Author’s note: This essay is about comparing two different characters from two different novels. Ponyboy Curtis from the Outsiders, and Jane from Just Jane.
How are characters so alike in two completely different stories? In many ways. As in their personalities, looks, age, how they view people, family situations, friends ect. In this case, Jane from "Just Jane" and Ponyboy Curtis from "The Outsiders" are very alike, but as well different in so many ways. The reasons are their parents both died. A difference is Jane is an only child, and Ponyboy has two brothers. Although these novels are so different, it’s amazing how characters can be the same with completely different backgrounds.
First of all, Ponyboy is a poor kid practically living on the streets among his family. Ponyboy’s family isn’t what you would expect, though. His parents died in a car crash forcing his older brother Darry to take care of him, and his other brother Sodapop. The three brothers are in a gang called the Greasers and have many supportive friends that also are in tough situations just like the Curtis brothers. Jane has a lot in common. Her parents had died as well, at a young age, and moves to live with her family. Of course not everything is the same, like Jane is rich, and has related family unlike Ponyboy the opposite.
The differences between these two characters are just about as much as the similarities. They are different because Jane has related family to rely on, and doesn’t live on the streets. In fact she is treated like royalty to her family and friends. On the other hand, Ponyboy is treated very poorly causing him to have wrong actions and leaving town with his friend Johnny.
Although they have differences their similarities are the same amount as well. Something they have in common is having no parents. Jane was an orphan and Ponyboy was living with his brothers. Not a lot of people know what it’s like to have both of their parents dead so I think that’s a major thing they have in common. If I knew both of them in person I would have a feeling their personalities would be alike just because of the things they say, other than the fact Jane is a little brat, and Ponyboy is very respectful.
When there is a difference, there is always a similarity. These novels "Just Jane" by William Lavender and "The Outsiders" by S.E Hinton are perfect examples of how two totally different people can be alike in just as many ways.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Just Jane
Author’s note: This is an essay on Point of View based on the book “Just Jane” I am writing about Jane’s point of view when she has to leave England to come to America as an orphan to live with her extended family.
“You must be Miss Prentice lately arrived from England.” This quote is found on page sixteen of Just Jane by William Lavender said by Jane’s uncle. This sentence was to Jane, the main character. She has just moved to America from England, and is very new on how things work. While in England, she was unfortunately an orphan and has come to America to live with her extended family so they can take care of her. All of her family thinks she is so proper and confused they called her “Lady Jane” but she hated it because it made her sound different, and all she wanted was to be a normal kid.
First of all, in order to be a normal kid she has to start completely over in a new place, with new people- a fresh start, which means getting to know all of her family and new friends, but as a young girl, this could be a struggle because she is so innocent. But in the beginning of the book is when she loses her innocence. If you were Jane you would feel awkward but if you were her uncle you would be excited to have someone as fancy as Jane among them. Jane gets irritated when everybody she knows from America calls her “Lady Jane”
Although her family believed she like being treated like royalty, she actually hated it. Seeing this point of view from one side of the story can really change a reader’s perspective of all the characters, and see what it’s like to see through their eyes.
“You must be Miss Prentice lately arrived from England.” This quote is found on page sixteen of Just Jane by William Lavender said by Jane’s uncle. This sentence was to Jane, the main character. She has just moved to America from England, and is very new on how things work. While in England, she was unfortunately an orphan and has come to America to live with her extended family so they can take care of her. All of her family thinks she is so proper and confused they called her “Lady Jane” but she hated it because it made her sound different, and all she wanted was to be a normal kid.
First of all, in order to be a normal kid she has to start completely over in a new place, with new people- a fresh start, which means getting to know all of her family and new friends, but as a young girl, this could be a struggle because she is so innocent. But in the beginning of the book is when she loses her innocence. If you were Jane you would feel awkward but if you were her uncle you would be excited to have someone as fancy as Jane among them. Jane gets irritated when everybody she knows from America calls her “Lady Jane”
Although her family believed she like being treated like royalty, she actually hated it. Seeing this point of view from one side of the story can really change a reader’s perspective of all the characters, and see what it’s like to see through their eyes.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Outsiders Final Essay
The Outsiders Final Essay
Author's note: This essay is about the theme dynamic or static characters. This theme is common in the book "The Outsiders" and I am demonstrating it.
What’s the difference between a static character, and a dynamic character? Ponyboy Curtis is one of the main characters in the book “The Outsiders”. By author S.E Hinton, and he is either a dynamic character which is a person who changes a lot throughout the story, or he is a static character who just pretty much stays the same and has the same opinions as before. His brother’s are Darry and Sodapop Curtis. During the whole story, it is just a letter narrated by Ponyboy that is telling the story. Ponyboy is a dynamic character for several different reasons.
