Hoop Dreams by Ben Joravsky is a book about two kids, William Gates and Arthur Agee, trying to make it to the NBA. They are both from different inner-cities of Chicago, and they're number one goal is to make it big by playing basketball. Even though they had similar and different problems with life, both William and Arthur would not let them get in their way of their dreams.
One obstacle that was in William's way getting to school. He grew up and lived in the Cabrini-Green projects, but got a scholarship to play at St. Josephs, a private school that was at least four hours away. He had to go live with his sister and brother-in-law to make his commute a little easier. It still took him two and a half hours to get to school. He had to leave quick, and mostly never had time to eat breakfast. His commute was harder than anyone could have. First, he had to take a bus that came at 6:20. After that, he got off to take a commuter train, and now he wasn't in Chicago. Then, him and Arthur Agee met to take a bus that still left them about a half a mile away form school. In the winter it was worse because it says, "In the winter it would be like crossing Alaska, the snow would be so expansive and deep." After all that, he still had to start school. Even though his commute was long and tough, William never gave up on going to the school and getting more coaching on basketball. Another thing that was in his way was his knee injury. Even though he did not injure his ligament, he tore his cartilage. It meant that he would have to go to rehab for six weeks. He was happy that he didn't have to miss the season, but he would not be as effective on the court as he was before. There were even more problems, but these two things that William had to deal with did not stop him from playing basketball.
Arthur Agee had his own set of personal problems too. One is that his family was deep in poverty. He had two other siblings, and his dad couldn't hold on to a job. His mom left her job, and it meant they were broke. In his sophomore year, he owed the school $500, or he would have to get kicked out. Without school, he had nothing to do and nowhere to go. In the book it says, "Two weeks went by and the Agees still didn't have the money for Arthur's tuition." It shows that the family was very poor and in two weeks they still didn't have enough money that most people we know have. It resulted in him having to go to his neighborhood school. Another thing that affected him was when his father left. His father, Bo, was a drug addict, and that's where most of the family's money went to. He used to sell drugs, but he eventually tried it with his customers and got hooked to it. His business then fell apart. One day, after hitting his wife with a metal pipe, Bo left for good. He had left other times but come back, and even went to jail once. Bo's disappearance also affected Arthur's mom, who wanted him to be punished. Arthur didn't have anyone at home to talk to, and had no role model in his family because Bo left.
In conclusion, Williams Gates and Arthur Agee had many problems and challenges in their daily lives, but none of them got in their way of pursuing their basketball careers. They proved to be strong and determined to not let any of those obstacles ruin their lives.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Fate and Rivalry in Romeo and Juliet
In Romeo and Juliet, rivalry and fate are two themes that really put the story together because they cause most of the problems in the story. I think those themes can be paired together because Romeo and Juliet met by fate, and their family's rivalry is what makes their relationship a secret. Also, fate has to do with the family rivalry. It just happens to be that Romeo and Juliet love each other. One of the biggest problem in the story is that Romeo and Juliet are in different family names.
An example of fate comes in Act 1 Scene 2, when the Servingman asks Romeo to read the invitation to a party held by the Capulets. The Servingman cannot read, so he asks Romeo to read it for him. Romeo finds out that Rosaline is going, and it makes him want to go. In Act 1 Scene 2, Romeo says, "I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, / But to rejoice in splendor of mine own." His only reason to be at the party was to meet up with Rosaline. If the Servingman had never asked Romeo to read the invitation, Romeo would've never went to the party, therefore probably never meeting Juliet and falling in love with her. Another example of fate comes when Juliet takes the potion that will prevent her from marrying Paris. When she takes the potion, everyone thinks she is dead. She has a funeral, and Balthasar thinks she is dead. He quickly brings the news to Romeo, who is supposed to receive a letter saying that Juliet is not dead. Romeo never receives the letter. It results in him going to see Juliet, and taking a poison that kills himself. Juliet wakes up and then kills herself after realizing that Romeo is dead. Fate has a lot to do with most of the problems and plots in Romeo and Juliet, and it is a major theme throughout the story.
Another big theme is the rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet fall in love at the party, but when they realize that they are from different families, they have to see each other in secrecy. Only a few people know about their relationship. If not for the family rivalry, Romeo and Juliet would've been a normal love story. The rivalry makes their marriage hard to do and makes the whole relationship a secret. An example of this rivalry comes in Act 1 Scene 1. The two families are about to fight, and Benvolio tries to stop it. Tybalt then says, "What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee." It shows that the two families hate each other more than anything, and they want to kill each other. If Tybalt found out that Romeo was going to marry Juliet, I think he would try to kill Romeo as quick as he can. One quote also shows an example of rivalry. In Act 2 Scene 2 Line 36, Juliet says, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" She is asking the question, "Why are you Romeo?" She wants to know why she had to fall in love with her family's rival, and why Romeo had to be a Montague. In her next speech she asks questions like why does being a Montague matter and "What's in a name?" She is questioning that if something had a different name, would it still be the same? Like if Romeo wasn't a Montague, would he still be Romeo? Those examples show why rivalry is also a big problem in the story.
