Gambling With Your Life

           

The Lottery

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: This piece will be analyzing the irony and symbolism in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Enjoy.

            What would you do if you were won the lottery? Would you be excited? Would you be afraid that someone would try to extort the reward money out of you? In the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the lottery is a little different. The rules changed in such a way, that if you win you die. You proceed then by stepping into a circle of people and getting stones and rocks thrown at you until you die. This story has a lot of symbolism and irony throughout it, and I have analyzed it.

            For instance, some symbolism I have noticed is, for one, the black box that the lottery drawing man brings out at one point in the story. It symbolizes the imminent death.  Also it symbolizes the sadness that follows after your family gets picked from the black box. Tessie being late symbolizes and foreshadows that she might be the first one to die. Nevertheless, later in the story she dies first. How Ironic.

Brittany's Hoop Earring

Here I am, still and suspended

I remained this way till the day has ended

Then I am handled

And put in a drawer

I have been through this cycle many times before

When I'm not in a drawer I'm impaled to Brittany's ear

And you wont believe the wonderful things that I hear.

Like laughs from a comedy film, or from horror a scream

And the occasional "Oh my god, Ashley look at her jeans."

Maybe a "Cool story bro, tell it again"

And a who what where why and when

Then the cycle ends and I go back to the drawer

Waiting for the next day, waiting to hear what's In store.

The Long Run

Text Analysis

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: In this piece, I will be analyzing the figurative language in the piece Road Less Traveled By, by Robert Frost. I will also be relating the meaning to my life. Enjoy.

            In life, it’s common to encounter situations where you have to make decisions that will affect you for the rest of your life. Sometimes they’ll affect your future college, sometimes they will affect if you get an education at all. More often than never one decision will be the one that will pay off immediately, and one will most likely pay off in an even bigger fashion, but in the long run. A great example of a poem that displays this level of deep meaining  is the poem The Road Less Traveled By, by Robert Frost.  So, which road would you take? The one that pays off immediately, or the one that does in the long run?

            Although there is meaning already, the meaning goes even deeper once you consider the meaning of the story behind the author language. For example “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference”.  This is in relation to his poetry career which started in America. Poetry wasn’t appreciated as much in America as it was in Europe. So after not much success in America he moved to Europe where he became recognized for his amazing poetry. He succeeded because he didn’t give up. He took the road less traveled by.

            However, it isn’t just his back-story that adds meaning. It’s also the figurative language he uses throughout the poem. The reason he uses his figurative language is to try and “paint” a picture in the minds of the people who were reading his poem. Using figurative language such as “In leaves no step has trodden black” meaning the people don’t use the road less traveled by as much as people use the road that is easier to walk upon. Another example is “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference” if there are two roads that lead to the same place how has one of them made all the difference?

            Additionally, Robert also uses mood and tone to set the stage for his writing. The mood for this poem seems as though he is trying to inspire the audience to always persevere, to never give up. Also it seems like from the author’s point of view he’s just explaining his life story and doing it in such a way, that he inspires others. He is inspirational because after he didn't make it as big as he wanted to in the United States, he didn't give up. He moved to Europe and kept writing poems and eventually got recognized as the great author he was. He persevered and that is very admirable. 

            In conclusion, decisions can change somebody’s life. It can change their life for better, or it can change them for worse. Nevertheless, change is bound to happen sooner or later. When it comes down to a decision though, you should never take the easy way out. Don’t always look for the shortcut, because if you do, it won’t always pay off. However, if you choose to do the right thing, the satisfaction will be relieving, and it will in pay off ever-so-greater, in the long run.

Wonderful Stem Cells

Science Essay

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: This essay is about how stem cells are beneficial, the risks of stem cell treatment, and why there is controversy surrounding this subject.

            What would you do if you were in critical condition in the hospital, and the only thing that could save you was a cell that was harvested for a human embryo? Well that’s what the wonderful cell named the “Stem” cell is. Stem cells are cells that can duplicate without limit to replenish other cells as long as that animal/person is alive. Examples are that it has been showing progression in a number of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injuries, Diabetes, Schizophrenia, cancer, and many other diseases so why don’t we use them?  Stem cells offer a lot of medical benefits in sectors of regenerative therapy and cloning.

