Tyrell by Coe Booth - Discuss Favorite Quote

So far Tyrell is on a mission of trying to figure out how to make some money and to get him and his family out of Bennett (the shelter home). He decides to go over his friend's Cal house that lives not too far from Novisha (his girlfriend). He goes there to tell Cal his plan and how they can make some money the legit way. He wants to pick up from where his father left off with the clubs, parties, and the music, where he would be the DJ, just like his dad was. Only one thing he didn't want though that his dad did have: drugs.
My favorite quote in the book was when Tyrell said "I don't ever want to end up like my dad". This quote is one of my favorites because he has his mind made up about never doing the things his dad to get him to where he is now. He also wants to be able to take care of his girl and future family, unlike what his dad is doing now. He doesn't understand why his mom keeps bugging him and making him feel like he is supposed to take care of her and his little brother, when that's his dad's job, but he understands that he doesnt want to be like that so he has a plan to make it right.

Tyrell by Coe Booth - Make Predictions

Restating so far what has happened in the book, Tyrell is staying in a shelter with his mom and little brother. He also meets this girl named Jazmine that likes him and that's staying in the same shelter as him. He isn't physically attracted to her, but in his head he lusts her. He always thinks of his girlfriend who supports him and loves him no matter what, but he feels different and unwanted because if the type of treatment he gets from his mother and with his father being locked up, he always think he is going to end up like him one day.

An update from there, Tyrell gets into a huge argument with his mom one night and storms off. He decides to go to Jazmines room to calm down and sleep there for the next night. When he's there, they end up cuddling and falling asleep next to each other. He feels bad for laying next to another girl that's not his girlfriend, so before anything else happens, he wakes up and leaves and go back to his shelter the next morning. His mom acts like she doesnt want to let him in, and says she is going to throw all of his stuff out and that he is worthless for not taking care of her and that its his fault why they are there any way. How will Tyrell react now?

Tyrell by Coe Booth - Make Predictions

There is a young boy named Tyrell that is going through a lot with his spaced out mother and his younger brother. They are now living in a homeless shelter together, where its very nasty and old. He has a girlfriend that supports him, but he feels like he isn't good enough for her, his father is in jail, and now being at the homeless shelter, there is another girl that is falling for him, but the desires for her is complicated. He feels that if he can get some money, everything will be better and he can put his brother in a better place and leave his nagging, no good mother for good. Another thing he faces though, is that he will end up like his father and leave everything behind that he was suppose to take care of.
My predictions for the next part of this story is that Tyrell might slip up by doing something with girl that is in the homeless shelter with him and he might retaliate against a lot of people. But I also think that he will get it together and be able to help out his mother, be with his girlfriend, and be able to live his life without struggling anymore. Thats the only kind of lifestyle he wants, but what will he do and what will he risk to have this kind of lifestyle? I dont know, but I will keep reading and hopefully the outcome is great.

Runaway Slave - Making Predictions

So in my previous blog, I made a prediction about the boy running away with either getting caught or traveling with someone else who is very smart. My prediction was right. He did not get caught of course, so here's what happened so far: While the boy is asleep in the kitchen, he hears someone moving around in the house so he lays still because he is kind of scared. He thought maybe it was his master or the wife getting up in the middle of the night coming after him. So as the person get closer, he notices its the man from the barn who takes care of the animals. So the man wakes up the boy quietly and tells him to bring a skillet and a knife and come with him. The boy gets scared at first, but after pressure from the man from telling him to come on and hurry up, he gets the materials and they sneak out of the house.
Long story short, the boy is really nervous and scared at first to even runaway because he thinks about what his aunt might say when she finds out he's gone, and what his master and wife might think or do to his aunt because she may have had something to do with him running off. A lot of things go through his head, but after talking to the older man and his experiences, he decides that he will never go back and they will stick together. He wants his freedom just as well.... But what will happen along their journey? What are the materials for?

Runaway Slave - Make Predictions

There is this young boy, about 12 years of age, a slave, that is being taken care of by his aunt. He often times gets in trouble with his master, which is also his aunt's master. So every time he gets in trouble, his aunt has to come up with a punishment and has to agree to follow it so their master wont do anything more severe than she plans to do. For example, he accidentally drops a dish on the floor and his master and the wife see it. The wife gets very upset, and starts talking very negative about the boy. The master came up with a plan to whoop him but the boy's aunt stepped in and said that she will take care of it. She told the master that she will make sure that he gets nothing else to eat for the next day and that he can sleep in the kitchen on the floor where its cold for the night.
The boy's aunt always lectures and gets on him about every little thing he does because if it wasn't for her, he would be getting a taste of the severe punishments that she use to get from the master back in her younger days. She doesn't want him to have to feel that, so she always does what she can to help the boy before she leaves or dies and try to give him some knowledge on how to keep himself out of trouble. My prediction is that the boy will try to run away and either get caught because he's not that smart or somebody else will lure him in to run with them.

