TKAM Comparison: Week of 1/12/15

What do you think are the three most important difference between the written and filmed version?

I feel like one of the major differences between the movie and novel is the role of Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, Aunt Alexandra comes into Scout's life and sort of takes over the mother role in her life. She tells Scout that she needs to act more like a lady, in a harsh manner, but the message gets through to Scout. In the movie, Aunt Alexandra isn't even introduced. Scout just one day puts on a dress to go to school. She's ashamed of it, but you don't get to see her argue with anyone. Having Scout be dressed up and attending the little tea parties in the book was important when it came to Scout growing up. Without Aunt Alexandra you don't see the progress as Scout grows up; taking away the theme coming of age.

Miss Maudie is an important role in Scout's childhood throughout the book. She is there when Scout was ditch by Jem and Dill. She was there to help ease the pain of hearing Tom Robinson had died. She never talked down to Scout, and always treated her like an adult. In the movie, you see very little of Miss Maudie. She's just some ordinary neighbor, who Scout and Jem see walking to school. I feel that Miss Maudie should of had more of a role in the movie. She doesn't really teach Scout anything and you don't get this warm feeling that you do when you're reading the book.

One of the main themes in the book is courage, which is shown through Mrs. Dubose. The way she recognizes she has a flaw and tries to fix it, shows true courage. The goal she made allowed her to die without any morphine in her system. This showed Jem an important element of growing up. In the movie, Mrs. Dubose is only showed for one scene. In that scene all you see her do is be mean to Scout. I believe that Mrs. Dubose played an important role in the book and should of played just as an important role in the movie.

Comments: Amelia, Autumn, and Nadrian

The Last Time I Did Something For The First Time

One of the things that I did for the first time was go zip-lining. My family went on vacation to Louisville, Kentucky to hang out with one of my sister's friends who had moved. We did other stuff too, but I will always remember when we went zip-lining. When people think of zip-lining they think about going over a river or forest. The one I went to was in a cave. We could of went to one outside, but I think my mom might've been to scared. We were zip-lining over complete darkness, which I think made it more excited. You couldn't tell want was under you, the only thing you could see was the guide at the other end waiting for you.

Another time I did something for the first time was not to long ago. It was actually this Christmas. We usually decorate the tree we get with tons of homemade ornaments from when my sister and I were little. This year, we got the tree like we always do, decorated it was some lights, and waited for my mom to get up and help decorate. Since my mom had to work a lot of over time this holiday, we weren't able to decorate the tree. My family figured that it wouldn't be the same without all of us decorating the tree all together, so that Christmas the tree only had a few lights on it. I have to say, I kind of missed not having any ornaments on the tree, but I didn't miss packing them up either.

One of the things I will never forget is getting a my great dane for the first time. I mean sure, I had a lot of dogs in life since I was a baby, but none of them could compare to my Ellie. She's huge, so it's hard to sleep with her, but she does act as a great pillow. I think that getting Ellie was the highlight of my year. The one reason why I won't forget her, is because of the first week I had her. You know how sometimes a dog will act over-protective of a new baby, that was me with my dog. The first week I never left her side, I slept when she slept and I was up when she was. Since she was very playful, my day was play, sleep, play, sleep, and so on. In the end, I never really did mind taking care of her. She was my baby, and still is.

TKAM Blog: Week of 12/15/14

Prompt: Thoughts of the book

I would first like to state my complain about the ending of the book. I thought that the ending was sort of feeble and tacky. Having Scout look back through the memories she has was just sort of, in my opinion, dull. I didn't like the metaphor of Jem and Scout being Boo Radley's children. To me, it just didn't really make sense. I know that Boo feels like he was the protecter of both of them, but I don't think that the book should of ended with the metaphor. I think it should of ended when Scout walked Boo home or when Jem woke up in the morning, but defiantly not how it originally ended.

The rest of the book was great. I started reading it thinking, "Oh, this is going to be such a boring book. I can't believe I have to read this." When started reading the fifth or sixth chapter I viewed it differently. I started to enjoy reading two chapters every night. Sometimes, I wanted to read on to the next chapter. When the kids got attacked by Bob Ewell really made me enjoy the book much more. There were parts that kept me on the edge of my sit; scared for Jem and Scout and scared for what would come next.

It's hard to chose a favorite part in the book, but I would have to say my favorite part is when Jem and Scout are walking home towards the end. When the book says, "Shuffle-foot had not stopped with us this time. His trousers swished softly and steadily. Then they stopped. He was running, running toward us with no child's steps." This part made my heart drop. I could see a man running at the them. It was written in so much detail that it was like watching the movie. My second favorite part would have to be the court session. I loved how Harper Lee made is sound like a normal trial with the wittiness questioning their own statement. I think that Lee did a great job portraying how wise Atticus was through his actions during the trial.

Comments: Citlalli, Amelia, Elenia

2015 Goals

My main academic goal for this year is to get into Nazareth. This is a short-term goal that I can only accomplish on January 10, this Saturday. That is when the entrance exam is. I want to achieve this because I would be able to go to a good school. There are a few ways I can achieve this, the first is to study. I have a book that’ll help me with this. I’m about half-way through it and have taken a practice test. In order to achieve my goal, I’ll need to finish the book and study the word list at the back of it. I need to finish that by the end of Thursday. This way I’ll take the second practice test after school on Friday.

