"My Great Fish" Essay

“My Great Fish” Essay

“But we can’t live in the light all of the time. You have to take whatever light you can hold into the dark with you” (Libba Bray). As Bray says in this quote, hard times are like darkness and we need to take the light/ good times in our lives and bring them into the hard, dark times to overcome them with lightness. Obstacles are like hard times in your life and what makes them turn light again is how you choose to overcome them. In the book, The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago (the old man) faces many obstacles while trying to break his bad luck of not catching a fish and reeling in the gigantic marlin. During his struggle of catching the fish Santiago faced many obstacles such as: hunger, thirst, cramped hands, and  sharks.  These obstacles left the reader to find out if Santiago would live, or catch the marlin. But as the reader read they would find out that Santiago would overcome his many obstacles and catch the great marlin, only to have it eaten by sharks. Even though the marlin was eaten Santiago did live. In the following paragraphs of “My Great Fsh” essay  I will be describing and comparing Santiago’s and my own obstacles that we both had to overcome in our lives.

During my life I have encountered many obstacles that I have had to overcome. But, the obstacle that I have decided to write about and compare to Santiagos is one that many people go through in their lives and that I know that people I know are dealing with. “My Great Fish” obstacle is that I am a freshman. Being a freshman and the youngest in the high school is an obstacle to me and others who have gone through being a 9th grader because when you are the new kids in the school you are looked down on. For example the upper classmen think you're immature, and can’t do anything with them because your freshman. Also, sometimes being a freshman also affects your sports. I have heard of certain sports coaches not allowing freshman to be on a varsity team because they don’t think we can handle it, or coaches just simply tend to favorite the upperclass men. All the freshman class and myself are still dealing with this obstacle and hopefully will overcome it soon when we become sophomores in a couple months, and a new group of freshman come to the high school. Being a freshman doesn't bother me as much as it does other people i know but sometimes it does get annoying when you're looked down upon for being younger and new.

Still being a freshman now shows that I have not overcome my “Great fish” yet. But soon my classmates and I will become sophomores and the incoming group of freshman will have to deal with this obstacle too and following groups of freshman too. Even though we haven’t overcame our obstacle people who have helped us freshman get through the conflicts and are my “turtles” would be my friends, and classmates. I consider them my “turtles” because they understand what it feels like being a freshman and can go through the obstacle with you. I see my “sharks” as the upperclassmen because they instigate the obstacle by being hard on the underclass men because when they were freshmen they were treated different for being freshmen, and once we become upperclassmen we probably will be hard on the freshman too.

My struggle with being a freshman is like Santiago’s because one of his  his struggles was dealing with people on the island thinking badly of him, like the young boys dad not letting the young boy work for Santiago anymore because he thought he was unlucky because he hadn’t caught a fish in a while. Is infact like my struggle with being a freshman because Santiago and I are both trying to break peoples opinions of us and to create a new identity for ourselves, like Santiago not wanting to be known as the unlucky fisher and me not to be known as the little freshman. Santiago moved away from his problem by going out everyday, even without the help of the young boy and trying to catch a fish and when he finally did he risked his life trying to capture it.  I do agree with how Santago went among fixing his problem because Santago didn’t listen to what the people on the island had to say about him all he cared about was fishing, and in the end it worked out for him because he caught the fish and got the young boy back.

I think that Hemingways main message that he showed in Santiagos struggle was that you can’t let people define who you are, that you need to create that identity for yourself. Just like my classmates and I try to do, we try to move away from that freshman role we are cast to play when we enter the high school and move into our own personal identities. Someone, like myself can learn and relate to Santiagos struggle in the story because we just need to learn that we create who we are, not others.

Work Cited:

"Hard times Quotes by Libba Bray - Google Search." Hard times Quotes by Libba Bray - Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Third Quarter Book Review

Shusterman Gives A “Worthless” Boy a New Meaning

Quarter Three Book Review

Genre: Realistic Fiction

           

Brewster Rawlins or commonly known as Bruiser to fellow classmates because of his immense body size and outsider attitude. Bruiser starts dating Bronte but when Bronte’s twin brother (Tennyson) finds out about this he is not happy.  Bronte and Tennyson are twin siblings to two feuding parents. And Bruiser and his brother VHIP live with their abusive uncle. Tennyson does not like Brewster and doesn’t want anything to do with him until he realizes his “power.” Bruiser has the special power of when he loves someone he absorbs all his or her pain. Throughout the book Brew starts to absorb Bronte and even Tennyson’s pain. And his own brothers so when the uncle abuses Cody, Brew feels the pain. When Brews uncle has a stoke Brew starts to feel his pain too but turns away to let him die. Brew and Cody live with foster parents and Brew pretends to hate them so he doesn’t grow to love them too. Bronte and Tennyson convince their parents about taking in the boys and once Brew comes into the house their parents stop fighting until Brew absorbs Bronte’s pain from an accident in the swimming pool when she hit her head and he is in the hospital. Will he ever be ok again?

