How do themes tie with books?

Author’s Note: This essay is about theme. I’m going to describe theme and basically how it will tie together with the books, Chains and Because of Anya. The theme I’m going to be explaining in this essay to compare two books is courage

            In each book there is a couple or one clear theme.  A theme describes and/or sums up what the book is about. For example; the theme in the book, Chains, is mainly courage, and having faith and confidence.

No doubt, that courage, faith, and confidence are themes throughout a handful of novels, but it shows up especially in the two novels, Chains and Because of Anya.

In the situation with the book Chains, the main characters, Isabel and Ruth, just went through a rough time.  The Girl’s mother and owner, Miss Mary Finch,  just died, and Miss Mary Finch’s will had said, that they are too be let free when she dies. But, that is not what happened, Miss Mary’s nephew claimed that the girl’s were to be his slaves; they had an argument with the priest, the girls, and Miss Mary’s nephew.  He took the girl’s and he sold them to these snobby, stuck up, rich people, who are really mean… This is not what Isabel and Ruth wanted, at all! That is just one main conflict that they ran into.  Since the girls’ mother and former owner died, Ruth and Isabel are to be sold instead of being free. If they hadn’t gone to the priest and asked him where they should go, they would’ve ‘escaped’ this whole conflict, but they probably would’ve been found and people would start to wonder where they are, and why are there two little slave girls running around, trying to find a home.

            On the other hand, the book, Because of Anya, is about a girl named Anya Seaver, who has a disease, which involves hair loss.  She gets embarrassed because she has to wear a wig and she doesn’t want to go to school, just in case someone notices and decides to pull on it. She does completely fine with the wig for about two weeks, but the day after Christmas break, her class had gym and they were doing gymnastics… She felt completely fine after she did cartwheels, but then when it came to somersaults, she was scared to death. So she tried, she did one, two, then her last one she did perfect, but she stood up and everybody was silent and staring right at her head, her wig had fallen off! But how? Everybody thought the mean girl, Steph had pulled it, but did she really? No, Anya’s hair had caught on the mat.

            Anya grabbed her wig and ran.  She never stopped she just kept going; she ran out of the school and headed towards home. When she got there she was crying, she was home for two weeks, because she was embarrassed. But she came back to school, one day and she explained to the class that she doesn’t have cancer, she has a disease that is not contagious and can be cured, after that, Anya’s class, and Steph, were very supportive of Anya.

            These two books have similarities and differences that ties with the themes, Courage, Faith, and Confidence. The similarities would be, in both books these girls, have to have courage, they have to keep going and try. Anya has to have lots of confidence to go to school and not worry about her wig. Isabel and Ruth have confidence that they will be free, and they will turn out just find, and hope that they might find good parents/owners who love them, so it would be like they actually had a family.  Some differences would be, in Because Of Anya, when you think of themes, you wouldn’t necessarily think of the theme, Faith. That’s because she needs more courage, and confidence.  In Chains you would be more likely to say faith as a theme because that is what they need to keep going with their lives.

            This is my understanding of how themes can have similarities and differences with books. I hope you learned a little bit of how you can describe themes and why themes are needed when you write a book, or even read a book.  Themes help a reader understand better of what they are reading.

How Does Cause & Effect Relate To The Book,  Chains?

Authors Note: This is an essay about the Cause & Effect of the Historical Fiction book, Chains.

        In this situation, the main characters, Isabel and Ruth, just went through a rough time.  The Girl’s mother and owner, Miss Mary Finch,  just died, and Miss Mary Finch’s will had said, that they are too be let free when she dies. But, that is not what happened, Miss Mary’s nephew claimed that the girl’s were to be his slaves, they had a argument with the priest, the girls, and Miss Mary’s nephew.  He took the girl’s and he sold them to these snobby, stuck up, rich people, who are really mean… This is not what Isabel and Ruth wanted, at all!

       

        Since the girls’ mother and former owner died, Ruth and Isabel are to be sold instead of being free. If they hadn’t gone to the priest and asked him where they should go, they would’ve ‘escaped’ this whole conflict, but they probably would’ve been found and people would start to wonder where they are, and why are there two little slave girls running around, trying to find a home.

