PAPER TOWNS
Paper Towns
John Green
Paper Towns is a story about two childhood best friends, Quentin Jacobsen and Margo who have their lives marked by an ancident they had when they were seven years old. They found the corpse of a dead man who had committed suicide in the playground of a park. They ended their friendship after that day until years later, Margo knocked on Quentin's window. Margo wanted Quentin to help her take revenge over her boyfriend who was cheating on her. She planned on pranking her boyfriend Jason, the girl she is cheating with, a friend that didn't tell her they were having sex and the school's mean boy. The pranks included spray paint, blackmailing people and sneaking into SeaWorld. Quentin has always had a crush on Margo and after then prank night he hopes they would come back together as friends. Unfortunately, Margo decides to run away. When Quentin found out that Margo ran away he started looking for her with the help of his two best friends Ben and Radar. They eventually find out that Margo has left certain trails which later on will lead them to her. Quentin manages to find out that map makers make up fake towns who know who has copied their maps. He discovered that someone had searched for a fake town on Wikipedia and he figured out it was Margo. Quentin, Ben, Radar and Lacey missed their graduation to travel across the country to find Margo. Once they found Margo they found out that she didn't want to be saved and Quentin decided that he couldn't be in love with someone he barley knew.
The story takes place in Orlando, Florida. Margo sees this town as a paper town with paper people. At the beginning when Margo and Quentin take revenge they drive around Orlando. After Margo runs away and Quentin starts looking for her the story's settings expand since they go to the outsides of Orlando. Finally, in the third part of the novel Quentin, Ben, Radar and Lacey travel from Orlando to North Carolina and from North Carolina to Agloe, New York.
I consider that the story has two main characters which are Quentin and Margo. Quentin is the narrator of the story and he is also the protagonist. Quentin is a normal teenager in a town who is preparing for graduation and is secretly in love with Margo although he barley knows her. I also consider that Margo is the antagonist of the story but I don't see her as the villain. She is the reason of the conflict of the story and she is at the center of it. She is the typical high school popular girl and everyone describes her as a drama queen. Throughout the story we star building her personality and learn that she likes adventures, poetry and that she is quite mysterious. We also learn that Margo has an identity problem and that she does not feel comfortable with herself and that is why she ran away. The story portrays Quentin's struggle because Margo is missing.
Paper Towns has two types of conflict, Man against Man and Man against Society. The conflicts that are man against man are minimal like the problem Margo had with her boyfriend and the girl he was cheating with. The main conflict is man against society since the story is portraying what is going on in Quentin's head. Quentin feels that society isn't helping him find Margo and that no one cares about her. He struggles throughout the story to find Margo with way too little help.
I really enjoyed reading Paper Towns and I found it a very interesting story. I liked how John Green critiqued society with the term of paper towns, he said Margo lived in a paper town full of paper people. With this term he is trying to make us know how fake people are in this town and how people are lost just like Margo. I like the chronological order in which the story happens since the narrator plays with time and space.
The writing of the story is very different from many others because the narrator of the story is Quentin so we are able to find out his thoughts throughout the story. I like how the story has certain suspense because once Quentin finds one of Margo's clues we become curious to find out what it leads to and how does it help to fix the conflict of the story. I also like how it shows that sometime people misinterpret their feelings and believe to be in love while all along they were just obsessed with the idea of being in love. I would recommend this story to curious people who love suspense and mystery.
John Green
Paper Towns is a story about two childhood best friends, Quentin Jacobsen and Margo who have their lives marked by an ancident they had when they were seven years old. They found the corpse of a dead man who had committed suicide in the playground of a park. They ended their friendship after that day until years later, Margo knocked on Quentin's window. Margo wanted Quentin to help her take revenge over her boyfriend who was cheating on her. She planned on pranking her boyfriend Jason, the girl she is cheating with, a friend that didn't tell her they were having sex and the school's mean boy. The pranks included spray paint, blackmailing people and sneaking into SeaWorld. Quentin has always had a crush on Margo and after then prank night he hopes they would come back together as friends. Unfortunately, Margo decides to run away. When Quentin found out that Margo ran away he started looking for her with the help of his two best friends Ben and Radar. They eventually find out that Margo has left certain trails which later on will lead them to her. Quentin manages to find out that map makers make up fake towns who know who has copied their maps. He discovered that someone had searched for a fake town on Wikipedia and he figured out it was Margo. Quentin, Ben, Radar and Lacey missed their graduation to travel across the country to find Margo. Once they found Margo they found out that she didn't want to be saved and Quentin decided that he couldn't be in love with someone he barley knew.
