I read another book that Ta-Nehisi Coats wrote called “Between the World and Me.” I think this is one of Ta-Nehisi best selling books. I remember watching a video about this book. Many white people bought “Between the World and Me” and actually liked it. It was surprising for him. Ta-Nehisi is a black man who writes about America.
In this letter, Ta-Nehisi explains his difficult life growing up. If you read the Beautiful Struggle, also written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, you could see his father was so hard on him. We all should know that he grew up in a rough area. If you haven’t read “Beautiful Struggle” By Ta - Nehisi Coates, I recommend that you read it first before you read “Between the World and Me”. Ta-Nehisi also explains about his life in college at Howard University over in D.C. During his time in college, he lost someone in his life. He lost Prince. Prince was a handsome black man who enjoyed life. He always kept things positive. He was killed by a white police officer. The police officer didn’t admit that he was the one who killed the Prince. The officer just came up with an excuse of how Prince died. People believed the officer because he is white. I think Ta - Nehisi was never the same after Prince died. I think Ta - Nehisis saw the truth on how America really is. I can understand. I always thought that America was a beautiful country for many opportunities. That is true, but I always knew that there was something fishy about American history. There was so much hatred for black/colored people. What is worse is that even today this hate is still going on. If a black man crashes into someone’s vehicle, the black man would go straight to jail. Whenever a white man crashes into someone’s vehicle, that man would get a trial and do community service for a month. Same thing, but with a different consequence. Why? It all has to do with race. That is what Ta - Nehisi realized after Prince was killed. He realized the reality of America. People hating on colored people. We have seen it before with Jim crow, segregation, and the Ku Klux Klan. This madness has to stop. “History is not solely in our hands. And still, you are called to struggle, not because it assures you victory but because it assures you an honorable and sane life.” -Ta - Nehisi Coates
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Remember when I read "The City of Falling Angeles" and I claimed that it was the best book I read? Well, I read Maus and now it's the best book I have read so far.
Did you know that Maus is the German word for mouse? That is how the Germans viewed the Jews back then – as mice. This book was based on the Holocaust, a bad time for Jewish people who lived in Europe. There are two volumes and I am going to break down and summarize each one. Part One In part one, it starts with the normal life of a family of Jewish Mice. I know this sounds weird, bear with me. The Nazis are cats in the story. Is this a Tom and Jerry reference? Kind of. Coming back, the family were living their best lives during the Holocaust. However, there was a problem. They are Jewish and the Nazis hated the Jews. If you didn’t know, the Nazis put Jews in concentration camps. Concentration camps were no ordinary camps. The Nazis would not feed the Jews, they would put the Jews in gas chambers and kill them. After that, the Nazis would carry their bodies and put them in burning ovens. Other times they would put the Jews against the wall and shoot them. Most of the Jews in these camps would die of either hunger or disease. At the end of the story, the Jewish family of mice, ends up in the worst concentration camp. The family lived in these small houses called ghettos. The Nazis put a lot of Jewish families in ghettos so it would be easier to transport them to concentration camps and because they knew where the ghettos were located. Part Two In this series it was life or death. That is the theme of the whole story. The theme of the story can also be said to be a survivor's tale. In part one, we already know that the family of mice is in a concentration camp. They are in Auschwitz. Auschwitz was one of the most well-known concentration camps and one of the most dangerous camps. The family of mice had to do everything they could in order to escape without getting killed. Not only that, they also had to find a safe place for them to hide until everything with Hitler (the leader of the Nazi party) was all cleared. The theme of the story is that it is a survivor's tale. The author who wrote this story said this was a story that his father told him. Yes, this might be in a cartoon, comic, or graphic novel strip, but the events happened to his father and the author tells us that there is a special message behind this story. This is one of the best books that I have read in my entire life! The book is called “The City of Falling Angeles” by John Berendt. This is a mystery that you have to read to find out what happened.
The setting takes place in Venice, Italy. Venice is one of my favorite places to travel. I hope I will get an opportunity to go there. The way the water flows into the city is beautiful. Speaking about Venice, years ago, there was a sudden fire that destroyed the Venice Opera House. Days later, the author tells the truth about what caused the fire. Let me tell you something about what the author said. It was a little bit confusing, but it will blow your mind. When I read this story, I felt like I was one of the Venitians realizing that the opera house was destroyed. Nobody knew how. It was terrifying for the civilians in Venice. This was real just like the cathedral that was burned in Paris. Imagine one of the landmarks in your city was destroyed, wouldn’t you feel sad and terrified? Before I read the story I asked myself, “is this a mystery I am going to read?” The cover of the book looked rather creepy. On the cover of the book was a picture of a big cathedral that had an arc and a blanket floating. I think the point of the picture was to give me a sense that the story is a mystery. The main character is the author, John Berendt. Whenever he talks about the opera house and tries to figure what caused all of this, it leads him to a path that leads to another, that leads to another, and well, you know where I am getting. It’s a combination! I think the theme of the story is facing the Darkness. Italy is known for its image: by its cars, accesories, structures, wine, clothing, and its food. Seeing one of the most amazing buildings being burned down was sad for everyone living in Venice. John Berendt finds the truth about how the opera house was burned and I thing that signifies the Darkness of Venice. The Reality of Italy! The Civil War was a horrible time in America’s history. In America, there was legal slavery. Slave owners were brutal to African Americans and never paid them. The Civil War started under Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president. The Civil War ended in 1863. Congress passed a law freeing all the slaves, but slave owners in Texas did not tell their slaves that they were free. It took slaves in Texas 10 years to figure out that they had been free the entire time.