Although the people around him are static characters, Ponyboy is different than most of the Greasers changing his opinion. We first see him change in Chapter two when he meets Cherry Valance. He changes because Greasers usually seem tough and mean, and known for that, but when he talks to Cherry he is nice and sweet, not like most of his friends. For example in chapter two when he is talking to Cherry he said “we still hang around rodeos a lot. I’ve seen you two barrel race. You’re good.” That shows that he has a sensitive, nice side of him and even from the start you could tell he liked Cherry, because of the way he acted. Ponyboy also changes when he wants to be in the rumble because he doesn’t really like to fight. That really surprised me because he doesn’t seem like the kid that would want to fight or hurt anybody. He was arguing with his older, protective brother Darry to get him to let him go to the rumble, and participate in this event.
Even if Darry won’t let Ponyboy go to the rumble, this is the connection I made. Sometimes mine and my friend’s parents don’t let us do things we want to because it might be dangerous or I don’t even know because I don’t understand parents. But this part of the book reminds me of family, because I can relate to how Ponyboy feels when he can’t do something fun that he was looking forward to.
Throughout this whole book, Ponyboy changed, because in the beginning, he thought Darry hated him, but by the end, he realized that all Darry was trying to do is look after him as a good father figure. Another way he changed is that he eventually noticed that after talking to Randy, he realized that there wasn’t that much of a difference between Greasers, and Socs. They are all just people he thought. Over all he just matured. He just basically grows up and made realizations that being the youngest off all Greasers, it is good because not even the older Greasers would understand, by going through a really hard two weeks or so, with everything piling on since one of his good friend Johnny’s death occurred.
Author's note: This essay is about the theme dynamic or static characters. This theme is common in the book "The Outsiders" and I am demonstrating it.
What’s the difference between a static character, and a dynamic character? Ponyboy Curtis is one of the main characters in the book “The Outsiders”. By author S.E Hinton, and he is either a dynamic character which is a person who changes a lot throughout the story, or he is a static character who just pretty much stays the same and has the same opinions as before. His brother’s are Darry and Sodapop Curtis. During the whole story, it is just a letter narrated by Ponyboy that is telling the story. Ponyboy is a dynamic character for several different reasons.
Although the people around him are static characters, Ponyboy is different than most of the Greasers changing his opinion. We first see him change in Chapter two when he meets Cherry Valance. He changes because Greasers usually seem tough and mean, and known for that, but when he talks to Cherry he is nice and sweet, not like most of his friends. For example in chapter two when he is talking to Cherry he said “we still hang around rodeos a lot. I’ve seen you two barrel race. You’re good.” That shows that he has a sensitive, nice side of him and even from the start you could tell he liked Cherry, because of the way he acted. Ponyboy also changes when he wants to be in the rumble because he doesn’t really like to fight. That really surprised me because he doesn’t seem like the kid that would want to fight or hurt anybody. He was arguing with his older, protective brother Darry to get him to let him go to the rumble, and participate in this event.
Even if Darry won’t let Ponyboy go to the rumble, this is the connection I made. Sometimes mine and my friend’s parents don’t let us do things we want to because it might be dangerous or I don’t even know because I don’t understand parents. But this part of the book reminds me of family, because I can relate to how Ponyboy feels when he can’t do something fun that he was looking forward to.
Throughout this whole book, Ponyboy changed, because in the beginning, he thought Darry hated him, but by the end, he realized that all Darry was trying to do is look after him as a good father figure. Another way he changed is that he eventually noticed that after talking to Randy, he realized that there wasn’t that much of a difference between Greasers, and Socs. They are all just people he thought. Over all he just matured. He just basically grows up and made realizations that being the youngest off all Greasers, it is good because not even the older Greasers would understand, by going through a really hard two weeks or so, with everything piling on since one of his good friend Johnny’s death occurred.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Themes of the Outsiders
The Themes of The Outsiders
Authors Note:
The Outsiders is a novel that my Language arts class was required to read. At first I thought it was kind of not my type and I didn’t really understand the message that it was trying to send. This book turned out to be a very good read. I feel as if there are three themes in the book.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy, Stay Gold” said Johnny as he was slipping away into eternal life. This was his last words to poor Ponyboy, the Greaser who was also known as a brother of Johnny and the rest of the gang. The innocents slipped out of his body the way you would have expected a cold blooded killer to do so. The only difference was Johnny was not a cold blooded killer he was a young man who lost his innocents as a child, and had gang members for a family. He had been stereo typed from the time he was a Greaser until the day he died on his hospital bed.