Fate and rivalry make problems by themselves, but together they also make a new theme. It was fate that made the two families rivals, and fate made Romeo and Juliet fall in love. I felt like Romeo and Juliet were also fated to break the rivalry. They were the first in history to like each other, and it made me think that it was time for the rivalry to break. It might happen, because after Romeo and Juliet are found dead, Capulet says, "O brother Montague, give me thy hand. / This is my daughter's jointure, for no more / Can I demand." It shows that Capulet is willing to stop hating each other and finally break the rivalry. Montague agrees and says he would make a statue of Juliet in pure gold. I think in order to move on with life, they had to stop the rivalry. If they didn't there could be more deaths to come and more hatred.
In conclusion, fate and rivalry were two big themes that caused lots of the problems and plots in Romeo and Juliet. Even though they loved each other fate put them in a family rivalry, making them scared to be seen by their families. Fate also made Romeo and Juliet kill themselves to be with each other.
An example of fate comes in Act 1 Scene 2, when the Servingman asks Romeo to read the invitation to a party held by the Capulets. The Servingman cannot read, so he asks Romeo to read it for him. Romeo finds out that Rosaline is going, and it makes him want to go. In Act 1 Scene 2, Romeo says, "I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, / But to rejoice in splendor of mine own." His only reason to be at the party was to meet up with Rosaline. If the Servingman had never asked Romeo to read the invitation, Romeo would've never went to the party, therefore probably never meeting Juliet and falling in love with her. Another example of fate comes when Juliet takes the potion that will prevent her from marrying Paris. When she takes the potion, everyone thinks she is dead. She has a funeral, and Balthasar thinks she is dead. He quickly brings the news to Romeo, who is supposed to receive a letter saying that Juliet is not dead. Romeo never receives the letter. It results in him going to see Juliet, and taking a poison that kills himself. Juliet wakes up and then kills herself after realizing that Romeo is dead. Fate has a lot to do with most of the problems and plots in Romeo and Juliet, and it is a major theme throughout the story.
Another big theme is the rivalry between the Montagues and the Capulets. Romeo and Juliet fall in love at the party, but when they realize that they are from different families, they have to see each other in secrecy. Only a few people know about their relationship. If not for the family rivalry, Romeo and Juliet would've been a normal love story. The rivalry makes their marriage hard to do and makes the whole relationship a secret. An example of this rivalry comes in Act 1 Scene 1. The two families are about to fight, and Benvolio tries to stop it. Tybalt then says, "What, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee." It shows that the two families hate each other more than anything, and they want to kill each other. If Tybalt found out that Romeo was going to marry Juliet, I think he would try to kill Romeo as quick as he can. One quote also shows an example of rivalry. In Act 2 Scene 2 Line 36, Juliet says, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" She is asking the question, "Why are you Romeo?" She wants to know why she had to fall in love with her family's rival, and why Romeo had to be a Montague. In her next speech she asks questions like why does being a Montague matter and "What's in a name?" She is questioning that if something had a different name, would it still be the same? Like if Romeo wasn't a Montague, would he still be Romeo? Those examples show why rivalry is also a big problem in the story.
Fate and rivalry make problems by themselves, but together they also make a new theme. It was fate that made the two families rivals, and fate made Romeo and Juliet fall in love. I felt like Romeo and Juliet were also fated to break the rivalry. They were the first in history to like each other, and it made me think that it was time for the rivalry to break. It might happen, because after Romeo and Juliet are found dead, Capulet says, "O brother Montague, give me thy hand. / This is my daughter's jointure, for no more / Can I demand." It shows that Capulet is willing to stop hating each other and finally break the rivalry. Montague agrees and says he would make a statue of Juliet in pure gold. I think in order to move on with life, they had to stop the rivalry. If they didn't there could be more deaths to come and more hatred.
In conclusion, fate and rivalry were two big themes that caused lots of the problems and plots in Romeo and Juliet. Even though they loved each other fate put them in a family rivalry, making them scared to be seen by their families. Fate also made Romeo and Juliet kill themselves to be with each other.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Buried Onions
I am currently reading the book "Buried Onions" by Gary Soto. Eddie, the main character, is living in a run down part of Fresno, where it is infested with Mexicans. He has to watch his back at all times to keep living. While growing up, he has had to be careful of lots of harmful things or people and has to still do that now. Some of those things make bigger plots or problems as the story unravels.
