Life of Pi Essay

      The Life of Pi is an exotic interpretation of the human condition. With flavorful descriptions and suspenseful action, this book doesn't hesitate to delve headfirst into the abyss of mankind's darkest realms.
      Humans are civilized, domesticated, and proud creatures. We are social, intelligent, and belong to a progressive, developed society. We exchange pleasantries and offer courteous gestures to one another when appropriate. But Life of Pi reminds us of our original roots - we are animals. We are incredibly advanced mammals, with instincts and a feral nature. In the 'real world', we have cell phones that can dial 911 with four quick punches of a button and help will arrive in no more than 10 minutes. However, when those services are taken away, our true nature begins to emerge.
     Pi focuses a great deal on religion. He is very dedicated to his spirituality, he is gentle and warm hearted. He relies on his beliefs as a stronghold for his daily life. In the beginning, the reader can't be sure of where the story is going to go because Pi seems like any average, civilized citizen. Of course with his own personal quirks. It is not until the reader gets thrown onto the lifeboat as living bait that we begin to see the plot emerging. Pi is a young and frightened boy. A vegetarian, the thought of taking the life of another animal and ingesting its flesh and lifeblood is utterly repulsive to Pi. When he realizes that the frenzied sailors on the ship threw him to the lifeboat not to save his life but to save their own, his pastel picture of the world and his fellow man begins to distort itself into a blur. He doesn't appear surprised at this epiphany, but the point he realizes this is the point he begins to transform into a beast himself. When Orange Juice is brutally murdered by the hyena, Pi's disposition transforms.
   When we are put in a precarious situation, it is only human nature to find a solution. Instinct takes over, and our bodies are no longer our bodies. We belong to something more powerful, something greater. We belong to sickness, we belong to hunger and thirst. We belong to the forces of nature. Our previous insights are hushed by our need to survive. When Pi disregards his vegetarian practices we find him graphically slaughtering sea animals for food. He states his dominance over Richard Parker and clarifies that he is the boss of the lifeboat. The two both respect each other's space, and even care for one another. But this ritual will only remain consistent if Richard Parker admits submission to Pi during their time at sea.
    The most frightening component of the entire book is the very end. When Pi is rescued and Richard Parker bounds away into the jungle with no reverence or "goodbye" gesture to the boy who has cared for him for years, the reader begins to put the puzzle pieces together. We can assume that Pi needed a method to cope with all of the atrocity, the unimaginable horror that has bestowed upon him in the lifeboat. It never confirms in the book which of Pi's stories were true, but textual clues almost positively assure that Pi was driven by terror to create animalistic characters for the people he was in the lifeboat with (as well as himself) so that he did not have to fully accept the fact that humans really can do things like that to each other. The lifeboat, representing Pi's faith, keeps him afloat in dark waters. It keeps him safe from bitter death. It provides shelter and safety for him. It can be inferred that God was with Pi throughout his trials, and provided Pi with the necessary tools to create animals out of the people he was watching being killed so that he did not have to fully endure what was going on around him. Pi, having spent so much time around animals throughout his childhood, had to create Orange Juice in place of his mother. He had to create the zebra and the hyena in place of people he knew because it was less traumatizing and more realistic for him to visualize animals behaving in such a manner than human beings. Richard Parker was Pi's way of coping with the horrid things he was having to do in order to prevail. That is why when Pi is rescued Richard Parker disappears and we never hear about him again. Pi comments that wild creatures are adept at hiding from people. The underlying meaning of this comment is that once a human is surrounded by other humans, in an organized society with security and safety, instincts recoil and sink back into our marrow for safekeeping. Tools for survival are no longer needed. Pi is able to 'go back' to normal societal functions because of the animal world he created for himself on the lifeboat. It is beautiful, tragic, and the message is the simplicity of the life cycle. Birth, life, death. It envelops this simple core point into a twisting narrative full of hills and valleys decorated in elaborately written descriptions and unsettling, vivid scenes. Life of Pi is a dark treasure, an exposé on who...and what...we really are.
     

