On Dumpster Diving

Emmaline Russell

Parkinson

English 3

4-5-16

Author, Lars Eighner describes his experiences as a dumpster diver through his writing, On Dumpster Diving. Eighner strategically uses pathos throughout the piece in order to attract sympathy from the audience. Starting in paragraph seven, Eighner says, “I think it’s a sound and honorable niche, although if I could I would naturally prefer to live the comfortable consumer life, perhaps- and only perhaps- as a slightly less wasteful consumer, owing to what I scavenger,” (Eighner 7).  In my opinion this appeals to the audience in a sympathetic way. He is telling the audience how he wishes he could live a, comfortable, modern lifestyle. But instead he is forced to become an expert with digging through the trash. Also in paragraph 32 he says, “At first the new scavenger is filled with disgust and self-loathing,” (Eighner 33). This proves the almost, pathetic, attitude associated with living off of another’s trash. It’s not an ideal lifestyle and he points that out multiple times. I think Eighner really wanted the audience to feel thankful, and to be less wasteful. Eighner and many others don’t live as luxurious of a lifestyle.

America, Claude McKay

Emmaline Russell

Mrs. Parkinson

Bell 1

7 March 2016

America by Claude McKay is a poem written during the Harlem Renaissance. This poem portrays the two sides of life in America. McKay shows how rigorous work can be if you want to be on top. He also shows the safe side of America. He portrays how reliable and promising America is for him. I think both of these depictions are important to present day teenages. I think it should remind us to be thankful for what we have. We have safety provided to us “I stand within her walls with not a shred of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.” Many other countries do not have the luxury of protection like we do. Also he depicts the abundance of opportunity we have “Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, And see her might and granite wonders there”. We have the freedom of entrepreneurship and personal success in our mixed economy. As Americans we also need to be thankful for our diversity. The differences in backgrounds, thinking, skills, and talents drives competition and progression. It also makes life more interesting and enjoyable. “I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.” These are just some of the simple ways we can be thankful for what we have.

Writing Voice Assignment: Mark Bezos

Mark Bezos recaps an experience he has from his time being a volunteer fire fighter. In order to capture the attention of his audience he employs several aspects of writing voice. One technique Bezos uses is vivid imagery.


Imagery:


Mark Bezos uses imagery to set the scene. He begins at the beginning of the video by saying, "Here it was, the middle of the night, she was standing outside in the pouring rain, under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot, while her house was in flames." I think this is good detail to include at the beginning of a story so that the audience can really picture what the scene looked like. Also the audience can also get an idea of how the homeowner may have felt. Another good use of imagery appears about two minutes into the video when Bezos describes the salvaged objects as "treasures" this really emphasizes the importance of his assignment.


Insight:


Bezos uses his own understand to deliver a very powerful message. In the last minute of his video he says to the audience, " Don't wait until you make your first million to make a difference in somebody's life." Bezos is very successful man.

Comparison between Holden and the rattle in the car

Emmaline Russell

Kagan took her car to be looked at for a rattle that was driving her crazy. However no one was able to hear the sound she was describing. This connects to Holden on a very deep level. Holden has a rattle relative to what was written in the bottom of Kagan’s column. The death of his brother Allie is a constant noise to him. This is evident when Holden flashbacks to a memory, because they all in some way relate to Allie. The memory of Allie and knowing he will never create more is too much for Holden to handle. This is evident when Holden recalls the night in the garage after the day of Allie’s death. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the windows with my fist, just for the satisfaction of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn’t do it.” Not only does this memory remain with him but a physical nagging as well. Holden occasionally talks about the chronic pain from the night in the garage, “My hand still hurts me once in a while, when it rains and all, and I can’t make a real fist any more- not a tight one,” Another instance when Holden describes Allie’s baseball mitt. His brother had wrote poems all on the mitt to keep himself entertained in the outfield. When Stradlater asked Holden to write and English paper for him, Holden wrote about the mitt. Stradlater yelled at Holden when he saw the essay, one because it didn’t fit the requirements, and second because he didn’t know the importance of it. It’s like when Kagan took her car to the shop and they couldn’t hear any rattle. Stradlater never knew Allie or of him. The lack of importance fed into an outburst of disrespect. Holden had the opportunity to open up about it, but because of Stradlater’s reaction, Holden decided to keep on living his inclosed life.

Summer Assignment: Entry Four

One reason I choose Looking for Alaska is because I was familiar with the author. As many of you may know John Green also wrote The Fault in Our Stars. I did not read that book but almost all of my friends have and they all loved it. I don't recall hearing a single bad thing about that book so I assumed John Green was a phenomenal writer. In my opinion I was correct. The way he described simple objects was incredible. Not only did his descriptions paint a picture but they seemed real. The emotions he evoked from the characters were so realistic the reader couldn't help to feel along with them. Also a boy from my church was telling me about his favorite book and it was Looking for Alaska. He told me how he loved it, even though John Greens writing style has a reputation of being a little more romantic this book surpassed the expectation of a soppy love story. There were so connections I had with this book. Almost all the characters are teenagers. Teenagers that go to school, have friends, have kids that are not friends, and have real life problems so relating to this book was easy, which I kept me reading. I would recommend this book to just about anyone. John Green perfectly balances comedy, mystery, romance, sadness, action, and excitement. There wasn't a single dull page in this book. I highly recommend it!

Summer Assignment: Entry Three

"I stood up and ran outside. I made it to a trash can outside the gym, five feet from the double doors, and heaved toward Gatorade bottles and half-eaten McDonald's. But nothing much came out. I just heaved, my stomach muscles tightening and my throat opening and a gasping, guttural blech, going through the motions of vomiting over and over again. In between gags and coughs, I sucked air in hard. Her mouth. Her dead, cold mouth. To no be continued." (Green 140). In this section Miles is in shocked about the news he just heard. This passage propels the book into it's second half. It is difficult to fully analyze this section without giving away one of the biggest secrets and excitements of the book. I chose this section because it is one of the many cliff hangers the author leaves you with, practically forcing you to turn the page. This is a book packed with action, mystery, comedy, and romance. I don't remember reading a part of this book feeling bored. John Green does an excellent job giving the characters personality. To me it really felt like I was there at Culver Creek experiencing the same things as Chip, Miles, Alaska, Lara, and Takumi.

Summer Assignment: Entry Two

In Looking for Alaska the character Alaska Young desired mostly to be happy and care free. Alaska tried to achieve this by getting wasted and pulling pranks. When drinking could not solve her problems Alaska took drastic actions which altered every character in the second half of the book. Her best friend Miles wanted to seek a "great perhaps' and make new memories and experiences. Chip's desire was to keep his girlfriend happy even they had a horrible relationship, keep Alaska safe, and pull pranks. a theme from my book is live what you have to the best. This is because most of the characters have gotten a rough life and situations in life. They spend most of their free time complaining about it and grieving instead of learning from it and moving on. Finally toward the end of the book Miles came to the realization that you can't control what you get in life. However you can control how you deal with it and how your let it shape you into what you can become.