The Blood of Olympus By Rick Riordan: Using my New Strategies

Today, I decided to try and apply what I have learned to another book. In How to Read Literature like a Professor, I read that a book usually has one overarching structure. One of these such structures is the quester's journey. In this structure, the quester usually goes and does something unrelated to the actual quest. On that journey, the hero faces challenges that eventually lead to the "real" story. The quester is also going to be unknowingly thrust into a new environment. He will then go on the main journey to accomplish the end goal.

I realized that this plot structure could be found in a series I read. So, when I found out that the last book in the series came out, I wanted to read it to see if it fit the structure. I recalled the first book. In The Lost Hero, the first three steps happen. Jason, the first main character, is just on a regular field trip, and his main intention is to learn. Along the way, he faces many insignificant conflicts. By the time the first major conflict comes, when he is fighting the transformed monsters, he realizes he has powers. He is then introduced to his hidden identity and finds out that he needs to save the world. Typical of a quester's journey plot structure.. The rest of the books leading up to the last one, is all about new characters being dragged into the fray, and the ensuing journey to accomplish their goal; save the world of demigods.

So, in order for the quester's journey to come to a complete close, the quester's must accomplish their goal, through all the trials. That is why I want to read the last book in the series, The Blood of Olympus. I want to see if my newly learned strategies worked.

Let's see what happens.

How to Read Literature like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines By Thomas C. Foster

Learning to read between the lines. Ever since we started reading short stories and had to interpret them, I saw how well Mrs.Parkinson interpreted the text, which brought new insights to the story. I wanted to be able to read and realize new things like that too.

One day, I was looking around for a book in my basement because I knew I would have to make a blog post soon. As I scanned the shelves, this caught my eye.

It was just what I was looking for! As I flipped through the introduction, one part stood out. "Memory. Symbol. Pattern. These are the three items that, more than any other, separate the professional reader from the rest of the crowd." This line highlights the qualities of what I believe to be the most important part of reading between the lines. Trying to use that right away, I tried to think of examples of these factors. Turns out, Mrs.Parkinson is a good example. When we were studying the Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" speech, she referenced multiple allusions, which shows how good her memory was. When we read The Color of Water, she immediately picked out the symbolism of the bike. When we talked about short stories, she pointed out many patterns that appeared within the stories.

Since I want to be able to do that too, I realized that this was the book for me. That is why I chose this book.

A Long Way Gone, By Ishmael Beah; A Text to Society Connection

I am currently reading a book called "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah. This book is about Ishmael's past, as a child soldier.  The horrors of his life terrified me. I kept imagining what I would do in his situation. His decisions allowed me to see how brave, how strong, he was to face all these great trials and tribulations.

A realization I got from this book is that decisions can be affected by your environment and situation. In the book, Ishmael and his friends are in war torn Sierra Leone and struggle to survive. During the course of the book, Ishmael himself and his friends have to make multiple important decisions. In these decisions, I realized that their decisions were usually influenced by their environment and or situation. For example; when the rebels attacked his hometown, the anxious mood in the air and the friends around him, influenced his decision to go back to the village to look for his family.

Another example of when the environment/setting affected Ishmael's decision making was when he was all alone in the forest, trying to stay away from the rebels who were trying to capture him. The forest was perfectly safe from the rebels, and he could have stayed there. But, the fact that his environment was lonely and he had no communication with another human influenced his decision making. He decided to move on, to look for other humans to stay with. These two examples from my book clearly show how my realization that decisions can be affected by your environment and situation is evident in the book. 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-psychology-behind-political-debate/201006/does-where-you-vote-affect-how-you-vote

This realization can also be applied to our society today. I decided to research and find more information on this topic. After awhile, I found what i was looking for. Today, according to Psychology Today, the place you vote at influences your vote. For example; When voting on an issue like same sex marriage, the people voting at a church were more likely to vote conservative. This shows how the environment affects the decisions of people in society today. So, my realization clearly links my book to society today.