To Kill a Mockingbird Final Journal #9: Chapters 28-31 (perspective of Bob Ewell)

So close, I was so close! I almost had those two Finch kids. I was just waiting to see the terror on Atticus's face after he heard about his dead two kids. And I had the perfect plan too! I had even consented with myself before going into action. It was all because of that stupid stranger that had to come out of nowhere and kill me.

This was the most genius plan ever. And it seemed so simple. Just follow the kids home after the pageant when it was dark. Luck was on my side too when they didn't have a flashlight. But it seemed that they heard me. I was stopping constantly as they were, but it seemed to me that they thought I was something else. It was all so simple how I would persecute Atticus through them.

I had knocked out the older brother, and was thinking to myself that this would be easy, even after that sheriff Heck Tate took away my switchblade. he was on the ground so I went after the little one who was still in her costume. This was more of my luck that she was inside the costume because it had a reflective stripe on it. The only downside is that I wouldn't be able to get directly at her.

I jumped at her and tried to strangle her. I would've done it too if that stranger hadn't jumped on me. The little brat got away, and I was left dead laying on the ground with the stranger's kitchen knife in my ribs. But I bet that the authorities will say that I allegedly fell on my knife.

After an assessment of what had happened, I realized that I had died. I didn't know what it was like to die, but it isn't as bad as I thought. I guess it was because of all the whisky that I had drank that saved me from he pain of passing away.

But I was mad! Mad, mad, mad! Those kids got away, and I didn't even get Atticus back. The only thing that went my way was that tom Robinson died, but that was from his own stupidity, not because I had wreaked my revenge on him. All these inconveniences always had to happen to me. But now I don't have to deal with it anymore. Besides, I always liked the heat of the fire.

To Kill a Mockingbird Journal #7: Chapters 20-24 (perspective of Jem)

The courtroom was getting tiresome. But I had to keep my hope and faith that Tom Robinson was going to prevail and win the case. Dill and Scout just came back in from outside, and Reverend Sykes had saved their seats. Atticus was going through his closing statement. His closing statement was so powerful, I thought that the jury would've known who to vote for right then and there.

Just as he finished, Cal came walking down the aisle with something in her hand. It was envelope which she handed to Atticus. I was wondering what it was about, since she told the judge that it was irrelevant to the case. Then it hit me. We weren't supposed to be here, and now we would get scolded from three different people. Atticus looked up at the judge, and told him what I had predicted.

From below, Mr. Underwood called out giving away our position in the balcony. Atticus looked up toward us, and saw us. Trying not to draw attention, we stealthily walked down the steps to Atticus and Cal waiting for us at the bottom. Atticus told us what I had apprehended. We were to go home with Cal immediately for supper, but to then stay home. I pleaded to let us come back to here the verdict. Atticus relented and decided that if we had heard this much already, that we might as well hear the end of it.

I got my second scolding from Cal on our walk home. She kept repeating that we should be ashamed of ourselves, but that didn't stop my good mood from changing. I laughed and joked all the way to our house. I walked in and was followed by Dill and Scout. Cal served us potato salad and ham. Aunt Alexandra didn't each much though after she had heard where we were, she just rearranged the food on her plate. I was praying in my head that perhaps I wouldn't have to get my third scolding from her.

After an hour, the three of us walked back to the courtroom. It had not changed much, and Reverend Sykes had saved our seats. The few changes were the jury were no longer in their box, Judge Taylor was asleep, and the room had a certain stillness about it. Babies weren't crying and there weren't children running around. Reverend Sykes told me that most of the spectators had left and brought back food to eat in the court room.

The courthouse bell rang eight o'clock, and the jury still hadn't come to their verdict. I looked over at Scout who was fighting off sleep. Dill was already resting his head on my arm. I might've dozed off, but I can't remember. We all came to attention when the clock struck eleven. The jury came out to present their conclusion. I found it improbable for Tom Robinson to be guilty, and I couldn't wait for it to be proved.

But the inevitable happened. A paper was passed through three sets of hands before getting to the judge who read it. Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. I started to cry knowing that twelve people had done something that was completely wrong and not fair. Atticus packed his suit case and began to walk out. Everyone in the balcony rose in his honor. I followed suit to respect my father. I found it amazing that even though he had lost, that the Black Community still respected and honored him.

To Kill a Mockingbird Journal #5 Chapters 13-15 (perspective of Atticus)

I came home after a long exhausting day at work. My kids complacently came running out of the house to meet me. Jem even took what I was holding and carried it into the house. Scout jumped into my arms and asked if I got her a book. My answer was yes and I saw her face brighten. She also asked if I knew Alexandra was here. I knew that my sister was coming and it comforted me to know that she arrived safely. But Scout seemed a little disappointed. I asked Scout what was wrong, but she said that she was happy to have her Aunty to live with us for a while. But the sound of her voice and the look in her eye made me think she was lying. I told her that Alexandra would be a big help around here with the summer about to be hard to go through. She accepted it, and ran off into the house.

My sister fit in with Maycomb. Everyone in the town excepted her. Almost our entire neighborhood came by to talk to her or have coffee, and she became Secretary of the Maycomb Amanuensis Club. She was almost always preoccupied when I got home with either talking to a group of women sitting in our living room, to teaching my kids what it means to be a Finch.

One of the days, she was teaching Scout and Jem about how everybody and their family get a streak. Such as a gambling streak, drinking streak, or an attitude streak. I broke into the conversation saying that we were pretty much the first in the Finch family not to marry one of our own cousins. Then I asked if the Finch's had an incestuous streak. I thought it was true, but Alexandra, as always, denied it to make our family look better and stronger.

It was another long day at my office working on the Robinson case, when Alexandra stopped me as soon as I got in the door. Jem and Scout didn't come out running to me, which I was a little disappointed in. My sister wanted me to talk to Scout and Jem about how they should grow up as proper Finch's and behave accordingly. I got the usual "You're not raising your kids right and you need to do something about!" speech that our neighbors usually give me.

I walked into Jem's room where I found both Scout and Jem there. I tried to tell them what Alexandra had requested, but I just couldn't find the words for it. It was just too uncomfortable to tell them. I was fidgeting and stammering which I had never done before in front of my two kids. Most of the message came out in half-words, but in the end I told them to forget it. They looked shocked. Scout started to drag a comb against an edge of the dresser to make a terrible noise. Before I could stop, I shouted out at her to stop.

Scout buried her crying face into my vest which I hadn't had time to change out of. I didn't know what to do for a moment. Jem looked like he was about to cry to. I put my hand on Scout's head and reassured her that she didn't need to worry. I walked out of the room and almost slammed the door, but I caught myself. I closed the door gently and quietly.

I was enjoying my half hour of peace and quiet that my kids allotted me each day. I was thankful for this because I was constantly talking with people at the office. Scout came over and asked a curious question. She wanted to know what rape was. She was oblivious to many things, so I gave her a simple but true answer. She said if all it was was that, then why didn't Cal tell her on Sunday. This raised curiosity in me, so I began an interrogation of what happened on Sunday. The three of them went to Cal's church, First Purchase, and had heard that Tom Robinson was being charged for rape. She then got into a story of how Calpurnia said that Scout could go over to her house whenever was fine. Cal would even be willing to pick her up if necessary. I was about to say yes when Alexandra who had been sitting in the corner said no.

