New Opportunites- [The Soloist 23-31]

Chapters 23 through 31 was the best part of the book. Nathaniel Ayers has completely changed from how he was in the beginning of the book. Before, he was a homeless man living on the streets of Skid Row with a deep passion for music. Now, he lives in an apartment, has a studio of his own, and still has a wonderful passion for music. What helped Ayers change was the friendship he has with Steve Lopez. I believe that friendships can change a person a whole lot. Friendships build trust and that’s what Ayers had with Lopez. Friends want the best for each other and Lopez wanted Ayers to have a better life than what he had before.

In chapters 25 and 27, Ayers finally expressed himself in a yelling manner. He even threatened to kill Lopez if he ever came near his apartment. It must have hurt Lopez hearing that he would be killed by a close friend. I felt really bad and sorry for him because Ayers probably didn’t mean to say those hurtful statements to him.

The few chapters at the end were a wonderful closing for the book. Ayers could rebuild his musical life and he finally has a studio where he can practice as much as he wants without bothering others. He gets inspired more and more at every concert he attends and with meeting other Juilliard graduates like Yo-Yo Ma. The ending of the book was definitely a new beginning of Nathaniel Ayers life and a great ending for The Soloist. I’ve learned that we should appreciate people for who they are. Everyone is unique in their own ways and we should learn to accept it.



Focus Points

• Grammar

A Change- [The Soloist 13-22]

Part Two of The Soloist has really caught my attention. My point of view has changed dramatically since the first chapter of the book. It was first somewhat boring, then interesting, and now it's extremely excellent because every chapter has something new and important to read about. In chapter 13, the mayor of Los Angeles decided to take a tour of Skid Row with Lopez. Lately, he has been reading Lopez’s articles on Nathaniel Ayers and wanted to see how his living conditions are. When they went touring Skid Row, the mayor was completely stunned and shocked at the scenes that he saw. Because of this, he decided to dedicate $50 million to housing and other services to places like Skid Row. This scene is what really caught my eye as I was reading it. For the mayor to read the articles about a homeless man, visit his “homeland”, and do something about the poverty is something huge. It proves that one person can do something for the better.

Later in Part Two, the readers find out a lot about Nathaniel Ayers's past when he was still a kid and living with his father, mother, and sisters. He went through so much when his father left his family to start a new family with another woman. Then, his mother got remarried and more problems started rolling in. As Ayers was in school, he was discovered by William Moon. I thought it was nice that Ayers looked up to Mr. Moon as a father figure and wanted to make him proud. It was shocking to read that Mr. Ayers is still proud of his children after all these years.

What made me smile through these chapters was that Nathaniel finally sleeps in his room at the Lamp. What made it extra special was that he woke up in the room on his fifty-fifth birthday. At first, he was just a hard-headed man who refused to sleep in that room. He preferred to sleep on the streets of Skid Row since he claims that no one can steal his items in his cart when he sleeps on the streets. After receiving lessons with Pete Snyder in his room, Ayers slowly got used to being in his room. He agreed to sleep in his room for three nights per week. After spending time with Ayers, Lopez slowly realized that Ayers had a huge effect on him. He helped more people in need and volunteered more. One person does and can make a difference to another person or even the world. What's important is to keep up the effort needed to accomplish that difference.

These chapters had added a lot of information about Nathaniel Ayers and his past and present. I hope the rest of the book was just as good as Part Two.



Focus Points

• Grammar
• Ideas and opinions
  

A Deeper Connection- [The Soloist 7-12]

After reading chapters 7 through 12, my opinion on the book has shifted a bit. The story has gotten more interesting as the relationship between Lopez and Ayers gets deeper. As Lopez spent his night with Ayers, he saw how hard it was to survive on the streets of Skid Row. He didn't understand why Ayers preferred to live and sleep on the streets instead of a nice room in the Lamp. As the night carried on, Lopez realized that it takes a lot of skills to live and survive on the streets on Skid Row. By spending time with Ayers and seeing how part of his life was on the streets, Lopez became closer and more connected with him.

