"Black Boy by Richard Wright"

Richard Wright is very reliable as the narrator of his own story because it is the story of his life; nobody could have wrote this story like he did. He did an excellent job at explaining his life. As I was reading the book I could picture everything that he was talking about, as if it were a movie. You can understand and feel the pain that he went through even though you might have not went through it.

NIGHTMARE: Journal# 5

The anonymous person is one of the staff members and they admitted that they killed Dr. Amelia Foxworth. Dr. Foxworth publicizied the resume this person had embellished. She wanted to expose this anonymous person and destroy there reputation. The anonymous person accidently pushed her. This person said," I watched her fall over the railing along the marble stairs to crack her head open on the tile by the pool." When Dr. Foxworth fell Emily saw it. When Emily was about 8 years old her mom and her went to camp excel to visit a friend. After Dr. Foxworth fell Emily heard a voice telling her to wait, come back, and I'll find you. Ever since that day shes been having these nightmares of Dr. Foxworth's death and this is why she wears her hair down in her face to hide. She's scared this person might find her, but this person already found Emily and they're planning to kill her as soon as possible. Haley, Taylor, and Maxwell were so scared when Emily told them. So Haley performed the purification rite that she got from the cuarndero, but it didn't work. Haley said that this was a sign that Emily was in danger. So everyone agreed to never leave Emily alone. She has to be with either Haley, Taylor, or Maxwell at all times until they figure out who this person. Unfortunaely, Maxwell had to leave because boys aren't aloud to be in the girls rooms. Haley went to go tutor a boy in the lobby and she told Taylor to stay with Emily. So Taylor stayed and told Emily she has to go and get her homework and she'll be right back. After she left she heard a knock on the door and it opened. It was Ms. Comstock her teacher. She told Emily that she saw Haley downstairs, so she knew Emily would be alone in her room. Emily was very scared and kept moving back, but Ms. Comstock kept moving closer to her. She wanted to know if Emily was okay after she fainted and Emily said she fainted because she was hungry. But Ms. Comstock insisted that she was probably stressed. She told  Emily, "You're in a unfamiliar place, away from the protection of your family." She said if Emily had any issues that she should come to a staff member and let them know. A few seconds later Taylor came back and Ms. Comstock left. After that Emily was frightened; she was scared by what Ms. Comstock was telling and asking her. This book is getting so good, I don't want it to be over. In my opinion I believe that Ms. Comstock might be the person trying to harm Emily. I hope they figure out who the staff member is and put an end to it.

Questions:
1. Do you think Ms. Comstock is the one trying to harm Emily? Why or why not?
2. Why does this anonymous person want to kill Emily?
3. What do you predict will happen next?

NIGHTMARE:Journal # 4

Well, after Emily and Haley left the cuarndero, they saw Emily's friend Taylor. When she was walking toward them, they noticed that she dyed and curled her hair like Emily. Haley and Emily were very suprised and wondered why she imitated Emily. Taylor kept denying about copying Emily and said she liked how Emily's hair looks. She thought Emily's hair was beautiful and different and she wanted to be like that, too. Emily was annoyed and embarrased because she knew people were going to talk. So when they got back to the camp Emily went to her 5:30pm appointment with Dr. Anderson. As she was walking down the hall she noticed Dr. Issacson's office (the owner of the camp), so she went in. In the office she saw a picture of Dr. Issacson and a picture of a woman. When Emily saw the picture of the woman she got scared because it's the same woman in her nightmare. She ended up fainting and woke up in the nurse's office. The nurse figured that Emily was starving herself or dieting so she had lunch brought to her and Dr. Anderson came to the nurse to talk to Emily. The doctor asked her if she remembers anything and Emily told her what happened. She said she walked into Dr. Issacson's office and saw the pictures and then fainted. She didn't tell the doctor that she knew th woman. She just asked who she was. Dr. Anderson said that's Dr. Foxworth; she used to work there, but died about 8 years ago from a fall. Emily then  lied and said that she fainted because she didn't eat. The doctor didn't believe her, so she just left. Emily went to sleep and woke up to Haley asking her why she didn't come to dinner. Emily said she didn't want people to look at her and talk about her because of Taylor. Suprisingly, Haley said that Taylor didn't come either. All of a sudden there was a loud siren so they went outside to go see what it was. They found a girl soaken wet on th the ground and it was Taylor. She had a gash on the back of her head. She said she was looking for Emily so they can can go to dinner together. She went to the dock because that's where Emily always goes, but Emily wasn't there. So as she was standing on the dock she felt it shake and then she fell in the water. Taylor claimed there was no one there and that the rowboat was tied to the dock. When Maxwell went to save her he said he thought it was Emily and he saw someone rowing away in the boat. Emily and Maxwell concluded that someone is trying to harm Emily and that person thought Taylor was Emily. Now I think that Emily will end up telling Maxwell and Haley about her nightmare because she was no choice; this is a life or death situation. They're going to try their hardest to figure out who this person is .

Questions:
1. Why did Taylor get her hair done like Emily?
2. Do you think Emily and Dr. Foxworth knew each other and Emily just doesn't remembera?
3. Did the anonymous person hurt Taylor? Why or why not?

