Have you ever wanted something expensive that you couldn't afford so bad that you would steal for it? That is what Roger, a boy in the short story Yes Ma'am, attempted to do. He tried to steal a woman's purse with the intention of getting money to buy a pair of shoes, but instead got a lesson that most likely saved his life from a large old woman with a very large purse.
Roger was a boy around the age of 15, who desperately wanted a pair of blue suede shoes. He was so desperate that he tried to steal this lady's purse, but his attempt failed. She ended up catching him, and now the lady, Mrs. Jones, had a choice. She could either have turned him in, or taught him a lesson herself. This decision changed his life forever. If she would have called the police, the boy would have been taken to jail. Then when he got out, he would never be able to get a job because now he has a criminal record. Then he will end up stealing again, get put in jail again, and repeat. This would keep happening until eventually he would be killed before he could get to the age of 30. By taking him to her house, she taught him a lesson so that he will never steal again, which ultimately saved his life.
This world needs more people like the wise and quite intimidating, Mrs. Jones. Saving peoples lives instead of condemning them, teaching a kid a lesson instead of letting him run off to go steal again, Mrs. Jones is a great role model and should never be messed with.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Washed Away
Authors Note: In this piece I tried to score high on voice. It is about a boy and his friend who live next to each other
It was a normal summers day, people would hide inside or swim in the river to beat the heat. Me and my friend Matt liked to swim in the river because of how cold it always was. Matt would constantly complain about him being so hot and he always wanted to go swimming. We would always go swimming because the only body of water within 20 miles was a big river that ran behind our houses. I liked to just stay in my room but I would go swimming with him to hang out. Where we lived, there was usually no clouds in the sky, let alone rain. That's why everyone was so happy when the weatherman predicted that the next week would be filled with heavy rain.
It started off as a drizzle, but quickly turned into an all out pouring. I was doing fine with the weather, but Matt was going insane. Every time he would ask his parents if he could go to the river and swim, they would tell him that the rain was making the river too deep and dangerous. The downpour continued for days. The weatherman warned that the days of rain had swelled the river, floods threatened to break loose. Matt called me just as the weatherman finished his warning, asking if I could go swimming. "Don't your parents not want you to go in the river? It's getting even worse." I said back. He told me that his parent weren't home, and he's going with or without me. I asked my parents and they immediately said no, so I told Matt and he was really disappointed. That was the last I heard from him.
The next day Matt's parents called and asked if we had seen him, saying that he had disappeared. I immediately thought about the river but didn't want to say anything, because he could have just stayed at a friend's house without telling his parents. He did that all the time, but I just had a horrible feeling that I knew what had happened to him.
It took three days before they found the body. Apparently he had been hit by a falling branch from a tree that couldn't handle the high winds anymore. He was knocked unconscious and just floated on down the river, unable to be saved. The funeral was short, everyone grieved, but I was too busy imagining what would have happened if I had gone down with him. Would have I died with him? Or would I have been able to save him. All I know is that he will finally be cold now, not having to complain about the heat.
It was a normal summers day, people would hide inside or swim in the river to beat the heat. Me and my friend Matt liked to swim in the river because of how cold it always was. Matt would constantly complain about him being so hot and he always wanted to go swimming. We would always go swimming because the only body of water within 20 miles was a big river that ran behind our houses. I liked to just stay in my room but I would go swimming with him to hang out. Where we lived, there was usually no clouds in the sky, let alone rain. That's why everyone was so happy when the weatherman predicted that the next week would be filled with heavy rain.
It started off as a drizzle, but quickly turned into an all out pouring. I was doing fine with the weather, but Matt was going insane. Every time he would ask his parents if he could go to the river and swim, they would tell him that the rain was making the river too deep and dangerous. The downpour continued for days. The weatherman warned that the days of rain had swelled the river, floods threatened to break loose. Matt called me just as the weatherman finished his warning, asking if I could go swimming. "Don't your parents not want you to go in the river? It's getting even worse." I said back. He told me that his parent weren't home, and he's going with or without me. I asked my parents and they immediately said no, so I told Matt and he was really disappointed. That was the last I heard from him.
