Responce Post: Disrespecting Child of "It"

In addition to Rokhsor's post, I totally disagree with you to a degree that you won't even understand. What I understand is that you are basing your opinions upon your group not listening to you and your questions concerning the book. I wonder why you can't just annotate your ideas and questions and come up with the answer your self. Don't get me wrong, you have great questions and concerns about the book, and yes your group should have been focusing more on the main meaning of the book.

Wow,Child Called "It" is so boring. My entire group talked about was the abuse. Not even once did we get into the actual meaning of the book. Like, what exactly was the moral? Could there have been a reason why he published it? Obviously yes. So therefore, who did he want as his audience? All of these questions could have made a better conversation. For some reason or another, everyone was obsessing over the abuse and how much he or she hated the mother. I was disappointed at the fact that all we have discussed is abuse, abuse and abuse. It became boring and now the book is extremely dumb and pointless to me.

Rokhsor, I dislike how you claim that this book is boring , extremely dumb, and pointless. Yes, I get how it's your opinion and freedom of speech, yet atleast have some remorse or sympathy for the kid. This book is a story of the authors life, and in my opinion the author "David Pelzer" just wanted someone to understand him for a change. He even maybe wanted attention and sympathy that he just had to write the story. Also a good source of money since he has the skills and detailed ideas; so why couldn't that have been a reason.

On the other hand, I find the unproven statement of Catherine Roerva Pelzer's abuse so interesting and unique, i just urge to find out more about it. If this was truly the case of a mother retrieving harsh treatment, and treating her son the same exact way. Then why in the begging was she such a wonderful mother as explained in the book. Does her reaction towards her son have something to with a psychotic break after years of mothering. I don't believe for one moment that his mother was mental. She was highly intelligent and there is now some concept of her being treated the same as a child.

Litt Circle Discussion #3

This summary of A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer below has been used once before in my posts. However, since this is the last of the discussions and the book and it's posts itself, I might as well revise what the original story is about.

"This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."

During the discussion, Saber and I got into an argument on the topic of whether or not David's Father is a protector or a savior. In the end there was no right answer to our topic. David clearly states he has two opinions towards "his" father, it's truly his opinion and that, we can not argue about.

Yazen's Argument:

All my respect for Father was gone. The savior I had once imagined for so long was a phony.I felt more angry at him than I did at Mother. (Pg. 91)

Saber's Argument:

By now my shirt was saturated with blood. As I tried to regain my footing, I felt my Father's strong hands helping me. I brushed him away. (Pg. 92)

Digging farther in the discussion, I begin to see the answers to my deeper level three questions. Like for example why he never ran away or stood up to his mother and her discipline. Or to why he couldn't receive any help from others, and every time he tried, his attempt failed to succeed. The reason why he stayed alive all these years was because he kept himself alive. He managed to feed himself. He truly became Independent and learned how to play his mothers games.

I wanted to just lie down and quit, but the promise I made long ago kept me going. I wanted to show The Bitch that she could beat me only if i died, and I was determined not to give in, even to death. (Pg. 91)

Lit Circle Discussion 2

In the second Lit circle discussion, my group completed the task of reaching the second paper clip in the book called “The Child Called It”. What I will be covering up in this post will be the main points and questions my group circle reached this last discussion. Focusing on main ideas, questions, concerns, topics, etc. The questions that I will be responding to are: What were some of the most thought-provoking questions about your book that came up? What were some of the most thoughtful responses to these questions?

Saber begins to notice on how the kids emotions have no effect upon his cold hearted mother. He also pointed out that David can't cower under this womens hands if he wants to survive, he has to stand up for him self and play her games. Justice on the other hand, pointed out questions and opinions on why the mother beats David, and also how he's seen as not a part of the family. Jessica noted how much of a big liar his mother is due to all the times she lied and created excuses for the child's beatings.

" I knew if I wanted to live, I would have to think ahead. I could no longer cry like a helpless baby. In order to survive, I could never give in to her. That day I vowed to myself that I would never, ever again give that bitch the satisfaction of hearing me beg her to stop beating me."(Pg 43)

Last but not least, I noticed and pointed out in the discussion on how his mother monopolized her son into believing that all these beatings and abuses weren't just randomly given to him. Instead she convinced her child that he was a bad boy, and that he deserved what he was receiving, even though David is a pure innocent child, with nothing but the need of a mothers attention and love.

"For my punishment, I wasn't allowed to go with Father and my brothers to the super slide". (pg 54)

Notice the "for my punishment", as if he know's he's done something wrong, but the reality was that his mother just wanted to try out another one of her ideas involving a diaper full of shit being smeared around his face, and getting beat when he denied to eat it. And forces him to clean it off his face when she realized the rest of the family was coming back.

Suddenly Mother let go. "They're back! They're back!" she gasped. Mother snatched a wash cloth from the sink and threw it at me. "Clean the shit off your face," she bellowed as she wiped the brown stains from the counter top. (pg 57)

Bacha Bazi Meaning

Bacha Bazi is an Urdu term meaning child play. This is the horrific and disgusting practice that still exists in many countries, where prepubescent children are sold to wealthy and powerful men for sexual activities and entertainment. This horrid business is done only using boys and there are only males who buy these innocent human beings.

The boys that are sold are of very young age, around 11, and they are taught to sing and dance before being sold. This way they provide entertainment for their masters and become their pets.

Sexual abuse of children has been observed in many under develop countries because there is money involved, and it ruins the lives of the children on whom this barbarous act is carried out.

The selling and buying of little boys doesn’t end in a single iteration, it is continued when the rich person who buys a boy uses him and then sells him further to some other rich man.

