Forrest Gump

Life is like a box of chocoles 
           —— 《Forrest Gump》

"Mom always said life is just like a box of chocoles. You'll never know what you gonna get."

    Forrest Gump, unfortunately, is born with a lower IQ and the muscle problem, usually, people always think this kind of person can't be successful in doing anything. But, instead, this unlucky man has achieved lots of incredible success, he is a football star, a war hero, and later a millionaire.
   
    Forrest Gump mould incarnation of virtue is honest keeping one's word , conscientiously , brave paying attention to emotioning among film. In the film, Forrest Gump is a very pure image, but Jenny has become the degenerate symbol. And write the great discrepancy originally in this. To all that narrated, since beginning all behave with a kind of tender feeling and well-meaning attitude after all for the film, having even joined poesy composition, this makes the film seem soft and have no injury. The film advocates to traditional moral concept and embodiment. Make film apt to accept by people, director superb lay out skill and film application of language make the film very attractive too. Success with commercial for film content of the film has given security, and the treatment on director's art makes the film more excellent, this is reason that the film succeeds. It was the box-office hits the most in that year to become the U.S. in Forrest Gump.  

The Catcher in the Rye

    I have never thought so thin a book which is called The Catcher in the Rye can influence me so much. It makes me feel very impressive. And after reading this book, I have aroused many thoughts about it.

　The protagonist of this novel Holden hated all the hypocritical things and really wanted to pursuit the pure reality at first. I felt this way sometimes the last few years, but as I grow up, some hypocritical things do not seems that phony. In his view, school is a hypocritical place. The purpose that you go to school is only to get a good job or beat others. The surroundings talk about wine, women and sex all days. Holden hates this society. Because of the development of his society, he finally submits to the development process of the social reality. 
　　Perhaps we can find our own shadow in this book. To a certain extent that it reflects many characteristics of the adolescents, and we can also see the dark side of the society. With the material's progress, the spiritual world is inevitably producing some changes. At that time, what we need is a change which can make our dream into a reality. Therefore, what we should do is not to hope, not to wait, not to complain, but from now on, just start from your own efforts and watch your initial dream. You'd try your best to create the life you want with your own hands.

　　Well, I think that though Holden used to seeing the reality of Bourgeois society, and he must compromise with realistic society in the end, he also have many courage to have a try to rebel against the hypocritical world. This spirit should be set up if we want to improve the process of the world.

A Dog’s Story

In recent years, the film “Hachiko—A Dog’s Story” has been very popular. It is mainly about an impressive story between a loyal dog and a professor. As far I am concerned, there are many things we can learn from the film.

To begin with, I believe that most people who have watched this film were moved by the dog’s loyalty. The dog has waited for his owner for a lifetime and hid loyal behavior has taught us never forget anyone we loved—the meaning of loyalty. We can learn that we should try to get along with each other with true affection and never betray in an intimated relationship so that we can strengthen our relationship and understand each other better. And we should believe that there is still a true affection in the world. Like my parents told me, treat every person the same, even your enemies. Jesus also told us to love our enemies. Everyone lives only one life, however you treat others, you will end in death, so why not be a nice person and make the world proud of your existence?

Another thing we can learn from the film is to value what we have. In other words, we should learn to count our fortunes. What we own is always unique and cannot be replaced by others, so we have to value what we have. As the saying goes, “Tree prefers calm while wind not subsides; Son chooses filial while parents died”. We should never be regretful until losing.

Finally, we should learn to treat our pets well because they are also our friends and even our family members. The meaning is not deep, but the reflection of the dog is people that are always around us and with us, but we realizes their importance only when we lose them. Here is a sentence from one of my favorite song Let Her Go: "Only know you love her when you let her go."

Spirited Away by My Favorite Japanese Cartoonist

        Whenever people talk about the famous cartoonist Hayao Miyazaki , I will talk about his films. I've seen his well-known animation " Spirited Away" when I was in third grade, but I just thought this is a good cartoon. I was over-whelmed by all the strange creatures but had no other special feeling.        
This year, I saw the movie again. I felt that the scenes were not as unbelievable as I thought when I was a kid, but I noticed more about the relationships between characters. I thought the two protagonists are just lovers, but this time I recognized the power of support from people that is like you. In this movie, the girl Chihiro accidentally got into another world, and Haku is the only "human-like" person in this town. It makes me think of my life in America. My parents always tell me to make more American friends, but sometimes I find that people that are like me give me more support.        
 Later, I found the name of the movie is very profound meaning . The movie is called "Spirited Away " because the wicked old woman changed Chihiro' s name to Sen, and later, by Chihiro and White Dragon(Haku)'s dialogue, I know that once Chihiro forget her  name, just like White Dragon, she cannot return to the original world. This reflects the importance of our names due to their duty of recalling the past.
That day I had a strange idea, assuming that people live in the world without names, the world would be completely different and confusing. Names are symbols of our lives, they are the most basic things that make us unique.

