The Soloist - Final Post

Although it seems like we have been reading this book forever, I enjoyed it very much. This novel taught me a lesson on how to always help others who need help and can benefit from you. What made this book very interesting to me was that it was a true story that told much detail about Nathaniel Ayers life. Many need to realize that these two are very good friends and can rely on each for mostly anything.
If I could meet Steve Lopez today, I most likely want to know how he had the patience to deal with Nathaniel and how can he stay on this certain topic for so long. I give him much credit for doing this and taking this situation beyond the articles. Today, you see many columnist who just write about topics just for money, and do not want to go the "extra mile." For example, when the fight occurred between the two, Lopez could have walked away and left Nathaniel on the street and not care about him anymore. To me its seems as though this fight just led to a better relationship between the two. As for Nathaniel, I think he also learned a lesson throughout the novel that he can benefit from.
In conclusion, I really like this book and would not mind reading another book like this again. Im glad we can all refer to this novel and even see how we can benefit people in life.

The Soloist

Throughout these finial chapters, I really come to think that Steve Lopez loves Nathaniel and tries to do every little thing he can for him. He tries to get him clothing, a house, food, and even some time in the spotlight. He wants Nathaniel to move into Skid Row and take advantage of the opportunity to have a home. Sadly, Nathaniel does not want to move in there and just wants to live on the street and play his violin.
Second, I am very happy that Lopez took it upon himself to go up to Nathaniel and even try to help him. In today's society no one would ever think twice to go up and help a homeless. As we can all see these two men have changed their lives due to each others help. I'm glad that Nathaniel and Lopez have become close and can rely on one another.
Third, many of us have different views on these two men and how they respond to one another in different ways. In my opinion, I think it is wonderful that Lopez takes care of Nathaniel. Its almost like giving back to a community except its human beings. As for the " rich" they often view this as a disgrace, asking " Why does a man want to help a little scrawny dirty man?" who is poor. Actually, this is what our world needs, everyone needs to lend a helping hand so that we can all make this place a little better!
In conclusion, I am very happy how this book went and I am glad we had to read this.

The Soloist-Chapters 7-12

Through chapters seven and twelve Lopez seems to change by asking many questions about Nathaniel and learning about where he stays now which is Skid Row. He wanders why this place is so crummy and has so many drug abusers which can always harm someone. Lopez describes how there is a horrible area in Los Angeles, but then right down the street there is Disney Hall. Lopez just does not understand how this could be and has some questions.
First, I agree with Lopez, Nathaniel's Skid Row is very disgraceful and he does not deserve to live there. Nathaniel is a very talented human being and does not need to be brought down anymore then what he is now. Nathaniel should have his own place on which he can rely on to sleep and play his music each and every day. Although he deals from a severe mental problem he still should be classified as a regular man.
As fore, my city is much alike Los Angeles or the Skid Row area. We have a Center City area and City Hall, but then right around the corner there is a terrible neighborhood that seems to suffer from terrible poverty. It seems to me almost every major city has an area in their city like this. Lopez questions this and in one article we read in class he wants to know why cities spend so much money on sports events and not on our young students at schools or our economy. In my opinion, I agree with Lopez and want to help young men and women like Nathaniel and make sure they get off on the right track.
In conclusion, I like how this story is progressing and hope it has a good ending.

The Soloist

After reading the first six chapters of this novel I am very surprised on how well this story is. In my opinion, I thought it was just going to be about a homeless man who plays a boring instrument and has a mental problem, but I was very wrong. After reading each chapter I am getting anxious to move on and learn much more about Nathaniel and his relationship with Mr. Lopez.
First, what caught my attention the most was how much Lopez cares for Nathaniel and how he tries to get old friends to make contact with him. Even though Nathaniel has a mental disorder and sometimes goes off, he still shows a caring love for Lopez. Lopez shows much sympathy toward Nathaniel, trying to find him a home and collecting like-new instruments so that he does not have to play that "beat up toy."
Second, being a boy who plays an instrument, I understand how important music is the Nathaniel. Nathaniel went to one of the best music schools in the country and made himself a wonderful musician. Sadly, he could not benefit from his talent due to his mental case. Hopefully, Lopez will find a way to get Nathaniel successful and get him off the streets. In my opinion, I am very proud that Nathaniel still plays his instrument's even though he has a problem and cannot control it.
In conclusion, I am very anxious to find out how Nathaniel and Lopez's lives go on now that they are friends and can almost trust one another. Hopefully, Lopez will treat this man like a family member and find him a place to express his talent to make money and a place he can lay his head at night.

