Final Blog post: To Kill a Mockingbird

I have recently finished the wonderful and intriguing book To Kill a Mockingbird for the second time, and I have realized that there many more themes and symbols than I noticed when reading this novel the first time.

     One very important theme is the existence if good and evil in a person, essentially, whether a person is good or evil. The book shows this theme, by illustrating Scout and Jem as two children who have never seen any evil, therefore picture everyone as good. Their perspective changes as they grow up, and experience more evil, do they realize that people can be evil, and are not always good. 

     An important symbol I had noticed when reading te book the first time, but didn't quite understand, was the mockingbird. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence, and goodness. A few characters can be identified as mockingbirds, such as Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The idea that a mockingbird portrays innocence, is displayed by saying multiple times that killing a mockingbird is a sin. For example, when Tom Robinson was shot, Mr. Underwood compared his death to the "senseless slaughter if songbirds" another example that portrays this idea is when at the end of the book, when Scout thinks Boo Radley is innocent, she says hurting Boo Radley would be like shooting a "mockingbird". As you can see the mockingbird symbolizes innocence.

There are many themes and symbols in the book "To kill a mockingbird" one theme is the existence if bad or good in a person, and a symbol is the mockingbird and innocence, there are many other themes and symbols in this book but I feel these two were the strongest. Reading the book a second time gave me lots of new info I hadn't noticed before.

Reading response on Nonfiction article “Why Russia Can’t Afford Another Cold War”

Reading response on Nonfiction article “Why Russia Can’t Afford Another Cold War”

In the article by James B. Stewart Why Russia Can’t Afford Another Cold War, it is explained why autocratic President Vladimir Putin, would not be able to engage in another cold war. The crisis in Ukraine has attracted the attention of many world leaders and has also been compared to Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The major difference between now and then is that the Russia now has a stock market, which has recently dropped by more than 12 %, which is, according to the article “panic selling”. Because the Stock market is falling, Russia would not be able to “afford another cold war”.

            The author seems to think that because of the failing stock market, Russia avoided invading Eastern Ukraine for a while. For example according to Anders Aslund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, because the RTSI, (Russian stock market index) 12 %, Russia was trying to get its economy back up instead of invading Ukraine. In addition, the author also thinks that President Vladimir Putin is following an old “soviet playbook”. This shows that the author believes that the President of Russia could cause another war. Another reason that Russia can't have another cold war is because they are part of the global market. They need companies to invest in them, and now it is "far more exposed to market fluctuations because it owns a majority stake in a number of the country’s largest companies". Again, according to Dr. Aslund, Russia is much too vulnerable economically to go to war. This is becasue the Kremlin has made a humongous mistake by ignoring how much they depended on Europe. All in all, Russia will not be able to go to war anytime soon, because its stock market is too weak and vulnerable t0 be able to fund a war.

           

After reading this article, it made me think if it was possible of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could escalate into something bigger, like war. Also since I know that the US is getting involved, they might use force to stop Russia. I would like to research more on previous wars, to see if there is a connection on how they started. The possibilities to what this crisis could turn into are endless, from another World War, to just not even having to use force.

1st draft of reading response on poetr

Poems can be interpreted in many different ways. Many poems have many different meanings and "America" by Claude McKay is one of them. This poem is about how the author has a “love-hate” relationship with America.

The speaker talks about how hard it is for them to be in America, and all the challenges that are thrown at him/her.

An observation that supports my thesis is that the speaker loves America. For example, in the 4^th line, they state, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth” This quote shows that the speaker loves how America challenges them. This shows that even though America is being tough, the speaker still loves them. Another way that the author shows how the Speaker loves America despite the challenges, is by using literary devices such as similes, metaphors, personification, etc.

For example “Giving me strength against her hate”. This is an example of personification, because America cannot give strength. But this shows that the speaker loves America even though America hates them.

The speaker also believes that America has good and bad sides. For example, te speaker calls America a “cultured hell” but also says it is “priceless treasure” This shows that America has good and bad sides.

         In conclusion the speaker loves America despite all the hardships and challenges that are faced. This poem could be from the point of view of an immigrant, trying to make it in  America. I also think that the speaker think it is huge challenge to be in America despite how some people view living in America as an amazing opportunity.

Revised Poem on Writing prompt

poem from writing prompt number 10


The eagle stares at me
Intently, watching
From the ledge of the bridge.
Its yellow beak shines
Bright in the sunlight.
A low whisper escapes
My lips.
This eagle,
Is the one
to whom I
Broke
My promise,
To never tell the
Secret.

1st draft of reading response

Upfront Magazine: Minimum Age and a Minimum Wage.

