Favorite Poem

Sonnet

From the deep blue of the pond
To the highest and whitest mountain caps
Where the woods does bond
And the trees always sap

The willows turn bright yellow
Yet the mountains are still white
And the pasture cows sit there in mellow
While the pool of water reflects the light

When I see the water it calms me
and its azure keeps me thinking
'Bout what and how things came to be
Where the fish come up and eventually sinking

Down into its depths of beauty
Where you can no longer see its eyes of ruby

Old Man and The Sea

Life’s struggles happen daily, from a common loss of money to a loss of a family member. The worst part is that they cannot be avoided, and we must get through them. What we do with these struggles is key, and we must defy the odds to even try to do good. This is what happens with Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea, who throughout the book he overcomes many obstacles, and through the melancholy and pessimistic view of Santiago, you find a peaceful and majestic setting and storyline in The Old Man and the Sea.

During the beginning of the story, the conflict is set. When the Old Man begins again, “He had gone eighty-four days (now) without taking a fish.”(9) This struggle is constant through the story, and even begins another one with his young friend, Manolin. After that long, Manolin’s parents decided that he fish with fisherman who caught everyday, rather than with the old Santiago. Santiago regularly speaks of having Manolin with him, and this keeps the old man thinking and wishing.

During the worst parts of the story, Santiago begins to think he will not survive the excursion out to sea. He even says to himself “No one should be alone in their old age.”(48) This is another struggle, as Santiago is an old fisherman who has no family, no friends, other than his young friend Manolin. He still, however, fights on with the Marlin and stays determined to catch the fish itself, even until death.

As he begins to reel the fish in, Santiago begins to speak of it being a brother to him, and his equal. He then says that “(he has) never seen a greater or more beautiful or a calmer or more noble thing than you brother.” (92) Here, he begins to rethink his fishing ways, and wondering if what he is doing is wrong, and whether or not he should let the Marlin go, or keep it and stay determined and bring it back to the village.

As the Old Man arrives back with just the Marlin’s skeleton, Manolin brings the Old Man into an inn and nourishes him after he collapsed on the dock. He then wakes up to see Manolin giving him coffee and talks about the Marlin. Santiago then says that “Luck is a thing that comes in many forms and who can recognize her?” (117) All the Old Man is left with is a skeleton, yet he is happy that he caught the fish, and continues to sleep, dreaming about sea lions playing on the beach. This gives a sense that we take many things for granted in our lives, and should appreciate the little things.

The Old Man has faced several struggles, but overcame them in a sense. He caught the fish, but only has a skeleton. He is also still as poor, but his determination and courage to catch such a fish provided a good story, even after five days of fishing. Even though Manolin did not come back with the Marlin as a whole, he is content with his catch and to him, that is all that matters in his eyes.

3rd ORB Review

Dimitri Kastrinakis
Feb 21st 2010
Accel English
Mr. BG
3rd Quarter ORB Review “The Secret Speech”
The book The Secret Speech is the second book in its series after Child 44 and takes place in fictional Communist Russia during the early 1960s. The protagonist is Leo Demidov, and is written in omniscient third person, giving the reader thoughts about other characters in the story. It is just after Stalin dies, and Russia is in chaos. There is mass arrests and “denouncements” of innocent ones, in which the names are given by the accused to prevent their families from suffering the same torture as them. Leo is the head of a shunned murder cabinet in the police, and as a former KGB agent he knows what he’s doing. The whole basis of the story is on a speech created by the new president, calling the ones making arrests the “bad guys” and Stalinism is dead. It is about Leo and his family trying to survive revolt after revolt in several cities.
“As in Child 44, Smith’s plotting is elaborate, and his pacing is relentless. His characters are wonderfully drawn, and the near-nonstop action is utterly gripping.” –Booklist. I absolutely agree with this critic, as it shows the exact things I liked in The Secret Speech. Its characters develop amazingly throughout the book and it is not boring to read, as well as there is a lot of action throughout, which I like a lot. There is also a sense of moody and depressing sense at some points, but adds a very thick plot to the mix, which makes it all very interesting.
The writing style in this book is very descriptive, without being a boring read however. It is one of my favorite books, and I like how the plot shifts from different persons at key points. “Cowardice lay behind the shameful arrangement. The ecclesiastical authorities, having rallied every church congregation behind Stalin during the war, were now an instrument of the State, a ministry of the Kremlin. This demolition was a demonstration of that subjugation.” (5) During the beginning of the story, this is about a church being blown up and continues from events in the previous book. Here the author uses important language and complex, making me need a dictionary at some points.
Reading this book, I liked how Leo was made to be a likeable protagonist and is not in fact as evil as other KGB members are depicted in the book. He is shown to have a heart, which is not always a good thing at some points. I especially enjoyed reading this as I like reading about these areas and points in time as I know so little about them. It also makes me wonder on some things in communist Russia. I like reading fiction about these events and even non-fiction about the same events.

