1. a) The death penalty should be revoked
    b)"the death penalty should be abolished"

2. a)wrongful convictions, costs to taxpayer, morally wrong
    b)huffington post article(archaeic, costly, ineefective) the bible
    c)yes, some are

3. a)prison costs
    b)refuting
    c)dismissive
    d)yes

4. a)news articles
    b)only a few are credible
    c)yes

5. a)yes
    b)uses we, i have no opinion on the issue so i dont feel included
    c)nope

Developing my argument

1. Lack of crafting classes in high school
2. school board/district
3. Kids need to explore or they won't know what to do with their life
4. former high school student who has no direction in life
5. builds skills/creates motivation

Third paper sources

  https://thedissolve.com/news/847-new-study-finds-minority-representation-lacking-in/

In an article from The Dissolve, Vadim Rizov states “Across 100 top-grossing films of 2012, only 10.8 percent of speaking characters are Black, 4.2 percent are Hispanic, 5 percent are Asian, and 3.6 percent are from other (or mixed race) ethnicities,”(Quotation from an online magazine with no page numbers)

http://ocw.usu.edu/English/introduction-to-writing-academic-prose/homosexuality-in-the-media.html-skinless_view.html

Homosexual characters in tv and movies are often presented in a stereotypical way.

http://mediasmarts.ca/diversity-media/persons-disabilities/common-portrayals-persons-disabilities

According to Media Smarts, “Mental illness is often presented as a motivation for villains: Media and Disability points out that “some disabilities receive particularly poor representation. Mental illness has all too frequently (and disproportionately) been linked in programmes with violent crime, even though there is no evidence to support this mis-portrayal”(Quote from an online source with no page numbers).

http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2010/04/msoc1-1004.html

Work Cited

"Common Portrayals of Persons with Disabilities." Common Portrayals of Persons with Disabilities. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Gelb, David, and Mike Jones. "Homosexuality in the Media." Homosexuality in the Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Rizov, Vadim. "New Study Puts Numbers to the Lack of Minority Representation in Film." The Dissolve. N.p., 5 Nov. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

Josh's Story Analysis

Josh's Story used pathos to appeal to the viewers emotions. The testimony by his friends and family, from when the received the news of his death to their personal narratives of his life. They shared stories of his life; that he made movies, played the drums, was all around a great guy. All of these personal things they share appeal to the emotions.

How Things Mean

The images in this grouping together also convey the concept of individual personality as the styles of a watch itself may vary and become a reflection of a quality each person may wish to convey.

The images in the Symbols of Patriotism grouping are communicating the collective symbols of the “Noble” attributes of their country.

Symbols of Patriotism: The bulldog is standing definitely and it looks like it is proud to be standing on the flag defending britain against all of her enemies.          

The american eagle - symbol for the United States of America, the Eagle is posted on every dollar and is a national symbol for American patriotism. The eagle is looks as if it is preparing for battle, flag seeming to symbolize camo paint that soldiers paint on their faces before going to battle, the eagles beak is sharp and its eyes give a fierce look in its eyes like it ready to pounce on any threat that arises.

The British Bulldog on the British flag became a popular symbol after World War 2 representing the determination of the country. This being because the Bulldog was seen as having a determined nature.

The Last symbol is France and instead of animals as its figure it instead has what seem to be 3 books stacked on top of eachother and say Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite which in english translate to Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

All of the flags are of the three colors, Red, White and Blue

  The Rolex watch suggests wealth and power. It’s extremely expensive, covered in diamonds, and usually worn by rich people in positions of power. The name Rolex is well known and the diamonds convey that it costs a lot of money.

  The Hello Kitty watch suggests a female owner who likes the character Hello Kitty, which is very well known. It’s got a picture of hello kitty on the watch face, and a few rhinestones, as well As the words Hello Kitty.

Reading Sources Critically

Reading Sources Critically

The argument the author makes is that white people cannot say the n-word. He uses examples of how other races i.e. jewish comedians may use “derogatory” jokes about themselves but if someone whom was not of that culture made those jokes they would be considered racist towards that particular community.

I find the argument to be quite persuasive. The arguments he makes are very clear; you can talk about your people, but no one else should. essentially saying jokes towards your group doesn't necessarily mean that other people from outside your group can make the same jokes toward your group.

The author’s stance is mainly towards common group relations and the use of certain language and speech toward other groups. Author also acknowledged rednecks and jewish people and the humor related to those two groups and how they can be considered offensive if miss used.