Hold U Down by Keisha Ervin - Author Purpose

At the end of the story, Unique does quit, for the sake of saving her man, her sister, her mother that recently passed, her friends that died in one of their schemes, and for realizing that almost getting killed is not worth it. She had it rough coming up and she always thought that she would be a car thief and living off material things for the rest of her life. She now has a life of being with her husband, traveling over seas to start a new life, and leaving her history and bad news behind. The author's purpose for writing this book was to inform and also persuade readers that never give up on hope and faith. Think about the risks and possible outcomes of every step you take into every action. Don't let your past come into your future, let your past be the reason you are that positive, strong, and independent person you are today.

Hold U Down by Keisha Ervin - Make Prediction

So a recap on the book, Unique is a independent-minded, motivated, and go-getter girl that will do anything just to have her own and being able to provide. So her and her other three girlfriends start a crew together that involves thieving and some killing, just to make a living. Unique is the head person in charge and she controls everything within the group. As the story continues, she soon realizes that this isn't what she was destined to be or make a habit. Will she quit, or will she keep that promise that they will forever remain a crew? My prediction is that I think she will eventually quit for the sake of her dying mother, her man that is trying to take care of her, and for her sister that she has to get in order and take care of.

Hold U Down by Keisha Ervin - Make Connections

This book reminds me of a friend that I have that went through similar situations in her childhood as a little girl growing up. In this book, the character Unique, as a child growing up, had to raise herself and her little sister because of her mom having schizophrenia, being on drugs, and hating Unique for looking exactly like her. Their mom was eventually taken away from them by the time Unique was a teenager and now she had to make a decision on what to do to help take care of herself and her sister. What will she do?

A Child Called It - Make Connections

Now at the end of the story, Dave is now set free. The rescue happened on March 5th, 1973. Before Dave had got sent to school, his mother smashed his head into the kitchen counter. When he entered school, he is sent to the school nurse for the noticeable bruise on his head. He lied to the nurse about the bruise, so the nurse not believing him, she goes through his file and sees all the wounds he's ever had, from the cuts, other bruises, malnutrition, and the stab wound. So the nurse takes matters into her own hands and tells the school principal and local police. In a matter of minutes, the police takes Dave into the back of a police car, takes him to the Juvenile Department, and he told him he will never return home again. Dave was relieved and proud to hear those words, and he finally was able to smile. My connection is between the boy and Dave Pelzer, the author of the book. He survived this horrific childhood and his connection to the world is that if you stay strong, you can can get out of any situation. He mentions through his writing that child abuse can happen anytime unexpectedly, but you have to stay strong and have faith that you can endure it for as long as you have to. Also, speak up and say something when you have the chance because NO ONE deserves to be treated like that.

A Child Called It - Make Predictions

Dave is the most strongest and bravest little boy ever. From the starvation, his bed being an old army cot in the basement, and clothes being torn and smelly, he always remained strong because he never doubted of one day being free. He always had dreams of being free one day and being able to belong to a family that actually loves him , cares about him, and someone that will call them their son. No one around him ever knew what was going on with him, but he knew and he kept his faith strong and always knew that no matter what, he would always be on his side. My prediction is that once he is set free, he will never look back and he will never even have to question will he go through what he went through before with his once caring and loving mother. 

A Child Called It - Describe/Relate to Characters

My favorite character in this book is of course Dave. Before he reached the age of four, he was treated like a any child should be treated by his mother, as in loving and caring for her child. At the age of four, this all turned into a horrible nightmare that Dave always thought would never go away. He was no longer his name, he was "It", as his mother had called him. Until being freed at the age of twelve, he held out strong and survived the most severe punishments ever, and he always said to himself that "I am king". He always kept a good mindset, even through all of the ups and downs and the unfairness that her mom showed toward him and not his other brothers. He dreamed of being rescued and set free, so with that being said, he is the most inspirational character ever.

A Child Called It - Author Purpose

In this book, Dave Pelzer uses the "I" word a lot. I recently found out that his reasons and purpose for using these I statements was because he was trying to be the boy in the book. He went through a much similar situation with his mom so he wanted to say that he, "I", am a survivor. He also didn't want to leave the readers empty handed with no final happy ending, so he compared his survival with the survival of the boy. He wanted the book to also be noticed that it is said from the perspective of a child and how at only 4 years old, this nightmare started.

