Many of Doctor Seuss's stories have meaning behind them then just children stories. Some argue that they even use propaganda, or swaying the public's opinion on a subject. I have read "The Sneetches", where yellow bird like animals called Sneetches. They are split up to two groups, the popular and wanted star bellied Sneetches, and the outcast non-starred Sneetches. The un-starred Sneetches want to join the starred Sneetches, but cannot because they are frowned and look down upon.
While I was reading this story, I thought it was just a lesson on accepting someone for who they are, and not how they are. However, as I finished the story (and a little help from a teacher) the story can relate to the problem of racism. The two 'different' Sneetches do not get along with each other because they are different. Seuss used the star on their stomach instead of the color of their skin or ethnic background. He does this to teach children this dilemma yet still bring the issue of racism. Doctor Seuss also did this with many if not all of his stories, making it very popular to point out hidden messages and true meanings of the story. However, the Sneetches does stand out the most because of the two types of Sneetches disliking the other type.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Metamorphosis
One bright morning, Josh awoke to the horrific sight. Overnight, he had mysteriously transformed into a giant mosquito. He was laying on his back with his legs folded up above him. His wings were out stretched on either side of his bed. It was truly a sight to behold.
Still maintaining his original height of 6 feet, he felt lighter, for his weight had decreased dramatically. It had felt that gravity had not such an impact on him anymore. As he tried to get up, each wing buzzed horrendously, which help create some lift. Before he had time to comprehend what had happened, Josh buzzed and was hovering over his bed. The tips of his wings were brushing on the ceiling of his confined room. "What is all the ruckus about?" yelled his mom from downstairs. Josh wanted to say "nothing, everything is fine", but instead thanks to his new needle like snout, came out as a long dying whistle. That became his first problem, though he was plagued by several other impairments. He could not use hands, for he had none and can only land and stand in a current position. Josh also could not walk, so every time he wanted to change positions he had to hover with his wings.
Josh had also notice that he had worked up quite an appetite while discovering his new transformation. He looked around the room, but there was not a single ounce of food or drop of water. He looked outside the window. A cow was grazing on the grasses just next door to his house, for his neighbor was a cattle man. Josh buzzed and slammed against the window. Acting like he didn't notice hitting the glass with tremendous force, he kept bouncing off the plain. It wasn't until the thirty-fifth time that he decided that an "invisible force" was keeping him from escaping outside, not remembering that in fact there was a solid window in front of him.
Just then a knock on his door sent Josh buzzing to the ceiling in almost a panic. It had been his mother, for it was nearly one hour after he would usually wake up and head downstairs for breakfast. "Josh, are you awake? Its time to wake up!" she yelled outside the door. In almost slow motion, the door handle slowly turned, following by the creaking of the door as it opened.
The scream echoed over the hills of Josh's community. It was so loud, that Josh's tiny ears burst. His mom collapsed cold on the floor from total shock. Josh buzzed suspended in air, not knowing how to react to the situation he was in. Then he noticed the door was open, so he flew to it and using his head pushed it open until he was able to squeeze through. Josh and his mom did not own the largest house, so flying through the halls and into different rooms was quite a challenge. He was constantly bouncing and bumping of the sides of the walls. Passing by the kitchen window, he saw a glance of the cow that had been grazing earlier before. He fly to the window and pressed his whole body against it. The weight of his body pressing against the window shattered it, and Josh burst into the air like a freed bird.
Josh had his attention locked onto the cow that was standing right in an open field. He soared as fast as a jet, until he was right on top of the cow as he lightly touched down on it's backside. Then, he jousted he's 3 foot long needle into the cow's body. The cow didn't react, but let out a sigh as it continued feeding on grass. Josh sucked until he could taste the irony blood. He withdrew a large amount of blood in the five minutes he fed. As he plucked he's needle out, a visible difference can be seen of how much weight the cow lost. It looked as if it hadn't eaten for several weeks.
As Josh began to buzz toward the sky again, he heard a click of metal behind him. He didn't have enough time to turn around to see where the noise had come from when several shots of a buck round ripped through his wing and back. Blood shot out in all directions, some of his and some of the blood of the cow. He spiraled to the ground, with a thud indicating that he had made contact to the dirt below. His face was looking at the sky and couldn't move any part of his body. As his eyes began to shut, and the world around him became darker and darker, a glimpse of his neighbor stood over him, his shotgun pointing right towards him. "What in God's name are you, son?" said the farmer, as he heard another click as he pumped another shot in the barrel. Before he pulled the trigger, Josh thought to himself that he'd be better off like this, instead of living as a hideous monster. Then it became blank.