The publisher brings the stance of cultural diversity to the college at which he is presenting  (Boston College.)

I do recognize the idea that you shouldn’t joke about a community that you’re not a part of. If you aren’t Jewish, you shouldn’t make Jewish jokes, etc.

This source supports my position because I personally feel that if you aren’t part of that community, or have not been personally slighted, then you have no right to try to reclaim words that have been used as slurs.

I can tell that the intended audience are those of different cultural backgrounds other than those of the African American community, and the purpose is to bring awareness of the cultural diversity and etiquette.

11/5 class lab

This poster presents its opinion by showing a picture of Hugh Jackman standing behind a giant robot boxer with a title above him saying courage is stronger than steel. In this movie poster they are saying that Hugh Jackman is stronger than steel because he has courage. this appeals to me because it is very cool picture of a giant robot and it is of one of my favorite movies. it uses the words (Reel Steel). If i was to change him for a different audience i would make him wear the armored suit.If i were going to create this ad in a different medium it would change the meaning of the ad to much to have the same meaning. If the ad was put in a movie trailer format the ad would be much more attention getting. Real Steel movie poster. Fanpop.com.2006-2015 A Member of Townsquare Entertainment News. print.

   

  The poster for Wreck-It Ralph shows its stance by having the main character, Ralph, in the middle, surrounded by his supporting characters. It’s saying that he is the most important character. The pixelated font used to display the movie title is a subtle way of telling you that it’s based off of old 8-bit video games. The blue background with Ralph’s repeating face integrates a part of his video games and contrasts with the red lettering of the title. The poster is appealing because it represents the most important characters in a simple and easy manner. The bright red draws you in while the cool blue brightens when it surrounds the characters, pulling your eye to them. Felix, one of the characters, is holding his signature hammer.

  To change this poster to appeal to a different audience, I would probably change the coloring and the position of the characters. I would make it grittier and darker, showing a different, less happy side of the movie. The characters would probably be in more of an action scene, with less emphasis on their bright coloring.

  If i were to create this in a different medium, I would probably use a movie trailer format and take scenes that displayed the emotion and tone of the film without spoiling the ending. Of course I would focus on Ralph, but I would take scenes in which he is interacting with the other characters, and add humorous scenes as well as a final, mood setting one.

Wreck-It Ralph. Advertisement. Collider. Web. 5 Nov 2015.

This poster shows its stance on “Drinking” and “Driving” or “Mothers Against Drunk Driving.” Why I chose this topic is because it is a well known thing in our schools. Teaching our kids not to drink and drive and try and put a stop on drinking while driving all together. Though it may be a hopeless tale to grasp these women stepped up to the plate and gave it a shot. The Poster itself is colored with a pitch black background with blood red lettering. Probably to create a somewhat dark surreal touch and hopefully grab the attention of the viewers. The above heading of the poster is the letters “M.A.D.D” following that is “Mothers Against Drunk Driving” all in caps most likely to create emphasis in the text. The below imagery we see a crossed out warning sign with an alcohol bottle and two wine glasses on either side. Likely to state that these things are not acceptable further supporting their stance against “Drunk Driving.” Bottom of the page we see two women, most likely the hosts of the film, looking toward the viewers with a goal in mind. If I were to change the way this message is displayed I would provide imagery of a crashed car and a crying women standing beside the car, providing a somewhat real life situation and getting the optimal attention of the viewers. I would keep the medium on poster but provide different imagery.

M.A.D.D Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Dir. William A. Graham. Perf. Mariette Hartley and Paula Prentiss. Universal TV. 1983. Web. 5 Nov 2015

Page 62 Exercise

stance on gay marriage
what to eat
what to do
where to go

Verizon ad Preseekrlf

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34154174/ns/business-us_business/t/att-verizon-face-tv-ads/

In the ad, there are two men who have different phone companies. The man on the right has Verizon, and he appears to be judging the man on the left, who has AT&T. The man with Verizon is more kempt and put together, whereas the man with AT&T is a bit disheveled, with a sour look on his face.

Verizon has more coverage than AT&T, due to their mass amount of cell towers. AT&T’s towers is more open to their smaller brands.  

The sibling rivalry between AT&T and Verizon started in 1982. Both companies started . the Bell Telephone Company in 1885. It held a monopoly over all telephones until it was split it into two different companies. Ever since, Verizon and AT&T have fought to out to each other.

