You've Got a Friend

The theme you've got a friend is basically about having a friend when you need them. Everybody needs to have friends because they help you get through problems or make decisions. You need someone to talk to, to get out your thoughts. When people keep everything to themself, they tend to be unsociable and in this world, people need to be sociable to be happy. This them really hit home because my friends mean everything to me.

Alone

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From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

By:Edgar Allen Poe

Timeline of Looking for Alaska

75 years of American Literature

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is about a young boy who reaches out and finds himself. It takes him an adventure down the Mississippi River to find what is right and not right morally. Huckleberry Finn runs away from home. He soon lives with his dad who is an abusive parent. Pap, Huck’s dad, locks Huck in the cabin every day. Huck finally escapes from the cabin and took a raft down the river. On his way down the river, he meets his friend Jim, a slave. Jim and Huck team up on this adventure to escape from home. Jim had run away from home and his is a runaway slave. People think Huck is dead so they both want to find a better place. During this adventure, they encounter many trials of tough times. They meet some con artists who want money so Huck and Jim tag along to just survive. They sold Jim to another white family and Huck saves him. Black and White by Paul Volponi is about two young boys getting in trouble by robbing people. They did this because they needed money for their senior trip. Marcus and Eddie get caught, but only Marcus gets in trouble. Eddie’s name is never revealed to the cops by Marcus. Marcus was sentenced to go to jail. Eddie was getting a scholarship for college to play basketball. Their friendship remains the same as best friends. Marcus feels like he is treated unfairly, but they get along well. These two stories have the same concept of having a friend, but The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written in the 1800’s and Black and White was written in the 2000’s. In Huckleberry Finn there were a lot of derogatory words degrading African Americans. Black and White has some racist content in it, but there weren’t any offensive words in the book. The themes of these books also varied. They both consist of racism in the book, but Huckleberry Finn had to deal with moral development. Black and White had to deal with being loyal or a good friend, but doing what is right is telling the cops the truth. Both of these books were obviously written in different locations. Huck Finn was based on the Midwest of America and Black and White is based on the city life of the east coast. The American literature throughout history had changed, but still has some of the same aspects. Authors, to this day, still talk about and write about racism between white and black people. During the antebellum era, it was considered taboo to talk about racism and slavery during that time. Now currently, it is a popular idea to discuss and criticize racism. American literature had changed through the style of writing, morals, and plot of the stories.

When Life Gives You Hell

I never thought this would happen to me.
Being alone, existing only externally.
Where are your friends
when you need them the most?
Aren’t they supposed to have your back?
No, they only stab you in the back and leave you useless.
The famous question “why me?” occurs in my head a thousand times per beat.
You get what you deserve.
You get what you invest in your friendships.
A bunch of lies.

Black and White

In Black and White by Paul Voliponi, Eddie Russo and Marcus Brown are best friends. They wanted to go on their senior trip, but they haven’t had the money for it. They had recently bought a pair of Nike shoes for their basketball season and the shoes cost over 100 dollars. Marcus and Eddie had an idea to make some quick cash. He wanted to rob people by doing stick-ups. Eddie’s grandpa, who had passed away, had a gun and it was in Eddie’s attic. Eddie took his grandpa’s gun to do stick-ups. Marcus and Eddie were skeptical, but they needed their money. As they do stick-ups to random people, it seemed to work but when Eddie accidently shot a man, they were in deep trouble. The police had found suspects and Marcus was one of them. The man had spotted him and Marcus was interrogated by the cops. The cops told Marcus that he was going to be sentenced to jail, but if he told them who else were involved he would get less time. Marcus, being a loyal friend, did not tell the police that Eddie was involved. Marcus had got kicked out of his basketball team once the media had found out about the incident. Marcus had lost everything, but Eddie was flying under the radar. Eddie had got a scholarship for basketball, while Marcus was still dealing with the police of who was involved with him on the case. As the story goes on, Eddie gets caught, but he is bailed out of jail. Marcus had never mentioned anything about Eddie and Marcus faces the consequences as he is about to go to jail.

image courtesy to www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

A Best Friend

A best friend
is always there,
whether you need advice,
or a pep talk,
or even a shoulder to cry on.
A best friend
listens with her heart
and is always honest with you,
even though the truth
may not be
what you want to hear.
A best friend
knows all your secrets,
understands your fears
shares your dreams.
A best friend
never stops believing in you
even if you give up
on yourself.
you are
that kind of friend
to me.
And no matter what happens,
you always will be.
You are my best friend....
my forever friend.

