Who's to Blame for the Deaths of Romeo and Juliet

 In the love story Romeo and Juliet, two people whose family hate one another fall in love.  Each one loves each other and stays faithful against all odds until death. But the tragedy of these star crossed lovers death is because of Friar Lawrence. Friar Lawrence is to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet.

           Why Friar Lawrence is to blame for the death of Romeo and Juliet is because he entrusted Friar John to deliver the letter to Romeo an Friar John failed. This is written in act 5. Sc. 3, “Friar Lawrence

          Who bare my letter, then, to Romeo?

Friar John

I could not send it (here it is again) Nor bring a messenger to bring it thee So fearful were they of infection.” Why this letter was important was because it said that Juliet wasn’t dead she just had a sleeping potion. Since Romeo did not know this he thought Juliet was dead and killed himself because of that.

          In conclusion, the star crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet have the person who ,married them Friar Lawrence to blame for their deaths. All in all if Friar Lawrence had made sure the letter had gotten to Romeo they would not have died.

Rich Man in a Cold World

All money in the world wouldn’t compare

Times we have spent together never fade

I remember the memories we share

The times together I would never trade

You’re my love and have the key to my heart

My love for thee, money could never buy

When you call walls nor sea shall keep us part

I would cross oceans for you or I’d die

But love we had is but a lost balloon

Floating away to lands of no return

My hearts bitter as ice an cold like the moon

But for you my love I will always yearn

My heart is now just but a barren hole

Just filled with not money but bitter coal

Martin Espada Essay

In the poems written by Martin Espada called, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson”, “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz,” and “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” all express a theme dealing with power. In all the poems a theme that appears a lot is when people have an abundance of power they sometimes oppress someone else.

An example of this theme is in the poem “The Bathroom Policy at English High School.” In the poem it says, “The boys chatter Spanish/in the bathroom/while the principal/listens from his stall/the only word he recognizes/ is his own names/…./So he decides/ to ban Spanish/. This illustrates how the principal uses his power to oppress someone else. Because the principal doesn’t know Spanish and doesn’t understand that culture and just because he doesn’t understands he uses his power to ban Spanish. This demonstrates the theme in these poems that when person has an abundance of power they abuse it.

Another example of this theme is in the poem, “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson.” In the poem it said, “Whenever my name/is mispronounced/I want to buy a toy pistol/…/hijack a busload/of republican tourist/. This expresses how many people that the author comes across don’t respect his culture enough to pronounce his name right. So they oppress the speaker in the poem by disrespecting his culture. This illustrates how other people with power oppress the speaker of the poem.

The last example of the theme in all three poems is present in the poem, “Two Mexicanos Lynched in Santa Cruz.” For example in the poem it reads, “When forty gringo vigilantes/cheered the rope/ that snapped two Mexicanos/ into a grimacing sleep of broken necks/…/a high-collar boy smirking some peering/../crowding in the photograph/. This portrays the theme well because the gringos used their power and oppressed the Mexicanos by killing them. This shows how people with an abundance of power oppress other people.

In conclusion, people who have an abundance of power oppress other people. As shown in these poems by Martin Espada oppression can come in many forms. An example of this in our lives today is how Governor Chris Christie used his power as a Governor, and shut down a lane on one of the most busiest bridges in Brooklyn just to spite a mayor who didn’t support him in new jersey.  Which shows how he abused his power to oppress someone. Overall when someone has an abundance of power, that’s person usually oppresses someone else.

The Vicious Deep

            The book The Vicious Deep is about a boy named Tristan who behaves in both obvious and subtle ways.   Tristan is a high school boy who lives in Brooklyn with his mom and dad. Then one day Tristan goes into the ocean to save a girl when he gets sucked under water and turns up three days later. After that Tristan learned that his mom is a mermaid and Tristan turns into a merman himself.  Tristan’s obvious behavior is that he acts funny when he is nervous but the more subtle trait is Tristan is private with his feelings

 I think Tristan behaves in obvious ways when he is in an awkward situation he uses his humor to ignore the tension. For example, on page 77, right after Tristan figured out he was a merman and is learning little details about merpeople he uses his humor by saying, “My fingers hover over the trident, stopping short of touching it. ‘What does it mean?’ ‘It is the symbol of the sea court,’ (Kurt says) ‘Okay, so a tattoo. I can deal with that. At least I don’t have to get my lip pierced or have a stick driven through my nose.’ I emphasize, ‘Right’” This example shows that Tristan is using his humor to try and break the tension and unnerving discovery that he is a merman.   Another example of how Tristan uses his humor in tension filled situations is on page 19. This scene takes place right after they found Tristan washed up on a shore after being gone for three days.“ ‘So, Nurse Christine’– I take a deep breath and put on my best grave face- ‘am I terminal?’  It takes her a few seconds to register that I’m just kidding.” This excerpt from the text shows how Tristan is being funny after he just mysteriously disappeared for three days. Tristan used his humor there to break the tension of his disappearance. These examples from the book show how Tristan is using his character trait of being funny to get around tension filled and awkward situations.

