Rough Draft

Innocent until proven guilty               

By: Libby Mercier

Almost every person faces very difficult challenges in their lifetime. Tom Robinson faces a challenge that no one wants to ever encounter. He has to face a trial, with a jury and a judge. The only thing is he is African American and he is put on trial in a racist town. For a crime he did not commit, he was accused of raping a white women. People should not judge a book by its cover because Tom did not do anything and no one believed him.

Tom Robinson was just a nice man trying to support his family and keep his job. That all changed when his life was turned upside down by a false accusation. Tom Robinson was falsely convicted, only because he had a different color skin in a racist town.Tom Robinson was a simple man with a job and a wife that loved him. Until he was accused of raping a white women and nothing for was ever the same again. He was put on trial in a racist town, his attorney was Atticus Finch, he was not racist and he tried his hardest to keep tom out of jail, but sadly all of that effort did not pay off tom was still convicted.

Atticus sacrificed everything to help Tom he also has two kids Scout and Jem, they are also sacrificing a lot just because their dad is defending a person with a different color skin. For example after the trial Tom is convicted and Atticus has accused Bob Ewell of abusing his daughter and he tries to get revenge on Atticus by hurting his kids on halloween. Jem gets a broken arm and scout was wearing a ham for her costume so the wire in it saved her from being stabbed.

Many people in the town are convinced that Tom had raped the woman but atticus knows of his innocence.He tries to get people to wake up and see that he didn’t do it and that maybe it was her father Bob Ewell. Bob  obviously knew that something happened because he tried to kill Atticus’ children. Jem and Scout had many troubles with this trial also because scout’s teacher starts talking one day after the conviction and says that it is well deserved for Tom even though he didn't do anything. No one believed him or atticus because tom had a different color skin then they did, that is the main reason that he got convicted.

During this trial many people get hurt and many people change for the better. For example Bob Ewell died, Tom got convicted for nothing, Toms wife had to get a job and support herself, Jem and scout got attacked, Boo Radley saved people, Atticus killed a rabid dog. Eight out of ten changed too for the better, Scout and Jem learned to take care of themselves, Atticus get a lot of  publicity and even gets a new nickname “one shot finch”, and many other people changed for the better too.

Old man and the sea

Three days at sea.

Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1952.Genre: Fiction

The old man and the sea book is about, a man named Santiago is a fisherman that goes out on the sea for multiple days at a time. In this book he goes out to sea for three days and his goal is to catch a marlin. The old  man had one person who really believed in him to still go out to sea and he brought the old man food when he ran out and did not go fishing. On the first day Santiago gets a bite on the line of his fishing pole, fish that he caught on the fishing line takes two days to get close enough to the boat. On the third day he gets the fish close enough to the boat to realize that the fish he caught was a marlin that weighed at least 1,000 pounds. He harpoons the marlin and ties it to the side of the boat, but with all the blood from the marlin sharks start to crowd the boat and fight over the marlins dead body. The old man Santiago fights off most of the sharks and by the time he gets back to land he has nothing to show for his hard work over three days.

“This book is a triumph of the bare necessities.” says Garry L. Morey (Verona, IL United States). I chose this quote because i felt that it was also inspiring and triumphant. I thought that the old man had to do so much and when he got back to show everyone that he is strong and not a waste he has nothing to show. He had to endure the hardships of sharks and being at a hard fight with the thousand pound marlin.

The writing style of Hemingway is easy to follow and easy to read. He was very specific about what he wanted to tell us and he did a very good job of writing this book. “It was a great temptation to rest in the bow and let the fish make one circle by himself without recovering any line. But when the strain showed the fish had turned to come toward the boat, the old man rose to his feet and started the pivoting and the weaving pulling that brought in all the line he gained.” I chose this line from the book because it shows the intensity of reeling in the fish and how stressful it is to catch it in the first.

The book that I think that the old man and the sea is most like is the hunger games first book. I think this because katniss has to prove herself t the entire world and he to try to stay alive and has to fight off the other contestants in the hunger games. Kind of like when the old man has to fight off the sharks in the book to keep his catch for him self. The two books had completely different endings because katniss wins the hunger games and Santiago, his catch was destroyed when he was fighting off the sharks.

On page thirty eight the quote "A man can be destroyed but no defeated" is important because it is saying that when you are destroyed you are not defeated as long as you know what you did and you stay strong and know that you can always try again and know that you are never defeated unless you give up on your self.

