dialectic journal: book 3

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

1. "I pop the trunk, reach in, and freeze. I almost choke on my lungs, which have leaped up the back of my throat. There's the blanket, all right--wrapped around the unconscious body of some guy! To be honest, my first thought is that he's dead" pg.6

Vince Luca is on a date with Angela and they're at the beach. Vince opens his trunk to get a blanket and finds a man, bleeding. This quote is important because it shows one of the crazy things that Vince has to deal with because of his father's business. I predict that Angela will freak out run off somewhere, leaving Vince and the body.

2. "And where one day, I open my Cracker Jacks at snack time and find a box full of cut diamonds.... I have to be evaluated by a psychologist after that, because I'm so obsessed with my food." pg.7

This is a flashback of Vince when he was seven, when he was starting to figure out what his father really did for a living. This quote is interesting because I actually pictured a little boy opening a bag of Cracker Jacks, expecting cracker jacks, but sees diamonds instead. I think Vince still isn't used to having strange things happen to him.

3. "It's only at those times that I realize the great guy I call Dad is a man who runs a criminal organization that operates by means of violence and intimidation. And I really, truly, honestly want nothing to do with it." pg.23

Vince describes how everyone respects and looks up to his dad, even though they're scared of him. The significance of Vince not wanting anything to do with this business shows that he had different goals in life, other than following his dad's footsteps. I think that Vince's dad, Anthony Luca, will try to convince him to change his mind about being involved with the family business.

4. "My father always has a special smile when he sees my Mazda, even though it looks pretty lame next to the parade of limos and Beamers and Mercedes that are always coming and going at our place. Ray says Dad still disapproves of the way I got it--you know, legitimately. But maybe that's what he likes about it--that his younger son did soemthing he disapproves of." pg.27

This is another flashback of when Vince was arrested for having a stolen car, which he got for his sixteenth birthday. So he decided to buy his own car, rejecting the way of The Business. This quote shows that Vince knows how to make his own decisions and his dad supports those decisions. I predict that Vince will have a life changing decision to make and he'll need a lot of help making it.

5. "I just made out with the daughter of the man whose goal in life is to send my father to prison." pg.63

Like every other high school teenager, Vince went to a party and kisses a girl, Kendra, whose father is the FBI agent investigating his father. This quote shows what a small world it is. It's also the beginning of a big problem that's about to happen in Vince's own life and the life he wants nothing to do with. I think that Vince and Kendra's dads will find out about them and forbid them to see each other since they do live two seperate lives.

6. "They say when you're in a car accident, there's a split second where you know what's going to happen, but you can't do anything about it. That's me." pg. 121

Kendra just asked Vince to have dinner at her house but Vince doesn't like the idea, since Kendra's dad despises Vince's family. This quote is important because it tells me that Vince can't keep his secret much longer and he can't avoid meeting Kendra's parents for long either. I predict that Vince will break up with Kendra because he knows that things will never work out for them.

7. "I'm freaking out. There are so many things that could go wrong here that I can't even count them all. Kendra could hate me now. She could be confessing everything to her father this very minute." pg.164

Vince and Kendra are at the mall and Kendra's dad happens to be there too so she calls him over. Vince panics and tells Kendra everything, so now he's hiding from Kendra's dad, wondering what's about to happen. This quote is suspenseful and keeps me wondering if Kendra is going to keep Vince, or stay loyal to her father. I think that Kendra will continue the relationship she has with Vince because he doesn't have anything to do with his father's mob business.

8. "I don't give Dad the satisfaction of an answer. I am involved in this thing, and nobody can undo that, not even the great Anthony Luca." pg.191

Vince and his dad are argueing about Vince's involvement in an activity having to do with "the business." This is important because Vince had something to do with his father's business, even though he was against it in the beginning. I think that later on, Vince will realize that he should have never took part in the mob business and stay away from it for good.

9. "I don't know if I'm right anymore. I can't access any of the facts that led me to conclude that Ray's FBI." pg.236

There's a spy in the Anthony Luca's criminal organization and he's the guy that Vince admires the most. Ray's going crazy because Vince knows that he's undercover, and he's scared that he'll be killed. This quote shows me that Vince, an eighteen year old, can figure this out but his dad, head of a criminal organization, had no idea. I predict that since Vince looked up to Ray, he won't blow Ray's cover, but he won't exactly let Ray get his dad arrested either.

