Monday, March 31, 2008

To kill a mockingbird: by bree martin

While reading Harper Lee's novel " To kill a mockingbird", we see what the life is like in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama. Which is filled with prejudice people. We see this through a young girls eyes. The novel is based on the author's observations of her family, neighboors, and hometown. This story takes place in the 1930's, and takes place in three years of the Great Depression. The text also talks about: the triumph of good over evil, the triumph of evil over good, and the scourge of social inequality. The narrator of this story is a tomboy, named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. She lived with her brother "Jem", her father "Atticus", and their cook "Calpurnia". Atticus was a middle aged lawyer. As the story goes on Scout and Jem befriend a boy named Charles Baker "Dill" Harris, who stay with his aunt for the summer. After Jem tells stories to Dill about a man named Arthur "Boo" Radley, the three children become interested in it what Jem and other people say about Boo were really true. The rumors said about him were that he was crazy, and that one day he was usng scissors to make a scrapbook, and then he went over by his father and stabbed him in the leg and then went back to scrapbooking. Because of this his father impriosined him in the bottom of the courthouse. When his father died boo was sent back to the house where Nathan Radley (Boo's brother) came to live with him, so that he would stay inside the house. This rumor and many others made the children even more eager to get Boo out of his house, and to see how he really was. In the following summer Jem and Scout find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a knothole in a tree outside of the Radley's place. They wondered wo it was. They thought the "secret giver" could be Boo. For they thought that Boo had seen them pass by his house, and saw acts of wonder and mischief so then he gave them gifts to let them know that he was there, and not dead. This made the children think Boo was simply misunderstood and actually a really nice person. As the book progresses we take a look at "Atticus Finch" (Scout and Jems father). Atticus being a lawyer, was assigned to defend and protect a black man named "Tom Robinson", who was accused of raping a 19 yeaar old girl named "Mayella Ewell". The fact that Atticus (a wite man) was defending a black man "Tom Robinison" made many of Maycombs prejiduce citizens disaprove. This issue led to Atticus's children to be in the center of rude remarks and whispers. While defending Tom, Atticus runs into some conflict. For Atticus sat in front of Tom Robinison's jail door so that no one could harm him, but by doing that at the same time he was putting his family in even more danger. As the weeks past the trial came nearer. When it finally was present, Atticus did not invite the kids or want them to be present in the event. Because of this, Scout, Jem, and Dill snuck into the courtroom, and sat in the colored balcony and watched secretivley. The trial begins when Mr. Underwood is called to the stand, then followed by Bob Ewell (Mayella's father, a drunk and as the book later tells us the cause of the bruises, and the pain afflicted on Mayella, then followed by Mayella, and last Tom. Atticus could tell by Mayella's tone in voice, and the way she answered the questions, that she was lying, and that Tom was innocent, and her father beat her when he was drunk. but even with the evidence given, that specifically told why Tom was innocent, and why he did not or couldn't have raped her the jury still convicted him. As the trial ended Jem, Scout, and Dill were upset, and thought that Tom would've been not-guilty, and wouldn't be charged of anything. A day after the trial Tom was sent to another prison, and was to get ready for another trial that would've tooken place, for that night grave news was sent. Atticus was given the news that Tom had been shot and killed, for he tried to escape the prison and acted like a crazy man. This news made Atticus feel hopeless and sad. For after he had to pass the news onto Tom's family, and he did so. On his way back home, Atticus bumped into Bob Ewell, and Bob spits in Atticus's face. For he had been humiliatedby Atticus in the trial. Bob's actions had no affect on him so he drove away. Bob tried to let his anger out by trying to break in to the judges house, the Robinson's house, and don't forget, tried to kill Jem and Scout. Bob followed Scout and Jem on their way home from a school event, and carried a knife. For when he attacked them the kids did not know who it was, for it was dark anf late. Jem was attacked first and what resulted into him having a broken arm, and being knocked out unconsciencely. Before Ewell can get to Scout, he gets stopped by a stranger but at the same time a savior to the kids. The man pushes Ewell to the side and resulted in to Ewell falling on his knife and killing himself. Scout doe not see the mans face but sees him carrying Jem to their house. After when Scout gets home she finds Jem in his bed,and the man behind Jem's bedroom door. She then asks him if he was Boo Radley,and he nodds his head. Booo might've been quiet but he was a savior and a rescuer and a hero to Jem and Scout. He like Tom Robinson was simply misunderstood.




Reflection #1:


I think the title of th ebook relates with the story because as Atticus said "It was a sin to kill a mockingbird, because don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy, they don't eat peoples gardens, don't nest in unwanted places, don't do one thing but sing their hearts out". (Metaphorically) I think the mockingbirds in the book are: Boo Radley,and Tom Robinson. For Tom Robinson was a mockingbird because he didn't do anything bad. For he was falsey accused of raping Mayella. Even though the evidence was confident and made sense, the jury convicted him because of his color. For a white mans word always over-ruled a black mans in that time.
Arthur Radley A.K.A. Boo Radley was a mockingbird, because his father was known as a foot washer which was a person that belived that everyone was going to hell. Because of Boo's father people thought that Boo believed in that to. But a s the book later explains Boo was actually misunderstood, and actually a really nice, kind, giving, protective person.



Reflection #2:


While reading the book we read that social hierachy in Maycomb mattered for most people. I think in the book, the Finches stand on the top of Maycombs social hiearchy, and the black community at the bottom. For as i said before, a white man always overrules a black mans at that time. For an example of this is in Tom Robinsons trial. For the jury took Bob Ewells (a drunken white man) word, then a polite, innocent black man. Another example of this is in our present day. For if you are homeless ou are at the bottom of the society, but if you're the president you're at the top of society. The author of this book "Harper Lee" makes us see the role of class status, and prejiduec through a childs eyes.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

To Kill a Mockingbird by Angelica

To Kill a Mockingbird-Ben Steuri

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about a family living in Maycomb County in Southern Alabama. The father's name was Atticus Finch. He was a lawyer who worked for the state. His son’s name was Jeremy (Jem) Finch and his daughter’s name was Jean Louise (Scout) Finch. Growing up in a very confederate state, the family owned an African American house slave named Calpurnia (Cal). During the summers, a boy from Mississippi named Charles Baker (Dill) Harris would go to Maycomb to stay with his Aunt and spend time with the Finch siblings.

The Radleys who were neighbors of the Finch family were always up to strange things and would rarely ever come out of their house. Mr. Radley had two children, Arthur (Boo) Radley and his younger brother Nathan Radley. It was said that years before Jem Finch was born, Boo stabbed his father in the thigh. Dill heard this story and wanted to know more about these neighbors. They were thinking of ways to make Boo come out so they could see what he looked like. The summer went by fast for them and before they knew it, they were back in school. Scout was a very strong reader and writer, but her teacher, Miss Caroline, did not want Scout to continue her progress at home. Her father, Atticus, had been teaching her to read and write, and although Miss Caroline said to stop, he refused and continued teaching Scout at home. Scout then developed a very negative attitude towards her teacher.

When summer came around again, as usual, Dill made his annual trip to Maycomb. Dill continued being curious about the Radley family. A bet was made by Dill to see if Jem was brave enough to run across the yard of the Radley Place and touch the house. For several days this bet was bothering Jem until he finally found the courage to do it. Jem later tells Scout that while he was approaching the house, he heard strange laughter coming from inside the house. Before the summer ended, the children made one last attempt to try and see Boo. Late at night when the Finch siblings told Atticus that they would walk Dill to his Aunts’ house, they actually snuck over to the Radley Place and got up on to the back porch. As soon as Jem got up on the deck they saw the silhouette of a man walking towards them. They immediately began to run away. Dill and Scout made it over the fence but when Jem tried to jump the fence, his pants got caught and so therefore he quickly took them off and continued running. Just then they heard a gun shot coming from the Radley Place. The entire neighborhood came out to the Radley’s house to see what the problem was. Jem, Dill and Scout did not want to seem suspicious, so they quickly made their way back to the Radley’s house without being caught. Later that night, Jem went back to the fence to get his pants, but instead of it being all tangled up and torn, they were nicely folded and the holes were patched up. Someone unknown to Jem was expecting him to retrieve his pants, but this person remained a mystery to Jem. Another mysterious event happened whereby there was a bad fire that had burnt down a neighbor’s house. Scout and Jem were told by their dad to wait outside of their house while he attempts to help the neighbor. While standing outside in the freezing cold, someone placed a blanket on Scout without her even knowing and she was pretty sure it was Boo.

As the new school year began, Scout was teased by her schoolmates that her father was a “n****r lover" and that he would be “defending a n****r” in court. When she later confronted her father, he told her that this was true and that it was his job to represent and defend his client. The man he would be defending was named Tom Robinson and he was being accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Atticus told Scout that the penalty of this offense would be the electric chair. While spending a night in prison, a group of men had made an attempt to kill Tom. Luckily, Atticus was spending the night outside of the prison to protect Tom from such an event. While the men show up, Jem, Scout, and Dill snuck down to the prison and watched their father. At last, Atticus and the children were able to persuade the men from attacking Tom Robinson. When the court session began again, Mr. Robinson was being treated unfairly because of his race. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, was getting very angry with the fact that Atticus was helping this black man in court. Atticus was making the Ewells look very bad by giving plenty evidence that Tom did not rape Mayella. Tom eventually lost in court and while trying to escape the prison, he was shot and killed. Bob attacked Scout and Jem because their father was opposing him in court, and left Jem with a badly broken arm. Boo Radley jumps out, and quickly gets involved, saving Jem and Scout, and ends up killing Bob Ewell.

