The Sea Inside post 3

One scene in particular that they used camera angle to show meaning was when Ramon was lying in his bed talking to Julia. They used close-ups on Julia's and Ramon's faces to try to show that they are equal, even though he is quadriplegic. Also in the very beginning of the movie they do extreme close-ups of the ocean to show calmness which is a good introduction shot for this story because it has a lot to do with the ocean.

The Sea Inside post 2

The Sea Inside i think was a more eventful story than The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. In the DBATB, i didn't like how he told all these random stories from his past that didn't make sense to me. Also i didn't like how it told how he became a quadriplegic until the second to last chapter. In the sea inside it showed you how his accident happened many times so you could really understand everything better. The main characters in these stories were both quadriplegic, however, one wanted to die and the other didn't. Those are the two main differences. I think the Sea Inside is more powerful, probably just because i got to see it happen and not just visualize it.

The Sea Inside post 1

I didn't really like this movie at the beginning because i didn't really understand it. But towards the middle of the movie it made sense and i started to like it a lot. I think that Ramon does have a right to want to die because it is his own body and mind, however i only think this because he is a quadriplegic. I do think it is wrong to commit suicide obviously, but since he has been a quadriplegic for 27 years just lying in a bed i could see why he would want that. I do agree with the courts decision though, because they shouldn't just allow someone to die like that. I think that Ramon's friends should have maybe helped him to stay alive rather than help kill him.

Final Week Post 1

Chinese Cinderella
Adeline Yen Mah

Summary

At the beginning of summer break, Adeline got very very sick and had to be hospitalized. Mary Suen was the only one to visit her in the hospital. Then one time Adeline's father dropped in just when Mary was leaving so it proved that Adeline wasn't an orphan (that's what everyone at school thought). When she got better instead of going back to school she got to go home. She gets to see Ye Ye and Third Brother. Ye Ye is very sick and they don't know how long he will last. Third brother is just visiting, but he loved living in Shanghi because it is only him and Aunt Baba and the maids. Third brother will go to England in the fall to study though. Adeline also finds out that Big Sister had moved to Tianjin and she has a baby. Adeline vents to her brother about her problems. Ye Ye tries to inspire her and tell her she can do anything she wants with her life. Adeline decides to enter a complicated English playwriting competition. She titled her play Gone with the Locusts and dedicated it to Ye Ye. Adeline had skipped many grades in school and she wrote letters to Father and Niang begging them to send her to England with Third Brother. Adeline is playing basketball with some friends one day and then someone tells her her chauffeur is there to take her to the Buddhist temple because Ye Ye has died. Adeline was the only one upset and crying at his funeral. Niang tells Adeline to get a job because Father doesn't wanna pay for her anymore. Adeline gets instructions to go home again and her Father is there and being nice to her. He tells her she has won the writing contest and her name was in the news paper. She won money and a trophy. Father tells her she can go to England with Third Brother as long as she becomes a doctor-she agreed. Aunt Baba writes Adeline a final letter.

outside reading week 5 post 2

Summary:

They arrive to a cruise ship to bring them to Hong Kong. In the room on the ship, there were only two beds and then a cot on the floor. Adeline assumed the cot was hers, but to make it equal they gave Adeline the bed for once. Adeline couldn't believe that her aunt and cousin could be so much more nice than her own parents. When Niang and Father are waiting for their arrival, Adeline gets nervous to see them. Niang and Father didn't even notice or acknowledge her once when they saw everyone. When they all arrive at the apartment, Adeline is surprised to find Ye Ye waiting for her and she is so happy to see him. Victor ( adeline's cousin) really likes to play with her and he wonders why she is always treated so unfairly by her parents. Ye Ye makes Adeline read the newspaper to him because he can't really see anymore, but she has forgotten how to speak Chinese. Most people speak English where Adeline had lived. Ye Ye teaches her all about the symbols and words in Chinese. Adeline didn't mind getting left behind, because that meant she didn't have to be around Niang. When the whole family goes on an outing, Niang purposly leaves Adeline at home, but Victor wanted to play with her so he stood up to Niang and said he would rather be with Adeline. Adeline was so thankful for that that she gave Victor her paper magic book that she loved. Fourth brother tries to hurt Ye Ye so he actually dies, but Ye Ye ended up not even getting hurt. Adeline moves into a boarding school and she hates how nobody visits her there at all. Adeline makes two friends who also had family problems, who were the only three left at the school over summer break. Then the other two left, leaving Adeline all by herself for the whole summer at boarding school.

