The Metaphor for Friendship

The Connection of Weather and Friendships

An Essay by Harry Staley

8^th Grade English

Pine Point School

April 17, 2011

Have you ever compared a friendship you have had to the weather outside? I have and I have concluded that those miserable gloomy days can be related to friendships that weren’t the greatest. When the weather is sunny and beautiful, those relationships can be great. In this essay I will tell you about friendships I have had and how it relates to the weather.

Friendships are like the weather in many different ways. I think they are like the weather because the weather can be nice and warm or it can be cold and horrific. I know I don’t like those times when my friendships are cold and horrific because that means there is tension building up which usually leads to a fight - a not so exciting time for people in the predicament. Andrew is one of my best friends and I know that there has only been a few times where we have had our differences. Whenever Andrew and I hang out, we always have the best time. Whether we are playing lacrosse or playing Call of Duty, we never get sick of each other. I have a feeling that Andrew and I will be friends forever because we have grown such a strong bond over the years that seems like it would be almost impossible to break. Tony is another one of my pals that I could not see myself without. Whenever Tony and I are together, we are always in the happiest mood and it seems like we almost always have something to do. Over the course of this year, I have really spent a lot of time with Tony and our friendship has grown from that of an acquaintance to being the best of friends.  Tony and Andrew are the two best buddies I could ask for and whenever I’m with them my weather is sunny and 80 degrees not cloudy and cold.

After reading this essay on friendships I hope you have connected some of your friendships to the weather. When I was first asked to relate my friendships using a metaphor or an idiom, I really had to think about it and I came up with the thought of connecting my friends to the weather. It is quite obvious that when a friendship is like a stormy day, it is bad and can make me feel sad and when it is like a nice sunny day it is a good and makes me happy and cheerful. I am very thankful to have friends like Andrew and Tony and they will always be one of the best parts of my Pine Point experience.

1. One writing issue I am continuing to work on: One issue I am continuing to work on is thinking about what I am going to write before I write it.

2. One strong point I see in this piece of writing: One strong point I see in this writing is that it is all my writing and I am very proud of it.

3. One possible weak point I see: One weak point I see in this writing is that sometimes it seems like my writing mumbles on.

4) The grade I would give myself. B

By: Harry Staley

Friendships are like the weather in many different ways. I think they are like the weather because, the weather can be nice and warm or it can be cold and horrific. I know I don’t like those times when my friendships are cold and horrific, because that means that there is tension building up which usually leads to a fight, a not so exciting time for people in the predicament. Andrew is one of my best friends and I know that there has only been a few times where we have had our differences. Whenever Andrew and I hang out we always have the best time, whether we are playing lacrosse or playing Call of Duty we never get sick of each other. I have a feeling that Andrew and I will be friends forever because we have grown such a strong bond over the years that seems like it would be almost impossible to break. Tony is another one of my pals that I could not see myself without. Whenever tony and I are together we are always in the happiest mood and it seems like we almost always have something to do. Over the course of this year I have really spent a lot of time with tony and I have grown an acquaintance that would usually take years to build. Tony and Andrew are the two best friends I could ask for and whenever I’m with them my whether is sunny and 80 degrees, not cloudy and cold.

Circle

Harper Lee and Harry Lee

An essay by: Harry Staley

8^th grade English

Pine Point School

January 31, 2011

I think my life is like the book To Kill A Mockingbird because the book and my life always seem to go in a circle. Over the course of my short life, I have found that each time I take a shortcut or do not do as good a job as I could, it always seems to come back to haunt me.  Like in the book when Jem and Scout do not tell Atticus that they spoke to Boo Radley through the big tree and later regret not talking to him more.  I like it when characters in a book and I have similar experiences.

(TS) I think To kill A Mockingbird is like a big circle because things and people come back into the story at strategic points. (SD) A lot of old things are starting to come back around into the story. (CM) A lot of characters from earlier in the story reappear, like Dr. Reynolds, who came back “after ten forever’s”  to help Jem when he got hurt. (CM) Also, in the last few chapters I noticed how Harper Lee started to bring back old styles of writing. (SD) A lot of places that were very popular earlier in the book are beginning to loop back into the story. (CM) For instance, early in the book there was a tree with a hole that was used for communication between Boo Radley and Jem and Scout. (CM) That tree was a great place for Jem and Scout before it was ruined by Mr. Radley who did not want them communicating with Boo. (SD) In the last couple of chapters, Atticus’ job is revolving back to becoming something that is rarely discussed. (CM) At the beginning of the book, we did not hear much about Atticus’ job. (CM) In the middle of the book all we read about his trials and about Tom Robinson, but  towards the end of the book we have not heard much about his job. (CS) I think that the whole structure  of To Kill A Mockingbird has been circular.

