Catherine Hardwicke if your reading this it's too late...

Dracula Writing Style

By Operation Victor "Definitely not Trevor" Frankenstein

After reading reading 388 pages of Bram Stoker's famous novel, I think I can finally give a solid interpretation of Stoker's writing style... (Also sorry for taking so long on this because IE crashed on me... Twice.)

As I said before in a previous blog, Bram Stoker is proficient in creating suspense while still moving the plot along. Ever since the beginning of the book Dracula remained present, but ominous. Johnathan Harker (the protagonist) unaware of who Count Dracula was (despite being invited to Castle Dracula) states, "I could hear a lot of queer words, for there were many nationalities in the crowd; so I quietly got my polyglot dictionary from my bag and looked them out. I must say they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were "Ordog"-Satan, "pokol"-hell, "stregoica"-witch, "vrolok" and "vlkoslak"-both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either werewolf or vampire." (Page 36)

Uneasy, and quite worried, Johnathan starts to question his objectives and fearing for the worst, "This was not very pleasant for me, just starting for an unknown place to meet an unknown man; but everyone seemed so kind-hearted, and so sorrowful, so sympathetic that I could not but be touched." Stoker makes his characters relatable, and for good reason. You feel Jonathan's pain, confusion and despair throughout the novel, creating a suspenseful and melancholy for the audience. However, that's not all, since I haven't cover the antagonist, *spoilers, okay not really because you should have saw this coming unless you've been living under a rock* Count Dracula himself.

Stoker must have spent along time on this novel, because of it's wide historical context on Transylvania, Romania and several other European countries. However, what sticks out is the Count himself. Acknowledging Frankestien for a bit, most horror readers are aware that pop culture, movies, etc tend to alternate the "vampire image" overtime. 

(Sorry I couldn't resist...)

Johnathan describes Dracula as follows, "His face was a strong- a very strong- aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiar arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples, but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and his bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth so far as I could see it under the heavy moustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips, who remarkable ruddiness showed astonishing vitality in a man of his years. For the rest, his ears were pale and at the tops extremely pointed; the chin was broad and strong, and cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was on extremely pallor." (Page 48)

Dracula compared to other interpretations on the Count, seems human more or less (with the exception of fangs, and hid distinguished nose). Stoker most likely did this on purpose to level with his audience. Despite the "helpless old man inviting house guest over" trope has been done before in stories like "Hansel and Gretel", it has never been so refined...

Yet I still find it funny that Johnathan uses garlic, the crucifix, a wild rose... Too bad Dracula didn't order... the steak (just kidding, he gets stabbed by a knife... and now I just forgot to put spoilers)

The Count, despite being no more that a blood-sucking, shape-shifting force of nature, he's also emotional. Soon before Johnathon falls unconscious, the 

Dracula, like said before, has a very general writing style. Compared to novel like Frankenstein, again, is that it doesn't require critical thinking to soak in the context. Granted, Frankenstein didn't give me a five hour history course on the Hun, Carpathians and Romania History, however, Dracula didn't give me a story about a trouble scientist and a hormonal, emotional monster that has a great ending... but made fall asleep 7 chapters into the book. Dracula is a great novel (and despite ranting so is Frankenstein), and its writing style is superb, but what puts it over the top as my favorite horror novel (sorry Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Coraline) is it's "letter/diary" format.

Throughout the novel, Jonathan and several other characters are revealed, communicating and acted out through letters/personal diaries, for example:

MY FRIEND,- Welcome to the Carpathians. I am anxiously expecting you. Sleep well tonight. At three tomorrow the diligence will start for Bukovina; a place on it is kept for you. At Borgo Pass my carriage will await you and will bring you to me. I trust that your journey from London has been a happy one, and that you will enjoy your stay in my beautiful land.

Your Friend,

DRACULA,

(Page 34)

This method is simply to extended communication (since this book came in the late 1800s), but it works pretty well as far as the plot goes. 

