Rachel's Humanities Blog

Final Post for TKAM

2009-06-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

Character: Jem
Chapters: 28-31

I was walking to school with Scout. I was carrying her costume for her and we were walking at night. It was pitch black and we couldn’t see anything so we walked slowly. We were close to school when suddenly Cecil Jacobs jumped out on us and scared us. Cecil then walked to the school with us. I gave Scout her costume and I went off with some kids my own age. My friends and I walked around until the pageant was about to begin. I sat down in the front row waiting to see Scout be a ham. The pageant last for about 20 minutes until it was Scout’s turn to come out, we have rehearsed what she was going to do many times and home and she knew everything that she needed to do. Scout was going to be up soon because Mrs. Merriweather had just yelled “Pork”. We waited for Scout to come out, but she didn’t. “Pork” was yelled again, but she still didn’t come out. One lasted time “Pork!” was yelled and still nothing. The grand finale went on without her, but suddenly out of no where Scout came out on stage. Everyone started laughing and all the kids looked confused on what to do now that the ham had just entered. The finale then went off and the play stopped, and everyone got up and started leaving. I walked back to find Mrs. Merriweather yelling at Scout, telling her that she ruined the whole grand finale. I went up to Scout and I consented to wait backstage with her until the audience left. We waited until the last of the people left and then we walked out of the school and started walking home. Scout then told me that she left her shoes back at the school. I knew very well that it was hard to walk home fast without tripping on inconveniences, so I walked her back to the school but when we got there they had locked up. We walked back home in the dark, and suddenly I heard something or someone. I stopped and Scout did the same, but when I stopped the noise did to. We started walking again and the noise happened again. We stopped again, but this time the noise didn’t. Someone was running towards us, I yelled at Scout telling her to run, suddenly someone jumped on me and I pushed him off and yelled at Scout to run. The person jumped on me again and I landed on my arm, hurting it very much. I got up and tried to get Scout up to because she had fallen. I then tripped on someone and fell on my head. The next thing I knew I was in my bed and Aunt Alexandra was helping me with my arm. She told me that Bob Ewell had allegedly attacked me and Scout when we were walking home. She asked me if I could give her my assessments of what happened but Dr. Reynolds came in and told me not to talk. Dr. Reynolds had given me someone to put me to sleep and I was out for the rest of the night.

Post 7

2009-05-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Character- Jem
Chapters: 20-24

I sat in the court house while Dill and Scout were outside. There were no sound in the court house, the only sound there was Atticus talking to the jury. Dill and Scout came back into the court house shortly after and Atticus finished up his speech. I turned around to Scout and told her that we were going to win, and suddenly I looked down to see Cal walking down the court house to Atticus. She gave him a letter and Atticus read it out loud. It was Aunt Alexandra telling him that she didn’t know where the children were and she hasn’t seen them all day. Atticus lifted his head up and scanned the court house looking for us. Mr. Underwood then tell Atticus that we have been at the court house all day and that we were up on the balcony. Atticus called us down. Dill, Scout and I walked down to the ground floor of the court house to find Cal and Atticus waiting for us. Atticus told us that we had to go back to house for supper, and if when we finished our dinner we could come back. I walked back to the house and all I could think about was the court case, and how Atticus proved to everyone that Tom Robinson never did a crime and that Mayella Ewells was lying. We got back to our house and Cal started talking to us, saying that we should be ashamed of our selfs, but I didn’t hear what she was saying all I could think about was Tom Robinson. Cal gave us our supper and told us to eat it real slow. I didn’t listen, I ate it as fast as I could and tried to get Dill and Scout to eat faster. When we finished our supper, Scout Dill and I ran back to the court house. I couldn’t believe that we were gone an hour and nothing had change. We waited for forever until the jury finally came out at 11. The 12 men on the jury come in and hand their votes off. I sat waiting to hear innocent but instead I heard the worst, guilty. I gripped the edge of the balcony as I heard guilty over and over again. I looked down to see Atticus pack up his things, whisper something to Tom, put his coat on and walk out of the courthouse. As he passed the balcony, everyone stood up to show our respect for Atticus. I walked home silently thinking about how unfair this trial was. How just because he was black, he was guilty even though all the evidence said he wasn’t. That night I cried over the verdict of the trial and I couldn’t believe that everyone else wasn’t as shocked as I was. I hardly spelt that night, I was too busy thinking about the horrible things that were going to happen to Tom Robinson.
I woke up the next morning with Scout. We walked out to the living room to see Atticus reading his morning paper. I went outside to see Dill waiting for us, we walked over to see Miss Maudie talking with Mr. Avery and Miss Stephanie Crawford. When we walked there, Miss Stephanie tried asking us different questions about the case, and what had happened, but thankfully Miss Maudie saved us by inviting us to have cake. Dill, Scout and I walked in to see a big cake and 2 little cakes, and I didn’t understand why only 2, Miss Maudie never forgot about Dill. She handed the two cakes to Scout and Dill and cut a piece off of the big cake for me. We started eating in silently until Miss Maudie said “Don’t fret, Jem. Things are never as bad as they seem.”
I could then tell that she wanted to talk to us about something very important. We all stopped eating and turned towards Miss Maudie and waited to hear what she had to say. I was starting to feel apprehensive about what was going to be said.
“I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father’s one of them.”
“Oh, Well.” was my subsequent answer.
Miss Maudie replied by telling me that I was not old enough to appreciate what I said. I then told her that I used to think that the people of Maycomb were the best people in world, but now I was questioning it. Miss Maudie then explained that many people in Maycomb helped Tom Robinson, people like Judge Taylor. He helped Tom by giving Atticus the case because Judge Taylor knew that Atticus would not have won the case, no one would have, but we were making steps.
Dill, Scout and I went outside to find Miss Stephanie talking to Miss Rachel. We walked over to them and Miss Stephanie told us that Bob Ewell met our father at the post office today, cursed at him, spat in his face and swore to him that he would get him one day. I couldn't believe that that pauper could even think about doing what he did to my father. From that moment I didn't know what to think about Robert Ewell and what kind of predicament my father was now in.

Post 6

2009-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Character: Atticus Finch
Chapters: 16-19

Today was the day of the court case, the day I would finally be able to prove to everyone that Tom Robinson was guilty. I had been waiting for this day for a long time and I woke up early to be ready. I grabbed my suitcase and was off into town. I passed by many people watching and whispering things as I walked down to the downtown court house. It seemed as if the whole town had stopped to watch me walk. I went into the court house to see Mr. Gilmer talking to Mr. Ewells and Mayella, but when I walked in, they quickly walked away from Mr. Gilmer to go out of the court house. I started getting ready as usually and it toke a long time to set up everything and get everything ready and before I knew it, it was almost none. The court house doors were opened and everyone in town piled in. On any other usually day, there would only be about ten people, but today the courthouse was filled and more people were trying to get it. There was a much talking until Judge Taylor came in. He pulled out a think cigarette, and some people people also did the same. The courthouse permitted smoking, but he did not himself indulge, instead of smoking it he eat it. Suddenly the case began and Heck Tate went up on the witness stand. I got up and started asking questions about what he thought happened. He told me that he got a call from Robert Ewells saying that Tom Robinson raped his daughter, but he also said something that caught my attention, and that was that Mayella had been hit on the right side of her face, which meant that a left handed person must have hit her. I thought that this was very strange because Tom Robinson's left hand was completely useless. Heck Tate stepped down from the witness stand and Mr. Robert Ewells stepped up. I asked what he say and he told me the same story, but I really was not interested in the story. I asked him to write his name on the back of an envelope I had. Mr. Ewells wrote on the envelope and looked up complacently to see Judge Taylor looking down on him. He asked what was so interesting and we asked, he was left handed. Mr. Ewells stepped down from the witness stand and Mayella went up and then started crying. Judge Taylor asked her what was wrong and she told him that she was scared of me because of what I did to her papa. I felt someone proud because that proved to me that I was on to something. I then proceeded amiably and I knew that there was something stealthy about her. I asked her first about her home life, just so that the jury could understand what kind of a life she lived. I also asked her about her father, and she started “He does tollable, 'cept when-”

I turned around to face Mayelle “Except when he is drinking?” I asked

She nodded her head. I asked her if he even hit her, but she said no. I then got a thought I asked her where her brother and sisters were and why they didn't hear her, I got no answer. I then asked her if she only screamed when she say her father, no answer, if it was really Tom who had beat her or was it her father, no answer, if her father really see the crime of rape or the best dense to it. Suddenly Mayelle became articulate and said "I got somethin' to say an' then I ani't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an' if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stickin' cowards, stickin' cowards, the lot of. Your fancy air don't come to nothin' -your ma'amin and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch-"

She bursted into real tears, thinking about her predicament.

Post 5

2009-05-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Character: Dill
Chapter: 13-15

Mom had just gotten married, to a guy that I really liked. He promised me that we would build a boat and I couldn’t wait to start building. Suddenly days and weeks had pasted and nothing happened. He did not even mention the boat idea again, I kept asking mom when we were going to build it but she would just tell me to go away and play with my toys. One thing that had changed for the better was that I was getting a lot of new toys. Every weekend my family and I would walk around downtown and go in and out of stores. Whenever I would see a book or toy that I really wanted, mom or her new husband would get it for me. We would then go home and I played with it for a while, and then it was just another toy. I whenever I felt bored I would just go with my mom and we would do something together, but ever since she got married again whenever I wanted to be with her, she would just tell me to go away and play with my toys. I would usually just sit in my room thinking about the plans I had made to get Boo Radley emerge from his house. I would think about Scout and Jem so long I would be oblivious when my mom and step-dad left. After a while it seemed like I never saw my parents and I would just in my room all day thinking about Scout and Jem. It got so bad one day I knew what I needed to do, run away. I waited ‘til the dead of night and then packed up all I needed, toke $13 from my mom and headed out on the road. I got on the train to Maycomb, the one place I was truly happy.

