Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Life Lessons

Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem and Scout learn numerous life lessons, but a major lesson that Scout learns is, even the innocent die cruelly. When Atticus comes to the house during the party he tells Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Scout, "...seventeen bullet holes in him." (235) Scout then learns that even though Tom is a sweet, kind-hearted, and nonviolent man, he has to die because of society. She also learns that because Tom was the man trying to escape it was okay to slaughter him, by shooting him at least 17 times, but if it was a white man the guard would have only shot to injure. This lesson is very important for Scout to learn because she is now faced with the racist and slaughtering future of Maycomb, which hopefully her generation will be able to fulfil.

I, myself have faced numerous events in my life, but the end result luckily wasn't death. I love my friends to death, and they are the most important people in my life, and I hate it when people assume that they cause violent acts just because of the way that they are dressed. For example, when my friend and me found a guy beaten in Yuager and we went to get help, people just assumed that my friend beat the beaten boy because of the clothes he was wearing. My friend didn't deserve to be sentence to Juvi because he was completely innocent, but society was against him. He luckily wasn't killed, but he was still treated unfairly because of the "stereotype" that he is involved with, which is supposedly violent. I believe that society needs to get the thing stuck up it's butt out and stop judging people, but they actually need to be able to judge a case without seeing the defendant being charged, but just for what their testimony is. If we went off that a lots of innocent people, wouldn't be charged with the so called crimes that they have committed.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Extra Credit

English has always been my passion, and I'd lose myself if i didn't have it. Your class has been moving and modivating, but sometimes dull for me. I came from a school were i was one of the top writers, and we never do any writing or grammar which helps improve my writing skills. Writing is pretty much my drug/oxygen inside my life. It's the only thing there for me when i need someone. English is a beautiful launguage, that i see in my future. It's personaly frustrating me that we don't do any writing. Like I love to read but writing is what is important to me. It's serious has saved my life, and has helped me cope with the hardest things inside of my life. I understand that you have us do these blogs to see our writing, but it's not the same. It's so hard to voice opionions inside of these blogs. I am a writer that lives to inform and speek nothing but the truth, and it's hard because we're always writing on the same and basic themes. I need more of a challenage that is going to make me forshadow, concentrate, and actually apply myself.

However, I love you being my teacher! you are so cool and you always make class intersting and unique. The class is also ubber awesome and i'm glad that i'm in yours. You show that you care about the material that you teach us and aren't like one of those teachers that act like they love what they're teaching, but they really hate it. So i admire you for being passinate in what you teacher us. You're class is extreamly fun, and i've been learning a lot from to Kill A Mockingbird. You are a teacher that knows her stuff and does whatever it takes to teach us, even though we can be a frustrating class. So thanks Mrs. Gilman your freakishly cool, and my favorite teacher ^_^

To Kill A Mockingbird Themes

To Kill A Mockingbird has numerious themes but the one theme that stands out to me is cruelty and segregation. The title To Kill A Mockingbird means that you shouldn't attack those who are innocent and can't defend themselvs, and the book shows countless events in which innocent people are attacked. Dill feels like his family is better off without him, and he just feels like he's in the way. Dill feels this way because his parents act like they have better things to do then be with him, so he runs away to keep him self from getting hurt. Boo Radley is also another Mockingbird. All of the events that took place in his life drove him crazy, he didn't ask for what happened for him, but the people of Maycomb destoryed him and took away his innocence, which caused him to go crazy.

Two mockingbirds that are formed in the later chapters are Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell is a mockingbirdll because of what her father did to her. She had to lie under oath beacause her father scared and beat her for being in love with Mr. Robinson. When Mayella says, "that nigger yonder took advantage of me," she was just trying to make her father happy even if she destroys her slef in the long run. The last major mockingbird in the story so far is Tom Robinson. Just because Tom is a black man everyone assumes that he did rape Mayella, and Tom didn't do it. During this just because he was a man of color he was going to lose. Anyone could have just made up a case and Tom would have been condemed anyways. All in all, this book has many themes, but the themes that stood out to me the most were cruelty and sugergation.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Atticus as a Father

Atticus is an attentive, positive, protective, golden-hearted father to his children. He is an attentive father when he tells the children, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird (90).” It shows that Atticus has a place in his heart for those who are innocent and can’t defend themselves, like the people of color in this time period. Atticus is hinting to the children that caring for the colored people is like caring for innocent defenceless organisms A.K.A the mockingbirds. Another time that Atticus was protective was when he was talking to Uncle Jack about what the future holds, and he knows that Scout is listening, but he doesn’t tell Scout to leave until he made his point. Atticus is trying to protect the people that he loves the most, even if it brings him down.

Atticus and my parents are alike and also different. My parents, like Atticus, teach me lessons that will help and benefit me in the future, even if they’re pointless now. My parents also have taught me that you have to take care of those who are less fortunate then you because they are the people that are innocent. My parents are unlike Atticus though because they have to know everything going on in my life and they love to pry. My parents are also unlike Atticus because I was suspected to be a little angel that always wore dresses or skirts, that never swore or talked back. I was supposed to be everything that Scout isn’t. If I ever back sassed my parents are another adult my butt would have been wiped. So yah my parents are like Atticus, but then they are also completely different.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Boo Radley Changing

The first four chapters described Boo as a crazy man who has no heart; however, in chapters 5-9 Harper Lee shows that Boo has a sensitive side. Boo shows that he's been paying attention to Jem and Scout's lives because when Jem lost his pants in the fence, Boo stiches the pants up but makes it look like a child did it. Even though Boo knows that the kids are making fun of him, he really doesn't care. He does everything that he can to keep the kids from getting into trouble so they don't have to go through the same pain and misery that he had to go through.

By Scout talking to Miss Maudie about Boo, I do believe that Boo is a good guy. Scout also learns that Mr. Radley stays inside the house so he can keep a good eye on Boo. Miss Maudie also says, "This is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me no matter what folks said he did. spoke nicely as he knew how." by hearing Miss Maudie say that Scout starts to understand that Boo is the way that he is now because of the way his father was when he was younger. So I do believe that Boo is a good guy, but is just confused because of the way that he was brought up.

Friday, September 19, 2008

My myspace

name = Torrie Licht
e-mail = whateva.all_lies@yahoo.com
talk to you all on there

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Boo Radley

Boo Radley, a troubled soul, is the way he is now because of his messed up, trouble some, demented life. If the people of Maycomb wouldn't have locked him up inside of his parents house for 15 years, then inside a basement, and then back in his parents house, he would be perfectly fine. By depreiving him of elements that humans need they caused him to go insain. I believe that Boo Radley did commit the crimes that he was charged with because being locked up really does make you go crazy. He was use to be exciled and kept away from people, so to let him out after all of those years there is no way that he would be able to stay in control and be sain. I can also believe thw description that Harper Lee gives Boo, "There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time," (pg. 13) So believe that he is as crazy as the storys state.

I really can't say that I'm just like Jem, Dill, or Scout because I'm like all three of them. I can be the lead and the bad influence when I'm around certain friends (Dill). I can also be timid and afraid of doing things that i know are bad ( Jem). I can also just sit back and do whatever the group does (Scout). I love being like the three characters because just being like one of the characters is extreamly boring, cause life is all about making chances and trying to make a difference. By being the same person all the time you really aren't making a difference, you just fall in to a shadow of what people expect of you to do. Most people on first meeting me would say that i was like Jem, because I am very timid at first, but my best and closest friends would say that i was just like Dill because I'm the one that causes all the trouble, and never gets in trouble. So having vercistlity is very good and helps make people themselves.

^_^