Independent Novel Project

Ender’s Game ABC Book

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KyOsLFARfPh3fJx-DQjvVl4dHavu1fvytAOMmcIDygE/edit?usp=sharing

The Minimum Wage is Rising, But These Workers are Being Left Behind

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/us/minimum-wage-tips-au-pair.html

This article relates to what we are learning about in class because we are writing about giving a voice to the voiceless, and the people in this article and facing discrimination and deserve to have a voice.  The article is about a class of workers whose earnings have not increased since 1991.  This class of people is payed less than minimum wage, legally, because of what kind of work they do.  These are mostly jobs that rely on tips and are exempt from minimum wage rules.  Employers are allowed to pay as little as $2.13 an hour, and this has not changed since 1991.  I think that this should change because money is not worth quite as much as it was in 1991 and workers deserve slightly more money, although it is not very unfair because they earn tips and many jobs that earn tips earn more money than normal jobs.

Why is this a big issue if they get paid through tips?

What kind of workers who do not earn tips have a minimum wage of $2.13 an hour?

What is good about our society today? What makes you proud to be American?

There are many good things about American society and I am proud to be American.  One good aspect of American society is that it gives citizens freedom of speech.  I am proud to be an American because I can express my ideas and opinions because of freedom of speech.  American society also gives its citizens freedom of religion.  This is very important to me because I do not want to be forced to follow a certain religion that I do not believe in.  There are many good things about our society today such as the rights that it gives us citizens and I am proud to be an American for many reasons.

Can there be ‘different truths’ based on the perspective of those involved?

I think that there is ultimately only one truth to most questions, like how there is only one truth to how the world was created and what the purpose of life is and what happens when people die.  Many people may have different beliefs, but only one is true.  In life, you can think someone is a terrible person and someone else can think they are a great person, but that is just opinion, not truth.  I believe that in most cases there is only one truth because I can not think of a time when there would be multiple truths.  There can be multiple parts of the truth, like the fact that I have brown hair and blue eyes, but it is still only one truth because you can not say I also have green eyes.  I think that there is only one truth despite the fact that people may have different perspectives.

Le Duc Anh: Vietnamese general who ousted Cambodian dictator Pol Pot dies at 98

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/le-duc-anh-death-vietnam-ousted-pol-pot-a8888986.html

Since we read a short story about the Vietnam War, I found a news article based on the Vietnam War.  It says a general named Le Duc Anh who led communist forces in the Vietnam War and who later became Vietnam’s president died at 98 years old.  The article says that no cause of his death was given.  He commanded troops who invaded Cambodia to oust the Khmer Rouge in the Vietnam War.  He was also in presidency when Vietnam established diplomatic relations with America.  When Vietnam normalized their relations with the US, it ended years of hostility between Hanoi and Washington, the capitals of both countries, which was at its peak during the Vietnam War.

My opinion is that it is sad that he died because he ended the tension between America and Vietnam.

How much of a role did he have in establishing diplomatic relations with America?

How well known is he by Vietnamese citizens?

How important is the family dynamic in today’s society? Should children still obey their parents?  For how long?

Children should definitely still obey their parents because it says so in the Bible.  Children should obey their parents as long as they are alive unless their parents tell them to do bad stuff.  If their parents tell them to rob a bank, they shouldn’t because the bank probably needs that money or else they won’t be able to give people their money, and because that is just morally wrong.  So my answers to those two questions are yes and as long as possible.  For the first question, I think the family dynamic is pretty important in today’s society because people usually grow up with their family and peoples’ parents make them go to school and help them get a job and teach them a lot to be successful in life.  I believe that the family dynamic is important in today’s society and children should obey their parents for as long as possible.

For my independent novel project, I am reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.  My initial reaction to the book is positive.  I think it is a good book so far because there is a lot of action.  The story takes place in the future when aliens are in conflict with humans.  The main character Ender is being trained to fight the aliens which are called buggers along with other kids.  In Ender’s Game, Humans train from a young age through games and more.  It is a good book so far but the plot has not really developed yet, so I hope that the book has a good plot.

Is it better to have an outlandish dream or none at all?

I believe that it is better to have an outlandish dream rather than none at all.  I don’t think having outlandish dreams can really harm you.  As long as you don’t have outlandish expectations, you shouldn’t be disappointed with your future.  I think it is a good thing to have big dreams just because it can be fun to have big dreams.  Having outlandish dreams can also cause you to work harder to achieve your goals.  If you have no dreams, then life would just be boring and you wouldn’t work hard for anything.  I think that it is better to have outlandish dreams than none at all.

Why everyone’s worried about the new ‘Great Gatsby’ movie

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/11/why-everyones-worried-about-the-new-great-gatsby-movie/66737/

The article talks about how there is a lot of hype for the Great Gatsby movie.  It also says that there are a lot of critics who are against making another Great Gatsby movie.  The author of the article agrees that the film won’t come close to the power of the novel.  The author says “The Great Gatsby” is a novel “thin on story, but incredibly thick with introspection, thoughts” and more.  He also says that the older version of the movie isn’t nearly as good as the book.

My opinion is that it probably isn’t as good as the book, but it’s nice to have a movie so you can see an interpretation of the story.

Why are people so against making another movie?

Does the author think this movie should be made?

How much can you control the person you grow up to be?

I believe that you can control the person you grow up to be to a great extent.  Although some people are more fortunate in the situation they are born into, you make the choices that decide who you are when you grow up.  You can decide to be kind to others and you can decide to make a difference in the world, or you can choose to be unkind and lazy.  There are also many other things you can do now that will affect the person you grow up to be.  You can choose to study subjects at school related to the career you want to have in the future, and you will have a better chance of having that career when you grow up.  As you can see, you can decide who you be when you grow up.