https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/witch-trials-21st-century/

Witches still exist to this day! There are Doctors that treat illnesses blamed on witchcraft are called witch doctors. Witch doctors are not witches themselves and they use combinations of plants and animals, as well as spirituality or supernatural ability, to treat medical conditions. Unfortunately there are still witch trials to this day with punishments that are severely violent. Men women and children in zambia that are infected with aids/HIV get accused of spreading the diseases with witchcraft. The town of Oudewater, Netherlands, used to sell certificates to suspected witches. Women were thrown into the water to see if they drowned or swam. If she drowned then she were less likely be a witch but if she were to float/swim then she were put to death.

My book is called “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and it was about a small boy named Finn running away from his deadbeat alcoholic father which he calls “Pap”.Finn always lived with his maid and her sister who’s basically raised him, when his father came home suddenly. An uneducated, abusive man with ripped clothing bursted through the door one day suddenly wondering about his son he’s left for years. Finn at first was glad Pap finally came home to see him but Pap’s stay became stale very quickly. Every night Pap would go out drinking and stay out until very early in the morning. Pap was furious when he found his son had been going to school when he hasn’t; Pap would also beat Finn whenever he’d catch him doing school work. Pap eventually fought in court to gain custody of Finn and won so he took Finn away from the home he’d always known and brought him to a small cabin where he was forced to stay in. It was dangerous for Finn to stay with his dad especially with his drunk episodes every now and then. One of them was so bad he chased Finn around with a knife thinking he were an intruder; which was enough for the boy to finally get his things together and prepare for an escape. He waited for his father to leave the small home, killed and skinned a hog, then wrapped the pig in a cloth and threw the body into a river. That hog was to pretend to be his body lying in he river to give off the impression that he that died. The rest of the book is him trying to escape from everyone on his trail trying to look for him.

This book had me on the edge of my seat especially in the beginning. It leaves you with either great admiration or great hatred for certain characters. It’s so exciting to see the main character grow from a callow boy with a big imagination, to someone who can live and be their own person. Finn’s adventures with the friends and challenges he’s met along the way are what makes reading the book worth it. There are lot’s of suspenseful moments along with some comedy as well.

I am personally very excited to read The Crucible. I have had a couple of friends read it already for their previous reading classes and they’ve said it’s very dramatic and has some plot twists. I am not a huge fan of analyzing plays for English especially when they take place from many years ago. However, after learning about the Salem Witch trials and the extent people would go to to not have witches near them, I have high expectations. I am willing to defend or accuse characters personally, during our class discussions regarding this play. To get a better picture I’ve searched up clips of what it seems to be this play being performed in high schools, and it gets so intense. If we do ever read or act out the parts I would want to read out a character who is always upset or distraught to see how I can practice my “emotions” on the spot for fun.

It’s interesting to see how our ways of life are so different yet so similar centuries after. The idea of trying to fit into a society was always a way of living even when those societies pushed completely different standards. Yet I’d say in more of today’s modern societies individuality is definitely more embraced and approved. The phrases “be yourself” or “be who you are” are encouraged which is refreshing to see in hindsight and ultimately means that we as humans evolved from a complete eras of chaos created by untrustworthy people. However, with the amount of progress we’ve made we still have a lot to work on. The societies may have moved on from accusing one another of being witches, but unrealistic standards have never left. Sexism and ideal body types/images are just a small portion out of a vast sea of high expectations. Modern day technology is what spreads them and make them more common. It is rather fascinating how much humanity has evolved and yet it still feels like we hasn’t gone anywhere.

I thought learning more about the milgram experiment really shows how easily we do things because of someone with a higher authority tells us to do it. It does make sense because we are taught since we were little to follow directions without being able to ask why. What was found from the experiment was what surprised me though. People in the experiment were more persistent to follow orders when told they wouldn’t be responsible for the damages to the individual from getting shocked. It’s believed that that’s what the Nazi’s thought process was during WWII, they believed that Hitler was responsible for all the lives lost so they continued on.

I chose the book “Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain. Honestly, I was not too sure about this book in the beginning but now that I’ve read a few chapters my attention has been drawn. So far I’ve been more interested into the story because of the imagination the character’s have even when in bad situations. It’s about a child who isn’t too content about living at his house with a widow and her sister. According to him they meddle him into going to school and refuses to let him smoke. He has no mother, however he has a father that he believed has left him forever until he unexpectedly shows up. His dad, illiterate, a drunk, has horrible envy for his son because he goes to school. It’s interesting to see how the book describes the way this child pushes through and continues on with his journey even with the circumstances, and his dad’s physical and verbal abuse. I am looking forward to see what  happens next along with seeing how the child continues on.