Bacha Bazi

Sources include unnecessary advertisement but here it is:

http://www.himho.com/bacha-bazi-child-prostitution-32467/

Bacha Bazi Responce Post

Responding to a post done by my English teacher Mr. Sutherland, I came upon the subject that had to do with Bacha Bazi- responce post. Bacha Bazi originally means child prostitution, this act of slavery takes place in many countries, where prepubescent children are sold to wealthy and powerful men for sexual activities and entertainment. This horrid business is done only using boys and there are only males who buy these innocent human beings. Besides all of the horrible and unspeakable abuse that is given to these children, what truly catches my mind isn't their need for help and sympathy, yet it is the part of granting the help these children need.

It turns out that this was not just some scary trait of Assef, the villain of the novel. (Which means that many of our interpretations of his character were way off; we assumed he was an anomaly.) It turns out that his pattern of child molesting goes much deeper.

Wikileaks, in a recent document-dump, has stirred up evidence that as part of the war effort in Afghanistan, almost two billion US tax dollars have been spent contracting with a private company which, among other scandals, helped throw a party for Afghan police recruits where young boys were pimped out for sex.

Where my main concern comes into play is who is the main cause behind this plot and evil scene. It is said to be that high authority in country's, but to be exact Afghanistan, is behind this sick event. The Government is said to be behind this cruel event, and although it is said to be an illegal act, they continue this act in both private and public parties. I came to the conclusion that it wasn't just an accident that America had sent about two billion US tax dollars and part of that money just happened to be used for the Bacha Bazi parties hosted by officers.

The people ( whom ever that may be) that are contracting with this private company had full knowledge of what was going on. And that is why they chose to hide this document, other wise what else do they have to lose against the other governments actions.

Book Discussion

he quote below is a clear and fairly quick introduction of the book "A Child Called "It" written by Dave Pelzer. The quote below doesn't release any spoilers in any way. However, it does link to necessary parts farther beyond the introduction of this story.

"This book chronicles the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. It is the story of Dave Pelzer, who was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother: a mother who played tortuous, unpredictable games--games that left him nearly dead. He had to learn how to play his mother's games in order to survive because she no longer considered him a son, but a slave; and no longer a boy, but an "it."

The most thought-provoking question that came up during the book discussion happens to be the obvious question of why? My discussion group and I, all came to an agreement of not fully understanding why David's mom had to abuse her child the way she did. The fact that she stabbed her child in the stomach, broke one of his arms, had nearly beaten him to death, and with more beatings threatened him not to report to anyone; this behavior seems to really reflect on his mother. Not understanding the first question also led to the confusion of understanding why she also filled his head and how she convinced him to believe that he was to blame for her beating. Almost as if she had him feeling that he was a worthless and as well a bad boy. What seemed to catch my attention was the question of: Why does he react in a confused way to the idea of being “free?” David hasn't felt the free sensation ever since his mother's troubles began, along with her troubles appeared his very own.

"David Pelzer,' he says, 'you're free.'" Chapter 1, The Rescue, pg. 14

This discussion had me thinking about the mothers mental instability. To think that David, the one that was just described earlier in this post as a hopeless child with a hopeless life. Soon came to realize that he had a family greater than anyone family I have ever heard of in description of a book. That the mother of this child was the greatest housewife, and had the best holiday houses out of every house within the neighborhood. Justice's question: Why do you think Dave's mother abused him? This question meant a lot to the whole group itself, and the recording group watching us. However, Christy's question of: Do you think there is an excuse for what she did? This question had the greatest effect in having me think deeply. I find Christy's question the best so far, since it is the main idea to think through out the story. What ever the reason was, David's mom had no right to blame her children. As I recall it was never his fault. Why do you think Dave's mother abused only him and not his siblings? A question presented upon us by Saber. The answer to this question still remains to be unknown, and that is why it interested me. These were the main topics of our group discussion.

"In the years before I was abused, my family was the 'Brady Bunch' of the 1960s." Chapter 2, Good Times, pg. 17

Sources:

Introduction

Responce Post

The post that caught my attention happened to be the post "Don't Prove it" -Stan. The reason I stopped upon this post instead of any other post was due to the devastating discussion that was going on about above and beneath it.

"What I dislike is when people try and convince me of their religion, yes, i can respect that they have their own beliefs but it doesn't mean that these ideas have to be opposed onto me. The way I see it there is no scientific evidence that god exists, or even Jesus for that matter. Asking me "Oh yeah? then where did the world come from?" is not even going to help prove god anyway. If I thought what you are trying to explain was correct, then wouldn't I already be a part of that religion? And besides, If i am respecting the fact that you have your own beliefs, then why can't you respect mine?"

This Quote that directly came from Stan's deep understanding seems to bring not just upon me, but upon many others who see the need for the proof and respect in religion. Stan's idea of him disliking when people try and convince him to their religion seems okay to me and I could strongly agree with it. Something I seem even to even agree with more is the fact that Stan states that he can respect that others have their own beliefs but it doesn't mean that their ideas have to be opposed onto him. This is something i would totally like people to do for me, but i just have to accept that not everybody will. The main thing I disagree with you Stan is about how you expect others to respect your expectations about religion, although you can't tend to stick to your own promise of respecting others religions. I can say this by stating out that every person tends to have an opinion of ones religion, thoughts, and ideas. This could be in a negative way, and it can be in a positive way. Most importantly I respect your expectations and I tend to commit to doing so.

