User:Charlie jackson61

SCHOOL STUFF
RASIN IN THE SUN ANALYSIS

Is “Raisin in the Sun” an Example of a Heroic Story	? Charlie Jackson English May 30, 2005 6A

Raisin in the Sun is an example of a heroic quest because of Walter’s experiences. Walter is a thirty-five year old man still living with his mother and sister in a small apartment in an all-black community. He is married with one child and learns, to his dismay that there is another on the way. Walter’s quest is to find a better life for himself, and later, a better life for his family, which results in a better life for himself too. During his quests he goes to many unfamiliar worlds. His Mother Lena proves to be one of his biggest helpers. She exposes his weaknesses and helps him believe in himself. Walter’s call to adventure is his Father’s insurance money coming. The money allows Walter to fulfill his dreams of purchasing a liquor store.

Walter goes on two quests in the play A Raisin In The Sun however, they are mental not physical. Walter’s first quest is to find a life that will make him feel better about himself. For this quest, Walter’s call to adventure is his father’s death. When Walter’s father dies, the Younger family receives a check from Walter Sr.’s insurance money for 10,000 dollars. With the money Walter can buy a liquor store and have financial success. Walter is convinced that having a liquor store will make him like all the white men he works for. He will be rich and in charge of himself. Walter’s second call for adventure begins when Lena, Walter’s mother, gives Walter the extra money left over from her down payment on the new Younger family house. Walter can now invest in the liquor store along with his friends, Willy and Bobo. Walter’s first quest is involuntary because he is about to go mad with his desires to see himself as a big man He wants to own a liquor store because he is driven to be financially successful, and he longs to be his own boss rather than drive a rich white man around. Walter’s second quest is to establish a better life for his family, a quest he discovers later in the play. The call to adventure for the second quest was when the Younger family finds out that Ruth is pregnant with her second child. The Younger family, who already do not have enough space in their apartment, will need even more space with another child arriving. His mother pushes him to not let Lena get an abortion. Lena lost a child to poverty and does not want to loose another one. Walter must stand up for what he knows is right and become a leader for his family. Walter’s second quest is voluntary because Walter could have stood by and watched his family fall apart. He could have spent all of his time at the Green Hat drinking. However, Walter chose to help his family and insure their happiness. Walter’s quests come in several forms. Some are of his own choosing and others are forced upon him.

Walter experiences journeys to unfamiliar places during the play. Walter exists in on familiar world with the family he has lived with all of his life. All of the Youngers exist in a small apartment in an all-black community. Walter, because he still lives with his sister and mother does not act like a grown, mature adult. He is trapped in an extended childhood, not yet into manhood. When the insurance check comes for the Younger family, Lena buys a new, airy house. It has plenty of room in which the Youngers can live comfortably. However, this house is in an all-white community. The Youngers are happy with their new house but are uneasy with their neighbors. Now Walters home will soon be his new house. This is a new place for Walter because all he could do before was talk of the people who lived in houses with plenty of space inside and outside. Walter becomes on of those fortunate owners of that type of home. Walter’s second new environment is a new mental place. He goes from being a simple working man with a lot of dreams to a more complicated man. When Lena gives Walter the money from putting a down payment on the house. Walter invests the extra money into buying a liquor store and then finds that it is stolen away from him by a business partner. Walter’s life is suddenly more complicated. He has lost his sister’s money for schooling and the money to help raise his children. His family will financially struggle without this money. Walter must somehow help the family without it. Walter’s most important new place is manhood. By the end of the play Walter has been transformed into a man. He now knows from experience how to care for his family and deal with problems that he might face. He puts his family’s dreams before his own and tries to help them reach those goals. The unfamiliar worlds Walter encounters were not only outside of him, but inside as well. Though he had overcome many troubles to get there, Walter was finally where he wanted to be: in a spacious house as the head of the household and in a new place for both body and soul.

