“Family Lessons” Response Questions

1. Are you able to picture the characters in your head? What other character-related details

would enable you to “see” the writer’s characters?

When I read stories like this yes I do picture people in my head. Some other character-related details that would help me build a picture of the character would just be some basic things like their age, some more details of what they enjoy doing , and maybe just a few basics likely describing hair and eye color and even body type. One other thing is maybe say if the cousin is a boy or girl.

2. What other characters would you like to see in the story? Are there any characters that you

would take out of the story? Why/why not?

I think it would be cool if they maybe went into a little detail about this big bull, it would help understand what kind of damage the bull could do. I don't thing there are any characters I would take out.

3. Is the plot/action entertaining? What could the writer do to “spice” up the action?

I think that plot is very entertaining it talks about how important her cousin is to her and then he gets hurt doing something she always teased him about. To me that is a pretty good story. To add a little spice maybe have a scene were they are watching real bull fighters and go into detail about what Clayton is thinking as he is watching the clips.

4. Can you picture where the story/action takes place? Why or why not? What else could the

writer do to establish the setting of the story? Are there any crucial scenes that are

underdeveloped or completely omitted?

I can actually picture the story take place the reason for me being able to picture it is because she says he went on his way for a week of dirt, sun, cowboys, lessons, and mean bulls.

5 Does the dialogue in the story seem realistic? What could the writer do to improve the

dialogue? Where would you like to see less/more dialogue?

I think the dialogue seems very realistic it connects with me just perfectly fine. To improve the dialogue they could maybe go into greater detail why the cousins are so close. I also would maybe like to see more dialogue related to the accident.

6. What can the writer do to revise this essay and make it better?

According to some of the links I read you need your ending to reaffirm, reflect upon, or extend the main point of the text.

Good essays end, they don’t just stop, so this is something the writer could do to make it better.

Family Gatherings

I am the type of person who loves his food and I feel like a big part of that has to do with my family and their love to cook food. Most of my food memories have happened mainly on the DuPre side, which would be my fathers’ side. You could say pretty much every women can cook and a good cook at that and I mean that in the best way possible.

It all started with my Grandma DuPre ever since I was little most of my memories of her are of her in the kitchen always cooking for us and homemade at that. When I was real little it is basically what I saw her doing and she did a big portion of it on her own. I mean this woman made every dish and I am leaving out one big part of that she made it for twenty-three of us. She had six of her own kids, then they all had their spouses and then she had the grandkids. So you could only imagine the feast my grandma would make and it all was homemade. She would do this for every single holiday from Christmas to mothers day, no matter what everyone would come in for the day, thankfully we all are only about three hours away at the most so it usually was not that hard. The meals usually included a meat both light and dark turkey, two types of potatoes, your greens from green beans to salad, corn, broccoli salad, gravy, beats, she had it all and if you wanted it all you had to do was kindly request it and more than likely you would see it at the next gathering. Then as grandma did start to get a little older she started dedicating certain choirs to certain people. You could say my aunt jenny was next in charge in the kitchen and that is probably because she is an amazing cook, not going to lie she is giving grandma a run for her money. Aunt Jenny’s dishes were just a little different I guess, you could say a little more fancier and maybe even a little more flavor, very delicious everyone loved it. She was mainly in charge for all the cooking done inside, but when it came to grilling nobody could beat aunt martys grilling. Most of you are thinking grilling that is usually a mans domain but not at all aunt Marty owned the grill. I do not know how she did it but everything she made on that grill just had a better taste better than any other grilling I have had. Her specialty would probably be steaks, bbq chicken and burgers. I know your thinking it cant be that hard to make those to things and your right it is not that hard, but it was the way she executed them they were just better than anybody else’s we will just put it that way. The steaks she makes are just hands down the best. I have never had a steak anywhere I have been at that could even hold a candle to her steaks. All these meals are usually big family meals with my dads’ side of the family and to me it is some of the best cooking I have ever had. I have enjoyed their cooking so much it has actually motivated me to get their recipes and try to imitate them on my own at college and I am not afraid to say I’m not as good as them yet but I am on my way.

