Angelica Pearson
Jedidah Blake
English
5/5/08
Animal Farm
This story is about animals rebelling against the evil Mr. Jones and I agree with the rebellion because that farmer was very mean. A farmer should be kind to his animals or be arrested for animal abuse. The men on the farm shouldn’t have whipped the animals. The animals broke into the feed bin because they were hungry since of Jones’s neglect of feedings. To the animals it was unjust to whip them for the break in. They went ballistic and chased the humans away. I’m not surprised that the animals were able to rebel because they have weapons of their own called hooves, horns, mouths, claws, beaks, and heads. The pigs got so intelligent that they became what they feared, humans. In real life an animal can stand up if it is being supported by its owner (I should know I taught my cat to dance with me).
The day after the rebellion the animals finished the hay harvest (the pigs supervised) and wrote the commandments (apparently pigs can write). Later there is the Battle of the Cowshed where six men including Jones are fought. The humans were repelled and only a sheep was killed (Jones had a gun). Mollie the horse was still acting like she did during the Reign of Jones (eating sugar lumps and wearing ribbons) and eventually ranaway. The plans for field improvements commenced in the 5th chapter. Snowball the pig made the plans. The windmill was a great idea for more efficiency for the farm (as in machines for the fields). I knew that the 9 puppies that Napoleon took in the 4th chapter would become guard dogs because I sensed an evil look on his face. Snowball seemed nicer then Napoleon. I think that whenever Napoleon did something like a human he changed the commandments.
The windmill was destroyed twice. It was knocked down in the 6th chapter by Snowball and blown up by humans in the 8th chapter and was completed in the 10th chapter.
I felt bad when Boxer the horse “died” and I think that Napoleon sold him to the glue factory. It may be good to see the good in people but you might just find the evil instead. In other words, some animals liked Napoleon until he had his dogs kill animals for treason. When the sheep say “four legs good, two legs bad” that can get on your nerves but when they say “four legs good, two legs better” something is wrong even though it is a little true.
Animal farms might appear when humans are gone and they evolve over generations (I saw this in a documentary about the future after we are gone like the dinosaurs). Animals might rebel like slaves or people of a brutal empire of evil. Napoleon took command after Snowball was chased away. This is very common in the wild as well. Think of Animal Farm as a small kingdom, the leaders have their castle (farmhouse), the king has a taste tester and guards (dogs), the people have various jobs and projects, there are messengers to neighbors (pigeons), they sell food for supplies, the people have a city (barn), and there are laws and punishments (commandments). Those animals are really smart with all this organization and plans for the battles, I’m surprised that the animals on the neighboring farms didn’t run away and join them. When they built and rebuilt the wind mills I was surprised that they finished without Boxer but if he didn’t get all those loads to the site the wind mill would have been a bust. I ‘m guessing that since he is so big that he must be a Clydesdale and I’ve seen them and they are big and very powerful horses used to carry big loads and pull large carriages. After the rebellion I wasn’t surprised that the pigs didn’t help very much because they are very lazy animals but very smart with using mud as sun block on hot days. Benjamin is very stubborn but that is how all donkeys and mules are at an old age. Over the years the animals were treated the same as when humans ran the farm. But not until the end was when a whip came into the farm after all those years that whips were destroyed and not seen on the farm until now. When the book said that the animals couldn’t tell who was human and who was pig, that was a really good ending.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee
Summary:
The main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout, Atticus, and Jem Finch. Scout, Jem and Atticus all live in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch is not and ordinary girl, she is a tomboy and Scout seems to handle her life as a tomboy pretty well. She lives with her brother who is Jem Finch and her father who is Atticus Finch. Since Scout Finch is a tomboy she can do what Jem and Dill do. Scout got her tomboy status from her father, Atticus Finch. Atticus taught her how to be a tomboy. Scout is smart but she usually doesn't figure things out with her head, she usually goes for a more "hands on approach" but Scout does remember when Jem broke his arm and how that changed the events overall. Although Scout Finch is an intelligent girl, she doesn't like to show it much.
Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem's father. He became a lawyer in the town of Maycomb with his brother, Jack Finch, who wanted to go to Boston and go to medical school there. Atticus' sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed at the house. In this book, Atticus looks like he has been respected by everyone including the poor people. Even in this book now they're being racist. Francis called Atticus a " N Lover"(pg. 86) because Atticus tries hard to stop a racial prejudice. Atticus is a non racial person who doesn't care of what nationality or what colored skin you are. He knows that everyone is created equally. Atticus teaches good things to Scout and Jem and never holds grudges against the townspeople. At the beginning of this book, Scout and Jem do not look up to Atticus.
Jem Finch is the son of Atticus Finch and the brother of Scout Finch. During the trial with Tom Robinson, who is black, and Atticus Finch, who helps defend Tom Robinson at the case, Jem starts to go through his puberty. This moment for Jem is a big change because it can get hard for him and complicated. Jem is a person that with hope in him. Atticus tells Scout to have Jem figure out on what he is learning. When Atticus is teaching Jem all this stuff, he believes that Jem will eventually know what is going on and follow the process of what he learned from this. In the beginning of Chapter 25, Jem tells Scout after he stops her from killing it,"Reckon you're at the stage now where you don't kill flies and mosquitoes..."(page 239). Jem told Scout this because the roly-poly bug never did Scout any harm and Jem was probably thinking "what was the point in killing it anyway". Jem has become protective in this part of the book. He probably thinks that you shouldn't hurt anything if it didn't do anything to you. Jem has matured too because it's how he speaks to Scout on page 239 about the roly-poly bug.
