A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: specalil post

SINCE I MISSED A BLOG POST I WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS

A read the fitrst 2 parts of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is about a young girl Named Francie and her brother Neeley. They live in WilliamsBurg Brooklyn with there father and mother. She is smart caring and huge reader.

Her main issue is that she  lives is poverty. In the summer she collects small pecies of metal for a few cents. Her parents work long hours to afford her partment, food and clothing. Although she has this issue it never brings doen Francie's spirits.

Living in New York isen't easy now and it wasen't back then. The city demands alot form you. And now people still strugle to keep there basic needs like food, shelter and everything else we need in between. It's hard. Francie's family still works for her minimum wages.

PLEASE EXCEPT THIS: I NEED TO KEEP MY GRADE TO 80+, I WILL DO ANY THING ELSE TO DO THIS, I NEVER FINSIHED THIS SO THERE WASEN'T MUCH I COULD WRITE, I'M FINISHING THIS BOOK THIS SUMMER. PLEASE, PLEASE I READ LIKE 2 COMMING OF AGE BOOKS.

Speak: finished

I actually read Speak by Laurie Anderson was a book about a girl names Melinda Sordino. She lives in Syracuse with her Mother and Father. The summer before 9th grade her best friend Rachel gets her and her friends into an exclusive senior summer party. There she meets the Beast, Andy Evans who first seduces her with his good looks and disarming character but then he thinks she is ready. She said no but it happened. She stumbles through the crowed and calls the cops which break it up. After that thetas all what she is known for. Melinda the girl who called the  cops yet no one knows why. She doesn't tell anyone. High school becomes a living hell... I don't want to give too much away if anyone wants to read it.

The three main issues in the book is Andy Beast, loosing her friends and Her parents marriage problems.
"I bet they'd divorced by now if i hadn't been born. I'm sure I'm a huge disappointment."says Melinda. Her parents don't get along together. They act more like mutual friends then the average Husband and Wife. And Melinda notices, and it impacts her emotion towards her respect for her family.

Her 2nd issue is everyone hates her because she called the cops on the summer party of the year. When she comes back to school she says it's a nightmare. People throw food at her. "Splat, a huge glob of mashed potatos lands on my shirt." on page 23. Her best friend silentyl moths i hate you, she's alone excerpt for her bubbly friend Heather who msectretly dosen't even like her.

The last and main issue was that was raped by Andy Evans. She was drunk. She said No, but it happened, after that her life was changed forever. Thats why she called the cops, that nwhy everyone hates her. Her life crumbled beneath her feet.

What I learned from Speak was that. We are only human there will be bad things and there will be good things. For the bad things you have to fight through, you have to Speak up. Melinda never told anyone so people just taunted her, hurt her. Made her feel alone. If she told her patrents, Andy would of been arrested and she would be somwe sort of hero. At the end she found her Voice. Melinda Spoke. 

Spring Break HW 3

I read the article What Really Happened to the Titanic? on scholastic.com. The R.M.S. Titanic was the prized ship that crashed on it's way to New York and many were killed. The article brang up a scientific theory on how it exactly came to sink, which went off the usual theory of how the ship hit the iceberg. It brang up a theory that involved illusions and water columns of pressure. I agree with some aspects of this article and i don't agree with others.

I agree with the aspect of the article that helped cause the sinking called thermal inversion. "The Titanic, he says, sailed from warm Gulf Stream waters into the freezing Labrador Current. There, the air column was cooling from the bottom up, creating layers of cold air below layers of warmer air." (What Really Happened to the Titanic, by Jennifer Walters, scholastic.com) This often makes a haze which means they couldn't have really have saw the iceberg before it was to late.


I disagree with the aspect that there was another ship and with the thermal inversion saw a smaller ship, also when the ship sent Morse lamp they couldn't see it. In other information it was shown that it would take many hours for another ship to come help. It seems odd that just because the ship was not huge the other ship wouldn't even try to save anyone. In other information they often say that the ship Californian came later and didn't see them then. This aspects makes me doubt this theory.