The next day Matt's parents called and asked if we had seen him, saying that he had disappeared. I immediately thought about the river but didn't want to say anything, because he could have just stayed at a friend's house without telling his parents. He did that all the time, but I just had a horrible feeling that I knew what had happened to him.
It took three days before they found the body. Apparently he had been hit by a falling branch from a tree that couldn't handle the high winds anymore. He was knocked unconscious and just floated on down the river, unable to be saved. The funeral was short, everyone grieved, but I was too busy imagining what would have happened if I had gone down with him. Would have I died with him? Or would I have been able to save him. All I know is that he will finally be cold now, not having to complain about the heat.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Two Stubborn People
Author's Note: This is a point of view piece about the story Dead Men's Path.
When two people fight, they both believe that they are right and the other is wrong. That's what war is about, every single conflict ever had to do with two people, each too stubborn to back down. That is exactly what happened in the short story Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe. The new headmaster had sealed off one path, and when somebody died, the town chief believed that the fence and sign were evil. So he took them down, both the headmaster and the chief thought he was right. The headmaster wanted to change the school and stop old traditions and start new ones, and the chief believed the blockade was evil because of his religious beliefs. The headmaster refused to take the blockade down, so the chief tore it down and destroyed parts of the school.
When two people fight, they both believe that they are right and the other is wrong. That's what war is about, every single conflict ever had to do with two people, each too stubborn to back down. That is exactly what happened in the short story Dead Men's Path by Chinua Achebe. The new headmaster had sealed off one path, and when somebody died, the town chief believed that the fence and sign were evil. So he took them down, both the headmaster and the chief thought he was right. The headmaster wanted to change the school and stop old traditions and start new ones, and the chief believed the blockade was evil because of his religious beliefs. The headmaster refused to take the blockade down, so the chief tore it down and destroyed parts of the school.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
A Green Christmas
When most kids who live in the northern area of the US, when we think of Christmas, we think of snow. But not this year for my town. We had our first green Christmas in a very long time. It is the first one that I have ever had, and let me tell you, it stinks. Not being able to go sledding with your friends and having snow ball fights was horrible. Now it is the New years and we barely have any on the ground. There isn’t enough to make a snowman, and you cant get very far on a sled. So far this winter has been horrible. It never felt like Christmas because there wasn't any snow.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Young Forever
Author's Note: I am comparing two people who seem alike from two books i read recently.
Nobody really wants to grow up. Everyone wishes that they would stay young forever and be with their friends for the rest of their lives. In two books that I have read recently, there are two characters who have to grow up at an early age. They seem to be a lot like each other, yet completely different. I am talking about Tim from the story My Brother Sam is Dead and Ponyboy from the story The Outsiders. Some of the problems that they face are like each others, but they vary slightly in an interesting way.
In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim lost many people that were close to him when he was young. He lost his brother who was executed in front of him. He lost his father who was kidnapped by the continental army and eventually died of a disease. He also lost his friend who was captured and died of disease on a prison boat with Tim's father. In the book The Outsiders, Ponyboy lost a lot of people close to him, too. He lost his father and mother who both died when he was young. He also lost his best friend Johnny who died in a hospital bed from horrible burns and his spine being crushed by a falling beam.
Even though both of these characters have lost people that are close to them and have grown up the same way, their lives are completely different. Tim comes from a war time where at any moment, a giant battle could take place right in his town. Ponyboy comes from a time where gangs rule the streets and there are gang wars. For Tim, he has to quit school to work at the family tavern because his father is gone. Ponyboy has to go to school and get a good education so that he can get a good job and earn money. Tim can't do that because the only other person who can run the tavern is his mother who can't run it by her self, so he gives up his child hood to help his mother with the work around the tavern.
There might be some differences between these two people, but they both have something big in common. They both had to grow up too fast at a young age. Tim had to so the family could keep the tavern. Ponyboy had to grow up so he and Johnny could survive on their own in the church for the time that they were hiding. They both had to endure a lot of people close to them dying which hardened them and made them tough too fast. Each one of them had to give up their childhood so that they could keep moving on. That is one of the worst possible things to happen to a kid, forcing them to grow up before their time.