            Unfortunately though, President George W. Bush cut off the funding for researching stem cells while he was in office. However, that hasn’t stopped the stem cells from working their magic. A living example of stem cell therapy is 2-year-old Nate Liao. He used to have a fatal disease that prevented him from eating solid food, playing with his siblings, and wearing normal clothes, and now, he’s doing just that. This proves that stem cell treatments are reliable, but it’s kind of an experiment in progress. They haven’t officially started regularly using stem cells for treatment of diseases and ailments.

            Although stem cells have worked miracles and saved lives in many cases there is also risk to using stem cells in such a way. “Much work remains to be done in the laboratory and the clinic to understand how to use these cells for cell-based therapies to treat disease, which is also referred to as regenerative or reparative medicine” (Stem Cell Basics, 2009). If the process of the cell division and differentiation goes wrong, there are serious medical problems. Some of the worst diseases like cancer and some birth defects are due to complications with the cell differentiation which is basically what stem cells do besides the repairing of the tissues.

            Although there are risks and benefits, those aren’t the reasons we’re not using stem cells regularly. The reason stem cell therapy isn’t a regular type of treatment is because to get the cell you have to extract it from a human embryo. That in itself is kind of weird but, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages by a lot. These cells have the ability to duplicate, and then the duplicated versions of the cell can turn into undifferentiated (specialized) cells, and regenerate damaged tissue. They can even duplicate into cells like brain cells. The sole disadvantage that everyone gets touchy about has to get the cell from an embryo. If we used stem cells officially, more lives would be saved than embryos harmed.

            If a family member of anyone was in critical condition in the hospital, I’m sure they would take the stem cell treatments over potentially losing him/her. In conclusion it’s understandable why people don’t like taking the cell out of a human embryo, but if they were in the same position I’m sure they would take the treatment. Mostly because when you think about the big picture, it’s about how you can save lives. Only the people that haven’t had the option of whether to have their family use stem cells would disagree. These cells can open doors for all medicinal work because instead of testing medicines on animals or humans, they can test it on the stem cell. This subject needs to have at least a little bit of light shed on it. Surely if anyone knew what they could do, they would change their mind too.

Bibliography

II, T. H. (2008, June 7th). Stem cells apparently cure boy's fatal disease. Retrieved April 19th, 2012, from http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/07/science/sci-stem7

Kinsley, M. (2004, May 23rd). The False Controversy of Stem Cells. Retrieved April 23rd, 2012, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,641157,00.html

Ladock, J. (n.d.). Pro's and Con's of Stem Cell Therapy . Retrieved April 19th, 2012, from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/12366/1/Pros-and-Cons-of-Stem-Cell-Therapy.html

Stem Cell Basics. (2009, April 28). Retrieved April 25, 2012, from Stem Cell Information: http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/defaultpage.asp

Dynamo

Samuel

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: This piece is about how Samuel is a dynamic character and also this is describing his mentality and his journey.

  In the book “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulsen, A young boy named Samuel embarks on a quest to get his family back from the intruders that took them from his village. He must get his family back before it’s too late. Samuel is a very dynamic character. Samuel is fresh into his teens, being 13, when he goes on a hunting trip which ends in disaster when he comes back to his slaughtered village, burned down with everyone mutilated. Samuel has a musket and he’s barefoot with brown hair. He holds a musket throughout the story. To him, his musket is a tool of revenge.

He is emotionally stable and knows how to handle a situation. Even when he comes upon the ruins of his own house he conceals his emotions. He is proactive and knows what to do and when to do it. He also is a very intelligent human and he is very confident in his belief that he will find his parents and get them out of there. His rage is a blazing fire, waiting to spread, and unleash its destructive power to anything obstructing its forward path to his parents.

  Throughout the story so far, Samuel has yet to come across his parents he ever so dearly loves. After seeing what seems like forever, he finally stumbles upon what seems to be a group of prisoners that look like they have been to the end of the world and back... By being dragged by their faces. It seemed like they were okay though (Not Really).

At one point in the book he took a tomahawk to the face.  I am pretty dang sure that, he's been doing pretty great for TAKING A TOMAHAWK TO HIS FACE. Thwack! It knocked him out cold. He was unconscious for three days as if he were a bear in hibernation. A burly bear being treated by a bewildered man for a bad, but bandaged, wound.

In conclusion Samuel is a very dynamic character. He came from being a thirteen year old who was very dependent on his parents and now, he is independent and brave. Strong enough to embark on a journey to get his parents back. Bullheaded because he doesn’t care what’s in his way because he will demolish it. He has come a long way and he still has a long way to go.

How free were Africans in the North?