~BooK R3sPonCe~

This is basically a brief explanation of Amir's actions and ways of resolving his conflict in my own opinion. This has to do with mostly why Amir decided to choose the path and solution that he had at the end of the book.

I agree 100% with the following quotes/selected passages, it gives off specific detail about how I felt throughout the last blog posts and up to my last analyzation of the book.

"Amir's strong desire to impress his father is the main motivation for his behavior early in the novel, and it is the main reason he allows Hassan to get raped. From that point forward, he was driven by his feelings of guilt as he searches for a way to make up for everything he has done. He does so through courage and self-sacrifice, and he tells his story as a form of penance. "

What I find through this Quotation/analyzed passage happens to be a sequence of events that all occurred in oder. Not only do I find that Amir had done what he did out of courage and motivation. I find that Amir was the true lost one within the life he had.

"Amir describes Sohrab as looking like a sacrificial lamb during his confrontation with Assef, but it is actually himself that Amir courageously sacrifices. In doing this, as Hassan once did for him, Amir redeems himself, which is why he feels relief even as Assef beats him. Amir also comes to see Sohrab as a substitute for the child he and Soraya cannot have, and as a self-sacrificing father figure to Sohrab, Amir assumes the roles of Baba and Hassan."

After understanding, and taking in Amir final decision as his own and his way of making up for what had been done; I began to see a different perspective on Amir and his selfish choices only as the act of a child and one in desire of too much attention. At first look Amir had no future and no point within the story, and thinking of how he had thoughts of not saving Sohrab even though he owed it to Hassan for his foolishness. I find it acceptable to say that Amir is clear of doubt and shame, and he has earned the relief of his guilty feelings and actions.

Sources:

http://www.sparknotes.com/the-kite-runner/characters.html

Facebook; Harmful or Not?

The main point of my post here is a response/argument against Stan's Re:Facebook Post about how Facebook can (sometimes) be truly addicting. My response post here is to rebuttal against Stan's thoughts and ideas towards what the power and effect of the social network facebook has towards people in general, and people of ASTI.

"Facebook is the most addicting thing that I can think of."
"I agree with this statement completely. If I'm writing an essay on the computer then several times ill say to myself "oh well I'm just going to check really quick." Then 40 minutes later I see that I am on facebook talking to random people or maybe I have seen a link on facebook and now I am looking at more video's on you tube or something related. Another case is that I am upstairs doing my math and I'll say to myself oh my parents won't mind if I check facebook really quick. Then 30 min later again i will find my self conversating. I think that I need to just not go on facebook for about 2-3 weeks so that I become less addicted to it. But what I don't understand is how can a program that is actually quite uninteresting is so addictive."

First off, I would like to clear up on how I agree with Stan on the most part. However, where our ideas come apart is the part where he describes facebook as now-and-days overall truly addicting. For one, yes I will admit if I would be doing any homework on the computer, I would for one, ”say to myself "oh well I'm just going to check really quick." Then 40 minutes later I see that I am on facebook talking to random people or maybe I have seen a link on facebook and now I am looking at more video's on you tube or something related.” Although I tend to find facebook honestly helpful when it some times comes down to not understanding, or forgetting a homework assignment. I will admit, in the begging of the year facebook had been a certain type of study hall for me and several students that formed some homework/study group. Towards the end of the first semester (and mostly now). This is mostly due to the point of were facebook has become more interesting. I tend to have more friends who would go on now, so it wouldn't be an-hour-a-day thing, it would result to being and over 3 hour a day process, where no homework is down. I agree one hundred percent with Mr. Sutherland's idea/theory, where the amount of homework we achieve wouldn't be so high in hours, if we were to do homework if a certain amount of hours straight with no breaks (especially facebook).

Free post: My Spiritual Awakening??? Part 1

Instead, my father had a story in mind. One of his personal favorites in-fact. My dads stories always happened to start off with the settings building the suspicion. He began, “The Woods was dark and always cold, there were stone ruins once called home to Muslim freedom fighters during the time of the Roman empire conquest over almost all of Asia including Syria, that means our home country.” He continued, “when I was about 13, me and a couple of friends would always go to a hang out spot on weekends.”

“Our favorite hang spot just happened to be the abandoned ruins and Woods, where we use to hunt down birds with slingshots. Ali your uncle, he had been truly the craziest hunter and most skilled with his deadly slingshot.” I assumed that's what had made my Ali my fathers best friend and cousin. My father had then told me about how one day, Ali dared the boys to go out to the woods and abandoned ruins as night. Than father described houses broken, ruins where people once lived. He went into great detail on how the windows were sealed in with rocks and blocks, and how inside nothing could be seen because it appeared to have been entirely pitch black. My father told me how he and Ali walked in the front of their little crew. My father noticed Ali start to run, so he followed and stayed right behind him, with my fathers first step, Ali was already ten steps ahead.

Ali remained confident and barged in the abandoned ruin house. My father described how he managed to have stopped himself after Ali faded away into the dark house. My father slowly approached the door, and suddenly heard Ali let out a cry so loud, that my dad had fell back from being so surprised. “Hand me a flashlight”, he described in a panic voice. After shinning the light in the abandoned house, my father didn't see Ali anywhere. Then he happened to have noticed that on the ground within the house, was a large hole that was big enough for even a sheep to have fallen through. My father and the boy's simply assumed that Ali had fallen into the hole and could still be okay. He continued, “I shined the light down at the hole, I noticed Ali was down there and okay.” My father Changed his voice and said, “Ali kept in contact while he was down in the hole, until he suddenly stopped his talking and not a word was echoed from where he had been,” he pleaded. I assumed the next part of the story appeared to be my father's personal favorite part. Out of no where, my father smiling said, “Ali had came from around the house and rejoined the group, Ali told my father and his friends about how he had saw “The Prophet Muhammad.” “Ali bragged about being chosen and how he had an important duty,” my father joked, yet remained focus with a serious impression.

