Medusa

Author's Note: This was written to put a spin on a classic character, Medusa. This story was written by Savannah Padilla, Christa Buth and me. This is about a young teenage, 21st century Medusa. 

“I don’t understand why she gets bullied at school! It’s not like she’s ugly. We didn’t have an ugly child, did we? No. We didn’t!”

I heard my mom scream at my dad as I was rubbing neosporin on the new additions to my bruised legs. Today it was a group of cheerleaders. As I walked out of class, and rounded the corner to my locker, they got me. Sky, their head honcho, grabbed my blonde curls and hurled me to the ground. Her prissy followers then proceeded to kick and slap me. Just another typical addition to my day. And like my mom said, I’m not even ugly.

I know exactly why she hates me. It’s because of the stupid, useless Brad. He asked me out and I said yes, but I had no idea that Sky and Brad were still going out. If I had known there is no way that I would have ever said yes, I would have been smart enough to realize that she would torture me for the rest of my high school years. One thing’s for sure, I wouldn’t be in this mess if Brad had never asked me out.

And because of him, my highschool life is demon infested. It’s as if the God’s themselves had come down and cursed me. I can’t wait till I’m out of this stupid school. I am so done with these people acting like they can talk to me and bully me the way they do. One day I will get my revenge, I swear it. One day they will fear me as I walk through these halls, they will fear my power, and my social ranking in this school.

Slowly, I am making my way through the halls, attempting to scoot by Sky and her possy. But I do not succeed, Sky steps in front of me, stopping me in my tracks.

“Hello Medusa. Or shall I say snake,” she hissed at me.

“Snake? What are you talking about?!” I asked confused.

“God, do you know anything? Snakes are hunters. They prey on the weak, and they have no heart. Very selfish indeed, they just go in single minded. All about themselves. And that is exactly you. Medusa the snake: Stupid, rude, ugly, cold hearted.”

“What!” I scream. That’s it I am so done with these people. I’m thirty seconds away from losing it. If I don’t walk away now I’m going to hurt someone. Too late, bringing my arm back for a wind up I swing forward, hitting the queen herself straight in her surgically enhanced nose. With a scream, she falls straight to the floor. Her minions crowd around her like vultures. Then in unison, they all turn towards me and give me the death stare. Like I had just murdered someone. I was so hyped up on adrenaline that I didn’t care that these blonde twigs were about to come after me. I stood there proud of what I’d done, glad I did it and ready to accept the punishment I’d be receiving.

Sitting in the principals office with my parents sitting across from me, staring down, not even making eye contact with me like, I was a total disgrace to the family. But still, I didn’t even care, I don’t care how mad I made someone, or how embarrassed my parents were. I am just so glad that Sky had gotten what she had coming to her. As the principal starts to lecture me, I stop him, cutting him off I say. “I’m dropping out of school.” Shock spreads to my parents faces, they stutter trying to say no, no she’s not, but I just look at them and say, “I’m done with this school, I’m done with these people, I’m just done in general.” I get up and walk out the door, with a wide grin spread across my face.

Analysis of Helen

Author’s Note: I wrote this to analyze the short story, “The Hysterical History of The Trojan War- Parody.” I will compare the character of Helen to the character, Karen from the movie, Mean Girls.

In the Trojan Horse parody, the character, Helen is a ditzy girl, who is considered to be extremely beautiful.  Helen is very popular in this parody and is wanted by many guys. She ran away from her husband and with Paris, and for no reason but because she felt like it. Helens character type is a common character type in movies, books and more. In movies, there is always the mean or ignorant pretty popular girl, who is only wanted and cherished for her extreme beauty. Helen’s character is similar to that of the character, Karen Smith in Mean Girls. Karen is a total “blonde” in the movie, talking with her is almost like talking with a 5 year old. But because she is so beautiful she is considered popular and has many friends.

In the parody the author tried to emphasize the pretty girl type of person Helen was, by making her a ditz, and a snotty popular girl. Helen’s character and Karen are two very similar characters. For example Helen made a stupid, not very thought out decision to run away with Paris and leave her husband behind, who thought that Paris had kidnapped her, and not ran away with Paris. Karen is similar to Helen, because of the fact that they both don’t think about their actions and what they say or do before they act upon their thoughts. Both these characters are considered to be beautiful and they both get whatever boys they want, but they are also very ditzy and ignorant.  They both use their looks and popularity to get them through life.  

The Truth In The Story

Author’s Note: I wrote this to analyze the historical events within the book, The Book Thief, which make the book historical fiction and if the historical events in the book stay true to what actually happened.

What makes historical fiction, historical fiction is true facts and references throughout the book or story. The novel, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, is an example of historical fiction. The book is a made up story, but it has accurate references and facts from history. The Book Thief is about an orphan, Liesel, who falls in love with books, but is very poor so she must steal books in order to read them.  This story talks about Liesel’s life and things that are going on around her and how these things are affecting her life. The novel makes true references to actual facts and events in history, which is what makes it historical fiction, and it does a good job of staying true to what actually happened.

One example of true facts and references that the author used to make this book historical fiction is when the author refers to Adolf Hitler. Many times you will hear the characters say, “Heil Hitler,”(50) or questions like, “What does our fuhrer say?”(273) Adolf Hitler was a dictator in Germany in the time that the story takes place, and he was a very important person in history and affected the way this story was told majorly.  Throughout the book the author stayed true to the events, and made true references about and involving Adolf Hitler.

