Monday, March 19, 2012

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.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

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.

Friday, March 2, 2012

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?

Thursday, February 23, 2012

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.

Dynamic Character: Jenna






Why characters are Influential

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors note: This is an essay about how Jenna Boller in the book “Rules of the Road”, by Joan Bauer is very influential and how some of the things she says prove it. The purpose is to identify how Jenna is influential and why.


Out of all of the characters in the book, "Rule Of The Road by Joan Bauer, Jenna is by far the most influential. The story is about a young girl named Jenna who has many family problems and insecurities. She only longs for a way to escape from her life. So when Mrs. Gladstone, her boss at the shoe company she works at called Gladstone shoes, offers her a chauffeur job. She jumps on it.

So she drives Mrs. Gladstone across the country, searching the different branches of Gladstone shoes. One of the most memorable quotes happens rather early into the book. The quote is “I can sell anybody anything.” I think this quote is important because it expresses how she thinks, and also that statement comes into play later in the book when she displays it at one of the different Gladstone Shoes stores.

            When she gets to the store, she is disappointed in the scene she sees. The customer service at that branch of Gladstone shoes was terrible. The store clerk had no consideration for his customers. Jenna had to take care of it in some manner. She saw the perfect opportunity when a police officer walked past the front door to the building. She flagged him down and made the store clerk give the lady a discount for her five children. It shows that Jenna has sympathy for people and she wants everything to be as fair as possible.
Another quote in the book that displays what kind of character she is, is when she says “He’s a survivor, like me.” When she says this, it shows how much she has grown through the book after stressing over her alcoholic father and her mother that was never there. It demonstrates that she can stand up for herself and live on her own. Like how a mother bird nudges her baby bird.
In conclusion Jenna has been the most influential character, and has grown a lot throughout the story.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Memorable Quotes






Memorable Quotes

By: Elias Dorsey

Authors Note: I wrote this piece on the quote "I can sell anybody anything." Enjoy.

            The book “Rules of the Road” by Joan Bauer, is about a young girl named Jenna who has many family problems and insecurities. She only longs for a way to escape from her life. So when Mrs. Gladstone, her boss at the shoe company she works at called Gladstone shoes, offers her a chauffeur job. She jumps on it. So she drives Mrs. Gladstone across the country, searching the different branches of Gladstone shoes. One of the most memorable quotes happens rather early into the book. The quote is “I can sell anybody anything.” I think this quote is important because that ability comes into play later in the book when she displays it at one of the different Gladstone Shoes stores

She displays it when she is sent in to spy on the different Gladstone shoe stores, when the lazy store clerk gives terrible customer service to the paying mother of five. First he doesn’t measure the child’s shoes size. Jenna took care of it. Then he doesn’t accept her coupons for the shoes explaining that she couldn’t afford it without them. Jenna takes action by getting the authorities involved. The quote is rather straight forward and true as displayed above. Also, by saying this it shows that she loves and appreciates her job more than most people. She does it better too.

            When you sum it up the quote is important because it exposes the kind of person she is. Hardworking, loyal, and highly efficient. Also, I think that she likes to help people. Even if she was hesitant to accepting the chauffer offer at first she followed through with it. She did it rather well too.