The story takes place in Orlando, Florida. Margo sees this town as a paper town with paper people. At the beginning when Margo and Quentin take revenge they drive around Orlando. After Margo runs away and Quentin starts looking for her the story's settings expand since they go to the outsides of Orlando. Finally, in the third part of the novel Quentin, Ben, Radar and Lacey travel from Orlando to North Carolina and from North Carolina to Agloe, New York.
I consider that the story has two main characters which are Quentin and Margo. Quentin is the narrator of the story and he is also the protagonist. Quentin is a normal teenager in a town who is preparing for graduation and is secretly in love with Margo although he barley knows her. I also consider that Margo is the antagonist of the story but I don't see her as the villain. She is the reason of the conflict of the story and she is at the center of it. She is the typical high school popular girl and everyone describes her as a drama queen. Throughout the story we star building her personality and learn that she likes adventures, poetry and that she is quite mysterious. We also learn that Margo has an identity problem and that she does not feel comfortable with herself and that is why she ran away. The story portrays Quentin's struggle because Margo is missing.
Paper Towns has two types of conflict, Man against Man and Man against Society. The conflicts that are man against man are minimal like the problem Margo had with her boyfriend and the girl he was cheating with. The main conflict is man against society since the story is portraying what is going on in Quentin's head. Quentin feels that society isn't helping him find Margo and that no one cares about her. He struggles throughout the story to find Margo with way too little help.
I really enjoyed reading Paper Towns and I found it a very interesting story. I liked how John Green critiqued society with the term of paper towns, he said Margo lived in a paper town full of paper people. With this term he is trying to make us know how fake people are in this town and how people are lost just like Margo. I like the chronological order in which the story happens since the narrator plays with time and space.
The writing of the story is very different from many others because the narrator of the story is Quentin so we are able to find out his thoughts throughout the story. I like how the story has certain suspense because once Quentin finds one of Margo's clues we become curious to find out what it leads to and how does it help to fix the conflict of the story. I also like how it shows that sometime people misinterpret their feelings and believe to be in love while all along they were just obsessed with the idea of being in love. I would recommend this story to curious people who love suspense and mystery.
THE SURVIVORS OF THE FUTURE DIGITAL NARRATIVE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=50t718Z79yw
Reflection
The survivors of the future
Traditional aNd digital narratives
In English class we are writing a science fiction narrative and we are making it a digital narrative. Behind these two pieces there is a deep process that helps with their construction. In order to create a digital narrative first you need to write a traditional narrative. In order to do this you have to follow a series of steps that will help you. In my case I did a story called The Survivors of the Future which is a story about 6 friends who survived the destruction of a city due to pollution. The process of writing a traditional narratives involves brainstorming characters and settings, creating a plot, picturing the story and finally writing it down. Once you are done with your traditional narrative you will start your digital one, this includes choosing where you'll create your video, picturing the story, taking pictures, drawing, dividing the story into scenes and tape recording voices. In my case I finished my traditional narrative and made some drawings and collages with old pictures to publish my final video.
The processes that are involved in the creation of these narratives are almost completely different but you can still find some things they have in common while they're being created. If you look at the differences, the traditional narrative requires you to brainstorm settings and characters while the digital narrative has already the plot and characters established, in the traditional narrative you have to actually write the story down and in the digital you have to choose photos and drawings to portray the story. While in the traditional narrative you have to divide your story into paragraphs in the digital you have to divide it into scenes. The similarities between these two are very few, first they both require hard work in order to be able to produce crative narratives. Also, they both portray an idea through words or images and they require us to picture a story in our minds.
