Follow Orders

            In one of my classes, we had to write short, 10 minute plays to practice developing our playwright skills. We submitted a few to our local theater, hoping to have them considered for a short production. I wrote one with my friend Sara Rule, called Follow Orders. If you wish to read it, click here: Follow Orders

Shudder: How Far We've Come

            Now that it is the end of the year, I have decided to post a collaboration story from the beginning of the year that I worked on with my friend Alexander Christie (author of blog: On the Corner of Broadway- http://onthecornerofbroadway.blogspot.com/ ) and I just now realize how terrible it actually is. Take a look: Shudder

Stranger: The Oddest Poem Ever

            This poem began as 20 separate lines, each with specific guidelines it has to follow. It was probably my least favorite thing I ever had to do. The guidelines ranged from 'must contain a metaphor' to 'you must use a line of slang with a reference to a specific person and place and the blood of a rare amazon tortoise'. After painstaking classes working on it, I finally finished, only to edit out all of the really weird and terrible parts to leave this:

Stranger

Going back home is like seeing a stranger in disguise
and they live to pickpocket.                              

Fake smiles swarm you.
Names you’ve never heard sting your ears.
Foreign hands shake yours and familiar ones grab you                   
as piles of food are shoved at your face and
the distant scents of familiar laundry soap touch your nose.
Every word from someone I don’t remember
stabs my skin with tiny needles.

So I ran out, untouched, night air streaming into my nostrils.
The humidity silently drenched my clothes,
I am the man on the moon,
casted away from all others.

I am the stranger.
I was as happy as a child on his first day at a new school.
My thoughts undecipherable,
melting together in a boiling pot.
Running, waiting to sleep in my own bed once again,
cool sheets embracing my warm body.

My legs burned and begged for rest but I refused to stop
as the thought of the crowded kitchen spurred me forward.
They talk and talk but I realize that what the strangers say, doesn’t matter.

Letchworth State Park

            As a project, we had to write creative narrative, non-fiction essays about a place we wished to go or a memorable place we have been. I wrote about a trip to Letchworth State Park with my Grandparents. If you like insane description, check it out: Letchworth State Park

Haiku: Moving

Streetlight flickers
on the damp pavement
of an unknown street.

Newest New Addition

            Great. Just what I need. Another slobbering, fat, nipping monster running around, tearing up the place. The last biting scars just healed...time for new ones. I've been kicked, chewed on, drooled on, and peed on like I was nothing and I am not doing it again. I'm gonna write a letter.
Dear Mr. President,
            I am requesting an immediate relocation of a savage beast that is destroying my life. Please. You do not understand what it feels like to get peed on...at least I don't think. Send help ASAP.
Save me from this:

Science Ficition: The Genre

            Science Fiction as a genre is very entertaining to certain types of readers. It mostly appeals to fantasists, due to the often inclusion of unrealistic or impractical situations and ideas, but it could possibly appeal to loose pragmatists because of the frequent everyday problems that occur within the plots. This genre may be far off, but it still connects with everyday human life. 

            The expectations of the genre are usually to be removed from the humdrum routine of everyday life into a new world of exploration and excitement...it also should consist of some sort of element of science. Also there should be a conflict, usually one of these: person vs. machine, person vs. other life form, person vs. post-apocalyptic surroundings, and/or person vs. time. 

            Science Fiction has many, many sub-genres, but I will only name a few of my favorites. First is apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, in which a devastation of some sort has taken place and humans now try to survive the dangerous new age. Secondly is time travel, epics of humans traveling across the space-time continuum- to the past of future- coming across unexpected problems and excitement. Next is military Science Fiction where humans battle savage aliens, machines, and other wild creatures to survive in a hostile environment. Lastly is Cyberpunk, consisting of loners that live in a dystopian society where perilous information and technology have spun out of control.

