Final Entry

Pirates! by Celia Rees
Nancy and Minerva are the heroines in the book Pirates! Challenges crash upon them like waves, but through it all, they prove that adversity is nothing when you face it with bravery. Countless times they have been in danger, but an act of heroism from one or both of the lady pirates saves the day.


When Nancy and Minerva run away to a secret village after killing the plantation manager, she has dreams of the Brazilian coming after her. She knows that they aren’t just dreams, and that staying there will only ruin the safety of the people. The Brazilian will slaughter everyone who has helped her so far, and she can’t risk the refuge village being found; his dogs will eventually sniff them out and the villages’ destruction will be her fault. So Nancy is ready to set out to sea with pirates, even though it will be the most dangerous thing she’ll ever do. Minerva, however, has to leave her mother and the limited peaceful time she had in the village behind, knowing that she probably will never see her mother again. But for the safety of everyone, she decides to go. Together, Nancy and Minerva take to the high seas and are ready to overcome the challenges that arise.

Nancy was a pampered rich girl in New York so a pirate ship is an altogether different thing. She works hard to learn the workings of a ship and adapts to the ways of the seaman, in order to be safe from the hands of the Brazilian. Minerva becomes accustomed to the ship faster though, and when they are attacked by other ships, she fights hard to prove that she, a woman, can be a pirate. I learned from Nancy and Minerva that through hard work and dedication, you can accomplish anything and overcome adversity. Basically, to every sunset, there is a sunrise- no matter what sea you’re sailing.
-Melissa

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The universal concern in The Hobbit is courage. In the story Bilbo Baggins is a quiet little hobbit, that is until a wizard and 13 dwarfs show up on his doorstep. The dwarfs are lead by Thorin Oakenshield, and he has come to request Bilbo’s help as a burglar in there attempt to kill the evil dragon Smaug and retake Thorin’s grandfathers castle under the mountain. Bilbo has no experience as a thief, but is compelled to do it by Gandalf (the wizard), because the dwarfs have promised to reward him handsomely and because he has a “Tookish” side, a sense of adventure that is inherited from his grandfather. The party sets off quickly, much to the dismay of Bilbo, and is swiftly… trapped by trolls, mostly because of a mistake by the “master” thief Bilbo. Gandalf has to help set them free, but they do find legendary weapons used in the wars between dwarfs and the evil goblins and Bilbo is filled with cautious optimism towards the trip. As the adventures continue the group of travelers (except of Bilbo) are captured by the before mentioned goblins, but that allows the hobbit to be brave and defeat the hermit Gollum and steal his ring that makes the wearer invisible.


By the end of the book Bilbo is a completely changed person from the beginning. He has stood up to dragons, rescued his companions from giant spiders, escaped from kingdoms who want him captured. He even stole the Arkstone from Thorin and gave it to humans, trying to get Thorin to stop fighting over the mountains riches and compromise. In The Hobbit standing up to a powerful dwarf who wants what he believes is his birthright is not something a person would do, and in doing so Bilbo showed that he was courageous when it is for a good cause.
-Michael

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A universal concern that occurs in the hunger games is the starvation that takes place. In this universe we call earth, there are thousands of people starving and searching for food; for love; for a chance to survive. In the hunger games, there are 12 districts surrounded by the central capital, and each district is covered in poverty and starvation. It is not a pretty sight to see. Each year, two people are sent to fight for food in their district. The winners receive food for their district for a year. The losers, unfortunately, are dead, and the families of the losers have to deal with a loss. The districts of the losers will have to deal with starvation for the whole year until the next year, where more kids are sent to fight to the death for food. The kids have the worst part, because they risk being sent into the arena, and if they do make it in there, they have to worry about the fact that if the live their district gets food. If they die, their district starves. They have a lot of pressure on them.
-Bret Hughes

East by Edith Pattou
In the book East, Rose shows the true meaning of true friendship and perseverance. When she is taken to the castle in order to save her family, she feels alone but with the white bear, her longing for companion soon to disappear. What Rose and the white bear shows the strength of a true people to people and people to pet bonds. Even though various people may have difficulty communicating or just have behavior problems, there’s always some way to bond with them especially in the part where she gets along with her servant Tuki and plays with him using a game that the two of them point to different objects in their languages. The bonding creates perseverance for each other because if there’s a strong bond, the will to fight for each other is stronger. No matter what Rose had to do, she would find the white bear, despite what she did to hurt their friendship. The experiences Rose went through in order explains that to never give up, one must have a goal, especially now because many jobs require higher level college, which is a harder and perseverance becomes more attuned to life. When you persevere, you meet people along the journey and that shows that true friendship can really shine to help you persevere through the months and years of a lifetime.


In various years, I’ve had great friends to enjoy my education with and together we accomplished a lot. Especially in East where she is almost never alone but when Rose is, she becomes thinner and thinner then hopeless before she meets Tuki again. This shows that isolation helps with learning but if you have no friends to enjoy it with. Paradise becomes another obstacle and without true friendship, perseverance becomes a lot harder to do.
-Benmark

Blog #5: Letter from BoB Character to Another Character

Pirates! by Celia Rees
    Odysseus
Dear Penelope,


I have heard from various sailors throughout the Mediterreran Sea that your husband Odysseus or Ulysses maybe dead. Well, I’m in the same situation and you should never give up hope because when he comes home, his love will still be there, even though you may be different. He is the same man that you once wed. I ran away from my plantation because there’s a rich man called Bartholome the Brazilian that lives near me that’s wants me to be his wife but I refused, due to my heart still being with William. I became a pirate so that I may run away from Bartholome and maybe find William. So far I have heard only tales of him and hope that I will find him. I know that he still loves me even though I’m a pirate on the outside but still the girl he loves on the inside.


Regards and High Hopes for you ,
Nancy Kingston


-Benmark




Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
    The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman

Dear Lyra,


You're pretty cool. With you living as an orphan and all, you don't seem messed up, and you're smart too. Haha, you remind me of me. Anyway, I heard that you're friend Roger disappeared. Well I think that Coulter lady took him. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about her because she reminds me of Horatio Balmeade, and that guy is horrible. Rich and controlling, always trying to get everything they want. And don't go with her because trust me, you'll regret it. You should avoid snobby like that. As I said, I've had experience. And you do not want to go through what I went through. It might be different for you though, because Coulter is a girl, and Horatio Balmeade was a guy...

Anyway, if you get the chance, you should try and pull a prank on the Coulter lady. Hahaha, one time during the summer, I stuck a fish in Balmeade's club house, it was hilarious. Maybe you can get some fish and stick it in her, I don't know, down her dress. Prank her, and you'll be a hero. Don't get caught though, they might make you work on a peach farm. Don't ask. Actually, peach farms aren't that bad.
Have fun!

From,

Murphy    
                                                                                                            -Melissa