Glamour

      

               

    Glamour is magic used within the novel so normal humans cannot see shadow hunters and demons. This glamour makes humans oblivious to this other world that they cannot see. The main character Clary gains this insight and power that normal people do not have. This shows that not everything is as it seems. On the surface the world does not have demons and shadow hunters. However, as seen in the picture another world is hidden behind standard society. Glamour is physically put on humans, but humans have a subconscious glamour. One often views the world as they want to and does not acknowledge the problems outside of their own life.
 

Betrayal or Protection

         

    In the book Clary's mother puts a block into her mind to prevent any memory of anything having to do with the shadow hunter world. Her mother even lies of who Clary's father is and does not tell her that it is Valentine. Clary later finds out the truth of her identity and her father's identity as her memory resurfaces and she is told the truth. Clary views her mother's actions as betrayal and lies. However, her mother views these actions as trying to protect her daughter from a world that was dangerous. Is lying to someone you love to 

protect them betrayal? 

Valentine "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"

   
          Valentine is the villain in the novel because he kidnaps Clary's mother and seeks to find the mortal cup, which turns humans into shadow hunters. Valentine sets out to purify the human race by killing all demons, half demons, and turning humans into shadow hunters. However, turning humans into shadow hunters can possibly kill humans. Valentine sets out to complete his mission by building an army by dangerous means. He even builds a following with other shadow hunters, which he names the Circle. Valentine reminds me of Hitler because his views of purifying a race, building an army, and having an inferiority complex towards other races is similar to Hitler. This parallel portrayal of Valentine to Hitler helps the reader dislike Valentine and also shows Valentine's strength.                                                    

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Good vs. Evil

    

  Good versus evil is questioned in the novel because the shadow hunters who kill demons are half human, half angel and the "Downworlders"  are half demon, half human,which include ware wolfs, vampires, and fairies. The shadow hunters and Downworlders are not allowed to kill each other through a peace treaty. However, the shadow hunters and Downworlders have an underlining hatred towards each other. In this argument one must chose a side of who is good and who is evil. Good versus evil is questioned in the novel because the shadow hunters are considered the good guys because they kill demons, but they are still murderers. Although they have this angelic portrayal of fighting evil, they also might be considered evil because they are taught and trained to kill and hate Downworlders. They have an inferiority complex towards all other creatures. The shadow hunters are also depicted as wearing Gothic clothing, having tattoos, and carrying weapons. This image does not portray an angelic figure.
      The argument of good versus evil can also relate to war and the army because the armed troops are protecting and supporting our country by putting themselves in danger. However, some might say American troops being involved in war only results in violence, death, and murder.

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Movie Trailer

The movie trailer helps visualize the characters more clearly and helps with imagining some of the scenes that involve magic.

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

In the novel, City of Bones the author frequently mentions that the main character, Clary Fray smells blood. The depiction of the smell of blood on the characters and in the scenes gives the reader the ability to visualize how the characters smell and adds a sincere picture to the dangerous and often violent scenes in the book. The smell of blood that is mentioned in the book helps the reader be able to image the scenes and feel like they are there look in. The frequent reference of blood also shows the gruesome and dark side of the fighting scenes.  

Catching Fire

     The book I started to read after my first free read book is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. The book continues from its first book in the trilogy, The Hunger Games. I really enjoy the book and seeing the movie already, I enjoy making connections to the scenes I saw in the film.
     The book is written in the first person from the perspective of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. The movie, however, is in third person. Both perspectives have their pros and cons. Because the film can not specifically say, "Katniss is scared," and whatnot, the film has to show the audience through several actions. The film emphasizes on the fact that Katniss has some sort of PTSD, as evident in the scene where she imagines her arrow go through one of the career's chest from the first book even though she was hunting something else. Her experience in the games have scarred her and now she deals with post traumatic stress. I find it interesting how the film demonstrates this. Sadly the film leaves out small details that a reader might catch viewing the movie.
     The book, on the other hand, allows the reader to know what Katniss is thinking and how she feels. Also the author can explain certain events from the past and or objects, while the movie would have a difficult time trying to explain what is happening. The downside is that the story is bias since it is told from the perspective of one character.
    Overall I love the book for having such an interesting and unique concept on government and control based in a post-apocalyptic setting. It is entertaining to rerun the movie in my head as I read the book.

