Ellen Foster post #1

The thing that really hit me about Ellen Foster was how the narration switched between her present life with her new parents and her old life when her mother died. It confused me slightly when I first started reading it, so I did a double take and reread it.  After understanding that the plot was changing with each paragraph, I really began to like how it was set up. This switching between plots made the book way more interesting for me. I felt like as soon as it change to present day form the past, or vice versa, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for it to return. The choice of changing timelines is very interesting to me. I have never seen that in a book before, but I feel as if other books shouldn’t copy it. The changing in narration is very special to Ellen Foster and that makes the book even better than just the content of the story. Another thing I really noticed was the girls general lack of emotion during the whole “your mother is dying” situation. She doesn’t particularly act how someone would expect. She doesn’t cry, or become angry. She just carries on with her life. I think this displays a certain amount of mental strength that many people don’t have, and I believe her lack of showing emotions will show later in the story.

Of Mice and Men post #1

George and Lennie are a team. They work together to work through their issues. This reminded me of how players on a team have to work together to win. Specifically, I play basketball, and every player on a team needs to be on the same page in order for something to work. If one person is off, the whole team is off. On a normal team, every person has an equal amount of power. However, on George and Lennie's team, George is the ringleader, and Lennie is the follower. Something about this makes me wonder about how much George really needs Lennie. On a basketball team, every person needs another. The point guard must pass to the

shooting guards and the post players, in order to get a basket and win the game. Every person on the team must be cohesive and work together to achieve their goals. George seems like he could be fine without Lennie, at anything, it seems as if Lennie is more of a burden to George. They are far from a usual team, creating a mix of hatred and teamwork. Somehow, they do what someone does not expect from a team. They don't have the classic slow motion high-five or anything of that sort, but they take care of each other in a way many people need.

Of Mice and Men ending

The end of Of Mice and Men makes me question how far some people would go for their loved ones. We have all talked about who we would take a bullet for. And that is a very tough question most people don't want to answer. when people do answer though, it's usually something like their parents, sibling, or best friend. The real question behind there is who do you love enough to sacrifice your very being for them. Most likely we would never be in a situation where we would have to take a bullet. Although that is a tough question, here is a tougher one; who would you sacrifice for their own good? Once again, you may think of a family member or a close friend. Many people don't want to think of something as dark as having to sacrifice their favorite people. But in a life-or-death situation like the ending of Of Mice and Men, you must make a decision. George knew Lennie was going to die either way, in his hands or in Curly's. George did the humane thing by letting Lennie think of happy things like the farm and rabbits. George didn't want Lennie to die like Candy's dog, in the hand of someone else. He wanted to be the one that sent Lennie off. There have to be repercussions of his actions, and George may be plagued with guilt, like all of us would be in that situation.