The Diary of Anne Frank

The book I have recently started, “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Anne Frank is the actual diary of a thirteen year old girl hiding in an attic from the Nazis during world war two. She describes the living conditions and everything that she hears about what is happening to her friends and family who are not hidden. One of the most common things she talks about while hiding in the “secret annex” is the fights the families have. There is Ms. Van Daan who always is picking a fight with someone or other. And then she talks about herself and how nobody seems to think that she can do anything right. But it is really nobody’s fault for the fights. It can be because of the setting or because of the anxiety of what is happening.

The setting is a major part of the reason why there is so much tension. Because the two families are living in a cramped living environment, a lot of their quarrels have to do with the setting itself. One fight that lasted a few days was over a small work desk that everyone needed to do their work. The setting made it difficult to share a working space with all dwellers. Many of the arguments have happened because of some problem with the setting. For example, the families had to store beans but could not keep them on the main floor so they had an argument about who should take them upstairs. The end result was a million beans on the floor. The setting has a large impact on the characters relationships because it makes them quarrel more often for simple things like beans or a work desk. I know that if I was stuck with the same eight people in an attic I would be angered easily. This makes me realize how hard it must be for them to be nice to each other in this environment. It must be difficult for the families to get along as much as they do which is hardly at all.

In the book, the newcomer who moves in with Anne and her family into the “secret annex” knows a lot about what is going on outside because he has been out there longer. He tells the family all of the horrors of what has been happening at concentration camps and how unfairly people are treated. I think that it is stories like these that add to the fighting between people. The anxiety of knowing that something might happen to them and what is happening to their friends is harsh and it certainly adds to the tension. This makes the families spark their anger at every little thing. I know that I would be very scared knowing that I could be caught and shot at any moment for hiding, I would be very scared and easily frightened. This is what causes some of the fight. Also, because there is hardly anything to do, there is more time for them to think about these things giving more fighting time as well as more time to build up fears. Anxiety and boredom are definitely contributing to the arguments between people in the “secret annex”.

It is obvious by the way that Anne Frank talks about the arguments that they are not what usually happen between her and her family. So, something must be different. I think that the setting itself is a contributing factor because there is hardly room and has caused many specific arguments. Boredom leads to anxiety which leaves residents more vulnerable to becoming angry at one another. There are definitely many more things, though, that cause these fights. But arguments are most often sparked in my life because of these things, so these must be the major causes of arguments in general.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

In the book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", the author, Rebecca Skloot, wants readers to know that that Henrietta Lacks was a woman living in the mid- 1900s was taken advantage of when she had cancer and some of her cells were taken without her knowing and used in experiment in labs eventually around the world.The author explains the distribution of her cells over the world and the importance that they have because of how quickly they can grow and can be used to discover vaccines and answers to many scientific questions. On detail that helps Rebecca Skloot prove her point is when she explains how Henrietta's cells helped make a vaccine for polio. Without even knowing it she saved millions of people from diening of polio. Another detail that helps her is when she goes to interview the family who then explain to her how they didn't know about this untill the scientists took their blood. It shows how if Henrietta's closest family didn't know about the usage of her cells, how was she supposed to know? Rebecca Skloot says in the story after she explains that the reporter used fake names, "This is why the name was never mentioned to them." "Them" being her family. She wants readers to realize how terrible this was for Henrietta when she describes in too much detail what was happening inside her body. Skloot wants readers to realize how unfair this was to Henrietta because she had no idea what was happening to her cells.

Rebecca Slkoot hopes that readers will feel bad for Henrietta and think that what happened to her was unfair. She makes us feel that the doctors and scientists had no right to take her cells without her approval. They didn't even tell her in her life time what was happening and there was no way for her to figure out when she was stuck in the hospital most of the time. The story talks about how her family didn't even find out untill twenty years after it became a multimillion-dollar industry. This tells the reader that they didn't even try to tell her or her family, and this is not fair. She would most likely be happy that her cells were doing so much good to the world, so why didn't they tell her? The author clearly thinks that this is unfair to Henrietta and her family when she has many pages dedicated to the argument over whether informed consent is needed. She says that she asked one of Henrietta's doctors whether they had tried to get informed consent and he said "No. We never gave consent form because you just go

