Elijah Of Buxton - Fin

Summary:

In 1860, Elijah Freeman is only eleven years old when he is brought into the world in the Buxton area in Canada where he lives with his parents and slaves. Elijah knows about slavery and the meaning of freedom. What he does know is that Mr. Leroy is willing to risk everything to buy his wife and children out of slavery. Unfortunately Elijah learns a  lesson about the untrustworthiness of strangers when the Preacher, offers to help Mr. Leroy but ends up stealing his money. Mr. Leroy's journey ends sadly, but Elijah's effort to help him. As a baby, Elijah was made a symbol of hope by Mr. Frederick Douglass, and now he has earned this distinction by becoming the youngest conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Theme:

The book's theme is "not to judge others because of their appearance."  Throughout the entire book, Elijah, the people of Buxton, and other African American people are being judged by the white people. They are mainly judged because of their skin color. But, this does not hurt the people of Buxton and they still act civilized and kind to others. There are a small number of people in the book that view them as equals.  One of these people is Mr. Benjamin Alston.  This white man is kind enough to look past skin color and help people out. An example of this is when he helps Elijah's friend, Mr. Highgate, after he is shot.  This theme of "not judging others because of their appearance" is important in life, because with a more open mind towards others, you will be less likely to hurt people in any way.    

Elijah of Buxton

Summary: 

We start off with a boy that goes by the name of Elijah, of course. Why wouldn't we? Ok ok. On a Sunday afternoon, Elijah's friend Cooter wants to solve a mystery.  Both of them like too play around with one another and sometimes try to scare each other. That day they had told Elijah to watch out for the "rolling hoop snakes". Elijah, who is terrified of any type of snake, goes running to his mother screaming. She has tried to teach him not to be so afraid of things, by explaining the ant hill and what they call "toady-frogs". So both Elijah and Cooter try to prank Elijah's mom by planting a frog in her knitting station and when she gets scared, it sends them laughing. Expecting a whipping, he is proud of his mother for taking the joke so well. 

What I Think About This Book: 

I think this book will have a lot of lessons for us to take. Whether it be a BIG or small lesson. Like previously mentioned with the snakes. Cooter tries to have fun by scaring Elijah with leads him to go running to his mom. And what does she tell him? "Be brave. Don't be afraid of anyone or anything.." Right there is a mini lesson (well for me). That I shouldn't be afraid and to be a brave man

Back From The Journey

Summary:  

After a prank goes wrong, Digger sent to jail. But he manages to escape from the juvenile detention facility that nearly killed him. When injuries stop him, Digger hides at a riverside campground, where he befriends a young boy and a girl his own age. With his new friends, a job, and risking his life to save animals make Digger realize that the journey back is not just about getting home,  but about discovering what he's really running from, and how to face his past.

Theme:

The theme of this book is you can't always run away from your mistakes. Digger pulled a prank that lead to someone being killed. And of course he was sent to jail but he managed to escape. By the end of the book he realized that maybe he had to face his mistakes. "At some point I have to go back" he told himself. Every mistake has their consequence. And that's something we all have to learn.

The Journey Back

Summary:

Fourteen year old Michael (Digger) Griswald thinks he is set free and could do whatever he wants. Not exactly true. After he did a prank to a innocent kid AND left him dead, his freedom was taken away. So right now police are still trying to find out who the killer is but as we know, it is Digger. Can he runaway? Or will he get caught?


Conflict:

The conflict of The Journey Back is Man vs. Self. For example, Digger is dealing with these thoughts telling himself "I have to leave everything" but the he also tells himself "I have a family here". Meaning he can't concentrate well with himself. It also shows that he is fighting to leave and to stay. But he can't due to the thoughts he has.

American Indian Assessment

Paragraph 1:

American Indians were marginalized because white people would take them away, try to force them to learn a new life style, and do things they wanted to do. In the article "Would We Be Killed?" it stated that "They marveled at the girls in long woolen dresses and pulled-back hair working at their sewing machines, at the boys with their military haircuts and neatly pressed trousers sitting obediently in their classes." Another example is that from one government agent after visiting Carlisle, “We have solved the Indian problem!” This proves that American Indians were pushes aside because many white people wanted to "kill the indian" inside the American Indians. 

Paragraph 2:  

The purpose of Shanice Britton’s essay was to let the readers know that just because they are American Indians, doesn't mean that they still live like before. Shanice tells us that other people "have all these ideas about what that means— that I live in a teepee and wear moccasins and a headdress. But those are misconceptions." This shows that people exaggerate on the life of American Indians when they clearly don't live in the environment as before. Shanice also wants readers to know that American Indians still and will carry their traditions. On page 16 Shanice states that "It’s a tradition that’s been passed down from generation to generation." This means that the things they do will always be brought down for many more generations. 

Darkness

Summary:

To sum the book, Shorty is a Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when the earth is crumpling down around him. He his surrounded by dead bodies and growing very very weak from lack of food and water. Shorty waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, he becomes aware of another presence, one reaching out to him across two hundred years of history. It is the presence of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life was enhanced by violence, and whose own end came in darkness. Now what unites a poor child with a man who would do anything to to free your country out of slavery? Is it the darkness they share or is it hope? I suggest you read it. 

The theme of the book, "In Darkness" is to never quit no matter what goes on. As mentioned before in one of my previous blogs, Shorty is having a rough time getting through his life. He has to see the world as a dark place that people live in. For example the dead bodies everywhere in which Shorty describes them as "nasty". The thing is, Shorty never gave up. He kept on striving for hope and see if he could changed the world in order for it to be a petter place for everyone.

Darker

Summary:

Shorty is know knowing who he truly is. What all of this means and why he is marked. Marked in a way that links him with Toussaint L'Ouverture. Toussaint L'Ouverture is Haitian rebel who two-hundred years ago led the slave revolt and faced down Napoleon to force the French out of Haiti. But Shorty has a secret revenge towards Site Soleil and a burning wish to find the twin sister he lost five years ago. The only problem is, by the day he's getting weaker and weaker. He can't seem to focus well but still continues to try and find his sister in order to make him happy.

My Feeling (So Far): 

Throughout the book I've there have been many feelings towards me. This book has rely set a serious mood towards me. Everytime I start reading this book I feel different. I mean this is a book about a young boy trying to survive in Haiti. He is trying to find his lost twin sister. I know that maybe there are kids right now fighting to survive somewhere. And if people really saw all of these problems they should and could help them out.