Politics

So in Red Planet, the boys finally made it home! Both of them explained everything that had happened to their parents, but their parents were a little skeptical. They thought, there was no way that Howe could take away migration. There was no way it was as bad as the boys made it out to be. After the boys spilled everything out, they were informed that authorities were looking fot them. They were being charged with breaking and entering and robbery (taking willis back.) The boys tried convincing their parents that they did no such thing. Their parents started to agree. Jim told his parents how Willis recored everything including the conversation between Howe and the general about migration. Jim dad calls Franks dad and tells him about the conversation. They wait to listen until both families are together. After listening to Willis, the parents were furious. Then the authorities were back to take the boys. Word got out that they were finally home. Their parents refused for the authorities to take them and they left for the moment. They boys were taken to Doctor MacRae's house for a little while, they were safe there. The boys exoplained everything to Doc MacRae and he tried to help them understand it better.

Freytags Triangle

So I havnt fully finished my book. I have a couple of chapters left. I cant complete Freytags triangle quite yet.

Begining- the intro of the book, learning about mars and humans. The boys going off to school.
Rising Action- Howe taking away Willis. The boys finding out about Howe trying to take away migration.
Climax-The boys trying to escape from school to warn their families about the migration law. K'boomch takes them to the martian city and they find out willis is a girl.

I dont think that I have really hit the falling action or the conclusion yet. Like I said, I still have a few chapters left but I will keep you all posted on what happens next.

Red Planet: the boys escape

So I know that I havnt updated in a while so I have a few chapters of Red Planet to tell you all about.

• Frank and Jim have escaped from the school. After they found out that Howe was going to try to forbid migration, the boys were furious, especially Jim. They knew that they had to get the message back to their parents before it was too late and the only way that was going to happen is if they delivered the message themselves. The boys got their friend to help them escape out of the garbage dump. It was all too simple. The boys lay in the shoot and their friend inside hits the lever and out of the building they are, falling to the ally. It is hundreds of miles back to the boys homes and the only way they would be able to get there is by the scooter. The boys combined there little money and managed to be able to buy the tickets home. They get on the bus and they are so relieved so they decide to just relax and they both fall asleep. While they were asleep, the scooter driver head on the radio that the two boys escaped from the school and they are being looked for. At the next station, the driver turns them over to authorities. Once the boys realized what was going on they jetted. Out into the insane cold they go. Now the only way to get home would be to skate. The boys skate for miles and miles until they reach the unfinished scooter stations. They boys stop and find resting areas and crash for the night. They do this same thing for hundreds of miles until one night, there were no more unfinished scooter stations to stop at. Jim pressures to just keep skating. Little does he know that his friend Frank is very sick. That night, they sleep in a plant, it is this weird plant that closes up and night but it is very warm inside. The boys and Willis pass out inside. Jim dreams that the plant went into hibernation and when it opened half a year later (one full earth year) that the two lifeless boys just rolled out. Early the next morning, the plant opens.
• They see a scooter heading right toward them. The boys realize that there skate marks are probably still in the ice and the scooter is going to follow them until they find them. Jim finds a low canal that they can skate it. The canal is going east to west instead of the north to south one that they were following. Jim believes that the east to west canal will get them home. They skate and skate and Frank becomes more and more sick. The canal suddenly comes to an end. It didnt lead them anywhere. There were just a bunch of hills. While Frank goes around the large hills, Jim decides to climb up and see what he can. At the top of the hill he sees a city but doesnt know which it is. Jim looks down at Frank and notices that Frank is hardly walking. Jim sees something large running toward Frank with fangs and claws purtruding out. It was a water-seeker. Jim speeds down the hill and whips out his gun. Aim his gun and the red lazer catches two of the water-seekers legs. Blast, they are gone but the water-seeker keeps running toward Frank. Jim aims again and this times when he fires, the lazer cuts the water-seeker right in half. Jim gets to the bottom of the hill and runs over to the two peices of the water-seeker. He aims at its egg sac and kills all of the babies. Frank was scared beyond belief.
• A martian comes and scoops up Willis. Jim is yelling to give him back but the Martian doesnt pay attention. After they talk, Jim realizes that this martian named K'boomch is friends with the Martian they met before named Gekko. The Martian takes the two boys to the city that Jim had seen at the top of the hill. After they get to the city, K'boomch takes the boys through lots of tunnles and Jim realizes this is also the same city that Gekko lived in. They were closer to home than they thought. K'boomch takes the boys to a resting areas with a bed. They can all tell that Frank is sick. The martian gives Frank water and Frank goes to sleep. When Frank wakes up he feels much, much better.
• K'boomch comes in and takes Willis from the boys. Jim flips out but K'boomch tells him that Willis has to stay. He cant leave. They have to take Willis to the "other world"

Star Wars: What I Thought

Well, I was definitally impressed with Star Wars. Like I had said in previous posts, I never thought that I would like Star Wars, which is why I had never seen one of the movies. I was proved wrong. After watching it in class, I want to go and watch all of the other movies to learn the whole story and find out more. I really enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought that I would. Now I see why everyone is so crazy about it!

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

I have never before seen a Star Wars movie, and I had never really planned on watching one either. When I found out that's the movie we were going to be watching in class I was a little surprised. I have never really been a huge Star Wars fan obviously, I just had always thought it looked a little boring. Surprisingly, I am enjoying this movie very much. It is definitely a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

I have noticed a lot of general themes in The Empire Strikes Back that is also in tons and tons of other movies out there.

