Exposing Scout to the Harsh 1930s

Think of when you were six or seven years old. You probably knew close to nothing about politics or the society that you lived in. Your little world was just kindergarden, nap, eat, sleep.  Now think of Scout, being seven years old in To Kill a Mockingbird, and how much of her outside world that she was exposed to at such a young age. Although many characters changed and evolved through out To Kill a Mockingbird due to exposure, Scout changed the most in my opinion.

Through the course of the story Scout was shown many different parts of society that she had never seen before, such as racial discrimination to its full extent. Racial discrimination is something that Scout has already been exposed to from living in the 1930s, but what she actually learns to goes much deeper. When she and Dill were talking after the trials, I think that Dill sort of convinced her of the wrong that was being done saying “I know all that Scout. It was the way he said it that made me sick, plain sick”(199). To see a completely innocent man be held "guilty" is not something to be seen every day in our society, but was exposed to Scout in hers.

Although the exposure to extreme racial discrimination had an effect on Scout, the effects of it did just about as much damage to her little 7 year-old bubble. The racial discrimination in Maycomb goes so far that just defending a black man makes you and your family a social outcaste, like it did for the Finches. But this hatred doesn’t only go one way. When Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her church, although most of the church show respect, because Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, Lula changes the mind of some people going back and forth with Calpurnia saying things like “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white [children] here – they got their church, we got our’n.” (119). Also a big reaction from the racial discrimination is first, Bob Ewell accusing Tom Robison of rape, but then going out and trying to kill Scout and Jem, just because their dad defended the person he accused, a black man.

Through all of the trauma and damage due to the exposure of the harsh world Scout lived in, there is a silver lining. At the end when Atticus is putting Scout to sleep,  he “Turned out the light and went into Jem’s room. He would be there all night, and would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”(281). This “guardian” role that Atticus acquires through this scene says that he will always be there and stand strong, even through the racial discrimination like he did throughout the story.

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Video Review

I am first going to start out with the fact that I liked the film adapation of "A Clean Well-Lighted Place". Although there were some things that I could nit-pick on all day, there was a main detail that was totally wrong and distorted from the written piece. The shadow of the bush, or rather the fact that there was no shadow, bothered me. One of the main piece of symbolism was the shadow of the bush and how the old man was in the shadows in life.

What I did like about the film production was all the little touches to set the scene and mood.

I liked the sad music that was playing as the old man was leaving and the posture of the waiters, which held true to their characters. Both of these small details made the film seem medicore instead of pretty bad due to all the missing and principal details fo the short story.

Snowflakes Analysis

Author’s Note: Since I needed to get a 9 or above in Word Choice and Context Analysis, I took a previous piece of mine and analyzed its word choice.

Snowflakes

The swirling, sliding snowflakes, fall gently to the ground. Millions of grains of white sand in the sky, falling down to meet each other. The whoosh of the wind sends them dancing against their peers, locking arms to fall in clusters faster to the Earth. These weightless flakes become building-blocks in the break of day for adventure, for imagination, and for fighting. Still, this innocent powder, as light as a feather in space, can prohibit embarking out of one's home, and cause disaster on the streets. Also, from all of the tragedy, they can be structured into angels and men.

Alliteration – I used alliteration, which is the repetition of the first letter in multiple words, in this instance to enhance the tone and describe the snowflakes.

Metaphor – I used a metaphor to describe snowflakes in this case to enhance the description further and to bring a more personable explanation, that you could picture in your mind.

Onomatopoeia -  I used an onomatopoeia here to give the reader a description of the wind that they could almost hear.

Personification – I applied personification to make the snowflakes come to life through what a person could do such as dancing.

Irony – In these cases I used irony as an alternative way to describe the extremes of snowflakes like how they seem weightless, but become more than that and the destruction of them.

Anaphora – Here I decided to use an anaphora to list the uses of snow and to add more depth to my piece.

Simile – In this instance I applied a simile to show how light the snowflakes are by using an already “weightless” object such as feathers and put it in a zero gravity zone, space.                                                                                                                                         

Surviving the Journey

Author's Note: This is a comparative piece of the settings in The Hunger Games and Life of Pi. I focused on the reading rubric mainly  and my word choice. 

Would you rather be stuck in a wooded arena with 23 other bloodthirsty tributes, or on a small life boat with limited resources and a fierce Bengal tiger? In The Hunger Games and Life of Pi both instances occurred, one to each of the main characters. It is also notable that both main characters, Katniss and Pi, survived their treacherous journey.  Although going through the course of both books seems equally challenging, the factors that make them so are not.

In Life of Pi the events that threw Pi into his misfortunate outcome being on the boat happened quite spontaneously. Therefore, he could not think clearly and lured Richard Parker, the tiger, onto the boat, which he almost instantly regretted. In The Hunger Games Katniss had weeks to train and learn after the initial shock of volunteering for her sister. Because of this she already had a plan of who to team up with and had survival strategies. Although the entering of the main suffering was longer for Katniss, the actual suffering was longer for Pi. He was on his life boat for 227 days while Katniss was in the arena for about a week.

Although there are many differences between the hostile environments in The Hunger Games and Life of Pi some things are the same. Both have a lack of water and food, which has a greater impact on Pi due to his expedition being 227 days long. Also, Katniss and Pi, for most of the book, were always in danger. Katniss never knew if there was another tribute miles away, or just yards away. Pi was always in danger from Richard Parker, who could strike at any second. Although towards the end, Pi's relationship with Richard Parker grows and he is no longer afraid, just like how Katniss could be allies with the other tributes, like she did with Peeta.

