Alligator

Alligator

By Andrea Basile

        Authors Note: For language arts class we had to pick one word from a student’s list. I chose the word “alligator.” This is a creative piece about my childhood memory of my mother taking me on a ride called “Alligator”. Tell me if my ideas are clear. I love Carson.

When you’re three years old, it’s very frightening to watch an alligator movie. But my dad didn’t care; he made me watch the movie anyway. See, my childhood was basically my dad renting movies, then giving them to me to see if they were any good. One day my dad came back from Blockbuster and handed me a DVD saying “Buddy watch this and tell me if it’s a good movie.” So, being the good child I am, I watched it. In the first couple minutes of the movie, I saw with my three year old eyes, a man being mauled by an alligator. After that terrible movie, I was terrified of going in lakes, oceans, bays, or any other type of water.

Seven years later, I’m finally getting over my phobia of water…until my mom decided to play a joke on me. My mother took me to Orlando for vacation, and while we were there she said “Andrea there’s this really cool ride I want you to go on.” My mom led me to the line, and I saw that the line led to a boat. I was thinking Oh, cool were going on a boat ride…I was sadly mistaken. When we got closer to the ride, I saw a block of wood that was engraved with writing…Beware. I was a little confused, but I didn’t think much of it. About 10 minutes later, it was our turn to get on the boat. Long story short, it wasn’t just a boat ride. It was a boat ride with a fake alligator attacking us. The boat rocked and shook, the boat driver started acting really scared, I was squeezing my mom like there was no tomorrow, water splashed everywhere, the boat tilted some more, and last but not least I saw things moving in the water. It was probably the scariest experience of my childhood. I thought I was going to die. In the end, I was shaking, terrified, and oh let’s not forget…my phobia was back.

Naïve

Andrea Basile

            Authors Note: After reading the interesting story “The Lottery”, I made a conclusion that one of the many themes is being naïve. In this piece I will be telling you what I thought of the book and why I choose the theme to be naïve. Please tell me if my ideas are clear and organized.  

            What would your reaction be if you won a lottery? Probably happy or excited…well in this lottery you would be anything but excited. I believe the theme of “The Lottery” by Surley Jackson  is “naïve” for many reasons. One reason is because since these people have been doing a tradition for so long, they lose the knowledge of why there doing it, and they forget the balance of what’s right and wrong. This happens in the story because this community is doing a “lottery” that they have been doing for years, that involves someone getting stoned if you get the black dot in the middle of a scrap of paper. These people don’t even know it wrong to stone someone. To them stoning someone isn’t sad or wrong, it’s just part of tradition. In the story, the “winner” is Tessi. Tessi is a mom.  When she gets picked a man gives Dave, Tessi’s son, pebbles to help with the stoning of his own mother! Normal people would see how twisted this little act was, but to the charters in this story they think of it as normal. They have no idea what they are doing is wrong and cruel. This shows that all these characters are naïve and don’t know what they are doing is not right.

What would you do.

Mistakes and Cheating

By Andrea Basile

What would happen if you made a mistake you couldn’t fix? This happens to Francesca Johnson in the amazing yet devastating novel “The Bridges of Madison County.” Francesca chooses to cheat on her husband with a photographer named Robert Kincaid. One you cheat, you can never go back. Francesca made a mistake, and she could not fix it…this makes her human.

Everyone makes mistakes, its part of life. Little kids lie to their parents about breaking the lamp, sisters and brothers fight and end up hurting one another, teenagers say they hate their parents, other people bully. These are all examples of mistakes that you can’t change. You’re supposed to learn from your mistakes but some mistakes are greater than others…such as cheating. In the captivating book “The Bridges of Madison County”, Francesca chooses to cheat. She shared her body with Robert Kincaid. Her passion for this man was so strong that she couldn’t help but fall in love with him. But with every action comes consequences. Her consequence was to choose either the man she loves truly...or her own family. Both choices are heartbreaking. Francesca could choose to go with the love of her life, and hurt her husband and children or she could let go of the man she loves and stay with her flesh and blood. However if she stayed with her family she would be haunted by the memories with Robert. Of course, Francesca wouldn’t have to make such a difficult choice had she not made the mistake of cheating in the first place.

