The Lottery

In the short story, "The Lottery," there was many themes used. One of the themes I believe was corruption. The town in this short story was a little bit strange than your typical place. There's a tradition in this town that every year the lottery takes place, and when you think of winning the lottery you'll usually win thousands even million of dollars. The lottery this small town had was that if you win, you will die. Before the towns people start drawing cards the one thing I noticed was how people were acting. Their reactions and emotions told me that it wasn't just a regular lottery. Once the lottery begins the male of that certain family is in charge of picking the card. Once everyone is done drawing their cards you see which person has a black dot. If you do have that miserable dot you will die! Mr. Hutchinson in the story choose the dot and later on he was stoned to death. Overall when you analyze the story and think that the idea of killing people and having a lottery like that is very strange.

Last Flower

I’m the last flower in this flower bed

I’m lonely and depressed

No one is by my side when I want to say hi

I have not a soul to talk to and no one to play with

Therefore I sit here waiting for more friends

I wait long days and even weeks for someone to show up

No one has blossomed yet but I know there’s hope

All I can do is sit and wait for there to be another mate  

Response to poems "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Field Below"

     The mood and tone seemed different when I listened to the song "Big Yellow Taxi". The mood of poem the is so sad and depressing while the song was upbeat. The meaning of "Big Yellow Taxi" is that you don't really appreciate little things in life until they're completely gone. The purpose of this poem is to inform readers about what is happening to nature and how the author feels about it. The overall tone of "Big Yellow Taxi" is angry and sad at the people who are destroying nature to build a parking lot.


     The meaning and purpose of "Field Below" is not having something in life that you really dream for. It shows what the author really wants and even that she wants to be in a more happy place. The mood of "Field Below" is feeling bad for the author and having the feeling of depression/sadness. The tone is very unsettling and shows that the author is clearly unhappy with her life. The tone/mood of the song is exactly how it is in the poem. It's not one bit different form the poem.

     Overall this shows readers that poems and songs can be exactly the same but the tone can be very different. Or even like "Field Below" where you have the same exact everything and just translate it to a song or poem. Furthermore they were both great poems and songs to read and listen to. 

Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears are a sweet sensation in your mouth

You can always count on  them being there

They all come in different colors and flavors 

and they're better than life savers

Everyone loves gummy bears 

for they all care

Finding Your Real lIfe

     Have you ever wanted to escape the life your parent’s granted you with and actually have the life you should be living? This is exactly how Auden’s dull life has been like in the book “Along for the Ride” by Sarah Dessen. Auden has been this perfect girl her whole life who gets straight A’s and is pretty much a perfectionist around everyone.  She finally comes to her senses and realizes it's time to rebel and find the life she should have.

            Throughout the first part of the book Auden embarks on a journey to visit her dad and step mother in the tiny beach town of Colby. This is where she meets Eli; a boy who becomes very close with Auden and shows her the teenage years she’s missed. My prediction is that by the end of the book Auden will end up falling in love with Eli because they have this close relationship that only they are able understand. Furthermore if you take a look at page 43 it reels you in with how intimate Auden and Eli are getting on the board walk by the beach. Eli turns up his swag and continues his mild flirtation towards Auden. Another thing I found was that Auden is attracted to Eli because he is showing her the ropes on how to be a carefree teenager that she has been denied. Meanwhile Eli invites Auden to a night party at the beach. Here Eli and Auden just get to know each other better and Eli shows Auden the night life in Colby. In addition another event where both of them connect is when Eli offers Auden the chance to ride a bike but she rejects his offer. Eli gets close and assures Auden that it’s nothing to be ashamed of if she doesn’t know how to ride a bike. She replies with a very touching answer to her life. That Auden knows how to ride a bike but she’s never had the opportunity too. This indicates that Auden never got time for the young life she wanted to live. 

            I believe the theme of this novel so far is love and compassion. Auden is falling in love with Eli and also starting to regain love for her parents since they went through a divorce the past year. In addition compassion comes into place because it surrounds everyone and everything in the novel. Furthermore I’d connect this book so far to the story of Cinderella. Cinderella doesn’t have the life she envisioned herself having but all of that changes once she meets her royal prince. The same goes for Auden once she meets Eli her life gets full of love and excitement.

