Harrison Bergeron

The short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut was one of the most profound and thought provoking books I have ever read. In the story, society has deemed it fit to equalize all people through means of stunting the abilities of people above average. Over time this average goes down and society as a whole is lessened each time.

This book is so though provoking in the sense that there are questions yet to be answered about the society`s function, and also deeper questions such as morality, right, and wrong. A couple of level two questions that seemed imperative to me were things like how the society deemed the averages and who orchestrated it, because there must have been some form of higher intelligence to oversee the society`s operations. There were also the more moral question such as if the society was right to average out it`s population. Was it fair? These questions can`t necessarily be answered be answered but only opinionated. My opinion for both of these questions is no.

My comment of Jack`s post
https://graysonallenftw.blogspot.com/2016/09/short-story.html?showComment=1475199193275


My comment on Casey`s blog
https://casey1205.blogspot.com/2016/09/100-word-story.html?showComment=1475199380897#c100254765212985340

short story week 5 blog

I turn on my television from across the room using my black, Samsung remote. I stream through Netflix effortlessly looking for tonight`s thrill. I stumble across a movie that I have never seen before.  I go to my pantry and grab a packet of pop secret. I take a quick walk over to my microwave and put the blue and white envelope inside.  I tap my foot while loud popping noises blare from the black heat box. When It is done popping I pull it out of the microwave. The package is steaming and also I notice the white colors on the paper are no longer white, but more of a yellowish tint. It is too hot to hold so I grab a blue, plastic bowl from a cabinet, poor the hot and ready popcorn into the bowl, and take a seat on my couch. I finally hit start on the movie. The Sixth Sense plays a half volume for two hours all the while popcorn cornels soar into my moth like reverse salmonella poisoning. I sit there enjoying every moment of it.

A Connecticut Yankee In King Author`s Court, by Mark Twain, is about a man who travels back in time to the mid-evil age from the twentieth century. Whats happening currently in my readings is that the Yankee has positioned himself right hand of the king. He managed to anoint himself as the most powerful wizard of all time by taking responsibility for an eclipse. He is now feared by most of the kingdom.

What I find interesting about the book is the way the writer, Mark Twain, sets up the protagonist to succeed using current knowledge that wasn`t known by the mid-evil world. That today`s basic knowledge can set one up for greatness in the past. It seems that the characters in that time not only lack knowledge but are extremely ignorant. I get the feeling like everyone but the main character is an idiot. I`m sure its meant to be this way i just thought it was interesting.  

Comments week 4

My  comment for Max`s blog.https://mhr416.blogspot.com/2016/09/dear-12-year-old.html?showComment=1474463555088#c7311031987995178297

My comment on Alex Wilson`s blog
https://blogsgotjokes.blogspot.com/2016/09/dear-13-year-old.html?showComment=1474463732153

Dear 11 year old me

Dear 11 year old,

Just be yourself. I know there are a lot of expectations for you but you don`t need to change. There will be a lot of bandwagons but you don`t need to hop on all of them. I know things are getting more stressful with school and friends but don`t worry about it. Remember to have fun.

Enjoy as much as you can. Middle school is the time to make friends and show who you really are. Make as many friends as you can because they can help you with almost every aspect of your life. Be smart and don`t get off to a bad start in Middle school. Get a good reputation.

Free reed book week 3

My free read book currently is A Connecticut Yankee In King Author`s Court by Mark Twain. Right now in the book the Yankee has been captured and the knights of the round table have been debating on the best way to kill him. They eventually decide just to strip him and take him off into the dungeon.

While I`m not very far into A Connecticut Yankee In King Author`s Court but my impressions are that it is a well written and thought out book that is mostly satirical humor. I enjoy the little whimsical sketches that appear every now and then. So far I enjoy reading it and look forward to continue reading.

I recently watched the movie Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. A basic Summery of the book is that a nine-year old`s father dies during the terrorist attacks on September eleventh. After his fathers death he finds a key and most of the movie is comprised of him searching for the lock it goes with.

I thought the movie did well on expressing the how the tragedy of 9/11 had that particular family and just how important of a day it really was. The movie also expresses the connection of the boy with his father and the dependency the boy felt as well as the emotion he and his mother fell after losing him.

It's a Monday; August 29th if I recall. I sit on the bottom stairs of my staircase close to my white front door. I gaze down at my right hand. I notice that it is sweaty and I realize just how tightly I was grasping the twenty dollar bill. I think to myself how much joy can be brought out by a simple green piece of paper, and the disappointment. Now the gaze switches to my left hand, more specifically the blue and grey Timex watch that surrounds my wrists. The time is 7:22. It's been thirty-seven minutes since the arrangement has been made. Thirty-seven minutes of anxious, monotonous time eating away at me, while at the same time the excitement and expectations grow. Part of me wanted to remain in the vacuum of time between the idea and the unsure but still satisfying result. The time is now 7:23 and I hear it. A single ring echos throughout my house, then another one, just like the first. I run to the white door and quickly, almost dangerously open the door. Marcus is standing there, with his his light blue shirt labeled Domino's and his black bag of what is soon to be 7:30-8:00. I'm flushed. We both stand there in silence for what felt like hours, but in truth a couple seconds. He asks me for $18.67

and reaches out his arm to which I reply by extending my right arm and relinquishing the $20 dollar bill which I had become accustomed to. He didn't ask for change. He didn't need to. We had both been put at peace. He reaches into the black carrying case of his and pulls out a thin white 2ft by 2ft box with two dominoes printed on the lid. He transfers the box to me and excuses himself back to his vehicle. Still in my doorway, I lean down and Smell Sausage, Cheese, Pepperoni, and Tomato Sauce. I close the white door. I am ready.

The other choice book that I read this summer was A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gains. It takes place around twenty or so years ago in the south. A man named Jefferson (black) was a bystander in the murder of a store clerk and is sentenced to death. His attorney compared Jefferson to hog, saying how his execution would be the same as killing a hog. Jefferson's grandma calls upon Grant, a school teacher, to teach Jefferson to die with dignity, and not like the hog his attorney portrayed of him.

Over the course of the book I saw tremendous change in the attitude of the characters, especially Jefferson. He goes from the felling of worthlessness to having self value. Grant becomes friends with both Jefferson and the Deputy.

The thing about this book that I found interesting was how Jefferson and his community dealt with the racism and wrongful sentence and that it has the theme that everybody has value and everybody deserves to die with dignity.