The two got into an argument that gave me a head ache. Scout said that she wasn't asking her, and only listened to me. I wasn't in acquiescence with Alexandra, but I had to take her side anyways. I told Scout that as long as Alexandra was living under our roof, that she had to take orders from her. Scout sulked off to the bathroom, the one door that had a lock on it inside the house.

Amiably Alexandra approached me. I wasn't sure what she wanted, but I guess I had to find out. She began to lecture me about Calpurnia. She said that Cal was a bad role model, and that we should fire her. I came back at her with Cal being part of the family, and that she wasn't going to leave until she wanted to. I needed Calpurnia to help me out. She had been around for the last seven years, and I still needed her, regardless of Alexandra being here or not. I returned back to the paper to forget about my sister.

Five minutes later I heard a commotion in Jem's room. I thought to myself that they must be fighting again which had become more common between the two of them. I busted into the room to see Scout tackling and fighting with Jem on his bed. I forced the two apart and ordered them to bed instantly. Scout went to her room, and I left.

It was about ten minutes later when I acquired the knowledge that Dill was here. He had hid under Scout's bed for the last two hours. I went to Scout's room to find him there eating the left over cornbread from our dinner. He seemed shocked and scared to see me. But Scout prodded him along with the answers to my questions. When I was done with the interrogation, I told Scout to get him more than just a pan of cornbread to eat, and I told Dill to get a shower. He was filthy and looked as if he was rolling in the dirt all day.

I phoned Ms. Rachel to tell her that her nephew was here. She came over to scold him, then give him a big hug and greeting. Apparently he had run away and his parents were looking for him. She left and said that it was fine that he could stay the night. The two went off the bed, and I followed suit.

To Kill a Mockingbird Journal #4: Chapters 10-12 (perspective of Reverand Sykes)

There was a nice surprise at my church on Sunday. Calpurnia brought Mr. Finch's kids with her. I know that Mr. Finch was on our brother Tom Robinson's case, so I quickly figured out why his kids were here. As I was walking down a pathway to the sanctuary, I saw them. But it irked me to see that Lula was giving them a hard time. Lula was a type of person that only wanted to be around colored people, and disagreed with anything that had to do with whites. But I can't ask her to leave, she is still a sister under god with us.

At first they were just jawing with each other. I knew that Lula would be upset with Mr. Finch's kids here. But it looked like Cal could handle it. Or at least I hope she could. Talking with Lula in the morning before a sermon wasn't my favorite thing to do, especially before we are about to worship god. Lula stopped in her tracks, then turned around and walked away. Calpurnia's son Zeebo emerged from the crowd gathered around them, and it appeared that he was giving them a proper welcome.

I continued down the path to the sanctuary. Everyone was preoccupied with talking with each other just like any other Sunday. I stood behind the pulpit silently for everyone to quiet down. I was looking around at our limited ecclesiastical items, when I noticed Calpurnia and our two guest in the first pew. Cal was talking with them, and pulled a couple coins out of her purse to hand to the kids. They talked back to her, but I couldn't here it. She quieted them down and pointed up to me. Shortly after, everyone quieted.

I started the sermon with a few community announcements. One of them was about Tom Robinson. I told the congregation that he had been loyal to First Purchase since he was a small boy. Everyone knew Tom Robinson and his current situation. I was saying that our morning collection for the past three weeks were going to his wife Helen, to support her and her kids. I thought I might have seen Mr. Finch's youngest start talking to Cal, but she was immediately quieted. I then opened it up to our opening hymn.

Zeebo walked down the aisles to the front with our only hymn book. It was a large old book, but it still served its purpose. Zeebo started us off with hymn 273. He read a line, and the congregation followed. This was the only way we could sing, for he was one of four people in the church that could read. When we got to the chorus, he closed the book because everyone knew the words. He opened the book and started again, with the congregation in sync behind him.

When the hymn finished, I called upon the holy lord to help the sick and the wounded, and led us in some prayers. I warned the men to watch out for women who might cheat them, and I warned Constance Jackson that she was in peril for arguing with her neighbor.

I finished the prayers, and called for the offering. Individually the congregation came up to the pulpit to drop in their change. It was mainly nickels and dimes, but I knew that we had to support Helen and her kids. Even Mr. Finch's children came up to drop a dime in. When the offering was complete, I counted the change, but it was not enough. I told the usher to shut the doors, and nobody was to leave until we came up with ten dollars. I slowly extracted the money from the congregation. By that time, it was hot, stuffy, and sweaty in the sanctuary. People were waving the makeshift fans to cool themselves off.

The ten dollars came after I pointed out a few members who I had not seen come up here yet. The doors were opened, and the warm air outside came in. Everyone sighed a deep breath that it was now over. I had Zeebo come up and give us a closing hymn. We finished the morning with On Jordan's Stormy Banks.

Mr. Finch's two kids came up to me afterwards. They were full of questions about the Robinsons. Especially the daughter. I tried to give them pensive answers, but they kept asking questions. Calpurnia came to my rescue when she put a hand on each of there shoulders, and they immediately stopped asking questions. They each politely said thank you for letting them come to church, and left.

I cleaned up the papers on the floor, locked up, and left for the Robinsons house to give them the morning offering. I felt happy that I was doing them a favor, and the lord one.

To Kill a Mockingbird Journal #3: Chapters 8-9 (perspective of Jem)

Today was one of the coldest days of my life. I had never experienced snow, but I had seen it before in picture shows. But it was my sister's first time to get acquainted with it. I was getting up in the morning when I heard Scout yelling for Atticus, and that the world was ending. Startled, I looked out my window, and there was snow on the ground, and a falling. I guess for someone who had never seen snow before would've thought the world was coming to an end.

I was feeling bad, because Mr. Avery said that bad weather was a result from kids' misbehavior, not listening to their parents, smoking cigarettes, or fighting each other. But my mood changed when school was canceled due to the now on the ground. Then I thought that maybe it wasn't so bad if we did all those things because we wouldn't have school.

Mrs. Radley died this winter. We were curious as to how she died, so Scout asked Atticus about it after we had debated who should ask. He had been there earlier in the day, and Scout wanted to know if he had seen Boo. He replied that no he did not, and Mrs. Radley had died a natural death, much to our disappointment.

With all the snow on the ground, I decided to make a snow man. I told Scout to stop walking all over it and that she was wasting it. We went over to Ms. Maudie's yard, where she was inspecting her flowers. We asked for all the snow in her yard, and she agreed to it, but moments afterward questioned me what I was going to do with it. I wanted it to be a surprise, so I told her that she would see.

I started by getting all the snow from the backyard to the front yard, along with five basket fulls of dirt. I started building with the dirt, when Scout interrupted that it didn't look like a snowman. I reassured her that my ingenuous plan would work out, and that she would see it in the end. We finished with the part and put the snow on it. I decorated the face with bits of wood, and looking at my art, I realized it looked like Mr. Avery. I was so excited, I called Atticus to tell him that we had a surprise when he got home.

