TKAM post #5

perspective of Aunt Alexandra

I am here in Moycomb, Alabama staying here with Atticus and the kids. Atticus told the kids that I am here to watch them over the summer since he wont be here most of the days. But I am really here to teach Scout and Jem how to become proper ladies and gentlemen. The kids really haven't been getting a long very well. They have been pestering, but I just think that Jem is growing up, which is exactly why I'm here. I know that they are proper somewhere on the inside, but I just need to extract it from them. I know that Scout doesn't really like how I want her to become a lady, but I know that the ladies in town would love to have a tea party with me. I invite some of the ladies form Maycomb over, and we have tea. Scout came in from outside to get some water for her and Jem. I tell her to come meet her cousin Lily Brooke. Scout came over, and she is filthy with mud, and I regret having her come meet Miss Lily Brooke.

I am very proud of being a Finch. There are some things that I think are giving the Finch name a bad reputation; Atticus defending a black person, Scout not being lady, and just many other little things, that I don't think are perfect that need to be. One day Scout tried to ask Atticus what rape was, and why Calpurnia didn't tell her. Scout also asked Atticus if her and Jem could go to Calpurnia's house, because she said they could, Atticus was about to answer with a yes, and I just couldn't help myself, and yelled out "NO." Why would she think that she could go to a Negros house. We have enough disgrace with the Finches and Negros, we don't need anymore. Anyways, I don't think that Calpurnia needs to work here anymore, since I will be staying here for a long time. I want her fired.

Ms. Rachel's nephew, Dill ran away from his house, because he thought that his new step dad, and mom don't pay enough attention to him, so he took 13$ from his mom's purse with her being oblivious. And in the middle of the night, Dill ran away. He walked, rode a train, and rode on the back of a cotton car all the way to Maycomb. Dill was dispelled with his parents. So one night, Scout thought she saw something under her bed, and she thought it was a snake, but it was Dill! he was asleep under her bed, and probably got in the house when no one was looking, or no one was home. Dill was filthy, and hungry, and not in and amiably way. Atticus told Scout to go get him some food, and I went to go tell Miss Rachel that Dill is here.

A week after Dill gets here, A group of men knock on the door. They were here to tell Atticus that his defendant, Tom Robinson is getting moved to the Maycomb County Jail. Atticus and I had been arguing about the trial, because I don't think that he should be defending Tom Robinson. A few nights later, Atticus takes the car into town, and doesn't tell me where he was going. But I have been taking charge in this house hold, and have been making a lot of rules, and I don't think that the kids really like them. And Atticus either.

TKAM post 4

Perspective of Jem

Scout and I were out shooting with our new air soft guns, and Atticus came out and said "I would rather you two shoot at some tin cans, but I know you are goin' for the birds, but remember; its a sin to kill a mocking bird." A few days later, there was a father football game, and I was sitting there watching all my classmate's dads play foot ball, but Atticus wasn't playing because he says he is too old.

Me and Scout go out to play in the front yard, and we see old Tim Johnson out down the street. We notice that he is was walking funny, but that old dog is always up to something. We run inside to tell Cal about the dog, and she says that every time we see something out of the ordinary when our dad isn't home, we cant come telling her to look at it. After we beg her to come out and look, she says that Tim Johnson has turned into a "mad dog," with rabies. She tells us to go inside, because we are in peril. Calpurnia runs in, and calls Atticus, and says that there is a mad dog coming up our street. She calls everyone in the neighborhood, and warns them too. The Radley's didn't answer their phone, so she runs out and bangs on their door to tell them that there is a Mad Dog out on the loose but no one answers the door either.

After a few minutes, Atticus pulls up in Heck Tate, the Sheriff's car, and they both step out. They have to shoot poor Tim Johnson. Heck looks down the road, and sees Tim Johnson slowly walking up the street in a straight line. He says "Atticus, I can't shoot that good, and for a mad dog, you only get one shot." He throws the gun to Atticus, and he doesn't want to shoot either, but he does. He aims the gun at Tim Johnson, and looks with his right eye, and fires. It hits the dog right in his head. Heck and Atticus walk up to the dog in front of the Radley place, and heck said that Atticus was a little to the right, but it was a great shot.

