note passing and in the shadow of the image

Note-passing, i thought, was correct and incorrect in certain areas. Her analysis of how notes were written and why, were correct but when i was in middle school notes weren't the things that made you popular or cool or anything they were just a way of talking to friends in class without the teacher knowing. It was a rush to try to pass a note right behind a teachers back because you never knew when they would turn around and catch you. The skill of note folding was just for fun and pretty in my middle school/half of high school days but it was also, as she says, to keep unwanted eyes from reading. But it didn't name someone as popular if they got the most notes. So, I guess it all depends on the school that you went to and how popularity was decided in that school.
In The Shadow of the Image confused me a great deal in the beginning because it was just a bunch of random moments in time that had nothing to do with eachother. I didn't know where the story was supposed to be going or what was going on because it just kept jumping around. In the end, I guess I agree that advertisements do influence some of our decisions in life, but advertisements are not always the cause of our actions.