Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents
2. Letters to Readers
3. A Day in Life
4. Ooly Pop a Cow
5. Love
6. Trips
7. Failure
8. Beasts

4th quarter blog Introduction Letter

Hi my name is Marcus Burton, and I will be the author of this poetry book. I am currently a freshman in High school and I am starting the poetry unit. Poetry has been an personal hobby for me for years. I first started doing poetry in second grade when I was at least 7 or 8 years old. I think a partial reason why I do so well in poetry is because I am a good reader. That's a little history about me.

My favorite poem I wrote so far is "Beasts". I can't give away to much or I will be spoiling the poem. Beasts is an poem that has a thrill to it and is very suspenseful. All in all, most of my poems are very calm and straight to the point so this poem kind of broke the ice a little.

My least favorite poem is my poem on love. Love is kind of a hard topic to discuss, let alone talk about considering I am a male. Also it was kind of hard to write due to the little experience I have on love due to my age.

I feel like this quarter I have really got an feel for poetry. There is no real rubric to poetry. With poetry it is up to the poet how long or how short the poem is. There is no right or wrong answer.

I didn't notice It, but surprisingly, I learned a lot about myself during this poetry unit. I learned that I have an  very vast imagination and I know more than I thought.  Poetry has really improved my skills in writing and in reading. Two thumbs up to poetry.

4th Quarter Blog Poem #6

Beasts

I lie in my bed
just awakening from the most frightening dream
I dream t that some sort of beast went on an rampage in my house
I looked at my brothers
they were fine
I looked at the house
it was pretty dirty
I guess the house was just dirty
Grrll!
It can't be
I have to be dreaming

4th Quarter Poem #5

Failure

He runs towards the same door
hoping it won't close on him for the millionth time
it does.
He tries again
He fails.
Will it stay open
it closes
He can hear himself on the other side calling his name
the door closes and he gives up
He's back for more in the morning
This time he can see himself waving at him to run with all his might at him.
Can he make it?
Yes he can!

4th Quarter poem #4

"Trips"

Wooh
Let's go again
It's something about water slides that just make an person happy
The constant sliding
The process of getting wet
Enjoying time with family and friends
Who knew that just a little water and speed can turn someones modd upside down
So Fast
So Quick
Theirs nothing like Holiday Worlds water slides
But wait
It's not just water slides
Roller coasters play a big part in a themes park enjoyment too
They have the ability to make you scared
but also want to make you go again
It's Like magic
These are the type of Days that I Love to experience

4th quarter blog poem #3

Love

Love is a beautiful thing
There isn't any species
that doesn't act out of love
Love runs life
one is not truly happy without it
Love is a mysterious force
It can bring you up and bring you down

                 Love.

4th Quarter Poem #2

Ooly Pop a Cow

Nodding my head to the

song I listen to through my
ear buds.
Nod,Nod,Nod.
I love this song
Not really understanding what the music is saying
Nod,Nod,Nod,Nod
As I rock to the mysterious beat
Letting the ear buds lead my life into the new musical generation of life

Fourth quarter poem #1

                        A Day in Life

I go into the office, In which I work
Only hearing the clock ticking
waiting impatiently for work to end
Just sitting at the computer
letting the clock tick my day away
I Hear nothing but the constant ticking
tick,tick,tick,tick
I would love to just scream my head off right now.
tick,tick,tick,tick

4th Quarter Blog #1

 

The distopian novel I have chosen to blog on is Hunger Games.A distopia in my words is kind of like a messed up world where almost nothing is right.The Hunger Games is an distopian novel because the U.S is in poverty, because of the wars that waged between the colonies. Katniss, lives in District 12 which is full of poverty, starvation, and violence. Every year 2 contestants from each colony is chosen to compete in the hunger games. This is very unfortunate for Katniss because she has to watch her mother and sister,  provide food for them, and pretty much do everything else the father of the house would do. Also there's Peeta, the bakery boy, who was the second contender for the hunger games. Peeta has no problem with Katniss and vice versa, but out of the blue there being put in an arena to fight to the death. I think this novel is a very good example of an distopian novel. 

I going to compose this blog by telling the use of some literary devices Suzanne Collins decided to use in the novel. The first literary device I would like to bring to attention are allegories.An allegory a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. To me I think the hunger games is just an example of the situation of capitalism, but just in a book. The capital represents capitalism while the rebels in District 13 represent socialism. When Suzanne was writing this book out, she was obviously trying to explain the issue of capitalism and socialism.Allegories in this book are limited, bu they are very easy to spot out. 

