September 27th 2014

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Book analysis of INVICTUS by Conrado Colocho

INVICTUS

The film tells the early years live in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. After being released from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela activist leader manages to arrive years after the presidency of South Africa, and from that position you have to build a policy of reconciliation between the black majority, who were oppressed under Apartheid, and the minority white, shown fearful of a possible revenge by the new government.

To this end, Mandela turns his attention to the South African rugby, known as “Springboks”.

Mandela realizes that black people attending the games “Springboks” just to support the contrary, something he was also recalled that when he was in prison.

Mandela decides to support the national team.

Mandela calls then the team captain. Francois Piennar, to a meeting in which he said that the triumph of the Rugby World Cup would be an achievement can unite and inspire a nation, and as proof of this, shares athlete with a poem written by William Ernest Henley called “Invictus” and that inspired him during his years in prison.

They doubt that rugby will be able to unite a nation that has been divided for 50 years by racial discrimination.

The team of the “Springboks” symbolizes the “white supremacy”. However, Mandela and Pienaar

The “Springboks” exceeded all expectations and qualify to the World Cup final, having to face the New Zealand team, the “All Blacks”.

Before the game, the “Springboks” visit Robben Island, the former prison where Mandela spent most of his 27 year sentence. The deeply moving experience to Pienaar, who is surprised by the fact that Mandela is a man able to forgive those who locked him in a cell for nearly 30 years.

Supported by both white and black, Pienaar motivates his team.

Just before the start, appears on the horizon a passenger plane. Fly over satin stadium, and its back shows the words “Good Luck Springboks”.

The “Springboks” won the game with a field goal kick.

Mandela and Pienaar gather on the field to celebrate the improbable and unexpected victory.

The city streets are filled with people in a unanimous conclusion regardless of race or social status.

The words of the poem “Invictus” are heard again in your mind.

I am the master of my fate.

I am the captain of my soul.

Black Light, book analysis by Marvelan Garcia.

Black light is a work with a strong social content  in which reflects the different sides of the coin, when two men are beheaded everyone to his way of life and attributing the same fate for the two characters that were lying alone without a good place where go after her tragic end or uncertain beginning...

The plot begins with the decapitation of these characters one accused of theft and one is an idealist, a revolutionary, which goes against the oligarchy, these characters have a unique similarity in their names which are Gother and Mother, after their fatal decapitation where their severed heads realize they still can talk, from here begins a struggle to know if only they have the ability to listen or someone else can hear them.

Then the characters paraded in front of them reflecting everyone a chance to see whether they can be heard the sweeper, who see and do not dare to utter a word because of the fears that had now.

An important point was the conversation with the blind person by not seeing is the only who strike up a conversation with security, the blind man is identified with reasons Gother the revolutionary struggle to tell his story about how he lost his wife and his eyes in a savage interrogation in his years as a military.

Climax

The plot takes a tragic connotation in the moment they realize they heard themselves but are still the whether it was the blind person the only one who could communicate with them ... death was not as they thought and in desperation they set out to find a word that shout to allay their doubts.

In conclusion the characters scream with their last breath and feel vanish forces and the last that remained of hope and vitality calling is used most of their ideal love ... ensuring a work of contrasts, constant differences , and a story that shows the different perspectives of two unequal individuals fighting for a life ...

WHO MOVED MY CHEESE analysis by William Vasquez

Instituto Tecnologico Centroamericano

Subject: 09 Intermediate English

Teacher: Julio Cortez

Student: William Balmore Vasquez Barahona

The Book is “WHO MOVED MY CHEESE” by Dr. Spencer Johnson

Characters:

The mice:

Sniff: who sniff out change early.

Scurry: who scurries into action.

The little people:

Hem: who denied and resist change as he fear it will lead to something worse.

Haw: who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing leads to something better.

Summary:

The story is about four characters, two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two little people (Hem and Haw), who are in a maze with cheese deposits, every day running to Cheese Station which handled nurture and keep them happy.

One day the cheese is ended, then the mice Sniff and Scurry decided to follow his instincts, and sniff the new cheese through the maze, while Hem wondered "who had moved their cheese", he was hopeful that the remaining cheese and return happy, they did not accept the change thought that there were consistent and comfortable and did not need to look elsewhere where cheese was, after several days, Haw thought he would have to make a change, try to convince Hem but he refused to move himself, then Haw decided to make that change and so he did.
 Haw went in search of a new cheese, very scared because of the change, but determined to find happiness, while the mice had already found a deposit with enough cheese to feed.
 Haw ran through the maze in hopes of finding the new cheese while on travel to write phrases on the walls of what he was learning.

Realizing that making a change was not as bad as he thought, that motivated him to go in search of new cheese, Haw one day found an empty cheese stations and thought that had gone before had to seek enjoyed the cheese, return where Hem was to tell him what had happened, but thought it was dangerous Hem leave where he was, and he would not move from that spot until he returned plus cheese and things could get worse.

Haw said no more and return to the maze, until he finally found the largest station of cheese he had ever seen, there were mice enjoy the new cheese and could not believe it.

Haw decided to conduct daily inspections of the amount of cheese and investigated other stations had to happen again and not be aware of the change for the better.

These are the words he wrote on the wall:

Having cheese makes you happy.

The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold onto it.

If you do not change, you can become extinct.