Unfortunately, Dracula's ending pulls a "Mary Shelley" and drags on way too long.

*If you don't want spoilers, skip this part*

"I felt a mighty power fly along my arm ; and it was without surprise I saw that the monster cower back before a similar movement made spontaneously by each one of us. It would be impossible to describe the expression of hate and baffled malignity- of anger and hellish rage- which came over the Count's face. His waxen hue became greenish-yellow by the contrast of his burning eyes, and the red scar on the forehead showed on the pallid skin like a palpitating wound". (Page 347) After a bit more flavor text, Dracula turns to ashes, Quincey (another main character) dies from fatal wounds delivered by The Count (I'm still not sure why Quincey needed to die though despite Stoker's reasoning) and Johnathan and Co spend the rest of the book playing patty cake and gossip over how many a female vampire lusted with Johnathan behind closed doors.

Still, the novel has set a standard for modern writers, and movies to come. Straightforward and general, Bram Stoker provides a proficient story with a sufficient ending that I think both classic and contemporary horror fans would enjoy.

Also Count Orlok from Nosferatu (1922) is the best vampire ever made...

Source:

Stoker, Bram, and Glennis Byron. Dracula. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1998. Print.

Eli Bates

Ms.Whitman 

Pre-AP English 1

12/3/2015 

                                                                  The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by f. Scott Fitzgerald is a sensational classic written in the 20's. Fitzgerald has some unique style choices, you can easily notices how much detail he puts into nick caraway’s (the main protagonist) thoughts. There was a movie recently made of it in which it stays very dedicated to the book only scrapping minor details from the comparison I drew between the two.

 You can see multiple examples throughout the book. "yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher within the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering, I was within and without." this quote is from the second chapter where nick is looking out an apartment window over the city while partying with his old college mate, Tom. 

He also is very good with using imagery, he has quite a few instances of his use of vivid imagery throughout the book as well."there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room." or "through the twilight universe Daisy began to move again with the season; suddenly she was again keeping beads and dying orchids on the floor beside her bed."

               

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat and its Informative Style

Ishaan Patel 5th hour 

          Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat is an amazing novel and very informative. It also tells us the story of a man who goes to the Barrens to study wolves. A scientist who wants to know the wolves very well so they he travels to Ottawa, Canada. Then, he gets dropped of in the middle of a forest where wolves were or the Barrens. From there on, he studies the wolces that live in the forest and the Eskimo culture. The style, informative, is used in this novel greatly and effectively. His style is very admirable. I admire his style, infirmative, in this book, too. His style is characterized in the informative category. His style is showed in many pages of the novel. He also uses great diction and syntax throughput the novel. For example, "His attitude of fatigue vanished and was replaced by a look of bewilderment" (83). He uses big and key words in this sentence. The words are also set up in a very sophisticated sequence. These big and key words he uses make the text sound informative. This means diction and syntax create a informative and a better (understanding of the) novel. The structure of the sentence also makes the text sound informative. He uses these big and key words to help his experiment and conclusion which also makes the text informative. This is how the text demonstrates the style, informative, and how well syntax and diction is used in this text. Another example is, "The results of the analysis were most interesting. Some 48 per cent of the seat contained rodent remains, largely incisive teeth and fur" (227). This text is telling us that he is writing his conclusion to the observations of the wolves. Usually, when you write a conclusion, it is informative and it was. It tells us a fact or a result of the observations which is informative because it tells us that his conclusion is informative, like the rest of the book, because it has facts and results.