Reaction

An example in this text of the triumph of evil over good would be when Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella when she was never actually raped. Though she did have wounds, it was actually Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, who beat Mayella up for trying to flirt with Tom. The incident was taken to court and Tom was then found guilty of the crime because he was black, and was given the death penalty. Tom was a good man and the evil deed of Bob’s lying triumphed over Tom. An example of the triumph of good over evil would be when Boo Radley came to the Finch’s rescue and killed Bob who was attacking them. Bob was once again doing an evil deed and Boo stepped in to save Jem and Scout’s lives. Another example of this triumph would be when the Scout invited Walter Cunningham to her house for lunch. Walter’s family was very poor and would never be able to pay someone in cash. It would always be in services or homemade stuff. Instead of having Walter starve there while everyone else stuffed their faces, Scout did the right thing and offered him food. Overall, I think this book was a good example of how evil sometimes can overcome the good in someone. Although this is a fiction book, I am pretty sure that cases like this have happened and continue to happen. Unfortunately, innocent people are sometimes accused of stuff they didn’t do based on their diversities. Luckily, these days we have laws to prevent most of these kinds of prejudice acts. The title To Kill a Mockingbird is a metaphor that describes how such an innocent man as Tom Robinson can be killed for absolutely no reason. Why would anyone want to kill a mockingbird? Like Tom, it has done nothing wrong.

The Pearl

The book, The Pearl, is about Kino, Juana, and their baby son Coyotito. This family of three lives in a village made of stick-huts, where songs portray the feelings of life. The village in which Kino's family lives in seems poor and primitive, and many people don't have money.
One day, as Coyotito was in his hanging bed, he got bit by a poisonous scorpion, Juana did her best to suck the fresh poison out of Coyotito's wound, but some poison still remained. Quickly, the word of Coyotito's injury spread throughout the town. Kino decided to take Coyotito to the upper-class doctor. Unfortunately, Kino did not have enough money to pay the doctor, and was rejected for treatment. Coyotito's scorpion wound caused great swelling, and Kino and Juana decided that they would find pearls to pay for the doctor to save Coyotito's life. Kino took out his canoe to find pearls to pay the doctor. He found a giant oyster that looked as if it might hold a big pearl. Kino held back his excitement, as it was thought that great desire lead to bad luck. Inside the big oyster was a huge pearl, bigger than any pearl Kino or Juana had ever seen. It was the "Pearl of the World". Kino decided that he would sell his huge pearl to become rich in order to marry Juana, get a riffle, and send Coyotito to a good school. The mean doctor heard of Kino's extraordinary pearl and decided to heal Coyotito since he knew that he would now get plenty of money in return. Coyotito was healed. The "Song of Family" echoed through Kino's ears. That night, Kino was attacked by someone who was after The Pearl. He was mildly injured. The next day Kino set out, procession behind him, to sell his Pearl of the World. The pearl buyers all said that his huge pearl was worth very little money, only 1500 pesos, at most. Kino did not accept their low offers for the pearl and decided that he would head elsewhere to get a better offer. That night, Kino was attacked again. Juana told Kino to throw the pearl back because it was bringing bad luck. Kino refused and went back to sleep. Later that night Juana tried to sneak out and destroy the pearl but Kino found her and kicked her, he did not want to lose the pearl. Kino was attacked again but this time he killed his attacker. Kino found that his canoe was destroyed and that his house was set on fire by the mysterious people who were after Kino and the pearl. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito hid in Kino's brother's house the next day until they could escape during the night. The night they set out, the wind was blowing strong. It would cover their footprints well so that the trackers wouldn't find them. When morning broke, Kino and his family were hidden in the bushes, out of sight. They weren't safe for long, in the daytime, they were almost spotted by the trackers. They quickly fled for the mountains where it would be harder for the trackers to follow. They hid in a covered cave. Eventually the trackers came to the ricer by their hideout and Kino went to kill them. He crept up on them, knife at the ready. He jumped out and killed all three trackers, but not before they had killed his one and only child, his baby Coyotito.

Reflection

"You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"
I think that The Pearl is a tale of greed overtaking ones life. In the book Kino and his family started out happy. Poor, but happy. When Coyotito got bit by the scorpion, Kino and Juana would do anything to save his life, they loved him more than riches, more than pearls. When Kino found the Pearl of the World, he almost instantly became attached to it. He started to dream of what his life could be like with all the riches he could buy with the pearl. Greed overclouded his original intent. Coyotito was saved, but Kino had much bigger plans of what he would do with the pearl.
"We will be married in a church" In the pearl he saw how they were dressed -Juana in a shawl stiff with newness and a new skirt,...and she wore shoes...He himself was dressed in new white clothes, and he carried a new hat...Coyotito wore a blue sailor suit from the United States and a little yachting cap.
His mind began, then, to wander off to other things he might do with the pearl. He wanted a rifle and he wanted his son to go to a nice school where he would learn. He wanted to be blessed with all the amenities of the upper-class life.
The pearl became his "second son" in a sense; he protected it with his life, he did not let it get damaged, and he wouldn't give it up for anything less than the kings ransom. Kino got nearly killed multiple times, but he wouldn't give up his pearl. Coyotito took a backseat to his new priceless treasure, his pearl.
When the offers the pearl buyers gave was not up to the expectations of Kino, he decided that he would search far and wide in order to find an offer that would match the value that his huge pearl must be worth. Even when Kino and his family fled from the city, Kino would not give up his pearl, not for anything.
In the end, Coyotito was killed while Kino was busy protecting his precious pearl. He had lost his only son because his eyes were clouded with greed for money and riches. And even after all that trouble, Kino had realized what he had done and he threw the cursed pearl back to the ocean where it belonged. Greed had ruined his once-happy peasant life, while he was searching for riches and fortune, his vision clouded by greed.

"You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"

The Pearl




The Pearl


Kino, a young Indian pearl gatherer and our main character in the book, always appreciated his life. He loved his wife, Juana, and his one and only son, Coyotito, and he couldn’t ask for anything more. One morning, as Kino and Juana were getting ready, they heard Coyotito scream, and they raced to his bed. Coyotito had been bitten by a scorpion. As Kino squashed the poisonous bug, Juana tried to suck as much venom as she could out of her baby’s wound. After she had cleansed the wound, she was still worried about Coyotito, so she instructed Kino to get the doctor. The doctor refused to come, but Juana wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so she started off towards the doctor’s office. When they got there, the doctor’s assistant lied that the doctor was not in, when in fact, the doctor was really there. The doctor didn’t want to treat Coyotito because his parents had no money, and the doctor was very prejudiced against their race. Kino and his wife were determined to get their baby better, so to earn more money, Kino set out on his canoe with Juana and Coyotito. They searched the ocean for oysters, hoping they could find a pearl because finding a pearl was considered good luck, and one could become very rich if one decided to sell it. Soon, Kino found an oyster that was somewhat bigger than the rest and had been overlooked. He picked it up and turned to his wife. His wife whispered to him to open it. Inside was a pearl as “big as a seagull’s eye.” It was the pearl of the world. With this pearl, Kino envisioned that:

1. he and his wife could be properly wed,
2. he could buy himself a rifle, and
3. his son, Coyotito, could get an education.

He looked at Juana, and she then looked at Coyotito, realizing the swelling scorpion bite was gone. “The pearl must have brought good fortune,” they thought.

The doctor soon heard that Kino had found the “pearl of the world” and thought if he could get his hands on it, he would become rich. He was tending to another patient at the time, but since he knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with his patient, he told her he’d see her soon, and out the door he went. He arrived at Kino’s home, where everyone had gathered, trying to catch a glimpse of the beautiful pearl. He told Kino that he had come to treat the baby. The doctor apologized for not being able to come sooner. The doctor lied to Kino and told him that he had been out and just returned and that was why he was unable to treat his son earlier. The doctor realized that Coyotito was indeed better, but he figured if he told Kino that the baby was better, he wouldn’t get paid, so instead, the doctor deviously gave Coyotito a medicine that would make him sick. An hour later, he returned with another medication that “cured” the illness. When Coyotito was better, the doctor politely asked Kino when and how he was going to pay the bill. Kino smoothly said that he was going to trade in the pearl, and when he did so, he’d let the doctor know. The doctor wasn’t going to accept this answer, so after a few more questions, he tricked Kino into telling him where the pearl was hidden. That night, Kino and his wife heard someone enter their home. Kino tried to attack, but the person fled. Juana sensed that the pearl they had found was evil and that they should get rid of it. Kino refused to get rid of it and told Juana that she was just imagining things.