Lena is a helper to Walter Jr. by helping him grow into manhood. Her first way is by testing Walter and exposing his weaknesses. Lena’s first test of Walter begins when Ruth his going to get an abortion of her new baby. Many years before Lena lost a child to poverty and she doesn’t want to lose another. Lena tells Walter to be like his Father and tell Ruth that they will care for another child. Walter fails this test, however, Lena doesn’t give up hope. Lena’s second test begins when she gives Walter the remainder of the insurance money after she puts a down payment on a house. She tells Walter that she has never stopped trusting him, therefore making him feel that he has some control over his life. Another way Lena helps Walter grow is by pushing him to make the right decisions. At the end of the play Walter is about to sell the house to Mr. Linder who is the head of the welcoming committee. After Walter loses the money he feels that he needs to get some back. Lena tells Walter that if he sells the house he would be ruining the family even more than it already was. The family is fighting and arguing over every decision that is made and they are having trouble getting along. Lena tells Walter that he is making the wrong choice. She pushed Walter to the right choice of keeping the house. Lena is also a helper by making it clear that she has faith in Walter and believes in him when even Walter loses faith in himself. Walter thinks that no one trusts him anymore. Lena realizes this and tries to make Walter feel better about himself. She gives Walter the money that was not spent on the house. Walter asks Lena why she gave him the money and she responds by saying that she has never stopped trusting him. Lena’s help got Walter to manhood by the end of the play. Without her help he would have been lost.

Walter’s quests and psychological journey to fulfill them illustrate how Raisin in the Sun follows the classic pattern of heroic tales; the play is, in many ways similar to the Arthurian tales. For example, in Gawain and the Loathly Lady, Gawain goes on both a physical and mental journey. Arthur, the High King of Britain, makes a promise to a loathly lady who requires him to find a young husband for her. Gawain steps up to take the Arthur’s job and go on the quest to find a husband to wed the ugly woman. When Gawain meets the woman, he is appalled. Keeping his word, however, he marries the woman. After the wedding feast she asks Gawain that if he could make her beautiful, would he prefer her to be lovely at night or during the day? He answers at night. She argues that during the day, she would be embarrassed by her ugliness. Gawain trying to please her says that he would prefer she be beautiful during the day, to which she argues that he would have to sleep with a horrible old woman. Confused he asks, “Why don’t you choose?” As the words leave his mouth the loathly lady changes into a beautiful young woman who describes the curse that has been placed on her. She must get her way for the spell to be broken. Gawain’s mental journey during this experience teaches him not to judge a book by its cover. Though the woman looked old and ugly she was not loathly inside. Once Gawain saw that, the curse was broken. Walter takes a mental journey too, from an extended childhood to adulthood. He also must enter an unfamiliar world, which in his case in his new house in a white community into which he will soon be moving. Gawain’s new environment is the married life of a man. Gawain, like Walter, had a call to adventure. Gawain’s call was the call of his King for help. Walter’s call was not so obvious; the call comes when the check was in the mail and later, when he learns his new child was on the way. Gawain has a helper, King Arthur, who helps by leading him to the Loathly Lady. Walter’s helper is Lena who helps Walter realize his weaknesses and strengths. Raisin is clearly a heroic journey because of follows than patters and characteristics of a typical Arthurian tale.

SILK ROAD CREATIVE ASSIGNMENT

Creative Writing:							Charlie Jackson Chi Preparation day 1: My name is Princess Chi Bei Zhou I am fourteen years old. My brother is 23. His name is Yang Bei Zhou. He is a courageous person. I am going to run away with him soon. We are running away from the Lords and Ladies in our town. They are mad with our father and now want to kill us. We are dressed as peasants. Yang Bei Zhou and I are trying to get to Damascus. Once we are there, our family who lives there will rename us. I know that it will be a hard journey, however, we must go. Luckily, we will have my horse, Awia. Yang is bringing his horse and my uncles horse incase one should die along the way. We have borrowed some of our good friend’s camels to hold our goods along the way, for we cannot carry it by ourselves. Our first stop will be Dunhuang. We will not buy much there, only enough food to last us a while. Only one person knows of our run, he is the good friend who lent us the camels. I cannot reveal his name incase the book should be lost. I care about his life and do not want it to be lost. Our last stop is Damascus. My brother will be a merchant along the way. This way, we can acquire money, food, and shelter. He only has a few goods now, for we could not bring much. We have enough to get us to Turfan. As I am here, I will tell of what I have packed. My mirror, compass, map, cloths, some of my jewels, some silk, some bamboo, some paper, lots of food, my horse, my camel, some dried fruits, a pen, a cantina for the water I shall need, some of my gold coin, and the one real thing that I leave behind is my name. I am no longer “princess” any more. I must close now; my brother has given me the signal from his room that we must leave.

