The character of Boo Radley is presumed to be an insane ghost by the town of Maycomb. Our narrator tells us, "Jem figured that Mr Radley kept him chained to the bed most of the time. Atticus said no... there were other ways of making people into ghosts" (14), which suggests that Boo has lost his sane mind and needs to be restrained to keep from harming himself and others. In addition, he is portrayed as someone who has become a spectre due to some unknown action or event. As it is said, "The doors of the Radley house were closed on weekdays as well as Sundays, and Mr Radley's boy was not seen again for fifteen years" (13). A long period of time spent in solitary confinement could possibly take credit as the cause of Boo's instability and phantom-like persona. Part of being human consists of needing other people for support and comfort, but Boo must be beyond humanity (aka a ghost) to exist soundly. Another cause of becoming a ghost or mentally unstable is gang activity, specifically, "...when the younger Radley boy was in his teens he became acquainted with an enormous and confusing tribe... and they formed the nearest thing to a gang ever seen in Maycomb" (12). In a real life situation, coming out of a gang can be immensely hard from dealing with how society views you, then in Boo's case, also dealing with punishments like getting locked away for one and a half decades. Therefore, the character of Boo Radley appears to be an insane ghost in the town of Maycomb.
Emma Stevens
Mr. Newman
ENG ID
November 3, 2011
Arthur "Boo" Radley: Human or Monster?
The character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, is said to be a dangerous and insane man about whom nobody is fairly sure. He is known for his shady past, being involved in a gang and being corrupted into doing things that would be considered improper. This is stated in this quote: "According to neighborhood legend, when the younger Radley boy was in his teens he became acquainted with some of the Cunninghams from Old Sarum, an enormous and confusing tribe domiciled in the northern part of the county, and they formed the nearest thing to a gang in Maycomb. They did little, but enough to be discussed by the town and publicly warned from three pulpits: they hung around the barbershop; they rode the bus to Abbottsville on Sundays and went to the picture show; they attended dances at the county's riverside gambling hall, the Dew-Drop Inn & Fishing Camp; they experimented with stumphole whiskey. Nobody in Maycomb had the nerve to tell Mr. Radley that his boy was in with the wrong crowd" (10). Even though this is according to town legend, people still believe that Boo was a bad person from the beginning because of being involved with a group of people who did nothing but cause trouble in Maycomb. The town people didn't believe Boo should be in the gang but they didn't have the courage to speak up about the problem.
Not only is Boo known for his past with gangs but for his mental problems as well. He may have had these problems at the very beginning since he joined the gang without knowing any better or he may have gained his disabilities afterwards. Because of this, people view him less as a human and more like a monster. The information about was mostly told by Miss Crawford, the gossip of the town. According to her, " Boo was sitting in the living room, cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste into his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants and resumed his activities" (11). Jem and other people in Maycomb believed what Stephanie said, even though she was the gossip and people like her could twist the truth. From this information, a image of Boo was made by Jem. Boo is described to be, " about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging by the size of his footprints, he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long, jagged scar that ran across his face, what teeth he had left were yellow and rotten, his eyes popped out and he drooled most of the time." (14). This description of Boo's looks and mental problems make the townspeople (including the Finch children) think that Boo is far from a human, instead a deranged beast. Even though Boo Radley may just be different, people like Miss Crawford twist the truth, showing that the townspeople make assumptions about someone they don't know because they are afraid of him. Even though we still aren't sure who Boo Radley really is, I doubt that he is the monster that people say he is.