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Smell your cheese often so you know when it is getting old.

Movement in a new direction helps you find a new cheese.

When you move beyond you fear, you feel free.

Imagining myself enjoying the cheese, even before I find it, lead me to it.

The quick you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.

It is safer to search in the maze than remain in a cheese less station.

Old beliefs do not lead you to the new cheese.

When you see that you can find new cheese, you change course.

Noticing small change early helps adapt to bigger change that are to come.

Conclusions:

Cheese is what we want in our lives, a good job, good pay, a house, a car, etc., the maze is where we seek our goals.

The characters in this story shows the different ways people act, one of them clung to not make a change in his life, was satisfied, comfortable and was afraid to make a change, however the other person felt differently, because the need to survive and be happy, he decided to make a change and take risks knowing that there were better opportunities for a better life, many of us think both ways at some time and make decisions that may be better if we risk a change whenever is to improve.

Analysis of the book Esther by Dony Osorio

Esther book

Base situation.

The book of Esther is a narrative book an important part of the history of the nation of Israel.
The Jews were then scattered throughout the territory of the Persian Empire which put them at a disadvantage against any malicious and perverse decision rulers or leaders.

But as they obey the laws and regulations of the town in which prisoners were all would be well for all Israel.

One day everything changes when two characters come on stage, Mordecai and Aman.
Aman, a man driven by his arrogant and self-centered way of thinking and a choleric personality, is a man of principle and simplicity of heart, this man's name is Mordecai.
Mordecai, moved by their principles, tended to maintain their integrity, demonstrated while caring for a young girl who stayed in the orphanage.

So one morning, while Aman enjoying his new role as arrogant ruler, he meets Mordecai, who worked on the door of the palace of the Persian king Asuero.

Regarding the socio-political situation of the time which was part of the Jewish people for being passively as slaves, the Persians had a military power that allowed this nation to become a powerful empire in the known world conqueror then.
King Xerxes invited all the princes to celebrate with him the conquest and subjugation of many peoples with their kings.

In a particular fact , the king wanted to introduce the beautiful queen had to wife .
Her name was Vashti.
The queen prepared its own celebration and call all her maids to eat and drink , and to talk about how great it had become.
When the king sent the queen to call him to the princes present, this he refused to obey , as the king's proposal would have been unseemly for her, since they probably had to walk naked in front of many men eager to satisfy their morbid mindset.

When the king heard Vashti 's refusal , this was very angry , and embarrassed that his own wife, Queen disobeyed him , though a direct order he had received , made ​​the decision that it was not the wife of the emperor more Asuero  queen nor the Persian nation .
The king's advisors , recommended him to the emperor , who did a contest in which they chose the most beautiful , submissive and wise maiden who occupied the throne that Vashti was lost, not only become the wife of the king, but also , came to be the queen of the mighty empire .
King consider the proposal very wise , because that way there would be a lesson not only to his ex-wife , but also the women of the kingdom , who upon hearing about Vashti 's disobedience , women rebelling and do according at will in homes, creating instability in society and loss of their values.
So that led to the choice of the future Queen the Persian Empire.

So they held a contest many call of beauty, in which thousands of aspiring to the throne were brought, and taught classified as necessary to be in court with the king and presented in a way relevant to the real issues .
Among the maidens appear Esther, who was not only physical beauty but inner beauty, which allowed him to win the favor of many for his humility and simplicity.
Once the election, Esther becomes Queen and wife of King Ahasuerus.
Its simplicity made ​​him win the favor of everyone who saw her because she was a persoan of principles and faith.
All had taught her uncle Mordecai who as we know, he was also a man with moral and spiritual values​​.

Aman Meanwhile , the cruel prince , enjoyed the admiration of the people, which made him a far worse man , and that his intentions was to take care of it and did not mind the rest of the people .
One day he discovered that the palace gate sat a man who every time he passed , not bent like the rest of the people to give respect and reverence.
This greatly upset the prince because he could not Mordecai will give you the adulation he needed .
So I began researching this man who was irreverent and why his rebellion against his person .
They said the name and nation , as well , who were slaves and who had been conquered by the Medes , in one of many military incursions that the rule of King Xerxes did in central Asia and Africa way .
This was enough to start an evil plan Aman would destroy not only Mordecai , but his family and the other Jews scattered by the Persian Empire .

Aman, every day I saw how to plan disgrace and destruction of those they regarded as a threat , so I came to King Asuero and proposed a lie about the people of the Jews.
King Asuero  without further research considered a threat , because who said it was one of the most important rulers and Aman 's proposal was to destroy the Jews .
The evil prince made necessary arrangements and investigate the date would be the best for his evil plan.

The emperor , a very vain and lazy , did not take the time to hear the case concerning the Jews , leave everything in the hands of the evil prince Aman, trusting their judgment and thinking it was better to end the threat.


Once the king gave written consent to the wicked governor, sent them to all cities by letters and very efficient mail system possessed at the time.
When everyone was aware , and Aman was satisfied that everything was going according to his evil plan.

The prince had also thought of giving a cruel death Mordecai, so prepare for enemy command a gallows so high that he could see all that passed by the house of the evil ruler.
All was well for Aman and that there were no doubt invite all your friends to tell as the king believed much more than the rest of their rulers, I prepare a big party and wanted to tell all of his plans to destroy Mordecai and all his fellow Jews.