How free were Africans in the North?

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: This piece is about how Africans were free in the north but many of the luxuries and privileges that Caucasian people had.

            In 1865 the Civil War ended freeing most African Americans in the north and south. The treaty ending it officially was signed in Appomattox in April of the year. Slavery was abolished, but was racism? The answer was no. Racism was still very much alive, in the south and in the north. One question remains though. How free were Africans in the north really? The North fought to extinguish slavery, and won, but were Africans really “free” even after the war? The answer is yes, but it is also no at the same time. Sure they couldn’t be slaves anymore, but they were extremely restricted.

For example, they were free, but not enough to go to the same restaurants as Caucasian people. They were free, but not so much as to be able to marry a person outside of their own race. They were free, but not so far as to be able to vote. They had no say in what was going to become a law or who would be the next president.  No participation at all in government whatsoever. Why did they fight to end slavery only to restrict African people’s say in what’s best for the country?

Furthermore, they had little to no economic freedom. They barely offered jobs to African Americans, if not never. They couldn’t buy land or even own land in the northern states that fought for their freedom. One of the few ways they could own land was if they were slaves then they had worked for their master long enough. Then they were released and given a small amount of land. Other than that it was really hard for them to get a job and support any other family members that they might’ve had.

Lastly, they were separated from everybody and treated as outcasts. Just because their skin was a different color. There were different places that they could and couldn’t go and everything was totally separated. This was because we were different and they didn’t want to accept change in their society. Eventually though they did/had to. So I guess I’m thankful for that

In conclusion I think that they weren’t ever really free enough to even be classified that way. So the answer to the how free were Africans in the north question is, no. No they were not, because they didn’t have the rights that Caucasians had neither did they have the luxuries that they did.

Expressing Sadness

BYT & FB

By: Elias Dorsey

In the song ''Big Yellow Taxi'' by Joni Mitchell explaining how “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. Also how she didn’t really acknowledge how beautiful nature was and she didn’t know until they paved it over. I would probably say the tone is regretful because she didn’t care about paradise until it was gone. I also think the mood is sympathetic because she sounds sad and depressed. The song ''Field Below'' by Christina Perri, talks about no one lives in the city and everyone lives in the country and how the day is really slow because no one lives there. I would say the tone is mood is sad and melancholy because she sounds like she crying the whole song. I would say the mood is sympathetic. For ''Big Yellow Taxi'' the tone and mood of the song don’t match at all to the poem. For ''Field Below'' I would say the tone and mood match the song perfectly because of the way she takes advantage of using her voice to express her sadness.

Parody 2

I have eaten| I haven’t found you,

the plums| in the house,

that were in| or in the rubble of what was our house.

the icebox| where are you?

and which| you could be dead,

you were probably| or captured by the natives.

saving| hoping,

for breakfast| for me to come help.

Forgive me| you can trust me,

they were delicious| I will find you,

so sweet| and bring you,

and so cold| to a new home, maybe.

This parody is related to the novel because  it is Samuel writing to his parent after

they've been captured by the Native Americans/British Army. The speaker is Samuel 

himself,he's writing about how he wants to find his family and liberate them then bring 

them into a new, safe home. I would assume the audience is himself considering 

he is writing in a journal rather than writing a letter. I think the tone is 

hopeful and the mood is worried.

Parody

Well, son, I'll tell you:| Well mom, I have no idea
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.| But so far with you gone life hasn’t been well
It's had tacks in it,| its had its ups and downs
And splinters,| and broken bones
And boards torn up,| and hearts ripped out
And places with no carpet on the floor --| and places where I don’t know where I am
Bare.| alone
But all the time| but I always
I'se been a-climbin' on,| will find a way to you
And reachin' landin's,| keep runnin’
And turnin' corners,| and fallin’ down
And sometimes goin' in the dark| and somethings gonna get lost
Where there ain't been no light.| there aint been nothing to lose
So boy, don't you turn back.| so mom, I hope you’re tryin’ to find me too
Don't you set down on the steps| don’t you fall down this dirt road
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.| cause if I find you
Don't you fall now --| you’ll find me
For I'se still goin', honey,| so lets not stop
I'se still climbin',| keep runnin’
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.| life aint been no paved road.

This parody relates to the story because its from Samuel's point of view and he's writing to his family. The speaker is Samuel, and he is writing to his family. The audience is his Family because that is the people he is writing to. I would say that the tone of this poem is scared or worried because he cant find his parents. The mood I set for this poem is really kind of understating the danger he's in.

