Steven Alper’s life started out completely normal. Steven starts out as your average teenage middle school boy; skinny, wears glasses, has braces, and last but not least, invisible to the hottest girl in 8th grade, Renee Albert. Besides being a complete geek, Steven excels at playing the drums; even making into the All-City Jazz Band. But after troubling times come after attempting to make “moatmeal” for his younger brother Jeffery, Steven’s world gets turned completely upside down; changing and challenging the rest of his 8th grade year.
Everything started off in Steven’s 8th grade English classroom. The topic of the day was, “The most annoying thing in the world.” So evidently, Steven wrote about his younger brother Jeffery. Jeffery was his perfect little brother; white teeth and perfect blond curls. Jeffery idolized Steven and wanted to be just like him, which lead up to the “Dangerous Pie” incident. Steven’s biggest rule with Jeffery was to never touch any of his drum stuff. But one tragic day, Steven came home to Jeffery “cooking” “Dangerous Pie” with Steven’s special drum sticks. But even after, Steven woke up early with Jeffery one morning, and being the caring brother he is, decided to make Jeffery his favorite breakfast “moatmeal.” Steven’s mother told him to never let his little brother stand on the stool
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alone. But that morning, Jeffery fell and was rushed to the E.R. That day after school, Steven came home to horrible news. Jeffery had leukemia. For the next couple of months, Jeffery was in and out of the hospital in Philadelphia. Jeffery and his mother would go for a couple of days every week. At school, Steven told no one about Jeffery’s illness. Due to stress, Steven started to fall behind on his school work; even at one point doing nothing at all. But with all his extra time, Steven was practicing the drums 24/7. Due to this, his band teacher Mr.Watras saw an excellent improvement in his playing. But, other teachers saw a decrease in his work; Steven was failing all of his classes. By the time Christmas break came around, Steven’s teachers got together to discuss what was happening; not knowing about Jeffery. It was then that Steven told his teachers what was happening at home. With sympathy, Steven’s teachers gave him packets of work to do to complete by the end of Christmas break; only then would he get credit for the late work. At home, there was already much stress about Jeffery and the family’s financial situation; Steven did not want to add that he was failing. Without much attention from his parents, Steven was able to catch up on his work without anyone noticing. But, one week when Steven’s mother got sick, Steven and his father had to take Jeffery to the hospital for his treatments. When at the hospital, Steven met a young girl, about his age named Samantha, also fighting cancer. When talking to her one night, Samantha told Steven to never leave Jeffery; to always stay by his side, no matter what happened. That night Steven also gave Samantha a pair of drum sticks to practice with. After catching up on all of his late work, Steven still had to keep up on his everyday work. So, Steven got 2 tutors; Renee Albert for math, and Annette for the rest of his classes. After the tutoring went on for a while, Steven, Renee, and Annette got very close. Now knowing about Jeffery’s sickness, Renee and Annette decided to plan a band concert in honor of Jeffery; to help raise money for his treatments. Once everything was planned out, there were nonstop practices. But, one thing came in the way of Jeffery; he had lost all of his hair. In Jeffery’s class there was a new student that commented on his baldness. After learning about this, Steven decided to shave his head to support Jeffery. Finally, the day of the big concert came. When Steven, Jeffery, and their parents got to the concert, there was a big surprise for Jeffery. All of the band members shaved their heads to show support and honor Jeffery. And last but certainly not least, made Jeffery an official member of the All-City Jazz Band. The concert started and everything went well. But when intermission came around, Jeffery started vomiting and had a fever. Jeffery had to be rushed to the hospital; and alongside went Steven, leaving the concert. When running out, Annette kissed Steven. When at the hospital, Steven went to go see Samantha. But when entering her room, found it empty. Samantha had died. After the commotion, a nurse came in and handed Steven a package. He opened it; they were his new pair of special sticks. This part of Steven’s life ends at his 8th grade graduation.
As he goes up to get his diploma, his 2 favorite girls in his life, Renee Albert and his girlfriend Annette, clap for him. As they walk out he sees Jeffrey with his beautiful blond curls. Steven’s year has been chaotic and crazy. As he thinks back to his writing prompt, “The most annoying thing in the world,” he realizes that Jeffery is not the most annoying thing in the world, but living without him would be. This story shows that when life throws you into a big mess, all you can do is grow and become stronger than the situation you are in. Life moves on and things will always get
better.