Scout and I walk to town, because I had some money to spend, and I wanted to get my steam engine, and scout wanted a baton that I said I might get for her. In order to get to town, we have to pass Ms. Henry Lafayette Dubose's house. Ms. Dubose is a sick, grumpy, old woman who sits in her wheelchair on her porch all day. When we pass her house, Atticus tells us to be polite, and don't say anything that might offend her. When we passed her house I said Hey Ms. Dubose. She responded "Don't you say Hey Ms. Dubose, you say Good Afternoon Ms. Dubose, and you, you should be wearing a dress, not those filthy overalls." I said i was just trying to be nice, and she said "Don't you Contradict me." So we walked away, and I was very upset, because she said some very mean things about Atticus, and I did not like it. After I bought my to steam engine, and I got Scout a baton, we walked back home. Scout dropped her baton so many times trying to flip it in the air, it was filthy. When we walked back passed Ms. Dubose's house, she wasn't on her porch, so I took Scouts baton, walked up the steps, and broke Scout's baton on my knee. I broke all of her Camellia buds, and left the broken baton there. Scout started yelling, so I kicked her and she fell on her face. Then I felt bad, and helped he up. We walked away, and I acted like nothing happened.

When we got home, I sat in my room and when I heard Atticus come in the front door, i tried to hide. He yelled my name real loud, and I went to him. He help half the baton in his hand, and asked me if I was responsible for it. I murmured "yes sir," so quiet, it was almost inaudible. So Atticus told me to immediately go over, and apologize to Ms. Dubose. when I was there, she told me that she wants me to read to her out loud for two hours each day for a month. So I started reading to her the next day, but it was only for about 20 minutes. After a week or so, I realized that when her alarm goes off, I have to leave, and it is set a little later each day. After a month of reading, it turned out that we read for more then two hours, and I only knew that because Atticus came in and said he would stop by because we were not home yet. So I asked Ms. Dubose if this was my last day reading to her, and she said she wants me to continue for 2 more weeks.

I left, and when we got home, I was talking to Atticus about it and he said that even if I didn't earn it, he would ask me to go over and read to her, because he is sick. He explained to me that she is very sick and is dying soon, and is addicted to morphine. He said that it is just a distraction to keep the pain away, and that the most time I am just inconspicuous to her. After reading for 2 more weeks, Atticus got a phone call that said that Ms. Dubose had just died. I had mixed feelings about this, but was grateful too, becasue I was tired of reading to her and sick of hearing her say bad things about my father. Atticus went over to Ms. Dubose's house, and came back with a box for me. Inside the box was Camellia bud; this was a sign of forgiveness from her and she is saying that it is okay now (that she is dead).

Atticus left to go on a business trip type thing, and we were here with Calpurnia. She was wondering on Sunday if we would go to our church or not, since Atticus wasn't here. She decided that she would take us to her church. Calpurnia dressed us up real nice, and made scout wear a dress. I had on my dark blue suit with a green tie, and she told me to change, because they didn't match, so I changed my tie. When we got to church, it was not like the church that me and Scout are used to, and it was not very ecclesiastical. There were no books, and no organ or piano. when everyone donates money, it is not passed around in a basket, everyone has to go up to the front, so the people at the church know who donated money, and who didn't.

Everyone was looking at us funny, because they knew that we were Atticus's children, and we were white. We got a lot of respect from the Negros, because they are all friends of Tom Robinson, and they are very grateful that my dad is defending him in his case. The man who worked at the church, Reverend Sykes, did not let everyone leave until there was 10 dollars total in the can with all the money, and he closed the doors, and asked everyone with out children to donate money. Later i found out that all the money goes to Tom Robinson's family, because since they have some kids, Ms. Robinson wont be able to work when Tom is at court. Reverend Sykes kept calling names, and saying that they have not come up and put in some money yet. Scout and I went up and put in our dimes that Calpurnia gave to each of us. Reverend Sykes was very grateful for that, because he expect the white people to have more money then most of the Negros. When 10 dollars was finally added up, we left, and went home.

