Betsey

I thought it was interesting that when the mom came home she thought she could just go back to her usual life. I was frustrated by the fact that she didn't seem to realize all the damage that she inflicted on her children. They became depressed and worried the entire time she was gone. Everyday they cleaned the house and did the chores to make sure the house looks good for her return. When she returns she take up right where she left off like nothing happened. She gives the girls the sex talk about how to be a proper lady and get a good man. The children especially Betsey does not respond like she had hoped. This is due to the fact that her mom was not there when she needed her earlier so her mentor changed away from her mother.

Another reason why I am frustrated is that the mom left the family after going through the ordeal when Betsey left. I don't understand how she can do that to her kids after she knows what it feels like to go through this. Not only that, she left her kids just after going through the experience of Betsey running away. The emotions should still be fresh in her mind and the panic she experienced has only just gone away.

Betsey's began to form an attachment to nanny. She looked up to her and respected her. This nanny respected Betsey in return and did not put the responsibility of the whole house on her shoulders. This allowed Betsey to grow more mature. When the mother returned it was like she was stifling Betsey all over again. This is why I don't like Betsey's mother.

OUTLINE

Thesis: Sports in literature leads to overly aggressive children, causes a hierarchy in the school, and shifts the focus of school from learning to athletics.

Body 1: Sports teaches young people to be overly aggressive.

At the age of 10 young boys are putting on football pads go onto the field and tackle each other.

As they get older their captains and coaches use vocabulary such as " go out there and kill them" or "slaughter them"!

This can be seen in a Separate Piece.

The school they go to uses sports to prepare the students for war.

Loosing is not acceptable to them because that is signifying that they wont survive the war.

They create a game that involves tackling, kicking, and other aggressive acts and it is supported by the teachers.

Body 2: Sports cause an uneven distribution of popularity leading to a hierarchy in the school.

Athletes (especially of football or soccer) gain popularity quickly after entering high school.

People start following his trends and his beliefs.

This allows him to get away with lots of acts that normally would not be permitted.

It is this that leads to bullying.

This can be seen in Speak where the popular athlete gets away with raping a girl.

He gets away with it cause the girl does not believe that anyone will believe her is she tells people.

They get away with it cause they are popular and everyone think that what they do is the right thing to do.

Body 3: Sports changes the focus of school away from education towards athletic success.

Athletes are popular and well liked.

They can get scholarships if they are successful.

Money and Popularity entices more students to join sports.

This shifts the focus from learning towards gaining that popularity and money by joining sports teams.

This can be seen in A Separate Peace where Finny is held up as the leader of his grade and his group because he is good at sports.

The teachers let him get away with skipping different parts of school because he is the ideal boy for the war.

This leads to more boys trying to be like him.

While sports does have its benefits to society and to children, however it can be quite harmful as well. Sports leads to over aggressive children, a hierarchy in the schools, and a shift from education to sports.

The Character Connection (Huck's review)

The ending of the book, when Tom Sawyer came back into Huck's life made me quite aggravated. I felt that Tom was immature, irresponsible and annoying. These emotions that I felt towards Tom shocked me. I began to look for a reason to explain why I was feeling these emotions. Eventually, after reading many of the critiques discussing how the point of view of this book adds to the connection between the characters and the reader, the reason came to me. Through out this book I had become attached, or connected to Huck. I had witnessed his horrible life with his father. I went through all the hard times with him and he opened up to me and let me know how he was feeling. I saw Huck mature through his actions and his thoughts. His life was not solely about him anymore. There were important people that meant a lot to him and through his actions he protected them swiftly and efficiently. This connection I made with Huck made me get mad when Tom Sawyer arrived back in Hucks life. Tom did not have people that he felt he needed to protect. He did not feel the urgency or the relationship between Huck and Jim. This allowed Tom to care more about the story that would eventually be told about his actions then the implications his actions would have on others lives. Not only that but he started to take away from all the maturing and learning Huck had obtained through his journey. This is what made me mad. Huck was regressing back into a boy when he had become so mature. Tom was slowing Huck's actions and protection of Jim.

If it had not been for the book being in Huck's point of view, his thoughts and feelings, I would not have made a personal connection with him. Without this connection I would not have felt protective over Huck nor made at Tom at the end of the book. This made me realize just how impressive Mark Twain's style of writing truly is.