You don't Know what you've Got Until it's Gone

In your life you may have family, places, or objects that make you happy, things that you like and love. You may even have old items that you used to play or do things with and now you don’t anymore. Then one day, you may move away from that place or you may give away that something, and you realize you really liked it and now miss it. But you can't have it anymore…it's gone…In the poems Field Below by Regina Spektor and Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell, they explain that you have to cherish everything you have. Otherwise you won't know what you had until it's gone.

Likewise, the mood of the story to me is never take anything for granted. Like in Field Below the author explains that she used to see a field, she means she had a lovely grassy area but she moved away and never saw its beauty again. The Author's purpose for writing like I said before is to take care of and be happy with everything you have. Like in Big Yellow Taxi, it says "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot they took all the trees Put 'em in a tree museum." By that it is saying that there used to be a forest and it was beautiful but it was torn down to make another building.

Parody

I have eaten

the cookies

That you have made

In the oven.



I know you spent

Your whole weekend

Working on them,



To me it seemed

As if they were a gold mine

Waiting to be found



I could not resist,

So I consumed them

Like a lawn mower

Faster than imaginable



When I swallowed that last one,

The taste finally came to me;

Bland and tasteless.

Mother to Son

Author’s Note: This is a short response to the short story Mother to Son, it is meant to explain the detail and figurative language it possesses.

Mother to Son does an amazing job of describing the emotion and mood of the story. Using slang terms such as ain’t, turnin’, I’se, and a-climbin,’ it interprets that the setting is in the more southern parts of the United States. Another great way the writer Langston Hughes uses figurative language is by using the metaphor, “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.” This phrase is explaining that the mother’s life has been difficult and maybe even poor. That her life has rarely been good at all, the mother also wants her son to do better than she did and have a better life. Using another metaphor; “So boy, don't you turn back” the mother is telling her son and maybe Langston Hughes is telling the reader to never give up on life and always chase your dreams.

Special with a Capital “Z”

Author’s Note: this is a writing piece on word choice, it is meant to tell the tale of a special boy named Donald Zinkoff from the book Loser.

What would you do if you met a boy that you could never upset? A boy who you could never anger? In the novel, Loser by Jerry Spinelli that boy’s name is Donald Zonkoff. Donald Zinkoff is a young boy who can never be mad as if he were Mr. Rogers himself, and it is physically impossible for him to do anything but laugh. If Zinkoff were to here the worst joke in the world he would laugh until tears streamed from his eyes. Zinkoff is a short, brown haired, curious little scamp who appears to always look for trouble. In his second grade year when his teacher Mrs. Biswell, is out of the room Zinkoff goes straight to the chalk board. He claps the erasers together making a complete mess, and when his teacher comes back something most unexpected happens.

In addition, when Zonkoff is stressed such as when his teacher angrily comes back in the room, Zinkoff has a stomach problem in which he pukes more than anyone does on Mardi gras. It is not his fault; the tube that goes down to his stomach is upside-down. He is adored by his parents but questioned by everyone else; to Zinkoff every day is a plus. He is physically uncoordinated and has terrible handwriting, in every class he gets nothing but F’s, yet still has a good time.

Lastly, Zonkoff is the craziest child in the world; he is even the Curious George of his time. He may have a few screws loose but his heart is always in the right place and to him every day is the best day of his life.

Donald Zinkoff

What would you do if you met a boy that you could never upset? A boy who you could never anger? In the novel, Loser by Jerry Spinelli that boy’s name is Donald Zonkoff. Donald Zinkoff is a young boy who can never be mad, and it is physically impossible for him to to anything but laugh. If Zinkoff were to here the worst joke in the world he would laugh until tears streamed from his eyes. Zinkoff is a short, brown haired, curious little scamp who appears to always look for trouble. In his second grade year when his teacher Mrs. Biswell, is out of the room Zinkoff goes straight to the chalk board. He claps the erasers together making a complete mess, and when his teacher comes back something much unexpected happens.

In times of stress such as when his teacher angrily comes back in the room, Zinkoff has a stomach problem in which he pukes. It is not his fault; the tube that goes down to his stomach is upside-down. He is adored by his parents but questioned by everyone else; to Zinkoff every day is a plus. He is physically uncoordinated and has terrible handwriting, in every class he gets nothing but F’s, yet still has a good time.