Dear Roald Dahl,
I really enjoyed reading this memoir. It was fasinating to read about the insirations for your books. The ways that adults treat you differed greatly. Your mother always loved and supported you, while all of your teachers beat you and treated you like dirt. You have quite an imagination, which comes through in your novels and in your memoir. I also found it fitting that you wrote a memoir solely on your childhood, because most of your fictional novels aer for children. Your point of view was interesting. You went from a childs point of view to the present time. I loved reading your memoi because you are one of my favorite writers.
Taylor
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Post A Week 5
Vocabulary:
Supercilious;(169)
haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
Sombre:(171)
gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted
Appeals:
1. One appeal is when Roalds mother asks him if he wants to go to college. "no, thank youu," I said. "i want to go stright from school to work for a company that will send me to wonderful faraway places like Africa or China." (166) This shows how much Roald wants adventure.
2.Another appeal is after Roald gets beaten for no reason, he gives up his faith in God. "It was all of this, I think, that made me give begin to have doubts about religion and even about God. If this person, I kept telling myself, was one of God's chosen salesmen on earth, then there must be something very wrong about the whole business."(146)
3. The last appeal is humorous. When asked by his employer if he wants to go to Egypt, Roald responds. "It's.. it's.. it's, I stammered, it's too dusty sir." (172) This is funny because that is a very poor excuse to not go somewhere.
Quote:"But that is another story. It has nothing to do with childhood or school or Gobstoppers or dead mice or Beazers or summer holidays of Norway. it is a different tale altogether, and if it all goes well, i may have a shot at telling it one of these days." (176) This pretty much sums up the feeling of the mamoir.
Themes: The theme of this book is childhood.
Supercilious;(169)
haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
Sombre:(171)
gloomily dark; shadowy; dimly lighted
Appeals:
1. One appeal is when Roalds mother asks him if he wants to go to college. "no, thank youu," I said. "i want to go stright from school to work for a company that will send me to wonderful faraway places like Africa or China." (166) This shows how much Roald wants adventure.
2.Another appeal is after Roald gets beaten for no reason, he gives up his faith in God. "It was all of this, I think, that made me give begin to have doubts about religion and even about God. If this person, I kept telling myself, was one of God's chosen salesmen on earth, then there must be something very wrong about the whole business."(146)
3. The last appeal is humorous. When asked by his employer if he wants to go to Egypt, Roald responds. "It's.. it's.. it's, I stammered, it's too dusty sir." (172) This is funny because that is a very poor excuse to not go somewhere.
Quote:"But that is another story. It has nothing to do with childhood or school or Gobstoppers or dead mice or Beazers or summer holidays of Norway. it is a different tale altogether, and if it all goes well, i may have a shot at telling it one of these days." (176) This pretty much sums up the feeling of the mamoir.
Themes: The theme of this book is childhood.
Monday, October 15, 2007
My lovely(ish) film review...
The film The 400 Blows was good. It was not a spectacular piece of art or a theatrical masterpiece. However, it kept me entertained or at least awake, and the mischievous actions of Antoine made me crack a smile. It was not a happy film, but at the finish I was in a good mood, and not because the film was over. Overall, this movie was satisfactory.
In the film The 400 Blows, the protagonist is Antoine. Antoine is a twelve-year-old in the 1930’s, living in Paris, France. He struggles to find acceptance at school and at home, so he lashes out and does rebellious things. He first gets caught with a dirty picture in class. Then, while he is being punished for having the picture, he writes on the wall. The teacher finds out and to punish Antoine, he must talk to his parents and have them pay for the damage to school property. He does not tell them, and instead of going back to school the next day and facing his teacher, he and his best friend skip school. While he is running around town, he spots his mom kissing a man that was not Antoine’s’ stepfather. She sees that he saw her. Both of them are busted, but neither can do anything about it, or they both will be caught. The next day when Antoine goes back to school, the teacher wants to know why Antoine was not in school. Antoine makes up a tale that his mother had died. This story backfires when one of the kids Antoine goes to school with tells his parents Antoine was not in school. When his parents arrive at school, Antoine is busted. After all of this happened, Antoine stole his fathers typewriter and got caught with it. In the end, Antoine is sent to a Juvenile Delinquent School and then escapes.
