My English Class Erika

“Evenings were the worst, sweltering, spooky, and pitch-dark. Every male voice could be a soldier coming to take away Dad and Eldin. After each thud of footstep on the stairs, Mom would say ‘Shh, be quite.’ I would think silently: This could be it. Any visitor might spell the end” (p.116).
The fear of being a separated family scared Kenan and his family whenever someone went to their apartment.
Kenan decided to use the word “sweltering” to show how hot the day was. He wanted the reader to know that it wasn’t a regular hot day, but a day that made him sweat and be sticky. He knew that by saying “sweltering” the reader would understand how he felt and understand what he had to go through when he was in his apartment. Kenan said “thud” to demonstrate that the noise was loud enough that his entire family heard it. If Kenan decided to use the word loud the reader would not be able to understand how loud the noise actually was. There are many different sounds that can make a loud noise. Kenan wanted to be specific of how loud the noise was and demonstrate the reader how he heard the footsteps. Kenan said in a soft voice “this could be it” to show how quite he had to be so that the people outside his apartment were not able to hear him. He had to be extra careful that no one heard him because any noise that his family or he made would catch others attention into their apartment. Another reason why he said it softly can be because he didn’t want to worry his parents more than they already were. His parents could have been thinking something else and not that it could probably be the last day that they were altogether. Kenan said the phrase “spell the end” to demonstrate that anything can happen fast like magic. The word spell can have the meaning of magic therefore it can be the end of his family being together. Anyone can go to their home and separate them in an instant like if it happened by a spell of magic.

The reading “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell emphasizes that there is a non-political issue, a beyond political issue and an issue that I am interested in. The non-political issue was the expectations of other people. Someone believes they should do something just because they believe that people expect them to do it. Someone does not have to do what they do not want to do to satisfy other people. Everyone has to think for themselves and decide what the right thing to do is. In Orwell words, “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly” (p560). Even if there are a lot of people persuading someone to do, that one person should do what they believe is the right thing to do. No one should be intimidated to do something they do not want to do to. A person should not have to worry about what other people expect from them. The beyond political issue is that people do what others think they should do to be proud of themselves. Orwell states, “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool” (p562). A person should not be proud of themselves for doing what others say they should do. Having pride is to the right thing even if others do not agree. A person does not need to worry about what others say because they do not know that person. Everyone has a different point of view, but it does not mean that they will always be right. An issue that I care is non-political about animal treatment. If an animal is not in its natural habitat and it is not harming people there is no need to kill it. Even if the animal is huge and looks wild it does not mean people have the right to mistreat it. Animals should be treated with respect and the care just like every person would like to be treated.

The story, “I Stand There Ironing,” by Tillie Olsen is based on political views by social conditions. The mother was not able to take care of her own daughter, Emily, because she was not able to find a stable job and take care of her daughter at the same time. There are many single parents in the world, just like in the story, that struggle to succeed in life. Most single parents are young women and they have to learn to be responsible for herself and for their child. In the story the mother said, “I was a young mother, I was a distracted mother” (p.98). The mother was explaining the way she acted toward herself and her daughter. Even though she was young she knew what she was doing and knew the consequences that were going to happen. The mother had to suffer being away from Emily when she was just a little girl. The mother did have another child, but every child is different and she did not watch Emily grow up and see who she really is as a person.
Emily went go through different obstacles that a little girl should not have gone through. Emily’s circumstance is a social condition because she deals with everything that was happening to her. She was not able to make decisions on her own because she did not know what was going on. Even if you ask for something, you do not always get what you want. The mother said, “She tormented herself enough about not looking like others” (p. 96). Once people know who you really are and where you come from they start treating you differently. A way to change who you are and become like everyone else is to do what they are doing and look like them. By changing who you are can affect how you start to act to people who you care about. Tillie Olsen showed that when a parent does not give their full attention to their child, the child will become a person that shows little emotion throughout their life.

Similarities

• They both had a family that supported them.
• They both asked many questions.
• They were both Westernized.
• They both didn’t wear the veil properly.
• They both were surrounded by the military.

Differences

• Malala was poor, and Marjane had money.
• Marjane was sent aboard to study, and Malala didn’t want to study aboard.
• Malala want to continue to studying, and Marjane didn’t want to continue studying at first.
• Malala was more religious, and Marjane wasn’t.

5 Notes

• Marji was not interested in her education, but later she continued to study.
• There were soldiers checking people and stoped them when they looked suspicious.
• When people were in trouble or needed help they asked Marji’s parents for help.
• When Marji was a little girl she asked many question.
• Women had to wear veils on their head.