I sat on the train, looking pensive while thinking about my soon to be wife, Scout. The train lasted for a long time and when it stopped I had to walk man miles in the dark by myself. While I was walking, I started thinking about what I would do when I got to Maycomb. Would I knock on their door, sneak into their room or treehouse or just go straight to Aunt Rachel. I soon came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to sneak into Scout’s room and hid under the bed until Scout found me.

I heard Jem and Scout fighting about something, I wanted so much to go into Jem’s room and help Scout. Jem was twice as big Scout and he could beat her up so easily. I was about to go and help Scout out, but then I heard Atticus’s voice and then Scout came in. It was dark and she stepped on my stomach. I then went back under her bed, and Scout turned on the light and went got Jim who then went downstairs to get a broom. He started swiping the broom under the bed trying to hit me. He suddenly stopped and I came up from under the bed. Scout and Jem looked shock to me, but suddenly the shock turned into excitement. They asked me how I got here, and I told them that my step father had locked me up in chains and I had to break free and join the circus, washing the camels. I told them that I traveled with the show through all of Mississippi until my infallible sense of direction told me that I was close to Abbott County which was just across the river from Maycomb. When I finished telling them my story, Jem ran down stairs got Atticus and brought him to Scout’s room. I then told him that I ran away from my home and begged him not to send me home or to Aunt Rachel’s. Atticus then called Aunt Rachel’s to tell her that I was here, and ask her if I was able to stay. After many phone calls and much pleading on behalf of me, the defendant, it was decided that I could stay. After a week of staying with the Finches I was off to Aunt Rachel’s and one night as I was reading, I hear a knock on my window. I looked out to see Jem and Scout, and I then got dressed and went outside to go with them. We went downtown to try and find Atticus and we found next to the jail next to a group of people that I had never seen. Scout went up to Atticus and started talking to a man I have never meant. Jem and I followed slowly and made up to Atticus and the group of people. Scout then started talking to a lot of people, while everyone else just kept quite. Soon everyone left got back in their cars and we walked home and I offered to carry Atticus’s chair home. Atticus then started talking to a man named Tom Robinson. They talked for a while and we walked home in silence was I was encumbered by the chair.

Post 4

2009-05-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

Character: Calpurnia
Chapter: 10-12

Scout and Jem came into the kitchen this morning looking sad. They started telling me about how Atticus couldn't do anything and that because he was the same comtemporaries of their fellow classmate's father, they had nothing to say about him at school. They asked me if I knew anything that Atticus could do, I told them that he could do many things, but I couldn't think of anything spefic. I then sent them on their way while I started thinking more about Atticus and his talents. Jem and Scout were walking out through the neighbor while I was cleaning the kitchen. Suddenly Jem ran into calling my name, yelling about some dog that was sick. I told him that I was far to busy to deal with any dog, but he insisted that I had to come out and see this dog. I walked down the street, but didn't see any dog. We almost reached the Radley house when Jem pointed out old Tim Johnson. I saw the dog walking like he had a limp but then I saw that this dog had Mad dog. When I first saw it I couldn't believe it, mad dog happens mostly in August and it was February. I then knew for sure that it had mad dog and I rushed the children back inside while I called Eula May. I told her to call anyone with a phone and inform them not to go out side for there was a mad dog outside. I then asked her to call the Radleys because the dog was so close to their house, but she told me that they didn't have a phone. I hung up the phone and ran to the Radley's house, I ran up their porch and started banging on their door. No one answered. I started yelling for anyone, but no one was there. I started banging again, but then I ran back. I then called Atticus to tell him to come down with the Mr. Heck, the town sheriff. Atticus and Mr. Heck got down there a few minutes later. I saw them come out with a rifle and I showed them where the dog was. By the time they got there, Tim Johnson was almost in the Radley House yard. I could hear Mr. Heck and Atticus talking about what they should do. I then saw Mr. Heck give Atticus then rifle, and I then remembered his great skills with guns, but I also remembered that he didn't want his children to know. I looked over to them and I could see their eyes widen in confustion when they saw Atticus put his glasses off of his eye and raise the gun and with a single shot the dog fell. Poor Tim Johnson didn't know what was coming to him. Atticus lowered the gun and went over to Tim. Jem and Scout walked out slowly and Atticus turned to see them. Mr. Heck yelled at Scout and Jem, telling them not to come over near the dog. Atticus and Mr. Heck walked back to their car and drove out of sight.

The next day Jem and Scout went off into town so they could some things. I stayed at their house making super and cleaning the kitchen. They came back really inconspicuous. Jem stayed in living room, stilling alone in a chair while Scout stayed in the kitchen. She didn't talk and kept to herself, looking somewhat scared. I knew that something happened, something was wrong. I figured that Jem most have done something to make Scout upset. Atticus came home yelling for Jem, he started asking him about Mrs. Dubose and her flowers. I then knew what happened, Mrs. Dubose was the meanest lady on our street, and hated the kids. I knew that she must had said something to Jem that made him so angry that he must had went over there are chopped off all her flowers. Jem told him that he must go down and talk to Mrs. Dubose and tell her that he was sorry what he did. Jem's "Yes sir" was inaudible. I have heard many things about Mrs. Dubose, and for one thing I knew that Jem would be regerting his move of cutting her flowers very soon. Mrs. Dubose told Jem that he would have to come over to her house every day and read for him for two hours for a month. I couldn't believe that that was his punishment, but it was. And before long Jem had finished his month, and Mrs. Dubose had died.

Time pasted quickly and suddenly Jem was 12. Scout was still reading and playing and Atticus had been working hard on Tom Robinsons case. One weekend he told me that he had to go away for two weeks, and that I was left with the children. Most of the time Scout and Jem would be outside, but during the day I found that Jem would be up in his room while Scout was left alone. She asked me what was going on with Jem, I told her that Jem was just growing up and that she needed to leave Jem alone and if she was ever feeling bored, she could come on it to the kitchen and we would find something fun to do. She came in many times, and we always had fun baking something or playing a new game. She liked to talk mose of the time, mostly about Dill. She told me about the kiss he gave her and the fact that she had a finance, was compensation for him not being with her this summer. The week pasted and it was Saturday when i got to thinking about what I should do with them on Sunday. I thought about leaving them home while I went to church, or just dropping them off at their church and then I would go to mine, but then I got a great idea, they would come to church with me. I told Scout about it and she seemed mighty happy to come with me. I then couldn't wait til I could show them my church.

On Sunday I woke Jem and Scout early to get them dressed and looking nice. When they looked prefect we went one our way down to my church. We walked in and many people looked at us with both happiness and confustion. Jem and Scout were looking around, noticing that there were no pianos, hymnbooks or any other ecclesiasticals. We sat down in the front and started with our prays. Service let out and I walked Jem and Scout home. Scout then asked me more about Tom Robbinson's case, and what he did. I told her all I felt that she needed to know, and told her to ask her father when he got home. We walked the rest of the way of in silcence until I saw point over to the front porch where Ms. Alexandra Finch was waiting for us.

Post 3

2009-05-11T19:06:00.000-07:00

Character: Jem
Chapter: 8-9

I woke up to a cold morning. I looked outside to see something I never thought that I would see, snow! I rushed down stairs to tell Atticus about the snow outside. We then got a call from Eula May, saying that their was no school today because of the weather. Whenever something happened we would always get a call from Eula May. She was entrusted with informing everyone any important news. Scout woke up soonly after me and we went outside to play in the snow. There was hardly any snow on the ground and what was there was watery hard to play with. So Scout and myself went outside to try and build ourselfs a snowman. We went over to Miss. Maudie's to collect any snow that we didn't want. When we were walking over to Miss Maudie's house we saw Mr. Avery, when we saw us he started yelling at us. He was saying that this sudden weather change was our fault because of our recent bad havior. When we got over to Miss. Maudie house she was outside putting bags over her flowers. We then gathered all her snow and moved it into our yard. Scout and I then got busying working on our snowman. I had a sudden idea to create our snowman to look like Mr. Avery and when we were done it looked very much like him. When Atticus saw, he made up change our snowman from Mr. Avery to Miss. Maudie because we knew that she would not mind us making something that looked like her.

We went to bed that night frozen. All of our fireplaces where going but it was still as cold as every. That night I went to sleep very easily but woke up to Atticus shaking me. He gave me my coat and robe and while I put everything on he went and got Scout. He moved us outside and made us stand in front of the Radley's place. I looked around to see Miss. Maudies house on fire. Everything in her house was in flames and her house was bright red and orange. Scout and I stood in front of the Radley house while we watched Miss. Maudies and the adjacent house go up in smoke. I was holding Scout for warmth until it got so cold she just couldn't stand it. She started dancing in the streets, but all I could see was Miss. Maudies house burn.

Finally the house fire had been stopped and Scout, Atticus and me went inside our house. Atticus made us all some hot chocolate while we talked about what happened. Suddenly I saw that Atticus was looking at Scout strangly. I looked over and saw nothing wrong until Atticus asked whos blankets she was wearing was. I thought back and remembered that she wasn't wearing that blacket when we first went out of the house. I thwn realized that Boo Radley must have drapped the blacknet over Scout when we were watching the fire. I was debating weather to I should be scared for my sister or be mad at her for not turning around to see Boo Radley.

Scout, Atticus and I made our trip up to Finch's landing, a place that we always went for Christmas. I looked going up to see Uncle Jack but I hated going to see Aunt Alexandra and her grandson Francis. He was always to mean to me and Scout and he didn't respect us at all. When we were up there the first thing that happened was that Aunt Alexandra became fanatical with Scout's outfit. She kept on saying that she didn't dree ladylike and she shouldn't be wearing pants, but dresses. I couldn't imagien what Scout would look like in dress, I wanted to find out but knew that I never would. When we were at Finchs landing, I saw that Aunt Alexandra had began to isolate Scout from Francis and myself ever since we moved to the big table. I was somewhat happy to be away from Scout, but then at the same time I missed her. Then one night Francis was talking to Scout about Dill and Atticus, calling them mean names. Then Scout went over and beat Francis. Then Francis tells Uncle Jack that Scout hit him, and without hearing Scout, he slaps her.

