Character Analysis

This is my character development piece on the book Vladimir Todd. I will explain how the main character changes throughout the story.

Vladimir Todd was pretty used to living secretly as a vampire. His aunt brings him blood bags from the hospital every day. He keeps his fangs hidden at all costs. But when his teacher disappears and is replaced by a mysterious substitute, everything will change.

Vladimir’s new teacher, Mr. Otis knows Vladimir’s secret. Vlad starts to be more cautios because this could change the entire way he lives. If everyone in the town knew he was a vampire he’d probably be dead. Later in the book Vlad becomes scared because Otis and another mysterious man are trying to find his dad. He thought his dead had been dead for 3 years now. Vladimir gets really curious and searches around his old house but before he can find anything the mysterious man shows up and takes his aunt. Vladimir suddenly realizes that saving family is more important and that he must save his aunt.

Vladimir changed in many ways throughout the book. His life was pretty normal until the catalyst, Mr. Otis came in. He started to be extra careful not to reveal his secret.  Another book that has a similar character development is The Maze Runner. In this book, when an odd girl enters the camp of all boys, people are extra careful around her. Sometimes in books odd figures can frighten people and change the way they act.

Patriot’s Pen

This is my Patriots Pen essay about what I would tell the Founding Fathers if I saw them.

What is patriotism? Ask yourself that. Is it wearing an “I Love America” shirt on Fourth of July while fireworks burst in colorful explosions in the ink black sky? Is it putting your arm up to your heart and singing the National Anthem every day? Or is it the men who leave their families behind and sacrifice their lives for our country, just because they unconventionally love it? That is true patriotism.

            I’m in Independence Hall next to all the Founding Fathers, the bright July sunlight shining into the quiet building as the last person scrawls their name in perfect cursive. Would I want break to our country’s forerunners that would they worked hard for would just eventually fade into something that is in an American’s daily life? For example, lazily reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every morning during school or taking off your hat at a football game reluctantly as someone’s angel voice pierces the air. If any of us lived in a less blessed country, we would realize how special America is. In Africa, their leaders would rather kidnap children and cause bloodshed. In America, at least the government only steals your money.

            After hearing information like that, how do you think the Founding Fathers feel? Would they work so hard to make a country if they knew people would just eventually take it for granted? If the Founding Fathers knew how America was today, we probably wouldn’t have America. 

Conflict Resolution

This is my Conflict Resolution piece about the book Where the Red Fern Grows which is about a boy and his two dogs and his experiences with them and why they were so special.

A little boy has finally saved up money to buy hunting dogs. After training them to hunt very well, he wants to take them to a raccoon hunting competition. He will fight against the powers of nature such as weather, animals, unfortunate mishaps. Its all person vs. nature in this one.

   Once he has entered the competition with his two dogs he has to put up with cold weather right away. He captures a decent amount of raccoons during the day, but at nightfall it starts snowing. The boy starts to get super cold. Eventually a snowstorm arrives and he loses his dogs. Next morning he wakes up and goes searching for them. They are circling around a tree with the last raccoon they need to win. After awhile, they kill it and head back to camp. Waiting there for them is a gold trophy and a box full of money. Him and his dogs had successfully won the competition. They lived happily until one night one dog dies from a mountain lion. The other dog dies of depression in a way. The end.

And Another Thing...
Picture this. You are minutes away from your whole entire planet being destroyed? What would you do? Would you spend your final dying moments with your family and friends? Would you panic and end your life before something else beats you to it? Would you try your best to survive? Or would you just sit there helplessly hoping to be saved?
   These are some questions running through Arthur, Ford, and Tricia's mind as gigantic alien laser beams beat down on Earth. Aliens called Vogons were instructed not so long ago to destroy the Earth. All for what? So they could make a hyperspace highway. Who knew it would affect these unfortunate Earthlings? People wanted to make a highway, but Earth was in the way. Cause. Millions of billions Earth people die from killer alien mercenary people. Effect. If this event never happened, Arthur, Ford, and Tricia would've never gotten  to travel around space and have adventures, which means the story couldn't continue. 


 This is Tristan Zirkle's cause & effect writing piece about the book And Another Thing in the series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It is about people who survive Earths destruction and have adventures around space.

The Maze Runner

This is my retelling of the book The Maze Runner.

   A teen name Thomas is thrown into a mysterious place with a maze with no memory of his past, where he is stranded with hundreds of other kids like him. Just days later in the teenager- ran establishment, an unknown girl named Teresa appears, and upon her arrival weird things with the maze start happening. People say time is running out and they have to escape the maze. Thomas leads a ragtag group of kids out to the real world and soon figures out that maybe life was better in the maze... 

Skittles

Skittles

This is the personal narrative about the time I broke my leg and how if I got Skittles nothing would have happened.

Many miles away from my hometown, in a camp named Marengo, I was in a field in the middle of the forest which people called a “soccer field.  All they did was put two simple soccer nets there. The only reason they were there is because there was a soccer tournament going on. A bunch of kids, all ages, waiting in utter excitement to win something. The camp staff says its only about having fun, but they don’t care. Everyone just wanted to best the other team.

The first teams lined up for the face-off. The first match-up was all girls. Of course most guys didn’t pay attention to that game, because women’s soccer is soooo intense.  All kids on the bleachers just conversated as the first game went on and on. I don’t think I even know who won.

The next match was my team and some other girls team. I got stuck as goalie. There wasn’t much scoring so I got insanely bored. I started doing cartwheels and danced.  Eventually my team won. Big surprise.
After the second game, I started to get really bored. Nothing was happening and soccer was losing its fun.  Spoiler alert. After basically sitting by the goal for hours on end twiddling  my thumbs,  my team once again was victorious. We had just once the final game and took the whole tournament, but nobody was celebrating.  People were just relieved that the exhausting tournament was over. The sun was still beating down on me as sweat trickled my face.

All of a sudden, a staff member raised up his megaphone and announced “ It’s time for the Staff vs. Champions game!!!”.

Suddenly I felt a craving for Skittles, but I also really wanted to play just for the satisfaction of beating every single. While I sat there thinking about what I should do, the megaphone made the decision for me.

“Last call! Eat or play!” he declared as some players jogged onto the field or slowly meandered their way to the snack bar.

I guess I would  just go and play. Who knows what would happen in this game? Would I get stuck like glue as goalie again, spending my time just cart wheeling and dancing? Would we finally lose? Would something horrible happen? I found out within a matter of minutes.

As the tall and lanky staff player jogged across the field, no defenders standing in between him and victory besides me. Pressure was on me as he approached. He no less than 10 feet away now. All of a sudden he was there! I thought as quick as I could as he tried to get around me and slid and shout my left leg out in an effort to trip him.

He tumbled to the ground and landed hard on my outstretched leg and you heard was a snap. I heard gasps from the bleachers. Everything went black for a split second, and then pain rushed into my leg. It was like someone had started up a flamethrower in my leg then chopped it up like sushi. Strangely at that exact moment I was thinking about Skittles.

I should’ve got some delicious, juicy , fruity-flavored Skittles. Instead I’m here laying in the back of an ambulance with a broken leg. This is why I hate decisions…