1. Which of the three books did you enjoy the most and why?
I liked Their Eyes were Watching God the most because the African-American dialect in the novel was unique and I found it extremely interesting. Also, the culture of the blacks kept me interested because it is much different from my culture. Janie has a tough time deciding whether to follow what her Grandma, or Nanny, wants for her or to do what she wants in her choice of husband. An example of this is that Nanny wanted to Janie to marry a rich man;whereas, Janie originally wanted to be with someone that makes her feel better, but does not have a whole lot of money. Nanny's desire for the security from wealth is a result of her time as a slave who was envious of the slave owner's wife who had the privilege of sitting and watching instead of the physical labor required of Nanny. In addition, I particularly liked Hurston's writing style. I liked the use of figurative language throughout the book. The climax of the hurricane kept me reading and I thought overall Hurston did a great job of keeping my attention throughout the entire story. The pace or rhythm at the beginning of the novel was slow and elongated by the use of imagery and metaphors however, Hurston speeds up the pace near the end with rising tension.
I liked Their Eyes were Watching God the most because the African-American dialect in the novel was unique and I found it extremely interesting. Also, the culture of the blacks kept me interested because it is much different from my culture. Janie has a tough time deciding whether to follow what her Grandma, or Nanny, wants for her or to do what she wants in her choice of husband. An example of this is that Nanny wanted to Janie to marry a rich man;whereas, Janie originally wanted to be with someone that makes her feel better, but does not have a whole lot of money. Nanny's desire for the security from wealth is a result of her time as a slave who was envious of the slave owner's wife who had the privilege of sitting and watching instead of the physical labor required of Nanny. In addition, I particularly liked Hurston's writing style. I liked the use of figurative language throughout the book. The climax of the hurricane kept me reading and I thought overall Hurston did a great job of keeping my attention throughout the entire story. The pace or rhythm at the beginning of the novel was slow and elongated by the use of imagery and metaphors however, Hurston speeds up the pace near the end with rising tension.
2. Which of the three books did you enjoy least and why?
The book We was extremely hard for me to get interested in. I enjoy math and science, but this book was not my style or something that I like to read. The author, Yevgemy Zamyatin, creates narration that is plain and boring. I found it strange how people were dressed identically and had to walk the same way. It was frustrating that throughout the book little is mentioned about the people that live outside of the wall. The setting was dull and I was not amazed by the futuristicness of the setting either that Zamyatin created in the novel. For this reason, dystopian novels are hard for me to get into and to comprehend because I am not into that type of novel.
3. If you were to write an essay on the third novel (the book not addressed in the previous two questions) what element or elements would you focus on in that essay and why do think they are important?
The Stranger, by Albert Camus was a decent book in my mind. Camus portrayed the main character, Meursault, as a person with no emotion. When he learns of his mother's death he displays no sadness as if he has no attachment to his mother. Society expects us to act a certain way when we experience these types of difficulties and when Meursault lacks any emotion typical while grieving he becomes thought of as a stranger to the reader and other characters. Additionally, Meursault is not afraid to say what he is thinking, he does not care what society and others think of him. This brings up the question, does doing something against the norm of society a bad thing?
The Stranger, by Albert Camus was a decent book in my mind. Camus portrayed the main character, Meursault, as a person with no emotion. When he learns of his mother's death he displays no sadness as if he has no attachment to his mother. Society expects us to act a certain way when we experience these types of difficulties and when Meursault lacks any emotion typical while grieving he becomes thought of as a stranger to the reader and other characters. Additionally, Meursault is not afraid to say what he is thinking, he does not care what society and others think of him. This brings up the question, does doing something against the norm of society a bad thing?
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