Post 2

2009-05-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Character: Jem
Chapter 4-7

School had finally ended and it was summer which means that Dill comes back to Maycomb to stay with his Aunt Rachel. I couldn't wait until Scout, Dill and I could play all summer again and he could hang out like last summer. One thing happened before Dill came, which was that Scout had found something in a hole of a tree that got me thinking about how had left it there. I started thinking more and more about this until Dill finally showed up. He didn't really look any different, he was still the same Dill that I had missed all school year. As soon and he saw Scout and I, he raced to us and we started playing again. The first thing that we did was get an old tire to play in. Scout was the first one in the tire, she had been tormenting before, so I pushed her real hard. The tire rolled as fast as it could go and I didn't think that it was going to end until she hit something and went flying into the Radley's yard. I ran as fast as I could to her and when I got to her she laid still until she looked up and saw who's yard she was in. She ran over to me but forgot the tire so I ran back to get it. I hated being anywhere near that house but I had to get the tire for two reasons. One reason was that we needed it to play and the second reason was that I wanted to show Scout that I wasn't scared even though I was.

Through out the summer Dill and I became very close usually leaving Scout out of our games until I cam up with a new game, Boo Radley. Dill would be Mr. Radley while Scout was Ms. Radley and I was Boo Radley, spending most of our game hiding under our porch steps. As the summer pasted we got very good at our game, we had talking and many different scences. We played everyday and only stopped when we saw a neighbor look up at us, or when we saw Mr. Radley pass by. One day we started play as usually but then Atticus walked by and heard us playing. He asked us if our game had anything to do with the Radleys. I lied and said no, and gave Atticus a quick evasion, letting Scout and Dill know that our game was a secret. Atticus then walked into our house and Scout began to think that we shouldn't play our game anymore. Soon we did stop playing our game and Dill and I began playing different games while Scout began sitting with the chameleon lady, Miss. Maudie. Before long Scout started talking to Miss Maudie everyday. I started to wonder what they were talking about but then Dill suddenly got an idea, we were going to write Boo Radley a letter. The letter was going to ask Boo to simply come outside more, so that we could see him. We were going to deliever the letter when Scout came with us. Dill and I found a place to put our letter in, and just when it was almost in the house, Atticus found us. We were told never to brother that house again and that we couldn't go near the Radleys ever again. I wanted to argue with Atticus and explain what we were doing, but at this time there was not point in quibbling with him.

Summer pasted along quickly and finally it was Dill's last day here in Maycomb. Scout, Dill and I had obeyed Atticus's rules by not going near the Radley's house. The Dill had another idea, we were going to go at night to peak through one of the loose shutters on the Radleys house. We were going to see if we could see Boo Radley for our self. We waited until dark, and then we moved secretly to the Radley's house. We went into the back yard of the house and we went up to a loose shutter. We each peaked through the shutter but didn't see anything, all we saw was a light off in the distance. I then wanted to see if I could see Boo through the door up in the porch. I jumped onto the porch, and teetered for a moment until I gained my balence. I looked in the door but couldn't see anything. The after a moment of looking in the door I saw a shadow of a man in a hat. I quickly jumped off the porch and dashed behind a bush with Scout and Dill where I had saw that I created a huge hole in my pants. Suddenly we heard a gun shot and we all ran out of the yard. I was getting Scout and Dill out when I got my pants stuck on wire and was forced to kick my pants off in order to get free. We ran towards the school yard and towards our house. We then saw a group of our neighbors all headed towards the Radleys house. We went towards and heard that Mr. Radley thought that he had shot someone and that we should all be looking for him. Suddenly Miss Rachel looked over to see that I had lost my pants. Dill then told her that we were playing strip poker and that he had. Atticus then sent me to go get my pants and then to return home. We all walked home in silcent thinking about what we had done.

Scout and I spent that night outside on our porch. I couldn't sleep at all and was thinking that next morning they would find my pants the Radley's yard and then they would all know that I was the one in the yard that night. It was about 2 in the morning and I had made the decistion that I was going to go and get my pants. I sneaked over to the Radleys yard to find my pants unhooked. I also found that the hole in my pants had been fixed. I walked home thinking about who might have done something like this. I crawled back into my bed and couldn't sleep the rest of the night.

Post 1

2009-05-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

Character: Miss Caroline
Chapter 1-3

I have just gotten into the town of Maycomb to start my new job as a teacher for the school. This year I will be teaching first grade which is a great year because I get to be the person who teaches the kids the most important thing, to read. I walked into my classroom ready to teach and as the children started piling in i began to notice a lot of them had no shoes and were very dirty. Never the less I started my lesson by telling everyone my name and letting them know that I was not indigenous to Maycomb. I then began the day with writing the alphabet on the black board. I then called on a little girl, Ms. Jean Louise Finch, to try and read it, when came up to the board she started reading it perfectly. I was so surprised to hear this girl read the alphabet perfectly that I gave her another thing to read to see if she could read perfectly. She read everything perfectly and I couldn't believe it. I had then came to the conclusion that her father must have taught her, but when I confronted her about it she told me that her father had never taught her to read and that it just came naturally. I didn't believe her of course and I insisted that he stop reading with her. Then she said that she wanted to read and write in this class. I could not believe that a girl in the first grade would have such a eccentric plan. I then sat her down to begin my lesson.

After a while it was lunch time. I then asked who was going home and who had a lunch, everyone raised their hand except for one little boy, the one who didn't have any shoes, Walter Cunningham. She told me that he didn't have a lunch to eat, so I tried to give him a quarter just like any teacher would do, and I would have thought that this boy would have just taken it and then paid me back tomorrow, but this boy just sat in his seat. I told him to take the quarter but this boy shock his head and sat. I insisted that he take but then Ms. Jean Louise Finch stood up and started explaining to me that he was a “Cunningham” and that he would not take the quarter because she would not be able to go. She was quite a malevolent child and her different pronouncements began to irk me very much. I then got very angry with her and called her over and hit her 6 times with a ruler and then sent her to the corner.

After lunch I again started teaching like normal, when I turned my head to see a cootie crawl out of a boys hair. I screamed and all the kids turned to see my face is horror while I pointed my figure at this boy. Everyone then came to me and told me that I was not to fear and that it was only a cootie. I was then given a glass of cold water and I order the boy to tell me his name. He told me that his name was Burris Ewell. I told him to go home and take a bath before coming to school the next day. He stood up and he was the dirtiest little boy I had ever seen, I told him to go home again, but he refused. Then another boy stood up to tell me that he was an “Ewells” and that they were all over the school. He continued to explain that they only go to school for the first day and then they never come back. He also said that I was just supposed to mark him absent for the rest of the year and that they avoid trouble with the law by going the first day. I could not believe that what I just heard, a boy that only goes to school for one day. I then told him to sit back down but then Mr. Burris Ewell became very angry and started yelling at me, saying that no one could ever make him to things and then he started using such language and calling my such thing that I broke down into tears.

Immigration Project Reflection

2009-04-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Literature Circle Books/Blogs

The book that I had to read was Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. When choosing my book this was my first chose and I am very happy that I was able to read this book. This book is a powerful book about the hardship that many people face when moving to a new country and leaving another country. This book also showed how hard it can be to get into this country, but how great it can be once you get in America. From reading this book I have learned a lot more about Haiti history and the many hard times the people of Haiti had to go through. I also learned about how horrible things that could happen to a person if the government of America believe that you are an illegal immigrant.

For this project instead of meeting in a group to discuss the book, we had to post what we think about the book in our blogs. There are many things that I really liked about this way of doing blogs, and there are things that I don’t like about working with the blogs. The things that I liked when working with the blogs, was that we got to focus on the two quotes that affected the book. The things that I didn’t like about working on the blogs was that we had all of our meetings online instead of in person, and I liked when we had in person meetings better then doing all of our meets online. When working with the blogs some problems that I had was that some people would write little posts and they didn’t add much detail when posting, so it was hard to really understand why they would like a quote and why they thought that it was significant in the book.

Art and Literature

When I was choosing what painting that I wanted to have, I didn’t know if I wanted to create a new cover for the book or create a important scene from the book. I liked both of these ideas because I was able to have lots of freedom when creating my paint, but finally I decided that I was going to create a new cover for my book. I decided that I wanted to create a book cover because I thought that this would be a good way of expressing what I thought about the book and I would be able to make something new for the book. When making my book cover I didn’t really know what to do at first. Then I started thinking about the different things that happened in the book, and what the author was trying to show in the book or how she felt in when immigrating. In the end I wanted to create a book cover that showed how the author felt when she was leaving.

When making a book cover you have to make a big connection to the book, so in my painting I thought that I made a connection through my painting because I created what I believed the author felt when immigrating to America. I think that because my book had such a big message and the author talked a lot about how she felt, so it was very easy to create a connection between my painting and the book that I read.

I think that my painting turned out okay because I think that I could have added more things to make it look more detailed, but I did what I wanted to do which was to show the two parents and the two countries that the author was caught in between. I think that I could have enhanced my final painting by adding more detail to the painting. I think that I could have also redone the America, because I feel like I could have redone it to make it look better and cleaner.

Interview Process with Participant and Gift

For my interview process I was given Mrs. Abbassi, which is Ms. Abbassi mother. Ms. Abbassi’s parents live up near San Francisco, I wasn’t able to have an in person interview, but one email interview, and two phone interviews. When interview Mrs. Abbassi, I think that I was able to get a lot of important information about her immigration experience. I think that our interviewing process went very well because Mrs. Abbassi was able to share a lot of information with me, and I really understood what she went through when immigrating. I also got to learn a lot about how she misses her home country of Iran, and how America has affected her life, and her children’s life.

