To Kill A Mocking Bird Journal #4 Chapters 10-11

Journal #4
Chapters 10, 11, & 12
Perspective: Scout

Oh, how I hated her! That old woman, Mrs. Dubose. She was so mean, but now I understand it all. You probably don’t know what I’m talking about do you? Well then I’ll start at the beginning.

Hmm, well it all started on that one day. Me an’ Jem were wonderin’ what Atticus ever did besides readin’ his magazines, an’ go to work. It never looked like he did do anything. So I asked Miss Maudie ‘cause she’s seems to know everything ‘bout the folk ‘round here. So I went and skipped across the street over to Miss Maudie’s house. She was sayin’ that he was the best at checkers an’ also played the harp. Disappointed I decided to join Jem in playing. We heard something, but we didn’t know what it was ‘till we looked down the street ‘an saw the rough shape of a dog. Jem was squintin’ ‘an trying to look at whose dog it is. To our surprise it was ‘ol Tim Johnson! We ran back home ‘an told Cal ‘bout it. Few minutes later, Mr. Heck Tate ‘an Atticus was on the scene. We didn’t hear anything. But we heard Mr. Tate say something about shooting, and handed Atticus the gun. To our surprise we learned that Atticus was the most doggone shot in Maycomb. His nickname One-Shot Finch gained our respect, and we never doubted our dad never did anything again.

The next thing that happened was about another person in our neighborhood. Her name was Mrs. Dubose. I think she was married, but now she was a nasty old woman. Everyday, when we would pass her house, she shouted at us an’ ridiculed anyone who passed by. It seemed that being isolated was pretty harsh to her. One time I just tried to say “Hey” and she shouted at me. Then Jem got outraged with the perplexity of her ridiculing and smashed all the camellia bushes in her yard. Jem had to read to Mrs. Dubose for a month, ‘an we started to get acquainted with her. There was always a clock adjacent to where we sat though. We thought she was really weird because she would move ‘an squirm when the timer ran out of time. She one day died. We were sad, but understood what happened. She was a morphine fanatic. She took it too much, and it caused here to die. She died, but entrusted Jem with a camellia. At the sight of this, my brother Jem, the one I thought would never cry, wailed. He shouted, throwing the beautifully waxed camellia on the floor. The perplexity of the subject boggled my mind as I remembered. He was looking at that flower for hours while Atticus read to me the Mobile Reader. And slowly the house returned to normal.

To Kill A Mocking Bird Journal #3 Chapters 8-9

Journal #3-
Chapters 8 & 9
Perspective: Uncle Jack

Today was one of the most hectic days ever. Right now I’m sitting on the porch of Finch Landing with my journal. Whew, kids sure can be trouble, and I swear that I will never have children. Well the whole time there was interesting ‘cause I visited Atticus, Scout, ‘an Jem for Christmas at. Hah, when they came to me at the train station, they were all shoutin’ ‘bout how they saw it snow, ‘an how they built a snowman in their yard. Was a bit surprising ‘cause I heard Scout sayin’ a few un-lady-like words. So I got strict ‘an told her that if I heard her say any of that or she might not turn out as a lady. Then she said, “I don’t want to,” and so I planned to keep an eye on her. Boy their eyes were big when they got their presents! ‘Ol Atticus told me to get them some air rifles. They teetered along as we went to the Landing to visit the rest of the family. When we got there Alexandra ‘an Atticus were at it again. They were quibbling ‘bout how Atticus raised his kids. Alexandra kept sayin’ that Atticus will never produce a lady out of Scout, so I left them to their quibbling ‘cause it was tormenting me. Then I heard the malignant side of Francis come out as I saw him teasing Scout. At first I thought it was some game, but later I knew better. Later I had to hold scout back ‘cause she had Francis on the ground ‘an was beating the light out of him. She tried to explain, but I didn’t let her. I was unfair, and my tyranny was a bit too much. She wouldn’t talk to me, then she explained her side. I realized Francis started it, and I thought he kinda got it comin’ to him. It was my first lesson in how to deal with children. Then Atticus was talking about his court case. It sure sounded interesting, but I realized that it could destroy the trust his children got in him. So that’s why I vowed never to marry or have kids.

