Poor Ticey Taking Life By The Horns

I am reading the novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest J. Gaines, which tells the story of Miss jane, a fictional charatcer who lives in 1962 as a 100-something year old woman in Louisiana who tells her story about the civil war through modern history to a white reporter. I am almost done with the first book of four. Instead of chapters, there are books representing different time periods of Miss Jane's life. The first book is titled The War Years Miss Jane grew up on a plantation and Big Laura was a very large and strong slave woman who took care of Ticey as ifshe was her own. Yankee troops came to the plantation when the civil war was nearing its end , and soldier Corporal Brown told her that Ticey was a slave name and that she was a free girl now. So he named her Jane Brown, afer himself, however this didn't go over well with her slave owner and she was beaten because she reffered to herself as jane and no longer Ticey. When a large gropu of slaves including jane left for the North, they were ambushed by the Secesh Army and they were all brutally massacred, only Jane and Big Laura's toddler Ned survived by hiding in a bush. They then lived together as basically mother and son. My reaction to my reading so far is that I feel major sympathy for Jane. She was only nine years old taking care of a 3 year old. They can barely eat and drink, trying to travel to Ohio, meanwhile they are nowhere near leaving Louisiana. I find it very apalling that Janie's slave master beat her until she stopped calling herself Janie, that is very disturbing. Oh and by the way she was bathed until she started to bleed because she never reffered to herself as Ticey ever again. I am glad that she kept her name as Jane and I hope she experiences some better times in her life, before racism makes her life tumble to the ground again. Ta Ta for Now!

Technology and My Literacy

Ever since the first grade I have had a computer in my life. Until middle school I didn't have access to the internet at home, so there was really no affect on by reading through the computer, I would read every night for an hour before I went to bed until around the time I started middle school, also when I got access to the internet at home. After being able to surf the web whenever I wanted to. Now I can read books online aswell. Nut technology like computers have really taken time away from me. Reading had moved from a hobby to a homework assignment and I had only been doing it when I had to, and sadly I have the same habbits today. Televisions and iPods also contribute to the time not used reading. My life revolves around music so my iPod can be my best friend at times. I believe that if the computer, the television, and the iPod were not created, I would definitly have more time to myself reading.

GET LITERATE......OR ELSE, LOOK DOWN...IT'S YOU!

Growing up as a child I had read many books and enjoyed tons of them like: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Magic Tree House Series, The Littles, Animal Ark, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Odyssey, The Face On The Milk Carton, and Go Ask Alice. I would have to say that my favorite book that I remember the most about and that majorly changed my way of thinking about day to day life was definitly Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. This book was so intense, it tells the story of this teenage girl who moves to a new town and makes the change from innocent school girl, to alcoholic and drug addicted girl who sleeps around at parties gets high and runs away from home twice. The entire story is told through 1st person narration through Alice's diary. I read this book back in the 8th grade and I am strongly considering reading it again because I am simply in love with this book because it is phenomenal. After reading this book I realized how drugs can really mess up your life, from making you "put the crazy pants on" to seeing cockroaches, maggots, and worms all over your body during an overdose, and eventually killing you. This book caused the red light to flash in my brain and is always there to remind me of what to do and what not to do. That is why I strongly think of Go Ask Alice as an inspirational, motivational, and life changinging book. It is the best book I have ever read in my life......so far