The Magician's Nephew
C. S. Lewis
Digory Kirke's tests start as soon as he crosses the threshold. He and Polly find themselves in the dying world of Charn, where Digory makes the mistake of waking Jadis, the last Queen. She returns to London with the two children, where she proceeds to cause all kinds of chaos. Enemies are found in Jadis and Digory's Uncle Andrew, while allies are a cabman, his horse, and Polly.
Digory manages to get everyone out of London and into the new world of Narnia. Here his mentor shows up -- a bit late, but just when he's needed. Aslan sends Digory, Polly, and Fledge (the cab-horse-turned-pegasus) on a journey to a garden high in the mountains to help repair the damage Digory has done by bringing Jadis and her evil into the newborn world of Narnia. Though Digory doesn't know it, that journey is his Approach to the Inmost Cave.
When they reach the garden, Digory enters alone. This is his Ordeal. Aslan told him to pick one apple for Narnia, and an inscription on the garden gates warns only to take of its fruit for others. As long as Digory obeys, he will be fine. But he knows that the fruit could heal his dying mother back in England, and he struggles with the temptation to pick a second apple. At last he decides against it, and turns to take his Reward back to Narnia.
As he's leaving, Jadis finds him. She has eaten an apple, and tries to tempt Digory to do the same. When that doesn't work, she tries to convince him to take one for his mother. He almost does before he's able to see through her lies to what she really wants. He survives the Resurrection.
Digory, Polly, and Fledge make their way along the Road Back. At last they return to Narnia and Aslan uses the apple to protect the land against Jadis for hundreds of years to come. Just as the children are leaving he lets Digory take an apple with him to help his mother. Digory returns to London with this Elixir and brings his mother back from the brink of death.
All in all, a pretty successful journey.
Monday 26 December 2011
Sunday 18 December 2011
The First Five Stages of the Journey
High Rhulain
Brian Jacques
This is one of my favourite books of all time. The main character's name is Tiria Wildlough, and her call to adventure comes in a dream. Martin the Warrior (the spirit who watches over Redwall abbey) comes to her and introduces her to the warrior queen with him. She tells Tiria:
"Like the sun, High Rhulain will rise anew,
to set the downtrodden free.
A warriormaid with Wildlough blood
must cross the Western Sea.
She who looks ever through windows
at the signs which feathers make,
seek the Green Isle through her knowledge,
for all thy kinbeasts' sake." (Brian Jacques, High Rhulain 45)
Obviosly, this is somewhat of a riddle. Tiria doesn't refuse her call to adventure, but she is delayed. It takes her and her friends a while to solve the riddle so she can find out where Green Isle is. One of the people who is most helpful is "she who looks ever through windows at the signs which feathers make," or Sister Snowdrop, one of the historians at Redwall Abbey. Snowdrop gives Tiria most of the knowledge she needs. You could say she was one of her mentors.
But other people help Tiria on her journey too. Her father, Banjon, is very supportive of her quest and has been training her all her life. Log a Log Urfa and his tribe of Guosim help Tiria get a boat to sail across the Western Sea, and Cap'n Cuthbert Frunk W. Bloodpaw, Terror of the High Seas, actually sails her to Green isle. Once she gets there, Leatho Shellhound helps her lead her resistance and keep her head as she suddenly becomes High Queen Rhulain of Green isle. See what I mean? A lot of people are mentors to Tiria.
As for crossing the threshold, I'd say that comes when Tiria finally embarks on her voyage across the Western Sea. During her journey through Mossflower Wood her father is with her all the way, but for her to truly enter the special world she must leave him and all her other friends behind.
Brian Jacques
This is one of my favourite books of all time. The main character's name is Tiria Wildlough, and her call to adventure comes in a dream. Martin the Warrior (the spirit who watches over Redwall abbey) comes to her and introduces her to the warrior queen with him. She tells Tiria:
"Like the sun, High Rhulain will rise anew,
to set the downtrodden free.
A warriormaid with Wildlough blood
must cross the Western Sea.
She who looks ever through windows
at the signs which feathers make,
seek the Green Isle through her knowledge,
for all thy kinbeasts' sake." (Brian Jacques, High Rhulain 45)
Obviosly, this is somewhat of a riddle. Tiria doesn't refuse her call to adventure, but she is delayed. It takes her and her friends a while to solve the riddle so she can find out where Green Isle is. One of the people who is most helpful is "she who looks ever through windows at the signs which feathers make," or Sister Snowdrop, one of the historians at Redwall Abbey. Snowdrop gives Tiria most of the knowledge she needs. You could say she was one of her mentors.