          Imagery is used very well in this novel. It allows you to see things in your mind going on in the book. Figurative language is used but not as good and much as imagery. Imagery really helps the ready understand the book. It's impact on the book and reader is big and positive. For example, "As I looked about me at the stark and cloud-topped hills, the waste of pressure-rippled ice, and, beyond the valley, to the desolate and treeless roll of tundra, I had no doubt that this was excellent wolf country" (35). As you can see, there is very well used imagery in this sentence. The imagery in the sentence truly gives us an idea about what the Barrens look like. The imagery words in the sentence, cloud-topped, pressure-ripples, treeless, valley, and tundra, really helped the reader picture the Barrens in his mind. That's how powerful imagery is. It can make the reader picture things on his mind so it is kind of like they are watching a movie about the novel. The reader of Never Cry Wolf now knows that the Barrens have no trees, are cloudy, have crushed ice, and many other things. This impact is huge toward the reader and book. It is also effective. Another example is, "A small streak ran through it. It also embraced an area of grassy marsh which was alive with meadow mice: an ideal place for the pups to learn the first principles of hunting" (145). Now the reader knows what the surroundings of the new summer den for Angeline, George, Uncke Albert. And the pups looks like. The reader knows that the wolves are near water and food. This has a big impact in the book on the wolves, the reader, the narrator, and the book itself, too. The imagery of this sentence tells us that the wolves moved from there den, not near food and water, to the new which has food and water. This helps the narrators observations and conclusions because he knows now that the wolves move to a den close to food and water during the summer. This impacts the narrator because it gives him one more fact for his conclusion. This really helps his style, informative.

          The novel, Never Cry Wolf, is a very great novel to read. I liked it but at times it was boring because it was too much of a imformative and sophisticated novel for me. Although I liked it, I wouldn't recommend this book to all readers. The only readers that I would recommend his book to are the scientists, science loving readers, and animal (wolf) loving readers. Scientists would love this book because it's about science and how a scientist observes wolves and draws conclusions about what they do in life. Other people who are not scientists, science loving readers, or animal (wolf) loving readers should only read this book if they have nothing to do. If you have spare time, like I did, I would urge you to read this book. This book is great for scientists and science loving readers, and good for animal (wolf) lovers. For other readers, it would be a decent book for them. If you are not a scientist, science loving reader, or animal (wolf) loving reader, I would only read this book if you have spare time because it would help you past time and you might even enjoy it. In my opinion, this is a good pickup novel which is only good for reading on your spare time. Now if the reader were a scientist, science loving reader, or animal (wolf) loving reader, the reader should read this book pronto. Overall, the novel, Never Cry Wolf, is a novel meant to be read by certain people [scientists, science loving readers, or animal (wolf) loving readers] who can relate to this book.

Boy Nobody Style Annalysis

Tarynn Grundy
Boy Nobody

     The story "Boy Nobody" by Allen Zadoff, creates a vivid description of a very unique teenager who has a very unique job. Boy Nobody, the main character, completes specific and strategic missions. The people who give him his assignments are known as his “parents” who aren't his real parents but more like mentors that trained him to complete assignments. When Boy Nobody revives his mission, which is to execute the target, he builds a relationship  with a close family member of the target, eventually he is able to kill the  person he was assigned  to. After the mission is completed Boy Nobody then slips out of town without anyone noticing.  Allen Zadoff does a great job leading up to the climax with suspense.

     Allen Zadoff creates a conflict that starts close to the beginning of the story and ends at the very end of the book. Boy Nobody has to kill someone, he becomes close to that someone's daughter and shares things that aren't supposed to be said and does things that aren't supposed to be done; that causes him to get in trouble and almost take down the company and people he works for. I admire the style the Zadoff used during the climax of the book because of how intriguing it is, it's my favorite part. The suspense created is just amazing,  Zadoff uses many effects to express a change in the situation or to show tension in the room.An example of this  is “The music changes. The bass slows.” (136).  The use of short sentences implies great meaning and importance. Zadoff’s use of those short sentences shows a change in the situation and the tension rising.
   
