zMac'nCheese

Practice Test Essay

One of the greatest gifts in life is the gift of friendship.  Friends see you through good times and bad.  They help with various problems and are always there to talk to you.  They help with style, social problems, family, and pretty much everything else you could possibly think of.  A great example of some strong friendships, are Jim and Antonia from My Antonia, and Gina and Soo-Hyung from "Once Around Manhattan."

Jim and Antonia are very good friends.  Antonia basically lives with Jim's family so she always helps out with all of the work around the farm and in the kitchen.  I kind of like to think of Jim and Antonia as being not just friends, but kinda of like brother and sister.  I think they act like it, too.  They work together on the farm, and they talk to each other about really personnel stuff.  Antonia is pretty much a part of Jim's family, too. " 'I like your grandmother, and all things here,' she sighed.  'I wish my papa live to see this summer.  I wish no winter ever come again'...'If I live here, like you, that is different.  Things will be easy for you.  But they will be hard for us.' "

But Gina and Soo-Hyung are good friends, as well.  Gina and Soo-Hyung may not have the same opinions on certain topics, such as whether the Yankees, or the Metz, are a better baseball team.  They also come from very different ethnic backgrounds, so their cultures and customs are different, but that doesn't mean that they cannot be friends.  They do fight sometimes, but I believe that they really are there for each other, and after that boat race in the story, they always will be there for each other.  " 'I know.  I'm going to have to call her Gina,' said Soo-Hyung, rolling her eyes, 'because she was my only hope back there.'  'Oh, no,' said Gina, 'her name is Soo-Hyung, steering us to solid ground.' "

As great as these two friendships may be, they have something very important in common.  The two people, in each situation, helps the other, just to get through the day.  They help each other work on the farm, in My Antonia, and they help each other finish a boating race/trip around the island of Manhattan, in "Once Around Manhattan."  They may not always seem like they plan on always being there for each other, but if you look closely, you can see that in both of the friendship situations, there is strong chemistry.  That kind of strong chemistry between people, in friendships, says it all; it says for itself, that the people on those friendships will always be there for each other.

In conclusion, friends can be you relief, your therapy, your saviors.  They can be your annoyances, your editors, your distractions.  But in the end, you need them, and they need you, (most of the time); and these stories are great examples of how great friendships can work out, to be.

Social Studies DBQ

    The curiosity of the American Citizens in they're journey of westward expansion, was sparked by their interests in many investments and rumors of rich land, garunteed wealth, and gold.
    After the Louisiana Territory was added to the US and doubled its size in 1803 as shown in document 2, loads of Americans began to become interested in what the government was advertising.  In document there's an add from the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. Co., they were selling loans with only a 6 cent interest.  They were also selling tickets to explore the land.  This way, settlers could view the land and buy it at a cheap easy price.  A double deal.  Plus, many settlers needed a deal like that since a lot of the people who moved west were poor people who were moving to hopefully start a new life, a more successful one.  In other words, these bargains helped them in their journeys to a new life.
    The invention of railroads have helped westward expansion transportation wise.  In document 5, the little girl said that they were 6 months into their wagon trip to the west.  This document shows how long travel by wagon was.  Railroads moved larger loads faster and easier.  Making traveling easier by the tons.
    Even before the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, the Native Americans were being pushed farther and farther west from loosing wars, and their fear of the United State's growing nation.  But since settlers started moving west of the Mississippi River, the Native American Population decreased in size quickly in a shorter amount of time.  Due to the settlers kicking them off their land. Between 1805 and 1900, as document 1 has shown, there's a chart that shows the increase of the American population and the decrease of the Native American population.  It only shows how the idea of Manifest Destiny, or the idea that the US has the right and duty to spread their culture and ideas all the way across the nation to till they reach the Pacific Ocean, is effecting the Native Americans.  They're dying! (Not to be mellow dramatic or anything)  Also in document 6, there's an add for the land that was claimed from the "Indians" which shows that we're stripping them of all they're worth.  We're basically bullying them out of their lunch money, house, property, and basically their clothes as well.  Sheesh that's a lot of damage don't you think?
    Either way, West ward expansion is something that was growing rapidly.  Settlers were gaining property to the west like flies hurrying to a freshly displayed piece of toast with honey.  they were taking the bait and no one could stop it.