The pressure of being a student at Juilliard was worse than I thought it would be. Some students would even use drugs and smoke in the stairways during school hours. One male student even went further than abusing drugs. The young male, Rabin, committed suicide because of the pressure of being at Juilliard. This reminded me of the student who committed suicide in The Catcher In The Rye. James Castle committed suicide by jumping out his dorm window because he didn't want to give in to the peer pressure of others. Rabin and Castle both died because of a type of pressure on them; one was from the school while the other was from wanting to not be like his peers.

Throughout these chapters, Lopez has a hard time trying to find the right treatment for Ayers. Some doctors said that medication was the right path for treating mental illness but one doctor, Dr. Mark Ragins, believed that doctors should focus on the patients' lives instead of just treating their illness. The discussion about treatment was also brought up in class. Carol mentioned that if a patient doesn't want to get treatment and receives it forcefully, it won't help him/her at all. On the other hand, if the patient is willing to receive treatment, it will be helpful. I agree with her statements because if people enjoy the way they are, they shouldn't be forced to change it because it won't help them anyway.

In chapter 12, Beethoven seems to be the main idea going on in Ayers's mind. He loves Beethoven and every piece of music that he has created. At Disney Hall, Ayers mentions that being there is like a dream come true. He was simply amazed by the orchestra, Eroica, that played Beethoven's Third Symphony. It was nice to read that he finally had the chance to visit Disney Hall and hear a wonderful orchestra play a Beethoven piece, who is practically like a god to Ayers.



Focus Points

• Flow of ideas
• Proper verb tenses
  

Passionate for Music - [The Soloist]

Out of the books we have read this year, I find that The Soloist by Steve Lopez somewhat boring. Although, it was depressing to read that Nathaniel Ayers was a prodigy at Juilliard but his life was destroyed by schizophrenia. He has done his best throughout his life, especially playing the bass at Juilliard. Everything was taken away from him during the fall semester of his third year at Juilliard. Ayers was twenty-one when this all happened. He had received medication, counseling and shock therapy, but none of them help for long. Ayers lost his fiancée, his musical career, and he slowly drifted away from his family. It’s sad to read that an extremely talented person has lost everything because of a mental disorder. It reminded me of the story The Story of the Good Little Boy by Mark Twain of how a good boy did everything he was supposed to, but bad things ended up happening to him. Ironic, is it?

Even though Ayers was homeless, that didn’t stop him from continuing to play music. He still had a deep passion for classical music and a dream to succeed. He learned how to play the violin and the cello. Steve Lopez noticed that Ayers was playing a two-stringed violin at a professional level. He finds out that all Ayers wants to do is play music. Ever since then, Lopez and Ayers form a connection as Lopez tries to learn about Ayers’s life before he became homeless. From the reading, it’s easy to tell that Lopez has a great interest in helping Ayers get his life back and continue making beautiful music. Music companies even gave Ayers a violin and cello to play.

Reading about how Ayers has a deep passion for music reminded me of many people I know, including myself. I used to have a strong passion for the violin, but over the years, I developed a stronger passion for singing. Many passionate musicians chase after their dreams of becoming famous and expressing their love for music through their instruments or voice. I admire those people because they always give their best to become who they want to be and let nothing stop them.




Focus Points

• Grammar and Mechanical Errors

• Organization of ideas and how clear it is expressed

The Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher In The Rye was a very interesting book because of the way the book was written. The book was based on the thoughts of the main character, Holden Caulfield. His mind seemed to wander around and he reminisced about his past often, especially about his dead brother, Allie, and a girl he had feelings for, Jane. Holden had a hard time connecting with people, but he had many thoughts going on in his head. He could be considered “shallow” because of how judgmental his comments were about everything he saw. He called many people “phony” throughout the whole book. By the end of the book, Holden seemed to break out of his “childhood shell” and step into maturity. His little sister, Phoebe, helped him mature without even knowing that she did. As he watched her ride a carousel, he almost cried because he realized how much he loved her and many other people. After failing four schools, it was good to read that Holden felt optimistic about his new school that he would attend in the fall after he recovers from his mental breakdown.

