Books I've Read This Year

Here are the following books I've read this semester:
"Skud" by Dennis Foon
"in Fifty Years We'll all be chicks" by Adam Carolla
"Yellow Line" by Sylvia Olsen
"Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
"Ancient Wisdom, Modern World" by the Dalai Lama
"the Blind Side" by Michael Lewis

An Inductive Leap too Far

For my last blog post, I'm covering the book "Skud" by Dennis Foon: Foon, Dennis. Skud. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2003. Print. The inductive leap appears when Tommy sees Andy make out with his ex-girlfriend, Sheila, and then talks about it with his best friend Brad. Brad insists that because Andy made out with Sheila, (even though they were just acting for a school play) that a proper punishment would be for them to beat up Andy after school. "You have to draw the line in the sand. Make it very clear to the world that no more trespasses will be tolerated. If you do not, there will be a feeding frenzy. The enemy will pick your bones."(17) This is inductive because just because Andy made out with Sheila for a play, Tommy didn't have to act this way. What Tommy and Brad did to Andy was despicable; as they not only beat him up, but humiliated him in public as well. Luckily Shane came in to help Andy out, or things could've taken a turn for the worse. This part is important because it kick starts Sheila and Tommy's rough times together as a couple, which ends with Tommy going to jail for raping Sheila. I think that it's safe to say that if Tommy and Andy could've just talked things out without violence, it would've been a much better alternative to what happened, for everyone involved.

Blog Post: Style

The book I'm writing about is "Skud" by Dennis Foon: Foon,
 Dennis. Skud. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2003. Print.
A poetic device that I found in this book is Point of View. The point of view is first person, but the Author switches the first person perspective to different characters throughout the story (Brad, Andy, Tommy). "She doesn't look up. She's crying, her face down. I try to kiss her but she turns her head. I see the marks I put on her arms, her neck. Bruises."(147) This is important because it represents the climax of the Tommy's relationship struggles with his ex-girlfriend Sheila. He loves her very much; but after his best friend Brad told him he and Sheila slept together, this pushes Tommy over the edge. He goes to her house and eventually sexually abuses her, "Was I as good?" This is where Tommy has hit rock bottom; as he walks back home, only to be charged and imprisoned shortly thereafter. The author uses his point of view so you can FEEL what he feels as he rapes Sheila, it's almost like you're in the scene as well. The author also uses Brad's point of view so that we can see his motive for lying to Tommy, it was based on jealousy, "I look at my most recent handiwork, the charred smell wafting through my nostrils. And I look at him, the big man of the school, so straight and perfect, everything was so right for him, everything wrong for me."(134)

Blog Post: Social Issues

The book I'm writing about now is called "Skud", by Dennis Foon. Here is a citation for it: Foon, Dennis. Skud. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2003. Print.
The social issue I will be covering in this blog post is jealousy. When Tommy sees his Ex-Girlfriend(Sheila) kissing Andy, he gets insecure and jealous, because he still loves Sheila. Tommy: "But I love you". Sheila: "What does that mean?" Tommy: "Everything we do together. Everything we are. The swings at the park, bonfires at the beach, climbing the Grouse Grind..." "I stop. My words are like .22 bullets against reinforced steel. She's impervious. I can't make a mark on her. My head starts to pound again".(8) This is an important social issue because when Tommy later tells his friend Brad what he saw, Brad insists that Tommy kicks his ass as retribution for Andy's treachery. "This guy's a twig, Tom. Snap him in two." After Tommy agrees, they find Andy after school and beat him up, but not before Shane(leader of the TMR gang) shows up to help Andy. This is a social issue because if Tommy wasn't jealous when he saw Sheila and Andy kissing in a acting scene, he wouldn't have decided to beat up Andy and Shane wouldn't have interfered. This is also important because since it happens at the beginning of the story; it pulls you in, as you want to know how Tommy's problems with Andy and Sheila will be solved. Lastly; this is important because it changes how the reader feels about Shane. At first, you think that he's a thug and a punk. Yet after Shane rushes in to help Andy, you start to feel like Shane is not as bad as you once thought.