The Soloist (chapters 23-31)

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison.
I came across this quote and instantly attached it to The Soloist. After finishing this book I came to find that It was a true story with a good ending based on the ambition of a writer and cooperation of a man who lost his way and suffers from a sickness. It relates to the quote because most people would miss the opportunity of meeting Nathaniel because of the looks of him realizing it would be a handful. Not only his physical appearance, but realizing he was ill, Steve still continued his friendship.
No task in life is easy and a lot of times we work at something and get disappointed. The Soloist was not an example of that. It was an epic story of a man who put his mind to something and was successful to both himself and another man. From chapters 23 through the end Steve grew fond of Nathaniel and developed a great friendship; however, they got into a minor quarrel that stemmed from Nathaniel’s illness. Steve was so disturbed by the cause of the fight and hurtful things Nathaniel said. He could have easily walked away from him and put all his effort and friendship with Nathaniel in jeopardy but he did not. Similar to the quote by Edison, He did not miss his opportunity because of the imperfection caused by Nathaniel’s condition.
Nathaniel and Steve got passed their digression and kept their newfound friendship. They continued spending time together and going to concerts. Nathaniel ran into one of his friends from Julliard, the great Yo-yo Ma. These were all part of the wonderful opportunities he got through meeting Steve, who took him places like the Philharmonic. The studio apartment was Nathaniel’s to live in. He was off the street and had many fun times he shared and will continue to share with Steve. Taking his disease into consideration, Steve still remains great friends with Nathaniel and assisting him in any way that he could.
This all brings me back to the quote I found. Would the average person be able to follow the words of Edison and actions of Steve? It took bravery and patience that made Steve do the things he did. I originally thought it could have been selfishness for him to get ahead of his work, but after finishing the book, I realized it was not just that. He grew fond of him and they built a beautiful friendship to last a lifetime and a story to be admired by others.


Things to Notice:
Focus of point
Subject of writing, was it good?
Writing machanics

The Soloist (chapters 13-22)

In life you come in contact with many people. Each person you meet, every action that u make and each choice u make all has a hue impact on the person u grow to be. Reading the Soloist is like watching a person develop into a great person through the various experiences mentioned along the way.
Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez both grew by this point in the book from where they started because of meeting one another and learning through each other. Here you have this man living on the street with nothing but a violin and a disease so you think how can this benefit me? Steve Lopez, a hungry writer sees this interesting musician living on the street as a story opportunity and ends up learning the life lessons that you cant pay for.
The way the story is written in the beginning transforms by this point in the story. It turns into a more personal and interesting story that connects to Nathaniel more than a research piece to which it began. I find it so interesting how this is a true story because of the way the world is today. People on the street are not only usually unapproachable, but they could be dangerous or not even really homeless. Steve Lopez just took it upon himself to go up to this homeless person and it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to the both of him. His career skyrocketed and Nathaniel is benefiting in so many ways. This brings me back to my point as how people really affect who you become. Steve saw this man as an opportunity, he took a risk and it worked out perfectly; However, does this mean that if you take a similar risk and do not benefit that you do not get the same out of it? I would have to say no. The point is that by meeting people whether they actually help you or not, you learn and better yourself from them.
Nathaniel also became the way he was through sickness and after his father leaving hi family so is the theory of people in your life being beneficial still true? If there are some people that come into your life like displayed in the Soloist in Nathaniel's life harm him how can it be? These questions are displayed in The Soloist because despite all Nathaniel''es troubles he meets Steve and his life somewhat changes for the better. We just have to hope to find the inspiring people and not let the ones that harm life choices get in the way of our futures.

Look out for:

Style of writing
My ideas and how i focused them
grammar/spelling

The Soloist (chapter 7-12)

"The Soloist" is a book that I would consider an auto and regular biography. By this point in the book, I learned about the lives of Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers. In most biographies, they are written about the live of one person. In "The Soloist", Steve Lopez writes in such ways to incorporate the life story of two men into an intriguing story that leaves you yearning for more.

Lopez writes about real issues that matters. "The Soloist" discusses the issues of people living on the streets, his schizophrenia, music, and passion. He tries to teach you to look beyond what is literally there and appreciate what is behind everything. Most people look at the bums on the streets and pass by them like they do not exists. Lopez was different. Maybe you can say he payed close attention in search of a story, but either way he sees Nathanial for more than a bum. He came time and time again to see his real story. Chapters 7 through 12 expand on his interest in Nathaniel's life.

