Crank by Ellen H.

In Crank by Ellen Hopkins, Bree/Kristina doesn’t understand what she has done wrong. Besides smoking crank, getting hooked up to it, and sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend. Bree/Kristina has a complicated emotion. She feels she is ready to have her father back into her life. He wasn't there when she was young, but she knows her Father doesn’t deserve to see her, but she knows for a fact that there could be a change. No matter what he did or what he has become she still has hope that, maybe there could be something that could bond them together. Kristina found it; it was crank that brought her father and her together.

When she began to change into Bree, she had never noticed anything different. She was still Kristina. After a while did she realized she had begun to socializing with different people, lying more, and got punished more and more often. She is not sure whether to lock up Kristina or let Bree be an essence of her.

There were a significant number of poetic structures that stood out. Some structures having to do with her reality, others with her mind and thoughts. The techniques that were used a lot were changing the placement of words or changing the margins. Changing the way things start can add a different level of understanding to the text. In one chapter, the title began descending into a train of thought. There were words set to the right of the page; if the poem was to be read from top to bottom a shorter poem could be created.

A poem inside another poem; the emotions and switching back between Bree’s thoughts and Kristina’s innocence also add another emotion to the story. Reading the real family’s experience and the “cover-up” story (Crank) there is not much of a difference. Someone actually went through what Bree/Kristina went through which is why the poetic structure adds emphasis to the story.

This book is very appropriate for middle school students because it gives than an insight to the real world. Not everything is what they want it to be. There is a coming of age moment that they have to go through for it to shape their personalities and life styles; reality is that sometimes things are tough. Elle’s point in writing this story was to teach people the difficulties and struggles people have to witness. If parents want to keep their children blinded from reality, how will the children mature? If they think everything is perfect and happy, then they have yet to learn not everything is flowers and roses, but not everything is dangerous either. It should be allowed in middle schools, to open up the minds of those who have yet to learn.

You Always Remember.

Rachel always kept herself locked up. Her feelings all went into a blue bottle. After her Aunt's death she realized that there was no need for hiding who she was. She was black and danish and no one could tell her otherwise; she was a new person. Rachel's grandmother was not fond of her mother because she was a "ho". After being caught in bed by grandma with Anthony Miller, a very close friend, Rachel has a moment of realization. She wants to be something; mean something special to someone. 

She wants to belong to someone, but not this way. This moment she is having with Anthony Miller is a replay of her mother and her father. Something she never excepted to do or become. When she helps out at the community center, Brick, who was Jamie who was really James, talks to her. She has no idea who he is, but she has a comfort around him. They go out with their friends and as they bond more Rachel begins to let herself go, be more free willing. She becomes a different person. Her resolution is to go, faraway. Farther then her family went.

There was a new beginning for Rachel. The person that brought her that wellness was Brick. He gave her hope. Something she had lost many years ago. After keeping so much emotions locked up in an imaginary blue bottle; Rachel changes her way of thinking and being. There is more hope in Rachel then she has ever had. A good way the author showed this was through the swans. Towards the end she reconnects with the Danish part of herself and with her own self. The swans were a sign of hope and wishes for the future. The awns take steps, one two, three, four. It then lets its wing catch the air. Its hard to tell if it will fly now or continue running; its a the final step that she will never know.

There was a new face and day to Rachel's life. She had not known who Brick was. A tall, muscular, 25yr old man. Drew (Aunt Loretta's husband) had found him barely surviving. As Brick explained to Rachel what had became of him and how he had ended up there, she had sympathy for him. Little did she know he was actually 17 years old and had lived downstairs from where she had lived. He saw the flying bird fall; Rachel's brother, Robbie. Rachel wishes so much that she could just turn around and find them all eating at the table, Robbie reading his comics, Mor cooking, Pop getting ready for their day's celebration. Even though Rachel could not have all this, she learned to cope with it. Just like she had learned to let her feelings go, she also learned to get used to things that could not change. She had this growth in her that had happened, mentally and physically. 

