Speak

As you walk along the halls, no friends stop you to chat. No one says any friendly hellos, nobody's asking how the test went, you're not discussing how much you hate math or social studies or whatever. The only human contact that you do have are the dirty glances in the hallways from those who were your friends. You lay on your bed and no one calls to talk to you about how the homework is so unfair or how so and so is SO cute. You are alone. This is what is happening to Melinda in the book "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson after one phone call.

During the course of the book "Speak", Melinda is constantly being ignored by her former friends and you really don’t know why at the start of the story. However, as the book progresses, you start to learn more about the event that caused this outcome in flashbacks and little hints throughout the book. Melinda also has flashbacks of the incident herself that are triggered by things that remind her of that night. In biology for example, when they were dissecting frogs as she pinned down the frog's legs, she remembered being pinned down and helpless on the night of the party. Not only is Melinda being ignored by her old friends, but her parents as well. Her family used to be one big caring family when she was little, but as she grew up, things started to change and her perfect little family was no more and he parents almost never talk to her anymore.

The book "Speak" is a perfect example of how your entire world can change in an instant based on the actions you take. You should be careful with what actions you choose to take part in because it may have worked out for Melinda in the end, but that doesn't mean it will turn out that way for you and your actions.

Patriotism

I was asked yesterday "What is patriotism and does it even matter?". My response was as follows. If you ask me, patriotism is standing up for what you believe in. Its all about showing that you care about what ever it is that you think is right. For many people in this time, patriotism is all they have left and all that matters to them.

My latest piece of writing (still in progress) accepting comments and suggestions UPDATE

I kick down the door of yet another abandoned house. Looking around I notice that the previous owner must have already taken most of the essential supplies. However digging through the cabinets I am luck enough to find a few small canned goods. My next meal. After scavenging a few various odds and ends I make a small fire to heat some of the cans. I slowly eat the cans of peas and peaches and saver each and every spoon full. With the fire out and my stomach as full as I was able to get it at the moment, I washed down my meal with some of the little water I had, blocked the door as best I could and quickly fell into deep but short sleep.

I was awakened by a ray of sunlight shining right into my eye through a hole in the ceiling. I slung my bag over my shoulder and picked my assault rifle, my only protection against the groups of raiders that roamed the lands. It had been modified that I wasn’t sure what the original model even looked like. After a few hours of walking and so far no encounters with any raiders I came upon a river. Surely irradiated and contaminated with who knows what. Then again so was most of the water that anyone could find. I was running low on water but I decided not to take any chances and walked on by. Slowly I was starting to regret not filling any of my bottles because I had finished off the last of my water and was starting to get very thirsty walking with the sun beating down on me. However I soon came to a small settlement who were happy to fill my bottles with the closest thing to purified water anyone could find in exchange for the usual bits and bobs I traded them. I was also able to find an old merchant sitting under a tarp who had a few rounds for my rifle. On my way out of the place I was also lucky enough to find a few giant rats wandering around in the wastelands. They aren't even enough of a threat for me to waste any of my bullets on so I clubbed a few to death. Giant rat meat isn't that bad when you haven't eaten in a day, although, it's even better cooked.

Nightfall came quickly and I desperately needed sleep. I found a cave that could be sufficient for my needs. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who thought so. Raiders. There was no bargaining with Raiders. No negotiating. They traveled in small groups usually of about 3 or 4. These were what you had to worry about in the wastelands. The real threat. I find it hard to believe they're even of the same species. Every last on of them is a cold hearted killer. They'll kill you without a second thought. Fortunately, I had the element of surprise. They hadn't noticed me entering. Quickly I tried to find the most efficient way of taking them all out. Explosives would work nicely here. From my bag I quietly removed a few hand made explosives. I never bought explosives from anyone. At times I also was even suspicious of the ammunition I purchased. As quietly as I could, I pulled my bandanna over my nose and mouth and lit the fuse with an old beat-up lighter. Just before the flame entered the inside of the rusty metal tube, I chucked it into where I believed to be the center of the room. Just in case I held my rifle at the ready. There was a loud bang, even worse because we were in a cave, and the air was thick with dust. When the dust had cleared my ears had stopped ringing and I pulled the cloth back down around my neck. Slowly I came out from behind the rock looking down the sights of my rifle and surveyed the room. Empty. I laid down against the cold, hard cave wall and fell asleep. I'd gone way too long without sleeping to even think about security.

B-Lunch

Why must I have to suffer this curse? Why am I being tortured like this? Being
Why must I have to suffer this curse? Why am I being tortured like this? Being forced to just sit here and be malnourished. This starvation is so agonizing! I feel as if I will starve to death before I am allowed to eat! Who's idea was B-Lunch anyway!? I can't be the only one feeling this way, can I? So…… Hungry………


*Bell sounds*

Oh, what do ya know. Well…… Bye!

Welcome

Welcome to my school blog! Feel free to look at my work from last year.

Poem Reflection

Looking back upon my poem that I presented to the class today, I have only one thing that I wish I would have done differently. I wish that I had studied my poem more so that I would have been able to have more eye contact with the rest of the class. Other than that I believe that my poem that I read was done almost perfectly other than a few false starts where I had started to read the word on the next line.

A Day No Pigs Would Die

The greatest feeling that someone can have is having something that they can call their own. I am talking about something they got themselves, not something that their parents got for them as a reward. For most, they never feel this feeling until they are an adult. Some never even get this feeling because they have had things handed to them their entire life. Those people when they get to the real world, it comes as a shock. To few, like Rob Peck from A Day No Pigs Would Die, this feeling comes very early. In Rob’s case, he has worked on a farm his entire life so working for a living is no shock to him. I think that the story A Day No Pigs Would Die is a excellent story that doesn’t sugar coat anything and is packed with great life lessons.

