Witches, by Rosalyn Schanzer

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem 

by Rosalyn Schanzer

      I have become intrigued with the Salem Witch Trials, as we are studying this topic in social studies. This past week, I read the non-fiction accounts of the Salem witch hunts and trials of 1692 in the Mass Bay colony called, "Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem, by Rosalyn Schanzer.  It's a really interesting look back into the Puritan beliefs and the simple law system in Salem in the colonial times, and the simple laws they had at the time. These true facts in the book include those who were accused, hanged, and the mass hysteria belief of withcraft. It was very strange to learn about the law system where judges of the court were not actually educated in law, and the accused "witches" were not allowed to have their own lawyers while on trial.

      In the town of Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692, two girls, Betty Parris and Ann Putnam start to exhibit strange behaviors such as seizures, twiching, contorting there bodies into strange shapes, and screaming. The village doctor could not find a remedy to cure these young Puritans.  He announces they were "Bewitched". This was the beginning of accusations that took over the entire community in Salem, and ruined dozens of lives. 

      As I continue to learn more about this fascinating, strange, cruel, and unreal topic, I am bewildered.  Rosalyn Schanzer has made me wonder about why this happened at this time in history.  What circumstances caused these irrational ideas to take over an entire community?  Was it because  of fear?  The Puritans lived with constant hardship and terror.  They came to a new land, and were deeply religious trying to find the right place to worship.  There were many struggles for basic needs, and it seemed as if these were very difficult times to live in.  Sometimes these kinds of circumstances can cause people to not think clearly.  In addition, the villagers were poor, struggling farmers, while people nearer to the town of Salem were generally wealthier merchants. Since the villagers accused the merchants, they might have envied their circumstances and caused this blame which pervaded the whole village.  In this book, we are lead to wonder about all of these factors which might potentially offer an explanation for the irrational ideas that spread throughout the community of Salem in 1692.

Guitar Boy

Guitar Boy

by MJ Auch

This past week I read the fiction book Guitar Boy by MJ Auch.  I thought this book was very compelling.  In the book, Travis Tacey doesn’t have it easy. His mom is in the hospital suffering from brain damage after a terrible car accident, and his father has kicked Travis out of the house.  Homeless, no money, and only 14 years old, Travis tries to make money from his guitar playing.  But when his cherished guitar is stolen Travis doesn’t know what to do.  With luck he gets a job a guitar maker’s shop.  With Travis’ love of music, devotion to his family, and kindness to others, he starts to make a new life for himself.

Scott Mckissask, the owner of the shop, and his friends, treat Travis well.  When Scott’s friend Clarence finds out that Travis has been kicked out of his house, he takes him in.  Travis tells Clarence that his mother had been in a car accident and is now recovering in a nursing home, but he doesn’t know where.  Clarence knows that Travis has lost a lot and tries to find the nursing home Travis’ mother is in. When Clarence finds the nursing home, Travis is overjoyed. 

            Travis borrows a new guitar from Scott, and since Travis knows his mom loves hearing him play the guitar, he decides to bring it with him on his visit to the nursing home.  At the nursing home, Travis plays the guitar for his mom. Travis’s mom has Aphasia a result of the car crash. As a result she can think of something to say,  but can’t actually say it. Even though his mom can’t speak, Travis’s guitar playing really perks her up.  Travis convinces Clarence to take him to the nursing home everyday and Travis’ guitar playing eventually leads to speed his mother’s recovery. 

Journey to the Center of the Earth: Part 2

Journey to the Center of the Earth

by Jules Verne



          As you know from my last post, I have been reading the science fiction novel Journey to the Center of the Earth and hve beenthinking about the characters of Axel Lidenbrock and his uncle Professor Lidenbrock.  As I am finished with the book now, I am amazed at their incredibly dangerous and unbelievable journey as they descend deeper into the depths of the earth.

          Throughout the book, Axel and the professor debate over their journey showing differing points of view and clarifying their characters.  At one point, Axel and Lidenbrock venture some way into the prehistoric forest, where Professor Lidenbrock points out in a shaky voice, a prehistoric human leaning against a tree and watching a head of mastodons.  Axel cannot be sure if he has really seen the man or not and he and the professor debate over whether or not this kind of civilization existed underground.

