"A Clean, Well Lighted Place" Response

“A Clean, Well Lighted Place” is a short story rich in symbolism. It focused mainly on the differences in emotions, which are affected by light and dark. Dark is a disturbing time, when depression and thoughts or attempts of suicide happen. Light, however, is an escape from the anxiety, depression, and self-consciousness. This and a few other details are very important and needed to be portrayed in the film adaptation of the story.

For one, in the story, the old man sits by the window. Although this doesn’t seem incredibly important, the glass acts as a barrier between the light of the cafe and the darkness of the outside world. In the film adaptation, the old man sits a booth, which isn’t even beside the window. Also, some of the dialogue  between the two waiters gives clues to the old man’s life and why the darkness may bother him. In the film adaptation, the two waiters are Irish and incredibly difficult to understand. This causes some of the dialogue to be missed, therefore making the symbolism less clear.

Although there are several other differences, besides these two main points, the director did a fairly good job of portraying the short story. He also captured the essence of the cafe lifestyle very well. I believe that the actors were cast well, and they accurately portrayed the inner feelings of their characters, although they were hard to understand. Overall, there are only a few major differences that affect the story in the film adaptation. 

The Welcome to a Better Place

Author's Note: This story deals with a lot of inner conflict, yet optimism. A woman dying of cancer gets trapped in a cave but is still hopeful, and not very miserable, because she believes this is better than dying from the cancer. I tried to really portray that part of her character throughout the story. I also tried to use good word choice and syntactic patterns, which I find hard to incorporate into a fictional piece. 

Staring into dark nothingness. Black particles weaving together to create an impossible barrier, which I cannot break with my body, nor my mind. I feel completely blind, my eyes are open, but I cannot see. I only had two months to live, but now, I assumed I only had a day before starvation and dehydration shut me down. Part of me was happy; my biggest fear had been for my husband and kids to see me die. I had already said my goodbyes, for I knew I could die any day. Clearly, God wants me to come see his house, and my tasks on Earth are completed.

***

I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer just under a year ago. I went through 10 months of chemotherapy before they told me that it wouldn’t work; the cancer continued to multiply. The warning came, and now I had only two months to live. There was only one thing I wanted to do before I died; write and publish one last book. I wanted to write about the incredible wonders of the world, and why we should take time to admire them during our time here. This is why I came to Wyndham Cave, about an hour away from my home in San Francisco.

With my husband, Scott, waiting for me at the bottom of the mountain, I had hiked up to this cave. It took about an hour to reach my destination by foot, but it was well worth it. Thousands of crystal formations clung to the walls and floor. They sparkled and reflected the little rays of sunlight that crept into the cave. No living creatures seemed to be here; this place seemed to be a sort of crystal palace of the animal kingdom.

I crouched to closer examine one of the formations, the complexity yet simplicity of this grouping left me in disbelief. The glistening color and smooth texture contrasted the chaotic patterns of jagged edges. I began to write:

Wonder #1: Wyndham Cave

Crystals glistening, dim light reflecting and dispersing itself to all corners of the cave. To the touch, the smooth surface of crystal formations gives off a feeling of power and purity, so long as you don’t touch one of the jagged edges. T      

 The entire cave began to shake, and my pencil skidded across my lined paper. Finding myself flat on my back, I attempted to get up so I could make my way out of the cave. I felt as though thousands of tons of rock may collapse on top of me at any given moment. Before I could get to the opening, the cave went dark and the shaking ceased. I collapsed onto the floor, partly from fear and partly from exhaustion. Crawling over to where the opening had been, I pushed as hard as I could. Sadly, the rocks covering it were so tightly packed together; there was little chance of a grown man breaking out.

***

This is how I came to be in my current situation. I’ve been trapped for two days now; yesterday was spent desperately trying to contact my husband on my phone, but there was no signal. Today was much more productive though. I was able to clear a section of rocks and crystals so that I had a bed of hard soil. Though my small supply of trail mix is long gone, I’m actually quite satisfied with how I’m going to die. No more painful goodbyes with my husband and kids, and an equal amount of suffering as there would be if my disease were to take my life.

Over the last two days, I have also been doing a lot of writing. Since I only had four senses that could explain the true beauty of this place, and I obviously wouldn’t get to see anymore wonders, I decided to take a different path in my book. It is now titled, How to See the True Beauty in Life. Considering that I only had two days to write it, it turned out to be more of a short story or article. I spent all of today writing this book in between naps. When I was finally finished, I allowed myself to drift off into a deep sleep; my body needed it to make up for the lack of food and water.