So Long For Now,

Chi Bei Zhou

Chi Preparation day two:

My brother and I are going to run away tomorrow night. Our family is hated here and we must leave. First, we gave thanks to our ancestors for giving us our lives. We went to the tomb of the great King Han. As we walked up to his tomb, we saw many thousand soldiers. At first, I thought that they might try to make me go away. Then I hid behind my brother, I knew that he would protect me from anything that happened. After a while, I thought that the ancestors might think it rude that I was hiding from them. So I came out from behind Yang. Oh, what a sight I saw. Every soldier was as tall as a real man. They each had a different expression on their face. Each man had a different nose, mouth and eyes. It was just like looking at a real army, one that was not made out of clay. Then I saw the horses. They were beautiful. Everything was brightly colored. I could not believe all of the time that King Han put into his tomb. I wonder if my father might have done the same thing if he was on the throne at his death. After a while, I told Yang that I wanted to get this over with soon. I was scared that someone might catch us here. We went into the temple and prayed. As we were walking out, we saw our lives flash in front of our eyes. A man passed by and said, “Tonight, I heard that they are going to kill his children.” “You mean Chi and Yang?” “Yes, at the strike of three am, they are dead children.” At that we ran. We ran as fast as we could, back to the palace. Yang and I both knew that we were going to leave tonight. He came in, only five minutes ago and told me to sleep and not be afraid. He said that he would protect me whatever comes. Now I can sleep and feel safe. Must get to bed Chi Bei Zhou

Chi Day 2 on the Silk Road:

I have just had the best meal I suppose I shall have in a long time. We met a man along the road. He was wealthy, though, he wasn’t Chinese. He had many jewels around his neck and fingers. He invited us in for dinner. Yang was not so sure about going in, but he had to follow me after I went in after the man. He had servants giving him whatever he wanted at the snap of his fingers. O, how I miss Chinng, my dresser, she was very kind to me. I told her everything. She knew all of my deepest secrets. She was one of my only friends. Now, the only person I have is my brother. The man who invited us in was a very educated person. He taught me about different stars that the priest had not told me about. He told me how he had gotten this far. He had not been home in years. First, he lived in Rome. Then he took the Silk Road to Carrhae. He stayed there for a year and then moved on. Next, he stopped in Bukhara. After he got that far in his story, someone came and asked if they could have a little water for their horse. After he had given the person some water, he had forgotten where he was. Seeing as we were guests, it wasn’t our place to tell the story over for him. So, we thought of a new topic. This man knew so much I was amazed. After the night was over, Yang and I returned to our small tent and slept well, hoping that the next day would be as good as this.

Farewell, Chi

Chi Day 5. We are still on our way to Dunhuang. My brother says that it will take us close to a month. Once we are there, we leave again for Turfan. I cannot wait to see my family. The last time I took this trip, I was five years old. We went to see my Great Uncle who fled the family because he did not want to be a royal for the rest of his life. He will help us get new lives. King Han was my uncle’s good friend. After Uncle Huun ran away, many people of the King’s court turned against us. My father is in hiding. I am on the run with Yang. You may ask where my mother is. I never knew her. Yang says that she was very kind to everyone. He thinks that I have those jeans. She died in childbirth. I never even saw her. Anyway, Yang is cooking fish for dinner so I must go eat now.

Sleep Well, Chi

Chi Day 12.

I am sorry for not entering in this journal for so long. I have been having troubles, many of them. My horse, Awia, got ill for a day. We had to walk and now we are sixteen miles behind schedule. My brother is not mad at me. He rarely gets mad at me. These last days, he has not been so fearful. He has talked more to people we pass. He has not been mad with me for many a day. My next trouble was that I hurt my toes while we were walking. I tripped over a large root in the ground. This has caused us a delay of two miles. Over all, we are eighteen miles behind where we ought to be. One extra day of traveling. My brother and I camped by a river tonight. We will catch plenty of fish to cook for food. I don’t have much time now to write in this journal. I might now even write for an entire month, or so Yang says.

Must get rest, Chi Chi Day 25.

