Last ELA blog

            I have just finished reading the book The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It was about a boy named Thomas who is thrown into a place called the Glade. Thomas has no memory of his old life except for his name. The Glade is surrounded by a maze that “Gladers” try to escape. The book has many themes and morals. Out of all of them, there is one very valuable lesson. The lesson is that vital information should not be kept a secret.

            When Thomas is first thrown into the maze, he has no idea what is going on. None of the other “Gladers” will tell him anything. The leader of the pack yells and threatens Thomas when he asks questions about where he is. “’No interruptions, boy!’ Alby shouted. “Whacker, if we told you everything, you’d die on the spot, right after you klunked your pants.” This quote shows Alby getting fed up with Thomas just for wanting to know where he is. I feel that it is better if Alby did tell Thomas, and everyone else, because it will greaten their chance of escaping. If there are more minds working on a solution, there will be more opportunities of finding an answer. Thomas and the other gladers should be told information, because right now, only the leaders are working to solve the mystery. 

            Another time this occurs is when Minho, a runner, comes back and tells the leaders what he found in the maze. Newt (another leader) forbade Thomas to hear any of what Minho said. As it turns out, Thomas did hear what Minho said, but only because Newt didn’t feel like arguing enough to kick him out. The information that Thomas heard was actually a key part of the Gladers escape. If Newt had kicked Thomas out, then they might not have escaped the maze. This shows that important information should not be kept from people, because it might help in the future.

             All in all, a really big theme that reoccurs in the book is that vital information shouldn’t be kept a secret. If more people know the information, then there are more minds helping to complete a goal. Thomas heard what Minho said, and that was the key part of the Glader’s escape. The book was very fun to read and it had very valuable lessons.

ANOTHER NONFICTION RESPONSE


          I just read an article called "Imagining 2014" about a scientist and sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov.

The article explains about Asimov's predictions. "Asimov looked ahead to 2014 and predicted video

phone calls (think Skype and FaceTime_, 3-D movies, 'miniatureized computers, e-readers, and GPS."

They talk about how he predicted some of the challenges that we are facing today such as

overpopulations and the depletion of Earth's resources. Then, the article states that not all of his

predictions are true. He predicted flying car, underwater cities, and moon colonies. None of those are

around yet.

          The author wants us to see how great of a mind Isaac Asimov had. He shows this by

telling us about all of the great things that Asimov did and predicted. He states that Asimov wrote a

classic book: I, Robot. The author also says that Asimov predicted numerous things, most of which

were true.

          The author thinks that Isaac Asimov was a very smart and interesting person. Even though the

author states that not all of Asimov's predictions were true, the author obviously thinks that all of his

predictions will eventually come true. I think that that is the case because the author tells us so many

great things about Asimov. At the end of the article, the author states that Aimov's false predictions

might not be far off. That shows how much the author is inspired by Isaac Asimov, and might even

believes in his false predictions.

           POEM RESPONSE:

           I just read a poem called “Incident” by Countee Cullen. After reading the word “nigger” in the poem, I realized that that very word is a symbol for racism. As this poem shows, racism isn’t affected by age, and it can hurt someone a whole lot. Racism is terrible, and it is shown in the poem through the word nigger.

            Racism doesn’t stop for age because in the poem, the speaker was a victim to an 8 year old! “Now I was eight and very small/ and he was no whit better” that indicates that the racist person was only 8 years old. That is awful. Racism is bad enough, but is especially bad when a young person is behind it. The kid went on to say: “Nigger.” This is where the symbol comes in. Just saying that word makes everything so bad. That is the racist part.

            The word nigger made the speaker forget everything else that happened whilst he was in Old Baltimore. “Of all the things that happened there/ that’s all that I remember”.  The only thing that he could remember was when he was called a “nigger.” That one word drowned all the good times that the speaker potentially had.

            I can relate to this poem in a way because one time, someone said something rude towards my religion. In camp I was waiting in line for lunch, when a boy my age came up to me and saw my Jewish necklace. He said, “I can skip a Jew!” and stood in front of me. I was very sad, and I never went back to that camp again. I was only like 8 years old as well.

            In conclusion, I think that the word “nigger” is a symbol to racism in the poem.         And racism may occur at young ages and it may change your whole life. Racism is a terrible thing that is expressed in this poem, and there should be a stop to it!

Rant on my phone


It is not fair that my parents take my phone away! They try to make me "check it in" and put it on the shelf everyday when I get home. They usually forget, but still. And they NEVER take my brother and sister's phones away. ITS NOT FAIR! They my phone away for the stupidest reasons. If I forget to do 2 small dishes--they take is away/ If I say a "bad word"--they take it away. If I accidentally bump into my sister, and it makes her cry--they take it away! Of course, my parents side with my sister, and say that "I knew it would upset her." Still--Why do they take my phone away! They act as thought I am a little kid who isn't responsible enough to have a phone! If they aren't going to let me use it, why let me get it?