But other people help Tiria on her journey too. Her father, Banjon, is very supportive of her quest and has been training her all her life. Log a Log Urfa and his tribe of Guosim help Tiria get a boat to sail across the Western Sea, and Cap'n Cuthbert Frunk W. Bloodpaw, Terror of the High Seas, actually sails her to Green isle. Once she gets there, Leatho Shellhound helps her lead her resistance and keep her head as she suddenly becomes High Queen Rhulain of Green isle. See what I mean? A lot of people are mentors to Tiria.
As for crossing the threshold, I'd say that comes when Tiria finally embarks on her voyage across the Western Sea. During her journey through Mossflower Wood her father is with her all the way, but for her to truly enter the special world she must leave him and all her other friends behind.
Another Quote About Reading
"But for a moment... for a brief... moment.... I didn't know. And the wind carried me up and took me along for a ride. And I forgot. I forgot my own story... and I flew... flew on the wings of someone else's." (Morris Paynch, 7 Stories 100)
This quote was one I heard in the production of 7 Stories this fall. The character is talking more about his life, and how if you just believe in yourself you can do anything, but I thought it could also apply to reading. If an author has written a book really well you can forget yourself and just get lost in the story. Then when you try to come back to the real world you feel kind of dazed and out of focus, because you've become so wrapped up in someone else's story that you've forgotten how to be a part of your own. Sometimes it takes a while to get back.
This quote was one I heard in the production of 7 Stories this fall. The character is talking more about his life, and how if you just believe in yourself you can do anything, but I thought it could also apply to reading. If an author has written a book really well you can forget yourself and just get lost in the story. Then when you try to come back to the real world you feel kind of dazed and out of focus, because you've become so wrapped up in someone else's story that you've forgotten how to be a part of your own. Sometimes it takes a while to get back.
Saturday 3 December 2011
The Ordinary World
Dewey
Vicki Myron
This book is a true story, told from the perspective of the author. It's almost an autobiography, but it's not just about Vicki. It's a biography of the entire town of Spencer. Vicki walks you through her childhood, her marriage, and her adult life, but also through the farm crisis of the 1980's, the fire on Grand Avenue in 1931, and the entire history of the Spencer Public Library. The events are a bit scrambled, and out of order, but by the end you feel as if you've know the people all your life.
The protagonist is called Vicki. She's the director of the Spencer Public Library, and her ordinary world is, I think, a world without a cat in it. She's a single mother who grew up on a farm, had a failed marriage, a late education, and a terrible medical history. She and her teenage daughter are pushing each other further and further away, and Vicki is trying to run a library and take a master's course in library science all at the same time. And then on the morning of January 18, 1988, after one of the coldest nights of the year, Vicki arrived at work to find a kitten in the library drop box.
The staff named him Dewey. He became the library cat, and he was perfect for the job. He loved people. He loved being in the library. He could cheer up anyone, on any day, at any time, no matter what. He helped Vicki and her daughter stop fighting, if only for a while. He always knew when someone needed comfort. The ordinary world is defined as being a place where the protagonist feels safe, but in this case I think it's the opposite. Dewey made Vicki's life an altogether better thing.
I realize that this is more of a summary than a description of the ordinary world, but I had to talk about this cat. This isn't another sucky fairy story about the cat who saved Christmas -- this is real. Dewey influenced so many people that a flim crew came from Japan to film him. Japan! This is an amazing book about an amazing town and a totally amazing cat. I think it's a book that everyone should read.
Here's the link to the Spencer Public Library's site: http://www.spencerlibrary.com/dewey.shtml
"I have never been a morning person, especially on a cold and cloudy January day, but I have always been dedicated. There were a few cars on the road at seven thirty, when I drove the ten blocks to work, but as usual mine was the first car in the parking lot. Across the street, the Spencer Public Lbrary was dead -- no lights, no movement, no sound until I flipped a switch and brought it to life. The heater switched on automatically during the night, but the library was still a freezer first thing in the morning. Whose idea was it to build a concrete and glass buliding in northern Iowa? I needed my coffee." (Vicki Myron, Dewey 8)
This quote shows the boring sameness of Vicki's ordinary world, and how she almost can't bear to get up and go to work each morning because it's just too much to do. Later she says, "'Good morning, Dewey,' I would say, my heart singing and the library bursting with life, even on the darkest and coldest mornings." (Vicki Myron, Dewey 193) Her special world may not appear to be much different from her ordinary one, but you'd be surprised at how much difference one cat can make.
