alike but different

Austin Johnson

Alike but Different

This essay is comparing the main characters and their books

            When you are a kid everything bad seems so far away but when something bad happens to you start to see the world differently.  The books “The Outsiders” and “April Moring” both have the same theme of loss of innocence even though both of the main characters are both clearly different 

Even though both main characters have different events happen to them they both lose their innocence.  Both books have death in it in the Outsiders there was a lot of death.  Ponyboy’s parents died, his friend died from burn from a fire and a man named dally died from police bullets.  While in the book “April Morning” Adam has never experienced death, but because the British are coming he enlists to defend his town, because he enlists he has to kill or be killed. 

Another way they are alike is the way they both lose their innocence.  The way they both lost their innocence is through the death or the reality of death. Ponyboy’s wakeup call was when his parents died it made him realize all the things that he takes for granted.  His whole life changed when that car accident happened.  While Adam’s wakeup call was when the rider came to the town and told everyone about the marching British army.  He had to defend his village from the attack.

Even though their stories have the same theme they are two very different characters.  One example is Adam has to kill and Ponyboy would never kill anything.  Ponyboy had so much death around him that he hates it, two of his friends died and his parents died. While Adam signed up for killing the enemy soldiers he has no experience with death so he does not care.  After all they are the people who attacked him, he is just defending his village.  Ponyboy’s first death he experienced was his parents’

The last example of how they are different is the difference with their family.  Ponyboy’s family was fine until that car crash. His parents were good parents and gave him and his brothers a good life.  But after the car crash his brothers Darry, Sodapop became his new guardians.  While Adams parents did not very love they still loved him but were not showing it very well.  His dad was the worst he constantly put him down and found everything wrong with him and yelled at him for it.  It was not until the enlistment that he gained his father’s respect.

Even though the characters are different the two books still have the same theme of loosening innocence.  The most common way of loosing innocence is through the experience of death of a loved one or the knowing of death.  Death the way both characters lost their innocence.

The Point of No Return

Austin Johnson

The Point of No Return

Authors note this is a four paragraph essay about the climax of the book “April Morning”

No one in the United States has ever experienced war in their own backyard for 160 years.  but during those times of the revolution many villages where a battle ground. In the book April morning the plot line starts out with average people doing things the way they always done then war came and everything changes.

            The climax or point of no return for the novel April Morning was when the rider came to the village.  Usually anything that happens at night is a bad thing, but in this case it was just bad news. The climax isn’t person verses person it was person verses society. What the rider did was simply tell the main problem of the story. Before the rider the village was a peaceful village and most people thought that the war was far away

            Secondly the reason that, that was the climax is because before the rider everything was normal. All that is happening in the village was farming and committee meetings.  Most of the towns’ folk knew that there were tensions with the colonists and the red coats, but they did not know that they were at war they where only fit to fight an Indian raid. Without the riders they were going to be easily captured.  But because the rider came they knew that the British would be coming so they got prepared

            Lastly the rider made them stop butting heads and work together to prepare for the British. Also the riders are the climax because after them is the battle, and every battle has casualties so maybe the dad or even the main character will die in battle.  For the main character it is a lose, lose if the militia wins he will still get brought down by his dad, but if they loose then he dies.  Usually war is very far away but when it is in your back yard everything changes. The climax changed everyone in this novel there is no going back.

One Sided

Austin Johnson

One Sided Everything

This essay is about what stories would be like from another person point of view

During WWII most of the people in the world agreed that the Axis side of WWII was the bad side. But the German people would not have thought their government to be bad; after all it was their soldiers protecting them from the rest of the world.  Their point of view was different from our point of view during WWII; most of everything written has a point of view. In the novel “April Morning” the point of view in the book was the main characters point of view and would be extremely different in the eyes of someone else in the book.

In the novel “April Morning” the point of view is from the main characters point of view, but it is not all one sided.  The second sentence in the book is his point of view where he says “my father said in that way he has of saying that cuts you down to half your size” he makes it seem like his father does not care about him.  Later on in the book he tries to make you think that his brother is annoying and selfish but in reality most little brothers are like that.

The point of view of a main character towards other characters is often just the way the other character acts towards them, but is not true about how they really are.  Adams dad, Moses cooper usually act frustrated to Adam.  He does this so much that Adam begins to think that his dad hates him and likes his little brother better than him.  But in reality what father doesn’t love his son.  He also thinks that his brother is out to get him in trouble.  He is probably right about that most little brothers or sister love to get their older siblings in trouble. In the book Adam over hears his dad talk about how he does not get why Adam thinks that he hates him.

If this book had been in the dads’ point of view it would have been a lot different. Then you would probably think that Adam was like a little child trying to get you annoyed and angry. Also you would think that most of the people at the council are not thinking straight, because they want to go to war with the British. When the rider came you would think that his worst fears have been realized.