Hidden Beneath Layers

As we grow up, we realize certain things we never realized as a child. In the book, the Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow, Rachel has to face a new life, one she cannot handle by herself. She has to move in with her grandma; a complete stranger to her. As the years go by and she grows older, she realizes she cannot be who she wants to be; she has faced the fact that she is black and she has blue eyes. She has many unwanted realizations that she makes as she grows older.  As Rachel began growing up with 2 female leaders, grandma and Aunt Loretta both are coming from the same blood but they have very different and compelling minds.

In the beginning, Rachel cannot comprehend why she is being differentiated from the other students. She cannot get used to living in Portland with her “grandmother”; a person who she knows nothing about other than her scent.  Portland is the place where Rachel has to stay for the rest of her life. Rachel has learned not to mention her family in the house. Her Grandma was not very fond of her mother, or her father. Rachel’s father was grandmas’ son, something she knows too well to not miss. She also begins to forget what her family used to look like; she cannot remember the Danish words her mom once spoke to her, her mother and father’s face, and Robbie, her brother.

Aunt Loretta begins to hang out with Drew, her new boyfriends/tennis player. Aunt Loretta has a positive effect on Rachel. She helps Rachel when grandma gets moody or tries to offend her parents. Aunt Loretta is more calmed and patient. Rachel as a teenager now looks up to Aunt Loretta.  A young and beautiful woman she is and the luck she has. Rachel wishes she was beautiful and was charming like her aunt, but in her mind she isn’t. Rachel still has not realized it doesn’t matter what she looks like, it matters who she is on the inside, her emotions and her personality tell it all; not her looks. Her beautiful eyes also tell story, one that is hidden inside a blue bottle.

The blue bottle. Whenever Rachel got mad or upset, instead of crying she would place it in an invisible blue bottle. One she kept well hidden inside of her. As a young girl she would always cry because of those who made fun of her, she would hide her emotions and anger as often as she could. As she got into high school, she learned what questions to answer and who to respond too. All her anger and frustration was put into that blue bottle. Now no one would ever realize she was broken, hurt. She was a lifeless soul who lived during the day. She thought she was nothing more than a waste of space. If only Aunt Loretta was still alive to encourage her, maybe she would continue. But this was something she had to figure out by herself, from innocence to experience. 

Paper Towns by John Green

In the book, Paper Towns by John Green, Quentin starts out as a well behaved senior student. One day, in the middle of the night, Margo, and old friend, appears at his window begging him to drive her around for some errands. Quentin debating whether it was a joke or not, he finally refuses. Margo pleads him one more time and he agrees. However, 2 teens driving around at midnight isn’t a good idea though. As they both travel throughout there town, Margo makes sure that every single “friend” of hers gets a personal treat. While the both break into SeaWorld there friendship strengthens. However, Q does not know Margo is planning a getaway by herself.

In the beginning Quentin didn’t really seem as a bad kid, but as Margo begins their friendship again after many years, Quentin’s true self begins to appear. Quentin has never told anyone he likes her. He didn’t want to tell her because they had been very close friends in their childhood and now they were no more than classmates. Margo took out this side of Quentin no one had ever seen. Margo even says herself: “But that night you turned out to be real.” She’s realizes who Quentin really is. Quentin drives her around, helping her make final stops to her “friends”.  This shows that everyone has a different personality. It is only revealed around those they are comfortable around.

The author wants to show the reader how someone can change. Yes it takes time for someone to change, but it happens. Throughout the story he shows how Quentin changes. At first Quentin was someone who did not believe in interacting with others. He didn’t want to attend prom, he didn’t want to talk to anyone other than his friends. Ben, his best friend was like a mentor to him. How? Ben always tried to make Quentin act more alive. When Quentin tells his friends he was not going to prom, Ben’s response is: “Bro, it’s our senior prom. It’s my last best chance to be some honeybunny’s fondest high school memory.” Ben was the leading cause for Quentin to be more interactive. He finally was tired of joking around, so he actually went and did something extreme.