Mordecai when he learned of the evil plan to Esther said she entered the palace with the king but this he had not called and begged for it, he and his nation.
Esther said it was a crime to do that, if someone came to the king without this I would have called, could lose life at that moment.
So Esther gave all to fast for three days and at the end of these, she would go to the king to plead for the life of the Jews and annul the evil plan of Aman.

One night the king Asuero could not sleep, so I asked him what they should read the chronicles of happened during the period of his government, so he began to hear each of the things and events that had occurred until I get the account of Mordecai discovered the conspiracy against the king , denounced this and so the king was saved from death.
The king asked : who was this man , as he recognized ? His servants told him that he had not been given any recognition.
So he wanted to give a good recognition and among the more thought as I could, Aman came to the palace with the intention of denouncing Mardoqueo and that this was hanged on the gallows he had prepared.
But before Aman speaking , the king asked him a question : as it should be to a man whom the king wishes to recognize.
Aman immediately thought that the king was thinking about him , so Haman also said , it's my chance to get the greatest recognition to the people , family and friends .
Aman said , the man who must honor the king owes dress the best outfit of the king, let her ride in the city on the king's horse and cry in front of him and be done with the man whom the king delights to honor .
The king loved the idea and told Aman, do exactly what you said to the Jew Mordecai and the welfare of the king try and save the life of the monarch.

Filled with anger and disappointment back home , and with more force exterminate thought Mordecai and all the Jews in Susa , which was the capital of the kingdom.

The date of the feast would last seven days came, and of course Aman was honored guests as they sit near the king and queen .
After the first banquet, Love did not enjoy at all always see Mordecai in the gate of the palace without bowing to honor him , so tell them to family and friends of all the favors and honors he had received from their Majesties the King and queen of Persia but also how annoying it was to know he was not revered by a man , Mordecai.
His friends told him that he proposed to the king to give him permission to hang him for being a traitor and infidel nation that would ( in the words of Aman) at risk to the powerful nation .
This seemed like an excellent idea , so when I came to bring to the second banquet, a smile on his face , imagining the moment when the king Asuero granted the desire to kill who he considered his enemy.

But everything changed suddenly, as the king Ahasuerus said to Esther would ask what she wanted and he would grant it , but she pretended not to have anything important to ask the king.
The king again said to Esther to ask what he would , and then she saw the determination of king said , I ask no more than the favor and mercy of the king, and that someone wants to kill me and my people , because the king is of agreement I have no more to ask for mercy.
The king arose very angry and she called for an immediate explanation of what was happening and to give the name of him who had dared to do such a cruel thing possible .

She told him that the evil and ruthless was his most distinguished prince Aman.
THE king could not believe it and left the banquet to the patio, with a lot of anger and disappointment at what he heard .
They love to feel exposed, was far princess was lying and fell at his feet to beg for mercy , at the precise moment when the king went to see the Queen . This scene was not pleasant for Ahasuerus who thought that the evil Haman wanted was abusing Queen Esther , so I asked Aman to take out of sight and put him in jail while investigating what this man had planned to do the Israelites .

This happened when I was near the date on which the Jews were to be exterminated so that Esther requested the king to spare the life of his countrymen.
In this way the king change the decision and allowed the Jews to defend themselves from attack.

The End
The evil Haman ended up being hanged on the same gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.
Was made governor Mordecai and Esther as queen of the Persian Empire.

Daysi Miller Analysis by Veronica Perez

Daysi Miller

Intro

This novella serves as both a psychological description of the mind of a young woman, and an analysis of the traditional views of a society where she is a clear outsider. Typical American  young woman  in Europe,  Her name is Daisy Miller who is judged by social behavior.

The story is in Vevay, Switzerland,  when Frederick is bored by his life… And visited Europe for meet a women.

Climax

He meets the vivacious young Daisy Miller, a girl from  New  York  traveling through Europe with her clueless mother and badly behaved little brother, and his world is turned upside down. He likes Daisy, but her erratic, flirtatious behavior confuses and irritates him.

The following winter, he meets up with Daisy in Rome only to find she's been flirting like crazy with all of the Italian dudes. She starts hanging out a little too intimately and a little too publicly with an Italian social climber named Mr. Giovanelli. People start to talk, and Winterbourne is torn:  is she engaged to Giovanelli or not? He can't get a straight answer.

Winterbourne tries to get Daisy to tone it down and she makes fun of him for being boring. He almost loses it when he sees her out alone at night with Giovanelli at the Colosseum, a location where people typically contract Roman fever (malaria).

End

A few weeks later, she's sick , she's got malaria. When she dies, her mother passes on a message to Winterbourne: Daisy wanted him to know she was never engaged to Giovanelli. She in love to Frederick Winternbourne……

Book Analysis Violencia Intrafamiliar. By Graciela Martinez

Book Analysis.

Tirsa is the name of a girl what lived with her parents. Their names are: Carlos and Tania. Her father was alcoholic. He fights with his wife all the time. One of the things for what he fights is, because, he wanted a son, not a daughter. He thinks: “The boys are best that the girls” For him a son it was a proud. That is he hates a Tirsa. Also he is very very jealous. Once time a neighbor, gift food a Tania, and Carlos thought that he was the lover. But really the neighbor only wanted helps them. They were a poor family. So, Carlos decided killed the neighbor. Nobody wanted a Tania and Tirsa. Her Mother in law would rather other woman for her son. Tania was a nice person; her behavior was excellent with all, still with her husband, because she love him.  