            Many of the most popular novels in our society today are Science Fiction. Some of these include The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, Divergent, by Veronica Roth, Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, and Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton. Many classic science fiction novels by authors such as Jules Verne and Stephen King have paved the way for the novels of today. They will truly take you on a journey you never expected.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: Setting

            In the novel, Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie the setting plays a very important role in the conflict of the story. Detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American criminal, Mr. Ratchett, on the Orient Express. The crime is creepy enough, twelve stab wounds to the chest, but the fact that the criminal still hides on the train is even creepier. The criminal cannot escape because the train is completely stopped in a raging blizzard. The setting, on the train and in a snowstorm, effects the conflict because with this, Poirot has to work hastily if he is to catch the killer before he claims another victim. This effects both him and the tone of the entire novel. Now, Poirot has to be aggressive with his investigation, leading to a change of character from a civilized Frenchmen to a hostile detective. Also, the plot becomes extremely more intense and suspenseful, keeping you on the edge of your seat until you reach that final page.

Operation Red Jericho Quick Review

            In Operation Red Jericho, written by Joshua Mowll, the perilous adventure of Doug and Becca McKenzie is told, every page pulling you deeper into Shanghai, 1920. Doug and Becca have been trying to find the secret to their parents' disappearance for a while, but are spurred closer to their answer when they are sent to live with their Uncle, Captain Fitzroy McKenzie, aboard his ship, The Expedient. They find out that their parents had worked for a secret organization, The Honorable Guild of Specialists, and had gotten tangled up in dangerous business with pirates and a dangerous chemical. In the hands of the vicious Chinese warlord, Sheng-Fat, it could destroy China's entire economy. They are on a mission to find out more about their missing parents and unknowingly to save many of Sheng-Fat's prisoners. This story was intriguing from the very beginning with the troublesome siblings in a new place in a new home. The characters were very well developed, with very defined personalities and characteristics. The plot was relatively straight forward, but with the many interesting settings and the complicated situation with the perilous chemical, it was a bit hard to follow at times. The book provided very interesting and helpful graphics to visualize what was happening. Overall, if you are an adventure fanatic with a taste for history, then this book is strongly recommended for you.

Seven Ways to Look at Newspaper

I.

Covered in plastic and slick with the saliva of a dog,

it arrives.

 

II.

Read through glasses

at the early morning table,

always carrying

terrible news.

 

III.

Spread in water and glue

and plastered against a metal mold

with sticky fingers.

 

IV.

Forcing the gears to turn

in your head

as you try to solve the puzzles

on every page.

 

V.

Folded into little hats

that sit on the heads of

little children.

 

VI.

Thrown into a dying pit

to feed the flames of a dwindling fire.

 

VII.

Spilled coffee.

Stray pen marks.

Creased and ripped.

All renewed the next day

to begin again.

The Snow Child: Is She Real?

            In the novel, The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey, the story is told of and older couple, Mable and Jack, who move to a homestead in Alaska to seek a new life of adventure after they are unable to have a baby...but it is not what they get. They are bored with their lives, with each other, and with the humdrum routine of their everyday life. One night, on the first snow of winter, they build a snow girl, and no ordinary one. Every detail is sculpted with delicate preciseness, from the curve of her cheeks to the scarf and mittens that kept her warm. The next morning, she is gone, nothing but crushed snow remaining, but a little girl from the woods has taken her place. They thought their prayers had been answered, a little girl lost and in need of protection that they can call their own. She wore the same clothes that had disappeared from the snow child. This event causes the reader to want to know more about the child, who we later learn is named Faina. Questions plague our minds: Is she real? Is she just a hallucination? A lost dream that they can never have? Is it magic that conjured her up from just the ordinary snow? No one else aside from the couple had ever seen her, and it would stay that way for many years, until she finally meets some of their neighbor friends. She eventually adjusts to the normal life of the homesteaders but still has mysterious tendencies. She disappears at night into the woods, survives perfectly well on her own, and must remain cool at all times or else she begins to fever. These traits makes us contemplate whether her existence was real of conjured up by Jack and Mable's misery. One thing remains clear throughout the entire novel, though: to Jack and Mable, she was always real.