<--- Spencer Public Library. Spencer Public Library. Spencer Public Library. Web. Dec. 3, 2011.
Vicki Myron
This book is a true story, told from the perspective of the author. It's almost an autobiography, but it's not just about Vicki. It's a biography of the entire town of Spencer. Vicki walks you through her childhood, her marriage, and her adult life, but also through the farm crisis of the 1980's, the fire on Grand Avenue in 1931, and the entire history of the Spencer Public Library. The events are a bit scrambled, and out of order, but by the end you feel as if you've know the people all your life.
The protagonist is called Vicki. She's the director of the Spencer Public Library, and her ordinary world is, I think, a world without a cat in it. She's a single mother who grew up on a farm, had a failed marriage, a late education, and a terrible medical history. She and her teenage daughter are pushing each other further and further away, and Vicki is trying to run a library and take a master's course in library science all at the same time. And then on the morning of January 18, 1988, after one of the coldest nights of the year, Vicki arrived at work to find a kitten in the library drop box.
The staff named him Dewey. He became the library cat, and he was perfect for the job. He loved people. He loved being in the library. He could cheer up anyone, on any day, at any time, no matter what. He helped Vicki and her daughter stop fighting, if only for a while. He always knew when someone needed comfort. The ordinary world is defined as being a place where the protagonist feels safe, but in this case I think it's the opposite. Dewey made Vicki's life an altogether better thing.
I realize that this is more of a summary than a description of the ordinary world, but I had to talk about this cat. This isn't another sucky fairy story about the cat who saved Christmas -- this is real. Dewey influenced so many people that a flim crew came from Japan to film him. Japan! This is an amazing book about an amazing town and a totally amazing cat. I think it's a book that everyone should read.
Here's the link to the Spencer Public Library's site: http://www.spencerlibrary.com/dewey.shtml
"I have never been a morning person, especially on a cold and cloudy January day, but I have always been dedicated. There were a few cars on the road at seven thirty, when I drove the ten blocks to work, but as usual mine was the first car in the parking lot. Across the street, the Spencer Public Lbrary was dead -- no lights, no movement, no sound until I flipped a switch and brought it to life. The heater switched on automatically during the night, but the library was still a freezer first thing in the morning. Whose idea was it to build a concrete and glass buliding in northern Iowa? I needed my coffee." (Vicki Myron, Dewey 8)
This quote shows the boring sameness of Vicki's ordinary world, and how she almost can't bear to get up and go to work each morning because it's just too much to do. Later she says, "'Good morning, Dewey,' I would say, my heart singing and the library bursting with life, even on the darkest and coldest mornings." (Vicki Myron, Dewey 193) Her special world may not appear to be much different from her ordinary one, but you'd be surprised at how much difference one cat can make.
<--- Spencer Public Library. Spencer Public Library. Spencer Public Library. Web. Dec. 3, 2011.
Asking Questions
Eon Dragoneye Reborn
Alison Goodman
Is Eona a hero? Or has she just made a mistake that gets her into more and more trouble?
I think that the main character in my book, Eona (or Eon, since she's disguised as a boy), is a real hero. She and her master made a desperate gamble -- entering her in the competition to become a Dragoneye, even though girls aren't allowed. But instead of being picked by the Rat Dragon, Eona is chosen by the lost Mirror Dragon, who hasn't been seen for five hundred years. With no older Dragoneye to guide her, Eona has no way to contact her dragon. Many times she is tempted to give up, or confess that she's a girl, or run away. But every time, she's kept back by the knowledge that it's not just herself who's in danger. The future of the empire pretty much rests on her shoulders, because she is "the only thing standing between a council in the control of Ido and one that still served the emperor and the land." (Alison Goodman, Eon Dragoneye Reborn 310) Even though she's scared out of her wits and constantly feels like a failure, she stays put for the sake of everyone who's depending on her.
"Dictionary Series -- Self-Sacrifice" Can Stock Photo canstockphoto.com, Nov. 1 2011. Web. Dec. 3 2011.
Okay, so this one's kind of obvious, but Eona does make a huge self-sacrifice, all through this book and the next one. Almost everything she does she does to keep her secret, so that people like her maid won't get into trouble.
Alison Goodman
Is Eona a hero? Or has she just made a mistake that gets her into more and more trouble?
