I am currently reading "Tears of Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper. So far, it seems like every main character in the book has problems at home and in school. Following the death of Rob Washington, Andy has been feeling more and more depressed. I think he is feeling that because he was the one driving, so he felt like he cause the death.
Recently Andy has been going to a psychologist to talk to him about what Andy is sad about, or just about Andy in general. The psychologist asks him lots of questions, and he tries to get a real feeling of what Andy feels. The night that Rob died, Andy and some of his buddies were drinking. Andy was drinking while driving, and that led to the car crash. He told his shrink that he should've died and not Rob, and he just feels really guilty. When Andy went to the mall with his girlfriend Keisha, he started to get depressed again and they had to go home. I don't think anyone really knows how Andy is feeling. On top of that, his parents have very high grade expectations, and he can't live up to them. All he wants to do is play basketball. I think Andy is just feeling depressed because of Rob's death and how his parents treat him.
One thing I am thinking is why didn't B.J. tell them to stop? He was the only sober one in the car since he doesn't drink, so why didn't he tell Andy to stop driving? B.J. seems very religious, but he is also short, which makes his character unique. He doesn't drink because it stunted his growth, and praying to God didn't help him. Another one of the perspectives we see from the story comes from Gerald. Even though we've only seen his poem or heard from Andy, he has a very rough life at home. Andy said he was lucky because his parents only shout a him, but Gerald's beat him. Gerald even has a scar from when his dad hit him onto the radiator where it hit his face. Gerald doesn't seem like he's bothered by anything though, so I'll be trying to find out more about him.
In Andy's ELA class, he had to write a poem about anything, You could tell that his was deep and dark, probably about his depression. The first stanza talks about him being in the dark and not finding light, so I think that he just can't seem to get past this incident yet. The second stanza tells us that no one knows how much he is hurting or how depressed he is, that all the cheerful faces do not find the sadness around him. The last stanza really tells me that he is depressed. It almost makes me think he wants to commit suicide. He told his psychologist that he wished it was him who died instead of Rob. That tells me that he feels this situation is too much for him to handle. The last line says "I don't think I'm going to last." I don't really know how much he means by that, but it really seems like he can't escape this pain.
After starting to read this book, I have already found out a lot from the main characters. I will be looking for more information about Gerald's home life. Also, why Andy is feeling so down about the death still. It seems like he will never get over it, and that makes me feel like he wants to be away from this world.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Tomas' Blog
Tomas' Blog
I was reading Tomas' blog and was amazed on how much he thought the text he read and how much he elaborated on each idea he had. I read his post on "Smoke Signals" and I thought that he did an excellent job on it.
In that post, he used lots of examples from the text to prove his point. I also like his way of formatting his blogs. There are about 4 paragraphs where he puts facts from the article and what might the author be wanting us to think. The last 3 paragraphs are about him giving his perspective on the article or how the problem could be fixed. The last paragraph is all the questions he has after reading the article. That shows that not only did he read the article, but he understood everything and could ask more questions that were not in the article.
I had read parts of the article before, but even if you didn't know what it was about, you will find most of it in his blog post. He did a great job on giving a brief summary at the beginning and gave the problem too. He also used great transitions that went well with what he had to say after. When he gives direct citations, it is often followed by what he thinks of the stat or statement from the author. It shows me that he is reading the article carefully and his own view on things can help another reader understand the article. His last paragraph gives you insight on his own thoughts, and he has some questions that were not answered yet.
In each of his posts, Tomas did an amazing job on elaborating, providing evidence from the text, and adding on to what he already knew. From now on I'll look at his posts as mentor texts because he is such a great writer.
I was reading Tomas' blog and was amazed on how much he thought the text he read and how much he elaborated on each idea he had. I read his post on "Smoke Signals" and I thought that he did an excellent job on it.
In that post, he used lots of examples from the text to prove his point. I also like his way of formatting his blogs. There are about 4 paragraphs where he puts facts from the article and what might the author be wanting us to think. The last 3 paragraphs are about him giving his perspective on the article or how the problem could be fixed. The last paragraph is all the questions he has after reading the article. That shows that not only did he read the article, but he understood everything and could ask more questions that were not in the article.
