The Great Gatsby

   I read 'The Great Gatsby' for the first time when I was in Year 11, aged 15, and I really didn't like it. When I got to Year 12, my English teacher told me that The Great Gatsby was one of our compulsory coursework texts. So, I re-read it, still holding all these negative thoughts about it and after closer study of the book, I now love The Great Gatsby and see why it is constantly hailed as a literary classic. I also got an A in my coursework, holllaaa. I think the reason why I disliked it so much before was because I wasn't mature enough to fully understand it but it is amazing how much a person can grow in the massive jump from Year 11 to Year 12.

  The Great Gatsby is often considered F Scott Fitzgerald's greatest work and it chronicles the capitalistic and materialistic world of the 'Roaring Twenties' in America after World War 1. This was a time of loose morals, money, prohibition, crime and a strong belief in the American Dream, themes that Fitzgerald explores in his work. Although The Great Gatsby is quite short, a lot can be taken from it. The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a man who is somewhat detached from the world of the affluent. His neighbour is the mysterious Jay Gatsby (the novel's title adds to this mystery, making him seem like a magician) who hosts lavish parties in order to catch the attention of his old flame, Daisy Buchanan (Nick's cousin), who lives across the bay in 'East Egg', whereas Nick and Gatsby live in 'West Egg'. It is implied that Daisy rejected Gatsby in the past due to his lack of fortune, making her his prime motivation to become a millionaire. The different 'Eggs' emphasize the disparities between 'Old Money', those who were born into wealth like Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan, whereas West Egg is for the 'New Money', those who had just made their fortunes. The Great Gatsby follows the titular character's intention of re-doing the past (reuniting with Daisy) and the consequences of the worlds of the 'Old Money' and 'New Money' colliding.

    When most people read The Great Gatsby, it is the character of Daisy Buchanan that they hate but for me, it was Gatsby himself. Yes, Daisy is extremely selfish and heartless with a high opinion of herself but in my opinion, Gatsby contributes to this by practically worshiping her, inflating her ego even more. However, you can't help but pity him slightly- he is only in love but this 'love' is questionable as he barely knows Daisy. Does he just want her as a living trophy to add to his already plentiful 'accomplishments'? In the novel, Fitzgerald explores themes such as the hypocrisy and callousness of the upper classes, a theme that is particularly evident in the novel's denouement. Another very important theme in The Great Gatsby is the corruption of the American Dream and this is shown through the way that many of the novel's characters have lost their moral compasses, Gatsby especially, who has gained the Dream through possibly illegal means. Fitzgerald stresses a very old message: money does not always bring happiness- neither Gatsby nor the Buchanans are content with their wealth.

  On the surface, The Great Gatsby is simply the ill-fated love story between Gatsby and Daisy but on a deeper level, it is so much more and a strong commentary on the society in that time and how over-indulgence can lead to a fall and in reality, the consumerism lead to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

  I'm very very excited that there is another film version of The Great Gatsby coming out this year. It is directed by Baz Luhrmann and I love his work, Moulin Rouge especially. It is an all star cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby (Robert Redford just didn't do it for me in the '74 adapation), Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan (I mention her here) and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway (Spiderman, anyone?). I'm also a huge fan of 'Gossip Girl' and I think some of the characters could have been inspired by The Great Gatsby. I mean, there's the whole Upper East Side (East Egg) vs Lower East Side (West Egg) thing and I surely can't be the only one that sees Serena van der Woodsen as Daisy and Dan Humphrey as Gatsby/Nick, right?

 Anyway, I am deviating from the book.To wrap this up, The Great Gatsby is great, even though the eponymous protagonist might not be. This post has been quite long because I just have so much to say about it. I'd really recommend it but be sure to read it with an open mind, even if some characters end up irritating you, *cough* Daisy *cough* Gatsby *cough*. However, in my opinion, a book is a good book if the characters strongly affect you.

Rating 4.5/5 ****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Gatsby-F-Scott-Fitzgerald/dp/0241965675/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365642486&sr=1-3&keywords=the+great+gatsby

Happy Easter!

   This weekend has been really hectic for me but I just want to quickly share the Easter message. This is perhaps the most important celebration in the Christian faith as it marks Jesus' resurrection and through him, all sins are taken away and there is hope of life in heaven after death: "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities."- Isaiah 53:5-6.
 
   So even though Easter eggs are nice (I personally don't see their appeal but I'm odd), let us not forget the true reason behind the season. Happy Easter.

I Give It a Year

   This isn't a book post but this film infuriated me so much and I need to let out my anger. I Give It a Year is a British comedy film that came out this year. As it was penned and directed by the same guy that wrote 'Borat' with the producers of 'Love Actually' and 'Bridget Jones' Diary', I was really looking forward to it- I expected it to be a good laugh.