When Tirsa was 15 years, her father began to abuse her. She has scare, because Carlos had told to he will kill his mother, and for this reason never talked with anyone about it. Until to her teacher, ask her, because the teacher saw that Tirsa was not the same girl of before. Later Tirsa talk with her mom. So, they decide to denounce to Carlos.

Spent a few months until her father gets jail. In this time she was a shy girl. But later when grew up, she decided be a different woman, she become a lawyer and defended the rights of people.

Violencia Intrafamiliar.

Oscar Martínez Peñate

Lidia Flores Montalvo.

LITERARY ANALYSIS OF THE ROUND TO THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS BY JAZMIN LOPEZ

LITERARY ANALYSIS OF THE ROUND TO THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

A) ACTION:

BASIC SITUATION: a day, the protagonist, Phileas Fogg, decides to bet that it would be able to turn the world in 80 days. Fogg is a "white knight" extremely timely and accurate and, with the help of his French butler, is able to make the voyage.

He takes with him his servant Passepartout, a lot of money ( £100,000 at the time) and really want to win the bet. But, in London, a few days before the departure of Fogg, steals the Bank of England. Then, taking into account the amount of money that Fogg was carrying with him and his sudden exit, the detective Fix suspicion of Fogg and going in his search, traveling around the world in the same trains or ships that the traveler did.

* CLÍMAX: Fogg travels to incredible places, citing India, the United States, etc. , in India, Fogg finds the love of his life, Aouda, a princess who was about to be burned by brahmaneses who practiced cremation of widows, in honor of the goddess Kali.

In the end he is arrested by the detective Fix, who aim to achieve through his entire journey with the hope of catching him to win the reward for his capture, is delayed for a few hours.

* OUTCOME: being released after verification of their innocence, has lost the hopes of winning the bet and is resigned to losing, when the following day is informed by his servant that it is not the day that he believed, because they had travelled the world to the inverse of its rotation, they had won 24 hours in advance, so that was presented at the Reform Club with his colleagues to claim the money of the bet.

James Penney’s new identity analysis by Dalenin Ortez

James Penney’s new identity

The process that turned James Penney into a completely different person began at one in the afternoon on a Monday in the middle of June, in Laney, California.

There was one industry in Laney. James had worked there for 17 years. Now lies in wait to speak to the human resources manager, aware of the news that waits for him. The minutes seem endless, until the secretary called him, entered the office, sat down and had a short but heated conversation with Odell, the manager. He left the Odell’s office, hopeless and the payment of a month's work. Penney walked to get to the parking lot. Slide into his car and drove up to his house, thinking that the repo men would take the only prized possession that remained after his divorce, his car, was a red firebird, because it wasn't paid yet. When he came to his home a smoldering rage began to grow within him. Left his car and ran to the Kitchen took some matches and decided to do something crazy. He set fire to his house. For the time the firefighters arrived, Penney’s house and its two neighbors were totally destroyed. 

For the time Penney realized what he had done, he was in a motel room with only the clothes he was wearing, the payment of a month's work and his precious firebird. He decided to start over. Get a job, maybe eat less or at least cheaper, thought about buying work shirts, heavy boots, because he did not know what is going to face.

When he leaves the hotel to go for a breakfast, he realized that his precious firebird was gone, it was stolen. Desperated for a moment even thought about hitting the desk 'guy, but calm, he decided to go to the police. The nearest police station was two miles south. Upon arrival realized that the place was packed so he had to wait for his turn. While waiting get to see a poster with his name and face and the description of his firebird, police were looking for him for arson and criminal damage.

Penney was confused; he just burned his own home. He came out of there as fast as he could and ran down the road to left breathless. Stopped to think what he will do, they had three ways to trace, by his name, by his face and his car.

His car was stolen so it was not a problem, his face will change because he would not spend in buying a razor with the little money he had, so he decided to go into the forest, kicked a shallow hole and hid all his documents. Then he thought of what he had learned in his training as a veteran. He decides he would leave a trail false, up to Oregon maybe.

Penney way north for an hour at sunset and it was raining.

Suddenly heard a guy asking if he wanted a ride, he was a tall, muscular man, wearing a uniform, Penney was sad so he slides into the car. After answering a few questions Penney realized that the man was an army officer, a veteran like him. Penney now was scared because he believed that the military would arrest him. But the mysterious military offered him a new beginning, a new identity as Edward Hendricks (an ID taken in an operation). And that is how James Penney obtained a new identity.

Analysis of Manga Dragon Ball Z By: Edwin Ramirez

MANGA: Dragon Ball Z – Kami to kami ( Battle Of Gods )

BY Akira Tori Yama’s Son

Based on real DBZ manga By Akira Tori Yama.