Rough Draft Short Story

Dimitri Kastrinakis
1/20/10
Mr. BG
Accel English
Blood Sport
Andre stood juxtapose to the guard rail on the fourth floor in the empty Michael’s Apartment in the shadows. All he needed to do was wait, he was good at that. But acrimony made him angry enough to hurt, no, kill the man who had done this to him. He heard a rush of feet hurrying up past the third staircase. Infallibility was Andre’s specialty, and he would have no problem with this problem. As the man shuffled with his keys, Andre began to move out of shadows. The man, shaking with fear hurried into his apartment to immediately close the door. It closed, but not by him. The door flew open with force and the man fell to the ground screaming in pain. Andre’s brass knuckles flashed in the pale moonlight. Andre threw the man into the apartment and up against the wall. The door closed and the man looked up in fear, blood staining his suit and jacket. “Where is it!” shouted Andre, reinforced with a kick to the face. “Tell me Jack!” Jack sputtered in a frenzy. “I..i…I gave it to Angelo.” Andre stood back, shocked. Obstinately, he punched Jack again. “You gave him five million dollars? Just gave it away?” Jack’s breathing had evened as calmness overtook him for a moment. “It was for protection.” “Protection?! Where is he now, huh?” Jack took several blows in the stomach and face. Jack was bleeding profusely now and his sense was muddled. “You sold out your only friend in this world Jack, and now you’re going to leave it.” Andre wasn’t concerned; he had gotten the information he needed. He pulled out a gun and put it to Jack’s forehead. Now he needed his money, and this was a perfect way to scare Angelo. It took a few moments for Jack to respond, but a look of horror swept over his face fast enough for Andre to see the fear in his eyes before he died. Andre just laughed.
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Don Angelo was watching the Michael’s apartment the moment he had seen Andre enter it. He was atop the roof above an abandoned house looking directly into the window of Jack’s apartment. Don Angelo was actually only 37, but considered old for this trade. Money Laundering was his game, but Andre was much better at it. He was much younger than Angelo, and didn’t have the kindness he had. Andre was much more ruthless, more dangerous, more likely to kill for pleasure and without reason. This is why Don Angelo was afraid for Jack, even after selling out Andre. Faintly, he heard a tussle and screaming over the traffic a few streets down. He cringed at the gunshot, but knew what had happened. He ordered his men to meet him at the car, and he could hear the four hulking men’s footsteps all the way down to the car door opening. He knew Andre would never give up, and plotted the worst way to take him down. Angelo’s beeper flashed on and he knew that he had to leave. Andre would pay for what he had done. After all, money was a blood sport.
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Andre awoke the next day. His room was a mess but that was an impasse. He had never gotten the chance to clean it and never planned on it. What had woken him wasn’t normal though, a stench of chloroform. Someone planned on killing him, and he needed to get out of his apartment. Picking up his gun, knife and cell phone, he laconically but quickly ran out of the room. There were two armed men about to breach his door. Just then, something hit Andre. A pang of trepidation swept over him. Enough for him to hesitate, but the two men hesitated also. They were not trained as well as he was, and this gave Andre the upper hand. He stepped with his knife and jerked it into one of the men’s stomach and then across his neck. The other man pulled up his gun and pulled the trigger but Andre knocked it out of his hand. The bullet echoed throughout the apartment and Andre pulled his gun and shot without hesitation. Both were dead within a few seconds. Sprinting out of the apartment, he ran to the only other place he knew. But he first had to do something.
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Andre opened the door with Jack’s keys and stood, ready for it. Angelo sat in a chair just out of Andre’s reach, flanked by two other armed men. Also were his colleagues, men Angelo had loaned money to, given protection to, all the lower men. He started clapping, Andre had never been outsmarted before, at least the man who outsmarted him never got away alive. Angelo snorted vapidly. “You still think you’ve won haven’t you?” Andre laughed and smiled. He knew how to get inside someone’s head. “All I want is my money.” Angelo scoffed. “YOUR money? Never. It belongs to me.” “It doesn’t belong to some wannabe Italian gangster!” Spat Andre. Angelo immediately shot Andre in the leg. He writhed in pain and looked and laughed at Angelo. “That’s right, you probably never told any of your people have you?” The large group started muttering in question. “I called the police; they will pick you up shortly.” Andre had his mouth taped shut and left on the outside of the building. As soon as Andre went into that police car, nobody knew that more than just one person would die.
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“Andre Rodriguez, you have pleaded guilty to the murder of Jack Stevenson, your sentence is life in prison, you will be taken away now, anything that you would like to say on record?” Andre smiled coolly and stood from his seat. “I bet that all of you in this courtroom deserve it.” Above all, he looked directly at Angelo and his men and pulled a trigger in his pants. C4 linked to the trigger immediately exploded and destroyed the courtroom. Andre Rodriguez was now guilty of killing 54 people and the taking of his own life. After all, money is a blood sport.