Reflection of Our Year in ELA

Dear 811 and Ms.Galang,
          I want to start off this letter by saying thank you. I didn't know what to expect walking into Ms.Galang's classroom for the first time, accompanied by my brand new homeroom, but as the year has past I am now confident that every time I walk into that classroom I will not fail to enjoy myself. To me, having the reassurance that everyday will be a good one when I walk into school is just so amazing and I know that I owe that all to my class and of course to Ms.Galang. This year in ELA has really enlightened me on so many topics, from children books to shakespeare, and I'm so thankful for everything that I have learned.
          One unit that I really enjoyed was the poetry unit. I have never really enjoyed poetry and have always had trouble writing it until now. When we learned about all of the different poem structures I was truly shocked due to the fact that my whole life I had only been writing free verse poems that had a rhyme at the end of every sentence. After gaining information on multiple types of poems, rhyme schemes, rhythm, and literary devices I decided to try poetry again, with an open mind. Soon, everything from nature to the food I ate at lunch became an inspiration and a new idea for a poem and I felt free to express myself in the simplest of terms, like through a haiku, or through the complicated yet beautiful sonnet. Then, deep into our poetry unit, I was informed that I was to read my poem at City College with two of my other friends in the class. I was pleasantly surprised by that news considering I had never gotten to do anything like that before. I felt like everything that I had learned in class was helping me accomplish things I never thought I would.
          Another unit I had fun doing was book clubs. I don't think I had ever done something so creative for a bookclub until Ella, Jane, Olivia and I decided to write a song about our book. Doing that not only helped us understand our book better, it also helped us have a positive outlook on school work and made the project enjoyable for all of us. Having this bookclub together was a great way to share our ideas, questions and assessments of the book and I can honestly say I looked forward to every book club meeting that we had.
          Reminiscing on this whole year and writing this letter has been harder than I thought because it's hard to find the right words to express how thankful I am for this class and the whole year we've had together. I feel so lucky to have been placed with such a smart, talented, kind and overall amazing group of students and I will never forget the bonds we have made as a class. I wish you all the best of luck in high school and I know that you all will exceed any standards set for you in high school and beyond. Thanks for a great year, I'll miss you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) <3

Performance Reflection

          For the Shakespeare performance project, i was Lady Capulet in act four scene five. Lady Capulet played a mostly minor role in the story until the climax of the story when Tybalt died and Juliet was rushed into marriage. Act four scene five portrayed Nurse and the Capulets finding out about Juliet's presumably real death and their reactions to it. While acting out this scene i really wanted to express the loss and shock that Lady Capulet felt after hearing the news about her daughter's death. I also wanted to express her drastic change of emotions from the beginning of the scene to the end. In the beginning of the scene, Lady Capulet felt anxious about the wedding and just wanted to get it over with because she knew how unhappy Juliet was, however she went from anxious to very distressed and hurt when she discovers Juliet.
          I felt that my group's final performance went pretty well and that we made good use of props and were confident in our lines. However, there were a few things we could have improved on. For example, I feel that if we had practiced feeding off of each other's emotions while we rehearsed, the scene would have been more intense in our final performance. Overall I am proud of my group and I believe that our annotating and analyzing of our script helped us improve our understanding of the scene greatly.
          Through this unit of Romeo and Juliet, I have learned many things. However, the greatest skill I developed while doing this lesson was connecting the story to real life to develop a deeper understanding of the book. Getting the chance to act out our scene really made the book come to life. As i was memorizing my lines and annotating them, I found myself truly understanding all of the characters and their emotions in the scene in addition to the character I was acting out. Also, I learned to channel emotions that I was experiencing in my everyday life into my performance. For example, Iwas able to channel my anxiety about the regent exam into the anxiety that Lady Capulet was feeling on Juliet's wedding day. I can use these skills in high school english class next time we are assigned a book to read and have to take specific notes on characters and their emotions because I now feel confident in my ability to analyze characters.

Summer Reading List

Although I haven't recieved a summer reading list from my highschool yet, these are a few of the books that I have been interesting in reading or that have been recommended to me. 

