Jack C's English 1 Blog 2016

Riley's Blog: Matt Max's Blog: Flash Story

We were forced into a room no bigger than a photo booth and told to not move unless we wanted to be shot right then and there. "This is it then," I said to the rest of my family. We were selected for the chamber and there was no way around it. What are the chances? Millions of families and we were drawn for the chamber. Ever since I was 8, in 2043, they have drawn a family out of every state every week. I guess it is necessary with resources so low. I just wish they weren't so brutal about it. This morning we were forced into a small cattle car with 49 other families and given3 ounces of water each. When we got to the Centre we were forced to separate into our families, of 5 of course, and head to our designed chambers. "It will be quick," the nicest words I've heard all day. It's a shame they're the last.

Right now I would say that I am towards the end of rising action and almost at the climax in The Firm.  The action is rising extremely fast. You are given the point of view of the head of security very frequently as he relays to the partners of the law firm that Mitch is lying. The higher ups on Chicago want preliminary plans and even real plans to be made to kill Mitch. The way that the plot is shown in this book is a fairly normal exposition and then a very long rising action phase. The action seems to rise slowly for a while and then rapidly. One of the ways that the acton rises faster as it gets closer to the climax is that there is multiple points of view more frequently. In the last chapter I read there was the point of view of Lazarov, one of the closest people to the Moltoro family, which is the mafia.

Merritt's Blog: Dear 13 Year Old Sa'veon's Blog: Dear 12 Year Old

Dear 12 year old self, Seing for the fences every now and then. Don't listen to Coach Brett. The fields are very short this year and they won't be next year. This is your last chance to hit a home run before high school, because you will play on mostly high school fields. Coach Brett is a terrible coach anyway. This goes for life too. Don't sit back and let stuff slip away. Go out and take what you deserve. Don't worry about popularity either. Worry about having good friends around you and enjoying life. Also, it feels good when you are brave.

In The Firm by John Grisham, a lot has happened in what I have read. Mitch went to the Cayman Islands for business and ended up cheating on his wife. He does not tell her this, but he does tell her a lot about the stuff that has happened with the spying form the firm. Eddie Lomax, the private detective that Mitch hired, also gets killed. This reading has made me fee strong emotions. It makes me anxious reading about the firm spying. John Grisham writes from a variety of angles in this novel, which gives me a lot of perspective as I read. One interesting point of view is that of Devashser, head of security at Bendini Lambert & Locke. He uses lots of details in his writing similar to a personal narrative like we are writing in class. I continue to love what I am reading.

My personal narrative basically summarizes a night at my hunting camp. It reveals lots of different characters and things going on at the camp. I used some dialogue in order to try to show rather than tell the story. I believe I did a good job of accumulating a large amount of ideas. I found that as soon as I started writing I was able to have ideas flow out of my memory. This was one of the first personal narratives that I have written for school. I found that  I really enjoyed writing it. I love writing in the present tense. It kind of allowed me to make the story flow well. I especially enjoyed incorporating voice into my writing. I feel like it was very necessary to my subject.

DJ's Blog: The Maze Runner ianb's blog: 9/11 attack:

I have covered a lot of new information in The Firm.  Mitch has started working and works 100 hour weeks! He has passed the bar exam with the highest score. He seems to be doing extremely well at the firm, but then something strange happens. While he is eating lunch by himself, an FBI agent approaches him and tells him some veery strange stuff about the firm. He reports this to Lamar Quin and Lamar reports it to the higher ups. They explain to Mitch that this is not true. There is an example of dramatic irony in this book. As a reader I know that this stuff is true because there have been scenes proving it true. Mitch looks very naive to me because I know this. Grisham does a very good job chapter to chapter in this book. He will say something at the end that makes you want to read more into the next chapter. My reaction to the portion that I read this week could be described as disgusted. The people who spy on Mitch seem to be complete creeps and even listen into private conver...

Michael Wright says that he had had a very normal life up until the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He was working in tower one of the world trade center when the attacks occurred. He vividly remembers the scene and describes with vivid details his escape and all the sights, sounds, and smells where he was. He also talks about his mental state after the attacks and how changed his outlook on life was. This was a very interesting article for me to read because I have never read about the terrorist attacks from a survivor standpoint. He describes it so vividly that it made my stomach hurt and made me nervous at times just reading it. I also felt very angry about the terrorists because it made me wonder who would inflict such pain and suffering. This is a day where we should not just mourn the victims but also celebrate their lives in my opinion, and this article really reinforced that for me. I spent 15 minutes reading this, so it was not too long.

Savannah's Blog: The Selection by Kierra Class DJ's Blog: My Labor Day Weekend

I toed the right handed batter's box, my Easton XL3 -5 in my left hand. I feel the warm sun on me as sweat drips down my forehead. "This could really be it," I thought,"This could really be the last at-bat I ever have in tournament ball, before high school, and my last for Coach Jose." I think about all the fond memories I've had over the years and how I will miss those. I realize that our team is not in a position to win the game and that I need to just focus on going out strong in my last at-bat. I also realize that the pitcher has just come set and that I need to get ready to hit. This pitcher has just been brought in for this inning, to close the game. I watched him on deck and I know that he can deliver the ball with some velocity. He is also a southpaw, so I take a step back in the box and look for a pitch that I can shoot the other way. The first pitch is a ball low, as is the second. I am in a hitter's count, so I am only going to swing if I li...

I have just started reading The Firm , but I have ready plenty of Grisham novels before and enjoyed every one of them. I like what I have read so far. I have mostly just covered the introduction and am beginning to get in the rising action. So far, it is about a young man named Mitchell McDeere who is just finishing upload school. He has many offers from some very good law firms, but his best offer seems to be from a firm in Memphis. He accepts the offer and moves to Memphis with his wife Abby. Grisham has already used some interesting ways of writing in this novel. An example of that is when he writes about a private conversation that is going on that Mitch does not know about. This looks like it could create some dramatic irony later on in the story. The most interesting part of the story for me so far is the private conversation about surveillance that goes on in the firm. From what I can tell so far, I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading John Grisham, who enjoy...