“Catfish in the Bathtub” Response Questions

1. How does Kingston use the five senses to create descriptive imagery? Give examples of her

use of sounds, tastes, smells, sights, and feelings. Which do you believe are the most effective?

Kingston goes on to talk about how they would put fingers in our ears to shut out the bird screams and the thud, thud of turtles

swimming in the boiling water, their shells hitting the sides of the pot. She also talks about when her mother was

dismembering skunk on the chopping block and she could smell the rubbery odor through the candy.I believe the bird screams would be pretty horrible for a child.

2. Evaluate the use of dialogue (records of spoken words or conversation) in this essay? What

effect does it have on your understanding of Kingston’s main point?

The first thing I would notice is that they seemed on the lower class side so therefore their mother had no choice on what to feed them, so by getting them to eat should would be pretty brutal about it. Which helps understanding the main point.

3. Although other incidents or ideas are described rather briefly, Kingston devotes a full, detailed

paragraph to a description of the monkey feast…why do you think she does this?

Her mother told her that is what rich people would eat, so when she was little she though hey if rich people are eating monkeys we can be far from them with all the weird stuff we ate.

4. Throughout the essay, Kingston combines very realistic description (the bear’s claw, the turtles

thudding against the pot, the monkey feast) with various similes and metaphors…what figures

of speech (see description notes) does Kingston use in the essay?

To me i feel like she uses a lot of subjective description and the reason for thinking this is because she conveys her personal response to her subject.

5. “Catfish in the Bathtub” opens with a lengthy catalog of foods that Kingston’s mother

prepared, yet ends with a very brief, simple statement. Why do you think she does this? How

effective is this concluding strategy?

I feel like kingston ends her story like this to show her how much she dislikes Chinese food. She show this disliking by being short and to the point that she really has not ate but would rather eat plastic than Chinese food.

"Words Left Unspoken" Blog

I am actually choosing to right mine about two people in my life who have influenced me greatly. Those two men were both my grandfathers, yes were meaning they both have passed away. Allen Esarey was my mothers’ father and a great man he was and trust me you will agree by the end of this also. The other gentleman I am choosing to write about is of course my other grandfather Ernie DuPre, who was my fathers’ dad. Who also was a great man and of course you will see why at the end of this also.

Both men were very caring and loving men. I am going to choose to talk about my grandpa Esarey first and for no particular reason neither one was a favorite I love both of them the same and they love me. My grandpa Esarey was a great man in my eyes. He was a farmer is whole life that is all he knew, but boy was he good at it. He had all the kids helping on the farm not matter boy or girl you would get up at the crack of dawn and go feed the cows or do whatever choir was expected of you. You of course wanted to skip out of them occasionally but he had this sort of slick way getting you to do it, he was such a good man. When I picture him I picture a man that has worked every day of his life. He had the rough farm boy hands but also had his Sunday boy side also. Sunday boy side meaning he went to church every Sunday no matter what rain or snow he would be there. He would work right along and same pace as my younger more agile uncle believe it or not but he would be barking at him to keep up. He was just one of those great guys that went hard and did everything. He was also the type of man that would help anybody that needed help he needed know alternative motives he just did it cause it was the right thing to do, you could say that was just the type of man he was.

