Historical Compare and Contrast

Author’s Note: This is a compare and contrast essay that is comparing the fictional happenings in Jump Ship to Freedom to the real time period of the American Revolution.

           

Historical fiction novels are based on historical events that really took place in history but the author changed the happenings of that event by creating a fictional character. Jump Ship to Freedom is an example of a historical fiction novel. The main character, Daniel, is an escaped slave hiding from his master in the New York harbor in 1776. This book is very realistic compared to this time.  The only thing that really stands out is the way they talk -- the author had to put some words in that we use today to flavor up the speech of the characters. The book has little fiction as it relates to the events that happen.

First of all, the main character, Daniel, is an escaped slave boy who is trying to buy his freedom for his mother and himself. He escapes from his master’s ship searching for his freedom, like many of the slaves of that time. He accumulated enough soldiers’ notes which he got from his father to get his freedom. Many slaves during that time period did not have money and, if they did, it was likely not enough to buy freedom.  Many of them fought in the Revolutionary War and were awarded freedom for risking their lives. Slaves in that time didn’t like the working conditions and the cruelty, so they often escaped.  Instead of buying their freedom, they ran for their freedom to land that was not owned by the wealthy white men.

In the same way, the book used the writing of the American Constitution as another historical happening. Daniel was a part of the writing; he had come along with an old dying Quaker who would carry with him the important note to make the Constitution finalized. Daniel came with him to hide from his master.  When the old Quaker died, he relied on Daniel to deliver the note to the writers of the constitution. Daniel did eventually meet the founding fathers and delivered the note, and that really did happen with the writing of the constitution back in 1776.  However, Daniel wasn’t the one to deliver the note. Also, the American Constitution was a real thing and it did settle the slavery disagreement.  In the book it was the thing to get Daniel out of slavery.

On the other hand, many of the slave boys in 1776 were thought of as stupid because of their low schooling compared to the white boys. Daniel was really smart compared to the slave boys; he was even smarter than the white boys which only happened in this book to give it a more modern sense than the dull stereotypes of the 1700’s. Even the way Daniel talked was different to the slave boys; he had talked like he was schooled every day, which didn’t happen often to white boys let alone black boys. The authors had to put some changes in because the flavor that they spoke with back then would be hard to comprehend. The author even put a note in the book explaining his reason to make Daniel so advanced compared to the other boys, so we could get a sense of what it was like to be a slave in the 1700’s.

In conclusion, the events in this book are very real. While they might not be exactly how they happened, for the most part they give a sense of what it was like in the 1700’s as a slave. It also gives a sense of how the slaves were treated.  One mess up or mistake and the owner could send them half way across the world to be even more miserable. This book gave me a good idea of the conditions and the treatment of slaves in the 1700’s.  From reading this book, I now know that it is not what we think.  It was even worse.

Jump Ship to Freedom

Authors Note: This is a writing piece where we have to analyze the cause and effect happenings in the story Jump Ship to Freedom.  We also will be analyzing the climax of the story.

           When Daniel Arabus jumped his ship to swim a mile, he never knew that it would cause his life to change as a slave.  He jumped ship for obvious reasons -- he was a slave and he wanted to become free with his mother.  Daniel meant no harm to his master by jumping ship, he just wanted his father’s soldier’s note to be wasted away for a good reason and he had one, buying his freedom.  

            First, the climax in the story was Daniel jumping ship so he would be able to take his notes to congress to buy his freedom.  When he jumped, he could not swim back and get a lashing from his master, Capitan Ivers, for doing something so foolish.  He was in it till the very end.  All of the other crew mates thought he was crazy, but Daniel knew what he was going to do right when he hit the water.  Daniel wanted his freedom so he went and got it.

            Then, as Daniel was traveling with the dying Mr. Fathercaft, as a result of hiding from Capitan Ivers, he was able to meet General Washington and some of the most famous men of his time.  He met all of them because Mr. Fathercaft died and he wanted Daniel to deliver his message about the new country’s constitution.  Along the way to delivering his message, he was able to meet all those men and buy his and his mother’s freedom from slavery as a result of the new laws of the new country.

