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Breakfast at Tiffany’s the writing

Starting writing was painful for me because I didn’t have a clear idea of what the book was really about. When we began writing in class I wasn’t even sure what to say because there was no specific theme that I knew I wanted to talk about. However, we write to find out what we think. As I started writing I found myself being very repetitive but only touching the surface of what I was trying to say. At one point we switched notebooks and Aisha gave me feedback on my writing. She told me she thinks what I’m trying to get at is each characters identity and how it changes and what it says about them. This was the word I had been looking for, identity. Now that I had a “claim” it became a lot easier for me to find evidence and put what I wanted to say into words. I still am having a lot of trouble with being repetitive, but have a much clearer idea about my writing. However, I’m STRUGGLING with the lit review section. I have many different ideas that don’t relate and have no idea how to organize them. I went back and wrote intros relating to all of my body paragraphs, but it seems choppy and awkward. After conferencing my new plan is to create an overview to my lit review and put transitions between each new idea to show what how my ideas are organized in my head. Hoping to bring that hot 50 up!! :)))

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s- post #5

I’m starting to become confused with the narrators sexuality. Holly seems to have a formula for how to tell if a man is gay and this is if he doesn’t like horses or baseball. If he doesn’t like baseball, he likes horses and if he doesn’t like either he’s gay. The narrator is in Holly’s apartment one night when she is entertaining guests and states how he “pretends” to be reading a book about horses while he is really observing Holly’s guests. There is another point in the book where the author recalls a trip he made to Nancy’s Landing. Apparently Nancy is a made up place by Capote that refers to a passive homosexual. The narrator says “never mind why, but once I walked from New Orleans to Nancy’s Landing.” Him saying never mind moves the attention away from what may have been a self confession. I’ve picked up on these few moments, but can’t seem to get a grip on what the narrators sexuality really is. He seems to be in love with Holly, so how would that be possible if he was homosexual? The hints that Capote leaves here are extremely subtle but really made me think. What is his point here? And was this his intention?

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s- post #4

An important motif in starting to see throughout the book is cages. When Holly and the narrator go out to celebrate the narrator receiving an offer to publish his book, they walk around Central Park. Holly refuses to go to the zoo though, because she hates seeing anything in a cage. Next the narrator takes Holly to an antique store to see a bird cage that he used to admire when he first moved into his apartment. Holly admits it’s pretty, but still doesn’t like it because it’s a cage. I think that Holly’s disgust for cages comes from her not wanting to be closed in. As we’ve already seen from her apartment and her men, she cannot be tied down. Obviously the idea of a cage to her is repulsive because whatever lives in the cage is stuck. I am really intrigued by this concept because it seems to contrast “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The topic I focused on in my TEWWG essay was independence and woman having self love before becoming tied down to a man. It seems as if I’m seeing this exact same theme again but on the flip side. Holly is her own person and has her own foundation without a man. This makes her a happy, confident person. She realizes her worth and goes through life vividly.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s - post #3

The first time we hear a mention of Tiffany’s in the book is when Holly is talking to the narrator about how she didn’t want to be a movie star. She states, “I want to still be me when I wake up on fine morning and have breakfast at Tiffany’s.” I’ve learned to admire Holly’s self confidence, but this quote was very ironic to me. Holly is a girl who lives on the go. Her apartment is filled with boxes everywhere as if she just moved in and her cat doesn’t even have a name. It seems ironic to me that she doesn’t see anything as belonging to her. This tells me a lot about Holly’s dislike to being tied down to anything. This goes for men and places too. For me this was very interesting because I know that I feel most myself in places that feel like home. It seems like it would be counterproductive to try and find yourself while always being on the move and never staying in one place for too long. I don’t quite know enough about Holly yet, but maybe once I learn more about her childhood I’ll have a better understanding of why she is who she is.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s- post #2