By: Renee Duvall

Negro League Collage

Fences is a play during the pre-Vietnam era. It is about a troubled old man Troy Maxson, who was a former Negro League baseball player. Troy always compared life to baseball. Troy Maxson had an affair on his wife and was having a child. His buddy Bono, was the one to tell him he should not be cheating on his wife. Taking this advice, Troy confesses to his wife Rose. His song Cory does not respect him no more. When he dies, Cory realized what his father Troy wanted for him. This play related to the theme, you've got a friend because it takes Troy's good buddy Bono to make him realized that cheating on your spouse isn't the right thing to do.

Rush Hour 2

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Rush Hour 2 is about two police officers going on vacation in Hong Kong. Chief Inspector Lee and detective James Carter run into a gang from China called the Triads. Lee's plan to go to China was to find his dads killer Ricky Tan, and to avenge his father. James Carter tagged along at the last minute when he heard that Lee was going to go to China. Lee, wanting Cater to have fun, assures Carter that he will have fun in China. While Lee tries to track down Ricky Tan, gang lord of the triads, Lee tricks Carter to go to these exclusive places for vacation instead of his investigation. After chasing Ricky Tan to Las Vegas, Lee is framed and has a bombed taped in his mouth. James Carter comes saves him by distracting security. Lee fights with Tan and kicks him out of a building window and accidently kills Tan. Here is a clip of having a friend when you need them.

http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=rush+hour+2+heaven&n=21&ei=utf-8&js=1&fr=sfp&tnr=20&vid=0001389241606

Summary of Looking for Alaska

image courtesy to nlc.state.ne.us

Looking for Alaska by John Green, is about a young boy who transfers to a boarding school. Miles Halter is the protagonist of the story. The story is about how his experiences at his new boarding school in Alabama effects the way he has changed as a person. He is obsessed with famous last words. Miles meets his roommate Chip “The Colonel” and the Colonel being sarcastic nicknames Miles, "Pudge" because he is skinny.The boarding school that Pudge attends is called Culver Creek. Within a week of living at the academy, Pudge gets duct-taped and thrown into a pond. To avenge Pudge, the Colonel and Alaska pull pranks on the kids who tied up Pudge. Pudge meets Alaska, the Colonel's best friend, and Pudge becomes infatuated with her. Alaska and the Colonel convince Pudge to drink and smoke, something he has neer done before. As the story goes on, Pudge becomes more affectionate to Alaska even though she has a boyfriend and he has a girlfriend,but they have feelings toward eachother. One day when the group was drinking and playing games, Alaska and Pudge hook up randomly by getting carried away with a drinking game. Feeling guilt, Alaska decides to leave the campus. When she drives off she hits an oncoming car and dies. Pudge and the Colonel are devastated for the rest of the story. They are trying to think of the unthinkable. Why would Alaska commit suicide?

There By Your Side

When you feel alone, who will by your side?
When you feel like there is no one by your side, who will be there to guide?
Who will be there when your parents aren’t?
Who could be there left?
They are your friends.
You can always count on them
even if your loved one has let you down.
Friendship can have a stronger bond than love.
It is love without the lust.

A Letter From The Colonel to Pudge

This a letter of two characters in the book Looking for Alaska.

Dear Pudge,
How has it been? I graduated from that stupid academy finally. Hope you gained some weight on you. I’m still living with my mom in the trailer, and it sucks. I have been thinking about joining the Marines because t here ain’t nothing else to do out here. How ironic eh? I don’t know what I’m going to do. Are you going to college? If I go I will just take geography hahaha. We have to get together sometime with Takumi and our friends. Its been almost a year since I seen you. Well anyway, I know you have a life ahead of you and stay out of trouble.
---The Colonel


image courtesy to www.nlc.state.ne.us

A Revolution In Our Hearts

image courtesy to musicvault.com I’m trying to build this fire in my heart, but I don’t know where to start. Your compassion leads me. Your love is what teaches me. Now that you can’t make it own your own and hardened hearts can still be softened by a friendly conversation. I’m trying to build this fire in my heart, but I don’t know where to start. Your compassion leads me. Your love is what teaches me. Don’t forget your friends. Taking it back to let tomorrow start today. To have the heart of a child. Let's start a revolution. Let's begin in our hearts. We can change the world today. Now’s the time so start.