Your Friend Courage

Courage, meaning to look past all that's bad and to come up big.
It's inside all of us, you just have to dig.
Courage is the one that when all other senses decline,
It steps up and brings us into the bright primetime.
Your best friend when you contain a lot of energy,
But when you are feeling down he could be your worst enemy.
He's always there with you right by your side,
Holding your hand and telling you all will be alright.
He's the one that's always urging you to go out and be great.
Trust me, he will forever know what to say.

Selfless Poem

Leaders and soldiers are described as selfless.
Selfless men and women want power.
Acts known as selfless make others feel great.
No benefits.
No money.
Much Kindness.
End.

Reader's Response

The novel I Am the Messenger written by Markus Zusak has an intense scene involving the main character, Ed, having to decide whether or not to shoot a man whom he knows as a brutal rapist. This debacle sparked a great curiosity and thinking within me. As Zusak builds up the suspense leading up to Ed's decision ever so slowly, the reader creates their own thoughts on what they would do in this scenario. The whole situation, what I would do and why, and also the novel's resolution all are intriguing.

The backstory may be the best part of it all. Ed finds himself in this situation when he was called upon to be a superhero-like figure, to fix things wrong in the world. The most daunting of his missions is this one. Ed visits a man's house from afar countless nights, witnessing the same thing happen over and over again. A man stumbles home after a long night at the bar and proceeds to rape his wife while his daughter goes outside on the porch attempting to weep her sorrows away. After a while of  procrastination, the expected savior makes his moves. As an active taxi driver, he goes to the rapist's usual bar and offers him a complimentary ride. As expected, the man accepted. Ed continued to strategically offer him more alcohol in order to push him over the edge. The driver took him to a remote location and planned to execute the man, but it isn't about to go so smoothly. The author writes "'Please,' he pleads... 'I'm sorry, I'm so- I'll stop, I'll stop.'" (Zusak 90) The beggar pledges to end his ways and to no longer rape his wife. The anticipation is off the charts at this point, and you have no clue how it will end.

If I were in this situation, I know what I would do. Personally, I feel like killing the man would be too extreme of a penalty. I would most likely go with the forgiving route because who knows if he is telling the truth or not? Besides, taking away a man's life would eat away at me if I knew there was another way, no matter how horrible of a person I am ordered to kill. If I were to allow him to live, it would be a good idea to check up on him often to make sure he holds up his end of the bargain. If the situation were to go back to the old typical abuse, then that would be when I would take matters into my own hands.

Zusak decides to have Ed do the dirty deed of murdering the drunkard by way of firearm. Ed couldn't let him live on and continue to treat his family the way he has been. He felt that the only way to be able to move on and be sure is to kill. I cannot blame Ed for this bold decision, for it is an end all solution.

Charles Darnay

  Charles Dickens portrays Charles Darnay as a brave, smart, and loving man in A Tale of Two Cities. The novel reads "The accused, who was (and who knew he was) being mentally hanged, beheaded, and quartered, by everybody there, neither flinched from the situation, nor assumed any theatrical air in it" (Dickens 47.) This description comes while Charles is in court after being accused of treason. The fact that he doesn't even show any emotion in something so life altering shows that this man has some guts in him. Your average person would be sweating buckets, but Darnay is brave enough to face what ever comes his way and to stand there being ridiculed by just about everyone else, and not even bat an eye. Dickens writes "...Mr. Charles Darnay was established in English as a higher teacher of the French language who was conversant with French literature" (Dickens 99.) Any human who is mentally capable to teach lesser knowing people a considerable amount of knowledge in a certain area must have some good brain power. Also, knowing multiple languages is not a simple task itself, so I applaud him for that. "Dear Doctor Manette, I love your daughter fondly, dearly, disinterestedly, and devotedly" (Dickens 101.) Charles loves Lucie so much that he uses such elegant language when inquiring her father for her hand in marriage. To say these flattering words about anyone illustrates your caring and loving trait inside of you. I truly believe that Charles Darnay is the great human that the book so far depicts him to be.

