Trojan Remake

Author's Note- I wrote this piece to explain why I liked the remake better and how they are different.

The Trojan Horse is an old story that is basically the Trojans and Greeks had been at war for a while against each other. Out of the blue, the Greeks decide to surrender and "leave" the Trojans land. A few days later, the Trojans notice a big wooden horse on their land, and they're told it's a gift from the Greeks. Later that night, the Greeks jump out of the wooden horse and attack the Trojans; flooding the Trojan streets with Greeks.

The modern version was a lot different because instead of carving letters into a piece of rock, they were texting and saying things like dude all the time. It still has the same plot and everything with the whole story, but it's a lot more modern and easier to understand while reading it. Another thing, is that you really understand the characters more in the modern version. For example, Paris looks like this really strong jock that all the girls adore, but in the end he's just a big coward.

I thought that the remake/modern version was really good and it definitely helped me understand the story better. The plot stayed the same for the most part, it was just the words like "dude" and the way they said things that changed mostly. I think they made these changes to help students understand the story better because reading the original version is kind of confusing.

Shug

Author’s Note- I wrote this piece on theme and to show quotes from the book, Shug.

In the book Shug, by Jenny Han, Annemarie or “Shug”, falls for her best friend growing up, Mark Findley. The two of them have known each other since they were born and they grew up down the street from each other. Even though she’s just 12, she’s fallen head over heels for Mark, and he’s oblivious to it all. Throughout the whole book, “Shug” and Mark go on a rollercoaster of good and bad times together. Young love is the main theme in the book, as well as many other great novels.

When you’re younger, everyone tells you you’re too young to love someone, but Shug says differently. The way she feels about Mark is indescribable and her heart hurts just thinking about it. I can relate because last year I thought I was in love, but all my friends would tell me I’m too young or that I’m crazy. However, now they know what I was talking about, because you can’t even put your emotions into words. Shug truly does love Mark with all her heart, but she just doesn’t know how to tell him.

“Make love or make war Shug, but make something happen.” This is some advice Shug’s older sister Celia gives her about Mark and her whole situation. Shug’s sister is the most beautiful girl in their whole town and all the guys drool over her every move. Shug on the other hand is underdeveloped, tall, and just plain awkward. Although her body isn’t the way she wants it to be, her heart pushes right on past that and loves anyways. Shug’s new at the whole loving thing, so she goes to Celia for help and she just tells her to go for it!

Another book with this same theme of young love is Romeo and Juliet. When they fell in love they weren’t even 16 and although these stories are very different, they both fall in love at a very young age. Whether it’s at age 16 in 1303 or age 12 in 2008, it’s inexpressible love. In the book Shug, her family is very supportive about her liking Mark, while in the book Romeo and Juliet, they have rival families that cannot know about their secret adoration for one another.

Another great novel with the same theme is Twilight. Edward can’t fight his overwhelming feelings towards Bella, even though his kind shouldn’t be around mortals. However, his heart takes over and he romances Bella and they end up having a half vampire, half human baby. They’re love isn’t like anyone else’s because Edward is immortal and falls for a mortal, it’s very rare. Again like Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella’s love isn’t wanted.

Overall, there are many books with the theme of ‘young love’ and many reasons as to why that’s the main theme, especially in Shug. Nowadays, young love is a very popular theme in books because that’s what teenage girls like reading, but to find old stories such as Romeo and Juliet with the same theme is isn’t very common. There are many more themes in this book but young love is definitely the main one. It shows that no matter what age you are, you heart has a mind of Its own and it’s okay to let it do what it wants sometimes.

Trojan Horse

Summary:
The Trojan war was going on for about 10 years,  and finally the Greeks gave up and sailed off. However they left a huge wooden horse behind as a "gift". They weren't sure if it was safe or not, so they didn't know whether to burn it or not. A Greek came by and made a very convincing story as to why it was a gift and the belly of the horse was filled wit gold; later that night the Greeks piled out of the wooden horse and flooded the streets of Troy. In the end, the Greeks won the war of Trojan.

