Dreams and Ambitions

Peter Nguyen

The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho

      

Dreams and Ambitions

In a modern world, we are too busy constantly juggling many things such as school, work, friends, etc. We no longer wonder the meaning of life and its purpose as our lives are too shallow and fast paced to wonder such deep questions. Paulo Coelho manages to spark those questions in us with his adventure story.

The Alchemist follows the story of a young shepherd boy named Santiago who spends his life tending to a flock of sheep and traveling to many towns in Spain selling wool. He originates from a family of farmers and becomes a shepherd for a simple reason; he wants to travel to new places and meet new people, which is something farming never allowed him to do. He plans to head to a town where he met a beautiful girl the previous year and plans to be with her. On his way there, he meets a gypsy who reads his recurring dream if finding a treasure near the Pyramids in Egypt. The gypsy tells him that he needs to travel to the Pyramids and promise her 1/10 of the treasure. He then meets a man named Melchizedek who claims he is a king and is able to tell him impossible things that a stranger wouldn’t know and do impossible acts, which makes sense as magic is an established standard in The Alchemist. This man tells him about Personal Legends in which he has to follow his omens, much like the Gypsy told him. He follows their advice and leaves his life as a shepherd to find the treasure. He sells his sheep and heads off to Tangier, where he begins his journey to the treasure.

The first few chapters came off as overrated and fairly dull, as nothing much happened and the insight on Santiago was boring and uninspiring. However, as I read on, I became much more interested in the plot and saw The Alchemist not just as a book but as a philosophy lesson. The main overall message of the book and Santiago’s actions is to ‘follow your dreams.’ There's nothing wrong with this and I can appreciate what Coelho does, but I just find his themes and messages generic. There's no doubt that the book is very well written as I found myself constantly wanting to find out what happens next. I haven’t finished the book yet but I already feel that the book’s ending is very predictable. The whole premise of the book is that ‘it’s not about the destination, it's about the journey’, which is pretty cliche and standard in adventure books. Other than that, Coelho clearly and effectively integrates themes into his book such as dreams.

Despite finding the novel’s themes bland, I enjoyed the fact that Coelho doesn’t just give Santiago an obstacle or a few to overcome like a stereotypical adventure book, but gives him things a normal person could relate to. For instance, Santiago is tempted to give up many times such as before he meets Melchizedek and when he gets all of his earnings stolen at the market in Tangier. In addition, he’s also tempted to do other things such as staying comfortable and living a normal life as a shepherd. Even with these small drawbacks, Santiago is undeterred and pushes on to pursue his dream. While talking to the gypsy, he thinks “...for a moment that it would be better to pay her fee and leave without learning a thing, that he was giving too much importance to his recurrent dream.” (Coelho 47) At this moment, he is about to give it up and stay in his comfort zone, but he decides to take a risk instead.

One pretty obvious major theme is dreams and desires. From the beginning, we can see that the protagonist is a dreamer, as he is a shepherd that comes come a poor family of farmers. He spends his days and nights thinking about the people he met on his journey and the places he's been to. When talking to the gypsy, “He thought for a moment that it would be better to pay her fee and leave without learning a thing, that he was giving too much importance to his recurrent dream.” (Coelho 47), which shows that he gets discouraged after talking to her because her interpretation of him having to go to the pyramids was so literal. However, he later regains his belief in dreams when he meets Melchizedek, who tells him about Personal Legends. Personal Legends are a main contributing factor to the theme of dreams in the book as Melchizedek states “it's the desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on Earth.”(Coelho 22) Personal Legends are people’s dreams and desires that are destined to be fulfilled and through Santiago’s desires and journey, Coelho uses this to relay the message that you should follow your dreams.

