Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Post Reading

          “I was the girl who never understood who she was to people.” This is a quote from the book that I read this month, “Tell the Wolves I’m Home” by Carol Rifka Brunt. The main character, a girl named June, said this. She thought she was the most important person to her uncle because he was the most important person to her. He was also her godfather and they spent a lot of time together. However, it was only after he died that she found this to be false. The same was true with her sister, Greta. When they were younger, they were best friends. They played games together and never kept secrets from each other. As they grew older, Greta began to be bitter towards her sister. She always made fun of her sister and was always rude. Also, June thought that just because someone was her best friend meant that she was their best friend as well. She found that the feeling was not mutual as they drifted apart. She thought that Toby was friendly with her because he was lonely, but found out that her uncle had told Toby to take care of her, just as he had told her to take care of Toby.

          This can happen in everyday life to ordinary people as well. It doesn’t just have to happen in stories. There were two different people at different times that I thought were my best friends, only to realize that they didn’t think the same of me. I don’t hate them now; I just realize that we will never be any more than acquaintances now. This has helped me to realize that it can be more difficult to go through losing a friend than it is to live with only a handful of friends. It also helped me to realize that finding a best friend who will remain your best friend through nearly anything is extremely rare, and I realize how lucky I am to have someone like that, even if it is only one person.

          Perhaps one reason I enjoyed this book was that June reminded me of myself in many ways.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Pre Reading

     I heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” many times growing up. I always understood its meaning that someone can be either more or less than what they appear on the surface, but never had it proven to be true in my daily life until recently.
     The phrase means that you shouldn’t judge someone based on first impressions. If you were to pick up a book with a boring dusty cover, you probably wouldn’t want to read the book. However, the book might actually be very good. The opposite is also true: if you see a book with a well-drawn and colored picture on the front, it might seem interesting at first. This does not mean that the book is interesting, though. It could be one of the most boring and poorly written stories you have ever read.
     The same is true for people, so you should not judge someone based on first impressions. However, this does not mean that making a good first impression is not important. This has been true for me as well. For example, there was someone that I knew from around first grade, but never took the time to get to know better, even though we had all the same classes every year. I dismissed her as being shallow simply because she was popular. However, last year I had the opportunity to talk to her more, even though it was only for a few minutes. I realized that we have many things in common; more than appear at first glance. This is a good example in everyday life of the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”.
     The same can also be true in literature. At first, a particular character may seem to be good, but at the end of the book are revealed to be bad. The reverse can also be true, though more rarely (such as Snape in the “Harry Potter” books and movies).
     This phrase teaches us to try to take many things into account and get to know someone before dismissing them, trusting them, or spreading rumors.

The House of the Scorpion - Post Reading

“When he was young, he made a choice, like a tree does when it decides to grow one way or the other.”  This is a quote from the book, “The House of the Scorpion”.  This quote was said when Tam Lin, one of the characters, was talking about El Patron, the most important person in Opium. Opium is a land ruled by extremely rich patriarchs who own enormous opium farms. It lies between the United States and Mexico.

Tam Lin said that El Patron decided how he was going to behave when he was young, like a tree deciding to grow a certain way. He said that El Patron is a tree towering over all the others, but that he is twisted. This means that, however powerful he is, he is evil, cunning, and should not be trusted.

“He sacrificed many things on the road to power,” is a quote which I remember from the movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”. While this quote was talking about someone sacrificing things dear to them, the quote from “The House of the Scorpion” has a different meaning. El Patron sacrificed many things, but they were not dear to him. He is ruthless: people’s lives don’t matter to him. He sacrificed his reputation for truthfulness and his honor, however. People know him for being powerful, but they also know him for being evil and ruthless.

This quote can apply in our lives, though not as visibly. People make decisions that change who they are, though they are obviously not in the position of El Patron. If you make a decision to skip class, for example, you might get away with it. You might not see any immediate consequences, but your “tree” would begin to grow crooked, not straight. Eventually, other acts of rebellion would follow, and you would be so far from the original path that it would seem impossible to return to it.

Another metaphor that could be used is a car. It starts out straight, but if it is pointed just slightly in one direction or another, soon it would be going in a completely different direction. This is why you must take care to think your decisions - and their consequences - through completely before doing anything.

The House of the Scorpion - Pre Reading

Many people think that clones are not human. They think that clones are not human because they are not original, they are only copies of someone else. This is a good reason for their argument, but, in the most basic terms, a clone is human.

In the dictionary, “human” is defined by contrasting humans to animals, or other humanoid creatures in novels. No mention is made of clones, but I can only assume that they are included as humans. Scientifically, a clone is just as much of a human as everyone else, as they have normal human genes. Furthermore, cloned sheep or cloned horses, to give examples, are still considered sheep and horses.

A clone is still human, in my opinion, as they still exhibit human emotions and have human genes. Clones are exactly the same as another human, meaning that they are human as well, at least to me.

Another argument is that there are natural “clones” in nature: identical twins. “Since they developed from the same fertilized egg, the resulting individuals are genetically identical,” says the Genetic Science Learning Center.

However, this doesn’t mean that I think that cloning is right. Imagine for a moment if you were a clone. There is a wonderful feeling in knowing that you are original and one of a kind, and cloning takes that away. 

