To Kill A Mockingbird

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." - Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus)

This is a real novel. Its a classic that everyone should read. The basic story is set in the South where racism and discrimination is at a high. The story revolves around the view of Scout, the daughter of the prominent white lawyer, Atticus. The novel starts out with news around town about an incident with a white lady and a black man charged for rape.

The story:

Tom Robinson is a handy man that worked for the Ewell's (Bob and Mayella). Bob's the kind of guy that believes women are inferior to men, and therefore continuously abuses his daughter.

Like every other day, Bob leaves for work and Mayella, is left alone. On the day of the incident, Tom comes around for his daily work. But the twist is, Mayella seduces him. And guess who walks in? Yep, good ol' Bob. Bob is of course mad as hell and although the circumstances were explained, he charges Tom for rape.

As the story continues, so does life. Scout and her brother, play naively in their world. (their current mystery: Boo Radly) I won't really get into it because i believe the story lies within the case. Anyways, Atticus takes up the case. Now my fellow readers, go back to the top of the blog and reread the paragraph about the location. Okay, what sets up a red flag? Yep, you got it. A white man is defending a black man in a racist Southern setting.

Therefore, the Finch's endure a lot of angry racist comments. One day at school, Scout got in a fight with another student because they accused her father of being a "nigger-lover"(please excuse the language). Atticus is also a victim of this hate. At work he is constantly ridiculed for defending a black man. Nonetheless, Atticus stands firm and strong with his position to help Tom. Atticus even attempts to help support Tom's family while he is away in prison. He visits the family constantly with food and word of hope.

The day of the court case, the jury is all white and therefore the verdict finds Tom guilty of rape. Not so long after there is news that Tom is killed in prison. The officials said that he made a run for it and was shot. Now, look at this critically. A jail's "backyard" is the size of a football field. Why would he take such a chance if he knew he'd never make it. The officials lied.

The thing that makes this novel one-of-a-kind is that it happens through a little girl's eyes. Jem starts to open her eyes and break away from her childhood mentality. She starts to notice that the world is not unicorns and teddy bears, she learns that the world is full of corruption and chaos. She grows up.

Too broad? Here's a website:
http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tkm/SUM.html

Naked

Hi people.

Do me a favor. NAKED! what comes to mind?
To many they may think of someone in their birthday suit streaking. Others may think of the naked molerat (Gary). But i want you to think of something deeper, like under the surface, like the center of an onion. Do you follow? In other words, the bare truth.

This week's novel is a memoir. Naked by David Sedaris. This book doesn't really have a story line I can explain, its more of a series of mini stories. The basic background is David's childhood and the many quarky memories that fall there. He is born into a wealthy family. His mother is an extremely aggressive woman with a lot to say. She is not a typical mother, she is blunt and educates her six children to smart and never fall into the hands of miming or another low paying job. His father is a golf-obsessed man that is on a mission to covert his children. David's siblings are well, weird.

David is not your average cookie. David would lick anything his mind told him to. He would could all three hundred twenty seven steps home, and if he missed a step, he'd go back to school and start again. On his way home, he'd sniff the neighbor's newspaper, lick someone's land nome or hug a tree. It was his ritual. At home, David would lick ALL the light switches angle everything on his desk perfectly, color coordinate all his clothing, and scream loudly within his throat (he though no one could hear him).

One of my favorite stories, in the Sedaris' household was, there was a period in time in which somone would wipe their butts with the bathroom towels. It wasn't until everyone took a shower and wrapped their heads around the towl did they notice that it was sioled and stinky. The never did find who it was.

An odd hobby that was put to a halt was his rocking. Sedaris would rock in his bed to achieve a sense of relaxation. He started it when he was young and stopped until he was about in college, when his roomate mistakened the rocking for masterbation. ("knock it off romeo!")

This book is filled with weird happenings. I REALLY recommend it. Its a fun book that can make you burst into laughter and just forget about everything else. I would say that by far, this is the best humor book that i have ever came across. Read it poeple! i have a a copy if you would like to borrow it.

bye byes!

A better summary:
http://www.digihitch.com/review13.html

For One More Day

Hello to all fellow peers!

As promised, this blog will be dedicated to Mitch Albom's For One More Day. (I will try to be as detailed as I can. Be patient!) For One More Day basically covers everything, from divorce to suicide, to regret and hope. More importantly, the book's theme is parenthood and challenges people to be more appreciative of their parents. The book's essential question is: What will you do if you had the chance to spend a day with a deceased loved one?

