Independent Reading Book - Post # 3

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 24, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 47

START:  FINISH: 114 - 160

 Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?  

Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why? 

 What in the book upsets you or bothers you? Why?

         A lot of things have happened in this book when I read this week. One thing was James, the main character, was thinking about committing suicide. He missed his drugs and alcohol terribly. He attempted to leave the facility but Leonard (another patient, and friend of James) encouraged him to try again at becoming better and healthy. James agreed to stay for twenty-four more hours, but if he felt like he did at that moment, he would leave 100%. This really made me mad because I thought it was his goal to become sober other than making it seem like he's forced to be at that clinic. I hope his feelings change and that he stays there until he is absolutely normal again, and healthy. 


         I would definitely read another book by this author, though I'm no where close to finished with A Million Little Pieces yet. I like how James Frey writes, because it is a non-fiction story and it explains his everyday life as a drug addict, and how he tries to overcome his problems. Though most of his grammar and punctuation is incorrect, I think it's just great that someone like him would have the courage to write a book about his personal memories / life. I like reading his books because it's different with the way he writes, making it really interesting and enjoyable to read. Overall, I find James Frey a great author and I would encourage him to write more books or life changing stories.




         If I personally knew James, I'm not exactly sure I would want to be friends with him. I'm thinking this mostly because of how he is an alcohol and drug addict, and also for his criminal records. If I didn't know his background, that would make me even more against with being friends with him. He would seem like a psycho to me and I wouldn't want to be around him at all because I detest drugs a million percent! I'm sure once you get to know him though James is a great and kind person, but just knowing he is addicted to things such as cocaine, meth, etc. makes me not want to be around that even though he is (or has) changing his ways of life.

Independent Reading Book - Post # 2

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 17, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 52

START:  FINISH: 61 - 113

What is confusing in this book? Why? (Be specific)  How did what you read today make you feel? Why? 

         During my reading this week, a lot of things happened. James (Drug and alcohol addict), had a very frightening dream. The chapter explained that he was in a room, alone, with bottles of liquor and wine everywhere, along with a large pile of white cocaine and a giant bag of yellow crack. There was also more items on the table such as glue, a pipe, a torch, and a can filled with gasoline. In this dream, James knew that no one was watching him and that no one could stop him from doing anything with the drugs or drinks on the table. He started with the alcohol, because his body was craving it. Eventually, he consumed everything on the table, and enjoyed the high. This kind of confused me at first because I thought it was real and not a dream. Thinking it wasn't a dream, it really disappointed me that he knew this was bad for him, but continued to do otherwise. I really thought he was going to do anything to get better and to become sober. Then I found out it was a dream.

         Another thing that happened in my reading this week was James got into a fight with one of the patients in the clinic named Roy. Roy immediately dislikes James and tries to get him thrown out. He threatens James to clean the group toilets thoroughly and make them "sparkle", or else he will tell on him. This really annoyed me that someone could be so rude, but I later read that Roy has some type of personality disorder. James responds to Roy's threat by grabbing him by the throat, and throwing him against the wall. He does this several times until a few clinic workers come and stop the fight. I was really shocked by this, because I don't see James as a violent person. It made me think about James twice, and weather or not I should be on his side. Something that confused me in this part was James said, "The Fury has risen." I think he was talking about his temper, but he used this term a couple times and it's not clear to me what it is. 

         One last thing that happened in this book so far is he thought of his loneliness, eventually thinking about his friend Michelle. This part made me really sad. She was James' only friend. She was beautiful, popular, and got straight A's in school. She was the only one who saw through his flaws; the only one who didn't care that James was very violent and juvenile. During their 8th grade year, she got asked out by a high school student, who she knew her parents wouldn't approve of. James helped her lie to them, saying he was taking Michelle to the movies while she was really going on a date with the guy. On his way driving back to the Theater to take her back there, he tried beating a train across train tracks. Unfortunately, he was too slow and the train came in contact with the car. She was hit on the passenger side and instantly killed. James was blamed for this accident, and people continuously wanted to fight him for her death. This made me feel really bad, quickly seeing how bad his life was even as a teenager. I felt sympathetic for him, and it made me think about how tough his life is. I hypothetically put myself in his shoes, and imagined his life as a child, growing up and getting a lot of crap from people. This changed my perspective of him, and now I kind of understand why he is the way he is.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Faith Burila 

DATE: October 7, 2010

TITLE: A Million Little Pieces

TIME: 2 HOURS

AUTHOR: James Frey

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 60

START:  FINISH: 1 - 60

 What exciting events just happened? What do you think will happen next, and why?

How did what you read today make you feel? Why?