Jordan Furlong
Mr. Newman
ENG1D
November 2, 2011
The Boo Radley Persuasion
Boo Radley in the eyes of the community is perceived as an insane individual. We are told by Miss Stephanie that, "Boo was sitting in the living room cutting some items from the Maycomb tribune to paste scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, he drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, and resumed his activities. He was thirty three years old at the time"(13). This describes Boo as a violent and even insane and unaware of his actions. Miss Stephanie reveals the fact that he is perceived as an insane individual. When she tells us, "That old Mr. Radley said that no Radley was going to any asylum, when it was suggested that a season in Tuscaloosa might be helpful to Boo"(13). This shows us that the community was thinking of sending Boo to an asylum, which provides the evidence that the community thinks Boo is Violent and insane. Later to make matters worse Jem makes it clear to us that they really think Boo is insane figuring that, "Mr. Radley kept him chained to the bed most of the time"(14). This makes it seem as if Boo were a monster instead of a nice person, which also backs up the insane and violent actions. When you think of a monster you think of an awful and violent being.
If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.
-Oscar Wilde
My career as a reader has been amazing. I have been reading since I was in junior kindergarten.
I didn't like reading when I was young. I was in India when I started reading and the school didn't have many short stories and the students were not allowed to go to the library so my mother took some short story books and some Walt Disney books from Canada. At school teachers would force me to read books or poems but I would start getting frustrated because I didn't enjoy the books they made me read. So I used to make my mother read the stories for me and I enjoyed it more when she read them.
But after a while, I started to read the Walt Disney books. My first Disney book was the Jungle Book and I liked Snow White and so on. I liked the way my mother read these books because she read them with expressions. When I started to read I tried to read the way my mother read to me and imagine the story in my mind. I always used read the book first and later watch the movie. One of my favourite books from Walt Disney is of course the entire Princess collection, especially Cinderella, and my other favourite is Peter Pan. I have always liked to read these books as I recall my memories. These books really put me in an imaginary world. I love the bright colours and the dresses the princesses wear. These books take one away from reality for a little while and put you in a whole new world.
Now that I'm older, I enjoy reading books but I don't like reading for school because some books are not that interesting. If the book is really boring I will read the end or check the summary on the internet. If I really have to read it, then I skip through the chapters. I like reading before I go to bed and if I find the book interesting I will sit there four hours until I finish my book because I get so curious to find out what happens next. I like reading mystery books because they always keep you guessing what's going to happen next. I also read fiction books. I have also read some Shakespeare stories like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. It took some time to understand the language but I did like the stories.
I like to read books for fun but most of the time I read magazines. I just find magazines more interesting because they have the latest information about what's happening in the world and also because it does not take a lot of time to read them. Magazines also have more exciting stuff to read.
When I'm travelling, I do take a book with me, especially if I am going somewhere far.
One of my favourite collections is Harry Potter. I have read the first four parts but after that I used to like watching the movies as I found it more interesting and also because it doesn't take a lot of time to find what happens at the end.
One of the books I read for school this summer is Black Like Me and I found that very interesting. I read this book in three days as I was very keen on knowing about the story. This gave me a reflection of the world where people were not treated equally. This is the first history related and also non-fiction book that I have read. This made me more interested in the subject of history.
I have always wanted to read The Lord of the Rings but I have never gotten a chance to read it as the book has a lot of pages and I find that I won't be able to finish it. I usually do not buy book that are very big in size because I find it hard to read them and I don't want them to be sitting in the shelf and not being used.
I got a library card last year but I usually don't get time to borrow books because of the school homework but in the summer I do go to the library to get some books so I can pass some time.
Last year when the class had to read Touching Spirit Bear, I only read the pages that had answers to my assignment or question sheet because there was a lot to read and a lot of assignments on that book so I wanted to finish it as fast as I possible but I did understand the story. If I don't find certain parts of the book interesting, I would skim the boring parts and get to the next chapter.
So far, my experience as a reader has been going well and for me, reading books is a good way to pass some time. Books are also good to gain some knowledge because a lot of stories have lessons in them, which makes it more interesting.