Years have passed since Majin Buu’s incedent gone. Goku , Vegeta and the Z fighters are living in a peace period… some of them still training, others are just enjoying the peace… But the peace will no longer more… After 39 years the God of Destruction has awake of his sleep. Goku is training in the Northern Kai’s Planet … Meanwhile in the earth everybody is celebrating Bulma’s Birthday party, everybody is laughing, eating, drinking… But in the other hand, Kai Shin is bored because Bills has awoke… So he decide to talk to Northern Kai to asked him to be careful with Goku, ‘cause he has a long time not fighting so he will probably want to fight against Bills… But somewhere in the universe… Is the God Of  Destruction’s planet located. He is aweking after 39 years sleeping,… His servant Wisu live with him, he is tall, he has sky-blue skin, he is  skinny, and it looks effeminate   … Bills is a purple cat that it looks like the Egyptians statue of the Anubis army. When Bills was having breakfast, he asked to Wisu if Freeza destroyed  Vegeta’s planet ( Vegeta’s planet was the sayajin’s planet ) and Wisu answered  yes, but then Wisu said that freeza is death, he was defeated by a super  sayajin… Then bills surprised by the noticed, thinking about a super sayajin… Bills says “I Dreamed, that I have a fight against a Super sayajin God” . Then both decided to go to look for the super sayajin god.

“Climax”

First, they went to Northern Kai’s planet, to ask to goku about a super sayajin god. When Northern Kai feel the presence of Bills coming to his planet, he asked to goku to hide inside the house. But Bills was looking for Goku so he called goku to get out the house. Then after he asked to Goku about if he know something about a god super sayajin  goku said “I Know about super sayajins, but I have never heard about a super sayajin god”. Then goku having the great Bills in front him he asked to him to have a “Friendly Sparring”. Bills agree , goku shows all the power he has becoming the super sayajin 3… but he wasn´t stronger enough, he get fainted after two Bill’s hits. Bill’s go to the earth to asked to Vegeta about the super sayajin god , he doesn’t know nothing about too. So Bills after Bulma invited him to stay in the party he eat a lot of food, then Wisu told him about a dessert called “pudin” “Is the most wonderful dessert I have ever tasted” said Wisu, then Bills wants to tasted.. but Majin Buu give no one to him and Buu eats all the pudin… Bills get angry with everybody, and the happy party became a horrible moment bills attack everyone , nobody can do nothing , no one was strnger enough to stop Bill’s fury… Even vegeta can stopped him. “I will destroy the earth, afterall, here is not the super sayajin god… and there is not more.. PUDIN!!” saids Bills. Then the great Goku  appeared  to stop him… “I know how to bring here the super sayajin god that you are looking for, but I need you to give me time” said goku. Bills await. Goku and the others find how to create a super sayajin god. “Here goes the secret” So goku after absorb all the good wishes and the pure spirit of his partners sayajins, he become in a super sayajin god!!
Goku start a fight against Bills,start a great and incredible  fight,  the fight is amazing , both have a great power, there are having a great fight but Goku’s power isn’t enough to stop Bills, goku absorb the super sayajin power inside him and stil fighting against bills…but he is not a super sayajin god anymore…maybe Goku will lose…  Goku moved by their friend feellings, his spirit, still fighting against Bills and he make a great KAMEHAME HA!! To attack Bills , but Bills resist that great power… After Bill’s said, “Its my turn” he make a sun with his power… Goku tries to stop it… but he is weak… the Bills’ attack is going to earth … goku is trying to stop it… but goku fainted… the bills’ attack will destroy the eart… goku can’t stopped Bills’ strength …

“Resolution”

Goku is falling… then Goku thinks about his friends… thinks about he can’t protect the earth this time… Suddenly, Super sayajin god powers reborn inside him, He transform in the Super Sayajin God again!!! Goku take the Bills’ attack into him!!! Bills surprised by what goku have done decide to stop the fight.Bills tells to Goku “Wisu is my master, and you are the second stronger man who has fight against me”. They return to earth where everybody was cheering Goku. Bills smile and he said “next time maybe I will destroy the earth, if you don’t have pudin for me!” Goku and the Z fighters has make a new friend, thanks to what goku did. Bills return to his planet and talking to Wisu says “Goku and Vegeta, both….together… someday  they, could become more stronger and my perfects rivals” Smiling and seeing the sky say “Ja, yeah…someday” . In the earth, the birthday party begun again, everybody is laughing again and enjoying the peace, goku and vegeta were together talking , smiling… being friends!!!

 END

Analysis of the book The Backup by Yancy Chacon.

Theo was eleven; he lived with his parents, his sister Daphne and his Grandpa. Theo was a good boy, he likes the adventure, but he dislikes dangerous stuff, he likes play with his best friend Matt. The Grandpa was a sort of the real father figure to him, he was a gentleman.

Matt and Theo played throwing rocks to an empty house, one day they decided to do something more daring, they are going inside. Matt and Theo found a cloth bag buried inside the mysterious house, they got out of the house and unwrapped the bag. Inside they found a weird thing with letters. They decided that Theo's grandpa should discover what it is.

Theo carried the bag to his grandpa; he said it was valuable; the kind of value that has no price tag, Theo was disappointed. Grandpa explains to Theo that he had been found a book made of paper that came from trees, and it’s against the law to own paper things.

To next day, Grandpa wrote a letter to Theo telling he that the book found buried was a kind of backup, represent the pass of culture from generation to generation, so he can’t keep the book, he would bury it in a plastic bag.

Grandpa gave the letter to Theo, to next day Theo woke up and his parents said that his Grandpa past away while sleeping. Daphne told Theo that the book was a bad thing to have that in the house. Theo was angry with her and at the same time he wasn’t accepting the notice of his Grandpa.

