Literature Analysis: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

1. What drew you to this book?  What did you expect and/or hope to experience through reading it?
What drew me to this book was the fact that it's growing more and more popular, especially with the movie in theaters now. Plus this is just the style book I really enjoy reading, this futuristic but realistic fiction in a world going up in flames. I hope to enjoy every single bit of it and love it so much that I want to read the other three books in the series.
2. What kept you reading past the first ten pages?
What kept me reading past the first ten pages was the constant action from the very beginning. In this book it seems like there's always something happening and it didn't take a long time to develop the plot. My interest was peaked from the very beginning and I could't wait to read on and on.
3. Describe your reading habits
As I stated in my very first literature analysis, my reading habits vary depending on the book that I'm reading. With this particular book it's been constant. I wake up in the morning and all I can think about is reading this book, every chance I get I pick it up and get reading. Last night I even took a bath instead of a shower just so I could read. 

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
This novel is about a group of around 60 teenage boys who've been sent one-by-one each month to this isolated forest type area all surrounded by a maze that locks closes itself off and it's pattern changes every night. Their minds have been blocked of all memory completely prior to being sent to here and they must figure out how to escape while fighting off mechanical bug-like creatures trying to kill them and all obstacles which come with living of the land. When the protagonist arrives, everything there changes and the end is soon to come. I'm not sure of the author's purpose just yet but he sure as hell does a great job entertaining us with this novel comparable to the Hunger Games or Divergent. 
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The theme of The Maze Runner isn't evident. But how I interpret it is Order VS. Chaos the idea that when people are put into a situation where they are powerless or can't think of any solution, their minds become chaotic leaving no room or energy for organization. But what this theme does is proves this theory wrong. One might say that when we become desperate, our strength doubles  and it becomes a question of do or die. You can also say when you become so fed up you don't give up, you become unstoppable and are willing to fight until your heart stops.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
James Dashner's tone in The Maze Runner is hopeful. Through the actions in this book we can sense the feeling hope towards most situations in the novel. 
1. "When Minho returned, safe and sound, Thomas thought he seemed very optimistic that it really was an exit. Or entrance. Depending on how you looked at it." The whole plot leading up to the moment when they either died trying to find an escape from the maze or finding an exit was coming close and they seemed hopeful of their chances.
2. "If you're going to decipher a hidden code from a complex set of different mazes, I'm pretyy sure you need a girl's brain running the show." Ever since the only girl was sent to the maze they all seemed fed up having to deal with a female, they saw her as being a sign of failure but then she starts to help crack the code and suddenly they find hope in her. 
3." Next, you become one of the first people ever to survive an entire night outside the Glade, and to top it off you kill four Grievers." Before the protagonist was sent to the maze nobody had ever been able to survive a night within the maze outside of their safe zone so it was a big deal when Thomas proved his ability to the other "Gladers" (Inhabitants of the Glade-Maze)

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
1. FORESHADOW: "Greenie, we've never had two Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row." (Page 48) A sign of another Newbie arriving to the Glade one day after had never happened so we can foreshadow that something is about to change in the games of the maze and they will soon figure out a way out.
2.SIMILE: "... the dark feeling of utter hopelessness, like the world had ended for him." (Page 6) 
3. SYMBOL: "WICKED- World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department" is what the Gladers find on tiny bug-like creatures that spy on them. This symbolizes the creators of the maze.
4.IMAGERY: “Ben’s head snapped violently to the left, twisting his body until he landed on his stomach, his feet pointed toward Thomas. He made no sound” (Page 74)
5.METAPHOR: The maze itself is a metaphor. It's whole purpose is to confuse the Gladers minds and test their reactions to situations and we can never trust if something is real or just in their imaginations or what seems to be a trick from the creators.
6.ALLUSION: The Glade is compared to a prison, they are completely stuck there until they find a way out of the maze. It confuses the Gladers, frustrates them and they don't feel as though they deserve to be there.
7. CACOPHONY: "Someone cheered, and then someone else. Soon, shouts and battle calls broke out, rising in volume, filling the air like thunder." (Page 328)

