The Overcoming of Death

Author's Note~ This is a conflict resolution piece that I am trying to score a 9.5 or higher in and get a good thesis statement in introductions.

In the book A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, death was brought up in the begging of the story.  Johnny’s mother dies in a horrific accident at a baseball game and everyone there saw. The thought of overcoming death is such a scary thing at such a young age, and Owen and Johnny had to overcome the conflict person vs. self.

In the book Johnny had a great relationship with his mom as well as Owen.  Both characters had shown sign of sympathy within each other.  Owen and Johnny had some issues overcoming her death such as when they would see her room, or think about all the good times they had together.  It was emphasized that Johnny was able to take the death a lot better than Owen was.  Owen was having issues overcoming her death and not having her to accompany him. 

This conflict was resolved in a simple way.  About a month later Owen couldn’t stop thinking about her.  He visited her grave often and never seemed to get over her death.  When Johnny was cleaning out her room they had decided to take out her manikin that she used and saw every day.  Johnny’s step dad was going to take it to his apartment, but Owen insisted it should go to his room.

Ever since then Owen was able to accept the fact that she had died and he was able to have a part of her with him.  Owen should more of his old self and the reader could verify that through Owens’s attitude towards life.   In the book The Way we Fall, by Megan Crewe, Kaelyn had to overcome the death of her mom and lead the island back to a safe and healthy climate.  She and Owen used their own strength to persevere through death.

Each reader could tell that in both stories each character had to resolve the fact that someone important in their life had left them and they would need to survive without them.  Owen and John were able to resolve the death using each other to rely on.  Overcoming a person vs. self conflict can be hard usually involving fight or death with someone, but Owen and Johnny overcame that at a young age amazingly.

Fooler

Author's Note~ This is a creative piece on a man who travels to Jamaica to get his money back but all he can think of is dying.

I have always worried about putting my credit card into the computer.  How safe are those programs.  I’m a young boy out of college, I can’t afford losing all my money now.  When I clicked checkout I didn’t know what would happen.

6 days later……

“It finally came” I told my girlfriend Karen. 

“It’s about time” she said dully.  I had just ordered this new video game and she didn’t seem so excited.  Now me, I was as happy as I could ever be. 

2 days later…..

Phone ringing!!!!!!! I picked it up and said “hello”.

“Yes, this is MasterCard”.

A shock ran through my whole body.  “Yes what happened?”

“It appears that you have been spending thousands of dollars in Jamaica” the lady said.

“I think you have mistaken this ma’am”.  I replied scared to she has to say back.

“Your card shows that you have spent a total of $9,999 in Jamaica.  If this would have been $10,000 our system would’ve alarmed us but it did not.  Unfortunately we can’t take this payment back I’m sorry”.

“Come on!!!!!!” I screamed, “Your telling me that I can’t even get my money back”.

“No sir I am sorry”.

“Noooooooo” I yelled as I slammed the phone to the ground.

“What happened” Karen asked.

“I have been scammed”.

4 days later……..

“Welcome to Jamaica” a young happy man told me as I got off my plane.  I saw a sea of people surrounding me, like I was a celebrity.  Feeling like a rock star I thought where are these people with my card.  I was given a card locater and noticed they were just 10 minutes away.

“How’s Jamaica”  Karen said.

“It’s great and really cool” I said happily.

“I hope you have fun, and stay safe”. Karen said and hung up.

When I sat  in my bed I thought of the crazy day I was going to have ahead of me.  The intriguing discussions I was going to have and lastly how do I stay safe.  What do I do.  All I can do is pray, and if I die here, well I knew I died trying, trying for something I knew was right.       

  

Who's View Is It?

Author's Note~ This is my point of view piece on the point of view in the novel A Prayer For Owen Meany, by John Irving.  I want to get a 9 or higher on this piece.

Owen Meany isn’t your average joe kid.  He is the kid whose feet don’t even come off the chair while sitting down.  A Prayer For Owen Meany, by John Irving tells the story of this unusual character.  John Owens friend was the main character and the whole story was in his point of view.  John’s point of view of Owen however didn’t change much and he had great respect for Owen throughout the book.  This book would’ve been taken in a different way and reader’s views of other characters would’ve been very different in someone elses point of view.

Johnny thinks that Owen is god’s instrument affecting  his own life.  John analyzed everyone from a normal standard depending on what they did Johnny would change his own view of everyone.  He seemed like an average kid but as he gets older in the book and when he talks about what he did in the past he changes.  Looking at his past he reflected on what he did good and what he did wrong as a kid.  The book clearly was is Johnny's point of view the entire time.