The three themes for the Outsiders are, Loss of innocents, Family and stereotypes. The greasers all had hard up bringing some from broken homes and others had to raise themselves. Family is often times thought of as, your biological mother and her brothers and sisters, your biological father and his brothers and sisters, and you biological Grandparents. This is not true for the Greasers. Family. Friends are family for them. Dally, Darry, Johnny, Sodapop, and Ponyboy are all greasers. They are a “Gang” or as they call themselves brothers. Family is the people who love you, care for you, and will always be there for you. This is what the greasers have always thought.
Loss of innocents. The loss of childhood often occurs when the child becomes an adult at age 18.This is not true for the Greasers. They have been picking fights and getting themselves into trouble from an early age. Although I can see why they do what they do, it isn’t right what some of them do. Their parents are absent from their life and they have to fend for themselves. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis' parents died in a car accident when they were younger. Ever since they have become greasers and have gotten into trouble. The greasers have all lost their innocents when they became a “gang” member. Darry was borderline-Soc; Star football player, good grades, but after the devastating death of his parents he had to throw all that away to become the father figure of his two younger brothers. Even though Darry was a little tough on his brothers, it turns out he only wants the best for them.
That brings me to the third theme, Stereo typing. I have had stereo typing in my life, I have been stereo typed as dumb because I am a cheerleader, and I have also been stereo typed because of someone I use to hang out with. This effected my life in a negative way. The same way with the greasers. They we stereo typed because of their broken homes and they way they sometimes would act. Also the greasers were stereo typed as bad people, let me ask you this. Would a “bad” person run into a burning church to save children? Yes it might have been an act for self proclaim but he still did it. Stereo tying is one of the lead concepts in this book.
The book the Outsiders has three themes, Family, Stereo Typing and Loss of Innocents. All three of these are key in understanding this novel. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an eye opening story about two groups and how they act and react to their life styles and the lifestyle of others. This book is a great read and it truly shows what really matters.
Authors Note:
The Outsiders is a novel that my Language arts class was required to read. At first I thought it was kind of not my type and I didn’t really understand the message that it was trying to send. This book turned out to be a very good read. I feel as if there are three themes in the book.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy, Stay Gold” said Johnny as he was slipping away into eternal life. This was his last words to poor Ponyboy, the Greaser who was also known as a brother of Johnny and the rest of the gang. The innocents slipped out of his body the way you would have expected a cold blooded killer to do so. The only difference was Johnny was not a cold blooded killer he was a young man who lost his innocents as a child, and had gang members for a family. He had been stereo typed from the time he was a Greaser until the day he died on his hospital bed.
The three themes for the Outsiders are, Loss of innocents, Family and stereotypes. The greasers all had hard up bringing some from broken homes and others had to raise themselves. Family is often times thought of as, your biological mother and her brothers and sisters, your biological father and his brothers and sisters, and you biological Grandparents. This is not true for the Greasers. Family. Friends are family for them. Dally, Darry, Johnny, Sodapop, and Ponyboy are all greasers. They are a “Gang” or as they call themselves brothers. Family is the people who love you, care for you, and will always be there for you. This is what the greasers have always thought.
Loss of innocents. The loss of childhood often occurs when the child becomes an adult at age 18.This is not true for the Greasers. They have been picking fights and getting themselves into trouble from an early age. Although I can see why they do what they do, it isn’t right what some of them do. Their parents are absent from their life and they have to fend for themselves. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis' parents died in a car accident when they were younger. Ever since they have become greasers and have gotten into trouble. The greasers have all lost their innocents when they became a “gang” member. Darry was borderline-Soc; Star football player, good grades, but after the devastating death of his parents he had to throw all that away to become the father figure of his two younger brothers. Even though Darry was a little tough on his brothers, it turns out he only wants the best for them.
That brings me to the third theme, Stereo typing. I have had stereo typing in my life, I have been stereo typed as dumb because I am a cheerleader, and I have also been stereo typed because of someone I use to hang out with. This effected my life in a negative way. The same way with the greasers. They we stereo typed because of their broken homes and they way they sometimes would act. Also the greasers were stereo typed as bad people, let me ask you this. Would a “bad” person run into a burning church to save children? Yes it might have been an act for self proclaim but he still did it. Stereo tying is one of the lead concepts in this book.
The book the Outsiders has three themes, Family, Stereo Typing and Loss of Innocents. All three of these are key in understanding this novel. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an eye opening story about two groups and how they act and react to their life styles and the lifestyle of others. This book is a great read and it truly shows what really matters.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Letter to Ponyboy
Author's note: This is a letter from Dally to Ponyboy to tell him the anger he feels towards him to listen to his brothers.