10. "It's such a perfect exit line that I don't even stick around to enjoy the look on his face." pg.256

Vince just threatened his father to leave Ray alone or else the FBI will have evidence against him. Vince also tells his dad that he's been dating the FBI agent's daughter. I like this quote because I see the kind of guy Vince really is. He's independent, trustworthy, and isn't afraid to stick to what he believes in. I think that Vince will grow up to be a successful man, just like his father, but in another business.

romeo & juliet

On your blog, find an image that you think shows what has happened in Romeo and Juliet so far. It CANNOT be an image from a play or movie version of the play. It needs to be some sort of picture or image you think REPRESENTS a major event or conflict in the play.

this is a picture of fire & water, both in a glass. i chose this because fire and water are opposites, symbolizing the montagues & capulets. this picture represents both sides clashing and fighting, yet there's still some kind of innocence within the big picture. the water & fire don't really mix and stays on their side. it seems like a powerful thing just like how the feud is very powerful in the streets of verona. there's also the idea of the anger between families being like the fire, and the love between romeo & juliet is the water, balancing it out. for every ounce of hate, there's an equal amount of passion.

reading reflection

today, i read the beginning of Oliver Twist. the beginning was pretty sad because Oliver's mother died just moments after he was born. and just like that, Oliver became an orphan. he grew up in a workhouse, where he was fed very little and treated poorly. i enjoyed reading this book because the author made it seem like Oliver was a special child, so that kept me interested. i think it'd be better if i actually remembered to bring my own independent reading book so i'd be able to finish in time for the next reading journal.

reading life

sadly, i haven't been reading much this semester. i think i need to improve on learning how to manage more time for reading but i've done well on understanding the books i have read so far. i didn't have much trouble on completing my dialectic journal and plot diagram. some books i might be interested in reading would be books about life struggles because i like to relate to characters. i think i did pretty well on my book talk yesterday, i covered all the things i needed to talk about. the book talk wasn't as challenging as i thought it would be, i was able to talk about my book without much struggling though i should have maybe prepared a bit better.

romeo & juliet: first impression

i think that romeo & juliet is much more like modern-day life than i thought. the two guys in the beginning talk about girls and fighting & being tough. guys today also talk about girls & being tougher than one another. but the way they talk is way different than now. i think shakespearean language is hard to understand, but fun to learn about. i like how there's more than one meaning in what the characters say, it's pretty clever. i think shakespeare's language has it's own way of entertaining.

o brother, where art thou

i think the alchemist and this movie, o brother, where are thou, are very similar in different ways. in the alchemist, santiago is looking for his treasure and goes through many obstacles just like everett, pete, and delmar were looking for a treasure. and all of them ended up finding something totally different. differences in themes reflect the kind of person each character is. for example, santiago is a boy who's just trying to follow his dream. he doesn't know much to begin with so he looks for help anywhere he can. but the three guys, however, are criminals and have experience in tricking people to get what they want. i think the boy learns much more throughout his journey than what everett, pete, and delmar learned throughout their journey. in the end, there was no treasure for them but santiago found his treasure.

one's personal legend

i chose this picture because i think it's most important to have love in order to pursue your personal legend. santiago had fatima's love and she pushed him towards finding his treasure.

alchemist presentations

i learned a lot more about personal legends and thought about the topic in different ways. my group focussed on the question of whether there is an inner narcissism in the pursuit of one's personal legend. i think it's interesting how narcissism can be found in different ways, depending on how you look at the situation. i also found it interesting when one group said that the old man represented false hope because at first, i thought the old man was helping santiago. so i learned to look more closely at the actions and intentions of why someone helps another person. there was also the idea of following your dream, but is it better to actually do it or not. this made me wonder if i'd rather follow my own dream or just leave it, and have the whole beauty of letting my imagination go wild. so there are a few things i've learned from these alchemist presentations and they've really helped me better understand the book.

dialectic journal

this is my first dialectic journal for spring semester. my book is Thou Shalt Not Dump The Skater Dude And Other Commandments I Have Broken by Rosemary Graham.

