Black Swan Green Blog post #16 Heroism

So what makes a hero?

A hero is someone who is alway's around to help those in need. They are people who help others and they can be anyone. I like Mumen rider even if he sucks (A reference) at fighting, but he does help others, like helping old ladies cross a street or to help a cat off of a tree. Even if he's terrible at fighting the monsters away and the evil enemies, he is always there for people and he does it off good will. He has accepted that he is trash but still continues on his task as a Hero. Heroes are typically Courageous or Brave, they are also typically kind and they have very good tolerance. Now, in the Novel "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell we learn about Jason taylor and his 13 year old experiences in his little village.  He does many reckless things and he does many things that can be accountable of being called a hero. So, is Jason Taylor a hero? Yes! He shows many traits of the typical heroes and he is a good boy at heart.

This is mumen Rider BTW

(He's not much to look at but he is a pretty good willed person)

He can be considered a hero for his considerate actions in "Spooks" when he went back to check on Dean Moran when the members told him not to.  Jason has an internal conflict before doing so and says to himself,"A fact sunk a hook into me. If I'd fallen through Mr. Blake's greenhouse and not Moran, Moran wouldn't be abandoning me to that psycho.". Jason is shown to be thinking about His friend Dean and he want's to go back even if it means not being a part of spooks anymore (He got kicked out). He eventually goes to check on Dean and it can be considered heroism and Jason can be a hero to Dean Moran since he decided to go back for him where a normal person (Like me) would have ditched him (Again, me).

Jason Also returning Ross Wilcox's wallet was very considerate since Ross is one of the biggest D-bag in all of Black Swan Green. Jason find the twat's wallet in Black Swan green's annual Goose Fair and he had 600 pounds in it (Pounds or something i dunno). This is a lot of dough and Jason decided to keep it. After a while in the Goose Fair, he decides to return it to Ross due to hearing about his father's ferocity. The man was said to have beaten his wife black and blue all over for losing stamps, and not a giant pack of 'em, Just five of them. This man is willing to do something like that to his wife, then imagine what will happen to Ross, and that what was going on inside of Jason's head. He decides to go to the forest and his subconscious tells him that "he isn't here", but he found and Ross got back his wallet. He was one of the most ungrateful piece of trash i've ever seen (read) and even threatened him if he stole any of the money. He then went on on saying something along the lines of, "So you want me to kiss your ass or something?" Jason only says poor kid. Jason is tolerant and very nice towards Ross for giving him back his wallet since most people would have kept it and been happy to see him get beaten up by his father while they're at it. Jason can be considered Ross's hero since he basically saved him from being sent to the next world by his father. No one else would have done what Jason had did. He is a true Hero (Or Just kind :P)

Lastly! In the chapter "Disco" Jason break's Neal Brose's (A Bully) calculator as a way to get back at him and to show him that he isn't afraid of him. Hell, he even grassed on him to the Headmaster and got him expelled (Or something like that). He has became the hero of the other kids that Neal Brose picked on since he had the Courage to stand up against him and get him into a deep deep deep hole. Jason can be considered these kids heroes since he built up courage to something that not your run-of-the-mill kid would do. He is shown respect since then since he kinda felt powerful. He saved the lepers from having to  pay him anymore money for his "Popularity Lessons" and he has been removed. Jason is a hero in all these parts, and Just because he isn't very consistent, it doesn't mean he isn't a hero. At the very least, Jason is a hero at Heart.

Blog #15 (Black Swan Green) "Knife Grinder" Thoughts and reaction + Summary

      The story starts off with Jason returning home to find a T.V set at his room. It was a gift from his father (how "Thoughtful"), which in my opinion seems to be another one of those bribing gifts he has been giving away to Jason. Later on the doorbell rings and a gypsy appears who says that they got a lot of valuables in their homes which would mean that he can get some money off them by doing some odd jobs. He asks if his parents are home and Jason replies with a no. Jason feels that he shouldn't be talking to stangers, but he shouldn't shut the door on him as it would show bad manners. He says that they are too complicated and they make no sense during specific situations. The man says that he sharpens knives and that he had done it for his mother a year ago, he also mentions that the driveway needs some work onto it. Regardless of this, Jason tells the man he has no money and his parents aren't around to buy anything. The gypsy decides to leave, but he requested that Jason would tell his parents about the conversation and the driveway. He promised the gypsy that he would tell his parents and the old man who will be later referred to as "Knife Grinder" left. Some time is passed and Jason brings up the knife grinder who visited when his mother was cutting food up for dinner (He remembered it through what his mother was doing)  . The father was outraged that a gypsy went to their home when it is most vulnerable to their kind and the mother started defending them by telling him that the same guy came a year earlier and he did a damn fine job on them. The two got into an argument and Jason doesn't really know what to do as it is very awkward when you are just spectating the scene. After this argument settles down and some time passes Samuel Swinyard (Gilbert Swinyard's dad) knocks on their door to ask them to sign a petition to make sure that Gypsies don't permanently settle on Black Swan Green. The father agrees and tells them about the gypsy that came at home when only Jason was around. Jason was brought by his father to attend a meeting about this situation at the Town hall to which in the middle of Samuel Swinyard's speech a fire alarm came on. People weren't that alarmed by it and some were annoyed (Like Samuel Swinyard) until People yelled fire in the back ground and the gypsies were blamed. The scene ends with Jason being held by his father tightly in the midst of this chaotic mess. This whole part seems to show that the gypsies aren't very liked by the people of Black Swan Green since they are viewed as dirty scumbags who do odd jobs for people to get by. It cuts to Dean Morgan's home and Jason describes it as "two tumbly cottages knocked together"  and then describes what's inside like Dean's room. Jason and Dean then proceeded to try to make a golf course with random junk rather than play on Deans Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16k since his sister sat on the tape recorder and it couldn't load and games. They made it work, however they couldn't find a single ball to use so Dean suggested that they both took a looksy down the well. Dean explains the back story of the well and his father plays a prank on them by pretending to be the little girl and scaring them, Jason said that he "shat" himself. The two continue on with Dean's father and they just talk about unnecessary stuff except for when Dean's father mentions that he didn't go to the meeting nor sign the petition since he doesn't have a problem with it and in fact he has gypsy blood in him. I found this to be slightly important since it could bring up mixed feeling towards Jason since he is being told ( unintentionally ) that gypsies are nothing more that bums who do odd jobs to make a living for themselves,where as he knows someone who is related to those "trash" and is told that there is nothing wrong with them.

        Jason is then walking towards Mr. Rhydd's shop in the long way to decrease his chances of finding Ross Wilcox and up ahead is Ross Wilcox and others who are in some kind of war with other kids. Jason tries his best to avoid them without being seen or else they will all target him and he doesn't want to deal with it. Jason says that once he could have just joined the side with the most popular kids, but now he can't as he lost his popularity and joining isn't an option anymore. This goes to show that Jason losing his popularity has effected him outside of school since he cannot even join anyone with the fight or else their eyes will be on him and then he will be the prime target (Maybe kick him till he's blue all over). When hiding, squelch has spotted him, but he didn't say anything  so he then runs out of his hiding spots and jumps into some bushes. He knew that his only way out was to go deeper in. This is kind of saddening seeing a once popular kid having to run away Fromm a fight between people with the far of being spotted and jumped. He should have joined them and he should have enjoyed being a part of them. Jason says that picked on kids act invisible to decrease their chances of being noticed and picked on ( like that gypsy kid Jason mention earlier) and e same thing applies to kids whose parents argue a lot. He call son himself the triple invisible boy. This'll probably means that he feels invisible in three places, one is school where he gets picked on and he can't really do much except be bullied. The second one is home where it is more or less the same as school except his parents constantly arguing had lead to Jason acting invisible to try and not worsen his situations.  And lastly he might consider himself s invisible for not doing anything so by doing nothing he is like a rock who does nothing and can't do anything. Jason then describes the woods and says that he wants to be a forester to work with trees. He also says something funny, he says that there is a  Druid feeling in the woods makes him want to crap so his digs up a hole to shit. while crapping on the hole a big dog takes his stuff and takes off with it, he chases after it blindly. This is important cause the dog taking off leads him towards somewhere that develops the plot later on. WHile chasing after it, he stumbles across the little area that the gypsies live. He get's caught and walks one step backwards, he tumbled down a hill (Or so i believe) and Jason gets to know them. He meets Alan Wall who was the gypsy kid from when he was a kid and his uncle who is familiar with him. It was the Knife Grinder and the gypsies plus Jason spend some time together.He also gets his Adidas Bag back from the Gypsies since on of them had it.. He learns that the Gypsies don't want to move near Black Swan Green either and that it is just because the people have to since they couldn't meet some quota.  The gypsies say that it isn't generosity at all and it is just they are forced to do so. Jason feels that the people of Black Swan Green don't like them since they are scared and they try to repel what they don't understand. JAson feels that if the people of Black Swan Green got to Know the Gypsies for what they are, things would be a lot better between them. I think so too, but then again the People of BSG (Black Swan Green) would try to find other things about them to hate so they don't have to confront them.

