Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut

Billy Pilgrim was a soldier in WWII, fighting on the German lines. At one point, he finds himself "unstuck" from time, and experiences his life from a non-linear perspective, and will find himself walking through doors and literally coming out of one from 10 years into the past or future. He is picked up by aliens, self-identified as tralfalmadorians, which view time as a single entity, and see in the 4th dimension. Through different events in his life and the process in which he travels, the story of Billy Pilgrim unfolds, and teaches a good lesson on how to deal with life.

Vonnegut's writing style is one that I personally enjoy because of his classic dry humour and sly jokes. His sense of humour is one I personally find funny, which further shapes this novel into a very unique work. He will often use phrases multiple times as motifs, such as "nestled like spoons" and "So it goes" in this particular novel, "So it goes" being a Tralfamadorian phrase used whenever they see something unfortunate, as they can just choose to focus on the good parts of life, since they see it as whole. He has a very convincing style, as even the way he narrates seems like how someone would talk, and the conversations between the characters and the things they say all seem very natural.

"So they were trying to re-invent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a

big help." I personally like this one because it shows classic Vonnegut humour, but also shows

a lot of truth in what it says, which is that to try and change something, it takes a lot of

optimism, or that people who try change the world are blindly optimistic, which makes it

humorous. "The eight ridiculous ascertained that these hundred ridiculous creatures really

were American fighting men fresh from the front. They smiled, and then they laughed. Their

terror evaporated. There was nothing to be afraid of. Here were more crippled human beings,

more fools like themselves. Here was light opera." I like this passage because it comments on

how in the second world war, both soldiers and citizens suffered equally in Europe, and how

these citizens have come to realize that the men that they so feared were just off as badly as

they were. "Trout, incidentally, had written a book about a money tree. It had twenty-dollar

bills for leaves. Its flowers were government bonds. Its fruit was diamonds. It attracted

human beings who killed each other around the roots and made very good fertilizer. So it goes."

I find this very funny because it is quite witty and black, and puts a funny twist on how most

people think of a money tree as being a wonderful, idealistic producer, but Vonnegut turns it

into a comment on how people die just for the sake of money.

The Long Walk, Richard Bachman/Stephen King

Every year, 100 16 year-old boys are selected from a large pool of applicants to participate in an event known as "The Long Walk", one of whom is Ray Garraty, the protagonist. Each contestant must maintain a pace of at least 4 miles/hour, and if he drops below the speed for 30 seconds, he will receive a warning; up to three can be given. If he goes one hour without a warning, one warning will be taken off, if there are any outstanding. If the contestant receives three collective warnings, he will be "ticketed", upon which he leaves the race. When there is only one remaining contestant the race is over, meaning that the race can last as long as there are people left. The last remaining contestant will receive "the prize", which is anything he wants for the rest of his life.

Themes in this novel are coming of age, friendship, death, murder, insanity, suicide, challenging oneself, survival, totalitarianism, and propaganda. The author wrote from the point of view of Ray Garraty, and it was effective since Ray Garraty was the winner of the walk and could oversee all of the events during the walk. Also to note that Stephen King generally writes his novels in the third person, but this being a novel under an assumed name, it is written in the first person. Although it has not resembled anything we have read in class so far, it has resembled a book that I have read, 1984, in that there are common themes of totalitarianism and propaganda in both of them, due to them believing in "The Major", a man implied to have great power over the country, and certainly over the people, like Big Brother from 1984. SOm issues that were raised were teenage marriage, suicide, sacrifice, selflessness, and military brutality. During the course of the walk the boys are encountered with extreme physical stress from walking, but also the mental stress over the question as to their survival and their comrades. One of the boys in the novel goes insane, tearing out his own throat after some one yelled if he was ticketed, and after he kills himself, the soldiers still shoot him although he is clearly dead. One of the contestants is revealed to be married, dropping out of high school o support his wife, and although he was the clear favourite to win, said to be like a moose for being able to walk great distances and with 9 : 1 odds in Vegas, he gets pneumonia early on. As a favor from everyone, he asks if they could use some of their prize to help out his soon-to-be widowed wife, and they all agree to help. Knowing this, he goes to some other contestants who are giving up, and they all sit down.

I don't think the author could have done much to improve it, as the book is already superb in it's writing, idea, and editing. I would recommend this book to older people, as it can get quite graphic, and to people who like coming of age stories, horror, and stories of struggle.