Now I am going to talk about the other great man and inspiring gentleman in my life, my grandpa DuPre. Grandpa DuPre was a little different than Grandpa Esarey not by much both of course very hard working men but main difference was in their career paths. My Grandpa DuPre was the general manager of General Electric in Tell City, Indiana. He was actually originally from Charleston, South Carolina were he was born and raised. After high school he attended the University of Clemson there in South Carolina. He actually graduated from both high school and college very early. He was done with college by the age of eighteen believe it or not. He also was a navy man at first then he started working for general electric. He actually moved to Tell City and was interviewed for the job and the gentleman who interviewed him actually told his wife he just interviewed a man who could be the president of general electric one day. Some of you might not believe that and wondering how I know that well I found that out actually at his funeral the widow of the man who interviewed my grandfather actually informed my father and I that. One of the most interesting things I ever heard was again at his funeral and it came from one of his son in laws my uncle. He said that my grandpa never said people worked for him he just worked with them even though he was there boss he was still not above them in his book and to me a man that thinks like that is a great man. My grandpa was one of the most loving and caring men I have ever met. One thing he loved to do once he retired was go to all my sporting events and he would not miss a single one. No matter how hot it was or how old he was he was always there he love watching me and my buddies play. I can picture him now as I walk up to bat I see his smiling face and I can do nothing but do good I cannot disappoint that man I love. You could say was one of the luckiest kids out there I feel like for having such loving grandpas and I can only wish they were still here.

“Words Left Unspoken” Response Questions

1. What was Leah Hager Cohen’s earliest memory of her grandfather? Since she can’t sign and

he’s unable to speak, how do they communicate?

Her earliest memory of her grandfather was his chin. They communicated when he would lift us grandchildren up, most frequently by the elbows, and nuzzle our cheeks vigorously. This abrasive ritual greeting was there primary means of communication.

2. What is the significance of the essay’s title? What do you think the “words left unspoken” are?

The significance of the title is that she never got to actually talk to her grandpa. I feel like this is a bit of foreshadowing for how she feels about her relationship with her grandpa.

3. What do you think Cohen means when she says, “That was the longest conversation we ever

had”?

To me she means that it was just her and her grandpa away from everybody else but they were together in harmony with there foot steps.

4. What figures of speech (see yesterday’s notes) does Cohen use in the essay?

Cohen uses objective description in this essay.

5. In the last paragraph, Cohen says that now, after her grandfather’s death, “everything seems

like a clue.” What do you think she means by this? Do you think this is an effective way to

end the essay? Why or why not?

To me I feel like she thinks that everything her and her grandpa did had a meaning even though they never actually had a conversation it didn't matter because everything they did had a reason. I think it is an okay way to end an essay it keeps people wondering hey what did she mean by that.

"Ground Zero" Blog

One great memory of mine all started as a joke or you could also say it was maybe a dream. It all started probably around the end of my junior year of high school or beginning of my senior year. What was the joke or dream you are wondering well it doesn’t sound like much but to high school kid at the time it would be amazing if it happened but somewhat unattainable.

The joke slash dream was that me and all my close friends would graduate and then that summer we all would go to Mexico. See it all just started as a joke between my friends and our parents. They would always talk about how neat it would be if all of us would go on a vacation together because believe it or not but me and five of my close friends and our parents were all really good friends and we all hung out. Then as the our senior started to come to an end our parents kept talking about a vacation together and if we could dream up one were would it be? So we all threw out our kind of realistic ideas not really thinking something like that would really work out, but what we didn’t know is our parents already had it planned and booked. We were scheduled to go to Cancun, Mexico for a week and the best thing about it that we didn’t know on top of being a dream come true, everything was all inclusive meaning once we got there and got our wrist bands we would not have to pay for a thing all week. You could only imagine how excited we were when we found out, the worst part was that it was so far away. Our dream vacation was in the first week of July, so that summer up until that week was actually wished away.

