"We cling to our fairytales until the price for believing in them is too high." -Jacob Portman
We'd all like to believe something. Something that we known in our minds isn't true, but our hearts just can't let go of. When we do finally let go, it hurts. It hurts quite a bit. Letting go is painful, and I tried to show that in my piece. Using higlights and shading of purple, I attempted to add a mystical feel to the piece. Not the bright and happy fairytail sense, but in more of a dark and mysterious way. The lines that draw up from the iris and extend across the forehead and cheek are to create the sense that the figure, Jacob, is leaving someting behind, and the pain he is experiencing from that.
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Claire Weems
Honors Language Arts Mr. Moody Red Block Two 4:30. It was 4:30 on a Wednesday night and yet no skaters had laid a blade on the ice. Although they were nowhere to be seen, you most definitely could hear them. She’s going to kill me. If I have first lesson today, I swear… Hey Sofia...can I borrow your jacket…? I know it’s the third Wednesday in a row I’ve forgotten it, but I promise I’ll bring it next week! Emily! Stop stealing my tissues! And so on and so forth. It was now 4:32. Most of the skaters had now migrated to the ice, and Marie took her usual spot behind the boards. ******* The South Eastern Great Lakes Regional Figure Skating Championships -Regionals for short- is one of the biggest events of the skating season for many of Marie’s students. Months of preparation all are poured into this one competition. Hours upon hours of coaching and training and yet some don’t even make it past the qualifying round. For most of the skaters, this was it. Although this year was different for members of the Ice Skating Club of Indianapolis, especially those under the instruction of Marie Vichova Milkin. She was sick. On many occasions before this Marie had been sick, but it almost never stopped her from coming to the rink. Having just reached 68 years of age, using two prosthetic hips, and still she came every day, sometimes before 5 am, to teach. The Woman of Steel had met her arch nemesis: a heart condition. Still she taught. She prepared all of her students for the upcoming competition. Making them do their programs back to back: check. Fixing footwork: check. Adjusting elements to meet the Regionals requirements: done. Checking their double jumps: all clear. Making sure they were poised and graceful: check. When the competition finally came, she was set on going. Not even her doctor’s appointment would hold her back. The days were eventful. She watched her students compete, and congratulated and critiqued them, and made sure they were prepared and professional. Two days straight of coaching. Staying at the rink from the moment the first skater got on the ice, and until the last one left. The effects had begun to show. Her breathing, and walking slowed. The pain could be seen on her face. Any question of if she was okay was waved off with a reassurance not to worry, she was doing just fine, thank you. Everyone else let her be, including myself, but two remained behind to help. Stubbornness. That’s what Sofia-Alexandra Colon described their motivation as when asked. Pure stubbornness was would not let her or her mother leave that rink until Marie agreed to let them stay with her. Although she knew Marie was strong and determined, she began to worry. Sofia had lost someone close before, and feared the worst. “I didn’t know if that was the last time I would see her on her feet...it’s hard to lose someone like that.” They stayed until her breathing steadied. The minutes of waiting in the cold parking lot with immense uncertainty were not over yet. When she finally announced she was going to drive back to her hotel, they shadowed her. Following her every move, watching, waiting, anticipating. Fortunately for the skaters of the Ice Skating Club of Indianapolis, Marie made it back to her hotel room safely, and continued coaching the following day. On October 27th, 2016 , the actual procedure occurred. Her students were surprised to find her back at rink only a week later, a therapeutic pillow clutched to her chest and a cup of coffee on the sideboards. The woman of steel was back on her feet, ready to coach once again. F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, is considered to be one of the finest pieces of American literature. Known for being a stand out due to its plot, which follows the life of a young American businessman and his rich neighbor, instead of the usual story of the brave pioneer making a new life in western America. Why then, if this is deemed to be a unique gem in the rock collection of great American literature, has this book been banned? Dishonesty. A major and reoccurring topic that has nested its way into the people in Nick's life. From this small seed of dishonesty, blossoms of extramarital affairs, fraud, and murder begin to flower. Although such actions are not condoned by the book, many believe that this book should be banned for these events within the book. I have come to disagree with them. The Great Gatsby should not be banned or challenged, for it teaches the reader about human nature. "No, Gatsby turned out alright in the end; it was what prayed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams..." (Fitzgerald 20). His dreams were harmless ones of time spent with Daisy, his sweetheart before the war but the actions taken to achieve them walk on a grey line of dishonesty. This being said, his only goal in this, is to swoon the girl of his dreams, not to be an extravagant rich man, as shown by his behavior at his parties. "-but no one swooned backward on Gatsby and not French bob touched Gatsby's shoulder…" (Fitzgerald 55). Gatsby's wishes were pure of heart, but his actions were not, and there is a ring of truth to this in humanity. For this reason, I feel that The Great Gatsby should not be banned.
