Then and Now

a response to The Adventure's of Tom Sawyer

The kids sat in a simple vegetable garden as they contemplated the activity of the day. On the previous day, the group had played Sleeping Beauty on the front lawn, but today they were jaded and restless. A docile little girl finally came up with an idea; they should go on a treasure hunt. Off on they went on their quest; not returning for weeks. No one in the minute town had a clue as to where or even how the seven children had disappeared. Throughout time children have always been adventurous, in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer aspects and personalities from all of the characters can be found in kids we know today. Each and every character can be recognized in today’s children that we know and love.

Even now in seventh grade students occasionally sit around a corner deliberately being ignored. After so many years of repetitive teaching starting at an early age, they should incorporate everyone into the fun and games of recess. Although on very few occasions exclusions altered so that the outcasts are included. “Tom decided that he could be independent of Becky Thatcher now. Glory was sufficient. He would live for glory.” As a result Tom excludes Becky from everything and as Becky doesn’t want to go anywhere near Tom, she ends up left out of all of the dramatic conversations and games.

Along with excluding others, Tom also has several adventures within his eccentric posse. “They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than the President of the United States forever.” Tom and Joe are still young and innocent and know very little of exactly what they want to do with their future. As children everyone makes a dream of what they want to do when they are older but many times this fantasy is unrealistic and so unlikely to happen that the adults around them actually end up discouraging these children’s’ imaginations to run wild. Imagination is the sole thing that keeps sanity in life after childhood.

Besides playing Robin Hood with Joe, Tom also lets his imagination run wild as Huck joins Tom and Joe in running away. Many young boys have imaginings of what life would be like as a pirate. This group of boys actually puts that dream into action, as they disappear from all civilization and away from their parental guidance. “They said their prayers inwardly, and lying down, since there was nobody there with authority to make them kneel and recite aloud, in truth they had a mind not to say them at all, but they were afraid to proceed to such lengths as that, lest they might call down a sudden and special thunderbolt from Heaven.” The group actually does have some self-preservation even though it’s partially out of fear. Although sometimes the trio seems to act immaturely, at times Tom, Huck and even Joe seem to act as if they are not just ten year old little boys but as though they are nearly adults. Even though the go to such attempted lengths to let their relatives know they are well, the trio of boys stays away for so much time, that they find themselves in a predicament. Their families’ plan and have a funeral for the deceased boys. Now days this can happen but if a child has vanished for that much time the hounds are set loose.

After stunning the town with their presence at their very own funerals the boys attend the murder trial of Dr. Robinson. Murders happen very rarely and witnessing a murders is an even more seldom feat. Both Huck and Tom did witness the murder of Dr. Robinson at the graveyard where Injun Joe sets it up to look as though Muff Potter had committed the crime when he himself did. Kids are scared to tell the complete truth even to those they trust with their whole heart because they are afraid of what will happen if they tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Huck, intimidated by being in the company of Injun Joe leaves it to Tom to testify. When a child or children are scared they hide, because that is what they have always done but they never do understand that sometimes they actually need to blossom put fears behind them. Telling the truth is a major key in life.

After almost five weeks the rambunctious group of kids returned home to their concerned families’. Never once did they convey to anyone where they had been for so long, undiscovered. The kids agreed to keep all of this to themselves, in their opinions none of the other people in the town would care. Adults many times do not pay a great deal of attention to children as they have “better things to do” with their time than chase around after a bunch of kids. Even though the character of Tom is based on an eighteenth century boy, he and the other characters are exceedingly similar to children and even teenagers in the present day.

Consequences

A Response to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The painting is finally finished after many treacherous hours of hard work and the results are incredible. Though the long process of making this masterpiece you have created quite a mess. There is paint covering the room, wrapper and bags from snacks blanket the floor. After the long process of creating the picture, comes the even longer process of cleaning up. The consequences of having made an enormous mess are, having to clean it all up. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom often has to suffer from the consequences for his actions. Consequences are created with everything that is done, and consequences must be faced whether they are good or bad.

Throughout the book, the consequences for Tom’s actions vary greatly. Small consequences could be as simple as having to clean up a mess, but sometimes consequences can get to the point of possibly going to jail. Being the trouble maker that he is, Tom cons his piers out of tickets. He ends up getting enough tickets to earn his bible. Then when the judge asks Tom a simple question having to do with the bible he suffers the consequences of lying. “‘Now I know you’ll tell me,’ said the lady. ‘The names of the first two disciples were—‘ ‘DAVID AND GOLIATH!’” Tom proves to everyone that he was lying and traded for the tickets. The consequences for his actions, are losing the privilege of earning his first bible and making a fool out of himself in front of everyone.

