TKAM Picture Analysis

Man Waiting For The Rest of His Family to Go Home. 
Observations:There is a man and a boy in a wagon. The wagon is made of wood and has two chairs in which the man and boy are sitting on. The wagon is pulled by two horses. The man is wearing a hat and similar clothing to all the other people in the picture. They all have overalls and a shirt with a collar underneath. In the background there is a large building. The wagon is on dirt and they are parked next to a building. They have a dog that is sitting under the wagon. The buildings roof is made of cheaper material. The building is made of wood and a window or something is boarded up. The buildings doors are open. There is another building across the road. On the ground there are pieces of paper or some sort of litter.In from of their wagon is the back of another wagon. I see cables above the building in the back.   

Inferences: 
The man probably doesn't have that much money because at this time there are cars and the place he is at is old and tattered. It may be hot outside because the dog may be under the wagon trying to get some shade. The building is probably a public store or something because there are several people there and the doors are open. The building in the background is made or comes from more wealth because the roofing is more nice and it is made of better materials. The place isn't of the nicest areas because the floor is dirt and there is stuff all over the ground which seems to be litter. The man and kid seem to be waiting for somebody who is either working or buying goods. I can also infer that it is a public area because there is the back of another wagon in front of them. It is probably later in the day since usually during the day the people would be at work.

Questions: What is the job of the man in the picture? What is the building? What is the building across the road? Is the building poor? How does this community compare to other communities at this time period? What class are the people in this photo in? Why are they stopped at this place? How long have they been here? How frequent or often do they visit this place? Do these people live near or far to the place they are stopped at now? Do most people at this time drive wagons? Is it normal for dogs to travel with their owners like in the picture? How long have they had the wagon? Why are they all dressed in similar fashions?

Could it be Maycomb County, Alabama?
I think this could be Maycomb County because of its similarities to what it says in the book. The roads are made of dirt and in the picture the place the wagon is parked is dirt of some kind. The people in Maycomb did not have a lot of money and judging by the building they are stopped at the community probably doesn't have that much money. Also at the time cars were around and these people drove a wagon telling me they aren't from a higher class. Also you can see there is space between the buildings in the area which is how rural areas work and in Maycomb they are farmers for the most part. Also these people probably are farmers or work in that area of some type because of the clothes they have on. When I searched farmers during the 1930s they are wearing the overalls with the collard shirts so I can assume these people work with farming. Also since they own two horses they must have some sort of area to keep them in. This means they probably have a little more land so you know the houses must be spaced out. In Maycomb many of the children help out their parents and there is a little boy traveling with the man in the photo. 

     

Dark Life Week of 11-17-14

Title: Dark Life
Author: Kat Falls
Pages Read: 0-50
Prompt: Describe conflict, setting, and characters

Just from the first 50 pages you figure out this major conflict not only between the two characters but where they live. So apparently in this point in time people are literally living underwater. I really don't know why but they seem to and this is one thing that is said through the conflict. The conflict is between topsiders (people who live on land) and people who live in the ocean. During the beginning the main character Ty and this girl he meets Gemma have constant arguments like asking him if kids that are born in the ocean have dark powers. This is a question that angers Ty and he says is based off of myth from the topsiders. I think the two characters for the first time are seeing a little of both worlds and that the other side may not be as bad as everyone thinks. They start playing around saying things like "why do people live up there" and stuff. So it creates an interesting relationship between the two characters.

The main two characters are Ty and Gemma. Ty encounters Gemma when he is trying to get away from some killer sharks and he gets in an abandon sub to escape. Gemma is more of a lonely person. Not because she necessarily chooses to be but because her parents have died and she can't find her brother. Ty is like one of those kids who can get annoying because he likes to correct everything and is kind of up tight. He corrects Gemma and she gets annoyed and mad but he gets mad at her comments so they have this love/hate relationship at times. Gemma so far is a problem solver and like a hustler. She doesn't like to waste time and if she wants something she doesn't take no for an answer. Ty on the other hand is more on the shy side. These women from the topside looked at his skin and were in his way when they were admiring him. Gemma was the one who got rid of them and he just kind of stood there and watched.

The setting seems to be clearly in the future since they are saying the east coast is completely underwater. The people underwater take their aquatic traveling things everywhere they go. So as of now Ty is stuck with Gemma because she needs help finding her brother. Ty likes Gemma but hasn't told her. I think the setting is very creative and the fact that they live underground is very weird but entertaining. There is also this gang or like group of criminals that I think are only underwater but I'm not sure. This is one of Ty's fears because they have become more and more popular. I think that Ty and Gemma will have an interesting encounter with the criminals. I also think that they will find her brother but that there is going to be some sort of twist. I also think that Gemma and Ty will continue to argue and get mad but in the end, be together.

Nightjohn 11/13/2014

Title: Nightjohn
Author: Gary Paulsen
Pages read: 0-90 (Finish)
Prompt: Analyze how dialogue or specific incidents reveal information about characters. Make sure to include textual evidence
Analyze the impact word choice has on the meaning or tone of a text.

