Lauren Carbone 11-2
English III
Mri Fiorini
The Soloist Chapters 23-31

It is said that everything in life happens for a reason, and you learn from the things that occur throughout your life. In reading the soloist, Steve Lopez has provided me with multiple positive outlooks on why things happen as they do. The last few chapters of the book in my opinion were the most intriguing due to the drama and almost fairy tale like ending. It is the occurrences in these chapters that led me to dwell upon how in this story’s case, all people get what they deserve.
Nathaniel Ayers was a man who spent a great deal of his life homeless, living on the streets of skid house row. The conditions of this area were extremely poor and did not in anyway provide positive aspects of living. After Ayers developed a close relationship with Steve Lopez, a writer seeking a story for an article, things began to take a turn for the better. Lopez used the opportunity for an interesting article of a now homeless former Julliard student, as a way to speak out and create a message from the story of this man. His article on Nathanial Ayers earned a great amount of money and provided the homeless musician with a home of his own along with a studio to continue his passion for music. Although being homeless must have been a negative part in Nathaniel’s life, something good did come from it and I believe that this hard time in his life was to prepare him for struggles that can possibly come to face him further in life’s winding road.
Being provided with a home and studio of his own is the start of a new beginning for Nathaniel Ayers. I personally think he deserved this happy ending after living as he did for so long with such promising talent as a musician. It is also interesting to see how it seemed as if no longer being a student at Julliard and living on the streets was the end of his musical career, but now a whole new way of living was provided which is allowing him to take his music to a whole new level. In general I really enjoyed the truth and story line of The Soloist and I would like to think the friendship between Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez shall remain strong.

Lauren Carbone

English III

Mr. Fiorini

The Soloist, Chapters 13-22

 

            In reading The Soloist, I was greatly interested in Lopez’s overall presentation and narration of the story. Along with the intriguing story line of a unique friendship, the presentation of the story is what allowed me to continue reading. It was written in a different point of view than I as a reader am use to, which made me more anxious to experience a new style of writing. Now that I have come to a more compelling point in the story where the plot thickens, I have found a new area of interest and discussion that dwells much deeper than the relationship between two completely different people.

            After meeting the character of Nathanial Ayers, a man who once attended Julliard but ended up living on the streets as a result from schizophrenia, Steve Lopez spent an abundant amount of time learning and understanding his life style and the reason he lives as he does. As he studied and developed a friendship with Ayers, he would write about this man and his living conditions. After reading the descriptive writings of Lopez, the mayor of Los Angeles had decided to take a tour of skid house row where Nathanial was residing. The shock of what he was witnessing, the terrible conditioning and living arrangements, inspired him to dedicate $50 million to housing facilities like that of skid row.

            This point has left the greatest impact and created the most important message for me in the story thus far. It left me with the belief that it is possible to make a change regardless of how large the project or task is you are faced with. Steve Lopez never gave up on the story of Nathanial Ayers, which resulted in $50 million being provided to housing. A simple article on a talented man with no home now has capability of changing the lives of many unfortunate people. Lopez’s article bringing upon change led me to believe he was creating a greater message to all readers that change is possible. This area of The Soloist created a deeper meaning to the story, which makes me excited to see what else Lopez’s article is capable of doing. 

Lauren Carbone 

English III 

Mr. Fiorini 

The Soloist Chapter 7-12

 

 

 In continuing to read The Soloist I have found that the story line has grown to be much more intriguing and the relationship between Ayer and Lopez is also being taken to a stronger level. Lopez was also developing a greater understanding of the hardships and difficulty Ayer is faced with in his living style, as well as beginning to question Ayer’s reasoning for living as he was. Lopez was beginning to see things in a new light as he began to spend more and more time with his new friend Nathaniel Ayer. 

All of these Qualities Lopez had discovered in developing a relationship with Nathaniel Ayer had changed his desire to help him from a simple job to a commitment. For someone to spend the night on skid row with a mentally ill man shows something much deeper than a story to write, but signifies true care and devotion. It is possible that there is a stronger meaning to Lopez’s interest in Nathaniel, which is leading him to take this unique friendship to a whole different level.  

I am curious to see how the rest of this story unfolds and see if this friendship is able to remain together or fall apart. In my opinion and interesting twist is still to come that will change the friendship Lopez and Ayer have built up. 

Lauren Carbone

English III

Mr. Fiorini

The Soloist Chapters 1-6

 

 

            In reading The Soloist by author and reporter Steve Lopez, I have taken an interest not only in the extremely unique friendship that has developed between characters, but also the first person point of view the text was presented in. From what I have currently read of the Soloist, I have found it to be a fairly different piece of writing compared to the literary styles of the previous authors we have studied thus far. The unique writing style of Lopez and the rare relationship between Nathanial Ayer and Lopez himself, has created a sequence that intrigues readers to continue further into the story.

            Steve Lopez delivers his story as a reporter seeking to find a new and interesting story. His first person perspective and non-fictional genre separate his writings from the others we have read in class. Lopez in my opinion has a fairly simple style of writing and also portrays things exactly as they seem to happen, opposed to using fictional imagery as many authors do to provide a mental picture to their readers. The simple and relatively modern text style makes The Soloist an easy read that doesn’t drag on or involve a complicated storyline.

