Literary Reflection On Huck Finn

Anticipation While Reading

By Parker Nagtegaal 

 

         Anticipation can ruin an entire experience. When I read The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn I enjoy it. Mainly because at the current moment the book is very interesting, but because it’s so good in the back of my mind I’m always thinking that it will get very boring. Huck has been on an adventure from a very early point on in the book. So I’ve been eager to read the book every night. But because of this I’m thinking that for a classic this is to interesting, so I’m convinced that it will hit a down hill very soon. I’m reading this book because in Mr Fitzsimmons English class he wanted us to try reading a “Real Book”. By this he meant a classic. Everyone in my class has to read (multiple) classic books in a month. Everyone responded to this negatively, but as everyone started to read we realized that the books aren’t so bad. I started to read Huck Finn. The beginning was kinda boring but it started to pick up. But I can’t help but to think about how boring classics are supposed to be. I never thought that a classic could be interesting; I never thought that I would enjoy this book; I never thought that a classic wouldn’t be boring. This has lead me to (quite literally) judging a book by its cover


My Pets

I Love My Pets

Parker Nagtegaal 

 

 

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Let’s get this out of the way, people don’t deserve the love that animals give them. At home I have a dog and two cats, most of the time there a lot of work. I have to wake up at six thirty on the weekends to feed Jack. I have to take him on walks. The cat liter needs to be changed frequently. Me and my family have to train them. We have to go out to the store to buy them food. But what we do for them is no match for what they do for us. Whenever I get home my dog (Jack) comes running to the door scratching the floors with his uncut nails. He looks up at me in such a way that makes me feel truly appreciated. He is the first family member I say hi to when I get home because he doesn’t wait for me to find him. He will let me pet him when I’m happy, sad, or angry. And while he benefits from my petting, I benefit ten times more because he loves me with out question. The cats fall asleep with me. They keep me warm. They trot around the house making it feel full of movement. I wish I could speak to them how much I appreciate them but all I can do is feed and pet them. If that’s the best I can do then I will do it.

 


Classic Book

Read A Classic

from the perspective of Parker Nagtegaal

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 A classic is a book everyone know but no ones read

Mark Twain 

 

In English we have been forced to read one or two classic books in one month. With this assignment there were three rules: the book had to be a classic, you have to read for thirty minutes every night, and you have to keep a nightly journal. Most kid responded flabbergasted and said something like, In a month, I haven’t read in like, ten years! Some saw it as an opportunity for something new and exciting. I saw it as something that I would dislike, not because I don’t like reading but because I was (or am) reading the Harry Potter book. Harry Potter not being a classic I couldn’t read it. I tried to convince  Mr Fitzsimmons that Harry Potter was a classic but he refused to let me read it. So I “embraced the beast” and decided to The Adventures Of Huckkleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I had enjoyed reading The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer so I figured this would be a good fit. As I started this book I was bored to death until I reached a interesting point of the book (sorry, can’t extend on that for spoiling reasons). The book all the sudden picked up and I was in Huckleberry’s world. But I noticed I was reading very slow and that If i wanted to finish this book I would have to pick up the pace. So I tried the audio version, I started to cruise through the book like it was nothing. Now I am continuing to read my book and keep my journal, the book will hopefully teach me something new about myself. If not there are thousands of books out there that can inspire and change my life. So I will keep reading interesting books as long as I live.


Exam posts

             Norton Christmas

 

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It the family who you don't know that are the most fun to see-Unknown

 

     Family is important Even if you don’t know them. Family has always been an important part of my life. Every year me and my family have a “norton family Christmas” (moms side last name) at my Grandpas and Memeres house. While I don’t know a lot of the people there I still enjoy seeing distant relatives. Sure it’s awkward at times and I always hear the comment “wow, your so tall!” I still love it every time. I especially love my cousins Elle and Easton who are six and one and a half. Easton for some reason loves me and my dad a lot. He screams whenever he sees me or him. Whenever he’s in someone else’s arms he screams or whines a little and reaches out for me or my dad to hold him. Elle is a six year old imaginative, playful, and enthusiastic ball of energy-don’t let her have chocolate! She bounces off the walls for hours-. At this party there is delicious food and dessert (made by my Memere). But the best part is the gifts because every adult is assigned a is assigned a kid to by a gift for. It’s halirious because the adult who’s assign kid is opening the gift has a bead of sweat dripping down there forehead, they are so nervous about weather or not the kid will like the gift. The kid always reacts graciously sometimes they look at the gift and say “oh, thanks”, having no idea what the gift is. While this tradition is so much fun the best part is I get to see family that I don’t see a lot I can catch up with everyone and ask how there year is going. In reality while everyone changes year to year and new things happen they will always listen to your story’s and your boring (but fun to tell) story’s. I love this tradition and I hope it continues years to come.

