How much do you personally agree or disagree with the way various characters think and act, and the kinds of beliefs and values they hold? Where do you differ and why?
For this question, start by choosing a couple of characters for your entry. Find examples in the text of how they think or act or of any beliefs or values that they demonstrate through what they say or do. Choose a couple of quotations to support your answer. You may want to use a web or chart to record your observations before writing your entry. Check our class wiki for charts you can print to help you.
Do you have different beliefs or values than either of these characters? How do you differ? Explain by making connections and reflecting on your views and beliefs.
Every book you read has characters, so everyone will be able to answer this question. Make sure to record your observations as you read. This avoids extra searching for your answer.
My favourite character in the series “The Luxe” by Anna Godbersen is Elizabeth Holland. I like her character for several reasons but the biggest reason I admire her is because she follows what she believes in. Elizabeth’s character is a soceity girl living in 1899 who has been brought up to be a proper young lady. Her whole life has been sheltered and she is engaged to Henry Schoonmaker, a wealthy young man in Manhattan. Elizabeth doesn’t actually love Henry. In fact, she is in love with Will Keller, her coachman, which is obviously not allowed and would be frowned on by society. When Elizabeth realizes she can’t marry Henry, she leaves Manhattan in search of Will so that they can live together. I think leaving everything you have ever known would be very hard to do, but that shows that she knows what is right for herself and her happiness. Once she left she sent Diana, her younger sister, a letter saying “My dearest Di, Please forgive me for the scare I’ve given you and know how much I miss you. What I’ve done I had to do because I am love with Will Keller. I realized that marrying Henry Schoonmaker would be wrong and a loveless marriage would mean a lifetime of regret. I am sure this letter must be very shocking for you. Penelope assisted me in making it look like I’d had an accident so I could leave without it causing a scandal.” I don’t think I would have had the strength to leave everything and everyone even though it was the right thing to do. I also think it was good of her to send Diana that letter because she knows that her sister is alive and well, and even though she will have the stress of keeping the secret that her sister is alive it would be nice to know.
Another main character Penelope Hayes is one that I don’t enjoy. I dislike her motives and personality for several reasons. The second Penelope heard about the engagement of Henry and Elizabeth she turned on Elizabeth her best friend just so she could win Henry’s heart. Penelope only helped Elizabeth run away so she would have Henry all to herself which in my opinion is very selfish. Now that Penelope doesn’t have any competition (that she knows of) she is trying to be more like Elizabeth so everyone will consider her to be eligible to marry Henry. She is manipulating everyone to think she is a selfless, caring person which is all a fake disguise. I know she is lying to everyone because when her friend Buck says “They adored you today” she replies “if only it weren’t so unbareable. My face hurts from all the smiling.” This shows that she doesn’t really care about people and that Penelope’s only intent is getting Henry back.
Excellent entry and a good model for others to follow. I like the use of some quotes as proof for your ideas. A reminder to everyone – don’t forget to explain how your views differ from the character’s values or beliefs.
In my book, I like the character of Will’s father. He has a very important job in with the World Trade Center and so he is not home very often to be with his family. Will and his father get stuck in the World Trade Building while the plane struck.
I admire Will’s father because, in the book, he is in a situation that anyone would just try their best to get out and not care about stopping to help others because they are so concerned with their safety. Will’s father stops to evacuate the whole floor when the plane hits the first building so that others will be safe. He stays behind until everyone else is out. Then he helps his son by going down first so that if anything were to happen, it would not affect Will. He even stops to help a small Chinese lady who is hurt very badly and cannot walk. They carry her down the entire building!
I think that that is brave of him to do because he is risking his life to help others and his son. Also, even though Will’s father is not home very often he still loves Will and his mom very much and he proves it for what he does for his son.
A character that has a different view is Will. I do like his character, however, sometimes in the book he was rather selfish. He wanted to leave the Chinese lady behind so that they could get out because she was slowing then down.
MAX- A Maximum Ride Novel
by James Patterson
Pages 1-309
The characters that I am choosing to do my report on is Max, and Angel.
One of the main reasons that I read this series, is because it is told from Max’s point of view. Max has strange reactions, thoughts and beliefs.
