Zachari Spassatempo

Mrs. Johnston

English 4A

11/30/15

The things they carried part 2

I’m about a quarter of the way into the book and I have to start reading more and catch up. But in this part of the book I realized that one of the themes is this book is that O’Brien doesn’t care about fact or fake. Like how we went over the truth and the lies in our seminar about war, that sometimes the lie can be a part of the truth but O’Brian doesn’t care about the truth. In the story O’Brien betrays cross but the truth wasn’t important and necessary to him. How can the truth not be important? If he were to betray one of his own allies how can he be trusted with all of his other allies. He would be an outcast in the military if not discharged.  Betraying someone is one of the hardest things to forgive. How can you go from trusting someone and giving them everything for them to turn around and betray him? How is it not important to whether or not if he’s lying about betraying him and what he did? Like if he killed him or if he only said one of the secrets.  There’s a huge difference to each side. Ones a deadly thing that can get you put into prison and ones losing the trust of another ally that has your back. Both of them are huge deals but are on complete opposite levels. So what would you do if yo0u were betrayed and he exaggerated it and made it sound like it was irrelevant?

The things they carried Part 1

The Things They Carried part 1

In the first part of The Things They Carried the narrator states object that each of the military comrade’s carry, like the medic carries blood and plasma. The heavy gunner carries a M60 and 20 rounds of ammo that weigh 10 pounds. But no only what they carry but something personal to them. Like Kiowa carried the New Testament and Rat Killey carried comic books. It’s all something meaningful to them. Not just the objects they need but also what they want. The main character in the book Jimmy Cross was a lieutenant who carried 10 pounds of letters who which he believed are love letters from girl from New Jersey in Mount Sebastian College. If I was to be put into the life of a military’s footsteps at the time of the Vietnam War I would carry my cross. It’s the most important thing that I own. It may not be the most expensive but it has the most value. It was a gift that my grand mom gave me as my 8^th grade graduation. She had just passed away in September of this year and it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through, because not only did I lose a family member but I lost a best friend who was always there for me. It’s on me where ever I go no matter what. There’s nothing that will ever make me take it off of my body. That is something I would be buried with if I died during Vietnam. Now that you know what I would bring into war what would you bring?

IZachari Spassatempo

11/4/15

Mrs. Johnston

Blog Post

Blog Post #3

I had finished the hunger games and it was a good book.  Every time someone had died a cannon would go off. So far 29 shots had been fired and the president Mr. Snow has real dog like animals to kill all of them because Peeta and Katniss have teamed up and hid while the last man was hunting them. They make it back to the center of the arena and are hiding on top of the shelter where all the weapons came from in the beginning. As they are hiding there the other guy comes up and threatens to kill them. Katniss draws her bow and fires as the man is running at them full speed with a razor sharp sword. The arrow goes right through his heart and kills him instantly. Now they have to fight against each other but they didn’t. They said that no one should have a winner and that they will both kill each other so no one wins. Before they’re about to they stop them and say that they both won instead of just the one of them.

                To me the genre of the story is a science fiction with a little bit of action and adventure. It’s science fiction because it takes place in the future. The fashion is different and everything the upper-class owns is all futuristic, like hover cars and glowing clothes. They also have a battlefield dome that’s design for people to play by the rules of Mr. Snow. He can Control the weather and terrestria of the fields in which they lay in. People are also put into different districts to contain the people and give them a job to do. I also think its action and adventure because it’s an all out brawl between 32 people, 16 districts and a boy and girl from each district. They are running hiding and hunting with or for each other. That people are dying and running around in a new environment with other dangerous object like deadly bugs and flowers. The goal is to eliminate people from the world. What genre would you rank this book at?

                The most important character in the story is Katniss. She was also looked at by everyone as a threat but I couldn’t see why. Yea she was good with a bow but that was it. I had no idea how good of a survivor she was or she could kill anyone. That people from the upper classed looked up to her to but why? Why were the upper class looking at a lower class person as to if she was someone special .its confusing. Maybe she will have the reason in the second book Catching Fire which is the next book in the series. I will be doing a blog on that book next. I’m hoping it’s as good as this book.

Zachari Spassatempo

Mrs. Johnston

Blog #2

11/1/15

Blog 2

            So far I’ve read about half the book of The Hunger Games. The only things that really happened in this part of the book is Katniss has received a pin with a mocking bird on it and she had volunteered to compete in the hunger games. Originally you picked by a raffle in the hunger games but she had volunteered to save her sister from competing.  The Hunger Games is a game for the last person standing. They get a car package once a day and they have to hunt each other for survival. You are put on a team with a person of the opposite sex from your district at first but once the games start it’s a free for all. One thing that I kept thinking back on was why she received a mockingbird pin. Is the mockingbird supposed to represent her, because I thing she would best represented by a lone wolf. So far she’s been alone most of the time besides meeting a friend named Rue who was a small little girl from district 11. She was the only person who’s been helping Katniss. All of the others have been teaming up in different groups to take down the other and especially Katniss. Also Katniss has the ability to stalk and hunt a prey. To learn to attack from different place. She has the ability to kill and smartly attack the people by the group one by one using her arrows. Her arrows represent each teeth a wolf has. Razor sharp and can tear through flesh like its nothing. She has the brains to know when to attack and when to wait. To hide in the trees and not been seen by other predators.

            If I was put into the story I don’t think I would’ve made it to the end. The first thing I would’ve done would probably starve. At the very beginning of the games I would’ve ran and hid until I was the 2nd to last person standing but I would’ve starved to death by then. My survival skills aren’t the greatest. I have no idea how to start a fire to keep warm or to hunt for food. To be able to find clean water to drink. My fighting and hand to hand combat are terrible. I couldn’t hurt a fly let alone kill anyone. I wouldn’t know what weapon to use to find other than my hands. I have no idea how to use a bow and a sword I just think it’s all about swinging and thrashing. So I think I would be one of the last ones out because I would run and hide.

            So far I would rate this book a 7. It has its up and downs in the plot but it’s a book that has most of my attention, and I don’t like to read at all. People are just panicking and worrying about being picked instead of preparing for it. But the plot is big and I think it’s something that might happen to this world except the whole fighting to death. But I think that the rich will rule the world and that the people will be put into different groups to do different things.  I would recommend this book to a person who likes violence but likes it for a reason. I don’t think pacifists should read it because the book is all about fighting and surviving. It wouldn’t fit well with them.