The news came late. We sat at the hospital waiting for answers. We fidgeted our fingers, tapped our feet, and nibbled at our nails. The agony of unanswered questions. The doctor walked out of the room, a blank look on his face. When he reached us, a smile crept from his mouth.
"She will be alright," he said. "Everything is going to be fine."
I jumped out of my seat with excitement. I scrambled to my friend and gave her a smile from ear to ear. I touched her hands with a soft touch and gave her a hug. It was all just a scare. Everything would turn out fine, life would go on the way it should. We were all going to be alright, and I was fine with that.
"I wet his temples with a moistened finger and give him a swig" (71).
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
AQWF- WR#1-3
When we're young, our dream is to grow up. We want to feel the freedom, the power of adulthood. But then, once we get there, our views change. We no longer want to be an adult. Instead, we want to go back to childhood because we then realize things were much easier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, she tries to explain through diction that when the soldiers were growing up, what they really wanted was to just go back to when they were young.
At first the idea of being an adult was mesmerizing; they wanted to grow up so fast. But once the adulthood came, they all wanted to crawl back into their childhood state where life was much simpler. The text explained a situation where, "The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom" (n/a). They wanted the authority, the feeling of being an adult, but once the feeling came, they no longer wanted to be an adult. The idea of becoming an adult is so exciting at first but once the time comes, they long for what they had before. In the end, they're never satisfied. All they really wanted was to be happy, but they then realized that happiness was what they wanted, not what they actually had.
At first the idea of being an adult was mesmerizing; they wanted to grow up so fast. But once the adulthood came, they all wanted to crawl back into their childhood state where life was much simpler. The text explained a situation where, "The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom" (n/a). They wanted the authority, the feeling of being an adult, but once the feeling came, they no longer wanted to be an adult. The idea of becoming an adult is so exciting at first but once the time comes, they long for what they had before. In the end, they're never satisfied. All they really wanted was to be happy, but they then realized that happiness was what they wanted, not what they actually had.
Friday, March 2, 2012
AQWF- WR#2
When we're young, we try and think of all the possible things to come in the future. No matter how big or small, our imaginations envelop this view where everything will be handed to us. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque makes it prevalent that the soldiers are ready for war, but they may not be ready to work for it.
The boys don't know what's to come or what's to happen next. They go into the war as boys and they have yet to know what's to happen. They need to mature and grow into men to fully understand all that is around them. It was said that, "When we went to the district commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks. We had no definite plans for out future. Our thoughts of a career and occupation were as yet of too unpractical a character to furnish any scheme of life" (21). The whole idea of the soldiers growing up into men shows through this. Nothing will be handed to them. They need to earn it all. They were new to the war when they first came in but in order to understand everything they needed to mature into men. It may not have happened at first but the boys would have soon needed to turn to men.
The boys don't know what's to come or what's to happen next. They go into the war as boys and they have yet to know what's to happen. They need to mature and grow into men to fully understand all that is around them. It was said that, "When we went to the district commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks. We had no definite plans for out future. Our thoughts of a career and occupation were as yet of too unpractical a character to furnish any scheme of life" (21). The whole idea of the soldiers growing up into men shows through this. Nothing will be handed to them. They need to earn it all. They were new to the war when they first came in but in order to understand everything they needed to mature into men. It may not have happened at first but the boys would have soon needed to turn to men.
AQWF- WR#1
Despite the horror of all the events that occurred during WW1, Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front managed to convey a sense of beauty. Throughout the first chapter, there were parts where the author subtly mentioned death and how it rarely phased the soldiers. Then when they went out in the field and relaxed for awhile, their minds drifted to better thoughts. It was said that, "There it can only be hygienic, here it is beautiful" (9). To other people, it could have been just an ordinary field. To them, it was much more. They realized the actual beauty the field had without overlooking it. War causes people to not take things for granted, and the soldiers did just that. They didn't take the beauty of the field for granted.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Never Good Enough- JH 4
Author's Note: In the last chapter of Jekyll and Hyde, I noticed towards the
beginning that Jekyll mentioned how he had such high goals for himself and then
when he didn't accomplish them, it was hard for him to handle. I feel like this
happens with a lot of people in their everyday lives. For example, at school
someone might study extremely hard for a test and then expect to get a good
grade, but then they would get the test back with a lower grade than they would
have expected. They had such high hopes and expectations for themselves that
they were crushed when they got the low grade. This was the one of the reasons
why Jekyll needed to transform into Hyde- because he thought he wasn’t good enough.
He thought his evil side was better than his boring, good side.
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The gun felt heavy in her hand. She didn’t actually know how much one weighed; she never in her 16 years of life thought she’d ever need to hold one. She focused her gaze on the trigger. How could such a weak drawback cause fatal consequences? She was amazed at the thought. To her, this was art. Mesmerized by the design, she was at a loss for words.
She walked to the old run-down shed standing in her backyard. The door creaked open revealing large cobwebs and thick dust. The sunlight shone through a broken window almost making the shed look appealing. She held the gun tight in her hand ready for the next decision she was about to make.
