Book Post 3 A Dog In The NightTime

The final section of the book was full of conflicts. Chris meets his mom again but also meets Mr. Shears and  Unlike Chris's mom, Mr. Shears does't know that Chris is autistic so he treats him like any normal kid. Because of his misunderstanding, Mr. Shears thinks that Chris doesn't really care about the people around him when he actually can't. Another conflict that erupted was Chris's Math A classes. In the already difficult time with his mother, Chris tells his mom that he needs her to come back to Swindon with him so he can take his Math A tests without living with his dad again. By saying so, Chris starts a new conflict because he creates a new hurrying worry in his mother's heart. In the end Chris gets what he wants but his parents and everyone else are still unhappy.
In our 3rd Lit Circle Discussion, me, Aakash, and Susan discussed about many things. First we clarified out understanding on the story, and then we discussed out thoughts about the main character Chris. In my opinion the whole story is made out of one major conflict- the parent to parent conflict. I think that if the parents sorted out their conflict and let everything go, then the life Chris went through would have been better. His mom may still have left, but if his dad got over it then he wouldn't have hidden the letters. Also, if his dad got over his mom leaving then he would have probably not have killed Wellington over anger and scared Chris. Everything would have worked out fine, Chris living with his caring dad and sending letters to his mom who still loves him.
The book A Curious Incident of A Dog In The NightTime has a writing style that is very unique that hooks the reader right when the first page is read. The whole autistic point of view is the one that really catches the reader's attention and the author really connects to it as he writes the book. I think that the main conflict traces all back to the parents after adding fragments of his parents's conflicts throughout the story. I'm glad that i have chose this book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read to pass by time.

Thoughts continued...

In the first 7 days in Hong Kong, we saw a bunch of old buildings, a bunch of new building, and a bunch of mountains towering over the buildings. We were invited to stay in my aunt’s apartment building and it was awfully small to house 6 people. aside from that our stay in Hong Kong was really fun. My mom would take me and my sister shopping and buy us stuff. Sometimes I would find something i wanted really bad like this glow stick and it was pretty expensive and useless to begin with, but i would drag my mom to that certain store and ask her to buy it for me. When she refused my offers I would cry on the spot, and throw a mini-tantrum while we were walking. The whole store was probably watching us in disgust while closing their ears to my sorrowful cries. Our visit in Hong Kong was short though. We moved onto our next destination Guangzhou.

During our stay in Guangzhou, my 6th uncle drove us to a far away village. While we drove to the village we passed by numerous patches of green colored plants growing high from the ground. They were muddied with water and there were people in these patches with no shoe and examining the green plants. I asked my mom what they were and she said they were rice seedling; my sister scoffed at the sight of it. When we reached the village I stepped out of the car, and a foul stench flowed into my noes. I jumped back and sniffed the air a little before deciding i should guard my nose. I looked up and saw a couple of kids kicking a Chinese water company water bottle around like they were playing soccer. I walked up towards them and stopped as i saw the sun shining on a brown colored thing that was just between two cliffs. At first i thought it was a pile of mud stacked up on each other, but when i saw kids jumping into it and making a splash sound i figured out what it was. I nearly barfed of the thought of how it got brown. My mom walked up to me and stared at the river.

Book Post 2 A Dog In The NightTime

In my groups second Lit circle discussion we talked about out our personal views on the main character, Chris. In the second part of the story Chris's dad finds Chris's book and he gets really mad at Chris and grabs him. Because Chris dosen't like being touched, he hits his dad back and they start to fight but Chris blanks out. After Chris wakes up he hears his dad walk to the trashcan and dump something inside.... A few days later, Chris decides its o.k to go and write in the book again because hi dad never said that its not o.k o write in the book. Chris searches in the trashcan, but he dosen't. He then looks around the house and arrives at his dad's room after looking everywhere else. He finds his book on top of a bunch of letters in a secret shoe box. He picks up the letters and notices that they are addressed to him so he opens some of them and reads them. The letters reveal the secret that his mom is actually still alive and she's living with Mr. Shears. His dad then catches him and he explains to Chris about why his guilty actions of saying Chris's mom died. He also reveals that he kills Wellington and Chris pushes him away. That night, Chris runs away..
One thing that catches my attention in this section of the story is Chris's reaction to his dad's grab. Chris punched his dad when his dad grabbed him, and to me this is an unexpected moment. Chris's reactions is kid of the one at fault for why Chris got hurt in the end. But his dad's sudden grab on his Chris is also at fault. Chris's dad knows how Chris feels about being touched and despite of that he still grabbed Chris. His dad pretty much deserved that punch, but he shouldn't have a started a fight. I think this fight was the true start of the story, because everything steps up a whole new level after it.
Overall, after reading the second part of the book I am still hooked onto the story and i can't wait to find out what happens next.

Response To Luis's Substitute

When i was looking around in Google reader, i found an rant on Luis's blog that I can relate to. In his story Luis talks about substitutes and the ups and downs of having one. In the following quote, he mentions his own feelings to how students behave toward a substitute and i can relate to them.

I hate it when people try and take advantage of substitutes like if they do not even know the rules of the school. In my old school, taking advantage of substitutes continuously happened throughout the year. I admit it I also used to take advantage but sometimes there is a limit. Some people take it too far. Some people try and impress their friends to think that they are hard (as in tough). Kids play tricks on substitutes that makes them look like fools. To me it is funny how some people try and be tough but fail at it. I believe it would be more embarrassing to fail at being tough than being completely quiet. Another thing that I find weird is when a person is concentrated at doing their work so much that they are alone or are not talking. This is weird to me because school is also about having some fun and not work all the time.

 In my middle school, substitutes were also taking advantage of. Sometimes the substitute wouldn't know how the class works and people would making fun of them because of that. Usually the making fun part advantage wouldn't go to far, and the substitute would leave the day happy. But sometimes some students take it too far.  Sometimes an addicting feeling would come up and it's like they have to make fun of the substitute or they won't live happy. It's also like Luis said, about how some people try to impress their friends by doing so. It might be funny to the students but to the substitute, I think, it's really painful. Back when I was in 8th grade, I was part of a painful experience for a substitute.
It was a seemingly normal day, that 3rd of May except their was a chubby substitute who was thought to have aids. Students in her class would make fun of her behind her back and in front of her so much she got mad. She screamed," shut the **** up" threw a chair across the room, and went on her way. The next day, we were informed that she got fired and guilt crossed my heart as I knew that i was also at fault for her loss because I had also made fun of her. I learned a lesson that day and i swore that i wouldn't make fun of a substitute ever again.
I'm really happy I'm in Asti now because the students here don't make fun of the substitutes.

