Seventh Grade by Garry Daniel

Characters

Victor: Student. He has a crush on Teresa, bad in math, elective in the French class alongside Teresa. He is also insecure when he is around Teresa.

Teresa: Student. She is excellent in math. Elective in French class.

Michael Torres: Victor's friend. He chose Spanish as his elective class; he isn’t that good in Spanish even though he is Mexican

Mr. Belton: He is the school`s principal.

Mr. Lucas: He is the Seventh grade`s English professor.

Mr. Bueller: French teacher and a nice guy.

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Plot Elements:

Exposition: Classes begin and Victor chooses French as his elective since he wants Teresa to be his girlfriend.

Rising Action: Many obstacles prevent Victor from speaking to Teresa

Climax: He pretends to speak French to impress Teresa.  

Falling Action: Mr. Bueller finds out that Victor doesn’t speak French, but doesn’t say anything. At the end Teresa and Victor study French together.

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Brief Summary

The first day of seventh grade has come. A kid called Victor is permitted to choose one exclusive class for his agenda, and he decides to take French, because a girl that he likes whose name is Teresa will be in the same class. Michael who is one of Victor`s friend will take Spanish class. After taking several classes, Victor is excited, because it is finally time for French class. In class Mr. Bueller asked the students if they knew how to speak French and Victor pretends that he knew to show off in front of Teresa, but the teacher finds out that he is not telling the truth. After class they were willing to study together, and Victor is certain that Seventh grade will be a remarkable year!

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Thoughts & Feelings

I think the story is embarrassing and it shows the things that one is capable of doing to impress his/her crush. I like the story and I felt related because I am learning French and I can imagine how he must have felt trying to speak without understanding what he was saying. French is a very difficult language to pronounce. This guy was very brave to pretend he knew french in front of the teacher, to show off. This also shows his level of immaturity, because I think it was better for him to be honest. At the end, the truth always comes to light.

The Ransom of The Red Chief by O. Henry

-Characters

Sam: Narrator who works alongside his dad Bill Driscoll as a criminal.

Johnny Dorset: 10-year-old boy who is taken captive for ransom money.

Bill Driscoll: Criminal, along with his colleague they have made several robberies and crimes.

Ebenezer Dorset: Wealthy businessman. He is johnny`s father.

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Plot Elements:

Exposition: Sam and Bill plan to kidnap a child of a wealthy man for a ransom of two thousand bucks.

Rising Action: They kidnap a 10-year-old kid whose name is Johnny and bring him to a cave refugee

Climax: Johnny`s father rejects to pay the 2 thousand cash ransom, but Bill and Sam are happy to get paid at any cost to get rid of the little imp.

Falling Action: They bring back Johnny to his father and they accept the $250 bucks as ransom. Johnny is sad that his friends left him.

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Brief Summary

There were two minor criminals Sam and Bill who were looking for two thousand bucks. They ended up kidnapping a child whose name was Johnny Dorset; son of a wealthy man. They took the kid to a cave hideout; however, the kid was a professional hellion who kept Sam and Bill annoyed all time with fantasy games. Ebenezer Dorset (Johnny`s father) declines the offer to get his son back, so Sam and Bill end up reducing the ransom to $250 cash to get rid of the little demon. Johnny preferred to be with his old pals rather than his own dad when they left him.

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Thoughts & Feelings

I enjoyed this short story because it was about crime and had somewhat of comedy. I think it is funny because of Johnny`s immaturity which drove Sam and Bill crazy to the point that they could not handle it anymore. It is unexpected, because one never expects that a father would not look for a way to get his son back, and that the child would prefer the criminals' company than his own family. It also portrays how some people choose money above anything else. 
This story shows how some families are fractured because they are focused on money and material things. The father, even though he was a wealthy man, he was not willing to pay for his son's ransom. On the other hand, it also shows how the bandits received their punishment for doing such a bad thing, when they had to deal with the insolent child.

“All Summer in one Day” by Ray Bradbury.

-Characters

Margot -9-year-old girl who came from earth 5 years ago and dreamed in seeing the sun once again.

