Proposal

I live in the neighborhood of Belmont Cragin and after researching the neighborhood's details I was able to see some basic demographics. For racial demographics, the neighborhood is mostly composed of Hispanics and whites. There are more house owners than renters. There are also more female residents than male and the total population is 77,557 people. For my project I am going to interview two neighbors and one family member. The racial backgrounds of the two neighbors are Mexican and white. The man who is Mexican is Manuel. He has lived here for over 10 years and works in the school across the street. The woman who is white is not in the neighborhood as much as Manuel is, since her job is in the suburbs  She usually leaves around 8 and doesn't get home until 9 from Monday to Friday. As for my relative i will be interviewing my sister who has lived in this neighborhood for about 8 years but has recently moved to the same block I live on. I think the american dream in this neighborhood is going to be not about the hard work but the reason for their hard work, their family. I think the american dream for my interviewees will be living happily with their family and doing what they can for the best of their children. For Manuel, he works where his grandchildren go to school and where one of his daughters attended school. For my other neighbor even though she isn't as much with her family, she works hard to make sure they are never in need of something they don't have. I think the constant idea that will continue in the american dream of Belmont Cragin is family and doing what they can to give the best to their children and family.

American Dream

From homeless shelter to elite science fair

“It will be an adventure to my next adventure,” Lane Gunderman states as he is about to aboard an airplane for the first time. Lane Gunderman was born into poverty and his family was able to scrape by until 2006 when they lost their apartment. After staying at a relative’s house and a divorce between the parents, the father abandoned them leaving them to stay at homeless shelters for over a year. Lane went to a public school in which he excelled and got admitted with a full scholarship into U of C Lab High School where he was accepted in the Summer Link Science Research Program. He came up with a project, created a computer stimulation with an in depth analysis and submitted it to Intel. Out of 1,700 applicants he was able to make the 40 finalists in which he will go to Washington DC to compete and possibly win 100,000 dollars. He is living the dream, the “American dream” some may say. What really is the American dream? I believe it’s expressed as a form of success. It suggests that anyone can conquer in life what they want as long as they work hard and stay committed. Many have expanded and redefined the idea with money, freedom, and fulfillment. Others say the concept is an idealistic goal that can’t be completely achieved due to society. The American dream is prosperity, in which ever way you may see it. This article relates to the American dream by not being affected by his past. Despite his poverty and struggle, he stayed dedicated to what he loved. His American dream was to improve upon the past by his desire to live a better life, even after not having a secure place to spend the night. Everyone has different point of views on success. The American dream is not a white picket fence, but it revolves around it. Do you walk past the fence and look for opportunities as your success dream, or do you stay in and define your success dream as being average, having a family, avoiding poverty and loneliness. Lane decided there was more out there, and his dream, or success story is achieved by working hard no matter the obstacles that come in his way. The American dream isn’t defined by wealth but it’s changing into expectations and owning things, when in reality it is your ambition, and hard work leading to a better life in which you desire to pursue happiness. The American dream isn’t defined by gadgets, it’s defined by one.

Word Count:215

Scary Movie Review

In the Lovely Bones  it tells the story of a fourteen year old girl who was murdered, and wasn’t the first victim of this killer. Although dead, Suzie continues to observe her family on Earth. Throughout the story she witnesses the impact of her loss on her family. As her family doesn’t lose hope in finding the killer, Suzie shows them clues. Suzie not only watches her family on Earth but also the killer who is planning his next murder. This movie is intriguing yet mysterious. Although it was a tragic death, a rape and murder the story is not depressing. The movie begins with Suzie alive demonstrating the life in her, her personality, her daily routine and how many lives were changed by the loss of hers. In this movie as well it shows the emotional struggle of a parent as the father is desperate to reveal his daughter’s killer. He cries at the sight of her room, at the boats they built together, etcetera. The mother however divorces the father for continuing on trying to solve the mystery. The mom just wants to move one and forget about it. It throws the watcher off as one would think the mother would be distraught. The lovely bones is one of my favorite scary movies. The overall plot is not scary but there is a rush feeling when trying to see if Suzie will be able to run away, figure out the killer, seeing if the dad will ultimately find out. I also like how there are many twists and surprises to this movie, especially when Suzie is in purgatory speaking to another victim of the same killer.  I did not enjoy the ending however, I expected there to be more. As the killer runs away from the police I expected him to be caught, but that wasn't the case. The killer is able to get away but as he is talking to a possible next victim he falls off a mountain and dies. The lovely bones had a surprising and unexpected ending but it wasn't interesting. The rest of the movie though is great as you see struggles of the dead watching their family alive and the struggles of the family alive wishing they could see their daughter alive again. The movie is a serial-killer mystery, a teenage melodrama, a domestic tragedy and a candy-hued ghost story.

