Blog Review- Terri's Pride and Prejudice

http://jaarb.blogspot.com/2013/02/pride-and-prejudice.html
    For this blog review week, I read Terri's recent post about the old time classic of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Although I never read the book, Terri's post gave me a decent overview of the basic plot and character makeup of the book. I thought she kept her opinions well state while giving interesting information about the book. For example, she gave many examples of names of characters, then she made some sort of connection between her and the character. However, she doesn't only talk about the book itself. She also points out sophisticated themes that she perceived in the book. A good example of this is the theme of love that she points out. She explains that it's a very difficult phenomenon to understand for anybody however it takes time to develop and explain. She mentions too that the book did a good job of doing so, and I can't say I don't agree considering that when I think of "Pride and Prejudice,"  I think of a story of love and that book being one of the best romance novels of all time. Not every book gets a movie adaptation, and according to Terri, P&P sounds very worth of one.
    Alright, although I liked Terri's post, I also have some constructive criticism for her future posts. Having read through 2-3 of her posts already, I believe that this one might've been a bit short. I think there could've been a bit more elaboration in a few places. Also, some of the things she said may have been a bit repetetive, however not too much to disrupt the flow of the post. There was also a bit of no real conclusion to the post, she ended the post on an idea and I thought at one point she was going to sum up the whole book. I thought that would've been appropriate and really good because she brought up a lot of great ideas.
    Overall, I thought Terri's post was good, but a little more elaboration and a conclusion could've made it even better. She made a lot of great connections and made me think about things I never really commit to thought, let alone relevance. However, bringing  all these ideas together in a conclusion would've made a large difference for the better. It's not bad at all that she didn't have it, it would've made me feel a bit jealous though, but in a good way. Good job Terri!

The Issue and Theme of Race in "Pistol," by Matt Kreigel

    This week, I continued reading "Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich" by Matt Kreigel. While reading, I had come across a issue that never was mentioned before as literally game-changing factor: race. In fact, I remember being surprised at how none of Pete's or Press' lives hadn't encountered race issues, since at this time Americans held much tension between each other whether one was black, white, Latino  etc. Needless to say, there might be a few reasons for this. One being that between Press and his son, they didn't care what kind of person played their beloved game, as long as they had someone good to play. Do I agree with this? Totally, the fact that African-Americans couldn't play in front-runner leagues such as the NBA or the ABA for such a long time was because of the tension off the court in the culture of the U.S. For the Maraviches, life beyond basketball was almost irrelevant. Its quoted several times in the book itself that Press wasn't racially biased as a coach, player, or person at all. In fact, he made a point of recruiting or trying to recruit several colored players to the college teams he coached such as Clemson and Louisiana State University.
     Pete as well felt indifferent toward race. He loved the game, as his dad did, and never refused to play because he had to play with or against someone of another race. In the book, it even says that Press encouraged Pete to take on all challenges and challenge the impossible. Also, had Pete had any racial issues with other players that affected how he played, I could most likely predict that his father would be furious to hear that Pete wouldn't play a game due to one's race. Keep in mind also that Pete was Press' ideal son. He was his crafted in his image and became actually the first basketball player to sign a million-dollar contract with the NBA, a phenomenon Press predicted when the kid was barely in high school.
    The NBA around the time of Pete Maravich had already a racially integrated number of players. If Pete had any racial issues or prejudices, would've he had played in the NBA? Not at all. This was the time where colored people and white people both came together to play basketball. In the end, that's all Pete ever wanted to do. I think the very fact that Pete's mindset and conscious was always overlooking irrelevant things such as prejudice is actually beautiful. The '60s and '70s weren't exactly a golden age in racial tandem. I'm not saying everyone was racially opinionated, but kids were being raised to think a certain way of others and themselves, and they still do. However, as the status quo matured and people became more aware, it was people who saw past race and prejudice who are responsible for the "moving on," of things. So, in the case of Pete Maravich, was race actually an issue? No, and never was. One might make a joke or two, but in good fun. Pete just wanted to play, and a racist bigot wasn't going to hold him back and people weren't going to convince him to think poorly of those unlike him racially.