The Pearl

Have you ever dreamed of diving into the ocean and finding a giant pearl? What would you do with it? That is what happens in “The Pearl” when Kino finds “The Pearl of the World”. Kino decides to sell it to pay the doctor after a scorpion stings his baby, but as soon as people hear of Kino’s pearl, everything goes downhill.


Although Kino thinks that the wealth of the pearl will not effect him, it soon does. When Kino goes to the pearl buyers to sell his pearl, he turns down every one of their offers and threatened to go to the capital to sell his pearl if he doesn't like their prices, even though they were all reasonable prices. It also becomes harder for Kino to trust anyone because he thinks everyone is after his pearl so he buries his pearl in a different place every night, fearing someone may know the old spot. Kino also gets very aggressive and kills a man who was trying to steal Kino's pearl.

Even though Kino was corrupted, his wife, Juana, was trying to get the old Kino back. After seeing that Kino had been corrupted by the pearl's wealth, Juana tried to convince Kino that they didn't need the money. When things got worse, she wants nothing more than to destroy the pearl. Kino still refused so Juana decided to take the pearl in the middle of the night and throw it into the ocean. Unfortunately Kino caught her but was soon confronted by even more people after the pearl, who also failed.

Though the pearl may have been able to bring great wealth to Kino, as soon as others heard of it they wanted if for themselves.

The Black Stallion and the Red Mare

At some point in life you almost always come across a decision that seems impossible to make. One option is what you desire most but, is disobeying something you were told at one point in your life. The other option is to do as you were told even though it will tear you apart on the inside. That is the decision that has to be made by Donald in the short story “The Black Stallion and the Red Mare”.

In this short story the main character is a boy becoming a young man named Donald. Donald is the kind person who does what he is told when he is told. This can be an advantage at times but it can also be torture. He also has a love for things that are free and wild. During this story those two characteristics clash and fight against each other when his father tells him to help him round up a group of wild horses. His natural action to do what he is told would crush the freedom of the wild horses which seems unbearable to him. Eventually, he decides to do as he is told and remains loyal to his decision and his father by helping him round up the horses after revealing their location to his father.

Although Donald chose to destroy the freedom of the horses, he simply could have lied to his father and say he never saw the horses. If Donald did this, the thought of the freedom of the group being crushed wouldn’t haunt him at night and he would never regret anything besides lying to his father which would be a whole different predicament. Another setback he might encounter is his father may ask him to keep searching for the horses and he would have to keep lying to his father and, once again, tear him apart on the inside.

Many decisions can be nearly imposable to make because of the seemingly endless amount of decisions where each outcome seems more horrid than the last. Donald’s decision to tell the truth to his father seems to be the right decision to me due to the fact that telling the truth is always better than lying because all lying does is tear you apart on the inside.

I Robot “Little Lost Robot”

People say a lot of things. We say things we mean and things we don't mean. In some cases we can't tell whether or not what others say is what they really mean. Then people start to make assumptions off of false information which make things hectic for both people. That is the dilemma in the short story “Little Lost Robot” from the book I Robot.

When people communicate with one another there are often misunderstandings and confusion occurs inside the group. I often misunderstand things when people are talking to me. Most of the time when humans communicate when something does not make sense to them they try to make sense of it by themselves because they have the ability to do so. Robots however do not have that capability, they must take everything literally.

Not only do people just not hear the conversation properly, they also get confused by the many meanings of words. Since words often have many meanings people hear one thing when others mean something completely different. The short story “Little Lost Robot” is and excellent example of this confusion. Almost everyone in their life at some point misunderstands someone because they are thinking of the other meaning of a word. That is how I and many others make most of our mistakes.

Although we communicate most every day, we often misunderstand a lot of them due to the many meanings of words or just the mishearing the conversation. Should everyone just think things over before they say it, including myself, or if people would pay more attention to body language, which is a very important part of communication, there may be a lot less misunderstandings in our everyday conversations.

What do you think?

I'm writing my 6th essay about a short story from the book "I Robot". What do you think of my intro so far?

People say a lot of things. We say things we mean and things we don't mean. In some cases we can't tell whether or not what others say is what they really mean. Then people start to make assumptions off of false information which make things hectic for both people. That is the dilemma in the short story “Little Lost Robot” from the book I Robot when a robot follows what it is told because it cannot make decisions on its own.

The Black Stallion and the Red Mare

        At some point in life you almost always come across a decision that seems impossible to make. One option is what you desire most but, is disobeying something you were told at one point in your life. The other option is to do as you were told even though it will tear you apart on the inside. That is the decision that has to be made by Donald in the short story “The Black Stallion and the Red Mare”.

The Circuit

     It doesn’t matter who you are, or how many times you have moved, moving is always hard especially when you’re family is struck by poverty. The first priority in an unwealthy family is to find a occupation that can support your family’s needs. In this case, a young boy and his family strive for a healthy lifestyle in “The Circuit” which causes the reader to realize the importance of having their basic needs met making this story a excellent example for every day life.

A Secret for Two

      Animals can be trained to do almost anything. They can be trained to do simple things like sit or get the paper for you in the morning, but they can also do amazing things like sniff out explosives, guide you around, or even give you rides from place to place. In this story a horse was able to be trained to memorize a man’s milk route after he went blind.

The Clearing

      Nearly everyone has one of those neighbors who they don’t get along with. Usually it’s caused by rivalry, the two neighbors competing against each other over who has the best Christmas lights, or who has the nicest lawn. Mostly it’s caused by the men, naturally they fight of compete for domination over other men. That is the case in the short story “The Clearing”, when the Hintons move in next door. The point is people always fight and it isn’t always easily resolved.