When Atticus got home, he admired our artwork. But he didn't like the fact that it looked like Mr. Avery. Thinking quick, I ran across the street to the house adjacent house from us. I returned with Ms. Maudie's straw hat, and hedge clippers. The hat I placed on the snowman's head, and I arranged the clippers so that they appeared for her to be holding them. Ms. Maudie came out of her house, and yelled at me to give her back her hat and hedge clippers. But Atticus just grinned and walked over to her, and settled things.

Atticus woke in the middle of the night. I'm not sure what time it was, but I think it was around one o' clock. But I did know that it was cold. We walked to Scout's room to get her up. I still didn't know what was going on, but I thought I smelled smoke. It was hard to tell with the smell of snow everywhere. We walked outside to see Ms. Maudie's house ablaze. I was perplexed by the oranges, reds, and yellows coming from the flames. Atticus walked us to the lamp post nest to the Radley house, and told us to stay there. We watched helplessly from the sidewalk at her house going down in flames, and the men pulling out her furniture. The Maycomb county fire engine was coming, but I wondered why it was so slow. I learned in the next minute that men were pushing it down the streets. When they hooked it up to the fire hydrant, the hose exploded, and ice crystals went everywhere. Another fire truck came from Abbotsbville, and Scout dug her head into my clothing for warmth.

The fire started to lick our house, and I was going to run over to get stuff out, when I noticed Atticus was relaxed, and didn't look worried. Scout had the same idea as me, but I reassured her when Atticus wasn't panicking. The fire finally died down, and we went back to our house. Nothing was destroyed, but it smelled of smoke. Atticus offered some hot chocolate to take our mind off of what had happened. As we sat drinking our cocoa, we spotted a blanket lying on the floor. Scout had been wearing it, but it wasn't ours. We decided that Boo Radley must have dropped it on her shoulders while we were watching the flames. That might have frightened Scout, but it helped me think that Boo Radley wasn't after children after all.

To Kill a Mockingbird Journal #2: Chapters 4-7 (perspective of Dill)

I finally got out of school today in late June. This was exciting for me because in the summer I get to spend with my Aunt Rachel, and I don't have to outlast the tormenting of the teachers But these aren't the only reason why I want to go to Maycomb County; my friends Jem and Scout live there. I'm hoping that they will still remember me and play with me, and this summer maybe I will be able to get a closer look at the Radley house. Now that I'm older, I'm not scared of the tyranny that is said to live in the house.

A day after getting out of school, I got on my train to Maycomb County. On the way there, I thought of a couple possible lies to impress Jem and Scout. My first thoughts were of the train. I could say that I helped with the railroad, and even saw my father working on it, with his black pointed beard! I sure hope they buy this.

Somehow they didn't believe me. If someone told this to me, I would believe it. But that's okay because Jem, Scout, and I are still on good terms. We played in an old tire. Jem said we shouldn't because he couldn't get in it, but Scout still raced to the back of their house, and came back with it. I argued that I should go first because I was the guest, but of course Jem sided with his sister, so Scout went first. She also ended up going last because Jem pushed her so hard; they ended up in the Radley's front yard. Jem was trying to gather his sister up, but she was just lying there, not moving. Finally she got up with the help of Jem, retrieved the tire, and bolted back to where I was standing, to continue their shouting match. But we were saved when Jem and Scout's house maid yelled lemonade time. Unanimously, we all walked into the house.

During our lemonade break, we talked about what we were going to play. It was Jem who thought up playing the parts of Radley. He was assigning Scout to play the part of Mrs. Radley, when Scout tried to protest that it was dangerous for us to play this game. I teased her and told her that Jem and I could play and she could just watch. At that, she agreed to play, to prove she wasn't afraid of Boo Radley. Scout was Mrs. Radley who had to sweep the porch, I was old Mr. Radley who walked up and down the sidewalk, and Jem was Boo Radley who hid under the steps and occasionally screamed or howled.

As the summer went on, we played more, and the game got more complex. I was always being complimented for being able to play any role that was assigned to me, which made me feel pretty proud. We finally got to the point where Jem fake stabs scissors into my leg. Scout told me it looked pretty convincing and real, but I knew it wasn't. As I turned around, I noticed that Jem's dad was standing there, slapping a magazine against his knee. He interrogated us about what we were playing, and Jem answered all the questions, trying to keep what we were doing a secret. But I think that their father found out because he noticed the scissors Jem were holding. He took them away and walked inside the house. Scout was wimping out again, so Jem threatened that she could just go and play with other girls like the one she was becoming. But I think there was more that she knew that I didn't.

I spent almost the rest of the summer with Jem. Scout had beat up twice already after I had ignored her, so it was only us two who hung out together. We mainly spent our time up in the tree house, planning a way to contact Boo Radley. It was my idea to drop a note on his window sill with a fishing pole. On the morning we were putting our plan into action, Scout came up to the tree house. Jem sent her away with a malignant attitude, but she fought back by saying the yard was just as much hers than Jem's. I told her if she wanted to be here and in on our plan, then she had to do what we told her to. She finally agreed to it out of curiosity. Jem told her our plan, and her face went pale. I could see on her face that she was scared of this plan of action. She was questioning every part of it such as where we were going to put the note, and what happened if someone sees us. I held up their mother's silver bell, and told her if anyone comes, I'll ring it. We then told her how we had been scouting out the area around to house, and found a loose shutter that we would be able to put the note onto. Jem got the pole and put the note on it. Scout and I walked to our lookout positions on the opposite sidewalks. It seemed like forever for Jem to get that note up there, and I could here him complaining with by back turned that it wouldn't get off the pole. The foreverness that I was imagining ended when I saw their father, Atticus, walking up the sidewalk to us. In a panic, I rang the bell and turned around to face Jem and Scout. I was still ringing it when I turned around face to face with Atticus. He told me to stop ringing the bell, and I did immediately as I came back to my senses. But the following silence, I wished I had kept ringing it. Atticus gave us all a scolding, and told us to stop bothering Boo Radley. But Jem said that we weren't bothering him, we were just trying to communicate with him, but Jem didn't get that far. His father had finally realized what we were doing when were playing, but described it as putting his life's story on display for the neighborhood. Atticus stormed away to the house, and Jem yelled after him, that must of been an inside joke because I didn't understand it.

Tonight was my last night here in Maycomb. I was trying to construct a cigarette when Jem and Scout pop over the fence into my aunt's yard. We were just talking and enjoying our last few minutes with each other, when I suggested we go for a "walk". Jem new what I meant, but his sister caught onto it. She said that nobody in Maycomb just went for a "walk". Jem suggested that she go home if she didn't want to walk with us down to the light pole and back. But she tagged along anyway.

We crawled underneath the fence which Jem had a hard time getting under. I wondered if it would also be a challenge for him to get out too. Our next obstacle was a rusty old fence that squeaked. We each spat on it until there was no saliva left in our mouths, but when we opened it, it was silent. Jem and Scout lifted me up so that I could see into the window. I didn't see anything except a light off in the distance, which I reported back to them. Then it was Jem's turn to check in the back window. The first porch step squeaked, but it held his weight. He was telling us he didn't see anything, when I noticed Scout's head jerk to the right. I glanced to the right to see what she was looking at. At first I didn't see it, but then I noticed a shadow creeping toward us. When it fell over Jem, he looked up, and dashed to us. But the shadow was leaving. He continued running us through the gate. Scout tripped in collards patch, and a boom sounded through the neighborhood. A shotgun boom. Jem and I dived down next to Scout, and then we pulled ourselves back up to get out. Scout and I made it under the fence fine, but turned around when we didn't hear Jem behind us.