Word Count: 399

Nature Portfolio

Nature Poem: The Autumn Smile

The eternal autumn smile

Old yet juvenile

Let us down, not even one year

As colors of the wind also appear

Hello orange, yellow, and red, 
goodbye green,
Bye-bye June, July, and August, 
Hello Halloween.

Adios shorts, sunglasses, and flip flops

Hello hoodies and sweats

Jumping into pools no more

Jumping into mom’s raked leaves, yes.

All the leaves are falling down,

Orange yellow red and brown

No spring nor summer beauty have such grace

As the earth does with an autumnal face

Lowered window blind overcomes the light

 As overcoming summer days is an autumn night

The renaissance quilt covers the land

The shadow of night advances as summer days are banned

The wind blows a gentle kiss

As the heart forms a great bliss

 The horizon is painted gold

 The wind does his work gentle, yet bold.

Looking out on to the river's reflection,
It is lovely out there, what a connection.
The trees blowing in the wind together,
A moment that lasts forever

Better than usual I felt

That night I got home

And with a tint of fall
and a pencil or two
I wrote this poem

Creation Story: Rainbows

There is always a rainbow to look forward to after a thunderstorm, something bright, mystical, and magical to experience after a dreadful storm.  To many children around the world before storms were scary, something to hide from, there wasn’t a rainbow to soothe them. Children would hide under tables, blankets, pillows clutching on to their dolls, bears, and stuffed animals. Parents weren’t able to calm the screams of their children. Storms would make their hearts beat ten times faster, the dogs bark ten times louder, and the parents had ten times less patience. There was one particular family, a very unique one, living in skittlesville, the Bows. The Bow family consisted of seven little girls. The seven sisters loved storms; they enjoyed playing in the rain. Not just one Bow or two, but all seven were always excited to play outside during a storm. They loved the breeze it produced, the puddles formed to splash in, and pretending to cry as the raindrops streamed down their cheeks. The Bow sisters were simply lively and energetic. Halloween was near, and they all wanted to dress up as their favorite princess. Mr. and Mrs. Bow bought that year, a Cinderella costume, a Belle costume, an Ariel one, as well as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and Mulan costumes. The 31^st of October they all headed out the door, dressed up, grabbing their jack o lanterns baskets to collect candies. Door to door they ran repeating, “trick or treat “holding out their baskets accepting candies. All the children were as happy as the Bow sisters running from door to door as well. That is until they heard a loud booming sound, soon accompanied by a flash of light. All the children looked at each other in silence, and began to shriek and run behind their parents as they heard another boom. All the children threw their baskets of candies and begged to go home, as they knew a thunderstorm was on the way. Doors were quickly shut, blinds closed and the Bow sisters didn’t see what was wrong. They wondered why all the other children didn’t enjoy storms as much as they did. They pondered the idea of why someone would be afraid of just water. They invited the neighbors to come out and play but they all said no with fear. The Bow sisters decided to bring color and happiness into children’s’ eyes of the idea of storms. Bags and baskets full of candies were left thrown on the streets, and so the sisters decided to pass them out. They picked up as many as they could and began running through the village. All together they ran with smiles, leaving candies in the front steps of houses for children who left them on the street. Slowly children began creeping out of beds, closets, and blankets to see if the rumors were true. They gazed in awe from their windows as they saw the girls all in different colors running in the storm with a smile. The girls would jump and laugh as they ran down the streets. Children began joining them not needing to fear the storms any longer. They followed the girls until all the candies were passed out. Very few children had joined them but after every storm more and more gathered to play in the rain. Hoping to gather more children, the Bow sisters would run smiling after every storm around the town inviting children to come outside, that there was nothing to be afraid of. As they gained the confidence of many, the sisters were now referred to as rainbow. All dressed in different colors, like the day they began to run around in their princess costumes, they would run after every storm. “Here comes the rainbow,” people would say as the girls ran past their houses spreading happiness and color to storms. The Bow sisters continue their mission after every storm producing an arc of colors hoping to produce a smile on children’s’ face and losing the fear they had for what is a thunderstorm.