- Little Women 

- Paper Towns 

- The Mysterious Benedict Society Series

- The Girl on the Train 

- The Book Theif 

Lady Capulet POV Poe

Never have I thought this day would come

Death shalt have fallen upon me before young Juliet

Why has God lain upon me this glum

Her life coming to a close like sunset 

Just before her wedding day, this family has been cursed

Her heart has frozen like flowers in winter's frost

This terrible news has caused our happiness to be dispersed 

This sudden tragedy has caused many opportunities to be lost 

I will cease to forget your radiance and beauty

And wish I had understood all of your pain

Being a mother wasn't always my greatest duty

But I regret that now, hence your life has had much bane

My dear Juliet will soon be sent to lay with our elders forever 

And though she now lays still and silent, every memory of her we will treasure 

Reading Response 

               As you begin to reach your teen years and you receive more responsibilities, having control over your life and the decisions you make is very important. The main character of the novel Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a very good portrayal of someone who is beginning to lose control over her own life. After visiting her Dad in Albuquerque, Kristina starts to come into counter with things that she has never had to deal with before and from there struggles to obtain the power in her own life. 

              One example of something that has power over Kristina is drugs. During her visit with her Dad, Kristina falls for a boy that gets her into drugs, and from there, she can't stop. In the text, Kristina states, "Contentment turned into repetition. But now nothing felt right, seemed proper, but getting away, getting crazy, getting high." This quote shows how drugs have changed Kristina's values and how every drugs she takes only leads her to wanting more. Another example from the text is that after finding her Mom's new credit card, Kristina states, "I did think twice about using that Visa...but it was so easy, like fate had directly mailed it to me...Roberto (a drug dealer) wouldn't deal less than half-ounce quantities. That much was relatively cheap. And visa payed for it all.' This quote shows me how Kristina's drug abuse has even brought her to stealing her mother credit card because the need for drugs was so urgent. 

               Another example of something that controls Kristina is Bree. Bree is an alternative persona that Kristina has created for herself. Bree is the risk taker, the brave, the fearless girl who isn't afraid to make a move when Kristina can't. For example, "It seems to Kristina, you gotta be crazy. To open your windows, invite in the demons, call Bree." Kristina also states, "Kristina crumbled. I called for Bree." These two quotes show that when Kristina is in times of trouble, or needs to get wild and risky, Bree is called into the picture to do things that Kristina wouldn't normally be capable of. From there, Bree is in control and makes her own decisions for Kristina's life. 

               My last example something that has power of Kristina's life is boys. After Kristina visits her Dad and meets a boy, she begins to take on a few more of her own boys at home, but sometimes she lets them get the better of her. For example, "My shirt tore open 'Wait.' (Kristina said) 'I've waited for weeks, so put up and shut up!' (Brendan said) Kisses segued to bites. Bruises. Pain rippled through my body. 'Brendan, please stop!' (Kristina said) 'No, you promised! You damn little tease!' (Brendan said)" This quote showed that on only the second date between Kristina and Brendan, Brendan is taking control of Kristina's life and trying to take something very valuable away from her, but she doesn't have the power to stop it from happening. 

              As you can see from Kristina's own experiences, there are many things that one can run into while growing up that can start to take control of them unwillingly. This book has taught that to keep this from happening, you should always surround yourself with a good group of people who will influence you in a positive way and not make you give into peer pressure or other activities that make you uncomfortable. 

Authors Note

               Bullying is an unavoidable aspect of growing up, whether you're the one being bullied, you are witnessing someone being bullied or you're the bully yourself. Kids are being bullied, picked on or excluded in or even out of school, even for some things that they can't help, for example, how they look, dress or act. Although bullying is a major issue, there are also major solutions that are coming into play. IN schools, kids are now being taught how to deal with being a witness or victim of bullying through assemblies or books/pamphlets or even simple talks with their teachers or guidance counselors, learning how to make a change in their everyday environment. 

               In school I have been both the witness and victim of bullying and both have proven very difficult to cope with. It is sometimes very hard to face your fears and speak up for yourself or what you think is right because you don't want to cause more troubles, so it can be easier to just back down. People often resort to that too, choosing to be a shadow instead of speaking up, however kids need to find a way to feel comfortable in school and find their voice by doing anything by taking to a trusted adult or watching videos online about how to cope with bullying. 