To Kill A Mocking Bird Journal #2 Chapters 4-7

Journal #2-
Chapters 4-7
Perspective: Jem

Well, the summer just started and it’s pretty weird already. It all started when Scout came back home with such a wad of gum in her mouth. Then I asked her where she got it. She said she got it from the tree in The Radley yard, and I was extremely surprised. Anything that comes out of that house with that malignant ghost in it must be cursed so I immediately told her to spit out the wad before Cal’s tyrannous self finds out. Then finally, school ended and the summer started. As Scout and I predicted Dill came a few days after. It was fun at first, we were rolling down the tire, but it ended as Scout, the first one to roll down, landed in the front yard of the Radley place. Apparently Scout didn’t know where she was at first, but upon realization she ran up the hill. Then I had the perfect idea, all the time we were playing things like Tom Rover or Tarzan, so I came up with the idea of playing “Boo Radley”. At first Scout was warning me about how Atticus told us not to torment Boo, but in the end we unanimously decided to play. Eventually Atticus found us playing this as he came for an unexpected visit from work, because he forgot a few things. I found that quibbling was useless so I just said ok. Then I had a better idea, we were going to give a note to through a fishing pole. We attempted to but once again, Atticus told us not to. I should’ve listened to my sister now that I look back, because the next thing could’ve ended up with me dead. Me and Dill had this crazy idea to go look inside the house. So we told Scout to stay behind by Miss Rachel’s fish pool. She came anyway but as we were so close to the house, we heard a gunshot. We ran away but as I was running I my pants fell off. We saw the entire neighborhood at the front of the Radley Place. So not to raise suspicion we joined them and asked what happened. Miss Maudie explained the Nathan Radley saw a guy walk by the back of the house and so he shot, he missed, but he said that he will shoot the next thing to pass by. Then Atticus realized I have lost my pants and asked where they went. I knew that if I told him the truth I could be stuck in the house for the rest of my life like Boo, so Dill and I hatched a big one where I lost my pants playing poker. It wasn’t as bad but I still got in trouble. So I went to get my pants back in the middle of the night, but what I saw was so scary I don’t even want to write it here.

To Kill A Mocking Bird Journal #1 Chapters 1-3

Journal #1
Chapters 1-3
Perspective of Scout

This summer was really cool. Jem and I met Dill, but his real name is Charles Baker Harris. He’s from Meridian, Mississippi, and he stays with our neighbor Miss Rachel during the summers. We would play and all, but one day Dill found interest in the malevolent ghost of the Radley Place. The eccentric house became the subject of talk for quite a while. In fact, dill even dared my brother to touch the Radley House! He eventually did it and Dill had to give up his copy of “The Gray Ghost”. Then in September, he left to return back to Meridian, which left me pretty lonely. Then school started. The fact that I had to learn at such a place irked me. My father, Atticus Finch, never had to go to school! He learned from his father everything he knew. Why couldn’t it be the same with me? The pronouncements of our teacher, Miss Caroline, intimidated me. She even said that Atticus was teaching me all wrong and that I should stop reading and writing! I felt condescended after that. Then it was really horrible. I was trying to show Miss Caroline that the Walter Cunnigham wouldn’t accept anything from Miss Caroline, because the Cunninghams never took what they couldn’t pay off. Instead of making a point, I was given half a dozen hits on my arm and was told to go sit in the corner. This humiliated me as I heard my entire class laughing. It wasn’t fun at all, but then Atticus told me to try to get into someone else’s skin and try to feel what they feel. It was a pretty disappointing time, and can’t wait for next summer.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jade Lao DATE: 2/18/2010
BOOK: The Lightning Thief
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan PAGES: 187 - 282
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 96

QUESTION 1:
Which character would you like to be like? In what way? Why?
RESPONSE 1:

If I could be any character from this book I think I would want to be Percy Jackson. I like him since he always thought of himself of a boy who just had problems in school, but learns that he is more than just an ordinary boy. I would want his strength and his power over water. I think controlling water would be really cool because then I could breathe under water just like him, and I could control the currents and ride those currents everywhere as fast as I want.

