Sunday, November 21, 2010

My Book-of -the-Month= "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe"

You can never have too much Poe! One of the greatest writers of all time, Poe has written many stories, poems, and the like. So here they all are, waiting to be read in "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe" (Seen Below).
                                              
                                                
Included in the book are timeless classics, including "The Black Cat", "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Masque of the Red Death", and so much more!
The types of literature and literary devices in this novel are so numerous and well used, you will be hard-pressed to find anything quite like it. In between the covers lay devices such as symbolism, similes, metaphors, and so much more!
As a reader of this fantastic book, I have to give it five stars! Everything flowed well and made perfect sense, but what really got me was "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". The story kept me trapped inside a world of gruesomeness and intrigue, sending delightful chills down my spine every step of the way. I especially loved the part of the tale when the murder was revealed to be an escaped Orangutan, who was merely trying to give the victim a haircut. Such strangely satisfying writing is not easy to come by, so you can save a lot of time searching for a good book right now just by choosing this wonderful collection.
And remember - You can never have too much Poe!

Picture of O. Henry


Source:
http://www.inspirationline.com/images/O_henry.jpg

O. Henry - 10 Facts You Probably Didn't Know

#1. O. Henry was a pseudonym (pen name) for one of the American short story writers, William Sydney Porter.
#2. His was born in Greensboro, North Carolina in the year 1862.
#3. William Porter only went to school until he was 15 years old.
#4. He dropped out of school so he could work at his uncle’s drugstore.
#5. While in his 20’s Porter became both a clerk and bank teller and moved to Texas.
#6. He did not write professionally until he was in his 30’s.
#7. O. Henry was accused of embezzling funds from the First National Bank of Austin, Texas in when he was 34. After being accused of this, Porter fled to Honduras.
#8. Learning his wife was dying, O. Henry returned to be with her, and then after she died he turned himself in.
#9. The sentence was 5 years (it was a small amount of funds embezzled), of which O. Henry served 3 at a jail in Ohio.
#10. O. Henry died in the year 1910, nearly 10 years after his release from prison.

Source:
Microsoft Student with Encarta

My Essay on "The Maque of the Red Deah"

Austin S.                                                                                                                 
Mrs. Zurkowski
October 27, 2010                                                                                       
Honors English – Purples
“Masque of the Red Death” Writing Activity
            Towards the beginning of Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Masque of the Red Death”, a paragraph was devoted entirely towards the seven colored rooms of Prospero’s abbey and their contents. One of the seven colored rooms in the prince’s retreat was purple. The purple coloring in the room represented the games, fun, and playfulness of youth as well as the ignorance derived from unknowing. As such a beginning stage, it did come closer to the start of the paragraph.
            Throughout life there are seven stages, each of them unique in some way. The seven rooms in the story represented these. Purple in the second room was the color chosen to represent youthfulness. It is the second stage in life after birth, and is when the innocence of ignorance allows for fun and games. Also related to the room was the clock of life, symbolized in the story by an ebony clock located in the black room with red panes. This stage was still early on and allowed for there to be more time for transition into other stages of life.
            This purple room and its symbolic color relate to me in many ways. Youthful ignorance and playfulness are represented by the color purple as a stage of my life. As an adolescent, that stage of my life has only just been left behind. There are still remnants of the stage resident, such as a capacity for fun and games, which I am hopelessly an addict of. Board games, discovering the new and exciting world around me, and just plainly goofing off are all still with me today. However, the flip-side of the color also relates to my life. Gone is the innocence of ignorance and now actions have consequences, be them good or otherwise. If I break something when I bump into it, I will be punished. If I do well in school I am rewarded. The fun and games of purple are over, but I still have many more stage to go through.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Welcome to Second Quarter!

Hi! Second quarter is here and the class has started on the short story unit. "The Interlopers" was the first one we read and I have to say I really the author (Saki) and his writing style. When the story finished with the hugely ironic ending it had, it reminded me of some of Shakespear's work. What was the story Shakespear wrote with the character King Lear? It sounded alot like it. Anyway here are some of my goals for the second quarter: Maintain A's in all subjects (a high B in the case of AP Human Geography), read at least three good books, and to keep up to date on my blog. Speaking of my blog, I've posted a recent picture of me below, just to give you a little reference.

