what makes a novel a classic?

i don't exactly know what the criteria of a classic novel is. does it have to be a so-called "good" novel? does it have to be a bestseller? i don't know. but what i do know about classic novels is that modern day books and movies are based off of them. such as romeo and juliet. almost every love story has to do with them. and wuthering heights sounds similar to it. i know there's death that corresponds with the love that catherine and heathcliff have with one another. 

a classic novel has a very interesting plot and story line, and we are required to read them in school. it's very unique and is respected with admiration. and to be completely honest, hopefully the book Twilight doesn't become a classic. yes, i've read all of the books and i love them. but they are not classic novel material. one of the books has a quote based off of wuthering heights! Twilight... yeah right. no matter what screaming 12-16 year old girls say... it should not be a classic novel.

classic novels are something that i definitely have to read because i want to be an english major in college. i'm exposed to some and they all have different story lines. whether it be pride and prejudice, romeo and juliet, or the adventures of tom sawyer-- they all create different worlds to engulf my interest. 

wuthering heights- comments to others

jamie. said...
hey rakoon (:
just wanted to let you know that i don't believe in ghosts and that yes classic books are important.

i don't believe in ghosts but i believe in spirits. like, people can live in others' memories forever. so i think the spirit of someone after they've died is very important. yet, being a ghost is shady lol.

i think classic books are sooo important to read. some of them are really boring and some are interesting, but they're all essential to the english subject. i, personally, am going into english when i go into college, so i guess i should start reading up.

and to respond to your blog post. i definitely think that an adopted child can be accepted into their family because maybe they don't look the same, but the love there is the same. i also have friends that have been adopted and they live normal lives. happiness can come out of loving parents :D

laterrr, joh (:
(p.s. sorry for the extremely long comment lol)

jamie. said...
hey shayna (thanks for commenting on my blog! :D)
i must say that i do agree with what you're saying. some people who bully do deserve to know what they're doing to others. but i think if you want to take revenge, you'll have to do it in a mature way because then you'll be respected by others by doing so. i, personally, can't say i've been bullied on a daily basis, but when someone needs to be put in their place, they should know what they're doing is wrong. i really like this post, and you're a great writer!

jamie. said...
eric,
i definitely agree when you say that kids shouldn't be blamed for their parents mistakes-- or at least not all of them. parents should be the responsible ones that the children look up to, and if they can't fulfill that responsibility, then they shouldn't blame the child.

and when it comes to rich people only associating with rich people, it's a difficult topic to choose a side. this is because in history, the rich have only been with their own kind, so even today, that social status sticks to them. unfortunately, that isn't the way society should be. hopefully one day people will open their eyes and see that we're all human.

wuthering heights survey

surprisingly enough, i answered false for most of the survey questions. the topic that really sparked my interest is the loyalty of childhood friends. and i must disagree when it comes to childhood friends being the most loyal. 

childhood friends are not always loyal. i had one a few years back and he was my best friend. he was literally the person i told everything and anything to. i told him my secrets (even though he would let one slip every once in a while) and i put all my trust in him. i thought he was going to be there forever for me. but there were disputes and we slowly drifted apart. you'd think that the transition from middle school to high school would make us stronger, but it only pulled us apart. there were misunderstandings and issues that couldn't be resolved. if they were ignored then, i knew they would come back to haunt me. i don't think that a childhood friend can be the most loyal. i think that just anyone who comes in your life at any time and you bond with could be the most loyal. when i look back on those years i had with him, i wouldn't go back to that. it would end one day or another, and i can't endure that suffering any longer.

but people change, and we must come around to accept that. i thought he was the only one who changed, but i'm sure i changed as well. so blame doesn't all fall on him-- i'll take some fault, but i think it affected me more than it affected him. it still makes me cry every now and then, but i think he has forgotten me. he has his group of friends that replace me easily. but i know that no one could replace the best friend he was. time to time i look at him and i wonder, "does he still think about me?" only god knows. but when i look into his eyes, he's not the same person as he was before, and i realize it's time to forgive and forget.

------

p.s. i hate the way the book is spelled "wuthering heights" because we say it like "withering heights." lol.

one more comment-- yeah i'm talking to you.

on our trip to harlem--

don't even know where to start. i can't believe that the thing you remembered from our trip to harlem is what those guys yelled at us. ...seriously? you didn't remember the great things the Brother told us at the mosque? and no, we weren't a bunch of rich white kids walking in Harlem. you know why? it's because uh.. i'm not white. we happen to be privileged, and when you categorize us as "rich white kids," you're just insulting yourself. i appreciate that i can live in this kind of environment growing up and i feel extremely lucky, but by calling us "rich white kids," i don't know if you are. you are a christian white male growing up in bergen county-- can you ask for more? you don't know what situations minorities are in, whether it be race or religion. most people have to struggle with boundaries, jokes, and prejudice, but you don't have to deal with that as much, or at all.