Francesca has always wanted to live in the city and have adventures and be happy. But she didn’t find that with her husband Richard. So when Robert came along she felt a connection with him and that lead to her being unfaithful to her husband and family. Everyone knows that cheating is wrong. It’s a sin. So why was the cheating such a big mistake, doesn’t she deserve a little happiness? Well Francesca chose her path when she said “Come for dinner” to Robert. Therefore she chose, with her freewill, to cheat and that leads to pain. That’s great that she got to be happy for a couple days, but now she will be tortured without Robert. And that’s why it was such a big mistake.

   Francesca lived her full life in the days she spent with Robert Kincaid. They were happy, light, joyful days. Before Francesca met Robert her life was boring and sad. When she met Robert she was filled with happiness and beauty. After Robert left, her life was as sad as it could get. Francesca didn’t need to feel that pain of loss…when she saw Robert for the first time in his big truck Henry, she could have told him the directions and went on with her life. But as I said before, everyone has a choice and she chose to be with Kincaid. Some people might think that this is not a mistake because she got to be happy…but in my perspective she could have saved herself a lot of sadness. So I guess I will wrap this up with one question…what would you do if you made a mistake you couldn’t take back?

Poems and Songs

Field Below and Big Yellow Taxi

By Andrea Basile

Authors Note: This piece is about what I thought about how both the songs and poems, of the two pieces “The Big Yellow Taxi” and “Field Below,” reflected against one another.  Tell me if I make any sense.

The music, tone, and mood were different than I expected in the poem “Big Yellow Taxi.” When I read the poem I felt like the author was sad…but then I heard the song and the tone was upbeat and happy. When I read the poem, the pictures that circled my mind was a dark night, and cold, and everything was unhappy. But then when the music started playing this tune, I felt like it was summer and bright and rainbows and sunshine. The only part that was sadder was the part when the poem said “Last night I heard the screen door slam, and a big yellow taxi took away my old man.”  It made since that the music slowed down then, because the lyrics were sad and down. Overall the song and poem had 2 different approaches. The poem had a sad effect, and the song had a happier effect.

Besides “The Big Yellow Taxi”, “The Field Below” reflected perfectly with the poem. Both the poem and song were saddening and depressing and it made the listener feel pity and sadness. Both the pieces made you feel the loneliness of the author. Personally, I would never want to feel this way and I would feel horrible if anyone had to go through that hurt of being alone. When the poem said “the darkness spreads over the snow”, it makes me feel like all the good in the world has disappeared and its scary. That was what I thought of both the poems “Field Below” and “The Big Yellow Taxi.”

Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears
what else can i say?
They're so very yummy and they make me wanna play
They come in different flavors
And there better than life savers
No one wants to share
I can eat them all day
Even when its May!

Mother to Son

Mother to Son

By Andrea Basile

            There is a lot of figurative language in the story “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. One of the examples is the “crystal stair”, this is figurative language suggesting that the mother didn’t have a perfect life, and that she probably had a lot of hard times. Another example is “places with no carpet on the floor”, this is a metaphor saying that the mother was poor, and she didn’t have much money, so there were some days were she was probably very uncomfortable. And yet another example is when the mom says “life has tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up.” This means that the mom’s life has been pretty hard and tough. It hurts, because “splinters” hurt. It sometimes gets ruined, meaning boards getting torn up. These metaphors explain a lot about the writer’s life.  And the most important example to me, is when the poem states “I’se been a-climbin' on,reachin' landin's and turnin' corners.” This means that’s even though her life has been hard, she still will fight and she will get up and keep going.  The purpose for all this figurative launguage is to show how the mothers life has been, and she wants her son to know that her life hasent been perfect, and no ones life has been perfect, so she's warning and telling him, that even though his life is going to be hard, he just eeds to shove it off and keep moving forward. I really liked this peice because it uses a different type of writing style, and I had to break it down to get it, but once I looked at it carefully, I found out what the meaning behind the text was, and I really enjoyed it. This story reminds me of how my dad always tells me that even when im down on myself, and I dont think I can do it, my dad says "Buddy, even though things arent going the way you planned, you gotta keep pushing and fighting, im not saying its going to be easy, but you have to keep moving." Those are my dads exact words, and to read this story, it reminds me of how my dad sometimes talks. I really liked this peice and i loved how the writer used his metaphores and figurative language.