Jean-Pierre Léaud plays Antoine in the film. Jean-Pierre Léaud played the role of a bad French boy very effectively. He is very scrawny and that makes it all the more convincing that he is a poor suffering child. He also looks French and obviously speaks French as his first language, so he fits his description well. His costumes are very dirty and old looking. Claire Maurier plays Antoine’s mother. Her character is glamorous and flamboyant and she looks like both of those things. Her classic French features and 30’s style blonde curled hair make her perfect for the part. She pulls off the snobby, bratty, wannabe society girl flawlessly. Even though her family is poor, she has very nice clothes including furs. Guy Decomble plays the frustrated French teacher. He looks the part; his clothes are geeky, and he is old. However, the part is a bit overdone. He seems very unnatural, and a bit embarrassed to be in front of the camera. Overall the acting in this film was not perfect, but also not horrible.
There were different cinematic aspects in this film. The music was the same throughout, a melodic tune that changed slightly to correspond to the situation. The photography was not commercial, it was arty. It had odd camera angles, especially in Antoine’s house. Some shots were very long. The shot of the children watching the puppet show seemed candid, but went on forever. The shot of Antoine escaping was endless. He ran and ran, in a very peculiar manner, and if the shot would have been several minutes shorter, it would have gone with the flow of the film much more seamlessly. The end of the movie was terrible. It ended with Antoine at the ocean, which would have been cool if they would not have simply stopped the camera on Antoine’s face. They could have faded out into black or stopped the camera on the ocean, but because they ended it on a blurry image of his face, the ending seemed choppy.
The film The 400 Blows and the novel Black Boy by Richard Write are similar. They both have struggling/oppressed protagonists. Antoine and Richard both want to have freedom, but freedom is not socially acceptable for either. They both have a horrible family life, as Richard is oppressed and beaten and Antoine is ignored and then discarded. Their family considers them a burden to carry. They are different though. They escape from their terrible lives in different ways. Richard writes and Antoine watches films. Also Richards’ life is less sheltered than Antoine’s. He Deals with the threat of death daily, while Antoine’s parents refuse to beat him. Richard has good morals. He only steals when it is necessary, where as Antoine steals for the thrill of it.
I highly recommend this movie. I especially recommend it to those who are into old films. The plot was simple, the characters were very well portrayed and old fashioned. The costumes were true to the time period. Any one who is into films would look at this as a film that is highly important and well one. I think that the film would appeal to everyone to old sentimental folks to young mischievous children who need a role model.
In the film The 400 Blows, the protagonist is Antoine. Antoine is a twelve-year-old in the 1930’s, living in Paris, France. He struggles to find acceptance at school and at home, so he lashes out and does rebellious things. He first gets caught with a dirty picture in class. Then, while he is being punished for having the picture, he writes on the wall. The teacher finds out and to punish Antoine, he must talk to his parents and have them pay for the damage to school property. He does not tell them, and instead of going back to school the next day and facing his teacher, he and his best friend skip school. While he is running around town, he spots his mom kissing a man that was not Antoine’s’ stepfather. She sees that he saw her. Both of them are busted, but neither can do anything about it, or they both will be caught. The next day when Antoine goes back to school, the teacher wants to know why Antoine was not in school. Antoine makes up a tale that his mother had died. This story backfires when one of the kids Antoine goes to school with tells his parents Antoine was not in school. When his parents arrive at school, Antoine is busted. After all of this happened, Antoine stole his fathers typewriter and got caught with it. In the end, Antoine is sent to a Juvenile Delinquent School and then escapes.
Jean-Pierre Léaud plays Antoine in the film. Jean-Pierre Léaud played the role of a bad French boy very effectively. He is very scrawny and that makes it all the more convincing that he is a poor suffering child. He also looks French and obviously speaks French as his first language, so he fits his description well. His costumes are very dirty and old looking. Claire Maurier plays Antoine’s mother. Her character is glamorous and flamboyant and she looks like both of those things. Her classic French features and 30’s style blonde curled hair make her perfect for the part. She pulls off the snobby, bratty, wannabe society girl flawlessly. Even though her family is poor, she has very nice clothes including furs. Guy Decomble plays the frustrated French teacher. He looks the part; his clothes are geeky, and he is old. However, the part is a bit overdone. He seems very unnatural, and a bit embarrassed to be in front of the camera. Overall the acting in this film was not perfect, but also not horrible.