          

            Daniel was able to accomplish everything he did because he was able to jump the boat and eventually ride his way to the writing of the American constitution.  He would have never done that if he had never jumped the ship.  For a black boy in his time period, it was hard for them to even think about freedom.  However, Daniel was able to do more than just think about freedom, he was able to cause freedom by delivering his message to the constitution writing.  Daniel was able to make things happen that were good for the new country and, as a result, Daniel was able to live in America for the first time as a free man.

Big Tom

               Authors Note: This is Big Tom's POV showing what happened when Daniel in the story “Jump ship to Freedom” jumped his master’s ship to escape and buy his freedom, while he was being chased down by Big Tom and Capitan Ivers.  This POV will help analyze what happens in the story to determine who is really the good guy and who is really the bad guy.

               The Book “Jump Ship to Freedom” is written in the point of view of Daniel Arabus.  In this specific scene he jumps his master’s ship so he can go to the government and buy his freedom with his dad’s soldier’s notes. Captain Ivers is Daniel's master.  In this scene Daniel is viewed as the good guy and Big Tom is viewed as the bad guy.  While Daniel is trying to escape, Big Tom is trying to keep him from causing trouble between black and white folk.  Daniel sees it as Big Tom trying to keep him working for Capitan Ivers or Big Tom trying to get Daniel caught for stealing the soldier’s notes.  While we never hear what Big Tom is thinking, he might have seen it as Daniel trying to cause trouble for the white folk by escaping, which Big Tom doesn’t want to happen because he would like to buy his own freedom using the money he saved from doing work for Capitan Ivers.  Big Tom feared that if Daniel caused trouble, Capitan Ivers might take away the money Big Tom had made so he would not be able to buy his freedom. This might have been the point of view of Big Tom while Daniel was escaping and Capitan Ivers was looking for him.       

What a coward jumping ship, I thought.  I’ll have to go after him as Capitan Ivers orders.  I’ll teach him a lesson or two about what he does around white folks when we need our freedom.  As I went down to tell Capitan Ivers what happened, I saw him fiddling around in the storage by the oxen. “Capitan Ivers,” I said, “What are you doing down here”.  He replied, “Well that Negro Daniel had been down here, probably hiding those soldiers he stole from me”.  “About him, sir, he just jumped ship and swam to the little island across the bay from the New York harbor, probably trying to escape”.  I had seen by the look on his face that he was not pleased with Daniel for escaping.  “Big Tom, go and watch the unloaded storage, and if you see that Daniel, make sure to give him a piece of my mind for escaping,” Capitan Ivers ordered.

               As the crew was just about done unloading the ship, the slave boy Daniel ran by just pass the supplies. I jumped out of my chair and dashed for him.  He was screaming and knocking down the box and barrels up and down the street making me slow down to dodge them. I came close enough to grab his shirt.  I reached out and grabbed a fist full of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. “You got some nerve to jump ship, boy” I said while keeping him in my grasp. “Well, I was going to be dealt to the West Indies and I would have never seen my momma again,” said Daniel.  I loosened my grip and he was able to wiggle out of his shirt and jump into the bay, I didn’t go in after him because I, like many other sailors, cannot swim so I decided to let him be free for now. I knew Capitan Ivers would be furious with me for letting him go, but he would probably leave town to escape from Capitan Ivers.

                     When I got back to the ship, the whole crew was surrounding the storage while Capitan Ivers was giving them a talking to.  I could hear him a little talking about stolen supplies.  I tried to duck down so he could not see me because it was my responsibility for losing those supplies. It was no luck, he could see a big black man a mile away.  “Big Tom get over here right now and explain to the crew why some of the supplies were stolen,” he yelled. “Well that escaped Arabus kid ran by here.  I got orders from you to catch him if he runs by here,” I explained. “Well that is not a good excuse.  I am putting the responsibility on you to either catch that Arabus kid or find those supplies,” he reconciled.  At night fall, I went looking around for the Arabus kid.  I found him in a popular tavern owned by a wealthy black man and an old quaker. I was guessing that they were hiding him there away from Capitan Ivers so he could buy his freedom.  I decided that at sunrise Capitan Ivers and I would go into the tavern to capture him.