Verizon's slogan "There's a map for that," is a play off of the Apple Incs. catch phrase, “There’s an app for that”

Ad thingy

1. Animal Activists, people who are against cruelty towards animals: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Mercy for animals, and Freedom For Animals.
2. These advertisements are intended for animal lovers, pet owners, people who shop at Walmart, and people who buy cosmetics.
3. We can tell by the subjects and the strong messages that the imagery conveys.
4. The purpose of these texts  in order to generate support and provide awareness. Their creators want to stop animal cruelty and give every animal a good life.
5. PETA appeal to pet owner’s emotions by using a photo of a dog and his owner with sad expressions. Mercy for Animals made an anti-cruelty ad for cruelty against farm animals using the picture of a caged pig. They used words like please, suffer, and crammed to appeal to the viewers
6. The images are sad, graphic, and upsetting, with words such as suffer, crammed, and cruel to make the point that these animals are suffering. In the picture for Mercy for Animals, “Walmart Does” is a key phrase that relates to many people world wide due to the popularity of the store.
7. The ads, as a group, appeal to the viewers emotions by using the words crammed, suffer, and cruel in order to convey an anti-cruelty towards animals message.

Rubin Essay Summary

Melissa Rubin's essay analyzes a coke ad, which features a prominent Coca-Cola vending machine and "Sprite Boy," a white haired, rosy cheeked individual. The foreground consists of white males, with a few women thrown in for variation. The background displays a growing urban society, full of skyscrapers and factories. It's the country's idea of the average America, predominantly white, male, and growing. There's no diversity in the group, race-wise, but there are military men, businessmen, and blue-collar workers, which is the driving force behind America in the fifties. The significance of the larger than life vending machine are the words written on it; "Drink Coca-Cola: Work Refreshed." It's enticing you, the average hardworking male american, to buy a coke to help refresh you from the long day. The words at the bottom, "A welcome host to workers: inviting you to the pause that refreshes with ice-cold Coca-Cola" are telling you that you're special, that they want you to help yourself to something that will refresh you. The ad reflects what the american people valued at the time; themselves (white people), refreshments after a hard days work, and the cities and factories that they worked in, the places that they lived.

Rubin Questions 1-4

1. The insight that Melissa Rubin offers about the coke ad is that it shows the average America at the time. It is predominately white males, with only a few women displayed in the background, which was what mainstream america was about. Catering to the people it viewed as average, the primary audience of this ad. She has persuaded me to accept her conclusions, based on my previous knowledge and also the evidence she provides.

2. Rubin incorporates historical context by providing information about the era that America was in, after having won the second world war and in the midst of preparing for the Korean war. She also includes information about the racial prejudices that were rampant in the fifties to explain why everyone in the advertisement is white. It helps strengthen her conclusions.

3. Some other questions that you might ask could be 'who does this appeal to?', 'why was this product so popular,' and 'why on earth is there a giant floating head??'

4. One of the ads that I think of is the Burger King ad for it's "Super Seven Incher." It displays a woman, her mouth open, looking at the 'Super Seven Incher' which is poised in a suggestive manner. I think this ad shows that sex sells in our society. The woman is white as well, which could suggest that even in the twenty first century, we still aren't as progressive as we'd hope. It doesn't really show our society in that it's only one person, but it does represent what we value.

Stay Sweet As You Are Group Discussion

2. Analytical thinking is another way of saying rhetorical thinking. It’s breaking the writing down into parts to better understand the contents of what you read. By breaking down text and phrases we can then figure out where the author stands, author’s point of view, author’s tone and so on. Many stories may hide their meaning but upon deeper analysis we find greater meaning.

4. The “Stay Sweet As You  Are” analysis paper fits the criteria by including the ads that it’s analyzing, breaking down the information in chronological order, and finding the main points of each ad. At the end, all three advertisements are compared and found to have the same main point: “pleasing men is the prerequisite for [a woman’s] happiness.”

5.I thought this analysis was very concise and easy to understand

Mad Men Questions

1. It's missing empathy. The last paragraph is what states this directly

2. She's a television critic

3. She uses words like unattainable impeccable

4. I understand that it's about life in the 60s, and how sexist it was. I still don't want to watch it, however

Taking Stock of Your Writing

1.      What was your main point (thesis)?  “The Moral of the Story”?

• My main point is how finding my favorite book changed my view of books overall

2.      Who was your audience?  What did you assume about them?  What “audience needs” did you have to consider in writing the paper?  How did you tailor your writing to them?

