What changes did Joby go through the story? Explain
I recently read a short story called "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the story, Joby goes through a big change. The reason he changed was because he had someone to encourage him, and he was able to believe in himself.
Joby is the Drummer Boy of an army, but he does not feel like he has a purpose in the army. So he hides. When the general finds him hiding and crying, he starts talking to Joby. He told Joby that it is okay to cry now, that he can't cry while war is going on. Joby is very different person before he talks to the general compared to after he talks with the general. Joby starts out the story scared, nervous, anxious, and has a lack of confidence. He did not think he was prepared for war because all he had was a drum, and two sticks to beat it. But the other soldiers had weapons. One line in the story is, "Me, thought the boy, I only got a drum,two sticks to beat it, and no shield." He was saying how he didn't have a shield so he could nto ptotect himself like the other soliders could. Though, neither Joby nor the soldiers were prepared mentally.
But when the general was talking to him, he was telling Joby that he does have a porpose, and he could really make a big change in the soldiers and how they fight in the war. The soldiers needed Joby, and so did the general. The soldiers were all over the place and disorganized. The general was telling Joby how he is needed because he needs to help organize and pull together the soldiers so they would be ready to fight tommorrow. The general said to him, "You are the heart of the army. Think about that. You are the heart of the army. Listen to me now." When these words came out of the general's mouth, Joby realized that the soldiers needed him, and he needed to lead the army. Joby's part in the war was actually very important because he was the one who set the "mood" for the army. In the text, it explains that if Joby beat slow tommorrow, the heart of the army would beat slow. They would be lagging and not ready. But if Joby beat fast and steady, the men would be ready to fight.
Another thing that changed the negative thoughts that Joby was feeling was when the general told him that if he dies in the fight, Joby would be the one to be in charge. Joby would keep the in order. This gave Joby a small confidence boost. Joby was no longer scared,or doubtful in himself, he was strong, believed in himself, and he was ready to lead the army. He also believed he could make it out alive. Joby showed a huge change that could affect his army. Without the general finding him,Joby wouldn't have learned what he did, that he was the heart of the army. The general helped Joby find himself. Although Joby did not have any experience in war, that could no longer stop him.
I think this story showed that everyone is important and has a porpose in this world. Also to never give up, becasue good things will happen if you keep trying. Another message you could take from this story is that everybody deserves a piece in the puzzle.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Airhead
How does the characters actions affect other people in the story?
In the book Airhead, by Meg Cabot, the main character Emerson affects many people with her actions. Emerson gets into a very bad accidennt, that changes her life forever. Em had gotten a whole-body transplant in order to survive. But the doner was a super model. When Em (Emerson) finds out that shes trapped in a supermodels body, her life seems to turn upside down for a while. She isn't who she used to be. she doesn't like the things she used to like, her family acts weird around her, and everyone thinks she is Nikki when inside she is really Em. Em doesn't know who she is anymore. She is a shy tomboy living in a rich, snobby, supermodels body. Before Em knew that she recived a whole body transplant, she thought she had just been in a small accident. But when she found out she had been in a coma for about a month, she comletely flipped, worrying about catching in school, and homework. But when she found out about the body transplant a little later, she was angry because her family hid it from her. She worried about how she wasn't Em anymore, how Em died, and now she's Nikki.
"Nikki's" friends are devestated when she doesn't remember them. Em keeps trying to explain to them that she isn't Nikki, that she is Emerson Watts. Em does everything she can to try and convince Nikki's friends that she is not Nikki. These actions scare her friends. Lulu Collins (Nikki's best friend) feels sad, and angry that her best friend doesn't remember her. When Nikki cannot remember anything about her life, Lulu is deeply affected and tries her hardest to help Nikki gain back her memory. But it is Em inside Nikki, so she won't ever be able to remember Nikki's past. Nikki's boyfriend is frustrated that she can't remember him. He got angry when Em pushed him away from her. Em feels sorry for them because they think she is Nikki, but she cannot do anything about it. She cannot convince them that she is Em.
