Letter to Arnold Spirt (character in Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian)

Dear Arnold,
You’re not very bright (even though you are the smartest kid in your school), and you annoy me. You always do the stupidest things, and you have the worst luck. Why does everything bad happen to you? It just doesn’t seem realistic. All the bad things that happen to you are just horrible. And they all happen in a row. It’s like you were meant to be treated bad by people. You’re a poor kid that lives in some Indian tribe and nobody likes you because you have some weird disease when you have to much brain juice in your noggin, and you basically have no real friends until you transfer to an all white school. You wanted to go there because you wanted to do something with your life. Which might happen, but I kind of doubt it. You’re too unlucky.


Once you get to the all white school, you made lots of friends, got smarter, and more athletic. But, your tribe ended up hating you because you can never go back once you leave your tribe. Since you went to a different school, everyone thought you kind of left them, or betrayed them, so they all were against you. But that’s your fault! No one else’s! Even though you wanted to do something with your life, you got to learn they probably will never forgive you. So deal with it. And even though your grandma and your sister and your dad’s best friend dies, you should still go to school. I’ve had family members die, and I went to school. Don’t be a wuss. You’re a big boy. I do feel bad that they died, but that’s just how life is.


But in the end, since you kind of fixed your anger issues, you became friends with your old best friend, that was really mean to you. He beat you up (well, after you went to the other school and “betrayed” him), called you names, sent a picture of his bare butt, he was just mean. So, I’m just giving you some advice here, but you should man up, and be less girly. You cry too much.Oh, and why do you have a diary? You’re a 14 year old guy. Get a life.

-Sincerely Brittany

Kindergarten

kindergarten was so fun! I wish I could go back and relive it. I loved when we took little naps and I pretended I was sleeping. Unfortunately, I got moved in this cubby thing all alone in the dark. My teacher hated me. This one time I tried drawing this one guy holding balloons, and accidentally did something a little wrong. It was so funny. I miss Kindergarten. All I really cared about was having a spot on the bee hive each recess. Gosh I miss that! :)

school pictures

I absolutely HATE school pictures! You always so scared and paranoid about them. You'll be all spazy like saying," Oh my god!Are people going to like my picture? Oh, crap that is one of the ugliest pictures I have ever had!" and stuff like that. Why does everyone care about them so much? This is a question I should be asking myself. I always need my picture to be perfect. Of course, that never happens. I always end up looking demented and weird. Some day I will look back and laugh at all my pictures. That won't be anytime soon, though. I'm just a sad little nugget.

SNL(dreams)

I have two dreams. One is to be a therapist, or be on Saturday Night Live. That is my biggest goal! Me and my friend Ali plan to be on it together. It would be so cool and fun! I basically just want to become famous though. Another HUGE dream I would like to accomplish would be in at least one movie with Adam Sandler. I love that guy. Or Will Ferrell, but I like Adam Sandler better. He’s my favorite actor. Anyway, we also have this one plan that sometime this year we will be on the show Hole in the Wall (it’s in New York). Since it’s by New York City, we’ll also go to the building SNL is in. Then people will come up to us and say “Oh my gosh! You guys are so funny! You should be on our show!” And we’ll say”Okay why not?” But, of course, this will never happen. That’s why they are called “dreams”. Not reality.

"Deep Water"

Everyone has fears. Some are small fears, and some are big. It depends on what it is. In the short story ”Deep Water”, William Douglas is afraid of water, which later he realizes it wasn’t half bad. Then, he was scared of it again, but now he loves it. This short story is truly trying to tell us to face our fears, and if we’re still afraid, then try it again. You’ll be surprised what happens.


Many people try to face their fears. Many people are too afraid to try. And others, like William, do a little of both. By that I mean that they stay away from their fears for years, then they face them. William was so scared, he did stay away from water. This affected his life in many ways. He couldn’t go swimming, or fishing, or do anything that had to do with water, just because he was too scared. Fears can sneak up on you, which can come faster than you think.


For William, he didn’t really fear anything at the moment, but then out of nowhere someone made him drown. After almost dying, after a long, long time of almost dying, he finally realized that water is okay to swim in, and to canoe in. He ended up being a very fast swimmer. Also, he ended up loving water. This can really help people who read this because they could realize how some of their fears can be solved easily.