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION: 
1. "I'd say you're sixteen. And in case you were wondering, five foot nine ... brown hair. Oh, and ugly as fired liver on a stick" (Page 15)
2. "her brown hair was cut at the shoulder, and she had a thin face with dark eyes" (Page 
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION:
1.
2.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
I don't believe that the author's syntax or diction changes when he focuses on character because he keeps his descriptions very similar to the way he writes his dialogue between characters. It's a very informal way of writing.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The Protagonist is a dynamic, round character because at the beginning of the book he can't even remember who he is but as the story develops, his character flourishes into a strong, fearless and high thinking person. He changes completely as he discovers his role in the Glade and the things he must do to conquer the maze,
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
After reading the book I do feel like I've met the characters because the author brings the characters to life and puts them through things that make us feel for them and give us the impression of them being complex human beings rather than characters in a book. For example when at the end of the book one of the significant characters dies, I cried because I felt an attachment to his relationship to the other characters in the book and what he set out to accomplish. 

"Summons" by Robert Francis

• The title of the poem "Summons" by Robert Francis has significance to the poem itself because it is based off of Robert Francis' desire to be summoned or "woken up" metaphorically by a certain someone special. 
• The tone of the poem is lustful in a way. It's obvious that the author lusts after this woman or man in such a way that he uses such a powerful verb such as to summon to convey his feeling towards him/her. He wants to be heard so he uses words that will scream at us and get our attention but also show how desperately he wants this person to get his attention at the same time.
• The initial mood I get from this poem is fierce. We can feel the intensity in each line and with every word the poem flourishes. What makes it so intense is the way we can relate and be put in his place just from reading it. No matter who you are you always want someone to want to grab your attention and he portrays what he wants to get out beautifully and with such angst.
• There isn't an obvious shift in this poem but I'm guessing it's at the very last line because the above lines are demands almost leaving no personal information but then the last two lines go "Not only tell me but persuade me.
  You know I'm not too hard persuaded. " It gives a little personal touch in a flirty way that makes us feel like they are close.
• The theme of this poem is if someone doesn't show their feelings and show you what they want you to know then you need to make it obvious to them or be the one to make your feelings evident.

"Chops" by Stephan Chbosky

Relationship to School

As we discussed in class, school can be compared to a prison in many ways. We are segregated into our own groups. There are the middle class white kids, the guadsters, the emos, the list can go on and on. No matter how much anyone wants to admit it, we all stick to our segregated groups and secretly judge each other. Maybe this isn't 100% accurate for everyone but that's how I see it. "Immigrants in Our Own Land" reminds me that high school and prisons aren't so far off from each other. They may be two very different types of establishments but the people in them have the same types of habits because we are all human. 
School can be an extremely positive thing but it can also have very negative effects on people but it all depends on your own personal attitude, as the same goes for prison some people go in with an "I don't care" attitude and leave with an "Oh my god, I'm so glad to get out of this hellhole! I'm never going back there again" attitude. And then some just go even more downhill after the whole experience. It depends on whether you decide to be a positive or a negative person. School is the place that tests you most in your young life because you are thrown into a sea of asshole teenagers and no matter who you are, you come out being different because 1) the influences other students have on you and 2) you're own personal growth as these 4 years pass and you grow into the person you want to be. Although we all think school sucks most of the time it is so important in so many ways. Besides the obvious reason of education, school gives us so much more than what we think about on a regular basis. It's a place where we can be ourselves (or not be ourselves) away from our home and families. It's a place where you get to know yourself and see what you like and don't like in people. Home schooled kids don't get those sort of experiences. We are extremely lucky that the government forces us to go to school because if we didn't go to school then we would all be extremely awkward and antisocial kids, in jail or Amish. (No offense to the Amish but I mean, come on, they're mostly that weird because they never had the chance to socialize with people outside of their circle). We are forced to communicate with people who aren't like us at all and make friends with the most unlikely of people. 
So I guess that I'd consider myself a curious native. Because High School is constantly making me question every aspect of life. 
Anthropologists should just come to Righetti to gather information.