In conclusion, it is my belief that clones are, in fact, human, just like the rest of us. This can be proved by both scientific evidence and logic. However, that does not mean that I believe that cloning is right. I do not think that human cloning should be legal, but I think that scientific research on cloning and clones should be legal, as it will help us better understand genetics and will possibly help scientists find cures or vaccines for genetic diseases and deformities.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Pre Reading

I can’t know for sure what I would do if I had a sibling with Aspergers, as I don’t even have a sibling to begin with. I think I would struggle with my sibling getting more attention, even though I don’t like getting attention myself. That probably doesn’t make sense, but that’s how my emotions work.

I don’t think I be able to understand my sibling. I tend to keep emotions and feelings private, and am unable to understand the reasons behind attention-seeking. I would probably end up getting frustrated at this lack of understanding, then getting angry at my sibling. I would then get angry at myself for getting angry at my sibling.

I think that it would be extremely difficult emotionally to live with a sibling who has Aspergers Syndrome, but I also think that there would be some positive things about it as well.

I think that I would learn how to be more understanding to other people, not just my sibling. I would have more practice at thinking before I speak. I would need to learn to be more patient and things like that.

I would become bolder, because I would have to defend my sibling from the teasing of others, and defend myself from the teasing that other people would give me about my sibling. I think, after a while of that, I wouldn’t care about what other people thought, which is something I always though that I need to be better at.

I also think that I would learn to sacrifice things that I wanted for things that someone else wanted, even with something as simple as picking a movie to watch.

All in all, I think there would be both pros and cons to having to live with an Aspergers sibling. I think that I would learn a lot, but that there are also a good many things that I would have to deal with. 

Triangulation Essay

What, exactly, makes a dystopian society or or story? One way to learn this is to compare dystopian stories such as the short story “Harrison Bergeron”, the novella “Anthem”, and the movie “AntZ”.

Each story had what is called a “dystopian protagonist”. In “Harrison Bergeron”, it is, in fact, Harrison Bergeron, In “Anthem”, it is Equality 7-2521. In “AntZ”, the dystopian protagonist is Z. These protagonists didn’t fit in with what was normal. They wanted to be able to have a say in what happened to them, and were intelligent thinkers. Because of these things, they were unhappy, and they rebelled. However, there were differences between these characters. Harrison died at the end of the book, because the rebellion he began was violent and unplanned. Equality survived and led a free life with a few others. Z completely changed the entire society of the colony. Perhaps they both survived because their rebellions were more peaceful. Both Harrison and Equality were humans, while, as the title “AntZ” suggests, Z was a worker ant. Both Harrison and Equality were above average, both mentally and physically, while Z was above average mentally and below average physically. While Equality and Z eventually had followers, Harrison had no more than the balled dancer, who was also killed.

The antagonists were also a key point to discuss. In Harrison Bergeron, it was the Handicapper General, in “Anthem” it was the World Counsel, and it “AntZ”, it was General Mandible. Each antagonist was power-hungry, and each was revered and thought to be great and wonderful, at least at first. All three antagonists were a part of either the government or the military. This is one of the most important and significant parts to a dystopia, to my mind. However, not everything about these antagonists was the same. Mandible knew that Insectopia was real, and I believe that the World Counsel and the Counsel of the Scholars knew what electricity was. However, the Handicapper General was no better than anyone else would have been, and knew nothing that other people did not know, by the very handicaps which she imposed. Also, the fate of the antagonists varied between stories. In “AntZ”, Cutter allowed Mandible to drown. In “Harrison Bergeron” and in “Anthem”, however, there was no change in the government or counsel.

Another topic of discussion could be the setting and ending of the stories. All stories had a dramatic ending with government/military involvement. There were sacrifices made: Weaver and Cutter could have died trying to save other ants, Equality sacrificed the comforts of civilization, and Harrison lost his life. The protagonists realized that not all people want to hear what they have to say, because, after all, this is a dystopian setting, and what the protagonists want seems crazy. Both “Harrison Bergeron” and “Anthem” are set in a future time, while “AntZ” is not. In “Harrison Bergeron”, everyone’s skills are hampered; in “Anthem”, someone’s job is the reverse of their skill; in “AntZ”, people are randomly picked for jobs. At the end of “Harrison Bergeron”, the people went back to their lives. In “Anthem”, only a few people’s lives were changed, but in “AntZ”, everyone’s life was made better. “Harrison Bergeron”’s ending was negative, “Anthem”’s ending was neutral, and “AntZ”’s ending was positive. Both “Harrison Bergeron” and “AntZ’ had surprise endings: Harrison was killed and Cutter was revealed to not, in fact, be evil like Mandible, though the ending in “Anthem” held no surprises.

In conclusion, a utopian/dystopian society doesn’t have to be futuristic. A mind-controlled population, like in “Harrison Bergeron”, eliminates the want to rebel, and destroys the success of the rebellion, if one would ever happen. Still, there is another thing they have in common: ANYONE can rebel. They don’t have to be important, or rich, or strong.

Brave New World - Post Reading

I think that a world where people are falsely happy should be more feared than one where the government’s control is so oppressive that the people have no choice for themselves. If someone is falsely happy, they see no need to rebel. With an oppressive government, the people will eventually know that something is wrong. They will, at some point, find a way to rebel. If the people are falsely happy and never know that anything is wrong, they will never get even so far as to know that something is wrong to begin with.

For example, in Greek mythology, there was a tribe called the Lotus Eaters who tricked some of the men of Odysseus into eating of the Lotus flower. The men were overcome by bliss. They were forcefully returned to the ship, and had to be chained to the rowing benches to prevent them from returning. If they had not been forced into leaving, they would have stayed there for ever. This example supports the idea that false happiness is worse than oppression, and it is true for stories such as the short story that we read in class, “Harrison Bergeron”.

