Here are some example text connections, from last semester's students:
In this book, Tally and Shay come upon a city called Diego. In Diego, they have a New System, which allows the citizens to choose whether they want the operation or not, and if they do, it doesn’t come with the brain lesions. Most people choose the operation, but only because they get to choose exactly how they want to look. They can have extremely fair skin with bright orange hair, or very dark skin with overly dramatic muscles. Everyone looks the way they want to. They can even put snake skins on their pinkies. They all have a different, crazy look about them, which reminded me of the Capitol in the Hungers Games. In the Hunger Games, people in the Capitol dress crazily and even get strange surgeries to give themselves third eyes or make themselves 10 feet tall. They can make their look exactly how they want it, and even though it may be bizarre, it’s what they want. This whole series has reminded me of the Hunger Games
The text to self-connection that I make with this book is the emotions I feel along with Hazel. It’s not like I have dealt with something as huge and life threatening as cancer, but I do feel empathy for her and the random strenuous situations she is put in when either her or one of her friends has some tragedy strike. I also feel strongly about certain books like Hazel does after reading An Imperial Affliction for the billionth time. I always start thinking about what life would be like for the characters in novels. No matter how much I read a book and no matter how much my mind is soothed by the ending, I always wonder about any and all big and little things in them. I can’t exactly imagine the pent up frustration of a book that stops mid-sentence as for Hazel, but my mind still wonders even after closures are met. I admire Hazel’s determination to get the answers she wants out of the author, Peter Van Houten despite not getting them in the end.
19 comments:
Snitch by Allison von Diepen, page 285, finished the book. I found that this book started off very slow and cheesy, but as the plot went on, it got better. I was surprisingly sad when I had finished the novel. By the time I finished, I had gotten quite into the novel.
One self to text connection I founds while reading the book would be when Julia said, “But instead of being beautiful, I was cute. Everyone said I was.” I find that throughout my life by adults, kids my age, anyone really, I would always be called “cute.” When people talk about me they seem to refer me as that cute, little, innocent girl. Sometimes, with my friends from work, they would always watch their tongue around me because they don’t want to “taint” me. I find it quite amusing actually. Julia, the main character in the novel, seemed to speak about being just cute as a negative thing. I, on the other hand, am not complaining about it. I’d much rather be called cute than ugly, I think anyone would agree.
At one scene within the novel, Eric had called Julia and they were making plans. She gave him the directions to her place, and once she hung up the phone, she turned on her music and danced around the room. This reminds me of both a text to world connection and a text to text connection. During this scene all I could think about is how Taylor Swift probably acts the exact same way. With how many boys she dated, and the songs that come out from that relationship, I wouldn’t be surprised. When it said that she danced around the room after, all I thought about was her song You Belong With Me, when the song says, “I’m in my room, it’s a typical Tuesday night, I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like.” while in the music video it shows her dancing around. Although I love Taylor Swift, you’ve got to admit that she can be quite boy crazy at times, just like how Julia was in the novel, Snitch.
Partials
Current page - 153
As I was reading on Friday I had a text connection (text - world) about cosmetic surgery and current trends that centre around changing the body. At one point in the story, Kira is taking a blood sample from Marcus, hoping to gain some insight into RM immunity. As the computer is analyzing the sample, it shows the genetic modifications in Marcus' DNA. A quote from pages 107/108 says, "...they had been so common before the Break that almost everyone had at least a few". Marcus had genetic modifications that rid him of any congenital diseases, along with one that affected his bone marrow. The connection I had was that the mention of these genetic modifications, and that they were very common before the Break, could be commenting on these trends and how they could change and evolve (or more likely, branch off) to a point where it's actually beneficial to us physically, rather than it being about aesthetics alone.
Another connection I had (text - world) is about the Hope Act. The Hope Act is a law in East Meadow that requires that every woman, starting at the age of 18, to become pregnant as often as possible, in an attempt to produce a new generation of children with RM immunity. Unfortunately, so far every child born under the Hope Act has died within days. Because of this, the first time a woman becomes pregnant or gives birth, in the world of Partials, it's actually very sad news - the child will almost certainly not survive. It's a huge difference from our reality, where in most places, only a very small minority of children will die that soon, and a pregnancy or a birth is celebrated ; to most people, the idea that a pregnancy is a devastating tragedy is very strange.
Before I Fall –pg 92
A T-S connection was when Lindsay starts singing “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. Annie was, and still is one of my favourite musicals. When she sings this song, it takes Sam back to when this was her favourite song. I felt more connected to Sam through this, because it used to be one of my favourite songs as well, and it reminds me of my childhood.
