Vladislav Svidruk

Romeo and Juliet

MS.Cunningham

 My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite. In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare two teenage lovers who found out they love each other. This book explores the love they have for each other and the difficulties their families had went through to keep them away from each other. The reason why Romeo and Juliet  died was from the ball room in the beginning. The second setting was the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio. And this event just pushed them to there death.

The reason for their death can be anything. One event that stood out was when Romeo decided to go to the Capulet party. After he entered that party everything went downhill for him. In the play Romeo and Juliet Act 1 and scene 1- 2 It said Capulet walks with Paris Discussing to marry the Capulet's daughter Juliet. Soon The Capulet tells Peter to invite everyone on the list and makes a mistake and invites Romeo from the Montague family. Peter is one of the servants that Capulet has, and he cannot read so he asked if Romeo can tell him what it says. After he had done that favor Peter asked Romeo to come if he wasn’t a montague (Act 1 Scene 2 76-84). It started from there, and he went to the party to check if he can compare Rosaline to any other Verona women. Additionally  he came to the party hoping to find a women as beautiful as Rosaline.

Another reason to blame for Romeo and Juliet's death is the Fight scene. In Act 3 scene 1 Tybalt suggested to sword fight Romeo but Romeo didn't want to fight tybalt for important reasons such as Juliet. In Addition Mercutio pulls his sword out of anger and decides to fight tybalt. After they started Romeo jumped in between them and Tybalt stabbed Mercutio right through Romeo's arm. In the play Act 3 scene 1 lines 93-98 Mercutio is on the floor and Romeo is trying to persuade him saying t doesn't hurt that bad. The play stated “Courage, man, the hurt cannot be much” When Romeo went through that he changed as a person. He was banned from Verona and he couldn't come back. He had to send messengers for Juliet to get his letters. Further on Romeo and Tybalt fight, Romeo didn't want this to happen but after what happened in act 3 scene 1 lines 130-138 he had basically no choice. To conclude this fight was one major Montagues Event that triggered the death of both Romeo and Juliet. If he wouldn't have fought he wouldn't be banned and the letter wouldn't have to get sent. So Romeo would know that Juliet didn't die.

On the other hand most other scene can't really be the reason why Romeo and Juliet died and we can't blame anyone in that scene. In act 1 scene 3 you can't really blame anyone. For example Lady Capulet can't be blamed because she hasn't done anything. Even if she made Juliet think about who she would marry and force her to think because her mother got married in an early age.  In act 1 scene 3 lady Capulet says “”Marry  is the very theme. I came to talk of -Tell me, daughter Juliet… she is just trying to help hr find a man quick enough so she wouldn't have to to-get married in a late age.

In conclusion there is multiple people and settings that is to blame for Romeo and Juliet's death. There isn't no specific person nor place. The deaths could have been prevented if the things that happened in the scenes could have started differently.  

Vladislav Svidruk              

ELA

“If you connected all of the practice test I’ve taken over the past three years, they would wrap all the way around the world” In the article “China’s Cram Schools” by Brook Larmer explains the difficulties that Chinese students have. Brook Larmer talks about harsh climate and the hard work that is being put in to prepare for the great Gaokao. How stressful it is for students when this very important tests comes up. At the end It isnt fair that so much is riding on a single test for millions of chinese students

In the article many students put their life into studying for this test. Many students are losing their lives because of this test. In the article the following quote was stated “ With so much at stake, its easy to see why the gaokao, taken by more than 9 million students each year,its such a big deal to young people…”The country should take responsibility in killing these young teenagers that are losing their lives because they think its too stressful. This huge exam is coming under fire in china. People are now questioning the exam if its more important than 9 million lives. The article also talks about real life situations like this one, “ A student posted a shocking photograph online: A classroom full of students hooked up to intravenous dripping to give them the strength to keep studying” It came up to the point where they had to use equipment the drips to help them study.

