Short Story 3

The Lottery

By Shirley Jackson

1. I felt that the lottery wasn't fair to all of the people in the village. They should have drawn more times than the amount that they did. Once every family had a chance to draw they should have let the next member of the household draw also. The story focused on how the lottery affected all of the families in the village area, but not on how they felt about it. I think that Mr. Summers, the conductor, should make some changes to this event.

Even though I didn't like the way the lottery was done, i think it was better than the older lottery days. If the days before was the same then I think that there would've been more complaints. When the lottery was chosen and if the woman had the black spot on her card, her husband should take the hitting of the stones. Since the stones were used for the punishment, the villagers shouldn't be allowed to pick the biggest stones, but the smaller ones.

2. The subject of the story was The Lottery, a event that everyone in the village had to attend. The theme of this lottery was even though they all families had to attend in the end only one family was really prosecuted. I think that the author was trying to reveal to the reader that lottery was allowed, but the chances that the villagers took wasn't' fair. I agree with the author, because if it was going to be allowed, don' t just focus on picking out one family to hurt. Due to the outcome of the event, some other villages wasn't participating in it anymore.

3. The author didn't like this idea of lottery much either i think. I feel that she thought that this should be illegal in the village. The lottery wasn't something all of the villagers enjoyed anyways. ("There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr.Summers declared the lottery open.")

4. Movie: Daddy's Little Girl

Subject: A Father's love for his Daughters

Theme: Some fathers will do whatever it takes to make sure their kids are well taken care of

The person that created this movie delivered the theme by focusing the movie on a young, black man, his three daughters, and the situations that they face through the courts and in relationships. The father has to fight battles and risk a lot in order to convince the judge that he can provide for his girls. The creator of this movie lets you know that in order to get some things in life you have to sacrifice the other things of life. He convinces the viewers to feel the same because he shows the different things that the father had to do, when in the real world most fathers wouldn't care.

Writing 1

It was in 1999, and I was 8 years old at this time. My mom, my step-dad, and I all went over to my aunt’s house for a cookout. She didn’t live far from us but yet it felt like this was going to be such an exciting day. I knew that some more of my cousins would be there to play with and we would just enjoy this day. I was so focused on having fun that I never thought that this particular day would change all of my days later to come.

When we first arrived I was happy to be there since this is my favorite aunt’s house. Everyone was either in the kitchen or outdoors, but I was inside with the adults. A little after 20 minutes of being there we heard a noise in the bushes, but we knew it wasn’t anyone outside because they were all in the front or had came back inside. We never quite paid that noise any attention because we thought that it could’ve just been a dog or something. So not long after this everyone moved into the living room, to talk, dance, and enjoy themselves.

About an hour after all of this, out of nowhere I began to cry. Everyone kept asking what was wrong, but I just kept begging my mom to please take me home. My aunt begged me not to leave but I still wanted to go. She offered me money and lots of other things to stay, but I continued to cry and beg to leave. So we left, but keep in mind this is my favorite aunt.
When we got home, I got ready for bed and went to sleep. I don’t think I was asleep for more than three hours when I heard a big commotion and banging at my front door. I awoke but I didn’t move instead I just lay in the bed and listened. I heard some of my family members crying and talking, as well as my mom. At that moment, I got out the bed and ran into the living room. I asked what was going on but my step-dad told me to go get dress. So I did as I was told, but I was crying because my mom was crying and I was scared.

After I returned from getting dressed, I found out that my aunt had just been killed. This was the worst moment ever in my life, and I will never forget it. I had just left her side not more than six hours before. I was devastated and I just couldn’t believe that this was true. We had to go and tell my grandma, and from there we went to the hospital, where her body was. Still I didn’t think this was true until I saw her body laying there in a body bag.

