Reading Minute

I recently read the novel Crispin by Avi. This book is about a boy named Crispin's journey from town to town after being declared a "Wolf's Head." The book starts with his mom and his priest dying, two people he was close to. He was blamed for the priest's death so anybody who saw Crispin was allowed to kill him. He abandons his home searching for a safe place to live when he meets a man named Bear. Bear takes him in and they travel together as performers. When they reach England, Crispin finds out he is a prince. After receiving this good news the steward from his hometown finds him and corners him with his other soldiers. Crispin narrowly escapes with Bear by killing the steward and the book ends as they leave together and return home.

O.R. Blog

For my last quarter one outside reading blog I finished the novel Crispin by Avi. In the last portion of this book there was a really important quote that can be related to the novel Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. When Bear killed the steward John Aycliffe he said, "Can't you see the new truth we've made? In the midst of death there's new life!"(Avi 261). The meaning of this quote is that when somebody dies, it causes something new life as well. In this case it is used because with the death of Aycliffe, it allows Crispin to be a new man now that he isn't a wolf's head. The way that I related this to Animal Dreams is how it focuses on the idea of rebirth. The only difference that I see in this book is that it isn't personal rebirth, such as finding self, it is how he is given a second chance.

Outside Reading

For my outside reading blog I decided to read the novel Crispin by Avi again. In the chapters that I read not all that much happened but there was, in my opinion, a good quote. This quote occured when Crispin was hiding in Widow Daventry's and listenening in on someone's conversation. They said, "...that no man, or woman either, shall be enslaved, but stand free and equal to one another," (200). This is a very meaningful quote because it is saying that everybody should have equal rights no matter who you are. It can be considered even more important because this book is set in the Middle Ages when social classes made who you were. For example if you were born in the lower class you would be stuck as a peasant, and this quote shows somebody sticking up for equal rights. I would compare this quote to MLK's "I have a Dream" speech because it is the same basic idea just in different words.

Conclusion

After doing my research on heroes, I realized that there is one characteristic that seperates the two types of people, lazy and persistant. That characteristic is devotion. This is the line because one type of person just sits around while they know that they can make an impact, and the other actually takes charge and helps out. If you really want to make a difference you need to get involved with what you believe in and stick with it, despite the negative effects. The lazy type of person gives in to the negative effects because it is too hard or they get tired of all the work it takes. If you aren't devoted to something then you will never make a difference.

Heroic Qualities

After taking a long look at my heroic artifacts I think I have found what it takes. I would have to say the most important characteristic is having the ability to stand up for what you think. This occured in the Jackie Robinson passage, the MLK speech, and also the Patrick Henry quote. I think that this is the most important because it is one thing to know what is right but taking it into action is another. All these people stood up for what they believed and made great changes from it. The other characteristic is pretty obvious and that would be bravery. This is a great characteristic because these people had actions that could have totally backfired, but they did it anyway. Taking this extra chance and being brave changes them from an ordinary person into a hero.

Outside Reading

I chose to read the novel Crispin, the Cross of Lead, by Avi. Again, I chose to pick a meaningful quote and explain why it is relevant and important to everyday life. This quote happened when Bear said, "I've heard it said that a man's soul may be observed behind the eyes," (135). When I first read the quote I thought it was well thought out and important. As I kept thinking about it, I noticed that it can be read with a very important meaning. It can mean that you should know a person because of what is inside them and not on the outside. You can relate this to how "one shouldn't judge a book by its cover." I used to hear this all the time when I was little and it seemed kind of funny how such a "younger kid" moral came up in the novel.

American Hero Passage

"During Robinson's first year he endured racism, taunting, and intolerance. Some of his teammates even threatened to stop playing rather than have Jackie as a teammate."

-http://www.mrnussbaum.com/jrobcomp.htm

I chose this quote because it talks about the hardships of Jackie Robinson's early baseball career. The significance of the quote is that just because he was treated unfairly, he knew that he should be aloud to play baseball too. The significance is that he knew what was right and he followed through with it despite the rough time. Also, I learned from this passage that if something is hard you can work through it and be successful.

American Hero Example

I'm sure that you have seen this before and it is probably one of the most famous heroic acts throughout history. In this clip Martin Luther King Jr. is giving his "I Have a Dream" speech. This is a clear act of heroism for a few reasons. The main idea is that he too is standing up for what he believes in even if he is treated very poorly. Him taking action and letting others know what it is like to be treated unequally led to a huge change, making him a hero. The significance of this quote is that MLK is stating his opinion and trying to give people an idea of what he wants things to be like. I learned that even if something is tough, like trying to end racism, you should still try your best no matter what.

American Heroes and Their Quotes

"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action" -George Washington

I chose this quote by George Washington because you can see him being a hero by taking charge. This is good because he is comparing it to something understandable and identifying the problem along with the how we could fix it. This quote's significance is that after identifying the problem Washington was going to take action and fix it. I learned from this quote that heroes have to take charge to make an impact.




"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death" -Patrick Henry

I picked out this very famous quote because it has a clear message of Patrick Henry being a hero. When you read this quote you immediately think that he is crazy, but really I think the significance is that he is a hero because he is standing up for what he believes in and shows people he is serious. From this quote I learned that if you want something changed you have to be willing to face the alternative.

Outside Reading #6

For my sixth outside reading blog assignment I read the novel Crispin, the Cross of Lead, by Avi. In the part of the book that I read I found one quote that had a lot of meaning and was easily explainable. This happened when Bear gave Crispin a good piece of advice. He says, "You're full of sadness. Those who bring remorse are shunned. Do you know why? Because sorrow is the common fate of man." This quote means that Crispin should not be sad because that it is "the common fate of man," and instead he should be happy and have fun. I think that everybody could get something very important out of this quote and that is just because you are sad, you can't let it get to you. In other words, that you should look on the bright side. In my opinion, I would say this is the most improtant quote so far because it is commonly occurs in our society and needs a little more focus on it.

