TKAM #9 Boo Radley

The day started out like normal, I ate some breakfast and stayed home. After completing my second book of the evening, I took a nap. When I woke up, it was already nine o'clock. I was wondering around my house to find something to do when suddenly, I heard a scream. It came from the north side of my house so I hurried and rushed outside. Because it was so dark, I could not see what was actually going on. I later on heard Scout talking, I thought through my mind about saving her because I never really knew her and I might get in a bit of trouble for this. After thinking, I decided that every life is worth saving so I went in the kitchen, Grabbed a kitchen knife and rushed out there. I tried to be as quite as I could so I would not scare whoever was attacking Scout. Because I was use to the dark, I could see someone if they were in front of me.
I later on saw that it was Bob Ewell attacking Scout, trying to strangle her to death. This act of evil was obscured. I knew I had to do something or else Scout would die. I always thought that he allegedly was never going to hurt a person since the court case. Thinking back, this was the person who persecuted black people. I made the decision of stabbing Bob Ewell in the stomach ceasing him from attacking Scout. It was very inconvenient to stab a person. I saw Jem on the ground later on and picked him up on my shoulder. I forgot about Scout and tried to rush Jem to his house as fast as I could. I was thinking of what Heck Tate was going to do because I did not have consent from anyone to defend the children by killing someone. At one moment, I almost dropped Jem while trying to run as fast as I could. I knocked on the door countless times trying to get Atticus's attention. After Jem was in Atticus's hands, I sat layed against the wall and waited. I could have sworn I waited for almost an hour before being talked to. We later on moved to the front porch and Scout talked to me. I gave her a nod to tell her that I wanted to see Jem. When I got in to Jem's room, I started imagining myself when I was 13 again. This felt so improbable because it reminded me of my childhood. I wanted to pet Jem just to know that i wasn't dreaming. I whispered to Scout asking her if she could take me home. She hooked her arm and waited for me and we were off. After getting to my house, I looked back and closed the door. Although we suffered a death today, this was one of the most special days I have ever had.

TKAM #7 Jem

After we left the court room, we met Mr. Dolphis Raymond. He seemed like a nice guy and we decided to talk to him. My stomach was feeling a little up so I could use some company. Mr. Dolphis Raymond was nice enough to offer me his drink. I did not want to seem prejudice so I took a sip. After I drank it, I thought I was drunk because all I tasted was coca cola. The last person I expected to be faking drunk would be Mr. Dolphis Raymond because he is always stealthy and walks around town acting drunk. Scout and I asked him why he is the way he is and he replied with an answer that seemed like Atticus would say. He said that sometimes you have to do things to shut people up instead of winning the fight because trying to solve a problem by creating another problem is just plain annoying. By acting drunk is sort of fraud and people might be mad at Mr. Dolphis Raymond for lying all these years but I could not change him. After thanking him and returning to the courthouse. We were just in time to catch the ending of the court case. Everyone in the colored balcony were saying that Mr. Gilmer was completely irrelevant which gave me a feeling that we won.
Out of nowhere, Calpurnia walked in and I had a feeling it had to do with me and Scout. A note came out of her hand and in that moment, my heart sunk. I knew that it was a note from Aunt Alexandra about us. Atticus then says to all of us that we have been missing and someone in the crowd pointed us out. I knew I was in huge trouble when Atticus saw me because we were not allowed to visit the court case by Atticus’s orders. After meeting Atticus downstairs, we begged him to let us stay because I was so anxious about the ending of the case. He granted us permission to come back to the case as long as we went home, had supper and ate slow. When we were home and ate supper, Aunt Alexandra seemed as disappointed at us as Calpurnia was. All Calpurnia could think of was how could I bring my little sister to the court case. Aunt Alexandra stayed quite throughout the whole supper. We were gone almost an hour and nothing at the court case seemed to have changed. It did not seem like Atticus was getting into any predicament at the time. The jury returned and I was almost blinded by my own anxiousness. I had to know who won and I had to know now. As Judge Taylor read the paper, all of the votes were guilty. At that moment, I had already used up all my energy being anxious and could not even realize that Atticus lost.
I was so disappointed and knew it was not fair. We met Atticus outside by the street and I told him that it wasn’t right. He agreed that it wasn’t right but he said it was done before and it could be done again. This world just didn’t seem fair to me because an innocent man is having his life on the line for helping a girl with chores just because of the color of his skin. It just wasn’t right.