Owens point of view was much different.  He liked to criticize almost everything he saw weather it was on TV or it was a real event that occurred in his own life.  Owen was very bias to his own religious and showed a vigorous attitude to the Catholic Church and the way they did everything.  People also would see Owen differently and didn’t like the way he was so Owen must have had an edge on everyone criticizing him he did it back.

As I read each character seemed good but if this was in Owen's point of view his criticism would have been different on everyone else.  The book ( in Johnny's point of view) always had no bad guy in the story.  Each person was being nice to everyone and it was a normal happy town.  Now because Johnny thought that Owen was unusual if the book was in his point of view it could have been a lot different and could have varied.

Johnny’s mother died while he was young and Johnny was scared with the image of seeing his mom die in such an unlikely way.  She has always kept a manikin in her room to watch over her at night.  When Johnny’s mother passed the manikin went to Dan’s her boyfriend.  Owen didn’t think that it should be there and took the manikin back to his own house.  As I read I could see that Johnny and Dan were a little aggravated by this. 

If this event would've been in Dan's point of view I could have seen him being very aggravated at Owen but over all I think that it was the right move to give the manikin to Owen.  If Dan would have kept the manikin he would have felt touched by her and had her in his mind more often.  Now I'm going to write in the point of view of the manikin on moving to Owen's house. 

I just got stuffed in this big truck. What the heck.  Where am I going I liked it with Dan, he was a nice loving guy.  O my gosh I’m going to that annoying little brat Owens house.  This sucks he won’t even dress me I’ll just stand there lonely.  “WELCOME HOME,” as Owens high pitched voice pierced my ears.  ‘WERE TAKING YOU RIGHT UP TO MY ROOM,” Owen said.  Oh no  this will be miserable.

As the reader read they read the life of one crazy person Owen Meany.  Although Johnny told us the story in his own point of view you could tell there were other people pitching in and you could see how others thought of Owen.  Some thought that he was a courageous young man and some thought he was an annoying human being.  Differences between whose telling the story can change the readers input on who each person acts throughout the novel. 

Alike and Unalike

Author’s Note~ This is a compare contrast piece that I am trying to meet all my goals with.

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Chains. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008. Print.

The Patriot. Dir. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joley Richardson. Columbia ;, 2000. DVD.

There are so many twists in life and it seems that they are always different.  Just like every human being which makes writing an essay comparing things should be easy.  Right?  Well there were two sides back in the Revolutionary war time and the book Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson and the movie The Patriot showed two totally different sides.  Struggling to keep on in both stories the characters showed determination and bravery to show pride for their side. 

Being owned by a loyalist family Isabel worked hard as a slave and while working she met a colonist soldier.  They then talked about British attacks to help the colonists.  Benjamin Martin lived with seven children and one who just went off to war.  He decided not to enter right away but he would end up being one of the most significant fighters.  They were both on the same side and both tried to help the colonists make a miraculous comeback and free themselves with victory.

Both living in South Carolina at a time they believed in the same concepts freedom.  I may be focusing on a word here but freedom is the main relation in this book. Being a slave wasn’t fun and all they wanted to do is be like everyone else.  Benjamin just wanted the war to end and create a free peaceful place to live in for his children and generations to come. 

The Hunger games can relate to this stories in Chains and the Patriot.  Katniss had to fight for her own life and family just like Benjamin and Isabel had to do while fighting for their freedom.   After fighting, Benjamin and Katniss had the same feeling a feeling of relief and the feeling of satisfaction.  What a great feeling something anyone of us would love to have.

Now to the second part unalike.  Isabel lived in an area controlled by the British while Benjamin and his family lived in a area with more colonists fighting for their land.  The British also had the advantage of bribery because they were more wealthy and had more land.  Down south most people didn’t like the king so trying to put together an army wasn’t as hard as it was in the north.

Isabel was treated so much worse than Benjamin and his family.  Benjamin had many people where he could help his family out when he was in war. “Isabel, ma’mm,” I said. “Isabel Finch.” “Ridiculous Name,” madam said”. Page 55. Isabel was treated like crap when she did something bad.  But both didn’t contrast a lot because both had happy endings and each family was happy at the end.

This war affected so many people especially us today.  Just think about being held under the king today.  Our country showed great pride during this war and the people fighting like Benjamin really affected the war.  Showing pride for the colonists both characters were determined to have freedom.

A Theory

Author's Note~ This is my theme essay on the book Chains. I want to get a 9.5 or better on theme in the reading rubric.

