Kaia's Blog

The poem “Praying”, by Kesha, and “Parrot in the Oven”, by Victor Martinez, are alike and different in many ways. Everyone has most likely encountered a difficult situation in his or her lifetime. Kesha and Manny experience the same kind of emotional and physical pain from an abusive relationship. In “Parrot in the Oven”, Manny’s father is abusive, making the rest of his life hard. Similarly, in “Praying”, Kesha’s boyfriend is abusive, making her experience a plethora of pain that she wants to get over. In both texts, we learn that dealing with pain of difficult challenges in life and moving on will make you a stronger and better being altogether.

A common theme in both of these texts are that in an abuse situation, more people are hurt than just one. In “Parrot in the Oven”, Manny is in an abusive relationship with his father. Manny feels as if no one understands him and longs to be respected like the kids in his neighborhood and at school. So he makes the decision to join a gang, but this turns out really wrong, and by the end of the story Manny realizes that being  in a gang is not what he wants to do with his life. In “Praying”, Kesha had an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. As she says in her poem, “you put me through hell, I had to learn how to fight for myself”, this tells us how bad the situation was, and that at the end of the day, she was a stronger person in the long run. In both texts, you can see how the abuse hurt them so bad, but they got through it, and became a stronger person in the end.

While both texts show the pain that an abusive relationship can have on a person, there are many differences as well. First, an obvious one, Kesha is in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, while Manny is in one with his father, and technically with everyone that bullied him too. Manny also took longer to cope with his pain, as he began searching for other ways to be loved and respected, like joining the gang. While Kesha simply got through it, and eventually picked up the courage to get out of the complicated situation. Kesha was also older, so it may have been easier to deal with the pain then it was for Manny, who was just a teenager. Because Manny was younger, he didn’t know what to do and it seemed to him that no one was there for him or understood his pain. That is probably why he made some poor decisions that he will regret.

In conclusion, both “Parrot in the Oven” and “Praying” are alike and different inn many ways. Both of the texts are about how Manny and Kesha dealt with the pain of an abusive relationship and how they coped with the pain. While they may be alike, they are also different as Manny and Kesha dealt with their pain in the opposite way. Despite the differences, any reader can learn from these two pieces of literature that dealing with past pain and moving on will make you stronger.

Victor Martinez’s novel,” Parrot In The Oven” takes place in the hot climate of California, in Manny’s neighborhood. Manny lives a very hard life. His father is abusive, he gets bullied at school, and he longs to be respected by joining a gang. Manny soon realizes that being in a gang is not what he wants to do with his life. One lesson that we can all learn is that you need to follow your destiny.

From the very beginning, the author directs a lot of attention to the fact that Manny lives a hard life. Manny’s father is not aware that by showing violent behavior towards his family, he is being a bad influence to his children and essentially ruining their lives. As it says in the text, “He, Manny, wants to be the kind of guy people respect. But that’s not easy when your father is abusive.” This bit of information tells us that abuse affects people in more ways than one, for the rest of their lives. Manny also gets bullied at his school and in his neighborhood. In the text, it specifically states, “I’ll break your nose again boy, I’ll make that bump on your nose bigger, you will lose ten pounds just taking in my punches, said Stinky” This shows the hardships that Manny went through every day, and it all goes back to the hard life that he has at home because of his father. Manny always fails to stand up for himself, and that is because he is so used to not standing up to his father at home because he can’t. Manny truly has the definition of a hard- knock life!

Manny is so caught up in his own hard life that keeps getting worse by the day. One day, Manny’s father got out a rifle and attempted to shoot the mother.  A neighbor called the police, and the father had his rifle confiscated and was arrested. This must really ruin Manny’s life because he has to see his father get taken away to jail and that his mother, despite the abuse she has gone through, is upset that her husband is in jail. A clip from the text that shows how the mother is hurting, is on page sixty- seven,” After the police had gone, Mom sat on the couch a long time starring at the floor. I noticed that she didn’t appear tired, but more like the muscles needed to move her face were numb.” The mother was most likely depressed because she was trying to process the fact that her husband has been arrested.  Manny cannot understand why his mom is sad, but he still acts as if everything is okay. If he would have talked the issue out with his mother, he wouldn’t have made some of the bad decisions he made later in the story. Therefore, Manny is mostly to blame for  the those decisions.