A |
This is the book I wrote for my Grade 8 project, I only have four copies left and I would really like to sell them. They cost $15.00 each and all the proceeds will go to Free the Children to help with education and clean water.
fter finding the dead body of the Combontuss Etthin guilds most skilled scientist and being attacked by a virus infected man, Koth, Sinder and Rilith are sent by the guildmaster to a now phaerie tale planet. There they find that everything is not as it seems and must fight one of the most deadly species in the known galaxy.
Introduction
Evolution
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E |
volution! It is the soul of survival; it is the arms of fate and is the key to life and death. If humans had not evolved, life on earth would not exist; their home planet would be a hollow, dried out husk floating in space. Evolution unlocked the doors to magic and created an entire new civilisation based on its mythical power.
Human evolution happened slowly at first, but on the year 2012, human evolution took an enormous leap. It was the time when the entire planet was under a heat wave, with temperatures ranging from 89°f to 120°f all over the planet. People and animals ran for higher ground as the water level rose, but the aquatic life swam merrily around to explore the submerged homes and forests with great interest.
Perhaps it was the life or death situation, or it was a freak occurrence; but it seems at this time the magic locked within all creatures was tapped and used. For as they ran, people, animals and plants started to form together, a bird and a ferret would weave together to create a fethen. Or a fallen human would sink into a nearby fish to create a merrow (merfolk). A human and a tree would fuse and create a dryad.
For many years, all beings went back to the old ways with no electricity and other modern tools. After a long time, all the different creatures started to make clans which then turned into guilds. There were many guilds and many still just clans, but the four most recognized guilds were Fayni-Tal (the fairy guild), Tredon fortuse (the dryad guild), Sazarm zee (the merfolk guild) and Bladboless (the vampire guild). The Bladboless were a fierce, naturally blood-thirsty people and the cause of many wars that were waged at the time for power and land. The wars that were fought were gruesome, violent and caused many deaths on all sides. By the time the year 2963 had passed there were less than five-hundred-million life forms on earth and many of them were insects.
As the people on earth were slowly being decimated, the battles were fewer and farther apart until there were no more wars to wage. The people began to multiply and by 2978 the world was thriving again. Unfortunately, the peace did not last and once again conflict arose. These battles were more complex than the wars after the "New Beginning"; there was treachery, assassinations, and as the beings started to master the art of magic they began to control other beings (mostly they would target an opponent) and use them to attack their enemies.
The year 3052 was the year the fifth guild was created, Combontuss Etthin. It was organized by a fairy named Eridnor, who was made an outlaw at the young age of nine, which is only two and one quarter human years. She had been possessed by a sorcerer and was made to kill the most peaceful fairy queen Zerra-Tal.
"It is a dishonour to all phae and those who are possessed are therefore outlaws."
-a reading from the fairy bible
Page 65
Eridnor had a great knowledge of warfare and knew what it could do to all things so she created a peaceful guild, one that would not go to war against anyone. Her guild soon grew into the most recognized guild on earth for its pacifism. After only two years, the wars had ceased and all the guilds signed a treaty with all the other guilds, clans and tribes. Eridnor's guild didn't just bring peace and prosperity, but also re-discovered scientific research for those who had lost the power of magic.
Electricity was reinvented in 3057 and then things began to roll; 3068, space travel was accomplished, 3096, the entire galaxy had been traversed. 3245, portal transportation is mastered, 3427-3915, planet colonization, 4016, present day with new things to discover.
Mr. Newman
ENG1D
26th September 2011
Mommy what does this word mean?
Since Kindergarten, many years ago, I have been able to read. I have read many books since then. As a young boy I had multiple ways of learning to read. I have gone through many kinds of books. I read best when I am reading a certain way and in a certain spot. I have my favourite books and my least favourite books. Books and parents are not the only ways to learn how to read; video games can, believe it or not, help teach kids how to read.