In other stories, such as in “Anthem” and “AntZ”, people are not literally being mind-controlled or -influenced like in “Harrison Bergeron”, where their thoughts were interrupted by annoying sounds. They are told that a particular thing is true. In “Anthem”, they are told that they must never think of themselves, and that they should never have individual thoughts. In “AntZ” they are told that they must do everything for the good of the colony. Though they have been somewhat brainwashed, they are still able to actually think of something different.

Perhaps this is why the rebellions in both “Anthem” and “AntZ” were successful. People were able to see the actions of the protagonists and join them if they wanted. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the people forgot what they had seen immediately after it had happened, even Harrison’s parents.

Never let anyone trick you into being falsely happy. Always learn something for yourself, don’t just take someone else’s word for it, and you will be less likely to be brainwashed like in “Harrison Bergeron”.

Brave New World - Pre Reading

In my utopian society, there would be no social media so that so that people would have to interact more personally with each other and bypass drama. There would be less technology. For example, there would be radios instead of TVs. However, people would still have cell phones, from which they could either call, text, or video call someone. Still, these communications would be rationed. Food, clothes, and other goods would be rationed. Income would be lower, because it would not be necessary to spend it on these things, as the ration cards would serve as “gift certificates”.

When people turn sixteen years old, they take a personality test. This test determines jobs and “Living Sections” that would benefit that person according to their personality. However, the person can still pick what they want to do. The test does not restrict them, it only gives suggestions.

People go to school until they are sixteen years old. Any further schooling depends on the job they pick, and it is possible to fail the course that people take to get a certain job. Jobs available for someone are influenced by their Living Section (For example, farmers can only be in the Rural Section, and Business owners must live in the Urban or Suburban Sections). Someone must have certain grades in school before their test to qualify for certain jobs.

The three Living Sections are Urban, Suburban, and Rural. After someone chooses a Section, they spend a year learning the ways of its people, even if they grew up in that section. Each new member is assigned a mentor for that year.

The test also determines whether you can become a parent, and whether you are allowed to own weapons. You are required to retake the test after life-changing experiences, such as the death of someone you knew or a car crash.

The test itself is rather simple. There is a written portion under a lie detector. People also wear a certain tracking bracelet for a month which is locked onto them. This is to see what they do in their day to day activities. People have to drink something which prohibits them from changing their activities during the month, but it wears off afterwards.

Children in all Living Sections are encouraged to play games that require imagination and to read. In the Rural Section, children play outside and are allowed more freedom. In the Suburban Section, children play in fenced yards, and in the Urban Section, they play inside most of the time.

Transportation is mostly by walking or riding a bike, though trains and buses are still very common. Cars and planes are not used much, though more common in Rural Sections, which are large and spread out and do not have buses. When someone wants to cross a Living Section, they are required to go through a checkpoint. This is only so that the government knows where people currently are in case of an emergency. In an emergency, they have lists of where people are so that they can count and make sure that everyone is accounted for.

Income is not restricted, nor is there a minimum wage. However, community service is required, and everyone is provided with a job and house. The cost of the upkeep of the house is varying from person to person by income.

This society is not perfect because a true Utopian society is impossible, but there are many advantages to it.

Orphan Train - Post Reading

       “The things that matter stay with you, seep into your skin.” This is a quote from the book that I read, called “Orphan Train”. What it is basically saying, is “even if you lose something or someone that is really important to you, you still think and care about them (or it), even if you don’t realize it”. This might seem strange, but I think that it is true. If someone that you care about dies, you might think that you now have no connection to them. However, you still have your memories of them. These memories are important and cannot be taken away.

This was very important to Niamh, who lost so many things that she cared about. She lost her mother and father, her grandparents, her home, and her second home. She thought she lost her sister, and, in a way, she did lose her. She lost her friend, Dutchy, and she lost the baby that she was taking care of. She lost her friends at the first foster home where she worked, and the same at another. She couldn’t even stay at the boarding house where her teacher lived for long, even though she made two friends there (her teacher and the owner). For most of her young life, she was moving to different places and leaving things behind.

Still, she kept the necklace that her grandmother gave her. Even though it was only a small trinket, it reminded her of many things: her family, and her home, and better times. She kept this necklace to remember these things, and to have something to hold onto, wherever she was and whoever she was with at the time. As she grew up and had a more permanent home, she still wore the necklace to remember these things, even though the memories grew dim. Perhaps now, though, she wore the necklace simply out of habit, but I don’t think so.

This is also true of Molly. She has the necklace that her dad gave her. She also has the turtle tattoo. Even though she doesn’t seem like the type of person to care about much, these things prove she does.

In a way, it can be both good and bad for this quote to be true for you. You remember things you care about, but it can also grow painful if you do not have them anymore.

Orphan Train - Pre Reading

Lana Sue Grace

January 13, 1929

The orphan trains are supposed to take you to a better place. That’s what we were told. I guess that might be true, but they sure make the trip there as hard as possible. We don’t have a change of clothes, and food is limited. The whole atmosphere is dismal. Still, I suppose I have it better than some: I do have a friend. We all call her Willie, but her actual name is Oda Wilma Ingram. That’s a big name for an orphaned kid of German immigrants, especially seeing as how it means “wealthy”, which is ironic. We found that out when someone stole a magazine and passed it around. Near the back there was a page that listed the meanings of names, and since, it’s become a bit of a joke.