~Responce 2 book~

Looking back at my earlier post, my opinions and the way I see Amir as not only a person but as a friend an kind person toward the world has changed a lot in reading the last section.

"What had jumped out on me while reading the first couple of chapters of this story were my impressions towards the characters in the story, and the impressions the characters had upon themselves and each other. To start it off, what mostly caught my attention through this section of the book was the so called “relationship between Amir and Hassan. The first question that comes to mind is. “Did Amir even care about Hassan in terms of being friends or just kids who grew up together.'? Or did he just see him as an outsider and treated him like dirt because of popularity and terms of fitting in. At the begging of the story it seems that Amir respected Hassan as he was an adult, but as a child he tried his hardest to not get into a serious friendship with Hassan. Leaving Hassan to struggle and fight on his own in times when Hassan needed Amir the most. On the other hand, Hassan stuck up for Amir when in trouble and in need of help."

Reflecting on my words, i noticed that Amir has showed his guilty feeling through out his tough times dealing with the deaths of his friends and beloved ones. After loosing so many of his loved ones, he takes a risk of leaving the women he loves (knowing that almost everyone else in his life is dieing) just to go visit an ill friend, Rahim Khan.

After realizing who Hassan really was, it made Amir feel like his father was a sinner, a thief that lies. On the impressions of Amir, Baba's sins seemed to relief him of his own actions. After hearing the story about Hassan's death, Amir after deep thinking and thoughts of greed, but covered up with guilt; takes matters into his hands by heading over to a Orphanage.

This quote explains Amir's realization of guilt, and how he dealt with it. To me it also shows how Amir type of character can ignore most tragedies in his life. For example, Amir felt ashamed about letting Hassan down by not rescuing him, yet the way he faced his problem was by isolating Hassan from

“That was a long time ago, but it’s wrong what they say about the past, I’ve learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years.”

~Responce 2 book~

Development Or

Begging:

I come from an universe unique and never there to be seen. Best part about that is it shows the Earths true colors are among with my favorite colors. They say most of the Earth is made out of water, and I say the way I drink it's water it might as well be made out of me. My hair consists with a trendiness amount of deep color. However, that not being the color of blue,night, and green like the Earth's center and even the mighty “Crust”! The dreams that come out from beneath me seem to conquer most lies when perhaps bluffing. Traveling has always been my theme; however, it never seemed like traveling suit out to be my most major or popular thing. The extra particular material of my body is not a relative term. It's not even a proper adjective. Perhaps it is just the material accumulated in my body from consuming those extra calories. I don't own my own car or maybe you can say I already may have, but not that soon? Although, I somehow have this car I am still not in the age of properly driving this “jeep”. Perhaps up in maybe 2 more years I'll most likely be past my permit and holding onto my drivers license. It may seem to look like I love to wear all these colorful colors, although I am highly seen with blue jeans and black sweaters. Can you guess who am I?

Modern:

Whats Makes America ...America

Being a recommended post, i looked into Kathy's post about oil and why its a problem.

“Oil: this is what America uses to power most of its machines and it is also what caused a war. After the prosperity of the 50’s and the civil rights conflicts of the 60’s, another problem struck the U.S. Hostility flared between America and Middle Eastern countries over decreasing the supply of oil . In October 1973 a shocking decision made by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lead to chaos in the political and economical world, and shook up millions of lives in America, thus leading to today’s war between Iraq and America over the oil export limitations.”

So oil, thats your answer to what makes our technology tick. Well i can't agree with you Kathy, nor can i disagree. A huge issue is what i heard out of the mouth of a contributer. I say it's all a bunch of crap. Wiping out thousands of men, women, and children isn't a problem to any humans these days. It seems like Oil happens to be what America wants, however the "cause" of going there in the begging was to stop a possible terrorist threat towards the people of both America and the other country's we claimed were in trouble. Yet it seems we caused more harm to the other people (even the innocent ones). I find it funny how most of the fundings and taxes have been influencing wars instead of stopping them. We blame Bush, however i don't think only one man is responsible for what has been done.

“Today the fight still remains but has shifted toward the territory where the oil lies, in Iraq. Iraq is one of the top oil producers in OPEC. So, America is trying to reach their oil, as if it is a competition. In the U.S. oil is very important and is used for mainly things such as planes, produce, machinery, and many others. It was recorded that 20,680,000 barrels were used in a day in America which is about 13,000,000 more than any other oil consumers . Oil is a profitable good and is extremely useful but the simplest attempt at a change in energy use, or even dependency could have brought us out of fighting many years ago. This fighting has caused enough casualties and even has had Americans held hostage in war. To prevent the further conflict alternative sources of dependent energy would solve many of our foreign oil conflicts.“

~B00K R3sPonCe~

As finishing up the given section of the Story “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini the responses and questions that came to mind were solid ideas that sent me in a curious mood, wanting to read on and ask further and deeper questions.