There will always be other theories about the famous sinking. Many will say they hit an iceberg, others may say other things like there was a mirage. But no doubt the prized R.M.S. Titanic sunk killing 100's of men, women and children, unprepared with now enough life boats. We will always remember the great tragedy and the untimely deaths to the  civilians aboard. Through all the theories about the sinking that will always be a fact.

spring break HW 2

1.) What the student did wrong is that he/she needed to either put a star after that quote and then at the end of their post say the URL or when using the quote say from which  website and article directly into your post like this:  http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html from he  article "A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings". Then it would give full credit to the website and it's article and if it has an author so it wouldn't be plagiarism. 


2.) Vangough's painting Starry Night has plenty of emotions and visual elegance like "There is a peaceful essence flowing from the structures. Perhaps the cool dark colors and the fiery windows spark memories of our own warm childhood years filled with imagination of what exists in the night and dark starry skies."  (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html

Title of article: "A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings")

3.) 3 ways to avoid plagiarism is... 1.) Put the orgin of the quote before or after the quote itself. 2.) Have a cited sources page at the end of the post. 3.) Put a number or symbol next to the quote and later on put the orgin of the quote in the post. BUT MOST OF ALL ALWAYS SOMEWAY GIVE THE WEBSITE, ARTICLE, BOOK OR PERSON CREDIT!

Spring Break HW 1

I liked Diana's post on "Much a do about nothing" and Josh's poem "What is America".

First i want to talk about Josh's poem. Reading this was a privilege. When i drove down south this spring break, in states like South Carolina and Georgia i saw bumper stickers and billboards plastered with phrases like "TAKE BACK AMERICA" and "AMERICA LAND OF THE BRAVE AND FREE", yes they were obnoxious boasting about how "were the best" but his poem shows the cold and painful truth about our sugar coated nation. Wile driving through the south i passed Trayvon Martin's home town which brought me a chill down my spine. For example a young boy can be murdered for basically being black and yet the racist murderer isn't charged for it for over a month, that is are so called fair justice system. Or like Josh brings up the 13 million Americans who can't find work. There will always be problems, we will always have to struggle but we have to keep trying. Anyway his poem bang tears to my eyes, it was written in a way that is hard to describe so the best way i can is to say in a perfect structure with simple yet meaningful words, so perfectly put together it's positively divine.

I liked Diana's post very much. I liked how she kept it simple only using the details f the performance she needed to, saying what she liked, what she did not, her favorite characters and things like that. But she did elaborate very well using the details she needed to use from the play. Very nice short and sweet.

Sometimes i feel like i put too much summary and not enough about the actual context in the article, book or any type of text. I also like to elaborate, but sometimes i admit i go over board, now i understand that you have to keep it simple. Elaborating with too much summary or unnecessary dialogue can damage your post even if you have a good idea.

Much Ado About Nothing.

Overall i liked it. It was a Shakespeare comedy. Instead of putting it in 15th century they made the setting in the end of world war 1 and the beginning of the roaring 20's. With it they had plenty of live jazz and costumes like suits and fedoras and Short dresses and head bands. The main characters were Beatrice a feisty independent girl, Benedict a young truthful man, Claudio a rude soldier, Hero a young sweet girl and more. The plot was confusing there were love triangles, deaths, betrayal and self discovery. The props could of used some work, all they had were 3 Tables and 3 chairs, a drink closet and a phonograph. I had absolutely no idea where they were. A house? a bar? what. But they used the props well and the space. The general acting was good, they read the lines very well and clear.

Romeo and Juliet response

My favorite character has to be Mercutio. He is a fun loving and very witty and sarcastic kind of guy. The best friend of Romeo and yet quite opposite to him. Romeo is a serious and dramatic poetic lover like on page 17 act 1 scene 1 his father says: "Many a morning hath he been seen,with tears augmenting the fresh morning's dew, adding to clouds more clouds with deep sighs". But on the other side Mercutio says to romeo on page 43 act 2 scene 4: "if love be rough with love! Prick love for pricking and beat love down."(He uses oxymoron because people don't normally put the words beating with rough) and things like: "Nay gentle Romeo we must have you dance." He constantly uses puns and battles with his wits. i really deeply admire Mercutio and his sense of humor.

