A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is about his journey through a civil war in Sierra Leone. Throughout his journey he faces many challenges. He loses his family and has to survive with just his friends as they try to find their families. His journey changes who he is as a person as the story progresses and he ends up doing anything he can to survive including fighting for the army being just a child.

In the beginning of the book Ishmael is happy. He is on his way to to his mother. But when the rebels attack everything goes down hill. He runs though the forest with his friends so that they won't get captured and recruited into the rebels. When he gets back to Mattru Jong to scavenge anything for survival, he and his friends get captured by the rebels. Just as they are about to be lined up and killed, a outburst of gunfire rings. As the Army and Rebels fight Ishmael and his friends flee the scene and into the forest to the net village.

Later on in the book he gets to Yele a village protected by soldiers. He and his friends are welcomed to stay but get assigned the job of gathering food and materials for the village. Eventually the Army realizes that they are going to need more soldiers on their side if they want to end the war. They call a meeting in the town square and ask for all boys and men to join the Army while all the women get the responsibility of cooking and gathering. At first Ishmael is scared about joining the Army. He trembles holding a gun and his arms start to shake. But the commander of Army changes his mindset. He makes him think of the rebels as the reason he doesn't have a family anymore and that he should be wanting to get revenge on them and avenge his families deaths. That idea quickly takes over his mind in weeks and he turns into a great squad leader.

When Ishmael gets taken away from the war by UNICEF, he has a hard time changing back to a civilian. He cannot trust anybody and takes out all his anger on other people. For weeks all him and his friends do is hurt  people around them. Being taken away from the Army leaves anger and ambition in him that he can't take out on anyone. He is mad that he was taken away and wants to finish the war. However, when he meets Esther the nurse, he slowly changes back to a regular kid. Esther was the one person he could trust again and was like a medicine that cured him of all his sins. As the story continues he lives with is uncle and goes to a meeting in New York. In the time he spent out of the war, he realizes that revenge is bad and that it just leads to more revenge.

Ishmael's mindset changes throughout his journey. He goes from being a kid to a soldier with only killing on his mind. All he wanted to do at that point was to avenge his families death. When he gets taken out of the war, he has a difficult time transacting back into a normal kid. But after meeting Esther, he learns that revenge is a horrible thing and wants nothing to do with it.

The Natural

There are many people in this world with disabilities. But that has never stopped Senior guard Zach Hodskins from doing what he loves. Zach was born without a left hand and forearm but even though he has that disability, he is a great basketball player and has gotten a secured spot on the back to back national tittle holder; the Florida Gators. He is nearly 6'4 and is a strong passer and can shoot from any where on the court. Zach Hodskins is a big inspiration to me because even though he has a disability, he works hard to have the skills that everyone else has like dribbling, shooting, catching, and passing.

"It made me want to work harder to overcompensate for things people said i couldn't do"
Zach was doubted a lot by other people because of his disability. However, it just made him more motivated to become better at what he loves. Zach Hodskins inspires me because he shows how hard work can get you to where you want no matter what set back or situation you face or a disability you have. For example if you can't shoot a 3 pointer you can keep working at it and learn what strength you need to put on the shot and make it consistently. Zach Hodskins is just an example of what hard work and determination can get you. He inspires me to practice at what i like to do or what i need to improve on. Because of Hodskins hard work and determination, he knows has a spot on a college basketball team and has an opportunity to play in the NBA after college.

This article made me realize that you can get through any set back or disability if you just put in some hard work and be focused on what you have to do. Zach Hodskins has a lot of dedication to basketball and is a great inspiration to anyone that wants to do what they love.

Please Don't Take My Air Jordans

Marco Huang                                                                                                                                809                     

                                                 Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans            

            There are a lot of people that care about how they look. They buy expensive clothing and think that that will make them more noticeable. In “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans” by Reg E Gaines made me realize that that people are worried more about how they look than their own safety. A big theme in this poem is materialism.

