Sunday, May 3, 2009

Journal #1- Chapters 1-3 from the perspective of Walter Cuningham 
I hate the first day of school. I have always felt that it was a colossal waste of time. I have been held back more times than I can count, which is not very high since I haven't finished the first grade.  Every year I am irked by my father that I need to go to school. I have never had a reason to distrust my father so I concede. I'm sure that I would like it more if I could actually finish the year. Just once I would like to compromise  with my father. I would get to finish the first grade but then I would work twice as hard the next year.  However, every year I put on my clean shirt, and overalls and walk barefoot to school. I had heard that there is a new teacher there, but it never occurred to me that she was not from Macomb. When I sat down, in the same room, same desk even, I began to feel indigenous to this place.

I never have valued myself as smart. I am in the first grade and I am almost as old as some of the fifth graders.  I have on the other hand always admired that that Scout girl. She was the smartest person I had ever met. When the new teacher Miss Caroline walked into the class room and introduced herself I realized instantly even before she said were she was from, that she was not from these parts.  I had known for a long time now that Scout could read and write. I would have thought that Miss Caroline would have praised her for it, but instead she scolded Scout with pronouncements of how here father was teaching her incorrectly.    

I was astounded at the way they were able to argue for so long, but when they finished, I was able to simply endure the day. Until dinner came along. This was my least favorite time of day. I knew that because Miss Caroline was new she wouldn't know about me. 
"Now class if you have your food with you please put it on your desk.", all I could do was sit there like a nimrod.  "You there did you forget your lunch?", "Yess'um" I lied. When Miss Caroline pulled out a quarter and tried to hand it to me, I was so full of shame I almost started to cry. This shame consumed me so much, I was all but unable to hear the ensuing conversation between Miss Caroline and Scout. All I remember is looking up and seeing Scout getting hit on the hand with a ruler and being sent to the corner. After we were dismissed, Scout jumped on me and started rubbing my nose in the dirt. I couldn't fight back, because boys can't hit girls, so I would just have to persevere. 

I could not have been more thankful when Jem came along, and saved me from his evil sister. When he invited me over I, at first wanted to say no but then decided that it couldn't hurt. While at the Finch home I got to have the most delicious dinner I had had in a long time. However Scout ruined it when she made fun of me for putting syrup all over my food. The food lifted my sprits and I was chipper as could be on my way back to school though. 

Miss Caroline's reaction to the cootie in one of the Ewell boy's hair was entertaining but not really anything special. At least nothing I haven't seen before.   

2 comments:

  1. I like how you incorperated the vocabulary into your writing, it flows very well. And Iliked all the discriptive words that you used because it really gave me a good idea of what your character was feeling. I think that you captured this character well because you showed how disapointed he was in himself for not passing 1st grade

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  2. I liked how you used the vocabulary in your journal. I liked how you made the first sentence get the reader's attention. I like how you describe the characters in the book from the perspective of Walter. I liked how you described Walter's feelings about not passing the 1st grade.

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