One other thing I would like from him is his determination. His determination is admirable, because he is so determined to make it to Los Angeles from New York, then back, to help his father, and to rescue his mother. If I have the determination he had, then I could do anything as long as I want to.

QUESTION 2:
What was one of your favorite lines (or sentences) in what you read today?
RESPONSE 2:

My favorite sentences from this week reading were this. “His meter machine started rattling. The lights flashed. Finally an infinity symbol came up next to the dollar sign. The cigar fell out of the driver’s mouth. He looked back at us, his eyes wide. ‘Where to in Los Angeles… uh, Your Highness?’”

This was my favorite passage from this week because I thought it was very funny. When Percy Jackson and his friends decided to take a cab from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, they came from a place called the Lotus Casino, which is my favorite place because they give you a Lotus Cash card loaded with enough cash to do anything you want in the casino. So when they used this for a taxi, it surprised me because I thought that it would only work for the casino. Also this was hilarious because the cab driver starts treating them like kings and queens because they seemed so rich.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jade Lao DATE: 2/11/2010
BOOK: The Lightning Thief
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan PAGES: 92 - 187
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 95

QUESTION 1:
How did what you read today make you feel? Why?
RESPONSE 1:
It made me feel a bit excited since the book is getting more exciting every chapter. I enjoy things like when they fight creatures like Medusa or The Furies (Hades’ torturers). There is a lot of suspense in times when I know what might happen next yet the characters don’t know, and I feel like shouting at them what to do. I hate though that characters don’t do what I shout no matter what. Sometimes they also make decisions that don’t make sense, like going into a stranger’s factory and accepting food from this person even if they are suspicious of her.


QUESTION 2:
What advice would you give to a particular character? Why?

RESPONSE 2:
Don’t just enter a stranger’s place and accept free food. The reason I say this is because in the book Percy Jackson and his friends walk into a stone figure factory, with the statues being a bit too realistic. They realize that the person named Ms. M is Medusa, the creature who turns anything that looks at her head to stone. If they just stayed away from here they could’ve avoided a deadly battle with Medusa.

Weekly Reading Response

NAME: Jade Lao DATE: 2/04/2010
BOOK: The Lightning Thief
AUTHOR: Rick Riordan PAGES: 1 - 92
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK: 93

QUESTION 1:

Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?

RESPONSE 1:

I would read another book by this author because I find it extremely interesting. I like that it combines Greek Mythology with the places in this modern time. I find it much more fun to learn on the subject through stories like this. I’ve also been really interested in Greek Mythology and it was fun to read about it and learn a bit more. Another reason why I would read another book is because I find it action packed, and very addicting. To me, it’s as if I hooked on to it as soon as I started reading the first page.

Another reason I would read it’s sequel is because it’s very descriptive. I liked how Rick Riordan made it so that it is as if I was traveling along with the characters. The words painted my mind with the scenery and I can imagine the smells and the tastes of the food. “I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt,” this was an example of how descriptive the author was, and I enjoyed reading this part imagining sitting in a chair looking at beautiful scenery.


QUESTION 2:

What other character(s) beside the main character is really important to the story? How and why?
RESPONSE 2:

One really important character to the book is Chiron. In Greek Mythology, Chiron was a centaur (half-horse half-man) who trained great heroes like Hercules. In this book he is the activity director for a summer camp called Camp Half-Blood. Half-bloods are people who had one parent that was human and the other one was en Olympian god, like Zeus. Anyway, Chiron trains people to fight with swords and shoot bows. Before the main character (Percy Jackson) reaches this summer camp, he knew this centaur as a Greek teacher in a wheelchair. “And then he did rise from the wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn’t move……it was the front of an animal,” I found this section interesting because I myself would be surprised if my favorite teacher turned out to be part horse.