Book Reports Archives - The Summer Times at PEA

“Catcher in the Rye”

August 5, 2015 9:44pm | Ahmed Hussein

Chapter One No, wait. I changed my mind. I will tell you about what happened after I went back home. My touchy parents I told you about were pissed off when I told them I flunked out. They really were. They started lecturing to me about all the things they had been through to get me into that phony school, which they thought was the best school around. To tell you the truth, I hate when people lecture to me, I prefer if they beat me or something. I really do. They told me I was lazy and didn’…

“Goodbye, Columbus”

August 5, 2015 9:41pm | Elena Jacchia

It’s been five years since I had seen Brenda for the last time. I've been thinking about her a lot, but I never thought I would meet her again, especially in those circumstances. Since that autumn, my life was changed a lot. I didn’t work in the library anymore; even if I was going to become Mr. Scapello’s substitute, I couldn’t work there any longer. So despite Aunt Gladys’ tears and sobbing, I got back into the army. I had no reason to stay. I was too old to live with my uncles, too…

Artist Benjamin Halpern: From Photos to Paintings

July 29, 2015 10:16pm | ALEXANDER PURI

Last Friday, Phillips Exeter alumnus and practicing painter Benjamin Halpern spoke to the Summer School’s artists about his career in both architecture and painting, while illuminating some of his paintings and the process behind them. Halpern, who has earned degrees in en- gineering and art from Stanford University, is currently pursuing his graduate degree in architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His website con- tains an abundance of paintings create…

Nine Stories

July 29, 2015 10:15pm | CARLOTA HOPKINS GUERRA

Nine Stories written by J. D. Salinger, is a collection of nine short stories. We are going to look in more detail at three of the stories: “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”, “Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut” and “Just Before the War with the Eskimos.” “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” is the first short story in the book. A woman called Muriel Glass is staying at a hotel room in Florida with her husband. The story begins at the hotel room. The young woman is waiting fo…

A Streetcar Named Desire

July 29, 2015 10:14pm | Lea Butrosoglu

"A Streetcar Named Desire," is a play written by Tennessee Williams. It is the story of Blanche, a young woman who lives in Mississippi and goes to visit her older sis- ter, Stella, in New Orleans. As soon as she arrives, she abruptly criticizes her sister’s house. Additionally, Blanche tries to adapt to her new environment and encounters Stella’s surroundings. During the first five scenes, I identified six important characters: Blanche, Mitch, Stanley, Stella, Steve and Eunice. F…

“Goodbye, Columbus”

July 29, 2015 10:04pm | Elena Jacchia

"Goodbye, Columbus" is a novel written by Philip Roth in the sixties, the era in which the book is set. It is about the love relationship between the two characters: Neil Klugman and Brenda Patimkin. He is a poor Newark boy, and she’s from the suburban Short Hills. The story is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, Neil, who is a 23-year-old Jewish man who lives with his uncle and aunt. Both of them are simple and modest workers with an unusual personality. A veteran of the a…

“Catcher in the Rye”

July 29, 2015 10:03pm | Miki Takahashi

Holden Caulfield, 17-year-old boy who goes to a boarding school, gets kicked out of the academy due to his poor grades. He plans to leave the campus and head to New York before the vacation, so that his family would not notice. For the duration before he leaves, he gets into huge quarrel with his roommate, Stradlater. An awkward relationship compels Holden to leave the place earlier than his planned date. After he reaches the hotel in New York, Holden has the interesting experience of seeing a �…

“The Great Gatsby”

July 29, 2015 10:02pm | Pedro Kayat

The book "The Great Gatsby", written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has a first-person narrator, a man named Nick, who also writes the story. His family has pushed him to attend a business college. He had moved recently to New York and lived near a guy called Gatsby, who was very rich and had a mansion. The narrator introduces two more characters to the book: Daisy -- Nick’s cousin -- and Tom, her husband. There is a green light coming from Gatsby’s mansion that intrigates Nick because he doesn…

“Charlotte’s Web”

July 29, 2015 10:01pm | Paula Wilke

The children's novel “Charlotte´s Web“ was written by Elwyn Brooks White. White was born in July, 1899, in Mount Vernon, New York, and was an famous American author and poet. He died in October, 1985, in North Brooklin, Maine. The novel is about a pig, called Wilbur, who meets the spider, Charlotte. Both live on a farm. The farmer wants to kill Wilbur, but Charlotte tries to prohibit it. The main characters are Charlotte, Wilbur and the eight- year-old girl, Fern. The novel starts with …