Jack's Strings to Being Alive.

I just finished reading "Prey" by Micheal Crichton, which takes place in the future. A cloud of nano particles which are micro robots which has escaped from the Nevada laboratory in the desert. Jack, who has just been out of a job due to being fired for discovering an internal scandal. He takes the position as a house husband. His wife, Julia is a very high employee at a nano robotics company called Xymos. He begins to suspect things when Julia starts to act strange; coming come late and possibly lying to him. Jack is offered back his position in the company when an "urgent" arises. He now works in the same company as Julia. Strange enough, he finds out stuff that's being hidden away from him. In this blog post, I'm going to write about Jack's relationships with his family and co-workers.

One of Jack's important relationships is his children. Because he's stay at home dad, he is around them all the time.His children ,which consist of his eldest daughter, Nicole, his son, Eric and his littlest daughter, Amanda.  When he leaves for the company, his sister, Ellen, takes care of them. His children do not like her and complain to Jack when he calls home. One thing that shows that he cares about his children is when nearing the end of the story, he is trying to get away from Ricky, who's trying to kill him. He thinks this, "I thought of the kids, waiting for me to come back. I saw them sitting around the table waiting for dinner. And I knew I had to go on no matter what. So I did." This shows that even though his children are very far away form him, he thinks of his children that need him. Because it seems like Julia does not seem to care for her children any more, he has to take good care of them. In my opinion, I think that Jack's relationship with his children gives him hope throughout the story. Without his children, he wouldn't have had the sudden "hope" to fight off the nano-particles.

Another of Jack's relationships is at his job. He develops several kind of connections with his co-workers. One is with Mae who helps him through out the whole thing. She is very suspicious of the whole thing, taking DNA of anything that come sin contact with the nano-particles. Jack and Mae continue to build this relationship when they are on this mission to find out what had happen to their fellow worker, Charley. She helps him find more about the nano-particles than any one else. In addition to being helpful ,she helps him escapes which shows that she does care about his safety, than just finding out what's going on at the company.

These good and well relationships help him stay in the game while many nano-particles are chasing him down. These strong attachments help him build a strong exterior around him, so he doesn't break down while in the process of trying to get rid of the particles. In my opinion  I feel like Jack is being really strong in his situation because like the first victim, Charley, he broke down as soon he saw the first swarm of nano-particles.

This book is really well-written because I'm able to understand what's going on even though I'm just an amateur reader. I hope, I hope, this does not happen in the near future, or the future because it can hurt a lot of people.

Relationships and Kid

In "Brooklyn, Burning" by Steve Brezenoff, Kid is a street kid. He has been in and out of his home. Meanwhile his dad doesn't want him in the house, his mom knows nothing about the day his dad kicks Kid out. When Kid is on the streets, he meets new people, his new group of friends. Throughout his friends, each and very one of them is an influence in his decisions. There is Fish, a bar owner; Konny who is wild and does not say to one sexuality; Jonny who seems to be a friendly guy with unlimited supply of drinks and lastly, Felix; him and Kid form a relationship but it doesn't not work out. Scout is later brought into the story, a year after Felix and Kid make flyers to form a band, she shows up on Fish's bar steps looking for Felix. This is the point where Kid's life starts to change. His choices are influenced by his friends and family. His resolutions are dependent on his relationships with each and every one of his peers and family.

Throughout the story, Fish shows up many times. I think she has a lot to do with Kid's decisions, especially him going home. Many times in the book, Fish tries to urge and push Kid into the right direction. For example, on page 23-24, it states, "When we reached the door, it swung open. I hadn't even noticed Fish walking besides us through the bar. 'Where are you sleeping, Kid?' Fish asked as we passed through, into the wee hours. 'The usual, I guess:Felix's old place,' I said. 'Unless you're going to let me crash in the cellar for once?'...'Why do you want to sleep at the warehouse?' Fish said. 'Why do you even want to sleep in the cellar? Why do you keep surrounding yourself with...'"This quotes from Fish makes me think that she really does care about Kid's future. She keeps pushing Kid to go back home and make up with his parents so that he can live a better live. For example, on page 67, it states, "I felt her hand on my shoulder and cringed a little. 'You know,' she said, her voice calm now and soft, 'you could just go home.'" Every time Kid asks if he can sleep in her cellar, she says the same answer, no. She tries to push Kid home instead of living on the streets. Fish is really a caring person who wants the best for everyone.

Another type of relationship that sort of harmed his path going home is his father's. His father is constantly belittling Kid. He doesn't not acknowledge Kid when he's around because I think he is embarrassed by him. For example on page 119-121, it says, "Ms.Weinberg gave a tight smile and said bluntly, 'I'd like to release Kid to your care.''Who the hell is Kid?' I raised my hand at the elbow, shyly, and Dad chortled and shook his head...'And what if we don't want Kid?' Everyone froze and looked at my dad. 'After all, I never heard of anyone named Kid. Shouldn't be my problem, right?'...'I've got the only kid I know who doesn't know whether to be straight or gay or a guy or a girl or what.'...'You know the last time I let any of the guys down at the plant to see my family? Five years, if a day.'' It seems to me that Kid's dad doesn't want to do anything with. He thinks badly of his son and ignores him. He's saying that Kid is a disappointment to his family. On the other hand, his mother is the total opposite of her husband. She adores Kid and when he left, she didn't now what to do. For example on page 124, " I took a step back, widening the space between us even more. The backs of my legs hit the coffee table.'Dad packed my bag. I came home---late---and my bag was on my bed. Dad stood there and told me to leave. He said you didn't want me in your home.  Mom put her hand to her mouth and gaped at me. She hadn't known; for a year she'd thought I'd run away---run away to drink and get stoned and have sex. She'd been listening to Dad, and I haven't been here to tell her some truth. 'Sweetie,' she said,' I didn't know. I never did.'"  Kid's dad was using Kid's mom so that he can get Kid out of his roof. He didn't want Kid in his house, bringing strangers to his house and doing things. He needed something or someone to get rid of him. So he lied to Kid saying that his mom didn't love him anymore. Kid's mom should not have believed her husband. After Kid comes back home, Kid and his mom pout their heart out to each other and they get a little closer. Now that Kid has his mom on his side, I think Kid will live a normal life.

Kid's relationships with his peers and his family definitely has changed the course of Kid's life. Even though some of the relationships had some bad on him, he still had enough to get by there. Realationships in people's lives are helpful in many ways. In the real world, family members help out each other. Like if my sister doesn't know how to do her homework, I'd help her. I would be like Fish, hinting out hints, helping her and sort of telling her to do it herself. Sometimes if the problem is huge, like a pregnant teen, her parents would help and guide her all the way throughout her pregnancy time. Her parents would get her ready when the time comes. You see reader, connections with other people are good even if they have the bad in it. Realationships with others will lead you to the right route :)