Our 13th Summer Theme Essay

The Second Chance Cycle Second chances are very hard to get, but when they are given, they should be appreciated and valued. Many of the characters in The First Stone have impactful second chances that they may not fully appreciate at first. As they live out their second chances Reef, Alex, and Leeza go through major personality change that they may not realize for a while.

Cecile One crazy summer In the novel One crazy summer Cecile can be defined as a egocentric because of her selfishness, heedlessness and above all she is inconsiderate towards her own children. Self regards to money The first reason why Cecile is egocentric is because of her selfishness towards her daughters money.

Natalie Sterling, a seventeen year old senior at Ross Academy had just won class president and beat her opponent Mike Domski. Mike was the kind of guy that Natalie and her best friend Autumn tried to stay away from. The girls at Ross Academy were known as demeaning and “boy crazy.” One day, during the pep rally a bunch of freshman dressed in trampy clothing and started to dance inappropriately. The leader’s name was Spencer a girl Natalie used to babysit for. The flirty freshman called themselves “Prostitutes” or Ross Academy prostitutes. Not only was Natalie embarrassed and angry by Spencers action but, she was disappointed. When the principal and Ms. Bee the student council head were talking to the girls punishments Natalie barged in. Natalie explained how she wanted to have a lock-in for all the girls in trouble and any others from school who wanted to come, about feminism and women's rights. Ms. Bee and Natalie agreed that it would be a good idea for

Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.

In the book , “The View from Saturday”, Ethan Potter says “,Had I gained something in the Sillington House ? Or had I lost something there.The answer was yes,” on page 89.

A Separate Peace states, “The more things remain the same, the more they change. Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even death by violence.” I agree that everything changes the more it remains the same. A tree will die or get sick if it does not change with the weather. A person will become an outcast and be labeled as “freaky” if they do not change with the trends.

A Lesson Before Dying A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines tells the story of a black man, Jefferson, with unequal rights, being accused of killing a white man. Although, the accusation was far from being right, he is a black man, and blacks were treated unfairly. Throughout the journey of the trial, Jefferson and Grant became very close, and they both learned a lot from each other and the trial. Grant learns the lesson of being a man, because he develops feelings, and becomes humble.

Imagine— you are sitting upon an old dock at the edge of a pond as the evening sun begins to set. A captivating ornamentation of light dances off the water as the sun slowly disappears behind an overbearing mountain. You become mesmerized by the mixed celebration of the faint yellow, baby blue, and champagne pink lights that shine across the ripples of the water. When suddenly, there is the faint cry of a loon in the distance. This cry startles you and brings you from that tranquil state back to the harrowing vapidity of reality.You try your best to ignore the loon as his noisy laugh continues to mock you from across the pond. You immediately want to turn to annoyance, but you instead decide to embrace the loon after realizing that he is time and you are Norman Thayer. You are the character from the play “On Golden Pond,” written by Ernest Thompson, who lost their charismatic outlook on life to the turning of time. A vast array of critics call “On Golden

(background) In the book “A Lesson Before Dying” A man is sentenced to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is invited into a car with some people he knows, and they take him to a bar. At the bart they threaten to kill the keeper if he doesn't give them alcohol. They shoot each other, but the Boy (Jefferson) is still alive, and he doesn't know what to do, so he decides to take the money and scram. Two white men come, and he gets put in jail, later to be sentenced to death. Jefferson learned the lesson, to be strong and not worry about the things to come.

I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.

Will-power and determination plays a major role when it comes to people accomplishing goals and performing the tasks they are given. When a person possesses these two qualities they are motivated, focused, will not give up easily, determined along with many other things. The word determination is defined as, “the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.” Will-power is, “the strength or will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.” In the short story A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, the main character Phoenix carried out the meaning of these two words throughout the whole story. She had experienced many road blocks during her journey, but she did not let them stop her from reaching

Tomi was a very responsible and obedient person he listened to his parents did what he was supposed to, and rarely got into trouble. Tomi is very obedient he listens to what his parents tell him, responsible he does what he is supposed to do, and has lots of self control which he uses whenever Keet challenges him to fight he remembers his father telling him not to fight.

Does self-esteem affect the way you treat others? According to Linda Portolese Dias, the author of Human Resource Management with Flat World Knowledge, your self-esteem becomes evident through the way you treat others. If you have low self-esteem, you may belittle or bully others, but that can change. This happens throughout the story “All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury. The protagonist’s classmates change over time. Jealous of Margot, the children bully, ignore and belittle her. This continues to happen until they admit that she knew the truth all along. They realize this when they come inside from playing in the sun and remember Margot, still locked in the closet where they left her. They feel bad that she would not have the opportunity and privilege to see the sun for seven more years. We can infer from the way Bradbury wrote the story they that the children will now try to treat her fairly. This proves that all people can change their behavior just like the children did. It does not matter how terribly one has acted, in the past, as the desire to change inspires growth.

In the story “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, the characters Sylvia, Sugar, and Mercedes are different in their personalities, behavior, and the way they decide to handle the lesson taught by Mrs. Moore, but alike by all living in poverty and having a positive elder as Mrs. Moore, to teach them the lesson.

In The Red Badge of Courage written by Stephan Crane, the main character Henry experiences various battles in which he is left with difficult decisions to make. The title “ The Red Badge of Courage ” refers to the injuries and wounds soldiers face in war. Lack of reinforcement or motivation could lead to loss of confidence or hope. Being without hope is the easiest way to lose a battle. Henry was courageous during his first battle, yet during the second battle he was caught off guard and began to flee. It ’ s interesting to read the details of the first and second battle, as well as the reasons why he reacted so differently.