Character Development Piece

Author’s Note: This is how a character in a book that I read, called Airborn, changes. How he thinks and acts towards other people, and how he manages to do it.

Matt Cruse was a boy who was born in the air; his mother had him while on an airship. Ever since he was born, he had felt like he belonged in the air, and he wanted to be in the air all the time. He got a job as a cabin boy on an airship that his father worked on called the Aurora, and after a few years of that, he wanted to move up to be an assistant sailmaker. The man who owned the ship’s son, named Bruce Lunardi, got the job instead, and Matt has to learn how to cope with the fact that that Bruce got the job that he wanted for so long. Matt also meets a girl on the airship (Kate de Vries), and she is very interested in how the ship works and what Matt does to help. One of the reasons Matt liked Kate was because she was in the upper-class family and Matt was a cabin boy, and she didn’t care that Matt wasn’t rich like her, and they overcome their differences in each other’s lives. The three go on crazy adventures, in and out of the air.

Matt’s story depends on how he reacts towards others in multiple situations, and Matt discovers how jealousy can get the best of you if you let it out of control. He thinks that Bruce is a rich, snobby brat, so he always acts mean towards him. What Matt didn’t realize was that you can’t change someone, no matter who they are, no matter how hard you try. So you just have to learn to like things about someone, and not try to change who they are. Matt couldn’t change the fact that Bruce was the ship’s owner’s son, so he had to cooperate with him towards the end of the book. Pirates, mean-spirited people who board airships and take people’s things take over the Aurora. Matt, Kate, and Bruce are the ones who know how to get the passengers on the ship safe, while keeping the pirates from taking anyone’s life. The three have to trust each other and do their part to clear the pirates off of the ship, in the air, and get the Aurora to their destination.

The Aurora crash-lands on an island due to damage on the ship from the pirates. The island, Matt and Kate discover, is more than an isolated island off of the charts. Kate’s grandfather had once attempted to go around the world in a hot air balloon, but died in the balloon due to weather and disease. Matt works in the crow’s nest, which is where a person looks out of the window for obstacles in the ship’s way. He sees the balloon where he was, but didn’t know that it was Kate’s grandfather, for the Aurora discovered it a year before he met Kate. This is another connection with Matt and Kate. The man died, but when the two, a year after the discovery of the man and his balloon, read his journal, they find out that he had seen mysterious creatures on the very island that they are on. Matt and Kate go on an adventure trying to find things that Kate’s grandfather had seen, only to be found by pirates living on the island. They had to make a quick escape from the island to get back home.

Only a few pirates enter the ship after it takes flight, and in the fight for their lives, Bruce performs a heroic act that saves the ship and every one of the passengers. One of the pirates, who was there while Bruce was steering the ship back onto it’s correct route, shot him. Bruce died while overcoming his fear of situations like the one he was in. The head of the pirate attack, Vikram Szpirglas, was attempting to kill Matt because he was steering the ship to safety, and Szpirglas would’ve been caught if they reached their destination. Matt was almost killed in the fight for his own life, but Szpirglas tripped and fell off of the ship and into the water hundreds of feet below. Matt realizes then that he has to act quickly during those times, and not stall because something bad might happen. That was another way that Matt developed during the book. Kate plays an important role in helping Matt and Bruce fight off the pirates. All three of them figure out that they all have to be brave and trusting when times like that come. When Matt discovered that Bruce had died, he felt horrible for hating him at all. He realized that Bruce couldn’t change who he was. He could only become friends with Matt by overcoming their differences and trusting him with his life. 

People can learn lessons like these in many ways, not just fighting off pirates and surviving on an island with mysterious creatures and secrets. Not only do Kate and Matt become friends, but they discover that there is more to life than being rich and having a great job. They realize that you can be friends with anyone as long as you cooperate and work together during tough times.

Cause and Effect Piece

This is my cause and effect piece. The reason I chose this topic is because I wanted to write something about me.


Sometimes my memory is linked to smells. A few years ago, my parents would always take my brother and I to an indian restaurant. I never liked the smell of curry, so when I went into any indian restaurant, I felt like I was going to throw up. The cause was the curry cooking in the kitchen.

At Thanksgiving, my mom made a soup that had curry in it. Once she started making it, I could smell it all over the house. After a few minutes, I felt like I was going to pass out because the smell seemed so strong to me. So the cause was the smell of the curry, and the effect was my reaction to it: A nauseous feeling. My memory has linked that smell to a negative thought. If curry didn’t smell differently to me, I wouldn’t have that feeling every time I smelled it.

Patriot's Pen Essay

Author’s Note: Most people don’t think about the people that founded their country. In this country, there were people from the past that created America. They started everything in America. If you could really meet these people, what would you tell them?

                How would you talk to someone that important? What would you talk about? I would talk to them with honor and pride because of their duty to America. I would tell them what a great honor it would be to talk to a person who helped shape our country in the very beginning. I would tell them that they would’ve gone through many hardships to start a country, but they didn’t overlook those problems. They took them on and thought, “I will make sure that our future generations have a great country to live in!” If you think about it, many people wouldn’t be able to do what our founding fathers did: Begin a fantastic country that we will be proud of now, and in the future.