We are at the next city at last. I am excited to be at the next rest stop. We will buy better food for the next part of our journey. We will eat something other than fish for a while. Yang says that this will be the easiest part of our journey. There is always food and water available and there is nothing to worry about. He said that soon, water would be hard to find. We would have to bring it ourselves. Sometimes I was to turn around. I want to go home. I know that I cannot. My life is at stake and if I return home, I would die. Every night I pray to the ancestors that my father’s life would be saved as mine was. I hope that he is OK. Tomorrow, we will go to the market. We must buy some food there. Yang is eager to sell my silk. He says that it will give us more food and water to take on our journey. I think that I should use is for new clothes that I shall need soon. I cannot tell my brother though. He knows how to make this journey as easy as it can be, so I shall trust him. If he needs the silk, I shall gladly give it to him. I have never been to the market before. When we lived in the palace, the cooks got all the food that they needed. The clothes makers got all of the cloth that they needed. I barely left the palace. Sometimes, I would sneak out of the gates when the guards were not looking. Of course, someone always caught me. I only see my country from a chair. Carried by strong men. Father does not like me going into the market place though. He says that it is far too dangerous, bad people are everywhere. Three moons ago, we almost got lost. I was so scared. Our map was at the bottom of my sack. We could not find it. Then we almost left the road. I was looking for it all day, until I finally found it. I felt so embarrassed. But, I knew Yang would forgive me, he always does. Almost there! Chi

Chi Day 40.

We left Dunhuang some time ago. Since we left home, I feel more and more lonely. Yang is there for me, but I still miss Father and the others around the palace. Yang has noticed that I have been worrisome over the last month. He keeps telling me that I must not worry. He assured me that we are safe. I think that he is worried himself though. He was so busy telling me why I should not worry that he wandered off the road. Soon I noticed the mountains that we were passing getting closer. I told Yang what I had noticed. He started to look worried. Luckily, we had not wandered to far away from the trail. In one hour, we were back on the road we knew. Yang told me about a dream he had. It was about the lantern festival. I remember that lantern festival. There were bright colors everywhere. People were happy. They danced and sung. There were huge lanterns in the shape of dragons. That is my favorite type. When I first held a lantern, I was seven years old. I begged my father for months to let me do so. He was not going to let me hold a lantern until I was ten years old. But I am still afraid of fire. Yang must make the fire every night. Last night, however, I made the fire my self. Yang was very close by so if I panicked, he would help. I did not. He said that he was very proud of me.

Must go					Chi

Chi Day 106.

Yesterday, Yang convinced me to sell some of my silk. I brought the silk to make clothes for us. He said is I did not sell it; we would have fine clothes, but no food. This frightened me, so I agreed to sell some of it. Yang made me promise that if we needed it again, I would sell more because we need everything we can get. We also sold my camel. He will be in a good home now I made sure of that. We sold it to a man selling silk. I do not know much else; Yang was talking to him most of the time. Yang does most of the work. I do not mind though, he probably does a better job of it. I could never get good prices. I would never sell my horse and silk. I guess that it is all for the better. While he is doing the work, I go and look at the scenery. I love to look at the different colors of all of the mountains and all of the different types of trees. Yang sometimes looks and when he does, he studies it. He does not enjoy everything. I am glad that we are walking now. It gives me more time in the daylight to enjoy what we are passing. Yang wonders why I love to look at trees and flowers and mountains. I told him that these things we not at the palace. Most of them, I have never seen before.

Good Bye Chi

Chi Day 137

We left Kucha a day ago. While we were staying in Kucha, I had a good dream. It was more like a memory. This is how it went: I was in the palace. I got bored as I usually did. This time, I wanted to go to the springs. I asked my Father. He said that I had just gone two days ago and now was to soon to go again. My ladies maids said they must have the permission of my Father to leave the palace with me. So, I ran away. I ran to the springs. I jumped in with all of my clothes on. I loved the cool water all around me. For and hour or so, I was just in the springs alone. Then, my father came. He was mad!! He brought me back home and I had to stay in the palace for an entire week just because I ran away. Just as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom, I woke up.