The  feats that Katniss and Pi were equally grueling. There were different things that each character had to do to save their lives. We should just be thankful that we don’t have to do what they did.        

Haymitch

Author’s Note: This is my creative point of view piece on Haymitch in The Hunger Games. The scene is when Haymitch meets Peeta and Katniss for the first time on the train. I tried to focus on my sentence fluency and voice through the piece.

Here I go meeting this year’s losing tributes.  One is a tall stick-like blondy boy with the most queasy look on his face. The other is this scrawny, high strung yet mature looking girl with brown hair and little to no muscle. I guess I'll just keep drinking this Capitol goodness until one of them impresses me.

Next thing I know I’m puking in the bathroom. It’s midnight. That looser Peeter boy tries to help clean me; what a suck-up! The thing I hate about all the years tributes is that they have no confidence. Every single first impression they give me is god-awful. They always appear so weak, nervous, and humbled by their misfortune.  The opposite should be true.  They should take this opportunity to show off to everyone that they are unwavered   by the reaping and act like they actually wanted to get picked like the tributes from District 1. But no, I’m stuck with these suckers that can barely walk they're so nervous. That, at least was the first impression this year’s tributes gave me. The next day gave me a tiny crack of hope. So there I was, having my morning drink , and that blondy steals it from me. He stole my drink. So me being me; I socked him one right in the kisser. Then that Katis girl tries to stab me. I have an odd suspicion that this year had a chance.  

The True Treasure

Author’s Note: This is a creative response and prediction of the ending to the 3:15 story Buried Treasure. The story was about an old man named Clarence who, in an accident with his dad, got his arm cut off by a falling tree. Now, in its place is a golden hook that he wants his friend Cody to bury with him when he dies. Just before the real ending was revealed, Cody had taken the hook with him after Clarence was dead to smelt into a gold bar.

Cody stood there, standing, observing the bright, golden hook. He felt as though he could drown in his own sweat." What should be done with this thing" he thought as he kept hearing the voice of Clarence ring in his head. "Bury me with my treasure". He contemplated this for quite some time and came to a conclusion. He would bury Clarence with his real treasure, the axe that brought him is fortune. Cody rushed back to the grave and worked through the night, digging out the coffin out of the ground. Finally he lifted the door to the coffin, peer inside and saw Clarence laying there, the same way as he was a day ago. Cody then ran into the cabin, retrieved the axe, but also saw his shotgun. Cody remembered stories Clarence had told him about hunting with it, so he took it with him. Anxious to be done with his deed, Cody sprinted to the coffin, a deadly mistake. As Cody ran, the shotgun banged against his leg, and in turn, shot him in the foot. He tumbled into the coffin with the axe, hook, and shotgun. To greaten his misfortune, the axe was sticking straight up towards Cody. When he fell into the coffin, the axe lodged itself into Cody's chest and the coffin door closed behind him. Now Clarence was buried with his treasure, along with a greedy 15 year old boy.

Changing from the Hunger Games

Author's Note: This is an essay on the character development of Katniss in The Hunger Games and from a little bit of the other books in the trilogy. 

I couldn’t imagine more of a life changing event than the one that Katniss Everdeen went through in The Hunger Games. Participating in a bloodbath where only one victor is crowned, where any means of survival and execution are allowed by all 24 tributes, Katniss had no choice but to change.

Katniss, just like many other people would, changed from participating in the Hunger Games. Her hunting, bow skills didn't change, but Katniss's confidence was certainly altered. If you just look at the interviews, they are a perfect "before and after" example. Before the Games, she is shy and goes with whatever Caesar Flickerman asks and says. Although she did impress the crowd with the twirling of the dress, which took some confidence, I would imagine that is was done in a timid and nervous manner. After the Games, Katniss seems more confident, even telling a flat out lie, saying that she "couldn't imagine life without Peeta". It takes courage to lie to an entire country, that of which has the power to kill you. It also takes courage to rebel against the Capitol, which happens later in the series.

Along with her confidence, Katniss's relationship with Peeta drastically modified. Before the Games, she barely knew him. Now she has to act madly in love with him to stay alive and out of the wrath of President Snow. Along with the help of Haymitch's advice, Katniss and Peeta plan to get married to further express their "love" for each other. Just to some things up, a 6 month period of time took them from being strangers, to husband and wife, a perfect example of change.

From the beginning to the end of the Games, the amount of respect Katniss earns changes tremendously. Before the Games, Gale, Prim, and probably Peeta are the only people who respect Katniss. Gale knows her hunting skills and they work as a team. Prim respects her  because she is her older sister and is basically her mom. Peeta reveals his respect for Katniss when he is telling Haymitch about her; very impressed, he says that she shoots her squirrels in the eye every time when hunting. In the end, when her hunting is showcased to the whole country and she wins the Hunger Games, the everyone is in awe of her bow skills and cleverness.

Just like Fahrenheit 451's Guy Montag, eventually Katniss rebelled against the government. Katniss revolted against the Capitol by eating the berries in the first book and eventually flat out going to war against them later in the trilogy. Guy Montag, the fireman who burns books, rebelled against society and the futuristic government by hiding books and planning to print copies of the Bible. Guy goes through change as his eyes are opened to the world of books and the strategies of his government as does Katniss when her eyes are opened to the ways of the Capitol and President Snow.

 From the first page in the series, to the finale, The Hunger Games portrays great transformation in the life of Katniss Everdeen. She goes from a poor girl in Distict 12, to the leader of the rebellion, changing her heart and mind along the way. It took courage, confidence, and respect, all of which were acquired from taking part in the Hunger Games.