The next day, Kino, Juana, and their son, Coyotito, set out to sell the pearl. The entire town didn’t want to miss out on this spectacular event, so they followed along as well. When they reached the pearl seller’s place, the first pearl seller said that the pearl wasn’t worth much. The rest of the pearl sellers said the same thing. Kino was determined to sell it for a good price. He wanted so much for his family. Since the pearl sellers refused to pay him well, Kino, his family, and the town returned home. That night, Kino heard noises again, and he went to investigate. He was then attacked, and his wife rushed over with a brick, ready to help, but it was too late. The mysterious noise makers had fled. Juana was now really convinced that this pearl was an omen and that they should throw it back into the sea. Kino was obstinate, saying that the pearl was not evil. He planned to sell the pearl in the capital. In the middle of the night, Juana took the pearl and ran towards the shore. Just as she was about to throw the pearl, Kino grabbed her and slapped her across the face. Juana was knocked unconscious. Kino was soon attacked by mysterious figures, and the pearl was knocked from his hands. Kino was able to stab one of mysterious killers before also being knocked unconscious. Juana regained consciousness, saw the pearl, and took hold of it. She then found her husband, who lay unconscious. He soon got up, and she told him that he had killed a man. They had no alternative but to leave the town; however, upon checking the canoe, Kino found a terribly big hole in it. He returned to the hut and found the hut glowing, glowing with flames. Juana grabbed Coyotito, and they fled to Kino’s brother’s home. Kino’s brother helped to conceal them from everyone.

The next day, Kino and his family set out for Loreto. They traveled a great distance and then settled down to rest. During the night, Kino was awakened by noises. He realized that he and his family were being tracked. The trackers passed their hiding place, but Kino did not want to take any chances, so he moved his family into the mountains. The trackers soon set up camp near a spring, very close to where Kino was hiding his family. He decided that the only way to get rid of the trackers was to kill them, and the only way to do that was to attack them. He told Juana to stay hidden with Coyotito. When he arrived at the trackers’ camp site, one of the trackers heard a baby’s cry and directed and fired his gun towards where Juana and Coyotito were hiding. Kino then attacked and killed every single tracker. When he returned to Juana, he realized she was carrying a dead Coyotito.

Kino and Juana returned to their home, with Juana carrying Coyotito, and Kino, the pearl. They both walked toward the shore. Kino handed over the pearl to Juana, and she told him he should be the one to toss it back. He flung his arm back and threw the pearl as hard and as far as he could out into the ocean. The pearl then returned to its sandy home, covered in water plants, and there, rested undisturbed.



My Response:
Greed is poisonous, and it’s a shame that Kino learned this far too late in the story. All Kino was focused on was selling the pearl and spending the money on things for his family. Kino became so wrapped up in this greed that he didn’t even realize, even with frequent warnings from his wife, that the pearl was tearing his family apart. He didn’t listen, and he always thought he was doing the right thing. I would never suspect Kino to become obsessed with the pearl because, in the beginning, he was totally content with having what he had. He appreciated his life to the fullest, and he fully loved everything and everyone in his life. He couldn’t ask for anything more. He loved his wife, Juana, and his one and only son, Coyotito. All of a sudden, a pearl came into his life, and he was so determined to have all the luxuries after selling the pearl that he started to forget the ones that loved him. Greed overtook him, and the wealth that he could possess became his focal point. His family “music” faded to a pianissimo. He didn’t wake up to hear it, but instead, woke up to the noises of mysterious pearl thieves. I felt that even though Kino wanted nice things out of the pearl’s riches, he should not have become as “obsessive” as he had gotten. Wealth does not eliminate all problems, and it was his fault that his son, Coyotito, died. Kino frequently ignored his wife’s wise words to throw the pearl back into the ocean. If only he had listened to his wife earlier, he could have saved his son’s life.

This story was full of greedy characters. The doctor was one of them. He didn’t want to help Kino and his family in the beginning because they weren’t rich, but when Kino found the pearl, the doctor suddenly became their best friend. I am disappointed in the doctor because doctors should abide by certain standards, which include treating people of all classes equally. They should not choose which patients to tend to, solely based on financial status.

The pearl buyers were also very greedy. They didn’t want to pay such a huge sum of money for the pearl so didn’t accept the pearl and said “it wasn’t worth much.” The mysterious attackers were greedy, too, because they attacked innocent Kino just so they could get their hands on the pearl and use its fortunes for themselves. Kino and the people around him were so caught up in the riches the pearl could provide that all it brought was ill fortune. The greed and jealousy led to Kino paying the ultimate sacrifice: losing his one and only son.

This story was really depressing to me because so many people wanted the pearl, and it reminded me of the world today. So many people don’t care who they step on to get what they want. They don’t care who they hurt or destroy in the process. This book’s message and the world today have crossed paths; they intertwine. I think that the author wanted to portray the real world in this book and wanted us to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He wanted to make us aware of man’s natural tendency towards greed and how greed can destroy lives.







“…fantastic posing greed…we should feed all our jewelry to the sea for diamonds do appear to be just like broken glass to me.”




-panic at the disco


-lasie ann

2 kill 1 mockingbird BY: CHANCE

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book about a girl named Jean Louise “Scout”. She lives with her older brother Jeremy and her dad Atticus in a town called Maycomb. One day they meet a boy named Dill who visits the neighborhood every summer. During that summer they would act out stories that were told about the man in the house next door Arthur . The summer the three tried to sneak onto the Radley property, and got shot at by Boo’s brother. Jem loses his pants on a fence. During winter Scout and Jem had been finding presents that have been left for them in a knothole of a tree. Scout and Jem believe that Boo was leaving them gifts, but Nathan fills up the hole with cement. One night a fire starts in a neighbor’s house and without being seen someone puts a blanket on Scout to keep her warm.She tells Atticus that she is Positive Boo did it all the ripped jeans and the gifts in the knothole. Atticus decides to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Friends at school and people on the street are discussed because Maycomb’s white people are racist. tom was accused of raping a white woman. Even people in the family, were acting dumb with Scout so she licked her cousin who was calling Atticus a “nigger-lover”. The Finch’s cook Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to the black church where they were appreciated by most for helping another black person. Atticus’s sister Alexandra came to stay with them. Alexandra wanted to teach Jem and Scout to behave and her to teach Scout how to act like a lady. Alexandra slowly drives Jem and Scout mad with her politeness . Dill who was supposed to live with his new step-father runs away and goes to the Finches house and hides under Scouts bed. Atticus says that Dill can stay for awhile.
Tom Robinson’s trial begins and he is put in the jail for the night where a group of men come to kill him. Atticus stayed there that night to protect Tom. Scout, Jem and Dill show up and Scout tells the men to leave. During the actual trial in court the kids sit up in the black balcony because Atticus said they couldn’t come. As the trial went on Mayella and Bob Ewell, the accusers lied constantly. Atticus gave good evidence that would prove that Bob had attacked his daughter instead of Tom. Even with the evidence, Tom was still accused because he was black. Tom later tried to escape from jail and was shot. Even with the Ewell victory Bob still has a grudge agenst Atticus and swears to get him back. On the way back from a play Scout and Jem were attacked in the dark by Bob. Bob broke Jem’s arm and knocked him out cold. Boo came to the rescue and stabbed Bob in the chest with a knife. Boo carried Jem back to the Finch house and faneshes into his own house after a talk with the sheriff.
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reaction:
my reaction to this book is i dont like it. i belive that if tom robinson was white that his killing wouldnt of happened because it is ok to attack girls if your white.

