Creative End of Year Piece

Big Guy in a Small Place

Author's Note- This is a creative piece to finish off the year.  The assignment was to take an original plot and twist it.  The plot that me and my partner chose was Popeye the Sailor Man but with a little twist.

"Good Morning, thanks for dropping your kid off at Popeye's Daycare Center.  We will take great care of your child.  We have a very gentle staff, especially Popeye."

"NANCY!" screams Popeye as the little boy runs back in to his mom's arms.  "Where's my pipe!?  I swear if it were those dang kids again I'm going to tie them to a chair and rip their - of hey'der little boy thanks for coming."  The mother runs out the door with her kid in her hand.  "Dang it Nancy why do I always do that?"

"Maybe because you have to big of a temper."

"I DO NOT HAVE A TEMPER!  Hhem, sorry but when it comes to my pipe I get mad."

"Just get a new one."

"I can't when..."

"AAAAAHHHHHHH" As Popeye gets interupted by the rest of the kids in the other room and all of them run out of the building screaming with Popeye's pipe, his back-up pipe, and his back-up-back-up pipe.

Popeye runs out of the building looking really upset.

"Where are you going!?" yells Nancy.

"Re-joining the Navy... And getting more pipes!"

Trojan War Play response

The Three Little Brats

Author's Note- This is a response to "The Hysterical History of the Trojan War" play.  It could be turned in to an essay but for now it is just a response.

I can analyze how a character, event, or conflict in a classic text has been adapted into a modern rendition and evaluate why those changes were made.

Topic -
Analyze how Aphrodite is similar and different to a drama queen by seeing how she over-reacted to other beautiful women and winning a bet.

In the play, Aphrodite was not a character that spoke but she did get mentioned a couple times.  Hera and Athena were talking about how Aphrodite was a brat that demanded attention.  Even though Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty she does seem to talk way to much about herself.  Until the Trojan war she thought only of herself.  Since Helen got in to the picture, Hera and Athena got infuriated with Aphrodite.  That's why the Trojan war started.

Aphrodite is much like a drama queen because they demand attention.  Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty and drama queens really try to think that they are the most beautiful girls in the world.  In the play they really try to emphasize that Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena are brats, this shows their ignorance and selfishness. I think it makes sense because this is a war started over bribery of beauty queens demanding attention and looking for a man to love them just for their looks and win a bet.  

Compare and Contrast

What Binds Them Together

Author's Note - This is a Compare and Contrast Piece that explains the differences between the short story "Ribbons" and and the current laws in China and around the world.

The body's unnatural position of the foot.  A ribbon as a binding holding your foot in a cramped position.  The modern day laws say no to foot binding but yet some still do it.  They think it is considered beautiful to have small feet.  In the short story "Ribbons" a grandma coming over from China for the first time to live in America has trouble walking, her granddaughter notices and tries to get attention to figure out what is going on.  The story shows some points about what happened in the 1900's and how the laws are different now.

The current law states that it is illegal to foot bind your child's feet.  This doesn't stop parents from doing it even though the penalties can result in slavery.  Women in China say they regret binding their feet, but then again they couldn't get married.  This must have been why the grandma in the story got her feet bound.  In the story it explains this when the mother explained what foot binding did she said, "Her mother and father thought it would make their little girl attractive so she could marry a rich man."  If it were not an old Chinese custom there would be no penalties and new laws against foot binding.  Instead there are laws with harsh penalties.

Another way that the story is connected is there are still villages doing foot binding.  The grandmother obviously wanted nothing to do with foot binding again and that is why she got upset when she saw the shoes and the ribbons in the girl's hands.  Even though there are harsh penalties against foot binding, the back areas of China stay under the radar and get away with it.  The mother explains this when she says, "They were still doing it in some of the back areas of China long after it was outlawed in the rest of the country."  It explains why the grandmother wanted nothing to do with the ribbons.

