Empire of the Sun Character Essay

Empire of the Sun was an amazing movie to watch. If you haven't seen it I will just quickly tell you about it. Empire of the Sun is a movie set during World War II, it is about a rich boy who gets lost from his family, and now has to grow up and fend for himself. He had to grow up for many years learning to survive in concentration camps all by himself. He met a man there named Basie, who Jim thought was his friend, Jim later found out that Basie meant him no good. The war went on, and when Jim was about 12 or 13 years old, he was reunited with his mother and father after the war had finally ended. In this essay I will be talking about the character Jim. Jim was the main character, and to me he went through the most, from growing up with a silver spoon in his mouth, to almost not even having a wooden spoon.


When the movie first started we found out that Jamie "Jim" Graham was a young boy who loved planes, he wanted to fly them all of the time. We also found out that he was a rich British boy growing up in China, he had Chinese house keepers and everything. Jamie a.k.a. Jim was spoiled just like many people expect rich kids to be, he talked down to the help as if they were nothing. He started off as typical bratty rich kid. All he cared about was planes, planes, and more plans, but when the Japanese came and took over all of that changed.


After the Japanese came and took over, Jamie met Basie, and thought that he found himself a friend. After only just a little time of living with Basie, he realized that Basie only wanted what he thought Jamie now known as Jim could do for him. Jim soon had to learn to be on his own, and although Basie treated Jim like he didn't matter Jim still forgave Basie. While living basically on his own, Jim learned that life isn't fair for anyone, and that what he was used to may not ever come back to him. He had to become a surviver and that is exactly what he did. It was a very hard adjustment, but he did what he had to do to survive.


Once Jim finally let go of Basie, he really became a strong person. He did this by helping others through their hard times, he helped them to put food in their bellies, and water in their mouth, he encouraged people to try to keep going on. Jim did all of this for others and through that he finally realized life wasn't just some fairy tale with a happy ending, or at least that's what he thought. He saw everyone around him drop like flies, and I am pretty sure that he thought that, that was going to happen to him too.


After many years went by the war did finally end, when the Americans saved everyone from all of these concentration camps. Jim finally was reunited with his family and by the look in his eyes you could tell that things would never ever be the same. Jim had to learn a lot and he did. The things that he learned was that in life you can't just trust someone because they said that you could, he learned that life isn't easy that you have to do things for yourself, and I think that they were all truly good lessons for him to learn. Jim was the most changed character in this entire movie. He went from a brat to a young strong man, with more life experience than anyone could ever really imagine.

Of Mice and Men Quiz 10 questions

Quiz for Of Mice and Men 10 Questions


1. Which events could have happened if George didn’t kill Lennie?
Lennie, George, and Candy could have all escaped and worked somewhere else until they could afford their own ranch.

2. How was when Lennie killed Curley’s wife, similar to when he killed the puppy?
It was the same, because he did all of that by an accident, Lennie is generally a nice person and when he killed Curley’s wife and the puppy he truly did make and honest mistake that he felt really sorry about afterwards.

3. Can you compare your relationship with your best friend, with the one presented in Of Mice and Men?
Like in Of Mice and Men I have a best friend as well, I do depend on her for a lot of things, such as advice about things, whether it’s about whom I associate myself with or what I wear for the next day. I really trust her judgment and I take her opinion very seriously, and she feels the same way when it comes to me. I feel as though our relationship is the same as in Of Mice and Men, except I don’t and she doesn’t need me to take complete care of her, we are both very independent in our own way.

4. Can you explain what must have happened when Lennie was a child to make him feel the way he does about animals and soft things?
I feel as though when he was living with his Aunt Clara, she did everything for him and just gave him anything to make him obey her, and I think that one day she may have given him something very soft and he may have finally found what he liked and she decided to stick with that. Eventually as time went by he kept rubbing soft things and found animals to be soft, his aunt let him keep rubbing the animals whether he killed them or not, just to keep him quiet which eventually would lead to him killing Curley’s wife because of everything that happened in his life before he met her.


5. What were some of the motives for Curley acting the way that he did with Lennie and George?

I think Lennie intimidated Curley because he was a lot larger than Curley was. Curley was a very small man with anger problems, and I think that he looked for anything just to have a reason to get mad. I don’t think that he had as big of a problem with George as he did with Lennie; do to the fact that George was an average size man who could only do average size man work. I just really believe that Curley had a problem with him based solely on his appearance.


6. Do you know another instance besides in Of Mice and Men where someone was killed accidentally?


In the book Native Son, the main character Bigger Thomas killed his bosses’ wife by an accident. Both Lennie and Bigger didn’t mean to do it, but they did and they both did it out of fear of what would happen to them if they were found out to be doing something that they weren’t supposed to be doing. So even though the stories are completely different in their own way they still ended the same with the murderer dying in the end.