TKAM #6 Judge Taylor

It was a clear morning today and the only bad thing was I had to do another court case today. This court case is the type of court case that I hate the most because whenever an argument has race included, I know there will be a lot of yelling and the witnesses will be very predujudice. After I got dressed, I said goodbye to my wife and took off. I got to courthouse and I knew I had a long day in front me. As I put on my judges robe, I was mentally preparing myself for boredom and frustration. After the jury got settled, the crowd of people just flooded the court room. After I was announced, I walked in and sat down. We began the case with the opening statements that were not interesting at all because this "Tom Robinson" was all over town and everyone knew his story. The interesting part began when Atticus began arguing because he is never irrelevant. Atticus was my favorite lawyer because of his education of how people respond while lying and how to get the truth out of people. First, Heck Tate was called up because he was a police men called up to the house to help Ms. Ewell. Heck Tate seemed pretty truthful with everything he had said. Mr. Ewell was called up for questioning next and I knew the second he got up in that chair, this was going to be interesting. The questions were flying at him faster than ever, and it seemed that all his answer had to do with Tom Robinson's race and because he's pauper. I knew that Mr. Ewell was full of lies the minute he started talking because I knew that he was an alcoholic and he was a man in an economic crisis with 8 of his children. Later on, Ms.Ewell was called up for questioning and she seemed scared. Atticus was kind of intimidating to Ms. Ewell, maybe he just wanted the truth out of her. I think Ms. Ewell was either slightly crazy or she was just raised wrong and was always trying to get in predicaments. She seemed to be intimidated by everything Atticus said and she thought Atticus was mocking her at a time during the case. Later on, they started questioning Tom Robinson, Tom Robinson seemed like the cleanest guy who would never even dare touch a white women. Atticuse subsequently found a way to prove to the jury that Ms. Ewell was wrong. He seemed truthful through all of his questioning and never seemed nervous. Sure he was a large man and there is a possibility that he could have done this crime but it was just the wrong time to be calling an African American our because you know they will loose.

TKAM #5 Dill

One day, my parents ignored me. I was so bored and I just wanted to hang out with my fiance, Scout. My parents ignored me, I felt like they did not care about me. So, I ran away. First, I spent in hour planning my escape and deciding about out I should bring on my par less journey to Maycomb. All I could think of was Scout, I wanted to play with them so much. I was thinking about the good times and the better times. After I was all packed, I forgot something. Something that I that is crucial for my trip to Maycomb, money. I did not have any money, so I stole my moms. I did not know how much money I needed, so I took as much as I would think I need. After I was packed, I escaped through the window at night so my parents would not know. I got to the train station, and decided to have a little snack before I left. After I bought my ticket and was going to go on the train. I met a man, he asked me why I had so much money. I told him that I ran away and he was surprisingly OK with it. He told me that you had to do what you had to do which was so inspirational to me because in my time of need, a man actually supports me. I knew I could only take the train to Maycomb Junction and then i had to walk 14 miles to Maycomb. I was mentally prepared for this but I don't know if my body could take the beating because I was starving. Luckily, some of the distance was shortened because I got a ride on the back of a cotton wagon. The walk was hard but I made it all the way to Maycomb and found Scouts house. I knew I could not just walk in the house because Atticus would just send me right back. I decided to sneak through the window and hide under Scouts bed. Later on, I was discovered by Scout and Jem because a broom emerged and hit me in the head. I was so embarrassed but I was too hungry to even walk. Jem tells Scout to extract some food for me and in an hour, I was all filled up. I tried to sleep in Jems bed but later on, I moved over to Scouts bed to talk things over because i knew Scout was infallible. I seemed oblivious to everything the Finches were doing because a week after I was there, the sheriffs and lawyers of Maycomb came to talk with Atticus. I knew this had something to do with Tom Robinson the defendent. Later than night we followed Atticus and found out he went to pay a visit to Tom Robinson. Later on while the court session started, Scout tried to defend her father by kicking a person in the crowd. I tried to help Scout but her acquiescence was out of control.

TKAM #4

One day, I was reading. As I was drifting into the story I was reading, Scout and Jem emerged and asked a question that opened my eyes. They asked me “Why are you so old.” After I thought about it, I told them “I started late.” This brought me back to reality about how old I was. I thought to myself, what if it is already to late to educate my children. I knew that I needed to teach Jem and Scout as much as I could before I was gone so they could prepare for life. I started thinking about how ignorant I am, when Jem asked me to teach him how to shoot the air rifles. I simply rejected because I did not want to. I didn’t want them to learn like how I acquired my skills. I wanted to teach them instead of them teaching themselves. As I realized that Jem is getting older and older, I knew I had a job to do. I know Jem needed guidance if he was going to grow up with good morals. I tried to teach him that doesn’t cause harm unless you have to. I tried to educate them about the dangers of guns and mistakes. Although they think that if they don’t pull the trigger, nobody will get hurt. There are a million accidents waiting to happen.
One day, Calpurnia called me at my office and sounded startled. She told me that there was a mad dog coming down our street and it was Tim Johnson. I rushed there as fast as I could to make sure no one is hurt. As I came, I saw the sheriff Heck Tate there. I expected the sheriff to shoot because their job is to protect us. All he said was he hasn’t shot a gun in over 30 years. He seemed cantankerous, so I took control and I knew I had to shoot the dog. I aimed and just imagined me being peaceful. Nothing around me took a deep breath and said my prayers. I shot, this shot just felt right. By no surprise, I hit the dog straight on and he hit the ground faster than anyone could say wow.
I went over to check just incase he wasn’t dead. Jem and Scout wanted to follow me with them but I told them to stay. I quickly scurried over there to check if Tim Johnson was dead. I looked at him and saw his life. I knew he was just a dog that needed help. Now he is gone and he is in a happier place now. Mrs. Dubose later told me that she found some camellia buds of hers that were destroyed. At that point, I knew that Jem did it. I took the items and went home to ask Jem. Sure enough, Jem. I was so disappointed at myself because I knew I still haven’t taught Jem enough to learn the difference between right and wrong. He told me that he did it and he seemed like he wanted to be inconspicuous. He was later told by me to talk and apologize to Mrs. Dubose.
I was happy that Jem was punished for his act of evil. He had to work for Mrs. Dubose for a few days, which should teach him some morals. Jem working for Mrs. Dubose for one month certainly did gain her respect. Too bad that it didn’t last longer enough for Jem to notice. After Jem’s time was up, I got a call about Mrs. Dubose so I rushed over as fast as I could. I was there with her until her last heartbeat. Everyone was so sad after she died but knew she died gracefully and happily. Still when I was sad, I had to leave home for two weeks because the state legislature had an emergency.