 Some Questions that I have:

• Where is Alan Wall's dad and what is he doing?
• Does Jason know how to find his way back since he did follow the dog blindly.
• Why doesn't Jason just ignore his "Promise" for the Gypsy early in the chapter?

Blog #14 (Black Swan Green) Writing Prompt

Questions that i will answer:

• Why does David Mitchell Choose to title the chapter "Maggot"
• How does Jason Deal with being ostracized by the boys in his school and the discover of his stammer? How does he deal with being an outcast within his school?
• How does the theme of "Bullying" and "fitting in" develop over the course of this chapter?

      This is fairly simple. I would say that David Mitchell choose to use "Maggot" as the title for the chapter to represent what jason was "worth" based on what his peers thought of him and also to possibly represent everyone who bullies Jason as maggots. The word maggot can symbolize something within the, like Ross Wilcox who is a major D-bag for bullying Jason and singling him who can be considered a "maggot" for his act of bullying defenseless Jason. It could also sum up the chapter since Jason is called a maggot from the beginning of the chapter, to the near end by everyone, even the normal kids. Jason has been tormented by Ross and cohort throughout the chapter by either teasing him or physically hurting the poor sap, SO the term "Maggot" is what is being sunken into jason mind when they all keep calling him that. It can also be used to represent Jason since he has literally became a maggot since he is the lowest of the lowest. He has been deemed worthless by his fellow peers for going to the movies with his Mum while also not listening to the spooks when they told his to go back for Dean. Jason is viewed as the crap under peoples shoes for the actions that he has done and he can't do a single thing about it since he doesn't have strength or the right state of mind to think properly. He kinda just wants to end all of this, and there is only two ways for that... David Mitchell may have a completely different reason for picking maggot as the title for the chapter, but i feel that these are three reasons on why he would pick maggot.

      Jason has a way of coping with being ostracized (Excluded) by the boys in school and the discovery of his stammering problem. Jason had decided to just give up and live his life. HE doesn't try to fight this as he is basically rendered hopeless when he is being teased and targeted by Ross Wilcox. Jason had decided that if he doesn't do what the assailant wants, then it won't be pleasing for them and they will eventually give up. And example is when Jason didn't fight back when he got a grundy from King turd and his "Henchmen". Jason does want to be included or at least be in the middle class again as lepers are trash and he feels that he is better. Jason can cope with this stress and anger through that note he found on Kempsy's desk as it is true and he really shouldn't let those turds decide what he is. All they can do is bully him and if he can figure a way out of that, then he is golden. He just needs to think a bit. Jason isn't very fond of when he is being teased for being a stammerer since he literally has nothing to lose. His secret is out and is being teased for it, he is living the worst case scenario at the moment and he should just let life take it's course since there is nothing he could lose socially. I have a hunch that Jason will do something that will clear his name later on. (Gotta be optimistic)


      The theme of "Bullying" and "Fitting in" develops over the course of the chapter through the interactions of Jason and his fellow peers. Jason gets bullied by basically everyone in school for what has happened prior when he went to watch "Chariots of Fire" with his mum. JAson is becoming the punching bag for basically everyone except the lepers who are in the same boat as him. This kind of goes to show that someone who was high enough to join the spooks can become mere scum within days regardless of who they were due to more recent actions. The theme of bullying is strong in this chapter as the once cool guy protagonist finds himself in a situation where bullets are coming at him from every angle and he can't do anything to stop this. Jason's is being tormented by everyone as they call him a maggot and he is also getting physically hurt as Wilcox and his mates gave Jason a Grundy. This bullying will continue and Jason will only have three options to truly end all of this. One, all he has to do take out the "Turd king" as the bus driver suggested (I forgot his name...) so no one will mess with him again. Two, To commit suicide so that no one can get to him since he is dead. Lastly there is three, where Jason has to do something amazing where his will remove that bad thing from prior and people will get along with him again while also being high in the social hierarchy again. Knowing Jason, he would go with none of them and let life take its role and hope that this will all blow over. The theme of fitting in is shown as Jason is not the outcast of his school and will take probably a couple of months for this big ordeal to blow over. Jason is show to not get along anyone with anyone (Lepers excluded) and when he tries to talk to someone, they would ignore them (an example is when he tries to talk and says "Epic" which isn't a good word to use in his situation). Jason will have a hard time recovering from this and like always, he can take the easy way out which is Suicide (I am not condoning this)

Blog #13 (Black Swan Green) Souvenirs writing prompt

Prompt:Describe the relationship between Jason and his parents during his holiday with each parent. What does Jason learn about each parent? How do they connect and bond together?


This is fairly easy since we talked about it in class... I don't remember though. The relationship between Jason and his parents seem to be a lot closer when they are together individually. When Jason was with his father, He was treated very nicely and the father wanted to take him out for a movie. This didn't go as planned since Jason hung out with someone who worked for Jason's father and then wait on him all night. He makes up for this by taking Jason out to fly his kite out at Dawn the following day.  Jason's father is acting differently for some strange reason and the same would go for his mother as she smothers Jason to an extent. She gives Jason 10 pounds which was twice the amount he received from his father. She also is going to bring Jason to the movies. They both are being awfully nice to Jason at the moment. We can easily assume that they are divorcing and they are having this little competition of getting Jason's love to get his custody. This is backed up when Jason begins to ask his mother if they could go somewhere nice on vacation with his dad and she said lets wait and see. I mean that is a dead give away that they are going to split up. Jason doesn't seem to notice this though, so he is just trying to enjoy it while he can. He learns a couple things he didn't know about his mother and father. He was told a bit of his fathers childhood (You don't need to know) and his father taught him how to send a Kite telegram. He also learns that his father is a wimp (Or just me) since he didn't stand for his son when his boss says that the rock he had was a trilobite instead of a lytoceras fimbriatum upset Jason. The father show's that Jason isn't really his number one priority, even when the parents are on the verge of splitting up. Jason also learns that his mother can handle a brat or two. He had never seen her be so stern before as she usually kept quiet about things (Never a good thing, leads to people snapping). They connect and bond together since Jason is getting alone time with his parents separately and he is learning many new things about them that he hasn't known before. Examples being that Jason never knew his dad had some knowledge on fossils, or how his mother is able to be so stern. Aside from this kind of "Bond" and "Connection" the idea of them spending individually time together tells us something. It can easily foreshadow that the parents will split up and the mother or the father of Jason will have him. So this little "Vacation" can serve as a competition for the two parents to earn his love. This is because they will have to get his custody and the sooner The parents can get Jason to like them over the other would make it easy when they fight for Jason's custody. I don't know. I can't really think straight. Correct me if i missed anything in the comments, these are starting to become tedious to make.