Still maintaining his original height of 6 feet, he felt lighter, for his weight had decreased dramatically. It had felt that gravity had not such an impact on him anymore. As he tried to get up, each wing buzzed horrendously, which help create some lift. Before he had time to comprehend what had happened, Josh buzzed and was hovering over his bed. The tips of his wings were brushing on the ceiling of his confined room. "What is all the ruckus about?" yelled his mom from downstairs. Josh wanted to say "nothing, everything is fine", but instead thanks to his new needle like snout, came out as a long dying whistle. That became his first problem, though he was plagued by several other impairments. He could not use hands, for he had none and can only land and stand in a current position. Josh also could not walk, so every time he wanted to change positions he had to hover with his wings.
Josh had also notice that he had worked up quite an appetite while discovering his new transformation. He looked around the room, but there was not a single ounce of food or drop of water. He looked outside the window. A cow was grazing on the grasses just next door to his house, for his neighbor was a cattle man. Josh buzzed and slammed against the window. Acting like he didn't notice hitting the glass with tremendous force, he kept bouncing off the plain. It wasn't until the thirty-fifth time that he decided that an "invisible force" was keeping him from escaping outside, not remembering that in fact there was a solid window in front of him.
Just then a knock on his door sent Josh buzzing to the ceiling in almost a panic. It had been his mother, for it was nearly one hour after he would usually wake up and head downstairs for breakfast. "Josh, are you awake? Its time to wake up!" she yelled outside the door. In almost slow motion, the door handle slowly turned, following by the creaking of the door as it opened.
The scream echoed over the hills of Josh's community. It was so loud, that Josh's tiny ears burst. His mom collapsed cold on the floor from total shock. Josh buzzed suspended in air, not knowing how to react to the situation he was in. Then he noticed the door was open, so he flew to it and using his head pushed it open until he was able to squeeze through. Josh and his mom did not own the largest house, so flying through the halls and into different rooms was quite a challenge. He was constantly bouncing and bumping of the sides of the walls. Passing by the kitchen window, he saw a glance of the cow that had been grazing earlier before. He fly to the window and pressed his whole body against it. The weight of his body pressing against the window shattered it, and Josh burst into the air like a freed bird.
Josh had his attention locked onto the cow that was standing right in an open field. He soared as fast as a jet, until he was right on top of the cow as he lightly touched down on it's backside. Then, he jousted he's 3 foot long needle into the cow's body. The cow didn't react, but let out a sigh as it continued feeding on grass. Josh sucked until he could taste the irony blood. He withdrew a large amount of blood in the five minutes he fed. As he plucked he's needle out, a visible difference can be seen of how much weight the cow lost. It looked as if it hadn't eaten for several weeks.
As Josh began to buzz toward the sky again, he heard a click of metal behind him. He didn't have enough time to turn around to see where the noise had come from when several shots of a buck round ripped through his wing and back. Blood shot out in all directions, some of his and some of the blood of the cow. He spiraled to the ground, with a thud indicating that he had made contact to the dirt below. His face was looking at the sky and couldn't move any part of his body. As his eyes began to shut, and the world around him became darker and darker, a glimpse of his neighbor stood over him, his shotgun pointing right towards him. "What in God's name are you, son?" said the farmer, as he heard another click as he pumped another shot in the barrel. Before he pulled the trigger, Josh thought to himself that he'd be better off like this, instead of living as a hideous monster. Then it became blank.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
The Great Teacher Student War
MONDAY
"Are you ready to get pummeled, Mr. Bowser?" Josh said to Mr. Bowser's face, both heavily breathing and panting. "Josh, you are the best player here, but it's our ball and the game winning point, so Mr. Less and I have to win." The game was at a tie, 199-199, and whoever made the next point won. Mr. Less had the ball at the three point line, with Eric guarding him intensively. In the paint, Mr. Bowser ran back and forth trying desperately to get open, but the monstrous 6 feet of pure basketball skill named Joshua was guarding Mr. Bowser. He's hands were upward and high enough to touch the sun. In a sudden flash, Mr. Bowser swooped behind Josh and became open. Mr. Less seeing their opportunity threw the ball for a pass. Like a bolt of immense lightning, Josh stole the ball, for nothing is allowed to get pass his domain while in the paint. "Wow Josh, you are so amazing and talented, you are truly the best!" yelled Mr. Bowser and Mr. Less as Josh dunked the ball one handed. As Eric went to Josh to congratulate him, Mr. Less and Mr. Bowser murmured and whispered to one another. "Josh's skill is unmatched, I am envious of him." snickered Mr. Bowser. "You are right, I am going to give him a F for the next Geometry test." giggled Mr. Less.