Another T-S connection I noticed was when Sam dies, and she thinks “But before you start pointing fingers, let me ask you: is what I really did so bad? So bad I deserved to die? Is what I did really so much worse than what anybody else does? Is it really so much worse than what you do? Think about it.” (Oliver, pg. 81.) This caused me to think about my actions, in comparison to Sam’s actions. As far as I’m concerned, what Sam was doing was her being succumbed to peer pressure, and trying to fit it. Yes, she called some people names, or made fun of them. But I don’t think that would be a reason for her death to be fair, or right. I have also called people names that I’m not proud of, but I’ve apologized and everything turned out fine. I shouldn’t think that I would deserve to die right now, based on something I did in the past. This quote from the book just made me think about my actions, and the outcome of them.
slam (71)
one text connection that i made in my book is a test to self connection. the protagonist in my story (Greg) has a strong passion for basketball, as do I. similarly to myself his favorite thing in the world is playing and practicing basketball. I could also relate to how he spends most of his free time playing pick up basketball. when he talks about how he would go to the court and guys would be playing ball and there would be people sitting on the side waiting for their chance to play reminds me of the YMCA that i go too. it is always crowded with people ready to play pick up basketball. I can also relate to his physical appearance and how that effects how he plays. similarly to myself he is a tall, skinny guard.
the other text connection i made was another text to self connection and it is how Greg does poorly in school because he is always focus, fully or partially on basketball. He doesn't intend to do bad in school and he works hard on being able to concentrate on his school work but he is always distracted by his passion for the game. I can relate this not just to myself but to many student-athletes. It can be very hard for us to get good grades because as a whole student-athletes usually have a lot on their plates. I am interested to see if Greg will be able to pulls his grades together and succeed academically because it is a real testament to an athletes character when they care about their education and look at their future past (for the mo=majority of us) high school sports.
Swipe (129)
I find that I can make true text to self-connections with this novel. The most predominate one being the similar way the protagonists in the novel and I view our government and institutions. We all seem to have a very critical view. In the novel, Logan is always questioning what the government is saying and doing. He does not completely agree with the whole “Marking” system that the government has in place, since it is the reason for his sister’s disappearance and suspected death. I personally do not agree with some of the things my own government does and say, like using our budget to pay for military supplies instead of feeding our people, so Logan and I relate on that note. Logan and I also seem to agree on the idea that we are being watched. We walk around day in and day out, with absolutely no idea that we are being watched. The government is keeping tabs on all of us and we have no clue. Logan, before bed every night, sneaks around his house with a flash light to check every floor. Now I am not that paranoid, but I can understand where Logan is coming from. He seems to be a big fish in a small pond in his life, worrying about things that his other peers are not even aware of. I have similar feelings, I always feel as though my other peers aren't aware of the worlds’ problems and issues. All in all, I find that I can connect with Logan.
My first text-text connection is between Dexter in the Dark (my book) and the movie Goodfellas. The characteristic that I am comparing is a quirk of a the characters, that being that they deal in serious business, but their thoughts are often about medial things. The example is; Dexter is working on a murder case where people were burnt and beheaded. But as the investigation wears on, he is more worried about how to convince his future wife to not splurge on an expensive caterer for their wedding, even though he really doesn't care. Henry Hill, the main character in Goodfellas, has his last day as a mobster chronicled. On this day, he is up and about all day, moving guns around the city, packaging up cocaine and selling it. As all of this goes on (in one day) he has one thing in the back of his mind that he keeps reminding people of "don't let the sauce stick". He's cooking pasta for supper and he doesn't want the sauce to stick. The different life is regular for these two characters, which causes them to not care too much about the things surrounding them, which makes them focus on what most people would consider little things
Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis (465)
A text to self connection that I noticed in this book relates to Anthony's self-sabotaging habits. Anthony seems to fall in love easily but he can never make his relationships work. At the beginning of the book Anthony goes through women quickly and at the very end he manages to stay with the same woman on and off for 4 years. I personally am guilty of self-sabotage but in a different way. Often times, when I try something I either give up if I don't get immediate results or I don't put in the full amount of effort that I should. Anthony's problem is with drugs, my problem is with self-motivation.
