The Grapes of Wrath pgs. 1 - 40

From the beginning of this book, you can tell each sentence was written carefully. Everything is worded perfectly and the imagery is incredible.

The book starts out talking about dust storms in Oklahoma that destroy crops and put many farmers at risk of bankruptcy. A man is sitting at a diner. He's a truck driver and he ends up giving a young guy a ride. The young man's name is Tom and he explains that he's returning to his farm after being away at prison. There is a small chapter about a turtle on the highway. A woman avoids it but a man attempts to hit it. He knicks the turtle but it gets back up and keeps crossing. This could be some kind of foreshadowing.

Tom walks along the road and finds the turtle. He picks it up and carries it with him. Later, he comes across a man resting in the shade. His name is Jim Casy, or just Casy, and he recognizes Tom from a long time ago. They reach the farm and realize it has been deserted. Farmers were forced to move out after they couldn't keep up with rent. Since the land was destroyed from the dust, they moved to California.

I like this book so far, although it is a little bit slow-moving.

Current Reading

In the past three weeks I've read and finished 317 pages of The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

Senior Interview Response

I think I relate most to the girl who wants to be a Pediatrician. She talks about how medicine is more than needles and gore, but more of just helping people who need it. That interests me a lot and I plan on going into the medical or dental field. The most deluded one is probably the Designer. She wants to own a business/website/photography studio/clothing line. Overall, it seems very vague and undeveloped. To be fair, she does realize the fact that it may not be successful, and she may not become as wealthy as she'd hope to be.
I want to go to dental school after I get my undergrad degree. From there, I'd hope to start my own dental business either by myself or another colleague. I like teeth and my I have a lot of family members in the dentistry field who can give me help along the way. One perk is the money, but it would take a while before I saw any of it, seeing as dentistry school is insanely expensive.

I'm jealous of this soccer girl. She can do things I've been trying to do for years. My dad played college soccer and got me started on it as soon as he could. Juggling was never my strong suit. She makes it look so easy, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. She shows how far you can go if you focus and practice one thing over and over again for years. I think she'll make it to the Olympics. Once I see her on TV, I'll go, "Hey, I knew about her before she was famous!" I love being able to say that I knew something before everyone else. Such as a "new" song.

Why You Shouldn't Buy a Mac

Here is a great link to show people why not to buy a Mac. Most people can't give a precise reason why PCs or Macs are better, and if they can it's usually opinion based. This shows real statistics that show why a Mac is the wrong choice.

The Color Purple 282 - 317

Sofia is back with Harpo finally and they're happy. Mr. ____ has let the house go to ruins and is drinking his life away. His father gives him advice to marry a nice, young girl. But he shakes his advice off. Celie learns that her father has died. His newest wife lets Celie know that their house is all hers and Nettie's.

Finally, Celie has somewhere she can call her own. She opens a clothing store by the house. Business is well and she makes a living off of it. Shug says as she and Celie are walking through a field of flowers, "It pissed God off if you walk through a field and don't notice the color purple." This is where the book gets its name. On a seemingly usual day, Celie gets a surprise visitor.

Nettie has finally come home. Mr.____ paid to have her be brought back to America. Celie is finally reunited with her son, Adam , daughter, Olivia, and sister, Nettie.

The Color Purple 210 - 282

Nettie has been doing missionary work in Africa. She talks about the jungle and her teachings. She mainly taught English and the Bible. There's a ritual to bind to children to marriage by making small cuts on their faces. Celie is thinking about this when she's shaving Mr. ____. She's about to slit his throat but Shug stops her.

Nettie writes how the white man came through the village to build a road. They tore straight through everything and all of the villagers had to leave. Olivia (Celie's daughter) dies of fever.

One night at a family dinner, Celie's had the last straw. Sofia has been set free and is there also. Celie cusses out Mr. ____. He says she's nothing and she almost kills him with a knife. When she's getting in the car, Mr._____ tries to beat Celie. But she stops him and tells him off. She leaves with Squeak, Shug, and Grady.

The Color Purple 163 - 209

When Sofia is taken out of jail, eight years have gone by. She is only taken out to be forced to be the Mayor's wife's maid. Mrs. Miller is annoying and arrogant. She makes the Mayor buy her a car, but he won't teach her how to drive it. She has Sofia teach her. On Christmas she takes Sofia home (she hasn't been there in 8 years). Mrs. Miller says Sofia can spend the whole day there and she'll pick her up later. Mrs. Miller, still a new driver, can't get out of the driveway and makes Sofia take her home. She only got to spend a couple minutes with her family and kids.

Shug Avery comes back. She has a new husband named Grady who Celie doesn't like from the start. One day, they're painting Easter eggs and Shug went out to get the mail. She told Celie to come with her to her room. She handed Celie a letter informing from Nettie informing Celie that she isn't dead and she works for the lady that has Celie's two kids.

One day, when Mr. ____ and Grady go to the juke joint, Shug and Celie scavenge for her letters that Mr. ____ has been hiding. They find a huge pile along with some money. Celie starts to read them in order one-by-one.

Cool Swedish Subway

I was stumblingupon like usual and came across this page. It's a subway in Sweden that looks like an art museum. I think we should let local artists decorate portions of boring things such as the train station or other random places. It's just a little eye candy that brightens your day.