The short story, ”Deep Water” by William O. Douglas is truly a example about how to face your fears, or helps you face your fears. Also, it could help someone think more about their actions because they might end up injure someone really bad. You can learn many lessons from this story, but the main one is to face your fears and try your hardest to succeed.

the Pearl

What would you do if your baby was dying? You wouldn’t just sit there and let it happen. Wouldn’t you fight for your baby to live? In the story, “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, that’s what the two main characters do (Kino and Juana). Through the book, many tragic things happen. This is why the story is a tragedy. Not an irony, not a romance. A tragedy.


The plot line for tragedy starts with the world in conflict. In the beginning of the book, Coyotito get’s stung by a scorpion. Then there’s rise to power for Kino when he finds the pearl. Next there’s a tragic flaw when none of the pearl dealers wouldn’t buy his pearl because “it was fake”. Now everything starts to fall apart. Kino “accidently” kills a man, beats Juana, and they have to hide otherwise they will be killed. At the end there was death. The baby dies of being shot in the head. The story fits the whole plotline. So, clearly it’s a tragedy.


There wasn’t much symbolism for tragedy, but there was some. Like, usually it was dark or night time when they were outside. Also, in the beginning of the story, a dog went up to Kino and begged for food. Another thing would be that there were very harsh winds when they were walking to the capital. That night when they were in the cave, there was a wolf howling in the distance. There’s one more when Kino saw those guys on horses looking for him and his family. So, I guess there kind of was a lot, but not at the same time. You’re never really sure what the mode of literature books are.


In the story, “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, there are many bad things that happen. It teaches you a lesson of how you shouldn’t be so greedy or superstitious, like Kino and Juana, or bad things might happen. Basically the meaning of this book is to listen to what people have to say and don’t ignore them. They might seem like a bad idea at the time, but at the end you realize you should’ve listened to them. And you’ll realize that you made a big mistake. It’s also just taught the readers a moral lesson. As you can see, this book is truly a tragedy. You can tell by just looking at the plot line, the symbolism, and just using common sense.

The Pearl(reflection) for the whole book

I'm about to cry! Not really but that was so sad. I can't believe those guys actually shot off Coyotiyo's head! I think it's just wrong.I mean people now don't go around trying to kill someone that found a pearl, OR go around killing babies! At the end of the chapter, it was so confusing! The author didn't do a good job giving details because I didn't know if Kino stole the gun or if that guy still had it. So I was so confused because I thought Kino shot the baby in the head, but he didn't. I think that before in the book when Juana said that the pearl was giving them evil, Kino should have listened to her. Look where he ended up.
(My first paragraph is all about the last chapter because that's what I thought we were supposed to to sorry)


The book "The Pearl", is so boring in the beginning! It was one of the worst books I've ever read. But, when I got further in the book, it got better. I'm not saying I loved it, but I thought it was okay. Anyway, one of my favorite parts was probably the part when someone showed up in their house when they were sleeping. I like that part because it was when the book started being good. It confused me, but many things confuse me. Even though I don't think it was my fault I was confused, it was the authors.


I would not recommend this book to anyone because for me it was just irritating and boring. I just really don't like the parts where he explains way to much about things! IT TAKES UP TWO WHOLE PAGES!Which bores me. :)

Journal reflection for the pearl

Chapter 3 was really scary. It kinda made me think that the book became much better and more interesting. It was scary when he was sleeping, but then heard that noise in the corner. I was confused because I didn't know if the thing in the corner was an animal or a person. I was also confused if the blood on the knife was his or the thing that was there. Plus, how did he get cut on his head? Very confusing.
In the beginning of the book, I really didn't like it at all. It was so boring, but it keeps getting a little bit better. Even though it gets me confused. I think the doctor was rude in the beginning, then acted nice so he could get Kino's money which was really wrong. The person that was in there is definitely not him because he would be too lazy to do it.

Journal response for the pearl(chapter3)

The reason why Juana thinks the pearl will tear them apart. It makes sense that she thinks that because it seems like Kino keeps getting more closer to the pearl. By hugging it close to his chest, staring into it every now and then. She thinks someone will steal it and Kino would be crushed. That's why she wanted to crush it. Another possible reason is that maybe she liked everything how it was before, when they idn't have the pearl. She probably just misses having a normal family.

S.W.A.T.!