At this point in the story, Steve Lopez is doing everything he can to help Nathaniel out and learn about him. He brings him to Disney Hall to see his favorite symphony preform. This touches on the political issues of social class. Here you have this journalist who has his life together spending quality time with this man who has been living on the streets refusing to live in a homeless shelter. These types of things don't often happen because people are so caught up in what people think and would not want their social rating to go down. Steve Lopez does not care about these issues at all. He is initially in search of a story and is willing to do what it takes for his career but is slowly discovering friendship and an incredible inspiration. Nathaniel was so greatful of the symphony and was able to enjoy this because of Steve.

People can really learn through the life of Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers even by only reading the twelve chapters of the book.

The Soloist (Chapters 1-6)

The story opens with the view of a poor many living out of a shopping cart playing an old violin admiring Beethoven. The writing style of Steven Lopez is easy flowing and a series of chronological events explaining the accounts of a true story on the life of Nathaniel Ayers through his eyes.

True stories like the one by Steven Lopez are always of interest to me because I am finding out information at the leisure of reading a book. The first six chapters of “The Soloist” are page turners. So far the information gathered is that Steven Lopez is a local paper journalist seeking a story. Like most things that happen in life he happens upon an even greater discovery. He sees a man playing a two stringed violin living out of a shopping cart. He compliments him and realizes this man is a great story. He later finds the man is Nathaniel Ayers who is only living on the streets because of his diagnosis of schizophrenia that caused him to drop out of Julliard, which explained the violin.

So far the first six chapters have shown great inspiration. Even if I stopped at this point I would have been inspired by Steven Lopez’s ambition to further his meetings with Nathaniel and get his story. I am inspired by the life of Nathaniel. Even though he is living on the street he has a problem. He is not one of those people who takes his problem as a seek for pity by others, but he lives the way he wants playing his music which gives him life. People who live through the music and only need that to be happy inspire me greatly because something so simple can give them joy and that shows such passion.

I am looking forward to reading farther and to see what else happens between Nathaniel and Steven.

Catcher in the Rye

Most of the time in life you encounter people who are smart, talented, kind, and many other things. The people that put their heart into something they care deeply for weather its music or a book or a profession. In “The Catcher and the Rye”, Houlden the main character is not one of these people. He is your typical floater that shows no interest in his future, or the well being of others. He is arrogant and has no motivation once so ever. He was kicked out of numerous schools and still showed no signs of improving.
Throughout the book Houlden narrates his life through day dreams that he reencounters his experiences. As a boy of sixteen having being kicked out of three schools, now four after Pencey, he still didn’t learn. All he cared about was the easy way out and his own enjoyment. There is always one Houlden that you know as you grow up in school and you think to yourself how on earth they are going to make it in life. While reading the book you see the outrageous things he does just to avoid his parents after being disgusted by the talk about his future from his teacher at Pencey. All Houlden did was run from the truth he did not want to face. He ran from things that challenged him and he had an immature way of thinking.
By the end of the book you see that like all of the floaters you knew as you grew up he had that one person that did affect him and for Houlden it was his sister. Houlden upset almost every person he encountered throughout the book. He even annoyed his sister when he told her how he was unsuccessful at Pencey before even seeing his parent. However, by the end when he sees her ride the carousel when he is about to run away from home, he realizes he loves her so much and that he wants to change his future.
The ironic thing about the ending is that he is supposeably at a mental home of some kind narrating the book, but we do not know where or how old he is. So how successful he was with his self change is unknown.