          Again their differences come out as they continue their journey exploring the coastline, and find a passageway marked by Saknussem where they find it blocked by a recent cave-in.  Hans and the professor are greatly disturbed at not being able to hack their way through the granite wall.  Axel goes along cautiously and with great concern as they plan to blast the rock with gun cotton and paddle out to sea to escape the blast. Axel, being the practical one, knows that if anything goes wrong, the rock could capsize  their raft and they would be done for.  They do come together as they realize that behind the rock fall was a bottomless pit, not a passage to the center of the earth.

          At the very end of the book, Professor Lidenbrock is forced to see things for what they really are.  Both he and the practical Axel realize why their compass was behaving strangely after their journey on the raft where they escape a geyser-acting volcanic chimnney.  They both realize that the needle of the compass was pointing the wrong way after being struck by an electric fireball.  While the professor had some regret that their journey was cut short, Axel is thankful for the experiences, challenges and grateful to be reunited with his fiance and life in Hamburg, Germany.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

 

 

Journey to the Centre of the Earth

by Jules Verne

 

          I am in the midst of reading the classic science fiction novel Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne.  It is told through the eyes of Axel Lidenbrock, nephew of the eccentric Professor Lidenbrock, professor of geology and minerology at a college in Hamburg, Germany in 1863.  Professor Lidenbrock finds a parchment with a coded message in a 16th century book by an alchemist named Arne Saknussemm who claimed that he had traveled to the center of the earth.  The professor will not rest until he finds the meaning of this message and so, he sets off on a journey to Iceland with his nephew as his assistant to find the center of the earth.

          While Axel and his uncle, the professor Lidenbrock, both share a great love for science, there are great contrasts between them.  Axel does not match his uncle's scientific curiousity and is more practical about the hardships of their journey.  He prefers the comforts of home to exploring the depths of a volcano named Snaefells in the earth that could potentially become active.  Although it is Axel who figures out the coded message on the parchment that leads them on this journey, he does not immediately reveal it to his uncle, fearing precisely the dangerous journey that this could lead to.  Axel's lack of a scientist's character is shown by his constant hunger, compared to the professor's habit of ignoring meals while involved in great scientific research.  For example, at one point early on in the planning of their journey, the professor hides the keys to the door so that they cannot get their food.  Also unlike the professor, Axel is afraid of the dangers of the voyage but manages to hide his fear in part so that he is not shown up by their guide, Hans Bjelke.  In contrast, the professor sacrifices everything, including his safety and that of his companions for his journey and quest for knowledge.

          Axel's decision to stay on this treacherous journey rather than turning back seems to be a vital point in this book.  Professor Lidenbrock seems to need Axel to help him be more practical and cautious.  For example, as they were approaching Snaefells, Axel raised the question about the possibility that Snaeffels was not extinct.  He said,

"Just because the monster has been asleep since 1229, does it follow that it can never wake up again?  And if it does wake up, what will become of us?"
 

As I continue to read this great classic, it will be really interesting to find out if Axel and the professor make it safely to find the center of the earth.

 

 





Jacob Sutton

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie Literary Essay

 

In the book Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick, the Alpert family undergoes challenges whiling coping with the illness of their youngest son Jeffrey.  The book however primarily focuses on how this illness affects their oldest son Steven.  

Steven Alpert is a typical eighth grade middle-schooler.  He is sarcastic, self-absorbed and a gifted drummer who is a member of the school band.  Steven is also obsessed with Renee, the hottest girl in the school.  When his five year old brother Jeffrey gets Leukemia, Steven’s world is turned upside down.  Jeffrey’s illness winds up having a transformative effect as he gradually begins to grow into a mature and responsible young man.  Throughout the book, Sonnenblick shows the reader some of the ways Steven matures.

                Steven is having an emotionally difficult time with his brother’s illness.  In response to this, he falls behind in his school work.  When Renee, the girl Steven has been in love with since third grade, volunteers to come to his house to tutor him Steven can hardly wait.  He combs his hair (which he never does), wears his best shirt and even puts on cologne.  When Renee finally gets to Steven’s house and says she thinks she is coming down with a cold, Steven is put in a difficult situation.  Telling Renee, the girl of Steven’s dreams, that she can’t come into the house, is difficult for Steven, but he knows that Jeffrey’s Leukemia has made him very weak.  If Jeffrey gets even the slightest cold from Renee it could be fatal.  Here Steven has done the responsible thing.  Rather than doing what was best for him, he did what was best for his brother. 

