Gary Soto, who graduated from high school with a 1.6 GPA, is the author of thirty-two books including eleven poetry collections. Soto was pinned by a girl in a high school wrestling match, so he changed his interest to poetry. Soto's highest honor came from a Southern teacher who named her dog after him. The teacher's dog was, of course, a chihuahua because of Soto's ethnicity. Gary Soto's poetry focuses on his life experiences: notably his love life, and the poverty in his hometown. The first book Soto read was Nerdlandia. Martin, who is a nerd, is heartbroken. Freddie, Tito, and Joaquin, who are gangsters, try to cheer him up. Tito thought Martin was sad because his calculator broke. Next, Soto read a poem called "Oranges." The poem was about
Have you ever been put under a lot of pressure, making one of the most hardest choice of your life? Everyone has to face live changing events sooner or later, Gary Paulsen, Brian, (Hatchet) and Karana, (Island of the Blue Dolphins) have all done, and when that happened, their life changed FOREVER!
He wanted to be famous, “At ten I wanted fame” (Soto line 1) and to achieve his dreams he became rebellious, this was the only way he had to get the attention he wanted from those around him. Soto portrayed the child’s personality as a reflection of his own, he knew that he could act in similar ways to the character and had no consequences or being discipline it for it; at the end Soto’s parents were acceptable oh his behavior, as long he stayed out of prison. The fact that acting in a good way was not going to lead to receive any attention, acting rebellious is the only way the child has to be noticed. Evidently, there is a lack of respect displayed54t by the child in the poem; he images himself cursing to an imaginary priest, “I said ‘shit.’ ‘Fuck you,’ and “No way Daddy-o” (Soto lines
He grows up to become a nerdy, fat, and awkward adolescent with few friends and even less interest from girls. This phase persists throughout his life and he never develops out of the nerdy boy he was as a child. The Dominican Republic was a hostile and poor place during the time of the novel. The dictator Trujillo controls the lives of the people of the country. This influenced the de Leon family’s present and future.
During the initial in person interview I asked about Jordy Gatto’s background and how he was raised. He responded with the story of his birth on December 14, 1994 in Pennsylvania’s Ellwood City, Jordy Gatto grew up with both of his parents and an older brother. In the second interview he informed of his intelligent mom, who attended nursing school, and his brother was in school. All while working under his kind father doing tasks that requiring manual labor such as repairing and constructing. Ironically the word “gatto” means “cat” in Italian, as Jordy himself considered the family “a bunch of hairy Italians”, who had chickens, dogs, and a cat for pets as part of the Gatto family. When I asked him what his favorite activities were in high school. He mentioned pole vaulting and weightlifting, gave me the impression of a fitness jock. However, as soon I dove into his interests I discovered his passion truly lay with Nature and her creatures. That Jordy’s recurring solemn and love for nature and animals are just hardwired into his DNA.
Victor, the main character, embarrasses himself many times during his first day in seventh grade in order to impress a girl named Teresa, but in the end, he learns a few lessons. In the story “7th Grade,” by Gary Soto, Victor raises his hand and replies with a made up sentence, “La me vave me con le grandma,” when his French teacher asks the class if anyone speaks French. It is quite clear that Victor does not know French, yet he attempts to make it look like he does. Obviously by now Mr. Bueller is fully aware of Vicor’s French skills, and is left with a bad impression of Victor. In addition to this situation, Teresa now believes that Victor can speak French and in result asks Victor to teach her French. Although Victor might not be a very
Sammy Sosa was born on November 12, 1968 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. His parents, Lucrecia and Bautista were not well off and Sammy had a hard childhood, with his father passing away when he was just seven. His family lived in an abandoned hospital while Sammy sold oranges on the street, and shined shoes to make ends meet for his mother and six siblings. He started playing baseball at fourteen years old, but had to use a branch instead of a bat, old milk carton for a baseball glove, and a sock rolled up as a ball. His natural talents for the game were noticed when he was young. When he was just fifteen, the Philadelphia Philles attempted to sign him but were disallowed, as Sammy was younger than Major League Baseball's minimum
“La bamba’s” main character, Manuel has a lot to do the the plot of soto's story. Manuel is constantly nervous and paranoid about his school's talent show going horribly wrong. “Manuel remained behind the stage shivering with fear. He mouthed the words to “La Bamba” and swayed from left to right. Why did he raise his hand and volunteer? Why couldn’t he have just say there like the rest of the kids and not say anything? “ Manuel overthinks the amount of bad possibilities that can happen during his performance. In the end of Soto’s story Manuel does an amazing job and everyone enjoys his funny Michael Jackson dance moves and singing.“Way to go. You were really funny.”Funny? Manuel thought. Did he do something funny? Funny. Crazy. Hilarious. These were the words people said to him. He was confused, but beyond caring. All he knew was that people were paying attention to him, and his brother and sisters looked at him with a mixture of jealousy and awe. “ Even tho Manuel believed he was going to do atrocious everything ended up well for him.