Following making a fool out of himself, Tom is tries to avoid going to school by being in pain from his tooth. Because Tom is in such pain, Aunt Polly decides that the tooth must be pulled out therefore the pain the tooth has been causing Tom, instantly disappears. This is a very minor consequence compared to what Tom causes later on in the book. Most young children over exaggerate and then have to suffer the consequences for their actions. A child once faked being sick in order to leave school before an important test. When he was sent to the nurse, she concluded that he be sent home. Once the child was home they immediately began jumping off walls. This child’s consequences happened to be suffering the wrath of their infuriated parents, which had to return home from work in order to care for their “sick” child.

Later on in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huck and Tom go treasure hunting. Although to them just like kids in present day it is just a game. The boys dig in various places in their search for the buried treasure. During their escapade Tom and Huck forget their tools and overlook the fact that they do not fill the holes back up. Though they attempted not to the boys exhaust their energy and renounce their escapade. Consequences happen to show up to much of a disadvantage in this case because after the two boys gave up, Injun Joe finds thousands of dollars right where they had been digging.

Many times people do not understand consequences and tend to underestimate the power of them. Though no one may be putting the consequences into action immediately, they may show up in the near future. With everything that is done there is a consequence to go along with it. An outcome is a similar thing to a consequence. They always appear, but are never thought about before the action takes place.

Innocence to Experience

A Response to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Slowly, you walk along the crowded streets, longing that your parents would’ve taken the time out of their busy lives to walk you to your first day of kindergarten. Once you finally arrive you are blown away with the expectations that begin to weigh you down. As you think that you are innocent and haven’t done anything to deserve this torture of school, little do you know of what is soon to come. When people age, their knowledge grows and their innocence slowly turns in to experience. The novel A Tree Grow in Brooklyn examines the process of changing from innocence to experience.


While Francie is still an innocent, she goes out to buy bread for her family, when she sees a very old man. “He yawned. He had no teeth. She watched, fascinated and revolted, as he closed he mouth, drew his lips inward until there was no mouth, and made his chin come up to almost meet his nose.” Unlike most people innocent little children have the time to make such detailed observations about a topic that is normally just brushed by. Francie actually takes the time to observe these minor details in fascination let alone wonder and curiosity. As someone matures and becomes more experienced they lose a lot of their curiosity and fascination for such nonessential things.


As Francie is still innocent she slowly starts to see the “real world.” Brooklyn is not what is seems to be; it is not a safe and secure city. There are people that may not be completely bad but have terrible intensions. Once this is recognized the little innocent girl in the beginning of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, disappears. This little girl is no longer comforted by her father as he passes on and the thought of never seeing him again scares her. In life people begin to change and though it is ever so subtle, it is easily recognized as them becoming an adult. Never is the innocence of a child gone even as they become older.

Though Francie is still a child she almost completely loses her innocence as it becomes experience. After several years of challenges and a younger sister being born, Francie starts to act as an adult and make her own decisions. She now longer looks to her parents for guidance. During the summer Francie takes classes, at which she meets Ben who becomes a friend to her quickly. Francie clearly starts to behave in an experience way when she meets Lee. As Francie and Lee become closer it forces her to make certain life changing decisions for herself with no one to correct her. Although before she knows it Francie loses Lee and when Ben returns from college they pick up where they left off. Even though Francie loved Lee she learns that she can love Ben too.

Being an innocent is pure bliss, not a thing in the world stopping you from the fun of life. Then you become slightly more experienced and it seems as if you are holding the world’s weight upon your shoulders. With experience comes a lot of different things, responsibility for one. In addition you may become responsible for, yet another innocent little child and must help them through their journey.

Poverty

A respone to A Tree Grow in Brooklyn

Though for some money may be tight and limited, they rarely think of themselves as lucky even though they actually have money that can be spent on things, other than the bare necessities. There are people in the world who have very little, some make less than a dollar a day, these are people who are living in poverty. People living in poverty have so little money to live on it’s a major challenge, just to survive on a day to day basis. Then you think of the people who have less than they would like, but have enough to live on and get some of the things that they want and don’t necessarily need. Poverty is not a topic to brush off, it is a way of life, a hurdle that must be jumped to regain normalcy.

Money is both a necessity and a pleasure. There are people in the world living on huge properties that have a lot of money and don’t think of anyone else but themselves. Those who have very little must learn how to survive on it and make it last, the way the Nolan’s must. They have enough to live on put nothing extra that can be spent on things that are not a necessity. People who have the pleasure of not having to worry were or when they are going to get their next meal never think about poverty. These people have never known and probably never will know what it is like to only have enough for the present and nothing extra for the future. The people who have money don’t have to worry or stress over where they are going to get their next meal or how they are going to pay for all of their bills. Though even if they don’t think about poverty, they probably should take the time to learn what it is like going through these challenges on a day to day basis. People need to learn how to be generous and kind to those who are less fortunate than themselves.