MTS

Mother to Son

By: Elias Dorsey

In the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes, a mother is telling her son not to give up and to persevere during these hard times. He uses metaphors and symbolism in this poem with examples such as life ain’t no crystal stair. She says this to her son because she wants to remind him that anything is possible and she doesn’t want him to give up. Because she’s been through a lot and she knows that if you take the road less traveled by, it pays off in the end. Even though it’s the harder path down the road. When you get to the end it’ll pay off in the long run. Also that it will be worth it going into the dark. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. I think the mood that the author was trying to set was a hopeful kind of mood. My dad always told me to not complain, because there is always someone out there in the world who has it way worse than I do. Things could be worse, and things will get better.

Percy Versus

Percy Versus

By: Elias Dorsey

            Authors Note: This writing piece is about how the book The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, displays how it falls into the category of conflict resolution.

             Well, Percy Jackson was just an average teenager. Until one day his life was turned upside down by a teacher who wanted him dead, a Greek god who blamed him of stealing his most prized possession. All in one day. This book has a ton of different conflict, from person vs. person to person vs. society. This makes me wonder. What would you do if you were accused of being a thief by a god?

            If some were ever in that situation what would you think they would do? Probably avoid it for as long as possible. Not Percy though, even though he knows he wouldn’t dare commit such a heinous crime such as stealing from Zeus. That’s one conflict and its person vs. person. Percy knows that he didn’t steal it but Zeus insists that he did. This happened because the big three gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades) had sworn not to have kids with mortals more than 1000 years before. So when they found out Poseidon had a kid with a mortal 14 years ago, they knew he had broken the rule. So who better to blame the child who shouldn’t have been born?

            This is also the main conflict. There are several events that led up to this such as, the Greek camp has an oracle, and the oracle gives you a poem about what will happen in the future. She gave a prophecy that a young son of Poseidon would come to their camp. The thought it would never happen. Then it did. This resulted in the camp leader explaining to Percy that he was being blamed for stealing the master bolt.

            Little did they know, Hermes cabin leader (Luke) was working with an opposing force of the gods, the titans, and stole the master bolt then framed Percy for it. In the end, the conflict was resolved by Percy finding and returning the master bolt to Zeus and explaining that it wasn’t him. Zeus then offers Percy a position on Mt. Olympus. As a god.

            So just as a recap, Percy was born and his dad is Poseidon. That’s the first step. Percy comes to a camp where he is given a prophecy that he needs to go steal back the master bolt (which is thought to be held by Hades) and bring it to Zeus. So he did, and all the previous conflicts were resolved thus stopping a war between the gods. One questions remains. What would you do?

Drunken Fury

Drunken FURY

By: Elias Dorsey

Narrator: It was a cold winter’s night at the Boller household. When Jenna was still young and her family wasn’t broken apart. She had gone with her father to the liquor store where he always seemed to glow and act positive. Jenna knew that was going to change when they got home. Her father is an alcoholic, and when he starts drinking, he doesn’t stop until he’s passed out.

Jenna: Why are we at this store daddy?

Jim:  We’re buying my drinks Jenna girl.

Jenna: What kind of drinks?

Jim: Please don’t ask any more questions Jenna.

Jenna: Ooookay.

*In the car on their way home*

*Jim pulls out a bottle of whiskey, opens the cap, and takes a couple swigs*

Jenna: What’s in that bottle daddy?

Jim: WHAT DID I TELL YOU AT THE STORE JENNA?

*Jenna cowers in the corner of the backseat*

*At home, Jenna’s in her room, while Jim is downstairs watching television*

*Jenna hears yelling and banging downstairs, she knew her mother was home*

*She sneaks to the stairs and watches in terror as her mother is abused after getting home from her work, by her drunken father*

Jenna: MOM!!!!!!!!!!

*Jim turns head slowly toward Jenna while her mother slinks to the floor crying*

Jim: Didn’t I tell you to stay upstairs?

*Jim starts running up the stairs and grabs Jenna and throws her onto her bed, then proceeds to whip her with a belt*

Jim: I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME DOWNSTAIRS

Jenna: I’M SORRY!!!!!!

Jim: Too late for that now!

*Jim finishes punishing her then storms out Gets in car and leaves*

*Jenna runs over to her mother*

Jenna: Are you okay mommy?

Mom: I’m fine Jenna… I’m fine.