Blogpost #3: What are the thesis and main points of your book so far? What points did you find most effective. Give examples from the text. Do you agree with the author's arguments and conclusions? What questions would you ask the author if you ever had the opportunity to meet him/her? Completed by Friday, May 23
24 Comments
Audrey Laker
5/22/2014 01:37:34 am
The main points and arguments of my book "Night" so far is that these events were not necessary, the camps were not necessary, and the torture of the jews was not necessary. The author also discusses how having faith can help you through anything. I agree with these points I think the torture of people based on religion is not right or necessary. I also believe that having faith in something bigger than yourself will help you get through anything. A question I would ask my author is how did you get through the holocaust? How did you not give up and give in to the torture?
Reply
Delanie Miller
5/22/2014 03:34:57 am
Main points in "Lance Armstrong Its Not About The Bike" so far is never give up, even when in pain push through or you will regret it in the end. One example from the book is " Guys were thrown off their bikes right and left, wheels sliding out from underneath them. I crashed, too, twice. But each time I recovered quickly, got back up on the bike and rejoined the race." Even after falling down twice on the track that day Lance got up and ended up finishing first in the race. I would probably ask if his challenges while cycling ever helped him during his fight with cancer. Did he ever think of his fight with cancer as the final lap in a race where he had to go full speed and never give up no matter how painful cancer really was?
Reply
Rachel Silber
5/22/2014 10:52:07 am
The main points Hillenbrand argues that Seabiscuit is one of the best racing horses and the sport itself involves better athletes than any other sport. I find both points effective in the book. She supports her point that jockeys are more elite by noting the dangers they put themselves in. "Serious insults to the body, the kind of shattering or crushing injury seen in high-speed auto wrecks, are an absolute certainty for every single jockey" (pg. 73). From what I have read, I do believe in the author's arguments. I believe in the severity and danger in horse racing and how that danger does push them ahead of other athletes. I wouldn't ask the author anything but I would ask Red Pollard, Seabiscuit's jockey, why he was so attracted to riding him.
Reply
Taylor Hoffman
5/22/2014 12:26:58 pm
The main argument of the book thus far is that introverts and being an introvert is okay, and even in this 'extrovert ideal' they are still very productive and helpful in society. They author tells how introverts think more critically, consider more options, and even "introverted leaders are more effective with proactive employees". I agree completely with this, that even in a world consumbed with networking that there is still a place for introverts. If I could talk to Susan Cain I would ask her how long it took to compile such a large source of research on a controversle topic.
Reply
Lindsey Schumann
5/22/2014 10:21:32 pm
The main point to the book "Night" so far is that the concentration camps were unnecessary and instilled fear into everyone on which way their selection process would go. A point I found most effective is that he was separated from him mom and sister and never saw them again. At only 15 he was taken away from the person who cared for him the most and he did everything possible to make sure he didn't get separated from his father. I agree with the authors arguments and conclusion because that would be a horrible experience and I would be thinking the same thing the entire time after being stripped of my own clothing and forced to do things just to see the next day. If I was able to ask the author any question it would probably be how could you come out of an experience like that and continue life day by day after being instilled with fear
Reply
Courtney McCarthy
5/22/2014 11:45:30 pm
The thesis and main points of my book Quiet is that being an introvert is often thought of as being something that you should change. The author discusses the "extrovert ideal" to show what people think they need to be like. Her point though, is that introverts actually advance further in more areas than extroverts do. I completely agree with her argument in that introverts shouldn't be looked down on. If I could talk to the author, I would ask her how long it took to collect all this research.
Reply
Kaitlyn Armentrout
5/23/2014 01:04:25 am
The main points in my book "Something For Joey" are to never take what you have for granted and to live your life to the fullest. The author wants the audience to realize and be grateful for what you have and who you have become. The author uses Joey to show that even at a young age, and without even knowing, people need to be optimistic like Joey and live life happily. The author does this effectively because Joey is face with a very serious disease but he is the happiest person the audience has ever read about.
Reply
Hannah Binkley
5/23/2014 01:05:33 am
The main points in the book "Night" is how hard it was to live through such a terrible time. The author is trying to show how torturing the Jews and the Concentration camps were totally unnecessary. The Jews were tortured just because of their religion and is showing how wrong that is. The part I feel effected me the most was when the author was separated from his mom and the fact that he has never seen her since. I can't even imagine how tough that would be and how devastated I would be. If I could ask the author any question, I would ask how he could stay so strong throughout the Holocaust and not give up on life. How could you live through this without your parents right by your side at the age of 15?
