Dreams

Author's Note: " I wrote this piece to demonstrate and  prove my knowledge of being able to identify figurative language in a poem. I would like this piece to get scored on the reading rubric for Word Choice and Context Analysis. This piece is written about Langston Hughes poem "Dreams."

Dreams

By Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Figurative language is used very frequently in poetry and literature.  The use of similes, metaphors, personification and all other types of figurative language give the reader a better understanding of characters and settings described by the author. Also, the very detailed, creative, and vivid language add more depth and makes the piece sounds more sophisticated than regular writing. Langston Hughes does a really great job of using figurative language and adding emotion in his pieces and because of this his poetry and short stories are very impressive. In Langston Hughes poem "Dreams" he uses two different types of figurative language and even though the poem is only two stanzas in length it has an extremely large amount of depth.

In the two short stanzas of Langston Hughes poem "Dreams" he uses two different types of figurative language. The first type of figurative language that he uses in this poem is personification. For example in the first line Langston wrote, "Hold fast to dreams," which is personification because you cannot actually hold dreams. Another piece of figurative language Langston Hughes uses are two metaphors in this short but lovely poem.  The first metaphor he uses is, "For if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly," and the second metaphor that he uses in this poem is, "For when dreams go life is a barren field frozen with snow." Langston Hughes uses two different types of metaphors in his poem "Dreams."

Although the figurative language in this poem help make it sound very mature and sophisticated another thing that makes this poem so good is the depth that Langston Hughes uses in the poem. I feel like what he is trying to say in this piece is that dreams give you innocence and imagination and challenge you to think outside the box and that once you loose that innocence you loose your dreams. Also I think that he is trying to hint on that you should never stop chasing your dreams because once you give up on your dreams you will realize how bare your life is, sort of like the barren field of snow described in the poem. Lastly I think one of the messages in this poem is that you should never stop dreaming because if you stop dreaming you will have nothing to live for. I think that in the poem "Dreams" by Langston Hughes the author uses a lot of depth and overall has many morals and messages behind it.

Even though the depth of the poem was very powerful another aspect of this poem that was affected by figurative language was the tone of the piece. The tone in “Dreams” makes readers feel sad and a little depressed because of the way he uses his two metaphors in this piece. The metaphors add a very sad tone because of how he compares life without dreams to a broken-winged bird or a barren field frozen with snow. By saying that he is trying to have you recognize how useless life would be without goals and dreams. I believe Langston Hughes compared life without dreams to those two things because he wants people to know how sad and useless life would be without goals or dreams. I believe that the tone in "Dreams" by Langston Hughes is changed and affected by the figurative language used within the poem. 

In the poem "Dreams" which was written by Langston Hughes the author uses depth and figurative language to make to poem sound more mature. There are many life lessons and advice that are expressed throughout this piece. Everyone should read this poem and stop and think for a second about the messages behind it because you can really learn a lot of good advice from this poem.

Thunderstruck

Author's Note: " Speak is a very good book, it won some awards back when it was brand new. I think this is a book that all teens can relate to and I highly recommend it to all middle school students."

Do you know what its like to feel alone, to feel helpless, to feel like you don’t even have a choice? Melinda Sordino, the main character in Speak, knows exactly how that feels.  She has felt alone ever since her friends ditched her because she busted them for drinking at a party. Now no one talks to her, looks at her, or even takes the time to listen to her side of the story. Some people might call her an outcast, but I look at her as a hero. The book Speak will teach you that its easy to go down the wrong path and make erratic choices, but if you stand up for what you believe in and guide others in the right direction then there is nothing that can stop you.

Melinda in not your average girl: she doesn’t like anything girly, she hates attention, and she doesn’t get the best grades in school, but she is smart enough to make to know right from wrong. It’s simple choices that we make everyday that determine our entire future. For example, if you’re the quarterback on your high school football team and you get caught drinking, your entire sports career will come crashing down: no scholarship, no adoring fans, no nothing. With every year that we mature we get a little more freedom, but its what we do with that freedom that matters most. I just hope that if I’m ever put in the same position as Melinda that I will be able to make the same decisions that she did. It’s not exactly an easy thing to rat your friends out to the cops, it takes a lot of courage and they aren’t very forgiving: but if that’s what it takes to show them that what they’re doing is not right, then so be it.

