Mockingbird Essay

                         Prompt #4:

My character for this writing prompt is going to be the main character/ narrator of this book; Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. I am writing about Scout because she has to face a tough obstacle during the book. The obstacle she has to face is a pretty powerful one; her Aunt Alexandra has moved in with the family. Their Aunt was just a mean and terrible person. When she moved in she started to take over the Finch home and tried to tell the family to do everything she wanted. If, you wanted to stay on Aunt Alex’s good side you did what she asked, well that is if she had a good side. Not matter how nice you were to  Aunt Alex, she would still say mean and offensive things to you, that’s just the kind of person she was. When she moved in with the family, she watched Scout’s father very closely trying to intimidate him. She wanted everyone to be afraid of her, which is good for her because everyone was afraid of her so she accomplished her goal. She tried to tell the Dad on how to run a family and how to run a successful household. 

Another obstacle that Scout faces through out the book is; is Tom Robinson's trial. This is another obstacle for Scout because her faith is tested because of other people's opinions of Tom Robinson. She has to show more maturity then she has before. The reason her faith is tested is because people during this time era were super prejudice. Scout has to learn that racism is a problem. A huge problem to say the least. She has to deal with racism, or at least learn how to do with it. “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson. He lives in that little settlement beyond the town dump".

Another obstacle for Scout to cope with is; that people at her school are giving her a hard time. They are giving her a hard time because of her dad. They are saying awful things about her dad and their family in general. Scout wants to hit or punch some of the kids that are saying awful things. But, Atticus her brother is telling her not to and just to stay calm. If Scout were to fight anyone it would only make the problem first. Her family already heard bad things and they would hear worse things if Scout got into a fight at school. People would be saying that she is a "freak" , "psycho" or "crazy". “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an‘ that (Blank) oughta hang from the water-tank!”

In conclusion, Scout has to face a lot of different problems or obstacles if you will. She has to deal with a lot of racism, a lot of people constantly picking on her dad and trying to defend her dad without being called "crazy". Scout has a very tough life from what is going on in her life. She also has to deal with her Aunt Alexandra; her aunt is a very mean and cruel person. She says mean and hurtful things to anyone she want. I chose Scout because she seemed to be the most interesting and most involved person out of anyone else in the book. 

The Old Man and The Sea Review

Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1952. Genre:Fiction

This book is about a fisher who has a very long and tiring battle with a Marlin. The  Battle was way out in the Gulf stream.The Fisher’s name is Santiago he is Cuban. Santiago is a big fan of baseball and he is a huge fan of Joe DiMaggio. His voyage lasted 85 days, it was a very unlucky voyage. Santiago thinks that his unlucky streak will end very soon, perhaps the next day.    

“The tale that is told is so clearly told that a very young child can understand it. It is so marvelously told that an adult can marvel over it. When my daughter was six, I read this to her, and he loved it (even developing a child's fascination with Joe DiMaggio).” - Robert Moore, Amazon.com reviewer. 

I chose this quote because, this person uses a baseball reference. I really like baseball and Joe DiMaggio. I agree with this quote, it is good that a child can understand this book. Joe DiMaggio is the player that got a hit for 56  straight games. That is the best all time. 

I would compare this book to the Hunger Games, the reason I would compare these two books together... are for a few reasons. One, reason being that they are being compared to each other are because they both have a hunting background. Another reason why this could be compared, is because they both want to catch big animals. 

This book had very good detail and it really made you feel like you were actually there.I liked this book but I wasn't crazy about it. I liked the theme of this book, the theme of this book made this book very interesting. The whole book was very solid. I would give it 3 Paws. It wasn’t a must buy, but it is a definite buy if you really like hunting.  

Going For Glory

Short Story

This story takes place in 2016, at South Hadley High School. The main characters are: Zack, Griffin, Alex, Austin, and Nate. Some of the minor characters are: Thomas, James, Colin, Justin, Ethan, and Ismael. This is the final year for all of these guys to do something in the playoffs, as they will be graduating in a few months. They start the season pretty well, winning 4 out of their first 5 games. Beating the pre-season projected conference winner, Putnam by 22 at Putnam. Leading scorer Austin Ford leads the team with a low 14.9. The scoring is well spread around on this team. Every player on the team gets 3 or more assists per game and 4 or more rebounds per game. Every player on this team, gets really quality chances, The Tigers play a very well organized offense, making sure everybody gets their chances to score, and everybody on the team scores.