“The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was published in 2003. The Kite Runner is the story of strained family relationships between a father and a son, and between two brothers, how they deal with guilt and forgiveness, and how they weather the political and social transformations of Afghanistan from the 1970s to 2001.“

http://www.enotes.com/kite-runner

What had jumped out on me while reading the first couple of chapters of this story were my impressions towards the characters in the story, and the impressions the characters had upon themselves and each other. To start it off, what mostly caught my attention through this section of the book was the so called “relationship between Amir and Hassan. The first question that comes to mind is. “Did Amir even care about Hassan in terms of being friends or just kids who grew up together.'? Or did he just see him as an outsider and treated him like dirt because of popularity and terms of fitting in. At the begging of the story it seems that Amir respected Hassan as he was an adult, but as a child he tried his hardest to not get into a serious friendship with Hassan. Leaving Hassan to struggle and fight on his own in times when Hassan needed Amir the most. On the other hand, Hassan stuck up for Amir when in trouble and in need of help.

After getting around the end of the check point, I started to notice the changes in Amir's behavior and the way he began to blame Hassan for his mistakes. As if it was always Hassan's fault for the way he was treated and blamed. As a result, if Amir was mad he wouldn't blame anyone but Hassan. If he felt that his father didn't except him for any apparent reason, he seemed to always get jealous and result in harming another or trying to eliminate and competition (although Hassan had never been a threat.) The main question that always leads from this point is gonna always be the same. “Why”? Why doesn't Hassan give up his loyalty to Amir. He got set-up for stealing Amir's birthday gifts and understood it was a result of what Amir had done to him. Yet he still didn't confront Amir for his behavior and lies. He only agrees that he was the one that stole Amir's gifts. Over all that has happened why didn't Hassan take the final move towards Amir?

Reflective Essay

Intro:

Through out this School time, the common types of blogs that i focused on had to do with religion, arguments/debates, and even things that led to discussion. Religion is talked about to let out my beliefs, and to agree or disagree with the religion given. Debating posts seem to add up to them selves showing a stand up for what I may believe in. It would also show some type of standard in what I would stand up for. Last but not least, I tend to love to relate both Religion and the beliefs behind it, and science: mainly confronting Evolution.

Thesis:

The basic idea of this reflection is to show whether or not my writing has improved over these couple of months in school, based on what we learned during the first quarter. Analyzing and linking to original posts, like ones about Religion, Debating, Regretting, and Scientific thinking. These posts all lead to the idea of either liking or noticing that having a blog post had changed the view of writing for me, or if it didn't have any result or effects on my writing and thinking creditability.

Over the first quarter of school, (which is also a short period of time speaking in my own terms). I've noticed over this quarter that I have changed and developed in many positive ways in terms of writing. I've noticed where I have seen my self often using quotes and text phrases; I learned to pick up the habit of this technique. At the the beginning of the school year, I most likely wouldn't have been using any of these techniques passed on during the first quarter. For example, some writing methods used are: TAGS! (Intro and conclusion tips), this step which is a guide and introduction to any literary analysis essay. Techniques like the ones shown took me through most of my writing in a step by step method. Over time it threw at me a lot of conflicts that also lead to new ideas for analysis essays. The story “Of Mice and Men” written by the author John Steinbeck.” This quote comes from the blog post (~ Final draft of our Of Mice and Men Essay ~).

“The story “Of Mice and Men” written by the author John Steinbeck. This man wrote a fascinating article that is the in the basic times during the Great Depression. “The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.”

Not only does this passage link to the improvement I have shown over the quarter of analyzing this book and many others. It also shows a great sequence of improvement in locking in techniques. The technique of this post used the TAG method. Through the use of these methods I was able to improve my essay in terms of intros and conclusions, not mentioning the lessons of quoting and reflecting.

However, I find my writing style to not only grow over this quarter, but it has also decreased in improvements. It seems that I have achieved a more descriptive and narrative type of writing, and that resulted in the loss of pure creative techniques and ways in my writing. I still have a great amount of creativity in my pieces, yet the only reason for this is because I tend to speak whats on my mind rather than whats goin on int the real world. I started off understanding the ways of getting creative and just jotting down what ever popped in my head like (Who am I?). Over time my writing has shifted into the basic dallies of thoughts and arguments leading to cause of (Rebuttals).

“I come from an universe unique and never there to be seen. Best part about that is it shows the Earths true colors are among with my favorite colors. They say most of the Earth is made out of water, and I say the way I drink it's water it might as well be made out of me. My hair consists with a trendiness amount of deep color. However, that not being the color of blue,night, and green like the Earth's center”.

This example of creativity was in the beginning of the year where I had no clue of what methods or techniques had role in writing. I had used the knowledge of brainstorming and planning out (which is what my writing last year happens to be now). It may sound like I regret learning these methods, but in fact I am not disappointed or ashamed at all. I feel like I have increased in writing by x100. Not only do I get to take on writing in a college way, I get to step up into new levels and get the opportunity of mixing creativity within these pieces to achieve a successful essay.

Over this first quarter of school; what honestly kept me together and in a place where I can feel like I have a relaxing moment is having a “blog”. I seem to have a escape route from all the stress caused from the tones of homework given each day. A blog having to be done on Friday, and nothing else but the blog turned in seems like the best homework a person can have. Posting on a blog what ever came to mind seemed like the best way to get a message of your chest. If I wanted to have a safe conversation about a major topic, for example like (Evolution on Horses).

"Evolution is an interesting subject, one that affects us all. Take a look at fossils you can find in almost every museum, and compare them to the knowledge we have of their current descendants. Note the similarities and the differences in the following two skeletons, The Prehistoric horse and the modern one": To successfully navigate their terrain, prehistoric horses were about 3 feet tall, lacked fetlocks,which are ankle joints, and had cloven hooves. Modern day horses average at twice that size, have their "ankle" joint further down, and their hooves have become solid. Why"?