Reactions:

I think it was a good change for Adeline to be accepted by her Aunt and cousins. I’m glad that she also got to see Ye Ye again because she assumed that she wouldn’t when she left for Tianjin. I feel bad that Adeline can never have any visitors at boarding school, because she would be so happy if Aunt Baba or Ye Ye visited her. Or even if somebody wrote her a letter she would be so happy. I’m glad that Adeline because friends with Victor, because when Victor stood up for her it made her feel great inside which she never felt. It’s sad that Adeline gets made fun of so much in school because it’s not her fault. She can’t control how her parents treat her. She only has one dress to wear on the weekends and its two sizes too small. I predict that one day Adeline will stand up to her parents and then run away from them so that they really don’t have to care about her anymore. She will study hard and get a good job and grow up better than her parents did. But for now, Adeline will have to keep studying hard until she can go out on her own.

outside reading week 4 post 2

Adeline gets nominated for class president at her school. One of her biggest competitors is Chen Lei-Lei. Adeline' s friend Wu Chun-Mei asks Adeline if she can go to her house again, which frightens Adeline because Niang has a rule that she can't go to friends houses. The next day at school Adeline gets the most votes and is elected class president. After school that day, a group of her friends had followed her home without her knowing. The girls come into Adeline's house and refuse to leave without seeing her. Niang talks to Adeline and yells and slaps her commanding to get her friends out. Niang and Father then decide that her Aunt Baba is a bad influence on her, so they will fly her out to Tianjin to live in an orphanage. Adeline is horrified not only because she can't be with her Aunt Baba and grandfather Ye Ye, but there is a civil war going on in China and the Communists are taking it over slowly but surely. When Adeline came back from school the next day her bag was packed and she was forced to say her good-byes. On the airplane, Adeline's Father must fill out an information sheet for her, and he doesn't even know her name! He also doesn't know her birthday; but she didn't either. So her Father decided to say that her birthday was November 30th ten years earlier. This was also his birthday. Niang's brother meets them at the airport. Adeline gets dropped off and left at a boarding school. She hates it there and she is very very lonely. All the students slowly left the school (because of the war) until Adeline was the only one left. One day Niang's sister surprisingly showed up and took her to stay with them in Taiwan, which Adeline was thankful for.

outside reading week 4 post 1

Chinese Cinderella pg. 115-116 " At school, I had been so careful to pretend I came from a loving family. Now they knew the pathetic truth! Unwanted and unloved by my own parents! How long did it take for a person to die of shame?"

This quote is definitely significant to show the tone of this book. At school, Adeline excels more than any other student and school is her favorite place to be. At home, she is unwanted and unloved. When Adeline is elected as the school president, her friends follow her home from school to her house. Adeline isn't allowed to go to friend's homes or have friends at her house. Niang yells at Adeline and slaps her across the face multiple times. Niang orders Adeline's friends to be kicked out. After her friends quietly leave, Niang and Father inform her that she is moving back to Tianjin by herself to go live in an orphanage.