            Another aspect of the first few chapters I found interesting is the friendship between Nathanial Ayer and Lopez. This kept me interested in the story because of the situation with Ayer’s unstable mental condition and how Lopez was so willing to put forth an effort in helping him. In my opinion deciding to write and article on the homeless and mentally ill musician was an extremely bold act. I say so because not many reporters take the position on writing to help someone of that nature and can be rather risky to their career. In general I think he is providing a positive message by writing a book involving the relationship between himself and this less fortunate man. It sends across the message that everyone has potential and sometimes just need help to reach the standards they are capable of reaching. 

Lauren Carbone

English III

Mr. Fiorini

 

The Catcher In the Rye

 

 

            Author J.D Salinger was extremely successful in portraying the troubled and outspoken character of Holden Caulfield and his vivid expressions towards life. Salinger’s book The Catcher and the Rye, presented the life of a boy and his struggles to over come the problems he finds within people, as well as the difficulties he is covering up deep within himself. The way the book was written brought multiple characteristics of Holden Caulfield to my attention. Salinger made it extremely clear to the readers what thoughts and opinions were processing in the mind of protagonist Holden Caulfield. These writing characteristics the author had brought into the reading experience of the book provide a greater depiction of the mindset and actions of its main character.

 Holden was seen as an agitated young man who took the frustrations he had for himself out on those who surround him. The frustrations towards people were shown as Holden would often speak of his hatred of “phoniness” and his agitation towards his roommates in Pency Prep. I found the author to be successful in portraying how Caulfield felt in situations throughout the book by making the speaker, Holden Caulfield, tell the story. He spoke as if he were writing his emotions in a journal therefore presenting each idea with intricate detail. This detail allowed the reader to pick up on minor characteristics of Holden that could later reveal more about his mindset. An observation I have found due to the descriptiveness of Salinger’s writing was that the character of Holden Caulfield was extremely observant. An event in the book the confirmed this thought for me was where he compared the behaviors of his two roommates Stradlater and Ackley. He speaks of the small things each character does in strong detail to contrast the hygiene habits of both roommates. Including minor details such as this one about the character, allows you to learn more personal aspects and behaviors of the people you are reading about.

In conclusion, the detailed writing style Salinger had used in The Catcher in the Rye had a very effective way of bringing more thoughts and idea of the main character into the story. Knowing more about Holden Caulfield provided a greater understanding for his disruptive and arrogant behavior as well as allowed readers to relate to him on a more personal level.

 

 

- I would like the creativity, organization, and the general understanding of the book to be focused on 

Lauren Carbone 11-2

English III

Mr. Fiorini

 

 The Death of a Salesman

 

In reading The Death of a Salesman by writer Arthur Miller, one of the most interesting aspects of the story I have come to find was the relationship between Willy and his son biff, as well as the possible intended symbolism. Willy often spoke of the disappointment he found in the manual labor farm jobs his thirty four-year-old son Biff has had. He found the job of Biff to be that of a slacker, which in his opinion made him less willing to obtain a steady career. After expressing his criticism that portrayed Willy’s obvious disappointment in his son’s career choice, he would contradict himself and completely turn his opinion in the opposite direction. He would then remark that Biff was anything but lazy and a hard worker. Taking a deeper look into the behavior of Willy, it is possible his contradictory was symbolism for two separate opinions, one showing his true feelings towards his son, who is working to earn a living and the other depicting disappointment within himself.

            When Willy shows disapproval of the way Biff is living his life, I found it to be a reflection upon the disappointment Willy has found in his current position. He can no longer provide for his family as the successful businessman he had once been. The character of Willy in both the movie and the book had presented a tremendous amount of anger and frustration towards money and anything pertaining to work. These outbursts would sometimes involve the work position of his son biff. I found that rather then actually having disapproval towards his son, he was using it as a cover to reveal the frustrations he has within himself for not fulfilling the position expected of him.

            In conclusion, I found a deeper meaning to the actions of Willy and the reasons he had for acting out in such an angry manner. I believe his life had taken a turn towards a negative direction and he had handled it by lashing out against those who had cared for him the most. Although Willy hadn’t successfully portrayed an image of someone who overcame a difficult time in their life, I still believe deep down he was proud of his son for who he is. This can also provide inspiration for the readers to be happy with the person they are regardless of the mistake they have made.  

Lauren Carbone 11-2

English III

Mr. Fiorini

Blogger Questions

 

 

Blogger has been extremely valuable for me as a student as well as a developing writer. It has helped me form my own style of writing and have the opportunity to experience the methods my fellow classmates have used to express their opinions. Blogger is also very convenient and provides a simple method for keeping assignments in order and organized. Aside from the website itself, using blogger and having that Friday to spend the class on the laptops is such a great way to end the week. It provides us with the chance to get a head start on our assignments or make up things we have missed.

 

As a junior in high school I can say up until this year I have never done English assignments in this way before. It has always been the same type, print, and hand in routine, which is why I really enjoyed this change. I am really looking forward to continuing the use of blogger and the assignments to come.

 

For you as a teacher my opinions are extremely positive because I like your expectations in our writings. I say this because you allow us to be creative and write in whatever style is suitable for us opposed to a standard format.

 

Using this site has certainly changed things within the community of the 11^th grade classes. Using blogger has given all of us the opportunity to read and comment on each other’s work. This has let me learn more about people that I haven’t gotten to know all that well. Reading someone’s writings can help you learn more about them as a person and get to know all different kinds of people.