This week we finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This iconic novel was incredibly well written. Although the plot angered me, the poetry in Fitzgerald’s writing keeps you from putting it down. Nevertheless, the fact that it brought out such a strong emotion in me in itself shows the artistry in the work. Furthermore, this was a very different story. It was not predictable, and one could connect with and understand every single character. From Nick’s dad’s advice, to the memorable line at the end, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” I will remember this book and recommend it to everyone; it is simply a must.

Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925

A fashion designer named Aamna Aqeel’s conducted a photoshoot with the theme “Be My Slave”. The photo was published in a Pakistan magazine named Diva, which depicted a dark-skinned child attending to the needs of a white model dressed in her clothes by holding an umbrella and other actions. Many people have found the images to be repulsive and racist considering it is a dark-skinned person and a child at that. It seems to also represent child labor which is definitely not acceptable. there has been many cases that involve photo shoots that exhibit racist aspects. I can relate this to another story whose theme was African Queen and instead of using an African-American women, they used a white women and made her skin darker. I think it’s pretty crazy how they come up with these photoshoot ideas and don’t think much of how they will be perceived. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Caleb “Kai” McGillvary helped a California utility worker by using a hatchet to help defend the man from being attacked. He became an iternet celebrity overnight and was then nicknamed the ‘Hatchet Hitchhiker’. He is now being  charged with  murdering a New Jersey lawyer that he had met and befriended in Times Square New York. He was arrested at a Philadelphia bus station and now has a $3 million bail. Joseph Galfy Jr, the lawyer, was found dead two days later in his home after he had last talked to McGillvary. McGillvary made the allegation that he was raped on his Facebook page a day before he was arrested. This story is very interesting. He went from being this famous guy and saving someones life to now murdering someone and being arrested. I predict he will be in jail for a long time based on the bail set. – Aaliyah M.

The Amanda Berry kidnapping  is ridiculous. Its crazy to know that a man has been holding her and another women in his home. Its also crazy to know that he kidnap his daughter’s friends. They say that he may have been watching them while his daugther hung out with them. Its crazy to know that he would do something like that to these girls especially since they were his own children’s friends. He didnt thinkof how it would effect the friends and their relationship. Ten years is a very long time to hold someone captive in the basement of their home. He not only held them there but he abused them. One of his daugthers said that he had a history of abusing their mother or his wife. He denied that claim but also said that he made sure they were covered up and was very over protective. I predict that he will suffer very big consequences from this for the simple fact that he raped them and held them captive. There is a possibility he may receive the death penalty but they are not sure yet.  -Aaliyah M.

In perfect flaws Holden received a letter from Amelia Howard.  Amelia tells Holden how she found his letter on the side of the beach.  She tells him how they do not have the same group of friends and how that may be the reason to why they have never personally met.  Throughout the letter Amelia tells Howard how she has been in a similar situation. Howard also finds out that her cousin was his brothers best friend.  Amelia tells Howard “For what you said, I haven’t really got anyone there, for me all the time.” From this inbox/letter I can predict that Howard and Amelia will end up meeting in real life one day.  I can predict that they may end up getting to know each other better and that they will be able to be there for each other.  Everyone needs a friend at times no matter what situation they are in good or bad, and that may be what Amelia will be for Howard just a friend that the will need.

Holden is an 18 year old male who had recently lost his brother. Holden lost his brother in a car crash and refuses to be in a car or to drink at any party because of it.   He does not know how to cope with it well, so he decides to write letters and throw them into the ocean.  He writes a letter where he quotes his brother saying “Even if you don’t believe in yourself, there’s always someone there, waiting to help you.” In the same letter he says that he’s trying to find that person that is waiting to help him, but that he can not find that person.  From the letter I can see that Holdens’ brother was the only person he had to tell all him problems to.  Which makes me connect it to my life, because when my brother went away to school I felt alone.  I trusted him with everything and he would give me advice on what my next move should be.  Like Holden I to feel alone and like I have no one to talk to when I need someone to talk to the most.

In this section of the story is an exchange of emails between Holden and Jamie.  Holden talks to Jamie about the valentine’s party that went on a couple of nights before, and they talk about how his ex-girlfriend went and she was just standing there watching everyone.  That when Holden says “Dude I don’t know how you went out with her. She’s creepy!” Jamie responds by saying that he thought that he was high when they went out and that the chick didn’t like valentines day. Both Holden and Jamie are being nasty/mean towards the female that they are talking about.  You can connect this to everyday life, because people talk about people daily and they do not care if they hurt their feeling or not.  From an early age we are taught to not do unto others what we would not want done unto us, but it does not stick to everyone.  Some words hurt people more than others think and karma will get them sooner or later is what they should know.

In this article a marine was convicted of rape then later walk without prison time. When a 23-year-old woman accused Nicholas Howard, an Anchorage recruiter for the United States Marine Corps, of sexually assaulting her in 2011, police believed the case rested largely on DNA evidence. Mr. Howard the  former gunnery sergeant once in charge of the Marine Corps recruiting efforts in Alaska was found guilty of first-degree sexual assault at a military trial on a Marine Corps installation in San Diego on May 3. He was later stripped of his military rank and privileges and dishonorably discharged, but he was not sentenced to any jail time. Military prosecutors had asked for five to seven years, said APD detective Brett Sarber, who testified at the trial with another Anchorage detective and a forensic nurse. My prediction after reading this article is that this will not be the frist time we will hear of things like this, because the marines have been known for accusation of rape by its soldiers

In this article a soldier was awarded the silver star medal which is the third highest military decoration for valor, this medal has only been awarded to 40 Marines for their  actions in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Daniel W. Ridgeway became one of those members to receive the silver star medal for his brave action. Staff Sgt. Ridgeway received because he risk his life in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Ridgeway  award citation reads that he cleared a 40-meter path on his hands and knees to a fellow Marine after the team member was struck by an explosive device. He treated his fellow  Marine’s wounds and turned him over to a corpsman for continued care. Ridgeway then began clearing a 100-meter by 100-meter landing zone so his team member could be evacuated. Once his team member was evacuated, Ridgeway’s unit came under fire. He continued to clear more paths for his team and disarmed five more improvised explosive devices. through those brave action he in the eyes of others was saw as a person who should receive the medal. My prediction after reading this article i believe that many other soldiers will put the life on the line for their country and fellow soldiers.