(Word count: 681)

Responses:

To Build a Fire Response:

To build a fire was a story of a constant dispute between knowledge and instinct. There are many examples of the overconfident man showing knowledge, lacking and over thinking his instincts. The dog however shows many examples of instincts that reflect knowledge. There is a difference between knowledge and instinct. Knowledge is what you learn over the years from yours or other people’s experiences. On the other hand, instincts come naturally. Instincts are actions that occur immediately. Instincts can be grown into, while knowledge has to be taught. One isn’t taught to move your hand away from the fire; it is an instinct to move it away once you feel it hot. In this story the man calculates how long it will take for his arrival with the boys. This is an example of knowledge, something he was taught to do; he is able to calculate the time it will take him. An instinct however was the feeling of panic. On page 628, the man can’t clutch hold of the birch bark in his pocket. He then begins to panic at the thought of his feet freezing. It was a normal instinct to panic of fear when things are going wrong. Since it was his immediate reaction and feeling, it was an instinct. The dog had instincts as well. The dog felt hungry, so he went to look for food. Although he might get lost, his instinct was to look for food, knowing it was necessity. What was interesting to me was that the man in this story had no name. I believe this was intentional of the author. I think that the author was referring to man, the human being in this story. In my opinion, it was implied that this man is man itself. Humans are overconfident in their abilities forgetting what you are naturally born with. Sometimes we are blinded by technology and other advances that we forget the basics of survival. He refers to the man as “folly of a man” meaning foolishness of man. I agree with this concept of man being foolish and blinded by luxuries, forgetting the necessities in life. We are dependent on technology in this century. To survive we don’t only need what we know, or what we have learned but also our natural feelings, our instincts.

(Word count: 386)

Response to The Tide Rises, The Tide falls:

The tide rises, the tide falls is about moving on. In this poem it begins by saying that it is darkening meaning that night is coming in, and a traveler goes to town. It continues by the waves erasing the footsteps of the traveler in the sand, and the tides continue to rise and fall. This poem describes how life keeps going no matter what. The tides didn’t stop rising and falling after the traveler. The traveler came back and the tides were the same, constantly rising and falling. When one dies, life keeps going. This poem relates to the ideas of the poem of Thanatopsis. They both describe how life moves on after death. They describe how no matter what, everything will always be the same. The tides made minor changes, for example, the erasing of the sand footprints, but they kept on rising and falling. Although there were many things going on at once, the tides continued to do what they do, at night, and at day. We should be like tides after footprints of our lives erase. After are loved ones are gone, we need to continue doing what we do. We need to live our lives happily, and normally. Life moves on, and the tides continue to rise and fall.

(Word count: 214)

Response to Grass:

In this poem the grass symbolizes time. It tells how time covers all and how the dead are forgotten over time. It mentions some wars that occurred in Austerlitz, Waterloo, Gettysburg, Ypres, and Verdun. Eventually the bodies, the people are forgotten about. This is shown in how the people ask the conductor where they are and what was there. As no one knows the grass is disguising history. Wars and the people that died in war are forgotten over time. The author emphasizes how the grass is saying to let it work, how it covers all. As they shovel and bury the dead, its job is to cover them all. As they ask what place is this and where are we now, it demonstrates the grass’ anger towards humans as they selfishly and foolishly forget of the great people who lie underneath. I believe this poem is criticizing those who forget of the past. In reality we can’t forget the past because it will repeat. If we are not aware of the result and causes of previous wars, they will continue to occur, and repeat. As we look at the grass we must remember who is underneath us and the struggles they went through to get there.

