Analysis

I chose to make my blog posts flow like a story because it allowed me to make more connections to pop culture, in terms of movie plots and twists, etc. This blog only includes the beginning of the protagonist's story. I felt that I could make a closer personal connection to the character models and themes of the novels studied by incorporating them into my own story. This allowed me to demonstrate my true understanding of the elements we learned about. I think that if I merely related the themes to my own life, it does not completely show how much I know, since the ideas can be morphed to fit one's needs.

X is similar to Winston from 1984, since they are both characters that are uniquely different from their surrounding. While they may seem calm and reserved, they both become braver when the situation calls for it. For example, Winston becomes more confidant when he is around Julia, and becomes more noble and heroic. X, on the other hand, fights back against Roscoe when he is attacked, and decides to fight all-out. Instead of going easy, X makes sure Roscoe is rendered harmless when he pushes him over the cliff.

The story incorporates two major themes that we discussed during the year. The first one is the theme of isolation. X has no human companions, and the closest living thing to him would be his dog, who is killed early in the plot. He thinks very differently from the rest of his society, and even when he discovers people of similar intellectual capacity, it turns out that they are cannibals. These unfortunate events lead to X being almost completely isolated from society, much like Winston (who's partner, Julia, isn't as intelligent or witty as him), John the Savage, and Billy Pilgrim.

The second major theme would be deception. In Chapter Five ("Lie"), X is almost fooled into become dinner for Roscoe's cannibalistic tribe. He is tricked into believing that Roscoe would lead him to a better life with people similar to himself. X is also almost fooled into believing that trees were talking to him, when Roscoe hides amongst them to disguise himself. This shows how gullible and naive X is, but it also symbolizes how one must look past an object's initial appearance and search deeper so that they are not fooled.

I feel that I successfully completed this assignment, since I was able to incorporate my gained knowledge and ideas and truly make them my own. I thought that I took that next step, and, instead of merely commenting on the themes, I used them to send my own messages with my own original plot. This demonstrates my complete knowledge of the subject matter.