Overall, it was just a very devious plan of the Greeks to hide in the big wooden horse and attack the Trojans when they least expected it. In my opinion, it was a really good idea though. I don't think that anyone would hide in a huge wooden horse to attack someone nowadays, but I think something similar to this could happen. Maybe if someone was having a "red vs. black" volleyball game or basketball game, one team would do that to the other to find out they're plan, just kind of as a joke. Nothing to start an actual war though.The same thing goes with school or a small work place, friends or co-workers might do it to each other as a joke.

The Lucky One

Author’s Note- I wrote this piece to show my understanding of character development. While reading this piece, look for really good body paragraphs.

Beth Green’s best friend growing up was her brother Drake. They did everything together as kids, until they grew older and he decided to go into the military. Some time, after Drake joined the military, her family received the news that he had been killed. Beth’s world was shattered, and her brother’s death caused her to isolate herself from others; until the day a stranger named Logan showed up on her doorstep. Although Beth didn’t know it, Logan helped and changed her not only emotionally and physically, but as a person.

Logan had just returned from the war, after serving in the same unit as Drake. While in battle, he found a picture of a beautiful girl that had the words “keep safe” written on the back. He carried the picture as a way to give him strength to stay alive and promised he’d find her. Finally, they meet, and she wants nothing to do with him. He tries to tell her why he’s there, but just can’t seem to get the words out, so she decides to give him a job working at the dog kennel. Her feelings about him are very sketchy and not sure, but her mother decides to give him a chance. However, Beth isn’t the only one that has uncertainty towards Logan; her ex-husband Keith and her son Ben do as well.

Instead of thanking her, Logan decides to romance her and they start spending more and more time together. All those uneasy feelings she had about him, slowly turn into love. After some time of getting used to one another, they soon realize that they are meant to be and that no one could get in the way of that, not even her ex-husband, Keith. Unlike Keith, Logan makes a special connection with her son Ben, and they become best buds.

All the characters in this book have a big impact on one another and change each other throughout the book. Beth and Logan were unfamiliar at the start, but after a while they started to realize how big of a role they played in one another’s life. Although I didn’t really like Keith in the book, he played a big role and was a hero to Beth’s son Ben.

Overall, Beth and Logan change immensely throughout the book, as does the reader. The reader gets a sense of hope in the beginning of the book when the picture saves Logan. The moods of the characters definitely rub off on the reader and changes their opinion on the book. In the end, Logan helped Beth change for the better and in the process of that, he changed too. What started off as strangers, slowly grew into love.

Movie or Book?

Author's Note: I wrote this as an opinion based piece on whether I preferred the movie or book for the story, A Clean Well-lighted Place.

In the video version of this story, you really get to see the characters facial expressions more and understand the idea of this story. Even the colors on the wall and the way they're dressed makes all the difference in the world. There is a lot of symbolism in this piece as well. There is thought that maybe Hemingway wrote this in perspective of him once being all of the characters. It shows the different generations and how you mature and age over the years. Overall, I think I prefer the video  over the story because I understood it better. In the written story, I got confused about who was saying what a lot of the time.

I thought the text version was still a very interesting story, but I definitely liked the movie better because it was visual. I think it really helped you understand the story better by seeing the characters and how the young man saw the old man. The young man was selfish and confident and all he wanted was to stay young. In the book, that showed, but it showed more in the movie. The middle aged waiter understood the old man, but he also agreed with the young waiter. He was a wise man that knew the ways of life. The old man was grumpy and alone. He once had everything and now, nothing. It really showed that in the movie by him having a beard and just looking scruffy. Although, he wore really nice clothes because he was a very wealthy old man. In all, I thought the movie explained it better. 

The Notebook

Author’s Note: I wrote this piece to show my understanding of text analysis. While reading this piece, look for text evidence and really good body paragraphs.

