Author's Note:First Draft:Afterword

           Pietro the penguin is an Adélie penguin, a small penguin ranging from the size of 18 inches in height and a light 8 pounds in weight. These penguins live on the coast of Antarctica and on nearby islands. A matured Adélie penguin has a black face, back and tail. They have little white rings that encompass their eyes and all white underparts which cover most of their body. The penguins live and move in "colonies". They build their nests with rocks found on the shore or nearby islands, some penguins will even try and steal some rocks from their neighbors nests! [worldbookonline:Adélie Penguins:Wienecke pg.1]. The Adélie penguin is a very interesting penguin that has a mind of its own. Additionally, due to the research I had to complete, I was able to learn many new things about the Adélie penguin and even birds called, Skuas, who live near the penguin species and are the birds described in the story [worldbookonline:Skua:Knopf pg.1].

          I chose to write a story on penguins, because I've grown up loving penguins and the fact that they are birds but they can't fly is some what funny, I mean, they have wings! So I wanted to write a story on a penguin who grows up wanting to fly one day. I ask myself, does a penguin grow up wanting to fly, or ever trying to fly? So, I decided to depict the life of a young penguin watching the birds around him soaring through the air and cutting through the icy wind. However, what would a penguins reaction be if they learned that it isn't possible for them to take flight. Would they mope around in sorrow because their dream has been crushed, or will they take to action and try their hardest to accomplish that dream just like Pietro. This was my central idea in making my story.

          When someone picks up my book and starts to read all the way through, I want my readers o understand that sometimes you can't directly achieve your goals, but you can always achieve them in different ways very similar to your original goal. If something is in the way of your dream, don't spend time fighting it and helplessly trying to defeat it, instead, use your mind and manipulate your way around the problem efficiently without wasting much of your time. You must envision possibility, see the hope in things but from many different angles, just like little Pietro.

          

          

Independent Reading Book: The Hunger Games: Synthesis Page: Critical Thinking Question

Question: Is this story fair? Why/why not?

        The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins does not have a fair plot. The reason the book is unfair, is because there are annual "hunger games" held between the thirteen different districts, all under the rule of the Capitol. These hunger games involve a boy and a girl chosen at random from each of the districts, from the age of twelve! If your lucky you might just get to see your sibling or family member killed for the Capitol's entertainment, now there's something unfair about that. Here are quotes from Suzanne Collin's terrifying utopia that make you realize how unfair the story is.

Quote 1: " 'The earlier revision has been revoked...only one winner may be allowed'...I stare at Peeta  
                   in disbelief as the truth sinks in." [pg. 342]

Elaboration/context: In this scene Katniss and Peeta have just technically one the hunger games,          
                                 because contestants from the same district are allowed to win together if they are
                                 the last two standing. However, the Gamemakers (those who plan what happen
                                 in the arena) removed the earlier rule to add more drama, a horrible ending and
                                 completely unjust. Peeta and Katniss have worked and fought through something
                                 extremely hard that they were forced into, risking death, and now things got a            
                                 whole lot harder. This is just the first reason the book is unfair.

Connections: In the real world, there are plenty of things we are forced into doing, yes, not always
                      risking our death. However, many things we do everyday can always kill us, as you
                      cross the street, you could be hit by a car and die. You could also be shot, or choked to
                      death, or even be bombed unexpectedly by a plane. In the world we all risk our lives in
                      a way as well.




Quote 2: " 'Listen up. You're in trouble. Word is the Capitol's furious about you showing them up in
               the arena'...Prim, my mother, Gale, the people of district 12, everyone I care about back
               home could be punished..."

Elaboration/Context: Katniss has just managed to survive the hunger games, the hunger games,
                                  probably the hardest and biggest thing that could happen to her in her life.
                                  However, she may now be in danger, since she managed to get Peeta and herself  
                                  out of the arena by threatening to have both of themselves commit suicide, then
                                  there would be no winner and the Capitol would be fooled, so they both had to
                                  win so that there would be at least a winner(s). Since the Capitol was fooled,
                                  they aren't happy and they are now going to threaten Katniss and her whole
                                  district. The horrors will never end for Katniss and it is not fair to her, Peeta or
                                  their district.