I awake slowly, a weird sensation spreading through my body. My heart was beating hard, but very slow, and it seemed to be getting slower. I knew this was the moment. One by one, I could feel my organs closing their doors to the blood that wanted to flow through them. I felt my lungs close off the air that wanted to flood their chambers, and lastly I felt my heart stop beating. My soul was peeling out of my body, and I could no longer control any part of me. I floated up, now seeing my corpse, which looked like me, simply sleeping. I floated higher and higher, feeling unreal until finally arriving to a place I seemed to know very well. Though I had never been here before, it felt familiar and welcoming.

A very tall man, who seemed to be radiating power, and who was surrounded by sparkling, beautiful women wearing a different kind of crown welcomed me with pleasure. Although we had never officially met, they were thrilled of my arrival. They led me to a huge golden room with rays of sunlight shining in, and led me to the window. There, I looked out to see a scene on the mountain where I had died. I saw my husband, walking along the mountain path with two policemen. All three looked exhausted, I could tell that they had been looking for me for days. One of the policemen stops right at the entrance of my cave and cocks his head sideways. Carefully removing one rock at a time, he eventually kicks down the wall and sees my corpse. He yells and motions for the other police officer and my husband. My husband comes running, and with a look of great sadness, kneels by my corpse. I see his shoulders begin to sag, and bounce up and down as he sobs. He stops a moment, realizing that I’m in a better place now. As the parties and festivities begin behind me, he looks up towards the sky, right at me and blows me one last kiss. 

Where is the love?

Author's Note: This is a response to Fahrenheit 451, our assigned book for Language Arts Class. I found the quote so far that I've found most meaningful and am going to explain it's significance. 

"Millie, does --" He licked his lips. "Does your 'family' love you, love you very much, love you with all their heart and soul, Millie?"

In Fahrenheit 451, the government has taken books away for one main reason, books make people feel things; they make people feel emotion. If people feel emotion, then maybe they'll disagree and rebel against the government, and even disagree with each other. The government doesn't want to take any chances, so their solution is to get rid of everything that provokes emotion. At this point in the book, after reading his stolen books  for almost the entire day, Montag is beginning to realize what love is, and that he doesn't feel it. In these books, he's reading about people with emotion, with feelings, and with opinions. He's realized that the government and even his boss are trying to deprive people of their emotions. I think this may be the climax in the story, because Montag may start trying to change the government, instead of living with regret.

Word Choice and Context Analysis

Author's Note: I wrote a creative piece and then analyzed how the imagery used added to the mood of the story. I tried to incorporate as much imagery as possible in the story to show my knowledge of their use. 

I’m swimming, swimming in a magical world of blue. Rays of sunlight dance ahead, showing me the way to go. Tiny bubbles float upwards, tiny bubbles twirl and spin, tiny bubbles weave between each other. This underwater palace was like Atlantis, towering from the bottom of the ocean. Hundreds of little tiny fish swam with their schools in the crystal clear water. Dolphins jump out of the water so they are even with the rooftops of Miami. Sharks swim slowly and confidently like kings walking in their own country. Staying here forever would be lovely, an escape from the real world, but it is time to return. Dolphins swarm below and lift me to the surface, where I am left to swim back to the land of reality.

***

In this piece, I used symbolism and imagery to create a mood of pureness and life beneath the surface of the ocean. I tried to write with a tone of a magical place where there were no worries, fears, or setbacks. I used the symbolism of water to create the mood of a clear and pure world where a new life was born. These techniques are often used in poetry and short stories to enhance the setting and the mood or goal of the characters. I used imagery so that the reader could see a vivid picture of what it would be like to be swimming in this magical world. When I said, “rays of sunlight dance ahead,” I was using personification to help the reader see those glistening rays sparkling and shining light into the clear water. When I said “this underwater palace was like Atlantis,” I was giving the reader a chance to use real world text or art to visualize even more. All these techniques helped enhance the mood of the story and helped the reader to truly interpret the story in the way intended by the author.

Anorexia Research

Author's Note: This is my research paper about Anorexia and how society affects it. I properly formatted it so that I could meet my goal of getting a 10 on format in a research paper.

A 13 year-old girl stands in front of the bathroom mirror, turning sideways to look at a profile view of what she sees as fat. Everyone else around her saw a fit, athletic girl who was a healthy weight, but she saw it differently. She put herself on a 40-day water fast to lose weight, but refuses to tell anyone that she's lost almost 15 pounds. She's 5'4" and only weighs 80 pounds, which is dangerously underweight for her height and age. She refuses to admit that she has a perilous, unsafe eating disorder -- anorexia.

Anorexia is a adolescent disease that typically occurs in 13-24 year olds (South Carolina Department of Mental Health). Although it normally occurs in girls with obsessive or narcissistic personalities, it can happen to anyone with low self-esteem (University of Maryland Medical Center). People with anorexia have a fear of gaining weight, even if they are already underweight, and refuse to remain at a height or weight that is considered normal for their height and age (Medline Plus). Anorexics also have a very distorted body image and refuse to confess or reveal their weight loss (Medline Plus). Most anorexics will also deny they have an eating disorder, and instead consider themselves to be precautious and dedicated to their health and weight (Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia).

