The book “The Rules for Disappearing,” by Ashley Elston is about a girl who is in the government’s witness protection program. All she wants to do is live a normal life, she wants to live like a normal teenager. She’s always mad at her dad because she believes he’s the reason that they’re in witness protection. What she doesn’t know is that she is the one who witnessed it, the cause. All her dad was trying to do was to protect her, shield her from the truth. Throughout this book the setting impacts how you think of the scene. It causes the image you can create inside your mind.

            An example of when setting impacted me as a reader was on Meg’s first day working at the pizza place. After her shift ended it was late at night, and she had to walk home. She doesn’t live in the best of neighborhoods so she could get mugged or kidnapped. The setting was late at night, it was windy and very cold. It was late at night and it was deserted, no one was around. When she walked out of the pizza place she got the chilling feeling that you get when your scared and you feel like you’re being watched. The author said “The wind is whipping right through my hoodie and my teeth are chattering.” The image that this setting detail created in my mind was like a Halloween night except there’s no trick or treaters. I imagined autumn leaves blowing around and it being freezing cold. It felt like a perfect night to get the feeling that someone’s watching you. The author gave the perfect details for me to imagine this.

            Another example of when setting impacted me and allowed me to create an image in my might was the night when Ethan brought Meg on a hog hunt. A hog hunt is when you chase hogs and kill them because they hurt the farm. It’s again, late at night, but this time it’s in the forest. They found a hog and they’re waiting to capture it, but Ben wants all the glory so he runs ahead and the hog gets angry. The hog charged at Ethan and his dog, Bandit tries to protect it. Ethan takes out his gun and he shoots the hog. All at once a vision comes to Meg, she remembers the reason that they’re in witness protection. It a night with a pitch black sky and no light at all. It’s in the middle of the forest and nobody, but Ethan and Ben are with her. The image that was created in my mind was trees surrounding them and all the branches shaking back and forth. I also imagined the moonlight through the trees and Meg falling to the ground in memory. The authors description of the setting created a powerful image for me.

            Overall, I think that setting has a big part in how you interpret and read a book. If the author creates good setting then you will have a better experience with the book. In my book the author did a good job and I felt that I got the full experience. Setting is a big part of a book.

                        

Argument Essay

            Kids should be allowed to not have to stick with extracurricular activities that they have signed up for because being a kid is all about experimenting and trying new things. If your being forced to stick with something that's time being wasted on finding something that you like. The debate article "Should Parents Make Kids Stick With Extracurriculars," by Bruce Feiler and Kj Dell'Antonia give to sides to the argument, one side saying yes, the other saying no. I agree with the Kj's side which states that kids should be allowed to quit extracurriculars.

            One reason why kids shouldn't be forced to stick with extracurriculars is because because they're their own person and they should be allowed to make decisions that affect them. Kj Dell'Antonia says "I can't see any reason to push my kids into anything they don't want to do for themselves.” What Kj is saying is that if your kid doesn’t  feel the need to participate in a certain activity then they shouldn’t be forced to keep on doing it.  Being a kid is about finding out what you like to do and if you’re tied down with one activity then you can’t experiment with other activities. Kj also says that “Parents make so many decisions for their kids just by virtue of who and where they are.” This means that parents help their kids make decisions just by being themselves and living where they live. An example is if you live near mountains with skiing slopes then your child is likely to try skiing. If a parent played baseball as a kid then your child will probably want to try baseball too. Kids are people too, they are capable of making their own decisions. Why not let them?

            Another reason why kids shouldn’t be forced to stick with extracurriculars is because kids should enjoy what they're doing, they shouldn't hate it. Kj says "Hours spent at the piano are hours not spent finding something you love for itself." You only get to be a kid once so you should enjoy it. Who knows, when you grow up you might get a job that you absolutely positively hate. Kj is trying to tell the reader that you should stop being forced to do something and you should go out and find something you like because it's fun or interesting. Kj also says "hours spent arguing about the piano? Just not worth it." What she is telling the reader is that it's not worth the time to argue about something that you just don't like, you should go and find something that is appealing to you. Kids are kids and you only get to be a kid once so make the most out of it.

            Some may argue that the kids have made a commitment by joining an extracurricular and that they should have to stay with it, but they shouldn't be forced to do something that they hate because it's  immoral. Bruce Feiler says that "They've made a commitment to the other players or performers, and they can't bail." However if you really dislike something then you should be allowed to quit. Kj says "I see a cost in not quitting as well." Kids can learn a valuable lesson from quitting to. An example could be if they quit soccer they could miss it and realize that they actually do want to play soccer. You can learn from quitting as well, you learn what you like and what you don't like. It's all like a big experiment. 

            In conclusion kids should not be forced to stick with extracurriculars. They are kids and they are their own person. They should be allowed to make their own decisions. If not then the parent will step in to help. They should experiment and learn what they like.

