Blog #8
Theme Statement: In chapter 8 of The Other Wes Moore, the other Wes faces consequences from his crime, while the author Wes continues to fulfill his dreams.
Literary Device: Imagery
"Unlike the other three defendants, Wes had decided to take his case to trial. He insisted that he was not there the day of the murder. Twenty-five witnesses were called, sixty exhibits were displayed, store security videotapes were shown, and photos were employed by both sides." (Moore 155)
Analysis: In chapter 8, the other Wes faces prison because of his crime, while the author Wes is successfully managing his life. During this chapter, the plot changes because the reader is now seeing how the author became a successful scholar, while the other Wes, sitting in prison made terrible choices and ended up ruining his life. This citation is an example of imagery because the reader sees what is happening to Wes during his trial. The quote supports the theme statement because it shows a scene from Wes's trial, saying that he is caught in a bad situation, and later in the rest of the chapter the author is speaking to the mayor, and continuing on the path of life. A connection between the story and the real world is how doing bad things when you're young can affect you for the rest of your life. Therefore Wes is sending a message: don't make bad decisions that will get you into trouble, because later in life you will regret them.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Monday, October 26, 2015
Blog #7
Theme Statement: In chapter 7 of The Other Wes Moore, through personification, the author Wes learns how military school will affect the rest of your life.
Literary Device: Personification
"I realized that I had to make sure these schools knew my name regardless of what I did on the ninety feet of hardwood that had brought me to their attention. Just as military school had slowly grown on me, so had academic life. I actually liked reading now... I was riveted by that book. The characters jumped off the page, and I felt myself as engulfed in their destiny as I was in my own." (Moore 130)
Analysis: In chapter 7, the author Wes is in military school. He learns many things and inspires him to do more with his life. Moore uses personification to show how Wes has really learned from this school because he says: "just as military school had slowly grown on me." This is personification because a school cannot grow on you, therefore using human characteristics to define something. This also shows that Wes really took military school seriously and it's a part of his life. He begins reading books, that later allow him to become an amazing writer. This changes the plot and Wes's character because you can see that he has really changed from attending military school. He went from selling drugs to reading books. Finally, this affects the rest of his life because as we now know he became a great scholar.
Theme Statement: In chapter 7 of The Other Wes Moore, through personification, the author Wes learns how military school will affect the rest of your life.
Literary Device: Personification
"I realized that I had to make sure these schools knew my name regardless of what I did on the ninety feet of hardwood that had brought me to their attention. Just as military school had slowly grown on me, so had academic life. I actually liked reading now... I was riveted by that book. The characters jumped off the page, and I felt myself as engulfed in their destiny as I was in my own." (Moore 130)
Analysis: In chapter 7, the author Wes is in military school. He learns many things and inspires him to do more with his life. Moore uses personification to show how Wes has really learned from this school because he says: "just as military school had slowly grown on me." This is personification because a school cannot grow on you, therefore using human characteristics to define something. This also shows that Wes really took military school seriously and it's a part of his life. He begins reading books, that later allow him to become an amazing writer. This changes the plot and Wes's character because you can see that he has really changed from attending military school. He went from selling drugs to reading books. Finally, this affects the rest of his life because as we now know he became a great scholar.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Blog #6
Theme Statement: In chapter six of The Other Wes Moore the author shows how not everyone accomplishes their goals.
Literary Device: Foreshadowing
"When it was Woody's turn, he practically danced up to the principal. The crowed laughed as Woody shook the principal's hand and looked up at his family, throwing his arms in the air in a triumphant stance. He carefully jogged down the steps at the end of the stage. As he turned the corner and looked at the dozens of folding chairs where the graduates were sitting, his mind wandered to the people who weren't there." (Moore 109)
Analysis: In chapter six, the other Wes Moore's friend, Woody, and other people are graduating high school except for some students like Wes. Woody is happy until he realizes that Wes isn't there to celebrate the joyous occasion with him. The author uses foreshadowing in this quote because at the end he writes "his mind wandered to the people who weren't there," allowing the reader to wonder just who didn't graduate. The quote supports the theme statement because those people, or Wes, who weren't graduating didn't accomplish their goal of successfully completing high school. Foreshadowing advances the plot by allowing the reader to develop a deeper understanding of the story. Specifically, it allows them to see Wes's future without a high school diploma. A connection between the story line and real world knowledge reveals that students who fail to graduate have fewer opportunities in life than those who do.
Theme Statement: In chapter six of The Other Wes Moore the author shows how not everyone accomplishes their goals.