A Child Called It - Make Connections

"I gobble down the food so fast I can hardly taste it. I finish the tray in record time." This quote is saying that he had to eat so fast so that mom or anyone else knew that he had eaten anything. He could barely eat at home, not even the scraps. He would get in trouble at school for taking other people's food because he starved to death. I can make a connection between this quote and with this movie I have seen called "An American Crime". In that movie, the girl was punished, raped, and was thrown in the basement for false accusations of other people around her, in her school, and people that lived with her. She starved to death, always got severe punishments, and was never bathed. This is all a connection with Dave because he is going through the same thing.

A Child Called It - Author Purpose

"My relationship with mom drastically changed from discipline to punishment that grew out of control. It became so bad at times, I had no strength to crawl away...even if it meant saving my life." Dave Pelzer, in this quote, chose to use these words to describe how intense and abusive his relationship had got between him and his mom. He started off with simple discipline and they were turning into severe punishments. When he says he couldn't crawl away, he meant that he didn't have the strength to get up to walk or away or break free. He felt that in some times, he was going to die because he was so weak, so he had to take every severe blow that was passed to him.

Discuss Favorite Quotes - A Child Called It

"I felt proud of myself. I imagine myself like a character in a comic book, who overcame great odds and survived. Soon my head slumped forward and I fell asleep. In my dream, I flew through the air in vivid colors. I wore a cape of red... I was superman" This quote is from Dave, the little boy getting abused, after celebrating another victory over his mother. This was the aftermath of the stabbing incident, when his mother stabs him in the stomach. Three days later, the wound is still opening up, and knowing that his mother wont help him, he stays in the garage cleaning his wound with water and making a bandage out of an old rag. He is going through much pain with this wound but he is dreaming of survival and he feels strong for letting it not bring him down. Another quote that stood out was, "At the core of my soul, I hated myself more than anybody or anything. I came to believe that everything that happened to me or around me was my own fault because I had let it go on for so long. I wanted what others had, but saw no way to get it, so I hated them for having it." These are his feelings during the summer of 1972. He has been emotionally and physically abused for so long that he now only feels self-hatred. Like many other abused people, he has been taught that everything is his own fault and he is to blame for his own abuse. As the story continues, he weens out of believing this and starts to realize that its not.

A Child Called It - Make Connections

"A Child Called It" is a very inspiring and heart felt book that will have your eyes open and possibly in tears. This book reminds me of stories that I have heard of other children and even adults sharing their past experiences to the world. There is a boy that I watched named Clayton, and he shared his story on the Oprah Winfrey show of how he was tortured and abused as a little boy being only 6 years old. He was chained up in a closet, starved to death, and was tortured. It is very similar to this book with this young boy and what he is going through and it is very sad and touching because you NEVER KNOW what people go through.

A Child Called It - Make Predictions

This book is about a a young boy about 8 or 9 years old, and he is called "It". He gets mistreated by his mom, and his brothers. He gets thrown in the basement, he starves to death most of the time, he gets chained up and does chores out of the ordinary. He wears the same clothes everyday and his dad works long nights every night that he barely gets to see. he gets bruised, abused, yelled at, and talked about. In the middle of this story, the boy is finally getting treated right from his mom. My prediction is that since now she is being so nice to him, it will last and she will stop mistreating him. But who knows what will happen next?

Teaching Chess and Life - Make Connections

Carlos Capellan is a boy who lives in a neighborhood that is rough and not easy. He came up with a decision that he would not end up like the other people in his neighborhood because of the consequences they had to suffer. He decided to stick by this decision with help from important people in his life. My connection to him is that, although I didn't grow up in a rough neighborhood, I still have witnessed and seen around me people suffer from drug dealing or families scared for their children to play outside and people ending up dying or going to jail. I told myself that I would not end up like that either, and it was from the blessing and help of my son Landon. I wouldn't want him growing up  like that or do the things other people do so I am going to stick to my decision and make sure he is avoiding these type of situations as much as I can. 

Teaching Chess and Life

This text that I read by Carlos Capellan touched me in a way that things are possible. A connection that I made with this reading is that, he made a vow that he would not end up like the other people around him because he hated trouble and he stuck by that vow by the help of someone older. He had a mentor. I also made a vow that after I had my baby, that no matter what, I would never put my child in harms way and that I am always there for him and that he only has one mother. I can not imagine or see anybody else raising or taking care of my child because I'm not doing the right things. I necessarily didn't have a mentor, there were many people around me that depended on me, but at the end of the day, it was my choice and my own motivation that helped me stick to it. My child is my hobby that keeps me on track to my goals because if it wasn't for him, I would have a different mindset.

Introduction

What is your favorite book or type of book?
Answer: My favorite types of books are romantic and true life stories.

What is one goal that you want to accomplish this year?
Answer: One goal that I want to accomplish in this class is to be able to score higher on my tests and gain better comprehension.