Theo read the letter and decided bury the book. He had a good feeling looked down at the hole and he wondered who find it.

Book Summary of the book Paris at Night by Robert Barrera

Paris, at Night

Sung J. Woo

Today was rice day, fifty-pound sacks of white rice in trucks bearing an elephant logo. The same happy elephant appeared on the bags, its head raised to the sky, the trunk curved like an S.

     "Elephant," Todd said.

     He said it because a laborer was staring at it intently. Which meant he wasn't working.

     "That's right," the man said. "I couldn't remember the word."

     He was the only other human at the loading dock this morning. The man didn't have a name, just a number, like the rest of the robots.

     "Let's get back to it, 8831, okay?"

     "Yessir," the man said.

     That could be me, Todd thought as he watched him work side by side with his silent mechanical counterparts, lifting, carrying, and dropping bags of rice from the back of the truck to the warehouse. A bad car accident, a bad fall from a ladder, and that could be me.

     Or a bad memrip.

AT LUNCH, Todd thought of things he could sell. Everything he owned of any value, he could touch: his grandfather's watch, his grandmother's wedding ring, a gold necklace belonging to some forgotten relative. His car, too, but that was out of the question as he needed it to work.

     He got up from his chair and scanned the floor below, the robots still working away, a sea of metallic shoulders rising and falling in unison, strangely beautiful in a way. Over by the forklift sat 8831, his eyes as blank as the piece of bread he was eating.

     Two weeks from today was Todd's thirtieth wedding anniversary, and even if he were to pawn the watch, the ring, and the necklace, he knew he wouldn't even come close to having enough for Paris. That's where Sue had wanted to go for as long as he could remember. They didn't have the money to honeymoon there, but that was okay because back then, there had been plenty of time. They were young, both healthy and working, so they would save a little here and there and in a couple of years, they would be walking up to the Eiffel Tower at night arm in arm, find themselves underneath the arch and look up at the beacon that shined on this city of lights.

<  2  >

     But then came two sons and three recessions and a second mortgage. A hysterectomy for her, a double bypass for him, and now here he was, nine years short of retirement, supervising a team of robots and a retarded man, thinking about folks who could sell things they couldn't touch, like stocks and bonds and whatever else he couldn't even fathom, people with money who would pay to experience another's most cherished moments.

     Silly. That would be Sue's word for it if this were a story she'd overheard. For a trip, a goddamn trip, what a silly thing to do.

     But it was more than a trip. It was their life together. There was life and there was death, and it seemed to Todd that if he waited any longer, there wouldn't be a difference between the two.

     He opened the filing cabinet and rifled through the folders. In all the years he'd been here, only a handful of human workers had come and gone. All of them were handicapped in some way; they came through the city welfare program, and 8831 was no exception.

     Name: Lopez, Manny

     Age: 46

     Tax Status: Married

     Disability: Neural Trauma

Neural Trauma. It was worth a shot.

     Manny's wife picked up on the second ring. Todd told her who he was, and after he assured her that her husband was not hurt, he was fine, he was a great worker, he asked her what he wanted to know. She listened without interrupting him, then there was a lengthy silence.

     "Why?" she asked.

     "Does it matter?"

     "I can report you."

     "I know."

     More silence.

     "He did it because he loved me. Loved," she said, hardening. "Not loves."

<  3  >

     "I heard you."

     Then she hung up on him, and for the rest of the day, Todd replayed the conversation in his mind. Should he have lied to her, made up some story about a sick mother, a dying child? He wasn't good at talking, especially on the phone. People thought he was unfriendly, hostile. A woman once told him his voice sounded like broken stones rattling in a cage.

     The horn blared at five, time for the two humans to go home and the robots to be reconditioned and put in standby.

     Todd was walking out to his car when Manny touched his shoulder.

     "Boss," he said, sounding uncertain. He held out his phone. "My wife, she wants to talk to you?"

THE HOUSE was quiet when he returned, and it seemed to Todd that he wanted to keep it that way. Take small, measured steps, like a thief. He carefully pulled the door shut, holding onto the doorknob and turning it by hand until it locked.

     Above, the floorboards creaked, Sue's footsteps as she walked from their bedroom to the bathroom. Then a flush, and the trill of water climbing up to refill the toilet tank. And now the muffled voice of the late-show host on TV, the encouraging laughter of the studio audience, the one-two punch repeating until they cut to commercial.

     Todd sat at the dining table and peeked inside the microdome, at the plate Sue had made for him. Pork chops, a bunch of broccoli spears, a hill of mashed potatoes with a well of gravy. He touched the REHEAT button and watched his plate spin slowly, the inside of the dome steaming up.

     One thing for sure, my clients never tire of wedding proposals.

     The man Todd had met after work was funny, friendly, utterly normal. It didn't seem possible that they were talking about something that could land both of them a minimum of two years in prison.

<  4  >

     I'm not going to lie to you, Todd. There's a risk to this. People do get hurt, like your friend Manny. But keep in mind that Manny didn't follow our simple yet extremely important directions. We told him over and over again that he wasn't to consume any alcoholic beverages twenty-four hours before the procedure. We even hired a Portuguese translator to make sure he understood what was required of him. See, this is why Mrs. Lopez still led you to us, because she knows we do good work. Her cousin's a regular sourcer, comes in once a month, has been for years. We don't mess up, Todd. It's the sourcers who mess up. And I can see we'll have a smooth ride, because you're a smart guy.