Connections: In the world there are many people who suffer horrors everyday and believe it will
                      never end. Those who are abused feel like the abuse will never end, feeling pain very
                      day in different ways, always feeling in moments of danger, like Katniss, always in a  
                      position of danger. This also goes for modern slavery and etc. .




Quote 3: "She just has time to reach her hand through the mesh and say my name before the spear
                enters her body."

Elaboration/context: In this extremely deep scene, where Rue, Katniss' ally in the hunger games, is    
                                  killed gruesomely with a spear, Katniss is heartbroken. The smallest girl in the
                                  arena, forced to fight, has just died in front of Katniss. Adding to all her pain
                                  and mixed feelings she developed in the arena. Rue was the one girl who would
                                  keep a smile on Katniss everyday and support her with all her supplies, now
                                  their bond has been destroyed in the arena, an unfair arena, a dangerous one.
                                  Not only has Katniss been placed in these games, but now she watches someone
                                  be killed and is forced to kill others she doesn't even know. It is clear how mean    
                                  and unjustified the text and fantasy world is.

Connections: Many people lose and have lost family members or close friends on this planet.
                      Through war, gang violence and much more, even my dad's cousin was shot through a
                      set up after a night of drinking very sadly. Think about the Holocaust, a horrible    
                      experience during world war II. So many situations similar to Katniss' during the
                      hunger games happen very frequently in this world.



        Overall, the book is clearly unfair and Katniss' and Peeta's experience in the games was horrible and things to come in the next book could be even worse. Half of the book was spent in Katniss' sorrow and deep feelings for the utopia she lives in and how mean and dangerous it is, but everyone still fights on. The book is beautifully written anyway and contains suspenseful feelings that got my heart pumping, it was wonderful.

Argument Essay:The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

        No book should be banned, if you don’t find a book appropriate, ignore it. Other people may enjoy or admire that book and they should have the right to expose themselves to the material without our approval or input. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was written by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and published in 1884 (England) and 1885 (United States). It depicts the life of a boy spending most of his time on and along the great Mississippi river, trying to save the life of a slave by the name of Jim. Throughout the story, Huck Finn encounters many problems, like being kidnapped by his father, he also struggles to survive along side Jim, a slave, to try and set him free. The two meet many people and endure a thoughtful journey.  Yet, what has caused problems, are the words used in the story like, nigger. It has led many people to try and ban the book. However, I believe that the text should not be banned from middle school libraries, because it’s a classic in American writing and readers must understand the time period in which the book was written (1884). The language and characterizations are all there for a reason and they even have benefits themselves.

First of all, the book is a powerful teaching tool, it makes children sit up and listen, because of the words that are present in the text. Sally Hansen, a retired teacher from Eastside High School in Gainesville, Florida, has been teaching the book for thirty five years. She seems to have made observations during those years, “ ‘It does impact students, it does make them sit up and listen…’ ” as quoted from, “Huck Finn Navigating Choppy Waters Again”. The N-word, specifically, is not a very new addition to certain children and young adults vocabulary, who are taught about the reading, “ ‘The word is hardly new to high school students’, says English teacher Lindsey Franklin, who teaches Huckleberry Finn to a predominantly African-American class of eleventh graders at Eastside High School [as well]”. What all this evidence suggests, is that the N word (and more characterizations similar to it) itself are beneficial to the teaching of the classic in school. Additionally, we shouldn't be scared about using these words in front of young adults because many of them already know about the word and are used to it.