There were different cinematic aspects in this film. The music was the same throughout, a melodic tune that changed slightly to correspond to the situation. The photography was not commercial, it was arty. It had odd camera angles, especially in Antoine’s house. Some shots were very long. The shot of the children watching the puppet show seemed candid, but went on forever. The shot of Antoine escaping was endless. He ran and ran, in a very peculiar manner, and if the shot would have been several minutes shorter, it would have gone with the flow of the film much more seamlessly. The end of the movie was terrible. It ended with Antoine at the ocean, which would have been cool if they would not have simply stopped the camera on Antoine’s face. They could have faded out into black or stopped the camera on the ocean, but because they ended it on a blurry image of his face, the ending seemed choppy.
The film The 400 Blows and the novel Black Boy by Richard Write are similar. They both have struggling/oppressed protagonists. Antoine and Richard both want to have freedom, but freedom is not socially acceptable for either. They both have a horrible family life, as Richard is oppressed and beaten and Antoine is ignored and then discarded. Their family considers them a burden to carry. They are different though. They escape from their terrible lives in different ways. Richard writes and Antoine watches films. Also Richards’ life is less sheltered than Antoine’s. He Deals with the threat of death daily, while Antoine’s parents refuse to beat him. Richard has good morals. He only steals when it is necessary, where as Antoine steals for the thrill of it.
I highly recommend this movie. I especially recommend it to those who are into old films. The plot was simple, the characters were very well portrayed and old fashioned. The costumes were true to the time period. Any one who is into films would look at this as a film that is highly important and well one. I think that the film would appeal to everyone to old sentimental folks to young mischievous children who need a role model.
post b week 4
Dear Roald Dahl,
You seem to have had a very rough childhood. Yet you always appear o be optimistic. It is actually very inspiring. The way that you deal with your problems is very mature. Was that how you were raised to be or is that just naturally one of your characteristics? You are a very clam, cool, and collected type of guy, and that shows in the writing of this book and in the other childrens books you have written.
Taylor
You seem to have had a very rough childhood. Yet you always appear o be optimistic. It is actually very inspiring. The way that you deal with your problems is very mature. Was that how you were raised to be or is that just naturally one of your characteristics? You are a very clam, cool, and collected type of guy, and that shows in the writing of this book and in the other childrens books you have written.
Taylor
Post A week 4
Vocabulary:
Lacerated: (120)
to tear roughly; mangle: The barbed wire lacerated his hands.
to distress or torture mentally or emotionally; wound deeply; pain greatly
Comradely: (122)
heartily friendly and congenial
Appeals:
1. 'My sisters shrieked with laughter when I appeared. "He can't go out in those," they cried. "He'll be arrested by the police!"'(139)
This has emotional appeals because it makes a person feel bad for Roald. We have all been forced into a ridiculous outfit in our lives, so why make fun of others who unfortunatly look ridiculous at the moment?
2. 'Nobody's taking the slightest notice of you' my mother saidas we walked through Bexley High Street. And Curiously enough nobody was.' (139) This has humorous appeals because Roald made a huge fuss about having to wear the ridiculous uniform, but no one cared about what he was wearing.
3. "At Repton, the prefects were never called prefects. They were simply called Boazars, and they had te power of life and death over us junior boys." (141) This quote make you feel bad for all of the underdogs at Repton school.
Sig Quote.
" A ritual took place in the dormitory after each beating. The Victim was required to stand in the middle of the room and lower his pajama trousers so that the damage could be inspected. Half a dozen experts would crowd around you and express thier opinions in highly professional language. This quote is significant because it show how commonplace beating childern was in this time period and in this book.
Themes:
One theme in this book seems to be fear of those who are above you.
Lacerated: (120)
to tear roughly; mangle: The barbed wire lacerated his hands.
to distress or torture mentally or emotionally; wound deeply; pain greatly
Comradely: (122)
heartily friendly and congenial
Appeals:
1. 'My sisters shrieked with laughter when I appeared. "He can't go out in those," they cried. "He'll be arrested by the police!"'(139)
This has emotional appeals because it makes a person feel bad for Roald. We have all been forced into a ridiculous outfit in our lives, so why make fun of others who unfortunatly look ridiculous at the moment?