Theres No Place Like Home

In New Orleans, the St. Bernard Project is Proving There's No Place Like Home



In New Orleans, the St. Bernard Project is Proving There's No Place Like Home, both Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney did not except so much disaster Hurricane Katrina had left behind. When they realized how many homes and communities were destroyed, they decided they would try to help everyone little by little until everyone had in some way been helped. They established St. Bernard Project (SBP), an organization that would help all the communities that had been torn down by Hurricane Katrina. Even though many other places had been affected, the pair decided to name the organization after one of the hardest hit areas: the St. Bernard Parish area. The St. Bernard Parish area had been labeled an uninhabitable location. The SBP later collaborated with Toyota.  The non-profit organization has grown in the past years. More and more volunteers have contributed to the growing cause. Even though it has been years since the hurricane, many people will have that happiness of being able to return to their old homes. I think that these 2 people are beyond amazing for doing so much for others, shows how much people are willing to help others. 


Both Zack and Liz wanted to help people. Even after they both realized how much work it was going to be, they decided it was best to do it anyways. Here are some statistics about the SBP:  “So far, the SBP has mobilized 36,000 dedicated volunteers and built more than 400 homes for residents of New Orleans.” The SBP organization has help over hundreds of residents of New Orleans to have their homes again. Homes that were once wrecked are now rebuilt for those who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. The organization has helped so many emotionally. Here is another person who has benefited emotionally by her house being rebuilt: “One of those people was Me'shelle Williams, who told Rosenburg, "Katrina took my childhood away. By rebuilding my home, [SBP has] given back my childhood.” She moved back into her home a full five years after Katrina.” Williams’s home was rebuilt; all her memories in that house came back. Her “childhood” was taken from her by Katrina. Williams was able to go to the house she had spent time in. The author wanted to demonstrate how much the organization had helped those affected by Katrina. She also used so many examples and the power of SBP to the residents of New Orleans. 


My personal response was that the SBP is truly amazing. It is helping so many people go home. So many people were devastated to know that their homes were destroyed. Memoires were lost, family members left, homes were destroyed. If organizations had not come together to help those who had suffered, then New Orleans could still have been in ruins. Yes, it took years, but it helped many people return to their towns and staying there. Many people would be able to return to their original homes. To everyone who was helped by these organizations, they have a personal reason to bet thankful. Me'shelle Williams herself was thankful for her house being rebuilt. She was able to return to where she had spent her childhood in; one more person being reunited with her home. 

Hug a Hoodie... (Informal/Nonfiction Writing Post #1)

Hug a Hoodie: What the U.K. Teaches Us About Making a Sweatshirt a Symbol

A hoodie is not supposed to determine who you are or what you are doing. But, apparently in the U.K. it does determine who you are, well at least socially. In the article, “Hug a Hoodie: What the U.K. Teaches Us About Making a Sweatshirt a Symbol” it talks about how people judge others by what they are wearing. In the U.K it is not normal for a teen to be wearing a hoodie, unless he/she is rebellious. These stereotypes were what caused some of the outbreaks against Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin lost his life because he looked “suspicious”. Zimmerman was obviously profiling Trayvon. The responses to his death were outstanding and important. They demonstrated what people could do, and how far they would go to show it. The Hoodie March in NYC a couple of days ago was also a big event in memory of Trayvon’s death, and mimicking what Trayvon was wearing the day he died.

The author of the article wants to share his idea that profiling is very dangerous and can be mortal. Zimmerman had watched Trayvon and had made a quick recall that he was up to no good because he had a hoodie on. How did Zimmerman know he had something unsafe inside his pockets? What if Trayvon was cold and needed to put his hand in his pocket? A radio speaker Geraldo Rivera said on the radio:

  “I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters, particularly, to not let their young children go out wearing hoodies,” Rivera said on his show Friday. “I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”

Rivera had a negative feedback. But, why wouldn’t he? In other words he is presuming that Trayvon had caused his on death, because he had been wearing a hoodie that night. It is also pretty racist if a certain race is not allowed to wear certain clothing because it could get them killed. River deserved to be reprimanded by his son and half the nation. Trayvon was not murdered or assault by his movements, it was purely out of some kind of racism, in my opinion.

