John

 John made it through high school with never putting in any effort. He showed up to school just so he could graduate and move on his life. Never making an effort to get A's or make a sports team, or in fact make any friends. Enlisting in the Army was his way of getting away. Away from his home town, and even his dad. His father raised him as a single parent -- his mom not around. They never had much in common and rarely talked anymore. John was always getting into trouble and his father did not know what to do with him.

John's father had a disease called Aspergers, a mild form of autism. His disease had a huge impact on John's life. John  had a lot more freedom because his father was not able to keep him under control. John loved his father very much but it was hard for him to connect with him. Their conversations were brief and to the point. John kept most of his feelings inside, he was very to himself.

John's life changed the moment he met Savannah on his leave from the army. After getting to know her John looked at life with a different perspective. He felt as if he had a reason to get up in the morning. He had someone to talk to, someone to laugh with, and mostly someone who kept him company. His dad was always there for him but not in the same way Savannah was.

John's life was impacted by his father and Savannah. Without each of them John would not have made the choices he did in life. Even though John and Savannah did not end up together in the end and that John's dad passed away John knew that his life was headed in the right direction.

Point of View

In the novel, the Bean Trees it is told in the perspective of the main character, Taylor. With Taylor telling the story we only see her opinion coming out. We miss the other characters perspectives and opinions which can limit how the reader comprehends the story.  When Taylor is handed a strangers baby at the gas station the reader can only see how confused and terrified Taylor is. We don't know if the lady giving her the baby is sad, scared, or even happy about putting her baby in a strangers possession.

Switching the point of view of the book can completely change it. If it changes from a happy character to a sad character the book now becomes sad. If the lady who gave Taylor the mysterious baby was the one telling the story we would have been able to see why she gave it away and what she was feeling when she did so.

 Author's Note: This is my prediction piece for the book "Bean Trees"

I believe that when Missy finds the child in her car at the gas station she will keep it. I believe this because she will become emotionally attached to the child as if it was her own. I believe She will start a new life in a new town with the child.

DNA

 Author's Note: This is my essay I wrote for science class on DNA.

Could something as small as a piece of hair put you behind bars? Yes, even a tiny hair at a crime scene could if not put you behind bars, it could send you to court as a suspect.  After many years of researching DNA scientists have proved that every single person can be identified by just their DNA. DNA is like your bar-code, whatever traces you leave can come back to you.  (Harris)

Every single person has their own unique DNA pattern. No one on the Earth has the same DNA as you, unless you are an identical twin. DNA, also known as Deoxyribonucleic acid is like your body's computer. Your DNA is found in your cells, specifically in your nucleus. It is arranged in spirals called a Double Helix. Each strand of DNA is filled with millions of bases. There are four main bases; cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine. Since DNA strands are very long the base pairs can be arranged in millions of different ways. The order of which your DNA is in, makes you, you! Each strand of DNA determines a different trait you have such as hair color, eye color or how tall you are.  (What is DNA?)

Whether you have a piece of DNA or a finger print, you may be able to figure the person it belongs to.  They have DNA databases where there is people's DNA stored from other investigations so that they are able to find and locate the person who committed a certain crime (Harris).  One small piece of DNA can prove someone's guilt or innocence. (Smolenyak) Even when they think no one will ever find out about the crime they committed, a small piece of DNA can be found and turn them guilty.  (Lieberman)

Your DNA makes up who you are and all your traits. No one’s DNA is exactly like yours. There is no one on this earth that is an exact match with someone else.

Bibliography

Harris, William. "How DNA Evidence Works." How it works. 23 may 2012 <http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/dna-evidence.htm>.

Lieberman, Kate Brinton and Kim-An. "DNA Finger Printing." May 1994. Protist Biology. 16 April 2012 <http://protist.biology.washington.edu/fingerprint/dnaintro.html>.

Smolenyak, Megan. "Five things you didn't know about DNA." 30 January 2012. Book Page. 25 April 2012 <http://www.bookpage.com/the-book-case/2012/01/30/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-your-dna/>.

"What is DNA?" 24 April 2012. Genetics Home Research. 26 April 2012 <http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna>.

Sweat Shops

Author's Note: I wrote this piece expressing my thoughts toward the use and of sweatshops. After learning about them in social studies I have thought a lot about it and how I believe they are wrong. I also believe that it does no good just to spread the news. one person can change it.

