Essay #6

                                                                       Surprised;
                                               An Essay About the Kids Being Astonished

                                                                An Essay by Hanna Rose
                                                                           11.1.10

                                                                           English 8b


Jem and Scout are so shocked when Atticus picks up a rifle and shot the mad dog on his first try.The children don't know what to think, they are wondering why Atticus didn't tell them. They also wonder why he has never taught them how to shoot. Scout and Jem are astonished when this happens.

TS Scout and Jem were surprised to find out how skilled Atticus was with a rifle. SD Scout and Jem, after seeing Atticus shoot the dog, were shocked because they didn't know how good he was at shooting. CM To Scout's bewilderment,  Atticus never told his children about his talent with a rifle. CM Jem told Scout, " maybe it just slipped his (Atticus) mind" but Scout did not think much of that. CM Atticus had decided that he would never pick a gun up again. SD He thought that "God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things." CM According to Miss Maudie, " he (Atticus) decided he (Atticus) wouldn't shoot till he(Atticus) had to, and he (Atticus) had to today".  CM I think Atticus settled on the idea of not shooting until he had to, because he wanted to treat everything on earth equal. CS I strongly believe that he thinks that everything and everyone has a right to live, and shooting for sport is not something the Atticus considered right.

TS Parents do things that surprise you, and you find new things out about that them that you didn't no everyday. SD Once I was looking through a photo album in our house and there was a news paper clipping. CM I read it and the article was about my dad saving a mans life. CM While he was driving the ferry boat from New London to New York. CM I didn't no about this and when I ask my dad he said that the man's boat had flipped in the middle of the ocean. CM My dad told me that it took him three tries to maneuver the large catamaran to send out a life buoy to the cold, wet man. SD I thought about how my dad was just doing his job and it was a miracle that he heard the man scream " help, please, help." If my dad had not heard it the man would be dead. CS I learned that he could have just kept on driving the ferry so he could make it to the dock on time and not look out the window, but he took the time to look and to save the mans life, and that man was very great-full.

I think that surprises can be good or bad. Jem and Scout learned something new about their father, that they were not expecting. I also discovered something about my dad that I was not expecting. I think that being surprised is a part of life, learning new things, and there's always something new to look forward too because you never know what's going to happen next.