My Essay

This is a draft essay for English class that we are writing for an assessment coupled with our current novel study, we were instructed to post it on our blog.

A good text moves the reader though a variety of emotions. Discuss the variety of emotions you felt when reading the text you studied in class.

Chinese Cinderella, written by Adeline Yen Mah, is a text that will lead the reader through a range of emotions. I will attest this by depicting loneliness, fear, and joy. These were all emotions implicit in the story.

The novel, Chinese Cinderella, evokes the emotion of loneliness. Albeit this emotion permeates through the entirety of this story, there is a particular point of the book where this feeling in most acute. 'All the rooms were empty. Rows and rows of desks and chairs but nobody anywhere...The place had become a ghost town.' The main character was abandoned and helpless, stranded in an institution meant for thousands. As Adeline, the primary character, walked through the halls, alone with just her thoughts, I could hear her footsteps echoing to the corners of the vast ceilings. The description of her situation was such that it was undemanding to imagine it, to picture it clearly, and feel the emotion that was being detailed. Chinese Cinderella will expose the reader to Adeline’s loneliness, to some of her desolate solitude, and this helps to prove that this novel is one that will compel emotion.

Fear is a major emotion portrayed in the story of Chinese Cinderella. Similar to loneliness, fear is shown throughout the story. In one particular situation, the build-up to the confrontation, coupled with the author’s descriptive language, transported me into the autobiographer’s recall. The reader will feel anxious and fear for her. ‘My heart was pounding and blood was rushing into my temples and ears, beating over me in waves.’ In this circumstance, she had been paralyzed with fear; her reverent trepidation had over-powered her mind. As the chapter drew to a close, I was left with a fervent hope that I would never have to experience, firsthand, the feeling that had just been described, further proving that the language explicit in this story was conveying emotion to the reader.

In contrast to the two preceding emotions, joy is experienced, and therefore evoked, very few times during the story. At the end of the book, when she finally gets some of what she truly deserves, the feeling is genuinely catching. ‘My heart gave a giant lurch as it dawned on me…how marvelous it was simply to be alive!’ Adeline had, throughout her entire childhood, got nothing but unquestionable discrimination and abuse. So when she gets what she needs and wants, something she had virtually been working her whole life for, the reader is left not only with some of her overwhelming joy, but a sense of contentment; reassured that there is justice in this world.

This text is indeed one that moves the reader through a variety of emotions.
Throughout the body of this essay I have proven this to you by outlining three emotions that I felt whilst reading the text. I chose loneliness, fear, and joy because they were not only predominant impressions of the text, but because they all contributed to some of the themes of the book. Emotion is not only what you will get out of this book, though, Chinese Cinderella shows that language, like the will to survive, is powerful, and except the person using them, has no boundaries.

Keep in mind that this is just a draft.

Update

Hello, hello, and welcome to a short update on the life of yours truly.

Firstly, I got a call back from the teachers running the production so I get to audition again. Our school production is Alice in Wonderland and I auditioned for the Queen of Hearts. Year twelves are going for it as well though, and they are just so good, so they'll probably get a lot of the main parts. To begin with I had decided only to do the play if I got a main part, but I'll probably do it now, whatever part I get, if in the end, I do get a part.

I really, really want to go to the National Model United Nations but I asked my mum and she just scoffed, and said, 'yeah right'. It probably wasn't my best move to mention it on the way back from the event on Saturday, though.
I am going to enter a scholarship-essay competition to get aid with the cost, so, wish me luck!
It is picked on the merits of a thousand word essay on Malta's contribution to the UN since it joined.

I go to the three-night-four-day netball tournament this Thursday. According to the draw, we are going to play nine games. If we win them, then we will play more. Imagine: four games in a day!
We had our first training last Thursday and it all went pretty well. After this tournament we are going to be playing as a unit, we are going to be really tight. This trip is going to be such a team building exercise.

I ran the beach run for cross country last Friday. Our coach had always kept some people back and let what I thought of as the 'real' runners go, but we all went and I didn't stop running the whole time. Now, I can just keep working on my speed.

Oh, if you were wondering, C.V. stands for Curriculum Vitae, which means, basically, the biographical course of one's training or career. Vitae is Latin for the course of one's life or career

Also, I had always wondered what i.e. stood for, and it means id est, which is Latin for that is, and we use it in the context of 'that is to say'.
E.g. is also an acronym for Latin, as well; exempli gratia, which means 'for example'.

