Pick a character you are interested in and spend some time writing about them. Who do they remind you of in your own life? Why? Try and use specific references to events in the book and your own life. What do you think of the decisions they have made up to this point? Do you like this person? What advice would you give them? Who else do they remind you of from other literature you have read or other characters in movies, television shows and other texts from popular media? Share some links to these things on the blog.
OR
Use all the dialogue this character has spoken or any narrative passage describing or related to the character and create a word cloud using wordle (http://www.wordle.net/). Post your cloud to the blog and describe what you think the cloud reveals about the character, the story and the larger ideas, themes and issues it is dealing with.
Example of a Wordle:
TBUR5
(jlad7)
ReplyDeleteMelba reminds me of my sister. In the story, Melba is beaten down, spat upon, and been called horrible names, but she never gave up hope that the world would change. My sister wasn't beaten or anything like that, but she has had some things happen and she always tried to fix them no matter what the situation was. My sister has made good decisions up to this point. She's going off to college in August. I love my sister. I can't think of anyone else that she reminds me off of the top of my head.
krizz5- Grandmother India reminds me of my uncle. He does what ever it takes to keep us protected. Yet at the same time he's sweet and sensitive. My uncle always knows what to do and takes charge. He has this calmness about him and always knows the right thing to do. For example, when I hurt myself while I was camping he acted calm about it and helped me. I wouldn't have any advice to my uncle because he's the one that tells me great advice. Grandmother India reminds me of Big Momma in the movie "Big Momma's House". Grandmother India takes charge and so does Big Momma. They are both loving, yet very strict. Grandmother India also reminds me of this bobsledding couch in the movie "Cool Runnings". They both have that sense of authority and they care for the one's that are close to them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208003/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/
mfea2 says......
ReplyDeleteif i had to pick a character it would be melba, because she is one stupid brave little girl who really dont care what happens to her. something bad is always happening to her and she gets treated real terrible by the teachers which makes the students act the way they do. Melba reminds me of my sister because she wont fight back or she doesnt care what anyone has to say about her. there smooth decisions but must pick up on the small mistakes and keep it moving. she is crazy for still going there but also brave. i love this character but she needs to get tough. to keep her mind high and to never give up. she just reminds me of the way my sister acts. she ask to many qoustions.
TBUR5
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3361704/Warriors_Don%27t_Cry
I choose the dialogue of the white students in Central High when the nine African American Students came in. I think this dialogue show that even the parents in the south made their children beive that the African American kids were bad, also why would they just say that the Black people stink, anybody and everybody has the ability to stink. This is showing ignorance(lack of knowledge) on the white peoples' part.
I Am Interested In Melba's Grandmother India. She Is Smart, Honest And I Think She's A True Warrior. She Does Everything She Can To Protect Her Family, And Thats Why She Reminds Me Of My Great-grandmother. She Always Tells Melba To Be Strong And Not To Let Every Little Thing Get To Her Because Eventually Everything She Is Doing Will Pay Off. I Like Melba's Grandmother And How She Always Tells Her That God Is With Her. If I Was To Give The Characters In This Book Advice I Would Tell Them To Keep On Trying And Never Stop Believing.
ReplyDeleteMDyb2
ReplyDeleteSo far in this book the character who stood out the most to me would have to be Melba. Melba reminds me of a few of my friends in real life because they are willing to try different things as well as Melba. They also do outragous things such as climb on rails and crazy things that could hurt them. Melba risks her life to try to have intergration happen, she does this everyday, but my friends only do these crazy things sometimes. when Melba and those 8 other kids go to a new school they get harrased and basically judged by the way that they look. in real life that happens too, when someone goes to a new school they are judged but then they try to make themselfs be better than who they look like and what they sound like. The decisions that the charaters in this book have made really surprised me, because i thought that they would be at least more understanding and a lot less brutle torward Melba and her friends. I like Melba because she isnt afraid to stand up for what she believes in, and she is willing to risk her life for everyone else! If i were in this book and could give her any advise at all i would tell her to never give up and to keep going because of her and her other friends the world changed for the better!