In this autobiography one of the recurring themes is addiction. Today's young people still face this very real struggle every day. In fact, the prospect of abusing drugs and alcohol seems to be getting even more common among teenagers and young adults. Growing up in this decade its very common to find kids who you would expect to be clean that are actually very fond of marijuana and alcohol. It has even become normal to hear about peers who do cocaine or synthetic drugs like molly or MDMA. I know it has always been normal for young people to experiment in different ways but we have become so desensitized to these instances of too much too soon. Drugs can inhibit our natural development so shouldn't it be abnormal to hear about so many kids who have thrown away their lives for the pursuit of partying? It is fine to have a good time every now and then but getting black-out drunk every weekend or snorting cocaine for the next good time is something that we should take a second look at before we simply dismiss it
Blood Meridian or The Evening of Redness in the West
by Cormac McCarthy
Page 78
So far, a lot of this book has been walking through the desert but not aimlessly. There always is a goal or destination in mind but the author takes great pleasure in making “nothing” so vivid. When there is something of more interest happening, it usually involves a rather colourful or memorable character. Usually these characters only stick around for a couple of pages or a chapter if we’re lucky. Going from place to place and meeting odd, vivid characters sort of reminds me of the Coen brother’s film “O Brother Where Art Thou?” which is loosely based on Homer’s “Odyssey”. While Odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou had a goal at the end of their epic journey’s, Blood Meridian doesn't or at least not yet. As far as we know, all the Kid’s motivation for doing what he does and what drives the story forward is his unexplained thirst for mindless violence. The only other thing that keeps the story rolling are the plethora of characters we meet on the Kid’s journey. The Kid follows wherever the violence is which in a lot of cases has to do with characters he happens to come across and they lead him to the violence. Like the rather racist (more so than the average person back then) Captain White, an ex-soldier leading a group of militants into Mexico which he believes is a “lawless nation that should be conquered by the United States”. As you’d expect, the kid doesn't really care about the reasons for the violence, just the presence of it is enough for him to follow.
The Kid, in an odd sort of way reminds me just a little bit of myself. I don’t go seeking out violence nor do I consider it to be a particularly healthy way to get your cathartic release. But if were speaking in terms of the entertainment I seek out, I can see a connection between us. If try to list some of my favourite movies in my head like Drive, In Bruges, Super, Trainspotting, Apocalypse Now or Goodfellas, they all share a commonality, violence. I do usually try to stick to the rule of making sure the violence is in context and if not then I’ll have to question it and consider it to be a negative aspect of the film. But there are times where I couldn't care less and I deliberately seek out mindless action films like Commando, Face/Off or Crank. Is that a good way to blow off some steam? Yeah I’d say so. It sure is a lot better than some of the stuff the Kid gets up to in this book. Although they didn't exactly have TV back then so maybe that was the next best thing (is he joking?). The whole thirst for violence thing, I get it, maybe not in the exact same way as the Kid but as much as I’d hate to say it, we do share that in an odd sort of way.
The Twilight Zone(Back There) by Rod Serling - pg 44
A T-T connection I have with the story i'm reading is with the movie Back to the Future. In the story the main character Corrigan is sent back in time to the day when abraham lincoln was assassinated after bumping his head. This has a similar feel like Back to the Future when Marty McFly is sent back in time due to unfortunate circumstances. The diffrence between the two is Corrigan is trying to alter the past and change the future out come for America while Marty is trying to fix his present time to make sure he is born after he accidently altered the past by stopping his parents from falling in love.The Connection I had was how the two stories follow the same idea of time travel and the power changing the past can have but they take different paths with their stories.
The other connection I have is a T-W connection about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The story has Corrigan the main character go back in time to find he's gone back to the exact date when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. In real life this had a big impact on America when he was killed and in the story Corrigan is presented with the chance to try and stop him from being murdered and alter the outcome of America. The connection I had was both deal with a real world situation but the story leads towards a what if Abraham Lincoln was not assassinated? what would America be like now?
Absence of the Hero (35%)
Charles Bukowski is my favorite author because of many things, that includes text to self-connections. In this book, in almost all of the stories that I've already read, Bukowski falls in love quickly and constantly talks about it in his writing. I saw myself between the lines because the same thing always happens with me. All this process of falling in love quickly and then writing about it, and write when it's over too. It all happens to me and I'm always in the same position as him.
Another aspect that I can see myself in, is the fact that Bukowski is a lover of love. Love is his biggest inspiration and it's a thing that he hopelessly needs.
The book is more about feelings than facts, so my text-self connections could be a little cliche but so are some things present in the book and some reasons why he is my favorite author.
