The two essays I chose to put on my blog were my memoir and my Scarlet Letter Essay. These were my two favorite essays that I wrote, and I believe they were written very well. My memoir tells the story of how I recieved my first pet and what my life was like with it. My Scarlet Letter Essay tells the reader about the main symbol in the novel and how it changes over time. Three things I learned about writing from this class are what's important, what's not important, and what to add to make a piece better.
I did a little bit of revising for my memoir. I changed a few words and made my sentences sound clearer. I only had to change one thing in my Scarlet Letter Essay and that was to write out a number instead of using a real number.
I looked at the essays of Chris Coldwell, Jessica Garner, and Meredith Alewine. I liked Chris's essay on Sept. 11 because it made me want to keep on reading and it also had a good last sentence. I liked Jessica's nature walk essay because it was very descriptive and kept me entertained. I liked Meredith's Scarlet Letter essay because it had accurate information.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
My First Pet
The first pet I ever had was a frog. The story of my pet frog started in fourth grade. My teacher, Ms. Long, ordered frog and crab eggs for us to take care of for science class. When we received the eggs we put them in little tanks in the back of the room. Over time, the eggs hatched and we had anxiously swimming tadpoles and lazy crabs filling the tanks. When we were getting close to finishing the science experiment, the tadpoles had grown into frogs, the crabs were still their boring selves, and Ms. Long said that with our parents' permission we could take a frog or crab home as a pet. I asked my parents if I could have a frog and after a little thought they said I could. I could hardly wait to get my frog.
After what seemed like a long time, the day finally came. Before it was time to go home for the afternoon, Ms. Long gave out the frogs and the crabs to the people who had asked for them. Waiting quietly at my desk, I was listening to the names of people who were being called up to get their new pet. Finally, my name was called and I received my frog. The small frog, big-eyed and slimy, was the coolest thing I had ever seen at that point in my life. I showed my frog to everyone and felt so proud that it was mine. I put it's tank on the ground while I was standing outside waiting for my mom to pick me up after school. That was a big mistake. While I was talking to some friends, a younger child came speeding by and kicked my tank with all his might. It was an accident but I didn't care. I was very angry and started yelling at him. He looked scared and took off. I hope he didn't kick anymore animals while he was fleeing. I was afraid that my frog was hurt, but it turned out to be OK.
I took my frog home that day and kept it in the computer room. After a while I got it a new, larger tank. I fed it little frog pellets everyday but it still stayed fairly small. The worst part about having the frog was cleaning it's tank. Luckily, my parents helped me with that. After about a month, I decided to get rid of my frog. I didn't really mind because I'd had it for a while. I took it out to my backyard one day and let him go. For the next few years I occasionally saw a frog around my house and I still today believe it was my frog. If it was, it had grown to be very large. So, even though I only kept the frog for about a month, it still stuck around and came to visit every now and then. I guess that means it really like me.
After what seemed like a long time, the day finally came. Before it was time to go home for the afternoon, Ms. Long gave out the frogs and the crabs to the people who had asked for them. Waiting quietly at my desk, I was listening to the names of people who were being called up to get their new pet. Finally, my name was called and I received my frog. The small frog, big-eyed and slimy, was the coolest thing I had ever seen at that point in my life. I showed my frog to everyone and felt so proud that it was mine. I put it's tank on the ground while I was standing outside waiting for my mom to pick me up after school. That was a big mistake. While I was talking to some friends, a younger child came speeding by and kicked my tank with all his might. It was an accident but I didn't care. I was very angry and started yelling at him. He looked scared and took off. I hope he didn't kick anymore animals while he was fleeing. I was afraid that my frog was hurt, but it turned out to be OK.
I took my frog home that day and kept it in the computer room. After a while I got it a new, larger tank. I fed it little frog pellets everyday but it still stayed fairly small. The worst part about having the frog was cleaning it's tank. Luckily, my parents helped me with that. After about a month, I decided to get rid of my frog. I didn't really mind because I'd had it for a while. I took it out to my backyard one day and let him go. For the next few years I occasionally saw a frog around my house and I still today believe it was my frog. If it was, it had grown to be very large. So, even though I only kept the frog for about a month, it still stuck around and came to visit every now and then. I guess that means it really like me.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Scarlet Letter Essay: The Letter A
Letters are everywhere. Whether it be on Superman's chest or in you alphabet soup. The human language is made up of twenty-six different letters. Letters make up words, words make up sentences, and sentences make up stories. The novel, The Scarlet Letter, is unique in the fact that it is made up of letters and focuses on a letter as its main symbol throughout the story. This letter is "A". At the beginning of the story the letter stands for "Adulterer". Over the course of the novel, its meaning changes to "Able" and later to "Angel".
The letter "A" is first used to represent "Adulterer" because the main character, Hester Prynne, slept with a man other than her husband. When the townspeople from her strict Puritan town find out what she has done, they sentence her to wear the letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life. This is meant to be a punishment and an everyday reminder of what she has done. She is persecuted and ridiculed by everyone and we find out later that her daughter is as well. The letter causes Hester to become an outcast in her society and she and her newborn daughter are forced to move to the outskirts of town.
As time goes on, Hester's actions cause the letter to change meanings. She is now doing good deeds for the people in the community. Helping the poor and sewing clothes for customers are two examples of her new found kindness. The Puritans eventually forget the original meaning of her letter and now believe it means "Able". During this part of the novel, Hester overcomes her horrible image and transforms into something greater. Because of her continual helpfulness, she still continues in her transformation.
At the end of the novel, years have gone by since Hester first received the letter. Hester and her daughter mysteriously vanish from the Puritan town. One day, Hester returns and continues her life where she left off. She becomes even more helpful in the community that she was before. Her letter, that she is still wearing all these years later, is no longer the symbol of "Adulterer" or "Able", but is now the symbol for "Angel".
Hester has proven that you can overcome your image if you work at it. She went from being an outcast to being the most helpful person in town. The letter "A" changed from "Adulterer" to "Able" to "Angel".
The letter "A" is first used to represent "Adulterer" because the main character, Hester Prynne, slept with a man other than her husband. When the townspeople from her strict Puritan town find out what she has done, they sentence her to wear the letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life. This is meant to be a punishment and an everyday reminder of what she has done. She is persecuted and ridiculed by everyone and we find out later that her daughter is as well. The letter causes Hester to become an outcast in her society and she and her newborn daughter are forced to move to the outskirts of town.
As time goes on, Hester's actions cause the letter to change meanings. She is now doing good deeds for the people in the community. Helping the poor and sewing clothes for customers are two examples of her new found kindness. The Puritans eventually forget the original meaning of her letter and now believe it means "Able". During this part of the novel, Hester overcomes her horrible image and transforms into something greater. Because of her continual helpfulness, she still continues in her transformation.
At the end of the novel, years have gone by since Hester first received the letter. Hester and her daughter mysteriously vanish from the Puritan town. One day, Hester returns and continues her life where she left off. She becomes even more helpful in the community that she was before. Her letter, that she is still wearing all these years later, is no longer the symbol of "Adulterer" or "Able", but is now the symbol for "Angel".
Hester has proven that you can overcome your image if you work at it. She went from being an outcast to being the most helpful person in town. The letter "A" changed from "Adulterer" to "Able" to "Angel".
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