Just as anorexia affects your mental state, it also affects your health and overall wellbeing. People with anorexia may get dry, blotchy, or yellow skin that is covered with fine hair (Medline Plus). They will experience confused or slow thinking with poor judgment skills and possibly dry mouth, depression, sensitivity to cold, loss of bone strength, or lack of muscle or body fat (Medline Plus). Anorexia may also slow or stop growth and body development (Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia). Lastly, anorexia causes low potassium, leading to heart problems, increased risks of infections from lack of white blood cells, severe dehydration and malnutrition, seizures from loss of fluid or sodium, thyroid problems, and tooth decay (Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia).

People all over America experience these symptoms and more; over 8 million Americans have an eating disorder (Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers). The severity of this disease is unknown to many, but 5-10% of anorexics die within 10 years of acquiring the disease, 18-20% die within 20 years, and only 30-40% ever fully recover (South Carolina Department of Mental Health). Half of all anorexic deaths are from suicide, which is attempted by 20% of anorexics (University of Maryland Medical Center). Thoughts of weight and body image begin far before most people acquire anorexia; 50% of 11-13 year olds see themselves as overweight, and 80% of 13 year olds have attempted to lose weight sometime in their life (South Carolina Department of Mental Health). Anorexia clearly affects people of all ages and weights.

This disease debilitates your body and your brain, yet society causes more and more young people to be affected by it. With modern technology, magazine pictures, billboards, and most social media is able to be edited and photo shopped. Models are airbrushed and made to look skinnier in most pictures, but young girls wouldn’t know that, so they make it their ultimate goal to look just like that person. Everywhere around them, there is images of what they wish to look like; store mannequins, reality shows, and even Barbie dolls torture them every day. Studies show that the number of people with an eating disorder has majorly increased in the last fifty years simply because of the increased amount of social media and beauty suggestions (Katzman and Morris).

This young girl, like many of her age, has been influenced by society to become seriously anorexic. She suffers from heart disease and serious depression. Each and every morning she wakes up, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to talk to anyone, and not wanting to eat, despite being starving. Hidden behind her closet door, she has a collage of posters out of magazines, of all the people she wants to look like. Models and celebrities whose pictures have been severely edited, causing young girls like this one to starve themselves -- sometimes to death. So tell me society, is it really worth it?

Bibliography

Katzman, Debra K and Anne M Morris. The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents. May-June 2003. 28 2 2013.

Medline Plus. Anorexia nervosa: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. 13 2 2012. 11 2 2013.

Mirasol Eating Disorder Recovery Centers. The Learning Center: Eating Disorder Statistics. n.d. 11 2 2013.

South Carolina Department of Mental Health. Eating Disorder Statistics. 1 1 2006. 13 2 2013.

University of Maryland Medical Center. Patient Education: Eating disorders - Complications of Anorexia. 22 1 2009. 21 2 2013.

Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. Anorexia nervosa - Wikipedia. 1 2 2013. 11 2 2013.

The Thoughts of Her Terrible Brain!

Author's Note: This piece was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart". I attempted to write it in the style of his voice, and tried to use a similar plot with a twist. I tried to sound as insane as physically possible. 

The young woman's brain,

was too much for me.

Her thoughts always intruded,

this, that, what.

It so ever took a toll,

and nearly drove me mad.

An ever so faint,

buzzing, buzzing.

In the back of my head,

it was always there.

If only there was a way,

to make it disappear.

Snap, it's gone… Haha!

Wouldn't that be nice.

But at once, all the levers,

all the knick knacks, in my brain.

They began to turn,

there is a way--

a way that will be sweet,

I will savor it, forever!

Kill the brain, chop it,

destroy every thought --

every thought that ever,

traveled that path.

Would be gone!

Like a flash of lightning,

one second, it's there,

the next it's long gone.

But how? How would I,

accomplish this task;

clearly built for someone

of much more expertise.

What would I use,

when would I strike?

The night, the night,

would be dark,

concealing.

She wouldn't see it coming,

not in a million years.

Every detail of the plan,

must be executed perfectly.

Perfectly, I tell you,

or I would be caught and doomed.

So I begin the next night,

setting up the machine.

Attached to her bed frame,

it would eject the brain.

And the brain,

the brain, would be mine!

And so it began,

I helped the young lady to bed.

Prepared her bath,

laid out her silken nightgown,

and turned out her lights.

Little did she know,

at midnight, her brain,

would be snatched,

right out of her little fingers.

As I enter her chambers,

at 5 minutes to midnight,

I hear her soft breathing,

and her gentle movements.

She seems at peace,

so there I wait, I wait,

for the machine to activate.