The Notebook is a classic love story and a timeless novel. Throughout both the book and movie, Nicholas Sparks, adds a great amount of symbolism to really show Noah and Allie’s love for each other. Nicholas Sparks has written many other love stories similar to The Notebook, and  all of them contain great symbolism. While reading The Notebook, you really get attached to the characters Noah and Allie throughout their crazy, loving life together. The Notebook is all about two people who unexpectedly fall in love with each other, only to find out that Allie’s wealthy parents don’t approve. Whether the symbolism is really noticeable, or you have to dig to find, it’s always there, especially in this book.

The house that Noah builds is a huge symbol in this book. The house symbolizes Noah’s love for Allie and how much he still loves and cares about her even after she’s gone. “I want a white house with blue shutters and a room overlooking the river so I can paint,” Allie explained to Noah, and her wish was his command. Even after she moved away, several years later, Noah still decided to build the house of Allie’s dreams. The symbolism of this action is a turning point in the book that symbolizes Noah’s undying love for Allie.

“I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you every day for a year,” another big symbol in this book is the 365 letters that Noah writes to Allie. This is another way that Noah symbolizes his love for Allie. These letters are a really big part of the book because Allie didn’t actually get and read the letters until years after Noah mailed them. Allie’s mother didn’t want them together, so she took the letters and hid them from Allie. Later, her mom realized that Allie should love whoever her heart desires.

The main theme in The Notebook is love, just like in the book A Walk to Remember. Although in A Walk to Remember, instead of moving away from each other, Landon finds out that Jamie has cancer. They fall in love and get married and Landon stays with her until her very last days. This love story is a little    different than Allie and Noah’s, but overall, they’re both still love stories that both contain a lot of symbolism about the love.

In all of Nicholas Sparks’ books, he puts a lot of symbolism in to really help create an image and describe a scene for the reader. Most, if not all his books main theme is love and the symbolism thrown in is what makes these novels so extraordinary. It is Spark’s use of symbolism that creates a dream world, making his novels difficult to put down.

A Clean, Well-lighted Place

Author's Note- I wrote this about the story A Clean, Well-lighted Place

There are two waiters in this piece that are very different from one another. One is a wise older man who knows the way of life, while the other is a young foolish guy who is all about confidence and staying young forever. I think Hemmingway made the two characters the way they are to symbolize something. The older waiter is more wise and understanding. He understands the old man that won’t leave the café. On the other hand, the young waiter is selfish and is all about confidence. He never wants to get old because apparently, “an old man is a nasty thing.” I think that the younger waiter could definitely learn something from the older waiter.

The Pony Express

Jeremiah: a young boy who watches his father every day, taking notes for his future. He was only 10 but had the enthusiasm of a 19 year old. He loved watching his dad, thinking,"That's what I'll be doing in a few years. I'll be the best mail deliverer ever!" It was one thing for him to say it as a little kid, but his family wondered if he'd actually go through with it. Jeremiah would talk about the delivering mail all day everyday. He loved with a passion, yet he wasn't even doing it yet. His parents wished and prayed that he'd still be this passionate about the pony express when he turned 19.

Tomorrow was Jeremiah’s 19^th birthday and that’s when he would start working for the Pony Express. They hired about 200 riders, so he was sure he’d be one of them. They also had about 500 of the finest horses. He was so excited to finally begin his life; tomorrow was the beginning of the rest of his life. Jeremiah knew it was a long journey of about 2,000 miles in about 8 days, so he packed accordingly.

Today was the day, the day his life truly began. Today was his 19^th birthday and he started the mail business, the pony express. Their journey went from Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. Throughout their journey, Jeremiah knew that they had to pass through Native American territory and he hoped that wouldn’t be an issue. He wanted no harm to the Native American’s, but he knew they didn’t know that.

