What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell?
The novel, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman portrays a 17 year old boy, named Quentin, throughout his life at a college for magicians. In the second half of the book, Quentin graduates from Brakebills and moves onto the real world. He thinks that he can avoid boredom by partying all day and all night. He and his friends finally decide to do something with their life and they go on an adventure to Fillory. Fillory was always thought to be fake because it was written in children's book. They had always thought the author just made it up, but then they found out it was real and they took the adventure. there, they faced a beast that ends up killing Quentin's girlfriend.


Grossman wrote this book to show that people should reflect on their life and realize how good they have it and not seek for more. He shows this through telling the failed life of Quentin. He was a really smart, and liked by everyone, but he didn't have the girl he liked so he was "miserable". Next, at Brakebills, the college for magicians, he was completely content when he got there, but after a while, he began to get bored and felt not content. He yearned to get out, and when he did get to the real world, he partied and drank and did drugs all day and night. During this time, her ignored hsi girlfriend and ended up cheating on her. He soon regrets it and realizes what a great girlfriend he had (they got back together later). He was still no content with life and went seeking for more. He then entered Fillory, the place he fantasized of visiting his whole life (the alternate world of adventure. a utopia). Here is where everything feel apart. the fun adventure they thought they were going on turned out to be a mad competition for survival. His thirst for fulfilling his life (which was already complete, with all the greatest things ever) lead to the death of his beloved girlfriend. He then realized how much he already had before, and that he should have never looked for anything more because he had magical powers, people who loved him, and all the money he could dream of. He didn't need anything else, but he was just being selfish.


Grossman sums up all of this in this quote: "You just go from one thing to the next, don't you, and you think it's going to make you happy. Brakebills didn't. I didn't..."(255) here, it shows that Quentin is unsatisfied by small things and tries to move onto the next thing. he tries to move on and make himself feel better. Grossman shows this wrong and that you should look at all the great things that you have in your life because in the end, Quentin lost everything. I think this is true. Some people take things for granted, and they must realize how good they have it.
If you've read other books in this same genre, how does this one compare?
Currently, I am half way through the novel, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. This book portrays a 17 year old boy, named Quentin, throughout his life at a college for magicians. Instead of attending Princeton, Quentin attends a college for magicians called Brakebills for five years instead of four. There, they learn basic magic. Normally, they are placed into their "disciplines", something like a major, and they get placed into their specific housing area. For some strange reason, Quentin didn't place in any of the Disciplines. Then in their fourth year, they go on a trip to prove who is fit to become a first class magician. They set off on a trip to Antarctica, and there, they make a five hundred mile run to the South Pole, without any clothes on or food. Only Alice, Quentin's girl friend and he made it. They were the only ones that tried. During their fifth year, they graduate. This school hidden from the outside world and the people stay concealed from the outside world. This school reminds me of Hogwarts, and the book reminds me of Harry potter.

It reminds me of Harry Potter because it is about magicians going to a concealed, mystical school. There are some major differences though. They use hand gestures to cast spells, instead of wands. I really liked how Grossman referenced the Harry Potter series in his book because throughout reading it, I always thought to myself, “this reminds me of Harry Potter”. He reference how the magic in each story is difference:
“He’d look at the kids with an obvious flawed feature… and wondered why they didn’t get somebody to fix them up, like Hermione with her teeth in Harry Potter. But in reality it always ended in a disaster.”(page 188)
This was interesting to hear a reference to my favorite series in what seems like my new favorite book. This book also reminds me of the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, in the fact that there is a whole new world living right in front of our eyes, but we don’t notice it. I like these types because I feel like it can actually happen to me. It can turn my boring life into a life of adventure and excitement. I know; I’m a nerd.

The Magicians Draft 2

What was the author's purpose(s) in writing this book, and how can you tell? 


*Spoiler Alert


The novel, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman portrays a 17 year old boy, named Quentin, throughout his life at a college for magicians.  In the second half of the book, Quentin graduates from Brakebills and moves onto the real world.  He thinks that he can avoid boredom by partying all day and all night.  He and his friends finally decide to do something with their life and they go on an adventure to Fillory.  Fillory was always thought to be fake because it was written in children's book.  They had always thought the author just made it up, but then they found out it was real and they took the adventure.  there, they faced a beast that ends up killing Quentin's girlfriend.  


