Galbatorix and the Death of Brom

Further along their journey, Eragon, Saphira, and Brom reach the town of Terim. They learn that the Ra'zac are in Helgrind, and right as they're about to continue their chase, they fall into a trap set up by the Ra'zac. Brom is killed during this chaos, and Eragon is devastated. He moves on, however, to achieve a new goal. He decides to find the Varden, the leader of the rebels in Alagaesia. During his new journey, Eragon begins to have visions in his dreams where an elf asks him for help. I can't really predict who this mysterious elf is, but I think it foreshadows an important plot development. Another main character who was introduced in these chapters was Galbatorix. His name was mentioned before in previous chapters, but he becomes the main antagonist through the stories of Brom. He's defined as a dragon rider who betrayed his friends and took power as the ruler of Alagaesia. This character seems to be the "main" enemy that Eragon must ultimately face.

Start of the Journey

As I started reading into the actual plot development of the book, the story became more and more interesting.  First of all, Eragon's uncle, Garrow, gets killed by the Ra'zacs. Eragon, seeking revenge, decides to chase after the Ra'zacs with his dragon. Here, a mysterious character named Brom makes his appearance. At first, he seems to be an ordinary old man, but it's shown that he has knowledge about dragons and dragon riders. 

Eragon, Saphira, and Brom start on their chase after the Ra'zacs, and along the way, Brom begins to teach Eragon the skills of a dragon rider. He starts teaching Eragon the magical skills that a dragon rider possesses. Also, he gives Eragon the sword Zar'roc, that was once possessed by a dragon rider. The chase continues as the plot develops with several stops along the way.

New Book: Eragon

This is the new book that I'm reading for my independent reading assignment. Eragon, written by Christopher Paolini, is a fantasy novel about a young boy who becomes a dragon rider. I saw the movie about a year ago, and I thought it would be interesting to read the actual book. 

The protagonist of the book is Eragon, a 15-year-old boy who lives on the outskirts of a city with his uncle. He has an ordinary life, preparing himself for the adulthood, and one day, he finds a peculiar stone in the forest. At first, he thinks it's just a strange piece of rock that he might be able to sell for some money. The rock turns out to be an egg, and eventually, a dragon emerges.

The Ending

I absolutely loved the ending of this book! It was action-packed, unpredictable, and just fantastic. First of all, it reveals the true side of Severus Snape, who was a controversial antagonist for the majority of the book. This was a huge irony not only because Snape cared for Harry all the time, but also because it shows that all of Snape’s acts were influenced by his love for Lily Potter. Unfortunately, Snape gets killed by Voldemort, but this leads to the climax of the book.

At the climax of the story, Harry confronts Voldemort face to face. This is the point of the story that was expected for the whole Harry Potter series. It was an inevitable battle that was bound to happen, and it marked the climax of this particular book. In the duel, Harry and Voldemort both cast the killing curse on each other, knocking them both unconscious. Harry is awoken in a new dimension where he meets Dumbledore. This new dimension is a bit confusing because it's not really specified where it is or whether Harry is actually dead or not. Either way, Harry returns to Hogwarts and successfully defeats Voldemort. I really loved this ending; while it solved every mystery that developed throughout the series, it also had its own defining moments.

Chapters 25-31

In these 7 chapters, Harry and his friends continue their quest to destroy Voldemort's horcruxes. First, Harry manages to break into the Gringotts bank to find a horcrux by working with the goblin Griphook. Although he does get his hands on the Hufflepuff cup, one of the horcruxes, Harry then faces a new dilemma: Griphook took the sword of Gryffindor. This means that Harry must now find a new way to destroy the horcruxes. Later, Harry and his friends find a trace on a new horcrux, and decide to visit Hogsmeade. They're saved from the death eaters by Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus's brother. This is a significant moment in the book because Aberforth tells Harry the truths about his brother, removing all his doubts about his mentor. Harry then goes to the Room of Requirements inside Hogwarts, where the horcrux is hidden. He tries to find the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, but he encounters one of the Death Eaters, who summons Voldemort to the spot. This foreshadows an enormous, final battle between Harry and Voldemort.

Chapters 18-24

There are many plot developments in these chapters. First of all, Ron returns to Harry and Hermione. He retrieves the sword of Gryffindor and is able to destroy the locket horcrux. We see a lot about Ron's character with his return because it shows his care for his friends. Also, when Ron is about the destroy the horcrux, the locket speaks to Ron, talking to him about his deepest fears. It tells him how Harry will always be superior to him and how Hermione likes Harry over himself. Ron, however, is able to cut off the locket from his mind, and destroys it with the sword of Gryffindor. The next plot development is that we find out the meaning of the title of the book. Harry visits Xenophilius Lovegood, the father of his friend Luna, and he tells Harry about the three objects that make up the Deathly Hallows. The elder wand, the resurrection stone, and the invisibility cloak, when put together, apparently, make the one in possession the master of death. Finally, Harry and his friends get captured by the Death Eaters. They get caught by the trap where the Ministry can locate whoever mentions the name "Voldemort." They're taken to the Malfoy Manor and imprisoned in their basement. Upon finding the sword of Gryffindor, which is supposed to be in her safe at Gringotts, Bellatrix Lestrange tortures Hermione. She wants answers on how Harry is in possession of the sword, and she uses painful torture on Hermione. We see the strengths and courage of Hermione here because even through the torture, she does not mention anything that will harm Harry.

Chapters 12-17

In chapters 12-17, Harry and his friends continue their search for the horcruxes. Upon realizing that Dolores Umbridge has possession of the locket, they break in to the Ministry of Magic. With the help of polyjuice potion, they're able to take the locket, but they inadvertently reveal their secret hideout in Grimmauld Place. With no shelter or food or a plan on how to destroy the locket, Harry, Hermione, and Ron start to get frustrated. Even though they find out that the sword of Godric Gryffindor has the power to destroy horcruxes, increased tensions among themselves lead to Ron leaving the group. This abandonment reveals Ron's character in a way that it shows his immaturity. Because he is used to comfort and care, not wandering around from place to place with no food, he becomes frustrated to the point where he decides to abandon his friends. These chapters also reveal Hermione's character. Ron asks her if she'll follow him or stay behind with Harry, and she decides to stay behind. She knows that Ron is acting out of frustration and anger, and she's able to make the right decision by staying behind to help Harry. Finally, we can see Harry's love for his parents in these chapters. Harry and Hermione decide to go to Godric's Hollow, supposedly to find out more about the whereabouts of the sword, but Harry's actual purpose is to visit his parents' grave. He also visits his house that's been abandoned for sixteen years, and he's deeply saddened.

Scarred - Lyricks

i’ve been scarred in my mind for real.
everytime i try to look away, i remember the killed.
everytime i look away, i start feeling the chills.
lying to myself, what i saw wasn’t real.

i don’t want to rap about this topic anymore.
many of you think i’m using this because i’m bored.
many of you think i’m using them just to appeal.
i’m just asking you, if i don’t speak for them, who will?

time is such a scary thing, i’ve become so calloused.
spent a night with them, i realize my home’s a palace.
spent a day with them, i realized i have it good.
even though i know this, i don’t live the way i should.

i was bitten by a bug, living in that area…
later on i found out i’m carrying malaria.
no i didn’t curse Him, but thanked Him for my role.
cuz now i got their suffering just tatted on my soul.

till the day i die, i will understand their pain.
depending on my God, like a farmer is with rain.
relying on my Lord, my one and only team…
the hardest thing to give up: is my one and only dream.

living in a world where evil is now good.
things i couldn’t do, i realize that i now could.
at times i find myself just screaming at His face,
if i’m not allowed, why tease me with this taste.

and every single time i just feel like letting go.
i remember all the people who believe me at my shows.
think about the power in the decisions i choose.
power to confuse or to introduce them You.

i’ve been scarred in my mind for real.
everytime i try to look away, i remember the killed.
everytime i look away, i start feeling the chills.
lying to myself, what i saw wasn’t real.

i don’t want to rap about this topic anymore.
many of you think i’m using this because i’m bored.
many of you think i’m using them just to appeal.
i’m just asking you, if i don’t speak for them, who will?

under stand i never asked for this position.
sword is getting heavy and it seems like no one listens.
cuts my own flesh but you see i give it more.
my soul is in a state of a moral civil war.

and as i keep on growing so does the army of hate.
who wait for every slip and reason to call me fake.
to the panel of judges: i admit i can’t handle you.
i just hope with every fall, i just become more tangible.

i’m another boy, another son, another man.
i failed yesterday and will fail today again.
i repeat this, to all of those you don’t get it.
if i’m not LYRICKS then why give me the credit.

i don’t want your props or your daps for my flows.
i just hope my raps will just act as sign posts.
i know i’m not as flashy or as attractive.
but at the end of the day, it’s what my tracks DID.

did i show you life or rap about death.
just to be in light did i sacrifice breath
for the riches of the world, did i compromise love.
for the beauty of her face, what did i give up

of course there are times i just wish that i was free.
just to live in today’s definition of free.
want to be rebellious, reppin up the fist.
life would be easy so believing you don’t exist.

i’ve been scarred in my mind for real.
everytime i try to look away, i remember You’re real.
everytime i look away, i start feeling the chills.
lying to myself, what i feel isn’t real.

i don’t want to rap about You anymore.
many of them think i’m using You because i’m bored.
many of them think i’m using You just to appeal.
i’m just asking if you, if i don’t remind them, who will?

I think this song is about fear because the singer is afraid of falling away from God, and a lot of times, he's tempted to just give up. However, he realizes that he has a purpose in life which is to inspire others about God with his music.

Chapters 6-11

This week, I read chapters six through eleven in my book. In these chapters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, start their quest to destroy the horcruxes of Voldemort. Starting with the locket signed "R.A.B.," Harry must start his real fight against Voldemort. He and his friends have even chosen to drop out in their final year of Hogwarts to go on their quest. 

Other than his conflict against Voldemort, Harry also begins to doubt Dumbledore, the person he probably trusted and admired the most. First of all, Harry is frustrated after he finds out what Dumbledore has left him in his will. Dumbledore merely leaves a sword and a snitch, and they don't help at all with Harry's quest. Also, Harry begins to hear bad rumors about Dumbledore when he was young. Although he does not want to believe it, Harry can't help but question his faith towards Dumbledore.

Inkblotz

One day during English class, I read a copy of the TCIS Inkblotz magazine. My first reaction after reading it was that I was amazed at the quality of the writing. Everything, from poetries to short stories to drawings, were fantastic. I particularly liked James Kang's poem on envy. His piece in the magazine caught my eyes not only because he's one of my classmates, but also because of it's uniqueness. It was only a short, 14-line poetry, yet it captured the definition of envy. The poem describes how envy is meaningless, empty, and frustrating. This poem was really applicable to me because sometimes, I get jealous of things I can never have. The poem reminded me how meaningless and frustrating envy can be.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This is the book I selected for my independent reading. I chose this book because, first of all, I've read the first six books of the Harry Potter series. I purchased the seventh book a long time ago, but I never had the chance or the diligence to read it. As a matter of fact, I was too lazy to start a book so thick. I think the independent reading assignment for English class is a great opportunity to finish the Harry Potter series. I've always had at least a bit of interest in this book, and I think I'll actually enjoy reading it.

Characterization

This character always had a big frown on his face. Every time people saw him, they thought he didn't like them. He was always careless in what he did. Also, he had a crouched back and wrinkles all over his face. He had a reason, however, for his frowns. He was always alone, wherever he went. No one wanted to hang around with him. He always seemed wanting for friends, but he couldn't approach anyone.