The story starts out with a reporter interviewing Charley Benetto, an ex- major league baseball player. Charley begins his story on the night he attempted suicide:
Having lost his family, job, and reputation, he has become dependent on alcohol as a pain reliever. Now, broken-hearted, drunk and regretful, Charley drives out to his hometown, in hopes to take his life. As he staggers home, he finds his mother, now eight years deceased, is waiting for him with open arms and love. Naturally, Charley is flabbergasted at his discovery and begins asking questions and commences a commotion. His mother is unaffected and offers him food and a place to sleep as if nothing has happened. After an exhausting and strange day, gives in and takes the offer.

Before, I continue on with the story, there are some things you need to know. When Charley was a kid, his father said, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” He chose his father. Charley, looked up to his father, Len, and constantly wanted to make him proud. Len served in WWII and pushed Charley to be a tough son, free from emotions. His mother, Pauline (Posey) was a beautiful lady with the personality to match. She on the other hand, wanted Charley to be a gentleman.
Len and Posey, were a handsome couple that upheld a love/hate relationship. One day, Charley and Roberta (Charley's little sister), found their mother crying in the kitchen. Len had left them.

The next morning, Charley and his mother set off on a walk. Pauline, walks him to the park and point out a tree with the word, "Please." carved. (I believe this is the sweetest thing a mother can ever tell you.) Pauline wanted a baby, and when everything failed, she'd pray every night and day. "Please", was a prayer for Charley, he was wanted and he was the "wish granted".

As the day goes on, they visit three people.
Rose, an old patient of Pauline when she was a nurse.
(Once Pauline was a single woman again, the hospital fired her and accused her of "distracting the employees." Therefore, she turned to become a hairdresser in order to support her family.)
Miss Thelma, the Benetto's housekeeper; Pauline worked as a housekeeper as well, to put Roberta and Charley through college.
The last person they visited, was an elderly italian woman. As Charley attempted to identify the woman, Pauline confessed what happened the night before Len left. Late at night, Len left the house and Pauline followed him to the next town. It turned out that, Len led a secret life with the woman he met during WWII, and that was when it all ended.

After that strange encounter, he feels ashamed of himself and gives up alcohol, begins to reconnect with his family and earns his daughter's forgiveness. Charley, was a changed man.

Remember that reporter? Guess who it was. It was his daughter.

I hope i did a good job at summarizing the story, but i STRONGLY encourage people to read it. I can promise you that at some point, you will cry and the message will stick with you.

If you have any further questions, ask! I apologize if i sounded a bit vague.

Welcome Note.

Hello fellow AP peers!
I am excited to be apart of the AP English and Composition class. This class looks to be one of the toughest ones of the year, in my opinion. I am well aware that our instructor has high expectations and its both a good and bad thing. Bad: Requires working out of our comfort zone and actually putting more effort than any other of our classes. Good: Our instructor is realistic and is not going to "dumb us down" or baby us. She's going to be blunt and tell us what is wrong and how to improve it. (I love that.) And in return, we, as the students must put in the effort and push ourselves. The course does not guarantee a passing score nor does it guarantee an A. That depends on us and how wisely we are as students and used the lessons correctly.

This AP course will be challenging, not only because of the material it contains but the fact that I am a non-fluent writer. I believe that writing should come as easy as a language, it should be fluent and come easily. I, for one, am a horrible writer, I struggle when it comes to organizing thoughts and writing introductory and conclusion paragraphs. But that's something I hope to improve on. The main reason why I chose this class was because I want to stand out from all the competition when it comes to college application reviews. I don't want to be another number in the rejection pile. I want the experience and skills. I want to be "extraordinary*".

One of the vital assignment for the course is to write a blog about a school-related topic. My blog topic, as you can tell from the title, has to do along the lines of books and novels. In my blog, I will write comments and feedback on books I come across and read. I will summarize the story as best I can and express the importance of some parts of the book. I have to warn you, I may be bias in some of my entries. The first book I may blog about is "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom. Brief Summary: The story is about a man who has reached the 'bottom of the pit' in life. He is depressed and rejected from his family because of his ambition to become a baseball player. Therefore he decides to go to his old childhood neighborhood and commit suicide, and while he does he is unexpectedly visited by his mother's ghost. Throughout the story he learns more about himself and gives himself a second chance. The book's moral is to keep going and to make the best of your mistakes. I hope that my blog will be interesting and I encourage readers to comment any books you'd like for me to look at. I love to read and will look into anything.


*In my fifth grade class, my teacher taught me the most crucial word and definition in my life, Extraordinary.
Denotation:
Extraordinary. adj. going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary <extraordinary powers>
In my mind:
Ordinary means simple and normal, I don't want to normal, I want to stand out. Extra means to be more of. Being extraordinary means, being more than that, breaking away from simple and creating something WAY different.