Willy and Gatsby

Reading both The Great Gatsby and The Death of a Salesman taught me a lot about life through the similarities between the main characters. Both Gatsby and Willy Loman die after living a long life through a dream of what they thought should have been. Gatsby lived most of his adult life wondering what it would be like to be with Daisy, the love of his life. When the opportunity to be with her comes, he is thrilled. However, he dies in the novel. In a way, you can say he deserves it because he lived through this dream and acted upon it when it presented itself even though Daisy was married. You cannot always get what you want especially when it involves hurting others. Karma will eventually find its way to get you.
Willy Loman’s story is similar but different. He lived his life in the dream of being a successful salesman because that was the kind of work he knew and did his entire adult life. His problem was that he wished to live more successfully through his sons, no matter the cost. This sons Happy and Biff didn’t quite see the joy in becoming a salesman, but wanted the love and satisfaction of their father. Willy put a lot of pressure on his sons especially the oldest, Biff. As a result Biff grew a feeling of resentment towards him. As Willy grew older and began to have episodes of illusions of the past, his wife and sons grew concerned. Biff did nothing except trying to please his father even though it didn’t work out the way Willy had hoped. Willy ended up committing suicide at the end of the book. I show only a small feeling of pity for Willy because all he knew was the life of a salesman and ultimately wanted success for his boys. However, the way he approached his goal for them was not right. You cannot treat others, especially family bad just because of your wants. Willy should have been supportive with any choice that Biff made with his life even if being a salesman was not one of them.
Both Gatsby and Willy strived for what they wanted. They did not care if it meant hurting people in the process. Or did they? The ultimate question that we face in life when we encounter people like Gatsby and Willy is; are they aware of the way they affect others by the way they act? Do they hurt others on purpose or are they just unable to change the way they push people and loved ones for their own dreams? I like to believe it has something to do with the way they were originally raised by their families. Everything you experience in life affects the person you become, and sometimes not always for the better. I do not believe that Willy and Gatsby were bad people. They let their dreams get the best of them and they unconsciously hurt people along the way. However, everything you do wrong in life catches up to you and in their case it was their very own death.

Blogger Reflections

Blogging has been a real learning experience for me. I enjoyed it because it made writing and presenting my ideas very easy and beneficial by seeing what the other students had to say about my work in both 11-1 and 11-2.

I have taking a new outlook on writing by using blogger. I realized my flaws through the constructive criticism of my peers.

Blogging is very organized and prepares us for college. From what I have been told a lot of classes as we progress through the years are beginning to use tools similar to blogger. I feel that we should continue this approach. I like the way our assignment is on the sight just in case we don’t write it down. I also like the fact that we can read other people’s work and comment on them.

The use of blogger is different than the traditional writing of a paper and turning it in. It allows us to work at our own speed while still meeting deadlines. We are able to relate to each other’s work, and display our own work nicely organized.

I feel that as a teacher you are doing a great job with the blogger site. I find that it is confusing for you to tell who comments on other people’s work because everyone does that at different times and we are supposed to get credit for that so maybe that can be improved. Other than that I think it is a perfect way to do English.

I always interacted between 11-1 and 11-2 I enjoyed the fact that we are all connected in blogger. I think this is a nicer way for the people who are not used to seeing work from the other class to finally have that option.

Scott Fitzgerald

“Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.”
–Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway
People with high moral standards will be the ones to appreciate this quote by Fitzgerald. It is relating to the saying that money cannot buy you everything. In this part of the letter he is stating that money and riches are not important to him. The only way that money and riches held interest to him was if it held and brought something with greatness attached. Fitzgerald could also be implying the idea that riches can change people. The way that people behave and carry themselves is crucial. In most cases, riches and everything that comes with it change people for the worst. He wants people to know that in his eyes, if the riches do not bring good character to you then it’s worth nothing and people need to see that.
This quote can be related to The Great Gatsby. Gatsby was a rich man that lived in a mansion. He had plenty of money and lived the way any person would only dream. He had the fortune and the great lifestyle; however he was not entirely happy. He didn’t have the charm like the quote, or the distinction of his character and true love. His past true love Daisy was married to someone else and he longed to be with her again. This hole in his heart proves the quote true. All the money in the world, the big houses or the fame cannot buy your happiness. The only way that it can buy you happiness is if there is something more meaningful attached.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby
Chapter 2

This chapter discussed the affair that Tom Buchanan had with Myrtle Wilson. It took place in the Valley that was in between New York City and West Egg. Fitzgerald makes the setting of chapter two here to define the desolation and gloom that the characters’ are experiencing. Nick starts by talking about his experience with his walk through the Valley of Ashes.
This darker place made it easy for him to notice the business of Dr. Eckleburg. Tom led Nick there after the train ride there. Tom then meets Myrtle Wilson who he has been having the affair with. These events of Chapter two are showing the types of people both Nick and Tom are. Tom is careless while Nick cares more than he probably should.