The next literary device I am going to use is allusions. Allusions are literary devices that  makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths,etc. I think the main allusion in this book is how Suzanne Collins use Panem to represent Rome. The word Panem is really the Latin expression 'Panem et Circenses'. Another allusion is the how collins uses the hunger games arena to correspond with the Colosseum. Also Suzanne uses many names from ancient rome in this novel. Cato, Portia, Octavia, and Flavia are the names Suzanne use in the book that are really roman names. 

The last literary device that I am going to use is satire. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity. Sadly, they're isn't much satire in this novel but I did manage to find just one. In the novel, Katniss has stylist to prepare her for the Hunger Games. The stylist in the novel are very shallow but they are human. Her main stylist, Cinna,her main stylist doesn't fit the stereotype at all. Towards the end of the book he to joins Katniss in the rebellion against the capital. Now we all see how Suzanne uses many literary devices to get her point across to the reader.

3rd quarter blog #5(Response on Bullied)

On Thursday, February 9, we watched the movie "Bullied". My opinion was that the movie was great and changed a lot of people's lives. I could see people around the room getting pretty emotional during the movie. Seeing that actually made me think that maybe some people might change there ways and try to stop the bullying situation. If enough people could come together on that single cause, I think the bullying situation, if not reduced,can be almost completely stopped. On Thursday we also did a survey on what bullying was like in our school. One of my responses to the survey was " I didn't think the bullying issue was being took to seriously". Also, I think bullying is slightly allowed. Not so much in the classroom, but like in sports such as basketball. I myself have been bullied with people making fun of my athletic abilities. The coaches saw it but said nothing. It was hard to get over and I was hurt.

Today I got on teaching tolerance to read and respond to a certain article listed on the site. As I was looking through them, I realized that there was nothing positive along those many articles. 9 out of 10 of those articles had to do with the issue of bullying. The article I chose was "When kids laugh at hobos, teach compassion" The article is about a young girl that is being bullied because she is a so called " hobo". Another girl that went to her school had caught her in the hallway and said " When you went downtown did you see a hobo"? The girl didn't take it so badly because, she knew that she was told to say it. The girl has also been going through problems at home so being bullied at school doesn't make matters any better.  Many homeless people, or just on the verge of being homeless, are deciding to run away due to neglect.

3rd quarter blog #4( Tyler Changing)

In this novel, the conflicts causes the main character to change. At the beginning of the book Tyler was very irresponsible and didn't really care to much about life. His Parents was always at his school asking " Has Tyler broken any rules this semester"(Anderson 166) and at the beginning of the book, the answer was yes. I don't think that Tyler cares to much about his career later in life, so he decides to do stupid things.The other quote I chose was" Because Tyler is the one were worried about" (Anderson 166). I think Bethany Milbury was definitely not the influence for Tyler at the time. She had an bad group of people she was hanging out with, and Tyler was just like meat in the jungle. He didn't have a chance with Bethany considering the difference in their popularity levels, and also, Tyler really just needed some time to himself at the beginning of the book.

 Another one of the quotes I chose was " On the bright side, Chip wasn't there"( Anderson 1). I think chip played a big part in the bullying that Tyler had to deal with.  Tyler had a lot of bullies, but Chip was the main bully. There was also just a big crowd in his school judging him on everything he did because of the spray paint incident. After a while, chip was starting to bother Tyler to the point that Tyler wanted to fight him. So Chip's bullying had changed Tyler to an aggressive and angry person. Another quote I chose was '' People had ignored me when I was Nerd Boy, but that changed after I was arrested." I think that him being arrested definitely changed his attitude positively and negatively. I think it changed him postitvely, because he hasn't really commited any crime since then and he had been getting in less trouble. It affected him negatively because, people we're attracted to him, and at the time, Tyler didn't need anyone else to affect his life unless it was in a positive way.

3rd quarter blog #4( Tyler Changing)

In this novel, the conflicts causes the main character to change. At the beginning of the book Tyler was very irresponsible and didn't really care to much about life. His Parents was always at his school asking " Has Tyler broken any rules this semester"(Anderson 166) and at the beginning of the book, the answer was yes. I don't think that Tyler cares to much about his career later in life, so he decides to do stupid things.The other quote I chose was" Because Tyler is the one were worried about" (Anderson 166). I think Bethany Milbury was definitely not the influence for Tyler at the time. She had an bad group of people she was hanging out with, and Tyler was just like meat in the jungle. He didn't have a chance with Bethany considering the difference in their popularity levels, and also, Tyler really just needed some time to himself at the beginning of the book. 

