Response to Ribbons

Author's Note~ This is a response to Ribbons.

The shoes in this story were a big sign of the different cultures between China and America.  The grandmother thought that the shoes would be bad for her feet, but the girl wanted to dance.  America is also a lot less strict than China is.  China is  very strict in their traditions, when America isn’t as strict in traditions.

One thing that Chinese do to symbolize beauty is bind their feet back. They believed that if they had small feet it symbolizes beauty.   In America girls wear makeup to look more pretty.  In the story there were stereotypes going around.  At the end the girl was able to dance in her ballet shoes, with the grandma agreeing.

Who Am I

Author's Note~ This is a who am I piece, try to guess who it is.

I am around a golf club all day every day.  I love the game.  I was bullied on my first day of school for being African-American.  As a kid I practiced every day, on national television at 3.  I have brown eyes and I live in Nike clothes.  I am surrounded in money, own a mansion in Florida.  I’d say I live in paradise, with my two kids and an awesome game to keep me amused.

I’ve changed the sport that I play by immeasurable amounts.  I went to Stanford learned everything I needed to.  I don’t have a dependent income, it all depends on how I do.  I am considered as the best ever and I won’t to be known as that.  I live a tough life with the media all over me, I have encountered heartbreaking events like divorce and my father passing.

From all of this I have learned that even though I’ve made mistakes I can preserve through them.  I was considered as the best athlete year after year.  In 2008 I played one of the most amazing final rounds  ever with a knee injury.  I came back and have amazed people this year, and I am now chasing one amazing record that has never even been close to meeting, and I could.

Response to A Clean, Well-lighted Place

Author's Note~ This is a short anaylisis of the waiters in A Clean Well-lighted Place.

3.  Each waiter was different in many ways.  The first waiter was young cocky and  selfish while the other one was respectful and genuine.  Hemmingway used two different people to show you how they represent life. One was be right on time and act like you’re the boss and the other is one where you relax and comfort your customer and if you’re a little late its ok.  The café models a perfect setting for these two lifestyles collide.

The Thought of Sacrifice

Author's Note~ This is my analysis piece that I want to score a 9 in text analysis.  I inserted a quote as well to improve my score.

The sacrifice that someone can do for someone can be unbelievable at some times.  In The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry a couple sacrifice their own favorite possessions for each other.  In the short story Della had her hair cut off to buy a gift for her husband watch, while her husband Jim sold his watch away to buy her a really nice comb set.  O. Henry was able to show a perfect example of how people  sacrifice things for each other.

The tone from this story is evident from the beginning.  The tone was sacrificing for others.  As a nice person I myself try to sacrifice time for others.  I believe that even though I have a better life than the poor I should still designate time to help them out and sacrifice myself.  People think that sacrificing your time can be a hard thing.  It really isn't  with the charities today you can even sacrifice an old teddy bear or a used coat you don’t want anymore.  Like the say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  Della could have kept her hair and not got her husband anything but  she sacrificed her hair because she cares for her husband. "If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do--oh! what could I do with a dollar and eighty- seven cents?" pg.2 

Sacrificing things for loved ones happens all the time, like The Hunger Games.  Katniss sacrificed herself to help save Peeta in the cave.  In the Hunger Games you can see how much the games made them care about each other and then it caused Katniss to save Peeta's life.  Also just like in the story it is clear that Della and Jim sacrifice a possession for each others love.  As the tone changes you can tell that when they revealed their gifts they were awestruck.   Both of them were surprised but knew that they had given up something for each other.

Being awestruck at first sight I believe this also taught you a lesson and at the end the tone was clear.  As you read the last paragraph you saw that all though these people may have been considered foolish, they are considered the wisest because they gave and received.  When you think about sacrificing something sometimes it is worth thinking if they would sacrifice something from you.  That is what I learned from this piece.  From Jim giving up his biggest possession and same with Della they both thought that there plan would be perfect, well it turned out that they were wrong but sacrificed a lot.

The whole tone of the story is the thought of sacrificing something that you may not want to do.  Evident through the story the tone changed towards the end and the characters learned a lesson and that they should always think before they sacrifice their most prized possessions.  Showing how people sacrifice things for others O. Henry showed a perfect example of how people were able to learn a lesson while doing something right.

A special Quote

Author's Note~ This is an analysis of a quote.

Two kidnappers is pretty much the story of The Ransom of Red Chief, by O. Henry.  These men were in need for money and they assumed that they would get their money the opposite happens.  The quote I'm analyzing is "Two Desperate Men".  This tells a lot about the characters and how despreate they are.

Somebody to Lean On

Author's Note~ This is an analysis piece on Under the Baseball Moon by John H. Ritter.  I am trying to score a 10 in body paragraphs by incorporating quotes from the book.

One great trumpeter, and one great softball player.  That describes the stories of Andy and Glory in Under the Baseball Moon, by John H. Ritter.   In this story it shows the dependence of Glory and Andy’s relationship together.  Ritter was able to show the reader that they should always have one person to lean on and to be dependent on someone.

In my life I am dependent on many people, including my parents and my grandparents.  Either in a financial or support way I always have them to depend on.  In live it is always good to have someone to help pick you up or help you out.  In the book Whenever Glory had a bad game Andy was able to pick her up and make her feel better and improve.

Having someone to depend on is often something you see in sports when teammates pick each other up to play better.  Or in golf when caddies encourage their player that even though they hit a bad shot that they can rebound on the next.  During the story you were able to tell that there was definitely points where Glory tried to pick up Andy to help him play trumpet and vice versa. This quote says it all. “Good, because I will totally lift you up, I promise.” Pg. 218

People picking you up or motivating you happens all the time in life.  Like in the story A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.  In this  book you were able to emphasize how much of an impact Owen and John had on each other.  Just like with Andy and Glory’s case all the characters were able to have someone to rely on when they needed it most.

As you think about how often you rely on people in life you can also tell that people in books also do a lot of relying on each other.  In life dependence is one of the thing that people need to live life successfully.  Learning to have someone to depend on and lean on when you’re in trouble is one of the thins Ritter told you in Under the Baseball Moon.   

I Ran.......Will You?

I have escaped this

Dying country

With no light

Under the ground

Where you may

Die and starve

And loose light

But it’s ok

You can forgive me

But it is for our own good

Someone needs to leave

And it wasn't you

This parody relates to The City of Ember and how they were all able to find a way out.  This would have been the apology letter  from the people who escaped and who left everyone back. Eventually everyone gets out and its happy but the mayor doesn't and he dies.