Book Report

1) MLA citation:
Ende, Michael. The Neverending Story. Ed. Roswitha Quadflieg. Trans. Ralph Manheim.Harmondsworth, Middlesex, Eng.: Penguin, 1984. 445pages.


2) RESPONDING TO THE PLOT: e) which incidents in the novel did you find wonderful, surprising, comical, or even shocking?

I got really shocked the scene Artax, who is the Atreyu’s partner and his appearance looks like a centaur, sunk to death marsh. Simultaneously with that, I respected his nobly behavior. He is always loyal to Atreyu and not to hesitate supporting his risky adventure whatever happened to them. When he is dying in the death marsh, he said to his master” Will you grant my last wish? I beg you to go away. I do not want you to see my end. Will you do me that favor? Farewell, Atreyu, my master, and thank you.” (62p, chapter3, Morla the Aged One) I am sure there is a close bond beyond master and servant relationship between them. It must be a strong friendship.


3) LITERARY TERMS
1, Setting
The setting of this story is a little bit complex and it can be roughly divided into the two sections. All incidents happening in the first half of the story are described as the real world especially in London and in the duty storeroom at Bastian’s high school. On the other hand, the setting of the last half of story is in the Fantastica where is the magical world created by Bastian’s imagination.


2, Point of View
This story is told by the omniscient. Not only the protagonist, but also about more than twenties characters are described their appearances, acting, feeing and emotion on each scene in detail. These descriptions are full of sophisticated adjective and objectively.


3, Conflict:
There are many conflicts in this story. In the beginning of the story, Atreyu conflicts with an evil to save his world. In the middle part of the story, Bastian conflicts with an avaricious in his mind to obtain everything whatever he likes. In the end of the story, Bastian conflicts with his own weakness in his mind.


4, Climax
　At the end of this story, Bastian realizes that what the most crucial for overcoming his own weakness in his mind. His biggest achievement in this story is relying on someone around him. After he was saved by Atreyu, who is the closest friend for Bastian, he opens his mind little by little and shares the common purpose with him. Through communicating with Atreyu, Bastian learns from him that it is impossible for all human being to live alone and he is not only the person who feels loneliness in the life.


5, Symbol
　　 Bastian symbolized the inferiority complex, loneliness and weakness lurking in people’s mind. In the first half of story, his personality and appearance are described as timid, restrained, otherworldliness, not so handsome and plum. He cannot get alone with people and does not have any friends. What is more, he is the typical person who is bullying in his high school. Moreover, he is not good at sporting and studying. His only strength is imaging something in his head.


6, Irony
The irony of this story is that Bastian could not discern the importance of friendship until Atreyu left from him. After Bastian became an absolute monarchy and obtained authority power, nobody refused his order and scolded against his arrogance behavior no matter how outrageous he was. However, Atreyu was the only friend who strongly and directly warned his dirty behavior. He always persuaded Bastian to change his mind, but his effort was over in vain. What the worse thing, because of criticizing Bastian’s behavior, Atreyu were banished forever from Fantastica. This cruel penalty given to him caused unrest among the people in Fantastica because Atreyu was bravely and reliable person and he was loved by everyone. After he left from Fantastica, people around Bastian and Atreyu’s friend finally started to rebel his forcible style. Bastian did not know what he should do for preventing from rebel because there was no friend who advices to him anymore.


7, Theme
The theme of this story is that it does not mean anything in this world without human imagination.
In the middle part of the story, Bastian gives the name to Childlike Emperss, and its name is moon which comes from his imagination. It means that Bastian’s imagination saved the Fantastica. In addition, after Bastian goes to Fantasitica, he obtains authority power that he can create whatever he like. Thanks to his creative imagination, the Fantastica started shining and full of beautiful and grander nature, elegant and attractive architecture, what is better, various kind of people who have different skin color, languages and region would get alone with each other. In conclusion, imagination and coming up with creative idea can be solved the social issue such as environmental problem and racial discrimination.