Even though I find his messages generic, I still think the book is very well written and all of the messages are smoothly integrated into the story. I only read about the first half of the book but from what I read, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys philosophy, enjoys adventure, or has many ambitions. Personally, I didn’t like the book that much just because of the basic messages and themes but I feel like this book can be inspiring to people with dreams and things they want to accomplish because it's the story of a boy who dreams big and works hard to achieve that goal despite all of his setbacks and situation.

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

Hailey Amaro
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Ever watched a mother commit suicide while holding two of her three children? Ever had to start a new life? Welcome to Rachel’s world. Rachel Morse is the only survivor of a tragic accident that killed off her immediate family and because of this she becomes this “new girl” (Durrow 52). With her father stationed on a military base in Germany, Rachel is sent to live with her paternal grandmother who believes that a girl’s only hope is to “catch a lizard” (Durrow 8). Rachel often finds herself looking up to her Aunt Loretta who does the opposite of everything her mom tells her to.
The novel revolves around tragedy, racism, and social hierarchy differences seeing as though Rachel is the only biracial in her entire town. Personally, I would recommend this novel in a heartbeat. It’s mysterious, and it talks about real world issues such as class differences and the racism that is deeply embedded in America. The people that would thoroughly enjoy this book are people who enjoy books incorporate political issues into the storyline.

The Marilyn book of Marilyn books

Riley Buchanan

The Many Live of Marilyn Monroe by Sarah Churchwell

         Just as the title states this is truly the biography to end all biographies! I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. It's a hard thing to do to write about a woman that has been written about probably thousands of times but Churchwell did it fabulously. This may be because, as she states, “nearly every book begins with the same question: who was the woman that became Marilyn Monroe? But this book asks a different question: who was the woman Marilyn Monroe became?” (10). The book after all is titled “The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe” so I was hoping - and this hope did become true - that the book was going to be a little more philosophical than the average Marilyn Monroe biography.

         I'm only finished with about one fourth of the book but so far it chronicles how Norma Jean became Marilyn Monroe; why it was perfect timing in society for her and her sexuality to take the spotlight; if that sexuality came to her naturally or if she had to constantly work to create this persona; how this persona turned her into more of a brand than a human being; and even a discussion about the worthwhile debate over if she was ever even a good actress in the first place. This is a massive amount of information for a book to cover within only 25% of its pages and I think it's amazing for a biography to dive more into the “why” than just the “who”, which is why I've enjoyed this book so much. A typical biography on the most sexed-up, glamourous, desired, rich, famous, and yet tragic woman would include lists of her movies and boyfriends or husbands and hobbies and public appearances and cultural phenomenons and conspiracies but this was so different. Instead of just being provided with facts or ideas or theories about Marilyn to piece together her life, Churchwell provides analysis that she's made on her own and kind of leaves you to finish the puzzle and draw your own conclusions yourself.

          For example, when discussing Marilyn Monroe’s brand she says “her trademarks are her sexual body, and particularly her half-closed eyes and half-opened mouth” (34), she goes on to say “narcissism (and exhibitionism) make the performance of sexuality natural - to her” (35). She lays out the facts with the first quote and interprets them in the second, I could have taken the facts and interpreted them myself or ran with her interpretation, which I did. I agreed that Marilyn was very naturally sexy but that she played that part up so much on screen and in any photograph that she couldn't just shake it off when she wanted to. I think she associated sex and even glamour so closely to herself that it's all viewers thought of when they saw her, which meant it was all Hollywood would ever want from her. Even if it wasn't all she had to offer, it may as well have been because it was all anyone - audience or production company - would ever want from her again. Isn't that an interesting thought? It's nothing I would ever thought of had Churchwell's ideas not prompted me to do so.

         Drawing these conclusions on my own have been a part of every single theme that Churchwell wrote about in her book so far (which are listed above in the first sentence of the second paragraph) and I've been able to connect all of those conclusions and decide that a kind of “perfect storm” was responsible for turning Marilyn into who - or what - she has become. Some factors of that storm were out of her favor and control and some factors were completely in it if you ask me. I’d dive into more detail on that theory but if I pushed what I believe the real life of Marilyn Monroe to be on you, then I would be ruining the whole purpose of this book.