       

        I chose to compare this cause and effect of the story because it was confusing to me at first, until I read more of the story.  Basically, the main cause and effect of the story was, since they went to the priest and talked to him, and since their mother and Miss Mary Finch had died, they had to be sold and continue being slaves, but with a couple that was very rude to the girls’.   This is my understanding of cause and effect.

What is Ruth's Point of View?

                       

Authors Note: This is an essay about an event from the book, Chains, and about how a character’s point of view.

        Isabel and Ruth are African American slaves, whose owner just died.  Their owner secretly taught them how to read and write, so she had Isabel read her will out loud to her, and Isabel knew exactly what was on it. 

        One day, Isabel and Ruth went up to the priest and asked them where they should go, the priest was very confused, and the girls had explained that the will had said that they would be free.  The owner’s nephew had come to take the girls that moment and he was disagreeing and said that he gets the girls. They tried to settle it and get to the will but they couldn’t because the lawyer had been out of town.

The owner’s nephew said, “The girls are lying, they knew the lawyer was out of    town, and they are making up a fib!”

Isabel disagreed greatly, and said, “No! I saw the will; it said that we are to be FREE!”

Again the owner’s nephew said, “How do you know? You can’t even read or write! I should beat you for lying, girl!” after that statement, Isabel sure would’ve said something horrific, but Ruth had stopped her and just said, “Let it go, don’t let it get to you.”

        That specific part of the story states and shows that Isabel is surely an open, and loud person, and speaks what she knows, and is confident in an argument and likes to argue, on the other hand, Ruth is quiet, more closed person, who doesn’t like to argue and is kind of scared. I think that Ruth doesn’t want to get into anything, she just wants to run, and have everything go back the way it was.  That’s basically her point of view at this point, she doesn’t like how it is, she just wants her mom, and Miss Mary Finch, and everything to be the way it was.

        In this situation, Ruth would feel as if she was smaller than Isabel with personality because she’s not speaking up as much.

What Is A Real Family?

                                      What Is A Real Family?

Authors Note: This essay is about a theme in The Outsiders and this essay explains what it means and how it relates to The Outsiders.

Family is one of the best things a person can have, family is super important to me and lots of other people around the world… The Outsiders is a book that explains lots of themes such as; Defying Stereotypes, Loss of Innocence, and the true definition of a Family.

No doubt, that family is the people that are blood related to you; but family can also be friends and neighbors.  The definition of family in the Webster’s dictionary states: family is a group that consists of a father, a mother, and children. But I looked a little further into the definition in the dictionary and it said, “A group of individuals living under one roof.” This is very true, but sometimes they don’t live with each other. For example: my best friend, Emma lives in Iowa and I live in Wisconsin, she is like my sister, and my other half. My whole family considers her part of ours, and her family considers me to be their family. And we are not blood related at all! That's what I would consider a family to be.

In The Outsiders, the Greaser’s family would be all of the Greasers.  And I guess the Socs. Are sort of like a family too, but they are not as close to each other, and most Socs probably have blood-related family and are living with their real parents. The Greasers are a family because they care about each other, stand up for each other, and love each other for who they are… Most Greasers don’t or didn’t have a great family at the beginning. Except for Ponyboy, Darry, and Soda pop, they had a great family right in front of them at the beginning of their lives, and they knew it too.  They loved their parents, and their parents respected everyone, but both parents died, and unfortunately they didn’t have them anymore. 

When you first start the book, it gets kind of confusing, but once you actually think about it, you get it and start to really relate and understand it. It’s confusing to think that they are a family at the beginning of the book because most of them show “tough love.” But once you read till about the 3^rd or 4^th chapter, you would understand how their family works.

A great example of how they show that the Greaser’s are a family is in chapter one, right after Ponyboy got beat up by the Socs. And Darry had carried Pony boy and said, “Are you all right Ponyboy?” And he started shaking Ponyboy just to make sure and Ponyboy says “I’m okay. Quit shaking me, Darry, I’m okay.” And then Darry stopped shaking him instantly and said, “I’m sorry.” To me this little conversation in the book shows brotherly love between the two. Also, about 3 or 4 pages later in the book all of the older guys of the Greasers try to find the Socs who beat up Ponyboy and that shows that they all care about him and they want to protect him.