Literary Device: Foreshadowing
"When it was Woody's turn, he practically danced up to the principal. The crowed laughed as Woody shook the principal's hand and looked up at his family, throwing his arms in the air in a triumphant stance. He carefully jogged down the steps at the end of the stage. As he turned the corner and looked at the dozens of folding chairs where the graduates were sitting, his mind wandered to the people who weren't there." (Moore 109)
Analysis: In chapter six, the other Wes Moore's friend, Woody, and other people are graduating high school except for some students like Wes. Woody is happy until he realizes that Wes isn't there to celebrate the joyous occasion with him. The author uses foreshadowing in this quote because at the end he writes "his mind wandered to the people who weren't there," allowing the reader to wonder just who didn't graduate. The quote supports the theme statement because those people, or Wes, who weren't graduating didn't accomplish their goal of successfully completing high school. Foreshadowing advances the plot by allowing the reader to develop a deeper understanding of the story. Specifically, it allows them to see Wes's future without a high school diploma. A connection between the story line and real world knowledge reveals that students who fail to graduate have fewer opportunities in life than those who do.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Blog #5
Theme Statement: In chapter five of The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes reveals his feelings of how love conquers all.
Literary Device: Diction
"The burn consumed the entire left side of my face. Not willing to show fear or weakness, I stood there looking back at her. I guess she was expecting tears or apologies. When neither came, she reached back and unloaded another slap to my face. She looked at me again, waiting for a reaction. My jaws clenched, and my hands balled into fists. By this time, I was five ices taller than she was, and my recently defined shoulders, biceps, and triceps made me look older than my age. Every reflex inside said to strike back, but I didn't. How could I? She was my everything, the person I loved and respected most in my world. I had no idea what to do. Neither did my mother, it seemed. Her almond- shaped eyes were overflowing with anger, disappointment, and confusion, and maybe even a little fear. I would never hit my mother." (Moore 88)
Analysis: In chapter five, the author Wes accidentally hits his little sister in the face, and she ends up telling their mom. The mother storms into Wes's room scaring him which provokes a theme of how love can conquer all. The author uses diction, in the quotation, like the words slap, clenched, balled, strike, and overflowing to evoke emotions of fear among the reader of what will happen next. The quote also supports the theme statement because the author Wes Moore is saying that he loves his mom more than anything therefore he decided not to hit her. This advances the plot because the reader sees how Wes reacts to other characters, in this case his mother. This is known as a complex character (level B). Most people say that love conquers all because if you love someone you would do anything not to hurt them.
Literary Device: Diction
"The burn consumed the entire left side of my face. Not willing to show fear or weakness, I stood there looking back at her. I guess she was expecting tears or apologies. When neither came, she reached back and unloaded another slap to my face. She looked at me again, waiting for a reaction. My jaws clenched, and my hands balled into fists. By this time, I was five ices taller than she was, and my recently defined shoulders, biceps, and triceps made me look older than my age. Every reflex inside said to strike back, but I didn't. How could I? She was my everything, the person I loved and respected most in my world. I had no idea what to do. Neither did my mother, it seemed. Her almond- shaped eyes were overflowing with anger, disappointment, and confusion, and maybe even a little fear. I would never hit my mother." (Moore 88)
Analysis: In chapter five, the author Wes accidentally hits his little sister in the face, and she ends up telling their mom. The mother storms into Wes's room scaring him which provokes a theme of how love can conquer all. The author uses diction, in the quotation, like the words slap, clenched, balled, strike, and overflowing to evoke emotions of fear among the reader of what will happen next. The quote also supports the theme statement because the author Wes Moore is saying that he loves his mom more than anything therefore he decided not to hit her. This advances the plot because the reader sees how Wes reacts to other characters, in this case his mother. This is known as a complex character (level B). Most people say that love conquers all because if you love someone you would do anything not to hurt them.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Blog #4
Theme Statement: People often try to get others to do what they want them to do, but rarely can they force them to do such things.
Literary Device: Metaphor
"'You know what, dude,' he said, 'I'm good'. Tony was exhausted. Tired from the beating he just gave Wes. Tired from repeating himself. 'If you won't listen, that's on you. You have potential to do so much more, go so much further. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, right?'" (Moore 71-72)
Analysis: This quotation is very powerful because it sends a beautiful message. It proves the theme statement because it shows how Tony was trying so hard to make Wes do what he wanted him to do, but gave up because Wes refused to listen. As the plot unfolds, Tony finally reveals a change of character. We see how he surrenders his fight of trying to be a good older brother to Wes. This advances the plot because a new dilemma has occurred, allowing the reader to foreshadow what will happen next. This citation is a metaphor because it's representing how Tony relates his situation to the metaphor "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it".
