I Wonder.

August Pullman, the main character of Wonder, has been deformed for his whole life. He's gone through about 35 surgeries, with no avail. August has been homeschooled his entire life, by none other than his mom. After August's mom, cannot teach him any longer, due to her struggle in math, August is informed he has to go to a public school. With people. People who aren't deformed like him.

At first, August is scared of the outcome. When August arrives at the school, his principal has to inform the other students to be kind and gentle with him. Therefore, August has 3 "friends," in which the first one is rude, the second one pities him, and the third one is Jack, his true friend, who finds August's personality unique and special.

This connects to the outer world, because there are millions of kids out there, who have their lives exactly like August Pullman's. People who are deformed, like August, are bullied, discriminated, suicidal, and have very tough lives. People who are like August, hide their faces, and shy away from the outer world, due to the discrimination. People like August need to be handled with care, and kindess, in order for them to live a life like normal people. Deformed people are usually suicidal because they end up being bullied and teased so much, they want to end it. Its absurd how judgmental people can get, because somebody else is different. Nobody, nobody at all should have to go through a life like that.

There are many charities for people with deformed faces, although it's very expensive to completely treat a deformed person, like August, who's had about 35 surgeries, with no luck.

These people have special needs and it is not their fault they were born like that, and we have to respect that and care for them. "You have to be compassionate about people with health issues" - Ms.Evers (eighth grade science teacher)

Sold- Patricia Mccormick

Nepal is a place filled with Poverty, sometimes due to poverty, big steps have to be taken in order to survive in some conditions. In Nepal girls at the age of 7 start working, helping their mothers and earning money for their family. 

In the book "Sold" by Patricia McCormick, The main character Lakshmi feels the need to go out and get a job to help her family. She is 13 years old, and she lives with her mom, her baby brother, her stepfather who has a broken arm and cannot work and help out the family. Lakshmi's father isn't a good man, but Lakshmi's family cannot do anything about that because of her religion. Women are not allowed to run away from their family.

A Monsoon hits, and the Lakshmi's crops die, ruining everything for them, and Lakshmi's father forces her to go to work. She gets sold for 800 rupees ($14-$15) and goes to the city. Laxshmi thinks that she is going to be working as a servant for a family, but she ends up being sold to another woman, to another and then she ends up in a place called the "Happiness House" Its one of the biggest prostitution brothels in Nepal. At first Laxshmi didn't know where she was, she was excited to be presented with a new dress, sandals, "bottles of paint" (nailpolish) and "crayons" (eyeliner, mascara etc). 

When Laxshmi's owner, sends Laxshmi in for her first client, Laxshmi did not know what she was supposed to do. When her client approached Laxshmi and touched her inappropriately, she then realized where she was, and tried to escape. Laxshmi was locked in a room for 8 days without any eating and constant whipping. One day, Laxshmi's owner comes in, and tells her that if she is able to pay off the amount she was bought for, she will be able to go home. Laxshmi was bought for 10,000 rupees, but her owner wants 20,000 rupees. Laxshmi managed to calculate she got 15 rupees from each client ($0.56) and 5-6 clients a day. When Laxshmi payed off her debt, her owner took advantage of her keeping her for a longer time, until she found out that it was conspiracy and she would be there for the rest of her life until she is caught with a sickness.

One day an American showed up as her client. He handed her a card and told her that he was going to help her get out of the house and live a better life, He showed Laxshmi pictures to prove it. Laxshmi was told that Americans will only punish her and ruin her life. Laxshmi didn’t believe that, and ran up to the American and said “Im Laxshmi, Im 14 years old, and I am from Nepal” and that Is how the story ended.

I thought that prostitution didn’t occur at all, I thought that it was something that used to happen a long time ago, I was surprised that it happened it India, and to an Indian girl, I never thought that they would actually have clients, and if there were prostitutions, there would be 20 years and older, turns out, kids as young as 10 are sold into prostitution. This books presents a social issue: Prostitution and unfair treatment to little girls, practically child labor all over again, for some reason it won’t stop because it seems to be a popular business.

This is a social issue, and the book, overall describes the life of a young prostitute, so you can visualize how hard it is for them to be forced into something they don’t want to do.

Non Fiction Reading Response

Article: "Whats At Stake"
Who will be elected as president in November 2012?

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama both have different idea in store for the future of America. The both share different sides on social and economical issues.

As the first African American president, US citizens expected a lot from President Obama, Because America was going through financial crisis since the great depression, and fighting two wars.
 Obama is running for president again since 2008, but this time he didn't promise his citizens anything. November 2012.
 America will decide, Will Mitt Romney, a republican from Massachusetts win? Or Will Democratic Barack Obama be re elected. "


"For most of the last year, Obama's approval rating has been stuck below 50 percent - dangerous territory for president seeking re-election" (upfront Obama vs Romney 6)

Obama will be up for competition this year due to the amount of votes he lost, some people do believe that he will win, some people don't.


