TKAM #2

Journal #2

Chapters 4-7

Perspective of Dill

Jem and Scout have been in school while I have returned to my hometown until the summer begins again, but no doubt, I'm very excited to return to Maycomb soon for the summer and to have some fun with Jem and Scout. Jem and I have been trying to get Boo Radley to come outside and play with us, but nothing seems to work. Scout on the other hand seems like she doesn't want to get into any trouble that involves Boo. One day, Jem had told me that Scout had been walking home from school, since he didn't get out of school for thirty more minutes, when something in the Radley's yard caught her eye. Scout, being curious, walked over to the tree and peeked into the knothole and found two pieces of gum and decided to chew it. When Scout arrived back home, Jem had asked her where she had gotten such a big wad. She told him and immediately panicked and demanded she spit it out, but she refused at first to point out that if it was poison, then she'd be dead already. JemJemRadley's oak tree, but she continues to check it each day. Two days before I arrived to Maycomb, Scout and Jem said they found some "Indian Head" pennies and decided to keep them until school started back up again. They said they're supposed to have some deep magic in them, but i don't know for sure. Since I'm here in Maycomb for the rest of the summer, Jem suggests that we play a new game called, "Boo Radley," and Scout can tell that it's Jem's attempt to prove he's brave too Scout and I. We decided to play the game by acting out Boo's life until Atticus Finch found out. So instead, we played the game much less so Atticus won't notice. Jem and I are much closer and we hang out much more in the treehouse while Scout spends her time with Miss Maudie Atkins. On my last night in Maycomb, all three of us went to Miss Rachel's fishpool to hangout and have some fun. But, I suggest that Jem and I should go for a walk. Scout wants to know where we were going and Jem assured her that we would walk to the lamppost and back. we walked a while and finally Jem leads me to the Radley place. There, Jem and I try to give Boo Radley a note this time and when Scout insists that we include her in our plans Jem assigns her and I as guards to make sure nothing happens. Using a long bamboo fishing rod and the note on the end, Jem creeping onto the first step creaking and then skipping the other steps and leaping onto the porch trying not to make a sound. He peers into the front window while Scout and I stand watch impatiently wondering what the outcome of this would be. The next thing Scout and I know we're not even watching to see if anyone is coming. We seemed way too interested in the product of giving Boo Radley the note. All of a sudden, Jem, Scout, and I see this silhouette of a man walking towards to door, assuming it's Boo, we stood there a little bit longer. But, when we heard gun shots we ran as fast as our little legs could take us. Scout and I ran and ran, but we couldn't hear Jem behind us. We look back and see that he's caught on the fence and trying to break free, but he just couldn't. When he finally got loose, everyone in Maycomb could see what his only option was. When we got back to the fishpool, Miss Rachel asked Jem what happened. and I had told her we were playing some strip poker, not knowing exactly what that was, just to cover up the truth. Miss Rachel was furious by what we "did" by her fishpool and everyone could see that Jem had not only lost the game of "strip poker", but he also lost his pants.

TKAM #1

Journal #1

Chapters 1-3

Perspective: Jem

I remember when I badly broke my arm one summer and after, thinking about all the things that led to that terrible event. Here in Maycomb County, we're not a very big town, everybody knows everybody, weather from my father's side or just because it's such a small town. My family consists of my father, Atticus Finch, my sister, Jean "Scout" Finch, and me, Jeremy "Jem" Finch. My father is a widowed gentleman and the Maycomb attorney and state legislative representative and he represents Tom Robinson in court. My sister, Scout Finch, is more of a tomboy that would rather solve problems with fights than with her thoughts. I recently met a 7-year-old named Charles Barker Harris, but I call him Dill. Although he's 7, he looks no older than a child of four. Anyway, Scout and I told him about Boo Radley and he seemed pretty interested in meeting him. I simply laughed and told him Boo Radley has never left the Radley place ever since I can remember. Dill thought about what I had said and came up with the most craziest idea ever in Maycomb county. He decided that all three of us should bring Boo Radley out of his house. Of course I thought it was incredibly crazy, but Scout and Dill just had to see the outcome of the outrageous plan. We went on with the plan and tried and tried, but nothing. After a while school started again, Scout finally started school in the first grade, and Dill left Maycomb for his hometown only to return in the summer next year. Meanwhile, Scout and I are meeting new people like Walter Cunningham. He's a kid like Scout and I, but he's a very peculiar person. We found out that he is very poor and just by watching him eat he was strange. He put molasses on everything. Vegetables, salty foods, and the things you'd never think of putting molasses on. Our housekeeper, Calpurnia, had kept a close eye on Scout after she had rubbed Walter's nose in the mud. Calpurnia had noticed that Scout was giving him some weird looks while he was eating and Scout had told her that he was very weird because of him putting molasses on everything he ate. Calpurnia was appauled at Scout for critisicing his eating habits, but she must have been extremely mad at Scout for saying that because he went a struck Scout and made her finish her meal in the kitchen. I honestly hope Calpurnia lightens up and Scout doesn't feel too bad about the incodent in the kitchen.

