Saturday, November 14, 2009

Growing Up in Prison




At what age do boys become men and girls become women? Is there an exact age that children become adults- when they are held fully responsible for their actions and choices? I do not believe that one can answer this. Why, then, are thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year old children being sentenced to life in prison? Is this constitutional?
The Eighth Amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
This issue was recently discussed in New York Times. Two major examples mentioned were about two boys named Joe Sullivan and Terrance Graham.
Sullivan, now 33 years old, was sentenced to die in prison at the age of 13 for a crime that did not even involve murder. He, an African American boy, and two older boys allegedly sexually assaulted a white girl while she was blindfolded. It has been said that Joe was a mentally disabled child who grew up in a home where he was sexually and physically abused. The boy, not even out of the adolescent stage, was sentenced to life in an adult prison. The two older accomplices received short –term juvenile detention. Was this legit?
Graham was also born into a bad family with crack-addicted parents and he had a learning disability. He had been on probation for a previous crime when he and older buddies participated in a home invasion. Graham was never actually convicted of the crime, but because he violated his curfew portion of probation, he was sentenced to life as a 16 year old African American boy. Was it coincidental that both boys were African American and had mental problems?
Regardless of the race of the boys and the situation that actually occurred, there is a problem whenever children are forced to grow up in prison. Yes, teenagers can make their own decisions; however, there is so much peer pressure going on in the adolescent stage that is hard to fight off if the child has not been taught well. Both of the boys mentioned had troubled home lives- does that play a role in the crimes committed? Could the parents be the ones to blame?
All children grow up differently and mature at different ages in life. The punishments that are being brought upon some teenagers are too harsh and unconstitutional. Each of these boys had no hope to better their life or prepare for the future. They were never given a chance as children, but were treated as adults. Sullivan and Graham have been and will continue growing up in prison. Hopefully no other innocent children will have to.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Analyzing the Awakening

Look at the cool map I made! Click on the bubbles on the photo to read my analyses. If the map won't load, you can view it at Umapper.


Thursday, November 5, 2009

Banned from Church


Arkansas is not a very large state; however, it houses over 4000 sex offenders. These villains are not only in Arkansas. They are in every state and, most likely, every city. These offenders roam the grocery stores, city parks, post offices, hospitals, gas stations, car washes, and even the churches. Yes, that is right. Churches.

Should the government be able to ban sex offenders from church? Time Magazine has recently posed this question in one of its articles. The safety of children is clearly a major concern, but the focus should also be on the rights of the offender as a person. Although it may seem like a secure route to take by removing any harmful person from church, the government does not have the right to control who enters the religious realm. Taking away these so-called “bad people” eliminates the sole purpose of the church, which is to strengthen the moral character and values of an individual.

A church is a place that people should feel free to come and worship without being under the judgment of others. The United States Constitution gives everyone the freedom to practice his or her own religion. It does not exclude those that have taken a wrong path or made a few mistakes in life. If the government allows these delinquents to be anywhere, it should be church. The chances of altering the heart and lifestyle of that type of person appear to be much higher in a religious setting than a jail cell or the person’s home.

The laws that keep offenders away from schools and childcare centers are justifiably legit. It is understood that parents should be concerned for the well being of their children whenever these criminals are around; therefore, churches should be prepared in case the situation should arise, but should not take away right of someone because of his or her past mistakes. Sex offenders have no place being alone with children, but there is no guarantee that anything bad will happen. There are dangerous people all over the world that could cause equal or more harm to children or anyone for that matter- not just sex offenders. Is there a law banning murderers from church? Is the government considering removing drug abusers from church? Is the government asking the drunken parents who beat their children to leave service- in fear of them being intoxicated and possibly endangering another member’s child? Has someone counted the number of sex offenders that are not yet registered? Will they attend still? These questions remain unanswered.

The hope of our nation should be to convert these convicts from a sinful lifestyle onto a new and rehabilitated way of living, but banning someone from church is not the solution to bettering an individual or the country.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sentence Twelve

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

My sentence: Tonight for a little while in the bright hall folks were almost free, almost free of dust, almost free of debt, almost free of fields of withered wheat.

My thoughts: The author used repetition to bring more meaning to the sentence and to further make the statement more memorable. She seemed to build upon the first phrase to continue to add more description. She also used asyndeton to make the list seem to continue on.

My sentence: Now the lady felt ashamed, ashamed of the mistakes, ashamed of her past, ashamed of the reputation she had made for herself.

Sentence Eleven

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Her sentence: Now he smells of dust and coffe, tobacco and cows.

My thoughts: I think the author used asyndeton to make the list seem unfinished, as if he smelled of a variety of things. Also, he placed random things that don't resemble beside eachother, maybe to create juxtaposition.

My sentence: She tasted eggs and corn, dirt and soap.

Sentence Ten

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Her sentence: I think I should just let them rest, let the dust rest, let the world rest.

My thoughts: Hesse used repetition and parallelism to show similarity and further draw attention to the point of the sentence. She also uses asyndeton to make it seem that the list is incomplete.

My sentence: I will simply make a plan, make a change, make a stand.

