Post #8

            Picture:  n.d.  Ellijay holiday cabin.  2011.  Ellijay, Georgia.  homeaway.  15 Dec 2011.     

     Liesel Meminger, the protagonist of The Book Thief, doesn't start out in her "ordinary world."  When the plot of the book begins to develop she is on her way to her foster parents along with her brother and mother.  After her brother dies and her mother leaves for a concentration camp, she is left on her own with her new family.

     It takes some time, but eventually Liesel adjusts to life on Himmel Street.  She befriends Hans Hubermann, her foster father, along with a boy named Rudy almost instantly.  The beginning of World War Two lurks in the background of Liesel's life as her family starts to struggle to make ends meet and Max Vandenburg, a Jew, turns up outside her door. Yet, things are still bearable.  Hans Hubermann still plays the accordion while Rosa Hubermann, her foster mother, still yells.

     Eventually, with lots of help from her foster father and thievery, Liesel learn how to read.  She turns to books when events become too much to handle, along with the days when they aren't.  Life might not be perfect for Liesel, but it could be a lot worse and she seems to know this:

"That summer was a new beginning, a new end.  When I look back, I remember my slippery hands of paint and the sound of Papa's feet on Munchin Street, and I know that a small piece of the summer of 1942 belonged to only one man.  Who else would do some painting for the price of half a cigarette?  That was Papa, that was typical, and I loved him."  (Zusak, Markus.  The book thief.  United States:  Random House, 2005.  Print.)

    For Liesel to be able to call something typical, she has to know how it usually behaves, so to speak.  In order for her to know that, she'd have to be around it long enough to observe and/or hear about it.  Besides, if Liesel wasn't familiar or comfortable with her foster father why would she say she loved him? 

     My conclusion is that  Book Thief doesn't take Liesel out of her ordinary world; it brings the horrors of war in.  Horrors, that someone like Liesel should never have to witness.

Post #7

                Why does Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, use digressions in his writing?
      I have read many books on the process of writing good fiction and a piece of advice I have found to be repetitive is that if something isn't relevant to the plot of your book it should be discarded.  The average reader doesn't typically care about the exact shade of red the protagonist's hair is or what type of juice they had for lunch.  This is why I find it intriguing that Markus Zusak chose to use digressions in his writing.

Here's an example of two from The Book Thief:

"***THE ONLY THING WORSE THEN****
              A BOY WHO HATES YOU
                   A boy who loves you.
                           (Zusak 52)."

                                and

"***A GUIDED TOUR OF SUFFERING***
                         To your left,
                    perhaps your right,
            perhaps even straight ahead,
           you find a small black room.
                      In it sits a Jew.
                        He is scum.
                      He is starving.
                       He is afraid.
           Please-try not to look away.
                       (Zusak 138)"

   My theory is that Markus Zusak isn't only aiming to advance the plot of The Book Thief when he writes these digressions.  The book took place during Hitler's rise to power, a time filled with extreme emotion for most.  Setting the mood in The Book Thief would be important to the readers if they were to truly understand what was going on in the story.  I believe that's what the digressions are for.  Whether they're giving the reader a piece of the German culture during the second world war or poking fun at an event in the story, after the digressions are read the reader is left with something more than just plot.

     It's no wonder that The Book Thief  is a bestseller

White, Trudy.  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  2005.  http://butterybooks.com/bookclubpartyideas/the-book-thief-markus-zusak/.  Web.  1 Dec.  2011.


For the lack of a better image to represent my question: 

Post #6

     "He accused me of being "Dumbledore's man through and through,"."

     "How very rude of him."

     "I told him I was."

     Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.  Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry.  To Harry's intense embarrassment, he suddenly realised that Dumbeldore's bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees." (J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood prince 334)

     This part of the book shows us that Harry Potter, the hero of the Harry Potter series, proudly follows Albus Dumbledore.  Generally, when someone follows someone they do it because they assume it will help them; this is what makes me believe that Albus Dumbledore is a mentor (as mentors are known for helping the hero).   However, this isn't the only action that links Albus Dumbledore to that archetype.  Albus Dumbledore is an older man, as most mentors are, with exceptional wisdom.  Also, before the above quote, Albus Dumbledore was about to teach Harry Potter in the hope of helping him on his journey (to defeat Voldemort).  Some might argue that that was done for a selfish reason; I personally don't think that matters.  It is a mentor's purpose to aid the hero and through the whole Harry  Potter series that is what Albus Dumbledore did.