We raced back to the fence where Jem was, while trying to evade any other possible attacks. Jem was stuck under the fence, and tore his pants off to get under. We all ran to the school yard, and the long way around. We then realized the entire neighborhood would be at the Radley's house, and it would be suspicious if we weren't there.

As we got around the block, we saw the enormous crowd at the Radley house. We slowed our breathing and walked the rest of the way there. We slipped in, and Jem tried asking Atticus what happened to make it look natural. Atticus told him what we had just endured, while Jem managed a surprised look on his face. Mr. Nathan Radley then threatened to all of us there, that the next person to go onto his property would get shot with his other shotgun.

It was after that, when Atticus realized Jem's pants were missing. I thought up a quick lie, and told him we were playing strip poker, in my aunt's backyard. That's also why we weren't there immediately. I could see the admiration on Scout's face of how I could lie. Atticus let us go, and had Jem get his pants from my aunt's house, but we all knew they weren't there. We went our separate ways back home, and told them to write to me during the school year. Man that was one of the best summers ever!

The Woman Warrior Review (Extra Credit)

The Woman Warrior
By: Maxine Hong Kingston
Reviewed by Ben H
The Woman Warrior, by Maxine Hong Kingston, is a historical fiction novel about a Chinese’s immigration experience. It is about a Chinese immigrant to America, with a mix of fantasies and ghosts, which makes the book confusing due to some of the story real and some of the story fake. The way Kingston shows her story is that everything to her is clear and understandable in China. But in America, everything is more complex and confusing. When she is in America, everyone that is not in her family is a ghost, which alters the story in a way, and makes you wonder whether you’re reading the truth of the story, or the fantasy part.
Maxine Kingston never lived in America, she was born during WW2, when her mother had already immigrated to America. The Woman Warrior turns into a story about her mother’s life in China, and experiences in America, before it goes back to Kingston’s life. Her life involves the Laundromat where the work as a family, there house where they all live, the school that kids tease and discriminate them due to race, and the relatives in China whom they must send money to, to support them.
I would recommend The Woman Warrior to anybody that is a teenager and older, and can sit and read a book for a very long time. If you are the type of person who can’t sit still for more than thirty minutes, I would not suggest that you read this book. But if you are able to sit still for at least two hours, you would be able to delve into the pages to discover the life of an immigrant, and her fantasies. The Woman Warrior is a slow-paced book with low action, and will take a while to read and comprehend.
My personal opinion of The Woman Warrior is that it is a good book for those who like to read. Reading isn’t my favorite thing to do, and I struggled to keep my eyes open while reading The Woman Warrior. It is also not the type of book that I would prefer to read, although there were some fantasy parts that interested me. But I don’t think I would read this story again, I’ve read it once and I’ve had my share.
As far as historical fiction stories go about an immigrant go, The Woman Warrior is one that will stick out. It has different ingredients of writing style with real life emotions, and fantasy ideas. Some parts will keep you hooked, while others will put you to sleep. Overall, The Woman Warrior, is a fine book.

The Woman Warrior Post #6

Quote #1: "...Fresh-off-the-Boat's, as the Chinese-American kids at school called the young immigrants." Said by the author on page 225, paragraph six.
Significance: This quote is significant because the Chinese-Americans are stereotyping. I think that it is interesting that the kids are being racist to their own ethnicity, and I think that at one time their parents were "FOBs." I also think this is important because kids shouldn't be stereotyping, or anybody for that matter.
Connection: I can connect to this because sometimes some of my friends make racist jokes or comments. Sometimes you can't control it and it just slips, but I think that people should try harder to let things like that be said.
Question #1: Have you ever stereotyped your own race? Why, and what was it?

Quote #2: "I've stopped checking 'bilingual' on job applications." Said by the author on page 239, paragraph one.
Significance: I chose this quote because it shows that she is now pretty much Americanized. She feels as though she doesn't understand or talk Chinese anymore, because she has been a little outlawed in her society. I think that it is important because everybody in the US should remember and practice their original culture.
Connection: I think that I would feel the same way if I wanted to get rid of my culture, and forget it all. I would definitely stop checking a bilingual box even if I knew the language, but didn't feel that I deserved to know it.
Question #2: How would you feel if you decided to get rid of your heritage? Would you look back on it and regret it, or would you continue looking forward?

The Woman Warrior Post #5

Quote #1: "It was when I found out I had to talk that school became a misery, that the silence became a misery." Said by the author on page 193, paragraph two.
Significance: This is significant because it show that the immigrant students didn't like to talk in school. There was another quote earlier that said she did stuff because it made the other students laugh. This is important because it means that she was doing stuff in school, and she didn't know it because she didn't understand.
Connection: I can connect to this because when I was little, I was shy and didn't want to say or talk at all. I wasn't as shy as her because I would say stuff in class when I had to, but I preferred not to talk. I think I didn't talk because I couldn't always understand what the teacher was saying even though we both spoke the same language.
Question #1: Have you ever been in a situation where you are the only person who can't speak a language that everyone else is, and your lost and confused because you didn't know what they were talking about?

Quote #2: "But I knew that they did not understand. They thought that we were beggars without a home in who lived in the back of the laundry. They felt sorry for us." Said by that author on page 199, paragraph one.
Significance: This is significant because the drugstore owner were giving the family because they didn't understand them. The mother wanted the candy so that the bad spirits would go away, and when the drugstore owners gave them the candy, the mother thought that the owners understood why the family needed it. But the author knows that the drugstore owners don't understand the Chinese culture, but gave them the candy anyways because they felt sorry for them.
Character Judgement: I think that this quote shows that the mom is not very understanding in how America works. American people usually don't understand other cultures to well, but the mother thinks that they do, because the store owners gave them the free candy.
Question #2: Have you been in a situation when people gave you stuff because they thought you were poor and couldn't afford stuff?

The Woman Warrior Post #4

Quote #1: "... Brave Orchid took a day off to wait at the San Francisco International Airport for the plant that was bringing her sister to the Untied States. She had not seen Moon Orchid for thirty years." Said by the narrator on page 131, paragraph one.
Significance: This is significant because the mom is finally getting to see her sister again. It shows that when people immigrate, they don't necessarily immigrate all together at once, as a family. One part of the family comes over, and then the next, so there's a gap, and you might be missing a family member for a while.
Connection: I can connect to this, because when my mom immigrated here, her grandfather came over many years earlier, before she came. But her mom and sister and brother all came at the same time. I think they do this so that they are like a test to see if it's okay, and so that by the time the rest of the family comes, they will be successful, and not suffer here.
Question #1: How would you feel if you got to see one of your close family members finally after thirty years? Why?

Quote #2: "Immigration Ghosts were stamping the papers. The travellers crowded along some conveyor belts to have their luggage searched." Said by the narrator on page 133, paragraph six.
Significance: I found this quote interesting, because they are calling everyone except each other ghosts. The Immigration Ghosts, is just an immigration officer, yet they say he is a ghost. This quote is also significant because even when they were getting off the plane, they had to have their bags searched.
Connection: I can connect to this because sometimes it takes forever to get off a plane, especially if they are searching bags. I could imagine that Moon Orchid and Brave Orchid would be exhausted after waiting so long.
Question #2: Why do you think they call the people in America Ghosts?