TKAM (Ms.Maudie) #3

For the first time in years, I finally see snow on top of our houses. This made my day, I’m sure the children enjoyed it to. I was so surprised that snow came down because it was summer. Every day, my evasion told the children to not bother me much because I am hard at work at times. Today, I could not ignore the children, I knew this was a good opportunity for them to have fun and I did not want to ruin it for them. Also, because it was a day off from school for them, I was sure they needed as much concentration as they could have for whatever wacky game they would make up next. Later on in the day, Scout and his brother came to my house asking for my snow. I knew I couldn’t say no to them so I let them have it. I entrusted them to not break my yard but I had a feeling they would.
The kids later on took both my hat and hedge clippers, which made them seem ingenuous to me. It seemed to me like the children were fanatical about building something out of snow because these were one of the rarest times in Maycomb and they had to take the opportunity. I would once in a while peek out the window to see what Scout and Jem were up to, and by no surprise, they were building a snowman.
Later that night, the most horrible thing happened. My house lit on fire and burned to the ground. I was devastated by this and tried to isolate my self from everyone but I knew that I needed help. Almost an hour after my house has been burning; all the people from Maycomb came to save my house. Everyone was so nice and helped out to save all they could. Even fire trucks from other cities came to help which made me brighten up a bit. After the house burned down, quite a bit of furniture was saved which cheered me up a bit more. I just felt like sitting alone because this was a disaster from a wonderful day.
The next day, Scout and Jem were sorry about how my house burned down but I was debating with them about how I hated my house because of how it used up all my yard space. After the house burned down, all I could think of was building a new life. This loss gave me so many opportunities to improve my life. I could build a new yard, a much better yard. I could even make a business off selling plants. This was actually a good opportunity for me to see how much my neighbors and friends care about me. They would always try to cheer me up and felt sad for me. After all this was over, I was happier than ever.

TKAM (Jems) #2

Because of the Dewy Decimal System, I could not wait for school to be over. Plus, because Scout got out of school 30 minutes before me, I was so jealous. One day, Scout came to me and told me that she found gum that she is chewing in some tinfoil sticking out of a knothole in one of the Radleys' oak trees. I was frightened that Scout would do something like this because even touching a tree over at the Radleys would get someone killed. Scout has much to learn because she still does not understand the dangers of germs and strangers. On the last day of school, I was so glad to be out. While we were walking by the Radleys place, we found old “Indian-head” pennies in the same knothole that Scout found her gum. Now that summer is here, me, Dill and Scout begin our fun. One of the first games we played was called the tire roll where we would roll ourselves inside an old tire. On Scouts turn, she rolled all the way to the Radleys steps. Scout was freaking out by the time she realized and so was I. Scout quickly rushed back to us and looked like she almost saw a ghost.

Because of the tire roll incident, this surprisingly gave me an idea for a new game. I called it “Boo Radley.” As the summer begins the age, we began to think of more complicated rules and parts to our Boo Radley game. Our game got so big that it eventually turned into a play about the Radleys. When it got the Boo’s scene, we would steal the scissors from the sewing drawer and use it as a prop. Every day we would play this and for hours at a time. We thought of new ideas all the time to keep the game alive. One day, dad saw us playing the game and realized that it had something to do with the Radleys. I knew at the point that I had to lie if we were going to get out of this alive. I don’t know if it is safe to play our game anymore after that.

After a while, I felt like I was bonding with Dill. We had the same interests and we could relate with each other. Once in a while I would think about Scout because she probably feels left out and lonely. Luckily, Scout found a friend. Her name is Miss Maudie Atkinson, Scout would spend her day baking and cooking with her. Meanwhile, Dill and me were planning on asking Boo out for some ice cream. We tried to give a note to Boo by sticking it through the window with a fishing pole but dad caught us and demanded the immediate stop of what we were doing and the Radley game.

