Rebekah Ehrlich 811 5/16/13 ELA Romeo and Juliet literary essay

 Would you do anything for love? In the book Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare two similar people, Romeo and Juliet let their love for each other over power them which causes them to die for each other in the end. Romeo and Juliet are brave, self-sacrificing, loyal, and loving. The only thing different about them is their families, which is the only thing keeping them apart. Although they are both young, they don’t give up on their love for each other. And although they’re not staying loyal to their families, they’re staying loyal to themselves and to their hearts by being together without permission.

When Romeo snuck into Juliet’s family’s party and first saw Juliet dancing, he knew it was love at first sight. Romeo said “for I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” (1, 5) 60

 Even though Romeo doesn’t know her, he followed her throughout the party, knowing she was someone special. And Juliet felt the same, when she saw him she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. They were only paying attention to each other because they felt a connection people spend their lives trying to find. Although Juliet was supposed to be with Paris, she went with Romeo, even though she knew nothing about him. They both didn’t know that their families were enemies but when they found out, they still stayed together. They were both so equally passionate and caught up in their love.

Romeo and Juliet were both brave for risking their lives to be together. Juliet even said “deny thy father and refuse thy name, or, if thou wilt not be but sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet.” (2, 2) 37 because she would disobey her family and jeopardize her future if it means she could be with Romeo. She would also be defying the stars. Being together could get them banished, and without Verona walls they can’t survive. It could also get them killed. Romeo and Juliet risked their lives to be together, but it wasn’t just because of love, it was because they were brave enough to act on their feelings and disobey their families. Although Juliet had to hide Romeo from her family, she kept seeing him and thinking about him. Romeo and Juliet were brave for getting married without permission and because Juliet was supposed to marry Paris. They were also brave because by getting married they were risking their lives, but their love over powered their family’s dispute.

Being overly passionate isn’t always a bad thing, but for Romeo and Juliet they let their passion take over their actions. Romeo was banished for killing Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin and stayed in Mantua until he was allowed back to Verona. So Romeo and Juliet could not communicate as well as they could when they were both in Verona. To get out of having to marry Paris, Juliet took a potion to make her seem dead the day of her wedding. Balthasar told Romeo that Juliet had died and even though he was risking his life again, Romeo traveled back to Verona to see Juliet.  When he finally realized that she was really dead, he couldn’t imagine living without her because he loved her so much. So he drank poison and killed himself. But when Juliet woke from her “sleep” and found that Romeo was dead, she also felt that she couldn’t live without him. And so she killed herself out of love and passion. She said “o happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die,” (5, 3) 175 which shows that she was happy about dying because it meant she could be with her Romeo.  

Even though it was tragic that Romeo and Juliet died, it brought their families who were once enemies, together. Their death made their families realize that their hatred was the reason why Romeo and Juliet died. The families finally understood that their fighting was the only obstacle in Romeo and Juliet’s way to find freedom for love. And so Romeo and Juliet died for a reason, and proved that love is most powerful. Romeo and Juliet were similar and even though their similarities caused them to die in the end, their love lives on forever.  

4/18 rr on the hunger games

What would you do for family? The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is about a brave girl named Katniss who volunteers as tribute for her sister Prim in the hunger games. In the games there is only one victor and 24 tributes, one male and one female from all 12 districts. To keep her promise to her sister to win the games, Katniss must make hard decisions to survive and to win.

To get sponsors, Katniss and the male tribute from her district Peeta must pretend to be in love. But when the games start and Peeta teams up the the Careers, Katniss is on her own. Although she does get an ally, Rue, Katniss feels betrayed because Peeta was helping other tributes to find her. Peeta doesnt have the best chance of winning and he knows it, so he probaley didnt mind teaming up with the best tributes.  

I think that this is an act, I think Peeta and Katniss are still pretending to be in love and Peeta is working with the Careers to make sure she stays safe. I think this because when Katniss was stung by tracker jackers that make people hallucinate, Peeta ran up to her and told her to run, saving her life from Cato, one of the Careers who was coming to get her. And even though Katniss said that she was mad at him and wished he wouldnt win, she kept thinking about him and why he saved her when he teamed up with people to kill her.