            Overall I believe Auden still has great things to come her way and Eli will show her many of those things.  Furthermore I think my prediction will come true because both Auden and Eli have much in common.     

Life Isn’t Always What You Expect It to Be

     In the short poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes there’s much figurative language used.  An example would be "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair." The poet means by this that his life was not perfect or luxurious. I believe the purpose of this metaphor was to create a visual in the readers mind to think of a time that they had to overcome an obstacle in life. Furthermore it tells the reader how difficult Hughes past was and makes it easier to understand from the reader’s point of view. In this touching poem the mood is very solemn and the tone is very moving because this poem is told from the mother’s point of view, so it’ saying how to never give up when life gives you hard times and complex obstacles.      

Character Analysis

Author's Note: I decided to write a character description on Junior (main character) from the book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian". In this piece I'm working on figurative language and I'd like it to show throughout this short piece.

    Junior is the type of person that if he walked into a room full of people he wouldn't say a word because he's shy as a mouse. He's an odd ball and has a abnormal size head. This is due to health related problems he was born with. Junior also has a very poor self defense. He gets picked on 24/7 by anyone and everyone. On the bright side though Junior's smart as Albert Einstein. So he can use his head in situations and work his way through.

Where do I belong?

Author's Note: I decided to write a creative piece based on the story Speak. I choose to do a journal entry on  Melinda's (main character) point of view. It will display how she feels so alone and closed off from everything. In this piece I'm trying to show emotion towards Melinda and connect that with readers to their lives from the times they have felt cold and by themselves.

Dear Journal,

     It's been a tough year of high school so far but luckily it's almost over. I feel cold and alone in this huge dark world full of evil. I just don't fit in with anyone and I never will. There's this new girl Heather from Ohio but this certainly is not working out. Heather and I want different things in life and in our school environment. She wants to hang out with the Martha's and this clique consists of Rachel (ex best friend) which is most definitely not going to work. Rachel and I don't speak anymore based on what happened over the summer at that party I told you about. If it wasn't for that stupid party I wouldn't be in this position feeling all by myself. Plus on top of that Rachel is dating IT aka Andy Evans. This is the whole reason why everything got blown out of proportion was because of IT. He raped me at that summer party and what was I supposed to do just sit there and take it... no. I called the police and since then I've been know as the girl who got everyone busted for drinking and doing underage things at this wild bash. I guess I'm just not your average girl. No one really accepts me because of who I am. Every time I look into the bathroom mirror I notice that I'm probably not the little girl my parents expected to raise. Instead I see my reflection staring back at me distorted and feelings broken into tiny pieces. All I want is to fit in and find somewhere that I belong. Let's hope I can take on that journey and it will happen quickly. Anyway I have to go but thanks for letting me write down what I had to say. I'll certainly be back within the next day or two.

                                                                                            Your friend,

                                                                          Melinda S.

                                                                                     

Above the Influence

            In the book Speak by Laurie Anderson many themes run throughout this novel, but one in specific is loss of innocence from the main character. Melinda is a girl who is very closed off from others and doesn’t really speak at all. She really starts to lose respect for others and herself throughout the novel and this does start to take a toll on her life.

One scene from the novel is when Melinda is at a senior party during the summer. Melinda probably thought that this was a regular party but she had no idea what she was getting herself into with her friend Rachel.  Once there Melinda starts drinking beer. At first she says that it tasted worse than cough medicine, but one at a time she pours the alcohol down her throat and this leads to Melinda getting drunk, which is her first encounter with growing up to fast. Another event that tells about Melinda’s loss of innocence is found on page 135. After she was all liquored up, Andy Evans, an admired senior, comes up and starts flirting with her. From there Andy takes things a bit too far and rapes Melinda before she can even say anything or cry for help. These main events are what destroy Melinda and show her loss of innocence to readers.

This theme can also be found in the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. One scene that describes this is when Ponyboy fights with Darry. Pony and his friend Johnny were sleeping in a vacant lot that night and Ponyboy fought with Darry. He hits him with all his might and Ponyboy decides to run back to the lot. This is when loss of innocence starts to occur in this novel. Afterwards the Socs show up at the lot and they nearly kill Ponyboy. With this happening Johnny’s reaction was to stand up and he ended up going too far. This resulted in Johnny killing Bob. Hinton definitely showed loss of innocence between the two characters Ponyboy and Johnny. 