This hurts me so much because when I kept crying my heart knew that something was about to happen and it was warning me to get away. Even now sometimes I still cry when I’m alone and wonder what would’ve happened if I had of stayed. Would she still be here today? There’s a hole in my heart that will always be there because she would’ve done anything for me or gave me anything she could since I was "her heart." Don’t get me wrong; I’m not blaming myself for what occurred, but she didn’t deserve that. She was just an innocent person who wanted a good life for her and her kids. She was stabbed numerous times because she didn’t want some of her kids’ father anymore. The noise we had heard earlier in the bushes was him watching her to see who all was around at that time.

When you love someone let him or her know because you don’t ever know when your last visit with them will be. This is something that I will always remember because I loved her but I never got a chance to tell her until it was too late. It has shaped my life uniquely since now I don’t take things for granted because I don’t ever know when it’s going to be taken away from me. I let my mom know every day that I love her because I wouldn’t ever want this same thing to happen again because I didn’t speak up or show my emotions. Life is precious and I try to cherish every moment.

Now that I’ve came of age more I understand much more about life. I realize that it wasn’t my fault because whether I stayed or not, he had already planned out what he wanted to do to her. But my crying helped push it off a little longer since she had company. I miss her but I know she’s still watching over me each and every day.

Short Story #2

"When I Lay My Burden Down"

Maya Angelou

1. "When I Lay My Burden Down," was a nonfiction story based on the situations that African-Americans had to face during the older years. There was a little girl who watched her mother and grandmother face rude and disrespectful whites. They owned the store that the whites would come to, but still they would try and give them orders. Reading this made me feel as if they had all of the power and rights to treat others anyway they felt, which wasn't right. The grandmother and mother would just standby without saying a word, except for humming a old spiritual hymn.

It made me think of all of the pain that my ancestors faced each and every day from other humans, just a different race. It shouldn't had matter who owned the store, but respect their property as well as their feelings. The white girls didn't care about how the African-Americans felt they just cared about themselves and their feelings of uppity. I think that the grandmother and mother of the little girl felt that every thing would be okay because they never gave a rude remark or fetched. Also, I think they were looking out for the safety of the little girl. This story shows a great deal of how things have changed from back then. In my eyes everyone should be treated equally.

2. Maya Angelou's purpose for writing this story was to show the things that African-American had to put up with. I think she wrote the story to make all of the readers feel the pain the family in the book felt. It also shows you that in life you have to go through many obstacles but sometimes you can't run you have to stay and face them. She would've wanted you to think about what if that was you? What would you have done? Just reading the short story made me think she really wanted to make a point and have it known.

She wanted us to come away from the story thinking, I never a day in my life want to have to deal with that type of situation. She made a statement saying, "Thou shall not be dirty" and "Thou shall not be impudent." But that's exactly what happened in this story. The mother in this story tried to be strong for her daughter ( "Momma never turned her head or unfolded her arms" ) but on the inside she probably felt hurt. ( "How could Momma call them Miz? The mean, nasty things. Why couldn't she have come inside the sweet, cool store when we saw them breasting the hill? What did she prove?" ) She wanted you to think about how the little girl was feeling just then, because she didn't understand why her mother stood outside the store and watched the other girls be impudent.

3. I think that it is important to read about other peoples lives because you can learn new things that you probably never knew as well as feel the feelings and thoughts that they're having. It teaches you not to think negative thoughts about others, as well. These type of nonfiction stories are so popular because they can help younger people focus on the things that their ancestors went through. There are instances in my life that would be helpful to others in their lives some sort of way. I think there's a instance in every one's lives.

"Poker, A Harmless Activity for Teens . . . Wanna Bet?"

1. I don't think it's a good idea for young teenagers to gamble, because I agree with the writer of the article, it affects their health. The article focused on how some parents feels it' s ok for their teenagers to play poker. There are more than a million teens under the age of 17 who plays poker daily. Along with the game comes rsk factors, such as stealing money from others or missing school. The parents who agree to this "illegal activity for teens" should be punished for allowing it to happen in their faces.