We listened to dad for a while until the last day Dill was in Maycomb. Dill and I snuck over to the Radleys place and planned to look through a shutter. We looked through almost every single window and suddenly, we saw a man with a hat. Then out of nowhere, we hear a shotgun go off. We sprinted out and escaped from going under a fence by the schoolyard. My pants got caught on the fence and I had to kick them in order to free myself. When we came back, all the neighborhood adults were there talking about why Boo fired a shotgun. Dad then asks my where my pants were and Dill saved me by saying we were playing some strip poker. I later sneaked over to the Radleys to retrieve my pants. After the school year began again, Scout was complaining because it was as bad as 1st grade. We would check that knothole almost everyday and found presents a lot. We would wait a few days just incase it was not for us. On day there was two soap figures to resemble me and Scout which was freaky. One day, the knothole was filled with cement and dad told us that the tree was dying.

Immigration Project Reflection

The book I chose to read was A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah because I felt this book reflected all people who have been soldiers and the horrors they have seen. Looking back now, this story showed me a lot of what it means to be in a war. I am grateful that I picked this book because Ishmael was a mere teenager when he went through it and I am sure that he went through the worst things a human can ever go through. So many times there were parts in the story where I felt like not reading the story anymore because it was too horrific but I chose to go on because I knew after reading this book, there would be so many things I would learn.

After reflecting every week on my blog, there were so many things that I found out about Ismael that I have been through. Although it was not as horrific or horrible, I felt the same and it taught me that everyone is connected someway because once a while there are times where we feel the same or think the same. I think one thing that would improve the LC process would be adding what you feel about the book every week because this will give the students a chance to see if they gradually like the book more every week or vice versa. I think it would improve the LC process because this will show how interested the students are reading their books. And after, the students could answer why they liked or disliked the book.

I felt like blogging was better for me only because I am better at typing then writing. I feel like writing the responses would be better though because it would give the students a little more time to think about their response and correct a few things in their response before they present it. For commenting, I do not think blogging is right because it takes too long. Also, sometimes there are things that you cannot explain on paper or computer and have to physically explain it. Because commenting is not during the time we are reflecting the story, our group members cannot argue or agree at times where it is crucial to respond at the time the person is reflecting the story for it to be more relevant.

Blogging was not much of a problem for me except on some days, I would have many things planned after school and I would have to rush the blog response which is not good for my group members because their comments would not be as truthful or full as if I took my time with my response. Also, when you are exadurating or using any tone of voice to interpret what you are thinking, your group members would not understand because the text is too plain and you cannot use any type of poetry or creative writing into your writing. Blogging is also hard at times because my computer has a problem with blogger and sometimes does not load so I would have very little time to post my response before it is due.

I chose to do a redesigning of the book cover because I felt it was the easiest but at the same time, one of the most important for a person who is an artist for books. I also felt that making a book cover would be the best way to express what I feel about this book. I also chose it because I think that my viewers would better understand what everything meant of they saw the book title, the authors name and the objects and items around them because they are all connected. This was also a way to show what I thought about the original book cover and what I think could be improved.

I felt that my viewers could see a connection immediately after seeing my painting. There are many symbolic items in my painting though, so the audience has to look deeper to understand the true connection to the story I am trying to make. There are many simple items in my painting. When I say simple, I mean by easy to understand from its appearance. But, to truly understand what I am trying to say, the viewers can look deeper into the pictures and think of all possible connections that that picture has. Almost everything in my painting has a dark and light side but is not visible without a little thought.

I felt that my final product did not turn out as well as I planned it to be but I was ready for it because I have used paint before and I know how it spreads out and screws up my painting. My final product was amazing to my standards except for how the paint spread out. The colors were not as “on” as I planned but some colors actually worked better than the original colors I planned for the painting. I spent a bunch of time on my final painting and tried to be as intricate and exact as I could. I actually spent more time than we were given which made me think that this painting was better than I could ever do with the time I was given.

I believe a thinner brush and in some places, different colors would help my painting a lot. If I was given more time to sketch my sketches, my painting would have more details and much more realistic. I feel like I learned many things from this whole experience. Reading this book, I feel like Ishmael is trying to write a story like those men or women who did drugs or were in a gang and inform us to not be like them. I don’t think this applies to Ishmael because he was brought into this and did not have a choice. Reading the book, there are so many life lessons and things I could use in the future that are going to help me greatly. I learned things even from the fighting parts of the story because I try to apply it to a job or other situations.

I felt my interview with my friend’s mom went spectacular because I asked clean questions and was very polite. I was not a bit nervous mainly because I knew her and she was always nice to me. It was sort of difficult making up secondary questions for her because of the rate she was answering the questions. I was so happy to interview her because I knew her and I knew how she would react to a question that was a little more emotional than others. The interview lasted a good amount of time and ended perfectly because I ended it with a backup question that I felt was the best question I had.
I felt interviewing my participant three times was not a problem because I knew Ms.Abbassi wanted us to get as much information as we could and be comfortably asking an adult about their past experiences. Something unique that I learned from interviewing was that even if the questions are not that good, you will get plenty of information from just one question. And I learned that even if your question was not good, there are about 15 more chances you can have to ask the perfect question. I would always wonder what the immigrants were thinking in Ellis and Angel Island when they came here, now I know because of the interviews. Although the person I interviewed had it better, they should have the same thoughts because the only reason a person would immigrate from another country back then would be because they are having huge problems or are poor. That should not affect their thoughts because they are use to having a hard life and working for everything. I felt so proud to give my person a gift that I put my time and hard work into because I knew that I understood what this person has gone through and I know that my gift will make their life better even if it was a little bit better.

