English

Kayla Joseph
May 5th, 2013
Is Volunteerism for Everyone Rough Draft The author of the excerpt “Shattered” was written by Eric Walters. This story is basically about a teenage boy named Ian, who is volunteering at a soup kitchen only because he needs earn credits for his civics class, so that he gets a car from his dad. Ian is miserable at the soup kitchen but at the end of the day, he realizes the importance of volunteerism. The theme is about volunteering for good. Ian’s intentions were only to get a car and not caring about the whole point of volunteering. For example on page 6, “My civics class. We have to do volunteer work to pass.,” “So you have to be here.” “If I want to pass civics.” Ian only sees this as a “go and get over with it” job. He doesn’t know the true meaning of volunteering at all. The target audience is teenagers. The purpose may be to educate us about volunteerism, understanding the true meaning of it and its importance. Teenagers don’t usually volunteer, unless they have too. Eric Walters is trying to teach us to do good for others. The author of the picture essay “Call for Donations” was demonstrated by U4Others. This photo essay is basically about a guy who is standing outside making donations. Some people pass by and ignore him, and others stop and make a donation. The theme is about doing something you are passionate about and helping others. For example on page 11 , “How one chooses to answer that call depend on their personal experiences, their availability, their financial stability or even their passion for a cause.”The guy making donations is cheerful and happy because he has a passion for it. He’d frown at people passing, sticking their hand up and completely ignoring the sign for what the cause is. Others stopped and made a donation and his smile grew wider. The target audience is teenagers and adults. Most of us ignore signs and posters on the streets nowadays. The purpose may be to inform us that we should pay more attention to stuff like that when we see one and not to ignore it without knowing what the cause is for. The text I liked the best is “Shattered”. In the picture essay “Call for Donations”, U4Others used several literary techniques. The most used were conflict and foreshadowing. Throughout the story, Hannah was always conflicting with herself. She debated if she should ride the bike or not, because Tante Rose forbidden her to do so, and she wasn’t sure about going to Julliard in New York City to become a professional pianist. Tante Rose didn’t even ask her about how she felt about it, so Hannah wasn’t sure of rejecting the offer or not. She wasn’t so sure about the bike, example, on page 35 “I could ride the bike through the park, but the park would be full of my friends, and someone might see me and tell Tanta Rose.” This made me feel so anxious and nervous for Hannah. This quote stated out the theme. Hannah is finally having the courage to make her own choices. I was proud of her because she was always being controlled by Tante Rose. Throughout the story, especially at the beginning, the reader would have an instinct that Hannah would make a big decision at the end of the story, and when she was riding the bike, you know that the man would snap a picture of her riding it. The author had us thinking a lot, example, on page 32, “One day, Hannah, you will understand why I made that choice. One day you will understand how all choices are made.” The author gave us a juicy hint that one day, at the end of the story; Hannah will make a decision on her own. By reading that quote, it made me more interested in the story. The reader would want to know what happens with Hannah at the end. This quote made the theme very clear, that we all need to make decisions and make sacrifices in our lives. In the text “The Last Spine”, Evan Hunter used several literary techniques. The most used were dialogue and foreshadowing. Throughout the whole story, there was dialogue. This literary technique helped the reader understand the story a bit more, and try to see the characters’ feelings. For example on page 13, “Can’t we pick our own friends?” In this quote, we can see that the character’s emotions are sadness with a bit of realization and confusion. This quote made it easier to understand the theme. Tigo and Danny needed to make their own choices regardless of the consequences. I was a bit shocked at this quote because I was like “Aren’t they suppose to be enemies?” and “What are they afraid of?” When I read the title of the story, I knew it wouldn’t be a happy ending. “The Last Spine” You can taste it by the reading it. So many thoughts were running through my head. “What’s the last spine?” and “Why is it the last spine?” The title very much attracted the reader. “The Last Spine”, made the theme easy to recognize. It means that there was a lesson learnt at the end of the story.