I still love the springs. I shall miss them as much as I will miss Father and the Lantern Festival. Only for a year shall I miss the Lantern Festival. I hear, that it is celebrated in Damascus too. I am going to be overjoyed when we get to Damascus. I will meet family who will take care of Yang and I. Father use to talk about his brother and the rest of the family over there. He said that they were the kindest people in the world. They would let anyone into their house. My only worry about that is, how will we know who they are. They do not know that we are coming, I think. We know where their house is. That is all we know. When we get to Kashgar, Yang is going to sell more of our goods. He does not know what he is going to sell until he gets there, with a few exceptions. While Yang is busy every night selling and cooking, I look at the stars. The man, who we ate with on the second night, saw how interested in the stars I was. He gave me a map. I have not told Yang about this map because I know that it is worth some money. I never want to sell this map. Sometimes, it is the only thing I have to keep myself from being bored. My feet are getting very tired over the days. I am wondering if we are every going to get to Damascus. Yang never loosed confidence. He is sure that we will be in the hands of our elders soon. I wish that I could believe that too. You see, Yang does not know that I over heard his conversation with the star man. He told Yang that it was a dangerous path. He said that we have to be very careful seeing our age. Someone could easily trick us. That is why I am scared. I have not told Yang. I do not want him to worry about me on top of all the other things that he is worrying about now. I must eat dinner now Chi Chi Day 160

Tomorrow, we are expected to leave to go to Bukhara. Right now, we are in Samarkand. Our next journey is going to take about twenty days. We will be walking three hours every day. When I look at a map, Damascus seems so close. When you are actually making the journey it is so much further. I cannot believe that 160 days ago, I found out that someone was going to murder me. Now, I am still alive, and healthy, and happy. So is Yang. The only time that he got hurt was when a man got mad at me, and the strange man threw a pebble at him. It did not hurt him much. We have not gotten hurt yet. I think that the man with the star map was wrong. Nothing bad has happened to us yet. I hope that it never will. Yang and I are best friends now. He has protected me and taught me things I would have never learned at the palace. I hope that I have helped him too. I am not sure that I have though. In Bukhara, we must buy food and lots of water. After Bukhara, it is desert until Antioch. Yang is going to sell all of our horses and but more camels. Camels do not need as much water as horses do, so we will not need to spend more money on water. I did not know that until Yang told me yesterday. I do not want to sell Awia. She has been a friend of mine since I got her when I was four. We use to take long walks together along the river. She would eat the grass on the riverbank as we went. One time, a forgot to tell Father I was going on a ride, I was gone for two hours. Father sent all of the guards looking for me, and then I came back. He thought that it was funny. My father thought that something was funny. I was so surprised!! Today we met a man. He was a storyteller. He told us many stories about different things. My favorite went like this:

There was a mother with her three children living in the forest. One day, the mother left to see her mother, the children’s grandmother. After she had left, a wolf came up to the house. He knocked two times on the door. He told the children that he was their grandmother. He went to the bed to lie down. The eldest of the children noticed that this “grandmother” was a wolf. He told his younger siblings and they made a plan to kill the wolf. They told the wolf that wanted him to taste the barriers that were in the tree. They tied a rope to a basket and climbed the tallest tree they could. After they got to the top, they told the wolf to get into the basket so they could pull him up to the barriers. The wolf got into the basket. The children pulled him to the top and let go. They did this several times until the wolf was dead. After the wolf was dead, the children ran into the house to wait for the return of their mother.

This was my favorite story because it showed child power. It was very interesting the way that the man told it to us. He filled it with empathy and color. Yang liked another story about getting two of everything. I did not like that story because it does not teach a lesson or even have action in it. I must go.

Challenged in the wilderness, Chi

Chi Day 165

We are on the road to Bukhara. The hardest part of the journey is yet to come. Until then, we just have to keep on walking. I still look at the stars every night. I have had to add onto that map. I have found others that are not there. Sometimes, at night, I make grass baskets. Yang says that they might be useful sometime. I just like the way that they look. Plus, they are a good way to spend your time usefully. I like to sit by the river and just weave. I cannot wait till I have something else to do, other than weave, look at stars, and write. Sometimes, I just sleep all day. Yang looks a little annoyed when I do, but I am tired.

Extra tired today Chi

Chi Day 210

We are well on our way to Antioch. We only have camels now. Awia is gone with all of the other horses. We are walking about 2/3 of the way. That is about three months because walking is slower. Then for one month, we are going to ride our camels. Yang seems more and more tired over the trip. He goes to sleep earlier. We are moving just at the right speed though. We are right on schedule. We have not met anyone very interesting, no one like the star man. I miss houses. I miss beds. I do not think that I will ever sleep in a tent again, ever! I hope the homes in Damascus are just like the ones back home. I remember the insides of them from when I was two, but not much more than that. In Bukhara, Yang sold more of my silk. He bought some carpets from an elderly man. He was very kind to me. He gave me some food to eat.