Suddenly, her thoughts,

they get louder, and louder,

and faster, and faster,

until they are spinning,

much to fast and loud ,

to understand.

She awakes with a start,

but I still hear!

The noise, the noise,

is getting too much to bear!

Now, out of her bed,

she heads toward me,

closer and closer she comes,

until I can feel her presence.

"STOP!" "THE THOUGHTS,

THE THOUGHTS, IT IS I,"

"TRYING TO KILL YOUR,

TERRIBLE BRAIN!" 

Point of View

Author’s Note: In this piece, I critically analyze the point of view of To Kill a Mockingbird and to show how the reader might interpret it differently if the book or a chapter was written from “Boo” Radley’s point of view. This is only based on the first 75 pages of the book, because that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I also don't have an introduction and conclusion because I'm only grading this on the reading rubric. 

In the American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl named Scout tells a story about growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama. Part 1 of the book is mostly about Scout starting school, and about her, her brother Jem, and her friend Dill going on summer expeditions. They have a mysterious neighbor whom they call “Boo” Radley; he seems to never come out of his house. Curiosity begins to take them over and they begin plotting schemes to try to find out who he is.

The story is told from Scout’s point of view because it’s easier to tell of their adventures so that the reader can understand them. For example, it says:

Jem attached the note to the end of the fishing pole, let the pole out across the yard and pushed toward the window he had selected. The pole lacked several inches of being long enough, and Jem leaned over as far as he could. I watched him making jabbing motions for so long, I abandoned my post and went to him.

If these scene in particular was told from “Boo” Radley or Atticus’ point of view, we wouldn’t comprehend it well and we wouldn’t know the motive for the note. We also may not have known how much planning the kids put into the “mission.” For this reason I believe the point of view was good for most chapters.

Although Scout’s point of view makes sense and helps us as reader’s understand the text, I think it would’ve been cool to include some chapter’s from “Boo” Radley’s point of view. By doing this, it might add some comedy to the story, knowing that the kids may or may not be doing all of this for nothing. Here’s what I think it would be like if they added a few chapter’s in “Boo” Radley’s point of view:

… I reckoned when she found the blanket later she would be mighty surprised. It was the coldest day in Alabama since as long as I can remember, and the poor kid was hardly noticin’ herself shiverin’. I wasn’t ‘bout to let her freeze and get no frostbite. Next,  I walked right on over to Ms. Maudie’s place ‘n dragged furniture out the door. It was surprisin’ that I still had some strength left in me, after all them years of sittin’ on my wicker chair. After being there in that fire, I knew the place was gone. The stairs were givin’ in ‘n I could hear the roof a cracklin’. Them d*** fire trucks got their axels frozen right on em’ and the wheels weren’t even turnin’. When they finally got there, we all knew it was too late.

I think this would’ve been kind of cool to add a paragraph so we could tell what he thinks about the children spying on him. It would’ve given the readers almost an advantage on the characters because they know more than the characters.

Anxiety

Author's note: This is a poem I wrote about the feeling of anxiety when you step out onto the stage/field (whatever you think of). 

My heart pounds,
my head aches,
my heart sighs.
I wonder,
why?

My body quivers,
my legs bounce,
my heart sighs.
I know,
why.

My head's confused,
I'm excited, I'm nervous,
my heart sighs.
I cry,
why?

I was once free,
I had no stress but now,
my heart sighs.
I know,
why.

The dread is unbearable,
my life seems over,
my heart sighs.
I panic,
why?

Anxiety takes over,
but soon it will be done,
my heart sighs.
I step out, for I know,
why.

My life has been spent,
preparing, preparing,
my heart sighs.
For I realize,
why.

Comfort sets in as I do what I do,
my practice pays off, but yet,
my heart sighs.
It's over and I think,
why?

Theme Analysis

What if you were forced to choose between staying with your parents, but following their faction's rules, or going away and rarely seeing them? What if you had to decide whether to kill your boyfriend or killing yourself? What if you could either run away from all you ever knew, or let the government choose how you spend the rest of your life? Imagine, being practically brainwashed from an evil political figure that you made an idol. Many novels and real life situations involve the government taking over and creating a chaotic incident.

In the book, Divergent, by Veronica Ross, the population is split into five different factions. The faction centered around intelligence is rebelling against the selfless faction, who runs the government, but the intelligence faction doesn't have any fighting power. They turn to the daring faction and meet with some of the leaders to devise a plan. Against the will of any of the young people in the daring faction, they inject a tracker into them, saying that it was simply a tracking device, a precaution in case they got lost. This injection turns out to be able to control what each young person does. Literally, they all wake up in the middle of the night and their legs and arms are moving for them. They are forced to go kill as many government figures as they can, which includes some of their own parents. No one except for the leaders of the two factions was involved in this decision to go kill so many innocent people.

