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.  

Fahrenheit 451 Quote

 Authors Note-This quote was on page 60 and it set the tone about how people felt about Clarisse and her family.

"Uncle had a mixed record; antisocial. The girl? She was a time bomb. The family had been feeding her subconscious." The metaphor "She was a time bomb" is referring to Clara. They were calling her a time bomb because she asked the question everyone hated "why". The purpose of this quote is to inform the reader that everyone thinks Clara's family is bad because they are different. It's telling us that in the book everyone is expected to be dumb and everyone should be the same. The main meaning of this quote is that the family was just different and being different was wrong. Clara knew things the average person shouldn't know. Her family took time to enjoy life and notice the little things and why they happened. Even though the tone was funny it was making fun of the family and actually being serious. This quote was important to the book and showed how bad America had gotten in this time period.

The Quote Analysis

Author's Note--The quote I picked was.. 

"There was nothing of high mark in this. They were not a handsome family, they were not well dressed, their shoes were far from being waterproof, their clothes were scanty, and Peter might have known, and very likely did, the inside of a prawn brokers. But they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time. "

The quote I picked was from page 68. The tone of the quote was Family, Love, Grateful and Good-hearted. They were showing that they didn't need material items to make them happy. The purpose of this piece informed Scrooge that money isn't everything and love and relationships are more important. It made Scrooge realize that he is too obsessed with money and he has no good relationships. The meaning of passage is that you don’t need things in life to keep you happy. If you have family, friends, and love that's all you need.

Analyze a Character

 

In the novel Number the Stars, there are only a few characters that stand out as dynamic. In the beginning of the book Annemarie is introduced as a shy and weak character that is afraid of the Nazi's and just wants to hide in the crowd. However towards the end of the book our opinion of her changes when she went on a brave mission and saves her best friends life. I think the author wants us to think that Annemarie is a static character until she faces a hardship. 

At the climax, Annemarie takes action and her actions result in a happy ending. When Annemarie finds a package that was dropped by her friends father she must deliver it to keep her best friend safe. Her actions save her best friends life and show readers that even the weakest of characters can have courage. An Example is from my favorite kids movie Nemo. Marlin, the dad fish, is introduced as weak and afraid of the ocean. This is until his son gets taken and he has to have courage to go and find him.  Characters can surprise you and change there actions towards the end.

Point of View Assignment

In my book Number the Stars it was told from the point of view of a narrator. It was told like an outside person was seeing it and telling it how they saw it. The point of view from the narrator was unique because it included Annemarie's thoughts. The point of view  was almost from a narrator and Annemarie.The story tells what Annemarie sees and does.Since shes a child the events are a big deal or scary for her. For example, when Annemarie ran into the British soldiers it was scary and a big deal, but through Kirsti’s eyes (the toddler) the British were silly and Kirsti just didn’t want to waste her time with them because she didn’t know how dangerous they were.

If the story was told in the point of view of Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen, things would have been much different. Ellen was much more scared around the British. The whole situation would have been different because Ellen was Jewish, so she was the one the British were looking for. The story would be different because it would be more about how scared she was and what happened when she had to hide and how the trip was to Sweden. She also wouldn’t talk about Annemarie’s sister or the things that happened at Annemarie’s house.

The Fight within Pi

 Authors Note-I wrote this on what was real in "Life of Pi" and what was just Pi's imagination. I knew what I wanted to say but it was hard putting it into words.

In the book Life of Pi, what was symbolism and what was real? Throughout the book, Pi is on the boat with Richard Parker, fighting to survive. But was Richard Parker really there? This story about survival makes you wonder what really happened and which story was true. Through all the symbolism and Pi’s long journey, you realize that maybe Pi wasn’t fighting against Richard Parker; maybe he was fighting against himself.

During the whole book, Pi tells the story through animals. But when no one believes him, he tells the same story, but with people. So which story was true? Surprisingly, the story including the people was true. For most readers, they would have preferred the animal version compared to the gory human version. As humans, we don’t want to hear about people killing each other and cannibalism, but when animals do it, it is perfectly fine.

