Chapter 21:
"We come to experience, not to change." People always seem to assume that aliens want to take over, make Earth be the planet they want. But that doesn't seem to be the case here. The Souls don't want to change anything on Earth. When they were inserted, they kept the same behaviors that the host human had. If the human had a partner, they stayed with that partner. Interesting.
"What stopped me wasn't the knowledge that a move like that would get me killed. What stopped me was the fact that I was weaker than the human in this way; even to save the boy, I could not make myself touch the weapon." Jeb put Jamie on guard duty. He gave Jamie his gun. That freaked Wanderer out. She still saw Jamie as a child, and didn't think a child should have a weapon like that. She almost grabbed it out of his hand, but she couldn't. She was scared of it. Another way of showing her innocence.
"These were not the tears of a child, and that made them more profound--made it more sacred and painful that he would cry them in front of me. This was the grief of a man at the funeral for his entire family." Wanderer told Jamie how the Souls invaded Earth. It hurt him to hear, because he "lost" his dad and his sister. His family. Imagine the pain of losing your whole family. Now I am reminded of the Doctor. Not only is his family gone, so is his planet. He is the last Timelord. Add Rose, Donna, and all the other companions that he has lost, all the lives he failed to save. So much pain.
"The mysterious bond of mother and child--so strong on this planet--was not a mystery to me any longer. There was no bond greater than one that required your life for another's. I'd understood this truth before; what I had not understood was why. Now I knew why a mother would give her life for her child, and this knowledge would forever shape the way I saw the universe." Lily sacrificing herself for Harry. Harry sacrificing himself for everyone. Katniss volunteering in place of Prim. Mulan fighting so her aged father would not have to.
Wanderer has been renamed Wanda.
Chapter 22:
"I've been wondering if you all aren't turning sort of human. If we don't have some real influence, in the end." Was Wandar turning human? Or did it somehow already fit her nature. I know a lot of Melanie's feelings were new for Wanda, but you could already tell that Wanderer had a soft nature.
Chapter 23:
Wanda confessed to Jamie that Melanie was still there.
"Was he really no longer intent on my death? Or just looking for an opportunity." Wanda still doesn't know what to think of Ian. He first tried to kill her, now he is being nice to her. Why?
---Amelia
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Host: Day 9--Chapters 19 and 20
Chapter 19:
"Just because she isn't human, do you think that means she doesn't feel pain?" Animal cruelty. There are a lot of people who abuse animals just because they can. Did you know that pets will still love you, even if you are mean to them? Do you remember the episode of Doctor Who with the space whale? How the people on that ship were abusing it? I think about that as I read the quote. Everyone in the hiding place, except for Jeb and Doc, wants Wanderer dead, because she is not human. So far. This line was said by Ian. Ian was with the group that brought Wanderer in. He did not want her there, either. But even he notices that Wanderer is not like the other souls. He sees the bruises that Jared, Kyle, and even himself has left on her. He is beginning to have some compassion for her. He feels guilty for having strangled her.
Chapter 20:
"A person would be on her guard on a dark and ominous night, a person would be ready. But on a clear, sunny day? How would she know to flee when she couldn't see any place for danger to hide?" I mentioned Doc, how he doesn't want Wanderer dead. The only reason he doesn't want her dead, is because he wants to experiment on her to see if he can learn anything about the Souls. It would probably be torture for Wanderer. He has speaks softly and smiles a little, but she still doesn't trust him. She doesn't know what he would have planned for her. To her, he is more dangerous than Kyle.
---Amelia
"Just because she isn't human, do you think that means she doesn't feel pain?" Animal cruelty. There are a lot of people who abuse animals just because they can. Did you know that pets will still love you, even if you are mean to them? Do you remember the episode of Doctor Who with the space whale? How the people on that ship were abusing it? I think about that as I read the quote. Everyone in the hiding place, except for Jeb and Doc, wants Wanderer dead, because she is not human. So far. This line was said by Ian. Ian was with the group that brought Wanderer in. He did not want her there, either. But even he notices that Wanderer is not like the other souls. He sees the bruises that Jared, Kyle, and even himself has left on her. He is beginning to have some compassion for her. He feels guilty for having strangled her.
Chapter 20:
"A person would be on her guard on a dark and ominous night, a person would be ready. But on a clear, sunny day? How would she know to flee when she couldn't see any place for danger to hide?" I mentioned Doc, how he doesn't want Wanderer dead. The only reason he doesn't want her dead, is because he wants to experiment on her to see if he can learn anything about the Souls. It would probably be torture for Wanderer. He has speaks softly and smiles a little, but she still doesn't trust him. She doesn't know what he would have planned for her. To her, he is more dangerous than Kyle.