The Woman Warrior Post #3

Quote #1: "On Ellis Island the official asked her, 'What year did your husband cut off his pigtail?' and it terrified her when she couldn't remember." Said by the author on page 113, the first paragraph.
Significance: This is significant because it show the types of questions that were asked to the immigrants on Ellis Island. Asking when your husband cut off his pigtails is also a slightly racist question because they think that the men wanted to grow out their hair, when they were doing it because of the communists. I also found it interesting that the author's mom went through Ellis Island instead of Angel Island, because I think she came to the US in the thirties.
Connection: I can connect to this because today in class when we did a simulation of coming into class, we were interrogated. I was asked questions that made a little sense, but other people were asked questions that were bizarre such as how many windows there are in the classroom.
Question #1: If you were an immigrant coming to the US, and they ask you a question that you should know the answer to, but don't, how would you feel?

Quote #2: Among the sellers with ropes, cages, and water tanks, were the sellers of little girls. Said by narrator on page 93, paragraph two.
Significance: This is significant because in America, you don't see girls being sold on the streets as slaves. But in China, most girls aren't wanted, and are sold as slaves. It shows the enormous culture difference between the US and other nations.
Connection: I can relate to this because sometimes I have felt unwanted, and that is probably what the girls felt when they were standing on the street. I have never seen anything like that except in movies, but I think that I have felt what they did.
Question #2: How would you feel if you were being sold on the street as a slave because your parents didn't want you?

The Woman Warrior Post #2

Quote #1: "My American life has been such a disappointment." Said by the author, on page 54 on paragraph 4.
Significance: This is significant because it shows that not all immigrants have a better life here. It also shows that many immigrants have really high expectations, and when the author came to America, it was not what she thought it would be. It is a challenge to them because they thought that it would be really good place and wouldn't have to worry about much, but in reality it is much more challenging.
Personal Connection: I can connect to this by coming to High Tech Middle. I didn't start at the beginning of 6th grade, and the school I came from a harder school. I thought that HTM would be easier and more fun, and I was half correct. It was more fun than my old school, and proved to be a greater challenge than I expected.
Question #1: What has ever happened to you where you expected one thing and got another which was harder and worse than what you expected?

Quote #2: "It's not just the stupid racists that I have to do something about, but the tyrants who for whatever reason can deny my family food or work. My job is my only land." Said by the author on page 58, paragraph 6.
Significance: This is significant because many people in America are discriminating against them because they are Chinese. I think that this is still occurring in America today, even though the country has changed. The people who are discriminating don't have a reason, and they're just being racist. This is important for people today to change from being racist.
Personal Connection: I can connect to this because I have seen and heard racist comments before, and some of them are a little disturbing. I think being racist isn't funny, and it's just plain wrong. I can also connect to this quote because people have treated me differently because of being Chinese. It's not always in a bad way though, such as everyone automatically saying I am good at math. It's not a lie, but it feels like people are judging me because I am Asian.
Question #2: Have you ever been treated differently because of your race, religion, or how you looked? What was it, and how did you manage it?

The Woman Warrior Post #1

Quote One: "... Your father and his brothers and your grandfather and his brothers and your aunt's new husband sailed for America, the Golden Mountain." Said by them mom on page three.
Significance: This quote is significant because all the men in the family are leaving for America. They said that America was "the Golden Mountain," which makes me believe that they think anything could happen in America, or it was the best place. It is also significant that the men are leaving because in American and Chinese culture, the men usually establish control and order in the family.
Connection: I can relate to this because before my mom immigrated here to the United States, her came to America to set up her and her family's life here. I think that in a lot of cultures, the men come to America first before the rest of the family, so everyone who had a part of their family immigrate here in the past century, did the same thing.
Question One: What do you think would happen to a family if the father went to America to start a new life, but never came back?.

Quote Two: "I would have to grow up a woman warrior." Said by the author, on page 24.
Significance: This quote shows that the only way a woman could be known in China would be for being a warrior. Most of the people that are well known are men, and woman don't have as much of a chance at being famous and popular. I think this is the reason why she wants to become a woman warrior. She was also inspired by Mu Lan, so I think that she wanted to be like her.
Character Judgment: This quote shows that the author wants to be a well known person for a good thing, and wants to make her way into history. This also shows that she is determined because it is hard to become a warrior.
Question Two: Why do you think it is hard to become famous if you are a woman?

Lord of the Flies Final Post #8

Captured and Rescued
Samneric's Journal
I could feel the caked blood on my face from last night's fight. Ralph was blowing the conch to call an assembly. I thought it silly to think that he was blowing it for four boys, but then thought that it probably gave him some pride that he still had something. It was Piggy who wanted to talk to, now blinded since Jack took his glasses. He wanted to go up to the castle gates holding the conch in hand, and tell the savages how they should return his specs. He was delirious when Ralph agreed with him, and Sam and I had nothing better to do. Sam suggested that we painted our faces with the clay and I agreed with him. Ralph said no, and that they painted their faces because they were barbaric. But he did think that it was good that we took spears. We set off along the beach, Ralph in front, then me, and then finally Sam who had Piggy guiding him along the sand. As we reached the gates of the castle, there was a voice from the top asking who goes there. Piggy went to the front of the line holding the conch. He yelled at the top his lungs that he was merely asking for his specs back. The savages came out of the castle to see what was up. When they saw Piggy, they started laughing and pointing at him. Truculently, Piggy held up the conch as if the he thought the old rules still applied here. The crowd died down for a little, and then the noise was back as if there was never a cessation. Jack came out of the jungle with Robert and Maurice behind him, holding a headless pig. When Jack saw Ralph, he walked over and demanded why they were there. Piggy was now on the ground holding onto the rock, hearing Jack coming towards him. Then a fight broke out between Ralph and Jack after amounts of arguing. Neither wanted to go to close to each other, and remained outside of striking distance. Yet they still dared each other to advance to see what they would get. The painted savages cheered on Jack, raising their spears above their head. Then Ralph made a move hitting Jack in the stomach with the blunt end of his spear. Piggy lay on the ground near the edge of the cliff, telling Ralph not to forget about him. Then there was a large crashing type of noise, and a large bolder fell down from the gates of the castle. The rock rumbled and hit Piggy directly. He went flying into the air and out over the ocean, falling 40 feet onto a rock, and died. The tide came over the rock and washed Piggy's body out to sea, and the boulder continued bounding through the forest. Using this distraction, Jack ordered all spears to be thrown at Ralph. All missed but his, which took off some skin by his ribs. Ralph turned and ran into the forest. Jack turned onto us and ordered for us to be tied up. As were tied up, Robert and Maurice took the pig into the castle to be cooked, and Jack retried his spear, coming to us, and threatening Sam and me to join. We couldn't do anything else, and we had to submit to him. We stayed tied up like that for the night, and Jack untied us in the morning. He called a meeting and we sat still, crossed legged in the grass. This seemed a lot more orderly than Ralph's tribe, and we got our faces painted. The meeting consisted of hunting Ralph the next morning, and they we had to communicate was by ululating. We were also to walk in a cordon so that we didn't miss any part of the island. Our first job wasn't until the night time, when we had lookout duty. It was cold and boring up there on top of the rock, and we were ordered not to speak to loudly to each other. Then there was a commotion right below us, and Ralph poked his head up. There was quick conversation as we told him that we were to hunt him in the morning in a straight line. He must have trusted us because he gave us the location of where he was going to hide. Then he heard Roger coming up the stepRoger came up and took over our post.
Jack was threatining us with his spear the wearabout of Ralph. We had broken off from the cordon, and the howling pack continued on their search. We promised Jack that he was in the thicket directly in front of us. We went up to the ledge above it, and pushed rocks off, landing in the thicket. After the second rock terrorizing the bush, a figure emerged from the bush running toward the pig trails. Jack ululated three times signaling that he had found Ralph. The chase was on, and Sam and I were left in the dust. We started off more toward the beach hoping to get out of the way of the frenzy. It wasn't until Ralph happened to run into the clearing where the Lord of the Flies and we just happened to be, when Jack showed up following him. Ralph dived into the thicket, and Jack pulled us back into the hunt, forcing Sam into going to attack Ralph. He stuck his spear in the bush, and was immediately hit back, doubled over clutching his distended stomach in pain. I went over to him immediately, and Ralph made a dash for the beach. We followed, but not with the rest of the savages. Ralph had fallen and landed at the base of a figure. As we got closer I realized that it was a grownup. A grownup had come to rescue us! We were so happy, we flung ourselves on the beach, crying with joy. I could see a ship off the beach, and blinked a couple time to make sure that it wasn't just a diddle of my eyes. But the soldier was still there, waiting for us to come along. This had to be the happiest day of my life!

