Reading Project # 2

 

How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying

By Scott Starkey

 

While the genre of this book referenced above is realistic fiction with comedy and humor included, however, the theme of this book, through my eyes after reading it is: just to be happy with whom you are and not try and be someone you’re not. “In How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying, Rodney has to live with the consequences of the tough-guy reputation he accidently takes on.” For example, Rodney Rathbone is a complete coward when it comes to school bullies such as Josh. However, when a fluke accident takes place during a baseball game and all the other school kids witness it; this is the start to Rodney becoming someone he’s not – the tough kid on campus.

The author, Scott Starkey, certainly understands both the kids and the school and what takes place within. He focuses on how people in general will cheer for the underdog in any situation or atmosphere, as he shows through the success of Rodney’s character. As you will see throughout this book, the author shows how certain characters are driven by forces beyond their control. For example, all because of a pop fly that came from the sky, not only saved Rodney from getting beat up on the playground of his new school by Josh – the nastiest bully ever, but at the same time turned him into the school hero all because of a weird accident that was beyond his control.

            As you will find in this particular book, characters such as Rodney want to escape from society. Through his anxiety and fear of not only bullies, but anything scary at all, society (other kids at the school) forces him to pretend to be the tough-guy he really isn’t. Throughout this story, you will see that this isn’t the first time Rodney had to pretend he was someone he really wasn’t, or even the first time he was bullied at school.

            Every situation is different, however, depending on your own personal morals the outcomes will always be different from one reader to another. For example, one reader may think that Rodney had to pretend he was a tough-guy in order to not get bullied at school was the right thing to do in this situation. However, another reader may have different morals as far as lying goes. They may think that Rodney could have done something different instead of lying about the events that took place and being someone he’s not – all to prevent the truth about which he really is and/or to avoid getting bullied. This example is probably the most obvious and the biggest moral conflict from reader to reader within this book.

In the end of this story, you will find that pretending to be someone you’re not does have its benefits – like Rodney getting the girl of his dreams and becoming popular. However, continuing to be the opposite of who you really are is a lot more complicated; making things worse for you and/or exposing you to be the target of even worse situations – like when Rodney starts getting picked on by his teacher after becoming the tough-guy that he’s not.

 

 

 

 

 

The Ungrateful and Lying Boy

One day there was a little boy who was swimming. Suddenly, there was an earthquake and the boy panicked, and then started drowning. The lifeguard took the risk and dove right into the pool and saved the boy. Then, the lifeguard took the boy to shelter and performed CPR. The boy spit out water and awoke without a single breath. The boy then asked if he was alright to go home, and the lifeguard said “Yes.”

When the boy got home, his dad asked if he was okay from the earthquake that had happened. The boy replied, “I am alright except the lifeguard didn’t help me.” The boy’s dad was stunned with what he had heard. The boy said “I think we should go tell his boss.” So the dad and the boy went to the lifeguard’s boss, and the boy told the whole story of what had happen.

Then the boss told them that he would handle it. He immediately went outside and yelled at the lifeguard; telling him that he was fired. The lifeguard was in shock with what he heard. He then ran over to his boss and told him the actual story from beginning to end.

Later that day, the lifeguard’s boss called the dad and told him what the lifeguard had said, and the dad was mad. His face turned red as he talked to the boy about being a liar and an ungrateful person.

Furthermore, the dad punished the boy for his actions that day, and from that day on, the boy had to earn his dad’s trust back one step at a time.

Response to poetry

In the poem "We Breathed You In" by Patti Tana, it talks about the tragedy of 9-11. It also states that the poem talks about what happens and how the poem relates to the title. The author's purpose is in the title only, because on 9-11 from all the ashes and smoke all of that when we breath is all just the dead burning bodies. The tone of this poem was very tragic and tense only because of what happened on 9-11.