So the week of our dream vacation finally arrived. We had a direct flight from Louisville, Kentucky to Cancun, Mexico, and this also was my first time flying, but it could not get over soon enough. Our flight was a direct flight so it was nice and easy three-hour flight kind of weird to imagine this amazing place was only a three-hour flight away. Once we landing in Mexico I was so ready to be to our resort, but what I didn’t know was that we had to go through super long security stuff, which probably is not a bad thing for our safeties sake that is. Security stuff actually took longer than I expected it probably took an hour before we actually got to the resort. Once we finally got through all the security the resort actually had a vehicle there waiting on us to take us to the resort. It kind of made you feel important having a person sitting there waiting for you personally. This is when my eyes saw the most fascinating sight I think it has saw. We pulled up to the resort and could not believe it. It was like a fairy tail. The resort was so beautiful words can not describe what feelings went through me I was just shocked and just seriously, seriously surprised it actually happened. I was finally at a place I never thought I would be able to visit at such a young age. The resort was just flawless I guess you could say. The rooms and pools was immaculate something I thought I would ever be fortunate enough to do. I am so serious the view was also just so breath taking every room over looked the pool, hot tubs, and the crashing waves of the ocean. The place had everything from swim up bars to sushi restaurants to even life size chess it was so unreal. So this is were I came to the conclusion or maybe you could call it a very big dream that one day I really would love to run and maybe even own a resort so beautiful like the one I saw that evening.

“Ground Zero” Response Questions

1. What do you think Berne means when she says that as her eyes adjust to what she is seeing,

“nothing” becomes something more potent, “which is absence”?

I think she means that it looks like nothing to somebody who knows nothing about the situation but to everyone who does understand what happened the nothing space actually has a lot of meaning.

2. According to Berne, how were the televised images of ground zero different from the actual

experience of seeing it?

According to Berne, they were probably trying to superimpose those terrible images onto the

industrious emptiness right in front of them. The difficulty of this kind of mental revision is measured.

3. What scene is most crucial to the essay—where/when does she slow down and re-create the

events taking place?

4. In paragraph 3, Berne says that ground zero at first looks like “nothing”; in paragraph 4, she

says it looks like a construction site. Then, in paragraph 7, she describes ground zero as “a great

bowl of light.” And finally, in her conclusion, she refers to it as a pit. Why do you think Berne

describes ground zero in so many ways?

To me this is just how she feels as she examines the whole situation. She knows the whole story to the world trade center but now that she is there seeing it in real life this is just how she feels about the area through out the day. To me it describes her feelings about the whole situation.

5. This piece is sometimes printed under the title “My Ticket to the Disaster”; how do these very

different titles affect your understanding of Berne’s reason for writing? How would your

perception of her purpose for writing this essay change if it were called “My Ticket to the

Disaster”?

To me a title says a lot, to me a title kinda of prepares you for what your about to read. So if i was reading something with the title My Ticket to the Disaster I would already have thought to my self okay this is going to be something in a sad manor.

6. What do you think Berne means in her conclusion when she says that with so many visitors

coming to see ground zero, a form of “repopulation” is taking place?

I think she is maybe saying that yes the building is gone and people did die, but people are still coming and we all are going to have to move on and this will only make us stronger.

Men and Women

I am going to start off by being pretty honest it might not be true to some people but this is just how I feel. I think that obviously men and women are treated differently and of course the expectations for men and women are different also. I feel like in most families the men are expected to be the source of main income. Its not that the women cant do it and I some family the women are the main income, but I feel most the time it is the men. It has just been like this from time to time and it usually works so it stays that way.

