Comments

Ryan- My Symbolic Story
Wyatt- How To: Surf

Symbolism

I walked up to the plate knowing that it was my last at bat as a St. Luke's softball player, which was exciting and scary at the same time. I stepped towards the plate and got ready to do what I always do, hit the ball. The pitcher pitched the ball and a fouled it off over the left fence. The next three pitches were all balls. The fifth pitch was an inside strike that I did not think was a strike, neither did my coaches. I stared at the pitcher knowing that it was a full count and my heart was pounding. The ball came flying towards me straight down the middle and I swung really hard. Suddenly my bat stopped with a loud clanging sound like metal on metal. This sound was a foreign sound to me and I realized that it was the catcher's helmet. I knew that I was going to have to jog to first base because it was a catcher's interference, I should know, I have been a catcher for nine years. My last at bat was very rewarding and disappointing because it symbolized my season.
I was the leader of our team being the only eighth grader and most experienced of us. Throughout the season I was unable to do things to improve personally to help improve my teammates and opponents. I wasn't allowed to hit some games or at practice, I caught for a  pitcher who had never picked up a softball before that season, and I forfeited my time as a player to be a coach. The catcher's interference symbolizes all of that. I was going to absolutely crush that softball, but the catcher leaned in too soon and I wasn't able too. I taught that catcher a lesson in that moment and because of all of the inexperienced teammates I played with, I decided not to focus on myself but the rest of the team.

How To Shoot a Basketball

How to shoot a basketball:

I have played basketball for almost eleven years and I have seen some crazy ways to shoot, but my father taught me how to shoot and now I'm going to tell you. 

The first step is to put the ball on your fingertips and lift up the same arm to a 90º angle, bent at the elbow, next to your head. You don't want to put it in front of your face because then you cannot see, which is a problem on the court. Your feet and shoulder should be squared to the goal.

Secondly, you need a guide hand. A guide hand is the opposite hand that does not have the ball. You use it only for support and protection, not power for shooting, this is where some people go wrong. You put this hand on the side of the basketball and guide it to the direction of the rim. 

The next step is to actually shoot the ball. You should bend your knees and jump. How high? Well it depends. If you are close to the goal the not too high, but the further away, the higher you jump. Once you reach your highest point, the guide hand stops going up while the hand with the ball keeps going. Your hand, the one with the ball, should be a little above your  head and when it is, you flick your wrist. 

When you finish your shot, your feet and shoulders should still be squared to the goal, wrist should be flicked, guide hand should be down, and your shooting arm should not be straight up, it should be a little in front of your face. 

It should look like this right before you shoot:

Looks like this when you shoot: 

And then take a look at yourself when you finish. Where's your feet? Shoulders? Is my wrist flicked? Did I use my guide hand for power or support? If you realize you did anything wrong, then shoot again and again until you are comfortable with it and it become muscle memory. Here's a tip for you, don't get frustrated with yourself, everyone misses shots.

Comments

Anders- Thanksgiving
Wyatt- LOTF Critical Scene 

LOTF Scene

The scene that I chose is found on page 89. This scene takes place during a meeting about the beast and Simon has the conch. He says, "Maybe, maybe there is a beast." The reaction to this is described as a "savage cry" The reader then hears Ralph stand up in disbelief to Simon's betrayal and the boys are still going crazy as a storm broke. Then Simon says, "What I mean is.....maybe its only us." And the first person to say something is Piggy, "Nuts!" Simon tries to convey what he means, but dies not take the right approach and asks, "What's the dirtiest thing there is?" Jack responds to this with a word that the boys never hear. And this is where the scene ends.

Things to note:
Simon thinks the beast is them
Ralph feels betrayed by Simon's disagreement
Piggy doesn't want to accept people can be bad
Jack takes everyone's thoughts away from reality and makes them have fun

This scene is important to the book because it is our first look at the basic cycle of the events in this book. Throughout the book "the beast" has caused something awful to happen, Ralph and Piggy are either betrayed, don't believe it, or both, and then Jack makes fun out of it. Also, this scene is major foreshadowing for the book. As we found out that Simon was right, Piggy and Ralph couldn't believe it, and Jack is taking the boys, or rather, savages to have fun. The boys really are the beast and Simon knew it would destroy them and it did.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in my family has slowly degraded over time. When I was little, we would pack up and go to Madison, Mississippi where my grandparents live.  Everyone would be there, my grandmother, my grandfather, my cousins, my uncles, and aunts. We would work puzzles, watch movies, and all help out in the kitchen. I always loved to make my great grandmother's mac and cheese, so that's what I would do. I can remember looking around seeing everyone together, laughing. But it all started to fall apart.

People from our family have left and we haven't been able to be all together in a few years. I play basketball year round and sometimes can't manage to be there. We haven't all been together in almost five years, but the mac and cheese is always made. To me that mac and cheese is a symbol of our family. Everyone loves it, but it's only around once a year. At some point during the Thanksgiving holiday everyone will go to my grandmother's house to get their share of food. Whether its the left overs or the actual meal. This year it will be the same, I'll make the mac and cheese for 17 people because I know everyone loves it and will get some at some point.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Comments

Ryan- What do you do in your free time, or do you have none? 
Wyatt- LOTF Response 

Create Your Own

Prompt: Create your own character. Describe him/her in detail. What's his/her name? Age? What is his/her story?

Peter Austin Michaels is a 16 year old with dirty-blonde hair. He is very tall with chocolate brown eyes. Peter is an athlete as well as an orphan. When he was seven, his house was broken into and his parents were shot. Ever since that night Peter has been training to catch the criminals who murdered his parents. Although Peter is only 16, he has been working for an organized, undercover secret agency for the past three years.

The night his parents were killed, these people showed up at his home after he called the police. Peter noticed that these people were not the police because they did not have a police uniform nor did they show up in one of those cool police cars. These strangers told them that they were here to catch the guys that killed his parents and that they were going to take care of him. Peter runs through that night everyday and knows that there is something much bigger going on behind his parents death, but what? He is going to sit tight, get smarter, get stronger, and wait until he's ready to fight to reach the truth.

LOTF Response

On pages 83-84 in Chapter 8, Piggy has the conch and is talking to everyone about the beast. In the beginning of the passage no one would listen to Piggy as usual and he gets fed up with it. "I got the conch!" said Piggy indignantly.  "Ralph--they ought to shut up, oughtn't they?  You shut up, you littluns!" 
He immediately turns to Ralph and the rules for order. This shows the reader that Piggy wants order and likes rules, and Ralph symbolizes those things to the kids. Also, it shows the struggle for order amongst the boys. 

Throughout this book, fear has caused the boys to do many crazy things and believe in crazy things, like the beast. In this passage the reader finds out Piggy's views on the beast and fear. "I know there isn't no beast--not with claws and all that, I mean--but I know there isn't no fear either." 
This tells us that Piggy does not believe in a physical beast and there should not be any fear, but he then gives us a very interesting thought.
"Unless--"
Ralph moved restlessly.
"Unless what?"
"Unless we get frightened of people." 

These 12 words show us that, at least to Piggy, there is nothing to fear except for one another. IF they get scared of each other. Fear is a complicated feeling and these innocent boys are having a hard time separating fear from reality. This passage might be foreshadowing their downfall a.k.a the fear of themselves.