Advise about Juliet's love life

   Dear Juliet,
 
            It seems you are in need of guidance in this time of despair and trouble, and I would be willing to give you some advise. Just a while ago, you were quite frustrated, or so it seemed, at your fair husband Romeo. I can see why. He did, in fact, murder one of your family members. Yet when the nurse came to talk, you backed him up with no hesitation. Although I see why, I do want to discuss a few things that stood out to me. For instance, when you forgave him, you seemed as if you almost forgot the cruelty of his actions. I would be upset at him a little longer than you, if I were in your position. When asking for Romeo, your reason seemed unrelated to your feeling towards the situation. Instead (just a suggestion) I would make him sit down to "lay the cards down on the table" or so the saying goes, and try to solve this problem. Also, your words when brought forth this terrible news were questionable as well. As an example, I quote, "O nature, what hadst thou do in hell when thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend in moral paradise of such sweet flesh?" You do sound angered, but are you inferring the reason you are surprised at his actions is because he looks to attractive to do something so horrible? What about his traits? His side of him that's a hopeless romantic, who spends his time in the clouds thinking of his love. While another side is brave, who would climb up a wall just to see his crush and who would crash an enemie's' party. Have you ever seen those parts of him? What is the point of all this hardship with a boy you don't even know? It would mean so much for you to consider my thoughts and advise. Thank you.

From,
an unknown source

The Constant Battle: Book V.S Movie

         In my small book club of four (including myself) we've decided to read the horror classic: The Shining. The basic plot of the story is about a boy with an overprotective mother and a hot headed drunk for a father. Because of his family issues, it ended up with his father losing his job after violent actions. The dad found a job working at a hotel called the Overlook. The child was born with a sort of paranormal activity; going into premonitions and mind reading.  The Overlook was found out to be haunted and had a strange obsession to Danny's (the child) ability, so they put Danny's weakness, his father, on the verge of insanity. I started asking around on others input and I received mixed reviews outside of my group, including quite a lot of positive feedback on the movie. It was the opposite with our club. Everyone, including me, felt like the movie took out many of the important parts in the book, and our favorites as well. They missed out a lot of events completely, changed the hedge animals, and added unnecessary parts in the film. To be honest, the book is, in my opinion, better the movie.

           The director missed the most important parts of the book which impacted the story completely.  It was unnecessary to change them. For instance, instead of the badge animals, there was a badge maze instead. The animals created tension in the story by showing the slow process of Jack, the father, turning mad. While others weren't looking, the hedges moved, looking as if it would attack. In one part of the book, Hallorann the chef was scratched by the lion, tempting the eat him. The movie could of easily added them in, but the director changed it to a maze. The movie also cut out all the parts of Jack slowly turning mad. He looked mad the moment you saw him (and it didn't help that  Jack Nicholson was picked for the role.) The book had a type of writing that divided the people from each other. Each one had a separate way of speaking. It made the book unique. That would be hard to present on film. I could see what went wrong, but the excuses does not hide the fact that, although the movie is a classic, The Shining is best fit as a book.    

Expectable At Every Turn

      As a story progresses, parts of it change, like the character or setting. But what about the parts that don't change? If you look closely, you can spot familiar parts in the story. The Series of Unfortunate Events have clear and subtle hints of repeats as well, especially the fourth book, The Miserable Mill. When the three Baudelaire's parents die in a house fire, they have to move to different family members picked by Mr. Poe, a workaholic with a constant cough (which is either incurable or Mr. Poe refuses to go get it checked out.) The first caretaker was named Count Olaf, a man around middle aged who is, basically, is evil ( though most should call him mentally ill.) The Baudelaire's oldest sibling is a girl named Violet. After they became orphans, Violet got their parents money, who were quite rich. Count Olaf, being the greedy man he is, tries to steal the money away from them using crazy elaborate plans. With the help of Violet, Claus (the middle child and only male) and Sunny ( a toddler who only speaks gibberish) they catch him in the act, but alt the last second he runs away. From then on, they have been running ever since. In the fourth book, they're sent to a lumber mill. The owner, who is there new guardian, broke child labor laws and put them to work, insulting the toddler Sunny. They aren't even fed well. They have the tiniest breakfast, and gum for "lunch". They were only payed with coupons. This job is breaking quite a bit of rules. This book, technically for kids, has the same structure for children stories. That includes over exaggerated repetition.


     One that stood out to me was that, in the beginning of the books, it always starts with the children in a car to their new house. The writer, Lemony Snicket, usually writes how they feel about their new surroundings, which are mostly strange. In this book, the fourth, the kids are moved in an isolated place except for two houses, an eye doctor, and a lumber mill.  The rest of the area is filled with pine trees, and no people were walking about. From the looks of it, they were the only people there. In the car the wonder how long do they have to run to finally hide from Count Olaf. They also felt discouraged about their new home. Violet couldn't be inspired by anything, Claus couldn't see any libraries, and the only thing Sunny can bite are trees.

     Another one I found is that either the new guardian is mean, or killed. In the fourth book, their new guardian puts them to work at a lumber mill, even though it's dangerous to use humongous machinery art such a young age. He was big boned and always smoking a cigar, so you never saw his face. It is said by his companion at work in the book that "he had a tough life" but to the Baudelaires, it seems his actions can't overrule what he has treated them. It happened with other people, Count Olaf, Uncle Monty (nice but dies) and Aunt Josephine (annoying and dies.) All the murder is the doings of Count Olaf as well.

    Wherever they go, Count Olaf follows, and after the first book, he comes in a disguise. The second time, as a assistant, the third time, a pirate, the fourth time (which is one of the best disguise so far in my terms) a woman. It also seems to get more ridiculous as well. He was supposed to be a receptionist at a eye hospital, who wanted to have a family of (*snicker) "her" own. That almost got them in Count Olaf's hands until the kids revealed his true nature. After that, he runs away and never gets caught.

     The Baudelaire kids gone through so much, in a circle as well. They move to a shady place, meet their either horrible or soon killed guardians, find Count Olaf manipulating their fellow means of protection, showing his true nature to the unhelpful and infamous Mr. Poe, and Count Olaf running away so the Baudelaire children have to start all over. Even so, I have a feeling something is coming up later in the series. Something... unexpected.