(Word count: 210)

Response to Thanatopsis:

Beginning with the title, “thanatos” is Greek for death, and “opsis” is greek for view. The title of the poem is translated into a view of death. Imagery of graves and tombs take place in this poem due to the fact that it is describing death. The earth is described with nature being a beautiful grave, always decorated for the dead. The author is saying this because once we die we become part of the Earth as we are buried underground. The flowers above us in nature decorate our graves. We shouldn’t fear death either. Everyone experiences it, rich and poor, no matter what everyone dies. We all join together in the end underground. One should accept death when it comes because it is a final resting place; it is like going into an endless dream. The author describes death as an “eternal resting place on a magnificent couch.” This doesn’t mean that once we die we are playing video games and watching TV on our couches. The couch is symbolizing our grave. It refers to where we go when we die; it isn’t a scary or awful place but a comforting and cozy place. It describes death as a pleasant nap instead of an eternal prison.

(Word count: 207)

Response to Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening:

Like many of Robert Frost’s poems he has both a literal and figurative meaning in this poem. Literally he begins by saying he is walking in the woods and in a house that doesn’t belong to him, while the owner is gone. Figuratively I believe he is saying that the woods belong to everyone because it is meant for enjoying and not owning. Then he explains how the horse is confused at how Frost can enjoy the simplicity of a frozen lake on a dark evening. I think by this he is expressing his feelings with symbols. I think the dark evening symbolizes depression while the horse’s thought are the emotions and unexplainable feelings of the relationship he shares with nature. The horse’s bell shaking symbolizes the conflicts Frost has. He only hears the wind, making him feel alone. At the end of this poem I he has realized that the woods are a beautiful place but also a depressing place. He ends the poem saying he has miles to go before he sleeps, meaning that he has a lot of living and much more to do before he dies. One needs to enjoy life to the fullest, and do the most one can before one dies.

(Word count: 207)

Weather Experience: A Shower of Happpiness

Turning was I

Eight years old

Birthday princess

With a tiara of plastic gold

Balloons everywhere

Cake and roses

Smiles on everyone

As we took pictures in different poses

Having a great time we were

Typical party in the park

Suddenly then came

A shadow of dark

Everything was ruined

As a shower fell down

Nothing cheered us up

Not even the clown

We began packing up

And I got hit in the back

To make matters worst

I turned around to realize it was Jack

“What was that for!?” I screamed

“Let’s have fun,” he said.

“It’s raining!” I argued

“Oh, c’mon, don’t let this get to your head”

Soaking wet we were

As water balloons we threw

Dancing in the rain

My disaster was now a dream come true

Soon I learned that rain showered happiness

This was the best birthday yet

Definitely a day

I will never forget

Most beautiful experience:

The dusty corner on that ear piercing, creaky wooden floor that would never let me get away with anything. No sneaky nights with this floor, something my parents appreciated. They were vertically lined up that all lead to the chipped off white door. Once turned, the lock on the door was almost as ear splitting loud as the creaky floors. My mom yelled for me, it was time to go, time to leave where I had spent my whole life, my home. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen was an empty house. What made it so special was the feeling it gave off, not the sight. It is not about the destination but rather the journey to get there. I headed out the door to go to our new house as the UPS truck was going to follow us. Before I closed the door, of course there was the loud creak of my step. I looked at what was our living room, and my life flashed before my eyes. Next to the heater there used to be a couch, the one I would plop down on every afternoon and complain about my homework while doing it. Over to the right there was a glimpse of the kitchen where my mom spent most of her time. That empty kitchen used to be our family time, banging of pots by my little cousin, my mom cooking while watching her soap operas, and my dad waiting at the table for dinner as excited as a five year old on Christmas. Down the hallway was my room, first door on the left. That door was slammed shut so loud when I was mad, that room was filled of pillow fights, sleepless nights, diary entries, and simply happiness. Walking down further was my parents’ room. A door permanently colored on, the scribbles never washed away. That door was opened as I searched for security from monsters under my bed when I was younger. From the kitchen to the living room was a long hallway, especially on my 6^th birthday. The cake never made it from the kitchen to the living room, as my sister slipped and my puppy was enjoying the cake on the floor now instead of us. Three honks interrupted my flashbacks, it was time to go. I looked at the empty house one last time. A home I would never forget, I spent both joyous and devastating times there. I closed the door, and ran to the car waiting for me. “What took you so long,” my mom asked. “Oh, nothing, I was just making sure I didn't forget anything.” I smiled looking at her positive that from that house, I would never forget anything. Looking forward to a fresh start I gladly said, “Let’s go.”