Life of Pi 2

   After the ship sinks and Pi is left alone, he realizes that the crew members must have thrown him overboard so he'd get eaten and they could save themselves. This relates back to my earlier observation, how when terror strikes humans will do almost anything to save themselves. Even if that means doing something horrible to a fellow human being. He decides that instead of behaving like frightened prey around the carnivorous creatures, it would be wisest to approach them with a superior and dominant attitude. When Orange Juice survives, her presence is somewhat of a maternal comfort to Pi, because she has bore children and orangutans are eerily human. I've personally spent half an hour bewildered by them at the Audobon Zoo in New Orleans, and their demeanor and close family connection is very touching. She represents hope and the will to live that both humans and animals alike share.
  I got kind of angry when Pi didn't go ahead and kill the zebra that was being eaten alive... I feel that the humanitarian thing to do would have been to break its neck or something. It didn't die until the day after the hyena began feasting on its living flesh, and that disgusted me. I realize Pi is very sensitive and emotional, but sometimes it's time to be a man. And then it kills Orange Juice. I didn't like this section because it was so graphic and disturbing. The orangutan represented the love that Pi lost, yet he didn't help her.
   As the novel furthers, Pi becomes more and more animalistic. He is killing things with his bare hands, he is naked, and he has even taken to drinking the life blood of animals. Once a loyal vegetarian, now a ravenous carnivore. The act of training Richard Parker is frightening. The concept of a small boy having so much dominance and control over the king of wild beasts is surreal. Pi notices that through persistent displays of superiority over the animal, he has begun to become an animal himself. Richard Parker is exhibiting signs of 'zoomorphism' at this point, however, because when the cannibalistic man comes onto the boat with the intention of killing and eating Pi, the tiger senses the threat to his master and refuses to allow any harm to come to him.
   When the pair washes up onto the Mexican beach and Richard Parker bounds away into the jungle, Pi is flooded with emotion. Happiness and relief at being saved, more sadness and grief that he has lost another friend.

Al-Qaida Plans Revenge

         Al-Qaida vows to continue fighting America and avenge Osama bin Laden's death. A crowd of pro-bin Laden protesters shouted "USA you will pay!" in front of the U.S. Embassy in London on Friday. Typical Al-Qaida attacks are large-scale and well planned. An official says there "have been mentions of shootings or bombings and random violence, though it is not surprising given bin Laden's death." Interpol has asked 188 law enforcement agencies around the world to be conscientious of any suspicious activity and to watch for retaliatory attacks. Some American businesses have added new security measures.
       Al-Qaida issued a disturbing statement that said, "The blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is too precious to us and to all Muslims to go in vain. We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries. Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness, their blood will be mingled with their tears."

Life of Pi 1

    Well, this book is certainly very strange. I haven't quite gotten the feel for it yet, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, but it's interesting. I find Pi's intrigue for animals very charming, and I find the use of Pi as a god-figure very beautiful. The "very bad thing" that happened to him aligns with the crucifixion of Christ and Pi's love of creatures aligns with Christ's love for all the things that He created. The comparison of the zoo to the wild is the comparison of Heaven to Earth, as Heaven is described in the Bible as a place of immense beauty and luxury where on Earth the soul is subject to any force nature imposes and evil is prominent around every corner.
  Pi is self conscious about his name, and he seems to have a passive nature so he uses his persistence to aquire what he wants- which is to be called "Pi" instead of "Piscine". By reciting "Pi" aloud as his preferred name on a regular basis, his classmates begin to follow his footsteps.
   I paid particular attention to the concept of religion being a method humans have developed to make their lives more meaningful, because that's so true. Having a religion fulfills our sense of self worth and place in the world.And Pi is very receptive to other people's religions, as long as they have some type of faith. He can't fathom a complete lack of spiritual belief. He is a firm believer of God, but doesn't limit himself to any one religion as he seeks out all different facets of God and his mysteries in the guidebooks of different religions.
 The talk about animals in the beginning is deeply significant to the story. Animals can be domesticated and trained but their true instincts never completely disappear. Those things are embedded deep into their entire makeup and were intended by their Creator to be used. Humans are the same way; the second the ambulance or police become unavailable, a human's true colors will show as well. People are primitive creatures who have been socialized throughout millions of years and will also become territorial, lethal beings when desperate or provoked.
   I noticed a very peculiar argument in this story. Pi explains his broad beliefs to his family by saying he "just wants to love God", and that he feels people who carry out acts of brutality and evil in the name of God don't understand religion. However, Islam is FULL of violence. Yes, the book of Islam may seemingly declare love and everything is all about love and love is all you need and so on and so forth, whatever. But if that is the case, then why is the Middle East attacking us with bombs and airplanes? Is that an act of love? Yes, they killed thousands of people on 9/11 because they love us. I'm sorry, I'm ranting, but the concept just made me question if maybe Pi doesn't really understand what Islam is? Maybe I don't completely understand everything about Islam, but I know that the folks in the Middle East wake up at the crack of dawn every morning and pray to Allah, which is supposedly "the same god", but I'm sorry I just don't think my God is telling them to come and blow us up. Out of love.
  Back to the book. I apologize. When Pi talks about 'zoomorphism', I couldn't help but compare his description of it as being kind of a 'religion for animals' because 'they also need stories to get through life'. Humans use religion as a means of finding peace in dealing with day to day struggles and pressures. Pi is saying here that animals do the same things by 'zoomorphism'. 

