City of Bones vs Sarah Bishop

Authors Note: This is a comparative essay I wrote about the two books I’m reading, City of Bones and Sarah Bishop.

Would you believe that a book about highly equipped teenagers trained for slaughtering demons (City of Bones) and one about a 15 year old living on her own during the revolutionary war (Sarah Bishop) could have any similarities? They actually can, in fact they even share the same main theme of survival, of course in their own ways. So in many ways they are alike, but I’d say they’re more different. For example, City of Bones is so futuristic and takes place in modern day New York. This thrill ride of a book has to do with shadow hunters and downworlders, while the much slower pace Sarah Bishop is all about her living on her own during the revolutionary war. However, these novels are both about teenagers that are fighting for their lives every day. So as you can see, just by this quick summarization these books both share a main theme of survival.

Although these books are very different, a theme for both of them is survival. For Sarah it is living out doors and adapting to her new lifestyle. Living outside can be really tough, especially when there’s a bitter winter coming up. For the teens in City of Bones however, they have to survive in a completely different way. Life can’t be easy when you have possessed demons coming after you for a chalice you don’t even have.

Another thing that these books have in common is both of them have to deal with death, whether it’s killing something themselves, or someone dying around them. Clary’s grandparent’s and her so called “dad” died, but that’s no match for the amount of demons Jace has slaughtered. He is a demon hunter of course. While in Sarah Bishop, Sarah only uses her musket for threats and hunting for food. The only reason she has to kill animals, though, is because her dad has been killed and her brother died a prisoner of war.

On the other hand, Sarah bishop is all about a teenage girl living on her own and trying to find her way through life, while City of bones has a group of kids that will always have each other’s backs. Obviously they’d have to though, because in a world of blood sucking down worlders and man eating “forsaken” if you let your guard down, you better have someone looking out for you. For Sarah it isn’t that important for her to have someone. The worst thing that could happen is an animal attack, and it’s not like having a “cave mate” could really stop the creature’s assault.

In final analysis you can see how these books share the same theme, but yet still have many differences. Of course when you think of surviving in New York you’d probably just think of fitting in and not going bankrupt, and when you visualize surviving during in the revolutionary war, it probably occurs to you that that would mean a soldier trying not to get killed. Either way though it is clear to see that the characters in these books have to survive in their own ways, and life will always be a challenge for all of them.

Chapter 44

Authors Note: This is an extra chapter I wrote to a book I was reading called The Awakening.


After a week of running away and now getting a chance to sleep on bed in a place where I know I’m safe you’d think I’d be able to, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t stop thinking about Aunt Lauren and about my dad wanting me back, but the thought that haunted me the most is that I can never have my old life back, but I guess that’s probably what Tori, Simon, and Derek are thinking too. This means I can’t back out, not now, not ever. Even if I could, where would I go? I can’t just run back home and pretend like everything is fine, that’s not ever going to happen, god Chloe just get that through your head! But I couldn’t. All I could hope for is that things could possibly go back to how they were, and with that, I drifted off.

The next morning at breakfast as a bit into an apple that had never tasted so delicious, Andrew asked us how we slept. “Fine, but-“ Derek started to mumble but was soon cut off by Tori obnoxiously complaining about a pillow being too hard, or something like that. Who knows what Simon said, but everyone burst out laughing, but I just couldn’t concentrate, me being a necromancer is still pretty hard to accept, nevertheless figure out how to be one. I guess I had been zoning out though, because after quickly blinking a few times I realized Simon was frantically waving his hand in front of my face and yelling

“Chloe!”

“W-what?” I stuttered

“I asked you why you were being so quiet.”


“Oh, I was, I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“Whatever” Simon mumbled, obviously not believing me. Nothing very interesting happened throughout breakfast. It was basically just all of us putting fake smiles on our faces (except for Derek of course) and talking like everything was normal. Although after breakfast we did go exploring in the house, which might sound dumb, but in an old house you never know what you might find.

Turns out our hunch was right because after about an hour of searching we found a pull down door for an attic. Trying to act tough, Simon hesitantly went first. He led us all up the stairs when suddenly there was a huge boom and a nauseating laugh.

We All See Things Differently

Authors note: This is point of view piece on historical fiction books we are reading for Social Studies. It is about how different people can have completely different points of view.

Sarah Bishop is about a girl named, you guessed it, Sarah Bishop. Her dad has been a loyalist this whole time, meaning he likes the king. Sadly for him, the rest of the town doesn’t, but the worst part is, her brother, Chad, just went to war to fight against the king. Sense her dad likes the king, the patriots of the village come to Sarah’s house and burn it down; Sarah is safely tied to a tree but they cover her dad in hot tar and feathers which eventually kills him. Of course in the Patriots point of view this was obviously the right thing to do, but since this book was written in Sarah’s, it was the most mortifying thing she has ever seen.

With this piece being written in Sarah’s point of view, she tells the story by making it seem like the Patriots are terrible and horrific people and she begins to persuade you that her father did nothing wrong. It leads you to the assumption that he did nothing except for staying true to himself and his country. It seems as though the Patriots are cruel and inconsiderate bullies, and that’s what you think is true. And of course that’s what you’re going to believe, you don’t see it any other way.

However, in the eyes of the Patriots, they feel that they should not let think king take over their lives, and that the only way to overpower him is to get rid of all his worshipers. To do that, they must kill/hurt and destroy the homes of all “evil” citizens like Sarah’s dad. One by one, the Patriots rid the town of loyalists, after each one, it feels as if they are one step closer to freedom. Rebelling against the king is what they think is their only hope, so they’ll stop at nothing to get what they deserve.

It is clear that different people will see things in distinctively different ways, but that’s what can make a book worth reading. It’s that attitude and emotions that make things interesting, without them books would be dull and boring. Point of view plays a big role in all books, and in this one Sarah takes you through a huge part of her life and what she feels the world is like. Of course the towns people, and the Patriots will, for the most part disagree, but this was written in Sarah’s point of view so she is going to call it like she sees it.

Can People Really Change?

Authors Note: Stereotypes are everywhere, Randy was the perfect picture of the stereotypical Soc, all until his best friend died and he changed his view on life, that’s how Randy became a dynamic character.

Randy is the Average Soc who believes that all greasers are the stereotypical no good criminals, but once he talks to Ponyboy he realizes how wrong he has been all this time. Socs are the kind of people that beat up and make fun of greasers just because their different, Randy used to be one of those people. Before having that talk, he just assumed all greasers had an okay life, or at least parents. Turns out some don’t and Randy now sees how tough they have it and acknowledges them as people too.

Unquestionably Randy is a dynamic character, but he was not always that way. Like I said, he was one of those terrible people that beat up greasers; at least he was until Bob died. Socs can do some pretty nasty things so you’d be stupid to even approach them. In fact, Randy was one of the socs that had jumped Johnny for the first time, that’s why poor Johnny is so jumpy, but the worst part is, he didn’t even feel bad about it.

