The Fault in Our Stars and Papertowns

John Greene is the author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. Both novels have been popular with students and teachers in the classroom and have been made into major motion pictures. Both works connect to the readers because the story and plot are realistic and are human problems. For The Fault in Our Stars, the theme is about living with flaws and how we cope with it, such as the two main characters with their diseases. As for Paper Towns, it is about finding out what we want to do with our lives and doing things outside of the box, such as when the main protagonist Quentin sets off on a journey to find his mysterious lover Margo. Both novels have large connections with the struggles and lifestyles of young adults. Even though they may not be the same situations are the books, but how the character deal or solve their problems can be related to many teens across the United States. We learn that everyone has flaws in our lives, but we either deal or live with them which can define or determine who we are. John Greene has made perfect example of the struggles young adults face in life, anything from what we want to do after high school or living with cancer. Many teachers admire John Greene's work and use it in their classrooms to try to compare the characters' lives to the students' lives. This has made large impacts in the readers because they can relate to the characters in The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. People like to read something that they can relate to, and John Greene has made these two novels to do this.

9-11

Reign Over Me is a very sensitive movie about a dentist named Alan Johnson who helps his friend, Charlie Fineman, recover and coupe with his families death after 9/11. Charlie lost his wife and three kids after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, and lives his life afterwards in a seclusive and immature lifestyle. He tells Alan he does this to forget what has happened and not to remember the old times. Charlie does things that he liked to do before his marriage and kids, such as playing video games and the drum, collecting ablum records, and remodels his kitchen constantly. Charlie refuses to see help, and refuses to talk to anyone about his old life. When Alan tries to help Charlie by making him see a psychologist to talk about his problems, but Charlie is slow to adjust. The film shows how people were affected after the attacks on 9/11 by showing how a widower like Charlie Fineman lives his life, trying to deal with the shock of what had happened to his family. Charlie was a broken man who couldn't face the reality of life, and exhibited many symptoms of mental trauma such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The film really moved me personally because how the branching affect of the 9/11 attacks which affected the families and friends of the victims worldwide.      

1941 and Saving Private Ryan

1941 and Saving Private Ryan are both movies about World War II. Steven Spielberg directed both these movies with different goals to reach the audience.  Though both are about the conflict of WW2, they are very different in their content. 1941 is about the following days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. After the attack, the American people were shocked at terrified by the aggression the Japanese had taken against them, and panic soon spread through the western states fearing that another Japanese attack would happen. The movie 1941 shows the paranoia that ran rampant throughout the American people. Steven Spielberg approached this topic and turned it into a humorous and comical movie. In 1941, there is a wide variety of goofy characters who approach a not-so-threatening Japanese attack of "Hollywood". Blind fear and misunderstanding leads to the greatest threat to the American people which was themselves. Steven Spielberg wanted to show how hysterical people were about a Japanese invasion which probably would of never happened on the mainland. Saving Private Ryan is entirely different in its content. Tom Hanks plays an American Ranger Captain who storms the beach of Normandy. The first thirty minutes of the movie is a brutal and an eye opening to the reality of war, and the viewers know instantly that this movie doesn't hold anything back to show this. When news that a mother lost three sons to the war, the Captain is ordered to take his squad deep beneath enemy lines to find the fourth son and to bring him home. During the treacherous journey, viewers watch as the mission takes lives and harsh combat to the already battered team. When they finally reach Ryan, most of the original squad including the Captain, die protecting a vital bridge from German control. Ryan is able to survive and live out his life with his family, as he remembers the sacrifices that men took to save him. This movie hits the viewers hard with the reality of sacrifice and brotherly bonds. Steven Spielberg directed and told these two movies perfectly and showed the audiences the different points of war.