Courage

Up the tallest mountain or slightest hill.
With fear of what is to be reached at the top,
But bravery that says to keep going.
With wind pushing you down the bumpy slopes,
But faith holding you up.
Courage is a climb.

An adventure into the unknown
Driven by hope in your heart
Or perhaps driven by anger in the pit of your stomach.
Belief that the summit will hold gold and riches
Or perhaps happiness and peace.
Courage is a climb.

It may strain your legs and leave you breathless
You may have to go at it alone
But nevertheless you climb,
And you conquer each mountain the same.

Friendship

A lifelong bond that burns happiness
A flame stronger than the dark
With quality of family, so powerful and stable
A blessing spent with adventure, secret, and laughs
Life made true
Friendship

Reading Response: Ed's Decision

One of the many questions I asked myself while reading part 1 of I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak was why Ed decided to take the card and run with it instead of ignoring it. Many reasons came to mind that link to themes that show up in the story. Ed is admittedly pretty close to a failure in most of the areas of his life. He explains how he has no real work, was never any good at school, and isn’t smooth with women at all. He basically drives cabs around to make a living and spends most of his time drinking and playing cards with his three closest friends, Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey. The only other being he spends a good amount of time with is his dog, the Doorman. Ed began feeling useless at a young age because of what his childhood consisted of. His dad was a drinker and his mom didn’t care for him much. He had other siblings who became successful and had turned out just fine, and he couldn’t help but realize that he went about his days with no real purpose. When the first card showed up in Ed’s mailbox he felt something for the first time in a long time. The addresses and times that were shown on the cards sparked interest in Ed’s mind that contrasted with the usual boring, meaningless thoughts he had.

If his life prior to receiving the card had been more of a success, there is a large chance that Ed would have ignored this and seen it as a waste of time or merely a stupid game. This shows the theme that everything happens for a reason. If Ed hadn’t became what he was he may never have looked into the addresses and uncovered the stories that took place at each one. Another instance in which this theme is shown is when Ed and Sophie talk to each other after many instances of Sophie seeing him watching her run and ignoring him. If she had not talked to him they would never have realized the liking they had taken to each other. Ed’s situation applies to many other themes as well, one of them being that everything is not what it seems. Ed had never expected these addresses and times that were meaningless to him at the time to be so important to the purpose of his life. I think that throughout the story there will be more surprises that prove that everything is not what it seems. The final theme that I found evident in part 1 of I Am The Messenger was that everyone needs someone to be there for them. For example, Milla needed Jimmy back because she had loved him ever since he went off to war, and because Ed knew that everyone needs someone, he stayed and comforted her. The mother on Edgar St. needed someone to take control of her abusive husband and set him straight, and again Ed was there. These messages begin to show a pattern of sending Ed where he is needed most and I predict that this pattern will continue with the Ace of clubs, hearts, and spades.  

Charles Darnay

Charles Darnay’s character is greatly developed during chapters nine and ten in A Tale of Two Cities. From the events and descriptions present in the book, readers can conclude that he is kind, caring, passionate, and ambitious, yet mysterious as well. These are all qualities that he proves himself to be in chapters nine and ten. He shows his kindness when talking with his uncle the Marquis. He tries to convince this man to make changes so that the poorer people could live a better life and eventually escape from this poverty. He points out the wrong that his family had been doing and continued to do. He shows his passion when talking to Dr. Manette about getting Lucie’s hand in marriage. Darnay says, “Dear Doctor Manette, I love your daughter fondly, dearly, disinterestedly, and devotedly” (Dickens 101). These words express what his heart feels for Lucie and also shows the passion he possesses. He is ambitious in the sense of belief he has that he will help these poor people who are so harshly mistreated and that he will someday have Lucie, the only woman he loves, as his wife. The mystery aspect that Charles Darnay undoubtedly possesses is mostly seen by the townspeople around him. None of these people know Charles by his real name or where he came from. This makes him mysterious to the readers because if he could have made up something as important as his name then he could likely be hiding other components of his true self.

