Get Out of Here

Authors Note: This was a piece that we had to write showcasing a characters feelings after a Zombie Apocalypse. 

All I see now are the bare walls of the structure that I once called home. The building is still there, it didn’t get ruined by a tornado, or a fire, but the ones I loved, the memories that filled the air are now gone. I can’t bear to see this place anymore. I can’t bear to see the empty beds, unmade and tangled, never touched since the kids went off to school that day. I can’t bear to see the place where me and my husband met, on that cold night in December. I can’t bear to see anything. Every place in this town is linked to some meaning- some memory in my mind. I just can’t bear it anymore I have to get out of here.

I have to get out of here, I don’t have a destination, I don’t have any place in mind. I will just drive, and see where the road takes me.  I have only the clothes on my back and the car in my garage. I want nothing else from this town. They say that the empty feeling in my stomach, and the empty feeling in my mind can be filled by new memories, new feelings. Well I’m not so sure I want them anymore. I want to remember my kids, and my husband. I want to remember my friends, and the farmers market every Saturday. It’s time for me to go now. I’ll send you a postcard when I get there.

The Fear Of Hurting

Imagine being a ticking time bomb that is about to blow. Imagine knowing you are going to die. Imagine not knowing when. This is how Hazel feels in The Fault In Our Stars. Hazel has cancer, and has to be hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7. She is scared, not of death, but of hurting others when she does die. Hazel loves Augustus, but she is trying to stay away because she is scared. Why do we let fear run out lives?

What Hazel doesn’t realize, is that while she was trying to help Augustus, she was actually hurting him. It is not until she is done talking to her friend Kaitlyn the boy expert, that she realizes she has  a fear of hurting Augustus. He himself doesn’t realize that Hazel has this fear until she sends him a text. “I can’t kiss you or anything.” She says. “When I try and look at you like that, all I see is what I am going to put you through.” This line hits him like a smack in the face. But he refuses to give up.

Hazel can’t grasp the fact that other people care about her. She puts her fears before others because she doesn’t want to get attached. As far as she was concerned, the people closest to her had no fears, and had no reason to because she was the one who was going to die. This in fact was not the case. Everyone has fears.

Augustus only has one fear, dying without making his mark on the world. He wants to be known and recognized for his life. He wants to be a person who has purpose. He wants to die a hero. It is very strong belief of his that everyone was put on the Earth for a reason, and he is doing his best to find that reason. This is part of why he takes Hazel to Amsterdam. He is trying to do a good thing.

Unlike Augustus, Hazel’s mom doesn’t care about leaving her mark on the world. All she cares about is being there for her daughter. Her fear is losing Hazel. Right now, Hazel is her life. She spends all her time with her, knowing that she might not get another day. At one point, she says to her husband, “I’m not going to be a mom anymore.” when she thinks Hazel isn’t listening. She didn’t really mean this of course, she was just caught up in the moment, her fear taking over her sensibility.

People are afraid to face their fears, or in other words, they fear facing their fears. Hazel knows she loves Augustus, but she so badly doesn’t want to hurt him. Augustus’s hidden cancer is eating away at him, and he is trying to get that one last chance to be a hero. Hazel’s mom knows that she is getting older and wants to have space. But she is trying to keep her close in case something terrible happens. It is natural to turn away from what we are afraid of, it’s just human nature.

In life, lots of things happen to ruin your plans. People control you, things come up. In Hazel’s life cancer came up. Her bomb started ticking. It put a road block in her way of doing what she wanted when she wanted. Sure she was perfectly capable of doing most normal things, but it was the fear that stopped her. It was the fear that ate away at her. It was the fear of hurting that held her back from a normal life.

Stuck With Mclean

In my life, I haven’t ever moved. I’ve lived in the same house, gone to the same school, and hung out with the same people. If you’re like me you don’t know what it’s like to get up and leave everything to start over in a new place. If you’re not like me, maybe you’ve moved once or twice, each time making new friends and building stronger bonds, while keeping in touch with your past. Moving was just a couple hundred extra Instagram followers or Facebook friends. However, no one I know has the same life as Mclean Sweet from the book What Happened To Goodbye. Or should I say Lizbet Sweet? Or Beth Sweet? Or Eliza Sweet? Every time Mclean moves she takes on a new identity. She leaves her past behind her and starts fresh with a new house, name, personality, everything. This girl with four alter egos doesn’t handle it so well when her past starts to intertwine into her new life.

