Reading Response on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Boo Radley was a very important character in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. He was turned out to be a very important character in the book. The characters perspectives of Boo Radley change a lot throughout the book.

In the beginning if the book, Boo was portrayed as a dirty, cruel criminal. For example, he was described as: 

"Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained - if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time." (p.16)

This description portrays him as disgusting, dangerous, and creepy old man. These descriptions were passed down by neighbors. Most of it is just rumors made up because they never see him outside the house. Pages 12-16 also describe the whole entire Radley family like how Boo was in a gang. In general, the beginning of the book portrayed Boo as a villain.

                The characters perspective of Boo change again during chapter 8. “Thank who?' I asked.
 ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you"(p.96). This is a description by Atticus. This shows Boo could be caring if he is willing to go outside during a fire and put a blanket on Scout. This is a hint to Boo’s kindness.

                Boo is thought of completely differently by the end of chapter 29. In the chapter before, Bob Ewell, attempts to kill Jem and Scout when they are walking home at night. They get into a fight and Ewell gets stabbed to save Jem and Scout’s lives. As Atticus and the Sherif are asking Scout questions about what happened, Scout notices someone in the corner. “Why there he is Mr. Tate, he can tell you his name’. I said it as I half pointed at the man in the corner… His face was as white as his hands… His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears. ‘Hey Boo’ I said” (P.362). This quote shows that Boo saved Jem and Scout’s lives. Even though he was thought of as evil throughout the book, he was secretly Jem and Scout’s guardian angel. All along he was always caring. Made-up rumors just portrayed him as an evil person.

                The characters perspectives of Boo Radley changed a lot in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the beginning he was a “villain” but at the end it shows him for what he really is, as hero and a guardian. This was one theme in the book, never to judge someone until you really no them.R 

Non-Fiction Reading Response

The article "The Natural" by Mike Tierney was very interesting and inspiring. This was about a senior (Zach Hodskins) in high-school who was born without a left forearm and hand. He plays basketball and is going to walk-on and play basketball for the current #1 team college basketball team in the country: Florida. This is so inspiring. Not only does he just play basketball, he exceeds at it and is going to play college basketball for a very good team. This shows that anything is possible not matter what happens to you. That if you work hard enough, you could do whatever you want.

Final Draft: Please Don't Take My Air Jordans

Reading Response on “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordan’s”

Liam O’Hara                                                                                                                      808

            “My Air Jordan’s cost a hundred with tax,” -this was the main topic in the poem “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordan’s” by Reggie Gaines.  Air Jordan’s and style were a huge part of the poem. The speaker of the poem is faced with peer pressure and he also does not have a lot of control in his life.

            The speaker is faced with peer pressure throughout the poem. One example of this is “I must get some new gear soon/ or my ego will pop like a 10 cent balloon”(Gaines Lines 17-18). This shows that he want to get new because he is scared that he will be made fun of and his ego will lower. Another example of this is “it ain't about bein heard just bein seen,”(4). This also shows that he just wants to look good in front of people, not express his voice. He wants people to judge him on the way he looks, not the way he thinks.

            The speaker of this poem also does not have a lot of control in his life. One example of this is “cut school Friday,”(25). During this section, the speaker doesn't second guess himself at all. It almost seems natural to him. Other examples such as “I’m packing my gun,” (29) and “I fired (POW),” (46) show how strange his life is. Kids around that age in high school should not own a gun. The speaker also showed no emotion about killing an innocent person for their shoes. At the end of the poem, “I needs a new jacket to wear,” (56) shows that he hasn't learned his lesson from killing for shoes. This shows the reader that maybe he does this often.

            The poem “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordan’s” by Reggie Gaines was very interesting because it showed a realistic life of some teenage kids. Some kids today have the exact same mindset as the speaker of this poem. Many kids like the speaker are faced with peer pressure and many do not have parents around all the time. They do not have a role model to look up to.

