Who Said You Were in Charge

Author's Note: this is a theme essay about the theme of government takeover in three books. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Fahrenheit 451 

Government takeover is a theme used in many books. Many authors use it to create action or adventure stories about rebellion. I found that this theme was in the Hunger Games, Divergent and Fahrenheit 451.

 There is an obvious theme of Government takeover in the Hunger Games. No one is free unless you live in the Capital. The government controls everything and everyone in the districts. Not to mention that every year they terrorize the districts by taking away their children. Then they go make them fight to the death on national television. President Snow is the driving force behind this. He thinks of not even having the hunger games and just executing the tributes on the spot. All to make the districts bow down to him and give him anything he wants.

Unlike making their people fight to the death, in Divergent they have a different system. Everyone has a faction and that faction determines what you do with your life. Even though people have the choice of their faction, if they choose to change factions they never get to see their family again. You only have a small amount of job choices. Not to mention that the government tries to keep the people in the city, when they say they are trying to keep evil out.

Fahrenheit 451 has the same theme but with a different twist. The government has major control. They create strict rules on what people can and can’t have. Particularly books. If someone gets caught with books, they are sent to jail and their books are burned. The government has the power to modify any situation, like at the end of the book. They send a search for Montag and when they don’t find him they kill random man walking down the street to avoid embarrassment.

All of these books have the same theme but they warn us too. They give us signs to watch for and if we see them some of these events in the books could possibly happen to us. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I would like watching people fight to the death on TV. 

Hunting

Do you love the outdoors or just want to get out more? Then I encourage you go out and try hunting. It’s exciting, a good way to try new things and great for those times when you just need to get away.

If you want to get your adrenaline pumping, one of the best things to do is big game hunting. That probably doesn’t sound like a lot of fun but trust me when that big deer steps out your heart is going a mile a minute. There is always the feeling of never knowing when your opportunity to shoot will come. It just adds to the excitement. You also never know what is going to happen while you are out hunting. Who knows, you might witness something amazing.

Along with the excitement involved in hunting, you get to try many new things. Shooting guns, shooting bows, trying new meats, seeing new terrain and so much more. When you shoot for the first time you are hooked the instant the trigger is pulled. People always worry about kick on a gun but when you have your sights on an animal you don’t feel a thing. Once you can shoot, you get to eat what you’ve shot. That is the best part. I’ve always loved wild meats they are just way better than the normal meats you get. The reasons, they are fresh, lean, and have more natural flavor. Studies actually show that fresh meats like this are better for you than store bought meats.

Overall hunting can be really good for your health. Between confidence, healthier foods and walks though the natural terrain it can really help. Trust me walking through the woods burns a lot more calories than walking on a flat sidewalk.

Of all the things hunting can do for you many people love it for one big reason. It helps your mental health. Think about it. If you’re in the woods you don’t have to worry about people or jobs or school. You are just hunting and it gives your brain some time to relax.

Hunting can be very good for you in many ways and it could be bad, it mainly depends on the person. Sure it’s not for a lot of people but it sure is for me. The last thing I want to say is that it’s stupid when people hate on hunting. Don’t tear down something until you’ve actually tried it. 

Life of Don't Die

Author's Note: This piece is a prediction on what I think will happen at the end of Life of Pi.

My stomach fells like a empty pit never to be filled again. The days have been long and Richard Parker is becoming more and more hostile each day. But finally by the grace of God I see the coast and the small boat slowly inches closer. I reach for a flare but sorrow fills me as I find they are all gone. I begin to dose off purely of exhaustion and not know if what I'm seeing is real. I awake to the powerful steps of Richard Parker. My eyes open from my daze to see a blur of orange and black. The water stings when I dive out of the boat. I can't tell why it stings so bad, then I notice the huge gash made by Richard Parker's claw. The boat flips from his massive weight and I find that he is stuck under the over turned vessel. I hear him frantically trying to swim but sadly failing as he sinks further into the water.

