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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Narrative Twist

“The Double Trial”


This is a plot twist for the short story "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton.


What just happened: “Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: “Which?” It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another.”

Her arms lay across the wall that protected her and the king from falling off the balcony. She quickly held up her right arm slightly, and then signaled for him to wait.


She turned and looked at the king. “Excuse me Papa,” she said to her father. “I can’t…  I can’t watch this!” She fled down the stairs, ran through the barely lit passageway, and into a dark room.


The princess’s lover waited one minute, and then slowly walked to the door on the right. When he got to the door, he hesitated. He looked up at the where the Princess used to be sitting and his smile faded. 

She abandoned me, he thought. He turned back to the door and took a deep breath. The crowd held their breath as he then opened the door on the right.


Standing in the middle of the room was the Princess. She had a knife in her right hand and the lady lay dead at her feet. Blood was spattered across the wall and the floor of the room.


The King stood, petrified. The princess just stood there, with the bloody knife in her hand, her eyes demonic. After the gasps had ended, the crowd was so silent, you could hear the drop of a pin. Ten of the King’s best knights quickly surrounded the princess, each with a sword in hand.


“Drop the knife!” they said. The princess did as she was told. She stepped out of the room, carefully set the knife on the ground, and kicked it over to the knights.

“Now!” she screamed. The Princess’s lover pushed one of the knights out of the way and scooped up the knife. He then killed two of the King’s knights. The other knights rushed to surround him, leaving the princess unguarded. She picked up a sword from one of the fallen knights and killed three more. Then, working together, they attacked the knights until all of them were dead.


The crowd was still dead silent, glued to their seats. The Princess and her lover dropped their swords, as he had picked up one too, and walked back through the door that he had entered the arena in. Even more knights surrounded the couple after they had gotten through the door. Since they had no weapons, they were both arrested and thrown in jail without a quarrel. The king could barely recognize her. It was as if a demon has possessed her. There was blood all over her body and her eyes were wild with hate.


The King had to think long and hard about putting her on trial. I mean, should he? Should he execute her? He obviously did not want his daughter to die, but he felt he had no choice. They had seen her commit the crimes.
She was obviously guilty, and guilty people must be punished. It was the law. 

People started advertising for the trial. Prices for the seats had been raised, but that didn’t stop people, for this was their favorite form of entertainment. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be at “The Trial of the Century”? The King’s men searched for the most handsome man they could find, and one of the most vicious tigers.

On the day of the trial, the amphitheater was completely full, which hadn’t happened in decades. The King sat in his throne, as white as a ghost as his daughter stepped into the arena. This time, the Princess had absolutely no idea which door had the tiger, and which had the man. She slowly walked up to the doors. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pointed. Her finger was pointed to the door on the right. She took another deep breath and opened the door.


A year had passed, and the King still had not gotten over the death of his daughter. He blamed himself, saying that it was his fault that she was dead. He prayed that he could take back the things he said, the things he did, everything. But he knew that he couldn’t take anything back. He knew that he couldn’t take back the things he did, he knew that he couldn’t take back the things that he said, and he knew that his prayers could not reverse the tragedy. He became obsessed with the thought that he killed his daughter. His mind kept replaying the situation. The tiger, the screams, the blood, the gasps of the crowd. He thought about it every waking moment. He became so obsessed with the horrible thought, that he felt he could not escape his own thoughts. He was furious with himself that he let that happen to his daughter. So, on March 19th, he joined his daughter in heaven.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Blog for Week 10/26/15 - Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

      The book that I just finished was Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. The book is about a pig named Wilbur and his best friend named Charlotte. There is a girl named Fern who a baby pig from being killed because he was the runt of the litter. She adopts him and raises him until he is about one month old. He is then sold the Fern's uncle's farm, where he meets Charlotte, a kind spider who lives in the corner of Wilbur's pen. They become best friends, and when Wilbur learns that he is going to be killed for Christmas time (so that the family can have bacon and ham and things like that), Charlotte devises a plan to save his life. This plan involves Wilbur to become famous. When this happens, Charlotte and the other animals are certain that it will save his life.

Prompt: How does the conflict drive the character development (how does the character change)?