          A lot of crazy things have happened so far in this book. I got introduced to the character (also the author) James Frey. He is addicted to alcohol, and uses cocaine everyday. He also does pills, acid, mushrooms, meth, PCP and glue. His life is extremely messed up! He drinks when he wakes up, consuming as much alcohol as he possible can get. This made me feel really bad. It made me mad too because I cannot tolerate people who do drugs. This made me one thousand percent against things like that! It makes me sick to see that many, many people are addicted.

          Something else that happened in this book which was in the beginning is that he woke up on a plane not knowing where he was going. His front four teeth were missing, his nose was broken, he was unable to open his eyes, and there was “a mixture of spit, snot, urine, vomit and blood” on his shirt. At first I was thinking, “Wow what’s wrong with him?” But later I read on and it explained everything to me; he fell down a fire escape. He then found out he was going to Chicago where his parents would pick him up, and take him to the oldest Residential Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility in the World. I got excited for him because there he would fix his drug addictions and become a real, healthy human again.

          One last thing that happened in my reading this week is that he is not getting better, being in the treatment facility. He’s tired and feels terrible 95 percent of the day, and I can tell he misses doing drugs. He wants to get well and sober though, so he deals with this pain. I really am glad that he decides to go through with this program because I want him to get better! What I think will happen next though is that he will try to run away or find coke because he can’t handle not having it. I really hope he just stays away from it all 100% while there because in the end I want him to complete his goal of becoming a human again. 

Independent Reading Book

A Million Little Pieces by James Grey

Post # 5 - Of Mice & Men

What do the rabbits symbolize in the story?


I think the rabbits symbolize Lennie and George's dream in the story. That there one day will be a life which will be a thousand times better than the one they're living in now; the dream to, " live off the fatta the lan'!"  It could also symbolize Lennie, himself. How Lennie can only take so much pressure or downing in life, that if someone pushes him to far he just shuts down, just like everything he seems to pet dies after a while. But I'm mainly thinking about their dream as what symbolizes the rabbits, which is also the dream of pretty much every character in the book.


Choose a character in the novel (other than Curley's wife) and discuss what they represent. Use details about the character to support your answer.


I think George's character represents friendship, and responsibility in this book. Friendship because even though Lennie is as different and difficult, George stays by his side because they are true friends. He always has Lennie's back, through everything. Responsibility because George doesn't have to have Lennie with him at all, but George chooses to because it's his friend and also because George feels like he's taken responsibility of him. He feels like he has to take care of him, mostly because Lennie doesn't exactly have anyone to take care of him besides George.


Describe your reactions to Lennie killing Curley's wife. What do you think will happen to Lennie now?


My reaction to Lennie murdering Curley's wife was pure of shock! I couldn't believe nor never expected that to happen! I'm not sure what will happen to Lennie, but I know it's not gonna be good at all. George will most likely be furious but also scared because that's a terrible thing to do. He'll either tell Lennie to go away and never come back, or maybe even turn Lennie in. I'm not so sure, but I couldn't believe Lennie would panic so much and kill her. 


 Discuss Curley's wife and what she represents in the novel.


I think what she represents in this novel is lonliness. She is a very lonely character. She can't talk to anyone or Curley will get mad. She has no one to talk to, except Curley but he doesn't listen to her at all. She is a interpreted as a tramp in this story, but as we read on in chapter 5 I saw her differently. I saw her as a real human being, with feelings and dreams. She talked about how she wanted to be a movie star, and how life would of been better if her mother let her leave. This made me think about how you should always go after your dreams, even if someone is stopping you. 

Post # 4 - Lennie's Perspective

Dear Diary,


         I love my new pup. He is just the softest and cutest thing ever! I don't want him to ever go away or die so I can pet him 24/7. I wanted to sleep with him tonight but George no let me. He says I kill it if I do that. I hope that I can sleep with it everyday as soon as it's old enough to be away from its mom.


         An'ways, today George says that we would go away and live in our own house in one month! That make me really happy! I hope it really happens because then we can have millions of rabbits which would make me the happiest person alive. Candy's gon' live with us too because he says he's too old and stuff and they will can him soon. I'm not allowed to tell no one though which is a bit hard though because that thought is just a dream come true. We're gon' live off the fatta the lan'!
         
         Later today was really, really bad though. I almost thought I wasn't allowed to tend the rabbits. Tha'd be bad and make me sad. I didn't mean no harm for anything! Curley came into our room and started yelling at me when I didn't do nothing to him. He walked towards me screaming in my face. Then cornered me against the wall and I begged him to stop. He punched me in the face multiple times. I screamed at George to help me but he just stand there. Blood was coming from my face and I panicked some more. George then told me to fight back; Curley swung his arm again and I caught it and then heard him scream. I dint know what to do so I held on even tighter but then let go. George said he wasn't mad at me even though I almost lost us our jobs.