---Amelia
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Host: Day 8--Chapters 17 and 18
Chapter 17:
"Why this crazy human should be such a comfort to me, I couldn't understand. I supposed it was like Melanie had said, desperate times." As I mentioned before, Jeb is the only one who has been nice to Wanderer. Because of that, I guess, she is clinging on to him. He took her to the bath and latrine area. He waited outside the entrance while she relieved herself. While she was separated from him, she was full of panic. When she finished and found him still waiting on her, her nerves calmed. I think it makes sense that she latched on to him.
"I was strong again. The strength of my body gave strength to my control, to my determination." Jamie was waiting for them when they got back from the bathing area. When they first saw Jared, Wanderer was unable to stop Melanie from flinging herself at him. This time, Wanderer was able to hold her back.
"I'd already known that she was more to me than a resistant host who made life unnecessarily difficult. We'd become companions, even confidantes during our past weeks together--ever since the Seeker had united us against a common enemy." I like this, because it shows that even the biggest of rivals can work together if they have just one common bond between them.
Chapter 18:
"Melanie and I thought a lot about Jamie. Mostly we worried that we had damaged him by coming here, that we were injuring him now. What was a kept promise in comparison to that?" Melanie had made a promise to Jamie that she would come back to him. She fought so hard to keep that promise. Now Wanderer/Melanie were wondering if they made the right choice in going to find them. Were they hurting him now?
"I wondered what he thought me capable of. What plan did he think I was hatching to overthrow their little world? Did I really seem so powerful? Wasn't it clear how pathetically defenseless I was?" Person A can be so full of hatred for Person B, even when everything that B has done so far is show that they are not there do any harm. Wanderer hasn't tried to run away or harm anyone. She is scared of everyone. She is still even a little hesitant with Jeb, the guy who is very kind to her. She tries to make herself invisible when she is in her little tunnel. But yet, Jared still hates her, still is distrustful of her.
--Amelia
"Why this crazy human should be such a comfort to me, I couldn't understand. I supposed it was like Melanie had said, desperate times." As I mentioned before, Jeb is the only one who has been nice to Wanderer. Because of that, I guess, she is clinging on to him. He took her to the bath and latrine area. He waited outside the entrance while she relieved herself. While she was separated from him, she was full of panic. When she finished and found him still waiting on her, her nerves calmed. I think it makes sense that she latched on to him.
"I was strong again. The strength of my body gave strength to my control, to my determination." Jamie was waiting for them when they got back from the bathing area. When they first saw Jared, Wanderer was unable to stop Melanie from flinging herself at him. This time, Wanderer was able to hold her back.
"I'd already known that she was more to me than a resistant host who made life unnecessarily difficult. We'd become companions, even confidantes during our past weeks together--ever since the Seeker had united us against a common enemy." I like this, because it shows that even the biggest of rivals can work together if they have just one common bond between them.
Chapter 18:
"Melanie and I thought a lot about Jamie. Mostly we worried that we had damaged him by coming here, that we were injuring him now. What was a kept promise in comparison to that?" Melanie had made a promise to Jamie that she would come back to him. She fought so hard to keep that promise. Now Wanderer/Melanie were wondering if they made the right choice in going to find them. Were they hurting him now?
"I wondered what he thought me capable of. What plan did he think I was hatching to overthrow their little world? Did I really seem so powerful? Wasn't it clear how pathetically defenseless I was?" Person A can be so full of hatred for Person B, even when everything that B has done so far is show that they are not there do any harm. Wanderer hasn't tried to run away or harm anyone. She is scared of everyone. She is still even a little hesitant with Jeb, the guy who is very kind to her. She tries to make herself invisible when she is in her little tunnel. But yet, Jared still hates her, still is distrustful of her.
--Amelia
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Host: Days 6 and 7--Chapters 13-16
Chapter 13:
"I forced her to see it from my perspective: to see the threatening shapes inside the dirty jeans and light cotton shirts, brown with dust. They might have been human--as she thought of the word--once, but at this moment they were something else. They were barbarians, monsters. They hung over us, shivering for blood. There was a death sentence in every pair of eyes." You've heard the stories of people getting made fun/beat up for who they are. For some reason, a lot of people fear those that are different. Blacks, gays, Muslims. How many times has a gay student committed suicide because they were mocked so badly. I watched a movie where a kid was beaten to death because he was Muslim, and it was right after 9/11. How many times did Malfoy call Hermione a Mudblood. At this point in the story, Wanderer/Melanie has been found by Jeb and some others hiding with him. Only Jeb is kind to her. The others want nothing more than to kill her, because she is no longer human. Different.
"Last night Melanie and I had wished for death, but death had been only inches away at the time. It was different now that I was on my feet again." Christians look forward to the day when they die, because that means they are going to heaven. A place with no suffering or tears, where they can meet Jesus. It is easy to think about death from far away, but I imagine it is a different feeling when the day actually comes. You think you are ready, but when it comes to it, you are scared. A little different in Melanie's case, but same concept. She was on the verge of death, so she wanted an end to the suffering. But now that she has had some water, and is being led to the hideout, she doesn't want to die. She is scared. Can you blame her?
