Betsey Brown

I wasn't very fond of this novel. The ending left a bit to be desired. I just felt like it was incomplete, I guess. I was expecting Carrie to come back and when she didn't I was like... Oh... :( I understand why Betsey's mom fired Carrie... That's like, duh... But still, I mean their relationship was like a mother/daughter relationship. That's just disappointing to a reader. Other than that, I really am not sure what to say. I just was disappointed with the novel. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it didn't seem controversial to me (except maybe when the white teacher didn't know black poets). I just felt that there were many directions the novel could've gone and it didn't. Like the ending... She's contemplating life? We went through that with her, it was like a recap. If I wanted to recap, I could just go on sparknotes. That seems like a waste of pages... I don't know, just disappointing to me... Sorry... :(

Essay Outline

For my essay, I am going to concentrate on how authors choose to speak in an adolescent voice, even though they may be much older than the character they chose to portray in their novels. Obviously, I will set this up with a beginning paragraph (introduction) explaining what I am going to talk about and why. Ideally, what I wanted to talk about is a comparison to a novel I have currently read that featured a teenage character and then one of the ones that we have discussed in class (this is all of the information for the bulk of my paper). If I can do that (I still need to check and make sure) then I would probably be using The Last Song, by Nicholas Sparks, and Charlotte Temple, because that is my favorite novel in class so far. I think it would be interesting to compare the two, especially because of the amount of time when they were written. I would discuss what is taboo during each time and focus on the obstacles each character has to overcome and why they are so relevant to the time period in which they are written. Also, I think that the message of the novels needs to be discussed as well, because each novel was written for a specific purpose. If I can't use The Last Song, I will just use another novel we have read in class. Lastly, I will do a conclusion paragraph summing up what I have talked about.

Huck Finn

I honestly have to say that I can't stand reading Huck Finn. I don't like that it is written in slang, though I totally understand why Twain did it. However, I like watching the movies. I think it is just hard for me to read because I can't even stand when people talk in slang. It is just confusing to me. I really think that if the story would be edited and written in proper English and there were the original version and a proper English version, I would enjoy reading it more, because I really like the story lines. That said, I obviously had a hard time reading it and probably missed information because I drifted off while reading it. Again, I understand why it is written in slang, and it was controversial for the time it was written, which I appreciate when an author does that, because they are usually trying to make a point. I wish I could have read it without a bias, but it really didn't happen. I tried, which I guess is all one could ask for. I will just stick to watching the movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

Modern Charlotte Temple

My modern day version of Charlotte Temple would basically leave the characters with the same names. I really liked their names. Here are the changes:



When Charlotte gets pregnant and Montraville decides to marry Julia, Charlotte goes mad. Since she is against abortion, she won't get rid of the baby. She goes to confront Julia on her wedding day and her and Julia get into a fight. Charlotte ends up falling down the stairs and goes to the hospital, where she learns she has had a miscarriage. Julia blamed the entire fight on Charlotte, so Montraville doesn't believe that Charlotte is innocent. Charlotte becomes depressed and believes that no man will ever love her again. La Rue gives Charlotte several ideas of how to get over Montraville, one of which is to have a sex change and become a man. Charlotte, being young and impressionable, falls in love with this idea, as she thinks she won't be able to have children ever again. Afterall, no man will love her, she may as well start liking women. Charlotte goes away to Mexico to have her sex change operation, and in the meantime, Montraville hears about what happens and finds out the truth from a guilt-stricken Julia. He heads to Mexico to get an annulment and then goes to find Charlotte. However, before he can get to her, Charlotte has had a successful sex change operation and she is now a man. Charlotte, now Charlie, learns that Montraville is right outside her hospital room. Charlie allows Montraville to see him and Montraville apologizes and confesses his undying love to Charlie. As soon as Charlie hears this, he is overwhelmed with emotions. He apologizes for everything that happened with Julia and tells Montraville he still loves him and has never stopped. Montraville says he will love Charlie even as a man, and when Charlie is released from the hospital, they plan to get married. They also plan to adopt a child in a 3rd world country (after hearing about Angelina Jolie's adoptions) and live happily ever after.