Monday April 18 LA Online Learning T2W5

1)The wrinkled old man had unkempt white hair, a overgrown, unshaven beard and moustache and reeks of blood, sweat and dirt as if he had been living in trash for a few years. His lips were as dry as sawdust, as if having walked in a desert for a few years. His eyes were filled with innocence like one of a child's, as if he wants the war to stop and have peace and it would instantly melt away anyone's hatred. He also looks very pitiful and sad as a victim of war, probably after seeing the effects of war.
2)A day in the life of WWII
Today, I heard that Singapore had surrendered to the Japanese. At this moment I knew that everything would never be the same again. My neighbours and I were taken to a trial, I was not suspected but some of my neighbours were not so lucky and I never saw them ever since. Our remaining crops which we had put in months of blood and sweat to grow where also taken away, probably for rations. Furthermore, I was starving from not eating food for 5 days straight, but despite just getting our rations, I was still hungry as they were meager. I know that I have to save up rations if I was going to survive. As I walked around the streets, I saw Japanese soldiers patrolling around, some even bullied the citizens and injured them." Why must war break out?" I questioned myself and wondered why people cannot be contented with what they have and want more. Is war really worth those things?

Different types of newspapers

Last week, I learnt about the different types of newspapers, specifically broadsheets and tabloids.

Broadsheets are newspapers which reports serious news which includes sections such as Singapore, Asia, World, Money, etc.(The Straits Times). They usually report news such as natural disaters, wars, political disputes, etc and are objective. They are read by every age group.

Tabloids are newspapers which reports what is "in" and what is "out" and are mostly not serious, such as "in"(The Straits Times). They consists of celebrity news, work of students, articles regarding the feelings of the reader after having experienced/read about a certain event. They are mostly read by teenagers.

Comparing these two types of newspapers, a broadsheet is twice the size of a tabloid. A broadsheet is more about serious news while a tabloid is more sensational and gossipy. Also, a broadsheet is objective(propogandas) while a tabloid is not.

Factors that make a story newsworthy(from my viewpoint as a teenager):

Uniqueness is one of this factors, readers would like to read unique news besides same old boring news about the government and political leaders, etc. It can be about news such as people with a certain ideal defying the ideal. Such as Pregnant nun accused of arson. Most people view nuns as kind-hearted and innocent. But this nun have not only defied their ideal(getting pregnant) but also accused of arson, a serious offense. So this should be a big scoop.

Another factor is the number of people affected/impact. A person getting injured seems a small deal to most of us but an earthquake killing and injuring thousands of people will catch our attention.

Another factor is who it affects. If a ordinary citizen just died today, no one will really care but if it was the minister mentor or a famous person, it will definitely hit the headlines.

The last factor is a how touching the story is. It must make the readers sympathise/empathise the incident. Such as, a dog saving its owner from a mad dog by fighting with it but as a result, died.

Strange fruit

Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black body swinging in the Southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

Pastoral scene of the gallant South,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh!

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.

I feel that the author doesn't use the word "lynching" as not using the word creates more sympathy for the Blacks. It is also to show the contrast between what South America is thought to be and what it actually is. "lynching" is also not used so that the setting is more detailed and lets the reader guess what is happening and not directly tell them.

Mississipi Burning

I have watched a move called Mississipi Burning last week. It was about racism, a group of people which were called KKK lynched Negros just because they did not like thier skin colour. In the movie, the director wants us to pity the Negros(using methods such as showing the little boy reactions after his father was lynched and how KKK treated the Negros) and cause us to hate whites. The FBI agents, after a lot of effort, finally found enough evidence to sue the KKK. This shows that with perserverence, anything can be done, even able to put KKK in jail in such a racist community. In total, I feel that the movie is a little non-realistic and is critising the whites in the way that everyone in Mississipi except one single woman is discriminating the Negros which was probably not true in real life. The movie tells us that there shouldn't be racism as everyone despite skin colour, gender, etc is still a person and should be treated like everyone else, fairly.

Poem of Scout(To Kill a Mockingbird)

"Everyone who goes home to lunch hold up your hands".

"Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham".

"I've had about enough of you this morning".



She sank down into her chair and

buried her head in her arms.

had her been more friendly I would have felt sorry.



Saved by the bell,

Catching Walter in the school yard gave

me some pleasure of rubbing him in the dirt.



"Not a soul in sight" I said

as Jem leaned as far as he could into the window

but then I saw Dill ringing the bell with all his might.



We weren't makin' fun of him, we

weren't laughin' at him',

we were just-



Every scratch of feet on gravel was Boo Radley

seeking revenge. Every passing Negro laughing was Boo Radley

loose and after us. Insects splashing was Boo Radley picking wire to pieces.



Leaving me to entertain

our cousin. Francis was eight and

had slicked back his hair.

"He's nothin' but a nigger-lover!"

"He is not!" I roared and

ran after him, collaring him.



"Why there he is, Mr Tate,

he can tell you his name."

He was leaning against the wall.



His hands were white hand that

had never seen the sun,

so white that they stood out against the wall.



I gazed at him in wonder,

His lips parted into a timid smile.

"Hey,Boo," I said.

Responding-To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout was my favourite character as her experiences reminded me of my childhood, such as making dares with my friends and about how naive and gullible I was then. Her process of growing up was also very similar to mine. When I was young, whenever I saw a toy, I would almost ask my parents to buy it, if they did, I would probably throw it away after a few days but if they did not, I would argue with them but I never won. This is very similar to Scout's arguement with Calpurnia where she never won. My parents taught me that I will not always get what I want just like Atticus and Calpurnia exposing Scout to the outside world. I was also very rash like Scout, whenever I disliked somebody, I would pinch them or scold bad words at them; like Scout chasing after Walter Cunningham and her cousins. But, my parents taught me that I can't go bashing anyone I don't like and that I have to bear with them; like Calpurnia and Atticus teaching Scout that everyone has their own ways and that she should respect it. In the end. I have turned many potential enemys into friends by getting to know them better; just like Boo and Walter becoming Scout's friends after she got to know them.

Responding To Kill a Mockingbird, Twenty-two through Thirty-one

Personal Response

The ending of the novel surprised me. If I was the author, I would have ended differently as I have written a lot about the court case and had forgotten about the Radleys already.

Analyzing Literature-Recall and Interpret

1. The children was afraid that Bob Ewell will harm Atticus as Atticus had shamed him. However, Atticus was not worried at all as he believed that Bob Ewell will not harm him.

2. Bob Ewell followed them and attacked them near the Radley place. But luckily, Boo comes and saves Scout and Jem but unfortunately Bob died. It shows that Boo is actually kind-hearted and not a monster like they described him.

3. Scout was friendly to Boo. At first, she thought that Boo was a monster and was scared of him. But after seeing his shy attitude and kindness, she was not scared anymore.

4. I believe that Sheriff Tate and Atticus made the best decision about how to report Bob Ewell's death of himself accidentally falling onto his knife and not about Jem killing him. If this was not done, Jem probably will be discriminated and will have a unhappy life as he will have a criminal record even when he is just a teenager. People might even be misleaded that Atticus used Jem to kill Bob because of the court case.

5. Yes. Because only through baby steps, people will be able to accept other types of people. Like in the case of the book, it is best if they accept the Negros slowly. If not, they might not be able to accept it if the law was suddenly changed and they might go on strikes/riots.