natalieedunnn-blog

[natalieedunnn-blog]

One Hundred Years- Post #5

Something that I found extremely interesting while reading my book was the repetition. Although confusing, after reading some of my criticism I know that it was the author’s intention. There is a cycle of many things. A cycle of names, a cycle of deaths, and a cycle of behavior is in the Buendía family. I had a lot of trouble with this when I first started reading. I had trouble with the characters that had very similar names. It was hard to keep track of who was who and what each character was doing. The author wants to show that history repeats itself.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

One Hundred Years- Post #4

Something that is very prominent in my book is death. A lot of the main characters die in the book and even before some of the characters die their death is mentioned and explained. I am still trying to figure out why death is so prominent in his book. It seems like almost every page I turn a new character dies and it is usually a sad, brutal death. I am also still trying to figure out how death fits into magical realism which is something that is supposed to be positive. This reminds me of one of my pieces of criticism which talks about the dark side of magical realism. I hope as I read on I can discover the meaning of all of these deaths.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Me and the front desk lady

[natalieedunnn-blog]

One Hunded Years- Post #3

I’m going to be honest and say that I’m having trouble getting a grip on my book. Today in class I was trying to explain what my book was about to a classmate and I struggled even though I am a significant way through. There are many things happening at the same time and many different characters which is making it hard for me to have a concrete understanding on the plot. However, I know that this is the authors intention. He purposely is writing out of chronological order and purposely writing the book this way. This book is also magical realism which I don’t fully understand yet. After I do more research on magical realism hopefully I will get a better understanding on my author’s writing and the moves he is making.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

One Hundred Years- Post #2

I am very surprised at the events that I have just read and they are making my thinking go in a new direction that it hasn’t been before. The whole family is splitting up when I thought that one of the main themes in this book was the strength of family. Aureliano has left for the military and has gone against his family’s views, Arcadio and Rebeca have married each other and have been sent away by the family, Amaranta has disappointed Úrsula by not marrying Pietro and José Arcadio Buendía is still tied to the tree. Throughout this entire thing, a character who I though was not largely significant in the beginning has become one who is strong and has to take care of the family. She is the one who is trying to hold everything together.

I am now also viewing the theme of solitude differently. Each character in this family is solitary in there own way by separating from the family and now Úrsula is alone and trying to make things right.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Initial Thoughts- Post #1

When I first started reading this book Jose Arcadio Buendia was the only character introduced in the first few pages. One thing that I was wondering about was that every time he was mentioned, his full name was used. I never knew the reason why. Now, I assume that the reason for this is that he has a son also named Jose Arcadio. Something else I noticed about Garcia Marquez’s writing is that he uses a lot of imagery and is very descriptive. Right off the bat on the first page of the novel we get a sense of Garcia Marquez’s descriptive writing style. “At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point”. This style of writing is seen throughout the entire novel. Something I have trouble with while reading is keeping track of the characters. There are a lot of characters in this book and it is hard to keep track of their names and who they are and what they’re doing. This can distract me from what is happening in the plot. Something that I think contributes to this is the fact that the book is not written in chronological order which I find also gives me a hard time.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

One Hundred Years of Solitude

When searching for a book, I had a difficult time finding one that I would be interested in and one that would also have a good amount of criticism. At first, I wanted to read The Color Purple but I heard that a few people were reading that one already. I eventually stumbled across One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which I had never heard of before. I was intrigued by it because it is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature which I thought would be a good choice because I would be able to find good criticism. I was also drawn to the whole idea that this book is said to be “required reading for the entire human race.” The idea of a family founding a town and growing together and going through life together with innovation before modern times spoke to me.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

secret’s out- uti

secrets were held in the beating

pulse of these walls

the floor ready to crumble just like the

relationships built in this house

whispers turning to shouting

silence turning to noise

the pain suffocating my

mind body and soul

i wish i would become

a part of that wall

where the secrets lie,

so i could stay

in hiding forever

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Sunroom Observation

All of my family and I are at my Aunt Lisa's house for my Grandpa's birthday. We are currently sitting in her beautiful sunroom that has wood along the walls and sitting. It is also thunder storming right now which I love. I love the sound of he rain and the thunder. The rest of my family is in the next room in the kitchen prepping for dinner. I love getting together with my family for special occasions like this. We have such a great bond and I really enjoy everybody's company. My grandpa and my dad are talking about sports like always. A conversation I can never find my way into. I smile and nod my head while I pretend like I'm interested. The floor of the sunroom has multicolored tiles and me and my cousin Andrew are sitting in a swinging bench chair. My Aunt Lisa's house is my favorite house out of everyone in my family. It has so much character and her backyard is huge. It has a large pond where I have many memories of me and my cousins going canoeing. My cousins wedding shower was also held here. Sitting on the ottoman are a bunch of caprese that my cousin made. I had to stop myself from eating a thousand.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Family Room Observation

My family, Sarah and I, are all gathered on our big couch watching Moana. My dad is sitting at the end trying to multitask by reading a book. My mom is next to him under a blanket making commentary every two seconds during the movie. She always asks questions about the movie that nobody knows the answer to and she always wants the movie to be spoiled for her. I don't think that's any fun. Next is my brother playing on his phone and drinking a smoothie I just made him. Making smoothies and protein shakes is my new thing. I don't know how long it will last though. My dog is cuddled up next to me breathing really hard like she always does. Actually she just got up and went to go lay on the cool tile in front of the fire place. That's her favorite spot. Next is Sarah intensely watching her favorite movie. I swear she asks if we can watch it almost every day. I always enjoy snuggling up on my cozy couch watching movies with my family.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Football Field Observation