Along with being the main source of income men are also responsible for certain chores to. Men mow the grass clean the gutters and usually do all the physically demanding stuff around the house, don’t get me wrong I know some women are capable of doing those things also but you usually just don’t see it. They know it’s a guy’s job so they let it go because it works form them and they like it that way. Yes women also have the same expectations to such as cooking cleaning and usually take care of the kids for the most part. I am not saying this in a shallow demeaning manner I am just simply saying that is usually how family’s work and that is how mine worked during my childhood and I feel like I turned out fine. I mean all these chores don’t always have to be like this for instance the father can cook dinner occasionally and he can also help with cleaning. What I am saying is that for the most part that is how it usually works and along with what the mother does of course the kids help her to with cooking cleaning and doing dishes. So what I guess I am saying is men and women are treated a little different in my family but not in a bad way it is just how I guess my dad and mom were raised also and it worked for both of them and their parents. They can prove it to because both my mom or dads parents weren’t ever divorced and neither are my parents and I don’t plan to be either. That all goes along the same with expectations. I feel like my father expects me to get a good job and make good money and be the main source of income in my family and I feel the same. I feel like if I wasn’t I kind of was a bit of a failure I guess you could say. I know it would not be bad if my wife had a good job and made better money but I just feel like that is my job I guess take that how you want. I also feel my parents don’t expect my sister to be the main source of income either in her family I feel like they expect her husband to be that person and she would be ok with it, and again not saying it bad if it is not like this but I just feel that his how most families are.

“Only Daughter”

1. What distinction does Cisneros make between being “the only daughter” and “only a

daughter”?

Cisneros feel that she is the only daughter and usually the only daughter is spoiled and treated differently,but in her family this is not true. In her family she feels under appreciated and she is just sitting around waiting till she is old enough to get married to be come someone's wife

2. What advantages does Cisneros see in being the only daughter? In being only a daughter?

One of her advantage was all the boys would not play with her and public because she was a girl, but that worked into her advantage as she says because she becomes a writer and by them not bugging her it gave her time to think.

3. Cisneros quotes her father several times…what do we learn about him from his words?

To me it sounds like she is trying to point out how he is not proud of her until she does something with her mind or get married.

4. Do you think Cisneros intends to convey a sympathetic or unsympathetic impression of her

father? Explain.

Like I said in that last question I feel she feels he is unsympathetic until she becomes successful.

5. Only Daughter” ends with the line: “Of all the wonderful things that happened to me last year,

that was the most wonderful”…what “wonderful thing” is Cisneros referring to? Why do you

think this “thing” means so much to her?

The thing that was most wonderful was that her father was finally proud of her and she knows this because he asks for more copies to share with the rest of the family. So by her father showing is happiness of her success it means a lot to her.

Ambitions and goals

I have had many ambitions and goals I have strived to reach in my young life, but there is one that really sticks out to me. The one that really sticks out to me actually just happened to me about four years ago. I was seventeen years old a junior at Tell City High School and I was playing football. It was a Friday night and we were playing one of our rivals Heritage Hills High School. It all just happened all of a sudden. I was just standing on the field the play was over and I all of sudden felt probably one of the most painful things I have ever felt. It was a helmet right into the inside of my knee I went down and started yelling in pain. I had so many crazy thoughts going through my head I had know clue what happened. I thought my knee had just maybe popped out of place. I decided to stand up with a little help and I thought I was ok so I tried walking and then it popped again everybody in the stands and sidelines saw it and it was not pretty. So I had to sit out the rest of the game and actually ended up missing the rest of the season and it was not fun at all. So our team doctor took a look at it and said he was not for sure and I needed to go to a specialist so I went home and had to wait till the next morning to see a specialist in town called Jasper its about an hour from my house.

