Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Fictional Characters

3.
The first character I read about was Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins. His character has played on our culture's facination with serial killers. Lecter is so facinating because he plays a cold blooded serial killer, and yet he has somewhat of a soft spot. His character also shows his vounerabilities. One of the main ways his character is obviously fictional is the fact that he does care somewhat about one person. He has a soft spot for Agt. Clarice Starling. If his character was a real serial killer he wouldn't even have a soft spot for her.

The second character I read about was Cookie Monster. He is facinating because he is a puppet that is obsessed with cookies. He is important because he is a funloving monster that even though he is obsessed with cookies he always finds a nice way to get them. Everybody loves him. When there were rumors about him being replaced with a veggie monster thousands of people signed a petition to stop it from happening. That is one loved monster if you ask me.

4.
A character that holds interest to me is J.D. from Scrubs. He is important because he represents pretty much everybody. His character is so intreguing because he shows the flaws that everybody has in them as well. He is nerdy, silly, loveable, kind to others, and on the negative side he can be needy, sometimes greedy, and even a jerk. These are qualities that everybody possesses, and that makes him easy to relate to. Even when he is being a jerk he eventually finds a way to make it right. Because of this he is a good representation of our society.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Importance of Stories

Part 1:
Stories are important to childhood because they teach kids many things. People read stories to kids because they teach them many skills, and they can teach kids lessons. Stories can teach kids colors, numbers, and rhyming. They can also teach kids morals and things like that. Being read to also helps improve their language skills, and they can even teach kids to be creative.

Part 2:
Much like kids, older people read stories to further education. Reading makes us aware of important problems that we might otherwise not know. Stories teach us more complex lessons and morals. They also can lead us to a higher level of thinking. Stories also can be an escape. They let you leave our world behind and transport you to a sometimes fictional world of wonder.

Part 3:
I think a lot of times the people of our nation look to books for an escape. They flock to them because the stories offer them a place to get away from the troubles of our world, and lets them get wraped up in fictional issues. In the case of non-fictional stories, they make people aware of what is going on. Those stories give people common ground, and can also aid in the process of fixing some of the problems. Stories allow the writters to express themselves, and bring up important topics. They allow readers to be educated, and to learn the viewpoints of other people.

Part 4:
I liked rhyms when I was little. I really liked Shell Silverstine, and people like him. One of my favorite books was a book that I call "Pidy Widy". That wasn't the real name, but in my head that name stuck. I also liked it when people made up stories. I would give my dad certain criteria, and he would have to make up a story with those exact specifications. I had my parents read to me every night before I went to sleep up until middle school.

Part 5: Characteristics of a well-told storyDevelop a list of 7-10 characteristics that stories should have. Be specific. Do not just say that "stories should have good characters." What makes a character good? Think about what the author should do and how the reader should feel when reading.

1. Descriptiveness
2. Flow
3. Round characters
4. Plot
5. Conflict
6. Foreshadowing
7. Theme
8. Point of view
9. Accurate punctuation
10. If a factual story, use accurate facts.