          I believe this wonderfully written book was created by Churchwell for people who want to read a biography that they have to think about, not just one that tells them the most important dates in a person's life, so that's exactly who I'd recommend it to. If you're the type of person that loves biographies, pop culture, and connecting the dots then you'll love this piece. It doesn't tell you simply who Marilyn Monroe was, because there's hardly a correct answer to that, but it helps you decide who you think she was then, is today, and why that's the case. You don't have to love Marilyn Monroe alone to enjoy this book because although it is obviously all about her, it connects her story to sociology, psychology, sexuality, exploitation and corruption in Hollywood, 1950s American culture, feminism, acting, and obviously fame, both the price people are willing to pay for it and all the baggage it truly comes with (which has never failed to be an interesting thought to ponder).

A Hidden End

A Hidden End

Loren Salguero

Sanctum by Madeleine Roux

“How was he supposed to forget that he had been strapped down to a gurney and almost killed?” (35). What would you do if you lived your life with your destiny in someone else’s hands? This, is how Daniel Crawford and his two friends, Abby and Jordan, live their lives after being attacked and haunted by demons and people at an asylum. Sanctum by Madeleine Roux talks about the aftermath of three teenagers attending a college program over the summer. While they are there, they visit an asylum that was ran by a very cruel man many years ago that happened to be a relative of Daniel’s -- “Dan felt this was a hole in his personal history, a mystery that he very much needed to solve” (13). There is not much said about what happens to Daniel and his friends but throughout the book, they do reveal mini events. After that summer, they start their senior year but continue to have nightmares about what had happened.

Daniel, Abby, and Jordan recieve a picture either through mail or in person by a psychotic and most likely possessed old roommate that almost murdered them all. Haunting them all, the three pictures would not let them escape their shivering past: “You’re not finished” (36). They join a program at the same school they went to during the summer so they can return to the asylum and find out why they are not finished yet.

This book definitely grabbed my attention the first time I began to read it. Immediately, there was suspense and mystery. This was my first time reading a book like this so I believe that is why I was so interested right away. After continuing to read more of the book, I began getting a bit tired of all the suspense. For example, “He was almost the one doing the killing” (24). At this part, no other follow up questions were answered; Why would he do the killing? Who was he about to kill? How? I just wanted to know what happened at the asylum so badly. All the suspense would make a normal person want to read more; however, It just got me really bored after being halfway through the book and still not having an idea of what went on. I definitely recommend this book to lovers of mystery; this book was full of suspense with all its clues and uncertainty. I do not recommend this book to people who are impatient, like me. There is always a big surprise ending in each book but when it comes to these scary ones I just like to know right away. For example, the characters in this book are trying to figure the why of what already happened. But, when it is a story being told and events are clear, I am more satisfied.

History Comes to Life

Michelle Correia

Author: Ken Follett

Title: The Pillars of the Earth

Have you ever noticed how your life has little connections to everyone else’s? In the book, The Pillars of the Earth, this is a very common theme. The story is told in multiple points of view and each main character has an interaction with every other main character. The story starts with a thief being hanged for stealing a jeweled goblet. The story then turns to Tom and Agnes, two peasants trying to find work for the winter. However, Tom is determined to work on a cathedral which raises some problems for the family when there is no work to be found. The first part of the book is based around this family and their struggles as they all deal with hunger and poverty, especially after someone steals the pig they were planning to sell. They must join together and deal with their struggles, specifically when Agnes dies, “she lay flat on the ground. Her face was ghastly white” (70). Thankfully, they receive some help from an outlaw who lives in the woods named Ellen. Every part ends on a cliffhanger which is something that compels me as a reader because I want to know how things get resolved for the characters I’ve grown to love. I haven’t finished the second part quite yet but it’s about a monk and the stories slightly intertwine when he comes across Tom and Ellen in the forest, noting that, “This builder was definitely the penniless kind, although his wife looked well enough” (111). One thing that slightly bothered me was when I got to the second part, and immediately it was about all new characters and was a completely different story. However, I didn’t mind it once I got used to the new characters and storyline, and realized I would be seeing more of Tom and Ellen in the future.