Moreover, without the curses and racial slurs the book wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn't portray the same feelings or moods. Those words are what make you feel like you’re in the particular scene and time that “Huck Finn” takes place. Jeff Nichols explains in a more in-depth way, “ ‘The word is there for a reason…The word is terrible, it’s hurtful, but it’s there for a reason…To convey the language and attitudes of Missouri in the 1840’s, in a book written in the 1880’s when Jim Crow laws were being passed in the South to deprive blacks of their civil rights .”. The attitudes and language that Twain put there were to make you realize and understand what was actually happening during the time. Also, Twain invented “Local Color”, which is a technique that is used and was used in many books, it is when an author, like Twain, will use the actions and language of a certain place and time to connect their readers to their book. Therefore, all Twain was doing, was trying to connect his readers to his story. Moving on, Another significant quote from Barbara Jones, of the American Library Association, explains why Twain put certain words in the text, “ ‘The book without that word [nigger] is not Huckleberry Finn…Twain put it there because he wanted people to struggle with it. I think as a country, we’re big enough to struggle with it.’ ”. Jones makes it clear that Twain put it there because he wanted people to struggle with it in the future and realize what it was like back then and how certain people were treated, again the word has many different purposes in the story. Here’s something to think about, if someone changes all the words and racial slurs in the book, for the new edition of Huckleberry Finn, you wouldn't feel the same way as you read the text. Here is a scene from the book, where Huck meets a new family as he travels North with Jim for freedom. The first sentence is the original and the second one would be the modified edition, “A nigger woman came tearing…comes a little nigger girl and two little nigger boys…acting the same way the little niggers was doing.”, now for the modified edition, “A slave woman came tearing…comes a little slave girl and two little slave boys…acting the same way the little slaves was doing.”. After reading both quotes, there is a large difference. As you read the original, something stirs in you and you feel closer to the actual scene and think about the actual time that the book takes place because of the N-word. However, as you finish reading the second quote, you don’t realize the time period in which Twain is trying to depict clearly. Again, all Twain is doing is using “Local Color”.

Finally, the main reason people believe that the novel should be banned, is because of the certain cusses that are present throughout it. However, the words are in there because of the time period in which it was written. Twain published the book in eighteen-eighty-four and five, explaining a story in which took place in the eighteen-forties. At the time the N-word was always used and considered normal to use and so, Twain put it in because it was what certain people were called at the time and he used his Local Color to connect his reader directly to every scene and chapter of his publication. So, Twain couldn't possibly know or predict that in the future the word would be deemed horrible. A justification from, Barnes and Noble’s online site, Sparknotes, explains that it is okay that the N-word is present in Twain’s text because of the time it was written and published in, “The fact that the historical context in which Twain wrote made his use of the word insignificant—and, indeed, part of the realism he wanted to create…”. Also, Sally Hansen, from earlier, explains that the solution wouldn't be to remove the word and change a great American classic, but to educate the reader about the time period in which the book took place “The solution, she says, is not to ‘change the writer— you would educate the reader’  by discussing the time period in which the book is set and its language and mores.”, this reveals that altering the book would be unjust and instead, the simpler solution would be to explain to the readers beforehand about the time the book was written and published.

In the end, there is no real reason that justifies the banning of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. It shall remain the same that it has always been, part of great literature. Each word and characterization in the plot, gives a meaning to each scene. The style and choice of words are all part of Twain’s use of Local Color. All that is asked of the reader, is to understand and embrace the fact that the book was written and published in 1884-85. In the reading and writing world, along with the parent world, we should understand that banning a book would be unlawful and that it shouldn't be up to the federal government or schools to make these decisions but to parents and ourselves. It’s simple, if you aren’t fond of a book, ignore it, let others who do admire the book experience it and expose themselves to the material.

Bibliography
Moore, Martha T. "'Huck Finn' Navigating Choppy Waters Again." USA TODAY. 06 Jan. 2011: A.3. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Context"" SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/context.html>.

Social Awareness Project

Reading Response to Social Issue

Magazine: Upfront  Article: “Guess Who’s Looking at Your Facebook Page?” 

Author: Alessandra Potenza

          According to the Upfront article, "Guess Who's Looking at Your Facebook Page?" by Alessandra Potenza, college admissions officers and employers are using social media, like Facebook, for a background check on school and job applicants. Many people are losing their jobs and being turned down from big colleges because of their interactions on these online sites.