I feel like this is a very important line in the play: "if love be rough with love! Prick love for pricking and beat love down." Means that you can't let love get you down you have to man up and move on, otherwise you won't end up well. In modern times this still applys, people who sit on the couch eating ice cream and crying over break ups need to just move on and forget.

Creative writing:
I decided to write a small scene or dialogue.
MERCUTIO: Now Romeo, many a time have you cried over your Rosaline, and thou has explained that your love will not be hit with cupids arrows many a time. You most forget and move on.

ROMEO: I can not, it's not possible, she was an angle fallen from heaven and endowed with god's gift of beauty, she will always be hard to forget, she will never be forgotten.

MERCUTIO: The sun has risen in the east and set in the west many times and thous sighs still become deeper and thous cries have become louder until thy point where you have become mad with sorrow and love. If thy can make i may make this any clearer you must spread your wings and fly away from Rosaline. You must forget and you must move on.

ROMEO: I suppose you are right my friend. There are many beauties in Verona, Just because i do not have Rosaline's love doesn't mean i can never love.

Sonnet

Isabelle Sturges 807

“The Unfolded Future”

As I sew the quilt my fingers tremble

But the quilt has something to resemble.

My future, my entire existence

Unfolded, unhinged I take the distance.

Sewn together by a single thin thread

It is easily broken which I dread.

And it is so very fragile like glass

And by one mistake, one small mistake CRASH.

I fear what comes next, ringing my hands,

I claw to the top, which only expands

To higher, taller more challenging heights,

In this sadistic game we have to rights.

When I get older what do I desire?

Just to have fun before I expire.

Harlem responce

Harlem by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

This was my favorite poem we read. For a while now Langston Hughes has been my favorite poet, ever since last years poetry study. I used to honestly hate poetry, every year in school we would have a study and read some stupid poem and talk about what it meant and stuff. But since last year i had to go beyond the poems my teachers had spoon fed me and venture in to  poetry. Along the way i did read some terrible poems and then i found the beautiful ones. The ones that yelled out to me the got the gears in my brain moving, that made me think about all day and stay up all night. And then there was Langston... his words made me tear up (no joke) they made me angry,they made me somber they made me giddy. And for the first time since kindergarten Poetry made me feel something.

his words are mesmerizing in a way for a poem about dream the words are dreamy and sort of sleepy and heavy. They roll of your tongue. This is not one of his louder poems but a quiet one. I really like the first sentence's alliteration. The poem roams and wanders from one word to the next. The poem has a clear topic but i goes from one question to the next sort of making you wonder and question. 

Three poems

1.) What happens to you when you demise
when you
perish
when you
die.

Do you arrive at the pearly gates.
where god awaits?

Do you end up under t
the flames
in the
orange
taunting
dancing
blaze.

Or do you end up in
nothing in silence
in darkness
in
sleep.

2.)

In center he stands
surronded by gold
with every
single
soul.

The wicked damned to hell.
The saved rise above the

chaos.

the madness.

the disaster.

Demons drag them away.
They scream to almighty.
but it's too late.

It's judgment day.

3.) What is
(i don't know what to do for this so yeah)

Michelangelo

Michealangelo was born in the small town of Caprese outside of the major italian city Florence. When he was only six years old his mother passed away, leaving him and his father devastated. When he was only 13 years old he relized he wanted to be an artist. When he told his father he beat him. Later on his father accepted it. he got an aprentiship with the artist Ghirlando and got to work. Later on he bacame a very famous Sculptor, Painter and archetict, he did some very famos work like the Sistine Chapel the statue "A state of sorrows".