Stephen King uses literary devices such as motifs and symbolism to enhance the story. He does this by maintaining a solid motif of survival, both mentally and physically by the struggles Ray faces on the Long Walk. He struggles physically by walking the walk, and struggles mentally by watching the others watching the walk, and overcomes all of it and feels so unrewarded in the end, but somehow keeps on going after he is told that he can stop. And the walk itself is a representation of life itself, in the way that there are good and bad people on it, the reason for it is a highly regarded and respected figure, but is ultimately very unfair and harsh, and at the end, after all those around you have fallen down, you feel the need to rest, but all you really want to do is continue on once you get the energy.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray takes place in the late 19th century, and follows a young man named Dorian Gray, a young, cheery youth, who is friends with Basil Hallward, a serious artist. While Lord Henry, a hedonistic nobleman, and Basil are talking at his home, the subject of Dorian comes up, and it is revealed that Dorian is coming to Basil's home soon to pose for his portrait. Lord Henry talks to Dorian while he is sitting, and when Dorian is told of how his good looks and youth will soon vanish and he will no longer be valued, Dorian cries out how he wishes that the portrait, which shall never change, ages while he stays the same, for the price of his soul. Influenced by Lord Henry, Dorian soon engages a lifestyle of passions, both moral and immoral. This novel has themes of greed, passion, death, romance, vanity, passion, and hedonism. Wilde uses English typical of that time, for both the working/under classes and upper classes, and he uses a third person view, but mainly portrays Dorian's thoughts and emotions.

This novel has issues that pertain to people of all ages, excluding very young children, because anyone can learn from the examples of moral corruption in this novel. Dorian, who initially symbolizes youth, is a beautiful, innocent young man, but through the influence of Lord Henry, who can be interpreted as the devil, becomes nothing but a shallow, greedy, materialistic, vain man who lives only for himself and his various passions and pleasures. There are also interpretable issues of homosexuality. Before Basil meets Dorian, he experienced feelings that he had never felt before, and after he meets him, he frequently states that Dorian "completes" his art, and feels a deep infatuation for him, as expressed when he initially disapproves of Sibyl Vane, an actress who Dorian was in love with.

I have not read anything in the past, both curricular and extra-curricular, that is similar to this book, and that was one of the charms of reading this novel; it was such a new experience. Never before had I read a book, which so efficiently and fluently mixes drama, morals, fantasy, and philosophy like this novel. Therefore, I feel that Oscar Wilde couldn't have done anything to improve this novel, because it is such a masterpiece, with such a great plot and exquisite writing.

Oscar Wilde uses personification in many places, especially in the chapter where he is describing all the things that Dorian is interested in, such as the many pieces of art and perfumes. He also uses symbolism to a great extent, using Dorian as a misguided youth, tempted by the ideals of Lord Henry, who can be seen as a devil or desire, and is tried to set straight by Basil, who can be seen as an Angel, or some holier being, or reason.

I recommend this book to anyone who is sufficiently mature to handle the subject matter, as there is suicide, murder, and use of drugs. I also recommend it to anyone who can appreciate writing of this style, so in most cases, they would be older teens and onwards, although not necessarily so. Anyone who can handle these, however, should read this novel as soon as they can, because it is a wholly enriching experience, regardless of gender or most ages.

The Pearl, John Steinbeck

The Pearl takes place on the Gulf of Mexico, and it follows the story of a man named Kino, who is, like his ancestors, a pearl diver. Unfortunately, his son, Coyotito, is bitten by a scorpion, and the doctor will not help him since he has no money. So he goes diving for pearls the next day, and finds a pearl, large as a seagull egg and as perfect as the moon. He goes to the doctor, and since he now has the pearl, which we will sell, he treats Coyotito and is cured of the poison. The next day, he goes to town to sell the pearl, but they tell him that his pearl is not worth much because most people will think it is fake. It is then up to him to leave, or to settle for the price they are offering him.

This book really emphasizes the nature of man, greed, ambition, and music. When Kino initially finds the pearl, he is very hopeful because the pearl represents the answer to all his problems, but when he is lead to believe that it is not worth as much as he thought, he becomes crazed and leaves his town to go to a bigger city to get a better price and becomes obsessed with the pearl, greed overtaking him. The people in this book spoke english, but certain words would be spoken in spanish. The author would speak from a third person view, but would focus on the thoughts of Kino, never delving into the people around him, making the story feel like it was someone else telling Kino's story. Ambition and greed are issues that are prominent in my life, as well as many other people's. The pearl represents hope for many people of better opportunities to get things, like money or other possessions, and if they don't get it, people will get caught up in it and do anything to succeed.

I noticed similarities to nothing that we have studied in class so far, however, I noticed certain similarities with Animal Farm. In animal farm, the people are promised a better life by overruling the establishment, but are jilted of their dreams by the pigs subtly taking command. This is similar to The Pearl because it shows that people's ambitions and hopes are often twisted and taken advantage of, like how Kino is led to believe that his pearl is worth little. The author wouldn't have to do anything to improve this book, because it is a very well written story about the hopes of a man that led him astray, and gives a strong moral lesson to anyone who reads the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes books about Mexico, lower-class struggles, and books with strong and harsh moral lessons.

He uses themes of greed, ambition, and hope to outline the rise and fall of the life of Kino. He also makes great use of symbolism, making the pearl a symbol of hope, promising him lots of money, but eventually greed and trickery, making him think that the pearl is worth a lot but not letting him get his rightful money and making him greedy enough to go out to try to get the money, killing someone on the way.