Ind. Reading- Prompt 1

I disliked the book as a whole. It had a good message of love and passion, but then again it had a message of old age, pain, decay, and death. I felt that eve the message of love was a bit confusing; if you truly love someone, even if you go away and come back, that love should remain strong and true, but if it does in fact fade and you find a new love in someone else, you can never really let go of the previous love. Florentino never let go of his feelings, and I find it quite puzzling that Fermina could just move on like it never happened; that makes me question her feelings for Florentino from the very beginning because in my opinion, true love never dies so maybe she merely liked Florentino. I also did not care for Florentino's character. He seemed too desperate and too needy of Fermina's love, even when she clearly wasn't going to give it to him. I understand his feelings for her were strong, but I do not understand why he kept trying for such a long time, getting hurt time and time again. If that were me, I would have given up when I knew for a fact that it was over. Though I admire that the author made him determined to get her back, I didn't appreciate how h went about doing it. Love letters are fine, but showing up to the man's funeral, not to pay his respects, but to attempt to gain the affection of his widow is unacceptable; I admire his intentions of love, but I do not respect his actions.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 5

As crazy as he was, I admire Florentino's passion. That truly moved me. Though he spent most of his life wanting, chasing, desiring, and hurting only with the fear of old age creeping up on him, I think it was charming that even after all those years, he still attempted to win back the love of his life. One usually only hears about those actions in books or movies though, but I feel that it still makes an impact on me even if it's not real. I would love to have someone fighting for my love even for a day, let alone fifty-one years, nine months, and four days. A girl can only dream; but that's what books like this are for -to provoke the mind, move the reader, and stimulate a reaction from events that could happen in the real world, but are very rare to come by.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 17

Elements of a Story

Plot: Florentino falls in love with Fermina; Fermina goes away. She comes back and he wants to start their relationship back up again, but she lost interest in him by that time and revoked her promise to marry him. She then married a wealthy doctor. He spent most of his life trying to move on but couldn't. He loyally and patiently waited for the day that he could make his move and get her back. That day came when the doctor died; that was the beginning of the end of both Florentino and Fermina's lives.

Setting: small coastal town in South America from the late nineteeth century to the early 1930s

Main Characters: Florenitno Ariza, Fermina Daza, and Dr. Urbino

Symbols: love, passion, heartbreak, old age, decay, death,

Ind. Reading- Prompt 3

Florentino Ariza is one of the characters in the book. He is a sucker for love. He spent practically his whole life chasing after this one woman, Fermina Daza. They were lovers but the poor girl got shipped away. He remained madly in love with her, however upon her return when he tried to relight the fire between them, she realized that he was no longer what she wanted and married another man. Now most men would move on and forget about "the one that got away", but not Florentino. He stayed true and loyal to her in hopes of one day he could jump back into her life. That day finally came when her husband passed away. He seized the opportunity to seduce her once again, although she was not amused. Some could say that he is a bit crazy, others could say he was just desperate, but no one can deny the love he had in his heart for that woman the determination he showed on trying to win her back.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 4

I found it surprising that after so many years of marriage, that after Dr. Ubino's death, he still tries to win her back. It's shocking that he just shows up, not to pay his respects to him, but to seduce her and get her back in his life. I find that disrespectful, rude, and selfish. I understand that he's a man hopelessly in love, and people do stupid things when they are in love, but I think that's crossing the line. Although I find it even more surprising that after his attempts, and her shunning him, as well as his efforts, he slowly somehow manages to win her back; and at such an old age! I guess some people will forever remain desperate for love.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 8

The novel's major themes are of course about love and passion, but also aging, decay, and death. It is about the journey through a long marriage, but at the same time finding fulfillment in old age; about commitment and fidelity but also a refusal to grow old gracefully and respect Florentino Ariza is both intense about love and philosophical about age. He sees death as a bottomless pit where memory trickles away. He is a patient man, and the delicacy that he seduces Fermina Daza with, and the nature of their companionship during the final stage of their long lives defies all odds. It inspires one to live life and keep memories alive that can one day obliterate both the pain and passion of the past, because they can be lived once again.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 16