Those who have it don’t need it and those don’t have it need it more than imaginable. The challenges of poverty need to be made aware of by the people who are financially sound. Poverty is a lifestyle and cannot be instantly changed. Even once it is changed the lifestyle is never forgotten and people still live as if they may lose everything at a moments notyice.

Fear of Death and Age

A Response to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Ever so slowly but yet very quickly you age. Before you know it you are 101 years old and on the verge of death. Every breath you take hurts and you must depend on those around you for any source of movement. As time goes by people age, and as people age, people get older, when people are older they become closer to death, and people fear death, although everyone dies eventually.

Seeing people around her age and die, Francie fears the trip from innocence to experience. The fear of death is logical but unnecessary for everyone dies. Age is and can be a scary thing. With age comes responsibility and having to be responsible for yourself and others once you’re an adult can be very challenging. Once people become older and they become feebler, they have the difficulties of caring for themselves let alone others in their family. When challenges arise they must be faced, and Francie doesn't want to end up like the old man she saw on the streets. Cold, poor, and so close to death that it hurts to just look at the person.

The entire concept of death is difficult to deal with. As we age, we become more aware of having a fear of death. Even when you are young and people around you are older or on the verge of death we become ever so slightly more aware of death. With the everyday difficulties of age being known becoming old is feared because you begin to lose your independence.

Short Story Response: All Summer in a Day

You sit at a lunch table all alone no one within miles of you. One of your classmates comes up to you and asks if she could join you for the little amount of time left during lunch. As you cautiously glance upward at her you shake your head, just wanting to let yourself drown in self pity and loneliness, so not allowing yourself a single moment of cheerful conversation. Isolation, Margot makes the choice to isolate herself from all of her classmates, just as you did, not joining peers staying by yourself, alone. Friends may seem useless and unneeded at times but without their influence, people feel there is nothing left to live for.

Friends are needed in order to stay sane. People are almost always willing to be your friends, but whether or not you are willing to be their friends is another story. The children in Margot's class throw up the offer for her to join them in their game, though instead of excepting their kind offer she refuses and stays by herself, therefore being alone causes depression because there is no one to vent feelings to, comfort, or support them through times of need. Margot refusing caused her class to abandon her, leaving her alone. From being alone Margot starts ambling more about the sun and how much she wants to see it and how important it is to her, a the while making her classmates think that she is going crazy, just as anyone would without friends.

Silence, from having no friends to falling into depression causing silence. Anyone and everyone would not be silent if they were locked in a closet during the only hour of sun that they would see for seven years. Margot was silent. Some types of depression lead to suicide, which would explain silence. Sense at the end of the short story, "All Summer in a Day," the class came back and found silence behind the door of the closet, the closet in which Margot was locked, and they opened the door to let her out is where the story is completely finished. Though the silence would not be expected meaning that there was no living person behind the door, Margot having committed suicide.

Therefore having friends is a necessary thing. The next day the same girl came up to you and asks if she can join you for lunch and instead of refusing her offer you except it. Without friends there is the possibility of going crazy just like Margot did at the end. Friends may seem useless and unneeded at times but without their influence, people feel there is nothing left to live for. Although the truth to the matter is that friends are never useless and almost always needed.

When is the Right Time to Honor Veterans

Americans honor veterans who have died fighting for our country on Memorial Day every May. Although is there a time when we honor the veterans that are putting their lives on stake at this very moment? Veterans Day is another holiday where we honor veterans. On Veteran's Day people honor both living and dead veterans. All veterans living and dead deserve to be honored. The right time to honor veterans is aqnytime that is though to be signifigant and special.


People who live in the U.S. should honor all veterans on these days. Though the veterans do so much for us we do so little. Cities should organize events that honor veterans along with sending food and other necessities to those who are fighting for us right now. Some people have yet to realize that a veteran doesn't need to have passed away in order to be honored. As a matter of fact someone can still be fighting for our country in order to be honored.


In Pewaukee all the students who either take band or choir from the fifth graders to the seniors in high school, preformed in a concert recognizing the verterans in our city. Each of the band and choirs either played or sang one song that went along with the American theme. The concert ended with a combined piece, An American Tribute, which evryone took partin. Places throughout the country can do this type of thing and other similar things to honor veterans.
When asked when is the right time to honor veterans, the answer should be short and simple. The right time to honor veterans is whenever people can! Throughout the day people can honor veterans by simplythinking about them. Honoring a veterancan be as easy as puttimg an American flag out in your yard to an elaborate activity like a concert. Everyone should take time at least every other month to think about and honor our veterans.