My Reflection:
In this story, To Kill a Mocking Bird has to do with the presence of good and evil the social inequalities. I've noticed that Jem and Scout have only seen good but hardly any evil. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not ready for their future, soon enough they find evil and then they are both killed. Even Jem notices after the trial about racism and how evil it is to people that don't quite fit in. Scout, on the other hand, seems to notice everything that is going on here but she doesn't really make a big deal about it and manages to keep herself steady from evil. Jem's faith is dieing down because of Tom's conviction and Jem is reacting to this by entering a disillusion state. Atticus eventually keeps cool about the evil that is going on and he also keeps his faith so his mind won't do berserk. Scout is also the same way like Atticus. The reason why Jem reacts to it, it is because he is young and he doesn't know what is going on so I think he is kind of confused in my opinion. Most of these people in this story have been both good and evil towards one another. The way people treat each other is the result of the good and bad situation that is happening in this story. They need to treat each other with more sympathy so they won't have to do through anything evil again. Scout's character growth has to do with the teachings that Atticus taught her. Scout gradually develops and understands what Atticus wants her to do. Near the end of the book, Scout finally looked through Boo Radley and saw him as an ordinary person. Since Scout is learning most of this from her father, she is also losing her innocence to the people.
The Social Inequalities in this book are from people just being mean to each other to people being racist to other people. This also has to do with the social classes in Maycomb, Alabama. All of this racist talking and yelling at each other isn't setting a good example to the children, especially Jem since he is going through puberty. The Cunninghams are near the bottom of the social classes because they are farmers who are ignorant to other people. The people that are a lower class in the social classes are the Ewells but even now there are some people even lower than that. Tom Robinson is below Ewells and just because Ewells is not that much higher of a social class than Tom Robinson, Ewells thought he could prosecute him but apparently Ewells did prosecute him. This confuses Scout because she doesn't understand why her Aunt Alexandra wouldn't talk to Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children's own confusion to at the layering Maycomb to the roles of the society and human interaction. The way I think these people can work out these social classes is not to fight a lot on what social class you are in. This book's descriptive text had a major impact on people in here because lots of people changed the way they acted, some are growing up, and some are still the same. Between the three main characters, Jem and Scout were the ones who grew up and kind of knew what to do because they learned it from Atticus. Atticus, pretty much, focused on his children because he wants them to be taught well in the future. I also think why Atticus Finch teaches his children like this is because when they get older they are probably going to experience this same criteria in several years or maybe even a couple of decades. When his children get to about his age they might even experience the same thing too. This is only my opinion about the book's good and evil situation and the social classes situation.
---Daniel Miller
1140 words
The main characters in To Kill A Mockingbird is Scout, Atticus, and Jem Finch. Scout, Jem and Atticus all live in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch is not and ordinary girl, she is a tomboy and Scout seems to handle her life as a tomboy pretty well. She lives with her brother who is Jem Finch and her father who is Atticus Finch. Since Scout Finch is a tomboy she can do what Jem and Dill do. Scout got her tomboy status from her father, Atticus Finch. Atticus taught her how to be a tomboy. Scout is smart but she usually doesn't figure things out with her head, she usually goes for a more "hands on approach" but Scout does remember when Jem broke his arm and how that changed the events overall. Although Scout Finch is an intelligent girl, she doesn't like to show it much.
Atticus Finch is Scout and Jem's father. He became a lawyer in the town of Maycomb with his brother, Jack Finch, who wanted to go to Boston and go to medical school there. Atticus' sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed at the house. In this book, Atticus looks like he has been respected by everyone including the poor people. Even in this book now they're being racist. Francis called Atticus a " N Lover"(pg. 86) because Atticus tries hard to stop a racial prejudice. Atticus is a non racial person who doesn't care of what nationality or what colored skin you are. He knows that everyone is created equally. Atticus teaches good things to Scout and Jem and never holds grudges against the townspeople. At the beginning of this book, Scout and Jem do not look up to Atticus.
Jem Finch is the son of Atticus Finch and the brother of Scout Finch. During the trial with Tom Robinson, who is black, and Atticus Finch, who helps defend Tom Robinson at the case, Jem starts to go through his puberty. This moment for Jem is a big change because it can get hard for him and complicated. Jem is a person that with hope in him. Atticus tells Scout to have Jem figure out on what he is learning. When Atticus is teaching Jem all this stuff, he believes that Jem will eventually know what is going on and follow the process of what he learned from this. In the beginning of Chapter 25, Jem tells Scout after he stops her from killing it,"Reckon you're at the stage now where you don't kill flies and mosquitoes..."(page 239). Jem told Scout this because the roly-poly bug never did Scout any harm and Jem was probably thinking "what was the point in killing it anyway". Jem has become protective in this part of the book. He probably thinks that you shouldn't hurt anything if it didn't do anything to you. Jem has matured too because it's how he speaks to Scout on page 239 about the roly-poly bug.
