Blog 6: The Scarlet Ibis

There were many superstitions presented in The Scarlet Ibis. Besides the "Jesus' nightgown" and "rain frog," there was also the superstition that "dead birds are bad luck." This was said by Aunt Nicey who is full of superstitions throughout the story. She happened to be correct in saying this because Doodle later faced a death much like that of the Scarlet Ibis'. One superstition that my mom and I believe in is the Death Watch Beetle that warns someone that their loved one is about to die. This superstition dates back to Egyptian times and is believed by many to be true. 

Blog 5: The Man That Was Almost A Man

1. After reading the first paragraph, identify the narrator, the point of view, and the dialect.

The narrator is an adolescent boy named Dave who lives in the south and works to keep food on the table for his family. He along with his father and mother have heavy southern accents and speak using poor English.

2. What is Dave's mother's response when he asks her if he can buy a gun? How does he ask her?

At first she doesn't agree to allow him to get a gun but after much begging she finally says yes, but under one condition. He asked her by holding up the catalogue he received from Joe at the store and pointing to the gun section hesitantly. He was told to immediately return home after purchasing the gun and give it to his father. He decided to rebel and keep it for himself and practice using it.

3. What is Dave's reaction when pressed to tell the truth? What is the crowd's reaction when he tells? 

He is hesitant when asked to tell the truth but when he finally does the crowd laughs at his foolishness. One man claims that "he knew it was a bullet wound." Altogether, they weren't surprised.

4. Think of the train as a symbol. What do you think it represents?

The train symbolizes the journey to manhood. Even though I believe that his actions in leaving were cowardly, maybe his living alone will teach him what it's really like to be a man. 

5. Is society better off without individuals like Dave? Should they celebrate his departure?

They shouldn't necessarily celebrate his departure but they shouldn't feel like they're at a loss because his cowardly behavior is not something to look up to. He disobeyed his parents then lied about it. Hopefully his journey will make him realize what the qualities of a real man are.

Blog 4: Lamb to the Slaughter

The ending was ironic and clever. Irony is when the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the reader but unknown to the character. In Lamb to the Slaughter, the detectives were the unknowing as Mary giggled at their confused expressions. As they said that the culprit must be right under their noses, the "murder weapon" literally was. The moral of this story is that looks can be deceiving. One would never expect for the 1940's housewife to murder her husband who she adored so very much. Now a days, it would be impossible for her to commit her crime successfully. The technology and precautions that would be taken would eventually find her guilty.

Blog 1: Part 1 Reflection

In Part one, when Riva was comforting her younger brothers. "I put my arms around him and hold him close. I kiss his light brown hair. 'I am so lucky to have you two, my wise darling brothers. I still have you two to hold onto. I love you both so much.'" As the mother figure, she cares for them both so much. Even in the worst of times, she worries that she's making the right decisions. Her maturity level exceeds any of a child I have ever encountered. This isn't necessarily a good thing, because it means that she's had her innocence robbed from her. She withstood a nightmare without a second of complaining. This is amazing to me.

Blog 9: Lawyer. To Defend or Not to Defend (A Little Late)

My decision would be to defend the accused. My first reason is that personal life shouldn’t effect one as a lawyer. Just because defending this person may cause for friends to turn against me is not a good enough reason to decline. A real lawyer wouldn’t let his or her personal life effect business decisions. Basically, if you’re good at what you do, you should be able to defend even the guiltiest of the accused. Atticus Finch proved himself to be an upstanding citizen when accepting the rape case. He is one of the few characters who, despite what the rest of the world thinks, does not discriminate against blacks. I believe that Atticus really loves law. He gives a new name to scummy lawyers.

Blog 16: News Report on Chapter Four

April 2, 1940 - With each passing day, more and more Jews are being captured and forced out of their homes. The once happy neighborhoods have turned to a glum, depressing environment. The silence suddenly breaks out in chaos with a "Forward, march!" These two simple words mean horrific things to come for the innocent men, women, and even children. The chaos gets louder. Screaming and crying...BANG!...then silence. A pregnant Jew is pulled out from the marching line of bobbing heads, and thrown to the ground. Another scream can be heard...following another shot...then the dreaded silence. 

This game is much like cat and mouse. The evil Nazi soldiers trail around the Jews as if they were mice.  What the cats don't see is that the mice have names, families, lives. The naive young children who are separated from their loved ones scurry around, wide-eyed, in hope of finding someone, anyone to stand by them. The victims of the Holocaust - Jews, gays, and different people alike - have endured more than any human ever should, for unjust reasons. All we can do is remember those who were lost and pray for this war of hate to be over.

Blog 15: Holocaust Topics and The Cage

The Jewish Holocaust took place in Europe from 1933-1945. It was a mass murder of millions of followers of Judaism. The Nazi Party consisted of political followers of Adolph Hitler's views. Hitler lead and organized the genocide. Ruth Minsky Sender is a Poland-born holocaust survivor. After her mother being taken from her, leaving her with her brothers to take care of, she was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where she was seperated at the gates from her brothers. She was finally liberated by Russian forces. Mittelsteine was the second camp she was sent to and eventually rescued from. A personal memoir is a writing of an encounter the author had themselves. The Cage is a story of one girl who encountered the horrific genocide known as the Holocaust, and her experiences throughout.