Catcher in the Rye

The main character in this novel is Holden Caulfield, a very judgemental teen who has seen way to much for his age. He has flunked out of many school's and criticizes people who are boring, insecure, and most of all "phony." To me is seems as though Holden is very unhappy with his life and does not make an effort to try and change it. He always worries about how other people act, but never wants to meet new people and start new friendships.
As the book progresses it seems as though Holden tries to show some maturity. He wants to move away from his sister almost showing that he does not need help anymore. While I was reading this I wandered how Holden would survive since he didn't like anyone or want to meet new people. Phoebe offers Holden her Christmas money, but he does not want to accept it. This I believe helps Holden reach adulthood and mature. Hopefully, he will realize that the idea of being fake and sneaky does not come with adulthood,but that it comes with personality. Hopefully, Holden will learn that there are many good people in the world and that they are always willing to help make the world a better place.
In conclusion, I think Holden has learned about "respect" to others and how to treat people. This young kid should change his life and make it better for himself as well as his sister. Life is all about changing and it is not to late for him to change!


I would like my post to be graded on the sentence structure and how I can better my sentences.

The Death of a Salesmen

After reading " Death of a Salesmen," I came to think that this play can relate to " The Great Gatsby" in some way. They both seemed to be set in a era where times were very hard to survive and money was the key role in everyone's life.
First, the main character Willy always wanted to have a nice family and care for his kids in the best way he can. He always thought money was the key to solve everyone's problems. Sadly, for Willy he tried so hard but it just never fully worked out for him. His house was a mess and he had affairs with other women.
Second, to tie this play in with " The Great Gatsby," Gatsby was very rich, but never fully reached his goal. This reminds me of Willy and his younger son Biff. Willy held high expectations for Biff and always wanted him to strive for excellence until one day he just gave up. Biff always seemed to wanting to take the short way out of things and not wanting to go that extra mile.
Third, the author's of this book and play seem to be very similar. In my opinion, I believe these writers may have been affected by this economic at this time or even lived a life like Willy and Gatsby. They both seem to have much relation and almost seem that one can elaborate better on that certain topic then the other. Its like the experience level was very high. Although, they were different in different ways they both were very good pieces.
In conclusion, I believe that " The Great Gatsby" and " Death of a Salesmen" were very good and I wouldn't mind reading a piece like these again in the future. They sent out a message and left the reader wanting to set straight life ahead of them.

Blogger Blogger!

Although " Google Groups" was a good place to post work, I believe that "Blogger" is much better. As a student " Blogger" has helped me as a writer in many ways, such as the ability to comment on your peers work. This helps me spot errors that others seen or even how good it might have been. This website also helps me get use to the future of doing homework and many other assignments. Submitting writing has me reading much more longer pieces that my friends wrote that maybe I would not have done if it was on paper. This also let me see others thoughts on a specific topic or current event. The feature I like the most is that you can actually have your own profile and member picture. This almost reminds me of a " Facebook."
This experience is very different then many other English classes due to the fact that we always had to write in a journal or a log. The usage of a log was always long and boring. Now that we can post work online I believe it is much more interesting and fun. The communication between 11-1 and 11-2 has not grown. It seems as though we only comment on the people in our class. There is no hatred between the two its just that we rather comment on our close friends. Hopefully, we will start commenting on theirs and have a better relationship.
In conclusion, I really like the idea of " Blogger" and I am glad we changed. Also, I believe you should use this technique for future classes.

“Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.”
–Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway


For this weeks assignment I decided talk about one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous quote about " riches." To me this quote has a very strong meaning to many of people today. In life there will be unfortunate people and fortunate people, but that means nothing. You must carry a good personality and always have interest in what people have to say to you.
Throughout my life I have noticed that the " lower class" of people always seem to be nice and willing to help you when help is needed. They always carry hope, even though they are in tough times. They try to benefit from everything they do and pray that one day they can have a home or a nice family to live with. In America today a " recession" has hit and many are trying to scurry money together. What many need to do is hold their heads high and be thankful we are who we are. Fitzgerald I think stresses that in this quote because he states that you can basically have all the money in the world, but if your personally is poor you will get no where in life.
As for the " upper class" of people who are always snobby and think they are "king's of the world" need to realize that it is one thing to have money, but your character is the main attraction upon yourself. In my opinion, Fitzgerald tries to stress this to these people hoping one day they will be a better person inside. The "charm" can be allot of things such as donations and helping out the lower class. They can be nice if they want to, its just that the " greed" can sometimes overcome them.

