Begining Again by Franz Wright

"If I could stop talking, completely
cease talking for a year, I might begin
to get well," he muttered.
Off alone again performing
brain surgery on himself
in a small badly lit
room with no mirror. A room
whose floor ceiling and walls
are all mirrors, what a mess
oh my God--

And still
it stands,
the question
not how begin again, but rather

Why?

So we sit there
together
the mountain
and me, Li PO
said, until only the mountain
remains.

--Franz Wright

When i first read this poem, i was extremely confused. It seemed like the author was just rambling. However, after reading the poem a second time, I began to figure out its meaning. Then after "beating it with a hammer" I realized what the poem was truly saying.
First, I divided the poem into structural parts. In the first stanza, the narrator reflects on the flaws in his character. "Off alone again performing brain surgery on himself...," shows that the narrator is trying to change himself. The second and third stanza then moves to discuss the importance of changing. It shows that the real question is not how to begin to change but why he or she needs to change. Finally, the fourth stanza addresses what is left after the change.
I found the last stanza to be the most confusing, yet the most beautiful part of the poem. "[U]ntil only the mountain remains," was my favorite line in the poem. I loved it because it could be interpret ted in so many different ways. When I first read the poem, I thought it meant that the mountain was the obstacles he had to over come. Then, after reading it several more times, I came to the conclusion that it symbolized the narrator after the transformation. Powerful, beautiful, strong.

(word count-not including poem: 216)

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness definitely surprised me. Several people I had talked to before reading it said they found the book rather boring, but I disagree. I thought that several parts in the book created suspense and the plot was very original. However, I did find much of the book quite confusing, and sometimes I had to re read parts of the book or just never understood them altogether. Some events in the story felt somewhat rushed to me because it was such a short book . I think that a few spots definitely deserved more detail than what was written.
I used the create trails annotation style for this book, and I found it very helpful. It made me read more closely and actually think about the meaning of the book. I also liked making my own index and glossary because it made me look up definitions to words I don't know, so it also helped broaden my vocabulary. I also am glad that I saved this style of annotation for this book because I found several parts confusing so it helped to re read then write my own summary of what just happened which helped me keep track of the main events in the book. I definitely think that if I were to ever re read this book it would be much easier the second time through because of the summaries that I wrote and the words i now know the meaning of.
Because I read this book last, I had already practiced the other two annotating styles; therefore, I found myself using the other two types of annotation in this book, and it was difficult to stick to just the create trails style. If I were to use all three styles in one book, I think I would learn more from the book rather than just using one at a time.

The Great Gatsby

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by The Great Gatsby. For being such a common and classic novel I found the plot rather boring. The dullness of the book, however, may seem exaggerated to me because I read it after The Kite Runner, which was an extremely intense story.
I used the to learn to write style of annotation and I did not like it as much as the to create trails style like I used in The Kite Runner. Therefore, I found annotating The Great Gatsby difficult because my thoughts did not just flow, and I had to force myself to think of something to write. I think I found this style of annotation difficult because I have never been taught to practice this before; I have always just written down my thoughts when I am asked to mark the text. On the other hand, I am glad I picked this book out of the three for this style of annotation because F. Scott Fitzgerald uses very descriptive adjectives and verbs. I have a lot of respect for him as an author: he is very talented, and I like his style of writing. I do think that watching his style closely in this book will make me concentrate more on my own style.
This book moved very slowly for me. It seemed like the climax of the book was in the last chapter, and the whole rest of the book had a lot of unnecessary information. Another thing I did not like was it seemed like there were a lot of random characters that were hard to keep track of and I found myself getting confused.
I think a lot of my disappointment was because I had high expectations for the book because it is known as classic piece of American literature. I guess this just teaches that I should begin every book with an open mind.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner fell nothing short of its reviews by The New York Times and Newsday. It was powerful, haunting, and definitely unforgettable. I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it was 370 pages, it moved very quickly.

I liked annotating this book more than the others because I used the create trails style of annotation, and I found this book easy to relate to. One reason I was able to connect so well to this book was because I read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Rein which was set in the Middle East as well. Also, a large part of this book was based around atonement and righting wrongs. It was easy to relate to that because in AP Lang I wrote an essay about The Sunflower, whose main theme is forgiveness.
One part of the book I really liked was watching Amir's character transform from a young boy to a grown man. It was amazing to see the change and how he slowly grasped the gravity of things as he matured. It almost felt like i was there growing up with him and watching this process for myself.
Finally, I loved the level of intensity of this book. The events that happened to these characters blew my mind. I was shocked to see them described in such vivid detail and forwardness. I have never read another book that discusses such traumatic events. It crossed over the line of things people generally feel uncomfortable talking about which is why i loved it! It brought up emotions that I have never felt towards a book before. This made the book even more unforgettable and incredibly moving.