Lord of the Flies Post 7

Chapters 9&10: Two Deaths
Piggy's Journal
I finally persuaded for Ralph and I to go to Jack's party. Samneric had already gone, and Simon had disappeared somewhere. As we walked over we could see the smoke and smell pig roasting. As we stepped inside the castle that they decided to use as their shelter, we saw Jack in complete makeup with meat on leaves by his feet. Everyone else was eating and talking happily except for the hunters that were roasting the pig on spits. As Jack saw us, I considered hiding behind Ralph, but stayed walking by his side. Jack then told his hunters roasting the pig to give us some. We sat down and ate, and Jack asked if everyone had had enough to eat. All boys were silent, then they started scrambling for more food before it was gone. Then Jack called an attendance to see who wanted to join his tribe. Ralph tried arguing with him that he was chief, and Jack couldn't take his tribe away from him. Jack argued back that he had fed them and given more care that night than Ralph had given their entire time on the island. The argument continued until Robert decided to become a pig and reenact the killing of the sow. Everyone joined in except for me and Ralph. There were jumping around surrounding Robert and chanting their war cry of kill the pig. Then a figure came flying out of the forest, but I couldn't really tell because of my missing one eye. But the figure appeared to have a corpulent, because as it broke into the circle, the boys started chanting beast. They danced around it now switching from pig to beast. Ralph joined in on the outside of the circle so that it didn't look as if he was sticking out. I had to join also because everyone on the island was in the dance except for Simon. As I got farther into the barmy circle, I saw that the figure was actually a skinny boy instead of a large bulky beast. The flurry of teeth and claws made me want to back out, but I didn't want to be the odd one out as it is. The figure was pushed over the cliff, and the circle disappeared to happy talking and a feast. As I walked away, I felt slightly purged knowing that I didn't push it over the cliff to its death. I found Ralph and walked with him back to the shelters. On the way we agreed that the figure was Simon, and were silent for the rest of the night thinking that he was no longer around.
When we got up in the morning, Samneric were attending the fire. Ralph and I were still silent remembering last night. Theologically, Simon would be going to heaven since he was the nicest on the island. We stayed around the fire all day constantly getting more wood to born. None of us wanted to come an illumination of how we could have let the hunter's dance carry us away last night. It wasn't until we were going to sleep when something happened. There was a noise and I assumed it was Ralph. After telling him to stop multiple times, I realized that maybe it was something outside. The shelter nearly collapsed and I had an asthma attack. There was a huge commotion as kick and punches were being used. Then the entire shelter collapsed and so did the fight. I couldn't find my glasses anywhere so I just sat down and listened to the stories of the fight. Sam ended up losing himself in the corner fighting the shelter, and Ralph gave his enemy a couple punches in the face until he got kneed in his jewels. Then Eric said that he had received a couple of huge blows in the face, so gave his foe a strike to a critical spot. I concluded that we hadn't done anything, and Jack and his hunters ended up with my glasses.

Lord of the Flies Post 6

Chapter 8: My Own Tribe
Jack's Journal
I have had enough of Ralph always insulting me and my hunters. So today I decided to do something about it. After our yelling match of his describing me and my hunters as just boys with sticks, I marched off to the platform and blew the conch. I knew that the sound wasn't as good as when Ralph blew it, but it still made noise. I think that some boys noticed and some boys didn't, but they came all the same. Ralph came up to the platform sticking his hand out for the conch. I said that since I called the meeting, I get to lead it. What I told him made him go sit on the log. I started off by reviewing last night's events. Then I told everyone how Ralph was a true coward, and didn't want to go up the mountain. He tried to argue, but then I waved the conch in his face reminding him of his own rule. I put on a display of him not being a good leader, and then running off the platform crying. Ralph tried yelling after me, but I continued running into the forest. It was only a couple minutes after the time I had announced I was starting my own tribe, when Roger and Maurice showed up where I was waiting. I felt a bit like a prefect again, leading my choir. The two boys were silent, not sure if they should say anything. Then Maurice spoke up and said that they slipped away when Ralph and his tribe were making a new fire on the beach. The Robert showed up. Now it was time for my second speech of the day, but just with us real hunters. Samneric had stayed with Ralph and Piggy, so I considered them to no longer being hunters. My first announcement was that we shall first have a hunt to celebrate our branching off. Then we should leave some of out kill for the beast every time we hunt, as an offering, and a hope that it won't hurt us. We started off for pig run with our spears. I lead around into a clearing where pigs and a sow nursing were asleep. I pointed to the sow, and all of my hunters nodded. Our footsteps were silent from all of the practice we had had. We circled and threw our spears. One hit a piglet, and two others, one of them being mine, hit the sow. The piglets and pigs ran off squealing. "After it!!" I shouted. We all ran following it, following its blood trail on the ground. We chased and chased until finally it gave up in a meadow type of place where butterflies were flying around the flowers. With all demure gone, we tackled and jumped on the pig, wrestling with it. I took out my knife and demoniacally started stabbing it. Roger was not on the pile, and I found its throat and cut it. Hot blood was all over my hands, and I held them, the boys laughing. I grabbed Robert, and smeared it all over his face. Then we moved back into the shade, and I paunched the sow's inside spilling over the ground. I ordered for a stick to be sharpened at both ends. Roger handed it to me, and I cut the head of pig off, and stuck it on one end of the sharpened stick. I tried putting the other end into the ground, but found it was rock. I stuck it in a crack in two rocks off to the side. I declared the head a gift for the beast, and then ran away through the forest, Maurice and Robert carrying our kill. We tan to the castle rock, since it would be our new shelter. I then realized we would need fire to cook the pig. I devised a plan that if Roger and I could distract Ralph and Piggy, Maurice and Robert steal a stick from the fire. We painted our bodies, and went to the edge of the forest. As I put my last finger down, we all charged, Maurice and Robert heading towards the fire, Roger and I going to Ralph. I noticed Piggy running off to the platform, and thought that if there was someone more of a coward than Ralph, it would be Piggy. Maurice and Robert ran back toward our castle, making sure the branch was still alight. I went up to Ralph and invited him and his group to a feast, and we had just killed fresh meat. Ralph looked as if my face was tabooed from that side of the beach. It didn't surprise me, and Roger and I ran off after Maurice and Robert when Ralph was still speechless. I guess I will see if accepts my invite later.