I don’t see how anyone will want to adopt me: I’m rather plain-looking. I’ve been told that people want a younger child than my 14 years to raise, or else a boy to work. I’ll just have to try my best and hope to get picked by someone nice.

The train itself looks nice. It has seats, but there are more of us than can fit, so the older children stand or sit on the floor. Inside, everyone argues, but that’s nothing new. We were only told a day before we left, so everyone’s nervous. Willie and I just look out the windows at the countryside. It’s rather pretty, you know. I almost hope the people who adopt me have a farm, just for the peaceful view.

It looks like we’re coming to a stop now. This is about the third one, I think. We all file off the train behind our matron, and follow her towards a little general store, where I see families gathered. The families approach us. It looks a little like a cattle auction we saw at the last stop. They poke and prod us. The first orphan to be chosen is a little red-haired boy who looks about ten or so. The people who pick him look sour and ill-tempered, and I start getting nervous. Willie is picked next, but the couple who pick her look nice. Then some people approach me. I get so nervous, I can hardly remember what happens. I end up going home with them in a rusty truck with hay in the back. I think, they must have a farm, or something. The woman wears a plain dress, but she is pretty, with red hair. The man has dark blonde hair, and would’ve looked rather intimidating but for kind eyes and the way he keeps smiling.

January 26, 1929

In the end, the couple who adopted me did have a farm, and they are nice. They live close to the people who adopted Willie, so I get to see her. I am expected to help them around the farm, but I don’t mind. I guess it ended up okay in the end.

My Sister's Keeper - Post Reading

“Darkness, you know, is relative,” is a quote from the novel My Sister’s Keeper. At first, this quote might seem to be talking about actual, physical darkness. However, this is not the case. It means, “the problem you’re going through could pale in comparison to something else that you or someone else is going through”. 

In My Sister’s Keeper, this is true of Anna. Even though her problem seemed dire at the time, and it was (to her), it was nothing compared to what Kate was constantly going through, or even to Jesse’s problems, including drugs, arson, and making contraband whiskey. The stress that her mom and dad are constantly dealing with also far surpasses any problem she could have. All that she has to deal with is worrying about the other members of her family - not worrying about herself. She files a lawsuit against her parents, but not because she really doesn’t want be a donor for her sister, I don’t think. She just wants her parents to notice her for who she really is, not for who she is in relation to someone else: Kate. Anna thought that being ignored was the worst thing that could happen, because her problems - her darkness - was the most relevant darkness to her, and seemed the most important. Obviously, the threat of death or of imprisonment is far more serious than being ignored. Anna got so caught up in the problem that she was going through that she forgot to think of the other four members of her family.

Have you ever been having a bad day, simply because of a bad grade or because of an argument that you had with a friend, but then you looked up and noticed someone else who was going something far worse - something that dwarfed your problems? This is what the quote “Darkness, you know, is relative,” means in your everyday life. You thought that whatever you were going through at the time was hugely important, but then something else puts it in its place.

If you remember that there is ALWAYS someone with problems far worse than yours, you might have a chance to help them fix their problems.

My Sister's Keeper - Pre Reading

Most people have heard of the cloned sheep, Dolly. However, not many know that the same research is being applied to humans themselves, though possibly for different reasons. Dolly the sheep was cloned so that scientists should prove that it was possible to clone a mammal. However, there are different reasons for wanting to clone or genetically engineer a human, and this is why the debate about whether it is right or not is so confusing. For example, some might want to genetically engineer humans to produce so-called “designer babies”, who have certain physical characteristics. This may seem morally wrong to many. There is another reason for cloning or genetically engineering humans that often comes up in debates. This reason is the topic of the book “My Sister’s Keeper”. When one child is diagnosed with a disease such as leukemia and needs transplants from a matching donor, it may be very difficult to find that donor. In that case, the parents may choose to have another child who is genetically engineered - not necessarily for looks, but for other things: the same blood type, for example, as well as other similar chromosomes, though these may also help determine the child’s looks.

Is it right to genetically modify people? Or should we just let nature take it’s course? Obviously, there are both pros and cons to this subject. If there were simply the matter of curing one child, it would be right. If there were simply the matter of harming the second child, the answer would be no. However, when these are combined, it becomes more confusing. Should genetic engineering be wrong all together, or should it only be wrong in certain circumstances. If so, where do we draw the line? Who decides what is right? 

In my opinion, if it is necessary to genetically modify a child (such as in My Sister’s Keeper), then it should be done. If it is simply to create a “designer baby”, then it should not be done. This is not a simple yes or no answer, because this problem cannot be answered by such. 

Eleanor and Park - Post Reading

“Yesterday happens,” is a quote from Eleanor and Park. This means that you can’t go back and change the past, so you shouldn’t worry over it. Since you can’t change anything that has happened before, you have to try and change things in the future. You need to do everything you can to make the future the best that you can make it. For example, if you get a bad grade on a test, you can’t go back to change it, but you should study more so that you do better on the next one. If you made a bad decision in life, you can’t change it, but you can try to do better.

In the novel, “Eleanor and Park”, Eleanor can’t go back and change how she acted around her step-dad. She can’t go back and not argue with him, no matter how much she wanted to. She can’t go back and not accept the gifts that Park and his mom gave her, even though she wanted to after she saw that her dad had found them, and saw what he had done.

In other books that I have read, the same theme is present. In “Code Name Verity”, for example, when Julie is caught and imprisoned, she writes that she shouldn’t have gone on that mission. Similarly, Maddie regrets having flown the mission, but neither of them could change what they did, and ended up making the best of it.