The article talks about some very good things that can happen if you do good on the gaokao test. For example the article stated “ Xu scored 643 out of a possible (but never achieved) 750...to get into Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China's most prestigious schools”. Xu was the bad kid growing up. He skipped school, never studied, never did what was asked of him. After a little he went back to the great Maotanchang to try and get into a university so he didn't have to work hard. After studying day and night he completed the test and got one of the highest score from the Maotanchang students. “It wasn't enough to qualify for a first tier university in Shanghai, but it would win him a spot at one of Anhui’s best second-tier universities” explained Xu after he gotten his test scores back.             

In conclusion this affects the world in many different ways, one example is the fact that we all had tests to study and big exams so we know how it feels but not go out of the way study for 10 hours then wake up early study for more

Vlad Svidruk

MS.Cunningham

808

The classic book Alice in the Wonderland by Lewis Carroll challenges the structure of the victorian era. The Victorian Era was from 1837 to 1901 made by a  British Queen named Victoria It was a big change in the British history. Where rules were really strict and everything needed to be perfect. In Alice in the Wonderland a Little innocent girl fell into a little rabbit hole . When she woke up she woke up in a time period called the Victorian era. Alice's experience in the Victorian era showed that there were rigid and hard problems that needed to be fixed by.

        Throughout the story Alice encounters a series of setbacks. Some of these setbacks are minor but are also a big problem.  One big problem she had was in the beginning in the story where she couldn't fit inside the door to the garden. In the book she had the feeling like she didn't fit in like everybody else. In the book she struggles to maintain a physical size. She gets upset after she couldn't get the perfect size to get in the garden. Also in the book she gets frustrated because she can't find a logical solutions to her problems. This appears a lot during the story making it a frequent problem.

Further in the book  Alice always seemed to be confused when she enters the victorian era. She feels puzzled,  A quote from the book expresses this. “seem to have no clear solutions, which imitates the ways that life frustrates expectations” its basically saying the setbacks she encounters will make a certain kind of sense in the future and it frustrates her even further when she can't figure out the Wonderland she is in. Further on a different quote that has to do with this is “ As the Queen screams “Off with its head!” she understands that Wonderland may not merely be a ridiculous realm where expectations are repeatedly frustrated”. The Victorian era was a different time period which made things hard to comprehend, rules and stricked laws were in effect

In conclusion problems occur everywhere anytime of your life and sometimes getting a solution may be very hard for some people it reflects a lot of people in life. .  

Vlad Svidruk

Ms. Cunningham

Dear Ms. Berner

“Censorship is the enemy of truth”- Bill Moyers, an American journalist that has been known for very wise words. Hiding things from children can be dangerous.  Banning books are preventing kids from knowing the truth about our society and the world we live in. If you ban books, children will never gain the knowledge to survive in the real world . I believe that banning books isn't right and no one should limit a student's option to read what they want..

We the student body believe that keeping books away from children can cause a loss of useful information in the future. A big portion of their knowledge from books can just disappear.With the loss of knowledge that is not present can cause a missing of information in the minds of young adult readers.  In the article “ Has Young adults fiction became too dark?” by Mary Elizabeth Williams wrote, “In the case of self-harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measure.” The author also argues that its not anybody's choice to make distinction in any teens life. Also, the author later writes “ The “adult” aspect of reading is scary for many of us. Its our job as parents to protect our kids,even as they slowly move out into the world and further away from our dictates...raising them with tales of big bad wolves and poisoned apples, and then deciding at a certain point that the literature is too dark for them to handle… kids are smarter than that”.  If parents aren't doing their job, like reading fictional short stories about real life things it may end up in losing little but important information in life.

Some students love reading young adult books because it might reduce stress. In the article “ Reading ‘can help reduce stress’ by University of Sussex Research stated “...Because the human mind has to concentrate on reading and the distraction of being taken into literary world eases the tension in muscle and the heart.”Students face a load of stress during school time, and if you're in a  certain grade and your choosing your next school, having a lot of stress can hurt you. Reading about things that you're interested in is crucial according to the article, it makes it harder for student to read things that are banned and its taking the reason why there is books about certain things. The student probably wants to read about something they're sexually interested in your bout something physical and sometimes the answers are in a book. Another detail that stood out to me was “Reading worked best, reducing stress levels by 68 per cent, said cognitive neuropsychologist Dr. David Lewis.” If the stress is reduced at that level we the student body think that banning books can probably help us. Furthermore banning books is still isnt right because at the end of the day its going to help reduce stress.

