I Funny- Title Meaning CONTAINS SPOILER 11/17/14

Blog for week of: November 17, 2014

Writing Prompt- What is the title of what you are reading? How does it fit the story? If you

don’t know yet how it fits the story, what is your best guess?

Pages Read- beginning - end

          I have read a book called I Funny. This book is about a young boy in wheelchair who competes in the funniest kid comic contest. He is one of the winners in the first round and now gets to go onto the seconds round. His brother (technically cousin) starts a rumor that the only reason he won was because he is in a wheelchair. After that people start making fun of him and saying that he shouldn't have won and the only reason he did was because he is disabled.He then goes to the final round and then wins (now that I think about it I realize this is a big spoiler to the end).

          The main character in the book is named Jamie. Jamie often helps out his uncle at his café. When Jamie works the cash register at the café he tells jokes to the people that come up. There is one man who comes to the café often and he is German. Since this costumer is German and because he comes to the café often, Jamie tells him jokes from a certain German comedian. This man is obviously not fluent in English so instead of saying "You are funny" he says "You funny". Then Jamie starts saying "I funny" instead of "I am funny". I believe this is the cause of the title.

          All of the books in the are titled with the words I funny. Once there is a new book they add a word in the middle of I and Funny. For example, the second book is I Even Funnier and the word 'even' is added in with what I call a carrot. There is a part in the book where he is imagining himself in his school cafeteria while everybody is cheering for him and congratulating him and it's like they are have a party. He also imagines that the cafeteria workers have baked a cake for him and written on the cake is the words I funny. While you are reading and once you have read the book I Funny you realize that those words come up many times in the story.

Analyze City Of The Beasts 11/10/14

Blog for week of: November 10, 2014

Writing  Prompts: 1- Analyze the impact word choice has on the meaning or tone of a text.
2- Analyze how dialogue or specific incidents reveal information about characters.

          In the book, City Of The Beast, there are many different impacts the word choice has on the meaning of the text. In the book it says, "Alex was convinced that he had the dumbest dog in history...". This quote uses the word 'dumbest' and that is a negative connotation. Instead of saying 'dumbest' you can use the words 'not so smart' to make it have a less negative connotation. The quote also uses the word dog which has a neutral connotation.

          Another quote from my book is,"...interrupted to apologize for the prickly behavior of his daughter.". This quote uses the word 'prickly' and I believe that this word is neutral. If you were using a word such as 'stupid' then I  think that 'prickly' would have a more positive connotation in that situation.

          There is a man in the book that goes by the name of Professor Leblanc. Professor Leblanc is a man who is very narcissistic. He thinks he is the best and that he is always right. He is also constantly complementing himself on his greatness. Professor Leblanc is also very rich which I believe is another reason he is so self centered. There are many moments in the book when you realize that Professor Leblanc is this way. One is, "Leblanc shot at one one with his pistol, but César Santos managed to jar the professor's arm and spoil that shot." This quote doesn't show that Leblanc is narcissistic but it does help you realize that he doesn't mind shooting and killing animals. Once you read more of the story you will see that Leblanc has no problem firing his pistol for no reason and scaring off person or animal that might be near. You will also see how conceited Leblanc is once you read more of the story. This quote also shows that César Santos is a kind person who doesn't believe in killing animals if it is not needed. Once you read more of the story you realize the César Santos is a very kind man.

Reflections on Poe

          Before I began my research on Poe I already knew some things about him. I knew that Poe liked a not so great life when he was young. I also knew that he has written many poems and short stories. Thanks to my 6th grade Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Stamp, I am very familiar with the short story "The Raven". The things I knew about Poe are very few compared to the information that I have gained from my research. I had no idea that his parents died while he was young. Or that he had siblings. I have never really read of his stories because I didn't have an interest in them. After doing my research I am defiantly going to check that out.

         There are different ways that Poe's life could've affected his writing. Poe's early life was not  that great. Edgar Allan Poe has some dark or unhappy pieces of writing and that could be because of the rough events that he went through as a child and a young adult. An example would be "The Tale Tell Heart". "The Tale Tell Heart" is a short story about a man who kills another man because of his vulture like eye. This story doesn't give you a very happy or joyful feeling. In the first 3 years of Poe’s life his parents died causing him to live in Virginia with a rich tobacco merchant named John Allan and his Wife Prances Valentine. When Poe was 20 years old the only mother he ever knew, Frances Allan, died of tuberculosis. All of these deaths that he has gone through might be the cause of "The Tale Tell Heart".

          After doing my research on Edgar Allan Poe I have learned a lot about him. I've learned that he married his younger cousin. Which, let me just add, is weird and gross in my opinion. I also learned that he was once so poor that he had to burn his furniture to keep warm. Another thing that new that I learned is that Poe published his first book at the age of 18. Which is pretty cool if you ask me. I learned that Edgar Allan Poe Published 3 stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Gold Bug”, and “The Black Cat”, in the same year as the first telegraph line. I knew that Edgar Allan Poe wrote those stories a long time a go and that the first telegraph line happened a long time ago, but I didn’t know they happened in the same year. I also learned that Edgar Allan Poe was in Richmond to give a lecture and see his friends in the same year as the Carolina Gold Rush. That is just a little bit of what I learned from all of my research. There is so much new knowledge in my mind it's unbelievable!

I Funny 11-3-14

Blog for week of: November 3, 2014

Writing Prompt: Describe the most important event. Give at least three reasons why you think it

is the most important event.

Pages read: beginning - end

           The book, I Funny, is about a young disabled man who wants to compete in the funniest kid contest and becoming the greatest kid comic. The young man's name is Jamie Grimm. He got in an accident when he was younger causing him to be in a wheelchair. The accident caused his parents to die which is why Jamie now lives lives with his mom's sister and her husband and son. The family he know lives with are the Smiley though they never smile. Jamie has an uncle that encourages him to compete in the funniest kid contest and Jamie does.

          I believe that the most important event in this story would be when Jamie wins the funniest kid contest and becomes the worlds funniest kid comic. One reason I think this is an important event is because the whole book basically is talking about this contest and leading up to the point where he won. First Jamie had to win a comedy contest that was held in Long Beach (which is where he lives). Once he did that he moved on to the competition is New York which was for all of the marbles. This part of the story is what it is all about and it's what you want to happen. After reading all of the things that happened before he won the contest you really have no choice but to vote for Jamie. You might find this hard to believe but the jokes in the book are actually kind of funny.

          Another reason why I think this is the most important event in the story is because it was like everybody against him and it is just nice to see (or read) that Jamie is so happy because he really has, and does, go through a lot of rough times. His brother (technically cousin) is a real bully to Jamie, in and out of school. He starts a rumor that the only reason he one the first contest was because he was in a wheel chair and the judges felt sympathy fro him. After that almost all of the kids in school were making fun of him and saying that he didn't win fairly. The only people that were not going along with everybody else in their school and were being nice to Jamie were Jamie's friends.

        A third reason why I think winning the contest was the most important event in the story is because it was the biggest event that happened in the story. The whole book was leading up to this event and if it wasn't big and/or important then it wouldn't have been at the end of the book. I also know it is the big and/or important even in the book because all throughout the book it talks about the contest and how great it is. It says how much Jamie and his family want him to win the big and important contest. Unless it is really bad they don't usually carry on talking about throughout the whole story. That's just one way that I think about it. In my opinion this and the first contest Jamie competed in was the only big events that I think are actually important. There is this one event that I think is more big than important, but due to spoilers I am not going. to name that one.