     I am currently reading a book called HIgh Fidelity by Nick Hornby. It is about a guy named Rob who just broke up with his girlfriend Laura. This book is about him with relationships with his ex, and him with music. He owns a record shop. Although that in the beginning of the book Rob claims that he doesn't like his ex anymore, and that he wasn't hurt by the break-up, I know that he really still has feelings for Laura because he keeps trying to get back together with her, and he wants her to break up with her new boyfriend.
     One way that Rob has shown that he still likes Laura is that he keeps asking her if there is still a chance that they might get back together. Even if she is uncomfortable answering the question, he keeps on asking. A quote form the book is "'I just want to know where I stand. What chance I have.' 'I don't bloody know what bloody fucking chance you have. I'm trying to tell you that I'm confused, that I haven't been happy for ages, that we got ourselves into a terrible mess, that I've been seeing someone else. These are the important things.' 'I guess. But if you could just tell me roughly, it would help.'" That shows that even though she REALLY doesn't want to answer the question, he keeps on pushing her to answer it, because he really wants to get back with her.
     Another way that Rob shows it is that he constantly calls her. He calls like 6 or 7 times a day, and she doesn't answer. She doesn't answer, probably because she doesn't want to talk to him, rather than that she is busy. Rob doesn't seem to know this, and he keeps calling her, because he still has feelings for her and he wants to start dating her again.
     The final reason that you can see that Rob still likes Laura is that he keeps asking her about her relationship with her current boyfriend. He asks really personal questions that only prove that he really wants Laura back. One very personal question that he asks, is how has her sex been with her new boyfriend. She obviously doesn't want to answer that question, and based on that you can see that Rob is obviously jealous.
     All in all, Rob, although he claims he doesn't like Laura anymore, obviously still has feelings for her. He asks her personal questions about her relationship, he calls her nonstop, and practically begs her to go out with him again, by asking what chance he has with her. In my eyes, Rob is in love with Laura and he REALLY wants her back.

NONFICTION ARTICLE: 

"Birds Flying 'High'?"

           The main idea in this article is mainly about the rights of birds. There is a sport called "pigeon racing" in the article, where people made hundreds of birds fly from their coops back home, while they are being electronically tracked to see how fast they do it. That was where they found that there were six birds that were "high". In the article it states "Six birds in Belgium tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs (five from painkiller; one for cocaine)." The pigeon races are now a big sport and 15 million dollars in gambling money is at stake each year in the U.S. alone. PETA, an animal rights group, report that 60 percent of the bird get lost or die because of "bad weather, electrical lines, predators, or exhaustion."

           The author wants us to know that people aren't treating pigeons right. These pigeon races are killing a huge portion of the pigeons that are in these races, and that is not fair to the pigeons. In October, pigeons were even HIGH. Pigeons don't buy these drugs. They got ahold of the drugs because of the carelessness of humans. The author does a good job of backing up this lesson, because he/she uses examples of animal-rights groups to inform the reader that these terrible things are happening to pigeons. 

           The author obviously believes that humans are very cruel to pigeons, and after I read the article, I believe that too. Pigeons are being killed in these races. In the races, less than half of the pigeons survive. The pigeons are vulnerable to drugs, predators and other dangerous things that may harm them. People obviously do not care about the pigeons and they throw them around like props, not caring about what happens to them. People who use pigeons for this sport are thoughtless and selfish.

           REVISED VERSION

             In many cases, kids can have as much—if not more—power than adults do. This is the case in a book called The Shining by Stephen King. It was about a man, Jack Torrence, who took care of a hotel called “The Overlook Hotel” while the owner was away for the winter. Jack brought his wife and kids to the hotel with him. In the past, Jack had a drinking problem, but he has been sober for a while now. People might think that Jack has the power throughout this text, but I think that it is his 5-year-old son, Danny who has control. Throughout this text Danny’s parents’ actions revolve around him.

            One place that this is shown is when Danny comes out of room number 217—a room that he was warned not to go into—with bruises on his neck. Wendy, Danny’s mom and Jack’s wife, immediately assumes that it was Jack that hurt Danny since he had done so 3 years earlier. She snatches Danny away from Jack and takes him to hide. Jack knows that he didn’t do anything, and it makes him crazy. It drives him to drink for the first time in a very long time. This is an example of how Danny has the power in the text, because Wendy tries to run away with Danny based on something that happened to him.

            Another thing is that in the book, the author gives you the message that Jack and Wendy do love each other, but not very strongly.  At least that is how I interpret it. The main reason that they are staying together is for Danny. Danny loves them both so much.  He would hate it most if his parents got divorced. On the other hand, Wendy feels that Danny loves Jack more.  That brings her even closer to the family, because she wants Danny to love HER more. Jack feels that Wendy is trying to steal Danny from him, so he tries to get closer to Wendy so that she can’t steal Danny away. Danny brings the family together, so whatever he does makes his parents do things.

            The final and obvious reason why I think Danny has power in the text is because Danny literally has a power. He has the Shining. He has a little friend named Tony that shows him things. Nobody else can see Tony. Danny can read minds and control things, and see ghosts and such. He can tell things that are happening right now, even if the incident isn’t where he is. He can communicate with someone else with the Shining by sending thoughts to them. In a way, he can also read the future. At first Wendy doesn’t believe that Danny has a power, and she has a doctor look at him. As the story continues however, she grows to believe Danny, and she asks him questions about his father. One thing she asks him  “Is your father drinking again, Danny?” Danny has power in this part of the text because his mother acts based on Danny’s literal power.

            In the book, there are many examples of where Danny has power, whether it is literally a power or, just being in control, he has it. Jack and Wendy are married, but the real reason why they are still together is because of Danny. He brings the family together. He is also the reason why his parents do the things that they do. Many people think that Jack might have power, but they are wrong. Danny is the one with the power.