This book is filled with symbolism. In fact, if you look deep enough you can see that the Tiger and blind man are just symbols of Pi’s conscience. The tiger represents Pi’s most animalistic instincts. In the beginning Pi is afraid of that side of his conscience, of dying, until he overtakes it and soon the Tiger represents survival. In the book it says “It was Richard Parker who calmed me down” and “he pushed me to go on living”. This means that he urged him to survive and to never give up.

Not only was the tiger a symbol but the blind man was too. He said the blind man was “to [Pi’s] right, to [his] left, close by, and far away.”This symbolizes that his conscience was all around him. The blind man was the part of Pi that wanted to give up. Pi said the blind man “Landed upon [him] heavily,[they] fell half onto the tarpaulin, half onto the middle bench. He reached for [Pi’s] throat”. The blind man was trying to kill Pi which symbolized his bad conscience was taking over and Pi was giving up. When Richard Parker came in and killed the blind man it represented the two consciences fighting. Richard Parker finally won showing Pi to stay strong.

In the end, the animals were just symbols for people. They showed what Pi wished had happened. The blind man and Richard Parker were symbols for Pi’s conscience and after reading the book you saw that the symbolism represented Pi fighting against himself. Survival was a big part of the book but if you look deep enough you can see that everything was just a symbol for something else.

Animals vs. Humans .....Life of Pi

Authors Note- we had to respond about a quote that Yann Martel wrote."the idea of a religious boy in a lifeboat with a wild animal struck me as a perfect metaphor for the human condition. Humans aspire to really high things, right, like religion, justice, democracy. At the same time, we're rooted in our human, animal condition. And so, all of those brought together in a lifeboat struck me as being... as a perfect metaphor."

When he said this he meant that a lot of humans have the qualities of animals. Whether it’s at work, at school, or in a life boat people like Pi have to figure out how to get along or work with these people. In the same way humans are animals. Humans have things like government, religion, communities, and countries  that set us apart from every other animal. But in the end we are all animals.

Are you proud of America??

America is a country of promise. It is a country of dreams, freedom, equality, and support.  To me America is a country that is easy to be proud of.  Not only does a government “for the people and by the people” keep our country fair and equal but it gives us rights and lets us pick who controls our country. America gives us lots of rights and freedom to speak and believe what we want. Even though our country is quite young it helps every other country with war, money, and natural disasters. Because I live in America I can go to school, hang out with friends, and be a kid in a safe environment. Even though I’m proud of my country, it doesn’t mean I’m proud of all the people in it or all the decisions it makes. There definitely should be some people that should be in jail that aren’t. Even though there are those occasional criminals our country is definitely safer than every other country.  I don’t agree with all the decisions our president, leaders, and government have made but you got to remember they are human and everyone makes mistakes. Sure our country has some cons, but what country doesn’t? Our country lets kids live their dreams and live safely.  I am definitely proud of the USA.

Writing a Good Hook

Authors Note: This is my hook in short story form. It had to include an Old man named Leroy, kids in a wagon, and kids in the backround lauging,and Old man Leroy bathing in the sink.

"Rubber Ducky you’re the one, you make bath time so much fun." Old man Leroy chuckled to himself. "Why would anyone take a bath in the tub when they have a perfectly good kitchen sink. I swear people these days."Old man Leroy had been bathing in the sink since he was a little bean sprout. He grabbed his towel, and slipped into his yellow Speedo. He started the sink up and looked outside. Little Johnny from across the street had brought out his little red wagon. He had his helmet on and was pushing the wagon to the top of the hill. Before Old Man Leroy knew what was happening little Johnny had jumped in the wagon and sped down the hill. Old man Leroy ran out of his house and saw little Johnny crying on the ground. "Hahahahahahahah." the neighborhood boys were pointing and laughing.  Why were they laughing at a crying boy? Old man Leroy thought to himself. He turned around and noticed they were pointing at him. He looked down and realized , he was still wearing his speedo!!! Old man Leroy chuckled to himself. At least he was wearing something!!