I think that one of the reasons that my interview went so smooth was because I got to learn a lot more of Iran from the information that we had to collect about our interviewees country. When collecting the information, I learned that I really didn’t know that much about Iran, and because we had to fill out the fact sheet, I was able to learn a lot more about Iran. So in the end I was very happy that we had the many fact sheets, because in the end I learn more about Mrs. Abbassi’s home country, Iran.

When interviewing, I liked interviewing on the phone the best because when emailing sometimes the people wouldn’t elaborate on their answers, but when we were on the phone you were able to get a more detailed answer. I wish that I was able to have an in person interview because I think that I would have liked that even more, but I also liked doing my phone interview as well.

With this project we got to learn a lot about immigrants from reading about their experiences in books, but I think that because we were able to talk to an individual immigrant, each of us were able to learn more then any book could tell us. When interviewing our individual immigrant we were able to learn about their story and hear they have to tell us about their life and how it has been affected by immigrating. If each of our were to not interview an immigrant, I don’t think that we would have learn and get all the information that we now have.

When I was going to make my gift I was going to make a painting, a calendar, or a scapebook. Mrs. Abbassi ended up choosing a painting for her gift. When she was explaining what we wanted in a gift, she said that she didn’t want any flags in the painting, and she wanted something that was netural in both countries, Iran and America. So for my painting I choose to make two types of flowers that had to do with both places that she had lived in. The California state flower, Poppy and the national flower of Iran, which was the red rose. So in my painting I made one side of my paintings poppys, and the other side roses so that they come together in the middle. So I wanted to show that America and Iran can come together to create something new.

Final Post for Brother, I'm Dying

2009-03-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

Quote 1: "Looking into my daughter's eyes, I thought of my mother, who had faced these first hours alone after I was born. She had been made no promises, been offered no guarantees that either she of I would even live past that night. If something had been ruptured inside of her, no one would have noticed. If something had been broken inside of newborn me, perhaps no one but my mother would have cared. My daughter's quiet yet well-monitored first night was perhaps the one my mother had dreamed for me, for herself, a dream of kind words, kisses, flowers." Edwidge thought this on page 255.

Significance: I think that this shows how different life was back then back in Haiti. I never would have thought thought that their would be a group of pregnant ladies ready to give birth on a stone floor. I always thought that most people would give birth in a hospital with a doctor helping them give birth, but for Edwidge's mother, she was all by herself when she was giving birth. So when Edwidge was giving birth I think that all she thought about was her mother, and how lucky she was to give birth in a nice place.

Character Judgment: I think that Edwidge mother showed a lot of courage to give birth in such a horrivle place. I also think that this quote shows how much Edwidge's mother loved Edwidge ffrom evey moment.

Question 1: Why do you think that in Haiti pregnant people give birth in groups like that?

Quote 2: "Look, Papa, I'd say. You've waited for her. You've lived long enough to see her. Today is not just her day, but all of ours. And we're not the only one who will cradle and protect her. She will also hold and confort us. She too will be our repozwa, our sacred place to rest. " Edwidge wanted to say this to her father on page 255.

Signifiance: I think that this quote shows that no matter happens Edwidge father will always be in her mind. That no matter how different or happy or sad or angry Edwidge get's she will always end up thinking about her father and her uncle.

Character Judgment: I think that this shows how much Edwidge loves and cares and thinks about her father. I also think that this shows how self-less Edwidge is and this quote shows that she doesn't what to think about herself, and she is always putting other people before herself.

Question 2: Why don't you think that Edwidge said this to her father?

LC #5

2009-03-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

Quote: "This was the first time she'd been in Bel Air since Sunday's operation. She had never seen it so bad. The streets were cluttered with trash. There were empty tear gas canisters, hollowed grenades, spent cartridge and bullet shells and other garbage everywhere. Some house were missing entire sections from the bulldozing by the UN earthmovers." This was said on page 194 about Tante Zi.

Significance: I think that this quote shows how bad Bel Air has gotten, how horrible it is to live there and why so many people would want to leave Bel Air and Haiti. This quote for me made me think of a horrible place where there is only death and no life and where people live because they have no money to live any where else. I also see know why so many would want to leave Haiti because in this story there is a never ending war.

Character Judgment : I think that Tante Zi has not visited or saw Uncle Joseph in a long time and so when she saw what had happened she was so shocked and really couldn't believe how bad Bel Air had gotten. I also think that she wants to help Uncle Joseph leave and go to America because she knows and understands that an 81 year old man can't deal with all the wars that are going on in Bel Air.

Question: What was the war that was going on in Bel Air about?

Quote 2: "We only called to notify you that they're here," he said. "They're not being relased. They're going to Krome." This was said on page 211. An immigration officer said this to Edwidge.

Signifinace: I think that this is something that know one would never want to hear, and is the wrost thing that a person could hear if they were going to pick up someone from the airport. I also feel really bad for Edwidge, she waited for so long to get the call that her uncle was at the airport and just as she goes to get them, they end up being moved to an immgration station at Kome. I also think that this is one of the hardest things about coming into America, if you forget to bring one thing, they send you to be a prisoner in an immgration station.

Character Judgment: I feel really bad for Edwidge because she spent 2 days worried sick about her uncle, thinking that something horrible has happened to them. Then finally she gets a call telling her that they have arrived at the airport. Then when she gets there she finds out that something horrible has happened to them. I also think that when the people called her the first time to tell her that her uncle has arrived they should have also told her that they were going to Krome.

Question 2: How do you think that Edwidge felt when she found out that her uncle was going to Krome?

LC Meeting #4

2009-03-01T18:09:00.000-08:00

Quote 1: "I was walking next to my father and uncle when three shots rang out in a quick secession. The mourners scattered in a nervous stampede, leaving us in the middle of the suddenly empty street. The flurry of people disappearing around street corners and alleys seemed hazy and unclear. My heart was beating fast, a pool of sweat gathering on my face. Was this how Marie Micheline felt before she died? Edwidge said this quote on page 155

Significance: I think that it was so sad that during a very sad day something as scary as a gun shots happens. Its also scary how everyone knows what to do when something, so it shows that gun shots are a common thing in Bel Air at this time.

Character Judgment: I think that this shows that Edwidge is not used to the gun shots and she doesn't know what to do because in America gun shots don't usually happen on the streets everyday. I also think that she was very close to Marie Micheline so when ever she hears gun shots she thinks of her because that is how she died.

Question 1: Did Edwidge grow up in Bel Air when all of fighting was going on?

Quote 2: "I was nearing the end of my first trimester and though I had no morning sickness, I felt fatigued and on some hot Miami morning found myself weeping uncontrollably when I woke up alone in bed after my husband had left for work. Suddenly being separated from others felt like a much more drastic form of isolation a sentence of banishment for not being near my dying father. So when Bob called to tell me that Papa was in the hospital, I leaped out of bed and boarded the next plane to New York. " Edwidge said this on page 156

Signifiance: I think that this quote shows how much Edwidge wants to be with her family and was used to living in a house with everyone and now she is living only with her husband and sometimes she is all alone. So living alone was something that she had to get used to when living in America because in Haiti everyone lived in one house.

Character Judgment: I think that this shows what a loving person she is and how much her family means to her because she is willing to just leave on the spot for her father. I also think that this shows that Edwidge is a person that hates to be alone and wants to be around people she loves.

Question: Do you think that Edwidge should move back to New York to be with her family?

LC Meeting #3

2009-02-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

Quote: "Mira's daughter, Edwidge?" she said. Her lower lip was dropping, slightly slurring her speech. Tante Denise said this quote on page 142.

Significance: When I read the whole page that this quote was on, I felt really bad for Uncle Joseph and Tante Denise. They live in a very bad part of town and it is possible that they could get killed any day, and I think that stress of being so scared has aged Edwidge's aunt and uncle so much that they are always tried and just out of it. I also felt really bad because at first Edwidge didn't really think that her aunt was the same person, the beautiful aunt that she had left in Haiti had turned into a thin small women.

Character Judgment: I think that Tante Denise had changed so much in the years that Edwidge has been away. I think that because of everything that has happened to Tante Denise (Marie dying, the violence in Bel Air) she has just wilted away to this small person that just stays in her home all day. I hope that because Edwidge has come to visit Tante Denise, Edwidge will somehow get Tante Denise and Uncle Joseph to leave Bel Air and move to a safer place in Haiti.

Question: Why do you think that Uncle Joseph won't move out of Bel Air?

Quote 2: "I only remember wishing as we soared into the clouds that my uncle had cried a torrent of tears, had thrown himself on the ground and made a scene, all the while forbidding us to go. He should have blurted out, in his old voice, the sudden revelation that I was really his daughter and that he could live without me." Edwidge said this one page 109

Significance: I think that this shows how much her uncle has been a father figure to Edwidge, and how much she wished that she was able to stay with her Uncle Joseph in Haiti. I also think that this shows how much her father not being there for her has affected her. It has affected her in the way that she doesn't really want to go to America and spend the rest of her life in a new place with new people that she doesn't really know.

Character Judgment: I think that Edwidge had a right to not want to live with her mom and dad because they weren't there for her when she was young and she had learned to love and live with her uncle and aunt without them. So I was a little sad to read that she didn't want to go to America, but it was also happy to see that her uncle had affected her life so much and how much she loves hims and wants to be with him.

Question: Do you think that Edwidge's little brother, Bob, felt the same way that she did?

LC Meeting #2

2009-02-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Brother, I'm Dying

Quote: "Papa," she whispered, her mouth now so close to his ears that her breath burned his lobes. "Papa, even though men cannot give birth, you gave birth tonight. To me." Page 86 Marie Micheline said this.