Chapter 15:
"You're in love with him, too, separately from me. It feels different from the way I feel. Other. I didn't see that until he was there with us, until you saw him for the first time. How did that happend? How does a three-inch-long worm fall in love with a human being?" Melanie realizes that Wanderer is in love with Jared. I can see how that would happen. Melanie was still very much present when Wanderer was inserted in her body. Wanderer saw Melanie's memories of Jared, felt how much Melanie loved him. This went on long enough for Wanderer to have those same feelings herself. Like Melanie said, the feelings that Wanderer has are a little different than Melanie's feelings. Because Wanderer was only going off memories, the emotions are probably not going to be exactly the same as Melanie. She has her own feelings for him. No two people loves the same person in exactly the same way. I can see this causing problems between Melanie and Wanderer.
Chapter 16:
"If, unlikely as it may be, somehow this ever happens again, whoever the body belongs to makes the call." Jeb has now put the Wanderer/Melanie's fate in Jared's hand. Just imagine what all is going through Jared's head: the body of the girl he loves, with the eyes of the Souls. He waited and waited for Melanie to come back. Now she has, but not his Melanie. She is tainted. How would you handle the situation?
---Amelia
"I forced her to see it from my perspective: to see the threatening shapes inside the dirty jeans and light cotton shirts, brown with dust. They might have been human--as she thought of the word--once, but at this moment they were something else. They were barbarians, monsters. They hung over us, shivering for blood. There was a death sentence in every pair of eyes." You've heard the stories of people getting made fun/beat up for who they are. For some reason, a lot of people fear those that are different. Blacks, gays, Muslims. How many times has a gay student committed suicide because they were mocked so badly. I watched a movie where a kid was beaten to death because he was Muslim, and it was right after 9/11. How many times did Malfoy call Hermione a Mudblood. At this point in the story, Wanderer/Melanie has been found by Jeb and some others hiding with him. Only Jeb is kind to her. The others want nothing more than to kill her, because she is no longer human. Different.
"Last night Melanie and I had wished for death, but death had been only inches away at the time. It was different now that I was on my feet again." Christians look forward to the day when they die, because that means they are going to heaven. A place with no suffering or tears, where they can meet Jesus. It is easy to think about death from far away, but I imagine it is a different feeling when the day actually comes. You think you are ready, but when it comes to it, you are scared. A little different in Melanie's case, but same concept. She was on the verge of death, so she wanted an end to the suffering. But now that she has had some water, and is being led to the hideout, she doesn't want to die. She is scared. Can you blame her?
Chapter 15:
"You're in love with him, too, separately from me. It feels different from the way I feel. Other. I didn't see that until he was there with us, until you saw him for the first time. How did that happend? How does a three-inch-long worm fall in love with a human being?" Melanie realizes that Wanderer is in love with Jared. I can see how that would happen. Melanie was still very much present when Wanderer was inserted in her body. Wanderer saw Melanie's memories of Jared, felt how much Melanie loved him. This went on long enough for Wanderer to have those same feelings herself. Like Melanie said, the feelings that Wanderer has are a little different than Melanie's feelings. Because Wanderer was only going off memories, the emotions are probably not going to be exactly the same as Melanie. She has her own feelings for him. No two people loves the same person in exactly the same way. I can see this causing problems between Melanie and Wanderer.
Chapter 16:
"If, unlikely as it may be, somehow this ever happens again, whoever the body belongs to makes the call." Jeb has now put the Wanderer/Melanie's fate in Jared's hand. Just imagine what all is going through Jared's head: the body of the girl he loves, with the eyes of the Souls. He waited and waited for Melanie to come back. Now she has, but not his Melanie. She is tainted. How would you handle the situation?
---Amelia
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Host: Day 5--Chapters 11 and 12
Chapter 11:
"Who would live out here? We souls live for society. Why did I no longer belong to the society of souls? Why did I feel like I didn't...like I didn't want to belong? Had I really been a part of the community that was meant to be my own, or was that the reason behind my long line of lives lived in transience?...Had this planet changed me, or revealed me for what I already was?...Who was I?" Because of Melanie's memories, Wanderer cares so much for Jared and Jamie. She now wants to do everything she can to protect them from people like the Seeker. At this point she is having a sort of identity crisis. She has spent time in so many hosts. Has she finally found her home? I just really love Wanderer right now. She is trying to figure out who she is, which is something everyone goes through. She is being human.
Chapter 12:
"Well, I think that maybe...you're dying to be human. After all the planets and all the hosts you've left behind, you've finally found the place and the body you'd die for. I think you've found your home, Wanderer." This fits in with what I was just talking about. Melanie thinks that Wanderer is trying to be human.