I had read parts of the article before, but even if you didn't know what it was about, you will find most of it in his blog post. He did a great job on giving a brief summary at the beginning and gave the problem too. He also used great transitions that went well with what he had to say after. When he gives direct citations, it is often followed by what he thinks of the stat or statement from the author. It shows me that he is reading the article carefully and his own view on things can help another reader understand the article. His last paragraph gives you insight on his own thoughts, and he has some questions that were not answered yet.
In each of his posts, Tomas did an amazing job on elaborating, providing evidence from the text, and adding on to what he already knew. From now on I'll look at his posts as mentor texts because he is such a great writer.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Impulse
I am reading the book Impulse by Ellen Hopkins. It is about 3 teens perspectives on life in basically a mental ward. Right now, they are on an adventure camp since they've made so much progress. After this camp they will be able to go back to their homes. Th three main characters, Vanessa, Tony, and Conner are the more "normal" ones there. Vanessa cuts herself, Tony is gay and has been abused many times, and Conner is in love with older women.
I think that Vanessa has to cut herself to escape the pain that her mom brought to her. Her mom was crazy, and she had to see her mom taking pills and being bipolar. She would also do evil things to her son. Cutting might ease her life, but as described in the story, her arm is all red from it. A few weeks before the camp, she was crazy for Conner, who seemed to like her back. But now that Tony is spending quality time with her, she is beginning to wonder if Tony is the one she really loves. He is more caring and more affectionate than Conner, and that's what Vanessa wants.
Tony is at a difficult decision in life. Is he gay, or is he straight?From what he remembers, he's been gay all his life (only because of what his mother's boyfriend did to him). But right now, he is in love with Vanessa. I think that he might finally find love with the opposite gender, and it seems Vanessa loves him too.
At this camp, Conner decided to quit his meds. After taking them all this time, it was hard for him to sleep at first, because they were in the middle of the desert. Conner always complains that his home life was worse than what it is now, especially because of his mom. I think his parents' expectations for him were very high, and he decided to spend time on a woman that was older than him. He looks as if he's normal, and he acts like it too, but we still don't know what is making him reluctant to go back home.
I think that Vanessa has to cut herself to escape the pain that her mom brought to her. Her mom was crazy, and she had to see her mom taking pills and being bipolar. She would also do evil things to her son. Cutting might ease her life, but as described in the story, her arm is all red from it. A few weeks before the camp, she was crazy for Conner, who seemed to like her back. But now that Tony is spending quality time with her, she is beginning to wonder if Tony is the one she really loves. He is more caring and more affectionate than Conner, and that's what Vanessa wants.
Tony is at a difficult decision in life. Is he gay, or is he straight?From what he remembers, he's been gay all his life (only because of what his mother's boyfriend did to him). But right now, he is in love with Vanessa. I think that he might finally find love with the opposite gender, and it seems Vanessa loves him too.
At this camp, Conner decided to quit his meds. After taking them all this time, it was hard for him to sleep at first, because they were in the middle of the desert. Conner always complains that his home life was worse than what it is now, especially because of his mom. I think his parents' expectations for him were very high, and he decided to spend time on a woman that was older than him. He looks as if he's normal, and he acts like it too, but we still don't know what is making him reluctant to go back home.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Non-Fiction Blog Post
I read the article "The End of Extreme Poverty" from the Upfront magazine. It is about fighting poverty in some of the poorest places in the world. For example, a lot of countries got good education and classrooms, or vaccines were given in places that didn't have them. There are too many people suffering in the world to live like that, and it could be changing.
When the author talks with a woman that has already lost a child from malaria, and has to take care of 7 other children, you can see how much affect poverty has on them. I think the U.S. should help people like that. If they help one country, they could become friends. The whole country is poor. Also, the real definition of extreme poverty means living on less than $1.25 a day. That means millions, or even billions on people live like that. There is progress, though. Extreme poverty has been reduced from 1 in 2 in 1980 to 1 in 5 now. That statistic is amazing, considering how much people live in poverty.
