What are your impressions of the boy and the children?

My impression of the boy is that he is a very pessimistic person, often looking at the sad side of things and never trying to remedy his predicament. He also was never accepted by his peers. The fact that he returns to the playground everyday despite being rejected all the time possibly shows that he likes to watch them play, is envious of them and wants to join in. He stays to the wall possibly because it was a physical and emotional support for him. That further proves that "The Loner" was an emotionally weak person, preferring to cave in against anyone who wants to hurt him. "His loneness is his shell and shield, and neither he nor we will yield" tells us that neither "The Loner" nor the children in the playground would take the initiative to talk to one another. We can infer from the sentences "We pass him running, skipping, walking, in slow huddled groups, low talking, each in our familiar clique" that the children has a sense of security in each of their social circles and would not cross over and invite "The Loner" to join them. Not only that, they gossip and possibly bad-mouth "The Loner" while walking pass him. The poor boy in the end moved away without even trying to strike up a conversation with the children, thus, I reckon that "The Loner" is a person that never tries to remedy his predicament and is very pessimistic.

In my opinion, the children in the playground were insecure and very mean to "The Loner", and also very stubborn. For instance, whenever they passed by the boy, they would talk in low voices. That obviously shows that they do not want the boy to hear what they were talking about, and they were most probably talking about something mean about the boy. They played hard, and the sentences "The playground’s quick with life, the beat is strong" shows that the children were playing and laughing, shouting and skipping all at the same time. "Though sharp as a knife, strife does not last long" tells us that "strife', which probably means their quarrels or fights would dissipate quickly, and they would reconcile almost immediately. "And neither he nor we will yield" shows that the children were very stubborn people, thinking that if the boy doesn't budge, they would not either. They never dared to step out of their comfort zone to talk to the boy, because of the fear that if they made contact with a reject, they would be a reject themselves. That makes that very insecure, preferring to stay within their social circle, their comfort zone, and because of that, I think that these children are very insecure.

Write one paragraph each for why Jack and the Giant both deserve our sympathy.

I believe Jack deserves our sympathy because he was from a very poor family and only had a cow to depend on for a living. He was desperate to support his mother and himself, so he had to steal the items from the Giant. And at that time, Jack was hungry and he couldn't resist the idea of selling the Giant's possessions and have enough money to buy a good, hearty meal. But then again, stealing, no matter what the reason, is very wrong. What's more, the fact that Jack went back the second time for more items shows that Jack was greedy; the first item he stole alone could make him rich! But Jack is not a saint; he could not resist money, much like many other people in the world. I think that if anyone was in Jack's situation would also do what Jack did. In my opinion, Jack had risked his life so many times had been for his mother, for I believe he loves his mother very much, because she is the only relative he has, and that is why I think Jack deserves our sympathy.

The giant also deserves our sympathy, because he had his valuables stole by a boy he only got to see just before his death. He had not done Jack any wrong, but because of the fact that he was rich, he was robbed. Those items were his and Jack had no right to steal them, not even if the Giant had hurt him or his mother. But even though the Giant had a wronged death, he should not eat small English boys just because he liked it. Those boys had a family and had friends, and he had never thought of that. Still, I do sympathise with the ogre because he did not deserve to die.

Labels: beanstalk, giant, jack, sympathise

Do you sympathise with The Joker?

I do not sympathise with The Joker. He was overcome by greed and in order to get to his objective, he killed many of his henchmen so as to not split the bounty. The Joker used cunning but cruel methods to achieve his goal, instilling fear in the citizens of Gotham City. He even promised Gotham City death every day until the day Batman reveals his identity. It is chilling to think that he reckons killing is some sort of a game, and when he killed, he did not blink an eye, much less care who the person was. The Joker is very much like some of the people in the world – cheating the world to add more cash into his pockets. The Joker would do that, and he gets away most of the time, but whenever he was caught, he manages to escape being executed by law with the excuse of being insane. Until now, it is unsure whether he is really crazy, or just a criminal with excellent acting skills. But still, the Joker’s misdeeds have caused people all over the world to pay for the consequences, either emotionally or financially, and that is why I think the Joker do not deserve my sympathy.

What did you learn from this lesson?

This lesson was about first impressions, and I learnt about how a first impression is made – through appearance, actions, speech, relationship with others and background. I remember when I first saw Batman on a comic book in a store when I was four, I thought he was the villain. It is easily mistaken, as he is clothed in black, which usually reminds us about evil and cruelty. But Batman’s black is to blend into the night while hunting his culprits, just like a bat. We also learnt not to judge a book by its cover, which I did upon seeing Batman; Batman is probably the only hero that wears such dark colours and has a dark side. I must say I am very intrigued by Batman.

Comment(s)
4 Jul 09, 20:21
Felicia: HELLO EILLEN.Okay,comments...Yes,i agree with
you.The Joker is doing all thses for himself.never thinking about others and
only himself.However,the joker was abused when he was young and did
not have a happy childhood.I believe is plays a part in who he has became
today.However,this is not an excuse for his to commit all his misdeeds.neway,ur
cbox cant type so much so i have to spilt them up. Keep up the brilliant job
:biggrin:

Labels: batman, dark knight, joker, learn from the lesson, sympathise