• My audience were my classmates and the professor. I assumed that they would be reading my essay and reacting to it. I had to describe the setting, explain why things happened the way they did, and tell the main point in a concise, clear manner.

3.      What feedback or reactions did you get at various times while composing this paper, and how was this helpful?  What other kinds of input or support did you get from classmates, teacher, tutors, others?  Were you able to make use of it?  How, or why not?

• I was told where my focus and writing were strong, and where i had added unnecessary information. It helped me by showing me where I needed to focus when writing my final draft.

4.      What did you find interesting about the process you went through in writing this paper, and what did you learn from it?

• What I found interesting was how I arrived at the conclusion. I wasn’t sure what my main point was when I started: I was just brainstorming. I learned that I am p good at coming up with plausible sounding conclusions.

5.      What questions do you have for me about the paper?  (What part(s) of the paper would you like me to focus on?  What do you see as the paper’s strengths, and what areas are you unsure of?)

• I was hoping you’d focus on the conclusion, as that is what I feel the strongest paragraph is. I’m unsure if the fourth paragraph is at all necessary, but I had to leave it to meet the word count. I don’t think it adds anything to the story in terms of helping the audience understand, or moving the story along.

Literacy Narrative: Final

  I first found my favorite book in my neighbor’s house when I was dog sitting for them. I was waiting in the dimly lit front room for my friend to come and pick me up, and I was bored out of my mind. I’d finished all the things that I’d been asked to do and had forgotten the book that I had been reading at home, as I was prone to do. I decided to just start wandering the house, looking for anything I could do to pass those few minutes, and found a book lying on a small table. I picked it up and looked at the cover, not expecting to find the story that interesting; the front looked dull and unexciting, and the summary to me sounded just the same. The only thing I found interesting was its title. “The Book Thief” intrigued me, if only in an ironic sort of way, because it was a book written about someone who steals them. So I opened it and skimmed a few pages, trying to find out whether I’d like it or not.

  

  When I actually started reading, I was kind of stunned at how it started. At that point in my life, I wasn’t too familiar with adult literature; I’d mostly read young adult novels, being in my second year of high school. I wasn’t interested in the sort of stories that were targeted at people older than me. From what I’d seen of the books my mother read, they were boring and full of things I didn’t really comprehend. So I stuck to books like Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series, novels that were in the fantasy genre rather than period pieces, books that I viewed as “kid-friendly.” I read things that were nothing like those “awfully dreadful stories” about history. I thought they wouldn’t appeal to me because they were so different from what I was used to.  But this book, though it started out with a death, was narrated in such a unique and creative way that I wanted to keep reading.

  

  I had sat down in this olive green chair to begin the novel, my body sideways with my feet hanging over the armrest, swinging free in the air. Not the best position to be in when I felt my phone buzz with a text message. My friend, Blaine, was outside and had been for several minutes. I was so engrossed in the story that I’d lost track of time and hadn’t even noticed my phone trying to alert me to my negligence. I put the book back on the table nest to the kitchen door, grabbed my backpack, and ran to the alarm system to arm it, and out the door, stopping to lock everything up and then I was on my way to the car and, ultimately, school.

  

  All day in class, my mind was on other things. Mainly, the book and where the plot was going. I was hooked and could not focus on anything else. I was watching the clock, waiting until school was over so I could get back home, drop off all of my school stuff, and head back into my neighbor’s house so I could read the book. But of course, that was the day my mother decided that the chores had to be done, so I was stuck at home for a few more hours. By the time I could go over, it was too late to read any of it. So I left it behind and forgot about it, spending my time reading the novel that I had already started. The next day, I got up, got ready for school, and walked over to their house, already tired of the dogs that I was caring for. I dreaded the mornings because the dogs never listened to me. But after I opened the door and walked into the house, disarmed the alarm, and turned towards the kitchen, I saw the book again. I was determined to get in some reading time, so I quickly fed the dogs and got them outside, even though i had to practically drag them both out one at a time. I had only a few precious minutes, so I quickly got to work trying to find the page that I had left off on. In all the excitement of the previous day I had forgotten to mark it in some manner. I found it and began to read, careful this time to keep my phone visible so that I would leave on time. Yet again, I had to leave too soon, and yet again was not able to read after school as the homework was piling up. It’s not like it hadn’t occurred to me to just take the book and give it back later; I was more afraid of the thought that I would be taking something that did not belong to me without express permission. Eventually, however, I did just take the book. I was too caught up in it to leave it behind yet another time.

