Green Grass Running Water: Parts 3 and 4 Blog

In Green Grass Running Water, by Thomas King, there are many Biblical and pop culture references throughout the novel. These references are used to both enhance the plot, and bring humour to the reading.

"Eli went into the kitchen and brought out more coffee cups.

'Here,' he said. 'Just brewed.'

'It's going to be a good day,' said the Lone Ranger. 'I can feel it.' " (Page 409)

This quote references the Maxwell Coffee commercials, making this scene seem almost like one. It emulates the general idea of the commercials, turning something as simple as getting coffee into something more. Right as Lone Ranger comments on how good the day will be, an earthquake begins, and it is revealed that Coyote was singing and dancing, which caused the earthquake. The coffee scene is a good buffer between Eli and the Indians, to the earthquake.

“In the distance, at the edge of the horizon, Babo could see a point of light, a star in the morning sky” (235)

This quote is a Biblical allusion, referencing the Star of Bethlehem. The star acted as a guidance point for the magi, and led them the right way to Bethlehem. The morning star that Babo is seeing is guiding them in the right direction to find the four Indians.

" 'Tomorrow,' Dr. Hovaugh said, leaning back in the chair. 'Tomorrow and tomorrow.' And he drew a second circle around the lake. And a third.

'And tomorrow' " (Page 389)

This quote is a Shakespeare reference, alluding to his play Macbeth. In the story, Macbeth's wife has just passed away, and he becomes very depressed. The quote talks about how time passes slowly, taking the character day by day in a melancholy beat. Dr. Hovaugh is facing the trouble of tracking down the four Indians. He's now in Canada and starting to feel the pressure of finding them. The quote is alluded to show the slow process of searching.

"By the time Lionel was six, he knew what he wanted to be.

John Wayne" (Page 241)

A big allusion made throughout the book is John Wayne. He is mainly used as Lionel's idol, often coming up as someone he wanted to be like. He connects many of the characters together as they all on their own watch the same western movie with him in it.

"'I know that song,' says Coyote. 'Hosanna da, in-in the highest, hosanna da forever..." (Page 270)

This quote is an allusion to Canada's national anthem, Oh Canada. In the novel Coyote tries to sing the song, but messes it up and needs to be corrected. The whole scene in the novel is a Biblical parody, and it adds to the humour that King is trying to portray.

On top of these Biblical and pop culture references, there are also a lot of passages that help identify characters, and reflect on who they are. Some of these passages reveals history of characters, and others demonstrate characteristics of the person (or animal).

For Eli Stands Alone, it was known that before his wife Karen died, she wanted to go back to the Sun Dance, as she enjoyed herself very much the first time. For years Eli would find a way out of going, and dodged answering the question why. The story also has a lot of Eli thinking about what would happen if he returned after so many years. The quote below helps to show that Eli is worried about going back to the Sun Dance, as he didn't leave everyone on the greatest terms.

“Each year was easier. Each year laid more space between who he had become and who he had been. Until he could no longer measure the distance in miles” (Page 287)

One of the biggest and most followed through plots of the story, is Lionel Red Dog and how he cannot get his life together. Numerous characters in the story pester Lionel, trying to get him to do something with his life, and he seems to continue to shrug it off. It's as if he is waiting for some pill that can help him access 100% of his brain, and find the perfect version of himself (allusion to the Bradley Cooper movie Limitless, what do you think of that King?). On the morning of his 40th birthday, Lionel decides he is ready to change his life, and wants to start everything fresh. His morning routine begins with him replacing all of his toiletries. The quote below helps to show the drive in Lionel's soul, and his determination to improve his quality of living.

“Life, Lionel mused as he felt his chest slide on top of his stomach, had become embarrassing. His job was embarrassing. His gold blazer was embarrassing. His car was embarrassing. Norma was right. Alberta wasn’t about to marry an embarrassment. Lionel sucked his stomach in for the fourth time and lurched to a standing position” (Page 239)

In Green Grass Running Water, the four Indians are a huge part of the plot, but their accompanying forest friend Coyote, seems to do little in enhancing the story. He seems more of a humourous addition. What is found out at the end of the story, is that Coyote is the reason for a lot of the Indians' work. They often have to save the world...from Coyote and his mischievous ways. Despite being such a problem to the Indians (and the world), Coyote has a very light-hearted friendly spirit throughout the novel, showing he means no harm, regardless of the fact that he is. The quote below shows the Indians explaining to Coyote how much trouble he is, and how he is not affected by this.

“ ‘But I was helpful, too,’ says Coyote. “That woman who wanted a baby. Now, that was helpful.”

‘Helpful!’ said Robinson Crusoe. ‘You remember the last time you did that?’

‘I’m quite sure I was in Kamloops,’ says Coyote.

‘We haven’t straightened out that mess yet,’ said Hawkeye.