            The writing styles that author Neal Shusterman was very unique to me and personally something that have never read before. Author Shusterman chopped the story up into different sections told from a unique perspective of each of the characters (Tennyson, Brewster, Bronte and Cody).  He continued the book at a normal speed but changed the course of the story and switched the perspective from character to character between chapters.

            "Maybe it did take guts to stand up to his crazy, belt-wielding uncle, but I think it took more guts for the Bruiser to invite me inside" (Chapter 10, p. 42).

            As someone who may misjudge someone by how they look like Tennyson did in this book. This story when Brewster completely was different from how Tennyson and other classmates saw him but his sister Bronte could overlook his reputation in school and go out with him.

Short story

Just a day at the Mall

It all started on a clear Saturday morning when my brother Randal and I stumbled down the stairs to find our parents fighting again. Our parents fought often over every little disagreement they could have. It was usually about money and how mom doesn’t have a job yet even though she got fired 5 years ago from McDonalds and just sits on the couch and sleeps all day. But this morning they were fighting because dad has a big business meeting  today and mom didn't washing his suit and tie so he had nothing to wear. Dad would yell “you’re irresponsible and selfish,” and then mom would yell “ then you do you’re own laundry!”

Randal  and I sat in the living room annoyed with all the yelling. And then Randal got up to get some breakfast and after searching for any scrap of food that was left behind from a long week he turned to me. “Want to run out and get breakfast?” I immediately sprung up from the couch and said “yes!”

We drove to the next town over to the nearest mall. Then we sat down to eat at our favorite restaurant. As we ate I noticed two strange men that kept walking past the restaurant door in long black coats, black hats, black pants, and black shoes one was tall and skinny the other was short and chubby. A couple minutes after I noticed the men I asked Randal if he knew them because they both stared at the two of us as the paced back and forth by the door.

I could tell that Randal felt uneasy about these men because he acted like they were normal guys just walking, and I knew he was just trying to calm me down.

     All of a sudden the fire alarm went off and all I heard was Randal yell “RUN JESSICA!” As we ran out of the restaurant we saw a mass of people crowned by the exit doors struggling to get out, but doors were locked. The alarm finally silenced and we all turned around to fifteen or more men in all black clothes like the two that were walking outside the restaurant.

A tall, muscular man with a deep mean voice spoke first saying “Hi, I am  Marcus  and I am the leader of all these great men and now I am the leader of you. No one will get hurt, unless you trouble us, harm us, or distract us in anyway if you do decide to do so we will take action.” As he spoke the men spread throughout the crowd one grabbed my arm and pulled me into the closest store and he told me to sit down and shut up. I watched the people get separated and and spread out amongst a couple of the shops. A little boy in tears got thrown to the ground beside me.

“Hello.” I said to the poor frightened boy.

“Hi.” He said.

“What's your name?” I asked.

“Brady.” He answered.

I said. “How old are you Brady?”

“5.” He responded.

“Brady, I’m Jessica, I’m 15 years old.” I told him, and he didn’t respond he only wept quietly and shook a little. I decided to keep talking to the boy because I wanted to comfort him and not watch him have an anxiety attack or something. As we talked he told me he was afraid that himself or his mother who was somewhere else in the mall were going to be hurt by the scary men in the black uniforms. I was telling him that everything was going to be okay and that I’d make sure he was safe, and that my brother was in the mall with me but…

“Shhhhhh…” A man said to me.

I waited till he left the room before I continued to say he was in the mall with me but… we got split up like Brady and his mom did and I was worried about my brother too.

Another man walked into the room and told us to silently stand and move into the other shop and if he hears a peep out of us there will be consequences as he said this he flashed us his a gun he was hiding under his long black coat. Brady shocked at the sight of this held tightly onto the side of my hip and began to cry again. I slowly started to pat his back as a sign that he needed to be quiet because this time there would be consequences.

We now entered a new shop and I was startled at the sight of my brother he looked at me and Brady with joy on his face with the knowledge that I was unharmed.

I sat next to Randal and he whispered to me “how are we getting out, what’s the plan.” I answered to Randal “I don't know you figure it out.” He said “ok first, you see the two guys guarding the door well I’ll take the big one and you knock out the small one with the baseball bat on the counter. Then, we’ll break through the locked door and all the crowd in this shop should be able to beat the rest of the men.” I analyzed his plan for a minute and then I said , “let’s go!”