Significance: I think that this quote really showed how bad Marie's life was with her husband and how free she felt when her father came and saved her. I think that when she say that her father gave birth to her tonight, I think that she meant that by taking her away from her horrible husband, he is giving a whole new life with her, her father, her family, friends and most important, her baby Ruth.

Character Judgement: I also think that this shows how great full Marie was to her father. I also think that this shows that Marie is really ready to start a new life with her family by her side. I thought that Marie was a very foolish girl for marring the man that she never knew before and just getting pregnant in the first place, but now I think that when she got pregnant she thought that she would end up marring the father of her child, but she quickly learned that life isn't prefect and just because she wanted something, doesn't mean that she will get it.

Question: Why do you think that Marie's mother kicked Marie out of their house?

Quote 2: "Then please, father," my uncle pleaded while trying to maintain his calm, "don me only this favor. Forget you ever saw me, but I'm not leaving without my daughter and her child." Page 84, Uncle Joseph said this.

Significance: I think that this shows how caring Uncle Joseph is because he travel all over to find his daughter. I think that because he loves each of his daughter's and son's so much, that when Edwidge and her brother must leave with their parent's to go to New York, Uncle Joseph will feel like part of him is missing.

Character Judgment: I think that this shows how much he loves Marie, and that he is willing to go to great lengths to find her and get her somewhere save. I now think of Uncle Joseph as being a very nice, understanding, caring man who loves everyone no matter what they might have done in the past.

Question: Why do you think that Uncle Joseph had to pay this man to tell him where Marie was?

Field Trip Reflection

2009-02-14T19:09:00.000-08:00

From Haven to Home: The purpose of this exhibit was to show other what life was like for a Jewish person who came to live in America. From this museum I learn many things, such as many important people in America that were Jewish. People such as Hank Greenberg, Albert Einstein, and Ruth Handle, all these people helped contribute to America's Society. We also learned about Jewish people's rights in American from 1790-1823. We learned that each state was free to discriminate Jewish people as they wished and that back then Massachusetts was the state that most discriminated Jewish people. In Maryland and Massachusetts, the government made everyone who was elected into office take an oath on a Christian Bible, and this made the Jewish people not want to be in office, which was what Maryland and Massachusetts wanted. This was the same until 1825 where Maryland passed what was known as "The Jew Bill" which allowed Jews not have to take an oath on the Christian Bible. I also learned that how the Jewish people affected the Civil War and that about 9,000 American Jews fought in the Civil War for the Union, while about 3,000 fought for the Confederacy. I also learned that Judah Benjamin became the first Secretary of State for the Confederacy, but soon fled to England to escape false accusation that he plotted President Lincoln's assassination.

Between Cultures: I chose a picture of a mother and a daughter that were from Thailand and came to America in 1998. This photo was taken at the O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In this picture the little girl is laying in her mother lap. I liked this picture because I think that it shows what most immigrants feel when they first come to America, fear and happiness. In this picture the mother shows the happiness because she is smiling down at her daughter. The daughter, shows the fear because she looks scared because she in a new place which she is not familiar. So I think that most immigrants feel happiness because they are in a new, better place. I also think that they feel fear because they are in a place which has a different culture then their own. I chose the quote "America has everything we need: technology, goods. At least one person from every nation lives here. People immigrate to America because they know it's a land of freedom and a better life. I see America as the land of opportunities" from Tamara Frank from Poland. I really liked this quote because I think that this is what our founding father intended for this country. They intended this country to be the land of the free and the land of opportunities. So I think that this person really understands that America is really a great place to live. I chose the personal essay called The Untold Story of a Chinese-American. In this essay the person tells the life of his father who immigrated to America from Vietnam. In this essay it tells the story of how he got to America and the many hardships he had to go through in order to get to America. I liked this essay because i think that it shows that being an immigrate was very hard, but in the end it is great to be in America.

LC Meeting #1

2009-02-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

Quote: "The words that both my father and I wanted to exchange we never did. These letters were not approved, in his case by him, in my case by my uncle. No matter what the reason, we have always been equally paralyzed by the fear of breaking each other's heart. This is why I could never ask the question Bob did. I also could never tell my father that I'd learned from the doctor that he was dying. Even when they mattered less, there were things he and I were too afraid to say." Page 24, Edwidge Danticat said this quote.

Significance: I have learned a lot more about both Edwidge and her father from this quote. I have learned that they are both too afraid to say what must be said, because they both don't want to make the anyone sad. I also think that because Edwidge and her father were separated for a part of Edwidge's childhood, they don't want to say anything to each other that could make them angry, mad or sad because they want to enjoy the time they have together.

Character Judgment: I think that Edwidge Danticat should tell her father what the doctor told her, which was that her father was dying. I understand that she didn't want to add to her father's pain, but I think that her father has a right to know what the doctor says.

Question: Do you think that it was wrong for Edwidge Danticat not to tell her father, mother or other siblings about her father dying?

Quote 2: "For the family readings, I recited my father's letter in a monotone, honoring what I interpreted as a secret between us, that the impersonal style of his letters was due as much to his lack of faith in words and their ability to accurately reproduce his emotion as to his caution with Bob's and my feelings, avoiding too-happy news that might add to the anguish of separation, too-sad news that might worry us, and any hint of judgment or disapproval for my aunt and uncle which they could have interpreted as suggestion that they were mistreating us. The dispassionate letter were his way of avoiding a minefield, one he could have set off from a distance without being able to comfort the victims." Page 23, Edwidge Danticat said this quote.

Significance: I think that was one of the hardships that Edwidge's father and mother had to face when he left his family back in Haiti, while they left to America. I think that it must have been very hard to write to your family that you left in another country and having to tell them what was going on, while knowing that if you say something too happy or sad, it might hurt your families feelings.

Character Judgment: I feel bad for Edwidge's father and mother because they probably miss their children so badly and they want to tell them how they really feel, but they just can't find the words to tell them. I also think that they shouldn't have left their children behind, and that they should have waited until they had enough money to take everyone to America.

Question 2: Do you think Edwidge's father and mother did the right thing by leaving their children in Haiti while they went to America?

2009-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Immigration

Rachel Chatfield

The definition of an immigrant is someone who moved to another country to live in. Such as if someone from France moved here to America to live, they would be an immigrant. From my mothers side of my family, my great-grandparents immigrated from Russia and Sweden. While from my fathers side of the family my great-great grandparents immigrated from Germany and my great-great-great grandparents immigrated from England and Austria. Like myself, most people I know are not immigrants, but have parents or grandparents or great grandparents who have immigrated from other countries.

I believe that so many immigrants come to the United States because they could want to make a better life for themselves in the land of the free, where each man is created equal. Where people are not judged by their race or religion. Some people come to America to get a better education, for themselves or their children, while some people come to American to get away from wars that are going on in their home country. Some people immigrate to America to get away from their countries racial or religious discrimination so that they can live their lives the way that they want to. I also think that people come to America in order to get more jobs so that they can help their families live better lives.

I think that because many immigrants have come to America we have learned a lot more about their cultures and their stories. We have learned more about their countries and why they have chosen to immigrate to America. Plus without different immigrates coming to America, a lot of our population would be gone, because most of us are grandchildren or great-grandchildren to an immigrate.

2008-12-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

The Secret Life of Bees by: Sue Monk Kidd

Reviewed by: Rachel Chatfield

The book The Secret Life of Bees, is set in the deep South at the beginning of the Civil Right Act in 1964. I have never been in the deep south, but the author, Sue Monk Kidd, description made me feel as if I was with all the different characters though their many different journeys to self discovery. This book is told though the eyes of the main character and protagonist, Lily, a 14-year-old white girl who lives in South Carolina.
There are many different characters in this book who have very different sides to them. Lily lives in her house on a peach farm with mean, stubborn father T. Ray and her "stand in mother" Rosaleen. Rosaleen is an African-American nanny and housekeeper who works for T. Ray and Lily who is very headstrong and very brave. She has worked for T. Ray and Lily ever since Lily was a little girl, and was the closest thing to a mother for her.

The most important characters in this book, in my opinion are the Boatwirght sisters; may, June and August, they live in the "Pink House" and run a honey business call The Black Madonna Honey. Lily meets the sisters when she run away from home with Rosaleen, to learn more about her mother who was killed when she was very young. Lily and Rosaleen end up staying with three sister and when staying with them, she learns more then she could have ever hoped for. Because the Boatwright sister are African-American, trouble started happening in the town. Lily soon gets caught up with the Boatwright sister and their world, but has she stayed too long? Will he dark past, ruin her chance for a bright future? To find out, you must read The Secret Life of Bees.

There are many different themes when it comes to The Secret Life of Bees. I think that the main theme is love. Lily has always been searching for love and approval, and it take the Boatwright sisters to show her what being loved is Another big theme in the book is race, and that it should not matter. One of the biggest reason why LIly left her home with Rosaleen was because of the many people in her town that were racist against Rosaleen. The Boatwright sisters, in the book prove to Lily and everyone that they are non less or better then any white person.

I thought that this was an okay book, overall I would give it a 3 out of 5. It was slow at the beginning, and it never seemed to really get going. There were some part of the book that were really good, but others seemed slow an not needed. I also think that the ending could have been better, and a little longer. One thing that I really liked about this book was the was it was written. The way Sue Monk Kidd described the different settings, and smell made you really feel like you were right there with Lily and the different characters seeing what they saw, and smelling what they smelled.

I would recommend this book to girls only because it sometimes deal with girl things, and I think that they would enjoy this book better then boys would. I also would recommend this book to girls ages 13 and up, because it has some harsh language and problems. But I think that many girls would enjoy this book, it has many good themes and lessons.