The next morning did not come soon enough; it was probably one of the worst nights of my life. So I finally got into the doctor about eleven or so the next day. He felt my knee tried twisting turning just little things to see if you could tell what was wrong my dad and me were both praying it was not the acl. So after the doctor did his thing he looked up at us and said doesn’t look good it could be the acl. Both my parents and me looked at each other and just shook our heads in disgust, but the doctor said he was not sure that I needed an mri first to be for sure. So I went through all kinds of x-rays and tests and it was final I not only tore my acl, but I also tore my mcl, pcl, and tore my ligament up the side of my knee off the bone also. The doctor said it was probably one of if not the worst knee injury he has ever seen. He said I would be out of sports for at least six months if not more. That is were my goal was set six months is all I planned on being out, so this is were one of my most important goals of my life so far would have to began and that was rehabbing to get back to normal and let me tell you it was a fun process. I drove to jasper everyday for about three months straight for rehab and let me tell you I got extremely sick of that drive. It was probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do so far in my young adult life. My goal was to be back for baseball that spring many people doubted me said there is no way with it being that bad that I could be back so fast, but I proved all of them wrong don’t get me wrong I was not back to a hundred percent but I was back enough to play. I did miss basketball, which was pretty tough, but I was happy that was all I had to miss. Many people were wondering weather I would play football again and be the same Michael I always was, but everyone I asked I told them not to worry that next season number twelve would be out there. So that summer came and I did it I’m not going to lie I was a little hesitant at first but about three games into the season I felt like I was back to the old Michael I didn’t even were knee brace I just didn’t want people to know I had a bad one that the could shoot for. To me this process helped me in all aspects of my life. Now I don’t feel like there is not anything I can’t do if I can come back from that I can do anything, because that was a pretty tough thing to go through.

Malcom X

1. Who or what motivated Malcolm X to begin his studies?

Malcolm X was motivated by Elijah Muhammad.

2. What did Malcolm X do to increase his vocabulary?

To increase his vocabulary Malcolm X began reading the dictionary.

3. This piece is sometimes printed under the title “Prison Studies”; what’s the difference between

the initial responses a reader might have for an essay called “Homemade Education” vs. one

entitled “Prison Studies”?

To me I feel like someone might feel more obligated to look at something titled Homemade Education rather than one titled Prison studies just because of the fact when you think of prison you do not think of someone intelligent. You usually just think of a dumb criminal that does not listen to authority.

4. What are the different ways someone might react to the term “homemade”? What does the

word mean to you, in terms of the way you were raised? (think food, clothes, or family

projects…both positive and negative)

To me some different ways people might react to homemade would be cheap and not the best that is to me what I think a lot of people would view it as. To me and the way I was raised I actually see it smart, because you can usually make what you want how you want for cheaper. To me if you can make it homemade and your happy that is all that matters.

5. At the end of the essay, Malcolm X states that even though he was in prison, he “had never

been so truly free.” What do you think he means by this…how is this possible?

I feel like he means yes he is in prison, but that doesn't mean he can not accomplish things. Look what he did he taught his self how to read and right and become a respectable person in prison and you never know what might have happened to him if he wouldn't have got sent to prison. That is why everything happens for a reason and he feels so free.

childhood Story

One of the better memories that do remember from my childhood would probably have to deal with playing baseball. I started playing when I was only a little guy. My first experience with baseball along with most people’s first experience would have to be tee ball. In the summer for about twelve years that is all I knew baseball, but I loved it and it helped that me and my friends were pretty good at it also.

A lot of my baseball memories are related to all-stars. All-stars was only a select few of kids from each age group that represented the league they were in. We would travel all over Indiana and play. If there was a tournament we were in it especially if there was one in southern Indiana. So all-stars started when you were seven I think and I was lucky enough to make it my first year I was eligible to make it. The league we were in is often called pitching machine because obviously a machine pitched to us not other kids. So thankfully a lot of my friends made the team also or maybe that is how we actually became friends. So our first tournament was at our own field in Tell City. I remember parts here and there but the main thing I remember is one of my buddies Eric also known as “moose” hitting homerun after homerun. He was quite bigger than the rest of us so it came easy to him. One special homerun I remember is the one that broke a kid on our team dad’s window with one of his homeruns. People could not believe he was our age and actually made us give them his birth certificate to verify he was our age, it was pretty comical, but he did stick out. So we ended up winning our own tournament it helped we had a kid named moose on our team who about five homeruns in one tournament.