The Pearl

The Pearl begins in the home of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their baby, Coyotito. They live in a brush house on the Gulf of Mexico. We learn about songs that Kino hears in everything like the Song of the Family. The morning peace is disrupted when their son is bitten by a scorpion. Juana sucks the poison out but sends for a doctor. Although the doctor is called, he doesn’t come because “the doctor never came to the cluster of brush houses.” When they go to ask for the doctors themselves, he refuses to see him because they have no money. In order to pay the doctor, Kino dives for pearls in hope to find and sell some. As he dives, he hears the Song of the Undersea. He picks a big oyster and when he opens it, he finds the Pearl of the World. “It was as large as a sea-gull’s egg.”
Kino tells people that he’s going to use the pearl to give Coyotito an education so he could help his people. The priest comes and speaks to the family about the pearl and afterwards the doctor comes and warns Kino what will happen to the baby. After seeing the doctor, the baby gets better. That night, Kino is hurt when he stops a thief from taking the pearl. Although Juana thinks the pearl is evil, Kino will not give it up.
The next day, Kino goes to sell the pearl. The pearl buyers try to trick him into selling the pearl for less than it’s worth, but he sees through the trickery. He decides to sell the pearl at the capital. After consulting his brother on his decision, he is attacked at night again. They still have the pearl, but Juana believes it will destroy them. In the morning, Kino catches Juana trying to throw the pearl out to sea and stops her. On the way back to the brush house, another man comes to steal the pearl, and Kino kills the man when protecting himself. Now the family must run before the people of the town come after him. They plan to take all their belongings and sail away. But their house and possessions are burning and the canoe has holes drilled into it. They hide in Kino’s brother’s home and then hike north to try to find a safe place the next day.
The family finds that there are men following them. They try to lose the trackers, but the men always seem to find them. One night, Kino decides the only way to get away is to kill the trackers. Juana and Coyotito hide in a cave while Kino crawls to the tracker’s campsite. Kino is right next to the men, when the baby cries out. Thinking it was a baby wolf, one of the trackers shot it to stop the crying. Kino tries to stop the gun from going off and kills all three men. But he is too late and Coyotito dies.
When Kino and Juana come back to the village of brush houses, they throw the pearl into the sea.
My Response:
Throughout The Pearl, there are many examples of Kino’s people, a native culture being, oppressed. When Coyotitio gets bitten by the scorpion and the doctor is called, he doesn’t come. The doctor says, “‘Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little Indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary.’” when Kino and Juana asked the butler to bring the doctor. Calling the natives animals showed the lack of respect the doctor and “the rich people who lived in the stone and plaster houses of the town” had for the native people. They, including Kino, were trapped because of their lack of knowledge. The people in the town were taking advantage of them. For example, when the priest came to Kino’s home, he told him things that he didn’t know were true or not. The priest said to Kino, “thou art named after a great man – and a great Father of the Church . . . It is in the books.” Kino couldn’t know if he was really telling him the truth. When the doctor came to see the baby, he told Kino and Juana about what could happen to the baby if Coyotito were not treated. “He did not know, and perhaps this doctor did. And he could not take the chance of putting his certain ignorance against this man’s possible knowledge. He was trapped as his people were always trapped, and would be until, as he had said, they could be sure that the things in the books were really in the books.” This is why the pearl is so important to Kino. The pearl was going to set his people free. The rich people who lived in the town could easily trick and control Kino and his village because they knew things that the natives didn’t. When he shows the village his pearl, Kino says, “ ‘My son . . . will make us free because he will know – he will know and through him we will know.”
When the pearl dealers tried to cheat by saying that the pearl was not worth anything because it was a fake, Kino is outraged. He knew that the pearl was worth a great deal and it was the way he was going to liberate he and his people. To try to cheat Kino out of selling the pearl for its value was like cheating Kino and his village out of their freedom. Although the native people knew their land, they didn’t know how to read, to write, to do math, or any of the things they needed to know in order to live in the town. Like the rest of his people, Kino lives in a brush house while the doctor has a servant and other luxuries because they knew more about the things “in the books”.
The Pearl shows us what happens to an oppressed native culture. They are taken advantage of and exploited. While discussing Kino’s pearl, one of the natives said, “. . . all of us have been cheated all of our lives.”

Saturday, March 29, 2008

to kill a mocking bird by ilind farris

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a book about athis girl named Jean but she is called “Scout”. She lives with her older brother, Jem and her dad Atticus in the town of maycomb. and then one daywhen they meet a boy named Dill who liked visit the neighborhood every summer.but in that summer they would act out stories that they were told by a man in the house next door Boo. That summer those 3 tried to sneak onto the radley property but they got shot at by Nath Boo’s brother. Jem lost his pants on a fence and when he returns the holes were all mended up it, isnt that wierd?. During winter Scout and Jem had been colecting “gifts” that have been left for them in a knothole of a tree. Scout and Jem thought that Boo was leaving them gifts but Nathan plugs up the hole with cement. One night a fire starts in a neighbor’s house and without being seen as scout is standing outside someone put a blanket on Scout to keep her warm.she was positive that Boo did it, she tells Atticus about the ripped jeans and the gifts in the knothole. Later Atticus hes a lawyer decides to defend a black man named Tom. Friends at school and people on the street are discussed because in there town the white people are racist. tom was accused of raping a white woman. Even people in the family were teasing Scout so she beat up her cousin who was calling her dad a nigger-love. The Finch’s black cook Cal takes Jem and Scout to a black church, where they were appreciated for helping another black person. Atticus’s sister Alexandra came to stay with them, to teach Jem and Scout to behave and for her to teach Scout how to act more lady like. Alexandra slowly drives Jem and Scout crazy with her properness that they dont understand. Dill, who was supposed to live with his new step dad runs away and goes to the Finches house and hides under Scouts bed. Atticus was nice enough to agree to let Dill stay for awhile. toms trial began and he is put in the jail for the night and thats where a group of men went to kill him. Atticus stayed there that night to protect him. Scout,Jem and Dill show up and Scout persuades the men to leave.but during the actual trial in court the kids had to sit up in the black balconyway out of sight because Atticus said they couldnt come. As the trial went on the guy that actualy did do it stated lieing alot so he wouldnt get in trouble.but Atticus gave good evidence that would prove that the guy (bob) had attacked his daughter instead of tom. Even with the evidence Tom was still in trouble because he was black.after being in jail tom tried to escape from jail and was shot. Even with the bobs victory, Bob still has a grudge agenst Atticus and swore to get him back. On the way back from a play Scout and Jem were attacked in the dark by Bob. Bob broken Jem’s arm and knocked him out. butBoo came to the rescue and stopped Bob by stabbing him in the chest. Boo took Jem back to there house and disappears into his own house after a talk with the cops.
REFLECTION:In this book about the triumph of evil over good would be when Tom was accused of the rape on the little girl when it was her father beating her instead. Tom was accused and sentenced because he was a black person and black people always loose in a court case agenst a white man. Another triumph of evil over good was when a boy at Scout’s school was teasing her because her dad was defending a black person. Scout had to turn around and walk away from a fight with him. Also, in the book it said that Scouts teacher told her to stop listening to her brother and father’s way of teaching because they were wrong. The last example of a triumph of evil over good was when Dill had to run away from his new step-dad. In the book it said that Dill ran away because he was kept in the cellar by his step-dad. He was starved to death until a nearby farmer had heard him yelling for help. The farmer had to slip peas in through a vent to feed Dill. Then in the end Dill still had to go back to his evil step-dad.Some examples of the triumph of good over evil was when Boo Radley had stabbed Bob Ewell in the chest when he was attacking the kids. Another example of the triumph of good over evil was when Scout had backed up her father by hitting her cousin in the face. She was protecting her family. The last example of a triumph of good over evil was when Scout persuaded the group of men wanting to kill Tom Robinson to go away. Scout had recognized a Cunningham in the group and had asked a series of polite but effective questions like: “How’s your entailment gettin’ along?” or “Don’t you remember me Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?” These questions had probably made Mr. Cunningham feel like there was nothing wrong with the innocent kids asking him innocent questions.The scourge of the social equality was the racial differences between the black people and the white people. In the book, black people were servants and slaves to the white people. The black people and the white people had very different privileges too. The white people got to sit in closer seats to a court trial while the black people had to sit in a far away balcony. The black people also had to go to church in an old building, without any pianos, organs, hymnbooks or church programs. On each of the seats was a small cardboard fan because it was hot and damp inside. there was also social inequality for mixed races. The people of a mixed race did not fit in with the whites or the blacks so they had to make another group by themselves. The social inequality was so bad in Maycomb, black people would lose a court case just because they were black. Even if there was excellent proof that the white person was guilty, the black person would still lose.


----ilind farris
The Pearl
by Sean Russell

The pearl fisherman had lived a spiritual life for what seemed like as long as she could rember. The family was at the beach and the baby Coyotito was in a box hanging from a rope and someone saw a scorpion on the rope and then Kino shook the rope and the scorpion fell on the baby Coyotito and stung him. They go get help from the docter but the docter would not help them because they did not have anof money to pay the docter so Kino started to suck the blood out of the baby. That night Kino praed that they would have enof money to pay for the metision for the baby Coyotito. When Kino set his eyes on what he called The Pearl of the World.
Kino had the pearl jently hit the door and than he got out of bed and grabed it and than he was a little richer

In the village La Paz there was a docter that would only work on ritch people so he could get more money. The pesents went to the docter with a poisoned kid and the docter would not help the poor boy but the docter heard that Kino had a purl the docter want to Kino’s baby and helped them now that they had money to pay the docter. So the docter got his money and left. But the priest needed money for the church. But the pesents did not have anof money to give the priest. So the priest became made and greety and did not teach the pesents the teachings of god because the pesents did not have enof money.

“In The Pearl, Steinbeck expresses the fact that man’s materialization for wealth and property leads to the self-destruction of man, both mentally and physically. The Priest of La Paz, the Doctor, Juana and Kino where all overwhelmed by greed. The Bible stories will always live on as an admonition to those who crave the warmth and comfort of money. Beckoning to those who struggle to achieve wealth, and hoping they will respond, and possibly not put wealth on the top shelf of life.” My apion on the book the Peal was good. I thought that the book was most exciting in the bigining with the baby and the pearl. Then the guy becomes upsesed with the pearl. There is a lit of greedy people in the book The affects of greed is it can drive you crazy. It can make you do things you dont want to do for something you do want. So money can make you greety even when you don’t know it.




