POV on The Bean Trees

The story The Bean Trees, is written through the point of view of Taylor, a girl from Kentucky who just happened to pick up a baby on her way to Arizona.  Through her  point of view we experience the story as her everyday life. Taylor is pretty naïve and thinks that once she's out of Kentucky everything will be fine and there will be no dangers in the world. Because of her thinking, some of the events we experience are taken too lightly. When she gets the baby, she just decides to go along with it and keep the baby. She also doesn’t seem to realize that she can’t continue living off ten dollars for the rest of her life. Although Taylor might not be aware of everything, I think she is a trustworthy character. I trust her to make the right decisions for the baby, and for herself.

If the point of view changed and it was from Mattie's point of view, I think it would sound a lot different.   Mattie seems to be more aware of the dangers of the world. For example, she knows what will happen if the baby doesn’t drink enough or get enough food, whereas Taylor doesn't seem to know. The similarity between the two, is that they are both free women. Taylor is on the road, living by herself and making her own money. Mattie is owning her own business and showing that women can make their own money.

I could see the girl pulling up to the tires. Her car looked like it was going to fall apart with it's two flat tires, no windows, and rusting doors. I looked through the tires at her, as she walked towards me.  She looked like she was only nineteen. She was carrying a baby and they seemed like they were on the road for awhile. "Hi darlin, these bugs aggravate the dickens out of me after it rains, but I can't see my way clear to squashing them. A bug's just got one life to live, after all. Like us." I said. The girl looked at me then kind of smiled. I could tell she accepted me. "I know what you mean." she said. I looked at her car and saw not only one flat tire, but two. "Oh, bless your heart. Looks like you've got a couple of flats. Drive it up onto the big jack, we'll get them off and have a look. We'll fix your little wagon right up." I told her. She asked me if her baby could ride in the car, but I told her it wasn't safe. "What's your baby's name?" I asked. The baby was cute but I could tell it wasn't her baby due to the fact that they looked nothing alike. She told me the babies name was Turtle and I wasn't surprised.

The Bean Tree Prediction

 After reading the first few pages of The Bean Trees and meeting Taylor, I can already tell what will happen. Taylor's goal was to move away from Kentucky, to not get pregnant, and to just start her life over. Suddenly, all her plans change when a baby is accidentally left in her car. I believe that Taylor will become attached to the baby and when someone wants it back, Taylor won't be able to give it back. I think that all the things Taylor doesn't want to happen, will happen. Her life will definitely change, and even if it won't be what she wants, it will be for the better.

Abstract on The Yellow Wallpaper

In the story The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, there are many theories about what is really happening. In my essay called The Wallpaper, I talk about how the wallpaper drove the narrator to insanity. I don't think there was a woman in the wallpaper that came out or anything, I just think the narrator was just insane and crazy. I think she became insane by doing nothing and having to stare at the wallpaper all day until she finally started seeing things in it and making up stuff. The wallpaper was also the color yellow which is supposed to be a happy bright color but in this case it is creepy and insane.

Who Really is Boo Radley?

Authors Note- I wrote a character analysis on Boo Radley. I analyzed how he affected other characters, how he affected the theme, and what type of character he was.
  

The fantasy of the Maycomb Monster, haunts  everyone in Maycomb County. He only comes out at night and kills everyone in his path. His hands are bloodstained from the raw animals he feasts on. He has a long jagged scar that runs across his face, and is teeth are rotten and yellow. Or so everyone thinks.  But who really is Boo Radley? In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the author introduces Boo Radley as just that, a mysterious legend. But, as the book goes on you start to see that Boo is a powerful symbol of goodness, hidden behind a cover of evil.

Boo Radley has a big impact on the character development of Jem and Scout. At first, they believe that Boo Radley is forced to stay inside the walls of his house. But as the story goes on they start receiving gifts from him, and finally at the end, Boo Radley saves them from Bob Ewell and they start to realize that; "Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time……..because he wants to stay inside." As Boo Radley starts to reveal himself, Jem and Scout turn from innocent young children who want to see the "dreadful Boo Radley", to young adults who start to understand Boo Radley as a person.

Throughout the book, Boo Radley's image changes. He seems to be an average  character, but at the end you realize he is a dynamic character who undergoes a major change in society. He starts off as a monster who then changes into a innocent-goodhearted person. Although you can't see him change as a person, his image changes.

The theme of innocence is shown all through the book. It's first shown through Jem and Scout, innocent kids who are unaware of the evil in the world. Next it is shown through Tom Robinson who is obviously innocent in his trial, but is plead guilty. Boo Radley is finally another excellent example of innocence.  He is introduced as the Maycomb Monster until the kids see the real him. They see a good person who is looking for a friend  and totally innocent behind all the rumors.

