Mrs. B - #5 - In Character

ERIC CARTMAN
In some people's eyes, Eric Cartman is seen as appauling and shocking on American television. He is a very controvercial character. Some of the things that he says and does are completely inappropriate and looked down upon. Some people in America are very fascinated by this character. They think what he does is simply "funny" and "the best character ever". I think that people judge this character before watching the show. It is not fair to judge Eric until you watch South Park. People love him, or they hate him; there is no in between level of likeness. Eric is understood as the bad guy in South Park. He is very arrogant and up front about everything.
DORA THE EXPLORER
Dora is the female heroin of the 20th century. She is a cartoon character who is latina who speaks spanish. This is a fabulous idea for a cartoon character. I babysit a family who has three girls and all of them LOVE Dora. They read her books every night--and surprisingly, they are learning some spanish while doing it! I think it is great that a cartoon character can teach young people a new language. This was an excellent idea for a character. Dora is fascinating because she is the first popular cartoon character to speaks two languages. She is understood as a cute, fun, spanish-speaking latina!

JOHNNY DRAMA


Johnny Drama is from the hit TV show Entorage. He is an important character in our culture because he represents hard work and determination. Well, not quite, but he's getting there. Johnny is Vince's brother. Vince is a movie star and Johnny basically lives off of his little brother. Johnny starred in a TV show when he was younger, so he still thinks he can make it. Johnny has many qualities that make him intriguing. He is very funny and he's self concious about this body. He doesn't think that he has "manly" calves. He is very jealous when he sees other men with strong, masculine calves. I think it is good to have a character who is self concious about somthing because most characters are very confident and flawless. Johnny shows people that just because you were "cool" back in the day, it doesn't mean you will maintain the "coolness". Johnny Drama is a reality check for Americans everywhere in the US.

Mrs. B - # 4 - Characteristics of a Well Told Story

Part 1: Stories are important to childhood because that is how children learn life lessons. Not only life lessons, but other important aspects of life as well. People read stories to kids to entertain them and calm them. They also read stories to them to enable them to become an active thinker. Kids enjoy reading stories. They get the joy of having someone pay attention to them. Usually when parents read children stories, the child is sitting in their lap or is close to them. This comforts the child. The children learn new words from story reading. They hear their parents say the same words over and over, so eventually, it builds their vocabulary.

Part 2: Older people read stories for pleasure and fun. Sometimes people are forced to read stories for a specific class, but usually it's just for fun. Reading as you get older helps you learn even more than you already know. These readers get to learn more and build their knowledge and vocabulary. Older readers learn life lessons from the stories. Older people reading is different from younger people reading because when you read when you're younger, you usually read to learn new words or new concepts. When you read when you're older, you read for enjoyment and interest.

Part 3: Stories are important to our nation because they bring everyone together. There are many legends that are read and passed on from generation to generation. People like sharing their books to make other people happy. Stories fit into the fabric of our national identity because they are woven inbetween generations and shared among many people. Stories people write create a forum for the discussion of concerns and issues in our nation because some stories that are written are very controvercial. People don't agree on everything, so after reading some stories, people like to discuss their thoughts and ideas about it. Stories allow people to be entertained and enjoy life. They are fun to read and they bring people from all over the world together.

Part 4: I remember the story "I'll love you forever" (I think that is the title--I'm not one hundred percent sure...). I remember this story because every night before I went to bed, my mom read me that story. Her words were so calming and soft. It was a good story, too. There is one line that sticks out in my mind--still today. "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as your living, my baby you'll be." Whenever I think of those words, I will always think of my mom.

Part 5: Stories should have excitement. An exciting book engages the reader and leads them to read more of the book. The characters must be deep and well rounded. Flat characters don't create diversity; all stories should have diversity and well rounded characters to make it more interesting. A story should show knowledge on certain aspects of life. Stories that have life lessons but no thoughts or knowledge behind it are not very fun to read. Stories need to make you feel like the author knows what s/he is talking about. Stories should be comforting. A writer should make the reader feel like they want to read the story. In order to do this, the author must reflect a little bit of comfort in their writing. Stories should have some sort of message at the end of them. When the message is sort of hidden, it makes the story more interesting and makes the reader want to read it again. Stories should stand out from other ones of it's kind. I know it isn't easy to do, but when authors are writing, they should ask themselves, "How can I make this story better than the rest of them? What aspects must I include to break my story apart from the rest?" Stories should be able to reflect upon the readers life in some way. Whether it is the readers' mom's best friends dog's cousins breeder, or the actual person who is reading, all stories should be able to connect to the reader's life. Stories are more fun to read if you can relate it to your life.