Side Note:  It has been pointed out to me that Albus Dumbledor is also a bit of a shape shifter.  I have to agree with that now that I have read The Deathly Hallows.  Albus Dumbledor wasn't always good.  He used to help the previous dark lord gain power.  Then, there is the small fact that he neglected to inform Harry that he had to die in the end.

Post #5

      Classic:  Judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind (Google Define).
     
     Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling has the potential to become a classic.  It is a part of one of the most popular book series, proving it is beyond a doubt outstanding and of high quality.  However, according to the above quote it must keep that popularity, along with it's praises, in order for it to rightfully be called a classic.  My copy of the book was published in 2005 and has already endured some of the time required for it to become a classic, though I personally believe that the new Deathly Hallows movie has done its fair share of work in keeping the memory of the series alive.  The quote I posted does not give a specific time the book has to be kept alive, so to speak, for it to achieve this statues.  Truthfully, I think that label should be given by the fans.  The fans are the ones to judge the series and, therefore, are the ones most fit to call it a classic.  

Post #4

     "What kind of blood was that, incidentally?" asked Dumbledore loudly over the chiming of the newly unsmashed grandfather clock.

     "On the walls? Dragon," shouted the wizard called Horace as, with a deafening grinding and tinkling, the chandelier screwed itself back into the ceiling.

     There was a final plunk from the piano, and silence.

     "Yes, dragon," repeated the wizard conversationally.  "My last bottle, and prices are sky-high at the moment.  Still, it might be reusable."  (J.K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 66)

     Upon reading the above quote I had a suspicion that Harry Potter isn't the only story that refers to dragons' blood.  As it turns out, dragons' blood was believed to have many special qualities far before our society began.  Some myths tell the story of it being used as a means of medicine and others as a poison.  These claims do vary, according to various wiki entries though, the idea of dragons' blood being used in mythology still remains.

(Picture taken from: http://masterbraeokk.tripod.com/Dragons.html)

Post #3

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6500000/newsid_6501100/6501105.stm

"You don't know what it's like!  You- neither of you- you've never had to face him, have you?  You think it's just memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something?  The whole time you're sure you know there's nothing between you dying except your own- your own brain or guts or whatever- like you can think straight when you know you're about a nanosecond from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die- they've never taught us that in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that-and you two sit there acting like I'm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up- you don't get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadn't needed me-" (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix 293)

The above quote proves that, despite his fame, Harry Potter is still modest.  In the quote he isn't talking about how good his spell work was or how brave he was to face Voldemort.  He, instead, talks about not being able to think straight and how easy it would have been for him to be killed in the place of Diggory.  It sounds more like he considers himself lucky as opposed to anything else.  That, in return, makes him modest.

Deducing that Harry Potter is modest doesn't lead me to any prediction about his future, though.  I have seen the Harry Potter movies and, in them, Harry Potter continues to be hesitant to take credit for his actions.

I chose this video because I think it describes Harry Potter's situation well.  At times, he doubts his abilities but he still manages to do amazing things like, escape Voldemort.

Post #2

 

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling is the forth book in the Harry Potter Series. In it, Harry, a young wizard, is forced to brave three dangerous tasks after his name is drawn from the goblet of fire. Throughout the book Harry and his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, face the outcomes of Voldemort's plotting along with Harry's publicity from the Tri-Wizard tournament. 

I'd recommend Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to almost anybody who hasn't read it.  The magical theme of the book isn't just in the character's spell work.  It carries on, outside of the pages, to a place beyond itself within the reader.  Out of all the books I have read it is by far my favourite.    

Picture found at:  http://zed1.com/read.html

Post #1

     A book that is shut is but a block.  -Thomas Fuller (http://www.quotegarden.com/books.html)

     I'm the type of person that can be found at lunch hunched up against a wall reading.  When I find a book I really like I might even walk into a few walls trying to get there.

     If you're not going to read a book I'd recommend buying a block instead, chances are it's cheaper.  Books are meant to be read and, unless you plan on hitting someone with a particularly heavy one, there isn't much else you can do but read them.