Literature Group Writing from 7th Grade

  Trip to New York City

Wednesday March 21st, 2012

Author’s Note:   Mr. Johnson taught us a new way to write!  It is to use a good amount of words that are random and incorporate them into a story. The words that we were supposed to use are in green.   We are to have no introduction or conclusion.  It is just a fun writing piece. 

As Rosalyn rode her bike into New York City she noticed that it was getting very dark outside, she looked up and saw a bolt of lightning and  screamed.   The bolt of lightning almost hit the Empire State building.   She parked her bike at Hungry Burgers .  Once it was locked she walked in and ordered a Krabby Patty.  She sat in there until the rain stopped, which was at least four hours.    Once the rain finally stopped she rode her bike  to The  Orange Hotel.  Rosalyn is going to be staying in the hotel from the first day of Hanukkah to the end of March.   When she opened the squeaky door she found a stray cat, a hammer and a chair.  She decided to name the cat "Fluffy".   She walked into the kitchen and found a box of Cookie Crisp, her favorite cereal.   She sat in the chair and thought about what she was going to do on her trip to New York City.

Rosalyn ended up falling asleep in the chair and woke up at 8:00 AM the next day.   She saw the box of Cookie Crisp and pored herself the rest of it and gobbled it down.   It was a very warm day in the city so she got into her swimsuit and took the Subway to 5th avenue.  Then she walked to a block or two to the beach which was on the Hudson River.   Once she got there she got here towel out and laid on it.    She fell asleep and she ended waking up to something nibbling at her toes.  She sat up and looking at her was an adult male platypus.  She slowly got up and then ran away.  The platypus was following her at a good rate so she had to keep moving.  She was running down the streets with it practically on her tail right into a field or roses in Central Park.   She wadded though, trying not to make any noise.    The New York City animal control was acting and followed her route until they met up.  Once they found the platypus the shot it and removed it from the city.   

Black on sides are railings and black circles are rocks. Blue is water at the top and bottom

When she got back to the hotel she noticed a few bugs flew into her room, so she grabbed the hammer and killed all of them.   That night when she was sleeping she was scratching a lot so she woke up and saw four ghostly figures of the bugs that she killed.   She screamed and then checked out of the Orange Hotel and checked into a Holiday Inn.  When she got in her new room there was a Tank Top on the bed.  Since here hotel was up town more they were close to the Zoo.  She always wanted to go to the New York City Zoo.  She went there the next day and the first animal that she saw was an alpaca.  She walked up to it and it spat on her.   The police removed her from the zoo and she was given a pass largely in size that explained to her that she was forbidden to visit the New York City Zoo ever again.  They even took a picture of her.  Her trip was a mess, so she took a cab up to Niagara Falls to see the big waterfall.  Once she got there she went to the viewing area and leaned over the railing to see as much of the waterfall as she could.  A worker told her to not lean over the railing so she did not.  When he walked away she leaned farther and farther until she fell over into the water and down the water fall.  Shockingly she did not die, but she broke a few bones in her arms and legs.  She took a flight back home to Kisser, Texas and never wanted to remember those five months of her life again.

 Tuesday March 20th, 2012

Fishing Trip of a Lifetime       

Author’s Note:   In the Academy literature group we were given the assignment of writing a stream of consciousness and then convert it into a writing piece.  The topic that we were given was fish.  I am going to work on converting stream of consciousness into a writing piece.

The wind blows through our hair and it feels like there is 100 mile per hour winds coming right at our faces.  The water smells like a substance that you cannot describe because it smells dreadful.   As we cruise along, we get our poles ready so we can cast right away so we do not spend much time out on the water.   We need to complete our top secret steps in order to get all of the fish that we want.

Once we arrive at our favorite spot which is about a mile away from the left side of the lake.  Or top secret way to get the fish is to put some worms into the water, all in one sport until they all come rushing towards them, once that occurs we get a few nets and catch them.    The plan sounds very easy but that is not the case.  With us, we have thirteen boxes of worms to poor into the water, and then we have two nets and some fishing rods.  Once we are parked an anchored down I toss the boxes of worms and let the party start. 

After ten of the boxes were in the lake we sat and waited for some action. There was very little action for at  least five minutes but then one showed up, then two, the four and there were so many fish it seemed like the entire lake came over to get some free food.  It was incredible!   We got our nets and got into the water and trapped them.  They had no other place to go.  Once we get a sustainable amount then we put them into a cargo area that is full of water.  That keeps them alive for a little longer, but once we get set to go we empty it so then they would die. 

That night we counted the fish up and ate them as a very large dinner.  All in all we got 83 fish.  Each person eats about two per night so that will last us a little while.  Our theory is very effective so that is why we want to keep is very quiet.  Someday all of the fish will be gone.   And as an unknown author would say “good things come to those who fish”.   

 Wednesday March 14, 2012

A Parent’s Choice

Author’s Note:  In the Academy literature group we were assigned to read the sort story “The Glorious Whitewasher” by Mark Twain.  The story is the mode of comedy.  The main character has to paint this fence while all of his friends are having fun playing.  Then he tricks them into wanting to do his job for him.  In this piece I am going to be working on my introductory technique. 