7. What factors would you change if you could go back in time and talk to Lennie, before Curley’s wife’s murder?

I would tell Lennie to stay away from her, because if he touched her something bad would happen and he wouldn’t be able to tend the rabbits. This would be to save Lennie, George, Curley’s wife, and Candy. If he didn’t kill her then Lennie would have stayed alive and Lennie, George, and Candy would have one day been able to buy the farm they wanted and dreamed about.


8. Can you apply the method used to some experience of your own, with what happened to Lennie?

One time like any other kid, my mother told me not to do something, I did it anyway and I wound up getting into trouble because of it. Lennie was told by George to stay away from Curley’s wife, and even though he tried, he wound up being around her, where after sometime he killed her by an accident and then he had to pay the consequences. Which brings me back to if he would have just listened to George and stayed away from Curley’s wife, he would have still been alive and so would she, and they could have gotten the farm that they always wanted in the first place.


9. What questions would you ask of George, if you could meet him?

If I could meet George, the questions that I would ask him, would be:
1. What really made you decide to take care of Lennie?
2. If you knew what you know now about how Lennie’s life would end, would you do anything differently, if so what would it be?
3. After you shot Lennie, what was going through your head?
4. Why didn’t you just run away with Lennie again, like you did before?
5. Why didn’t you let Curley and his boys shoot Lennie, why did you feel as though you had to be the one to do it?
6. If you could say only one more thing to Lennie, what would it be and why would you say that?


10. Could the death of Lennie have happened if, he didn’t kill Curley’s wife?

I am not sure, but I do think that it was bound to happen in the long run, based on the fact that wherever they went Lennie always got them into trouble. If it wasn’t Curley’s wife, it might have been someone else’s’ wife or daughter, or another close family member. So although, it was unfortunate the way that he and Curley’s wife had to die, I do think that if wasn’t Curley’s wife it definitely would have been someone else.

Of Mice and Men Symbols Essay

In the book of "Of Mice and Men" there are a lot of symbols to look at, the one that I found the most interesting, was Candy's dog. Candy's dog represented the end of dreams, grieving, and new beginnings. Candy loved his dog a lot, and their relationship was truly a mans best friend sort of thing, and when that dog died, a part of Candy went with him.


First off, the dreams that ended and died when the dog died. Although in the story they never really mentioned any dreams that Candy may have had before the dog died, you just knew that he had them. Candy and his dog have been together ever since Candy's dog was a pup. They were together and there for each other no matter what, and I know that sounds odd to have a dog be there for a human, but that is exactly what it was. Candy's dog was his true campion, so any dreams that he had when the dog was younger and when he was younger is now definitely dead and gone with the dog.


Along with the dreams that ended and died, was also the grieving period of the death of his dog. From the moment that they took the dog outside to be killed, Candy started to grieve for his life and the life that he used to have with the dog. He knew that all of that was gone, and he felt like he would never have another chance to be happy ever again. Candy just couldn't come to terms with the fact that something that was so precious to him was about to be gone within one blow to the head. it was a sad time for him and he had to grieve and just try to hope that one day he would have more dreams to maybe look forward to and achieve.


This brings me to my final point, which is the hopes of a new beginning. Candy was given a new little puppy that he could raise, and this to me symbolized the new dreams and beginnings that he could maybe have. The dog to me said that you can be anything that you want to be and I am your ticket to all of those new hopes and dreams. This to me also gave him the will back to want to live and be a new and better Candy, and even though this new dog wouldn't replace his old dog, it still gave him the strength to keep moving on.



So in the end both of Candy's dogs represented, grieving, the end of dreams, and in the end new beginnings. This just symbolizes that when something bad happens, no matter how horrible, there will be some kind of way that you can lift yourself back up. Although it may not seem like it at that very bad moment, it will eventually happen, and all you have to do is just wait.

Of Mice and Men Motifs Essay

The book Of Mice and Men represents many things, but two things out of all of the other sticks out the most in the story, these two things are the strengths and weaknesses of the characters. Lennie shows this in a lot through out the story. In this essay I will tell you all about the strengths and weaknesses that Lennie has through out this amazing story.



First off, Lennie has many weaknesses, as you could clearly conclude once you start to read this book Lennie is very ignorant. Lennie does not know much when it comes to books and the way that the world works, but he is smart and handy in other ways, but we will talk about that later. Lennie likes to pet very soft things, and unfortunately everything that he pets eventually dies because he is too rough with them. During his life span, he killed many mice, a puppy and Curley’s wife. All of these things he didn’t mean to do, but do to his ignorance, and not being able to learn from his mistakes with his prior victims, he kept making that same mistake over and over again, which eventually led to his own fateful death.