The person in charge of everything was just telling them some facts they would need to know about the business, “the letters are written on very thin paper, so be sure not to rip them! Also, mail is very expensive now-a days, about $10 per ounce. Make sure you collect all of the money!” After the leaders speech, we set out on our 8 day trip. They started out on bumpy roads and fields, then came the forest. Jeremiah was nervous to enter the woods, afraid that a Native American would shoot an arrow through him for no apparent reason. He slowly entered the woods, being very careful and keeping an eye out for Native Americans. He was half way through, then three quarters and then he was leaving. He went though without any problems. Jeremiah was lucky, although he knew next time his luck might be different.

At the end of his mail journey, he ended up in Sacramento, California, a place he’s never been before. He liked getting out of his home town; where he was born and where he’s been ever since. Jeremiah loved his new job and knew he wanted to do this for the rest of his life. Although he knew it could be dangerous going in the woods on the Native American’s territory, he thought it was worth it. He’s wanted to do this since he was 10 and he wasn’t going to let his father down now. He would make his father proud if it was the last thing Jeremiah did.

My Escape to Freedom

Author’s Note: I wrote this piece to show my understanding of symbolism. While reading this, look for text evidence.

Shawn is a 14 year old boy that shares the same desires as other boys his age, there’s only one difference, he has Cerebral Palsy (C.P.). This is a condition that restricts him from controlling his muscles, therefore he has seizures often. When Shawn was 4 years old, his father left his family because he couldn’t bare to see Shawn in so much pain during his seizures. If only his dad knew he was experiencing everything but pain. “I don’t know when a seizure will strike, but when it does, it’s like a miracle. The images I “see” are from inside my head. It’s as though my eyeballs are turned around backward, looking into my brain, and what I see is everything I’ve dreamed, experienced, or imagined.” Due to Shawn’s  limited mobility, these seizures give him a chance to escape reality and to feel free. For Shawn his seizures symbolize freedom. 

Dreamland

Author's Note: I wrote this piece to show my understanding of point of view. While reading this, look for content and look for good body paragraphs.

Caitlin: a 16 year old girl. On her 16th birthday her older sister Cass runs away from home.  In this book, Dreamland, by Sarah Dessen, she writes about how Caitlin and her whole family are heartbroken after they find out about the disappearance of their oldest daughter Cass.  This book is written from Caitlin's point of view, giving the readers opinions on how her sisters disappearance happened and how she deals with it.

The readers overall feeling while reading this is sympathy for Caitlin. Cass, her older sister, is basically perfect in every way. Caitlin just feels like runner up, always behind Cass. Cass: captain of the soccer team, class president, on the debate team and in student government… kind of hard to compete with that. Although Cass is amazing at everything and people get jealous of her, the reader can't help but love her. In a way, that's like my sister: smart, athletic, funny. I get jealous or mad at her sometimes, but of course I still love her.

Although the story is written in Caitlin's point of view, the readers feelings  towards the book would change if it was written in Cass's point of view. For example, if Cass felt trapped and suffocated in the life she was living: all of these extra credit activities; maybe her running away was for her own good. Instead of making her family happy, she decided to put herself first for once. Maybe the reader wouldn't feel as against Cass if they heard what she had to say.

Overall, the reader feels a bit of suspense, sympathy and laughter all throughout this book. It's the perfect book for a teenage girl with a sister, just like me. Caitlin feels really alone when Cass runs away, and I can't imagine how I would ever feel if my sister did that. This book is easy to relate to, and if not, it creates a lot of imagery to help you picture the story. The author, Sarah Dessen, should write another book to show Cass's point of view and her journey as she runs away. I'm not a huge fan of reading, but I would definitely read that book!

Him and Her

Author's Note- I wrote this piece to show my understanding of figurative language. While reading this poem, look for figurative language and voice.

Him: strong as a soldier.                                           Her: weak as a weeping willow.

He’d be fine without her.                                           She’d die without him.

He’s a player.                                                             She’s a lover and fighter.

He’s out partying with his buds.                                She’s face down on the bed crying.

He’s chugging sodas.                                                She’s shoving her face full of ice cream.

Woo! He yells with his buds.                                     Ouch! She whispers to herself.

His smile, dancing in the sunset.                               Her tears, running down her face.

