World War Z: Mary Miller

The character my group focused on from World War Z was Mary Jo Miller. Her story told from San Diego, California was quite haunting to me. Her story is more focused on an actual attack from the zombies. As we discussed in class, her attitude was quite apathetic and just "whatever" about the zombies, until it was literally in her own home. In her story, her and her children are able to flee to safety, but it is never clear if her husband committed suicide from being bitten by a zombie, or if he sacrificed himself and was killed by a zombie. Her story put into perspective for me how scary and serious this all really was.

World War Z

Oops, I've been forgetting to post!


So, I really enjoy World War Z.  It reminds me of a very serious Zombieland (for those who have seen it) in how I picture things going on.  The interviews that are more action-packed, I find more interesting than those just explaining what was going on behind the scenes.  I'd say my favorite and most impacting interview that I have read so far had to do with Sharon from Kansas.  It is eerie to hear a story of a zombie attack coming from a child-like perspective.  It was a really chilling scenario in my opinion.

Database

After doing some research about the different databases, I believe the WorldCat database, included in the Literature and Language section, will help me most with this paper.  I will be conducting my paper about The Uglies and possibly tie in something about The People of the Sand and the Slag.  The WorldCat database is very broad and has many files of information and sources that could help me with this paper.

For my major, Nursing, I found a database that would help a lot.  Under the Health Sciences section I found a Nursing database.  This will help me receive information about my future career and all that is entitled to it.

My preferred database would be the Nursing one because it directly pertains to my major and future.  It will benefit me for many more reasons than the WorldCat database, though that one will be helpful as well, at least for my paper.

Dr. Strangelove

Dr. Strangelove is trying to send off a message of humor about the nuclear scares occurring in 1964.  The director used humorous characters and speaking lines to give the movie a lighter tone and to clearly convey that it is not a serious movie.  General Buck Turgidson, to me personally, was the most humorous character because he would act extremely serious, but everything coming out of his mouth was a complete joke.  Another funny scene with General Buck Turgidson is he is receiving a very important call regarding whether to allow the drop of the hydrogen bomb but he was too "busy" in a room with a woman.  I believe these two scenarios are effective because if this were a real life situation, there is no way possible that Generals would be making mockery of a nuclear bomb drop or be too occupied with a woman to do their actual job.  I feel like the world after the bomb being dropped off would relate to The Road.  I feel like both lands would appear similarly desolate and humans would either be dead or on the verge of it.

Final Post for the Uglies

So, on the whole I enjoyed the Uglies and it was a very intriguing read.  I was sad about the fact that David's father, Az, had died under the hands of being experimented on by the Specials.  I was surprised by the fact that only Shay had been turned into a Pretty when Tally and David arrived as the rescue party.  I figured all the captives would have either been turned Pretty or killed.  I really hate the way the book ended, I have to admit.  It was entirely too abrupt and left me hanging, but I suppose that was the point since it is a series.  On the whole though, the message I got out of the book was that it is okay to be Pretty, in a sense, as long as your head and your heart are still true to yourself.

Third Part of the Uglies

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about Shay's experience in the Smoke. I thought it was so cool how the Smoke had a library of magazines that they thought were so sacred and strange in their own way.  It was interesting for them to see our real life generation's models and famous people as an Ugly since they had not undergone the surgery.  Later, it was interesting hearing about David's parents experience and research when it comes to the surgery of becoming a Pretty.  I must admit though, it was pretty anticlimactic for me personally to come to know that during the surgery they also change leisures in your brain.  It was pretty obvious to me that after the surgery something had to be almost brainwashed so that the new Pretties thought differently.

Second Part of The Uglies

So, I loved Tally's journey to the Smoke.  Shay's notes and clues were very intriguing to try and decipher for myself and then see what would actually be the outcome.  I think my favorite part was when Tally had a run in with the helicopter.  It was cool to see that some of the old Rusties' world still had an actual physical role with the present world.  And the controlling of the flowers was interesting that the Rangers had carried on what would be our present day's work of plant/pest control.

First Part of the Uglies

The first part of the Uglies is alright to me.  I think I thought I was going to enjoy the book more than I am.  It's written well and the story line is good, but I can't get over the names of "littlies" and "pretties" etc.  To my the word choices are childish and they really bother me.
ANYWAYS, about the book itself.  I love the hope of Tally's character.  She is feisty and clearly sad about not being with Peris and being a Pretty yet, but she keeps hope and looks forward.  Even though being a Pretty may not be the best thing, it seems like Tally REALLY wants to stay true to who she is, even after becoming a Pretty.  The book and Shay almost frustrate me because I want Tally to become a Pretty because it seems as if it is the right thing to do, but I can tell that it isn't and there is more to becoming a pretty than has let on so far.
Until the next post..

Uglies.. Again

So I went through and read about each of the books again and I still definitely want to read The Uglies.  The other books look interesting but the one that really stands out to me is this one.  The book seems to have suspense and a mystery type twist to it so I think it looks really great.  So in short, I want to read The Uglies!

Abstracts

From what I have gathered from pages 19-21, an abstract is very precise on sticking close to the point it is trying to make.  Some things an abstract are just your basics: topic, graphs, and specifics.  Abstracts are short and usually around 75-100 words.  By using the abstract method with my conclusion and research part of the I-search project I think I will be able to cover a lot of material in short simple ways which will be easier to retain the information I am trying to explain.

The Road

So I really need to crack down in reading The Road, but even where I am at in the book is beginning to show the desperation in the father and son's situation.  After the father had to kill the man that had grabbed his son, everything else seemed to go down hill more, if that was even possible.  The father had to wash out the man's blood and insides off of his own son, with freezing, painful, cold water.  It's snowing.  And they are running out of food.  How much worse could this get for this family?  Even through the desperation and hard times they are going through, I can feel sense the love between the two which at this point, I find, is there only hope.

The Road: Close Reading

While reading the The Road I have wondered if the main characters would ever run into anybody living.  Finally they find a man limping along the road.  Then, with the boy wanting to help, an argument comes about.  This is the first type of dispute between the man and the boy that would actually affect their relationship and communication with each other.
The young boy asks more than once "Can we help him Papa?" but he was just shot down by his father each time (50).  The next morning the father wants to justify himself and he says "There's nothing we could have done" and the boy did not respond (52).  The father briefly explains himself and the situation to his son, and then all seems to be well.
This back and forth kind of argument, I feel, reflects the amount of love the father has for the son.  I was able to sense just how much the father seemed upset over the fact that his son was mad and almost disappointed in him for not helping the man without hope. 
While this shows the father's love for his son, I feel it also shows a sense of hope.  To live without his son's good terms and approval there would be no reason to live, also.  He did not want to go on with his son upset at him, he wanted them to carry on with good terms which is a sign of strength and perserverance through their journey to the south.

Uglies

I would like to read Uglies by Scott Westerfield.  The book reflects how I feel our society would run things if it were allowed to do so.  Our society nowadays is so caught up on all looking the same in this “perfect” light and it appears that is what the idea of the book is also.  The character Tally is inspiring by the fact that she in a sense turns her back on becoming a “pretty”.  If an apocalypse occurred, I could see our society taking advantage of the little amount of people to transform it into a perfect community.  This book takes a very interesting and intriguing direction at what would happen if an apocalypse occurred.