Lennie, as I said before is also strong and smart in his own ways. On the ranch where Lennie and his caretaker George works, Lennie can take care of all the work load that takes two men to do and then some. Lennie is very strong; in fact George even says that he is as strong as a bull. Lennie can also keep a secret, when George tells him to keep his mouth shut about things, he does, and to me that is a very good quality for someone to have.


So although Lennie may not be the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to the way that the world goes round, or books, he is still one of the smartest and strongest people you could ever want to meet.

Of Mice and Men Theme Essay

Of Mice and Men was an amazing book to read. It touched on everything that you look forward to in a book; the theme that I will be talking about will be the connection between Curley's wife and the men who live on the ranch. Curley's wife had a lot to do with everyone on the ranch, if she wasn't venting about how unhappy she was with her husband then she was talking about how she could have been an actress. In this essay I will tell you about the connection she had with Curley, Lennie, and George.


One of the most obvious connections that you could talk about would of course be the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley is a rude and ignorant little man, who bosses everyone else around, just because he is the bosses’ son. Curley's wife is not happy and she is not ashamed to tell everyone. All Curley ever does is disrespect her whether it's to her face or behind her back. He even goes around talking about how he keeps a glove filled with Vaseline on for his wife. He tells her what to do when to do it and how to do it. She is surrounded by a bunch of men who treat her with a lot more respect than her husband ever did. Curley is always looking around the ranch for her, because he knows that the love and affection that she doesn't get from him she'll get from someone else, and in a way that is exactly what she is trying to do.



This brings me to my next connection, Curley's wife and George. George knows when to spot a woman that you need to stay away from, and when it came to Curley's wife, he knew just that. George tried to tell Lennie to stay away from her, and for the most part he did. Although George tried his best to avoid Curley's wife, she still came around and tired to approach him all the time. It was kind of like the more he avoided her the more interested she became, which led to more approaches. I think that Curley's wife was just lonely and she needed somebody to talk to.



Now in the end, there is one person that finally gives her the time of day, but it soon became tragic. Lennie, as I told you before is mentally impaired, he likes to pet rabbits, and dead mice and puppies, now he means no harm, but because of his disability, he doesn't really know his own strength, and he winds up killing the already alive animals after a while. Lennie means no harm, and when you really think about it neither does Curley's wife, but bad things still seem to follow them wherever they go. Now as I said before George told Lennie to stay away from Curley's wife and he did until, she came into the barn and started telling him her life story, after a while she asked him to rub her hair, because he likes soft things and her hair is soft. So one thing leads to another and he wounds up killing her. Now I personally think that this is no ones fault but, in the end if she would have just done what made her happy maybe none of this would have had to happen. Lennie lost her life thanks to her and she died at the hands of him.



So in the end Of Mice and Men was an amazing book to read. It had many themes to choose from, but I found this theme to be most interesting. Of Mice and Men, had everything from, mystery all the way to laughter. I would recommend this book to anyone and I am pretty sure that they would enjoy it.

Reflection on May 28, 2008 Service Learning

On Wednesday May 28, 2008 in service learning, my group came down to the library where we worked on the computers to find more information on our service learning assignments. The things that my group had to research were things like plastics and paper and other recyclable things. Something else that we are doing, working on finding the amount of trash in our neighborhoods, that way we can calculate it, and find out how much this stuff may weigh and things that can be made from all of the trash that we find in our areas. We are almost done calculating our data and soon we will have results and will be able to move on to the next level.

Service Learning Reflection For May 15,2008

On Thursday May 15, 2008, in our service learning group, we talked about our recordings for the trash that we found on ore blocks. After we discussed that, we all came down stairs to the computer lab where we came together with our partners to research more about the topics that we needed to research on. Since my part was to make the data charts, I had to help someone else out with their research. I helped with finding out information on plastics. So last Thursday was just basically a discussion and research service learning class period.

Service Learning Reflection For May 1,2008

In yesterday's service learning meeting we came down to the computer lab and looked things up on each one of our topics. There wasn't a lot really discussed yesterday, we just were reminded about our individual assignments. My assignment was to draw up a data table for everyone in my group. The data table is to show the amount of trash we find in our neighborhoods. While counting you are supposed to put how many plastics you found or how many paper products you found in each of there categories. I had to make this data chart so that at every service learning meeting we can discuss it and tally everything up. Overall even though we didn't really talk a lot at yesterday''s meeting, we still got a lot done.