SHEL5
ReplyDeleteMelba reminds me of my friend Kari's mom, Barb. Barb reminds me of Melba because Melba will not give up, she fights in what she believes in. Melba never cries no matter how hard her life gets. Barb will fight for anything she wants, and does not give up until she gets it, Melba is the same way. I think that the decisions that Melba have made so far, and wise choices. I don't think i could have done it any better. Even when white people would treat her rude, and unkind she did not loose her temper. I love Melba, she is my favorite character, and if i could give her advice i would tell her to stay strong, and to keep doing whats she's doing. Be strong now because things will get better, it might be stormy now, but it cant rain forever. Melba also reminds me of Dick Hoyt, because he wanted to accomplish his sons goal, because he could not do it himself. He fought no matte how hard the challenge was, he did it with his son and would not give up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ackHJcFW0&feature=relmfu
jval5
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3366780/warriors_dont_cry
The cloud reveals that grandma is a strong person and that she is one of the reasons that Melba is still alive. She is Melba's "protector" and she has the help of god behind her. Grandma cares deeply about her family and will do anything to protect them. She gives good advice and is an extremely helpful person with problems.
Atri
ReplyDeletePeriod 2:
A character in the book that reminds me of someone in my life would have to be Melba. She reminds of quite a few people in my life. She's brave she has courage she's smart and she doesn't give up. I like how she has perserverence I like that no matter how bad she was treated by people she didn't give up she still walked back in central high with her head held up and being more brave then ever. I look up to her because she resembles a courageous warrior. My advice to Melba is just stay strong and keep fighting
Jmer6
ReplyDeleteThe person I look up to the most is the mother lois, she a very brave women for letting her child have her freedom and fight for what right. Although she still stands by Melba and supports her she's a good mother and will do anything to protect her child. So that's why I look up to her.
ghow5
ReplyDeleteThe charater that grabs my attention is Melba. Melba tries her best to stay strong during the worst situation. She pushes aside her feelings because she believes it will benefit others. For example in the book Melba recieves a call from who she thought was her 'dream boyfriend' Vince. The angry man was a white man calling saying I know where you live and were gonna get you tonight etc. Mela decided it would be best to stay strong and pretend like nothing happen so that she would not cause more stress onto her family. I like the fact thats she has integrity. She thinks about things as it happens and holds back her tears. My advice would be to think about the future instead of the present. In a way Melba changed the world along with the other nine students and thats because she stays focused on the future.
lpay2:my favorite character is the grandmother because she is soo brave and encouraging.the granmother reminds me of my mom because my mom always have something encouraging to say.i think that the grandma is trying to keep melba safe by not letting her go through the things she goes through in central high.yes i do.
ReplyDelete(sbra6)
ReplyDeleteMelba is the character that I find interesting. She really pops out in the book for her hard work and her bravery. She tries to stop her self from yelling back at teachers so she doesn't get in trouble or even killed. She definitly shows courage in this book too. My advice for Melba would be stay as strong as you are and don;t let anyone push you down. She definitly shows strength and integreity during the whole story so far and I hope she keeps it up. She has changed history with her fellow class mates.
(NNAG6)
ReplyDeleteThe character in the book, Melba, reminds me of my mom. Both Melba and my mom have a strong soul and can overcome a fear or obstacle they are faced with in their life. For example, Melba slowly but surely worked through her fear of integrating in Central High School. My mom had to overcome losing her job in such a bad economy. I think Melba is such an inspirational person because no matter how many times she was told she wasn't worth it, or told she wouldn't make it in life, she strived to the best of her ability to prove the people that told her she wouldn't succeed that they were wrong.
