Post #8

Chapters 25-27
Perspective: Bob Ewell

Atticus Finch. His name alone boils my blood. He took everything from me. I didn't have much before, but now even my good name is ruined. He took the first job I've had in years, he wouldn't even give an honest man an honest days work. Allegedly I'm the abusive father, that's the town's assessment. But they shouldn't be talkin' with their painted holes. They don't know how small those welfare checks are, and how much works they makes us good sumaritans do fors such a small buck. We Ewells been persecuted since the wife kicked the bucket. I consented to do their work, but there's no use of it.

At least now Robinson is dead. A heap of inconveniences he was.Wouldn't even take the blame for a white mans crime, those people getting to high and mighty. What right do they think they have? Well, one down, two to go.

What do you think of Bob Ewell as a person?

Blog #7 To Kill a Mockingbird

The Jury's decision was received in many different ways. Jem was devastated, he had not realized how a case with no evidence could be validated by a jury. Though towards the end he began to be filled with apprehension. Aunt Alexandra new that it would turn out that way. Dill new before the case had adjourned that what was going on wasn't right.

Ms. Maudie expected Tom Robinson to be charged with , it was inevitable. She's been around Maycomb for a long time, and she new what Maycomb's people would do. But she was surprised, and quite pleased that it took them that long to deliberate, which was improbable, as she sat waiting for Atticus, Dill, Jem, and Scout to come home from the courthouse.

Finally, and maybe most or least importantly, depending on how you see it. Bob Ewell was happy. He was of course glad that he won, that Tom Robinson went was charged guilty, that was the result he was pursuing. But he was also angry, because the last shred of respect he held in Maycomb was now gone. Because no matter what the ruling was, they all knew what kind of person Bob Ewell was, and what really happened that night. Hypocrites.

Post #6

One of the major themes of To Kill a Mockingbird is the face that Atticus is and has been for a long time a single parent. People have commented a lot about how it would have been so much better if Scout and Jem's mother hadn't died. Or how much better their life would have been if Atticus had remarried.

I myself think their life would have been pretty much the same. I don't think they would have changed as people. They probably wouldn't have been as wild as children, and they wouldn't have met Calpurnia. So you might say Scout wouldn't have known how to read. But you have no idea what their mother would have done had she survived. I'm not going to say that their mother dying was a good thing, because death can hardly every be called a blessing.

But, the lives of Scout and Jem could not have turned out much better than they did. They have indepentdent thought processes, strong values, self control. Atticus has done a pretty bang up job with it. The only thing is that maybe they would have had more fun, maybe Mrs. Dubose wouldn't have hounded them all the time if their mother had been around. Scout would have turned out more lady like, and the kids would probably call Atticus "Dad." So that's not exactly something that would make it nessesarily better or worse. But different, definatly.

Journal #5

Chapters 13-15
Perspective:Atticus

Scout, that is still so young. She doesn't understand what's going on these days. She doesn't belong in this madness. Her innocence was infallible. Where as Jem has this new found maturity emerging. I'm proud of him, for standing there with his dad. But at the same time I was terrified.

I'm not quite sure what I had planned to do, but all I know is that once my children arrived I couldn't think of anything. Nothing but what would happen to my children. They weren't supposed to be there. It's my responsibility to protect Tom Robinson, none of theirs. When Scout called out to me, I just wanted them to go home.

Those drunkards on Sunday, have acquired a rotten disposition towards Tom Robinson. And for what? He's . Gladly Mr. Cunningham remembers past transactions, and his underlying goodness towards Scout compensates for whatever he might have done. Only a little longer, then maybe I will be able to extract the truth from this overgrown web of lies.

Journal #4

Chapter 9-12
Perspective: Mrs. Dubose

Those Finch's they went wild when their mama died. The poor thing. None else like their mama. Still, their daddy should have remarried after she passed. Those kids 'r wild ones. But who blames them when their daddy protects niggers and their kinds. It contradicts everything I've ever learned. Their lack of respect is hardly inconspicuous, they call their own father by his first name!

That Jeremy destroyed my camellias, that cantankerous boy! My babies, my poor camellias. All my bushes of snow-on-the-mountain. He's gonna pay he is. He'll read to me for it. For that last month of mine. Then it won't matter anymore.

Jeremy's reading are almost inaudible, in comparison to my hunger. I will defeat this disease. There is great evil in being a slave to drugs, there is no greater peril. But I will be rid of it, before the end. Just a little longer everyday. My camellias will grow back, they will be there, when I am gone. At least I know that.

The drug is gone I am-

Journal #3

Chapters 8-9
Perspective: Uncle Jack

It was nice to spend Christmastime with Atticus and the kids. That Scout is such a tomboy, though I cannot say I am perplexed by the fact. Atticus has let them kids run wild all these years. The cursing is what surprised me. It seems learning these words is adjacent to being in school.