Creating a narrative is a very hard work but it's up to you to make it fun. The pleasures of doing this job have been greater than the difficulties. I have had fun creating these narratives' characters and portraying them with pictures of me and my friends. I've also had fun while tape recording voices to narrate the story. I've enjoyed having the chance to imagine any story I would like in my head and being able to write it down. Although the project is very fun, it still has some parts I struggled with. The biggest struggle was not being able to use pictures from the Internet to make the video and having to draw since I'm very bad at drawing. Another hard task was making the narrative at least four minutes long, I took 3 minutes and had to make up stuff to make it longer. In general I liked this project, mostly the digital narrative because I was able to show the viewer how I picture my narrative.
thE veldt
The Veldt is a story where Ray Bradbury sets up with an anecdote in which the main theme is man vs. Technology. Throughout the story technology is an issue since it is ruining human relationships like parent to son/ daughter relationships. Machines are making life way too easy for the Hadleys and they don't even really understand that life is supposed to be hard and that there's suffering to it. George Hadley finds himself in a situation where he has to choose between technology or living.
The story has certain elements that make it fit into the science fiction category. The first element is technology and machines, which are fundamental in science fiction. In the Tory we can see technology reflected in page #10, paragraph 2 "Everything. Where before they had a Santa Claus now they have a Scrooge. Children prefer Santas. You've let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children's affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents. And now you come along and want to shut it off. No wonder there's hatred here. You can feel it coming out of the sky. Feel that sun. George, you'll have to change your life. Like too many others, you've built it around creature comforts. Why, you'd starve tomorrow if something went wrong in your kitchen. You wouldn't know how to tap an egg. Nevertheless, turn everything off. Start new. It'll take time. But we'll make good children out of bad in a year, wait and see." In this quote we can see how technology is taking advantage of the Hadley family's lives and how it is becoming an obstacle to them.
Another element in the story that makes it science fiction is the nursery. In the story we can see the importance of the nursery in page #2-3, paragraph 3-1 "The nursery was silent. It was empty as a jungle glade at hot high noon. The walls were blank and two dimensional. Now, as George and Lydia Hadley stood in the center of the room, the walls began to purr and recede into crystalline distance, it seemed, and presently an African veldt appeared, inthree dimensions, on all sides, in color reproduced to the final pebble and bit of straw. The ceiling above them became a deep sky with a hot yellow sun." In the story, the nursery is an important element that with technology, makes people's brain images come alive. In this case, the nursery creates a veldt.
Ray Bradbury uses certain narrative techniques to portray these elements, the first one is sybolysm. In page #2, paragraph 2 we can see how Bradbury uses symbolism "
The lions were coming. And again George Hadley was filled with admiration for the mechanical genius who had conceived this room. A miracle of efficiency selling for an absurdly low price. Every home should have one. Oh, occasionally they frightened you with their clinical accuracy, they startled you, gave you a twinge, but most of the time what fun for everyone, not only your own son and daughter, but for yourself when you felt like a quick jaunt to a foreign land, a quick change of scenery. Well, here it was! And here were the lions now, fifteen feet away, so real, so feverishly and startlingly real that you could feel the prickling fur on your hand, and your mouth was stuffed with the dusty upholstery smell of their heated pelts, and the yellow of them was in your eyes like the
yellow of an exquisite French tapestry, the yellows of lions and summer grass, and the sound of the matted lion lungs exhaling on the silent noontide, and the smell of meat from the panting, dripping mouths. The lions stood looking at George and Lydia Hadley with terrible green-yellow eyes." The veldt is a symbol in the story, in general the nursery is a symbol. It doesn't represent a room, it represents the obstacles in human relationships and the isolation technology can create.
A narrative technique that Bradbury also uses throughout the story is personification. We can see personification in the story in page #10 "I don't imagine the room will like being turned off," said the father. "Nothing ever likes to die—even a room." Bradbury makes the veldt seem alive, it is so well-described that we perceive it as a person or as if it might have feelings.