Light and Dark

  Charles Dickens uses both light and dark to set the tone of optimism for the father and daughter relationship between Lucie and Dr. Manette. A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens writes "'You can bear a little more light?' (Dickens 30)" This quote is directed towards Dr. Manette, the long time prisoner. Following the inquiry, his daughter, who he hasn't seen before, walks in. This brings in light, both figuratively and literally, which represents hope in the broken man's life. The author goes on to write "...on her fair young face, that it looked as though it had passed like a moving light, from him to her (Dickens 32.)" What this is saying is that she is brightening his life so much, you can just sense it. Lucie brings whole new meaning to the man who has been in the dark for the past eighteen years, and is bringing him back into the light. The novel states "The darkness deepened as they both lay quiet, until a light gleamed through the chinks in the wall (Dickens 36.)" Light is barely seeping through the cracks in the wall, but it's finding its way to the doctor. Dr. Manette was seemingly going to be in the dark for the rest of his life, but somehow, Lucie made her way to find her father, even when all hope was gone for his life. Dickens effectively uses light and dark to set optimism between Lucie and Dr. Manette.

The Wine Shop

Chapter 5 of the novel A Tale of Two Cities written by Charles Dickens may seem like your run of the mill chapter, but what it really does is foreshadow war. The book partially takes place in France right before the French Revolution breaks out. Dickens writes "The wine was red wine, and had stained the ground of the narrow street... (Dickens 21)" The red wine spills and splatters everywhere staining the street. This foreshadows the blood that will soon fill the area with red."It had stained many hands, too, and many faces, and many naked feet, and many wooden shoes (Dickens 21.)" The sight of people with red on their skin and clothing may look innocent, but in the future, the wine will be replaced by blood because of the brutal battles that will be fought in the area. He goes on to write "...and one tall joker so besmirched... scrawled upon a wall with his fingers dipped in muddy wine-lees - BLOOD (Dickens 22.) That quote explains itself well. The red wine on his fingers represents the blood soon to come. The Wine Shop spill foreshadows what's to come in the future, and it's not bright.

Family

  Family is a pair or group of people who will surpass their own respective limits for one another. These people will stick together no matter what. They don't need to be the people you're related to through your bloodline, but the people you're related to because of how much time you spend with one another. If someone is feeling down, you go to your family. If you're feeling great, you do the same. Most lives revolve around families. And among around the whole world, no two families are the same. That's what makes them great, they have their similarities, but they all still have their differences. It's also important to remember there's no perfect family. In Betty Smith's novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and the essay named "Stone Soup" written by Barbara Kingsolver, both authors do a great job in their efforts to showcase the meaning and purpose of family.

  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn emphasizes the importance and how necessary family is. A great example of how Betty Smith introduces this is the following quote. "'I heard some neighbors whispering. They said you won't look at your father because he wasn't a good father to you.' 'He was a good father,' Francie said fiercely. (Smith 288)" Right before this conversation took place, the children's beloved father died. This scene takes place at the funeral soon after. The typical ideal version of a father that the public sees is far from their father, Johnny Nolan. He was a highly affected from his addiction to alcohol. Through this, these kids looked past that and loved him just as they would if he was a perfect man. That's a special lesson for all families, to love your family no matter what. The book also writes this conversation between pregnant mother and daughter. "'Do you like me, Mama?' ' I'd be a funny person, wouldn't I, if I didn't like my children.' (Smith 330)" This conversation may seem like just a normal family talk, but it was important to the young lady. She thinks that her mother doesn't love her as much as her brother, which is true, so this meant a lot to her. All families should know how important each member is and how they are all a team and need to cooperate and work together.

  

  The essay Stone Soup written by Barbara Kingsolver really captures the importance of family and understanding each other through the tough times. The accomplished writer wrote "Families change, and remain the same. (Kingsolver, 2)" That phrase is essential to have a happy family. Over time, things change, and families have to deal with that and work it out as a whole. The critically acclaimed author also states "To judge a family's value by its tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for its cover. (Kingsolver, 19)" This means that it doesn't matter what the cultural norm is of your time. To hastily react to a family who do things differently and label them as "weird" or a "bad" family is completely irrational. Kingsolver truly writes the meaning of family in Stone Soup.

  All through life, family can guide you to your next stop on your next journey.  Good or bad, you can always come to them for help or advice, and you should return the favor when the time comes. You should love your family no matter what they are going through or what they've done to you. Working through problems is something you have to deal with as a family. Remember, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says is the right way to do something, because life is different for everyone. Family is the thing that keeps everyone going.