Enrique Brenes loves volunteering at the San Francisco Zoo, more than working at In-N-Out or going to school. Enrique's passion for working with animals started when he got a dog when he was just seven years old. Cinnamon was her name, and even though she was a pitbull, she showed an indescribable love toward Enrique. She eventually got ill one day and Enrique would have to say goodbye to Cinnamon, but he was confused about why she got ill, and why she couldn't have been saved. After Enrique has grown up, he understands that he can make a difference for animals and he can be the one who saves someone else's Cinnamon. Enrique also experienced the loss of a ferret at the zoo, which he had grown close to because of all the time he spent with it.
Tommy Thompson Park, a unique wilderness in Southern Toronto is prominent for its various birds and the the other numerous aspects of nature and the outdoors which it contains. It was first established in 1959 and was made from growing waste, proving it is eco-friendly. Tommy Thompson Park stretches 5km into Lake Ontario, making the park an ideal place for birds to stay. Furthermore, it is well-known as one of the best places for bird-watching and ideal for wildlife viewing and fishing, with more then 300 different species. Visitors enjoy the multitudinous oportunities for recreational activities such as; hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross-country sking, as the park provides visitors with pedestrian and nature trails.
Ignacio Soto Is a competitive individual that really enjoys playing soccer. He's always pointing out things that amazes him about the way other people play soccer. He's always trying to be the best he can. When he's not focused on soccer, he goes to school on a regular basis and he tends to attend every day of school. He tries his best in school and has high standards for himself. He pushes himself to do better all the time because he know that sometimes he gets lazy, but he knows he's capable of doing his work. I noticed that he does not talk that much in class and he is always pretty serious. He does not like getting involved with drama so this is the reason he stays quiet. During lunch i noticed that he goes to get lunch and then sits down
Dr. Torres diagnosed Johnny with posttraumatic stress disorder during his most recent incarceration due to a difficult childhood. This childhood was riddled with abuse both physically, mentally, and emotionally which in itself is difficult to handle for any 5 year old. However having to endure the fear of watching your mother being abused and then having your father go to prison for shooting two neighbors really took a toll on Johnny.
I have known Gary a much shorter time than Scot, as you may be able to guess from my youthful good looks and boyish charm. And since I didn't know Gary at school, I've had to rely on his own version of events regarding his education. From this, I gathered that Gary was an exceptionally gifted student and he excelled in almost everything he did, be it sports, academics or the arts, and he left school to the great sadness of his headmaster
He has a deep love for comic books, tabletop roleplaying games, and reading fantasy and science fiction novels. He is everything that one would imagine if one was asked to picture the stereotypical image of a “nerd”. Oscar, however, is also a Dominican. As a Dominican male, he is expected to have an image of sexual hyper-masculinity. He should have a muscular body and be able to seduce as many girlfriends as he desires. Instead, Oscar “couldn’t have pulled a girl if his life depended on it. Couldn’t play sports for shit, or dominoes, was beyond uncoordinated...And most damning of all [he had] no looks” (19-20). He is the exact opposite of everything that he is supposed to be. As a result, Oscar is cast out of the society that he lives in. He longs to establish meaningful relationship with others, especially girls, but he is unable to because he is so different from all of the people around
De Soto compared to other town is quite small. This smallness in De Soto creates a tight knit community with neighbors helping neighbors. I personally do not live in De Soto, yet I do go to school here. With me not living in De Soto I more often than not do not feel like I am apart of this community. By applying for Cats Care to volunteer around De Soto, it would make me more involved in De Soto’s community. The importance of volunteering in De Soto is to help out the local’s and strengthen the community. By us, high schooler, helping out and volunteering around De Soto we can a stronger community because it shows that us, teenagers, care about our home and the people within it. Everyone is in need of help at least once in their lifetime and
Gary Soto’s poem, The Red Palm, opens by evoking the dream like quality of the monotony of working in a cotton field, where chopping and swinging a hoe in the hot sun becomes as much a part of you as breathing, “You raise a hoe, swing, and the first weeds / Fall with a sigh. You take another step, / Chop, and the sigh comes again, /