 Although Boo Radley isn’t  officially mentioned in the book a lot, he is in it the whole way, helping Jem and Scout grow up. The rumors and legends were passed on and on until Boo became a monster and phantom. So who really is  Boo Radley? He is just a good hearted, innocent man, looking for a friend.

Important Scene

The important scene I picked started on page 95. It’s the scene where there is a mad dog coming down the street and they pick Atticus to shoot it because he has the best shot. This scene is important to the book because Scout and Jem are worried that their dad can’t do anything and they are starting to get embarrassed because he is being a lawyer for a black person.  When Scout asks Miss Maudie why Atticus never told her that he could shoot so good, Miss Maudie said, when people have a gift to do something better then someone else, they don’t show it off. In the end, this scene showed that Atticus has many talents and he keeps them hidden from everybody.

The Changing Tree

Authors Note- I wrote my essay on the symbolism of the tree on the book Speak.

For many teens, school is a place full of bullies and problems. In the book Speak, Melinda not only has to deal with these everyday problems, but she has to deal with an issue that has changed her life forever. The author, Laurie Halse Anderson used the symbol the tree to represent Melinda's life, feelings, and problems. Throughout the book, you see Melinda struggling to draw the tree, and as the book goes on you see really how much the tree symbolizes.

In most books, trees are a symbol of life and growth. In Speak, trees are the symbol of death. Melinda seems to be dying from the inside because she is holding in her feelings and is refusing to tell anyone about what really happened. When Mr. Freeman gives Melinda her assignment, she refuses saying “This is too easy, I learned how to draw a tree when I was in the first grade”. Mr. Freeman tells her to perfect her tree and make it her own. I think Mr. Freeman was suggesting to put in what she really feels and to open up about her life.

Throughout the book, Melinda has troubles drawing her tree. She can’t bring the tree to life and it lacks dimension. Numerous times Melinda attempts drawing the tree, but it never turns out. One time she draws a beautiful tree, which makes Mr. Freeman mad because it is too perfect. Another time, she draws a tree getting struck by lightning, which shows her pain and struggles. Finally, at the end Melinda finally opens up about her rape and is able to draw the tree correctly. The ending tree shows her struggles and has parts of her life in it.  She adds a sick branch that represents her rape, and she adds that “it better get cut down before it infects the rest of the tree.”At the top, Melinda draws healthy young branches that reach up toward the sky, representing her re-growth as a person.

Not only was Melinda’s art assignment, the only time tree symbolism showed up, in fact, the tree in Melinda’s yard was also a big symbol. One day when Melinda was coming home from school, she sees that the tree was getting cut down. She tells her dad that they are killing it and he says, “They aren’t killing it, they are saving it. It has sick branches and if they don’t cut them off, they will kill the rest of the tree.” This is a big symbol and it represents the sick part of Melinda from the rape. He is telling her that if she doesn’t get over it and move on or open up about it, it will eventually take all of her and she will die.

Melinda had to overcome a lot through the book but in the end, she finally draws the tree right. She opens up about her rape and along the way gains some real friends. She overcomes the “dead” part of her and eventually begins her re-growth process.

Static vs. Dynamic Characters

Authors Note-- My essay still needs a lot of work and revision but I have the basic ideas down.

There are some characters that make things happen then there are some characters that let things happen. In the two stories Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron ,there are dynamic characters, and  static characters.  These characters all dealt with the theme of government control in different ways. While some characters sat back and let the government decide what happened, Montag and Harrison fought for what they wanted.

Fahrenheit 451 and Harrison Bergeron both share the theme of government control. Like most people in these books, Hazel and Mildred sit back and don’t try to change anything in the world. Hazel knows what the government is doing is wrong, but she’s too dumb to do anything about it. In Fahrenheit 451, the government tells them to watch TV and not read books so Mildred listens and doesn’t ask why. Mildred isn’t happy and knows there is something wrong with the world but she doesn’t seem to care or do anything about it. These two characters don’t want to fight for what is right or give any effort. They want the world to change but they don’t care how or who changes it.

While Mildred and Hazel are static characters, Montag and Harrison are the exact opposite. They know that something is wrong, and they want to fix it. Montag realizes that he is the one ruining the world with his burnings. He soon meets a girl that opens his eyes to what he is doing. Once he realizes how wrong the world is he decides he’s going to make a difference and change what’s wrong. On the other hand, all Harrison’s life he knew something was wrong. He was stronger and better then all the other citizens. He knew he needed to change things in the government and he didn’t care what he had to do.

In the end, Mildred and Hazel are in the book to show us what average Joe’s are like. In books with extraordinary characters Mildred and Hazel don’t stand out.