There is always that one person that is treated unfairly or the one at the lunch table sitting by himself.   In the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, two sisters are African Americans during the Revolutionary War time.    Now days we treat people unfairly for the fun of it but back then they treated African Americans unfairly because they had black skin and we had white, what a shame.

                                                       

Slavery was such a shameful thing for all people who used because they were so lazy.  Just because the color of their skin it ruined African American lives from then and they are still treated wrong today.  Whether your skin is black or white you should not be treated unfairly.  As a theme unfairness is a leading role in Chains.

"Craaaack! Lightning struck from a blue sky; Madam slapped my face so hard it near threw me to the ground." page 33.  Some people believe this is the way we should all live; have people do our work and all we do is give them food and a bed.  This type of theme can be related to any things such as The Hunger Games when they force teenagers into war to practically kill themselves.

Forcing people to do things is a cruel thing and has occurred so often in our society and the society back then.  As humans we should all be treated fairly and the right way.  Slaves back then were treated so unfairly the whole nation decided to go to war and kill thousands.  This is such a shame to all the believers in slavery.

Believing in slavery back then was normal and now most Americans believe it is the cruelest thing we can do to people.  Treating people fairly is what everyone should’ve done back then and many American feel angry at how we did that..  Whether having black skin or white, treating others unfairly because of their skin color is a shame.

What do you Think?

Author's Note~ This is a prediction essay as I hope to show proficiency in prediction.

Inside a sunken ship with little oxygen, extreme dangers with hazardous air particles in the air.  That’s Nailer’s job, in the book Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi.  Nailer loves to explore and when a friend and himself went around the island they found a sunken ship with a wealthy girl, Nita.  Running from killer people and half men Nita and Nailer split up and are in desperate search.  A battle on the water leaves Nita’s ship sinking.  I believe that Nailer will find Nita in the ship and rescue her and end up together for the rest of their life.

Every love story always comes down to a happy ending.  During the stories Cinderella and Snow White there is always a happy ending.  Most reader could’ve assumed that Nita and Nailer would end up with each other at the end of the story.  Most Teen books need something exiting and a love story or a happy ending to keep young readers into the book and that’s why I think this will happen.

Secondly a lot of stories revolve around war; that one hero that always has the ladies love.  During this book you could tell that there were going to be two sides and Nita and Nailer were on the same side.  When I read I try to point out the obvious signals for predicting stories.  I noticed that Nailer was always fighting for Nita and that’s another reason the prediction is accurate.

Relating this book to another book would be easy.  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins show how there is the war by everyone fighting as well as the love story during the big fight.  When you fight there will always be that one person who amazed you, which he is normally recognized at the all star.   In both stories you could tell who the hero’s were and they always ended up with their lover.

Love, such a powerful thing and it occurs in almost every piece of literature you can find, as well as every day in your life.  Whether you can see it or not you can almost assume in almost every story there will be love and you know that love will always be strongest at the end.  Being with someone for your entire life is a commitment, but I found that Nailer and Nita could never split up and will be with each other for their lives. 

We Are One

Author's Note~ This is an analysis essay about the story The City of Ember by Jeanne DePrau.  My goal for this is to show a proficient level in my body paragraphs.

400 united people, coming from the underground city of Ember unsure of what comes next,  join together and save their lives.  The book The City of Ember, By Jeanne DePrau symbolizes the coming of a powerful group.  DePrau showed courageous attitude from all the characters in this book while telling a great motivating story.

Motivation moves people and great motivators show leadership in everything they do.  Ray Lewis, the middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens shows great motivation to all the players on the team and other college or high school groups.  As well Ray leads the team as a captain cheering on players and improves the morale of the team, just like Lina and Doon did in the book.  In the book DePrau shows how Lina and Doon were both great motivators and leaders.

Motivation moves people like Thomas did in the book The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  He moved all the Gladers out of the Glade and showed what Lina and Doon showed by taking all the Ember citizens and freeing them from a dying city.  When DePrau wrote she made readers believe that anyone can do anything.

Believing that you can do anything is something I have always lived by.  Personally I have always wanted to go skydiving and zip lining and I have always wanted to attend Marquette University for college.  Although all of these may not happen I will always believe that this could happen in my life.  When readers read the book I believe that DePrau showed that anything was possible and leading 400 people out of a dying underground city was one of them. 

Whether you’re Ray Lewis or you believe in anything, DePrau showed in the book The City of Ember that motivation and believing that you can do anything is apparent in the book.  Also you can learn from what characters do and you can see how they motivated you and you can use that on others.  While writing a great story DePrau showed courageous attitude from all the characters.