TKAM 7

Journal: 7

Choice B: Tell how the following characters respond to the jury's verdict: Jem, Aunt Alexandra, Dill, Miss Maudie, Bob Ewell.


Jem: When the Jury's verdicts were being read Jem felt defeated. He knew that it was not right and he felt sad for Tom Robinson. The fact that wight men could not put aside race as irrelevant and reach a decision based on facts and what is right was and is disturbing. They were all prejudice as far a he was concerned. Children I think have better judgment then these adults. If you had put Tom Robinson on trial with a jury of children that did not rely on their parents opinions, I think that you would have found that Tom Robinson would have gone free.

Aunt Alexandra: When they all got home from the courthouse Aunt Alexandra told Atticus that she was sorry that he had lost and asked if Jem was alright. Then she perused to attempt to tell Atticus that he should not have let the children go.

Dill: Dill was in favor of Tom Robinson as well. He defended him against his Aunt Rachel. She had said that “If a man like Atticus Finch decides to but his head against a stone wall it's his head.” To this Dill told her what he thought on the matter. Put her in her place, is what I think he meant.

Miss Maudie: Miss Maudie showed that in her opinion she thought that nothing had changed. She did this by given Jem a big slice of cake and Scout and Dill each a small cake of their own. She told them that their father was a good man and that he was one of the men called on to do the predicaments in life. When Jem was calling the people in town frauds/hypocrites about helping Tom in his time of need, she gave him examples of why he was mistaken and that people really did care.

Bob Ewell: We did not find out what Bob Ewell's reaction was. We did however find out what his reaction was to Atticus's accusations. He cussed out Atticus and spit in his face. He was not stealthy about it ether. I take it from this that he was unhappy about Atticus lowering his blood status.

TKAM 6

Journal:6

Chapters: 15-17

Prompt: B

I feel that I am a mix between a lot of the characters. I related to Scout in some ways and in other ways I relate to Jem or Atticus. Sometimes I even feel connected to Dill or other characters. I love a book when I can relate to the characters and their actions.

I feel more like a tom boy. If I was not raised so well I most likely would get into fights a lot, just like Scout. Instead I was taught to 1) Ignore whoever is bothering me and walk away or 2) Put them in their place by using words and then walk away. I think that in this way I am more like Jem or Atticus. Jem will break at some points, but so will most people. They both help others keep calm. This is another trait that I relate too. Some times it is helping a sibling and some times it is friends or acquaintances.

Even though I am a lot older then Scout or Jem I feel that I was mostly the same at their ages as well. I can also relate to some of the fights in the book. When Scout was rubbing Walter Cunningham's face in the dirt, for instance. I would be more like Jem at that time. I was running with a friend and some kid came up and started saying mean things to her. I told him to back off and I put him back in his place. At the time I was in 1^st grade and was only six years old. Even though this was my friend not a sibling, I feel that it had the same meaning.

TKAM 5

Journal #5
Chapters: 13-15
Perspective: Scout

Dear Journal,

I found Dill under my bed. I thought he was a snake and called Jem in. He used a broom to sweep under the bed and Dill came out. I don't understand why he did not just say something. He was so dirty. He had stolen his mum's money and used all 13 dollars of it to buy a train ticket. Then he walked the rest of the way and waited under my bed for two hours. Jem went and told Atticus on him, but Atticus said that he could stay over the night. We fed him lots because he was hungry. He had not eaten since the night before because he had no money left. In the night Dill came and slept in my room.

The next night Atticus left the house early in his car. Jem decided to go out after him. I persisted and he let me come along. We woke Dill who had gone back to sleeping next door and headed into town. We found Atticus's car and soon found him. He was reading on a chair in front of the jail. Then some cars zoomed around the corner and came to a stop. I wanted to go to Atticus but Jem held me back. People stepped out of their cars and walked up to Atticus. They told him to get out of the way. I did not understand. I ran up to Atticus through the crowd. I was to fast for Jem and Dill. They came up behind me but I was already through to Atticus. He told Jem to take Dill and I home. Jem refused. Atticuse told him more sternly. Jem still refused. I looked around at the people. I only found one familiar face.