The Sieve and the Sand

"'We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.'" This is the page Montag reads on a cold, rainy November day after he learns of Clarisse's death. It is ironic and painful. This is the point in the book where things begin to go horribly awry. Montag's first mistake is allowing Mildred to know about his reading habits, because she is the same as the firefighters, the policemen, the neighbors who would pull the alarm in two seconds if they knew Montag had even considered reading a scrap of literature. Mildred is incapable of feeling remorse for wrongdoings so her fear of the books being found is derived strictly from her fear that her way of life will be skewed if someone does happen to find out. I'm not even sure if Mildred herself is sure of exactly what she's afraid of. But she knows that books are evil, they possess dark knowledge of an old world that she wants nothing to do with because the unknown frightens her. She wants to be kept wound tightly in her little bubble of a reality society has blown for her. When Montag tries to confide in his wife about the woman he and the other firemen had burned the night before, Mildred is completely disinterested. Once again, a prime example of a dysfunctional 'husband-wife' relationship.
    I was very excited when Montag reunited with Faber because I as the reader no longer felt alone. I felt that I had a vessel in this story from the world I know that could communicate to Montag what I wanted to speak aloud and tell him myself about books and knowledge, the truths and the beautiful enlightening wisdom they bring. Faber was that proxy, and I was very thankful. The earpiece and microphone was ingenious, until Montag decided it would be a good idea to flaunt his books about in front of Mildred's friends like a mad man. However, that was also like a scene from a movie (as most of this book was for me, I could almost put a song to every event) and I could feel Montag's desperation to 'snap everyone out of it' for lack of a better term. He was one of the few lucky people in the world that hadn't been so tainted with technologies who could actually grasp that he was living in a highly distorted reality. I could see the sweat beads on his forehead, the scramble for words and justifications, the frantic motions of his hands,  the desperate pleas of his tongue. For a moment I was living vicariously through Montag.
   I've always known Beatty sucks. He's a worm-like, manipulative sloth with a deteriorated mind and a psychologically stifling disposition. When Montag cannot go into work because he has become ill with despair, Beatty's visit had me squirming. The whole rant he gave Montag about what books are and a fireman's curiosity about what it is he is actually destroying was a tantalizing game that was seemingly neverending. I hated every moment, and at the end when Montag refuses to come clean about the books and Beatty takes him to his own house to burn the possessions, my heart skipped a beat. "Why, we've stopped in front of my house." Chills!

North Korea Issues Deadly Threat

    Last week North Korea launched what the United States has claimed a veiled ballistic missile. The object disintegrated moments after being launched into the air. But that's not all for the country, because the military has issued an eery statement claiming they would reduce South Korea to ashes in just four minutes. South Korean officials have been consistently monitoring militant activity in enemy territory and claim to have found what may be a tunnel for nuclear testing. The threat was specific in its promise to deliver soon and efficiently. North Korea stated they would obliterate "all rat-like groups and the bases for provisions to ashes in three or four minutes or in much shorter time, by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style."
   It is no secret that the Koreas have had a turbulent past, but unrest between nations may be spiraling out of control.  My primary concern is of the actions the American government will take due to this event, and if our tendency to become involved in the dissensions of other countries will in turn inflict North Korea's wrath upon ours.