One example of something he has to worry about is who killed his cousin, Jesus. Eddie's aunt always calls him to tell him to kill whoever killed her son. Eddie is a nice guy, even though everyone around him seems devilish. He wouldn't kill anyone, but his aunt keeps reminding him about it. Jesus is mentioned lots of times in the book, and he seemed to be a big part of Eddie's life and they were probably really tight. One day he goes back to his old college and follows a person around. In the parking lot, Eddie starts to scare the guy he was following around, and starts asking him questions. He asks stuff like, "Why did you kill Jesus?" Even though he had never met the person before. I don't really know why he decided to do that, but it shows that he actually wants to do something to the person that killed Jesus.
Another thing he has to worry about are the gangs in his neighborhood. He said, "I never ran with gangs, never kicked it with weasel-necked vatos locos..." He said that after someone called him to meet Angel, a gangster-type person. Eddie has a better conscience than most of his friends, and it showed there. There are multiple gangs and cliques in Eddie's neighborhood, all of them being dangerous. There is one major gang, the Hmongs, and Eddie doesn't want to go anywhere near them. Angel and his crew are also other people he has to worry about. Angel is one of Eddie's oldest friends, but Eddie has tried to get away from him since Angel is a big time thief. Another thing he says is, "I glanced over my shoulder, slowing but not stopping, because if you stopped and it was your enemy, your life could spill before you could touch your wound." He means that anyone could kill you in the street, and you have to be alert about it. It also shows that he doesn't want to be with gangs because he doesn't want any enemies, the ones that could kill him like he had said. To live in Fresno, you have to have a lot of street smarts, and Eddie shows it by not interfering with any gangs.
One other thing that bothers him is how much money he has. Eddie dropped out of college, but he hasn't really been doing much with life. He makes money by stenciling in people's house numbers on their curbs, but it doesn't pay much and he has to go doorstep to doorstep asking if people want their numbers. His poorness is really affecting him, and sometimes he doesn't have anything to eat. When his mom went to visit him, it says, "I didn't have much to offer, just ice water. I was even out of Kool-Aid." It shows that Eddie has really been suffering and he doesn't have much money. He won't have money to provide for a girlfriend, much less a family, and he can't even live well on his own. I think Eddie is a very focused and hard working man, but luck hasn't found it's way to him. He can't seem to ever succeed in anything, and his amount of money that he has can show that.
In conclusion, Eddie has to get through a lot of tough things in Fresno, the Mexican slum. Those things that he has to worry about make for big problems or plots, and Eddie has to do whatever it takes to get past them. As I keep reading, I will be looking out for more things that Eddie has to worry about.
One example of something he has to worry about is who killed his cousin, Jesus. Eddie's aunt always calls him to tell him to kill whoever killed her son. Eddie is a nice guy, even though everyone around him seems devilish. He wouldn't kill anyone, but his aunt keeps reminding him about it. Jesus is mentioned lots of times in the book, and he seemed to be a big part of Eddie's life and they were probably really tight. One day he goes back to his old college and follows a person around. In the parking lot, Eddie starts to scare the guy he was following around, and starts asking him questions. He asks stuff like, "Why did you kill Jesus?" Even though he had never met the person before. I don't really know why he decided to do that, but it shows that he actually wants to do something to the person that killed Jesus.
Another thing he has to worry about are the gangs in his neighborhood. He said, "I never ran with gangs, never kicked it with weasel-necked vatos locos..." He said that after someone called him to meet Angel, a gangster-type person. Eddie has a better conscience than most of his friends, and it showed there. There are multiple gangs and cliques in Eddie's neighborhood, all of them being dangerous. There is one major gang, the Hmongs, and Eddie doesn't want to go anywhere near them. Angel and his crew are also other people he has to worry about. Angel is one of Eddie's oldest friends, but Eddie has tried to get away from him since Angel is a big time thief. Another thing he says is, "I glanced over my shoulder, slowing but not stopping, because if you stopped and it was your enemy, your life could spill before you could touch your wound." He means that anyone could kill you in the street, and you have to be alert about it. It also shows that he doesn't want to be with gangs because he doesn't want any enemies, the ones that could kill him like he had said. To live in Fresno, you have to have a lot of street smarts, and Eddie shows it by not interfering with any gangs.
One other thing that bothers him is how much money he has. Eddie dropped out of college, but he hasn't really been doing much with life. He makes money by stenciling in people's house numbers on their curbs, but it doesn't pay much and he has to go doorstep to doorstep asking if people want their numbers. His poorness is really affecting him, and sometimes he doesn't have anything to eat. When his mom went to visit him, it says, "I didn't have much to offer, just ice water. I was even out of Kool-Aid." It shows that Eddie has really been suffering and he doesn't have much money. He won't have money to provide for a girlfriend, much less a family, and he can't even live well on his own. I think Eddie is a very focused and hard working man, but luck hasn't found it's way to him. He can't seem to ever succeed in anything, and his amount of money that he has can show that.
In conclusion, Eddie has to get through a lot of tough things in Fresno, the Mexican slum. Those things that he has to worry about make for big problems or plots, and Eddie has to do whatever it takes to get past them. As I keep reading, I will be looking out for more things that Eddie has to worry about.
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