Kids scurry down the street laughing and screaming while playing with their toys outside in the yards.  It is a perfect summer day and all of the kids are enjoying it.  But not Tom Sawyer. He had to paint a fence for a friend as work.  Side stroke, up stroke, down stroke and yet another side stroke, he kept repeating that for hours upon hours during the day while the hot summer sun boiled him like a fried egg.   He could not do this all day, so in the back of his dreadful head he thought of a plan that could keep him watching from the side and his friends doing all of the work.

Every parent is different.  Some have their kids do chores and others are not as lenient and let their kids do whatever they want. Especially during those nice summer days these kids should be able to play outside with their friends.  They should not have to be keeping inside or on a close watch outside and work their tails off and not have any fun. Particularly during the summer days when all of the studying is complete and it is three months of no school you should have all of the fun that you can get.  That is the exact way that Tom Sawyer was treated in “The Glorious Whitewasher”. 

The mode is literature is the short story is a comedy.  A comedy would start out with life being normal. Then there is a conflict and lastly a main character fixes it and life is back to normal.   The story starts out normal with it being a beautiful summer day and Tom is painting the fence as work.  Then the conflict would be that Ben wants to paint the fence.  Tom originally says no, but then changes his mind.  He would continue to use his friends that way and have then paint the fences.  Then the return to normal would be he gets back to painting the fence.

All in all there are many lessons to be learned after reading “The Glorious Whitewasher” such as we should not have our kids be working when they can be playing with friends, and that we should not cheat our friends into working for us and especially get something in return for it.        

Monday February 20th, 2012

“The Circuit” Essay

Author’s Note: I am in the Academy literature group and as were assigned to read “The Circuit” by Francisco Jimenez.   The mode in this is tragedy.  The main character is a migrant worker who moves a lot so they family can keep a job and earn money.  The town that they moved to in is Mexico and the main character really liked it. He was about to learn how to play the trumpet by then his family had to move again. In this piece I am working on A/B transitions.

“The Circuit” by Francisco Jimenez is a story about migrant workers that displays the tragedy mode of literature.  Within the story there is an original conflict, a tragic flaw and a tragic fall.  And with every literature story there is a lesson to be learned.   With all of the moving around the main character has a small heart because she constantly moves from place to place.  When he finds a place that he really likes, he became attached to it, and then he had to move again, exemplifying a tragedy.

The first part of the mode of tragedy is an original conflict.  The story opens with the main character reaching the end of the picking season, which creates the original conflict in the story.  The conflict being the need to constantly move due to the nature of being a migrant worker.   The older members of the family appear to have grown accustom to constantly moving while the main character has not.   The main character moves again to find work and is able to start school and appears happy.  Evidence of his happiness is noted by their desire to read and the possibility of leaning a new instrument.  The main character is content and happy about going to school. 

After the original conflict comes the tragic flaw.  The main character allows himself to be happy or content.   He is enjoying school and wished to continue, but that is not possible with his family.   Then the family finds a place to live in Mexico.  It is just a tiny garage, but at least it is something.  The moral lesson in the story is not to grow attached to things that are temporary.

Following the tragic flaw comes the tragic fall. The main character is really enjoying school.  He was given the shot to learn to play the trumpet.  He was very excited, so he went to go inform his parents.  When he got home he noticed that everything was neatly packed away in boxes which states that his family will be moving to find a new job.  He had to abandon the school, the teacher and any potential friends that he would have made in the story.   

All in all, Francisco Jimenez wants us to learn that we should not be attached to people or items.  The main character learns this by really liking the teacher and possibly leaning to play the trumpet.   Once he found out that they have to leave he had to leave the teacher and the school behind.  It would be tough for him to find a new friend like the teacher. 

Wednesday February 8th, 2011

“All Summer in a Day” Essay 

“Author’s Note”:  I am in the Academy literature group and we just finished reading “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury.  We were told to write an essay on the piece.  In this essay I am going to focus on how to write an essay using the modes of literature.

Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day” is a great short story that incorporates one of the modes of literature.   The mode featured in this piece is irony.  The story feathers an issue or problem, a conflict and a loss.  Then the story concludes with a lesson to be learned.  This story and the theme relates to all age groups.    For teens, bullying destroys the very heart of the victim “In All Summer in a Day”, the main character, exemplifies the heart of a victim.

The story begins in a state of confusion.   The story’s setting is on Venus in a school classroom.    The weather is very unusual.  The rain pelts down everyday nonstop for seven years.  One day for two hours the sun comes out; that occurs once every seven years.   It is a very big event when the sun comes out.  The sun is about to peak out.    

In every irony story there needs to be conflict.  There are two conflicts in the story involving the main character, Margot.  The first is that Margot is lonely and depressed.  The author confirms this by stating, “She is a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain has washed out the blue from her eyes…”  The other conflict is that the other children are jealous of her and bully her often.  The children were jealous of her knowledge of the sun and the fact that she lived on Earth before she came to Venus.   The author confirms this by the boy’s comment about her sun poem.   He does not believe her description of the sun.  As the sun prepares to come out, the children bully and shove Margot into a closet to prevent her from seeing the sun. 

All in all the loss that Margot sustains is not physical in so much as it is emotional. Even though she has seen the sun in the past, Margot’s loss is not getting the chance to see the sun.  She will have to wait another seven years on Venus or move back to Earth. 

In conclusion the short story, “All Summer in a Day” teaches a lesson about bullying. The lesson is doing onto others as you would want done onto you.  This story also shows that it is alright to be different in many ways.