My Reflection:
In this story, To Kill a Mocking Bird has to do with the presence of good and evil the social inequalities. I've noticed that Jem and Scout have only seen good but hardly any evil. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not ready for their future, soon enough they find evil and then they are both killed. Even Jem notices after the trial about racism and how evil it is to people that don't quite fit in. Scout, on the other hand, seems to notice everything that is going on here but she doesn't really make a big deal about it and manages to keep herself steady from evil. Jem's faith is dieing down because of Tom's conviction and Jem is reacting to this by entering a disillusion state. Atticus eventually keeps cool about the evil that is going on and he also keeps his faith so his mind won't do berserk. Scout is also the same way like Atticus. The reason why Jem reacts to it, it is because he is young and he doesn't know what is going on so I think he is kind of confused in my opinion. Most of these people in this story have been both good and evil towards one another. The way people treat each other is the result of the good and bad situation that is happening in this story. They need to treat each other with more sympathy so they won't have to do through anything evil again. Scout's character growth has to do with the teachings that Atticus taught her. Scout gradually develops and understands what Atticus wants her to do. Near the end of the book, Scout finally looked through Boo Radley and saw him as an ordinary person. Since Scout is learning most of this from her father, she is also losing her innocence to the people.
The Social Inequalities in this book are from people just being mean to each other to people being racist to other people. This also has to do with the social classes in Maycomb, Alabama. All of this racist talking and yelling at each other isn't setting a good example to the children, especially Jem since he is going through puberty. The Cunninghams are near the bottom of the social classes because they are farmers who are ignorant to other people. The people that are a lower class in the social classes are the Ewells but even now there are some people even lower than that. Tom Robinson is below Ewells and just because Ewells is not that much higher of a social class than Tom Robinson, Ewells thought he could prosecute him but apparently Ewells did prosecute him. This confuses Scout because she doesn't understand why her Aunt Alexandra wouldn't talk to Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children's own confusion to at the layering Maycomb to the roles of the society and human interaction. The way I think these people can work out these social classes is not to fight a lot on what social class you are in. This book's descriptive text had a major impact on people in here because lots of people changed the way they acted, some are growing up, and some are still the same. Between the three main characters, Jem and Scout were the ones who grew up and kind of knew what to do because they learned it from Atticus. Atticus, pretty much, focused on his children because he wants them to be taught well in the future. I also think why Atticus Finch teaches his children like this is because when they get older they are probably going to experience this same criteria in several years or maybe even a couple of decades. When his children get to about his age they might even experience the same thing too. This is only my opinion about the book's good and evil situation and the social classes situation.
---Daniel Miller
1140 words
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Scourge of Social Inequity in To Kill A Mockingbird -By Kelly Culliney
Scout and Jem Finch live with their widowed father Atticus in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus is a well-known lawyer in Maycomb and he and his children are well off compared to the rest of the town.
One summer, Jem and Scout meet a small boy named Dill who they befriend and act out stories with. Over the summer, the trio finds fascination in the old Radley house, and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there.
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place. A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb.
One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story".
On Dill's last night in Maycomb,the trio go onto the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade. More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks.
That winter was cold and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about it by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house. Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is killed by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
(page 281)
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
"why were you scared of Bob Ewell?"
" I was scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do"
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195 and 198)
The all white jury said that Robinson was guilty. Dill and Jem were in tears,
"well Dill, after all he's just a Negro"
"I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that - it makes me sick"
(page 199)
Jem sobbed
"how could they do it, how could they"
Atticus answered
"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again"
(page 213)
It seems as if Tom Robinson was not the only black man to be unfairly tried, many before him had been, and many more would follow his sad footsteps.
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell.
They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird taught us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
Scout says once to Jem,
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
She means that even though the people of Maycomb might be very diverse and different, both racially and financially, that everyone has someone common ground and the only way to understand someone is to see where he's coming from, to walk in his shoes.
Even Atticus, the lawyer seemed to understand,
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Atticus seemed to understand that you can't judge a person until you see what his life is like, until you walk in his shoes. Once you understand where one is coming from, it is easier to see the situation from his point of view.
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
One summer, Jem and Scout meet a small boy named Dill who they befriend and act out stories with. Over the summer, the trio finds fascination in the old Radley house, and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there.
The summer ends all too soon for all three of them and Dill goes back to his home, Meridian. Scout begins first grade, only to realize that she hates everything about it.
One day , as Scout was walking home from school she came across a piece of gum in a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. Later they find two "Indian head" pennies in the same place. A few days later, Dill comes back to Maycomb.
One day, as they were playing in a tire, Jem pushed Scout, in the tire, all the way to the Radley's yard. Later they acted out their own rendition of the infamous "Radley story".
On Dill's last night in Maycomb,the trio go onto the Radley property at night and almost get shot when Mr. Radley sees them. They all ran home and in all the confusion and terror, Jem lost his pants on a fence. When he returned to get them , someone had already mended them.