The Bridges of Madison County

Authors Note: This is about Robert Kincaid, a character in "The Bridges of Madison County", and how he would look walking into a room. Tell me if I'm descriptive enough.

Robert Kincaid walked into the room like the wind. He had a camera loosely hung around his neck. He was about 45-50 but his face didn’t show much of his age. He has long blond hair that reached his shoulders, it was different to see that around here, but the look suited him. His tight  white t-shirt showed off the lines of his hard muscles. The edges of his muscles were painted through his shirt. Right then and there he was the hardest man in the world. He quickly bent down on one knee and grabbed his camera, shooting a picture. I could tell by the way he snapped the shot, and the way he caressed his camera with such a passion, that he was a passionate photographer. He loved to capture great moments to him. This made him sensitive...but he was strong also, his muscles proved that. His veins popped out of his arms.  He was a lion, patiently waiting to pounce on the perfect photo. It was breathtaking to watch him. After his shots were finished he slowly rose up, beads of sweat on his forehead, he then turned around and without a sound left.

Tarnished Reputations

Tarnished Reputations  

Andrea Basile

Authors Note: This essay is about how reputations affect everything. Please let me know if my thoughts and ideas are clear.

Everyone has a reputation. Everyone. Reputations separate people, make them different. The actions, appearances, and rumors of people affect everything that happens in the future. Some reputations are good …others are horrible. The characters in Speak and 13 Reasons Why are often victims of reputation. 

In the captivating book Speak, Melinda is a victim of reputation. She is known as “girl who called the cops.” Melinda got this reputation because at horrible and haunting party, she called the cops. Now this was a radical, fun, and awesome party. Melinda calling the police ruined everything, and some people got caught for underage drinking. After Melinda called the cops, everyone hated her. Next thing she knows, she has no friends, no one to talk to, no one to hold her, no one to take care of her. No one. Now she is an outcast. Everyone knew Melinda Sordino as the girl who called the cops.

Besides Melinda being a victim of reputation so is the one and only Andy Evans. Now Andy Evans is known as two people. Some people think of him as the gorgeous, rich, jock. On the other hand other people think he’s a heartless jerk, and it would be best to stay away from him. On page 185 of Speak, Melinda finds herself in a bathroom stall full of writing about Andy. The stall said “Stay away!!!…He’s a creep…He should be locked up…He thinks he’s all that…Call the cops…” and lots more comments. All these girls share the same thoughts about Andy. And most of those thoughts scream He’s a perve! It even states loud and clear in the book that Andy Evan does have a big reputation. On page 175 of the book Speak, Ivy says to Melinda “He has such a reputation. He’s only after one thing, and if you believe the rumors, he’ll get it, no matter what.” What Ivy is trying to say is that Andy Evans never loses. He always gets what he wants.  He is a victim of reputation.

Hannah Baker has a different reputation then Melinda or Andy. In the amazing book 13 reasons why, Hannah is known as “the girl who has the best butt.” This rumor or “list” that Alex Standall made started everything. People started treating her differently: guys starting checking her out in the hallways, and girls didn’t want to talk to her out of jealousy.  Also, that list caused a man at a liquor store to grab her butt. Because of the list, that man felt like he had an excuse to grab her…even when he didn’t. Eventually, the list led to rumors about Hannah like her “going to third base” with a guy named Justin, even though it was only an innocent kiss. When that rumor got out, other incidents happened. Marcus Cooley, thinking Hannah would do anything with a guy, started to inappropriately touch her knee. All these events that happened in Hannah Baker’s life end with her suicide.