4) REFLECTING ON THE STORY: h) what is something you learned from the story?

I got two worthwhile things when I finished reading this book. The first worthwhile thing l learned from this story is that people who do not have any troubles and inferior complexes never existed in the world. In other words, it is impossible to be the perfect, so it is necessary for human being to help and encourage each other. At the end of story, one idea came to his mind that he is not only the person who feels loneliness in the life. It is the most impressive phrase while I am reading this story. The second one is that human being is the greediest creature on the earth and no matter how wealthy and wise they are, cannot help comparing with other superior people. This is not negative aspect for human being and it is reason for all human. However, when people compare with someone, not to be too negative and greedy is important. Too much negative mood and greedy behavior can be harmed not only oneself, but also other people such as friends and family.

ABOUT DHURARARA!!

I'd like to introduce about this picture.

This is one of my favorite character whose name is izaya orihara.He is the character in DURARARA!! and takes part of typical bat character in this story, but I really like him.

He looks like so cool and hansom with his crimson eyes and his cold smile.

What is worse thing, his hobby is playing a nasty trick on a person.

According to him, he loves all human being because this is the most interesting and foolish creature on the earth.

Despite of their foolishness, sometimes they do or act unexpectedly.

That is why he is really interested in human being.

May be ordinary and kind people hate such a ill-intentioned person like him.

However, I think almost every story will not be composed without opponent like him.

What is "DURARARA!!" ?: It is the title of popular novel among the young people and this story is about perverse love story.

The auther is Ryogo Narita who publishes another famous and popular novels.

The highlight of this novel is various kinds of unique characters and their human relationship.

The first publication was in 2004.

Thanks to great admiration by a large number of fans, in 2009, it started to being televised in Japanese major broadcasting station.

I really recommend you to watch this animation at least once!

MY FAVORITE THING

Reading Japanese comic book and watching animation are my hobbies!
Fortunately, recent Japanese comic books are published not only in Japan, but also in foreign countries, so I can read it both of Japanese and English. As for me, it is good tendency.
In addition, thanks to the development of free browsing animation site like you tube, it does not cost me so much to rent these kinds of DVD in the video rental shop.


Nowadays, almost everything is existed in the website on the internet and I am really glad to bear in this generation although it is the hard generation to get a job for teenagers and the age of twenties: )

By the way, my favorite genre of Japanese comic book is manga published for Japanese younger men.
Especially I love BLEACH.
This manga is serial running things in magazine whose name is Jump.
I am sure that almost every teenager have heard the title of this Japamese comic book and the neme of this magazine.
Jump is one of the most major boy’s magazines and also BLEACH is as
famous as NARUTO and ONEPIECE.
This is the action story, but it also includes the humanity.
"Each character's sense of values" is the highlight of this comic book, I think.


Recent Japanese comic books are said that the contents of the story are poorer than that of our parents’ generation one.
I agree with their opinion.
Actually, the total sales of Japanese comic book are decreasing year by year.
That is the evidence to be poorer their contans.
However, I prefer the quality of illust

rations and charcterization for each character to that of our parent’s generation one.

CAFE ❤

On Wednesday, I had a comfortable time at Ducky Duck Café in my lunch time.

Do you know the name of Ducky Duck Café? Ducky Duck Café is not more famous than Star Backs, Doutor Café and Excelsior Café.
Actually, neither of me, it was not until living in Tokyo that I was familiar with it.
The advantage of Ducky Duck Café is customers enjoy not only the coffee and sweets, but also meal like a sandwiches and various kinds of pastas. Unfortunately, its cost is not reasonable, so I rarely visited there without my payday.

These four pictures are lunch menu I ordered on Wednesday.

Lettuce and Potherb Mustard Salad: I was surprised to see that it was decorated by pink dressing which taste is onion and consommé. It was greatly impressive for me because I have never seen pink dressing.

