Reading Response: Grapes of Wrath

In the book "Grapes Of Wrath" by Steinbeck, one of the characters in the part I'm up to is named Joad. Now Joad isn't any regular guy, he has been in jail for four years on account of homicide. I think that based on the fact that he got out so early, a lot has changed from this time period to now. 

The first thing that is definitely something that has changed since the past is the fact that someone could go and kill someone and get four years even if the other person ad a knife. I think that in today's society we count things for what we hear and don't let anybody explain themselves. I think that if he were to stand in front of a jury in 2013 he would've been sentenced to death/life in prison because no matter how you slice it, he took someone's life.

The second thing that I think has changed is that in the book hitchhiking is Joad's mode of transportation. In today's society we don't hitchhike because it is considered dangerous and nobody could trust eachother. Back in the time of the book, there were no real crazy people, a psychopath could get a lift so long as he/she didn't do anything to the driver. This shows the way things have changed.

As you can see, a lot has changed since then to now. I think that some things changed for the good, safety. On the other hand, I think that some things have changed for the bad and that is an area of improvement.;

Reading Response: The Hunger Games

In the book "The Hunger Games" Katniss as most people know, volunteers to step up to participate in a competition to the death in place of her sister Prim. This being the second time I am reading this I have been focusing on a smaller part of the book, the beginning. Katniss sacrificing herself for someone who she cares about really spoke to me because it was a brave thing to do and being brave isn't easy.

The first reason why I think this was something bold is because not many people would do it. In the book the whole district was shocked that someone would volunteer their life for anyone. How many people do you know would do something like this? The answer is probably very little if any, this is because being brave isn't always easy even if your being brave for someone who you should (in this case her sister).

Another reason why this was very bold was because Katniss stepped up in front of a large crowd. In life, a lot of people have stage fright when they aren't even on stage. How do we know if Katniss was one of these people? We don't but whether or not someone has stage fright or not, stepping up and being the center of attention in front of people is always difficult.

In conclusion Katniss's decision really did set up the book and with a bang. She did something bold, something only special people, people with a special quality could do. Step up when someone is in need especially when it's crunch time.