Post 2 Slumdog Millionaire

I was shocked at the incredible luck that Ram has had on the first three questions. Apparently the past experiences in Ram's life guide him into answering the questions, as he continues his path toward winning the Billion Rupees. The audience and the host are surprised at how a simple waiter from the slums of India is capable of answering these extremely difficult questions. When Ram remembers the events that helped him answer the questions I began to understand that one does not need knowledge in order to be victorious, maybe luck and experience are enough for Ram to win such a huge game.
Every chapter of the book begins with the experience in Ram's life that allowed him to answer the question, and ends with Ram answering the question despite not having any knowledge from school, or from reading, or writing about the subject.
I find this very impressive, the fact that someone can answer difficult questions, without having had any learning experience in school  incredible. Ram is not only lucky to have had the opportunity to win the game, I find it lucky that he had the experience that would allow him to figure out these obsticals.

Post 1 Slumdog Millionaire

I am so excited about reading this book because many of my friends have seen the movie and said that it was amazing. They described many different emotions they felt when watching the film such as sadness, anger, and fear. All these reviews from my friends have encouraged me to make this book my choice for my ROAR this term!
So far I understand that the main character Ram Mohammed Thomas is a contestant on the quiz show "Who Wants To Win a Billion" in India. However, he is thought to be cheating because he lived in the "slums" of India. He worked as a simple waiter in a non professional restaurant  so he shocked many people by his incredible victory in the show. Police officers find it so hard to believe that they take him to jail without any form of warrant,  
or evidence to his cheating. Because the episode of the game show has not been aired yet, not many people know about Ram's victory. So not many people are aware that Ram is constantly questioned, beaten, and tortured.

This part of the book was incredibly difficult to read because he is an innocent guy who lives in penury with a simple dream of winning this game show. The police officers had absolutely no right to arrest him without a warrant, yet they continue to question, and torture Ram until he confesses to his crime. There was no crime! This angered so horribly, only a person who has deep hatred for another can do this kind of thing! 

The Chocolate War Post #5

The story has now reached a stage in which Brother Leon has reached complete frustration. By now he notices that the chocolate sales are getting lower and lower with every student, only a few students have met or exceeded their quota of 50 boxes. Many are within the 40 and 30's range. The rest of the students however have sold very little. Then there is Jerry Renault. Brother Leon believes that Jerry is the one to blame for the slow  
deterioration of the chocolate sales due to his refusal to sell the chocolate.
I was shocked to read that Leon believes that he could just blame the result of the sale on one student. It is still too early for many of the students to be influenced by his decision, and i doubt that one child who refuses to sell the chocolate could cause a sudden huge decrease on the amount of chocolate sold. The reason to why the chocolates are not selling might have to do with the fact that the chocolate sales are twice what they were last year (amount of boxes that is.) Or maybe it;s the fact that the chocolates cost more than last year.

Quote: "The boys have been infected by a disease we call apathy. A terrible disease difficult to cure" (Cormier 155)

This quote shows Brother Leon's reaction towards the decrease in chocolate sales. Leon refers to Jerry's negative influence on the other boys as a "disease."

Chocolate War-(Civil Disobedience?) Roar post 4

While i read the book, I found that i could relate some of the things i have read to the things we learned in English class. In this case, Civil Disobedience. In the book Jerry has refused to sell the chocolates in the Trinity fund raiser. This has been a tradition that people have never refused, or messed around with. So Jerry's sudden refusal to selling the chocolates could be described as Civil Disobedience.
I am still unsure if he is making the right decision, i thought that he was doing this because he felt depresses, and was losing interest in his life, but the real reason to why he is refusing to sell the chocolates is not clearly described in the book so far. Perhaps it will be clear once we get to the ending of the story.
Even though many people think that Jerry has completely lost his mind, two students believe that he is making the right decision, because they have also grown tired of selling the chocolates every year. Once i read this, i thought that those two boys could foreshadow Jerry being accepted by his peers in school.

Favorite Quote: "Know what? I think the Renault kid is right about the chocolates.'
"I'm not going to sell them anymore either."

