When Rockport Was My Own By Kevin Baker Analysis

It is within human nature to be competitive. While it is one of the most basic and primal instincts that has ensured our survival for centuries, today has become more for personal achievement. In movies, shows and on the internet we are constantly exposed to people competing for various reason. Athletes compete for the gold medal, game show contestants for money prizes and characters in movies for the object of their affections. When we best the challenges we decide to face, we often receive an overwhelming feeling of success along with the prize and, in turn, our confidence is boosted drastically. We are encourage to become the best versions of ourselves. However, when our attempts end in failure, we feel disappointed in ourselves and are discouraged from pushing ourselves again. In modern times, individuals often lack the motivation to challenge themselves because they fear their odds of failure. They would rather remain apathetic than even attempt to push themselves. It is essential that we have the dedication, fortitude and courage to regain the confidence to at least attempt a challenge or alter it to make it more beneficial to ourselves.

At these points it is more up to the reader to imagine what the settings looked like instead of the author just stating what the places looked like. An example of this is when the author says Dally was waiting for Johnny and me under the street light at the corner of Pickett and Sutton.” Here the author says that there is a street light in a corner, this has some description, but it is up to the reader to figure out what the rest of the place looks like. The reader has to figure out whether there is a brick sidewalk or a cement one, this is good because then it will be more fun for the reader and it will keep them more entertained. The book also has really specific descriptions, such as this one, “One time there was a very specific description of the setting was when the author was describing the park. “The park was about two blocks square, with a fountain in the middle and a small swimming pool for the little kids. The pool was empty now in the fall, but the fountain was going merrily. Tall elm trees made the park shadowy and dark, and it would have been a good hangout, but we preferred our vacant lot, and the Shepherd outfit liked the alleys down by the tracks, so the park was left to lovers and little kids.” In this quote it shows how big the park is, that there is a pool and a fountain. The quote also says that the

In 1954, the Supreme Court took a step in history with the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka by stating that, “In the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’, has no place. Separate facilities are inheritably unequal.” Little Rock, Arkansas a city in the upper south became a location of a controversial attempt to put the court order into effect when nine African American students were chosen to desegregate Central High in Little Rock. How did the Little Rock Nine affect America? Sanford Wexler stated in The Civil Rights Movement: An Eyewitness History,” its “effect would ripple across the nation and influence the growing Civil Rights Movement;” in addition, the Little Rock crisis forced the federal government

When I was three I moved to Dubuque because my dad got a job in Dubuque I lived at my grandparents’ house while my house was being built. I spent most of my time during this time playing with my friends I went to the pool with my neighbor Lauren we met because her dad build my house and we went to the same school and then my brother and her brother would get picked up and would go to the pool.

David McCullough argues that people have more time to read then they are willing to admit, gathering information is not a form of learning, and that reading happens to be the best means of learning. He references a story of Theodore Roosevelts’ adventure through the Dakota Territory in the middle of winter. In this story Roosevelt is following a couple of thieves, down the Mississippi river, because they stole his prize winning rowboat. After catching up to the thieves and capturing them, with the help of his trusty Winchester, he dragged them cross-country, with a borrowed wagon, to justice. Then traveling forty miles on foot across the snow covered badlands to railhead Dickinson. An astonishing feat, made memorable by Roosevelt reading all of Anna Karenina through this journey. McCullough thinks of this when people claim they have no time to read.

1. What descriptive details does the author use to make it clear that the setting of the story is a small town?

The scales of justice are rarely in balance. In “West of Memphis”, imperfection within the criminal justice system is used as a central theme. Imperfection can be defined as an unsatisfactory feature. Similarly, town fervor, which puts additional pressure on investigators to swiftly come up with answers, bible-belt politics, namely, devil worshiping, celebrity clout, which leads to freedom from prison, as result, show imperfection in the criminal justice system as a central theme.

In “Pay Your Own Way”, by Audrey Rock-Richardson, she states her opinion by stating that students in this generation are “lazy”, and that students assume they will have financial help from their parents. Audrey Rock-Richardson includes her own experiences working her way through college. She believes that college students should be at least attempting to gain the skills and responsibility necessary to succeed in the outside world.

Jerral Hancock received the keys to his new house on May 29, 2015, a newsworthy event because without the assistance of Lancaster students the severely disabled veteran and his two kids might never have gotten out of their overcrowded trailer.

The concluding line in Bruce Dawe’s “The Homecoming”, complements the respectful and, at times, resentful tone the speaker adopts. Opening with a comparatively broad statement; “they are bringing them home” – alludes to the story of the soldiers’ decent home. Moreover, by utilising the phrase “they”, the anonymity of the soldiers is also augmented, leaving the reader to again question who exactly “they” are. Being brought “home” – a place that symbolises love/family, was a nationwide debate at the time of the Vietnam War. Protests were all over the country, arguing for the return of our soldiers to safety. Only this wasn’t about the soldiers’ family - they were dead – home was just a way of saying: out of danger. A long pause, then follows,

Patty Blount, an American author, once said “Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart, but one can mend it”. The novel,“Some Boys” is a story written by Patty Blount. It manifests the importance of respect and love and the potency to stand firm for yourself. The book follows the lives of two young high school teenagers; Grace Collier often labeled a liar, and Ian Russell, known as “the Rejuvenator and the Protector of Grace.” Back then, Grace Collier was the girl that everyone would consistently look at. With her studded and beaded jewelry, her well-known combat boots, and her eyeliner it was hard not to stare. Everything changed when Grace had gotten sexually assaulted by the captain of the lacrosse team, Zac McMahon. Raped

In the book, “How You Ruined My Life, by Jeff Strand, Rod’s cousin, Blake, comes to Florida for three months while his parents are away in a cruise. Rod, of course, introduces himself nicely, trying to have a good first impression. However, Blake acts as if he is an immature spoiled child. This makes Rod furious and certain that Blake is trying to ruin his life. No one believes Rod making it harder to prove he is right.

As a child the most important place to me was the block in my neighborhood I grew up on. It was a particularly long and very wide street with several pairs of incredibly tall palm trees spread throughout both sidewalks. There was no shortage of playmates; almost every other home on the block had children around my age I could play with. There was also an older generation of teenagers that hung around together. I also had other family members living down the street from my house on the same block. As the children played daily so did the adults. The men of the block all met daily after work rotating from one home to another. They could be seen sitting around every

As a child, people will always remember certain destinations that stick with them that made a good impression. I have a place that not only made a good impression, it changed me. It made me think off all the things in life people take for granted; places, people, activates. This place brought all though special things in life to one place where I can enjoy them all at the same time. The Oregon coast. Traveling there, as a kid was always special. Waking up early in the morning and driving the long trip there, going through forests, valleys, and cities.

My most memorable childhood event was when I was 15 years old. It was the Fourth of July. A big family vacation a barbeque, over night stay and out of town trip to six flags, and I had a blast the night before me, my mom, sisters and brother packed our bags to stay the night over my cousin house in Goodlettsville ,Tennessee. She had the biggest house ever I thought it was a mansion; six bedrooms two an half bath, a swimming pool, a game/movie room with a nice big kitchen. It was something that I was not use, knowing that we stayed in a three bedroom based on an income apartment on the East side of Nashville.