Girl, Interrupted

I began reading the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen.  It's a memoir of her stay at McLean Mental Hospital in 1967, when she was 18-years old.  I love the book so far.  My best friend got it for me for Christmas, and I was really excited because I am interested stories about mental care in that time period. A lot of famous poets and musicians also stayed at McLean, including Sylvia Plath, one of my favorite poets. I read The Bell Jar last year and it's one of my favorite books.  A large portion of the book takes place at McLean Hospital.  Although The Bell Jar is technically a fiction novel, it is very similar to Plath's struggle with mental illness.  Like the main characer, Esther, she stayed at McLean Hospital for a portion of her life.  The two books are similar in documenting the lives of being a young woman living in a mental hospital.  It's interesting to learn more about McLean and the types of patients that stayed there.

My favorite aspect of Girl, Interrupted so far is being able to vividly imagine what it's like to be in Susanna's head.  She is suicidal, and has attempted suicide in the past.  She is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and it appears that she has OCD symptoms as well.  For example, she goes into detail explaining how patterns bother her because she can't help but search for meaning in them.  When she looks a black and white checkered floor, the contrasts makes her feel uneasy.  She sees yes and no, life and death, etc.  Kaysen also uses vivid description to describe the feelings of mental illness in general.  I love when she describes insanity as either "viscosity or velocity", which are metaphors for depression and mania.  She uses other scientific comparisons throughout the book.

I can't imagine being locked away and having every aspect of life controlled at 18-years old.  18 is supposed to be "the time of your life."  High school ends, you get more freedom, and you have a whole whirlwind of opportunities in front of you.  It seems awful to have all of this taken away in order to receive permanent mental health care.  Susanna discusses this when she brings up the student nurses that occasionally work at McLean.  The student nurses are around the patients' ages, and they represent normal life.  The girls at McLean enjoy talking to the student nurses, because they can discuss normal-life topics with them such as grades and relationships.  Susanna says that the student nurses are a reminder of what life could have been for all the patients if they weren't at McLean.

I'm a little over halfway done with the book, and I'm excited to learn what happens to Susanna.  Although she struggles with mental illness, I don't think she deserves to stay in a mental hospital for so long.  Her pyschiatrist sent her there after only a short conversation.  He convinced her to go to McLean and said she would only be staying there for a few weeks.  Kaysen mentions that she ended up staying for two years.  Because she is suicidal, she is a danger to herself.  However, she does not appear to be a danger to society.  She is not violent, and she doesn't wreak havoc like some of the other characters in the book.  I think she would be better off at home.  The book makes me wonder what the effect of mental hospitals had on patients during this time period.  The patients have to undergo electric shock therapy and take strong medications.  The type of treatment the mentally ill received undoubtedly made their mental illness worse.  All the harsh treatments most likely made the patients more mentally ill than they were originally.    
   

Part One: $100 Bar Tab

I finished part one of Killing Williamsburg. Normally I don't read books like this, they tend to be too depressing for me. It's realistic, though, and that is rarely found in fictional books. Most books that I read are too good to be true - everyone is happy, or if they're distressed, they find happiness relatively soon, due to finding a new friend or succeeding in something. From reading this far, it seems like this book will not find a happiness like that.

Killing Williamsburg is written with a simple structure. I'm not finding many new vocabulary, and the structure of the sentences are easy to read. The difficult part of reading this, however, is understanding what's actually going on. Spinelli goes from one setting to another as if it is all a dream, as if he doesn't completely comprehend where he is. Near the beginning, he explains that the way people learn in his city is through rumors, and he hears snippets of conversations as an ambulance races by. Then, he suddenly introduces a woman named Olive, who seems to be his girlfriend. Afterwards he's at a bar, and the short dialogue is back. Suddenly he's back in his apartment talking to his friends and roommates.

I was wondering through this section how Benson, the main character, got into such a low-life town. He views everything as if he's not really a part of it, as if he's a visitor who is confused and doesn't belong, yet at the end of the section he says, "This is all I've got. This is the life." Normally, when people say "this is the life," they mean that they are content with life and feel that they have reached the highest point of happiness. Benson, however, said it in a way that although he reached his highest point in life, he regrets that he is where he is. He's stuck in that city and has no way to find an escape, so he tries to make the best out of it. Since I heard at the book conversation a month ago that this book is about a "bug" that causes millions of people in the city to commit suicide, I have a feeling that the next section will describe the start of the epidemic.

(This is a picture of the Williamsburg Bridge, a popular spot in the book for people to end their lives.)

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