Recent Picture of me


Monday, November 1, 2010

Some Insight on Edgar Allan Poe...

#1. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. He perished on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#2. A terrible childhood event that affected his writing greatly was his mother's death of tuberculosis when he was only two years old.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#3. Five things that may have caused Poe's death might have been beating, toxic disorder, epilepsy, rabies, or heart problems.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#6. The U.S. Military Acadamy at West Point expelled Poe in 1831.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#7. Poe married Virginia Clemm (his cousin) when she was only 13 years old.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#9. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" was the first of Poe's detective story.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#10. "The Tell Tale Heart" was written in 1843, alongside "The Black Cat".
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#11. "The Raven" was published in the year 1845, January 29th.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#12. The picture of Poe that seems closest to the image that pops in my head while I'm reading his stories was the "Ultima Thule" daguerreotype made in 1848 by William S. Hartshorn. It seems to best show his raggedness and depressed writing manner.
Source: http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

#14. I signed the guestbook at Poestories.com and wrote a comment.
Source: http://www.poestories.com/

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Teen Homeless Shelters - Picture

Image from: http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/images/images-lookout/2007/IL-01_2007/01-19-07-HomelessShelter2.jpg

English Isuuse - Homeless Teen Shelters

Austin S.
Mrs. Zurkowski
Purples
1 October 2010
Teen Homeless Shelters – Their Rules and Regulations
            Teen homeless shelters are becoming harder and harder to get into or stay inside of. If a teenager becomes homeless in today’s society, it would be nearly impossible for them to get any sort of help. Even if they did, it would be even more difficult for them to keep that help. Most teens end up worse off than they were before they joined a shelter. In light of this, teen homeless shelters and outreach programs must lower their strict rules that make people either contact or rejoin their families, get placed in foster care, have a certain income, or stay at the shelter consecutively due to the special needs or conditions of each individual person. If this happens, hundreds, no thousands, of homeless teens will receive relief quicker and more efficiently than they ever have before.
            Each person has special needs that only apply to them. To make everyone follow a strict set of rules that force a person to do something might end up causing major trauma to that person. Each person should be evaluated and given help according to their own agenda and given a set of rules that correspond to that agenda. For instance, one homeless child, Nicole, was enrolled in a school that gave three meals a day– breakfast, lunch, and dinner - because her parents could not afford to pay for both school and food for her.(Teicher). Her family therefore needed a supply of food to help feed their family. One way to improve a homeless teen’s life is to prescribe a set of rules that does not limit the amount of time the service is rendered, but limits the amount of service reviewing the family’s state of being, fairly and all-inclusively. Unfortunately, this was not all of the family’s problems. Nicole grades were slipping because she needed time and essential supplies for school and a happy home life. (Teicher). To help, people should donate academic items, like rulers, or home life items, such as soap. The rules applied should be about how the substances are put to use, not on the amount of income the family has. And this is just one family.
            Tinesheia Howard lived in an emergency shelter when she was in high school. The experience gave her a lot of stress and one cause of this was limited privacy. (Kasland). "I was looking mean and tired...For me, school was difficult. I was stressed. Everybody had no clue what I was going through." (Tinesheia Howard - Homeless Teen). (Kasland). She should be helped by being given counseling sessions. Rules should apply to how she reactions to the treatment. So you can see there are many different needs and not all should apply to the same set of rules.
            The needs of the homeless in general are very different than the rest of society. To help, we have to be open and willing to help in different ways. In interviews with 50 homeless teens only 42% of them used shelters because they were so scared they would be sent home. (Stanford). Most homeless teens wanted help, but not lasting relationships (where they had to continuously come back to or rely on one organization or person) to get it. (Stanford). They were afraid that the people who run the outreach programs would force them to return to their families. To help, we have to bend a little to their different ways of need. Homeless teens want to get back into the cycle; they want a place to sleep, a job, some food, counseling, and health service, but only if there were no extras or strings attached. (Stanford). So they are not ripping you off if you bend, you see. "It is cold and miserable on the streets, but it is better than being beaten up by parents who don't care." (Homeless Teen [Name Unknown]) (Stanford). To help, one has to consider all the differences in needs.
            Some people may not accept or be eligible for help because of restrictions or rules. The Patrick Administration in Massachusetts has proposed laws that deny shelter to families who either have been evicted or have abandoned public shelters without good cause, or failed to work 30 hours a week. (Abel). Now families in Massachusetts have to save 30% of their income or they are denied shelter. (Abel). Now they have lowered the time amounts for job hours as well. If you hold a job for three months, you have to leave. (Abel). One quote in particular seems to describe the overall scenario rather well: "I would rather be homeless." (Homeless Teen [Name Unknown]) (Stanford).
            Money is needed to run the shelters, so rules have to be enforced to limit the number of people using them. The current program doesn't provide the best affordable service so it can keep working. (Abel). If you take away the only shelter some families have, it will only make homelessness worse. Tom Lorello (Executive Director of Heading Home) says "...some people can't save their income because they have debts to pay..." (Abel). Shelters need rules to maintain order. If you are respectful to others by following rules, you will get more service than if you break them; therefore people don't want to break rules and it maintains order. If you are worried about order, input security personnel that deal with each individual person or incident instead of rules which restrict everyone. People who work with homeless say shelter's rules only make it harder for the homeless to get back on their feet. (Abel).
            Strict rules for homeless shelters that are detrimental to the overall effect of the shelters must be eliminated or at least lowered.




