Word Choice Essay

https://docs.google.com/a/asdk12.net/document/d/1BUa4hSTW7oYD5bwHYHEyM47-Pdv-x1ZuM_hwX7Ex338/edit

Epilogue Summary

In the epilogue of the book, it talks about how he joined the U.S Air Force. He is now a father and has a family. His son Stephen and him enjoy going to a special place that brings back memories. His son understands what he went through as a child.

An important phrase on page 157 says "I'm so blessed. The challenges of my past have made me immensely stronger inside. It's important because even though the situation was horrible, he still looks back and looks at the positive side of the situation.

What made him join the airforce?
I think that he's living a good life now with his wife and son, and that his son doesn't get treated the same way he did when he was a child. I wonder if he's ever talked to his mom after escaping years ago.

Chapter 7 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It"

Summary

In the seventh chapter of A Child Called "It" David was about to enter fifth grade and he started losing faith in God. He believed that God wouldn't just leave him in this condition for that long, and disconnected himself from all physical pain. Food was still hard to find as his mom continued to starve him so he started eating leftover food from the dogs. He started to hate everything in the world, even the sun but especially his mother. He wanted her to die, but get a taste of her own medicine before she did. Nothing pleased her, even when he won first place for a title in the school newspaper. Later on David's father reveals to the family that he's not gonna live with them anymore and that he's moving out. By the end of the chapter David knew that all his defenses were useless and that he wasn't going to survive if he continued to live in his moms house. He felt that it was his time and prayed a long prayer that ended with "...and deliver me from evil, Amen."

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 152 says "You are all mine now. Too bad your father's not here to protect you anymore." This phrase is important because it explains a lot. David finally realizes that he has to do something fast to escape from his mom's house. If not he knew that he would eventually die.

Pulling It Together

Why did it take so long for David to realize that he needs to get out of there fast and get help?

I see that at the end, David finally realizes that his time has come and that he needs to get out of there as fast as he can before the chances of survival are slim. I wonder what happens to his mom after the police know about the situation

Chapter 6 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It"

Summary

In the sixth chapter of A Child Called "It" it talks about how his father started to spend less and less time at home and more time at work after the knife incident. Even on his days off, he would spend less than 10 minutes at the house and then walk out to a bar. His father convinced him that he was making plans for both of them to leave the house for good, but David knew that it was a fantasy. Mother's house had become unbearable for David and he now referred to it as the "Madhouse" She starved David for 10 consecutive days and made sure that the freezer was locked, and all food in the garbage was thrown out quickly. The only way he survived was by drinking a lot of water and little bits of leftover food. His mother attempts to kill him twice in the chapter first by putting him in a bathroom with a bucket full of Clorox and ammonia to try to suffocate him and then by trying to drown him in a bathtub. The abuse is far from over.

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 114 says "I could hear the sound of "the family" passing dishes full of food to each other." This phrase is important because "the family" has quotations around it. The reason for that is because David doesn't even consider them to be family anymore because they all turned against him and took sides with their mom. They don't consider David to be in their family either.

Pulling It Together

Is the whole family brainwashed by their mom besides David?

I see that the family takes sides with their mom because they might have a fear of their mother or they could possibly be brainwashed. I wonder why she had kids if she was gonna end up trying to kill them.

Chapter 5 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It"

Summary

In the fifth chapter of A Child Called "It" the abuse continued. School was out for the summer so the options for finding food were gone. While his family ate dinner, he was forced to sit on the stairs and watch. He knew that finding food in the trashcan wouldn't work anymore so he has to think of new ways to get food. Finally his mom gives him an offer by saying he had 20 minutes to finish the dishes, otherwise he would go hungry once again. She even grabbed a knife and threatened to kill him if he finished one second late. His mom ends up throwing the knife at him which ended up stabbing his stomach which knocked him unconcious. His mom referred to it as an "accident" but it was obvious that it was no accident.

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 85 says "If you don't finish on time, I'm going to kill you!" The phrase is important because it shows that the stabbing was no accident. She had threatened to kill him and pulled a knife out which ended up stabbing him. It shows that she had intentions of killing him.

Pulling It Together

Why doesn't his dad do anything to help in the book?

I see that the dad doesn't care about what happens to David because he does nothing to help him. I wonder if the whole family is brainwashed.

Chapter 4 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It

Summary

In chapter four of A Child Called "It" it basically talks about what the fight for food was like for David. Every day, he would dream about food hoping that he would get at least one meal in per day but that rarely ever happened. On good days, he would get leftover cereal from his brothers for breakfast only if he finished all of the morning chores on time. The hunger was unbearable so he started stealing food from  fellow classmates before school started and they were all playing outside. That only made things worse because the principal found out and called his mom which meant more punishments and less food at home. Still desperate for food, David ran to the grocery store during lunch to steal food which always ended in a bad way. Finally he dug leftovers out of the trashcan at home just to get food in his stomach. It worked the first time, but his mom found out and put spoiled food and ammonia in the garbage which made him sick. None of his attempts to get food seemed to work.

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 58 says "I came to believe if I were to survive, I would have to rely on myself." This phrase is important because he knows that he has to make decisions on his own that could save his life. He knows that he doesn't belong to the family anymore and his family doesn't care about him so he becomes independent on ways to survive.

Pulling It Together

Why did his mom take the time to spray ammonia and put poisoned food in the trashcan?

I feel that his mom should get a taste of her own s*** and see what it's like. I wonder what other things she has planned.

