Poems and Songs

The first one sounds happy because of the tone of the instruments. It had a happy feel, even though the poem is about longing for something. The second song however, is very slow and sad. The instruments make it seem dark and gloomy. It is obvious that adding instruments can easily change the tone of a poem. The tone of a song can have the same effect as the lyrics itself.

Nuclear Energy

            What do you think of when you hear the term nuclear? War? Bombs? Destruction? It actually could be a clean and renewable energy that can sustain our country for a long time. Many people are against nuclear energy because of the possibility of an accident and fallout, but I believe America could use this resource to help lower the country’s dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels.

            When you see a nuclear power plant you think that it is hurting the environment because of the giant cooling tower with smoke coming out of it, but that “smoke’ is actually only vapor which is harmless. Nuclear waste is defiantly harmful, but the output of it is low, and can be properly contained. Ronald Regan even said “All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.” We need uranium to make nuclear energy, but if our mining technologies continue to improve, our supply should last us roughly 60,000 more years. It is defiantly more reliable for the future that most other energy sources.

            Building nuclear power plants aren’t cheap, but the energy obtained from one will defiantly pay for itself over time. They are cheap to operate, and the energy they produce is cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is basically using uranium to boil water cleanly and efficiently. It is simple idea and the energy output could compare to coal and oil if given the right resources.

            Nuclear energy has been deemed dangerous by the majority of the public.  People remember huge accidents like Chernobyl or Fukushima, and I agree that they were great tragedies. What you didn’t know was that for every person killed from nuclear energy, 4,000 more are killed from the production of coal. As long as regulations are kept, nuclear power plants are a safe place to work.

            Many clean energy sources are cheap and efficient, but don’t always produce a lot of energy. Nuclear energy could be used alongside other clean energy sources to for maximum effectiveness. In the future, nuclear energy should be used more to help ease the reliance on fossil fuels until the point we don’t need them anymore. Nuclear energy is the best choice for the number one energy source for a cleaner future.

 

(This piece is Taro speaking to Hana about her father. It ties into the book because it in the climax, Taro duels Lord Oda and ends up taking his life. He is speaking to Lord Oda's daughter. She realizes that her father was evil, but is still sad for losing the father she thought she knew.)

 I have killed

 Your father

While he was

Trying to kill you

You might have

Loved his good side

And he might have

Loved you

Forgive me

He was very evil

And very much

Better off dead

Stairs

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes tells us that life isn't going to be easy. It compares life to a staircase. Most of our lives aren't going to be decorated with frilly little strings and crystals, there will be patches in it where it seems there is no easy way through. This poem encourages us to keep climbing, even when times get tough, and sacrifices are needed to be made. The author teaches us this through a tough, but wise voice that can't be easily broken.  This piece inspires us to be courageous and to take life by the horns. It tells us to remember that there will be rough spots in life, but if we keep pushing through, it will get better.

Taro

   (Author's note: This piece is revised to be graded on word choice)        

            Taro was a peasant living in a small village in feudal Japan. He is small and fragile boy who’s skills with a bow is second nature. He hunts despite his village’s location on the giving, but unfriendly sea. One night, Taro finds a ninja committing cold blooded murder on his father, when another ninja appears from nowhere and saves him and his mother. This ninja is his guide on the path to his destiny.

            Taro is the protagonist in this novel. When other ninjas came to kill him, he gets severely injured. The ninja who saved him made the choice to quickly perform the ritual to make Taro a vampire. This gives him the strength like a bear with speed to match, and giving him a healing ability to survive almost anything. It is revealed that all ninja are vampires, and Taro is going to become one. He wonders why the ninjas attacked a meaningless peasant until he meets his guide’s friend, a ninja fortune teller. He was told, he was destined to be the next Shogun of Japan.

            Taro affects the people around him in many ways, however the people who are close to him have a way of getting into trouble. He is a good person and wants to save everybody who is in danger, when sometimes the smart thing to do is walk away. He is a friend to everybody he meets, and is destined to be the best Shogun Japan has ever seen.