               My hope for kids who read this book is that it will show them that there is always someone willing to help and that you don't need to spend your days unhappy because of people putting you down. The flaws that people pick on you for are the ones that you should learn to embrace, and that you shouldn't let people put you down for things that you can't change. I want to show that there is a solution to any problem your having, you just need to out in a little effort to find it. 

The Maze Runner

by: James Dashner

Question: Who has the power in the text?

Thesis: In this book I feel that there is a hierarchy within the glade because there are different groups of people who have control over the glade and its people, each group more powerful than the last.

Keepers- In the glade, keeping order is the number one rule. Part of everyone keeping order includes each glader having a job in the glade, so therefore there are people called 'Keepers' who have control over each  area of the glade. For example, during Thomas's trial, Minho stands up and makes a scene by saying, "I nominate Thomas to be keeper of the runners." Even though this is a crazy request, It is acceptable that Minho suggests it because he is in total control of the runners and can do things like that even if they are crazy. This shows that keepers can get away with a great amount of stuff because they have control over a whole area of the glade.

The council- In the glade, there is also a council which is made up of every keeper and also Newt and Alby who are very powerful and seniors members of the glade. The council is more powerful than an individual keeper because as a group, they decide things like punishment for the gladers. For example, after Thomas had broken many rules but had also saved lives, he was put on trial by the council to decide his fate. Even though many gladers wanted Thomas to be rewarded for his duty, the council overrun what every glader wanted and ended up putting him in jail for a day as punishment because a few council members were suspicious of his actions. This showed how even though the majority of the gladers wanted Thomas to be rewarded for his actions, he ended up being punished because the councils vote means more than anyone else's.

The Creators- Even thought the creators don't live in the glade, they seem to hold the most power of what is happening within the glade. Theyre behind everything in the glade, from what happens in the maze, who is sent up into the glade each month and what every last griever is doing. For example, at the end of the book, when one of the creators comes with Gally into the glade, she vaguely talks about how putting everyone into the maze was an elaborate plan the whole Time, "'Everything has gone according to plan Mr.Newton...One day you'll all be grateful for what we've done for you'" the creator States in reference in putting the kids into the maze. These lines showed that all along every creator had full control and power of what was going on in the maze because the maze itself was part of an experiment and the gladers were just lab rats.

Argument Essay- Draft

            As children get older, they are beginning to be exposed to the imperfections and issues in our world. Even though these issues may be scary or threatening to some, sooner or later children need to learn about them and what better way to learn about some of these issues than good literature. The book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is a coming of age novel that discusses social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, suicide, and other issues that take place in real life. Many parents feel that this book should be banned because the content is too mature for middle schoolers, however this book shouldn’t be banned because children have the right to be exposed to this literature and learn more about these topics if chosen to do so.

            One reason why this book shouldn’t be banned from classrooms is because students can be exposed to much more inappropriate content through the internet and it is their decision whether or not they want to have access to this content. For example, literacy teacher, Lynn Bruno, states “Like it or not, your daughters and sons in eighth grade have heard the word blowjob… What they are exposed to in terms of dialogue, in terms of media…I don’t like it any more than you do, but its (out) there.” This quote shows that a lot of the content found in the book, children may have already been exposed to because it can easily be found online or found in peoples everyday conversations. Another example is that “Per the school’s (Hadley Junior High) literacy curriculum, students could choose to ready a book and put it down at any time.” This shows that no student is being forced to be exposed to this content and that if they are curious in the topic, they can choose to continue reading it without having to ban the book from classrooms altogether.

            Another reason why this book shouldn’t be banned is because it teaches many life lessons and can be a helpful guide to students going through issues similar to what the characters go through in the book. For example, literacy teacher Lynn Bruno states, “Books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower are valuable because of the lessons students can learn from characters’ decisions in difficult situations.” Bruno also argues that, “While many Hadley (Junior High) students have supportive and caring parents…there are students facing issues similar to those depicted in the book and don’t have supportive parents to look to for guidance.” These quotes show that this book can actually be a positive influence for students growing up who don’t have adults for look to for guidance. It can supply knowledge on mistakes and challenges and how to overcome or deal with them.