Friday, March 28, 2008

To Kill a Mockingbird By: Ryann Linthicum

To Kill a Mockingbird

By: Ryann Linthicum


The story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in early times when race was still a big deal to people. In the little town there were small neighborhoods and everybody knew everybody, if was a good relationship or bad. A small family lived on the main residential street in the town. This family consisted of Atticus Finch, Jeremy Finch (Jem), Jean Louise Finch (Scout), and Calpurnia (their cook). Their mother had died awhile back, and Atticus never remarried. Scout starts to go back in time to explain the history that lead up to when Jem had his arm broken, by Mr. Bob Ewell. She begins the story when she was almost the age six, and Jeremy was just about the age ten.

 

The story begins in the summer time, the year Charles Baker Harris (Dill) came to visit, he didn’t live there but as the story went on he went to visit every summer and he stayed with Miss Rachel Haverford. The first summer that they all had together they were young and got in a lot of trouble trying to see Authur Radley (Boo). After the summer passed quickly, Dill went back to the to the to the town of Meridian, and it was time for the children to start to get ready for school. This was Scout’s first time going to school, and she was very eager until she came to find that her teacher didn’t treat children they way she had expected and that she said that Atticus taught her wrong. A lot of problems persisted and Scout was sure that she no longer wanted to go to school. Scout continues to go to school, with dismay. One day while she is walking home from school, she sees something in a tiny knothole in the tree trunk of one of the oak trees in the Radley’s yard. She took the gum and Jem and her continued to find treasures in the knothole.

 

The next summer Dill came back to visit, and Jem and Dill started to grow much closer, and Scout started to feel left out. So she began to spend more time with their neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson. Soon, the summer passed and it was Dill’s last day in town so they decided to sneak over to Aurthur Radley’s. They are around the house when they see a shadow and hear a shotgun. They freak out and run, escaping under the fence and come back to the front of their street finding a crowd of people in front of the Radley’s place.

 

Jem and Scout began school, and started to find treasures again. They thought it was Boo who was leaving the treasures, so they tried to leave him a note thanking him, but came to find that the hole was closed with cement. Soon winter began and it was the first real winter they had had in a long time. One night, Miss Maudie’s house catches fire, and the people on the street helped to save her furniture. Then at school, Scout gets into a fight with a boy named Cecil Jacobs because he said that Atticus stood up for African-Americans. This is when racial problems began in the book. More people began to say things about Atticus Finch --even some of their family-- because he was in Trial against Bob Ewell, who accused Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella, and Atticus was fighting for Tom. Soon, Aunt Alexandra comes to live with the family to try and help out with some of the problems that continued, and especially because the trial was very soon.

 

As days quickly passed, it was the day of the trial, the trial that brought everybody to come see. Dill, Jem, and Scout scurried down to the courthouse, hiding in the groups of people. By the time they got there all of the seats were taken, so they sat up in the African-American Balcony, with the reverend. After a long day, Tom still lost because of his race. Even though Bob Ewell won he still was mad at Atticus and threatened to get him back. Meanwhile Tom tried to escape from jail, and got shot. He was dead.

 

As problems continued to get worse, things got complicate. Scout had a play though and hoped that all of her family would go but because of the complications, Jem was the only one that could. On the way back from the play Jem heard some noises, only thinking that it was Cecil. They continued on, but Bob Ewell soon attacked them. He tried to kill the children, but only achieved on breaking Jem’s arm, then knocking him out unconsciously. Boo saved them, by stabbing Bob Ewell and bringing the children back to their house.

 

My Reaction: I enjoyed this book very much. Even though it was fiction, it taught me some more about the history of the major racial problems. An example of the triumph of evil over good is when Tom Robinson was accused for raping Mayella, even though he did not do it. Mayella liked Tom, and tried to get closer to him but Tom knew it was wrong. Trying to leave, Bob Ewell came to the house seeing Tom with Mayella. When he saw them together, Tom suddenly left, then Bob beat Mayella, then accused Tom of trying to rape her, and took it to court, even though Mayella was the one who caused everything.  Because of Tom’s color he was almost immediately proven guilty, but because Atticus was his Lawyer, they were able to take it to court for a second opinion. Atticus, knowing that they were not going to win because Tom was African-American, he still tried as hard as he could to make it so the jury would prove Tom innocent.  An example of the triumph of good over evil was how Atticus Finch did not care what color Tom was he knew that he was innocent, and fought for Tom Robinson’s rights. Atticus and his children were just about the only ones who did not care about the color of people, they believed that it was what was in the inside that counts. Atticus showed that he felt this way, when he gave his final speech for Tom’s trial. The biggest point that Atticus made about the trial was that “Thomas Jefferson once said that all men were created equal.” He talked a lot on this point and made sure that everybody understood that just because of Tom’s color does not make him a bad person. The children understood this very much and when they heard other people talk about their father, it made them very angry and for Scout it caused her to get into fights. She was behind her father one hundred percent. An example of the scourge of social inequality is how the white people treated the African-American people. They treated the African-American people so badly. An example in the book is how Mr. Bob Ewell was so mad at what Mayella did with Tom, know the power that he could have, automatically told everybody that Tom had raped her. He knew that because of his skin color he would be proven guilty, for the case he had created. When Atticus was able to actually prove that Tom was innocent, he was still proven guilty because of the color of his skin. Mr. Ewell was starting to get a litte worried because he thought he might actually lose because of the spot that Atticus had put him in. A little while later, after the jury talked the circumstances over, Tom was still proven guilty because of his color. I believe that another example of the scourge of social inequality is how the mixed colored people, really did not have a place in the world. The white people did not want them because they had some color in them and the African-American people did not want them because they had some white in them. They were lost in the world and I think that this was a horrible thing. This book explained a lot about how African-American people had so little rights compared to the white people and some of the circumstances that happened, we automatically concluded by who the problems were about, such and the Ewell verse Tom trial. This was a good book that explained everything a little more to me.  

The Effects of Greed in The Pearl

      The Pearl is a timeless novel that was published in 1947, written by John Steinbeck. ". . . the secret melody of the maybe pearl broke clear and beautiful, rich and warm and lovely, glowing and gloating and triumphant. In the surface of the great pearl he could see dream forms," page 26. The story takes place during the late 1800s in a village on the Baja peninsula. The main character is Kino, a poor pearl diver that is struggling to provide for his young family. This family consists of his wife, Juana, and their first child, Coyotito. As this story begins, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion, which would usually kill an infant. Juana did all that she could to save her child by sucking the venom out of his wound. When that did not help, she sent for the town doctor, who, even though he was disliked by local villagers due to his racism, was the only person with the ability to help. When he did not come, the family set out on foot to find him. However, he chose to not help the young family since they did not have any money. With both desperation and hope, Kino and Juana paddled out to the deep, blue sea in their treasured canoe to search for a grand pearl that they thought could pay for the doctor. After hope began to fade, they miraculously found a pearl that was the size of a bird egg and the biggest and most beautiful that they had ever seen. Gazing deep into its beauty, Kino saw wonderful possibilities of a new life free of poverty and burden, the life of a rich man who could take care of his family.
     By the time they had exuberantly paddled back to shore, the story of Kino finding the "Pearl of the World" had spread and the baby Coyotito recovered from his sting. When they arrived home, the doctor had also heard of this pearl and was there waiting for them, not to help the child, but in hopes of making the family indebted to him so he could get the pearl. Diabolically, he secretly administered poison to the poor child, saying that the poison of the sting came back, and then gave the antidote. That night, there was an attempt by some of the villagers to steal the great pearl, so in the morning Kino tried to sell it to the local vendors. Time after time, he felt cheated by the amounts he was offered for the huge, beautiful pearl, so he kept it another night. The very next day, Juana began to feel the greed and evil that was beginning to form around people's hearts due to the pearl, so she tried to get rid of it. Kino caught her and sent her home. While he was walking home, Kino was attacked by a man and they fought until Kino finally killed the attacker.
     The next day before anyone could stop them, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito left their village for good and began to travel North in hopes of selling the extraordinary pearl in the great city. Once on the road, they soon realized that they were being followed by trackers who would kill them to steal the pearl. After being followed quite some time, Kino attacked and killed all three of the criminals that were following them. However, while Kino was trying to protect his family, Coyotito was killed by a stray gunshot. Brokenhearted and disappointed in themselves, Kino and Juana returned to their village alone. Knowing that the pearl was the source of all of the evil that entered their lives, they threw the pearl back into the depths of the sea.
      This story of good, evil, and greed in human's hearts teaches us many lessons as we see the disastrous consequences when greed and evil take over a village and simple family's life. Before the pearl entered the villager's lives, everyone seemed to be humble and content with their life. What brought the pearl into the lives of Kino and his neighbors was the need for a cure of Coyotito's wound. But, once the pearl entered the lives of many, their list of wants and desires escalated. In this story, the destructive force of greed took its tool on both Kino and the villagers who wanted the pearl for their own gain.
     As I have already stated, the lives of Kino and Juana before the pearl were humble, but seemingly simple, normal and similar to their neighbors. Then their child's life was in jeopardy, and the first need in this story was created: the need for money to pay a doctor to see Coyotito. The need was fulfilled by the pearl and at first it was the most wonderful, beautiful, and lovely thing they had ever had in their life. However, Kino grew grew boastful around his neighbors, and professed to all of his increasing desires, now that they could be satisfied (see pages 31-33.) This list included being married in a church, his son attending school and gaining "freedom" with knowledge, a gun, and possibly a better home. He tried to sell the pearl, but his heart was greedy and he did not accept any of the offers for it. When his family was being chased by the bounty hunters, it was due to his greed for the pearl that he did not give it up to the men to possibly save the lives of his family. Once he began to unconsciously develop greed and kept wanting more, his life seemed to go downhill, resulting in the death of men and his child. It seemed as if the greed that this pearl represented ruined his life.
    The destructive force of greed for the pearl also greatly affected the villagers and neighbors of Kino and his family. When Kino found a pearl, at first his fellow friends and divers seemed to be pleased for him. But, then they thought of how they could gain this pearl for themselves. Even the priest who heard about the pearl first thought of how much it must be worth and if he married Kino or baptized his son, for those things often cost money money that poor villagers could usually not pay for. After Kino boasted to the villagers about all the things he could buy, "The music had gone out of Kino's head, but now, thinly, slowly, the melody of the morning, the music of evil, of the enemy sounded. . . Kino looked at his neighbors to see who might have brought this song in," page 35. Evil, greed, and desire began to form in the minds of the priest, doctor, and villagers. Some villagers became jealous, and this resulted in people attacking Kino and destroying his home and canoe so they could get the pearl for the money it was worth. Slowly but surely, this greed began to destroy the lives and the innocence of the village in Baja.
       ". . . in the surface of the pearl he saw. . . Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of is head shot way. And the pearl was ugly; it was grey, like a malignant growth. And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane," page 177. Kino was heartbroken at the end of the story. What seemed to be at first an answer to his prayers, turned out to be a nightmare that destroyed his simple but adequate life and killed his son. This novel by John Steinbeck helps to remind us that greed is a very destructive force, and that wonderful things in our lives may be ruined if we let greed control us. It also teaches us that things may happen in our lives that at first seem to be good, may not always be, and vice versa.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