By the middle of the story, the reader finally start to see the hard life that anyone who lives in the area that Manny lives has. Manny gets bullied at his school and in his neighborhood. Certainly it could be said that the teens are cruel because they have a complicated life themselves. While this is a good point, you still have to consider the fact that under no circumstances should a child have the right to bully another. A powerful example from the text on page one hundred nighty- three says, “I tried twisting my body around to get up, yet for every strain, Mondo pressed harder, shifting the weight of his knees to counter my thrusts.” This informs us how badly Manny is being hurt- at home and when he isn’t. No amount of abuse could motivate a teenager to be this cruel to another.

At the conclusion of the story, Stinky took Manny to the mall and they were shoplifting. Manny realizes that he doesn’t want to get in trouble and he leaves the gang and goes home. Parrot in the Oven had a happy ending with a valuable lesson. The lesson that a person can learn from this book is to follow your destiny. At the very end of the story when Manny finally came to his senses,  he made the right decision.  He didn’t want to get caught doing any more illegal things. Manny wanted to be respected in a good way, not in a way that makes people afraid of him. Martinez’s novel is very interesting and I would recommend this book to anyone who is going through a hard time or is having trouble finding themselves.

Right now, I am currently reading the novel Parrot In The Oven, by Victor Martinez. This story takes place in Central California. The climate in Central California is very different from the climate in Indiana. Manny, the main character, spends most of his time at his house and school. As it says in the text on page thirty- three, “And it wasn’t just them but the whole room: the squiggly TV, the lumpy cherub angels on the frame of the painting, the glass-top coffee table, my mother’s animals, gleaming in the sunlight. This room was what my mother spent so much energy cleaning and keeping together, and what my father spent so much energy tearing apart. And it was wondrous, like a place I was meant to be.” This means that Manny would rather be at his house than anywhere else.

The main character in this story is Manny Hernandez. Manny is upset because his father is abusive and cruel. Manny also is debating on whether to join a gang in his neighborhood. However, he isn’t sure that joining a gang will solve any of his problems. The main problem of the story impacts Manny because when he sees his father be abusive, he questions whether he can trust him ever again. It ruins his ability to trust people and that is why he is considering joining a gang. Manny is different from me because when he gets mad, he goes to take his anger out on someone, and when I get mad, I draw or listen to music.

You hop as fast as you can, hopping over the tables, trying to get away. He is too fast, with his giant net, and he scoops you up in it. Just like that, your freedom is gone. The little freedom you once had, that only lasted in the first few weeks of your life, is gone. You do not know what will happen, if you will ever see your family again, or at least tell them goodbye, I love you. He ties you to the table, and pulls out a syringe full of a clear liquid. Then, he pours it all over you, and you swell up. Your skin is covered with hives. It hurts. It itches. You can not do anything about it because you are tied up. “The shampoo did not work,” he says to his assistant. You do not hear him, as the pain is too much. On the walls there is cages that contain your siblings and friends, who will go next. The man brings in another syringe, this time with blue liquid. He puts the needle in your skin, and the baby bunny dies. She was only 3 weeks old.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      What is animal rights?                                                                                                    The animal rights movement started back in the 1970’s. The main goal of this movement is for animals to suffer the same way that humans do. “Many people often forget about the animal rights movement,” says Tami Szelis, a student at Blackhawk Middle School. Many students in Mr. Hoering’s eighth grade advanced language arts class knew little to no knowledge on the animal rights movement.  It is time for that to change.