The Hearth and the Salamander (way past due)

      The instantaneous punch to the gut Bradburry's novel Fahrenheit  451 delivers is skilled and accurate. The first section was a suspenseful unveiling of a series of most inconceivable events. The Hearth and the Salamander provided me with the momentum I needed to get into the story, making a clear, crisp message for me to relate to and understand.
     Aside from the disturbing pleasure Montag receives from igniting a home in the middle of the night, one of the first things I instantly noticed was Bradburry's depiction of Clarisse. Montag describes her as a haunting, unfamiliar being in a white dress. I personally feel that white in this context represents the ashes and ruins of American society (symbolically, of course). But also a faint air of hopefulness is emanated from the doe-eyed girl's character. She is full of wonder and mystique, and an ancient appreciation of the world well beyond her years. She is very young, but much wiser than Montag, and that bothers him.
   Mildred is such an unfortunate character. I can't stand her but I know I can't blame her for her faults. She has no substance, no depth, no characteristics that make me care anything about her. She and Montag sleep in separate beds which I found very strange. Humans in this world have almost completely lost the need for warm, personal interaction. Of course one of the main points in the book is that so many technological advancements have been made that humans have inadvertently brainwashed themselves and only live to seek out momentary pleasures, so this separation of beds makes sense. Man and wife probably only sleep in the same bed together to have sex, and because the sensations of passion and love have been sucked dry from the human soul, these marital relations are only for pleasure as well. This is very sad to me because part of being married to someone is to have that connection and love with them, and when love and compassion are gone from the world there is nothing else. As you can tell, I was really bothered.
   The citizens in this book are always searching for a way to feel something, so violence and corrupt law enforcement has become an issue. The "Hound"? Sickening. The idea of someone creating a mechanism designed to hunt and inject a needle of toxins into a living being is perverted. What makes it more perverse is that in this book the firemen sick the metal mutt on a creature and watch it hunt the animal like it's a game.  People are killing each other and the police don't even have to ignore it because they don't even care. Mildred thinks actors on a television screen (or all three?) are her family. It's repulsive, really. I'm all for technology because I think iPods are fun and great, but I do not want to become this because it just sounds miserable. But that's just it, isn't it? If we were living in this society, we wouldn't feel deprived of anything because we would have everything we'd ever known readily available to us - and that is the scary part.

The Great Gatsby (Reflection, Part II)

What a book.

I have sympathy for Gatsby, as pitiful as he is. Gatsby poisoned his mind into believing so adamantly that Daisy could recreate her old self for him, and belong to him once again. Because he lived in solitude, he constantly marinated in his desperation to obtain Daisy's affections. This continuous longing became his muse, and the pursuit of happiness was the fuel to the flame. His first mistake was his reason for wanting to become a successful man. He should have been more realistic in his intentions, to retrieve Daisy, but I suppose that's why the whole thing was recognized as his 'dream' right? Dreams are often unattainable, intangible fantasies that humans entertain so that life may not seem so wicked. First conceived as possibilities, dreams solidify themselves into lifelines that we as humans cling to for another chance or something to look forward to, to motivate us.
Gatsby is a darling fellow. His social status is admirable, his aura of mystery is engaging, and he's a polite and hospitable man. But I asked myself throughout this book WHY does he find Daisy so captivating? Well, it truly beats me. Daisy is shallow, selfish, air-headed and incredibly annoying. Every time I read her dialogue in the book I just wanted to skip ahead. This, however, explains part of why she married Tom. He's not an intellectual, obviously. And the reason their marriage faltered so miserably is because the whole relationship was based solely on materialism and what Tom could provide for her. Aside from the blunt truth that he's just an asshole, Tom probably became very bored with Daisy very quickly because they are both incredibly dull beings. They probably never had anything interesting to discuss. Party after party night after night is not how a couple establishes a long lasting, healthy relationship. Neither of them are mature enough for a real relationship though, and they probably never would be. I'm done ranting now though, back to the point - Gatsby's efforts almost immediately begin to fail. We as the audience can clearly determine that Gatsby will NOT get the girl, Tom will NOT back off, Daisy is dumb as dirt, and the book will NOT have a happy ending. Boohoo, so sad.
The whole book is incredibly depressing. Myrtle gets killed, Daisy chooses Tom, and Gatsby dies. The main message as we have said in class: Life sucks, You die. Fitzgerald communicated this point quite accurately if I do say so myself. However, being that IS the point of the story, Fitzgerald isn't necessarily saying that's always how it is. He carefully selected his characters to align with the way he saw the evolving society. I'm sure we all know a Daisy (and we all damn sure know a Tom.) , but not every person is like that. In the 20's, America disregarded its former way of life and made way for a new generation. Things were changing very quickly and there were some folks that didn't agree with the new way of living - money, beauty, alcohol, and the pursuit of the 'American Dream'. This book was Fitzgerald's argument of human desire added to the priorities of an evolving world.

