Journal #3- Chapters 8&9 Perspective of: Jem

Journal #3-
Chapters 8&9
Perspective of: Jem

Ugh..this week has been so stressful for me. I just wish that Scout would stop getting into fights. Even if it's about our father. Atticus is proud of both of us and I know that he wouldn't want Scout and I getting into fights. The problem with today was Scout getting into a fight with one of our own family members, Francis. Francis seems like a kid who doesn't know his place or his family. He called my Dad some mean things and knowing Scout, she isn't going to take that. She chased him for awhile and finally she just decided to be patient with him. So Francis ran into the Kitchen and hid there. He peeped his head out of the Kitchen every once and a while to mock Scout a bit. Then both of them got kicked out of the house because they weren't allowed to play in the Kitchen. Finally Scout and Francis came out of the house and Scout sat down. Francis was wandering around and as if he wasn't TORMENTING Scout enough. He came over and said those mean words again, right to Scout. As if Scout just turned into a world famous boxer, she cracked Francis right in the face and they got into a fight. Uncle Jack came out and separated the two from each other and held Scout back. As if to make a swift EVASION from Scouts unsaid accusations, Francis said that Scout called him some nasty words and Uncle Jack became angry and spanked Scout. Francis got away clean for awhile until Scout and I got home. Uncle Jack came to our house and went into Scouts room. From what I heard, Scout was able to explain to Uncle Jack what Francis said about my Dad. Apparently Uncle Jack did not care about Scouts foul mouth as much anymore, and became focused on what Francis said instead. I don't agree with Scouts problem solving method, but I'm happy that Francis got what was coming to him.
Also, a little while ago, disaster struck Maycomb. It all started after Mr. Avery told us that the weather changed depending on the behavior of the children. Soon it started snowing around our town and it got really cold. Then we remembered that Mr. Avery had told us that disobedient children were the cause of bad weather. Scout and I were UNANIMOUS and thought that it was partially our fault in our minds. After Scout and I decided to make a snowman we went over to Miss. Maudies front yard. We saw her covering her plants with sacks. She said it would keep them warm and that way they wouldn't die. Scout and I didn't really know anything about what she was doing but we just agreed with her. Scout and I asked if we could take her snow from her front yard and she was more than happy to let us take it. So we slowly gathered up as much snow as we could with the basket she let us use. Once we finally had enough snow to build a snowman, I went in the back yard and got some dirt. I took that dirt and formed a snowman body out of it, then we covered the dirt with snow and it almost looked like a real snowman once we put on the eyes and arms. We also added a gut to the snowman to make it look like Mr. Avery but my Dad made us change it because he didn't want us making fun of Mr. Avery. So we took away the gut and put Miss Maudies hat on the snowmans head and gave it Ms. Maudies hedge clippers to hold. My Dad said it was okay after we did that. Later in the night, my Dad woke Scout and I up and told us to get ready to get out of the house. After a few moments, Scout and I realized the neighbor hood was on the verge of bursting completely into flames. Miss. Maudies house was almost completely ablaze and when we got outside my Dad told us to go stand in front of the Radleys gate. I wasn't to scared about the situation until I saw Mr. Avery stuck in his top floor window. Soon he got loose and landed on a mattress below the window. After the fire was put out we went back home and my Dad noticed that Scout had a blanket around her. We didn't know she even had it on her until our Dad mentioned it. Our Dad said that Boo Radley must have come out and put it around me. This not only shocked me but it made Boo Radley less MALIGNANT. Almost as if the TYRANNY he caused all those years ago is gone. I don't know about that Boo.