TKAM post 3

Perspective of Atticus

I woke up this winter morning, and it is freezing. I go to the bathroom to shave, and I hear Scout scream. I run out of the bathroom half way shaved, and she says "The world is coming to an end, Atticus!" I thought she was a very Perplexed girl. I explained to her that it was snow, and that the world is not ending! I get a phone call, and it is Eula May, from the kids school she was entrusted to call the homes when something happens. she is calling to say that because it hasn't snowed in Maycomb, Alabama since 1885, there will be no school. The kids are so excited, so they put on some jackets, and go out and play in the snow. I said to Jem, that I know just as much about snow as he does, and that is not a lot, but the kids still decide that they will make a snowman, and get aquatinted with the snow. 

I see the kids playing outside, and they walk over to Miss Maudie's house. They come back a few minutes later with 2 baskets full of slushy, muddy snow. I decide to go outside and see what they are doing. I come out, and they kids are building a fat snowman. I ask them if that is supposed to be a replica of Mr. Avery, and they say no, but I decided that they should take off some of the stomach, and they put a hat and Miss Maudie's yard clippers on it, so it doesn't look like him.  Today, we found out that Mrs. Radley died.

That night, when the kids were asleep, it was a little after 1:00, and I heard a lot of noise outside, and I smelled smoke. I look outside, and Miss. Maudie's house is in flames. I wake up the kids, and make them put on coats, and robes, and warm shoes. They ask what is going on, and I take them outside, and tell them to stay right in front of the adjacent Radley place, and make sure that they stay there. I have to go help put out the fire. All the men in the neighborhood start taking out her furniture and putting on the street. Mr. Avery goes in to try to help out Miss Maudie, and when he is trying to get out of the window because the stairs were burning down, he got stuck. His big belly was stuck in the window frame, but he managed to wedge himself out onto the top balcony.

After the fire was out, it was almost the morning, so we went inside, and I asked the kids if they wanted some hot chocolate. Then I noticed a blanket on Scout's shoulder that wasn't there when we left them outside. I said "I told you two to stay exactly where I left you, and not to move 1 inch." They had no clue what I was talking about. I said "Scout, where did that blanket come from if you didn't move?" she looked at her shoulders, and saw a blanket on it. She screamed and said "I swear, Atticus, that blanket just appeared on me, we didn't move 1 inch, I promise." This was weird, I don't know if I believed her or not. I said I think that while they were standing there, one of the Radley's came up behind them, and put the blanket on her shoulder. 

When the kids went back to school, Scout came home and asked me if I was defending a Negro. I told her that Tom Robinson was a very nice man, and it doesn't matter his color, he is my client. My brother, Jack, and his wife and grandson, francis who is a year older then Scout comes to our house, and notices that Scout has been cursing a lot. After dinner, he pulls her aside, and tells her not to swear in his presence, and that it is not okay for young ladies to talk like that. For Christmas, I take jack and the kids to Finch's Landing. I cannot remember a Christmas with the kids where we did not go there. Finch's Landing is an old house in the Country. Scout says that Francis is the most boring person to play with, and she is debating with her Aunt Alexandra that she shouldn't wear a dress, even though her aunt wants her too. 

Before Jack and his family return to Maycomb, the kids were acting kind of wierd, like they were keeping a secret from me. I tell Jack that Tom Robinson is "innocent, but doomed."

TKAM post 2

Perspective of Atticus

The kids school years are coming to the end, and I am surprised that Scout is happy about that. Before the school year started, Scout was so excited about school and after the first couple days, she told me she didn't want to go anymore. On the last day of school, Scout came home, and she was chewing some gum, I thought that was wierd but I didnt say anything to her about it. In the summer, I love watching the kids play. They are so happy because their friend, Dill, is coming today from his dad's house. Dill comes to visit his Aunt Rachel, who is our next door neighbor. Jem and Scout love to play with Dill, the second he gets here they start planning out their whole summer.