Can you imagine a life where your daily salary is hardly enough to pay for one meal?  Not an easy day either; a 16 hour, break free day. I don't think anyone can imagine it until they have actually lived through it. But why are people treated like this? For the people in countries like Indonesia, this is their reality. Many people don't have a choice; they need whatever job they can get just to stay alive.  Large companies such as, Nike, Wal-Mart, Disney World, Abercrombie, and Apple use sweatshops so  they can force hard labor on people for extremely low wages.   In a way it is like slavery -- unfair and wrong. 

America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Treating people poorly in sweatshops is going against that.  Just because they live in a different country, speak a different language , or have less money than we do, does not give us the right to boss them around.  People say we are helping them by giving them jobs. Yes, we are providing jobs for them but we are also putting them in danger with the working conditions. Also, they are not able to live off of the wages they earn. Most don't have enough money to send their children to school. How is their country ever going to have a good economy if their children aren't even educated?

You could say it isn't our fault their country is poor ; and it entirely is not. I believe we play a contributing factor though. Is it so hard to pay these hard working people minimum wage? Currently they are making less in one day then an average American makes in an hour. We should be paying them what they deserve.

Put your self in their shoes and take a look at the situation from a different point of view. We should be putting sweat shops in the past and moving toward a considerate way to still give these people jobs. A way were they can live off their wages, send their children to school, and most importantly live in a safe and healthy place to raise their families.

Death of Life

In my essay Death of Life I have proven that in the story House Taken Over the house represents life and the house being attacked represents death. The two people in the story are an older couple and I believe death is coming to them. I believe this because in the story the woman really enjoys knitting and when something starts attacking the house she loses her ability to knit. 

Innocence

 

Author's Note: This is my response to To Kill a Mocking Bird. I wanted to focus on the theme of innocence and how it is shown through out the book. I wanted to explain how people of maturity can affect those of innocence both in positive and negative ways.

 Innocence is only a stage.  In the book, To kill a Mocking Bird Jem and Scout are innocent children until struck by evil events.  Carelessly playing in the yard with each other and friends was a daily activity for them until the trials. The trials changed them into children of maturity. They had to see so many events take place that included a lot of racism. Even though they grew up with racism around them they had never seen it so harsh before.  They had to question what was going on and why. Their father told them on page 30,"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." They saw things happen to innocent people that should have never happened. This led to the loss of their innocence. 

Innocence is a state where you have no care in the world, where everyone is your friend and nothing matters but the present. Innocence is mostly displayed in children. Most children grow out of it when they view events that are hard for them to face. Deciding their beliefs and opinions and standing up for what they believe is a change from innocence to maturity. For most it is a time in their life where they grow up and change as a person.

Atticus, Jem and Scout's father, was a man of maturity. When Tom Robinson, a black man, was convicted a crime he didn't do Atticus was the only one in the town who stood up for him and took his side as his lawyer.  When he did this he showed his children that at a point in your life you need to grow and stand up for what you believe in even if the larger percent of the people go the other way. On page 220 he says to his children, "As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it-whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash." Atticus emphasizes that everyone should be treated fairly, and he realizes that his children are old enough -- mature enough-- to learn that lesson.

His children did learn and they were able to make decisions for themselves about their beliefs. Scout, his daughter displayed this when she thought of their unknown mysterious neighbor as a real person and respected him as a human being even if he was slightly different from the people she was used to.  She is the only one out of the three children to meet Boo Radley in person. For the first time he is not in her mind as a creepy neighbor, but a real person.

When Atticus could say that he taught his children the importance of maturity and making decisions, he succeeded in being a father. His children are now mature young adults following in the footsteps of their father.

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Sewed Pants

Author's Note: This is short response to the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. I am analyzing the scene in chapter 7 when Jem gets his pants stuck under the fence at Boo Radley's house and why it is important in the book.

When Jem goes back to retrieve his pants that were stuck and ripped in the fence at Boo Radley's house he finds them stitched back together and folded neatly over the fence. They were on the fence as if who ever folded them knew Jem would be back for them. I believe that this was an important scene in the book because it shows Jem and Scout that Boo Radley knows what they are doing to his house but isn't necessarily mad.  It shows that he is not harmful and mean but also that he is still not comfortable coming out of his house yet.

Impacted

Author's  Note: This is my essay on speak. I wanted to talk about how other people affected Melinda's life. 

What kind of impact can one person have on your life? In your life you are impacted by the people around you. Whether it be your friends, your family, celebrities, or strangers, you are impacted.  You can be impacted in a good way or a bad way. They could help you be more successful and prosper in life or they could bring you done and persuade you to make the right decision.