Despite all this book banning, on the other hand book banning can help certain individual that can't handle certain books. In the Article “Darkness too Visible”  Meghan Cox Gurdon stated, that books for teens are “ So dark that kidnaping and pederasty and incent and brutal beating are now just part of the run of things in novel directed.” Seeing all these murders and kidnapping stories can probably lead you to something horrible. Another quote that stood out was “If books show us the world, teen fiction can be like a hall of funhouses,mirrors, and constantly reflecting back hideously.”If books really show us the world then it would be filled with all that excitement.

In conclusion many kids suffer from trying to read books that are banned on certain grounds and it may be for their benefit, but most teens don't agree with it. Taking these unhealthy books can actually destroy them, Now They will now know that they aren't alone in the problem they're facing if the book relates to it.

Looking Through the World with a Lens of Injustice and Unfairness

This reminds me of injustice in many ways. This article called “Injustice in Ferguson, Long Before Michael Brown” mainly talks about how the only reason they fired any shots in that specific place was because that place was in poverty and not a lot of “white” people lived around there which made it okay for the police to fire some shots. Killing a black 18 year old named Michael Brown. This makes me think differently about life. I’m surrendered by black people and it feels bad inside that they get this kind of harsh consequences for doing nothing at all. Michael Brown had a whole life ahead of him but it had to be cut short.

List of unfair scenes or situations

• A young African American that doesn't have a home and lives in the street
• The drunk white person that hangs around the liquor shop.
• The man that walks around with a disability.

The man that walks around kensington that has a disability is not being treated well. He should have a person that comes around his house often that will take care of him or even look after him. Its almost impossible for him to do things by himself and knowing that you aren't as capable of doing stuff that a regular human being  can.

Interviewing my mother, Olexsandra Svidruk.

What is good about our world?: We help one another often and that's what making this world a better place and not go bye, bye.

What's something unfair?:  That people with different racial status have people reacting to them differently.

My mother is one hundred percent accurate and its true if everyone treated everyone the same this world would be a better place and it could change our society that we live in. Its not everyday you see a black innocent man get shot but its sure comes around very often.

News 12

This women on national tv was talking about the recent death that killed a student around kensington, she had to go in depth in and how that he was muslim and the man didn't stop because he thought he was going to their little “section of kensington which is the other side”. This caught my attention because now people are now looking on what religion you believe in to do something.

Someone that changes the world

My mom is always doing little stuff that affects our world. It might be annoying but she always does it . Every Time we have a piece of paper to throw out and she notices my sister threw it on the ground by “accident” she becomes a different person and starts to give lectures on why its a bad idea to litter.  she also gets very mad when there is litter right next to a garbage can, she thinks that New yorkers are lazy and thats the reason my sister and I could only drink one type of soda and its sprite.

Lyrics that connect with the injustice.

“Its a free country I don't have the right, but i have a badge.” by Sick Of It All

This lyric can be connected to everyone around the world and it hurt some families more than other. This connects to the Michel Brown shooting and it made me realize that if police didn't have badges that would maybe be a better place. Also it would make police officers vulnerable to people that dislike the NYPD.

My View

Nowaday there is a normal teen. Nowadays you either have to be skinny with a big butt oxes and abnormal breasts. For a guy you need to be athletic and have huge muscle and abs. Its crucial that you need them because without them you might as well not live your life. Hollywood is making all teens look the same and act the same  and basically not a regular teenager. now people want more from people and then they judge everyone. The race they generally have is white teenagers that look like that and usually the “thugs” like black. It isn't fair but its the way our society works. They usually live in a huge house and their parents usually have most of the money making them bigger in status. They portray these teens differently than most teens look like. thats the dream, looking like that. They are mostly stereotyping Rich,white, perfect teens with perfect lifes. This makes me feel bad about myself knowing that I need all the features a perfect guy has. Even if I’m not close to it, it still feels like I’m excluded from everything.