Service Learning Reflection For April 25, 2008

On friday April 25, 2008 in our service learning session, we went out to pick up trash in the area. We did this because we wanted to compare the trash here to the amount of trash in our neighborhoods. When we went trash hunting we did not find a lot of trash, we found about three items on our walk. The things that we found were things like a plastic bag, nothing major really. That to me shows that either people who live up here care more about the environment or either they have more people taking care of this area. Before we left we were just reminded about our personal assignments one last time.

Second Service Learning Reflection

At Thursday's service learning meeting, we talked about things that we could do to get our project out there. We also talked about ways that we could research on our topics. One of the ways we chose to do this is a survey of some sort. We want to find out how many people actually believe that it is important to recycle and how many people actually do it. We were also given assignments of things that we could bring in to help out with the project. We want to find out how much trash is actually thrown on the streets in our neighborhoods and we want to tally it up. One of the other things that we want to find out is, how much of he stuff being thrown onto the streets is actually reusable? These are just some of the many important things that we discussed at Thursday's service learning meeting.

My First Service Learning Reflection

On Friday, April 11, 2008, we had our first service learning meeting for this year. This year for service learning I am apart of the recycling group. My group consists of eleven people including myself. On friday we just spent time trying to brainstorm ideas that we could come up with to get our project out in the open. Some of the things that we came up with, were recycling bins in each classroom, and other things like that, that can help people to become more aware of recycling. Some of the things that we will most likely talk about in the next session, will probably how we can expand on our ideas and how we can get others involved and more aware of this situation.

Web Quest 7

Examine the two photos.

Do you think that movie makers show the reality of African Americans in the Civil War or do you think they try to make it seem like they had it a little easier than it actually was?

How do you think the photos of African Americans in the civil war help us get understanding of what it was like for African Americans to fight with the Union Army?

Bloom's Taxonomy Question: Synthesis

Design a time machine to take you back to Mary's death. If you were him what would you have done if you were in his shoes in that situation?

If I in Bigger Thomas' shoes on the night of Mary's murder, I would have not killed her but, I would have explained to her parents that she asked me to take her to a bar instead of school. If they did not believe I would have tried to get her to vouch for me, if she refused then I would just leave it in their hands. I would do this because I would rather not have a job instead of going to jail for the rest of my life or being on the run. So if I were Bigger Thomas that what I would have done.

Bloom's Taxonomy Question:Evaluation

How would you have handled being Bigger's mother and finding out that Bigger had killed a white girl?

I would have been very upset that he had killed anyone in the first place, and at that time to kill a white woman was like if you killed a baby today. I would have been very angry with him, would I have turned him in, I don't know. I say that because, if he's my son I don't want him to go to jail, but at the same time i wouldn't want him to get away with something so big. For one thing he might think that it's okay to kill someone again because he got away with it before. So yes I would have been very upset and angry that he killed a white woman but especially because he killed someone period.

Bloom's Taxonomy Question:Analysis

What are some problems between Bigger and his mother?


Some of the problems between Bigger and his mother is the fact that Bigger does not respect his mother. He is always making ignorant remarks to whatever his mother says to him. Bigger just feels as though he is grown and that he doesn't have to listen to whatever she says. Also another problem facing them is the fact that Bigger's mother treats Bigger like an outsider. She treats all oof her other children better than she treats Bigger, I feel that's another reason why he doesn't show that much respect to his mother. Bigger and his mother have many problems some are her fault and some are his. Either way they should love each other and be there for each other, because his mother will never have another Bigger and Bigger will never have another mother.

Bloom's Taxonomy Question: Application

What question would you ask of Mary Dalton after she was killed?

The questions that I would ask her would be:

1. Why did you go after Bigger like that when you first met him at his interview?
A: I wasn't trying to be mean or anything I just wanted to find out more about the boy who was going to be working for me and my family. It was nothing against him I just wanted to know who we were going to be dealing with.

2. What was going through your head when Bigger Thomas took you to the club?
A: I was excited actually, I had never experienced anything like that before. It was something new and it really interested me.

3. When you felt the pillow over your face what was the first thought that went through your mind?
A: Honestly I really don't remember a whole lot but I do remember that when I felt that pillow over my face my first thought was OH MY GOD AM I GOING TO DIE RIGHT NOW? It was a very scary experience for me. I fought and fought until I just couldn't fight anymore.

4. If you could say or ask Bigger Thomas anything what would it be?
A: I would ask him why did he do it? If he thought that he was going to get into trouble and lose his job I would have said something to my parents to help him out. He didn't have to kill me there is no excuse for what he did to me.

