What Quotes In A Story Can Do

Author’s Note: This is a short essay about a specific quote in the short story, Thank You Ma’am by Langston Hughes.

            When your reading a book do you mainly just focus on the plot? Probably, but have you ever thought about what the quotes mean?

            Mrs. Jones was walking home from work one day when this boy comes behind her and tried to snatch her purse.  She didn’t react like most people would, she was not scared of him, he was more likely to be scared of her!  She beat him, then dragged him to her house.  He was going to run, and had several chances to sprint out the door just when she said, “Go wash your face boy,” which meant she was trying to clean him up a bit.  They ate dinner and after that she sat on her day bed and said to the boy, "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get,”

            That quote is important because it shows that she has been in his shoes once, and is trying to influence him to be better, and not do rebellious stuff when he is older.  She wants him to do good.   I chose this quote because that’s when he realizes that that is when she isn’t trying to capture him or torture him or anything, she is trying to help him.  Strangers are not the best people to go to, but when they have been in your shoes, everything can change, in a good way.

Title: Going For the Record                                                          

Author: Julie A. Swanson                                  

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 217

         The summer before her senior year of high school Leah Weiczynkowski qualifies for the Olympic developmental program's regional soccer team. She has every reason to believe she will be picked by coaches from the best college teams in the country. But the very day she returns home from soccer camp, she learns that her father has untreatable pancreatic cancer.

Why is this such a great book?

It’s a great book because it explains a certain kind of challenge in life and how a girl in high school would go through all of this. And why and how family is so important.  

A Different Point Of View

Authors Note: I am going to be writing about the Priests’ point of view in the short story, Dead Man’s Path.

        Have you ever had something like an old blanket or a toy that someone wants to throw away or block it but you wanted to keep it because it meant so much to you and you had a lot of memories with it?

In the short story; Dead Man’s Path, the main character is a school ‘headmaster’ he’s new to the school.  On school property there is a path that leads to the cemitary. The new headmaster wants to block it off, but everyone else wants to keep it, especially the old priest.

What is the priests’ point of view?  The priests’ point of view is probably something like in his thoughts he is saying, “What is this new headmaster of the school thinking?! He can’t just block off our dear path just because there is going to be an inspector coming! Everybody is going to be depressed about this situation!” Or something like that, but he sounded very angry. 

If I was in his shoes I would be furious too! If there was just this new guy and he blocked off something that meant a lot to people, wouldn’t you be mad to?