Steel Magnolias-June 25th

One of my favorite movies of all time would have to be Steel Magnolias. I’ve probably seen this movie almost a 100 times and it never gets old! I pretty much know every line too! This movie stars Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts portrays a vibrant, young diabetic named Shelby whose decision to have a baby may cost her life. Sally Field stars as her mother, torn between love and anger. She chooses to give Shelby one of her kidneys because Shelby has Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis are the four loyal friends who support them with humor and unfailing grace. This movie is a warm and witty celebration of friendship, Southern-style! The plot is centered on Dolly Parton’s (Truvy) beauty parlor and some women who regularly gather there. The drama begins on the morning of Shelby's wedding to Jackson and covers events over the next three years, including Shelby's decision to have a child despite having Type 1 diabetes and the complications that result from the decision, There is also a glimpse of the complicated friendship between Clairee and Ouiser and Annelle's transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town, to a partying woman, then to a religious fundamentalist. Also, there are glimpses about Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother, and Shelby's medical battles, the underlying group-friendship among all six women is prominent throughout the entire movie.

In Class Reading-June 25th

For in class reading, I chose to write about the short story, The Girl with the Blackened Eye. I chose this story mainly because it reminds of some of the shows that I watch on Dateline. I was really sad after reading this story. I felt like I was there watching everything happen to this girl at the time who was telling her story as a grown-up woman now. I couldn’t believe some of the depth and description that the author went into either. I found it disturbing but at the same time, I felt sympathy too. I felt like I wanted to go rescue her from that awful cabin. I also couldn’t believe that she didn’t want to remember that part of her past. I know it must have been awful for her but at the same time; it’s something that you can never really forget. Like most of the people on Dateline, they say it’s always going to be there and the internal pain will never go away. Most of them feel scared to leave their homes now or they always usually can picture those long days of being gone. They can never be erased from their memory. Even if something is really gruesome, disgusting or violent, I want to continue reading it to find out what happens. It's like the narrator in "A Party Down at the Square" had toward the lynching. You don't like it, but you can't really bring yourself to do anything about it.

Out of Class Reading-June 18th

For my out of class reading, I chose to write about a new series on MTV called 16 and Pregnant. When I saw the new commercials for it, I was kind of intrigued by it. But then I thought to myself, how could they make a show like this? I was really interested in how they would go about making it. This show follows the lives of young couples who have chosen to keep their children. It follows the everyday struggles of being a high school student and getting labeled for being pregnant and wanting to keep your child.
This particular episode is about a girl named Maci who is a high school senior and is almost ready to have her child and has to deal with graduation at the same time. Her boyfriend/fiancé Ryan is having doubts about keeping his child and doesn’t really want to be a good father. Maci pretty much does everything she can to make ends meat and still have time to finish her homework every night. She even had to switch schools because her due date was right around the time of her graduation. So she switched schools in order to still have her baby and graduate on time. Her and Ryan’s relationship was pretty strong before baby Bentley was born but now, their both just hanging on for dear life. The only reason why Ryan is staying with Maci is because of baby Bentley. He doesn’t want to do anything to take care of him and always wants to go out with his friends. They get in many fights and as a result, their marriage plans get put on hold. Maci leaves it up to Ryan. She wants him to stay for Bentley’s sake and have a father. This leaves Ryan with many questions. After his talk with Maci, he decides to stay for Bentley but feels like the relationship won’t last.

Reading for June 18th

For my in class reading this week, I chose to write about Everyday Use by Alice Walker. When I started reading the background information on her I was very intrigued. I liked that she was an African-American writer who was still living. And that she was the most widely read of any American woman of color. I was also interested in reading her story because I have wanted to read The Color Purple for awhile but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think it would be an interesting story to read because I enjoyed reading Everyday Use. I also liked how she coined the term “womanist” to stand for the black feminist concerns of much of her fiction. That really stood out to me.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading the story. I felt like I could relate to the story too. I have two older sisters so I could relate in that way. The bond I noticed between Maggie and Dee wasn‘t like the bond I have with my sisters. I didn’t really like how Maggie put herself down and thought that her sister was better than her. Dee was always the one wanted nice things. And she never took NO for an answer. I like how she was determined in that way to get what she wants in life, but at the same time, she degraded Maggie a lot. Plus Maggie was already shy because she felt self-conscious of how she looked. She had burns on her arms and legs from when their first house burnt down. That too was also like symbolism, because there is always going to be that constant reminder of her old life.
I think the character I enjoyed the most in this story would have to be Mama. I love how she wanted the best for her girls and would do whatever she had to do to make that happen. She was also like the alpha-female who could do anything. Nothing like a down-home farm girl to show you how to do something!

Blog Post Two-Independent Reading Novel

For my independent reading novel, I chose to read the Gossip Girl Series by Cecily von Ziegesar. I was introduced to these books back in high school and I couldn’t figure out why every girl was reading them or wanting to read them. So today I answered that question. This series is about the lives of teenage boys and girls living in the Upper East Side of New York City. Their parents lead the lavish life. They have plush apartments and have everything imaginable. Maids and butlers wait on them hand-and-foot. This in turn trickles down to their children. They only attend the best schools and wear the latest fashions. The teens are also allowed to drink whenever they want because their parents aren’t home most of the time. Their always gone to some charity event or big dinner that every rich person attends. This means that they also have the house to themselves and they take advantage of it. This leads to the main character, Blair Waldorf. She is the ever-popular girl that everyone wants to be. Her boyfriend Nate is always over and let’s just says that he drinks a lot and drags Blair to do some interesting things. She wants to wait for the time to be just right before IT happens to her. This series is all about the ups and downs a teenager runs into in life and then some. Its all about drama and sex…which is a hot topic among the many characters. I’m so hooked on it. I’ve already read half of the first book and I just can’t put it down!!

Blog Post One-Reading Assignment

Here we go Stephanie. Not really sure how to start these blogs but here goes nothing. When I read the assignment out of the book, most of it was a review from me. I remembered most of the terms from my high school literature class. I did learn a few new things about the skin and bones of novels and short stories though. I found it very interesting that the novel came from Italy. I also liked the French words for open and closed endings of movies or stories. I also learned that the use of an "omniscient" narrator is used frequently in any type of story. I didn’t know that narrators only spoke in first or third person. A first person narrator is a participant in the story or play. He or she can be a major or minor character. A third person narrator is a non-participant but is a voice of authority. They move from place to place to describe actions or repeat dialogue if needed. An unreliable narrator relates events in a distorted manner, which in turn confuses the audience or reader.I enjoyed reading about the different types of characters. I’ve never heard of a character being considered round or flat or static or dynamic. Flat characters require a stereotype to describe them more in depth but only require one trait. Round characters are given one or more traits to describe the characters. A static character's personality never changes throughout the story. A dynamic character is one that changes throughout the story. The other type of character is the stock character which is mainly used for stand-ins for the different scenes.