When they are playing, it is not always unanimous on what they want to do, and poor Scout never gets her way, becasue Dill always says to her, "if you dont wanna' do what we're doing, then go sit by yourself," But Scout is a tough one, and takes it like a man, and does what they do. A few weeks into the summer, Jem and Scout come to me with 2 very shinny pennys that are dated 1900, and 1906. I say that those are very inportant to someone, and that they should leave them where they found them, becasue someone must have cleaned them up.

One day, I saw the kdis playing around the Radley's house. I asked them what they were doing, and they said that they wanted to ask Mr. Arthur Radley to come out of his house, so they cam meet them. I told them to stop tormenting the poor man, and leave him alone, and that he evades (evasion is the vocab word) people for a very important reason. A few weeks after I saw the kids by the Radley's house, I saw them playing in the front yard, and they were acting very mysterious, and I saw them with a pair of scissors. I think that they should know that scissors are not for playing with. I asked them what they were doing, and they didn't say anything, and I suspected that they were playing "the Radley's." So I just took the scissors.  

A few days later, it was Dill's last day. That night, the kids and I were at Ms. Rachel's house, saying our last good byes to Dill.  As me and Ms. Rachel were talking, the kids said they were going to go play, and I didn;t mind, they wanted to have their last play time with dill. So Ms. Rachel and I were just talking about what a great time this summer has been, and just making small talk about and different quibble (quibbling is the vocab word). After talking for about 30 minutes, we heard a gun shot, so we ran, and everyone was in front of the Radley house.  It was a tyranny thing. Everyone said that a black person went onto their property, and Mr. Radley missed him when he was shooting, but he scarred the black out of him, so he became white. The kids came to the house too, and Jem had no pants on. I asked him what the sam hill happened to his pants, and Dill stepped in and said "we were playin' a strip poker game, and Jem lost so he had to take off his pants." I told him he needed to go get his pants back so he went to Dill's house. 

After Dill left, the kids started school again. On the first day of school, the kids came home with a nice white gold pocket watch that didn't work. The watch had a pocket knife attached to it. I said it could be worth 10$.

TKAM post 1

perspective of Miss. Caroline

I am preparing for the firsts day of school. I have always gotten some eccentric children in my class. I wonder what is coming next. The school is starting a new way of teaching, it's the Dewey Decimal System. It really irks me when people come to my first grade class and already know how to read and write, but that rarely happens.

It is the first day of school, and I am waiting for all the students to come in to class. They start coming in, and I recognize a few of them, the ones that have been in 1st grade for about 3 years. When all of the kids are in, I make a few pronouncements and tell them what i expect from them, and what they should expect to happen in class. I introduce my self, and start writing the alphabet on the white board. I ask one of the girls, names scout, what it says, and she read the the whole alphabet out loud. I don't think that that is acceptable that she comes to my class and can read. I pull her aside, and tell her that if her daddy keeps teaching her how to read, then we will have to make a compromise. Her Daddy should not teacher her how to read, and if he continues, I will have to condescend and tell him my self that it is NOT OKAY! The day goes on, and I find out that Scout can write in cursive. That also irks me, and i tell her she can't do that until 3rd grade.

So lunchtime comes, and i ask who is going home for lunch, and who will stay here. A boy named Walter Cunningham docent have a lunch, and isn't going home. I try to give him a quarter to go buy lunch then pay me back tomorrow, and he won't take it. I start getting frustrated with him. Some of the kids start talking and i ask what is happening, so once again Scout jumps up to the plate. Shes says "Don't you know, hes a Cunningham. He wont be able to pay you back, I bet his family has never seen 3 quarters together in his life. " I am so frustrated with her, I let everyone out to lunch, and put her in the corner.

So when every one comes back from lunch, and boy that i didn't see in the morning was in the class. He was FILTHY, and he had bugs in his hair. I tell him he needs to go home and scrub his hair three times. so he leaves, and never comes back. his name is Burris Ewell, and I find out that the Ewell family comes to school for the first Day, and never comes back unless they have a longing for and education.

immigration reflection

Literature Circle Books/ Blogs
I was not very happy with my choice of book. I didn't really like the whole storyline of it. It went back and forth from present day to back when the main character, Achak, was a child. To me, that was very confusing and hard to concentrate on. I also didn't like how long the book was, and just kept going on and on about pretty much the same things, and Achak having the same problems. Of course, the book did have a lot of good parts in it, and some heavy action parts, but most of it just felt long, and difficult to concentrate on.