The story takes place during slavery in a story that is similar to situations that slaves faced then. The dialogue reveals a lot about the characters in this book. The book is telling about Nightjohn and you learn everything about him through his dialogue with the main character, Sarny. Nightjohn comes in around the third chapter and he has scars from beatings and whippings. One night Nightjohn asks for some tobacco in a trade for something. Sarny asks Nightjohn what he will trade for because he appears to have absolutely nothing. He says he can trade for letters as in the alphabet. The conversation between the two reveals that Nightjohn has been educated somehow even though he appears to be a slave. The word choice used is slang which makes it seem more realistic and shows how they haven't been well educated because of some of the lack of grammar. Also in the conversation the words lighten the mood because it is more like a teacher and a student as opposed to the usual mood were you feel sorry for the slaves and the things they have to do. 

Later in chapter 4 all they talk about if specific incidents that have happened when people have tried to run. They were very gruesome experiences. On page 44 of the book it says "she had screamed until she sounded like pigs being cut." This sets an even more negative tone than before and provides a better understanding for what slaves endured from their masters. Later on Nightjohn is teaching Sarny other letters when Sarny's Mammy sees and approaches them. She is enraged and ask him what he is doing. Mammy asks "Don't you know what they do to her if they find her trying to read?" This creates tension and you begin to anticipate where this is going. Through this conversation you learn Nightjohn had escaped his former plantation and gone North. This is where he learned to read and he says he came back to the south to teach kids to read. Then Sarny learns her first word which is "bag" and is ecstatic about learning her first word. So she begins writing it everywhere and this would be a mistake. Her master would catch her writing the word and it just created a world of problems.

He sees her and began yelling and hitting her while asking questions. Sarny says "he kicked me in my stomach." This reveals how little slave masters cared about their slaves and shows in particular the willingness of this slave master to beat and kick a young teenage girl. Instead of punishing the girl he has Mammy punished. He uses her as a horse to push his wagon and whips her and creates cuts in her arms. Then Nightjohn admits to teaching her. The mast decides the punishment will be for him to lose several of his toes. Now the tone and mood are just hate and sorrow. Hate towards the master and sorrow for Nightjohn and Mammy for having to endure that much pain and suffrage for something we a lot of the time take for granted now. Then Nightjohn after a couple nights leaves. Sarny is sad and begins to have her "troubles" or in other words her period. When the slave girls show signs of this they sending them to the breeding shed. This is where they would send the girls to make more children. Through learning letters and hiding her troubles you know Sarny is brave and rebellious. Then an exciting event happens, Nightjohn comes back and tells Sarny to go with him. Go with him to school, so they follow a path and there is a small hidden pit where he has brought kids to learn to read and write. At the very end she says "feels good to write again." This brings joy to the mood and makes you hope for a better future for those slaves.

Brown v. Board of Education: Week of 11-3-14

Title: Brown v. Board of Education: Equal Schooling for All
Author: Harvey Fireside and Sarah Fuller
Prompt: How does the book relate to modern time and events happening now.
Pages Read: 0-90

This book is about not only the case of Brown versus the Board of Education but also several other instances in the civil rights movement where black people went against schools and wanted equal rights. They all had to do with the Jim Crow law. This allowed whites and blacks to be separate in bathrooms, schools, and other public facilities. This was clearly unconstitutional but there were many excuses made like that a black and white school were receiving the same kind of funding which was a complete lie. After much battling and battling the court decided the children were being deprived of their liberty to choose where they wanted to go to school. This was huge news and would cause the whole nation to uproar. It was a victory for all those students who could not go to a good school because of their skin color and not their academic skills. The book is an excellent way to learn more in detail about all the process and work that went into several trials in cases of mistreatment of blacks in going to school.

This was a huge boost in the civil rights movement. After this more and more unfairness was being exposed and equality began to get better. Martin Luther King came around and helped fight for providing equality for all people of color. But at the same time there hasn't been a huge change in schools. True people of color have a lot more rights and are more equal now. But then again you look at schools and communities and you see a trend. There are all black schools, all latino schools, all white schools and it makes you wonder about our society. Has there really been that much change to be proud of enough to say we have gotten over that. True there are a lot mixed and diverse schools. But there are entire communities that are a huge majority one race. Generally more white populated areas have more money and better schools than generally black populated areas or latino populated areas. There has been a lot of change but society has this tendency of repeating itself. After all the work of those in the Brown versus Board and civil rights activists there are still the same things we saw then. Maybe now the difference is people don't view it as much as segregation, just habits to stay around the same race. Maybe it just doesn't want to be addressed.

Another more recent issue the nation faces now is black males specifically against police officers. Like what happened in Ferguson with the kid who was shot walking to his grandmothers house. Police officers let the power get to their head but its not only this, its of course racism. I haven't heard of a white male being shot after approaching or confronting an officer. I question, when did being a police officer not come with danger. Why is it that they can't use a taser or that they constantly feel their lives being threatened by the presence of a black male. This book better helps me understand the different ages and situation of racism and lack of equality in the US over time. It helps me better comprehend the stages of slavery, to the civil rights,  to some of the struggles that still live on in the modern day today. While we make great progress in certain areas there are others we forget about and become noticeable over time.