I really like this book because the characters have many difficult decisions regarding money, but specifically morals. Each character has their own personal dilemma and backstory. These are all dilemmas that occur and are solved in ways that one might not expect, and even the backstories all seem to connect somehow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m excited to read the rest of this series. I recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in movies like Valentine’s Day because the characters are all connected like they are in that movie. I also recommend this book to anyone that enjoys history, specifically European history because this book talks about everything from royal families, to peasants, to the corruptness of the Church, specifically when an old monk has to, “suffer pain and cold for the sake of a farthing or two a day” (123). This book covers a broad range of topics, and connects a lot to what we’re learning in AP European History. Reading about something that I’m learning and being forced to think about what the people in this time thought about the events going on makes me really eager to read more.

Empathizing with Androids

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

By Philip K. Dick

Michelle Wong

Are you able to distinguish between a real life animal and a robotic one? Apparently John Isidore can’t because he accidentally  let one die by bringing a real cat to a mechanic instead of a vet. His employer was extremely frustrated with him, but one of Isidore’s coworkers asked his boss to cut him some slack because in their world, the difference between a real animal and fake animal is virtually impossible. As a punishment, Isidore had to call the owners and inform them that their cat died and ask if they would like to purchase an electric cat as a replacement. Luckily, when Isidore reluctantly called the owners, Mrs. Pilsen picks up. Isidore forced himself to lie and say the cat died of pneumonitis and she should consider buying a replacement cat from the Sidney’s catalog:  “What about an exact electric duplicate of your cat?”(80), asks Isidore. If I was Mrs.Pilsen, I would definitely purchase an electric cat, but it obviously wouldn’t be the same. You could program the perfect cat replica of the cat that died with all the memories intact, but something would still feel uncanny about owning an electric cat like a real one. Mr. Pilsen purposely didn’t get to close to his cat when it was alive, but I still think he would notice that the fake cat isn’t his cat. Once you get close with someone, the thought of losing them can break you. Novels like these help me remember and appreciate the people I love. Mr. Pilsen shouldn’t be mad that his cat died. He should be happy that he was able to become so close with someone and become so sad and frustrated by them being gone. It says something really. To be able to love, care, and be so close to someone and be happy with them just tells how happy you were with them around. All these emotions are human and something that an android could never feel. Which leads to Rick Deckard’s bounty hunt for androids.

First on the list is Polokov. He is an android posing as an important figure for a trash collecting company. Once he finds him they battle it out and Rick is able to successfully “retire” , or kill and android. Next, Rick takes a break at an opera house. He sees someone, Luba Luft. He notices something odd about her and makes it his job to perform the Voigt-Kampff test on her, which leads into one of the most annoying, yet entertaining character interactions in this novel next to Isidore and Pris’ interaction. Ms.Luft is a character you love to hate, but nevertheless, her interaction with Rick is priceless. So the test runs smoothly until the Voigt-Kampff test starts asking some...frisky questions. Ms.Luft calls a patrolman over and oddly enough, Rick nor the patrolman recognize each other.  So to solve this problem they pack up to go to the police station. Unfortunately for Rick, he is brought to an unfamiliar police station which Rick assumes is a fake, android-run police station.

The novel is getting really exciting right now yet still able to bring up all these questions of a real and fake world. I can’t wait to finish the novel and if I could, I would write another blog post on it, but since I can’t next time you’ll see me taking a 360 and reading a romance novel. See you next time and I hope you enjoyed.