Another way that I’ll reach my goal is to get some rest. Instead of staying up late on Friday, I need to go to bed early. This is a simple step in my plan, all I have to do is sleep. I’ll have to wake up a hour or so before the test so I could be fully wake and ready for the test. While I’m up, I’ll have to eat a nutritious breakfast to keep my energy for the test. This breakfast will have to consist of some kind of protein so I will be able to stay focused towards the end of the test. With these steps I’ll be able to accomplish this goal with no problem.

My personal goal for this year is to save up money to go to RTX. RTX is a RoosterTeeth convention in Austin, Texas. RoosterTeeth is a youtube company that is connected to Achievement Hunter, (another youtube company.) I want to achieve this goal because I really want to meet my favorite youtubers. This goal isn’t as easy to accomplish as my academic goal. I will have to save all the money I get for Christmas and my birthday. Sounds easy, but it’s actually hard. The time between RTX and now is long. Since the convention is in Texas it’ll cost a lot of money to get there. I will also have to buy the tickets and get a hotel room, so it’ll take some time to save.

The hardest part in all this is convince my parents to go. My parents have weird work hours even in the summer so we’ll have to talk about it. Even without the weird hours, my parents don’t exactly approve in my passion for this company. I can maybe get my grandma to take, she’s always up to try new things. In other words, I would have to find someone to take me. That’s all the steps I would have to take to achieve my goal. I believe that with patience I could save enough money to go. If not this year, the next.

TKAM: Found Poem

Atticus

We are indeed
licked before 
we begin.
The bravest person I ever knew
said, all men are created equal.

Real courage is, when
you rarely win,
when you know
you're licked before you begin.
When, you see
not all men are created equal.

Real courage is, not
a man with a gun in his hand, but
when, you know you're licked before you begin.

Explanation: My poem is told from the point of view of Atticus. It is explaining what Atticus thinks of courage. Most lines are from the ending of part one. When Atticus is explaining to Jem about real courage. The others are taken from the end of the trial. I believe that these two parts are the most important in the book and they also explain Atticus's belief well.

Comments: Maria, Autumn, Gianna

TKAM: Character Relationships

Characters: Dill and Francis

Dill and Francis are foils of one another. In other words, they are the complete opposite. Dill can be mean at sometimes, but only because he's with Jem and trying to act tough. If he isn't with Jem, he really is a sweet kid that cares for Scout. Francis on the other hand is just mean. He teases Scout knowing that she will get upset. Another difference between them is their level of maturity. Francis is saying what he heard Aunt Alexandra say, not even what he thinks. He probably does't understand half of the things he says. Dill likes to think for himself. He even tries to get people to see the same as him. Making him sort of debating, which, makes him seem older.

Even tough Dill and Francis are foils of one another they are also alter egos. They act differently, but their physical features are same. For instances, they are both boys. This adds to how they like to play. Dill and Francis like to tease Scout, but Dill does it for fun, while Francis is serious about it. They also are around the same age. They both are around seven year old, so this also plays into the category of how they like to play.

The relationship between Dill and Scout is sometimes hard to distinguish. Sometimes, Dill can get Scout extremely upset, making Scout hate him, but sometimes Dill can be Scout best friend. I would call their relationship to be like one of a brother and sister. They fight sometimes, but always make up and get along afterwards. Scout learns a bunch from Dill as the years pass. She learned that it's not always necessary to follow the group when you know they are heading down a dangerous road. She also learned how to be independent and handle her own situations. Francis relationship with Scout differs from the one with Dill. Francis is like Scout's bully. He is always picking on her and annoying her. She learns from Francis that sometimes you have to blow off some steam when someone is provoking you.

TKAM: Photo Analyze

Title: A street in Brookside, Alabama, the small mining town where many of the Gardendale Homesteaders formerly lived

Observations:

I noticed several things when I first laid eyes on this photo. The first thing I noticed was the uneven dirt road and the little moats between the road and houses. There is some kind of church that seems to be on stilts, in fact all the visible houses seem to be on stilts. There is a bridge connecting the road and grass. I noticed that the telephone poles aren't straight, perhaps a storm made them unstable.

Reflection:

I think the image was made to show the living conditions of the mine workers. I think that the miners have gone to work for the day and the town has been abandon for the day. You can learn that the people who lived in this county had to be prepared for things like flood. The houses are on stilts which means they are aware of floods and are prepared for them. If someone took the same picture today, I think that there would be more people in the town. Maybe some kids running around the roads playing tag. I think the chapel would still be there, but maybe it would be slightly improved.

Questions:

What is the importance of the photo?

What is on the road?

Why are there no people?

What time of day was the photo taken?

What exactly was the photographer trying to 

capture in this photo?

Where are the fallen leaves from the trees?

Could it have been taken in Maycomb county?

The first time I saw this picture I thought of Maycomb county. There are some baptists that are religious. In the picture there is a church which reminds me of the baptists. The town in the photograph has dirt roads, just like Maycomb. Plus, the town reminds me of a old, tired town. This is exactly like Maycomb for Scout describes the setting as, "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop;" Having the streets turn into red slop when it rains suggest that the roads are made of dirt.