Everything about Mclean’s move to Lakeview has been going wrong. Her new name didn’t work out and now she is stuck with her own stupid name. This school has a “Welcome” club that forces her to make friends right from the start. And she met Dave. Mclean thinks she is starting to like this boy, but getting into a relationship goes against everything she believes in. All Mclean wanted was to be anyone but herself. But herself is the one thing she has to be.

Ever since her mom left Mclean and her dad for the Defriese basketball coach, Mclean has wanted nothing to do with her or anything that involved her former life. During one unwanted phone call, she finally cracks and says “It’s your fault it’s like this. You’re the one who left.” It is after this phone call while she is outside playing basketball with Dave when she begins to realize the truth: you can’t hide from your past forever. Now she is forced to rethink her whole lifestyle. Is it really better to run away from your problems?

That one simple question opens up a world of light for Mclean. She starts to open up to new possibilities she never even thought possible before. Simple pleasures like dating and making new friends are now acceptable to her. Now beginning to realize the simple pleasures of life, she can dig roots into the town, and finally call someplace her home. Dave, along with her other friends, are becoming “2am’s”, someone you can call at 2 in the morning and they will be there for you. This being an entirely new concept to Mclean, leads her to think no. No it’s not better to run away from your problems -- because if you keep running, eventually there will be no one left.

Mclean had a hard life. Instead of facing it, she ran away and later realized that might not have been the best choice. She now knows that instead of making a whole new Facebook or Instagram account, that you just keep adding to the same one, and keep in touch throughout our life. All her old identities are now in the past and she will continue to be Mclean forever -- because that’s who she is.

Put it Into Words

There are over one million new authors in the world each year and every one of them has written their own unique stories. You’d be surprised though, that a lot of these authors find inspiration in their own either tragic, or happy lives. Through their stories you can follow the ups, the downs, the twists and the turns of their years. By picking apart the sentences and phrases you can actually see a parallel between their stories and what really happened to them. Two very well known authors from the 1920’s both did this in their writing. Although their writing styles are very different, they both find themselves writing about pieces of their own sorrow filled lives. These authors are Earnest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

 Earnest Hemingway grew up with the knowledge that his mother wanted him to be a girl. It wasn’t a secret that she would make him wear his sisters clothes, and that he was forced to wear his hair long. All of this pampering as a child caused him to grow up doing mostly things a man would do. He took to bullfighting and going hunting in Africa. All of these “manly activities” caused him to develop some injuries, and these crept up on him later in life. Liver disease and high blood pressure caused him to become depressed, eventually leading to suicide.

 One short story written by Hemingway was “A Clean Well Lighted Place”. This tale, written in mostly dialogue, is about a man in a café at nighttime who wants to stay and have a couple of beers. One young waiter wants to go home and get on with his life, while the other older waiter doesn’t see why he should have to leave. After reading and analyzing the story you begin to realize that Hemingway actually is the old man in his story. Let me explain. The café the old man is sitting in is, as it says in the title, “A well lighted place.” But Hemingway clearly describes where he is sitting as “in the shadow of the leaves.” This contrast between light and dark can be translated in to Hemingway’s life because the old man in the story wants to try and find the light or happiness in an otherwise dark world, but he can’t quite get a grasp on it.

 Unlike Earnest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald had a pretty good childhood meeting the love of his life at an the early age of 19. Even though they loved each other, Ginevra King would not marry him due to his dreadful middle class status. Although they each went their separate ways,( Fitzgerald marrying Zelda Sayre and King marrying William Mitchell), Fitzgerald never got over his love for Ginevra until he died from a heart attack in 1940.

 The story “Winter Dreams” written by him in 1922, almost mirrors his real life perfectly. In this story, the same girl that was 11 years old when Dexter met her, is now all grown up when they meet again. Dexter loves Judy Jones with all of his heart, but to her he’s just a toy. It’s not until after she jets off to who knows where with another man that Dexter begins to realize that it’s never going to happen. He then settles for Irene Scheerer, whom Dexter unhappily marries. In this story, Dexter is Fitzgerald, Judy is Ginevra King, and Irene is Zelda. It isn’t until after Judy Jones runs off that he settles for the mediocre Irene, just like when Ginevra broke up with Fitzgerald he decided to marry Zelda.