            Most definitely both books show loss of innocence between each character. Melinda should not have done what she did at that wild party and Ponyboy and Johnny should not have made poor decisions to fight.  Both novels have main characters lose who they are and lose their own virtue inside them. Overall readers can certainly learn from this and apply it to their life because loss of innocence did play a big part in the book Speak and The Outsiders.

Chacter Analysis-Speak

      In the book Speak by Laurie Anderson the main character is Melinda Sordino. Melinda is the type of girl who is very closed off from others and doesn't really speak. She doesn't have many friends except Heather from Ohio. Melinda's attitude towards situations and people is very negative. She always stereotypes people in her school since she doesn't have many friends of her own.She believes that everyone if against her for calling the cops at a drinking party. Menlinda's overall attitude affects Heather because she's pushing her away. Also it affects her parents because Melinda gets bad grades in school and her parents get mad at her, but she has no explanation for this behavior. Overall Melinda affects the story with her beliefs, values, and attitudes very much because she is negative towards most things.
 

Love is Blind

I see you walk down the hall with my dark chocolate eyes staring at you

 Your wonderful scented cologne whirling through the air

Your caramel color hair swept to the side perfectly

Those striking defined ocean blue eyes you have wandering around,

but for what reason?

Looking for that perfect girl… how do you not see me?

You always get caught up in a love affair with those girls’ hearts

But why -- when you have me?

All I want from you is to feel your soft lips pressed against mine

I feel inside my heart pumping a thousand beats per minute just glancing at you

How do you not notice my affection towards you?

The Lottery Ticket

Author's Note: In this creative writing piece I was trying to accomplish good word choice. I hope you enjy it and I reached my goal.

It was a calm and frigid afternoon in the city of Reno. David had just gotten home from work and pried open a box of goldfish crackers to eat. He was awfully tired figuring he had a schedule full of meetings today. David briskly walked to his room to go put on some comfy sweats to watch his favorite TV show. While David was looking around he froze, checking his work pants pockets. He wondered where did my lottery ticket go? David panicked because the lottery numbers were coming out later that night on Fox 6 news and he was positive that he would win this time. David rushed out his front door down to the first level of his apartment building to go search in his BMW.

            David finally approached his car. He looked everywhere but the lottery ticket was nowhere to be found. Finally out of broad daylight David spotted his lottery ticket. It was in between the passenger seat and the seatbelt. Rapidly David clicked the lock symbol on his car remote and from there he ran back up to his apartment building. As he passed others going through his building everyone gave David a strange look. David thought it’s probably because of his casual outfit. He was known for dressing very professional and no one ever thought they’d see a man like David in Wal-Mart clothes. Finally David had reached his apartment door. He opened it very slow and this caused the door to creak very loud. David just made his way to the couch and took a long nap till the news would be on tonight.

            David woke up once he heard the weather man talking on TV. Immediately David sat up because he knew that the lottery numbers would be coming on next. He held the lottery ticket tight in his hand as he recited a pray in his head. At last here it was the Badger 5 was going by with its numbers, but that wasn’t the one David had. He was grasping the Mega Millions in his hand. Then came the Supercash, Megabucks, and here it was Mega Millions. The numbers corresponded correctly to David’s lottery ticket. He jumped up in excitement and thought about all the things he could do and have with all these millions of dollars. David truly was the luckiest person on Earth at the moment. He had won millions and millions of dollars and the first thing David was going to start out doing was quit his job. Overall it truly turned out to be the greatest day of David’s life.              

               

Cause and Effect

     Johnny is Caroine's brother and he is in injured and is in need of great help. Caroline and her grandmother,  Miz Melody, have to go out and find him so he can get better and come home. The events that happen prior to this are cause this probblem of Johnny being in bad condition.