So the next tournament was across the river in Kentucky in a town called Hancock County. A lot of us played peewee football over there so we were pretty familiar with some people over there already. They all knew moose to. So we had no problem with his birth certificate over there. Believe it or not we ended up winning that tournament also. We thought we were unstoppable nobody could touch us. Then we decided to enter a tournament with both seven year olds and eight year olds somewhere up north not exactly sure were. So we were going up there with lots of momentum our first game was against some other seven years olds so that was no problem and we continued to win and win. Then we ran into this pretty good team of eight-year-olds. We gave them a good game but ended up getting our first lost by a couple runs. So we did not know how to act we were not use to losing. So you could imagine the tears. So we ended up not winning the tournament we didn’t even get trophies we came in fourth place and we were not happy. We ended up playing in a few more tournaments and actually not letting that fourth place finish ruin our season we won the rest of the tournaments we were in.

So I can say that summer when I was seven was what made me the competitor I am today. I feel like it helped me through out my career. It did build a lot of friendships I know that and our friendships carried over into championships I felt like. We won many tournaments after that not only in baseball either but in football and basketball, but to me that is were it all started seven year old all-stars.

old teachers and classmates

School-St Paul Elementary

Kindergarden-Mrs. Newkirk, 1st-Ms. Maddox, 2nd-Ms. Artberry, 3rd-?, 4TH-Ms. Gaynor, 5th grade-Mr. Wrye

friends-Sean Risse, Evan Rothgerber, Cody Pfieffer, Tyler Henning, Eric Henrickson, Jason S., I guess enemies were girls and my sisters friends called me michelle

I remember my Favorite day in Elementary was Field day.

I loved recess like every kid.

Only got one conduct cut.

I loved jump rope for hear beside the selling stuff part.

First 5th grade class in our new school and that about it.

1. What’s unexpected or surprising about where Richard Gregory first experienced shame?

To me the thing that was unexpected and surprising was that Richard Gregory was so little but he still knew he felt shame. He was tore up that everybody knew he was poor.

2. How long did Gregory’s shame last? What (or who) finally allowed him to overcome his

shame?

Gregory's shame lasted 22 years. What finally allowed him to get over his shame was when he finally realized he had nothing to be ashamed of he was married, had his own family, he was successful and everyone was healthy, so why be ashamed of your past you have to move on sometime.

3. What all does Gregory do in order to impress Helene Tucker?

Gregory plans to Donate more money than her father does to make him look good.

4. There are three main characters in the story, don’t you agree? The protagonist and

antagonist in this narrative are pretty clear, but what’s interesting is that one of these

main characters isn’t actually given a proper name…why do you think Gregory made this

choice?

I think Gregory chose to keep his teachers name out of the story because he either didn't remember it or just didn't want to give her the knowledge of knowing how bad she hurt him.

5. Gregory uses a lot of dialogue to tell his story—what effect does it have on a reader?

I think he uses dialogue to help us understand who the whole story is about and that would basically be him and Helene. I think it has a good effect on readers I understood who and why he was in love with her.

6. In the final paragraph, Gregory states: “Now there was shame everywhere.” Why do you

think he says this? What examples illustrate his point?

I felt like he said this because he was so embarrassed and now every time he talked to someone he would think back to that moment and think are they just doing this because I have no father or are they just trying to be my friend. So basically he would think back to that moment in his life for almost every conversation.

Blog #1

Hello my name is Michael DuPre I am white twenty-year-old male with blonde hair blues eyes. I grew up in Indiana in a town called Tell City it is about an hour and fifteen minutes from Evansville. I have one sister a mom and a dad, which are still together. I went to Tell City High School. At Tell City High School I played basketball, baseball, and football. I also was involved in Student Council and Pep club. After high school I actually attended Western Kentucky University first before University of Southern Indiana. I am currently majoring in Finance with a minor in management. Some things I really enjoy are hanging out with my friends, family and going to the beach. I actually just joined Big Brothers Big Sisters program and actually just got my little brother about a month ago. His name is Jeriamah and is seven years old. So far he has kept me pretty busy this summer, but I have enjoyed it. So hopefully now you know a little about me.