     I would recommend this book to anyone. It is very captivating and the reviews are great. If anyone is looking for a thriller with a little romance, this is the book for them. I think most teens would enjoy the romance of the story; its between the main character and his most important target’s daughter, Sam.  The love between Boy Nobody and Sam is almost high school like; its very cute. Boy Nobody thinks about Sam in a funny way, he’s confused just like a teenage girl trying to pick out her outfit for a date. “I don't know this person, the one who avoids a girl because he doesn't know what to say to her. I don't know the guy who is distracted, who worries, who takes chances that are not strictly necessary.” (226).  Zadoff,, the author, did a great job expressing the compassion Boy Nobody has for Sam. Zadoff did a great job with this book, I hope the sequel will be out soon because this book is extremely captivating.

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

The novel Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown is about a girl who makes a very wrong decision in sending out a nude picture to her boyfriend. After the two break up he sends the photo to one of his friends, who then sends it out to the whole school. This results in her having to do community service and getting bullied by people at her school. It also results in her making a new friend, Mack, who helps her realize her true self.

In this novel, the author creates a melancholy writing style. Throughout the novel, Ashleigh (the main character) gets bullied a lot about the photo she sent. This creates the melancholy writing style because it puts a somber mood over the text. One instance is where a student at her school calls her out for “looking different.” He has seen the photo and was trying to make fun of her in front of the school. “’You look good today. Something’s different, though. What is it?’ … I narrowed my eyes at him, but even I could feel that my will wasn’t really behind it. I was going for hateful but was probably only achieving beggary. Please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything.” Another instance is when Ashleigh finds out that one of her friends was the one that attached her name and number to the photo that was going around. Ashleigh is so upset about this and she doesn’t believe what she’s hearing. “’[Rachel’s] the one who attached your name and phone number to the text.’ … I didn’t have any words. … My mind whirled. … I was still humiliated and would still have to face my parents. I would still have to face everyone at school again eventually.” Through these moments in the text, the author is able to create a melancholy writing style that makes the reader feel sympathetic toward Ashleigh.

My favorite scene in the novel is when Ashleigh leads Mack back to the tunnel to write her name on the wall.  "I opened my backpack and pulled out a small can of silver spray paint ... Mack didn't say anything, just grinned ... I was not my mistakes. I was not defined by anyone else. Only I got to say who I was. ... I pressed the trigger and drew a big, loopy, celebratory "A"." I really like this part because it is in this moment she realizes the names she has been called don't define her. The author gives the audience a great sense of anticipation in which I thought was an excellent way to end this novel.

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed how the author would change each chapter form past story telling to present story telling. It made the novel a lot more suspenseful because you would want to read on after every chapter to know what happens next in each story telling.

Insurgent:Veronica Roth

 

Insurgent by: Veronica Roth 

Martinez 

 

 

 

   Veronica Roth style is very descriptive but also modern. The words are not difficult at all and its a very easy book to read. Don't get me wrong, the novel is great and really interesting, with a exceptional plot line. its not as challenging as other books the diction is not as great. Veronica is very descriptive in her writing. At the beginning of the book the exposition on (p.42) "I inch closer to Tobias, not sure how to comfort him without making things worse. I pick up my apple with my left hand, and grab his hand under the table with my right. But I can’t keep my eyes away from Marcus. I want to know more about what he said to Johanna. And sometimes, if you want the truth, you have to demand it.” the paragraph is very descriptive divergent, insurgent, and allegiant are all in a dystopian society. Veronica audience is mainly teenagers. 

  

    A very important and powerful quote in the book is “It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free.” The other factions do not have the liberty that the dauntless have. some might call them crazy but I think they are willing to do whatever to show prowess and self confidence. I think this is why tris chose dauntless in the first place. and I would too or abnegation because I like to help others. 

  

  After reading the divergent series I would recommend this novel to anyone, its a really great book and the author veronica Roth is very inspiring to be free and live life willingly. it is definitely a good read. The book is not as challenging, like a To Kill a Mockingbird. I would rate this novel a  

7/10.  

