Some people think that they can do everything all by themselves. But they are wrong. Many times in your life you will find that you need other people's help to achieve what you want to achieve. Then when you look back at the event you may find that without other people's help, without teamwork, you would have failed. Teamwork wins in most scenerios. Teamwork wins wars, it wins fights, it wins practically everything.
In the book, The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous Journey, there are four main characters, Reynie, Sticky, Constance, and Kate. These children are on a quest to save their namesake, Mr. Benedict from his evil twin brother, Mr. Curtain. I think that these children represent teamwork, because throughout the entire book they always use their combined efforts, and skills to win their fights.
Teamwork usually wins because no, one person can see a problem from all points of view, and seeing a problem that way is often the key to solving it. For example, when they were in the library reading Mr. Benedict's dead parents' letters, to discover where Mr Benedict was, the children used teamwork. Sticky speed-read the papers, and Constance, Kate, and Reynie used their highly developed brains to interpret the information.
In the book, the point of the children working together was not only to save Mr. Benedict, although they didn't know it at the time, but while they were working together, they were also bonding together. They were creating an unbreakable relationship.All of the children had been friendless until they met each other, but by the end of the book, they all knew that they were now life time friends.
Workng together is a very powerful tool, and it has many uses. In their case it bonded the Mysterious Bendict Society together. But it also helped them acheive a nearly impossible quest. People who think they can be a one man team, and do it all themselves are stupid, and won't go very far. But those who work together, can, and will achieve great things.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Book Response
Along with knowledge comes your own opinion. When you learn a lot about a topic, or topics, you will form an opinion about what you think. In many places and times people have been hurt because of their way of looking at things, some people do not like it when people disagree with them, when people have different views, arguments and even fights will happen.
In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a fireman. But his job isn't to stop fires, it's to start them. He has a job, destroying and burning books, and their owners. Books are illegal, they supposedly hurt, and pollute peoples perfect minds, and their happy lives. But what is really happening is, opinion is being destroyed, there is no such thing any longer. Everyone agrees with everyone, and no one learns anything new.
Sometimes people are afraid of people that think differently then them. They are afraid of change, and new ways of thinking always causes some sort of change. People all have their own opinions and their opinions are what shapes the things that our world is built on. But imagine a world where everyone were brainwashed and people with opinions were burnt out of fear.
That world is the world that Guy Montag lives in. And he has never thought anything about it. And he never would have if he hadn't met a very peculiar seventeen year old girl. One girl had an opinion, and she opened up Montag's world, and let him see it for what it really was. But people don't like people that are different from them, and a man hunt was organized for Montag when it was known that he read books. Montag fled, and traveled with a group of other outcasts.
Books were illegal, they changed the way people thought, and made it so that they could not be controlled, they made them speak out, and say what they wanted to. Books created fights and debates. Just as opinions do in our world. There are many people that hate others for how they act, how they think, and what they say. But that is bad, because you wouldn't be half as smart as you are now, if opinions did not exist.
In the book, Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag is a fireman. But his job isn't to stop fires, it's to start them. He has a job, destroying and burning books, and their owners. Books are illegal, they supposedly hurt, and pollute peoples perfect minds, and their happy lives. But what is really happening is, opinion is being destroyed, there is no such thing any longer. Everyone agrees with everyone, and no one learns anything new.
Sometimes people are afraid of people that think differently then them. They are afraid of change, and new ways of thinking always causes some sort of change. People all have their own opinions and their opinions are what shapes the things that our world is built on. But imagine a world where everyone were brainwashed and people with opinions were burnt out of fear.
That world is the world that Guy Montag lives in. And he has never thought anything about it. And he never would have if he hadn't met a very peculiar seventeen year old girl. One girl had an opinion, and she opened up Montag's world, and let him see it for what it really was. But people don't like people that are different from them, and a man hunt was organized for Montag when it was known that he read books. Montag fled, and traveled with a group of other outcasts.