Trayvon’s death made a big commotion. But the commotion had a purpose. Trayvon had died and his killer was still around. Florida was to doing anything, the only support Trayvon’s parents were was form the general public.  This is a good example of how the nation has supported others. The part that amazes me the most is the power of the country, there have been rallies, petitions, hoodie marches and social media has also been used to raise awareness of violence and bias against African Americans. When there is an injustice, and many realize that there must be is a national outcry, like Emmett Till’s case. Justice will come when the time is right. Everything takes its time and patience and Trayvon’s parents will get the justice they need.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Narrative Response #1- Option C & D)

In the book The Fault in our Stars by John Green, Hazel Grace, the main character, has been battling cancer for most of her life. As the story goes along, her thoughts change completely. Hazel’s point of view on life and living changes completely, all thanks to Augustus Waters. The author suggests that there can have hope and happiness, all someone would need is effort and a small try.

Being a cancer survivor for Hazel Grace has been difficult. Hazel was depressed and spent most of her time alone. Hazel would spend time alone, in her bed, she rarely left the house and she always thought about death. She had many complications on the inside and outside of her body. Hazel must consume steroid-like drugs to slow the cancer cells growth. She also carries an oxygen tank around with her. She needs the oxygen and her cannula tube; it is what keeps her breathing. She also must walk slowly to keep her from having any shortness of breath. Hazel is depressed about everything. She feels her life and her being alive has affected her parents to much. However, Hazel’s parents suggest her to a group, the support group, which is made for patients with medical problems. She resists at first, but then makes a deal with her mom and attends.

My response to Hazel’s actions is disappointing to me. Instead of giving another opportunity to her life, she is only doing what she can; she spends her time watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model. She needs to go out and be alive. No matter how far she goes, she must explore outside her home. It could save stress from thinking about when she will die and how she will die. She has to change her mind; she has to learn that even if she is not healthy physically, she can be happy emotionally. In the end it could help her get past each day. However, Hazel has her own reason to feel upset, the Cancer has taken over her life, and it’s affected everyone round her as well. Helping Hazel make it through everyday with someone like a friend would be ideal for Hazel. All Hazel has to do is go for it. No waiting around for someone to come, she has to go and find that special person who she can connect to.  

As Patrick, the leader of the Support Group asks its member to tell the others their Name, Age and Diagnosis. Hazel has been through this procedure a 100 times, so she knows what to say. However, Hazel sees a new member, Augustus Waters.  When Augustus is asked about his fears, he replies:

“I’m on a Rollercoaster that only goes up, my friend.”

Augustus, or Gus, has always fought against Cancer. He won the battle but lost the war. He was unable to fight against Cancer. The Cancer had taken over his body; he had a little time left. Hazel was there with him always. The same line he said during the Support Group Meeting was one of the last words he said to Isaac and Hazel. I think it doesn’t matter whether he survived or not, but the fact that he used his time well and did the best he could to stay happy will he lived was extraordinary and courageous. 

A Brave and Startling Truth

A Brave and Startling Truth (Poem Post #2) 

We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our souls.

Love costs all we are and will ever be.

Yet it is only love which sets us free.

A Brave and Startling Truth.

It is possible and imperative that we discover

A brave and startling truth.

When we come to it

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body

Created on this earth, of this earth

Have the power to fashion for this earth

A climate where every man and every woman

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety

And without crippling fear

When we come to it

We must confess that we are the possible

We are the miraculous, the true wonders of this world

That is when, and only when

We come to it. 

Maya Angelou

In A Brave and Startling Truth, Maya Angelou expalisn how everyone face hard challenges. Everyone has that day where they just don't want to do anything. But, there are also times when people are let down, or are unhappy because of someone being aggressive towards them. No one is strong enough, there will be one time when someone will be fed up. There is always a boiling point for people, for everyone, even the thoughtful people, there is always a melting point. 

Maya A.'s poem treats racism as a hard topic. The poem also gives good examples of people waiting for change. Her examples are precise to those being discriminated for being of a certain ethnicity. 