The book has affected me because I used to think that fishing was easy and it didn't take much effort. Now I know that it takes a lot of effort  and I have gained a lot of respect from this book and I think that it was good that the old man went out to try to prove to everyone that he was not old and that he could still do something. And that he is not worthless, he wants to show everyone that he can still do something and that he should be looked up to and not forgotten.

I relate the book the old man and the sea 3 paws- pursue it.

Drive

Drive

Mr.B-G                  3/14/13                Libby Mercier

“ Natalie you have to listen to everything I say!” Marissa said. Forty-eight hours earlier Natalie was walking home from the gym, her phone starting ringing and she answered, “ hello?” , “ Natalie? you need to go to our house in New York like right now! I’ll explain everything when you get here. But first you need to go to the train station and go to locker 313 and take everything in it.” ,”Marissa what is going on where are you what did you do?.” Marissa hung up the phone. Marissa was Natalie's little sister she was 16 years old, she has long black hair and freckles all over her nose. Her older sister Natalie was 19 she had medium length hair and it was strawberry-blonde she also had freckles all over her nose. The two sisters were "thick as thieves" they would do anything to help the other. Their parents were on a three year cruise around the world. They left the two girls a lot of money for anything they needed over the three years, also they left the keys for all of their houses around the country. Both Natalie and Marissa were trustworthy and would never disappoint their parents unless they had to or if something happened to one or both of them.

Natalie followed Marissa's instructions and cleared out locker 313 and then got on the road for the long drive to New York. Five hours later she pulled into the driveway of their million dollar house in New York. She opened the door and yelled up the stairs to see if Marissa was there. She did not answer, Natalie went up the stairs yelling,” Marissa this isn't funny come out wherever you are!” she went up to the attic to find that it was a mess and it looked like there was someone up here recently. The footprints in the dust were too big to be her sisters and too small to be anyone else.  She ran downstairs and looked for some sort of  note saying where she was or if Natalie needed to go somewhere else. she looked and looked and then after looking under over and around everything in that house she looked under a vase and there it was a sticky note saying that someone had her sister and if she ever wanted to see her again alive then she had to bring the gym bag from the locker to a train station in Maryland. She had 48 hours to get to the train station, the note said that if she tried to contact the police then she would never see her sister again.
Then the phone rang and Marissa was on the other line, “ Natalie you have to listen to everything I say! go to the basement and look on my laptop, open the file named stranger. Then print all the pictures in the folder. Keep your eyes out for the cars in the pictures and the man’s faces.” 

Marissa! where are you? tell me where you are and I will come and get you right now!” “I don’t know where I am but I do know that you have to bring that bag to the train station and.” “what is in that bag!?” “ open it and find out I have to go their coming I love you!” “Marissa?” the line went dead. Natalie went up to the gym bag and looked inside, there was a ton of cash and fake passports. Natalie gasped and jumped back, then she stared at the bag zipped it up grabbed her keys and started to drive.

Natalie drove down to Maryland and went to get a hotel room so she could figure out what she was going to do tomorrow at the train station. Natalie was a smart girl who has always been interested in crime shows like CSI and NCIS:LA. She had seen one episode of NCIS and they put phone books in the bag instead of what was really in the bag then found out where the hostage was and grabbed the hostage and the people who kidnapped them. She favored this idea but there were a couple things that could go fatally wrong. So she kept her options open. Natalie took a shower and went to bed, she couldn't really sleep though so she sat on her bed and thought about what she could do. Around midnight she had a brainstorm, her dad was a cop and she kept track of all his passwords and she could look into kidnappings that fit the same thing that has happened to her sister.

She logged on as her dad and typed in what happened the database came up with two possible answers and she looked deeply into both of them. She could not figure out what one was her sisters kidnapper so she checked out where the two people were last seen one was on death row in prison and the other was never caught. She found out everything she could on this man his name was Jason Roy and he had two priors one from 2001 the girl was found and unharmed and the other was in 2010 the girl wasn't as lucky she had a black eye and was put into a coma for a month. This finding made Natalie nervous and she could not find anything else on Jason and by now it was around 6:00am she had stayed up all night long.