Theme Statement: People often try to get others to do what they want them to do, but rarely can they force them to do such things.
Literary Device: Metaphor
"'You know what, dude,' he said, 'I'm good'. Tony was exhausted. Tired from the beating he just gave Wes. Tired from repeating himself. 'If you won't listen, that's on you. You have potential to do so much more, go so much further. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, right?'" (Moore 71-72)
Analysis: This quotation is very powerful because it sends a beautiful message. It proves the theme statement because it shows how Tony was trying so hard to make Wes do what he wanted him to do, but gave up because Wes refused to listen. As the plot unfolds, Tony finally reveals a change of character. We see how he surrenders his fight of trying to be a good older brother to Wes. This advances the plot because a new dilemma has occurred, allowing the reader to foreshadow what will happen next. This citation is a metaphor because it's representing how Tony relates his situation to the metaphor "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it".
Monday, September 28, 2015
Blog #3
Theme Statement: The people and role models that have influenced you, or the ones you look up to, will most likely allow you to follow in their footsteps.
Literary Device: Foreshadowing
"He knew what the game was, the same game that had consumed Tony and put a bullet or two in him. The same game Tony continually urged Wes to stay out of. But Wes rationalized. I am not selling drugs...He didn't bother thinking about Tony's warnings, that no matter what job or position you took within it, this was a game for keeps." (Moore 58-59)
Analysis: This quote shows that your role models influence you to follow in their footsteps because Wes is taking in what Tony has done, which influenced him to do similarly bad things. For example, Tony was involved with drugs, which led him to a bad situation, where he was nearly killed. Wes knew that Tony didn't want him to make bad choices. But since Tony was still alive and well, Wes ignored him and did bad things anyway, just like his brother. I think this quote shows foreshadowing because Wes says he is not selling drugs. Later in the chapter, however, Wes says he wants to start selling drugs in the future. Finally, this quote relates to the theme statement because it shows that Tony, Wes's role model, has influenced Wes to follow in his footsteps to do the bad things that he did, like selling and doing drugs, and not doing what he is told to do.
Theme Statement: The people and role models that have influenced you, or the ones you look up to, will most likely allow you to follow in their footsteps.
Literary Device: Foreshadowing
"He knew what the game was, the same game that had consumed Tony and put a bullet or two in him. The same game Tony continually urged Wes to stay out of. But Wes rationalized. I am not selling drugs...He didn't bother thinking about Tony's warnings, that no matter what job or position you took within it, this was a game for keeps." (Moore 58-59)
Analysis: This quote shows that your role models influence you to follow in their footsteps because Wes is taking in what Tony has done, which influenced him to do similarly bad things. For example, Tony was involved with drugs, which led him to a bad situation, where he was nearly killed. Wes knew that Tony didn't want him to make bad choices. But since Tony was still alive and well, Wes ignored him and did bad things anyway, just like his brother. I think this quote shows foreshadowing because Wes says he is not selling drugs. Later in the chapter, however, Wes says he wants to start selling drugs in the future. Finally, this quote relates to the theme statement because it shows that Tony, Wes's role model, has influenced Wes to follow in his footsteps to do the bad things that he did, like selling and doing drugs, and not doing what he is told to do.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Blog #2
Theme Statement: In chapter two, of The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore portrays how stereotypes and expectations are broken.
Literary Device: Metaphor
"In West Baltimore, white people were a rare sight, so White Boy took the brunt of constant teasing. Despite clowning him about it, they loved him. Wes would always say, 'the only thing white about him is his skin. Everything else is black. He's a real black dude.'" (page 31)
Analysis: This quotation shows how stereotypes and expectations are broken and not followed for many reasons. For example, this proves that the white boy in the story, even though the color of his skin is white, doesn't represent the norm of a white boy. I think this is very important because it didn't matter that his skin was white, he was still respected and treated well. This goes against stereotypes, because not all white people should be expected to act a certain way. The same thing should go for black people, and any other race. This quote is a metaphor because it symbolizes stereotypes when it comes to race.
Reflection on Socratic Seminar:
The socratic seminar influenced my thinking on a topic. It made me think about expectations and stereotypes around the world. I thought it was a great topic discussion, however we didn't really touch very much on it. We live in a world where mostly everything is based on stereotypes and expectations for every person. During the 1900’s most women were expected to stay at home and watch their children, while the husband went off to work and earned money for the family. Now a days, these stereotypes and expectations have gone down, and I think our society has become a better place. One thing that was said during the discussion was about the other Wes Moore hitting his little sister, Nikki. I thought this provoked emotion because it was sad to think that the other Wes Moore’s mother was in an abusive relationship and that she wasn't allowed to fight back, because that was her expectation.