The painting i liked the most was "The Last Judgment". It was the wall behind the alter of the Sistine Chapel. It's when Jesus somes down to earth and all the souls in the world he decides if they go to Hevean or Hell forever. He stands lined in gold at the center of the painting, to his left his mother kneels next to him. The painting itself is cahos 100's of people take up every inch, each with diffrent expressions of fear and delight. Each person in the painting is unique and in diffrent satnces, all the colors are vibrant and eye cathching, almost too much. Some people go up to hevan (which is at the top of the painting) and the wicked souls are dragged by demons into hell, as they cry in fear and pain. The painting have emotions from one extreme to the other. It's beautiful but frightning.

aa 

Top Image: the entire painting.
Middle Image: Saved souls going to Heavan (detail)
Bottom Image: Souls going to Hell (Detail)

Catching Fire

I'm still reading the second hunger games book "Catching Fire". The basic plot of the book is that Katniss has recently won the hunger games with her "boyfriend" Peeta. She thinks life will go back to usual, but it never will. The president Snow tells Katniss that she will start another uprising against the capitol with what she did in the arena because there is always one victor in the Hunger games but Her and peeta were gonna eat poisonous fruit and die so no one won because they refused to fight each other, so they let them both win. This has shown rebellion in that is basically says "The capitol does not own me". The president tells her that he will kill her friends and family unless she shows the nation that she is loyal to the capitol. But it doesn't work out, behind her back people rebel and she is their leader, her mocking jay pin is the symbol. One by one the capitol hurts her best friend, and her friend Cinna. An uprising in district 8 occurs. As punishment the president sends the most recent victors of all the hunger games back in.

That's what i read so far. The issue of government and anarchy come up allot. Her government is evil, anyone who goes up against them is secretly killed, they force people to work in the districts for low wages and unsafe conditions. As Katniss likes to say "District 12 where you can starve in safety." The hunger games itself was created as a punishment of 75 years ago when the district rebelled against Panem's capitol because of it's unfair so called "democracy", instead of listening to what their people have to say they decide to bomb district 13 to nothing and create the hunger games. citzens feel that they should rather have control of their own district then being controled by this force of evil.

Social Awareness (LATE)

I'm doing my picture book on Cancer. I got into this topic by Sako and the 1,000 Paper Cranes it's a book about a girl in the 50's in Japan. It's been about 10 years after the bombing in Japan. Sako is an up beat and active little girl who joins a race at her school, she begins to feel strange and something heavey on her chestm She is taken to a hospital and it turns out she got radioactive poisinig from the bombing which means she has cancer. Her friend tells her that if you make 1,000 paper crnes the gods will grant you health. Sako ends at 600 before she dies in her bed with her family around her. I cried for too long, still writing this i'm crying (for real).  Felt that now i needed to write a book on having cancer. This topic is too importnat for me to ignore.

Blankets

I finished re-reading one of my favorite books of all time. "Blankets" by Craig Thomson. I don't want to give too much away so here's a summary. Craig, his little brother Phil, mother and father live in a small farm town in Wisconsin. They are poor but get by, Craig is very religious just like his father and deeply believes in God. At school he is bullied by the other boy because of his social class and the way he looks. He feels like a failure to God because he doesn't look after his brother even when he gets into a dangerous situation, he doesn't do well in school, he's not strong or athletic or social. His only gift is he is a natural born artist. When Craig is 17he goes to a Church winter camp for a week during his three week winter break, this is where he meets the love of his life Raina. For two weeks and gets a window into Raina's stressful life. When he has to go he never see's Raina again.

This book has some really interesting themes one of them is religion. During the book Craig goes through a religious war with in. hen he is young his parents drill religion in his head, they make him believe that god is the lord of the universe, that there is only one god, that Jesus s the son of god and died for our sin. He takes this very seriously, he even burns all his drawings claiming that they took away from his Bible studies. But when he meets Raina they talk about God, Raina doesn't believe in Heaven or Hell, she doesn't believe in Adam and Eve, and once Craig leaves his house and goes to new york city he realizes he doesn't believe at all, he realizes the bible doesn't make since and that people like his mother depended to much on made up stories, don't get me wrong Jesus was real, Joseph was real and some other biblical prophets were real people but lost there real meaning in exaggeration, to the point where the myth and truth merged into the same thing.

Catching fire Thesis

thesis: in [Catching Fire] the goverment there is a lot like the goverment in many diffrent nations we have today. They try to cover up to the public serious problems that could concern them and anyone who tries to speak out will die.