Blogpost 6: Style

      I am currently reading the book, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.Throughout the book i have found that there is a very good use of metaphor and simile. The difference between a metaphor and simile is that a metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action and is not literally applicable, where as a simile directly compares two different things, usually using the words like or as. 


          "I’ve ridden the elevator a couple of times in the Justice Building back in District 12. Once to receive the medal for my father’s death and then yesterday to say my final goodbyes to my friends and family. But that’s a dark and creaky thing that moves like a snail and smells of sour milk.  The walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air."  (Collins, The Hunger Games, 43)

 "As we step into the cool, windy evening air, I catch my breath at the view. The Capitol twinkles like a vast field of fireflies. Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day."  (Collins, The Hunger Games, 46)


 "All I can think is how unjust the whole thing is, the Hunger Games. Why am I hopping around like some trained dog trying to please people I hate? The longer the interview goes on, the more my fury seems to rise to the surface, until I’m literally spitting out answers at him." (Collins, The Hunger Games, 65)

"I am not pretty. I am not beautiful. I am as radiant as the sun." Collins, The Hunger Games, 67)

"I lean back against the trunk of my tree, one finger gingerly stroking the sandpaper surface of my tongue, as I assess my options. How can I get water?" (Collins, The Hunger Games, 91)

"I feel like an old piece of leather, drying and cracking in the heat. every step is an effort, but I refuse to stop." (Collins, The Hunger Games, 92)

"The world begins to bend in alarming ways. A butterfly balloons to the size of a house then shatters into a million stars. Trees transform to blood and splash down over my boots."  (Collins, The Hunger Games, 106)

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic Press. 2008. Print.

The use of metaphor and simile in this novel is important to the story, because they help the reader understand the situations more clearly. By using comparisons through metaphor and similes, you can relate how someone or something is feeling, or what they see, by relating it to something more familiar with the reader. For example, "But thats a dark and creaky thing that moves like a snail and smells of sour milk." (The Hunger Games, Collins, 43) The author is using simile to explain how the elevator runs, and how it smells. When they say "moves like a snail" they are suggesting that the elevator moves very slowly, just like a snail does. Metaphors are less direct, and are not as easy to recognize. For example "the walls of this elevator are made of crystal so that you can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as you shoot up into the air." (The Hunger Games, Collins, 43) The author does not mean that the people are literally shrinking into ants, but they are explaining how small the people look on the ground floor as the elevator gets higher. In conclusion, metaphors and smiles can be a very important device used in books, including The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, and can help the reader get a more clear understanding of what is going on and make them more engaged in the story itself. 

Blogpost 5: Social Issues

    In the novel that I just recently finished, Ruthless, by Sara Shepard, the social issues of bullying and crime are present.
 
   First, bullying is demonstrated by somebody named A, who is cyber bullying and harassing Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily. Throughout the story A sends them a number of threatening anonymous messages which effect all four of the girls futures in different ways. In the book, A is ruining four innocent girl's lives and making their town turn against them, and in reality they are an example of who not to be. "Theres only so much you can bury, emily. I'm not done with you yet. xo. -A" (Shepard, Ruthless, 55) Instead, A should be minding their own business and not trying to ruin other people's lives simply for their own amusement. That is not how our society should be acting and not the type of person that somebody should want to be.

    Next, crime is also present in the book, Ruthless. All four of the girls are involved with some sort of crime. For example, Spencer is selling pills called "Easy A" and would have been sent to juvie if Hanna hadn't broken into a girl named Kelsey's apartment and framed her. Also, Hanna steals ten thousand dollars from her father's safe and blames it on a man who is working for him. One of the biggest crimes that the girls commit is the murder of a girl who they thought was Alison DiLaurentis, but ended up being an innocent girl named Tabitha. The four girls are willing to do anything in order for A to keep their secrets safe from the rest of Rosewood, even if it means committing crimes and other dangerous acts that put each one of their lives and futures at risk. In the novel, instead of going to the police about the threatening messages they have been receiving, the girls are obeying what A says and committing illegal crimes and completing many dangerous tasks. "Somebody knew. Somehow, Somebody saw what happened in Jamaica. And now they were going to ruin their lives, just like they ruined Tabithas." (Shepard, Ruthless, 69) In reality the law is the law, and it should not be broken no matter what the circumstance, and sometimes trying to get yourself out of a particular situation can actually dig your hole deeper and get you into even more trouble.

   Both of these social issues are significant to the book because they are not only important to the storyline, but also extends on the idea of how social issues such as bullying and crime can effect a person or society. The author has included hidden messages that are not only interesting to read, but can also teach the reader important life lessons.

Shepard, Sara. Ruthless. New York: Alloy Entertainment. 2011. Print.

Blogpost 4: Significance of...

       Two significant items in the book that I am currently reading, Ruthless, include a character and an event. The character that I have decided is significant to the story is A, and the event that I have chosen is Hanna's dad's comercial campaign.

        These two items are significant in different ways. First, A is a very significant character throughout not only Ruthless, but also the rest of the Pretty Little Liars series. A contributes meaningfully to the plot, because if A wasn't in the story many events would not occur. For example, without A, the girls would not be receiving threatening and anonymous messages. The main idea of the series is about how Aria, Emily, Spencer, and Hanna are known as the "pretty little liars" because they are always having to lie and put their lives in danger in order to stop A from spreading their secrets and ruining their future. "Why was this happening to her? Doesn't she have enough to worry about without A interfering with her life? Sometimes Spencer wonders how her life would be without A trying to ruin it every chance they got." (Shepard, Ruthless, 67) A is very important to the plot of the story, and even though the girls wish that A did not exist, there would be no story without them.

       Next, the event that Hanna's father is holding for his campaign is also very significant to the book. This event is significant in many ways, because it helps the audience understand the character's motivation, and reveals further understanding of the relationship between characters. Hanna's motivation is revealed through this event, because when A is threatening to post embarrassing pictures of her all over the internet and ruin her father's campaign unless she comes up with ten thousand dollars in the next few days, she is left with no other choice but to steal the money from her father's safe. Hanna shows her motivation in order to stop A from ruining both her and her father's future. This event also reveals further understanding of the relationship between Hanna and her father. Hanna used to be really close with her father until he got re-married and now he has no time for Hanna and seems to love his new stepdaughter, Kate, more. After Hanna steals the money from her dad, she ends up confessing that she took it a few days later. Surprisingly, her father doesn't freak out like Hanna expected, and instead they talk about how they need to spend more time together. "And suddenly, stealing the money didn't feel like such a bad crime." (Shepard, Ruthless, 49) Without this event, the relationship between Hanna and her father might not have been fixed. In conclusion, the event of Hanna's father's campaign has been significant to the story through these two ways.

Shepard, Sara. Ruthless. New York: Alloy Entertainment. 2011. Print.