               The next morning, Capitan Ivers and I were hiding outside of the tavern waiting for Daniel to come out. I had to guard the back door.  I heard yelling and screaming from the front, and that was my signal to go in after Daniel.  When I got in, I saw him waiting on the stairs and his back was facing me.  I wandered up the stairs so quietly that he could not hear me.   Just as I reached the top, he turned his head and saw me.  He started to run, but he was not fast enough and I grabbed him.  “Who do you think you are causing trouble between whites and blacks?,” I yelled. “That is no good for me or you.  Capitan Ivers is going to whip you so hard when I bring you back to him,” I hollered.  “Well, I was hoping that Capitan Ivers wouldn’t have noticed the missing soldier notes,” he murmured. With a fist clenched, I was about to sock’em one, but again he was able to escape by wiggling out of his shirt. He ran up the stairs and slammed a door shut.  In a matter of seconds, I was able to break through the flimsy door. He was nowhere to be seen.  I looked up the chimney and he was halfway up the chimney.  I was too large to fit up but, I was able to go up the stairs to the roof.  Daniel was dangling from the side of the tavern.  I thought he would not jump, because it was about a twenty foot drop to the ground and he could not live from that high of a jump.  But he was a stupid kid.  He let go and fell twenty feet.  As I looked down, he was fine.  He got into a carriage and had escaped.  By the time Capitan Ivers and I got down, Daniel was long gone and there was nothing we could do.

               In this scene, Big Tom’s point of view made him look like he was the good guy trying to keep things straight between slave owners and slaves.  While in the real book, Big Tom was seen as the bad guy who was a right hand man to Capitan Ivers, the slave owner.  In a different point of view it can change how a person thinks of the characters in the book. When I first read “Jump Ship to Freedom” I thought that Big Tom was the bad guy trying to get Daniel in trouble for stealing and running away from his master. While Big Tom was just trying to keep things good between him and Capitan Ivers so he could eventually buy his freedom. With careful examination Big Tom could be seen as a good character trying to stay out of trouble a buy his freedom or as a bad guy trying to keep things good with Capitan Ivers by selling out the other slaves with nonsense that could get them in trouble.                     

Dynamic Johnny

Authors Note: This a Character analysis of Johnny showing the affects he had in the story The Outsiders a dynamic character.

               

               A dynamic character is a person in a story whose characteristics change from the beginning to the end.  Johnny from The Outsiders is an example of a dynamic character because he changed throughout the book as a person and also affected many people throughout the book as a dynamic character does.  Johnny is a dynamic character because of his actions towards others and himself, and the ways he changed mentally.

             

               First, he changed Ponyboy from his friend into his accomplice when Johnny killed Bob for trying to drown Ponyboy.  Ponyboy and Johnny had gotten orders from Dally to hide out in the church and keep safe from the fuzz.  Ponyboy had said while they were hiding, “I was glad to have Johnny because he thought of things that would be useful to us that none of the rest would have.”   He said that because Johnny had bought only the things they needed for survival, when the others would have bought weed or nonsense stuff that they didn’t need.   

               

               Secondly, Johnny saved the kids from the burning church when none of the other Greasers would have.  He was severely injured and kept in the hospital for days.  During that time, the greasers were worried about Johnny’s health and whether he was going to live or not.   When he eventually died, Dally went insane and could not live without Johnny because he was the only one he could call family. Dally called Ponyboy to tell him that he robbed a store and the police were after him. The police eventually caught up to him and Dally pulled out his heater, which only Ponyboy knew wasn’t loaded.  The police fired and Dally was dead.   Johnny changed Dally because Dally could not live with the fact that Johnny was gone.  He wanted to be with Johnny, so he basically attempted suicide with someone killing him so he could reacquaint with Johnny spiritually.

