Practice Essay

 I am posting photos of my essay as i wrote it in my book and wont have time to write it on my blog.

.

Quotation Homework

I can't remember my theme from last week, so I'm going to do  'The Nature of Miracles'.

The nature of miracles theme only really explains itself later on in the book, but here are some quotes from it.

1.  After Tom told Joseph how he got his first silkworms when he was younger:

Tom: "Do you believe in miracles?"
Joseph: "I ... I don't know. Maybe ... I guess so."
Tom: "Don't"
pg. 120

This shows that Tom has been let down by something or someone and is trying in his own way to protect Joseph and from stopping that to happen to him. 

2.  Joseph explaining to Tom what happened/what will happen to his dad late at night:

Joseph: "But you don't believe in miracles, do you?"
Tom: "like water into wine or making the blind see? I don't believe in those kinds of miracles ... but what if ... there are other kinds of miracles?" "Perhaps we have the wrong idea about miracles. Perhaps they're not spectacular at all ... just slow and tedious ..."
pg. 253

Tom is trying to explain to Joseph that he has been out in the world and has seen how different everything is and this shows how miracles are different to what people think they are.

3. Joseph finds Tom on the ground after covering the mulberry tree with the silk cocoons in the early morning:

Tom: "What ... do you think ... of my miracle?"
pg. 260

Just this line explains so much in the book. it tells us how you can't have somebody make a miracle for you, but that you have to push and set yourself a goal, and if you succeed in this goal then this is your miracle. 

Practicing Paragraph Writing

Joseph's experiences in The Running Man change his way of viewing others and his personality. At the start of the novel, Joseph is quiet and self-conscious. When he is asked to draw a portrait of Tom Leighton, his mysterious neighbor, he realises that to draw the real Tom he needs to unlock the mans deepest and darkest secrets. Without knowing it Joseph and Tom become good friends and Joseph starts explaining his own secrets. As Joseph and Tom's relationship develops, he moves deeper into his neighbors secret world and starts seeing things from Tom's point of view. Through his experience with Tom. Joseph learns to change his way of viewing people. The main reason for this change is because he learns to put himself in other people's shoes and experiences it from their way. This change in his personality and viewing others is a major part of growing up and maturing, and Joseph manages to do this because of Tom Leighton.

Questions - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

1. Mrs Mossop was saying to Joseph's mother that he is just like a bird that is to scared to fly. But Joseph hears all this and is determined to change Mrs Mossops idea of him because as soon as she finishes her sentence, Joseph comes out of his room and says 'I think I'm going to do the portrait of Tom Leighton' casually which surprises his mother and Mrs Mossop.

2. Joseph changes his mind because wanted to prove Mrs Mossop and his mother wrong and not to be the shy one anymore.

3. The mango tree reminds him of when he was a little boy he used to climb through all the holes in the tree, and also how relaxing it was.

4. The final incident in this chapter is when there is quite a lot of tension between Tom Leighton and Joseph.

Questions - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

1. I think Joseph's childhood nightmares of the Running Man return because is uncomfortable at school and old memory's are being brought back up including his dreams about the Running Man.

2. Joseph decides to try and forget about the dreams and focus more on getting through his portrait of Tom Leighton.

Questions - Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

1. Joseph's, Joseph's mum and Mrs Mossop's attitudes towards Tom Leighton were not nice. This was because their belief of Tom Leighton was based on rumors. Mrs Mossop was the main one starting these rumors and would go to all costs to try and convince Joseph and his mother that Tom Leighton was a bad person.

2. Joseph's reaction to Caroline Leighton suggesting he draw her brother Tom was very shocked as Joseph was thinking he could draw her.

3. Caroline Leighton starts a conversation about to how long its been since Joseph has seen his father. It is obvious that he doesn't want to get into that topic and ignores her comments and nods along.

Questions - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

1. Joseph is experiencing sadness and confusion because he feels that it is his fault that the person died and confusion because he doesn't know if he should take the full blame for the mans death.

2. Joseph thought of silkworms because he spent all his time with Tom Leighton looking after them, and he is comparing a human life to a silkworms, who spend all their time in a box.

3. Joseph thought of his father, Tom Leighton and The Running man. The last time he saw his fathers face it showed  bewilderment, hurt and anger, when he saw the face of The Running Man his eyes showed a burning desperation and but when he saw Tom Leighton's face it was silent and kept hidden by the shadows of his room.

4. ..."on its black timber stumps like some long-legged creature..." was the simile used to describe the house, this could represent the house being on stilts, and this creates the effect that the house is alive and looks like a long legged creature.

Getting to know "The Running Man"

Question 1 and Question 2. What are your initial impressions of this man? On what do you base these impressions?

When I  saw the picture of the running man, I thought that the book was about a homeless person who was running from the law and couldn't stop running, not about a 14 year old artist and a 50 year old man. The only reason I thought this about the book was the way the running man looked.

He looks old and ragged, he also looks like he's running with a limp and I think this shows how he hasn't stopped running, he also look vet worn out and dirty.  

Question 3. Using at least three sentences, discuss the importance of physical appearance in how we judge others and the assumptions we make about them.

I think physical appearance is very important for most people because it helps them in life and your appearance portrays who you are. But I think sometimes people judge other people to quickly just by their apperance,  which isnt a good thing to do as you're not actually bothering to get to know the real person.