Lit. Group

The Great Gift

Authors Note: In literature group we are having a competition to see who can get the most of the goofy words we had picked out earlier in the session. I need to make sure these words make sense in a story. Sorry I had originally highlighted these words they some how deleted.

I woke up Wednesday morning we had moved to New York the week before and I was still getting use to my new house. I walked down the long corridor to the kitchen and helped myself to a bowl of Cookie Crisps. I was the only one up, I was glad because my little brother Jordon has been jumping off the walls since Hanukah started plus as soon as  he wakes up I have to open my present and I don't want to be disappointed by yet another awful one. Jordon loves  December because that's when Hanukah is, but me and my older sister Sammy prefer March because that's where are birthdays fall.  My Cookie Crisps were gone so I went to put the bowl in my cabinet. That's when I heard him running down the stairs. I ran to the living room to sit on the couch so I wouldn't have to sit on the awful wooden chair that mom tells us was our great great grandma Rosalie's.

I see Jordon in the corner of my eye ripping open his present, so I go to grab mine. Jordon got a bike and Sammy got an Ipod, so I figure that I would get something really cool today.  I opened up my present and all that was there was a tank top.  Every year I get the most awful gifts, three years ago I got a piece of Krabby Patty Candy. At that moment I got so irritated, I yelled at my parents and they agreed that  they have never gotten me a decent present. They said that I could have anything I wanted. The next day I decided I wanted to see a huge waterfall.

Finally the next summer my parents took me to the waterfall. Once we got to the waterfall, I realized it was the prettiest thing I had every seen. There were millions of roses of all different colors red, pink, white, and orange. It was so beautiful, I was so happy my parents had taken me there because it was so beautiful. I asked my dad if I could swim in the small lake underneath the waterfall and he decided I could. I plunged into the water with my clothes still on, the water was cold but it was okay because it was very hot outside. That’s when we heard the rumbling of thunder and saw the lightning shoot across the sky. It started poring rain. Finally I got the best present ever and it was ruined.  It's like I was sitting on a fluffy cloud and a giant hammer broke through it. The waterfall turned from lively to ghostly in the matter of minutes.

I was so sad, until I got home and saw two huge stuffed animals waiting for me. They were my two favorite animals the alpaca and the platypus.  I guess I was happy that I had never gotten very good presents for Hanukah because, if I had I would have never seen that waterfall with my parents.  I have never lived largely on Hanukah before, but I loved it this year because I got to see the most beautiful thing ever.

Teenage Mean Age


Authors Note: In this piece I am reflecting upon how when you get older you get meaner. In this piece I am working on getting my introduction paragraph better. Comment on what I could do to make it better.

Four kids playing in the woods, building forts and running around during capture the flag. My brothers and I had so much fun together when they were younger. We could do anything when my parents were at work during the summer. Now, because they are older they would rather spit on me than hang out with me. All anybody ever does when they are teenagers is play video games or text.

My brother Tanner has both a laptop and a computer and he is on one or the other constantly. I also have a laptop so I play a computer game with him sometimes but it isn't as fun as when we were younger when we played outside. Tanner and I use to go on bike rides to Subway and McDonalds. We also use to make forts in our woods. When we were younger we liked hanging out with each other, but now he would rather just be alone.

Jesse is either watching television or our computer playing an awful game. I watch the same shows as Jesse so ,I watch them with him and my mom. We make fun of our mom for being so confused on what is going on in the show.  I guess that's fun but the only other time we talk is when he's yelling at me or I'm yelling at him. We basically hate each others company. Back when Jesse was about my age he would be fine trying to catch a bunny or swimming with me but now I can't get him off the computer.

The brother I like the best at this point in time is Zach. I think that reason I like him the most is that he's at college(which means he's not at home). But, I do like him when he helps me practice soccer or basketball. He is never that mean to me, but it irks me when I'm sitting down in the living room I can here him swearing playing Xbox. I liked him better when he was younger, because he would always hang out with my cousins and I.