     Though he introduced himself as Richard Gibbons, he also immediately admitted that it was an alias.

     In my opinion, Todd? In my opinion, I think it's something the government should regulate. Because let's face it, everybody's doing it. But think how long it took for marijuana to become legalized. Hell, it's still not legal in Alabama.

     Todd opened the microdome and took out the plate. The pork had gotten a little tougher, but it still tasted wonderful, his wife's signature flavors of mint and garlic in every bite.

     The way I see it, you're getting peak value for something that is going to eventually disappear. I'm not just talking about Alzheimer's. Once you go past sixty, memories fade at an alarming clip. It's what happens because the brain can only retain so much. Like all of our other organs, it's about usage. When was the last time you thought about your honeymoon? Honestly? The less you use, the more you lose. It's the foundation of how our bodies work. The health benefits of memripping, they're not some urban legend. You're cleaning house. You're taking out the garbage and putting in out on the curb, but here's the difference: you're getting paid for that trash.

     It was a painless, quick procedure. All you had to do was remember what you wanted to have ripped while the machine was plugged into you. The surgery was completely automated and technologically sound.

<  5  >

     Memory is free. Not for our clients, of course, haha! But for you, Todd. Think of all the new memories you'll create with the money you'll have. Our government wants to equate our enterprise to organ trafficking, but nothing could be further from the truth. You grow memory like a crop, and when you want to, you harvest it. Are there people picketing against farmers every time they cut down a bushel of corn? Of course not. It's natural. It's life.

     "Todd?"

     Sue met him at the sink. She reached for the dish towel hanging off the hook, but Todd angled his body to block her.

     "It's just one dish," he said. "You can let it dry."

     "You had a long day."

     Todd wiped his hands on the towel and turned around to face her. Even though she looked prettier with her makeup on, he also liked seeing his wife like this, right before they went to bed, because only he saw her like this. Nobody else in the world knew this Sue, only him.

     Though it was possible that wouldn't be true after the memrip. But was that a bad thing? Was it so terrible to share his love for his wife with someone else?

     Todd waited to turn off the kitchen lights, for Sue to switch on the lamp at the landing of the staircase. It was their unspoken routine to retire to their bedroom. There were many other small routines like that one, and now, as he climbed the stairs with her, Todd thought how wonderful it was to know another person so well, that this was comfort, that this was home.

TRIANGULAR BOXES. That was the shipment that waited for him when he arrived at work the following morning. There were blue ones and red ones and yellow ones and green ones, and each contained a like-colored chair from a Korean designer. Todd couldn't see how a box like that could hold a comfortable chair, so he opened one up and sat in it.

<  6  >

     "Jesus Christ," he said.

     Four auto-adjusting palm-shaped prongs supported him in ways that seemed impossible: his lower back, his love handles, and his neck. If he had his way, he would sit here forever. But he couldn't, as the whistle blew and the robots came to life.

     He thought the oddly-shaped boxes might pose a challenge for them, but they didn't miss a step. The robots saw the way the boxes were stacked inside the truck, right side up and upside down, staggered to maximize space, and they replicated the exact pattern in the warehouse.

     Manny worked in perfect tandem with his mechanized brothers as the morning turned into afternoon. Like yesterday, he went back to the forklift to eat his lunch, and Todd wondered if perhaps he used to run one of those. He considered asking him but changed his mind. If Manny did so before, he certainly didn't now, so what was there to talk about?

     In his office, Todd dug into the brown paper bag of his own lunch and thought that today was very much like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. But tomorrow would be different because tonight would be different. If the memrip went according to plan – and he had no reason to believe it wouldn't, because he hadn't had a beer in the last twenty-four hours, hadn't washed his hair this morning, followed everything Gibbons had told him – tomorrow he would call up that travel agent who advertised in the paper and tell her to book the platinum romantic getaway to Paris for two.

     For a trip, a goddamn trip, what a silly thing to do.

     He could almost hear her say it. But she would be telling him as they were flying over the Atlantic in first-class seats. They'd never sat in those large leather chairs, only walked past them on their way to the narrow discomforts of coach.

     Sue had made him the perfect egg salad sandwich, just enough mayo to keep the egg bits and chopped slivers of celery together. As he ate, he took out his flexphoto to watch the twelve-picture slideshow from Uncle Patrick's wedding. Gibbons had given him the paper-thin disposable device, which was programmed to turn on just once. According to Gibbons, the worst thing a sourcer could do was overprepare, try to remember too much and turn an emotional memory into an intellectual exercise.

<  7  >

     My client has been waiting seven years for this, Todd.

     Each picture only stayed on for five seconds, but it seemed much longer than that when the first one came up. How was it possible that they were both so thin, so young? Sue was in a blue sleeveless dress. She was in attendance because she was a friend of Uncle Patrick's sister. She was nineteen years old, and Todd was twenty. In the picture, they were both in the frame, sitting down at adjacent tables as dinner was being served. They had yet to meet, and somehow that made the moment even more special.