            It is important to acknowledge that some of the content written about in this story may be too mature or questionable for kids in middle school. A parent from Hadley Junior High states, “I didn’t want to have this conversation with my daughter in eighth grade…our innocent child has already been tainted.” This shows that parents feel that by reading this book, their children are being exposed to things they are too young to handle. However, children do need to be enlightened on these issues, as they are present in our world and this is the age where kids start to become responsible enough to handle it.  

            By banning this book and others similar to it, children are being deprived of knowledge of certain social issues in our world that they are old enough to be exposed to. Children should be indulged in these topics so that they will gain knowledge that is crucial to growing up through an interesting and accurate source.

Table of Contents

·      Project option #2- list of social issues and an elaboration on one . . . . . page 1

·      Project option #4- reading response to a social issue in the news . . . . . page 2-3

·      Project option #5- write an original literary piece about a social issue . . . . . page 4

Social Awareness Project- #2

Social Issues List:

·      Age Discrimination- at home

·      Death Penalty- in my Up Front Magazine at school

·      Illegal Immigration- in social studies class at school

·      Bullying/Discrimination- at school

·      Alcoholism- at local bar in my neighborhood

 Elaboration on Alcoholism

            I have lived in Windsor Terrace my whole life and after 13 years I have come to feel very safe in my house and in my whole neighborhood. However, there is a very popular bar right on the corner of my block and quite recently I had witnessed something a bit frightening happen there. It was around 12:00 am when suddenly I heard bottles breaking, much yelling and police sirens. It all happened very quickly but a few men strongly under the influence had started to fight each other in a drunken rage, right across the street from my house. This experience was a bit unsettling for me and made me feel slightly unsafe.

            I believe that this experience was wrong and unfair for my community and I for many reasons. For example, my neighborhood is full of families with children and adults of many ages and to have to hear and see this fighting caused by alcohol can be frightening for any age group. Hearing this disruption can cause people to feel unsafe in their neighborhood, which is a very negative thing to feel and something should be done about it. Something that can help to improve the situation is to put an earlier time limit on the bar so that the people at the bar wouldn’t cause disruption to as many people. Something else that can be done is moving the bar location entirely so that it isn’t disrupting families.

Social Awareness Project- #4

               In the article To Kill or Not to Kill, the author, Patricia Smith, is trying to portray the conflict of the death penalty around the world. After very recent executions by the lethal injection, new debate arose around the death penalty due to the fact that many Americans were disturbed by seeing the executions take place. The author goes on to discuss many other unsettling examples of the death penalty and how many things could go wrong if we were to keep turning to it, for example, taking the life of an innocent person and not being able to change anything. The author has strongly sided against the death penalty and is trying to teach readers how it is the wrong form of punishment.

               One way the author shows the readers that the death penalty is wrong is by telling of all the different methods of execution to give an example of how disturbing the death penalty is. For example, there is a whole section of the article that tells in depth about how the Hanging, Electric Chair, Lethal Injection, Gas Chamber, Burning/Shooting and other obscure methods work to kill criminals and exactly how many criminals each method has exterminated. This part of the text helped to paint a picture of every quite sickening method that prisoners can be killed and how it can be inapt even for a criminal who has done something very wrong. In the article, another way the author opposed the death penalty is by showing that sometimes it can go wrong, not only just killing their victim but also harshly torturing them on the way. For example, the text states " “Everyone watching the execution of Clayton Lockett last April knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong. Lockett was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and had been given an injection when he started kicking, twitching, and then writhing and moaning in agony.” This piece of text showed that no mercy is given to prisoners by their executers even when something so horrible like this happens. This quote used by the author can have a strong effect on the reader because it shows how harsh and brutal the death penalty can be and can draw even sympathy out of someone for the victim.

               Another example of how the author argues against the death penalty is that in the text, the author talks about how the death penalty can actually be viewed as a very hypocritical punishment. For example, "Opponents say that killing is wrong no matter who is doing it, even the government, and that it's too final a punishment in a world where mistakes can happen." This piece of evidence made me think that people are being punished by death after committing crimes such as murder which ironic in a sense because regardless of who is doing the killing, the crime at hand is really being punished with only more crime, which is unfair.