Gun Control

The amount of control that authority should have on guns is a huge issue that plagues our society today. In one of my classes, we recently watched Bowling for Columbine, written, produced, and directed by Michael Moore. The way he portrays the issue of gun safety is quite entertaining and hilarious, despite the seriousness of the issue. My extended family (believe it or not with our heritage) are very big hunters. They are not particularly fans of the Safe Act, due to the fact that limits the amount of ammunition that can be in guns, but they respect it due to the issues that have transpired in schools and even just on the streets. I believe that gun safety is extremely important to have in our society to protect from gun violence and anymore unwanted and unnecessary death.

How many books have we read this year?

The amount of books we have read this year is overwhelming...
>Montana 1948
>The First Part Last
>The House on Mango Street
>Rattlebone
>The Snow Child
>Age of Miracles
>Twenty Love Poems
>The Book of Qualities
>Love that Dog
>Brighton Beach Memoirs
>Fences
>The Zoo Story
>12 Angry Men
>Thief of Always
>Our Town
>After
>Murder on the Orient Express
>Operation Red Jericho
>Romeo and Juliet
>Oedipus the King
>The Book Thief
>The Maze Runner
>The Fault in Our Stars
>Of Mice and Men
and the answer is 24!

All the World Gone

Check it out, the finished edition of my sci-fi story!
^^^Click the link above to view it^^^

The Book Thief Quick Review

            In my English class, we were recently assigned book to read in literature circles. I chose The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak. It was an excellent read. It is about a young girl, Liesel, who has been dropped off at a stranger's house and was told that was her new family after her mother was mysteriously taken. She becomes a part of the family and the neighborhood of Himmel Street, gaining new friends and new enemies. She is obsessed with one goal throughout the story: reading. She is so determined to read that she steals books from many different sources...including a book-burning. The story is mainly a bildungsroman, or coming of age story, but has a bit of a twist as it takes place during WW2, Nazi Germany. The strict behavior required by the Nazis plays a huge role in the plot. Certain behavior is expected, and those who stray from it face imminent danger. Leisel strays very far. She steals food with her friend, she breaks in to the mayor's house, and her family even harbors a Jew in their basement. The description of her journey through learning the ways of life of Himmel Street in Nazi Germany almost forces you to feel what she feels and see what she sees. This is a very excellent book and is strongly recommended.

                                                                                    

      

The Queen Mary Hotel

            In Long Beach, California, a hair-raising retired ship sits at the docks as a frightening hotel tourist attraction. The Queen Mary. Many spirits amble among the chilling hallways where many lost their lives in vain.

            Many deaths loom aboard the Queen Mary. It was a ship used to transport Allied troops in WW2, and one day unintentionally barrelled right into its escort ship. Forbidden to stop, it left hundreds to drown in the harsh waters. After the war, the ship returned to transporting the wealthy across the Atlantic. More murders followed. Two women drown to death in the pool when it collided with a large wave, knocking them in. A little girl, Jackie, also haunts the pool, breaking her neck there when she fell off of the waterslide. All three of these spirits have been heard or seen at the pool. The engine room is also of infamousy. Two young crewmen were crushed to death by the heavy metal door of room #13. Then, in 1966, another young man was crushed by the same door in a drill. This man’s particular spirit has been said to walk about the engine room and neighboring hallways, drastically dropping temperatures and omitting ghastly sounds.

            The Queen Mary has been a chilling attraction for years, attractive everyone from a curious tourist to top-notch movie producers. The presences are so strong that they have been caught on video and tape, making it the perfect destination for a ghost hunt. Glowing orbs of losts souls, sorrowful moans of young lives gone, and weeping, screeching children searching for their loved ones are only some of the known experiences. The hotel has seduced many, barely anyone ever leaving without feeling something, a breath, a cry, of hundreds of lost souls searching for salvation.  

Hint Fiction Pt. 2

If you are unfamiliar with hint fiction, see 'Hint Fiction', post.

                                                                    Bath Time

Water engulfed her head completely. She struggled against losing consciousness. ‘Mother, stop!’ she cried. Only bubbles reached the surface.