Em also affects her family with her actions. She dissappears from the hospital for one night, making her mother, father, and sister go crazy worrying about her. Also, Em's family are the ones who kepthe secret from her that she got a whole body transplant, so when Em discovered by herself that she was now in Nikki's body, they felt sorry that they didn't tell her before. When Frida, Em' younger sister see's that Em has Nikki's body, she is shocked. I think she is mostly jealous because Frida idolizes Nikki Howard. I think she was flabbergasted to see that her idol was basically now her own sister, who she used to insult, and be ashamed to be related to such a "loser". Em is also affecting Nikki's fans. When a goup of young girls came up to her and asked her for Nikki's signature, Em told them she wasn't Nikki, and tried to leave.
Em has affected many people so far in this book, and as I keep reading, I think she will affect more people with her actions. She has to be careful how she acts around people, now that she isn't just a normal teenager anymore, she is a celebrity, a supermodel, an idol to a lot of young girls. She has to make adjustments to who she is and what she does. I think Em just wants people to understand who she really is inside, and she wants people to know what happened to her.
In the book Airhead, by Meg Cabot, the main character Emerson affects many people with her actions. Emerson gets into a very bad accidennt, that changes her life forever. Em had gotten a whole-body transplant in order to survive. But the doner was a super model. When Em (Emerson) finds out that shes trapped in a supermodels body, her life seems to turn upside down for a while. She isn't who she used to be. she doesn't like the things she used to like, her family acts weird around her, and everyone thinks she is Nikki when inside she is really Em. Em doesn't know who she is anymore. She is a shy tomboy living in a rich, snobby, supermodels body. Before Em knew that she recived a whole body transplant, she thought she had just been in a small accident. But when she found out she had been in a coma for about a month, she comletely flipped, worrying about catching in school, and homework. But when she found out about the body transplant a little later, she was angry because her family hid it from her. She worried about how she wasn't Em anymore, how Em died, and now she's Nikki.
"Nikki's" friends are devestated when she doesn't remember them. Em keeps trying to explain to them that she isn't Nikki, that she is Emerson Watts. Em does everything she can to try and convince Nikki's friends that she is not Nikki. These actions scare her friends. Lulu Collins (Nikki's best friend) feels sad, and angry that her best friend doesn't remember her. When Nikki cannot remember anything about her life, Lulu is deeply affected and tries her hardest to help Nikki gain back her memory. But it is Em inside Nikki, so she won't ever be able to remember Nikki's past. Nikki's boyfriend is frustrated that she can't remember him. He got angry when Em pushed him away from her. Em feels sorry for them because they think she is Nikki, but she cannot do anything about it. She cannot convince them that she is Em.
Em also affects her family with her actions. She dissappears from the hospital for one night, making her mother, father, and sister go crazy worrying about her. Also, Em's family are the ones who kepthe secret from her that she got a whole body transplant, so when Em discovered by herself that she was now in Nikki's body, they felt sorry that they didn't tell her before. When Frida, Em' younger sister see's that Em has Nikki's body, she is shocked. I think she is mostly jealous because Frida idolizes Nikki Howard. I think she was flabbergasted to see that her idol was basically now her own sister, who she used to insult, and be ashamed to be related to such a "loser". Em is also affecting Nikki's fans. When a goup of young girls came up to her and asked her for Nikki's signature, Em told them she wasn't Nikki, and tried to leave.
Em has affected many people so far in this book, and as I keep reading, I think she will affect more people with her actions. She has to be careful how she acts around people, now that she isn't just a normal teenager anymore, she is a celebrity, a supermodel, an idol to a lot of young girls. She has to make adjustments to who she is and what she does. I think Em just wants people to understand who she really is inside, and she wants people to know what happened to her.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Reading Response on Make Lemonade
Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff is a short, yet meaningful read. It tells a story of a high school girl who is trying to get a job, so she could simply save up money for college. While LaVaughn, the main character, is in school she finds a bulletin board with a number of sheets of papers asking for a housecleaner or a painter or a babysitting job. Lavaughn ended up getting the babysitting job, but she had no idea what she was getting herself into. The mother who needed a babysitter ended up being 17 years old with two children and was a complete mess.