Book post 1 A Dog In The Night-time

The book A Dog In The Nighttime is a very inspiring book to read. The author  Mark Haddon writes the story in the views of an autistic boy. The main character is an austistic boy called Christopher and he is the one who is telling the story. Christopher writes the book in first person and it's like a small section of a fictional biography. 
As i read the first section of A Dog In The Nighttime, i found many interesting things to annotate on. Christopher has a very bright mind, but he has problems dealing his "behavioral problems." For example, Christopher does like to be touched and if he is touched he punches the person who touches him like on page 7. On page 7 a policeman touches him, because the police was being really mean and angry at Christopher, because he thought that he killed the dog. Since the policeman was so furious, Chris couldn't stand him and he put his face onto the grass. Then the policeman grabbed him and Christopher punched him. In my opinion this was both Chris's and the policeman's fault. The policeman should have been nicer to Chris and not forced so many questions into Chris's head. He was acing like a bad cop instead of a good cop. This is also Chris's fault, because he could have added more detail to the answers he answered instead of just replying in a single sentence. Chris's autism is one thing to really notice and interesting to read about as it goes through the story.
After I read the first section of the book, I thought to myself  'is it possible for chris's mom to still be alive?' It really seems like his dad was lying about the heart attack because it's really unnatural for her to get a heart attack. Chris said that his mom was healthy and heart attacks aren't that common with middle aged people who are healthy. I also found it suspicious that his dad hadn't brought him to see his mom on weekends or holidays. It was kind of like his dad was avoid going to the hospital with his son. Therefore i had also thought that of the idea of Chis's mom could actually be alive.
Something that bugged me was when Ms. Alexander said that Mr. Shears and Chris's mom had sex. Chris's reaction to that was very unlikeable, because he didn't seem to freak out or anything our start hating on his mom. I mean i would get mad at my mom for cheating on my dad if that were to happen. Instead Chris called her a stranger and left.

Response Post To Colin

I found an interesting quote on Colin's blog about the story A Dog In The Nighttime.:

I had many questions after i read the first section. First; Will his attention to detail help him in the investigation? Also; What is the difference between autistic people and people with OCD? Also, Did his dad use Chris's mother's death as an excuse to get her away because she was cheating? We talked about this in our discussion. Elton said that he does not believe that she really died but that was just a way for his dad to not tell chris that his mom cheated. I agree with him but they made it very believable that she died because it was from Chris's perspective. I also think that because Chris's mom had an affair with Mr.Shears, that maybe Chris's dad killed the dog.

First off, I had the same question as Colin about the difference between autistic people and people with OCD. i think that  autistic people are not the same as OCD people because being autistic is not mental disorder. Autism is a new way to look, and think of things. I also don't think that autism is caused by the same thing as mental disorders
Another concept i found interesting in Colin's quote is that he mentioned that his mom is actually alive. I had thought the same thing when i read about his mom's heart attack. Chris said that his mom was healthy and heart attacks aren't that common with middle aged people who are healthy. I also found it suspicious that his dad hadn't brought him to see his mom on weekends or holidays. It was kind of like his dad was avoid going to the hospital with his son. Therefore i had also thought that of the idea of Chis's mom could actually be alive.
Something that bugged me was when Ms. Alexander said that Mr. Shears and Chris's mom had sex. Chris's reaction to that was very unlikeable, because he didn't seem to freak out or anything our start hating on his mom. I mean i would get mad at my mom for cheating on my dad if that were to happen. Instead Chris called her a stranger and left.

Kite Runner Final

8. Pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.

After reading the book Kite Runner, I am completely captivated by Khaled Hosseini’s story. I liked how the story was told in Amir’s point of view and gave details on mostly everything, because I felt as if I was Amir and experiencing his life myself. Not only that, but what i found really interesting was the bond between the two characters Amir (son of baba), and Hassan (also son of Baba). Amir and Hassan’s fathers are connected with a 40 year relationship from when Baba’s father bought Ali and loved him like his own son till now as Baba’ friend/servant. Not only that but Hassan was believed to be born by Ali so he is also a servant to Baba and Amir. Hassan and Amir share an unbreakable bond, but Amir loses it after a fatal incident. I find this bond a wonderful subject to behold, for it is broken several times in the story, and the character Amir in this bond is one to never forget.

Throughout the childhood of Amir and Hassan’s life, they played together, read together, kite ran together, and did many other things together. Then on a beautiful winter day Amir and Hassan attended a Kite running contest, and won it with the help of Hassan. While Amir was celebrating his victory Hassan went to retrieve the blue kite that flew away from the runner ups hands. After Amir celebrated his victory he went to find Hassan, and saw him holding onto the blue kite with some mean kids they had encountered before, Assef and his lil’ gang. They threatened him to give him the blue kite, but Hassan refused holding the blue kite close to the body like a parent protecting their child. Because Hassan was not the same as them, he was a Hazara and they were the discriminated ones like Jews to German, was beat up and raped while Amir was in the corner watching the whole incident and stood their and trembled like a coward. Despite their whole friendship, and despite the fact that Hassan’s first word was Amir, Amir just stood their imagining that he’s helping Hassan in his head. In the end, after Assef and them left, Amir went to the beat up Hassan and mustered a “What happened?, I looked all over for you.”

   At the end of the rape numerous conflicts had erupted in Amir’s life. Their bond starts to break and Amir falls into darkness, feeling boundless regret for the nonetheless he had done while his friend was getting raped.
In the dialogue,

“I hit him with another pomegranate, in the shoulder this time. The juice splattered his face. “Hit me back!” I spat. “Hit me back, goddamn you!” I wished he would. I wished he’d give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I’d finally sleep at night. Maybe then things could return to how they used to be between us.” (92)

But Hassan did nothing as he pelted him again and again.

“You’re a coward!’ I said. “Nothing but a coward.” (92)

He even tries to regain himself by letting Hassan beat him up, but of course Hassan was to nice to do so. Is  ‘nothing but a coward’ really what Amir thinks? Amir has done nothing to help Hassan, but Hassan would risk his life for Amir’s safety. Also from this you can see how Hassan is loyal to Amir. He treats Amir as a true friends and tries to help Amir calm himself down. Hassan however does not stoop down to Amir’s level. He is not  fool who takes other people’s love for granted but the other way around. Hassan is a loving companion and a friend to Amir. Amir jan doesn’t deserve Hassan’s love.