TUESDAY
"What do you mean I failed? And an zero! How is that possible!" Josh argued with Mr. Less. "Sorry Josh, you missed every question on the test wrong." Mr. Less said with a smirk. "I studied for five hours last night, I don't understand!" Josh was puzzled, how could this have happened? As everyone went to the insight room for lunch, Josh did some investigative work. He searched through some papers on top of Mr. Less's desk and made a horrifying discovery. In Mr. Less's diary (which Josh found rather hilarious) was a note that said, "GIVE JOSH F ON NEXT TEST."
WEDSNDAY
Josh was upset and puzzled. Did Mr. Less really give him a F just for beating him in basketball? Was Mr. Bowser somehow involved in this too? Josh thought it would be best to address this issue to Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Maiorca. During lunch, Josh went to them and told his story. "Well, Joshua," said Mrs. Maiorca, "if you failed the test, you failed the test!" Mrs. Cook added, "I have to agree with Mrs. Maiorca, Josh. I am sorry." This made Josh very furious and mad. He could not even trust the teachers and staff he depended on.
THURSDAY.
The Great Geauga Academy War lasted only two days, but was some of the worst and disturbing conflict ever recorded in modern day history. The inventions of the eraser cannons and textbook grenades gave the teachers a tremendous advantage over their opposes, the students. However, the students were led by a determined, young leader named Joshua Bearce, whose courage and leadership was enough to secure the students' victory over the teachers during battle on Monday, that ended the great war.
"Are you ready to get pummeled, Mr. Bowser?" Josh said to Mr. Bowser's face, both heavily breathing and panting. "Josh, you are the best player here, but it's our ball and the game winning point, so Mr. Less and I have to win." The game was at a tie, 199-199, and whoever made the next point won. Mr. Less had the ball at the three point line, with Eric guarding him intensively. In the paint, Mr. Bowser ran back and forth trying desperately to get open, but the monstrous 6 feet of pure basketball skill named Joshua was guarding Mr. Bowser. He's hands were upward and high enough to touch the sun. In a sudden flash, Mr. Bowser swooped behind Josh and became open. Mr. Less seeing their opportunity threw the ball for a pass. Like a bolt of immense lightning, Josh stole the ball, for nothing is allowed to get pass his domain while in the paint. "Wow Josh, you are so amazing and talented, you are truly the best!" yelled Mr. Bowser and Mr. Less as Josh dunked the ball one handed. As Eric went to Josh to congratulate him, Mr. Less and Mr. Bowser murmured and whispered to one another. "Josh's skill is unmatched, I am envious of him." snickered Mr. Bowser. "You are right, I am going to give him a F for the next Geometry test." giggled Mr. Less.
TUESDAY
"What do you mean I failed? And an zero! How is that possible!" Josh argued with Mr. Less. "Sorry Josh, you missed every question on the test wrong." Mr. Less said with a smirk. "I studied for five hours last night, I don't understand!" Josh was puzzled, how could this have happened? As everyone went to the insight room for lunch, Josh did some investigative work. He searched through some papers on top of Mr. Less's desk and made a horrifying discovery. In Mr. Less's diary (which Josh found rather hilarious) was a note that said, "GIVE JOSH F ON NEXT TEST."
WEDSNDAY
Josh was upset and puzzled. Did Mr. Less really give him a F just for beating him in basketball? Was Mr. Bowser somehow involved in this too? Josh thought it would be best to address this issue to Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Maiorca. During lunch, Josh went to them and told his story. "Well, Joshua," said Mrs. Maiorca, "if you failed the test, you failed the test!" Mrs. Cook added, "I have to agree with Mrs. Maiorca, Josh. I am sorry." This made Josh very furious and mad. He could not even trust the teachers and staff he depended on.
THURSDAY.
The Great Geauga Academy War lasted only two days, but was some of the worst and disturbing conflict ever recorded in modern day history. The inventions of the eraser cannons and textbook grenades gave the teachers a tremendous advantage over their opposes, the students. However, the students were led by a determined, young leader named Joshua Bearce, whose courage and leadership was enough to secure the students' victory over the teachers during battle on Monday, that ended the great war.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Attack of the Clone
I walk home, discovering that I have a identical clone in my living room. I stare in shock, as he does the same. Then I scream out "There can only be one!" in a deep Scottish accent, and a tackle him to the ground. We begin to slug it out, but at the end we are evenly matched so no one wins. Exhausted and both laying down on the floor. We begin to talk. How can such a thing have happened? How will our family and friends react? Most importantly, who is the real Joshua? Then it struck our minds like a freight train. There is two Joshua's now, which the same identical skills. We decide to team up, and conquer what we want. We head outside, and play two vs two games with friends and strangers alike, demolishing any competition. We go fish and catch twice as many fish then we (I) did before. We are unstoppable. We graduate high school, and go into politics. After many hard years of reaching to the top, the original Joshua becomes President of the United States, while the clone becomes the dictator of Russia. Together we conquer all the other nations and make the world under absolute control of the Josh Twins.