I think that so far, this book is really great and interesting. I had no idea that this sort of thing happened, and before I read this book, I didn't know who Henrietta Lacks was. I feel really bad that that this happens to people and I wonder if this happens to anyone else, and if it does, than those people don't even get a good story to tell; plus they were lied to. It seems unfair, even if this helped the scientific world a lot. I am very interested in cell biology so I am learning a lot about cells that I want to know, while reading a really well written book. The science in the book is amazing. It explains how vaccines are injected into cells and that they can be split in half.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 3

This week I had a hard time finding a book I would like, so I have to write about “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” for one more week. The book is a true story about Henrietta Lacks whose cells were taken from her when she was diagnosed with cancer. The only thing wrong was that the doctors never told her or her family that they were using her cells. The articles in the newspapers used false names, anything to prevent her from knowing about it. But these cells cured many diseases including polio. But the book also tells the story of her family’s life after she is in the hospital. But not only does it follow them, and the author gathering the information, the book also tells the scientific story of her cell. In science class, the other week, we had a class debate about whether it was fair to test on animals for research. This relates to the story in the way that Henrietta was used for research and had no opinion as well as many other people including her family. I think that it is wrong not to tell them, but it is right to use them as long as it causes no harm.

The book shows a scene where the author, Rebecca Skloot, is at the house of Henrietta’s direct family to gather information for the book. She describes in detail everything she had heard and seen, which gives the reader a really good understanding of what the family is like. They get into this whole argument about how hospitals liked to use African Americans for testing because in those days, segregation was just beginning to wear off. They talk about how Johns Hopkins, the medical school and hospital where Henrietta was kept, liked to take African Americans off of the street to test on them and often killed them. One striking thing that was said was that sometimes they would perform dissections on these people when they were alive so they could study the body in the action. They would not use anesthesia.

I completely agree with Henrietta’s family in that the way that the hospitals used African Americans for research was unfair. I feel like that if they had gotten informed consent on the investigations from the people than it would be alright. But the scientist would inject the live cancer cells from Henrietta into people without them knowing to test whether they affected them. This made people have cancer. First of all, they had no idea what they were being injected with. It’s not like the doctors didn’t tell them, they lied about what they were doing which makes me even more mad. Second of all, it severly harmed many of them and sometimes killed them. I just cannot believe that people would do something like this. And, to go on top of that, the doctors were making sure the cells were not harmful so they could protect themselves while studying the cells. That is really selfish.

I love the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” a lot, but some things that have nothing to do with the story make me very unhappy. I think that, although there are laws about this nowadays, I think it is important now to protect the rights of animals. If they could talk, and you asked them if they want to put cream in their eyes that would make them blind but make people have shiny skin, they would say “no”. But they cannot talk so they cannot tell you that they don’t want this. But is that a good reason to test on them?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 2

I am still reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot. It is a true story about Henrietta Lacks whose cells were taken from her when she developed cancer. These cells, unlike any others, could grow nonstop and therefore are used in numerous experiments, one of which cured polio. The book follows Henrietta’s family and Rebecca Skloot as she tries to gather information from the family. Throughout the story, there are many perspectives. The most common ones are Rebecca Skloot, Henrietta’s family, and the doctors and scientists. But one of the most important perspectives is missing: the people.

They story explains the press and how many articles were published about the HeLa cells(Henrietta’s cells), and that these are all over the world, but the book never explains what the ordinary day people thought about what was happening. Were the people upset, or did they just not care? The story excludes these people because since the Lacks family didn’t know it was Henrietta, the people most likely would have thought nothing of it, except for the fact that her cells were curing many diseases. In this large area, I also think that the people who were tested with the cells have no perspective in the book. They got cancer in their body without knowing as a test. This is what happened to Henrietta and I’m sure they were not happy, but how should I know if the book leaves them out?