Grossman wrote this book to show that people should reflect on their life and realize how good they have it and not seek for more.  He shows this through telling the failed life of Quentin.  He was a really smart, and liked by everyone, but he didn't have the girl he liked so he was "miserable".  Next, at Brakebills, the college for magicians, he was completely content when he got there, but after a while, he began to get bored and felt  not content.  He yearned to get out, and when he did get to the real world, he partied and drank and did drugs all day and night.  During this time, her ignored hsi girlfriend and ended up cheating on her.  He soon regrets it and realizes what a great girlfriend he had (they got back together later). He was still no content with life and went seeking for more. He then entered Fillory, the place he fantasized of visiting his whole life (the alternate world of adventure. a utopia).  Here is where everything feel apart.  the fun adventure they thought they were going on turned out to be a mad competition for survival.  His thirst for fulfilling his life (which was already complete, with all the greatest things ever) lead to the death of his beloved girlfriend.  He then realized how much he already had before, and that he should have never looked for anything more because he had magical powers, people who loved him, and all the money he could dream of. He didn't need anything else, but he was just being selfish.


Grossman sums up all of this in this quote:  "You just go from one thing to the next, don't you, and you think it's going to make you happy.  Brakebills didn't. I didn't..."(255) here, it shows that Quentin is unsatisfied by small things and tries to move onto the next thing.  he tries to move on and make himself feel better.  Grossman shows this wrong and that you should look at all the great things that you have in your life because in the end, Quentin lost everything.  I think this is true.  Some people take things for granted, and they must realize how good they have it.

The Magicians First Impressions

Currently, I am half way through the novel, The Magicians, by Lev Grossman.  This book portrays a 17 year old boy, named Quentin, throughout his life at a college for magicians.  Instead of attending Princeton, Quentin attends a college for magicians called Brakebills for five years instead of four.  There, they learn basic magic.  Normally, they are placed into their "disciplines", something like a major, and they get placed into their specific housing area.  For some strange reason, Quentin didn't place in any of the Disciplines.  Then in their fourth year, they go on a trip to prove who is fit to become a first class magician.  They set off on a trip to Antarctica, and there, they make a five hundred mile run to the South Pole, without any clothes on or food.  Only Alice, Quentin's girl friend and he made it.  They were the only ones that tried.  During their fifth year, they graduate.  This school hidden from the outside world and the people stay concealed from the outside world.  This school reminds me of Hogwarts, and the book reminds me of Harry potter. 

It reminds me of Harry Potter because it is about magicians going to a concealed, mystical school.  There are some major differences though.  They use hand gestures to cast spells, instead of wands.  I really liked how Grossman referenced the Harry Potter series in his book because throughout reading it, I always thought to myself, “this reminds me of Harry Potter”.  He reference how the magic in each story is difference:

“He’d look at the kids with an obvious flawed feature… and wondered why they didn’t get somebody to fix them up, like Hermione with her teeth in Harry Potter.  But in reality it always ended in a disaster.”(page 188)

This was interesting to hear a reference to my favorite series in what seems like my new favorite book.  This book also reminds me of the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, in the fact that there is a whole new world living right in front of our eyes, but we don’t notice it.  I like these types because I feel like it can actually happen to me.  It can turn my boring life into a life of adventure and excitement.  I know; I’m a nerd.  

Response To Vignettes

Over the past few days, I’ve skimmed a few blogs.  I especially liked Victor’s blog because it was funny and cute, Melissa’s blog because it was serious and emotional, and Alex’s blog because it was straight forward and had strong morals.   Though they were each different, I saw that all of them commented heavily on family.  They knew how important family was and how they couldn’t live with out their family.  I feel the same way.  My family backs me up on everything, and I know I would be lost with out time. Victor explains a situation where he got lost during a trip to the Sydney Opera House.  He explained how worried he was about losing his family. I would be too:

My eyes started to water as I felt the need to collapse. I thought that my whole life would end right then and there. I picked myself up from the ground, and started yelling out to my parents. I cried and cried while I started to lose hope. Not one adult bothered to help me. They just glanced at me in a sorry way, and just walked by. A few more seconds of me weeping went by until I finally saw my worried parents running towards me. The second I wiped my eyes to see them, my whole body relaxed. It felt like I was finally at peace after being tortured

This was amazing.  I loved the vivid details of how sad and scared he was without his family right beside him.  And on the contrary, he explained flawlessly how overcome with joy he was to find them.  He even compared it to being relieved from torture.  I think this is how family should be.  Family should be so close and interconnected that when they are separated, they feel physical pain. This is what makes a strong, united, loving family. 