Another example of the theme of Government Control is the book, Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. In this book, 24 people are literally put in an arena and forced to fight until only one is left alive. This is another example of a government putting teenagers and young kids in really difficult situations. In the book, the two main characters don't want to kill each other so they try to commit suicide and go against the government. You can tell just how controlling this government is just because of the situation they put these kids in, and because of how angry they get after the two main characters try to stand up to them. In this novel, the government is actually putting their own people in danger as well.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry is another example of complete Government Control. In this book, the government controls every aspect of your life; who you will marry, what your career will be, how many kids you have, and even what you can say. Babies are snatched away from whoever had them, and put into a Nurturing House until they are one. Then, they are literally assigned a family, not the one that had them, just so that each family can have one boy and one girl. Then, once they turn twelve, their career is chosen for them, and they begin training for it. Later in life, they choose who you marry by matching characteristics and then eventually assign you a child. It's really difficult to imagine not being able to choose anything in your life.  The government in this book wants everything the same, so that no one feels different and so no one stands out.

These three books all include people who are living an entirely tragic life. The government is controlling much of their life. A similarity between all three books is that no one has a say in the government. The few people in charge make harsh decisions about how all of the people need to be, and what decisions they are allowed to make.  In my opinion, a big part of life is being allowed to have a say in your government. It's important for us to be our own people and have our own opinions. It allows us to have a personality, to choose our own paths in life, and to choose who we want to spend it with. In America, we are able to vote for who we want to lead us, and for what we want to do. If a leader makes a poor decision, he can be removed from office in the next election, and the law can be repealed. We are so lucky to be living in a society like this where we are able to have a say -- we need to keep it that way. 

A Row of Crystal Palaces

Author's Note: This was a piece we wrote in L.A. We had to write a list of words or phrases that describe winter. I picked to write about the phrase... A row of crystal palaces... and that is were my story derived from.

I awake to the sound of wind gusts spraying snow against my bedroom window. Standing up, I stumble over to the window and open the blinds. Frost covers my window, so I wipe and create a circle where I can easily look outside. Snow is swirling in thin, white wisps and creating towering drafts all over my yard. Between gusts, I can see a row of crystal palaces. The roofs are blanketed  with a beautiful layer of shimmering snow, and twinkling icicles line the rooftops. The world is a giant winter wonderland! Closing my blinds, I run to get dressed in my warmest clothes, eager to start my day of play. 

Prediction (Continuation of a Poem)

Author's Note: This piece was in response to Edgar Allan Poe's poem, Alone. Although I have a very different poetry style than his, I focused more on connecting the ideas rather than the writing style. I also wrote a short response to illustrate why I said what I did. The part in italics is what I wrote, the rest was from Edgar Allan Poe.

From childhood's hour I have not been

As others were; I have not seen

As others saw; I could not bring

My passions from a common spring.

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow; I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone;

And all I loved, I loved alone.

Then—in my childhood, in the dawn

Of a most stormy life—was drawn

From every depth of good and ill

The mystery which binds me still:

From the torrent, or the fountain,

From the red cliff of the mountain,

From the sun that round me rolled

In its autumn tint of gold,

From the lightning in the sky

As it passed me flying by,

From the thunder and the storm,

And the cloud that took the form

(When the rest of Heaven was blue)

Of a demon in my view.

It showed me a certain horrible scene,

Upon a seemingly invisible screen.

Though it scarred me for much of life,

It later led me to find my wife.

I realized that although the tragic pain,

The demon's efforts were not in vain.

They were only to protect me,

And keep me from falling into history.

And when this occurred to me,

It changed me very drastically.

Although it seems I'm free,

I sometimes consider trying to flee.

In my mind I hear the demon's cries,

Telling me to look into its eyes.

To this demon, I have a certain respect,

A belief that I adhere and protect.

Why should I stop and take a stand,

When the demon is the one holding my hand?

Leading me through life happily at last,

Keeping me from remembering my past.

At last I am not alone,

I've finally found a home.

Not one that I will soon forget,

Not one where I will fret.

But one where I shall stay,

And live away my every day.

***

The poem, "Alone", by Edgar Allan Poe is all about regret, sadness, and the overall feeling of being completely and utterly alone in childhood. At one point, it says, "… and all I loved, I loved alone." To me, this shows the complete despair that this poem is about. Imagine that you are really passionate about something, and everyone else hates it, no one agrees. You would be feeling like quite the outcast.

To help me write a continuation of this poem, I used specific lines from the original poem that really conveyed his true emotions to predict what might happen later in this person's life. One example is when it says, "… My sorrow I could not awaken." I used that phrase and several other lines into the story to come to the conclusion that he had no hope or faith that anything would get better for him. I predicted that when the demon came along, it would be the one thing he wouldn't be separated from; it would be a friend when there were no others.