I also noticed that in the book there is a lot of racism, and this somewhat corresponds to perspective. Within just the Lacks family, there are light skinned people and African Americans, and these people rarely mix. The perspective of the African Americans is actually shown much more in the story because they are Henrietta’s direct family. I think that even though this is exactly opposite of what someone might expect given the time period, it show the segregation that there is, but without giving any color an advantage. It still shows the separation but it is kindly written to not exclude African Americans. The family cared a lot about the whole cell thing, but how did whites feel? Were they upset or did they just not care because of skin color?

In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, I realized that racism does not have to be shown by excluding the victims, African Americans. It can be shown in many ways, and the less obvious it is, the more realistic it is; because the obvious is not what happens every single time. The perspective that is missing explains a lot about what the author is trying to tell the reader.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 1

I am in the middle of reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” This is probably one of the most interesting and surprising non-fiction stories that I have ever read. It is about a woman named Henrietta Lacks who is diagnosed with cancer, but a sliver of her tumor is sliced off without her permission or her knowledge of it. These cells were used to try to grow them and see if they could be immortal, and they worked. These cells grew so much, that they were used to create the polio vaccine, and solve “every diseases that was known as ‘incurable.’” In the book, I noticed that, although it is non-fiction, there are a few issues. One of the obvious issues includes lying, and racism. But these things can be narrowed down to find what the author is really trying to tell the reader.

I think that one very important aspect of the story that may not be seen on the surface is transportation. People these days take advantage of transportation, kind of like Henrietta was, but that is not the point. Without the advanced transportation that is used, like airplanes, these cells would not be so widespread, at least not as quickly. It is very unlikely that people all over the world would be affected by the discoveries these cells helped make because the cells and the information would not be able to travel overseas. The transportation in this book matters a lot. It even describes how Gey, the doctor who first used the cells, had to find a way to transport the cells across the world without letting them die, so this is part of the story too. The transportation made it possible for the cells to reach other labs where more key experiments were designed and carried out. So, Henrietta’s time period is also to blame for the spread of her cells around the world.

Another undercover issue in the book is the media. It is almost entirely the media’s fault for giving the family no idea what happened to Henrietta’s cells. This is because, as it explains in the book, the media was not allowed to use Henrietta’s name in the magazines and newspapers. They used their names, such as Helen Lake, or Helen Landerson. This gave the family no information that this was someone in their family, and it led them out of even the suspicion that this might be someone in their family. The media made it impossible for the family to even find out if those were Henrietta’s cells. This is what I find really unfair. I think that the family would be more happy than sad to find out the news that someone in their family was drastically helping the world. If the media was allowed to say the name, than the family could be famous, when now, they are forgotten.

I think that in this book, there are many underlying issues that are things that the author put there both on purpose and accidentally. But it is these things that define the main cases of the story and build it up. Without the transportation, this could have only stayed in Gey’s lab, and without the media putting them off track, the family may have known sooner. These things are what turn the story around, and in this case, turn it in the worst way.

Death on the Nile

I recently finished reading Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. It is a murder mystery about a wealthy young lady, Linnet, who marries the fiancée of her best friend Jackie. Jackie, however close to Linnet she may be, has a plot of revenge which includes following the newly-wed couple on their honeymoon to Egypt and wounding Simon Doyle (her ex. husband) and possibly killing Linnet. All of this has happened in the first half of the book. The story is very suspenseful and draws the reader in to make them keep reading. I could not stop this book, and every chapter consists of a new twist that is completely unexpected. The main setting for the book, as it looks like now, will be Egypt, hence the title. I think that the setting will be a very important part of the book later on because of what it has done for me already.

Egypt has been a common hint to me about who is involved or connected to Linnet. In the beginning of the book, each new chapter introduced a complicated new character of whom I had no idea of who they were or why they were in the story. After I found out about the honey moon of the Doyles to Egypt, I began to identify the word Egypt as a word that connected characters. This clue helped me become less confused about characters and which person does what in the beginning of the book especially, but all throughout the book as well. Egypt was important not so much to the story in this case, but more of a clue for the reader to figure out which characters would be on the trip to Egypt and the important roles they would play in the mystery.