However, things changed once Bob died and Randy was never the same. There is this feeling inside him that he hasn’t felt for a long time. He feels pity, and not just for himself, but for the greasers too. To prove how bad he feels, Randy even pulls himself out of the rumble because he knows that no matter who wins; things will still be the same. There were a lot of bad things he did that he is just now realizing all of them, and all it took was his friend’s life.

Aside from understanding life for the greasers, Randy now has sympathy for them too. After this whole feud came between the two groups he basically got sick of all of the harsh feelings. Randy just doesn’t understand why people have to be so mean. Ironically enough though, he used to be one of those people that didn’t understand why they shouldn’t be mean.

In final consideration, Randy is undeniably a dynamic character, throughout this book he has grown and changed some much. At first you would had never guessed that there might be a soft side to this cocky, popular, and “tuff” guy, but now it is quite clear that he does have some sympathy and it’s not just for himself. Bob and Randy made a few foolish mistakes that led to some lives being lost, and I guess that’s when it hit him. These things he was doing and the choices he was making were all very poor, Randy changed and that makes him a dynamic character.

Bucket List

This is a story about a guy, whose life went from his all time worst to his all time best.


Jamie had a life he could never have dreamed of, him and his loving wife Mary had bought their dream house and had a wonderful child. Mary was a stay home mom and Jamie was a very successful doctor. Nobody could even begin to imagine the life Jamie once had. Back then he had no promising future or career of any kind, now if you looked at him, you would have thought he was one of those kids with rich parents and had attended some fancy and prestigious school, but here’s the real story.

At just 5 years old, Jamie’s mom had passed away due to stage 4 lung cancer. After the death Jamie’s dad became an alcoholic and was no longer obliged to take care of him, so now 7 year old Jamie went to go live with his grandma. Years went by and Jamie passed some huge milestones in his life but now came the biggest. After 8 years of living with his grandma she had just died.

Day and slowly passed by and it was now time for the funeral, Jamie was already very depressed and to make matters worse he didn’t have a place to live, so for now he was just using all the money his grandma gave him in her will to stay in a cheap motel. So when the time came, Jamie’s cab pulled up to the cemetery where his grandma’s funeral was being held. Not expecting anybody else to be there, considering there wasn’t any other family members except for his dad; Jamie was startled to see a girl around his age there. As he approached her he rehearsed in his mind what to say but before he could mumble out a word she was off, rambling about how she and his grandma had been such good friends because she was the junior librarian and would always help her pick out books. She then continued saying how they would always go out for coffee after and how sad she was now. Jamie just introduced himself and focused on the funeral.

Once the ceremony was finally over, the girl (whose name was Mary) invited him out for dinner. Jamie accepted but was a little unsure, but all that went away when they were laughing over a huge owl of onion rings at Apple Bee’s. Once dinner was finally over, Jamie realized he was sad to see Mary leave, so he willingly asked her out for lunch tomorrow. Mary said yes and that was that.

To shorten things up I will just say, that their first date was not their last, not by a long shot. After about a year of dating the two lovebirds moved in together, when one night, Jamie asked Mary that if she could accomplish one thing in her life what it would be. Mary sheepishly giggled that it would be her bucket list. Jamie was baffled because he had no clue what a bucket list was, but if it was for Mary he was willing to try it. It was settled, that in the morning they would take a look at this so called “bucket list”.

It was astonishing, all these goals and dreams written down, Jamie was so eager he didn’t know where to start. So Marry suggested from to top, and they would work their way down from there. After a few minutes of chatting, they hoped online and started planning their trip to the Amazon, and after the Amazon there was a countless amount of things left to accomplish. Since the list was so long they made a deal to never add anything else, but Jamie had to. One night when Mary fell asleep Jamie crept across the room to add one more thing. To get married.

When the day finally came and they were at the end of the bucket list was when she saw it. Marry had saw what Jamie had wrote started jumping and screaming “Yes!” Jamie was ecstatic. After marriage he got a wonderful job and they had their beautiful child.

What is Family?

This is piece about the theme on the real meaning of family, and it shows that it doesn’t matter if you’re related or not.


After the Curtis’ brothers parents died you’d think that they had lost family, but instead they gained some. After Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry’s parents died, Darry had to drop out of school to help his brothers. By doing that had just gave away his whole reputation and all he worked for and was now a dirty, lousy greaser. Just like them, none of the other greasers had families, and if they did they weren’t good ones. So even though they might not be related by blood, they are all family.

Clearly some might think that not having parents would be the worst thing ever, but the greasers didn’t care. The gang was more family than lots of them ever had. Either their parents had died, or they had just not cared about them enough. There are people like Johnny that hate their parents, when Dally and Pony boy were visiting him as he was dying, Johnny wouldn’t even let his own mother in. If that was me, I wouldn’t have cared if I hated her or not, that was my mom who had raised me.

Even though Dally wouldn’t save the children from a burning church, when Johnny was in there, nothing else mattered. That just shows how close this gang was. Dally, the toughest, most conniving person you’d ever meet, risked his life to save the only person he ever loved, and that was his own gang member. Whether blood related or not greasers are family, and nothing will ever interfere that.

Johnny, What Have You Done?

This is a letter I wrote to one of the characters in " The Outsiders" confronting him on what he has done


Dear Johnny,

I know that things are rough now, and you’re probably feeling pretty lonely, but you killed someone and things will never be the same. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you could have just risked your best friend’s freedom and possibly even your own life. Normally in a situation like this I would tell you to turn yourself in, but you ran away from your crime, Johnny. Now you’ll get punished even worse than you already would. If I were you, I don’t know what I’d do, which is why I’m glad I’m not. Killing someone is terrible, but you dragged Ponyboy into this, and if he gets hurt, it’s on you. Do what you think is best, you dragged yourself into this mess now you’ll have to weave your way out. My only advice to you is that just because Dally gave you that gun does not mean you need to use it, the last thing you need is another murder on your hands.



Sincerely,
Ali

Country Pride

This piece is to show that I am proud of country, even though it has done some things I may not like, it still does the good thing in the end.


In many ways I am proud of our Country, for the sacrifices it has made and the things we have achieved, our country has gone through a lot and I'm glad to see that it's still going strong. It’s a blessing to be able to live here, why else we people years ago risk their lives to come here on a boat? You should be proud to live in this country because we do have so many more privileges and advantages then you would if you lived somewhere else.


To get started, just this year we caught two main terrorists that were huge threats to us.
This was a huge task to accomplish, not to mention that we’ve been at it for years. I don’t think there will ever be a way to show are gratitude to the government for them to see how thankful we are for the knowing that we’ll be safe when we ride on planes.

Pursuing this further, it’s also nice to know that there are still citizens out there risking their lives for this country. Not even know us; they are out into the battle field not knowing if they will come back. That’s pure dedication, meaning they also must be proud of this country.

