reading

April 14, 2014

Response to ‘Divergent’ Lesson in Human Depravity.

Dear Jerry,

Today I am going to be writing a brief review to an article written by David Mathis on the book and movie Divergent. I really appreciated his comments and thoughts about the story. In the article, he talks about human depravity and “finding the christian fingerprints” throughout the story. Many people may not be aware of the fact that the author of Divergent, Veronica Roth, is a professing Christian.

Throughout the plot line of Divergent, there are evidences of real biblical truth. Roth makes the point of not painting a picture of partial human depravity but rather a picture of total depravity. Even though most of the Divergent plot line follows a typical dystopian worldview, Roth does not let her faith fall through the cracks.

I really enjoyed learning from David Mathis in this review. I would greatly recommend it. This article not only helps us look deeper into Divergent, but also sets an outline for us to use when looking at other books and stories.

A good book will always have deeper meanings hidden in it, but only for those who are willing to look.

We must be willing to look.

Hannah

 

(Here is the link to the original article: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/divergent-lesson-in-human-depravity)

February 7, 2014

Breaking Down Dystopia: Divergent – Part 1

Dear Jerry,

This is the first blog of a 3 part series that I, along with my three other high school classmates, am doing on Dystopian worlds, their breakdowns, and the outcome of those breakdowns. I am excited about doing this series and I can’t wait to break down Dystopia with you.

In Veronica Roth’s book titled Divergent, she puts you into a seemingly perfect world with a flawless system of balance. In this world, they are dedicated to pursuing and cultivating your most prominent virtue. Therefore, pretty much squelching the other virtues.

This system is separated into five factions. They are: Amity, Erudite, Abnegation, Candor and Dauntless.

Amity: The Peaceful. They value peace and seek in everything they do.

Erudite: The Intelligent. They believe ignorance is just a lack of knowledge.

Abnegation: The Selfless. They value selflessness and the service of others.

Candor: The Honest. They are very truthful and frankly and tactlessly say what they feel.

Dauntless: The Brave. They strive to become fearless and indestructible.

These are the five factions that separate this balanced society. On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-old’s must select the faction in which they will live for the rest of their lives after taking a placement test. Before that, they live in the faction their parents chose at age sixteen. On this day, all the factions come together to watch the Choosing ceremony. The ceremony takes place only after each eligible child has taken Aptitude test, which tests them and tells them what Faction matches their proficiency. But ultimately, the child still makes the choice, though it is rare for them to go against their test results. They are called up one by one to make their selection. At the end of the day they then go to their new home which is whatever faction they chose, to stay there for the rest of their lives. Then it is all balanced again until the next choosing ceremony.

Beatrice Prior is Abnegation born and there is no doubt in anyones mind that she will pick Abnegation as her faction at her Choosing ceremony. That is, in everyones minds, except hers. All her life she has been instructed in the Abnegation ways of selflessness. But she isn’t sure it is the faction for her. And when her test comes back inclusive, she is even more terrified and confused. That is where I will pick next week. What is it that threw off this perfectly balanced world?

Hannah

February 3, 2014

Breaking Down Dystopia: The Hunger Games – Part 1

Dear Jerry,

Throughout the next three weeks I am going to be on the topic of ‘The Hunger Games’. In our culture today, we have become fascinated with these dystopia books, and we (the OneRoom bloggers) want to break it down, and show what it is about these books that we love so much.

Every dystopia book starts with this idea of a utopia. Now, you may be asking, “what is a utopia? And what is a dystopia?” Well a utopia is when an author makes a perfect world, and a dystopia is when that “perfect world” breaks down and begins to fall apart, or break out of its pattern. That is where The Hunger Games starts, and that is what I am going to write about.

In The Hunger Games, the Capital has tried to make their world and culture perfect for them, by separating Panam into districts that work for them in very specific ways. They have every need of theirs met without them having to lift a finger for it. For example, district 12 contributes to this by working as coal miners, for the Capital. District 11 is agricultural, District 4 handles the fishing, and so on.

For the Capital, everything is good. They have everything they want, with nice clothes, an abundance of food, and nice houses. They even have, once a year, a reality show that they put on, called The Hunger Games.They put on these “games” that every year every district must offer up two young people, one male, and one female, to fight till the death in an arena that the Capital makes, while everyone watches on TV. They do this to try and scare the Districts, so they don’t start another uprising to destroy their “perfect” Capital. So for the Capital, their lives are pretty perfect, (or so they think) until one young lady, named Katniss Everdeen, comes along and begins to rock the boat.

That is where I will pick up next week, so stay tuned!

-Maddy

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December 3, 2013

My Favorite Fiction Book(s) And Why I love Them

Dear Jerry,

 

Ever since I first learned to read, I have been reading books like a maniac. One of my favorite pastimes had been reading. I loved to read anything from magazines to novels and mysteries to thrillers. My parents (very wisely) withheld any and all handheld electronic devices until I was eleven and even then I was only allowed to have a small iPod Nano. Our family first got a video game console last year at Christmas. We got a (used) Nintendo Wii. It was our first leap into the video game world and even then the Wii was already laughably outdated. Even though I am now a staunch fan of anything Call Of Duty, I still enjoy reading much more than any video games. I am a much better person because of my parents decision to withhold video games until we all had developed a love for reading. I am now fifteen, and I thank my parents for letting me develop a love of reading before a love of video games.

My favorite fiction book(s) ever are the Restoration series by Terri Blackstock. All her works of fiction have strong spiritual themes. The first book of the Restoration Series is called Last Light. These four books tell the story of the Branning family in Alabama. The Brannings are a wealthy family that live in an upscale neighborhood in the suburbs of Alabama. They have several kids and one of them was just about to be married. The wedding had to be called off by the occurrence of the Pulses. The Pulses were caused by a giant supernova of a huge star. The supernova generates several ElectroMagnetic Pulses many times every second and they have knocked out every instrument or device that runs on Silicone computer chips. Factories, power plants, water treatment plants, cars, trucks, generators, cell phones, iPods and everything else that contains a silicone chip are knocked out until the Pulses stop. The Brannings have to deal with several kids and they work through their physical and spiritual troubles without all of the modern comforts that they had grown used to. The situation is augmented by a thief and murderer who is robbing and killing the residents of their once peaceful neighborhood. The story is full of suspense and doubles as a good spiritual book and a mystery/thriller. This book is a must read book for teenagers and adults.

Sincerely yours,

Zachary.

October 5, 2013

Don’t make my opinion your opinion

Dear Jerry,

As you might know I’m a reader. I read and read and read some more. I’m always on the hunt for more books to dive into. So when a dear friend and fellow reader recommended The Hunger Games series to me, I decided to check it out. Several members of my family read it and found it very intriguing, and ended up finishing the rest of the series. Many people have asked me what I thought about the book. I’ve been asked why I would read a book about kids killing other kids? Now I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone who hasn’t read it yet, so let me just say this: I would encourage you that if you are going to read this book or any other book for that matter, do so with an open mind. You may read some of it and decide you really don’t like it. That’s fine. I disagree with some really great people about this book and that’s ok. But please don’t make a quick judgment before you know what you’re judging.

The Hunger Games is one of my favorite books and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to think while they read. (If they were my age, I would encourage them to run it by their parents first.) I enjoy fiction books that make me think. And this book certainly does. I thoroughly enjoyed it and its sequels. I am excited to see the second movie in theaters this November. But that is my opinion. This is just a small thing that applies to quite a lot things in life. Don’t go with the flow just because it’s easy. Don’t make my opinion your opinion. Think and take time to form your opinion.

– Hannah