Also, in “Ship Breaker”, Nailer might rescuing the girl, but he still made the best of it and things ended up turning out well, both for him and for her.

If you can’t change the past, then why is it important at all? Simple: you need to learn from it as best as you can, and use what you have learned to try and make the future better. Then, when the future becomes the past, you will have done everything you can to make it as good as possible, leaving you nothing to worry about, and knowing that there is no need to want to change it, at all. 

"To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Help" Compare and Contrast Essay

    The two stories To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help are very similar. However, they have many differences, as well. One must look at both the similarities and the differences to get a good idea of the stories and they ideas they focus on.

    In both stories, the main characters are not raised by their mothers, but by maids. Scout is raised by Calpurnia, and Skeeter is raised by Constantine. Both stories deal with false accusations, and both have main characters who try to overcome the racism of their communities. There are many characters in each story that can be compared with each other. For example, Skeeter is like Scout, Constantine is like Calpurnia, Skeeter’s mother is like Scout’s aunt, Celia is similar to Boo, and Tilly is like Mr. Ewell, who tried to deflect blame from himself. Even the two towns, Jackson and Maycomb, seem very similar in the stereotypes and ideas that are present there.

    However, Jackson is a much larger town than Maycomb. There are many other differences, as well. While To Kill a Mockingbird is written from a child’s view, The Help is from the viewpoint of a young adult. In The Help, people seem to be richer, and the story is more lighthearted. Also, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930’s, while The Help is set in the 1960’s. To Kill a Mockingbird is mostly about men, but most of the characters in The Help are women. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a rape accusation, but in The Help, thought there is a theft accusation, it is not so prominent in the story. Also, the titles of the two stories are different. The title, To Kill a Mockingbird, comes from a quote in the book, which states that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird”, because mockingbirds don’t do any harm, they only sing. This is the title because there are at least two characters who could be called a “mockingbird” in this sense. The reason behind title of The Help is more obvious. In the story, Skeeter is trying to draw attention to the sometimes-hard life of the help.

    In conclusion, while both stories seem very different on the surface, they also have many  similarities. The morals, or ideas, present in the stories are similar. Both are good stories, and both are extremely thought-provoking.

Eleanor and Park - Pre Reading

In a dictionary, there is a very simple definition listed for the word “parent”: “a father or mother”. Today, especially in middle school, another definition is more prevalent. Most teenagers seem to think of parents as only being an inconvenience. However, I believe that there can be different definitions. A parent could simply be classified as a “guardian” or as the biological parent of a child. Another definition could say that someone has to have certain qualities to be called a  parent, and those qualities might be difficult to have. 

The way someone’s parents behave can influence their life. This is more prominently seen in books. For example, if one of the protagonist's parents die while the protagonist is young, they will probably become very close to the other parent. While this is a good discussion topic, a plot like this often tempts the author to kill off the other parent, resulting in an extremely sad book. Another type of parent often found in literature is one who is barely present in the protagonist’s life, or nearly invisible altogether. This type of parent often produces a rather independent protagonist. Since they have had little or negative influence by parents, they have a more self-governing mindset. They might have a negative view of their parents, though. 

In real life, of course, these relations are not always so obvious. However, most teens feel that their parents are either too strict, or don’t care about them enough. It is true, though, that people are influenced by the type of parents that they had. Although most teens complain about their parents, they do not usually realize how hard it is to find the balance between being too strict and too lenient.

It seems to me that this is a very fine line, and that it is extremely difficult to find. Just a slight bit to one side or the other, and a parent becomes one of the stereotypes previously mentioned.

In about ten years or so, many of the people in our  class will be parents themselves. This leaves only one question: what kind of parent will they be?

The Other Wes Moore - Post Reading

“Early losses condition you to believe that short-term plans are always smarter.  Long-term plans don't see to matter.” If children see the people around them get into trouble or die, they begin to believe that something like this could happen at any time. They think that nothing is certain. This is true: you never know if you might die in a car accident or of a heart attack tomorrow. However, in “The Other Wes Moore”, most of the boys saw bad things happen to their friends and family. They believed that something would inevitably happen to them, as well. 
They made bad decisions, believing that it did not matter in the long term, because there might not be a long term. They began to do drugs. They thought, if their family did not care what happened to them, they why should they care? 
Society forgot them and closed them off in run-down places, so the children such as both of the Wes Moore’s grew up believing that society did not need them, and did not want them. One of the boys changed his way of thought by going to military school. Through his years there, he began to mature. The other Wes Moore had a period of time where his outlook improved, but that change was not allowed to grow enough to stay when he got back home.
Both of the boys grew up without their fathers. The narrator’s father died, while the other Wes Moore’s father left. This is why he was not a good father to his own four children; he did not know anything different. However, if his own father had been there when he grew up, it is likely that he would do the same for his children.

Both of the boys grew up selling drugs. All of the other boys where they were from did the same. The boys wanted to fit in, as most of us do. They knew that their families needed money. When they made mistakes and got caught, or saw the same things happening to their friends, they learned that they never knew what might happen in their lives. They began to live how they wanted, because they didn’t know when that freedom would be taken away.