Slim's Perspective

Dear diary, 


         Today I met two guys, George an' Lennie. They different then others, many morose things have happened to them. George be telling me about how Lennie an' him came to be friends but also about how Lennie is dumb as hell. George also told me how he'd imperiously speak to Lennie, until one day Lennie jumped in a river an' almost drowned. He also told me how they was working in Weed, when Lennie decided to pull on a woman's dress because it was soft and the fabric looked interesting. 


         I feel bad for Lennie, so i agreed to give him a pup from my b*tch. Earlier today, Lennie came into the room with the pup. He's so damn attached to it. He be sitting with it in coat on his tick in a recumbent position. It's awright though George told me he ain't pugnacious or anything like that. Lennie's prob' about to sleep in the barn tonight.


         I like how Lennie and George travel together though. That's quite a rare thing. I'd be happy to have a friend like that one day though life seems quite awright right now. Still, seeing how George cares about Lennie is pretty cool. Lennie may be a dumb bastard, but I think George will stick by his side for as long as they live. 

Of Mice & Men - Post # 2

Describe the way George treats Lennie. Explain how you think George really feels about him. 

         In the first chapter, I see George as a pretty demanding person. He always yells at Lennie, though Lennie can't help it that he forgets things easily. George is just trying to keep him out of trouble as best as possible and keeping his eyes out for him. I think how George really feels about Lennie is that he really cares for him, as if he were his own brother. Even though George always talks about how much better his life would be if Lennie wasn't around, I think George honestly loves Lennie in that best friend type way, and that he will be there for him no matter how irritating he may be.

What is George and Lennie's dream? Provide details. Do you think it's realistic or not? 

         Lennie and George's dream is to one day buy a farm together once they save enough money. They will grow their own crops, and in Lennie’s request, tend rabbits! Their dream is to “live off the fatta the lan!” I think their dream is very realistic. If they keep their minds set to it, and have perseverance 100% of the way they can make their dreams come true. They need to never give up, despite the difficulties or consequences of this dream.

Why do you think George says that migrant workers who travel from farm to farm are the loneliest people in the world? What makes him and Lenny different?

         I think George says this because most migrant workers really have no family, or friends therefore having no one to have their backs. All Lennie and George really have is each other, but that is what makes them different than other migrant workers. They will always be there for each other, through it all, even though George often doesn’t show it. I think he mostly says that though because maybe he's been lonely for a majority of his lifetime until Lennie came along; and that he's really never experienced having a family or being around people who care about him as much as Lennie.

Of Mice & Men - First Class Book

Why do we have friends?


         I think that we have friends because they're a very important part of peoples lives. They're people who accept us for who we are, and people whom we can trust. We need friends because they will always be there for us, whether they need us for if we need them. They can make us smile and make us happy on the baddest days. I think we have friends because they make life enjoyable.


What makes a "good" friend?


         What makes a good friend is the quality of honesty. A good friend will always be honest with you, no matter how hard the truth may be. They are people you can trust with any secret! You can always run to them when you are down, and they will always know what to say to you. A good friend will never be two faced with you, they will never lie and never turn your back on you. A good friend will respect you.


Describe one of your big dreams in life. You could also discuss whether you (or someone you know) have a dream you feel has gone wrong, or might go wrong in the future.


         One of my biggest dreams is to become an elite gymnast. I truly hope that I will reach that goal by the end of high school. This dream might not happen because I dread going to the practices, mostly because I end really late at night and also because it takes so much time of my week. Though I have been doing really good in the last 3 months, I highly dislike going to all the practices because it doesn't seem fun anymore. It seems like its become mandatory, but I still hope that this dream comes true.

A Book I Read Last Year

A book I enjoyed reading in seventh grade was I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. This autobiography is about a young girl named Marguerite (Maya) Ann Johnson, and how she battles the harsh life of racism in Stamps, Arkansas. At the age of three, Maya is sent to live with her father's mother (Momma), with her brother Bailey who is four, both feeling abandoned by their parents. Throughout her life, she is encountered with many problems because of being Black. One being refused to be helped by a white dentist, even though Momma loaned money to him during the Great Depression. Maya also has various trauma scenes in this book as she is molested and later raped by her mother's boyfriend at the age of eight. Though her life is quite a mess in this book, she eventually learns how to deal but also speak out to racism. I wouldn't exactly recommend this book to everyone because some parts are a little bit graphic, knowing it's real and that it's happened, but people who love great stories about struggles in life should definitely read it.