In Kindergarten I learned how to read and ever since I have read many books. Picture books, novels, comic books, and magazines: I have read them all. I have even tried writing a book. It was a book about Pokemon. I was in grade 3 and very young. It wasn't a very good book as it was a picture book written in crayon on a piece of coloured paper. It was nothing in comparison to the rest of the Pokemon books that were written by an actual author. As far as I can remember, I read the whole series before I wrote that book. I really enjoyed reading them as a young boy. Reading can be very fun.
I first started learning how to read from the books that my parents read to me. I had many books that my parents read to me when I asked them to. This was the first way that I learned how to read. But my parents told me that it was not the only way. When I was in kindergarten my parents bought me a Gameboy. I used this Gameboy a lot. My parents bought me a game as well. This game was in popular demand and I really liked to watch it on television. It was Pokemon. I played this game whenever I was allowed to. My parents told me it taught me how to read. One summer we drove down to Florida. In the car I was playing Pokemon. The game was filled with words and reading. I would ask my mom what a word meant every time I found a new word. This was the main way that I learned how to read.
There are many kinds of books that I like to read. I have read a really good book series called Splinter Cell. This series is an action/mystery series that I was immediately sucked into. I read the whole series of these books and I really liked them. Because of this series I started reading more books by the same author about similar things but with different characters. I really enjoyed these books. I also read a series called Artemis Fowl. These books were a different kind and they were very fun to read. They were magical/mystery about a human and his catastrophe-stopping friends that were from the middle of the Earth. This was a series that I read and enjoyed so much that when the last book came out I read the whole series again.
I have found out that there are many factors that affect how I am able to read. To start, I like to read in one particular spot in my house. That spot is my bed. I read best when I am there. I like how comfortable it is. In my bedroom when I am on my bed there is not enough lighting for me to read. So I have a book light. It is a really cool book light. It has 4 brightness levels. The light level that I use depends on what time it is in the day. When I am in my room during the day with the main lights on I use the highest brightness level. When I am lying in bed at night reading I usually use a lower brightness level. I have found that when I am reading, no matter the time of day, I read much faster and focus on the book better when I am reading in a bright area. So I usually like to use one of the top brightness levels on my book light when I am reading. I have also found that I have a lot of trouble reading in a certain spot as well. That spot is in the back of my mom's car. It is not very bright back there and it is uncomfortable. I have lots of trouble reading there and I get distracted easily.
I have read many books that I have really enjoyed and some books that I really did not enjoy. When I was a small boy my parents would always read me my favourite book The Little Red Dinosaur, or at least I think that is what it was called. Now I love books like I Am Number 4 and The Power Of 6. Both of these books are in the same series. I have not read the latter yet, but I really want to. I enjoy books like that because I am able to relate to them sometimes. I am not saying I have super powers or anything like that but I can still relate to other parts of the book. I do not have any least favourite books because if I do not like the book I usually do not read it. Luckily I have enjoyed all the books that I have had to read due to school.
I have learned to read and I enjoy doing it. I have had many ways to learn how to do it. I have read many books. I have certain reading environments that suit me better than others. I like some books but do not like others. Overall, I can read and I am glad to do so.
I believe that I first began to read at home when I was five years old. The
thing that really got me interested and wanting to read was quite unusual. I started
reading because I wanted to know what my Pokémon cards said. I didn't really play
with Barbies, so this seemed to be the next best thing. I used to spend all of my time
sounding out the names, and eventually I could read them all.
I usually read because I need something to do or because I've been
recommended a book. I like to read fiction and sci-fi because I like to use my
imagination to create the new worlds and creatures. I find that non-fiction books are
a bit boring, because you don't get to do that. I also read some magazines if I don't
have any books on the go at the moment.
I never cheat when I'm reading a book. I just don't see the point. You're going
to get to that part eventually, so why not just find out what happens when you're
supposed to? I know a few people who cheat, and I'm trying to break them of
that habit.
