Courage

Courage is a soldier

Fighting to protect others.

Keeping his brave face on

No matter how strong fear builds up inside him.

Courage is a soldier

Recognizing his fear of danger

But proceeding in loyalty to our country

And those he loves.

Courage is a soldier. 

Starting off petrified and nervous

But having enough strength building up

 to keep going.

Courage is a soldier. 

Soldiers are heroes. 

They risk their lives for our country

With boldness and bravery 

Despite their fear.

Fear

Afraid of

Darkness,

Monsters,

Sharks,

And heights

Caused by

An unpleasant emotion

From powerful 

Imagination.

Don't give in

To the mind control

Overcome the feeling

Don't be scared. 

Face 

your

fears

Readers Response

       So far, I am loving the book I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I absolutely love the main character Ed especially. One of the things that I  love about Ed is how he comes right out saying everything, with no fear. For example, the first thing Ed says while formally introducing himself is, "My full name's Ed Kennedy. I'm nineteen. I'm an underage cabdriver. I'm typical of many of the young men you see in this suburban outpost of the city—not a whole lot of prospects or possibility. That aside, I read more books than I should, and I'm decidedly crap at sex and doing my taxes. Nice to meet you" (Zusak##). This instantly made me love him as a character because I got a laugh out of his intro to himself. Ed is so brutally open about himself and makes it clear that he has a not so great life, but how he accepts and lives it. I love that he fills us readers in on all of the aspects of his life, leaving nothing out. Also, I really like Ed as a character for is how he is so super upfront about his feelings for Audrey. I love how he is head over heels for Her, but keeps it all inside of him instead of letting it out to her. Honestly, I'm rooting for Ed to gain the confidence to tell Audrey about his love for her and I hope that she has been feeling the same towards him! Lastly, I love how Ed decides to help these strangers for really no apparent reason, just for their own sake. He really proves that ordinary people can truly help people tremendously. So far, Ed seems like a funny, caring, helpful, and fun-loving character who I hope to grow to love more and more throughout the book.

          Charles Darnay is an overall good man. Not only is he caring and loving, he is also intelligent and responsible. "I am only looking to sharing your fortunes, sharing your life and home, and being faithful to you to the death. Not to divide with Lucie her privilege as your child, companion, and friend;  but to come in aid of it, and bind her closer to you, if such a thing can be" (Dickens 103). This quote proves my entire description of Darnay. It shows his compassion and love for Lucie, and how he still respects the clear boundaries of not interfering with their father- daughter relationship. He is saying that he doesn't want to break up or mess up their relationship, but add to it instead. Also you can tell he is a trustworthy man, when he says how he will be faithful to Lucie until death. Charles Darnay is a man of many positive attributes, and an amazing personality.

           

  Light Vs. Dark

          In chapter six of A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses light and dark to set the tone of hopefulness for Lucie and Dr. Manette's relationship. He writes, "I want, to let in a little more light here. You can bear a little more?" (Dickens 30) In this quote, Dickens is referring to Lucie as the light. Defarge is talking to Lucie's father, Dr. Manette, and asking if he can let his daughter in. Dr. Manette didn't even know he had a child, but her presence would give I'm the much needed hope and light to help him out of his darkness. Dickens then displays darkness by saying, "Darkness had fallen on him in its place" (Dickens 32). Being imprisoned for years, with nobody to talk to, and nothing to do really put Dr. Manette in a dark place. He became depressed and unpredictable, which made them worried about Lucie going near him because they didn't know what he would do or how he would react. Dickens says, "Then, as the darkness closed in, the daughter laid her head down on the hard ground close to the father's side, and watched him. The darkness deepened and deepened, as they both lay quiet, until a light gleamed through the chinks of the wall" (Dickens 36). This quote really showed Lucie's effect on her father. Although he is in a tough state right now, Lucie is willing to fix him up. Within the first few minutes of being with her father, Lucie has already brought light into her father's life, and has the hope and will to pull him out of the darkness he is trapped in. Overall in chapter six, light is overcoming and driving out the dark. Dickens writes about how Lucie is the light in her father's dark depressing life, and  that she is the one who will save him.

Wine scene

              In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens shows many ways that this wine scene forshadows events that will happen in the future. He says, "The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street in the suburb of Saint Antoine, in Paris" (Dickens 21). I think Dickens is trying to forshadow the future by having the wine represent the blood that will be on the streets in an upcoming battle. Dickens states, "Some men kneeled down, made scoops of their two hands joined, and sipped, or tried to help women" (Dickens 21). This quote really displays how poor the people were, and how desperate they were for anything they could put into their children's body or their own. "Scrawled upon a wall with his fingers dipped in muddy wine-less-BLOOD" (Dickens 22). This quote also contributes to him forshawdowing that there will be a battle in the future because he calls the wine blood, and shows that people picture it as blood as well.

           

            Family is a single word, with many different meanings. People have many different ways of defining a family and what being part of a family means to them. When i looked up the definition of a family online, it said “A fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” This definition is wrong in my mind because there are other family structures excluded by this statement. In the excerpt Stone Soup by Barbara Kingsolver, she also expresses family and it’s true meaning to her. Barbara says, “Divorce, remarriage, single parenthood, gay parents, and blended families simply are. They’re facts of our time.” This quote proves that there is no perfect family. It proves that out of all the possible family structures people have, none are wrong. She also states,”To judge a family by it’s tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for it’s cover.” This shows her belief that no family should be judged. It shows that she believes that a family is a family, no matter the size, or differences it has to the so called “traditional family.”

In the book A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith, family is a big factor throughout the whole book. The Nolan Family went through hard times, but stuck together as a family through it all. Katie Nolan was an extremely good mother to her children. Smith states, “I want him to be a doctor. He must be a doctor." A big part of a family is always pushing each other to do better, and work their way up to success. This quote really shows how much Katie cared and wanted to push her children to have a better life in the future. She believes in Neeley and knows that if he puts his mind to it, he can accomplish the difficult task of becoming a doctor. Your family should encourage you to aim high and help you get there. Also, A Tree grows in Brooklyn expresses true family when Katie states, “No I will make this baby live.” She is saying that even though she knows how weak and tiny Francie was when she was born, she is never going to give up on her. She is going to fight to keep her baby alive because she is her baby and she loves her. In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Stone Soup, true signs of family and what family is all about are shown thoughout each reading.