Dear Ponyboy,
The anger I feel for you and Johnny is intense. It burns within like the fire we saved the children from. Johnny and Dally, and Sodapop Curtis- saving children’s lives… The fire inside subsides when I think of them, those children, children with a chance to grow old, whether they are greasers or socs, whether they made the same mistakes we did or the socs mistakes. I guess Johnny was right when he said “we were just ‘people’”. The anger that blares up is when I think of Johnny, he’s got no one. Just us. A lot of good that would do him now. A part of me wishes we never drove by that church. Never saw a thing. Never heard children cry. I think we would all be alive! He will probably die, you know. Ponyboy, you have a chance- listen to your brothers. You have always had a good heart, just please, listen to your brothers.
From, Dally.
Dear Ponyboy,
The anger I feel for you and Johnny is intense. It burns within like the fire we saved the children from. Johnny and Dally, and Sodapop Curtis- saving children’s lives… The fire inside subsides when I think of them, those children, children with a chance to grow old, whether they are greasers or socs, whether they made the same mistakes we did or the socs mistakes. I guess Johnny was right when he said “we were just ‘people’”. The anger that blares up is when I think of Johnny, he’s got no one. Just us. A lot of good that would do him now. A part of me wishes we never drove by that church. Never saw a thing. Never heard children cry. I think we would all be alive! He will probably die, you know. Ponyboy, you have a chance- listen to your brothers. You have always had a good heart, just please, listen to your brothers.
From, Dally.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
School Times
What would it be like to start school at 9, rather than 7:30? It would be so helpful for students, because you get more sleep, you can eat breakfast, shower, and have more time to get ready. Why is it so important to shower, eat breakfast, sleep longer, and have generally more time in the mornings? I’ll tell you. Although starting school later is a fabulous idea, it’s really hard to change times and convince the school board.
First, it’s important to get more sleep, because when you wake up you would have no problem getting out if bed. When the average teenage student wakes up in the mornings before school, they tend to be tired and cranky and all they want to do is sleep, but if you get a few more hours of sleep than you would regularly you would feel so refreshed, and ready for the day. Getting more sleep would mean being more alert throughout the rest of the day. It’s amazing how if you don’t get enough sleep in one night how it effects your whole day. It makes you irritable, annoyed, and just rude in general, also when you don’t get enough sleep you don’t focus as well resulting in a bad grade in school in any subject.
Though getting enough sleep is very important, another really important reason why schools should start at 9 is because when you wake up earlier, you aren’t hungry, so you won’t eat breakfast. Breakfast is a really good way to start the day, and is highly recommended by parents, teachers, and other students, because it supplies you energy, more brain power, you won’t be that hungry for lunch and tests prove that when students eat breakfast, they get better scores on homework, tests, quizzes, and even physical challenges in gym class and after school sports.
Furthermore, eating breakfast is very healthy and a great way to start your day, another way to start your day is to shower. When you wake up, and take a cold/warm shower it makes you completely refreshed and ready for anything during the day, and you’re clean so it’s better when you go through your day at school, activities, sports, and even doing homework, because as weird as it sounds, showering in the morning can change your whole day. When you wake up, you don’t want to get out of bed so you can force yourself to take a cold shower, and that would really wake you up in the morning to make you briefly alert of what’s going on. How could waking up later, but still having the same amount of time to get ready make it seem like you have more time? If you wake up later, you have gotten more sleep, so you are really renewed and get things done quicker, giving you time to shower, eat breakfast, and everything else your morning consists without feeling rushed.
Trying to convince the school board that starting school later is a good idea would be hard, because everything is already set and it would just be confusing and it would be a lot of work to make it happen. Even though there are really good reasons why starting school later, there are also really good reasons why you should start school earlier. A reason is to prepare you for a job, or career that you have to get up earlier for.
First, it’s important to get more sleep, because when you wake up you would have no problem getting out if bed. When the average teenage student wakes up in the mornings before school, they tend to be tired and cranky and all they want to do is sleep, but if you get a few more hours of sleep than you would regularly you would feel so refreshed, and ready for the day. Getting more sleep would mean being more alert throughout the rest of the day. It’s amazing how if you don’t get enough sleep in one night how it effects your whole day. It makes you irritable, annoyed, and just rude in general, also when you don’t get enough sleep you don’t focus as well resulting in a bad grade in school in any subject.