Blog #11 (Black Swan Green) Solarium Thoughts and Reactions + Summary

Directions: For the "Solarium"blog, write al least one paragraph describing your reaction, thoughts and any questions you may have in regards to this chapter

Solarium

            So, the story revolves around Jason going to a Vicarage to discuss his "Work"(Poems). Jason wasn't directly invited, but Eliot Bolivar was. Jason was expecting to meet a vicar because the place he was at was known to be very serious and it is a place children shouldn't be. Jason meets an old man who opened the door for him and his role is apparently to that of a butler. The man leads Jason through the Vicarage to someone else called Madame Crommelynck. She tells him about the REAL vicars and asks him if he will drink a little. Unborn Twin (Sorta one of Jasons Personas) says a whole glass which kind of makes me chuckle. But you probably don't care about what i think. Jason declines and Madame Crommelynck proceeds to talk about his work. She reads "Rocks" first and says that this relates to a war and the situation with the parents. She tells Jason that he is too timid to cut his umbilical cords. This just simply means that Jason is too shy to express himself in real life, but in his poetry he is free to do however he pleases. She also finds Jason's work as garbage since he uses a lot of beautiful words in "Back Garden" which ruins a poem (What she thinks, i don't know jack $#!@ about poems). Madame Crommelynck goes in depth about what beauty is and where one could find it. She says that beauty is a distraction like cosmetics. She says that if he has a Magnolia tree, would he paint the flowers and decorate it with all sort of nonsense. She says that he might find her as crazy, but the Magnolia tree does not need a poet to exist as it already exists. She says that it goes the same with poems as it already exist,  it just needs words to create it and that is where poets come since they create the poems. So it could easily go with beauty as it is everywhere so it must be presented in some way. I feel that Beauty if whatever you know? It could be anything since beauty can take an infinite number of shapes. It can be in the form of looks, or voice, or taste( and more these are just the things i can think of). It also varies from one's perspective as someone probably won't find a girl as hot(Very unlikely) as i would see them... that was a bad example. Someone won't find the Zebra Finch as beautiful and majestic as me since i had experiences with one and found out many things about the little critter.  What i'm trying to say is that much like the poem that exist before it is made through words, beauty is everywhere(and yes, even in dark alleys or a slaughter house....just don't go there) because it is hiding in plain sight. You just got to take a deeper look into things to find it. (Not sure if this is in the discussion in class because i don't pay attention to those). Madame Crommelynck also talks that an amateur thinks that his work creates beauty where a "Master" feels that his work is only a throne where beauty will rest on. She goes on about this for about three more pages (not really necessary). She also mentioned that she was beautiful when she was younger and people fought each other just to claim her "beauty" and then tells him to leave and return the following week at the same time to proceed with this discussion.

         
             Jason then comes back and he says that the "butler" took longer than the last time. He is greeted to come in again and he takes a view of the insides again. He looks at all the room and it makes him think of all the rooms that he has been at the past and future (Maybe this kid is stoned). He then sees Madame Crommelynck sitting with her eyes closed listening to music. Jason finds this music to be very nice and thinks of it to be in a way out of this world. The two proceed and the two talk about Jason's pseudonym. Eva (Madame Crommelynck from now on .-.) says that he uses the name as a way to cover the shame of writing poems. She feels that the name Jason is better as it reminds her of a heroine who did good in European literature. Jason says that he uses a pseudonym because the doesn't want the guys of Black Swan Green to find out he writes poem since they will be out to get him and he drop in the social hierarchy (Eva figures this out).When Jason cracks and talks truthfully, Eva says that he is talking like a true poet. This most likely(Definitely) means that in Eva's eyes, a true poet writes about the truth and is open about what they write and represent in their writing. Eva tells Jason that if only he knows about his poems and if he hides it to his lover. Eva then gets Jason to crack about his loved one (Dawn Madden)  but before that happened Jason says he doesn't have a girlfriend and Eva responds with "You prefer boys?". This part made me laugh for a good minute...you probably don't care. When Jason tells Eva about Dawn, Eva asked if her boyfriend was either a poet or a "Barbarian" and Jason responds with  saying that ross is a prat, not a poet and if she was suggestion that he write a poem to Dawn Madden it would be no. They go on a bit about it and then a phone rings. I probably shouldn't care but what was the call about? I feel that it is somewhat responsible for what happens later on. Maybe i am just digging for gold but there is nothing but dirt. Eva tells Jason that poems can be anything, but they always speak the truth. She says that our eyes are clouded by everyday things, included television. She says that Poets throw away everything but the truth away. Jason tells Eva her phone is ringing and Eva couldn't care less since she was focused on talking to Jason. Jason says that his parents would have ran sonic fast if they thought the phone was ringing, so when Eva ignored the phone caller it made Jason a tad bit happy. Eva brings up a new topic, if a poem is free of falseness, is it truly beautiful. Jason tried to understand. I think (Know) that it would really depend on the readers perspective as (S)he might not appreciate it as another person would remember what i said about the hot girl? Yeah that's what i mean. Eva then talks about Hangman being Jason's best poem as it tells the readers the truth of something painful towards Jason, his stammering problem. Eva suggests that if he writes, he should put it under his name and if he is afraid of publishing, he shouldn't write at all. Eva says that poets write under some of the harshest conditions, so it wouldn't be all that bad if all he got was torment from his peers (Hairy Barbarians). Eva's father was mentioned and Ea says that she had many things to ask of her father as they did not hang out as much since she only saw him occasionally. Eva then talks a bit about the past... i won't talk about this since i couldn't really give much of a hoot. Eva then talks about how her parents perished and she says it was mercy for her mother's death  since she didn't have to witness the destruction of Zedelgem. Jason was asked if he understood his parents marriage and he was very honest. Jason feels like a burden since he isn't very fond of his speech impediment and that if it was gone, his parents's marriage would be sunnier. Eva then talks about Robert Frobisher who created the music from earlier and that she can't forgive this girl for partially causing Roberts death even if she wants to. Eva then proceeds to go on about Robert and then brings up Jason's "Teachers". She was disgusted by what he presented her and suggests Le Grand Meaulnes which was written in french. Jason informs her that he doesn't know much french and he was assigned the task of translating the first paragraph.

       Jason returns all excited and optimistic about what he and Eva will discuss. When someone else opens the door, Jason got a bit confused. It was the Vicar and his wife (The wife seems like a complete BI***). Jason gives his identity and the two recognized him. He realized that Madame Crommelynck and the "Butler" aren't there and was informed that they were called away (They were arrested) and the WIFE says that they are "gone" as they will never come back. He asked about the butler and he quickly realized that the butler was the husband of Madame Crommelynck. WHen Jason leaves he starts to internally break down. He says that the Crommelynck will be in German police cells (All you need to know it that it is the husbands fault) and that he was still terrible at poetry. He starts to doubt what he has been doing. He questions things. I feel bad for Jason. When this kind of things happened, I try to spring back up even I can't (Like when i stub my toe). It was a real shame too because the two were really developing some kind of bond. They were very similar since they had many things in common. That sucks i guess, but there is no changing it. I feel kind of optimistic, i predict (Spoiling) that Jason will be saddened but something will happen that will change Jason's view and make him spring back into action.

Blog #10 (Black Swan Green) Spooks: Thoughts and Reaction + summary

           First things first. This should have came before the prompt. So the Story starts off when Jason is tying sting to Mr. Blakes door to prank him. Jason is doing this with other folks (I forgot their names). I think it was Ross Wilcox, Gary Drake, Pluto Noak and someone else i can't remember. They manage to get it done and the prank starts. This is risky on the pranksters side as Mr. Drake is known to be the "Child Beater of Black Swan Green" and it was rumored that he killed his own son. They got a good laugh off things and Mr. Blake knows that something is wrong. When they found out the guy was going to find out they witch to something else. They pretend to be near and talk about selling Tom yew's car to not look like they were the ones pranking the old guy. Mr. Blake blames them and they run it around by insulting him (More or less).  They start jabbing at him when they mention his title as "Child Beater" and start saying that he keeps beating up his kids. Mr. Blake threatens to call the cops and some more Insults come his way. This is pretty much what happened (Maybe more I keep forgetting) and it is amusing for me since the guys are getting a good laugh off messing with a old man. It is totally fine to Jab at a most likely emotionally broken man (Wife died and son is missing) and get away with it.