Authors Note- I first started out with the idea of three friends at a sleepover then went from there. I'm not sure what the dad was doing so if you guys have any ideas please leave them. AND THIS IS NOT BASED ON MY REAL LIFE------FARIHA!!!!

"Ummmmm truth or dare?" I ask my friend.

"Dare," Tori says almost automatically. My friend Jennie and I had already come up with six dares and we were having a hard time coming up with more for Tori. It was 1:00 AM and my parents thought we were asleep but we were up the whole time playing truth or dare.

"I dare you to go outside and tepee the principals yard!" I tell my friend. She looked at me like I was crazy."No, that's way to hard!"

"C'mon, you picked dare. You have to do it." I said to her.

"But………"

" We will go outside with you." My other friend promises.

"Fine. But if I get in trouble you guys have to take the blame with me." she says with a smile. I thought about this. Getting in trouble for something I didn't do always made me mad. But I guess I did come up with the dare…….." Fine, deal." We changed into all black, and I laughed as my friend streaked black face paint across her face. " Wow, you sure take a dare seriously." Jennie says. We laugh then grab rolls of toilet paper. "Guys, we have to be quiet or my parents will hear us." I tell them.

"How about we go out the basement door so they wont hear us." Tori suggests. I decided it's a good idea and we made our way to the basement door.

Outside, it is pitch black and you could only see the luminous  street light, lights. We open the sliding door and the fresh air flows into our faces. I had never been outside at 2 am and it seemed like we were in a different world. The houses were pitch black and the streets were empty. There was no traffic sound and no one was in sight. The world seemed frozen and empty like we were the only ones experiencing it

. We stepped outside with our million roles of toilet paper, and made our way down the street to our principals house. It was always weird to me that my principal lived down the street. I mean she could see everything going on at our house and it was weird thinking my principal had a personal life. But I guess her house is now useful for something. We arrived at the house then handed her the first role of toilet paper. She took it then whispered "Guys do it with me it seems fun and if you are going to get in trouble anyway don't you just want to try it?" I guess she was right. What was the point of watching her have all the fun, I mean how many times do you get to toilet paper your principals house?

 I grabbed a roll and joined in on the fun. We threw the toilet paper in the trees, on her porch, and on her mailbox. It looked like we were pro's at it. Suddenly a light turned on in the house. We ran behind a tree across the street and decided we were going to make a run for it. We made our way crawling on the ground to the next tree. We finally were far away enough to stand up and walk. "That was so fun!!" Jennie exclaimed. And I always thought she was the boring one…boy was I wrong.  "Yeah I just hope we don't get caught!"Tori says.

" Agreed, imagine how mad my parents would be." I say.

"True, but first we have to worry about getting back inside without getting caught." Tori says.

"We can just go back through the basement door again."

 We were almost at my house and we were starting to get cold. I was glad to see all the lights were off. We walked to the basement door and tugged on the handle."Oh my god we are locked out." Jennie tells us.

"No it can't be."I said. I tugged and tugged on the handle but it wouldn’t budge. "This is really bad." I checked my phone and found out it was 2:00 am. We still had at least 5 hours until my parents wake up. "They can't find us outside we have to get inside." I tell my friends.  We walked around my house hoping a window was open or something……..Nothing. We sat down and thought about what we were gonna do.

Suddenly a car, driving really slow, came into view. "Wait isn't that your car?" Tori asked me.  I took a closer look and realized it was. What is my dad doing driving at 2:00? "Weird I wonder what's going on." I say. We walked to around the house so we could slip inside when he opened the garage door. The garage door opened and we went inside. My friends slipped downstairs so my dad wouldn't see us. I stayed by the basement door and cracked it open. My dad walked inside and threw the keys on the table. He sat down at the table and closed his eyes. I had no idea where he had been and I kind of didn’t want to know. I knew my dad, and I knew he wouldn't make any bad decisions but I was still worried. I walked downstairs and knew sleep would help me think better.