Response to Faithful Elephants, by Yukio Tsuchiya

     Faithful Elephants, by Yukio Tsuchiya is a short story showing the terribleness of war and how sometimes you are forced to do things that you are repugnant against. It is a melancholy story teaching a lesson about the things that can happen as a result of a war. The story takes place in the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, and is about how to zoo is commanded to, by the army to kill all the animals. The story focuses on three elephants John, Tonky, and Wanly. They are starved to death because the army is scared of what will happen if they get loose.
     As a result of Japan being at war, the zoo is ordered to kill all the animals so they don't get loose and run wild in the city. At the time Japan is being bombed. Yukio writes "Bombs were dropped on Tokyo every day and night, like falling rain." He compares bombs to falling rain to give the reader an idea of how many bombs were dropped on Tokyo every day. The bombs were the reason that the animals had to be killed because the army was concerned for the people's safety. If the animals got loose then they would be in danger. The author also has the zookeepers say "Stop the war! Stop the war! Stop all wars!" As the zookeepers say this, they raise their fists to the sky as if to imply their sorrow towards the elephants and their resentment of the ongoing war. The zookeepers realize that if there wasn't a war happening then all the animals would be alive including John, Tonky, and Wanly. This short story really shows what effects a war can have on not only people, but also animals.
      In this short story, the author, Yukio Tsuchiya really focuses in on these three elephants, John, Tonky and Wanly and how they because it's the only way to kill them. At first, the zookeepers try to poison John by giving him poison potatoes. However, John is clever and only eats the good potatoes. The author writes "He ate the good potatoes, but each time he brought a poisoned potato to his mouth with his trunk, he threw it to the ground, kerplunk." This shows that John knows that he is trying to be poisoned and he refuses to give in. He's clever and has good spirit. The author describes Tonky and Wanly as sweet and loving, he says "These two had always gazed at people with loving eyes. They were sweet and gentlehearted." I think that yukio did this to tell the reader that they weren't just elephants, they were living animals like people and they could feel. Tonky and Wanly do their Banzai trick in an attempt to get food from the man who once gave them food. The trainer gave them food and everyone pretended not to see what he did because in Yukio's words "But everyone was hoping and praying that if the elephants could survive only one more day, the war might be over and the elephants would be saved." The zookeepers never gave up hope. They kept on hoping that the war would end so that the elephants could live. The elephants died doing their banzai trick. The author described it like"Both died leaning against the bars of the cage with their trunks stretched high in the air, still trying to do their banzai trick for the people who once fed them." The elephants died with hope and trying to get food. They never gave up. They always had faith even when they knew it was over. I think that this shows that war can take down even the biggest of the pack.
     Faithful elephants gives the reader a lesson about the terribleness of war and that sometimes you are forced to do things that you don't want to do. An example was the zookeepers had to kill the animals so that they didn't escape. I like that the elephants always had faith, it says that you should never give up no matter how hopeless it seems.

Zachary Gee
Class 805
Reading Response
     The book, Million-Dollar Throw, by John Green is about a 13 year old boy named Nate Brodie. Nate's life is more complicated than it's ever been. His best friend Abby is going blind, his dad lost his job, and they're about to lose their house.  When Nate buys a $500 football signed by his idol, he also wins a chance to get one million dollars at the Patriot's Thanksgiving game. His family needs the money more than ever and Nate wants Abby to have her eyesight. The money could do wonders for his family and for abby. Nate's family becomes closer than they've ever been before because of this experience. Million-Dollar Throw is a heart-warming story about friendship and unselfishness. Milllion-dollar throw teaches you that nobody is perfect, how friendship is a great thing, and what unselfishness is.

     One way that Million-dollar throw teaches the reader that nobody is perfect is by having Nate, the best quarterback in the city go into a slump and get benched. Nate had never gotten benched before, he wasn't playing well and couldn't help his team win. Nate had too many things on his mind to play well, he was thinking about his family losing their house and about Abby losing her eyesight. He  worried too much about making the throw too, he was scared that he would miss it and cost his family a much needed million dollars. One way that the book teaches the reader about friendship is by having Abby go to every one of Nate's football games even though she couldn't see most of them. Abby is Nate's best friend. She loved art and even has a special chair for Nate in her art studio. Abby go's to everyone of Nate's games and supports him. Nate constantly looks up into the crowd to find her. She taps her every time to show him that he's got this.  One way that the book shows unselfishness is by Nate getting Abby her eyesight back. He does months of research before the throw about Abby's eye disease. He even makes a trip up to the best eye doctor in the world to talk about Abby. When Nate wins the million dollars, the first thing he does is go to Abby and say "I'm getting you your eyesight back." This is a true act of unselfishness and shows the reader that Nate is a true friend.
     In conclusion the book, Million-Dollar Throw by John Green is a very meaningful book. It teaches about friendship, unselfishness, and that nobody is perfect. These are three very important lessons in life, John Green captured it all in one book. This book was spectacular.