            

               Therefore, Johnny could be compared to other characters in stories because of the affects he had on others and himself as a dynamic character. Johnny could be compared to Fonzie from Happy Days because of their characteristics and the way they affect others.  They both are tough looking on the outside and people think that they are nothing but trouble because of the way they act in public and the way they dress.  What people don’t see is that they are good on the inside.  So, both of their personalities are overshadowed by their appearance.   Also, both affect people around them dramatically;  Fonzie in a more humorous way and Johnny in a serious way.

                

                Johnny is a dynamic character because of the role he played with the death of Bob and Dally.  He also affected the people around him when he died.  He was the only thing that was family to Dally and the others.   He was overlooked because of his outside appearance as a hoodlum and was really a good person on the inside.  He lost his innocence, though, when he killed Bob.   Johnny affected the way the story changed from good to bad, and also changed how people saw him and the greasers as people. 

Stereo Typical Outsiders

Authors Note: This is the response for the outsider on the stereo types that are in the book about the greasers’ lifestyle.

The greasers’ in the book The Outsiders are judged by the way the dress the styles they have and the way they talk to people. In this book the outsiders or greasers are seen to the public as no good criminals and stupid people. Some characters defy that stereotype things and belong to a normal society but are the family to the greasers that fit right in with the stereotype. In this book I think the author is trying to show that not every greaser is like each other.

First the greasers are known for having a bad home life and not having real connection with their parents. It the book Ponyboy said “We leave our door open so when any one gets hacked off at their parents they can come over and blow off steam.” Johnny and his parents are a good example of a stereotype because his parents didn’t care for him and beat him. But Ponyboy, Darry and Sodapop got along very well with their parents they and they are some of the characters that don’t fit the stereotypes found in the book.    

Lastly the greasers are known for the way dress and the characteristics that they present in school. The greasers compared to the soc’s dress very poorly, they wear their hair slicked back jeans and short sleeve shirt, and the soc’s have no hair slicked back rings on their fingers and very nice jackets. As for school the greasers are notoriously known for dropping out of school and failing classes the Curtis brothers are different they each were very smart especially Ponyboy and Darry. Pomyboy loved to read but Darry was forced to drop out of school so h could take care of was brothers.

Though the book is filled with different themes I thought that stereotypes were the main theme to the whole story. The main character of the story Ponyboy I think was immune to all of the stereotypes although he is a greaser he is still very far from what the others are like. Ponyboy and the other greasers are misunderstood with the soc’s that are the rich and popular and the greasers who are poor and hated.         

Outsiders Fight Night

Authors Note: This is a rewrite of the fight scene in the outsiders when Ponyboy and Johnny ran away.

     A shimmering blue Mustang pulls up next to Johnny and Ponyboy.  Right away they knew who it was, the Soc’s grandmaster Bob.  Johnny got a shiver down his neck as he could see the rings on his fingers as Bob got out of his car. “That was the Soc that beat me,” Johnny said.   Ponyboy told Johnny that they should leave because he didn’t think they would get out alive if they saw them.  As Bob and the other Soc’s approached Johnny and Ponyboy, Ponyboy started to speak with his greaser twang, “Why don’t ya’ll Soc’s turn around and go back.” Bob and the other Soc’s started to laugh.  “What little greaser kid is gonna tell us what to do?” said Bob as he and the Soc’s approached Ponyboy.  Johnny, without warning, jumped at Bob tackling him to the ground.  He hit him in the face knocking him out cold.   Johnny grabbed all the rings off of Bob’s hands and put them in his pocket and ran away. The Soc’s went up to see if Bob was okay, while Ponyboy ran in the same direction following Johnny.

        

     After awhile, Ponyboy caught up with Johnny in the alley next to his house. Ponyboy cursed, “What was that for? Are you crazy?” Johnny explained, “The reason why my parents don’t care for me is because they are not my real parents. They are my aunt and uncle who despised my parents.   They were my only family in the city.  A gang of Soc’s mugged my mom and dad and they both died. The Soc’s stole both of their wedding rings.” Ponyboy said, “Wait can I see those two rings?” Johnny handed off the two rings and Ponyboy inspected them closely in the light.  “These two rings, these were my parents’ wedding rings.  They wore them the day of the crash and they were never found,” Ponyboy said.  Johnny and Ponyboy went back home to Darry and Sodapop and told them both what they knew. They both knew that Bob’s dad was once the head of the Soc’s.  He really hated the Greasers who back then were Johnny’s and Ponyboy’s parents. They all had a rage in their eyes.   They knew who had made their lives miserable and what they had to do.