     Caroline just knew of her brother being injured and in bad condition, as a loving sister she reports back to her family. Her family finally decides to send Caroline on a little journey to go and find him. A colonial, Rawdon, said yes to this idea but she needed to bring Miz Melody. Caroline and her grandmother start their trip but you have to remeber it's very dangeropus because this happened during the Revolutionary War. When they first set out they waste their time helping a starving family. Yes, this was very kind of them but the effect was that they were behind on their trip to go find their loved one. As night starts approachign Caroline and Miz Melody stop at a stream to get some water and cool down their body's. While they were getting water Caroline here's a very loud yell back at the wagon ehich they were traveling with. Caroline ran as fast as the wind only to find that a woman was holding a musket to her grandmothers head. The woman took both Caroline and Miz Melody back to her house where she was going to decide what she was going to do with them from there. I'm not sure what will happen to Johnny but I can imagine he's suffereing great pain right now. In tough times like this people can get very crazy and do stupid things like the woman who captured Caroline and her grandmother.

     Overall there can be many effects to problems you just assume something quickly about. right now things are left unpredictable for what will happened to Johnny, but many things have happened to go along with Caroline and Miz Melody's journey.

  

Point of View

Cast Two Shadows is being told by Caroline who is a fourteen year old living during the American Revolutionary War. Caroline is facing some hardships in her life because she witnessed both of her friends being killed by the Red Coats. You could tell when Caroline was discussing this event in the book many emotions were passing through her. You could definetly sence the pain in her that she had just seen a horrific thing. Furthermore another event that happened was when Caroline went and met up with her "secret" grandmother. You could tell Caroline was very scared because she didn't really know what to say. Also how she was teling it in the book you could sence that she was experiencing difficulties talking to her since they haven't seen each other in awhile and Carline just felt in a uncomfortable place.

Short Story

Heart Break

Sheila was unusually quiet on the phone as she listened to her boyfriend Mason going on about how she flirts with other guys. As he was talking Sheila processed these thoughts and quietly whispered, “What a jerk, I haven’t done anything.” Mason replied in a stern tone “What did you say?” There was an awkward silence between the two. “I didn’t say anything Mason,” Sheila said. As Sheila heard nothing on the other line she said “Hello.  Ummm Hello are you there?” Sheila had figured Mason had hung up on her. Many thoughts raced through her mind and Sheila was helplessly confused.

The next morning Sheila walked into school going the long way so she didn’t have to pass Mason’s locker and make any contact with him. Sheila quickly hurried because the one minute bell was quickly approaching. She raced down the hall and made it just in time before she would have been marked tardy. Sheila looked around and met eyes with Mason. She had totally forgotten that her 1^st hour class was with him. Sheila just reminded herself to keep a positive attitude and not think about what had happened last night.

Finally the bell rang and Sheila briskly walked to her locker with her best friend Ally. “Is something going on with you and Mason? You guys didn’t talk at all and were acting very strange,” Ally asked Sheila in a generous tone. “How about I’ll explain it to you during lunch because we have to get to class,” she replied. “Alright,” Ally shook her head slowly as she agreed. They both made their way down the hall as Sheila’s phone went vibrated. Completely thrilled, Sheila pulled out her phone to share the news that Mason had texted. “Alright I got to go. I’ll see you at lunch Sheila,” Ally told Sheila as she walked down the hall. Sheila looked at phone for this was a big surprise considering they just got into a fight last night about Sheila flirting with other guys. As she read the text her eyes started getting watery and a crying emotion started coming over her. The text read “Sheila I want you to know that you deserve the best your beautiful, but I can’t continue this way. I can’t keep seeing you flirt and mingle with other guys it breaks my heart. I guess this is goodbye for now.” Sheila quickly ran down the hall and went out the back doors of the school as she had tears streaming down her face.

Johnny Cade

                                                                   Johnny Cade

          Johnny Cade is a troubled teenager with much abuse in his life. Beaten by his father and ignored by his alcoholic mother, Johnny leads a troubled some life. Johnny is misjudged by people and has a caring and loving side to him especially with his dear friend Ponyboy. Johnny doesn’t really have a family he’s raised mostly by his gang members.   Johnny is part of a gang called the Greasers which are poor people and the working class in the novel The Outsiders. As Johnny develops throughout the course of the story, he realizes that life may give you the best at first, but it may not always stay that way.    

Johnny has a really rough life. According to Ponyboy, sixteen-year-old Johnny looks like "a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers.” Johnny has been jumped by Socs and brutally beaten.  Since this Johnny has been very jumpy and would carry a switchblade with him around. This behavior of Johnny shows that he’s very timid.