Obviously, from reading the entire book you could tell that these guys are definitely a family from what they’ve said, and how they have acted upon these situations that have occurred. Like I said before, family is not just the people who are blood related to you, they can be, but most importantly, your family is the people who love you, and actually care about you for who you are.

What Is A Family?

What Is A Family? 

Author’s note: This is my response of a theme from, “The Outsiders.” It explains the theme of ‘the definition of family.’

        To me, a true family is people who respect you, care for you, have your back, and love you for who you are. Family doesn’t have to be the people who are blood-related to you, it can be, or it can be friends.

        The people that I would consider my family would be; my blood-related family, friends, parent’s friends, and some of my neighbor’s.  I am very lucky to have the amazing family that I do have because, there are some kids and adults who have absolutely no one who cares about them and no one to talk to or say hi to.  I feel really bad for people like that because having a family is an amazing thing and feeling to know that people care.

        In the book, the greasers don’t really have a well-developed blood-related family… Their family is each other, because they care about each other, watch out for each other, and they love each other for who they are. Sure they fight, but isn’t that what a family does? For example; my brother will trip me on purpose, and I know that it’s just a joke, and we laugh it off and I give it right back to him. Or when my mom yells at me for not taking the dog out, but I know she is just frustrated, and I know she still loves me. 

        This is what a true family does, It doesn’t matter if they are blood-related or not.  A family means surrounding yourself with people who love you for who you are.

Letter to Cherry

Author's Note: This is a letter to Cherry in the Outsiders.  I am writing this to ask her about her feelings in all of the situations, and describe what it would've been like for me if I was her.

Dear Cherry,

       I am impressed on your behavior and how you handle being friends with both the socs and the greasers.

Which group do you like more? From my point of view it looks like you are better friends with some of the greasers because you give them a chance to show you that even though they are called the "greasers" they are respectful and caring, and not rude.  You see the good in the greasers and likes how they are, and they are not like most of the boy socs who are just plain jerks and are so rude.

         Are the girl socs as mean as they boys?  Because I know from some fight scenes that they are not nice at all! But from what I know on the girls, you girls seem so much more classy and fun, out of the two which would be you and your friend. Have you ever thought of Dally as something besides a Jerk? Have you felt bad for him about his background? I know I would have because people judge him, but on the other hand, he acts like he's okay, and he acts tough because deep down inside of him, he just wants to be treated and acted appropriate to when talking to others.

        Do people tease you because you have red hair or you are friends with greasers? I would imagine that some people would, just because of the greasers. What do you think of Johnny? I mean now that he  killed that one soc, Bob, Johnny in other peoples minds and words would probably change their view of him… What do you think of two-bit? He doesn't seem to be a main person, he's just kind of there… Do your parents know that you hang around greasers?  If I were you, I know that my parents would be furious in the beginning, like right when I told them.  But later on in they would accept the fact, that I can be friends with the people I choose as long as they respect me.

These are the questions I have so far reading this book, I hope I can find out more about you throughout this book and it will answer my questions.

  

Sincerely,

Mary

Why Should We Be Proud of Our Country

Why Should We Be Proud of Our Country?

Author's note: This is an essay about what Americans do for our country, and if we should be proud of what we have done.

       I am proud of my country because of three good and main reasons; we win every battle we fight, we have freedom of choice, and we have democracy and freedom for everyone, which is  extremely important.

      My guess is about 90 % of Americans are proud of our country because we win every battle we fight.  We have won those battles because the soldiers have supporters, and they know they have people who care about them. Therefore, they fight for us to have our freedom and for us to be safe. They sacrifice their life for us, because soldiers are strong men and women who love and are proud of America mostly because of the people that live there.  