Works Cited
Abel, David. “Homeless Families Face Strict New Rules” Global Newspaper Company. Copyright 2009. Web. 30 September 2010.

Hacker, Dianna. The Bedford Handbook. (Seventh Edition). Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2006. Print.

Kasland, Karen. "Out of place: for homeless teens, challenges are everywhere." Current Health     2, a Weekly Reader publication Mar. 2010: 26+. Gale Student Resources In Context.    Web. 21 Sept. 2010.

Stanford University. “Stanford: News Release Study Sheds Light On Hidden Population Of       Homeless Teens”. 11/18/91. Stanford University. 9/13/2010.

Teicher, Stacy A. "For Homeless, No Place Like School." Christian Science Monitor. Feb. 8          2005: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2010.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Social Issue Notes- Article #3

Austin S.
Mrs. Zurkowski
Purples
24 September 2010

Homeless Teens – Their Challenges and How to Help Them
Stanford University. Stanford: News Release Study Sheds Light On Hidden Population Of Homeless Teens. 11/18/91. Stanford University. 9/13/2010.
  • Only 48% of 50 interviewed homeless teens used homeless shelters. (Page 1 Para 2)
  • The other 52% were scared of being sent home or put in foster care. (Page 1 Para 3)
  • The homeless teens lived in tribes of up to 20 kids or more who earned money panhandling, theft, and prostitution. (Page 1 Para 5)
  • Ninety-two % of the teens had come from broken homes. (Page 1 Para 8)
  • Fifty% of the homeless teens said their families had alchohol problems. (Page 1 Para 8)
  • Forty% of them reported drug abuse. (Page 1 Para 8)
  • Fifty-six% of the homeless teens talked about physical abuse.
  • Sixty-nine% of street homeless teens had seen death or suicide of freinds.
  • Only 17% of sheltered teens that were homeless had experienced death or suicide of freinds.
  • Eighty-eight% street kids reported panhandling to support themselves

Rough Outline

1. (Thesis)
Teen homeless shelters or outreach programs should not have strict rules that make people either contact/rejoin their families or get placed in foster care due to the special needs/conditions of each individual person.
2.(Three main sections/support)
A.Give examples of hardships and how it proves each person that needs help should not be required to contact family/friends.
B.Why current practices are incorrect and how to fix them.
C.How to help and make the best impact in the correct way.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Social Issue Notes - Article #2

Austin S.
Mrs. Zurkowski
Purples
24 September 2010
                         Homeless Teens - Their Challenges and How to Help Them

Teicher, Stacy A. "For Homeless, No Place Like School." Christian Science Monitor. Feb. 8          2005: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 21 Sep 2010.