By the way, many people from the class have commented on the length of my entries.
For example: 'your blog entries are so long!' and, when I asked someone what they thought of one of my entries they told me, 'oh, I didn't read it all, it was too long'. What I have to say to this is not totally literate, but along the lines of 'people, come on!'. I admit, I do have a lot to say, but short entries that have not real content and/or don't explain or elaborate on what you have said , are pointless and therefore, in my opinion, a waste of time.

So, yeah, this entry did not flow in the slightest. So, to continue in the same respect, I'll leave you with a completely random quote that doesn't fit in at all.

Everything in moderation,
including moderation.

Model United Nations

Very sorry dedicated readers. I have indeed neglected my super-fantastic blog in the past week.
I have been rather busy, as you may very well know.
This weekend I attended my first Model United Nations (you can read about what one actually is in the blog entry entitled M.U.N.) and it was really fun. It wasn't nearly as formal as I had envisioned and we actually did have lots of laughs and jokes (I could pretend they were highly intelligent , but I understood them).
The first day was from 8.45 to 4, and I had to drive to get there so my Saturday started at 6.30 in the morning. Nope, no sleep-ins for me this weekend. Big thanks to my parents for driving me to and from the event twice, two days in a row.
We listened to a guest speaker first up on Saturday. The man's name was Tim Groser, he was until very recently the New Zealand ambassador for the World Trade Organisation, and if that doesn't speak for itself, he is very prestigious and experienced. He gave a wonderful speech that I truly enjoyed. The conference was held at a university and, yes, I did very very smart sitting in the lecture theater a taking notes.
Our first topic of debate in the UNEP (Environment Programme) was:
'The Question of Sustainable Fishing Practices'.
I made one short speech opposing an ammendment, it didn't go to well, but in the end I don't think it was passed, so all was well.
I think I did pretty good for a newbie, even if I do say so myself.
In the two breaks and lobbying lunch I talked to a lot of people, and everyone was really nice.
I talked to one guy who was a veteran in my opinion, this was his twelfth conference and he had done nationals three times!
Out of everyone I asked, probably around ten or so, everyone was year 12 and one was year 13.
So, by the time I'm year 12, I think I'll be doing okay. Oh yeah, I plan to attend lots more of these conferences!
The last twenty minutes of debate on Saturday was a bit crazy, and an ammendment was passed stating the immediate annihilation of Portugal and remaining land to be salted then turned in to a theme park.
Also, an ammendment I wrote was passed without debate on the same topic ('The Question of Corporate Environmental Responsibility'), which was a good feeling.

I changed the clause: request that all stares require their central savings schemes to invest only in organisations with proven adherence to the standards
to:
declares accordingly that member states invest not only in organisations with proven adherence to the standards but to organisations needing financial aid to become economically sound; the method with which to determine organisations that need aid will be determined at a later date.

Today was also a good day, too. I made a speech supporting the resolution on the military use of outer space to the entire General Assembly (at least 120 people). And in the end, the resolution was passed.

We all had placard with which we used to vote, and I have to admit, rising it for points of information was fun.

Now I have to start campaigning to my parents so I can go to the National. (And they can come with me and pay accommodation and travel money...one's gotta try, right?).

My Best Material

I don't know if this will count as a substantial blog entry, but I want to write down all my ''best material''. All my lame, I mean, extremely humorous, jokes here on my blog, safe-guarded against memory loss; a record. Maybe one day I'll visit my blog and read through this very entry, laughing at my younger self. If that day comes, I would just like to spare a moment to say hello to my older self.
Hello, future-Eve, it's your younger self here, I sincerely hope that you are a successful and credited career person.

I'm not sure what I want to be as yet, stayed posted for more information on that topic.
Anyway, back to the very serious task of creating a record.

Item number 1. Last year in 2007, I had a ruler. And this ruler's name was Kenneth. One day during math class, a young boy commented on Kenneth.
'He's gay.' He said.
'No, he's not.' I intelligently replied. 'He's straight, he's a ruler.'

Item number 2. I'm not sure of where this particular item derived from, perchance it was just a strike of genius. This is a take-off of the familiar childhood song 'If you're happy and you know it'.
You can play this joke on your friends, but while it is timeless, you usually won't fool someone twice.
Sing, If you're a gherkin and you know it clap your hands
and if anyone claps, you quickly say, Gherkins don't have hands!
Which is a very true statement indeed.

Item number 3. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of life?
Wonder no longer, just search it up on dictionary.com, where all your questions are answered.

Item number 4. This is a more amusing trait of mine. If I find fault in anything, especially text books with grammar mistakes, I will always say, 'I'm going to write a letter.'
I have written two letters to companies with grammar mistakes on their labels, somehow word got out and the general public found it quite strange and a tad hard to believe, and as a result of my own want to write letters and express my opinion, along with a little peer influence, this phrase was born.