This book was a decent book to read because the text wasn’t too hard to understand but I thought the plot was a little dull and boring. The parts that had my attention were when he was punched in the face by Stradlater and when he mentioned that a former student committed suicide. The ending was quite unclear about the rest of Holden’s life after he was put into a rest home to recover from his breakdown. Overall, the book was enjoyable, along with his crazy thoughts.



Focus Points

• Grammar

• Content and ideas

Death of a Salesman

After watching and reading The Death of a Salesman, I felt sympathy for Linda Loman. Her husband, Willy, had a mental issue and was caught cheating by his own son. Willy even bought things for his mistress that he couldn’t give to his own wife. Her two sons, Biff and Happy, had problems of their own. Biff was going from job to job, looking for himself and trying to please his father. Happy had a blown-up self-ego and loved hooking up with women, even if they were engaged. As a mother and wife, Linda must have suffered a lot. She realized that Willy was contemplating suicide and even attempted it several times.

Throughout his life, Willy has tried his best to get everyone to like him. He wanted to be respected and liked, but he was always doubtful about himself. Willy was even caught cheating by Biff. He lost respect for his father after that day. Willy also pursued the American dream of having a successful life of buying and selling. He had a traveling job with good pay, but his wife begged him to try to get a job in town. After talking and yelling at his boss, Willy ended up getting fired. Because of that, his life was destroyed and he was devastated. All Willy wanted was a job that required a phone and connections with other businesses. He recalled that a salesman named Dave Singleman had a wonderful job and was still working at the age of eighty-four. Dave had died the “death of a salesman” and many people from different cities showed up at his funeral. Willy wanted that kind of life.

Willy tried to get his sons to follow the footsteps of becoming a successful business man. He wanted Biff and Happy to live a life that he couldn’t get. Although most parents want their kids to be more successful than they are, Willy pushed his sons too far. They were stuck in a job they didn’t like, but Biff was the only one to take a step to realizing who he really was. He accepted the fact that he was a failure and wanted to find a job in the West. On the other hand, Happy was very similar to Willy. He loved women and enjoyed their company. After his father’s death, he made a promise to stay in the city and become a famous and successful businessman.

Willy went driving one night and got into a car accident. At Willy’s funeral, Charley, Bernard, and his wife and sons showed up. Linda was appalled at how little people showed up. She was devastated because they were close to paying off all their bills. I believe that if Willy had took the job offered by Charley, he would have been happy in the end.



Focus Points

• Content and ideas

• Grammar

• Style

Blogging

Being able to to blog and do assignments online has been a fun experience. We get to have two periods in class with the laptops and spend time doing the assignments. By blogging, we are able to see other people's work and comment on them. As a student, blogging is valuable because I get to have my work commented on and get other people's opinion about my work. I also like to read other people's blog and see what they have to say about certain topics. Commenting other blogs are fun and they get to see my point of view on what I think about their assignments.

I think continuing this type of blogging in school is fun for us to do. We are able to interact with each other based on school work. The only thing that I don't really like about blogging is the website itself. I think the site should have a tracker of what you have done on its site. This would really help on the comments because I usually forget if I comment on some one's blog or not. Just to be safe, I just comment on someone else's. Being able to blog, we can interact with the technology we have available at school too.

This type of work is definitely different than what I have done in other English classes. Every work or assignment was always hand-written or presented. I like this idea of having a laptop every Friday because it's a lot easier to type work out than to write it. I can fix mistakes easily and get other people's opinion through their words visually instead of verbally.

With blogging, this has enabled both 11th grade classes to read and comment on each other's work. We have never done this before for any of the classes we have had in high school. We can know how other students think and how they express themselves through words. I usually don't talk to the other students in 11-2, but now I can comment on their work. Within our own class, people who usually don't talk to each other are able to comment on each other's work.

Blogging has many pros that can benefit us. It expanded the amount of communication available for both classes. People can read and comment on each other's work easily. Plus, the idea of using laptops in school to do English work is fun and new compared to other previous years in school.