There is no way I can flip the boat by myself so I decide to put my head down and swim. The coast doesn't seem far but after an hour of swimming it doesn't feel like I've made any progress. I flip onto my back, I feel like my arms and legs are no longer usable. That's I notice a fin sticking out of the water to the right of me. At first it looks like a dolphin but it's moving to fast. I remember what to do just as the shark leaps out of the water. I give the strongest right hook I can and hit it square in the nose it sinks to the bottom unconscious. I lift my arm and see the spot where my hand used to be and pass out. 

When I wake up I find myself in a mix of sand blood and water. I hear people shouting but I can't seem to make out what they are saying. When I turn my head I can just make out the sign of the Canadian Coast Guard on the shirts of three people. I'm saved.   

Patriots Pen

Imagine placing your signature on a document that could be completely turned against you. Would you stand for what you believe even if it meant possibly having a bounty on your head? Our founding fathers had to experience this first hand and they truly deserve to be honored.

The founding fathers were very brave during the revolutionary time. Without the founding fathers we probably wouldn't be here today. They created the spark that slowly set fire to the twigs and brush around it until it was full out raging, demanding independence and respect. It wasn't the shot heard around the world that started the war, it was our founding fathers. They had the guts to stand up for what they believed and began our surge for freedom.  

Our founding fathers not only did a great job of starting the revolution. They did an even better job of setting the base for our country with the constitution. I am very thankful that they gave us many of the rights we have today. Otherwise life would be so much different. Like if they didn’t give us the right to bear arms, it would completely change my life. I say this because I love hunting and I don’t know what I would do without it. Also the right of freedom of speech because you have to be able to express yourself otherwise things wouldn’t anywhere close to what they are today. Imagine if people couldn’t say their own opinion on things. Just think of all of the things that wouldn’t be around.  Many movies, talk shows, maybe even social networks. All of those things plus more.

With all of the things the founding fathers did right I have a few things that I disagree with them on. Like not letting women vote or allowing slaves. They are people too. Shouldn’t they have the same rights? At least there are amendments. I guess you can’t get everything right the first time.

Either way you look at it our country has fixed any flaws and pushed our way to being the strongest country in the world. 

No Trust

Author's Note: This is a cause and effect piece about the book the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. 


The curious incident of the dog in the night-time has many conflicts throughout the book. One of the biggest problems is that Chris the main character of the story finds out that he has been lied to about many things. When he does his investigating to find who killed the neighbors dog he finds all these things about his mom and dad he didn't know for most of his life. There are many other conflicts that cause this event to happen. Like the book starting out with the dog found dead, Chris's investigation and his dad taking his book. Once he tries to look for the book and do the investigating he finds the hidden letters from his mom who is supposed to dead.

This event sends the story spiraling out of control. Along with finding the letters he also finds that his dad was the one who killed the dog. The effect; Chris doesn't trust his dad anymore. Sometimes this happens in real life. Say you've known someone for the longest time then, bam they change and you lose trust in them. There have been a few times where I haven't trusted my parents but then you realize that you are overreacting and regain trust in them because you love them. Luckily this happens in the book too. Except for the fact that the rebuilding of trust is a lot slower.

The whole thing was caused by one lie and escalated to be something a lot larger. This one little event effected the whole story. Luckily it ended happily but their are many options Mark Haddon had on how this event effected the story.

Narrative

Buck Fever

Butterflies danced in my stomach; my body began to shake uncontrollably. I couldn’t stop this odd sensation. This feeling known as Buck Fever.

The deer came strolling in as my dad was standing up and stretching. I remember telling him to sit down as I pointed toward the bait pile where it stood eating, not even bothering to notice us there. As I lifted the gun toward the window of the stand, Buck Fever kicked in. Trust me this is not a rare occurrence; this happens to people all the time. Mainly it happens to hunters before they shoot their first big animal. Which pertained exactly to my situation. But many times the Buck Fever causes people to miss. Not me.

I set the gun as gently as I could on the window sill as if to not make a sound. Pointing the gun at the deer I take a deep breath and look through the scope of the old 30-30 rifle. At this point the buck had turned and started walking directly away. My dad took our call and as he called to the deer it stopped turned just enough so I could barely see the broad side of the deer. The shot had to be perfect. So I gently squeezed the trigger and “BANG”. The bullet sped through the brisk air, bringing the fatal projectile through the deer’s body. Entering just in front of the hind leg and piercing straight through the stomach and heart.