The veldt is a story where Ray Bradbury, through a room (the nursery) and machines which are science fiction elements, shows the effects that technology can have on people. Bradbury manages to portray a crisis between humans and machines through symbolism and personification,
Romeo + Juliet movie critique
Here´s a link to watch Romeo+Juliet movie trailer where you can see how Baz Luhrman incorporates aspects of the modern day times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VBsi0VxiLg
YOU CAN WATCH OTHER MOVIE CRITIQUES IN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYPaKYg5Cxs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VBsi0VxiLg
YOU CAN WATCH OTHER MOVIE CRITIQUES IN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYPaKYg5Cxs
Shakespearean sonnet - feelings
World history d.b.q
Valeria Sanabria Giraldo
9th
River Valley Civilizations D.B.Q
Introduction:
About 5,500 years ago the first politically advanced and complex civilizations started to develop independently around river valleys, they introduced political, economic, social and religious practices which are still applied today. These civilizations were the Sumerian civilization, the Chinese civilization, the Egyptian civilization and the Harappan civilization. They contributed to the advancements that we find in the present civilizations and led us to human economic development.
Paragraph 1: Sumerians
The Sumerians were one of the first civilizations and cultures. (According to the PowerPoint slides 5-6-7-8) Sumerians existed around 2500 BC.They contributed future civilizations by developing an arithmetic system and a cuneiform writing system. (According to document 1)Sumerians were the first to develop a writing system in order to keep track of stuff, keep records and pass ideas trough generations. This writing system was amazing because it was one of the first and most important ways to communicate and this creation led to new written languages and systems, it is like the base that leads to knowledge. The arithmetic system is the first number system which is a great advancement because with numbers we can break down every single thing, even an action, and give it a certain explanation. Today there are more advanced math systems but this first one was the guide to all the complex systems. Sumerians were one of the most advanced cultures since they were always ahead of others, creating and exploring.
Paragraph 2: Egyptians
Egyptians were the most appealing and mysterious civilizations, they made discoveries that the modern human can't find an explanation for. ( According to the PowerPoint slides 11-12-13-14-15-16-17) If we look at pyramids we can see that the civilization was so advanced that they developed an architecture system that was able to build this huge monuments that lasted for years and are still present. ( According to document 3) Architecture has proven to be a reflection of culture, and a way of indulging by thinking. A branch came from this architecture system and it was the division of labor, people divided their work and some cut the stones, others pulled them and others adjusted them into their place. Another huge invention the Egyptians made were hieroglyphics, it was one of the most complete writing systems with clearer symbols. Hieroglyphics led to another invention which was the papyrus, this was an outstanding creation because we still find even more complex writing systems with a paper that we developed from trees and has been processed nut the first idea came from the papyrus. In my opinion Egyptians were one of the most extraordinary civilizations Since they're defeating humanity with their intelligence.
Paragraph 3: Harappans
Around five thousand years ago an outstanding civilization developed around the Indus and Ganges rivers. (According to the PowerPoint slides 18-19-20-21-22) Members of this civilization developed a fascinating system of division of labor due to their advanced handcrafted techniques. This system was a pre-political system since civilizations started to get organized and even similar as the ones we find today. The division of labor helped each person find their role in a community which leads to greater efficiency. Harappans were the first ones to link their culture with others, they started a process called cultural diffusion were they spread their ideas with other civilizations. This was a trade system, harappans had developed in order to exchange their handcrafted inventions. This culture was a big influence for near civilizations thanks to this cultural diffusion which led to advances in many societies throughout the world.
Paragraph 4: Chinese
Chinese started to live by the shores of the Yangtze and Huang He rivers. (According to the PowerPoint slides 23-24-25) Living by these rivers meant danger but it also meant good agriculture and floods were the price these humans had to pay. In time they learned to control flood and built irrigation projects that helped them control these floods and used them to their benefits. This meant that there was more food and therefore there was also more space for the civilization to grow. This irrigation systems are used today by farmers, there are more advanced projects but all of them have the basic idea that Chinese created. Another establishment Chinese made were the art and architecture systems. This was the most skilled civilization that created upgraded inventions like gunpowder, porcelain and paper. These artifacts are still used today and are some of the ones we use in our everyday lives.