"There's a reason we call it the final death...We have so many lives. Anything more would be...too much to expect. We die a little death every time we leave a host. We live again in another. When I die here, that will be the end." Wanderer and Melanie are talking the "afterlife". Wanderer explains that the Souls don't believe in it. Wanderer knows that if she died now, this would be her last body, her last host. No one really knows what happens after you die. Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, Reincarnation. It's a mystery.
---Amelia
"Who would live out here? We souls live for society. Why did I no longer belong to the society of souls? Why did I feel like I didn't...like I didn't want to belong? Had I really been a part of the community that was meant to be my own, or was that the reason behind my long line of lives lived in transience?...Had this planet changed me, or revealed me for what I already was?...Who was I?" Because of Melanie's memories, Wanderer cares so much for Jared and Jamie. She now wants to do everything she can to protect them from people like the Seeker. At this point she is having a sort of identity crisis. She has spent time in so many hosts. Has she finally found her home? I just really love Wanderer right now. She is trying to figure out who she is, which is something everyone goes through. She is being human.
Chapter 12:
"Well, I think that maybe...you're dying to be human. After all the planets and all the hosts you've left behind, you've finally found the place and the body you'd die for. I think you've found your home, Wanderer." This fits in with what I was just talking about. Melanie thinks that Wanderer is trying to be human.
"There's a reason we call it the final death...We have so many lives. Anything more would be...too much to expect. We die a little death every time we leave a host. We live again in another. When I die here, that will be the end." Wanderer and Melanie are talking the "afterlife". Wanderer explains that the Souls don't believe in it. Wanderer knows that if she died now, this would be her last body, her last host. No one really knows what happens after you die. Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, Reincarnation. It's a mystery.
---Amelia
Monday, February 18, 2013
The Host: Day 4--Chapters 9 and 10
I think these two chapters are the turning points for Wanderer and Melanie in the book. Wanderer decides to travel to see her first Healer, Fords Deep Waters, about what to do about her situation with Melanie. The Seeker wants Wanderer to skip to another Host, since she obviously can't control Melanie. Wanderer no longer trusts the Seeker, so she wants to talk to the Healer about what to do.
On the way there, Melanie keeps dreaming about Jared and Jamie. She knows that if the Seeker was to invade her body, it would mean that she had lost. The Seeker would do everything to get the rest of Melanie's secret. In chapter 9, Wanderer decides that she will do her best to keep Melanie away from the Seeker. She realizes that she has grown to care for Jared and Jamie about as much as Melanie herself does. As Wanderer continues to drive, Melanie dreams about a picture of a scribbles, which they figure out is a map to a hideout that her uncle showed her. Her uncle Jeb was one of the "nutters" who suspected alien invasions and stuff before it actually happened, so they were prepared for when the Souls came. Wanderer and Melanie decide that they are going to find that hideout, because that is where Jamie and Jared will be.
In chapter 10, they stop at at a gas station to get some water and a few other supplies, avoiding eye contact with the other people there. This where my favorite quotation from today comes from.
Wanderer wants to continue driving on the little road as much as possible. Melanie wants to be out walking, like what she was doing before she was captured. Wanderer doesn't think that would satisfy her.
"I could feel the real desire beneath the surface. Freedom. To move her body to the familiar rhythm of her long stride with only her will for guidance. For a moment, I allowed myself to see the prison that was life without a body. To be carried inside but unable to influence the shape around you. To be trapped. To have no choices."
There have been times when I have felt stuck, unable to go anywhere. I still can't imagine what it would be like in the scenario that Wanderer just described. That would be unbearable.
I want to leave with a quote from one of my favorite movies:
"Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire wo'ld. Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs, but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom."
---Amelia
On the way there, Melanie keeps dreaming about Jared and Jamie. She knows that if the Seeker was to invade her body, it would mean that she had lost. The Seeker would do everything to get the rest of Melanie's secret. In chapter 9, Wanderer decides that she will do her best to keep Melanie away from the Seeker. She realizes that she has grown to care for Jared and Jamie about as much as Melanie herself does. As Wanderer continues to drive, Melanie dreams about a picture of a scribbles, which they figure out is a map to a hideout that her uncle showed her. Her uncle Jeb was one of the "nutters" who suspected alien invasions and stuff before it actually happened, so they were prepared for when the Souls came. Wanderer and Melanie decide that they are going to find that hideout, because that is where Jamie and Jared will be.
In chapter 10, they stop at at a gas station to get some water and a few other supplies, avoiding eye contact with the other people there. This where my favorite quotation from today comes from.
Wanderer wants to continue driving on the little road as much as possible. Melanie wants to be out walking, like what she was doing before she was captured. Wanderer doesn't think that would satisfy her.
"I could feel the real desire beneath the surface. Freedom. To move her body to the familiar rhythm of her long stride with only her will for guidance. For a moment, I allowed myself to see the prison that was life without a body. To be carried inside but unable to influence the shape around you. To be trapped. To have no choices."