Books were illegal, they changed the way people thought, and made it so that they could not be controlled, they made them speak out, and say what they wanted to. Books created fights and debates. Just as opinions do in our world. There are many people that hate others for how they act, how they think, and what they say. But that is bad, because you wouldn't be half as smart as you are now, if opinions did not exist.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Book Response: love among the walnuts
Have you ever wished that you had a perfect life with no problems? I have and I bet you have also. There are so many issues in our world that it is impossible to not encounter atleast a few of them. No matter how rich, powerful, or smart you are, no matter how well protected you are there is always conflict in your life. Some problems hurt you mentally, and some hurt you physically, but each can be just as powerful.
Sandy had what he thought of as a perfect life, he lived in a huge mansion with his family and their friends. He didn't go to school, he was taught at home, because his family did not want other children to pollute his mind. He could do almost whatever he wanted to. In our world this would not be considered a perfect life, it would be terrible to be cooped up all day. But in his family this was definately the perfect life, out of harms way.
The thing is, no matter how hard you have worked to make your life secure, some asshole always comes along and manages to mess it up. That's just what humans do. People are jealous greedy creatures who are never content with what they have. And they are willing to hurt, and even kill to get more.
Sandy's evil uncles, Bart and Berny plot to kill him and his family, and nearly succeed, everyone but Sandy, and his childhood teacher are sent into comas by a poisened cake. This cruel action by his uncles shocks Sandy greatly and the first problem in his life opens up a whole new category of emotions including hate, sadness, disbelief, and rage. Sandy is forced to bring his sleeping family to a nut house nearby. And with the help of Sandy's new friend Sunny, and all the mental patients, are able to survive, and awaken Sandy's family.
No one wants to have big problems in their lives, but if you think hard about it, you need them. Without problems there would be no motivation in life. Problems push you to try and learn more. When Sandy meets Sunny, he realizes just how isolated and lonely he was all his life. His whole life had been boring, he had never felt sad, or mad, or love, or excitement.
When Sandy's uncles tried to kill him, his life opened up, he finally faced the outside world, and discovered what it meant to live.
Big issues and problems seem to hurt and disrupt our lives, and they do, but they also keep them exciting and interesting. Problems give us motivation, and solving them makes us feel jubilant. We have all wished for perfect lives at some point. But the truth is, that would be boring. Anyway, there is no such thing as a perfect life.
Sandy had what he thought of as a perfect life, he lived in a huge mansion with his family and their friends. He didn't go to school, he was taught at home, because his family did not want other children to pollute his mind. He could do almost whatever he wanted to. In our world this would not be considered a perfect life, it would be terrible to be cooped up all day. But in his family this was definately the perfect life, out of harms way.
The thing is, no matter how hard you have worked to make your life secure, some asshole always comes along and manages to mess it up. That's just what humans do. People are jealous greedy creatures who are never content with what they have. And they are willing to hurt, and even kill to get more.
Sandy's evil uncles, Bart and Berny plot to kill him and his family, and nearly succeed, everyone but Sandy, and his childhood teacher are sent into comas by a poisened cake. This cruel action by his uncles shocks Sandy greatly and the first problem in his life opens up a whole new category of emotions including hate, sadness, disbelief, and rage. Sandy is forced to bring his sleeping family to a nut house nearby. And with the help of Sandy's new friend Sunny, and all the mental patients, are able to survive, and awaken Sandy's family.
No one wants to have big problems in their lives, but if you think hard about it, you need them. Without problems there would be no motivation in life. Problems push you to try and learn more. When Sandy meets Sunny, he realizes just how isolated and lonely he was all his life. His whole life had been boring, he had never felt sad, or mad, or love, or excitement.
When Sandy's uncles tried to kill him, his life opened up, he finally faced the outside world, and discovered what it meant to live.
Big issues and problems seem to hurt and disrupt our lives, and they do, but they also keep them exciting and interesting. Problems give us motivation, and solving them makes us feel jubilant. We have all wished for perfect lives at some point. But the truth is, that would be boring. Anyway, there is no such thing as a perfect life.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Book Response
In Treasure Island, the main character is Jim Hawkins, he and his mother are running a small inn when they come across a murderous band of pirates who will do anything to get their hands on a certain treasure map. This treasure map just so happens to be in Jim Hawkins hands.