(Upfront 7)

Barack Obama; Democrat, age 51, Chicago,	Mitt Romney; Republican, age 51, Massachusetts
Economy: Rescue of Wall Street, Auto Companies to keep the US from falling into depression.	Unemployment rate to get the economy growing & reduce government spending regulations.
Taxes: Raising the tax on wealthy as part of a deal to tackle the federal debt	Lower taxes for all individual, businesses to spur economic growth
Afghanistan: Bring the troops home, and send them back in 2014	comes back depending on the grounds of military advice.
Health Care: Give people affordable health care	take a different approach.
Energy: Investments, renewable energy, increase US oil and gas production	streamline regulations to make it easier to increase domestic oil and gas productions
Immigration: Stopped the illegal immigrants from being brought as a kid, and give them temporary work permits.	crack down illegal immigrants, and form an illegal immigration system
Social: Legalize gay marriage.	Marriage between a man and woman only.

Obama and Mitt Romney have different plants for the future of USA, and now it is all up to the voters.

First Blog Post of 2K13

"the absolutely true diary of a Part-time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

This book, is supposed to be a diary, according to the title, but it is more of a book, about the life of a Indian  boy living in poverty, that struggles in his life. His name is Arnold.

Arnold has to deal with his sister that was locked in the basement for 6 years, and he never got to know her well, until she got married and moved to Montana and got married without telling anyone, and she wrote letters to Arnold. Mary dies, and Arnold has to grief about her death for a very long time.

Arnold needs to deal with his best friend Rowdy, who's father is drunk and abuses Rowdy all the time, which gives him the strength to fight, Rowdy is very tough and starts to hate Arnold around the middle of the book to the end.

Arnold needs to deal with his drunk father, the family barely has any money, and his father takes all the money that is left home, and goes to a bar and gets wasted. Later on, Arnold and his mother always have to go on a hunt to find him.

Penelope, Arnold gets beaten up a lot, and after his grandma died, he couldn't take it, he decides to start going to a school that is 22 miles away, which is filled with upper class kids, and there are no indians in that school. The first person to actually talk to Arnold is Penelope, Arnold develops a crush on Penelope and he knows that he would never have a chance with her, He makes alot of friends in his new school, and they all support him, but they dont know his real secret, the fact that he lives in poverty but his friends find out later in the book. Penelope cares alot about Arnold, and Arnold did not expect that, she didn't know what his pain  was like but she always supported him and treated him as a friend, even when everyone hated him in the beginning.

I think that Arnold is a very strong character. He has to deal with so much trouble, and he blames him self for certain things, like the cause of his sisters death. Arnold has to lie to his friends, and he feels like he is in a lot of trouble, and there is a lot for him to deal with.

Arnold is not a normal child, he was born with too much cerebral spinal fluid and it got his brain all disgusting, his thinking and breathing and living engine slowed down and got flooded with the fluid. He had a lisp and a stutter. and everyone always likes to beat him up, And due to this, his head is massive, and he could easily get hurt.

In the end, Arnold gets his friends back and he realizes that his friends is the ones that keep him going.

And i think that he is a very strong character.

Reading Response

Reading Response on "New Moon"

Who has power in the text and how does that power get shown?

In New moon, Edward leaves Bella, Edward and Bella are the main characters, so when Edward leaves, Bella is alone and she has most power in the book since the book is in her perspective.

Just like in the movie, The point of view is in Bella's direction, so throughout the whole book, everything Is going to be happening through her eyes. Bella gets emotionally sick after Edward leaves, she decides to stay in Forks with her dad and her best friend, Jacob.

Many months pass and there is no sign of Edward, and instead of Bella moping around, she tries to get over the fact that Edward isn’t coming back. In the book, every step Bella takes is described, everything she sees is in her point of view so the book is written in a way where Bella sees the setting.

Bella does reckless things in order for Edward to come back, she keeps doing dangerous stunts, because Edward can see what she is doing and she has a feeling that he would come back. She sees visions of Edward when she performs stunts, but he never shows up so she continues. In the book, you can read Bella’s thoughts and feelings, and you would be able to realize how she feels about Edward leaving.

Bella describes herself throughout the book, and the reader can vision her state, the writer made the text really descriptive and It draws readers into the book.

Everything is in Bella’s perspective, so Bella has power in the book. The readers are reading about her and her life.  

You cant really read about the other characters in the book, its all in Bella’s perspective, you would be able to read what Bella thinks about the Characters.

Reading Response

How does this text address the points of view (perspectives) of other groups, especially those who don't get to tell their side?

I'm currently reading "New Moon" by Stephanie Meyers, and in this story, the point of view is from Bella or Edward, mostly Bella, and they are the main characters. 