“Above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it.” This quote is the author trying to show the vast differences of the grayness of the valley and the vision Nick then sees. Fitzgerald used a lot of figurative language here and throughout the book so far.

http://www.wordle.net/create

Monica Argenzio
March 8, 2009
English 11 – 1

Denise Levertov

Denise Levertov was born in England in 1923. She was home-schooled and became interested in writing as early as age five. She began to strive for success with her writings by sending her work to be reviewed by professionals at the age of twelve. By the time she was seventeen, she published her first poem and did nothing but publishing and writing afterwards.
When she started as a writer, she wrote in English dialect. When she married and moved to the united states where she continued to write, she became interested in the way that American dialect was written and accustomed herself and her writing to that. The very first book that she wrote in American dialect was Here and Now. By reading poems from this book and comparing them to the ones before, you can notice the transition that she made with her new American Lifestyle.
It is interesting to see that this author wished to change her English way of writing to American style because so many other kept their own English writing dialect. The year that Denise moved to America with her husband was 1948. Times were changing and so was she. Her way of writing was more modern now in the American way.
The poem “In Mind” (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-mind/) by Denise Levertov incorporates a lot of figurative language. For instance, she uses descriptive adjectives comparing the smell and features of the woman in the poem to apples and grass. The meter of this poem is not traditional. She doesn’t use end rhyme or a specific rhyme scheme. She tells a story about a girl who is troubled. She uses few words, but they are all symbols and very descriptive. For example in the sixth stanza, she says; “And there's a turbulent moon-ridden girl.” That is Denise using a great adjective to describe that the girl in the poem who remains anonymous is troubled and confused about life. Based on the first stanza, I can guess that Denise is creating this woman in her poem to be her troubles within herself. She says in the first stanza “There's in my mind a woman of innocence, unadorned but.” She is saying that in her mind there is a woman that is so kind and innocent but as the poem progresses she explains the problems. I believe that she is talking about her own self.
Denise Lovertov wrote a lot of other works that express her American Style as well as her talent to so briefly get a point about herself or others across. The poem she wrote entitled “Celebration” (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/celebration/ ) This poem was about the simplicity of celebration. Denise compares all the glorious things and feelings that associate with a celebration or party of any kind of important event to beautiful things of nature.
There are things about the works of this poet that makes her distinctly American. Denise Lervertov began her writing career in her homeland of England. When she moved to America she learned and accustomed herself to their way of writing based on her experiences and observations of America. Most of her poems that I read are about the simple American things. She describes them is such a way that the simplicity of it all is enriched with beautiful adjatives and comparisons and symbolism. She is not big on rhyme, but she writes more in a free verse type way. They are the kind of poems that should be read by readers so that they can appricate the little things in life and see them for what they are and have their own take on them as well. Also, her poems show that you should be able to self evaluate yourself based on how you are as a person.

Amercan Realism/Mark Twain

American Realism is the work of many talented writers that write about the real issues that people face each day. Mark Twain is one of these very talented writers. His writings deal with the problems people face, the solutions people chose, and their outcomes. The works of Twain and all of these other writers differ a lot from American Romantics, which are writings that deal with nature and their affect on humans.
The writings of Mark Twain differ from those of the American Romantics that we have read about. The American Romantics discussed more universally symbolic issues. They talked about how nature and pure love were the solutions to problems. They also showed how the roles of us as humans were affected by the nature and love in our world. Mark Twain wrote about different things however. He talked about the actual problems and issues that people of this time, and the past have to deal with. In Twains story’s “The Story of the Good Little Boy”, and “The Story of the Bad Little Boy”, Twain talks about how our lives are affected by the way we lead them. This is a real life issue and not just based on nature and love like the American Romantics.
Mark Twain often writes about real life issues. His theme in the stories “The Story of the Good Little Boy” and “They Story of the Bad Little Boy” was that we shouldn’t always try to be good and live good lives because that’s not always how good things happen to us. In “The Story of the Good Little Boy” Twain shows a model little boy who aspires to be in a Sunday school book because of his good doings. The ironic outcome of this story is that the good little boy ends up having unfortunate luck and dies in the end always trying to help people. What I believe Twain is trying to convey in this story is that you shouldn’t only do good deeds to be recognized for them. In contrast to this story Twain backs up this theme in “The Story of the Bad Little Boy”. This story was about a bad boy who actually leads a very full and lucky life. Good things happened to this boy all the time, and he was always doing bad things. The truth about the bad little boy was that even though he was being bad all the time, he did everything he did because it was what he believed in and did not see wrong in it. What this shows is that you shouldn’t focus so much on dong good of others and let it happen. All you can hope in life is to have good judgment and be a good person.
Mark Twain wrote these stories to any individual out there. I believe that any person can relate to the issue of “The Good Little Boy” and “The Bad Little Boy”. The reason why anyone can relate is because of the vast variety of life problems that Twain writes about. H writes about real issues that can reach out to people of any age or culture. He writes about real topics that help you learn life morals.
When I read the writings of Mark Twain I was able to relate to it as a person. No, my life is not all about walking around looking for bad boys and trying to help them, or their victims to be in a Sunday school book; And no, my life is also not all about being careless and living a life that may hurt others just because I do not see wrong in doing so. However, I try to live my life to its fullest and to set a fulfilling future for myself. Twain’s writings; “The Story of the Good Little Boy” and “They Story of the Bad Little Boy” helped show me that I should not try so hard to be good like the good little boy, but I need to try a little bit so I won’t become careless like the bad little boy.
Mark Twain caught my attention above other writers at first because I heard of him. His name is popular among works of Literature, but I never read any of his works. I am happy I did because his stories taught me valuable lessons that deal with the everyday life of any individual. “Nothing could hurt him. He even gave the elephant in the menagerie a plug of tobacco and the elephant didn’t knock the top of his head off with his trunk.” This is a small portion of Twain’s “The Story of the Bad Little Boy.” I chose to quote Twain here because it shows a perfect example of Twain’s theme. His lesson that he displays here is that this bad little boy did everything wrong and broke all the rules, but still ended up better than the good little boy in the previous story. This means that you shouldn’t try so hard to be good or bad but do what you feel is right and see what happens. This lesson along with the rest of Twain’s writings is a prime example of American Realism.