          

            The following day, the words of Jason tying the knot got around pretty quickly. In school he felt like one of the cool kids since he got "Special Treatment" that he wouldn't have received if it was normal. Jason enjoys the wonders of gaining popularity (All he ever wanted) and when he opens his pencil case (Or book case) he finds an invitation for the spooks to join them. He has to go to the grave yard at eight that day. Jason is pretty much happy about this since for his, this is a once in a life time opportunity to move up in the social hierarchy which means that he will experience a great day everyday. I feel a bit happy towards Jason for this as he is finally getting to experience the cool guy life in school, but i feel a bit down by it too since it will  most likely not last that long for him.

          Jason goes to the graveyard and he meets some one else who was there. It was Dean Moran and it seems that he too got invited to join the spooks. They obviously won't join that easily since they will have to complete a test in order to get in. Jason is dumbfounded by Dean Moran being there as he just isn't "Spooks Material" which isn't very nice as Dean is pretty much Jason's best buddy. Dean found the Spooks members and then they began the who test thing. They have to get past six back gardens in under fifteen minutes or else they won't get in and they will never have a chance to do so ever again. I could care less since Jason honestly shouldn't hang around these tough as nail guys since he isn't spooks material like Dean. Jason is too emotional and it is shown twice later in his test. When Jason goes up he manages to get by alright without being seen, but when he finds out there is a pregnant lady near him, he tries to be quiet or else the baby will be premature. He doesn't want the baby to end up like Squelch tho got out of him mother too soon. This goes to show that if Jason was Spooks material, he would have zoomed by and completed but still be cautious to not be caught since that is one of the rules. WHen Jason completed the challenge with ten seconds to spare he is congratulated by the fellow spooks member. This doesn't last long as they hear Moran falling down from where Mr. Blake lives. The spooks make fun of him and Jason wants to check up on him. He says that if he feel instead of Dean, dean would have came back for Jason. Jason decides to tell the spooks if they should check on him which was basically saying, "Guys i'm not spooks material since i care about what happened to Dean where i should be like you guys and not give a pea.". On Jason's side this took a lot of guts since he would kill to be in the spooks, but his feeling of empathy overpowered his greed which made him ask. When they shrug it off Jason goes back to Dean to check on him. The spooks told him not to, but he continued on. I think he got kicked or he is on thin ice. Jason just isn't spooks material and he will never be since he cares too much about others and that is fine. I'm sure Jason has no regrets since Dean would have done the same for him if he fell down.

      This chapter was like Bridle Path. It was funny at parts, but there a couple of serious bits. I liked Spooks and it made me laugh. JAson finally receives his well earned recognition and fame, but it dies down when he goes back to check on Moran. I have nothing to say other than Good chapter and Dean should have been left behind. Since he would only lose one friend rather than losing a whole lot for going back to him.

Blog #9 (Black Swan Green) Spooks prompt

Prompt:Jason successfully completes the test to be admitted into the ultra-popular, ultra-secret society of the Spooks; but his friend Dean Moran doesn't have such luck. Why does go back to help Dean? Was it the right choice? How does this decision develop Jason's character?


So this is pretty simple, one thing about these prompts though. It is holding me back, can't really say much you know? I can't be myself and it limits my IMAGINATION which is kind of offending... not really. Jason goes back when the spook members insult the poor sap and a sudden fact jolted through his mind. The text states, "A fact sunk a hook into me. If I'd fallen through Mr. Blakes greenhouse and not Moran, Moran wouldn't be abandoning me to that psycho.He just wouldn't" and then Jason proceeds to say, " 'Ploot?' Pluto Noak and the spooks turned around 'Isn't any one going to...' Saying this was miles more difficult than running across people's back gardens. '... Make sure Moran's'- Hangman jammed 'not hurt'- 'I mean, what if he's bust a leg or...cut to bits on glass?'". This all took some incredible guts from Jason to say this to the spook members as they didn't care for Moran and he felt the need to help Moran. From what i can gather with my INFINITE KNOWLEDGE  is that Jason feels that he should go check on Dean Moran even if it means being soft in front of the spooks since Dean would do the same for Jason, which kind of shows that they are pretty good friends. I say this because Jason stopped thinking about his popularity, but rather his friend Moran.(I would have ditched my bud, can always get more from popularity.... I'm horrible). I can't really decide if it is a good or bad choice, but in terms of how it's going to look for Jason... I would say a bad choice (He did good by going to Moran) if he wanted to be popular. Jason blew his chance of spooks and popularity since the spooks members have a "Just don't care" attitude of things, meaning that Jason isn't Spooks material in terms of mentality. This decision develops JAson as a Kind character. He could have left Moran there with Mr. Blake (A.k.a child beater of Black Swan Green), but he decides to go see if he's alright. JAson is kind hearted, so even if he wants to be a spooks he just can't since he is too soft and emotional. This is also supported when he is trying to complete is challenge, but stops to think of other things and one including Squelch when he was mentioned (Also trying to be quiet when moving because there was a pregnant lady near him) where he should have focused on his task. Like i said, Jason is not SPOOKS MATERIAL. Thoughts,Reactions+Sumarry comming soon.

Blog #8 (Black Swan Green) Rocks thoughts and Reactions + Summary(ish)

This chapter revolves around Jason's household and a bit about the Falkland War. It starts with the sinking of the sheffield and later on talking about how Jason reacts to it along with his family. Jason notes down a lot that has happened in the war, but every time it is mentioned, he says that Tom Yew is most likely ok.Why does he care? Aside from this, Jason's parents get into a argument when Jasons mother mentions building a rockery and she fights pretty hard which goes to show how much she really wanted it as she usually as said by Jason is ok with being told no, but she argued over it this time. If my memory served correctly, then the father says that he's the "Bread winner" as he earns all the money and all the mother does is drain money for pointless things and cook.After this argument blows over, then Jason and Julia rate the argument. A three star from Julia and Four stars from Jason(or the other way around). Later on it was said that Tom Yew has died and he has written something in a letter to say. Then, the mother got the rockery that she wanted, a lot of rocks has been delivered and was dropped on the driveway of the house(the mother complained about it, Dad didn't mention it) which was later moved in the creation of the rockery. When the rockery was completed, koi fishes were placed in the water. The mother talks about how the Koi fishes will probably outlive the family since they represent a long life. I fell that this rockery is in some way a desperate attempt to try to keep the family together while the koi fishes represent the family. At the end the Koi fish was taken away from a bird and is most likely dead due to water being the only area a fish can survive. In some way i feel that this represents the family as it is under immense tensity,(like the cold war) and like how the birds took off with the fish, the family can easily fall apart from any given moment.