5. How do you feel about Jan leaving you there with him?
A: Jan was wrong for what he did. He saw that I was not altogether and still he left me there with a guy I barely even knew. It just goes to show that he does not love me the way that I thought he did. Jan is partially to blame for this and I can never forgive him for that he was supposed to protect me and he didn't.

6. If there was anything taht you could ask or tell Bigger Thomas, what would it be?
A: I would want to know why he did it and was that his plan all along. I just want to know why did that, because I am still confused by it.

February 29, 2008
Alfreda C. Davis

301

Service Learning Idea 2008




This year for service learning, I
would like to do tutoring again. Last year I feel as
though I did really well in that area. I love to teach
other people things especially little children,
because when they get it and I see it click in their
brain, it makes me feel like wow I really helped do
that. I really feel as though if I were to do this
again I would walk away with something different,
because it is a new year and new children. I know that
it may not seem like someone can change in the course
of a few months, but I really feel as though I have
done just that. So if were able to do tutoring again
this year, I would not only walk away with something
new, but so would the children that I would be
helping. I feel as though that I can do this because a
lot of children learn better in a fun but stable
environment. I feel like I can provide that and if
giving the chance I will prove just that. So for this
year’s service learning project, I would like to do a
tutorial assignment.

Chapter 6

Chapter: Accidental Purpose
Pages 80-92

This chapter starts off with Bigger dropping Jan off.
Jan takes out some pamphlets relating to Communism and
hands it over to Bigger so he can read them. Bigger
then drives Mary to her house. Throughout the ride
Mary was really drunk and blurted out random comments.
Bigger felt really unomfortable, because he felt as
though she was looking inside of him. He hated her for
that. When they got to her house she couldn't get out
the car, because she was so drunk. Bigger her helped
her out and then let her loose. She was stumbling
allover the place so he decided to help her up to her
room. As he got Mary to her room he laid her down on
her bed and felt the urge to kiss her so he did. While
he was doing this Mary's mother walked in the room.
Luckily, she was blind and didn't catch him. Bigger
didn't know what to do, he wanted to leave the room ,
but he was scared Mrs. Dalton would hear him. Mary
started fumbling around so he placed his hand over
Mary's mouth so she wouldn't make any noise. Mrs.
Dalton knew that Mary was drunk , because she smelt
whisky on her. Mrs. Dalton kneeled on the the side of
Mary's bed and prayed for he. Mrs. Dalton then left
the room with the impression that Mary was sleeping.
Bigger removed his hand from Mary's mouth and found
that he killed her. Bigger felt the whole room sink on
him and saw the reality, he killed her. Bigger's first
move was to get rid of her so he stuffed her in a
trunk. After he stuffed her in the trunk, he came up
with an idea which was to burn Mary's body in the
furnace. He took the trunk to the basement where the
furnace was and took her body out. He then saw that
her whole body could not fit into the furnace so he
had no other choice, but to cut her head off.
In this
When Bigger first lays Mary down on her bed he felt
excited. He didn't kiss Mary, because of her beauty,
which has always been there, but for the fact that she
can never be his. Her being white and him being black
separates them from one another. The arrival of Mrs.
Dalton in Mary's room frightened Bigger, because of
his skin color. Him being black traps him in a bad
situation. After he discovers that he killed Mary the
situation escalates. Once again his color traps him in
a bad situation, but this time in a murder. Bigger
killing Mary probably opened up a side of him that he
knew was there, but would never actually come out.

Bloom's Taxonomy Question: Comprehension

Can you write in your own words, why you think Bigger's mother treats him the way that she does?



I think that Bigger's mom treats him the way that she does because of his father. Even though Bigger's father isn't around in the book you can some how make an assumption about why Bigger is the way he is and why his mother treats him the way that she does. I think that Bigger acts the way that he does towards his mother and in life in general because he does not have a father figure in his life to help him see and realize that life and his mother should not be taken for granted. I also feel as though she acts the way that she does with Bigger maybe because he is the oldest and maybe because out of all of her children Bigger reminds her of his father more than any of her other children. I believe that their dad left them and left them all by themselves and that made them very angry and upset and that made them take their anger out on each other.

Bloom's Taxonomy Question Knowledge

Describe what happened at Bigger Thomas' job interview after Mary Dalton entered the room?

Before Mary came into the room where Bigger was being interviewed, he was already nervous, but was able to control his anxiety. But once Mary walked in she started to question Bigger which made him very nervous and made him think that he was no longer going to get the job. He cussed Mary out in his head, he wondered why she would do such a thing. He thought that she had for surely ruined his chances of getting a job working for the Dalton's all because of Mary Dalton and her questions.

