Posts Tagged “book”
Black Like Me – John Howard Griffin
1. John used the book title Black Like Me from a quote by Langston Huges. The quote is “Rest at pale evening…A tall slim tree…Night come tenderly, Black like me. The title describes the meaning of the book perfectly, in a way that serves a deeper meaning than what you see. Mr. Griffin makes his appearance black but acts the same way as he did as a white man. Only after spending time in the life of an African American does he understand what it means to be a different color treated in the Deep South and how we can relate to both sides of racism.
2. The theme of the book is autobiographical and it is a non-fiction book so the author is trying to tell his real-life story of a social issue that faced every American back in the 1950’s. He is trying to show how people are treated by just their skin color by experiencing the problem as a white man then a black man. The main issue is racism though John himself is not prejudiced against colored people, but instead what’s to understand what they are going through.
4. The cover of the book has a black silhouette of a man with white space in front of his face. There are words that look similar to the front of a typewriter. The title, Black Like Me, has the word ‘Black’ in black letters on the white side of the cover and the words ‘Like Me’ are on the silhouette in white letters. The same goes for the author’s name. It is an appropriate design because it shows the change in John when he goes from a white man to a black man. It almost foreshadows what will happen to John and that he will be publishing the journals that he writes about his journey.
6. One aspect that I loved about the novel is that it’s a true story. I love ready non-fiction books and especially when they are dealing with controversial issue such as racism. It also provides a real life perspective on the situation and it makes the novel more interesting to read.
7. I didn’t like how the novel was so short. The author put the book in a journal type format which made the pages shorter. I only disliked that because the book was an amazing read though was too short. It would have been excellent to keep writing about what happened in all the different states he visit.
8. My first quote from my book is on page 10, paragraph 6: “In the flood of light against the white tile, the face and shoulders of a stranger-a fierce, bald, very dark Negro-glared at me from the glass. He in no way resembled me.†I choose this because John realized how different he looked and his first reaction to himself as a Negro. He also had to mentally overcome the challenge in the coming weeks.
My second quote is on page 90, paragraph 2: “I told myself that I was tired, that I must not judge these men who picked me up and for the price of a ride submitted me to the swamps of their fantasy lives. They showed me something that all men have but seldom bring to the surface, since must men seek health.†At this time, John was picking up rides from white males off of the highway. They asked him various question regarding his sex life and asking stereotypical question about a Negro’s sexual activity. John had to realize that these men would never ask him such questions in the day, but only in the private time in those cars. John realized as well that every white man was different from the inside than what his actions showed on the outside.
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I was SO EXCITED to see Ann M. Martin plans to write more Baby Sitters Club books appealing to younger readers in the NY Times . Dibbly fresh, as Claudia Kishi would say.
I read a lot as a child, and spent most of my time between the ages of 8 – 10 in Stoneybrook, CT with Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, and Mary Anne developing unrealistically high expectations of my life at thirteen years old and babysitting.
My friends and I traded books, and would read them religiously. As I got older, I realized the silliness of the books. They were outdated (constant references to perms, leggings, over-sized shirts), lacked subtlety (half the character’s parents were divorced, the ethnicity of every “diverse†character was explained), and were unrealistic (13-year olds regularly baby sat 10-year olds, always met boyfriends on vacations, had practically no adult supervision ever).
But I still love them, the way I love kitchy, dramatic reality shows.
I shall blog more about some of my favs: Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew and so on. Oh I’m so happy that even students today are reading the old Baby Sitters Club books. I was in a classroom and I saw one student with the older books and another student with the graphic novels. Hey I say – at least they’re getting the jist of it. I’m game!
Children’s literature has changed a vast amount since I’ve grown up in a positive and negative way. Not all girls and boys want to read about magic. Not all boys and girls want to read about typical lives etc.etc.
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 Sorry this post is majorly late. I’ve been busy-sick-and sick of being not busy enough.