"The Great Gatsby"- Chapter 1 Journal Entry

While reading through chapter one, I thought the book was going to be very boring and that the vocabulary would be well out of my range, but I was wrong. The author describes the rough times in the 1920's, and does a very good job doing so. What I learned throughout the course of the chapter was that Tom is a " wealthy" and " selfish" man who is married to Daisy. Nick Carraway is the narrator from Minnesota, who went to Yale. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man living in the Gothic Mansion. Daisy Buchanan is Tom's cousin, but she is the women who Gatsby loves. All in all, I believe Fitzgerald sets very good moods throughout the chapter and that it was a very good opening chapter.

Also, I chose to talk about a specific character that stood out to me in many ways. The character would be Tom Buchanan. He is a very miserable man who is not afraid to speak what is on his mind. Tom is a very racist and sexist man who is very snobby and wealthy. Tom reminds me of many men and women today, by being racist. No matter what time period it, many people dislike one another due to the color of their skin or their heritage. Another reason Tom relates to some people I know is that rich people always keep their chin up and think that the ground below them is like gold. In conclusion, this is how I believe Tom can relate to many of us today!

American Poetry Supermarket

Tyler Price
11-1

“The Debt “

The Debt

This is the debt I pay,
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.

Pay it I will to the end-
Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release-
Gives me the clasp of peace.

Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best-
God! but the interest!


The poem I chose to interpret was “The Debt “by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Dunbar was the first African American poet to “garner national critical acclaim.” He was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. Dunbar mostly addressed the difficulties of members of his race and trying to solve the equality problem in America. Dunbar wrote mainly during the 19th and 20th century. He gained much fame by writing the 1896 “Lyrics of a Slowly Life.” He was then quoted to be one of the best African-Americans of all time. To me this poem is very unique in many ways. Dunbar believes that’s he has seen his cultural get torn apart and they try to fight back but nothing can stop these evil men. He uses this poem to show that even though he gave so much back to his owner or master, he still will never be free. He states that the only way he will be free is if he meets the grave. “Pay it I will to the end-Until the grave, my friend, Gives me a true release- Gives me the clasp of peace,” this stanza stuck out to me because it shows how hard he must of worked and he can never be free until he is gone.
There are many rhetorical devices that I noticed in this poem, but to me the one that stuck out the most was hoe Dunbar stresses the tone. In the first stanza, Dunbar stresses how he feels and how he thinks that he don’t even know him-self anymore. Dunbar feels that what was done was wrong and he wants to stress this to the world so that they make sure something that evil could never happen again. I believe he compares slavery to “debt” because it is something you can never fully recover from. For some reason I can refer this poem to a gambler, and how he would loose his money and eventually have nothing left to survive on.
The second poem I chose to analysis is called “A Golden Day.”
I found you and I lost you,
All on a gleaming day.
The day was filled with sunshine,
And the land was full of May

A golden bird was singing
Its melody divine,
And I found you and I loved you,
And all the world was mine.

I found you and I lost you,
All on a golden day,
But when I dream of you, dear,
It is always brimming May

This second poem I chose by Dunbar was very unique. In my opinion I liked how Dunbar compared this day to a beautiful day in the month of May. He uses many examples to show how nice the day was nice, such as he says “A golden bird was singing.” Dunbar is very good with details, it’s almost like he wants you to be there with him. Although I could have chosen to read other poems, I believe Dunbar’s poems were very well done.
In my opinion, I believe Dunbar is an “American” poet. Dunbar wrote short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays. All of these writing became well known. The writings were most popular with the blacks and whites of that time. Much of Dunbar’s work is still used today. Many say Dunbar was gifted in poetry, almost compared to Mark Twain. What I think makes Dunbar an “American” poet is that he writes about specific events that’s happened to our country at that time. He shows how people struggled and how they benefited from these acts. All in all, this is why I think Dunbar can be classified as an “American” poet.

Mark Tawin and American Realism!!!