In the story, Rosalie, Edwards "adopted" sister, shows hatred to Bella, and most of the story, you can't actually tell why, but in one part, when Rosalie is telling Bella her story, the reader is in Rosalie's point of view. In that section, you cannot tell what Bella is thinking about her story, its all Rosalie's point of view. Bella's perspective comes right after. 

"When the Cullens (Edward’s vampire family) throw a birthday party for Bella at their house, clumsy Bella gets a paper cut while unwrapping one of her presents, and spills a little blood. Jasper Cullen, still struggling with his family’s no-human diet, loses control and attacks Bella. Edward fights him off but, in the process, the boys wreck the house and leave Bella with a gushing wound on her arm. Everyone except for the head of the family, Carlisle Cullen, and Edward, hurries out with pinched noses to escape the tempting smell of Bella’s blood."  In this part, you can sense how Jasper feels about the blood from Bella, and it's a little section of his perspective. 

"Bella’s need for a mechanic causes her to renew her relationship with Jacob Black, the handy young son of Charlie’s best friend Billy, from La Push Indian Reservation. Two years younger than Bella, Jacob has had a crush on Bella since the first time they met. He also unwittingly told her that Edward was a "cold one," a vampire. Bella is surprised to see that Jacob has grown into a handsome young man. Always happy and supportive, he quickly becomes Bella’s healing balm, soothing some of the cracks in her broken heart. They become best friends. It’s obvious that Jacob has romantic feelings for Bella. Although she makes no secret out of the fact that she still loves Edward, she also has trouble curbing Jacob’s romantic advances because being around him makes her happy, something she hasn’t felt for a long time.

After Edward leaves Bella it is all Charlie's perspective and Jacob's because Bella gets traumatized and she kind of quits on herself for a long section of the book, so you can see what Charlie and Jacob is thinking and seeing in their perspective. 

In half of "New moon" you could see the other Characters Perspective not only Bella's, because in this book, Bella spazzes out. 

Argument essay

Sunzida Mahbub                                                                                                                    12/3/12

811                                                                                                                           Argument Essay

Are Child soldiers Victims or perpetrators?

            Child soldiers are victims, not perpetrators; they don’t fight or kill on their own will. They are forced into war. The child soldiers get drugged, and soon, killing becomes easy for them, and they would keep killing without knowing what they’re really doing. Child soldiers are abducted, sold, or forced into war; they are used as weapons, thinking they would be safe, going along with the child recruiters.

            One way children are put into war, is abduction. When children are abducted by their war recruiters, they think that they are going to be safe, with the recruiters, because they do not know where they’re going and what is going to happen to them. “They killed my mother and father in front of my own eyes. I was 10 years old. They took me with them” from the article “Children at war” by P Singer. This sentence, is about a child soldier, that was abducted at the age of ten, after his mother and father had been killed by child recruiters. He was a Liberian child. He didn’t want to go into war, he did it for his own safety. “Government forces have abducted 20,000 Liberian soldiers, forcing many of them into frontline combat” Statistics, of the number of kids that has been put into war.

            Child soldiers are scared to hold a gun at first, they are too young and they obviously haven’t done it before. The children get drugged, which brainwashes them, and once they get hold of a gun, they start killing, they’re brains don’t function right, they are fed a variety of drugs, such as cocaine and gun powder mixed together. Killing becomes easier for them every time they kill, and soon they become a great weapon to use in the war. “the first time I killed someone, I got so sick, I thought I was going to die…” this line is from the article “Children at war” by P Singer, this is about the experience of a child killing. “Killing became as easy as drinking water” – “Armed and Underaged by Jeffrey Guttlemen. This is how a child soldier described, killing someone.

            Problems of warlords and other misunderstandings between countries create war. And that causes the number of child soldiers to increase. Children are technically weapons to the warlords, and they need more weapons every time a fight/war breaks out. Kids as young as the age of 10 were placed into the war, encouraging other countries to do the same. “When conflict breaks out, children are quickly swept up”- “armed and underaged” (Jeffrey Guttlemenmen) this is how kids are recruited into war. Warlords start fights with other warlords from other countries and start war. “In some countries, hunger and poverty drive parents to sell their kids into service” not only kids are abducted, they are sold, due to poverty, by their parents. Parents don’t have any other choice.

            Child soldiers are victims, not perpetrators, They don’t choose to be in war, they are kidnapped, threatened, or sold. They don’t choose to kill, they get injected with drugs, which changes them, and make them kill. Warlords, cause the number of child soldiers to increase, and the age of the child soldiers that are swept up, get smaller. They don’t know what they are doing, they become family, and they have to do whatever the commanders say. When they are told to kill, they kill and they don’t ask for anything in return because there is nothing to ask for. Child soldiers are victims, they do not choose to be in the position they are in.