Oriel

Erin, Olivia R, and Rachel welcome to our project. My name is Oriel Rafaelov I am 12 years old. I go to Bay Head School. I like to read, do math, and have fun with friends. I would like to know more about you and your classmates.

P.S. Maybe if this goes well we can have a pizza party!

Oriel,
My class is very pleased to be working with you all! It sounds like you have a lot in comment with my students. A pizza party is a great idea!

My emotional response to this chapter is that there are many emotions to compare I agree with all of the emotions that every one has such as Mr. Meeker's emotion which are scared and upset. Or Tim's emotions which are scared and worried. Basically Every characters feelings count. The people that are mostly tugging at my heartstrings are Sam, tim, and Mr. Meeker. This is because Sam wants to fight for his country's freedom and I feel that Tim makes me have them as well because he is worried about his brother and his father. I also feel my heartstrings being pulled by Mr. Meeker because he is worried that if Sam goes to fight he will never return. Well right now, knowing what I do about the American Revolution, I think that I would agree with Sam and Mr. Meeker. I would agree with Sam because I would fight for my country no matter the cast. I would agree with Mr. Meeker because if I were to think that I was a parent at that time I would not want my son to be one of the many people to die fighting for their freedom. Just like Mr. Meeker I would rather pay for the taxes than have to pay for my son's/daughter's funeral.

Mr. Meeker makes the following statement,"But you never get rid of injustices by fighting," to which Sam replies, "Either we're going to be free, or we're not." Mr. Meeker's comment is not just an argument against fighting England but against war in general because he actually knows what happens in war (because he has been in war) and wants his son to be safer. I think that this chapter was interesting because the suggestion grows. Is Sam going to return dead or alive. I feel my heartstrings being pulled by mostly Tim because he is afraid if Sam is going to return or not.

A. If I was in Tim's place I would not tell Father about Sam because Sam is my brother and I would not want to rat out my brother.
B. Betsy's role in the story so far is strong yet weak because in some chapters she has a big role and in some she doesn't. This is because she is Sam's girlfriend. My opinion on her is that she is kind, caring, and strong.(Not as much physically as mentally.)
C. If I were living at the time of the American Revolution I wouldn't fare well becaus ethere were many chores to do back then.
D. I think that other interesting facts about this chapter are that Tim is awaiting his brother's return to Redding. Also that Betsy and Tim are begining to get friendlier by trying to be spies.
E. One of my partners Erin wrote something very interesting. Here is what she wrote. (If I were Tim, I wouldn't tell Father that he came back to Redding because I made a promise to Betsy. I also wouldn't want Father and Sam to get into a fight again. Right now, I'm a little suspicious about Betsy. She is always lingering around the tavern and listening to conversations. My prediction is that she could be a spy for the Patriots in the Tory town of Redding. If I were a soldier, I would not fare too well.If I were someone like Tim or Betsy, I might fare well. I felt this chapter was pretty good. I am curious about Betsy's character, and how Sam has been.) This is interesting because she wants to be a spy for patriots which I wouldn't really think is safe even though I would want to die fighting for my country.

If I were to be taken to fight in the war in Iraq my mom would say, "She would let me go if I wanted to." My dad would say, "No." Which is weird because I thought that my dad would say yes and my mom would say no. This amused me because my mom only said yes because she thought that my father would also say yes. :)

Within the first four chapters, the Revolutionary War served as a way to cause division among the common people. Divisions were made through the characters decisions of whether to remain loyal to England or to support the Patriots in their cause. Well one set would be between Tim and Father because Tim doesn't know which side to choose but father is a patriot. Another set would be Sam and Father. Sam is a patriot and father is a loyalist. The last set that there is are between Sam and Tim. sam is a patriot and Tim is stuck in the middle between his father and Sam and doesn't know which side to choose.

Hello,?

Chapter 5:
1. In this chapter, Tim says the following, "The war had always seemed like a story, something that happened in some faraway place or faraway time, and didn't have anything to do with me." What happened that made Tim's feelings change? The thing that made Tim change his feelings is that Sam was now fighting in it and Tim was always worrying if Sam would be ok.
2.Tim learned that a war, even if far away, affects all people....the lines of ink across the map turning red. How is this true? This is true because for one example is that if any army was hungry they would go onto somebodies field and steel two of their cows butcher them up and take them to their troops to eat. So food was very scarce.

Borders are scratched across the hearts of men,
By strangers with a calm judicial pen.
And when the borders bleed, we watch with dread
The lines of ink across the map turn red.
----- Marya Mannes

2. Tim explains why his father is always polite to Mr. Heron, who seemed to be respected by many. What was your opinion, by the end of the chapter, of Mr. Heron? Explain. My opinion of Mr. Heron is that I think that he is on the patriot side just under cover. I am very suspicious of him. I think that he acts like a Tori but is actually a Patriot.

Interesting, you think Mr. Heron is a patriot. Good you may be right we will have to wait and see. I think that the war came quickly to Tim when he saw how the Continentals treated his father. They cut his face and this woke Tim up. Good job, keep it up.

Oriel, what were you doing yesterday when everyone else was answering the question to chapter 6? I do not understand why you did not do the class assignment. There is a certain amount of responsibility that goes along with this type of work.

