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.

The Voices of Rape: Week of 11/17/14

Pages Read: Finished
Prompt: What made you read this book and What makes it unique?

Even though the topic is not very pleasing, I still love this book. It shows the reader how different people think of the topic. There were many storied that I really liked so it's hard to pick a favorite. I think the story I found the most interesting was one that was not told by a survivor or offender, but the conversation between high-schoolers. They had to fill out this survey and when they were done ask questions. After a few questions, the students got into a debate. It was interesting to see what each student thought. Not only to see their opinions, but also to see what people around the same age group as me thought. I was jumping into the debate in my head adding some points to defend what I think. I think I got a little into the whole debate thing, oops.

Not gonna lie, my lack of focus made me read this book. I was just sitting in excel trying to get work done, but kept getting off task. I got bored and started to look at other people's book. I picked up Athziry's book, this book, and the cover looked cool. I asked how she liked and all that kind of stuff, until I decided I would read it. It sounded like an interesting book to read, and it was. I guess sometimes off task is a good thing.

This book is unique in many ways. For one, it tells stories from different people who were connected with rape. There are stories from the victims, the offender, and police. The stories are all different, but share the same relation, which I found interesting. It also tells the reader the process of things when a rape victim reports it. These stories are from a judge, police, and two lawyers. I enjoy knowing multiple thoughts on the topic, it really always me to see the whole thing better.

Update!

I've been having fun while doing this project. I'm helping the world by researching the thing that I'm most "passionate" about, dogs. My project is going great. I have gathered information about the topic and have started to write about in the blog that I have created. I only have one post so far introducing the purpose of the website, but have researched enough to add a one or two next week. I need to email different places where they let people adopt abused animals. I found many places to email and plan on emailing them soon. I emailed one place called the Animal Welfare League, but they have not emailed back. I brainstormed ideas for to advertise my blog, but I don't want to start advertising until I get a response from one of the companies I have found.

Forget Me: Week of 11/11/14

Pages Read: Finished

I started to read this book when I was in the car with nothing to do. In fact, this is my sister's book that I didn't even knew exist until my phone died. I started to read this book with hope that I would like it, fortunately, it is one of the best books I would read. It has murder and mystery, one of the best kinds of books, in my opinion. I would suggest everyone to read this book. It is one of those books that when you pick it up, you won't want to put it back down.

The main character of this book is Morgan, a 16 year-old girl. Since the book is written in first person, Morgan telling the story, the word choice is one of the best things about this book. The author, Harrington, had to write this book using the words of a teenager. One example of this is, "It was a great smile-half cocky, half adorable-but it wasn't Flynn's." This is the first time Morgan saw Evan, a guy that looks like her dead boyfriend, but a teenager would totally say this. Harrington did a great job writing the job from Morgan's point of view because of the word choice.

Dialogue plays a major part in all books, but this one especially. Having it be told in first person, dialogue allows the reader to understand what other characters are thinking. It also affects the readers emotions. For example, the last two pieces of dialogue in the book are, “Don’t make me laugh, it hurts.” and “I’m your best friend. It’s my job.” These few short sentences actually made me cry. After reading the whole book and getting to know the characters, this makes you feel happy for them. Happy for their friendship, which makes you think about your own friendships after you put the book down.

Hugo: Week of 11/2/14

Pages Read: Finished
Prompt: Summary & How do pictures affect the book?

As you can tell, I finished "Hugo" in just one week. It is an easy book to read, but I still feel like it's for my age group. Hugo has many pictures in it, which play an important part of the story. The pictures really showed the story in an unique way. There were doodles and pictures taken by a camera, both adding much detail to the story. This picture to the right might have played the most to the story. It was Hugo's father's first movie he saw. Doesn't sound like much, but to Hugo, it was the world. Hugo's father had died in a fire and this picture is one of the things that remind him of it. The picture below, is the second thin that Hugo uses to keep memories of his father. The automaton was something that Hugo's father had found and was rebuilding, with some help from Hugo himself. These pictures show the reader (along with words) why they are important to Hugo. They also allow the reader to read the book knowing how these two things look. This helps the reader because there are many references, especially the top one, throughout the book.

**My favorite part was the ending so I'm going to skip the beginning of the story and go to the end.**

Hugo and Isabelle had finally got Isabelle's godparents to be okay with bringing up the past, after a series of unfortunate events. Hugo was running to get the automaton from his room in the train station. Since he had a broken hand he wasn't sure how he was going to mange, but he'll think of a way. He was relieved when he heard a knock on the door thinking it was Isabelle to help, but to his demise it was the station inspector. Hugo tried to run, but couldn't escape the tight grasp of the man. As soon as he loosened his grip, Hugo made a run for it.

Hugo ran as fast as he could to get out of the walls. He dashed through the crowd to get out, but soon he lose his sense of direction. All he could tell was where the station inspector was. To him, that's all he needed to know, until he fell. He didn't just trip, no, it's way worse, he had fallen onto the train tracks! Hugo looked up in confusion to see a train hurdling towards him. Hugo was panicking not sure want to do, when he was saved. He was grabbed a spilt second before the train would have hit him. He was relieved for a moment, until he heard the station inspector's voice.