The best times I had when I was younger was when I was all three of my brothers and I were together. We use to walk to a big hill and sled and we spent two summers building I giant fort in my back yard, but within the last two years I can’t even think of a time we’ve all been together simply because, none of us can stand each other. I think that they need to get of their laptops,computers, and Xbox and just be teenagers.

Friendship

Authors Note: I read the short story The Glorious Whitewasher in literature group and was told to write a response. I decided to write about how friends help each other, because in the book, Tom’s friends help him paint the fence. In this piece I tried to work on my word choice.

Have you ever needed help and your friend came over and assisted you with something? Tom’s friends always helped him out in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and in the short story The Glorious Whitewasher. One of the great things about having excellent friends is that they're always willing to help each other out.

In the short story The Glorious Whitewasher , Tom's friends helped him paint the fence even if he was a little bit manipulative. Another example of friends helping friends is when your neighbor lends you that cup of sugar to bake cookies for your school fundraiser. Friends help each other because they love each other. No matter what happens, they are there for you. When you are feeling down, they'll pull you up. When you are in doubt, they'll be your last voice; and when your car breaks down, they come with their toolbox.

Nobody walking down the street would offer to paint Tom's fence so that he wouldn't have to sit out there in the sun all day. But his friends would have an amusing time doing it because they know they are helping out their buddy. If I saw a stranger’s house being foreclosed on, I wouldn't tell them that they could stay in mine. But I would easily offer up a room for a friend.

Friends of Tom’s would help him out with just about anything, because they know he would help them out, too.  Just like you would lend a hand to your friend if they needed help. A thing that I find so cool is that friends and family will always help each other when they notice that one is in need of something.

All Summer in a Day Response

Authors Note: I read the short story "All Summer in a Day" in lit. group and was told to write a response to it. In my response I am comparing the story to bullying.

They stand in the long hallway lined with lockers. Three of them are being called dorks and nerds by the two that tower over them by a foot. They’re afraid to tell their parents or teachers, and because of this the bullies don’t stop tormenting them. The kids are being bullied. In the story "All Summer in a Day"  the author is trying tell you that bullying is as bad as never seeing the sun.


People should understand that this piece is written for us not for Margot. Ray Bradbury is trying to make us feel bad for Margot for being bullied. He knows that kids and adults get bullied all of the time and he is trying to live that through Margot. When William locks Margot in the closet he is bullying her. Ray Bradbury made the sun came out  when she was locked in the closet so that we would feel bad for her. But when your making fun of a kid in the hallway at school you don’t feel bad for that kid. The Author wants you to think about that and know that you shouldn’t bully. 


We need to know that this story is made so that we have a second thought on bullying. Nobody wants to be bullied and you get nothing out of it if you do. So why bully? There was no reason to bully Margot for being sad that she hasn’t seen the sun for so long. They should almost be comforting her. If you were depressed I wouldn’t make fun of you. Don’t bully!

The Circuit

 Authors Note: I read the story “The Circuit” for lit. group. In this book a character lost his job often. Just like people in the real world. In my essay I will be talking about losing jobs.

Did you know about 20,000 Americans lose their jobs everyday? That’s 7,300,000 people each year. In the short story “The Circuit” Papa is constantly losing and switching jobs and it is hard for him to give to, and help his family. Everybody should be able to have a job so that they can have a stable family.

Many of my friends parents have lost their jobs and it was hard for them to find another. When people lose jobs they most likely are laid off because the company is going out of business. I think that the government needs to find more jobs for people and assure them that they will stay at them for at least five years.

One of my friends parents worked at the same place therefore they got laid off at the same time. It was really hard for them to find a new job and it took two months for one of them to find a decent job in Pewaukee. This should not be happening to so many people everyday. Papa in “The Circuit” loses his job every change of growing season forcing his kids to move. That is awful for the kids because they can never make friends and they live in places like sheds, and garages.

Papa in “The Circuit” can’t get a good job after he loses another. Our country needs to be able to supply jobs for everyone who needs one.