There have been times when I have felt stuck, unable to go anywhere. I still can't imagine what it would be like in the scenario that Wanderer just described. That would be unbearable.
I want to leave with a quote from one of my favorite movies:
"Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire wo'ld. Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs, but what a ship is... what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom."
---Amelia
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The Host: Day 2 (cont) and Day 3--chapters 6-8
Chapter 3:
"Not strong enough. Would they think me weak as well? Was I weak, that I could not force this mind to answer my questions? Weaker still, because her living thoughts had existed in my head where there should be nothing but memory? I'd always thought of myself as strong. This idea of weakness made me flinch. Made me feel shame." Why should Wanderer feel weak because Melanie is still with her? What make the souls the better species? This is a recurring thought of mine. Does this theme sound familiar to you? One species/race/religion/party thinks they are better than another species/race/religion/party. They try to force their beliefs on the other, thinking that they are right and the "lesser" of the two is wrong, so they should be converted. Disgusting.
"My name was now Wanderer, yet her memories fit it just as well as my own. Except that my wandering was by choice. These flashes of memory were always tinged with the fear of the hunted. Not wandering, but running." Wanderer got her name because she has lived on a bunch of different planets. She would stay there until her host body died, then move to a different place. She gave a lot of thought into where she would go next. She chose to move. Melanie, on the other hand, was also moving because she didn't want to be "tainted" by a soul. She was forced to. Melanie never stayed in the same place for a long time. Throughout this book, you get to see all the similarities/differences between the two.
Chapter 4:
"...but because she protected him more fiercely than other secrets I'd unraveled." Wanderer is talking about how Melanie is extremely protective of Jamie, her brother. The scene before was the first time we found out about Jamie. Melanie's relationship with him reminds me of Katniss' relationship with Prim.
Chapter 5:
"A Healer? You want me to skip?" "No one would think badly of that choice, Wanderer. It's understood, if a host is defective--" "Defective? She's not defective. I am. I'm too weak for this world!" Again I ask, why is it such a bad thing that Melanie is still present in Wanderer's mind?
"...I had not skipped out on the life term of my host. To do so was wasteful, wrong, ungrateful. It mocked the very essence of who we were as souls. We made our worlds better places; that was absolutely essential or we did not deserve them." I mentioned before that Wanderer always stayed with her host until the host died. The main reason why I liked this quote when she said that the souls made the worlds they visited better places. The next paragraph talks about why the souls came to Earth to begin with, how humans were "brutish and ungovernable." All the killings and wars. Part of me wants to say that the souls were right in coming to Earth, but at the same time, being a human myself, I understand why Melanie ran. Just because you don't agree with someone, doesn't mean you have to take control of them.
Before I continue on to my next quote, can I just say that I hate the Seeker? She is in the same group as Snow and Umbridge.
Chapter 8:
"It was very relaxing to be away from civilization, and this bothered me. I should not have found the loneliness so welcoming. Souls were sociable. We lived and worked and grew together in harmony. We were all the same: peaceful, friendly, honest. Why should I feel better away from my kind? Was it Melanie who made me this way?" I like Wanderer here. Compare her to the Seeker: the Seeker wants to rid the Earth of humans through whatever means possible, because when one exits, a soul dies, and a soul is obviously more important. Wanderer is more sympathetic. That could just be because of Melanie, but even in the beginning I think Wanderer had a kinder heart than the Seeker. The Seeker doesn't seem peaceful, friendly, and honest to me.
When Jared talks about how he doesn't want to bring a child into their world, I think about Katniss and how she doesn't want to bring a child into the world where District children fight to the death.
---Amelia
"Not strong enough. Would they think me weak as well? Was I weak, that I could not force this mind to answer my questions? Weaker still, because her living thoughts had existed in my head where there should be nothing but memory? I'd always thought of myself as strong. This idea of weakness made me flinch. Made me feel shame." Why should Wanderer feel weak because Melanie is still with her? What make the souls the better species? This is a recurring thought of mine. Does this theme sound familiar to you? One species/race/religion/party thinks they are better than another species/race/religion/party. They try to force their beliefs on the other, thinking that they are right and the "lesser" of the two is wrong, so they should be converted. Disgusting.
"My name was now Wanderer, yet her memories fit it just as well as my own. Except that my wandering was by choice. These flashes of memory were always tinged with the fear of the hunted. Not wandering, but running." Wanderer got her name because she has lived on a bunch of different planets. She would stay there until her host body died, then move to a different place. She gave a lot of thought into where she would go next. She chose to move. Melanie, on the other hand, was also moving because she didn't want to be "tainted" by a soul. She was forced to. Melanie never stayed in the same place for a long time. Throughout this book, you get to see all the similarities/differences between the two.
Chapter 4:
"...but because she protected him more fiercely than other secrets I'd unraveled." Wanderer is talking about how Melanie is extremely protective of Jamie, her brother. The scene before was the first time we found out about Jamie. Melanie's relationship with him reminds me of Katniss' relationship with Prim.