The only time I re-read my books is if I don't have anything to do, and they
have to be comics or graphic novels. I find that a normal book takes too much time,
and you already know the ending, so why bother? The thing I like about graphic
novels is that they don't take too long to read, and they don't take too much
brainpower. I also like that no matter what title you choose, it will almost always be
a sci-fi book. That's sort of what got me started on them. My cousin was a huge
influence too, and gave me lots of great books that I seem to have read about one-
million times.
I tend to start books but not finish them. This has always been the case, and
probably always will. I started Breaking Dawn, got halfway through, and put it
down, probably making me the only girl on the planet to not finish the Twilight
series. I also started The Half-Blood Prince, and put it down. It's still sitting on my
bedside table, and I intend to read it, but I haven't for months. Some of the books I
really like, too. But if I don't read a bit every day, then I tend to not finish it. So right
now, I guess you could say I have about five books on the go.
I must own a million books. I have a huge bookshelf in my room, and I'm
starting to have a hard time trying to find space to put new ones. There's everything
from Junie B. Jones to Harry Potter. I also subscribe to a magazine called The
Magazine, and have about 20 issues of it.
I have a library card for the library in Fergus. I hardy ever use it though,
because I like to buy books instead. That way, if I ever need to do a report like this, I
can easily list off some of the books on my shelf, instead of having to remember all of
the books that I took out of the library.
Some of the greatest books I've read are graphic novels. My favorite series
would have to be The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way. One day, at exactly 9:38
PM, forty-three children were born to women who had had no signs of being
pregnant. A certain Sir. Reginald Hargreeves then adopted as many of these children
as he could possibly find, giving him 7 new minions. Spaceboy, number one, a part
ape, part man hybrid; Kraken, number two, who has the ability to breathe under
water; Rumor, number three, if she says anything, then it becomes true; Séance,
number four, who is able to communicate with the dead and fly; Number five, able
to venture through time, into the future and into the past; Number six, part human
part squid; And Vanya, number seven, with no powers at all, apart from being able to
play the violin. When Mr. Hargreeves is asked why he adopted so many of the
children, he simply responded; "To save the world". They were really great books,
although hard to follow at times.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my career as a reader as much as I enjoyed
the memories this report brought back.
As is well known, books teach us to learn life, truth, science and many other useful things.
.In other words, they are our best teachers and wisest friends. This is the reason why our parents always encourage us to read more books.
When I was two years old, I can't really say complete sentence. At that time, my mom always read different type of books for me, through the every story to educate us. But, I was real begin to read at Grade 1. At that age, I think most children like to read children's books, like Snow White、Cinderella. Sometimes sitting on the grass to read, the reading is not called reading, as watching cartoons on television, and read book only interested the illustrations.
When I can know some words I often sat on the sofa reading. If this book appealing to me, I will forget to eat. Now I like to read fashion magazine or the pursuit of entertainment gossip, but I never spend a lot of time to see, just read at the way to travel.
In fact I do not like reading. At first, I thinking reading is a waste of a lot of time, no extra time will allow me to do more interesting things. However, I gradually came to love reading, because I feel different types of books give me a different feeling, gives me a different inspirations. I an not particularly careful every words, On general, I like skim the boring bits, if I see the pieces I particularly like, I will to read several times. Whenever I love a book, I also spotted several time and to feel. Even when in a dream i am the characters in that book.. I think I have a good habit to read books, I never see end of the book first, because I think the process is the most important in every book.
Now I was in puberty, do not know what is love, will often see that a book about romantic love story, want be the hero and heroine in a book, sometime I see the plot of the book will be cry. In
I remember, there was time I love to read ghost stories and suspense novels. I like to see the kind of terrible stories, and can't sleep at night. I always sitting under the table to read, if the stories scared me, I will hide in the bedroom. I also wrote ghost stories in my blog, my friends say I wrote the stories terrible than others. Now, I have at least 30 horror book and suspense book. But, just read that one time.
I like reading, but I never been to the library, and I never got a library card, I don't like borrow from library. I would like to buy it, then to read. I think that I will have a sense of pride, the knowledge on the book will become my own. My friend always said I would be a waste of money to buy such a book, but I think I pay money to buy the book and to collection is the good idea.