She was never satisfied with herself; she always felt like a failure. Her grades dropped since she started high school. She really did try her best but nothing was ever good enough. She didn’t feel like she belonged there. She made the varsity tennis team freshman year. Even though she was just 1 match away from the state championship, she thought she was awful. She blamed herself for everything that ever happened because she didn’t know how to cope with her feelings. She found it hard to reconcile with the imperious desire to carry her head high. Her life was slowly falling apart.
Looking down at the gun clutched tightly in her hand, she stepped into the shed. She found a thick rope and attached it to the trigger of the gun. She tied the end of the rope to the door making sure it didn’t move the trigger quite yet. She stood approximately 10 feet away from the gun. She stared at it for a long time. Her mind wandered to her family and friends who didn’t have a clue what was about to happen. She thought about her mom and dad. They were divorced and never spoke anymore. She thought about her older sister. She had always looked up to her for everything, but soon she wouldn’t need to anymore. She then thought about her best friend. Maybe she would be happy, she could now spend all her time with her boyfriend and she wouldn’t need to worry about her anymore. She needed to stop thinking. She didn’t want to convince herself to change her own mind.
Taking deep breaths, one after another, she picked up the other end of the rope lying on the floor. Slowly closing her eyes, she let a small tear slide down the side of her cheek. She held her ground and stood up tall. Letting out one last breath, she pulled the rope towards her and the gun went off in the serene silent shed. The only noise after the loud pop was the sound of a limp body hitting the ground.
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The gun felt heavy in her hand. She didn’t actually know how much one weighed; she never in her 16 years of life thought she’d ever need to hold one. She focused her gaze on the trigger. How could such a weak drawback cause fatal consequences? She was amazed at the thought. To her, this was art. Mesmerized by the design, she was at a loss for words.
She walked to the old run-down shed standing in her backyard. The door creaked open revealing large cobwebs and thick dust. The sunlight shone through a broken window almost making the shed look appealing. She held the gun tight in her hand ready for the next decision she was about to make.
She was never satisfied with herself; she always felt like a failure. Her grades dropped since she started high school. She really did try her best but nothing was ever good enough. She didn’t feel like she belonged there. She made the varsity tennis team freshman year. Even though she was just 1 match away from the state championship, she thought she was awful. She blamed herself for everything that ever happened because she didn’t know how to cope with her feelings. She found it hard to reconcile with the imperious desire to carry her head high. Her life was slowly falling apart.
Looking down at the gun clutched tightly in her hand, she stepped into the shed. She found a thick rope and attached it to the trigger of the gun. She tied the end of the rope to the door making sure it didn’t move the trigger quite yet. She stood approximately 10 feet away from the gun. She stared at it for a long time. Her mind wandered to her family and friends who didn’t have a clue what was about to happen. She thought about her mom and dad. They were divorced and never spoke anymore. She thought about her older sister. She had always looked up to her for everything, but soon she wouldn’t need to anymore. She then thought about her best friend. Maybe she would be happy, she could now spend all her time with her boyfriend and she wouldn’t need to worry about her anymore. She needed to stop thinking. She didn’t want to convince herself to change her own mind.
Taking deep breaths, one after another, she picked up the other end of the rope lying on the floor. Slowly closing her eyes, she let a small tear slide down the side of her cheek. She held her ground and stood up tall. Letting out one last breath, she pulled the rope towards her and the gun went off in the serene silent shed. The only noise after the loud pop was the sound of a limp body hitting the ground.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
No way out- JH 3
Author’s Note: As Jekyll and Hyde is coming to a close, I think the idea that people are enslaved by their own responsibilities was being portrayed. The carpenter that was breaking into Jekyll’s cabinet was having a hard time getting it open, but he had to do it. Opening the cabinet for Lanyon was his job and he was forced to fulfill it. In this short response I am writing about a lawyer whose client was a murderer. Even though the lawyer knew the murderer was guilty, he still had to do his job to try to prove him innocent. He was enslaved by his own responsibility which then caused the murderer to be let free.
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All was silent. The only noise was of the hushed breathing inside the courtroom. All were waiting to hear the verdict of the case. “Please be guilty, please be guilty,” were the only words running through her head. “Please be guilty, please be guilty.”
The judge nodded to the head police officer of the courtroom. At the approval, the officer opened the envelope containing the few words the court room was dying to hear. He glanced at the paper, than looked at the judge.
“We find the defendant not guilty.”
Her client grasped her hand. He leaned over and whispered something she wished she'd never have to hear. “We did it. You did it. With all your help, I got away with it.” He gave her a crooked smile which sent icy chills down her spine. Her face went white, her body numb. She let a murderer go free. The feeling left her stomach turning in tight little knots.