2. 'Nobody's taking the slightest notice of you' my mother saidas we walked through Bexley High Street. And Curiously enough nobody was.' (139) This has humorous appeals because Roald made a huge fuss about having to wear the ridiculous uniform, but no one cared about what he was wearing.
3. "At Repton, the prefects were never called prefects. They were simply called Boazars, and they had te power of life and death over us junior boys." (141) This quote make you feel bad for all of the underdogs at Repton school.
Sig Quote.
" A ritual took place in the dormitory after each beating. The Victim was required to stand in the middle of the room and lower his pajama trousers so that the damage could be inspected. Half a dozen experts would crowd around you and express thier opinions in highly professional language. This quote is significant because it show how commonplace beating childern was in this time period and in this book.
Themes:
One theme in this book seems to be fear of those who are above you.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Post A Week 3
Vocab:
Disentangled:(103)
1. to free or become free from entanglement; untangle; extricate
Depressed: (105)
1. sad and gloomy; dejected; downcast.
2. pressed down, or situated lower than the general surface.
3. lowered in force, amount, etc.
4. undergoing economic hardship, esp. poverty and unemployment.
5. being or measured below the standard or norm.
Appeals:
'Proceeding at no more than four miles an hour all the way, we finally made it to Dr Dunbars house. I was hustled out of the car and in through front door with my mother still holdingthe bloodstained hankerchief firmly over my wobbling nose.
"Good Heavens!" cried Dr Dunbar. "It's been cut clean off!"'(105) This has exciting appeals because having some one's nose almost fall off might be a tad bit exhilerating.
'They were tough those masters, make no kistake about it, and if you wanted to survive, you had to be prettytough yourself.' (113) This has humourus and sad emotional appeals. It is humorous because it is a ten year old child talking about being tough so that he can survive, but it is also very sad because this situation is reality for all of the boys that attended these schools.
'These were word of doom. A Stripe!... All around the room I could hear murmers of sympathyfrom every boy in school.'
This has emoional appeals. Raold had run out of ink and asked his nieghbor for some. He got caught and got in huge trouble.
Sig Quote:
"Having no nib, I was unable to write another word about 'The Life Story Of A Penny', but I was able to finish it the next afternoon instead of playing games." (118) This quote is significant because it is when Raold Dahl began to like to write stories.
Themes: The main theme of this memoir is the triumphs and tribulations of Roald Dahls' childhood.
Disentangled:(103)
1. to free or become free from entanglement; untangle; extricate
Depressed: (105)
1. sad and gloomy; dejected; downcast.
2. pressed down, or situated lower than the general surface.
3. lowered in force, amount, etc.
4. undergoing economic hardship, esp. poverty and unemployment.
5. being or measured below the standard or norm.
Appeals:
'Proceeding at no more than four miles an hour all the way, we finally made it to Dr Dunbars house. I was hustled out of the car and in through front door with my mother still holdingthe bloodstained hankerchief firmly over my wobbling nose.
"Good Heavens!" cried Dr Dunbar. "It's been cut clean off!"'(105) This has exciting appeals because having some one's nose almost fall off might be a tad bit exhilerating.
'They were tough those masters, make no kistake about it, and if you wanted to survive, you had to be prettytough yourself.' (113) This has humourus and sad emotional appeals. It is humorous because it is a ten year old child talking about being tough so that he can survive, but it is also very sad because this situation is reality for all of the boys that attended these schools.
'These were word of doom. A Stripe!... All around the room I could hear murmers of sympathyfrom every boy in school.'
This has emoional appeals. Raold had run out of ink and asked his nieghbor for some. He got caught and got in huge trouble.
Sig Quote:
"Having no nib, I was unable to write another word about 'The Life Story Of A Penny', but I was able to finish it the next afternoon instead of playing games." (118) This quote is significant because it is when Raold Dahl began to like to write stories.
Themes: The main theme of this memoir is the triumphs and tribulations of Roald Dahls' childhood.
Post B Week 3
Dear Raold Dahl,
Your memoir is very interesting. I love reading about your Norwegian herritage and visits to the Norwegian Fjords because I am very Norwegian and when I visited my cousins who live there, we went to a few fjords. Also, I never knew you went to a very strict boarding school. I think that school is strict now, but compared to what you went through at school, Edina High School seems easy. You were very clever when you were in school. The way you got yourself sent home for having Appendisiteice was very cool. Also it is funny that you had such a good family life because in most of your books, like Matilda, the protaganist has evil parents.