Gatsby (1-6) Reflection

      I am enjoying this book so far because I find the 20's incredibly interesting. Fitzgerald's style is elegant and lyrical. Some of the feedback I've heard from people who have read this book before has been negative and uninterested but I'm finding my opinion is rather contrary. The book depicts real historical issues in a manner that is romantic and involved, therefore the author makes his argument on society whilst providing an entertaining storyline for the reader to enjoy.

   I feel that Fitzgerald's attitude towards Tom and Daisy is judgmental and superior. While Tom and Daisy are 'sophisticated people', they have modernized themselves along with the rest of the progressing American society making them somewhat delusional and snobbish. Nick is just as well off as the two of them, he just doesn't flaunt it as openly. He's dry and sarcastic in his humour, but there is a notable warmth to his personality that we can detect from the dialogue he exchanges with other characters and in his narration of the story. Nick wants people to be happy.

   Because this is a reflection and I am allowed to be perfectly blunt in my statements, I will not restrain from saying that Tom is the epitome of an ASS. What kind of man, MARRIED man at that, flaunts his harlot about for the world to see? A man that was raised to have zero respect for women, that's the type. I feel that Tom has this carefree approach to his infidelity because of several factors. 1: As a child, he was raised in a world that did not yet fully accept women as equal to men. Women were not objectified sexually yet, but they were objectified in other manners, such as being the good little 'housewife'. Taking care of the children, washing clothes, making dinner, those were the things women were 'supposed' to do. Those were the female responsibilities. All of the 'important' things, so to speak, were better left for men to decide/handle. This mindset can definitely alter a male into thinking that women are simply here for whatever purpose a man may decide, and he should rightfully have any (or as many at once) as he pleases. 2: It's no secret that Tom isn't necessarily the brightest fellow. His values are shallow. His intellect is weak. His ability to consider deeper realms of possibility is severely limited. Nick even makes a joke in the story about how the fact Tom has a mistress is a great deal less shocking than the fact that a scientific book disturbed him into thinking outside the walls of his mansion.

    And finally, Gatsby. I think Gatsby is mysterious and precious. He flaunts his wealth even more than Tom and Daisy, but Fitzgerald's opinion of him is much different. Fitzgerald recognizes that Gatsby doesn't need all of the riches for his own mental stability and social well-being, but the loss of Daisy has haunted him and he feels that by providing such things for her, she may come back to him.

   When Nick invites Gatsby and Daisy to a tea at his house and then leaves them alone, the two are rather awkward. They begin to talk though, and Daisy invites Gatsby to a party.
    Tom is with Daisy at this party.
    Tom and Gatsby don't like each other very much.
    Tom and Daisy end up 'getting separated' from Gatsby and any progress he feels he may have made with Daisy soon quickly dissipates once again into a dream he feels will never come true.

   These chapters are a vivid whirlwind of emotions and we delve deep into the human system of emotions. We consider why people do the things they do, what pros and cons they face in their decisions, how the outcomes effect their lives in the long run, and what possibilities there may be for a positive ending. It really is an educational roller coaster and I'm liking this unit a lot.