   Analysis:

The tone that the author sets in this poem is sympathy for  the girl. She's heartbroken, moping around feeling like she's going to die; while he is out with his friends having the time of his life, without a care in the world, not even a care for her. Based on the tone that is set, the readers mood is going to be sad, but not a "my grandma died" sad, more of a "heartbroken sympathy" sad.

Another tone that the author sets is hatred, toward the boy. The reader doesn't hate him necessarily, they hate how he reacted to their break up: careless.  He breaks up with his girlfriend and he's just carefree about everything. She's sitting there crying while he's out with his friends. Because of the tone that's set, the reader feels anger toward the boy while reading this. The reader wishes that'd he'd just care more about her and her feelings.                                                                                                                                                                 

Life

Life is merely about happiness. If anyone tells you different, they aren't necessarily wrong, they just interpret life differently.  They live their life wanting money and to have everything in the world. Sure, that sounds nice and all, but is more always better? People who go about their life just looking for money and the easy way out don't truly live. There's a quote by John Lennon that I think really speaks the truth about life and happiness; "When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life." 

The Wild Days

Author's Note- I wrote this piece as a creative piece. While reading this, look for word choice and voice.

Saturday, 4:03 am

My heart racing, *Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom*. My forehead sweating. My chest moving in and out so fast I swear my lungs are going to bust. Stumbling on broken branches and uneven path, I spring as fast as I can. Cars, lights, sirens: It's all just a few yards behind me. If I play this out right, I'll be fine. But if I make one wrong move... who knows how bad it could be.

Thursday, 1:32 pm

It was my last summer before college and I wanted it to be the best. I'd always hear about these crazy stories where people would do these crazy things you could only dream of. My friends were always on the wild side, while I was more of the "what if we get caught" kind of person. People thought I wasn't capable of such a big and risky task: sneaking out. I wanted to prove everyone wrong though. I had convinced myself I could get away with this. It was Thursday; tomorrow was the night that everything changed and I would be known as the rebel. 

Friday, 11:57 pm

Getting out your basement window's hard... but that's just the start of my adventure. In my little black bikini, ripped shorts, bright pink tang top, and Adidas flip flops. I struggle to squeeze my body through this little portal leading to a dark unforgiving place: outside. I quick jump to my feet and sprint up to the street. There waiting on the road was a big truck filled with a ton my friends and my boyfriend. I ran up to the car and jumped in. "Ya ready?," my best friend Holli said to me as she smirked. "Uh.. I guess so.," I said giggling a little. "Then let's go!," Holli yelled as she put the car in drive. We were headed to the Hotel around the corner and there was no going back now.

Friday, 1:21 am

The car slowly came to a stop on the side of the street in front of the Hotel. We all looked at each other and smiled, then threw the car doors open. Tip toeing through to wet grass, we approached the gate. "Oh god.. I can't jump this!," my voice sounded shaky. "It's okay, I got you.," my boyfriend told me as he put his arms around my waist to comfort me. Starting to blush, he picked me up and boosted me over the gate. Sitting on the top of it, I slowly tipped myself to the other side and kind of fell; I was alright though. After awhile of boosting and the guys helping everyone over, we were all standing next to the pool. "Let's go!," we all yelled. 

Friday, 3:25 am

"Wooo! This is the funnest thing I've ever done! Best summer EVER!," I said cheerily to my boyfriend as I grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him. I was having the best time of my life, without a care in the world. Our clothes: lying next to the pool on some chairs. At that point, I didn't care what would happen, I was just too happy! Then, suddenly a light when on by the pool and everyone stood still with all of our hearts beating out of our chests. "Whose there!?," some night guard yelled out. Our adrenaline  rushing, we all jumped out of the pool as fast as we could, grabbed our clothes and we were off. All of us: sprinting through trees and past houses. This night went from being the best night of my life to the most out of breath, adrenaline rushing night of my life. 

Summer Love

My heart:

warm and melting.

His eyes:

glisten in the sunlight.