Katniss knows she must win because she supports her family the most. She keeps them feed by hunting in the illegal woods for food and keeps them safe. Katniss has to care for her younger sister, Prim and her mom. They both dont and cant hunt and neither of them are as skilled as Katniss who takes after her dead father who knew a lot about nature and food and survival. But Katniss loves Prim more than anything and will do anything the the games to make sure she gets home to her family.

paper towns rr

        Have you ever had a friend, but she or he stopped hanging out with you because you werent as popular as them and their "friends?" The book Paper Towns by John Green is about friendship and how it is determined by popularity. The main character, Q isn't popular. He has his own group of "geeky type" friends, Ben and Radar. But Margo, his next door neighbor and a girl he used to be friends with, before high school is popular. Margo doesn't talk to Q in school, but one night Margo invited Q out and they hung out all night. But they hung out alone, most likely because Margo didn't want to be seen around with Q. In the book, Margo is not the most gorgeous person in the world, but she is still pretty and cool. She is the ideal popular girl that comes into your mind.
        Margo and Q go and have this great, fun night together and Q finds out more about her than he had ever before. She tells him she has this eleven part plan and needed him to come with her, and even though it was about 10:00 at night he agreed. He probably just agreed because she was popular and he thought that doing what she said would make him popular. But when the eleven part plan is over Q thinks that she will never be this person again. He will never get to hang out with her again. The next day he woke up and got ready so fast just to see if things would change at school do to Margo now being his friend. But Margo doesnt go to school that day.
        Margo's parents say that she runs away a lot. And that she leaves clues behind to where she went. This is her fourth time running away, but this time it's different. She made clues for Q to find her. So far Q and his friends think she is in New York, but after their last note leading them to a place where dead bodies go they dont know. I think she is still near her home, but hidden away waiting for Q to find her. Maybe he will be like prince charming and she will see that he is cool even though he's not popular. I think she is not far away, but wherever she is I think she is waiting for him. It makes the most sense because they did have a great night the other day so maybe she actually likes him now.
       I am going to keep reading because I cant wait to find out!

rr on the hobbit (again)

Little people can make big differences too. In the book The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, the hobbit, Bilbo and the 13 dwarves are at the mountain where they dwarves used to live, before the dragon took over. Bilbo had been picked by Gandolf, the wizard to be the 13 dwarve's "burglar," someone sneaky who can get the dwarves where they need to go. At the mountain, for the third time the dwarves were relying on Biblo to get them into the mountain without getting hurt or found by the dragon. Bilbo was sent into the pitch black mountain to see if the dragon was there, and to see what was inside. Out of the 13 dwarves none of them wanted to go inside. But it was their journey after all, and wasn't fair that Biblo was the one who had to risk his life when it wasnt his fight.
Before they got to the mountain, in the woods Bilbo and the dwarves encountered thousands of huge and hungry spiders. Bilbo got them all out of that mess alive. When ogres stole the dwarves horses Bilbo was sent to get them back. And when the dwarves went to help him they got caught and were almost eaten until Bilbo thought of a plan to keep them alive again. Bilbo is only a hobbit who doesnt go on adventures while all 13 dwarves are fighters, adventurers. I dont think it was fair for Bilbo to have to do all of the work. If I were Bilbo I would have stuck up for myself. I think that the dwarves were taking advantage of him, after a while they were probably used to Bilbo always saving them, and they were probably even okay with it.       
I hope that later on in the book the dwarves show more appreciation towards him and let him know how much help he has been. I hope that in real life people get rewarded for their good deeds and not brushed off because they are used to it. I am always trying to help people and be nice to them but I never get any recollection. I know it doesnt feel good to be forgotten for things you tried hard at, so I hope that at the end of the book Bilbo will be known as the hero who saved the day.  

nonfiction article rr

          The article Drug to Treat Asthma Could Relieve Hives Patients of a Chronic Itch, Study Says by Laurie Tarkan in the New York Times is about an asthma drug that relieves itchiness for chronic hives patients who don't get the relief they need from usual antihistamine treatment. This drug is called omalizumab and is a monoclonal antibody approved to treat allergic asthma. Omalixumab brings relief to those who suffer from chronic idiopathic urticaria, a disease that causes itchiness and other relatable symptoms.
          Studies show that one in 1,00 people suffer from this condition, and although experts believe the estimate is low the disease is uncomfortable and last long. Most people with this condition don't react  to nonsedating antihistamines and other treatments. Omalizumab does help cure this condition but also has many dangerous side affects. So it is a risk to use it.
          I think that this disease, even though it is not common deserves a cure that doesn't have such bad side effects. We need scientists to study and find these cures that we need. I wouldn't recommend this drug but it is the only workable cure to chronic idiopathic urticaria. I think before this drug is approved scientists need to see if there is a better cure out there.   