(Word count: 466)

Response to 3 essays:

I especially enjoyed the poem by Robert Frost. He wonders how people can just hear and not care about the noise that trees make. Trees make noise by wind blowing through it, but people don’t notice it. He believes that the trees desire is to leave, their noise are their pleas for help. Trees have their roots, however, and are unable to fulfill their desire to leave, while their branches are trying to reach out somewhere. Trees constantly are conversating but it’s just meaningless noise to people who hear it. I think this is really interesting because it makes me realize the things we take for granted. It related to American Forests, because it talks about the burning of forests. These two essays have a relationship. Robert Frost speaks of how trees aren't listened to and asking for help and American Forests explain how trees are taken down carelessly by humans, not listening to the trees. In American Forests, the writer feels that trees are taken down by white men just for their benefit. This again relates to Robert Frost’s ideas of selfishness as people don’t care nor listen. Both these essays lead to the ideas of Thoreau in his essay Walking. In this essay Thoreau explains his ideas of people not being able to enjoy nature because of others carelessness. You can’t enjoy what others are ruining, and restricting. The land is for all; nature shouldn't have restrictions, and shouldn't be getting cut down. As Frost and American Forests explain our carelessness leading us to destroy our lands will soon be a picture that Thoreau fears of us not being to enjoy land, because there won’t be any left.

(Word count: 280)

 

Thanksgiving Classmate Post

On Thanksgiving most families would go around the table saying what they were thankful for, then it changed and some families kept the tradition but most went straight to eating, or just getting food and going to watch TV.  Now the spirit of thanksgiving is mostly gone. It''s typical for America to have a day where people trample over each other for sales exactly one day after you're supposed to be thankful for what you already have. I couldn't believe people began making line for Kmart at 4 in the afternoon instead of preparing for a family dinner. As I think of what I'm grateful for, i also think who of I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for having a classmate and friend like Grace Dixon. No matter how much I try to eschew this fact,she is a true role model to emulate. She is largesse as she offers to buy me something during lunch at Dunkin Donuts. She definitely does not have a taciturn personality, which makes spending time with her fun. She doesn't like to temporize, shes very responsible. I find it amusing when we make fun of each other and then laugh it off, and how we never to agree anything, I don't know where my intransigent self would be without a friend like Grace.

Community posts

University Days:
James Thurber passed all his other classes except botany. He had trouble looking at cells through a microscope, he simply saw the cells as plain milk he and his teachers had frequent arguments on the act of pretending he couldn't see when in reality he was capable of seeing and drawing the cells like every other student in the classroom.  His teacher didn't believe him since he adjusted the microscope to ever scale known to man and James still claimed he couldn't see the cells. Once he thought he saw the cells and began drawing only to realize he had drawn his eye as he was looking at a reflection. Another class he had trouble with was economics, in his class there was a student that was on the football team and needed to take economics in order to be eligible for the team. His classmate had trouble as well in that class. In his gym class he wasn't able to wear glasses so he would get pushed around and bumped into. James seems to be struggling at seeing what is in front of him, literally and figuratively.   He needed to pass swimming as well but he had another person take the exam for him. James seems blind in not knowing what to do, he is attending a university but it seems as if he sees it as a chore, like he was forced to go. He also relates to another classmate who seems as if he was forced to take the class as well, to stay on the football team. This classmate was interested in journalism but had trouble with it. He wasn't able to keep his stories interesting until he wrote about what he loved, horses. They were also required to train as soldiers and he was able to drill longer than anyone had ever drilled  and was made a corporal for the achievement of being the only one to march right. The general called him to his office as he swatted flies but the author thinks he doesn't remember him, much less the reason he called him. He yelled at him for scaring the fly when he about to kill it. , stared out the window noticing the coeds crossing over to the school and then let him go. The author doesn't know why he called him over, he was confused, but doesn't think much of it anymore. It was amusing to read how the author thought he was in trouble, and the thoughts that floated in his mind, when in reality there was no real reason for the general calling him. This reminded me of parents and how sometimes they call you, but sound mad. One assumes you did something wrong, and they found out, or that you're going to be in trouble when in reality, they were calling you for dinner, or an errand, etc.  I enjoyed reading this story and the difficulties he had in his botany class. I found it funny how his teacher tried everything he possibly could to help him see the cells but James saw nothing, but "milk."