To Kill a Mockingbird By STeVeN

To Kill A Mockingbird is an exciting and heartwarming story told by Jean Louis Finch also known as scout. The story begins in a small rural town in old Alabama during a time of segregation and financial losses in the stock market(Great Depression). Jean Louis Finch lives with her older brother Jeremy (Jem) and her dad Atticus. She also is visited every day except sundays by her black cook Calpurnia otherwise known as Cal. Anyways, Jean Louis tells us about how her brother broke his arm. She starts off explaining her summers there and one specific summer where they met a roudy and exaggerating kid named Dill. Now Dill had been coming to maycomb to live with his aunt every summer and had met jem and scout. They played together by doing a whole bunch of stuff but they especially liked acting out stories. One day as they were all walking down the road to their house, Dill asked "who lives there?" Jem and Scout turn around and tell Dill to met them at the finch house. So Jem and Scout tell Dill all the stories about the Radley house. Boo radley, who lived in that house, was said to be crazy. rumors say he stabbed his mother in the leg with scizzors and that he twiddles soap bars and never comes out of the house. Dill was so fascinated with these stories he suggested that they enact the stories told into a skit. Their fascination with Boo Radley ended up getting bigger and bigger until they decided to make contact with him. One day they wrote letter to him and attach it to a fishing pole. They carefully try to put it in his window while dill wacthes if anyone is coming. Suddenly Atticus appears around the corner and they get heavily reprimanded for their actions. He tells them they shouldnyt be bothering a man when all he wants to do is be left alone.

Greed As a Destructive Force, by Nicole Malapit

A poor family, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito, lived in a poor village. Everyday, life was the same. They ate the same meals, which were hotcakes, saw the same people, wore the same clothes, and lived in the same kind of small huts. The sea was their source of income, and their future was pretty much made up. They would continue their predictable life, and die in the village. But this was not the case with Kino's family. The beginning of all their troubles was when Coyotito had been bitten by a scorpion. This caused a great commotion in the village, so when Kino and his family went to the doctor, the entire village came with them. Kino didn't have enough money to give the doctor, so the doctor sent them away, without examining Coyotito. Later that day, Kino and his family took their canoe and went out to the ocean in search of pearls. At the ocean floor, Kino found a huge oyster, and in it, was a huge pearl. From this day forward, with the money from this pearl, Kino was sure he and his family would live in luxury. When the doctor heard Kino had a great pearl, he came to Kino's hut, to treat Coyotito, and to try to steal the pearl. Throughout the night, robbers came to steal the pearl, but were not successful, and they physically hurt Kino in the process. Later, Kino took his family to sell the pearl. The whole village came with them, as a sign of loyalty. The pearl buyer offered a small amount of money, telling Kino the pearl was too big, and had an ugly color to it. Kino refused to sell it. To prove he wasn't being unfair, the pearl buyer had other pearl buyers come and appraise the pearl. The amounts the pearl buyers mentioned were about the same, and were too little for Kino to settle for. Kino took the pearl and stormed off with the village. No villager really knew how much the pearl was worth, so Kino made plans to go north to see what other pearl buyers thought of the pearl. Kino was knew he made the right decision, but Juana thought otherwise. She thought Kino should have sold the pearl, and get its evilness out of their lives. That night, Juana couldn't stand still having the pearl. Too many horrible things were happenning to them because of the pearl. So, in the middle to the night, she took the pearl and headed out to the ovean. Kino had awaked because of Juana's movement. He grew suspicious of what Juana was doing, and secretly followed her. When Juana noticed Kino following her, she broke into a run. She was just about to throw the pearl into the ocean to rid them of evil, when Kino caught her arm, hit her, and kicked her in the side. Kino then ran toward the brush house. On his way, a man attacked him, trying to steal the pearl. Kino unknowingly dropped the pearl, and tried to protect himself. He took out his knife, and killed the stranger. Juana found the pearl Kino had dropped, and came to Kino's aid. Kino was afraid of the consequences of just killing someone, so he told Juana to get Coyotito, and they would run away. When Juana got Coyotito, Kino saw a bright flash, and knew it was his brush house. Someone had torn their house apart trying to look for the pearl, and when they couldn't find it, they burned the house down. Kino decided to hide in his brother's house, just until it got dark enough to run away to the mountains. That night, Kino and his family ran away, on a trail to the mountains. He knew he would never see the village and the people in it, ever again. They walked for miles until they rested. Trackers had been looking for them, so Kino tried to avoid them. Kino found a small pool of water where they could drink, and saw a cave in the mountain. They hid there, until the trackers set up a place for the night, right below them. Kino couldn't leave now, or else they would spot them, and Coyotito would probably cry. If they were to stay hidden until the next day, the trackers would find them in the morning. The only way they would live is if Kino got to the rifle, and killed all three of the trackers. Kino climbed out of his cave, and hid behind the bushes. Coyotito made a cry, which caught the attention of the trackers. They thought it was a coyote pup, and one of them shot into the cave. Kino leaped up, and stabbed the tracker with the rifle. He took the rifle, and killed the other two. Coyotito screamed, and Kino Knew the tracker had killed him. Kino and Juana knew the best thing to do, was go back to the village, and get rid of the pearl. They went back, side by side, and stood at the ocean's edge with dead Coyotito in a sack, and threw the pearl into the ocean. The evil subsided, and was no more.

My Reflection:
Steinbeck's novel, The Pearl, describes how man lives for himself, and how man longs for materialistic and secular things. The pearl Kino found could have gotten them a relaxing, rich, life. This is what everyone in the village wanted, and they'd do anything to get it. Because of the greed the doctor had, the doctor made Coyotito sick, then cured him, making Kino think the doctor altogether healed Coyotito. This would cost Kino extra money he didn't need to pay. Also because of the greed everyone around Kino and his family had, robbers came to Kino's hut to steal the pearl. The pearl buyers were greedy, and offered Kino a small price for the great pearl. This was very unfair to Kino and his family. Juana had been wise to try to get rid of the pearl before more destruction came, but Kino had prevented that from happening. Because he wanted his family to live a better life, he attacked Juana, and physically hurt her. This hurt their marriage, and they would never forget this, causing their relationship never to be as close as it was before. Because of greed, someone who Kino had probably grown up with, and was a friend to, attempted to kill Kino and steal his pearl. In self defense, Kino murdered this man. People back at the village tore apart their brush house, then burned it to ashes, barely killing Coyotito. Because of all of this, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito had to flee into the mountains, leaving their family and all they knew to be home. If the tracker found Kino, they would kill him and his family, and take the pearl. They too, were greedy. Because of this, Kino had no choice but kill all three of them. Coyotito died because of the trackers. Every horrific instance happened because people had wanted the pearl. When you think about how people live their lives, pretty much everything they do, is to benefit themself. Many people hurt others for their gain. They are always trying to elevate themselves with worldy pleasures. This is what our world has come down to.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Evil or Good