After that Amir and Baba move away from Kabul and go to America and here their bond is completely broken. Amir finds himself graduating high school at the age of 18, and Baba finds himself a manager job at a local gas station. Over their life in America, Baba mentions Hassan’s name a few times over and Amir  immediately dismisses the idea of a conversation about him. After a few day/months, Baba passes away peacefully in bed after he bestows his last kiss on Amir. Amir then receives a call from Rahim Khan, a friend of his and Baba’s, asking him to meet with him in Pakistan. Amir accepts Khan’s greeting and flies to Pakistan to meet with Rahim Khan. In Pakistan Rahim Khan tells Amir the life Hassan has lived after he left with Ali. He then asks Amir to save Hassan’s son Sohrab.

Then Amir goes senile. He rejects Rahim Khan’s saving Sohrab proposal and his true nature awakens.
It is shown in the dialogue:

“Rahim Khan , I don’t want to go to Kabul. I can’t!’ I said.....

“Why me? Why can’t you pay someone here to go? I’ll pay for it if it’s a matter of money.”

“It isn’t a matter of money, Amir!”  Rahim Khan roared. “I'm a dying man and i will not be insulted! It has never been about money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don’t we?” (221)

In the quote Amir goes to his selfish side. After all that Hassan has done for him, Amir still shows resistance to help him back,  how pathetic can he get?  Amir is nothing but a coward. Rahim Khan is giving him a generous offer to redeem himself. but he refuses. He dosen’t deserve Hassan’s friendship nor Rahim Khan’s generosity.

However, this refusal starts a new life for Amir. After he leaves Rahim Khan’s home and thinks about it for a while, he realizes that that he can’t escape his guilt. Hassan’s son is at stake and he couldn't leave him just like he had done to Hassan. It was not the proper nor right thing to do. Those thoughts in Amir begin in the quote:

“ I can’t go to Kabul, I said to Rahim Khan. I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. But how could I pack up and go back home when my actions may have cost Hassan a chance at those very same things?” (226)

Here their bond starts to recover. In the quote, Amir convinces himself that his family is just as important to him as to Hassan and his son. Amir knows that if Hassan was in the same situation Amir was in he would not hesitate to save this boy. The guilt cycle surrounding Amir and Baba will end with this boy ,Hassan’s son, if Amir would save him. He knows that his boy is the only way for him to be good again. In the end Amir saves Hassan’s son and brings him to America with him. His bond with Hassan is fixed and he is free of guilt.
To wrap the bond up, Hassan finally recieves Amir’s love and Amir is finally able to let the past go. Their bond is recovered and so the story is complete.
Overall this story was a great one and everything that Hosseini has written about was clear. A great book to read with a ‘moving and unexpected’ twist to the plot. I would recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good story.

3rd Book Response

The last section in Kite Runner was the most disappointing part of the book. In the beginning of the section Amir rescues Sohrab from Assef and ends up fainting after reaching Farid. He then awakes in the hospital, with serious injuries from his battle with Assef, and Farid explains to him that their is no couple by the names he mentioned. Amir then decides to take Sohrab with him to the land of change, America. He and Sohrab meet up with an immigrant agent and persuades him to allow Sohrab to immigrate to America. The immigrant agent denies his request, but leads him to a good lawyer who can help him with his case. Amir then meets with this lawyer, Omar (his past friend who gave him a fountain pen) and Omar gives Amir two options: live in Pakistan for two years and file a adoption file, or relinquish Sohrab to an orphanage and then adopt it from there with a filed orphan petition. Amir goes with number #2 and asks Sohrab to stay in an orphanage for a little while. Sohrab, unhappy with this decision, begs him to send him back to an orphanage, but Amir says it’s the only way and goes to bed. After a little while, Amir wakes up from a phone call with good news from his lawyer Omar. Through the phone, Omar tells him that he doesn't have to send Sohrab to a orphanage anymore and they can go to America legally. Amir then thanks Omar, and goes to tell Sohrab, but he screams instead. He finds Sohrab on the bathroom floor, his hands covered in blood.
One thing that I can’t get off my mind is Sohrab’s reaction to the orphanage idea. It dosen’t really seem like it was so bad to the extent where he would try to suicide/hurt himself. Amir was really trying hard to get Sohrab to start a new life and it looked like he was really interested in America too, the scenes of the golden gate bridge, the details about Soraya, all those stuff. All that went down the drain over one idea of returning back to the orphanage.
Another thing that I was not ready for was the ending. I was hoping for more from Sohrab and his change, but it ended with a smile. Not even a word came out of Sohrab’s mouth after he arrives in America, and most of what happened in America was like a field trip to the end of a block or something for Sohrab. When i reached the last page and the last word, I turned the page unaware that the last word i read was the last word in the story. It took me by surprise and for a few minutes I thought that i was missing some pages. In the end my opinion stays about how the last section was the worst out of the book, because the ending totally killed off all my respect for it.

Response to Ferman's Blog

I found an interesting subject on Ferman's blog post about death.

A guy that i knew, is no longer with us today. His name was Eric and he was shot and killed by nortno which is a dangerous gang in Oakland. Eric was a very cool, smart and atheletic teenage kid who enjoyed playing football and hang out with friends. He was not gang affileated. He was going to go to Chico State University because he was offered a chance to play in their football team. In March 28, 2010, he was shot and killed. He was celebrating his birthday when a drive by happened. Now, he is no longer with us today.

I can relate to Ferman's quote about Oakland because I also had a guy I knew and he was shot on the day of his birthday. This friend of mine lived three blocks away from me in East Oakland. He was celebrating his birthday at night with a noisy  birthday party when a guy obviously irritated by the noisiness walked across his street, pulled out a gun and shot him. He was a super nice guy and now he's dead.
Another thing that I've been told about is that during one night my friend heard a gunshot just outside the door, and heard dozens of feet running out of his backyard and down the hill. Then in the next day, when they walked out the door they saw a dead African man in their front yard. They did not know who this man was and why he was in their front yard, but he was holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. When they went to their backyard, they found dozens of footprints over lapping each other on the soil. My friend said that it was an experience that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Overall, I think that Ferman has a good point in the dangers in Oakland, but that's common everywhere. The world is filled with the stench of death so if i were to be killed, like Ferman said, it is what it is.

Thoughts Contnued.....