I knew immigration is a very difficult thing to go through and a very difficult situation for families ll over the world. In face I ‘ve had a couple family memebrs that were deported not too long aho. But I never really got a description of a first hand experience.

Context: A character named Starr witnessed her friend named Khalil being murdered outside of his car by a police officer and she was on trial about a month ago. Her, her older brother named Seven, her friend named DeVante, and her boyfriend named Chris are on the car ride home. They are currently waiting for the decision of weather the officer is held guilty or not and the announcer on the radio is about to call the decision.

We were on the way home and Seven turns on the radio. He switches through stations to find some music to listen to. I hear something on a station he passes and tell him to go back. He scrolls back to what I heard and it was the decision being announced to the public. We were all dead silent in the car. We all knew this was a huge deal and I felt so nervous I was shaking. The man on the radio was talking for what felt like hours. “Come on just get to the point!” I thought. Finally the man said something that caught my attention. “And now the decision made by the jury, the officer was….guilty!” All of us were silent still, until my brother broke it by screaming, “YES!” at the top of his lungs. That scream followed by Devante and then Chris. Seven pulled over, got out of the car and fist pumped the air while Devante and Chris chest bumped. I was still in shock and haven’t left the car yet. I needed to process what just happened. He’s guilty! Finally Khalil gets the justice he deserved after everything! And I got to make it happen by going to trial and speaking the truth! I got out of the car and joined them. I screamed along with them and it felt so good. We all got inside and I could hear everyone’s sigh of relief. We got home and I saw my mom on the front lawn jumping up and down with a phone in her hand. “DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?!” she screamed so loud the neighbors could probably hear. As I ran out of the car, I screamed, “UH HUH!” and gave my mom a huge hug. The second I felt her arms around my back, I started to cry. So many emotions came over me, sadness, happiness, anger, and fear. I was sad that my friend was still gone and that he didn’t have the future he deserved. I was angry that it took so long for that decision to even be made, I mean, he was killed in cold blood for carrying 0 weapon and making no threats it was obvious! I was happy I went on trial and spoke my side of the story even though I was petrified. And I was scared of people seeing me different if they found out I was the witness. I let it all out in a series of sobs and wiping of snot on my mom’s shirt. She rubbed my back in circles and welcomed each and every cry. After about ten minutes I finally stopped crying and went inside for a glass of water. I could barely walk, I was so exhausted. I trudged to my room and plopped onto my bed and I fell asleep before my head could hit the pillow. I did remember managing a smile before I did though. “I did it.” I thought, “I did Khalil.”

 

Jesters were the comedic relief in the medieval times. They would get paid a lot of money for cracking jokes in front of the king. Sometimes the jesters back then made a close relationships with the king. For an example, King Henry VIII’s jester would call him “Harry” instead of “your majesty” as a joke and get away with it. Back then Jesters weren’t always there to make people laugh though, they would be told to do tasks and run errands like any old person would. In movies nowadays jesters would wear funny clown costumes. But back then, they would just wear normal clothing when they weren’t performing. They would also be helpful during battles by distracting the enemy and calling them names in order to take them out of their defense and attack.

Do you think being a Jester is a good job? Why?

Would you want to be a Jester if you lived during the medieval times? Why?

Do you think being a Jester would be more nerve wracking or a fun? Why?

My book is called The Hate You Give and it’s about a girl named 16 year old girl named Starr and how she deals with her friend Khalil being shot by a police officer on the car ride home from a party. When she gets home from the terrible night and has no sleep, her uncle, who works at the police station, asked if she could go to the police station to get interrogated. Starr decides to go and two detectives ask her a series of questions mostly asking if Khalil was a drug dealer which had nothing to do with his death. After Khalil’s funeral Starr had to pretend she wasn’t the witness of Khalil’s shooting at her school. Since it was all over the news the kids were talking about it everywhere and they pretended to care by marching around the school chanting “Justice for Khalil.” But in reality, it was an excuse for the kids to get out of class which made Starr furious. Starr had found out that she will be going to court to see if Khalil would finally get justice. It took months before they announced the decision and when they did, on the radio, it was announced that the police officer was not guilty. Not only was Starr frustrated but her entire neighborhood was frustrated and riots and protests were started. Starr, her brother, boyfriend, and friends joined. Tear gas was thrown and the sound of gunshots flew, so they escaped. They escaped to Starr’s father’s business and hid there, but it got caught on fire. Luckily her parents came and saved all of them. For my project I wanted to choose the fanfiction choice to continue on the story.