       

      They all had traveled to the eastside of town, Soc territory.  They brought along Dally, the mastermind behind getting revenge. Dally told all of them to stay put to see if anyone was out.  He shared an equal amount of rage at the Soc’s. About 15 minutes later, Dally came back in a full sprint out from behind Bob’s house. There was a thick cloud of smoke because he had lit a cigarette, dropped it and it started Bob’s house on fire.   Johnny and Ponyboy couldn’t stand what Dally did, so they ran into Bob’s house and tried to save the Soc’s.  There were no Soc’s to be seen.  Once they turned around to get out, the doorway had collapsed in and it was covered in flames.  Ponyboy could hear Darry and Sodapop outside yelling for him.  Ponyboy closed his eyes and he woke up in his bed with Darry shaking him and yelling his name.  It was then that he realized it had only been a dream.  

Patriots Pen

                Yes, I am proud of my country because of all of the things our government has done to make it a good running society with an even amount of respect for everyone in our country. Unlike other countries where there are kings and queens everyone here is equal and that is what a democracy believes in that everyone should be treated equally. Many other countries would love to have the same amount of freedom that our country does and that should make every citizen in the USA proud of their country.

                For everyone that lives in the USA democracy they are very fortunate that they are able to vote freely on what they believe instead of someone being passed down the title of the queen or king of a country. Also in other countries without a democracy they are sometimes killed if they publicly don’t agree with their ruler or they are sent to prison on just their opinion. Not to make the entire world look bad except the US other countries  have a good flowing government they just don’t have the right to be able to express the things that they feel are right unlike we are able to do.

                The US is a very free country even though people of the past were slave owners I think we have came understand that that treatment to people is wrong and our country will most definitely will not go back to that time. Everyone should be proud that they are able to talk freely and be able to do anything they want to do. In other countries they are judged on what they do and say and if you say one thing that is negative toward your country and the government hears about it the government could put you in jail or sometimes even worse like mandatory banishment which means you would have to flee the country right away.  

                The Freedom of our country is why I believe that we are strong and for that reason that is why I am proud of my country. Although there are other reasons why we should be proud of our country this is why I think we should be proud for all the things we can have that other countries don’t have. The people of our country should be proud were not some 3^rd world that we are the top of the heap. That is why I am proud of my country.

Being a Commercial Artist

Authors Note: This is a piece about Commercial Artist that I wrote for computer publications class, we researched a publishing career and we wrote about their job as a Commercial Artist is.

            

 Commercial Artist exercise their artistic skills to promote companies and non-profit organizations. They develop design plans for CD-ROMs, websites, logos, and printed ads and also create backdrops for movies and television shows with input from the producer. Commercial artist work mainly alone where they design computer generated graphics, and develop ideas for posters and signs, or they are a part of design teams , where they have many designers put in their ideas to create a piece of artwork for the business they are employed for.  Necessary attributes to be a commercial artist along with any other artist are good coordination through their hands, eyes and fingers. The key to being a good commercial artist is to have a good sense of color like with any of artist.  

          

  The education need to be a commercial artist is either a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree. Along with that education courses that would enhance their career opportunities are commercial art in college, geometry and art in high school for obvious reasons. The income for a Commercial Artist is depended on their education and experience with more experience the higher income the average commercial artist can make $54,000 a year in the state of Michigan it varies from state to state. The income probably would not be the same in Wisconsin. The commercial art industry is expected to grow by the year 2014, 160 annual job opening will be expected which is quite a lot, and again it varies by state.

           

The Job of a commercial artist would be a very though job and sometimes rather effortless. Though a commercial artist has an annual salary that is quite good I would not like to have a job like this because of the long hours and having to work with design teams where not all of us might agree. But some of the intrigues of the job are being able to work alone and the low education qualifications and again having the good annual income. Although it sounds like a fun and good job being a commercial artist does not appeal to me, I would not like to be a commercial artist.