Journal #2 Chapters 4-7 Perspective of: Scout

Journal #2
Chapters 4-7
Perspective of: Scout

Second grade seems to be getting better. As my life goes on I think that more adventure is headed my way. Dill has now left but I still feel his presence as I walk by his house, he'll be back soon enough. The days have gone by fast. I realize now that I am growing up faster than ever and everything I have done has become a blur of the past. The only memories that stick with me, are the memories of the Radley place. The pants, the shadows, the gun...they have stuck with me. For the days that didn't involve that house are almost obsolete compared to the wonder and terror I have experienced at that house. For the moment Jem seems to be petrified with fear of what will come. The fact that someone sewed up his pants and just left them there...it scares me. It almost seems as if they knew he was coming back. But even if they did, why would they be so nice to him? I thought that the Radley's were a mean bunch. Why would they just help us out all of a sudden? Or are thy just trying to strike fear into our hearts? That probably the most likely thing that would happen. Those creepy old Radlys better stay in that house because I don't ever want to see Boo face to face. It makes me wonder what DYNAMICS made Jem even want to explore the Radley place. I'm already terrified of going near it or even eating the fruit on their trees. I guess Dill can make you do stuff if he persuedes you. I mean, that kid and I don't mix well, and yet he wants to marry me. He needs to get his head straight. He's just a daring kid who doesn't have a brain! Anyone who actually likes talking to Boo is a wacko! Dill doesn't even live here, so how would he know about what the Radleys are like! He's so mean too. I think Jem might be taking after Dill. Jem's always talking about how wimpy I am because I'm a girl. He acts like he's on his own PULPIT and that all boys are great. I think he's wrong. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm scared all the time. Heck, I'm not scared, he just has less sense than me! I told him not to go and look into the Radley house and he did! Now look what happened. He's more afraid than I am! I love my brother though and I don't think I'll ever hate him, no matter how annoying he is. I just hope he can keep his mind calm for awhile. He's going to need a calm head if he wants to get to the bottom of this. My Dad also seems to be a little more watchful over Jem and I lately. Ever since he first saw us playing the Radley game, he seems to watch us more closely. I love my Dad and I know he loves me, but it's hard to keep that trust that we have when Dill and Jem pressure me into doing stupid things. I can't say that I'm perfectly innocent though. I've done some bad stuff too, but what we're doing isn't as bad as it is life threatening! I just hope that If Atticus ever catches us doing something bad, he has mercy on us. I just hope he can rescue us once the Radleys suck us into their house and try to kill us. Maybe Boo will even kill me with scissors! I can't Believe that we found all of that stuff in the Radley's tree! It's like someones hiding spot that is left exposed just for us! It almost seems as if the tree was BECKONING to us that we should look inside of it. Our curiosity was like a PESTILENCE to one another. It lead each of us onto a path that we should not have crossed. I know that the stuff we find in that tree comes from someone and when they find out that we took their stuff, their going to be really mad. I wonder who's been watching us though because no one I know can carve that good and they have to be watching us a lot to get that much detail. I hope that the person has a sense of CORDIALITY with Jem and I so we don't get into anymore trouble. One things for sure though, whoever is putting stuff in that tree really likes us, or is trying to persuade us. Even if they are trying to persuade us, they sure are giving us some nice things to play with. Like that watch we found. I remember when Jem was messing with that watch trying to get it to work. I guess he just got tired of using our Grandpas watch. Maybe it was because he had to take good care of it. I think with this one he'll be able to what he wants with it as long as it still works. I don't know if my Dad would be very happy if he threw it and it still worked after that. Anyway I hope that whoever has been putting stuff in that tree knows that it's plugged up now. It's a shame too, I was having fun with that tree.

Journal #1 Chapters 1-3 Perspective of Atticus

Journal #1
Chapters 1-3
Perspective of Atticus

These past few days have been quite interesting for me. Ever since Scout started school, things have been acting up a bit around here. I also think that new teacher needs to get acquainted with the folks 'round here. I understand that awhile ago, Jem and Scout knew a boy named Dill. Personally I didn't like him too much. He seemed to be a little more daring than I would have hoped. He seemed a little too curious about the Radleys. I don't think Boo is someone to be messed with. After he stabbed his father, now I don't think anyone wants to go up to their house. I remember also how Mr. Radley pulled Boo out of that camp. Even after all the trouble he caused. I don't know if anyone actually won that case.
I'm also worried about Scout. She needs to stop being so judgmental about the people around her...like the Cunningham's. Even though they may be less fortunate than us, they still are no different that anyone else that lives a decent life. That little Walter Cunningham does have a good brain though. I talked to him for a long time about farming any he knew what I was talking about most of the time. I respect him and his family. They're a good bunch.
Unlike those Ewell's. Those guys are a disgrace to the Maycomb community. They never do their part in this town. It's only the very beginning of the school year and those Ewell's are putting a lot of intimidation on the teacher. All the Ewell's ever brought to this town was a bad reputation. I also feel bad for that new teacher, Ms. Caroline. It's only her first day here and she probably already wants to go home. She doesn't know her way around this town and it's stories as well as we do. We also have a choice to help her as a community or not help her at all. We should tell her about the eccentric ways of our town and how malevolent some people can be here.
As far as my life has been it's been good. I hope that my young girl finds school just as she thought it would be. She seems to enjoy reading and writing. I hope she learns to use that skill one day to her own advantage. Unfortunately I've been told that Ms. Caroline won't allow my daughter to read or write until the third grade. This bothers me knowing how talented my daughter is. If she has the ability to read or write then she should still allow it. As long as she isn't using her advantage to get ahead of the class in a wrong way, then I don't see what the issue is! I guess it really doesn't matter anyways. Every school teacher is different. I wouldn't really know though since I never went to school.
I am glad that Jem condescended to leading Scout through the whole school thing. He's such a good kid. When ever I give him my pronouncements he seems to do them. There are times when I wished he hadn't done something, but you can't always do the right thing. Jem is really a priceless person to have in our family. He seems to not give up easily and acts cocky sometimes. He's a kid who may take on challenges and not think twice. He's a really wild one, but that's why he's so special. Without my two children I would have nothing. I don't even know if Calpurnia would be around to help me around the house. I know she likes to watch my kids for me. It not only gives her something to do but I think she likes watching them grow up. I'm sure my wife would be proud of Calpurnia for taking such good care of the kids while I'm not around. I really don't know what I would do without her. As much as I like to spend time with the kids, I do enjoy my job. I like being a Lawyer. I get to see a lot of interesting cases, and some crazy outcomes.
Even though I didn't go to school, I think my life turned out pretty well. I have two kids, a fine home, and a great job. Even in this tiny town of Maycomb, I still think there are many great opportunities. As far as I know these days could go in any direction. I just hope that they go more smoothly for my kids as they grow up and move out. I don't know what I'll do when I'm really old. I just don't want to end up like Mr. Radley. I hope Jem doesn't stab me in the leg with scissors or join a gang. I think Jem will turn out fine though. I also think Scout will learn to like her teacher. Well I'll have to see where the road leads me today. The whole world is just one big case, waiting to be solved.

