Courageous Characters: Nelson Mandela and Jackie Robinson

     One similarity is Nelson Mandela and Jackie Robinson led non-violent protests. In the biography I read about Nelson Mandela, it said "He built bridges of peace between blacks and whites." This means that he didn't use violence to fix his problems, he used his words. In the biography I read about Jackie Robinson, it said "After baseball, Robinson became active in business and continued his work as an activist for social change. This means that he only used his words to fix problems. That is what social change means.

     One difference I noticed between Jackie Robinson and Nelson Mandela was that one broke the color barrier and the other went to fight against arpetheid. The text says, "Blacks and other non-white South Africans were forced to live separately and with fewer rights under a system of segregation." This means African-Americans have less rights than Caucasians. Nelson Mandela ended that. In the biography I read about Jackie Robinson it said, "Robinson began playing in the Negro Leagues, but he was soon chosen by Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate major league baseball. This means that Branch Rickey thought he was ready to integrate into the MLB, he was ready to break the color barrier. Nelson Mandela and him are different.

Nelson Mandela

     Nelson Mandela was courageous  because he stood up for what is right. The text states, "Arpetheid was a system that forced non-whites in South Africa with fewer rights." This means that white people had more rights than black people. Nelson Mandela went to jail for 27 years. He stood up for what was right.
     The second attribute of Nelson Mandela is feeling fear, yet choosing to act. He was very courageous. The text states, "His fight cost him 27 year's in prison." When he was on strike, he knew he was going to go to jail. He still fought for more rights. He went through some tough times.

Jackie Robinson: A Baseball Hero

     Jackie Robinson showed us a lot courage for other peoples' rights. For example the texts states, "During boot camp in 1944 in Fort Hood, Texas, Robinson was arrested and court martial led after refusing to give up his seat and move to the back of the when ordered by the driver." This quote shows that when he said no to the driver he was fighting for African, American's rights. He also showed a lot of bravery by doing that.

     Jackie Robinson had the courage to take a unpopular stand. The text says, "Rickey also personally tested Robinson's reactions to the racial slurs and insults he knew the player would endure." This quote shows that Jackie Robinson didn't care about what other people had said about him. All he wanted to do is play baseball and nothing else. He had a strong personality. When he didn't react, they eventually got tired of insulting him.

"Don't judge me by my success,  judge me by how many times fell down and got back up."
Nelson Mandela

     The quote is saying don't look at me by how many times I have succeeded, look at me by how many times I have failed and never gave up. I can relate because I have succeeded because how many times I have failed, but I still never gave up. I agree with so much because judging a person by how many times they have succeeded is stupid because, you couldn't have been good at something right from the start, you had to fail and learn from that mistake.

          

What lessons about life are readers supposed to take away from it?

     My book is Ender's Game. The main character is Ender Wiggin. He was sent to space to train for an alien invasion. He was a troop for somebody else but then they promoted him to Captain for the abandoned team the Dragons. They won every game. Then he was sent to another planet to train in a simulation. In the last simulation he was tricked and he fought the actual enemy. He was mad because they waited and he didn't know what they wanted.

     The name of my book is Ender's Game. This book is about how kids are sent to space to fight an alien invasion. The main character's name is Ender Wiggin. The conflict in my book occurs when Ender gets taken to another planet to train to be the fleet commander. The book teaches lessons about how you shouldn't destroy something before you really know what it wants. The moral of the story is that before you do something, think about it first. In the story for example, for the final battle the aliens were waiting, Ender thought it was a simulation so he charged at them. He managed to destroy or make them extinct for good. After that Crl. Graff told that is wasn't a simulation, it was the real battle. Ender didn't know what they wanted because they were waiting. I believe that reader's should read this because this book teaches you a valuable lesson. In my opinion the author is trying to teach the reader's to think before you do something. Don't have poor impulse control.

   

Where on the plot diagram are you in your book currently? Explain how you know.

     The book I am currently reading is Ender's Game. The plot diagram is a way for someone to understand the book better. In my book right now, I am in the rising action. I know I am in the rising action because he is getting shipped of to space to train for an alien invasion. The rising action is when their is a bump in the road for the main character. For example, the main character in my book is sad because he had to leave is family behind. The main character of my book is Ender.

\

What are two central conflicts in your book?

     One conflict I see in my book Ender's Game is man vs. man because Ender has to fight aliens from a different planet so they don't invade Earth. I see this conflict when the main character talks about how they have to train for an alien invasion. For example, one scene in my book is when Ender is training for the alien invasion in a game simulator. Also the main character gets tricked when he kills an alien species when he thought he was just in the simulator. Another man vs. man moment is when he is fighting Bonzo in the shower. Man vs. society is when he says that the aliens can speak to them and no one believe's him. Conflict is when their is something holding the main character back and he has to solve the problem.