The Light and The Dark

In chapter 6, Dickens creates a hopeful mood for the future of Lucie and the shoemaker, Dr. Manette, through the use of light and darkness. Defarge says, “I want to let a little more light in here” (Dickens 30). The shoemaker agrees skeptically. This insignificant event symbolized the course in which events of his future will occur. The shoemaker will likely slowly let Lucie into his life and along with her will come life changing improvements. Lucie is portrayed as the light in his life that will bring him out of his dark imprisonment and depression. Along with the light comes a sense of strong hope. Dickens also writes, “Darkness had fallen on him in its place” (Dickens 32). This statement reflects upon how Mr. Manette has spent the last years of his life. The darkness that falls on him symbolizes the dreadful years he spent in prison that changed him for the worse. He used to be a man who worked as a doctor and spent his off hours with the woman he loved, but now he must hold onto any shred of sanity he has left by wasting his days making shoes. The last quote really sets a hopeful mood for Lucie and Dr. Manette to help each other thrive to success in life. It reads, “The darkness deepened as they both lay quiet, until a light gleamed through the chinks in the wall” (Dickens 36). The light that gleams through the wall is a sign that though they are in a hard situation, there is hope that things will get better. By comparing Lucie to a light that will brighten her father’s dark life, the author shows hope foreshadows a breakthrough within the relationship.

Wine Spill or War?

In Chapter 5 of A Tale of Two Cities, wine is spilt onto the poor streets of Paris and people in the surrounding area rush towards the mess. The way these events occur and the way the author describes the situation foreshadows a war that is to come. The first sentence in this chapter reads, “A large cask of wine had been dropped and broken, in the street” (Dickens 20). The cask of wine resembles the peace and trust between countries being shattered, resulting in disaster. The quote that symbolizes a war to come says, “All the people within reach suspended their business, or their idleness, to run to the spot and drink the wine” (Dickens 20). The people suspending what they are busy with resemble people that drop everything they having going in their everyday life and go to war. As the wine is running short because of all the people drinking it in the streets, it leaves a stain on the ground of the city. Dickens writes, “The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street in the suburb of Saint Antoine, in Paris, where it was spilled” (Dickens 21). This shows how the war will leave an undying impression on the city. Though a war may be a little more complex than a wine spill, the two resemble each other greatly in this situation.

The Importance of Family

Family is not only a group of people related by blood but strung together by love and care for one another. Family is a gift given to every soul in the world upon which a successful life can be built. With family, all things are possible. It is a place that you should look forward to coming home to everyday, somewhere you can feel safe and welcomed and accepted no matter what kind of day you’re having. There are many different interpretations of what a “good” family consists of. “Stone Soup” by Barbara Kingslover and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith both focus on situations that families overcome using the strength of their love.

“Stone Soup,” primarily refers to families that are often judged in society for being unlike a traditional family that consists of mom, dad, sister, and junior, according to the essay. One quote from the book that refers to different types of families is, “To judge a family’s value by its tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for its cover” (Kingslover 19). The tidy symmetry is referring to a family that to society is normal and acceptable. To judge a family by if it’s according to society rules is the same as judging something for what it looks like on the outside. There surely could be a family with gay or blended parents who get along better than a family with “normal” parents. Another quote says, ”Divorce, remarriage, single parenthood, gay parents, and blended families simply are. They’re facts of our time” (Kingslover 16). I think it is true that every generations’ society has had a different perspective of what a normal/good/stable family should be like. Hopefully if more people listen to the views of family members of these so called broken homes the next generation will accept families how they are.

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn also showed ideas about family. Throughout the story the Nolans struggle with everything from poverty to sexual assault to education to alcoholism.  Katie, the mother of the Nolans, has a strong sense of what family is all about and uses this strength to get her family out of situations as best as she can. In this quote we see Katie putting all her efforts into creating a better life for Neeley, “Katie would make him [Neeley] into the kind of man Johnny should have been” (Smith 96). Katie loved both Johnny and Neeley passionately in different ways and knew they both had the potential to be successful. She decided that she would do everything in her power to make sure he fufiled that potential. The other quote I recognized showed the family bond between siblings as opposed to mother to child, “My brother is next. His arm is just as dirty as mine so don’t be surprised. And you don’t have to tell him. You told me” (Smith 147). Francie tells this to the doctor when the doctor judges her for having a dirty arm when her and Neeley go to get their shots. This resembles how families should be proud of one another and where they are all coming from. Francie has a good sense of how families should function that she inherits from her mom.

I myself believe that the function of family is simple. Family are the people who god gave to you in your life to guide you down the path of love. Your family should show you unconditional love without a cost and that is what they are there for. Families do have problems and no family is perfect but as long as there is love for one another in families members’ hearts, there will always be forgiveness, trust, and acceptance between them. Not only is family the people that you are somewhat forced to spend your life with but the ones that someday you’ll appreciate more than any other thing in the world.