Sunday, February 27, 2011

Response in Chapter 1 - 11 of To Kill A Mockingbird

Personal Response
Scout's experience reminded me of the times when me and my brother played in the neighborhood when we were young.

Analyzing Literature - Recall and Interpret
1. Scout, Jem and Dill at many feelings towards Boo Radley, which is always kept in the house. They are curious of him, and what he does inside, but scared of him hearing rumors about him. When they were bored, they would dare each other to go into Boo's house, and Jem only did it once, touching the wall of the house.
2. Scout and Jem found many antiques in the knothole of the "Radley" tree, which is chewing gum, soap figures of themselves and the 1900s pennies. Theses gifts was from Boo, which was covered up by his brother later, and this shows that Boo may be caring and not violent by giving them such rare gifts.
3. Scout got into a fight with Cecil Jacobs and Francis, because they had said Atticus has a "nigger lover", after the case that Atticus defended Tom Robinson, which is a Negro. This shows that the community in Maycomb is racist against Negros and discriminate them. Scout's response revealed that she does not know the racial differences, with Calpurnia, a Negro taking care of her since young, and is extremely sensitive when someone talks bad about her father.

Analyzing Literature - Evaluate and Connect

4. In both situations when Atticus shot the mad dog and defended Tom, he shows that he has the courage to stand up for one's rights and to shoot the dog, which he has only one chance to do it.
5. Atticus is a very intelligent and brave parent to Scout and Finch. He thought them many aspects of life, letting them do what they want. However, he guides them along the way and protects them with his life.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Cross Country

Finally after 365 days, we had our annual cross country again. Little flags and cones was placed around the running track, tents were also set up for shelter after the run. I wore my old running shoes, took 2 helpings of breakfast, and set off to school.

People were seen in their PE shirts, which is quite rare during school days. Shoes of various colours and patterns are also present, not scared of our disciplinary teacher anymore. No one sang the national anthem properly, and the warm-up was just a stroll around our seats.

We almost got to the track when they announced the sec1 to get ready. Time really flies........ seems like yesterday i got lost in this amazingly ENORMOUS campus. We laughed at ourselves and wait for our turn to run.We waited. And waited. And waited. Looking at other people finishing the race, i felt impatient. After seemingly ages we finally get to run.

PITT! We started running. I ignored my old shoe which was loosening out and tried to find my friend. Almost. My shoe finally ran free, and i had to turn back getting it amid laughters from others. It was a difficult one having to run longer than last year and a loose shoe, which i felt lazy to tie. A big mistake. I couldn't run in the end and got a not-so-good results. Perhaps 30 is okay?

Drenched with sweat, my and my friend went to have a drink at the Milo truck. Bad actions was seen: cutting Q, pushing and filling up bottles. Unfortunately, i did that also (felt a little guilty now :p) with just a few cups as teachers are seen lurking around.......but not understanding how i got 10 cups which filled my belly.

Interesting day got me, even though i was little tired after going back, i hope i could run faster than today (20mins?)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Descriptive Essay

This is my draft on my descriptive essay. My English isn't that strong, so help me by giving me feedbacks. Thanks!



Sounds of gunshots are heard everywhere. Civilians are running in every direction, babies crying and women gathering their basic belongings in top speed. Chaos is in the air as the Japanese troops marched in, shooting remorselessly any humans alive and the British troops are scattered like ants everywhere. In the midst of chaos, a little foreign boy, John sits in a corner and watched this live movie with great interest.
The British had surrendered to the Japanese after various attempts to defend in desperation, but the Japanese had cut through the British defenses like a blade through paper. Somehow John managed to escape the strong Japanese, even with the soldiers raiding his magnificent house and all his family members taken. Once he thought his country’s people as highly, powerful men are actually hopeless people just like the locals. Everything was changed in a few days after the gory event: bodies everywhere, rubble could be found in every corner, and reproachful looks could be seen on the people’s face. John did not dare stroll around the streets anymore, as reality started creeping to him with his live movie coming to an end.
The Japanese took over, and changed the people’s was of living completely. Shops that were very familiar to John changed into Japanese shops, while learning Japanese was compulsory and no one was allowed to use other languages. Food supplies were awful and inedible, but there was no choice. John felt life getting more difficult, and now a teenager, his appetite is starting to give him trouble. Once he asked for more food, but a cold, powerful slap was the reply to him. A stray orphan down the post-war street is not a nice scene for anyone. The Japanese people acted like God in the street, people were tortured for no right reason, and girls were taken away by them. Every corner was searched, and many innocent people were taken to jail. With the helping hand of God and sheer luck, John escaped once again from the Japanese, undetected.
John was giving up his hopes, as he now has difficulties with his survival. Finally, one sunny day, John saw an unlucky family being caught by the Japanese. As they were beaten up and took away, he thought of his family and got really emotional. He stood on the banks of the still Singapore River and let all the emotions flow into him. He got ready to do his first and last dive, and closed his eyes. Just at the moment, loud shouting could be heard everywhere. John stopped in a moment and saw people everywhere. Many people were, rejoicing in the streets! This is weird, thought John. He forgot what he was going to do, and walked into the crowd and talked to the people, asking them what happened.
The story was told like a legend: the little atomic bomb was dropped. It touched the ground swiftly, but the effects were devastating. This made the Japanese surrender, with thousands of people killed brutally in the process. Now, cheerful voices filled the streets and smiles are seen everywhere. But problems are arising. Everything was ruined and people are poor. The British are back, however people started to detest them for their failed attempts to save them. They took John, now a strong young man, to their office for a nice offer, as John’s father was one of them before he got caught. However, he declined the offer, and had just requested a little house for himself. With the help of the British, John got a job easily and his income steady.

When Singapore had a merger with Malaysia, John, who is able to speak in many languages, was invited by the government to be their translator. By now, John had a family and a lovely son. Relations were quite strong and things went well in the early years, but with various heated arguments with the two countries, John was sacked, just like Singapore. Having a family to support, and being unemployed, suddenly, John felt that he had gone back into time, with a difficult life. Now, Singapore is independent, which encounters many important issues to deal with, just like John.
Finally, after months of job-finding, John got a job as a clerk. Gradually, he went higher, from a normal clerk to the company’s boss. Now a leader of a big company, John traveled everywhere to deal with business, with an income flowing in like a waterfall. Once a poor, skinny boy whom faced death many times, is one of the wealthiest man in Singapore during those times. Just like Singapore, once a little island became a mega city, having amazing technologies and sophisticated systems.
John reached his 70’s, retired from work with the company passed down to his son. A wealthy old man, John enjoys his life as much as he could. One day, his grandson asked him: “How was life during the war?” John sighed, gave his little grandson a sad smile, and said: “Sounds of gunshots are heard everywhere. Civilians are running in every direction...........”