Author: Ipri

IRJE 2 – Oryx and Crake

I am currently reading a novel called Oryx and Crake. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world with most of humanity being wiped out due to a man-made pandemic. Jimmy (snowman) and Crake are both in love with Oryx. Crake and Jimmy baisically fight to win over Oryx throughout the story and they are both jelous when they see the other talking to her.

“Immortality,” said Crake, “is a concept. If you take ‘mortality’ as being, not death, but the foreknowledge of it and the fear of it, then ‘immortality’ is the absence of such fear.” (Page 303)

This Quote by Crake shows his philosiphical views of life and death. He suggests that true immortality isn’t exactly about living forever, but it is mastering how to eliminate the fear and anticipation of death.

IRJE #1 – Romeo and Juliet – Ipri

I recently reread the oxford school Shakespeare version of Romeo and Juliet, and I learned a lot of stuff that I missed the first time I read the book.

At the beginning of the book, Romeo is depressed about his wife to be, Rosaline, not being able to marry or have kids as she became a nun. Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin, tries to cheer him up and convinces him to go to a ball and meet a new girl, “Compare her face with some that I shall show, And I will make thee think thy swan a crow” (Act 1 Scene 2). He was unsupportive of the idea at first, but then he eventually agreed to go. He fell in love with Juliet, and she did too with him. Her dad wanted her to marry someone called Paris, and this caused problems. Romeo was eventually banished because of the death of one of the characters related to Juliet, and pretends to kill himself to make Juliet come to him. He didn’t wake up in time, and Juliet killed herself. Romeo wakes up, sees what has had happened, and kills himself too.

For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
(Act 5 Scene 3)

I sourced this quote because the narrator really shows how heavy and beautiful this love story is. The quote literally means, “there” is no love story as sad as this Romeo and Juliet.

PW #1 – Paris.

When I was younger, my mom had this nice, red, fancy trench-coat. She loved it and wore it every winter. People knew her for this coat, and she often got compliments for wearing such a beautiful, bright red coat. she took this coat to Paris, when we moved there and the compliments just got better and better. I was about 8 at the time, and my dad suggested we went to this carnival at the one of the piers. We all said yes, and a few hours later, we were playing games and eating junk.

You know, the 8 year old brain only functions on games, junk food and crying. and that is exactly how mine functioned at the time. I was so enveloped in the game, that I didn’t notice when my parents began to talk to their friends. I didn’t exactly care…

Less that 10 minutes later, I was playing different games in other areas, not even thinking about where the rest of the crew could be. It didn’t take too long to get questioned by one of the game attendees who bare spoke English. It was then I noticed that my parents were nowhere to be found, neither my two other brothers.

The police were called, and my parents were found. The only description I could give was her red jacket. She still has that jacket. It is a lovely jacket.

Personal opinion on The novella. Master and man.

Master and Man is an Novel by Leo Telstoy, about a rich landowner called Vasili Andreyevich Brekhunov  and one of his laborers, Nikita, who embark on a journey and learn that life is better when you don’t live for yourself only.

The novel is an interesting and entertaining short story. It has a good spread of well-painted characters, and it doesn’t focus on only one character too much; It’s almost as if there isn’t only one main character, but everybody plays a main role in the plot of the story. I would not change the plot, because it was very good and interesting.

The settings are well depicted, and perfectly pictured in the book. I can see the snow storm in my head when I read the chapter that the journey begun. I would change the way they talked about the homes. they didn’t put too much emphasis on Vasili’s or Nikita’s house, I would have talked about them more.

The words used in the book are perfectly in context and they are easy to understand even if i didn’t know what the word meant. I wouldn’t change the the way they used their wording, It fit the context very well.

I would rate this book as an 8.5 only because of the lack of emphasis on the houses.