La Isla de Las Muñecas

            In one of my classes, we were instructed to create a newsletter on any topic of our liking. My friend and I decided to write one on paranormal occurrences and places. One of the places we found particularly caught my attention: La Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dolls.

            La Isla de las Muñecas, or the Island of the Dolls, is a creepy tourist attraction that has frightened visitors for years. The Island of the Dolls is located south of Mexico City, within an extensive network of canals.

It is said that three young girls once visited the island, but only two returned. One of the girls drowned in a canal. The old caretaker of the island, Don Julian Santana, lived there alone despite being married and claimed he was being haunted by the girl’s spirit. To appease her, he hung a doll on a tree for her amusement, but this only increased the tormenting. He continued to hang the dolls, collecting them, each sending him drifting farther from society. Soon, hundreds of mutilated dolls hung lifelessly from the trees, looking to appease the spirit. The affliction never ceased. In 2001, Don Julian Santana was mysteriously found dead by his nephew...on the bed of the same canal in which the little girl drowned in.

To this day the dolls hang, abused and maimed by the years, still looking to appease the raging spirit. Few tourists visit the island, claiming it’s too overwhelming to see the mangled dolls, but those who do, do not leave without feeling a presence. Many say that upon entering the island they can hear many childlike voices whispering to them, telling them to offer them a gift to pacify them.

The dismembered bodies of the dolls still wait in the trees, and will remain to wait, though they will never be mollified.

Here is a picture of a part of the Island:

 

 

Hint Fiction

In class, we have been working on hint fiction, which is a form of fiction in which the stories are only 25 words or less. They are quite interesting but harder to create than you'd expect. They are very enjoyable to read and write, and once you get on a roll, they just pop out one after another. Here's one of mine:

Dinner as a Family

We sat and ate. He was lively. My parents loved how passionate he was about life, though he may still be in my teeth.

Addams Family Quick Review

I recently attended The Addams Family Musical at School of the Arts. The production was fantastic. Humor was laced in almost every line whether it be witty, dark, or just straight hilarious. The music was great, lively when needed and sentimental at times as well. The vocals were very nice along with the acting and sets. The sets were eerie and elegant just like you would think for an oddly dark family like Addams. The only thing that I would criticize is the quality of the plot. The plot was relatively strong, but many events were just thrown in their for the sake of a song or a laugh. A bit of time was wasted on this while it could've been used to explain a few plot holes. Aside from this, The Addams Family Musical, written by Andrew Lippa, Marshall Brickman, and Rick Elice was an extremely enjoyable show and should be attended when available.

Sestina Poem

Grandmother

Reaching with her gentle arms,

she brushed against my round face.

We organized picked flowers at the table

from the garden that sat in the back.

Always within her sight,

I ran through the yard, feeling its pull.

 

On the swing, she would push and pull,

and I would flail my arms.

I was in awe of the sight,

the wind streaming across my face.

She grabbed my waist and pulled me back.

We raced back to the table.

 

Still sat the old wooden table

and I waited for lunch but had to pull

it close. The chair pressed against my back.

She reached forward and I grabbed her arms

to pull them close and we turned to face

the dark thunderstorm sight.

 

The rain poured down and blurred our sight

and she tapped her fingers on the table

to the rhythm of rain. My face

streaked with tears and she reached to pull

me away from my greatest fear. Her arms

reached forward and wrapped around to my back.

 

She let go and ran outside. I screamed for her to come back.

Running through the house, she still wasn’t in sight.

I jumped up and down and waved my arms

trying to make her see me. I climbed up on to the table

and waved more. At last I saw her, trying to pull

herself up on the swing. Rain danced on her face.

 

I put my coat on the ground to face

upside down. With a flip, I ran out with my back

towards the calm inside. Too cautious, I tried to pull

clear of trees. I look up at the looming clouds, to see a sight

of lighting strike the earth. I thought of saying at the table.

She smiled brightly through the grey, looking up towards the sky and raising her arms.