     

In the poem, Maya Angelou gives a really powerful message at the end of her play. She wants to help those who are not strong enough to stand on their two feet. She wants to give encouragement to those who need it to move on. A intriguing part of the poem was when:  

When we come to it

We, this people, on this wayward, floating body

Created on this earth, of this earth

Have the power to fashion for this earth

A climate where every man and every woman

Can live freely without sanctimonious piety

And without crippling fear

Maya wants to compare her feelings to nature, how we can control our feelings by interacting with someone/something else. She wants to say we are all humans, and we are all meant to be there, no matter the color of your skin or eye. The world is walked on by millions of people and some who everyday pretty much lie and hurt each other to get satisfaction.

 The poem also gives good examples of people waiting for change. Her examples are precise to those being discriminated for being of a certain ethnicity. Many people have suffered mistreatment by others who treat them as a  minority. The Black Community should not be pressured into changing because of their skin color. Maya Angelou awaits one day that every woman and man that have walked on earth, can live together and can live in harmony, with out judging each other. In the real world, some would rebel and live free, while others would hide and isolate themselves to avoid being mistreated. In my opinion the best thing to do was to live like everyone else. If they judged you, let them judge.

As I Grew Older

As I Grew Older (Poetry Post #1)

It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun--
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky--
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun! 

Langston Hughes 

Everyone has bad days right? Sometimes people or changes stay longer than expected. Langston Hughes is explaining how he feels while he is growing up. He explains how he cannot see the light; something is holding him back from seeing brighter days. His dream were broken and crushed, but if he fights then he can accomplish his dreams. If someone helps his dream, then the others will be able to set their dream and move forward with it. Langston had given up hope for his dreams, but after he saw that there was still a chance to shine, he took his chance to make his dream come true. Breaking free and shattering the wall that stood in his way was what Langston Hughes was beginning to recognize, and the reality that he was growing up to and the hard phases that were to come.

Some people are wrapped around in lies and fake smiles. Langston’s life changed while he started to grow up. He was mature, and was capable of taking senses of what was happening around him. He noticed he wasn’t able to do things that everyone else could, he realized he was being treated differently, but why? He was treated differently because of his race. He was a black child; but he was still a human being. But, to the opposing race, being of the black skin color was a crime. In the poem, when Langston says:

I am black. I lie down in the shadow.

His dreams and aspirations were drowned by other. He is black, which means he no longer can accomplish his aspiration, because if he does, he will get hate or a negative response from trying. The light that once shined so bright was now no more than a small, faded, dying light, waiting for its moment to be able to help once again.

            Breaking free and shattering the wall that stood in his way was what Langston Hughes was beginning to recognize the reality he was growing up too and the hard phases that were to come. Many people have hard and tough situations that they go through now. Some people learn to live and cope with it, while others learn to be mature and do something about it. For example, a child loses a parent while they are growing up; they learn to be without that parent, in some cases both parents, but they learn to live with it. They learn to be strong and to take care of themselves. Their mind has grown faster than their body and age. Langston Hughes’ mind grew faster than his own body.

Chasing Brooklyn

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder is a book that goes back to back to two different characters. There are two narrators to be specific. Brooklyn and Nico were affected by Lucca’s death. Lucca was Brooklyn’s boyfriend and Nico’s older brother. Their lives were changed drastically, but yet they didn’t know that they felt the same way. Not knowing to distinguish what they needed from what they wanted can be bad. Brooklyn only needed someone to talk to, but she also wanted Lucca to be alive, and Nico was the closest person around.
Lucca and Brooklyn loved each other. They were inseparable. But fate had other plans for them both.  A car crash split Brooklyn in two. Her boyfriend died, and her brother living, barley making it out alive. Sometimes when she was alone, or when no one listened to her, she sometimes wished Gabe to be dead not Lucca. Lucca had been a best friend to her, someone she could rely on, he gave her the strength and power she needed. Brooklyn didn’t believe she could get out of her bad a year ago, and looking at her now, she is walking, going to school and talking to Nico.


