My Best Friend - Week 5

I've known him for all my life, and I've been getting to know him for the last 14 years. He always has something to contribute and can make any conversation interesting. He is very involved in drama, and he has starred in many different plays. He also plays the bass in orchestra and in a band. Others are probably first taken back by his outgoing nature, but they'll learn to love him.

My friend's loud funky personality is very refreshing, and he can always bring a little excitement into my day. He is a very musical person, and isn't afraid of screaming out a song that's stuck in his head. The best word from our book to describe him would probably be extrovert, because he's very involved with others, and is very exciting.

Shuck That Corn! - Week 4

I was little, and my sister often took advantage of me by dressing me up in a plethora of costumes, this time, it was a pink tutu. As my sister put on the finishing touches, my mom walked in with an armful of corn, and like an idiot, I decided to help out.

So began my afternoon of child labor. I shucked with a tremendous intensity, my face was stricken with fervor, each fistful of husk that I tore up brought me closer to my goal. The corn was my enemy, and each one I shucked faster than the one before, for I wanted some naptime, and who was the corn to take that away from me!

Then I had finished, I looked down at the bucket of corn, and then back at the table where the demolished husk lay. I stood up triumphantly, corn in hand, and hollered to heavens, somewhere the corn gods were listening, and they were afraid, they were very afraid. I walked inside and gave my mom my three stalks of corn, and fell asleep.


P.S. My soccer team is going to be the ball boys for the Seattly Sounders this Saturday. If you want to watch the game it's on at 7:30PM on channel 5.

The Jungle: Motif - Week 3

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about Jurgis, a Lithuanian immigrant, trying to support his family in the stockyards of Chicago in the early 1900's. Throughout the book there are many symbols such as the cattle being slaughtered, the housing agent, and the corrupted police force, which all show the terrible living conditions of the working class, and their hopelessness.

The motif effectively propels the plot by constantly creating conflict, and adding to the tense atmosphere. The book was written to suggest that the American government had little power over the meat industry and later it led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act. The powerful symbols were used to really hit home with the reader, and emphasize the urgent need of attention to the average American factory worker.

Outside Reading - Week 2

My outside reading book is The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, and so far it's going pretty well. The plot of the book sounded interesting, but it started out fairly slow, mostly because there was a huge amount of characters that had to be introduced.

At this point, it's pretty obvious that motif is the main literary element. This book was written to reveal to the public the truths about the meat industry, so the author created many different symbols such as the innocence of the pigs that are slaughtered, and the false pretences that the immigrants come under.

The main tone so far has been informative, satirical, and patronizing. The tone doesn't change dramatically throughout the book, as the main family is always facing new obstacles and hardships because of the crushing poverty they are trapped under.