The class blog for English III students in Mr. Rossi's classes at Leyden High School.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
What if there weren't "popular" and "unpopular kids. What if we were all equal, and no one judged each other?.....if only. We live in a society that constantly judges one another.I HATE IT. I wake up everything thinking what should I wear today, will I get made made fun of if I wear this or will I be called a bum if I wear that. But it should not be that way, we should not have to worry about what people think. Not only does it rank people it causes many other hardships. It brings sadness and depression to people. When I walk down the hallways and hear others saying,"ew look at what she is wearing, that's why no one likes her." I just want to turn around and say what do you care what they wear?! What if that was you, what if... Think about it.
David Solis
Period 10
English III
“What If”
What if your smoking on school property?
Police officer then sees you and yells at you “Hey kid”!
What if you freak out, and start to run?
You forgot to get rid of the cigarette.
What if he catches up and tackles you?
Then you start swearing, and think how can I get out of this situation.
What if you get into the police car, and head for the police station?
The policeman tells you that you get one phone call.
What if you try to call your parents for help?
“What do you want now boy, I’m busy with work!”
What if your parents freak out and start yelling over the phone?
“Are you stupid as %$#& or something! How many #$%^#@ times have we told you drugs are not good!?”
What if after their yelling, they decide not to help you out?
“You can just stay there for the night, and figure it out yourself!”
What if you stay in jail for the night?
The guy next to you stalks you all-night, and your thinking “I better not drop the soap!”
What if the next day you got out, and had to go back to school?
“We’re only allowed to keep you for 24-hours, and you’re still a student, plus we’re nice enough to not let you get a truant.
What if other students saw the whole incident?
“Hey man, what’d you get busted for!?”
What if the story got all over school?
“whisper, whisper,whisper!?”
What if you got called to the Principal's, or Dean’s office?
“Please have a seat.”
What if they told you that you were suspended for smoking on school property?
“As you can see, we have a video camera recording the entire incident.”
What if you go home after all of this, and your parents kick you out?
“And don’t think were going to allow a dope head back in our house!”
What if, for the next ten days of your suspension and recent leaving of your home, you think about how differently this situation could’ve played out?
“What if I didn’t do drugs?”
What if?
What If?
Rocco DiMatteo
2/09/2012
What If Poem
Rossi Per. 9
What if?
What if all my friends changed?
Would I still be friends with them?
What if they judged me?
Would I be looked at in a bad way?
What if they all turned against me?
Would I make a resolution to the problem?
What if I got walked all over?
Would I be able to stand up for myself?
What if they stopped talking to me?
Would I go and make new friends?
What if my friends didn’t support me?
Would I prove them wrong?
What if they got jealous?
Would they ever talk to me again?
What if they did illegal things?
Would I be a follower or a leader?
What if I could put a reset button on this?
Would I use it on my friends?
What if I had true friends?
Would I be happy again?Friends come and go but true friends always stay.
What if all your friends were true?
Doulgas and Twain,Alex Gutierrez
Period:9
1/31/12
In Fredericks story In “Life and Times Of Frederick Douglas” he explains to us his past experiences about slavery and what happened throughout those times. When he tries to escape his slave owner because he would always beat him, he finds that no matter where he was to go it would still be the same. No one would help him. When he left his house and went to Mr. Covey he expected that he would help him escape his horror. Turns out that he was the same and did not help him whatsoever. If someone wants to leave a horrible place they are in, leaving that place doesn’t make anything better, and it can actually make it worse than it already was. He explains to us that there is a lot of racism during that time period between whites and blacks.
Mark Twain write that is no matter what happens if a black leaves a white should report it. Huckleberry Finn and Jim are in his story. They become friends at one point and when Huck leaves, Jim gets worried. Yes back then people thought blacks didn’t have feelings, so they would say mean things to them. When Huck left Jim was heartbroken he thought something awful had happened to Huck, but nothing did. Huck returned and Jim was sleeping so he decided to play a trick on him and make him believe that it was all a dream and he was really there the whole time. Jim believes it until they get to the boat and he realizes that Huck had played a game on him. Huck felt bad and he said sorry to Jim, but after he said, “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to him, but I done It, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards.” He means that he is sorry but if the people were to know he apologized they would all dislike him.They try to make us realize if you break away from a place and you are expected to do something big there, you will get some consequences but other times it will help you. InFredericks case leaving his slave owner kind of helped him because even though he had to go back he never again experienced a whipping from him, they did get into fights but the one thing he never received was the whipping. They explain to us how much racism there was towards blacks and that no white should ever feel sorry for them like how Huck did.