Lord of the Flies Post 5

Chapters 6&7: Beast Hunt
Jack's Journal
I was awoken by Samneric in the middle of the night. They were constantly talking and finishing each others sentences, and I finally figured out that they saw the beast. I immediately jumped up and assembled my hunters. Ralph, Simon, and the fatty joined me in seconds. Samneric started telling their story again that the beast was huge and had claws and sharp teeth that followed them through them, and that's how they got all scratched up. A lot of boys seemed confused by looks of the expressions on their faces. We were embroiled, and for once I was kind of glad that Ralph was chief and he had to lead us. I said that we should go right now, but Ralph said that we should eat first and wait for light since the sun was almost up. The twins were still flailing, retelling everyone their story interminably. We retrieved our spears and set out for the woods to eat fruit and go on our hunt. We decided that Piggy should stay with the littluns since he wouldn't be any good, and would just slow us down. When we stopped to eat, Ralph turned to me and asked where on the island I hadn't been so that we could start there. I told him over by a rock formation near the ocean that looked like the castle. We continued on, and I led the group down the beach. As we got to the spot, I realized that I would have to go, and then Ralph volunteered himself since he was chief. He told us to hide and we stood behind a couple trees. He walked up to the castle, spear in hand. As he was about to enter, he looked back, then he turned back and went in. After a couple seconds then wasn't any noise, and I made the decision to go help him in case he was facing the beast. I told my hunters to stay put, and I grabbed my spear and ran after him. Inside, it was an enormous cavern. I immediately saw what we could with it, and making it a fortress. There was even a little trickle of fresh water, but no beast. We climbed up on top of the rock, and the hunters seeing us came and joined us. There was tons of chatter as everyone started talking all at once. The boys were rolling rocks down the cliff into the ocean, and making huge splashes that came almost all the way up the wall. I went to join them, but Ralph stayed back, talking with Simon. We continued to roll rocks until Ralph eventually yelled at us for not being productive. I thought that he was getting to be more upset and more often waxy, the longer we were on the island. He talked about how there wasn't anybody at the fire. He constantly has been making that his obsession also. I led the group back down the beach into the forest, with Ralph trailing behind.
We went to eat some more fruit, and then back to the search. As we were walking on the pig runs, a wild boar comes charging at us. I ran back, and my hunters followed. Ralph looked bewildered and was wondering what was going on. I saw him throw his spear, and it found itself in the boar’s nose. It started squealing and all the boys came out of their hiding places. Ralph was boasting that he had hit the pig. I decided not to congratulate and act as if he hadn’t. But then Maurice spoke up and said that he had seen Ralph spear the pig. Then we started making a circle and Robert ran around acting like a pig. We grabbed hold of Robert’s limbs, and Ralph started chanting to kill him. Then we all started chanting our war cry of kill the pig and bash her in. I noticed also that Ralph had a certain bravado in him, now that he wasn’t all serious. We finally got back on the trail along the cliff, but not all of it was easily traversable. We decided to take the pig runs, but they didn’t go back to the beach, and Ralph seemed happy that they took us to the mountain so that we could light the fire. It was getting dark out, and the boys realized that we were heading towards the beast. We stopped to think, and Ralph decided that we should continue on, but someone should go back through the forest to tell that Piggy that we wouldn’t be back until night. No one wanted to go, but then Simon spoke up and said that he would do it. Before anyone could reply, it already off into the jungle. The rest of us carried on until it was dark. Then some boys wanted to go back to the beach because they were tired. I wanted to go back to, but I decided to challenge Ralph and see if he was scared. He didn’t want to look like a scared little boy so he agreed to go on. Then everyone left except for a figure that I couldn’t recognize. It was Roger which I found out by calling his name. We carried on. We were crawling on our hands and knees through ashes and realized we were at the burn area and the fire place. Ralph stopped and challenged me to see if I was frightened. He forced me going by myself up the rest of the mountain. I went up and left Ralph and Roger down sitting on a stump. As I got to the top, I saw a huge thing bulge where there should’ve been a gap in the rocks. This almost made me scream, but instead I stuck it back down my throat and headed back to where I thought I left Ralph. There were still there, and I shared what I had seen. They we all went up. I pointed at where there should’ve been a gap in the rocks, and Ralph finally saw that I was right and there was something there bulging. Ralph walked closer until he turned around running away, and Roger and I raced to keep up.

Lord of the Flies Post 4

Chapter 5: Assembly
Simon's Journal
Right after our celebration on killing the pig, we had to have a meeting. Ralph called one also saying that he doesn't care how late or dark it is. Everyone could hear the tone in his voice, and new that he was serious. He walked down the mountain, and we all followed him. It was couple before Ralph actually called the shell. He was pacing around on the beach, lost in his thoughts. I was about to go over to him to see if everything was alright, but decided against it incase he got mad at me. Finally the conch was blown and everyone scrambled to the logs. The littluns in the back got we called the twister log, and had to perfectly balanced or they fell off and everything got out of hand. I sat down next to Jack and the hunters. Piggy stood outside of the triangle where everyone was, and listened. When Ralph started, he came over and sat next to me. Ralph was very sincere, and nobody moved. He was the perfect effigy of seriousness of the meeting. He spoke about how we were supposed to put up huts and shelters, and then mentioned that only he and I helped. There was an enormous uproar as the assembly tempestuously shouted that they had helped out also. It was enough for Ralph to blow the whistle, and that was he did. The noise died almost immediately. He pointed out that everyone helped with the first hut, but not with the other two. Then he continued about people doing their business where ever they wanted, instead of the designated area over by the rocks where the tide flushes it out. With this the littluns started laughing and flipped over on the twister log. Decorum was lost as everyone looked at them and laughed. It took another minute for Ralph to get the meeting back into his hands. Jack stood up next to me and asked for the conch, but Ralph said that he wasn't finished yet. "But you've talked and talked," said Jack. Ralph seemed to ignore him, and continued to go on with his speech, Jack's rambling fading away. He got to his part about the beastie, and said that this part was an open discussion. He first proclaimed that there wasn't any beastie, and asked if anybody was going to go against him. Jack added in, breaking the rules since he didn't have the conch, that he had been all around the island and that there was no place for a beastie to live and hide. A littlun stood up to tell his story, and as if it was Piggy's job, he took the conch from Ralph and took it to the littlun and stood by him. The littlun said his name was Percival, and I remembered him to be somewhat of just a whiner, and was a scared of a lot of things. He told about his nightmare and that he fighting plants outside his tent, and when he woke up, he was outside his tent. He looked to toward the forest and saw something moving. Then Percival broke down in a lamentation, and fell down on the grass so that he wasn't visible. Ralph took back the conch and asked if anyone was taking a trip in the middle of the night. I didn't want to stand up, but felt guilty, so I did so any way. Ralph asked what I was doing, and I tried to reply in the most innocent voice, that I was going to my place in jungle. The questions continued, and had the same reply, that is was just my little place in the jungle. It ended in Ralph telling me not to go out at night anymore, and then turned to rest of the assembly, and repeated him self. I sat down with the feeling that I didn't have a complete secret. Now I might have to find a new place.