It was a hot summer day in America, the sun was shining to the most extreme way and there was barely any breeze that blew  around. Luckily for me I sat in a CRV holding a travel bag close to my chest, enjoyed the cool air conditioner and breezed along the golden gate bridge. Me, my sister, and my mom were driving to the San Fransisco airport to meet up with our airplane to go to China. it was my first trip outside the country, when it was my sister’s third and my mom’s fourth, so i was jumpy on this day. Well, I was jumping up and down on my seat humming  when my sister, seeing how she sat next to me, told me to shut up and sit my ass down. My mom didn’t do the honor of lecturing at her for saying ‘shut up,’ so i did it myself; cursed at her in Chinese and sat down my seat glaring at her through my glasses. She glared back and was about to sink her claws into my face, when my mom told me to apologize to her for cursing. I obeyed her commands and said sorry to my sister and thought, ‘“how does she put up with me with just a sorry.’ I never did get my answer. After another thirty minutes of driving, we arrived at the airport and got checked in and all that stuff. We then boarded our plane and were on a smooth journey to China.

I woke up to a slight bump on my back , and air rushed into my eair causing it to numb. I looked to the right and saw my sister and asked her what was going on. She told me that we were about to land, that were sinking down through clouds, and you can already see the mountains that lay north of Hong Kong. I sat up, pushed the button on my chair that allowed me straighten my back, and covered my ears in disgust of the numbness. My mom who sat next to me saw what i was doing and asked if she could help, but the only word i heard was ‘help.’ I looked around wondering where i heard it from and saw her grabbing my arms.

I shook her off oblivious of what she was trying to do, and yelled, “What!??” at her.

Then I felt the landing gear on the plane slightly touch the floor, which felt like a crash to us passengers, and the plane drove to its spot between a red tail tipped plane and a united airlines airplane because of its blue tipped tail. We had landed in Hong Kong.

Second Book Review On Kite Runner

In the next section of Kite Runner, Amir and Baba move away from Kabul and go to America. Amir finds himself graduating high school at the age of 18, and Baba finds himself a manager job at a local gas station. New characters, Soraya and her family, are also introduced and Amir falls in love with Soraya. One night, Baba starts coughing up blood so Amir drives Baba to a hospital for a x-ray exam. The doctors find a suspicious black spot which turns out to be a type of cancer on Baba’s lung. His life is then confirmed that it will end soon. As Baba’s last fatherly duty, he grants Amir his last wish, which is to ask General Sahib, father of Soraya, for his daughter’s hands. General Sahib agrees and Amir weds Soraya. Soraya then moves in with Amir and starts to take care of Baba.  After a few day/months, Baba passes away peacefully in bed after he bestows his last kiss on Amir and Soraya. Amir then recieves a call from Rahim Khan, a friend of his and Baba’s, asking him to meet with him in Pakistan. Amir accepts Khan’s greeting and flies to Pakistan to meet with Rahim Khan. In Pakistan Rahim Khan tells Amir the truth about how Hassan’s real dad is Baba. He then asks Amir to save Hassan’s son Sohrab.

One character i find truly interesting in Baba. His actions clearly do not show why he made Hassan with Sanuabar. Was it to save Ali from shame or was it out of his free will? It also didn’t state if Ali knew about Baba’s incident and how Sanuabar actually agreed to be with Baba. When I look t Bab’s character, a strong, caring, and wise man I can not find the answer to my question, “why did he do it?”  

In the story Baba said, “There is only one sin. And that is theflt... When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth.” This quote shows how deeply Baba thought about lying, but even with his own saying he betrayed his son Amir, Hassan, and possibly Ali. How could Baba have lived allt hose years knowing that he had committed the greatest of all sins?

Response to Andy Ki

While I was reading along post from google reader I found an interesting kite runner blog post from Andy Li's blog:

Throughout the story of his childhood, Amir commits sins that could have easily been avoided. Amir is used to living the high life in a mansion; he's spoiled. He never had to go out into the world and try to find work and earn money before. He'd never lost a friend before, since Hassan was his only friend. This is what leads him to redeem his sins, which is probably what the rest of the novel will be about.

I agree with Andy's point on how Amir commits sins that could be easily avoided. I feel like Amir doesn't think about his actions or doesn't even consider the thought of thinking when he commits sins. Throughout the childhood of Amir and Hassan’s life, they played together, read together, kite ran together, and did many other things together. Then on a beautiful winter day Amir and Hassan attended a Kite running contest, and won it with the help of Hassan. While Amir was celebrating his victory Hassan went to retrieve the blue kite that flew away from the runner ups hands. After Amir celebrated his victory he went to find Hassan, and saw him holding onto the blue kite with some mean kids they had encountered before, Assef and his lil’ gang. Amir stood their and didn't help Hassan as he was raped, and to me it is a sin to watch your friend get raped. He could have and should have helped Hassan instead of just standing there.

I also agree with Andy when predicts that the Amir sins lead to the story when he redeem his sins.
The sins of Amir do not dissapear so easily and must be replnished for the story to end. It also had a dialogue in the begining where Amir in America was talking to Rahim khan on the phone. 

Rahim Kan told him " it's the only way to make things right." 

It then starts the flashback when Amir starts to think about the his past friend Hassan.

Thoughts

Yes, it was a nice summer day. It was one in the afternoon and i had just woken up from a long night of slumber. I stood up, yawned, and plopped onto my office chair that was just to the side of my bed. I span half a circle and pushed my way to the door. Then I opened the door, and started to walk downstairs when i heard my mom. I stopped at the first step and i saw her furiously trotting towards the stairs like she wanted to smack me on my head like she usually does. Instead she calmed herself down and started to walk towards the table. She sat down and looked at me straight in the face, mumbled something and asked me why i woke up so late. I told her nonchantantly that i was up all night reading the ASTI summer reading packet. She laughed, pointed to the right and the table and froze. She looked stunned to see the reading packet not there, and started to mumble something in Chinese in which i heard the sarcastic term for bad boy. She then asked me what i wanted for brunch, and i replied with a nothing. I walked back in my room, sat down on my bed, reached for the reading packet and burst into laughter. I was glad took the packet from the table and actually read it last night. I leaned backwards onto the blankets and thought about the way I was back in my childhood, those unforgiving times of nagging bestowed upon by my mom and those other times where i would whimper when my mom brought the clothesline during our ‘conversations.’ I looked at the ceiling and thought about the intense pain i had given my parents in this house. Thought about the moments where I learned my lesson a thousand times over. I thought about the first summer that changed me forever.
When i was young I used to always be a bother to my parents. I treated them like them like people who i thought were unsuperior to me and I should be the one who taught them things and not the other way around. I was a mischievous little child causing may ham for them wherever they went and took everything for granted.  It was then in the trip to China during my 4th grade summer that changed everything.

