BASKETBALL POEM

We walk on the court,
to play the best sport.

The fans are all here,
and our competition is near,

We warm up hard,
and I shoot with the shooting guards.

The game suddenly starts,
and I know I must I must play smart.

Our team has possession of the ball,
we must play physical because we are small.

We make a lot of shots,
and our fans cheer lots.

The game is finally done,
and we have won.

Our fans are loud,
and we are proud.

We wait for our next game,
when we have to do it all again.

Real-Life Issue

 Authors Note: I really liked writing this piece.The introduction was different and fun to write.

Killing someone is wrong. I could never take someone's life and live with the guilt for the rest of my life. All my life I have been told think before you act, be kind and respect everyone. Killers in the world today are known as bad people, that’s their only reputation. They get thrown in jail for most likely the rest of their life all because of a mistake. So what I, Reuben Land, am getting at is that I would never and could never kill. But, I still remember the day my brother ruined his life by killing two boys.

Reuben Land is a normal American boy. His life is normal except for the minor problems and conflicts. But, his whole life turns upside down when his brother makes the mistake of killing two boys. His brother, Davy, doesn’t seem to care that he’s going to be in jail and says it was to keep his family safe.

Everything seems different for Reuben, including his little sister, who locks herself in her room and won’t show her face. With everything changing so fast Reuben doesn’t know what’s coming next or what will happen to his once normal family.

In my opinion killing is wrong. You ruin the rest of your life because you made a mistake and killed someone. I don’t know how people can live and realize they killed someone without feeling bad or regretting it for the rest of their life. This part in the book reminded me of the real world. In the USA about 16,000 people are killed every year. Most of the people are innocent and have done nothing wrong and are just killed. To me it’s sad that that many people have their lives taken from them. These people could be kids or teenagers that have a whole life ahead of them but die because of an accident. Killing is just wrong no matter what the circumstances are.

By reading this part in the book I realized that something that happened in a minute could change your life forever.

Setting of Peace like a River

In a novel, there isn’t usually just one setting. The characters move around according to the plot. That’s the case in Peace like a river. The characters go to many different places but I will show you a few of the important ones and how they support the plot.

The book starts out in 1951, at the hospital, with the birth of Reuben. This place is really important because it is where Reuben’s dad, Jeremiah, performed his first miracle. The hospital is also important because it is where Reuben was born. I think Reuben’s birth was important to the book because he’s the narrator, of course, but it also seems like he was put in the book to experience or notice his father’s miracles. Although the family was only at the hospital for a short time a lot of stuff happened that is important to the plot.

Next, would be the barn. The barn was where Reuben saw his father perform his second miracle, and walk on air. This part was important because what would the chances be that Reuben had to go to the bathroom at the exact same time that his dad was going to walk on air? It was interesting how Reuben never told anyone what he had seen and he kept it to himself.  This was the setting when Reuben really realized that his dad could perform miracles.

Those aren’t the only places where the characters go to in the first 3 chapters of the book. They also go to the high school, where Jeremiah performs his third miracle, their home, and their church. So far the settings are very important to the book and they will help me figure out the theme as I read on.

Authors note: I had a lot of trouble writing this, it took me two days! In the end i think i came up with a good writing piece.

                Have you ever heard of the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’?  This is the case in the novel Peace like a river. The Land’s family finds themselves in a difficult situation with different ideas about what to do. Their actions and decisions helped me find the theme of the book.

                In the novel there are two major characters, but one main character. The author describes the main character, Reuben’s dad, like an angel. In the first few chapters, other characters notice that Reuben’s dad can perform miracles. His first miracle was when Reuben was born. Reuben was born not breathing and nobody could get him to breath. The doctor thought he had brain damage and he would die.  When all hope was gone Reuben’s dad ran in and shouted “Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe”.  Everyone was surprised when moments later the baby started breathing.  This is definitely a miracle it is another reason why I believe Reuben’s dad is an angel.

                Amazingly, that was not the only miracle that Reuben’s dad performed. Another surprising action was when he walked on air. One night Reuben was going to the outhouse and he heard footsteps in the barn. He went to see who it was and he saw his dad with eyes closed and praying. He was walking across the back of a pickup truck and when he got to the edge he didn’t stop. His father was walking on air.  Reuben was the only witness of the miracle. This miracle reminded me of god and when he walked across water.

                The last and final miracle was when Reuben’s dad found two boys in the girls’ locker room being “improper” to Dolly. When he walked in Dolly said his face was glowing and he lit up the room. This miracle and walking on air really led me to the theme.

                I believe the theme of the story is, God is always with us. In this book every miracle is like something that happened in the bible. When Reuben’s dad helped bring Reuben back to life it reminded me of when Jesus brought a man named Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for four days. It is not the same situation but it just reminded me of that. The next miracle when Reuben’s dad walked on air reminded me of when Jesus walked across water, like I mentioned before. Lastly the last miracle when Mr. Land glowed and lit up the room it reminded me of when the angel came to Jesus glowing. Reuben’s dad was able to do all those miracles because god gave the ability too.

                 Reuben’s dad is almost like a figure of god. When the two boys in the locker room promised revenge and then put tar on the family’s door, Reuben asks his dad what they are going to do and his dad tells him “Nothing; of course, nothing! What those fellows don’t realize is, we’ve already won. The victory is ours.” When he said this Reuben didn’t understand he asked his father “aren’t we going to do something about it.” Mr. Land just laughed. This is another reason on why he’s a figure of god. He doesn’t believe in revenge. Most Catholics think that they can do their revenge but then still call themselves a catholic. I disagree. Reuben’s dad is definitely a true catholic.

