Revised essay

Essay

            The book Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare showed how rivalries could ruin people in many ways. In this rivalry, a lot of people died, even the loved ones died too. Like the poem in the book, “in fair Verona two families alike in dignity.” Both families have someone who can change everything. The Capulets have Tybalt, a man who wanted to kill Romeo for he thought he was a villain. The Montagues have Mercutio, a man who is Romeo’s best friends, but always look for trouble. Things could have been different if Mercutio knew how to control himself, but then everything would have been different. Mercutio was a big influence because he was an influence to Romeo.

             Mercutio is a person with many traits. One of them is being joyful. He gives people laughter and makes Romeo forget about the rival the two families have. He wanted to show Romeo that there is more love than only Rosaline and he showed him by giving him the invitation to the party that he meets Juliet. Mercutio, a carefree and a jokester made him unique. He makes the Montague family united and made them laugh. He makes everything look small so they won’t be scared or lose hope.

            Though Mercutio’s carelessness and joking was the cause of his death. He took his jokes too far and his life experiences took over him like the speech about dreams. He didn’t offer peace because of his arrogance got into him. He didn’t stop it with his jokes even when it was troubling times and died because he thought he was great. He showed Romeo this too and even nurse pointed it out by saying he was handsome but his characteristic needed improvement.

            If Mercutio didn’t fight Tybalt, then he wouldn’t have died and Romeo and Juliet would have been together happily. Or if Mercutio weren’t close to Romeo then Romeo would have done the right thing and let everything alone.

            Mercutio, friend of Romeo did bad things but made it up with his good deeds. He and Romeo can never be split up because they were brothers. Maybe Romeo being banished was Mercutio’s fault. Maybe the reason Romeo met Juliet was because of Mercutio.

romeo and juliet outline

thesis: Mercutio was a very big influence to Romeo and was a major part in the story both good and bad.

Outline

Paragraph 1: talk about how Mercutio helped Romeo in a lot of ways especially finding Juliet.

Paragraph 2: show how Mercutio was a bad person too and the cause of Romeo being punished.

Paragraph 3: sum up everything and talk about the way Mercutio was a big factor to the story.

Reading Response

in the book Memos from Purgatory by Harlan Ellison it talked about the time that he had in the first book Web of City which was about street gangs and crime, but he got research from actually joining a street gang in Red Hook which at the time he said that it was the most dangerous place in Brooklyn. So he made this book to show people what actually happened.

It was surprising to see Harlan to do this because he just came back from a different state and he is willing to lose everything again. He was working in the docks and saw that the employees had guns which he didn't know why. He then got interested that he to see the gangs that were attacking the docks. When he went to a store, he noticed that the clerk was scared and he was very surprised to see the gang in that store. He wanted to impress them so he buys them all coke a cola. It showed that he wanted to be someone different that what he does will always end up boring because you do it over and over again. It looked like he wanted to have some excitement in his life.

When he joined the gang and they accepted him, he was excited, he felt accomplished, he was doing something where they accepted him and he was part of the most dangerous gangs. This was the part where everything he did would matter the most because rival gangs knew about him because they saw him in the docks and the weapons he had access so they even more dangerous than ever. The cops were trying to look for them so they can make all the gangs in New York go to jail and make the streets safer. He was also one of the top gang members too so he couldn't have just leave them like that. He made the gang stronger.

After the police caught him because they found a gun a knife, he went to jail and the gang tried to save him and they did. It showed the loyalty and how powerful he was in the gang. After that incident he thought it was time to leave because he thought he made them powerful and wanted to do something good. He then joined the army.  

Reading Response

In Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare it showed how big rivalries are really are because of the history of the two people, what the person did to the other person or other things. It showed how even if you are enemies that you can still be friends or not be enemies at all. That even the smallest or youngest people in a side can really make a difference.

In the beginning of the book, Scene 1 it showed how the simplest things can make a huge problem and that might be because of the time period it is. Or it can be about how much these people don't like each other because of the history of these two families might go way back. The book also showed that both the parents of both families really care about their children. Capulet has lost all of his children and believes that Juliet would be the special one he has been waiting for, that Juliet would have a happy life. Montague only has one child which is Romeo which is why they care for Romeo  a lot. When it comes to family, these two fathers and mothers leave out the rivalry for they care about their children.