Tiny Time

        Tiny Time is a famous series these days in China, especially among young adults. It is made into films last year during summer break, and I also watched the movies.
The books are about upper-class lives of colleges students in Shanghai, and Shanghai is a busy and material city. All characters in this story are rich except Lin Xiao, who is the narrator of this story. People in this story are all perfectly designed; they have good grades and wear expensive brands. I hate these books at first because talking about luxuries all the time makes me uncomfortable. The first book is about their college lives, innocent and sweet. But their fate twists suddenly at the end of the first book. All bad things that can happen in one's life take place time after time: cheating in relationships, betraying in friendships, and death.
        This series is about "money can solve everything" and "but it does not work sometimes". Gu Li is the most popular character in this story because she is brilliant, good-looking and rich. Though she is rich, she cannot get her dead father back. Readers love her also because she is good at insulting. However, my favorite saying of her is "Love is like sand if there is no material support. There is no need for wind, it will break apart after several steps." My friends always talk about "true love", but to be honest, it only exists before college.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

        Instead of saying Jen is the hidden dragon, Li Mu Bai is actually it. Though everyone knows that Li Mu Bai is the best master of that area, he is not cocky. He never shows off or tries to collect lots of pupils in order to be famous. Knowing what is appropriate to do as a gentleman is his best characteristic that makes him a attractive person. "Hidden" does not mean anonymous, but to maintain your ability to yourself and keeping getting stronger through competition with yourself. Li only fight for righteousness when it is necessary. In another word, he does not use his ability for conquering.

        Although Jen fierce and angry, she is trying to hide her birth and she refuses to enlighten Li Mu Bai about her background. Unlike Li Mu Bai, Jen fight for fun. She follows her free will; however, she is also controlled by her free will. Li Mu Bai is the master not only because of his skills, but only his well controlling of his mind. Jen tries hard to conquer her enemies, but she fails to conquer her own mind. She is too confident in herself of beating Li Mu Bai that she lose the basic respect for the old. Morality is not her killing guideline. But I think it is unfair for her to judge on things she does. She is too young, but she goes too far. Her ability is far beyond her maturity; therefore, she is dangerous. Everything seems easy and simple for her that in her mind, violence is the solution for everything.

        Comparing with Li Mu Bai, Jen is like a tiger facing a dragon. The dragon can easily killed the tiger, but Li chooses to convince her to follow him. Li's desire of teaching Jen is out of surprise and worry. He finally find someone who is young and good enough to be his pupil, but if she is not correctly guided, she will be a threat to Jiang Hu. However, Jen clearly does not want to be limited by him. She thinks Jiang Hu is a game, and she can play it however she wants as long as she is good enough to survive. Arrogance pushes her to look down at everyone else; it also blinds her. Jen also has desire to be love. She does not get enough love from her parents; her parents are blocking her from her life of Jiang Hu. Though she loves Lo, she does not deserve Lo's love.  It is just like inability to control her mind, her love is shaky and temporary. In my opinion, everything will work out fine for her as she grow up, time can cure, but she chooses to jump off the cliff.

Little Women

    Before I read this book, I had watched a cartoon movie made by Japan. So I have a strong interest on it. And my dad bought the book to me.

    It all begins in the dead of winter; The Christmas Season. The coldest one of all, were the war has made fuel for heating very scarce. While her husband is off at war, Marmee is left alone to raise their four daughters: Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. They have totally different personalities, but they all find their true love in the end. The book is simple but not flat, though it does not have a obvious climax, it shows the beauty of faith in relationships.
 
    One of the themes in Little Women is the maturation of the girls.  During the course of the novel we see them grow in many ways -- physically, intellectually, and especially emotionally. One question which readers must ask themselves is whether the views the characters have on the coming of age process are shared by Alcott. If they aren't, what are Alcott's views and how do they differ from those of the women in her story?

    Jo addresses the maturation issue as she speaks with Marmee of the situation between Meg and Mr. Brooke. The possible love between these two represents one of the very important aspects in coming of age for a teenage girl. Jo treats this natural process as if it were some sort of disease, however. Jo cannot understand why Meg would want to stop behaving "like a sensible creature" , and refers to love as "such nonsense."

Lu Xun- Tragic hero?

