to kill a mockingbird essay

To Kill A Mockingbird

     Would you ever hurt someone who never hurt you? A fragile thing that doesn't  do anything, like a mockingbird. In the Book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it describes how killing a mockingbird is a sin, but what does that mean exactly? Does the Mockingbird represent something more than just a bird?

     In chapter ten, page 119. Atticus tells Jem that if he goes after birds with the air-rifles, to shoot all the bluejays but, that he should remember not to kill a mockingbird because its a sin. They didn't know what he meant by that so they asked Miss Maudie and she said "your fathers right, Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's  why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird"(119).  

          A person who can represent a mockingbird is Tom Robinson. He is accused of raping a white women even though he didn't really do it. He represents a mockingbird because he is fragile because of his skin color, he was just minding his own business when suddenly he is accused, when suddenly they tried to kill a mockingbird (metaphorically). In a way they did kill this specific mockingbird because,  "I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ''Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty,,,'' I peeked at Jem, and his shoulders jerked as if each 'guilty' was a separate stab between them."(282). They killed the mockingbird, Tom Robinson, he was too fragile and he never hurt anyone.

     killing a Mockingbird doesn't represent just a bird. It represent certain people in the book. The people that are like mockingbirds they don't do anything bad but get involved in some situations. An example of people in the book that are like mockingbirds is Jem and Scout. In chapter twenty-eight, Scout is in a school play, she plays a ham. On her way home with Jem they get attacked by Bob Ewell. Jem and Scout represent a Mockingbird in this specific point in the book because like a mockingbird they were just walking home minding their own business, not hurting or bothering anyone, when Bob Ewell tried to kill them. "We were nearly to the road when i felt Jem's hand leave me, felt him jerk backwards to the ground. More scuffling, and there came a dull crunching sound and Jem screamed."(351). At the end someone saves them and Bob Ewell died, he should've known better than to try to kill a mockingbird.  

   Why, kill a mockingbird? They are fragile and don't hurt anything or anyone. All they do is mind their own business yet, people try to attack them and kill them. Some of them succeed and some of them don't. They should know Killing a mockingbird is a sin, that's how it's described in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. That can mean different thing, it all depends on you and how you interpret the reading, it can mean consequences or it can even mean feeling bad about what you've done and it can even make you think if you have ever tried to kill a mockingbird!

Old Man and the Sea book review

Jailene Rodriguez

c-block

April 24, 2013

The Old Man who lived lived with fish

The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Scriber Paperback Fiction, 1952. Genre: Fiction  

          The old man and The Sea was about an old man who was a fisherman. in the story the old man has't caught a fish in 84 days and is eating little. There is also a boy who is friends with him, he taught the boy to fish and he brings him food. The old man's name is Santiago and the boy's is Manolin. One day the old man goes out fishing and catches a huge fish a Marlin. Over a period of about three days he finds strugles witha battle of his will and his strength. While this happens the man starts to see the fish as a brother, but never wavers to his resolution to kill the fish, which the old man does. The Old man just straps the fish to the side of his boat. Then he heads home he is attacked by sharks, that start to eat the marlin. The old man tries to fight them off with weapons, like knifes. When he gets to shore there is only a skeleton left of the marlon. After the story ends with the old man going back to sleep and dreaming of lions as he did when he was younger.  

          " The story was full of courage in face of Danger, Ernest Hemingway brilliant story" By Orville Prescott, book of themes reviewer.

            I chose this quote because I thought it used the right words and I agree with the quote because I thought the old man had a lot of couage even though he was in danger. Like when he was being attacked by the sharks he was courage when he tried to defend himself with weapons and he was in danger because the sharks were attacking him.

           The old man and the sea is like Cast Away. They are similar because they are both trying to survive in the wild near the ocean and the become kind of crazy while they are out there. They are also a like because they both get to come back back home. They are also very different. Cast away is about a man deserted on an island and trying to come back home. At the end a whale helps him and theses boxes that he found. They are also different because The Old man and the Sea is about a fepisherman and Cast Away is not about a fisherman.

            "A man can be destroyed but not defeated". I think this means that a man will always go on and will never let himself be defeated and that the only way they could be defeated is by being destroyed. when he said destroyed I think it means like they died or someone or something killed them because if the man is not destroyed they will keep on and never stop. I think a man could never be defeated it just depends on the man and if they have the will to go on no matter what. I agree with this quote because all the man i know are like that they are all subborn. Like my dad. My dad has a strong heart and always makes it seem like he's ok even if we know he's not. I don't think my dad could ever be defeated he is so strong and open hearted.  

           I didn't feel a relationship with the book, the author, or theme. I did enjoy it. It was like movie being played in my head. I thought the story was funny, entertaining, and fun. my favorite part was when he thought the fish was like his brother. I also thought it was sad that when he killed it and all the sharks eat the fish. At least the old man made it home.  

2 paws

What are priceless moments?

         Sometimes we get so caught up in everything around us that's been priced. Sometimes we forget  all the priceless moments we have. Maybe it's because we don't see them but, they're there. Those special moments that you start to wish you can live your life, living in that moment. Sometimes we forget what's valuable in life, and we start to think that these priced items are our lives and we can't live without them. Well we're wrong the most important thing to us should be spending time with people we love, and with people that make us laugh so hard we embarrass ourselves. So, you can you think about this. Would you chose that memory that will make you giggle every time you think of it, or would you chose an item that can be replace or bought at any store?