 

 

 

  

 

I Am the Weapon By Allen Zadoff

                I read the book I am a weapon by Allen Zadoff.  It’s about a boy named Zach who goes to different towns and completes his missions.  He makes friends and does his job and then disappears.  He never stays anywhere too long.  Just long enough for his target to die of natural causes.  Or in other words just in time for him to kill the target.  Zadoff’s style is thriller.  He wrote a page turning novel that made you think.  The author uses informal because there is a teenage boy telling the story and some formal diction.  Zach has been forced to act like an adult because he’s had to kill people and act like a soldier.  When Zach is talking with the friends Zadoff uses informal diction and when Zach is thinking to himself he uses more formal diction.  When Zach and his friend Jack are talking, Jack says “Watch it with the bat, dude” (1).  Through out the novel words like dude and buddy are used making it informal diction.  In one of Zach’s earlier assignments he was getting followed by a black Sudan.  He thought to himself, “A spattering of houses set way back from the road, their views obscured behind thickets of trees” (16).  Even though Zach is a teenager he is very intelligent and highly trained so the author used more formal diction when he is thinking than when he is talking with his friends. 

                Allen Zadoff uses lots of great imagery in this novel.  At the beginning of Zach’s experience with the program he got stabbed in the arm.  He describes it as, “An ugly gash, hard with scar tissue, located on my left peck in the meat between my chest and shoulder.  A knife wound” (Ch. 13).  This part uses great imagery because it describes how the knife just disappeared into his chest.  Mike one of his close friends was the one who stabbed him.  This section is powerful because like Zach’s “mother” said bad experiences are life’s most teachable moments.  This taught Zach that even though Mike was his friend he still stabbed him which showed that Mike was capable of a lot more than he thought he was. The author uses figurative language throughout the book.  In the part where he is being followed by the men in the black Sudan Zach said, “But they know something about me because they are looking at me like I’m dinner at the zoo” (17).  Throughout the book Zach is faced with difficult challenges.  The people that he is up against look at him and think that they will easily be able to beat him.  But he is a lot stronger and smarter than he looks.  That’s the beauty of this simile because it shows how they look at him like he’s nothing but then he ends up beating all of them. 

                This was a very interesting novel.  I would definitely recommend it.  It’s very exciting and it will keep you on the edge of your seat.  It makes you wonder what it would be like to be a “soldier” and have to kill people.  It makes you wonder why everything that Zach has been through and seen doesn’t bother him.  The book never really says if Zach is a good hero or if he just thinks he is.  The way Zadoff writes makes you want to read the next book to see what happens to Zach and his family.  He constantly keeps you wondering and nervous about what’s going to happen.  He also adds little surprises in the book.  For example, there is a little twist in the novel when Zach starts to like one of his targets.  Read the story and see what happens with Zach and the program.    

The Bell Jar

The novel The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is about a girl named Esther who is severely depressed. She tries a lot of things to make her feel better, but nothing seems to work. After coming home from a prestigious fashion program in New York, she finds her home life to be dull and boring. She has nothing to do, and nothing that she wants to do. While her mother is away at work, she stays in bed all day. Esther goes to a doctor who is also a family friend to talk about how she is feeling. The doctor decides that she is not the best fit for Esther, she needs a new doctor. So she recommends her to another doctor, Doctor Gordon. Doctor Gordon choses a more aggressive plan for treatment, electric shock therapy. The electric shock therapy is not as helpful as they had hoped but Esther acts like it works so she can get out of it and not do it again.

Sylvia Plath has a very interesting writing style, it could be described as controversial. She is never holds back in her writing, she talks about topics that aren't particularly comfortable to talk about. Everything she talks about are generally uncomfortable topics. She talks about suicide in some parts of the novel, "I unscrewed the bottle of pills and started taking them swiftly, between gulps of water, one by one" (169). Esther is so depressed, which is a controversial topic, that she feels that the only way to get better is to kill herself, which is a really uncomfortable thing to talk about. But Sylvia Plath never backs down from a challenge. We always know what Esther is thinking, sometimes she doesn't have the best thoughts but Sylvia always say it no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it is, "After that, Buddy took me out into a hall where they had some big glass bottles full of babies that had died before they were born" (63). This shows that Esther sees all kinds of weird things that don't even phase her. She saw dead babies and she didn't even care. This makes Sylvia Plath's even more controversial, even more difficult to read but it also makes her writing more compelling. When the reader thinks that the novel might get boring Sylvia Plath makes things more interesting.