Item number 5. Veering off topic like on so many other occasions, I'd like to take note of the following. Through primary school and intermediate and now college, people have congratulated themselves on being supremely funny by adding one extra letter into my last name. This makes my surname sound like a part of the human anatomy. Just last term a rather smart boy said the joke thinking he had made a highly amusing, original discovery. He was wrong. It's not funny, it never was and it never will be. However, counting the times people crack that joke is kind of entertaining.

Item number 6. Carrot-top, that's one of the many names red-head a mercifully teased with. Being a red-head myself, I have never found the discrimination laughable. While I still don't, I'd just like to inform you all that the tops of carrots are actually green.

Item number 7. This is a very funny, practical joke. Say to someone that you can moon-walk, then begin to lift you legs and arms really slowly, making space noises. Moon-walk, like you're on the moon! Geddit?

I would like to dedicate this entry to my fish of late, Bensen. You were a good fish. I'll never forget the way you would head-but the glass of your tank if anyone came in the vicinity of it, and how you would eat fish-food off my finger. Though it was your appetite for life and experience that got you in the end, though it was not your fault. It was a sad, sad day when Jack threw that half of tomato into your tank and you ate nearly every last bit of it. May you swim in peace. You will be missed.

Easter.

This Easter break has been really enjoyable. The weather has been gorgeous and I have further mastered the skill of relaxing.
My family don't celebrate Easter with buying chocolate eggs, but indulgence in sweet things has been tattooed into the holiday as tradition. So, I decided to make fudge. It is actually quite simple to make, but you need to stand and stir it at the stove for half an hour. I had decided to pour it into the bottom of muffin tins so it would be circular. The baking paper creased though, so it resembled a flower, which was fine with me. It set so quickly once it was off the heat, it was surprising.
My little brother and I decorated baking paper with pictures and patterns to wrap it in.
We then wrapped up the fudge and tied to top with string.
On Easter Sunday I hid the packages in the garden and my five-year-old brother went on his very own Easter hunt.
Jack then donned the bunny ears, pink bow- tie and fluffy tail we had purchased from the the $2 Shop for three dollars and handed out fudge to all of us.
It was very rich, so one piece was enough to satisfy a sweet-tooth.
Considering the three and a half cups of sugar that goes into it, as well as condensed milk and golden syrup, I wouldn't want it any other way.

That said, I thought I would tell you that I really like baking. I don't mind cooking dinners and things, and Mum has been teaching me some of the classic meals, but baking, for me, I just enjoy so much more. I have been cooking cakes and cookies for ages, and now I am going to try and make my skills more eclectic. It really is quite fascinating how you can use rather simple ingredients to produce delicious food.

That it for this entry, I urge you to give baking a go. I have to admit, though, that it can be dangerous, because if you're making all these sweet treats, you want to try them and it's not healthy to be eating cake all the time!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Yes, the time has come to learn how to make a very nice desert. This time it is the delectable classic, the sticky toffee pudding.

You will need:
190g unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar (raw or soft)
One quarter cup golden syrup (you can use maple syrup)
2 large eggs
1 cup of self-raising flower

What you need to do:
Firstly, turn your oven on to 180'C. Then grease a pudding basin, around 1.25 litres in capacity.
Put the golden syrup in a heavy-based saucepan, along with 70g of the sugar and 70g butter.
Heat the ingredients gently until the sugar dissolves, and the butter melts. Stir on the heat until the mixture becomes smooth.
Pour half of this mixture into the greased pudding basin. The left-over toffee sauce will be used for serving.
Now put the remaining sugar and butter in the saucepan and heat until the mixture is smooth (sugar melted, sugar dissolved). Then remove from the heat and leave to cool and stand for ten minutes.
Once the ten minutes has passed, crack the two eggs into a cup and beat well with a fork, for about a minute or so.
Then add this to the mixture in the saucepan, and beat until well combined.
Get out a clean, dry mixing bowl and pour the cup of flour into it. Shake to remove any clumps. Push the flour to the sides of the bowl to make a well in the centre, then pour in the liquid mixture. Thoroughly stir the batter until all ingredients are evenly combined.
Spoon into the pudding basin.

Bake for about forty minutes, and the outside of the pudding is springy to the touch. When I made mine, the outside wasn't springy like muffins, but quite hard. The outside was like a crispy crust, and actually quite nice, so don't be deterred if it's not ''spongy''.
Run a round-bladed knife around the edge of the pudding and gently turn onto a plate.
Re-heat the sauce and pour over the top. Serve immediately.
I found that there wasn't quite enough sauce when I made mine, so just make another lot of sauce then combine the two mixtures together.