Lord of the Flies

2008-10-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 13: Home

Ralph stood on the boat, the ocean misted his face. He finally saw the island of his homeland. Most of the other boys where down in the boat. Ralph and a few littluns were the only boys on the deck. Finally more and more boys came up to the deck to watch the land in the distance getting bigger and bigger. Ralph turned to see Jack and Roger on the other side of the boat whispering something as they stared at Ralph. Samneric came up behind Ralph, saying nothing only staring at the thing they wanted more than anything. Home. Now everyone was on deck looking at the island, most only big naval shirts on. Ralph stared at into the sea, looking at the one thing that was once so familiar to him, but was now a long lost memory.

Jack stayed below the deck with the rest of the boys. They all wore navy shirts that were three times to big. His was the only blue one, everyone else's was grey. He had fought with Roger for it. Then everyone would know that he was in charge, he was not like everyone else, for he had a blue shirt. Suddenly the room had less kids in it and he saw that almost everyone had gone up to the deck. So he followed. When he reached the deck, the crisp cold sea made him wish he stayed below. He slowly made his way across the deck to Roger and his fellow choir boys, then he saw Ralph. He thought about what had happened on that island, what happened to Piggy most of all.

"I wonder if he will tell everyone, what I did but I didn't do anything! It wasn't me who killed Piggy, well not really. It was Roger! Roger was the one who had the rock fall and hit him. Yes, I told him to put the rock there, but I never told him to drop it on Piggy!" he thought as he turned toward Roger

"Hey do you think he'll tell about, you know, what happened?" Jack whispered to Roger.

Roger just stood, staring at the ocean. He then turned away and went back down into the boat. Jack took his place and looked out to sea.

The ship landed in port, Ralph looked at the vast amount of people there, and they were all in a line.

"Everyone, listen up! Now I want everyone to stand in a single file line, if anyone goes running off to their parent, they will be trouble. Now as you can see the parents are also in a line, so they will come up and call your name. We will then get you, sign you out and you shall be free to go with your parent," the officer spoke kinder this time.

Ralph stood in the beginning of the line, wanting to see everyone's parents. The first couple of people were the parents of some littluns. Finally a women stepped up, she look oddly familiar to Ralph.

"Hullo, I am looking for my nephew Theodore," she spoke with such kindness and calmness, as if this was a day to day thing.

"Theodore," yelled another officer "Is there a Theodore?"

No answer. Most of the boys were to busy talking to one another to pay any attention to him.

"Sorry, do you call this boy by any other name?" asked to officer to the women.

"Well, the only other name he has ever been call is Piggy," she answered.

The room grew silent.

"Piggy, is there a Piggy any where?" Asked the officer again.

No one spoke a word, most boys stared at the floor, a few even looked at the women, but no one said a word.

"Sorry, he must be in the bathroom, wait here and we will call him a little later," said the officer.

The women's face turned white as she slowly made her way to the side. Ralph turned to find Jack and Roger, they were standing against a wall looking at the floor.

In about an hour most of the boys had gone, only Roger, Jack, Ralph, Samneric and a few littluns were still there. Finally it was down to Ralph and Jack alone on the ship, but their were three sets of parents in the line.

"Jack Merridew," said the next man in line.

Jack ran to the front and greeted his parents. Ralph watched him as Jack softly cried as he hugged his mom. Ralph turned, that should have been Piggy, Ralph thought.

"Ralph!" the officer called.

He turned around to see his mother, that by the looks had been crying. Ralph ran to his mother and father, faster then he had ever ran before. He then stopped, when he saw the two people behind his parents. He suddenly felt his heart beat faster, he then knew what name they would call out, what person they were hopping to get back into their homes. The sweet misunderstood boy that had been murder by the fear and excitement of the dance. Ralph suddenly felt like he had been beaten, knowing that he had something to do with their sweet innocence boys death. He then turned to look at Piggy's Auntie, who was weeping by the water. He walked slowly to his parents think about the frightful news that they were to be given.

LOTF #8

2008-10-07T17:32:00.000-07:00

Chapter 11 and 12-The glasses

Piggy's Journal

I awoke the next morning unable to see if it was night or day. I found my way out of my hut to a blurry beach. I felt across the sand to finally find the log by the bathing pool, and Ralph. I couldn't see without my glasses, but I always could make out the figure of Ralph. Next to him were Samneric, for what I could hear, they were trying to make a fire, I could also hear that it wasn't going so well. Ralph then sat down next to me, cursing about the fire. "Maybe you should call a meeting?" I suggested. "For only us?"I nodded my head in agreement. I have heard the sound of the shell many different times before, yet today it sounded different. It didn't as much sound different it just felt different. Soon Samneric come to the logs, so did a few littluns. Ralph stood up and announced that today we will be going over to Jack's tribe to get my specs back, Ralph then stands up leading me a hand. I grab the conch next to him holding tightly onto my talisman while I follow Eric into the forest. When we finally got too Castle Rock, we were stopped by a guard, yet I could tell that it was just Maurice. I then head a nice coming from the forest, an all to familiar noise. " Kill the beast, cut her throat, spill her blood." Suddenly it stopped. "Leave my camp, go back to where you came from," I knew that voice, Jack. "Return Piggy's specs," yelled Ralph Eric lead me down to a log, where then I heard more screams and threats. The conch was still in my head, when I finally noticed I was shaking. I could hear Ralph and Jack truculently fighting. I finally yelled up to Ralph. I stood up, and let everyone see the conch. "You see what has happened," I yelled at everyone "Do you see what has happen to us, we have become savages, " I stopped to catch my breathe. "Ralph is trying to keep us civilized, while all Jack wants to do is hunt. Which would you rather have rules and recuse or hunting and madness," I stopped to hear a noise coming from behind me, I turned my head and suddenly blackness.

I watched as Ralph ran through the forest, up tot he mountain. I heard him talking out loud to himself cessation. "What has happen, what have we become?" he asked himself. He went to up and saw the pigs head on a stick. Something I have never seen before. Ralph then knocks the skull down taking the stick as a spear. I wondered what he would do this thing. They were so many of them, and only 1 of him. It was night time when he got back to Castle Rock. I saw the Samneric were now the guards. Ralph then started talking to them, about what was going to happen next. I heard Samneric tell Ralph that they were going to hunt him, and he needed to go hind somewhere. They said that they were going to line up in a cordon so that they would find Ralph. Finally Ralph hid, I heard him say that he was going to hide in a thicket next to the rock.

Next morning Ralph woke and hid himself in the thicket. It was a while before Jack and his hunters were on the move. I then saw Roger tie up Samneric, hitting and beating them with spears. They were asking him where Ralph was, over and over again Eric yelled "We don't know" Until finally Sam screamed "In the thicket," Roger stopped beating them. "Are you sure," asked Jack. Samneric nodded their heads. Jack then whispered something to Roger, as he dashed down to their camp site. Along came the huge group of people all carrying spears. Some of the boys then tied to get into the thicket, but it was to thick. Then Jack came down with some fire, bent down and slowly and calmly threw it into the thicket. The suddenly Ralph jumped up and ran. Ran threw the forest, faster then I have ever seen before. The hunters ran too, yelling ululation to each other. Ralph then stood still thinking of something to do. He looked up at the trees, and the different brush. Suddenly the ululations grew closer to him and so did the smell of smoke. Jack had set the forest on fire and they were right behind him, throwing spears at him. He then ran to the beach, to see a Navy officer, he then asked a few questions to Ralph. The rest of the hunters showed up on the beach to see the officer too. I felt a pit in my gut as I saw this. If only I thought, if only I didn't make Ralph and Samneric go, I would be on that ship, going home.

LOTF #7

2008-09-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9-10: The dance

Ralph's Journal

I was standing on the beach watching the tide go in and out. I saw Piggy slowly come out of the forest tangled in the creepers. "Is there anyone left?" I asked quietly. "Well, there are some littuns...." Piggy started "They don't count, are there any bigguns?" I said. "Well, there is Samneric, they are getting firewood," said Piggy Puzzled. They're all with Jack, I thought to myself as I stood up, brushing away the sand. I knew they were having a big feast over there, eating meat and having fun. I haven't have any meat in what seemed ages. "Maybe we should go, just to see what is going on, " said Piggy consciences of my feelings toward Jack. "Maybe we should...," I started "Just to see what is going on, and make sure that nothing horrible happens to anyone," I said while turning toward Piggy. Samneric were coming out the forest, holding firewood. They dropped the wood down on the beach, and walked slowly towards us. They were both walking on the same foot, I then noticed that thy really did everything together. I turned back out to sea, wishing that somehow I had a brother like that. I told Samneric that we were going to the feast.

We arrived at Jack's tribe at sun down. Jack was sitting on a high log, so then he could look down on everyone else. The bigguns and some littuns were running about. Many had pieces of pig, along with a cocoanut shell. Few of the people had stopped to see Piggy and I walk in. Soon more and more people noticed us, until everyone had stopped and looked at us. No one talked, other then Jack to Roger. He whispered something illumination into his ear, and then looked confused at us. I looked form him to the pig roasting above the fire. "Get them some pig," Jack order. Some I had a piece bigger than anyone's in my hand. I began eating, not much eating as just swallowing, not even stopping to chew. I then sat down on the log, and everyone returned to the state their were when I had first arrived. Then sun disappeared and the full moon came out, and the dancing began. Around the fire everyone started to chant and dance. "Kill the pig, slit her throat, spill her blood. " Piggy and I watched from the outside of the circle, caught up in this magic like dance. I soon found myself in the circle with them, chanting and dancing to the beat. I was first to caught up in the dance to see the beast come out of the forest crawling on his hands and knee. The littuns screamed in terror as they ran, the beast was now in the centre in our circle. Then Jack and the others jumped on this creature. I was too running to the thing biting, clawing, and hitting until it fell over the edge where the boys jumped on it, until it was dead. I stayed on the top on the mountain looking down at the scene. Soon the bigs ran off into the forest for the night. As soon as everyone was gone, I walked down to the beast to see what it looked like. In the glow of the moonlight, I then saw that it was Simon. The breathe was knocked out of my as I tripped along the beach, yet I didn't seem to get far. I kept looking back to the corpulent body that laid there. I finally may it back to our beach, where Piggy, Samneric and some littuns were asleep. I went into the hut alone, thought racing threw my head. "Murder," I whispered to myself.