What stuck out to me the most was the fact that the parents feels its an alternate activity for drinking and somking. That's not true, because how do they not know that behind their backs their kids may still drink, smoke, and etc. There's other alternate activities they can choose from to participate in, instead of gambling. It's not a good idea, in my opionion, because it helps teach young teenagers that it's ok to go out and do other inapproiate things. There should be a law to punish the parents who allow this to take place inside their home.

2. Quotes: 1) " Scott Magerar, a father of a 13-year old boy, has different views, and he has no problem with staging poker parties for kids. You can't stop them right?" 2) "It is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to gamble in a casino, but young people can play poker in their homes"

Questions: 1) Why is it okay for store owners such as Toys-R-Us to sell poker games on their shelves? 2) Why do the parents believe that playing poker is 3 times as likely better for their kids then other illegal activites?

3. The main idea of the article i just read was to inform you that some people in the world have no problem with their kids playing gambling games such as poker.

4. 3 details to support my main idea: 1) " Many parents approve of their teenagers playing poker it will keep them from trouble outside the home" 2) " This is a factor coupled with the fact that some people belive poker is a safe alternative" 3) " Televised poker gives young viewers valuable insight into the poker world, and the parents approve of it"

Short Story 1

To Hell With Dying

Alice Walker

1. Mr. Sweet was a loving and caring man, but also an alcoholic. The children loved to visit him as often as possible. He would play the guitar and sing a variety of songs, as the kids sat around him and listened. Mr. Sweet was also married and had one child. He was an older man, because he had grayish hair and wrinkles around his eyes.

There was a special family who really loved him and thought of him as part of there own family. There was many times when the community thought that he was going to die because he would have many sickness. When this "special family" came around he would get better, thanks to the kids. The youngest of the kids was a little girl, whom he referred to as his "little princess." She would be the one to sit on him and kiss and tickle him, to make him better, while her brother would inmate him playing the guitar.

Many times he would come so close to dying but they would always pull him back through. I think that their love and support always helped him remember someone loved him. Even when the girl grew up and went to college she never forgot him, she always came back to visit. One day she received a phone call that Mr. Sweet was sick again of course she left. Once she arrived, he was laying in his bed and she held him and he rubbed her hairline. This time Mr. Sweet didn't make it, he died.

I don't think the kids really understood death until Mr. Sweet's death. They just always thought that they could revise him every time. Mr. Sweet loved them because they always gave him hope and joy. He was like something that would always be there, in their thoughts. This really showed the girl that things don't always last forever.

2. Mr. Sweet: I think that he stayed sick a lot because he drunk too much and he wasn't suppose to. ( " He was constantly on the verge of being blind because he drunk , for he brewed his own liquor." ) He plays his guitar a lot because it was one of the unique things he could do since he couldn't have his dream jobs. ( "Mr. Sweet wanted to be a doctor or lawyer or sailor, only to find that black men fare better if they are not." )

The Girl ( Anonymous): She loved Mr. Sweet because he payed attention to her and she was special to him in many ways. ( " Mr. Sweet used to call me his princess, and I believed it." ) She would do anything for him because she thought of him as part of her family. ( "He was like a piece of rare and delicate china which was always being saved from breaking and which finally fell." )

3. Alice Walker, the author, showed me that Mr. Sweet was " an alcoholic and a guitar player." Not only this but she also described him as being "very melancholy and sad, though frequently when he was "feelin good" he'd dance around the yard." I figured out on my own that Mr Sweet had a loving heart because he made sure he made the children happy. ( " Toward all of the children he was very kind." )

4. Simile: A comparison between two unlike things using like or as.

Metaphor: One thing becomes another thing without the use of words such as, like, than, or resembles

Personification: A nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human

Allusion: Reference to a statement, a person, a place or an event from literature, etc.

Hyperbole: exaggeration

Irony: Contrast between what is said and what is really meant

5. Simile: "His mustache, which was long and sort of straggly, would shake like Spanish moss and was also that color."

Irony: "It was very sad Mr. Sweet Little was about to kick the bucket."

Simile: "He was like a piece of rare and delicate china which was always being saved from breaking."