Tired Chi

Chi Day 276

We have been on the road to Antioch for a long while now. We are still walking. We have been walking forever. I have weaved twenty-seven baskets since we started. Yang wants me to stop for we will run out of room on our camels. Now, I do not weave by the river. We are in the desert. Any water around is in the well at the bottom of a long hole. My patience is running out. I want to look at trees like I use to. Yang is very quiet these days. He does not like to talk. Or maybe, it is the conversations I try to have with him he does not like. We have run out of things to talk about. Yang still protects me and is very kind to me. Sometimes I wonder about my mother. Yang says that I am just like her. He is the only person who talks about her. Father does not like to talk about it. All I have are dreams,

Chi

Chi Day 324

Last night I met a man while I was traveling, he sold little worms. He called them silk worms. They are used to make silk hence the name silk worms. The man was selling them because he was very poor. He had no money to raise these worms. I wanted to buy them from this man, but I could not. I would have to live near by to raise these worms. He said I would have to feed them often. I would need to have men picking their food off of the trees. After he said this, I told him that I could not buy his worms. He seemed disappointed. He told me that I had probably made a wise decision considering my age. I hate it when people treat me like I am five years old. I do not look like that. Maybe he was trying to hide his disappointment. Now that I think of that, I feel guilty. His family has no money. I should have bought those worms, even if I could not take care of them.

Feeling Guilty Chi

Chi Day 399

In eighteen days, we will be in Antioch. I cannot wait. I know that I say that a lot, but I am jumpy just thinking about it. After we get there, there is only a ten-day ride to Damascus. I hope that we are happy in Damascus. I sometimes dream that people are there to take us away. When I wake up, I am panting and worried. My heart starts to race at just the thought of someone being there. When I ask Yang if he is scared, he thinks for a minute and then says, fear is not in my vocabulary. Some times, I see it in his eyes. When I see that, I become afraid. We are going to stay is Antioch for 40 days after we get there. I think it is because Yang is afraid that someone will be looking for us in Damascus. I do not dare ask though. Sometimes, I dream about what Damascus will be like to live in. I wonder if I will have friends. I wonder if someone will teach me how to cook and sow. I also dream about what my uncle does for a living. If he is a farmer, or a merchant, or even a priest. I dream about what their house looks like. Weather it is big or small. Tall or short. Cozy or cold. Dreaming and Wondering Chi

Chi Day 457 Tonight is our last night in Antioch. We have been here for an entire 40 days. I have found secret places around the village, like the one behind the big fern and the little, little house. And the one in the market, behind the fish stand and in between the vegetable and the carpet stands. From these places, you can watch anybody, but they cannot see you. One time, I actually watched Yang buy supper. When he came back I asked what was for supper, then I made a ‘guess.’ Of course, I already knew that the answer was right but Yang could not figure out how I had known. We have stayed in this town long enough to miss it when we leave. Oh, I must tell why we are leaving tomorrow. You see, while I was in my hiding place at the market, some soldiers passed by. They stopped right in front of me and started talking. “ No one has seen the children here either,” said the first soldier “They might have died on the Silk Road, the girl, she was only what 14?” Said the second. “She had her older brother, Yang, he is 21” “ They ran away together?” “Yes, and they will be here any day now,” said the first soldier, “and we will be waiting to take them back home.” After that, I ran as fast as I could to go tell Yang. He decided that we were going to leave the next night when no one could see us. The soldiers would be sleeping with the rest of the town. After we leave, it is only and ten day trip to Damascus. Then we will be safe for sure.

Worried and scared, Chi Chi Day 469

We are HOME at last. We met our Uncle Huun and his wife. They are delightful people. They were so kind and welcoming to us. We told them our whole story. Uncle Huun laughed and said ‘that’s royalty.’ He does not like royals at all. We are officially no longer royalty. It feels really nice too. My new Aunt will act like a mother and Uncle Huun is like a father to me. I am going to learn all of the things that the other girls learn. Soon, I will be just like one of them. Uncle Huun still has not told us his profession, but is house is fabulous. It is just what I hoped for, cozy and warm. I have new brothers and sisters, but I do not remember all of their names yet. I have my own room in my Uncle’s house. I can get food in the kitchen whenever I want. It is a dream come true for me!!

Chi

FINDING QUEEN HASPUT'S TOMB: ANCIENT EGYPT CREATIVE WRITING

Hatsheput’s Tomb?