Another conflict I see is man vs. self because Ender has to get through some emotional problems. The main character for example says,

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.”  In one scene, the character in my book gets teased by his teacher named Mazer Reckham.  Man vs. self is when the character is going through an emotional problem. Internal conflict is a problem going on inside of the body. External conflict is when the character has problem outside the body.

Nevermore By: James Patterson

The main character of this story is Max. She blonde, and has bird wings. I would say her personality is tough. Max lives in a normal house like everyone else. I don't know what school she goes to, but she does go to school. She is also 98% human, and 2% bird. Her friends are Fang, and Dylan. The character is not like me because she has bird wings.

       I predict that during the climax she is going to have to save the world from a terrible storm. It will be intense and exciting because it is a life or death situation. I think that my main character will try to figure out why the storm is happening. Most likely everyone will survive in the climax. In order to solve the conflict the main character will have to help the humans from not going extinct.

What is direct and indirect characterization, and how do authors develop life-like characters in literary text?

      Characterization is when you get the author to get you to know character well. The 2 types of characterization are indirect characterization, and direct characterization. Indirect characterization is when the author explains the character, he doesn't just tell you that he is nice, he gives you a clue that makes you think about what the characters personality is like. Direct characterization is when the author tells how the characters personality is. An example of direct characterization is "he was scared boy ready to go into the unknown."
      In order to develop  lifelike characters, authors use characterization. One way authors make characters interesting is by making you get to know the characters well, they do this because when the books over, it gets you mad because you knew that so well, that he as like a close friend to you. Authors use direct characterization to get the readers attention. Authors indirect characterization to get to the reader to think the character's personality. Characters becomes interesting when the author describes them and they do something that is not like them.

What are the 4 types of conflict, and why does every story we read have conflict?

        Conflict is when the character comes between something that is stopping them. The 4 types of conflict are, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Man, and Man vs. Society. One type of conflict we often see is Man vs. Man. For example, The Hunger Games is a Man vs. Man book. Another type of conflict is Man vs. Nature. One movie that describes Man vs. Nature is The Impossible.

        All stories have conflict because all of the stories that are exciting, have a conflict, that is what makes us be on the edge of your seat. Author's include conflict because it captures the reader and makes the story more exciting. The book I am currently reading is called Dough Boy. The conflict is that his parents are divorced so he his depressed and gains weight. This shows conflict because the more weight he gains, the more chance he has of dying.

What is a plot diagram, and how can it help us predict the outcomes of the story?

What is plot?

The plot is the order events that help us predict the outcome of the story. 

Exposition is the beginning of a story. It is the part when they introduce the characters and the setting. It is the part that you just want to rush through.

Rising Action is the part when problems start to be introduced. The character starts to get involved with the problem. 

Climax is the part that leaves you on the edge of your seat. This is the part when the character makes a decision that will change his life forever. This is the most important part of the story.
Resolution is the end of the story. It is the conclusion to what happened in the story.

What is a plot diagram, and how can it help us predict the outcomes of the story?
A plot diagram is a diagram  that shows the order the story from the beginning to the end. The plot diagram helps us make predictions because sometimes when you don't understand what the exposition, rising action, climax, and the resolution is. It does make the summary that you got for an assignment easier. For example I predict the climax of my book will be if Jouringle will kill his sister to live with the prince. BTW I am reading The Grimm Conclusion. I can use my plot diagram to predict the resolution of my book will be that Jouringle will live happily ever after with is sister.

All About Me

           Hi! My name is Robert. I am 11 years old and I attend Heritage Middle School. I was born in Chicago.  Right now I have 5 people in my family. I have 2 sisters and 2 parents. My 1st sister is Judy. She is 22 years old. My 2nd sister is Amelia. She 13 year's old and currently attends Heritage. One of my hobbies is probably baseball. It is also my favorite sport. Also reading is another hobby. When I pick up a good book I can't put it back down.
          I enjoy reading fiction. Fiction books always catch my attention. One of favorite books or series is probably the Series Of Unfortunate Events. I liked this series because every sentence wasn't boring, the author always catches your attention. Another one of my favorite books is probably The Lost Hero. This is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I liked this book because all of the mythical action was awesome to read. The book I am reading right now is The Grimm Conclusion. Their are 2 books following this book. This book is about a brother and sister going to miserable lives. The part I am on right now is about the prince trying to kill the sister because she is capable of anything. The brother is trying to find her sister all about throughout land, but he doesn't know that she is getting hunted.