‘Hee-hee,’ says Coyote. ‘Hee-hee.’ (Page 416)

Three Day Road: Pivotal Moment Blog

In Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden, there are many scenes in the novel that are very important to the plot, but also contributed to character development. These scenes carry out the storyline, as well as give us more insight about the characters, and what they are feeling at the moment.

A scene that I thought was very important was when Xavier, Elijah and their fellow soldiers were out of the lines, and sitting near a stream. A duck was by itself on the stream, and the other troops were coaching Elijah on to hit the duck, so that they could eat it. Elijah, soaking up the glory, took aim, steadied his focus and shot, but narrowly missed the duck. Xavier, sick of Elijah taking all the glory, quickly took his rifle, loaded it up and hit the duck. The other men went quiet and Xavier walked away, happy that he could prove himself.

I think that this scene is important, because throughout the novel it seems that Elijah has overshadowed Xavier on the front. Whether it is the language barrier, or the sniping of soldiers, Xavier comes up lesser in pretty much all situations. Though he never says to the other soldiers, you can tell that Xavier is very jealous of all the treatment Elijah gets, and wishes he was more respected. An example of this is through his narration. When Elijah receives his military medal, Xavier is very envious of this. With Elijah slipping up on the duck, and all the men to witness it, this was a great opportunity to show the men that Xavier wasn't just the one scoping the men. The fact that none of the men know that Xavier taught Elijah how to hunt seems to aggravate him, as he never seems to get any of the glory. In my opinion, the fact that he walked away right after poses for two reasons. One, it is dramatic, and two, it makes him not have to try and speak English and ruin the moment of being a true hunter.

The following is an excerpt from the scene:

"His shot cracks out and the water a foot ahead of the duck sprays up, sending the animal into a panicked flight. I watch as it lifts up high, then circles, looking for another place on the water to land. The men laugh and say, 'Nice shot,' anyway. The duck comes back in and lands not far from its original place.

I pick up my rifle and slip in a round, then take careful aim through my scope. With half a breath released, I pull the trigger and my rifle barks. The duck's feathers spray up, then slowly float back onto the water, landing on the surface and around the ripped carcass. The men around us stare at me as I stand up and walk away. Me, I won't let them forget who I am." (Page 244)

This scene connects very well with both Xavier and Elijah, as well as adds a bit of foreshadowing of the two characters' relationship. Up until now, Xavier had one of the biggest kills in the novel, the Hun Sniper who killed Sean Patrick, but still was not given a lot of credit for it. The men celebrated more when Elijah would make a kill much less significant than that. This scene really shows Xavier's skills to the soldiers, but more importantly, proves that he can one up Elijah. I don't think Xavier really needs to show off his talent. I think he just wants to show that Elijah isn't the only one with that much skill. Unfortunately for him, the circumstances have made Xavier Elijah's right hand man, but just like the sniping competition in training at the Exhibition Grounds, Xavier had his moment to shine.

This scene also foreshadows the tension between Xavier and Elijah. Through Xavier's narration, we start to see the frustration slowly building between the two, and how Xavier can sense the changes in Elijah. Though this scene shows no real conflict, as it was more a friendly game rather than a competition, I think it signifies the signs of more clashing to come between the two best friends.

A Moveable Feast

In A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway, we have met some very quirky characters that Ernest has encountered in his adventures. Some friends, some family, but mainly writers who have sparked interest in Ernest, for their writing or their personality. One of these writers was Scott Fitzgerald, the writer of The Great Gatsby (Coincidence? Nope.) who meets Scott at a bar one night, and he definitely sparked Ernest because of his writing. Ernest's new companion quickly turned into a needy, whiny alcoholic man who bothered Ernest quite a bit.

On their (dangerous) drive to retrieve Scott's car in Lyon, Scott w

as drinking while driving, and quickly became extremely paranoid that he was sick. The following quote shows Scott's frantic pestering to Hemingway

"You can sit there and read that dirty French rag of a paper and it doesn't mean a thing to you that I am dying."

Considering the disease was all in his head, Scott was quite rude, demanding, and treated Hemingway quite poorly. While reading a book, one can sort of get a feel of what the author was like, but after reading this part of the novel, my perception of Scott Fitzgerald has changed completely.

From the places described in A Moveable Feast, I believe that I would like to visit the Riviera that the Fitzgerald's invited the Hemingway's too. The way the Riviera is described, and how

it seems to hav

e a calming affect on Scott and Zelda (Yeah I didn't know that existed either) really shows just how relaxing it must be.

"No one drank anything stronger than champagne and it was very gay and obviously a splendid place to write. There was going to be a everything that a man needed to write except to be alone."

As we are reading through the perspective of a writer, the idea conveyed that it is a great place to write seems to be a good sign of its calmness. It strips away the busy on-the-go life that both Scott and Ernest live, and replaces it with a serene paced lifestyle.

The Boy In the Moon

Over the last month, the grade eleven english classes have been reading The Boy in the Moon. The book follows the life of Ian and his family, and the struggles they have faced with their son Walker, who has a rare case of CFC (Cardio-Facio-Cutaneous) syndrome.