For the most part, money is not very good these days, making a lot of people in dept. Our country obviously doesn’t have as much money as it used to but that doesn’t stop us from giving back, which is one of the things I love about it. When Haiti had the devastating Earthquake, we gave back as much as we could, leaving us very little left over. Then when a horrendous Tsunami went and destroyed Japan, we were there to help. Our country is a giving one, and even though what we get in return for helping these countries out won’t pay our bills, it still gives us a heartwarming satisfaction.

In the long run the U.S.A. is a country filled with pride, which it should be. This country deserves the respect it has gratefully earned. Though out many years we have accomplished so any things, I’m proud of this country and I hope you are too.

The World's Greatest Pop Star

I created this persuasive piece to convince people that Lady Gaga is more than meets the eye


Lady gaga is one of the most controversial stars around, but so many people dislike her for the things she does, what she wears, or even what she believes in, and I am just blown away by the amount of people that immediately want to judge her. Everything she does is to make a point, all of her outfits, the performances and especially the music videos are all created for a reason. Behind the outfits and make up, Lady gaga is a truly amazing person with a voice and attitude so spectacular; she was definitely born to be a star.

With all the fame and fortune, you might think it would go to her head, but it doesn’t; Lady gaga is still the same “down to earth girl” her friends and family know. ‘I’ll always have one high heel in New York.’ Says Gaga who also said she hates L.A. because it’s full of shallow, self absorbed people. In way, all stars should be like Lady Gaga, always having time for their family and not blowing money on luxurious yet pointless things. The majority of her money she earns is for her shows, and you may not believe this but Lady Gaga doesn’t like money, she was raised being poor and that’s how she likes it sometimes; but what’s even harder to believe is that she doesn’t like being famous. You may be wondering why she is then but according to Gaga, she is married to her music and she needs it in order to exists, so basically she is doing all of this for her “little monsters”.

Although many might disagree, I believe that Lady gaga is truly inspiring. The way she worked her way up to the top, and how she believed in herself the whole way through, just makes her even more deserving of where she is today. ’I was always a star, just not everybody knew it yet.’ I also love how she doesn’t care of what people think, she struts up down the streets however she wants in whatever she wants, not caring what the tabloids might say. Tabloids are basically bullies and if there is anything Lady Gaga hates more than being famous, its bullies. Especially when it comes to gay rights, hence the song “Born This Way”. And that’s what is totally unfair; people hate Lady Gaga for what she believes in, but she doesn’t care, which is what I love about her. While in Australia Gaga sang at a gay club, and on her way out a group of people egged her and even though one did hit her, she kept walking keeping a smile on her face. This pop star is amazingly inspiring.

One of the best qualities of Lady Gaga and most likely one of the main reasons she became famous was because she is so interesting. At award shows it used to be “I wonder who will win best song?” now it’s “I wonder what Gaga will be wearing?” She keeps you on your toes and that is a really good quality. When she writes her songs she doesn’t just think of lyrics, Mother Monster also thinks of what she can wear when she performs the song ‘Art is music and music and music is art but question is, which came first? She says because her clothes and performances are a work of art.

Now you know Lady gaga as person, and as for her songs, there is one for anybody. From a light and cheerful song like “eh, eh, (nothing else I can say)” to country songs like “Born thins way (country road)” or “you and I” she even sang a jazz duet with Tony Bennet. On the outside she might look crazy, but if you look beneath that you will find a talented one of a kind artist that won’t ever give up on her dreams. Lady Gaga was a loser when she was in high school so it is very inspiring to see where she is today ‘I’m just changing the world one sequin at a time’. From pop to rock, to country and even hip hop, Lady Gaga can do it all, I hope that you found that you like her songs and her, even more as a person.

Ursula The Unicorn

This is a narrative story about a unicorn named Ursula who lives a life that she is very unhappy with. This story was made for my language arts class.


Ursula the unicorn was a caring, honest, and loyal unicorn. When Kenneth the donkey got tired of hauling his cart around, Ursula was there. Or when her and Martha the lizard (who thought she was a chameleon) would play hide and seek, Ursula would always pretend not to see her even though she was as obvious as a light up neon sign. Now Ursula might not be happy, but hey, she’s a unicorn and she has duties to fulfill.

It was a sunny morning in July and Ursula got up and did her usual routine. Wake up, make breakfast for the lazy animals, pull Kenneth’s apple cart, play games with the school kids, and so on. Ursula absolutely hated her life, everything about it! You may be thinking “How could a Unicorn hate their life?” well here’s the answer, Ursula was an Ugly Unicorn.


All of Ursula’s ugliness started when she was only three years old, at the age of three she was the hottest unicorn you would have ever seen, and too bad she had a terrible personality. So she was expelled and home schooled, and oh how Ursula hated being home schooled! So she got an attitude adjustment, a big one at that. The nicer she became the uglier she got, the uglier she got the more she hated her life. But she couldn’t go back to her old grumped up life. So that brings us to where we are today because apparently unicorns can either be pretty and mean, or nice and ugly.

While leading her exercise class for the pigs that afternoon, Ursula snapped. She went ballistic! Yelling and screaming, sweatbands and dumbbells were flying everywhere! This sad unicorn had finally realized she hated being nice and that she needed to live her own life. So off she went, destroying everything in her sight, dissing anyone she saw. How sad all of Ursula’s so called friends got, thinking that it was their fault her life had been ruined (which I guess it kind of was).

The very next morning Ursula got up as a completely different Unicorn, and it wasn’t in a good way. That day, it was her goal to be the nastiest unicorn that this whole city had ever seen. Her goal was achieved within the first hour of her morning, which especially saddened Martha when Ursula found her right after “here I come!” came out of her mouth. So off she went to live her sinful life.

Sadly enough (for Ursula at least) the meaner she got, the prettier she got, and the prettier she got the more she loved herself. But prettier and prettier Ursula got until she got to the point where she was so pretty she was ugly, which wouldn’t have been bad if she had a good personality but now she had neither. Poor Ursula now had nothing, not even her parents would talk to her after she that they were lucky to have each because no else could ever love them. Something had to be done.

Persevering to be nice again just to have her old life back, Ursula went. Being nice again because she knew that if she had to be ugly and unhappy she could at least be nice while doing it.

After apologizing to everybody she went back to her normal ways of kindness. Now, of course Ursula was unhappy, but sometimes you just have to suck it up. When life hands a unicorn lemons she will either give them to poor orphans or squirt the juice into the eyes of passing bikers.

Larry the ?

There was a duck named Larry,
But he was really harry .
So he was no longer a duck,
And was actually a truck.
But trucks can’t be harry thought the duck named Larry.
Maybe I’m a bear,
Because I have lots of hair.
Bears don’t quack,
Said his friend named Jack.
Then I’m a moose,
You silly goose.
Duck I am Larry,
For I am not harry.
Well jiggle some jell-o and call me Michael Jackson,
I am not a duck I am Jichael Mackson (The undiscovered platypus).

