thank you ma'am and Mother to Son

The story of thank you ma’am was a peculiar story. The young boy was determined to steal the old lady’s purse, but he was not expecting what was about to happen. She was a strong old woman, and when the boy tried stealing her purse, she fought back. The oddest part of it was that instead of the woman calling the police and forgetting about the whole thing. She took the boy and dragged him to her house. The boy was trembling with fear as she continued to tell him that his face was dirty. Once they got to the house the woman made the boy food and told him to wash up. Something that really mesmerized me was that, she purposely left her purse in the same room with the boy, she then left the room. Its incredible that the woman actually trusted that the boy had learned his lesson and was not going to take her purse and run with it while she was gone. They had dinner, which then she began to talk about her life and what she does for a living. It may seem like the woman was conceded about talking about her self but in reality, she was doing him a favor. By not asking the boy questions about his family that he most likely does not have, she made him feel comfortable. She did not push him into talking about something he most likely did not want to talk about. She then told him that her life was hard too. I think this statement is really what connects the mother to son poem and that story. In the Mother to Son poem, the mother says her life was not a crystal staircase, just like the woman told the boy she had a tough life too. The woman is like the mother in the poem, trying to explain to the boy that things will get better if you just leave your past and do not go back into “the dark”. The boy left the woman’s home speechless not even being able to say “Thank you Ma’am.”

My favorite villain

I selected Charles Muntz from the Pixar film UP. He is the villain in the movie and his “army” is a bunch of dogs, of which is had given collars that allow them to talk. He lives in a random place and is cared to by his dogs. He lives in the place because he is searching for a rare bird that lives there. He use to be famous but when he told his story of the bird people began to think he was crazy and did not want to hear from him anymore, therefore he went on the search for the bird to prove he is not crazy. The most evil thing about him is that when the two main characters run into his cave, he pretty much wants them dead because the thinks that they want the bird too. He became a villain pretty much out of his own greed; if he had not wanted the bird so badly I’m sure he would have been more open to things. He is an old man with white hair and a big head. Another characteristic of his is that he also uses a cane to walk, meaning he has a disability in some way. His behavior is kind of sneaky because he seems to welcome his guests and feed them with a lot of food but then he just wants them dead. His signature look would be him standing kind of lopsided with is cane in one hand; he would have one of his eyebrows perked up and all of his faithful dogs in the background. He would also be smiling with a odd smirk and be wearing his old brown jacket.

Prisoners Dilemma Game thoughts

I enjoyed the dilemma game.  I realized that most of the people would lie for their well being.  Such as Hannah and I, We would tell the other group that lets both confess so that we would each gets one point but Hannah and I would trick them and in the end us deny and them confess. This resulted in Hannah and I getting two points and the other team negative two points. This worked for a little while but then everyone turned on us and we lost. I think this plays along with Lord of The Flies because in Lord of The Flies the boys are either fighting with each other in groups or coming together in groups. Like if the boys were to play the Prisoners Dilemma game, I believe that Ralph, Simon, And Piggy would be on one team and Jack with the choirboys would be on another team. Ralph and his group would try to both get one point and confess, but Jack in the end would pull out a two and screw him over. I think it also relates to Lord of The Flies because they formed groups. We formed groups of two but they formed larger groups to do tasks but they were never done, this could be a reason why the boys are beginning to turn against each other. The prisoners Dilemma game is a good way of showing strategy and how it may or may not work out for you in the end. It is also a good way of showing how even if you do promise and swear, you cannot really trust anyone but your group/ partner. Jack shows a lack of  trust towards Ralphs decision, and Ralph shows a lack of trust towards Jack telling him he is going to catch a pig.

Can we trust people to be good?

Can we trust people to be good? I think that we cannot. Most people believe that everyone is good within, but I believe that even if a person is good there still might be something that causes them to act bad. For example, peer pressure is a huge thing that could cause someone to do something they know is wrong. If someone told you to exclude someone out of the group, you would know that that is not the right thing to do. Although after a while of people telling you what is right and wrong you probably will get peer pressured into excluding the person.  Inside people there is good but a lot of the time it is overcome by the bad. I also believe that we can only trust very few people and usually it is people very close to us who will know would do anything for us.

If a group of people were stranded on an island with adequate food and water and without any external threats, could they survive? My answer is a no. Yes to most people it seems that if we have all our important resources that life is good, but in reality there is so much more. Even though they have all that they need, there still is the argument of who is leader, and also the arguments of who will stay where, who will do what, and the decision of trying to keep the group together or just splitting up. After a while of being stranded on an island people may get anxious and begin to doze off or pretty much go crazy. Then all the stableness of the “society” would collapse. If they were to assign people to certain jobs such as finding food, building a shelter, and getting water, what if some of the people did not do their jobs because they feel that they do not need to listen to the “leader”. I think even with everything they need it would still be chaotic.

Poem Review

Last week we were told to memorize a poem for the Poem Out Loud Contest. This is the poem I memorized... 

A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM

BY EDGAR ALLAN POE

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

_________________________________________

I kinda enjoyed the poem but at the same time i did not really enjoy it because it made me feel somewhat sad and weak in a way. One part i did enjoy is "you are not wrong, Who deem that my days have been a dream;" I enjoyed it because it feels like he is telling the other person not to doubt them selves that they are right and the other person was wrong. In a way i think he making the other person feel better about what they said. the part that makes me sad is " and in parting from you now" i feel like he's saying he is parting from a loved one.

The Holidays

Everyone waits all year for the holidays but to me the holidays are about having fun, seeing friends, and spending time with family. The holidays really begin when we get off of school. Every year i look forward to meeting new people and the cold :). For a lot of people getting presents are a huge part of the holidays. Although i love getting presents, i think the part that really makes the holidays for me is the big family meal and everyone in the cold, around a bon fire. I feel like these parts are what keeps us grateful, everyone together without  technology or any of todays modern day distractions. Every year in my family it feels like there is something new we celebrate. After the holidays have ended spending time with your friends really makes you feel good. I know that after the holidays i love going out with my friends in orlando and just enjoying ourselves.The holidays are the best time to really understand what great of a life you have and how you can help others, i guess you could say every time i return from the holidays I'm proud to say i have learned something. This year the holidays helped me realize that even though i don"t have everything in the world, i have exactly what i need and my family is a huge part of it. This is what the holidays really is for me, fun and a learning experience.

Penelope and how she would feel

Penelope had to go through a lot towards the end of the story, she most likely had other things she went through at other parts of the story but they never really showcased it. Penelope had several men to deal with not only does she have to think about her son whom has never actually known his father, but she had tons of men in her house. All the men begging for her hand in marriage but did they actually care about her or was it all for the throne? Im sure she must have asked herself this once or twice. She also had to think about her husband odysseus, was he actually dead or was he coming home soon after twenty years? Penelope feels her husband will come back but as the year pass I'm sure doubts begin to appear in her mind, especially with everyone telling her that he was dead. Twenty years is a long time to be away from anyone but from someone you love it probably seemed even longer to her. Penelope had a hard time but I'm sure it all was worth it when her husband returned to be with her for ever, and still loving her even though they both had aged.