Blog #3

I'm still reading the book, Brisinger by Christopher Paolini and I came across a part that I found very interesting. It's about this girl who was accidentally given the power to feel others pain, see what they are about to do, and know their insecurities and fears. Here is a quote from the book by Elva, the girl who was mistakenly given these powers, "I will do as I please, and woe unto those who oppose me, for I know all their fears and shall not hesitate to play upon them in order to fulfill my wishes." (pg. 268). I found it interesting because I started to wonder, if I or anyone else had these powers would I actually use them? I mean it's hard to have something and then not use it, even if you think it is morally wrong. But it is still so easy and natural to use, I imagine it would be hard to resist. Also I think there is a fine line between using your own talents to their full potential and then crossing that line their is abusing your own talents. But in the case of this particular talent, is it crossing the line to even use your talent or even think of using it? In this case Elva seems to want to abuse her given powers, just like when she tries to manipulate Eragon (the hero of the book) merely seconds after she says the above quote.
Another thing that happens concerning Elva and her powers is when the leader of the good side wishes for Elva to use her powers for the good side to fight the bad. Elva refuses. Before Elva agreed to help only because their was a large amount of pain that came with her powers and if she helped the good side the pain would lessen. But when Eragon took the pain away she refused to help even though she knew that the good side's cause was just and if the good side didn't win then they might all be killed. Yet she still refused to help and I think this was because even though Elva knew the good side was her chance at survival, she didn't want to help because she wasn't passionate about their cause. She understood it, but she didn't care all that much about it. I also think that there is a certain personality that makes up a martyr or a person fully devoted to a cause, like Eragon or Harry Potter for example, I think they have to be brave and care about all the lives around them, and Elva just doesn't seem to fit that mold very well.

Blog #2

I recently purchased and started reading the book Brisinger by Christopher Paolini. It is the 3rd book in a series of 4 books and as I was reading it I couldn't help but notice how much the main character, Eragon, has changed since the first book in this series. In the first book Eragon was rash and only longed for an adventure, but in this 3rd book, it is quite clear that he has changed a lot.He now contemplates his actions more and thinks about their consequences. In the first book I don't think it bothered Eragon when he killed other beings, but now as we get to the 3rd book, we can see that these killings have really started to take a toll on him. This is demonstrated very well on pg. 193 when Eragon asks his friend, Arya if she ever sees the people she kills staring back at her like he sees his kills staring at him. This shows that Eragon is becoming more and more bothered by the deaths he must inflict in order to save himself and others. Eragon also comes to realize the fine line between the difference of justice and revenge. Near the beginning of the 3rd book he encounters a man that has caused many of the deaths of his friends and fellow townspeople and yet he cannot kill him because he realizes that even though he wants to kill the man he can't because that would be revenge and also he does not hold the power to dispense justice, that is not his duty. So he lets the man go on a journey of redemption and if he reaches the end of that journey he will be well cared for. In the first book I don't think Eragon would have done that because he would have seen someone who hurt his friends and he would have killed him. Another thing Eragon begins to understand is that people can be redeemed for their wrong-doings and he begins to let them have chances to prove they can make up for what they have done wrong, as demonstrated in the case of the man he hates. I think that with all these factors combined we can definitely say that Eragon has matured as a character and as a person through all the hardships he has faced and he has changed for the better.

Blog #1

I currently finished reading a book titled Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, The Ivy League, and Beyond by Angela Ruggiero. It's an autobiography of a women's hockey career that has been very successful and has included several Olympic medals. I thought this book was alright writing wise because there weren't any glaring grammar mistakes and it had plenty of voice in it, but her writing style was just sort of bland. I guess that's what you get from a hockey player trying to write a book! But I thought what made this book special was the events that happen to the main character, Angela. I think Angela is a very determined and hard working person, but I also think that she knows that hockey is not the most important thing in her life. She knows that other things such as school, friends, and family are just as necessary. This is shown when she takes a little while off and decides what she wants to continue doing. She takes her decision very seriously trying to balance her life and her dreams. In the end she does choose to follow her dreams to the Olympics, but to come back the next year and finish her education at Harvard. She also shows that she thinks education is important when she almost fails her Psychology class in college, but instead steps up and focuses solely on her education for the time being. This also demonstrates her ability to get up after a fall and try again. Furthermore, she grew up in California and that's a state with a very warm climate and not a lot of hockey. This shows her determination to succeed and her want to do anything it takes to make her a better player because hockey rinks are quite scarce in CA and you have to work really hard to even get ice time. However, even though Angela is a very interesting person, I think that she could've added a lot more to her book to make it better. I really wanted to hear more about her life at Harvard because she barely explains anything about it and it was such a huge part of her (she did spend 4 years there). I also wanted to hear more about her time as an Olympian because she really only described getting there and the Olympics are such a big deal. How could she not write more about it? However as I said, even though she is such an amazing person and an amazing hockey player, an amazing writer she is not. But I did like the book for its content and thought she has had some incredible achievements.

WELCOME!!!

Welcome to my blog. Don't worry I'll get something up soon. About English! YAY!