I recently read an article about child poverty in the United States. The main idea of the article was that child poverty is a big issue in the US, and that children are the poorest age group. The author talked about how child poverty is an issue that needs to be resolved immediately and actions are already being taken to prevent child poverty. Some facts and details the author included are,"14 States saw statistically significant increases in their child poverty rates." She wants us to realize that child poverty is all over the US and that it is increasing at a very high rate. Some other facts and details she included are,"16.1 million children are poor" and,"with more than seven million children living in extreme poverty". The author uses these facts to convey the large amount of children that are in poverty and how enormous child poverty is. The author also includes the name of the states that have 25% or higher child poverty rate, in which there are more than 13 states. This connects to the main idea because the main idea is that child poverty exists in the US at a very high rate and needs to be stopped through action.
I think the author wants us to feel bad for the children living in poverty and to want to try and help. When she mentioned all the states that had high percentages of child poverty, I think people who lived in the states that were named would want to take action and lower their child poverty in their state. One direct quote is,"These shameful child poverty levels call for urgent and persistent action." As I read this sentence I felt pretty ashamed too Adults should be able to care for her kids, and the author did a good job using facts and her opinion to make a plea for a lower poverty rate for children in all of the United States.
Some things I will take away from this article is how big child poverty is of a issue. I knew very little of the facts, and because I am a teenager I feel this issue relates to me a lot. New York wasn't on the list of states with a 25% or higher of child poverty, and this makes me happy because it shows how our city has been doing a good job dealing with kids in poverty. I think we could do more, however. We could have fundraisers for homeless shelters and have programs that deal with kids that may not be able to afford after school activities. Some other things I want to know are, what can we the kids do to help? This article did a good job fully explaining the issue, but left the ending open-ended. I think that people understand and are very concerned about this issue, but don't know how to help. Indeed, it is something very difficult to help, because if you don't a kid in poverty, what could you do? I think this issue needs more recognition in government because it is very important. Plus, the kids today are our future. Don't you want to make sure they have a future?
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Blog Post on The Talented Mr. Ripley (Spoilers!)
I just read a really great book, called The Talented Mr. Ripley and I thought it was one of the best books I have read. It is about a man Tom Ripley, who travels to Italy to persuade a friends to move back to the states. He ends up getting jealous of his friend and kills him, and then takes over his identity.
I thought Tom(Mr. Ripley) was the most interesting character in the book. He seems normal and cool and collected, but he would kill a man. He is not like a normal "psycho path" he has lived a normal life and is usually very happy. But the smallest things can make him so angry. He hates unfairness, and I think he has to take out his anger that way. Not to be too mean or anything, but the author clearly shows there are a few loose screws for Tom. He once dressed up in his friends Dickie's clothes, and pretended to act like him. (Later taking his whole identity.) He wants to be someone else. Some part of his brain is so rejected by him he manages to pretend he is someone else completely. Even though he is faking, and he is acting, he also believes himself. That he, Tom is his friend. He even makes an effort to talk like him, to move his face like him, this is something he is completely obsessed with.
Tom's job before he went to Italy was forging people's signatures to gain their money from checks, a path to ensure him to break the law. But the thought of killing another being did not come into his head at all. That's what scared me. He was a normal man, just sitting on the beach, when he had the idea he was going to kill his friend and he did. There was no plotting, no deciding whether this was right or not. This scared because you never know when he is going to attack, never going to snap. Some of the world's worst criminals are like that, which makes them the most dangerous. They will be normal one day, killers the next.
And he doesn't stop with his friend Dickie either. After assuming the identity of Dickie, he moves to Rome and pretends to live life as Dickie would. Sending letters to Dickie's girlfriend, wearing his clothes, his rings, leaving behind Tom Ripley as if he never existed. Tom ends up killing Freddie too, Dickie's friend, when Freddie finds out that he is just pretending to be Dickie. The thing is, throughout all these murders, Tom is so uncaring, he hardly seems to realize he is a murderer.
At the end of the book, he almost murders again too. He is staying with his girlfriend Marge and she is annoying him very much. And then out of nowhere he is imagining killing her. It is all so planned out in his head, what he would say to the police, what he would say to Marge's father. This stood out to be because it didn't show a change. Even at the end of the book, when Tom has been through countless police, he will still murder. The author tried to show that some characters might not change their ways, even having been through so much. In fact I think he did change, but not for the better, he became worse and worse.
And the funny thing is, he never got caught for any of the murders. He will probably live his life happily and free from the police. I think the author meant this to show that not everyone gets what they deserves, and not everyone gets punished.
I thought Tom(Mr. Ripley) was the most interesting character in the book. He seems normal and cool and collected, but he would kill a man. He is not like a normal "psycho path" he has lived a normal life and is usually very happy. But the smallest things can make him so angry. He hates unfairness, and I think he has to take out his anger that way. Not to be too mean or anything, but the author clearly shows there are a few loose screws for Tom. He once dressed up in his friends Dickie's clothes, and pretended to act like him. (Later taking his whole identity.) He wants to be someone else. Some part of his brain is so rejected by him he manages to pretend he is someone else completely. Even though he is faking, and he is acting, he also believes himself. That he, Tom is his friend. He even makes an effort to talk like him, to move his face like him, this is something he is completely obsessed with.