Chapter 5:
"A Healer? You want me to skip?" "No one would think badly of that choice, Wanderer. It's understood, if a host is defective--" "Defective? She's not defective. I am. I'm too weak for this world!" Again I ask, why is it such a bad thing that Melanie is still present in Wanderer's mind?
"...I had not skipped out on the life term of my host. To do so was wasteful, wrong, ungrateful. It mocked the very essence of who we were as souls. We made our worlds better places; that was absolutely essential or we did not deserve them." I mentioned before that Wanderer always stayed with her host until the host died. The main reason why I liked this quote when she said that the souls made the worlds they visited better places. The next paragraph talks about why the souls came to Earth to begin with, how humans were "brutish and ungovernable." All the killings and wars. Part of me wants to say that the souls were right in coming to Earth, but at the same time, being a human myself, I understand why Melanie ran. Just because you don't agree with someone, doesn't mean you have to take control of them.
Before I continue on to my next quote, can I just say that I hate the Seeker? She is in the same group as Snow and Umbridge.
Chapter 8:
"It was very relaxing to be away from civilization, and this bothered me. I should not have found the loneliness so welcoming. Souls were sociable. We lived and worked and grew together in harmony. We were all the same: peaceful, friendly, honest. Why should I feel better away from my kind? Was it Melanie who made me this way?" I like Wanderer here. Compare her to the Seeker: the Seeker wants to rid the Earth of humans through whatever means possible, because when one exits, a soul dies, and a soul is obviously more important. Wanderer is more sympathetic. That could just be because of Melanie, but even in the beginning I think Wanderer had a kinder heart than the Seeker. The Seeker doesn't seem peaceful, friendly, and honest to me.
When Jared talks about how he doesn't want to bring a child into their world, I think about Katniss and how she doesn't want to bring a child into the world where District children fight to the death.
---Amelia
Friday, February 15, 2013
"The Host" Reread Day 2--Chapters 3-5
Hey there! Wow, it feels like forever since I've been on here. Goodness. Life in the Army is going kind of crazy, but thankfully, Ames and I are able to start rereading "The Host" before the movie comes out next month. I think it's safe to say that we are both extremely excited about the movie.
Here are my thoughts from today's readings and some quotes.
First, can I just say that I want to tear through this book right now? I seriously wish we had less time to read it so that I could read it faster. Two chapters a day starting next week? That's going to kill me. I forgot how much I love these characters. Right now, I am definitely having some feels.
Chapter Three-
Does it seem odd to you that the Healer and the Seeker are so much more than just their souls? Or is that what it's like since humans are so vastly different from the other species that the souls have taken over? I don't think there's an issue with the writing here. I just think it shows how we as a race (the human race) are so much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. I mean, there are things that the soul just would not be able to overcome despite the fact that they are attached in every way to the physical body. I don't know. I am nerdily excited about the science and theoretical issues that would come with this. I don't know how to explain my the nerding going on in my head right now. I love the Healer, Fords, and I kind of wish we could have seen him more. The Seeker is a bitch, but we always knew that one.
Chapter Four-
I love the dream. It screams of a dystopic world for both Jared and Melanie, yet for the rest of the world, all the souls, it's a utopia. Are you kidding me? I love that concept. That even in this utopia there's the ability to exist a dystopic world for others. It just seems so real to me because even if a so called utopia did exist, there would still be dystopic tendencies. Also, how many people would be so unhappy in a world that is supposedly so perfect? This world that is free of violence, free of unpleasantness for the most part is a world that Melanie and Jared refuse to join because to them it's worse than living in a world with the violence and the anger and unpleasantness. How wonderful is this book? Seriously. You have people who are supposedly so good doing something that we would consider so evil, but that they see as being helpful. I mean, you've definitely got some of the flawed hero going on here with these souls. They think they're doing the right thing, but they're actually enslaving the human race. And then you have the resistance, the humans who see the truth for what it is, and they're doing all the wrong things to try to escape this so called "utopia" that really, in essence, just kills them. Because it is like they die. They lose who they are and all they have left are their bodies. Which are controlled by someone else who uses it for things that they have absolutely zero say in. And, I'm sorry, but I don't care how long you've been away from the human race, Jared Howe, you do no manhandle a girl and then kiss her when you find out she's human. I expect better from you, Howe!
Here are two quotes from this chapter that I really like:
Melanie/Wanda is having a dream about when Melanie first met Jared, but before she meets him, she's scoping out the house of two souls. She's waiting for them to be gone so that she can steal their food and get back to her younger brother who is starving. She talks about how the souls keep up human appearances really well. "I think it's Friday. They keep our habits so perfectly, it's hard to see any difference. Which is how they won in the first place." It reminds me of a quote from a Gilmore Girls episode. I don't remember the exact quote and I don't remember the exact episode. But it's when Lorelai is explaining to Sooki how to put the leash onto Paul Anka (the dog). She explains that he's like us Americans: we like to have our freedom slowly stripped away from us without our knowledge. Something like that. And this is exactly what happened with the human race when the souls came in. They start becoming extinct without even realizing it. It shows a lot of flaws in the way humans exist. How we refuse to acknowledge problems or stand up to them until it's way too late.