By Charlie Jackson

Last week, I went to Cairo Egypt with the wife of the famous archeologist, Evan Micheals. Dr. Micheals just found a new tomb that could possible be the tomb of Hatsheput (1490-1460 B.C.E)          Hatsheput was a famous Egyptian queen. She was a regent (a person who steps in for a young king/queen while he/she grows up) at first. When she had to give up the throne, she refused. Since she was queen, no one could make her step down. Her stepson, the to-be King Thutmose, hated her! He wanted Queen Hatsheput to be dead so he, the real King could become one. As I got off of the plane, Evan Micheals himself greeted me. He looked dirty. His hair was messy. His shirt was covered with dirt. He was smiling, though, he was happy. When we got to the site, he showed me to my tent. I was going to be staying with three other women. All of them were archeologists. I asked them what they had found if they had found anything. The first woman, who would prefer not to be named, told me that she had found a pot with Thutmose’s face on it. Another woman, Christen LeAnn, found a little kitchen that usually made bread for all of the workers. The third woman, named Anglia Micheals, had found a house, probably for a person of upper class. However, teams of archeologists helped to dig these items out of the ground. After I had gotten to know the people in my tent, I went and talked to Dr. Micheals. He told me that he was taking a walk and tripped over a rock. The rock turned out not to be just a rock, but the first step of many leading down a small tunnel, which then leaded to the new tomb. After uncovering the first seven steps, Dr. Micheals called in another team of archeologists. They uncovered over 150 steps leading down to a small room (17ft by 18ft), which was called the entry room. After telling me this story, he invited me to go and see it. I walked into the small entry room. Then I walked down a very narrow hallway. It must have been only two feet wide. The hallway looked like it went on forever. At the end, all you could see was never ending darkness. The tunnel shortened as you walked down it. At one point, I was crouching down. When the tunnel finally ended, we entered a bigger room. This room was empty. Dr. Micheals told me that when they found this room, it was filled with statues, jewels and other object that the person would need in the afterlife. Dr. Micheals lead me through a small door. At the other side was the most important thing in the whole project. The sarcophagus. The sarcophagus held the mummy. By taking DNA samples, scientist can figure out who the mummy is. Another way is to take samples, x-rays, and pictures of the mummy’s face. By using computers, scientist can put a computerized face of the mummy on the computer screen. However, to do this, you need special permission from the government. When I was there, Dr. Micheals was applying for that permission. We walked back out of the tomb. Dr. Micheals told me, “all that happens here [at the base] is all done by the government. They finance and they give the OK to do something.” He told me that they had to be careful with what they did because the government could withdraw permission to dig at any time. As soon as I was back at the base I went to go and see some of the objects that had been found inside of the tomb. Everything was labeled. First, I looked at the things that had been found in the burial room. As I looked, one thing caught my eye. There was a wooden boat off to the side. AT first, I thought they lived one the Nile, so a boat would be understandable. How wrong I was!!! The boat was there to move the body from where he/she was being mummified to where they were being buried. The same boat was supposed to take them to the afterlife when the person was in the tomb. Next, I looked at some jewelry. There were al sorts of things there. There were earrings as small as a four staples and as large as a hand. All of the necklaces were big. The were all at least one foot long. The Egyptians also wore foot jewelry. Ankle bracelets and toe rings. All of them were really beautiful. Brightly colored with small pictures of the gods.

Then I went back to my tent. It had been a long day. When I woke up the next morning, I ran to catch my plane. On the way home, Dr. Micheals called me. “ We found it,” he told me very proudly. “ What?” I asked. “Hatsheput’s tomb.”

OUTLINE OF PEDICULOSIS AKA LICE: ENGLISH

Pediculosis

I. Pediculosis II. Definition A. Pediculosis—an infestation of lice B. Louse- a sluggish arthropod that lives and feeds off of plants and animals III. Looks A. three legs B. antennas C. Females larger than males. IV. Causes A. Physical contact with an infested person B. Sharing personal items with an infested person 1. Clothes 2. Brushes 3. Bedding V. Treatment A. Medicated shampoos B. Medicated lotions 1. Most lotions stay on for 10-60 minutes at a time once a day. 2. Body louse used the lotions C. Medicated Creams 1. Generally stay on infested areas for 10-20 minutes and then are washed off. 2. For body louse only D. Haircut 1. Lice may return 2. Lice has a better chance of returning VI. Conclusion