Not only did the book stay true to the facts and events in the time when talking about Adolf Hitler, but also when the author talks about Jesse Owens. Jesse Owens was a famous black Olympian for track and field. The quote, “Jesse Owens had just completed the 4x100m relay and won his fourth gold medal,” (56) shows how the author stayed true to facts about the time that the book took place in. The Author used real facts and events about Jesse Owens to help create a made up part of the book and made sure to stay true to the facts and time frame of the book.

Although the author talked about Jesse Owens and his story, and made sure to stay true to the facts, he also talked about how many Nazi’s boycotted and vandalized Jewish businesses. Throughout the book the author talked a lot about how Jewish businesses were being vandalized by Nazi’s and how they were being boycotted because they were Jewish businesses. The quote, “the Kaufmann Shoe Shop was reduced to broken glass, and all the shoes were flung aboard a truck in their boxes, (61)” shows how the book refers to this. Also, it shows how the author stayed true to what was constantly happening throughout that time and place. The author did a good job of staying true to what was happening in the time in history  that the story took place.

In conclusion, many times throughout this book the author proves to stay true to the time by writing about actual events and people in history. When readers read historical fiction novels, that stay true to the time and place, it seems that they typically get more engaged in the story. I believe that this happens, because they read about the true events and people from history in a new way, with a new story while  not changing what actually happened in history.

Trojan Horse

Author's Note: This is a reflection of the short story "The Trojan Horse," adapted from Book II of The Aeneid by Virgil. In this I will talk about the main conflict and how the conflict was resolved, and I compared the story to real life situations. 

The conflict in the story was person verses person, because the Greeks and Trojans are battling against each other. The conflict was resolved when the Greeks won, by hiding in a wooden horse and then getting into Troy and taking over the city and the Trojans. The devious part of this story was how the Greeks won the war against the Trojans. They won by hiding in a wooden horse and making it look like they left and gave up, when in actuality they were hidden somewhere else and in the giant wooden horse. Then when the Trojans took the horse into their city they came out and attacked when the Trojans were least expecting it.

Something like this could happen nowadays, because people are still crazy and devious enough to try this. Also because people would do and try anything to win a battle or war, but this is also a very know trick or story so it might not be very effective nowadays. This could not happen in a school or small workplace, because of the fact that, there wouldn’t be enough room for people to build something big enough to have a lot of people fit in. Also, because there aren’t any battles at school or in a small workplace that this way of battling would be effective. I have not seen this kind of thing in any movies, shows, or books. I have heard of it before, but other than that I haven’t seen it or read about it in anything.

Reverse Racism And Stereotyping

Author’s Note: In this piece I have written about stereotyping, and reverse racism. I compared those two topics to a short story that deals with those concepts and teaches you a lot about them.\

Everyday people make assumptions about people and based on many things such as, looks, where they live and much more. This is just like how the mom acts in the short story, “ After You My Dear Alphonse,” because she demonstrates reverse racism in many parts throughout the story.  “After You My Dear Alphonse,”  is about a mom and her son comes home for lunch and brings a friend of his with him. His friend happens to be black, and the story is about the conversation between the mom and the black boy and how she makes many assumptions about him, his family and his home life. “ After You My Dear Alphonse,” by Shirley Jackson, demonstrates reverse racism  and stereotyping in many different parts.

Johnny’s mom demonstrates reverse racism towards Johnny’s friend, Boyd. One example of how she does this is when she offers to give Boyd old clothes and things, but she is very insistent that he not turn the clothes down or be ashamed to need it, when in reality he doesn’t need the clothes he is not like a stereotypical colored person.  When Boyd says, “ I guess we buy about everything we need. Thank you very much though,” in response to Johnny’s mom’s offer. When he says this it proves that he is not in need of clothes or any kind of charity from other people.

Not only when Johnny’s mom offers Boyd clothes is she demonstrating reverse racism, but also when she assumes Boyd’s dad does a lot of hard manual labor in a factory all day. When Johnny’s mom asks what Boyd’s dad does for work, Boyd says that he works in a factory. Johnny’s mom responds to this by saying, “And he certainly has to be strong to do that—all that lifting and carrying at a factory.” She assumes that because he’s black, he is automatically doing some underpaid labor intensive job, but is sadly mistaken when Boyd responds and says, “He’s a foreman.” When Boyd says this once again Johnny’s mom’s stereotypical assumptions about black people are incorrect, and the reader can tell that Johnny’s mom is getting a frustrated that she is constantly sounding stupid in front of her son.

Reverse racism and stereotyping are not only found in story’s and books, but also in life. For example when you meet someone you automatically make an assumption about them based on where they are from and what they look like. This happens so many times each day, whether you mean to or not, it’s automatic. But something you can control is what you say and do when you stereotype someone. What many people do, and what Johnny’s mom did was treat someone differently based on where they’re from and what they look like, but if you don’t want to treat someone like that you should keep your thoughts to yourself and not say anything until you get to know them. I’m sure Johnny’s mom wishes she’d done that.

In conclusion, reverse racism and stereotyping is common, in life and especially in the short story, “After You My Dear Alphonse,” by Shirley Jackson. Reverse racism has a way of backfiring and making you look ignorant which was proven by the author in this short story. In addition, stereotyping is something that leads to reverse racism, so think about what this author has taught you in this short story. The next time you meet someone new, don’t judge and stereotype them, talk to them and get to know them so that you don’t end up looking like Johnny’s mom in, “After You My Dear Alphonse.”

