Entry# 8 Mother to Son

       The poem, "Mother to Son", by Langston Hughes, expresses the idea that life isn't always easy. You will face many obstacles but you will get to where you want to be even if getting what you want isn't easy. I think that the mother is almost warning her son about what will come up later on in his life. The lines, "I'se been a-climbin' on, and reachin' landin's, and turnin' corners, and sometimes goin' in the dark where there ain't been no light", mean that the mother has been through a lot. She has experienced things and has faced  obstacles. She's gone in different directions and changed her ways through out her journey. She's had her problems, but found a way to fix them. She's reached goals.
       "Life for me, ain't been no crystal stair", the mother says. Life obviously wasn't easy for her. The mother is trying to tell her son that, he must never give up. He must keeps going to reach his goals. If she's still climbin, then he can too.

Narnia: Appreciation

          I never meant to read this book....It was a class vote for read aloud, and it was either, "Bridge to Terebithia", or " The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Obviously, Narnia won and I am glad. I immediatley became interested, and curious when I first started reading this book. What? Why is there a wardrobe? What's up with that?, I would think. The first page, quickly grabs you and almost forces you to read on. Narnia is open, and filled with adventure. I'd love to visit!! ;)
          C.S Lewis's story for how he came up with the fantasy world of Narnia is quite interesting.  All of these things tiny little things or ideas that you wouldn't think were important could come together to create a masterpiece. After his mother passed away, him and his brother were shipped off to a boarding school in England. There, is where the inspiration for Narnia had begun!
          I read, "The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", in the third grade. At first, It was just a read aloud book for the class. But after It was done, I wanted to read it again myself. I remember being obsessed with the character of Susan Pevensie. I always thought she was really cool, and wanted to be her for some reason. At the age of eight, I wouldn't think so deeply about a book......but, I connected Susan to myself since, we are both the older sister in the family.
          When I write, I don't really use any mentor texts or even try to get inspired. Usually, when I write, I make up all the characters randomly, or the entire story in general. My writing, could be more meaningful if I used more inspiration or maybe personal thoughts and ideas of mine. Like C.S Lewis, I could build up certain points in my life, and transform then into one big idea that can grow into bigger, and deeper thoughts.
          I appreciate the meaning of this book. When I had asked for my own copy of the book, I was given one fat, heavy book that had a picture of the white witch. It had the entire series of Narnia combined in one. I appreciate the adventure, and imagination through out it. I have to admit that, the story line motivates me to create my own fantasy world. I'm glad I read this book again.

Entry# 7: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

        Funny. You would think that the author, CS Lewis had just come up with some random character for a book that he had been writing....But really, he was inspired by a 14 year old girl to create to character of, "Lucy Pevensie".
        In 1944, a girl named June Flewett had been evacuated to CS Lewis's house in Oxford during a war, escaping the Blitz.  She was a London convent girl who had inspired Lewis to create Lucy Pevensie. Now,  June Flewett is called Jill Freud and is now 78 years old. She had no idea that CS Lewis was inspired by her to create Lucy. When the movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", came out in theaters in London, Jill was asked to attend. She was even asked to go to the movie premier in America but, decided that she didn't want kids to know that this old was Lucy....
        Knowing that CS Lewis had an inspiration for Lucy, it makes me wonder where Peter, Edmund and Susan ever came from in the first place. Most importantly, what gave him the idea to create the fantasy world of Narnia anyways?
        When CS Lewis was a child, he lived happily in Ireland with his brother parents and nanny. But when his mother dies, due to cancer, him and his brother were shipped to a boarding school in England where he became inspired. His inspiration for Narnia had began there. Lewis recalls that his school in england was winter all the time but, never christmas.  Basically, his entire past is relevant to his writing During world war II, he took in four children and their presence inspired him to create the four main characters of his greatest master piece which was, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Entry# 6: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

         I think that in the book, "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", The lamp-post is a symbol in the book. In the beginning of the book, when Lucy discovers Narnia, she finds the lamp-post. As Lucy explores Narnia, she looks back making sure she can still see the lamp-post making sure that she knew her way back to her world. Later on in the book, Edmund goes through the wardrobe and finds Narnia as well.  Not knowing where he was, he runs into the White Witch. She tells him that where ever the lamp-post is, means that the wardrobe is near by. The Lamp-post is mentioned again in the ending, when the 4 siblings (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) wandered, and ended up finding the Lamp-post once again. They eventually all walked through the wardrobe and found themselves on the wooden floor of the room with the wardrobe in it. They had arrived back in the real world.