 

I looked up again to see the many shades of darkness that from then on, I no longer feared.

Our Town by Thornton Wilder Review

The play Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, was an... interesting piece, telling the story of a normal, everyday town in New Hampshire called Grover’s Corners, that took place the early 1900’s. This play was not necessarily my favorite. I found it to be very boring and anti-climactic, but since time period it was written in was what it was, it provided an excuse for it to be this way. The time period was one that was filled with comforting, everyday-life writings. There are a few elements of this piece that contributed to its lack of excitement, one being its basic plot events or lack of them.

The plot of the story was simple, displaying four basic themes, life, love, death, and time or artificiality of theater. Because three of these four themes are something that everyone obviously experiences, the plot had a lack of individuality. It was broken up into three acts, the first being the one that displayed life. This act consisted of a typical day in Grover’s Corners, the milkman and the paperboy making their rounds, and children eating breakfast and getting ready for school. The women of the town gossiped together and two of the children from the town talked together, George and Emily, slowly showing a love interest between them. This leads to the second act which takes place three years later and displays love, because the only event that occurs in this scene is the wedding of Emily and George. At first, Emily is nervous to get married, but then realizes that George is meant for her and she is meant for him. They get happily married. The last act takes place nine years after the wedding, and displays the theme of death. They are in a cemetery and Emily is being buried, having died during childbirth. She is among others who have already died, including some from the town she knew well. She speaks with them, and tells them that she wishes to relive a day of her life and see those she loves. The others tell her it is a bad idea because it would only cause her sorrow, but she does anyway. She relives her 12th birthday, but she becomes very sad as she comes to deeply miss her family, so she demands to go back to the cemetery. She discusses with the dead her newfound appreciation for everyday life and how she should have appreciated it more when she was alive, and the others confirm they have come to the same realization. Emily exclaimed that the living just do not understand, and the play ends. These three themes are obviously displayed throughout the play as well as the fourth theme, that is showed through lack of set and the amount of staging described by the stage manager.

The set of the play was very interesting, often being described by the stage manager and lacking an actual, physical set. There were no props or any other types of scenery within the play as it was being performed. The setting of the story was explained by the stage manager, who had an oddly large number of lines throughout the play, in order for the audience to be able to follow along with what was happening. It took place in the fictitious town of Grover’s Corners from 1901-1913. Some of the staging was done by the stage manager as well, telling people where they should be during the play and putting things where they belong as well, such as chairs, which were about the only props that were used in the entire play. I found this to be incredibly boring, and honestly, I didn’t like it very much. With the stage manager having to describe what objects were where in the scene, it made it a boring read and sort of confusing.

The playwright was able to create such a revolutionary method of staging and set because of his family background. Thornton Wilder was born to an educated, successful family, with both parents having excellent skills in language arts. His mother was a successful poet while his father was a newspaper owner and editor as well as a powerful public speaker. Thornton grew up around writing and was very influenced by his parents. When his family moved to China, he took  English classes to improve his skills. Soon, his family moved back from China to the United States and his passion for writing continued to grow. He was off to Yale University but soon volunteered as a soldier in WW1. After he returned from the war, he received his bachelor’s degree from Yale and wrote his first play, The Trumpet Shall Sound. He then began to teach French and English in different schools and wrote many scripts for silent films as well. He soon wrote two novels, his second more popular than the first, and then began writing for broadway. He soon wrote Our Town, and I believe it was an attempt to show normalcy in the United States. This was comforting to the Americans so it soared in popularity. This production was a breakthrough in play narration with the role of the stage manager, leading many to follow its lead.

His writing style throughout Our Town fit the time period, using some slang from the early 1900’s such as ‘yonder’ and ‘easy as kittens’. Also, things are just phrased differently than they would be now. The language fit the characters who spoke in the time period, such as the two lovers Emily Webb and George Gibbs who were at first just childhood friends but grew to be husband and wife. This story was mainly about them and their experiences with life, love, and death. Their families were also involved, just talking about life around Grover’s Corners and guiding them with their decisions. Few other important characters were involved, just a few figures known around the town such as the paperboy or the milkman. Well, aside from the extremely important stage manager who broke the fourth wall multiple times throughout the story. Wilder’s use of language in the play fit perfectly for the characters, not too metaphorical or poetic for everyday conversation, yet deep enough for us to understand the themes he tried to convey.