Carbonara Sandwich: this is the main dish on Wednesday. To sandwich egg and butter between slice of bread and it is baked. Its surface is crisp and hot. I recommend you to challenge it if you have a chance!

Chocolate Cake: this is the sweets that I am really looking forward to eating. In Ducky Duck Café, there are various tastes of hand-made cakes such as chocolate cake, strawberry short cake, and tea taste chiffon cake.


Tea Taste Chiffon Cake: its sponge cake was really soft and elegant taste. Making soft sponge cake is never easy work and whether the cake is tasty or not depends on each sponge, so it was too delicious to forget its taste. I recommend you to try it with something to drink like an apple tea or coffee.

　The third holiday, in May 3th on Sunday, it was also the perfect day to hung the laundry out to dry. Besides, the highest temperature was 24 degrees in a day. According to the weather report, a sequence fine day during the GW in Tokyo was rarely occasion for recent fifty years. I was really surprised to hear the news and decided to go shopping and visit real estate to look for a new house to rent with my dormitory friend. Here is my experience that day.


I woke up at 7 o’clock in that morning. That was refreshing morning for me because I did not need to set an alarm clock to get up. As for me, no alarm day is indispensable thing in my ling life. It is not too much to say that no alarm day is one of my hobbies. Then, after I took the shower, my door bell was rung. When I opened the door, my friend was standing in front of my room and a few words from each other were exchanged. We downed to the first floor connected with our restaurants.

Until the noon, we got off the train at the Meigi Shrine station and arrived in the Harajuku. It was extremely crowded and hot like the rush hour at the Yokohama line so that it was really uncomfortable feeling while we were walking down the Takeshita Street. However, when we started to look around our favorite clothes, cosmetics and jewels at the department store whose name is LAFORET HARAJUKU, our behaviors changed soon. This is the most popular department store which includes the latest fashions among the teenagers to the people in twenties.

We enjoyed shopping and talking with the shop assistants without eating lunch! I love shopping and this is my new item which I bought.J Summer is coming soon and I am really looking forward to wearing it.

・・・・busy・・・・・・

The first day, although it was perfect day to go outside and wildly spread blue sky, I stayed in my office and worked hard all the day.
I regretted that having made a plan such as the sitting in my chair for a long time and facing the display of the computer whole a day.


What was worse thing, there were the large amount of the tasks which staffs have to carry out, so I could not come back home until my quote was finished.
At the beginning of that day, my superior said that all the things I have to do were complete my own tasks and after I carry it out, weather I work over time or not depend on my decision. However, when I prepared to go back to my home, he seriously asked me to help his work.
It was impossible for me to refuse his request because his expression was so exhaustless.
After all, my working hour in that unlucky day was about 16 hours!
Can you believe it?


In the next day, I was so spiritless that I could not leave my room especially in my bed for about 12hours.
It is obvious things that too much sleeping cause poor health, but I kept sleeping until I was satisfied.
It was difficult to say that my first day and second day were good, but thanks to these long working,
I could earn about twenty thousand yen only that day.

JOB ：）

The wonderful GW was over and it was rapidly pasted whole a week. During the holiday, I had spent a really busy and restless time.
The thing I did in my lovely holiday was worked hard, watched my favorite animation, went shopping to Harajuku and Omotesanndo, cleaned my room, and completed lots of my assignments.


Before I introduce you my daily life in the holiday, I would like to explain about my part-time job.
During the spring break, I started to work in one office which is located in Machida. My job is only marking examinations which were answered by elementary school students from fourth grade to sixth grade.
It is very simple work, but unexpectedly, concentrating on these monotonous working for the long time requires patience.
In addition, marking mistakes are tube. It means that it is made much of precise and speed.


By the way, there are always more than one hundred staffs in the office and almost every staffs are various kinds of college students.
It is the chance to talk with other university students and get much information related to job hunting.
I want to enjoy making relationship with them.