Scout starts the second grade and it's even worse than first grade. More treats are left for Jem and Scout in the next few weeks.
That winter was cold and Miss Maudie's house burns down because of her heater. That night, Scout was given a blanket by a stranger, she hoped it was Boo Radley. Jem spills the tales of their Radley escapades to Atticus.
Atticus is called to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, on charges of rape. Atticus decides to defend him, knowing that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. Jem and Scout are teased a lot about it by their peers, neighbors, and even their family because he was defending a black man.
Dill runs away from his home in Meridian and stays at the Finch's house. Tom Robinson's trial begins and Atticus does his best to defend Tom, but the jury says that Tom is guilty, Atticus and his children knew he was not. Later Tom tries to escape from prison but is shot dead.
Bob Ewell, Mayellas father, still thinks that the trial put shame to his name and he went after Toms widow, the judge, and tries to kill Jem and Scout. As Bob was attacking Jem and Scout, he is killed by Boo Radley who Scout and Jem finally get to see for the first time ever, but he later disappears once more into his old house. In the end, Scout feels sympathetic towards Boo Radley.
"When they finally saw him... he was real nice..."
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them"
(page 281)
My Reflection:
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the scourge of social inequality is stressed in many cases, the most predominant being Tom Robinson's trial. Even though he was clearly innocent he was charged guilty. If Mayella had been hurt on the right side of her body,like she claimed she was, somebody left-handed would have to have beaten her, Tom had a crippled left arm. Mayella was the one who tried to take advantage of Tom, but Tom resisted.
"Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you harm her in any way?"
"I did not, 'suh"
"did you resist her advances?"
"...I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her..."
"why were you scared of Bob Ewell?"
" I was scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do"
(dialogue between Atticus and Tom, page 195 and 198)
The all white jury said that Robinson was guilty. Dill and Jem were in tears,
"well Dill, after all he's just a Negro"
"I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that - it makes me sick"
(page 199)
Jem sobbed
"how could they do it, how could they"
Atticus answered
"I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again"
(page 213)
It seems as if Tom Robinson was not the only black man to be unfairly tried, many before him had been, and many more would follow his sad footsteps.
Tom did not rape Mayella and yet, in the end he was shot dead, in prison, for a crime that he was not responsible for.
Another case of the scourge of social inequality was when all the family's of Maycomb were born into certain expectations and were labeled by their family's behavior. All Cunninghams were poor and all Ewells were filthy poor and dirty people. You were classified by your family's name and background. Sometimes you were held up to your family's name and honor, and sometimes you were excused because it was assumed all of your type were mean, nasty people by birth.when Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter it was explained
" Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham... they don't have much ..." (page20)
When Burris Ewell yelled and cussed at Miss Caroline, it was because he was a Ewell.
They used the family names as a permanent label.
To Kill a Mockingbird taught us all a lesson about social inequalities, from innocent Tom Robinson, to Burris Ewell.
Scout says once to Jem,
" I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks" (page 227)
She means that even though the people of Maycomb might be very diverse and different, both racially and financially, that everyone has someone common ground and the only way to understand someone is to see where he's coming from, to walk in his shoes.
Even Atticus, the lawyer seemed to understand,
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Atticus seemed to understand that you can't judge a person until you see what his life is like, until you walk in his shoes. Once you understand where one is coming from, it is easier to see the situation from his point of view.
As Scout says about Boo Radley's absence from the outside world for so long,
"I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time...it's because he wants to stay inside". (page 227)
The Pearl- By Ben Steuri
Summery:
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about an Indian family living in the poor town of La Paz. The main characters were a couple named Kino, Juana and their son named Coyotito. They lived in a small tent outside the city walls and right on the beach of a gulf. One morning, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion and is in need of medical assistance. The family left their house and confronted the doctor. The doctor was as rich, fat man who didn’t feel that it was important enough to tend to a poor man from a different tribe. Kino would not have had enough money to pay for the baby’s health; Kino actually didn’t have any money at all. He knew that if nothing would be done about his son’s sting, there would be a good chance that Coyotito would die. So he decided to take his boat out and go pearl diving to raise enough money for the treatment. While diving, Kino spots a good size oyster with its shells partly opened and inside he sees a descent size pearl. He takes it to the surface and sure enough the “Pearl of the World” is buried in the oysters flesh. The news of Kino found a giant pearl spread through the town and into the gates of the city very fast. As soon as the doctor was informed he rushed to Kino and preformed the treatment. Kino didn’t have the money up front so told the doctor that he would sell the pearl the following day and then pay him back.