In
I don't really have a clear recollection of the exact moment I began to read. But I do remember a set of books my dad read to me when I was little. I then started to read little comics such as Garfield, captain underpants, and many others, which were easy to read.
I did really enjoy reading for a long period of time. My dad then told me I had to start reading proper books because I was getting ready for school. When the books had no pictures and words that were beyond my 5 year old vocabulary, I began to dislike reading. In grade three the reading tests began. They were basically tests to see how high your reading level was. For example a teacher would snatch you out of the class for a second and make you read a chapter. After that they would give you your reading level. This I disliked very much. Every now and then a book would come up that would intrigue me. A book our teacher read to us in grade three "Gregor the over Lander" was a book I did really enjoy.
Looking back at it today and the book with the size one billion font was unbelievable. I can't believe I used to read books with such large letters. During grade five I encountered my first book, which appeared to be huge to me at that time. The teacher said it was normal for us to be reading books at this level. I really did not want to read it because of the size of the book. The book was called "The Giver". I found that I really did enjoy the book. It ended up being one of my favorite books of all time. This was the time that I started to pick up on reading.
The thing that pleases me most about reading is finally getting to the end. Now this may make it seem as if I wanted to get it over with. But for some odd reason I just like pushing through to the end. So in this case I do read quite quickly. I never read before bed, I just can't focus. Normally I read around noon. My favorite spot is on a couch in the front of my house. The sun shines directly onto the couch through these big windows, which stare out onto a field. I find I do enjoy reading the most while in the sun. Whenever I'm in the sun I find I will read for hours on end. It makes me much more into the book.
I am not always reading, I will go periods of time without reading a book. But then I will find one I like. I will read it within the time span of a week. There are lots of books I have read and a great many I have enjoyed. But there are about three that I would have to list as my all time favorites. The first one is a book called "The Giver" it was about a city that was trying to create a utopian society. To do this they remove all differences and make it so that everyone is the same. The main thing they remove is colour. There is one person called the receiver. The receiver would keep all the knowledge of the previous world in his mind. He was the only one who knew this. Then one day he takes the main character as an apprentice. Which then turns him into the giver and all his knowledge is transferred to the main character. This takes a long period of time. The main character slowly starts to learn about the outside world. He then escapes because he wants to see the outside world. He is almost dead when he sees a sled on a snowy hill, which he saw in his dreams. (Which the giver sent to him) He then falls onto the sled and slides down the hill. He then sees light, but they have colour. A Christmas tree, but with colour. That is how the book ends. The ending kind of disappointed me but this was really my first favorite book.
My second favorite book was called "The Book Thief". It is about a girl's family who is German. (This all takes place during World War 2) They live in Berlin and an escaped Jewish person appears at their doorstep. They then decide to hide him in the basement. It proves more challenging as time goes on. The searches get more detailed. They eventually get caught and they try to escape but the girl's parent's die. The Jewish man escapes to safety. In the ending a bomb drops on Berlin and ends the girl's life. This book I found quite sad.
My third favorite book is called "I am the Messenger" it is by the same author as "The book thief" Markus Zusak. It is about a man who has a crappy job. He is a taxi driver and he gets a note in his mailbox. The note tells him to deliver. It only says that he must deliver a message, and the only other thing that is in the package is a gun. He then struggles with what to do with it. Later two random guys beat him senseless. He then receives another note telling him to deliver or else. He then goes to the person of interest and holds the gun up but he can't do it so he just shoots around the victim. He then receives a note on how the person he shot at changed. And how he was a better person and was living every day of his life to the fullest. He then realizes what he is doing. And why it is good.
These were my three all time favorites and I will probably have many more to come. I find I read to enjoy, relax and to have fun. It helps me get away when I need to. I'm sure I will have many more journeys to come.