The novel I am currently reading is called “The Spectacular Now” by Tim Tharp. I have enjoyed this novel a lot so far and I am currently on page 93. In this novel I came across a really good text-to-text connection. This text-to-text connection reminds me of a movie I have watched before called “Not Another Teen Movie.” The plot in the movie is these friends make a bet they cannot transform the nerdish girl in school into a complete smoke show. The one friend tries to become friends with her and transforms her into a really attractive girl and then he realizes he likes her for her and not because she is really good looking now. In this book Sutter becomes accidental friends with a very nerdy girl. When Sutter is explaining what happened to Ricky, Ricky says “’So what are you gonna do, give her a makeover like in the movies where they turn the nerd girl into a raging hottie?’(pg. 85)” Sutter however does not want to do that to this girl because he feels like this girl has struggled enough in life and does not want to hurt her anymore.
The novel I am currently reading is called “The Spectacular Now” by Tim Tharp. I have enjoyed this novel a lot so far and I am currently on page 93. In this novel I came across a text-to-self. This was when Sutter and his current ex-girlfriend Cassidy (girlfriend at the time) had an argument about Sutter not listening to her and only caring about himself. In the hallways I always hear multiple fights like that between couples. The girl is always nagging her boyfriend about something she wishes he would do, but the boyfriend does not seem to be listening. He is always just nodding along or not even looking in the right direction. I feel bad for these couples because it gives a very negative outlook on their relationship, especially if they have to do it in public in front of everyone. Cassidy and Sutter broke up because of Sutter not listening so I always wonder when the couples in the hallways will finally have enough of the drama and call it quits.
Jasmine Baker
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, finished the book. In this book I have found many connections. Including text-text, text-self and text-world. Two connections stood out to me the most. My first connection is a text-text connection, connecting the book to a movie called my Sisters Keeper. My Sisters Keeper is a movie about a young girl, mid teens, who has been battling cancer almost all of her life. She ends up meeting a boy who is also battling cancer. They end up spending a lot of their time left together and slowly fall in love. The boyfriend ends up passing away leaving the young teen very hurt however she knows that she does not have very long either. This reminded me of The Fault In Our Stars because the plot in the end is basically the same. The main girl, Hayzel, meets a boy and falls in love. She then finds out that he is battling cancer just like she is. Unfortunately he also passes away but Hayzel knows she will see him again someday.
My second connection is a text-self connection. Like many others, I have lost people that are close to me, from cancer. Reading this book made me think of the people in my life who have battled or lost a battle to cancer.The book never specified whether Hayzel, the main character, dies or not so my assumption is that she won the battle to cancer, however will always have a lung problem. This reminded me of my Aunt who won the battle of breast cancer. I also realized how fortunate my health is when reading this book because the characters were very ill.
Divergent
Text to self connection:
Beatrice was having a very hard time deciding on where she belongs among the factions and couldn't decide what she would be best in, between taking a risk and choosing Dauntless or staying with what she knows and her family and choosing Abnegation. Beatrice not being able to decide who she is relates to me quite a bit. I have had a rough time trying to choose between two different paths for next year and what to take in University. I couldn't decide between going into the RCMP or going to University to become a lawyer. I didn't know what fit me best and what I would excel in. This is close to Beatrice's internal conflict because she can't decide her fate either. Eventually Beatrice chooses the risk with going to Dauntless and I have chosen to go to University to become a lawyer and we both love our decisions.
Text to text connection:
In Divergent we see an alternate reality where people don't have it very easy and there is a corrupt government, people are forced to choose a certain faction and can not do anything that involves an other faction or show qualities that apply to another faction, which I think is not ok because people are supposed to be able to be who they want. I see a text to text connection with Divergent and the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games we see an alternate reality with a corrupt government also, children are choosing to fight to death which is publicly broadcasted across the country. This is also a life that would not be too fun to live in and it is the government trying to show their power over the people in all the wrong ways.
Along for the ride.
Text Connections
A text connection I have had while reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen is a text to self connection. I connect with Auden because she usually feels she’s obligated to do the right thing. She takes the job from Heidi because she’s good with numbers and see’s that Heidi is very stressed with Thisbe. Auden also she always helps with Thisbe no matter how annoying or stressful her cries can be. I’ve never had the situations Auden has but I connect with her because she feels she has to do the right thing and to always be helpful. I usually try to always help people when they need it. I feel obligated almost because I can see they need help, so I’m drawn to help them out.
A text connection I have had while reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen is a text to world connection. The connection I made is when Auden goes on a little rant because her friends were saying Thisbe looks like a farmer or a truck driver because she’s not in pink. Auden goes on to rant about the way society looks at girls. How they always have to be girly and in pink and can’t do anything else. I feel this is a real issue in our world. Girls as told to look and act a certain way, and if they don’t look and act that certain way then they are looked down upon. Just like Thisbe, or more likely Auden was because Thisbe was not dressed as a little princess.
