Friday, September 9, 2016
Character and "Beautiful Talk" in Mr. Penumbra
Write a paragraph on the character in Penumbra you think would be most likely to engage in what my seniors have called "beautiful talk" (the "coloring" version of talking, not a discussion, conversation, or debate). Explain why you think they would be most open to this type of collaborative talking, and point to a specific point in the story to support your claim. As you are writing, be sure to focus on employing a variety of sentence structures (at this stage, sentences with and without subordinate clauses), as we discussed in our first grammar lesson.
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If there were anyone in Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore who would engage in “beautiful talk”, I think it would definitely be Mr. Penumbra himself. Penumbra is an old man who has a multitude of stories that he loves to tell, and is always interested in every detail. For example, when Penumbra first employs Clay in his bookstore, he urges Clay to write every possible detail about the customers who borrow the books. Also, since he owns an extensive library, he would have a great vocabulary to express his feelings with. I think that if Mr. Penumbra were to start talking beautifully with others, he would adore it because he could share his opinions and stories with great detail and listen to others’ tales too.
ReplyDeleteThroughout "Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore", there were many characters who all would be able to engage in "beautiful talk", but I think Kat would be the best at this. As a Google employee and PM, Kat has “beautifully talked” and has collaborated with many other people throughout the book. For example, she was one of the lead and one of the collaborators when Google was trying to crack Aldus Manutius. Also, when Clay, Neel, and Kat were trying to figure out where Mr. Penumbra was, she also helped collaborate and identified where the Unbroken Spine headquarters. Finally, she was one of the people who Clay talked and helped to make the bookstore program. Another reason that she would be a good at “beautifully talking” is that, she has a how like mindset. In class we agreed that in a “beautiful talk” ideally, we would want to be asking how questions, which Kat embodies. What I mean is that she is questioning things and trying to interpret them. For example, the conversation about technology and what life will be like in the future. From this conversations and conversations like these, we can see that Kat has a how like mindset. She is constantly trying to interpret things and questioning what will happen in the future. Overall, this is why I think that Kat would be the best at beautiful talking.
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ReplyDeleteAidan Rawlinson
English 9 Period B
Dr. Stogdill
September 11, 2016
One character in Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore who would be the most likely to engage in “beautiful talk” would have to be Clay. Throughout the book, Clay exhibits creativity, independence, good teamwork, impressive problem solving skills, and most importantly an open mind. This last quality is one that the majority of characters in the book lack. In the end, Clay’s open mind is what sets him apart from the other characters. The Unbroken Spine are stubborn and are not open to using technology. Google is similar but instead of using books, they opt to use technology. Clay finds a balance between technology and books and in the end, it allows him to solve the code. If you tried to engage in a “beautiful talk” with the other characters, it would most likely lead to a debate. While multiple characters are smart and creative the majority of them lack open mindedness. This is why Clay would be the most likely of all of the characters to engage in a “beautiful talk.”
Ashley Adams, a very accepting and open minded person, would definitely be an engaged contributor to “beautiful talk”. Though Clay describes her as “an android” (Sloan, 317) because she’s “smart and strong and organized and thoughtful” (317), she’s completely welcoming to people who are reckless, impulsive, or different than she. For example, Mat chose to begin his first art project in the kitchen, a part of the apartment Ashley admires. “Ashley loves the kitchen. She’s a foodie, an epicurean…” (334). Typically, someone who loves the kitchen as much as she does would be anxious that Mat might be disrupting the order of the kitchen with potentially disastrous ingredients. However, as a very understanding and accepting person, Ashley called his work beautiful. Her openness to differences would make her engaged in “beautiful talk”, because rather than discouraging opinions and perspectives, she would wholeheartedly accept them.
ReplyDeleteI think the character Mat is most likely to engage in beautiful talk, due to his colorful personality. I think his creative personality would make his engage better and bring up different and important ideas to the classroom table. Also from his mechanical and engineering background I feel like he could bring more physical and concrete ideas to the discussion, which could help people further understand it as well. I also think that is able to be a very likable person so that he, is able to really manipulate people into letting him do things he wants to do.
ReplyDeleteI think that Matthew Mittelbrand would be the most likely to engage with “beautiful talk.” I think this because of Matt's open personality and collaboration in art. Mat would be most open to collaborative talking because he is always collaborating with his work. He is always adding to his artwork and other peoples. He layers idea on top of idea. Whether it's at home or at work, he is always adding. He adds foam and paper, twisting them together to make a beautiful piece of work. He layers “packing peanuts held in place with wire mesh” with “cans, paper and foam.” Matt would be very good at engaging in “beautiful talk.”