“Hi Mr. Cunningham. Do you remember me? I go to school with your son Walter. Mr. Cunningham?” I was getting nervous. Everyone was staring at me.
“Ok, boys. Lets get going,” Mr. Cunning ham said. Then he crouched down to my level and said, “Yes I remember you. I'll tell Walter you said hi.” I smiled up at him as he turned to go.

-Scout

TKAM 4

Example:
Journal #4
Chapters 10-11
Perspective of: Scout

I wrote this how I think that Scout would say it. Please pardon my improper grammar.


It was right after Jem's twelfth birthday and we were walking into town to use up the money that he had got. Ms. Dubose was out on her front porch as usual and saw us walking along. She yelled down at us something like “How's that nigger loving father of yours?” Jem stood proud and told her that he was doing fine. We kept on walkin all the way into town. Jem bought himself a toy train and me a baton. I was so thrilled I did not even notice how close to Ms. Dubose's house we were. It also helped that she was not outside any more and was not yellin at us about our father bein a “nigger lover.”

Suddenly Jem grabbed my baton and ran up Ms. Dubose's front steps. He used my baton to knock off all of the flower buds on her plants. Then still screamin like a madman he broke my baton in too. By then I was so startled and scared and sad that I was bawlin my head off. He ran back down the steps and started yankin out all of my hair, tellin me to shut up. He pushed me down then picked me back up lookin like he was sorry. We walked back home in silence.

When Atticus got home he had my broken baton in one and and a rose bud in another. “Did you so this Jeremy Finch?” Jem reckoned he did. After a long talk with Atticus about why and not to let her bug him and whatnot. Then he made Jem go and apologize to her.

I was so scared for Jem. Ms. Dubose was gonna shoot him and Atticus did not even care. It seemed like hours before he came back. Jem said that he had to go and read to her for an entire month and clean up her flowers. I promised myself then and there that I was going to go and sit with him wile he read to Ms. Dubose every day.

We went to her house day after day. Jem readin. Me watchin. She was a creepy old lady. This close up you could see all of her liver spots and watch the saliva drool out of her mouth. About halfway through each sestion she seemed to stop listnin. Once the timer on the mantle rang her maid/house keeper would shoo us out. Then they would come back and start all over again the next day.

Even after the month was up she had us come for another week. We were so thrilled, when she finally dismissed us. A week later she died. Atticus came back from her house with a candy box for Jem. But when he opened it instead of bein candy there was just a bloomed rose. Jem freaked out, yellin about how she would never just leave him alone. And that was the last of Ms. Dubose.

TKAM 3

Example:

Journal #1

Chapters 8-9
Perspective of: Jem

Dear Diary,

Yesterday and today brought good and bad. Scout and I saw our first snowfall. We were very excited to be acquainted with snow. We made an ingenious snowman out of dirt and snow that looked just like Mr. Avery. To make it slightly less obvious, Atticus had us put Miss Maudie's hat and hedge clippers on it. I thought it was pretty impressive myself, so did Atticus and Scout I think.

Later that night Atticus woke me and told me to get on my robe and coat quickly, then to meet him in Scout's room. Once we were both dressed he rushed us out side. I was perplexed until I saw that Miss Maudie's house was on fire. Atticus was going to help remove her furniture, and told us to stay put in front of the Radley's gate. Soon the fire had spread to our adjacent neighbors house and then to ours. Scout wanted to get our stuff but I told her that Atticus would tell us when it was time.

Mr. Avery was in the second story of Miss Maudie's house, throwing her possessions out the window. Then he almost got stuck in the window climbing out. Three fire trucks were trying to isolate the fire (one being pushed from town due to the cold.) After all of the houses were put out, the fire trucks left and we went home. That is when we discovered that BOO Radley had come to call on Scout. She had a brown blanket draped over her shoulders that had not been there before. Mr. Avery could not have done it because he was helping with Miss Maudie's house.