Firstly, she is known for not thinking before she acts. “I do not ‘go charging off!” “Yes, you do.” “Your middle name is Charging Off” is an an example of her denying this, after her mother gets kidnapped, and she wants to rescue her right away. I guess if I was in that situation, I would probably want to do that, although I probably wouldn’t. It is usually easier for me just to make a decision before ‘charging off’.
Secondly, Max is very protective of her family, as well as her ‘flock’. An example of this, is when Angel gets out of the submarine, and is swimming around deep in the ocean with her gills, and strange creatures are coming her way. Everybody tells Max not to do it; because she would probably die too. Instead, Max says “If it’s too late, then I’m bring back her body. Either way, I’m not leaving without her. So suck it up, and get out of my way.” and goes to rescue Angel, even though it turns out that Angel was fine. Max is the leader of her flock, after all; she has been sort of a mother figure for them since she was 11. The strange thing is, she does still act like a kid a lot, even though she is the leader. Circumstances have matured her mentally in many ways, but her and the flock still manage to be immature in different actions (“every time someone said “debriefing,” the entire flock had one image: someone’s tighty-whities disappearing in a flash. Coupled with the whole “naval this, and naval that,” with its undeniable belly-button connotations, we were essentially turning into a sugar-jacked, sleep- deprived flock of incoherent, silly, recombinant- DNA goofballs).
Maximum Ride is somewhat famous for her use of similes, metaphors, irony, sarcasm, and generally being rude. An example of something that Max would say to someone (in this case, about the BSSTC [basic survival skills training course] is her knocking off the ‘STC’ part, and just calling it by the first two letters, in which her meaning is clearly implied. If I were in that situation, I probably wouldn’t be as forwardly rude as Max, although I sort of admire her for her bravery.
“I may be fabulous in a lot of ways, but I know I have a couple tiny flaws. One of them is a really bad knee-jerk reaction whenever anyone tells me no about anything.” Another of Max’s ‘flaws’ is that her (as well as the whole flock, actually) do not respond well to orders. I guess for me, the first one applies sometimes. Well, of course it depends on the situation. For Max, she starts going a bit crazy (and gets a bit dangerous) whenever somebody says no to her. For me, I don’t always act upon it, but a lot of the time, I would probably get pretty annoyed, or frustrated.
The character Angel is about 6 years old, but Max “often forgets that”. This is because she knows so much for her age, and has extraordinary powers, which include talking to animals, mind reading and controlling, breathing under water, and changing the way she looks (although she isn’t very good at the last one). Angel often gets in trouble with Max for her reckless behaviour; she directly disobeys orders such as not going out of the submarine, or jumping off the side of the boat. I don’t think that that is very smart of Angel to be quite so disobedient; even though she is only 6 years old, although she is very important in the series. The very first book was called “The Angel Experiment” after all. At the end of this book, it is suggested that Angel may be a lot more important than she seems (“Maybe she really is the key to everything.”)
Overall, I both agree and disagree with the opinions of those characters shown above; but that is likely because of the different circumstances and differentiated opinions.
Watchmen
Alan Moore
Ch 8-9
Rorschach has this idea that there is a “mask killer” trying to kill any of the remaining Watchmen. He has a point because 1 got killed, 1 shot at, 1 disappeared and 1 arrested. Although I disagree with him. I dont think it is just one guy doing this, over the years they probably made some enemys. Particularly the Comedian, the one who died. No body believes Rorschach because he is kind of a creepy dude and they think he is going crazy because of the war. Yet Dan is sort of half and half. He still thinks Rorschach is crazy but he sees the danger of it. If this “mask killer” succeeded people would freak out and WW3 would break out. Which would be bad. So the question is whether Rorschach is crazy or not, and what are the risks. I think that Dan will do whatever he thinks will keep the world from ending, which might mean believing a crazy guy.
Doctor Manhattan has the power to see the past present and future at the same time. Yet when Laurie asks “Theres gonna be a war? A real war?” he says he doesnt know because of “Electromagnetic pulse”. He assumes its from the end of the world. Which just shows how confident he is in human life. He thinks that the landscape of Mars is more amazing than the life on Earth, I disagree. Every single human has a different life story, some more exiting than others, but all amazing. So 6 billion lives are greater than 1 crater on Mars. And after throwing her life story at him, Laurie convinces him that there is nothing more amazing than the meaning of life, because people are so common that some times you forget how much of a miracle it is that we are here.