on malcolm integrating--

this i agree with and don't agree with. you say that you wouldn't wanna integrate with people who hate you (the blacks integrating with the whites), but you don't understand how much the black people want to be accepted by the whites. being in your position at school and in life, you don't have to face the struggles of trying to be respected by society. these blacks want to be accepted by the whites because they haven't been accepted--EVER. i understand Malcolm's decision, and it was a wise one, but you don't understand why the blacks would want to do that, and you never will.

me, myself, i've faced these prejudices. i've tried to be something i'm not to gain respect-- just like the blacks did. i feel sorry for you that you will never face this and that you'll never be able to build up the strength to be able to overcome these types of things.

okay. that's all i have to say. 

my comments to others

jamie. said...
hey gabriela (:
i can really connect to this blog post because i wrote a blog post about malcolm going downhill and prostitution as well. i agree that there should be a different way he could handle life, but i guess this is the path he went on. we'll see how he turns out at the end of the book

jamie. said...
hey connor (:
i like this blog post and the way you related malcolm's life to quicksand. it's really interesting :D he did fall into a lot of bad things such as drugs, hustling, and prostitution, but further chapters prove that he might change for the better. i think the Islam religion will help him see he can live a better life

jamie. said...
hey angel :D
i really like this blog post because it gives an insight on what you think of religion and i learned how it came to be. i liked the map that mattessich showed us in class too (: i'm christian too, so i guess we're the majority in the religion aspect, but when it comes to race, we're not! and i'm a proud asian XD

love, jamie!

jamie. said...
hey alyssa (:
aw that is such a good story! although i can't relate personally, that is so great that you grew up having that kind of relationship with that family. and i can't agree more, that food was gooood.

love, Jamie

jamie. said...
hey maj! :D
omg i totally agree with everything you said. from the second to last paragraph on, i couldn't have said it any better. all of these big religious figures are expected to execute their jobs perfectly, but we have to accept the fact that they are human. yes, they do have a lot of expectations and responsibilities, but we can't hold those against them.

looove,
jamie

Malcolm X #5

When Malcolm was on the way to Mecca, his thoughts fascinated me. 

"Packed in the plane were white, black, brown, red, and yellow people, blue eyes and blond hair, and my kinky red hair-- all together, brothers! All honoring the same God Allah, all in turn giving equal honor to each other" (Haley 330). 

I don't even know what to say. This shows how much Malcolm has changed since his "white devil" tirade times. He was just as shocked as I was. I think that he's come to learn that when people are all congregated for one cause, that looks don't matter because they're united. They have come together for the worshipping of Allah, and their mission is to fulfill their religion by taking the trip to Mecca.

I don't know if I've ever felt united with so many races before. I guess I haven't been around a lot of races growing up. I live in a predominantly white town, and I'm barely exposed to the korean community. You could call me ignorant, you could call me inexperienced, but you have your reasons. I'm sure you're ignorant in some ways too. Ignorant in different ways of course. But all the same-- ignorant. You or I aren't ignorant in the way where we scream racial slurs on the street, but we're unaware of some things around us. We are all vulnerable to something. I happen to be vulnerable in being exposed to many different races. I'm open to them-- but I haven't received the opportunity yet.

To be completely honest, I've been sort of vulnerable to my own race and community. I used to attend a korean church in Demarest. I didn't like the kids there, I couldn't relate to them. They were living to the full extent of the korean community, and i haven't even started. I felt uncomfortable so I asked my mom if I could stop attending and she agreed. She was talking to me about how she should've exposed me to my community more and made me feel comfortable about it. I don't blame my mom for this-- I don't blame anything or anyone. It's just the environment I grew up in and that's who I am. 

This article shows racial ignorance in a middle school. This shows that the child has either a) not be taught by their parents to respect other races, or b) they haven't been exposed to different races. I can't believe kids as young as 13 go through these situations.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/12/racial_ignoranc.html

Malcolm X #4

So yesterday, we took a trip to Harlem with the Honors English classes. The Apollo Theater was such a pretty theater! Billy was hilarious and I thought all those famous people on that wall were such inspirations. Having the opportunity to walk across the stage that many famous people have was such an honor. We also discovered that Mike had some great singing talent :) The whole trip was such a wonderful experience.

But I must say my favorite part was the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz (mosque.) The Brother who spoke to us gave us so much insight on the religion and it really opened up my eyes. I really liked what he said about keeping a relationship with someone, whether it be a friendship, or with family. He said to look out for these things- make sure you have something in common with them and make sure you can talk about what makes you feel uncomfortable with them. That made me realize the healthy friendships and relationships I keep with the people around me. I think the lecture really made me respect the Islam religion and that God views us as equal. Being a Christian myself, I guess men are at a higher respect level than women are. I loved how the Islam religion viewed everyone as equal and that God created everyone equally. 

The Christian religion definitely puts men over power of women. Jesus is a man and he is worshipped by the believers of the religion. I don't know how I feel about having the men in a higher position. I guess I grew up with that so it doesn't bother me that much. Although, in society, we are changing and women are taking a stand. I wouldn't call myself a strong feminist, but I would like to be treated as equal as men are. 

This chart shows all of the various religions and how they differ from one another. I thought it was interesting to find so many religions and what people believe. In comparison to my religion, there are so many different rituals and whatnot.

http://religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm