Illusions and Nightmares

An Illusion
Life is an illusion
Different from what you should see
Hidden by smoke and mirrors
Is the true meaning of life

Reality becomes muddled by dreams
Dreams invaded by nightmares
Becoming so that you can't tell
What is real anymore


Nightmares
Sat up in the middle of the night

When I woke up screaming

Things that come and haunt me

Never really go away

Dream of a life where nothing

Nothing, goes wrong
But those dreams
Turn into nightmares

Horrifying, ghoulish images
Fill me with terror
Come up in my memory
When I least expect it

The world through Teresa's eyes

Author's Note: This is a response to the book The Maze Runner and a scene from the book in another character's point of view.

Imagine waking up in a strange place, with strange people and strange customs. You have no memory of your life before that, and you're struggling to figure everything out. This is how Thomas, the main character in The Maze Runner, feels as he is bossed around by strangers. He finds out he is in an area called the Glade, where the boys there call themselves "Gladers." The Glade is surrounded by huge concrete walls, beyond which lies an enormous maze. All the other Gladers got there the same way Thomas did: one every month, with concrete memories wiped.The day after Thomas' arrival, a girl named Teresa is delivered to the Glade in the Box: the first girl to arrive. Thomas, Teresa, and the other Gladers escape the maze and find out they are being used by a scientist group called WICKED. WICKED puts them through many survival tests, and in many, Thomas is the hero. 

The book is written in Thomas' point of view, so the reader learns how he feels about everything that happens. If the book were to be told in Teresa's point of view, the reader would see the story in a whole different way. First off, Thomas is obviously a boy and Teresa a girl so the reader would see a more feminine side of things (For example, later in the book it is revealed that Teresa has feelings for Thomas. Just by stereotyping but also from other books you can see that females pay more attention to love, which the author almost always highlights).

The reader would most likely find out where Teresa was before she arrived in the Glade. When she comes out of the box and goes into a coma, no one can find out where she came from. Although, Thomas strongly believes he remembers Teresa from before his memory was wiped. If the book were in Teresa's point of view, the reader would find out a lot about what happened because when she wakes up from her coma, you can tell she remembered a lot from her life in the past. This would probably ruin the book, because one of the main things Thomas tried to find out was where Teresa came from, since he recognized her.

Another example would be when all the Gladers are trying to escape the Maze, and Thomas tells Teresa to stay behind and help the other Gladers get down. The reader gets a little bit of an idea what happens, but not as in-depth as they would have if Teresa was telling the story. 

---------------------------------

          I opened my eyes, slowly, because the light was almost blinding after being cooped up in the box for a while. When my eyes adjusted, I realized there was a group of boys staring at me. 

         Sitting up, I tried to tell them to back off. But I immediately became dizzy, so I had to lay back down. I don't know why, but I felt that I recognized one of them. Looking around me blearily, I felt a faint spot of recognition at the place I was in. Could I have...been here before?

         Using my "telepathic" abilities, I tried to communicate with the familiar boy, but no luck. That's odd...I could have sworn I've seen him before. I suddenly felt even dizzier. But I had a sudden burst of memory: I'd built something with him. Something big. For some organization...
         I whispered something I didn't remember before I fell back into my coma.
         I felt like I was dreaming while I was out, but strange images repeatedly flashed in. Somehow, they felt...familiar. Just like the one boy I recognized...
         Trying to remember everything just caused my thoughts to get muddled, pulling me deeper into my coma somehow. It became dreamless, and after what must have been days, I woke up.

Prediction of Delirium series (Creative Ending)

          Lena gazed at what used to be a green, lush forest, Hana by her side. Now, all that was left was a flat, burnt landscape, still smoldering from the bombings.
          "Lena...what happened here?" Hana asked.
          "The resistance. They found the Homestead and decided to blow the whole thing up. I still don't know where Julian and Alex are," Lena said bitterly.
          "Well...what do we do?" Hana looked around.
          "There's only one thing we can do. We have to keep looking for them," Lena said, determination creeping into her voice.
          "All right," Hana sighed. "Look, Lena, I want to find those two as much as you do, but I don't know where else we can look. We've searched this whole area, and not a sign of them. I give up."
          Lena was desperate to find Alex and Julian, but she knew that Hana was right: They were either dead, or had been taken away by the Resistance.
          "Fine. But I'm never going to be happy again." Lena felt like crying.
          "Not even if we showed up?" A voice said from behind her. Lena's heart raced. Could it really be them...? She spun around and ran, straight into Alex and Julian with so much force that they both stumbled backwards. Tears formed in her eyes,
          "Hey Lena," Julian said. He looked at Hana. "I don't think we've met...I'm Julian. Friend of Lena's."
          "They'd been a little more than friends," Alex muttered, but he still looked happy to see Lena.
          "This is Hana. My best friend," Lena said, ignoring Alex.
          "Hey...I think I've heard of you before. You're Julian Fineman right? I've seen you on tv," Hana said.
          "The one and only," Julian said.
          "So...what now? We found you guys, should we go somewhere?" Alex asked.
          "I think you all know where we're going," Hana said, winking at Lena. She smiled. Alex caught on, but Julian looked confused.
          "We're going to Portland, stupid. Let's go," Alex said, starting off in a random direction.
          "Hey Mr. group leader! It's this way!" Lena said, laughing. She led the way, keeping her eye on the blue seas and white sand that marked Portland's beach. The very same where she and Alex had met.

Retelling: Pandemonium

After running away from her home, Lena has to survive on her own in the Wild, where she meets a group of Invalids who take her in. While in New York, she meets a boy named Julian, and falls in love with him. But they are captured by the Resistance, and have to find a way to escape jail. Later, as Lena is showing Julian the Wild, Alex, who she thought was dead, shows up. And he is not happy.

Theme Analysis Essay

Author’s Note: I decided to analyze a poem for my theme analysis, instead of using a story or a novel, to try and do something out of the ordinary, and different. Like the character in the poem.

Robert Frost has written a lot of wonderful poems, but The Road not Taken is my favorite because of its hidden meaning and theme: Choices and decisions. The poem is about taking the safe path in life or taking the risky one. It talks about how lots of people take the safer road in life, and not many take the opportunities that life gives. Taking the easier path does not always mean taking the path that will make you more successful.

One of the major themes of the poem is making choices and decisions. This is demonstrated by the lines “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” and “Took the other just as fair, perhaps having the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear.” This shows that not many people take a certain path in life, the risky one. This is because they don’t want to regret anything they did. In the poem, the line “I doubted if I should ever come back” represents not being able to turn back around in life once you choose to do something. Once you make your decision, there’s no going back. The diverging road indicates two different choices that you could make.
 
The poem The Road Not Taken reminds me a lot about the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver. In this book, Lena, the main character, debates for a while about whether or not she should try to escape the city she lives in. She finally decides to do it, a very risky plan which almost nobody has attempted. In this way, she is similar to the person in The Road Not Taken because she makes a choice that could get her in trouble sooner or later.
 
Another book The Road not Taken reminds me of is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In this book, Katniss’ sister is chosen at the reaping to be District 12’s female tribute for the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss desperately wants to protect her little sister, so she wants to volunteer for her. But she also knows that her sister would never let her do it. Finally, just as the boy tribute’s name is about to be picked, she runs up to the platform and volunteers, which has not happened in decades. She is similar to the character in The road Not Taken because she makes a choice that not many people make, while knowing that this choice could possibly harm her.
 
The choices and decisions that people make definitely affect their lives in one way or another. The character in The Road not Taken is similar to Lena and Katniss: They are all different, braver than most. The poem shows this with the theme of choice and decisions. About how taking the easier path is not necessarily the better path. It shows that the choices you make will affect your whole life.