Maggie: A Girl of the Streets
In the reading so far the setting has been limited to about three places. One of them is their home, of which they have been living in all their lives. Later on in what I've read so far, the time jumps to when they're older and around the age of young adults, Jimmy and his sister Maggie. Their home is always described as aged and sort of bland in color. They don't have much and the furniture is always broken or shoved into a corner, also broken. This is mostly to show the parent's drinking habits and the anger issues the family has, which apparently doesn't change over time. One of the other settings is the streets in the beginning. There are two rival streets which the children have constant fights over, according to the parents Jimmy often fights with these kids and neither of them is a good example for him to stop fighting anyhow. The streets are usually populated, but the boys fight on dirt and mounds of gravel off to the sides of the streets, in alleyways and anywhere without a lot of people. The town is described as having a lot of buildings on the streets with several floors, more apartment buildings than anything, to house families and all of the people. It's quite populated so there are not many wealthy establishments, at least not in their part of town. Later on Maggie goes with Pete to a bar which is a lot different than what she's used to. Maggie comes from a messy home and finds the change of scenery with Pete refreshing but intimidating. Meaning, that since Pete has come into some money that the establishment is fancier than what she's used to, making her feel uncomfortable but enthusiastic to be associated with him. The story's dialogue, though a little difficult to understand, is very accurate to the way that they would have spoken. I really admire this part of the text, among the many, many metaphors that are used. Where I left off was when Maggie has been a bigger part of the story rather than her brother, but instead of being focused on her character, it's focused more on her love life and her appearance. When the time skip explained Jimmy as an adult, it told us a lot of his character and how he grew, or didn't. Unfortunately I wasn't too happy to only be hearing of her love interest as we didn't get to learn a lot about Maggie in the beginning chapters, she was still a bit of a mystery being overshadowed by her brother's story. Though I would have liked to hear more of her personality or interests, I suppose there was a moment where her occupation was revealed as working in a factory making clothes which was a good piece of historical accuracy. I quite enjoy the story so far, but really wish Maggie's character had more personality and character. We haven't learned a lot about her and she seems to be described as kind of a basic female character, which might have been accurate, but she wasn't really given any flaws or depth either so it's hard to imagine her character or really connect with her. The scenes in this story however, I think provide a very helpful insight to where the story is headed, or at least where I can predict it will head. The beginning settings were described as old, deteriorating, and overall a sad environment. Once Maggie goes off with Pete and finds herself intrigued by his wealthy life, the scenery represents her change of character. She suddenly hates her current clothes, and becomes self conscious about her own life and belongings, striving to change herself for Pete which of course, I don't support, but the scenery represents it well. From this point I predict that her relationship with Pete won't end well. He is young and coming into wealth at his age usually makes him uncommitted or a little unreliable. Pete is described as not really the smartest, but he has connections, giving him access to this world of wealth Maggie is so intrigued by. Maggie wants that life and admires Pete's confidence, but it seems more like narcissism than confidence to be honest. I believe that his narcissism will only lead him to someone else, or something will happen that leaves Maggie back where she started. According to the title, I of course think that the pursuit of Pete and the wealthy life will not work out for her in the end, probably sooner rather than later as Pete seems to be the type to move on from things fast.
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One July morning, the air thick with heat, sun beaming down on those who dared lie beneath it, came a man who had many names. He was known as the toughest, coldest man in the west, he was so distant, cold, and cruel, that he could freeze a man in his place with just a stare. Most called him the dagger, because of his sharp gaze.
As he strolled into a local saloon all eyes turned to him, the piano playing ceased, and the talk died down to barely a whisper. He walked slowly up to the bar as if he was in a slow motion clip of a movie, adjusting his hat a bit for dramatic effect. When he sat down, looking across the bar, everyone immediately ducked down or looked anywhere else but him, in fear of the cold. As if ingratiating them with only a look. The dagger asked the bartender for a beer, which he did quite hastily, as to not be around him anymore than he had to. Once the warm beer was placed in his hand he looked at the bartender, antipathy in his eyes as he glared at his beer, making it cold to the touch. The guests as well as the bartender were all surprised that the legend of his icy stare was true, making them only fear him more. After he drank his canstic beer, he was approached by a man with an intimidating nature, and a coat way too large to fit his thin frame. The bystanders that had not yet dipped out of the saloon looked up in curiosity and thought, who would dare speak to this man after what he had just displayed, surely only a fool would even attempt. They were not incorrect, as Gerald, the man with the big coat was indeed, a fool. However, though he was a fool he was a tricky one. He told the dagger that if he beat him in a game of poker, then he would have to stay at the saloon and make the beer cold for everyone till the day he died, and if he lost, then he would die at the hand of the dagger. Dagger considered this for a minute, a cruel smile eventually emerging onto his face. He agreed, as he could never be beaten, not knowing that Gerald had a trick up his sleeve, literally. His pet lizard slinky was trained to take cards into his sleeve, in order to help him cheat. After a long game of poker, Gerald eventually won, causing the dagger to become very upset. When he tried to get up to break their deal and take his prize anyways, he stopped cold in his tracks. Gerald stood and explained that all he had to do was win and dagger was his to profit off of with his ability to make cold beer. And there dagger stayed, frozen in his steps for all his life, sitting in the corner only to freeze a beer when someone ordered one, exacting his revenge for when he one day would escape. Terrance was a simple man, he kept his farm running and tend to his animals. He fed them, gave them water, and when they were fat enough he prepared them for his family, and ate them. Though Terrance may not have been the most intelligent or perceptive, he was kind. He had many friends around his own farm, John from across the road, and Albert who planted cabbage. One night when he was to slaughter a pig for his family to eat, he got a little too close to his white barn. When he was done, there was a large blood stain on the side, big enough to see from far away. Terrance, however, was very caught up in what he was doing and didn't hear someone pass by. He went inside and ate with his family.