(TS) Like how To Kill A Mockingbird is structured, the older I get , the more I find my days  becoming  round. (SD) While all of my days are becoming more continuous, they each seem to be the same old boring day. (CM)My Day consists of three things: waking up; going to school;  and doing homework, which doesn’t make for a very exciting day. (SD) The older I get, the more I realize that my days and weeks are becoming too consistent and boring. (CM) As the year progresses, I notice how boring and routine it is. (CM) The weird thing about all of this is that it feels like they go by really fast. (SD) Now that I have lived in a few places and met a lot of people,  some of them are coming back into my life like a circle. (CM) A lot Of old friends who I knew when I lived in Stamford are finding me on Facebook and we reconnect. (CM) I know it probably sounds strange, but it seems to be happening more and more. (CS) Boring as it is, life is short and within that short period of time many circles start to form and that is the circle of life.

After reading my essay on circles I hope you agree  that my life and the book To Kill A Mockingbird are very similar. Once in a while things don’t go the way we want it to, but eventually it all comes back around and you can work at it again like a circle. I hope my life starts creating more interesting circles.  The boredom of my current circles is killing me.

On issue that I faced while writing this essay was trying as hard as I could o connect the book to my life.

One strong point I see in this writing is that I really tried to complete all of the bell words and echoes.

On weak point I see is that before I read through my writing half of the stuff I wrote didn’t make sense.

Self-grade: B

Quiet hero

Body paragraph # 2

An essay by Harry Staley

8th grade English

Pine Point School

January, 10, 2011

                A quiet hero is someone who always knows what to do, or someone who is just a role model for you. I have two quiet heroes, one is my Dad, and one is Atticus Finch from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. These two people are people who I think are very smart people who always know what the right thing to do is in tough situations. I hope you enjoy reading my essay on quiet heroes.

(TS) Have you ever thought of old Atticus Finch, from the book To Kill a Mockingbird, to be a quiet hero? (SD) I think Atticus is a great quiet hero because when he is put into tough spots in life, like when Tom Robinson died, he always knows the perfect thing to do. (CM)  Back in the beginning of the book, there was an old dog named Tim Johnson, and he was so old he was becoming sick and he needed to be put out. (CM) Know body in the town knew what to do except Atticus, and he came with the gun and he shot Tim to stop another problem that could have happened. (SD) Atticus was also known in the town of Macomb for being a very hard worker. (CM) I the small town of Maycomb, Atticus was a lawyer and most cases were nothing of great excitement but he works vigorously. (CM) His two kids Jem and scout sometimes get curious about what he is doing when he is working so they go into town to see him but for the most part he is just sitting at his desk hard at work. (SD) Atticus always knows what to say in bad predicaments. (CM) When Tom Robinson was killed he always knew the right thing to say. (CM) Just like every situation, “it depends on how you look at it” and that is basically how Atticus thought all of the time. (CS) Atticus was a really great man but to me it think he was a great quiet hero.

                 (TS)I think a great quiet hero would be my Dad. (SD)I think my Dad is an outstanding worker, because he does it all of the time. (CM)I compare my Dad to Atticus because Atticus is always functioning a lot and so does my dad. (CM)He always does his work on time and he almost never complains about it. (SD)My dad is also a hardworking man because he knows that you won’t go far in life if you don’t make the best out of what you have. (CM)My Dad is a super hard wage earner and he is not all about doing his work. (CM)Outside of stressing himself out about work he is a very funny man. (SD)He also does the unthinkable; he goes out of his way to make someone laugh. (CM)One time when I had a friend over my dad thought it would be funny to hit me with a soft bat… (CM)Trust me there was nothing soft about that bat. (SD)My dad is all about his family and he will do anything for his family. (CM)Joe is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever met because he loves to work but work for his family. (CM) If he was just working to work the point would be a lot less meaningful for him when he works now he has something to work for. I think my dad is a super cool guy and I love him to death and he is my quiet hero.

                Know that you have read my essay I hope that you understand why I chose these people to be my quiet hero. They are both great smart people who never give up in hard times. I know that my dad is a very hard worker, and Atticus sounds like he is a very hard worker. I think both of these people are great quiet heroes.

Self-assessment:

One issue I am trying to keep focused on is to keep myself on task, and to stick to the full assignment.

One strong thing I see in this essay is that I really tried to focus on punctuation.

One week point in my writing is making myself do everything that is required.

Self-grade: B-