Overall, I believe that Thornton Wilder’s Our Town was exactly what he meant it to be, a comforting story of everyday life in a normal town, with just enough of his own creativity in it to give it something a little special and make it his own story. Though I did not love the play, I do respect Wilder as a writer and appreciate his revolutionary idea of the lack of set and the important role of the stage manager. I believe that I would like him more if I read another piece of his, because the writing itself, I liked. His writing is good but the play... I do not recommend.

After: After the Cure by Carrie Ryan

After is a novel consisting of nineteen short stories telling tales of apocalypse and dystopia. Many of them to me seem extremely weird and confusing, but this story was different. It wasn't just the everyday 'there was a big riot and then the government killed everybody and then zombies came'. This put a new spin on a sort of rabid vampire-zombie mix. Also, it took place afterword. This was the story of a girl who had survived the disease. She had lived through it and been cured. The cured 'victims', as the government intended they'd be called, now had to re-intigrate with society, had to sit next to and talk to people whose family they may have murdered. They weren't excepted, they weren't tolerated by some. They were persecuted and alienated, stuck in purgatory. I especially liked this story because of this. She was trying to fit in after being a ravenous monster. She had to try and become who she used to be, try to remember who she even was. This unique idea made this story one of my favorites.

All the World Gone Premise

So, as a project in one of my classes, we are writing short stories in specific genres. Mine is science fiction. I am very excited to write this story and have been planning it for a while, so here is the premise of my story called, "All the World Gone".

            Earth is in chaos. War has spread all over the world, causing uncountable deaths and unstable economies. The poor have gotten poorer and the rich haven't suffered a penny. The U.S. government is gone but one organization tries to maintain control, the U.S.S.C., United States Salvation Committee. They are planning something, something to rid the world of all evil and chaos. The Purge. They are setting loose a virus to wipe out all those who reek havoc on the world and to purify the earth. A cure has been developed by a man named Julian for the use of only the high status Americans to live on and resurrect the lost world. The cure however, does not work, leaving them on earth to die. The U.S.S.C was prepared for this, having sent out spaceships in search for a new home for an Exodus mission, an escape. They must escape to the planet of Janis, god of opportunity, and with the help of Julian's daughter Willa, they will be able to live and thrive there. They believe they are alone, but on Janis they will encounter creatures they never imagined, and make choices crucial to survival. But that's the question, isn't it? Will they be able to keep the human race from extinction?

No Place to Exist

            No place is safe. There is no place that I can go where it will not wrap its long, gnarled fingers around my collar and drag me back to where my thoughts can spill. The ideas swarm and I tell myself that I can’t forget them, that I can stay out a little longer, but it doesn’t believe me. It says that I will not forget them. It pries open my mouth and reaches deep within me to pull out the thoughts and ideas that I can’t forget. It forces me to speak them, let them pour out into the air where I and it can hear them. Sometimes, it doesn’t like them, all of that work and it doesn’t like them. It will force my eyes shut, my mind to clear, and to begin building another world. Another world for it to destroy.

New Addition

I am very proud and excited to announce some news...I have a new sister. Meet Rosie:

A small but vicious, nipping and slobbering, cutest little ball of fat you've ever seen...otherwise known as a Basset Hound. She just turned nine weeks old and she's already 18 pounds. Fatty. She will lay down, and it will be like she's laying in a puddle of her own fat. I always stay at a healthy 1 pound and 4 ounces. She doesn't do much either, just eat, sleep, and poop. And while I'm at it, she's always following me around. Get a life squirt. Don't you have better things to do that bite of my toes? I only have seven left now because of her, no more high-fours for me. But I mean I can't stay mad at her for long with her adorable, droopy eyes or her long, saggy ears that she trips over when she runs. Ugh, I can't be mad. Too cute.

