Storm Runners, By Roland Smith

In the book, Black Storm Comin’ by Diane Lee Wilson, twelve years old, Colton Wescott trek west with his family through dangerous trails that can lead to death. They were on a wagon train heading to California when Colton’s father accidentally shot him and galloped away, leaving Colton wounded and hurt. Colton has to provide for his family while moving west towards California when his father abandons them. In order for him to be able to provide for them, he must join the Pony Express, which delivers mail through rough and dangerous trails through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are several symbols in this book that symbolize freedom. One example is the flying hawk in the sky. Another exemplar is the drawer that contains the clothing and memories of the Pony Express rider that is missing. The golden coins also personify the freedom they covet they had.

John Foulcher writes interesting poetry because he can make the reader see, feel, and think. Summer Rain , demonstrate to the reader that Foulcher’s poetry is not only thought provoking and realistic, but it is also able to capture aspects of society through his unique use of imagery.

What really defines a dreamer? Is it the children who have unrealistic dreams of playing in the big leagues or is it someone who has a plan and will go out of his or her way to achieve it? Both of these options can be true. Dreamers are special in this world because they have hope for something they believe in. Nothing is more fascinating than seeing an individual who never gave up and worked extremely hard to reach their goal. Having read only three sections so far, I have explored the individual’s purpose and passion for the work they pursue. The “Dreamers” section has made me analyze what I have and want with my future career. Overall, the elements of the book defining dreamers explains the meaning of a risk taker, the hard work and dedication involved, and the passion it takes to reach your goals.

Political strife has been always present on an international scale with surges of civil war due to government overthrow, sending nations into unrest. Although not common recently, the ideology of recruiting child soldiers still remains, and the lasting effects on the children are traumatizing. From witnessing the carnage of constant bombshells erupting in the distance to whole families being executed, the images are etched deep into their minds, haunting them even after they are discharged from the armies. Although putting an immediate end to child soldiers is unrealistic, the United States should aid in creating and training members of war-affected countries to run long-lasting Rehabilitation centers due to the unqualified and ineffective

In Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell, Tidwell explores how the Cajuns in Southern Louisiana have been impacted by climate change. Tidwell brings to attention that Louisiana has 40% of the United States’ wetlands, but people do not realize all of the economic benefits and ecosystem services that these wetlands provide. Sadly, these wetlands are being submerged and destroyed at the rate of over a football field an hour. The main causes of Louisiana’s wetlands disappearing are the levees that prevent the Mississippi from dropping rich sediment at the mouth of the river to create barrier islands, and the careless actions of oil and gas companies (creating pipelines everywhere and frequent oil spills).

Racing in the Rain(2008) is a New York Times bestselling novel written by Garth Stein. The story is narrated by a dog, Enzo, who believes in the Mongolian legend that a dog who is prepared will be reincarnated in his next life as a human. He can think as people do, but he can not speak as people do. His owner, Denny is a race car driver and lived with his wife, Eve and his daughter, Zoe. After the Eve’s death, her parents tried Denny in court for Zoe’s custody. Denny had lost their trust, so they wanted to get custody at all costs. However, Enzo thought it’s not good for both Denny and Zoe. When Denny was forced to sign the paper, Enzo interrupted to run over the paper because it was the only way he could. Finally, he could get custody

In life there is jealousy and revenge with in all people. In the book Serena by Ron Rash many underlying conflicts are addressed but jealousy and what a person will do to overcome that jealousy prevails as it does throughout life. Throughout the book Ron Rash leads the reader down a windy path of what Serena will do in order to gain the power and to get back at the people who cost her the most. She uses death and many other vengeful techniques to scare away and hurt the people who have caused her the most problems. Pemberton also gets revenge on the people who cause him hurt and problems rather than letting the problems solve themselves. Galloway acts out so many of her and Pemberton’s revenge killings without hesitation. Ron Rash is trying to show that with life there are many different ways people show their jealousy and revenge.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall is a nonfiction book about how Chris searches throughout the world on the journey to find out why does your foot hurt. In this book, Chris travels the world in search of the best runners and stumbles across barefoot runners, which totally revolutionised what he believed was good for your feet. This search brought him to Mexico’s Copper Canyons.

Wise Blood, by Flannery O’Connor, is an fascinating yet disturbing novel. Wise Blood is a story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old soldier who comes home from World War Two and gets trapped in a fight between faith and disbelief. He becomes captivated by a preacher named Asa Hawks and his bastard fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In a way to prove how much of a pessimist Motes is, he founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still frustrated that he is unable to lose his faith in a higher power. He later meets Enoch Emery, a young man who shows him a mummified “holy child”, and is greatly influenced by Hazel's struggles, later becoming Hazel’s companion in his endeavors. This story is about redemption, vengeance, greed,

“The Cure is Within Us” Whoever is his life, do not had a depression? I think most of us ever have felt that anxiety, that state in which we feel that we are nothing and that by that time no matter what happens, you only care about the problems. And the problems are the same for almost all, money, work or love, often the lack of them. The majority of us suffer these depressions are momentary, many are cured when the payday; but others sink into a state of deep sadness, which is then diagnosed as depression by doctors.

In the book Terror at Bottle Creek, by Watt Key, the main characters were left at home alone during a hurricane. Thought to be simple with few problems, instead the category three hurricane is what these three children ended up in. As the external conflict was the hurricane, the internal conflict was Cort’s. He had to handle his parents split, the love of his life, and trying to fight for their ultimate survival.

Kate Chopin is writing so many great stories about whatever she sees. Kate has many Wonderful stories such as, (The Storm, Desiree’s Baby, A Pair of Silk Stocking, A Respectable Woman, and The Story of an Hour). There is one story in particular that catches my mind which is “The Storm”. 0In Kate chopin's era, women are seen as nothing more than a wife and have to stay with their husband for life. Chopin shows a dramatic scene between Alcee and Calixta during the time of a storm that is passing by. Chopin states a non judgemental spot about refraining from morals about the purity of marriage especially calixta. Chopin drenches in “The Storm” a strong feminist and makes a good question about marriage.

The Storm As the distinguished Haruki Murakami once said, “When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person that walked in. That's what the storm is all about.” Murakami suggests that even though sometimes a storm does not leave tangible evidence, its effect will in fact be remembered. In “The Storm” , by Kate Chopin, the storm is exciting and dangerous just as the affair between Calixta and Alcee. Once 'the storm' has subsided, everything recovers and goes back to the way it was before it.

Upon reading the title to the reading “Camping for Their Lives” by Scott Bransford, A lot of images come to mind as they do for many people. Whether it be family outings, military experience or just plain adventure. Scott Bransford takes a good long look at camping in a different way. The author’s topic is about tent cities and their homeless populations. He argues the struggles that they have with little or no help from the government and highlights a location in Central Valley California. The author structures the article well starting off with an example of a married couple that does not have enough money to sign a lease or take out a mortgage. He then goes into the day to day life and difficulties that are accustomed with living as a homeless person. He mentions statistics and the government’s temporary remedies to deal with the homeless population and the complications when imposing restrictions. The author goes into depth about the lack of jobs within the areas but does not go deep into the addictions, the crime networks that operate out of the areas nor the filth associated with enabling these tent cities to pop up.

Why is the play Inherit the wind by Lawrence and Lee such a relatable piece of literature to people in today’s society? Simply because the author embedded relevant themes that are a big part of the world’s issues today both politically and religiously. Three themes revealed by the events and characters within the play are the battle between thinking both fundamentally and intellectually, the differences between rural and urban regions, and the isolations amongst man and society.