Old Man and the Sea report

Decision's && Consequences

In everyday life we come across decisions all the time. From what to wear in the morning, to deciding what you want to do for a living. Then some of our decisions, we have consequences in the end. In the book, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago come across a lot of decisions that has a consequence afterwords. The main decision he makes is going out and keep on looking for the marlin.

In the very first few pages of the book Santiago makes a decision. “He had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.. the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky,” (pg. 9). He keeps on going after this. He doesn’t stop, even though he was the laughing stock of his village. He kept on trying, trying to get the biggest marlin in his village so he wouldn’t be the laughing stock anymore. He had hope and faith in his dreams. He was not, going to back down.

Santiago makes a few bad decision here and there. One of them was keeping the marlin on the side of the boat and the sharks came and took it away from him. “the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish” (pg. 102). He then notices that the marlin is all ripped up and now he’s probably thinking that it was a bad idea keeping the marlin on the side of the boat capable of getting taken away by other animals such as the sharks. He feels sorry for the poor fish. Like he shouldn’t have done that or even stayed out looking for the marlin.

He basically makes a decision to stay out longer, when he has barely any food. “The old man could hardly breathe now and he felt a strange taste in his mouth. It was coppery and sweet and he was afraid of it for a moment. But there was not much of it. he spat into the ocean and said ‘eat that, galanos. and make a dream you’ve killed a man.” (pg. 119). As you can see he waited too long to go back in shore that he almost kills himself by starving himself. He gets this sense that he should go back because he ‘killed a man’.

That is just a few decisions Santiago went through during this book. Their was many more decisions he faced but not giving up, putting his fish on the side of the boat, and almost killing himself stood out to me.

Home Sweet Home

I stop to breath. I looked back to see if they were following me. I could hear the hounds in the background, barking and sniffing. I started to run again, but fell on my face. I turned around to get up but i was blinded by a bright light. I put my hands over my eyes to block out the light. I could hear the hounds coming closer. The last thing I could remember is my heart racing and thoughts going through my head saying “I’m going to die.”

I woke up in an old abandon hospital room a few months later. Everything in the room was all torn and brown like when you abandon something for years.

I sat up and saw an alarm clock by my hospital bed saying it was 6:66 am. I thought to myself for awhile. “There’s only 60 minutes in an hour... This says 6:66.. That's impossible!” I looked at my wrist. They had little stars with circles around them looking like someone craved them in with a knife not too long ago.

I got a sharp pain in my neck. I put my hand around my neck to massage it, but i felt something.. like a little indent in my skin where i use to have my little “bubble” my mom called it when i was little. My fingers felt sticky. I moved my hands in front of my face so i could see them. There was red sticky stuff that smelled.. I took a better look. It was blood. The cut was still open but didn’t hurt. I put my fingers back to the little indent and felt a sharp edge. It felt like a chip. I tried pulling it but i could feel a little pain so I stop.

I got up and walked over to a window that had boards across it. I took one board off and looked outside. Everything was abandoned. They sky was brown and filled with smoke. The buildings were all torn down or in bad shape. It was like I’ve been gone for centuries.

I looked around the room and i couldn’t find a door. I sighed and sat on the floor.

“How’s this possible? first the clock, then outside, and now no door? whats going on! is this like a game show?” I sat there thinking of what cheesy line i should say for the direct to show himself. “ha ha. you guys got me, now come out and tell me who put you guys up to it.” There was no movement, no sound. It scared me.

I laid down on the floor. I closed my eyes. I had a flash back. It was when i was little and i was with my mom the day it happened... We were at the park one day in the fall. I bet my mom to the swings. I chuckled. She was pushing me when all of a sudden a car pulled up.

I heard a noise and opened my eyes. I sat up and looked around, nothing moved. I looked out the window there more smoke than i could remember. First thing that popped in my head was that there was a building falling, but i couldn’t tell. I laid back down on the floor. I saw a crack in the corned that showed light.. I crawled my way over there. I pushed on the wall and it was a secret door.

Behind the secret door was a very dark hall with one light near the door. It  looked like there was another door at the end of the hall. I walked all the way down the hall to the other door. I opened the door fast so it would hit the wall just to know there was no one behind the door.

This room was bright and with white walls. There was a surgery bed in the middle of the room. White cabinets along the walls. There was tools all laid out on a tray. A knife, saw, pliers, and tweezers washed up and ready to be used. I gawped.

Next thing i knew i was standing besides the surgery table. These three guys rush in with this beautiful girl with wavy brown hair and green eyes. They laid her down on the table and strapped her down. All i could do is just stare at her. It looked like she was staring at me back like she knew me. I kept staring, then i realized it was my mother! She was using the clothes she was using when i last saw her. I stepped back and this man dressed in white walked in with gloves on and picked up the knife and started to cut her up. I tried screaming but nothing came out. Then i was back to the white room with no one in it.