          Throughout the article, the author wants readers to understand the negative impact of social media on your economic and academic life. For example, Potenza begins with a huge sentence starter that gets you hooked right in to her piece, "she posted her Facebook status update on a Friday night in July. By Monday, she was fired.", here the author not only makes you want to read her story to figure out why she was fired, but also gives you a hint as to what her article is going to have to do with. Potenza then continues on to give more real world examples that social media can have that you don't want it to have. The topic makes me want to get rid of the social media that I use, like Instagram. The way she presents her reasons make you realize how enjoyable things can turn their backs on you. Here's another example from the text that convinces me into getting rid of my online profiles, "At Pitzer college in Claremont, California, an applicant was denied admission because of offensive comments he had posted on Facebook about one of his teachers.", by the end of the article, my mind was made up. I think that it's a fair way to give these types of background checks, it's simple, don't post negative things and don't be impulsive, think before you post.

However, the author didn't show much bias in the article, in fact none was actually present. Although, there is a small box that explains some tips "to tweet or not to tweet". Potenza stated her facts and supported them with evidence in an objective tone, giving a full summary on her main idea. Something I admired in her article, were the small anecdotes she included throughout her whole plot. Each of them explained the different ways that social media can be used for background checks, all in real life situations. I cherished each of these anecdotes because of the

way they were presented, and because they made me understand what I should and should not do on social media.

Now that I have read this article, it has changed my thoughts on Instagram, Facebook and many more of these types of applications. I realize that everything students post from my school might just affect their future academic life. Tons of kids on social media like Instagram, are always cursing and posting weird stuff that are certainly questionable. I would also like to further investigate on these "background checks" and maybe get some results and tallies on young adults who have been rejected from

school or work because of their interactions with social media. I predict that in the next few years the numbers will rise sharply.

Original Poem on Bullying

Why must 

I

Be influenced

Why must 

I

Change

Why must 

I

Be forced to do things 

That 

I

Don’t want to do

When will

They

Be influenced

When will 

They 

Be changed

When will 

They

Be forced to do things

They

Don’t want to do

It is a lifestyle
That some live
Every
day

A lonely lifestyle

It is a horrid lifestyle

It is a detestable lifestyle 

Sobbing because I don’t want to have to confront 

Them

Trying to ignore

Them

Trying to be oblivious to

Them 

Trying to fix the 

Bully

I decided to write a poem, because I love the way you can turn such complicating things into small condensed words and phrases. Each line of a poem explains many things and can also stir many emotions in someone. When you write a poem you can write it in so many different forms, and they can be read in so many different tones. A break in a poem can leave a reader to think about so many different topics that the line just explained. A new stanza in a poem can completely change the mood of the whole piece. Poems are meant to be customized and altered in so many different ways, the author may feel free to express themselves. It’s what makes a poem unique and different than an essay, piece or response. That’s why I wanted to write a poem.
 I chose the topic of bullying, because it has been happening for a very, very long time. The main spot as to where bullying takes place is, school. I thought that bullying would be an appropriate topic relating to school and connecting to many lives that suffer from harassment in school. I find bullying terrible and I wanted to explain what it is to me, through this poem.

Response to Visual Art

Photographer: Jacob Riis  Name of Artwork: “Lodgers in Bayard Street Tenement,           Five Cents a Spot”

This image produced by Jacob Riis is one that really stands out to me in his collection of photographs. It displays a small tenement with more than seven or eight men jammed into it. There aren’t any proper beds and the room has nearly nothing in it except for a furnace and shelves. The room seems to be in poor condition and the men crowded into it don’t seem to be of high or middle class. A spot in the room is only five cents.

What this photograph makes me think, is that many people and immigrants in New York City were poor or of low class. The conditions they worked in must have been bad enough during the day and on top of that they were living in crowded tenements with some people they didn't even know. In these tenements, diseases and sicknesses would spread easily making conditions even worse. Another thing I noticed is that there isn’t much in the tenement, only a furnace to warm themselves up and cook, along with shelves to carry their pots and pans. I also think that their work days were long and they didn’t spend much time in the tenements. There is no visible, sink or bathing unit, they probably had to go out to the one faucet to wash and get water. What about going to the bathroom? The buildings in which they lived in were filthy and the streets especially, since most business was taken care of out there. However, the bathroom visits soon piled up and were being placed underground in a small hole that was covered up. The pipes were also underground and the waste would soon seep in through the pipes infusing their water with that waste. It sure wasn't fun living in one of these tenements and being an immigrant. This photograph would have convinced me to do something about these horrible tenement conditions and to help the immigrants of New York City at the time. The art also tells me so many different things, above I explained almost everything the image told me and it let me make inferences, connecting my knowledge to the visual piece.