Let the Kids Rule the School

I think this idea could work but only with a few students. This should be an incentive to get good grades. For example, only student with a 3.5 GPA or higher could participate in their own school. I think this is the only way it would work because as soon as you introduce that to kids that fail and don't care, they'll take advantage of it and make it social hour. But with honors students, it would be taken seriously and would be effective. Critisism from teachers can sometimes be annoying, but I personally have no problem going to another student for help.

The Color Purple (pgs. 79 - 162)

In these letters Shug Avery gets sick and Mr. _____ takes her in. She's mean to Cecil calling her ugly. Cecil helps Shug back to help and they become acquaintances. Harpo starts to get fat so that he'll be bigger than Sofia and can beat her. Cecil advises against beating this time. Mr. _____ brother and father come to visit. They're both angry with disapproval towards Mr.____ taking in Shug.

Sofia tells Cecil that she is having second thoughts about Harpo. Their sex life is falling apart and he keeps trying to beat her. Sofia leaves and goes to live with her sister. She took the children with her.

A few months later, Harpo and his friend open a bar with performers. Shug sings there and dedicates a song to Cecil. She is filled with joy and a sisterly love for Shug. She figures Mr. ____ and Shug are meant to be together. But when Shug thinks about leaving, Cecil begs her to stay. She tells Shug how Mr. ____ beats her, and Shug decides to stay. They start to talk about sex and how much Cecil hates (as she's only been raped her whole life). Cecil says she's alright but she cries when she hears Mr. ____ and Shug having sex that night.

Harpo has a new girlfriend called Squeak. At his bar, Sofia makes a surprise visit and Harpo and Sofia talk then dance. This makes Squeak angry and she slaps Sofia. We already know how good of a fighter Sofia is. She knocks out two of Squeak's teeth. Sofia then storms out with her new man.

Later, the mayor's wife asks Sofia to be her servant, she responds "Hell no" which gets her slapped by the Mayor. She then knocks out the Mayor which lands her in jail. Squeak is the neice of the wardon and goes to plead Sofia is released. She's instead raped and Sofia remains in jail.

These chapters are harsh, especially at the end. The book doesn't censor much and can surprise me with its language. I think Sofia is my favorite character with how good of a fighter she is. She's not afraid to stand up for what's right.

The Color Purple (pgs. 29-78)

This letter starts with Mr. _____'s two sister coming to visit. Kate and Carrie are nice to Cecil, complimenting her on her housework and dress. Kate tells Mr. _____ that Cecil needs a new dress and he buys her one. Then, Kate pushes the limit telling her brother that Harpo, his oldest son, should help Cecil with chores. They get in a huge fight and Kate leaves, but not before telling Cecil to fight Mr. _____. Harpo tells Cecil that he has a crush on a girl at school named Sophia.
Cecil learns that Shug Avery is coming to town to sing at a bar. She doesn't get to go, Mr. ____ is the only one that goes. He is gone with Shug for a few days, most likely cheating. While he's gone, Harpo complains about the chore-load. He finds out that Sofia's parents won't let her marry him because of his mother's mysterious murder.
They get married anyways but Sofia is always misbehaving and telling Harpo to help with chores. He asks advice from his dad and Cecil and they tell him to just beat her. Sofia is physically strong and usually ends up hurting Harpo more than he does her. Cecil has troulbe sleeping because of this. Sofia finds out Cecil gave that advice and confronts her. They end up laughing about the whole things and become friends. They sit on the porch and make quilts together.

These letters had a nice change. Suddenly Kate started to treat Cecil with kindness. Eventually, Sofia did the same. She seems like she's learning to like her new home.

The Color Purple (pgs. 1-28)

The book starts out with a 14 year old, black girl named Cecil who is raped and abused by her father. She's pregnant with her second child and is writing to God asking what's happening to her. Her father killed her first child but sold the second one to a family. Her little sister is smarter than her and she wants to marry a man. Cecil's father won't let her though. Instead, he offers the man Cecil and he takes her. She does chores around his house and he has three rotten kids. They are mean to her and hit her.

Her sister, Nettie, runs away and stays with Cecil for a while. After a week or two, Cecil's new husband who she just calls Mr. _____, tells Nettie she has to leave. They promise to write to each other.

One day, when Cecil is at a store buying fabric, she sees a girl that she believes to be her child. She makes small talk with the girl's mother. She asks what's the girls name is. The lady tells her Michelle, but she calls her Olivia. Olivia is the name that Cecil gave to her daughter.

This book is tragic so far. Page one talks about rape and abuse. The whole book is written in the form of letters to God. I'm excited to see where the book will go with such a horrible beginning.

Current Reading

I've finished Memoirs of a Geisha and Harry Potter 1. Since February 15th I've read 452 pages.

3-1 Diction Exercise

It's not the fact that I'll die that I mind:

a) 1. Stubbornly
2. Serious
3. Gaze
4. Dreamy
5. Idly
6. Mournful
7. Appetite
8. Absolute
9. Presence

b) Connotation - Literal, still, cold, sad
Sound - Harsh, angry, rhythmic

c) "It's not the fact that I'll die that I mind" has a cold, lachrymose tone to it. The writer sounds like he'll die soon and he's upset about the things he'll lose when he does. He's rhythmic yet harsh how he conveys his anger at death.