TKAM 2

Journal #2
- Chapters 4-7
- Perspective: Jem

WOW! Today was the last day of summer with Dill and I almost got shot by Mr. Nathan. Then I almost got caught by Atticus, when I lost my pants. Dill covered for me by saying that we were playing strip poker – whatever that is. I am sure that I just made no sense what-so-ever so I will start at the beginning.

It was the end of summer vacation and Dill was going to be leaving soon. It was our last night with Dill and we had this fabulous plan. Dill and I were going to get a look at BOO Radley. Scout decided to come along after I accused her of acting like a Girl again. Once we got to the street lamp, I gave Scout one more chance to chicken out but she kept her cool. I was scared that Boo Radley would come and get us , but I was not going to show any fear in front of Dill. Not to mention give Scout the satisfaction.

We crept in the back gate making sure to evade the collards. After what seemed to be an hour, we got to the window with the broken shade. I was the tallest and I was still a few inches short. So Scout and I lifted up Dill. All that he said he saw was darkness and a light in the distance. I was determined to prove to the others that I was not scared of the Radley place, so I decided to go up the stairs to the back porch.

The first step creaked, so I skipped the rest and just jumped onto the porch. I teetered there for a long wile to make sure that no one had heard me. Then I crawled to the window and peaked in. Before I could figure out what was inside I heard one of the others take in a long breath. Then a shadow fell over me and I tried to hide curled up in a ball. The shadow went away again and I hurried down the steps. We did not have to quibble to come to an unanimous decision. We ran out the gate and through two rows of collards.

I was so scared, but maybe whoever it was had not seen us. Who was I kidding? We were in plain sight.

I lifted the fence for Dill and Scout. Then I hurried under, only my pants got caught on the fence. I was so scared and was in such a hurry that I just kicked off my pants and ran to the oaks in my shorts. We ran back the way that we had come and after we had caught our breath we walked out front. A huge group of people had gathered out front of the Radley place. Miss Maudie told us that Mr. Radley shot over a negro in his collard patch. Then he announced with much tyranny that next time he would not aim high.

Then Atticus came over and asked where Jem's pants were. That's when Dill stepped in with his strip poker excuse. Ms. Rachel got mad at Dill, but I got off safe. Later that night I went back out to get my pants, despite Scout's warning and threats. I got back alright without Atticus knowing, but I was scared out of my mind and would think more than twice before doing something like that again.

TKAM 1

Journal #1

Chapters 1-3

Perspective of Mrs. Caroline

Chapter 3
I came into my first grade class room on the first day of school to find a lovely assortment of young minds. Some were dirty, some were clean, one boy had no shoes, but they all looked ready too learn. I started the class by reading them a childrens story about sweet little cats. Then we went on to the alphabet. I was amazed by how many of the kids already knew what they were. I called upon Scout whom I had met the week before. To see what level she was on I had her start to read the book My First Reader then parts of the stock market quotes in The Mobile Register. It was obvious that her father must have taught her to read. This was going to make my job so much harder.

I would have to first brake her of her bad habits. Then I would have to teach her all over again. I had to ask her to tell her father to stop teaching her. That was my job of course. If the parents taught them everything they would not be coming to school every day. And if they did not come to school every day I would not get payed and that would be bad, very bad. The the poor darling started going on about how her father did not teach her anything and that she was born a bullfinch reader, or something like that. I had to put her strait. You can't just let things like this go or they will grow too strong to fix. After Scout went back to her seat I started the next lesson. Then the children went out to recess to burn off some steam.

After recess I started teaching the class how to read simple words like: “the”, “cat”, “man”, “you”, and “rat”. I noticed that scout was not paying attention and so I went to get back her attention. I found her writing a letter to someone. I had to re-insist that her father should not be teaching her these things and to try to forget them so that we could start anew. She was starting to frustrate me and that was bothering. Instead of pursuing this problem I asked the kids about lunch arrangements. Some of the kids went home to eat and others brought out their lunch pales. There was one little boy though that did not have any lunch but was not going home to eat.