As Randal and I got to our feet the guard turned he yelled at us “ SIT BACK DOWN!” Randal ran at the man grabbing the large baseball bat that was left on the counter and bashed him in the head, he was out cold. The other smaller guard approached me and tightly grabbed my arm and shoved me to the floor. I screeched loudly on the way down because I twisted my ankle and I could feel the pain shooting up my leg as I hit the ground like I was being stabbed a thousand times in the leg. All I could hear after that was a gunshot.

Randal had now taken out the two guards in the shop and was holding one of the guards gun,  but all the chaos and the yelling attracted the attention of the other men holding up the mall. A middle aged tall muscular man approached the shop holding his weapon.

“ Everyone put your hands up,” he yelled into the shop.

No one said a word just sat there in silence and Randal sank to the shop floor again sitting on the guards weapon. The man entered the shop and I remembered he was the leader of the men, Marcus. From the look on his face you could tell Marcus was baffled by the sight of one of his men shot and one knocked out. He slowly paced side to side thinking and then he left closing the door behind him.

Three men now entered the room beside Marcus looking strong and powerful. Marcus was observing us wondering who did this to his men and who would have to “suffer the consequences.” One of the men leaned toward him and whispered something but I couldn't hear anything he was saying all I could tell was they were staring at me! Marcus walked over toward the back corner of the shop where I was sitting and grabbed my arm and told me to get up. I struggled to my feet because I felt another spread of pain throughout my leg. He tugged on my arm and escorted me out of the shop.

He interrogated me about the two guards that Randal had taken out but I stayed silent. He asked me questions like did you see who did that to them? What happened to your ankle looks swollen? And bribed me saying he’ll let me free and call in a doctor to look at my ankle if I told him who did it. I stayed silent. After we walked around the mall he sent me to a dark room with a creepy, skinny, raggedy man who looked as if he hasn’t slept his whole life. Marcus whispered something to the man and then left. I sat against the wall for what felt like hours and then finally decided to make my move i got to my feet and hobbled toward the man only to notice he was asleep, so I crept out of the room. I hid and ran to the shop where Randal and Brady were and opened the door only to see Randal had shot a couple more men. I motioned them to come out and we moved throughout the mall to find the other men remaining. As we quietly walked through the mall I heard banging, slamming on the mall door. Randal ran over to where the banging was coming from. he tried to open the door but the men had wrapped things around the door knobs so that we were unable to open them. Randal, Brady and I pulled and pulled in the door until finally we heard from the outside “ Hello?  i am a police officer and I am warning you to step away from the door because we are breaking the door down. We have gotten word that their is a hostage situation in this mall and we have come to put an end to this and save the innocent citizens!” I pulled Brady out of the way of the door right before they broke it down. As the door came crashing down several policemen and women can running into the mall. Brady started to cry again and got the attention of one police officer, she walked over to us. She told Brady that everything was fine and his mother was safe. Brady finally calmed down enough that she left to go find the men while we waited in the parking lot for further instructions. We watched police handcuff and arrest all the men in the mall, then we went home and we were just happy to be alive.

A couple months have passed since the mall hostage situation and I was sent a letter in the mail today and it wrote “We’re coming back for you Jessica. How’s your ankle?” I guess one must have gotten away.

Short Story Draft

It all started on a clear Saturday morning when my brother Randal and I stumbled down the stairs to find our parents fighting again. Our parents fought often over every little disagreement they could have. It was usually about money and how mom doesn’t have a job yet even though she got fired 5 years ago from McDonalds and just sits on the couch and sleeps all day. But this morning they were fighting because dad has a big business meeting  today and mom didn't washing his suit and tie so he had nothing to wear. Dad would yell “ you’re irresponsible and selfish,” and then mom would yell “ then you do you’re own laundry!”

Randal  and I sat in the living room annoyed with all the yelling. And then Randal got up to get some breakfast and after searching for any scrap of food that was left behind from a long week he turned to me. “Want to run out and get breakfast?” I immediately sprung up from the couch and said “yes!”

We drove to the next town over to the nearest mall. Then we sat down to eat at our favorite restaurant. As we ate i noticed two strange men that kept walking past the restaurant door in long black coats, black hats, black pants, and black shoes one was tall and skinny the other was short and chubby. A couple minutes after i noticed the men i asked Randal if he knew them because they both stared at the two of us as the paced back and forth by the door.

I could tell that Randal felt uneasy about these men because he acted like they were normal guys just walking, and I knew he was just trying to calm me down.