I feel like Tyler has changed in a positive way towards the end of the book. I think this change is so because the influences he has in the book.A quote I chose from the book was " Tell him to call m lawyer" (Anderson page 226) and another quote was"assuming that you're not arrested" (Anderson page 227). I chose those quotes because, Tyler's lawyers and Probation Officers had Tyler's back throughout the whole book. Without the support from the others around him, I think Tyler would be a dead man. Other Influences like his family, teachers, and friends also played a big role in the growth of Tyler. All in all, Tyler has changed dramatically in the ending of the book.

3rd quarter Blog #3(using Image chef to describe Tyler)

Today our assignment for our 3rd blog of this semester, was to get on an pretty useful site called" Image Chef" to describe the character Tyler using an word mosaic. Yesterday, we were told to get a quote out of the book twisted by Lauren Halse Anderson. I used that quote to describe Tyler because if you haven't noticed, Tyler not living in Candy Land. Tyler is on probation and if you ask me, his father hates him. The only really light he has in the black hole he is living in is Bethany Milbury. Bethany is starting to become Tyler's highlight of his life. If it wasn't for Bethany, I personally think that Tyler would have been dead.

I was also told to find a quote that describe the theme of twisted well. The quote I chose from the book was " That made her laugh." The reason I chose  this theme because, besides all the sadness and despair of Tyler's life, the book is also pretty humorous. The reason I wanted to read Twisted in the first place was because of the humor. Surprisingly, the book led up to it's expectations. I like the Image chef because I think It was an good way to express my feelings toward Tyler. I didn't think It would be necessary to add the theme into the mosaic also because there would be to much words and also I thought I could explain it better.

3rd quarter Blog #2

As you probably know, on page 22 of the oh so famous book Twisted by Glory Halse Anderson, Tyler describes a day when girls dress inappropriately at school. Well, there are a lot of issues that go with this particular situation. For starters, I'm pretty sure there is an pretty strict policy at school that they are obliged to follow. Two, I'm almost positive that almost every single one of those girls parents would be very disappointed to see their daughters leave out the house almost naked. It's just horrible the way girls act at that school and out of school. If that's the way they're behaving in school, then I can't imagine the way they behave out of it. Not only is it uncivilized to act like in that type of manner, but it's also not safe. I personally think that it's just wrong . 

I also want to reply on something that Tyler had said. Tyler stated that if the girls were being stared at they would get mad, but they were just ignoring them they would also get mad. I personally think that doesn't make any sense for 2 reasons. One, I think the girls need to make up their minds and decide whether they want to be looked at or not.Two, why would they come to school half naked knowing that someone was probably going to stare if not everyone. I just don't think it's fair to the boys that people think that we're the problem. The girls need to get themselves together and leave out the house dressed appropriately.

I personally do not have any experience with girls dressed inappropriately, but I have seen girls on TV doing the same thing.

I don't believe Tyler's school is the only school that has this problem. The short shorts and other inappropriate clothing are being produced and sold all over the globe so I can only imagine that this problem is global. Although this problem is global, doesn't mean that it can't be stopped at schools. I didn't say it can be stopped outside of school because it's their choice whether they dress inappropriately out of school, but when they get on school property they have to oblige by the rules. It's very simple to stop. Although its not a rule saying that you can't wear short shorts in public, I'm pretty sure the girls parents would be very upset with their daughter.

3rd quarter blog (response on josh gundersons speech)

I just wanted to start this entry off by saying thanks to josh for all his support and helpful information. If it wasn't for josh a lot of kids from schools all over   would probably have made a big mistake. A mistake that could change a life. Some of the information that supported me in a big way, is when Josh was giving friendly advise on how to deal with bullies. I have lots of bullies and all I do is shrug them off and it's really getting annoying. One thing he said was wave shiny keys in their face and leave. Surprisingly, it worked very well and it gets 'em every time.Now I make sure I bring my keys with me to school every day. Thanks Josh!

Another thing that Josh really got into my mind is the number of kids that committed suicide. It's just a terrible thing to imagine and I feel sorry for the people who committed suicide. It makes me be more aware of the things I say and who I say them to. Josh also inspired me to spend more time with friends and family, and in general, just the people and things I love. I always say to myself " Enjoy life to the fullest because you'll never know when you're time is up".Josh inspired me to appreciate the people around me, including the bullies, because one you don't know there lives outside of school, and two you never how long you have or they have on this earth so just cherish everything. Thanks again josh.

There are obviously numerous amounts of connections between Josh's message and Twisted the novel. A lot of the things that Josh talked about occurred in the novel Twisted. Things like suicide and bullying occur in the novel. Not only do they occur in the novel, they also occur in the real world. Bullying might not seem like that bad of a thing but it really is. Know one knows the circumstances that the kid goes through at home and you could be making there life a lot harder.In the novel, Tyler's life was a lot harder because of his bully. That's how they connect to me.