Reply
Zach Guthier
5/23/2014 01:06:48 am
The main points in the book "Night" is to effectively talk about the horrific events that happened during his life in the Holocaust. The author is able to tell his story effectively because he does a fantastic job explaining and describing every single detail. The pathos used in the book makes the reader feel sad about the awful things that happened during the concentration camps such as starvation and living in the miserable weather conditions. It is sad to see that he had lost hope throughout the book,"You died because you had to die. There was no fussing." (pg 95). If I had the opportunity to meet Elie Wiesel, I would ask him,"How did you do it?" He did the impossible and survived in the Holocaust.
Reply
Chelsea Lakeberg
5/23/2014 01:07:25 am
The thesis and the main points of my book, the Holocaust House is the understanding and the hardships of the situations pertaining the hatred to the European Jews. The death by gassing and brutally beaten were a small portion of the abuse in the concentration camps. I do agree with the author's arguments and conclusions due to the factor she is against the pain brought to the families and friends of those who were lost. If I had the chance to meet the author I would ask several questions like "Why did you choose to write about this? Were you affected directly and how?" simple aspect to get more background information.
Reply
Holly Butler
5/23/2014 01:10:16 am
The main purpose of this book is to emphasize the importance of family and support. Without family support the Burpo would have struggled to overcome all their illness and health problems. Another purpose is to have faith and the importance of religion in their lives. For example, when the son, Colton, is going through an intense surgery the Burpo's call their church members for support and are constantly praying, which works well for them and the son survives and is healed.
Reply
Brent Daniel
5/23/2014 01:17:31 am
The thesis and main points of "Freakonomics" revolve around the statistical facts that behavioral patterns, and the actions that come out of these patterns, effect the economy. For example, chapter three talks about the facts and economical issues of the "foot soldier"drug dealers, which are the ones who are the lowest person in the pyramid and do all the dirty work, and why they are still living with their mothers. According to Levitt, foot soldier drug dealers made roughly $3.30 an hour and had a 1 in 4 chance of being killed in a gang fight since they were the ones on the front line. Levitt explains that not all drug dealers are rich, only the bosses get 90% of the profit. If I had the opportunity to ask Steven Levitt a question, I would ask him how he found all the connections to get the information he needed. I would also ask why he went to such great lengths to write this book.
Reply
molly doyle
5/23/2014 01:18:02 am
The main points of my book Heaven Is For Real are about a little boy who dies and visits heaven for an unknown period of time. Over the months and years and begins to tell his parents about his time in heaven and experiences he had. Every one of Colton's experiences follow a pattern. He tells his parents about sitting with Jesus, meeting his sister he never knew about, the pearly gates, and on and on. I think that the authors purpose was to give people hope or convince people of the reality of heaven through providing descriptions of heaven in order to bring about a belief in heaven.
Reply
Adam Kroeger
5/23/2014 01:18:22 am
In his book, A Mans Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl analyzes the purpose of life and the reason suffering. I found Frankl's optimistic tone and unique viewpoint to be the most effective part of the book. Although not dismissing traditional theories such as those of Freud, Frankl uses his own experiences to create his own theories, including "logo-therapy." He believes that there is a purpose to life, a greater purpose than solely continuing the existence of the species, contrary to Freudian psychology. Frankl believes that experiences are a key component to humanities sense of purpose. I agree with Frankl's conclusions. They seem to be sound conclusions based on fact and experiences that many people can understand.
Reply
Max Schoenung
5/23/2014 01:26:14 am
The thesis and main point of the book "Night" is to show what it was like to live through the Holocaust. The author of this book, Elie Wiesel, makes his story extremely effective, by being very descriptive about his time in the Holocaust. When the boy was separated from his mother, he was using Pathos. This connects emotionally with many readers. How could you live after going through a terrible experience with out parents.
Reply
Ellie Cunningham
5/23/2014 09:04:59 am
After reading "Night" I've come to a conclusion that the main point is having trust. At the beginning, the young boy talks a lot about his faith in God, and how important religion was to him. After being taken to the concentration camps with his father, it was difficult for him to have the same faith that he did before. He saw horrible things being done to women and children, and was losing hope. I find this effective because by the end of the book we see how much Wiesel has grown, and overcome the pains and struggles brought upon his from the Holocaust. If I were to meet the author I would ask if it was difficult to write about such gruesome events. Although it is very interesting to see what it was like during the Holocaust, its awful to hear how terribly humans were treated.