Egypt is also the main place where Jackie decides to track Linnet and Simon down. She does this because she is angry with Simon because he married Linnet after being engaged with her. The setting becomes important here because Jackie is ruining the honeymoon to Egypt, and is a suspect of Linnet’s murder. She has become a dreaded and feared companion on the trip. The setting is unique from any other place that Linnet and Simon could be for their honey moon because they are on a boat for most of the time which makes the case much more contained, and most likely easier to solve because the murderer must be on the boat. Without Egypt, the story may have been a lot longer than it is. Jackie is cleared from one "coincidental" almost-fatal happening in Egypt. A large rock tumbles down a cliff to just where the Doyles sat but they hurriedly moved just seconds before it crashed to the ground. Literally, a piece of the setting almost killed the endangered couple. This was no coincidence it seemed after all that happened. This is when the suspicion begins, all caused by the setting of Egypt.

This book is probably my favorite book ever. One of the things that make it so interesting is the setting. I learned a lot about settings from this book. I now know that every setting has some importance to the book, otherwise, it would not be that setting. My life would be a lot different if I lived somewhere else, for the better or worse. In this book, the setting helped the story a lot by being on a boat in Egypt most of the time, this way there are limited suspects. 

The Old Man and the Sea

SPOILER

I recently finished The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemmingway. It is a short story about an old man who struggles to catch a large fish at sea. The old man’s name is mentioned once in the whole story, it is Santiago. The story is slow moving but very enjoyable. In the beginning of the story, it introduces a young boy who Santiago loves. In the beginning and middle of the book, the old man wants the boy to be with him at sea to help him. The difference between the middle and the end is that in the end, he needs the boy. The relationship between the old man and the boy in the middle of the book and the end of the book changes from wants to needs.

In the beginning of the book, the old man is in his shack, and wants the boy to do things for him. He appreciates the things that the boy does for him. Santiago likes the boy to help him into bed, and get woken up, and enjoys when he retrieves his coffee. A reader could make the inference that he could live without the boy attending to his every need. The man is old, and needs a little assistance, but he describes how his experience has made him stronger, and that he can survive on his own. This is what I thought at the beginning of the book. I thought that the boy is very helpful to Santiago, but I would never have guessed how much the old man would need the boy. The fish that Santiago just had to catch made him and the reader and the boy realize that they need each other. 

Throughout the whole fishing trip, the old man wishes that he had the boy with him. But he manages to survive without him for the trip and catch the fish and fight off of most of the sharks. The middle of the book shows that the old man is starting to realize that he needs the boy and that he will not be able to save the fish. He knows in advance that more sharks will arrive to try to take the fish after the first shark attack. He knows that he will not be able to save much of the fish. 

The end of the book has the boy helping and healing the man’s wounds from trying to catch the fish. Santiago is so tired and exhausted from the fishing excursion and is depending on the boy to help him to recover and get better. The reader can also tell that the boy needs Santiago because he cry’s about him not getting the fish. He would rather be with the old man than fish in a boat that gets more fish. This is really sweet and shows that they love each other and will be with each other no matter the circumstances. 

In The Old Man and the Sea, there are intertwining relationships that change throughout the book. It releases a theme that can teach the reader about how you never think the same thing about a person or thing for long. Patience also is a main theme that comes from this relationship. The old man has to be patient in order to catch the fish, it takes many days. He also had to be patient to be with the boy at the end of the trip.  Patience helps Santiago get the fish and get back to his shack, and it helps build the boy and his relationship. 

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a young girl living in Brooklyn in the early to mid-1900s tells the reader about her daily life. She lives somewhat in poverty; gathering garbage for money and finding ways just to earn a little more. Francie lives with her mom and brother in a little apartment building in Williamsburg. Her dad works as a waiter and is never quite sure when he will be home. There are a few moments in the book that I thought were obvious foreshadows. I really like foreshadows because they are mysterious and often hidden in the text. What I think is really nice about the foreshadowing in this book is that the reader can easily point them out, though their meaning is often unpredictable. Even though I can see these clues as to what might happen later in the storyline, I could never guess even the slightest details of what might actually happen later in the story.

