It’s been a while..

As those in my class know, I was out for a week and a half due to… Let’s call it health issues. As a result, I’m only just starting to read The Great Gatsby, which my group is into and beyond the fourth chapter of by now. Still, I’ve read enough that it could certainly serve for a blog post.

My initial impressions of the book are towards it’s writing style. I find something elegantly fast paced and witty about the way F. Scott Fitzgerald writes this novel. The dialogue is quick but enjoyable, and the descriptions are detailed but don’t drag on or take you away from the events. Indeed, the descriptions serve to immerse you even further, as any good description should hope to do. Here’s my question for this post. What do you think of The Great Gatsby so far? Do you agree with my assessment of the writing style, and if so, why? Also, a smaller question, of the handful of characters introduced so far, which one strikes you as the most interesting or entertaining? For me it’s certainly Daisy so far. She’s so fast paced and odd, but it seems like her oddness is more than it seems.

-Athen

On our Personal Narrative Essays.

As people in my class know, we have recently started work on our Personal Narrative Essays. In essence, we pick some story or aspect of our lives and turn it into a narrative with a plot, conflict, and resolution. I’d like to ask my responders two things. One: What do you think of these essays? Personally I like the concept, I think it’s a good way to teach us how writing narratives is done. Two: What story/ aspect of your life are you focusing on? This one is optional, feel free to omit this from your response if you find it too personal. I look forward to seeing your responses.

-Athen

On the topic of these blogs

Recently our teacher assigned us into blogging groups, with two bloggers, one to two responders, and a “searcher” who looks up various interesting topics related to the ones discussed by our bloggers, such as yours truly. I quite like this idea, it seems like an interesting way to encourage classroom discussion in a way that does not disrupt class time. What do the responders think? Let me know in the comments.

-Athen

Hills Like White Elephants

So, as anyone in my class knows, we recently read the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. I found it exceedingly interesting but oddly phrased. His style was unique, managing to describe all the scenes in perfect detail while simultaneously telling you exactly nothing about what the characters think and feel. So, I have two questions for my designated responders; what would you say is your favorite part of his writing style, and what do you think of the basic point of contention in the story? That is, what do you think of the way the characters handled the difficult situation they were in? To refresh your memory, the man wanted the woman to get an abortion while the woman wanted to keep the child. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

-Athen

The Addam’s Family

Hello.

I am currently pretty obsessed with a few songs from one show. The Addam’s Family, specifically the musical theater version. I am a pretty avid member of a relatively local theater and I played an ensemble role in The Addam’s Family show there. It holds a certain special place in my heart, because while it was by no means the largest role I’ve done, or even the best show, it’s where I made some of my best friends, including my actual “best” friend. The music is fairly modern, and a bit for lack of a better term, jazzy. If those of you near me physically hear me humming some song or another it’s most likely one of those. For all the rest, I recommend looking it up, it’s a good interesting play with some great humor. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

-Athen