In the Lilies of the Field by William E. Barrett, Homer and Mother Maria both display straightforward, hardworking, and stubborn character traits. Firstly, Homer and Mother Maria both display a straightforward personality by being brutally honest about their opinions. For example, when Mother Maria asks Homer to build a chapel, Homer speaks his mind by telling her he does not want to build it. Mother Maria shows her straightforward behavior during Homer’s stay at the convent. One morning, when Homer sleeps in late, Mother to becomes extremely upset and is not afraid to show how she feels about him. Secondly, both Homer and Mother Maria display a hardworking spirit. Homer is a hardworking man because after finally agreeing to build the chapel,
This novel allows the reader to gain many different point of views from narrators within the 34 items in the book. Strange Objects depicts a variety of issues in a perceptive manner, promptly delivering Steven Messenger’s and other characters’ mental states, their character traits and the links between them. In Strange Objects it is clear to see that this novel deserves the awards that it has won, as it is a novel that has an effective way of combining different elements, summoning discussion and analysis of the many aspects within it, and engaging the audience by doing
“The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” (Moore, 2011). This quote perfectly describes the book The Other Wes Moore. This book was a story about two people who have the same name and grew up in similar environments, but had very different lives. The author of the book, Mr. Moore, became successful and was given the opportunity to receive “one of the most prestigious academic awards for students in the world” (Moore, 2011). On the other side of the spectrum, the other Wes Moore “will spend every day until his death behind bars for an armed robbery that left a police officer and a father of five dead” (Moore, 2011). Mr. Moore decided to contact the
Literary villains are all around us. For instance, Voldemort from Harry Potter and Darth Vader from Star Wars. What makes a villain? They will go through anyone or damage anything to reach their goal. No matter how small or how tall they are, anyone can be a villain. One of the worst literary villains is Erik Fisher from Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor. He is a liar and a thief. Those traits are what makes the best villains. Throughout the book, Erik shows that he is a villain through his vile and offensive behavior, his need for power, and his insanity.
The older brother, the narrator, finds himself struggling at the beginning of the story. While riding the subway, he reads in the paper that Sonny has been arrested for possession of drugs. During his day of teaching, he reflects on prior years with Sonny and their past adventures as young boys. He remembers Sonny's "wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy." The narrator sees his brother as a good boy, not "hard or evil or disrespectful." He wonders how many of his algebra students are similar to Sonny in appearance and personality along with his drug habits. This comparison allows the older brother to conclude that Sonny was probably not arrested on his initial use of drugs. It also allows the narrator is see that Sonny may be like most of the other young boys in Harlem.
In The Other Wes Moore, the author and a neighbor have the same name, Wes Moore, and they both begin their lives in similar ways. However, as their lives progress, they begin to part. For example, both “lost” their fathers when they were young. Because of the way their mothers respond to this loss, the boys’ lives begin to separate. Both mothers have different responses to challenges in general, which eventually leads them to respond to their child’s actions in contrasting ways. Throughout this novel, readers learn that depending on how a mother decides to react to the negative actions of their child’s actions, the child can either lead a successful life or lead a life of failure.
Doug Swieteck, from “Okay for Now”, by Gary D. Schmidt, lived a life in anger. At the beginning of the book, he was very hateful of everything. He had spent a long time in anger and disgust, trying to find a way in life. Near the beginning of the book, Joe Pepitone gave Doug his baseball cap and jacket in person, to Doug. But, Doug’s mean older brother took the cap and his dad took his jacket. That added to Doug’s anger even more. But, luckily he turned it around in the middle and end of the book. He ended being a lot happier and was able to control his emotions better.
Have you ever heard about the hippie who had to go to a Middle School after living on a remote farm in the novel Schooled by Gordon Korman? Well, Capricorn Anderson is a flower child who lives at Garland Farms until his grandmother, Rain, falls out of a plum tree, which changes this hippie’s life. Now, Cap has to go to a public middle school and live with Mrs.Donnelley, a social worker, which he is not prepared for.He is just a hippie with a soul of good, who is not prepared for physical fights, cursing, and even video games! He doesn’t understand this modern world; he’s as lost as a kit who couldn’t find her mother.
The narrator whose name is unknown finds out that his brother Sonny was incarcerated for the use of and dealing heroin, raised in a society where being afraid of fear is constantly affecting both of their life’s in turmoil. “He was frightening me a little” (Baldwin 19). Fear shaped the older brother in becoming an Algebra teacher, endeavoring to save his younger brother from a lifestyle of street habits, influence specifically on drug abuse. According to the narrator, he expects Sonny to follow his footsteps in finishing an education because “If you don’t finish school now, you’re going to be sorry later that you didn’t” (Baldwin 20), in addition the narrator describes the life of Sonny “weird and disordered” (Baldwin 21). The narrator uses his fear to form a communication with his brother, however Sonny’s decision of freedom in becoming a professional musician, and escaping misfortunate moments is not in communion. Thus, Sonny feels neglected by his older brother’s expectations and judgments based on his own future. “I think people ...