For the poor in Williamsburg, there are many ways to survive. In the story, Francie goes out to buy the bread from the bakery that is only sold to the poor because it has gone bad. It is sold cheaper than fresh bread and many folk sent their children to retrieve this bread. Francie enters that store and there is a huge crowd so the waits in the back. This scene contains an important, overarching foreshadow when Francie feels afraid to become old when she sees a man and imagines how he must feel and how useless he must be. She hopes she will never have to be like that. When I read this I knew immediately that the story was foreshadowing. It was a brief excerpt of the story, and I could almost taste all of the meaning in the scene. My theory was proven when later in the story, Francie mentions her experience to her mother. She explains how she does not want to be as useless as the old man at the bakery. I think that this may end up being a major theme in the book: becoming older.

Later in the story, Francie goes to Flossie Gaddis’s house. Flossie is a neighbor known for her elaborate costumes, which is why Francie gives her a visit. Flossie has a brother, Henny who is supposedly dying. He is very angry when Francie says hello. The foreshadow in this part of the story is a little more clear that the last one. It says in the story, “she had a feeling that something was stealthily concealed behind those costumes…And it was hiding behind these brilliant colors waiting for Henny.” In the middle, she adds a short description of the figure of force behind those costumes. This foreshadow is obviously directed towards the safety of Henny. I knew then that Henny would be an important part of the story and that there is some danger, and that danger could even be his death. I am more sure of the outcome of this foreshadow, but I still don’t have a perfect picture of what might happen in response to this foreshadow.

The foreshadows in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn reveal a comfertable amount of information about what is to come in later pages. They reveal who might be important characters and what might be a major theme in the story. They do not show what will happen plot-wise in the story and that is what appeals to me as a reader and that is what makes me interested in the rest of the story, without knowing what will actually happen. Foreshadowing adds quite a lot to a story and makes it much more interesting and suspenseful to read.

The Two Towers

In  The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien, the hobbits, elf, dwarf, and other various travelers continue their journey to Mordor to destroy the powerful ring that their leader, Frodo has possession of.  They are being pursued by many enemies, such as Sauron, Saruman, and orcs. I suppose that a complicated book such as the likes of this, contain many themes within. One that became clear to me was the importance of taking one’s time. I found this often throughout the book which supported my simple theory and created it more complex as the book evolved in my mind.

In the book, Merry and Pippin meet large tree-like creatures called Ents. These Ents mentioned my theme quite a bit. They repeatedly enforced how they are never “hasty”.  They take their time and never rush their conversations. Talking with them seems like talking in legal writing, all the time. This brought them to the decision to help with this battle against the Lord of the rings. In fact it helped out our little friends in the book because before, it was them against the great force of Sauron and his creatures. The Ents are very strong and can reinforce the hobbits and friends. So without the un-hastiness, the travelers would be fighting Sauron all on their own, and that would most likely change the destination of the story.

This theme of taking your time has been a theme in many stories and some of the most famous fables. I don’t want to sound too repetitive. Slow and steady does not always win the race, but making sure you do things right does. Taking your time is one thing, but taking time to make sure you are on the right track in another. I think that this is the main theme in the story. Aragorn may never have found the trail of the hobbits is he hadn’t taken his time to inspect every clue he saw. As my tennis coach always tells me, “NO RUSHING! Stay with the ball.” Keeping your eye on the main goal of what you are doing applies to life, not just tennis.

The characters in The Two Towers face very different problems than a New Yorker does, but they face similar issues and must remember similar lessons in order to meet their goals, thought they are very different. For instance, my goal at the moment is to get into a good high school, while theirs is to safe the Middle earth from the dark lord’s power. Any similarities?

The Two Towers

I am in the middle of reading The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien, the second book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The book follows each little group of travelers through their journey after they split apart in the first book. One group is off to destroy the ring in Mordor, one group is chasing the orcs to find the last group, and the last group finds a way to break away from their capturers. I think that the most significant part of the book so far is when Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn find Gandalf after they perceived him dead and lost in the mines of Moria. I thought that this is an important part of the book because it takes a lot of the pressure off of the team. But I think that the story would have been more original if Gandalf was, in fact, gone forever.