                If this book has taught me anything so far it’s that God is always with us to lead us and help us.

Tom Sawyer Final Essay

Author's Note: This is the Final Essay. Even though the book wasn't that good I managed to make a pretty good essay.

       When kids are young they often wish they were adults. They can eat whatever they want, they can drive, and it seems like they can do whatever they want. But Tom, the main character in Tom Sawyer, knows that childhood is short and it must be enjoyed. Throughout the book Tom makes new friends and has some awesome adventures. He is a typical boy with excitement, danger, and crushes. In this book he especially learns about crushes and what it’s like to “be in love”.
      “I’m in love,” Tom thinks when he first sees Amy Lawrence. In chapter 3 we get introduced to Amy Lawrence, the girl Tom thinks he’s in love with. Tom will do anything for Amy. He continues to try and impress her and nothing seems to work. You might be thinking this is the part in the story when Tom finds out that Amy likes him, but Mark Twain puts a twist on the story. Tom always gets in trouble with his teacher and this time his punishment is sitting by the girls. But because Tom is such a flirt the punishment is more of a reward. Tom forgets all about Amy, so he turns on his flirty attitude. He starts to impress a new girl named Becky. After only one day Tom realizes that he’s not in love with Amy he’s in love with Becky.
            During the book Tom and Becky have an up and down relationship. The first mistake Tom makes is telling Becky that he loved Amy once. She gets mad and breaks up with him. But they eventually get back together when Tom takes the punishment that’s meant for Becky. Together they go on many adventures that aren’t always good. In chapter 29 Becky and Tom go into a cave and get lost. The whole town is looking for them and they aren’t found. Becky and Tom think they are going to die in the cave but Tom finds a way out.
            I think everyone could relate to this book. Everyone has had a harmless crush at sometime in their life. When I got to chapter 6 I thought it was really funny. It reminded me of my friends and how they change crushes so much. If you are really in love you don’t change who you love a day later. It was also funny that Tom knew he was in love even though he had never talked to Amy he had only seen her once.
           This book showed us that childhood should be enjoyed. At the end of the book Tom and Becky had been through a lot and even though Tom had a complicated relationship with Becky in the end it was harmless. Even though it was harmless Tom will always remember his first crush.

Chapter 6 Prompt

 Authors note: This is a essay that was assigned. I did mine on Chapter 6 and why it's important to the book.

As you read the first chapters of Tom Sawyer you start to get a feel of the book. Chapter 6 really introduces us to Tom and what kind of boy he is. In this chapter Tom has his first love and we get introduced to more important characters. Tom’s adventures only start to begin as Tom meets new people.

                In chapter 6 we learn a little bit about Tom. The chapter starts out with Tom faking sick, just like every little boy has probably done at least once. Tom continues the act until Aunt Polly realizes that it’s all fake, and makes him go to school. Tom sulks to school and meets up with Huckleberry Finn and together they talk about swinging a cat over their head to remove warts, and they plan an adventure that will lead them to more trouble. Tom continues on his way but when he gets to school he realizes he’s late, again. His teacher gets mad and makes him sit by the girls. Tom finds that a treat and meets a girl named Becky. He soon realizes that he loves Becky and they plan to meet up again.

                You can already see that Tom is quite a character. From lying to flirting Tom knows that no matter what trouble he gets in everything will work out ok. The only thing standing in Tom’s way is Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly knows everything that Tom does but she can never get him to confess. Aunt Polly is only one of the many characters that get talked about in this chapter. We get introduced to Huck and his crazy lifestyle. We also get introduced to Becky Tom’s “love of his life”.

                Throughout this book the chapters have been varying between romance and tragedy. Chapter 6 though, happens to be comedy.  The plot of the chapter kind of fits the plot line. It starts with Tom trying to trick Aunt Polly by saying he’s sick. The main conflict is when Tom Sawyer is late for school and he gets a whipping and he has to sit by the girls. The resolution is Tom likes to sit by the girls and he decides he likes a girl named Becky. The ending is happier then the comedy plot line. Tom is happy because he and Becky planned a drawing lesson for the next day.

                Even though all the symbols I have don’t fit the comedy plot I still know it’s comedy. Nothing too scary or serious happens so I know that the mode isn’t irony. The chapter wasn’t that sad and the chapter definitely did not end in death/death symbolism so tragedy would not work. The only mode that it could possibly be besides comedy would be romance. The only reason it could be romance was when Tom realized he loved Becky and he wanted to marry her. But otherwise the chapter wasn’t a fantasy vision. So, in conclusion I’m pretty sure comedy is the mode for chapter 6.    

                 As you read farther in the book you will see that Tom and his friends have some crazy adventures. Whether it’s seeing a murder or getting stuck in a cave Tom will always be ok. Tom is a boy with a crazy imagination and nothing is too far out of reach for him. He might experience some bumps along the way but his childhood will be something he will remember forever.

The Lunchroom

Authors Note: I just got back from lunch so I'm going to write a poem about lunch.

Crackle, pop, crunch,
It's 12:00 and time for lunch

They're all ready to eat,
So they run in and take a seat,

There are so many choices,
and so many voices,

 All of the kids are snacking,
bags of chips are cracking

When lunch finally ends,
They say goodbye to their friends

They must not be late,
Teachers don't like to wait.