I was lucky to first discover The Catcher in the Rye at the pivotal adolescent stage (usually occurring between ages 13 – 15) of hating everything/everyone and being narcissistic enough to think I was unique in my view.  Until I discovered Holden Caulfield, and immediately christened him my kindred spirit.  I carried the book around like a talisman and devoured Salinger’s three other published works.  I searched for more information about the author and was disappointed to learn of his extreme privacy and refusal to publish past the 1960s.
Now ninety years old, Salinger is still fighting interpretations of Catcher from being published.  I personally would love to read other author’s interpretations of Holden Caulfield, but out of respect to an author who impacted my teen years tremendously, Salinger’s artistic creation should be left alone.
I wonder if he wants former teenage fans to still be a little enthralled with Holden? Or does he want us to just leave him alone?
However may he Rest In Peace J.D. Salinger – January 28, 2010
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- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Jun 1 1994)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446670251
- ISBN-13: 978-0446670258
I read this book a few summers ago ( in high school), and I feel a mysterious urge to read it again. Probably because I have a lot more appreciation for literature at the age of 24. What I loved about this book was, for one, the silence. As I read, I heard only the narrator, a teenage boy in the 70′s who is one of a few young boys who are inexplicably obsessed with the Lisbon girls.
The whole neighbourhood seemed deadly quiet, and it put the whole novel in a vacuum. I was literally watching an artsy silent movie in my head. Another thing I like about  this book is that it presents major questions about life, death, and which one suburbia is. And it doesn’t try to answer them. It sort of accepts our inability to completely understand the things that happen. There are very few books that I believe are “the best books ever written.” The Virgin Suicides is definitely one of them. The book itself is written extremely well and I could actually relate and see these characters in my mind. I love how the book is very intricate and tells every detail about their life. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in life itself. I couldn’t put this book down the night I got it I read all the way to a little over chapter 5 (day 3 of  reading this book) and had to put it down…because it was so haunting. The book is extremely easy to read although it may get depressing. This is not meant to be a “Candy-Coated teen novel” but rather a book that comments on such things as religion and the reality of life. The book gives more detail and in my opinion is better than the movie but the movie does great justice to the book. I think Sofia Coppola did an amazing job. Back, in the day – I watched the movie and was obsessed with it. After reading the book with a lot more understanding I saw how well the director pieced together all the characters to represent Jeffrey Eugenides`vision.
Let’s start out by saying that above all things, this novel by Jeffrey Eugenides is macabre, to the inth degree. But, it’s also fascinating and totally bizarre–just one of the reasons you should take it on. The story starts out with a suicide, that of one of five teenage daughters of the Lisbon family. The setting is Michigan in the seventies. Some may call his themes sensational, but I call them fascinating. And, it’s been rumored that this novel is based on actual happenings–an actual account. Yet the material in Eugenides hands, along with the subject matter, make this a one of a kind book. The narrator’s voice in this case, in the matter of “Virgin Suicides” is that of a rather sophmoric groups of teens, and at times I was reminded of Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” with its same tone. The title of this book is derived from a fictional rock band named “Curel Crux” which was (fictionally) a favorite of one of the Lisbon daughters. What amazed me the most about this novel was the way the author makes us think that it’s actually the teenage boys narrating the whole story. Remarkable. He’s extremely successful and I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking a fresh new voice.
In the end, this novel leaves you with an eerie sense of calm with a dash of haunting sadness – but snap out of it. It`s only fiction and in the end these characters sought happiness away from a household where they had no freedom. I would strongly recommend it to anyone seeking a peaceful reading oasis of a book.
 The Soundtra ck:
Brilliant piece of lyrical scene by scene from the film. I was obsessed with the track Air – Playground Love. I recommend it!!!
Various Images:
 
  
If you want a summary FULL of spoilers read it here
Movie Details here i like the read the goofs
 fin
this is super interesting….
(more…)
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