Jacob Riis finished by convincing many people through his photographs and book, “How the Other Half Lives”. Soon people were ready to help the immigrants and many new groups were formed. Some of the things that were done to help the immigrants was the Settlement House Movement, by Jane Addams. Jane created her own settlement house, one of the well known called the Hull house. Another figure who helped to improve the life of immigrants was Mother Cabrini, who helped found more than 70 hospitals in North and South America. Some other organizations were formed to support lives of immigrants like, the YMCA, YMHA and Salvation Army. 

Just because of some photographs, Jacob Riis was able to change the minds of certain people and get them into improving and supporting the lives of immigrants. It shows that, just through a piece of artwork, you can say some many things and display so many emotions, that you can convince certain people. This is why visual art is a big way to display social issues, back in the day and to the present.

Reflection

        Overall, I felt like the project was a good idea, because it let me understand social issues in a more sophisticated and new way. I also learned that social issues can be displayed in many different ways. The one way that stood out most significantly was the way that you can display social issues through visual interpretations. Just one photograph can mean so many things, it can say phrases and most importantly, an image can display many emotions and feelings. Some pieces of artwork can make you stare at them for hours, just to understand the full meaning of it. I learned that there are so many different social issues in the world and that there must be tons of ways to explain and depict your feelings toward certain social issues, because the public creates each method in there own ways. I would like to further research and investigate into social issues and I would like to develop more social awareness for myself. Many things are taking place in the world, and I feel that we should all help to make a change in the world, before things start to create deeper wounds in the earth.

Non-Fiction Reading Response: "Guess Who's Looking at Your Facebook Page?" Alessandra Potenza (Upfront)

          According to the Upfront article, "Guess Who's Looking at Your Facebook Page?" by Alessandra Potenza, college admissions officers and employers are using social media, like Facebook, for a background check on school and job applicants. Many people are losing their jobs and being turned down from big colleges because of their interactions on these online sites.

          Throughout the article, the author wants readers to understand the negative impact of social media on your economic and academic life. For example, Potenza begins with a huge sentence starter that gets you hooked right in to her piece, "she posted her Facebook status update on a Friday night in July. By Monday, she was fired.", here the author not only makes you want to read her story to figure out why she was fired, but also gives you a hint as to what her article is going to have to do with. Potenza then continues on to give more real world examples that social media can have that you don't want it to have. The topic makes me want to get rid of the social media that I use, like Instagram. The way she presents her reasons make you realize how enjoyable things can turn their backs on you. Here's another example from the text that convinces me into getting rid of my online profiles, "At Pitzer college in Claremont, California, an applicant was denied admission because of offensive comments he had posted on Facebook about one of his teachers.", by the end of the article, my mind was made up. I think that it's a fair way to give these types of background checks, it's simple, don't post negative things and don't be impulsive, think before you post.

          However, the author didn't show much bias in the article, in fact none was actually present. Although, there is a small box that explains some tips "to tweet or not to tweet". Potenza stated her facts and supported them with evidence in an objective tone, giving a full summary on her main idea. Something I admired in her article, were the small anecdotes she included throughout her whole plot. Each of them explained the different ways that social media can be used for background checks, all in real life situations. I cherished each of these anecdotes because of the way they were presented, and because they made me understand what I should and should not do on social media.

          Now that I have read this article, it has changed my thoughts on Instagram, Facebook and many more of these types of applications. I realize that everything students post from my school might just affect their future academic life. Tons of kids on social media like Instagram, are always cursing and posting weird stuff that are certainly questionable. I would also like to further investigate on these "background checks" and maybe get some results and tallies on young adults who have been rejected from school or work because of their interactions with social media. I predict that in the next few years the numbers will rise sharply.