               Before reading this article, I didn't really think much of the death penalty because I felt that if someone was sentenced to death, it had to have been for a good reason. However, after reading this article, the author has able to gear my opinions towards being against the death penalty. I realized how sick and disturbing the ways criminals were killed and it made me feel that no matter the crime, nobody deserves to be put through torture like this, as many mistakes can occur. The whole death penalty itself is very risky and unsettling and there are plenty of other methods that could be more suitable as punishment.

Social Awareness Project- #5

“What About Fair?” by: Sophia Stelboum

Should any kid

Have to be put down

Just because of their looks or interests

What about fair?

Should any kid

Have to come home crying

Because they feel they aren’t good enough

What about fair?

Should any kid

Have to feel the need to change

Because of standards set by their peers

What about fair?

It’s not fair

Reflection

            The social issue that inspired this poem was bullying. Every single day, kids are unfairly judged by their peers and are casted out because of their personality, looks, interests, grades and any other aspects that do not fit the standards that society has set for them. No kid deserves to feel that they need to change to receive anybody’s acceptance because the people that don’t accept them are the ones they do not need in their life. Bullying someone can cause permanent damage and insecurities that last a lifetime. It is truly wrong and unfair to put someone through that is what I hoped to portray in my poem.

Nonfiction Blog Post

               In the article To Kill or Not to Kill, the author, Patricia Smith, is trying to portray the conflict of the death penalty around the world. After very recent executions by the lethal injection, new debate arose around the death penalty due to the fact that many Americans were disturbed by seeing the executions take place. The author goes on to discuss many other unsettling examples of the death penalty and how many things could go wrong if we were to keep turning to it, for example, taking the life of an innocent person and not being able to change anything. The author has strongly sided against the death penalty and is trying to teach readers how it is the wrong form of punishment.
               One way the author shows the readers that the death penalty is wrong is by telling of all the different methods of execution to give an example of how disturbing the death penalty is. For example, there is a whole section of the article that tells in depth about how the Hanging, Electric Chair, Lethal Injection, Gas Chamber, Burning/Shooting and other obscure methods work to kill criminals and exactly how many criminals each method has exterminated. This part of the text helped to paint a picture of every quite sickening method that prisoners can be killed and how it can be inapt even for a criminal who has done something very wrong. In the article, another way the author opposed the death penalty is by showing that sometimes it can go wrong, not only just killing their victim but also harshly torturing them on the way. For example, the text states " “Everyone watching the execution of Clayton Lockett last April knew instantly that something had gone terribly wrong. Lockett was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and had been given an injection when he started kicking, twitching, and then writhing and moaning in agony.” This piece of text showed that no mercy is given to prisoners by their executers even when something so horrible like this happens. This quote used by the author can have a strong effect on the reader because it shows how harsh and brutal the death penalty can be and can draw even sympathy out of someone for the victim.
Another example of how the author argues against the death penalty is that in the text, the author talks about how the death penalty can actually be viewed as a very hypocritical punishment. For example, "Opponents say that killing is wrong no matter who is doing it, even the government, and that it's too final a punishment in a world where mistakes can happen." This piece of evidence made me think that people are being punished by death after committing crimes such as murder which ironic in a sense because regardless of who is doing the killing, the crime at hand is really being punished with only more crime which is unfair.
  Before reading this article, I didn't really think much of the death penalty because I felt that if someone was sentenced to death, it had to have been for a good reason. However, after reading this article, the author has able to gear my opinions towards being against the death penalty. I realized how sick and disturbing the ways criminals were killed and it made me feel that no matter the crime, nobody deserves to be put through torture like this, as many mistakes can occur. The whole death penalty itself is very risky and unsettling and there are plenty of other methods that could be more suitable as punishment.

Trip Reflection

               After going on this trip, I learned a lot about society and how they deal with their rights. Regardless of the issue, people have found ways to fight for what thy believe is fair in sometimes violent and sometimes non-violent ways. After learning about different ways of protest, I feel that people should be able to protest without violence and get a chance to speak their opinions. This way, there would be less conflict and more of a chance to come to a compromise or solution. Seeing this exhibit also made me upset because I had gotten to learn more in depth about how hard things were for certain groups of people. People like gay people and black people were discriminated and segregated for things that they couldn't help and also shut out when they tried to stand up for themselves.