 

 

Literary Analysis 

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Ignorance will be the death of many- unknown

        We’ve all been ignorant before, but sometimes our ignorance will get us hurt. In the book, To Build A Fire by Jack London a man tries to travel of the Yukon alone. He is unprepared for and ignorant of the -75 degree weather. He is alone with out any back up and only a meal and some matches. He acts like he’s trying to show off to someone, that he is tough and he can survive alone, but there’s no one to impress but himself. Eventually his bad decision catches up with him and he gets himself into trouble. “the sun was absent from the sky. This fact did not worry the man.” this quote shows his attitude towards the Yukon, he’s is unfazed. He was on a trip with his friends and they were going to stick together but the man wanted to get some wood, so he split off from them. Even though a wise man had told him never go alone, he was unwise not to listen to him. He was inexperienced and unprepared for the elements. He had little to no experience out in the wild like this, but while he was inexperienced he still thought that “he was glad without a sled.”. He had nothing to cover his freezing face and he had very little food. His ignorance and pride affected his decision making negatively. A dog was trailing along with him and even the dog’s instincts told him of the danger, but the man kept marching on to prove himself.

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“The dog did the brute had its instinct. It experienced a vague but menacing apprehension that subdued it and made it slink along at the man's heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire. The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddle its warmth away from the air.

Excerpt From
Fitz’s Favorite Classic Short Stories
This material may be protected by copyright."

The dog was smart enough to realize that the weather was bad. The man had no care for the weather. His pure stupidity ended up getting him killed. The mans dog who was following him followed him for fire and support. The man had nothing to give the dog. The man hadn’t listened to the old man who told him not to go alone, he had scoffed at him. He died because when he failed and he was unable to support himself he had no one to help. This man should have listened to the old man, but his pride got the best of him.

 


The Magi Reflection

The Greatest Gift Is Giving 

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it is more blessed to give then to receive 

Jesus

 

       The Magi is a story about two people who care for each other very much. They love each other so much they will give things of there’s away to get the other a gift. This book reminded me that while it was a realistic fiction story there are people out there who really care for each other and they are willing to sacrifice something that means a lot to them for someone else.

      In the Magi by O. Henry two people, one named Della and the other Jim are married/dating and they want to get each other a meaningful gift but they both are to poor to buy each other something. So they sacrifice something of theirs that means a lot to them just to get the other a gift. Della sells her long hair that is full and gorgeous, and Jim sells his fathers watch. Very cute and nice, right they both sell something that is very important to them. But here’s the twist that makes this story so special. Jim buys Della a comb for her hair, and Della buys Jim a new shiny watch chain. When Jim sees that Della has cut her hair he stares at her in shock. She is nervous that he thinks she is no longer beautiful to him. He quickly realizes what she thought and says no and he takes out his gift shows it to her. She says that the combs are beautiful and that they are perfect. Then she pauses thinks and remembers that she sold most of her hair. She interrupts the silence and says well my hair grows back. The she takes out her gift says look at this watch chain isn’t it gorgeous, here put it on. He says Dell I sold the watch to buy you the comb. They both realize that while gifts are nice the best gift is giving and each other.

      When someone cares for you they will sacrifice anything for you. In the short story The Magi characters Della and Jim sacrifice very special things to try and make the other happy. On Christmas Jim and Della a couple want to buy each other something meaningful to each other but they are very poor. So they sell something important of there’s to buy the each other something. Jim’s decides to get Della something by selling his fathers watch. Della gets Jim something by selling her long beautiful hair. But Jim gets Della combs for her hair and Della gets Jim a chain for his watch. They give each other there gifts and realize they there gifts aren’t useful anymore. They realize that while they sold things that meant a lot to them that they have each and that they cared about each other so much that they sold something meaningful just to try and make the other happy.


"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on

      Della and Jim care about each other very much, they sacrifice something that means so much to them just to attempt to make the other smile. This couple is truly the embodiment of the holiday spirit, not to receive but to want to give. They cared about giving so much that when they didn’t have enough money they sold their most prized possessions so they could buy some a gift they would care about. Even after they realize the gift will be useless because they sold the object it would be paired with they are still happy because they have each other. If everyone on the world was like these two characters there would be world peace. No one would think about themselves they would only think others.

      This book reminds me that people care for each other very much. With the holiday season coming up I encourage everyone to at least consider giving instead of receiving. Trust me the reaction on the persons face when they get the gift is truly a miracle. The Magi was a helpful reminder to give and not to always receive.