Once I saw the hind legs of the deer kick out in pain I knew I had him. I was pumped; my dad was too. We celebrated with a high-five and a soda while we waited to make sure the deer was dead before we tracked it. Even though it was hard to contain my excitement, I made it through the 30 minutes we had to wait.  Finally dad decided we could go find the deer and once he said this I was already out the door of the stand.

Even though the shot was perfect, there was one problem… it didn’t leave much of a blood trail. The reason this happen is the only place the blood could really come out was the exit hole since the bullet enter though the stomach. Plus there was no snow on the ground, making it twice as hard to find the blood trail. While we were searching the woods I began to doubt myself. I was thinking that I had missed even though that wasn’t possible. My dad and I split up searching for the small buck. While I was standing on a log scanning the ground below me I heard, “Hey Nate look what I found!”

“What?” I yelled back as I began walking toward him.

As I saw his face that was filled with happiness. I knew he had found it. My eyes followed his finger pointed at the brown lump  on the ground. Then I shouted “Yes!” and thanked God for the beautiful animal.

Conflict

Son of Neptune is mainly about two camps one Roman and one Greek. They live in modern society but we don't know they're there. The two camps don't know about each other until they something weird happens. At the roman camp they have lost three people mysteriously but one person Percy join they're camp but he fights and even acts like a Greek. They figure out that the camps have to team up to fight the army of Gaea goddess of the earth who is trying to wipe out the gods and humanity.

The main conflict in this story is person vs person. The camps vs Gaea's army. They fight until the camps are almost completely killed but they end up fighting back. The resolution is that Gaea's army is pushed back and the camps win for now.

Retelling

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

When Christopher Boone finds a neighborhood dog dead with a garden fork in its back he is sent reeling for answers. But as he investigates this mysterious murder he finds there is more behind this than he originally thought. This one event flips his life upside-down. Finding out about all the lies he has been told. 

Happiness

Authors Note: This piece was an assignment for reading. We were supposed to analyze the quote, say what it means in our own words and make real life connections.

If there is no sadness there will be no happiness. Carl Jung is trying to communicate this message through his quote. Basically if you haven't felt sadness you can't feel happiness. If there were no down points in your life if there were no hard times there would be no meaning for happiness. This is like when you lose a relative our a person you love. You are sad but as time passes you begin to get happier and happier and then you get back into the swing of things  and lose the burden of sadness. For me this is like when my grandpa died, I loved him so much and he was so fun. I was sad but after a couple weeks   I could feel the sadness fading and happiness crawling right back in. This quote also connects to another quote I found "If you keep focus on the past you have your back to the future." -Anonymous. If you spend your time focusing on the sadness in the past you won't notice the happiness in the future. 

DWA 2

WWII

World War II had a major impact on history. Without the Allies Europe and Asia would be in the hands of the Axis powers. The war was started on hatred, power and the want to control the world.

          The pure hatred that started the war came from a short man with a raspy voice who was caught in a gas attack in the First World War, Adolf Hitler. He hated the Allies; he felt he had failed his country, which if I were him I would feel the same. His other reason of his hate was the Allies made the Germans who were poor and war beaten pay for the damages of the war. In my opinion you can’t blame him for the reasons of his hate but you can’t excuse the things he did in while in power. To start a new war he had to find an excuse for the loss of the first, so he blamed the Jewish. Why? I don’t know because they didn’t do anything, yet he proceeded in killing them off throughout the war. This sad excuse brought the people of Germany to starting the war all because of Hitler’s hate.

          Power was a main struggle in the war. At that time Germany was ahead in science and technology, which helped with the creation of their deadly weapons which held power in Europe for quite a while. The Panzer tank which was a military breakthrough for the time was the dominant weapon on the battlefield. It could annihilate the US tanks which the soldiers started calling “coffins” because one Panzer shell could penetrate all the way through the tank. If I were in the tank I would probably feel somewhat hopeless knowing that we were outgunned. Another way they could keep power was using the Hitler Youth teens and kids trained to fight in combat. With the Hitler Youth the Nazis could send these kids to war when they were old enough and they would already be trained. The last thing the Nazis did was made peace treaties with countries then invaded them without warning. Their main goal was total power over the world.

