Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

       At some points about the characters in Romeo and Juliet I understand but others I am having trouble agreeing with. I don't feel like Romeo, Juliet or any of the other teens really act like our teens today, for example Romeo at the beginning of the play he is depressed and sad because he likes a girl who don't like him back. Today if you have a crush and the person doesn't like you back you learn to move on you don't get depressed that would just be taken as a dramatic today. Romeo's family comes off to be more concerned about how he feels and keeping him safe compared to Juliet's family who seem to be worried about how they look to the public and who important Juliet marries but not how she feels.

       I really enjoy reading the book at home and then going over the section in class the next day. It helps but reading it and annotating then going over what I should have annotated and comparing it to what I go the day before. I feel that I decipher some of the story, then at school I realize what more to decipher and to annotate for which it really helpful. Over all I am totally for this reading at home then reading and talking about it after school, I feel it's really useful.

Wrapping up Great Expectations

The lesson I felt Charles Dickens portray in the novel Great Expectations was that money is not everything, and that you can be happy without it. He portrayed this through Herbert, Joe and Wemmick who all feel that they don't need money and don't really care if they have a lot or not. Without lots of money you don't  have that urge to always want the next big thing because you can't afford it. Also you learn to be ok with how how you dress or how big your hands are because you cant do anything about it. This is why most people without as much money are happier, they have learned to accept it and themselves which is what Pip learned throughout this novel. So Dickens taught Pip and the reader that money does not pay for happiness!

Thoughts on Reading

Now having finished the book, what I enjoyed the most would be the characters. They are just not like any characters in other books, there just different. Like Joe who is a mild aged man who acts like a 5yr old and Miss Havisham who is this creepy woman who's goal in life is to break every mans heart through her adopted daughter. I mean can you name a another book with character like these?  The mystery that I discovered by myself was Orlick being the one who hurt Mrs. Joe, while the one that caught me off guard the most was Molly and Provis being Estella's parents because there was no foreshadowing, it was a complete surprise.
I can proudly say that yes I did read the entire book and never once used spark notes! As for my reading habits... they are horrible. I would read when ever I finish all my regular math homework or Spanish flashcards then would read. After that because I would never finish, before bed I would read until I fell asleep reading which was most nights. If I didn't finish that night I would get up at 6am and finish. I personally found while reading the book it was hard to stay focused. Especially in the middle of the book, chapters 30-40. But as far as the endings I found them my favorite and not just because I didn't have to read it anymore but because in most books there is not two endings one the author liked and the other the publisher which I found interesting.