In the article, there are various stats that prove the reduction in poverty. In 1988 there were 350,000 cases of polio worldwide, and there are 123. People that took AIDS drugs in developing countries was less than 200,000 in 2000. In 2012 the number was 9.7 million. The global literacy rate was 76% in 1990, and it has jumped to 84% now. Also, the percentage of population with no schooling in developing nations was at 61% in 1950. It has dropped to 17% in 2010. There are way more mind-boggling statistics that show how much this world has improved.Those stats prove that this long fight against extreme poverty might bring it to an all-time low. Even though there will still be poverty, extreme poverty might die out soon enough. That means no more children uneducated or the fear of dying of sickness.
One of the biggest problems in extreme poverty is that there is sometimes no prevention of sickness for a lot of people. In 1990, more than 12 million children died before reaching the age of 5. That number has been cut in half now. Bill Gates is helping this issue, by providing vaccines and medecines, and he says that number will get to 1 million in his lifetime. I hope that will get to that number. Only as of now adults are getting vaccines or treatment for sickess they've had. Thanks to these vaccines, some diseases like polio and measles are dying out. A disease called the Guinea worm is also dying out, which is a disease makes a worm move through your body and causes intense pain or lifelong disabilities. Some popular diseases like AIDS are also moving along. AIDS are no longer killing large amounts of people, because of the vaccines available now. There will be no more epidemics or world-wide sicknesses.
In conclusion, the increasing number of vaccines and medecines to poor counries have reduced extreme poverty and risk of death by disease. Countries with no eduacation now have it, and people can live better now that they have these things in their lives.
When the author talks with a woman that has already lost a child from malaria, and has to take care of 7 other children, you can see how much affect poverty has on them. I think the U.S. should help people like that. If they help one country, they could become friends. The whole country is poor. Also, the real definition of extreme poverty means living on less than $1.25 a day. That means millions, or even billions on people live like that. There is progress, though. Extreme poverty has been reduced from 1 in 2 in 1980 to 1 in 5 now. That statistic is amazing, considering how much people live in poverty.
In the article, there are various stats that prove the reduction in poverty. In 1988 there were 350,000 cases of polio worldwide, and there are 123. People that took AIDS drugs in developing countries was less than 200,000 in 2000. In 2012 the number was 9.7 million. The global literacy rate was 76% in 1990, and it has jumped to 84% now. Also, the percentage of population with no schooling in developing nations was at 61% in 1950. It has dropped to 17% in 2010. There are way more mind-boggling statistics that show how much this world has improved.Those stats prove that this long fight against extreme poverty might bring it to an all-time low. Even though there will still be poverty, extreme poverty might die out soon enough. That means no more children uneducated or the fear of dying of sickness.
One of the biggest problems in extreme poverty is that there is sometimes no prevention of sickness for a lot of people. In 1990, more than 12 million children died before reaching the age of 5. That number has been cut in half now. Bill Gates is helping this issue, by providing vaccines and medecines, and he says that number will get to 1 million in his lifetime. I hope that will get to that number. Only as of now adults are getting vaccines or treatment for sickess they've had. Thanks to these vaccines, some diseases like polio and measles are dying out. A disease called the Guinea worm is also dying out, which is a disease makes a worm move through your body and causes intense pain or lifelong disabilities. Some popular diseases like AIDS are also moving along. AIDS are no longer killing large amounts of people, because of the vaccines available now. There will be no more epidemics or world-wide sicknesses.
In conclusion, the increasing number of vaccines and medecines to poor counries have reduced extreme poverty and risk of death by disease. Countries with no eduacation now have it, and people can live better now that they have these things in their lives.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Answering SA question #4
I am reading the book "Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins. The book is shown through different teen's perspectives. I feel that many times I was resisting the text because of topics like cutting, drugs, or other things normal teens don't worry about.
I think I am resisting the text because it is disturbing. One of the characters, Vanessa, has problems with cutting herself. She tries with anything she can find. I've never really read or knew about this topic, so it is pretty disturbing that kids my age do this. Some of the details are obscured but can be taken as scary or disturbing, so I think that is why I find it disturbing. I think I can learn that other teens deal with this and it may be a big topic to others.