The Maze Runner Review

This was a project for school so here it is. (P.S. This contains spoilers so if you intend to read the book or see the movie, I advise you not to read on.)
In the thrilling post-apocalyptic novel, The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, it tells the story of a young boy named Thomas who woke up without any memory of his past in a place he’s never seen before. The plot of the story is very well developed throughout the book, every little bit and piece coming together in the end. Thomas trapped in a place called the Glade, a large grass field surrounded by towering stone walls with young boys who also have no recollection of their pasts. There is no authority in the Glade, except for the boys who are brave enough to step forward and try to organize the group and protect them from the malicious creatures that live beyond the walls...in the Maze. The Maze is an ever changing labyrinth filled with all sorts of danger and unknown creatures. The boys who are brave enough to venture into the Maze during the day, the Runners, try to map and solve the Maze for their escape. When Thomas comes, everything changes. Supplies stop coming, people start going insane, and the weirdest of all, the first girl to ever arrive is half in a coma and she somehow knows Thomas. He has a strange connection with both her and the Glade but has no idea why. All he knows is that he must be a Runner, and he will solve the Maze.

The themes in this gripping story are eerie, mostly mystery and death, “Such a display of death - how could it be considered a victory?” (Dashner 348). The children in the Glade have lost many, some due to their own minds, but most to the deadly maze and the creatures that reside in it. During their many attempts at escape, they’ve lost too many to count, and when they finally succeed, they realize how many they’ve lost, and some wonder they truly are free. The mystery that plagues this novel is intriguing, due to the fact that you want to know what’s happening just as much as the characters in the story do. You want to know where they came from, why they’re here, who they were, who’s doing this, and if they’re ever get out. The lack of memory that the children have is infuriating because you are always on the edge of your seat, wondering when everything would come together. Why does everyone who remembers anything about their past hate Thomas? Who wiped their memories? “He wished for all the world he could remember something about his previous life. Anything. His mom, his dad, a friend, his school, a hobby. A girl” (Dashner 21). Only one thing could bring back some of their memories but it would force them into excruciating pain, they would have to get stung by one of the terrible creatures in the Maze, a Griever, and go through the Changing.

The structure of the novel is standard, but in relatively short chapters that make it easier to breeze through the book. Also, every chapter ended with a hook, making you want to push through the next chapter despite how late it is. The entirety of the book is written in third person limited. It was mainly focused on Thomas, we knew his thoughts and actions, but it never spoke through him in the first person. This was interesting because the narration was only partially subjective, we were able to see what Thomas thought, but we were still able to develop our own opinions on the characters. Because this novel was written in a style much like my own, I believe it was more likeable to me and allowed me to read it relatively quickly. The language in the novel ranges from a sentence containing nothing but slang, to sophisticated metaphors and similes to make a point. Much of the figurative language is used to describe the memory loss that the children in the Glade experience, “His memory loss was strange. He mostly remembered the workings of the world—but emptied of specifics, faces, names. Like a book completely intact but missing one word in every dozen, making it a miserable and confusing read. He didn't even know his age” (Dashner 15). This compares the memory loss to a book with missing words. Also, “It was just so… weird. He remembered lots of little things about life—eating, clothes, studying, playing, general images of the makeup of the world. But any detail that would fill in the picture to create a true and complete memory had been erased somehow. It was like looking at an image through a foot of muddy water” (Dashner 33). This compares it to trying to look through murky water. This use of language and structure helps us interpret the novel in the way the author wants us to, showing us the story how it is supposed to be seen.