I asked him if he had forgotten his lunch, but he just mumbled. I got out a quarter from my purse and told him to come get the quarter and buy something for lunch and that he could pay me back tomorrow. He just shook his head and said “No thank you Ma'am”. When I asked him again Scout stood up and stated that he was a Cunningham then sat back down as though that made everything clear. I was shocked at her tone. Just because his last name is Cunningham, that does not mean that he can not take a quarter for lunch. When I asked her what she meant, she just stated once again that Walter was a Cunningham. I did not see what that had to do with anything. Then she went on to criticism this boy's family. Stating that he was poor and never took things that he could not repay. Then she continued to tell me that I was shaming Walter because he could not repay me in quarters or in firewood. This girl irked me and was going to need some straitening out, I could see.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her to the front of the classroom, told her to put out her hand and proceeded to slap it with a ruler. I felt like I had condescended to the level of the children, but I could not let this go unpunished. Then I made sure that she staid in a corner until lunch time. The children laughed at her, but she still did not seem to understand her wrong doing. Then to make everything a little worse, Miss. Blount came to advise me on controlling my class. Finally it was lunch time and the children left for home or the playground. I put my head in my hands. This was going to be harder then I thought.

Chapter 4
After lunch we returned to class and as I was walking through the desks looking at the students I saw this thing crawling in and out of a boys hair. I screamed, right there in the middle of class. The kids came rushing up to see what was wrong. They must have thought it was a rat because they asked me which way it went. I asked what the thing in the boys hair was and the children told me that it was called a cootie. One of the kids brought me some water wile another got the cootie out of the boy's hair. I had to insist that he should go home and wash. When he asked me what for, I told him to get rid of them cooties. I found him a remedy in a book I had. Then I asked him to come back tomorrow nice and clean.

One of the kids made a pronouncement just like Scout had, that he was a Ewell. Apparently all of the Ewells in the school come to school for the first day and then they leave. The kids told me that he was a bad boy and that I should just let him go home. After one of the kids threatened to kill him, he left the class. It seemed like a silent compromise between the two. Ewell would leave and nobody would get hurt. When he was far down the hall he called me a bunch of nasty names and ran off. It was the first day of school and more bad things had happened to me then in my entire teaching carer. I could not help it. Right there in front of all the kids I broke down and cried until I had run dry. Then I read the kids another story and dismissed them for the day. This town and these kids are very eccentric.

Post 4

Q: 1

“'We are a miscegenation-happy people,' Ed Morales concludes.” Pg. 231

First Miscegenation means crossbred. So now knowing this, I think that people have adapted very well in the US. They are mixing and assimilating well. Americans are more than accepting these new comers. People are adapting to the situation at hand.

I think that we now see the crossbreeds that they have created. Almost no one is full anything. I myself am some of almost everything.

How many people do you know that are a single race/culture?

Q: 2

“That's why I tell young girls, you have to stand up for yourself. Be bien preparadas. If you can't fight for yourself, how can you fight for family, your country your community.” pg. 262 Dolores.

I can relate to this because, my mother has always taught me to stand up for myself. Just like Dolores states “If you can't fight for yourself, how can you fight for family, your country your community.” Though I am an American I still need to be able to stand up for myself, my family, my friends, and my rights.

It must have been a challenge for young girls to be confident in their selfs when not in their own country. They already must feel like they don't fit in. But now on top of that they are shy and/or uncomfortable, as a teenager. Adapting to this culture as a teen ager must have been very difficult.

Have you ever had to stand up for someone or something?

Post 3

"All we got is what you see on our backs," one African American woman tells me, pointing to her two little boys in basketball jerseys with numbers on them.”

pg. 136

The journey coming to America must have been a hard trek for this woman and her family. They could not bring very much only what they can carry with them. They would have had to leave many things behind. It must have been very sad for them.