1. "If none of the above work, tell your parents this: Experts say it's better for moves to coincide with natural transitions and milestones in a child's life--like the summer between middle school and high school." pg.4

Kelsey Wilcox find out that she's moving from Massachusetts to California. Her parents' divorce was finalized and her mother wanted to pursue her dream of going to law school. Being the teenager she is, Kelsey is against moving and tries to convince her parents to let her stay in Boston with her dad. I think this quote is important because Kelsey is trying to prevent a big change that's going to happen in her life. I don't think Kelsey's plan is going to work and she's just going to have to deal with being the new girl at her new school.

2. "We passed a mother with two little kids...But then he looked at me and Josh, and looked back over his shoulder at the woman, who kept saying, 'Spare any change? Spare any change?' to the people walking by. Dad dug into his pocket, peeled three twenties off his money clip, rolled them around each other, and stomped back to the woman while Josh and I watched." pg.21

Kelsey's family has a policy of not giving money to people on the street and this is a flashback to the only time her father gave money to a homeless family. I think this quote is important because it shows me that all rules have exceptions. Kelsey's dad really connected to the mother with the two kids, so he did something helpful. I think in the future, this flashback will help Kelsey distinguish right from wrong because of the model that her father demonstrated.

3. "Even though I was mad about having to give up precious summer vacation time to watch Josh, I had to admire his determination. Watching him those first couple of afternoons, seeing how he kept getting up and trying again after each fall, even though the other kids hardly acknowledged his presence, made me feel proud of him and mad at them." pg.66-67

Josh, Kelsey's brother, wants to catch up on some skating so Kelsey's stuck babysitting. This quote is significant to Kelsey's relationship with Josh. Instead of complaining about her brother taking up all her time, she recognizes the effort being put into this time so it's not a waste. She learns to accept the sacrifices she has to make to support her brother. I predict that Kelsey and Josh would discover things about each other that they never knew before, since they're spending so much time together.

4. "While Amy was gone, I studied myself in my full-length mirror. Not as bad as I had thought. At least you could still tell I was a girl. And the clothes were perfectly clean, even if they were previously owned." pg.91

Amy is Kelsey's best friend and they're both going to "The No", a kind of punky club. Even though "punk" is not Kelsey's style, she goes to the club because C.J. Logan, a hot skater, asked her to go. Amy plays dress up with Kelsey to make her look more appropriate for the event. This quote is important because Kelsey changes her image to impress other people and I think this is the start of another side of her. I think what will happen is that Kelsey will start making the wrong decisions and fall into peer pressure, as long as she doesn't stay true to herself.

5. "As for sense and consideration, I didn't demonstarte much of either freshman year. All those excellent reasons I had for wanting to go to East Bay High went right out the window as soon as I started hanging out with C.J." pg.105

Kelsey's parents were going to apply her to a private school, but Kelsey convinced them to let her go to a public high school. Then Kelsey becomes C.J.'s girlfriend so throughout her first year of high school, that's basically what she focused on. The significance of this quote shows that C.J. is a bad influence on Kelsey because she's stuck to him like glue and nothing else matters to her anymore. I think that Kelsey will soon wake up from this dream and realize what's really important to her, since she doesn't seem to have forgotten what her priorities are and will probably get in trouble for it.

6. "I didn't mind that there was so much waiting and watching involved in being the girlfriend of a Skater Dude. I didn't mind that sometimes C.J. had no time for me because he was training for a big contest. Because I knew that after the contest was over, the two of us would get into C.J.'s pickup and drive to our spot" pg.109

Kelsey realizes that being with C.J. meant dealing with skating 24/7, since C.J.'s a professional skater. I think this quote is important because it shows that Kelsey's life now consists of the same things over and over again. It seems like she doesn't have any control over her own life anymore because she doesn't leave time for herself. She also keeps making excuses for C.J. and blinds herself from seeing the truth of playing the role of C.J. Logan's girlfriend. I predict that Kelsey will eventually get bored and move on with her life because there's no excitement in her life.