2 Questions

• Why didn’t Marji’s parent go to France to see if Marji was alright when they didn’t know anything about her?
• Did Marji tell her parents about what happened in France, were her parents curious to know happened to her in France?

In life there are many opportunities a person has, but they could only be reached by people who continue their education. The person who inspired me to be successful in life and continue their education is my brother. My brother is my inspiration to go to college, because he didn’t continue college now he has to work hard to pay for what he needs. He was not able to get a job that he would enjoy working at simply because he didn’t continue to go to college. I came to college to not struggle, to be secure on who I will want to become in my future. I want to have the opportunity to decide on the job that I would like to have. I wouldn’t want to settle with a job that does not interest me. Another reason why I came to college was to find my career. Finding a job that interest me would not be easy if I didn’t enrolled in college. Before I started college I was not sure what I wanted to study, but once I started college I found what I was going to major in. By having a major I am able to do something that interest me, and have a reason why to go to college. In addition, I also enrolled to in college to make my family proud. When I started college I realized that I was going to be the first one to continue my education. I would also be the first one to receive a degree on a major that I decided to study. By having the inspiration from my brother I am able to not struggle in life, find a career that interest me, and make my family be proud of me.

In life there are many opportunities a person has, but they could only be reached by people who continue their education. The person who inspired me to be successful in life and to continue my education by going to college is my brother. My brother is my inspiration to go to college because he didn’t continue college, and know he has to work hard to pay for what he needs. He was not able to get a job that he would enjoy working at because he didn’t study for it. I came to college to not struggle and to be secure. I want to have the opportunity to decide on the job that I would like to have. I wouldn’t want to settle with a job that I would not enjoy. Another reason why I came to college was to find my career. Finding a job that interest me would not be as easy as now. At first I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, but when I started college I decided in a major. By having a major I am able to do something that interest me and have a reason why to go to college.  In addition, another reason why I enrolled in college was to make my family proud. When I enrolled in college I realized that I could be the first one in my family to continue college and be able to finish my education. I would also be the first one to receive a degree on a major that I decide to study for. By having the inspiration from my brother I am able to not struggle in life, find a career that interest me, and make my family be proud of me.

My brother is my inspiration to go to college because he didn’t continue college, and know he has to work hard to pay for what he needs. He was not able to get a job that he would enjoy working at because he didn’t study for it and he just wanted to make some money.

• My brother wanted to earn money and thought the education wasn’t important.
• He had trouble finding a job that he would enjoy.
• Find my career.
• I want to have more than one option

Topic Sentence: In life there are many opportunities a person has, but they could only reached by people who continue their education. The person who inspired me to be successful in life and to continue my education by going to college is my brother.

Outline:

I. Not to struggle, be secure.

• Have different options in life.
• Have a stable life.

II. Find my career.

• Do something that interest me.
• Have a job that I’m interested in.

III. Want my family to be proud of me.

• Be the fist one to continue college.
• Have a degree on my major.

1) A person for my success is my older brother, since he didn’t want to go to college he had to work and it wasn’t easy for him to find a job that he actually likes. I would not want to end up like by working at a job that I don’t like. I came to college to be successful in life and have a job that I prefer.

2) Causes

• Not go through what my brother went through.
• To find my career.
• Not struggle, be secure.

Effects

• Enrolled in college.
• Taking classes for my major.
• Pursuing a high degree.

Making a flan may seem too long to make, but at the end it will be worth eating something that you made. Before you start you have to gather all your ingredients: ¾ cups of sugar, 6 large eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 can of condensed milk, and 2 cans of evaporated milk. You will also have to gather all the supplies needed: a bowl, two plates, a fork, a pan, two spoons, a knife, a stove, and a can opener. Now that you have everything ready to start making the flan the first step is to crack the eggs and put them in the bowl. You will also put the 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 can of condensed milk, and the 2 cans of evaporated milk in the bowl with the eggs. You are going to open the cans with the can opener in order to put them in the bowl. The second step is to stir what you have in the bowl for about 10 minutes until everything is completely mixed. The third step is to put the ¾ cups of sugar in a pan, and put the pan on the stove on high, Mix the sugar with a spoon until it is melted, then turn the stove off and let it sit still for about 5 minutes. The fourth step is to pour what is in the bowl into the pan that has the melted sugar, and put the pan in the refrigerator for about three hours. The fifth step is to get the pan in the refrigerator and the knife and loosen the edges, so the flan can come out of the pan easily. The sixth step is to put the flan on the plate, cut yourself a piece, and enjoy the delicious taste. At the end you will enjoy the flan you made by yourself.