 Of that one million of authors a year that publish books, most of them likely have at least one scene, if not a whole story, that they write while thinking of their own life. Fitzgerald and Hemingway are just two of many examples that use their writing as a kind of therapy for themselves. It just so happens that it makes for a great story and bestseller to read at the same time.

Response for Earnest Hemingway's Stories

In Language Arts, we are reading short stories by Earnest Hemingway. We read both A Clean Well Lighted Place, and Indian Camp. These stories both seem very boring and insignificant on the outside, but if you look into the text you will see the true meaning. 

Earnest Hemingway seemed to led a very good life.He was rich and got to do all kinds of crazy things. No one saw it coming that he would kill himself. He conveys his message of despair and darkness through both of these stories with hidden messages and symbols. Now, years later after he died, we see that these stories may have represented his own life and struggles.

A Punch in the Face

Author's Note: This is a scene in the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian that I thought was meaningful.

There is a scene in this book where Junior is about to tell his best friend Rowdy that he is leaving his beloved Spokane Indian Reservation to go to a fancy school for white people.Even though he asks Rowdy to come along, Rowdy still gets angry and punches him in the face for leaving. This is an important part in the book because it is when Junior realizes that Rowdy doesn't think of him as a friend anymore. He knows that this event has caused him to lose his best friend.

The World is Not as We Know It.

Dear Mr. President,

The World is not as we know it. You may think you know it but you do not. The World is changing. You have not seen this before. The World is in danger.You must be prepared. I have attached a set of letters to this, and each one proposes what the human race should do as this problem progresses. I  will tell you  when to send each letter. Send them to all the citizens of your country, but only when the time is right. Send the first right away.

Letter  1:

The World is under attack. We cannot disclose the information of who is doing this to the world, but just know that they are a threat. You do not know of them, or of where they come from. Somewhere far away not known to Earth. DO NOT PANIC. They feed on your fear and drink up your doubt. DO NOT PANIC. They will have the advantage. DO NOT PANIC. If you do, they will win.

Dear Mr. President.

The Problem is starting to grow. We don’t know if it will come to what is discussed in the second letter, but just in case, send it out now.

Letter 2:

The Enemy attack has gotten stronger. We stress you to stay in your homes seeing as you will have nowhere to run. We will fight to save our Planet, and we are strong, but the enemy may be stronger. We ask you to put all necessary items in the bag you received along with this letter. Before you start packing, realize that you must bring the only necessary items. Know that food and water will be limited. We have plans if the Enemy wins the fight, and we have to follow that plan. Do not pack more than one bag. Do not bring unnecessary items. Do not run away.

Dear Mr. President,

The worst has happened. The human race will have to go away. The details will be discussed in the third letter. You do not understand what a big decision this was to make. Send the letter.

Letter 3:

The time has come. We will leave. Unfortunately, we do not have room for everyone to come along on our journey. In order to be able to go, you need to meet all the requirements on the list.

•          Be disease free
•     Have gotten  flu shot within the last 5 months
•          Don’t be overweight
•      You must come in a group of a husband and wife (30-50), one elder (Over 50), one person (15-30), one each a girl and a boy (3-14).
•         You must be willing to let go and start over

DO NOT COME IF THE REQUIREMENTS ABOVE ARE NOT MET. We will know and you will be left to die. If you are eligible to come, report to the EPC or Enemy Protection Compound in exactly 48 hours. The coded message will tell you where to go.

Where the ocean meets the girl of green, our members of the melting pot came to try their hand and being a part of our wonderful land.

If you know the answer, do not tell anyone else. We will know and you will be left to die. If you do not know the answer, you can fill out an application form. We will accept applicants if there is room left.

Dear Mr. President,

Send the last letter.

Letter 4:

There are not many of you left to receive this letter. Most families arrived at Ellis Island and left for the new world. We will not be bringing anyone else with us. Try to survive as long as you can. But good luck, this is the end of the World          .

They Wouldn't Let Me In

Authors Note: I wrote this after we got inspired by the painting "Le Blanc seing".

They wouldn’t let me in.

I watched desperately from the sidelines,

A meaningless spectator.

They wouldn’t let me in.

A war was fought,

People are dead.

They wouldn’t let me in.

I’m just another,

Face in the crowd.

They wouldn’t let me in.

My mom is hurt,

My father is dead.

They wouldn’t let me in.

This is my home,

As well as theirs.

But still, they wouldn’t let me in.