Although there are some ties there are also some differences in the way of the culture in foot binding.  Most of the people still alive with foot bindings can walk very normal.  Because they have it specially wrapped, they can walk around without feeling pain in their feet.  Most of the time the women can not feel their feet but in the story the grandma constantly rests on the steps claiming that her feet hurt.  Also she used a cane to walk around while most women can walk normal.  The grandmother said "Each step hurt me as if I were walking on a knife."

Even though the grandmother didn't know about dance, she still didn't want to touch the ribbons.  Some of the back villages of China don't know what they are doing even if they know the law or don't.  In some ways it represents marriage, in other ways it represents pain and suffering.

The Trojan Horse

Author's Note- This is a short response to the short story "The Trojan Horse" by Virgil.  I am responding to the questions below.

Questions-

1. What was the conflict?  How did the conflict get resolved?
2. What was so devious (sneaky) about the whole thing?
3. Could something like this happen nowadays?  Why/why not?
4. Could something like this happen at a school or small work place? Why/why not?
5. Have you seen something like this tactic used in a novel/TV show/film/real life? Explain.

The modern society that we have grown up in is very different all around the world and was very different even in medevil times.  The Trojans had so much confidence that the horse was a gift to the their god Athena that they lost sight of what they were doing - fighting.  Did they really think that the Greeks would give up that easily and just randomly leave someone behind.  The fall of the Trojans lied on the stupidity and superstition of a very smart trick by the Greeks.

If you did something like this to win something our tactics could never be believable because we don't believe in multiple gods that control everything.  Instead of being caught off guard by a band of your friends, you all know it is coming if you are playing a game.  But I give the Trojans credit for staying in the war for 10 years.  If you knew what you were playing you could always have a chance of winning.

Text Analysis / DWA

Author's Note- This is a text analysis piece that is also a District Writing Assessment.  I am really working hard to get a great score on everything and I am especially working on introductions since that is one of my goals.  I will try to get this out about a week before my conference so please read this to look over and tell me in the comments or in person to improve anything.

The Cruel World of Different People

As the boys, just coming in the door, are greeted by Johnny's mother they notice a slight off setting.  Boyd, Johnny's friend, is being stared down by Mrs. Wilson as Johnny asks if everything is okay.  She notices one thing that sticks out like a flamingo that has found its way to the swamps of Louisiana.  Boyd is negro.  In the short story "After You, My Dear Alphonse," a women named Mrs. Wilson, can't handle Johnny's friend and because of her strange actions that can not be taken back, the boys have a little fun with it.

As much as Mrs. Wilson tries to cover up being unintentionally racist, she fails every time.  She tries to convince herself that since her son's friend is black, he has a poor family.  She soon finds out that it is not true and tries to cover it up.  Like in the story when she said, "He certainly has to be strong to do that - all that lifting and carrying at a factory."  It turned out that he was a foreman but she assumed that he did the dirty work since negro people used to do the hard labor when they were slaves.  She is curious to what kind of lifestyle this negro boy goes through and to make it easier on her part for making conversation.  She assumes to much with to little information.  When she was proved wrong by her own son "[She] felt defeated" as if she just wanted to be right but assumed to much.  She has been grown up in a society where black people are treated like dirt, and the white people think they can be as useful as dirt.  This happens just a bit differently in our society, but with the same overconfidence of what you think people are.

Although Mrs. Wilson was "defeated" and felt stupid, there are other stereotypes around modern society that sometimes have much more of an effect on people as you think they would.  These stereotypes are somewhat similar to Pewaukee because if someone from outside the MidWest came to Wisconsin, they would think there are going to be cows and cheese factories all over the place.  Again they assume to much with to little information.  Just like the mom in the story they walk in to situations where they don't know what they are talking about, but assume they are right.  If someone from outside the southeastern part of Wisconsin came to Pewaukee they would think that all of us are rich and spoiled.  I actually agree with that although it is not 100% true, the rumor is not effected by all people even though it is just over half of the families.  This is similar to Mrs. Wilson because when she found out Boyd was black, she transferred more stereotypes to his mother and father, but was still incorrect because she thought if one person looks different they are different even if you have never seen them or heard of them.