    Today's exam reminds me of Lu Xun.
    Reading Lu Xun's articles,I feel the deepest is his shining personality charm. Though the article, I see a sword of wisdom and sharp dissection of the national servility and a fool at that time, courageous criticism for myself, not afraid of man power, not afraid of people's ignorance, not afraid of the so-called "literati" vocals. People were not allowed to write things that are opposite of communism. So that Lu Xun wrote articles that that are obscurely reflecting Chinese old and dark society. 
   "Sanwei Bookroom" to "The Story of ah Q" "Kong YiJi" which I read in middle school, all left deep impression in my mind. I can't tell what kind of change, at least my outlook on life, values, even understanding of China change. He not only taught me how to live, but I also learn how to be more optimistic while everything is going wrong.
　　Articles of Lu Xun are not only powerful testimony of history, but also a powerful description of humanity.Indeed, his articles give my life a very strong motivation. He is the one that truly devoted life to make China better. He was studying medical science , but he gave it up and became a writer. Because he said, which is my favorite saying of him,"Doctors cannot save China."

Pride and Prejudice AND $

　  Many people simply regard Pride and Prejudice as a love story, but I think this book is also an illustration of the society at that time. Jane Austen perfectly reflected the relation between money and marriage at her time and gave the people in her works vivid characters.Mrs. Bennet is a woman who makes great efforts to marry off her daughters. Mr. Bingley is a friendly young man, but his friend, Mr. Darcy, is a very proud man who seems to always feel superior. Even the five daughters in Bennet family are very different. Jane is simple, innocent and never speaks evil of others. Elizabeth is a clever girl who always has her own opinion. Mary likes reading classic books but she is kind of nerdy. Kitty doesn’t have her own opinion but likes to follow her sister, Lydia. Lydia is a girl who follows exotic things, handsome man, and is somehow a little profligate. Being a mom of these five totally different daughters is like being friend with five inharmonious friends.
   The sister of Mr. Bingley strongly opposed his plan of marrying Jane because the Bennets don’t have many possessions and their social positions are much lower than theirs. From this, we can see there are a lot of obstacles for a not very rich woman to marry a wealthy husband. The society, the relatives would not allow them to get married.One of the reasons of liking this book is that it centers the theme of money. This theme is a everlasting theme of the society, regardless of time.
    In modern society, although the marriages of economic needs have decreased rapidly, the concept of “money determines everything” is still rooted in our mind. Parents try hard to interfere their children’s marriages.Especially in some conservative countries.Education background, possessions, jobs remains the main reason that may influence one’s marriage.Many cynical critics say that money is lame and greed is the root of all evil. However, like a quote from a Chinese movie called Tiny Times, "Love without materialism is just a pile of sand, even without the flowing wind, it will spill after a couple of steps."

Where is She going, Where have She been?

    Connie, a typical teenage girl who tries to be like a mature woman, loves dreaming and music. She is rebellious and narcissistic. When Eddie invites her to eat dinner with her, she accepts pleasantly(but she is a little bit hesitant).  "... her face gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place"(471). Connie's happiness comes does not come from the boy but the fact that the boy invites her which serves as a affirmation for her appearance. Although she pursues for the unknown adult world, she shrinks when she faces the real situation. On the path of matureness search, she encounters the reality. She realizes that the reality is way serious than her "teenage fantasy".
    After Arnold(she does not know his name at this point) says "Gonna get you, baby" to Connie, he is imprinted on her unconsciousness. Though she thinks the boy is weird, she is desired for his come back. Spending a dizzy morning listening to music in the backyard, Arnold comes. Music plays as a bridge between reality and her fantasy. At first, Connie is confused but excited. Though she is looking forward to adulthood, she is demure, principled and careful inside. She keeps defensive but she is not resolute in refusing Arnold. Arnold keeps a mocking and playful attitude all the time even though he transfers from a jerk to a danger to Connie. Connie becomes more and more passive, and Arnold compels her to come out of the house. As Arnold becomes more and more serious and Connie starts to think he is not a human, she sees Ellie's face. Ellie's old face puts Connie in a more dangerous situation. Connie is in a perilous position after Arnold tells her not to touch the phone. Unlike the beginning, she has no choice now.
    I am not sure whether Arnold is real or not, but the existence of Arnold represents the contradiction inside Connie. Though I do not know Arnold's intention, I do not think Arnold means harm to Connie. 
    This story reveals the insecurity of a teenage girl. But people meant to be insecure to live in the society.
    (I did not get the meaning of drawing of the "X" and words on Arnold's car.)

Is Gatsby Great?