That night, someone snuck into Kino’s tent and tried to steal the pearl, but their mission was unsuccessful. The following morning, Kino walked to the city along with Juan Tomas, his brother, Juana and many other supporters of the pearl. There were four pearl buyers and each one thought the pearl was worth less because of its incredible size and how dull its color was. Since no one would buy it in this city, he decided to go on the following morning to the capital city and see if it would be worth any thing there. And the baby’s treatment still hadn’t been paid for. That night while Kino was sleeping, Juana, who did not encourage the idea of going to the capital, tried to sneaks the pearl out and through it in the ocean but Kino is awaken and goes after her. He rips the pearl out of her hands and beats her in the face. He then walks back to his tent but is jumped by a thief and again is attacked for the pearl. Kino ends up accidentally killing the man who attacked him and is forced to flea the area. They are unable to use their boat because the robber had also smashed a whole in the floor of it. That morning, Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito are on their way traveling on foot to the capital city. A search party of three men (one armed with a rifle) is sent out to find them and sure enough they find the family’s tracks. Kino leads his family in to a cave in the mountains to hide from the trio as he attempts to kill them. During the evening, Kino charges the man with the gun and stabs him with his knife. He then takes the gun, kills the other two men and sees another reflection of eyes in the dark and by reaction fires the gun. Only then he realized that he had fired upon the cave and had in fact shot at Coyotito’s reflection. Finally the ultimate curse of the pearl had come to Kino. The couple then walked back to La Paz, was welcomed back and both decided that it would be better if they no longer owned the pearl. Kino threw the cursed pearl into the gulf where it sunk to the bottom and was never seen again.
Reaction:
In my reaction of the pearl, I will discus the issue of “Greed as a destructive force”. When Kino had found the “Pearl of the World”, he looked into the pearl and saw himself holding a Winchester Carbine and said, “A rifle, perhaps a rifle.” He had also seen Coyotito going to school and being well educated he the said, “My son will go to school… This is what the pearl will do”. He had gotten so caught up in his visions that he was obsessed with the pearl. But others also saw what this pearl could do for them selves. Kino had taken harsh beating from thieves attempting to steal the pearl. When Kino wanted to cash the pearl in to buy other thing and repay the doctor, the strong will lead him to a dangerous game of hide-and-seek and eventually lead to the death of his son, Coyotito. All this greed for the value of the pearl did indeed “destroy” them. The boat had been ruined, their house had been burnt down, the unsafe nights fearing the robbers, and most heart breaking to Kino was the loss of Coyotito. Greed truly did bring a destructive force upon Kino, Juana, and even to Juan Tomas and his wife, Apolonia. If Kino would not have been so greedy in terms of getting “fifty thousand pesos” for his pearl, he would have gratefully taken the one thousand peso offer from the first dealer. That would have saved him pretty much all of the evil curses that the pearl had brought onto him. I don’t blame Kino for his greed because I think a lot of people in America would want to get as much out of any thing they sell as they could. To tell you the truth, I think I would even try and find a higher bidder for my pearl. Everyone makes mistakes just the end results of all of them come out differently. Kino was truly doing it for a good cause; all he wanted was Coyotito to do well in life and be able to support his family and friends for life. I wouldn’t necessarily call it greed; I would call it being desperate for some money and while he is at it, get some good money. In conclusion, I think this was a good book, the author went into great detail explaining the environment and the setting in which thing were happening. I can recall about two pages towards the end were strictly used to explain the mountains and the cave that the family hid in. It was very helpful to set good imagery for the reader.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about an Indian family living in the poor town of La Paz. The main characters were a couple named Kino, Juana and their son named Coyotito. They lived in a small tent outside the city walls and right on the beach of a gulf. One morning, Coyotito was stung by a scorpion and is in need of medical assistance. The family left their house and confronted the doctor. The doctor was as rich, fat man who didn’t feel that it was important enough to tend to a poor man from a different tribe. Kino would not have had enough money to pay for the baby’s health; Kino actually didn’t have any money at all. He knew that if nothing would be done about his son’s sting, there would be a good chance that Coyotito would die. So he decided to take his boat out and go pearl diving to raise enough money for the treatment. While diving, Kino spots a good size oyster with its shells partly opened and inside he sees a descent size pearl. He takes it to the surface and sure enough the “Pearl of the World” is buried in the oysters flesh. The news of Kino found a giant pearl spread through the town and into the gates of the city very fast. As soon as the doctor was informed he rushed to Kino and preformed the treatment. Kino didn’t have the money up front so told the doctor that he would sell the pearl the following day and then pay him back.
That night, someone snuck into Kino’s tent and tried to steal the pearl, but their mission was unsuccessful. The following morning, Kino walked to the city along with Juan Tomas, his brother, Juana and many other supporters of the pearl. There were four pearl buyers and each one thought the pearl was worth less because of its incredible size and how dull its color was. Since no one would buy it in this city, he decided to go on the following morning to the capital city and see if it would be worth any thing there. And the baby’s treatment still hadn’t been paid for. That night while Kino was sleeping, Juana, who did not encourage the idea of going to the capital, tried to sneaks the pearl out and through it in the ocean but Kino is awaken and goes after her. He rips the pearl out of her hands and beats her in the face. He then walks back to his tent but is jumped by a thief and again is attacked for the pearl. Kino ends up accidentally killing the man who attacked him and is forced to flea the area. They are unable to use their boat because the robber had also smashed a whole in the floor of it. That morning, Kino, Juana, and baby Coyotito are on their way traveling on foot to the capital city. A search party of three men (one armed with a rifle) is sent out to find them and sure enough they find the family’s tracks. Kino leads his family in to a cave in the mountains to hide from the trio as he attempts to kill them. During the evening, Kino charges the man with the gun and stabs him with his knife. He then takes the gun, kills the other two men and sees another reflection of eyes in the dark and by reaction fires the gun. Only then he realized that he had fired upon the cave and had in fact shot at Coyotito’s reflection. Finally the ultimate curse of the pearl had come to Kino. The couple then walked back to La Paz, was welcomed back and both decided that it would be better if they no longer owned the pearl. Kino threw the cursed pearl into the gulf where it sunk to the bottom and was never seen again.