Independent Reading post #4

Why Did I Chose This Book?

I chose In the Time of the Butterflies because I believed that it was a very emotional book. Also, I thought that the book was interesting because of how each chapter was from a different perspective. Each of the Mirabal sisters have a chapter from their view of how their life was. I really liked the way the author, Julia Alvarez, wrote about the lives of these four women and how their lives were so hard because of the dictatorship of Trujillo. This book really has me amazed and I'm really looking forward to the ending of these stories from the four Mirabal sisters.

Independent Reading post #3

Minerva Mirabal-

Journal Entry 1

Sunday, January 6th, 1942

Today is Three Kings Day. Time has gone by fast and now Patria, Dede, Maria Teresa, and I have been spending time at home with Mama and Papa for the holidays. Not only do I miss Inmaculada Concepcion, but I miss my friend Lina Levaton dearly. She had such wonderful days there, until she met Trujillo. To us, she was oh so kind and as gentile and delicate as a rose. With her meeting Trujillo, not only did it effect her school work and friends, but it effected herself. Not knowing she would end up in a tragic situation, she instantly fell in love with Trujillo and his love notes, poems, and flowers. Sinita was disgusted. She could not bear to see her dear friend, Lina, be left alone in the end. Sinita finally asked Lina one day," Do you Love him?" Sinita had asked as if Lina were to marry a monster. Lina replied ever so sweetly,"With all my heart."
I could not believe my ears! Lina actually Loved Trujillo! She ended up leaving Inmaculada Concepcion to live with Trujillo only to later discover that he was married. Having his wife know about Lina would get her killed! So the only thing that Trujillo could do was ship her off to a castle that he had made for her so she wouldn't be harmed.
I miss Lina so very much. Now, I continue to live my life knowing she still is alive and living happily with her one child. Hopefully I will soon see her again.

With all of the Love in my heart,
Minerva Mirabal

Independent Reading post #2

NAME: Rachel Nicole
DATE: 2-2-10
TITLE: In the Time of the Butterflies
TIME: 1 1/2 HOURS
AUTHOR: Julia Alvarez
PAGES: 65-103
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK:

QUESTION 1:
Which character would you like to be like? In what way? Why?

RESPONSE 1:
I would love to be Patria Mercedes Mirabal de Gonzalez. I'd like to be this character because she has a good heart and focuses on others more than herself. I like the fact that although she has problems, she tries to see the positive side of things. When she lost her baby, she was very melancholy for days and days. She notices how she was grieving so much and decided to go see the Vergencita. She was also very religious and looked to God and the Vergencita for answers. Although she went through so much grief, she remained peaceful and kind during everything.

QUESTION 2:
Do you think you would read another book by this author? Why or why not?

RESPONSE 2:
Definitely! I would LOVE to read another book by Julia Alvarez. I'd like to because of all the detail and depth she puts into the stories she writes. Also, some of her books are based in true stories and I love to read books about other people's lives and what happened in or during their life. I also like to read books that have some emotion to them because then you can get an idea of how the character might have felt in the certain event that might have taken place. In, "In the Time of the Butterflies", I can feel what they have gone through, but then again, I know that I'll never feel the pain or suffering that Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal did.

Independent Reading post #1

NAME: Rachel Nicole
DATE: 2-1-10
TITLE: In the Time of the Butterflies
TIME: HOURS
AUTHOR: Julia Alvarez
PAGES: 3 - 65
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK:

QUESTION 1:
What in the book upsets you or bothers you?

RESPONSE 1:
What bothered me in this book was that Trujillo, the Dictator of the Dominican Republic, is married and has at least more than three "girlfriends" and go and get them pregnant and then leave them. this really botherd me the most because if a man went and said he loved you and you wanted to stay with him. You, not knowing he would leave you, would end up alone just as Lina did in this situation. Also, in the book when the girls are preforming for Trujillo on his birthday, his son, Ramfis, a colonel in the army, leaps on the stage when Sinita aims her bow at Trujillo as if she were to kill him. What he does next is tell Sinita to untie Minerva and as she dos, he yanks her hands back and says,"Use your dog teeth B****!" that bothered me a lot because he was saying something that might offend not just Sinita, but other women in general.


QUESTION 2:
What character do you like the most?

RESPONSE 2:
The Character I love in this book is Minerva Mirabal de Tavarez. She was the second youngest and had so much to say about her experience at "Inmaculada Concepcion" a catholic school for girls. She made friends with many of the girls there and very rarely was called in to the principals office for certain reasons. Also, she was always debating on what is right and what is wrong with everyone.