writting enacting social change

Does writing have the power to enact social change?
Every day there is a point where we interact with texts and gather information. Some do it for research or current events; others even do it for pleasure. What we as individuals gather from the texts vary. Great writers have the power to convey messages to their readers. Some pieces of literature help us grow as people and that leads me to my point that writing does have the power to enact social change.
In political pieces that deal with current events and issues, there is a lot of information for the reader to take in. There are also a lot of lessons to learn from them. People can not only take the facts from the writings, but they can take social pointers from it. In “The Bombing of Bagdad” by June Jordan, She writes a lot of the tragic things that happened with the Bombing of Bagdad. She discusses the horrible tragedy that it turned into, but she also shows the way it affected people personally. In part of her poem she writes, ‘“We fired them into Iraq, and I am not pleased, I am not very pleased, none of this fits into my notion of "things going very well."’ She is trying to convey a point to the readers that firing and war is necessary in the rebuttal against an opposing force; however it makes her unhappy. In my opinion she is trying to say that war is not the answer. When people read this they should try to oppose violence in their lives and reject war.
“The Bombing of Bagdad” along with many other writings shows this tribute to non violence. It conveys the message to readers that fighting is not the answer to all problems, but unfortunately is the way we in life solve some problems. This poem also showed that history repeats itself because we repeat the same mistakes, and the mistakes may include this violence. This shows the way that writing has the power to enact social change.

Price of a Child

Monica Argenzio
January 29, 2009 1
English 11-1
Mr. Fiorini
English

NIG-NAG
NIG-NAG, a kind-hearted, tender man died after a privileged dinner given by the Quick family to honor his outstanding rescue of Ginnie Pryor, now known as Mercer Gray. Nig-Nag was a noble man who believed in the good of others. He was looked after by Bo-Bo and Jack who took care of him. Nig-Nag’s home however was not much. He lived in a small alley full of filth, but despite all this learned how to be a genuinely considerate person.

He will be missed by good friend Mercer Gray that is free from the captivity and ownership that slavery put her in as well as her family. This could not even be possible, nor occur if it were not for Nig-Nag. He put the family on a carriage to live with Tyree Quick, another friend of Nig-Nag that will miss him as well. The Quick family grew to love Mercer and her family and they took very good care of her and keeping her protected. When it came time for Mercer’s trial for fleeing the Pryor name that she escaped, Nig-Nag was there too. This righteous man kept his word in making sure that Mercer and her family was safe, even if that meant endangering his very own life. When Mercer was free to leave the trial free, Jackson Pryor who originally owned Mercer and her family was not pleased with this man to which we honor on this day. He wanted him and the other participants in Mercer’s freedom to be punished.

Nig-Nag suffered a death due to good and well being of another’s life at heart. Mercer Grey and her family will always remember Nig-Nag in their hearts. The quick family also will cherish his graciousness. “Love might be as strong as death, but who of the sparse group of assembled mourners had loved this pitiful young man?” Words said by Mercer Grey at the thought that this man is no longer with us and has no family or close ones to mourn, but she knew how great of a person he was and wishes he had relatives to honor his life on earth.

The service for Nig-Nag was held in Ephriam’s church, and was buried in a lower class cemetery, although there was nothing low class about this man’s heart and soul. Nig-Nag will be remembered fondly by those who shared his heart through his life on earth, and may he rest in peace.