     Love at first sight. People say it, but they rarely mean it. My client has gone through sixteen memrips and still has yet to find a real one. That's why he's willing to pay big.

     He and Sue dancing, his left hand clasping her right hand, his right arm around her waist, their youthful faces glowing like a pair of full moons.

     I know the risk is more on your side, but you have to understand, the destinator also faces dangers. Emotional dangers. The disappointment can be so crushing that they often need to seek psychological and spiritual guidance. This client who'll be installing your memrip, he's got one therapist and two holistic advisors on permanent payroll. So needless to say, he's counting on you.

     Their first kiss, and the angle showed Sue's surprise and delight. She was slightly drunk and so was he, but Todd remembered that moment more than any other, the warmth and wetness of her lips, the way they parted as the kiss transformed into a smile.

     I know you'll do your best. That's all we ask.

     The flexphoto blinked off, and lunch was over.

"READY?" Gibbons asked.

     They were in a dentist's office, and from the looks of it, not a very successful dentist. There was a leak in the corner of the ceiling, turning half of the tile brown, and the muzak that flowed out of the speakers was at times staticky.

<  8  >

     Todd sat in the chair, his head tipped back and immobilized inside an octagonal metal cage. He couldn't see the machine anymore, but he knew it was there, a black cylinder with a silver arm. At the end of the arm was a clear tube too thin for the naked eye to see, which would enter through his left ear, travel through the auditory nerve, and make its way to his brain.

     "You're not gonna feel a thing."

     "Okay," Todd said, and soon there was a whirring in his left ear.

     Indeed, he felt nothing as the tube burrowed inside. The pills Gibbons had given him were working, too, making his eyes a little dry but calming him.

     "And we're in," Gibbons said.

     Gibbons slid a flexphoto into a slot in front of the cage, filling Todd's view with blackness. Then the slideshow started again, and this time Todd held nothing back. Uncle Patrick's wedding, thirty-two years ago, meeting his future wife for the first time. Realizing he'll never again remember this moment filled him with regret, and for a second he felt an intense desire to scream, that he didn't want to do this, that his memory was his and no one else's, but then the feeling passed.

     Just buyer's remorse, Todd thought, and went back to the task at hand, which was to remember.

     At some point, Gibbons said, "The buffer's getting full, so it's going to scrape."

     Scrape.

     Todd didn't think there were words that could describe it. Clean? Was that what it was, that he felt clean? But it wasn't like washing his hands or taking a shower. Suddenly there was a lightness in him, fresh, impossible pockets of air inside his mind. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation because it wasn't a sensation at all. That was it: whatever this was, it was the antithesis of something, but it wasn't exactly nothing, because the concept of nothingness existed in relation to a somethingness before it. What the scrape did was more than just remove his personal history; it removed the concept of history itself.

<  9  >

     This should hurt, Todd thought. Something like this should be painful.

     The next photo came into his vision, he and Sue at the bar, waiting for their drinks, but what had he been thinking about just before?

     "Don't back up, just see forward, Todd," Gibbons said. "Let it go."

     There were two more scrapings, and then they were done. The whirring in his ear stopped, and Gibbons unlatched the harness around his head. Todd rotated his neck left and right and back again, stiff from two hours of stillness.

     On the top of the memrip machine was a round clear disc, a petri dish, with just a smidge of gray matter.

PARIS WAS stubborn. While other cities around the world were busy upgrading concrete with organic alloys and replacing old street lamps with compact photon bulbs, this city looked no different than the way it did a hundred years ago. The stone bricks, the gargoyles, the wrought-iron fences, they looked like they'd always been here.

     "Are you sure we're going the right way?" Sue asked.

     Paris, at night. It was what she had always wanted, wasn't it?

     Wasn't it?

     These questions, these doubts. If only he could make them disappear.

     "I think so," Todd said, walking past signs he couldn't read.

     For a while things were fine, and then they weren't. Gibbons found a neurologist who was willing to examine Todd without notifying the authorities. Just bad luck, the doctor had said. You can never tell how these things will go. That's why it's not legal.

     Memory is like a million little houses. Taking one out is like lifting a house from a community. Not a big deal, because you can just build another in its place. The community remains unaffected.

     But some memories are like skyscrapers. If you're careful, you might be able to take away the first floor of a tall building and leave it standing, but never for long. Sooner than later, walls start to crack. Ceilings leak. It's just a matter of time until the structure groans and loses integrity.

<  10  >

     You still have lots of houses, though, Todd. A strong, stable community. That's why you're capable of doing everything else, like your job, like walking and eating and enjoying a movie. But your wife will remain problematic. Even new memories you form with her, they're going to reference this skyscraper because the damage was so extensive.

     I'm so sorry.

     Just one more street, Todd thought. When he glanced at Sue, he saw the way she was favoring her left leg. Why was that?

     He didn't know.

     If only they could find their way. How could they be lost, trying to find the tallest structure in the city? It was stupid. It was infuriating.

     "Oh my," Sue said, pointing.

     And there it was, finally, having hidden behind a row of buildings on this side street. There was no buildup to their encounter: the tower was not there, not there, and then…just there, in its entirety, tall and strong and sharp.

     And still far away. It would take another fifteen minutes for them to reach the Eiffel Tower, where Todd would stand with the woman he was supposed to love underneath the arch, holding her hand, and listen to the wind whipping through the girders.