The Lottery

            Authors Note: The author’s purpose for writing this piece is to describe the theme of the short story “The Lottery”.

            What’s the purpose of winning a lottery? If you were to win, would you be excited? Well in this small town the lottery may not be the same type of lottery you might generally think of. In this small town things are slightly different and a little more twisted. I know you might not believe me right now but really, the winner of the lottery is stoned to death, and this is a tradition for this small town.

            The overall theme of this short story is tradition. This is because the lottery has been around for ages. Many people don’t want to stop this tradition because they don’t know better. They were born in this town and raised as they are, and that’s just a part of who they are.  They don’t know any better and this is a joyful time for them. For some odd reason they must enjoy doing this, even though it kills someone each year. This is why the overall theme is tradition.

The Crack in the Mirror

It’s been just 4 years since it all happened. It was dark, and scary, and I was trembling in fear by the sight of what was going on. Mrs. Mcglocklin had been fighting with her husband roger. Shouts came spewing out back and forth at one another, till suddenly, Roger got mad. Mrs. Mcglocklin was standing in front of me. I've been a prized possession of theirs for quite some time now. Roger was furious, so he threw a punch. Luckily for Mrs. Mcglocklin, she managed to avoid being hit but I was struck down. I was cracked inside and out, torn apart, and there lye little old me on with a crack upon my glass.

Things went from bad to worse within minutes. As painful as it is to say, I was left alone upon my wall while I heard screams and shouts from another room. Soon enough the air grew still and not a noise was made to hear. The house was silent, until suddenly I heard a door slam. I've been in this empty house for years now abandoned and left alone. This thing upon my shiny glass will always be a part of me, a crack in my mirror. I wonder when ill finally be noticed again or if I will ever be rescued by my real owners. I guess for now it’s best to wait and hope for the best. I’m scarred for life now, I have no one that cares about me, if only things had been different, then maybe this crack wouldn’t be upon my glass.

Born to be champions

 Authors note: This is a short story created to show the significance of a young boy and his talent with football.

          Charlie Wilson was an ordinary boy just trying to make it through life. Charlie was a new student at Meadow Bay high school in California. He recently Attended Franklin high school and was the star quarterback for the team. Meadow Bay and Franklin have been rivals sense the division begun.  Charlie didn’t want to give up on Franklin, but it was for the best.

            Steven Graham and Charlie had a talk about getting onto the Meadow Bay Wildcats. They had a short and quick talk about him being able to get on the team. Charlie came in just the nick of time to join the Meadow Bay Wildcats. His first practice would be the following Tuesday. When Tuesday had come, Charlie felt the need to impress the coaches and show them what he was capable of. Coach Fischer already knew Charlie from past events on which the Franklin Panthers had beaten the Meadow Bay Wildcats.

            Coach Fischer informed the starting Quarterback Josh Kennedy of a standoff for which whom Quarterback was better between Josh Kennedy and Charlie Graham. They would be doing passing, agility, speed, and faking drills. Passing drill would be for accuracy and power. Speed and agility would be tested by scrambling and passing outside or inside the pocket. Josh had volunteered to perform first. Maybe, just maybe, Josh would choke and throw this all away, Charlie thought to himself.

The results were decent compared to his usual performances, but now its Charlie’s turn to show his skills. Charlie decided to start off with an accuracy test. He was doing really good till the last 3 throws; the first throw was a seam route pass to the TE. Charlie miss interpreted this and threw the ball as if he was running a post route. The next attempted throw was a quick slant to WR. Charlie didn’t lead him enough so the throw ended up about a foot behind him. Then, on his last throw, a TE quick hit, was thrown with too much air and was thrown over the attended receivers head. Coach let Charlie and josh know that the results will be decided by the end of practice.

It was nearing more towards the middle of practice when Charlie witnessed an unpleasant feeling in his lower gut; he started to think it was likely that he wouldn’t have achieved the starting quarterback position. Although, he knew he had to be tough and fight from beginning to end and believe in his goal which was to obtain starting quarterback. Charlie feared that his quarterback days might be over, although he felt that he did better than Josh.

It was now time for coach to wrap up the practice. He preached to the team and said, “Charlie, you showed much confidence in the way you threw the ball, I have chosen you to start quarterback over Josh. Although Josh is a mighty fine quarterback, I know he can catch marvelously and would be happy if you would like to be one of my starting receivers.” Charlie showed some extraordinary plays and was now claimed the starting quarterback. The team applauded Charlie and Josh. Charlie had thought to himself that this season was going to be a good one.

Doon vs Ember

Authors Note: The author’s purpose is to show you how the character Doon can relate to the phenomenal quote in the book “The City of Ember”.

Have you ever had someone tell you to pay more attention to your surroundings? The book “The City of Ember” has a quote that really made me stop and think about this, the quote is, “The main thing is, pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, everything you see. Notice what no one else notices, and you'll know what no one else knows. What you get is what you get. What you do with what you get, that's more the point.”  To me, this means that you should always be paying attention to what’s around and maybe you’ll discover the significance of something spectacular. Although not all problems are resolved, I think Doon Harrow has the ability to do something good for Ember.