Paragraph 5: Coclusion
River valley civilizations were impressive, they are a clear example of human change and capacity. We can see how the civilizations adapted to the conditions they had which were the floods and solved their problems like creating irrigating systems that used the flood to agricultural benefit. It's clear how these civilizations advanced from creating projects and inventions due to necessity to developing thoughtful and useful systems that made life easier. Today, most of these inventions are applied in our daily lives in some ways and they were the ones who made the first steps that led to advancement.
9th
River Valley Civilizations D.B.Q
Introduction:
About 5,500 years ago the first politically advanced and complex civilizations started to develop independently around river valleys, they introduced political, economic, social and religious practices which are still applied today. These civilizations were the Sumerian civilization, the Chinese civilization, the Egyptian civilization and the Harappan civilization. They contributed to the advancements that we find in the present civilizations and led us to human economic development.
Paragraph 1: Sumerians
The Sumerians were one of the first civilizations and cultures. (According to the PowerPoint slides 5-6-7-8) Sumerians existed around 2500 BC.They contributed future civilizations by developing an arithmetic system and a cuneiform writing system. (According to document 1)Sumerians were the first to develop a writing system in order to keep track of stuff, keep records and pass ideas trough generations. This writing system was amazing because it was one of the first and most important ways to communicate and this creation led to new written languages and systems, it is like the base that leads to knowledge. The arithmetic system is the first number system which is a great advancement because with numbers we can break down every single thing, even an action, and give it a certain explanation. Today there are more advanced math systems but this first one was the guide to all the complex systems. Sumerians were one of the most advanced cultures since they were always ahead of others, creating and exploring.
Paragraph 2: Egyptians
Egyptians were the most appealing and mysterious civilizations, they made discoveries that the modern human can't find an explanation for. ( According to the PowerPoint slides 11-12-13-14-15-16-17) If we look at pyramids we can see that the civilization was so advanced that they developed an architecture system that was able to build this huge monuments that lasted for years and are still present. ( According to document 3) Architecture has proven to be a reflection of culture, and a way of indulging by thinking. A branch came from this architecture system and it was the division of labor, people divided their work and some cut the stones, others pulled them and others adjusted them into their place. Another huge invention the Egyptians made were hieroglyphics, it was one of the most complete writing systems with clearer symbols. Hieroglyphics led to another invention which was the papyrus, this was an outstanding creation because we still find even more complex writing systems with a paper that we developed from trees and has been processed nut the first idea came from the papyrus. In my opinion Egyptians were one of the most extraordinary civilizations Since they're defeating humanity with their intelligence.
Paragraph 3: Harappans
Around five thousand years ago an outstanding civilization developed around the Indus and Ganges rivers. (According to the PowerPoint slides 18-19-20-21-22) Members of this civilization developed a fascinating system of division of labor due to their advanced handcrafted techniques. This system was a pre-political system since civilizations started to get organized and even similar as the ones we find today. The division of labor helped each person find their role in a community which leads to greater efficiency. Harappans were the first ones to link their culture with others, they started a process called cultural diffusion were they spread their ideas with other civilizations. This was a trade system, harappans had developed in order to exchange their handcrafted inventions. This culture was a big influence for near civilizations thanks to this cultural diffusion which led to advances in many societies throughout the world.
Paragraph 4: Chinese
Chinese started to live by the shores of the Yangtze and Huang He rivers. (According to the PowerPoint slides 23-24-25) Living by these rivers meant danger but it also meant good agriculture and floods were the price these humans had to pay. In time they learned to control flood and built irrigation projects that helped them control these floods and used them to their benefits. This meant that there was more food and therefore there was also more space for the civilization to grow. This irrigation systems are used today by farmers, there are more advanced projects but all of them have the basic idea that Chinese created. Another establishment Chinese made were the art and architecture systems. This was the most skilled civilization that created upgraded inventions like gunpowder, porcelain and paper. These artifacts are still used today and are some of the ones we use in our everyday lives.
Paragraph 5: Coclusion
River valley civilizations were impressive, they are a clear example of human change and capacity. We can see how the civilizations adapted to the conditions they had which were the floods and solved their problems like creating irrigating systems that used the flood to agricultural benefit. It's clear how these civilizations advanced from creating projects and inventions due to necessity to developing thoughtful and useful systems that made life easier. Today, most of these inventions are applied in our daily lives in some ways and they were the ones who made the first steps that led to advancement.
i am music
Valeria Sanabria 9A
8/31/14
"I Am Music"
I am Valeria, a 14 year old girl who is very extroverted. I love spending time with my friends and family and I believe I'm very social. I am also very athletic, I dance and I play volleyball. One of the qualities that define me the most are perseverance, bravery and loyalty.
