The Power and the Glory essay

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The Mestizo

Author's Note - a response to the novel The Power and the Glory

The mestizo. A man with no conviction in life and a man with no sense of purpose in life. The priest encounters the mestizo while attempting to make his way to Carmen, his hometown. Although wary of the mestizo, the priest's conviction prevails, and he lets the mestizo follow him. While they rest in the hut, the mestizo reveals himself as a Judas figure to the priest. Like Judas, he attempts to convince the priest that he is a man of God, a man worthy enough to be a disciple. The priest is not fooled by the mestizo's lies, and realizes that he just wants to turn in the priest for 700 pesos, a meager reward for a person of such value. That part also parallels the passion, Judas offers to make a deal with Jesus's enemies for only 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave.

a poem on Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The serene island rests

in tranquil blue water

the palne plummets

from the sky

a ball of fire

the boys gather

and form a brotherhood

conflict erupts

blood spilled

innoncence lost

the boat drifts away

carrying the men

permanently scarred

forever cursed

A fiction response to Lord of the Flies. I am writing this from the scene of Jack, who is the main antagonist of the story. The boys are stranded on an island and decide to elect a chief. The two people running for chief are Ralph, the main protagonist of the story. Ralph eventually wins the election.

Jack broke through the treeline, and found a beach, his choir group following behind him. They quickly found the source of the noise, a group of boys standing on a platform with one boy standing and holding a conch shell. Jack quickly made his way to the platform, where there appeared to be two boys telling the other's what to do. Jack and his followers quickly made their way there just in time to hear the two boys telling the young boys what to do. After a few minutes of debating, tall boy named Ralph decided we needed a chief.

"Shut up," said Ralph, "Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things."

All the little boys yelled for a vote while Jack silently waited, knowing that he would be able to win any vote. After all the boys settled down, the two possibilities were announced, Ralph and Jack. Fatty announced Jack's name and Jack looked around expecting everybody's hands to go up. Only his choir raised their hands enthusiastically.

"Now everbody who wants Ralph," yelled Fatty.

Everybody else raised their hands, while Jack sat their, appalled. He silently knew that one way or another, Ralph would not stay chief. As Fatty announced the winner, Jack silently sat there, plotting ways to get back at Ralph. He finally stood up and congratulated Ralph maintaning a facade that indicated happiness.He knew Ralph would not be chief for long.

Life of Pi Essay

Posted in essay blog.

Valley

A peaceful green valley, a natural habitat filled with nature and life. Waterfalls flow gently down the side, ending in a sparkling clear river that winds it's way through the valley floor. Birds fly above, and the animals run below. Crickets chirp softly while the soft light of fireflies begins to glow as night falls. Suddenly, a disturbance wakes the animals from rest, birds begin a frightened flight away from their homes leaving the young ones who can't fly behind. The animals hurriedly try to run away before being swallowed by the jaws that steadily approach it. As morning comes and the sun rises over the valley, it's time for another day of work for the logging company.

Life of Pi Response

India has a population of over 1 billion people and it is the second most populous country in the world. With so many people living there it become necessary to have multiple religions to cater to the ever-growing population. Pi Patel, a teenage boy growing up in the Indian city of Pondicherry as a zookeeper’s son. Pi soon learns firsthand of the different religions in India, and how they aren’t really different at all.

Pi’s native religion is Hinduism. Pi was born into a Hindu family and lives in a mostly Hindu country. Pi is a deeply religious person and greatly enjoys going to the Hindu temple as a boy. When Pi turns fourteen, he and his family take a small vacation to the city Munnar. While there Pi, gets his first real exposure to Christianity. Pi is exploring around the city and stumbles upon a Christian church. The first day he goes in, he’s too intimidated to talk to the priest, but on the second day Pi begins to learn what the Christian faith is about. At first, he can’t believe that the people would treat God’s Son like that, and compares it to the Hindu faith saying that there would be no way a god would be treated like that if they were a Hindu god. However, Pi soon begins to look past the childish comparisons to see that Christianity really is a special religion and that true messages behind it. Pi is so inspired that he asks Father Martin to become a part of the religion to which Father Martin replies, “You already are, Piscine—in your heart. Whoever meets Christ in good faith is a Christian. Here in Munnar you met Christ.”

Pi discovers Islam by wandering through the streets of Pondicherry, until he meets a baker named Kumar. Kumar is a deeply religious man and is a Muslim mystic man. This is the complete opposite of the other Mr. Kumar, Pi's biology teacher. Mr. Kumar the teacher is an aethist, yet he also is a strong believer in his faith. Martel also shows paradox between these two by making Mr. Kumar a biology teacher. Mr. Kumar teaches science, and religion is based on spirit not on religion.

Throughout Pi’s early years in life, his devotion to God is unwavering. From an early age he develops a deep love and respect for God, and religion in general. He practices three faiths, each completely different from each other, and yet all sharing a deep love for God.

Fahrenheit 451 Project

My project is in my essay blog.

Fahrenheit 451 Quote Response

“Anyways, Pete and I always said, no tears, nothing like that. It’s our third marriage each and we’re independent. Be independent, we always said. He said, if I get killed off, you just go right ahead and don’t cry, but get married again, and don’t think of me.” (pg. 95) Human life in this novel is given almost no value, as massive tv’s and fast cars are considered more important than having a family or friends. The quote above describes Mrs. Phelps’s feelings about the fact that her third husband has just been sent to war. Mrs. Phelps doesn’t even think twice about the fact that he could die, as she would just find another husband who could pay for her t.v. walls and other material possessions. A world in which your husband or wife, the person who you are spend the rest of your life with, doesn’t care if you live or die is a scary thought, and in Bradbury’s world, it is considered normal practice. An even more frightening thought would be a world in which people have children not to love them or care for them, but to keep the human race in existence. The only children that are referenced to in the novel are Clarisse and Mrs. Bowel’s children. Mrs. Bowel treats having children as a chore and compares having children with washing the clothes, you stuff the laundry in and slam the lid. The birth of a child is a rare occasion that is celebrated greatly, but in Bradbury’s world, it is not something done out of love, but to simply to keep the human race alive.