THEO RAO

There are many flavors and types of ice cream. For example, you probably have heard about the basic flavors vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. But, did you know there are actually much more to ice cream then just a few flavors? One special thing about ice cream is how there are many types of ice cream.

For example, you can have soft serve, sorbet, gelato, and much more. Also, you can get it in many different cones or bowls. If you walk into an ice cream store, they will probably ask you what flavor and what type of cone or bowl. Many ice cream stores have different types of cones. For example, some stores have chocolate cones, sprinkled cones, normal cones, and much more! Also, ice cream can be found at just about any part of the world. Every place has their own kind of ice cream.

An example of this is how in Italy, you will see many gelato places because this is their version of ice cream. Lastly, one of the best parts of ice cream is how you can pick your toppings. In some stores, they will have an option to let you choose what you want. Some of these could be cherries, sprinkles, or even small cookies. I thought I had mastered all of the world’s ice creams, and that I was an expert on this most satisfying of desserts. But you’ll never believe what happened: I tried Baked Alaska!

I thought I had mastered all of the world’s ice creams, and that I was an expert on this most satisfying of desserts. But you’ll never believe what happened: I tried Baked Alaska! Baked Alaska is like a perfect mix of ice cream and cake.

The Neapolitan ice cream layered with meringue is that perfect dessert. Baked Alaska looks like the perfect cake you dream of. But did you know that it actually has ice cream on the inside and has toasty marshmallow meringue on the outside instead of cream? Also, did you know that Thomas Jefferson created Baked Alaska?

Even the presidents had to try it because it was so good. Lastly, I think you should really try Baked Alaska because it is cold on the inside but it actually is warm and soft on the outside which creates the perfect combo. As you can see, Baked Alaska is a heavenly dessert that I think everyone should try.

Overall, ice cream is a great dessert and I recommend you trying it.



MONTSERRAT REYES

“A Visit of Charity”

Montse read the story once, and then wrote her response, tracking her experience. If you have not read this story, do not read the below. This is only for current or former Welty students.

Now, we first have to deal with the illustration. While it does capture Marian’s flight, the hat is all wrong. So here are some options:

So we went hunting and Montse selected these two:


            I wonder what the “pointed white cap” looks like, I’m imagining a white witch hat, but I’m sure that’s not what Welty had in mind. I can’t tell if the setting is supposed to be cozy or cold, because the Home looks “like a block of ice” but the girl’s red coat and mittens makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I can picture her warm breaths being visible in the cold air as she walks up to an igloo-like building.

Within the retirement home, the receptionist “looked as if she were cold”. Her white uniform might have something to do with that, but could it be a reflection of her attitude too? Think about it, working with old folks who forget everything could be boring and annoying at times, so I’m not surprised if that’s the case. Welty includes a detail about the girl, who is a Campfire Girl, tucking her hair behind her ear, which I think is really cute and adds a dimension of reality to the scenario. A typical young girl, trying to do volunteer work, nothing out of the ordinary… yet.

Then we hear “an old lady of some kind [clear] her throat like a sheep belting”. I guess old people do make some very weird noises at times, but where it gets interesting is that behind that door with the sheep-lady, was an “old woman… with that terrible, square smile… on her bony face”. CREEPY! I thought old ladies were supposed to be round and cheerful and full of purse candy, not terrible.

The story suddenly takes a turn when Marian is dragged into the room and “the next moment the door closed behind her”. Their room is humid, mucky, and overall unpleasant, “like being caught in a robbers’ cave, just before one was murdered”. After this, Marian’s lens changes, because as the women speak she says they scream and refer to them as robbers. The bedridden woman in the room is the sheep and even her talking sounds like belting. During all this, Marian seems to be hallucinating because she starts to get confused about the littlest things, like the type of plant she brought or what she did in school because she could not remember.

After listening to the ladies bicker, the second finally pulls her attention back to Marian. “Marian was trembling, and her heart nearly stopped beating all together for a moment.” 

I have to point out that Welty compares the old women to youthful beings, like when the first one was “rocking so high that her black comfort shoes lifted off the floor like a little child” or when the second one was whimpering and sounded like a little lamb instead of a sheep. Is this what they’re truly like, but Marian’s fear makes her portray them scarier than they actually are?

Finally, some sense gets knocked into Marian and she decides to just head for the door and leave, about time! She goes running, finally free of the elderly, of the Home, and runs for the bus, eager to not be left behind for another second. 