The article Minimum Age and a Minimum Wage, by Joseph Berger, talks about how the minimum age for working has changed throughout history, and also how the minimum wage has increased. The first part of the article talks about the story of a 12-year-old boy who worked 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, in the late 1930s. Daniel B. Cornfield states "It was  not considered exploitative" "The idea of all family members participating in the enterprise was considered the norm.” The boy was interviewed by photographer Lewis Hines, and told him, he didn't know how to read or write. He said "yes, i want to learn but can't when i have to work all the time." But in 1938, The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed and prevented children under 18 from doing certain jobs, and also set the federal minimum Wage of 25 cents an hour. If employees worked beyond that, employers were required to pay time and a half. The minimum wage has been changed more than 202 times since 1938, and is currently $7.25. Outside the USA, Child labor is still a big issue.

     The author of this article does not have a clear bias, but the facts that are giving in this article are making me feel very fond of the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) For example, the fact that Children as young as 12 worked for 72 hours a week, without even the slightest bit of education. This made me think about what it would be like if the FLSA had never been passed. Maybe we would still be working with no education., and this makes me afraid for what the future would have been like. The author is not showing any bias, because he even lists the Pros and Cons of the Minimum Wage. This section makes me feel that I would be an “advocate of a higher minimum” as I believe that the “minimum wage is too low to live on”  

This article has made me appreciate the Foundation of the FSLA and how we are able to get a good education, and not have to work long hours to support my family. This article has also made me interested in how other countries are doing with child labor. I would like to research how children are living in these countries that still have child labor, and if they are bale to still get an education. This article has also taught me that poverty and child labor have always been linke

revised Reading Response on Independent Reading Book

After reading a good portion of the novel, I have personally enjoyed Persepolis. I have never read a novel in comic form before, so this is a new experience for me. However, I think that the comic feature, with the pictures and less text, allows the reader to capture more of the characters’ emotions. You can read the text and dialogue and then look at the picture to instill the image in your mind. I think this is the main reason that Marjane Satrapi chose to write the text this way. Persepolis is engaging to me for a number of reasons. One being that I have no prior knowledge to the background of the story, therefore I am learning about history as I read it. Also, I find the story of the little girl, Marjane, interesting because she is so young while all of this violence is going on, and I am interested to see how she and her parents handle that and deal with her growing up in such a time of violence and torture for so many people. One example of Marjane’s confusion about the world is on page 32 when she hears her elders laughing about cadaver, cancer, death, murderer. She then thinks that the appropriate response to these terms would be laughter. She realizes that she does not understand anything about the world and she then starts to read all the books she can. I just find this interesting that a girl so young would want to learn so much about the world and understand all she can. She basically is growing up much faster than a young child should have to grow up. For these reasons I am interested to read the rest of the book and see what happens.

Critical thinking question: How does this text address the points of view of other groups, those who usually don’t get to tell their side?

            The book Sherlock Holmes, the Complete Novels and Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. They are solving many mysteries such as murder, theft, et cetera. One of the stories, “The Sign OF Four” is about the mystery of the theft of many millions of pounds worth of jewels and the murder of a brother.

All the stories are from the perspective of Sherlock Holmes, but this one is from the point of view of Watson. This detail gives you a whole new outlook on how to observe a crime scene, because Sherlock And Watson Think Very differently. Also you see lot of things through Watson’s eyes, which you couldn’t see through Sherlock’s eyes. For example, Sherlock is always over thinking things, and so he misses the obvious:

             “ ‘My lens discloses more than one mark of blood, especially towards the end of the rope, from which I gather that he slipped down with such velocity that he took the skin off his hands.’ I tried to explain this to Watson but he was too busy thinking a circle in the dust of a windowsill was a wooden legged man’s print.”

            As you can see, we discover things that we would have missed if it were from the perspective of Sherlock.  Another groups whose perspective we see are the suspects, and we get be in their perspective when they are being interrogated. For example: ‘ I walked into the room with Sherlock and Watson Flanking me. The gentlemen sat in front of me, and started to ejaculate many many questions that I was only half paying attention to. I was more concentrated on t=my surroundings, thee weird room. IT was extremely disorganized, and it appeared to be someone’s living quarters.”

 As you can see we are able to see the perspective of the suspects.

            In conclusion the author does a very good job of showing the perspective of groups whose point if view we usually don’t get by an entirely different person the narrator and also switching to the perspective at

A suspect when they are being interrogated.  This story is mystery and is a perfect example on how to give readers different perspective.