I think that the main character in my book, Eona (or Eon, since she's disguised as a boy), is a real hero. She and her master made a desperate gamble -- entering her in the competition to become a Dragoneye, even though girls aren't allowed. But instead of being picked by the Rat Dragon, Eona is chosen by the lost Mirror Dragon, who hasn't been seen for five hundred years. With no older Dragoneye to guide her, Eona has no way to contact her dragon. Many times she is tempted to give up, or confess that she's a girl, or run away. But every time, she's kept back by the knowledge that it's not just herself who's in danger. The future of the empire pretty much rests on her shoulders, because she is "the only thing standing between a council in the control of Ido and one that still served the emperor and the land." (Alison Goodman, Eon Dragoneye Reborn 310) Even though she's scared out of her wits and constantly feels like a failure, she stays put for the sake of everyone who's depending on her.
"Kindness". mbao002 (Username, I suppose, of the person who created the image). Clker.com. Rolera LLC, Aug. 29. 2011. Web. Nov. 30. 2011.
I chose this image because if you look at it not as having the world in your hands, but as having the world in your hands and having to be very, very careful not to drop it, it's a pretty good representation of Eona's situation. Plus, with all that dragon power at her beck and call, Eona really does have the world at her fingertips -- she constantly struggles against the desire for more power.
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Character Archetypes
The Hunger Games Trilogy
Suzanne Collins
One character who represents a character archetype in this story is President Snow. He's the shadow. He lurks behind every single problem Katniss is confronted with. In a way, he's untouchable. If you were to try and expose his crimes to the public, you'd be dead within an hour. Every time you try to catch him he flits out of your grasp.
"His quarters. I have tresspassed into his home, the way he slithered into mine last year, hissing threats with his bloody, rosy breath. This greenhouse is one of his rooms, perhaps his favourite; perhaps in better times he tended the plants himself. But now it's part of his prison. That's why the guards halted me. And that's why Paylor let me in." (Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay 355)
Suzanne Collins
One character who represents a character archetype in this story is President Snow. He's the shadow. He lurks behind every single problem Katniss is confronted with. In a way, he's untouchable. If you were to try and expose his crimes to the public, you'd be dead within an hour. Every time you try to catch him he flits out of your grasp.
"His quarters. I have tresspassed into his home, the way he slithered into mine last year, hissing threats with his bloody, rosy breath. This greenhouse is one of his rooms, perhaps his favourite; perhaps in better times he tended the plants himself. But now it's part of his prison. That's why the guards halted me. And that's why Paylor let me in." (Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay 355)
Sunday 6 November 2011
Classics
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 2
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What is a classic? I think a classic is a story that can remain popular through time because it can still relate to us even four hundred years after it was written. Like Shakespeare.
The book I'm currently reading is a classic. It was written in the 1800's, but people still read it today, and I think it's still going to be popular 200 years from now. The stories are timeless because the idea of a detective who can solve anything is so appealing. I mean, what TV show hasn't done a spoof on Sherlock Holmes? Even his personality is appealing, because he's kind of a misfit, even though he's so brilliant, and he needs some one to kind of keep an eye on him so he doesn't drive himself crazy. The language is different, though, and that makes it a bit hard to read for people in our generation. But other than that, there's no reason to think that it won't go on being popular for a long time.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What is a classic? I think a classic is a story that can remain popular through time because it can still relate to us even four hundred years after it was written. Like Shakespeare.
The book I'm currently reading is a classic. It was written in the 1800's, but people still read it today, and I think it's still going to be popular 200 years from now. The stories are timeless because the idea of a detective who can solve anything is so appealing. I mean, what TV show hasn't done a spoof on Sherlock Holmes? Even his personality is appealing, because he's kind of a misfit, even though he's so brilliant, and he needs some one to kind of keep an eye on him so he doesn't drive himself crazy. The language is different, though, and that makes it a bit hard to read for people in our generation. But other than that, there's no reason to think that it won't go on being popular for a long time.
Friday 21 October 2011
Making Connections
Pegasus
Robin McKinley
'A part of that discomfort was her relentless sense of herself as wrong, as alien -- stiff and clumsy, a grotesque unnatural shape and freakishly unbalanced posture (how ridiculous to spend all your life rearing!). And bald. And wingless....She felt her arms -- her forelegs -- flapping foolishly at her sides; how bizarre human shoulders were, pulling the forelegs apart and forcing them to dangle.' (McKinley, Pegasus 266)
In this book, there is an Alliance between humans and pegasi, an Alliance that is strengthed by the binding of each king's children to the children of the other. Sylvi and Ebon have a better binding than most -- they can actually talk to each other. For her sixteenth birthday, Ebon decides to take Sylvi to his homeland of Rhiandomeer, where she is the only human in a land of pegasi. In all the time Sylvi spends in the pegasus lands, she is constantly reminded of how ungraceful humans are. She's different, and you get that same feeling whenever you go somewhere where you are obviously a foreigner -- even just to Quebec. When everyone around you is speaking French (which always seems to sound so much smoother than English) and you're speaking English, you feel like you stick out like a sore thumb. That's one thing reading this book reminds me of.