In Act 2 it showed the love between these two people. Juliet wasn't first interested, but then she was starting to realize that Romeo is nice and when they started to know each other more, it was harder and harder to separate these two. It showed how they were building their love and if no one couldn't stop them, they wouldn't separate them. When Romeo was going to be banished and said that he was going to kill himself, it showed how much they loved each other. Juliet did the same thing because what Romeo did was bad for killing Tybalt, but then she looked at the innocence of Romeo because no matter what she did love him.

Reading Response

In the book Bec by Darren Shan showed how you can do a lot of sacrifices, do the right choice and be so close in accomplishing the goal but there will be times where you still lose and you don't know why. The girl Bec was with her tribe and were fighting demons that were everywhere, fearing that her tribe was going to be destroyed, she goes with a group of people that want to destroy the demons.

Lord Loss gave Bec the Ka Gash which is a key that has the power to destroy the demon world gives Bec the power without knowing. Yet Bec still couldn't beat the demons even with the power she had. I think that Lord Loss wanted to give them false hope or to make a statement showing even with his help they aren't  as strong as him. Bec dies at the end with everyone else too because of Lord Loss kills them all and makes Bec die of a slow death.

They did everything they could have done. Maybe there are times when bad actually beats good even with strong powers. Though Lord Loss showed everyone that he is the strongest, but what was strange was why didn't he take back the power he lost to Bec? The part that gave that destroyed their plan was when Drust's brother Brud was the one doing all of this so Christianity wouldn't spread. This surprised me the most because he killed over 1000 people just for this? The greed he has just for his reasons.

It destroyed everyone because his brother was waiting for them and they outnumbered them. There was only 3 of them left. At the end Lord Loss said he wanted Bec to destroy all of this so he can still kill. He is the only demon in the whole demonata universe where he has a brain or thoughts. 

Reading Response

In the book Slawter it showed how people would do anything to accomplish their goal or try to be famous. In the book Grubbs with his uncle Dervish were invited to a movie role and they were supposed to use their magic in the movie to make it look realistic. Grubbs finds dead bodies all over the storage room and he even finds his friends in the pile too. He sees that they can't leave the place and also sees that magic is available which is very suspicious to him because that means there are demons.

He has too many problems and things going on his head to see who his real enemy is which was the person they trust the whole time, the director. She let all the demons in and killed everyone, even her. They tricked her and all she wanted was to have the best movie in history. This was the part where I saw people would do anything to be famous to be one of the greats for the second time. To release all evil on just one movie and that you get recognition? Was this a showing of no escape for Grubbs because everything he does or goes always have to do with demons and him fighting them.

Grubbs has a lot of pressure too. He has to fight an army of demons, try not to be a werewolf and keep Earth safe from all of this stuff. He is a kid but he is handling the situation good too. After what happened to him and his family, he doesn't have anyone to look after him or he doesn't have no family. He has nothing to lose, all he has is revenge to Lord Loss and can't wait to kill him for what he done with his family. He has to prepare himself for future meetings with Lord Loss and face bigger numbers of demons.

reading response

The book Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson showed the work of how the president was assassinated. It took them a week to two weeks to find the man who assassinated the president and the people who worked with John. It brought chaos to the whole North and brought fear to the South as well as the murderer was going to the South where he hoped that the war would be fought again, but it didn't do nothing like that, instead it made Lincoln a hero to the North and people in the South thought of him as a innocent man.

John Wilkes Booth had a great advantage because he was an actor so he knew how to lie and act casually. He had mercenaries with him and had people also to aid him as well. He tricked his way to escaping by telling people lies about his trip to the South and told them lies about why the North was coming. When all the people found out about this, everyone was shocked about the way he did it. John shot him in the back of the head and Lincoln didn't die quick, it took him 3 to 4 days becuase he was brain dead.