          The Nazis would have had a chance at reaching their goal of world domination if the US hadn’t joined. They almost had taken all of Europe from the Allies grasp. Which if they accomplished world takeover that would be terrible today. If I were an Axis leader when the US joined the fight and started pushing the Nazis back into Germany I’d be really scared, especially when the Allies stopped their final push into France. I guess that is what Hitler was thinking because why else would he commit Suicide. Anyway it would be hard for the Nazis to control the many counties of the world. Also if they did want total domination they would end up having to fight their ally the Japanese, which in turn their forces would be moved to fight the Japanese giving the Allies a chance to regroup and take back countries. So I guess if Hitler did win in theory he would still lose unless he gathered huge armies from somewhere.

          World War II was a sad time in the world’s history. Many innocent people were killed all due to a fight based on hatred. Power and hatred can change people from good to bad like that. This event shows us what to look for to stop this from happening again.  

DWA

 Win

            “And there’s a single to right by the Yankee shortstop Hentzman. Oh wait here come Baker around third trying to beat the throw home. Here it comes, one-hop, the catch, Baker looking for a way to avoid the tag. Oh he absolutely derails Bill Hunter who’s trying to block the plate. Did he hold on? No the Yankees win beating the Brewers 3-2 and win the World Series!”

I feel the Arizona heat fighting the cool breeze coming through my car window. We’ve had Spring Training for the past few weeks, preparing for the first baseball game of the season. My radio plays softly and I think about last season, the play at the plate during the last game of the World Series. How Bill had to be carried off the field. I really want to go back and so does the rest of the team

I pull up to the field in my car as we’re about to start the final spring training session. This is good because I am dying to get back to Miller Park for our home opener next week. Ever since we lost the World Series last season we’ve been itching to go back working harder, getting stronger and staying focused.  We have a good chance again this year since we picked up some minor league prospects after a few guys went into free agency. We’re about to start practice so jump out of my car and grab my equipment. I run onto the field as we begin warm-ups.

Practice seems to go quick today; the usual except for a pep talk for the first game, which we’re all ready to play. Once practice is over I drive back to my house and pack my things. I drive to the airport to fly back to Milwaukee. The flight is easy just a couple hours talking with my teammates in our first class seats, all excited for the first game.

The few days before the first game go fast, a few workouts here and a BP season there. Then final we get to play, a warm afternoon with a sellout crowd, which isn’t surprising since we were just in the World Series. I walk around the field between warm-ups and BP and give some autographs to kids. I remember how I used to miss school to come to home opener with my dad as I step into the cage for BP.

We stand on the first baseline as the anthem plays ready to play. It ends and the first pitch is thrown by a teenage boy probably 16 and the announcer yells “Play Ball!” We run into the dugout grab our gloves and take the field. I dig in at shortstop as our starter Carlos Martinez warms-up on the mound. As the first pitch is about to be thrown I realize our opponent is none other than the Yankees.

The hit comes straight at me and I’m a little slow to react but I make a nice backhand play and throw it to first for the out. The next two batters don’t make it out of the infield and we end with a three up, three down inning. We run into the dugout patting Carlos on the back. I pick up my bat, batting gloves and helmet and stand by the exit of the dugout. I’m the three hitter so I always get to bat in the 1^st inning. Robert our lead-off hits the second pitch for a single. Jeff goes up to bat and strikes out on a nasty curveball. My turn, I walk into the batter’s box and swing at the first pitch and I bomb it over the fence. “Homerun,” the announcer yells. And Bernie goes down the slide. I get back to the dugout and I am congratulated with high-fives and pats on the back.