The narrator allows Sonny to move into his apartment. By allowing Sonny to live with him he has allowed to trust him again. For example, the narrator explains, “The idea of searching Sonny’s room made me still. I scarcely dared to admit to myself what I’d be searching for. I didn’t know what I’d do if I found it. Or if I didn’t” (pg. 91). This shows how the narrator had the opportunity to search his brother’s room, but had the ability not to. Tension grew among brothers while living under one roof. This starts the climax of both arguing in the apartment. The narrator doesn’t understand why his brother wants to be a musician. This argument was built of emotion both had and not yet discussed among each other. Such as the narrator expressing his anger towards his brother’s drug use and Sonny’s frustration towards the narrator not understanding his plan to become a jazz musician. For example, the narrator states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence – so long! – when he had needed human speech to help him” (pg.94). The argument with his brother made him realize that he abandon his younger brother when he needed him the most. He realized that if he would have spoken out and talk about his drug use that he wouldn’t have to go
This is quite evident after the demise of their mother whereby the narrator intends to know as the eldest brother what Sonny intends to do in life before returning to war. He contends, “I’m going to be a musician (Baldwin 133).” This does not go well with the narrator who deems other people can embrace that life’s path but not his brother, hence brewing a discrepancy and misunderstanding amid them. It is through Sonny’s choice of pursuing jazz that unveils numerous flaws that characterizes their relationship with the narrator who insist of him completing the school first but eventually admits reluctantly. The extent of confusion and misunderstanding his Sonny is evident how the narrator can hardly imagine him in life he will be hanging in nightclubs in the company of others whom he refers as “good-time-people” (Baldwin 134). Probably, it is Sonny’s choice of jazz career that leads to long durations of silence among them without keeping in touch because the narrator feels his younger brother opted to embracing wrong life. In addition, the instilled notion of how reckless “good-time-people” (134) were by his father yielded to him fighting with Sonny for leading a loose life (Baldwin
The narrator meets Tyler and realizes quickly that Tyler is everything he is not. The narrator is disappointed in his life when he compares it to Tyler’s. “I am nothing in the world compared to Tyler. I am helpless. I am stupid, and all I do is want and need thin...
Twelve-year-old Rick has just been diagnosed with ADHD. He was prescribed pills and he had to go to the nurse office during recess. He felt ashamed of his illness and fear of anyone finding out. For while nobody knew until one. The rumor spread like a hurricane, he was ostracized by his classmates and received a negative comment such as “retarded” and got put into special education classes. His classmates did not understand why, all they knew is that “Rick needed to take a pill be normal”. Rick started to get into fights because his classmates teased him about the illness. He moved school to school hoping to blend with another student, but every someone finds out about his illness.
In the story My Favorite Chaperone, by Jean Davies Okimoto, I believe the theme is how working together makes life's struggles easier. The characters show this theme throughout the story. As children immigrants, the main characters struggle with combining a new culture with their family culture to find a new identity without bringing shame to their family. In the story, Maya, the main character, faces issues in how to fit in with a new world in America. In this new world there are different rules and expectations while she still has to respect and follow her family's traditions and rules. This conflict is shown when Maya wants to go to a school dance, but knows her parents would never let her go especially after she gets in trouble for
We listened as Mrs. DeCostia enumerated the names of those involved. “Kat, Tara, Kelly, Alexis, Rob, Joe, Matt, and John.” She announced with annoyance. How is it that all my friends got in trouble for the greatest prank in Fairfield’s 75 year history, but my name was left off that prestigious list? I watched my friend’s proud faces as they walked to the front of the room and I laughed as I heard Matt say “So you caught the people, who perfectly reconstructed your room on the roof of the school, but you will never know who the genius behind it was, and as long as that stays a secret, we’ve done our job.” Then Mrs. DeCostia grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him outside. Soon there was a wave of people standing and clapping for their hero, the only person to show Mrs. DeCostia what a horrible person she really was. Apparently since my name had been left off the list, they had no intention of revealing it. But still I got the greatest prize of all, even better than being called up there with them: knowing that it was my idea to take every item out of her room and put it on the roof. There was a loud slamming of the door and soon the classroom fell silent. “Whose idea was it?” shouted Mrs. DeCostia. She was answered by silence. “I’ll ask one more time: Whose idea was it?” She said, speaking ever so slowly to ensure he understood. This time she was answered by a deep voice that could only be recognized as John’s. “You’re never gonna know so you might as well give up now.” “Oh, I will find out and when I do that person will be expelled! Now who is it?” Then in a voice that always seemed to say “What are you looking at?” Kat said “Listen lady, I don’t know who you think your dealing with but you’re never gonna know. We’re like...