IRJ QR #17 – Do Not Judge A Book By Its Cover

In The Golden Compass, written by Philip Pullman, Pullman writes, “His daemon was a little serpent, the same intense and brilliant green as his eyes, which were the only witchlike thing about him, though Lyra was not sure what she had been expecting a witch to look like.”  This shows that one cannot assume appearances for anyone.

Do Not Judge A Book By Its Cover Essay – Evidence On The Famous Quote.

This concept of assuming what you think is right, or “reading a book by its cover”, comes back and bites the accuser more often than not.  In many movies and books, one of the characters assumes the appearance or characteristics of another character, and this ends up being negative to that character.  This shows the audience or the readers that it is better to not judge people, and one should get to know people better before you form an opinion about them.  I have always tried to make my opinions based on first-hand knowledge, and this quote from the book backs up my opinion.

IRJ CP #16 – The Pressure of “No Pressure”

Chris awoke to the sounds of screaming voices.  He got out of bed and got himself dressed.  Chris knew about the events of this day.  That day was the day of the open house for the high school of his dreams.  As Chris arrived at the school, he thought about how long he had dreamed of this school.  Since he was a little boy, Chris was constantly told by his parents that this school was amazing; the key to a great future.  “This school is perfect and we expect that you get in.  No pressure of course.”

“Yeah, some kind of ‘no pressure’”, Chris thought.

Chris and all of the other students were split into groups.  Chris got sent with a very professional looking senior with the air of a celebrity.  As he walked with the senior and the other students he was paired with, Chris had thoughts flying around his head at a million miles per hour.  Should he ask questions?  If he stayed too quiet, would the senior feel badly about him?  Was this senior assigned to select one or more students from his group for the school so that the administrative group would have a better understanding of who to accept and who to turn away?  As Chris tried his best to impress the school, the tour slowly ended.  All throughout that day Chris could not get his mind off of that Open House.  Chris could not eat or even sleep.  When Chris finally fell asleep, he went to bed that night with an empty stomach and a heavy heart.

IRJ OP #15 – Some Higher Power

On page 55 of The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, Pullman writes, “Ma Costa looked half-blindly over the little group of children and turned away to stumble through the crowd on the wharf, bellowing for her child.  At once the children turned back on one another, their feud abandoned in the face of her grief.”  This quote shows the love for children that Ma Costa had.  Even though it was not even her own child, Ma Costa felt the same kind of love for that child as a mother would for her own child.

Poem About A Mother’s Love – A Mother’s Love.

Ma Costa’s love for the child was even stronger than the feud between Lyra and the gypsies.  The other gypsies turned they heads around from their battle to watch their leader scream in anger.  This also shows that even though Lyra looks at the gypsies like barbarians, they still obviously have strong values and morals.  Their values might even be stronger than those of the inhabitants of Jordan College, since no one really cared when Roger disappeared.  In this quote, Philip Pullman shows the readers the differences between the “barbaric” gypsies and the highly educated scholars of Jordan College.

IRJ – CP #14 – In the Big House

As many sets of glaring eyes looked down on him disdainfully, Adam wondered what he did wrong this time. He found it very difficult to concentrate on the trouble he was in while he still had to figure out what he did. Adam Jennings, a tenth grade student, was a frequent visitor of the principal’s office. Adam was not a bad kid necessarily; he was just misunderstood all of the time. He had been booked for many wrongdoings, such as talking in class or shoving a kid down on the field. However, these were all rudimentary acts compared to what he had now done. Adam was in the big house now; he was at the pinnacle of trouble. That day, at recess time, Adam and some other boys were playing a game of basketball. Halfway through the game, another boy got mad at Adam for fouling him and shoved Adam into the fence that surrounded the courts. Adam, being as fiery-tempered and obstinate as he was, would not stand for that. He returned the favor by taking the ball and heaving it at the other boy. This, naturally, precipitated a fight. Adam ended up on top of the other boy, pounding him with his fists as hard as he could. As some other students tried to pacify the angry child, teachers came running to the scene. Seeing what he had done, Adam sauntered away from the brawl, and acted as if nothing had happened. When the long day finally ended, Adam had to recompense the other boy by paying for a broken nose along with being suspended from school. From that day on, Adam Jennings would forever live in murky water at his high school.