Superficial Beauty And Culture

Author’s Note: I wrote this as a response to the story “Ribbons,” by Laurence Yep. In this I compare culture in  China and what they believe about beauty to what the US believes about beauty.

In China culture is very different than in the US. For example women in China are considered obsolete and meaningless. A long time ago in China it was considered beautiful for women to have very small feet. So parents in order to make sure they’re daughter can grow up to be considered beautiful and marry a rich man they made them bind their feet when they were young. This would make the feet not grow as much and when the feet did grow they would grow under the feet creating the “beautiful,” desired feet.

They’d wrap the feet in ribbons and this was how they bound their feet. For the grandma ribbons bring back terrible memories for the grandma. But for the granddaughter ribbons symbolized her love of dancing. Because of the different symbols for the ribbons it made it an important title with a significant meaning, which compares the thought of beauty between China and the US.

Not only in China is there superficial beauty but also in the US there is superficial beauty for girls and women. One example is that girls and women are mostly considered beautiful when they are thin, and have little to no fat on them. Also in the US beauty is shown by looking young and having clear, wrinkle free skin with high cheekbones and not having features or parts of your face that make you stick out such as a nose. Women in the US use surgery to make themselves look “beautiful,” this is similar to China in the way that they bound girls feet to give them the superficial “beauty.”

Who Am I?

Author’s Note: This was written to describe a specific character and give clues as to who we are describing so you can guess our mystery character. Christa Buth and I wrote this piece together.

I’m your friend till the end. I may look like a simple child’s toy, but trust me there is much more to me than that. You will see my bright red hair and overalls and think oh that’s cute. Little do you know, I have a plan. My soul is trapped due to voodoo and only one person can get me out of this body. I must kill everyone around him to get him alone, and once I do I must start my life over as a six year old.

You have seen many just like me, but I am different. I talk and walk, but here’s the catch, I have no batteries. As I spend more and more time in this plastic body, it is slowly becoming my own. If I don’t switch soon I will become a child’s companion forever.

You can burn me, drop me, you can smash my head ,but the only way to kill me is to stab me in the heart. But good luck killing me before I kill you. Many have found out my agenda, but I got to them before they got to me. So think twice before coming after me and getting in my way, you could end up just like them.  I may be a nice guy but trust me and my victims, I’m not a nice guy.

Just remember, “We’re friends till the end.”

After You My Dear Alphonse Response

Author's Note: I wrote this to respond on the story, "After You My Dear Alphonse," by Shirley Jackson. I will talk about how reverse racism and stereotyping is in Pewaukee, and the world. Also I will talk about the author's message and what she was trying to teach us.

Shirley Jackson was trying to teach us a lesson about how you shouldn’t believe all the stereotypes you hear about people and places and how to treat different people you would any other person. When Johnny’s mom was asking Boyd so many questions, and really seeming to believe the stereotypes, Boyd was acting all suspicious and seemed to be questioning why she was acting so weird and asking such bizarre questions. This story seemed like it was to teach us how mean and occasionally naive you can sound by believing these stereotypes and expecting them to be true and accurate about everyone.

I think this story compares to Pewaukee because we also believe many stereotypes about people who are in different schools and cities than us. For example, a stereotype about people is Waukesha is, poor or gang related. Usually they are associated as bad news and trouble. Also we associate Milwaukee with gangs, shootings, robberies and people who belong in jail. But I have met people from both places and not everyone from there is the way we stereotype them. This also happens all over the world with different countries and ethnicities. We can all learn from Shirley Jackson’s story, we can learn not to believe everything we hear and not everyone is the same in these places so we should get to know the person without making assumptions based on how they look, their ethnicity and where they’re from. 

Goodbye

Author’s Note: I wrote this as an alternate ending for the book, Hate List, by Jennifer Brown. Hate List, is about a girl, Valerie, who made a hate list with her boyfriend and one day her boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on her school and killed many people, specifically targeting people on the hate list they made and then killed himself. The book talks about what happened leading up to that day and Valerie’s life after that day. I wrote this piece to demonstrate voice in my writing.

That emptiness I was left with once I had lost my only friend all year, was grueling. I haven’t felt this low since the aftermath of that wretched day, the day Nick opened fire on all those people, leaving me here to pay the price of his mistake. He left me here to walk these halls, with no friends, and only enemies. And now when someone tries to be my friend, to care about me, I shove them away. I don’t deserve to have a friend, I’m just a waste of space in these halls, and on this earth. I know my father wishes Nick hadn’t missed and hit me in the leg, but blew off my head.  At least ninety percent of the world thinks I deserve to be dead instead of those innocent victims, and I’m starting to believe that too.

I slowly opened my desk drawer, retrieving my pen and my notebook. I began my letter to my mother, my father and anyone else who would listen to what I had to say. Tears filling my eyes I began to write…

Dear, Mom, Dad and Frankie,

I’m sorry, I’ve ruined all your lives. I’m done making you all pay for my mistakes. I know you all wish I could just be the kind of daughter, and sister you all wished I could be. I know now how to prevent my mistakes from affecting your lives. You probably wish I’d just done this before everything happened, before Nick killed all those people and before I ruined your lives, forever making you all the family of that girl who made a list with her boyfriend, and  is responsible for killing all those kids. 

I think you guys should know that I had no idea Nick was going to do that, I don’t know how I missed all the signs, but it still is partially my fault. If I’d never started that stupid list you guys wouldn’t be in this mess with me. And Frankie, I am so sorry for destroying your childhood, you shouldn’t have had to deal with this and for that I’m sorry.