Go Down Deep ~ Gathering Blue (because red is over rated)

    In the book Gathering Blue, children are sometimes abused or neglected.  Kira is the protagonist in the story and her world is harsh and mean.
    I know what the children are sometimes abused and/or neglected because I have proof!  Proof from the story I say!
    Right so.  On page 159 of the book, it reads, "The incessant wailing of infants" now I know infants cry a lot from diaper rashes and growing teeth and what not.  But they don't cry incessantly do they?  I didn't think so.  I think this shows how the children are constantly either growing a lot of teeth at the same time, those are some REALLY bad diapers, or they're life style's less than comforting.
    Another section from said story that proves this point is on page 145 reading, "She sobs and sobs.  And they won't let her out of the room."  This is a depressing part of the story.  Though it's not exactly relevant to my point, it's sort of in the same neglecting area.  This girl cries and cries but her captors won't let her out of her [prison] room.  It's a very sad quote.

    In some regards, Matt may be considered to be both abused and neglected.  Examples of the abuse he experiences include a quote on page 164.  "our mum, she thrashed Matt so hard he was horrid bloody. . ." This quote shocked me.  Usually people now are mostly used to parents loving their children.  There's not usually a mother who hits her child like that.  Let alone someone else admitting that she did it in such a leisurely manor.
    Another example is on Page 10.  "The boy shook his head. 'I be whipped iffen I don't finish the fire twiggies' "  This only shows how Matt is treated if he does something wrong or is late or takes too long.  His mom must have really bad temper problems or she keeps a tight house hold and she's so strict she'd whip her own son for not working fast enough.

    Lastly, Mat is also neglected.  There's a section in the story on page 163.  "The woman shrugged.  'good ridance' " This quote made me sick.  It not only showed how Matt was neglected, it also showed how his mother couldn't care less about the wellfare of her kids.

    This whole set of points were from a discussion question.  There were several questions all together but I chose to do the third one.
    The wellfare of these kids and the conditions of the village are less than sanitary.  Matt lived in a horrible smelling unhealthy community and his mom didn't care if he was dead or alive.

The Fire Within FINAL

         For an outside reading book, I choose to read the book called The Fire Within, by Chris D' Lacey.  There are two sequels to this book, Ice Fire, and Fire Star.  The story takes place on a street called Wayward Crescent.  In a town called Scrubbley, which is in Massachusetts. 

          In the book, David is one of the main characters.  He moved in with Elizabeth (Liz for short) and Lucy (Lucy is Elizabeth's daughter).  When he was looking around the room with Liz, he meets a few other characters.  He meets Lucy, who you already know is the daughter of Liz, and Bonnington, their cat.  He found out about the room available from a postcard in the newsstand window.  The postcard said:

                    HOUSING AVAILABLE- $60 PER WEEK

                    Nice room in pleasant family house

                            Meals and laundry included

                          Suits clean, tidy, quiet student

                                                    P.S. Must like children and cats and dragons...

David met his first dragon when he was looking at the room with Liz and Lucy on a shelf above a sealed- off fireplace.  When he decided to take the room, he went to use the bathroom, and there was another dragon, sitting right there on the toilet!  He is nice to Lucy and when she is about to get in trouble, he took the blame by saying it was his fault.  Since Liz makes dragon's, she made him one as a housewarming gift.  He named the dragon Gadzooks.  Gadzooks helps him to write a story for Lucy as her birthday gift.  While he was typing the story, if he closed his eyes, he could see Gadzooks write a word on his notepad, and that word would help him write more to the story. 

         Liz is another main character in the book.  She makes all of the dragons that are around the house.  She sells them at the market on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.  She also sells them when there is a craft fair at Scrubbley Garden Center.  She says that she is famous for making the dragons.  She has a room in the house that is called the DRAGONS' DEN, which is where she makes all of her dragons.  When she makes a dragon, she tries to bring the person she is making it for out by making it a certain way. For example, if the person she is making it for likes baseball, then she would make it with a baseball bat or a glove to represent baseball.  Also, when she is selling the dragons to people, the dragon picks the person.

         Lucy, Liz's daughter is also another main character.  She is learning how to make the dragons.  She loves wildlife, particularly squirrels.  There used to be an oak tree, but it got cut down a few months ago.  She was devastated because when the tree left, so did the squirrels, except for one.  That one was Conker, who Lucy named.  Lucy believes that he is hurt and can't get away to go with the other squirrels.  She has been trying to find him ever since all the squirrels left, and he was the only one she's seen since then.  She is also a chatterbox.  On the first night she wanted to know everything about David, and wanted David to know everything about her.  All she did was talk about her life the whole night.

        The basic conflict in the book is that Liz and Lucy have a secret about the dragons that they aren't telling David about.  While he writes the story, he starts to figure out secrets to the mystery.

