A long way gone (4): Conflict

The conflict in this story is that rebels are attacking their villages in order to take over. But the villagers are not giving up, they are fighting back. Even though the rebels are turning a few villagers into their own or at least they think they are. The villagers are basically faking that they are in their side in order to trick the rebels . Things are so confusing that villagers are turning against anyone thay see aproaching their village. Even if the people were from their vilage they would not be trusted. So Sierra Leone is trying to end this war, but it seems very difficult since some villagers dont have the use of weapons or are so scared they raher run and hide.

A long way gone (3)

Today I will post about the theme. I believe that the author Ishmael Beah is trying to show how this kid has suffered through this terrible war. To show how he felt, how he did what he did, even what was going on in his mind. The author explains how the characters tremble when they are scared or terrified. For example, one of the rebels tried to scare an old man by pointing a gun at his head, his legs were TREMBLING of fear until he shoots but barely misses. The old man was screaming "oh my brains my brains". As you can see the author tries to show very dramatic details of what is going on. I believe this makes the story more interesting and enjoyable. This is what I have for now, until next time....

Desperation author Stephen King(character evoltion)

John Marrinville a well known writter in the story is a vietnam veteran after the war he pursued his writting interest writting at first the horrors he seen in "Nam".Afterawrds he started writting horrow and drama novels became well known winning many awards for his novels. He also became well known for his party habits and rash attitude.Another thing he became wellknown for having a sexual relationship with at the time americas sweetheart.He is a stubborn guy who wants it his way at all times no matter what.But during all this he is now becoming humble noticing nowinhis late fifties he just might die regreting alot of things he has done or hasnt.Through all this you can see him becoming more humble through this terrible experience actually maturing realizing his time on this earth just might reaching its end.So you can say that reality is giving him a cold SLAP on the face to finally wake up and realize whats happening around him.

GAme Over,By:Azie FAsion ch.1 ch.2 ch.3

Greetings Everyone A.O. here again.This Book "Game Over' is unlike anything I've ever read before.The fact that these events actually took place is what astounds me.The main character"the author"is a young black man from a place called Sugar hill,this is one of Harlem's most notorious neighborhood's.Azie is young, smart, and wants a better life than what exists for him now.With his large family struggling with financial endeavors,Azie seeks a way to become financially sound,by selling cocaine in his new york neighborhood.Azie experienced an active childhood but by watching neighborhood hustlers,he decided that he to needed to have a better life.Azie,is a real person,everything he was evolved in was reality.His life back in the 1980's was full of ups and downs.The life he choose lead him to many sitituations that could have been avoided. In further entries i will describe to the sititaions that made this man a street legend.

The Game Is ON!!

Ay,kids its A.O. n im officaial here doing my BArp thing now ,,Now lets get those 25 Point$!!! holla MalLey!

Stuck In Neutral (5) Ending

I am now finished with the book Stuck In Neutral by Terry Tureman. I enjoyed reading this book but one thing that would of made it better if there was a little more action in the book. I thought the book was very interesting , you never knew what was going to happen next through out the whole book you never knew if his dad was going to really kill him or not. By reading this book it affected in me a positive way now I understand what some kids have to go threwand that every one should be treated the same even if they are different. My reactions to the ending of this book is that I thought it was interesting and kind of nerve racking . I think there will also be a sequel to this book based on how the ending was.

---Billy.M---

Stuck In Neutral (4) Theme/Character

The theme that Terry Trueman emphasizes in Stuck In Neutral is on mental retarded people. I think that Terry Trueman is trying to get across that retarded people are people too and they shouldn't be treated much different. Of course they have a little more attention than others but that don't mean we should be mean and leave them out. So what I am basically saying is that I think Terry Trueman is trying to get the point across that you should treat retarded people the same as you would others like they are normal. Only 1 character tells the story and that character is Shawn. He is the only narrator in this novel so far. I feel that Shawn is a strong human because even though of his situation he is still fighting and trying to live on. I also feel that Shawn is in the story to not just narrating it and I can picture the story like its in real life.


---Billy.M---

Stuck In Neutral (3) Setting/Style

The setting in Stuck In Neutral by Terry Trueman is in the city. It takes place in the rainy city of Seattle. Shawn McDaniel is the main character in the book. He lives near almost everything he is only about a mile away from the Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle, Key Arena where the Sonics play, and the Pacific Science Center. He also only lives about a mile and a half from Bell Town, the unofficial former Grung Capital of the universe. The genre that Terry Trueman tries to write about is kind of in the middle of suspense and drama. It is kind of suspence because I still don't know if Shawns dad is really trying to kill him or if Shawn is just being crazy. I also think its drama beacause of Shawns horrible situation.