The Civil War time period was the setting of the story. Before I read the story, I had heard about Jim Crow, but I didn’t understand who he was. Notice that I said “who he was.” I honestly thought Jim Crow was person. No - it was a law. Congress got the name from a character. Jim Crow was a law that started segregation. Here are some examples: Black people could not go to public restrooms with white people. Black people had to sit in the back of the bus. Black children had to go to separate schools. That was what the Jim Crow era was like when it started. I do not think that this will be a book review. I think this is more of a history report. I just recently learned a little bit about Jim Crow. I never learned anything about Jim Crow in school. I am glad for the opportunity to read and learn about it. I read "On Becoming Abraham Lincoln" over the summer. I already knew who Abraham Lincoln was. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States of America. Before I started reading the book, I had only one question. I wondered if the book is a primary source. As I read, I saw that the author had a lot of sources that looked like it was written during the time Lincoln was alive. I really enjoyed the sources the author put in his story.
Abraham Lincoln changed throughout the story. When Lincoln was a child, he was interested books because he didn’t have a lot of education. He became a lawyer and later ran for President and became the 16th President of the United States. I think the theme of the story is working-class struggles. You see, Lincoln was poor. That is the reason why he couldn’t go to school at an early age. He read books and helped his father with labor. I think Lincoln realized that he didn’t want to end up working like his father. I have the same connection with that as well. Last summer, I worked with my father weekly. My father is a contractor. The work was very difficult for me. My job was to be a helper. It may sound simple, but it wasn’t for me. I had to be in houses with no air conditioning under the hot temperature of the sun (90 degrees). I had to collect heavy trash, clean the whole house and wake up early in I always have questions when I read a book about someone I have never heard of. Don’t we all? So, who is Wynton Marsalis? As soon as I saw the trumpet on the cover of the book, my question was answered. Wynton Marsalis is a jazz musician. The main character of the story is yourself. Now, I say that because this book is really 10 letters that Marsalis wrote. He may have written the letters to Anthony, but when I read them, it was like Marsalis wrote the letters to me and I was receiving his wisdom. You don’t have to be a musician for this, these letters can relate to anything you do in life. I also understood each letter that Marsalis wrote. I am so glad that I got to read the letters and take advantage of it. Once again the theme of the book is wisdom. Every letter by Wynston Marsalis was just so amazing to read and I wonder myself what can I do? How am I going to carry on after reading this? I would recommend reading this book to everyone. Trust me! After reading this book, your mind will be blown! “Don’t settle for style. Succeed in substance.” -Wynton Marsalis What I learned reading about Wynton Maralis Every morning, I have a daily routine. I wake up, eat breakfast, tidy my room, go out and run, practice my keyboard and French Horn. I practice playing the keyboard and my French Horn and I sounded different than I was. I was playing louder with full air. After practicing my instrument, my auntie made me think if after reading about Wynton Marsalis, it made a difference for me and my playing? That is what I am going to cover up today. In the story, Wynton explained that if I express my mind and ideas. That will help me to play better. I will give feeling to you and your music. That’s how I can play better. It was as if I was owning my instrument. I think that was the biggest thing I learned from reading this book. Now that I think, after reading this book, I think my mind shifted from playing my horn to playing with feel. I even felt great about myself once I finished practicing. That is how strong and powerful this book can be. I also learned that a musician joy comes from a lot of sources. That is quite difficult to comprehend. I think the best way to find out is knowing yourself when you pick up an instrument. The way I find joy is when I am in the band and we sound really good, loud, and powerful. It gets me excited and I hear the beauty of music. These are two powerful things that I learned from reading Wynton Marsalis. If you haven't, I would recommend reading my other blog “Wynoton Marsalis- To a Young Jazz Musician Letters from the Road.” If you want to learn more. I read another story about a musician. This musician is Albert Murray. Albert Murray was born in Alabama. Albert Murray was serious about music. In this book, Albert Murray explains his perspective about the music genre Blues. The genre Blues is song that originated deep in the south in the United States. The song talks mostly about people struggles, work, or spiritals.
This is an autobiography. I think the main character is probably Albert Murray himself since he was writing this story. Albert Murray is also, an athor In the story it explains that Albert Murray was the hero of Blues. Let’s define what is exactly a hero? We all know a hero protects and fights for justice. But this is talking about something like Iron Man, Thor, or the king of Wakanda, Black Panther. (Yes, I am a Marvel fan!). A true definition of a hero is someone who is admired. That is a true definition of a hero also, the true definition of Albert Murray. Albert Murray helped the people spread this genre of blues music and folks were liking this because it speaks about their life. It gives strong feel. Also, as a musician, the way the instruments are played, it is amazing. “The second implication is not so obvious at first glance. It's significance, however, extends beyond the writing process as such and into the dynamics of the blues tradition as a whole.” -Albert Murray |
AuthorMy name is Michael Duarte. I am 15 years old. I am a student. I am a soccer player. I enjoy sports. I love to play and watch different kinds of sports. I am also getting in the habit of reading. CategoriesArchives
June 2021
About this Page
This is a page where I review sports games and books that I read. Hope you enjoy! |