     All of a sudden the fire alarm went off and all I heard was Randal yell “RUN JESSICA!” As we ran out of the restaurant we saw a mass of people crowned by the exit doors struggling to get out the doors were locked. The alarm silenced and we all turned around to fifteen or more men in all black clothes land i recognized two of them from outside the restaurant.

A tall, muscular man with a deep mean voice spoke first saying “Hi, I am  Marcus  and I am the leader of all these great men and now I am the leader of you. No one will get hurt, unless you trouble us, harm us, or distract us in anyway if you do decide to do so we will take action.” As he spoke the men spread throughout the crowd one grabbed my arm and pulled me into the closest store and he told me to sit down and shut up. I watched the people get separated and and spread out amongst a couple of the shops. A little boy in tears got thrown to the ground beside me.

Hello. I said to the poor frightened boy.

Hi. He said.

Whats your name? I asked.

Brady. He answered.

I said. How old are you Brady?

5. He responded.

Brady I’m Jessica, I’m 15 years old. I told him, and he didn’t respond he only wept quietly and shook a little terrified. I decided to keep talking to the boy because  wanted to comfort him and not watch him have an anxiety attack or something. As we talked he told me he was afraid that himself or his mother who was somewhere else in the mall were going to be hurt by the scary men in the black uniforms. I was telling him that everything was going to be okay and that I’d make sure he was safe, and that my brother was in the mall with me but…

“Shhhhhh…” A man said to me.

I waited till he left the room before i continued to say he was in the mall with me but… we got split up like Brady and his mom did and I was worried about my brother too.

Another man walked into the room and told us to silently stand and move into the other shop and if he hears a peep out of us there will be consequences as he said this he flashed us his a gun he was hiding under his long black coat. Brady shocked at the sight of this held tightly onto the side of my hip and began to cry again. I slowly started to pat his back as a sign that he needed to be quiet because this time there would be consequences.

We now entered a new shop and I was startled at the sight of my brother he looked at me and Brady with joy on his face with the knowledge that I was unharmed.

I sat next to Randal and he whispered to me “how are we getting out, what’s the plan.” I answered to Randal I don't know you figure it out. He said “ok first, you see the two guys guarding the door well i’ll take the big one and you knock out the small one with the baseball bat on the counter. Then, we’ll break through the locked door and all the crowd in this shop should be able to beat the rest of the men.” I analyzed his plan for a minute and then I said , “let’s go!”

As Randal and I got to our feet the guard turned he yelled at us “ SIT BACK DOWN!” Randal ran at the man grabbing the large baseball bat that was left on the counter and bashed him in the head, he was out cold. The other smaller guard approached me and tightly grabbed my arm and shoved me to the floor. I screeched loudly on the way down because I twisted my ankle and I could feel the pain shooting up my leg as I hit the ground like i was being stabbed a thousand times in the leg. All I could hear after that was a gunshot.

Randal had now taken out the two guards in the shop and was holding one of the guards gun,  but all the chaos and the yelling attracted the attention of the other men holding up the mall. A middle aged tall muscular man approached the shop holding his weapon.

“ Everyone put your hands up,” he yelled into the shop.

No one responded just sat there in silence and Randal sank to the shop floor again sitting on the guards weapon. The man entered the shop and I remembered he was the leader of the men, Marcus. From the look on his face you could tell Marcus was baffled by the sight of one of his men shot and one knocked out. He slowly paced side to side thinking and then he left closing the door behind him.

Three men now entered the room beside Marcus looking strong and powerful. Marcus was observing us wondering who did this to his men and who would have to “suffer the consequences.” One of the men leaned toward him and whispered something but I couldn't hear anything he was saying all I could tell was they were staring at me! Marcus walked over toward the back corner of the shop where I was sitting and grabbed my arm and told me to get up. I struggled to my feet because I felt another spread of pain throughout my leg. He tugged on my arm and escorted me out of the shop.

He interrogated me about the two guards that Randal had taken out but I stayed silent. He asked me questions like did you see who did that to them? What happened to your ankle looks swollen? And bribed me saying he’ll let me free and call in a doctor to look at my ankle if I told him who did it. I stayed silent. After we walked around the mall he sent me to a dark room with a creepy, skinny, raggedy man who looked as if he hasn’t slept his whole life. Marcus whispered something to the man and then left. I sat iagainst the wall for what felt like hours and then finally decided to make my move i got to my feet and hobbled towrd the man only to notice he was asleep, so I crept out of the room. I hid and ran to the shop where Randal and Brady were and opened the door only to see Randal had shot a couple more men. I motioned them to come out and we moved throughout the mall to find the other men remaining.