  • "Perhaps never before has so much attention been paid to groups of students once largely overlooked." (Marjorie Kehe, Learning Editor) (Page 1 Para 1)

  • Apparently, Nicole' family has it hard because they have to "camp"  and order her year-round-school that gives hers food. ( Page 1 Para 2 - 4)
  • The school Nicole went to in Arizona started an outreach program to help homeless kids called HomeStart. (Page 1 Para 6)

  • Nicole's school was early because it started its program in 1993 but all schools were not ordered to have a program until 2002. (Page 1 Para 6 - 7)
  • The estimated number of kids who are homeless in the U.S. at one point are 900,000 to 2.8 million. (Page 2 Para 1)
  • Homeless kids are kids who do not have a stable home. (Page 2 Para 1)
  • "There have been some really significant accomplishments - more kids are getting to school" (Ms. Duffield) (Page 2 Para 5)
  • "Homelessness is a moving target - it's getting worse" (Ms. Duffield) (Page 2 Para 5)

  • Awareness of laws for schools to have to help homeless families has been "filtering down", but the action taken to uphold those laws are minute. (Page 2 Para 6)

  • Some schools "just don't want these kids". (Joy Moses) (Page 2 Para 6)

Image from: http://www.wrensnestonline.com/blog/wp-content/brown-middle-school-redux.jpg

    Friday, September 24, 2010

    Social Issue Notes- Article #1


    Austin S.
    Mrs. Zurkowski
    Purples
    24 September 2010
                        Homeless Teens - Their Challenges and How to Help Them
    Kasland, Karen. "Out of place: for homeless teens, challenges are everywhere." Current Health     2, a Weekly Reader publication Mar. 2010: 26+. Gale Student Resources In Context.    Web. 21 Sept. 2010.


    • Homeless people are not only people who live on the streets, but also if they live in cars, shelters, or motels. (Page 1 Para 3)
    • "But as a teenager it's tough to tell friends you're living in a homeless shelter…" (Tom Steinocher [Director of Programs at homeless shelter] -  Page 1 Para 6)
    • "In 2008, 15 percent of children in homeless families were between the ages of 13 and 17." (Page 1 Para 6)
    • "Somebody being considerate of my situation helped me calm down," (Tinesheia Howard [homeless teen]- Page 1 Para 9)
    • Homeless teens have lots of headaches, stomachaches, depression, poor nutrition, cancer, stroke, heart disease, colds, flus, ear infections, cuts, rashes, diabetes, high blood pressure, mental illness, dental problems, asthma, and lack of routine medical care. (Page 2 Para 4-7)
    • Most homeless teens do not have good nutrition because vegetables and other healthy foodstuff is more expensive than fast food. ( Page 2 Para 6 )
    • "...fewer than one in four homeless children graduate from high school." (Page 2 Para 10)
    • It is tougher for teens to be homeless than younger siblings because teens can experience medical, mental, and school problems that are more severe. (Page 2 Para 11)
    • Homeless don't normally have healthy foods, many possessions, or even TVs. (Page 3 Para 2)
    • There are many ways to help: donate food, clothes, or cash; raise money; volunteer time to help at shelters, serve meals at church, or fill bags at a food shelf. (Page 3 Para 5-9)
    Image from: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01245/ukraine_1245952c.jpg

    Friday, September 17, 2010

    My Social Issue Questions

    Here are some questions I had about homeless teens:
    • Are homeless teens a big issue in the world, or just the U.S.?
    • What are the main reasons for homelessness for teens?
    • Why don't homeless teens accept help from shelters and other organizations?
    • How do most homeless teens support themselves, if at all?