It was interesting to see John be the leader of this whole plan and it was also sad too because it ended a very happy time when the Confederacy was lost and the whole nation was reunited. It was a quick end to the happiness. The only person who actually helped John was Lewis Powell. He almost killed the secratary, but he also damaged his daughter and son, his servant too. Everyone else left too because they were scared about being caught.

When every worker who helped John heard about Lewis and how John killed Lincoln, they were are scared and suprised. Lewis was brutal to the whole nation and John outdone himself. He was very respected everywhere no matter which side he went with. No one cared if he hated Lincoln or not or he supported slavery. He was a great actor that threw out evrything he had. Money, home, slaves, servants, all that he had was thrown away for this act. The loyalty he had was great.

Lincoln who freed the slaves was a hero-only to the African Americans. After the assassination though people started to think he was great as George Washington and like that he was a national hero. Even Southeners felt sorry for him and his family because he risked everything for this war and a lot was on the line. He was starting to be the president who was courages and brave and people were seeing the works he has done when he was president. All because of what John did.

Non Fiction Reading Response

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/31/world/middleeast/syria-says-it-was-hit-by-strikes-from-israeli-planes.html?hp&_r=0
Siria Says It Was Hit by Israeli Planes by Isabel Kershner

Wars have scared people all over the world. The fear it brings to people and the civilians are part of it no matter what. It scares people to the point where they believe it is right to attck for the sake of their protection, and to prevent destruction in their country. Syria says something hit them and no one knows for sure that it is real or not. To show that they aren't the only ones in the war or to lie and not be the ones being pointed at for the 2 year war. Air strikes are everywhere making people believe that there aren't any place safe and no where to go.

No one knows who fault is it for this war to happen, but Syria is saying that they are innocent because they did no harm to Israel to even airstrike them in their place. “The weakening governance in neighboring countries that heralds greater exposure to hostile activity.” This is what Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said that they are the main problem because they are the reason why this war hasn't stop. All they want is peace and not to end bad with a war destroying their home turf.

Some say that the aircraft was going to hit a truck convoy that was going to hit another country. “Israeli warplanes violated our airspace at dawn, bombing directly one of the research scientific centers in the Jimraya district in rural Damascus,” This is what the government said about the attck, but they said nothing about the convoy. Both countries are fighting to keep their border safe from the other countries but if both countries keep using airstikes then both countries and other countries involved with this will be destroyed.

reading response Alex Rider

I have finished the book Alex Rider: Point Blank, it was about a spy Alex who was sent to a mission to find out what was happening to kids who were being kidnapped. He goes to the mountain where the kids are being captive and it turns out that it is a school. There are seven kids that all look alike but he doesn't realize until he warns them and the kids don't care. The professor who teaches them gets Alex and ties him on the table. He tells Alex that they are clones of him, but all have the same intelligence as him so they will become the smartest people in the world. He also made a clone of Alex saying they will all dissect Alex and replace him with the clone so no one will suspect of anything. He tells Alex how he wants revenge for all of the people that hurt him and killed him because he shows that he is a clone made by the real him. The CIA help Alex escape and Alex destroys all the clones but leaves the clone of him because he thought he destroyed it too. The clone tells Alex as Alex leaves that he can never die and will kill him when he has the chance to do it.

Alex is still a child, but no one knows that. They think of him as a adult who can handle everything. He has done what no man has ever done: save the world two times. He is very rich and his whole family is about spies, one of the best spies ever. Alex has the strength of an adult, the mobility of an adult, but not the mind of an adult where they can handle it. He has missed a lot of school which means he is losing his friends and he is being lonely and scared every time he is in a mission. He can't do what a 14 year old kid can do. Play video games, be with his friends or even go to school because he is in bad condition for all of these missions he is in.

On the one hand, Alex can be famous and be the best hero of the world, or on the other hand Alex can die, lose his all of his friends and no one would know who he was or what he did. Alex wants to be someone, but he knows know one will know who he did if he stays with M16. He is someone when he is with his friends. He is Alex Rider, an ordinary boy who has good friends. He knows the risks of the army and doesn't want to end up as his family dying without saying a last "goodbye." Alex doesn't know what to do.