In the novel, The Fault in Our Stars, there is section of the book where Augustus and Hazel visit Amsterdam. The main reason of their whereabouts here is to find the ending of a book that they both love. However, this setting also seems to be the most important section regarding their love for each other. If they wouldn't have had the spark here, the romance still probably would have occurred, but I strongly doubt that the feel would be the exact same had it not been in Amsterdam.
For example, on their first night in Amsterdam, Augustus and Hazel go on a very romantic dinner. Besides the fact that their have been plenty of romantic dinners in their hometown Indianapolis, the way the author described it was very whimsical and sort of like a fantasy. He describes the magical bubbles of he champagne, the people with their beautiful accents and, the night sky with the canal and how amazing everything was together. This scenery along with the eye-catching Augustus could have made the healthiest girl on earth long for this moment, and the fact that the author could do that is hands down because of the setting.
Even though, at this point in the novel they aren't officially "together" yet, you just know that it will go farther because of the setting's impact. Overall, the setting created an unreal feel as if everything was really too good to be true. And its really touching that Hazel and Augustus had just a moment of their lives where they felt that they could escape together. Thank you, John Green for setting some of this book in Amsterdam.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Blog Post Number 2: The Fault in Our Stars 5/27/14
Dear John Green,
I am absolutely in love with your most famous novel The Fault in Our Stars so far. I especially love the way that you characterize Hazel. Most of the time when you hear of cancer patients, you only hear about how they are the strongest people on the planet, which they usually are, but I enjoy how you take time and let her describe the moments that she feels weak. It sends a message to the entire audience that even the strongest people have soft moments.
One other thing that I find interesting about this book is the emails back and forth between Hazel and Augustus, and Peter Van Houten. These sections of the book I find to be extremely important because it tells the reader how outsiders think of Augustus and Hazel. The fact that this author they are writing who hasn't even met them in person, and he thinks they are strong means that they must be some truly fascinating people. The language the "author" also uses is vivid and clever. It makes me think of things I have never really thought of before.
And finally, the last thing that I would like to mention is that Augustus kind of annoys me. This is strange to me because I know that most people adore him. The reason that I find him displeasing is that he makes everything a joke. For example, when Hazel is upset and crying the conversation goes like this, "'Cause I'm just - I want to go to Amsterdam, and I want him to tell me what happens after the book is over, and I just don't want my particular life, and also the sky is depressing me, and there is this old swing set out here that my dad made for me when I was a kid.' 'I must see this old swing of tears immediately," he said. "I'll be over in twenty minutes.'" In the excerpt that I just noted, Augustus wasn't comforting at all. I know he cares about Hazel, but in casual conversation he just makes a laugh out of everything.
That is genuinely the only thing that I don't like about the book though. This is out of all sincerity one of the best books that I have ever read, and I can't wait to get my hands on more of your work. Thank you so much for sharing your writing. It is very inspirational.
Sincerely,
Meghan Perrin
I am absolutely in love with your most famous novel The Fault in Our Stars so far. I especially love the way that you characterize Hazel. Most of the time when you hear of cancer patients, you only hear about how they are the strongest people on the planet, which they usually are, but I enjoy how you take time and let her describe the moments that she feels weak. It sends a message to the entire audience that even the strongest people have soft moments.
One other thing that I find interesting about this book is the emails back and forth between Hazel and Augustus, and Peter Van Houten. These sections of the book I find to be extremely important because it tells the reader how outsiders think of Augustus and Hazel. The fact that this author they are writing who hasn't even met them in person, and he thinks they are strong means that they must be some truly fascinating people. The language the "author" also uses is vivid and clever. It makes me think of things I have never really thought of before.
And finally, the last thing that I would like to mention is that Augustus kind of annoys me. This is strange to me because I know that most people adore him. The reason that I find him displeasing is that he makes everything a joke. For example, when Hazel is upset and crying the conversation goes like this, "'Cause I'm just - I want to go to Amsterdam, and I want him to tell me what happens after the book is over, and I just don't want my particular life, and also the sky is depressing me, and there is this old swing set out here that my dad made for me when I was a kid.' 'I must see this old swing of tears immediately," he said. "I'll be over in twenty minutes.'" In the excerpt that I just noted, Augustus wasn't comforting at all. I know he cares about Hazel, but in casual conversation he just makes a laugh out of everything.
That is genuinely the only thing that I don't like about the book though. This is out of all sincerity one of the best books that I have ever read, and I can't wait to get my hands on more of your work. Thank you so much for sharing your writing. It is very inspirational.
Sincerely,
Meghan Perrin
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Blog Post #1: May 20th 2014
The Fault in Our Stars:
Today I began reading the famous novel The Fault in Our Stars. In the first chapter, there are a series of significant allow the plot to develop. However, I found that the most important line of the chapter was, "Augustus half smiled. 'Because you're beautiful.'"
