Speak Response

Speak

“Authors note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of a Compare and Contrast Response.”

                In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and in the movie there are many similarities and differences. Even though both books have the same plot there are some events and details that are tweaked. Since some events that are in the book are different than in the film some of the same events might be better in the book than the film. Just because the film and novel have the same plot there are still different details

                 One main event that is different in the book and the movie is that when she gets raped in the book[IA1]  it is in the woods but in the movie she gets raped in a car. “We were on the ground. When did that happen? “No.” This is when she gets raped in the book. Another difference is that she doesn’t go to Heather’s house at all during the movie [IA2] but in the book she goes to her house a couple of times.  Finally in the novel Melinda meats Heather in the auditorium and in the movie Melinda meats Heather on the bus.

                There are also similar events in the book and movie as well. For example in the movie and book she starts out the first day of school with a “new notebook, a skirt she [I] hates, and a stomachache.”  Another similar event is that in art class she picks “tree” out of the bin of slips and has to make it come alive by the end of the year. Finally both in the movie and the book she tries as hard as she can to not speak.  

                In conclusion the movie and the book are very much alike. The book and the movie also have some differences to but you really need to have your brain tuned in to find the differences. Overall even though they have some differences the overall plot is the same so if you watch the movie or read the book you will get the overall idea.

---

 [IA1]I like the event in the book better because I would rather picture it myself instead of seeing it happen.

 [IA2]I wish they would have had a scene at Heather’s house so we could see her room because I am curious of what it really looks like.

DWA

Tyler Kiser

4/25/13

Mrs. Reagles 5^th hour

Text Analysis Essay

Every Little Detail

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of Text Analysis.”

Have you ever listened to someone that knows every detail of every event he has taken place in? Do you know a person that does that? In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time, a book I have read recently, the main character and narrator knows all the tiny details to all of the events that he has witnessed in the past and events in the present. This character isn't your average teenage boy though: he is autistic. Christopher, a 14 year old boy has a form of autism and OCD, he doesn't liked to be touched, he can name all the countries and their capitals in the world, and he knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057. Christopher is really just a smart human. 

Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night-time picks up every detail to everything he sees. For example when Christopher first goes on his walk in the middle of the night, when he finds dead Wellington he has to pinpoint exactly what house the dog was dead in, "She lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left." (2) This is where the house is on his street where he found the dead dog. Another example of his specific details is "And Mr. Jeavons smells of soap and wears brown shoes that has approximately 60 tiny circular holes in each of them." (5) This is when Christopher describes Mr. Jeavons. Really he can't help not being specific about everything; it is just how he is.

Christopher is a very smart boy especially in Math. Whenever Christopher gets mad or angry he "counted slowly to 50 but without doing the cubes." (170) Christopher was mad at the train station so instead of throwing a fit he counted to 50 but this time he didn't do all their cube roots. He also knows all the countries and capitals of the world, " "The capital city of Venezuela is... (a) Maracas, (b), Caracas, (c) Bogota or (d) Georgetown." And I knew that it was Caracas." (30) This shows that Christopher knows his capitals very well. This also shows that even though he has autism he can still be smart. Just because he is special doesn't mean he can't be intelligent  like other people. 

Christopher reminds me of a character from a TV show. His name is Shawn Spencer  and is from “Psych”. Shawn is a detective for the Santa Barbara Police department and is just like Christopher in so many ways. One way they are alike is he notices all of the tiny details that the other characters miss. He then uses them to solve crimes like Christopher who solved the Wellington Case. Finally they both are very intelligent. For instance Shawn took a police test to see if he qualified to be a detective and he aced it while no one else in history has ever got a 100%. On the other hand Christopher got an “A grade” on his A level math test.

Overall Christopher is a kind-hearted,  smart kid like everyone else or most people at least. Just because he has autism doesn’t mean Christopher can't change the world with his 6th sense. You never know, maybe someday Christopher will become a real astronaut  or a detective with his highly sophisticated brain. In conclusion Christopher John Francis Boone isn't your average teenager, but a brilliant 14 year old.

"A Clean Well-lighted Place"

Even though a book and movie can be about the same topic or story there can still be many scenes, many lines, and many characters that are different. An example of this is the short story and film, “A Clean Well-lighted Place”.  Even though it is not a long film it has a lot of tiny details different from the story. There are also many parts that are the same too.

 For example one thing different in the movie from the story is when the waiter pours the old man another drink he doesn’t fill it up high enough and the old man wants more. When he pours the extra drink in, the waiter gives him a bad attitude and fills it over the rim, but in the story he pours the extra beer in kindly. Another difference is in the story the old man sits in a chair covered in the shadows of the trees, while in the movie he is in a booth with tons of light shining on him.

