Sea Inside Post 3

In the movie The Sea Inside the director uses a variety of camera angles to set many different moods throughout it. In particular when they were trying to set the scene at the beginning they used an extra long shot and a truck shot to show the mountains and the sea to show where the movie was going to take place. Also a memorable scene is when you first meet Ramon they want to show his condition they first start at doing a close up shot of his when its shaking and the only thing moving on his body. Then the do a truck shot down to his where they do an extra close up shot of this hand and to show he has no movement in it. I also found in the movie they would do close up shots when a person's reactions were important. Finally the last scene that is memorable to me is when they do an extra long shot of the sea at the end to show Ramon's love for it and that's where his accident and everything started.

Sea Inside Post 2

The movie The Sea Inside and the book The Diving Bell and the Butterfly both were very similar and different. For similarties both involved a man who was a quadrelpgic trying to figure out if live was worth living anymore. They both are in life altering positions and have new lifestyles. Also after both have been put in this siutation they write books and try to put something out there to be remembered for. For Ramon in the Sea Inside he writes a book of poems he has written for over the course of a couple years. For Jean in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly he writes his book about what's its like to have locked in syndrome. Also both are different Jean also has locked in syndrome which means he cannot talk or move his body, but his mind is in perfect working order. His only means of communication is his left eyelid. He doesn't really dicuss suicude he just hates having not having control over anything and can't do anything by himself. Ramon is a quadreplgic who is in this state he hates. He wants to die so he doesn't have to suffer and take the burden off his family. He hires a lawyer to help him win his case but he doesn not. He creates a plan to have his friends one by one help him so noone can be traced. I think they are both powerful, but the movie seemed to have more of an impact because I understood the idea better. You could visually see him dying unlike the book which was harder to visual.

Sea Inside Post 1

My general reaction to the film it was a very interesting film. I really enjoyed it because it had a good story line to it, and it really happened so you could relate to it. Ramon in the film wanted to get permission for someone to kill because he cannot do it himself because he is a quadriplegic. He is trying to get the court to approve his case, so then the person who helps him doesn't go to jail for murder. I think in his case he really wanted to die, he was a quadriplegic and couldn't do anything by himself. He would sit in bed day after day and do nothing. He felt like his life was pretty much over and he was waiting to die. I think if someone under his circumstances should have the right to die. He has a qualified reason and should have the right to do so. I think his friends were just supporting his decision even though they it was very hard for them to say goodbye. They were just trying to help end the pain of their dear friend.

Memior Week 5 Part 2

Summary:
Life in Welch wasn't getting any better and one day when Jeannette was home alone a man from the child welfare came to their house. He asked for her parents but she said they weren't home and wouldn't let him unless they said so. He asked Jeannette questions about being neglected and what her parents jobs were. As he left he told her to tell her parents he stopped by and he would stop by. When she talked to her mom she gave the card the man had given her and told her what he had said. After the shock from the man's visit her mom got a job as a teacher again. Her mom got a job very easily because teachers were scarce in Welch. Her mom had some of the same problems she had in Battle Mountain where she wasn't very organized but the kids helped her out and it all worked out. Now that more money was coming in, their mother was hiding her paychecks from her husband because she knew he would take the money and spend it on booze. Now Jeannette was in 7th grade, which meant she was attending Welch High School. She saw the girl Dinita from the swimming pool from the summer. They weren't friends because of their races. But Dinita had changed and they would pass notes in study hall and she found out that she was pregnant. After Christmas break Dinita didn't come back, Jeannette went to her house to see if everything was ok and the man at the door wouldn't let her. Later she was arrested for stabbing her mom's boyfriend and killing him. Girls in Jeannette's grade were very into looks and boys and Jeannette had always been the skinny unattractive girl. She needed braces but that was out of the question with the price of them so Jeannette created her own, by using her everyday household objects. Later that year Jeannette wanted to join like a club or group but had to be free so she went with the school newspaper The Maroon Wave. She started off as the proofreader and was the first seventh grader on the newspaper. After she would do her job she would read stories from all other types of magazines and newspapers. She never had heard of alot of these things because her parents never read the newspaper or subscribed to magazines. Maureen wasn't really apart of the family she usually stayed with her friend's families because their parents didn't like the way her parents were raising her. She missed California and always to her stories about it. Her mom also kept getting very moody and wouldn't go to work and stay in bed all day. Her father wouldn't come home for days and would be wasted when he got home. Over the summer her mom left to go back to college to renew her teaching license and Lori went to a camp paid for by the government. So that left Brian, Jeannette and Maureen to fend for themselves against their dad. Her mom left them 200 for the summer for food. She and Brian made a budget so they would have enough money. But her dad would ask her for money and Jeannette knew she had a soft spot for him so she would give it to him to buy booze and cigarettes. The following week her dad invited her to go on a business trip with him. They arrived at a bar and while her dad was gambling, a older man asked her to dance and she didn't want to be rude so she did. Then he asked her to go upstairs and her dad thought it was a good idea. He tried kissing her and unbuttoning her dress. She wanted him to stop and then finally she said i think my dad is ready to go. When she explained the situation to her dad he said i knew you can handle yourself your strong. About half way through summer her mom told her to look for a check and money and to hide it from her dad. But her dad knew it was coming and waited for it by the mailman. He told Jeannette they could hide it together. The next day when she went to go get it was gone and she knew it was her father. But if she accused him he would deny it so she didn't even bother. She got a job at a local jewelry store in town to make some extra cash. She stole a watch from the store so she wouldn't be late for work but felt so bad that she returned it.
Personal Reaction:I think Jeannette Walls uses such vivid details when she writes and I feel like I’m sitting right next to her. When I read this book I feel like I’m in Welch with her and want to get her advice. Personally I think Jeannette treats her parents with too much respect because they aren’t giving her any back. They take her for grant and they know she will always be there for them even when they make terrible decisions. For example when Jeannette goes along on the business trip with her father and her father doesn’t care that an older man is dancing with his young daughter in a bar. Then later he asks him if it’s ok if he takes her upstairs in his apartment above the bar and he says its fine. So Jeannette goes up because she listens and respects her dad. When she is upstairs he starts kissing her and unbuttoning her dress and then she pushes him off and says she has to go. She does mention it to her dad but if it was my father I would have been so disgusted and upset with him. I would have a really hard time forgiving him and respecting him as a person. He also is teaching his daughter poor morals that letting older man take advantage of you is ok. Her mom too has no respect for anybody in the family. She doesn’t let them take charity even though they need it, and she won’t leave her husband even though he is an alcoholic and can’t support the family.