Hall of Fame Yao

BY: Andrew Mielke

Authors Note: This is a persuasive argument essay on if Yao Ming is worthy enough to be in the NBA Hall of Fame or if he should just go down as the best Asian players in the NBA.

Yao Ming is not the usually when you think of an NBA player he is more of the unusual, Yao Ming is 7’6” tall and from China. Earlier this summer Yao Ming announced his retirement because of constant foot injuries that sidelined him for long periods of time and has left his team the Rockets in situations that are not helpful.  He has been through the ups and downs of the NBA and numerous people think that Yao should be enshrined in the NBA Hall of Fame, I don’t agree.

Yao Ming retiring started up chaos for the sports world of basketball numerous people were thinking he is a true hall of famer. First of all most of the Hall of Famers play an average of 15 seasons Yao Ming played 9. Most of those nine seasons Yao didn’t step foot on the court instead he stayed on the bench injured. Through his first few seasons he was hardly injured. But around 2 years ago Yao broke his foot and was sidelined for long periods of time and he has had trouble coming back from that broken foot.

However, Yao has been the core offensive player and defensive player for the past few years and has been an NBA all-star eight times in his nine year career. Although he has been to multiple all-star games he hasn’t had the right numbers to be a Hall of Famer. One of the best centers of all time Hakeem Olajuwon and NBA Hall of Famer has 3 times the amount of points and rebounds in his career than Yao has in his career. 

Being an all-star is what people are getting caught on with Yao, even though many of the experts agree that Yao is not Hall of Fame worthy. So many people think that just because Yao was the premier Asian NBA player so he should be in the Hall of Fame, well it doesn’t exactly work that way. Many different NBA athletes from many different countries can be qualified as the greatest from their country to play in the NBA but almost half have never even been considered to be in the Hall of Fame, That is why the Yao fans can’t get caught up that since he is the best Asian NBA player that he as a one-way ticket right to the Hall of Fame.

Therefore Yao Ming is agreeably not Hall of Fame worthy and maybe some time in the future he will be in some type of the Chinese Sports Hall of Fame where he is best suited for his accomplishments in the Olympics and CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) for the country of China. Although Yao Ming is not Hall of Fame worthy, he will still be an honorable mention for the Hall of Fame.

Expository Essay of Money Ball

Authors Note: This is an Expository essay of Money Ball in here it explains the climax and how they got the resolution.

In the book Money Ball it starts out with introducing the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics Billy Beane. The A’s in the early 2000’s were a halfway decent team making the playoffs every once in a while. Well Billy Beane want it to be the A’s make the playoffs every year so the main conflict is the A’s are not winners and he wants the A’s to be perennial winners.

In the beginning of the season Billy Beane made some moves to get players that he thought were going to help his team. Most of these players were not household names they were the type of players that usually start on the bench not in the field. He picked these players because he was using a new system of scouting by using the electronics keeping the statistics. The part in the story which I think is the climax is the start of the baseball season because he got the players he needed to be a good team and after the season starts, they can’t go back they have to stick with the players they have.

In the end of the book the A’s eventually are into to the playoffs but they did not go as far as they wanted. Billy Beane was able to resolve his conflict by making midseason and off season trades and signings to get the players necessary to be capable of making the playoffs. Billy Beane did such a good job as the General Manager of the Athletics that after the season when his contract was up with the A’s he was offered to be the General Manager of the Red Sox. He turned down the job because he said “I still have to finish what I started with the A’s.”  

Milwaukee Rainbow Warriors

Rainbow Warriors Logo

The Milwaukee Rainbow Warriors are a Woman's softball that me and Zach V. created and hope to actually form in the future. We will be playing in the NPF which is a  pro softball league for college softball graduates. We hope that we can some how be able to get Kelsi Dunne who is a very good pitcher for the Alabama Crimson Tide. We decided to locate the team in Milwaukee instead of Philadelphia because we thought that the fan base here would be greater than in Philadelphia.