The Other Wes Moore - Pre Reading

People usually do what others expect them to do. Most of the time, if teachers and parents expect a student to make good grades, the student will. If teachers or parents says, “Well, you tried. You couldn’t do any better,” or something like that, the student will believe that he is not smart, and will give less effort in their studies, believing they cannot do well. However, if teachers encourage their students, the students will tend to get better grades and feel better about school and themselves.
If people around you act one way, they probably expect you to act the same way as they act. This is why teachers often say, “You need to represent our school well on the field trip”. They know that where the class is going has probably seen some misbehaved classes, and that the curators will see you the same way at first. Your teachers want to break the stereotype. If the curators at the museum you are visiting treat you like toddlers and have low expectations, you might stoop to those expectations.
Also, where you are from influences what people think of you. The region that you are from may lead people to have stereotypes about you. Some people have prejudices towards others because of where they grew up. Certain accents tend to make people think certain things about you: that you are uneducated, or that you are unkind.

People need to worry less about what other people think about them, and more about what they think about themselves. If you like who you are, who cares if other people do? If you strive to be a kind and fair person, does it really matter what others might expect of you? If you have different interests than other people, that makes you special! If everyone did what was expected of them, there would be no diversity. If you have different interests in life or a different way of speaking than people around you, just be yourself. There is no need to change who you really are so that people like you. If someone doesn’t accept you for who you really are, then perhaps there is no need to consider them a friend. If people don’t appreciate your true self, don’t worry. You will find someone who does, and you might get a new friend because of it.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - Post Reading

"All you need to do is find the right book at the right time.”
I think that what this quote means is that when you do something, you have to do it at the right time as well. If you are making an important decision, you can’t just wait forever: you will have lost your chance. Both the decision and the timing are important. 
In “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore”, this quote is very prominent. When Clay sneaks the logbook out of the store, he has to time it right or someone will notice. If he did it at the wrong time, it wouldn’t work.

Also, Mr. Penumbra had many different ideas on how to crack the coded codex vitae of Manutius. Because Corvina is the First Reader, Penumbra could get in trouble for his ideas. In this case, the only “right time” would be if Corvina wasn’t in charge, which was unlikely to happen. Again, if Clay had not had the idea to get Neel as a patron at the right time, Neel might have refused. Clay and Kat wouldn’t have been able to go to New York, and they wouldn’t have seen Penumbra. Furthermore, if Kat hadn’t come into the shop when Clay had the 3D model on his computer, they wouldn’t have gotten into a relationship, and Kat wouldn’t have helped Clay with the other problems. I think what this quote is saying is, “You have to know what to do, but it still won’t work if you’re not doing it at the right time.”

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store - Pre Reading

Books can do a lot for people, but only if they enjoy reading them. If you take the time to get interested in a book, you can forget the things around you. If you are stressed, a good book can be a way to forget what made you stressed in the first place. It is an escape, in a way. Books can inspire people to do good things as well. If a character in a book can be a good influence on other characters, chances are, they might be a good influence on you. The reverse can also be true.  If a character in a book you are reading is a bad influence, they will probably influence you in a negative way, too.
Books also improve language. Writers use interesting words and make us think differently. If people read, they remember some of those interesting words, and go on to use them in conversations, broadening their vocabulary. Books take us to places that we would never go to otherwise. If you read a book that takes place in another time or place, it gives you ideas of what might have happened there. 
Books make people want to write. I know this to be true. As a child, I was made to read a lot of books. I now love both reading and writing. Reading books has allowed me to learn to write in different styles, and to write about different characters.
Sometimes when I am really enjoying a book, I will write a spinoff when I finish it. I usually keep the same story, but from a different character’s view. I do this for practice: it is surprisingly difficult to weave another character into a plot that is already established.
Also, the more people read, the better they become at reading. Last summer, I was in a program that required me to read at 600 words per minute and pass a reading comprehension test. At first, they started me at 100 words per minute. A few weeks later, I was at 600 words per minute. I had hardly noticed that the speed had gotten faster. If you practice reading, you will get better.

Books make people more confident, because they make you feel smarter. If people are more confident in who they are, there will be less bullying and other school problems. You can never read too much.

Ship Breaker - Post Reading

“You toss your luck in the air and it rattles down on the gambling boards and you either live or die.” This quote was important to Ship Breaker as the book regularly talked about luck. I think what this quote means is that, you can do a certain amount of work to get something to happen, but it’s not certain that it will.
To me, it seems like a lot of this book has to do with luck. Perhaps this is because they live in a world where your life depends on how much goods you can pull from a small, dangerous space so that someone else can profit off of it. Everything in their lives depends on how much wire they pull out, if the weather is good, and if they don’t have an accident. In Nailer’s case, his day also depends on what kind of mood his dad is in.
Some people, like Lucky Girl, are born rich, and don’t seem to be affected by luck at all. However, she made it through the storm, when all the others on the clipper were killed. Others, like Lucky Strike, are born poor, but happen to find or do something that makes them rich. For example, Lucky Strike found oil and smuggled it out, becoming rich and using his influence to become richer.
Pima and Sadna say that Nailer is lucky after he escapes alive, and call him “Lucky Boy”. Others say that if he was lucky, then he would have escaped and still kept the oil.

I think that the characters became too consumed with luck and the like and didn’t do anything themselves. I think they went from “I can’t control everything, so I shouldn’t get upset if something doesn’t work out right”, to “If I can’t control everything, then why should I make any plans in advance at all”. In my opinion, we should try to do what we can, but realize that it won’t always work out.