            But the gear cost money it sure ain’t free

And I gots no job no money at all

But it’s easy to steal fresh gear from the mall

Parents say I shouldn’t but I know I should

Gotta do what I can to make sure I look good

In the poem, the MC wears all these expensive things because he is so worried about looking good. The MC will do anything so that he won’t have to wear old gear. He cares about his appearance so badly that he doesn’t even realize or think about his safety. While he steals from the mall, he doesn’t think about what will happen is he get caught because he is to worried about getting the stuff. He could get arrested and go to jail but he doesn’t care in the moment because the only thing he is thinking about is how he is going to look after he gets them. He thinks about materialism. He thinks that look is everything and that nothing else will matter because people will just judge you on how you look.

And the reason I have to look real fly

Well to tell you the truth man I don’t know why

I guess it makes me feel special inside

When I’m wearing fresh gear I don’t have to hide

While reading this poem, I realized that his Jordan’s represent his pride. His Jordans make him who he is and they are all he cares about. Another symbol I found was that his gear is like a shield to him. His gear makes him feel confident about who he is and what he’s doing. Without his gear that makes him look how he does, he wouldn’t know who he really is.

The MC thinks that if he doesn’t get some new clothing, then he won’t be noticed anymore and won’t get any more attention.

             Made a left turn on Houston pulled out my gun

GIMME THEM JORDANS … and he tried to run

I fired POW he fell between two parked cars

He was coughing/crying/blood dripped on the street

And I snatched them air Jordans off his feet

While lying there dying all he could say was

Please… don’t take my air Jordans away

You think he’d be worried about stayin alive

I took off with the Jordans there were tears in his eyes

The reason the MC killed him for his Air Jordans was to protect his ego. He thought that getting some new shoes could solve everything. He doesn’t think about what he is doing. He only cares for himself so that he can get what he wants and he’d rather kill someone for shoes then get a job because he doesn’t realize what he’s doing.

            “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans” by Reg E Gaines made me realize that people care more about how they look than their own safety. The MC did a lot of unnecessary things to get what he wanted. He cared too much about the prize and ended up killing for them.

C.T.Q. What hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? ( revised reading response)

In Flight by Sherman Alexie, the book is about the Zits ( the main character ) finding out about his past. His father abandoned his family as he was born, and his mother died a few years later. After his parents deaths, it made him have to live with foster families. First he had to live with his Aunt. Zits could not handle dealing with the fact that he was abandoned. He would cry every night. Until one day his Aunt couldn't deal with him anymore. She gave him $20 to buy lunch and never came back. Its what made Zits hate foster families because he thought that they would all leave him and that they didn't show who they really were until later. A hard thing happening in this book is being abandoned.
                                                                                                                                                            "When I was 11, I ran away from my first foster home and got drunk in the street with 3 homeless Indians from Alaska."
"When I was 12 I  ran away from my seventh foster home."
Zits had to deal with the fact that his parents were dead, and because of that, he believed that he would never have a true family and that they would all abandon him like his Aunt, and he didn't want to go through it all again. Most of the foster homes he goes to start out good, but end terribly which causes him to want to run.
" I had this one Indian foster daddy, Edgar, who was great in the beginning."
" I had this one foster dad who took me to a room with a huge railroad and model trains. I remember playing with them for hours and hours. Then at nights he took me to a room without trains. A room that hurt me."
Both the quotes imply that he has had lots of abusive foster homes that are hidden at first and happen later. Zits belief of never finding a true family, was later proven false. He was adopted by Officer Dave's (supporting character) brother and felt cared for the first time in his life he could remember.                                                                                                                                                                                             There is definitely the same problem happening in the world now. Many kids are growing up without there real parents because of death or abandonment. It is a very serious problem because it could make them think that because their original parents abandonment, they will never find a true family that loves and cares for them. It will also make them not want to go to another family so they never have to go through the same thing ever again. But even though some kids might think that, there is a family for everyone on matter what. There will be a family for everyone and there is no need to think that just because of your abandonment, you will never have a true family.

In conclusion, a hard thing happening in this text and is also happening in the world now is abandonment. It forces children to live in foster homes. Even though a child might be abandoned, doesn't mean they will never have a true family. A true family is a family that will care for you no matter what and no child should ever think that they wont find one. Sherman Alexie shows us by taking us though Zit's experience and how he found his family.