Outside Reading #5

For my outside reading blog #5, I read the article "Bringin' the Noise" by Brad Evans. This is an article about sports and how different football players are going to do in each week. The part that I thought was the best had to do with a person who read the article and commented how each prediction was wrong and easy to see that it was coming. In response to each complaint, Evans proves why he was better. One example is when the person wrote, "Everyone and there mom knows about Slaton (RB for the Texans). If you would have said something in August I would be more impressed." Evans responds to this in a kind of funny way. He shows that he did actually say how good he would do in August and adds on to that by saying, "If the moms that Alex is referring to are frequent readers of The Noise then they would indeed know about his true potential." I thought this was funny because he not only proved that he was right, but he added on with his dry sense of humor.

Outside Reading #4

Again for my outside reading I continued with the novel Crispin by Avi. In the section that I read I noticed a few good quotes that I could write about. The first quote is when Bear says, "The only difference between a dead fool and a live one is the dead one has a deeper grave." I think that the meaning behind this quote is that a fool is already dead because of there poor decisions and so that leaves the difference to be that one is actually dead and buried. Another quote that I liked from this section is when Bear explains himself. He says, "a bear has two natures. Sweet and gentle. If he becomes irritated, he turns into a vicious brute." I think that this quote is self explnitory of his attitude. We learn that he can easily be upset and this quote might lead into a key event based on the information we are given.

Outside Reading #3

For my outside reading this week I continued reading the novel Crispin by Avi. During my reading there were a lot of main events that happened. The first main event is when he finds Father Quinel dead as he runs away from the steward and his men. I thought that this scene was pretty ironic. First, he is running away from the steward and his men after he was hidden by Father Quinel which would seem like a foreshadow for him. Also, he discovers his dead body as he kneels down to pray which is also very ironic. The next main event that happened in the story is when a new important character comes into the story. When Crispin is going village to village looking for shelter and a place to stay, he hears a man singing. When he goes to check out what he hears, he meets a rather large man who is wearing a "goofy" hat named Bear. They both introduce themselves, Crispin more vaguely than him because he is wolf's head, and they agree on Crispin staying with him as long as he is a servant. 

(28 Pages)

Outside Reading #2

For my second outside reading assignment I read the novel Crispin (by Avi) again. This has quite a few characters and I'm going to describe the protagonist, antagonist, and the main events that have happened so far. The protagonist is a teen named Crispin. Early in the story we find out that his mom has just died and his dad left them when he was young. This event tries to make us empathize and feel sorry for him. But later in the story the antagonist, John Aycliffe, declares him a "wolf's head," which means he is no longer considered human and if he is found he will be killed. Hearing this, he hides with Father Quinel in a church and eventually tries to leave the city hoping that he will be safe in a place that has more people. After leaving his home town he decides to stay in a forest to keep safe from search parties. These are the main events so far and this book makes me wonder what will come up next.

(18 Pages)

Recent Reading #1

For my outside reading post I read the novel Crispin by Avi. In this book so far, there have been a couple of quotes that I thought had a really good lesson to them. The first quote is when Crispin is narrating and says, "I ran as far as strength and breath allowed, halting only when my legs gave out. Then I threw myself upon the ground, gasping for breath"(Avi 9). Although this quote was stated when Crispin was trying to escape from John Aycliffe the meaning is still that you should always try until you can't do any more. The other quote that had a high amount of significance was when Crispin was talking to a priest and said, "Father, that's impossible for me. I am what I am (Avi 32). This quote is important because it talks about how he knows that he is the way he is and that he should be himself.

(26 pages)

List of Favorite Books...

• Angels and Demons
• The Da Vinci Code
• Deception Point
• Among the Hidden
• Among the Barons
• Crispin
• Stormbreaker

Animal Dreams

So far in this book there have been a lot of memorable quotes but my favorite quote so far is when Emelina called Codi a "Home-Ignorer." I liked this quote because it has more than one meaning to it. The first meaning, and what it was originally supposed to mean when Codi moved in, is that she doesn't fix up her home. This is right, but I like the second meaning which is that she doesn't feel at home. An example of this when she goes back to her hometown of Grace she is uncomfortable and doesn't feel as if she belongs.
My favorite character from the book so far is probably Loyd. I would choose him as my favorite character because he is laid back and slightly unpredictable. It is obvious that he is relaxed, but the time I saw him as unpredictable is when Codi talked to him about how cockfighting is wrong and half an hour later he quit a hobby he had for years.
I feel that the most important scene from this book so far is when Codi did the water test with the highschool students and they found out there wasn't anything living in the water. I thought this was the most important part because it lead to a lot of other events happening. Not only did it lead to her finding out about the dam, but it also lead to her speaking to the sewing club and traveling to Tucson selling peacock pinatas and much more.

What I read recently...

Recently I read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I read this book because last year we had to do outside reading and post about that to. When I read this book, I liked it a lot but it wasn't my favorite. There were parts that were really exciting and action-packed, but when there wasn't much action, there was too much description. I would still say overall it was a good book.

Favorite Book

My favorite book is Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. This book is my favorite for a couple of reasons. The first is because it is exciting, and the second is that the way it is written you never know what is coming up next. In the book, an assassin kills religious leaders in ways that are related to the "old" elements, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Along with each person he leaves a clue. Robert Langdon, a college professor, has to figure out these clues and save Vatican City from danger.

Codi vs. Emelina

Comparison of Codi and Emelina in Animal Dreams.

Hello

The yellow sheet says that I have to practice posting so that's what I am doing.