StephanieScrapbook4

=Stephanie Owen's Scrapbook =

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Assignment
To get a feeling for how the Samanas, Indian ascetics that are found in the novel Siddhartha, try to reach enlightenment, we gave up something we enjoy for a week. I chose to give up Facebook, because I go on way to much and do really need to learn to not go on as much.

Beggining of the Week
I started well. I came home and got on my laptop like normal. I clicked the Facebook button out of muscle memory, then I realized what I did and closed the tab really fast. Then at school my friends would say "Message me tonight", because none of us text. I would have to say no which was hard because I was cut off from the world. Like Siddhartha: "The world had a bitter taste. Life was torment" (Hesse 7).

Middle of the Week
 On Wednesday I gave in. I was completely bored. I had finished all my homework, and I just didn't have anything to do. So I opened Facebook. It felt good to just check my notifications once even if it was only for a short time "This sensation that filled him so completely was something that he pondered as he walked slowly along” (20). After about 10 minutes on Facebook, I got off and found a book. I read half of that book, which is an accomplishment for me. I realized that not going on Facebook helped me to do something I had been wanting to do for a while, since I had wanted to read that book for a while.

End of the Week
By the end of the week, I was pretty crazy. One of my friends told me that she posted all these great pictures from her birthday party and I really wanted to see them. When Friday came, I waited until about noon and I checked Facebook. I had 12 notifications and it made me really happy checking them. I don't know how Siddhartha gave up everything for years when I couldn't even last a week. 'Let us enjoy those fruits and wait for the rest, O Govinda!" (13) 

The Quote(s)
"All of this-the yellow and blue, river and forest-entered Siddartha for the first time though the eyes" (21). "Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green; the sky and the river flowed, the forest and the mountains were fixed in their place" (22).

Analysis
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Siddhartha's awakening in Siddhartha reminded me of the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorthy steps out of Kansas and into Oz. Everything was in black and white but now its in color. In Siddhartha, when he enters the grove, everything is brighter and there are more colors. I included as many bright colors as I could into my picture as best I could. In my picture, Siddhartha walks out of the dark forest and enters the bright grove. In my picture, I tried to incorporate the change in colors as Siddhartha leaves Gotama's Grove and enters the valley. "Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green; the sky and the river flowed, the forest and the mountains were fixed in their place" (22). I used those colors as best I could to show the brightness of the valley in comparison to the darkness of the Grove.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kamala
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Name: Kamala

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Location: The Pleasure Grove

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eyes: Dark Brown

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hair: Jet Black

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">About Me: Siddhartha really loves me because I'm extremely beautiful. In fact, I don't believe he would be in love with me if I wasn't this beautiful. "Siddhartha saw how beautiful she was, and his heart rejoiced" (29). I think that even though I am very pretty, I am also a good person. I certainly try to help people who need it. I just have my own, special ways of helping them.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hobbies / Profession: Basically, I get paid to flirt with anybody I please. But I must be paid in advance. Yes I do get carried away once in a while, but I never get seriously involved without something in return.. "Love can be won by begging, it cannot be stolen. You have hatched such a useless plan there. No, it would be a pity if a handsome young man like you wanted to attack thins in such a wrong way" (31). Coincidentally, flirting happens to be one of my favorite hobbies as well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Looking For: When I look for a man, basically I want someone who looks as good as me. I want all of my relationships to be equal. I don't want to be a settler, and to be honest, I would never have to be a reacher. Also, you have to have money. Not buckets full, but however much you need to buy me what I want. I love to make people happy and I hate to ask for money, but this is what I do for a living and I need income too. If you need me to spell it out for you: "He must have clothes, handsome clothes, and shoes, good-looking shoes, and a lot of money in his purse, and gifts for Kamala" (30). That is all I ask for in a man. Is that to much to ask?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Daily life
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Wake up <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Get ready <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Marching band <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. School <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Go Home <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6. Do homework <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7. Sleep (finally)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quote
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The years sped by; cushioned by prosperity, Siddhartha barely felt their passing. He had become wealthy; for some time he had had a house of his own, his own servants, and a garden in the suburbs by the river" (40).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Comic
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Analysis
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My life runs on a fairly normal schedule. I wake up, go to school, come home, and go to sleep, also go to church on Sundays, and the occasional shopping spree or errand. Don't quite feel like Siddhartha though. Even though I do basically the same thing each day, each day still feels different to me. When I go to sleep, I don't think to myself "Gee, I already lived today yesterday. I wish I could mix it up a little,". A. Because everyday has a new challenge; whether it be a test or a project or drama or whatever. B. Because normally when I try to "mix it up" I normally start getting C's and D's...oops. So when Siddhartha "barley felt their (the years) passing" (40), I have trouble relating to him.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The River
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The River by Bruce Springteen