Their next five games went the almost the same as the first five, but this time they went 5-0. They beat some pretty quality in that span, beating Central, Putnam (again), Amherst, Longmeadow, and a not so quality team in Holyoke Catholic. They out scored their opponents in that span by 88. Out scoring them 348 to 260. They held a power house offense in Putnam to a very low and below average 44 points in that game.

They were 9-1 going into the middle of January and coming out of January they were an unbelievable 14-3. They had a struggling point when point guard, Austin Ford was out two weeks with a torn hamstring. He recovered fast and they got right back to we're they left off. Winning their last 3 games of the month, by an average winning margin of 19. They went into February with only one goal in mind and that was to stay in the 1st seed of the playoffs. Which they were already in and they were in the lead by 3 games, 2nd place team Putnam is trying to make a push at first. As is every other team.

The Tigers had 4 games left against pretty weak opponents. And as expected they won all of their games. They also won all of those games comfortable as everyone figured they would.
Now they were heading into to the playoffs. What they had worked for all season long.

They won their first two games in the playoffs. Now they were in the final game of the Western Mass Championship, at the Cage in UMASS Amherst.

Value Essay

The two items that I am using for the Priced and non-Priced are iPhone and Family. The priced item would be the iPhone, the non-priced item would be Family. I chose the iPhone because I use it everyday, it gets a lot of use, it helps me get through my day. Family is my non-priced item because I have a great family, its a pretty large family. They bother me sometimes but they’re still my family. These two things are two big things that help me get through my everyday life, my family helps with an issue I have and they do what they can for me. My iPhone is also a big part of my everyday life, it helps me contact people if I need too, it lets me look up something if needed, it really comes in handy.

The first item I am going to talk about is, my iPhone, it is the iPhone 4S. One of my favorite things on the phone and I’m sure if anybody else has this phone they would agree with me is Siri, I really like it so when I’m feeling lazy I can just use Siri to do it for me. Like I said in my introductory paragraph above, I really like having the iPhone it is helpful to make it through my day. I don’t think it is a necessity though, I could probably live a good life without it. That is all I have to say about my priced item.

The second item I am going to talk about is, my Family. This is my priceless item, the reason this is my priceless item is because, any moment can be a priceless moment, anytime my family is together it can be a memorable time. We always spend the holidays together and it is always a great time, it’s a lot of fun. My Family is huge, I have 6 uncles and 3 aunts from one side of my family alone. That shows you how big my family is. They are fun to be around. I plan on going to South Carolina after High School and living with my sister. We are very close, closer now then we used to be, before she moved down to South Carolina. I am an uncle to 5 kids. An uncle to 5 kids and I’m only 14! I have 3 nieces and 2 nephews. My nieces are 10 and 3 years old then I have a 10 month old niece. One of my nephews is 6 years old, and the other one is 11 months old. I have 3 siblings, my brother is 30, my sister is 28, and my other sister is 24. Last but not least my parents are 49 (Mom) and 42 (Dad).

These items are similar because they are very important in my life, of course my Family is more important. These items are important for different reasons. My Family, because they are always there for me and give me love and support. My iPhone is important because it is helpful when I need to contact someone or look something up. These two items are similar because they are there to help me, my phone helps me electronically and my family helps me physically, emotionally, and mentally.

These items are different because my iPhone is electronic, and my family is human. My iPhone doesn’t talk, my family does. My Family gives me advice, my iPhone doesn’t. My Family raises me, my iPhone doesn’t. My Family asks me how my day was and how school went, my iPhone doesn’t. My Family takes me to all my sporting events (Banquets, Practices, Games, Meetings, etc). My Family gives me a good life, my iPhone doesn't.

I value my iPhone and my Family very different. I value my family with care and love. I value my iPhone with care to make sure that I don’t lose it or break it. I care for my Family by treating them with respect and love. I make sure when I’m at family dinners or family gatherings, that I behave and be respectful to everyone there, because we are all family and we get along for the most part. Some of us do, some of us don’t.

  

That was my paper on my two items that I value most. Value in my opinion is what you find important in your life and what you think you need to live, items don’t always have to have a price tag on them to be important. What I find valuable are things or people that play a big part in your life. Like both my Family and iPhone play a big part in my everyday life, that is why I chose them.