Brooklyn wants to believe she can go through all this. She believed Gabe was strong. He didn’t stay to long. He left her. She was truly alone. But she is not being strong. Gabe sent her so many signals. The book her diary anything that could help her figure out what she wanted. Yet, when some offers to help her, she turns them down. I think Brooklyn should figure out what she truly wants so she could no longer have nightmares, and only then can she live peacefully and have moved on with Lucca and his absence. 


The distance between Nico and Brooklyn was a factor that caused them to be helpless toward their losses. If Lucca’s “ghost” had not asked Nico to help Brooklyn, then maybe they would both been helpless. Brooklyn was on the edge of doing something out of her control. She was getting more and more scared of the world around. Gabe only wanted her to know that he loved her and wanted her to gain her strength; Gabe was not trying to haunt her, he was trying to revive the pact that they both of them had promised: to help each other through the pain. He made Brooklyn realize she should not let fear control her, like the fear had controlled Gabe, causing him to commit suicide. 


Lucca and Gabe wanted the best for everyone, especially both of them. They needs some help to regain the bravery they had had. This was the only way that would work. The result helped bring two families together. The fight over loss was over, Brooklyn and Nico had won. 

Romeo and Juliet: Love wins

In Romeo and Juliet, the scenery is different from the original script. This Romeo and Juliet movie is more modernized than the original play. The director made many purposeful points and moves in the movie. For example, lighting, focuses, and water.  He also demonstrated how young love could prevail anything: hate, grudges, violence, etc; and it shows how far love can take you when you are truly in love.

Romeo from the beginning had fallen for Rosaline, however he was a Montague, and Rosaline was part of the Capulet family. It was forbidden for Romeo to be near a Capulet, since he was a Montague. The Montagues and Capulets were eternal enemies. Heartbroken Romeo wandered through the beach until his cousin Benvolio finds him. As Romeo talks about his love life, he questions himself: Is his love for Rosaline impossible? It is impossible, it can’t happen because his parents would disagree and she does not desire to be with him. He convinces himself to forget about Rosaline. It’s pointless to love someone you cannot be with. He calls his love foolish, because he knows it will never happen. Benvolio convinces Romeo to crash the Capulet’s party so he can know for sure whether or not to go after Rosaline as well as Romeo to meet someone new.

At the party, Romeo is seeing other guests that the Capulets invited. He is behind a glass tank full of fish. He sees Juliet on the other side. They walked toward the end of the tank to see each other. (They are each on one side of the tank.) What seems like forever, is how long it took for both to meet at the end of the fish tank. I think that Baz Luhrman used that small scene as a big premonition to how they’re fate would end. It would not take to long for them to reach the ending of their fairy tale, even if they thought time was going slow.

I think Romeo figured out what he wanted because of Juliet. He realized that he was capable of his own decisions, and he could do them without the influence of anyone else. He would do things his way and at his likings, even if it meant for him to unite with his parents enemies. Then again, the Capulets were his parents’ enemies, not his, same for Juliet; they both were not to be blamed for their ancestral disagreements. They both demonstrated bravery for their unforbidden love.

 

Frozen in the Present

Some Spoilers!

In the book “Th1rteen R3asons Why” by Jay Asher, Hannah Baker was a girl with many problems. She was always something to talk about in school. But, one thing that no one knew was that she was planning her death. I think that Hannah’s reasons for committing suicide where really complicated. She sent tapes to all those people who took a part in her suicide. Each reason she described in the tapes were very personal to the person she spoke about.

            Hannah was always talked about. She felt the need to isolate herself sometimes. Isolate from all the rumors. I think that If Clay, or someone had been able to keep up with her, they could have saved her from committing suicide. But still, Hannah had many problems she faced. So, to demonstrate those “responsible” for her death, she sent tapes; those tapes that would change each individual life forever. Each moment she shared with that certain person became the times she grew closer to her own death. Anxiety, anger, betrays, disbelief, and hurt; that was what every person in the tape had brought to her life. One over another until she could no longer sustain with all this swelled up in her. And what better way to release this emotions?  