Book Review On Kite runner

After reading a third of the book Kite Runner, I am completely captivated by Khaled Hosseini’s story. I liked how the story was told in Amir’s point of view and gave details on mostly everything, because i felt as if i was Amir and experiencing his life myself. Not only that, but what i found really interesting was the bond between the two characters Amir (son of baba), and Hassan (son of Ali?). Amir and Hassan’s fathers are connected with a 40 year relationship from when Baba’s father bought Ali and loved him like his own son till now as Baba’ friend/servant. After Amir and Hassan were born, Hassan’s spoke his first word ‘Amir,’ from here it’s a start of a new friendship.

Throughout the childhood of Amir and Hassan’s life, they played together, read together, kite ran together, and did many other things together. Then on a beautiful winter day Amir and Hassan attended a Kite running contest, and won it with the help of Hassan. While Amir was celebrating his victory Hassan went to retrieve the blue kite that flew away from the runner ups hands. After Amir celebrated his victory he went to find Hassan, and saw him holding onto the blue kite with some mean kids they had encountered before, Assef and his lil’ gang. They threatened him to give him the blue kite, but Hassan refused holding the blue kite close to the body like a parent protecting their child. Because Hassan was not the same as them, he was a Hazarra and they were the discriminated ones like jews to german, was beat up and raped while Amir was in the corner watching the whole incident and stood their trembling like a coward. Despite their whole friendship, and despite the fact that Hassan’s first word was Amir, Amir just stood their imagning that he’s helping Hassan in his head. In the end, after Assef and them left, Amir went to the beat up Hassan and mustered a “What happened?, I looked all over for you.”
At the end of the rape I saw numerous conflicts that could erupt from this very conflict of Hassan being a Hazarra, and Amir’s betrayal to Hassan. Questions like “What’s going to happen to them? Did Hassan know, or will he find out?” burrowed out of me and i just couldn't stop reading. Hosseini does a good job showing the strong bond between them as a for-shadow for what will happen next and I can’t wait to find out what happens in the next few chapters due to his for-shadowing.

Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

he first quarter of my high school life went by in a ‘snap.’ I remember clearly my first full day of school like it was yesterday, walking in to second period English class and sitting down on a chair up front. I reminisce my first thought of the class room, “woah it’s dark,” and the tingly feeling I got thinking about it. The teacher came in and we started talking about the usual class expectations, and when we started talking about our goals i wondered how much i can actually learn from this class.
And now that’s in been a quarter I have learned countless material that i fell has strengthened my writing. Looking back at my previous work, and the work i have done in the first quarter I have seen many differences. Not only that but these differences are mostly differed in my blog posts. This is probably because these blog post that I do have a fun feeling to them and have this connection with me.
Blogging is one of the things that has really helped me in my writing. Not only was it fun to blog, it was easy to write about free topics. My first free subject blog post “Forgetting” came me instantly as something i really wanted to write about, and as was typing it I had this t.v screen in my mind giving me sharp details on everything that was going on. It hadn’t even been 7 minutes before i finished typing the whole 400-ish words; that was one assignment done.

From my writings before writing freely was something I haven’t had the privilege to do, but this blogging stuff has given me the opportunity to share my feelings on the topics I want to write about. Allowing me to write freely has also improved my way of thinking and planning skills. When i write freely i feel like i have the chance to interact with my topic and truly pull out the full extent of my ideas. This then leads planning, where i have to plan the subject out in my mind or on a piece of paper. I have also overcome my hatred on the usual dislike of the feeling of writing a essay under pressure and having to do a planning diagram with it. I now realize if i really do want to write about this topic, planning is one of the most important steps that i must do in order to write a clear flowing story.

Unfortunately there is no limit to learn from blogging. Typing an assigned blog post have also given me a chance to really find a topic that i want to write about, and most of the topics that I Want to write is based on what i do in my daily life. When i find something interesting in my life, no matter what it is, watching a movie, having a bad dream, waking up to a cold morning, leaving school, my mind always captures all these memories that remind me of my ‘excitement’ during these situations. This habit of mine started recently like in the beginning of seventh grade, and i think the reason why i do this, is because i want to memorize a special situation really well to reflect on it later. Luckily for me, writing about these situations is the one thing I’m sure i can do, but to be able to write them goo I would have to stop procrastinating and think about the situation more thou roughly before i write it. To me, blogging seems to have increased my habit of remembering these situations as well, because be it any reason I do feel like i can recall these memories better now than before i started high school.

There are well... many times where i do get stuck on my writing though. I always tend to get stuck when i try to make a sentences in a paragraph flow together so the ideas don’t get stuck together with other not so connecting ones. Connecting paragraphs have also got me stuck too the same way i get stuck connecting sentences. Writer’s block to me is a huge mind block that blocks my ideas that are rocketing out of the think tube and trying to break the the mind block to get into the idea tubes. Even after writing for the long time I’ve been writing, writer’s block is still something i face frequently in idea flows. When it comes to the free blog posting I almost never run into writer’s block unless the memory that i have of the situation is foggy; the only times when my situation is foggy is when I’m asleep or i don’t feel like it’s the time to be writing. I did find one not very  good solution to writer’s block though.., and it’s stalling. By stalling i mean think about another subject, maybe daydream, and return to the original writing later on. This does sometimes help clear my mind of the block  and allow my ideas to flow again, but it’s not 100% percent successful, barely 50%, and it sometimes gets the flowing ideas in my mind off topic. Even so It has worked for me so far, and kept my blocked writings in the average scale so it can’t be that bad of a way. Even as i wrote this essay i had a writer’s block, and had to stop and go on facebook, how ironic.

For the next quarter I hope i can write stronger blog pots, and clearer essays to start off.I intend to do this by finding a solution to writer’s block, and extracting stronger details from my memory (maybe even take notes once i get that memory feeling). If I do this I’m sure that writing will respond to my blog pots, and essays and burst through yet another barrier to writing. Another goal I have for the second quarter is to work harder on bettering my working methods. The goal is to stop procrastinating on my blog post and do them at the beginning of the week or middle, instead on doing them last second like i”m doing now. I’m not entirely sure i have a way to do this, but i think if i have the strength to wake up earlier in the morning by myself I can overcome the procrastination too.