This next quote is just a good one in my opinion because it just explains way too perfectly how hard it can be to be human sometimes. And how another species could be rocked to the core by just how difficult it is to handle human emotions. How sharp and vivid and powerful they are. "I blinked away the unwelcome moisture in my eyes. I didn't know how much more of this I could stand. How did anyone survive this world, with these bodies whose memories wouldn't stay in the past where they should? With these emotions that were so strong I couldn't tell what I felt anymore?" It also speaks to me because I have a lot of memories that I wish I could forget. But I can't. Because that's not the way life works for me or for anyone else. And it just makes being human a little more difficult to handle. I understand Wanda so well right here.
Chapter Five-
These are where one my favorite quotes exist. I can't handle this book sometimes. And I'm not even into the real emotional parts of this book. I think rereading this will end me. But it is SO GOOD. I swear to everything good and holy that this woman did not write this book.
I will just write down the quote real fast because I feel like I've ranted on long enough. So, here we go:
"'In so many millennia, the humans never did figure love out. How much is physical, how much in the mind? How much accident and how much fate? Why did perfect matches crumble and impossible couples thrive? I don't know the answers any better than they did. Love simply is where it is.'"
I love this.
Happy Hunger Games and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor!
Happy reading.
Isabella
Here are my thoughts from today's readings and some quotes.
First, can I just say that I want to tear through this book right now? I seriously wish we had less time to read it so that I could read it faster. Two chapters a day starting next week? That's going to kill me. I forgot how much I love these characters. Right now, I am definitely having some feels.
Chapter Three-
Does it seem odd to you that the Healer and the Seeker are so much more than just their souls? Or is that what it's like since humans are so vastly different from the other species that the souls have taken over? I don't think there's an issue with the writing here. I just think it shows how we as a race (the human race) are so much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. I mean, there are things that the soul just would not be able to overcome despite the fact that they are attached in every way to the physical body. I don't know. I am nerdily excited about the science and theoretical issues that would come with this. I don't know how to explain my the nerding going on in my head right now. I love the Healer, Fords, and I kind of wish we could have seen him more. The Seeker is a bitch, but we always knew that one.
Chapter Four-
I love the dream. It screams of a dystopic world for both Jared and Melanie, yet for the rest of the world, all the souls, it's a utopia. Are you kidding me? I love that concept. That even in this utopia there's the ability to exist a dystopic world for others. It just seems so real to me because even if a so called utopia did exist, there would still be dystopic tendencies. Also, how many people would be so unhappy in a world that is supposedly so perfect? This world that is free of violence, free of unpleasantness for the most part is a world that Melanie and Jared refuse to join because to them it's worse than living in a world with the violence and the anger and unpleasantness. How wonderful is this book? Seriously. You have people who are supposedly so good doing something that we would consider so evil, but that they see as being helpful. I mean, you've definitely got some of the flawed hero going on here with these souls. They think they're doing the right thing, but they're actually enslaving the human race. And then you have the resistance, the humans who see the truth for what it is, and they're doing all the wrong things to try to escape this so called "utopia" that really, in essence, just kills them. Because it is like they die. They lose who they are and all they have left are their bodies. Which are controlled by someone else who uses it for things that they have absolutely zero say in. And, I'm sorry, but I don't care how long you've been away from the human race, Jared Howe, you do no manhandle a girl and then kiss her when you find out she's human. I expect better from you, Howe!
Here are two quotes from this chapter that I really like:
Melanie/Wanda is having a dream about when Melanie first met Jared, but before she meets him, she's scoping out the house of two souls. She's waiting for them to be gone so that she can steal their food and get back to her younger brother who is starving. She talks about how the souls keep up human appearances really well. "I think it's Friday. They keep our habits so perfectly, it's hard to see any difference. Which is how they won in the first place." It reminds me of a quote from a Gilmore Girls episode. I don't remember the exact quote and I don't remember the exact episode. But it's when Lorelai is explaining to Sooki how to put the leash onto Paul Anka (the dog). She explains that he's like us Americans: we like to have our freedom slowly stripped away from us without our knowledge. Something like that. And this is exactly what happened with the human race when the souls came in. They start becoming extinct without even realizing it. It shows a lot of flaws in the way humans exist. How we refuse to acknowledge problems or stand up to them until it's way too late.