The very interesting book Unbroken  by Laura hillenbrand, starts off with the story of a young boy from an italian family, who always caused trouble. If it was edible, it was in louis Zamperinis stomach. he was often chased by the people who he stole from, but never caught. in his college years ahe runs track, defeating everyone in his path. When the 1940 olympics were cancelled, the war hed tarted, louis was drafted to the Army and little did he know that his confident childhood affected greatly his actions during the war. Louis zamperini had a very defined character amd this affects him greatly.
    As a young boy louis zamperini was a troule maker, but never got caught, and i can imagine this as a huge confidence booster. he was confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament. this showed in a moment where almost anone else would have panicked, when a shark was coming right at him. His plane had crashed and his team were all in a yellow raft, in the middle of the ocean, for twenty six days without fod or water. “On the morning of the Twenty seventh day, they signaled to a plane that came roaring over them. but the plane was a actually a japanese fighter, and came around to shoot them. Louis jumped overboard, and tied himself to a string that was hanging onto the raft, there were sharks around him. “IN the murky blur beyond it, he saw the huge gaping mouth of a shark emerge out of the darkness and rush straight for his legs.
    louie recoiled, pulling his legs towards his body. the current was too strong for him to get his legs beneth him, but he was abe to swing them to the side, away from the sharks mouth. the shark kept coming, directly at louies head. louie remebered his training in honolulu, where a man had told him Make a threatning expression an stiff arm the sharks snout.” beacause of his confidence and bold ness he wasa able to escape his predicament, by baring his teeth at a shark, and puching him in the nose.Without his defined boldness and courage, the story could have ended roght then and there. As you can see his characyer greatly defines and affects him.

 Monday Muses

One of my favorite books as a child, was actually a french book, aimed at boys and taught them good manners and proper habits. One half of the book gave the story of how a proper superhero would act, for example: He would brush his teeth, when he woke up. Then he would make his bed. then he would eat breakfast, and so on until he goes back to bed. The other side of the book talked about what a bad superhero would be like, for example: mess up his rom when he wakes up, goes to school late, etc.
This bok was very important to me becaus it taught me all the good manners and habits you need to beable to be polite and respectful to people around you today

     The third book of the "I Am Number Four" series is a very intricately describes the characters and there emotions and why they feel this way throughout the whole story. I like to compare this book to a watch, very simple, delicate on the outside, but when you really think about it, look into it, it is extremely complicated and well thought out and crafted, to make everything, well, tick. The author of Rise Of Nine, Pittacus Lore makes a character, who love his friends, and that gets him into trouble because it leads him to make rash decisions, and preposterous speeches. John, one of the protagonists needs to focus on what is more important, and put aside things that can be dealt with later.

     When John thinks about needing to save his friends, and not what the real point is, it leads him to have simple-minded, one-sided ideas, which might and can lead to great disasters. For example, when he is discussing about what he and his partner, Nine, should do next. 
     "How exactly are we going to meet up with[Sam and Sarah, his friends] when our only means of communication are being monitored? I Say we head for California...And we demand they give up sam, and Sarah, or we'll start blowing stuff up... or we threaten to tell media that the government is working with a buch of aliens!"
     As you can see, this would not be very smart at all and is very different from what they should be doing, which is going east, and trying to get to his other Garde members, to be able to save the world.
     Whenever John thinks about his friends, it makes his mind wander, which leads him to talk a little too much sometimes. When he talks to much, it may cause different reactions within his comrades, as they are very sensible on some topics, for example, who the strongest Garde is. When John and his partner Nine are discussing some very important topics, like how they would defeat the evil aliens from another planet. I do say evil because John and all the Garde are also aliens from another planet, but are good guys. So John and Nine are reading a letter from his Cêpan, a sort of guardian who protected John while he was developing his powers. The letter clearly stated that one of each of the Garde would take one the powers of one of the elders. John, as his mind was wandering and he was thinking that if he could be the strongest one of the elders, Pittacus, Then he would be able to save his friends all by himself. As a result of mind wandering, he blurted out something very seemingly daft to Nine, " i Am Pittacus" it seemed ridiculous to nine because they hed just been in a fight with each other, and John got his ass kicked by Nine. (Pittacus is supposedly the strongest elder, and nobody else can beat him) Nine reacted very unstably and challenged him to another fight, where nNine could have killed him if he had wanted to. Obviously, whenever heis mind wanders it makes him do things that could endanger him.
     IN conclusion whenever John thinks about his friends or lets his mind wander because of his friends, it leds him to the possibility of getting in danger, or actually being in danger. I like that John is always thinking about his friends, but i aslo dislike that about him because ti puts everyone in danger.