Reply
Nick Galbraith
5/23/2014 12:11:39 pm
The main point of the book "Endurance" is to literally have endurance and not give up. "They were all still crippled for the six days ...in the boats" "Wild took a crew of six seamen". These two passages just shows that even after being beaten, frozen, cramped, and starved you have to just keep pushing on otherwise you will lose the struggle. If I would ever meet the author I would ask him if he personally thought that Shackleton was being an arrogant explorer who just wanted to be the big tough guy when he set out on his journey.
Reply
Melissa Caster
5/24/2014 04:08:42 am
The thesis and main points of A Long Way Gone is about escaping war to find peace. The idea of finding hope in every situation is reoccurring in this novel. These points were effective because love and hope aren't only common themes in war but common themes in life. I do agree with the authors argument of this novel because even if he was not trying to escape war, the idea of staying hopeful will help you to persevere in any situation. If I got to meet the author and ask him any questions I would ask him what it was like to watch children his age become desensitized to murder influencing them to kill other people. The quote "in the forest there are men waiting to destroy all of our lives" is a perfect example of a hopeless situation, where the author then finds hope by using revenge to persuade them that "this is your time to revenge the deaths of your families."
Reply
Trevor Ryan
5/26/2014 04:52:20 am
In I am Malala Ms. Yousafzai attempts to justify the notion that most Pakistani have negative views on education for women and of America, she provides detailed situations that explain how and why a perception formed. After the 9/11 attacks the animosity towards America grew stronger due to our interference with the Pakistani government, we supported a militant ruler who overthrew their democratically elected president, a liberal man who supported women's rights. Just as women's rights were gaining at lengths and schools spread throughout the country a massive earthquake rocked the region and many turned to religion for protection, a return to Islamic Law swept the nation as they feared the earthquake was a message from God condemning their actions. The turmoil that followed the earthquake allowed for many terrorists organizations to provide aid to those who's lives had been devastated by the quakes, due to their aid the people felt indebted to them because in their time of need the government did little, the militant groups did much. If I could meet her and ask Malala questions I would inquire about what it was like to have no official government following quakes and how groups like FeT helped during the crisis, did she believe their motives were benign?
Reply
Anna Schneider
5/26/2014 11:45:49 pm
The main thesis for "A Mighty Long Way" is education. Growing up, Carlotta's parents always taught her that a high level of education was important. She is continuously confused as to why the white people can't see that her and her black peers mean no harm. A main point in the book is perseverance. No matter what the white kids do to Carlotta, she remains strong and is an inspiration to others. For example, when Carlotta had her first day of school she had to leave early because of possible threats. Even though she was scared and her parents even more so, she remained strong and went to school a couple days later. If i could ask the author anything I would want to know what kept her so strong and what kept her from crumbling because of what the white people said.
Reply
Brett Smith
5/27/2014 01:02:36 am
Main points throughout "Into the Wild" are those of materialism, manhood, and survival in the wild. Materialism is shown as a theme because Chris denounces all material things throughout the book for a life in the wild. Also manhood can be interpreted because no other person would really imagine doing this than some young and idealistic boy trying to find himself. Survival in the wild is obvious because Chris goes to live in wild terrains and ends up in Alaska where he meets his untimely death. One question I would ask the author is why did he get so engulfed in one man's story of self realization when everyone else just heard it and kept moving on with their life.
Reply
Michelle Caster
5/27/2014 11:36:45 pm
The main point to the book Night was to show his readers that he was once a boy who had faith in God only to question his faith after witnessing many deaths and inhumanities. He also wrote it to show relationship with his father throughout their ordeal. Overall, this book illustrated the importance of what others went through because of their religion but that they shouldn't have went through any of those camps. It was unnecessary and cruel punishment. At age 15 he was separated from his siblings and the only people that truly cared about him. The author does a good job of describing every brutal reality of the Holocaust. If I were to meet the Author I would ask him, how? How do you take on a gruesome topic with such description?
Reply
Maddie Brass
5/29/2014 02:07:52 pm
Colton Burpo, the three-year-old son of Todd (the author) and Sonja Burpo, spent time in heaven and came back to talk about it. Colton’s experience was not the traditional NDE (near death experience) since he never actually died
Reply
Richard SLattery
6/4/2014 09:31:28 pm
The book has five main points that distinguish it from other books of its subject. First a unified presentation of the field which includes some often unrelated content, Second, an Intelligent agent design which are designed to operate in an otherwise unknown environment and to learn in them, Third, Comprehensive, and up to date coverage of learning, neural networks, natural language, vision, robotics, and philosophical ideas to better understand the field and its applications, Fourth, Equal emphasis on theory and practice having the practice explainde by theory so that is can be practical in its application, and fifth, Understanding through implementation having standards for implementation of an agent, and representations of pseudo-code to clarify the structure of the agent.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2014
Categories |