The architecture of the story suggests that Gandalf will return again before he actually does. I could predict that he would reappear because of his name repeating many times in the beginning of the book and in the end of the last one. The groups always depended on him and he brought them to where they are now. He was bound to return and help them or they would never have found their way to wherever they are going (I am not quite sure where they are going specifically yet from the information given to me in the story). Gandalf is a major part of the story and it would be drastically different without him as a character. He is very important in the story but I think that it helped the story quite a bit to lose him for a while. Do you ever get sick of a character? I know that I do and I definitely was a little tired of Gandalf. When he fell, I knew that this would be hard for the characters, but I know that it will help the reader.

The return of Gandalf after he is presumed to be dead, in my opinion, worsened the story. This is because I thought that it was unoriginal. I have read countless stories where a character of force is gone and then returns. On example is The throne of Fire by Rick Riordan. The two main characters, Carter and Sadie must preclude the rising of Apophis which could result in destroying the world. In the story Apophis reverts from being dormant for many years. This is somewhat the same context as in The Two Towers, where Gandalf comes back from “the dead”. This sequence occurs in many other stories so in this book, I think it made the story less original by using this format.

I think that so far the book is really well written and the story line is incredible. I am excited to continue reading it. There are, like most other books, a few tweaks I might make to it to make the story more unique and interesting. In this case it is the return of Gandalf. I think that there are two ways Tolkien could have done this. The first way is to not make Gandalf fall in the first place. The second is to not make him come back. I am pretty sure that Gandalf will be helpful later in the story so my second idea would more than just tweak it. I do now think that the fall of Gandalf had much effect on the book so I suppose that Gandalf could never fall. Maybe instead, he could just get injured terribly and not function correctly for a while. I think that a man with as much imagination as J. R. R. Tolkien could come up with a more original way to bring Gandalf back to life.





*If this made it sound like I do not like The Two Towers, it is not true. It is just this one aspect of the story that I think could have been changed.

The Fellowship of the Ring

I recently finished reading The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is an adventure story about a hobbit named Frodo who ends up with a great and powerful ring that he must dispose of. He goes on adventure with a few friends to destroy the ring. I think that the book is very well written and the setting changes from page to page through their travels. I think that it is important to the book that the setting is always changing and it could help the reader feel of the mood of the story and how Frodo must adapt to such a new environment.

The setting begins in the Shire, a cozy little place for all of the hobbits to live in. None of the hobbits know about any of the dangers of the world around them because they have always lived in the Shire. They are too busy planning parties and bustling about in the spring breeze. There is rarely a care in the world. Imagine being Frodo and having to go from this setting to a place where you must always be on the lookout for spys and black riders who chase you throughout the whole book. On top of that, you are in charge of keeping a prized possession safe that could hurt the whole earth if put in the wrong hands and draws so much danger towards you. This is such a dramatic change for Frodo that he will never be able to enjoy the calm feeling of the Shire ever again.

In spite of this difficult transition, Frodo manages to absorb himself in the actual task that he has set out to do, rather than just being a laggard because he is unhappy. Towards the middle of the book, he remembers the comfortable environment of the Shire as he relaxes in the house of Elrond where he does not want to leave. This was a setback because he lost the feeling of adventure inside of him and must re-adapt to the dangers of the world. He does this at least one other time in the book and I think that it is good because he can have a fresh start with breaks in between, but also it is getting him out his adventure zone and back into his relaxed Shire zone. I think that Frodo struggles with this throughout the book especially in the middle of the book when they loose Gandalf. It is especially hard for him then.

The frequent change of setting in the book effects Frodo quite a bit. He gains knowledge about the real world but he also struggles with the new environment. This helps me better understand our world and how it is changing through ups and downs.

Am I Blue?

Most adults tell me over and over again that “It’s okay to be wrong,” or “you learn from your mistakes”.  It usually drives me crazy but this story helped me realize how important they are in everyday life. 