The huge difference in point of view is big even though is just one persons view not the other peoples view. Most of the point of view is from view is from the main character therefore it is one sided. But if you put the point of view to someone else it is a huge change.  It is easy to see one side of the story but hard to find both sides.  



jugement

 

Austin Johnson

Judgment of People

Author’s note: This essay is about how the author uses the theme of defying stereotypes.

Whenever you see someone in the hallway or in a store that you never met, you most likely characterize that person into a certain category. That is judging them on how they appear. One of the themes in the novel “The outsiders” is defying stereotypes, which is proving people wrong about what they think of you.

            Most of the time, the first glance (or stereotype) of a person, is usually wrong. For example Johnny, was a guy who defied his stereo type. He was a kid from the bad side of town who looked tough.  But in reality he was unliked by his family and would have never hurt anyone, this phrase describes him in how he looks to others and how he looks to his best friend Ponyboy Johnny had a blank tough look on his face-you’d have to know him to see the panic in his eyes. He was extremely nice to his real family the gang he was in called the greasers. In a way he is kind of like his best friend Ponyboy tough but smart and misunderstood 

            Ponyboy is not the kind of guy who you think would be a greaser. Ponyboy is misunderstood by many people he looks like every other kid in the greasers, tuff, and greasy hair and never alone.  But really he gets real good grades in school and is nice to most people he even saved kids from a fire. He befriended one of the people who stereotyped him and tried to beat him up. His parents died tragically in a car accident which is something rob never knew.  He defied his stereotype so much that he befriended a person from the opposite social party, unlike dally he was exactly what people thought of him.

            Dallas Winston otherwise known as Dally, he is very tuff went to Juvie and owns a gun. He is what the opposite party of the Greasers the socs form their stereotype of the greasers from. The only person he cares about is Johnny and when he gets taken away from him he does his own special form of suicide. He makes the people he hates the most the police shoot him up in front of all his friends.

             When people stereotype you, you would always like to prove them wrong like the theme defying stereotypes.  Both Ponyboy and Johnny are great examples of defying stereotypes.  The novel the outsiders most of the main characters defy their stereotypes.   



a new family

Austin Johnson

The Other Type of Family

About why Johnny liked the greasers better than his own family

The definition any group of persons closely related.   When most people think of family they think of blood relatives but a family can be a group of people you hang out with in the case of Johnny Cade from the novel “the Outsiders” his family was really the Greasers.

            Johnny’s family was so mean to him that he chose the Greasers as his family.  From we know his parents were abusive and don’t pay attention to him because of that Johnny never wanted to go to his house.  He would rather stay out in a lot than at his parents’ house. The story tells us that he would sometimes be at his friend Ponyboy’s house. He was with the Greasers a lot and liked them way better than his family.  The Greasers treated him so well they came to see him while he was dying and when his mother came to see him he told the nurse to keep her away. He was so angry he fainted trying to move and sit up. When he died it hurt the Greasers more than it hurt his mother.

            The greasers were Johnny’s real family not his blood family. The Greasers cared more about Johnny than his family ever did .

Johnny’s’ redemption

Austin Johnson

Johnny’s’ redemption

Going off of what I read I think: Johnny will go to the hospital in a coma and will wake up the police will forgive Johnny for his murder because he has saved the children’s lives and things will go back to normal.

                Bob was one of the main reasons of how the police will forgive him. Bob could be at the most 17 or 18 so he was an under aged drinker. Bob was also drunk at the time of his murder while trying to kill Ponyboy.  So Johnny used self defense while bob was doing something illegal so he cannot get arrested.  Also Bob’s friends were also drunk in a place that they couldn’t possibly be doing something good. It is just not the kind of characteristic of Johnny to be cold hearted killer

                Johnny is the kind of guy who looks tough but usually won’t hurt anyone.  Even though Johnny had a gun he would not have intended to use it.  He even forgot about it when the church was burning down. If anything Johnny is a hero for risking his life and saving those children trapped in the church. I think he got his own punishment when he got those burns.

                If they treat Johnny like they should then Johnny should not go to jail because it is not what it looks like Johnny is innocent.  

My Country

Austin Johnson

Why I’m proud of my country

I am proud of my country because we have freedoms, unlike some other countries like Egypt also we have a military that can help maintain our freedoms. The freedom that we use the most is freedom of speech. Freedom of speech states that anyone can state, write or broadcast their opinion, because we have freedom of speech and other freedoms like it we have excelled as a nation. From us excelling we have extra materials that we must share

We have so much resources that we take for granted and other countries are less fortunate we are nice enough to give to those countries. While others want our help some wish to harm us, a good example is 9/11.  9/11 was the one time that our country failed to protect us, but sent a powerful message to all who wish to harm us when we invaded Afghanistan and destroyed all the tanks and air force in 2 days. So now we are safe from any other attack. The military helps keep all the freedoms that we love