Sentence Nine

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Her sentence: Imagine.

My thoughts: Hesse used a one word sentence here to cause the reader to take notice of the sentence and think deeply on it. Many say big things come in small packages and this is an example. The word 'imagine' also has a strong diction which emphasized meaning on its own, without unnecessary fluff to help it out.

My sentence: Dream.

Sentence Eight

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Her sentence: In my closet are two boxes, the gatherings of my life, school drawings, a broken hairpin, a dress from my baby days, my first lock of hair, a tiny basket woven from prarie grass, a doll with a China head, a pink ball, three dozen marbles, a fan from Baxter's funeral home, my baby teeth in a glass jar, a torn map of the world, two candy wrappers, a thousand things I haven't looked at in years.

My thoughts: Hesse used asyndeton, meaning she left out conjunctions, to make the list seem like it went on and on and on- never ending.

My sentence: In the trunk of my car are six bags, three shoes, a black dress, a bottle of lotion, school books, a phone charger, things that I've collected over the days.

Sentence Seven

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

His sentence: Real men didn't read poetry- and God forbid if they should ever write it!

My thoughts: Hosseini used the dash to create more enthusiasm in the two things he was saying- to further explain.

My sentence: City girls don't like farms- and for Heaven's sake, they should never work on one.

Sentence Six

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoesseini

His sentence: Ofcourse, marrying a poet was one thing, but fathering a son who preferred burying his face in poetry books to hunting... well, that wasn't how Baba had envisioned it, I suppose.

My thoughts: Hoesseini used alot of loose technique in this sentence. He used ellipses to create a dramatic pause in the sentence. He made it seem as if the speaker was sort of 'beating around the bush'. He used phrases like "ofcourse" and "I suppose" and "well" to make it seem even more as if the sentence was directly from his thought process.

My sentence: Indeed, dating a singer was one thing, but having a roommate who preferred blasting loud music over doing homework... well, that wasn't how Davie had planned it, I guess.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Sentence Five

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoesseini

His sentence: Cancer.

My thoughts: Hosseini used a powerful rhetorical fragment for the pupose of stating a very direct point that catches the readers attention suddenly and is not quickly forgotten.

My sentence: Death.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Sentence Four

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

His sentence: He was preparing his speech for the next day, flipping through a havoc of handwritten pages, making notes here and there with a pencil.

My thoughts: He was using parallel phrases to emphasize the tasks that were being completed. He used verbs ending in -ing to cause similar format which made the sentence more organized and powerful. Also, he used asyndeton, which is purposely removing conjunctions. That helps make the list more memorable.

My sentence: She was running through the park, laughing at the birds, singing a happy song.

Sentence Three

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

His sentence: The water was a deep blue and sunlight glittered on its looking glass- clear surface.

My thoughts: I think that the way the author used the dash to end the sentence that contained a great deal of imagery was very successful in making his claim. He used details throughout the sentence of how the water looked but ended in a nice and to the point statement.

My sentence: The child's eyes were a soft teal and a twinkle shone in their waters- endless sea.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Sentence 2

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

His sentence: I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire.

My thoughts: The author makes a complete simple thought at the beginning of the sentence but then follows by detailing his statement by using many phrases, clauses, and even a colon to further explain the significance in Hassan's looks. This technique is classified as either a loose or cumulative sentence, where the main part of the sentence is in the beginning and is followed by fluff or details to build on the actual point. The reason he used such structure was maybe to reveal or mimic his meandering thought process as he was almost daydreaming in rememberance of Hassan's appearance.

My sentence: Deidra had never experienced a sadness so great, her eyes filled with tears and her heart seemed to break like shattered glass falling to to the floor, her mind held on to what seemed like the smallest possible amount of hope: she longed for release of misery but the phrase 'time heals everything' had not yet come through in her situation.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sentence 1

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus by John Gray, Ph.D.

*His sentence: Martians have a win/lose philosophy- I want to win, and I don't care if you lose.

*My thoughts: I recognized that the author used a dash to further explain the information previously presented which strikes a reader and makes them want to know more and get deeper into the text. The following part of the sentence after the dash almost uses redundant meaning in sort of a balancing but opposing way. This reinforces the power backed behind the Martians philosophy to include both points of view.

*My sentence: Davis made no effort to help anyone else in the class- it was his grade, and his alone.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Draw!

On page 151, Daniel Pink encourages readers to exercise their creativity through none other than art. Okay, so I may not be a very artistic person; however, I took the advice and played around with a five-line self-portrait that Pink demonstrated. It was quite difficult to turn five lines into something that resembled the face I see in the mirror, but in reality, what I learned was to look beyond the exterior to find what is underneath. Today's society relies heavily on outward appearances. There seems to be one mold that defines "pretty". Growing up, I can remember hearing over and over, "Don't judge a book by its cover." In elementary school that phrase did not mean much to me, but now I see that it is hard to find someone living by that motto. Through this simple activity, drawing myself, I've thought deeply on what defines a person. When I try to explain it, I can't help but think of a sandwich. We all may resemble one another on the outside, but its what is on the inside that truly matters.