I learned all about the war that happened in Africa a few years ago. I learned how hard it is for people to immigrate to America, and how long it takes for them to get used to the differences between the 2 countries. I learned a lot about the main character, Achak, who came to America from Africa, and got treated very unfairly.

If I could add anything to the LC process, I think I would keep it like how it was 1st semester. Where we met in the group, and had the vocabulary, and talked to each other in person, not just through the blogs. I didn't really mind doing the blog posts, it would have just been easier to meet in person, because I thought the book was really confusing.

I thought it was good to just find 2 quotes from the pages that you read and only write about those, instead of briefly writing about 2 quotes, but also having to explain the characters, and some vocabulary.

I liked how the other people got to comment on our blogs, because if i didn't understand something, the other people would explain it to me. Also, I liked it, because sometimes it would help you think of things a different way.

Art & Literature
I chose to make a new book cover for my book. I chose to do this because I thought that the original book cover was a little plain and boring. The book cover that i made reflected on the book, because it has the 4 main parts of the book; Africa, USA, and the main character in two different ages, when he was a little boy, and when he was all grown up.

I do feel like there was a connection made between my book cover, and the book, because I think that my book cover was completely about the book. Like I said, it had the 4 main parts of the book, and it fit with the book perfectly.

I think that my final painting came out very good. I messed up on a few places, like the main characters face, because the brush was too big, and I had a very hard time tracing the picture onto the canvas. Besides those few things, I think that it came out very neat and clean, and I was very proud of it.

I believe that my book cover was a lot better when it was colored with colored pencils, because I messed up painting quite a bit. If we could turn them in as a colored picture, not a painting, mine would be a lot better.

Interview process with participant & gift
The interview process was not very smooth for me. It was very stressful, and i got kind of nervous through out it. I had some technical problems, and I felt like i was behind the whole time. The thing I didn't like the most was interviewing on the phone, because I don't like talking on the phone, and then i had to talk to someone that I had never met before.

Like I said, I didn't mind interviewing the person. The email interview was the best, and the easiest, the in person interview was fine, but I had some problems with the computer when i was trying to have it, and the on the phone interview was very stressful, and not very fun at all.

I thought it was cool that I got to interview, and learn about a person that immigrated here from Nicaragua. I thought it was fun to learn about the cultures, and traditions in that country. These interviews did help me reflect on the curriculum that we were learning in class at that time.

I made my immigrant a scrapbook that had a lot of different things in it. I had some pages about him and his journey to America. I had some pages about Nicaragua, and America similarities and differences. I had some things he did as a child, and many more. I hope he really liked this scrapbook that I made, because I spent a lot of time on it, and I was very proud of the final products.

final post (6)

Quote 1: pg 470
"I have been staring across the parking lot at a pay phone, and now I see it as an invitation. I decide that I should call my own number, to ring my stolen phone. I have nothing to lose in doing so." said by the narrator

Significance: I think this quote shows that even though Valentino is trying to fit in in America, and not try to stand out as an immigrant, he still has a hard time. He got his phone stolen, and wants it back, but he is trying to think like an American like "What is there to lose?" that shows that even though this whole book is really only a few days of his life (Except for his memories) he still wants to be welcomed in America. (if you know what I mean)

Personal connection: I connect to Valentino in this quote because, when something that isn't so good happens to me, I think about things I can do to try to make it better, and i think to myself "What can I loose?"

Question 1: Have you ever had a time when you were not have a great day, and you think something good will happen after, but it doesn't? Explain. If not, then think about what you would want to happen after a good day.

Quote 2: Pg. 484 "How can our country recover when we loose the youth?" said by a random adult in Sudan

Significance: I really like this quote becauseit showed that all of that walking and suffering in Sudan and Ethiopia payed off, because all of the kids went to school, learned another language, learned to read, learned to write, and learned to cook, and now a lot of them are dying again. \

Personal connection: I don't think I can really connect to this quote, because I didn't want for a month at a time, and I am not suffering, and no one around me is dying, but I just really liked this quote. also the person who said this quote didn't even have a name, so I cannot connect to him.