                Another way the author portrays Steven’s growth is related to an incident that takes place at Jeffrey’s school.  Jeffrey comes to visit his class after months in the hospital.  Adam, the new kid in Jeffrey’s class, introduces himself to Jeffrey and says; “Hi, I’m Adam.  You’re bald”.  This is when Jeffrey finally realizes that his Leukemia has made him different and makes him feel very sad.  Steven shows his support for his little brother by shaving his own head.  This brings a smile to Jeffrey’s face and makes him feel supported and appreciated.    This is another way that Steven acts in the best and most responsible way he can for his brother.

                The first time Steven goes to the hospital with Jeffrey, he meets a girl named Samantha.  Samantha is Steven’s age and has been suffering with Leukemia for some time.  She tells Steven that her sister is in college and never comes to visit her.  This makes her feel unsupported and alone.  Samantha tells Steven to always be there for Jeffrey no matter what.  This encounter with Samantha winds up playing an important role in Steven’s growth.  

At Steven’s band concert, which he has been practicing for all year,  the band members decide that all the money raised at the concert should go to Steven’s family to help pay for Steven’s medical treatment.  Steven has dreams of being the star of the show.  This is clearly the biggest moment of Steven’s life.  During the show Jeffrey starts to run a fever.  Steven has a choice.  He can keep playing in his concert, or leave with his parents to take Jeffrey to the hospital.  He remembers what Samantha told him and without hesitation acts responsibly and decides to accompany Jeffrey to the hospital. 

The book Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick, is mainly about the influence Jeffrey’s illness has on his older brother Steven, and how he learns from it.  Even when difficult choices have to be made, Steven winds up doing what’s best for Jeffery.  Steven gradually changes from a sarcastic and self-absorbed teen, into a caring, responsible, and mature young man. 

Memories of Grandma

Jacob Sutton 708                                                       

Memories of Grandma

Though my grandma died on a beautiful, radiant, sunny day in May four years ago, my heart was heavy with the sadness of her death.  My mother received a call in the middle of the night from my grandma’s caretaker.  Her death came as silently as the darkness of the night.  On one hand, we were relieved that she no longer had to feel any more discomfort as she had become very frail in her last months.  Even though my family had planned ahead and prepared for her funeral, I was unprepared for the stream of sadness that flowed through me.

Some of my memories of Grandma Goldie have faded, but others are still as clear as that day in May.  As my mother tells it, I was grandma’s shining star, and her greatest joy was spending time with me.  Grandma loved to teach me elaborate card and pencil games and we would spend endless hour playing and laughing about nothing in particular.  I would watch, as she held the pencil with the bottom half covered, as she curled one hand over the other, her blood-red, oval-shaped nails peeking out as she tried to secretly write a number to challenge me in our match.  Grandma always said, “I play to win”, and the seriousness in which she played, enticed me for I was just a young boy at the time. 

On the day of her funeral, we all took turns sharing our thoughts of her and were able to celebrate the joyous moments and the light and laughter that we remembered her by, even through our darkness.  My memory is foggy and I cannot remember what anyone spoke about, but when the rabbi asked if anyone else wanted to share their thoughts, I  walked to the podium without reservation and said,  “I remember that my grandma always said, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you’”.  In my mind, grandma’s love for me was unconditional, pure as an innocent baby.  I carry my memories of grandma in my bag of thoughts and she is always there with me.

Micheal Vey:Rise of the Elgen

Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen

by Richard Paul Evans

          Unlike other books that I've read about protagonists who do not fit in, Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen is a compelling science fiction novel.  In this book, the main character, Michael Vey, is a fifteen year old boy with Tourette's Syndrome which causes him to have ticks, but his ticks spark his special electrical powers.  He, along with several others form the Electroclan.  They go on an actionpacked adventure of intrigue and torture to save Michael's mother who is being held captive in Peru by the  Elgen, a dangerous electrical group led by Dr. Hatch.

        Though on the surface, this novel appears to be about Michael's electrical powers and the adventures that drive him to save his clan and his mother, it is much more than that.  On a deeper level, this book is about Michael's inner power and his love, loyalty, faith and courage for his friends and family.  For example, at the end of the book, Michael is faced with the dilemma of certain death or to sell out his friends and values to save himself.  Michael puts himself on the line and protects his friends.  At this critical point he says, "Hatch wants me.  If he follows me, everyone else can get out."  For Michael, his greatest power is not his electricity, but his courage and heart.  The reason he succeeds is because he loves and cares for those around him.  He is able to overcome and earn the respect of his friends despite his differences.