A constant idea that comes into Ian's head throughout the book, is that when he and Johanna are too old to take care of Walker, what will happen to him? They decided early on that they would not make Hayley, his devoted sister be his caretaker, so Ian searched for a home that Walker could stay in. He eventually found l'Arche. A community in which residents with disabilities can all live together in coherency, with trained staff to help them with their needs. Located in both France and Montreal, Ian visited both and was very satisfied with his findings. He found that the l'Arche homes he visited were a very peaceful place, with an air of happiness he questioned right away, wondering if they were "Had they been smoking kindness?" (Page 197)

Despite having a waiting list, he knew that ultimately he would like for Walker to live in a place like the ones he visited. Free of judgement and fear, letting those who are unable feel like they are not different. That they are the population, and the effects of society's presumptions are nullified. The following quote shows how Ian observed the staff, and how he felt it was a great environment: "No one at l'Arche talked about integration, the way the staff sometimes do at conventional homes for the disabled: this community existed for the disabled and made no pretense that residents eventually would be part of the "normal" community. People like me were outsiders here. There was a routine, a structure, a community of individuals, and their lives counted for what they were, no added value required." (Page 199)

After reading The Boy in the Moon, I really learned a lot about living with a person with a disability. With the given perspective of the parent of a one, you can really see all the procedures they go through, and the difficulty they face for every day tasks. Even more so, all the specialty doctors and scientists that Ian had to see really stacked up, and reflected on what a toll it took on his and Johanna's life. After reading the memoir, I've started to realize how really fortunate we are. A lot of time we are reminded by media outlets about how fortunate we are, in terms of wealth; but beyond this, how lucky we are to be functioning healthily and happily. This book has also made me realize how much work and effort parents have put into their children's lives. Although I have not needed as much as Walker has, I know that my parents are very good to me, and would go to lengths like Johanna and Ian if I ever needed it.

If given the opportunity to interview Ian Brown, these are three questions that I would ask him

1. While reading The Boy in the Moon, I came to see there was a lot of hard truths and cynicism used in your style of writing. Would you say that this book was a way of releasing tension and emotions about topics you couldn't previously address?

2. It is made cleat throughout the book that you never wanted Walker to fall into the responsibility of your daughter Hayley, but as a sister she seemed quite supportive. Have you ever talked to her in depth about Walker, and how discover her perspective on the whole situation?

3. Besides Olga, many people that have helped Walker have come and go; some stay for weeks, others for years. Do any of the helpers from the past ever try and contact you and get updates on Walker? I'm pretty much aiming this question at Trish, but have you heard from anyone at all?

Summer Reading Blog; Taylor Swift: Every Day Is a Fairytale

It was around the middle of July and I was at my cousins' house. My mom and aunt had gone to Walmart, and to my surprise, my mom came back with a book that kept me busy for the duration of the summer. A biography on my favourite person ever, Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift: Every Day Is a Fairytale, is a biography written by Liv Spencer, who has also done many other biographies on today's youngest stars. The book takes a very detailed look into the different stages of Taylor's life, from the moments of her childhood, to the end of her very successful Fearless tour about three months ago. The book also takes an in depth look at every song Taylor has put out from her two albums, Taylor Swift and Fearless. Known for her personal connection to each song, the book looks at who and what the songs are written about. At the end of the book, there is a timeline of Taylor's career, starting at 2004 to the end of 2009.

The author, Liv Spencer, used many different resources to get all the information for this book, having every detail extremely accurate, coinciding with numerous pictures to match the words. I believe that Liv Spencer does a great job at taking all of these different sources, and putting them together in her own style of writing. She keeps a great tone of narration throughout the book, but also makes it feel like she's talking to you one on one. Consistent and precise, the author's writing made this book have great flow and diction.

Three passages that appealed to me were:

"I would come out of these Disney movies and I'd be singing every single song from the movie on the car ride home, word for word. And my parents noticed that once I had run out of words I would just make up my own." Taylor admits, "I was that annoying kid who ran around singing for random strangers." (Page 4)

This passage appeals to me, because not only is it extremely funny, it shows that Taylor's skills as a writer and musician started at a young age.

The second quote is directly from Taylor, talking about her song "Breathe":

"It's a song about having to say goodbye to somebody, but it never blames anybody. Sometimes that's the most difficult part. When it's nobody's fault" (Page 68)

This appeals to me because although Taylor is known for a harsh break up song, this song explores a more somber side of Taylor. I believe that this quote is a very good definition of what the song "Breathe" means.

The final passage is another quote from Taylor, talking about the media and her image:

"It's fine to talk about love publicly. But I think when you talk about virginity and sex publicly, people just automatically picture you naked. And as much as I can prevent people from picturing me naked, I'm going to." (Page 118)

This quote shows that Taylor is a very smart celebrity, and knows how to keep her image clean. Working beside many of her more outrageous colleagues, it is clear that Taylor knows the direction she wants to move in.