Safe As Houses
By: Eric Walters
Pages: 1-25
The character in my book who really stands out to me as having a broad personality is David. He is a grade 6 boy who is always looking for a good argument.
For example the babysitter, Lizzie and David were having this conversation:
“I’m not putting it on,” he said defiantly, as if he were reading my mind.
Apparently he wanted an argument. Big surprise.
“Not putting on what?”I asked innocently.
“My raincoat. I have one but I’m not going to wear it.”
So basically, he starts arguments unnecessarily.
Of course I do not agree with the things that he says although I do have to realize that he has just moved and he probably doesn’t like the fact that he doesn’t need a babysitter although he has one because of his little sister. Moving from a place you really enjoy to a place that doesn’t seem great can be hard on a kid.
So, I have to agree and disagree with the way he thinks and acts.
I agree because I remember moving and how I always thought about how tough it was going to be to fit in and at the beginning it was a huge shock because I was leaving a home I liked very much. I also remember babysitting my cousin and him thinking it was weird to have a babysitter who wasn’t that much older then himself, when really I was just there to make sure the his baby sister was okay.
I have to disagree although, because he shouldn’t be causing trouble over nothing. It is not going to help him very much. He is also getting detentions. In the book it said ” David had to stay after class at least three times a week. Sometimes it was because he didn’t finish his work. Sometimes it was because of his behaviour. That boy just didn’t like to be told what to do, and he loved to argue why he shouldn’t.” Obviously David is having some issue about something or is feeling left behind.
I definitely differ from this character although, I can definitely relate to the character too. I remember having arguments with my babysitter. I was old enough to not have a babysitter so sometimes, I would get upset with the fact that I was being pushed around by a person who shouldn’t be there. Although, unlike David, I did put up with it and didn’t start random arguments. If I were David’s parents, I would definitely do something to stop David from arguing so much! I would definitely find out what is making him do this.
A character who I admire is Lizzie. She is in grade 8 and the babysitter of David and his sister Suzie.
I definitely agree with how she handles David’s constant arguing. She is very calm and talks to him as if he were a brother to her.
For example, this was what she was thinking. “I could see him bristling for a fight. I decided it was beneath me to start a fight with the kid I was babysitting.”
I would definitely not react this way. I believe that this is the correct way to react although, I would get very fed up with David very fast. I know this from my own sister. If I see a fight coming, I don’t let her win if I know that is what she wants, I would most likely keep arguing.
safe as houses
Eric walters
pg: 10-30
I think my favourite character is lizzie who is in grade 8 she is very responsible and takes really good care of suzie and david.
I dont agree with the way david act’s becuase he is really really rude to everyone and he doesn’t really care if he hurt’s your feeling’s or not he only want’s to be rude and that’s it. for example: . I think that everyone need’s someone like suzie as a friend because she’s always nice and she’s really really nice, alo she will listen to whatever you say. totaly oppostite from david!eg: . And know finaly lizzie, I think lizzie is really really nice except she’s not very patient and can get angry at some points, usally at david:p eg: . I think that Lizzie is a really great baby sitter and i agree with sydney when i was 10 i still had a baby sitter and i thought i was old enough to handle my self so I would get really really upset with my baby sitter and start arguments over nothing really. I agree with the way that lizzie handled david because i dont no what i would do if i was her, and i had to deal with him!
I really admire suzie because she has to deal with david’s attitude all the time and she probably get’s really frusterated and upset sometime’s but she has to deal with it and control her angre to not get mad at him, and she deals with it very well and im really really proud of her!