Extraordinarily Ordinary Protagonists, Enchanting World Building, and Enduring Loss; a Sugestion10/5/2016 What is ordinary? We often think of ourselves as ordinary human beings with plain lives. In Ransom Rigg’s Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Jacob, like many members of society, views himself as just another average Joe who is the same as the next person, but as he discovers, he is most certainly not. If you enjoyed the extraordinary character of Jacob, hidden behind an ordinary facade in Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children then you will find Gerard Way’s The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys interesting for the extraordinarily ordinary protagonist, the enchanting world building, and enduring loss.
The belief that we are ordinary often prevents us from finding our most extraordinary talents. For most people, this list consists of things such as drawing, writing, or singing, but seeing murderous monsters or being a human bomb are, generally, not on that list. As for Jacob and The Girl, this is not the case. Each one has a talent, beyond the imagination of their normal counterparts, that will ultimately lead to the conclusion of the book. Although they posses such wondrous abilities, they are made to believe they are ordinary, and there is nothing to their names “You aren't some golden child--some savior” ( Way 93). For The Girl, this view takes hold after the deaths of her guardians, the ones who truly believed in her, coupled with the insults of the others. As for Jacob, it was his grandfather’s wish to be normal that created his self image of being ordinary. “ ‘He wanted for you what he could never have for himself.’ ‘To be ordinary.’ I said” (Riggs 253). The post apocalyptic world of the Killjoys is very different than that of the peculiar children’s loop, that being said, the world building used in both is very similar. The main setting of Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the orphanage that is stuck in time. This time loop allows for the author to vividly describe the particular day that the children live in. “There wasn't a shingle out of place or a broken window. Turrets and chimneys that had slumped lazily on the house I remembered now pointed confidently towards the sky. The forest that has seemed to devour its walls stood at a respectful distance” (Riggs 143). Likewise, in The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys the desert and Battery City are built up around the reader. “There's more than electricity coursing through Bat City. It's littered with innocent souls, trapped in the cities electricity. Souls that cannot find their way home” (Way 45). The insightful look on the way the corporation has taken over the city and ‘trapped souls’ is ids of it provides a better perspective on what BL/i, or Better Living Industry is doing to the people of Battery City. Family ties are important for all people and characters, but tragic events can either destroy or build up a family. As family ties are tested in Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children between Jacob and his family after the death of his grandfather, he begins to delve into the world of his people, the peculiars. At first, he is disbelieving, and rather resentful after his grandfather dies, but as he learns more, he begins to see him as a hero. “I thought about all the long hunting trips Grandpa Portman used to go on. My family had a picture of him taken during one of these, though I don't know who took it or when since he almost always went alone. But when I was a kid I thought it was the funniest thing because, in the picture, he’s wearing a suit. Who brings a suit on a hunting trip? Now I knew: Someone who’s hunting more than just monsters” (Riggs 253). When it comes to the memory of lost ones and family ties, The Girl in The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys often times is left wondering who her mother was, and is often compared to her mentors, the original Killjoys. This post humorous comparison often leaves The Girl looking back on her past with longing, and despair. “They showed me how to live, Cola. Taught me things. I never knew my mom--and now...I can't even remember their faces...dying never hurts anyone except those it leaves behind” (Way 38-39). Extraordinarily ordinary protagonists, enchanting world building, and enduring losses. Each book has a main character who is an extraordinary person, hiding behind the mask of a normal citizen. The settings are compelling and well built in each story as well as strong ties to passed loved ones. Whilst each book is its own story with its own messages and themes, they are very similar and are compelling reads. If you found yourself lost in the pages of Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, you will most likely find that same enjoyment in The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. |
Claire WeemsSelf taught artist, musician, aspiring comic book author/artist, and student.
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