SOAPST "Declaration of Independence"

The "Declaration of Independence" written by Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers, is a true portrayal of fighting for independence. The audience for "Declaration of Independence" is mainly King George III, and also the colonists. The colonies were under the rule of England which King George III was controlling at the time. The colonists did not have freedom, were being taxed, were not independent, and had no control over their own colonies. Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers wrote the "Declaration of Independence" to King George III, telling him what he has done, that the colonists deserve rights, and want to be independent. They are also speaking to the colonists telling them the same exact thing how they are fighting or speaking for their independence. The purpose of the "Declaration of Independence" was to inform King George III about all the horrible laws that he was putting on the colonies, and that they were fighting for independence. The second purpose was to persuade the colonists to fight and strive for freedom. The document was meant to persuade the King to give the colonies independence and freedom. The occasion is July 4, 1776 the day the document was signed and the colonies finally received independence from England. They had fought for so long, because England had controlled them for so many years, and they finally were independent.

"Man fatally shot during robbery near Leimert Park"

In the Los Angeles Times,  Hector Becerra wrote an article about a man that was shot in Leimert Park. The victim who was in his 20's, was with a couple of friends, when was confronted by the suspects. There was a robbery and argument at Leimert Park, when the victim and his friends happened to be walking by. The suspects confronted the victim whose name was not released, and before pulling out his handgun began an argument with the victim demanding his property. “One suspect shot the victim in the upper torso.” said  Norma Eisenman. The victim was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead."Eisenmen said she did not know if the argument was gang related, but law enforcement source said that the argument involved gang allegiances." "The victim had made insulting remarks about a gang when confronted by the suspects, including the man who shot him." said the source. The man who shot him had done a "pocket check" on him before actually pulling the trigger. This article shows that one may be at the wrong place at the wrong time, but it can also show that saying insulting things about one can cause deadly consequences.

"Salvation" by Langston Hughes(SOAPST)

"Salvation" is written by Langston Hughes who was part of the Harlem Revolution. The occasion of this essay is Langston's first connection with Jesus(an emotional connection). The children all go to church at the ages of 12 and 13 to be connected to Jesus. Langston is 12 years old and at church with his aunt, he is surrounded by other kids his age to have that same connection with Jesus. He is very religious and believes in Jesus and God. When the preacher began preaching one by one the children stood up and went to the altar because they were saved. Langston did not feel the connection to Jesus right away like the other kids, which made him confused and sad. All the children had gone to the altar and the only two kids that were left was Langston and another boy named Westley. Westley being tired of waiting for Jesus to make a connection with him, decided to lie to everyone in the church  and say that he was saved. Langston being the only one left, decided to also lie to everyone in the church, the preacher, and his aunt. That night Langston in his bed, under the quilts was crying, he felt guilty for lying to everyone in the church, felt sad that he did not make a connection with Jesus, and that he did not believe in Jesus any more. The subject of the essay is Langston's loss of faith, because he did not feel that connection to Jesus that he hoped for in his heart he felt that Jesus did not want to save him, therefore he began to lose faith in Jesus. He no longer believed in Jesus nor God. The tone of the speaker often changes in the essay depending on what he feels and is thinking. In the beginning of the essay Langston's tone is a bit confused and expected, because he does not understand why Jesus is not making a connection with him. The tone of confusion is shown in this sentence "Still I kept waiting to see Jesus."(180) he is emphasizing the fact that he is patiently waiting to have that connection but at the same time he is confused as to why it has not happened yet. The tone suddenly changes to sadness, because soon he realizes that his so called connection to Jesus is not going to happen. For the third and final time the tone changes yet again, but this time it goes from sadness to hopeless and guilty. He feels hopeless because he was such a religious person and believed in Jesus and God, but because the connection did not happen he lost total hope. He also felt guilty because he lied to everyone in the church including his aunt, and said he had connected to Jesus when he had not. This essay shows us how soon one can completely lose faith in what they truly believed in.  

Sexual Assault in O.C.

In the Los Angeles Times, Rong-Gong Lin II wrote about the sentencing of a 46 year old man in Orange County. Alfredo Fernandez Gonzalez, a certified nursing instructor sexually assaulted three teenage girls during a training program in Santa Ana. The training program, also known as a nursing technical education course, provides career training to high school students and adults at the Park West Care and Rehabilitation Center. The district attorney's office gave a statement saying that Gonzalez touched the girls bodies, kissed their necks, and pulled them towards him. He also touched their butts during the time he was showing them nursing procedures. These girls were in high school at the ages of 17 and 18  and Gonzalez took complete advantage of them and assaulted them. Gonzalez told the teenage girls that they had nice bodies and that he would like to date them. The girls being so frightened and assaulted told their mothers about the touching and inappropriate conduct. The mothers of the three teenage girls then told the Santa Ana police department about Gonzalez. According to prosecutors the inappropriate touching and assault occurred over a 2 month period in the Spring of 2011. Gonzalez was sentenced to 4 months in jail after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor charges for inappropriate conduct, and receives three years of probation.This article and story is very important, because it teaches us teens and most importantly us girls that there are horrible people in the world, and that it is a dangerous place out there. This article displays the exact reason why one should always be protected, be aware of others and what they can do, and not always completely trust others.   

My Favorite Book

I read The Kite Runner in the tenth grade, and it has become one of my favorite books. It has a sense of envy, betrayal, regret, and at the end trying to make a mends, but realizing it is too late. What makes the story unique and my favorite is the fact that it has real life experiences, and ways in which it touches me emotionally. Another reason it is my favorite is because it taught me that life does not always have a fairytale ending, people go through hardships in life, and can lose all they have in a blink of an eye. A part of the story that touched my heart, was when Amir watched his best friend Hassan experience a traumatizing moment at a young age, when being raped by bullies. Hassan was always looking out for Amir, but Amir did not want to help Hassan when he truly needed him. Amir was always envious of Hassan, and the secret bond that Hassan and Baba shared, therefore he did not do anything to help him. That moment of betrayal caused Amir to feel guilt and remorse, and when he had the chance to save his nephew for Hassan, he did without thinking twice. There is a scene where I truly felt sorry for Sohrab(Hassan's son), when he left the hotel room in the middle of the night and went by the monument they had passed by with the car. He was fascinated by the monument and was sitting under it when Amir found him. Sohrab  had witnessed his fathers death and had not fully coped with it yet; he felt sad, lonely, and a sense of dirtiness. Amir wanted to comfort Sohrab, so he gave a picture of Hassan and Sohrab which he had received in the mail by Hassan before his death. Amir told Sohrab to keep to keep the picture close to his heart, and that he will never forget his father. In the end Amir was able to substitute his guilty feelings with a sense of satisfaction of knowing that he was able to rescue his nephew for his brother. These reasons make this book my favorite.