Thursday, February 4, 2016

Journal Three from Dillan

Hey everyone,

Part 1
I've really been enjoying the reading, so far. I think nearly every person we've read about has been pretty interesting to learn about, and it has been fun talking about them in class. I enjoy the fact that these people can seem so weird and off the beaten trail but at the same time their lives tie into the bigger picture of America.
I think Holding On is at its strongest with how brief the articles seem to be. Each passage is a very easy read, but each one is filled with a lot of information that permits us to experience all of these interesting lives. I think that there isn't any large glaring weaknesses, so far.
While reading the book I try to write inside of it even though it goes against everything I learned when it came to reading/sharing books. Also, I try to keep my mind active by thinking about the lives of these people. I think about: where they're from, what they've done, and where they're going to be in their futures past and article's ending.

Part 2
I was assigned to talk about Donald Bean during class, and I was happy to get him. I guess the biggest theme that stuck out to me was Bean's never giving up on his dream of having a dinosaur park. He spent 20 years saving up for it, and once he had the money he spent over 100,000 dollars to make the park, and even though the park isn't a financial success he still loves it.
To me, Bean shows some serious dedication. I've never spent that much time in my life wanting anything, so I can't even imagine what Bean went through with the waiting or preparation. His story makes me think about my own commitments in my life and how I should approach/think about them. Like we stated in class, I think that his photo really summarizes Bean's character. Both the story and the photo depict a quite man who may be a bit too innocent or childlike for his own good. Just by looking at his posture I can see that he seems very shy and nervous, which only pushes my thoughts on him being childlike.
Isay did a very good job writing this. I say this because he did a great job writing about Bean without looking down on him. One could say that Bean is a failure because his park was a financial flop, but Isay simply attempts to show Bean as the dreamer that he was. He could of easily mocked Bean, or he could have said, "Bean was a weirdo sitting in the woods with dinosaurs that he spent too much money to have that aren't making him any money as they collect dust." Instead he was very gentle about the whole situation writing, "The masses did not seem to share Bean's fervor for creatures prehistoric. There were no lines at the ticket office." He then ends writing about Bean's everlasting admiration of the dinos

6 comments:

  1. I like your biggest theme because no one should give up on their dreams! I think we should learn form Donald Bean because if we want something then we should do everything in our power to reach our goal.

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  2. I definitely agree that there aren't really any stand out weaknesses yet. Everything is smooth reading and enjoyable so far. I like how you went along with Isay's perspective of the positive outlook on Bean's park. It would be easy to come to the conclusion that he failed in the business world, but that is not what the book is about. He is included because he is holding on to what inspired him and what he loves.

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  3. I definitely agree that there aren't really any stand out weaknesses yet. Everything is smooth reading and enjoyable so far. I like how you went along with Isay's perspective of the positive outlook on Bean's park. It would be easy to come to the conclusion that he failed in the business world, but that is not what the book is about. He is included because he is holding on to what inspired him and what he loves.

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  4. I agree Bean was quite a character! And his depiction of bean in the book is definatly a hopeful one I think you could write a great paper off of this mans dream.

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  5. I agree that Isay wrote this well, because he wrote without seeming condescending towards Bean. I also like the idea that although his business failed financially, it succeeded as his dream.

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  6. I agree that Isay wrote this well, because he wrote without seeming condescending towards Bean. I also like the idea that although his business failed financially, it succeeded as his dream.

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