NITGHMARE: Journal # 3

After Emily ran out of the group session, everybody was so confused and wondered what happened to her. But the person who was wondering the most was this anonymous person whose been stalking Emily. This person is desperate to understand Emily and to know everything about her. They said their confronted by some serious questions: "Are Emily's memories still so real and frightening that she cannot deal with them? Or has she suppressed her memories so that they no longer exist?" This person wants to know if Emily's memories will fully come back and what will Emily do to deal with them. After Emily left the sessions she went to sit in the hallway by herself. Finally, the sessions were over and everyone went back to their rooms. When they got to their rooms Haley told Emily that she's glad that nothing happened to her today. This evil that was against her might have changed its path or changed its mind. So the next morning before breakfast Haley forced Emily to pick a runes to tell her future for today. Suprisingly, Emily got the same sign (Loki). Haley was scared and astonished because your not suppose to get the same sign twice in a row. So Haley told Emily that she was going to take her to a Curandero. A curandero is a folker healer; they protect people from evil, perform purification rituals and use spells to protect you. Emily didn't want to go, but she didn't want to argue with Haley so she said she'll go. After class they went to the curandero and after he performed his craft everybody was scared. The curandero said that Haley was right; there is something locked  inside of her. The curandero told Emily, "The hidden thing is not something of the body. It is something of the mind...the only way to counter this danger is to find what is locked inside you and rid yourself of it. No one can do this for you. You must do it yourself." He gave her a potion that will protect her until she can figure out what this evil is. Emily was very frightened and believed that she is in danger. She is very confused and doesn't know if she is or isn't hiding anything. I feel so bad for Emily because she is going through so much and is very miserable. This evil that is inside her is her nightmare and eventually it she will realize it. Maybe thsi anonymous person might help her realize it.

Questions
1. Do you think this anonymous person will ever confront Emily?
2. Why is Haley so worried about Emily?
3. What do you think is the evil that's locked inside of Emily?

NIGHTMARE: Journal #2

As I've been reading this book I'm noticing that every other chapter is a interchapter. These chapters are an anonymous person talking to us about Emily. This person said they knew Emily eight years ago, but there not sure if Emily remembers them. It seems as if this person is seeking revenge on Emily. Emily meets a new person at the camp named Maxwell.. He comes to Emily and Haley's room and introduces himself. Maxwell is a very talkitive person and Emily was getting annoyed because she is quiet and doesn't like to talk much. He then walks with them down to dinner where the other students are; along with the teachers and parents. Emily didn't really want to go because she's still angry with her parents for making her come to this camp. After dinner the parents left and the students had group sessions with he teachers. They were suppose to get to know each other and then switch to the next group. Emily refused to go and went outside. She found a path that led to a lake where she ended up standing by the dock; she wanted to be alone. As she was standing there alone she felt the presence of someone behind her, but there was no one there when she looked back. She got scared and ran back through the path where she was tripping and struggling to get through. While she was struggling through this path it reminded her of her nightmare except there was no dead body. When Haley found Emily she was worried because she promised she would keep an eye on Emily after what happened with the runes. They went back inside and continued with the group sessions. Emily left in the middle of the group sessions because she refused to talk about her childhood. This book is becoming more and more interesting the more I read it. I don't even want to stop reading this book. This author is such an incredible writer. She uses such incredible details that makes you picture everything that she's talking about. Two of my favorite sentences were: "The buzz of  conversation rolled over the tables in waves..." and "A faded red rowboat, tied loosely to a post at the end of the dock, bobbed up and down like a bathtub toy." I predict that this anonymous perosn that's seeking revenge on Emily is going to reveal their self to Emily soon and Emily is going to realize that this camp is her nightmare.

Questions

1. Explain why you think Emily would rather be alone than with other people?
2. Do you think Emily's nightmare might be coming to life?
3. What do you think of the book so far?

NIGHTMARE

The book that I'm reading is called Nightmare and the author is Joan Lowery Nixon. Before reading this book I didn't know anything about this author or book, but I as I read more I hope to learn more. From what I've already read so far, the author has a really good use of imagery and this is what makes the book interesting; i don't want to stop reading. She has a really good flow when she writes. When I read more I want to learn more about this author and she writes. I'm very eager to know what's going to happen next.

Response to Chapter 20

I feel so bad for the Joad’s family. They have to go through so much, but this is a test. God is testing them to see if they can make it through the tough times. This also brings me back to chapter 3 about the turtle. That turtle symbolized the struggle that the Joad’s will face. The turtle never gave up and the Joad’s won’t give up either; even though they might lose people on the way. I’m surprised that Casy sacrificed his life for Tom. I don’t think I would have done that. I mean you come all this way to better your life, but you decide to fix someone else’s before yours. That doesn’t make any sense to me. Connie didn’t really leave. He probably just took a walk to clear his mind because he’s so stressed out. In the next chapters, I predict that Connie and Casy will come back. I also believe that the Joad’s will escape this place and they’ll take everyone that’s there at camp with them.

Chapter 20 Journal

Bellotta Yambuya                                                                                                                  2-15-11

Chapter 20 Journal

Dear Journal,

            Jus when I thought everything was gonna be better, it ain’t. Everything goin’ downhill. We finally reached California an’ it ain’t nothin’ they said it was gonna be. Everyone livin’ in tents not knownin’ where they at. Mr. Knowles told us that they ain’t got no jobs out here. Everything that was written in the handbill was a lie. I can’t believe this; all of our dreams are crushed. For some reason I feel like I might get caught. Someone might find out that I wasn’t ‘pose to leave the state. I’m getting kind of worried. I’m also worried about grandma’s body. She died unfortunately an’ we ain’t have money to bury her so we left her body at the coroners. I think everyone knew that she wouldn’t be able to live without her husband. Casy got arrested for something I did. I can’t believe he sacrificed his life for me. Now that he’s gone we all feel sort of weird without him. Even though he wasn’t a priest, he still have us a sense of hope. Connie jus’ left; nobody knows where he went an’ he left his pregnant wife. I hope he come back. I really believe that nothing is going to turn out good, but all we can do is hope for the best.           

-          Tom