Tell Me Everything but Promise Me One Thing,

Authors Note: This poem seems depressing at times, but I just thought about writing a poem with that first line, then everything just flowed. In my poems I wanted to do a better job at rhyming so it always makes perfect sense.
 
Tell me that everything will be okay
Tell me that our tears will go away
Tell me that the sun will shine brighter then ever
Tell me that we will be together forever
Tell me that you will never leave my side
They told us everything would be OK, they lied.
Tell me that our dreams have stayed the same
Tell me that we will stop this crazy game
Tell me we will get back on track
Tell me we will never go back
Tell me what I want to hear,
even if I know it's a lie.
Tell me everything.......
But promise me that things WILL get better.

TANGLED

The sparkling lights fly through the air every year, signaling another year that the princess has been missing. Tangled  is exciting and is a never ending adventure. Her long hair is kept a secret in the tower by the witch. This twist on Rapunzel teaches kids to follow their dreams and never give up.

Everyone has dreams in life. Whether it's becoming a millionaire, acing a test, or going bungee jumping everyone has something they want to achieve in life. In the story Rapunzel's dream happens to be wanting to see the floating lights. To achieve your dreams in life you have to work hard and be brave. Rapunzel wouldn't have left the tower if Flynn had never come to the tower. Everyone needs someone to give them that final push so they will achieve their goals.

Rapunzel wasn't the only one with a dream in the story. Almost every character in the story had a dream. I didn’t realize this at first because their dreams weren't broadcasted as much. The wicked mother had a dream of staying young forever. The parents had a dream of finding their long lost daughter, and Flynn had a dream of becoming rich. This story taught kids a good lesson because all the characters worked hard and all their dreams were achieved (except the wicked mother).

Although people think kids movies are cheesy and boring, it's good to watch one with a good lesson every once and awhile. Because Rapunzel never gave up and kept working her dream was achieved.

A Big Symbol in Tangled

A big symbol in the story is the sun. The sun is what made the magical flower. The sun is a symbol of life and the sun flower kept the queen alive and it makes the witch stay young. Rapunzel found out she was the princess because the suns popped out in her painting and she remembered the sun on her crib.The whole plot basically revolves around the sun and the sun flower.

The Three Leaders in "Animal Farm"

Author's Note- This essay is about the first few chapters of "Animal Farm" and who the characters resemble. At first I wasn't quite sure who everyone resembled but I think I know now.

During the Russian Revolution many people were critics of the revolution and the communist idea. One of those critics was Orwell, mainly a critic of Stalin.  Orwell was so fed up with it all so he wrote a book named "Animal Farm". In this book he made fun of the people in the Russian Revolution and the ideas. Each animal develops the personality that resembles someone in the Russian Revolution. Orwell makes fun of the events and as you read on you can really tell who each character is supposed to be.

" The problem is -man. Get rid of man and overnight we could become rich and free. Men are enemies  and all animals are comrades. And always remember that all animals are equal."Old Major said this a few nights before he died.  Orwell based Old Major off Karl Marx who came up with the idea of the Rebellion. After this happened the pigs all followed Old Major's idea and agreed that all animals were equal. But as time went by the pigs realized that they were smarter then most of the animals. Together three pigs, Squealer, Snowball, and Napoleon slowly made themselves the leaders without the other animals really noticing. Those three pigs resembled the three leaders who were fighting to lead the Russian Revolution. Snowball the speaker and nicer of the three pigs resembled Trotsky because he got overthrown(chased into a hole) right away. Napoleon's ideas were always the exact opposite of Snowball's. Napoleon emerged as the leader right after the Rebellion. He uses his military force to intimidate the other animals and gain power.  Napoleon is based off the controlling Stalin. Lastly is Squealer. In the first few chapters Squealer doesn't do anything major he just seems to agree and do what Napoleon does. Squealer resembles Lenin but so far he hasn't had a major part.

Orwell had a great dislike for Stalin and his ideas. Because of this he made the book "Animal Farm" to mock and share his opinion on the topic.