I guess Scout and Jem have been brought up better than that boy Francis though. I don't know how Alexandra brought up such a fanatical negro-hater. I'm glad Scout entrusted the truth to me, but I'm debating telling Atticus that his nephew thinks such things about him. Maybe give Fransis a little pat on the bottom as well.

All this business with Tom Robinson, it's rotten. There's no reason why an innocent man should go to jail. The kids'll go to hell as well, with all this Negro-Lover business. I just hope Atticus can handle what's to come.

Journal #2

Chapters 4-7
Perspective: Scout

Boo Radley's not that interesting. Not enough, I liked playing Boo Radley, and being Mrs. Radley, and all. But it's no fun when Dill and Jem run off to do the real stuff. They wouldn't even have told me if I hadn't made em. Plus Mr. Nathan coming out with his shotgun almost killing Jem, that was the scariest moment of my life. Then when he went back out to get his pants, him going by himself was not a unanimous decision. That was the second scariest moment of my life. It's a miracle we managed to evade death.
I liked it when school came back, another year of not learning, another year closer to learning something. Besides this year I can walk home with Jem. And this year we have a new friend. Mister that leaves us stuff in our tree. Well now it's our tree. Who else could it be for?
Finally when I see the sense to not take the stuff in the knot hole. Jem starts taking it, a chameleon like his is. But no one else took anything, or put anything back, so I guess it's okay. I like being in second grade, so I can walk home with Jem. Escaping from the tyranny that was Mrs. Caroline. But it makes me sad to know I won't learn anything until sixth grade. It's so boring I feel I'm being tormented. What can I do? Nothing I guess. I wonder if there's a different knot hole, Mister will put stuff in. I hope so. Just because Mr. Nathan filled our tree with cement doesn't mean he won't write back.

Journal #1

Chapters 1-3

Perspective of Jem

That house on the corner and Boo Radley. The scariest man I've never met. I don't know what made me do a crazy thing like that. But Dill Harris is one of the most convincing people I know. Besides, I couldn't turn down a dare, it would forever irk my conscience. Even if it was the most terrifying and intimidating experience of my life. The level of difficulty even had to be changed, first I had to make Boo Radley come out, but then we came to a comprimise of me touchen the house.

Every other time in my life I'd spent sprinting past the Radley house, and this time I was sprinting towards it. Good thing I was sprinting too, who knows what might have happened if Boo had come out, that scary eccentric man. Scout coulda gotten hurt. Boo woulda stabbed her in the leg right as easy as he stabbed his own father. Can't stand to think about it. Was darn creepy enough to see that curtain twitch. I think I saw a sliver of Boo's pale, slimy face. But I'm not sure.

Boo creeps the living begeebees out of me. But that's over and done with. I do believe I've settled my score with Dill. Now he's got to pronounce me as brave enough to touch Boo Radley's house. He ain't gonna talk no more bout me bein a coward. Neither can Scout, matter o' fact. I guess we'll just have to see bout tommorow. 'M getting a pretty penny to take her to school.

Long Way Gone: 4

Page 199, Ishmael.

"I am from Sierra Leone, and the problem that is affecting us children is the war that forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roam the forests. As a result, we get involved in the conflict as soldiers, carriers of loads, and in many other difficult tasks. All this is because of starvation, the loss of our families, and the need to feel safe and be part of something when all else has been broken down. I joined the army really because of the loss of my family and starvation. I wanted to avenge the deaths of my family. I also had to get some food to survive, and the only way to do that was to be part of the army. It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it. I have been rehabilitated now, so don't be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child. "

Ishmael went from fearing and running from the rebels, to needing and depending to be in the army, then peaceful remembrance on what it is to be human. Then he runs right back into what he ran from, and what he became addicted to once again. This time both the army and the RUF, working against him to the point where he is trapped.

Ishmael doesn't is just trying to educate people. He tells everyone the darkest parts of his life, from the deepest parts of his heart. I think it was really good of him to do it.

Why do you think it was possible for Ishmael to like being a soldier in the first place?

Page 209: Line 25, Ishmael.

"I'll let you know where I end up."

Ishmael's journey wasn't easy. But the hard part wasn't getting into America, it was getting out of Sierra Leon. He didn't know exactly where his journey would end.

I'm not sure exactly what this shows about Ishmael. Ishmael is brave. He daring to go out and try to become freed from the war. But at the same time only he is getting out, I feel like maybe he just left everyone else behind to rot.

Did Ishmael leave the people behind? What do you think that says about him?

Long Way Gone: 3

Page 113: Line 1, the sleeping Sheku and Josiah.

"Paw paw, boom"
"One, two."