IRJ CP #12 – Struggles of a Young Man

The Struggles of a Young Man

His room was filled with brightness.  His room was filled with darkness.  His room was filled with motivational posters.  His room had wallpapers of death.  His room had peace signs all over the walls.  His room had stacks of magazines of war and fighting.  This room was the humble abode of a young man.

This young man stored all kinds of interesting objects in his room.  He had a bed of cold steel.  On the bed was a pillow as soft as fresh snow.  There were cabinets filled to the top with tapes of peace.  Next to them would be tapes of horror and violence.  The boy slept with a teddy bear under his pillow, and a knife by his feet.  The boy dreamt of life and fulfillment.  The boy dreamt of pain and death.  The boy did not know what to think.

In this room of hope and of desolation, of rebuilding and of destruction, and of life and death, the boy would think.  Think about the two sides of life.  Think about which side was the “right” way to go.  Think about which way he would choose to go.  This was the sad yet interesting life of this young man.  Sit.  Think.  Learn.

IRJ CP #11 – Haroun and the Sea of Stories Quote

In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie, Haroun says, “I know you.  You’re him.  You’re Mr. Sengupta and you stole my mother and you left the fat lady behind and you’re a sniveling, driveling, mingy, stingy, measly, weaselly clerk.”  This quote shows Haroun’s true hatred toward Mr. Sengupta and how he shows it against Khattam-Shud.

Mr. Sengupta was a very cruel and mean man who stole Haroun’s mother and ran off with her.  He took Haroun’s mother, Soraya, away from Haroun and Rashid, and, ultimately, that was why Haroun and Rashid are now on this long journey to a different world.  Mr. Sengupta did not believe in the stories of Rashid, and his negative influence was what drove Soraya away from her own family.  Khattam-Shud is very much like Mr. Sengupta.  They both do not believe in stories, and they both believe that silence is the best route.  They also think that everybody must look at everything from a negative standpoint, because looking at everything from a positive standpoint will apparently get you nowhere.

Haroun gets very angry at Khattam-Shud, and Haroun blames Khattam-Shud for the disappearance of his mother.  Although this is an incorrect assumption, both men are very much alike, and it is very clear to us that the author of this book, Salman Rushdie, was trying to connect Khattam-Shud to Mr. Sengupta and to make a symbol between the two of them.

Proposition – Salman Rushdie clearly portrays to the readers the connection between two very evil men, Khattam-Shud, and Mr. Sengupta.

IRJ CP #10 Vocabulary List Three – A Rained Out Case

Marcus stood in front of his mirror, adjusting his tie.  He went over again and again in his head the main points of his argument.  Marcus had been assigned to act as the prosecutor of an appalling crime case.  Marcus was a stolid man with strong morals, and he was very hard to rattle.  However, he knew well how his opposing defense attorney would act in this court case.  The opposing lawyer was a very infamous man who had been known to inveigle his way to a judge and the jury, and use his ingratiation to win his case.

As Marcus neared the courthouse, driving in his car in the pouring rain, he noticed a large group of people waiting outside of the courthouse.  As he walked up to the throng of reporters and interviewers, he had to push through them in order to reach the large wooden doors of the courtroom.  As the case was about to begin, Marcus noticed that the judge was a solemn man.  The judge looked down on the eminent lawyer, Marcus, a smile came to his face.  Then the judge looked down judgingly on the opposing lawyer.  Just as the judge approached the dais, something very strange happened.  All of a sudden, the lights went out.  Nobody could see anything.  It looked as if this permutation of a court case would have to wait for another day.