To Kill a Mocking Bird
By Lauren Hanano
A Day
To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story of a little girl called Scout Finch and her brother, Jem living in the "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout and her brother lives with their widowed father, Atticus. During this time period which they grew up in, racism was still a big deal to most people. At the time, there was also a huge stock market crash which lead to a worldwide business slump. The Finches were one of the fortunate familes because Acticus was a lawyer and they lived reasonably well off in comparison to the rest of society. The Finches’ also had a black cook, Calpurnia, she was the children’s connection between the white people and her own black community.
One summer when Scout was six and Jem was ten, they met a boy named a boy named Dill, who came to spend the summer with his aunt who lived next door for the summer. The three children are both terrified by, and fascinated with the spooky house on their street called the Radley Place. The house is owned by Mr.Nathan Radley, whose brother, "Boo" has lived there for years without ever going outside. They soon become obsessed with trying to make him come out of his home and go through plan after plan, but nothing tends to work and draw him out. The two following summers, Scout and Jem find that someone is leaving them small gifts inside a knothole of a tree right outside of the the Radley place. Several times, they though that the mysterious Boo was making gestures to them, but to their disappointment, never appears in person. Soon the Finch children realize that Boo Radley deserves to live in peace, and they leave him alone.
Atticus father is a respected and upstanding lawyer but when he is assigned to defend innocent, black Tom Robinson against two dishonest white people. Many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove and Atticus knows what is at risk for him but, he also knows that he has to defend this man and do the right thing, or he can't live with himself.
This case turns the whole town against Atticus and Scout has to deal with the other children taunting, even when they celebrate Christmas, and calling her family "nigger-lovers", she is tempted to stand up for her father by fighting but, he has told her not to. For him, Atticus faces men who intent on lynching Tom, but this danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus' and Tom's points of view.
When it was time for the trial, the children were sitting in the "colored balcony" with the town’s black citizens. Atticus provides clear evidence that the accusers, Mayelle Ewell and her father, Bob, are lying. In fact, the friendless Mayella was making sexual advances towards Tom and her father caught her in the act, then she accused Tom of raping her to cover her shame and guilt. Despite the evidence pointing to Tom’s innocence, the all-white jury convicts him. When a hopless Tom later tries to escape from prison, he is shot to death. In the end of the trial, Jem is shocked and he now has a different perspective of justice.
It seems that the case is finally over and life returns back to normal until the night of Halloween. Bob Ewell feels that Atticus and the judge have made a fool out of him, and he swears to get revenge. On the way home from a party, Bob Ewell jumps at Jem and Scout and attacks them in the darkness. After Jem is badly ingured and his arm is broken, their ghostly neighbor, Boo Radley, rescues Scout and her brother by stabbing Ewell. Boo carries the wounded Jem back to Atticus’s house, where the sheriff, in order to protect Boo, insists that Ewell tripped and fell on his own knife while he was struggling with Jem. After sitting with Scout for a while, Boo disappears once more to his home and never to be seen again.
While standing on the Radley porch, Scout can finally imagine what life must be like for Boo and regrets that they never repaid him for the gifts he had given them. He has become a human being to her at last. With this realization, through the example of their father, they grew to understand that the not everything in the world is always fair and that prejudice is a very real aspect of their world no matter how subtle it seems.Through the events of those two years, Scout learns that no matter their differences, the people of Maycomb County are all people. No one is lesser or better than anyone else because they're all people. She realizes that once you get to know them, most people are good and kind no matter what they seem like on the outside.
Boo Radley, is one of the novel’s "mockingbirds," Boo was a good person that was injured by the evil of mankind. Tom Robinson is also one of the "mockingbirds." He was an important symbol of innocence that was destroyed by evil.
Most things consist of both good and evil. Usually "evil often triumphs, but never conquers." Every story needs a conflict, and the conflict was a struggle between the forces of good and evil. The force of evil could never triumph in the end and ultimate victory for the forces of the good may become greater when it has had to overcome smaller victories of the evil forces. Evil may win a battle every now and then, but good will always have the greater outcome and win the war.

Monday, March 24, 2008

To Kill A Mockingbird by Dylan Morrison-Fogel

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a book about a girl named Jean Louise “Scout”. She lives with her older brother, Jeremy “Jem”, and her dad Atticus in a town called Maycomb. One day, they meet a boy named Dill, who visits the neighborhood every summer. During that summer, they would act out stories that were told about the man in the house next door, Arthur Radley “Boo”. The summer, the three tried to sneak onto the Radley property, and got shot at by Nathan Radley, Boo’s brother. Jem loses his pants on a fence, and when he returns, the holes were all mended up. During winter, Scout and Jem had been finding “gifts” that have been left for them in a knothole of a tree. Scout and Jem believe that Boo was leaving them gifts, but Nathan Radley plugs up the hole with cement. One night a fire starts in a neighbor’s house, and without being seen, as she is standing outside, someone puts a blanket on Scout to keep her warm. Positive Boo did it, she tells Atticus about the ripped jeans and the gifts in the knothole. Later, Atticus (being a lawyer) decides to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Friends at school and people on the street are discussed because Maycomb’s white people are racist. tom was accused of raping a white woman. Even people in the family, were teasing Scout, so she beat up her cousin who was calling Atticus a “nigger-lover”. The Finch’s black cook, Calpurnia “Cal”, takes Jem and Scout to the black church, where they were appreciated by most for helping another black person. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, came to stay with them, to teach Jem and Scout to behave and for her to teach Scout how to act like a lady. Alexandra slowly drives Jem and Scout crazy with her “properness”. Dill, who was supposed to live with his new step-dad, runs away and comes to the Finches house and hides under Scouts bed. Atticus agrees to let Dill stay for awhile.
Tom Robinson’s trial begins and he is put in the local jail for the night, where a group of men come to kill him. Atticus stayed there that night to protect Tom. Scout, Jem, and Dill show up and Scout persuades the men to leave. During the actual trial in court, the kids sit up in the black balcony, out of sight, because Atticus said they couldn’t come. As the trial went on, Mayella Ewell and Bob Ewell, the accusers, lied constantly. Atticus gave good evidence that would prove that Bob had attacked his daughter instead of Tom. Even with the evidence, Tom was still accused because he was black. Tom later tried to escape from jail and was shot. Even with the Ewell victory, Bob still has a grudge agenst Atticus and swears to get him back. On the way back from a play, Scout and Jem were attacked in the dark by Bob. Bob had broken Jem’s arm and knocked him uncoscience. Boo Radley came to the rescue and stopped Bob by stabbing him in the chest with a knife. Boo carried Jem back to the Finch house and disappears into his own house after a talk with the sheriff.

REFLECTION:
In this book the triumph of evil over good would be when Tom was accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell when it was her father beating her instead. Tom was accused and sentenced because he was a black person and black people always loose in a court case agenst a white man. Another triumph of evil over good was when a boy at Scout’s school was teasing her because her dad was defending a black person. Scout had to turn around and walk away from a fight with him. Also, in the book it said that Scouts teacher told her to stop listening to her brother and father’s way of teaching because they were wrong. The last example of a triumph of evil over good was when Dill had to run away from his new step-dad. In the book it said that Dill ran away because he was kept in the cellar by his step-dad. He was starved to death until a nearby farmer had heard him yelling for help. The farmer had to slip peas in through a vent to feed Dill. Then in the end Dill still had to go back to his evil step-dad.
Some examples of the triumph of good over evil was when Boo Radley had stabbed Bob Ewell in the chest when he was attacking the kids. Another example of the triumph of good over evil was when Scout had backed up her father by hitting her cousin in the face. She was protecting her family. The last example of a triumph of good over evil was when Scout persuaded the group of men wanting to kill Tom Robinson to go away. Scout had recognized a Cunningham in the group and had asked a series of polite but effective questions like: “How’s your entailment gettin’ along?” or “Don’t you remember me Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one time, remember?” These questions had probably made Mr. Cunningham feel like there was nothing wrong with the innocent kids asking him innocent questions.
The scourge of the social equality was the racial differences between the black people and the white people. In the book, black people were servants and slaves to the white people. The black people and the white people had very different privileges too. The white people got to sit in closer seats to a court trial while the black people had to sit in a far away balcony. The black people also had to go to church in an old building, without any pianos, organs, hymnbooks or church programs. On each of the seats was a small cardboard fan because it was hot and damp inside. there was also social inequality for mixed races. The people of a mixed race did not fit in with the whites or the blacks so they had to make another group by themselves. The social inequality was so bad in Maycomb, black people would lose a court case just because they were black. Even if there was excellent proof that the white person was guilty, the black person would still lose.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Summary: To Kill A Mocking Bird