I think that this was a really good book and if any of you who likeup beat cliff hangers than you should read this book!!!!
i forgotte to put the example’s so here they are
example #1: david, suzie and lizzie talking: “I like having you as a baby sitter lizzie” said suzie “and i like having to babysit you suzie” said lizzie “well you better like her alot now because she will be gone at the end of January, my birthday” said david “ya well she promised you, you wouldn’t have to have a baby sitter as long as you would be responsible and listen to me and not fight with your sister but you havent stoped that yet” said lizzie “well I am responsible!” stated david. That’s a prime example of david and his arguments.
example #2: david and lizzie talking: “look down there” david said as he was pointing “iv’e seen water before” lizzie said rudly “no look at the stuff jammed under the bridge!”david said ” I leaned over and there among branches were a broken lawn chair,a dented,crumpled garbage can and a dead racoon!”lizzie said “isnt that the biggest racoon you ever saw?”david asked “I shook my head in disgust” “let’s go” yelled lizzie to david, except when she looked back he was still standing there that’s one of lizzie’s rude comback’s and bossy voice!
Hamish X and the Hollow mountain
Sean cullen
pages 1- 35
From pages -35, Hamish X’s behavour leads me to belive that he is not 100% human. For example there is an animated voice coming from a helicopter saying”come here Hamish, your mother wants to talk to you”. Hamish X is an orphan. He has been looking for his mother for his whole life and he just suddenly believes a random voice saying that it’s his mother. This made me think he was not completely human. Also his boots are attached to him and can grow with his feet. They also give him powers when he is facing certain doom. To me that strikes me as “un-human”. Plus Mr Candy and Mr Sweet are kind of weird. They work for a company called the O.D.A,(orphan disposal agency). In the book there are some pictures, occasionally they show Mr Candy and Mr Sweet, they have giant eyes like flies, and no ears,just holes, and when they tried to abduct Hamish X, they left and then tried to kill the remaining orphans that were in Windcity. Personally I think that normal orphanages don’t just kill random orphans. Plus they don’t use giant metal ostriches that breath fire. Something fishy is going on in Hamish X and the hollow mountain.
Breathless
By Pam Withers
Pg. 1- 22
In my book I really like Beverly. She is a very smart, confident diver. Beverly was diving with her Uncle Tom and an eel came at her. She swung at it to scare it away, but when she did this she hit her regulator. Once her mask came off her face, she could not breathe and started to panic. Her uncle saved her and helped her get her mask back on to breathe again.
In serious situations it is important to stay calm. In diving, panicking is the worst thing to do. If you panic it could lead to a very serious situation of life or death. It is important to have someone around at all times in case of emergency. It is good to use the buddy system or to go in a group and make sure there is a trained instructor with you.
Diving is not the only thing you should not panic in. It could be an everyday decision that you need to stay calm in. We need to make decisions every day of our lives. Could you imagine if for every little decision you needed to make you panicked? Our world would be in absolute chaos. In these times we need to stay calm and remember what it is we have to do.
I just finished reading a really good book from my church library. It was recomended by one of my really religious friends, but in the end it turned out really funny, and I really enjoyed it, which surprised me a little. The name of it is In Between, by Jenny B. Jones. The main charecter is basically a rebellious child with a mother in jail for dealing drugs. Katie Parker gets moved in with a foster family that is a preacher and the preachers secretary, really religious people, and Katie does’nt exactly fit that picture. When Katie first sees the school, In Between Texas high, home of the Chihuahuas, she is sure her life is terrible. But then she falls in with the bad people at school, her life goes from bad to worse. Even though Katie made some really bad disicions, her foster parents still stood by her and tried to help her. While some parents would probably say “enough with this fake kid, she’s terrible!” They still stood by her and offered their support, even when her and her “friends” trash her parents theatre. I really admire them for this, making them my favourite charecters. The book is all about how even some people that seem hopeless can be turned around and have some really funny incedents all the while (sort of like falling out of a tree and landing in a swimming pool, compliments of foster granny…) Even though its a christian book I would really recomend it to anyone, because even if your not a religious person, it is a really good read. It is all about how some one can turn their life around with a little determination. In a world where so many people forget who you really are, this book can be really inspiring, it might help you find yourself again. I am really looking forward to the sequal, on the loose.
In the book that I am reading, “Point Blank” by Anthony Horowitz, I find that the values and actions of Alex Rider very interesting, even if I don’t agree with all of them.