Newspaper Article

Gossip!!!




Have you heard? If you didn’t you have to be living under a rock somewhere! This just in Mary Dalton daughter of rich and power Mr. Dalton was scene last night partying with blacks. I mean it’s not everyday you get a call saying that Mary Dalton was out partying with blacks. I had to see it to believe. I needed proof. I got the picture, which gave me my proof. When I saw it I couldn’t believe my eyes blacks and whites, even more importantly Mary Dalton and blacks. Rumor has it that she was supposed to be on her way to school but instead her driver took her out to party with his black posse as they say. She laughed, joked and even drank with them. I wonder if her father Mr. Dalton knows anything about this and if not what will he think? You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out


-Jenny Q

Pages 13- 28 Title: Top Gun?

At the start of this chapter, Bigger is walking down
the street she two white men putting up a campaign
poster for a white man running for State Attorney
again. As Bigger walks past he sees tall red letters:
YOU CAN’T WIN! Bigger is on his way to the poolroom
with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He meets up with
his friend Gus at the pool hall. In this chapter they
are holding up the wall smoking and dreaming about
what they want to do in life. Gus and Bigger walk in
the poolroom to play pool and Bigger brings up the
topic of robbing a white man’s store named Blum. Jack
and G.H. come in the pool hall to see Gus and Bigger,
Bigger in fear of robbing a white man. Gus is also
scared of robbing a white man but Bigger threatens Gus
and calls him a punk or sissy. Bigger gets into an
argument with Gus because both are scared of robbing
Blum’s. Bigger is trying to be the big man but is just
ask frighten as a little boy.

Richard Wright’s wanted to show that Bigger Thomas
wasn’t as big & tough as his outer appearance shown
but everything on the outside isn’t what is on the
inside. Mr. Wright’s shows how the little man wants to
act like the bigger man but will always be small.

Chapter 1 - pages 3-12

"Good Morning"

This is the first chapter in Richard Wright's story
Native Son. In the beginning of this chapter Bigger
and is family are awaken by the sound of the alarm
clock. As they are getting ready to start their day
they are interrupted by a rat that has been harassing
them for a while. A big fuss is made and eventually
Bigger kills the rat. However instead of being praised
for saving his mom a sister from this rat, he is
yelled at for tormenting his sister. All of which
resulted in his mother telling him "Bigger sometimes I
don't even know why I birthed you!" which pushed him
over the edge and he had to get away, so the chapter
ends with him slamming the door on his family.

Interpretation

I think that Richard Wright started his book this way
to show right from the get-go what Bigger's life is
like. By giving details of the apartment and showing
that character of his mother, Wright gives us the
picture of what it is like to live in a poor, single
parent family in 1930s Chicago. Also this very first
chapter illustrates conflict with man v man, man v.
society, and man v. himself.

My Reflection on NHD

This year for my NHD project I did a documentary with Daivon Jackson on Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Although it was a little easier this year than last, we still had small problems to overcome while completing our project. Some of the things that we had to overcome was that we could not find many pictures relating to the theme of evolution. We had to use some of the same pictures of evolution over again, which I believe took away from our project. Although that minor issue occurred we still had many other good qualities in our project. Some of those qualities consisted of having good documents and representation of what we were talking about. Every project has its ups and its down, overall I think that we had more ups then downs. We worked very well which I think helped us out a lot in the end. Although we did not make it to the end, I think that our project was really good and showed growth from last years projects. Who knows third times a charm. Better luck next year.

Native Son chapter 4 "I Dare You!"

Alfreda C. Davis February 13, 2008


English

Chapter 4 pgs. 36-41
Title: I Dare You!


In this chapter, Bigger and all the rest of his gang are waiting for Gus to get back at the pool hall, so that they can go rob the store. Bigger does not want to go and rob the store, because a white man owns it. So without letting his friends know that he is scared to go, he tortures Gus, once Gus arrives at the pool hall. Bigger realizes that Gus was made it back in time enough for them to rob the store, so he makes it seem like Gus was late, by putting a knife down his shirt and making him lick it as well as many other horrible and degrading things. Once Bigger is done torturing Gus, Gus throws a pool ball and hits Bigger in his head. Bigger then tries to hit Gus back but everyone holds him back to stop him from killing Gus. Doc, the pool hall owner starts to laugh at Bigger, which makes Bigger really mad. Bigger then takes his rage out on the pool table by cutting it up with his knife. Doc then pulled out his gun and told Bigger that if he did not get out, he would shoot him. Bigger told Doc “I Dare You!”