A Long Way Gone #6

Quote #1:"I concluded to myself that if I were the hunter, I would shoot the monkey so that it would no longer have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament." Pg.218

Significance: I felt that Ishmael is saying that if you have to do something, you have to do something. There is no ignoring because you know that if you do, someone else is going to suffer. He is saying that its better him than anyone else. That is a rule for him because of all these things he has done. If someone has to die, he will. If someone has to leave, he will. He is just apologizing to all the people he has hurt.

Personal: I feel I can relate to this because a lot of times, I feel like I should just do that extra job, or help that extra person because if you add all those up, it will make a difference between being good and bad. I feel like if I do not do something, letting the next person in line will just eat me up inside.

Question #1: Do you think Ishmael is saying this because he is apologizing or he just feels that every human on this earth is equal?

Quote #2: "I sat on the ground next to the grave and talked to my uncle". Pg.208

Significance: Although there are so many people who do this, I chose this quote because this is one time where Ishmael really felt a connection so strong that he did not care if his uncle was there or not. This is one time where after someone dies, he actually stops and feels his heart pumping, knowing that someone is still there.

Personal: This is one of the quotes where it relates to me all the time. I always feel like my deceased relatives are still talking to me, they are still sending me messages. My friends would always say that I have no emotions but when it comes down to just plain feeling something connecting with me, I have a lot of that. Sometimes I feel like no one has died, all is normal and I just go on talking to the person who is deceased like I would talk to him normally.

Question #2: What do you think Ishmael was talking to his uncle about beyond all the talk about loving him and helping him?

A Long Way Gone #5

Quote #1: “I was thinking about the fact that they had run so far away from the war, only to be caught back in it. There is nowhere to go from here.”

Significance: I think Ishmael is talking about how ironic it is because the town is called Freetown and still there is war. He feels so used to this, he see's executions everywhere and can't help but feel deja vu but he knows he can not do anything. All these kids around him have already adapted to the war and are ready for any sudden attack. I think that Ishmael is saying that it is so sad that these people have already felt the fear, tasted blood and have been killed on the inside, they have been completely cleaned of what is human inside. I think because this is the last place they are fighting, he has to summarize what he thinks of the war.

Personal: I can relate to this because sometimes, there are people who are forced into things they don't want to be in. I know that feeling and it is worst than breaking an arm. The feeling just eats you up inside because of the unwillingness to participate but still being forced to. You feel your rights are being violated.

Question #1: How do you think Ishmael felt when he saw these people die compared to how he felt at the beginning when he saw the first person die?

Quote #2: "Maybe they just want to give you a new look, a more African look, instead of those big pants you always wear," His Uncle pg.190

Significance: This quote really shows that now he is so much happier than before, he's finally talking about things a normal teenager needs to talk about instead of war and killing. Although it was so small, he probably really appreciated it because now he is being respected as a normal person and not how many kills he can get. Now he is dancing in pubs and not in a war zone with killing and madness.

Personal: I have been in these situations where I finally accomplished something challenging and is relieved and I go and get ice cream or something. Accomplishing this goal is so amazing because I know that I worked for what i get. Ishmael was forced to fight but his main goal is to stay alive. Once you accomplish your goal, you are so relieved and everything seems much better.

Question #2: Do you think Ishmael is enjoying his life now or do you think he would rather live with his whole family in the war?

A Long Way Gone #4

Quote #1: "It began to rain and my family ran into the house, leaving me outside". Pg.165 paragraph 1

Significance: This was so interesting along with the whole paragraph. Ishmael is trying to say that his family was trying to stop him from learning about his and being what he was so much, but they failed. Ishmael was exposed to the horror and now they are scared. They are scared that he is a killing machine, they are scared that he has not been transformed back yet. He feels so left out because of something he was forced into.

Personal: I felt I could relate to this because there have been times where I've made mistakes and all my friends just left me because they think I'm a completely different person because of that mistake. They are scared of me just because of one small mistake, that is all it takes. They feel you are a bad influence to them after the smallest mistake.

Question #1: If you were Ishmael, how would you have reacted and what would you have done?

Quote #2: "Congratulations, man, you have a family member in the city away from all the madness," Mohamed Pg.173 paragraph 5

Significance: I felt that Mohamed did not know what that madness was, I felt that he said it in such a tone he thought it was a small fight. The truth is, this is a war and he's saying madness. It isn't madness, this is much worst. Often people think of wars or major events as small things because they are not apart of it. Mohamed thought this was a small war. Although this quote is very debatable and is very small, I feel that Ishmael responded happy but was shocked or felt pain in his heart because there is actually a person who has not experienced the war.