A poem that doesn't suck by Stephen Chbosky

once on a yellow piece of paper,

he wrote a poem

and he called it "chops"

because that was the name of his dog.

and that's what it was about

and his teacher gave him an A

and a gold star

and his mother hung it on he door

and read it to his aunts

that was the year father tracy

took all the kids to the zoo

and let them sing on the bus

that was the year his little sister was born

with tiny toenails and no hair

and his mother and father kissed a lot

and the girl around the corner sent him a

valentine signed with a row of x's

and he had to ask his father what the x's meant

and his father always tucked him in at night

and was always there to do it

once on a piece of white paper with blue lines

he wrote a poem called "autumn"

because that was the name of the season

snd that's what it was all about

and his teacher gave him an A

and asked him to write more clearly

and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because of its new paint

and the kids told him

that father tracy smoked cigars

and left butts on the pews

and sometimes they would burn holes

that was the year his sister got glasses

with thick lenses and black frames

and the girl around the corner laughed

when he asked her to go see santa claus

and the kids told him why

his mother and father kissed a lot

and his father never tucked him in at night

and got mad

when he cried for him to do it

once on a piece of paper torn from his notebook

he wrote a poem

called "innocence; a question"

because that was the question about his girl

and that's what is was all about

and his professor gave him an A

and a strange steady look

and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

becaue he never showed her

that was the year that father tracy died

and he forgot how the end

of apostle's creed went

and he caught his sister

making out on the back porch

and his mother and father never kissed

or even talked

and the girl around the corner

wore too much makeup

that made him cough when he kissed her

but he kissed her anyway

because that was the thing to do

and at three a.m he tucked himself into bed

his father snoring soundly

that's why on the back of a brown paper bag

he tried another poem

and he called it "absolutely nothing"

becaue that's what it was really about

and he gave himself an A

and a slash on each damned wrist

and he hung it on that bathroom door

because he didn't think

he could reach the kitchen

I like this poem because the setting slowly progresses throughout the poem starting from the simple life of a child then turning into the the reality of the real world and the boy in the poem suddenly just cracks and kills himself because he sees everything change around him in a shocking and saddening way.

The First Poem I Ever Wrote in French (November 2013)

J'aime le froid
mais pas comme ca
Mes doigts sont tristes
Mais Je ne suis pas une pesimiste
Ils sont rouges et ils sont moches
Le probleme est que je n'ai pas de poche
Je m'ai jamais vue le temps comme ca
Et franchement, je n'aime pas
Pendant que j'ecris, mes doigts restent froids
Et maintenant aussi mes jambes et mes bras
Maintenant c'est l'automne et bientot l'hiver
Il pleure sur la ville comme je suis Jacques Prevert
Ou est le soleil? Pas ici and pas la-bas...
Mais je suis certaine que mes doigts vont rester froids.

It sounds really weird in English but I swear in French it rhymes and makes a lot more sense 

TRANSLATION:
I love the cold
But not like this
My hands are sad
But I'm not a pesimist
They're red and they're ugly
The problem is I don't have pockets
I've never seen weather like this
And Frankly, I don't like it
My hands are still cold while I write
And now my legs and my arms, also
Now it's Fall and it'll soon be Winter
It's raining in the city like I'm Jacques Prevert (A French poet who wrote a poem called It's raining in my heart like it rains in the city)
Where is the sun? Not here and not over there...
But I'm positive that my hands will stay cold

Analyzing Song Lyrics (Riptide by Vance Joy)

This is my favorite song at the moment. It has such a beautiful tune to it and it's just one of those songs that make you want to dance like nobody's watching, that put aside I've listened to these lyrics over and over again trying to understand what Vance Joy is actually trying to say with "All my friends are turning green, you're the magician's assistant in their dream and they come unstuck" or "lady running down to the riptide, taken away to the dark side, I wanna be your left hand man".
He's obviously talking about a woman he has interest in because he sings "I just wanna, I just wanna know. If you're gunna, If you're gunna stay. I can't have it, I can't have it any other way" but from aside from that the lyrics make no sense to me.
My theory is he's just another hipster writing a song because it's ironic, doesn't make obvious sense and it just sounds nice. Any other theories out there?