On Writing Essay

    I enjoyed this book for the most part because I could relate to it in several ways. King's life journey took him through many loops and turns, and in the end, the hands of experience molded and shaped him into the wonderful novelist he is today. The relationships he kindled with his brother and mother along with constant relocation taught him endurance. It can't have been easy as a child to watch his mother work relentless hours just to put food on the table for her little family. However, that endurance developed in real life situations definitely shines through in his persistence of creating brilliant literature.

 I found the toolbox section particularly helpful. He offered many helpful tips to the becoming writer, such as always remember your audience when composing a work. Don't permit pride to swallow your sentences with too much decorative vocabulary in hopes you'll make yourself look more intelligent. The only responsibility you have to yourself as a writer is to deliver a fresh, crisp storyline to your reader with enough imagery to satisfy their aesthetic senses, but not so much it drowns the piece in a sea of forgotten vocabulary.

 King indulges us in sharing what different incidents or thoughts inspired him to create some of his best work. Personally, Misery and Carrie are two of my favorite King novels. I feel that if I were to pick one of his books up again I would read it in an entirely new light. I feel very personable with King now that I've read his memoir. He's inspiring and delightfully edgy. Two things I find to be irresistible human qualities.

  King's blunt remarks and sense of humour kept me intrigued and definitely established a 'rough around the edges' feel from the very beginning. However, I did notice the references he made towards his family, undoubtedly tinged with warmth and softness. After reading this book I believe that as a writer your perception of human emotions must be very intact. You must explore all the different facets of each individual feeling and find ways to trigger them in your audience.

 I liked this assignment and I really like that we blog our responses. It's a fresh approach to a seemingly tedious homework routine, and I actually find it quite enjoyable. :) Definitely a good read!

Second On Writing Post

   I didn't think I was going to enjoy the toolbox at all really, and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought his comparison to a writer's tools to his grandfather's tools made a whole lot of sense and I could appreciate that. Leave it to King to continue to deposit little packages of humorous relief in his novel also, which makes the whole thing a lot more pleasurable to take in.
   He lists the writing 'tools' in order of importance. In explaining that his grandfather had made his toolbox himself, we can automatically assume King did as well. In his experience he's had the time to get his art down to a science, as he explains that to us on pages 114 through 128. What I found funny is that he somewhat reminded me of a grandfather himself throughout this section of the book. (Which by this time he probably is...) But still, I felt like not only was I listening to someone with whom I could relate, but a very old and wise man with many things that who, underneath his stark, dry humour, really wanted to share his knowledge with me. 
  One thing I specifically appreciated were the snippets of other literature he included in the vocabulary section. I enjoyed trying to decode their meanings, and he included one by Cormac McCarthy, who happens to be one of my favourite writers. His analogy of trying to decorate your work with large vocabulary words to dressing up your pet in ridiculous clothing, embarrassing everyone and accomplishing nothing, made me giggle and it also made me consider that maybe it is sometimes better to say what you want to say simply. 
    Reading about his "place" he would go to write was something I could really relate to. I always work to music, and I always work with my door closed. I knew exactly what he was talking about when he mentioned 'creating your own world', because I do that all the time in drama and in my writing anyway. Exploring his hardships he's faced in the composition of his novels and in his life in general have made me see King in a new light, a much more personal light, and I feel like if I were to read one of his novels soon I would be able to delve much deeper into it because I've experienced the way he writes when he's writing directly to his audience. I may pick up on some hints I may have missed before, or a secret meaning that only people who have taken the time to find out who the master behind the madness has left in the lines of his literature.
   I really enjoyed reading of this section. The whole piece is a very informative, easy, and enjoyable read.  I would recommend it to friends.

State of the Union

   Gosh, President Obama has such a nice smile.


    I really liked that he opened his speech by addressing the soldiers who gave their lives for our country. I quite honestly believe one of the only worthwhile things he has done for America during his presidency is bring our courageous troupes home. That is no small task and Americans around the world, including myself, are thankful for his efforts in restoring our troupes back to us. And he is correct, if Americans showed a bit of teamwork and collaboration we could be a much better people and country.