"What If" I go Back
What if I didn’t follow the rules at home?
Would I get in a lot of trouble?
What if I didn’t come home on time?
Would I not be able to go out the next day?
What if I didn’t text my grandma when I got somewhere in the car?
Would I not be able to drive next time?
What if I argued about everything with my grandparents?
Would I have to move?
What if my T.V was way to loud?
Would I get it taken away?
What if I went behind my grandparents back for something?
Would I lose all of their trust?
What if I didn’t do what my chores?
Would I lose some respect in the house?
What if I ignore my grandparents?
Would they ignore me?
What if I didn’t ask to go out?
Would I have to come home earlier?
What if I did all of this?
Would it all be worth the punishment?
Twain and Douglass essay
Chris Sandberg
per 9
Twain and Douglass essay
Marc Twain and Fredrick Douglass are both arguably two of the greatest authors of all time.They both have written story's based on slavery. When we read a story form both authors they both had similar characteristics in their story. Both Fredrick and Huck fin are both take pace in America when slavery was legal, and in these story's both characters break away from the expectations of their setting. They both take place in the south and they give people a look on what they think of slavery in America.
The first book I'm going to talk about is Fredrick Douglass . This book is about his life as a slave. In this book we see him break away from his setting’s rules when he goes to covys farm. Covy is a white slave owner who's known to be a slave breaker. we see Douglass break from his setting when he stands up to the slave owner in the barn. this is breaking the settings rules because this is a place where slaves are not suppose to fight back and just do ass their told. But when he stand up to him it goes against every thing in the setting due to the fact that covys suppose to beating him, so when he stands up to him it is a shock because its unexpected. Then we also see it when he runs away from the farm to go and find his owner. This is something else that breaks setting because covy is suppose to stop him from doing things like that.
Next when we look at mark Twain's Huck fin we see Huck break away from the setting. This book is about a southern white boy who runs away from home and meets up with a run away slave named Jim. During the story Huck plays a mean joke on Jim and then goes an apologises for it, and then goes and says that he wasn't sorry for saying sorry. Since Huck lived in the south and the way he was raised this is breaking away from the setting. Then we also see him lie to a bunch of white Southerners to protect Jim. This also shows a break because if it was any other Southerner they would have turned Jim in but instead Huck protects him.
Also both authors tell about what they think of slavery. They with Douglass based on the story we can tell that he thinks slavery is terrible ant that it needs to be abolished. But with Twain he doesn't say any thing about it even when we look at Huck he doesn't think all slavery is bad he just wants to help his friend Jim. So it is hard to tell based on the book what Twain thinks about slavery in the south.
So Both Twain and Douglass both have characters that break away from their settings. Then Douglass has a view on slavery being abolished in the south while Twain's character Huck just wants to be with his friend Jim.
Mullins_ProjectEssay
Kalynn Mullins
Rossi per. 9
January 31, 2012
Douglass and Twain
Fredrick Douglass is a former slave, and leader of the abolitionist movement. Mark Twain wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. These two men have an important role in slavery and racism in the United States. When people break away from the expectations of their settings, Douglass gains self respect and Huck, Twains’ character in the story, gains friendship.Douglass is one of the only free slaves that stood up for himself to a white man. He shows others a new way to be a slave; he shows others that he is a proud slave. He proved to himself that he is more than a slave, that he is a man that deserves respect as well. While Douglass breaks away from being a slave, he gains his own self respect for no one else but for himself. Douglass clearly suggests that slavery and racism is wrong in the Unites States.