Blog #7 (Black Swan Green) Bridle Path Thoughts and reactions+summary

So much has happened but i feel that only two or three is actually important.Jason wakes up and quickly discovers that he is home alone due to his mother and sister going to London and his father being at a conference for the weekends. This left Jason alone to do whatever he wants in the house. He messes around and reads the note his mother left him, he has a key so he an go outside. He looks at birds flying from the distance in a V format. He arches to follow them and wonders what was stopping him.He decides to go out and sees the Bridle Path sign which leads to him ponding a thought about Bridle Path and remembers that Tom Yew along with Pete Redmarley  went up Bridle Path  only to find it being blocked by a new estate in Malvern Wells. Jason thinks that if he looks for a new mysterious path since he will be recognized for finding something that no one else could've found and feels that if this happens, he will be famous (or more respected). He decides follow the path and his first encounter is a pack of dobermans that bark fiercely at him. Their owner scolds him and tells him to leave. Jason does leave, but a couple second in the old man releases to Dobermans and tells them to chase after him by opening the gate that repelled the beast from pouncing on Jason. Jason makes a run for it but he falls and catches a glimpse of the leaping dogs, he screams like a little girl ( I would too, Heck i'd be begging for mercy) and scrunches up into a ball. After a while of anticipating the dogs arrival, he looks to check if they were running towards him and to his surprise he finds that they were gone. Jason says that the man hates him for not being born in the area and he couldn't argue with that ( There are many reason why this argument is complete $#!%). Jason makes it with a couple bruises, but other than that Jason was fine. This makes me think one thing, and that is where did the old man and the dogs go? But at the same time it doesn't matter since Jason is fine now. Jason walks into a field and when he is halfway in, he spotted three kids on a old railway embankment. He walked their way since they noticed him and if he changed his course, he would be chicken. Jason says that he was lucky he didn't change course since the three were Grant Burch, Philip Phelps(Grant's little servant ) and Ant Little. There was also Squelch and Dean Moran(A.K.A Moron). Apparently Grant was supposed to fight Ross Wilcox. Before this Jason is asked if he wanted to smoke and Jason felt the need to do so since the guys were older and it would hurt his reputations and when he successfully smokes the cigarette, he glanced Grants way to see if he was impressed. Grant doesn't notice and Ross shows up. After a INTENSE battle, Grant and ross tumbled over a edge and Grant busted his wrist leaving him vulnerable and losing. Grant says it's a draw but Ross thinks otherwise(I could've kicked their asses with one hand tied behind my back...with the help of a weapon) Grant decides to leave with his servant and Jason along with Dean were standing there until Wayne Nashend (He came with Ross) pointed them out. Dean dismissed it and says he was on his way to stay with his Gran, as for Jason who got asked the same question couldn't really change it up as Hangman tied his tongue so he couldn't stay anything to get out of the problem. Jason was desperate, but Dean saved him as he said that they were both going to his Gran. Jason and Moron then go off into Bridle Path together and Jason mentions the old man, Dean tells him that the guy's name was Kit Harris (also known as Badger)  and he is a teacher despite being a psychopath.Afterwards Jason tells him that he was actually going to look for the lost tunnel and surprisingly enough, Dean was too. Dean tells him a bit about three tunnels and where they lead to.Dean says that he got the information from the guy his father buys horse feces from for his garden. Dean then reveals a bit about his domestic life and it is revealed that his father gets drunk and does regrettable things and when he is back to normal, he says he will never touch the liquor again which isn't exactly true either since he has done it numerous times ( safe to say that the father doesn't learn his lesson)  When his father gets drunk, people say that is when he shows his true colors, which Dean doesn't want to believe. Jason falls asleep and when he wakes up, Dean was no where to be found. This pissed Jason and he is calls him a traitor, he also decides that he wouldn't talk or Dean if he finds him to leave him  for dead. He then proceeds on and meets Dawn Madden (The tomboy girl from chapter one) He learns that Dawn madden lives in a medium sized field and when he asks her questions he was wondering why he hasn't stammered yet (Wonders if Dawn Madden took away his Stammering for a moment) but he thought that his questions were more in general (Like simple questions).  Jason asked for her knife and by sheer luck the handle hit his rib instead of the blade. Jason complains and Dawn couldn't care any less. Jason sensed Dawn Madden's stepfather since Jason said that he "beamed hate rays" his way. She asked him if he was hungry and Jason says yes (Not directly but sort of ). when she gives him the food she wants him to eat it like a dog and when he eats the last part ( Just a cherry) Dawn gets pissed and Jason wonders if she means it or is just playing. She puts a arrow to his neck ( His adam's apple) and want him to pay for it. Jason said he could have swatted the arrow away, but he had a Boner...my only question is WHY?! The little guy from beneath his pants should learn how to read the mood. She tells him to leave by the count of twenty since he doesn't have anything to repay her or else she would tell her step-father that he groped her (Probably what he fantasies ). She then tell him if he isn't gone by the count of thirty she will tell her stepfather that he touched her up (Glad i don't know what that means). She even says that her step father keeps a shotgun above the kitchen dresser and he might mistaken Jason for a "wickle fwuffy wabbit". Jason then proceeds on and he says if Dawn fancies him since she wouldn't give her only Danish pastry to just any kid who happened along. He then says that he fancies her (so he does like her). Jason does know that there are major differences between them, including what type of classes they are in and where they live. He hasn't even kissed a girl before (FEELS!!!! #RELATABLE). Jason continues on and finds a big tree so climbs it and he carves something inside a heart onto the tree bark (D.T 4 DM which i'm guessing is Jason Taylor for Dawn Madden or something like that) Jason says that he will bring Dawn to the tree and says that if when he will first kiss her... and more. When he was about to go down, he overhears a man's voice and a woman's voice. He finds out that it is Tom Yew and Debbie Crombie, and he could have said hi and it would have been fine, however Jason likes being invisible so he hangs up a bit longer. He immediately noticed that they were going to do something, so he tried to come up with something to say without stammer-words in it, but before he could do that they already moved on to the next stage. Long story short, Jason saw something he cannot unsee and he will have to live with himself with that thing in mind...THAT burden which could've been avoided if he said hi and not played the invisible man. Jason had mixed feeling though as he did say he was nervy, sick, jealous, sluggy and many more thing, he even went on to say that he wasn't proud and not please which doesn't mean he doesn't ever want to do it himself. HE says that the noise they made weren't human. He then waits for them to leave ( they feel asleep. correct me if i'm wrong) so before he could do so, Tom Yew had a nightmare (maybe he has PTSD and had a sudden Panic Attack since he did serve in the army). Jason if then on his way (No explanation on how he left) and he comes across a dead body of a kid his age which turned out to be Jean.(For the sake of making this short I'll make it simpler. Any question you have will be answered in comments) Jean laughs for scarring Jason and Jason mentions him waking up to not find him. Jean and Jason talk about their experiences after Jean left (even including a part of the Tom Yew and Debbie Crombie ordeal) . They continue on  and at that point the path was narrowed to a single file and stumble across a pruney man they notice there was a wild bee hive above the man and they wonder if he's a bee keeper.  The man was described by Jason and they wonder if they can get past him. They hear a noise growing in volume so they make a run for it  and go into a missing slat under a fence and they find themselves near a empty mansion and they are parched. They see that there was a drink (Lemon and orange Squash) so they decided to go and get a drink off it and only were able to drink lemon due to the squash having ants drown in it. People began coming in and their escape route was closing up so when Jason whispered over to Dean, he quickly discovers him going across the missing slat from where they came from. When Jason has no way out he decides to take his situation to a different approach. When a nurse asked for Augustin Moans, Jason tells her if it was the old man and points to where they saw him. The nurse mistakes him for Augustin Moans and says the he left her with a child. She turned out to be another person who  borrowed a Nurse costume and when a real nurse came she tried to tell her that Jason isn't who she thought he was. After that the lady now revealed to be Rosemary opened her mouth wider than anything Jason would've imagined and began to wail louder than anything. Jason wonder's why she is she crying and if it was for Grant and his broken wrist, or Squelch for coming out too soon, or Deans father and his problem, or for Mr. Castle's wife and her huddled Nerves, or for that kid who was fed to Badgers dogs. One thing that i do think about why she is wailing is for her life. Maybe is probably saddened for everything that has happened to her when Augustin Moans left her and left her life in shambles. So from what i can gather from this chapter is that it tells the experiences of Jason when he is going along Bridle Path to find the missing tunnel or whatever it was.

Blog #6 (Black Swan Green)

Blog Prompt: How does Mitchell portray self-image and social acceptance through the interactions between Jason and Hugo 

Mitchell portrays self-image and social acceptance through the interactions between Jason and Hugo throughout the WHOLE chapter. I'll start with self-image. At the very beginning Jason says that he put away anything that made him look babyish in front of Hugo, this shows self-image due to Jason worrying about how he is presented to Hugo. He also tries to shut down the topic of him getting a award for making great poems, due to the fact that this will make him look like a loser. This isn't really an interaction but it makes a good point.  An interaction between Jason and Hugo that shows us (The readers) Self-image is when Hugo calls his brother Nigel a space cadet and then proposes a bet regarding a game of Darts. Jason thinks to himself wanting to decline and then thinks of Hugo regarding Jason as a "space cadet" to his friends and then says "okay". He is worried about how Hugo views him and wants to look cool, even if it's just a little.(Why can't this kid just be himself!)Another great part where Mitchell portrays self-image is when Hugo steals cigarettes and tells JAson if he wanted some. At first Hugo says it ok if he didn't want some, But when Jason says "Not today" Hugo tells him if he keeps this "Not today" attitude up, he'll end up like Uncle Brain or his father(Basically lame-o's) Jason thinks that if he smokes the cigarettes, then he will look cool again towards Hugo so he decided to do it.