  

  Before I started reading this book, I had never faced any “challenges” concerning my reading. Everything came easy to me; I had books at my disposal and the time to read them. Also, before this, books that I decided to read were ones I knew and liked. I had never really tried to read books and novels that were outside of my comfort zone. I chose things that were easy and that I knew I liked. “The Book Thief” was pretty much the very first book that I chose to read that was outside of that comfort zone, something that was new and unexpected. It was a sort of last choice thing, a book that I would never had picked up had it not been for these very specific circumstances. It’s the book that opened my eyes in regards to valuing and choosing a book not for its cover or genre, but its story. I had just been ignoring the most important part of a book  in favor of staying with what I knew, what I knew I liked, what I had been reading for the past 10 years of my life. This book made me branch out into a genre I thought I would find boring and uninteresting, one that I had never considered reading before.

 “The Book Thief” was my first venture into a genre I came to love, even though I had previously thought I would hate it. It was basically my gateway drug into historical fiction, and is still by far the greatest novel I have ever read. The plot, writing, setting, and characters combine in the best ways to make this book one of the most brilliant pieces of literature in contemporary fiction. It is more than just a story to me. It is a piece of prose that I really connected with emotionally and found to be really important to what I read and why. This book really made me look at myself and the reasons behind why I chose the books I did.

Pages 138-141

What to wear	My day: what’s the weather like? what is my schedule? am i on my period? how do I feel?
What to eat	My day: what i want to eat, what my stepmom made, what’s available
When to leave for class	My day: if i’m late or not
What classes to take	The next few months of my life: if I knew anyone in the class, what I was interested in
What college to attend	The next few years of my life: where did I want to live, who did I want to live with, what was closest, how much it cost
What to buy	idk my bank account?: what I could buy in the future, what emergency money I have,
Work	i get money so I can buy things that I want/need

This chart tells me that I care about food a lot and that since I am currently in class, it was an easy thing to think up and put in the chart. Im interested in money and clothing, even though I don’t really dress like it.

The amount of detail is what made the independent travel site better than the facebook page. There was a lot more information about what to do and where to go, what kind of stores and restaurants and the types of transportation that is available.

  I would change the other site to make it include more detail and information about the things to do, places to eat, and what types of transportation that you can take.

Literacy Narrative

  I first found my favorite book in my neighbor’s house when I was dog sitting for them. I was waiting in the dimly lit front room for my friend to come and pick me up, and I was bored out of my mind. I’d finished all the things that I’d been asked to do and had forgotten the book that i had been reading at home, as I was prone to do. I decided to just start wandering the house, looking for anything I could do to pass those few minutes, and found a book lying on a small table. I picked it up and looked at the cover, not expecting to find the story that interesting. The cover looked dull and unexciting, and the summary to me sounded just the same. The only thing I found interesting was the title. “The Book Thief” intrigued me, if only in an ironic sort of way because it was a book written about someone who steals them. So I opened it, and skimmed a few pages.

  When I actually started reading, I was kind of stunned at how it started. At that point in my life, I wasn’t too familiar with adult literature; I’d mostly read young adult novels, being in my second year o9f high school. I wasn’t interested in the sort of stories that were targeted at people older than me. From what I’d seen of the books my mother read, they were boring and full of things I didn’t really comprehend. So I stuck to books like Harry Potter and the Percy Jackson series, novels that were in the fantasy genre rather than period pieces, books that I viewed as “kid-friendly.” Nothing like those awfully dreadful stories about times in history when everyone was trying to kill each other is how I saw it. But this book, though it started out with a death, was narrated in such a unique and creative way that I wanted to keep reading.

  I had sat down in this olive green chair to begin the novel, my body sideways with my feet hanging over the armrest, swinging free in the air. Not the best position to be in when I felt my phone buzz with a text message. My friend, Blaine, was outside and had been for several minutes. I was so engrossed in the story that I’d lost track of time and hadn’t even noticed my phone trying to alert me to my negligence. I put the book back on the table nest to the kitchen door, grabbed my backpack, and ran to the alarm system to arm it, and out the door, stopping to lock everything up and then I was on my way to the car and, ultimately, school.