The Giver Extended Ending

(Author’s note: This is an extended ending to the book The Giver)

Speeding down the snow covered hill, with Gabriel tucked close, Jonas finally skidded to a halt. He has reached his Elsewhere, where there is love and happiness. It took all of his strength to get off the sled and start limping into the town. Despite being numb with cold and starving to death, Jonas was happier that anyone in all of the memories he received. He could finally show Gabriel the hope the world really has to offer. Once he reached town square, he collapsed with exhaustion.

Jonas woke up, still feeling weary, but strangely not hungry any more. He was in a white bed with strange tubes attached to his arm. Suddenly, he realized that Gabriel wasn’t with him. After one frantic moment, he found him lying in a similar bed, sleeping soundly. In a moment, all of his stress left him. We made it. He thought to himself. Finally, he succumbed to the warm temptation of his bed and slept.

Jonas woke to the sound of Gabriel crying. It has been a week since he fainted from exhaustion. He would finally be let out of the hospital. He has been thinking about this day, with fear and excitement at heart. Where would I go? He thought. As the day went on, he finally filled out the paper work, (which was hard to do without a parent) and left the hospital. He stocked up on supplies and headed farther into Elsewhere which held his destiny.

Changes for the Better

(Author’s Note: This is an essay about the change of the main character of The Giver throughout the novel)

Jonas lives in a small community in the future. It is supposedly perfect, where nothing ever goes wrong. Everything is convenient and there are no surprises. A world like this has its disadvantages as well. For example, since the crops need to be grown, there can be no winter snow. Also, since kids need to be treated equally, there can be no specific birthday parties. Every year, all of the kids aged 1 – 11 all advance a year through a ceremony. When they grow up a year, new things are introduced to them. Jonas is 11, so this year he will be assigned an occupation. During the ceremony, he was given the role of “The Receiver of Memory”. It was his job to keep the memories of the past so that the community didn’t have to carry that burden. “You will be faced now with pain if a magnitude none of us can comprehend.” It took a lot of courage to accept that role, but not enough to complete the task at the end of the novel. He changed over the course of his training with the help of his mentor, “The Giver”

Jonas was nervous the first time he walked into “The Giver’s” room, as would anyone be when they blindly walked into an unknown experience. When Jonas met his mentor, he explained the job in better detail. He would be transferred the memories for him to hold onto. He would receive happy memories of sunshine, sledding, rainbows, and animals, but also painful ones of war, and poverty. In the future, people can’t handle more pain than a scrape to the knee. Only a select few can take on the role of “The Receiver”. Lately, he has seen changes in some objects around him. He is now beginning to see the color that lacks in his world.

As Jonas’s training goes on, he begins to receive more and more complex feelings. One day, he receives the memory of love. He is a little confused about this feeling, so when he goes home, he mentions it to his parents. They laugh at him and tell him that the word was maybe the most meaningless word in their time. It would be crazy for a child in our time to go home and ask their parents if the loved them, and get this for an answer. From this moment on, Jonas believes that his world that he grew up in wasn’t fit to live in. He began to want something more.

As his want grew, the need for action did also. He could not stand it any longer. He talked with his mentor, and they both agreed that action was necessary. They took days, but they devised a plan. It was dangerous and could get Jonas killed, but Jonas felt that it wouldn’t matter. His current life wasn’t worth living. It was that kind of bravery that made Jonas the character he was at the end of the book. When he heard his named called at the ceremony, he had no idea what obstacles lie ahead. He developed the courage needed to save himself from his world.

The novel mainly revolves around Jonas's courage, and the source of this strength came from his love of Gabriel. Jonas's love drove him to taking  him along even though he knew if they were caught, they would be killed. Jonas ends up saving Gabriel by taking him before he could be released. Having Gabriel along did bring advantages. It gave him the morale to continue onto his duties of giving the memories back. Without Gabriel, Jonas would have never made it.

Jonas could have never made it to Elsewhere in the beginning of the book, nor would he want to. Jonas learned many lessons through the memories, lessons teaching him what he truly wants in the world. His goal in the end was to find a safe place for Gabriel, and this drove him to becoming what he was at the end of the book. Jonas learned many lessons from the memories, and we can learn some from his struggle against society. We must remember “Memories are forever”.  It may seem that things in life such as a nice house, a job, or a car could be the most crucial thing to focus on, but the simplest things like love and family should always be more important.