Personal: I related to this because there have been times where I made comments about something that turned out to be a serious matter and was very ashamed. Of course my comments are were not about a war but I still felt ashamed because someone experienced it and I did not. I had no right to say anything or think of any event different than what actually happened. I'm pretty sure that Mohamed did not mean madness to be a small fight, but he did think that this war was small. If you think about the whole book, this war and all he has gone through is no where near madness.

Question #2: If you went through all that Ishmael went through and heard a comment about the war, the people and the losses that was so wrong you could not bare, what would you have done?

A Long Way Gone #3

"Their faces were dark as if they had bathed them in charcoal, and they stared intensely at us with their extremely read eyes" pg.100

Significance: This really made me wonder how horrified he would have been because right after he talks about the smashed head and spilled guts of soldiers. This probably made him think of American soldiers and what they do to dead bodies. There is a huge difference between soldiers of a third world country and American soldiers because of the different lives they live. He must of been wondering, what am I doing here? How the heck did i get into this? Every minute I read this book makes me want to explore more about what this war is about.

Personal: I feel I connect to this quote because at that moment he said that his head was spinning like when your almost going to pass out and you can hear your breathe louder and louder. I've been in those moments and I was like a bear being shot with tranquilizer darts. I was scared of everything and confused.

Question 1: Did you think that Ishmael wanted to help those people or just follow orders from that guard sipping water?

Quote #2: "In the daytime, instead of playing soccer in the village square, I took turns at the guarding posts around the village, smoking marijuana and sniffing brown brown, cocaine mixed with gunpowder, which was always spread out on the table, and of course taking more of the white capsules, as I had become addicted to them" Pg.121

Significance: This was surprising to me because in America we are ashamed of people who do drugs, but in a third world country, to relieve the pain and stress they have to do drugs. I am pretty sure that when Ishmael was telling his friends this, he was probably thinking about all the pain he suffered and how now there is no need for that.

Personal: I don't think I relate to this much because I don't plan on taking drugs anytime in the future. I have felt pain so much that I've always buried it inside and hide myself from reality. I would not say that drugs is the answer but crying out for help is the closest thing to Ishmael.

Question #2: Do you think that Ishmael was hallucinating about his family and other memories while on drugs? If yes, how do you think he felt even if he was in a state of almost unconsciousness?

A long way gone #2

Quote #1: My grandmother once told me a story about a notorious hunter of wild pigs who used magic to transform himself into a wild boar. pg.53 paragraph 3

Response: This was a very interesting quote because even if he immigrated to America, he still remembered what his family members told him. He is still in touch with them on the inside. Even if it was just a story, he felt that this is a time of war and any time he could die. So he felt he had to remember everything his family members said because he can do nothing if he gets taken away.

Personal: I felt that this connected to me because my grandmother and other family members would tell me about story's about hunters and other. Although I don't remember all of them, I feel i should remember some because I only get to see them once a year.

Question: Do you think Ishmael is going to have another encounter with the rebels anytime soon?

Quote #2: Everyone listened attentively, raising their eyebrows and cocking their heads as they tried to understand what kind of music this was.

Response: This quote really showed how blocked off from the present day society of America Ishmael and others are. They have never had that music before because they were poor and in a war. After Ishmael came here, he probably knew about this kind of music.

Personal: This is sad because music is once of those special things that all people have heard. American music is especially popular but Ishmael has never heard the kind of music played because they are never watching TV or keeping up with current events.

Question: Do you think Ishmael liked the music he heard because he has never heard it before?

A Long Way Gone

Quote One: I saw myself holding an AK-47 and walking through a coffee farm with a squad that consisted of many boys and a few adults. Pg.19 Paragraph 2

Significance: This has to do with him immigrating to America because before this sentence, he said that he started thinking of New York and the freedom they had their. I could tell, at that moment he wanted to be in America. He saw death everywhere and smelled it, the only place he wanted to be was away from it all.

Personal Connection: I felt this connected to me because I have felt extreme sadness to a point where I felt half dead. I'm sure I can not match how much he was feeling then, but I can relate. There have been times where all i wanted to do was go home or somewhere away from where i was just like him.

Question: What do you think was going through his head while he was walking with the group, did he want to escape, forget about everything or what?

Quote: Once we found the path, we started walking back toward the village where we had spent most of our hunger days. Pg. 36 Paragraph 2

Significance: I felt that he was thinking of America while doing this because while they were hiding, attacking and killing, he must have been thinking of a better life in America. Although I do not think he knew what he was doing morally but he must have felt some pain and at least thought of how much better it is in America.

Question: How do you think his classmates reacted when he told this horrible story?