This is another reason why Ishmael left Sierra Leon. Instead of smiling while they sleep, these nine and eleven year old boys are visualizing the deaths of their enemies. Instead of sleeping soundly they are chanting the sounds of gunshots and them stabbing their enemies with bayonets.

This makes me wonder about the thoughts of the commander in this outpost of the army. What kind of man would make soldiers out of boys. Even when they need stools to even lift, let alone shoot their weapons.

What kind of man makes soldiers out of boys?

Page 115: Line 20, the corporal.

"If you see anyone without a head tie of this color or a helmet like mine, shoot him"

There is no difference between the enemy, and the people that are watching your back in these battles. The only thing that marks them as your enemy is a colored ribbon you wear that they don't. They look just like you. They probably could be next to you if they had been in a different place at a different time.

This is where I start to judge the character of the rebels? Are they really all that bad? Most of them are just kids. Forced into whatever role they now play. Just as the army forces children into their power. It's all about what side your on, but that's decided as simply as who you run into when your running, and everyone is running.

Is the army and better than the rebels? How?

Long Way Gone: 2

Page 56: Line 29, an old man with no name.

"I will not be alive to see the end of this war. So, to save a place in your memories for other things, I won't tell you my name. If you survive this war, just remember me as the old men you met. You boys should be on your way."

This is another example of the hardships of the land Ishmael came from. There is an old man with rebels on the way, that has been left behind because he could not walk and the people could not carry him. He is, in a way, waiting for death.

But he is not bitter of the people for leaving, he is not sad. But he helps the boys the best way he can and tries to save the lives of as many people as possible, before accepting his own fate. This man faces the hardest hardship ever, death, but he bears it. Because, it is best for others.

Do you think it is wrong for the towns people to leave the old man? Would you be bitter if you were left?(Be honest![you know you would be])

Page 70: Line 13, Saidu.

"Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you. It will be quieter than I am."

This probably is the most obvious reason why Ishmael came to America. Well, all the reasons are obvious. But this really struck me as to what it felt like, and how horrible they really felt. They literally felt like they were dying.

Saidu really pops out as a character. Before he had never been heard from. He was quite and you never really heard from him. Then he said this, and you understood why. He went through things that couldn't be left behind or forgotten, and it killed him.

Have you ever felt like you could die?

Long Way Gone: 1

Page 3: Ishmael and his friends.
"Did you witness some of the fighting?"
"Everyone in the country did."
"You mean you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"
"Yes, all the time. "
"Cool"

Ishmael's friends already knew there were things about his past he hadn't told them. But they pressed to know more about him anyway. They asked about something they thought was "cool" therefore acceptable to bring up. Still to Ishmael, it's probably the thing he wanted to talk about the least. But still Ishmael says it with no emotion, because it's no longer a big deal.

This personally connects to me because I play video games where we shoot at each other, I'm about the same aged as Ishmael. Like him I've shot guns at random people and played on teams with my friends. But where I do it for points. Ishmael had to do it in real life, for his life. He didn't get a respawn, and neither did the people he killed. People now are proud of their kill/death scores in games, they love having double the amount of kills as deaths. But for Ishmael, every kill was forced, and he only had one life he had to kill to keep.

Why do you think Ishmael wouldn't want to talk about his past?

Page 38, Line 9: Chief of a small town and Ishmael.
"Are you rebels or spies?"
"No."
"...Drown the rebels."

There is no more trust in the lives of the people in Sierra Leone. There are only two types of people the tribes see, they see rebels/killers, and spies of rebels. There is no room for Ishmael to be a boy. No one would believe Ishmael anyway, not him or his friends. There are only two roles, the rebels, and the people living in their own towns. Anyone else is dead, or absorbed by one of the groups. Ishmael wanders looking for a place to belong, but is neither, and not trusted.

Ishmael's journey is not an easy one. He tried as hard as could to get to safety but other people had their safety to think about too. He's just a little boy, younger than me. But already he's seen so much blood and death. Been forced to leave his home and run. Then gotten thrown out of towns scared to face the same fate. It saddens me that he's gone through so much and the hardest is not behind him.

Do you think the lack of trust within the country is justifiable?

Lit. Circles

Independent Reading: The End

Brianne Nguyen - 2/5/10

The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss

3 1/2 Hours

Pages: 517-662(145 pages this Week)

Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?

I'm defiantly going to read more books by Patrick Rothfuss. First of all, I love his style, and really enjoyed this book. Second, though this book is over, the story of Kvothe is far from over. Rothfuss, ended the story with Kvothe saying that was enough of that part of the story, that he could move on with the story now that he'd said that base. But it's yet known how he's expelled from the University, or why. We don't yet know what happens to Denna, or why Kvothe is an innkeeper waiting to die.

What was one of your favorite lines in what you read today?