After i experienced my first quarter and rocking most of my way though I feel like i can actually accomplish my 2 new goals for the second quarter that i set up. If i have the right amount of will power (80% needed), and believing power (20% needed) anything even churchillian (think it means action of day).

Mice&Men

`Of Mice&Men

In the story of Mice&Men all sorts of emerge every new chapter. In the beginning the main characters Lennie and George travel on the road to their new jobs. After running away from their previous workplace; Weed. George is a little man with a big heart; he treats Lennie as if he's a useless fool who he can live without, but deep inside he really needs Lennie. Lennie is a huge guy with a heart that can be as kind and bad-ass as Mufassa (Lion King), but he's mentally retarded. Since George&Lennie have big dreams of living big. The main conflict of the story is Lennie&George (as i see as one character) versus Fate, and this main conflict leads to all the other conflicts that strangles the two of them in the story.

Lennie, one of the perfect two.Mental retardation and his string of fate is strung with problems. During George’s and Lennie’s travel to their new workplace, George explains their bright future for the first time in the book. In the quote:

“Lennie was delighted. “That’s it-that’s it. Now tell how it is with us.

George went on. “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. we got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jacks jus’ because we got no place else to go.”(14)

The two of them have each other’s backs. so the two of them should be considered the same character, because they could not live with out each other; they cover up each other’s flaws.. They both need each other, and them being together is what really makes the story interesting to read. In the quote George says that they are special; unlike all the other travelers on the road, they will be the lucky ones who make it big in the world and live a happy life with a alfalfa patch for the bunnies that will live with them till death. I think that because they because they think know they are different, they are challenging their fate, and this leads to other conflicts with other characters in the story

After Lennie and George settle into their new workplace they met the song of the boss, Curley. Curley, is the troublemaker of the story: he hates guys that are bigger than him. When Curley’s eye catches Lennie, he scowls and examines him with hate. Like it does in the quote:  

“Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mind at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy.” (26)

Dealing with Curley is another conflict that George&Lennie run into in their strive for a living.      Curley is the type of character who causes the most trouble for the main character; he clearly shows his hatred toward Lennie just for being a big guy. In the quote it portrays the idea insanely Curley can get just because of his ‘feelings,’ but even if Curley is a big jerk George&Lennie deal with him and for them to do that they are challenging fate.

Toward the end of the story, Lennie meets his bucket. After Lennie’s little accident with Curley’s wife, George makes a hard decision to kill Lennie, because if he didn’t and Curley found out, well everything would have been over. In shows that their fate in the world is not what they think in the quote:

“And George raised the fun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie;s head. The hand shook violently , but his face set out and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of shot rolled up the hills and rowed down again.. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.” (106)

While George tries to kill Lennie, he feels boundless hesitation to drop the gun and not do it and he shows this by shaking. When George comes to his senses, I think that he realises this is the best option: their is no other way that would work out. And by doing this he is accepting and in a way challenges the fate of what was brought upon Lennie. George accepts their fate by killing Lennie, but he also challenges it by refusing to do it until Lennie speaks his last few honoring words.So till the end, George their fate hoping that a pleasant life will awake for them but it’s all over when Lennie dies.
Since the story contains more than one character, it’s safe to say that there is more than one conflict because a story is not interesting without a conflict. With all these conflicts it’s important to find the main conflict of the story so we can understand the purpose/meaning of the story. The main conflict of this story is Lennie&George as one character because they face the same conflict versus fate. Other conflicts emerge from this main conflict in the sense that, since they are driven by finding their fate they meet a lot of new people and new conflicts emerge because of that. The three quotes from pages, show why that is so. Through their main conflict, the purpose of telling us that life was hard back then, and there was hardships during that period of time (Great Depression) is clearly shown.

Repsonse Post

I found this interesting quote of Devin's blog:

 I always finish my essays last because I feel like procrastinating on those devils. I did that back in middle school. If you read the study guide essays I did over the summer, you will find them not very impressive. Another thing is that my hand writing is sort of messy. The page becomes gray because the words are smudged. Letters are stuck together and everything looks out of place.

I can totally relate with what Devin is saying about his ideals procrastination. In my own experience, when i do my homework, i procrastinate until the last 2 hours before i go to sleep. Even when it comes down to a really important project like the lab report for Higashi's class, I did most of it before i went to bed and woke up to finish it in the morning. Procrastination is seriously a scary thing. But why do we procrastinate? Is it because we don't want to do what we are suppose to, or is it because it feels good?
I think everyone has his or her own different reason to procrastinate. For me, it's cause i don't do what i'm suppose to unless i feel the pressure build up on me. When i don't do my assignments under pressure, my mind is blank (unless it's algebra cuz you barely need to think when you following an equation). On the other hand, when i am under pressure idea zip up in my head one by one telling me step by step everything i need to do, and that's when i feel like i do my best. Every thing goes with the flow: sometimes when i'm typing an essay, my fingers are like on a marathon run, never stopping, until i'm empty.
Although it sounds kind of impressive, it's really a pain in the head to keep up with. It feels like something extremely huge and heavy (like a sumo wrestler!!) is on top of me and the only way to keep it from squishing me is to think. Think!!, until the pressure evaporates suddenly in the air.      
Mhmmm it's a pain, hopes i can change that.

ADvertising LOST: Plot

      Woo!! another lOST post. Lost is a tv show that ended this year 2010. It was an on going tv series for about 4 years, and is in my opinion one of the top 3 shows in the world. In the world of LOST, survivors of a plane crash on a  island fight to survive and defend themselves against the island's mystical feautures. Although the island itslef seems fairly normal, consisting of a luxurious green forests with uhm... polar bears, boars, and science labatories that once belonged to a bunch of scientists called the DHARMA INITiative who studied the island's electromagnitec properites, it can do a bunch of freaky things. In spite of the danger of the island, the survivors fight against another powerful force. This force are humans that lived on the island since ancient times, and their leaders have stopped aging.  They are also a elite force of hunters who believe the island is godlike.
     So in the beginning of Lost, the survivors of body section and the tail section (the head compartment got blasted into the island), desperately try to stay alive and find food while building a shelter on the sand near the ocean. On a day searching for boar to eat, they stumble upon a cave in the forests that seems to have housed the previous survivors on the island probably a long time ago since they were reduced to bones. This cave holds fresh water, a roof, and a excellent place to hide, because it is hidden in trees. After a few of the survivors settle in the cave, a man named Hurley starts to do a roll check using the passenger list from the plane. He discovers that they are not losing anyone but they have another person living with them who was not on the plane. That man who's called Ethen then kidnaps a pregnant woman called Claire.
     Then the sub conflict erupts. Instead of worrying about getting of the island and back home, they are given the information that someone else or some other peolpe are also living on the island and they have captured one of the survivors.
THanxxx to be contiuned..