(Note to Mr. Curran:
Blogger does not let you underline words. So all of the vocabulary words I put in this document are bolded. I will be doing this for all of my posts so look for bolded words.)

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jonathan B DATE: 2/18/10
BOOK: Echo Park
AUTHOR: Michael Connely PAGES: 229-330
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 101 pages.

QUESTION 1: 7. How did what you read today make you feel? Why?

RESPONSE 1: Today when I was reading I had a sense that is hard to describe. It sort of felt like a sense that, well...felt like the story was over. Detective Bosch finally killed the man behind the many killings and abductions. The ending was so sudden and short. It felt to me like the story had a little more to it than that. I still have around seventy five more pages to read but the main plot of the story seems to have ended. Bosch still has to find the real killer of Marie Gesto though so hopefully that will also be exciting as well. Today I just fell like the killer that I read about should still be in the story.

QUESTION 2: 15. Make up a motto that one of the characters seems to live by. How and why does this fit the character?

RESPONSE 2: A motto I think would fit Detective Harry Bosch would be, “Don't tell me what to do! That's my job!” The reason being that Harry is disobedient as much as he can obey an order. In the book, Bosch spends a lot of time disobeying orders regulations that are for his own safety. In one part of the book Bosch is ordered to not work on the case he has, and to stay away from the crime scene as much as possible. Of course Bosch works his way around his boss's orders and he starts investigating almost right away.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jonathan B DATE: 2/11/10
BOOK: Echo Park
AUTHOR: Michel Connely PAGES: 104-229
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 125

QUESTION 1: 18. What has surprised you in the book? Why?

RESPONSE 1:
One major thing that surprised me while reading this week was the escape of the Serial killer Raynard Waits, if that's even his real name. While in the woods where Waits said he buried Marie Gesto, he managed to escape the police officers, detectives, and forensics team, getting away. It all happened so suddenly. There are only a few sentences that tell you what's about to happen, then Waits grabbed a gun and shot three officers. Two were dead, one was severely injured. This all surprised me because Waits seemed to cooperate fully until that last moment where he grabs the gun, shoots, and runs away.


QUESTION 2: 6. Explain how the author creates suspense in this book.

RESPONSE 2:
The topic of suspense in a realistic fiction book is difficult. You can't just have a Dragon fly out and capture the person you're going after. You need to have a plot line that goes with the facts of real life, especially in murder mystery novels. So the way that Michel Connely creates suspense is he takes the facts and the pieces of the story to give you an understanding of the main idea of what might happen. This allows you to think of many different up coming plots and solutions for the issues you're currently reading about. In the end you may have a basic idea of what's going to happen by the subtle hints the author gives you in the book. The element of suspense comes in when you're waiting to find out if you're right or not.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jonathan B DATE: 2/4/10
BOOK: Echo Park.
AUTHOR: Michel Connely PAGES: 1-104
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 104

QUESTION 1: 16. Which character would you like (or not like) to be your friend? Why?

RESPONSE 1: One character I would not like to have is a friend is Olivas. Olivas is a guy who really seems to like watching the main Character, Bosch, get upset. In one part of the book Olivas tells Bosch what he did wrong thirteen years ago that let the killer go free. Olivas doesn't just tell Bosch what he did wrong but he milks the situation. Olivas literally makes fun of Bosch's mistake. People were killed by the man the got away and Olivas is focusing on making Bosch feel bad. Olivas is a really mean guy, and I wouldn't want to make a mistake in front of him because he would probably keep bringing it back up.

QUESTION 2: 4. What character do you like most in this book and/or what character do you like least? Why?

RESPONSE 2: The Character I like the most in the book so far is Detective Harry Bosch. Bosch is a hardened Cop from the things he's experienced. He is a Detective that cares about the people,not the job he has. Bosch has been through many different stages in his crime solving career, but in this book, it starts where he is currently working in the Open Unsolved Cases department. Bosch has been working on a case for thirteen years involving a woman named Marie Gesto. When on a huge evidence scene involving the victim's car, Bosch found folded clothes on the inside of the car. The evidence disturbed Bosch and he has spent a great ordeal on finding future evidence. Bosch has done this out of his own time, showing that he cares about the people, not his job as a Detective. This is one of the main reasons I like Bosch.

My Free Choice Book

The book I am choosing to read is, Echo Park, By, Michael Connelly. The reason I am choosing this book is I like action, and realistic fiction. This book happens to be a mystery novel, which happened to intrigue me. So I figured that this book would be a good book to read.