The inning ends with two straight outs and the game goes on with a few scoreless innings and the Yankees finally score two runs in the top of the 9^th. We couldn’t tie it in the bottom of the inning so we went into extras. Top of the eleven the Yankees had Baker on second with a chance to score on a single. Freeman there third base man hit a liner on a one hop to Jim our right fielder. He catches it in his glove and does a crow hop chucking it home as hard as he can. Bill catches it as Baker tries to derail him again. This time Bill is ready, I see Baker have one moment of hesitation and that’s when Bill knocks him off his feet definitely breaking a few of Baker’s ribs. He was the last out so we head to the dugout all pumped up.

First person up is my good buddy Joe. He takes the first two pitches and hits the third on a line drive to center. Joe is really fast so he has an easy double. But the ball bounces of the wall weird and gets past the outfielder again. He rounds third as the throw comes in and continues for home. This will be a close play at the plate. The throw makes it to the catcher but is a little high so Joe slides under the tag for a walk-off inside-the-park homerun. Everyone is out of the dugout celebrating with Joe. What a game.

The rest of the season was a breeze until the playoffs. We had a few tough games but we were still able to make to the World Series for the second time. The first few games of the seven games series were back and forth with wins and losses so it came down to the seventh game which we are playing right as I tell you this.

 I walk up to the plate and dig into the soft dirt. The first pitch comes in and I swing and miss for strike one. I take the second pitch in the dirt. The third comes in at the outside edge of the strike zone. I swing breaking my bat but it just squeezes through over second base for a single. I’m able to steal second and score off a double by Joe.  

The next few innings go by quickly until the 9^th. The Twins came back to tie the game but our closer Romar Wolf was able to finish them without the lead. We’re standing in the dugout watching as Robert and Jeff go up to bat but end up with outs. I’m stuck thinking how we’re going to win this. I’m up and I know I have to get on base. As I ready myself the nerves kick in and I don’t know what to do.

As I stand there I watch the first pitch go straight through the strike zone. Then I think you’re a major league baseball player I made it all the way here and I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment two outs and a chance to win it. The pitcher winds up again and I start to feel the sweat on my brow, it’s my job to deliver at least a single. I watch as the ball hits the dirt “Ball one,” the umpire shouts. The next pitch is perfect breaking slider left up in the zone I ready myself and “SMACK,” a hard line drive to left with a chance at the fence. I watch as the outfielder jumps up at the fence to rob me of a dream homerun. Thinking it’s all over I barely notice the ball skip off the end of the outfielder’s glove.  The stadium explodes with cheers and my team goes insane, tackling me putting me at the bottom of a dog pile. It hurts but I don’t care we won the World Series what more to ask.

Word Story

 Author's Note: This story was for lit group where we had to use the underlined words in our story. I couldn't really think of something good to write about and be able fit the words in. I was able to put all of our words in this story but this piece was a real bust for me. 

It's  mid march here in New York and it's getting warmer outside.  The sun is just peaking through the windows this morning as I sit here in my chair eating Cookie Crisp.  I turn on the TV and see Mr. Crabs wearing a tank top diving off a waterfall after a Krabby Patty.  I flip through the channels and see a platypus, lightning and a ghostly kid. I give up trying to find something watch so I grab my bike a go for a ride through the city. I pass by Rosalie the owner of the flower shop.  She's using a hammer to put up a sign with a large rose on it. As I continue riding along the street I see all of the stores are buzzing with people. There are a ton of people but there is never as many as when Hanukah and the Christmas season are in full swing. Luckily it's past that time so I can easily get past all of the people on the streets. Finally I pass the largely popular petting zoo named Bob's where there is a fluffy  alpaca standing inside a fenced area right by the street. It's pretty cool so I stop and take a look I've never seen one before. I watch it for a while and then bike back to my house for lunch because I'm already getting hungry.

When I get back home I walk into the kitchen to make a sandwich. I grab an orange soda out of the refrigerator and sit down on the couch to eat my lunch. It was pretty good morning I think and it was. I find the remote again and turn on the TV and actually find something good to watch. After I'm done I get in my car and head to the YMCA to meet up with my friends and play some basketball and work out. Once where done we drive to Buffalo Wild Wings to have some dinner. We drive around town stopping here and there not doing much of anything. When I get home its about 10:00 so I just fall asleep thinking  this was a pretty great day.