Today I decided to review a blog of a fellow English student. He is an exceptional and very creative writer who has many excellent ideas. When I read his blog there were 3 posts that I thought were very well done and were excellent to examine his ideas and awesome style.
Instead of praising Hasnain and not getting to the point, Hasnain had a few ideas that I really want to write about:
The Post :
Billy Pilgrim: Liar or Legit? - Post 1
"The amount of detail and figurative language that is present when he has time-travelled is proof of him actually being unstuck from time. Billy can describe down to the most minute details such as the smells of things. When was the last time we remembered the smells surrounding us? It is almost impossible unless it was very very very distinctive. This proves that he is not merely imagining it or remembering the past in old age."
This does raise an interesting question: how can we tell if Billy Pilgrim is traveling through time? Well to play Devil's Advocate let's look at it, even if Billy Pilgrim were to explain in such detail about his time travels that doesn't mean he's traveling through time. In many cases people who can explain in such detail are 1.frauds who try to reel you in by making it seem legit 2. people who hallucinate 3. People suffering from any sort of mental illness. Many times people are able to describe vividly about memories and events and such because they are lonely and through these memories they can find solace. Whatever the case is for Billy I disagree with Hasnain on the point that the vivid descriptions that Billy makes prove the time traveling to be legit.
But I do agree with the next part of Hasnain's post:
"All pieces of creative literature are indented to transcend the physical realm of our world. With writing you can create and illustrate the impossible. This, in part, is the allure of fiction novels or even movies. Readers want to experience something that they cannot in their own meaningless lives. "
I remember reading an article while back that said that people watched movies and read books because it gave them a source of thrill and experience that they couldn't just feel in their own life. What really makes a good author is someone who is able to create places and experiences(exciting and difference experiences and places that we wouldn't encounter in our everyday life) that the reader can experience through the eyes of the characters. To conclude I agree with Hasnain on this point.
Banned Books - Post 3
Well I do agree with Hasnain that books can create and evoke strong emotions from readers, banning books for the well being of society isn't such a great point. The book "Mien Kampf" is a novel that was written by an extremely mass murder, however it is a novel that let readers go into the inside of Hilter's mind. While I do not agree with the thoughts of Adolph Hiltler, I do believe that by banning this book we take so much from society. To add to that not everyone reads "Mien Kampf" so even if you were to make this book accessible to society it would probably never hit the New York Times Bestseller list. "Mien Kampf" is an excellent historical artifact that historians use to help examine the mind of Hitler and give reasons as to why he committed the actions he did. By examining this novel we can remind ourselves of the actions and thoughts of these dictator to ensure that dictators like him will never rule. From the sense of history this novel is an important piece of history that isn't a good read but is a good piece to examine and get a more deeper understanding of the the historical events that did occur during Hitler's rein. So in reality by banning books for the well being of society is really not true. By taking away these novels you take away so much from people who actually read it and not from the society as a whole so why ban?
Something about a Novel - Post 5
So to start off, I like how Hasnain agrees with me and says in his Assignment #5 post that the key to writing a novel is using personal experiences to authenticate the reading experience:
“Most authors usually write about personal experiences so thats what I would do. When you incorporate real event or mirrors of real event, they seem more real as if they have more depth. It makes a connection between the read and the author, so that messages or themes are conveyed easily. It also prevents the novel from being boring because you will probably use interesting moments in your life to share.”
However as the passage continues I do not agree with Hasnain that the main protagonist should be an anti-hero. The protagonist should be, in my opinion, a character that develops throughout the novel. We may think as teens that what we do at the time is right, however as due to the guidance of our parents, friends, siblings and teachers we get more of a solid sense of what is right and wrong. I think a story that shows this sort of development is more inspirational and appealing to readers (take any good movie and you’ll find that the main protagonist undergoes a journey and develops into a greater, stronger and better person).
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