Works Cited

Gaines, Reggie E. Please Don't Take My Air Jordans. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"Please Don't Take My Air Jordan's" Reading Response 1st draft

“My Air Jordan’s cost a hundred with tax,” -this was the main topic in the poem “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordan’s” by Reggie Gaines.  Air Jordan’s and style were a huge part of the poem. The speaker of the poem is faced with peer pressure and he also does not have a lot of control in his life.

            The speaker is faced with peer pressure throughout the poem. One example of this is “I must get some new gear soon or my ego will pop like a 10 cent balloon.” This shows that he want to get new because he is scared that he will be made fun of and his ego will lower. Another example of this is “it ain't about bein heard just bein seen.” This also shows that he just wants to look good in front of people, not express his voice. He wants people to judge him on the way he looks, not the way he thinks.

            The speaker of this poem also does not have a lot of control in his life. One example of this is “cut school Friday.” During this section, the speaker doesn’t second guess himself at all. It almost seems natural to him. Other examples such as “I’m packing my gun” and “I fired (POW)” show how strange his life is. Kids around that age in high school should not own a gun. The speaker also showed no emotion about killing an innocent person for their shoes. At the end of the poem, “I needs a new jacket to wear” shows that he hasn’t learned his lesson from killing for shoes. This shows the reader that maybe he does this often.

            The poem “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordan’s” by Reggie Gaines was very interesting because it showed a realistic life of some teenage kids. Some kids today have the exact same mindset as the speaker of this poem. Many kids like the speaker are faced with peer pressure and many do not have parents around all the time. They do not have a role model to look up to. 

Rant On Why Schools Shouldn't Be Open When It Snows

Schools shouldn't be open when it snows
Lots of snow locks students indoors. It is dangerous to drive on slick roads in the snow
Many teachers live far away and it is a huge hassle to get to school with huge train delays
Students and teachers need a break every once and awhile
Let them have fun in the snow
School shouldn't be open when it snows

Baseball Great by Tim Green

             I have recently finished the book Baseball Great by Tim Green. This was an action packed book with many different story lines around the book. Josh's dad (a former MLB player) forces him to quit his middle school team to play for a really good travel team. This team is all about weight lifting and more... One huge issue in this book that still affects the world today are steroids.

             I noticed that Josh was always very suspicious about the team. He was always very hesitant to take an energy/protein shake called SuperStax. After Josh's successful first few games for the Titans, some of the players approach him basically force him to take "gym candy" (p.158) (which later is found out to be steroids). After doing research, Josh found out that Coach Rocky was the one dealing the steroids and he turned him in. 

             This has become a big social issue in real life too. Just like in the book, teens are starting to be offered P.E.D.s(performance enhancing drugs). More and more players in the MLB have been busted for steroid usage. This affects other sports too but mainly baseball.damage.According to the book. 4% of high school kids use steroids(p.196). Steroids not only give an unfair playing advantage to users, they could also be very harmful to your body. They could cause liver and kidney damage. That is not something high school kids should put into their bodies.

             Steroid use is becoming a big issue in the world. More and more players are being busted by steroid use in the MLB each year. Younger kids are taking steroids too like in the book. This issue needs to stop before dangerous things could happen to users.

                 

 

Non-Fiction Reading Response

            The Upfront magazine article “16-Year-Olds Get the Vote!” talked about how Takoma Park, Maryland has recently passed a law to let 16 year olds be able to vote in local elections. This could be a recurring theme in other cities across the United States, including Lowell, Massachusetts who has been trying to pass a law changing the voting age to 17. Other countries like Austria and Argentina have already lowered the national voting age to 16 so why can’t we?

            I think that the voting age should not be lowered to 16 years old. Most kids that age are not knowledgeable enough on the subject of politics. Most kids would vote on someone who they like better or who their friends are voting for, not based upon a candidates political background. Having high school students eligible to vote could potentially mess up an election. Even 17 years old is should not be old enough to vote. The voting age for all local and national elections should stay at 18.

            I think 16 year olds should not be allowed to vote because they are too young and to not have enough experience and knowledge about politics. Even if the local voting age drops to 17 or 16, the national voting age should stay at 18. 16 year olds should not be deciding who the next president should be.