Dirty Mouth, Clean it up with Orbit Gum

I take no offense to books containing obscene language and I think it makes it more life like. People curse all the time in real life and while it may be looked down upon by some people, it is a part of life and at the end of the day the curse words that are uttered are just words and thats all. Good books and stories are supposed to be as believable as possible, so the language that is chosen is chosen to enhance that aspect. There are some cases however when the profanity gets too out of hand and it seems like every other word in the book is an obscene word, and in those cases, when the cursing is not necessary to get the point across, I think that it should just be taken out. I think we have to deal with the obscene language directly and not be afraid to say what is written because the author put those words in the book for a reason, not for them to just be skipped over.

Independent Reading Blog Post 1

For my independent reading project I am reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I like the book a lot because it has a unique story line that is unlike any other book. The writing is fantastic and JK Rowling does an amazing job at describing all of the magical elements so that they are all believable. I definitely think that I will enjoy this book and I'm not considering switching my choice.

Kite Fighting

Kite fighting and flying is a huge part the the Afghan culture. It can be considered to be the national past time of Afghanistan and can be paralleled to the sport of baseball in America. It is an activity that anyone can do and the fact that people participate and take pride in all aspects of the activity from the making of the kite to the fighting of the kites gives the Afghan people a real sense of pride, and gives them something that they can escape into other than the horrible events going on in their country. Khaled Hosseini may have chosen to include this as a major part of the novel because it is something that is distinctly Afghani and it is an important part of Afghan culture. Also, kite fighting is considered to be a father-son activity and Hosseini can easily use it to portray the rifts between Amir and Baba in the novel.

Free Write

I ran up the slightly inclined hills trying to concentrate on not tripping over one of the dangerously jagged rocks. I didn't know where everyone was I was simply running for my life. They were chasing me but I was supposed to be chasing them. How could this have happened? I heard the trickling creek with each step I took, and the watering seemed to be cheering me on telling me "faster, faster". My loaded gun was a heavy burden as I tried to run up the hill towards the home base and I just hoped that my fellow soldiers would be back there waiting for me. We had been separated for a while now, and all I could do was to tell myself to keep running. I knew my life depended on it and that's all the motivation I needed.

Walk the Line

Authors include disturbing and shocking events in their text because it portrays the seriousness of their point better and makes the situation more life like and believable. I think the vivid description is necessary most of the time unless it is a trivial event when the description is irrelevant. While these descriptions may have a bad affect on the reader, like shocking them or causing a bout of depressed feelings, they help to enhance the book. The disturbing event that Khaled Hosseini described was necessary and the description was valid because the rest of the book will probably revolve around this event, so to make it stand out and signify its important it had to be vivid and even disturbing.

To Atone or not to Atone

I think atonement for past sins is definitely possible. Most times it can take a long time to atone sins, and it depends on how severe they may be. One time I said something bad about one of my friends and she found out and was furious with me. It made me feel bad about what I said and I told her that I was extremely sorry, but I knew that it would take more than just my words to prove to her that I was sorry. It took a long time for her to forgive me and I had to prove through my actions that I was worth forgiving, she wouldn’t just take my word for it. It takes a lot of time to heal the hurt caused by sins.

Decisions...Decisions

There are many factors that go into influencing my decisions. I have to think about how the decisions I make will affect other people, but I also have to primarily think about how they will affect me. I have to think about the consequences of my decisions and have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice before I make it. My decisions have a large impact on those around me because the choices I make will almost always affect the lives of other people. For example, me deciding that I was going to try hard in school and get good grades affected me, my parents, my friends, and my future.