Maus by Art Spigelman

     This week, I read  Maus by Art Spiegelman. Even though this is a re-read, I became aware of even more themes and saw a lot of purpose behind a lot more of the smaller more subtle things Art does in his book. There are many peculiar and questionable things in the book that I believe should have some sort of meaning or social message behind it. However, I also believe the book itself is a larger social message. This is due to the historical setting and meaning. The setting, for the most part being Eastern Europe during World War Two, in itself already hints at the nature and complexity of this story. Furthermore, Art's comic book style format and illustration give the book a gritty but slightly melancholic tone. In fact, grief and sadness is a large theme in the story. This is emphasized greatly by the inclusion of an unpublished, explicit short comic about the day Art's mother died entitled, "Nightmare on The Hell Planet". It features Art arriving bak to his home in Queens, New York. The comic features more realistic animations compared to the animalistic drawings representing different groups of people in the original story,
      Furthermore about the comic, it contains explicit details, from blood to hyperrealistic facial features. For example, Art's mother had committed a tragic suicide. The body that had been left unnoticed (she was home alone) was drawn in the boxed section. Very specific details include slits on the wrist of his mother, spilled pill bottles, and a naked corpse in a shower. This attention to disturbing detail was meant to almost scare the reader. To the point where they could feel how he felt that day, horrified and grief induced. The comic isn't the only example of grief and sadness and disturbing, mind twisting detail. Its in fact throughout the book. Spiegelman didn't hold back because he wanted to describe the world's worst horror to the best of his ability: the Holocaust. Yes, his father survives. The struggle, pain, and fear were all insurmountable for many, many others however.

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kreigel

    This week, I continued my book, "Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich,".  Previously, Kreigel told the upcomings of Pete's father, Press, as a high school and college coach. Furthermore, it shows more of Pete's life, especially how hard he worked as a youth to be the best high school basketball player he could, and eventually be became the best at the time. In fact, it's probably safe to say that it's emphasized greatly. For example, Kreigel could be talking about Press, then he'd mention how Pete would be at each practice that Press held with his teams. From there, Kreigel would go on long tangents about the many drills and routines Pete would do either alone or with his father, who encouraged him and sometimes pushed him to be a great player. After thinking about it, I had to conclude that maybe in fact that Kreigel meant to do this for a variety of reasons. These being that he wants to emphasize the hardship and difficulty of being great, he wants to teach the lesson of being responsible for your own personal goals,  and that he's trying to quantify the actual amount of work and dedication needed to go pro, something many youths nowadays don't realize.
    I would like to start on my last reason. Kids are immature, no matter however they present themselves. They believe they know everything, and sometimes I feel the same. Except the fact of the matter is that they don't. This, mixed with an misguided belief that they'll someday go pro could really influence their academics and social life. Some kids go as far as dropping out for, high school because they believe they're that good. Kreigel is trying to warn youths who read his book that its not easy and doesn't just happen by fate, it takes the full extent of ones body and mind. Moving along, I also believe Kreigel is trying to motivate those who are almost meeting their ultimate goal to push forward even more to fully achieve it. Some people in life come so close but then give up because they can't make the final push, so I especially like this theory. Lastly, Kreigel also wants to teach his readers that opportunity doesn't always come to them. They have to mostly make their own and take it when it there. This way, anyone one doing anything could be successful.