Mitchell also portrays Social acceptance through the interactions between Jason and Hugo. It is kind of the same with my previous paragraph with the detail, explanation... not so much. Mitchell shows social acceptance when Jason is asked if he wanted to bet. HE could have said no until Hugo said if he was a coward,  this made Jason want to say yes due to wanting to be accepted by his relatives (He does say yes and he mainly wants Hugo to accept him). Another part is when Jason's mother mention Jason getting a award for his poems (Or something like that) and Jason tries to shake it off as a topic since it would hurt how people view him and he won't really be socially accepted by much (Most likely teased). The final part i can think of is when Hugo asked Jason to smoke and when Hugo mentions the "Not today" attitude and what it could do. JAson feels that his self-image shattered and he won't be socially accepted. This makes Jason inclined to smoking as it was the only way he could repair the two(He could have done something else though). Thus Mitchell portrays Self-image and social acceptance through the interactions between Jason and Hugo.

Blog # 5 (Black Swan Green) Relatives thoughts and ideas + summary

So This chapter was somewhat boring but others can see it another way. We(The readers) were introduced to five new characters. Jason's three cousins, Hugo, Nigel, and Alex who are all different in their own way. Hugo is characterized by Jason as a cool guy who's laid back and all chill and Jason aspires to be like him someday. Nigel is characterized as the kid who doesn't say much and sticks to his Rubik's cube that he play with. Alex was the smartest one as Uncle Brian(He's also new) brags about him getting A's and B's and even rewards him money for it,(I wish i were Alex. I'd be getting $100 or more :D) If my memory serves correctly, Alex received twenty of something currency of that place for every A he received and half of that for every B that he receives. He also mentions Uncle Brain and Aunt Alice. Throughout the whole chapter, Jason is like a servant to his relatives as his parent want them to be please or something. Julia didn't even help out when they came, she just shut her door close. When they were all eating Jason's mother mentions Jason getting a reward for his poems and Jason tries to avoid it since he wants to appear cool in front of hugo and not look like a loser. Julia saves Jason from his problem by changing the subject by insulting Alex (Something about him not being ale to understand high level poems). After the Dinner, Jason plays Darts with his two cousins Hugo and Nigel.When they finished with the DInner, Jason eavesdropped on a conversation between Aunt Alice and his mother. They mention the Mysterious phone calls and Jason's mother says that if it hadn't been for the incident with Jason father five and a half year ago or sometime around there (Literally what she says). Jason's mother also mentions that she can't just ask her husband about the problem since it was "like digging up a grave" . This rises suspicion for me, first off, What incident happened and how did that result in the "Phantom" phone calls occurring. Another thing is why does the mother not want to mention this to her husband, is she afraid of what he will respond with? After this Jason finds Hugo and Nigel playing darts and join them. Jason viewed this as an opportunity to study Hugo more intently without getting caught.(Studying in plain sight...Genius!) He proceeds to play darts and Hugo teases Nigel for not being able to throw the darts and says that people who can't throw straight are homosexuals. Nigel storms out with tears flooding his eyes after Hugo then insults him some more.They bet with a little game of darts and after Jason won and lost the second time, Aunt Alice comes in asking why Nigel was crying. Hugo plays it off acting like he didn't know since he just gave Nigel some "pointers". Hugo and JAson then go outside to buy some things, Hugo steals some cigarettes and pressured JAson to smoke, JAson ultimately fails and feels ashamed that he couldn't even smoke one cigarette when Hugo is trying to teach him. It seems that Jason just couldn't fit in with the crowd and it.

Blog #4 (Black Swan Green) Central idea

 Blog Prompt:How does David Mitchell develop a central idea throughout the chapter of "Hangman"? Think about Jason's feelings towards Hangman and why he feels that way.


The central idea that is being shown throughout Hangman is that Jason has a stammering problem that does not allow him to be himself. This is shown throughout the whole chapter and is referred to as "Hangman" since a game of Hangman is when Jason stammering problem began. Jason is somewhat fearful towards Hangman since he doesn't know when it will strike since it sometimes lies dormant and doesn't show itself. Jason has had this problem for basically five years and he still can't get the hang of his stammering problem, he does know certain things about his stammering problem and he calls it, "Hangman's Four Commandments". Jason himself even accepts that stammering prevents him from being normal as he says that Stammerers "can't win arguments" and another thing is that stammering prevents Jason from socializing without looking like a idiot. This is also shown since Jason has to read off a book that is sure to have many stammer-words and will have his stammering secret exposed. Since he has stammering problems, he will firstly be teased and made an outcast(Basically drop to peasant rank in social hierarchy) and secondly have his secret exposed(Being a stammerer).

Blog # 3 (Black Swan Green, Chapter 2)

This chapter says a lot of good o'l Jason and the problem that he faces internally. The chapter addresses Jason's personal life and some personal problems and how it all started. He by all means is a decent kid who hasn't really done much bad things( aside from breaking his fathers "golden rule") , he does however face a stammering problem for about five years. He hasn't fixed this problem and needed help. It all starts with Jason being driven to a clinic to check up on his stammering problem(it isn't specified that he has a stammering problem YET) and his mother brings up a topic if he has received any valentine cards. Jason says no, but he got one saying "Suck My D#*k" which he didn't feel needed mentioning. He proceeds to mention other students receiving four or seven valentine cards, and Nick Yew getting twenty(shocker...). Jason then proceeds to walk towards the clinic after his mother drops him off near it. Jason is recognized, so the receptionist tells Jason that he could have a seat and buzzes for Mrs. de Roo. Jason is thinking to himself and explains the difference between stammering and stuttering which he says are, "as different as diarrhea and constipation". Jason then proceeds to tell a story from his past about playing Hangman where his stammering came to play. He apparently raised his hand to say Nightale but couldn't manage to pronounce the word and ended up saying that he wasn't sure. He hated himself for not being able to say a simple word in his own language. After that his teacher phones him mother that he had a problem and later he was taken to see Mrs. de Roo, a speech therapist at Malvern Link Clinic(This was FIVE years ago). Jason cannot pronounce words that begin with N since it is a letter that he cannot say without stammering and hangman likes starting with the letter N. He also recalls other words that hangman usually begins with. Jason says that his biggest fear apart from Russia starting a nuclear war is Hangman starting to use the letter J more frequently since he won't even be able to say his own name without stammering. Jason says that tomorrow is when he will have to read from a book called "Plain Prayers for a Complicated World" and it is sure to have many stammer-words and he can't change them up since they are printed on the book. He is worried that he will stammer and after the first break his life won't be worth living due to his secret being exposed. Jason then goes on to tell a story about a kid who had massive pressure on him from his parents and at the  end, he snapped and ended up injuring his eyes(lets not get into that...). Jason says he'd rather kill Hangman than let it take him out tomorrow morning which implies that he doesn't want to go through what happened to him five years ago again and he will do whatever he can to avoid it. He then goes into Mrs. de Roo's office, but before that he looks at a girl the same age as Julia(his sister) and notices that she is on a wheelchair and one of her legs were missing  and thinks that she would love to have Jason's stammering if she could get her leg back. Jason is very self conscious about his stammering problem because he feels that after tomorrow morning people will look at life and say,"well, my life may be a swamp of $#!% but at least I'm not in Jason taylor's shoes. At least I can talk.I feel bad for this kid. he then talks about his speech therapist's office and a bit about her past and where she came from. I don't care much about that. He does open up to his speech therapist and tell her about his assembly that will take place tomorrow. They go over things and his speech therapist says that her goal is to make him look like he doesn't stammer but he still has his stammering problem if that makes sense. Jason got it... you should too(she wants to cover him secret up in a way).She wants him to find a way to make sure his stammering doesn't flare up. Jason is then eating dinner with his family and his father brings up something and Julia questions him. JAson says to himself that he can't even be part of arguments because the moment he stammers, he lost. He then goes to his room after he does the dishes to do some homework. He over hears his sister say to her dad that she would call a friend for homework(their phone was in a hallway which makes things awkward), where in reality she is calling her boyfriend( is later specified) and almost gets caught. Jason eavesdropped on the conversations and gets caught, his sister didn't get caught talking to her boyfriend by pretending to speak with her friend last second. Jason thinks of future events where stammering will ruin his career choices. He gets told by his sister who caught him that a little privacy wouldn't hurt and goes into his room and when he goes to hide something she says "so you agree" and i also learned when Jason is about to stammer he says that Hangman prevented him from saying this or that. He then wakes up the following morning very anxious and talks about how nervous he was and how slow time is going for him. Jason was waiting for the bus in the rain and he can't use umbrellas since they are "gay".When he gets on the bus he notices that the driver is Norman bates who is as tough as nails since he even forcefully kicked out Pluto Noak (some cool kid) and he didn't even care. when he gets to class he is excused from his teacher to do the reading since his speech therapist calling in that he would stammer and it wouldn't be any good for Jason. His stupid classmate asks if Jason would go up and read and all eyes went Jason's way. He manages to get away though and in math class when he is picked to answer eleven times nine, he couldn't say ninety-nine since it was a double-N word which was sure to make him stammer and he says i don't know. He says one hundred and one but his teacher ends the chapter by asking him questions.(Hang in there Jason my boy!) Like i said at the beginning, we learn a lot about Jason's character and his personal problem.