JANIE LEE

The Death of the Moth

by Janie Lee

This piece of writing helped me to imagine all the movements of a moth. Throughout this essay, the specific movement of the moth felt so significant. I couldn’t help but notice how ironic it seemed, considering the fact that a moth was rather a small and insignificant insect. The first paragraph brought out the beauty in a moth by the author’s words of “hay-colored wings.” To a human, a moth doesn’t seem beautiful but the essence of these words seemed to show the beauty in things we often overlook. I felt very engaged in the essay. Although the moth’s movements seemed to be normal, Woolf becomes descriptive to almost mesmerize and captivate the reader. Virginia Woolf finishes the essay with the moth’s death. The reader cannot help but sympathize and feel sorry for the moth. “One’s sympathies, of course, were all on the side of life.” The reader reads this, anticipating for a glimmer of hope in the moth’s life but is left with nothing to hope on as Woolf ends with the moth’s death. The author wrote the essay, such that the moth’s death would leave an impact on the reader. At first, the story starts with a calm and peaceful tone but then grows in tension until the story’s climactic point. Even though the reader’s sadness dwells on the moth’s death, Virginia Woolf displays the impact death has. Something as small as a moth died leaves a big impact on the readers. It shows that even humans cannot fight death and shows that life is fragile and quick. Both insects and humans cannot overcome and conquer death. The reader ponders their own life and compares it with the insect’s life. Virginia Woolf, through the story of “The Death of the Moth”, helps us to understand the reality of death and that no one can escape it.



TAYLEN LI

Dear students,

The process for finding the best battle (Famous Battles essay = FB essay) to write about is a tricky one for two reasons. #1. It is such a monumental choice because writing the FB essay is a long and exacting process, combining the principles of journalism (verification of information and sources, and context, among others) with a goodly dose of creative nonfiction. #2. Because human history hinges on certain battles (which is why they are famous) the battle you choose will be expressive of larger conflicts and ideas that are vital to know about, and writing the essay must dig into all of that, requiring a patience and resolve to see the job through. Part of the process in choosing is eliminating options, and below see the work of Taylen as he eliminates choices, and finally justifies the winning battle.

1. My interest in writing a Famous Battles essay on the decisive Battle of Santa Clara was initially sparked by its relationship with the greater Cuban Revolution and the role it played in overthrowing corrupt Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. I was also interested in simply learning more about the renowned Cuban leader Che Guevara, whose historical prominence I have heard so much about. However, my overall curiosity and appeal towards the modern country of Cuba was certainly the driving factor in researching the Battle of Santa Clara, for I was originally intrigued by the matter through an NHD project on the Cuban Missile Crisis I had done in middle school. However, I had never thought of continuing my study of Cuba’s revolutionary era during the Cold War. Upon discovering the Battle of Santa Clara, I had mixed feelings. This was because while the battle seemed very significant in that it was a decisive victory for Castro and the Cuban revolutionaries under Commander Guevara against the regime of Batista, I just didn’t feel the same interest I had originally felt. Perhaps it’s just me, but the battle seemed a bit unexciting to write about compared to the enthralling event that was the Cuban Missile Crisis and the other battles that, in my opinion, had much higher stakes for the combatants. Another factor that contributed to my diminishing interest was the lack of action and overall atmosphere of the Battle of Santa Clara. The derailing of an armored train by guerilla warriors and rebelling rail workers under the leadership of Guevara sounds remarkable at first thought, but in reality, I don’t believe I could write an entire essay, a good one, about the obstruction of a locomotive and the ensuing fight that I found nearly no information about. 

2. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was certainly the most famous of the three I chose due to its prominence in the First Indochina War, which marked the end of French colonial rule in Indochina during the height of the Cold War, and ultimately led to Vietnamese independence and the later Vietnam War. Despite its prominence as a historical battle, it was the battle that least interested me out of the three because of the overwhelming focus on military strategy and tactics. While it is understandable and necessary to incorporate the important technical aspects of Dien Bien Phu, such as the specific defensive fortifications that the French built and the Viet Minh’s employment of entrenchment and sapping, into a Famous Battles essay, it was the engulfing amount of military strategy that made up the battle when I was researching that made me uninterested, and would probably make the readers as well. I would rather incorporate numerous aspects like creative nonfiction, contextualization, military leadership, environmental factors, and social dynamics, like the civilian experiences. 

3. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, to me, was the most thrilling and compelling battle to research about. I believe this battle would be best suited for an extensive and unique Famous Battles Essay due to a variety of factors, including the fascinating location and terrain of the battle, the complex battle strategies used by both sides, the size of the engagement and the intensity of the combat, consequential aftermath and impact on the Korean War, and much more. The thing that first attracted my attention to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir was the freezing cold weather and icy terrain that it took place in. The battle was mainly fought around a 78-mile-long icy road that connected the North Korean city of Hungnan and the Chosin Reservoir during the harshest winter weather conditions of the Korean War – it seemed like something straight out of a movie. To add on just for fun, while researching, I learned a shocking fact about the sub-zero temperatures of the battle – bullet wounds would sometimes freeze, keeping soldiers from bleeding out until they safely retreated to the inside of heated tents. Along with the danger of dying from soldier-to-soldier combat, there was the risk of frostbite and a number of other medical conditions that soldiers could acquire in the cold climate, further adding to the gripping atmosphere of the battle. The second aspect that brought the battle to my interest was the different stages of it, culminating in the remarkable Evacuation at Hungnam. As I read about the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, I thought that it would be much easier to write about because I could go chronologically in relation to the stages of the battle, which include the initial Chinese surprise attack by the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army on the UN troops, the encirclement of the Chinese forces on the UN forces around the reservoir, the ultimate withdrawal of UN forces to the port city of Hungnam because of the overwhelming Chinese forces and harsh weather, and the final conclusion of the battle and its impacts. This, along with the other characteristics of the battle, will suit for quite a detailed and engaging essay. 



MONTSERRAT REYES

Roald Dahl’s “The Hitchhiker” and O. Henry’s “After 20 Years”

Roald Dahl has had a place on my bookshelf, and in my heart, since I was a little girl. Seeing his name again in this short story brought back memories of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. Before reading the story, I had high expectations for his storytelling, and, of course, he did not disappoint! “The Hitchhiker” starts off with the narrator taking his new BMW 3.3 Li for a ride up to London. When children get a new toy, they immediately want to open it and play with it, and in some way, the narrator expresses this course of action but, instead, his toy is a brand new car. Dahl sneaks some childlike wonder into this narrative – as he fully enjoys his new ride on a “lovely June day” he takes in the “haymaking in the fields and… buttercups along both sides of the road.”

            While driving, he notices a person with a thumb raised in the air on the side of the road. He formerly being a hitchhiker gives the man a lift. “I knew just how it used to feel to be standing on the side of a country road watching the cars go by, and I hated the drivers for pretending they didn’t see me.” The narrator hasn’t let wealth disconnect him from the person he was before and is still compassionate to people who are in the situation he was in. After the man on the side of the road hops in, they make small talk and the conversation leaks into how fast the narrator’s car can go. He says, “‘One hundred and twenty-nine miles an hour’” and the hitchhiker doubts it. To prove him wrong, the narrator starts applying more pressure on the accelerator and just as they get to one hundred twenty miles per hour, a police motorcycle is on their case. They are stopped and as the policeman questions them he writes down their names in the “dreaded book of tickets.” The driver is given the fine and they are free to carry on with their lives.

            After getting in trouble, the narrator is upset but asks the hitchhiker why he lied to the police about his job. The passenger teases him a little which increases the narrator’s, and the reader’s, curiosity. I can’t say I wasn’t shocked when the hitchhiker revealed that he took the narrator’s belt, shoelace, watch, driver’s license, his wife’s broken ring, etc. Since he takes something as insignificant as, for example, a shoelace, it stresses how good he is at the craft of stealing. It makes me wonder if there are people like this in real life. Can someone really tug the laces off my shoes without me noticing? Or could this potentially show how unaware the narrator is of his surroundings? The passenger finally says that he is a pickpocket, or as he calls it, a fingersmith. The name “fingersmith” is a clever way to twist something that is normally thought of as bad, in this case pickpocketing, into something that sounds like a real job. The fingersmith also believes that he is above normal pickpockets because he is very stealthy and never gets caught. Since this is the case, he might feel that he deserves a better title. I suppose everyone wants to feel proud of their talents, and the hitchhiker is no exception.

But then the narrator focuses back on his own life and recalls what the police said about going to jail for speeding and his dilemma makes him panic. The fingersmith senses his worry and pulls out the policeman’s ticket book! The narrator’s reaction is: “I nearly swerved the car into a milk truck, I was so excited.” The snatching of the ticket book provides the reader with a sense of relief for the characters because after getting to know them in the beginning, they start to form a bond with them. The fingersmith suggests that breaking the law is okay because he gradually gets the reader on his side as the story progresses and the reader feels bad when the narrator gets into trouble. This makes the reader think that they don’t deserve to get into trouble and presents the idea that there are no punishments for breaking the law if you manage to avoid getting caught.