This quote was a question discussed by a fellow student and I. Blogging caused me to understand writing and take in opinion discussed by others. I tend to now take a chance to hear someone out when they have something to say, rather than blurting out and interrupting their statement. Having a blog gave me another point of view at the world. A view of others opinions and (Beliefs/Thoughts).

"In my opinion, people came up with god (no offense intended to anyone) because they needed a reason to explain a cause in their life they couldn't explain, by science such as the Greeks, Hindus, and the Egyptians."

Conclusion:

In maybe the next, or the next couple of quarters; I would like to have set myself goals about learning new techniques and developing new methods for writing to an extreme level. Also to figure out ways to enhance my reading and writing with not only a teachers help and guide through the subject, but also my own creativity and skill in writing helping myself and guiding myself through essays. Most of all I expect a streak of A's and high achievements, sending my knowledge up the bar and onto a paste college that fits my scheduled.

Who am I?

I come from an universe unique and never there to be seen. Best part about that is it shows the Earths true colors are among with my favorite colors. They say most of the Earth is made out of water, and I say the way I drink it's water it might as well be made out of me. My hair consists with a trendiness amount of deep color. However, that not being the color of blue,night, and green like the Earth's center and even the mighty “Crust”! The dreams that come out from beneath me seem to conquer most lies when perhaps bluffing. Traveling has always been my theme; however, it never seemed like traveling suit out to be my most major or popular thing. The extra particular material of my body is not a relative term. It's not even a proper adjective. Perhaps it is just the material accumulated in my body from consuming those extra calories. I don't own my own car or maybe you can say I already may have, but not that soon? Although, I somehow have this car I am still not in the age of properly driving this “jeep”. Perhaps up in maybe 2 more years I'll most likely be past my permit and holding onto my drivers license. It may seem to look like I love to wear all these colorful colors, although I am highly seen with blue jeans and black sweaters. Can you guess who am I?

~ Final draft of our Of Mice and Men Essay ~

The story “Of Mice and Men” written by the author with the name of John Steinbeck's. This man wrote a fascinating article that is the in the basic times during the Great Depression. “The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s.” (more info and link that could be found in the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression). The two main characters in this novel happen to be both George and Lennie. George is shorter in height than the average male, although he may be small, George maybe able to fool people for his character includes him being clever and quite a worker. Lennie on the other hand happens to have an unknown mental illness and the way he received his illness so also unknown. Although, he may be ill but he happens to be a big fella' with human and uncontrollable strength that he is unaware of. these characteristics that guide Lennie in being an excellent worker. Their story all begins with George and Lennie walking off to a ranch where their expecting a new job.

The Central conflict in “Of Mice and Men” is in my opinion Character Vs. Self. The reason why I choose this central conflict, is because through-out most of the story, all Lennie was ever doing was struggling and fighting against himself, trying to keep and not lose control of his body and actions due to his “unknown illness”.

Lennie's explanation of why he has an urge to tend things like rabbits, mice, and even soft dresses to soft curly hair is quite unique. Curley's wife finds Lennie in a barn by himself finding her perfect chance to get close to him. As she begins to try and start a conversation with Lennie, she finds that all that is on his mind is the rabbits. So she asked him “What makes you so nuts about the rabbits”? And he crawled up next to her and responded:

“I like to pet nice things. Once at a fair I seen some of them long-haired rabbits. An' they was nice, you bet. Sometimes I've even pet mice, but not when I could get nothing better.” (90)

The reason why this quote really seems to catch my attention, is because this is the moment where Lennie finally opens up in emotion wise. He starts to describe his urge of why he must touch and tend things. His illness isn't truly the reason why he acts as a child, however his illness is a major part of it but it isn't the main conclusion. He acts and likes to tend rabbits because as a child he never got to live a normal life for a child at his undeveloped age. He was taken from home to home, not having any family. By the time his Aunt Clara had taken him in he had already developed an illness caused from stress and child desegregation and stress causing him to have struggled against himself even as a child.

After Lennie's terrible accident with Curley's wife, Lennie realizes that the cause of Curley's wife's death was something that wasn't suppose to happen, and shows his sorrow. Realizing he has done a bad thing, Lennie remembers what George had told him if something bad happened, just like what had happen. George told him to “hide in the brush and wait for George to come get him”. As Lennie waited his conscious started to eat him up! He started to have thoughts of George leaving him, and even to were Lennie would tell him self he would run and live in a cave. Slowly Lennie begins to hallucinate more and more getting deeper into his emotions.

“And then from out of Lennie's head there came a little fat old woman, She wore thick bull's-eye glasses and she wore a huge gingham apron with pockets, and she was starched and clean”. (100)

The fascinating idea about this passage is not just how Lennie starts hallucinating. Although the reason why and the idea of what it represents is truly important. However, based on my resources of what causes Lennie's emotion to be so hurt rather than being scared is that George is the general conflict. Lennie wasn't trying to do the right thing all through-out the story just to stay out of trouble, but everything he was doing was all for George. Keeping George from becoming mad at Lennie was indeed Lennie's biggest accomplishment and goal he set for himself. During his hallucinations, Lennie starts to see the major characters in his life that give him joy and hope where the big rabbit, and Aunt Clara herself. If you didn't notice at first, pay great attention to how two major events and characters in Lennie's life/mind only led to one major character who must show a major sign of importance not just to Lennie and his friendship, but more to Lennie's struggle against him self to keep George satisfied.

This quote here takes place before George and Lennie reach the ranch, they camp for the night in a nice and unique clearing and George assures Lennie of their special relationship. Showing how they out of all the other people in this story, they have a bond that is impossible of being broken unless one in the bond brakes it himself.

“ Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us. An' why? because.......“(14)

What really catches my attention in this quote here, is how this exactly shows Lennie's need for understanding and friendship. Although Lennie and George's friendship may or may not be real, it still shows how George just being there for Lennie made him feel happy with him self. After these few quotations Lennie points out how they have each other, to me that shows even though Lennie has some sort of mental illness, he still struggles hard against himself, just to keep a good friend like George along his side. Although, Lennie may seem to have the struggle; it is truly both Lennie and George who struggle towards their goals in the end.

Conclusion

The whole point or more like main idea of this reflection is to get the idea of why Lennie does what he does. Through out my reflection, I explain how Lennie continues too grow more ill and ill until he gets in a process where his time has come. Whats so important about this, and why it all really matters is that although I set the thesis as Lennie Vs. himself. The final idea that comes to mind, is that the central conflict that leads to the reason of why Lennie is just Lennie; all comes down to his faith being planned. All of his moments where he faces himself and especially because of his illness all leads up to “Character Vs. Faith”.

~My Harshful and Dreadful Moment~

The loud tone of the vicious flames against the freshly painted white walls gave off a type of sizzling, and crackle like popping sound; that had woken up Barial. Even if the sounds of the sizzling walls had never awoken Barial it wouldn't have been a problem. His older brother Lightarious (who Barial called Light for short) would have eventually woken him up with his high pitched scream even with the muffled wall. Enormous yellow and red flames were making static popping sounds at Barial's door path, he quickly reacted and dragged out his huge white suede blanket, placed it over the fire, and stomped on it repeatedly until the flames had gone out. The room that was shared between Barial and his brother was full of unique arts, posters, with it also a hand full of memories. Although the art was not his own, he still collected posters of worldwide known super hero's including the 63 Mortal Kombat characters, superstar basketball and football sport athletes, it mostly showed varieties of different rare collected artifacts he stored. Barial knew the bunk bed that once held all of his bedtime nightmare scary stories was for sure gone along with it the rest of his personal items. Barial felt that his room acted as the focus of his attention but not his heart. Light's muffled voice became more and more clear after Barial had leaped out of his room and into the hallway.

He found his brother on his knees, in heavy sweat, face covered in smoke and coughing. Light had done a great job of keeping the fire from spreading throughout the rest of their hallway. Unfortunately the flames gave off the same amount of effort fighting back, as Light had. Barial felt the dryness of his chappy lips and dehydrated mouth, drops of sweat had been dripping slowly from his forehead to the ground. The fact that Barial didn't have enough water for himself and his brother put him in an uneasy situation. Light soon gained conscious after Barial had dragged him away from the heat that the flames had given off. The worse began as they headed towards the stairs.

~The Echo of My Neighborhood~

To clear up the whole point of this blogger post, I'll explain it in a brief description. The whole idea of this quote is to compare two completely different places. One that describes joy, pride, and happiness. And which the other shows an uneasy, fearful, and unwanted point of view leading to the opinion of the place. Connecting the main character "James" to both scenes.

(a) The quiet, calm, and tranquility of the new neighborhood just wasn't working out for James; yet he imagined that he was still at his backyard playing duck, duck, goose. (b) The indolent habit in the people of James' new neighborhood had frustrated him; he complained how none of the townspeople ever came out of there homes. (c) The streets were always empty because of the terrorizing of mobsters that roamed the streets. The side walks were full of tumbleweed that happened to always roll around, just as it did in the Texas standoffs. (d) The sun was beginning to pack up for the night, taking along with it James' afternoon. (e) His new dinner sometimes gagged him like he had just swallowed paste from canned food. (f) The windows and sheets of his bedroom were all broken and torn up, his bed was made out of old cheap wood, stained old dirty sheets ,and loose spirals It was so low quality that he even decided the ground was much safer. (g) Outside there wasn't even a single jogger or even a thief. He couldn't bear thinking of his poor qualified and unwanted neighborhood. So instead he chose to close his eyes and imagine. Although he knew he would be terrified by his new neighborhood tuning against him and becoming a nightmare, he subdued it all with the memories of his old.

The reason why I found writing this post as a main graber to my ideas and thoughts, is due to the fact that this story is that of my old dear neighborhood. This story trully does refelect to my life because my neighborhood trully changed me in terms of slang, thoughts, and behaviors. Thinking of my old neighboorhood shifted me back to the right way and ideas. And thats why this blogger post is seriously important to me.

~Th1S is FoR, Uh JuSt ShUt uP and L1sT3n~

This freedom of post is mostly about my eagerness in wanting to explain my ideas and stress about religion that I have been keeping inside of me.

When growing up I didn't have a choice in choosing my religion or culture in being a "Durze". I grew up not knowing or even practicing my religious beliefs. I had never learned how to pray, understand, and even read my own bible that is called Qur'an. My religion may be unknown to almost every other religion and country, yet I myself never even knew what my religion was.

As I had grown up I went after learning what my religion truly was. Maybe the explanation of my religions culture is only my point of view. However, i don't see it as quite a false example. I find it as a mixture of Islam and Christianity, yes sounds different and unbelievable to most of the deep religious people out there. Although, it seems as a weird quality of religion it isn't false.
Druze take in all sorts of beliefs and cultures just to understand it and give them a sort chance and understanding. I haven't found any single prophet available that wasn't believed or mentioned in the Druze religion. From Moses, Jesus, Buddha, and they even share beliefs like reincarnation. Even though i was raised into a religion i had never chosen, I don't feel like it's totally a waste and shouldn't be practiced.