I awoke the net morning with last night's images in my head. I found Piggy sitting in the bathing pool, cleaning him glasses. I walked next to him and sat next to him, staring out to the ocean where the phosphorescence sun warmed me. "Simon...." I started. I felt deeply ashamed of what I had a part of, the dance was so purged, and the kill was so exciting that I didn't yet know what happened to me. "It was an accident, he shouldn't have come out of the forest like that. It was the lighting and the thunder and the rain, and that bloody, barmy dance," said Piggy, turning towards me. "It was no accident, it was murder, murder I tell you," I said turning away from him. "Look whatever it was....you need to get over it," said Piggy. Then Samneric came over to join us. For the most part I stayed quiet, talking only when asked. For the rest of the day I stayed by the beach only helping with the fire. We then started talking about the fire, and what we should do with it. Night came especially fast today. I headed back slowly to the huts with Piggy and Samneric, slowing drifting off to sleep, awaiting the nightmares that would come tonight. I woke up from the sound of howling and shrieking. I could see that Piggy was also awake. Soon there were voices everywhere, I started to think that they were a beast, and hopped that it would go to the littuns. The hut then suddenly collapsed onto of us, and I then saw the dark figures everywhere. I then found one, and gave it a good beating, until it raised its knee in between my legs. Finally the camp started to quiet down. I found Piggy and Samneric and asked if they were okay. They all started talking about what had happened. "They stole my specs!" shouted Piggy. I then knew it was Jack.

LOTF #6

2008-09-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6-The better Chief

Jack's Journal

When Ralph, Roger and I got back onto the beach their were an uproar of questions, mostly for Ralph. I sat down on the rough bench thinking, Ralph shouldn't get all the attention, I was the person who first saw say it, I went up alone. Ralph then sat next to me while dumb ole Piggy kept asking the same stupid question. "So you guys really did see the beast?" while the answer reminded the same "Yes Piggy, " said Ralph annoyed. Ralph and I then started a discussion about the beastie. I saw that I think that me and my hunters should just go up and kill it, then Ralph said somethings that showed he was a jerk. "Boys with sticks" I knew it, he didn't believe in my hunters, yet he wasn't a hunter, he doesn't know anything. He is just a coward that was to scared to go up to the mountain to see the beastie. I then knew what I needed to do.

I grabbed the conch sitting next to Ralph and blew a loud low sound, nothing like Ralph did. Slowly the kids started to come and sit on the logs. Ralph then grabbed the conch and started talking. I then grabbed it back, and explain slowly to him, that I was the one who called the conch, so I should be the one to speak. I waited until everyone was dead quiet. I started my speech by telling everyone that We did indeed see the beast, and that Ralph was a coward. As I said this everyone started to whisper a bit, and Ralph mouth was opened as wide as could be. I talked more about how he stood down while Roger and I walked up the mountain to see the monster, and indeed we saw it. Again more talk. I then said something that made everyone whisper and talk. "Ralph also thinks my hunters are just boys with sticks." My hunters then glared at Ralph. "Ralph's not a hunter or a prefect, so I think its absurd for him to say anything bad about my hunters," I added. "So I don't think that he is a good chief, I think that we should have a vote for a new chief." Ralph then stepped in, breaking his own rule. "Just wait a minute, I never said any of that, and I did go up to the mountain and see the beast, and I then went running down the mountain, and so did you so..." I then cut him off. "I got the conch," I said calmly, Ralph then sat back down. "So who thinks that Ralph shouldn't be the chief." I thought that everyone would raise their hands, yet only my hunters did. Simon and Samneric didn't raise their hands, and they are my hunters. "who thinks I should be the chief?" Even fewer hands were raised. Suddenly I thought back to the days in England, how each choir member stood in two demure rows, everyone looking focused at me. I then went back into the meeting. I stood up and announced that I was going to make my own tribe and anyone who wanted to join could. I walked into the forest, Roger and my other hunters slowly followed me too.

We found a little place to sleep and place our tribe. "There are going to be some rules now, we are going to go hunt everyday, another thing the word Ralph is now a taboo." I said "Now lets go hunting!" I yelled everyone cheered and grabbed their spears. We walked up to the mountain, and saw a heard of pigs. I then saw a pig mother pig, feeding her piglets. I signed to everyone that this is the one that we were going to get. "One two three!" I yelled and everyone ran and throw their spears at the pig. Some people go their spear in the pig, as it ran off. It was a pig chase, we followed her for about 25 minutes, until we finally jumped on her. Everyone was stabbing her until I then found her throat and finally killed her. Everyone jumped off the pig and cheered, I stood there and paunched her. The head lay on the ground. I picked it up and pushed it onto my stick. "We will leave this up on the mountain top for the beast, we will now leave half of our food for the beast, so then it will not hurt or even hunt us.

We got back to our camp everyone was tried, the pig was on the shoulders of Roger and I. We laid it down softly, and looked at our prize. "How are we going to make the fire?" asked Roger. We all looked at each other, thinking of different ways to start the fire. "We will simply take the fire from the mountain. We will dress ourselves up and steal some fire, then we can even get some other biguns." I said. That night we covered ourselves in paint and walked to the fire. We all looked like demoniac figures. We knew we would scare the littleuns. Roger then walked up first with a tree branch in hand. He then simply ran up to the fire light the branch and ran away. Then it was my turn. I slowly walked up to the mountain. Ralph and Piggy were there glaring at us. "We have killed a pig, and we are gong to have it tonight, if anyone wants to come they can. And if they want to join our tribe, we might just let you join."

LOTF #5

2008-09-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5 &6: The Beastie

Simon's Journal

I woke up with Sam and Eric yelling in my ear. Something about a beastie, just hearing that awoke me right away. A beastie, I thought, so I was right. Sam and Eric were yelling at us, telling us about this beastie, how it almost got them. As they spoke the rest of us were quiet, dun. Ralph then called a meeting, were we all sat down as Ralph spoke about this monster. Jack then spoke "Well then we must find it and kill it!" he spoke bravado. "Well, we should eat first," Ralph said. We hunters sat in a circle, slowly eating fruit around us. No one spoke, different thoughts raced thought our head about what this creature could be. Ralph then stood up, announced that it was time to go. Jack was the first person to stand up and lead the way talking to Ralph the whole way the other side of the rocks. The rest of us didn't really know where we were headed, non of us have ever been on this side of the island. Ralph and Jack stood on the edge of the cliff looking all around. Then Ralph said that he was going to Clim along the edge to see what is next, and the no one should come along. Knowing that he was serious and that if anyone came he would turn waxy, I sat along the rocks. The rest of the hunters sat down too, wondering about the monster. "Well, I don't care what he says, I going to see what behind these rocks," Shouted Jack mutinously. And then he was off, we were alone. We all started talking about the beastie ad what it looked like. "If anything it is just a leviathan," said Roger calmly. "No, Sam and Eric said it was chasing them, so it must be something evil, " Maurice. "Look at the rocks over there," I said pointing at the huge pile of rocks about to fall over the cliff. I walked towards the rocks and softly pushed the top rock over the ledge. A few boys ran over to watch the rock fall into ocean, making a huge colossal splash that lightly misted us. For a second we all stood with pride over into the water. Soon all the hunters were over pushing every rock into the water seeing who can make the splash. Until Ralph and Jack appeared out of no where, glaring at us until Ralph broke the silence . "What are you doing, we are on a hunt and we are throwing rocks over the cliff!" We stood slice, until Jack lead us out into the forest. We sat eating the fruit off the trees. I sat alone daydreaming about getting off the island. I also was thinking about the dream I had last night, how Ralph got into the ship while most of us were to late. I somehow new that he was going to be okay, yet I wasn't so sure about the rest of us. I walked up to Ralph who was starting at the horizon. "You're going to be okay." I said. His head turned slowly until our eyes met. He started at me with confusion "You're going to be fine." I repeted. His eyes went from mine, back onto the horizon. I walked back to the tree with the fruit grabbed another piece and sat back down. We sat around the tree for a good time. Until Jack stood up and started walking on. We all then followed him to see what was going on. I then knew, a pig hunt. Hundreds of pigs were running everywhere, as the hunters were following them. I stood behind, still daydreaming. Until I hear Ralph yelling. "Did you see, I hit one, I hit one, " Then Jack started yelling back at him, asking why he didn't grab it. We then moved on. Then Ralph said "Well we can't leave Piggy alone with the littleuns, someone needs to go back and tell him that we will be late." I then walked up out of the crowd and told them I wouldn't mind going back, and ran off. I ran off into the forest, alone. It toke me a while to finally get to the beach, where I sat alone in the hut, thinking about the day. Slowly falling asleep.