Atypical Teenage Life

Mirna Marroquin
It’s Kind of a Funny Story - Ned Vizzini

The transition from childhood to adulthood, otherwise known as “adolescence”, can possibly be one of the roughest ventures anyone has to go through. During a time where your sense of self starts to truly develop, a creeping feeling of vulnerability can sink in, and unfortunately, that happens to the main character in “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini. Teenager Craig Gilner is known to have an especially innovative mind and he is close to graduating middle school, he sets a monumental goal to be accepted into an extremely prestigious school - Manhattan Executive Pre-Professional High School.

Known to be an institution where future lawyers, doctors and other white collar professionals are made, this school is no easy feat for Craig. The entrance exam - known as the Bernard Lutz Philanthropic Exam - is insanely difficult, thus making Craig dedicate an entire year to studying for it. Prior to this, Craig wasn’t a very social person, so the friends he once had are soon gone, until during his year of studying he befriends Aaron, another teenager studying for the exam as well.  They start to hang out quite often and even though the friendship is something unfamiliar to Craig, he gladly accepts it as he thinks “We kept doing it. It became a regular thing. We never formalized it, never named it but on Fridays Aaron would call and ask me to watch movies” (59).

As the deadline gets closer, Craig soon starts to have certain dark yet fleeting thoughts; however, he never truly dwells on them and thinks nothing of it, however he does label them, describing them as "tentacles", the bad thoughts and "anchors", the positive thoughts. Craig says " It was about this time that I started labeling things Tentacles. I had a lot of Tentacles. I needed to cut some of them. But I couldn't: they were too strong.." (95).

As the results come back, both Craig and Aaron get accepted in, and to celebrate, Aaron decides to throw a party. Not used to doing so, Craig goes and for the the first time ever, gets drunk - which is very normal for teenagers to do so during this transitional period. Towards the end of the party however, Craig and Aaron go out for a walk and as they near the Brooklyn Bridge, Craig has the insane urge to get close to the edge, and doing so, he claims that it was the closest to feeling alive than he has in weeks.

The school year then starts, and it hits Craig hard. The crazy amount of work and projects and internships that are expected of him encourage the number of dark thoughts to increase, even driving Craig to lose his appetite and any motivation to do any school work. Compared to the student he was once was, Craig's easy submission to procrastination is noticed by his parents and his teachers, and it ruins Craig's mental health, forcing him to realize that he has been dealing with depression the entire time.

As for what I have read of this novel, I consider it to be an eye opening one. So far, the struggle of being a high school is close to what I have personally experienced but not the same extent as Craig, as I have never dealt with suicidal thoughts like his, for example "It's so hard to talk when you want to kill yourself...it's a physical thing, like it's physically hard to open your mouth and make the words come out...you stumble on them as they gather behind your lower lip. So you just keep quiet" (3). This allows adolescents like met to realize that at such a developmental age, a teenage mindset truly differs from every individual.
Ned Vizzini has done an accurate job of telling the story in the voice of a teenager, as there's no sense of formality and the typical teenage mindset shines through. Not every author can nail that down, as it's evident when it seems forced and unnatural, but Vizzini has remained consistent with doing a great job. As for the argument that is presented in the novel, it presents an issue that gets overlooked in a new light.

The stereotype that teenagers are moody and grumpy all the time is such a cliche, but there is truth in stereotypes yet the constant generalization of them is what waters down that speck of truth. Starting from the year you grow past childhood up until you are considered an adult, teenagers have to face ever changing standards. On one hand, we are too young to be taken seriously and our input is easily brushed to the side but on the other hand, any error we make is clearly emphasized on and we are expected to make the right choice every time, as we now too old to have our blunders be forgotten.
This book so far seems perfect for an audience that has faced similar struggles like Craig's, as any source of relativity can be a comfort. This outlet of familiarity can show that they are not alone in facing their issues. Mental health issues have the ability to isolate people, but with books like these, it can help break down those barriers.