An Account of an experience with discrimination: 
In this letter sojourner Truth gives her experiences with discrimination  sojourner got into the bus but was violently being pushed and being told to get off of the bus. Truth refused to get off and was aided help from her friend by talking back to the driver saying she was a human as well. The case was tried and Truth won. She says its hard for the old slave holding spirit to die implying that once a racist, always a racist. once they put something into your head it is really difficult to change your way of thinking, much less forget what they taught you. Even though racism wasn't allowed during this time period, some people continued discriminating against African Americans believing it was the 'right" thing to do. a community shapes a persons beliefs as they grow older what surrounds a person throughout their childhood affects them as an adult. Ones' mind adapts to what you see and what you grow up with developing your beliefs as an adult. In a primary document you have an omniscient perspective, all knowing. you know what the character sees, thinks, and feels.  you are able to capture the ideas and emotions as to where on the contrast, a report is just what we are able to observe. As a community there's more knowledge when having a primary document.

To be young, gifted, and black :
the author is convinced that people make up likes to come up with our own perfect images, though no one is close to being perfect. He described the south side as each part of living a protest. Everyone seem tired and poor but determined to live. I really liked the way he stated that there are two things that should never be betrayed. ( family and race) Family is more obvious, and expected. Race though surprised me but it made me realize that race joins a community, and communities form families.His father died soon after he saw all four "children: grown up. caress embarrassed this family but embraced it and showed love to one another in the funeral home. The author learned to play alone, being the youngest. I can relate to this because i always grew up with adults. i was the youngest of the family. i had to learn by myself anything i wanted to accomplish. my sister is 13 years apart and my other  sister is 17 years apart. I liked the mood the author created when explaining how at times they would tell stories and sleep in the park. No one believed though that the stars could be that far, not anything can reach to be that high in the sky. .

The Crucible

Though there isn't a lot of symbolism in the story, the events in the play itself are an allegory for the intolerance of Mccarthyism For a decade spanning the late 1940s to the late 1950s, the American government was intensely suspicious of the possible influence of communism on citizens and institutions. The FBI accused thousands of people of “un-American activities” and monitored many more; these people’s careers and personal lives were frequently destroyed. More often than not, there was little to no evidence to support the accusations. Similarly, in The Crucible, there is little evidence that much witchcraft activity is going on, but once accusations started flying, many innocent people get caught in the web of hysteria. Lives are destroyed and people die based on zero evidence. John Proctor is a moral, righteous man, who slipped into sin and is racked with guilt throughout; he is the first to sense what is happening. In Act 1, he argues fearlessly against Parris. In Act 2, he confesses to adultery to save his wife and others who have been accused of witchcraft. And at the end, when offered a chance to save himself and confess his own imaginary crimes, he is sorely tempted and almost goes through with it, as surely any ordinary person would. His ultimate goodness is revealed, however, when he refuses to give names of those he has seen with the Devil. Proctor himself doesn't recognize this goodness, however, until the very end, when he rips his signed confession to pieces rather than have Danforth post it in the village. I especially enjoyed the irony of signing confessions to avoid prosecution. If Proctor will only confess his guilt, then he is set free. Those who maintain their innocence, such as Rebecca Nurse, are executed. This can make sense only in an atmosphere of unlimited power and arrogance. Danforth incredibly believes that he can save Proctor's very soul by forcing him to confess to a lie. The Crucible shows us the consequences that can result from a person in power that holds such dangerous illusions.