Field Trip Reflection

Part I: I felt that this exhibition was to teach us about the history of the Jewish living in America. This exhibition really showed how much the Jewish have contributed to the founding and making of America. This exhibition was to show that the Jewish should not be excluded from being called American just because of their religion. The Jewish helped the Americans fight in every single war; they’ve helped in so many ways. This exhibition was to teach us about all the discrimination and hard times that the Jewish had to go through. They were massacred in WWII; they were always treated differently just because they did something different. Part of the exhibition was dedicated to all the famous Jewish Americans and another part was to how the Jewish lived and their traditions. This exhibition taught me a lot about how their religion and traditions actually changed things we do today. I also learned that a Jewish person actually founded Las Vegas as it is today. People have always treated the Jewish differently because of their religion, but I learned that they are just like every other human on this earth and without them; America would not be what it is today. I learned that when America was split into two, the confederate’s president was Jewish. The last thing I learned from that exhibition was that the Jewish are a proud religion and believe that anything could be possible if you just try, and so far, that’s pretty much true for them.

Part II:
Photograph: My favorite photo is the Mexican Independence Day photo. This photo really showed me that even when your not home in your own country, you can show that you are proud to be whatever religion or race you are. When I looked into the people’s eyes, there was no shame. These people all felt that they needed to show the world what they were made of.

Quote: My favorite quote was “When I left my country, Vietnam I didn’t know that I would probably never come back again. I was just ten years old. I knew my life would begin from this moment” by Ngoe Nguyen. This really showed me what he was thinking when he came to America. This showed that when you immigrate to another county, you are looking for a new start. It’s like clearing the records of your life, and starting a new one.

Essay: The essay I chose was an essay written by Paul Tran who emigrated from Vietnam. I chose this essay because it really showed what he thought about America. He reflected his old life in Vietnam with his new life here. He showed how he felt, where he lives and what he did. Everything he said was a reflection on America. He put everything into specific detail, even the school name and what his room looked like.

Immigration Reflection

I think that the word immigration means a person who is moving to another country for a new start. I am connected to immigration because of my mom; she is an immigrant from Taiwan. I think me, and everyone in the United States is connected to immigration. There are immigrants all around us, even if they speak perfect English. Immigrants are just seeking new hope; all they want to do is find themselves.
The United States takes a huge part in immigration because there are so many immigrants living here today. I think the United States has so many immigrants because it is living up to its name as the land of opportunity. Maybe some immigrants come here because they see commercials, movies, TV shows from America and feel like that’s a great place to live. There are others, who come here because they feel that there is hope here. They feel that there are things to learn and things to teach.
The United States has always been a huge part of immigration because of our constitution. Our constitution basically says that America is a land with no religion, no race and no background. The constitution says that our land is your land. The United States is open to every religion, race and background there is. I think another reason there are so many immigrants is because of how free America is. We are allowed to do so many more things than other countries. I think even if your not born here or raised here, you are considered an American. I think that every American that understands what this land is about, is proud to be an American.
I think San Diego is affected by immigration because we are neighbors of Mexico. Most people from other countries want to experience America. They want to know why everyone loves it. They want to see it with their own eyes.

Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams



The book Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is written by a brilliant but crazy author named Douglas Adams. This book is about a young man named Arthur Dent who thought he had everything taken away from him, his house, his family and his life. What he didn't know was that something much bigger was going to be taken away, the Earth! Aliens are preparing to destroy the Earth to build a galactic highway. As Arthur is preparing to die, he finds out that his friend Ford Prefect is an alien too. Seconds before the Earth is demolished by aliens, Arthur and Ford figure out a way to sneak onto the aliens space ship and travel through space.

Arthur is a young man from England and is the reason I kept on reading this book. He is the only person who helps me understand all the situations they are in. He is the only human left after the Earth is demolished. Arthur is a tall man who is very nervous because Arthur is just about to have is house demolished, but what he didn't know is, something much bigger was going to be destroyed. Arthur is always the brave one and never backs down, and is a very nice person.

Ford is the second main character of the book and is also my favorite. Ford is an alien but acts like a human because he has lived on Earth for over 15 years. Ford is a good friend of Arthur but kept his alien secret from him for a long time. Ford is one of the most exiting people in the book and is always looking for action. Ford is basically the person that keeps Arthur from getting killed because Ford is very familiar with space and other aliens.

Zaphod Beeblebrox is a friend of Ford and also the president of the universe. Zaphod is a very weird person and I don't really understand why he is elected as president. Zaphod had saved Ford and Arthur's life many times and knows space gear well. Zaphod is an alien with two heads and three arms who acts like a soldier but a little more relaxed. Zaphod are like the presidents from the movies, he does not read the script but makes up his own words.

The theme of the book is to always be aware and open yourself up to possibility. Maybe the Earth is just a planet and there are aliens out there. The theme is really hidden so you have to read the book very carefully to understand it. The action will never stop as long as your keep reading. Many secrets are to be revealed, and many surprises are to be found. Who is Ford? Does Arthur have anything to do with this? This book is the answer to those questions and will amaze you with all the endless possibilities and questions that you will find.