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend I had a goal to do something fun everyday, my goal was accomplished! On Friday Daniel invited me and Brittany to see "The Hangover Part 2" with him and his mom. We came along and actually got to go into one of those dinner movie theaters, it was so cool! After the movie though everyone was giving Daniel's mom these weird looks for taking us to such an inappropriate movie (we were the only kids in the whole theater). Saturday me Brittany, Kasia, and Jade all went to Monkey Joe's. It was fun but I got a bunch of burns from the slides. Sunday Night, Me Kasia, Brittany, Jade, and Andrea all went bumper bowling (real bowling is too hard). Except bumper bowling isn't as easy as it sounds, i still got a gutter, but the ball got stuck in the gutter on the account of bumpers. So we got help. Another time i missed two lanes and it went down the workers hallway. That crosses one job off of my career list. Monday, Andrea and I went Laser tagging and swimming. Oh, and i had a sleep over with Brittany every night. That was my weekend so ya, it's ok to be jealous.

What If Toys Could Talk?

If toys could talk they would be super anoyying. "Play with with me!" "Ouch my arm won't bend that way!" "Stop! I don't want to go scuba diving in the toilet!" See? Now who would want that? Humans are annoying enough as it is. We don't need toys to add on to that. Also, they would always feel left out and be all "AW! You got to play with her yesterday!" then you'd be all "So? this one's cuter." Then their feelings would get hurt. I think we can all agree that toys stay silent.

Lady Gaga's New Release

On Monday, May 23rd Lady Gaga released her new album "Born This Way". So of course that day I had to go out and buy it, she claims it will be "the best album of the decade!" what I say is, "It's pretty good." Don't get me wrong, I really like, it's just that 1.) A lot of the songs sound the same and 2.) If it was someone else singing them, most of the songs i wouldn't like. Anyways, most of the songs on there are good and I do recomend buying it.

Things We're Excited For!

Something I'm excited for is tonight after our soccer game I'm going to Best Buy to buy Lady Gaga's new album. She's already released 5 songs (Born This Way, You and I, Judas, Edge of Glory, and Hair) but I'm super excited to hear the rest! Another thing I'm really excited for is the Memorial day fair. The rides there are fun but the best is definitely "The Zipper". Me and Brittany go on that every year and when we get to the top we always rock the cart back and forth until the ride starts moving and we tip! Those are two things that I'm excited for.

Waka Waka essay

“You’re a good soldier, choosing your battles, pick yourself up and dust yourself up, get back in the saddle”. In “Waka Waka; This time for Africa” it talks about doing that making you feel good and your chance to achieve your goals. I chose this song because it is really easy to interpret the message that it’s trying to portray. In “Waka Waka; This Time for Africa” Shakira sends out the message of thinking about yourself and getting that one opportunity, your once in a life time chance.

Shakira’s song is the national song for the FIFA World Cup, it talks about playing a sport for the pride, and the love of it. People don’t care if you when or lose, they only care about how you can act during and after it. Everyone has that once in a life time experience, whether it’s in sports or not. That moment is what Sharkira is really singing about.

That moment for me was when we had a soccer tournament last year; it was “Mix n’ Match” which meant that people of all grades were mixed together. At first our team was really bad, but we kept trying. Each game we got a little bit better. Finally when it all came down, we got 3rd place. We were sad, but also very proud at how far we had gotten.

As you can see, this song can bring back memories for me and probably everybody else. That’s because Shakira really understands the feeling/feelings that people get. Whether good or bad, happy or sad, this song is talking about feelings. “Waka Waka; This Time for Africa” is a great song, not only because it sounds good, but because it connects with the audience.

A days Or B days?

To be honest, A days suck! Well, at least in my opinion they do. For one thing, I have French class which i totally hate. Another thing is I have science, that's almost worst than French! I also have gym, which is OK I just don't the running because I have asthma. Some reasons that B days are better are because I have F/CE which is my most favorite class. You get to eat things and do a bunch of other fun stuff. Plus Abbi's in my class. Social Studies is another class I have that I kind of like because it's easy and Brit sits next to me. Me and Brittany always do a bunch of random stuff in there. Like this one time Brittany had M&M's so in between presentations we put the M&M's on a piece of paper and saw who could suck them up the fastest. In other words, I LOVE B DAYS!

The Life Of Famous People

One day some stars were meeting for coffee, the people that came were, Lady Gaga, Po the Telletuby, Tina Fey, George Lopez, and Abraham Lincoln. Off they went to Starbucks which was a personal favorite for all of them. Too bad though because while they were waiting for Betty White, they played a game of hide and seek. Gaga counted “1, 2, 3, 4, 5……..” pretty soon all of her friends were scattered around the city. Since Lady Gaga cannot walk very fast in those heels of hers it was taking her an awful long time. All of the hiders got bored and decided to have a day on the town. This is what they did.

Po:
“La, La-La, La, La!” sang Po as she whizzed past stores on her scooter. “What should I do, where should I go?” she though. Then Po remembered it was Lala’s birthday. “Uh oh.” Po said out loud, “What am I going to do? I know!” she happily exclaimed. Pretty soon Po and Lala were inside a salon. “What are we doing here?” Lala asked. “Getting are nails done for your birthday present.” Po explained. “But Po,” Lala said hesitantly “we don’t have nails.” Po was so upset she was about to cry when Lala started laughing, apparently she thought this was funny. So Po went along with it and laughed too. Her and Lala went home and ate a Sundae.

Tina Fey:
As Tina was strolling down the block she met Alec Baldwin, her co-star from “30 rock”. To impress him she pretended to be on the phone with the president, “One sec,” she mouthed “Obama here is a real chatter.” She incorrectly informed him. Alec was so jealous he stormed off to his house and called the president. “Why don’t we have any personal conversations?” he angrily asked him. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Obama stuttered. “Don’t lie to me Barrack, I heard Tina on the phone with you talking away!” Tina Fey got sued that day.

George Lopez:
George was slowly strolling down the street with the sun burning down on his head. “Why can’t the just make hats big enough for me?!” he yelled to the sky. Everyone stared, George just power walked down that street like nothing happened. At the corner it was like the angles from above had been sent to come rescue George. There was a sign, a sign that would change his whole life he thought. The sign read “Plus Size Hats Available here!”. George sprinted in and bought the whole store. Sadly the sign had actually read “Plus size Cats”, Geoege Lopez had just bought a whole store of fat cats.

Abraham Lincoln:
Abe didn’t know what to do, or where he was for that matter since he was transported here in a time machine. As he was walking around, Top hat and all, Colby Bryant came up to him and was all “Whoa dude, you are seriously tall! How would you like to come play some b-ball with me and my boys?” “Why thank you, I do take pride in my height.” Abe replied honestly. “Yaaaaaaaaaaaa, so let’s go then!” Colby said dragging Abe with him. Turns out he was better than he thought at basketball and now Abraham Lincoln is the start of the Boston Celtics.