Lord of the Flies Post 3

Chapter 3/4: No Help and the Killing
Piggy's Journal
Today we finally got around to making another hut. I got out of helping because of my asthma, and the only one making huts were Ralph and Simon. Jack was off hunting, and the other hunters were splashing around in the pool. As I lay on my stomach looking at my reflection in the pool, Jack came down from the mountain asking for water. He was covered in dirt, and looked like he didn't have anything to show for hours of being away. Ralph was getting annoyed and showing it that no one was helping except for Simon, and that all the hunters had been back for an hour playing around. I didn't hear the rest for it was inscrutable from where I was at. They then stormed off, and I tried to keep up with them as they headed for a bath and a swim.
Today as we swam around in the pool. We, as in me, Simon, and Ralph. All the other boys went out somewhere unknown. Then suddenly Ralph jumps out of the pool and claims that he saw a tendril of smoke on the horizon, and the possible shape of a smoke stack. "Smoke! Smoke!" he shouted, blatantly. He kept staring at it. Then finally he turned around and looked at where our smoke was. I looked to and didn't see any. We were all speechless for a moment, and then I spoke up. "I don't suppose we don't have any smoke?" Ralph was rapt, drilling a hole in the sky with his gaze. He then dashed up the hill as fast as he could, not bothering about clothing. Then Simon, and then I, ran up the hill after him. When we got to the top, his naked body was covered in scratched from the creepers on the trail. The fire was dead, and nobody around. After a couple minutes of silence, I heard and saw the group of boys, chanting something. They all held their spears in the air, and chanted something, except for Samneric who were holding something in between them. As they got closer, I could hear them chanting, "Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill the blood!" As they got nearer, they still chanted, and I could see that the object that Samneric held was a pig. When they reached the mountain, Ralph stared them down, and they stopped talking. There was a staring match as gouts fell out of the pig and hit the ground. Then Ralph finally spoke, "You let the fire out," he said malevolently. "You promised you said you would keep it going and then left!" Jack tried to protest that he needed his entire choir to get the pig, and that they could just relight it. That's when Ralph point hit, "There was a ship out there on the horizon. If the fire was going, they would have seen our smoke, and then we would have been saved." I tried to back him up by saying that if Jack wasn't so obsessed with killing, we would have been off the island. This resulted with Jack's fist in my stomach. I doubled over, and he smacked my glasses off my face. Everyone was laughing at me, and I looked for a friend, but there was no balm. I tried to fight back, but I couldn't see anything. Then my specs were pushed back into my hands. As I put them on, I saw that one of the lenses was broken, and it was Simon who gave them to me. Now I could only see through one eye. Jack advanced on me and backed me into a rock. The laughter continued the entire time. Finally Ralph shouted enough, and Jack returned to his choir, bragging to Ralph that he had cut the throat of the pig. I stumbled my way back to Ralph's side, and he ordered that a new fire was to be made. Jack tried to get Ralph to move so that could just relight the old one, but Ralph did nothing. They ended up building one over three yards. Ralph took my specs again, and walked over to the fire. I walked with them in case Jack did anything, but I knew that I couldn't do anything if something did happen. Ralph focused the light, and there was a flame immediately rose. Jack tried to roast the pig several different ways, and resulted in having half cooked, half raw meat. As everyone had a piece, I noticed that I didn't. I was afraid to ask, but did anyway. Jack's response was why should we give you any, if you didn't do anything. There was silence, and Simon gave me his meat. Jack immediately cut a chunk of meat from the pig and threw it at Simon's feet, commanding him to eat. Well, it has been a pretty wild and rough day, and I am going to sleep.

Lord of the Flies Post 2

Chapter 2: Fire!
Ralph's Journal
Today I called a meeting to tell the boys what we had discovered. "It is an island," I announced. I tried to continue, but Jack cut in. "And there are pigs for us to eat," he said. We kept interrupting each other for a while, and the ebullience was too much to handle, when an idea came into my head. "Before we go any farther, we should have some rules. The first one is whoever has the conch shell is the speaker. Everyone else must remain silent. Number two, is where the conch is, there is a meeting and the rule one will apply." As I finished saying this, Jack immediately grabbed the conch out of my hands. "So now I get to speak," said Jack. “Has anyone else found something on this island?" There was a commotion with the six year olds as a small boy with a birthmark on the side of his face was pushed forward. He appeared to shy to speak, so Piggy took the conch to him, and translated what the boy was saying, so that everyone could hear. The small boy talked about a beastie snake that followed him around. "But that's ridiculous," I said. "There's no such thing as a beastie. The boy must have just had a nightmare." The older boy in the choir nodded their head in agreement. I took the conch and said, "Next order of business. We need to build a smoke signal fire on top of the mountain in case there is a ship nearby, and they can see us. Jack, seeming to forget the rules we just set shouted "fire," and "follow me everyone." There was an officious group following him up the mountain. Even the young ones followed Jack into the forest. I had no choice except to follow. As we ran into the jungle, Jack started to give orders to his choir to get wood. The martyred of me losing control I put clearly on my face, but nobody seemed to notice. There was a huge pile of wood at the top of the mountain as all the boys ran around trying to get as much as they could. When there was plenty of wood, I realized that we didn't have any way to light it. I gestured to Jack that he could do the honors, but he had the same expression on his face. Then Piggy came panting up the hill holding the conch that I had left on the beach. Jack ran over to him and took his specs. "Here we go, we can focus the light on the wood, and it will light." Jack handed the glasses to me, and I held them above the pile of wood, as Piggy whined and complained that he couldn't see, and somebody and pinched his specs. After a couple of seconds, we had a huge bon fire, but no smoke. There was a capering around the fire, the boys proud of their accomplishment. Just then, Piggy broke in. “Give me back my specs.” “Shut up,” replied Jack. “Hey! I have the conch; I have the right to speak.” Piggy argued. “Now give me back my specs. Everything is a blur.” I handed them back to him. “You said that you just wanted a small little fire.” He paused and looked down the hill. “And now it looks like you have one, er, a couple.” We all looked down the hill and say what he meant. Multiple fires were spreading throughout the jungle. “And also, you have lost tract of the little ones. The small boy with the birthmark on his face, I don’t see him anywhere. I wanted to build a shelter down on the beach, but no, you guys had to storm up here and build a fire. Now it’s almost night. How would a boat see smoke at night?” He paused to take a breath. “Now we have wasted almost a day,” he finished. I thought to myself, what a mother Piggy is.