Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast

Matt	Same	Maria
©     Clone     ©     Quiet     ©     Smart     ©     Can play music     ©     Worried a lot	©      About the same age    ©     Live in the Big House    ©     Both live in Mexico	©     Person     ©     Talks a lot     ©     Not that smart     ©     Scared about everything     ©     Likes animals

We just don't fight to fight

S.S. Revolutionary War Essay

Author’s Note: The Revolutionary War was a time of pain and suffering, but it turned out okay. In the movie The Patriot and the book Cast Two Shadows almost talk about the same things. This essay will show you that even two different stories can have the same meaning.

Movies and books can have many different things in common. They could be set in the same time period, they could be set in the same place, or they could even be about the same thing. That is what the movie The Patriot and the book that I read called Cast Two Shadows by Ann Rinaldi. This book and this movie both have to do with family, slaves, and rebels.

Caroline Whitaker’s father is in prison; her brother is off fighting for the Loyalists; and she, her mother, and her sister are confined to one room as a British colonel occupies their plantation house. She will do anything to fight for her family, just like Benjamin Martin in The Patriot. Caroline’s fight starts with going to help her brother who is injured. In The Patriot, Benjamin’s fight starts by helping his son try to win the war. I think that these two situations are alike because they both have to do with their families. Real people in the Revolutionary War had to cope with family situations. They didn’t really know if their love ones would ever come back to them. Some people though as their slaves as part of their family, but they also had to deal with knowing that they might have to go to war and never come back.

Slaves had to do with both The Patriot and Cast Two Shadows. In the movie, the slaves of Benjamin are like family to him. When the British come to take them away, Benjamin and his family feel like they are taking their most beloved relatives. In the book, Caroline had a special connection with one of the slaves at her family's plantation, because one of the slaves is actually Caroline’s grandmother! To make sure her grandmother, Miz. Melindy, won’t be taken away; like the slaves from The Patriot, Miz. Melindy had to pretend that she had marle fever. In both the book and the movie, the portray slaves as family, I know I would. But fighting for slaves wasn’t the only thing; some people fought and rebels.

Rebels were people who rose in a armed resistance against an established government or ruler. That is that Benjamin was. He made a armed resistance to go after the Red Coats. He was fighting for his freedom; just like Caroline’s father did. Caroline’s father was put into jail because of him being a rebel. Caroline and her family really wanted him back, but being a rebel was in their blood. Afterwards, Caroline because a rebel, but she fought in a different way than Benjamin. She fought to protect her family; to make them free in their own home again, and to also get her father back. I know that some people in the Revolutionary War did both of these things. All they wanted was to be free to do what they wanted to do; to not be ruled by a selfish king.

In the Revolutionary War, people had to deal with family, slaves, and rebels; just like The Patriot and Cast Two Shadows. They fought and fought till they couldn’t no more. But in the end, all of this fighting was worth it. Not we are free people, and that is all they ever wanted.

Sources:

Rinaldi, Ann. Cast two shadows: the American revolution in the South. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1998. Print.
The Patriot. Dir. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Mell Gipson. Columbia ;, 2000. Film.
Id('toggle_td_2_rev').style.display=(ById('toggle_td_2').style.display=='none'?'':'none'). "Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. <http://www.thefreedictionary.com>.

Living Through Loss

Theme Analysis

Author's Note: Everyone has to experience loss at some point in their life. I know I have. In the book Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Lena experiences loss but she copes with it differently than I thought she would.

At sometime in our lives, we will have to deal with loss. Loss is something that is hard to prepare for, because you will never know when it will happen. Losing someone close to you can be a difficult thing to cope with. In the book Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, Lena is dealing with loss by struggling through the sadness, accepting the loss, and finding out the surprise loss can bring.

Loss can be a overwhelming thing. At the end of the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver, Lena’s love was shot as they tried to escape Portland, Maine. That was the last time Lena ever saw him. He was the only person she really trusted in her life. After a few days of finally realizing that her was truly gone, Lena became depressed. She was in the middle of the woods, all alone; she felt alone. I knew the same feeling three months ago when my cat died. To Lena, Alex was a beloved and trusted friend. I felt the same way about my cat. When I began to read this book, I longed to help her because at some point, you have to accept that they are never coming back.

Accepting death can be a hard thing to do. When Lena had to go back into Portland, she met a boy named Julian. Julian is an important figure in Portland because of his fathers strong belief of the procedure. Lena had spent some time with him and was starting to feel more comfortable around him because they had been captured together. Lena didn’t have enough time to think about Alex, just about keeping Julian and herself alive, knowing that all of Portland would be devastated if something happened to him. After a while of being with him, Lena had this strange feeling that she was falling for him. When I read this I was outraged. How could she get over Alex that quickly? He was her first love! It seems like she fell in love with Alex; she thinks he dies; then she falls in love with another boy! But I just read on, knowing that there would be more surprises to come.

Even the deepest wounds can heal at some point, but I didn’t know that Lena’s could heal that quickly. At the end of the book, Julian falls for Lena but then Alex comes and she finds out that he really isn’t dead. This wasn’t a surprise for me because I knew he was never dead and I knew that he had to come back. This came to Lena as a shock because the boy of her dreams had come back from the dead, or as so she thought. 

By struggling through the sadness, accepting the loss, and finding out the surprise loss can bring, Lauren Oliver explained through the story the struggle loss can bring. When I was reading, I wanted to convert Lena because i felt with loss too, but everyone deals with loss at some point in their lifetime.

Think Before You Take

Alternate ending

Author's Note: This is my Alternate ending to the story that was read in Reading Lab. I took the information that I already knew and put it into my story. I tried to make the story sound creepy in some sort of way...