 The story and movie also have some things in common. One example is in the story and movie the dialogue is exactly the same, word for word. This made the story make a little more sense because it was a little confusing but when you see it in action it clears things up. The last example of how they are the same is the week before the old man tries to commit suicide by hanging himself but his niece comes to the rescue and cuts him down.

These two pieces share many things in common and have many differences, but in the end both the movie and the story share same meaning.  They both make it clear that the old man is in a lot of despair and darkness, along with “…the waiter in a hurry…” too. On the other hand the waiter who looks on the positive side walks in the light and not into darkness and despair. If it all came down to the dark and the light which side would you pick?

Creative Writing

Tyler Kiser

4/11/13

Mrs. Reagles 5^th hour

Creative Writing

Refereeing

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of creative writing.”

It had to have been the most boring 8 hours of my life. I had been sitting there in the same seat for 5 hours now and final it was time for test. I better pass this. I thought. I don't want to retake the whole 16 hours over again just to be a soccer referee. 

Finally as all the tests were out, we began. As I soared through the question, through the pack-it, and through my mind, I finally had got into my rhythm, 20…40…60…80…90, 10 more left! I'm in the home stretch of the class! 3...2…1, the last question! I filled in the last box and turned in my test praying and hoping I pass. 

"Okay you guys can get can get up, take a break, and eat your lunch," the instructor informed us.

"Finally," I whispered to my neighbor while going to the hall.

"Do you think you passed?" Hunter asked as we got outside.

"I hope," I answered.

"Me too! That would suck if you didn't, having to retake the whole class!"

"I know! It would suck!" 

"I could barely last 20 minutes in this class without getting bored, but having another 16 hours on this 16 hours, I would die!"

"I feel ya bro, but I'm gonna go eat, I'm starved!" I answered while walking away. 

When I got to my seat, I pulled out my lunch and dug in right away, instantly entering heaven. This right here is some top quality food. I thought jokingly. It feels like I haven't ate in ages!

I devoured the roast beef sandwich, the apple, the chex mix, until I came to my last substance of the glorious food: the granola bar. "No! It can't be, my lunch was just so scrumptious, but now it's gone!" I whispered painfully while finishing the granola bar.

"Okay everyone back in to find out your grades and get out of here!" the instructor said enthusiastically.

"Thank God I finished my food before we had to come in because that would have been horrific having to give up my babies!" I murmured.

Soon we were all back in and they began handing the tests back, "John, Matt, Tyler..."

There was my name, I better have passed or I will be really pissed! I thought while walking up to get my test. Once it was in my grasp I read the score at the top: 92%! I passed! 

"Thank goodness!" I shouted a little too loud and got a couple odd stares. "What? I passed!" I said in return.

"Hopefully you guys are happy with your score, but now it’s time to wrap this sucker up! Everybody make sure you have everything and get out of here!" she stated as we all rushed for the door.

When I broke into the open, through the crowd I spotted my dad sitting in his "sports car" waiting for me. Once I got into the car I broke him the news, "I passed!"

Word Choice and Context

Tyler Kiser

3-14-13

Word Choice and Context

Mrs. Reagles 5^th Hour

Dreams

Dreams, dreams, dreams. “Dreams” by Langston Hughes is a glum poem. It describes in vibrant words why you always need to have dreams even if you doubt they will come true. In the text it also describes why the world needs dreams because if we didn’t everything would be boring or “…if dreams die/ Life is a broken-winged bird.” If “Dreams” wouldn’t have contained the juicy figurative language it would be dull and boring, just like the world without dreams.

Throughout “Dreams” there is one type of figurative language that sets the tone for this part of the poem and it is a metaphor. The first metaphor states “Hold fast to dreams/ for if dreams die/ life is a broken-winged bird/ that cannot fly.” This compares dead dreams to life as a broken-winged bird. It tells us that when dreams die off life compares to a broken-winged bird that can’t fly. Which means that when dreams die off life doesn’t move forward with new ideas, but stops advancing and progressing.

The second metaphor of “Dreams” is “Hold fast to dreams/ for when dreams go/ life is a barren  field/ frozen with snow.” This time the second metaphor in “Dreams” compares life without dreams to a barren field with frozen snow instead of a broken-winged bird. The meaning of this metaphor is that when dreams stop life freezes up and doesn’t progress with new ideas, but instead the happiness in the world dies away.

The tone in “Dreams” makes me feel sad and glum because of the way he uses his two metaphors in the poem. It adds a sad tone because of how he compares life without dreams to a broken-winged bird or a barren field frozen with snow. I think he compared life without dreams to those two things because he wants people to know how sad and dreadful life without dreams would be.