I also feel that most of the content is foreign to me. I'm just a normal teenager without problems like the ones in this book, so I don't know anything. Some people are bipolar, schizophrenic, mutilators, and much more in the book. I don't know anybody with these problems personally, so these are so weird to read.
I think I am resisting the text because it is disturbing. One of the characters, Vanessa, has problems with cutting herself. She tries with anything she can find. I've never really read or knew about this topic, so it is pretty disturbing that kids my age do this. Some of the details are obscured but can be taken as scary or disturbing, so I think that is why I find it disturbing. I think I can learn that other teens deal with this and it may be a big topic to others.
I also feel that most of the content is foreign to me. I'm just a normal teenager without problems like the ones in this book, so I don't know anything. Some people are bipolar, schizophrenic, mutilators, and much more in the book. I don't know anybody with these problems personally, so these are so weird to read.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Social Issues in "A Long Way Gone"
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah has many social issues in it, including war, drugs, poverty, and the hardships of living in Sierra Leone in that time. It is about teenagers that are trying to escape the war in Sierra Leone and trying to survive among the ruthless rebels and dangers. I noticed that the biggest issue in this book is war, because even though the boys are trying to stay away from it, they eventually have to fight in it later.
War is a huge piece of what makes this book and what makes Ishmael's life. Since the rebels came in to his village, he had to run to different villages and try to stay safe. When he finally gets to another village where his parents are, rebels come and light the village on fire, and there are almost no survivors. After that Ishmael was determined to kill every rebel he saw. Even though the war took a big toll in his life, he had to fight in it to fight for freedom. I think it also influenced his life from becoming a nice boy who everyone trusted to a mean soldier that you would not want to meet.
Another social issue in the book is drug use. After Ishmael joined the army, he found that marijuana was something he loved and started to get addicted to it, including addiction cocaine and a mixture of cocaine with gunpowder. In the book it says he couldn't even focus when the war was in front of him and it started to make him deaf and go crazy. When he goes to a foster home he does more drugs and starts to go even crazier with his peers. I think it was Ishmael's way of forgetting his life, but this speak to many teens across the world. He is kind of sending a message to everyone that drugs can kill you and even though we hear it all the time, he is saying don't do drugs.
In conclusion, two big social issues in the book were war and drugs, not to mention many other things. This is a great book that everyone should read because it shows that Ishmael's life is worse than many others in the world, but he comes back to live happily.
War is a huge piece of what makes this book and what makes Ishmael's life. Since the rebels came in to his village, he had to run to different villages and try to stay safe. When he finally gets to another village where his parents are, rebels come and light the village on fire, and there are almost no survivors. After that Ishmael was determined to kill every rebel he saw. Even though the war took a big toll in his life, he had to fight in it to fight for freedom. I think it also influenced his life from becoming a nice boy who everyone trusted to a mean soldier that you would not want to meet.
Another social issue in the book is drug use. After Ishmael joined the army, he found that marijuana was something he loved and started to get addicted to it, including addiction cocaine and a mixture of cocaine with gunpowder. In the book it says he couldn't even focus when the war was in front of him and it started to make him deaf and go crazy. When he goes to a foster home he does more drugs and starts to go even crazier with his peers. I think it was Ishmael's way of forgetting his life, but this speak to many teens across the world. He is kind of sending a message to everyone that drugs can kill you and even though we hear it all the time, he is saying don't do drugs.
In conclusion, two big social issues in the book were war and drugs, not to mention many other things. This is a great book that everyone should read because it shows that Ishmael's life is worse than many others in the world, but he comes back to live happily.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Argument Essay
There is a lot of argument on whether some YA fiction books should be banned. Some people say these books should be banned. I, on the other hand, say they shouldn't. My argument is that YA fiction books shouldn't be banned because it is a great genre and teens can sometimes relate to books.