Both Tim and Ponyboy lost their childhood when they were too young. Maybe if they grew up at the same time, they would have had more in common, but since they came from such different times their problems and life were so much different. They both seem so alike, yet so different. It's possible that they could have been best friends, or worst enemies. I guess I'll never know.
Nobody really wants to grow up. Everyone wishes that they would stay young forever and be with their friends for the rest of their lives. In two books that I have read recently, there are two characters who have to grow up at an early age. They seem to be a lot like each other, yet completely different. I am talking about Tim from the story My Brother Sam is Dead and Ponyboy from the story The Outsiders. Some of the problems that they face are like each others, but they vary slightly in an interesting way.
In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim lost many people that were close to him when he was young. He lost his brother who was executed in front of him. He lost his father who was kidnapped by the continental army and eventually died of a disease. He also lost his friend who was captured and died of disease on a prison boat with Tim's father. In the book The Outsiders, Ponyboy lost a lot of people close to him, too. He lost his father and mother who both died when he was young. He also lost his best friend Johnny who died in a hospital bed from horrible burns and his spine being crushed by a falling beam.
Even though both of these characters have lost people that are close to them and have grown up the same way, their lives are completely different. Tim comes from a war time where at any moment, a giant battle could take place right in his town. Ponyboy comes from a time where gangs rule the streets and there are gang wars. For Tim, he has to quit school to work at the family tavern because his father is gone. Ponyboy has to go to school and get a good education so that he can get a good job and earn money. Tim can't do that because the only other person who can run the tavern is his mother who can't run it by her self, so he gives up his child hood to help his mother with the work around the tavern.
There might be some differences between these two people, but they both have something big in common. They both had to grow up too fast at a young age. Tim had to so the family could keep the tavern. Ponyboy had to grow up so he and Johnny could survive on their own in the church for the time that they were hiding. They both had to endure a lot of people close to them dying which hardened them and made them tough too fast. Each one of them had to give up their childhood so that they could keep moving on. That is one of the worst possible things to happen to a kid, forcing them to grow up before their time.
Both Tim and Ponyboy lost their childhood when they were too young. Maybe if they grew up at the same time, they would have had more in common, but since they came from such different times their problems and life were so much different. They both seem so alike, yet so different. It's possible that they could have been best friends, or worst enemies. I guess I'll never know.
Monday, December 12, 2011
My Brother Sam is Dead cause and effect
When Sam ran off to go and join the war, he couldn't turn back. When he signed up, there was no turning back. If he would leave the army, they would execute or hang him. If he would keep fighting in the war, he would most likely die, and to fight he needed a gun. So he stole the family's gun and left them defenseless and with no way to hunt in the winter. Also, because he left, his Dad had to go on a trip with Tim instead of Sam. Since there were cattle thieves, Tim's dead had to ride ahead and watch out for the thieves, which led to his father getting captured and killed. Just because Sam ran away and took the gun, all this happened and changed the whole book.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Traitor Among Us
It was one of the greatest games ever. The Packers were undefeated and had a good chance of winning the Super Bowl the second time in a row, and they were playing the Vikings at Lambeau Field. Jerry was having a birthday party and took his friends to go see the game. He took four other people, John, Steve, Erik, and Jack. The only problem was, Jack is a die-hard Vikings fan. Everyone though it would be okay because the Packers are amazing but they were pretty mad once it got to half time and the Vikings were up 28-7. The whole stadium seemed like it was about to start crying, everyone except for Jack. He was having the time of his life and laughing at every person in green and gold that he could find. It really was getting on everyone's nerves when the third quarter ended and the score was 35-14, and the Vikings were still winning. Once the fourth quarter started, we really got tired of Jack, so everybody dragged him up to the top of the Stadium and we threw him down the concrete stairs. He tumbled all the way down and stopped at the bottom, not moving at all. We felt sort of bad, but then the Packers scored and we all forgot about it while we cheered. Then they did an on-side kick, got it and ran it back for another touchdown. Making the extra point and having 1 minute left meant we had one minute to get a touchdown and make the field goal for the win. We kicked a normal kick off but the Vikings receiver fumbled the ball and we scored for the win. The whole stadium erupted in a cheer. Once we got home, we realized we left Jack there, but were too tired to care so we all went to bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)