Now to get on with God and his understanding, i know that all people have their opinions and beliefsabout God. But honestly I don't think as God for the events that happen, i say that the best thing possibly thati believe in is "Science". I see it as reasons for why we live the way we live, and that's my thoughts. Yet, i tend to still believe in god. I find myself thinking more about how the devil proves and shows his existence more than god does. I tell myself if God can be alive and angels exist, what stops demons, ghosts, and ghosts from being real.

~Aakash Your Underestimating~

First off, i would like to lead you to Aakash's Post. In his post he explains his opinion against or should i say about religion (which I totally respect as an idea). But im gonna have to be honest, and disagree with you. For the following reason's:

"In my opinion, people came up with god (no offense intended to anyone) because they needed a reason to explain a cause in their life they couldn't explain, by science such as the Greeks, Hindus, and the Egyptians."

Yeah, religion and God itself could have been just and excuse or a specific reason to avoid why our world is that way it is. To start it off, have you ever wondered why people even seem to have hope. Ive noticed through and out and in my live(s) that people always no matter when, always have hope because of one thing. They believe someone is out there to answer their silent prayers or whispers. It seems that everything in life seems to have motivation and determination int their lives for reasons like a special someone, a promise they made, or even because they know something out-there is looking out for them. What mostly comes to my mind and opinions is how some people are just painfully forced into believing or worshiping a religious spirit.

Devils and demons, or any evil and unwanted worshiping soul of type is a great example. For instance contracts that you see in movies, where the devil or an evil spirit owns your soul. This example is great because it shows a type of force into worshiping, and your soul is for the taking showing they , must show some type of obedience and respect. Another cruel and more logical type of monster that forces into belief happen to be humans. It's either they brain wash youth into believing something without a choice at early advanced age, or they go around killing each other and conquering each other just to convert others into a religious belief that they join out of fear.

" Most of what we know about the Greeks are their culture, such as the myths about the gods. The Greeks used the gods for explanation about their daily lives."

This here is an excellent quote also from Aakash. He included in there that it was also called "culture". A whole lot of people seem to not understand it as another beings beliefs. Instead they see it as a false and wrong example of God and that their beliefs are correct and the others are all incorrect. (this doesn't include for all religions for example "Buddhism", and "Druze" my unknown and unmentioned religion.

CalViNo 3sSaY

Paragraph 1

As the Dinosaur known as Qfwfq went to get a drink from an old, well known Spring of his, he came across a type of species known as “New One”, the species was also a female who he found to be drinking at his spring. He goes up softly and tries to get a drink unnoticed because he doesn't want her to find out about his true identity as a Dinosaur, as she approaching him with a conversation he becomes surprised she doesn’t notice what he is. He reacts to her sentence with great paranoid/ fear about how this Spring was a Dinosaur's.

“Oh, yes, that's what we call it. The Dinosaur's Spring.......that's been its name since ancient times. They say that a Dinosaur hid here, one of the last, and whenever anybody came here for a drink the Dinosaur jumped on him and tore him limb from limb. My goodness!”

What this quote has truly showed me is that Qfwfq's true nature is the act of surviving depending on whatever is necessary for him to survival. It also describes how his anger and viscous act of being paranoid allows the ability for him to kill. He has within him an angry and violent background and nature. I don't truly blame him for what he does. He has been alone for years and learned to only relay on him self. He had been a Dinosaur for quite some time and not even noticed, so protective about his identity. Although, he has an alternative personality, he does learn to let others into his life and trusts them in no time.

Paragraph 2

As Italo Calvino begins his story “The Dinosaurs”, he starts it off with describing how Qfwfq is the last Dinosaur. He describes how Dinosaur's were roaming the world for 150 million years. All the Dinosaur's start to become extinct. He also gets into the topic of how all Dinosaur's had went through a stressful moment he describes as “The Great Death”.

“I prefer not to think back to the period of the great death. I never believed I'd escape it. The long migration that saved me led me through a cemetery of fleshless carcases, where only a crest or a horn or a scale of armor or a fragment of horny skin recalled the ancient splendor of the living creature.”

What this quote shows me through deep understanding is that Qfwfq is truly frightened inside. Knowing he's the only last one of his kind. The Great Death had killed every single Dinosaur Qfwfq had probably ever known. As of him knowing that fear still lives within him, being paranoid is probably the natural reaction one would expect from Qfwfq. Maybe this even explains the reasons of his natural behavior from being violent and a limb tearing monster into a soft understanding judged creature.

Paragraph 3

Although, this may sound so real. This quote leads from a discussion between Qfwfq and Fern-flower who Qfwfq met at the Dinosaur Spring. As Qfwfq approaches Fern-Flower he decides that he wants to open up with her and tell her who he is and what his true identity truly is. As he tries to start the conversation of theirs slowly, he asked her; what her dream had been last night? She answer with the quotation below.

She hung her head. “I saw a wounded Dinosaur, writhing and dying. He had bowed his noble, dedicate head, and he suffered and suffered......... I looked at him, couldn't take my eyes off him, and I realized I was feeling a strange pleasure at seeing him suffer...”

I find that this quote is most interesting because of what she see's in her dream. Through her description of the dream she had an image of a Dinosaur suffering which caught my attention. In the end of her quote I began to wonder how Qfwfq had felt about the part of how she enjoyed seeing the Dinosaur suffer with great pain. Although this quote is truly unique, it is also confusing in a lot of ways. I couldn't trully make out who thought's about the dream was being expressed. Did Fern-Flower know that Qfwfq was a Dinosaur and her dream was just to upset him?