During the novel Johnny runs away with Ponyboy and they both hide out in an abandoned church. During their short stay at the church Johnny gets closer to Ponyboy and begins to appreciate nature more deeply. For example on page 69 after Ponyboy and him witness a beautiful sunrise Johnny says, “The mist was what was pretty.” Furthermore he also comments on page 70 saying to Johnny, “I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them.” This shows that Johnny has a sensitive and respectful side to him because he’s appreciating nature.
Finally Johnny and Ponyboy get picked up by one of their gang members Dallas and he takes them to eat. Johnny though returns because he decides to turn himself in for something wrong he did to a Socs. Ponyboy runs after him of course. While on their way back they notice that the church they stayed in is burning. Both of them immediately enter the building and start rescuing the children who are stuck inside. This proves Johnny has a very big heart and is doing something very brave because he’s risking his life for others. In the process a burning timber falls on his back and he’s admitted to the hospital as well as Ponyboy. As time goes on Ponyboy is okay but Johnny is in the hospital still suffering. Pony goes back and sees how Johnny is. While there, Ponyboy explains how Johnny is all over the paper on how he’s a hero for saving the kids at the church. Johnny’s eyes glow because that’s all he ever wanted since he never got that attention around his parents. As Johnny comes to an end his lasts words to Pony were “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…”

In the story Johnny shows he was a brave, timid and a heartwarming guy, but most of all he was an amazing friend to Ponyboy. He left Ponyboy with the exact words Pony recited to him in the poem when they were watching the sunset: “Nothing gold can stay." He wants to make sure that Ponyboy stays good and true to himself for as long as he can.        

           

Nothing Gold Can Stay

     Nothing gold can stay is that something may start out perfect but it won't last forever or it will be dull at the end of its time.

Darry from "The Outsiders"

Author's Note: I choose to describe the character Darry from The Outsiders. I would like feedback on if you thought I described him well enough or if I missed anything important.

     Darry in the book plays the fatherly part. He's the oldest of his two brothers which are Ponyboy and Sodapop. Darry has sandy brown red hair, blue and green eyes, and is a tall guy. I believe Darry is a good person overall because he's responsible, cares for his brothers, and works very hard to keep the family going.

Cause and Effect

The main conflicts are that Jhonny kills Bob,  police treat the Greasers poorly, and Ponyboy likes Cherry. The main reason why conflicts are caused is because one part is Greasers and the other is Soc's. None of them agree on anything and they come from different gangs. Effects are that Bob dies, Greasers are never respected, and Ponyboy and Cherry won't work becasue Ponyboy is a Greaser and Cherry is a Soc.

Is He Insane?

I believe that the man is very insane. This was a man of destruction and someone with a very cold heart. The actions this man did are not things everyday humans do. In this story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allen Poe this man has an evil thing that bothers him so he decides to get rid of it…. forever. Poe shows how insane a single person can get and the guilt you have of that one action you take in life.  

I truly think this man is insane and way out of his mind. He goes into this old man’s room every night when he’s sleeping just to see his “vulture” eye and how it bothers him. He opens it and examines it every night at midnight exactly. After weeks and weeks of preparation the man decides to get rid of the eye himself because it was driving him crazy. He walks in the old man’s room one night and kills him with his own hands. He then chops up his body and hides it in the floor boards. Now who in their right mind would do that? This man clearly had something wrong with his mind. In the meantime the police arrive because neighbors heard yells from the old man’s house. Of course that was the old man when he was dying. Once the police get there the man covers up that the old man wasn’t there and that nothing happened. The man had so much guilt that he kept thinking that he could hear the old man’s heart still beating when he was dead. Now this is crazy because once someone is dead you can’t hear their heart ever again. Eventually the guilt kills the man inside and he confesses to the officers, but he thinks maybe this isn’t so bad. The man wants everyone to know his plan and how a genius he thought he was.

Overall this man was very foolish; he kills an innocent man just because of his eye. Furthermore he got his wish and the “vulture” eye was gone, but he was okay with that because people would know his master plan worked. In whole this short story is something people can learn from that don’t let little things get to you and definitely don’t take it to the extremes of murdering, how the man did.