Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

George and Lennie are close friends. They live together, move together and look after each other. They work on ranches but not theirs. They are poor and they have a dream of owning their own. They keep it secret from everybody because it is between them.
I like how they support each other. George is smarter than Lennie but George doesn't hurt Lennie. George says Lennie is dumb but George appreciates Lennie. George knows how to handle Lennie and Lennie needs someone that knows how to treat Lennie himself. They are equal and they cherish each other equally. It is a relationship to have besides family.

A farewell to arms final entry

In the last chapter, the expected baby is born but dead and so is Catherine. She had a hemorrage and a doctor couldn't stop it. Henry feels sad and walks to the hotel. The end.
I thought the ending is really sad. There is no salvation. No hope whatsoever. Henry has nothing left to cherish. I mean he really depeneds on Catherine. Catherine is the most important thing in his life. He is crazy for her. I don't see how he's going to recover from her death. But then he has been always cool about everything before he meets her so I think now that nothing keeps him in the back, he is just going to back to the front to work if he can. Or maybe he goes back to the US.
Some themes are the war, friendships, loyalty and glory in the war and love. The war was really painful. Everyone hates it. Rinaldi hates it too. The friendship saves him many times. Many people helped him when he is on escape from police. The loyalty and the glory of the war is constantly brought up in the book. Some people value and some people don't. Love has ended in the ruin. Henry loves Catherine but the life gets kind of boring. Moreover, he has no love for his child. Just kind of feel sad. Then Catherine is dead so...really love is as much sad as the war.

A Farewell to Arms 2

To get better, Henry is located to the hospital in Milan. At the same time, Catherine is moved to the same hospital too. There, he spends fine days with Catherine (nurse) and he gets surgery for his leg because it was badly injured. They go dinner talk in Henry's room at night or go to racing and wins. They pretend to be married and talk about kids. He eventually gets well and goes back to the war front, separating with Catherine.
I like the time in Milan because it's peaceful and delightful. Part by part, I see the shadow of the war but it is better than the warfront. The last chapter's last was dreadful and painful. I hope Rinaldi is okay because he is the best guy you want to have as a friend in the world. Rinaldi and Henry is the best friends and their conversation is funny. Mostly Rinaldi teases Henry.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

The setting is in Italy during the WW1. The protagonist of the story is Lieutenant Frederic Henry and the story goes from his view. He is a driver of the ambulance on the front and the headquarter. He meets a British woman named Catherine a nurse (not real one but does the same duty as they do) and gets along with her. She lost her love during the war and (I believe) still loves him. One time, she kissed Henry seeing him as her lost love. But Henry doesn't mind that and he thinks it is some kind of love game. Henry and Catherine gets along well though as friends. Their life is surrounded by the war and the imagery or the scene is full of guns and helmets and sand smoke the tank makes on the road.
Henry is not so passionate about anything particular but feels lonely and hollow when he doesn't see Catherine.
I like how Henry speaks in the novel. It's made up of easy words, sometimes confusing(because there are too much "and" and I forget what the description was before that and feel like running on sentence) but like the style better than Fitzgerald's.

TKAM final entry

In the end, Bob Ewell attacked Scout and Jem because he cannot defeat Atticus. Arthur Radley saves them and kills Ewell. The sheriff came and talk with Atticus about it. The sheriff concluded that Ewell died accidentally and leaves the house. They were to save a mockingbird. And they lived happily ever after....I wish I had read this book when I was 9th grade. I'm really sorry to miss the opportunity because I feel like if I read this book when 9th grade, I had enjoyed it more. Themes were loss of innocence, prejudice (not just for the race) and the family strength. I like how Atticus has broad perspectives of the people and the world. I enjoyed this book very much and recommend to people strongly. I don't think I need to recommend because most people had read this book already when they were 9th grade if they went to high school.

TKAM 2

Changes gradually appears in the life of Scout and Jem because Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson. They are really getting into the world in which racial prejudice decides. At school, Cecil Jacobs makes fun of Atticus defending African American. In Finch's Landing, Francis calls Atticus "nigger-lover" so Scout beats him up. The neighbor, Mrs. Dubose says nasty things about Atticus and Jem destroyed her garden. Cunningham, once friend of Atticus, appears in front of him to attack Tom Robinson. He may have hurt Atticus if Scout weren't there.
Everyone shows aggressive hostility toward Atticus defending of a black man. I think that is so sad. Scout and Jem are on Atticus' side but they hurt a lot too because they like Atticus. No one wants to love to hear people cussing about someone he or she loves. Jem destroying Mrs Dubose's garden is kind of outrageous but this is because Jem cherishes Atticus a lot. I guess Maycomb people thinks Atticus is a traitor. They liked him all right but they cannot forgive him for defending a black person because they believe him that he will be on their side.
There is a good Japanese proverb about this situation. "The more you cherish that person, the more hatred you have once you start to hate him or her".

Maycomb's people are sad people but understandable.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The setting is Maycomb in Alabama which is a deep south state. It's about the time of the great depression. The protagonist is Scout who is a young girl. Through her eyes, the story goes. She has a brother named Jem, and father, Atticus, who is a lawyer. The part 1 was mainly about her usual life and a little effect of defending an African American.
I like Scout. She is honest and thoughtful, not precocious. Jem and Scout are very close. Jem is very wide hearted because he plays with her and he looks after her. Even after he had kind of grown up a little, he shoos her but never hit her. Come to think of it, Scout and Jem may tease each other but never gets a serious fight with each other. They don't hate each other. The story gives me the impression of them close and care about each other, never hurt each other. I think it is because of Atticus, who never hit Scout. Scout trusts Atticus and he always tries to talk with her whenever they have some kind of problem. Somehow, Atticus is more like an older person like than a father. I mean someone like grandma.