S.W.A.T. stands for Special Weapons And Tactics. My daddy joined that I'd say like four or five years ago. He's pretty good at it..... I think. S.W.A.T is basically what cops do, but more dangerous. Like with stink bombs, bigger guns, things like that. When ever there is something horrible happening that the cops can't handle, they call him. Speaking of cops, my dad is a police officer too. He's worked in so many cities. At least i think so. He worked in North Prerry(I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT'S HOW YOU SPELL THAT),Pewaukee, Brookfeild, and now he works in Delifield. I'm so proud of him!:0

things that make me feel safe!:0

What makes me safe is when my mom hugs me. It seems like everything that is bad in the world goes away. Plus, she wears a soft sweatshirt a lot, so it's comfy. I love giving her hugs. Another thing that makes me feel safe is light. When there are lights on, or when the sun is out I feel safe. I feel kinda like god is protecting me. I feel like I have sunshine inside of me. :0

Youtube

About a year ago I got my own laptop for Christmas, so Ali and I made a bunch of youtube videos. We made characters named Shmurf™ and Frumhs™. We’ve made I think about 12 videos. Some really suck, but some are pretty good. One of my favorites is when we advertise for a stick. IT’S REALLY FUNNY! Oh, and I forgot to mention, we both wear wigs. I wear a mo-hawk and she wears an afro. For your information, I look really hot. I love youtube. It’s so interesting. When you want to see a video, you can just go on youtube and watch pathetic people make videos. Except for ours. Our videos are awesome!:0

Mode of Literature

Brittany Burke 3B

How would you feel if you were stuck underground because it’s raining non-stop? In the short story, “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury, this is what truly happens. After anyone reads it, they’ll clearly know it’s an irony. By the plot line and the symbolism you can tell. It gives the mode of literature away.


In the plotline of irony, it starts out with the world being in chaos. In the story, the world is in chaos because it has been raining for seven years. Then there is a major conflict in the story. Margot(main character) gets locked in closet while the rain finally stopped, so she never got to go out there with everyone else. Lastly, there’s death or loss of sanity. Margot lost her sanity when she got locked in the closet. Everyone was running and playing outside, which is what they haven’t done for about seven years, and left her all alone, which is how she lost her sanity.


To follow the plotline, there are a lot Characteristics. Like this story is highly unrealistic. It’s not like a bunch would live on Venus and it rains for seven years. One; people wouldn’t have enough food, and two; people will never be able to live on Venus. Another characteristic is that it’s a nightmare vision of reality. Which is so true. Even though this story doesn’t seem so scary, it does seem like a nightmare. Also there’s the main character is not in control, forces of good are weak, and forces of evil are strong. These all are true and you can tell that this describes the story.


One thing that symbolize this short story are there’s a full moon. While everyone is playing, they see the moon right in front of them. Also, whenever a color of something was described, they would mention a lot of dark colors in the story like black, gray, and red. Through almost the whole entire story it floods, and storms which is also another thing that symbolizes the story.
The story “All Summer in a Day”, the author was try to teach us to examine our fears and realize how some of our fears will never happen, and if they do, it won’t be too bad. Take Margot for example. Her fear was probably that she would never see Earth again. But, she still alive, so it’s not that bad. Whenever she would step outside, she would get drenched, though. So that makes it worse. This story definitely gives away the mode of literature, which is obviously irony.

Snow

Snow is awesome! Once it leaves I love it, but I hate when I haven’t seen it for a while. Well except for today. It’s snowing right now! I’m so excited! Ali and I are going to roll down the hill at the end of the day. We’re probably going to get like stuck to the ground because it’s so cold! When we were walking to school today, my face got frozen! That’s how cold it was. But, even though snow sometimes burns my face, I love it. I love when my friends and I are making a snow fort. This one time Ali and I made a HUGE snow fort that went all the way down her driveway and it was so big. Unfortunately, I broke it on accident. The fort was fun to make though. Every time we make a fort together it always ends up breaking. But my all time favorite part of snow is when there are no footprints in it and it’s really tall because it just so pretty. It also reminds me of the song “Walking in a winter wonderland!”I love that song. It’s one of my favorite Christmas songs.

demented things

Me and Ali are demented people. We were just born to be demented. This one time, we went skiing, we didn't have any money for this one machine so i decided to just stick some gum in there and maybe it thought it was a quarter. It didn't, it just got stuck. Another time we were bored so we made scents out a bunch of thing we found in my bathroom. And also made bags out of a bunch of random stuff so we could squish it. To make it pretty colors, we put dye into it. Both of our bags were green. but the next day, we decided we didn't like them so we made new bags with jiggly stuff in it, so we threw the old bags at the concrete. It looked really pretty. just kidding. It looked like someone threw up there, but we were real proud.