Cody Miller stood by the rusted stove, thinking about what to do next. He knew what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. Cody stumbled over to his bed, leaping down onto it with a gentle thud. He leaned back and just layed there for a few moments Clarence's words slicing into him like a knife. I better melt this thing before I change my mind. Cody thought, but sleep was waying him down like a bolder. Slowly, he pulled the covers onto his still shaking body and fell asleep.

Cody learched awake and found himself in the same place where Clarence was barried. How did I get here? Cody thought as he tryed to get to his feet. He could barly see anything through the thick fog that wraped around him like a blanket. Suddenly a twig cracked behind him. Cody spun around, suddenly alert. "Hello?" Cody said, voise cracking from fear. No one answered. "I must of just amagened it," he told himself as he started to walk around, trying to find his way back to town. 

A eery feeling cralled over Cody as he kept walking. Trees creaked as the wind danced around him. Darnet! My shoe is untied! Cody slumped over, grabbing his shoelaces. As he started to tie them, he looked ahead to he a hole in the ground. What the...? He thought as he stood up. Cody peared into the hole to find a empt coffin. Cold sweat started to drip down his neck as he started to stumble backwards. Oh my god! Oh my god! 

Cody awoke to find himself on the floor of his room, his PJs dripping with sweat. He leaped up, looking for the hook. I have to go back! Cody thought, fear climbing up his spine. Quickly, Cody shoved the hook into his jacket and ran outside. Cody ran so fast that he could hardly see the ground underneath him. "Hay! Watch were you're going kid!" a scruffy middle aged man yelled as Cody fly by, almost nocking the man over. Cody ignored him. He had to get back to Clarence's gave.

Dripping with sweat again, Cody stumbled up to where Clarence was barried. His shaking hands clutched the hook as he peered over the grave. Screeching  Cody stumbled backwards as he saw that the coffin was empty, just like in his nightmare! Someone PLEASE wake me up! Please!!! Cody knew that he had to run, but he was frozen with fear. A twig snapped behind him and Cody spun around, hoping that it was just a animal, but no one was there. I must be dreaming!!! he thought. "Give me my hook!" a scratchy haunting voice came from all around him. Then everything went black...

The Letter

11/29/2012

Thank You Man Alternate Ending

Author's Note: This is what I think will happen to Rodger after the ending of Thank You Mam. I ending this piece this way so that someone else can finish my ending. :)

Rodger stood motionless, staring at the door. After a few moments, he sat the door step staring at the money lying in his hands. A wave of guilt washed over him as he shoved the money in his pocket and started to walk away knowing that she wasn't going to open the door again. A young girl and her mother walked by, the girl squealing with joy. I don’t need this money… Rodger thought as he started to turn around. I have to give this back to Mrs. Jones. Rodger came rushing back to Mrs. Jones’s house, eager to knock on the door.

Knock ,Knock ,Knock. No one answered. Rodger tried again, but there was still no answer. I wonder where she is? He asked himself as he sat down on the door step. I guess I will just wait for her to come back…

Hours later…

Mrs. Jones still wasn't back. Rodger was cold to the bone, shivering on the door step. He decided to just send the money to her because he couldn't wait her much longer.

The next day, Rodger sent the letter.

Read Between the Lines

11/18/2012

Character Analysis

Author’s Note: Almost every character in a book changes. Like in this book called Delirium. The main character, Lena changes a lot, almost like another character named Tally from the book Uglies. Lena read between the lines and found out that the Derlia was something that she didn't have to fear.

We all know love as this feeling that you can’t explain; something at will enter your life at some point in time. Sometimes love can’t be controlled; it can make us do the strangest things, but that is were the Derlia comes in. In future dystopian Portland, Maine, love is a disease. They have this book called The Book of Shhh that seams to keep everyone on the same path. In the book, the author makes love seem like a terrible thing, and most people believe it.

Lecture after lecture was drilled into Magdalena Haloway’s heart: telling her that the procedure will answer all of your problems. Lena, short for Magdalena, has lived her whole life like this. She almost knows this book that tells you everything about the Derlia, called The Book of Shhh, by heart. She never even had the thought of leaving Portland at this time; she had no reason to. Right then, Lena knows that the procedure is the only answer, and that nothing can change that. But Lena doesn’t believe that for long.

Fight, fight, fight. That is all what Lena will do to stay with Alex, an uncured boy. She knows that loving him is wrong, but right at the same time. At this point, Lena  doesn't know what do to anymore. She trys to listen to other curred people, but they just seam fake, like they aren't their true selves. She knows that she has the Derlia, but something about it just felt right. Lena even told her friend right before she left this. “Everything looks beautiful. The Book of Shhh says that deliria alters your perception, disables your ability to reason clearly, impairs you from making sound judgments. But it does not tell you this: that love will turn the whole world into something greater than itself.”

Change can be a deadly thing

11/16/2012

Cause / Effect

Author’s Note: Change can be a big thing for children, definitely death. Kate just lost her big sister and she doesn’t know what to do. I share the same feeling when I lost my cat a few months ago. I know it is hard, but we have to get through it somehow.

Summer camping trips should be calm and relaxing, right? Not for Mackenzie Allen Philips. His youngest daughter Missy was abducted and may have been brutally murdered by the LittleLady Killer; a serial killer whose victims are 10 year old girls. After Mack’s other daughter Kate found out about this, her heart fell and shattered into a million pieces on the floor. She found herself a shell to hide in, and she stayed hidden in it. This is strange for Mack because his little Kate usually is a non-stop talker. All Mack can do now is hope for the best for his daughter.