This reminds me of what my mother says in the grocery store. We only buy what we can carry. If you compare a trip to the grocery store to the hard trek to America, our life here seems pretty great.

Do you think that it is the same for people immigrating to the U.S. now?

“They keep the economy going, she concluded.”

Julia's Aunt pg.140

This reminded me of something that came up in class the other day. Someone said that immigrants help keep the economy smooth. I think that this is an interesting topic. Immigrants may help the economy by having more people to buy goods, but they also hinder the economy buy taking jobs away from the natives.

This person is acting like these immigrants are just here to help with our problems. “They keep the economy going,” she says. But they came here for a new life, not to be treated like extras to buy more goods from people.

Do you think that people feel this way now a days?

Post 2

“I do as many quinces a year as weddings,” pg. 92 Father Jorge Perez

I think that this quote shows just how many people maintain their cultural ties to their homeland while living in America. It also show how many people of this culture came to this part of America. This Father either has very few weddings, or there are a lot of people maintaining there cultural ties. This is an example of one church in the entire country. Think of how many Latinas there must be in the rest of the country. True it may be that this area has more Hispanic people in it. Still remains the fact that a lot of girls celebrate there quinces.

I am amazed at how well these girls are adapting to their new lives in the U.S. I am one to comfort new people and outsiders. I hope that people also did that for these girls and that is why they are getting more comfortable in America.

Why do you think that these churches are having as many quinces as weddings?



“If we could, we'd bring the whole family.” pg 124 Rosie

I feel bad that a lot of people had to leave family members behind. I hope that people like Rosie eventually get enough money to pay for the rest of their family to come to the Americas. This shows how hard it must have been to travel to the U.S. All the heart ache and the stress is unimaginable. I am glad that we have risen above that. Nobody should have to go through that, anymore.

I find this very sad that they could not bring their entire family with them. I can't imagine how it would feel to have to leave someone behind or to be the one that must be left behind. I am glad that it is now easier to bring your entire family over to the U.S.

What percentage of the families that had to leave members behind, do you think made enough money to get those members voyage to the U.S.?

Post 1

Most of the book Once upon a Quincenra, deals with people that are already here, not actual immigrants. The only person that was an immigrant so far, is the actual author of the book. The only quote that I have found that applies to immigration, was when the author refers to her family having moved to the U.S.

In 1963, when she moved to the U.S. She and her sisters had been told by passersby on the street who herd them talking loudly in Spanish: “Spics! Go back to where you came from!” Yet in spite of this and other racist incidents happening, there was no question that her older sister was still going to have a quince.

Pg.26

I think that this quote shows that the author was discriminated upon when she was young and is trying to show that despite any racist problems, the coming of age ceremony was still a very big part of their lives. I think that if she wanted to write about being an immigrant in the U.S., she could have just written her life's story. This book is not really about immigrants, but girls of a different nationality celebrating one of their traditions in the U.S. Despite the fact that she had trouble immigrating here, this does not mean that all immigrants had that bad of an experience in the U.S.

Why do you think that keeping to tradition is more important then fitting in?

If You were in the author's place would you still have a quincenra?

Once Upon a Quinceanera

Post 3

NAME Killian Henson DATE 2/12/10
TITLE TIME HOURS
AUTHOR Rick Riordan PAGES 219-375

TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 156

QUESTION 1:

Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why?

RESPONSE 1:

I think that Annabeth would be a great friend to have. She is strong in the heart and mind. I think that she would always stick by your side. Also the fact that she is a daughter of Athena. Her mother goddess of wisdom, reason and purity. Annabeth also has many of these traits and so I think that she would be a great friend to back you up in many situations and she will also stand by you loyally.

QUESTION 2:

What other character(s) beside the main character is really important to the story? How and why?

RESPONSE 2:

I think that Annabeth plays a vital part in this story. She stands next to Percy throughout most of his adventures. She has the wisdom and reason of Athena behind her. And she uses that to help Percy fight and figure out problems.