    To be honest, I like the movie better. The best way to ruin a book is making it a summer reading; The Great Gatsby was my summer reading.Although I enjoy the movie better, I also like the book. Comparing to Frankenstein which is also a summer reading, Gatsby is way better. I understood Daisy when I read the book because I did not pictured Gatsby as a good-looking guy. But if Gatsby looks like Leonardo and Daisy still chose Tom, she is probably mad or blind.   I read lots of reviews of The Great Gatsby online after I watched the movie. Some critics said the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is like Jesus and Judas. I do not like this understanding because in my opinion, The Great Gatsby is about a man who is promoted by love and fulfills the American Dream. Gatsby is shot by George while his phone rings. He murmurs Daisy and dies. I felt sorry for Gatsby once, but it is definitely a relief for him because he dies with his fantasy of being with Daisy forever. He does not need to bear all the pressure from the society anymore, and his Daisy will still be wonderful in his mind instead of a snob. Gatsby is too naive; Daisy is not only a material girl, she also cares about fame. Even though Gatsby is rich, he is never royal after all. He is not old money.    Gatsby is great. He is great because he does all he can do to get what he wants. He has a pure heart that actually leads him to the top of the society, and this is enough to be a great person.    Leonardo is so handsome when he says "old sport".

1984 and Communism

    I read 1984 last year in Literature class. When I first read to the scene of the two minutes hate which everyone is doing an X with his/her arms and yelling at Goldstein's face, I was amazed by its similarity to Mao's China.
    People were forced to memorize Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung. It is like people in 1984 are forced to do get up early and do the morning exercise. People that are against the government disappear like the description in 1984, "People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 1 People were given false reasons of the vaporization. When I read the book, I was panic just like when my dad told me Mao's China when he was young. I know our society will not go back like that, but I was amazed by that time period. People were living happily in a cage, and the brain washing can be so powerful that goes far beyond our thought. 
    I admire Winston because I am ninety percent sure that I am not going to be a Winston in that situation and society. The ending of the book made me so uncomfortable.I thought he is going to find a underground organization and overthrown the Big Brother. Instead, all he falls into a trap. I will be less upset if Winston is simply killed after getting caught by the Big Brother.The most hopeless moment is when Winston finds out his "hope" is part of Big Brother's plan.
    All in all, I really like the book because it is so real and cruel. But I did not enjoyed it. I guess I am a person of happy endings.

All about Pi

    The story of Pi became so popular as the movie Life of Pi came out. To be honest, I did not know this story before the movie, but I chose to read the book after I saw the movie.
    It was less fun to read after watching the movie because I stuck to the scenes in the movies and I cannot enjoy the process of picturing the scene from verbal description. But anyway, I like both the movie and the book.

    The reason I love the movie is just because its magnificent setting. The whales and the poisonous island are my favorites.I have to say technology is great though I hate it sometimes.
    I read the Chinese version of this book. To be honest, I do not like the translation. I went back and read the original version after I finish the book. English version is simpler, cleaner and smoother comparing to Chinese version.I feel like the translator needs to understand the religion and faith in this story.
    The translation of this movie in Chinese is basically the Fantasy of Pi. Though the environment of this story is fascinating, the story itself is cruel.The true story is that all the people die and he is alone on the boat. The tiger is Pi's enemy but he relies on it at the same time.It symbolizes his fear. The Director, Ang Lee, said that there is Richard Parker in everyone's heart. He roars and stares at us when we are in danger, but it also supports us.
    The name Richard Parker interested me because it is also a name of a sailor who was eaten by other three sailor. They were in a shipwreck and Richard Parker was killed by others for food.

Detail is the Key of Success

      I read the book called Detail is the key of success few years ago. To be honest, I do not really like the book, but I still learned something from it. This "something" can be way of living and studying, or experience from the examples. I am not sure, but I am sure that I like the concept of emphasizing details.
      I do not want to talk about the book much because it is wrote by a CEO of a Chinese big company. Therefore, some concepts are based on Chinese society. I just want to share with you what I gained from this book.
      1. Do things that interest you-- You spend lots of time on working. You can do well on something we do not like, but we will never success in that job or area. This also applies to studying.
　  2. Be your own boss-- You will never become rich working for others because every boss is self-centered. His/her goal is not to make his/her staffs rich. It also applies to study. Finishing your homework for your own sake will benefit you. On the other hand,finding the way to play the game and doing the least amount of work to get a average grade might make you a good student, but not a good learner.
      3. Put your heart into one thing and be an expert on it instead of being jealous on others' talents-- Do not try to learn everything at once and expect yourself be good at everything. I used to try really hard on being a well-rounded person, but it did not work out because I have limited energy and time.
      4. MAKE GOOD FRIENDS-- It does not mean "make useful friends". My dad told me I should make friends with all kinds of people. Even though you do not like some of them, you can still learn things from them. You can even learn different kinds of wines by making friend with a drunkard.
　  5. Be a generous person-- Do not get mad easily. It is not solving the problem and it only ruins your health. The person or thing you are mad at is not going to get better. Therefore, be a calm person and use your brain.
      These five statements I wrote have nearly no relation with detail; however, I learned them from this book, and the point of reading a book is to obtain knowledge.