  All day in class, my mind was on other things. Mainly, the book and where the plot was going. I was hooked and could not focus on anything else. I was watching the clock, waiting until school was over so I could get back home, drop off all of my school stuff, and head back into my neighbor’s house so I could read the book. But of course, that was the day my mother decided that the chores had to be done, so I was stuck at home for a few more hours. By the time I could go over, it was too late to read any of it. So I left it behind and forgot about it, spending my time reading the novel that I had already started. The next day, I got up, got ready for school, and walked over to their house, already tired of the dogs that I was caring for. I dreaded the mornings because the dogs never listened to me. They always tried to get into the house, and when they succeeded, they were very stubborn and would not leave. But after I opened the door and walked into the house, disarmed the alarm, and turned towards the kitchen, I saw the book again. I was determined to get in some reading time, so I quickly fed the dogs and got them outside, even though i had to practically drag them both out one at a time. I had only a few precious minutes, so I quickly got to work trying to find the page that I had left off on. In all the excitement of the previous day I had forgotten to mark it in some manner. I found it and began to read, careful this time to keep my phone visible so that I would leave on time. Yet again, I had to leave too soon, and yet again was not able to read after school as the homework was piling up. It’s not like it hadn’t occurred to me to just take the book and give it back later; I was more afraid of the thought that I would be taking something that did not belong to me without express permission. Eventually, however, I did just take the book. I was too caught up in it to leave it behind yet another time.

  Before I started reading this book, I had never faced any “challenges” concerning my reading. Everything came easy to me; I had books at my disposal and the time to read them. Also, before this, books that I decided to read were ones I knew and liked. I had never really tried to read books and novels that were outside of my comfort zone. I chose things that were easy and that I knew I liked. “The Book Thief” was pretty much the very first book that I chose to read that was outside of that comfort zone, something that was new and unexpected. It was a sort of last choice thing, a book that I would never had picked up had it not been for these very specific circumstances. It’s the book that opened my eyes in regards to valuing and choosing a book not for its cover or genre, but its story. The most important part of a book I had just been ignoring in favor of staying with what I knew, what I knew I liked, what I had been reading for the past 10 years of my life. This book made me branch out into a genre I thought I would find boring and uninteresting, one that I had never considered reading before.

  “The Book Thief” was my first venture into a genre I came to love, even though I had previously thought I would hate it. It was basically my gateway drug into historical fiction, and is still by far the greatest novel I have ever read. The plot, writing, setting, and characters combine in the best ways to make this book one of the most brilliant pieces of literature in contemporary fiction. It is more than just a story to me. It is a piece of prose that I really connected with emotionally and found to be really important to what I read and why. This book really made me look at myself and the reasons behind why I chose the books I did.

Taking Stock of Your Writing

Taking Stock of Your Writing

1. Why this book is important; opened my eyes to choosing books i thought I might not like
2. My teacher/ classmates. Explaining the reasons behind why i like this book/simplified setting
3. I didn’t get any feedback i just wrote this is the first draft right??
4. I started out with no idea where I was headed and ended up surprising myself with finding out more about me than I realized
5. I want to know what format this is meant to be in, if any. And also, where is my writing weak? I know this is a terrible first draft with no direction in it, the poaragraphs dont flow at all.

Five Characteristic Features

   For my story, the event is when I first read my favorite book. I found it in my neighbors house by chance when I was dog sitting  and fell in love with the story.
   The whole event took place in my neighbors house when I was in my sophomore year of high school.
   The sounds and sights I suppose would be the most vivid details that I would remember
   I'm telling the story from my point of view, so I'm sure that the point of view will stay more or less consistent.
   The story matters because it was a point in my life when I needed something to care about and enjoy. Also, I need to write something for this assignment, so why not, you know?

Literacy: A Lineage

Melanie Luken begins her story by talking about her father, and the bike rides she would take with him to a bell tower. At the bottom of the tower, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had been etched, and her father would read it aloud to her, though they both knew it by heart.

Her whole life, her father had been quoting the greats and the classics, which in turn caused her to memorize bits and pieces of stories and poems because of the repetition. He influenced her love of writing and reading through his own passion.

He has always supported her and helped her develop as a writer. Melanie wrote that her father helped create a tradition and love of literature that will last her whole life.