Reaction:
In my reaction of the pearl, I will discus the issue of “Greed as a destructive force”. When Kino had found the “Pearl of the World”, he looked into the pearl and saw himself holding a Winchester Carbine and said, “A rifle, perhaps a rifle.” He had also seen Coyotito going to school and being well educated he the said, “My son will go to school… This is what the pearl will do”. He had gotten so caught up in his visions that he was obsessed with the pearl. But others also saw what this pearl could do for them selves. Kino had taken harsh beating from thieves attempting to steal the pearl. When Kino wanted to cash the pearl in to buy other thing and repay the doctor, the strong will lead him to a dangerous game of hide-and-seek and eventually lead to the death of his son, Coyotito. All this greed for the value of the pearl did indeed “destroy” them. The boat had been ruined, their house had been burnt down, the unsafe nights fearing the robbers, and most heart breaking to Kino was the loss of Coyotito. Greed truly did bring a destructive force upon Kino, Juana, and even to Juan Tomas and his wife, Apolonia. If Kino would not have been so greedy in terms of getting “fifty thousand pesos” for his pearl, he would have gratefully taken the one thousand peso offer from the first dealer. That would have saved him pretty much all of the evil curses that the pearl had brought onto him. I don’t blame Kino for his greed because I think a lot of people in America would want to get as much out of any thing they sell as they could. To tell you the truth, I think I would even try and find a higher bidder for my pearl. Everyone makes mistakes just the end results of all of them come out differently. Kino was truly doing it for a good cause; all he wanted was Coyotito to do well in life and be able to support his family and friends for life. I wouldn’t necessarily call it greed; I would call it being desperate for some money and while he is at it, get some good money. In conclusion, I think this was a good book, the author went into great detail explaining the environment and the setting in which thing were happening. I can recall about two pages towards the end were strictly used to explain the mountains and the cave that the family hid in. It was very helpful to set good imagery for the reader.
the pearl
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a classic tale about an indian man named Kino and his fight for his family. Juana is the mom and Coyotito is the baby. Kino lives with his family in a house made of brush. Kinos baby Coyotito is stung by a scorpion. The doctor would not come and cure him because he knew that the family did not have much money. Kino and Juana decide to take the baby to the doctor. When they get to town the doctor doesn’t want to treat the child because he is a poor indian boy. Kino realizes that he has to make more money or find something of value to be able to pay for the treatment . Juana rubbed seaweed on the sting. She thought that that was a good a treatment as any. Kino finds a gigantic pearl. The docter hears about the find and decides to give treatment to the child. Juana thinks that the pearl is evil, and she does not want to have anything to do with it.Kino becomes more and more greedy and wants to see how much money he can get for the pearl. He decides to sell the pearl for 50,000 pesos. He goes to the capitol to see if he can get a more money for it. The pearl only brings him unhappiness. On his way to the capitol, evil men try to steal his pearl. When they do not succeed for revenge they destroy his canoe, and burn down his house. The pearl dealers were men that try to take advantage of what people do not know about pearls. They gave Kino a price that was under what Kino would have expected. Kino was mad so he didn’t sell the pearl, but decided to go into the capital of his country to sell it. The news spread and soon Kino was fighting off people to protect the pearl. The worst happened, and kino ended up killing a man and having to hide the body. Kino’s house was burned, and his canoe was punctured. He is forced to take his family into hiding so he had to take his family to the capital . They were followed by trackers. Kino and his family hide in a cave. He goes outside to attack the men that are still there, and one of the men ends up shooting Coyotito. Kino has to go back to town with his wife and without his son. When Kino and Juana are going to throw the pearl into the Gulf, they look into it. In it they see Coyotito, and the evil that killed him. Then they cast the pearl out into the water.
Reaction:
my rection to this book is that it is ment to show that being greedy is not good. the only reason why kino went to find the pearl was so that Coyotito could get the scorpion out of him. but after kino realizes how much more money he can makeoff the pearl instead of the money that he could of used he forgets that the only reason that he got the pearl was for his son. and in reasult to his greedyness Coyotito ends up getting shot in the head by someone trying to steal the pearl.
Reaction:
my rection to this book is that it is ment to show that being greedy is not good. the only reason why kino went to find the pearl was so that Coyotito could get the scorpion out of him. but after kino realizes how much more money he can makeoff the pearl instead of the money that he could of used he forgets that the only reason that he got the pearl was for his son. and in reasult to his greedyness Coyotito ends up getting shot in the head by someone trying to steal the pearl.