Chingo Dwallow

It was a windy day when the man crossed the road and went to the bus station. He walks over to the bench.“HUMPH!”
“AHHHH! What was that?” says the lady right next to him. She looks around and finds a little old man.
“Sorry. Yesterday I fell down some stairs and I hurt my back so bad. Now every time I sit down I make a weird sound. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.” He walks away, but falls straight into the road. The bus is coming down the street, but it’s so tall the driver can’t see the man.
“Watch out!” yells the lady. She ran, scooped him up, and looked at him. He wasn’t speaking and his eyes were closed. She carried him all the way up the hill, to the hospital. The man opens his eyes.
“Thank you very much young lady. What is your name if I may ask?”
“That, sir, is classified.”
“Okay. Well my name is Chingo. Well, thanks again! But can you put me down. In a wheelchair or something….”
“Of course. Here you go. Have a good day” She pushed him to the front desk of the hospital, while he was in the wheelchair. He turned around to give her a hug, but there was no sign of her. She was gone.
:0~
The next day, Chingo came home from the hospital, sobbing in bed. He just finished getting back surgery. “Mindy! Mindy!” he screamed, thinking that was the person who saved him yesterday. This figure appeared in the doorway of his room.
“Don’t you dare call me Mindy. That is so not my name.” Then she was gone. “I’m sorry I can’t help you!” came a voice right next to Chingo. He screamed, ran out of his house, and all the way to the bus station. While gasping for air, and holding his back, a guy asked if he was okay. When he said no, the man grabbed the man, put him on his shoulder, and ran all the way up the hill to the hospital. Chingo was confused. Why did this keep happening? He asked himself. He looked down. He was in a wheelchair, again.
“Thank you. You are very kind. By any chance do you know a girl who has brown hair, and like a foot taller than me?”
“I’m sorry sir, that is classified information”
“Can you at least tell me your name?”
“No sir.” Before he knew it, he was in front of the desk, and the guy was nowhere to be found.
That night the man stayed at the hospital, even though he really didn’t want to. So in the middle of the night, he escaped. Luckily, he had a twenty dollar bill in his pocket, so he stopped at Mcdonalds. It was closed. This was really weird because there was a sign that said that it was open twenty four seven. So, he decided to go in the back. It was open. When he walked in, there were a bunch of people, gathered around this HUGE monitor, talking to a person on it. “Tonight, we will go to Chingo Dwallow’s house, and scare him again. Then tomorrow, we will plan our revenge on him. “
This made no sense to Chingo. If they were planning to plot their revenge, why were they saving me? Then he realized, the day before all of this, his bus ran over a squirrel, and killed it. All he did was laugh.

Jiggle

Jiggle
Me and Ali started getting obsessive with the word jiggle because my sister got a kitty pool, and we were playing in it on memorial weekend and I got the idea to fill it up with Jello and we jump in it, but our moms got so mad once out parents realized I stole a bunch of Jello boxes from my house. We got really sad, but just kept swimming in it. It was so hard to fill it up with water cause we were trying to make a hot tub and we were taking buckets of water all the way down the stairs to the backyard a poured it in. it took forever to do it. The day after that, we took the kitty pool to Ali's house and we swam in it, but we had to wait because it was really cold water. The water never really got warm, so we went into it when it was freezing cold. I wish I could do that again. We had so much fun.

The mall

I love the mall. It's so fun. One time when I went to the mall with my friend and we went to this one apple store. it had all the apple stuff. My friend and I were playing with them. The ipads were fun. There was also a really cool furniture store that has these HUGE bean bag things. We were going to get them but it was too much money. I used to always go to build a bear and I loved it so much. I've gone there about 5 times. They have the coolest things. Not really. But there pretty beast. This one time I had to wait in a line for about 45 minutes. The bad thing is that it was my birthday. But who cares. I got a cool bear. :0~