The sun:

beats down on our fragile shoulders.

Our warm bodies get deeper and deeper,

into the cold unforgiving waters.

Teeth chatter from the chill.

Lips begin to turn purple.

"Marco,Polo!,"

we scream across the lake.

He holds me.

His arms around my waist;

the world is finally at peace.

This boy:

perfect in every way a boy could be.

He, was my summer love.

Nothing

What is nothing? It's a word, therefore it must be or mean something. How would you describe it? White, open, and airy. I think of a big white never ending room. But then again, white is something, and so is a room. Nothing is a hard concept to understand and just hurts my brain thinking about it. Even the word plays mind games with you. You think of nothing and you think of bare, vast land where no one lives and no one has ever been to. Somewhere unreachable, where only God can see. This place, called Nothing, is quiet and peaceful; a place you could only see in your wildest dreams.

Depression

Do you ever wonder why the world isn't perfect? Why everything couldn't just go the way you want? Why not everyone thinks the same way? When it comes to love, the road get's even bumpier. I've always been one of those people when I fall for someone, I fall really, really hard. In the end, that person never seems to catch me though. They lie and watch the tears stream down my face. Not an ounce of them cares about me and my feelings. You want to tell people about your struggles and sorrowful desires, but you're afraid. Afraid they might laugh. Afraid you'll be made fun of. Afraid of what they'll think.  Feelings are a difficult things. Everyone has them, yet no one wants to admit it and show them. Everyone's too afraid of what everyone else will think. Some peoples emotions are so strong that they cry themselves to sleep every night and do the unknown. They're very secretive and feel alone. No love. They think the only options are either cutting, drugs or worst of all... suicide. Turns out they're wrong. Even though it doesn't seem like it, there is always someone who loves you. Whether you know it or not, someone loves you.

Woods Runner vs. The Patriot

Author’s Note- I wrote this piece to show my understanding of compare and contrast. While reading this, look for content.

Shooting, stabbing and burning: all things that happened in the Revolutionary War. It was a tragic time for the people who lost their loved ones. The movie The Patriot and the book Woods Runner have a lot in common but they still have some differences.  

The Patriot: A family moves to the city to visit their aunt and for a change, when suddenly a war breaks out and they need men to be brave and fight. Both the dad, Benjamin Martin, and his son, Gabriele Martin, go into war with many other men and fight against the British in an intense battle.

Woods Runner: Samuel is a 13 year old boy whose best friend is the forest. He spends every hour of every day in those woods. One day when he was hunting, he saw smoke coming in the direction of his village so he sprinted as fast as he could to see what had happened. He arrived to ashes covering the ground and only sight of a few dead bodies. He searched and searched but couldn’t find his parents. So, he set out on a journey to find them and along the way he ran into a very generous man. That man supplied him with a sack of potatoes; enough to feed him on his journey. He runs into a lot of trouble on the way, but in the end, he finds his mother. Unfortunately, he was too late to rescue his father, he had already died.

Samuel is devastated when he returns back to his village to find all of the cabins burnt into ash, just like the British burnt down the houses and the church in the movie. Both of these characters had one main reason to keep fighting: their family. They could be homeless and starving but they’d be fine as long as they had their family with them. Sadly, in both the movie and the book at least one of their family members dies. In the movie, two of his sons die and in the book, Samuel’s father dies.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Throughout the whole book, it’s from the point of view of Samuel, a 13 year old boy who loses his family after his whole village is burned down. He goes out on a journey to find his parents and in the mean time runs into a man that gives him a sack of potatoes for food; on the other hand the movie The Patriot is in the point of view of the dad. He fights for freedom, justice and to save his family.

In the end, there are a lot of similarities between the two, whether it’s about family or war. Both of the main characters go through a lot to either save their family and make sure they’re alright. The movie mostly taught me to fight for what I believe in and never surrender no matter how bad it may seem. While, the book showed me how important family really is and how you don’t really realize it until it’s gone. Overall, both the book and the movie told me never to underestimate the importance of family.