  The film stars Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rafe Spall as Nat and Josh, a couple who get married after only seven months of knowing each other and most of their friends and family believe that they won't last, hence the film's title. I expected the film to be a cute rom-com, showing the trials and tribulations of the first year of marriage and how these can be overcome. I'll admit that 99% of it was funny, even with some of the overly crude jokes and gags that were not needed. It was the final 1% that really irked and brought down the film for me. I don't want to ruin it, but let's just say that my expectations were false and the film's title is more important than expected.

  I am a firm believer in the importance and sanctity of marriage and this film completely spits on that and it also has a total lack of respect for one of the most significant parts of human relationships. The film does not give out a good message to today's generation. It takes WORK for a marriage to be successful; you can't just decide to give up when it gets difficult and it pains me that marriage is not that respected nowadays (Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries anyone?). Marriage is not something that a person should just decide on a whim! It takes careful consideration and you have to be completely sure of the person. This links back to a post I did before on dating  and how I am personally very careful when it comes to relationships.

  Rant over. I'm sure other people enjoyed this film but I certainly did not. I give it a 2/10.

The Host

  Okay, I'll admit it: I am a Stephenie Meyer fan.
   
   I can feel you judging me but I actually really liked all the Twilight books. I have them all; I've read them numerous times and I even have the illustrated guide and the additional book that was not needed on the character of Bree Tanner. In my opinion, the books are unjustly slammed and the characters are too heavily criticised but alas, I am going off on a tangent and this post is about 'The Host', not my love for the Twilight saga.

 The Host is a completely different world from that of our favourite Cullens. For one, it is set in a far away future, where the Earth has been invaded and the majority of the human race has been destroyed by 'Souls', aliens that inhabit human bodies and seek to completely take over a person's mind and life. Adhering to the sci-fi genre, there is of course a group of rogues, who are the last few humans alive and they refuse to give in. Amongst them is Melanie Stryder, one of the novel's protagonists, who refuses to give in to her 'Soul' and occupier, Wanderer (aka Wanda).

  It is not a Stephenie Meyer novel without a somewhat bizarre love-triangle. In Twilight, we had vampire-human-werewolf. In The Host, there is human-alien-human; when Wanderer's 'Soul' is inserted into Melanie's body, Melanie bombards her invader's thoughts with visions of the human that she is in love with, a man called Jared that is a part of the resistance. Due to these incessant emotions and memories, Wanderer too begins to fall in love with and desire Jared. Together with Melanie and with suspicious aliens tracking them, Wanderer goes to find him and the other outlaws that include Melanie's brother, Jamie, and her uncle, Jeb.

  Yes, The Host is definitely...different and weird. But it's a good weird. I applaud Meyer on her originality and I think that this book really shows her writing chops. Critics assume that all she can write about is 'sparkly vampires' and 'depressing teenage girls that always seem to need saving' but Meyer disproves this with The Host. If you did not like Twilight, try The Host and if you still don't like Stephenie Meyer after reading it and find the book 'utter rubbish', that's fair. It is over 600 pages long and in that length, the characters are well developed and you feel more for them and their struggles, especially those that are a part of the odd love triangle.

  However, there are a few convoluted parts, particularly when Wanderer and Melanie are talking to each other (Meyer uses italics to help the reader differentiate between each character) but I think maybe these parts seemed confusing to me as I read The Host for the first time when I was about twelve years old. I found the book's ethical element quite interesting; although Wanderer is sympathetic to the humans' plight, some refuse to accept her as they view her as a soulless (ironic) being. This raises the question on what we as humans should accept and define as human; is a human someone who is physically it or someone who displays human characteristics of love and kindness?

  There's a film version of the book coming out later this month and it stars the acting beast that is Saoirse Ronan as Melanie. (The chosen Jared, Max Irons isn't too bad on the eyes either...) I wanted to review the book before the film as I know that it'll become more popular and it sure looks very promising from the trailer.

  Nevertheless, I still prefer the Twilight books. Maybe this will change when Stephenie Meyer releases the inevitable sequels to The Host.

Rating 3.5/5 ***

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Host-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0751540641/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363811362&sr=1-1

10 Things You Must Know About Jesus Christ

  My Pastor, Michael Dada, is one of the best people that I know and he really inspires me to be a better person. I mean, do you know many people that would open up their home to the homeless at Christmas time, inviting them to eat dinner? How many people would see a homeless man on the street, invite the man, a complete stranger, to stay in their house for almost a week, whilst working hard to find and reunite the man with his family? These are just some instances of amazing things that my Pastor has done and he is really being the good example that all Christians should be.