               However, I do believe that protests make an impact and influence many people. Something so big, loud and meaningful can cause people to have a realization about how people are treated and they have helped peoples causes in the past. After seeing this exhibit, I also began to wonder many things about protests and how they work. What happens after every protest? How is word spread about protests? How are protests organized? Even thought the process of a protest seems complicated, hopefully every protest turns out to be worth it in the end.

             

To Kill a Mockingbird

by: Harper Lee

               As you read any book, the author is constantly dropping little indirect hints at something. Maybe by mentioning a location multiple times or the same or having a character listen to the same song throughout the story. Either way, these little hints are just symbols, or an object that represents a deeper meaning in the story than what is portrayed. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee, the symbol that stood out most to me was actually the title of the book itself. I believe that the title is a symbol because it connects directly to the aspect of becoming mature and taking away innocence in the story, where the "Mockingbird" represents innocence and "To Kill" represents the taking away of innocence.

               One example of the title connecting to "killing innocence" in the story is that in part two of the story when Tom Robinson is falsely accused of rape and then murdered, Mr. Underwood describes it as "The senseless slaughter of songbirds." This is because Tom, who is innocent, is being punished for no reason. This showed that Tom Robinson represents the Mockingbird in the title and that his death and punishment represents the Kill in the title. 

               Another way that the title connects to maturity and taking away naiveté is that in the story during Christmas, Jem and Scout receive guns as gifts. As Jem and Scout are being taught to shoot the guns, Ms. Maudie says, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but...sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." This quote showed that as the kids grew up and received very mature gifts that took away their innocence, they shouldn't be killing other very innocent creatures because it is wrong. 

               The last example of how the title represents taking away purity and innocence is that after Atticus decides not to take Boo Radley, Scout tells Atticus "It'd be sort of like shooting a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" This is because even thought Boo Radley starts off as maybe being a threatening character, as he becomes more of a real figure throughout the story, it is realized that he has only been protecting the kids the whole time and leaving very mysterious gifts for them. Like killing a mockingbird, arresting Boo would serve no useful purpose, and would only harm someone who never caused any trouble. So over the course of the novel, killing mockingbirds is associated with the sinful, the pointless, and the cruel.
               As you can see, the meaning of the title was subtly incorporated throughout the story, portraying different scenes where characters innocence was killed or they were harshly punished or accused of things they did not do. Just like a symbol in a book, there can also be things in your everyday life that actually have a lot of meaning. All you need to do is take a closer look at the things that are right in front of you and you may find yourself learning a lot. 

               

Eleanor and Park by: Rainbow Rowell

In the novel Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, the story of Eleanor and Parks unique and unanticipated relationship is unfolded with many twists and turns. While Park is a seemingly very shy and simple character, Eleanor is quite the opposite. Eleanor fits under the archetype of the out casted, misunderstood new girl in school that nobody truly knows or gets to know except for Park.

One example that Eleanor fits under this archetype is that after Eleanor shows up on the bus going to school for the first time, she is immediately judged and disliked due to the fact that she doesn't look like everybody else. Her clothes aren't considered "trendy," in fact quite the opposite, and her out-of-control red hair and weight earned her many nicknames such as "big red" and "rag head." After seeing Eleanor for the first time Park was in shock, "She was dressed like...like she wanted people to look at her. Or maybe she didn't get what a mess she was." he thought to himself. This shows that Eleanor was quickly out casted by her new peers seeing that she stood out from everyone else right away, and not in a good way. 

            Another example that proves that Eleanor out casted and misunderstood is that in the story, Eleanor is constantly bullied at school for many reasons. One of the most common causes of the bullying is her wardrobe. However, her peers may think that she chooses to dress in patched up jeans and men’s sweaters and shirts because she is a strange girl, when really she has no other option. During just another day in gym class, Eleanor has a rude awakening when she discovers that all of her clothing has been dumped into and unsuccessfully flushed down the toilet. Instead of being able to just throw out these clothes though, she grudgingly keeps them because she knew that these clothes, even though soaked in toilet water, were quite valuable to her because for someone like Eleanor who had to share one room with four other siblings and brush her teeth with her finger and salt, these toilet-water clothes were a privilege. This shows that Eleanor is treated terribly for things that are out of her power to fix.