In the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, the setting changes when Huck and Jim become close and try to run away together. In the text, Huck and Jim's conversation goes.. “Well, I b’lieve you,Huck. I -- run off.” “Jim!” “But mind, you said you wouldn’ tell -- you know you said you wouldn’ tell, Huck.” (50) They then become friends and carried on the same way.
Twain suggests that slavery and racism wasn’t an easy thing to escape from. He suggests that the white man must be superior to the black. Just like in the novel, Huck needed to report that Jim was a runaway because during that time period that was how Huck was raised. Turning Jim in to his owner was morally right even though Huck knew that in his heart it was the right thing to do. Huck still had to tell on Jim.
When people break away from the expectations of their settings, Douglass gains self respect and Huck, Twains character gains a new buddy. These men suggest that slavery and racism was very common. And whether you were a slave, an owner, or a child of an owner, there was plenty of ways to look at slavery and racism. It all depended on how they were brought up to the subject.
Twain and Douglass Essay
English 3
1/31/2012
“I could, as a free man, look across the bay toward the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave”(Fredrick). For years the social structure for blacks to be slaves for the rich as be part of the American culture. Not many people in history accept slavery as a way of life, but see it as a moral issue of the country. Mark Twain saw the issue of slaver as something that divides two races a part, and twists the thought of justice to many people. Douglass was a victim of the social class in the United States of the time, but was able to overcome the trials of the time. These two people proved that the rule to slavery can be broken with the human determination to follow what you believe.
Douglass has overcome the trail in slavery with the determination to one day be a freedman. “Mater Thomas ridiculed the idea that there was any danger at Mr. Covey’s killing me.”(Americain 568) Slavery was looked upon as a very honest moral in the time of Douglass. Thomas not thinking to help Douglass, but takes side with Mr. Covey because Douglass is looked more as a property then a human being. The idea of slavery has become a great part of the American way, and got people to think of blacks a property and nor a human life. “For this time I was never again what might be called fairly whipped, though I remained in slavery four years afterwords’ had several fights, but was never whipped”(Americain 570). Douglass still remained a slave for years, but got his hope back for a better future. The rule for Douglass setting was to remain hopeless, and work for his master for his life. Douglass was able to educate himself, and work hard for improvement in life.
Douglass wanted to be a free man, and even some whites agreed the human mind was destroyed by slavery.Slavery can twist are inner being to be something we are not.”Eight hun’d dollars for me, en it’uz such a big stack o’ money she could’n resis”(Twain).Miss.Watson had promise Jim that she would not see him down the river,but the thought of Jim only being property had gave Miss.Watson caused the greed to be shown. Miss.Watson showed that in the society with slavey a human life just becomes something that people can make money. With promise to help greed can still come in with the right price, but for some people a frenshipp could mean more than anything to them. “Give Jim up, would you feel any better than what you do now?No,says I,I’d feel bad” (Twain). Huck is feeling bad for wanting to to turn Jim into Miss.Watsonthinking it is God’s will. Huck friendship he made with Jim has coused Huck to statrte have felling for a run away slave.This broke a rule to the setting that slaves can’t have frendship. Huck had give Jim friendship, and went to go help, and didn't care about the ideas of others.
The twisted idea of slavery has distorted so many people hope in life, but with determination people can set new rules in society. Fredrick Douglass was with a master Mr. Covey that tried to destroy everything in his slaves that could make them hope or have any ideas of being free. Mr. Covey ways of destroying his slave’s spirits work on Douglass for some time, but when Douglass found himself again he had found hope. In Mark Twain used the Adventure of Huckleberry Finn to show of how slavery twisted the conscience. Huck thought that God wanted Jim to be in slavery, and tried to harden his heart to turn Jim in. Huck thought hell was better than to let one of his best friends to be in the life of slavery, and wanted to go help Jim out of slavery. In conclusion slavery has twisted human conscience, but many people has tried to give people to knowledge of the wrong in slavery in the books to help give people the knowledge of the problem of slavery.
Applebee, Arthur N. "Narrative of The Life Of Fredrick Douglass." The Language of Literature. American Literature. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2000. 563-70. Print.
"Frederick Douglass Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Print.