• The most obvious thing was the good vs evil. There is always the good guy in white who wants to help everyone and the bad guy wearing black that wants to take over. This is a typically theme that we all have seen everywhere.
• I don't think that there is a single movie out there that doesn't have some form of a love plot in it. Even Star Wars has it between Leia and Han Solo. It is very clear to the viewer that the two are interested in each other, but the characters themselves are too stubborn to realize it themselves. They fight and bicker to hide their true feelings.
• The scene where Han says he is leaving and ends up staying because Luke was lost on the ice planet shows a great deal of loyalty and friendship. The fact that Han basically risks his own life to go search and save the life of his friend is very courageous
• There is also a sense of obsession on Vadars part. He lives, breathes, and thinks about capturing Luke. Nothing if going to stop him from getting what he wants. He has even gotten to the point of killing his own men when they make simple mistakes.

Ch 5- "Little Pitches Have Big Ears"

• So now in Red Planet, we are starting to find out how sneaky Head Master Howe is. As you know, Howe has taken Willis away from Jim. The next morning, Jim goes to Howe's office as he told him to do so. When Jim arrives, Howe acts as if he doesnt even know who Jim is. Howe had came up with this deceiving plan on a way to keep Willis. It is a rule at the school that you cannot keep pets in your living areas, but the night before, Jim clearly stated that Willis is not his "pet" but his friend. Howe uses this against him hardly! Howe tells Jim that if Willis is not his pet then Jim truly has no claim for him and that Howe just says that he can use the point that he just found Willis at the school since Willis "belongs" to no one. Jim is absolutely furious but there is really nothing that he can do.
• That night, Frank is awakened by someone scrambling around in the room. He flips on the light and notices that Jim is leaving. Frank jumps up and asks what he is planning to do. Jim tells him that he is going to go break into Howes office and rescue Willis. He knows that is where Howe is keeping him. Frank ends up going with him. Robbery and crime in general is not a common thing at all on Mars, so locks are rarely used. For some reason though, Howes office is locked, but Frank breaks the lock with him pocket knife. The boys get in. They look everywhere for possible places that Willis could be. Then they come across this room that is lock with a huge padlock that would normally be used on a very large safe protecting something very important. The lock is impossible to pick. Frank wants to give up but Jim refuses. He is not leaving without Willis. The boys look all around looking for a way to get into this locked room...nothing. Jim whispers for Willis. After a few moments, Willis cries for Jim. Both of the boys are releived to know that Willis is ok. While Jim and Frank still try to look for a way in, they hear this almost cutting sound. As the sound keeps going, it gets more and more clear. Willis was cutting through the wall to get out to Jim. After a few minutes, a hole appears in the wall and their is Willis standing there with this knife like thing sticking out of the side of his body. It almost disappears back into his body and fur quickly grows over the hole to cover it as if it were never even there. One thing Jim definitally didnt know Willis could do. Soon Jim learns that Willis can also change shape. He forms into a watermelon shape and squeezes through the hole.
• After getting Willis back to the boys living areas, Willis starts repeating a very important conversation between Howe and the Resident Agent General. Howe shows Willis to the General and he is absolutely amazed. The General then tells Howe that Willis would be worth at least 70,000 credits (Mars money, a lot more than earth money) to the London zoo back on earth. The General asks Howe where he found Willis and he tells him that he took him from a student. The General wonders if the student would be willing to sell Willis to them. Howe firmly says he wont. Thats when Howe discusses this plan to get Willis from the student for free. He tells the General about the pet thing and how Willis technically belongs to no one.
• On mars, everyone migrates for the winter because winter is too cold to be able to survive. Willis starts going on in the conversation between Howe and the General about how Howe is planning to make a non-migration policy and that he is going to keep putting off sending all of the students home until the policy takes effect. Then all of the students at that school will be forbidden to go home!!!

Faith and Red Planet

On the surface, Red Planet so far has nothing to do with faith. No one has ever talked about believing in certain things or religion and what not. But if you try to look deep into the story, you may find things of faith that you didnt see before.

• For instance, everyone at the school finds out that Jim back-talked to head master Howe. They are all praising him for his courage and agree with how Jim feels. Jim wants to back down and not drag it along anymore but then his best friend Frank reassures him that everyone believes in him, that they all agree but they are just too scared to step up and say something. Jim ends up starting on his plans because he knows he has the faith of his friends and fellow students.
• Another form of faith that occured earlier in the story was when the large martians scoop want to scoop up the boys. They are both very scared but then Jim has a sense of kindness in the martians. He has faith in them that they are not going to hurt boys or Willis.
• I would think that all of the humans living on Mars have some sort of faith toward the ones who brought human life to Mars. There are still many things that need to be done so that all humans can fully live on Mars as comfortably as possible. All of the people know that it will be many many years until things are completely done, but they still all have faith in that one day Mars will be just as inhabitable as Earth is.

I myself do have faith. Not necessarily a religion. I do believe in god just as much as anyone else, but I feel that I dont HAVE to go to church every sunday so that god knows I have faith in him. I believe in my heart and I think thats all that truly matters. Other things that I have faith in is myself and my family. I know that I can do anything I put my mind to. I have faith in my family in a way that I know no matter what ever happens, we will always be their for eachother. They will always love me and I will always love them.

To me, faith isnt about religion. Faith is just something that you have in your heart. It is something, no matter what it may be, that you believe in. It might very well be a religion or a God, but it could be any other number of things.