       Americans have freedom of choice because we can choose our occupations and we can choose whether we want to go to college or not and we have the freedom to choose our president and if we want to be a democrat or a republican.  We have these choices because of the people who run this country, they trust us and our decision, they give us back up plans, if we dropped out of high school and thought we couldn't do anything about it later, we can.  We can always go to school when we are older.  That is just one reason why our country is great, trust me there is many more.

      There is a difference between freedom of choice, freedom of speech and just the word freedom.  Freedom of choice is a choice you can make.  Freedom of speech give you the freedom to speak what you believe and/or want, no one can stop you from talking.  Sure people will try to stop you, but will they really? The answer is no.  They cannot, when they try to stop you they have freedom of speech to say what they need/want to say.  An easy definition of freedom would be; freedom is to do or say something without any distractions towards it…

     These are just a couple reasons on why we should be proud of our country, but we have a lot of others too. We don’t have to be proud of our country because of freedom, but most people are.

Persuasive Argument

Is Cheerleading a Sport? 

        Is cheerleading a Sport?  Most people say it's not, and it doesn’t look like much when you just see them at football or basketball games, but there is much more to it than you think.  In my opinion it is a sport because of three big reasons.

         The first main reason that it is a sport is because it involves conditioning and exercising.  In order to dance and tumble you have to warm up and have the strength to do so.  To do certain stunts like a prep or a cradle you have to have a team/small group.  A team/small group usually has from 4-6 people in them and they have certain jobs.  You can be a back base, they hold your ankles and keep your legs steady, and lift you up.  They are usually the strongest person in the group.  You can be a side base, there are two. A side base catches the flyers feet and lifts them up.  You can be a flyer, which is usually the smallest one in the group.  The flyer is the one that is on top of the pyramid/prep.  They have to keep their balance, their legs straight, and when you do a cradle they have to do a pike in the air.  So you have to know counts, know when you do stuff, and you have to keep your balance.

         The second most important reason is it involves leg and arm strength.  You have to lift people up or be up in the air doing something with your arms.  You have to know how to dance and do cartwheels and be able to stand on your head and/or hands.  You have to have that certain strength to be a cheerleader and do stuff that we do.

          The last main reason why cheerleading is a sport is because it’s competitive.  You can choose if you want to compete or not.  You go to different schools and dance, tumble, do stunts, and cheer in front of judges and other teams.  You have to have a dance and/or a drill to perform in front of others.  Just like football and basketball, you have one big team, but there are different small groups who work together at one time, or in different plays together.

            Cheerleading is a sport because you have to do the things dancers and gymnasts do and certain stuff from other sports.  It's competitive, football is competitive right? Yeah, so is cheerleading.  It might look easy when you just see them with their poms and it looks like they are just saying something like, "Yeah! Go Pirates!"  But there is much more to it than that.  We make it look easy, try it.

Casey At The Bat

Casey At The Bat

Author’s note: This is an essay about the poem. “Casey at the Bat” The purpose to this writing is to show that I know how to explain the climax and that I know what it is.               

Casey at the bat is a poem about a baseball player named Casey, who is really, really good and strong at baseball.  But this time, he’s not doing so well and he goes up to bat he’s the last person, and the pitcher throws the ball and the umpire yells, “Strike one!” No one can believe it… Then the pitcher throws the ball again and the umpire yells, “Strike two!”  Everyone gasps and yells stuff like, “come on Casey!” and “Let’s go! Hit it!”  Casey gets frustrated and pounds his bat against the plate really hard, gives the pitcher a stern look and the pitcher throws the ball and, “Strike three! You’re out!” yells the umpire.  Everyone is mad, and sad, and confused.

        That is my summary of what the climax was of Casey at the bat.  It’s the climax because it’s the most exciting part of the story and it’s the main part, it’s the ‘point of no return.’  Another reason why it’s the climax is because, at the beginning the rising action is when the two other boys are batting before Casey and they strike out and it’s all up to him.  Also because, there is a falling action and resolution after it, the falling action is after he strikes out and everyone’s mad and sad.  The resolution would be the very last sentence that says, “Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; the band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, and somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; but there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.” That’s the resolution because the main conflict or problem was that they wanted to win, and the resolution was that they lost, because Casey has struck out and it was all up to him.