Although LaVaughn is only 14, she ended up playing more of the mother role than the childrens actual mother (Jolly). As a child Jolly was homeless, did drugs when she was a teenager, and ended up with two kids by the age of 17, and never got to college. LaVaughns mother starts to question the babysitting job when she notices LaVaughns school and homework patterns are changing. Before the babysitting job, LaVaughn had good homework and school habits and very good grades. But after a while of spending time with Jolly, she failed to continue completing her homework each night, and made excuses for coming home late. As her mom begged and tried to convince her to quit the job, she refused. LaVaughn felt that she needed to help Jolly and her two children Jeremy and Jilly. She wants to clean up their house, which is infested with roaches, and other bugs. She is the one who cleans up after Jilly, who is only an infant, and Jeremy, who is a toddler. She is the one who bathes them, sings them to sleep, feeds them, and treats them as a mother should. Throughout the book, LaVaughn tries to get Jolly back on track and get her to go back to school. She delt with Jolly's mood swings, but at times she felt that maybe she could quit. She never did. At the end, Jolly's life changed. One moment at the end really shows that if Lavaughn was never in Jolly's life, things would have taken a turn for the worst.
This book was one of my favorites. It showed me that its good to help someone. Even if its just something small, it could still change the way they are, or just make them happy. I also learned a bigger lesson; people come into your life for a reason. Also, dont be scared of change. Jolly was scared to change, she did not want to go back to school, she didn't want to change the way she lived. She didn't know how to change. But when LaVaughn came, she taught her how to change, she taught her that its okay to change. She made her realize that she was changing for something good, to improve her life, and her children's life.This book had so many lessons, advice, and important information that people could use thoughout their lives. One peice of advice/lesson is that its good to take changes, and see what happens, becasue it could end up helping you.
I would definitely recommend this book to middle school girls. It is a very easy read, but a nice story, and very enjoyable. I couldn't put the book down! Each chapter leaves you of to want to keep reading. I loved this book so much!
Although LaVaughn is only 14, she ended up playing more of the mother role than the childrens actual mother (Jolly). As a child Jolly was homeless, did drugs when she was a teenager, and ended up with two kids by the age of 17, and never got to college. LaVaughns mother starts to question the babysitting job when she notices LaVaughns school and homework patterns are changing. Before the babysitting job, LaVaughn had good homework and school habits and very good grades. But after a while of spending time with Jolly, she failed to continue completing her homework each night, and made excuses for coming home late. As her mom begged and tried to convince her to quit the job, she refused. LaVaughn felt that she needed to help Jolly and her two children Jeremy and Jilly. She wants to clean up their house, which is infested with roaches, and other bugs. She is the one who cleans up after Jilly, who is only an infant, and Jeremy, who is a toddler. She is the one who bathes them, sings them to sleep, feeds them, and treats them as a mother should. Throughout the book, LaVaughn tries to get Jolly back on track and get her to go back to school. She delt with Jolly's mood swings, but at times she felt that maybe she could quit. She never did. At the end, Jolly's life changed. One moment at the end really shows that if Lavaughn was never in Jolly's life, things would have taken a turn for the worst.
This book was one of my favorites. It showed me that its good to help someone. Even if its just something small, it could still change the way they are, or just make them happy. I also learned a bigger lesson; people come into your life for a reason. Also, dont be scared of change. Jolly was scared to change, she did not want to go back to school, she didn't want to change the way she lived. She didn't know how to change. But when LaVaughn came, she taught her how to change, she taught her that its okay to change. She made her realize that she was changing for something good, to improve her life, and her children's life.This book had so many lessons, advice, and important information that people could use thoughout their lives. One peice of advice/lesson is that its good to take changes, and see what happens, becasue it could end up helping you.
I would definitely recommend this book to middle school girls. It is a very easy read, but a nice story, and very enjoyable. I couldn't put the book down! Each chapter leaves you of to want to keep reading. I loved this book so much!
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