American Realism era ranged from 1865-1910 and had many talented writers such as Mark Twain, who wrote about situations and how people handle them. A book I am very familiar with that Mark Twain wrote was " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." Twain usually writes about the problems people face and what the outcome of these problems are. During this week in class we read many stories on which " nature" and the "government" affected people and how it lead them into a certain direction.
Twain, very different then many of the American Romantic writers, actually writes about actual situations and the solutions that people had to face at this time. The other writers usually talked about how the love for someone could solve a problem. To me this almost seems like a fictional fairy-tale. In the two writing's " The Story of the Bad Little Boy" and " The Story of the Good Little Boy," Twain bases this short story on a real life issue and shows how this character is affected by this situation. He does not let love or nature get into the mind of the boy, but lets his religion take control.
In the stories Twain tries to send out a point. He believes that if the boy is nice to everyone and does not do harmful things then good things will happen to him. Twain wants everyone to believe this so that there could be a better world and so that people would not have many problems to deal with. In " The Story Of The Good Little Boy," there is a boy named Jacob Blivens. This little boy is very fascinated with Sunday school and always helping people out. He fells as if he does the right things, something may be in return. Twain uses real life issues in this short story and shows how this little boy goes around helping people and solving problems. Sadly, this little boy dies and has very bad luck. For example, I have an uncle who is very kind and loves to help everyone out where help is needed. Unfortuantely, when it was time for him to get help no one was there to back him up. Twain wants the reader to realize that is always good to help someone out, but just don't do it becuase you have to or want to get lo9oked at. In the second story which is " The Story Of The Bad Little Boy," there is a boy named Jim who is totally different then Jacob Blivens. This boy always has the propers luck and everyone likes him, but he is always doing the wrong things. He will not help anyone and he only cares about himself. In my opinion, I believe that everyone should worry about themselves and if there is a time when someone needs help you should be there for them. To me its not all about getting good karma or even luck, its feeling accomplished that counts.
Twain sends this message out to anyone of any race, size, age, or culture. He wants people to realize doing the right thing isn't always right, but doing the wrong thing is also not right. Twain really inspired me to live my life to the fullest and not be afraid of doing things or even being shy of helping people. He makes us all want to just sit and think how we have helped people in the past or how we did wrong, but yet good things still came to us. To me religion is also another main factor and if you believe in God then he will guide you into the right direction.
What caught my attention of Mark Twain was one of his most famous pieces which is called " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." This book was very good and it held my attention throughout the whole thing. Reading this piece wanted me to venture out and find new reading of him. Even though these stories were similar I still really enjoyed them. The excerpt I chose to talk about was " Once he climbed up in the Farmers Acorn's apple-tree to steal apples, and the limb did not even break, and he didn't fall and break his arm, and get torn by the farmer's great dog...." One time in my life I played " knock, knock runaway and happened to run into a tree and hide. We stayed there while another friend got in trouble and I felt like I did wrong. So this quote can relate to me very well.
All in all, Twain taught me a very valuble lesson and his writing is deffinetly an example of American Realism.

How Powerful Can Writing Be?

As I was reading Jordan's poem, much grief and horror entered my soul. Not for the " war" as it is I was very upset to learn that many innocent people and things were harmed. Growing up in the United States, I never really faced much danger as to what Jordan is describing, but knew many countries and places loved to " kill."
Writing definitely has the power to enact social change. For example, the way Jordan writes her poem may have an effect on people’s belief of the war. Many historical documents have also changed the lives of many different races and people. Many documented laws have changed way people act and live today. If it were not for these laws much of the world would be a train wreck. Another huge form of writing that many of us depend on to learn from is the dictionary. We use that to broaden our vocabulary and even learn new words. The dictionary can change a person because you may have started talking with smaller and simpler words, but months later after reviewing it you may have stepped up and started to talk professional.
On a lighter note, if a boy or girl emails some friends and talks about one specific person, many people may change their views about that person. To many, writing is a way to be very secretive. Much writing can damage a person’s friendship or even their life. As people write, they can present themselves in many ways. You can learn much about someone through his or her writing. You can learn if their intelligent, humorous, or even emotional.
All in all, writing can affect or change anything and anyone. You will never be able to escape the documented truth.

Tyler Price
11-1
English-


The Price of a Child


The assignment that I chose to discuss was about the title, which is “ The Price of a Child.” This is a very significant title, which has allot of meaning to many of us today.
First, as we all know the title has to do with slavery. Many characters in this novel relate to the title in many ways. For example, Ginnie who was under the control of Jackson Pryor, was not granted freedom so easily. She was demanded to be a servant as well as many other disturbed things. Pryor owned Ginnie and at one time was eventually purchased by Pryor.
Second, this novel takes pace in which the city I reside in. It was very interesting to read about older places, which were located on our city streets we roam today. Me as a young adult, was very confused that at one point there were many “ prices” on young black men and women. Even in a city where the Declaration of Independence was created. A document that specifically said “ All men and women are created equal,” but yet Cary had to name her book “ The Price of a Child.”
Third, if I could rename the title, I probably would call it “ My Life Isn’t Mine.” To me this would be a very good title since many young African American men and women did not know their true life. They did not wake up and say to themselves what am I going to accomplish today. They could not even control their destiny and years to come. In my opinion, I believe this title would fit in with the story as well as the topic. Carey does a very good job demonstrating the life of a slave in her title.
In conclusion, I am very happy we read this novel as a class and we understand the life these young men and women had. We should all be grateful for our lives and what we have because we never know what tomorrow brings.