Just then the phone in her hotel room, she answers the phone, “ Hello...?” “ Good your awake, bring the bag to the train station at 3:00pm or you will never see you sister again.” “Oh, Jason you don’t want to do that I know all about you, but the thing is you have no idea who I am!” “ you have much to learn Natalie, 3:00 don’t forget.” The line went dead Natalie hung up the phone ,” oh and you have much to learn too.” she said Jason had no idea that she had placed a track on where he was calling from so she would know where he was at all times even if he go a new phone she would know where he was.

It was 2:30 and Natalie went to the train station and waited in the parking lot and her cell rang again to tell her where to put the gym bag. “ wheres my sister and I’ll give you the bag fight here right now you won’t even have to go in the station.” as she stepped out of the car too look for the cars in the pictures that her sister left. They were not there at least not that she could see. “ No, we are doing this my way not the other way around! go in the station go up the escalators and make the first right. Go down that hall and in the hall you will be walking down there is a bench, place the bag under there.” “and my sister will be where?” “ I know you have a picture of a red sedan she will be in the trunk and there is a key on the underside of the back tire. Open the car take you sister and drive back to New York. I think your parents are coming home soon, make sure to give my regards to you father for me.” Natalie did as he said and as soon as she placed the bag she went out of the hall and stood by the entryway of the hall and waited for them to come. One person came and it was just the janitor it was almost closing time so she went to that red sedan and looked in the trunk, her sister was there. She pulled her up took the duct tape off her mouth and hands, Marissa through her arms around her older sisters neck and squeezed as hard as she could.

They ran over to Natalie's car and hopped in, the ride back to New York was a long one and they had a lot to talk about, but there was something that Jason said when they talked together on the phone for the last time. She got another call on her cell while they were driving that night the caller ID was from New York she answered, “ Hello.” “hello is this Natalie?” “This is. Who is this?” “ this is the New York city hospital you parents have been in a car accident we think they are going to be alright but we need you to come in to be with them.” “ Me and my little sister are on our way to New York now so we will be there in like 20 minutes” “Okay we will see you then” she hung up the phone and started driving faster but not too fast. Marissa asked “who was that?” Natalie looked at her and she looked scared, “That was the hospital mom and dad have been in a car accident.” Marissa looked scared now too but they kept going staying strong for the other. When they got to New York they went straight to the hospital and went to where they had their parents.

Both their mom and dad were okay and neither one of them have any clue as to what happened. The girls mom was very happy to see them and their dad was happy too, He knew that something had happened while they were gone, but he did not want to freak out their mom so he saved it for when they went home which will be in a couple of weeks. All was good and both parents went home safe and sound. A couple years past and Marissa went to college, but in the years that passed something never felt right about what happened when their parents were gone, and it seemed as though Jason had dropped little hints here and there saying that he was still watching her. She never stopped freaking out when ever someone close to her didn't answer a phone call or a text, she never stopped looking for Jason after that day. The sad part is that she never found him, but he found her.s

Mockingjay in my eyes

        Second Quarter Book review              
                     
                                                   Mocking jay       Susan Collins
                    Mocking jay was a good book written by Suzanne Collins, I would rate it a 4 on the tiger paw rating system. I chose a 4 because it was good but I was mad that this was the last book in the sires I wanted it to go on and on. In this book the "outsiders" go against president snow to try to take over the capital and stop everything that president snow was doing. What I mean by this is that they are going to try to kill president snow. Cattiness is  the mockingly in this book like the savior.She is the person who organized the whole thing and is like the leader the person who they all turn to when they need something or if something goes wrong. When the book was over I was sad because I wanted it to go on, I never wanted this book series to end. All through the other books (hunger games and Catching fire) I never wanted them to end I wanted all three books to go on, Once the first book ended right away I went and bought the second one same happened with the second to the third. I would have never thought that I would read all three of these books, now I have all three in the done pile.

Value? final draft

Libby Mercier       Mr. B-G                  January 13, 2013   

Value?

Value--- what is the true meaning of this word? Every person has a different meaning for the word “value” but the thing is that each one is different. I believe that something valuable is [My definition of this odd word is]  (that) one thing that you hold close to you for a moment, or one thing you can put a price on. If you have that thing then you know what I’m going to talk about.  If you don't then you most likely will by the end of this essay.