An article that helps my case is, "Teen Fiction Plots are Darker and Starker" by William Porter. He points out lots of reasons why YA fiction is good for teens, including, "Sales are up 25 percent over the past 5 years, according to Publishers Weekly, with $78.5 million worth of young-adult books sold in April alone." That shows how much more people are reading YA fiction, and how much everyone likes it. In the article Shelly Wilhelm also says, "As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they're struggling with those issues and ideas." When teens see or experience things in their everyday lives they can relate to books, which will make them see there are other people in the world with these problems and can possibly help them feel better about themselves. YA fiction is also about $10 cheaper than adult fiction, which is something to keep in mind if you have a smaller budget.
While I've made my argument, people also have their reasons for the other side. In the article, "Darkness too Visible" by Meghan Cox Gurdon, it starts out by talking about a mom who is trying to find a book for her 13 year-old child. Even with all the choices, she couldn't find one thing she would let her daughter read. It was all about "Vampires and suicide and self-mutilation." Even though that mom said all the books are about those topics, they are not. Many can deal with less darker things and it does not have to always be the same books everywhere. Although parents have a say in what they want their children to read, it is all about the readers choice. If he or she wants to read something, let them. Reading about something in a book is way less disturbing than actually experiencing it in real life.
A book that relates to this is "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins. It had a great way of showing perspective from a teen girl that had to deal with abuse, alcoholism, love, work, and many other things. It also shows that not every YA fiction had dark themes that teens can't handle and it is also written in verse to show her life in poetic form. I think that a lot of teens deal with her issues and can relate to this book. The main character also gets through some of her darkest times and finds a new great life and finds love from others and family for the first time. Teens can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and their problems are escapable. When parents always say that they don't want their children to find out about dark things at this age, it doesn't really make sense because we already have some background about it from media or friends. If we are naive now those things can get to us later, but by reading about these themes, we can later if we are having problems like ones in books.
In conclusion, YA fiction books shouldn't be banned because it is a great genre and teens can sometimes relate to books. By reading these books teens can find out a lot of the world around us and what really happens with other teens.
An article that helps my case is, "Teen Fiction Plots are Darker and Starker" by William Porter. He points out lots of reasons why YA fiction is good for teens, including, "Sales are up 25 percent over the past 5 years, according to Publishers Weekly, with $78.5 million worth of young-adult books sold in April alone." That shows how much more people are reading YA fiction, and how much everyone likes it. In the article Shelly Wilhelm also says, "As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they're struggling with those issues and ideas." When teens see or experience things in their everyday lives they can relate to books, which will make them see there are other people in the world with these problems and can possibly help them feel better about themselves. YA fiction is also about $10 cheaper than adult fiction, which is something to keep in mind if you have a smaller budget.
While I've made my argument, people also have their reasons for the other side. In the article, "Darkness too Visible" by Meghan Cox Gurdon, it starts out by talking about a mom who is trying to find a book for her 13 year-old child. Even with all the choices, she couldn't find one thing she would let her daughter read. It was all about "Vampires and suicide and self-mutilation." Even though that mom said all the books are about those topics, they are not. Many can deal with less darker things and it does not have to always be the same books everywhere. Although parents have a say in what they want their children to read, it is all about the readers choice. If he or she wants to read something, let them. Reading about something in a book is way less disturbing than actually experiencing it in real life.
A book that relates to this is "Burned" by Ellen Hopkins. It had a great way of showing perspective from a teen girl that had to deal with abuse, alcoholism, love, work, and many other things. It also shows that not every YA fiction had dark themes that teens can't handle and it is also written in verse to show her life in poetic form. I think that a lot of teens deal with her issues and can relate to this book. The main character also gets through some of her darkest times and finds a new great life and finds love from others and family for the first time. Teens can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel and their problems are escapable. When parents always say that they don't want their children to find out about dark things at this age, it doesn't really make sense because we already have some background about it from media or friends. If we are naive now those things can get to us later, but by reading about these themes, we can later if we are having problems like ones in books.
In conclusion, YA fiction books shouldn't be banned because it is a great genre and teens can sometimes relate to books. By reading these books teens can find out a lot of the world around us and what really happens with other teens.
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