The personality trait that defines me he most is perseverance. It represents me because I'm a person who is always positive about failure and always tries hard to reach her goals. The song I chose to represent me is The Hall of Fame by The Script. I have chosen this song because I love it's artist and genre and it represents my trait because it talks about a person's progress and how they fight hard until they reach "the hall of fame". The song talks about a deaf girl whose dream is being a ballerina. She struggles and goes trough a hard time because it's almost impossible to reach her goal but she does. Life is like a boxing ring, the only way you'll get trough it is fighting hard.
A very important quality that I chose is bravery, I think I'm a brave person and I love taking risks. It represents me because I believe I do things not all the people have the courage to do. The song I chose is Brave from Sara Bareilles. I have chosen this song because I love the artist and I think it represents me because I coincide with the lyrics of the song and I consider it as a "motto". The song says: " say what you wanna say and let the worlds fall out honestly, I wanna se you be brave" and that's exactly what I believe people should do with their lives, not only be physically brave but also emotionally. Brave people are unique and they are also very special and I think I posses this quality because I've been defined to be brave as a lion.
Loyalty, it is a quality that represents me because there's nothing more important than being loyal and I'm very loyal to my friends and family. The song that I chose is count on me by Bruno Mars. I have chosen this song because my friends and I established it as our "firendship song". It represent this trait because it talks about the importance of being a true friend. The song is dedicated from someone to his friend and he is telling him that he can count on him and that if he has a problem he'll be there. Being loyal is very important and it'll give you a great feeling of pleasure
The traits that define me the most are perseverance, bravery and loyalty. I don't follow their "rules" completely because I'm not perfect and I believe there's always more room for growth so I can conclude I'm not a completely perseverant, loyal or brave person but I believe these are the traits that mark me the most.
8/31/14
"I Am Music"
I am Valeria, a 14 year old girl who is very extroverted. I love spending time with my friends and family and I believe I'm very social. I am also very athletic, I dance and I play volleyball. One of the qualities that define me the most are perseverance, bravery and loyalty.
The personality trait that defines me he most is perseverance. It represents me because I'm a person who is always positive about failure and always tries hard to reach her goals. The song I chose to represent me is The Hall of Fame by The Script. I have chosen this song because I love it's artist and genre and it represents my trait because it talks about a person's progress and how they fight hard until they reach "the hall of fame". The song talks about a deaf girl whose dream is being a ballerina. She struggles and goes trough a hard time because it's almost impossible to reach her goal but she does. Life is like a boxing ring, the only way you'll get trough it is fighting hard.
A very important quality that I chose is bravery, I think I'm a brave person and I love taking risks. It represents me because I believe I do things not all the people have the courage to do. The song I chose is Brave from Sara Bareilles. I have chosen this song because I love the artist and I think it represents me because I coincide with the lyrics of the song and I consider it as a "motto". The song says: " say what you wanna say and let the worlds fall out honestly, I wanna se you be brave" and that's exactly what I believe people should do with their lives, not only be physically brave but also emotionally. Brave people are unique and they are also very special and I think I posses this quality because I've been defined to be brave as a lion.
Loyalty, it is a quality that represents me because there's nothing more important than being loyal and I'm very loyal to my friends and family. The song that I chose is count on me by Bruno Mars. I have chosen this song because my friends and I established it as our "firendship song". It represent this trait because it talks about the importance of being a true friend. The song is dedicated from someone to his friend and he is telling him that he can count on him and that if he has a problem he'll be there. Being loyal is very important and it'll give you a great feeling of pleasure
The traits that define me the most are perseverance, bravery and loyalty. I don't follow their "rules" completely because I'm not perfect and I believe there's always more room for growth so I can conclude I'm not a completely perseverant, loyal or brave person but I believe these are the traits that mark me the most.