What could she do? She had to do her duty. Her job was to defend her clients if they were accused of any crime. The lawyer vowed she would have great trouble and have to do much damage; she was in despair. There was no way out if she played her cards right and managed to convince a jury that a guilty man was innocent. Unfortunatley, she succeeded. She wanted to tell them all the truth- her client was a murderer, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything. Her hands were tied. All she could do was to go on to the next one, hoping that she wouldn’t have to do deal with the same situation again. The thought haunted her. She gathered her belongings and left the courtroom, never looking back.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Better off Oblivious- JH 2
Author's Note: While reading chapters 4-7 of Jekyll and Hyde, I noticed that people were really eager to find things out even if it was in their best interest to not know things. In this creative piece, i wrote about a girl who finds out how her mother dies even though it was in her best interest to not know how, but to just know that she would no longer see her mother again.
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She was sitting in English class on the Friday just before Spring Break. No one in the class focused on reading because their minds were already wandering to the tropical places they had yet to go in the coming 24 hours. While talking to her friends about everything she was going to do over break, she was called down to the office.
“Can Gabriella Brown please come down to the office immediately?” The voice sounded serious and stern. She had no idea why she was being called down to the office. She knew she wasn’t in trouble because she never did anything to break school rules. Reluctantly, she gathered all her belongings and trudged down to the office.
She walked through the doors cautiously, not knowing what to expect. She saw her older sister sitting down in a slouched position. She walked slowly over to her sister and sat down in the chair beside her. They waited for what seemed like forever until finally their dad sauntered into the office. His face was red, his eyes puffy as if he had been crying.
“Dad, what happened?” she asked slowly. “Why were you crying? What’s going on?”
“She’s gone.” Their father replied. “She, I, your mother, she’s gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?” questioned her sister.
“She was on her way to work when there was an accident. She didn’t make it out alive girls, your mother is dead.” were the words their father managed to choke out.
“No.” her sister’s voice cracked. “No, not my mom.”
“How?” she asked. “How did she die?”
“It’s best if you don’t know” replied their father.
“Tell me!” she screamed angrily. She didn’t mean to scream at her vulnerable father. She had never seen him cry before, she just needed answers. How could her mom leave them? They needed her. They were leaving for Florida the next morning. It was a family vacation. Their mother had to be there. How could she have died? How did she die? The questions swarmed around her brain like a million mad mosquitoes.
“There was an accident. She died in an accident.”
“What happened in the accident dad? Tell me how she died!”
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Dad, how did my mom die!? Please tell me, how did she die?”
“She was shot Gabriella.” her father sobbed. “She was shot walking into work in a drive-by.”
She looked at her sister. They were both pale; and there was an answering horror in their eyes. Her sister broke down immediately. Before they knew how her mother died, their faces were blank. They didn’t know how to react to such a thing. They saw on the news and in the newspaper how kid’s parents died but they never thought it could actually happen to them. She was better off not knowing how her mother died, and hearing it left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
That was that. Gabriella didn’t have a mom anymore; neither did her sister. Their mother was gone, and their father no longer had a wife. Knowing how their mother was killed made it worse. They would have been better off oblivious, but she didn’t listen.
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She was sitting in English class on the Friday just before Spring Break. No one in the class focused on reading because their minds were already wandering to the tropical places they had yet to go in the coming 24 hours. While talking to her friends about everything she was going to do over break, she was called down to the office.
“Can Gabriella Brown please come down to the office immediately?” The voice sounded serious and stern. She had no idea why she was being called down to the office. She knew she wasn’t in trouble because she never did anything to break school rules. Reluctantly, she gathered all her belongings and trudged down to the office.
She walked through the doors cautiously, not knowing what to expect. She saw her older sister sitting down in a slouched position. She walked slowly over to her sister and sat down in the chair beside her. They waited for what seemed like forever until finally their dad sauntered into the office. His face was red, his eyes puffy as if he had been crying.
“Dad, what happened?” she asked slowly. “Why were you crying? What’s going on?”
“She’s gone.” Their father replied. “She, I, your mother, she’s gone.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?” questioned her sister.
“She was on her way to work when there was an accident. She didn’t make it out alive girls, your mother is dead.” were the words their father managed to choke out.
“No.” her sister’s voice cracked. “No, not my mom.”
“How?” she asked. “How did she die?”
“It’s best if you don’t know” replied their father.
“Tell me!” she screamed angrily. She didn’t mean to scream at her vulnerable father. She had never seen him cry before, she just needed answers. How could her mom leave them? They needed her. They were leaving for Florida the next morning. It was a family vacation. Their mother had to be there. How could she have died? How did she die? The questions swarmed around her brain like a million mad mosquitoes.
“There was an accident. She died in an accident.”
“What happened in the accident dad? Tell me how she died!”
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Dad, how did my mom die!? Please tell me, how did she die?”
“She was shot Gabriella.” her father sobbed. “She was shot walking into work in a drive-by.”
She looked at her sister. They were both pale; and there was an answering horror in their eyes. Her sister broke down immediately. Before they knew how her mother died, their faces were blank. They didn’t know how to react to such a thing. They saw on the news and in the newspaper how kid’s parents died but they never thought it could actually happen to them. She was better off not knowing how her mother died, and hearing it left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
That was that. Gabriella didn’t have a mom anymore; neither did her sister. Their mother was gone, and their father no longer had a wife. Knowing how their mother was killed made it worse. They would have been better off oblivious, but she didn’t listen.
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