      The conflict definitely helps the character development. Wilbur started out as a lonely, scared, little runt, to a strong, confident pig. The strong, confident, new Wilbur was a result of Charlotte's plan, which she created because of the conflict.  In the beginning of the story, it says, "This was the worst day of his life. He didn't know whether he could endure the awful loneliness anymore." This shows that Wilbur is alone, scared, and doesn't have any friends to help him through the tough time he is having settling in to the barn. And at the end of the story, it says "'Actually,' said Wilbur, 'I feel radiant'. 'Do you?' said Charlotte, looking at him with affection. 'Well, you're a good little pig, and radiant you shall be.'" In the end, it also says, "'...in token of appreciation of the part played by this pig -- this radiant, this terrific, this humble pig -- in attracting so many visitors to our great county fair.'" These quotes show that Wilbur has changed because in the beginning of the story, he was lonely and sad, and he would've never complimented himself, or be so confident in himself. Also, in the second quote, he is winning an award for being a radiant, humble, and terrific pig. In the beginning of the story, he was a sad, lonely, and scared little runt, and turned into a humble, terrific, and radiant pig. This is all a result of the conflict because the conflict forced Charlotte to save Wilbur's life, and the only way she could think of was making him famous. Wilbur's confidence and strength changed in the process. Therefore, the conflict definitely drove the character development.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Blog For Week: 10/14/15 - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis


      The book that I am reading right now is The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. This is the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia series, although the first book is only a prologue. There are four children: Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund. They discover a magical world and meet the White Witch who calls herself the Queen of Narnia, when really she is an evil witch who wants to take over Narnia and rule forever. But there is one thing keeping her from taking over: Aslan. Aslan is the true King of Narnia, and after the children meet him, there is a huge battle.

      Prompt: Describe a character that you would like to meet (which doesn’t mean that you
think you would like the character, but that you think the character would be
interesting). List 4 questions that you would ask.

      If I were to meet any character in the book, I would meet either Aslan or the White Witch. Aslan is a powerful lion, while also being the King of Narnia. If I were to meet Aslan, here are the questions I would ask him:
Aslan

1. Why did you abandon Narnia, as some of the other characters said you did?

2. Why did you choose to come back the moment that Peter, Lucy, Edmund, and Susan arrived?

3. Why did you leave again after the children were crowned Kings and Queens?

4. Why are you named the True King of Narnia, and how did you become King?

The White Witch is also very powerful, but uses her powers for evil. She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, even though she is evil and wants to take over the country. And if I were to meet the White Witch, there are the questions I would ask her:
The White Witch

1. How do your powers work, and why do you use them for evil?

2. When you went into the camp to talk to Aslan, why didn't you just kill the children there? (You had the opportunity.)

3. Why are you so obsessed with power and why do you use that power to kill / punish people and animals / turn them to stone?

4. And finally, why didn't you kill me when I was asking you these questions? (not that I would want that)

      Prompt: After reading, I wonder...

      After reading, I wondered what would've happened if one thing didn't happen. If there would've been a chain reaction of events. For example, if Edmund hadn't met the White Witch in the beginning. The Witch might not have found out that Tumnus (a faun) helped Lucy escape Narnia (Edmund was the one who told her that he did), which led to him being turned to stone, which wouldn't have happened. Things would be completely different if Edmund hadn't met the Witch in the woods when he first came to Narnia because saving Tumnus was pretty much the only reason why they stayed in Narnia the first night they were there. Edmund hadn't met the White Witch in the woods, the whole story might have been completely different. So, if one thing didn't happen, there would be a chain reaction of events, ultimately changing the entire story. 

      Prompt: If you were the author, what would you have happening next?

      And just so you know what is happening right now: Peter, Lucy and Susan are at Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's house and just discovered that Edmund has gone to the White Witch's house. The Beavers realized that Edmund probably told her about where they were and that her wolves (because she has wolves as slaves) were going to be there soon to punish them.

      If I was the author, the next thing that would happen is that The White Witch's wolves were going to show up and surround them. But, the wolves turn out to be on the good side and help them. So the children would escape, then travel to the Witch's house and rescue Edmund and Tumnus. But, of course, in the process, the Witch catches them. But, just as she is about to turn the children to stone, Aslan shows up at the perfect time, and eats her. They then run through the house and discover that Tumnus has been turned to stone. Lucy cries for a little bit, because she says that it was her fault, even though it was kind of Edmund's for telling the Witch. But then, Aslan comes up and roars really loud, which for some reason, breaks the spell and all of the animals / things that had been turned to stone were free. Then, Peter, Lucy, Susan, and Edmund get crowned Kings and Queens and they all live with Aslan, the beavers, and Tumnus in a huge castle for the rest of their lives (happily ever after).

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Banned Books Vlog

And Tango Makes Three
By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell




Sources:

"About Banned & Challenged Books." American Library Association. American Library 
      Association, 2015. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.ala.org/bbooks/about>.

Crum, Maddie. "Banned Books By The Numbers (INFOGRAPHICS)." Huffington Post. Huffington         Post, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/22/banned-             books-week-infographic_n_5852234.html>.

"Frequently Challenged Books." American Library Association. American Library Association

Machlin, Sherri. "Banned Books Week: And Tango Makes Three." New York Public Library. New           York Public Library, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Oct. 2015                                                                            <http://www.nypl.org/blog/2013/09/23/banned-books-week-and-tango-makes-three>.