Tuesday's with Morrie: 4/30/15

The tuesday that has stood out to me the most is when Morrie talked about death. One quote that I found especially significant was, "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live." I can see that this is true and that it is very important to know that you are going to die and how you want to do. If you did not think about this you could be lazy and unmotivated. I was also surprised that Morrie was so accepting that he was going to die. I think that this is how he deals with all of the difficult events in his life, by realizing them and accepting them. He then tries to continue his life around these events.

Another tuesday that I found interesting was the tuesday where they discussed love and marriage. Morrie discusses marriage and tells the true purposes and values of it. He also tells why so many people get divorces now. I think that he was right that it is one of the most significant experiences of life to have someone who can almost read your mind and that you can work extremely well with. I also found it very moving that Morrie's wife was trying to spend time with Morrie and that she stayed up all night with him and did not complain.

The last tuesday that spoke to me was when they talked about how love endures. It was very interesting to me that one reason Morrie said he was not afraid of dying was because he knew people would remember him. He knew that people remembering him would keep his spirit alive. I also especially liked the quote, "Love each other or perish." I feel like this sums up all of what Morrie is teaching Mitch. He is saying that if you do not love others, you will sink into nothingness. I found this very inspirational.

Jurassic Park: 4/23/15

Pages: 181-268
Prompt: Summarize and describe the characters.

I started reading right after the power in the park was out and the kids had been thrown off the road by the T-Rex. They escaped with Grant and saw one of the people who was with their group. They then saw the young T-Rex kill him. They walked to a service shed near the herbivore enclosure. They did not know that a T-Rex was there. They were walking to get back to the safe area when they were attacked by a T-Rex while taking a boat to safety. The T-Rex swam after them. They escaped when the T-Rex was distracted by the younger T-Rex taking its food. Meanwhile the people in the safe area were trying to repair the problems with the security and phones.

One of the main characters is John Hammond. He is the owner of Jurassic Park. He does not know very much about the park's systems and operations. When the park's systems begin to malfunction, he becomes frustrated with the workers and yells at them. He does not understand how to solve the problems and panics because his grandkids are lost in the park. Grant handles the situation he is in very well. He calmly deals with problems while attempting to escape with the kids to the safe area. He has to avoid the T-Rex that is running loose in the park and is almost caught by it on multiple occasions.

One other character is Lex. The is the granddaughter of John Hammond. She enjoys playing baseball and has a mitt and ball the whole time she is lost on the island. The becomes very stressed out and asks where her parents are multiple times. She often argues with her brother, Tim. A final character is Tim, John Hammond's grandson. He is very interested in dinosaurs and knows more than many people on the island. This helps the group when they are trying to escape.

Life is Beautiful 4/16/15

     The film Life is Beautiful is very comparable to the book Night, which is also about the Holocaust. In both movies the beginning talks about before the concentration camps when the Jews. They both describe how the Jews were treated badly. They then both talk about the train ride to the concentration camps. The buildup part of the movie and book are very important because they show how the situation started and progressed as time went on. It also shows that these people were living normal lives before the Nazis came into power. One difference between these two movies is where the main characters start out. In Life is Beautiful the main character starts in Italy, which started out as an Axis country. In Night the main character starts in a country that is captured by Germany. This results in the main characters having different experiences.

     The tone of the two pieces are very different. In Life is Beautiful the tone is hopeful. The tone is funny at times because Guido is telling Joshua lies about the camps and jokes to keep him happy. In the book Night the tone is depressed. There is no humor and the main character is very depressed the entire book. This makes the movie and book appear very different when they are actually very similar. The tone of each piece is also very important to how it is viewed. The movie Life is Beautiful is thought of as a story about hope during bad times because of its tone. The book Night is more of a story about the horrors of the Holocaust because of its tone.

     Life is beautiful throughout the film because of Guido's uplifting attitude. When Guido is in Italy he is very cheerful. He talks very kindly to everyone and is very energetic. Many people like him because of this. This attitude also makes life beautiful while he is in the concentration camps. When the commanding offices needs a translator to tell the Jews the rules, Guido volunteers. He does not know what the officer is saying but instead makes jokes and the officer cannot understand. This makes the tone of the arrival at the camp much more light hearted. This also makes Joshua very happy which is Guido's goal.