Sunday, December 18, 2011
Districts
All the districts are separated. Most people that are in the control of the Capitol have never seen anyone in another district, let alone know about them in any way. This is done on purpose, because the Capitol wants this to happen. I noticed this on page 283 when Katniss thought the Capitol was going to block out the conversation with Rue. Katniss was really interested in Rue's way of life and she had no idea what anybody did outside of District 12. I am not exactly sure why the Capitol doesn't want the districts to know about each other. Maybe they don't want all the districts to join together and turn on the Capitol. If all the districts joined an alliance I wonder if they had the guts to actually go against Capitol. If the districts broke the barrier and interacted, it could work. What do you think?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
family issues
In the book King of the Screwups, the main character Liam really changes by the end. In the beginning of the book Liam messed up and went to live with his uncle. When he was at his uncles, Liam decided to become a new person that his dad would accept. He tried getting bad clothes, and hanging out with unpopular kids who wont get him into trouble. But Liam couldn't resist one day and decided to go to a party. Liam made a bad decision doing that, didn't he learn his lesson? At the party he got drunk, and the neighbors called the cops. Liam could have taken off in the car of his drunk friend but he declined because it was unsafe. Liam can make good decisions if he wants to.
Liam's uncle gave him a little talk about acceptance. His uncle is gay, but his parents didn't accept that about him. That didn't stop Liam's uncle from being who he is though. Liam has to make the decision of joining the army like his father wants him to, or do what he wants, stay in Pinesville and finish high school. I think Liam should do what he wants. His father pushed him around a lot and didn't give Liam the choices he wanted. Now that he has a choice, Liam should stay where he wants and stop trying to impress his dad. His dad doesn't get impressed easily and probably won't ever be proud of Liam. As long as Liam has his own motivation, he shouldn't need his dad.
I found two important messages that I think the book was trying to share. One of them is that you have to choice your decisions wisely because once you do, there is no going back. Liam had to make a lot of decisions throughout this book. He learned to make the right decision by the end of the book. Everyday people decide between billions amounts of options, and those decisions make us who we are today. Another message I saw was that you should be who you are, not what others want you to be. This happens to Liam and his Uncle Pete. A lot of the time people get pressured to something they are not. this happens a lot with groups in middle school. If friends don't accept you for who you are, and want you to change, then they aren't your friend. Same thing goes for family.
Liam's uncle gave him a little talk about acceptance. His uncle is gay, but his parents didn't accept that about him. That didn't stop Liam's uncle from being who he is though. Liam has to make the decision of joining the army like his father wants him to, or do what he wants, stay in Pinesville and finish high school. I think Liam should do what he wants. His father pushed him around a lot and didn't give Liam the choices he wanted. Now that he has a choice, Liam should stay where he wants and stop trying to impress his dad. His dad doesn't get impressed easily and probably won't ever be proud of Liam. As long as Liam has his own motivation, he shouldn't need his dad.
I found two important messages that I think the book was trying to share. One of them is that you have to choice your decisions wisely because once you do, there is no going back. Liam had to make a lot of decisions throughout this book. He learned to make the right decision by the end of the book. Everyday people decide between billions amounts of options, and those decisions make us who we are today. Another message I saw was that you should be who you are, not what others want you to be. This happens to Liam and his Uncle Pete. A lot of the time people get pressured to something they are not. this happens a lot with groups in middle school. If friends don't accept you for who you are, and want you to change, then they aren't your friend. Same thing goes for family.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
family issues
The book King of the Screwups by K.L. Going, is about a boy named Liam Geller. Liam always has the special power of screwing things up, and making his dad upset. I noticed that the protagonist is on a quest for a better life. He wants a better new improved life because his dad kicked him out to go live with his uncle. If Liam doesn't prove he can be responsible enough, his dad won't let him back in the house and he would be nothing.
Liam's mom really impacted him the most positively, at least at the beginning of the book. She really helped Liam when he was going through rough times with his father. When Liam's dad kicked him out, his mom arranged for him to go with his uncle, not his grandparents. He was originally supposed to go to his grandparents, but they detest him. It is small acts of kindness like this one that make people really great. Liam's dad however effected him negatively. A boy can't learn or fix his mistakes if he is being yelled at. I think his father should have been more lenient. If it was me, kicking me out of the house would only make me do worse. Although Liam has been doing really bad, I don't agree with his fathers parenting skills. He is only making Liam stressed out.
Now that Liam is at his oncles house he make a new life, be a different person. The one his father wants him to be. But his Uncle Pete sees him for who he really is, a slacker who doesn't know what to do with his life. He has to make a hard deccision of which version of himself he can live with. I think Liam is going to try to change for his father so much, but then at the end he realizes he doesn't have to change for his family. He had to be himself, but just try hard and do the right thing.
So far I really like this book because i can relate to it with me and my dads relationship. I can't wait to finish it and I'm looking forward to see whats going to happen.
Liam's mom really impacted him the most positively, at least at the beginning of the book. She really helped Liam when he was going through rough times with his father. When Liam's dad kicked him out, his mom arranged for him to go with his uncle, not his grandparents. He was originally supposed to go to his grandparents, but they detest him. It is small acts of kindness like this one that make people really great. Liam's dad however effected him negatively. A boy can't learn or fix his mistakes if he is being yelled at. I think his father should have been more lenient. If it was me, kicking me out of the house would only make me do worse. Although Liam has been doing really bad, I don't agree with his fathers parenting skills. He is only making Liam stressed out.
Now that Liam is at his oncles house he make a new life, be a different person. The one his father wants him to be. But his Uncle Pete sees him for who he really is, a slacker who doesn't know what to do with his life. He has to make a hard deccision of which version of himself he can live with. I think Liam is going to try to change for his father so much, but then at the end he realizes he doesn't have to change for his family. He had to be himself, but just try hard and do the right thing.