                Early America had to have been hard because they didn’t have the technology that we have today. Communication is a huge thing; they couldn’t just email another person. Just imagine having no computers, no cell phones, no advanced technology. Now imagine founding a whole country without it! People rely on technology a lot, because it has helped us make great discoveries about the world around us and how to make it better. Our founding fathers did a lot more than just sign papers. They declared independence for our country; which was acting for themselves along with other people. I would want to let them know that they did many important things for America, and some people don’t realize it.

                Why would I tell America’s founding fathers that? Because some people don’t realize the importance of our founding fathers. If you really did think about it, this country would be completely different if they weren’t our founding fathers. Our independence might not have been won in the same way, or we wouldn’t have the Constitution that we have now, showing our rights and freedoms. 

                I, out of all of the people in America, have had the opportunity to actually think about what I would tell America’s founding fathers. I encourage others to consider what they would tell America’s founding fathers, and why, because if we really could have a conversation with them, what would you really tell them?

Six-Flags-O-Phobia

Author’s Note: Kids can either totally love roller coasters or absolutely despise them.  Theme parks can be the best place ever, or your worst nightmare. It all depends on your childhood.

I remember my first trip to Six Flags, also known as Great America mainly because of the water slide and the swings. Memories like this are memorable because of something significant that happened earlier in your childhood. If you have a good memory, you will be able to remember it. Some people TRY to block out those memories, only because they were too scary. Even though my memory of Six Flags was very terrifying, I will still remember it for a long time.

Going on the swings was the best thing that I did at Six Flags that day. It was rainy, so not many people were there, so there wasn’t a very long line for the swings. When I got on for the first time, it felt like I was flying. My parents had told me that I could go on the swings as many times as I wanted. I remember the small raindrops hitting my face as I swung around, passing a tree with rustling leaves. Every time I passed that tree, I reached out with my arm and tried to catch one of the leaves flapping as I swung by. Because I was so small and young, the whole ride felt colossal and high up in the air, so that is partially why I remember that trip.

The last time I went to Six Flags was last year, and I remember seeing the rides that I was terrified to go on when I was little. I did go on roller coasters, but only because I was the only one that would’ve stayed behind. As we were waiting in line, I remembered when I had gone there last time, so I was afraid because I didn’t go on one when I was little. Your experience at amusement parks can differ depending on what you did in your childhood.

When I went to Great America last year, Batman was the first roller coaster that I went on. because it was the only one that I had ridden that went upside down. People had told me that roller coasters were really fun, but I hadn’t known until then because of my fear of roller coasters as a kid. This was a good chance to actually try out a roller coaster. Once I got on, I literally started bawling. I remember all of the twists and turns and then finally the end of the ride. I wanted to go again, and I wished I had actually gone on one of those rides as a little girl. About 5 years after going to Six Flags for the first time, I told my mom, “I want to go to Great America again because I want to go on one of the huge roller coasters!” My mom told me that I could go with my dad because he loves those rides

I got over my fear of roller coasters. Everyone could if they went on a roller coaster, because I wanted to love them. I always had the fear that I would get stuck upside down, and I’m pretty sure that other people have that same exact phobia. I can assure that you will get over at least SOME of your fear of an amusement park ride. I also went on a water log ride, and that was scary experience, and I didn’t think I would ever have to go on another roller coaster. I did, and now I am completely over my fear of roller coasters. If you ever go to Six Flags, go on a ride even if you are terribly afraid of them, because if you get over your fear, it could actually be fun!

Cause and Effect in Delirium

Author's Note: This is about the cause and effect in a book I read called Delirium. I chose this book to do my cause and effect assignment because it had a clear example on the topic.

The cause in Delirium is how the people that run the society don't want people to feel the emotion of love. The people that live in that area have to follow the rules, or you will die because of the sickness or be cured immediately. This is the cause of the story because people will try to break the rules of the society that they live in.

The effect in the book is that two people fall in love and hide whenever they want to meet because they will be caught and cured. They don't want to be cured because when you're cured, you never feel the strong emotion of love or anything, for that matter. Not over excitement, not depression, not love. So they need to hide from the society and make sure they never find out.

Conflict/Resolution Milkweed

The main conflict in Milkweed is that the main character, Misha, has to survive living in the ghetto, but he also has to support his family and friends. He learns fast, even though he is just a kid. But for someone who doesn't know their own name, he learned quite a lot and used that in his early years. The problem is that he feels like he is stuck somewhere where he can't get out. Just another day, smuggling food and sleeping. It wasn't a normal child's life. This is a person vs. society conflict because he is trying to survive under the strict rules of the society.

The solution to the conflict was that Misha escaped, and he worked more and more to go somewhere where he was free. As he got older, he still had to deal with his past. He tried to find ways do cope with the memories, and the way he did that was that he spent time comforting his granddaughter. It wasn't a direct solution, but Misha still did figure out that he just had to let go of everything in his past and focus on what was going on in the present.

Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia has only known the ways of the Society because they decide everything for you: what your job is, when you die, and who you marry. Cassia is Matched with the obvious person for her, but makes her own decision that defies the Society. How will she make things right, for her and the Society?