones having elements that people like and you can tell had thought put into it and then you can tell between bad ones that are just plain bad.



Reflection 4

 BEST OF ALL TIME

This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time.By far the best movie book adaptation of all time is without a doubt, Fight Club. Not only does it have Brad Pitt but the messages and originality  of the movie and book make it the best of all time. The rest of the list follows 2. Dexter 3. Shutter Island 4. Its Kind of a Funny Story 5. Inception. I found These movies to be all amazing adaptations and also individually well done because of idea, presentation, casting, and the emotions they make you feel.
             I think first of all what makes the adaptation good is the casting, you have to already assume the book is an original idea, for example, any movie with Brad Pitt is a good movie. Solid lead roles that are on par with the book or better make amazing movies. When you think of a movie you think of that person so for most people Fight Club you think Brad Pitt, Shutter Island you think DiCaprio etc. On the other hand though you can have books like Dexter or Game of Thrones that are better suited for T.V because of time restraints or the stories are just better told that way. I suppose though that most reasons why someone likes something is because they tend to sway towards certain genres anyways. A serial killer that only kills bad people with a morbid thriller feel to it sounds like a good show to me. I think that is the genre I sway towards, thrillers that really make you think about things in a different way. Shutter Island blew my freakin mind, the plot twists and the final result of those twists just, man, blew my mind. Not going to spoil anything but, the last line of the movie describes it perfectly. "I'd rather die a hero than live as a monster", then walks off with nurses.....Pfft what?!? Awesome, the same could be said with Inception, the idea on top with plot twists and an amazing lead actor just makes for an amazing movie, although I don't think it was a book first. The other thing that is also very important in making good adaptations is using perspectives in movies that you can't in books that give you more emotion and can make you understand what is happening better/more artistically. The movie It's Kind of a Funny Store is one of those movies where the movie was better because characters and perspective that weren't in the book made the already good story, better.

 Two Geniuses