My favorite scene from the novel is when Esther is the hospital after she almost over doses and the doctors are asking her how she is and she is getting aggravated with them, "I also hate people to ask cheerfully how you are when they know you're feeling like hell and expect you to say 'fine'" (177).  I really like this part because it shows how real she is, she always says whatever she is feeling. And how she is also in a way messing with the doctors. She knows that they want her to say that she's fine but she tells them that she is feeling "lousy" to try to get them to pay more attention to her.

Finally, I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read anything that isn't like your usual novel. This novel is really different, and interesting and that's what makes it so good. The novel also really shows what its like to be so depressed like that, but also makes it easy to relate to even though not everyone is like Esther. She tells stories that the reader can really connect to even though Esther can be really hard to relate to.

The Pregancy Project Style Analysis By: Keiarra Hayden-Jackson

In The Pregnancy Project written by Gaby Rodriguez, Gaby herself tells the story of her senior project. As a social experiment, Gaby faked a pregnancy to see how people would react and treat her. Coming from a family where teen pregnancy was normal, she didn't want to go down that path. She got good grades, was involved in many different school activities and was creating a good life for herself. Only a few people stood by her side while she completed the project. However, they weren't all happy. Jorge, her boyfriend wanted his parents off his back and her mom wanted to stop lying to her brothers and sisters. Gaby was determined to finished and when she did, everybody was shocked. Some students and teachers were upset because they felt left out, but some were also proud of her. She was proud of herself.
Throughout the novel, Rodriguez creates a rather simplistic style. Simplistic means treating complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they really are. What would you do if you or someone else you know were pregnant? Would you make it a big deal? Gaby made it look easy. As the reader, I know it wasn't, but Rodriguez believed in herself. She got to take the belly off at night, but during the day she was another pregnant teen that was being tormented and starred at. Even though, it wasn't real, she had to treat it like it was. As many times as she wanted to say," I'm not even pregnant, " and "I'm still going to college because I'm not pregnant, " she couldn't. The rumors were real about a fake situation and she couldn't stop her project.
Gaby Rodriguez's diction and syntax is simple. There were some words that looked different, but other than that her story was easy to understand. "I'm thinking about a project that will explore how people are influenced by stereotypes," I took a deep breath. " And the way I want to do that is by introducing a false pregnancy. Mine. I want to fake a pregnancy.(84)" When I came to this part of the novel, i was shocked. It took her awhile to come out and say what she was really going to do for her senior project. She'd hinted that it would have something to do with pregnancy, but I would've never thought of that. On page 146, something else caught my attention. No, Gaby's words and sentences aren't complex, but she is smart and her words will make you think. " ...Being a seventeen-year-old mom is not cool, either. Everyone oohs and ahhs over your baby for five minutes, and then you get left in the dust to deal with your responsibilities while your friends are still out there being kids." This actually had a big effect on me. As the child of a teen mother, I've seen the hardships and I don't want to be like that. I want to be able to raise my children without struggling, other than changing diapers. That's what Gaby was trying to get across.
Gaby also made sure that the readers could visualize what she's saying. My favorite line of imagery is when she describes what the " baby bump" looks like. " My mom and I went to the craft store to get wire and clay, which she used to build the fake belly around basketball, then removed the basketball after the clay dried, " "... Should it have a zipper in the back? Snaps? Would people notice that under  my clothes?" The description gave readers a good look of what Gaby would be experiencing for the next six months!
I most definitely would recommend this novel to anyone. I would recommend it to mostly teen girls. Miss Rodriguez is capable of changing your thoughts about the things we see everyday such as stereotyping and teen pregnancy!