Travels With Charley

John, he always worries about me gettin' mauled by a bear! Does he see that I'm trying to protect him? What are companions for anyway? There are just times are want to bark at him because he's one preventing me from protecting him! O well, the travels were amazing! For some reason, John wanted to take a trip through the land. We've seen big cities and we've seen the countryside. We've seen rich and poor. Every night, John sits with his back against a tree, and takes out a white object. Then he takes a piece of wood and starts making weird marks on the white stuff. When dark sets in, he starts talking to me, every once in a while he glances at the gray on the white. His words take me to different lands. Occasionally he gives me a pat on the head. Looks up at the stars and then starts scribbling again. I don't get him sometimes. Why would he just spend his time doing that if he could run through the trees and roll in the mud? Interesting. As we walked through the land for days I noticed that John started to become more humble and less stressed. I think he used to be uptight because of the thingies that are rolling on round thingies. C-A-R-S is what they call them I think. But now, I can tell that the fresh air has done him well because he pays more attention to me and my habits. Sometimes it gets annoying, but he'll look at me and then start scribbling again. I never though that John would be willing to leave the city to make a trip around the land. I guess that I should just go guard John now. I smell another bear, and they really tick me off now. I'm starting to get the feeling that it's the same one! I'll get him someday!

The Turtle; by John Steinbeck

The turtle is a portion of a novel written by John Steinbeck. The turtle in the story is going through a lot of troubles in only a few minutes time. The troubles of slipping and sliding on the sands and gravel of the new highways that interfere with nature are portrayed effortlessly by the intricate description in Steinbeck's writing. Even though on the surface the turtle may just seem like a desperate turtle trying to cross the road. However, if one looks deeply into the writing and compares this portion of the story to the large idea of The Grapes of Wrath, there is a relationship between the turtle and the characters in the story. In The Grapes of Wrath, the family that John Steinbeck bases the story upon is a family of migrant workers. They are constantly on the road in search of a new job. The droughts in the north have forced thousands of jobless workers to roam the western coast in search of secure jobs and incomes.

The turtle wants to go to the other side of the highway. As he does so, a car comes along. OH NO! was my first impression. But then as Steinbeck continued to describe the car, I later found out that it was a woman who was driving the car. For some reason I knew she was going to avoid the turtle. The turtle quickly retreated into its shell. When the danger was over, the old animal crawled along once again. Its nails were slipping on the slick concrete, it's shell chipped. There was nothing I could do but to read on. As I had feared another danger was quickly approaching. A rumbling truck zoomed down the interstate, and the turtle was once again in a life threatening situation. This time a man was operating the vehicle, and immediately it occured to me that the turtle had a good chance of dying. The jerk tried to run the turtle over! The old turtle who just wanted to cross the road this time was clipped at the end of its shell and flipped. (Notice what effect the description had on me.) Still the turtle fought on, adn that is where the symbolism comes in. The family in The Grapes of Wrath was in search of a stable job, and were desperately needing a place where they could settle down. The turtle fought, and I can imagine the family fought. When someone knocked them down, they got back up. John Steinbecks description at times can be overwhelming, but the point is made clear and now I want to read The Grapes of Wrath.

Reader's Response to The Flood

The Flood is probably the most descriptive piece of writing I have read this year. There are so many adverbs and adjectives that make me think of the mood and setting. I feel as though the story is opening a door and I can look into the lives and situations of the characters. There were times that the description got too much for me to bear, however the words made the mood and tone stand out. "Gray, blocked, sucked." Not very bright words to use. No need to use bright words when the point Steinbeck wants to get across isn't bright in itself. The feeling of "death" almost, creeps through the reader. I can picture the mud, the tents, the bodies. The shaking of the people and the starvation thinning their bodies is almost too real. If a writer can make the reader feel what he/she wants them to feel, then they are accomplished and have reached their goal of attracting an audience. The dialogue of the characters is disguised by the lack of using quotation marks. Surprisingly, the tone of the people themselves do not sound totally helpless and depressed. It seems as though they knew that something this cruel would happen, and that they were accustomed to be out of work for the rest of the year or rather 6 months. This "acceptance of circumstances" adds to the readers' depression while reading the story. We feel sympathetic towards them, and wish we could help them through the rough times of joblessness. Nature was the antagonist in the story and there is nothing anyone could have done. Whenever the situation gets out of civilization's hands, nature has won and humans must surrender. For the stealing and the begging part... I feel that the government absolutely must do something to get it's citizens out of the streets. The failure to do so will lead, and has lead, to the killings of innocent people. The social classes have clearly separated and not one fortunate worker has reached out to give a helping hand. I credit Mr. Steinbeck for being able to capture the images of the past, and make us realize that we are fortunate to not have to deal with nature. We now know that we do not need to be at peace with nature to keep our jobs.

The Breadwinner

The Breadwinner is a book suitable for anyone who loves to read a book. It's not complicated, but it's touching. The first time I read this book was when I was ten, and it was hard. I re-read the book on the internet and found a deeper meaning than just the words. The book is about a girl who disguises herself as a boy to help her family survive in hard times of war. She sees the cold world through a boy's eyes, and knows that there must be something done to stop the war. Her family is in hiding in a small apartment is a partially ruined building. They are scared to death that the soldiers might come to arrest them and possible send them to different jails. The book has a great story line, and it's a read-in-one-sit kind of novel. The characters are created for the reader to visualize, and every time the character says something, you sit and think... would I look at it this way. Deborah Ellis has made the story flow with amazing word choice, and keeps sentences flowing with little interruptions of digressed topics. If you want to read a heart-wrenching book, pick up The Breadwinner and discover what it's like to live in a war devastated area, but in the perspective of an innocent citizen. 

Attitude Towards Betrayal

Betrayal is a form of breaking a bond between two people. I think that the trust that has been established over the years is broken, and the two people usually aren't friends after one of them has been betrayed by the other. Whenever there are times that people don't tell the truth, or act in a way that affects the other friend, anger spreads through every vein in my body. I feel like punching something or someone. After that stage, I start to get angry at myself for confiding in that person, and start treating them hostile in a way that you couldn't imagine. I have had instances where long friends betrayed me and I was sad. Feeling used isn't the way I usually like to feel, and I am fairly sure that others do not like to be used as well. Don't expect me to forgive that person, because they are not to be trusted. If there is a punching bag around, I'll use it. If not, I won't inflict any pain on anybody. I'll bottle it up and the next person to betray me will get an earfull. Betrayal is something that shouldn't happen. Friends are there for a reason. They are people you can talk to when times get hard, and they are people you can hang around with and tell anything to. You play with them, and feel for them. Whenever all that is thrust to the side, and friends are made fun of or betrayed; for me the friendship goes out the window and a time of hostility has dawned....