You have many things that you value and many things you hold close to you, and I have many as well. Except in this essay I have narrowed my list from 20 to, 2. The two things that I hold close to me are my Ipod and my darling pets. I chose these things because my pets are like my family.  In fact I can’t even say like my family, they are just as important to me as my mom and dad. I love all of my pets a lot, but the one that I love the most is my cat Lola. She is a small black and tan cat. She is not very sweet to anyone but me. She is like my kid. I have raised her since day one, and she knows that she is loved by me. When I say she loves me that does not even begin to describe her [love] feelings for me. She only lets me pick her up and give her a bath. We have a very big love for eachother.

I love all of my cats and they are all awesome pets, but my little Lo loves me the most out of my whole family and I love her the most too. If I don’t feel good  she will come on the couch to me and comfort me.  She knows when I feel fine and when I really am not feeling good she is so soft if you pet her then you will know. She is like the softest blanket you have ever had, she has a nice soft coat and when she purrs it is like a motor. You put your hand on her it will vibrate like a phone that is ringing. Transition sentence.

The other thing that I “value” is my Ipod.  I value this because it is like my life. I say this because it really is. I do everything on my ipod.  You will  rarely see me with my phone out. I got this app on my Ipod  and it allows me to text any number with my own number.  It is really like my phone. I hate my actual phone.  I never use it. I will never text on it unless I do not have wifi and I want to text my friends. I have everything on my ipod it is like my “life” (you already said this, maybe say it in diff words or say something different)  I look at my week on my calendar, then I check anything and everything. For example I check my snapchat, facebook, instagram, and of course my textfree account. I check all of these because they keep me connected to my friends while I’m not with them. I have a lot of fun with my friends on my Ipod.  We take pictures and plan out when we are hanging out this week. Our electronic devices (my Ipod) keep us connected as friends.

With  all the things that we value in our lives and all the things around us to take our attention away from these things [the things that matter most] we need to keep in site the things that we value. My two things that I value most is my pet lola.  She is the love of my life (pet) and my ipod is awesome I don't know what I would do without it.Value- it has many different meanings but yours is the only one that matters.

Value essay Rough draft

                                 

Libby Mercier       Mr. B-G             January 11, 2013    RD

Value?

Value--- what is the true meaning of this word? Every person has a different meaning for the word “value” but the thing is that each one is different. I believe that something valuable is [My definition of this odd word is]  (that) one thing that you hold close to you for a moment, or one thing you can put a price on. If you have that thing then you know what I’m going to talk about.  If you don't then you most likely will by the end of this essay.

You have many things that you value and many things you hold close to you, and I have many as well. Except in this essay I have narrowed my list from 20 to, 2. The two things that I hold close to me are my Ipod and my darling pets. I chose these things because my pets are like my family.  In fact I can’t even say like my family, they are just as important to me as my mom and dad. I love all of my pets a lot, but the one that I love the most is my cat Lola. She is a small black and tan cat. She is not very sweet to anyone but me. She is like my kid. I have raised her since day one, and she knows that she is loved by me. When I say she loves me that does not even begin to describe her [love] feelings for me. She only lets me pick her up and give her a bath. We have a very big love for eachother.

I love all of my cats and they are all awesome pets, but my little Lo loves me the most out of my whole family and I love her the most too. If I don’t feel good  she will come on the couch to me and comfort me.  She knows when I feel fine and when I really am not feeling good she is so soft if you pet her then you will know. She is like the softest blanket you have ever had, she has a nice soft coat and when she purrs it is like a motor. You put your hand on her it will vibrate like a phone that is ringing. Transition sentence.

The other thing that I “value” is my Ipod.  I value this because it is like my life. I say this because it really is. I do everything on my ipod.  You will  rarely see me with my phone out. I got this app on my Ipod  and it allows me to text any number with my own number.  It is really like my phone. I hate my actual phone.  I never use it. I will never text on it unless I do not have wifi and I want to text my friends. I have everything on my ipod it is like my “life” (you already said this, maybe say it in diff words or say something different)  I look at my week on my calendar, then I check anything and everything. For example I check my snapchat, facebook, instagram, and of course my textfree account. I check all of these because they keep me connected to my friends while I’m not with them. I have a lot of fun with my friends on my Ipod.  We take pictures and plan out when we are hanging out this week. Our electronic devices (my Ipod) keep us connected as friends.

With  all the things that we value in our lives and all the things around us to take our attention away from these things [the things that matter most] we need to keep in site the things that we value. My two things that I value most is my pet lola.  She is the love of my life (pet) and my ipod is awesome I don't know what I would do without it.Value- it has many different meanings but yours is the only one that matters.

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