When Niang treats Adeline this way it didn't really surprise me because that is how she is always treated. Adeline gets accused of doing everything wrong, even when she doesn't do anything. Adeline is completely unwanted by all of her family except her aunt Baba and grandfather Ye Ye, and this quote really explains that.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly-oct 8 homework

The memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was a very interesting story. I thought it was really intriguing that this man who has “locked-in-syndrome” was able to compose a book by blinking an eye. Even though this story had many great qualities, it was hard to understand sometimes.
A reason why I liked this book was because Bauby used many loaded words to describe to the reader how he was truly feeling. He allows the reader to experience his pain and joys through all of his encounters in life. I also liked how we got to hear a lot about his past stories and how he use to live. For example when he went on the trip with Josephine, I liked hearing about where they had gone in Lourdes. Another thing I liked about this book was Bauby’s hope. Even though he would be “locked-in” forever he still had hope that someday he would be able to swallow food better or to speak.
Parts I didn’t like about this book were when his mind would go into butterfly mode, but I was still thinking his mind was at Berck. Whenever he was drifting into a moment from the past I wouldn’t realize it at first so I would have to go back and re-read a little. Also, sometimes when he was telling a story I wouldn’t understand what he was talking about at all like in the chapter “The Empress”. I had to re-read that part also to find out what he was describing.
Overall I did like this book, because I think Bauby describes his situation well so the reader can visualize it. For this book to become possible I know it must have taken a lot of patience but it was worth it because I’m sure a lot of people enjoyed it a lot like I did.

Week 3 part 2

In the beginning of this book Adeline is very young and she is wondering what happened to her mom. Her family told her that she died while giving birth to her four years earlier. Her sister tells her everyone thinks she is unlucky because of this. Adeline has 6 other siblings and she has a very wealthy family. She has a stepmom named Niang who is very mean to the children that aren't "hers" because she has two kids of her own. When the family has to move to Shanghi everything changes. There are even more rules and demands from Niang and Father. The five children plot against Niang but she figures it out so she starts to spoil Big Sister (their leader). Adeline feels like she has nobody to talk to except her Aunt Baba, until she gets a baby duckling for a pet (named PLT). When PLT gets eaten by Niang's dog, Adeline can't contain her sadness. Big Sister gets an arranged marriage from Niang and goes on her honeymoon. Adeline is very scared that Niang will do this to her. Adeline lies to Niang so her father beats her and separates Adeline from Aunt Baba.
I think Adeline describes her emotions really well in this book. She makes me picture what it would be like to be in her shoes. This book is well written but sometimes it moves really fast and i don't know what point it is in her life (like what age she is). I think that Niang, her step mom, sounds really mean and she isn't really a mother at all. Aunt Baba is kind of like Adeline's mother in the fact that she actually cares about her and wants to even know her. I can't relate this book to my life because my family doesn't act like hers. I predict that Adeline will soon stand up to Niang to try to get the respect she deserves.

Week 3 part 1

Adeline Yen Mah

1) All of the seven children get a baby duckling for a pet. Adeline befriends this duck and soon spends all of her time with her duckling (whose name is PLT). The family dog (Jackie) is getting put through obedience school, so to test this Father puts PLT in front of Jackie to see what happens. Jackie instantly kills PLT, crushing Adeline's heart. The only one Adeline can now turn to is Aunt Baba. Niang arranges a marriage for Big Sister who is only 17. The man she is marrying is a 31 year old stranger to her, but Big sister doesn't seem to mind. Adeline goes to a friends house behind Niang's back and gets badly punished by Niang's harsh words and her Father's beatings. Father then decides to separate Aunt Baba from Adeline, because he thinks Aunt Baba is a bad influence on her.

2) The author of this book, Adeline Yen Mah, was born in Tianjin, China. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, so her family frowned upon her. She grew up with 6 other siblings, her Father, stepmom Niang, her Aunt Baba and her grandfather. Her family was very wealthy but Adeline didn't get to really experience it because she was almost always ignored or treated badly by her family. At age 14 she won an international writing competition in Hong Kong and moved to London, England soon after. She finished college in England and because a physician. Adeline is now married with two kids, living in Huntington Beach, CA and London, England.

Sources: http://www.uspaacc.com/honorees/adeline_yen_mah.htm
http://www.adelineyenmah.com/falling.html
Chinese Cinderella (the book)