This I Believe

I believe that everyone should a dog if they are responsible, because they need lots of attention and time. Dogs are loyal, they love you no matter what, and they always want you to be happy.

When I was four I got my first real pets, two cats. I had wanted a pet for a really long time (not a hamster or a fish). I wanted a soft animal with a beating heart. I was really happy when I got my cats, although they weren’t what I expected a pet would be like. They weren’t very cuddly, and sometimes they would bite or scratch when you pet them. I was really upset, because every time we tried to make them feel comfortable, they would run off and hide under the couch. I loved them anyway.

When I was ten, I got a dog. My parents wanted to get a dog in the fist place, but I was scared of them at the time. Once my cats grew up they began to get very independent, they were twins, and spent all their time with each other instead of my family. We could go on vacation and leave them at home alone with food and water, and they would be completely fine. My dog was different though. She was everything I ever ask for in a pet. She was very affectionate, she curled up on my lap on the couch, and she could never have enough attention; some people wouldn’t like that, but I loved it.

I think that the relationship between a dog and its owner is something very special. Dogs are loyal to their owners in a way that most people can’t be. I’m not saying that people aren’t loyal, it’s just that dogs have lots of faith in you. I go to camp for a month every summer, I love it, but once I got my dog, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go, because I didn’t wan’t to leave her for that long. I ended up going, but the whole time I was scared that she wouldn’t remember me, or that she would be angry that I left (I couldn’t explain it to her(she is a dog)). When I finally got home, she ran to me, and covered me with slobber, similar to when I get home from school, but more. She is so loyal.

  I think that everyone who can handle a big responsibility should have a dog. I rescued my dog a little bit less than one year before I went to middle school. I was very nervous at the time, but my dog was always so happy, she reminded my that everything would be fine, she can always tell how I’m feeling, and always knows what to do. I believe that everyone deserves a dog. They do need lots of attention and time, but it definitely worth it. My pets mean everything to me, and I don’t know one person with a dog who doesn’t feel the same way.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

     I just finished reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead for the third time. Sometimes after books multiple times you realize things that make you like the book more, or you realize things that make you like the book less. In this case, I liked it even more.  Since I have finished this book I am going to do an overview/review of When You Reach Me.
     The first thing I'm going to be talking about are the notes Miranda gets from the Laughing Man (Marcus). At the beginning Miranda is unaware the notes are from Marcus and she pretends they are not for her because she is scared. The first note is addressed to her as "M". She tells herself that M could be anybody and so does her mom, but they both know that the notes are for Miranda. And if the first note wasn't scary enough, having a stranger telling her that her best friend was in danger and asking for her house keys,  the second note was worse.

Most people would think that the since her full name was included in the second note that would make it more scary, I disagree. Miranda knew that the notes were directed at her in the first place. What I think is scary is when he says, "I know you have shared my first note. I ask you not to share the others please. I do not ask this for myself." She says after reading the note, that it scared her because she was alone. And that's exactly how I feel.
      For some reason when anything creepy or scary happens to me, being alone makes it ten times worse. I think that if you're with someone at least you have somebody to talk to. But since Miranda doesn't know who is sending her the notes, and if they knew she shared the first note they would probably find out if she shared the second one. Since she has absolutely no idea who is sending her the notes, for all she knows they could be dangerous. Because Miranda is very independent, she doesn't want to get into any trouble.
      In conclusion, these notes can be perceived in many different ways. It may seem like the notes were a small part of the book, but if you really think about it the notes build up the whole story. This is one of my favorite books, and after reading it again I've noticed even more things, in the last reading response about When You Reach Me I listed other things I noticed, but the notes are much deeper. Think about how you would feel inside if a stranger was sending you notes telling you that they know you and predicting your future and you couldn't let anybody know about any of it.

Revolt of the Evil Fairies, by Ted Poston

Revolt of the Evil Fairies

discrimination

     

     In “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” by Ted Poston. The main character wants the part of Prince Charming for the school play, but he can’t get it, because he has darker skin. The main theme in this book is discrimination, no one cares about anyone’s personality, only their complexion.

     The first example of discrimination is towards the beginning of the story when the main character says, “The good fairies wore white costumes and the evil fairies black. And strangely enough most of the good fairies turned out to be extremely light in complexion.” This quote shows that there is discrimination within races. Even though all of the children and the teachers in The Booker T Washington Grammar School were African American they recreated the unfairness they felt in the rest of the world inside their own community. This is not fair, no one has a chance at being successful, if their skin is dark.

     The teachers didn’t actually care about talent when casting the role of Prince Charming, they only paid attention to skin color. In the middle of the passage it is explained that, “Roger was not only dumb; he stuttered. But he was enough to pass for white, and apparently that was sufficient.” I think that this is unfair, because the main character got good grades, and practiced as much as he possibly could for the part of Prince Charming. But the teachers didn’t care about his hard work. This also shows how different things are now, if a kid in this time period got bad grades, they probably wouldn’t get a big part in the school play, no matter how they looked.

       My last example of discrimination in Revolt of the Evil Fairies by Ted Poston is when the author talks about the community. “The yallers had the best of everything. They had the most teaching jobs in Booker T Washington Colored Grammar School. They were the negro doctors, the lawyers, the insurance men.”

This shows that this discrimination doesn’t only take place in the school. I know that things like this in schools can be part of bullying, but this proves that discrimination goes through the whole african american community. The fact that people can be racist amongst their own race is ridiculous. It shows us that some people need to discriminate others in order to feel of value, because in their mind, compared to others they are.

     In conclusion discrimination is the theme of Revolt of the Evil Fairies by Ted Poston. Discrimination takes place even where you don’t expect it. I find it interesting and upsetting that people can feel so awful about the way things are working in the world around them that they need to create the same concept within their own people, just so they can feel better about themselves. Imagine how much discrimination it would take for you to create exactly what’s making you upset, again with your own people.

     

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

     I just started When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, for the second time, I like reading books twice in general, but after reading The Girl who was on Fire, I was inspired to read When You Reach Me again, because it is one of my favorite books, and I want to see what new things I notice.

     The first thing I noticed after reading just the first chapter was that all of the chapter titles start off with "things that..., or things you...,"I noticed this before, but I just figured it was part of Rebecca Stead's style of writing, but then I realized/ remembered that Miranda's mom is entering the $20,000 pyramid, (a game show,) and on the $20,000 pyramid, that's how the questions are formatted. This may seem obvious, but it's just a little example of how even obvious thing can only be noticed when thought about.

     Another thing I thought about, is Miranda's mom's trust issues. I've always thought it was a bit weird that her boyfriend Richard who has been with them for a long time, and is almost always at their house, still doesn't have keys to their house, it seems as if Miranda's mom somehow doesn't trust her own boyfriend in someway. Miranda claims that he always eats dinner with them and is at their house whenever her mom is home (otherwise he wouldn't be able to get in) so Miranda is very confused at why he doesn't have a key.

     Adding onto Miranda's mom's trust issues, Miranda is "a latch key kid" which basically means that she is very independent. She walks home alone, and then spends time alone at home, until her mom comes home, it's not weird to me that Miranda's mom trusts her own daughter, it's just strange, that she feels a difference between letting her 11 year old be completely alone for hours, and letting her boyfriend who she has known for years, and is always at her house, have access to her house.

     In conclusion, when you re-read a book you notice, and start to question things you never did before, this is very interesting, and I can't wait to notify you again once I have noticed more things.