Pigeon's Natural Toilets

Have you ever sen pigeon poop before? That white wet substance that's glued onto anything it gets it's hands onto? Well of course you have CAUSE IT'S FREAKING EVERYWHERE!! From house roofs to car roofs, sidewalks to track fields, and towns to cities pigeon poop is considered one of the nastiest things on earth and it's just unimaginable how there is. Here are 2 reasons why pigeon poop should be DETAINED.
1. It's nasty. Pigeon poop is seriously just utterly disgusting. The whitish liquid that spurts out of the pigeon's sphinkter is produced after hard hours of digestive fluids breaking down the stuff that pigeons eat. Oh and for a pigeon, the food they eat is nasty too: worms. Worms are the main diet for a bird therefore that diet of a pigeon. Even thinking of a worm makes me sick so looking at digestive worms is a nightmare. Here's a little story that i "heard." "There was once this guy who was enjoying a nice day in the park. It  was a hot day and he was melting so he went to get an ice cream cone. He stopped by a ice cream cart and asked for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After receiving it he went and sat on a bench. It just so happens that a bird was flying above him and decided it was time to let go. When the guy wasn't looking (for he was checking out some girl), the pigeon pooped and the white poop flew onto the guy's vanilla ice cream and camouflaged with melting vanilla. Then the guy started to lick his ice cream and what happened next is :P." 
2. It's everywhere. Like it or not, pigeons fece without a warning of where they are and what's under them. Also pigeons usually travel in flocks and do everything together like find food, eat food, and of course poop. So if there's a flying flock of pigeons I suggest a run away from it. Sidewalk to sidewalk there is always some trace of pigeon poop. Here's another story that happened to ME, " It was a nice day in Chinatown. After 20 minutes of seat hunting we found a nice parking seat under a luscious green tree. We went into town to buy some groceries and came back to find the car covered in pigeon crap. The top of the car was literally polka dotted, and the sides looked like milk was oozing downward. Surprisingly there was no sign of poop on the nice tree above our car. It was just our Honda SUV that was splattered head to toe with white crap. What a nice day."There should be a toilet place made especially for pigeons to poop in, because falling poop is just not right.

QWFWQ

QWFWQ

Q is an organism who really makes you tick. In Calvino’s stories, “The Dinosaur,” and “The Aquatic Uncle,” Q is a character who has an annoying personality. Q always acts like he doesn't care about who he is and what he does, even though he tries so hard to find to find himself. Q has what I like to call an unexplainable type of control over his head. He always let’s his filled up mind wander into paranoid conclusion and that’s what messes up his game. Q has no guts to face the truth. IN both story something goes wrong for Q and he just lets it past.Q’s character will never find his “happiness.”

Before Q is introduced in the story, he is a dinosaur who left his own kind to hide in a mountain. During the great mirgration, Q leaves to find his place in the world  He travels over dozens of different terrains: deserts, mountains, forests, and finds no sign of any remaining dinosaurs. He then gets spotted by “New Ones,” and after adopting their style he befriends them. During the time Q lives with the “New Ones’ he struggles to keep his identity a secret. For example in the quote, “The one of the observers yelled: “Give it to him Dinosaur!” No sooner had they unmasked me than I became again the Dinosaur of the old days: since all was lost, I might as well make them feel their ancient terror, And i struck Zahn once, twice, three times...” From this quote i could tell that in Q’s head is the everlasting feeling of paranoia. This emotion makes him so vulnerable to the events that happen in the story. This is also what makes Q such an annoying character. His paranoia affects the story in a such a way that gives it a sad ending. A tearjerker really.

Q mentions in both stories that he lived for a long time. In the “Aquatic Uncle,” Q is a fish who evolved into a lizard-ish organism by crossing from sea to land. In the “The Dinosaurs,” Q is dinosaur who is about fifty million years old. I noticed that in both endings that Q moves on because he is different. According to the post in Aquatic Uncle, “They all had something, I know, that made them somehow superior to me, sublime, something that made me, compared to them, mediocre. And yet I wouldn’t have traded places with any of them,” Q is fine with they way he is. In my opinion, Q isn’t fine with what he is. If i were to pu myself as Q, a gutless, paranoid creature, I would not be happy with myself. I would want to change not to be superior (even though that is the natural feeling), but to be someone. I think that Q understands that he is someone, bu he still gives up and moves on. This makes Q a sad creature hiding his feelings through the layers of emotions in his head.
Qfwq really ticks me off. In both stories Q always moves on because something goes wrong and he didn’t want to deal with it. He always thinks that it is ok and he shouldn't be where he is even when everyone is counting on him. For example in the quote: “I wanted nothing to do with either; let them rip each other apart in turn!” Qfwfq has no guts. He never stands up for his “people.” This quote shows that even when he is trying to adapt and befriend the “New Ones,” he betrays them just because he doesn't want to be in trouble. He acts like he wants to run away even when he tries so hard not to.

ADvertising LOST

     This is about one of my favorite t.v shows LOST that i just finished watching up.
In the story of LOST it's all about an island. An island, yes an island, a green island unlike any other. This particular island is not found on maps, is not found in time, and can disappear at it's own free will. The story of LOST starts out with oceanic flight 815 (airplane to Los Angeles from Australia) crash on the island. The first character shown is Jack, a man who is mentally responsible for the death of his father. Jack's dad is in a coffin and Jack is bringing him back from Australia to L.A to have a funeral. Jack is a surgeon and has a huge sense for rescuing people.
     Ever since Jack was born he had always tried to be a hero by protecting anyone and everyone from anything trying to hurt them. Jack never gives up no matter how hard it may be and he doesn't even care about himself when it comes to saving others. Jack's father despises this way of Jack. He always tells him that he is not "the one," and he should focus on doing what's best for himself. In short, Jack's father says that Jack's weakness is that he is too nice. (Don't get me wrong Jack's dad is in my opinion is nice, but you never find out in the story of LOST, because of his "dead imaginary dad") Jack hates his dad, he absolutely hates him but loves him at the same time. He doesn't understand what his dad tries to for him and goes insane trying to find out. Jack's misunderstanding for his father's love leads his dad to Australia and his death.
     In my opinion Jack's character is the best. I love how he cares about everyone and this makes him a great leader. for example, In the first season of LOST Jack stays up for a week 24/7 without any rest just because he's looking after a patient who had an accident form the plane crash. (He starts to go insane but he refuses to believe it and starts seeing his dad disappearing into the jungle and he follows him. He keeps chasing after his imaginary dad (even though he isn't imaginary but he's dead [watch lost to find out more!!!!!]) until he doesn't see him anymore. He then finds himself standing right in front of his dad's coffin.)
     Jack's character does have some weak points though, but that's to be continued :P
         