(Picture from http://lamiastellina.altervista.org/pegasus/pegasus.html)
Robin McKinley
'A part of that discomfort was her relentless sense of herself as wrong, as alien -- stiff and clumsy, a grotesque unnatural shape and freakishly unbalanced posture (how ridiculous to spend all your life rearing!). And bald. And wingless....She felt her arms -- her forelegs -- flapping foolishly at her sides; how bizarre human shoulders were, pulling the forelegs apart and forcing them to dangle.' (McKinley, Pegasus 266)
(Picture from http://lamiastellina.altervista.org/pegasus/pegasus.html)
Monday 17 October 2011
Character Sketch
City of Secrets
Mary Hoffman
'"I'm dyslexic," he said. "Not just a mild case - severly dyslexic. I have to have computers and special programs just to do my schoolwork. And I have this really clever - and beautiful - girlfriend who's going to go to university and be a top lawer. And . . . I'm terrified of losing her," he finished simply.' (Mary Hoffman City of Secrets page 67)
Matt is dyslexic. He's seventeen, and hates that he has such a hard time with words. He's dating a girl called Ayesha, and he's worried she might dump him. She's a genius - and she used to date someone really smart, so Matt thinks she might not want to be stuck going out with a guy who just plays rugby. He underestimates himeself.
I think that as the plot goes on, Matt's going to realize that he really is special in a way - he's not just a jock. Maybe there's a reason Ayesha likes him. As well, I think he might decide to try harder to work around his dyslexia, instead of just giving up on reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7epRPz0LGPE
I picked this song because it's kind of about being suddenly able to let go of your problems and fly away from everything, and that's exactly what Matt is able to do once he comes to terms with his dyslexia and realizes it's not as big a deal as he thought. I picked this video specifically because I really like the style of it.
Mary Hoffman
'"I'm dyslexic," he said. "Not just a mild case - severly dyslexic. I have to have computers and special programs just to do my schoolwork. And I have this really clever - and beautiful - girlfriend who's going to go to university and be a top lawer. And . . . I'm terrified of losing her," he finished simply.' (Mary Hoffman City of Secrets page 67)
Matt is dyslexic. He's seventeen, and hates that he has such a hard time with words. He's dating a girl called Ayesha, and he's worried she might dump him. She's a genius - and she used to date someone really smart, so Matt thinks she might not want to be stuck going out with a guy who just plays rugby. He underestimates himeself.
I think that as the plot goes on, Matt's going to realize that he really is special in a way - he's not just a jock. Maybe there's a reason Ayesha likes him. As well, I think he might decide to try harder to work around his dyslexia, instead of just giving up on reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7epRPz0LGPE
I picked this song because it's kind of about being suddenly able to let go of your problems and fly away from everything, and that's exactly what Matt is able to do once he comes to terms with his dyslexia and realizes it's not as big a deal as he thought. I picked this video specifically because I really like the style of it.
Saturday 15 October 2011
Summary of City of Bones
In City of Bones (by Cassandra Clare) (picture from http://www.amazon.ca/City-Bones-Cassandra-Clare/dp/1416914285) fifteen-year-old Clary Fray goes home one night to discover that her apartment has been ransacked and her mother has disappeared. To top it all off, she's attacked by a demon and then rescued by Jace Wayland, a boy she met hours ago. Before she knows it, Clary is whirled in world of Shadowhunters, demons, vampires, werewolves, and secrets where she is fighting not only for her own life, but for the lives of everyone she loves.
This book is impossible to put down. You're on the edge of your seat the whole way. The only problem is that Clary seems to be digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole by keeping secrets and generally annoying her closest frinds, but I guess that makes you all the more eager to find out how it ends. It's really well written - the author reveals secrets at just the right time to keep you reading. And just the right amount of romance makes the book both exciting and frustrating at the same time. You're left desperately waiting for more by the end.
Friday 16 September 2011
A Quote About Reading
I always liked the quote "Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly." I read it in Inkheart ages ago, and I'm amazed I still remember it. I only read the book once, but I raced through it so fast that it was like I only tasted it. Most books I 'devour', but that's not the same as reading them. I do read fast - I can't really help it. But the books I really love are the ones I can go back to over and over again, and look at it a different way every time. Those are the ones that really stick with you.
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