Suicide was the best way out of the black hole that sucked her deeper and deeper. She no longer wanted to be humiliated by the rumors, nor be betrayed a best friend who believed rumors, but she also didn’t want to push away or be pushed away by the only person she could connect to. Yes, that is where Clay Jensen comes in to play. The tapes were to be heard at different locations. So, clay followed each location, one by one he discovered what each location contained. I think that what Hannah wanted to accomplish was very mysterious. She led each individual to the location where something had happened. Each location brought them deeper into the black hole she once was.

I think it was a really brilliant idea for the book cover to contain a replica map of the map that was described in the story. I wonder what would have changed if Clay had helped Hannah, and had gotten closer to her. Would she have changed her mind? I think if Clay had been more of a helpful person, and less nervous he could have helped her think of a way out of this stress that did not include committing suicide. But, another part of me says maybe she truly had no hope I herself. Even though if she had no hope, she could have tried again, one last time, for a hand to reach out and help her, instead of isolating herself from those around her.

A Place for All

Extra Credit Poem: A Place for All

A place for all.

The winds blew,

Doors slammed, echoing hall.

No sounds, nothing new.

A place full of wonders

BOOM! CRACK! Houses shake,

Noise covered by thunders.

Nothing left but mistakes.

A place for none.

No noise to be heard.

Silence fulfills,

No voices misheard.

Alone stands one.

"Talc Mine - Distant, Cameron, Montana" by Victoria Sambunaris

Artwork Name and Artist: 

"Talc Mine - Distant, Cameron, Montana" by  Victoria Sambunaris

For the artwork assignment I choose "Talc Mine - Distant, Cameron, Montana" by Victoria Sambunaris. This photo may appear simple or boring to you, but there are so more to the image than blue skies and dirt. That’s a reason that this picture caught my attention. Even though there is dirt, skies, and mountains, I think there’s a bigger purpose behind the image.   The picture reminds me of a country side and mountains. I think that the picture isn’t about its scenery but it’s more about having a quiet place or a place filled with unforgettable memoires. the first thing that comes to me is the artist misses her quiet place. There are many things and questions I could get out of this poem, but which would could be a good explanation of this poem and its setting?  This varies because everyone has their own personal point of view.

Evident that support my theory are one of the first things that I think of when i see this picture, which is someone feeling lost.  The contrast in lighting and how the picture was positioned are important key things of its structure. My interpretation of the picture displayed is the distance of the picture; the distance from the photographer to the mountains in the back is really far, but there is emotional distance as well. The darkness of the hills and mountains to the half lit sky shows sadness and sorrow. It’s as if the picture was taken to demonstrate someone’s far sight into the mountains or down on the mountains with their head hung low. There is a sense of depression in the picture as well.

The scenery shows natures beauty. If someone who had a conservative mind about nature looked at the picture, they would infer it was about saving the nature, plants, and trees, to maintain this scenery for the future generation. Can you tell how interpretations vary from the person who “reads” the picture?

In reality, i think the picture is trying to give hope for people who are bored of life. There are people who always have a negative impulse on everything. But, if they were more willing to explore or let themselves learn about things, then they would be able to do something enjoyable and worth their while. Meanwhile, if they cage themselves in their daily routines, they wouldn’t know what it is to experience something new; if they continue to block out those opportunities of doing something different, they would not know the delight of trying or doing something different.

All Star Mentor Nomination

 All Star Mentor Nomination

For the All Star Mentor, I nominated Sarahs blog post about the book Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini. I think Sarah's blog post is well written and mind provoking. Her blog post compares three different genres to one main point. Her blog post was very descriptive and not biased. Her argument was really convincing that I plan on reading the three books to find that connection she mentioned in her blog post. Sarah extended her main point really well. I think that her argument is well supported and is not boring. It keeps the reader engaged. I notice how Sarah used some prior knowledge in her blog post.

Great blog post. 

Link to Sarah's Blog Post: 

http://once-upon-a-time-sj.blogspot.com/2011/11/be-more-chill-by-ned-vizzini.html