Blogging Assessment #1

The post that best shows my voice as a writer is my KristaRamsey column post. Although I do show a lot of my voice in my Mockingjay posts, by stating my opinion on certain characters and plots in the book, I really enjoyed writing and show casing my voice in the post on the column that I read. This post shows my voice just by the column that I chose to write about. I wrote about a column that talks about raising your kids up to embrace the world. So in my post I related it to myself by saying, “this really relates to me because I’m in the stage of preparing to embrace the world after high school.” In my post I said “The most impactful line in the column I believe is ‘it’s the most humbling lesson of parenting: We may be in charge of the prologue, but only they get to write the story of their lives.’" This shows that I gave my opinion on what I believe is the most impactful line in the column that I read. “Some questions I would ask Ramsey are, how do you figure out topics to write about? How do you balance opinions with facts in your writing? To become a great writer, what education/ classes should I take?” This is how I ended my post, and I think that is shows my voice because it’s not ‘factual’ information coming from somewhere; it’s my own voice reaching out to Krista Ramsey.

My post was more formal diction because I did not feel that such an inspirational and intriguing column should be matched with slang and informal word choice. I used words such as ‘impactful’ ‘prologue’ and ‘humbling’. I think the way I incorporated these words into my post make the diction more formal. I also incorporated the words ‘well developed statement’ into my post which is more elevated and excludes slang of any kind. The sentence length in my post is medium (approximately 18 words in length). I did not use short of telegraphic lines because I believe that those length sentences are more for informal diction posts. But I also think that using long sentences (30 or more words in length) is way too long and the reader would get very bored. So I used sentences such as “This line is very important to the reader because it finishes off the column, the ending line is supposed to be important. But it also sums up the whole column in one well developed statement that really sticks in your head.”  This sentence effectively states what I want, but I did not say it in a 30 word boring sentence. Instead of saying one long and involved sentence, I split it up into two sentences.

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

I am about half way through the book Mockingjay and I can finally say I am obsessed. I'm going to be completely honest...I have never really enjoyed reading. I think it's because I just have not found the right book. Well, I can gladly say that I found a great book and I'm really enjoying it. In the past few chapters there have been a few very important lines. At the end of chapter 12 it says, "My lips are just forming his name when his fingers lock around my throat." (Collins 177) This is Katniss talking and if you haven't read the book, then you would be very very surprised as to who the one choking her is. Now, I am not going to say who it is so there are no spoilers, but this line is very important because it changes peoples perspective on the character who is choking Katniss. It definitely changed mine, and the line also pushes the plot along. The next most important line ends chapter 14. "This is one of his death traps." (Collins 203) This is an important line because it basically is starting the next war era of the book. And this new era is what is pushing the plot along. The line is talking about Gales plan against the capitol that has many lives at risk. Katniss calls it inhumane. You will have to read the book to find out the plan, but in my opinion, it is indeed very inhumane. That's unfortunately all I have for you today. I hope your enjoying these posts and I also hope I'm getting you really interested to read Mockingjay.

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

For this blog post, I'm going to shortly answer a few prompts. I have not gotten farther enough in my book from the last week to be able to do the same type of post as last time. So, what real life issues are reflected in the text? Well, there is war and revolution. Both which are real life issues. Although our real life wars may not be the same as in the text, it is reflected in the book, but a little over exaggerated. What does the work tell us about how people behave? It shows that if if people are not happy and dont get what they want, they revolt against something for a change. In the book the districts are not happy, so they revolt.  How has a character changed since they were first introduced? In the first book The Hunger Games, Katniss was a nobody. She lived quietly in district 12 and did her duty. But now in Mockinjay, Katniss is a leader, and not to mention she got out of not one, but two hunger games alive. Her personality has gone from cowardly and afraid to fierce and confident. I would really like to have a conversation with Katniss and ask her how she got over her fear and was able to stay as strong as she was throughout this entire journey.

Krista Ramsey Column Post

The column that I chose to read by Krista Ramsey is Krista: Raising kids to embrace the world, then they do. This column is about parents being the first part of their childs life and getting them ready for the real world, but then they grow up and are out the door so quickly. The most impactful line in the column i believe is "It's the most humbling lesson of parenting: We may be in charge of the prologue, but only they get to write the story of their lives." This line is very important to the reader because it finishes off the column, the ending line is supposed to be important. But it also sums up the whole column in one well developed statement that really sticks in your head. The word choice also gives an impact. Using 'prologue' is much better than saying for example 'the beginning'. Also,"only they get to write the story of their lives" is sarcasm because they are not legitimately going to write out their lives, but the word choice does give a better impact than saying "They plan the rest of their lives." Other than that line, Ramsey also uses many rhetorical questions at the end of the column. For example: "What did we think would really happen when we told our children to go tackle the world?"  This is a rhetorical question because there is no answer, you just think about it. Ramsey's writing style is very opinionated because her columns all focus on a particular subject/ issue and she uses opinions but also facts to give her message. Some questions I would ask Ramsey are, how do you figure out topics to write about? How do you balance opinions with facts in your writing? To become a great writer, what education/ classes should I take? Overall I think that Ramsey's columns are a joy to read and cant wait to read more!

"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

I am still just starting the book Mockingjay, but I have gotten far enough to analyze it better. There are multiple lines in the chapters that I read that contribute to the developing plot. The most important lines seem to end each chapter. For instance, chapter 2 ends with the line “‘I’m going to be the Mockingjay.’" (Collins 31) This is obviously an important line because it marks the point where Katniss decides to be the Mockingjay, or leader, of the revolution against the capitol. Without this line, there would be no book. "That's my chance. I dart around the distracted guard, push open the door marked 3908, and find them. Half-naked, bruised, and shackled to the wall. My prep team."(Collins 46) This line ends chapter 3 and it contributes to the plot because district 13 captured and tortured Katniss's prep team for the hunger games. It makes us think deeper about this mysterious district 13 that somehow broke away from the rest of the districts. Another super important line ends chapter 4. "In other words, I step out of line and we're all dead." (Collins 58) This line is saying that if Katniss stops being the Mockingjay, the her family and all the ones she cares about will die. That seems pretty important to me.

I decided to create symbols for each of the characters. For Gale, I chose a deer, this fits him because he is a hunter in the first book and now that everyone is in district 13, Gale still goes out to hunt even though they are supposed to stay inside. For Katniss's mother and her sister Prim, I chose a light bulb. Prim and Katniss's mother work at district 13 in a little hospital they made to take care of all the injured from district 12. They are the light of district 13, just like a light bulb. Katniss is obviously the Mockingjay. She is the leader of the revolution hence the name Mockingjay as the title and the picture of a Mockingjay on the cover of the book. Although the Mockingjay bird does not exist in real life, it is still on Katniss's pin and to people everywhere, it is the symbol of revolution and rebellion.