Connecting With Romeo and Juliet

I am really beginning to enjoy Romeo and Juliet! In the fifth scene of the book, Juliet meets Romeo, falling in love with him. She soon discovers that he is a Montague, the natural enemies of her family. If she pursues her love towards him she knows that they will both get hurt. I can relate to this because in seventh grade I had a boyfriend that my dad didn't approve of. Even though my dad didn't like him, I spent time with him anyway and it only got me into more and more trouble! Juliet and I both liked someone who we knew we weren't supposed to be with.
I am enjoying reading this book because it's a much lighter read than Great Expectations! I can understand the overall message of each of the scene's but sometime's I need a little help with the comprehension of the individual lines. I am using the notes on the sides of the pages to help along the way. The reading in class is also helping a lot because if I don't get something the first time I read it, reading it again helps me a lot!

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

I believe that the overall message in the book Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is that money should never be thought of as more important than love because it will always result in less happiness. The story is really about  the lesson of this theme, that everyone learns throughout their life. Those who were born this year, or a million years ago, all had to learn this lesson because all through time there has been the conflict of having love versus money. Everyone learns, whether they learn it the easy way or the hard way, that love is much more important. Those who chose money over love will always end up unhappy.

Great Expectations: Thoughts on Reading

I really enjoyed reading Great Expectations! The way that Charles Dickens wrote the book was unlike any other. He writes poetically but at the same time humorously. I thought at times however, that he tended to drag on points of the story that didn't need to be explained as much, making it more confusing. I really loved all of the characters in this book. They were each given distinct personalities, none of them were too similar. The settings in this story also brought entertainment. Each character fit into the place where they lived like a hand in a glove! I could relate to the young character Pip as well, so it made it easier to read. I wasn't even close to guessing the mysteries in this book until they were revealed to me.
I love to read, but not always when I'm being forced to do it. Each night during the late hours, when I should have been sleeping, I stayed up reading, forcing my eyes to keep open. This might not have been the smartest way to do it, because the next day I would often forget a lot of the details of what I had read, and I would also be very tired throughout the day. But, with my busy schedule, I saw no other way to do it. About halfway through the book, you gave me the idea of listening to the book on audio while reading along. I was very interested in the idea and found an excellent website with every chapter! With the voice in the background of the words, it made it a lot easier to pay attention to the book. Unfortunately, the man who reads the book aloud is slow, so it took me a lot longer to finish. I did my best to read every night, and I think I only missed my reading responsibilities one or two times. It was a struggle, but I'm glad I got through it!