Superpowers

I found an interesting post on Victor's quote:

If I had a super power it would be the ability to create an item by visualizing it in your mind. Others might want to fly or have super speed, but if you could make things with your mind, you could just visualize a jet pack to fly or a race car for speed. You could make up anything you want from guns to fight crime to food to fight poverty. Visualizing items is the best super power since you could do whatever you wanted since you controlled matter.

Victor's quote on superpowers is super interesting. The ability to create an item by visualizing it in your mind is a really awesome super power and i would wa an int a superpower like that too. This superpower also has some downfalls though. Being able to just visualize and item and for it to appear would just be the best power ever. Fighting poverty with visualizing items seems like a really hard thing to do. Focusing on an item to appear and trying to not get shot is just really hard when you think about it. When you connect this superpower to the movie inception it becomes lot easier.I mean if you picture something in your mind it should take a lot of concentration so focusing on and enemy is just a ridiculous ting to do. Since the super was power was used in Inception as not a super power but as a dream everything seems easier. Other then that the super power of visualizing is a really cool power. If i could choose a super power, the super power i would also choose the su[per power to ability to create an item by visuailing it in your mind. Visiualizing an item and for it to appear theere is the best power ever!!

Response Post

I found this inspirational quote on Luis's blog:

I think of it as more of coloring or decorating the city. Most of the property being painted is not even being used. I agree that urban art should not be done on important places such as religious places, cemeteries, and so on.  In urban art, there are some rules.  Some rules are like: no tagging on churches or places of worship; no tagging cars or houses; no going over someone who is a lot better than you unless its beef; do not tag your personal property (except of course black books and such); no tagging over murals or memorials; and do not tag on schools. 

First off I totally agree about what Luis has said. I think that murals is an art, and it is very much important to have. I have total respect for the writers who risk their lives do make murals and i think that they should be protected instead of killed. In my opinion murals are what keeps everything interesting. For example when i see a good mural legally on a wall of a building   find it incredibly interesting and my eyes are glued to the graffiti.
But one thing i cant agree legal tagging is the tagging of trucks. There are some really plain white trucks out there in Chinatown and every time i see one i go "bleh." White trucks should have some mural done on it so that it'll look interesting! I agree with Luis that the truck shouldn't be tagged with profanity or something inappropriate like nudity, but if its interesting and legal i think that this illegal part of tagging should be legal.
I have a friend whos dad owns a truck, and his truck is engulfed in a mural. The entire truck front, back, top, and some of the bottom has part of the mural on it.  Every time i go to his house, i stare at the truck for at least half of the time i spend there.
Sorry i entered these late my internet was jacked up.

Forgetting

     It all started on a fine Friday morning. I woke up drowsy, light headed, and extremely tired at 7:00 clock. At 7:02, I went to do the usual.After i brushed my teeth and washed my face, I started to eat a bowl of cereal on the kitchen table. At 7:30, my mom drove me too school and we arrived at 7:55. Little did i know that i had forgotten an important device.

     That's when it began, a quiet after school afternoon. I had forgotten to bring my phone and i didn't remember any of my family's number. My mom seemed to have forgotten to pick me up as well. It was a long crucial wait. I waited and waited. Time seemed to have lost all meaning, Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours. The sun kept leaving the sky and the moon showed up after every dawn. My eyes rolled up and down, right and left, and my beard grew longer every second. Then it came. The time where everything didn't even make sense anymore. Cars flew in the air, birds drove around the road, and humans oh humans slithered on the ground like a snake struggling out of cast off skin.Suddenly a car appeared in front of me and beeped in my face. Everything returned back to normal. The cars were on the round parked into a space. Geese flew in the sky--- BEEP! Suddenly my mom's car appeared in front of me and beeped in my face. I got in and didn't even want to think if this was a dream. Sure enough this was reality. It was 3: 24, 14 minutes after i got out of school. My mom drove me home and left me with a key to open the doors. I walked up the each step and inserted the key into the door's keyhole. It didn't budge. I turned the key back and forth waiting for an opening sound but none came. Dashing down the steps i yelled for my mom's car just turned away from the street. I reached for my phone and then i realized, i had forgotten to bring my phone.

Death Penalty Rebutal

     Death Penalty has there ups and downs and we understand that. We understand that some people did some really bad things and they should take responsibility for their actions. However people commit murders largely in the heat of passion, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or because they are mentally ill, giving little or no thought to the possible consequences of their acts. Elizabeth and Ashli give a well organized argument, but they have no facts on why death penalty is wrong. Most of what they say are based on their personal feelings. For instance in their opening statement they say:

"There are many reasons to have the Death Penalty. We should have the Death Penalty, because people should  deserve what they did, they need to take responsibility for their actions. If you took a life, you have to give out your own."

     They also say that prisons cost a lot of money, but give no evidence. According to The Death Penalty Focus, death penalty includes a process of trials to ensure that the man or women are not executed for crimes they did not commit. Each trial costs more than $500 grand, so Death Penalty is a lot more expensive then Life on Parole.
     Another thing that the Pro mentions is that: If people are afraid of the death penalty, then they won’t be so quick to commit crimes. Most people are afraid of death more than anything. Criminals much prefer life sentence. We should not give them this option if they aren't afraid of it. However, there is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effective than long terms of imprisonment. States that have death penalty laws do not have lower crime rates or murder rates than states without such laws. and states that have abolished capital punishment shows no significant changes on either crime or murder rates.
     The death penalty has no deterrent effect. Claims that each execution deters a certain number of murders have been thoroughly discredited by social science research. People commit murders largely in the heat of passion, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or because they are mentally ill, giving little or no thought to the possible consequences of their acts. The few murderers who plan to their crimes beforehand - fore example, processional executioners - intend and expect to avoid punishment altogether by not getting caught. Some self destructive individuals may even hope they will be caught and executed.