    Wednesday, September 15, 2010

    English Read Book Issue

    Austin S.
    Mrs. Zurkowski
    Honors English 1: Purples 
    9/14/2010

    Book: Can’t Get There From Here by Todd Strasser
    Topic: Homeless Teens
    Search Terms:
    1. “Homelessness”
    2. “Teen Drug Use”
    3. “Teen Panhandling”
    4. “Teen Prostitution”
    5. “Shelters”
    6. “Outreach Programs”
    7. “Broken Families”
    Homeless Teens

              There were many social issues in Strasser’s book “Can’t Get There From Here”, but one stood out in particular to me. The issue of homeless teens living on the streets, and their lack of outside help, is very disturbing to me. Almost every person in that novel was a homeless teen who didn’t want outside help. According to a Stanford study, out of 50 homeless teens, only 48% had used a shelter before (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/91/911118Arc1054.html). The other 52% were afraid to use a shelter because they might be forced to go home or use foster care (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/91/911118Arc1054.html). It was also found that 92% of the teens had come from “Broken Families” (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/91/911118Arc1054.html). These families had alcoholism, drug abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/pr/91/911118Arc1054.html). These problems affect me directly mostly because if my generation is going to inherit the world, we might as well start improving ourselves first. Now I wouldn’t say I’m happy with this issue. I am actually kind of upset that humanity could do such terrible things to people, and then not care one bit what happens to the people they hurt.

                                           
    Image from: http://analuizablog.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/homel

    Wednesday, September 8, 2010

    My Pen Pal Letter

    September 7, 2010

    Dear Maybe,

    My name is Austin. I am currently a student at the John Carroll School and read about your experiences through one of the school’s programs. In fact, I read Todd Strasser’s book Can’t Get There from Here as my summer reading book. That’s not the only thing I did during the summer, though. It seems like my family spent half of the summer break at Ocean City. The scents of the sea combined with the warmth of the soft sun develop a nearly irresistible location for rest and recuperation. And as if that wasn’t enough, the boardwalk creates a social highway where people can choose to interact with the world around them, be it the people, the beach (see picture at right), the storefronts and motels, or the rides and arcades.

    No offence to you, Maybe, but I really didn’t particularly enjoy reading Can’t Get There from Here as a book overall. Thematic events in the novel were always a bit gloomy, more than a little morbid, and constantly depressing. You were in a state of living that most would consider life-threatening, terrifying, or disgusting. Yet through it all, you still had the ability to hope and believe, even after all the terrible events that occurred. I am in awe as to your ability to do this and admire you for your spirit. Most of the decisions you made throughout the course of the book were, in fact, completely wrong or partially incorrect, but the very last one I learned of outweighed them all. Your choice to reform was amazing, looking back all you had been through, and the determination you expressed was astounding.

    The writing style of Todd Strasser unfolded slowly in the book, not unlike the way flower petals unfold slowly and precisely to get maximum effect. His style was definitely unique in its own way. Somehow he managed to create a solid, realistic background, while all the time focusing on the main characters and the actual story behind the book. The characters themselves seem so real that you almost can feel as if you know them as more of a personal friend than a character in a book. Unfortunately, this includes the more dark side of humans and seems to come out all too often.

    After reading your book, I only have one question to ask you. As a witness to the most heinous crimes humanity has performed, do you think all humanity ever has a chance of attaining perfection? A state of being where no crimes are committed, optimal health and food are plentiful for all, wisdom, not knowledge, is sought, and every living thing is treated with care and kindness. Sort of like a heaven on earth, so to speak. Will mankind ever attain this in all the millennia to come?

    Some more immediate social issues are mentioned that need to be dealt with now. Drugs seem to be one of the worst issues. People are aware that drugs exist, but most do not realize the amount of damage they are capable of or the sheer amounts of them being used worldwide. To raise awareness, people could start a program where former addicts could talk to large groups of people in a learning experience. They could explain how drugs ruined their lives and show them specific examples of how drugs not only affect the addicts, but the normal lives of everyday citizens. This book showed me a glimpse of the real world. Every day hundreds of thousands of crimes are committed, thousands die of sickness on the street, and the bad guys don’t always get caught. Out there, things are tough, yea, but I believe if you work hard and do your best, maybe your actions will inspire others to improve. Those others might just band together and start a movement that could change the entire worldwide community to be a safer, happier, and overall nicer place to live.

