Free blacks in the northern state

                During the Civil War, black people in the south were slaves. It was a law in the North that black people should be free. Were they really free to live their lives however they wanted? Did they have every single freedom that white people had? I don’t think that Black people were free in the north during the civil war, because they still couldn’t go to the same school as white people, or drink at the same fountains, or go to the same bathroom. They weren’t allowed to do the same things that white people could do, even though black people were supposed to be free.

                Even though black people were supposed to be free, they still had many restrictions against them. For example, black people were not allowed to vote. Every white man of legal age was allowed to vote, but for some reason, white people wouldn’t allow black people to vote. They were also restricted from being in court, or part of the jury. Black people couldn’t go to the same churches, or live in the same areas as white people. White people would live in very ritzy areas of cities, while black people would live in rundown homes, and other bad spots to live. White people also had better jobs than black people most of the time, and got better pay. While it seemed like black people were free, they really weren’t for most of the part. 

                Although black people had many restrictions against them, they had many freedoms compared to blacks in the south. In the south, almost all black people were slaves. In the north however, black people were allowed to work to support their family. They were also allowed to do whatever they wanted with the money they made. Even though many of the black people had so many restrictions, just being able to work for a living and have a job was considered being free. It seems that anything but slavery was considered freedom.

               Even though black people weren’t slaves in the north, they still were not liked by every white person. There were many white people in the north that wanted slaves to do the work for them. There were also many white people who were fine with the idea of black people being free. Many white people came to the realization that every man is equal, while many of them were the exact opposite. The whites in the south were obviously not happy with this, so unhappy that they started a war over it. So there were many different beliefs about black people being free in the north. 

                So, were black people in the north really free? Or were they just not slaves. There is a huge difference. Being a slave means that you have no freedoms what so ever. Blacks in the north were allowed to have a job, and were allowed to make money for their families. They had freedom of religion.  I don’t think that black people in the north were completely free, because of all the restrictions against them.

Big Yellow taxi and Field Below response

In the poems/songs Big Yellow Taxi and Field Below, the songs don't exactly reflect how the poems sound. In Field Below, the mood of the song actually represents what the poem sounds like. In Big Yellow Taxi though, the poem sounds sad and regretful, but the song sounds happy and joyous. When the poems are read, they sound almost the same. Both authors made it sound like something was missing from life, and that they have a huge regret. I find it weird that such a sad poem could be transformed into a happy song.

Gummi Bears Poem

Gummi bears are so sweat
They are a food I want to eat
But i don't have any here
So why not chug a beer
How bout a MGD
So delicious you will see
Not as good as a gummi bear
I want to have them everywhere
But then i would get fat
And i want my stomach to stay flat
Every where i go it seems
I see so many gummi bears which means
That America is fat
It's unfortunate but that is that

Mother To Son

Authors Note: This is a piece based on the poem From Mother to Son

In the poem "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes, there were many metaphors. An example of a metaphor was when the author wrote Life ain't been no crystal stair. When the mom said this, she was telling her son how life is never easy, and no matter how hard it gets, you have to keep climbing. When the mom was talking, the mood in which she was talking made her sound not very educated at all, because she used lots of slang words and improper grammar. The figurative language used also made it sound like she was proud of the life she had lived, even though there were many " cracks in the stair" and she didn't live on a "crystal staircase."

Author's Note:  This is a character description of Percy Jackson in The Sea of Monsters

When Percy Jackson walks in the room, the first thing you will notice is that the normally bright eyes seem dark and mysterious as if they have seen too much. With Percy Jackson this is the case. You will probably smell blue cupcakes because his mom makes them almost every single day for the two of them. Percy will stay hunched over with his eyes down not making eye contact with anyone. This is because his eyes  have seen too much. He is afraid that people will notice. There also might be a hint of dog drool on his clothes, because his giant dog takes up half the apartment. Percy definitely has seen too much.

The Fate of the World

Percy turned to find a giant dog taller than most buildings glaring down at him. The ground shook, and the dog let loose a bellow of fury that probably caused many earthquakes on the surface of Los Angeles. Even with the giant beast giving him the evil eye, Percy did not panic. Walking nervously toward the dog, Percy prayed that to his dad Poseidon, and the other gods that when he went under Cerberus’s legs, that it would not sit down. In the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson has to go through many tough times. For example, the fate of the world may just rest on his shoulders. No big deal right? Wrong. In the book Gone, by Michael Grant, the main character Sam has to go through many of the same problems including having the fate of the world resting on his shoulders. Both books have the same problem, and the main characters in both books seem almost identical as well. Will they both come out victorious, or will one or both be killed?

Having only one problem at a time in your life might not seem so bad. What if that one problem were figuring out how to save the world form what seemed like an unstoppable force? Now life just got a lot worse. For Percy Jackson and Sam Temple, that is the case. The problem in The Lightning Thief is that the Greek god Zeus has had his Master Lightning Bolt stolen. Percy was accused of stealing it, because his dad is Poseidon. If the Bolt is not returned by the Summer Solstice, then the Gods will start a war, and the world will most likely be ripped to shreds. Since Percy is the accused, he must go find it. In Gone, out of the middle of nowhere all the people over the age of 15 have vanished, and a barrier is blocking kids in the city from leaving. It is up to Sam to fix this problem, because he is known as a leader by many kids living there. If he can’t figure out a way to stop this, then everyone living there will eventually turn 15 and blink out. What Sam and Percy have in common is that they both have to find a way to save the world, and quick.

Even though it is against all odds, both main characters find a way to get through and win their final battles. Both Sam and Percy show great leadership and bravery toward the end of the book, and it paid off. For example from The Lightning Thief, Percy shows bravery by standing up to the God Ares, and faces him in battle to try and return the Master Bolt. When Percy wins, he kindly returns it to Zeus, who in return decides not to kill him. In Gone, Sam has to fight his evil brother who he never knew he had. Sam had him trapped in a corner, but instead of killing him right away, he gave him the choice of leaving forever, or death. Doing so showed lots of leadership, bravery, and honesty.

Although both the main characters and the books had a lot in common, they also have some traits and factors that are different. For example, the plot in Gone is a lot different from The Lightning Thief for a large chunk of the book until the end. In Gone, Sam knew from the beginning that he had a special power, and what he could do with it. Percy on the other hand had no idea that he was the son of a Greek God until his mom was forced to take him to the camp for Half Bloods. Also, when Percy got to the camp, he didn’t realize he was anything more important than he already was. With Sam though, he knew right from the start. Another difference is that Sam and Percy have a much different way of running things. Sam doesn’t usually like being the center of attention, but when people look up to him, he makes sure he answers their needs. Percy also doesn’t like the spotlight, and when people look up to him he backs down. Telling people what is going to happen and how he is going to make sure that everything is fine is just not his thing.

Although there are many similarities and differences between both of the novels, there are definitely more similarities. Both of the main characters have the same huge problem, and they both succeed. Sam tried to be the hero, and it actually worked. Percy fought alongside his friends in order to be victorious. Being brave can get you only so far. Leading and being brave at the same time got the main characters even farther.