---Billy.M---

Desperation author Stephen King

Into 2/3 of the story it is getting interessting the characters have escaped the cells they were in he cop left with Davids(the 11 year old kid) mother and is driving her in the back of the cruiser to an unknown location.They managed to escape because David talked to God and God told him to use the soap.So he lathered himself with soap and managed to squeeze himself through the prison bars but he suffered a minor rip on his ear.He then goes down the stairs and finds a .45 revolver and cell keys from a dead cops body.He frees everyone and they they grab some guns they found in the station and a couple of flashlights.They now are worrying about some coyotes that the cop seems to know to control.The coyotes havent done anything to them yet they just stare.Meanwhile Johns assistant Steve is trying to find him John managed to call him for a moment through his cell phone and told him clues where he might be.Steve has picked up a hitch hiker by the name of Cynthia and are now trying to find the town of Desperation fearing the worst not knowing what to expect.The old man Billingsey is a native of the town and tells them of this one location inside of an abandoned movie theater where he and his pals hang out in.as they leave the police station they see a van speeding away John recognizes the vans as steves and attempts to make a call nothing but little Davey grabs the phone and it works he manages to call Steve and tell him to turnaround.They all meet up but theres a problem the towns only exit is blocked by thrown over trailers.To make matters worse a real bad sand storm is brewing up They need to find a place to hideout.

The Allure of the West

<i>Into the Wild</i>, Jon Krakauer, pgs 144-207 (end)

<i>Death of a Salesman</i>, Arthur Miller, pgs 1-97

So, I finished <i>Into the Wild</i> and started rereading a book that I'm studying with my AP Literature class.  As I read the first act of the play I was struck by the similarity between Chris McCandless and many of the characters from <i>Death of a Salesman</i>.  The main character of this story, Willy Loman frets over a missed opportunity to accompany his older brother to Alaska to make money. Instead he is 60 and stuck in a dead end sales job.  Interestingly enough, Willy's father abandoned <i>him</i> as a child to also seek fortune in Alaska.  In a weird twist, Willy is disappointed in his son Biff because he is constantly seeking work outside of the norm of the day.  He's worked on cattle farms and other jobs that Willy does not respect.  Biff explains that he likes these jobs because he's not stuck inside at a desk and can be out in the open air.

In American culture the west has always been symbolic of the open frontier, a vast unexplored wilderness where a man could make his living outside of the realm of laws and societal constraints.  It's interesting that these two books, written 50 years apart, have such similar themes.

Does anyone else know of any characters who seek a life outside of society?  Anyone have a friend or family member who constantly wants to go out on the open road?  What do you think drives a person to feel like this?

__________________________________________________

<b>Dear Blogger:</b>  This is not a spam post.  I am mailing to publish this on all of my student's blogs in order to provide a sample and to engage in discussions.  Please call off the spambots.

Warning: All Members Not Joined

Hey guys, Aaron needs to join before I can give you the 25 points for having all your blogmates on board. Get on that dude.

A Long Way Gone (2)

The kid had returned to Sierra Leone and ended up experiencing more of the war that was happening. People's houses where being burned down, villages destroyed, and many people killed. Not only adults but the whole family. As in babies, kids, some where used as shields. How terrible is this I was actually picturing this as if they were movie scenes. And if they were to be movie scenes they would have been really graphic. He had to protect himself so he had to carry rifles and aka 47's to shoot the rebels. His friends and himself sang victory ans sat on their enemies bodies and gave each other hi fives for their accomplishment against the rebels.


--Frank S.

After The War

so far the main charcter is some one i could relate to except the fact that she is a girl. she is scared because she has no one left her whole family was killed in the concentration camp. she returns to her uncle's house in poland where they were living before the war only to find that everybodys gone except for her uncles maid who now lives in the house. if i was in that postion i would have also been scared i would of probaly asked for help before i went all th way back to poland. she seems to be pretty strong willed although she is scared she still stays in her right mind and tries to find her family.

Stuck In Neutral (2)

So far of what I know about the main characte Shawn McDaniel is that he is 14years old and he lives in Seattle. Shawn has a special condition called C.P. cerebral palsy. This is caused from when he was born he got brain damaged, a tiny blood vessel burst and that wiped out his muscle control. He cant control nothing at all to his eyes, mouth and down to his feet. Shawn always got seizures too any were from a half dozen to a dozen a day, they were painfull also when his dad was around him he use to hold him while he spazzed out. One day when Shawn' dad stopped over and he was out on the deck with his mom and his mom went inside to answer a phone call. Shawn heard his dad say to him maybe your better off dead to take your pain away. So now Shawn thinks his dad is going to kill him. Shawn doesnt know if it because his dad loves him so much he cant see him in pain or what but now he thinks his dad will kill him. If I was Shawn's dad I dont think I could just kill my son the only way I can see is if my son was living off of a machine or something.---Billy.M

Game Over, Azie Fasion,Ch.1.Ch.2,Ch.3

Greetings Everyone A.O. here again.This Book "Game Over' is unlike anything I've ever read before.The fact that these events actually took place is what astounds me.The main character"the author"is a young black man from a place called Sugar hill,this is one of Harlem's most notorious neighborhood's.