Chapter 3 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It"

Summary

In the third chapter of A Child Called "It" it talks about how the boy's relationship with mom drastically changed from discipline to punishment that grew out of control. He explains how it became so bad at times, he had no strength to crawl away even if it meant saving his life. His mom now refers to him as a bad boy, and he gets severely punished while his father was at work. His mom would smash his face into the mirror, beat him, and even break his arm. She would then lie to the doctor and his dad about what really happened so she wouldn't get in trouble. The worst thing his mom tried to do in this chapter was burn his entire body on the stove and watch him die right before her eyes. In the end, she only burned his arm because Ron came running in the house. The boy had won this time against his mom which saved his life.

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 43 says "That day I vowed to myself that I would never, ever again give that bitch the satisfaction of hearing me beg her to stop beating me." That phrase is important be cause now he knows that if he begs her to not beat him, then she'll enjoy it even more. He can no longer give his mother the enjoyment of beating him.

Pulling It Together

Why didn't the boy try to get help even after his mom attempted to kill him twice?

I see that the mom has good intentions of killing David after the stove incident, the ammonia, and the bathtub. I wonder why David didn't run away and try to get help.

Chapter 2 Reading Assignment "A Child Called It"

Summary

The second chapter in A Child Called "It" basically talks about what the years were like for the boy and his family before the abuse started. Before all the abuse started, the boy seemed to live with a happy family in a modest two-bedroom house located in what was considered a good neighborhood in Daly City. His mother, Catherine Roerva was a good mom who did the typical house wife duties, cook and clean while his dad was at work. Beyond that, his mom would take the kids on sight-seeing tours around the city, cook exotic meals, and did everything she could to make the kids' lives more fun. Then things took a sudden turn, and his mom wasn't the same person anymore. That's when the abuse started.

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 18 says "Mom was once a woman who glowed with love for her children." 

The phrase is important because it lets the readers know that his mom wasn't always abusive and that she was once a good mom. She did everything a mom was supposed to do, and always taught them important lessons. The kids never knew what was coming towards them in the future. 

Pulling It Together
Why did his mom turn bipolar?

I see that the main character David and his two siblings were once normal kids who were just like everyone else and lived in a good family. I wonder why his mom suddenly turned abusive towards the whole family.

Gang vs Club

The gang is a negative connotation because gangs go around shooting and killing people. The club is a positive connotation because it's a place where you have a lot of fun and meet/dance with fine lookin girls.

Connotation/Denotation 2

 Part 1

The natural routine got old and boring
The old couple still lived together after 80 years
They weren't committed to putting in work so there were never any results
The free items at the store were the ones that broke easily
The chemical reaction had a positive outcome
Being lazy allows you to stay in bed all day

Part 2

d.) The fact that I had to go to extended school for 9 days was bizarre.
In this sentence, strange would not work because strange doesn't have the same connotation. Remarkable is closer but it doesn't connote the idea as well as the word bizarre does.
a.) The old lady had to be careful to not slip on the ice because her bones were very fragile. In this sentence hard wouldn't work because if the bones were hard, then she wouldn't have to be cautious. Brittle is closer but it doesn't connote as well as the word fragile does.
b.) The kid that always sat in the back of the class alone was very withdrawn. In this sentence glum wouldn't work because it doesn't have the same connotation. Quiet could work, but it doesn't have as strong of a connotation as withdrawn does.
c.) The thief was very clever when it came to stealing. In this sentence, shrewd wouldn't work because it does not have the same connotation. Shrewd has a similar connotation, but the word clever would be the best choice to use in the sentence.
e.) The family of 3 purchased an economical Ford. In this sentence miserly wouldn't work because the connotation is completely different. Thrifty has a closer connotation, but since the sentence is talking about a car, the word economical has the best connotation.

A nerd connotes to me a person who knows everything and does nothing but study all day. Many times, the nerds think they're better than everyone else. Those kids are usually good at things like band and orchestra as well as science olympiad, debate, key club, AP Calc, and every other academic class. Nerds usually wear different clothes from everyone else and get picked on often by others. They spend a lot of time in the library during lunch and after school studying even more.I've had personal experience with nerds in many of my classes Freshmen year because many times, I was assigned to sit right next to one. Some of them can be cool if you get to know them.

Chapter 1 Reading Assignment

Summary

The first chapter in A Child Called "It" is about a boy who gets abused my his mom on a regular basis. At times she would not even feed him. The boy arrives at his school where he is taken into the nurses office to go through the normal routine, but she discovers marks and bruises all over the boy's body. He tries to make up a story to protect his mom, but the nurse knows that he is not telling the truth. She then goes on to discover chipped teeth and a stab mark. The nurse returns with Mr. Hansen the principal, and two other teachers, Miss Woods and Mr. Ziegler. They all have a meeting together, and get the police involved. The police officer takes the boy to the Daly City Police Station and calls his mom to tell her that her son David will not be coming home and that he is now in the custody of the San Mateo Juvenile Department. The officer then announces to the boy that he is finally free and that his mother will never hurt him again. 

Important Phrase

An important phrase on page 4 says "Please, just let me eat. Hit me again, but I have to have food." This phrase is important because he knows that he has to be careful to not anger his mother any further or he might not be able to eat at all. He doesn't care how much his mother hits him as long as he's able to have some food. His only way of surviving is to at least eat the leftovers.

  "Pulling It Together"

I see that the main character always fears that he is in trouble with his teachers and principal because he is always in trouble at home and he fears that he's gonna get hit.

I wonder if he has a dad at home and if his dad does the same thing his mom does to him.

Reading Schedule

Reading Schedule
Monday: Chapters 1 and 2
Tuesday: Chapters 3 and 4
Wednesday: Chapters 5 and 6
Thursday: Chapter 7/Epilogue