First, I find Alex’s attitude after a mission is incredible! Alex is treated like a bit of an outsider every time he returns from a mission, and he could try to get as many friends as he wanted; all he had to do was open up. However, I find that Alex isn’t that vain (for a lack of a better word). He never boasts about the top secret mission that he has done, he doesn’t show off scars from when a lunatic tries to kill him. I don’t think that it is just about him signing that secrecy act, I think that is Alex’s true personality. And I find that admirable.
BUT! I think that Alex’s behavior around the people he works with sometimes disagreeable. I am saying that for example, he has just saved a girl’s life and she is only a year older than him. They are sitting beside a river after galloping on a horse like mad down a train track. The girl, Fiona, thanks Alex for saving her and the horses. She leans in and says “You can kiss me if you like.” and Alex responds by saying “Thanks, but I would rather kiss the horse.”
As funny as this quote is…:P I would think that Alex could have been politer, seeing as she was just showing her gratitude, even if it was in an awkward way. This is just one example of when Alex’s thoughts and actions toward the people that are not too close to him are disagreeable in my opinion.
These two points that I have shared are just two positive and negative things about the character, Alex Rider. From the books I have read about Alex I think I think that he is quite mature for his age and obviously to be able to pull off moves like roundhouse kicks is amazing. However, perhaps a little check on his attitude would be good. But, this will definitely NOT stop me from reading anymore books from the Alex Rider Series.
In the book, Everything on Waffle, the main character, Primrose has some interesting characteristics. First of all, she stands up for what she beleives in. At the start of the book, Primrose’s parents go missing on a boating trip. Even though everyone is set on the conclusion that her parents are dead, Primrose has a feeling they are still out there somewhere on the west coast of British Columbia.
Secondly, Primrose is very laid back. When her toes get run over by a transport truck and her guinie pig catches fire, she does of corse care, however she isn’t over-dramatic about it like some people would be.
Also, she has some very unusual ideas. Where she lives, there is a gymnasium somewhat like the ones at our school. When she goes to bed every night in the book, she thinks there are ghosts playing mini sticks in the gym.
Primrose is also very independent and doesn’t have any friends her age. She lives with her uncle and she is friends with a 40 year old cook at a strange restaurant.
Personally, I think Primrose is a very unique individual. She has a defined personality and among all of these behavoirs she acts content and kind. I think it is a good thing that Primrose is not giving up hope on her parents where abouts. Maybe this is Primrose’s way of trying to convince others to go back out and look harder for them! I could understand why it would be hard for Primrose to easily make friends in a new neighborhood and under the circumstances she is in. All of the kids at her school think she is nuts and that could be very hard to come by. She has suddenly lost her Mother and Father and that would be extremely difficult! Primrose is one of the most interesting characters I have read about before but that is what makes the story even better!!
Rebel’s Tag
By: K.L. Denman
Pages: 1-70
I disagree of how Sam acts in the book. going on peoples houses to spray paint them and by the way they are talking in the text it seems like there in grade 7 or 8 because they said ” in two more years i can drive.” I can’t see anyone in our grade that’s so stupid to do something like that!
Also, Indi a honor student is doing it with same since they were 11 years old. I can believe it, a honor student going around spray painting the roof of a house. You don’t really see that kind of thing happen.
I need to think about the last question before I answer it.
Anlantis found
by: Clive Cussler
pages:o -74
I agree with the charter dirk pitt he still uses certacy in a cave with watter filling it up with two men and one women he tskes the women first “sorry guys women first” and even in the face of danger he stays calm. Anouther thing is whene comfronted by men who want to kill them he is not eviel enouf to shout a man in the back just kock him out.
I differ a in some areas like when he kills the two men I would let some else do that there is no way I would do that. He shot them in the neck i dont think i could do that.
Sorry but I had had to think about this question for a while.
Yes I have different beliefs from one of the charterers form in the book. Sam thinks that going on people roofs and spray painting it is a good thing. I don’t know how it’s good? Going around at night and sneaking on to peoples houses to graffiti it is a good thing? The thing that really makes me wounder is that it would be 11 pm. at night and the grade 8 boy would just walk out the front door and his mom wouldn’t say anything. If that was my mom I’d be in deep trouble with her.
