The Memory Keeper's Daughter Post#2.B

I am anxiuosly awaiting the next section of my book. At this moment, Caroline has fled town with the Dr. Henry's baby daughter that he rejected. Caroline had payed a visit to a home where Dr. Henry had wanted to place his daughter. However, it was in an unacceptable condition, so upon her own whim Caroline left the home and took the baby, Phoebe, back to home. On her way back she realized she didn't have any equipment and supplies for a baby so she needed to stop at the supermarket, where she locked herself and the baby out of the car. She got a ride home with Al, a truck driver, who then stayed at her house. Her neighbor who loves gossip, had questioned what Caroline was doing with a baby and a man in her apartment, so she told her that it was her cousin and his baby. Meanwhile, Dr. Harvy and his wife were going through a tough time. I cannot perdict what events will come, i have no clue where Caroline will end up. But i have a feeling Al is not completly written out of the book. I really hope that Dr. Henry's wife finds out about the daughter she thought was dead, and spent so much time crying over and feeling her daughter's presence.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter Post #1.A

Vocabulary:
1.Transfixed (page12):to make or hold motionless with amazement, awe, terror, etc.
2. Sluicing (page31):to drain

Figurative Language:
1. "...fatigue sluicing through her body like water down a rock". (page31) This quote is an example of a simile. You can tell because the phrase is comparing two things using the word "like" or "as".
2. "She was so tiny, five and a half pounds, smaller than her brother though the same rich dark hair". (page30) This quote is an example of imagery. It is portraying something using descriptions of the 5 senses.
3."...and the naked branches if the trees turned white". (page3) This quote is an example of personification. It is giving human characteristics to an unhuman thing. Quote: "...she had risen out of the croud like some kind of vision..."(page5) This quote signifies how beautiful he thought she was the moment he spotted her amongst a crowd.

Emerging Theme: I believe one emerging theme in the book is honesty. When he sends away his daughter without his wife knowing, just because she has a birth defect, i believe it will come back to him years later and his wife will leave him.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter Post #1.A

Vocabulary:
1.Transfixed (page12):to make or hold motionless with amazement, awe, terror, etc.
2. Sluicing (page31):to drain

Figurative Language:
1. "...fatigue sluicing through her body like water down a rock". (page31) This quote is an example of a simile. You can tell because the phrase is comparing two things using the word "like" or "as".
2. "She was so tiny, five and a half pounds, smaller than her brother though the same rich dark hair". (page30) This quote is an example of imagery. It is portraying something using descriptions of the 5 senses.
3."...and the naked branches if the trees turned white". (page3) This quote is an example of personification. It is giving human characteristics to an unhuman thing. Quote: "...she had risen out of the croud like some kind of vision..."(page5) This quote signifies how beautiful he thought she was the moment he spotted her amongst a crowd.

Emerging Theme: I believe one emerging theme in the book is honesty. When he sends away his daughter without his wife knowing, just because she has a birth defect, i believe it will come back to him years later and his wife will leave him.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter Post#1.B

Response: Dear main character, (Dr. David Henry) I am appalled at what you have just done. I cannot under any circumstance understand why you would send your daughter away just because she has a birth defect, and secondly sending your daughter away without your wife even knowing. After all your wife did having two children and you just toss one away just because it wasn’t good enough. I hope you will regret the decision you have just made. And I also hope that your daughter never finds out about you or how horrible of a “father” you were. But I do hope that your son and daughter will have the opportunity to know each other to have that special brother-sister relationship. However, I was happy when I read how well you took care of your wife. It was nail-biting to wonder if you could plow through the snow to get her to a clinic on time, even though there wasn’t a doctor there to deliver your child. The control you took over the situation was hart-warming to read about how focused you were on making sure your wife was going to be safe.

The Sea Inside Post #3

Refer to your notes on camera technique, camera angles, and camera movement. What scenes, in particular, do you remember where the film technique underscored meaning and added to the message the director was sending? Describe the shot, its significance, and its meaning in detail

The most significant scene i remember is a close-up of when Ramon hits his head on the ocean floor. This shot is a close up because Ramon's head takes up at least 80% of the shot. I believe the director chose to make this shot a close up because he wanted the audience to see clearly the difining moment of Ramon's life. This is the single moment that would mold the rest of his life, in order for the shot to have meaning i belive it was an excelent choice on the directors behalf to make it a clase up. A second shot i reacall was a tilt. It was used when Julia was in the hospital and she looked to the sky, as the sky continued and the camera came back down it was the sky of the view from Ramon's window. I belive this shot showed importance because it conveyed that they are not far apart from eachother, and are connected wheather they know it or not. A third shot i vividly remember is when the director used firehosing to show the environment of where Ramon lived. The shot continued along the hills and around his home. I belive this shot was important because it showed where Ramon would no longer go, he couldn't hike in the hills or take a walk down the street from his house.

The Sea Inside Post #2

Compare and contrast The Sea Inside to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. What similarities and differences do you notice? In your opinion, which was more powerful.

The Sea inside and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were in my opinion two very similar tales with very different smaller points. For instance, they were each the tale of a man with who is confined inside his body, unable to move. However, in The Sea Inside, Ramon, is able to move his neck and head and he is fortunatly able to talk. Whereas, John Bauby spoke to the world with the blink of an eye. In The Sea Inside, i felt Ramon's frustration to be more vivid and intense than Baubay's, this could be because Ramon suffered from his condition for over two decades. One major difference between the two tales is in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Bauby has no desire to die. He does not want to end his life out of frustration that he is unable to move. This contradicts the purpose of The Sea Inside because the whole purpose is to demonstrate how Ramon wants to end his life. In my opinion, The Sea Inside was a much more powerful story to hear. It may have been because i got to actually see and see his emotions being portrayed on film. I think it was because he was a man who was not fighting for his life, but his death.

The Sea Inside Post #1

Q:What is your general reaction and response to the film? What do you think of Ramon's request for assisted suicide, the court's response to him, and his eventual actions? What do you think of his friends who agreed to help him?
My first and foremost reaction to the film was that it was very sad. Towards the beginning of the film i was angry that he wanted to kill himself. I just couldn't even imagine what it would be like to want to live anymore, i thought he was out of his mind. But through out the film i began to understand how difficult it would be to want to do so many things but have to live with the reality of not even being able to wiggle your fingers. The thought of being confined solely to your body for numerous years would give you infinate time to think about things. I know i would not want to end my life not being able to do the things i love. So in conclusion, i was very inspired by this film and was very interested in the way it helped me understand someone like Ramon's position on how he feels. My thought on his friends who agreed to help him is disturbing. If one of my friends who i cared about and loved was in a situation like Ramon there is no way i could ever help them end their life. I understand that i would want to help my friend who trusted me to ask for help, but i know i would never be able to do it. I would not be able to live with the thought that i ended my friends life, even if it would make them happy, i know i would be unable to proceed with it.