ReplyDeleteNick Williamson
ReplyDeleteSeptember, 11, 2016
Someone in the book who I believe would most likely be able to engage in "beautiful talk" would be Mr. Penumbra. Having the bookstore for so long along with being apart of the unbroken spine would have to give him some rich and detailed stories he would be able to engage into. Also because of the fact Penumbra had to change his beliefs and use technology along side with physical text in order to actually find the truth, one could say that you applied this to "beautiful talk" being able to change his view on something which I find important in "beautiful Talk". Mr. Penumbra is also very well read, owning a big personal library would allow him to be able to use complex and fresh vocabulary during "beautiful talk". For all of these reasons and more I think that Mr. Penumbra would be able to participate in "beautiful talk".
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ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Penumbra would be the most likely to engage in this talk. The unbroken spine is the physical embodiment of this technique. They try new techniques and discuss each other's ideas. The only way they could be better at this kind of talk is if they could change their methods. They are stuck using old-school ways of code breaking, but Mr Penumbra is willing to try new things and learn more for the greater good. He listens to others and their thoughts, then builds on them and improves them. He is the best suited for "Beautiful Talk".
ReplyDeleteI think the character most likely to engage in "Beautiful Talk" in Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore would be Kat Potente. As her character develops throughout the book we can see that she is very opened minded and willing to look outside of the box. I think she would be so open to this type of collaborative talking for many different reasons. The first reason is because her mind naturally is imaginative and open. She often asks thought provoking questions and Clay even states that “This girl has the spark of life.” The second is that she is constantly having to engage in “Beautiful Talk” at her work place. Kat works at Google and as the start up is described in the novel, everyday the employees have to collaborate on their work and challenge others with questions or ideas. This is shown when Clay is describing what he thinks Google is like, and says that “she’s smart and enthusiastic about her work.” And the final reason is because she is daring and outgoing. She is never afraid to speak her mind or share her opinions. However, when she does so, she never tries to push her opinions on others and she is accepting of other peoples point of view. An example of this is when Clay says that “Kat […] believes so deeply in the human brain’s potential” Kat would be most likely to engage in interesting collaborative talk because she is creative, works in a similar environment and is outgoing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. Penumbra in the book Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore would be the most open for beautiful talk. He seems to be a more open member of the Unbroken Spine and has even tried to change things before, which leads me to believe that he could be easily approached for "beautiful talk." His openness about things can be a great thing for it. In the book, Mr. Penumbra seems to give the people he's talking to his undivided attention, and can understand and respect others' mindsets even if he completely disagrees. He may not be very talkative, but his words are wise, and thoughtful.
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ReplyDeleteI think the character most likely to engage in "Beautiful Talk" in Mr. Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore would be Kat Potente. As her character develops throughout the book we can see that she is very opened minded and willing to look outside of the box. I think she would be so open to this type of collaborative talking for many different reasons. The first reason is because her mind naturally is imaginative and open. She often asks thought provoking questions and Clay even states that “This girl has the spark of life.” The second is that she is constantly having to engage in “Beautiful Talk” at her work place. Kat works at Google and as the start up is described in the novel, everyday the employees have to collaborate on their work and challenge others with questions or ideas. This is shown when Clay is describing what he thinks Google is like, and says that “she’s smart and enthusiastic about her work.” And the final reason is because she is daring and outgoing. She is never afraid to speak her mind or share her opinions. However, when she does so, she never tries to push her opinions on others and she is accepting of other peoples point of view. An example of this is when Clay says that “Kat […] believes so deeply in the human brain’s potential” Kat would be most likely to engage in interesting collaborative talk because she is creative, works in a similar environment and is outgoing.
ReplyDeleteCharacter and "Beautiful Talk" in Mr. Penumbra
ReplyDeleteIt is clear to me that, with her passion for life and big picture perspective, Kat Potente would be the character most likely to engage in “Beautiful Talk” throughout the novel. Kat’s ability to work with others and cultivate her own ideas using the theories of those around her makes the googler the perfect participant for this form of communication. Supportive examples of this can be found during Clay’s visit to Google’s campus, during lunch, where Kat speaks to her colleague about his ideology regarding the accessibility of knowledge to the human race. This dialect is an unparalleled example of Kat’s open mindedness and capability to see the perspectives of others; a detrimental quality when engaging in “Beautiful Talk”.
Muscaan Birdi
ReplyDeleteI believe in Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore, Clay would be the character most likely to work in the form of "beautiful talk". Clay is one of the only characters who used both methods of modern technology and physical books. Initially Clay attempted to use technology to crack the code but later in the book he finds the key using a book. I also noticed towards the end of the story Clay brought everyone together to show them the key. He knew that it wasn't just one of the groups, modern technology or books, that was correct but that both of them had contributed and together found the code.