 


The Power Of Hard Times

ADD And Me

by Parker Nagtegaal

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         Never give up

                       Unknown 

        Hard times can be lasting issue or they can pop out of no where, it doesn’t matter, you have to get through hard times. I have been dealing with ADD for my whole life. ADD stands for attention deficit disorder. This is something that causes me to have a hard time focusing and controlling myself. I blurt our in the middle of class and wouldn’t always make the best decisions. I had medication I could use but that makes me feel like someone else is controlling me. I get super quiet and I’m just not myself. I get fidgety and act nervous. This makes it even harder. A time that I wasn’t able to control myself (or rather I wasn’t thinking) was in seventh grade maths class I went up to the front of the class, crumbled up a piece of paper pretended I was playing basketball. I missed and disrupted the whole class. As well as sometimes being a distraction I am sometimes easily distracted. Sometimes in the middle of class I will space out and just think about something random. I will snap back ten minutes later and will understand nothing that just happened. This has gotten me into trouble with teachers and homework. With all of these things I have gotten stronger. I haven’t taken my medication in a month and a half. I have had to push myself to focus and be a responsible student. I have had to focus on thinking before I act and not spacing out. I have noticed a change in how I conduct myself in class off the medication. I am more focused, I rarely blurt out and I haven’t distracted the class. Everything that has happened to me proves that while you have to push yourself through hard times you will come out stronger.

 


The Power Of Hard Times

ADD And Me

by Parker Nagtegaal

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        Hard times can be lasting issue or they can pop out of no where, it doesn’t matter, you have to get through hard times. I have been dealing with ADD for my whole life. ADD stands for attention deficit disorder. This is something that causes me to have a hard time focusing and controlling myself. I blurt our in the middle of class and wouldn’t always make the best decisions. I had medication I could use but that makes me feel like someone else is controlling me. I get super quiet and I’m just not myself. I get fidgety and act nervous. This makes it even harder. A time that I wasn’t able to control myself (or rather I wasn’t thinking) was in seventh grade maths class I went up to the front of the class, crumbled up a piece of paper pretended I was playing basketball. I missed and disrupted the whole class. As well as sometimes being a distraction I am sometimes easily distracted. Sometimes in the middle of class I will space out and just think about something random. I will snap back ten minutes later and will understand nothing that just happened. This has gotten me into trouble with teachers and homework. With all of these things I have gotten stronger. I haven’t taken my medication in a month and a half. I have had to push myself to focus and be a responsible student. I have had to focus on thinking before I act and not spacing out. I have noticed a change in how I conduct myself in class off the medication. I am more focused, I rarely blurt out and I haven’t distracted the class. Everything that has happened to me proves that while you have to push yourself through hard times you will come out stronger.

 


Sailing Regatas

A Third Person Sailing Essay

 

                     At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.

 Robin Graham                 

          Parker Nagtegaal has been sailing for the whole summer now. He even works as a junior instructor for the C B groups of younger kids. Today will be his first time skippering in a regatta. He and his crew Gwen Lynch have been preparing for this sail since July, and today they will get to prove themselves. Both of them are new sailers in 420s a 15 foot sailboat (approximately) with a mainsail dand a jib. This summer they have been practicing together in these boats, the instructors say they’re getting to be a pretty good team. They’ve been racing in a boat named The Flying Dutchman. Parker Gwen and the rest of the team are at the ferry dock meeting Tiverton Yacht Club as they get off the ferry. The race starts at twelve the skippers meeting is at 11:00. After showing tiverton our small and humble yacht club the six CYC (Cuttyhunk Yacht Club) racers decide to go swimming before the race starts. It's a beautiful day the sun is beaming down like spotlight on Cuttyhunk island.  Time flies when you're having fun and as soon as they started to swim it's time to go. So they head of to the yacht club. The instructors explain the rules and Gwen and Parker grab a sail and get driven by the Jonas Brothers boat the the floating dock.

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Tom Sawyer Literary Analysis Essay

Curiosity and Adventure 

 Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

 -Helen Keller

 

 

    Tom loves to explore and go on adventures because he is curious about what is out there for him. He (like most young boys) wants to now what everything is. He wants to explore everything and go on adventurous escapades

“Tom turned a short curve, by-and-by, and exclaimed:
"My goodness, Huck, lookyhere!"

It was the treasure-box, sure enough, occupying a snug little cavern, along with an empty powder-keg, a couple of guns in leather cases, two or three pairs of old moccasins, a leather belt, and some other rubbish well soaked with the water-drip.” 
[,,,]

 

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