Q3: The Book Thief

This quarter, I chose to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It takes place just before WWII in Germany, and follows the character Liesel Meminger's life of stealing books after her brother dies. Liesel is not the one who narrates, though. The narrator is someone who has been watching her at different points in her life "I saw the book thief (Liesel) three times" (5). The reader is not supposed to know who the narrator is yet, but they say that they will reveal themselves later in the novel. I don't know why Zusak would choose to have such a mysterious narrator, but I'm sure it will make for a good view point on Liesel's life.
We do know a few things about the narrator. Although we don't know if it is male or female, he/she does talk about some of their character traits. They seem to have a negative view on most things, such as death, but they also claim that "I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's" (3). These separate ideas about the character makes me wonder which part of him/her will dominate throughout the book: the negative or cheerful part. Seeing that the novel takes place during a sad and depressing time, my prediction is that it will most likely be the negative side of the narrator that comes through most strongly.

Outside reading post 6: Golden Girl

The end of my biography ends with what everyone is doing after the Olympics. While some are already focusing on the next big meet, Natalie is thinking differently. She said "I don't really have the time constraints that I did before the last Olympics, and since I've already gotten that gold, I don't have that hanging over my head" (283). Natalie was very excited to have some time to relax. She could now focus more on her studies, and a lot of pressure had been taken off her shoulders, since she had won the gold she had been working for all her life. Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever had similar thoughts. She told Michael Silver that "On the flight home from Athens, I told myself that first and foremost, I'm going to get a life" (276). Teri was ready to relax too. She wanted to catch up with her family, who mostly lives out of state. Athens also inspired Teri to do some more traveling, and focus less on swimming, and more on the people who inspire her daily.

Q2 Outside Reading Post 4

The section I read in my book was about the Olympic trials. Everyone from all over the US were getting ready, and getting nervous. Days before the trials, Natalie's coach Teri Mckeever said "Obviously I'm nervous. It's such a tense atmosphere around here" (229). Everyone in the trials all had the same goal: make the Olympic team. Only few could make it, though, which probably was the reason for all the nervousness. Swimmers were feeling the nerves too. Mckeever said that "most people are going slower than you'd expect, and that's because this meet is so emotionally overwhelming" (229). Not only were the swimmers anxious for the meet, but sometime the nerves would end up affecting their performance. When there is a meet as big as the Olympic trials, there are bound to be a lot of nerves.
The meet is also an emotional one. Some ecstatic, some devastated. A former swimmer Amanda Hall said "you should see the warm-down pool. It's half chlorine, half tears" (236). Most of these tears were disappointed ones. Many swimmers childhood dreams of going to the Olympics had just been lost, and the were very upset. On the other hand, some were very excited. When Coughlin made it in her event. Coughlin was "dancing around in her black sweats like a prizefighter, all smiles" (242). She accomplished what she meant to do, and was now fulfilling her dream of going to the Olympics.

Q2 Outside Reading post 4: Golden Girl

Many times in a swimmers life they feel like they want to quit. Sometimes, Natalie Coughlin used to want to tell swimmers to give up "Get out, now, before this sport devours your body and spirit. Trust me. I know" (126). The toll swimming takes on your mind, body, and spirit, can be overwhelming. Some people would quit just to get away from it all. One of Natalie's teammates, Lauren Medina, used to think the same thing. She said "So many times I just wanted to quit. I felt like I was beginning to burn out. People who I used to beat were now beating me, I swam lousy in meets and my parents started getting down on me: 'You just don't want it bad enough' At least twice a day I would think about quitting" (136). When you aren't dropping a lot of time, one may have these same thoughts. Pressure from your parents doesn't help either.
Often what helps someone not quit is a good coach. Medina said "Teri was so supportive...She said everybody makes mistakes. You're not the first person this has happened to... I felt really comforted by that" (137). Teri ended up keeping her in the sport and helped her improve. Another time Lauren thought she couldn't breathe and wanted to stop in the middle of the set. Teri said "Lauren, you're having a panic attack. It's OK; you're going to be fine. Trust me" (134). Her helpful words calmed Lauren down and she continued swimming.

Q2 Outside reading post: Golden Girl

In her fourth year of college swimming, Natalie Coughlin participated in a big meet even though she was sick. Because her body wasn’t up to it, she swam awful. Many people wondered if this was the best she would ever get. Natalie was offered endorsement deals, and was tempted to take them, even though it meant that she could no longer swim collegiately. Many coaches thought she would take it, and one expert said “Few college athletes, let alone athletes who compete in nonrevenue sports, would think twice about leaving for such a bounty” (9). Natalie had a choice to make. She could either give in and take the deal, or she could do the right thing and keep swimming collegiately and then have a better chance of representing her country at the Olympics. She chose the right thing, and thought of what America would have wanted her to do, so she turned down the deals. Had she had taken the money before, people would have thought of her as someone who was just in the sport for the money, like some Olympians did “As much as she stood out in the water and embraced her role as a star, she worried about being cast as an ordained Olympic hero before her time” (10). She wanted to go into the Olympics with a good reputation, which is what the Country would have wanted from someone going into the Olympics.

Q2: On the Waterfront

This week in class we watched the film On the Waterfront. The film goes along with our quarter two topic, which is ethical choices. Many characters make decisions based on ethics, and others do it for loyalty, even if it isn’t right. Terry, the main character, changes his mind about the things he believes in the movie. In the beginning, he believes that staying loyal to your friends (even though those men were not real friends), was more important than doing the right or ethical thing. But near the end of the movie, he realizes that doing the right thing is the most important thing to do. He stands up to the mob, even though is old friends consider him to be a traitor, or as some people call it, a “stool pigeon”.
I believe that what Terry did at the end of the movie was the right thing. Even though I think staying loyal to your friends is a good and honorable trait to have, in cases like the one in On the Waterfront, you must first think of what is best for the community. Sometimes doing so can get you into trouble with people who would want to keep things the way they are, but it is a risk you have to take in order to do what is best for society.

Q2 Question

In the play “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller, many choices are made by the characters that are considered ethical and unethical. Two characters who seem to have different opinions on ethics are Joe Keller and Chris Keller. Joe believes that if you make a choice that is unethical, it can be excused if you did it for your family. This is shown when he says “Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you” (70). He knowingly shipped out parts for planes that would not work, and he did it so his business would not be shut down. He wanted his son Chris to take over the business. On the other hand, Chris could care less about the business. He wanted what was best for society, and that meant turning in his father for what his father had done. Chris said to his mother “I’m taking him” (84). Even though it was his father, Chris planned on turned his father into prison for what he had done to those pilots. The fact that Joe was doing it for Chris had no impact on Chris; Chris believed he had to do what was right.
I believe that what Joe did was wrong. I’m all for supporting your family and taking care of them. But there are definitely circumstances where family does not come first. If it hurts the society, then you should make choices that would help society. You have to think of not just your family, but of your friends and neighbors and coworkers. Sometimes it is more important to put them first.