mnos5-
ReplyDeleteThe character of Melba is the one who I can relate to the most. She is a young girl who has a lot of guidance in her life with the help of her family. However, she does get scared and doesn't have a perfect life. I can relate to her because of those things. For example, Melba doesnt ever get violent with anyone. She just takes in everything that happens to her and never does anything about it. If it was me, say when that teacher slaped her and then spit in her face and all she did was walk away, I would have done the same thing. I would never have the courage to stand up to that teacher or want to start a scene. Personally I agree with the decitions she has made so far involving that, because if she had done something it would only cause more trouble. If possible, i would tell Melba to stay strong because nothing last forever and hard work is always rewarded.
dqui2
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3375109/Untitled
i picked these words because these are words that melba lived with everyday of her life. growing up for her was tough and being called a nigger on a daily bases must of hurt her. i know when i hear these words it bothers me. i get called white girl all the tme and even being called that is hurtful. i cant imagine how she went threw this.
rbaj5
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/3375628/cloud
my cloud is about grandma. it shows who she is and what shes like. it shows who she is to her family and how she helps them.
Atri2
ReplyDelete@ghow6
I completely agree with you. Melba is most definitely one of the strongest people in this book. She puts Others before her and that's really inspiring. Regardless of how tough a situation may be she still stays very strong, and I think your advice for her about thinking about the future is really good, and true
(Shas7)
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick one character in this book that reminds me of someone I would have to say Melba reminds me of my little cousin Brianna. I don't tell her this but my cousin in my eyes is very strong. Just like Melba she gets made fun of because of something she has no control over. My cousin gets mad fun of because of the way she looks, acts, and talks. While Melba gets made fun of the color of her skin. Till this day I hate the way people mistreat my cousin. But I'm no where near perfect because everyone makes fun of other people for their differences. Melba, and Brianna go on with their lives with their differences and don't use them as a disadvantage but as something that makes them another step ahead of everyone else in being their own person.
Melba reminds me of my Aunt because even though she wants to give up sometimes, she keeps moving forward for what she believes in.
ReplyDeleteresponding to... mfea2
ReplyDeleteI disagree that Melba is stupid. I agree with he fact that she needs to "get tough". But she has been at the school and hasn't backed down. I consider that to be a real warrior. Everyone has those regrets and fears but she did not give up. Melba is still at the school and fighting for integration.
kriz5-
ReplyDeleteghow5 said that Melba and the Little Rock Nine should focus on the future. I disagree, and agree. I think that Melba and the others should focus on the present times and be careful about what they say and react to discrimination. They need to watch each step they make because one wrong one could lead to a riot. Melba is risking her life to go to Central High and so are the others. They should look forward to a future of peace and equality. They should stay determined and focus on the present time.
DVoy6
ReplyDeleteA character in the book that sticks out to me is Melba's grandmother. she reminds me of how my grandmother used to be. My grandmother would always protect me and be there for me. She would always give me good advice and teach me how to be smarter. Melba's grandmother always protected her with the gun Mr.higgenbottom and would not let melba out of the house no matter what. She would also give melba good afvice and make her smarter. She told melba whenever a white kid made fun of her to use reverse physicology on them and then they would stop.
I agree with atri2 Melba is nice girl who thinks and cares about people more than herself. Melba is a hero to alot of people out there and she will always be remembered as the girl who change civilization to the better.
ReplyDeleteKCHA7- In this story both Melba and her Grandmother stick's out to me because there both strong. The remind me of my mother and grandmother, because their bond is so tight and they truly care for one another with great compassion. The grandmother would always try to be there for Melba no matter what which is how my grandmother is to my mother.
ReplyDeleteMMYE6-in the story Grandma india reminds me of my grandma. she does because shes very strong hearted and shes always there for Melba. Just like my grandma is always there for me. Like when Melba just wants to give up and quit her grandma is always there for her no matter what. Like the one day i just wanted to quit at everything and not do it anymore but i kept going because my grandma was by my side at all times. So i think Melba should just keep on going and work through because i know that she can get through it.
ReplyDeleteRWIL5
ReplyDeleteI like Melba's grandma cause she would do anything to protect her family, just as my dad would do for me. Love ya dad.