This next quote is just a good one in my opinion because it just explains way too perfectly how hard it can be to be human sometimes. And how another species could be rocked to the core by just how difficult it is to handle human emotions. How sharp and vivid and powerful they are. "I blinked away the unwelcome moisture in my eyes. I didn't know how much more of this I could stand. How did anyone survive this world, with these bodies whose memories wouldn't stay in the past where they should? With these emotions that were so strong I couldn't tell what I felt anymore?" It also speaks to me because I have a lot of memories that I wish I could forget. But I can't. Because that's not the way life works for me or for anyone else. And it just makes being human a little more difficult to handle. I understand Wanda so well right here.
Chapter Five-
These are where one my favorite quotes exist. I can't handle this book sometimes. And I'm not even into the real emotional parts of this book. I think rereading this will end me. But it is SO GOOD. I swear to everything good and holy that this woman did not write this book.
I will just write down the quote real fast because I feel like I've ranted on long enough. So, here we go:
"'In so many millennia, the humans never did figure love out. How much is physical, how much in the mind? How much accident and how much fate? Why did perfect matches crumble and impossible couples thrive? I don't know the answers any better than they did. Love simply is where it is.'"
I love this.
Happy Hunger Games and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor!
Happy reading.
Isabella
Book Club: The Host--Day 1
Question
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
When Body my good
bright dog is dead
How will it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye
with cloud for a shift
how will I hide?
---May Swenson
The chapters for Day 1 were the Prologue through chapter 2. I marked a few lines that I liked, so I thought I would start the discussion there.
In the prologue, the Healer and his assistant are talking the adult human that has been brought in. They are getting ready to insert the soul, and the Healer is annoyed by the students who came to watch the procedure. The assistant made a comment that the soul they are about to insert has be specifically picked the human on the table. He said that, if the soul was able to, it would have volunteered for this assignment. This is how the Healer responds,
"Who among us would not volunteer if asked to do something for the greater good? But is that really the case here? Is the greater good served by this? The question is not her willingness, but what is right to ask any soul to bear."
As you know, the human put up a pretty good fight to avoid being captured; the human's final act damaged the body a lot. The soul is going to have every single memory of the human. The Healer knows that the soul is going to have to bear a lot. Supposedly this is all for "the greater good", but the Healer is not sure if he is doing the right thing in this case. It makes me think about how even the best intentions may not be appropriate, they could make the situation worse, especially if the actions taken to do the "right thing" is not the right thing in itself. Does this make sense?
My last two quotes come from chapter 2.
"Storytelling was the most honored of all talents, for it benefited everyone." I really like that line. I think storytelling has always been important. Remember, before the written word came about, stories were told orally. These stories were myths, in the sense that it helped them understand the world. I like stories.
"Good citizenship was quintessential to every soul." Does this make you think of the Hunger Games to you? You know, how the citizens of the districts had to obey the laws of the Capitol. The reason why the Games took place was to prove to the Districts that they couldn't beat the Capitol. Remember what happened the last time they tried to revolt? This is what that line makes me think of. The Souls control everything. It is important to obey them. In fact, I think the Seeker could work for the Capitol. She has the same sort of mindset.
These are my thoughts so far. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
---Amelia
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
When Body my good
bright dog is dead
How will it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye
with cloud for a shift
how will I hide?
---May Swenson
The chapters for Day 1 were the Prologue through chapter 2. I marked a few lines that I liked, so I thought I would start the discussion there.
In the prologue, the Healer and his assistant are talking the adult human that has been brought in. They are getting ready to insert the soul, and the Healer is annoyed by the students who came to watch the procedure. The assistant made a comment that the soul they are about to insert has be specifically picked the human on the table. He said that, if the soul was able to, it would have volunteered for this assignment. This is how the Healer responds,
"Who among us would not volunteer if asked to do something for the greater good? But is that really the case here? Is the greater good served by this? The question is not her willingness, but what is right to ask any soul to bear."
As you know, the human put up a pretty good fight to avoid being captured; the human's final act damaged the body a lot. The soul is going to have every single memory of the human. The Healer knows that the soul is going to have to bear a lot. Supposedly this is all for "the greater good", but the Healer is not sure if he is doing the right thing in this case. It makes me think about how even the best intentions may not be appropriate, they could make the situation worse, especially if the actions taken to do the "right thing" is not the right thing in itself. Does this make sense?
My last two quotes come from chapter 2.
"Storytelling was the most honored of all talents, for it benefited everyone." I really like that line. I think storytelling has always been important. Remember, before the written word came about, stories were told orally. These stories were myths, in the sense that it helped them understand the world. I like stories.
"Good citizenship was quintessential to every soul." Does this make you think of the Hunger Games to you? You know, how the citizens of the districts had to obey the laws of the Capitol. The reason why the Games took place was to prove to the Districts that they couldn't beat the Capitol. Remember what happened the last time they tried to revolt? This is what that line makes me think of. The Souls control everything. It is important to obey them. In fact, I think the Seeker could work for the Capitol. She has the same sort of mindset.
These are my thoughts so far. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
---Amelia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)