The Clockwork Three Intro

1) This book has three people that could be defined as a protagonist (hence The Clockwork THREE).

The first is Giuseppe, an Italian boy who was taken from his family and brought to America by Stephano a greedy padron.

The Second is Frederick, a Clock makers apprentice with a past he cannot remember.

The third is Hannah, a maid at a Grand Hotel who works endlessly to support her family.

The book begins wit Giuseppe at a street corner playing his fiddle for money. He sees people rushing by to go to the docks where just off the coast a ship has crashed. When he finally gets there he sees a case that looks to belong to a violin. He fishes it out to find a green violin inside that makes the most beautiful noise he has ever heard.

It then gets into the story of Frederick and describes his work with the clock maker and his secret project, an automaton or a clock work man. His story begins with a struggle of finding the head to his mechanical man  and finally realizing his lifelong dream of becoming a professional clock maker.

Finally it gets to the story of Hannah , a maid and how her schooling had to be neglected in order to help support her family. Her father caught a strange disease that took his legs and voice from him, so he is no longer able to work. While working, she over hears the owner of the hotel talking to someone about the ultimate treasure hidden inside the hotel.

Rime of the Mariner

In order for a peice of literature to be classified a romantic peice it needs to follow the five "I's", Imagination, Intuition, Idealism, Inspiration, and Individuality. Imagination is a theme commonly used in the poem, the water freezes the boat in place and Death and Life battle for the lives of the crew, so it is definetly a strong point. Intiution is the idea of instincts over reason. In the end of the story the Mariner must tell his story it is more a matter of instincts because he dosent even bother to think about the urge to speak. Idealism is the idea of mind over matter. Toward the ending of the story the Mariner had already tried everyting physically possible to fix his situation and all he had left to do was beg and pray, which turned out to be the right thing to do. Inspiration is the idea of getting an idea from anything, which is probably why he shot the albatross. Individuality was definetly a theme because he was the only one left on the boat at the end. For these reasons I feel the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" was a Romantic novel.

Big Question for The Hunger Games

My big question for the Hunger Games is wether or not one person has the power to change an entire society. In the story Katniss goes to the Games completely confused and unsure what she is going to do. She is confused, angry, and very depressed. But as soon as she enters the arena she is only thinking of one thing and that is her survival. Once the gamemakers mention that the tributes from one district can both survive, her thinking shifts from what she wants to where Peeta is and what he needs right now. Once the games are almost over and they are the only two left another announcement comes on saying that the two can no longer survive together. She says that she is no longer able to live with out him so they both fake taking a posin berry that will kill both of them until the Gamemakers change what they said. This begins an instant change and uprising in the district challenging the Capitols power and changing the entire society.

Maslows

In the book "God Grew Tired of Us" Maslows Heirarchy plays a role in John Bul Dau's escape from his village. Maslows Hierarchy says that a person must satisfy the lower needs in order to climb the ladder toward the ultimate goal. It starts with Physiological (Health, Food, Sleep), Safety (Shelter, Removal from danger), Belonging (Love, Affection, Being a part of groups), Esteem (Self-esteem and esteem from others), Self-actualisation (Achieving individual potential). In the book when John's village goes under a firestorm of bullets and literal fire he runs for his life and knows one thing, he must follow the second step and remove himself from the dangerous situation. So the first thing he does is make sure that he gets enough sleep and food to make the long journey out of sudan, following the first step of Maslows Hierarchy. When he gets to America he finds a new world with seemingly endless possiblities for him to change his country and bring peace to his people, satisfying the top three steps.

Sneetches Blog

The story of the Sneetches is an allegory because it has the literal meaning of separating the Sneetches with stars on their bellies and Sneetches with out. But i believe it also has a symbolic meaning, and that that meaning is the segregation of races. Because the Sneetches with stars always though that they were better until they all began going through the machine, they all then realized that they were all the same and their only difference was their stars. This very much relates to the segregation of the races because the whites always thought they were better doing things and ignoring the black people. But in the end of the story all the Sneetches learned they were equal just like America is starting to do now. This point is the point I believe that Dr. Seuss was trying to prove with his story. That everyone is equal no matter what they look like. This is definetly the moral of the story.

Big Question

Is immortality worth it? In the book Interview with a Vampire Louis turns himself immortal to escape the pain of his brothers death. But over and over again he asks himself if he made the right choice. He sees death all around him, he wants desperately to die. Also because he is a vampire he has to miss important events in his life like his sisters wedding, his mother's funeral and the love of his life. He has to explain to young Claudia why she can never age, how her mother died and how she became a vampire. He also has no way to escape the pain of his past life. He can't just forget it and these memories live with him forever, going wherever he goes. Lestat is no help to him. The one who created Louis is also his most hated enemy. Louis desires nothing but to escape Lestat, but Lestat tells him he does not know enough to survive on his own.So the person he hates most in the world is by his side until the end of time, and even if Louis escapes Lestat has all the time in the world to find him again. He can never escape his past, his enemies or even his fate. To be doomed to walk the earth for eternity. So the question comes back around, was his choice of Immortality worth it?

Book Theme

The Book "The Clockwork Three" follows the lives of three teens, following their daily lives in late 19th century address. The three children are often facing hard times, frequently relating to financial troubles. But, the story often then tells how the children decide their fate with their choices. In the case of Giuseppe, He struggles with paying his padron, Stephano, on a daily basis, while trying to hide his savings to try and escape and run back to Italy. In Frederick's life, he struggles with finding the right parts to his machine so that he can become a master Clock-maker  and finally raise the money to find his real mother. Hannah struggles from a lot of the same money troubles but, she is the only one with a job and a steady income. But her father was struck with a disease and is no longer able to work, so all money she makes goes to her families tenement housing, her father's treatment, her sisters schooling and food for all of them. They are all pressed to the point of theft, Giuseppe stealing from Stephano, Frederick stealing the head he needs from the guild, and Hannah stealing the diamond necklace from Miss Pomerey.  All of the kids have financial trouble and family trouble, however they thrive with what they have. Which is why I believe that the theme of the book is that hard work will pay off in the end, and that through all of their struggles they will find success.