            My last example that shows that Eleanor is an outsider is that she is not only rejected by her peers, but by her own family as well. Even though Eleanor did used to have an alliance with her siblings against their stepfather and a strong connection with her mother, that had all been put on hiatus after she was kicked out of the house and left with family friend’s for over a year. “Eleanor had spent so much time thinking about what it would be like to come home…but when Eleanor walked in the house, it was like her siblings didn’t even recognize her.” This showed me that even Eleanor’s own family didn’t even seem to appreciate her homecoming and that she was an outcast to them.

            In conclusion, it is clear that Eleanor fits the archetype of the outcast in this story because of the way she is treated both by her family at home and her peers at school.  She may seem like just another quirky new girl, but she does have her own story and baggage hidden under her red-hair and ripped jeans, only nobody knows. 

               

Everyday By: David Levithan Response 

By: Sophia Stelboum 811

               So how far would you really go for love? Probably not as far as main character, A, in the novel "Everyday" by David Levithan. A's life is incomparably different to others because of the fact that everyday of his life so far, he has woken up in a completely new body than as the day before. However, though A is always different on the outside, his/her thoughts, feelings, and entire persona remains the same. As well has having his/her own thoughts, A also has access to all of his host's thoughts, feelings and any other information about their life. A tries to lead a simple life, regardless of these circumstances, and not get involved with his host's life until one individual, Rhiannon, changes everything. After a day spent with her, A instantly starts to fall quite hard for Rhiannon. As the story continues, their love grows stronger yet harder to maintain as A is never the same person twice. This doesn't at all cause A to give up hope for his love with Rhiannon, which shows how much of a dedicated and hard-working person A really is.

               One example of A's dedication is that after he meets Rhiannon, he stops caring about the person who's life he has control of and will screw up things for them just to get to see her. For example, in the story after A has met Rhiannon for the first time, he finds himself in someones body that is not too far away from her and decides to take advantage. However, it becomes a little extreme when A drives all the way to the party of a stranger, lies about his true identity to everyone he meets, and then to top it off leaves the body of his host asleep in his car on the side of the road to wake up the next morning terrified and confused. This shows that A would even risk the life of others just to see Rhiannon. 

               Another example that shows how A is very devoted person is that no matter how far away A is from Rhiannon, he almost always makes the effort to go and see her unless he/she is in a completely impossible situation. For example, every time that A wakes up in a new body, one of the first thing that he accesses information to in his host's head is how far away he is from Rhiannon and how he will get to her. Once he figures this out, he finds a way to get out of whatever his host has planned for the day and makes the trip to Rhiannon. Even if he only has to walk a couple of blocks to her or drive 5 hours, A makes the commute every time. This lead me to believe even more that A did not care what it would take as long as he got to see Rhiannon that day. 

                My last example of why I feel that A is a very committed character is that even though having any sort of relationship with Rhiannon has proved to be near impossible and problematic in many ways, A does not stop pushing to come to some sort of resolution with her. For example, even tho Rhiannon repeatedly tells A that she doesn't want anything romantic with him/her, that doesn't stop A from making plans with Rhiannon, constantly dropping his plans to visit her and sending out countless emails to her. Rhiannon always finds herself not being able to resist due to A's devotion to her. This shows me that A will stop at nothing and continue to fight for this love no matter how difficult it is.

               In summation, it is clear that A is very committed and persevering person and if he/she wants something, he/she will cease to give it up without fighting for it. Even though A's issues were unique and unlike any other individual's, that didn't stop him from trying to come up with solutions that would let him and Rhiannon be together. Throughout the story, A never once gives up hope which portrays a very powerful moral to this story's reader. After reading "Everyday," I am now very inspired to fight for anything that believe in if it is important enough to me. I have learned that I am lucky to be in a situation very different from A's and that I shouldn't take my life for granted when A is having problems much more severe than my own. If someone like A can fight for love, than anyone else who really wants it can too.