Shadow of the wind p.75-100

After patching up things with his father, Sempere returned to find out more about Carax and Coulbert( the man who burned Carax's literary works). Without Clara as his distraction, Sempere prioritized most of his time to renew his friendship with Tomas, his best friend, and begin a new friendship with Fermin Romero de Torres, an ex CIA agent living in the streets homeless because of sabotage. A friendship with Torres established the addition of a professional, cheap, low-profiled, investigator to Sempere's team to excavate facts about his mysterious book's author. After assimilating Torres back to city life, Sempere began befriending his best friend again, Tomas. Tomas was an muscular built entrepreneur in mechanical devices, whom he first encounters in school ,during their fist-fight. The chunk ends in the discovery that Carax has several family and friends nearby, resulting in a new expedition to consult with each friend/family member; which may further complete the puzzle behind the absence and destruction of Carax's works .


When describing all the female characters, Sempere describes them in a deeper context. How does this correlate with The Great Gatsby? What may this reveal about Sempere?

Shadow of the Wind Chunk Three

In Chunk three, Clara reveals her true feelings to Sempere, by committing adultery with her music instructor in front of Sempere. Outraged, the instructor maliciously beats the heart broken boy, and Sempere limps out into the rainy street. There, he runs into a mysterious man who offers him a thousand dollars, to burn the novel. After declining his offer he runs to his copy of Shadow of the Wind and buries it in the Cemetary of Forgotten books, and later learns that the fiendish character he met in the streets is Lain Coubert. After consulting with Isaac, the overseer of the cemetery, Sempere discovers more information on Carax and now journeys to find Nuria, whom saved the last copies of Carax's books from the merciless hands of Coubert.
Finally, Sempere returns home and patches up the bond he had with his father, when he opens his gift, a pen, which he constantly begged for.



Why does Coubert burn Carax's literary works?what do you think happened to his face?

Shadow of the Wind Chunk 2

As the novel progresses on, Sempere continues to interrogate people on any significant knowledge on the author of Shadow of the Wind. In this chunk, we learn that Sempere gets absolutely sidetracked from his quest when he runs into Clara, because of his raging hormones. Ironically, Sempere dresses up in his best apparel , even though Clara is legally blind and is double his age(of fourteen).In addition, the might of a pen is frequently portrayed throughout this chunk, perhaps to describe how much powerful and certain it is when used to write(cant erase with a pen/makes it more declarative). Also, towards the end of the chunk, Sempere consults his father of remarrying, leaving his father infuriated because of his sons behavior; which ignites a new detached relationship between father and son.


What do you think Clara wants to tell Sempere? Why does Sempere keep referring to Victor Hugo, author of Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Shadow of The Wind p.1-26

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a novel about another novel.Taking place in , Barcelona, Summer of 1945, Daniel Sempere, a young boy of 10, journeys to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books with his father, a second hand book merchant. The Cemetery of Forgotten books is a secret/underground haven for a huge collection of books that have been forgotten or have fallen into oblivion, so that they never be totally lost. Isaac, the overseer of the book preservatory, explains that it was tradition for newcomers to select a book from the lost library, and take an oath to never allow it to become extinct . Daniel chooses a book, The Shadow of the Wind, written by an unknown author, Julian Carax, and begins his expedition to discover information about the mysterious writer.

Do you think Sempere and Carax possible have much in common? perhaps that's the reason why Sempere was hooked immediately when reading it? Do you think Barcelo, the character who wanted to pay a small fortune for the novel is the one who wants to destroy Carax's books?

The Road Not Taken

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is a poem about the decisions and choices one makes in life, and how each declaration impacts ones future . The poem first starts off with a mood of regret which then switches to satisfaction towards the end.The theme of "The Road Not Taken" is that the choices a person makes in life slopes one's future experiences, and sometimes in order to achieve those goals one has to leave conformity to the unknown pathway. Frost describes how the most successful take the most boisterous road to achieve his/her goal, instead of taking the easy way to the top.

Would you take the easy path to success? or the hard road?

Night By Eli Wiesel

Authored by Elie Wiesel, Night is a personal narrative set during the Holocaust in 1942. Commemorating the thousands of Jews who were maliciously killed in the genocide, and those who survived, Eli Wiesel describes his personal encounter of the prosecution/prejudice he confronted from the Nazi's. In particular, the power of perseverance, the concept of never giving up, and the existence of God(leading to the strength of faith) are all illustrated through Wiesel's struggle to regroup with his family and survive throughout the novel. For example, in the last chapter in the novel Eli pushes himself to complete his forced labor, keeping faith that one day Allie forces would save him or he would continue to attempt escape. After completing his grueling labor, he lies along several diseased Jews who could not survive the harsh conditions or lack of food. His continuous faith ultimately allows him to prolong death, and later be one of the few survivors in the concentration camp rescued by Allie forces.“Where is God? Where is He?” someone behind me asked. ..For more than half an hour [the child in the noose] stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. "His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed.Behind me, I heard the same man asking:“Where is God now?”And I heard a voice within me answer him:“Where is He? Here He is—He is hanging here on this gallows. . . .And, in spite of myself, a prayer rose in my heart, to that God in whom I no longer believed".
my rating: an excellent portrayal of the horrors of the holocaust. Eli Wiesel's first person approach allows the reader to visualize gruesome scenes.
Do you think faith prolongs defeat?
Do you think, personally, that you can transition from "hell" or absolute chaos to a more peaceful ,one like Wiesel?

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

Authored by Edith Hamilton, Mythology, contains several distinguishable themes within each epic in the anthology of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythological tales. Edith Hamilton's argument is that even fiction has a significant value because it exemplifies several morale's; therefore, teaches any audience several lessons in life through the mistakes and success of the protagonists and antagonists in each tale. For instance, there are three reoccurring themes in this collection of myths: good versus evil, and the syphon rewarded to the good deed; fate, and how it can/can't be altered; the discrepancies of having a strong sense of pride, hubris. For example, the story of the dethroning of Cronos, by his son Zeus, is an example of a fixed fate. This exemplifies a fixed fate because after believing that consuming all his offspring would prevent his death, he ended up dead after his son Zeus escaped from his grasp, and ultimately slayed him, freeing his brothers and sisters. So, in the end Cronos endures the fate the Gods burdened upon him.
My rating: overall the book was good because it was an easy read, and had a rich amount of themes/motifs.

Question:

• What was your favorite story? why?
• Do you think Cronos could have evaded his fate?How?