This story reminds me of a book called, I Never Had It Made, an autobiography by Jackie Robinson.  He was a black baseball player that was playing ball in the Negro League when the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers took him to the National Baseball League for white people.  He faced criticism and death threats that he had to deal with and overcome through his baseball career.  When he went to stadiums to play baseball, the white people would shout racist comments that weren't true about his race.  Jackie Robinson could symbolize the boys in this story trying to defend themselves by showing Mrs. Wilson what Boyd's background really is.  The fans in the stadiums and the critics would symbolize Mrs. Wilson that wanted to be right to find out if the stereotypes she heard were true.  Both Robinson and the boys succeeded in proving everyone wrong by showing that they could stand their ground to get rid of the rumors and stereotypes weighing down their ethnic group.

I believe that Shirley Jackson is trying to teach us the importance of not being prejudice.  The mom in the story  has grown up in the society where she heard only people saying hurtful things to different colored people was natural.  She thought because he was black that he had no where to go and his dad was a factory worker that lifted heavy objects on a daily basis making him built and strong.  But since she was prejudice, she got burned by her own son and his friend.  What Mrs. Jackson wants us to take away from this passage is that we should get to know people before we can judge them.

The world is a cruel place, especially when you have people that are judging other people before they even get to know them.  Shirley Jackson really wanted to show us how many times we can be proven wrong by just assuming things.  Mrs. Wilson learned a lesson to "not judge a book (or person) by its cover."  Jackie Robinson did with his baseball career and Boyd did it with the facts and background of his family.  All of the problems were forced on by critics coming up with stereotypes to make someone look bad the way they are not meant to be looked at.

"Ribbons" Response

In this story, the shoes are a symbol for the young girl and her grandmother.  Write about how culture is different in China and the U.S.  In what ways does the U.S. do things for Superficial beauty?  What is the significance of the title?

Author's Note- This is a short response to the short story "Ribbons."  I could make this in to an essay later but for now it is just a response.

The invisible ribbon that the girl in the short story "Ribbons," is the symbol for everlasting love throughout a family.  As she describes the ribbon is stronger than silk or satin or even steel, it means that even if you are halfway across the world you are still connected by love.  Like the symbolism with the shoes that resemble the girl and her "paw-paw" she needs the tie of her mother (the ribbon) to stay connected.

The Chinese culture is one of the oldest cultures to exist this earth.  As for now they may be the oldest but not the highest in technology and innovation.  The leader in that would be the U.S.  The U.S. is called, "The home of innovation."  The U.S. has used this title to inspire inventors to do new things and add fame and beauty to our country.  But then we put the work for other countries such as China and when you look at the details our beauty is fake.

Who Am I?

My mind is a never ending time orb that has come up with ideas of the universe.  My theories have inspired millions to go in to the field of science and industry.  The industries have had a massive explosion of ideas after I died in 1955.  My death was a big phenomena that scattered scientist to keep my name in history.  There were books, tapes, even a couple movies that were written about me, not to mention I have written a couple books myself.

My friends never agreed with me along with over 3/4 of the world.  I proved them wrong when I won a Nobel peace prize.  I almost flunked out of grade school and even though I loved school I had to drop out of high school.  This just determined me more to get educated by letting out.  With my self-taught education I created one of the most well known equations that will ever be on the earth.  It will also be one of the most disputed.

With all of the knowledge that I have had throughout my life I have been the most well known scientist ever.  I came to America when the Nazis chased me out for being Jewish.  This set off my career too an all to high. I worked as a professor at Princeton University teaching college kids about science.  I died about ten years later at Princeton.

Who Am I?