Lincoln: A Team Of Rivals

    This book, in itself is very confusing. Mostly being that its filled with such specific facts that are accurate down to what each of Lincoln's rivals wore on a regular basis. However, when I started to recognize the level of vocabulary and catch up to speed with where I was at by slowing my pace and retreading some pages, I managed I understand the overall purpose of the book. Although its Hirt self explanatory on the front cover, if you're not an experienced reader it'd be hard to understand that the book, at least from what I read so far, is a biography of Lincoln and his rivals during the time prior of the Republican National Convention and the nomination for Republican candidacy.
  Doris Kearns Goodwin goes in extremely deep with her attention to historical, emotional, and even physical aspects of these men. In a time of imminent Civil War, there are 5 capable and potential men who could've lead our country through a time of war: Abraham Lincoln, Edward Bates,  William H. Seward, and Salmon P. Chase. These men, although presented to have almost identical ideals (being of the Republican and Radical Republican parties), have very different lives, upbringings, and experience. For example, Edaward Bates I believe, according to the book, has more political experience being a long time statesman from Missouri. In comparison, Seward, former governor of New York, and Chase, former Ohio governor, had only been in office for a term or two before. Lincoln had even less experience.
  I honestly enjoy this book's attention to detail. To be more honest, I think it's the most detailed book I've ever read ever. It's incredibly accurate down to what each persons usual habits and most proud achievements were. I also took note of how large the book is itself, being longer than average textbooks being almost 1000 pages. I'm only on page 54. My dad got me this book for Christmas. Was I a bit mad? Yes, but only because it was so long. However, I cant complain anymore. This book is great.

"Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich" by Mark Kreigel

  Recently, I have started reading a biogrhy of former NBA star and legend Pete Maravich. The title "Pistol: The Life Of Pete Maravich," hints at the source of Maravich's success and fame up until his death in 1980. The book, although a biography, gives off a tone of education almost, even though most scholars would find the information uninteresting. However, for youths who play basketball, it seems to serve as an inspiration. Foremost, this is seen in the first three chapters or so as Kreigel describes the college career and the hard youth of Pete's father, Press Maravich. It accurately describes his life as a rags to riches and fame. From starting out as a small Serbian kid from the mills of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to being a high school and LSU college star, Press' story has to be considered more than just anecdote of Pete's early life.
  I also see the inclusion of Press' story as a setup to start the explanation of Pete's life. This is because the story itself indicated directly that Press wanted Pete to be brought up in his personal image. As for that, Press succeeded as his son became a national basketball star for his prolific scoring in college and amazing pro career as an Atlanta Hawk, Boston Celtic, and New Orleans/Utah Jazz player. I believe that the story of  Press' success affected how Pete turned out in it that Press wanted his son to feel the same happiness he did playing the game. I believe that this is really special because so many other people, young or old feel or felt the same way. To not see that the author may have soley wrote this book to inspire or fuel the mind of an aspiring youth is hard to do. I honestly believe that I enjoy this book for that very reason. It educates me on a small part of a large history of the great game that is basketball.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

  I have started a new book called "The Giver," by Lois Lowry. Even though I had read this book in the past in around fifth grade, I was able to establish newer ideas I had missed as a younger student. In addition, I've also been able to make valid connections from the world in the book and to our world.
  The book is mainly centered so far around an 11-year old boy named Jonas. In contrast to our world, boys and girls his age are referred as "Elevens,". This is according to each child's age up until age 12, where they are considered matured and adult enough to start working and "contributing to the community,". In fact, there is a ceremony of "stepping up," in age each year. In this book, Jonas is anxious for his 12 ceremony since 12s always get their job assignments that they carry out up until they are "released," from the community.      
  I found this organization of a community like this extremely peculiar. To me it seemed almost too organized as it it were set by strict law by a strict legislature or one who would rule with an iron fist. In fact, it maybe be even safe to say that Jonas' community, simply named so, is somewhat of an organized socialist dystopia. This is considering the following: the story gives lots of example as to how Jonas' world is unmilitarized however it is socialist. The government or whoever set the rules in Jonas' community is obviously trying to bring the community as close as possible. However, there are several restrictions that make this more than just a community therapy session. For example, there is no freedom of being rude or excessively upset. Although its an accepted emotion, you can express it in any other way besides saying "I'm mad,". Furthermore, The Community can control your natural hormonal urges. As opposed to our world where people can produce their own offspring, there is an organized method of artificial birth and distribution of newborn children to "family units,". So not only would natural reproduction be impossible, the act of desire for recreational intercourse is forbidden. Much like George Orwell's "1984," people are geared toward chastity. However in The Community, people begin taking pills that eliminate sexual attraction in all forms at an early age up until they get old.