In the story Am I Blue? By Bruce Coville, these statements are both true and untrue for different characters. It is a short story about Vince who is picked on because he is thought to be gay. But when his fairy godfather shows up, he helps Vince realize just how many people are like him in the world. He learns from his mistake. But Butch, his  main predator, is only assuming that he is gay and even though he learns from this mistake in the end, it is not understandable. He is wrong but he has no excuse.

Vince did not know how many people were gay at the beginning of the book. He made the error of thinking that there are only a miniscule amount of people who are gay. This is an understandable mistake because many people hide it, and he only knows what he can see. Vince says in the passage, “are you telling me all those people are gay?” This quote is when he has just received blue vision from Melvin, his fairy godfather. Blue vision shows Vince which people are gay that he sees because they turn blue. He is surprised by the fact that so many people are gay, saying that he never knew that so many people are like that. This is an honest mistake because in his community, a lot of people keep the fact that they are gay hidden and feel embarrassed about themselves. With blue vision, he learned from his wrongdoing, and as he says in the passage, “things are never going to be the same now that it happened.” 

Butch Carrigan opens up the story by bullying Vince. He bullies Vince a lot as described in the story. The only reason why he gives Vince a beating is because he THINKS that Vince is gay. Melvin says in the story, “you’re getting picked on because people think you are.” This is a mistake, but to me it is inexcusable. It was disrespectful of Butch to assume what he did not know. The first reason being that people should not judge each other no matter what, even if their assumption is true. It is not fair to the other person. The other reason is that even if someone is doing something wrong, and in the story Vince did nothing of the sort, it is never a cause to bully or hurt someone else. It is mean and it often backfires. Butch made a terrible mistake that he learned from, but it was no excuse to hurt Vince in any way.

In the story Am I Blue?, many people were wrong. In some cases it was good and they can now do better in the future. But in other cases, the person had no right to hurt anybody. As a teacher might say, “it is unacceptable!” I think that it takes a really good person to be able to tell the difference of what makes it okay to be wrong. But you can change a person's life forever when you are wrong. The bad way.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

In The Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury, there are only two main characters that are easily noticed: Joby and the general. Joby is going to be a drummer boy at the battle of Shiloh the next day and the general is, well, the general. Another “character” whom I thought very important is the drum, though it might often go unnoticed because it is not a person. The drum has connections to Joby, the general, who explains to Joby his importance in the battle, and the setting and the nature of the story. If you think about it, the drum really is the main character. The drum causes Joby’s fright of war which is the start of the whole conflict.

In this short story, the drum is connected to the general. The general knows a lot and is the mentor of the story. He knows the drum is an important part of the battle because he is experienced in war. I think that he has a good connection with the drum because the drum is taking some of the pressure off of him. It is almost leading the army more that he is himself. He also sees the significance of the drum and he is happy to share his knowledge with Joby.

The relationship between Joby and the drum is the most complicated because it changes throughout the story. Joby begins the story with his regret for the drum. All he can see is the fact that he will be unarmed on the battle field. Then he begins to realize what he and the drum have the power of doing, but also the responsibility that comes with it. It says in the story, “I only got a drum.” When I read this, I imagine Joby not really appreciating his drum and knowing what it is worth in this particular battle. This is the beginning of the story when the general has not yet told Joby of his importance in the army. Towards the middle of the book, the general reveals to Joby his importance and the drums importance. In the story, the general tells Joby, “You will tell them----- one part humble and one part proud------ I was the drummer boy at the battle of owl creek.” Here, Joby realizes that the his drum is the best weapon in the army. He is very thankful that he has the drum now. He needs the drum and the drum needs him to keep the army in line.

This rings a bell. I know that my cats’ depend on me to feed them and change their litter boxes. But I also need my cats to keep me in line and help me feel better when I need it.

By the end of the story, Joby feels the power of his responsibility. He is in charge of tens of thousands of men. The mood of the story goes down with Joby’s feelings at the end of the story. Joby has become closer to the drum but he has also become farther away.

The drum also has a strong relationship with the setting. I thought this was interesting because there was a connection between two non-people in the story. Without the drum, there are only two official characters in the story which in my opinion makes the story less complicated and interesting for the reader.