LOTF #4

2008-09-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5: The meeting

Piggy's Journal

As Ralph announced that their was going to be a meeting, hundreds of thoughts bounced in my head. I knew he was going to talk about the fire, and the hunters, but something else too. I knew that something was troubling him, other then just the fire. We all sat in slince waiting for the blow of the conch. After what seemed like an hour, we hear the call. Simon was the first to stand up and start walking, then everyone else. I sat their for a little while longer though. I then made my way down the mountain, tripping every few steps. I finally got down to the beach, every last log was full with the biguns on the right, and the littleuns on the left. I didn't go into the circle. Showing that I did want to listen, but I wasn't so happy about the meeting. The meeting then started. Ralph started talking about a lot of topics, mostly about the rules that we have made. It was true what he said, we promised a lot of things that have been yet to be done. I then moved into the circle, holding out my hands for the conch, Ralph just shook his head no. he needed to talk the whole meeting. "Its ludicrous, what is happening to us." Ralph said sternly. I looked around the circle everyones eyes glued on Ralph, so far everyone listened no one said anything jeeringly, It was a real meeting. Then Ralph started discursive about the fear, fear of the beastie of other people, and even ourselves. This got the littleuns talking. Then a little boy stood up holding his hand out for the conch, which was then given to him. I felt a little hurt knowing that Ralph would rather give this little boy the conch then me. The boy started talk about the beastie. Again with this subject, we biguns know that their was no beastie on this island. Yet he did say something that shocked us all. That the creature came out of the water. All together we each turned our head to look at the deep blue water, I then noticed how dark it was. As if someone just turned off all the lights. Then Jack yells "If there is a beastie, me and my hunters will just find it and kill" Knowing that Jack broke the rules, Ralph then stood up yelling at Jack. Jack started yelling about how they were to many rules. Ralph yelled back about how he and his hunters never did anything for the camp. Jack then started getting tempestuously. He then stormed off with his hunters, and the rest of our group leaving just me Ralph and Simon. As they were leaving they started chanting something, and as they went further away it died down into just a murmur. "Ralph, blow the conch, they'll come back" I said as we were left standing alone. He then said that he didn't want to. If the call was to be ignored, then everything that we have worked for will be gone. He then told Simon and I something that shocked me most of all, that he wanted to give up his leadership role to Jack. "But then nothing will get done, they will all hunting and everything else will be left undone, we would be here for the rest of our lives" I said. "We need guidances" said Simon. Ralph then said that we should all just go to sleep, but the echoes of the littleuns lamentation would keep me up thought the night.

LOTF #3

2008-09-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3-4: No one listens.

Ralph's Journal

Today Simon and I started the day by figuring out how to build the shelter on the beach. It started out great, everyone was helping, but little by little the amount of people helping dropped. And more people were in the ocean splashing around. Even the older kids were playing tag in the water. In the end it was only Simon and I working, and we only got a couple huts done. Then I started to notice that the hunting group was down in the water, instead of looking for pigs or even helping us. Finally Jack came down covered in dirt. Simon and I hardly noticed him, we were to rapt in our work. I then turned to see there was no pig, nothing but dirt and mud. "Well, I am off to take a bath" susurration Jack as he saw our last hut fall down. "So you didn't caught anything again, so why don't you help Simon and I made the huts?" I said turning my attention towards Jack. "We need hunters for meat" said Jack. "Well, there are you hunters', I pointed to them in the water 'In the water, not hunting as they should be "Well I sent them off to bathe, so that I could hunt alone" yelled Jack. So I stated yelling at Jack telling him that we need to build the shelter, and all he kept saying was "We want meat, I need to kill" We stood there just starting at each other for a while. Until we both noticed that Simon was gone too. It now shows that everyone is to lazy to do anything here.

Then next couple of days we got most of the hits up, and still nothing from the hunting group. I spent the next day in the water relaxing to the blatant splashing of the littleuns. I was watching Maurice doing dives. I then notice swarthiness of skin, and think of how long we have been here. I think about it until Piggy comes up talking about how we should make some kind of sundial, I wasn't really paying attention. I was more focused on the small little thing on the horizon. As it grew bigger I realized that it was a ship. "What are you looking at Ralph" cried Piggy. "A ship, a ship" I yelled. Everyone turned towards the horizon. Finally Piggy saw the ship to. I looked up to the mountain to make sure the fire and smoke was going. "No smoke" I said. Everyone then looked up to the mountain. I dashed toward the mountain. Maurice and Simon followed as Piggy slowly treaded up the mountain. I made it up to the top seeing the dead fire and the ship gone too. Simon and Maurice slowly came up, shocked to see the fire was brunt out. "They left, " I susurration. Piggy was the last to come up gasping for breathe. I stood there for a while starting at the horizon, wishing hopping that somehow I got up there faster. Suddenly I hear something down on the beach. A group of boys chanting something. As they cam closer I could hear that they were saying Kill the pig, cut her throat, spill her blood. They come walking up the mountain, every boy of the choir. Samneric were walking with something hanging off their shoulders. As they came up the island I could see it was a pig. Jack raced up the mountain to find us, chanting the most, out of all the boys. He came up to the top of the mountain, yelling about how he caught the pig. I stood there starting, furious at Jack. "You let the fire go out." I said. Jack and the boys didn't notice. The last of the boys were up on the top of the mountain, along with the dead pig. Samneric stood swinging the dead creature, different gouts of all colors dripped from the pig. "You let the fire go out" I yelled at Jack. "Oh sorry, we can just make a new one, where is Piggy and his specks. You see Ralph we need everyone to get the pig. Oh you should have seen it, blood everywhere," said Jack. "There was a ship, a ship I tell you, and if you haven't have you boys out hunting we could have been rescued." I yelled at Jack and the other boys of the choir. "you shouldn't have let it go out..." started Piggy "Oh you shut up fatty!" yelled Jack, smacking his glasses off his face. Simon picked them up, noticing that they were broken. "That was a dirty trick!" I yelled to Jack. He looked at me as I started him down. "I'm...…i'm" Jack started. "I'm sorry, bout the fire" "Light it back up again." I said as I trotted down the beach.

We roasted the pig that night, although the boys were as cooked at the pig. Thoughts raced in my head. I was in deep thought until Jack handed me a piece of the meat. I wanted to resist, by the smell was to powerful. I grabbed it, eating fasted then anyone. Simon then Maurice was then handed a piece. I was to dirtracted by the thoughts in my head. I stood up and declared a meeting told them that when I blew the conch the meeting the will start. I walked slowly down the mountain, not looking back.

LOTF #2

2008-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2: The Mountain Fire.

Jack's Journal

I don't think that Ralph really has want it takes to be the leader of us. We had another meeting and I had to keep reminding him of what he needed to tell everyone. I was the only person who suggested a good idea. The idea of making the fire on the mountain. The only person that thought that it wasn't the best idea was that Piggy. Oh he makes me so mad! He is they most annoying person in our group. All he cares about is making his stupid shelter. So when I said that we should build the fire, of course he was the only to oppose the idea. He is so errant!

My fellow people of the meeting and I walked down the beach to find a huge pile of wood. Most of it was so rotten that when it was moved it crumpled into a thousand little pieces. We did find some great pieces of wood though. We then simply carried the wood up to the highest point on the mountain. We made a giant pile of wood for everyone to see. The only problem was that no one knew how to light it. Everyone throw out suggests but then good ole piggy came up the mountain, shouting at us. Then the idea came, use his glasses to light the fire. I toke the glasses from his and started the fire. All that dumb little piggy was saying "You pinch my specks" Of course no one listened to him. The fire awaked the sky as it soared up over of head. We all ran around capering in our success, everyone was in true ebullience. It quickly died down though, along with the fire. I told everyone to go get green branches, but everyone was to distracted by little piggy. He was yelling at everyone, telling us how silly it was to make this fire, that we should have made the shelter. Ralph and I simply told him that this was the right thing to do. Then lifts his voice in recrimination, telling us how HE has the conch so no on else should say anything. He then tells us how horrible leaders we are. Me a horrible leader, please.

LOTF #1

2008-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1: The Island

Simon's Journal

The trail never seemed to end as we trotted up the Mountain. Jack lead the way looking determined to find whatever he was looking for. As we were about half way up the mountain, a trumpet-like sound filled the air. We all stopped in confusion. What could that be? We all asked in our heads. "It's a plane," yelled James. "No, a monster." whispered Roger. "Well whatever it is, we are going to find it." said Jack. He started down the mountain, while Roger slowly followed him. the rest of us stood still. We all slowly followed Jack, I was the last to follow.

The sound of the trumpet blared twice more before we reach the beach full of children. We all noticed that the trumpet sound, was really just a big shell. Jack ordered us into our lines, as he talked to the boy with the shell, the heat cam over me. I have never felt anything like it. I started filling dizzy, as if someone was spinning me a million times a minutes. It didn't help that we all had our black choir cloaks with the hambone frill up to our necks. I then suddenly fainted onto James. I awake over on a log shaded up tree fronds, sitting next to me was twins, with hair of tow. I looked around the beach to see a forest, full of efflorescence flowers. I then heard the other boys talking about a vote for the leader of our bunch. It was between Jack and the boy with the shell, Ralph. "Who wants Jack for leader?" My fellow choir members and I all raised our hands in unison. When asked if we wanted Ralph for our leader, everyone else raised their hands. When they saw how many more people voted for Ralph them all snigger's, they knew they have won. Sadly Jack lost, which now means that he will be taking his anger out on us. Ralph then told us that three of us should go around this island, make sure that it was an island. He chose Jack as his second person, and looked around at the faces of the other boys for his third. Every boy looked back up at Ralph with hope, wanting so badly to be his third and finally choice. Then he made his call, me. I stood up slowly, taking in the fact that I was going with them. To look around the island not knowing what lays ahead.

We started up the me mountain that we did before, but this time we made it to the top. There we stood up high, looking at every direction, water on every side of the island. We stood there for a good minutes, just taking in everything that we were seeing. Then we see the rock. A rock about the size of a small car. Ralph then looks at Jack then me, with a small smile. We all knew what he was thinking, and we were to think that. "1 2 3 go!" yelled Ralph. We pushed and pushed again. It toke one more push to finally get the rock rolling down the hill. It rolled and it didn't stop for anything. It landed on the bottom of the mountain with a thud. We stood there with pride of what we did. I finally felt like I belonged with the crowd, up to that mountain. I was always the shy one that no one every talked to. Now I felt like with these people I could belong, and no one could take that from me.