In the novel Speak Melinda is influenced and impacted by many people around. For instance her parents. When she was young her parents were very free spirited and loving toward her and so was Melinda. When they became older her parents become father apart and paid less attention to Melinda. Melinda felt alone, with no one to talk to. She become very quiet and didn't know who she was a person.

As Melinda entered high school she had no friends and neither did Heather, as she was a new student. Automatically they just became friends out of desperation. Although they had nothing in common they got along for the most part. Until Heather got accepted into a "cool" group in school. She instantly left Melinda in search for a better reputation in school. When Heather was told by the group that she was no longer apart of them she fell back on Melinda. She expected that they would just be friends again. Heather showed Melinda the kind of person she did not want to be. When she got real friends, she would not treat them like that.

Lastly Mr. Freeman had an impact on her life.  He was her art teacher -- the only class she enjoyed. He taught her to express her self. To not let anything or anyone stop her from being who she was. This did not happen in one day. It took a whole year for him to finally get to her, but once he did he changed her life. She was able to finally speak up for once in her life.

Whether impacted by a single person or many, it all counts. In Melinda's case it changed her whole life. Her parents, Heather, and Mr. Freeman all had a small part in her finding who she was.

A Life of Hoping

Author's Note: This is a creative piece I wrote. I focused on using syntactical patterns.

A life of hoping. A life of wanting. A life of waiting. A life of wishing. A life lived by children. Children with no homes. They live everyday wishing for one loving person to come and call them their child. Whether not wanted by their parents or left without a home, they long for a figure in their life to guide them.

For Josie this was her life. She lived everyday in a different home with different people. Every night she would kneel  by her temporary bed and pray for a mom, a dad, a sibling, a place to call home.  This was her reality from the start. Her mother was a teen mom and knew she wouldn't be able to take care of her. As for her father, he was no where to be found. All 7 year old Josie wanted was someone to be there for her no matter what the circumstance. She wanted a place where she could call home everyday. Not just for a week.

Sure, she did stay with a few nice foster families but they never looked at her the same way they looked at their own children. She wanted someone who would look at her and tell her how proud they were of her.  A prayer was answered when the Jones's family came to a consensus on adopting a third child. After a lot of thought they knew it was what they wanted to do. Josie  would be a perfect fit for their family.

The day the news was delivered to Josie, that a family was interested in adopting her was a day of pure joy. Nothing and no one could ruin it for her. It was a dream becoming reality for her. After meeting the family she knew that the 7 years in foster care was worth it. She still had that chapter in her life but she flipped the page and started a new one. 

Questioning the Past

Author’s Note: This is a comparison piece I wrote comparing the two books Unwind and Fahrenheit 451.  

If  you're occupation was chosen for you the day you were born, would you question it? I think most wouldn’t. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Montag, the main character was told he was going to be a fireman since the beginning. He would follow in his father’s footsteps. In the time of Montag, firemen did not put out fires; they started them. If any one was hiding a book of any sort in their house the firemen would be called and they would set the house on fire.  After many years of  loyal service and multiple burnings one event questioned Montag’s beliefs completely. It was night where a lady had been found with her books. Instead of leaving the house and watching her house and books burn , she stayed. She refused to come out of the house. She loved her books so much that she was willing to die with them, and she did. She stayed in the house and the firemen lit the books on fire. Montag watched the lady go up in flames and found himself seriously pondering the question of, what is so important about books, that a woman is willing to die for them?

In this particular scene Montag questioned his beliefs. Was being a fireman what he wanted  to be? Is it ok to burn books? What was so bad about books? All of these questions were questions he asked himself. He realized he didn’t believe it was okay to burn people's houses and books. He knew he needed to read books to understand the reasoning behind banning them.

Lev, a tithe, an unwind, an unwanted. Lev grew up in a family of ten children; he was the youngest. He parents strongly believed in giving ten percent of everything they had to the church. As Lev was the 10^th child, he was their tithe. He was to go to the Harvest Camp to be unwound. On their way to harvest camp they got caught in an accident and Lev was able to escape.  He found other unwinds and they began  to escape together. His Pastor was the one encouraging him to run away. He knew that a better life was waiting for Lev. He was smart and would go far. Lev did what he said and ran away. While he was running he questioned whether or not he wanted to be tithed. He believed he was born to be tithed, and that was what he should do. He ended up turning himself in.