    If you ever read this letter, I would like to give you a piece of advice. Always do the right thing and don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Evil can only prevail when the good lay idle and let it. Goodbye and may you reach peace of mind.

    Sincerely,



    Austin



    My Summer Reading

    My summer reading book was Can't Get There from Here. It was written by Todd Stasser and listed below are some of my summer reading questions I had to answer about it.

    The Book


    1. The main character in this novel is a New York street kid. Her name, as far as we can tell, is Maybe. The only friends she has are other teenagers who roam the city, struggling to survive. It’s no surprise then, that her approach to everything in life is cautious and suspecting. But what is surprising is the small glimmer of hope and trust she still has after years of living in the slums. This shows her strong spirit and gives her a little bit more of a chance of escaping the streets.



    2. At the start of the book was a short chapter which stated the setting and introduced the main characters: Maybe, Rainbow, Maggot, Jewel, and 2moro. The setting is modern day New York City on New Year’s Eve. Then the story picks up speed and moves along to the death of Country Club, a twenty year old acquaintance of the main character, and the pickup of a new member of their group, Tears. After that we learn how each member of Maybe’s group earns money to survive. For example, Maybe juggles for cash while Maggot, another street kid, sells fake drugs. The main body of the story begins shortly after with a series of terrible events. Some of these terrible events are Maybe’s harassment by Bobby at the library, 2moro’s murder, the suicide of her best friend, Rainbow, and Maggot’s abandonment of their group. All of these make Maybe wonder if this is the only way for her to live. Near the end of the book Maybe realizes that she has to help herself and Tears to escape the streets before they end up dead or worse. Maybe then proceeds to bring Tears and her family back together in order to help someone who still had a choice. After seeing the warm reception Tear’s family gave her, Maybe wonders if she will ever have something like it. The story ends here with Maybe turning back to face the world.



    3. Throughout the culmination of the novel, Maybe experiences multiple things that change her life. Maybe changes accordingly to each and makes a new path for herself. The author of this book is probably trying to show the ugly side of life to the world. My best theory is that he wants us to learn from it and do something about it.



    The Issues

    1. Maybe, along with the rest of the homeless and poor, has been bearing the brunt of society’s failings for quite some time. One danger is the people around her; each one has issues of there own and may pass them on or harm others, creating new issues. Maybe is affected personally by this because she has become extremely cautious of others and mistrusting, save a few. Another failing of society’s is the multitude and availability of drugs in the masses. The main character is not really affected as much by this issue, but some of her friends are. Rainbow in particular, seeing as she suffers from depression because drugs have ruined her life from the beginning. Lack of medication and cleanliness are also faults society has created. Country Club died earlier on in the book because of it and Tears was affected directly as a result. She was scared when confronted with death and it caused her mental damage. Tears had no parental figure to nurture her or to give her comfort so she had to have been on the verge of depression.



    2. There were two events in the novel that really made the issues discussed in the novel seem up close and personal. For one, when Bobby harassed Maybe and Rainbow I was shocked. It was in a public place and there was a security guard present! The event showed me how bad things could really be. A figure of authority and safety completely ignored the problem. It made me wonder how safe I really am in today’s society. If the author wanted to galvanize people into action, he choose a perfect scene for it.

    Image Site: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/you-cant-get-there-from-here/

    My Profile

    Hi. My name is Austin S. and I am a graduate of St. Margaret School. Both my younger brother and sister currently attend St. Margaret’s and I hope my brother chooses JC as his high school. It would be fun to show him around the school. During a free mod, we could talk about our hobbies and choose a club to join together. One of my hobbies is collecting miniature model ships. This may not sound very interesting at first, but the miniscule detail on some of them is truly amazing! Another thing I like to do is play baseball and I plan to try out for the John Carroll team. In fact, that is one of my goals for this year. My goals for this year so far are to join the baseball team at JC, get straight A’s for at least one quarter, and have a basic understanding of my foreign language this year (Russian).