When your "ancient" sister drove horribly, I thought it was mean of you to critisise her driving skills. I thought that until she got into the acident and your nose fell off. I thought you were kidding or exagerating until you called the docter and he verified it. It's almost funny, really. There seems to be a lot of disgusting surgeries and accidents in this memoir. When they just sewed your nose back on with out any anesthesia and you blacked out, I felt your pain. I also felt for you when your mom gave you a few random coins as compensation for your nose almost falling off.
Taylor
Your memoir is very interesting. I love reading about your Norwegian herritage and visits to the Norwegian Fjords because I am very Norwegian and when I visited my cousins who live there, we went to a few fjords. Also, I never knew you went to a very strict boarding school. I think that school is strict now, but compared to what you went through at school, Edina High School seems easy. You were very clever when you were in school. The way you got yourself sent home for having Appendisiteice was very cool. Also it is funny that you had such a good family life because in most of your books, like Matilda, the protaganist has evil parents.
When your "ancient" sister drove horribly, I thought it was mean of you to critisise her driving skills. I thought that until she got into the acident and your nose fell off. I thought you were kidding or exagerating until you called the docter and he verified it. It's almost funny, really. There seems to be a lot of disgusting surgeries and accidents in this memoir. When they just sewed your nose back on with out any anesthesia and you blacked out, I felt your pain. I also felt for you when your mom gave you a few random coins as compensation for your nose almost falling off.
Taylor
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Post A week 2
Vocab:
Enlightened (101): the state of being enlightened
Spurred (102): anything that goads, impels, or urges, as to action, speed, or achievement.
Appeals
1) One of the appeals is homesickness. Roald Dahl oves his family a lot. He doesn't ever want to be away from them. "Homesickness is a bit like sea-sickness, you don't know how bad it is until you get it. (93)
2) Another one of the appeals is childhood. Roald Dahl is childish, young in this memoir and it show through in his writing. He is guilable and lovable. "I would never lie to you child," she answered. "so let that be a lesson to you to neveruse an old toothbrush." (95)
3) The last appeal is danger. When his family is driving their new car, they get into a terrible car accident. "the ancient sister, never have being faced with a situation like thisbefore shouted Help!" (103)
Theme
There is a theme of childhood still, that youth is important to how you grow up.
Enlightened (101): the state of being enlightened
Spurred (102): anything that goads, impels, or urges, as to action, speed, or achievement.
Appeals
1) One of the appeals is homesickness. Roald Dahl oves his family a lot. He doesn't ever want to be away from them. "Homesickness is a bit like sea-sickness, you don't know how bad it is until you get it. (93)
2) Another one of the appeals is childhood. Roald Dahl is childish, young in this memoir and it show through in his writing. He is guilable and lovable. "I would never lie to you child," she answered. "so let that be a lesson to you to neveruse an old toothbrush." (95)
3) The last appeal is danger. When his family is driving their new car, they get into a terrible car accident. "the ancient sister, never have being faced with a situation like thisbefore shouted Help!" (103)
Theme
There is a theme of childhood still, that youth is important to how you grow up.
Monday, October 1, 2007
post b (week 2)
Dear Roald Dahl,
It is very interesting to read about your childhood. I can see where you get most of your ideas for your books. Your stories of bording school were very sad. The ways in which childeren were treated in the past are terrible. The censorship, the beatings, and the constant fear that you had to endure was eye-opening.
The tales of surgeries in the past disgusted me. When they just pulled out your tonsils with out any pain killers or gloves, or even a hospital, I was horrified and a bit nauseas. Also when you sister got her apendix out and they did it at you house, and you got to keep the appendix to look at was gross.
So far I am really enjoying your book. It is nice to read a happy book once in a while.
It is very interesting to read about your childhood. I can see where you get most of your ideas for your books. Your stories of bording school were very sad. The ways in which childeren were treated in the past are terrible. The censorship, the beatings, and the constant fear that you had to endure was eye-opening.
The tales of surgeries in the past disgusted me. When they just pulled out your tonsils with out any pain killers or gloves, or even a hospital, I was horrified and a bit nauseas. Also when you sister got her apendix out and they did it at you house, and you got to keep the appendix to look at was gross.
So far I am really enjoying your book. It is nice to read a happy book once in a while.
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