The authors first official run in with Holly happens when she knocks on his window and scares him. She comes in and tells the narrator that there is a mean man in her apartment and she crawled out of her bathroom window because she saw how cozy the narrator looked in his apartment. She decided that his new nickname is Fred because that’s the name of her brother who used to let her hug him when it was cold at night. She begins criticizing “Fred’s” furniture and from this we can see that she is very blunt and doesn’t hold back. The narrator responds that you can “get used to anything” and Holly responds by saying a person who allows himself to get used to anything “might as well be dead.” We have already seen a glimpse into Holly’s chaotic lifestyle at this point, but this comment really symbolizes how she always wants to be surrounded with new people and can’t stay in one place too long. She likes change and new things, not getting “used to” things. Maybe this is part of her charm. She doesn’t allow people to get “used to” her. She keeps things moving and changing and keeps people wanting more of her.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s- post #1

In the very first chapter of my book, I already get a taste of who Holly Golightly is. The narrator (who is unnamed) gets a unexpected call from a man named Joe who owns a bar that him and Holly used to go to. When the narrator gets this call after not seeing Joe for a few years, he knows it must be about Holly who we infer neither of them have heard from in a long time. When the narrator gets to the bar, Joe tells him that a man named Yunioshi (who also knew Holly) showed Joe some pictures he took while in Africa. In one picture there is a carved statue that is an exact replica of Holly. Yunioshi explained to Joe that when he saw this, he asked the man if he could purchase it and the man gestered that it was too precious to him. In just this one part, we already see four men with a thing for Holly. This leads me to infer that she must’ve been something special. Someone who broke hearts and went about life freely. Even years later, the narrator and Joe are still hung up on Holly which really gives us some insight into her as a person without even meeting her. She knows how to leave an impression. I am excited to get to know Holly and her charm in upcoming chapters.

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s book choice

When this project was first presented to me I had no idea what book I would read because the typical books I read are cheesy love stories and John Green books. I hadn’t put much thought into finding a book, but I opened up tumblr one day where Olivia’s post on her book “The Bell Jar” popped up. The description intrigued me so I started searching similar books and talking to Mr. Kreinbring about what authors have a lot of criticism. The next day in class Chloe was talking about reading “in cold blood” by Truman Capote and Mr. Kreinbring mentioned something about Breakfast at Tiffany’s which is such a me book. I LOVE books like The Great Gatsby about socialites and city life. What really entrigued me about the description was the line, “nothing bad could ever happen at Tiffany’s.” Tiffany’s is Holly’s safe haven and I love the concept of this because I think we all have that “safe haven” in our own worlds. Truman capote, an amazing author, also writes that Holly Golightly was his favorite of all the characters he’s ever wrote. This should make my job relatively easy because Capote has a large amount of criticism as a well known author and Holly will be fun to dig deeper into. Ive always heard great things about this book and been interested, but never had the perfect opportunity to read it. I can’t wait to get started!!!!

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Mentor poet UTI

i am white and boxy. I have no bad memories.

whatever adventure i see, i take on immediately.

just as it is, unmisted by fears.

most of the time i drive along paved roads,

but sometimes i get a little messy.

now i am residing in a garage.

a girl hops in me, on our way to make new memories.

the sky as colorful as cotton candy.

reminding the girl of what it’s like to feel alive.

my windows down, top pulled back.

her hair flying everywhere.

we stop to pick up her friends,

laughter rings in the crisp summer air.

i am important to her. She comes and goes.

each morning it is her that shows me the world.

in me she has the best days of her life, and

in me the sun sets and rises.