I believe that Langston Hughes wrote this poem to emphasize his point of not giving up on dreams and to not stop dreaming.  He wants this because he didn’t have an easy life when his parents separated and he had to live with his mom’s mother. It got even worse when his grandma died and he had to move to live with family, live with friends, and even live with James and Mary Reed. In the end when times were tough he would read his books and dreamed that “…when people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas".[IA1] 

Overall Langston Hughes wants us to dream and come up with new ideas because he knows when people do that the world becomes flourished with happiness, not broken-winged birds. Also he uses figurative language to make the poem sink in even more than without metaphors and ripe words. In the end when Langston Hughes wrote “Dreams” if he wouldn’t have used juicy word choice, and figurative language, this poem would be dull and boring just like the world would be without dreams.

---

 [IA1]His life inspired him to write this poem, to keep people dreaming when times were tough, and to not give up on dreams like he didn’t.

Personal Narrative

Tyler Kiser

2/25/13

Personal Narrative

Reagels 5^th hour

Hide the Glowstick

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this piece to demonstrate my understanding of a Personal Narrative.”

            We flew through the woods, with the moon high in the sky. It was providing us with minimal light to guide us through the path. “C’mon on where is it,” my dad whispered impatiently over the humming of the engine.

“I am totally lost! We have looked all over and haven’t found anything at all!” I shouted back as we soared through the woods on our a.t.v.  Then there out through the trees in the distance I caught a glimpse of the green glow.

“Dad, dad I think I see it over in the back yard!” I said anxiously.

“No way that’s like the most obvious place ever!” he said as he shut off the lights.

“Then why didn’t we look there then?”

“Well I don’t know.”

“Whatever let’s just go!” I whispered over the stalling engine.

            As we started up going again my dad kept the head lights shut off and we went “stealth mode”. We shot through the endless rows of trees until we ran into a problem: the competition. We heard them coming down the path and instantly my dad cut right off the trail and right into a tree. “Don’t make a sound,” my dad whispered as he shut off the engine. GRRRRRRR! You could hear the competitions’ engine rumble as they rode past.

My cousins are really clueless sometimes. I thought when I couldn’t hear their engine anymore.

            Finally we took off down the path passing wildlife, passing trees, and passing brush until we broke out into the open and there it was: the glow stick. All of a sudden out of the blue came our cousins, flying down the driveway and gaining on us. Instantly after we saw them my dad full throttled it and man did we soar.

Soon we were within 50 yards of the objective, but we started tilting on our two wheels. We were going too fast and the ground started to slant, we were on the side of a hill with only two wheels on the ground until… BAM! It flipped! The a.t.v came crashing down on my leg! “Ow!” I screamed.

With my last effort I pushed through the pain and ran for the glowstick. Soon I was within 10 feet, my cousin Jake to my left and my sister Hailey to my right. On my final push I dived for the glowstick and grabbed it right before they could grasp the string of the glowstick. We had did it! We won!

Rush for the Gold

Tyler Kiser

2/25/13

Character Analysis

Reagels 5^th hour

Character Analysis

“Author’s Note:

I wrote this to demonstrate my understanding of Character Analysis.”

            She flew through the water taking a breath every few strokes, closing the gap between her and the final wall. Will she make it? Can she win? Do you believe in Susan Carol Anderson? Well in the book Rush for Gold by John Feinstein you can find out if she will push through with her strength and courage to take on the 200 m butterfly. Susan Carol Anderson in the book  has amazing courage, strength and heart.

            Susan Carol has outstanding courage and persistence to train for races, but more importantly to make it to the Olympics. “In the summer I would crack out 12,000 m a day.” She will push forward even if it means spending all of her time training and preparing for a chance of a life time: to win a gold medal. Susan Carol also gives her hardest even when she is struggling to finish the last leg of the biggest race of her life. “Just about out of air, she forced herself to stay down for the last three strokes.” As she pushed herself to her limit she dominated her opponent to qualify for the Olympic swim team. “Next to her name was the pretties sight… the number 1.” Susan had finally took first in the 200 m butterfly after taking second in the 100 m butterfly earlier.

            In this book Susan has one big heart, caring for everyone even if she doesn’t like them. She especially cares for her dad, even though he may be getting persuaded by money she still loves him. “He seems to be losing it… he said he would never side with agents, but now he does.” She barely got that out before bursting into tears, because her dad had promised her he would never side with the agents. Stevie, her best friend, says she has such an amazing and caring smile that he calls it, “The Smile”. “She gave him The Smile when she first saw him.” In the end she always has a positive attitude when it comes to life, always laughing and having fun.

            Overall Susan Carol has an amazing heart, has amazing courage, and has amazing perseverance. She does this because she grew up with loving and caring parents, which some of that happiness may have rubbed off on her. Susan will always pull through for you in the end and will keep you company with “The Smile”.