So far I really like this book because i can relate to it with me and my dads relationship. I can't wait to finish it and I'm looking forward to see whats going to happen.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
non-finction
After reading Chew On This, by Eric Schlosser I have definitely changed in the way I think about fast food. Before I read this book I didn't know anything about what was in my food, or where it came from, or how it was made. However, reading this book acknowledged me to the wonders of theses questions. I now know that the fast food is processed and frozen, and shipped from far away. The more healthy, and better for the environment way would be fresh, local meat. Also I now know that the animals were being treated very badly in slaughter houses. Knowing as much as I do now, the less I want to go to McDonald's or Burger King, and give them money. I think that's what the book was intending for people to do...take action. That doesn't just mean arguing that fast food is bad for you, but stop getting it!
What the big fast food companies are doing now might not be so bad, but we'll pay for it in the long run. They are feeding cows corn! Cows don't eat corn, that's like forcing a human to eat flowers just to make them fatter(not true, hypothetically). This might not seem so bad but first, the cows are living so much shorter lives. Second, many years from now the cows will be sick! That means they will look and be totally different animals. If the cows get sick and we eat the cows, we'll get sick. That's why people all over should learn about the food they eat, and educate others. Then they can make the decision whether or not they will stop buying fast food. It is unhealthy and wrong to eat their meat.
I really liked this book and a had a very fun and interesting time reading it. I would recommend it to all middle schoolers because a lot of kids at that age eat a lot of junk food. If they read Chew On This, I don't think they would eat as much junk food, or they would at least think about it before they buy it. It is very important for people to know what they are eating, and Chew On This helped me know that, and hopefully lots of other people and kids too. This is the age and time where kids decide if they are going to be healthy or unhealthy, skinny or fat. It all relies on what they eat everyday!
I also think they should make this book for younger kids, like elementary, and adults. They should try to get the word out no matter what it takes!
What the big fast food companies are doing now might not be so bad, but we'll pay for it in the long run. They are feeding cows corn! Cows don't eat corn, that's like forcing a human to eat flowers just to make them fatter(not true, hypothetically). This might not seem so bad but first, the cows are living so much shorter lives. Second, many years from now the cows will be sick! That means they will look and be totally different animals. If the cows get sick and we eat the cows, we'll get sick. That's why people all over should learn about the food they eat, and educate others. Then they can make the decision whether or not they will stop buying fast food. It is unhealthy and wrong to eat their meat.
I really liked this book and a had a very fun and interesting time reading it. I would recommend it to all middle schoolers because a lot of kids at that age eat a lot of junk food. If they read Chew On This, I don't think they would eat as much junk food, or they would at least think about it before they buy it. It is very important for people to know what they are eating, and Chew On This helped me know that, and hopefully lots of other people and kids too. This is the age and time where kids decide if they are going to be healthy or unhealthy, skinny or fat. It all relies on what they eat everyday!
I also think they should make this book for younger kids, like elementary, and adults. They should try to get the word out no matter what it takes!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
non-fiction
The theme in the book Chew On This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson, is how major fast food companies trick everyone who walks in their door, or sees one of their advertisements. They do this by putting salt in everything they sell to making you want to buy more drinks. And by showing skinny, healthy kids eating unhealthy food. They trick you into giving them more money and by thinking their food is a lot more healthy then it actually is. Most people don't even know what they're eating or where it came from. That's what Chew On This is trying to change.
Since I started reading this book whenever I see an ad, or a fast food store I cannot help thinking of the sad, horrible lives the poor cows and chickens have to go through before making it the plate millions of hungry people. The cows and chickens don't live as a normal animal should live. First of all, they only feed the cows corn instead of grass. This makes them grow much faster, make them sick and unhealthy, and it also means that they will be slaughtered quicker (shorter life). Slaughterhouses also chain chickens down to make them unable to move within a couple of feet. The chickens become overly fat and makes them barely able to take their own weight. What slaughterhouses do to the animals is wrong and not justified. They shouldn't take animals out of their normal habitat for any circumstance!
The purpose of the book is to make people think. They want to make people think about where the food is coming from, what the food is made out of, how much money is the company making. This book makes me want to change my eating habits, and also think about these huge companies with billions of dollars that just want more. I can relate this back to "World on Fire"because, big companies are getting a lot of money and not using it for the right cause. They spend a lot of money on ads, when they should spend a lot of their money on the types of things that Sarah McLahlan did. It would only take them a small amount of money they make to support something really big, and do something that is right. If big corporations like McDonalds did that, I would have a lot more respect towards them.
Since I started reading this book whenever I see an ad, or a fast food store I cannot help thinking of the sad, horrible lives the poor cows and chickens have to go through before making it the plate millions of hungry people. The cows and chickens don't live as a normal animal should live. First of all, they only feed the cows corn instead of grass. This makes them grow much faster, make them sick and unhealthy, and it also means that they will be slaughtered quicker (shorter life). Slaughterhouses also chain chickens down to make them unable to move within a couple of feet. The chickens become overly fat and makes them barely able to take their own weight. What slaughterhouses do to the animals is wrong and not justified. They shouldn't take animals out of their normal habitat for any circumstance!
The purpose of the book is to make people think. They want to make people think about where the food is coming from, what the food is made out of, how much money is the company making. This book makes me want to change my eating habits, and also think about these huge companies with billions of dollars that just want more. I can relate this back to "World on Fire"because, big companies are getting a lot of money and not using it for the right cause. They spend a lot of money on ads, when they should spend a lot of their money on the types of things that Sarah McLahlan did. It would only take them a small amount of money they make to support something really big, and do something that is right. If big corporations like McDonalds did that, I would have a lot more respect towards them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)