"The man had true-red hair, red as flame. His eyes were dark and distant, and he moved with the weary calm that comes from knowing many things.
The Waystone was his, just as the third silence was his. This was appropriate, as was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn's ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man waiting to die."

These are the last two paragraphs in the book, written in the Epilogue. They describe Kvothe, sitting in chair by his room, thinking. They explain at the same time that though Bast has said the story telling has made his master more lively brought his old self back, too much remains the same. Though you've heard at least 5 years of Kvothes life, in the book, only days have past. I like it because it's the exact same paragraph that is at the end of the Prologue, but the meaning is so different. Well, the meaning actually stays the same, but the way you interpret it is different. It makes you think. Maybe no matter what, your future stays the same.

In Class Reading Response: Journal Entry

The Chandrian finally made their mistake. The one that would help me kill them. Their mistake was they came close to where I live. Their first mistake was actually to let me live. They should never have done that to begin with. But I'm glad they did, because now I could get justice for my parents murder.

But now they're gone and I can only ask questions to the people that saw them. The only survivor, like me. I never expected that person to be Denna. I didn't think I would see her again for at least two span, as have our encounters been spaced before. I couldn't her what I've been through, or the reasons for me to travel seventy leagues in a day. She would think me cracked, chasing the Chandrian like a child wrapped in fantasy. She would never believe that I had seen them, that they had slaughtered my whole family years ago. But I had to figure out what happened at the wedding, why the Chandrian had killed those people yesterday, how the people died. So I could kill the killers.

Kvothe

Indepented Reading: The Middle

Brianne Nguyen - 2/2/10

The Name of the Wind

by Patrick Rothfuss

6 1/2 Hours
Pages: 103-517 (414 pages this Week)

Explain how the author creates suspense in this book.

Patrick Rothfuss creates suspense in this novel by writing with extreme foreshadowing. The story is a giant flashback. So we meet the adult character in the beginning, then we hear the story through his words, beginning at childhood. When he's telling the story he already knows what is going to happen. So he gives a short synopsis of what he's about to say, and why it's important to how his life turned out. Then he goes back to say what happened. It might make the book more predicable. But the way the story is told, you want to know what happens, and he never gives you enough information.

How is a character in your book similar to a character in another book, story, or movie?

The main character, Kvothe is like both Harry Potter an Voldemort. His whole family was ripped away from him. Like Harry Potter, but he grew up on the streets, and orphan. He's not exactly a wizard, he's an anarchist. Which is close, but different, magic is not made by words or magic plants, it's a mix of ancient power and science. In that way the University is like Hogwarts. Though is going for vengeance of his parents deaths, like Harry, and he goes through the same trouble making pattern. Kvothe has intelligence and an ease to pick up material that Harry doesn't have, and is more connected to Harry's nemesis Voldemort. Kvothe, though I wouldn't want to admit it, is an angry child, and I can see him starting to go down darker paths. He's not as blatantly good, protagonist hero type. Because he's gone through hardships in his life that cause him to see the world differently. So he started out Harry Potter like, but he may be turning into a Lord Voldemort.

Independent Reading: The Beginning

1/28/10

Brianne Nguyen

The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss

3 Hours

Pages: 1-103(103 pages this week)

What character do you like most in this book and/or what character do you like least? Why?

As I began reading The Name of the Wind, we met four characters, all young men and farmers. I assumed that these would be the main characters of the story. I was wrong however. The main character became a man I hardly noticed for the first two chapters. The innkeeper, whose name was Kote, and as I unraveled the history around him, he instantly became my favorite. Kote, who from the beginning informs us that his name is an alias, is running from the law. His real name is Kvothe. But he has been called The Flame, The Thunder, Six-String, Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. This is what makes him so interesting. Though they tell us what he has been called. Patrick Rothfuss has yet so reveal why he has been called that. Kvothe is a man some think of as myth, a scribe informed him when he realized who he was. But all you first see him as is a innkeeper. His is an intelligent man, brilliant in how he learned a language in a day, and you see him write in phonetics fifteen minutes after seeing it for the first time. It is said Kvothe is barely 26, though he is always described as having deep lines in his face. There is an eternal shroud of mystery surrounding Kvothe, but you know he is capable and has had a full and exciting life. That is what makes me love him.

Which character would you like to be like? In what way? Why?

I would really like to be like Kvothe. He seems to have no problem learning something new. He's super smart, even at the age of nine a graduated student of the university is schooling him. He memorizes almost anything he hears. His curiosity allows hims to soak up all information around him. He has the ability to be the best at anything he tries his hand at. Who wouldn't want to be brilliant, and never struggle learning. There are problems that come with his intelligence, but if I could pick someone to be like I would pick Kvothe, if not for his life, for his brain.

Independent Reading

I will be reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, because I have it and was planning on reading it anyways.