Chapter 13: Back To Reality

After the boys were rescued from the island of hell, they all went back to living their normal lives. Ralph went back to his house to the wild ponies that come to his fence and peak over.

“Here you go little ponies, have some sugar” said Ralph.

As Ralph feed the wild ponies, he heard the faint call of his mother.

“Yes, mother”, said Ralph

“Two young boys are here to see you”, said his mother

Before they came in, Ralph already knew who it was, Sam & Eric He raced to the door and invited them in for some tea.

“I have not seen you both since we got off the island, I missed you both so much”, said Ralph

“We just thought that we should stop by to see our old friend”

“How are everyone else”, said Sam & Eric

“Oh, the littluns? Yes, yes they are doing fine”

After hours of play with Sam & Eric, they decided to go find Robert. They all went down to Roberts house to look for him.

“Knock, knock”, said Ralph

“Hello, is Robert home?”, Asked Ralph

“Robert left a few minutes ago”, said Roberts mother

“Do you know where he went?”, Asked Sam

“He went down to the store to buy some milk for me”, said Roberts mother

“Thank you”, said Ralph

Ralph, Sam and Eric all went down to the store, hoping they would find him there. As they walked, they saw a surprising face across the street. It was Jack, he was walking with his old friends who were previously, the hunters.

“Hey Ralph!”, said Jack

“What do you want?”, asked Ralph

“You should have stayed back on the island”, said Jack

Ralph walked away, ignoring anything Jack said to him. Ralph was tired of being physically and mentally bullied by Jack. When they had reached the store, they saw Robert trying to buy some milk for his mother.

“Robert!” said Ralph

“Ralph!” said Robert

As they greeted each other and talked about how their lives are now, Jack walked into the store.

“You escaped me last time, but you wont again” said Jack

“YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!”said Ralph

“You should not have treated me that way, you should have just let me be chief”said Jack

As the boys argued, Sam & Eric tried to stop them. After they all calmed down, Ralph went home and Jack continued taunting and yelling at Ralph.

“You will be dead like Piggy if you come back here again”said Jack

Tears started coming down Ralph's face as he thought about the death of Piggy. Still ignoring Jack, Ralph walked away.

Final blog post

Ralph's Journal

I wake up and i felt very angry at Jack and their tribe. I picked up the conch and blew. All of the 4 people in my tribe came to the meeting, i told them that we needed to get Piggy's specks back. For some odd reason, Piggy wanted to bring the conch with him thinking it would work as a talisman to scare the evil out of Jack. We walked down to castle rock where Jacks tribe have stationed themselves. I got into this argument with Jack. Out of nowhere, Jack truculently stabbed at me with his spear. Piggy started complaining and told us to stop fighting. Roger got annoyed and shoved a gigantic bolder down and because Piggy did not have his specks, he did not know. Sadly, Piggy has died and it is all Jacks Tribes fault. I saw the spear coming and blocked it, then i smacked Jack on the side of the head. Then i could see all the boys delirious, thinking this was just a game. All of the boys chucked their spears at me, one had hit me and wounded me. I ran as fast as i could into the forest, hoping they would just let me go. Later that night, i tried to find Sam and Eric because i knew i could not take on Jack and his tribe all by myself. Sam and Eric shooed me like a group of pigeons trying to steal his food. I was very disappointed in them for not coming with me, but i understand that under those circumstances, they could not. The next morning, I hid in a place by the castle rock where it was completely impossible to get into unless your a great climber like me. I was hoping that they could not reach to me. They had a better idea, they just burnt the hiding spot and forced me out. So i came out the other side and ran as fast as i could until my lungs were on fire. I could hear the ululation of the boys, they were forming a cordon to search for me. I knew i had to find a safe spot to hide, so i found a spot that had no light that peered into it. Then i heard Sam and Eric being tortured by Jack and forced to tell him where i was. I got out and ran all the way to the beach where i stumbled and a strange man with a drill uniform and epaulets walked up to me. He started to ask me questions like are there any adults on this island and are there any people dead. I was very happy that we are rescued but i never really thought about it because of all of the things that were going on at that moment.

blog post #6

Gift For The Darkness

Simon's Jounal

After Jack finally declared that there is definitely, we settled up on the mountain until a new day came. We traveled back to the beach, with frightened faces. Ralph said that it was far too dangerous to go up the mountain or even go into the jungle. We started lighting a fire on the beach, hoping we will never have to go on the mountain again. Then Jack started mutinously talking about how Ralph should not be leader because he was afraid of the beast. I knew exactly what Jack was trying to do, he was trying to be chief. Flailing his arms up in the air, Jack tried to throw Ralph out of power. This conflict was interminable but at the end, no one wanted jack to be leader like they all wanted to be embroiled. Waxy, Jack walked away saying that he will start his own society and anyone who wanted to join him was free to. A few hours after, i walked down the beach a few miles and saw a pig's head, with flies swarming around it like bee's protecting its hive. It started talking to me, like a psychiatrist. I knew it was all in my head but it seemed interesting because it helped me figure out the unsolved mysteries in my head.