At our death beds, we look at one another. It is like looking into a mirror that can change its figure whenever it wants. "What have we accomplished, my friend," I told the clone, "we rule the world with tyranny and fear. Is this really what we want?" My clone looks puzzled and confused. "Is this not what we wanted, comrade?" he says, with a slight Russian accent he had developed after living in Russia for many years. I look out the window. Snow falls lightly across the city of New Joshville, one of many new capitals we created together. "We created a nightmare, this is not what I...we truly wanted. We could of used our power to do go in this world, but instead we chased our own desires. We let greed control us. Is this how we will be remembered by history?" I look back at my clone, but his eyes are shut closed. I can tell by his chest that his last breathe was not to long ago. "I should of finished you when we first meant." I say this with tears in my eyes, then close them.
At our death beds, we look at one another. It is like looking into a mirror that can change its figure whenever it wants. "What have we accomplished, my friend," I told the clone, "we rule the world with tyranny and fear. Is this really what we want?" My clone looks puzzled and confused. "Is this not what we wanted, comrade?" he says, with a slight Russian accent he had developed after living in Russia for many years. I look out the window. Snow falls lightly across the city of New Joshville, one of many new capitals we created together. "We created a nightmare, this is not what I...we truly wanted. We could of used our power to do go in this world, but instead we chased our own desires. We let greed control us. Is this how we will be remembered by history?" I look back at my clone, but his eyes are shut closed. I can tell by his chest that his last breathe was not to long ago. "I should of finished you when we first meant." I say this with tears in my eyes, then close them.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Terminator IRL
"The Pedestrian" by Bradbury, is an interesting concept of how technology can take over people's lives in almost a zombie-like-state in the future. A man is arrested by police, who themselves are machines, just for walking outside. The man is a writer, which for the police is "no profession". The police take him to a psych asylum and admit him for regressive tendencies. In this world, it is abnormal to be not like everyone else, such as watching t.v. in the evening.
If I found myself in Mr. Mead shoes when the police stopped him, I would try to rebel and try to make public publicity and awareness of how machines were taking control of our lives. Soon others would start the realizations of the horrors of what has become and join me to start public campaigns. Even though it may be a losing fight, I would express how I felt, which may be against the law during this new era.
If I found myself in Mr. Mead shoes when the police stopped him, I would try to rebel and try to make public publicity and awareness of how machines were taking control of our lives. Soon others would start the realizations of the horrors of what has become and join me to start public campaigns. Even though it may be a losing fight, I would express how I felt, which may be against the law during this new era.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Blog:1 Death/Life
Death teaches us much about life and what it is. Many novels and films can show the reader or viewer the significance of death. In the novel "All Quiet in the Western Front", by Erich Maria Remarque, a German soldier named Bäumer and others struggle to keep alive in the trenches of the Western front during WWI. Through the story, Bäumer overcomes many difficult obstacles, both physically and mentally, including the deaths of most of his friends. Tragically at the end, young Bäumer is hunkered down in a trench when a blue butterfly lands just feet away above the trench. Since he collects butterflies and is fascinated by this one, he slowly reaches out towards it, and in a blink of an eye, is shot and killed by an enemy sniper. Remarque shows us exactly how fast and unexpected life can end, especially during the horrors of world war one. Other novels use this technique to develop a deep connection to the character then having him erased from the story usually by the means of death. This teaches the reader all good things in life will not last, and that we may not appreciate life itself until something tragic happens.
Many films can also show us the importance of death in life. A film that also shows us that death is a part of life is "Old Yeller", directed by Robert Stevenson. A boy has a strong friendship with a lab name Yeller. During a fight with a raccoon, Yeller contracts rabies. To put him out of misery, they have to shoot Yeller. Much like All Quiet on the Western Front, this shows us how fragile life can be. Though through dramatic changes in life, such as death, we must learn to deal and move on.
Many films can also show us the importance of death in life. A film that also shows us that death is a part of life is "Old Yeller", directed by Robert Stevenson. A boy has a strong friendship with a lab name Yeller. During a fight with a raccoon, Yeller contracts rabies. To put him out of misery, they have to shoot Yeller. Much like All Quiet on the Western Front, this shows us how fragile life can be. Though through dramatic changes in life, such as death, we must learn to deal and move on.
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