Although, Doon Harrows dad told him this after Doon had received the employment as pipes worker for Ember. Doon had listened very closely to what his father had told him and will now pay more attention to the little things and more attention to his surroundings. This shows when Doon figures out that the pipe works are very messed up. This is one way how he is paying attention more to what’s around him. Doon is pretty known for paying attention to the little things though ever since he was young. He always examines things very closely such as clocks and other smaller mechanisms.

On the other hand, Doon never lets his guard down. When he’s exploring the pipes and a giant mole comes storming toward him like an angry bull, he never lets his guard down. Doon is precautious and young. He’s very smart for his age as well, and is always curious to learn more. When Doon goes to the library, he checks out a few books about Ember and its past. He didn’t find much about it, nor did he find anything about a different world as he was originally searching for, but he did attempt to find things about it. Doon eventually decides to try to go on the adventure with Lina to escape Ember and travel to a different world known as Earth. He decides that he has nothing to lose with the power shortages and all, so why not try it? This shows that Doon is very well educated and precautious about his surroundings. He pays attention to the littlest things.

Doon listens to his dads words closely, knowing that this was a key to getting out of Ember. In order to escape, he must look for what no one else does, and see what no one else sees. In order for him to figure out clues, he must need to pay close attention, and try to figure out the directions of the treasure map. He must unscramble his thoughts and what he knows about Ember and put the puzzle back together. In Doons mind, anything around him could be a clue. If he wants to know what no one else does, he must pay attention like his father told him. If he need to, he could always use this too his advantage like he does when escaping Ember, and knowing about the tunnels in the pipe works.

As you can see, this quote shows how Doon is very precautious about knowing what’s around him.  Doon is a curious kid which you may have recognized already. He’s a very eccentric character yet very curious. I believe Doon’s dad told him this for a reason, to help him with his job and to discover the significance of Ember. Who knows, maybe that was the key to the whole situation with something that could possibly happen later on in the story, but for now, it remains a mystery. Although not all problems are resolved, I think Doon Harrow has the ability to do something good for Ember.

The Cause of Disease

What is a virus? How does it affect the body? Is it deadly? A virus is a parasite made of protein and hereditary material. Viruses can only reproduce when they are inside a living cell called the host (Viruses, 2012). Viruses are the cause of disease and are very dangerous. Even the common flu is a virus. Many viruses can kill you, but there are many vaccines to help prevent from these devastating parasites. In order to be intact with a virus, it must be inside you first. Although viruses can be deadly, such as HIV, not all the time are they deadly, nor are they permanent, such as the common flu.

What are some interesting facts about viruses and things you should know? “The genetic information of viruses can be DNA or RNA; single or double stranded; one molecule or in pieces.” Did you know the name virus was coined from the Latin word meaning slimy liquid or poison? Did you know that Viruses are not alive? “They are inanimate complex organic matter. They lack any form of energy, carbon metabolism, and cannot replicate or evolve. Viruses are reproduced and evolve only within cells” (Ten cool facts about viruses, 2012).

On the other hand, Viruses are everywhere, but in order for them to take over/infect an organism, they must get inside it. First, they must invade a cell called the host cell so they can grow and reproduce, thus spread the disease throughout the body. Most Viruses are contagious, so it’s important to stay sanitary at all times. Viruses can enter the organism through the mouth, nose, or breaks in skin (Infections- bacterial and viral, 2012).  A virus is a microscopic one-celled organism called a microbe. Viruses are the most deadly of microbes and can cause death depending on how bad things may get and what virus you have caught (What is a virus? 2012).

Although, many diseases, such as Polio and Rabies, are very harmful to the organisms body and are dangerous as well to yourself and others. Polio is the main disease of paralysis. Polio has been around for a very long time. This disease starts by striking the nervous system. This disease was more common back in the old days, but now is more extinct in most parts of the world, but is still around. This disease is rare in most parts of the world, but still exists. Many patients who have had this disease have been paralyzed in different parts of their body, in some cases, the whole body. Polio is a deadly disease and can kill you. Amazingly, up to 95 percent of people infected with polio showed no symptoms and most others just faced your standard flu-like fare, but those numbers can be misleading (Sander, 1995-2007).

Furthermore, the disease Rabies is very dangerous as well as Polio. Foaming at the mouth is one of many symptoms that may occur if you have the virus know as rabies. Rabies are generally passed by saliva, usually through dog bites. Thanks to Louis Pasteur, we now have a vaccine for this deadly disease. Although, it isn’t as common as it used to be. Many humans used to get this disease all the time, but ever since we found out the vaccination, the percentage of people getting rabies from today to those before 1885 is tremendously lower. Many people do still get this disease though, and if it gets to your brain, you’re a goner (Sander, 1995-2007).

As you can see, this tells all about and proves how viruses are deadly and harmful to organisms. If possible, avoid viruses as much as possible. The best way to do this is to stay clean and be sanitary at all times. Surprisingly, one of the most common ways of catching a virus is by not washing your hands. By doing this, you are allowing these viruses to enter your body. Whenever you rub your nose, those viruses on your hands can get inside you. This is one reason why you should always stay sanitary. Viruses can kill you, keep this mind. Although viruses are deadly, they won’t always lead to death but can be dangerous so put this into consideration and be safe and stay clean.

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