She also knows more about Greek Mythology. She knows all of the Greek Gods, Titans and other creatures. She helped figure out that Aunty Em was actually Medusa. Using this knowledge saved her friends on many accounts.

She also knows a lot more about being a half-blood. Percy only just learned what he truly was, but Annabeth has grown up around other half-bloods. She lived at camp since she was seven and knows all about the world that the mortals cannot see. This is why I think that Annabeth plays a crucial part in this story.

Post 2

NAME Killian Henson DATE 2/05/10
TITLE The Lightning Thief TIME 3 ¾ HOURS
AUTHOR Rick Riordan PAGES 127- 218
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 91

QUESTION 1: What does this book make you wonder about? Why?

RESPONSE 1: When ever I am reading one of my fantasy books I always wonder if it is based off of something real. I always with they were real and that I was some part of them. I love all the excitement and adventure. In some ways I am glad that they are not real because, often if one of the characters did something slightly different, it could mean the end of life as we know it. Even though I know that all of these books are most likely fantasy I always wonder in the back of my head if just maybe parts of them are real.

QUESTION 2: Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?

RESPONSE 2: I love this book and if I found another fantasy book written by the same author I would take pleasure in reading it. I have had good experiences reading books by the same author of my favorite series. For example the author of the Twilight saga also wrote the book The Host. The Host was even better then the Twilight saga. I am also looking forward to reading the sequels to this novel. So in a nut shell, I am looking forward to reading more books bay the same author.

Post 1

NAME Killian Henson DATE 1/29/10
TITLE The Lightning Thief TIME 4 HOURS
AUTHOR Rick Riordan PAGES 1- 126
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 126

QUESTION 1: Which character would you like to be like? In what way? Why?

RESPONSE 1: I would like to be like Percy. It think that I am already somewhat like him. I have disabilities too. I also love the water. If I was the daughter of one of the Gods, I think that I would be a daughter of Poseidon. I love the water and am also very brave in most circumstances. I always stand up for my friends and try to protect them from coming to any harm.

QUESTION 2: What do you think about a particular character's actions? Was he/she right or wrong to do that?

RESPONSE 2: At one section in the book Percy does not leave like he was told to. Instead he goes back to help his friends. I think that this might not have been the best Idea, because the monsters were after him and so they might not have bothered his friend if he had fled. I also think that this was the right idea though, because he was helping his friend. I would have done the same thing in his place and think that it was very brave and selfless.

In class writing responce

Choice 2 - Pretend you are one of the characters from the book and write a journal entry in their perspective. Your entry could be about events that happened one day or over a certain time period.

Character: Percy Jackson

I have never been a person to keep a diary, but my life just got weirder, so hear I go. Well I am starting a journal about my adventures on this quest. I pretty much had to accept the quest. I was getting blamed for stealing Zeus's lightning bolt and I did not wish to stay on his bad side. Not to mention this was Grover's chance to make up for some big mistake he had made years before. How could I let Grover down. Chiron would not tell me where the lightning bolt was however, until I accepted the quest.

Once I had accepted the quest, Chiron sent me to The Oracle. The Oracle is this old mummy in the attic of the big house. The mummy wore a tie die sun dress, lots of bead necklaces and wore a headband over her black hair. The mummy was the spirit of Delphi. She spoke prophecies. When her mouth opened this weird green mist came out. I asked her what my destiny was and then the mist made my smelly father in law appear with a bunch of his buddies. Then they spoke in the voice of the Oracle:

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.

And you shall fail to save what what matters most, in the end.

And that was it. When I went back down stairs, Chiron told me that the bolt was in the Underworld. Now I get to take two friends with me. One is Grover the other is Annabeth. Tomorrow we will travel to Los Angeles to find the bolt.

Book Choice

I have chosen to read The Lightning Thief by Rick Roidan.

I think that this book will be fun to read, because I have heard that is a really good book. It is also being made into a movie and I would like to read it before I see the movie. So I am looking forward to reading it.