The characters throughout the story were relatively strong, they all had some sort of personality and flaw, but they weren’t very dynamic. The lack of knowledge of what they were before they were put into the Glade contributes to this because without a place to start, we are unable to see them change. Some of the characters were barely in depth, but they were not essential to the plot so they did not need to be. One of the characters, Chuck, a small, 12 year old boy who quickly became friends with Thomas is a character that we are able to see a little change in. At the beginning of the novel, he is some-what smug that he has been entrusted with the task of welcoming Thomas to the Glade but later, we are able to see his insecurities as things in the Glade begin to go awry. We see that he is afraid and sad, he misses whatever family he used to have and just wants to be safe. Thomas promises to get him there. Another character, Newt, one of the leaders in the Glade, is sort of bipolar. One second, he’ll be laughing with Thomas and offering to take him under his wing, and another, he’ll be telling him to shut up and get lost, “Turned this whole place upside down, you bloody shank” (Dashner 150). Newt has a very comedic attitude, but he can become extremely serious in a matter of seconds. The characters in this story are pretty well developed, but I would’ve liked to see a little more depth.

Overall, I believe that The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, is a very intriguing and exciting novel that is a joy to read. It is simple enough for a young teenager to read but interesting and sophisticated enough for all adult readers to enjoy. Though apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic novels are common now among bookshelves, I believe that this is definitely one of the top contenders in it’s genre. If you love novels that will keep you on the edge of your seat, your heart pounding, and your eyes straining for more, than I strongly recommend this book.

Tenacity

            Tenacity does not believe in conceding. He does not even know such a word. He is tall, wiry, yet strong. Love is capable for him, but it is difficult. He finds himself possessive, always trying to keep Joy close, determined to make their relationship successful. He must be successful.  Like Arrogance, Tenacity was brought up doubting what he could do. He dealt with it in a different way, though. He fought against it, fought past it, broke down the wall and kept stomping. Now nothing stops him. No one can hold him back, so some think him dangerous, crazy even. He has a few friends, mostly those who admire him, his determination and bravery. 

            People can’t help but be weary of him, his ferocious resilience that bounces back like a brand new ball. His unyielding spirit is like no other. In a way though, he is lost. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for.  All he knows is that he has to get there. For now, he lives nowhere, searching.

Arrogance

            Arrogance is like a bright peacock, always flashing his feathers, hiding everyone else in his shade. He can always find ways to make you feel small. He is quite short, but uses words to climb high in the air and make himself feel tall. He was always told that he couldn’t do anything. He could never be happy. He would try, and try again. He was unable to succeed. He was left in the dark with only one small source of light--words.
            Most try to ignore him, but his aggravating words can’t help but seep deep into their skin, driving them crazy. Because of this, no one can stand to be near him. He is lonely. He doesn’t like to admit anything, especially being wrong, because he cannot. Arrogance is not even able to listen anymore, and it’s only gotten worse. Wisdom has shown a particular disliking to him. He has stopped listening as well and with this he knows he has taken away his only weapon. They despise each other. They are enemies, but no one will intervene. Arrogance attacks those who oppose him with sharp, icy claws made of words. No one knows what to expect from those claws. All they can do is hope that they will not have to face them.

This February

This is a few months late but...better late than never.

When the black fireplace almost burns every night,

the sweet-smelling smoke rising to the roof,

and the basketball hoop still stands to the side of the driveway,

half-buried in snow,

and the mysterious neighbor

who walks out only once a day for mail,

and never says hello,

and it is a perilous journey to get up the driveway,

steep and slick,

and your feet cringing as they touch the morning floor,

tiled and unforgiving,

you begin to wish the time away,

counting and counting,                                                                                                                             anticipating the heartening days that never seem to come.

Nonstop

Because this morning I woke up

to see a lurking night sky,

covered with a cloak of grey---

 

and because I watched the light rise

like a phoenix---

knocked down every night,

only to rise again,

rising, rising, rising

as night shrunk for temporary inexistence---

and because the air was calm and cool

and morning dew littered the grass,

I sat out on our low, weathered picnic table

with a ladybug strolling across my palm,

staring into the unmoving woods

as the twisted knots stared back

and the trees stood straight and silent like obedient soldiers,

everything still except the tall, unruly weeds

that danced as they were swept up

until the wind came to a halt and

everything slowed,

stopped---

the world stopped.