I think that this book could relate to our essential question and what we have been discussing all year about invisibility. I feel that in a way Florentino Ariza, doesn't quite feel invisible to the world, but he does however feel that way towards Fermina Daza after she lost her interest in him. Though she lost the spark for him, he never let go of the desire for her. Try as he might, he always lost to her husband. I'm sure his heart and confidence were shattered when he was rejected after such a long time of them being apart. I'm sure trying to win her back only proved more and more to be a lost cause because she stopped noticing him as she used to (making him almost invisible to her). Though even then his heart remained to be in her hands, whether she would accept it or not.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 15

My picture and symbol, well more like a logo, is "longing". I chose this because Florentino Ariza spent most of his life longing for Fermina Daza. He is so in love with her and his heart remained loyal to her for so many years, and all she could do was into the arms of another man after she lost the spark for him. He spent a lot of his time trying to fill that void that she left with countless females, but no one ever came close.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 10

My connection to this book is about love. I can relate to Florentina Ariza, in that I too have dealt with (travels all over the world), births (usual in the family -new little cousins), deaths ( my grandparents), and even poetry (it's my life and i write all the time). I have also put my heart on the line for people only to be let down in the end, and I too had to wait for another girl to get out of the way before i could start a relationship with someone I had been waiting for. Once they were out of the picture we hit it off and things went smoothly. I understand a lot of what he went through because I have too, although, this is just a story and this is my real life, I can still relate to it.

Ind. Reading- Prompt 11

In my opinion, the author's style is somewhat whimsical and lovey-dovey. I feel like he is trying too hard to make his point be known about the theme of the book. I understand that it is about love and loyalty, but I found his writing to be distracting from the plot. I enjoy books about love, but not when it is being written as a poetic soap opera; that I did not care for. For example, on page 105 he wrote, "Seduced by his personal charms and by the certainty of his families fortune, the girls in his circle held secret lotteries to determine who would spend time with him, and he gambled, too, on being with them, but he managed to keep himself in a state of grace, intact, and tempting, until he succumbed without resistance to the plebian charms of Fermina Daza." All that is really saying is that he is in popular demand by the opposite sex but he only has eyes for Fermina Daza. All that exsessive wording is not neccessary.

Che thesis statement (theme 6)

Ernesto Guevara wanted to help people, and he tried to help people, but violet tactics and barbaric leadership did just the opposite. Once Ernesto was lost and Che took over, he killed, abandoned, let his people down as a Cuban guerrilla leader. Young Ernesto's intentions started good, but Che's actual impact was a recipe for disaster for the country and for himself.

My Do Now

If you saw a culture withering away, much like Che experienced with the Incas, what would you do? How would you react? Would you take action and try to help them, or just keep on moving? Explain your answer.

Essential Question: Che Che

I think that Che wanted to become a doctor, he wanted to impact lives and make people better. Later on in his life, with the help of Fidel, i think he wanted to become a similar leader to him and impact the lives of those in that country. I don't think, however, he expected to have made as great of an impact as he had on his followers who idolized him. I think he only wanted to be as good as Castro, but his plans changed and he realized his true power, and he wanted to surpass his and become a more powerful individual and leader than his close friend and "mentor".

6-word memoir: Chile (Easter Island)

Isolated land. Huge statues. EASTER ISLAND.

Che in Chile

"There we made friends with a married couple, Chilean workers who were communists." (pg 77)
"It's a great pity that they repress people like this. Apart from whether collectivism, the 'communist vermin,' is a danger to decent life, the communism gnawing at his entrails was no more than a natural longing for something better, a protest against persistent hunger transformed into love for this strange doctrine, whose essence he could never grasp but whose translation, 'bread for the poor,' was something which he understood and, more importantly filled him with hope." (pg 78)

I think these two quotes from the book show significant events in Chile that helped to later shape him as the Che we are more familiar with. I think that by meeting the communist couple and speaking with them and spending time with them it opened his eyes to a communist lifestyle. I also think the man some what inspired him to go in that direction as well. He saw hope in his eyes for something better as well as loyalty to that lifestyle which could have helped Che to choose the communist path, then to improve it later on with the help ad guidance of Fidel Castro and the communist Cuban people.