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Indie Write #3

Right now as I'm sitting in my bed, writing this observation, I see a computer screen with YouTube videos playing in the background. Down the hall I hear my sister talking to my mom, getting ready to go to school tomorrow. I see a white comforter and blowing fan. My dresser is a mess because I'm in the middle of packing to go up north. Wow this summer slipped away fast. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting down with my friends writing out our "summer 17 bucket list" and making playlists to be our soundtrack to the summer. So much has changed since the day school got out. I'm not ready for summer to come to an end. My favorite kind of moments are the ones that you don't realize how much you love until its 1030pm and you're laying in your bed writing about your surroundings and looking through all the pictures of everything you've done this summer. The best memories were the unexpected, unplanned ones. One morning I woke up, and spur of the moment planned a lake day trip with my friends. This was one of my favorite days this summer. Although there is only a week left for me and I'm now realizing there are a lot of things still not checked off of the bucket list, I know that the memories I made this summer are some that will last a life time. If you've ever been in a moment and realized how much you're going to miss it while you're living in it, that's what this summer was for me. I am a huge advocate for making decisions using pros and cons lists...the biggest lesson I've learned this summer is that pros and cons lists don't always work, because when the pro is that you love something or it will make you happy, that outweighs any con you can think of. Do more of what makes you happy and makes you feel alive. :)

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Indie Write #2

After the challenges of junior year are over, I have very few fears for senior year. I am excited to spend my final year with my group of friends before we part ways for college. This past year has taught me A LOT about who I am as a person and I can't wait to live that up and make new memories. The one part of senior year that scares me is that this is my last year or soccer forever. Although I'd love to play in college, I am not up to the level that players at my top college choices are (U of M and MSU). This is a dream of mine that I may work on this year. Soccer is my favorite thing to do and it has taught me just about everything I know about life. Another thing I love is fashion/skincare/health. A goal of mine is to someday start a blog and maybe now is the time to do that. I can't wait to experience all that this year holds and I can't wait to learn new lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

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Indie Write #1

My poet is Madisen Kuhn and I chose her because of the way she turns strong emotions into words. Kuhn writes about tough, emotional situations as well as self-love and happiness. On twitter and Instagram I follow some poetry accounts which is how I came across kuhn and felt inspired. What intrigues me about poetry is the way you can connect specific emotions to someone's words, which is what kuhn succeeds at doing. I want to create poetry that triggers emotion and radiated happiness. Kuhn digs deep within herself to create poems that engage readers, and this is something I strive to do myself. I want my poetry to inspire people.

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Rebel Without a Cause

While watching rebel without a cause with my group, we noticed that many of their values and problems are similar to today’s. Obviously, they are blown out of proportion and times have changed, but in today’s age we still value acceptance very highly. The movie portrays this value through the slashing tires scene and chicken fight. Jim is a new kid at a school with cliques and popularity. He values being accepted by his peers, as we do today. He shows his bravery through playing a game, typical to that time period, which risks his life and ends with someone dying. The characters aren’t entirely believable because they are exaggerated, but they still accurately represent today’s teenagers values and struggles. I believe that the audience for this movie is teens who are struggling with popularity and acceptance in high school. It’s purpose is to shed light on the problems teens face in high school and blow them out of proportion to get teens attention and give them something to relate to. Jim is the outcast in this movie and tries to please the popular crowd. The speaker could be an adult who struggled with acceptance as a teen and now wants to show teens that your problems in high school aren't as big as you think they are when you get to the real world. Overall, my group found this movie a little confusing, but ultimately interesting. On the surface it's difficult to relate to teens in a different time period, but when you dig deeper, the values that we still possess become evident.

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Transcending the genre: The Last Song

A movie that I believe transcends the genre is “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks. This story starts with a girl who hater her father, but is forced to say with him over the summer. She faces real, raw problems like the death of her father and the stress of deciding on a college/ wether she will continue piano or not. Her dad pressures her to continue piano and she refuses, but little does she know she’s losing him. She falls for a boy, but not in the typical high school hierarchy situation. It’s summer and they are complete strangers, but ultimately fall for each other outside of he pressure of high school and peers. The author is also aware of the problems teen face. Sparks transcends the genre by connecting the story to a deeper idea of accepting death and family relationships. Sparks also chooses actors who are actual teenagers, so the story is more believable and real unlike many movies today.