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
Saturday, February 16, 2013
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
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Coming Home!
Yay! Isabella will be home on Saturday!
For those who just randomly find this blog, Isabella is in the Army. She hasn't been home since she left for boot camp in July. The last time we (her family and myself) saw her was at her graduation from boot camp.
For those who just randomly find this blog, Isabella is in the Army. She hasn't been home since she left for boot camp in July. The last time we (her family and myself) saw her was at her graduation from boot camp.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Thanks for the memories!
Roommate, thank you so much for helping to make my birthday this year the best ever! I wish you could have been here for it, instead of all the way in Cali, but I'm glad you were able to have some part in its awesomeness.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Back in the swing of things?
I would like to get back in the swing of things of blogging again. Can this be done? We shall see.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Not quite sure what to put on here. I've been away from technology for what feels like forever. I've been trying to do the big girl thing and take care of life and crap. How crazy is that? But I kind of feel emotional lately. I guess that's what happens when you start liking a guy who's taken...while you're at AIT. Yeah. This is a problem. Yes, I do hate my life. Yes, he is trying to take full advantage of the situation. I'm not sure what to do anymore. He's the best friend I have here. I'll rant more later, but I'm on a public computer so I don't think that's exactly a safe place to be typing all of this. I'll update you all when I get back to my room tonight.
Love,
Bells
Love,
Bells
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