I'm sitting here on the Avondale football field waiting for my powderpuff practice to start. I'm sitting next to two of my good friends Emma and Grace and we are talking about the upcoming school year. The sun is shining bright and there is a nice breeze. I'm eavesdropping on the conversation behind me giving my opinions in my head. There are currently not enough people here to make a powderpuff team even though practice was supposed to start five minutes ago. None of the coaches are here either. It's really peaceful out here when there aren't many people. A big contrast to Friday night football games. Football season is definitely my favorite. There's nothing I love more than coming to games with my friends. Some more people just arrived and they're talking about how there aren't many people here. There are a few people scattered around the track either walking or jogging. I honestly don't even feel like being here because I'm not feeling too good. I know I need to be here though because I haven't been in a while and it is the last practice before the school year.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Car Ride Observation

Right now I'm sitting in the passenger seat of my mom's car on our way home from up north. The radio is playing silently in the background and there are road trip snacks scattered around the front of the car. My pillow is on top of my lap because I need it when I am traveling anywhere. My brother is in the backseat behind me plugged into his ipad either gaming or watching Netflix. We left my cabin about a half and hour ago and it was the last weekend that my family will be up there for a while. It really is sad for me because it's my happy place. This weekend was a little bit chilly so it wasn't ideal, but I still had a lot of fun with my cousins. We will pass and outlet mall pretty soon called West Branch and my mom wants to stop there to shop for a little bit. I'm honestly not feeling up for it. There are a lot of big campers on the road probably all coming home from their annual Labor Day camping trip. I'm sad to be leaving Higgins Lake but I am ready to go home at the same time. I know it's time for me to start getting ready for school.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Indie Write #3

As I'm laying in my bed I look down and see my comforter. It is very colorful and has many different types of flowers on it and also matches my walls. My walls are pink with a blue and black stripe on them. As I look on the floor to my left I see my dog laying there being lazy and doing nothing. She never likes to cuddle with me she just likes to lay on the floor and keep her distance. There are many other things on my floor because my room is messy at the moment. There were probably multiple opportunities for me to clean it today but I chose not to. There is a pile of laundry that needs to be put away and there is also a suitcase that is waiting to be packed. Of course I am going to choose to pack it in the morning like an hour before I have to leave. I still wonder why I always do those things to myself. Now my dog is growling and I don't know why because it is midnight so I'm confused. I just had to stop the timer because my dad told me to let my dog outside. At midnight. I thought he was asleep but I guess he woke up just to tell me that. To my right my stuffed animal that I've had since I was four is sitting on my bed. Don't ask me why it still stays in my bed. It is a lamb that I named Lambie. That's how my first email was ever created: lambielamb@yahoo.com (really embarrassing I know).

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Zooming In

Every single day I struggle with the question of what am I going to do with my life? As I've said before, I have many different interests/passions. I think it is great to be passionate about so many things but I want to find how I can do what I am passionate about for a career. This may seem easy for some people but for me it's very hard. I am the type of person who is very reluctant to taking risks and very scared of trying something, hating it, and then starting again from scratch. At the same time if by the time I get to college and have no idea what I want to do, I am going to try not to worry about it and just let life take me where it's meant to.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Indie Write #2

It's hard to believe that this year is my senior year. I have been anticipating this for so long and now the time is finally here. I am not really sure what to expect this year considering all of the changes that have been made but I am excited to see. Junior year was stressful for me and I know senior year will be too, but I am going to try to make it as fun as possible. I feel that in a way I've taken my time in high school for granted and I haven't lived it up to the fullest. I am going to try and change that this year and really worry less and live more. I am still currently obsessed with everything fashion and beauty related. Those things are really my passion. A part of me is scared for the future because I don't know what it holds for me. I have so many different interests and there are so many possible directions I could be pulled in. Every single day I struggle with the question of "what am I going to do with my life?" I'm sure most high school students struggle with their future but this is something that makes me anxious. I'm the type of person that when it comes to my future, I need to know what I'm going to be doing. Figuring it out along the way scares me but I know that everything will work out for the best. This year I really hope to get some clarity.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Indie Write #1

Finding topics to write about is usually a challenge for me. I am hoping as I start to read more poetry and cultivate more point of views and writing styles, I will start to narrow down what I am really interested in. I am really drawn to any writing that is true, real, raw, emotional, captivating, and any writing that will make me think deeper or change my thinking about a subject. I know that I definitely need to improve my poetry writing skills but I know that I want to try to write the kind of poetry that I, myself would be interested in reading. I have not always been drawn to poetry but I think that is only because I have been reading the wrong poems. I think through my poetry journey I will discover poetry that really speaks to me and that I am excited to read. I hope that reading new poetry will allow me to learn new techniques and skills that I will be able to use in my own poems.

[natalieedunnn-blog]

Second Movie “Cry-Baby” Observations

The second movie my group watched was “Cry-Baby” with Johnny Depp. There were many similarities between this movie and “Rebel Without A Cause.” One similarity is the rivalry between two groups. The two groups in this movie were the ‘squares,’ who were the good, rich kids and the ‘drapes,’ who were the rebels. A girl named Allison was a square who also had a square boyfriend. She fell in love with Cry-Baby who was a drape. Allison’s grandmother was very disapproving of this because the squares didn’t associate with the drapes. This is similar to Judy falling in love with Jim in “Rebel Without A Cause.” Like “Rebel Without A Cause” there are exaggerations but they are EXTREME. There are many musical scenes and many scenes that have viewers confused and wondering what the actual plot of the movie is. Overall, after watching both of these movies I realized that many teen movies have similar themes no matter when they were made. “Rebel Without A Cause” came out in 1955 and “Cry-Baby” came out in 1990 and they both were similar. Especially after watching “Cry-Baby” I realized that exaggerations are important for movies in order to keep viewers interested and engaged. That’s why many movies that we watch seem unrealistic some of the times.