Melissa also stated that family is forgiving.  She never held a grudge against her mom for leaving because she was her mom.  She would always love her mom no matter what and couldn’t stay mad at her: “I love my mother and I understand why she had to leave. I have no hate towards her because in the end I know she is my mother.”  I thought it was a very strong sign of family.  One should always forgive and forget in family, no matter what because without a family, who do you have to lean on? No one ever, no friend, no one, will ever have the same relationship with you like a family member.  Never.

She also showed that family had jobs and obligations that tops everything else.  He sister had to take care of her when she was young and that interfered with her sister’s social time.  Her sister deep down inside, didn’t enjoy taking care of Melissa because it made her sacrifice so much of her time.  Though she truly felt this way, she barely complained and never made Melissa feel bad about it because she loves her time, no matter what circumstances, they should love each other and never let anything, anything at all come in the way of that..  She knows that as an older sister, it is her responsibility to take care of her and this takes priority over anything else.  This is how family should be.  Family should be supportive and loving all the 

Leaving or staying?

i think that Esperanza will decide to come back to mango street.  She has had a lot of changes in her life here and is quite connected.  She also feels attached because of the people around her.  She also had a lot of influence to stay. For example, the three girls, The Fates, state that she should make a wish.  they were completely confident about the weather the next day. They were also confident that they would make the wish come true. Also, they were sure about what she wished for.  This shows that they are very magical or talented(in the book).  they could make the wish come true, but they warn her.  The girl with the pale, porcelain skin states that

"When you leave, you must remember to come back for the others.  A circle, understand? You will always be esperanza.  You will always be mango street. You can't erase what you know.  You cant forget who you are."

 She is taken back about how they knew what she had wished for.  But then she actually felt ashamed to wish for that:

 "I didn't know what to say.  it was as if she could read my mind, as if she knew what i had wished for, and i felt ashamed for having made such a selfish wish."

This will inspire her to actually come back and help out her family and friend who are stuck here. i think this changed her.  At this moment, she thought back to all that happened at mango and felt connected.  She was Mango. She feels as if she owes something and will come back after she becomes financially stable to help them out.

in the future i think that she will move away and go to school. She will get a job and buy her dream  house.  then she will start to feel guilty and sad and lonely and move back to mango and help them financially.  She will come back and help out.  this is all because of the Fates. she will feel as if she owes something and will come back and help out.  this will bring her happiness when she comes back and helps them out.  And her life will be fulfilled and she will live happily ever after. 

Cisnero's view on Gender

Cisneros thinks that children should be raised differently> she usually displays this through writing about reality and how messed up it is.  She uses a light sarcasm and it is hard to find, but it is there.  For example, She portrays esperanza as a child who needs a friend regardless of gender.  She shows that esperanza needs friends and her brothers are kinda to her inside the house, but outside, they cannot be seen with her:

"My brothers for example. They've got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the whouse. But outside they can't be seen talking to girls"

Cisneros includes this situation in order to comment on how in real life, parents raise their children differently. and because of this, they feel like separate people.  They feel different and separated so they think it is wrong to interact with each other.  Cisneros actually believes that children should be raised that same in which they would be able to interact with each other outside the house without feeling sad. They shouldn't feel ashamed to help each other out.  this is what Cisneros actually believe and shows this through the sadness of Esperanza.  She plays that sadness of reality to teach readers that it is wrong.

Also, Cisneros says that womens' purpose is to get married and moved on: “What matters, Marin says, is for the boys to see us and for us to see them.” (27)  It may seem like she is stating that this is right but she says it is wrong.  She thinks that women have more things worth while and more things to live for than just marriage. she shows this though implication.  Marin, who stated that quote, is portrayed as lifeless. She is sad, and focused only on marriage.  Cisneros shows that she is wasting away her life.

I personally think that they should be raised witth he same basic rules, but raised differently emotionally based on their personality and the situation.For example, i think that parents should allow and encourage their children, boy and girl, to play sports.  Also, they should have the same bedtime or anything like that.  They should have the basic rules the same.  But on the other hand, each child is different and should be raised differently by their personality and situation because of this and only this. NOT gender. 