I couldn’t be the only one making exceptions for their rule-breaking! At first, my views on pickpocketing were negative, but now it’s a curious topic that intrigues me, especially after reading that their skills could get them out of trouble. By getting this reaction out of the reader, it is clear Dahl wants the reader to think outside of their own lives and get into the minds of other people. Throughout the story, the reader’s perspective changes, which causes them to feel a sense of victory when the ticket book is stolen. 

            When it comes to stealing the ticket book from the policeman, I can’t decide whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. The policeman’s “dangerously soft and mocking” voice makes me think that he deserves it because he is so full of himself. Not only that but I also thought it was good because, in the end, the two characters didn’t really deserve to get into a lot of trouble. But they were breaking the law, so maybe they were deserving of some punishment. And maybe, stealing the book was bad because people that caused more harm might’ve been written down there, which puts others in danger and lets criminals escape. Aren’t they considered criminals since they broke the law? What is defined as bad law breaking? What is defined as reasonable lawbreaking? In my opinion, they didn’t hurt anyone, so they didn’t do anything wrong, which justifies stealing the ticket book. Then again, the question–what if their recklessness eventually caused an accident?–arises. It feels good that they get away with it, but this is because Dahl makes the reader support the bad guys and creates a bond of friendship that opposes the justice system, contrasting the message being sent in the next story, “After Twenty Years”.

Turning our attention to O. Henry’s “After 20 Years”, the way the author describes the setting makes the tone sound mysterious, but also calm.  I can suddenly picture the shops lined up on both sides of the road, empty of life, when the story starts. “Now and then you might see the lights of a cigar store or of an all-night lunch counter”, which puts a picture in mind of dark windows, and the select few that have light, stand out. The attention turns to the character looming in the darkness. ‘Silky’ Bob is a fugitive, and the “little white scar near his right eyebrow” portrays him as such and adds a hint of edginess to his character. His “keen eyes” make it clear that he is waiting for something to happen, or that he just might be alert to his surroundings. In addition, his pale complexion can be linked with sickness which is could be a cause of not having enough earnings due to running away from the law.

            So, Bob is waiting for someone. This someone is a friend, and 20 years ago (hence the title) they decided to meet at this appointed time. His friend, Jimmy, the beat cop who speaks with Bob without revealing his identity, keeps his promise too, but they never ended up having their reunion, because Jimmy realizes that his old buddy Bob is a wanted criminal. The fact that Officer Jimmy did show up at the “‘appointed place on time’” clearly makes him a reliable and trustworthy person because he kept his promise even after many years. I know if I were in his position, I wouldn’t have been able to even remember the person I was meeting with, let alone the time we were supposed to meet! “‘Somehow I couldn’t do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.’” The lack of confrontation indicates that he never wanted to harm Bob. Even though he felt this way, he couldn’t let Bob keep wreaking havoc, so he decided to do the right thing and turn him in. By doing this, he preserves their old perception of each other. In the end, when Bob thinks of who actually arrested him, the stranger that Jimmy sent will probably pop up in his mind because he was the one who acted. Therefore, Jimmy won’t always be the bad guy in Bob’s head. 

            If we compare the lessons the authors are trying to teach from “The Hitchhiker” and “After 20 Years” we notice that they’re complete opposites. In the former, Dahl gives the reader a story where they are happy that the bad guys win, but in the latter, the story ends up disappointing us when Jimmy turns Bob in. One suggests that being bad is good, and another suggests that being bad is, in fact, bad. Both stories show how society either “root[s] for the underdog or the lawbreaker” (quote from Mr. Watt’s question) and that people’s morality depends on which side is more appealing to them, considering that they receive the details on the side they support. And at times, they might just choose a side because their place in society already puts them on that side. What I’m trying to get across is that, if someone reading the story is a thief, they will justify the fact that it is okay to steal because they don’t want to identify as a bad person. Human nature does this naturally, as we don’t want to be in the wrong most of the time. Now I’m not saying that everyone who read the story and was happy that they got out of trouble is a thief, because then I’d have to admit to being this form of crummy lawbreaker! I’m just explaining why someone may be compelled to choose that side if they’re in a similar situation as the character. No matter what side you are on, and how you view society, both stories are entertaining. On the surface, they might just be another piece of writing, but after taking a deep dive, I realize how much a few pages can hold. I’m looking forward to reading more stories, but for now, I can officially say that I’ve completed my first quiz for Mr. Watt!