Betty White: Outside of Starbucks you could hear the purr of a golf cart (if golf carts even do purr). Out came Betty White searching for her friends. They were nowhere to be found, she had checked everywhere. Everywhere in Starbucks that is. Betty was tired and since her friends blew her off she decided to go home and take a nap. Now, Mrs. White might not know what her friends were up to that day, but at least we do.

Angles are Crying

The Angels are crying for Curtis,

Don’t ask me how I know this.

You climbed the heavenly stairs,

And you'll always be in my prayers.

I hope the pain is gone,

But thanks for holding on.

You’ll always be in my heart,

And you have been from the start.

You’re a person I’m glad I knew,

Curtis, I’ll always remember you.

Waka Waka; This Time For Africa

You’re a good soldier, choosing your battles (challenge yourself)
Pick yourself up and dust yourself up get back in the saddle (If you fail, get up and try again)
Your on the frontline, everyone’s watching (Don’t screw up)
You know it’s serious were getting closer this isn’t over (you can still win this)
The pressure’s on, you feel it (Now you really don’t want to mess up)
But you’ve got us all, believing (If they don’t lose hope, then you shouldn’t either)
So when you fall get up oh oh, and if you fall get up eh eh (if don’t succeed keep trying, and when you don’t try harder)
Tsamina mina zangalewa, cuz this is Africa (Where do you come from, because this is Africa)
Tsamina mina eh eh (Come)
Waka Waka eh eh (Come and play)
Tsamina mina zangalewa (Where do you come from)
This time for Africa (It’s their turn)
Listen to your God (Ask for advice)
This is our motto (This is what we are telling you to do)
Your time to shine, don’t wait in line (Don’t let anybody get in your way)
Y vamos por todo (We all want this)
People are raising, their expectations (people believe in you)
Go ahead and feed ‘em this is your moment no hesitation (Go do what you were meant to do)
Today is your day, I feel it (This is your chance)]
You paved the way, believe it (You made all of this possible for yourself)
If you get down get up oh, oh and when you get down get up eh, eh (When you get down, get right back up and when you fall get up again)
Tsamina mina zangalewa, cuz this is Africa (Where do you come from, because this is Africa)
Tsamina mina eh eh (Come)
Waka Waka eh eh (Come and play)
Tsamina mina zangalewa (Where do you come from)
This time for Africa (It’s their turn)

Confusing Things

Something that I think is super confusing is Lady Gaga's new song "Judas". First she talks about it like it's a sin, then she starts talking about all this other confusing stuff and acting like he's a person. For example, in one part she goes "I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs, forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain". What does that even mean? There's also a part when she says "I learned that love is like a brick, you can build a house or sink a dead body". That doesn't have anything to do with love; or a brick! Oh Gaga, how you baffel us all.

My Cousin

I have a cousin named Annabelle,she's only three but since her mom is a speech therapist she can talk a lot more than most kids. By the time she was one, she already knew all of her animal sounds. When Annabelle was two she could recite the alphabet and the pledge of allegiance. Just yesterday I saw her for a Mother's Day brunch, Annabelle took me into the a room and told me we had to hide from our mommy's, she led me into the closet and told me to close the door, "But Annabelle,"
I said, "I'm too scared." "Don't be scared Ali." Annabelle replied. "Three year olds are brave, I'm right hear for you." I did as I was told and closed the doors. "Hey Annabelle, I'm still scared." I said sarcastically. "Just remember Ali, you have a family to go back to." Annabelle replied bravely. Now Annabelle has a brother and i just can't wait to hear their conversations with each other.

Garboligy By: Abbi, Jade, Ali, and Brittany

Fork
Straw
Bobby Pin
Button
Necklace
Tooth Pick
Balloon
Puzzle Piece

So once upon a time, there was a blind balloon seller. He was doing a puzzle, which obviously he wasn't good at so he stuffed the extra pieces in his pocket. Then he ate some spaghetti with a fork and slurped some coke with a straw. It was a windy day so he clipped his hair up with a bobby pin and to make a fashion statement he also wore a gold beaded necklace. Then the blind guy went to the library, but pushed the wrong button in the elevator. So he ended up in the basement. While in the basement, he started to clean his teeth with a tooth pick and tripped over a button, then his toothpick stabbed a person taking a nap on the floor. That person died, but the blind guy didn't know that, so he went on with the rest of the day. Later that day though, the guy that got stabbed, actually didn't die, so he then appreciated life a lot more.

Muffins

Muffins are very yummy. Especially the chocolate chips ones. Speaking of muffins, that is what we have on our soccer jersey, which is weird because our team name is the cup cakes. Actually Cupcakes was our indoor soccer name, but we got made fun of so we had to change it back to the cougars. What's really sad though, is the people that made fun of us were like first graders. So it made me pretty darn sad. Anyways, muffins taste good.

No Title

These weekend I am going to Florida, I am going with Brittany so it will be even more fun. I can't wait! We are going to make a demented video diary at the air port so we can watch it when we're bored. Me and Brittany fail a lot, and I mean a lot. Ever seen our you tube videos? Ouch! Brit and I are what we like to call foobs (Failish Noobs). Makes sense right? Of course.

Telletubies

Telletubies are awesome and are also very attractive. I only wish that telletubies went to our school. Life wold be so great, they would probably know a lot of fun games to play. We should definitely go to the telletubies studio for a field trip some day. Wouldn't that be fun? Well, i think it would be. My favorite telletubie is either LaLa or Po, but my least favorite is Tinkie Winkie. I don't know why, but he just annoys me. Or maybe instead of going to see the the telletubies, they should come to us. Life is good, life is fun, we should call the telletubies and ask them to come.

My Metaphor

I am a soccer ball soaring through the goal
I am a turtle moving slowly through life
I am an Ali being an Ali

MAX

How well would you handle being claustrophobic and having the only way to save your kidnapped mom is to ride in a Navy sub with no windows? That situation would be terrible for anyone, but for Max and the flock it’s ten times worse because they are just about, the most claustrophobic freaks ever! But Max is determined, nothing can stop her, if she wants something, no doubt she can get it. Now, with all of the other books from this series being ironies or tragedies, this might sound pretty weird but “MAX” by James Patterson only fits into the comedy mode of literature.


For this book to start out as a comedy, it first must just be normal everyday life. For the flock, that means doing whatever they have to do to have fun but mostly stay safe. In my opinion they do a pretty good job at that seeing as though they’re not dead. Up next there is a problem, Max gets shot at during the middle of the night and is taken to some short, funny looking guy called Mr. Chu. Mr. Chu gives her some warnings, that if I were her, I would have listened to. To make matters even worse, once poor Max can finally get home she realizes that her mom has been kidnapped. Her life must just be so terrible, but at least this story is a fiction. Anyways, later on they get her mom back and things all go back to normal. Well, sort of, nothing is ever really that normal for Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel.