        I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy and stories that you have to continue reading to find out what happens next.  What I liked best about this book, is that it had a lot of detail throughout the whole story.  Each scene was described very well.  Also that when I read it, I didn't want to stop, because I wanted to find out what happened next.  I also liked this book because it's suspenseful and you didn't know what was going to happen until you read it and found out what happened.  If I had to grade this book from 1-5 stars, I would give it a 4 1/2 because I thought it was very detailed,and it was suspenseful to find out what was going to happen next.

      I enjoyed reading this book, and if you read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Book Review- Assassin (FINAL!!!!)

Assassin is a novel that takes place in 16th century England. It is written in the point of view of Lady Grace, who is writing in her daybooke. Lady Grace is Queen Elizabeth's favorite Maid of Honor is about to get married off. She has three suitors to choose from. Sir Charles is a kind friendly old gentleman who is just that- old. He is well over fifty, and ew, she's 16. Sir Gerald is a cocky, ignorant man who all the ladies love. He is convinced that he's a real man, not like his competion. Her third suitor, Lord Robert, is different than his peers. He is very quiet, sullen, and studders when he talks to Lady Grace. Also, he is not very wealthy. He is closest to her age, being about 20. They and the entire court go the St. Valentine's Day Feast where she has to make a decision. After she chooses a husband and retires to her room, she is woken up by a commotion. One of her suitors is dead with a dagger in his back and another is under suspicion for the deed. Grace knows that the suspect is innocent, and  she knows she has to solve the mystery.

One thing I really like about this book is all the twists and turns the story takes while Lady Grace and her friends Masou and Ellie try to solve the mystery. They set off in search of one thing and the find something else, or they are investigating the wrong thing all together. If you are the kind of reader who likes compelling mysteries, this might be a good book for you. This is the kind of book to read when you are bored on a Sunday afternoon out loud in an English accent. When I first picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I give the novel Assassin 4 stars!

Miracle's Boys [FINAL]

If you want to find out about poverty in New York City, Miracle's Boys is definitely the book for you.  After reading the book, I certainly gained a greater respect for all those that are under-payed, or those payed minimum wage.  The author is Jacqueline Woodson, who came to our school about a month ago.  Woodson does a great job at describing the hardships that the main characters go through, amid a child's perspective.  She proves that children interpret things differently than adults, and also proves that children are usually just as affected as adults, during a crisis or bad situation. 

The book is set in New York City, during current times, and gives an insider's look, at life in a big city.  The main character is Lafayette Bailey, a seventh grader who lives with his oldest brother Ty'ree, and his other brother Charlie.  Lafayette is the kind of person who voices his opinion easily at times, which becomes very funny in parts of the book.  But he is also the kind of person who can keep important comments and thoughts to himself, during awkward moments.  But those 'private' comments and thoughts, are very entertaining and stimulating for the reader(s). 

Lafayette's oldest brother, Ty'ree, is like a father to him.  Ty'ree is very smart and takes care of Lafayette.  Lafayette's other brother, Charlie, has always been a good kid at heart, but has had some emotional problems, which cause him to do some bad things.  In the beginning of the book, Charlie comes home from Rahway Juvenile Detention Center for Boys, and according to Lafayette, Charlie has changed a lot since he went away to Rahway.

The basic conflict in the story, is that Lafayette keeps trying to get Charlie to open up to him.  Ever since Charlie got home from Rahway, he hasn't actually acted like Lafayette's older brother, or someone the Lafayette can trust, love, or confide in.  Lafayette frequently tries to communicate with Charlie, but the big question is, will Lafayette ever again have the same relationship he had with Charlie, before Charlie left for Rahway?

The thing that I liked best about the book, was that it was realistic, and wasn't changed so that it wouldn't be scary, or so it would just be a happier book.  It really sounded like something that could happen today.  The kind of reader that I think would like this type of book, would be someone who likes realistic fiction.  The reader could be boy or girl, and could really be any age over 10, I think.  It also has to be someone who is prepared to hear the truth about how some people really live, and not someone who expects to read about rainbows, fairies, and unicorns.

If I had to grade this book, on a scale of one to five stars, I would give it four stars.  I wouldn't give it five stars, because I would have preferred a more challenging vocabulary, and maybe a longer book.  The book was very detailed, but I think that Woodson should have kept going with her writing, because I felt like the book ended too soon.  I would give this book four stars, instead of zero, one, two, or three, because I thought the book had a lot of detail, got into some very interesting topics, and it was definitely a page turner.  Woodson kept me on the edge of my seat, throughout the entire book.  I also liked that Woodson did her research, and found out about juvenile detention centers, and about how boys act when girls aren't there.  Those things made the book even more enjoyable.  So, if you haven't already, you really should pick up the book Miracle's Boys, because it gives a totally different look at life, how we all live, and how we all fit into this world.