Blog # 2 (Black Swan Green)

My Blog Prompt:How do the events of the first chapter help to set up the novel for readers and create the mood? What themes begin to emerge in this first chapter? How does the author create foreshadowing?

 

The first chapter helps set up the novel and creates the mood by introducing the reader the characters, and showing two possible future problems. The mood was created with the very beginning where Jason's fathers rule was introduced which is that no one is allowed in the fathers office. Since there is always a reason behind something, this suspicious rule creates curiosity and suspense. Even more suspense is created when the phone rings off in Jason's father office. Who could it be? Why are they calling? None of this is answered when Jason decides to break the rule (tough guy :o) and is meet with silence and music from sesame street. This call ends when a baby begins to wail in the background. This itself could foreshadow that the Father could be cheating on his wife since a baby did wail at the background and at that moment the person hung up. Aside from that, this scene does create some sort of suspense mixed with curiosity since we don't know who that was. I fell that one theme that emerged from this chapter is that you can't always trust anyone. In page 17, the top part, Jason got fooled by squelch when we wanted to go and pet the cat. It turned out to be a dead cat when Squelch threw the poor thing Jason's way and the cats body was "cold" and "stiff as a pack of meat from the fridge". Not to mention that Jason is near the bottom of this weird social class created by the boys which involves nicknames. This is the only theme that i can think of when reading the first chapter...Maybe i'm just dumb. This chapter also shows foreshadowing. One is when Jason answers the call at the very beginning and finds himself talking to basically no one and is being heard from a unknown caller. so, like i wrote earlier the call ends when a baby begins to wail in the background. This could be something that the father is trying to hide. This is backed up when Jason has supper and his sister named Julia mentions answering a call with no answers and Jason wanted to ask her is she got the same response as he did. Then the fathers shuts them up with by saying, " Okay, you two, enough with the private-eye biz" which seems highly suspicious on his side. Why does he shut them up? what is he hiding.... So this could be foreshadowing a future problem between the father cheating on his wife since a baby was in the call, or maybe there is stalker that the father doesn't want to talk about. I also feel that there could be a possible problem in the future where Jason's so called friends find out he is Eliot Bolivar and could possibly get disowned or teased or worse, beat up. 

Black Swan Green first chapters and two smaller stories :0 ( Blog # 1)

Black Swan Green

So i read The first chapter called January Man and it revolves around a kid named Jason Taylor and it takes place in england(kinda forgot) starts with some rule made from the Main characters father. The rule is that no one can go to the fathers office. This isn't a big deal, But Jason breaks this rule to stop a noise coming from the office and it turns out to be just a weird noise, a baby crying and something about sesame street(Maybe the father is cheating on his wife 0_0). He dismisses this and continue on to talk about his fathers office and what will await those if they go there. This part is very boring cause not many people want to know about some lame office. Jason hangs with his friend Dean Moran( nicknamed "Moran") and proceeds to hang out at a frozen lake. He finds other kids there and they all play british bull dog. They then stop and doing some random things( I forgot .-.) Jason returns home but before that he explores the woods and couldn't hold in his pee. He wrecks havoc on a frozen wall of a house(rumored to have a old lady live there) and even "signs his autograph" on it until a old lady confronts him. He stops and then goes home after some dialogue.His dad asked about who went into his office and Jason comes clean. he talks with his father and then decides to pay the frozen lake a visit. He finds Squelch( a friend i guess) who tricks with Jason since he managed to fool Jason that he had a weak cat where in reality it was dead. It was dead because Jason wanted to pet him and Squelch throws the cat his way and Jason confirms that the body was stiff and the cat was dead.This is pretty messed up to do to someone and it was kind of funny and a bit morbid. He finds a random guy at the lake and asks some questions(some were answered). Jason hurts his leg and the old lady from before finds him. Jason asks for help and the lady put him to sleep. He wakes up finding the lady dying and is wondering if he should help or not. This was all nice(except the boring intro) and two parts were funny.

 The End of a Beautiful Friendship

This is about the Brattle Theater on Harvard Square removing its Humphrey Bogart series with the 1942 classic Casablanca and the people didn't approve since they began to "chant the lines"(not sure what lines they chanted) and this became a cult object for one or two generations of cinephiles,particularly young men,for the next few decades. This itself is not as expected since Casablanca didn't really rank among the best of the best. This goes to show how much people enjoy Casablanca and how much they would do to try and get it back.

So Long, Holden

This is about a teacher who is surprised about the reactions of his students when he introduces them to The Cacher in the Rye since most students enjoy it and his new students found the book boring and unappealing. He doesn't understand why the students don't enjoy it and wonders why and thinks that it isn't "cool" enough for them and only "cool teachers like him are into the book nowadays since the popularity of the book has been declining. He is relieved near the end since a similar book was made named Black Swan Green. 

Sketches final Quarter

The remaining 48 pages revealed a lot about Dana and gave some insight on why she has left. It starts in Tent Town with Dana waking up to a loud noise coming from outside their tent. It turned out to be officers who broke through their gate to remove everyone there. They didn't mean to do harm but they gave everyone one hour to leave, if people stayed longer than one hour then they would removed by force. Atleast that was at first before some big guy who was the sergeant says that if people needed more time they were allowed more time to leave and even says that the people can take the buses outside the gates and there were even trucks that served breakfast for free. Afterwards Dana and her two friends had to leave so they sold their tent for 35 bucks( they bought it for 20 which means they got 15 profit) and looked for a place. Brent brought them to some place which reeked to the girls and they found that there was something in the corner under a blanket. They soon discovered that there was a dead body filled with insects and it kinda traumatized Dana. Dana decided to call Nicki since she was allowed to do so if she needed it badly. Nicki allowed them into the SKETCHES building and let them sleep in her office and even slept with them there to comfort Dana. Ashley and Brent were disgusted by the body, but it didn't really bother them as badly as it did to Dana. Nicki told her friend who worked on the police about the body since Dana wanted the body to be found(not really sure why since her explainatio didn't make much sense.) and the day afterwards two cops in plain clothing came to SKETCHES to talk with Nicki. They asked her questions and Nicki didn't answer them, but they were persistent until Nicki asked them questions. While this was happening Dana told the news about the cops to Ashley and Brent. When she told Brent the news Gizmo suggested that they stay since they would go after the three if they were to leave since it would be suspicious. Dana agreed and Brent told her that they were allowed to crash with Gizmo at his place as long as they needed. Dana then tells Ashley and Nicki comes back to see Dana working on pottery with Ashley. Dana did a bad job and Nicki told her(she's usually positive) and wanted to talk to the two about what happened. As Dana washed the clay off her hands Nicki saw the marks on her arms. She then confronts Dana about it and asks her if she did it to other places like her thigh. Turns out that Dana was sexually abused by her step father for about 4 years(another reason for her leaving?) and Nicki wanted to help out since it started when Dana was 11 and Dana's little sister turned
11 recently so she might be in trouble. Some time passed after this since the story cuts to Dana talking to Becca( the person who wanted to show Danas work on her next show) about her work. It was also revealed that Brent and Ashley got out of the street as they now got a apartment with two bedrooms and Brent's idea of selling scooters took off as they recently sold three of three of them which covers two months of rent. Dana managed to get her step father arrested for what he has done and she is starting to talk with her mother and little sister. She hasn't returned to her home because he said that she wasn't ready which I guess is understandable since she was sexually abused for four years and going back to that place is kinda painful. The show was started and Dana's mother was going to attend it, the story ends with Dana seeing her mom in the crowd of people and they make eye contact. This book was good, I say 4.5 stars out of 5 because I'm still mad about the part with those thugs jumping Dana and her friends.

