Reading Response

     Right now I am reading North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. This book takes like forever to read, but it's not even that long. I guess it's just the amount of words on one page, I don't know. The book is pretty cool though. I like how Terra, the main character, makes these art collages and works at this art gallery just where they put their work on display. She is kind of insecure about her work because she does care what other people think about her. One reason is because that she has a large, pomegranate colored birthmark on her cheek. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what you look like, but the character and personality that is within. She is also insecure about her cheek because even her dad talks about her!
    I can't stand Terra's dad. He's just so pessimistic about everything and talks about every detail about a person he doesn't like. He even talks about his own wife because of her weight! He puts a damper on his family's parade which I find insane! The entire family doesn't like him that much, and Terra's mom is scared to divorce him. He doesn't even hit them, he just uses his words, and that just seems like a blow in the throat.  Another thing is that he draws or makes maps, and he doesn't even include China in any of them, and that is just rude and inconsiderate. Actually, he does consider China, but he just throws it away like it is some kind of trash.
    The book is well written, and I guess the point is for me not to like Terra's dad, but he just gets on my nerves. I like how all the children in the book support each other through those times and help support their mom. The main point of the book isn't even about the dad though. It's about how Terra meets this guy that really different, and he changes the way she thinks about things in a positive way.

Reading Times for this book: Oct 29-15 min, Oct 30-15 min, Oct 31-15 min., November 1-15 min, November 3-50 min, November 4- 40 min., 101-165 pages
Total: 150 min., 64 pages

Free Post

      School cheer is finally over. It was pretty fun for my first year doing it. I participated in competitive cheer before that, though. Our team really bonded after a few weeks of some sort of drama which I wasn't involved in. We talked about the things that were going on, and they put their burdens and arguments aside and just worried about the task that we were suppose to be doing. Cheering.
      The routines we did for pep rallies really got the crowd pumped up because it was like the best cheering our school had ever done in around 25 years. The stunts went up well because of the cooperation and understanding we had with our team. Whatever was the best of strengths for each person, we put them to use, so many of the people were satisfied. And guess what was accomplished? Cheering.
     The football games were also fun, especially the first one win our coach wasn't there. We did our thing without guidance so that shows our entire team's responsibility. The football team only lost two games which is amazing. And hey, maybe it was because of what we were doing. Cheering.

Short Stories

                So in my English class, we read about eight short stories together as a group and discussed them as a class. In addition, I had to read three short stories on my own. I read "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty, "The Catbird Seat" by James Thurber, and "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty. I liked "A Worn Path" the most, but I'm going to do my thesis on "The Catbird Seat" because they have a strong man vs man conflict.
                The man vs man conflict in this story is important because that's basically the foundation of the story. The man doesn't like the woman, and he plots a plan so she can get fired from the company. She tells her boss, and he doesn't believe her so she gets removed from the company because people think she's psycho. I don't know what my actual thesis statement is going to be yet, but it's definitely going to have something to do with that.

Reading Times: "The Catbird Seat" 10/23/12- 35 minutes, "A Worn Path" 10/25/12- 35 minutes, North of Beautiful 10/26/12- 90 minutes
Total: 160 minutes

Reading Times

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: 135 minutes
The Sniper: 25 Minutes

Total: 160 minutes

Literary Elements

      In "Dry September" by William Faulkner, characterization seems like a strong literacy element because through each character you see how a lot of people were during those times, specifically 1931 like it says at the end of the story. There's also a social aspect to it  because they acted the way they acted because they believed in the hierarchies that probably was kind of like this:
      Rich white man
      Middle class white man
      Poor white man
      Rich black man
      Middle class black man
      Poor black man
     Anyway, this type of scale was what they based everything off of. Well, they brought the white women before the black men, but after the white men because back then, the white men didn't think the women could make their own decisions or have their own opinion which was complete discrimination. In this story, a black man was accused of doing something to a white woman whether it was raping her or just give her a look, but it doesn't specifically say it, but you can infer. One white man stood up for the black man because he knew the guy was good and didn't think he would do anything to harm anyone, so, of course, the other white men get on his case about it. This shows that, socially, a few of the white men actually cared for the blacks, but most didn't. In this, they characterized each person by what they had to say on the fact of the matter, and how they felt about certain things.

    Reading Times:
"Waltz of the Fat Man": 25 minutes, "Harrison Bergeron": 25 minutes, "And of Clay we are Created": 35 minutes, "Dry September": 35 minutes, North of Beautiful: 50 minutes

    Total: 170 minutes

Participation in Class this Quarter

       This year in English class, I have participated in the activities and things we're doing. I'm always prepared and have all the materials we need, except once I just finished my free reading book at home the night before, and I had class first thing that morning so I had to go to the library to get one. I've never asked to go the the bathroom, locker, or to get water during class, and I don't plan on it unless it's an emergency. I check my email every other day so I don't have any problems with that. I am guilty of packing up a little early, but I only pack up one or two minutes before the bell is going to ring and no earlier. I always have a positive attitude, and I've never been pessimistic during the class.
       Whenever there is a lecture in class, I always pay attention and take notes. I'm on my A game in those situations because I need to make sure I have all the things I need in order to study for certain things or do well in a certain assignment. I don't really ask questions about the things Dr. D has taught, but when my other peers ask questions I listen to what they ask and her answer to the question. I stay on task, and I really don't talk much in English.
        The only weak area I had in English class was the papers I turned in. That's where I mostly scored the lowest, but I don't know why yet because I don't think I have received my score for the finished products of my papers to see where I did wrong or need the most improvement.

Reading Times

 Short Stories: 10/2- 25 min., 10/3- 20 min., 10/4- 20 min.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: 10/5- 87 min.