Vignettes

My Name

My name Is Yen.  My brother’s name is Duc. My other brother’s name is Liem.  And my parents’ names are Minh and Hanh.  These are all Vietnamese names, but my brother’s and my names are all America sounding.  My name sounds like Ian, my brother’s Duke, and Liam.  My parents picked this because they thought that it would be easier to fit in to the community, but I have always found it more difficult because I always want to correct people, but they think that they have already pronounced it correctly.  You see, when someone has a really Asian name, the teacher or anyone new would ask if they pronounced it correctly, but with yen, they pronounce it like the Japanese currency and move on.  Because of this, I do not feel comfortable correcting them because they didn’t ask.  They don’t, so I don’t correct them.  Sometimes I ask my parents why they named me such a weird name.  They told me that Yen and Ian sounds alike, and that it would make me fit in better.  Then I ask why they didn't just name me Bob or something.  Then I regret it.  My name represents who I am.  I can’t give up who I am.  My name is mine.  

Hair

Everybody in my family has different hair. My father has stiff hair, combed over but sticking up a little. And me, my hair is stubborn, it never changes its way without a fight. Duc's hair is very short and style-able. He can always move it to look right. Liem's hair is long and dry- it stays in place after styled.

My mother. She has soft, silky, shiny hair. Hey hair is like clay. Every morning, she blow dries it into place. The rest of the day, it stays in place. Her hair smells like oranges, when you walk into her room, you instantly get a rush of a sweet tangy smell. The smell of oranges. You could almost just taste it out of the air. My mother's have smells like oranges

            My father does the same hairdo every morning, whether he is working in the garden or going to an important meeting. He does a comb over, but it still sticks up.  He blow dries it every morning into place, and it automatically stays.  I’ve tried this with my hair before; it never worked. Why is my hair so different?

Tennis

            I love tennis.  If I could, I would play all day and never stop.  I started when I was about 8 years old, and kept with it all the way until I was 13.  I don’t really know why I stopped.  Maybe it was my lack of time to play, or maybe it was just my lack of skill, maybe both.  I would work really hard to improve, but right when i did, i would stop for a few weeks and lose my touch.  Soon, all of my tennis friends surpassed me greatly, and i was left in the dust.  I stopped playing in 8th grade, but it was only until i started at ASTI, that i realized i had quit tennis.  I always tell myself that i want to go back and play, but I don't have anyone to play with.  All my friends are too good, and no one else plays tennis that i know of.  As a freshman, I wanted to join the Encinal High School team, but then i took on some college classes and was afraid that if I did join, I would be overwhelmed with work.  Basically, I love tennis, and I would start playing again, but I just don't have the time and will power to start up again.  Maybe in the summer, I tell myself. Maybe

PWR

            As a freshman, i attended a Interact retreat called the President’s Winter retreat or PWR(power).  In different workshops, i learned many things.  I learned how to lead a club, how to relieve stress, how to move on, and how to speech publicly.  All of these are important skills, but really, the two most important things i took from that retreat were confidence and motivation.  When i went there, I only knew a few people, a couple from my school, and my brother.  We played ice breaker games, and during that time, i was very timid, and didn't talk to anyone.  Finally, on ice breaker did it for me.  We went around in a circle and introduced ourselves to one another.  This was the one where i learned to be confident, and talk to strangers and peers.  Before that, i didn't know how to approach others and always kept to myself, but from that, i learned that people are nice.  I learned to approach and start a conversation with the other person as a peer.  I had the confidence to do so, and it helped out a lot in my life.
            Also, during that retreat, I saw many people that opened my eyes to reality.  I always thought that i was one of the most dedicated people to interact, but during that retreat, i looked around and saw that most people were even more motivated to do well in their club than me.  that opened my eyes to the reality that I wasn’t the greatest.  From that, I took that I should step up and become a leader.  I started planning events and speaking out my ideas to raise more money.  I would say that from the two days i spent at PWR, I learned more of how to be a good leader than I ever did in my whole life.

Architecture

            My dad is an architect, a very good one too.  He has and eye for details and the small things that most others don't have.  He redesigned our house and made it so user friendly, I feel as though the house is inside my head.  The house works for us, all the light switches were in the right places, light was bright but not blinding, the house was energy efficient, and the heating system is far superior than your average house.  Living in such a beautiful home and with the creator has opened up my eyes to how beautiful and useful good architecture and design could be.  Since about a year ago, i have decided I wanted to become an architect.
            Also, growing up, I always heard that we should recycle and be conscious of our waste and energy in order to save our planet.  I have really believed in this stuff since i was young, and I want to bring it into my professional life.  So therefore, I have decided to combine my two loves: the planet and buildings.  I want to major in Architecture and Minor in Environmental studies.  This way, I could combine the two and create beautiful houses while incorporating green technology.  This is what I know I will love doing my whole life.  I have my mind set on this goal, and I plan on making it happen