Hannah’s reputation is that she’ll do anything with a guy...on the other hand, Clay Jensen has a reputation of being “the shy, nice, good guy.” Clay could never be seen with a person like Hannah. She would ruin his reputation. Clay is nice to everyone. He doesn’t annoy or bother anyone; he just sharpens his pencil like any mama’s boy would. While Clay was listening to cassette number 2, he goes to a shop called Monet’s. When he arrives there the girl behind the counter says, “We went to school together two years ago…I thought you were the nicest guy in school, everyone did.” This quote proves that everyone thought he was the sweetest guy. Now this reputation isn’t bad, but the cause of it made Clay hesitant about going for the girl of his dreams…it kept him from following his heart…it kept him from Hannah.

          As you can see, reputations can cause many things to happen in the future. In particular the reputations of the characters in 13 reasons why and Speak. Even though these characters aren’t real, it could happen to anyone in the real world. Their reputations cause what happens next in their lives. Everyone has a reputation, but remember don’t judge someone on their reputation. Get to know the person first, because you never know what’s hidden behind a smile, or a frown.  The characters in Speak and 13 Reasons why are often victims of reputation. 

Beware

BEWARE

Andrea Basile

Authors Note: In this piece I’m going to re-write a note that Melinda gave to Rachelle for her to be careful about Andy Evans. This part of the story is on 152 of the book “Speak”. Please tell me if my ideas are clear.

Rachelle. You have to listen to me, okay? Andy Evans is not safe. He will hurt you in many ways. Just be very, very, very careful around him. If he seems to be making you nervous in any way, just start running. Run as fast as you can. He’s done things to so many people in this school and I don’t want you to be one of them. Just be careful. My best advice to you is just to stay away from him, before he does something to you. I don’t want to see you get hurt. Don’t go anywhere alone with him. Stay in places where there’s lots and lots of people around. Beware and be safe.

 -A past friend  

My Piece

Speak mostly takes place in Merryweather High School. She is a freshman right now. Since its in high school theirs a lot of grades and a lot of people. And since she doesn't talk and she doesn't really like the people in her school, then having the setting be in a high school affects her. If she was home-schooled it would be different because she wouldn't have to face the events of the day and she wouldn't need to face people...but with being home-schooled comes being with her parents and even though she loves them she doesn't like how they fight. School is a difficult environment for her because she is never talking and she hates the people, the society and everything in her school. But most of all “IT” is in her school.   “IT” is Andy Evans, for some reason Melinda is deathly terrified of him. It even says in the book how Melinda feels about only skipping first hour "The first hour of blowing off school is great. No one telling me what to do, what to read what to say." So technically the setting is very important. If she didn’t go to school or was home schooled, her life would be simpler and more enjoyable.

Yes Ma'am

Yes ma’am

By Andrea Basile

Authors Note: I’m going to talk about why in the story “Yes Ma’am” I think that Rogers learned his lesson on not to steal.         

In the captivating story “Yes Ma’am” by Langston Hues Rogers, the main character in the story, learns a lesson from a strict lady named Mrs. Jones. I believe Rogers learned his lesson of not to steal.

One of the reasons I believe Rogers learned his lesson because he was awed at how the Mrs. Jones reacted. She was harsh but nice at the same time. He was so scared that he would obey anything she said. He was struck with horror as she grabbed him and kicked him in the “sitter.” Her reaction to him trying to steal her purse is the only reason why he went to her home willingly.

Since Rogers was doing everything Mrs. Jones said, he started to see what a good person she was, she fed him food ad didn’t ask questions about where he lived or who his parents were. She also told him to clean his face and wash up for dinner. He learned some manners and when Mrs. Jones said “You don’t need to go stealing purses to get some shoes. You could have just asked.” I think when she said that that REALLY changed Rogers into not stealing. I also believe that when she said this, he might have thought about how wrong it was to try to steal her purse, and instead he might be thinking of another way to get money…like maybe getting a job.

To wrap things up I just really think that Rogers was changed by this experience. If it was another woman he tried to steal from, I bet that lady wouldn’t have reacted the same as Mrs. Jones. Therefore him stealing from Mrs. Jones changed his life probably forever!