I don't remember much of the discussion in detail, however I do remember a few points that were made about women’s expectations in the other Wes Moore that I was in agreement with. I also agreed with the points made about Grandma Lynn, and how she didn't follow her expectations, and that it was fine if she didn’t. I didn’t agree by one point made about how Susie’s father started to drink again, and how this showed that everything was normal and happy. Drinking doesn't show any kind of happiness. If I could have said one more thing, I would have added a few quotes and citations in there, because it would have helped me back up my evidence. For example, “I told you, don't you ever put your hands on a woman!” (page 5). This citation proves my point about women’s expectations in the Other Wes Moore book.
I thought a few things worked really well during the seminar. For example, we were all very respectful towards one another. We all talked at least once. We had a good discussion, analyzed certain details, and asked very good questions. I also thought that the discussion leaders were very good, and encouraged other students to talk and participate.
Some things that needed improvement were as follows. I think that many more people needed to speak and share their ideas. I also think that the rubric is very strict, and could have been a little more lenient. I thought that the discussion was good, however needed to connect the two texts more. I also thought that there wasn't much time for a discussion, and think that half time should be quicker.
Theme Statement: In chapter two, of The Other Wes Moore, the author Wes Moore portrays how stereotypes and expectations are broken.
Literary Device: Metaphor
"In West Baltimore, white people were a rare sight, so White Boy took the brunt of constant teasing. Despite clowning him about it, they loved him. Wes would always say, 'the only thing white about him is his skin. Everything else is black. He's a real black dude.'" (page 31)
Analysis: This quotation shows how stereotypes and expectations are broken and not followed for many reasons. For example, this proves that the white boy in the story, even though the color of his skin is white, doesn't represent the norm of a white boy. I think this is very important because it didn't matter that his skin was white, he was still respected and treated well. This goes against stereotypes, because not all white people should be expected to act a certain way. The same thing should go for black people, and any other race. This quote is a metaphor because it symbolizes stereotypes when it comes to race.
Reflection on Socratic Seminar:
I don't remember much of the discussion in detail, however I do remember a few points that were made about women’s expectations in the other Wes Moore that I was in agreement with. I also agreed with the points made about Grandma Lynn, and how she didn't follow her expectations, and that it was fine if she didn’t. I didn’t agree by one point made about how Susie’s father started to drink again, and how this showed that everything was normal and happy. Drinking doesn't show any kind of happiness. If I could have said one more thing, I would have added a few quotes and citations in there, because it would have helped me back up my evidence. For example, “I told you, don't you ever put your hands on a woman!” (page 5). This citation proves my point about women’s expectations in the Other Wes Moore book.
I thought a few things worked really well during the seminar. For example, we were all very respectful towards one another. We all talked at least once. We had a good discussion, analyzed certain details, and asked very good questions. I also thought that the discussion leaders were very good, and encouraged other students to talk and participate.
Some things that needed improvement were as follows. I think that many more people needed to speak and share their ideas. I also think that the rubric is very strict, and could have been a little more lenient. I thought that the discussion was good, however needed to connect the two texts more. I also thought that there wasn't much time for a discussion, and think that half time should be quicker.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Blog #1
Blog #1
Theme Statement: The absence of a father during a child's early years can have a negative impact on the child's life.
Literary Device: Flashback
"I was his main man. He was my protector. That is one of my only two memories I have of my father. The other was when I watched him die." (Moore 11)
Analysis: Wesley Moore lost his father from a terrible disease at age three. I think that losing his father changed his personality and him as a person. For example, he had many great memories with his father, because they were like brothers to each other. His father would tell him how to act and how to behave. When he lost his father, he began to lose memories. He grew up not knowing how to handle certain situations. And without a father, he developed in ways that he might not have if his father had been around. This quote proves the theme statement and shows how both the relationship with his father and his father's death affected him in many ways.
Theme Statement: The absence of a father during a child's early years can have a negative impact on the child's life.
Literary Device: Flashback
"I was his main man. He was my protector. That is one of my only two memories I have of my father. The other was when I watched him die." (Moore 11)
Analysis: Wesley Moore lost his father from a terrible disease at age three. I think that losing his father changed his personality and him as a person. For example, he had many great memories with his father, because they were like brothers to each other. His father would tell him how to act and how to behave. When he lost his father, he began to lose memories. He grew up not knowing how to handle certain situations. And without a father, he developed in ways that he might not have if his father had been around. This quote proves the theme statement and shows how both the relationship with his father and his father's death affected him in many ways.
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