By: Jensen Koga


Jean Louise Finch nicknamed Scott is living with her brother Jem Finch, there widowed father Atticus and their cook Calpurnia. They live in a small town called Maycomb in Alabama and at the time this story takes place there is a lot of prejudice. Atticus is a prominent lawyer and the Finch family is considered to be well off money wise as compared to the rest of the town’s people. One summer they meet a boy named Dill and they become friends. Dill is from Meridian Mississippi and comes to stay with his Aunty Rachael every winter. Back home Dill went to the pictures shows but finds out in Maycomb there weren’t any. After Dill becomes spellbound with the spooky house on their street called the Radley Place, the three of them Dill, Jem and Scout start acting out stories together. Mr. Nathan Radley owned this house and lived there with his brother Arthur. Arthur’s nickname was Bool. Even if Boo lived there many years he never came out the house. Scout goes to school for the first time that fall and she hates it. Scout and Jem find gifts left for them in a knothole of a tree on the Radley property. That following summer Dill comes back and Dill, Jem and Scout start to act stories about Boo Radley a.k.a. (Arthur Radley). Atticus puts a stop to their stories and he said “to see life from another persons perspective before making a judgement on them”. On Dills last night in Maycomb before their summer ends the three of them sneak onto the Radleys property. While they were on the property Nathan Radely shot at them. As they were running Jem loss his pants when they were trying to escape. They went back for his pants and found it stuck to the fence someone had hung it over the fence. The next winter Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree they thought it was left by the Mysterious Boo Radley. Nathan Radley eventfully plugs the hole with cement. It was not long until a fire broke out in another neighbor’s house, and while they were looking at the blazing fire someone slipped on a blanket on Scouts shoulders. Scout was convinced that Boo Radley put the blanket on her shoulders. Jem tells Atticus about the pants on the fence and all of the presents in the tree. Maycomb is a racist white community and even so Atticus agrees to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of having sex a white woman. Atticus decision to defend Tom Robinson not only affected himself but his decision also affected his children, Jem and Scout because the other children abused them at school and even when they celebrated Christmas at the compound of the Finches family landing. While out of town, Calpurnia the Finches black cook takes Jem and Scout to a local black church where they embrace children. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, comes to live with the Finches to help care for them. Dill who is supposed to live with his new father in another town runs away and comes back to Maycomb. Tom Robinson trials begin. At the trial Jem and Scout sneak into the colored balcony with the black citizens. Atticus provides clear evidence that Mayella Ewell and her father Bob are lying. Atticus also proved that it was not Tom Robinson who hit Mayella but her father instead. The all white jury convicted the innocent Tom Robinson. Later Tom tries to escape and gets shot trying. Bob feels that Atticus and the judge made a fool out of him and he wants revenge. To get back at them Bob tries to break in to the judge’s house and attacks Jem and Scout while they are walking home from the Halloween Party. Boo Radley comes to the rescue and stabs Bob Ewell. The sheriff protected Boo Radley and claimed Bob Ewell fell on his own knife. Now, Scout understood what her father meant when he told her about judging people that she doesn’t personally know.


My Reactions:

This book is very educational and interesting. I found myself getting hooked to the story. I felt angry when Tom Robinson was not treated fairly. I felt good when Atticus did what he thought was right and defended Tom Robinson. I thought it was funny when the three children Dill, Jem and Scout sneaked out of their house and went to the Radley’s house to try to get Boo Radley to come out. Mr. Nathan Radley caught them and while running away Jem’s pants came off and he went back to get them it was on the fence.
I also thought it was surprising that the white people give the black people a hard time but when the children went to the black people’s church most of them welcomed the children.
The triumph of evil over good is when Bob Hewell lied and accused, a black man, Tom Robinson for raping his daughter and the jury ruled in Bob Hewell’s favor even after the evidence was clear that Tom Robinson was innocent and Bob Hewell lied. The evil lies of Bob Hewell won over the good and innocent Tom Robinson.
The triumph of good over evil is when a white prominent lawyer, Atticus, defends a black man, Tom Robinson, because he believed Tom is innocent and Bob Hewell was lying. Race did not matter to Atticus; he even put himself and his family in a bad spot when he decided to defend Tom Robinson. His friends and family turned against Atticus and his family when Atticus decided to defend a black man. Although this was bad for Atticus and his family this was good for Tom Robinson because I don’t think that anyone else would have stepped up and accepted this case.
The scourge of the social inequality is the devastation of a community when it lacks uniformity or any type of respect. Such as, we depend on the courts to uphold the law and make the best decision to protect the innocent in the community. But in this story even if Atticus proved that Tom Robinson was innocent the all white jury decided that he was guilty just because Tom Robinson was black. If Tom Robinson were white, would the jury decide differently? I wonder? It’s just not right.

Monday, March 17, 2008

to kill a mocking bird

TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD

BY: HARRISON WRAY



To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Alabama during the Depression, and is narrated by the main character, a little girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer with high moral standards. Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill are intrigued by the local rumors about a man named Boo Radley, who lives in their neighborhood but never leaves his house. Legend has it that he once stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, and he is made out to be a kind of monster. Dill is from Mississippi but spends his summer in Maycomb at a house near the Finch's. The children are curious to know more about Boo, and during one summer create a mini-drama they enact daily, which tells the events of his life as they know them. Slowly, the children begin moving closer to the Radley house, which is said to be haunted. They try leaving notes for Boo on his windowsill with a fishing pole, but are caught by Atticus, who firmly reprimands them for making fun of a sad man's life. Next, the children try sneaking over to the house at night and looking through its windows. Boo's brother, Nathan Radley, who lives in the house, thinks he hears a prowler and firing his gun. The children run away, but Jem loses his pants in a fence. When he returns in the middle of the night to get them back, they have been neatly folded and the tear from the fence roughly sewn up. Other mysterious things happen to the Finch children. A certain tree near the Radley house has a hole in which little presents are often left for them, such as pennies, chewing gum, and soap carved figures of a little boy and girl who bear a striking resemblance to Scout and Jem. The children don't know where these gifts are coming from, and when they go to leave a note for the mystery giver, they find that Boo's brother has plugged up the hole with cement. The next winter brings unexpected cold and snow, and Miss Maudie's house catches on fire. While Jem and Scout, shivering, watch the blaze from near the Radley house, someone puts a blanket around Scout without her realizing it. Not until she returns home and Atticus asks her where the blanket came from does she realize that Boo Radley must have put it around her while she was entranced by watching Miss Maudie, her favorite neighbor, and her burning house. Atticus decides to take on a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewel a member of the notorious Ewell family, who belong to the layer of Maycomb society that people refer to as "trash." The Finch family faces harsh criticism in the heavily racist Maycomb because of Atticus's decision to defend Tom. But, Atticus insists on going through with the case because his conscience could not let him do otherwise. He knows Tom is innocent, and also that he has almost no chance at being acquitted, because the white jury will never believe a black man over a white woman. Despite this, Atticus wants to reveal the truth to his fellow townspeople, expose their bigotry, and encourage them to imagine the possibility of racial equality. The time for the trial draws closer, and Atticus's sister Alexandra comes to stay with the family. She is proper and old-fashioned and wants to shape Scout into the model of the Southern feminine ideal, much to Scout's resentment. Dill runs away from his home, where his mother and new father don't seem interested in him, and stays in Maycomb for the summer of Tom's trial. The night before the trial, Tom is moved into the county jail, and Atticus, fearing a possible lynching, stands guard outside the jail door all night. Jem is concerned about him, and the three children sneak into town to find him. A group of men arrive ready to cause some violence to Tom, and threaten Atticus in the process. At first Jem, Scout and Dill stand aside, but when she senses true danger, Scout runs out and begins to speak to one of the men, the father of one of her classmates in school. Her innocence brings the crowd out of their mob mentality, and they leave. The trial pits the evidence of the white Ewell family against the black Tom's evidence. According to the Ewells, Mayella asked Tom to do some work for her while her father was out, and Tom came into their house and forcibly beat and raped Mayella until her father appeared and scared him away. Tom's version is that Mayella invited him inside, then threw her arms around him and began to kiss him. Tom tried to push her away. When Bob Ewell arrived, he flew into a rage and beat her, while Tom ran away in fright. According to the sheriff's testimony, Mayella's bruises were on the right side of her face, which means she was most likely punched with a left hand. Tom Robinson's left arm is useless due to an old accident, whereas Mr. Ewell leads with his left. Given the evidence of reasonable doubt, Tom should go free, but after hours of deliberation, the jury pronounces him guilty. Scout, Jem and Dill sneak into the courthouse to see the trial and sit in the balcony with Maycomb's black population. They are stunned at the verdict because to them, the evidence was so clearly in Tom's favor. Though the verdict is unfortunate, Atticus feels some satisfaction that the jury took so long deciding. Usually, the decision would be made in minutes, because a black man's word would not be trusted. Atticus is hoping for an appeal, but unfortunately Tom tries to escape from his prison and is shot to death in the process. Jem has trouble handling the results of the trial, feeling that his trust in the goodness and rationality of humanity has been betrayed. Meanwhile, Mr. Ewell threatens Atticus and other people connected with the trial because he feels he was humiliated. He gets his revenge one night while Jem and Scout are walking home from Halloween play at their school. He follows them home in the dark, then runs at them and attempts to kill them with a large kitchen knife. Jem breaks his arm, and Scout, who is wearing a confining ham shaped wire costume and cannot see what is going on, is helpless throughout the attack. The elusive Boo Radley stabs Mr. Ewell and saves the children. Finally, Scout has a chance to meet the shy and nervous Boo. At the end of this fateful night, the sheriff declares that Mr. Ewell fell on his own knife so Boo, the hero of the situation, won't have to be tried for murder. Scout walks Boo home and imagines how he has viewed the town and observed her, Jem and Dill over the years from inside his home. Boo goes inside, closes the door, and she never sees him again