“So, I kept the door open, just a crack, and felt comforted that the letter taped to my fridge might slam it shut at a moment’s notice.” Page 120, Paragraph 2

“rushing like the Colorado River” Page 129, Paragraph 3

“her tongue became dry and her lips were cracked” Page 130, Paragraph 2

“over vodka, cognac, homemade wines, homegrown vegetables, freshly cured cheeses and fish from the nearby lake” Page 120, Paragraph 4

fifth grade-poem memorization

senior year-book reports

kindergarten-started reading

favorite book discovery

Purpose: explore past and share a memory

Audience: share experience if they have a fav book; a bit of explanation about life

Stance: Affectionate; nostalgic; be seen as happy/glad that i did these things

Media/Design: In print/ on blog;

• Setting: white walls, staircase, pictures and art, a kitchen throught he doorway, a large round window high on the wall, a room full of toys for the baby, a dark dining room, closed curtains over the windows that keep the room dark
• quiet except for dogs whining, occasional car driving by
• foreign and familiar, sweet, syrup
• anxious and accomplished, ready to get out the door quickly
• waffle and butter and syrup from my breakfast, water

bf; brown hair, blue eyes, quiet around people he doesnt know. somewhat long face with a nose that fits his face. dresses comfortably in t-shirts and jeans. speaks quickly, but sometimes drops a word and has to repeat himself. he talks like his mom.

sister: long red hair, speaks quickly, is somewhat mean in manner and word

“why did you take so long” “i was reading” “wheres the book?” “it’s not mine, so i left it.” “well try to be faster next time, we have to get to school by 8” “sorry! it’s not my fault you’re always running late”

Summary: im dogsitting for my neighbor, who I usually babysit for. they left on a trip and i have to let the dogs in and out and feed them. im inside, waiting for my ride. the wals are white and there is art on them but i dont remember what. on a table next to the door leading into the kitchen is a book. Im bored so i pick it up and start reading, only because i have nothing else to do. the book cover is not particularly interesting, but the title is. “the book thief”. i thought it was funny to have a book about a person who steals them, in a kind of ironic way. theres a comfy chair next to the curved staircase so i sit, the high round window letting in just enough early morning light for me to read by. the orangy yellow cover has dominos on it, which i dont realize the significancde of and think is a bit odd. the dogs are finally outside after a lot of coaxing. their food bowls are full and so is the water. im waiting for my phone to buzz, signaling that my best friend is outiside in his sisters car, waiting for me to get in to leave. other than that, its silent. everything is off, no ac, no heat. The only think i hear is the whine of the dogs as they beg to be let in. its sunny out, like always. another hot day. it smells sweet and indescribable, the inside of someones house. To me, it smells comforting and nostaligic and also a bit like trespassing even tho im supposed to be there. familiar yet foreign. i feel a bit anxious but i forget about that once im reading. i fall into the story. it starts off in such a unique way that im immediatley smitten. ive never seen anything like it before. its a bit too hot in the house so i take off my hoodie and curl up into the chair and i take my phone out os i wont miss the text. i think i feel content, just happy to sit there andf read.i had waffles for breakfast, so i suppose i taste that, but i dont really taste anything i dont think.  

Significance: This book affected me by telling me a story and actually making the characters and setting come alive. i cried and i laughed and i smiled and i got angry and i felt emotional, and this was the first adult book i read that made me feel this way. Id read books before that id connected to emotionally but they were less complex. this book actually was something i had to read a couple times through to completely understand the significance of every little part of it. the way it was written, the dialogue and just every single detail, not too much or too little was just amazing. i made my best friend read it and I recommend it to everyone I know because it helped form me in some way. I just connected to it on some level and i dont know for sure why, but it definitely has helped me to try to see the other side, to see all possible angles and perspectives because thats the point of view it was written from. the people who we thought were the enemy who were actually victims as well, who tried to save people and were hurt and who lost their lives even though they were trying to do the right thing. who were on the wrong side because of where thy lived, not who they were. It just makes you think of them as people. instead of seeing a collective whole, you see them as individuals. as people who didn’t deserve what happened to them, even though they were on the wrong side, in the wrong country at the wrong time. Not everyone was evil. They were the people who were fighting from the inside when neither side knew. they were the innocent, the good people who were forgotten, who were never known. I definitely wouldnt have gone to see the movie with my best friend had i not read this book. i definitely wouldn’t care so much about how things are written, about how to make your words come alive and dance through your readers brain and make them visualize all the things they never saw before and the ways that words can affect not just your mind but your soul. This story matters to me because it was just a book that turned into a huge part of my life, something that I have read countless times i order to relive the same scenes because they are so good and in a way delicious. its just written so well.