I think that this particular quote is the most significant because it lets the audience know right off the bat that Augustus is interested in Hazel. The fact that we already know this, right away in the first chapter, we know that the plot will continue in a way as Hazel being a romantic interest for Augustus. From here we also can see that Augustus probably won't be a minor character. Since he is already the largest amount of the book besides the main character herself, we can clearly see that these two will be included throughout the rest of the novel.
Today I began reading the famous novel The Fault in Our Stars. In the first chapter, there are a series of significant allow the plot to develop. However, I found that the most important line of the chapter was, "Augustus half smiled. 'Because you're beautiful.'"
I think that this particular quote is the most significant because it lets the audience know right off the bat that Augustus is interested in Hazel. The fact that we already know this, right away in the first chapter, we know that the plot will continue in a way as Hazel being a romantic interest for Augustus. From here we also can see that Augustus probably won't be a minor character. Since he is already the largest amount of the book besides the main character herself, we can clearly see that these two will be included throughout the rest of the novel.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
5/13/14 Questions
Question Number 5:
The sentence structure in this excerpt is moslty in paragraph form, like in the format of a novel. However, when people are speaking in this excerpt, what they say has its very own line. I think that the author does this to point out to the audience, that what the people are saying is signifigant to the story. The writer wants us to notice this because he wants us to comprehend this particular line.
Question Number 6:
The tone of the first excerpt is indifferent. I know this because throughout the section the author doesn't really describe any emotions of how the teacher or the children feel. It just tells the story in a factual manner with a lack of tone. Therefore, the tone of this would be indifferent. The tone of the second excerpt is frustration. I find this to be the correct tone because throughout the section, the person who is telling the story is extremely angry with the girl they are with. Through the line, "I don’t want to be cool. I want to grab her by the neck and shake her and scream at her to stop treating me like dirt. She didn’t even bother to find out the truth – what kind of friend is that?" You can clearly tell the speaker is frustrated.
Question Number 7:
My ceative non-fiction piece so far is about finding your passion, that you should mainly focus on. In my rough draft I use character by including sarcasm and being very blunt about my topic. For example, I explain how the people of today are very lazy, which isn't a word most people would use in a regualr non-fiction piece. I believe that this will strengthen my piece because it will spark more interest in my audience, since I am adding a little life to what most people think of as boring.
The sentence structure in this excerpt is moslty in paragraph form, like in the format of a novel. However, when people are speaking in this excerpt, what they say has its very own line. I think that the author does this to point out to the audience, that what the people are saying is signifigant to the story. The writer wants us to notice this because he wants us to comprehend this particular line.
Question Number 6:
The tone of the first excerpt is indifferent. I know this because throughout the section the author doesn't really describe any emotions of how the teacher or the children feel. It just tells the story in a factual manner with a lack of tone. Therefore, the tone of this would be indifferent. The tone of the second excerpt is frustration. I find this to be the correct tone because throughout the section, the person who is telling the story is extremely angry with the girl they are with. Through the line, "I don’t want to be cool. I want to grab her by the neck and shake her and scream at her to stop treating me like dirt. She didn’t even bother to find out the truth – what kind of friend is that?" You can clearly tell the speaker is frustrated.
Question Number 7:
My ceative non-fiction piece so far is about finding your passion, that you should mainly focus on. In my rough draft I use character by including sarcasm and being very blunt about my topic. For example, I explain how the people of today are very lazy, which isn't a word most people would use in a regualr non-fiction piece. I believe that this will strengthen my piece because it will spark more interest in my audience, since I am adding a little life to what most people think of as boring.
Monday, May 5, 2014
When They Created a Teacher's Occupation:
Meghan Perrin
Mrs. Cronin
Bell 4
5/5/14
Mrs. Cronin
Bell 4
5/5/14
When They Created a Teacher's Occupation:
In the style of: Erma Bombeck
After the unfortunate caveman years, when humans began to realize that there was more to life than disease and death, we began forming a new type of person to society. This brand of human being was named teacher. Its purpose was to bring up the youth from an academic standpoint, and mold them to become contributive members of society.
The king at the time called on his servants, and had them search the land for everyone that valued knowledge.
When all of those people were gathered the king explained, "Your new duty is to help the children learn. Teach them everything you know about the world. You must use every book you've read, every math problem you've faced, and every historical encounter to stop this disease and death. We must allow this world to prosper!"
At that moment the queen came forward and further noted, "There arer a few things that you will need to accomplish this duty:
- You must be completely fait to every student, no matter what excuse they bring forward;
- You must have two eyes on every side of your head in order to view the classroom from all angles;
- You must stay out of all personal affairs. Do not speak of your children, your spouse, or anything as such. This is a strictly professional business;
- You must have decent organizational skill and have legible handwriting;
- And finally, you must stay hard as stone. Don't let the children get to know you. They don't care about you. You shouldn't care about them. Reamin numb to all emotion during your hours of work."