  He wrote a book last year called '10 Things You Must Know About Jesus Christ'. I really love this book because I feel that it clearly lays out the main characteristics of Jesus Christ, such as how he is the Savior, the Promise from God and a Healer and these ten things are explained without 'Christian jargon', in a way for even atheists to understand.

  Even if you're a firm non-believer and see Christianity as a total myth and fairy-tale, I'd still recommend this book as I feel it offers a different approach towards Christianity, how Jesus is the centre of it all and what it's all about. I believe that people are so put off by the idea of Christianity because of how it's becoming increasingly commercialised; it's either all about the 'mega churches' who are willing to blur and twist the Bible to attract the numbers or the rigidity of some churches who are not open enough to share Christian ideologies of love- they judge and criticise 'outsiders' which is not good at all.

  10 Things You Must Know About Jesus Christ does neither of these things and my Pastor is completely against the idea of of the aforementioned points. The book is also quite short and to the point, another positive as it is a quick read so that there is no danger of rambling on and people saying 'Christianity is boring and long, just like this book!'

  I might come across as biased as this is my Pastor's book but he is such an amazing person and I really think his chef-d'oeuvre (French for masterpiece, I couldn't resist as I'm helping in translating the book into French!) deserves to be put out there for others to see. He once said, 'You know you've done something right if Kenny likes it' to me and I laughed as I can be quite mean about things but definitely not this book.

  Thank you for an awesome book, Pastor Dada, aka Dad and I hope that I can one day get rid of my selfish tendencies to be as good as you are.

Rating 5/5 *****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Things-Must-About-Jesus-Christ/dp/0955913543

Feelings of inadequacy

  I haven't posted in here in a while and I feel bad as one of my goals for this year was to post in my blog regularly, at least once a week and I've failed, gah! I am rectifying this. Year 13 is progressing at an alarmingly quick rate and the stress of exams and getting the right grades is beginning to pile up again so I'm glad that I have this as a distraction.

   Most of the time, I'm quite chirpy (annoyingly so, as I've been told) and it's quite bizarre as I rarely sleep so I should be in a bad, tired mood for the majority but this is not the case. However today, I was hit by a sudden wave of sadness, brought on by feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. What?! I don't know why this happened and the negative feelings are slowly going away as quickly as they came. I think I have an idea why this might have happened though but this post is just to put out a message to anyone out there who has ever felt 'not good enough': God loves you. And these feelings are just in your head and listening to uplifting songs ( its currently 'You Are My Hiding Place' and 'As The Deer' aka Psalm 42:1 for me) can take them away.

  I say this to myself as well as anyone else out there who is feeling unnecessarily sad: BE HAPPY! Things could be much, much worse.

Guest blog: Going to an all boys school

My sister, Tai, is still using my blog as an outlet. Enjoy!  

 Reading back the two blogs that I've written on here has made me realise that I come across a bit too serious and a bit of a downer. So I think it's time I remedy that with a post that tells anyone who reads this a bit more about me.

   As the title suggests, I go to an all boys school. Due to the fact that not many people in my school chose to go down the sciences route like me (yay for medicine), I go to the boys school for some lessons and I'm the only girl in my Maths and Chemistry classes there. I spend the majority of my time there, and have been for over a year now. Yupp.

   At first, it was so intimidating and scary. The constant stares were unnerving, being avoided was lonely, and asking for directions to the female toilets sure was awkward! After a while though, the lads got used to me and I made friends who are lovely and still my pals to this day. I love going to the boys school as I'm more challenged there than I am at my own school sometimes, and I think going there has given me more insight on the enigma that is boys and how they function.

So what HAVE I learnt?

1. Boys definitely have more banter than girls. I think they're not as sensitive and don't take things to heart as much, so jokes can freely be made without fear of anyone getting offended or emotional about something.

2. Boys have no respect whatsoever for promiscuous girls. Sure, they love the 'favours' they can receive from such girls but in their eyes, they are just easy.

3. Intelligence makes boys instantly more attractive to me. Boys who are good looking but as dumb as bricks are definitely not cute.

4. I know how to talk to boys better, so I gravitate towards them when I meet new people because I'm now better at relating with them. Well it's that or maybe I'm a slut so I think I'll go with the former.

5. In ways, boys are better than girls. If boys don't like you, they won't do the annoying thing that girls do and pretend to be your friend then talk about you behind your back. They also give you straight yes/no answers instead of saying the ever annoying "I'll let you know" or "I'll see what I'm doing".

   I could keep going but I think those will do for now. I've still got a couple of months left at the boys school before we go our separate ways so will I gain some knowledge of the male mind? Will my budding misogyny grow? I guess time will tell. Well that or whether or not I will be bothered to do a follow up blog to this. Stay tuned.