The Scourge of Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Nicole Malapit
Summary:
Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a timeless Classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all. A family, only consisting of an old father and two children (Scout, the main character, and Jem, Scout's brother), goes through tough times, which many were caused by racial prejudice. It all started when Dill, their next door neighbor in summertime, came to Maycomb. That summer, Scout, Jem, and Dill ventured around the neighborhood. They soon became very curious about Boo Radley, a resident in Maycomb. There has been a rumor that states Boo Radley only came out in the night, and if you go near his house, he could get you, and you would never see the daylight again. The children attempted to place a note to Boo on the window sill of his house, but was caught by Atticus, Scout and Jem's father. Wanting to be in contact of Boo somehow, Jem ran to Boo's house because of a dare, and touched the side. Nothing happened. They stopped trying to meet Boo at this time, since all of their tactics were failing. School had started up again, and Dill had left. Jem took Scout to her first day of school. Scout's teacher didn't allow Scout to read or write, as that would interfere with her method of teaching. Scout was furious, but that didn't stop her from reading at home on Atticus' lap. One day, as Scout raced by the Radley's property, she spotted something in a hole of an oak tree. In it, she found a wad of gum. Later, when Jem and Scout had passed the Radley property, they saw something else in the hole of the oak tree. It was a purple box wedding rings came in, and in it, was two Indian-head coins. They didn't know who put such treasures in the oak tree, so they kept them. Scout, Jem, and Dill now really wanted to know about Boo. Curiosity took the better of them, and they went over to his property one night. As they were coming back, Jem's pants got caught on Boo's fence. They left it there, but when they came back to get it, it was folded nicely and stiched up.
Scout and Jem later found out that Atticus was defending a black man, Tom Robinson. Tom was falsely accused of raping a young girl in her home. Because of this, the neighborhood, as well as extended family, accused Atticus, Scout, and Jem, of being "nigger lovers", as Mrs. Dubose stated. Jem was fed up with it all, and tore up Mrs. Duboses' flowers. Jem had to then read to her for a month. Students at Scout's school would aggravate her because Atticus defended a negro. This would start fights that Scout was involved in.
Calpurnia, Atticus' maid, took Scout and Jem to church one Sunday. It was quite a different experience from what they were ussually accustomed to at their own church. Scout and Jem, being whites, were yelled at for coming to a negro church. Many people there couldn't read or write, so they sang hymns without hymn books.
One day, Atticus' sister, Aunty Alexandra moved in with Atticus, so the children would grow up with a female guide in their life. Scout did not like this decision. Aunty prevented Scout from behaving like a tom boy, or going to places she really wanted to go to.
The time came when Atticus had to defend Tom in court. Atticus was very polite, and handled the whole situation with much maturity and wisom. Everyone knew what the outcome was going to be, as it was one negro against two whites. Atticus was determined to change the thinkings of everyone. The jury took a while to make the verdict, and this was a surprise to everyone. Atticus did a great job of defending Tom. The jury had to think of how they were going to respond. They did so, in a cruel way. They made the decision of putting Tom in jail. He was a negro, and was bound for jail. Tom was in jail, when he jumped the fence, but had been shot to death because of it.
Scout and Jem went to a Halloween pageant, and on the way home, they were being stalked by four men: Mr. Ewell and his friends. Mr. Ewell attempted to kill Scout and Jem, but Boo came to their rescue, and carried Jem away to their house. Jem had been knocked unconcious, with a broken arm, but Scout walked away unharmed. Mr. Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself. Boo had saved their lives.
Reflection:
Harper Lee did a great job at showing how much people can be so judgemental. Racism is evident throughout the story, and is shown in such real situations that just reveals how humans can be so cruel. It is what the book is based around. One of the times social inequality was present was the entire time Atticus was defending Tom Robinson. Neighbors, students, and authority would shout from their porches, horrid remarks Scout and Jem would never forget. The verdict Tom recieved was obvious and everyone knew it. Because of racism, Tom was not given fair, thorough, clear minded thinking. Tom was black, and no one who was black won in court. Atticus tried so hard, and did all he could do to save Tom from getting thrown in jail, but he couldn't change the racism of the jury. If Tom had been a white man, he would have won, not gone to jail, and not leave behind a loving family.
Another instance in To Kill a Mockingbird which showed racism, was when Cal took Scout and Jem to church. It was unheard of for a white to go to a negro church, but Cal took them anyway. "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here- they got their church, we got our'n.", was what Lula, a negro who went to this church told Cal.
Social inequaliy is even seen in this day and age. Everyone is affected by it. Everyday, you are being compared to others. People look down at who you are because of what race you are, or in Atticus' situation, who you defend. As Atticus sayed during the court, "...because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority." Harper Lee combines racial discrimination, your family's background, and how you conduct yourself, to convey the idea of human behavior. We need to have someone lower than ourselves, so we can feel elevated. By doing so, we have created social inequality, racism. It is a cruel fate, but this is how we behave. Even when we think we're not racists, in the back of our minds, we analyze each person, but judging their race, how they conduct themselves, how they dress, and how they speak. We shouldn't be so racial based, but we are. To Kill a Mockingbird breaks down how exactly we behave.
Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a timeless Classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all. A family, only consisting of an old father and two children (Scout, the main character, and Jem, Scout's brother), goes through tough times, which many were caused by racial prejudice. It all started when Dill, their next door neighbor in summertime, came to Maycomb. That summer, Scout, Jem, and Dill ventured around the neighborhood. They soon became very curious about Boo Radley, a resident in Maycomb. There has been a rumor that states Boo Radley only came out in the night, and if you go near his house, he could get you, and you would never see the daylight again. The children attempted to place a note to Boo on the window sill of his house, but was caught by Atticus, Scout and Jem's father. Wanting to be in contact of Boo somehow, Jem ran to Boo's house because of a dare, and touched the side. Nothing happened. They stopped trying to meet Boo at this time, since all of their tactics were failing. School had started up again, and Dill had left. Jem took Scout to her first day of school. Scout's teacher didn't allow Scout to read or write, as that would interfere with her method of teaching. Scout was furious, but that didn't stop her from reading at home on Atticus' lap. One day, as Scout raced by the Radley's property, she spotted something in a hole of an oak tree. In it, she found a wad of gum. Later, when Jem and Scout had passed the Radley property, they saw something else in the hole of the oak tree. It was a purple box wedding rings came in, and in it, was two Indian-head coins. They didn't know who put such treasures in the oak tree, so they kept them. Scout, Jem, and Dill now really wanted to know about Boo. Curiosity took the better of them, and they went over to his property one night. As they were coming back, Jem's pants got caught on Boo's fence. They left it there, but when they came back to get it, it was folded nicely and stiched up.
Scout and Jem later found out that Atticus was defending a black man, Tom Robinson. Tom was falsely accused of raping a young girl in her home. Because of this, the neighborhood, as well as extended family, accused Atticus, Scout, and Jem, of being "nigger lovers", as Mrs. Dubose stated. Jem was fed up with it all, and tore up Mrs. Duboses' flowers. Jem had to then read to her for a month. Students at Scout's school would aggravate her because Atticus defended a negro. This would start fights that Scout was involved in.
Calpurnia, Atticus' maid, took Scout and Jem to church one Sunday. It was quite a different experience from what they were ussually accustomed to at their own church. Scout and Jem, being whites, were yelled at for coming to a negro church. Many people there couldn't read or write, so they sang hymns without hymn books.
One day, Atticus' sister, Aunty Alexandra moved in with Atticus, so the children would grow up with a female guide in their life. Scout did not like this decision. Aunty prevented Scout from behaving like a tom boy, or going to places she really wanted to go to.
The time came when Atticus had to defend Tom in court. Atticus was very polite, and handled the whole situation with much maturity and wisom. Everyone knew what the outcome was going to be, as it was one negro against two whites. Atticus was determined to change the thinkings of everyone. The jury took a while to make the verdict, and this was a surprise to everyone. Atticus did a great job of defending Tom. The jury had to think of how they were going to respond. They did so, in a cruel way. They made the decision of putting Tom in jail. He was a negro, and was bound for jail. Tom was in jail, when he jumped the fence, but had been shot to death because of it.
Scout and Jem went to a Halloween pageant, and on the way home, they were being stalked by four men: Mr. Ewell and his friends. Mr. Ewell attempted to kill Scout and Jem, but Boo came to their rescue, and carried Jem away to their house. Jem had been knocked unconcious, with a broken arm, but Scout walked away unharmed. Mr. Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself. Boo had saved their lives.
Reflection:
Harper Lee did a great job at showing how much people can be so judgemental. Racism is evident throughout the story, and is shown in such real situations that just reveals how humans can be so cruel. It is what the book is based around. One of the times social inequality was present was the entire time Atticus was defending Tom Robinson. Neighbors, students, and authority would shout from their porches, horrid remarks Scout and Jem would never forget. The verdict Tom recieved was obvious and everyone knew it. Because of racism, Tom was not given fair, thorough, clear minded thinking. Tom was black, and no one who was black won in court. Atticus tried so hard, and did all he could do to save Tom from getting thrown in jail, but he couldn't change the racism of the jury. If Tom had been a white man, he would have won, not gone to jail, and not leave behind a loving family.
Another instance in To Kill a Mockingbird which showed racism, was when Cal took Scout and Jem to church. It was unheard of for a white to go to a negro church, but Cal took them anyway. "You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here- they got their church, we got our'n.", was what Lula, a negro who went to this church told Cal.
Social inequaliy is even seen in this day and age. Everyone is affected by it. Everyday, you are being compared to others. People look down at who you are because of what race you are, or in Atticus' situation, who you defend. As Atticus sayed during the court, "...because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind suffer terrible feelings of inferiority." Harper Lee combines racial discrimination, your family's background, and how you conduct yourself, to convey the idea of human behavior. We need to have someone lower than ourselves, so we can feel elevated. By doing so, we have created social inequality, racism. It is a cruel fate, but this is how we behave. Even when we think we're not racists, in the back of our minds, we analyze each person, but judging their race, how they conduct themselves, how they dress, and how they speak. We shouldn't be so racial based, but we are. To Kill a Mockingbird breaks down how exactly we behave.
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