Ship Breaker - Pre Reading

The word “loyalty” is defined as “obedience, allegiance, devotion, steadfastness, or reliability”. Often, someone is only seen as loyal if they are unconditionally loyal. It is nearly impossible to be loyal to someone at all times. There are many times when it is hard, or wrong, to be loyal to someone. 
If what someone is doing is wrong, should you be loyal to them? If being loyal to one friend goes against being loyal to another? There are reasons not to be loyal to someone, but it is hard to know when to be loyal. It is up to the person to make that judgement. This can be difficult, because the person wouldn’t want to offend their friend. 
It is also hard to be loyal when others disapprove. For example, if your friend wants to try something new, such as a new sport, you would support them in their decision. However, if others think that the idea or plan is dumb, peer pressure could convince you to be disloyal to your friend. In this situation, it is easy to know what the right thing is, but just as hard to go through with it.
Some aspects of loyalty are somewhat easier. Don’t talk behind your friend’s back, for example. In theory, this is easy, but if other people are talking about your friend, it can be tempting to say something. Still, this type of loyalty is simpler to understand: you usually know it’s not good to gossip about your friend.

If you feel that you should be loyal to someone, then be loyal. If what they are doing feels wrong, then confront them nicely. These rules are more like guidelines, because they don’t work in every situation. So when should you be loyal, and when should you not? Trust your instincts and remember to think it through.

Code Name Verity - Post Reading

           "Careless talk costs lives” is a quote that is often repeated throughout Code Name Verity. If you tell someone something that is secret, it will soon make its way to someone who should not know. In wars, this is especially important. Code and important information is kept closely guarded so that it is harder for it to get to the enemy. This is also true today, in different situations, such as school. If you tell someone a secret, they might accidentally tell someone else, who they trust. That person might tell another of their friends, not knowing that you did not want the information to get to that person. Of course, it does not “cost lives” in that situation, but the idea is basically the same.

In Code Name Verity, if Julie or Maddie, or anyone else, were to be too loose with information, the enemy would probably get it. Both of them are involved in very secret missions. They often say that careless talk costs lives, meaning that they do not want to talk about what they do.

Julie gives false information to her interrogators. However, she tells it in such a way that they believe it to be true. She pretends that she is upset about writing it out, while, in reality, she is faking all of it. She is able to do this because she is good at acting, and uses that for her job.

Maddie, however, has a more practical job as a pilot. Still, she takes the people who have secret missions, such as Julie, to where they need to be. While she is in hiding, she writes out all that has happened as an “Accident report”. This is foolish because the papers could fall into the wrong hands.

If “careless talk costs lives”, then we should all be more careful about what we say. We never know who it could get to, and how fast.

Code Name Verity - Pre Reading

Ten Things I Am Most Scared Of

1. Having dreams so big that they will never happen

I have really big dreams. I feel like I spend so much time planning them that I don’t have time to work on making them real. I feel like they are so big that they will never happen, and I give up.

2. Losing the chance to do something important

I have plans of what I want to do, often with other people. Because of being shy, I often don’t pursue the plans and lose the chance to do these things.

3. People not liking me

I always have the problem of worrying how people will like me or what I do. Many times, I changed something or backed down because of this.

4. Not being good enough

Before I do something, I always worry about how good the others there are. I worry about how I will compare to them.

5. Time going by too fast

I like to take time to plan things out. When time seems to go by too fast, I feel like I lose control of everything, and that makes me waste more time.

6. Not knowing what I am supposed to do

I always get nervous when I am told to do something and not given clear instructions. I want to ask how to do it, but I’m scared to. I have plans for most things, but I hardly ever know where to start.

7. Forgetting something important

I always worry that I will forget to do something important. I wonder what will happen if I do, and I plan everything out so that I won’t. Still, I worry about forgetting to do something that I need to do.

8. People controlling everything I do for all my life

I always look forward to when I can make my own decisions. I have plans for what I want to do later in my life. If there is someone telling me every little thing to do all of the time, I think I will go insane.

9. Freedom

I don’t know how I will act when I am given more freedom. Right now everything is so strict that I hardly have any time to sit down and think. It’s like every second of my life is planned out. Without this, I might only want to sit and think, and never get any of the things I think about done.

10. Spiders

I was playing outside one day in fourth grade, and I got bit by a huge spider. No one knew whether it was poisonous or not, so we went to the doctor’s. It wasn’t poisonous, but I still remember how bad it hurt and the hole in my thumb. I know that most people are at least a little scared of spiders, but ever since then, I have been more afraid of them than the average person.

Year of the Hangman - Post Reading

         As I was reading Year of the Hangman, one quote stood out to me. “The course of history often hinges of very small events”. This is because I often realize this while watching a documentary or reading a book. If some small event in history had happened differently, then everything would be different.

For example, the plot in Year of the Hangman is is based on the idea that the Americans lost the Revolutionary war. If this had happened, then most of the more modern world history would change. If we lost the war, many other countries would not have tried to gain their own independence. In reality, other countries saw that we could win our freedom, and were convinced to fight for theirs. If we had lost the Revolutionary war, the exact opposite would have happened: countries that had any ideas of becoming free would have abandoned them. 

If America was not free, it is likely that our Civil War would have never taken place. The fight for freedom and racial equality would have progressed much slower, if at all. America would never have become the superpower that it is today, and the outcomes of both of the World Wars would have been different.

If the Axis had won the Second World War, then they would certainly have continued conquering Europe. The shapes and borders of many European countries would have been different today.

In conclusion, if America had not won its freedom from England, the history of the world would have been very different. This is proof that the statement made in Year of the Hangman, “The course of history often hinges on very small events”, is true in the real world as well as in fiction.

Year of the Hangman - Pre Reading

Wars are fought for countries to gain rights or land. Sometimes it is fair, like if a country’s land was taken away in a previous war, or if another nation is too harsh on them. Most of the time, however, a nation will wage war so that they can gain more land to open up trade routes or to get access to resources.