I know there is no way for me to make it up for you all. Mom and Dad, you probably wish you’d never had me, that you’d had an A+ student, who is on student  council and has tons of friend and a great, smart boyfriend who is respectful and never will embarrass you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the daughter you guys deserved.

I don’t expect you two to forgive me, but I’m hoping doing this will keep you from paying for my mistakes.

Goodbye and sorry,

Valerie

Slowly, I reached under my bed and pulled out a black box. Carefully taking the lid off, I reached in and pulled out a shotgun. Shaking , I rested it against my head trying to hold back tears, I took a deep breath and between sobs I uttered , “I’m sorry.” Swiftly, I pulled the trigger, doing what everyone wishes I or Nick had done in the first place, ending the pain I’ve caused my family and the families of the victims. 

Music and Lighting

Author's Note: I wrote this as an analysis of the film for the short story, "A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” by Earnest Hemingway. I analyzed the music used in the film and how it affects the tone and the feelings of the characters and the viewers watching it. I also analyzed the lighting choices and how it affected the interpretation of the film. 

The music in the film for the short story, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place,” did a good job of making you feel how the characters were feeling. In the beginning, the music was really eerie and almost like the music you hear in horror movies. The music in the beginning made you feel scared and afraid, I think the director did this because that’s how the old man and the middle aged waiter were probably feeling at the time when they were alone. Then in bar, the music was really loud and it sounded like an accordion playing. Along with the music there was loud talking and a bunch of conversations between the different groups of people, and there was the middle aged waiter saying a bunch of nonsense words and a prayer but skipping words and saying nada instead. When the director did this it makes you feel really claustrophobic and overwhelmed, which is probably how the middle aged man felt and how the old man would have felt had he been in that situation. At the very end of the film, the middle aged waiter was walking home, but it was completely silent other than the occasional seagull making noise, I think this was done to make the viewer think and feel calm like the man was feeling.  The director’s choice in music and voices did a really good job of making the viewer feel as the characters did.

The lighting in the film also impacted the film a lot and helped tell the story and how the characters were feeling. The dark eerie street view of the cafe and deep grey lighting in the beginning went along with the music and helped create that eerie almost scary scene. Then in the cafe the lighting was very bright and the walls and ceiling were bright, which made it seem like it was day time and made you feel safe and calm. Especially the open set up of the cafe helped create that calm feeling. Once the middle aged waiter got to the bar, the lighting wasn’t as bright as in the cafe but still lighter than it was in the beginning. The lighting was really warm colored and the set up of the bar was really cluttered and there were tables, people and things everywhere. Even the walls were full of pictures and things hanging, which made it feel really cluttered and helped give the overwhelmed, claustrophobic feeling, like how the music made you feel. The lighting at the end of the film, as the middle aged waiter was walking home, was natural daytime light and it gave a sense of relief, and calmness. I think this was meant to make the viewers feel as relieve as that man was that the night was over and now he could relax. That’s how the lighting impacted the story and the film. 

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place

Author's Note: I wrote this as a response to the question, Write a brief analysis of the two waiters.  What do they represent about life? What does the café symbolize, about the short story, "A Clean, Well-litted Place," by Earnest Hemingway. 

 The younger waiter is very impatient and talks about how he just wants to go home and sleep but this old man is still there drinking. Throughout the story he gets more and more mad and impatient, he is saying rude things to and about this old man who is making him stay there as he drinks the night away. While this young waiter is growing more and more impatient the older waiter doesn’t seem to mind that the old man is just sitting there drinking while their waiting on him. It seems as though the old waiter wants the old man to stay as long as he pleases and doesn’t mind being up so late. The young waiter represents impatience and rudeness, because of his attitude towards the old man. The older waiter represents understanding and wisdom, because of how he seems to be more understanding about waiting and how he is standing up for the old man when the younger waiter is being rude. Lastly the café symbolizes a safe place, it seems the older waiter and the old man both use it as a well lit place of peace and an escape. For the old man and the older waiter it is an escape, from insomnia.

Ransom of Red Chief Quote Analysis

Author's Note: I wrote this to analyse the importance of the quote in the short story, "The Ransom of Red Chief." 

The quote, “You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands,” is important because it shows the irony in the story. It shows the irony, because the whole point of the kidnapping is to get money from the dad, assuming he would want his son back. The irony of the plan is that in the end, they end up having to pay money for the father to take his son back, because the boy is absolutely obnoxious and a pain in the butt. That’s why the quote is so important to the story.

Representation

Author’s Note: I wrote this essay to demonstrate my knowledge of  analyzing symbolism throughout a text. In this essay I talk about the symbolism throughout the main character, Kaitlin’s, journal entry in the book Scribbler of Dreams, by Mary E. Pearson.

In all writing there is symbolism, whether  we see it or not symbolism is always there and always will be. Just like the book, Scribbler of Dreams, symbolism is everywhere. The novel Scribbler of Dreams is a twist on the classic love story, Romeo and Juliet. In the book the main character Kaitlin Malone meets a boy, Bram Crutchfield, and falls in love with him. She is horrified to find out that his family and her family are enemies, and her dad is the reason his father is dead, and his father is the reason her dad’s in jail. Kaitlin must choose between her true love and her family. The creative journal entry of the main character in Scribbler of Dreams, by Mary E. Pearson, uses an abundance of symbolism throughout. 