There is actually quite a bit of symbolism in this book, believe it or not. First off, this story takes place in Mexico, so it is like summer all the time. So while the flock is in Mexico they must do air shows in the daylight. It sounds like those would be fun to go to, all except the one that got bombarded by ninjas. Also, when Max gets her hurt wing, she can’t fly, so to help keep her occupied her loving mom teaches her how to cook in the kitchen. At that point I almost felt bad for her, the rest of the flock ditching her to go fly and play, while her mom is almost forcing her to do something she is terrible at. Another symbolism characteristic is that they have a pet. To be more specific, a dog named Total. He also has wings. Speaking of wings, when the flock takes off, they usually do it from the porch.

I can’t stress enough how good these books are! This is my favorite series I’ve ever read by far, and what’s even more exciting is that sense the books were so good, there will even be a movie series. Getting back to the book though, it’s so thrilling and always keeps you guessing. No wonder they’re a New York Times best seller. Even so, the terrifying, suspenseful book, “MAX” by James Patterson is none other than a comedy.

Favorite Childhood Memory

My favorite childhood memory was probably when I was in 3rd grade, I went over to my friend Andrea's house, her dad had another house that he was trying to sell and had to take us along. It was a super fun day, but probably a very upsetting one for her dad. I'd be mad to if I were him, but I'm not so i had a good time.

While we were at the house we kept getting in the way, playing games and running in the halls, bumping into all the buyers. So Andrea's dad gave us some money to walk down to the near by gas station and get some ice-cream and to come right back. All he had though was a twenty so he doubtingly gave it to us. Now how in the world do you trust 2 3rd graders to go to a gas station with twenty bucks and only get ice-cream? i bet he learned a lesson after this little fiasco. Anyways, so we walked down to the gas station on a hot day, and i mean hot like 90 degrees. So once we were down there we just had to get everything else we saw and liked. That means candy bars, gum, candy, chips, Cheetos, ice-breakers, Soda everything! We spent the whole $20.

As we were walking back we got really tired, so we decided to take a brake at a park along the way. It had a little pavilion thing that we could sit under to get out of the sun so that was nice. Andrea and drank some soda to cool down, so after that we were ready to start walking, but we didn't. Instead we started playing on the playground like all little kids would. There was this one slide that was metal and since it was a hot day, this sliding was burning. You could probably cook an egg on it. Not that i would because, that is just wrong and unsanitary! Think of all the butts that have touched that thing! Getting back to the story though, i dared Andrea to go down that slide, which would be extremely painful because we were both wearing shorts. She did it anyways. OUCH! Then we made it back to the house and hid behind a couch to eat all the food. Sadly her dad found us and boy did we get yelled. 1.Because we were late 2. We spent all his money Woops. I will never do that again.

Burning bags

Last year on the fourth of july i went over to Brittany's house to hang out until the fireworks later that night. We were bored so me, Brittany, and her older brother Jacob, went to go look for some sparklers. All we found were those things that you throw at the ground and pop, a lighter, and some bags. So we played the cards we got dealt and went on her porch to started experimenting. By experimenting i meant that we were going t burn the little popper things the throw them over the railing thing. Since Brit's house is on a hill it means that if we threw the popper things down they would just hit cement, no big deal. Later, we ran out of popper things and all that was left were bags. So Brit and i ripped up some strips of the bags and handed them to brother. He lit them up and let them fall. It's actually a lot more fun than you might think. We did that for at least an hour or two. It was so much fun we used up almost all of the bags. Now, when we did this, we had no clue that it was cancerous so we did it once more, except luckily that time, it was to windy so it didn't work.

Childhood

C.razy
H.ating bedtime
I.diotic
L.augh a lot
D.rawings
H.elpful
O.outside playing
O.ptimistic
D.elightful

Maximum Ride:The Final Warning

She’s in a New York sewer, having a fight to death, Max knows what her opponent is, but not who he is to her. Little does Max know, that in that fight, she had just killed her own half brother which she didn’t get told about until later. If I ever did something like that, I could never live with myself, then again, I’m not as cold and careless as Max can be. In “Maximum Ride: The Final Warning” By James Patterson, things just keep getting faster and faster. It’s all the intensifying truth and the terrifying secrets that make this story a tragedy.

For this story to be a tragedy, it first has to start with the world being in conflict with the Main Character. So for Max, that sadly means having a funeral for her 9 year old brother while being hunted down by metal robot things. That’d almost be enough for me to surrender right then and there. After that, there must be a rise to power, which is the flock going to Antarctica to help stop global warming. Everyone else seems to love this idea except for Max, because like me, she would prefer somewhere nice like Florida. Now, the tragic flaw in this book, would be that two of the scientists that were supposedly “helping” the flock, turn out to be traders. I can’t believe how many people will lie for money. Anyways, the tragic fall is when Max and the rest of the flock get captured by this weird creature named Gozen, and sure enough he takes them to the Sunny State. While in Florida Gozen is supposed to kill them, so as you can see, will lead to death.

The symbolism in this book also helps it differ from the other modes of literature. Like, in Antarctica, were the flock spends a good chunk of time, it is always winter. Also, in Florida, there is a terrifying storm with harsh winds up to 150 miles an hour. Luckily Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy are all super humans. If I were in that storm, I would have been ripped apart! When the flock got sucked into the storm, they also had their pet dogs Total and Akila, with all of that barking I met have just threatened to let them go. This would work considering Total can talk.

The whole series of these books are just astonishing; you’ll never be able to put the books down. I know that I certainly can’t. It’s like a whole different world that you keep getting more and more into, then the books just end. Which, is actually a good thing, because it almost forces you to read the next one. The “Maximum Ride” series by James Patterson is definitely one of my favorites.

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

The book I’ve chosen to read is “Maximum Ride: The Angel” experiment. Which is weird considering this is the first book of the series, yet I’ve read 3 other ones first. Actually that probably wasn’t too smart seeing as though this can be a very confusing series. Don’t get me wrong though, these books are amazing. So captivating and suspenseful. “Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment” By James Patterson, is an amazing book for anyone adventures.
This book has to be nothing else, but an Irony. One reason is that it is very unrealistic. Think about it…… A bunch of bird kids flying around trying to find some weird institute. Ya, like that’ll happen. Also this book does start out with the world in chaos. Well, kind of, Max and the flock are on the run from white coats, plus the fact that human eating erasers are tracking them down. So, I guess that qualifies as chaotic. To make matters worse, 6 year old angel, who is my favorite because she can read and control minds, gets kidnapped and taken back to the school! Major conflict? I think so. Now there’s a voice, with side effects of ‘knife in the brain’ head ache. So this demented voice is in Max’s head, it tells her stuff, which would be pretty cool because it tells her really important thing. Maybe not though, when the voice comes, Max gets a seriously bad head ache. Ouch! I changed my mind, that voice is no longer cool.