Memior Week 4 Part 2

Summary:
They decided they are going to stay in Welch, they have to find a place to live. They are having trouble because they have no money. They finally find a match for them, but it is very rustic and has no indoor plumbing. The kids are little heist about this and want to go back to Phoniex. They set a place on their property to build the Glass Castle, they stated digging the foundation but their father never helped or talked about it. The kids were trying to spurce the place up by painting the outside of the house. Her parents didn't accept charity, even though at times it would have helped. One of Jeannette's friends in her class invited her over to talk about when she lived in California and her mom always wanted to go there, and her mom was the town "whore". She was very interested in life in California, and while they were talking Jeannette forgot that she was even a whore. There was way more fighting between everyone in Welch. They would get in fights because they were different or they called there dad a drunk. One Saturday Brian and Jeannette were inside reading when one of their windows was shattered by a rock and someone called "Garbage, Garbage" to them. Brian went outside and got hit in the head by a rock. Soon they got revenge when the came back. Reading became one of Jeannette's hobbies to do after school. She loved The Grapes of Wrath and The Lord of the Flies. One night her dad came home, and needed stiches and made Jeannette do them for him, and they did them together. Food soon enough became scare again. They were barely eating and being made fun one again for how skinny there were. In the winter they had a fire sometimes but froze to death most nights. The good thing about the winter was didnt have to wash clothes as often. One day Jeannette went to her friends house to work on a project and they had a very nice house, a furance. Jeannette had never seen one of those before. Jeannette's grandmother died later that winter, and everyone was kind of relived since what she did Brian. Her dad dispperead for a while after her death and Jeannette had to go out looking for him and found him in cheap bar drunk. Her grandpa's house caught on fire so her uncle and her grandpa moved into an apartment with a working bathroom which was exciting for their famiy. But once when Jeannette was sitting on the couch next to her uncle his hand kept creeping up her thiegh and she kept knocking his hand off but he would keep doing it. While he would do this he unzipped his pants too. After that Jeannette refused to go to Grandpa's. One day when they were playing in their yard they found a diamond ring and were going to sell but their mom wanted to keep it for herself even though they didn't have any food. When Jeannette was talking to her mom and told her to leave her dad, and then she can recieve money from the governemnt but her mom would never think of doing that. Jeannette once went to the pool wither her friend Dinitia who is african american and they had so much fun but they never hung out again because of their racail differences.

Memior Week 4 Part 1

Quotes:
"Aw, now don't go get all high and mighty on me," Billy said. "Don't go and try and pretend you're better than be. 'Cause I know your daddy ain't nothing but a drunk like mine." Jeannette Walls (83) The Glass Castle.
This quote struck me as important because their family before Billy says this doesn't recognize their father's drinking problem. They don't think its a big deal and can't see that their family is being hurt by it everyday. This is the first time Jeannette recognizes her father's problem and tries to help him stop.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Reflection

