Elevator of Death

"The Way up to Heaven" is a story filled with suspense. The suspense doesn't start until two-thirds through the story when Mrs. Foster decides to leave her elderly husband stuck in her house elevator for six weeks. Mrs. Foster is tired of him always purposely making her late when he knows it drives her insane. She never accuses him of it but she always seems to know. Finally, Mrs. Foster gets the chance and leaves her husband in the elevator with no way out while she spends six weeks in Paris. When she comes home, she notices a strange smell but smiles anyway and calls a man to fix the elevator. The story was very straight forward with no red herrings to through you off track. Even if investigators came to check out the death, they would have never expected Mrs. Foster to be the murderer. She probably got away with it which makes this story very twisted and pretty exciting.

Night of the Twister

Night of the Twister is a story filled with suspense because the whole time your reading, your wondering if Karen Smallwood will get away safely and remain alive. As soon as the two treacherous criminals crash through her parent's front door raising the pistol to her head is when the suspense begins. There are no red herrings in this story, but the whole time, Karen is trying to divert their attention and stall until 10 o'clock. Later, Karen tells the convicts that an approaching tornado sounds like a freight train. When they hear that noise, the men assume it's a twister, but Karen knows that a train railway is just over the hill and passes by at 10 o'clock pm daily. Right away the men rush to the cellar for safety without noticing Karen, who grabs the gun from behind them and shoots. This leaves Garth dead and Jerry seriously injured which is a great example of poetic justice because both men got exactly what they deserved.

Courage Makes a Difference

Anne Sexton's poem appeals most to me because of the words she chooses. "Picking the scabs of your heart. Did it with only a hat to cover your heart." The way she personifies things makes it a lot more interesting to read. She starts off talking about the challenges of toddlers and how every person has gone through the teasing and feeling like your all alone. Later, she explains the challenges of war, love and preparing to die. I love that Anne chose powerful words, like stride, instead of boring verbs. Not only does it imply confidence, but it keeps my attention and interest in the poem. "Your courage was a small coal that you kept swallowing." This is saying that the courage is a small fire or warmth inside of you. Everyone has courage, whether you show it or not makes the difference in your life.

IF... Assignment

2) Kipling chooses to use these words to explain that following these suggestions will help you to be more mature and live a better life. The message can relate to anyone, but usually you hear people directing it mostly to males. You always hear of fathers tell their sons that one day they will grow up to be a man. In a family home, the father or male is expected to be the one to show responsibility and leadership, but that isn't always the case. I think this message is a father talking to his son, but absolutely anyone can learn from this to be a better person and grow to be a mature adult.

English Assignment

2. Who is the main hero in this story?


Mrs. Brown can be classified as a hero to Christy and many others who read this story. She loves Christy so much and wants him to grow up to be as close to normal as possible. Without her love and care, Christy would not have learned to read and write and would not have succeeded in writing a novel about himself. On top of Christy's condition, Mrs. Brown has 13 other children to care for and look after. Even though the doctors say otherwise, Mrs. Brown is determined to prove that even though Christy's body is crippled, his mind is not. I found that Mrs. Brown is very optimist and prudent about everything and that is why I think she is a hero.