Chapter 6:
1. What is your opinion of Tim's actions in this chapter? Do you trust Mr. Heron, who seems to be respected by many? What was your reaction to the scuffle between Betsy and Tim? My opinion of Tim's actions in this chapter are that Tim said many lies in this chapter. I trust that Tim was doing the right thing. So far I do not trust Mr. Heron because he is posing as a tory but is sending notes as a patriot. So he is untrustworthy right now. My reaction to what Betsy did was that I was mad at her and I think that she was opening the letter for her own reason not because she wants to protect Sam.
2. Is there anything else you'd like to share with us? Yes, I would like to share what else I read in this chapter which was that Tim was lying an awful lot of times in this chapter to mostly everyone.

This chapter begins the symbolic journey of Tim's maturation and position in the war. Simultaneously, it lays the groundwork for Life's tragic end. When Life states: "I'm interested in making a living, not fighting a war." He is exposing a theme in the novel, which is the unfairness of war. Life is simply a man that wants to live his life as he always had and that position has placed him and his son in great danger. The question is "When is war fair? In fact when is life fair?" When one belongs to a community, a village,or country does one have an obligation to partake in the affairs of others? When one belongs to a community, a village,or country does one have an obligation to partake in the affairs of others my answer is yes. I say yes because when the war comes it doesn't only come to the country but to all the people that live in it. Everyone is acted upon in the war. This is the reason why everyone is affected and in the end it may come out good for the country and sometimes it won't be. As well as if one person dies a piece of everyone dies. When someone is crying a part of everyone is crying. What must the character Life do? The character Life should just act like everyone else. He should just let the war come to him and if it doesn't then he will just keep on living his life. But if it does come to him (which it already has because Sam has left for war) then he just continues living his regular life with his family.

Chapter 9:
1. What do you think happened to Mr. Meeker? I think that the cow-boys took Mr. Meeker as a slave to fight for the rebel and he will have to fight. Sometime during he is fighting he will meet Sam and they will fight together. Then by the end of the war Sam will be killed. The rebels will win and Life will return home to Tim and Mrs. Meeker. What impact will it have on Tim? The impact that it will have on Tim is that he will not see his father for a very long time. As well as never seeing his brother again.
2. What is your emotional reaction to this chapter? My emotional reaction to this chapter is that I am scared for father because he was kidnapped. I am sad for Tim because he has lost his father no where to be found. I am scared for Sam because he will die soon. I am sad for Mrs. Meeker because she may never see her husband or old son ever ever again.
Chapter 10:
1. Explain Tim’s statement, “I still hadn’t figured out what he was fighting for. It 
seemed to me that we’d been free all along." What Tim is trying to say that it was never his or fathers or Sam's war to fight. To him it seemed that he was always free and that there was nothing to fight about.

Chapter 11:
1. Mrs. Meeker begs Sam to come home after his father’s death. Sam refuses. 
Tim says that he realizes that his brother will never leave the army because 
he thinks he is part of something big. Explain what Tim means by “something 
big.” What Tim means by saying "something big." he means that it is very taken into. Which means that the war is so far in that there is not way to stop it because it is so big.
2. What is your emotional reaction to this chapter? My emotional reaction to this chapter is that I am happy that Sam is safe. I am happy and upset for Tim because he gets to see his brother and upset because Sam does not stay with them. I am sad and happy for mother because she gets to see Sam and sad because Sam doesn't want to stay.
Chapter 12:
1. Explain the statement, “In war the dead pay the debts for the living.” The dead die in a battle they did not choose to fight because the live chose this war.
2. Emotional reactions from you about this chapter? My emotional reactions to this chapter are that I am sad and scared and happy for Tim. Sad because his father has died. Scared because his brother has been mistaken as a cattle thief. Happy because his brother returns to Redding.(Before he is mistaken as a cattle thief.) For Sam I am happy and sad and scared. Happy because he returns to Redding. Scared because he is mistaken as a cattle thief. Sad because his father died. For the mother I am sad and happy. Sad because her husband died. Happy because her son returns.

Chapter 13:
1. Patrick Henry, a famous Patriot, said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” 
How might his words have inspired soldiers like Sam? Patrick Henry's words might have inspired a soldier like Sam because Sam wants to fight for his freedom just like Patrick Henry.
2. Emotional reactions from you? My emotional reactions to this chapter are that I am scared for Tim because his brother got mistaken as a cattle thief and can be executed as well as scared for Sam because he is going to be executed and scared for mother because she may loose her oldest son.

Chapter 14:
1. What was the irony of Sam’s pending execution? The irony of Sam's pending execution is that Sam was fighting for the patriots for three years and then was executed by the patriots because they accused him of steeling his own cattle so they executed him.
How is this similar to the 
irony of what happened to Mr. Meeker? This is similar to the irony that happened to Mr. Meeker because he was selling cattle to the tories and ended up dying on a Tory prison ship.
2. Emotional reactions from you? My emotional reactions to this chapter is that I am scared for Tim because he is gong to loose his oldest brother. I am scared for Sam because he is going to die. I am also scared for mother because she is loosing her oldest son.

Epilogue:
1. What is your reaction to the statement, “But somehow, even fifty years later, I 
keep thinking that there might have been another way, besides war, to 
achieve the same end.” Do you think the United States could have become a 
nation without the Revolutionary War? No, I don't think that the United States couldn't have become a nation without the Revolutionary War because the British wouldn't have just let go that easily so they would have to have a war to be free. At least that's what I think.

Very good job Oriel. I love how you talked about the irony of Mr. Meeker too. You did a wonderful job on your podcast and your comments on the book were very insightful. I am glad you liked the book.