Question 2: have you ever had a time where you worked so hard to get to something, or make something, and it just ends or break, or you just don't get to finish?

post 5

Quote 1: page 336 "We were told to gather everything we could and prepare to leave. By the time I arrived at our shelter, it was already empty" said by the narrator

Significance: This quote shows how much the traveling boys have to move all over the country. They also do not have a lot of shelter, and space to live, and not many belongings to bring with them.

Personal connection: I am not very much like Valentino. I ave a nice house to live at, and I have not been traveling for months all across Africa. I think that Achak deserves a great life in America, and also all of the other traveling boys do too.

Question 1: How would you feel if you were always having to leave cities, because of wars or rebels, and invasions?

Quote 2: page 342 "We walked for an hour, the wind wild and warm, when we heard an animal sound. This was not the sound of an adult-we heard much of that on the way, moaning and retching-this was a baby, wailing in a low voice" said by the narrator

Significance: This quote stands out to me, because everyone is getting moved out of cities, and everyone is hungry, and baby's are crying, and people are moaning, and dying right then and there.

Character judgement: I feel bad for Achack, and all of the traveling people, and the baby's who are angry, and everyone is dying. I don't think that any of them deserve to live in these conditions.

Question 2: If you were Achak and you had been walking for months, and having barley and food, would you want to die like most of the other people, or would you want to live, and finally make a life in a new country? Explain.

post 4

Quote 1: "Achak! Are you okay?" It takes me a moment to compose myself. "What the hell is this?" he asks. "I was attacked," I finally say. "We were robbed." this was said by Achor Achor, the narrator, and Achak (Valentino) on page 231 (first page of chapter 15)



Significance: This quote shows how hard it is for immigrants to live in America. Achak and Achor Achor got robbed, because a lady saw him, and he was African, and she tricked him, and robbed and beat him up.

Personal connection: I think Achor Achor should be probably really mad and sad at the same time because he just found out that he got robbed, and his best friend/room mate got beat up.

Question 1: If you were Achor Achor and you just walked into your house, and everything is thrown everywhere, and most of your things were stolen, what would you do?

Quote 2: "I can pay you in cash for whatever you do," I say. "We don't take cash," Julian says. "But don't worry. We'll treat you whether you have insurance or not. Like i said-not sweat" said by the doctor, Julian, and Valentino on page 240

Significance: I like this quote because it shows how Achor Achor and Valentino are kind of confused, and don't really know a lot about the real world in America, and how they don't have experiences at places like the hospital in America

Character Judgement: I think that Valentino didn't deserve to be robbed, because he is just trying to learn how America works. I think that Valentino is just another man, and it doesn't matter id him and Achor Achor are African, but they are just trying to be American.

Question 2: If you were Valentino, what would you be thinking about that whole time you were getting robbed and beat up?

post 3

Quote 1: page 187 said by Valentino
"In front of me, I saw nothing but boys, some of them bathing in the water. Behind me, there was nothing but darkness and a path."

Significance: This has to do with the questions because when you are traveling, you never know what you are going to run into. Good things, or Bad things. This one ended up being a river to bathe in, and this one ended up being his long lost friend, William K.

Character Judgement: I think that after Valentino found his friend, he would be so happy because he had made that 6 week journey with people that he didn't know, and he thought that he lost William K, but then he found him.

Question 1: If you just found one of your best friends after about six weeks thinking that they were dead, how would you react? what would you do?

Quote 2: page 208 said by Valentino:
"The food I had eaten gave me strength, as had the secret of the round-bellied man, and yet i was relatively certain that I was dying."

Significance: I think that it is so sad that even though he ate, Valentino, and all the other boys are so weak from running, walking, and hiding all day everyday for the past month and a half ish.

Personal connection: I think that I would defiantly not make it after all those days with so little food, and sometimes no food for up to a week. I feel bad for Valentino, because if I were him, I think I would feel like I was dying too

Question 2: How would you feel if you were in Valentino's position after eating, and feeling like you are dying?