-Karli Wishnowski
Illuminate by Aimee Agresti (Pg.200)
This book started off really slow for me, the majority of the first half of it was taken up with photography and sleep on Haven’s part, along with a rather creepy romantic relationship that she develops with her boss Lucian. Though I still find it pretty interesting.
Text-to- Text Connection
This book really reminded me of the TV Series "Vampire Diaries". The main character Haven in the book is very similar to "Elena" in the tv show. They're both trying to dig things up from their past to discover their true identities. Though in the process of that, they discover a lot of things that they would have never thought of even coming across with. Haven falls for her boss who I find extremely mysterious and creepy just like Elena but she falls for a vampire.
Text to self-Connection
The way Aimee Agresti portrayed her main character Haven is very relatable. Haven is a smart honors student with a bright future ahead of her. She wins an internship at Chicago’s hottest new hotel along with her bestfriend Dante and Lance. I find myself relating to her because I would like to achieve something similar like that in my life. Even though she has no clue who her real parents are she keeps pushing her way to the top to make herself achieve great things. She's a really good role model in my opinion. Even though I dislike her romantic relationship with her boss.
The fault in our Stars - I relate most to Hazel's worry. Throughout the book so far, she has tried to hide her emotions, or so it seems. From the very first line you can hear a certain bitterness in her tone when she talks about something. It feels like she is just trying to e strong for her family and friends, but underneath it all she is afraid of what she'll miss. When Hazel talks about the book "An Imperial Affliction," she asks questions such as "whether the tulip man is a con man, whether Anna's mom ends up marrying him, what happens to Anna's stupid hamster, whether Anna's friends graduate from high school." When I read that line it made me think that these are all questions that she wonders about on a daily basis.
I am not facing the kind of life circumstances that Hazel has to face but I do worry. Next year I will have to step out of my comfort zone and try new things where university is concerned and it scares me. Apart of me wants to stay here and go straight into university, but another part of me wants to leave and help people. Maybe go on a missions trip such as YWAM. That would be an amazing thing to do, only I'm really worried about what I'll miss if/when I leave and just being away from the people I love in general.
Swipe by Evan Angler
Text to text connection.
I can connect this text to another book series called the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Both novels have a dystopian feel to them which makes them very similar. Both novels have young protagonist who aren't really comfortable with the society they live in. They both question authority, but in the privacy of their own minds. Both novels have a war that ended the society we know and turned the world into the ones they live in. Each novel has their own type of governments but both aim to have total control over their citizens. All in all I feel as though these two texts connect very well.
A House in the Sky (52)
The book I am reading is a memoir about Amanda Lindhout. Throughout what I have read so far I have found a strong text to self connection with the authors longing to see the world beyond what her own eyes can see. Ever since I was a kids similar to Lindhout I thought about what the world would be like outside of what my experiences had shown me. When I read about Lindhout longing to understand the lives of others it reminded me of how I felt before I left for Kenya. I wanted nothing more than to be able to comprehend this world beyond just what I am told as a Canadian student. I think because Lindhout and myself have that common mindset it makes this book full of connections to myself.
The next connection I found in the book "A House in the Sky" was a text to text connection comparing her story to the story of Craig Kielburger in his autobiography "Free the Children." Both books are written by young people striving to understand the world on a more personal and real basis. Lindhout and Kielburger both travel overseas and outside of their comfort zone to allow themselves to better comprehend the world around them. Within their stories of travel Kielburger and Lindhout seem to have similar personalities that are very driven, they think as a visionary, and crave adventure into what the world brings to them. Overall both books are fantastic reads about young people travelling the world to better understand the issues and lifestyles of the people around them.
Saving Max, 95
One connection that I've made while reading Saving Max, is a text to self connection. Throughout the book Danielle's love and devotion to her son as never wavered. No matter what obstacles we thrown in there way, she was always there to support Max and help him through the dark times of self loathing and depression. Always making sure he had the best doctors, that's why when Max's thoughts switched to suicide, they went to Maitland, the highest ranked psychiatric hospital in New York. Danielle would go to te ends of the earth for the people she loves. It's in that quality that we are the same, although the hardships my family has been through are completely different then theirs. I would do absolutely anything to protect and help my family. Danielle and I would sacrifice everything to help our loved ones out of whatever trouble they've gotten into, and we would do it in a heartbeat.
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