Azie is young, smart, and wants a better life than what exists for him now.With his large family struggling with financial endeavors,Azie seeks a way to become financially sound,by selling cocaine in his new york neighborhood.Azie experienced an active childhood but by watching neighborhood hustlers,he decided that he to needed to have a better life.

Azie,is a real person,everything he was evolved in was reality.His life back in the 1980's was full of ups and downs.The life he choose lead him to many sitituations that could have been avoided. In further entries i will describe to the sititaions that made this man a street legend.

Desperation author Stephen King

This story so far is about different people who all have the same problem,they all have been put in jail by a phychotic/behemoth of a cop who seems completly out of his mind.This story is taking place in highway 50 described as the lonliest place on earth/a small town named desperation.This story so far has a good amount of characters but non have stuck out as the protagonist of the story yet.there is john marrinville an aged bigtime writter looking for his next big hit,afamily of four cant seem to recall all of there names except for david the 11 year old son and his younger sister who he calls pie and of course his parents,also thre is a married couple cant recall there names at this point.The phycho cop so far has wrongfully jailed these people also has killed pie by throwing her down a flight of steps breaking her neck ending her life that barely even began,also the cop which his name has yet to be said has killed the husband of the married couple.But yet there it feels like there is reason behind this lunatics actions he cant be killing and torturing these people for no reason.

-Roberto G.

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Pages: 1-144

So, the book I'm reading is about this early twenty something kid who
is pretty alienated. It's a nonfiction book, and since I haven't
summed it up yet in a previous response, it's about a kid who is
searching for meaning in life and seeks this meaning by exploring.
At the beginning of the book we find out that he ends up dying in the
middle of Alaska to exposure.

Even though I think I'm supposed to, I'm having a really hard time
identifying with the main character, Chris McCandless. I look at
the cover and there's this picture of Emile Hirsch portraying
McCandless. He's a good looking kid, and he's kind of sitting in this
"top of the world" type dominant pose. The author seems to really
identify with the character, and spends a couple of chapters relating
his own similar experiences. And McCandless is seemingly the rugged,
individualistic antihero that Americans celebrate.

But, I can't get into him, and I think it's because I'm a parent
now. I see the way this kid abandoned his parents, went off into the
middle of nowhere, took chances, didn't write home, and espoused his
theories on the way life works to whomever would listen, and I'm
like, "dude...call your mom, dad and sister. They're worried sick."
The kid is kind of portrayed as this spiritual, deep Thoreau quoting
prophetic figure, but he just strikes me as naive and self centered.
I don't know what I'd do if I was his parent. I would be devastated
if my son took off after graduating college and just disappeared.
It's really rather sad.

(By the way, if you're wondering, this response is to the 7th bullet
under character. The total length of this response is 279 words. I
summed up the book to start because I figured you'd need that
information, but then I really tried to stick to talking about
whether or not I identified with the main character and why.)

Stuck In Neutral

Stuck in Neutral is by Terry Trueman. It is about a boy Shawn Mcdaniel who is retarded and has no control over his body at all not even his eyes.----Billy.M

After The War

orale`, my book is about a jewish kid who after the war is the only one in her family that survived. with nowhere else to go she joins an underground organization aiding its members in there dangerous quest to smuggle immigrants to palestine.

pat taylor

"Game Over"

Greetings,My friends its A.O. here and i would like to tell you about my book "Game Over",by Azie Faison.This book tells of Major drug activity that took place in Harlem,New York in the 1980's.Three parnters become big time trafficers of cocaine and made millions. -Aaron A.O. Osborne

A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

This book is about a kid that left Sierra Leone because there is a war there. He use to see people running around and shooting each other all the time.

One thing I like about this book is that it has some adventure and drama in it. This kid likes to run around and use sling shots I think that's some kind of adventure for him.
BY Frank S.

Your 1st Post!

Today in class we will be posting to our blogs. To keep things simple, this
first post will be a kind of introductory thing. Here's what I'd like each
of you to write (make sure it is under your own display name):

1. In 2-3 sentences, give us a taste of the book. What is the title? Who
is the author? What is the "gist"? (It's about a girl who...)
2. In a separate paragraph of 2-3 sentences, finish this sentence: One
thing I like (or don't like) about the book so far is...

Welcome

Hello folks. I just wanted to give you a hearty welcome to the
blogosphere (the world of weblogs, according to my widget dictionary).

I'm going to send you more meaty information in the next few days
(right now I'm testing out the "mail to blogger" option I told some
of you about today).

But for now, I want to talk to you about grammar and conventions.
These are blogs for my English class, and I expect you to follow the
rules of standard English as best as you can. Some of our previous
rm305 blog discussions were replete with mistake after mistake. You
may IM your friends and write on Myspace one way, but on these blogs
we are going to assume a more academic diction.

Thanks for the help. If you have any questions, let me know.