In Kaitlin’s creative journal entry, there is an abundance of symbolism. For example when she says, “I cross a black lake with a devouring monster lurking beneath its surface” (111). Black, the color of the lake, represents evil and death. The lake she describes is a representation of death and in her case, what would happen if someone found out her secret. The monster she describes in her writing is  a representation of someone waiting for her and her lies to slip and to reveal her secret that she is trying so hard to keep. In Kaitlin’s writing, she is describing the huge trap she will fall into once her lies fall through and the truth is revealed.

Also in the journal entry, the stones are another example of symbolism throughout Kaitlin’s writing. When she says, “The stones wobble and I prepare to die, but then I regain my balance. The other side of the lake seems so far away,” the stones Kaitlin is writing about symbolize the lies she tells in order to keep her secret. This is so, because she was telling a lot of lies about what she’s doing, and who she’s seeing, to her family and to her boyfriend, Bram. When she says that the stones start to wobble, it signifies her lies starting to fall apart. She somehow manages to keeps the truth hidden, but soon her lies will win and she will fall, revealing the shocking truth of her identity to her boyfriend and her identity of her boyfriend to her family. Throughout the writing there is a lot of symbolism, which creates a lot for the reader to think about. 

Similar to Scribbler of Dreams, the novel  Hate List, by Jennifer Brown has a lot of meaningful symbolism throughout the book. Hate List, is about a girl who made a list of people and concepts she hates with her boyfriend and one day her boyfriend opened fire on the cafeteria, his targets were people on the hate list that they created together. The quote, “So I opened my trusty red notebook and numbered every line down the column of the page an started writing names of people, of celebrities, of concepts, of everything I hated,” (134) is an example of symbolism throughout the book. The color of the notebook containing the hate list in it, red, represents blood and passion, which has a lot to do with the hate list. Mostly because of all the blood that was shed the day of the shooting, but also because of the passion between the main character, Valerie, and her boyfriend, the shooter, Nick. Their passionate hate towards bullies, people and most everything in their lives that they encountered. The symbolism throughout the book, Hate List, is alike to that of the journal entry in, Scribbler of Dreams.

Symbolism in books and stories gives the reader a lot to think about and gives clues to the story and characters that you find through symbolism. The journal entry from the book, Scribbler of Dreams, shows a much deeper meaning through symbolism in Kaitlin’s words. Remember the next time you read a poem, short story, book or even journal entry, think about  the clues to the story and character that are hidden by symbolism.

Parody

Author's Note: This is a parody of the poem "This Is Just To Say," by William Carlos. In my poem I changed it by writing from the point of view of a character to the main character in the book Hate List, by Jennifer brown.

Girl I've tortured since kindergarten

I have taken

your MP 3 player

and broken it

which 

you are probably mad 

and upset

about

Forgive me

it was fun

making you

so mad

A Way With Words (revised)

Author’s Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my knowledge of figurative language and tone. I also focused on A-B transitions and making my point clear and detailed.

Imagine surfing, riding a wave with great power and strength.  Reading the poem “Song for a Surf-Rider,” by Sara Van Alstyne Allen is just like riding a wave, you can feel the waves below you and the strength of the current, just by reading her vividly written poem. The figurative language and tone she used puts a clear picture in your head as you read her so beautifully written poem. The poem, “Song for a Surf-Rider,” by Sara Van Alstyne Allen, shows a lot of tone and figurative language throughout the poem.

There is a lot of personification in this poem;  it helps give a clear image of what’s going on. The personification the author used to describe the wave, made it as though the wave was a human. One example of that, is how the author kept referring to the was as him or he. Another example of personification in this poem is, “We race together, the sea and I,” when the author says this it gives the reader a feeling of the wave as an actual person, or even friend and it gives the text a friendly feeling. Lastly when she says “His eyes flash with an emerald fire,” is another example of the personification used in this poem, to create a feeling of life and features only a living thing can possess. The personification in this poem gives a feeling of life behind the waves.

Not only is there a lot of personification, there is some metaphors as well. For example the author is consistently comparing the waves and sea to horse. The quote, “His hoof beats echo on the sand,” is an example of how the author used metaphors to compare the waves to a horse. Another example of how the author used metaphors to make the wave seem more like a companion than a body of water by comparing it to a horse is, His mane of foam flows wild and free. The metaphors in this poem help the reader understand the friendship and companionship between the person and the wave.

Similar to figurative language, tone helps make the writing much more clear and fun to read. Tone helps show the author’s attitude what she wrote and it’s express through word choice and style. An example of how the author used tone is when she says, “We race together, the sea and I.” When the author wrote this, it shows a friendship, like the sea and the person work together and are friends. Another example of tone that the author used is when she said, “Under the watching summer sky. To where the magic islands lie.” The tone the author used in this quote is a relaxing and safe kind of tone like the character in the poem is calm and like she is where she loves to be. Many good writers use tone, and they use tone to show the reader how they are feeling about something or how what they’re writing about makes them feel and the author Sara Van Alstyne Allen does a good job of showing tone in this poem.

Figurative language and tone are the main things shown throughout this poem and the author, Sara Van Alstyne Allen, shows it in a clear-cut way in “Song for a Surf-Rider.” The next time you read a poem or any writing piece at all, look at what figurative language and tone is in there and see how it impacts the way you feel about the poem or story. It could change from how you originally thought about it. 

The Journey

Author’s Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my knowledge of properly citing information in a piece of writing. This is a creative writing piece, from the point of view of an orphan, with real facts about the Pony Express.