Note that if you use maple syrup it changes it into a 'maple pudding', because maple syrup is a strong and distinctive flavour.

This desert is reasonably simple, and very nice. It's a treat for the whole family and great for dinner parties or just an indulgence on a cold winter's night.

[This entry is based on the recipe from Successful Baking, but I have altered it after my experiences making the pudding, and have re-written all the instructions. ]

My Brothers

I thought it would be a cool comparison to interview my two brothers with the same questions and see the differences between their answers. My big brother is 16, turning 17 in a few weeks, and my little brother is just on 6.

Interview with Jack
If you had a baby boy tomorrow, what would you name him? Lucazade.
Do you have your tomato sauce next to your hot chips, or on them? Next to.
What do you do on Sunday morning? I get up and play 'car crash'.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? In New Zealand...make the playgrounds bigger.
What are you favourite song lyrics? We will, we will rock you.
Can you tell me a joke right now? Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? Because he didn't have the guts.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A policeman.
Why? Because I can pull people over, like the road-runner. 'Wee-woo-wee-woo' (he made siren noises).
What's life's greatest mystery? In Scooby-doo, when they have to find out about the monster.
If you could have anything right now what would it be? A Bionicle.
If you got a dog tomorrow, what would you name it? Spot.
If you could be any animal, which one would you choose? A tiger.
Why do you want to be a tiger? Because I can roar. Rarrrh!
What's you favourite food? Noodles.
What flavour? Any.
Why? Because they have flavour, special flavour...mmm.
If you could describe yourself in a few words, what would they be? I like myself.
I don't think you understand the question, what's one word that describes you, like exciting or annoying...?
I'm the coolest person around.
What does 'love' mean? You like somebody, like a boy or a girl.
What is love? Uh, a heart?
But what is 'love'? Uh, kisses?
How about this one? How does someone show someone else that they love them?
By saying 'I love you'. And for dad, I snuggle him.
What's Christmas all about? Christmas.
Yes...? Getting presents. And it's God's birthday.
What's your favourite colour? Green.
What is your typical breakfast? What does typical mean?
Normal. Oh, cereal.
If you could meet anyone right now, alive or dead, famous or not, fictitious of real, who would it be?
The road-runner...alive. I would do the same thing the Coyote does, try and eat him.
But would you say anything to him?
I'd say hi. And ask his favourite food, drink, and thing to do is. He'd probably say that his favourite thing to do is run.
Who's the coolest person to have ever existed? Me.
No, seriously. Yeah, me!
Why is the sky blue? Because it has to be a different colour to the sun.
Well, I think that's about it, thank you for the time.
And, do you know Eve, that if the sky was yellow, it would look like there's no sun in the sky.
Okay, Jack. That's all, thanks.

Interview with Jedd
If you had a baby boy tomorrow, what would you name him? I don't know.
Do you have your tomato sauce next to your hot chips, or on them? Next to.
What do you do on Sunday morning? Sleep in.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? I don't know.
What are you favourite song lyrics? Probably Strutter, or something.
Can you tell me a joke right now? Yeah. [It was an inappropriate joke.]
What do you want to be when you grow up? A mechanic or engineer.
What's life's greatest mystery? Love is pain. -laughs-
If you could have anything right now what would it be?
For my car to be done up performance and everything.
If you got a dog tomorrow, what would you name it? I don't know, like, I dunno.
If you could be any animal, which one would you choose? A wasp.
Why? Because...I don't know.
What's you favourite food? Enchiladas.
If you could describe yourself in a few words, what would they be? I don't know, uh, laid-back.
What does 'love' mean? Um, well, a relationship when two people rely on each other, and don't cheat on each other and what not. Trust.
What's Christmas all about? Um, it's meant to be Jesus Christ, or something isn't it? I don't really know, receiving, and are family stuff. Eating ham.
What's your favourite colour? Green, yellow, and red.
What is your typical breakfast? Muesli bar
If you could meet anyone right now, alive or dead, famous or not, fictitious of real, who would it be?
The KISS Army.
What would you say to them? Sup.
Who's the coolest person to have ever existed? My girlfriend.
Why is the sky blue? Um, it reflects off the water.

I think the differences are pretty clear. Jedd's interview took a lot longer, getting the information out of him was a lot harder. Jack was much more willing. It was fun though, and I've learnt stuff about all the males in my immediate family, so all is well that ends well.

I also asked my dad the questions, but I'll just post the answers that I like the most, as an extra.
What are you favourite song lyrics? Life past him by like a warm summer's day.
Can you tell me a joke right now? Yes.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Young again.
What's life's greatest mystery? Marriage.