Sketches Third quarter

Now i'm three quarters done with the book and it is amazing. With the recent activity of using chalk to recreate a fine piece of work called starry night by Vincent Van Gogh it gave Dana a good idea of how to make money without panhandling or squeegeeing. Dana demonstrates her thought by borrowing some materials from SKETCHES and bringing her two friends along to try it out. She picks a good spot for using the chalk and does the same thing she did in the group earlier(recreate Vincent Van Gogh work). Dana and her friends figured that this was the way to go because they soon found out that they made about 74 dollars(more than what they would make from panhandling or squeegeeing) and the day hasn't even finished. This made Dana feel ambitious as she says that if they keep this up they could not only buy food or cigarettes, but even an apartment and live peacefully together. Brent disregards this idea as many people said this in the two years he has been on the streets and none of them actually made it UNTIL a business man comes up and tells them that they did a good job and drops a fifty dollar bill in their hat. Brent then says,"but if the two of you want to try...then...what the hell..let's give it a shot."(page 122) which makes them a bit more hopeful. The story cuts into Brent running towards Dana holding a newspaper yelling MCKINNON which is Dana's last name and proceeds to tell Dana that her mother is looking for her( took her couple months to look for her kid....) and wants to bring her back which frightened Dana since she wants to stay with Ashley and Brent. They try to shrug it off and Brent says that Ashley and Dana should go to SKETCHES and have some fun to which they both agree. On their way they get sidetracked as Dana goes to feed a cat that she grew fond of and says her name is Pumpkin since the kitty cat is orange. Ashley opens a bit during this and talks about her past and family(she cried a bit too). THey talk about Brent and how good of a guy he is since he is very thoughtful and kind. They speculate that Brent is gay since it might have been the reason he is out in the streets.( what a surprise :o). After wards Dana is shown to cut herself(a bit weird but everyone has their own reasons) and tries to cover it when Ashley confronts her to talk to her. Ashley notices the cut and asks Dana what was going on and tries to stop the bleeding and go through some deep talking stuff. After this Brent tells the two that they were going to stay at Tent Town since it is safe and no one really messes with your stuff since almost everyone there just want to have a peaceful time (there are a couple weirdos there). nearing the end of the third quarter everyone from the group go to SKETCHES(lets hope they don't get jumped this time D:) since Dana wanted Bret to see her artwork and also since they were serving pancakes. One of the person in SKETCHES found Dana's artwork amazing and asks her if she could present it on her next show. Dana says yeah and then she goes off to look for Brent who is in the design and technology studio talking with a guy named gizmo. he then says if they could use about 300 dollars from their saving to work on making a scooter like gizmo did and hopefully sell it for a hefty profit. Ashley was against it as she wanted to but the apartment since they were close(they saved 800 out of the 1,000 they had in mind) but Dana says why not both. Dana says if they could save a thousand then why not twelve hundred and they agreed since they could probably crash at Tent Town for a couple more weeks. Brent will learn from gizmo how to make these cool powered scooters and try ot make one himself.That was all that happened so far.

Sketches second quarter

So now i'm halfway into the book "Sketches" by Eric Walters and a lot has happened, Some very nice a couple no so pleasing. The story takes a turn towards another scene that's possibly the day after the whole explanation thing in the beginning (It's really confusing, maybe i'm just dumb) and Dana the protagonist is under a bridge in what seems to be in the middle of the day doing some graffiti. Some guy who is later introduced as Robert complements Dana for her artistic skills and Hands her a card for a drop-in centre which isn't like most drop-in centres since they don't offer food or showers (arrangements can be made for it though), however it offers people artistic things like pottery or painting. Dana keeps this away from her friends Brent and Ashley because they would just shut down anything that she would say about it since it won't really help them out with food or shelter, but they find out when all three of them are emptying their pockets to count the money they gathered from begging and it slips off with Dana's money. They don't pay much attention about it as it didn't really interest them and partly because Dana tried to dismiss it.The day after Dana decides to go to the drop-in centre called "SKETCHES" and is greeted by a person who works there called Nicki who tells her the basics and then proceeds to give her a snack. Dana meets up with her friend and tells them that she went to the drop-in centre and Ashley gets a bit mad since she didn't help with begging,but brent tells her to calm down since Dana was just having fun. They sleep in some abandoned area which isn't important, BUT the next morning the group decide to squeegee since it would pay off more than just panhandling (begging for money). The group manages to gain almost 40 bucks which is really good for them. The group do get threatened by a group of other street peeps for "taking their spot" and decide to leave since the cops might come by(they were squeegeeing for 2 hrs). The story then cuts into Dana being in SKETCHES and Robert complements her art and tells her what is it called. Dana doesn't know, but it is a drawing of two girls(one being Dana, the other being Dana's younger sister). Robert Says that people usually draw things that they miss and Dana begins to think about her younger sister and cries a bit. Dana then returns to her friends and they begin to go towards somewhere( it isn't specified) and Dana says it wouldn't be bad if they go to SKETCHES and see what she likes . The group decides to go but they get jumped leaving Brent with a broken nose and scraped face, Ashley with a busted rib, and Dana was fine. the group got robbed from everything they had. THey decide to rest for the day and afterward Dana goes to SKETCHES since Brent and Ashley just want to relax for the day. THe moment she gets to SKETCHES she was dragged into a group with Robert, Nicki and others to do something fun. They were just recreating the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh called Starry Night. Dana had so much fun doing so that she didn't notice a hat to the side of their work which slowly collected money and Nicki who had left to get some food for the whole group. Dana then tells Nicki that her two friends got injured and Nicki scheduled a time for them to get checked free of charge. The group get the help needed and prescribed some pain medications and Dana offers to but them food with twenty-four dollar.(she got 1/9 of what the hat earned.)

Sketches first Quarter

So i've been reading this book called sketches. I found it in my shelf filled with books and it revolves about a girl named Dana and how she ended up being a street person and along with her experiences from the first 55 pages I just read. She has two other friends that she hangs out with, a girl named Ashley and a large guy named Brent. It all begins with Dana going home and was sure of being late, so she takes multiple rides and before she knows it, she ends up  being 30 miles away from home. She said that she couldn't even go home as she can't trace back her steps. She is afraid of calling her parents to pick her up because she is afraid of the consequences (or at least that's what i think). she stays a day by herself and meets her two friends, Ashley and Brent. She is hanging around with them for three weeks and possibly for more time. Also, one last thing about this book. There is a part where Dana is begging for money(her, Ashley, and Brent do it to manage in the streets) and she goes to this business man who pulls out two twenty dollar bills and says that he knows she is a beggar. He then proceeds to tell her that if she wanted the money, she had to do something nasty for a couple minutes and even says, " i like em young". This is where it ticks me off because afterwards Dana begins to shout "Pervert!" and the police shows up and the man blames it on her! They both get away scott free since the police officer didn't want to deal with the problem. Aside from this, the story is really good and i'll definitely recommend this book even though i'm at page 55 out of 226.