Tom's job before he went to Italy was forging people's signatures to gain their money from checks, a path to ensure him to break the law. But the thought of killing another being did not come into his head at all. That's what scared me. He was a normal man, just sitting on the beach, when he had the idea he was going to kill his friend and he did. There was no plotting, no deciding whether this was right or not. This scared because you never know when he is going to attack, never going to snap. Some of the world's worst criminals are like that, which makes them the most dangerous. They will be normal one day, killers the next.
And he doesn't stop with his friend Dickie either. After assuming the identity of Dickie, he moves to Rome and pretends to live life as Dickie would. Sending letters to Dickie's girlfriend, wearing his clothes, his rings, leaving behind Tom Ripley as if he never existed. Tom ends up killing Freddie too, Dickie's friend, when Freddie finds out that he is just pretending to be Dickie. The thing is, throughout all these murders, Tom is so uncaring, he hardly seems to realize he is a murderer.
At the end of the book, he almost murders again too. He is staying with his girlfriend Marge and she is annoying him very much. And then out of nowhere he is imagining killing her. It is all so planned out in his head, what he would say to the police, what he would say to Marge's father. This stood out to be because it didn't show a change. Even at the end of the book, when Tom has been through countless police, he will still murder. The author tried to show that some characters might not change their ways, even having been through so much. In fact I think he did change, but not for the better, he became worse and worse.
And the funny thing is, he never got caught for any of the murders. He will probably live his life happily and free from the police. I think the author meant this to show that not everyone gets what they deserves, and not everyone gets punished.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Blog Post on Black Beauty
I am almost done with Black Beauty and it is the story of a horse named Black Beauty, and the series of owners he goes through and life experiences. I personally loved Black Beauty and I feel that it was a very well-written book.
Black Beauty the horse was a very interesting character. He was always willing and ready to please, and had the same personality of a human. All the horses could talk to each other and they were like humans in that respect, they had feelings and wants and needs, and I think Anna Sewell ( the author) wanted us to realize we are not so different from the animals around us. A very kind lady quotes this in the book and it reminds when we studied how the author puts his or her voice into the book. I think Anna Sewell put her own opinions and thoughts into the mouths of the character and that is how she carries her ideas across. Like I was saying the quote is, "just because horses can't express themselves the way we can, that does not make them dumb, they still feel pain as much as we do." This quote and many others sound like something the author would see, and it helps carry across the idea that animals should be treated equally.
Black beauty goes to a lot of different homes where he is treated very bad. This makes me think of the time period (late 1800s) where there was almost no animal rights, and people could treat there animals in most anyway they wanted. Black Beauty does go to some good homes though, where people are mindful of how they treat their animals. I think this is one of the reasons people still read this book today, there are many sad moments in the book that show how cruel people were. Black Beauty's friends Ginger, gets sold as a cab horse and tells Black Beauty later in in the book, "I wish I would fall down at my work and die rather than continue living." This quote makes me very sad and it reminds me of other books when characters say similar things, and I notice that is doesn't sound weird that it comes from the mouth of a horse rather than a human.
In all, I really like this book and I am excited for the ending. I hope that Black Beauty does eventually go to a good home, because he deserves one. When someone has been so good and kind and patient their whole life, they deserve to have a good peaceful end to their life, and Black Beauty definitely deserves one.
Black Beauty the horse was a very interesting character. He was always willing and ready to please, and had the same personality of a human. All the horses could talk to each other and they were like humans in that respect, they had feelings and wants and needs, and I think Anna Sewell ( the author) wanted us to realize we are not so different from the animals around us. A very kind lady quotes this in the book and it reminds when we studied how the author puts his or her voice into the book. I think Anna Sewell put her own opinions and thoughts into the mouths of the character and that is how she carries her ideas across. Like I was saying the quote is, "just because horses can't express themselves the way we can, that does not make them dumb, they still feel pain as much as we do." This quote and many others sound like something the author would see, and it helps carry across the idea that animals should be treated equally.
Black beauty goes to a lot of different homes where he is treated very bad. This makes me think of the time period (late 1800s) where there was almost no animal rights, and people could treat there animals in most anyway they wanted. Black Beauty does go to some good homes though, where people are mindful of how they treat their animals. I think this is one of the reasons people still read this book today, there are many sad moments in the book that show how cruel people were. Black Beauty's friends Ginger, gets sold as a cab horse and tells Black Beauty later in in the book, "I wish I would fall down at my work and die rather than continue living." This quote makes me very sad and it reminds me of other books when characters say similar things, and I notice that is doesn't sound weird that it comes from the mouth of a horse rather than a human.
In all, I really like this book and I am excited for the ending. I hope that Black Beauty does eventually go to a good home, because he deserves one. When someone has been so good and kind and patient their whole life, they deserve to have a good peaceful end to their life, and Black Beauty definitely deserves one.
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