There is a little bit of symbolism in this book, for example, at night is when the flock figures out their plans for the next morning. And sometimes they fly at night; just to make sure no one see’s them. Also, Fang likes to only wear black, which is also on the symbolism chart.To be honest, Fang seems kind of scary to me, even his name is a little, off. Something really icky is that if Max’s flock runs out of food, they’ll eat what they find; which can sometimes turn out to be roasted rat on a stick. Speaking of roasted rat on a stick, to roast the rat there has to be a fire, and to make a fire you must have dead plants. What weird symbolism it is.

Not only this book, but this whole series are incredible and stunning. Every time you read one of these books, you just get more and more sucked into it. It can feel as though these books are taking you on extravagant adventures , their journeys are your journeys, their fights are your fights. Yet you can do while sitting in a safe quiet room, while the flock has to battle for their lives. Once again I say, “Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment” is “A ride that gets faster and faster.”-Cleveland Plain Dealer

Winter Break Vacation Plans

Well all rightey then, here's what I'm gonna be doing over Winter Break. First of all, today, Wednesday February something or other, I am leaving to go up to Christmas Mountain. Then we ski up at Cascade Mountain. Ironic, isn't it? Any who, once we get up there we can swim in the water park, play games in the arcade and watch "Dinner For Schmucks" at our two story Villa. Bonus! Bonus Jonas! Jonas Bonus!
Haha, I'm a funny girl. So once we get home on Saturday, Brit and I plan on seeing "Just Go With It" That movie looks funny. Those are my beastly awesome weekend plans.

Maximum Ride: School's out; Forever

Fang, Iggy, Angel, Nudge and Gazzy are all one flock, but it is only Max that has the voice in her head. Only Max that both Jeb and Ari like. Only Max, has to save the world from the white coats. I donn’t get why though, what’s there to save us from?  These poor kids have no one to trust, sometimes they can’t even trust themselves. Once, the white coats made a clone Max. Maximum Ride: School’s out; Forever by James Patterson is an adventure suspense and a little science fictiony all in one, but the suspense is the thing that really gets you.

                So if you’re confused right now, this is how it goes. These kids all got taken away from they’re parent because when they were little they’re parents sold them not knowing how bad it would be. Terrible, right? Well, once they got taken away they were put in Dr. Ter Bocht’s lab, and got experimented on. Making them half human half bird. They all escaped the lab and are now being tracked down by erasers. Erasers are these demented things that I think would be really terrifying, they’re like half wolf and half human, all except Ari who is stuck between his morphing stages. Oh, and Jeb is Ari’s father and works for the white coats. I think it’s weird because, he let them turn in his own son into an eraser.  Such a fail of a father, he is.

                With all of the suspense in this book it’s hard to put down. Plus, with all of their adventures and drama, it makes the story just that much better. But in reality, it must really suck to have wings, no parents or place to live, and to be chased down by hungry, human killing experiments. How can Max still want to keep trying after all that, because, I know that I sure wouldn’t. Never the less, Max is a fighter, she never gave up even when death was staring her in the face. Now that’s bravery, at least in my book it is.

                This book follows the tragedy mode of literature, and I’ll show you why. First of all, the world is in conflict with the main character, which is Max. Everybody wants to kill her, and her flock. Next up is the rise to power. Max and her flock escape the lab and our trying to find somewhere to live. Now there has to be a tragic flaw which is Max killing Ari. It may not seem bad now, but trust me, it was not a good choice. For the tragic fall it is when Ari comes back to life and tries to kill Max. Well, that didn’t work out to well. Finally for death or death symbolism, at the end of the book the flock is just about to get killed when. It ends. The book just ends.

                This whole book is like a rollercoaster. With Its ups and downs and twists and turns. You also get a thrill from reading. I’m super glad this is a series because I really enjoyed reading it. Maximum Ride: School’s Out; Forever is a book for anyone that likes suspense with a little bit of a twist.

Planet Chez

Authors note: This story is a compilation of input from Dani, Nick, Kevin, Jose, and Maria.

On the small planet of Chez, there were no humans. Only Cheese Its, and they ran the planet. The Cheese Its got there by Astronauts taking them up into space and loosing them. The Astronauts were very furious when this happened and they went out looking for them. They looked everywhere, but the Cheese Its were no where to be found. Finally the astronaut  saw one Cheese It and ate it. They they saw another one. And another one. Turns out they found the whole planet of Cheese Its. So they ate them all.Or so they thought. The Cheese Its actually had an escape route in case something like this were to happen. So they floated away to the Astronauts ship. but the Cheese Its didn't know how to fly a spaceship so it exploded in 22.16 seconds. A new record! There was cheese everywhere. One baby Cheese It actually survived and ate an Astronaut. He then ate so much astronaut he got fa and looked like a normal Cheese It. Later it realized that he was bored and lonely so he started eating, he ate so much he accidentally ate himself.

Kindergarten

Kindergartners are the spazziest children ever. They are either crying/pouting, laughing at dumb things, or asking questions. It’s like they never take a break. To be honest though, being a kindergartner was super fun. All the friends and recesses, snack breaks, nap time. The time when we though stupid was the worst word that anyone could say. Truthfully I miss kindergarten. You could never be bored, going to the store was like, one of the most fun weekend activities. This was also the time when being the spazziest children ever were sometimes considered cute. Those days, were the best days. I sure do miss that.

School Pictures

I hate school pictures. Well, I guess it depends on what I look like really. This year was ok, but one of my least favorites was in 2nd grade. My hair was messy and I had just come back from girl scout camp. Like I said I was only in 2nd grade so I didn’t know how to put my hair up. My mom picked me up from camp and we were off to get my picture taken. I still hadn’t brushed my hair. So as we were waiting in line for my turn my mom asked “How should I do your hair?” I told her I wanted a high pony tail so that’s what she did with my messy hair. There I was, sitting on the little stool, I was so excited so I did my biggest, spaziest smile ever. Little did I know how insane I looked. Now that picture stays in the upstairs hallway, mocking me every time I go up there. And that is why, to this day, I still don’t wear high pony tails.

Dreams

I once had a dream called the Silver Boxes. So my “sister” and I were sitting at home, our neighbors were having a party so as I was leaving for it I asked “Aren’t you coming?” She replied “No way! Aren’t you worried about the silver boxes?” I thought she was just being random again so I ignored her comment and went to the party. A short while after everyone at the party started running inside. I asked why, then these boys told me that the people were worried about the silver boxes. “What are the silver boxes?” I asked. “We’ll show you.” The two boys said.



Once we got to the silver box they explained to me what it was. Turns out the silver boxes are an organization that kidnapped Katy Perry. To get her out, there is a box that is only 1 ft by 1ft, you flip open the hole and throw a paper football in it. The paper football has to touch the exact spot or else you get sucked in. No adults have ever attempted this, all of the kids that have got sucked in. When you get sucked in there is a long metal hallway leading to a staircase. Every square in. of this hallway is protected by armed guards. If you get sucked in, a lady (the head leader) will be standing at the end of it. She leads you up the staircase to what looks like a locker room without the lockers. You then get a sleeping bag, a laptop, a used piece of paper and a pencil with no eraser.