 

Upfront Magazine, New York Times, "Guess Who's Looking at Your Facebook Page?", Alessandra Potenza

          

                                                                  Trip Reflection

          The trip my classmates and I took Friday was great, it was a nice opener to the year. We got to learn something new, activism. We visited the "Museum of the City of New York" and got a small tour of the activism section. During the tour, we got to look at visual presentations and listen to verbal interpretations. At the end we even got to create our own pins, depicting an idea of activism that we supported.
          Aside from being an exciting trip, it really helped me in learning a bit about activism and to get a first glimpse as to what it really is, since we're going to focus on activism/social issues in class. For example, I learned about some well known topics that produced many activists. Women's suffrage was one of them. The fight to uplift racial segregation was another topic. Surprisingly, creating more bike lanes and ensuring biking safety was also a big one, that's still currently taking place.
          We also learned some of the common tactics used in activism. Portraying things through political cartoons was and is a huge way to convince and persuade people, you don't only want to keep to the point and be serious about it, you also want to add some humor into the topic. The other main tactic is to get out and make your self noticeable in a non-violent way. In a place like New York City, there are tons of people you can persuade and get into supporting your side of an idea by getting noticeable. This is where using some humor really works, of course there will be people noticing you regularly if you dress in a certain way, but if you add some comedy into the mix, you are sure to have more of a crowd noticing you. Hopefully that crowd will also be able to understand the serious side to what your doing and get themselves involved in what you want them to support.
   
 Check this example out! 

          Bike Lanes by Casey Neistat - YouTube

Here's an example of a political cartoon used in activism
       


   
















       
          Attending the exhibit at the "Museum of the City of New York" made me understand what activism is and what you can do to be an activist yourself. I think that the trip is also going to support me when we write and read about activism further into the year. I just want to say thank you Ms. Galang and everyone else for making the trip possible.


Some other photos of activists/activism

                                                   "Huckleberry Finn: Reading Response"

          Throughout, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" written by Mark Twain, there were plenty of reasons that popped up in which could have contributed to why the book is banned. For example, things like language, violence and alcohol/alcoholics were some of those reasons. Some of these things got very intense at certain points and many people think that young children shouldn't be influenced by.

          The first and largest reason that the book is banned is language. In the book, many curses like nigger, bitch and more appear multiple times throughout the story. Huckleberry Finn uses the n word plenty, for it was normal to call African-Americans by it," ' You borry'd store tobacker and paid back nigger-head.' ". Another example is, "...and she doesn't bray like a jackass.". These types of sentences repeat many times and many parents don't want their children learning new kinds of curse words, especially dangerous ones, like nigger, they can start conflict. They can leave an impact on young readers, but children older than eleven or twelve should be able to read Huck Finn.

          The second reason is because of violence. In the book, Huck is abused and more violence is depicted as he is constantly on the move. Here is Huck's father directly from the text, threatening his own son, "...said he would rest a minute and then kill me. He put his knife under him, and said he would sleep and get strong..." another example of violence is when a drunk is shot in the street, because he didn't leave the town as he was ordered to, " 'O lord, don't shoot!' Bang! goes the first shot, and he staggers back, clawing at the air-bang! goes the second one, and he tumbles backwards onto the ground, heavy and solid, with his arms spread out." This isn't even the worst, fist-fights and dog fights take place in the book as well. These things also happen in real life, in the street and in certain areas, it can occur often. Sometimes, murders can even happen, though, less often. Since all these things take place presently, it shouldn't be introduced to a young mind in such a way. Yet another reason the book may be banned.

          The last reason, is alcohol/alcoholics. In the book, Huck's father is the main alcoholic, but as the plot progresses Huck encounters plenty more of them. Here's an example of other alcoholics that are encountered, "There was considerable whisky-drinking going on, an I seen three fights." not only is drinking present, but it also leads to fights. Here's an example of Huck's father, "He drank and drank...He groaned and moaned and thrashed around this way and that..." Huck's father keeps on this way through the whole book and completes many violent acts because of that alcohol. Plenty of people believe the topic of alcohol shouldn't even be discussed. However, many people - especially in New York City - are alcoholics like Huck's father. the sad thing is that it's hard to control it and it can lead to very negative things. So the book is aimed for older readers because of its dominance of alcohol.

          "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" shows plenty of points that lead to the banning of it, and children under the age of twelve shouldn't be able to read the book. On the other hand, it should be up to the reader to decide whether or not they want to be exposed to certain things and let themselves be influenced.