I think that Richard Wright was trying to show how big and bad someone may be on the outside doesn’t mean that they are feeling the same way on the inside. Bigger put on this big front for everyone, but when he was alone we got to see how he really felt, which was scared and less than a man.

My Science Project Summary

My Science project was an easy but difficult task. The easy part to me, was the experiment. On the other hand the hard part, was making my project look and seem as if it was a high school project. To make it look and seem more grown up, I had to find out information on enzymes in laundry detergents. The hard part about that, was the fact that I couldn't find any information on specific enzymes in a specific laundry detergent. In order to get this in formation, I had to find out why enzymes were important in all laundry detergents. Overall the project wound up being to me a success, and I enjoyed doing it.

MY Science Project Cover Page

Which Laundry Detergent Will Work Best On Stains?










Name: Alfreda C. Davis
Room: 301 Sec: 1-2
Class: AP Biology
Instructor: Ms. Thomas

More From My Science Project

Question or Problem

Which stain will work better on the stains?


Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that the Extra detergent will work the best on getting the satins out of the clothing.


Material List

Shirt
Markers
Ketchup
Mustard
Grass
Extra Detergent
All Detergent
Dynamo Detergent
Water
Scrubbing Item


Procedure

Step1: Lay the shirt out straight
Step 2: Take one of the stains ex. Ketchup
Step 3: Take one of the detergents and put just enough to cover the entire stain.
Step 4: Take you item that you are using to scrub the stains and scrub the stain (When scrubbing the stain, make sure you add pressure to it. Each time that you scrub any of the stains, make sure you add the same amount of pressure each and every time.)
Step 5: While you are scrubbing the stain, add enough water so that it covers the stain.
Step 6: Once you add the water, continue to scrub the stain for 3 more minutes.
Step 7: Once you have completed this record your results.
Step 8: Label the stain and the detergent that you used with a marker that way you won’t loose your place.
Step 9: Repeat all of the above steps until every stain and detergent is used three times, once per stain.




Data Table


Data Table did not show up correctly, but everything else is here.


Results/Observation


In this experiment, I observed that the grass was the hardest stain to remove. The ketchup and the mustard was very hard as well but they most likely had different results in and every time used a different detergent. The Dynamo detergent did the least amount of work removing the stain form the clothing. I also observed that the Extra and the All detergent worked almost the same.


Conclusion

My hypothesis was in correct. I stated that the Extra detergent would work the best and, when doing the project, event though they had similar results, the All detergent worked out the best on the stains.

More of My Science Project

Enzymes








What are enzymes?


They are proteins produced by all living organisms that act as catalysts to speed up chemical reactions that would otherwise occur at a much slower rate or not at all.
Why is this important in a laundry?


The enzymes used in laundry detergents act on materials that make up a variety of stains and soils so that these materials can be washed away more easily. These enzymes are named after the materials they can act upon, for example, proteases break down protein based stains.






Bibliography

"What are enzymes and why do we use them in laundry detergents?." http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/safety/whatareenzymes_en.html. 2005. Procter&Gamble. 18 Jan 2008


This site helped me, because it told me information for why we actually need enzymes inside of our laundry detergents.

My Science Project

Abstract




For my project I wanted to see which laundry detergent would work the best on stains. The detergents that I used were All, Dynamo, and Extra. The stains that I used were ketchup, mustard, and grass. I also wanted to see how the enzymes in each detergent would work on the stains. I wanted to see which one would clear the stain the most and to see which one cleared it this least.




I did this project to see how hard the stains would be to get out of the shirt that I used. This project always seemed interesting, because I always heard people saying how hard something was to get out of clothes, so I wanted to try it for myself. Overall I enjoyed doing the project and I saw for myself just how hard it really is.

My Annotated Bibliography

American History Annotated Bibliography


1. Kennedy, David, and Cohen, Lizabeth. The American Pageant. 13th ed. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. (730-732). The American Pageant gives me information on the problems occurring in ID v. Evolution.

2. Fisher, Ken. "This Week In Evolution v. Intelligent Design." arstechnica. 11/09/2005. 09 Nov 2005 . This source talks about the differences between ID and Evolution from the perspectives of other people.

3. Hart, Diane. History Alive. Student. Palo Alto: Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2008. (376-379). History Alive lets me know the history of the debate between ID and evolution.

4. 17 Dec 2007. "Intelligent Design." Wikipedia. .

5. 17 Dec 2007. "Kilmitzer v. Dover Area School District." Wikipedia. .

6. 17 Dec 2007. "Creation Controversy." Wikipedia. .

7. 7 Dec 2007. "John Scopes Monkey Trial." .