After I finished reading the The Diving Bell and the Butterfly I felt a little puzzled. I felt like I missed and didn't understand the point or the message of the book. I was confused on what I was supposed to get out of reading this book. I seemed to understand the concept of his dreams and his tangents about life, but they seemed like they were randomly put together in a book.All these different memories and things he wish he could do all put together in one, with no continually flow. I understood that he would sometimes compare life with the disease and before he had the disease. He seemed to share an experience about what had happened that day and then would dream about a similar one before he had the disease. But there were parts of the book I liked, especially when he would describe things. He would spend time to describe these ordinary objects and make you look at them in a new way. Also he would compare and use very good metaphors for describing things. For example when he is watching TV and is he describing it as watching a fire, its mesmerizing and you can't stop looking at it. Those were the parts of the book I could relate to and enjoyed reading. Also just the fact he wrote the entire memoir by blinking his left eye, makes this a huge deal. It's a very well written book and interesting to read about his condition that we never now whats going inside their heads. This is one of the first opportunities where we get to see what is going on, and do they think the same way they did before the disease or condition. As in overall book I thought it had its good points and its bad points, but it was very interesting to read and enjoyed it.

Memior Week 3 Part 2

Journal:
So far in the book the strengths are she describes it so well that you feel like your sitting with her going through all of the same experiences. She makes everything seem so unbelievably real, even though you can't imagine going through your childhood like that. She also makes it flow really well, and has good transitions. Some weaknesses of the book is she doesn't include any dates, so you are sometimes confused on how old she is or what year it is. She once in a while mentions her age but you never have a good idea when she is born or what years this book is taking place in. Some of the issues going on in the book are a little disturbing. When she is living in Phoenix and a man walks into the house in the middle of the night and starts touching Jeannette inappropriately is disgusting. Her parents don't believe in locking doors or shutting windows at night. Also when she is living with her grandparents and her grandma touches her brother inappropriately and her own parents don't believe her. I think she and her siblings should call a foster care place to be put into because her own parents cannot take care of themselves let alone their kids. They are ruining their lives an destroying their futures. I predict once the kids get older around 16 they are going to run away and try to find work and live on their own.

Memior Week 3 Part 1

Summary:

So they left Battle Mountain to move to Phoenix to live in their late grandma's house. For once in their lives they are not worrying about money, they had just received the inheritance that their grandma had left behind. Also her dad has a job that was bringing in a steady amount of money as a electrician. They were going to school and all of the three kids were in enriched reading groups. Also this town had more things to do including going to the library, civic center and playing in the stores. One day when their dad came home from work with new toy and bikes for all of them. They also had new things they had never had before including a washing machine and telephone. One incident that happened while Jeannette was sleeping was a man came in her room during the middle of the night and tried to rape her. Her father was out for the night and her mom slept like a rock so she and Brian took a bat and beat him till he ran out the door. One day her dad came home drunk and took her to the city zoo. He was telling her about how bad the zoo and how they keep all of the animals locked up. Then her dad bought some popcorn and was feeding it to the cheetahs and soon enough was inside the cage with the cheetahs. Soon enough they drew a crowd and a security guard took her dad away. Just after that her dad lost his job once again and grandma's inheritance money had seemed to disappear. Food became scarce and Brian and her would go to the dumpsters and eat the chocolates out of boxes in the dumpsters. Her mother started shoplifting clothes for the Maureen. On Christmas day they bought a tree for a dollar and decorated with all of their grandma's ornaments. Then that night her drunk father light the tree on fire and it burned all of their gifts under it and he started laughing. She turned 10 while living in Phoenix and her dad asked what she wanted for her birthday and she wanted him to stop drinking. So for the next couple of weeks her father stayed in his bedroom and tied himself to his bed to help fight his demons and to stop drinking. Soon after that their dad wanted to take them on a trip to the Grand Canyon. They packed up the car and started on their trip. While they were driving out their the car broke down. They had to hitch hike their way back home and had to leave everything behind in the car. Her parents kept getting into violent fights, which usually started when her dad came home drunk. The family was going through a hard time and her mom thought it would be a good idea to move to West Virgina where her dad's parents lived. They had to buy a new car because they never retrieved the old one from the Grand Canyon trip. At first it was just going to be the kids and her mom because her dad didn't want to come, but at the last minute he came. It took a month to drive all the way to Welch, West Virgina. This was the first time the kids had met their other grandparents. They were going to stay with them till they found their own place to live. The kids didn't like their grandparents at all, they thought they were mean and weird. At school Jeannette was bullied and put in special ed classes because she couldn't understand the accents. Life in Welch was way less then perfect. Soon after they had come, their parents were going to go back to Phoenix to retrieve a couple of things that couldn't bring the first time. While they were gone the grandma had tried to touch Brian in a inappropriate way and when Jeannette and Lori stood up for him and told their grandma she was a "pervert" they were confided to the basement till their parents got home. When they got home their parents didn't believe the kids and they moved out as soon as the could to this shack. They had plans to tear the house down and build the Glass Castle , but their dad never followed up on the plans.

Info on Author:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Walls

Jeannette Walls was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She went to college at Barnard College in New York. She wrote the book The Glass Castle in 2005, which is soon to be a movie made by Paramount. She is married to John Taylor, who is also a writer. She is now focusing on writing novels.