rr on the hobbit

          Every quest has obstacles, some more than others. The book The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien is about a hobbit, thirteen dwarves, and once in a while a wizard's journey to the dwarves old home that was taken over by a dragon. Dwarves are creatures that love treasure and have much of it. After a while of treasure mining and collecting, a dragon spotted the treasure and took over the dwarve's castle and its treasure for its own. So the hobbit, Bilbo was chosen my the wizard, Gandalf to accompany the thirteen dwarves on their quest to steal their treasure back. Of course this kind of journey can't be just a walk in the park. They come across goblins who we all know eat hobbits and dwvares, a mysterious goblin creature named Gollum who loves long riddles and the ring Bilbo unknowingly stole, and more. But like in every good story, there is some sort of happy ending to the quest.
          In everyday life we come across our own obstacles. Like Bilbo and the dwarves, we must overcome them to get to our own destination. It might be simple things like reaching the t.v remote without moving. An obstacle would be that it is so far away, but the solution would be to use your feet. And your destination is getting the remote and changing the channel. But some things are harder and more important, like getting an one hundred on a test. You don't just take the test and wish for the best, you need to work for it. You need to pay attention in class and study hard. An obstacle would be having one of your friends ask you to hang out before the test or talk to you in class, but to get that one hundred you have to tell your friend to hang out another time and to ask them to stop talking to you.
        This is Bilbo's first adventure, and his first time out of his small and safe town. But be took a big step to go on this journey. At first, he was scared and decided he shouldn't go. But he knew deep down that we wanted to go, but that fear was holding him back. Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  From this book I learned to take risks and chances. I also learned that no matter how crazy the quest, no matter how hard the obstacles are to overcome, never give in and never stop trying.

rr on nonfiction article

          The New York Times article Four More Years, Yes, but It's the First One That Really Counts is about President Obama getting elected again for four more years as president. The President's second inauguration is for four years, but he has as little as a year to accomplish his big-ticket goals for his second term. One of President Obama's senior adviser said "there's no doubt you want to get off to a strong start." According to this article, by the end of Obama's third year he won't be as relevant than other people running for his place. So to keep the spotlight on him, he must use his beginning time wisely and make goals that will please everyone.  Obama has a long four year term, but he has less than a year to win the United States over.
          Obama has been working on great ideas that will give him a strong start. So far the President has begun tackling gun control, climate change, and immigration. He also already signaled that he wants to try to leverage his authority more fully through executive actions that don't need congressional approval. Unlike George W. Bush who chose to pursue a Social Security overhaul before an immigration bill, but ended up getting neither. So instead of Obama making this mistake, he has learned from Bush and is taking immigration more seriously.
         President Obama has aides and Congressional allies who know their window of opportunity is narrowing within each passing month. He has already signed executive orders on gun control and forced a Republican retreat on raising the debt ceiling. Still, some of President Obama's ambitious goals require action from Congress. And to make things worse, Congress is controlled by Republicans who don't want his goals done. Since Obama has about a year to make these goals real he needs to keep both the Republicans and the Democrats satisfied, making this even harder for him.
          "We clearly have this moment where we can get immigration done. If we can't get it done, then shame on us. We've got to seize this opportunity." said Mr. Plouffe, one of Obama's senior advisers. Immigration has become a bigger issue so it would be important for Obama to agree on a plan for it, but on the other hand climate change is happening now and could get worse at any time. So there is pressure on Obama to choose between immigration or climate change. He also needs to do more about gun control, wars, and United States protection.
            After reading this article I realized how hard being a President must be. You are not just making choices for yourself, but for the entire United States. Especially since he has so little time to get everyone on his side. It also made me thing about how I could do more to help save the planet. I also began thinking about the choices I make and how they affect other people too. From this article I now know that Obama needs to make decisions soon  and it won't be easy.  

RR on independent reading book The Hobbit

            The book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is about the adventure 13 dwarves, a hobbit, and a wizard go on to take back what a dragon stole. The journey is long and dangerous. I have already read this book but it is just as exciting and interesting as it was the first time. In this book there are many magical and fictional characters, but they all have human qualities. The dwarves, wizards, and elves are all brave. The hobbits are careful and the dragons are jealous. 
             In every book the reader needs to be able to relate to the characters. So even though the characters from The Hobbit aren't real, they still need to be relatable to. I can really relate to the main character, Bilbo who is a hobbit because even though he likes nothing more than staying at home, he tries new things. He went on an adventure which no hobbit had done in a long time.
            I can also relate to Bilbo because even though hobbits don't go on adventures and don't want to go on adventures, he felt different about it. There was something in him telling him he would regret not going, the voice inside all of our heads that tell us what we should do. And from this journey, Bilbo was changed. He became brave, swinging his sword when enemies were near. And with Gollem, a nasty little creature he beat him in a game of wits.  
            This is a great book and anyone who can read should read it. I can't wait to read the Lord of The Rings series. 

Poem-
Instead of moping in bed
There's an adventure ahead
13 dwares, one hobbit, one wizard
A great and mighty team
Will make the dragon leave
And soon claim their treasure

Changes ahead
Riddles or dead
And songs of uttermost cheer
Orcs we all fear
Glows when are near
To help protect them instead