Students take a stand

One student, Camille Haines, knew exactly what it was. In her interview, she stated what animal rights means to her. “Animal rights means that animals deserve certain kinds of consideration- consideration of what is in their best interests, regardless of whether they are cute, useful to humans, an endangered species, and regardless of whether any human cares about them at all,” Haines said. I would actually be willing to go vegetarian in order to support the animal rights committee. Camille asked her fellow peers if they would go vegetarian or vegan to benefit animals. At first it seemed as though no children had the heart, but later she found one determined student, Tami Szelis, who had a big heart. “I wont stop until at least half of us are vegan,” she exclaimed. Tami is on her way to being a vegan herself, she believes strongly that we should not eat off of animals. “We don’t let animals eat us, so how does that give us the right for us to kill, torture, and eat them?”, asked Madison Cocks. People usually assume that when you are vegan, that all you eat is leaves. “If they actually knew the facts, they would understand that its really not all that bad,” says Szelis.

Vegan Facts

“Veganism is a strict type of vegetarianism that excludes meat and all animal products. Vegans do not eat meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, or any foods containing them. A vegan diet relies on plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, and seeds,” said PETA, the biggest animal rights organization in the world. Veganism may be easy for some, but others say it is a waste of time and money. “There is no waste in saving innocent animals’ lives,” says Szelis. “You can find a substitute for almost anything,” stated Madi Cocks. In the whole world, approximately 7.3 million people are vegetarian, and 1 million of those people are vegan. So if you give up on starting a vegan diet but still want to save the animals, you could always be a vegetarian.

In conclusion, the animal rights movement is based on how people should treat animals the way you want to be treated. Some members and supporters are willing to do anything to stop the cruelty of animals. Whether that is changing your diet, skincare routine, or what you wear, it is all worth it in the end when millions of lives are being saved.

     You hop through the hills. Free at last. Your parents have told you horrifying stories of your ancestors and when they were hunted and killed. You think about them every night, and what kind of bunny they would have been like. They are resting in heaven now, and they wont have anymore pain. But in the meantime you hop through the hills and enjoy your freedom, freedom they never had. Of being able to run and play with your friends without the fear of getting caught. This is what you wish you had. Anyone can change the world.

             

 

Animal Rights

 

 

The animal rights movement started in the United Kingdom back in the 1970s. The main goal of this movement is for animals to suffer the same way that humans do. “Many people often forget about the animal rights movement,” says Tami Szelis, a student at Blackhawk Middle School. Many students in Mr. Hoering’s eighth grade language arts class knew little or no knowledge of the animal rights committee. One student, Camille Haines, knew exactly what it was. In her interview, she said what animal rights means to her. “Animal rights means that animals deserve certain kinds of consideration- consideration of what is in their best interests, regardless of whether they are ‘cute’, useful to humans, or an endangered species, and regardless of whether any human cares about them at all,” Camille said in her interview. “In my opinion, I would go vegetarian or vegan for the animals, we can’t kill them just to benefit ourselves,” said Madison Cocks. Which leads into another question, would you change your whole lifestyle for the animals? According to a study, about 7.5 million people are vegetarian and  2.5 million people are vegan. “I would not go vegan because you can’t eat anything and its really expensive,” says Allison Carr

This morning, at around 8:00, in Mr. Hoering’s eighth grade literature class, Mrs. Oaks came in with a special announcement. “After Labor Day, we will be wearing uniforms,” she exclaimed. The whole class stood in shock as they thought about how they would never be able to express themselves again. They then started to fight and protest against the uniforms. The yelling continued for roughly ten minutes. “This is really shocking because Blackhawk has never had uniforms”, says Camille Haines, a student in Mr. Hoering’s eighth grade class. “Without uniforms, we wont be able to express ourselves”, says Allison Carr, another student in the class. This middle school says they will, despite the protesters, continue to follow through with the uniform policy.

I am a reader, and I am currently reading Wolf Hollow, by Lauren Wolk. This book is about a girl named Annabelle who goes to a school called Wolf Hollow. Annabelle lives in the time of World War II and she lives in a small Pennsylvania town. One day, a new student shows up at her school. Her name is Betty Glengarry. Betty is really cruel and manipulative, and she targets Toby, a reclusive World War I veteran. Many people in Annabelle’s town think Toby is strange, but Annabelle tries to be kind to everyone. Betty uses Annabelle to get money and fancy clothes, and as hard as Annabelle tries to be kind, she has to pick up the courage to be kind to everyone when no one is on her side.

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