April 3, 1860 (Walske)

The day the pony express started, my first day. The pony express is a mail service that travels to Sacramento California (Godfrey). Which is way better than how the mail used to be delivered, by wagon trail and station coaches and even ships, but it took so long to get your mail. Especially compared to how it is now which is only about twelve days in the spring, summer and fall months (Godfrey). The only reason I was doing this was because they randomly chose orphans like me. Nobody would care if I never returned, nobody would ever come looking for me. On the bright side, I should get a good pay, the mail costs are quite high, ten dollars an ounce (Godfrey). The time of the year scared me a lot, soon it will get unbearably hot. The dangers of this job are something that makes me hesitant to start, because I’ll be traveling through some hostile Native American territory (Encyclopedia). Possibly even encountering a grizzly and getting killed, or worse injured and dying out here where nobody will ever find me (Encyclopedia).  

April 4, 1860

The time between stations where was a long time to be completely alone, soon I would transfer letters to another rider and they would takeover (Encyclopedia). The load of letters are really heavy, I feel them slowing me and my only companion, Scooter, the horse I am riding, down. Although they are written on tissue paper, they still are slowing us down (Godfrey). I am like a snail, slowly moving along, with no hope of getting where I’m going anytime soon. I look up at the sky and stare at the blueness of the sky against the pure white of the stringy cotton ball clouds.

April 10, 1860

 I felt myself dosing off while riding Scooter when all of a sudden I snap back, as alert as ever. I realize that it was the rustling in the bushes and trees that awoke me. I could feel my pulse quicken. Slowly I stopped me and Scooter and stopped dead in our tracks. I fear that something was going to burst from the woods and spook Scooter into throwing me from the saddle. Slowly I turned us around and hopped off of Scooter. As I looked into the woods I saw two eyes staring back at me. Immediately I froze. I could sense I was staring straight into the eyes of a massive grizzly bear. I could only breath slow shallow breathes, I knew I not to move, the second I’d move he would attack so I remained perfectly still.  As time went by I knew I was not going to get off easy, this grizzly was not planning on just walking away.

I took a deep breath and slowly shifted my weight to my left, where Scooter and the open trail waited for me. I had a bad feeling about this, and I knew that if this grizzly bear did attack me and injure me, nobody would ever find me and I’d just die out here. Quickly, the bear jumped at me and I knew it was over. I felt myself scream and attempt to run but I knew running would be useless. With a loud roar, I felt teeth plunge into my leg, tearing and ripping into my skin. Immediately, I felt the warmth of the blood rushing down my leg leaving me unable to move, while the bear stood on over me on his hind legs. My surroundings became fuzzy, but then I only saw black.

I remember nothing between that moment, and waking up in this tent laying on a bed. I’ve been told that a man on the trail found me and took me to this tent where a medic stitched my leg back together. If it were not for this man I would have probably died out there.

Works Cited

Encyclopedia, The Columbia Electronic. Fact Monster. 2011. Document. 28 February 2013.

Godfrey, Anthony. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. 2011. Document. 28 February 2013.

Walske, Steven C. Pony Express Mail. 16 November 2007. Document. 28 February 2013.

What am I

Author's Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of a metaphor.

I am a dog

Here to listen

Never to judge

Always here

Never to let my problems come before yours 

Always will I have your back 

Never will I let you fall

I am a dog, a best friend

Wealth

Author’s Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my knowledge of conflict resolution. This essay talks about the main conflict in the short story, “The Necklace” along with the resolution to the conflict.

Some people are born wanting and wishing to have nice things, although for a lot of people it’s not in the cards for them. The main character, Mathilde, says how she wishes to have nice clothes and feel beautiful, but she was born poor and most likely will always be poor. And when she is invited to a fancy party her husband gives her the money to buy a beautiful dress like all the other women there will have, so she can feel beautiful for one night. Once she has the gown, she still feels like she it doesn’t look complete. Because of this she borrows a necklace from her rich friend and after the night is over she realizes she’d lost. She never does find the necklace, so she ends up working for ten years to pay the bank back for the money she borrowed to replace the necklace. The main conflict of “The Necklace,” by Guy De Maupassant is person verses self.

The reason the main conflict is person verses self, is because the conflict was that Mathilde wants to have nice things and feel young and beautiful like all of the other women in her community that are rich and have many nice clothes and jewelry. So really, Mathilde is just making herself feel out of place because she feels like she has to be like all the rich women. The quote, “All those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry,” really describes how Mathilde is torturing herself for not being rich and not having beautiful clothes.

Though, Mathilde has a huge conflict with herself, as you may think it would get resolved, it doesn’t. Mathilde never really does get over the fact that she desires to be like all the rich beautiful women. The quote, “Oh, my poor Mathilde! How you are changed,” shows how her friend reacted when she saw Mathilde after she had worked for ten years to pay off the money she borrowed for the necklaces replacement. She reacted this way because Mathilde, lost her youth and beauty which was one thing she could’ve had without being wealthy. There would have been a resolution in this story if instead of how it did end, is if somehow Mathilde got wealthy and got everything she ever wanted. This is why the conflict has no resolution.

The short , “All Summer In a Day,” by Ray Bradbury and “The Necklace” may not have the same person verses person conflict, but they share the same ending without a resolution. “All Summer In a Day,” has a person verses society conflict, because the main character, Margot was bullied and not excepted by her classmates because she was different, and all she wanted was to get to see the sun for that glorious one hour every seven years. But, because she was different her classmates locked her in the closet so she would miss her one chance to see the sun for seven years. The quote, “They unlocked the door, even more slowly, and let Margot out,”  shows the similar resolution between the two stories. It shows how there was no resolution, Margot never got to see the sun that she had missed so much since she had moved to Venus.