Although it never directly references the fact that his life would get better when he grew up, he talked a lot about how his childhood was the problem. This made me believe that when the demon came along, his life would change for the better. The best supporting text for this belief was when he said, "From every depth of good and ill, the mystery that binds me still." This line was written to sound as though he was much more mature and happy, but also still thinks about that experience.

All these facts and others in the poem gave me enough supporting evidence to make a logical prediction about what would happen with the man and the demon. However, most of my supporting evidence gave me predictions, not because of the text that was in them, but because of how they were written. As Edgar Allan Poe said himself, "Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant." Although the writing style may not seem like the most trustworthy place to gain predictions, it may create the most vivid picture of the future. This vividness is mainly how I continued this poem with the most logical prediction in my ability.

3:15 -- Prediction

Author's Note: This is a reading lab assignment for the reading skill of Predicting. We watched a video about the book 3:15 which helped illustrate just what happened to Troy.

In the story, 3:15, Mr. Mason changes loud mouth kids to super quiet ones by some substance in a jar. I think that in this jar, there is some potion that gets into your body through your nose or mouth. I think Troy screamed because it stung or something, or he knew he was being changed. I think that in the future, Molly will convince Mr. Mason to give Troy some potion that changes him back. Mr. Mason will give in because Troy said that he was his favorite teacher.

This book is similar to many fiction books, the main character's world gets messed up, but one of the supporting characters helps fix it. For example, in the book, The Lost Hero, the main character, Jason, loses his memory, and the supporting characters, Piper and Leo, go on a long, difficult journey to save Hera so Jason can get his memory back. 

At the end, we figure out that what the jar does is it sucks out the soul of someone. Mr. Mason has a hidden shelving unit of jars, which hold the souls of all talkative students before Troy. My prediction was close but not right on. It still does change people, but it doesn't go into your body, it comes out of your body.

Lina's Journey -- Character Development Piece

Trapped in a world full of terror, starvation, and dictatorship. Controlled by young men who will do anything to make you miserable. Eating nothing but a few pieces of bread every day, after working for up to 12 hours straight. This was the sad life for many innocent Jews during the Holocaust. Many people died from illness and starvation, while others were thrown into gas chambers and tortured to death. Eventually, the only ones that were left were those that truly believed everything could go back to how it was before the Holocaust.

In Between Shades of Gray, Lina and her family were one of these families that was taken from their homes, from everything they ever knew, and forced to work in labor camps. They have a firsthand experience in the everyday horrors that occurred in the Holocaust. Living through this terrible time is something that I can only dream about.

In the beginning, Lina is living a seemingly perfect life. Money, food, and art supplies are plentiful and she has opportunities blossoming for her in the art world. But when the NKVD's practically knocked down her door and shipped her and her family away in cattle cars, she was left confused and terrified.

As if being packed into a tight space with very little air isn't enough, Lina is separated from her father. When she finds out he's in prison far, far away, it gives her even more motive to find a way to contact him. Since the NKVD's read all mailed items, she decides to communicate through art. In the story it says, "I had to speak. I'd write everything down, draw it all. I would help Papa find us." The idea of passing along letters to try and reach an endpoint of her father's jail is similar to the idea of the Underground Railroad in the civil war. Both include hiding items or people  and passing them along from "station to station," while hiding them from the enemies.

One of the most intimidating events in the story is when Ona gets shot. The poor woman's baby died, and she is grieving; perhaps a little too loud. The guard standing by gets annoyed, drags her out and shoots her in the head. Lina is absolutely shocked. It is at this  point when she starts realizing the severity of what's happening in this war. Visions of stacked corpses, and a repeating image of Ona's death begin disturbing her. However, instead of being the type of person to want to sacrifice her own life so she wouldn't have to live through this torture, she picked herself back up and became even stronger.

Towards the end of the book, even though she is skinnier, less healthy, and weaker, she has a stronger heart. Instead of saying positive things just so her brother Jonas wouldn't be scared, she began saying positive things that she actually believed. Also, influencing her brother  became a very important thing. He was just a young boy with so much responsibility.

At one point, she grabs him by the shoulders and says, "Jonas, listen to me. We are going to live. Do you hear me? We're going home. We're not going to die." She gained confidence and began to truly believe that they would make it through the war.

Lina is very similar to the character Francie from  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because they both deal with great loss in their lives and are struggling to get by. Both eventually become personally responsible for supporting their family, as others in their family have limits greater than theirs. I believe this makes both characters stronger, more independent, and more responsible.

Although her journey was rough, Lina found the strength to make it and influenced others along the way. Living in this time was a struggle, but in the aftermath, a huge honor for Lina. To say that she lived through such a traumatic time and survived would be quite the story to tell to her children and grandchildren; once they were old enough, of course. But I question, what kept her alive rather than other strong-willed people in the labor camp? Was it the hope that one day, she would return to her beloved home, or was it the determination that she, no matter what it should take,  would find her way back to her love, Andrius?  

