Betsey Brown

I really enjoyed reading this last book. It was really one of the only ones that caught my attention. My favorite character in the book would have to be Carrie. She came off to me as a strong African American woman and wouldn't take anyones crap. After Jane left, Carrie had those children in line and taught them manners. I especially adored Betsey and Carie's relationship. Betsey really looked up to her. Carrie was Betsey's motherly figure when Jane got up and left her family. Betsey was experiencing a lot at her age and she needed someones guidance. There was no one for her to talk about boys with or to give her advice. I felt that Carrie was the only one who really listened to Betsey and helped her. Carrie also motivated Betsey. When Betsey came home in the middle of the day from school crying, Carrie listened to her and gave her some kind of motivation to go back to school and show the white people that she as in the right. I felt kind of bad for Carrie too. She mentioned that she had children of her own but she did not really have aby kind of relationship with them. They were all on their own and Carrie knew nothing about them anymore. I think that Carrie really did love the Brown children as if they were her own. She would protect and prevent bad things from happening to them. As soon as Jane came back in the picture that was when I really started feeling bad for Carrie. Jane I think, felt very threatened by Carie because her children enjoyed her company and were learning new things from Carrie. Jane expected Carrie to back down and only do her duties that she was getting paid to do, and Jane didn't want her children listening to Carrie. When Jane confronted Carrie about how she taught her children things that they don't believe in or about Mr. Jeff, I was really glad that Carrie stuck up for herself and made sure that Jane knew she walked out of her family. At the end when Carrie was forced to leave because she was put in jail, I felt bad and that is wasn't fair that the children, especialy Betsey, could not even say goodbye.

Outline: Bullying

I am writing my paper on bullying, but I am going to focus on boys versus girls.

1. Introduction- here I will give a definition of bullying and the different kinds. Then I will show different statistics relating to girls being bullied and boys and the different types 1 gender refers to. Also, I am going to briefly go over some of the literary books we have read or that were presented that relate to bullying. Examples, The Chocolate War, Speak The Bluest Eyes. Thesis: Eventhough bullying exists everywhere, it is harmful and can have everlasting effects on people, whether it is a boy or girl, which is one a the major themes discussed in some of the novels read in class.? (I have not come up with a good thesis yet)

2. Different ways boys tend to bully in society. The effects of bullying physically and mentally. Why do boys bully?

3. Different ways girls tend to bully in society. The effects of bullying mentally and pyschologically. Why do girls bully

4Explaination of how bullying and literature were have read relate to one another and then go into specific stories such as The Bluest Eye and The Chocolate War.
* The Bluest Eye- In the Bluest Eye there is a lot f bullying that goes on and it is all centered around Pecola. Pecola is not only bullied and made fun of by her peers but also her family and other adults. I will address the bullying Pecola went through and how it affected her.

5. The Chocolate War- This book was from an individual presentation but it mainly focuses on bullying and it has to do with boys. Here, I will discuss the effects of th bullying why it happened, etc.

6. My opinion of bullying and my own personal thoughts and experiences of bullying. And how I can relate to the characters in the literature we have read or not.

7.Conclusion- wrap up of my essay and talk about the main points briefly. Explain briefly how ullying and American Literature go hand in hand. Concluding statement will be last.

My outline is definitly rough and could use some ideas. I am open for any suggestions.

Huck Finn

American views and values have changed a lot since Huckleberry Finn was published. Black people were treated with no respect. White Americans treated black people as if they were an animal and they have no feelings and a non functioning brain. Jim was not educated what so ever, but he sure knew how to survive in the woods. If it wasn't for Jim I don't think Huck would have been able to survive. Jim was a runaway slave and it was disgusting that there were rewards set out to find Jim. White people back then never thought about what they were doing to black people. They would take them away from their families and damage them mentally and physically. Even though today is not perfect, I feel like there are more opportunities for everyone no matter what rac, gender, or ethnicity they are.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn plays a huge role in American Adolescence. It deals with a boy who is in his teenage years. I have two teenage brothers and reading this book made me laugh. My brothers have some of the same characteristics Huck portrays. Huck is rebellious and thinks he can be fine on his own. He thought that he didn't need people's help at first. Huck was immature and foolish at times. He thought it was funny to play jokes on Jim and poke fun at his ignorance. As the book went on, Huck realized that he cared for Jim. I think he finally realized that he truely cared for Jim when he had to make the decision to save Jim or to let him be sold into slavery. By doing that he was letting people know the black people are human beings as well. They are not just objects to be tossed around and to be treated like dirt. In the end Huckleberry Finn turned out to be the good guy.