The American Revolution, for example, was a war in which the objective was to gain freedom. Still, in the political sense, the British were right. They had established a colony, like other European countries did at that time. Their colony (America) wanted to be free. Since we live in the United States of America, most people tend to think the British were cruel and that we wanted to be free of heavy taxes (a fraction of what our own government taxes us today). It is often said that history is written by the victor. This means that the victor of a war will write the history of that war in their opinion.

World War Two started the same way. Some countries wanted more land. Hitler wanted to take over all of Europe and establish one “superior” race. The Americans entered the war only when they were forced to do so, fighting against their attackers, the Japanese. Other wars in history were fought for religious reasons. Still others are fought in areas of unrest, where there always seems to be a war.

Wars do serve a purpose: they warn people of the danger of wars. During the American Civil War, Robert E. Lee said, “It is well that war is so terrible – otherwise we should grow too fond of it”. War can accomplish things, but it is never good. Unless a war killed no one, it can not be called good.

However, wars do serve some good purposes. They can help build an economy. Even though Roosevelt’s New Deal helped create new jobs, the need for war equipment created many more. 

War also creates technological advances. For example, in WWII, the Chance Vought F4U-1 Corsairs (American fighter planes) became the first single-propeller plane to reach over 400 mph, or 347.5905 nautical miles per hour. However, the plane still had some faults: the enormous power that the engine produced led to the plane’s tendency to roll. This, as well as the long nose, made the Corsair relatively difficult to fly. Also, it was difficult to make landing gear struts long enough that the large propeller could clear the ground. Their solution was the inverted gull wing shape, which made the Corsair difficult to land because of a tendency to bounce after carrier landings. However, in the later models (F4U-2, -3, and -4) these problems were fixed. If this plane was not made during a war, it is likely that manufacturers would have simply abandoned production of the “Bent-Winged Bird” rather than fix errors. This was because of the need for weapons. If the manufacturers had stopped production of the Corsair, the Pacific front would've looked very different: the plane was so feared it was known as “Whistling Death” by the enemy.

In conclusion, while some products of wars can be beneficial, they are bloody and result in the deaths of many people. The wars themselves should never be considered good, but, as humans are sinful, it is impossible to stop fighting.

Touching Spirit Bear - Post Reading

“Life is a circle and every part of a circle is a beginning and an end.” This quote from Touching Spirit  Bear is very true. It means, if you begin something, it changes things from how they were before. If something changes, things cease to be how they were before the change. For example, if you got a new pet, it is the beginning of life with your new pet. However, it is also the end of life without that pet. To start something, you have to end something else. This can either be beneficial, or not.

In Touching Spirit Bear, the change was both good and bad. To Cole, the change seemed bad, but after he got used to it, the change made his life better. Cole lived a life of anger and fear. He was afraid of his father, who beat him, and angry with him for doing it. When Cole beat up a schoolmate, he was sent to an island to live by himself for a year. He was mauled by a bear, and rescued. He later returned to the same island by choice. This may have seemed bad, but being hurt gave him time to think and realize things. Returning to the island and building a shelter gave him work to do so that he wouldn’t fall back into his previous pattern of life.

If “life is a circle and every part of a circle is a beginning and an end,” it is important to realize this and accept new opportunities. However, it is also important to remember that things cannot stay the same forever in life.

Touching Spirit Bear - Pre Reading

Trust:

The definition for the word trust is the “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something”.  Most of the time, it is very difficult to earn someone’s trust. Usually, it doesn’t happen overnight. It can take months, or even years, to gain someone’s trust. The person becomes able to trust you over time by small things that you do, like keeping secrets, sticking by them, or giving advice. Sometimes, however, trust is earned very quickly. This is usually the result of a dramatic event. For example, in “Touching Spirit Bear”, Cole begins to trust the others and himself, but only after he is nearly killed in a fight when he is mauled by a mysterious white “Spirit Bear”. It takes still longer for the others to trust Cole because of his previous record. The more times someone betrays your trust, the harder it is to trust them again.
There are many circumstances where it is difficult to trust someone. Either they have treated you poorly in the past, or someone else has. Gaining someone’s trust is slow work. If you seem too forward, a cautious person will think you want something from them and trust you even less. In this method, there is no absolute point where the person suddenly  decides to trust you. They gradually begin to see that they can trust you. Even starting this process will take time. When something horrible happens, people that usually would not be friends are brought together. This can be seen all the time in today’s news. When an event, such as a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or disease strikes an area, the inhabitants seem to band together to get through it. People who didn’t know each other the day before are suddenly looking out for each other, living in the same shelter with each other, and sharing food and stories with each other.
If someone breaks your trust, it is only natural that you will be wary to trust them again in the future. I can remember this movie quote, “You crossed ___. You are willing to cross ___. Why should I expect any different?” Even if the person did not betray your trust, if they have betrayed someone else, you still have reason to not trust them. It is even harder to trust someone if the betrayal is personal. Some people are more forgiving than others, but what I have learned from reading “Touching Spirit Bear” is that it is difficult to forgive people, but if you do, you will trust them as well. 

In conclusion, trust is not a word to be used lightly. Trust is not to be given lightly, either. There is always the risk that someone will break your trust. Trust is either gained very slowly, or very rapidly. After trust is broken, it is extremely difficult to gain back. In “Touching Spirit Bear” there are at least five different times when people have trouble trusting, and many more in the main character’s past.