William -a kiddo in Margot’s class who is the leader of the other students. -Jealous of Margot`s experience.

Children –They get to play outside in the sun while Margot is locked in the closet. They help William to tease Margot.

Teacher- In charge of students.

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Plot Elements:
Exposition: Children are excited in the classroom because they will see the sun for the first time.

Rising Action: They lock up Margot after discussing with her about the sun when the teacher was absent.

Climax: The sun appears and the children go out to play.

Falling Action: They got inside the underground classroom, because it starts to rain again and they unlock Margot.

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Brief Summary:

The story takes place in Venus where it rains non-stop, and every seven years the sun appears for two hours. People in Venus live underground. Margot is very nostalgic for the sun, since she had last seen it five years ago in Earth. The other school kids had never seen the sun whatsoever, so they were jealous of Margot. Everybody was expecting to see the sun that day. The children were envious, since she had lived in Earth and her parents were planning on sending her back. William alongside with the other kids lock Margot in a closet. The rain slows down and suddenly stops, the kids managed to experience and play in the sun, while poor Margot was left forgotten in the closet until later when they come back and remember she was left in the closet.
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                                                          Thoughts and feelings

I somewhat like the story because it is science fiction, but it is exaggerated as well; how can people survive without the sun? At the same time the story portrays some realities of life, like suffering and bullying. I think the fact that it is raining and dark gives the story a sad and nostalgic feeling. It is full of melancholic feelings. And it also shows how somethings in life can be unfair. Margot didn't deserve to be locked up in the closet. She lost the experience that she was dreaming of because of the other kids' lack of empathy with her.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

- Characters

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi: a young, clever, and fearless mongoose who saved his adoptive family from various attacks.

Nag: a dreadful cobra, has a wife whose name is Nagaina. He devours any defenseless creature in the garden.

Nagaina: Nag`s wife. Terrorizes the garden with Nag.

Teddy; an English boy who encounters Rikki in a ditch, and brings him back home. He is also Rikki`s best buddy.

Teddy`s father: Courageous and brave. Portrayed as someone who never hesitates when facing danger.

Teddy`s Mother Alice: She is portrayed as emotionally delicate. However, she was the one who saved Rikki when he was nearly drowned in the ditch.

Darzee: he is a tailor-bird who lives in the garden along side her wife. He is rather foolish.

Darzee`s wife: She is smarter than her mate. Nag devoured one of her chicks that fell from their nest.

Chuchundra: a very fearful muskrat who lives In Teddy`s home.

Karait: he was a young cobra. He is more aggressive and more dangerous than older snakes.

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Plot Elements:
Exposition: Rikki almost drowns on a road ditch, and got rescued by Teddy`s family.

Rising Action: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi encounters Nag and Nagaina while exploring the garden.

Climax: Rikki kills Nag with the help of Teddy`s father.

Falling Action: Rikki enters Nagaina`s den and the other animals think he is dead, but he comes out and states that danger is over.

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Brief Summary

This is the story of a mongoose whose name is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. He was rescued by a little English boy called Teddy, after a flash flood destroyed Rikki`s home and got separated from his parents. At the bungalow`s garden, Rikki meets a tailor-bird whose name is Darzee, as well as a deadly Cobra couple Nag and Nagaina. Rikki earned respect from his family after killing a young cobra called karait.

 Nag enters the bungalow at midnight seeking revenge for Karait, but was found by Rikki with the help of a muskrat. Teddy`s father woke up after hearing the commotion and shot the snake dead with a shotgun. All the animals of the garden were delighted with the news, however the widow Nagaina had laid eggs. They played a trick on Nagaina, and Rikki ended up killing her as well as the eggs.

Thoughts & Feelings

 I actually loved this book its very intriguing, since there is a lot of drama and you feel like if you were inside the book. One of the main themes is courage, since Rikki is portrayed as a fearless warrior. On the other hand, another theme is Cowardice, since you can see clearly that the muskrat Chuchundra and the tailor-bird Darzee are dominated by fear. I feel that this story should have an alternative ending that should be about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi being released into the wild, he is a wild animal and deserves to be free.