On the Road!

I'm reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac now, which I find infinitely more interesting than most other books. The way it is written amuses me to no end. The sentences are so eloquently written but in a subtle, casual way for which I could only ever wish to posses the talent. Every type of punctuation is used in this book, including, but not limited to, commas, colons, semicolons, dashes, parentheses, and the rare but occasional period. The sentences are long enough to be whole paragraphs and they play in my mind like I am being read to because they are written in such a conversational manner. They beg to be read aloud, and often if I am home alone, I submit to their pleas. I can imagine every thought in Kerouac's mind and just how he was thinking it and there is little discrepancy in my mind between what he means and how I interpret it; how could there be when he has left so few gaps in the message and tone he conveys? I have been reading literary criticisms on his work for an activity in AP Lit, and many of them criticize Kerouac for the same qualities I have just so clearly expressed an affinity for, which makes me think that those critics are not as open-minded as a critic should be (or maybe we just differ in opinion, but I know I'm right). These critics say that Kerouac is not a good writer, what was the publisher thinking, it is a shame to compare him to such renowned writers as Twain, etc. etc. Whatever. Kerouac is deep in a specific way, but openly writes about the shallowness of the life on the road he and many others from the beat generation chose to lead. He writes with a sense of music and rhythm and I enjoy reading it. Satisfied customer. Isn't that all publishers really care about anyway?

Practice Diction Analysis

                In this excerpt from Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger’s dull, casual language and sardonic colloquialisms permeate the narrator’s mind and portrays him as a flippant, displeased, and immature young person. The narrator mentions his “lousy childhood” in the first sarcastic sentence of the passage, which establishes him as an unsatisfied and uninterested person. He goes on to describe his own parents as “touchy as hell,” using uncouth language to emphasize his hostile feelings. The narrator also refers to money as “dough,” which is an unrefined, childish term. Overall, the cynical tone of the selection conveys the narrator’s unhappiness and immaturity.

Currently

Pages This Week: 143
Pages Last Week: 105
Total: 977

Style Mapping Sentences
The direct and tactile language exemplifies  ruthlessness, inhumanity, and mercilessness.~ Apples to Apples

The low, musical connotation of "Blood Meridian" is revealed by the diction in which there are no sophisticated words or those used simply for there pretty sound.~That one Guy's Blog

In 1984 by George Orwell, he portrays low language through his blunt diction and coarse observations giving the reader a sense of fear as well as disgust. Orwell uses vulgar descriptions such as, "The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats," which illustrates the setting of the novel. ~As Told by Ginger

In the first sentence, I especially like the work tactile, because it is both accurate and fun to say. Also, the three last nouns--ruthlessness, inhumanity, and mercilessness--are powerful ones.
The second sentence just stands out to me as very true and it contains thoughts similar to those I had when reading Blood Meridian. Although this person used the "there" instead of "their"...
There are many good adjectives in this last passage and I also like the inferences of fear and disgust.

Style Mapping

In Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, there is a regal, picturesque melody to the diction of this excerpt. McCarthy describes the dark as falling "like a thunderclap" and the moving weeds as "gnashing," which effectively engage the reader's sense of sight, sound, and even touch. Neil Gaiman's Stardust  gives a more straightforward perspective on nature by peacefully describing a landscape with unextravagant language while still creating a sweet-sounding atmosphere in the reader's mind. The houses pictured in this excerpt are shown as "square and old, built of grey stone, with dark slate roofs and high chimneys." This word choice paints a vivid picture in the reader's mind using fairly common language. Even more casually written is Jack Kerouac's On The Road, which incorporates a stream of consciousness that mirrors the complex workings of the narrators mind using words that are far less complicated. The flowing, jazzy language including the description of a break-up as a "miserably weary splitup" begs to be read aloud because its sounds are so pleasing to the ear.

Quarterly

This quarter, I have read more often than probably any other school-occupied time in my life. I like the fact that we get to choose the books we read; it makes me hate school reading less. Every time I am being forced to read a book, I tend to hate it and avoid it. My ety books, although required, are not forced so I can actually enjoy them. I usually read before I go to bed because it helps relax and I don't want to fall asleep during my math homework. I have taken an interest in the classics, but I am also focusing on classics because it will be beneficial for the SAT and the AP Lit test. The most challenging book I have read so far has been Wuthering Heights, because the text was somewhat challenging and the story was boring and confusing. I ended up finishing it, but it was one I had to force myself to read. I'm taking it a little easier now with Oliver Twist, which is mostly just a fun story and it's not challenging to comprehend. I plan on reading Jack Kerouac next, because his eccentricity interests me and I may want to do a project on him for AP Lit. My goal for this quarter is just to keep up with my reading and maybe do more than just the minimum requirement because I would actually like to get better and faster at reading and reading comprehension while enjoying my experience.

Currently

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
Pages This Week: 104
Pages Last Week: 100
Total: 729

Kwotations of the Kwarter

1. I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. ~Wuthering Heights
 
2. At about ten o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars. ~Of Mice and Men

3. He entered, vociferating oaths dreadful to hear, and caught me in the act of stowing his son away in the kitchen cupboard.  Wuthering Heights


My number one sentence of the quarter is from my least favorite book of the year! At least it was well-written I guess. The parallel structure makes it flow nicely, and it uses SEMICOLONS, which are my favorite punctuation mark! I also love personification of nature, but vivid imagery is, once again, the main reason I like this sentence.

Blog.

I'm just blogging to get it done right now, honestly. I got behind and now it just feels rushed and thoughtless, which I'm ok with right now cuz I just had a night filled with homework! Maybe soon I will feel like blogging about something worth thought. A friend recently suggested a website to me which features really smart people speaking about really intelligent topics. So maybe I can say some intelligent stuff about that and have some intelligent entertainment and get smarter. But I'll probably save that for another week. One where I'm not at school until bedtime every night. Yeah, that would be nice.

Here we go!

I've got a busy week ahead of me! I'm about to get so far behind on my blogging....oh well. Even this post is late! I will find a way to keep up :)
I've got six hours of show choir every day this week except friday, plus cross country every day and sectionals on tuesday. I would rather just be at show choir the whole time and not have to miss any of it, but at least the season is almost over!
I had a great weekend, which is why I'm doing my homework now. Oh well, it's worth it. I don't recommend the haunted cave, however. The lines are too long.
I don't really feel like writing about anything worth thought right now, which would be why I'm not writing about my reading. Although I will say I'm enjoying Oliver Twist. It's an easy read compared to the other selections I've read this year, and it's a heck of a lot more interesting. But it's good to know the classics, especially for the SAT. So that's all I'm gonna say about the class right now.