So of course I tried to save Katy Perry. And of course all of these things happened to me. The head lady gives you a hallway that you are sentenced to live in until adulthood. In my hallway, I saw a person I knew there. Her name was Amanda and she is about 17 and had been living there for that past couple months. We started talking and I asked her if we could access Face book from our laptops. She told me I could as long as I don’t get caught. As I was checking my notifications, the head lady came p behind me and led me downstairs for a punishment. All I had to do was wear a watch to sleep. While I was getting it on though, I saw some guards lead Brittany, Jade, and Kasia up the steps. I waved and yelled their names but they never looked by. Weeks went by and as they did I started to become good friends with the head lady. So good, she let me leave.



Once I got home my phone started ringing and the number was blocked. So hesitantly I answered it. I couldn’t believe what just happened. Head lady called and asked to be best friends. I replied “On one condition, you have to let my friends out.” So she did. That night we all had a sleepover, just in case something would happen we had a code word. “Blue Unicorn”. In the middle of the night I woke up and standing next to my bed was the head lady and to big body guards. So I started screaming. “BLUE UNICORN! BLUE UNICORN! BLUE FREAKIN UNICORN!” I got no response. I looked around and saw all my friends tied up and outside my door. So I said to one body guard, that the other one thought his shoes were ugly. They started fighting. Then I slapped the head lady and untied my friends. While head lady and the body guards were recovering I told my friends a plan. After that they scampered away to get prepared. I quickly dialed 911. Shortly after a pressed call I found myself with I sack over my head getting dragged down the stairs. The cops came but the silver box people had me hostage. Finally my friends came with baseball bats and knocked them out conscience.

Deep water essay

What would you do if you were under water, to shocked to think, and your legs wouldn’t move? Now that, would be scary, if that would have been me I would have kicked and screamed. Actually, I would probably never be in that situation, seeing as though I had taken swimming lessons since a year old to about 4th grade. Anyways, not many can say they’ve been in this situation, but in the nonfiction story called “Deep Water” the author, William O. Douglas brings back a childhood memory that has affected him in so many ways.


To be honest, I think it is a little weird that an eleven year old still has to wear water wings. My cousin wears water wings and she’s only two. Truthfully, that’s kind of sad. Then again, the only place to swim until he found the Y.M.C.A was the lake, which his mother clearly for bided William to go in. Once he got to the Y, he got pushed in, that got me wondering, “What the fail is that guys problem? I mean really! He shouldn’t go pushing kids in the pool and then not even save them.” Also once he went under, what happened to his legs? Why did they just stop? Was it fright, or just that his legs were stiff? Either way he should have kicked his way on up to the top.


William thought that after that experience, it would be his last time in the water. A short while later though, he realized it was starting to affect his life in ways he never thought possible. For one thing, he couldn’t go on fishing trips without having to constantly worry about the water. After he realized this was starting to become a problem, it was time to take it to therapy. I thought that was really smart of him. Even though this author had a bad experience before, no adult should be scared of water, water is what makes us live. At least after therapy William conquered his fear.



In this story it shows a lesson and that is to conquer your fear. Don’t let it rule your life. Facing fears might be scary, hence the term “Fear”, but in the long run, it will make you happy. Unless your fear is spiders or something else that is crawly or deadly. Just stay away from those types of things.

The Pearl essay

Heartbroken, wounded both physically and mentally, the town that had once been a place of hopes and dreams lay ahead of the betrayed couple.“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck really captures what a tragedy is; blood, people dying, killings in the night, black velvet, red ribbons, hatred coldness and so much more. An innocent baby actually died, and right after he had healed from his scorpion bite. For most people in the town, this could end up being just another hazy memory, but for Kino and Juana, it’ll be what ruined their life. This book is what tragedy is all about.


This book definitely follows the tragedy mode of literature. First of all, the world is in conflict with Kino. He’s poor, his baby gets bitten, and the doctor won’t help. How terrible would that be, I just couldn’t even imagine it. When Kino finds the pearl though, it is a huge rise to power. If I were part of that town, I would stalk him until we became bffl’s (Best Friends For Life). Then he might want to give me some of that pearl, I guess I’m just as bad as the towns people.


Kino’s human weakness is the pearl. Some might actually say he’s in love with it, which he probably is. Well, you know the saying, “if you love something, set it free.” That’s exactly what Kino should have done. His baby died because of his greediness. If that were me, I would have never put my baby in that much danger. He should have chosen either the pearl, or his family. House burning down, canoe being broke; those are both tragic falls in the story. If I were Kino, I would have just surrendered by now and taken the first pearl dealer’s offer. After Coyotito dies, the pearl is worthless to Kino and Juana, which is why she was correct from the start.

Only the remains of the baby lay in Juana’s shawl as the pair makes their way back to the sad town of hate and evil. The happy music is gone. The song of evil has replaced it, but the family song is still playing in Kino and Juana’s hearts. That is why “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck could be no other literature type than a tragedy.

"The Pearl" Final Chapters

As a wounded Kino, and heart broken Juana stumble back to their village, Juana carries her shawl holding the remains of Coyotito. Just to think, all of that work and effort they put into keeping and selling this pearl. It was all for nothing. One of the main reasons Kino wanted to keep it was so Coyotito could go to school. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen, now does it? Well, that's what Kino gets for being as greedy and selfish as he was. He killed a man, his house burned down, his canoe broke, and was willing to put his family on the line for a stupid pearl. If that's not determination, I don't what is.

The whole lesson through out this book, was that, the pearl of the world is actually evil. Who would would have thought that something as glorious as a pearl, could cause so much damage. I certainly never thought it would. Kino should have either taken the rigged deal for the pearl, or better yet, listened to Juana. Juana was right from the begging, wanting to get rid of the evil pearl, sometimes, it seemed as though Kino respected the pearl, more than Juana.

Everything is gone, everything. All of those things they worked for are ruined now. The great pearl, the one that everybody wanted. It has destroyed everything Kino and Juana loved. All because of a little scorpion bite. This much destruction has come. Stupid scorpion.

Chapter 3 of "The Pearl" By: John Steinbeck

The amazing pearl that now, everybody wants a piece of, could destroy Kino's family. Juana wants to get rid of the pearl because she is afraid of everything, while Kino is afraid of everyone. They should not get rid of the pearl, it's supposedly the best thing that has ever happened to them. After they cash it in, Kino and Juana could buy a new house, a good house that will keep them safe from the bad things of the world. Even if the house and money couldn't protect them, they could then give away the money or donate it, or possibly just keep enough for Coyotito to go to school. That way they can at least try at the luxurious life style.

The Pearl By: John Steinbeck

Now a rich man, the brave and loving Kino questions his decision on Coyotito. I do not think that it was right for Kino to have the doctor examine the little baby ,all that man wants is money. For all Kino knows, the doctor could be making this whole thing up! It seemed to me that all of the poison was gone, but with a pearl as big as Kino's, I can see why he didn't want to take any chances.