Person verses self is the main conflict of the short story, “The Necklace,” by Guy De Maupassant. Not only is the main conflict person verses self, but it also doesn’t get resolved within the story. The next time you read a story just think about what the conflict is and does it ever even get resolved.

Cold

Author’s Note: I wrote this as a creative piece, for an assignment. It was a requirement to be creative, so I tried to show my creativity and word choice in this piece. I also demonstrated my knowledge of figurative language in this piece.

My ears were pounding, I could feel my adrenaline surging as he took eerily, slow steps towards me. In one swift movement he reached out and bashed my head full force into the counter. Like a deer in the headlights I stood there shocked for a moment. Then I felt the warm flow of blood begin to slither down my face and it started  to pour into my eyes. There was something different about how he was acting today, it almost felt like he was preparing for some horrible new punishment he had up his sleeve. I couldn’t calm down while this crazy monster had such a horrifyingly happy look in his eyes as he watched me lay there with blood running from my head. Slowly, my vision started to blur and all I wanted to do was sleep.

The slam of the door woke me from my deep sleep. I could feel the hard jaggedness of the ground pushing into my back. Unsure of where I was I slowly began to sit up, but the throbbing of my head kept me from reaching a full sitting up position. With a clump my body slammed itself right back into the cold hard ground. I laid there for a while before I regained the strength to try and pull myself back up again. Successfully, I managed to pull myself up to an upright position. With slow, smooth movements, careful not to send a sharp shooting pain through my head, I found myself in a enclosed shed. I kept thinking to myself, where am I, and why am I here?

Once I gained all the power I could, I pushed through the sickening pain in my right temple where that horrible monster plunged my head into the side of the countertop, I was able to somehow stagger to my feet and cling to the walls to keep myself from toppling right over like a baby taking its first steps. The worst part about this whole thing is that that terribly cruel person who found it necessary to cause me pain and humiliation day after day was my own father. How sick and twisted is that?

Steadily, I made my way to this blur of a shadow, which I was assuming must be the door to this old shack. It smelled of rotted wood and mold. My mind was crowded with so many thoughts, but there was one in particular that kept racing through my mind. Is this another awful punishment he has decided to torture me with, leaving me in the shed to freeze? As I finally made it to the door I felt around for the handle and when I found it, I gave it a pull but nothing. Once again I pulled on the cold metal handle, but the door didn’t budge.

My heart started pounding. Did he lock me in? It was January and I could see the shed getting darker as the sun began to set. If he left me in here all night I would freeze to death before he would come get me in the morning. That is if he even planned on coming for me at all. I know I must find a way out of here or I’m as good alive, as dead. The crisp air felt as though it was at most 10 degrees.  At the top of the shed I could hear the wind whispering through the boards in the rooftop.

After at least an hour of useless tugging and pounding for help, I couldn’t do a single thing.  I finally gave up and sat curled up on the freezing ground. My consciousness was a blur for a long time. Some points I’d be shaking ferociously on the ground trying to preserve whatever body heat I had left and other times I’d be unconscious laying on the ground.  Suddenly, I woke once more only to find myself whimpering in pain from the frostbite.

I forced myself to stay awake, by sitting up as best I could, worried I wouldn’t wake up the next time I closed my eyes.  After  waiting this long I knew he wasn’t coming back for me, He just left me here to die in the bitter cold of the night. Slowly I laid myself back down to the frosty ground and I felt myself drift away never to wake up again.

Who Tells The Story

Author’s Note: I wrote this to show my knowledge on point of view. In addition to the essay I wrote a creative piece, which is a scene from Fallen but instead I told it from Daniel’s point of view, instead of Luce’s.

Picture learning at seventeen that you have lived over ten past lives and are doomed to live and die and not remember it, because in your first life you fell for an angel. Well in the book Fallen, by Lauren Kate, you read the story from the main character, Luce’s point of view. The book, Fallen is about a teenager who is sent to a reform school and learns something very interesting about herself. She meets a intriguing boy named Daniel and when he seems to want nothing to do with her she can’t help but feel more and more like she needs to be with him, like she knows him from somewhere. Later she learns one of his deepest secrets, Daniel is really an angel and he was punished for falling for a mortal, so now every seventeen years he meets Luce but she doesn’t remember him and every time she dies a painful explosion death. The novel is told from the main character, Luce’s point of view.

The book is told from Luce’s point of view, because of whose point of view the story is told from it really changes how the reader reacts to certain things. For example, because Luce is the narrator she doesn’t have a clue about the truth behind Daniel, therefore the reader doesn’t either. Because of this, Luce does find out the Daniel is an angel; the reader is shocked as well. For a while, Luce is totally confused. Because of all the confusion, Luce is feeling the reader also becomes confused and frustrated that they don’t have a clue what’s going on. The quote, “'I don’t believe you,'" she said, feeling her voice tremble. "‘I don’t believe any of this.’” Gives a good example of how Luce feels when she finds out Daniel’s big secret, and how her shocks transferred to the reader as well.