Prediction from Thank You, Ma'am

My friends and I ran down a back alley behind the bank. I was getting an uncomfortable sensation that seemed to be spreading from my brain, down, and then circulating through my body. I had never gotten this feeling when I was making trouble before, so why now? I stopped. My legs wanted to keep going, but my brain was commanding them to stop.

"Hey man, what are you doin'?" Blackjack asked. We call him Blackjack because his most famous crime was running into a casino, knocking out a blackjack dealer, then stealing the money out of his pocket.

"Yeah man, we are running on a tight schedule here, " said Wiz. Wiz was the brains behind our operations, and he was always concerned about details.

"I can't do it guys," I said.

"Yo, man up. Don't you want yo share of the 500 g's we's about to steal?"  Blackjack asked.

"No I mean… I… Well, I would but Mrs. Jones wouldn't be wantin' me to be startin' this up again." I said.

"Ohh, you scared of a little old lady that you tried to pickpocket?" Wiz said.

"Yeah, she could really get you fo' this one." Blackjack said, while him and Wiz started shoving each other and laughing hysterically.

"She cared about me more than you do," I said, "You just want me fo' my skills, I know neitha' of you is knowin' how to pick a lock, or break into that there bank vault." "Ha, you's guys wouldn't be what you are without me, but you couldn't care less about havin' me as a friend, no you don't. So I'm gonna be startin' my reputation up fresh, now, I quit."

"Alright, be that way. We know how to pick a stupid lock, don't we Wiz," said Blackjack.

"Yeah, sure man. We don't need you to help, it just leaves mo' money fo' us, 25 g's each," said Wiz.

"Yeah, see ya man." said Blackjack, as him and Wiz high fived.

And I did leave. I straightened myself up, found a good friend who let me use his shower, and never did nothin' bad again. I graduated high school, went to college, and then got a job as a lawyer. And boy, did I do a lot of cases against Blackjack and Wiz, cuz they always got caught. I know that either of them ever did find out how to pick a lock. Anyway, I got married, had kids, and lived a perfectly happy life.

Text Structure: Cause/Effect

Author's Note: This piece is a Cause/Effect piece about the book, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."

The book, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," starts off describing a poor family. They have to buy cheap food, rent an inexpensive flat and work almost all day to get by. However, it could be worse. They have shelter, they have at least enough food to not starve, and they are together. One of the only problems is that Johnny goes out and gets drunk on many occasions, he trys to drown his sorrows with drinking.

Everything seems to be normal, Francie is in a good school where she can strive, and the Nolan's life is fine, until Johnny dies. At just 32 years old, this event is so shocking and is the climax of the story. The Nolans are left thinking, could we have stopped him from doing this to himself? If we just would've stopped him from drinking, he would've been fine.  After this, Francie is forced to quit school and get her working papers, and begins working and making 10$ a week. Then Katie gives birth to a third Nolan child, Laurie with not enough money to buy important supplies for the baby. Finally, a happy ending comes, a police officer, Officer McShane takes interest in Katie, and creates a happy ending for all of them.  With his high salary, Francie gets to go to college and there is plenty of money left over for the baby, Neeley, Katie, and Officer McShane.

Had Johnny not died, the Nolans may have stayed poor, their lives may have stayed miserable, the baby may have died. This is why I think that Johnny's death was actually a good thing.

Text Structure: Main Conflict/Resolution

Author's Note: This piece is a Main Conflict/ Resolution piece about the book "The Lost Hero."

The Lost Hero is a story full of action and many small conflicts. Throughout the book, Jason, Piper, and Leo fight many monsters but the main conflict is that Gaea, the earth itself, is waking. They have to defeat her and release Hera. Gaea is making it very difficult for them to complete their quest of releasing Hera; sending monsters and horrific dreams to these kids. It is a big struggle to even get to the Wolf House, where Hera is trapped. Even if they were to get there, there would be a huge battle to fight.

The conflict has to eventually get resolved, like in any story. After making their way across the country, receiving help from their Godly parents and other gods as well, they finally arrive at the Wolf House. There, the battle has already begun and the entire perimeter is surrounded by crazed wolves and the Hunters of Artemis. After much fighting, they eventually drive the beast, Encleadus into the ground and release Hera. Jason is blinded by her destruction though, and almost doesn't make it. But a miracle happens and he is kept on the Earth, ready for the next challenge. 

The Day the Waves Came

Author's Note: This piece is about my experience at my confirmation camp this summer. It is written as a memoir.

Floating in the middle of the lake. There was no better place to be at that moment. I was at my church's confirmation camp about two hours away from my house. It was recreation time, and me and my friend Sarah decided to swim out to the raft.