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"That night we went down to the river <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And into the river we'd dive <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On down to the river we did ride"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"His eyes closed, he was dropping to his death" (47).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These two quotes are similar because they both deal with suicide via drowning. The difference is in context. Bruce Springsteen is committing suicide because he cannot handle all the things in his life. His job is out of money and he has a wife to provide for and cannot deal with everything. Siddhartha on the other hand has lived his life till he was happy with it. He has done everything he set out to do and has learned everything there is to be learned. Siddhartha feels that his life is almost like busywork at this point, so he decides that his life is no longer a challenge for him and chooses to end it...until he doesn't.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Long River by Gordon Lightfoot

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Where the tall timber grows <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It grows 'round my door <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where the mountains meet the sky <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And the white clouds fly <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where the long river flows <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By my window."

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"But today, of all the secrets of the river, he saw just one, which gripped his soul. He saw: this water flowed and and flowed, it kept on flowing, and yet it was always there; it was always and at times the same and yet new every moment!" (54).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These two quotes are similar because both quotes discuss the length of the rivers and the importance of their lengths. Siddhartha is talking about how amazing it is that the river is always changing and how even though he has spent a lot of time at the river, it has never been the same. It is always changing. Gordon Lightfoot is talking about a place that is well known to him. Maybe in the forest. Lightfoot talks about the river more as a safe place that he knows is always there. This is sort of the opposite of Siddhartha.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Moon River by Andy Williams

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Two drifters, off to see the world <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's such a lot of world to see <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We're after the same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me."

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The river was flowing gently and quietly, it was in the dry season, but its voice had a peculiar sound: it was laughing! It was definitely laughing. The river was laughing; brightly and clearly it was laughing at the old ferryman" (70).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Both of these quotes talk about the playfulness and the love of the rivers. The two quotes both portray a sense of love and friendliness between the author and the rivers. Andy Williams is singing about the river as his good friend that goes on adventures with him and has stood with him. Siddhartha is talking about the river as if he were talking to it. The author is making it seem as though Siddhartha knows the river well enough to understand its emotions Both quotes give the rivers human-like qualities.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My Om
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For my Om, I chose to modernize part one of the book into a short story. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Note: You may see some parallels in this story to the group One Direction. These may or may not have been intentional.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Harry was the perfect boy. He was smart, handsome, funny, kind, and a perfect gentleman. He was born a governor's son. His family had planned for him to one day run for office. But he and his best friend Louis had different ideas. They wanted to be singers. Louis was also in a very important family. They realized that the political path was a very good thing and could help them in the future, but they knew that it was not going to make them happy in the end. They had told their parents of their desires but they had been put down. They begged and begged to audition for The X Factor. Finally, after constant pestering, Harry's father agreed to let him audition. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The boys auditioned for The X Factor and were put with three other boys: Niall, Liam, and Zayn. These boys lived in a very small room together. They had left most of their positions at home. They ate food but only what they could afford. The room that they stayed in was their only space and they had to do what they could with what they had. This was hard for some but fairly easy for Harry. Harry started to realize that this was not making him happier. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> One day, there was talk of a U2 concert. Harry and Louis loved U2, Bono had inspired them to start singing. They really wanted to go to the concert to meet him. The other boys told them not to go because U2 had taken many other singers from The X Factor and shown them a different way of singing and living. Harry saw this as even more reason to go. At the concert, the boys rocked out and enjoyed themselves, but all the while, Harry was listening to him sing and thinking about what he wanted. After the concert, the boys went up to Bono. Louis hugged him and told him how much he loved him and how much the concert had changed him. Louis went off to go talk to U2's manager, leaving Bono and Harry alone. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"So what did you think?" asked Bono. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I loved it," said Harry. "Your voice is amazing and so is your music. But the thing is, I have been living with four other boys for three years now and I like it. But I'm not happy. And you, you're amazing, but you're with three other guys on stage. I don't have a problem with it, it's just that i feel like it's easier to be solo." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With that, Harry turned and walked off. As he left, leaving the four other members of his group, he felt a hue weight lifted from his shoulders. he looked up and saw that the sky had become blue-er. He started to sing, alone. It was the most amazing feeling he had ever felt. He knew now that he could live only for what he wanted, not what anybody else wanted. He was free.