Though getting enough sleep is very important, another really important reason why schools should start at 9 is because when you wake up earlier, you aren’t hungry, so you won’t eat breakfast. Breakfast is a really good way to start the day, and is highly recommended by parents, teachers, and other students, because it supplies you energy, more brain power, you won’t be that hungry for lunch and tests prove that when students eat breakfast, they get better scores on homework, tests, quizzes, and even physical challenges in gym class and after school sports.
Furthermore, eating breakfast is very healthy and a great way to start your day, another way to start your day is to shower. When you wake up, and take a cold/warm shower it makes you completely refreshed and ready for anything during the day, and you’re clean so it’s better when you go through your day at school, activities, sports, and even doing homework, because as weird as it sounds, showering in the morning can change your whole day. When you wake up, you don’t want to get out of bed so you can force yourself to take a cold shower, and that would really wake you up in the morning to make you briefly alert of what’s going on. How could waking up later, but still having the same amount of time to get ready make it seem like you have more time? If you wake up later, you have gotten more sleep, so you are really renewed and get things done quicker, giving you time to shower, eat breakfast, and everything else your morning consists without feeling rushed.
Trying to convince the school board that starting school later is a good idea would be hard, because everything is already set and it would just be confusing and it would be a lot of work to make it happen. Even though there are really good reasons why starting school later, there are also really good reasons why you should start school earlier. A reason is to prepare you for a job, or career that you have to get up earlier for.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Party Summer
Party Summer
By Rhiannon Wasley
Authors note: This is an essay about supporting details and important issues included in leading up to a climax.
Have you ever had a job in a creepy old hotel on an island? Cari and three friends got jobs at The Howling Wolf Inn, but what they realize are that the hotel is completely empty but all that’s left there are the employees. The mystery of Party Summer, by R-L-Stine contains many interesting parts that lead to a shocking climax, to a point of no return.
The most important part of the climax is the tense parts leading up to it. All from the beginning there has been a mystery on their hands, the question is, why did they get jobs if the only people at their new occupation is the owner, the owner’s brother, and them? That is one part of the leading passage of the understanding of the climax. Another part is when Jan was wandering the hallow halls of The Howling Wolf Inn and saw a person with a pale face, golden hair, and piercing black eyes, but she was young. The only problem was, she was a ghost.
Even though all that was running through Jan’s head was, could she be a spirit of a young girl who had died in that very hotel? There was never a thought that she could be imagining this all. Until Cari heard the same ghost talking to the owner, Simon’s creepy brother, Edward in a room about not having a party, but all she said was “no party” a couple more important parts stepping up to the climax, would be when Jan went missing. I think that was a really important part of the mysterious story, because she is one of the main characters and obviously she went missing so that’s a sneaky twist of the book.
Although there are a lot of really important, shocking moments that are intense of Party Summer, the climax is the most interesting part of the book. The climax is when Edward goes crazy, and murders his own brother inside the hotel, and almost killed Cari, Eric, and Craig. But they were smart and planned an escape, too bad Jan had disappeared, because now nobody knows where she is.
By Rhiannon Wasley
Authors note: This is an essay about supporting details and important issues included in leading up to a climax.
Have you ever had a job in a creepy old hotel on an island? Cari and three friends got jobs at The Howling Wolf Inn, but what they realize are that the hotel is completely empty but all that’s left there are the employees. The mystery of Party Summer, by R-L-Stine contains many interesting parts that lead to a shocking climax, to a point of no return.
The most important part of the climax is the tense parts leading up to it. All from the beginning there has been a mystery on their hands, the question is, why did they get jobs if the only people at their new occupation is the owner, the owner’s brother, and them? That is one part of the leading passage of the understanding of the climax. Another part is when Jan was wandering the hallow halls of The Howling Wolf Inn and saw a person with a pale face, golden hair, and piercing black eyes, but she was young. The only problem was, she was a ghost.
Even though all that was running through Jan’s head was, could she be a spirit of a young girl who had died in that very hotel? There was never a thought that she could be imagining this all. Until Cari heard the same ghost talking to the owner, Simon’s creepy brother, Edward in a room about not having a party, but all she said was “no party” a couple more important parts stepping up to the climax, would be when Jan went missing. I think that was a really important part of the mysterious story, because she is one of the main characters and obviously she went missing so that’s a sneaky twist of the book.
Although there are a lot of really important, shocking moments that are intense of Party Summer, the climax is the most interesting part of the book. The climax is when Edward goes crazy, and murders his own brother inside the hotel, and almost killed Cari, Eric, and Craig. But they were smart and planned an escape, too bad Jan had disappeared, because now nobody knows where she is.
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