         Do you know that feeling of staying up all night, eating so much junk food that your stomach hurts, watching movies until its dawn, and giggles and laughter is all that’s heard about funny jokes. It's my special moment of having a sleep over with my best friends. Moments like that are what’s valuable in my life, they make me really happy and enthusiastic just thinking about everything we did that night. Spending time with friend and joking about everything is always fun. They turn your most horrible day into one of the best days ever. They bring us up, even when we feel no one can. They put our frown upside down. Friends love spending time with you. They want to spend sleep over and have extra fun together. A sleep over is a social gathering of a few friends getting together, to just be girls or to be just boys. We have so much fun, we forget about tomorrow. This is what a priceless moment is.

  

       Items all around the world are sold everyday, and probably at every minute too. What makes one item more important than the rest? The ‘priced item’ that is favorite are my UGG boots. They're so comfortable. I asked for them last Christmas and I got two of them. I was so happy. Everyone had UGG’s so I wanted some too. They’re popular shoes now. These boots are awesome and I love wearing them. I try to wear my UGG’s with everything, so my mom gets mad at me and tells me, or screams at me to change my shoes, especially for church. Yeah, they make me excited just wearing them, and it also makes me feel special.

  

        My items are similar because, since I love wearing my UGG’s, I wear them when I’m with my friends. They aren't similar in a lot of ways but, they can be compared in some. They both make me feel special and I always have fun with both. I always have an adventure when I have my UGG’s on, and when I’m with my friends as well. The days I spend with my friend I have the time of my life and the time I’m wearing my boots, I feel awesome or even amazing. These items, priced and priceless, are really important in my life, they just make everything better.

        The sleepless nights of giggles, makeup and just making jokes are as different from my UGG’s. Those nights staying up until you can’t anymore are moments that I would trade for my boots as fast as a heart beat. Spending those priceless moments with my friends, mean the world to me mean more to me more than my boots will ever. I’m not saying I don’t love my boots, because I do, I just love the time with my friends. The times that our moms has to keep coming in the room to lower voice because we get too caught up in the moment. Those are the moments you can’t compare to anything else.

 

        I value the sleep over with my friend more than my boots because, if my boots brake or get lost I, could go to any store that sell UGG’s and just buy it again. Also I can’t buy my friends; I can’t buy that moment we spend together. That special moment that we remember forever, that special moment that makes you laugh until you start to cry.  

        Almost everything in this world has a price on it. Between all that, we get so caught up in it we forget that we do have priceless moments. Moments that are beautiful, and you talk about forever. About how you felt and everything you did. You talk about it forever because you don’t want to forget about it. You want to stay fresh in your mind. You can’t compare moments like that to priced item you could buy one hundred of. You always have to try to remember there are moments of priceless beauty still out there. Just try to find you're own moment of true beauty. 

James and Ender

Jailene rodriguez


The contender (lipsyle): James
Ender’s game (card):Ender  

Who wins

It was cold and bright, it smelled like money, you could taste the lollipops they gave the children in the air. The sound of hush tones and cash being counted filled the room. He looked around observing the bank, the workers, and what they did with the money. “James” yelled Henry “focus lets get out of here before the plan gets ruined”.  As they left they kept their head down making no sound.  
When they got to the alley all the boys were waiting for both of them, they asked if James thought the plan was going to work and if they got all the right materials. James laughed and said “don't make me laugh, do you know who your talking to, don't worry by tomorrow we will be rich” Henry wasn’t sure if he should believe James or not, but he had no say James ran their group and if he said something he could get kicked out of the group, that he worked so hard for.

On the way home James took the bus with his friends and on the bus he meet a boy named Ender. He was telling them how he is starting school the next day and turned out they go to the same school. James looked at Henry with a grin on his face and Henry knew that poor boy was going to be James’s bait in there plan. James asked Ender if he would like to hang out with them after school tomorrow and Ender said “yes” thinking he made his first friend that day. James called his friends and told them about the bait he found that day and that tomorrow would be like taking candy from a baby.

The next day the boys went to school, they saw their bait and asked him if he was ready for today. Ender asked” where are we going” and James said “ well i have to make a stop at the bank”. After class, Henry felt weird like in the pit of his stomach and couldn’t figure out if he should go or not, but he knew he had no choice if he didn’t go with then the plan would be ruined. It was time to go to the bank they got all their supplies ready and dressed in black. Ender found it kind of weird but he went along with it anyway.

They got to the bank and the plan started at 5:30. The clock rang it was time, they rushed in and got into line James put Ender in front of him and when the young women called next James pushed Ender to the cash register ender screamed “hey man what’s wrong” but he didn’t say anything. The women said hi and James told her to take all the money in the register out and give it to him. Ender was confused but he soon realized what was going on. The women yelled for the police that were at each corner. They came running in and James grabbed Ender around his neck. Every stared, and Ender was scared he knew he had to do something so before James went to grab a child to do the same thing, grab him around the neck Ender hit him in the gut and James fell to the ground when he stood up he yelled “so you want to fight”. They got into a fight, Ender punched him and James hit back, they just kept at it until the police took them to a office.

The room was black and white and was freezing. The police talk to them all, at different times, Ender told his side, James told his, when it was time to talk to Henry he kept repeating “I knew it wasn’t going to work I knew it”  when the police asked him the first question he fainted. They then put James and Ender in the room the police asked Ender why he was out with James and that he knows who Ender is, he knew he was a prodigy. James didn’t know that so he opened his eyes really wide he couldn't believe who he picked to his bate. The next cop came in and started to repeat “who wins huh guys who wins” the cop explained to James that he is childish, there was no way he could've pulled that off. The cop let Ender go but for James they would have to call his parents.