Towards the beginning of the story, it describes the face of the drum as “lunar,” connecting with the moon. This makes me as a reader imagine a bright moon shining on the drum head. The author also helps describe the April peach blossoms through the drum in the sentence, “blossoms fell from the orchard trees and lighted with rustling taps on the drum head.” I liked this sentence because it makes you actually feel the wind and the peach blossom petals falling. In this way, the setting helps to describe the drum and the drum helps to describe the setting.

The way that the story is written, it fools the reader into thinking that the drum is a character. The drum is as complex as a character: it has relationships that differ for every person, place, or thing in the story. It made me realize that sometimes characters don’t have to be people.

The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1

The main character in The Fellowship of the Ring is Frodo. Frodo is a hobbit from the Shire. Throughout the book, Frodo changes emotionally because of the possession he carries and the position he is put in.

At the beginning of the book, the reader sees how Frodo lives in the Shire. He has very little power because he is so young and inexperienced with the outside world beyond the Shire. All of a sudden, he is put in charge of a powerful ring that has many dangerous secrets. He does not understand why it is he who must protect it until it is brought to Mordor. Frodo is sent on a mission to bring the ring to Mordor where he will be the leader of a few hobbits who will travel with him. He is not used to leading other people and protecting importance objects. It seems as if there is too much responsibility for Frodo and I began to think that he could have much more power than he thinks he does with the ring with him, and he begins to realize this too as the book progresses.

Towards the end of book one in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo has suffered from a loss of innocence. Frodo is more experienced with danger and responsibility as well as leadership. He used his journey wisely and he learned many things including how to protect himself. He survived many attacks from people much bigger, stronger and well-equipped than he, so he can use that skill well for the rest of his life. In the Shire, Frodo was always able to eat a large and delectable meal, but on his journey he was not so fortunate. This may have been the first time in his life that he was not able to eat as much as he would please.

Frodo learned a lot about responsibility as well. He had the responsibility to protect four hobbits and a ring. It was critical that he was able to lead them properly and make the correct decisions, which he did not always do. At one point in the book, the riders were coming towards Frodo and he slipped on the ring against his friend Strider’s advice but he went along with what the rider’s wanted. He ended up badly injured and learned to trust his friends.

Frodo discovered that by trusting himself and others, he will gain the trust of others and is able to lead them peacefully. He undergoes a loss of innocence and is willing to do anything to protect his friends. Although through the book he lost a loss of weight, he is stronger on the inside and out. And this is all in just book one of The Fellowship of the Ring!

A Long Way Gone

Over the Summer I read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. It is about a boy (Ishmael Beah) in Africa who is trapped in a war and forced to become a soldier. The story was unlike any other I have ever read because Ishmael Beah is writing about himself. The whole, sad story is true and I think that that makes a difference in a story. In a piece of fiction, the reader can have feelings for the character, but when it gets too sad or upsetting, the reader will just think to themself, this is just a story so it is all ok. But in this story, I knew it was true and that made it even sadder to think that Ishmael Beah had to live with this over his shoulder for his whole life. 

I really liked the story and the way it was written. One thing I really liked was how the author skimmed some of the parts of the story that were a blur to him when this was actually happening. It made me feel like it was all a blur and made me realize what he was going through. One example of when this happens is when he becomes a soldier. He doesn't know what is happening and he describes the details he remembers of his first time fighting in the war. But he dimly mentions the two years of being a soldier after that. I think it made him seem somewhat like a robot, the same routines and fights and bloody scenes each day. This “blur technique” is something that made the book seem more realistic.

One thing in the book that made me question my own life was how no one trusts Ishmael and his friends even though they are just twelve year old boys’. This made me think about how many people I trust without a doubt. In the story, there are many twelve year old boys fighting with the Rebels, so people can’t be sure whether Ishmael Beah and his friends are safe to be around. This creates a tension in the book and more lying. Trusting the wrong person could have led to Ishmael’s death.

I really liked A Long Way Gone because it is written well, it is an interesting story, and because the characters’ and the story are true. I feel like after I read this book, I have actually experienced a war.