8. "Evolution." Wikipedia. 04 Jan 2008. 4 Jan 2008 .

9. "Evolution: Evidence from Living Organisms." 4 Jan 2008 12/evolution/HTML/live.html>.

10. "All about Evolution and Intelligent Design." Live Science. 4 Jan 2008 .

11. "What is Evolution?." All About Science. 4 Jan 2008 .
"Picture." Google. Dec. 2007 .
This was a picture of evolution transforming. It helped with my project, because it showed exactly what people conceive evolution as.

12. Kitzmiller V. Dover: Day 1, AM: Opening Arguments, Kenneth R. Miller." The TalkOrigins Archive. 28 Sept. 2006. Dec. 2007 .
This was the court case where all the questioning took place. This helped with my project, because it showed exactly what happens in a courtroom when involving such a crucial case.


13. Darwin's Theory of Evolution." All About Science. 2002. AllAboutScience.Org. Dec. 2007 .

This was about how even though this theory is so old, it is in crisis and not everyone believes that this is true. This helped, because it shows how no matter how much research, people do not always believe in science they still believe in their beliefs.


14. Carroll, Robert T. "Intelligent Design." Intelligent Design. 2005. Dec. 2007 .

This site gave me what different people wrote about this subject ass well as gave me other sites to look at for more information. This helped, because it showed me how many others thought and it helped me find more information on my topic.


15. Jones, Lawerence. "Evolution, Intelligent Design Debate Hits Flordia Schools/ Christianpost.Com." Christianpost. 10 Dec. 2007. Christian Post Reporter. Dec. 2007 .

This site was about how the battle over these subjects and how it still goes on even in schools. This helped out because it shows that no matter who it is this will follow you anywhere.


16. Chew, Robin. "Charles Darwin Naturalist." Lucidcafe. Feb. 1996. Jan. 2008 .

This was about the life of Charles Darwin and his beliefs on the theory that he created. This helped me, because it helped me see how the person who created the theory thought.


17. "Intelligent Design? a Special Report From Natural History Magazine." Actionbioscience. 2000. Jan. 2008 .

This was site had different views from newspapers as well as others about what was going on with intelligent design. This helped, because once again it showed me other peoples views on this subject matter.

18. "The Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design Controversy." Law.Umkc. Exploring Constitutional Conflicts. Jan. 2008 .

This site helped because it showed me cases as well as gave me insight on what went on with my topic.


19. Moran, Laurence. "What is Evolution?" Talkorigins. 22 Jan. 1993. Jan. 2008 .

This site was about what exactly evolution is. It helped me because it gave me more insight on what exactly evolution consists of.

My Math Project Summary

For my project I researched information about Pythagoras. As we all already know, he invented the Pythagorean Theorem. Something that I didn't know, was that he was also one of, if not the first to discover music. I also didn't know that he and the people that he called his Pythagoreans helped him come up with the theorem. His theorem in case you don't know is A^+B^=C^. I found out a lot of information about him and you can check out the rest on my actual power point project.

Progress For NHD

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on my NHD project. I have found information on Charles Darwin and his theories. I have also found out information about cases having to do with I.D. and Evolution. I have even found sites that give information from Newspaper talking about how these to topics effect their communities and their school system and how they don't want it taught in their schools around their children. A lot of these sources have been helpful to me and my partner in our quest to make this project an entertaining one as well as an educational one.

300 Word Essay

This year for NHD I am doing my project on thee debate between intelligent design and evolution being taught in schools. I am doing a documentary and I will be working with Daivon Jackson.



We picked this topic, because it is very interesting, and whenever t is talked about, it some how creates a heated debate. A couple of times it has even created court cases having to do with people going against each other for this not to be taught in schools. One case and source that had some thing to do with this topic was the Millerkitz vs. The Dover area School District. There have been other cases on this studies, there has even been things that have occurred where a students painting was torched because he/she drew a big portrait if monkeys slowly evolving into a human man. People’s families were even threatened depending on which side they were for.




This topic relates to the NHD topic, because there is a conflict and a compromise. The conflict is that people don not always agree on this topic and it causes a lot on trouble and tension for a lot of people, sometime so much conflict that its results include people threatening others lives. Our compromise is that in the end it was outlawed in public schools, that way you wouldn’t have to worry about this any longer.


In the end, this is clearly a really hot and debated topic. Even in our school we had to write a paper on whether or not we thought is should be taught in schools. This causes a lot of problems and that’s why we picked this as our topic. My partner and I would like to get more in depth on this topic and we think that we can cause even more awareness of this topic by doing a topic like this one, which is such a strong topic.