I think all teens should read this book, it captivates you from the moment you pick it up to it’s very last word. It’s so touching, it’s what all teenagers think but are too afraid to say. Speak describes real world situations that can happen at any given time. It prepares readers for the future. This book is not a good book for upper elementary school students like 5th and 6th graders, it talks about some pretty serious subjects, and its not something to joke around about. In books like this you really notice how the character grows as a person from beginning to end, you watch her learn new things, and discover who she really is as a person. By the end of this novel readers will feel like they know Melinda, like somehow she is apart of them. Speak is definitely one of those books that you will become attached to, it’s hard to get out of your head once you’ve read it.

This book has a lot of very serious topics in it, such as peer pressure. If you ever feel like your being forced into something, you’re not, you always have a choice in what you do. No one can make you do anything that you don’t feel comfortable doing. Real friends don’t make you change, they like you just the way you are. Now I understand that sometimes you’re with the wrong people at the wrong time, but don’t give into their demands, they can’t force you to do anything. Don’t make decisions that you’ll regret tomorrow, it’s not worth it to put your and possibly someone else’s lives in danger. You always have an option. Never forget that you have a choice, don’t let other people influence you to change.

Helping others is always a nice thing to do but sometimes you have to put yourself first: don’t let yourself slip away and make choices that you will regret in the morning. Life is full of hardships, but when you figure out right from wrong it makes your life a whole lot easier. Hold onto yourself. Whenever you make a mistake just get back up and try again, because isn’t that what life is all about, taking risks and making mistakes?

The Things We Will Never Get Back

Author's Note: " I took time out of my day to read the book Ana's Story.  It changed my perspective on life: it made me realize how lucky I really am. Seriously though, it's a great book: yes, it's a little sad at times but it's worth your time."

 “Why don’t you just go and kill yourself Sandy, no one cares about you!” Kelly said. Sandy did just that. She ran into the bathroom, sobbing; she grabbed the first thing she saw, a bottle of pills by the third sink from the left. Sandy twisted the cap off vigorously and gobbled down every single pill until she was lying on the ground with everything around her blacking out; just like flipping the switch on a lamp she was out. Kelly ran in the bathroom apologetically, but it was too late: Sandy was already gone. While reading the book, Ana’s Story by Sara Bush, you will learn about the harsh life of a girl named Ana: a life filled with the pain of being bullied, being abused; you will even learn that in life sometimes there are no happy endings.

Bulling is not okay; its a sad excuse for making someone else feel worse about themselves just to build up you own self esteem. Whether its online or in person it still has the same affects on the people.  What bullies need to accept is that just because someone is different from them doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings. If you were called a bad name or were gossiped about you wouldn’t feel to good about yourself, would you? Its time for a change, so for all you bullies out there next time you want to make fun of someone, stop, take deep breaths and ask yourself: is it really worth it? Take the time to get to know people before you judge them.

According to ChaCha, 30% of the United State’s youth is involved in a type of bullying everyday: bullying can drive people the extremes, such as suicide. How would you ever be able to live with the guilt of knowing that you had bothered someone so much that they thought their only way out was to end their life? Did you know that over 1 million kids and adults all over the world commit suicide everyday? That could be your child: sometimes they swallow a bottle of pills because of online harassment; sometimes its a accident, but by the time you realize somethings wrong, it’s too late.

While reading the novel, Ana’s Story, you will realize and understand that this isn’t just a scary story, it’s real and happens to innocent people everyday. Yes, it’s sad, but it’s the truth; it’s also reality: there are people in the world who can’t support their families and put food on the table, there are people who live on the streets because they can’t afford shelter, there are people who bite off more than they can chew, and there are people who die everyday in hospitals because they can’t pay the towering fees. After reading this life changing book you will realize how lucky you really are.

    Learning about abuse, bullying, and tragic endings is never easy, but grasping those topics is easy while taking a glimpse into the world of our 43rd president’s daughter’s eyes. The author works for UNICEF, an organization devoted to giving kids in other countries a better life, a second chance. When you think about it, saving lives seems like a pretty good alternative compared to sabotaging them. If you’re one of those kids who is hurting because of what someone did to you just recognize that you’re not alone: there are other people in this world that feel the same; and there are people who can help you.