   I would, however, appreciate his words of restoring the economy and that we could develop a more efficient means of job opportunities if he actually made good on his word. The only thing I've ever seen happen monetarily under this man's watch is the economy has gone up in agonizing flames, and struggled to return to its natural thriving state.
   He's creating the debt by failing to prevent the government from spending money our pitiful economy cannot afford. He has the power to do so, but stands by and watches us sink further and further into the pit of debt.       He is not wrong when he claims that our union is getting stronger. It very obviously has since the slow and torturous beginning of the recession in 2008. My father owns a small business and we've struggled greatly in the last four years. He is responsible for the lives of my mother, my three sisters, and myself. He has induced a huge amount of stress on himself because there has never been quite enough money to get us through comfortably. Small businesses like my family's have weakened and some have failed under the leadership of Obama. I also ignore the small bit of natural born conservative instinct that refuses to quiet inside me that there is a fantastic chance that President Obama might be talking his way into the heads of desperate Americans looking for any solution to end their poverty to win this election just like he used the same tactics before.
  No man with a functional mind can honestly say that his presidency has been successful. We have faltered under his hand. We have struggled and lost much credibility with the governments of other countries that we depend on to unite with us if ever there is a means of threat. Our economy is pathetic. Something tells me that even though I do not dislike Obama as a person, as I cannot rightfully do because I do not know him on a personal level, that I should not trust him. And I don't. And however charming his 2012 State of the Union may be, my opinions of him are unchanging.

On Writing, King, Part 1

      I enjoyed the first part of King's memoir  because he was so open and honest with his audience. King immediately invites the reader into his life by sharing personal memories and events that have happened throughout his life, creating a desire to know everything he has to share. The book captivated my interest from the very beginning - I've always been a fan of King's diction and description choices, and his comparison of his childhood to that of Mary Karr's being a "fogged out landscapre from which occasional memories appear like isolated trees...." was the ticket he needed to win my attention.
    Part of what made me so interested in his stories was his blunt honesty and sometimes profane opinion on the events that he had experienced as a child. I never had a consistent babysitter when I was growing up, and although I know not all babysitters are quite as unappealing as King's apparently was, I could completely sympathize with his unfortunate experiences with his babysitter. I particularly enjoyed reading about his first 'paid job' as a writer. It was emotionally touching to me, the story of his fascination with his comic stories and his attempt to recreate them, and his mother's generous payment of one quarter per story, and how after four stories it was the first buck he'd made in the business.
   King is obviously close with his family. He and his brother shared many interesting childish experiences together to show that. The boys must have had immense respect and affection for their mother, because one, she's their mother, and two, she was a single mother raising two children on a pitiful wage. It would be expected that they would feel the way King implies.
   I've never been much of a television fan myself, so when King acclaimed part of his success as a writer to not having been subjected to "video bullshit" at a young age I could definitely appreciate that. I also personally feel that t.v. has a tendency to detract from the possibilities of the human brain, as being exposed to it at such a young age can have a depressing effect on the way a person's mind works and thinks. I do believe as well as King that the more unexposed the mind to the media world, the more potential one has to think outside the box which is a skill required to become a successful, interesting writer.
  When King discussed his beliefs on God, I could completely relate. I, too, believe in God, but I also have an extraoridnary distaste for organized religion. I believe that different churches interpret the Bible the way they WANT to interpret the Bible, and the only true way to gain the truth in it is by interpreting it for yourself. I do not enjoy attending church, although I don't mind the people that attend it. I just find my opinions on certain matters and how they correlate with God's plan are unaccepted and often clash in a place of organized worship. When reading this book, I can't help but feel King and I would see eye to eye on this issue.
  The majority of part one after page 50 focused primarily on King's blossoming family, his wife whom he was completely in love with, his sweet, trouble-making children, and the stories of their poverty in his struggle to succeed. There were many times when King would tell of emotional instances in which he felt he was doing his family an injustice by being unable to adequately provide an ideal living circumstance for them, but his discouragement never prevented him from prevailing. I admire King and his work, and I have gained a much deeper respect for the writer as a common person and not just as the successful writer he is. Some stories I could relate to, others I could only interpret the text and cry tears of joy and sorrow along with him. I feel King is a fascinating man with incredible insight, veiled advice, and stories on what led him to success.