A major issue in this book is trust, in several parts of the book Jim is forced to trust his companions, sometimes with his life. Some of his companions are honest, and good people. Some are lying theive's who will betray him, over and over again. When Jim sets sail to Treasure Island with a several other people, a captain, and a crew, he gets to talking with the cook, Long John Silver. Jim trusts Silver because he feels that Silver is the only one who he can relate to and who understands him, if Jim tried talking to other crew members, they would not understand.
I have a lot of friends, but only a few who I can actually have a deep conversation with. There are only a few of them that I would actually feel safe telling them what I'm really thinking about, and what is really in my heart. You can almost tell from a person's behavior, and their personality if they can actually dig deep enough, and understand you. Sometimes you will tell someone something, and they will make a big mess out of the whole thing.
Jim confided in Silver because he thought Silver seemed like a really sincere, nice person. What Jim didn't know was that the whole person that he thought Silver was, was fake, made up. Silver actually created an alternate personality, for when he was talking to Jim. If Jim had known Silver's true personality and past, he would have killed him on the spot. This is why trust is a very tricky thing, if you trust the wrong person, things can go very wrong.
Once I pulled a prank on my third grade teacher, and later that day told a classmate about it. Unfortunately for me that kid was a big snitch and told on me. I was pretty pissed that I had so easily trusted him with such a secret, and I paid the price with two detentions. When you trust someone with information about you they can use it against you, and hurt you.
Jim trusts Silver a lot, and by chance Jim over hears Silver and the crew talking about about mutiny, and killing everyone on the ship, including himself. Jim is terrified, and alarmed that he had trusted someone who now wants to kill him. He also wonders how he could not see through Silver's devilish alternate personality.
Trust is a tricky concept to deal with, you have to be able to calculate how much to give to who, and who to give it to. Because if you trust the wrong person, then it can come back at you and stab you in the back. Just like how Silver betrayed Jim, When Jim thought that Silver was the one person he could trust and talk to.
A major issue in this book is trust, in several parts of the book Jim is forced to trust his companions, sometimes with his life. Some of his companions are honest, and good people. Some are lying theive's who will betray him, over and over again. When Jim sets sail to Treasure Island with a several other people, a captain, and a crew, he gets to talking with the cook, Long John Silver. Jim trusts Silver because he feels that Silver is the only one who he can relate to and who understands him, if Jim tried talking to other crew members, they would not understand.
I have a lot of friends, but only a few who I can actually have a deep conversation with. There are only a few of them that I would actually feel safe telling them what I'm really thinking about, and what is really in my heart. You can almost tell from a person's behavior, and their personality if they can actually dig deep enough, and understand you. Sometimes you will tell someone something, and they will make a big mess out of the whole thing.
Jim confided in Silver because he thought Silver seemed like a really sincere, nice person. What Jim didn't know was that the whole person that he thought Silver was, was fake, made up. Silver actually created an alternate personality, for when he was talking to Jim. If Jim had known Silver's true personality and past, he would have killed him on the spot. This is why trust is a very tricky thing, if you trust the wrong person, things can go very wrong.
Once I pulled a prank on my third grade teacher, and later that day told a classmate about it. Unfortunately for me that kid was a big snitch and told on me. I was pretty pissed that I had so easily trusted him with such a secret, and I paid the price with two detentions. When you trust someone with information about you they can use it against you, and hurt you.
Jim trusts Silver a lot, and by chance Jim over hears Silver and the crew talking about about mutiny, and killing everyone on the ship, including himself. Jim is terrified, and alarmed that he had trusted someone who now wants to kill him. He also wonders how he could not see through Silver's devilish alternate personality.
Trust is a tricky concept to deal with, you have to be able to calculate how much to give to who, and who to give it to. Because if you trust the wrong person, then it can come back at you and stab you in the back. Just like how Silver betrayed Jim, When Jim thought that Silver was the one person he could trust and talk to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)