             I think Tristan behaves in subtle ways that aren’t so obvious because he is private with his feelings. An example how Tristan doesn’t share his feelings is on page 196 when the Sea King is introducing the champions in a fight over the throne. “I’m up. But I don’t have an entourage. I don’t have my dad or a fiancée to walk me in front of the court to show my goods. What am I thinking; I can hold my own if a fight against some jerk at school but I’m not at Thorne Hill anymore. Elias could crack my skull open and use it as a serving bowl if he wanted to.” This example explains how Tristan doesn’t share his feelings because he keeps his thoughts to himself. Another example how Tristan is private with his feelings is on page 186 when Tristan is in his bed reflecting on his life as a merman and thinking about how his life would be as a king. It says “I can’t exactly go back to the way everything was. Now that I know what I am. How do I just sit in class and joke with the boys? How am I supposed to be a champion? The only time I’ve ever fought is when Angelo and Jerry wanted to reenact WWF. ” This piece of text shows that Tristan has all of these feelings bottled inside but he doesn’t share them with anyone. These examples express how Tristan is very private with his feelings and does not share his feelings.

            In conclusion, Tristan behaves in obvious and subtle ways. For example Tristan behaves in obvious ways by using his humor to break a tension filled or nervous situation. How Tristan behaves in subtle ways is he doesn’t share his feelings with anyone and lets them bottle up inside of himself. All in all Tristan is a very unpredictable character, he acts one way but he’s really is something else.

What conflicts are your characters facing and how do they affect your characters? My book, The Awakening by Michael Carroll, is about a generation of super humans. The superhumans fought crime and bad guys and now their offspring Colin and Danny, who are best friends, are dealing with difficult problems. Overall the main conflict my characters are facing is preventing the bad guys from taking their power and trying to maintain a normal life.  Having superpowers ruined and destroyed the lives of Danny and Colin by putting them on the run from secret agents and tearing their families apart by splitting them up.

One way how the presence of superpowers is destroying their lives is because of the situation that Colin is in. For example, Colin was being chased by agents in a helicopter, torn away from his parents and stuck in a lab with terrible conditions. In the text it says “‘Colin please do as I ask.’ Rachel said [she is one of the scientist] ‘No.’  ‘Very well,’ and she pulled something against his neck and a powerful electric shock coursed through his body.”(159) This evidence shows how Colin’s life was turned upside down. Just the other day he was sitting on his bed wishing he had superpowers but after he got powers he was stuck in a lab being tortured like a guinea pig. Another way how superpowers are ruining Colin’s life is because his family is getting torn apart. For example on page 62 it says “ ‘ If either of you sees an opportunity to escape, go for it. But only if you’re absolutely certain that you can make it. Leave us behind.’ ” To save their child Colin’s parents are willing to give up freedom so their only son can escape and be free. These reasons show how having superpowers is a big conflict in this book because it can split up families and destroy lives.

Another reason why superpowers are a big conflict in this book is because it destroyed Danny’s life.  For instance, Danny has been living for about thirteen years with a guy pretending to be his father. But it turns out he was actually a superhuman who was pretending to be Danny’s parent to monitor his abilities. This information is supported in the text on page 55 “‘You’re not Danny’s dad, you’re not Paul Cooper. There’s only ever been one superhuman with shape-shifting powers. You’re Façade. The man nodded ‘Correct.” That shows how Danny’s life was turned upside down since he was deprived of growing up with his real father because a shape-shifting villain wanted to monitor Danny’s abilities . Lastly, why I think that having superpowers is such a big conflict and life changing situation is because Danny ends up losing his right arm as he destroys a machine that would strip superhuman powers and kill many people. For example, on page 183 it reads“‘ Danny you have to shut it off. Hundreds of thousands of people could die. He closed his eyes and concentrated and his arm became translucent and his hand slipped right into the nucleus and ripped out the plugs. But Danny’s arm turned to a solid too quick while his hand was still inside the machine. Pain tore through his entire body as his arm fused with the inner workings of the nucleus. Danny Cooper screamed for a long, long, time before he finally blacked out.” Danny’s arm had to be amputated because it fused with the machine. This shows that Danny’s world was turned upside down with the discovery of superpowers. Just the week before Danny was sitting in class learning math. Now he lost his arm cleaning up a mess someone else started. These examples explain why I think that superpowers are a big conflict in this book and changed the life of Danny and Colin for the worse.

In conclusion, superpowers are a big conflict in this book. For example, it destroyed Colin’s and Danny’s lives by splitting their families apart, causing one to lose an arm, turning another into a lab rat, and separating one from his father. Overall superpowers might seem cool to have but according to the author, Michael Carroll, it can make your life harder and more complicated.

Home run Hank Arron

In the book Home Run Hank Arron the main character has to go through a series of issues. For example, in the time period that the story was taken place, the main character, Hank Arron, has to deal with a lot of issues such as discrimination. In the book Hank can't go in many of the stores, hotels or restaurants as his team mates because of his skin color. Also Hank Arron doesn't get treated with the same respect as his fellow team mates because he is African American.
Another issue in the book other than the public discriminating against Hank Arron is the other team do not like Hank because of his race.
In this book the people that have the power is the people of the Caucasian ethnicity. And many of the people with the power oppress African Americans such as Hank Arron. They don't respect him when they play him and the pitch throw pitches trying to hurt Hank Arron.
Overall, i am amazed how Hank Arron struggled through that rough time period and became one of the best baseball players that ever lived

Song that had a significant meaning

“Imagine” by John Lennon

♫♫ Imagine all the people

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine all the people

No greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

And the world will be as one ♪♫

“Imagine” by John Lennon is about world peace and ending world hunger. I think this song is about how John Lennon wanted to help stop wars and end world hunger by having people work together as one. This song is significant because it addressed big issues such as war, world hunger, and world peace.  John Lennon advocated these issues to the end of his life. I also think this song is also significant because as a very influential celebrity he brought world-wide attention to the movement to end war, poverty and hunger.