I saw this green sweater left behind. It wasn’t there before I had that flashback. I grabbed it up and looked at it carefully. It looked like a Christmas sweater my mother would always wear. I smelled it. I smelled like flowers. I smiled. “She must know i’m here” I said with the smile on my face. “She must be leading me to her.”

I leaned against the wall and once again another secret door. I fell into it. It was the outside finally! I looked up, the sky was still brownish yellow. “Isn’t it suppose to be dark out..” i thought to myself. I wondered around for a bit.  Looking at the old remains of buildings i once knew. I saw a gleam of light flash. I covered my eyes to block out the light. I heard a voice calling my name “Kayla, Kayla, its okay its me.”

“Mom? Is that you?” I uncovered my face and squinting my eyes.

“Yes, honey it is me. Walk into the light.”

I took two steps forward and stopped. Something told me to stop. “Walk to me mommy show yourself.” Something started to walk to her from the light.

“Do you see me now?”

I squinted and saw her right in front of me. “Mom!” I ran up to her with tears in my eyes. “Mom i’ve missed you!” I said hugging her.

She held me so tight i could barely breathe “I missed you too sweetie”

C'mon Parents Pay Attention to Your Children!

“Parents simply don’t understand the problems teenagers go through.”

I have to agree with this statement after reading this book. Melinda’s parents we’re kind of stupid in this story. Her parents we’re always busy. They always worked and never paid any attention to Melinda. Only a few times did they notice her but not really a lot. I believe the first time her parents noticed her throughout the whole story was around Christmas.  “They gave me a handful of gift certificates, a TV for my room, ice skates, and a sketchpad and pencils. they said they noticed me drawing” pg 72. But the if the parents knew what was going on in her life. They’d figure out she was only drawing because it got  her away from the problems shes having.

Another example is when Melinda cuts her inner left arm in an attempt of suicide. "If a suicide attempt is a cry for help then what is this? A peep, a whimper?" Her parents blame everything on her. They don’t care whats going on their life. They just like to blame anything on her. If her parents knew what was going on they would problem at least somewhat help her out. She would be having amazing grades, an amazing social life, she wouldn't be home being depressed. I think they would have at least notice how she stopped going out every now and then. That’s a sign right there that there’s something wrong!

Compare and Contrast

In this book I have realized their are a lot of things the same as in real life. This book has the same kind of drama teens deal with in their high school lives. This girl I know has actually had everything the same happen to her but her friends didn’t leave here. They stuck by her side and helped her out with things and she actually got pregnant from it. They found the guy that raped her and of course he went to jail. Now that shes older she regrets going to parties when she was younger. Oh and I forgot she wasn’t in 9th grade though she was in 10th.

True or False?

“People who are quiet have something to hide.”

    I totally this disagree with this statement. It doesn’t matter if your loud or quiet. You might be quiet because your shy and you don’t want to talk to many people or maybe your just socially awkward, you don’t like talking to people. While there’s other people who are loud and likes to express their feelings or just like being the center of attention or just like being with people.

    I can honestly say that most people that are loud are hiding something because you don’t suspect they would be hiding something because they express their feelings... So you think. For example, this girl Annabell is always loud, outgoing, and loves to meet new people, but what you don’t know is that she hides that her parents fight everyday and gets abused by her dad. Its a true story most people are like that and hide their personal life and pull off a fake one and pretend they have a happy life.

    I know this boy that’s quiet in school and doesn’t really like talking to people but a few of his close friends. His a really nice kid. There’s nothing wrong. He never hides anything from his parents. His always honest and tells it how it is. This kid is always happy even though you might think his depressed or a freak, but you shouldn’t judge him until you really meet him.

    So lets say you see a quiet girl walking the halls and shes doesn’t talk to anyone on her way to class, you think shes hiding something? That’s not right. Haven’t you heard, never judge a book by its cover? Maybe she just has a lot on her mind and she just wants to be alone. It doesn’t necessarily mean she has something to hide! It just means shes on a mission to not be late to class. Simple as that.

    As you can see quiet people don’t hide anything and if so its just maybe because they don’t want to talk about it. So therefore they hide it. But most people do this. Loud, quiet, popular, or even the band geek. They all have either something they hide or they just don’t want to talk about.

What do you value the most in your life?

In America we always see people having trouble with money and the people that have money are usually never satisfied, they always need to try to please themselves somehow. Most of the time you see people that don’t have a lot of things, happy with what they have.That's only because they know they can’t really buy much because they don’t have a lot of money so they like what they have. Some people don’t know how good they have until they lose it or even see how it is on the other side.