Vladislav Svidruk

808

Ms.Cunningham

November 18, 2014

                                   The Outsiders

Many kids nowadays struggle with having no parents. Many children stopped obeying laws and rules and most likely do whatever they want. The story Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows that family is really important and could change you in many ways. In the book Outsiders a boy named Ponyboy Curtis is being challenged in his society as a “Outsider”.

From the beginning the Author shows the possibility of what can happen when you're without parents and a gang as family. In chapter one  when Ponyboy exits the movie theater alone and starts walking home a group of other gang members called socs got out of the car and threaten to beat him. When they finally left Ponyboy, he was left on the floor with a big cut on his head. “You.re Bleeding like a pig.” Sodapop exclaimed after he saw Ponyboy On the side of the road all beaten up. If he had maybe a father figure and mother I think things would have ended up differently. Secondly, Ponyboy wouldn't have ever been jumped by the Socs in the first place. If he would have had a father he wouldn't be walking around like that by himself in that location. It just makes him a target. “Our father and mother died in a car accident a few years ago” , and they made Darry the new guardian.

When Ponyboy was with his gang after he got beat up by the Socs, S.E. Hinton stated “ In our neighborhood it's rare to find a kid who doesn't drink once in a while.” If your parents would have been around you would probably would never see a alcoholic drink. Its also very rare to see parents that let their kids drink that type of stuff especially in places where there is a lot of police around. Further on in the book it said “They have files on him down in the police station. He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode in rodeos lied, cheated,stole,and more” Parents wouldn't  want you to be become that kind of person. They work for you and in Dallas’s situation his parents aren't around so he thinks he has the right to do anything he like and not listen to cops or his family, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis.

To conclude, having family around could have a huge impact on your life, It can possibly affect your future and present. It could leave a scare. A lot of people around the world are probably sitting there without anyone caring and looking after them. This is a huge problem worldwide and it will take more just making orphanages for them to be cared.  

Independent Reading Essay

Vladislav Svidruk

October 22, 2014

808

Independent Reading Essay #1

Its common for best friends to worry about each other, especially when they know there is something bizarre and wrong. The book Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado is about a boy named Justin who is worried about his best friend, Sean. Sean has missed homework assignments, failed tests, getting to school late and acting like a big bully. Throughout  this story the author shows that things might seem perfect but in reality they’re most likely not.

In the beginning Torrey Maldonado states that Sean is a hard worker.  “ His school work was like his clothes.” He is always on top of all the new clothing, its like saying he was on top of everything. Another example is, “ His assignment were super-neat, on time, all the time, and he got good grades” Another reason why Justin would be worried is because  Sean gets good grades always on time, always neat and out of nowhere he starts slacking and starts doing worse in school.

On the same page it stated “He had a nice father and mother”, I feel like this quote is really important because, most of the kids where Sean is from don't have a full family. Their either missing a father who joined a gang or a mother that never met the kid. Also it said “Ms.Feerey is the only black teacher in this school” which made me think that if she is, and there trying to make a point that racism still existed where they were from.

At the middle Sean starts to act up. Justin stated “On monday, we didn't come to school together… I didn't see him until fourth period gym.” He starts not to come to school on time starts forgetting to do simple objectives like calling his best friend. Therefore he states“ What time did you come to school?... Second period”. Justin is getting  mad at him for being like that because he is the perfect one with perfect attendance and perfect grades. He is getting frustrated becuase Sean starts not to caring about anything. Also in the book it showed why Sean was the way he is. His father ended up in jail and now he is very worried and shy that people might notice something and know, everyone knows that he has the best family.

In conclusion, you will sometimes come across a friend or a relative that means a lot to you and you would have to push them into the right direction because their dozing off. Even if you think that everything is perfect and you know everything is going into the right direction it can be totally wrong. Not everything is how it seems.