At this the king and queen went away and discussed. "How could a teacher remain fair, and still restrict from allowing any emotion?" asked the king, "What if he is so frustrated that he must react?" At this the queen replied, "That is just the occupation of teaching my dear. That is why it has never been done before. It is extremely difficult. If we atke the knowledge lovers apart and ingrain these abilities inside of them, than this problem would be solved."
The king nodded his head in agreement and smiled, "We shall take those who value knowledge to the artist. He will surely know how to put these abilities inside of our future teachers."
the servant standing nearby, who was most definitely eavesdropping just couldn't hold back anymore. "Your majesty," he began, "I beg your pardon, but I just feel that a teacher should indeed be fair, but shouldn't they also care about their students and get to know them? I know that if I were to be taught by someone I would most definitely want to learn from someone that I knew something about. Heck, if we got to know each other maybe they could learn something from me!"
The king was very quickly infuriated. "I know what I'm doing, and I know what i want! I am the king and you are the servant! I am above you! that is exactly how i want the situation to be between the teacher and the students. One should clearly be above the other. And we all know students can't rule above their teachers!"
And with that the servant was sent away, never to be seen again. And the knowledge lovers were sent to the artist.
The artist was very skilled indeed, and he could do exactly what the king wanted him to do. And that is exactly what he tried to do. However, after every teacher was completely formed, the artist's elbow slipped. He knocked over the jar of love and caring, which spilled into a few of the teachers hardened hearts. He heard the crackling of the outer, blackened shell, which soon was to be no more.
The artist couldn't face the king this way, and he knew that this accident would have to remain a secret. He whispered into each of the ears, whose hearts had been un-hardened and told them that they must hide their love and care from the king.
The next year, when the very first school year began, every single teacher that had been created succesfully taught their students. The most beloved and highest paid teachers however, were the ones whose hearts had been un-hardened. The students in their classes got the best grades, and learned the most. The king was very wrong. the students cared very much for the teachers, and that care was very much returned. Just like how the students weren't the only ones caring, they also weren't the only ones learning. The loving teachers learned, maybe even more than their students did.
When all of those people were gathered the king explained, "Your new duty is to help the children learn. Teach them everything you know about the world. You must use every book you've read, every math problem you've faced, and every historical encounter to stop this disease and death. We must allow this world to prosper!"
At that moment the queen came forward and further noted, "There arer a few things that you will need to accomplish this duty:
- You must be completely fait to every student, no matter what excuse they bring forward;
- You must have two eyes on every side of your head in order to view the classroom from all angles;
- You must stay out of all personal affairs. Do not speak of your children, your spouse, or anything as such. This is a strictly professional business;
- You must have decent organizational skill and have legible handwriting;
- And finally, you must stay hard as stone. Don't let the children get to know you. They don't care about you. You shouldn't care about them. Reamin numb to all emotion during your hours of work."
At this the king and queen went away and discussed. "How could a teacher remain fair, and still restrict from allowing any emotion?" asked the king, "What if he is so frustrated that he must react?" At this the queen replied, "That is just the occupation of teaching my dear. That is why it has never been done before. It is extremely difficult. If we atke the knowledge lovers apart and ingrain these abilities inside of them, than this problem would be solved."
The king nodded his head in agreement and smiled, "We shall take those who value knowledge to the artist. He will surely know how to put these abilities inside of our future teachers."
the servant standing nearby, who was most definitely eavesdropping just couldn't hold back anymore. "Your majesty," he began, "I beg your pardon, but I just feel that a teacher should indeed be fair, but shouldn't they also care about their students and get to know them? I know that if I were to be taught by someone I would most definitely want to learn from someone that I knew something about. Heck, if we got to know each other maybe they could learn something from me!"
The king was very quickly infuriated. "I know what I'm doing, and I know what i want! I am the king and you are the servant! I am above you! that is exactly how i want the situation to be between the teacher and the students. One should clearly be above the other. And we all know students can't rule above their teachers!"
And with that the servant was sent away, never to be seen again. And the knowledge lovers were sent to the artist.
The artist was very skilled indeed, and he could do exactly what the king wanted him to do. And that is exactly what he tried to do. However, after every teacher was completely formed, the artist's elbow slipped. He knocked over the jar of love and caring, which spilled into a few of the teachers hardened hearts. He heard the crackling of the outer, blackened shell, which soon was to be no more.
The artist couldn't face the king this way, and he knew that this accident would have to remain a secret. He whispered into each of the ears, whose hearts had been un-hardened and told them that they must hide their love and care from the king.
The next year, when the very first school year began, every single teacher that had been created succesfully taught their students. The most beloved and highest paid teachers however, were the ones whose hearts had been un-hardened. The students in their classes got the best grades, and learned the most. The king was very wrong. the students cared very much for the teachers, and that care was very much returned. Just like how the students weren't the only ones caring, they also weren't the only ones learning. The loving teachers learned, maybe even more than their students did.
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