The next morning he woke to the sound of screaming. His neighbor's wife Emily was yelling and screaming, and seemed to be searching for someone. Terrance walked outside with a lantern as it was very early and asked her, "What is it Emily? Have you lost someone?" he asked, very concerned. "Yes, yes I have! My daughter- my sweet daughter!" "Has she gone? Did someone take her?" he said, asking way too many questions. In her panic Emily began looking around nervously, her eyes settling on the blood stain on his wall, and next to it, a small, dirty hand print. "How..." she stuttered, eyes growing wider and wider. Being a little clueless as he was Terrance simply asked, "What?" To this Emily stepped back, as if bracing herself, then bolted back to her house yelling for her husband, Ernie. When Ernie and Emily came running back out in anger, Ernie swung a punch at Terrance. "Hey!-" he yelled, "What did I do?" he asked, genuinely confused. "You! You took my daughter! Where is she? Is she even alive?" "Of course she is! I don't know where she is, Ernie! But I can help you look if you would calm down." At this all of the neighbors had gathered, each taking a side. Those who sided with Terrance painted their barns red in his support and when Emily and Ernie's daughter was finally found, they apologized to him and also painted their barn red. Prompt:
Why did pirates bother making prisoners or enemies "walk the plank" instead of just chucking them overboard? Throughout history, pirates have been seen as troublemakers in search of nothing but wealth for their own selfish gain. One of their more popular practices while plundering the seas, was walking the plank. This act became familiarly associated and enumerated to many people all over the world, but why did they do it in the first place? In the days when pirates were at their height, gaining lucrative opportunities through their riches and breaking laws, they were also extremely superstitious. One of the larger bands of pirates who traveled the pacific had a habit of keeping captives. All of these captives were so fearful for their lives that they never noticed their greatest weakness, their superstition. Until one day, a British captive, James, sitting upright staring at the undulate sea through a hole in the wall, decided that he would be the one to free himself and the other captives. When one of the pirates came down to check that everything was in order, he notices the captive standing right next to the bars. The pirate walked slowly up to the bars, antipathy in his eyes as he looked at James in disgust. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, conceding tone in his voice. “Have you heard of the great sea monster that roams these very waters?” he asked, ignoring his question. “I have.. not.” the pirate answered, curiosity clouding his judgement. After this, James continued to tell the pirate about the sea monster that would eat their ship if they didn’t make sacrifices, but the monster would only bite if it was lured, so they had to walk off a plank, as to make it easier for the monster to see. James thought he was a genius, as this would make it more difficult for the pirates to see him go into the waters, telling them to stand back because if the monster saw them it would eat them instead. James put a plank of wood inside his coat pocket and went up to the deck when he was to be sacrificed, letting the other prisoners know his plan as well. Because James knew they were close to land, he was going to use the wood to help him swim to land with the others, holding their breath underwater until the pirates were gone. They all escaped using his method and many others have as well since then. The discussion that we had was based around the natives, promoters, and colonists. The purpose was to find a solution to some of the issues that they all have with each other and to see if there is any possible way for everyone to be happy and live in peace. The general flow of this discussion was rocky at first, but when they dove into the topic of problems and solutions, everyone seemed more willing to talk about their opinions and options. I personally thought that the idea was very well thought out and that the discussion was a really good way to get to know the history more and see what we would have done differently. Although there was some messing around I felt that the promoters had the most historically accurate portrayal of what they would have wanted. There were many important points made, but the most prominent being that everyone wanted land which was a big part of the discussion.
It's the year 2034 and life on Earth has surmounted natural issues by traveling to mars and building living quarters for everyone in close proximity to natural disasters, which the Earth has grown more accustomed to. The world had a deficiency of natural resources due to humans consuming and taking advantage of them, leaving them nothing later on. All world leaders refused to band together as most still did not believe in the issue. This is why it was so galvanizing when people found out about homes on Mars, a way to escape. In the current year there is an entire civilization on Mars, families living happily in their spaceship-like homes with gardens for food and flowers all around in their own areas. Life on Mars was however, difficult. Most missed ones they left on Earth, and being on another planet was not ideal for some, though it was the only way to survive. One thing that brought them joy was the animals that the brought from Earth, specifically the cats. In one family there was a little girl named Sara who had a cat named Charles who she adored and took to the gardens every day. All things considered life on Mars was preferable, and the people were avid to be there, avoiding the natural chaos of earth by floating around with their pet cats.