We jumped off, swam back to the ladder, and then jumped off again.  I felt like I could touch the bottom of the lake! Following one skillful pencil dive, I came up for a gasp of air and flashed Sarah a grin from ear to ear. Suddenly, I heard a shriek and turned around to see Sarah gripping the side of the raft, which was completely tilted to one side. My instincts kicked in and I began swimming desperately to the raft, where I wasn't threatened by massive waves trying to tumble over me. Each time I took a struggling push towards the ladder, I was thrown even farther away. Eventually, I just let the waves take me, giving a small paddle upwards each surge to keep my head above water.

Once the waves subdued, I attempted to climb up onto the raft, but the waves had jarred the ladder. One of the steps turned and my shin banged into the edge of the raft. "Owww, really?" I said, "What is this, the ocean?"

After finally getting myself onto the raft, I examined my leg. Where the impact had occurred, a faint purple mark was seeping out from under my skin. Hmm… fast,  I thought. However, there was nothing that could discourage me at that moment, being out there in the waves was like being on the world's biggest rollercoaster! Up the ladder I went, one more time, and I collapsed onto the wooden platform, having already exhausted myself. Although, I knew I would eventually recover, in the moment, I thought, "How am I going to make it back to shore?"

I never understood why my mom always said, "We aren't doing anything today, I just want to get out of the hustle and bustle." Now I completely understand. Being out on the raft was amazing, staring up at the puffy clouds, away from all the chaos on the water trampoline. We were on our own, we could do anything we want, we didn't have to worry about a care in the world.

Quite a while passed before another boat sped by. Eventually though; one did. Sarah and I took one glance at each other and simultaneously jumped off the raft with our life jackets. Once again, we floated in the water being tossed around by expansive waves. After a seemingly endless amount of time, the waves stopped and in great disappointment we swam slowly back to the raft. This time, I watched my step, but the waves had jarred the ladder again and I banged my shin in the same spot. "Oww, again?" I said.

After this, several more of our friends came out onto the raft after they saw how much fun we were having. This took away a little bit of the serenity we had before, but added more craziness. The daredevils that had been hidden inside of us for years came out as we attempted 360 twists, flips, and all sorts of cool tricks off the platform. None of this was as fun as the waves though.

Eventually we got bored of the same tricks. We sat down and told them about all the fun we had when the waves came, then spent the next twenty minutes trying to desperately call speedboats and jet skis over near us. After what seemed like an eternity, a speedboat lugging tubers behind it sped by. Racing into action, we jumped off the raft and we each got in our own spot to await the thrill.

For one last time, the waves came and entertained us for the time being.

Continuous motions of...

UP

DOWN

UP

DOWN

… began to make us somewhat seasick, but nothing could take the fun out of that moment.

All too soon, the waves stopped, leaving us stranded in the middle of the lake. As we started swimming back to the raft, the whistle blew. In great regret, we all swam back to shore, wanting nothing more than to go back out on that raft and do it all again.

Now that I look back upon that moment, I realize that I'm so thankful for that experience to be my lasting memory of camp. It was my last year at confirmation camp, and I wanted to remember it as something life-changing. This memory allows me to always think of that camp as a wonderful experience that I would do again in a heartbeat.  

"The Lost Hero" -- Retelling

Author's Note: This piece is a retelling piece about the book the "Lost Hero". 

Three young demigods are faced with a quest from the queen of Gods, Hera, because the unthinkable is happening. The earth itself is waking, raising some of the most horrific monsters from the dead. These young kids are faced with terrifying encounters across the country as they make their way to the ever so mysterious, "Wolf House," to defeat their ultimate enemy and release Hera.

Quote from Ingrid Bengis

"For me, words are a form of action, capable of influencing change."

- Ingrid Bengis



I find this quote very true and also very personal. Words don't freely float through the air, never reaching anyone, never touching anyone, never changing anyone; for better or for worse. They are powerful and capable of making a distinctive impact in someone's life. Words are also not just your everyday vocabulary, normal things that don't matter. Your words are your actions, what you say is what you do, who you are, and how you live. If you say something rude, you never know what kind of effect it will have on someone else. In your head, maybe it's just a little comment, but for them it might be something that sticks with them for the rest of their life. I've always been told, "Never say something that you don't mean, because eventually you'll regret it."

In my life, I've had many experiences like this quote. When I was running for Student Council president, I was making sure that every word I spoke or put on my posters was 100 percent true. For people who didn't know me, my words were what I was going to be as president. My words allowed me to receive this honor. Also, people have spoke to me and others in a disrespectful way before. I like to think of myself as a strong and independent person, but even some of what people have said have disturbed me. I'm sure it's the same way for other people as well.

Overall, this quote has a great meaning and should be something we all abide by.