Lev questions whether or not he wants to be tithed. He believed that’s what he was born to do. He questions whether or not he should keep running like his pastor told him, or stop and turn himself into the harvest camp. He decided that he should turn himself in so he didn’t have to run his whole life and so his parents wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore.

In both of these novels the main characters face tough decisions determining their future. They also questioned whether the path they are taking is the right one. In Unwind Lev turns himself in but in Faranheit 451 Montag changes and stops being a fireman.  

Quote Response

Author's note: I wrote this piece in response of the book, Fahrenheit 451. I chose the quote, ""Go on," said the woman, and Montag felt himself back away and away out the door , after Beatty, down the steps, across the lawn, where the path of kerosene lay like the track some evil snail to respond to.

 "Go on," said the woman, and Montag felt himself back away and away out the door , after Beatty, down the steps, across the lawn, where the path of kerosene lay like the track some evil snail.

Ray Bradbury put this quote in the book because he wanted to show that Montag had an uneasy feeling about leaving the woman in the house to burn with her books. It tells about him following Beatty down and out of the house. At the end of the quote he added a simile comparing the path of kerosene to the track of an evil snail. This simile really shows that from the eyes of Montag, kerosene is an evil thing and that he doesn't believe it is right to burn books and homes, let alone people. 

I believe this quote is a turning point in the book. It shows Montag questioning the point and reason for burning books. He starts searching for books and the meaning in them. He wants to find the point for the burning and when it started. He also questions about being happy in his life. He knows something is wrong in his relationship with his wife. This single quote changes Montag's mind about his spouse, his job, and in general his happiness.

A cheeseburger Wrapper

The old clunker chugged into my drive way and I knew it would a very long night. How could my dad force me on a date with his coworkers' son? I took a deep breath as the door bell rang. Immediately as I opened the door the smell of cheap cologne flooded my sinuses. He said ”hi” and I was hit with the stench of week old lasagna. Before I could say anything he pulled out a bouquet of dandelions tied together with a piece of yarn. We made our way out the door and into his car without a word. He got into the car and started driving before I was even in. It didn't even occur to him that he should open my door! I wish that was the only problem. First off his car was filled with old take out boxes, dirty laundry, and unrecognizable items. When I sat down I could feel something slimy and sticky underneath me.  If I hadn't known better I would have thought he lived in there. After seeing his car I couldn't wait to see how dinner was going to go.

It was embarrassing enough to be seen with him in public but when he was slopping food in his mouth it was humiliating. Being with him in public was as embarrassing  as showing up to school in your underwear. If  you think we went to an elegant restaurant you're wrong. We were having burgers and shakes at Burger King. Not to mention the constant burps every bite. Now with the whole burger king crowd's eyes on us he decides it would be a great time to spill his soda all over the table and onto my clothes. I knew he felt bad but when he started wiping it up with a cheese burger wrapper something was really wrong with this guy. At that point I started pondering at the fact that it was probably time to leave.

Now back in his car sitting in sticky slime and covered in soda he decides to say how wonderful our date was. He also asked if I wanted to go on a second next weekend. I had to sweetly let him down with the "I have to study" excuse. When the clunker rolled back into my driveway I jumped out as quick as a wink. Not that my expectations  were very high going into this I date but  I can firmly say that it was the worst date I had ever been on and hopefully will ever be on.

Christmas Carol

 Author's Note: This is a response to the book A Christmas Carol. I chose a quote from the book and talked about the meaning.

"In a changed nature, in an altered spirit, in another atmosphere of life, another Hope as its great end. In everything that made my love of any worth or value in your sight. If this had never been between us," said the girl, looking mildly, but with steadiness, upon him, "tell me, would you seek me out and try to win me now? Ah, no!"

In the book A Christmas Carol the main character Scrooge, is a man with a life full of hate. His only care in the world is money. In this quote from the book, his fiancé is breaking up with him. She feels as if money is more important to him than she is. I believe the author added this quote in his book because it shows how shallow Scrooge is. Though, it tells us how ………. I think the author wants to show us that love is greater than anything.

When Scrooge revisits this moment in his life he starts to realize that the way he has been in the past needs to change. The idea that when he dies all of the money he had won’t matter starts coming across his mind. All that will matter was how he lived his life. Scrooge had many chances in his life to let love in. With his nephew, with his sister, and with his fiancé.  It was his choice not to and when he realizes what he could have had in his life he decided he needed to change.

From reading this short passage from the book I can take away that nothing is more important than true love. Money should never make a difference no matter what the circumstance.

matter what the circumstance.