7. "The thing is, I forgot to turn the phone back on, and when Amy called an hour later, she got my voice mail. And I was so tired by the time C.J. dropped me off that I went right to bed without checking my messages. " pg.113

Ever since C.J. came into the picture, Kelsey starts to drift apart from everything else in her life. So when her best friend has a problem, Kelsey lets her down by not being there for her. This quote shows me that Kelsey's lost sight of what really matters which gets her into more trouble. This also shows how a little thing can affect something that's been built over a long period of time. I think Amy will be very mad at Kelsey and tell her what the real problem is.

8. "C.J. and I had a big talk soon after the Amy incident. Actually, I did most of the talking. I told him I was tired of having everything revolve around his skating life." pg.115

Kelsey feels guilty for not being there for Amy and realizes that her life shouldn't be all about C.J. and skating. This is important because Kelsey stands up for herself and starts to get her life back together. I think what will happen is that Kelsey learns to balance her boyfriend, best friend, and family since she'll probably want to be there for the next time someone needs her.

9. "Silly me--I was worried about him. He'd seemed so hurt on our last night, I wanted to make sure he was okay. I wanted to see if he was back to his old, skating-obsessed self." pg.125

Kelsey broke up with C.J. after a year of supporting him with his skating career but C.J. doesn't take it very well. After the break up, C.J. writes fake crap about Kelsey on his blog/website, saying that she's a slut. This quote is important because another side of C.J. comes out to get Kelsey and now her life is ruined. I think Kelsey will do something to get back at C.J. but it'll be very hard because he has such a good reputation.

10. "Amy wasn't telling me anything I didn't know: I needed to establish myself as my own person. I needed to let people know the real me. The thing was, though, I didn't know what 'the real me' meant." pg.138

After the whole internet incident with the whole world thinking that Kelsey's a skank, Kelsey has to "start all over" with a fresh new year. This quote shows an obstacle that the main character has to get over and it really challenges her to do better, to discover more about herself. I predict that Kelsey will succeed in making something out of her high school years even though she's not even sure what.

11. "But I knew what Amy was talking about. The Bee is run by the superachievers of East Bay High... They seemed to spend every free moment of their lives working on the paper. Sometimes, Mr. Rundle told us, they'd work past midnight to make their deadline. But it seemed like they were having fun. There was always a lot of laughing coming from that room." pg.139-140

In order for Kelsey to get her life back together, Amy suggests that she should keep herself busy with an extracurricular activity and Kelsey's been thinking about joining the school paper. Amy's not sure what to think because being part of the school newspaper might be too intense, especially with the scary new editor. This quote is important because I learn that Kelsey is taking a major step in building a new life, and she'll have a new thing to focus on. But at the same time, I can't help but wonder if she'll be able to handle working for The Bee. I think what will happen is that Kelsey will struggle with keeping up with her outside life and her school life, since she'll have to dedicate a lot of time to the school newspaper.

12. "Seeing him made me feel totally weird. It was the first time I'd laid eyes on him since the night I'd broken things off... And for a second--just a teeny, tiny second--I had this over-before-it-started feeling of regret. Life had been so much easier as C.J. Logan's Girlfriend." pg.155-156

It's the first day of school, lunchtime, and Kelsey explains how it feels to see C.J. again. I think this quote is super important because Kelsey takes one last look at her old life and walks away from it all. I predict that Kelsey will do much better in her real life but still bump into her ex every once in a while.

time management

Write a journal entry explaining the importance of utilizing your time wisely, especially when it comes to working in an honors class. Please highlight what your strengths and your weaknesses are in planning your time. What are your goals to improve how you use your time?

i think using your time wisely is VERY important. i think the people that manage their time correctly are the ones that succeed. unlike the people who waste their time and get nothing done. but in an honors class, everyone is expected to be on task and to really concentrate on what we're doing. so if we're not using our time wisely, we fall behind which can drag back the whole class also. a strength of mine would be organization. i can plan out how i should use my time. but a major weakness of mine is actually following the schedule. i also tend to procrastinate, which i hate because i know i didn't try my hardest and put my all in my work. since i'm just trying to finish in time. i'm hoping to improve the way i use my time by dividing up all the things i have to do so i won't have to cram everything in the last minute. and i'll work on what i have to do the day it's assigned and maybe i'll finish early and have time to relax.