Hunger Games
By:Suzanne Collins
When I was picked up this book, I was horrified yet excited by the title. It all seemed to mysterious and intriguing. And the rule about not judging the book by it’s cover doesn’t really affect this novel. It’s amazing from front page to the very last words.
The story is set into the future where north America is changed to Panem ruled by a extremely powerful city called Capitol. The rest of the country is divided into 12 poverty-stricken district where two children from each district (one girl and boy) are placed into an arena to fight for their lives. The Games are a way to tell all the districts how mighty the Capitol is and a message reflecting : Mess with us, and we’ll do something worse then kill you, we’ll kill your children.
The main character is a sixteen year old girl named Katniss who has a very strong personality. She has to work hard for her family so they won’t starve. As the drawing in her district picks her little sister, Katniss replaces her and takes her place. But the worse comes fast as Katniss has to fight against a boy who’s very close to her heart. Now Katniss is very emotionally strong but this situation rips her up because the boy gave her bread when her family was desperately famished. Now this might to be a small act but to Katniss, it was a sign of hope. Now will she assassinate the boy named Peeta who helped her in her time of need or will the hunger games eat her alive? Like the very optimistic Effie Trinket says “Happy hunger games, and may the odds ever be in your favor.”
Some of the more interesting characters were usually the more minor ones. Like Effie Trinket, has a very bubbly spirit and it’s seems very wrong looking at the situation.She would be so cheerful when the drawing for district 12 happened. It’s the matter of life and death and yet she seems like a lottery draw. Also, she always making remarks about Katniss and Peeta’s behavior while thinking she’s being polite. What do you accept a couple of kids who probably never had a feast bigger then their hand to act when given a buffet fit for a queen? But after reading the entire story, Effie did have good intentions from her heart.
Another funny character was Haymitch. He was almost the guidance counselor for Peeta and Katniss, but he was the oppisite of Effie. He was always drunk and miserable. I think he’s depressed because he saw events during the hunger Games, no one should witness.”You have as much personality as a dead slug”, was what he told Katniss as they were practicing their interview.Not really the person I would go to make me feel good. But, It turns out he was very wise. He always gave good advice on survival, such as when there was a great big river iin the arena he advised to go to the woods and find water there. Even though he set a really strange first impression on me, he was probably my favorite as well.
The book was filled with many interesting characters, but I feel Effie and Haymitch made a really good contrast in the story. And even though the Hunger Games never happened in real life, I could relate to the moments that made my heart melt.
The Uglies
By:Scott Westerfeld
The basic plot to this book is that at the age of 16, you get an operation that turns you pretty. And until that surgery you are classified as an ugly. Once you turn pretty you get to live the dream life and so this is why Tally, the main character, cant wait untill she becomes a pretty. But, not long before she turns 16 she meets a girl named Shay who is completely against the surgery and everything their community stands for. Like the fact that when you are an ugly, you have to think of everyone who isnt a pretty, as ugly. Or the fact that you can design the way you want your face to look like after the surgery.
I really admire Shays character. She is strong minded, loyal and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. I really admire these characteristics. It takes alot of guts to leave everything you have and stand up for what you believe in, no matter what might happen to you. For Shay this means running away from her city to live a life that she has only heard about in a place called The Smoke.
Tally on the other hand is a what can be classified as follower. She is excited to have her face and body completely re-arnaged just so that peopl will look at her and think she is pretty. She fell for what the city wants her to become, opposed to Shay who has seen right through it.
I find that now a days you dont find many people like Shay. Almost everyone is bothered by the way that they look. Not only that, but people are constintley being judged by others because of the way that they look.
Book 3: Children of the lamp:The cobra king of Kathmandu
P.B.Kerr
1-12
This is the third book of the series. A friend of the twins named Dybukk is faced with a “mission” in stealing something valuble in a very secure military base. He is also faced with a large sum of money too if he sucseeds. Dybukk then goes to the military base to steal the valuble object that his “owner” wants.
I belive that this is pointless because since Dybukk is a djinn or genie he can have all the money in the world. He also has a very over-protective mother as well as strict so if his mom finds out he is out doing mischief he will be in trouble. But, in the back of my head I think he has a good reason in doing so I’ll keep that thought in mind.