The point of view of a story really changes how the reader feels about certain things. What if the point of view were to change? Would the reader feel completely different about the story? If the point of view of the story changed, and it was now told from Daniel's point of view, the reader would react completely different. So if the entire book you were reading about how Daniel saw things and how Daniel felt about it all, you wouldn’t have as much surprise. In the quote, "Luce gripped the windowsill as Cam made the first move, running at Daniel and slamming into him with his shoulder." You see how rather than surprise and suspense there’d be a lot of action, because when Daniel fights in the action scenes you’d be reading everything Daniel was feeling while fighting Cam instead of how Luce was feeling when the two boys were fighting in front of her.

The point of view stories are told from really gives the reader different thoughts and feelings while reading depending on whose telling the story. Fallen is told from Luce’s point of view. Depending on what the character is like and whose telling the story, the reader gets a lot of different emotions while reading from different characters points of view.

  

******

It had been just a regular day at Swords and Cross, but then I saw her. I couldn’t help but think to myself, don’t go near her, avoid her at all costs. I couldn’t let what happened to her so many times before happen again. She looked right at me, but I quickly looked away, she had not seen me looking at her. Then all of a sudden, she waved and smiled, I had to think fast. How do I make her not ever want to look at me again? I did what I had to do, so I slowly raised my hand to her and shot my middle finger at her. It worked she quickly turned her head the other direction and pretended she had never even looked at me.

It gave me a horrible feeling in my gut to think that I was the reason for that surprised yet sad face she made, but I know it was for her own good. I can’t let it happen again, not again, this time I can never tell her anything, I can’t lose her, not again. Luce didn’t remember anything from her past lives, and I plan on keeping it that way. I know now what I didn’t know for the many times I’ve met her before this. I now know that in some lives just a single kiss will send her into an explosion of fire and flames. I also know that too much information about her past lives and what is going on will also take her from me.

I have decided that the only way to ensure her safety I must avoid her and make her think I don’t even want to see her face again. In her past lives, I'd never been able to stay away from her, but for the seventeenth time I’ve now learned it’s more painful to have her ripped from me than to never be able to talk to her and tell her how much I love her and how I’ve always loved her. The pain will get to me, but I have to stay strong, not for me, but for her. Just another day of being an angel. 

Struggles and Battles

Author’s Note: I wrote this to demonstrate my knowledge of compare and contrast. This is about the similarities and differences in the book, Sarah Bishop, and the movie, The Patriot.

Imagine growing up or living in the time of the Revolutionary war. The characters from the movie, The Patriot, lived and fought in the Revolutionary war, and the character Sarah from the book, Sarah Bishop, by Scott O’dell, grew up during the time of the Revolutionary War. The movie The Patriot is about a father and his son, Gabriel who joins the militia to fight against the king for freedom, and how they fight the war side by side. The book Sarah Bishop is about a young girl who is growing up in the time of the revolutionary war. Her brother and father are killed, and she is being tracked for a crime she didn’t commit so she flees and hides in a cave in the woods. There she learns to live on her own and off the land. The book, Sarah Bishop and, movie, The Patriot, both talk a lot about how war affected their families, and the weapons mentioned are very similar, also they are very different because of the perspective of the war shown.

One important similarity between the book and movie, is how the war effected the characters families. For example Sarah’s father was murdered because he was a proud loyalist and so patriots came and burned down their home and covered her dad in tar and feathers, which ended up killing him. Also Sarah’s brother enlisted in the war and was captured and killed, which left her all alone and without any family. This quote really shows how Sarah felt after she found out that both her father and brother died, “I felt little, only lost, lost and alone.” Not only did the war effect Sarah’s family but it also effected Benjamin from the patriot. Due to the war his second oldest son was shot and killed by a German soldier. Then by the end of the movie his oldest son, Gabriel was stabbed and killed in battle. How the war effected the characters families is one of the biggest similarities between the book and movie.

Not only was how the war effected the families of the characters a huge similarity between the book and movie, but the  weapons were also very similar. In the book, Sarah Bishop, Sarah’s musket is her main weapon that she took everywhere she went, it was also her only source of protection. The quote, “That was the way I looked at the musket now — as a companion,” really shows how important this gun was to Sarah. Similarly, Benjamin and many men fighting in the war in, The Patriot, carried their muskets almost everywhere they went and fought many battles with them. This proves how important and common muskets were in both The Patriot and Sarah Bishop.  

Although there were many similarities between, The Patriot and Sarah Bishop, there was also a very significant difference between the two. This difference is the perspective shown from the two stories. In Sarah Bishop the perspective is  shown from a young girl, who due to the war has no family and is just trying to escape all the fighting that’s going on. Meanwhile in The Patriot, the perspective is from a grown man who is fighting for freedom from Britain. Not only that but he also is trying to keep his son safe and trying not to let him end up like his now dead oldest son. That is one of the biggest difference between The Patriot and Sarah Bishop.

As you can see there are many similarities along with a very significant difference between, The Patriot and Sarah Bishop. While reading, Sarah Bishop and watching The Patriot, I’ve noticed that people in that time have a lot of things in common, their struggles and way of life are very similar, but also peoples age and gender have a huge impact on what their life will be like. 

Melinda and Margot

Author's Note: I made this chart to show my knowledge of compare and contrast. I compared and contrasted the character, Melinda,from the book, Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. And the character, Margot, from the short story, All Summer In  A Day, by Ray Bradbury. 

Melinda

in high school

had parents who ignored

she was blamed

didn't care about school

was physically hurt and ignored _____________________________________________________________________________________ Same both were unhappy both were bullied they both hated school they had no friends their teachers didn't do anything to stop the bullying

______________________________________________________________________________________ Margot in elementary school had parents that cared judged good student constantly made fun of