One of the thing I mostly value in life that is an expense is my iPod. I couldn’t live without it. It wakes me up in the morning, I listen to it on the bus, while cleaning, and while doing homework. I feel like I’m in my own world when I listen to the music I like. To me it just makes me feel safe and that no one can judge me. Its where I can control what I want to listen to. I like to listen to all kind of different music, but I mainly listen to heavy metal and alternative rock. These kind of music may seem heavy or even scary to other people, but it makes me feel relaxed. I basically grew up listening to this kind of music. My dad listened to it everyday when he brought me to day care when I was little. He said it was his “morning coffee.” I can’t really disagree with him on that since I do the same.

Something priceless that I enjoy the most is being with my friends. I can be myself around them. When in school I feel like i have to pretend to be someone I’m not, it doesn’t seem right to me. Where I hang out with my friends are at football games, at my house, and at parks. We usually just goof off and never really pay much attention to anything that is going on around us. We just have fun with whatever we're doing. Being with my friends is a time where I can relax, talk about whats going on in life right now, and talk about things I can’t really talk to my parents about. I have three main friends that are always there for me and never fail me. That is a what makes them true friends to me.

I value these items the most out of anything in the entire world! I value my iPod and my friends because, one, I could lose a friend anytime, anywhere and two, my iPod has all the songs I’ve liked since 5th grade. These items are kind of similar in many ways to me. For starters, I can be/have things my own way instead of how people want me to be like or tell me what I should listen to (i.e. radio). Secondly, theses things are always there for me when I need them and I always know just where to find them. Lastly, some of the songs I have on my iPod reminds me of my friends or even some songs I listen to, I listen to them with my friends.

Now that you know about the things that I value the most in my life. Why not share about a few things that you value the most in your life? Its not really that hard if your talking about something you like / interested in / something you value. Think about it for a little. What is one thing you value the most that doesn’t cost a thing and then something you value the most that cost money? It could be anything in the world. To your baby blanket to your million dollar watch you got from your grandfather. Just value everything you have because it could just disappear in a blink of an eye.

Summer Reading!

Summer Readying Essay

The two characters I have chosen to be in my essay was Sean (the writer of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” when he was younger) and Daisy (main character of “How I Live Now”). The scene takes place in Oslo. They’re is a battle scene going on in the background and there was a huge bolder in this scene.

Daisy was running to the bolder for protection. Nearly out of breath. She hinds behind the bolder to find someone already there. She notices him, but doesn’t really care at the moment. Daisy peaks her head over the bolder and shouts out “TAKE COVER!!” Her and the boy takes cover.

Once the earth stopped shaking below their feet. Daisy looked around and saw the boy still covering his head. She nudged him and said “it’s okay you can relax now. I believe its over.”

The boy looked around and saw her face. She was a cute brunette, her hair was tied in the back with some hairs falling out on the sides. She looked like she would be about 15 years old. Her clothes were cut up and she also had a little cut on her left cheek, but it didn’t seem to bother her. “h-h-hi my name is Sean” he said shyly.

She gave him a smile and a little giggle. “Hi Sean. My name is Daisy. Are you OK?”

As he slowly got up and said “Yea, I believe so. The main question is, are you OK? Since you have a gash on your cheek.”

Daisy got up as well feeling her left cheek. “Oh I didn’t even notice but yes I'm OK, Thanks for asking.” She looked at the boy. He looked about 16 years old, probably played football in the past years. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. His clothes looked like he hasn’t been outside for too long, but he did look very hungry.

Daisy looked around and found no one in site. They walked through the remains of the dead soldiers. It was quiet gruesome. Dead bodies everywhere! Sean started to get so sick from the smell and the blood he puked.

Daisy looked back to find Sean puking. She walked back and stood by him rubbing his back, saying its OK, and just to calm down and cover his nose and mouth with his t-shirt.

They finally found a house. Sean went in front of Daisy, trying to gain back his manly-hood. He knocked on the door and said, “Hello, is anyone here?”

There was silence.

“I guess no ones hear. Lets go. We don’t need to go in.” Sean said turning around quickly.

“Uh no you look hungry and I know for sure I am. Lets go in and see if they have any food.”

“But someone lives here!”

“Do you see anyone around?” Daisy asked with a bit of an attitude.

Sean sighed and walked in first. He was kind of scared that someone was going to pop out like in all the other horror films that start off with a bomb going off and the town gets infected and turns into zombies.

Daisy must have read his mind because as he was thinking that when she popped out around the corner.

Sean screamed like a little girl.

Daisy laughed so hard, that she almost peed her pants, but awhile laughing so hard, somehow Daisy heard a noise from upstairs. She suddenly stopped and told Sean to shut up.

The noises stopped a few seconds after it got quite. Daisy got up quickly and grabbed a bag and some random food from the shelves. She tightly gripped Sean’s arm and dragged him outside running.

They got out of the house. Sean looked back “What was that for?!” he yelled at her.

“There was someone in there.” She was still holding onto his arm with a tight grip. “Come on lets keep on going...” She said while looking back at the strange house.