When we went to Balboa Park and did a scavenger hunt while looking at historical artifacts, I noticed a pattern. A lot of similarities were between the themes, Spanish influences and lots of historical artifacts from around the same time period. They also had a lot of different cultures represented, possibly relating to the different cultures we may be learning about in our project. I personally found the paintings really interesting. It gave us more of a visual representation of what that time was like and helped us see it from a different perspective. There's a big difference between hearing about history and getting a visual of it, like a window into the past. I also really enjoyed the physical artifacts like vases and books. It also helps give us an insight as to what the time period was actually like, seeing what they created themselves and how they spent their time or perceived it. Concerning how what we thought the project was going to be and how this added to it, I think that it really added to what we know now and gave us more hints to what we're learning. The paintings and artifacts that we saw helped us connect it to our project, learning about the time periods and cultures helped us learn more about the project as a whole. With our KLEWS chart, notes on what our project was going to be, I think that a couple of my questions were answered. I had guessed that some of them related to trading, different groups of people traveling to meet with each other and trade with each other. This theory was further explored with some of the artifacts from yesterday, some depicted one group of people shaking hands and conversing which is important to cultural relationships in history. I was however, incorrect about some things, especially in the beginning when I thought that the stuffed animals related to manufacturing. They were presented in very different ways, some were more interactive, for example writing something down that goes along with the product, or items from a certain time period placed around for a more immersive experience. The puppet show that we saw was, in my opinion, presented in a very creative way. In the very beginning I was confused at first how the sleeping man needed a stick, but when he stood up I realized that he was the scenery and that from a child's imaginative perspective, would look that way. The way that the props worked with the puppets, and even the puppets themselves, were very versatile and creative. For example, when the wolf was the other side of the grandfather's coat. It was very imaginative and you really have to think from a different perspective to create something like that.
In eleventh grade history I hope to learn about the details of events we've learned about previously and hopefully learn about history outside the US as well. In past classes we have gone over a lot of significant events in US history which is very important to learn, however I hope to learn about more of the world's history as that was important as well. Ever since sixth grade we've learned about world war two and the same events. I would like to learn about how other places in the world have affected us and significant world history, not just strictly in the US. I am personally very interested in Greek, Roman, and England's history as we haven't really learned much about them before, and learning about vikings sounds interesting as well. There are so many topics in history and I feel like I've learned a lot of US history, I wouldn't be entirely against learning more US history, so long as it's new information.
Our eleventh grade humanities class was assigned to draw on a note card five things that represent you. On mine I drew a cat, to represent my two cats. A question mark to symbolize curiosity and interest in learning more things. A tennis ball because I am on the school's tennis team and I really enjoy the sport and being able to play with my teammates. A daisy because it's my favorite flower, and lastly a little sun to represent positivity. The person who gave their opinion on what they thought it meant said that the cat meant I had cats which was right, that I like flowers, and the question mark means I'm an analytical thinker. Overall it was pretty accurate and very close to what each one actually meant.
Scythe by Neal ShustermanIn the first part of this book we meet two characters, Rowan and Citra who are chosen by Scythe Faraday to both be his apprentices. Normally this would not be allowed by the high scythes, but Scythe Faraday allows it anyway. In this Utopian society based in the far future, humanity has cured all of their problems. This takes place on Earth, though they did attempt to make a Mars colony at one point. There is no war, no disease, no poverty, terrorism, etc. They have achieved a monumental amount of knowledge all stored in the ThunderHead which is the world's limitless computer government. It replaces politicians and replenishes humanity with all the things they may need, feeding the hungry, increasing stock in food and items, and recording information. It is in charge of everything, except for the scythes. Because humanity has beaten death and now people can turn back the clock and have immortality and speed healing, nobody dies. However, the natural order has to be kept so there are people above the law called the scythes. They are responsible for taking lives according to the statistics of deaths from the mortal age. They keep the world's population at a good number because though people can now be immortal there has to be death so that they can still supply for others. Scythe Faraday has met Citra and Rowan separately before he chose to train them, deeming them morally worthy of being his apprentice. I have read a couple Utopian novels before so I have an idea of how books of this genera are, however this particular book is different than the ones I have read. The story is very original and has a very interesting moral aspect to it. It really hooks the reader because the story is about people who are in charge of administering death and those who do have to have a certain moral code as to not be taken as murderers. The whole questions of it is, should they really be in charge of who lives or dies? Is that too much moral responsibility for a person? Which I think makes this book so interesting, to see the characters so morally challenged. Some similarities that I can see is that everything in this world is entirely possible, which in my opinion makes it more interesting to read. The technology advancement, the social advancement, is all similar to what we're only beginning to understand and develop now. I have commented on Joseph Guyse and Henna Hall's Digital Portfolios. |
AuthorSavannah Frank |