READING RESPONSE ON POETRY

Would you kill for a brand new pair of shoes? No, I don’t mean metaphorically, I mean literally. Would you kill someone for a new pair of shoes? In the poem, “Please Don’t Take My Air Jordans” by Reg e. Gaines, this is what the main character does. This poem is about a boy who feels the need to get new sneakers because his are torn out. But he doesn't have enough money for them, so decides to get them a different way. He decides to kill a kid and take his shoes. This poem shows that kids mostly care about style, and what other people think of them.

In the poem the boy who wants to get new air Jordans says, 

“but I really must get some new gear soon

or my ego will pop like a ten cent balloon

but security’s tight at all the shops

every day there are more and more cops”

From this we can see that this boy cares more about his “ego” than what would happen to him if he stole. Stealing is against the law, but he is willing to do it just to keep his reputation. This shows that this kid mostly cares about style, and will do anything to stay in style, including stealing.

I think this is a big deal going around nowadays. Kids feel as though they need to do certain things just to fit in and to be popular, in this case, have a new pair of shoes, just to fit in.

            Since security is tight at the shops, the boy decides instead of stealing from a store, he will steal from a person. He finds shoes that he likes on a guy and follows him till no one is around, then “POW,” he shoots him then runs away with his shoes.

 “the very next day I bopped into school

with my brand new air jordans man I was cool

I killed to get them but hey… I don’t care

cuz now… I needs a new jacket to wear”

This shows that the kid mostly cares about style, because he doesn't care that he killed someone, plus we can tell he is planning to kill someone again for his jacket. Overall the boy cares more about getting new shoes, then ending someone’s life.

Another example is when the boy shoots his victim:

“while laying there dyin all he could say was

please…don’t take my air jordans away…”

This shows that the boy who got shot for his shoes, cares more about his shoes being stolen than dying. You would think getting shot would make you worried about yourself, but instead he is worried about his shoes.

After reading this poem, I realized that there are more important things in life than wearing the latest fashion or brand. I think kids should also stop worrying about fitting in, and be themselves even though they’re not wearing the newest shoes or the latest jacket.

Reading Response 3rd Marking Period

Everyone has goals in life. A goal can be from getting a good grade on a test, to wanting to be famous someday. In the book “The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriquez” by Alan Lawrence Stomer, Sonia’s goal is to be the first one in her family to graduate from high school, and go to college, so she can pay back her dad for everything he has done for her and her family. Sonia’s dad jumped the border to get to the United States. He went through a lot just so he could provide a better life for his children. Because of this Sonia feels the need to pay him back. So far from reading this book I think the main idea is that having a goal in life can push you through anything.

Sonia has a lot of work to do around the house, “I cook, I clean, I mop, I sweep, I shine, I bake, I dust, I do laundry, change diapers, wipe countertops, and scrub the groopy grime off the tile floor in the shower, I even do windows.” As you can see this is a lot to do everyday. Plus she has to do homework, which keeps her up late everynight. From reading this book I have noticed that no one in her family is very thankful about all the hard work Sonia does around the house. They think that since she is a girl she is supposed to do it. Sonia’s mom is pregnant with her 8^th child, and expects Sonia to take care of the younger children, and do everything the mother asks her to do. Her brother sits on the coach all day eating Oreo’s and bossing Sonia around. Her uncle is always drunk and expects Sonia to clean him up. And her aunt thinks Sonia worshopes the devil because she doesn’t do her chores on time. So why does Sonia keeps doing them? Because she knows one day when she is out of the house and graduates college she will get a job so she can pay her dad back, but for now she has to go through rough chores at home. This shows the main idea because Sonia is pushing through her hard time at home, because she know one day she will graduate college and have a better life.

Another way Sonia’s goal pushes her through life, is with a boy she met at the pet store, she likes the boy, but knows she will not concentrate on school work if she keeps seeing him. And if she does not concentrate on school work she will never graduate. “I couldn’t risk having the stupid boy distract me from my goals. He’d really fuzzed up my brain for a few days, and I didn’t have time for that anymore…boys were absolutamente out of the picture for me.” As you can see Sonia is taking her goal very seriously. She is putting boys out of the picture, even though she really likes this one.

Overall the main idea of having a goal in life can push you through anything shows when Sonia’s pushes through her rough time at home, and when she decides not to see a boy she likes anymore. From reading this book I have realized that having a goal is a great idea, and decided that I want to make a goal for my life.