I was surprised at the fact that there were some people that accepted Jerry's rebellious ideas because of the reaction that was received when he made his first decision to refuse to participate in the fund-raiser. These two boys could foreshadow later acceptance for Jerry.

Post 3 Chapter 13-20

By now, I have reached the climax of the story, in which Jerry REFUSED to sell chocolates at the Trinty School Fundraiser. This has always been a tradition at Trinty, and no one has ever refused to do so. The way I read it made me feel like Jerry was fooling around with forces beyond his understanding. Everyone was shocked, they were thinking, 'what? did he just refuse? he's dead!!!.'
In order for us to understand why Jerry has refused to sell the chocolates is because he is losing his interest in the world. His mother just died, and his father seems to be living a "dead life" all in all Jerry has alot of family issues at home. I got to understand that Leon is very hopeful of the chocolate sale, and every time he calls Jerry's name to see if he sold any chocolates, Jerry replies with a cold "No."

Quotes: "Adamo?"
"three"
"Beau vis"
"Five"
"Renault"
"No"
This is the way Leon figures out who is selling chocolates, and how much. The fact that Jerry refused to sell the chocolates shocked everyone. I was waiting for Leon to explode and let Jerry know how important the sale really is. When I read the details used to describe Leon's reaction to Jerry's refusal I felt really sorry for him because the sale is very important to him.

The Chocolate War (chapter 4-8)

Summary: The story leaves Jerry's character in this section. The new characters that become the center of attention are Archie, who assigns fund raising assignments to students. Carter, who is head of the Vigils, the most feared group in the school. Brother Leon, a strict teacher at Trinty School, and Emile, the "bad boy" of the school.
Throughout the story, the reader is exposed to many different relationships. The first was between Coach, and Jerry. The second was between Archie and Obie (Who assign fund raiser roles) and the most common one in this section was between Brother Leon, and Archie. They had a very tough talk on the school state, and how the fund raiser was very important part in the school's earnings. Another relationship is between Brother Leon and his students. Leon is the kind of teacher that usually puts his students through tests to see who is loyal, and who is not. Leon placed a student named Bailey on the spot by accusing him of cheating. When Bailey denied the accusation, Leon asked him to justify his straight A's. This confused Bailey, he thought that he was just a hard worker, he did not answer Leon, he was afraid. Leon then used this silence as an advantage to prove that Bailey is guilty. At this point I was beginning to doubt Bailey, but when Leon saw that no one stood up to him to defend Bailey, he explained that this was another test to see who in the class was actually loyal. He explained to Bailey that he knew he was not cheating, and that he passed, while telling the class that they have failed.

Quote: "Your classmates out there. They're the cheaters. They cheated you today. They're the ones who doubted you- I never did."

Reaction:  I began to doubt Bailey, and I was shocked to see that it was all a test by Brother Leon. I tried to imagine myself in that class. If I was Bailey, I wonder. Would my friends do the same? Or would they stand up to Brother Leon in order to help me?

The Chocolate War (chapter 1-4)

So far, this book has been pretty interesting. There has been a shift in characters between chapter 2 and chapter 3 as the story goes from Jerry Renault, a high school student who is struggling to make it into the football team, to Archie and Obie, who eventually assign him to sell boxes of chocolate for the school's fundraiser. Jerry has a very strong will, and is ferociously determined to achieve his goals. This is proved in the very first chapter of the story, in which he is repeatedly tackled, and slammed into the ground during football practice. Despite being in such pain, and difficulty, Jerry gets up, and wipes the dirt off his uniform in order to try again and make the team. The football coach realizes that Jerry is not making any progress but respects his will, and asks him to try again the next day. After practice, Jerry seems to have lost his strength since he threw up in the school bathroom.

Quote: "what the hell you want to play quarterback for? you would make a better end, maybe." "alright show up tomorrow or your through before you start"

Reaction: This is the quote that show how others admire Jerry's will to go on and achieve his goal. The coach sees strength in his determination and gives him another opportunity to make the team. It's obvious that coach admires his will because it's not like Jerry will gain magical football talent overnight. Coach sees something in him that makes him give Jerry a second chance. This is a very admirable trait.