Jason Reynolds 'Long Way Down'

The book has many characters with very different personalities. The book has unexpected twists and turns throughout it. The novel involves kidnappers, a dragon and (of course) the 5 children from Miami that know nothing about what they’re getting into. This book started out as, a fairly normal story.

Connection In this novel we find out at Grandview high, the kids there are not safe from the bullying and the violence. Birgit Neilsen

In the journal I will be connecting, questioning, and evaluating. I am connecting Toussaint and Shorty and their incredible will to fight and the brutal nature of humans to the boys in the book, The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. Shorty wants to accede to death, and Toussaint is attempting to free the African slaves from the

“The Scarlet Ibis” is a short story by James Hurst about a physically disabled child and the guidance of his brother, the narrator. The narrator shows the “knot of cruelty” through the love of his brother. By forcing Doodle to touch his coffin, the narrator indicates to Doodle that he will always be on the brink of death and may never be able to lead a normal life. The narrator is aware that Doodle would be intimidated by this fact, but because of his cruelty, he continues to make him touch the coffin. As predicted, Doodle is indeed afraid and clings on to his brother, repeatedly crying, “Don’t leave me”.

Shawn’s Footsteps Following the murder of his brother, Will is overcome with sadness. In an effort to seek justice and make sense of his loss, Will embarks on an elevator ride down seven floors, encountering a series of ghostly visitors who challenge his perceptions and force him to confront the cycle of violence that floods his community. In Long Way Down, Jason Reynolds explores how Will envisions a different path than previous generations through the flaws of his brothers.

On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was fatally shot by Blane Salamoni, a Baton Rouge police officer, in a convenience store parking lot. Salamoni was responding to a call about a man brandishing a gun and thought that Sterling fit the description of the suspect. However, when Salamoni arrived at the scene, he immediately became violent in his use of force on Sterling. Body camera footage shows Salamoni “slamming him into a car; twice ordering the second officer, Howie Lake II, to use his Taser; and threatening to shoot Mr. Sterling with a gun pointed at his head” (Fausset, 2018). Also shown in the video is Sterling doing his best to follow Salamoni’s orders although he was being pushed around by officers for the duration of the encounter.

Although he was very thankful for her kindness, he could not thank her, for he knew he was going to have to drop out again to help out at home. At the age of sixteen, Myers had dropped out of school again and joined a gang. He got into all kinds of trouble, and although he didn’t like it, he continued to do bad things until his parents sent him off into the army at the age of seventeen. The army, his awful home life, tons of research, and his love for writing literature inspired him to write this novel. Sunrise Over Fallujah contains many exciting elements and draws the reader in, however it can be found boring at some times.

James Hurst’s the Scarlet Ibis is the story of a brother whose younger brother, Doodle, is disabled. He is born with a disability that causes him to develop much slower than most children his age. Brother is not happy about this, and instead, is determined to change this. Brother devises a strenuous activity program that leads to Doodle’s demise. Although there are many factors that contribute to Doodle’s death, the narrator is responsible for his invalid brother’s demise.

Walking Backwards written by Catherine Austen is a novel written in a form of a journal. Twelve-year-old Josh shares his emotions after losing his mom from a car accident. His mother had a snake phobia, and as she was driving, a snake found its way in the car, leading her to crash into a tree. After losing his mother, Josh now has to take care of his four-year-old brother, Sammy, and do some house chores such as laundry and cooking because his father is too occupied with building a time machine. Throughout the novel, Josh deals with different types of emotions that have affected him since his mother’s death.

In this novel, the responsibility to make a society on an abandoned island leads to boys stuck there to go crazy and ultimately, kill some of their own. This shows that kids are not prepared for the

The darker brother, which means a black slave is feeling a bit same like Sylvia does, but he does not take his situation so serious like Silvia Plath. He feels suppressed but on the other hand he feels like the better times are about to come shortly, I dare to say he does not abhore his masters at all, he takes things like they are, knowing everything changes or at least it will one day. This second poem is for me a declaration of self awarness and primarily about knowing the own price of life but at the same time accepting ones fate. Sometimes the time is not right to strike back. The brother does not fight back by his using of the language like Sylvia does, spitting his venoms all around, he is fighting back only by his imagination and the smile on his face and it is quite bad-ass way how to show someone that you do not care about what others think.

In the story “First-Day Fly” by Jason Reynolds, the author is describing his preparations for the first day of school as a kid. In the beginning, the kid is shown with negative feelings about school, but as the story progresses, the boy is shown getting more and more optimistic and hopeful about his first day, which is a “day that counts” according to paragraph 4. Overall, the boy turns more positive throughout the course of the story as he focuses on preparing his outfit for the first day of school and moves his mind away from the things about school that he doesn’t like. In the beginning of the story, the boy is shown describing his opinion about school.

The settings of a family which has a negative effect on family and boys. Mainly what the characters are inclined to do against each other, the dysfunctional family life and the one parent family. The story has increased my knowledge about gangs and the impact on boys, that positivity of one person is better than the adversity of a gang. The author Scott Monk message to boys is being in a gang, especially a criminal gang is a futile, it is informative in regards that boys can do positive things in their life, that the need to turn their back on gangs and violence.

John Wade, the main character, helps the reader slowly understand the once hidden aspects of life. As the beginning of the novel depicts the present, with a couple’s location and marital problems. As the story begins to unfold, the readers soon come to the

With the novel being read from a ‘twelve’ year old whose history motivates his understanding, perception and interpretation of the events he encounters and interprets to the reader,