English III Projects
Fly on the Wall Short Stories
This was the second part to a project that our team was doing in biology. This half involved writing short stories about our insects. Through this project we hoped to develop our descriptive writing skills and our first and 3rd person writing.
Putting Out The Fire
Vincent
All I could see was the pale yellow light shining through the soft shell encasing me. I meticulously removed layer by layer until I could force my way through and into the warm afternoon breeze. The sun hung low on the horizon casting long shadows like towers behind every object it encountered. As the dark green leaves swayed slowly in the breeze the rustling sounded like a symphony. My two sisters each emerging from their own pale yellow shell stretched their bodies to the sky, trying to warm themselves before the sun disappeared and was replaced with a white pearly orb. I called out to them, as they crawled towards me I could see the flesh of their bodies was still damp from the fluid inside of the eggs. I told them my name and they told me theirs. Emma and Elizabeth were their names; Emma had emerged seconds before Elizabeth making her the oldest of the two. Emma had a perfectly symmetrical pattern covering her face, but Elizabeth had a black pattern covering only half of her face. I told them to eat some of the passion flower leaves before going to bed and that I would talk to them in the morning. I watched them nibble as I turned away.
Slowly I crawled to the edge of my leaf to eat and regain my strength that had been lost trying to break free from my egg. As my mandibles pulled apart the leaf, I could taste the rich nutritious fibers filling me up until I could not eat another bite. As I lay, skirting the edge of the leaf, the sun disappeared and my eyes fell shut and I was engulfed in darkness.
Awakened by a violent shaking I looked up to see the sky painted black by the feathers of a raven. Majestic and terrifying it swooped down like a rocket and tore my sisters from their leaf. Before I could even process what had happened it was gone. All I could see was the black silhouette floating on the wind. The crumpled leaves hung limp against the thick stalk, as I stared at the empty gap where my sisters had laid only moments before. I could feel a burning deep inside of me, that kept growing and growing until it consumed me. One fatal moment had changed the course of my existence. I turned my head off into the distance where I could still make out the small black speck that could only be the raven that had murdered my sisters. The image imprinted in my mind fueled my anger as I began my journey to find the raven.
My journey down the stalk proved more difficult than I had anticipated. My sixteen legs were young and weak, but the small hairs that covered the stalk provided traction as I ventured toward the dark brown earth. The dirt was still damp from the dew that had settled during the night. Above me the stalk towered, its leaves blocking out the sun and providing a dense canopy to protect me from the heat. The vast landscape in front of me stretched farther than the eye could see, but if I was going to find the raven I had no choice but to venture out into this previously unknown world.
I ventured out onto a long path that stretched out before me. Rising above me on either side were giant stone walls. Holes cut out of the sides allowed me vision into the blackness where the giants dwelled. Spiked plants guarded the base, like sentinels, forcing me to go only one direction; straight ahead. As I reached the end of this straight stretch of land I saw a small cave, formed with large stones, as it was getting dark I decided to venture inside and stay until morning. It was cold and damp, the floor was sticky, and a stale scent lingered in the air. As I moved into the farthest corner of the cave I heard a whisper, looking up I saw a mass of webbing. A swift rustling amongst the webs alerted me that there was something lurking in the dark. My heart nearly stopped, I just ventured into the cave of an arachnid.
My body became rigid, my small limbs paralyzed, I could not tear my eyes away from the web. A flicker of white light glistened off of the eight terrifying eyes as the long spindly limbs emerged from the darkness. My terror subsided as the moonlight illuminated the pale head of the arachnid. He abruptly stopped moving, and I could see that he was not dangerous. His limbs were pale and almost translucent and his large eyes conveyed a strange sense of compassion. He said nothing but simply watched me and under his watchful gaze I slumbered. A cool gust of wind woke me. Above me the arachnid was still, his position suggested that he had not moved all night. His eyes remained fixed on me. I assumed that he was not going to say a word to me, but as I turned to leave in search of the raven that had killed my sisters a raspy voice vibrated the spines on my back. I faced the arachnid and in the kindest voice, he told me his name. Theodore was his name. He told me that he was almost 20 years old. He was once a proud bachelor of the black widow race, strong majestic; he even had the females chasing after him.
One day he was prowling amongst the dense weed forest when he hit a wall. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. In front of him there appeared to be nothing, but he could not move forward. He was met with an immovable force that he did not understand. Before he could contemplate any more he was lifted up and carried through the air. It was like he was floating and moving faster than he ever had before. Objects flew past him in flashes of color too fast for him to examine until he stopped moving. He was once again suspended in mid air, until out of nowhere he fell. The invisible force had let him fall. He was plunged into darkness as he hit the cold hard ground with a thud.
He was trapped in a black prison; he had no sense of time or direction. To him it seemed like an eternity until one day light shone upon him. It was a bright light unlike any he had seen before and as he gazed around he could not recognize where he was. He had never seen this place before. It was dull and cluttered with containers, large and small, but before he could take in any more a sharp pain pierced three of his left legs, and then his right leg. He lost feeling in his legs; he could no longer feel the ground under him. His body contorted and he shriveled into a ball. His legs wrapped tightly around his abdomen. His mind went blank and he was once more engulfed in blackness.
He awoke lying on the rough ground outside this hole. He could not feel some of the limbs that had been there before. As he tried to hoist his body into a walking position he collapsed. He went through each leg making sure it was still there. He only counted four. With four he could not function, he could hardly move so he dragged his body to the opening of this cave and slunk away into the darkness. For years he lived inside the cold damp cave, contemplating his life, what had happened to him? He had lost everything he ever had in an instant. Anger burned deep within him. He resented whatever had done this to him, but he could not do anything. He wondered why the giant would have done this to him, but he could not find any logical conclusion. Years went by and his hatred never swayed, never subsided. His exoskeleton lost its glossy luster and became a dull white. He became weak, but one day as he was staring at the light outside of the cave mouth he smiled. He had spent years of his life hating the giant that had mutilated him, but he never thought about what good may have possibly come out of it. He changed his mind set, instead of merely focusing on what he could not do and why he could not do it, he began to think about all of the great things that he had done. In no time at all he found himself thanking the being that had mutilated him because it gave him a chance to look back at all of the wonderful experiences he had throughout his life.
As Theodore spoke to me about his life I began to think about my own predicament. What was I doing? I was going to try and find this raven that had killed my sisters, but then what. I could do nothing, but ask him to apologize; after all I was miniscule compared to a raven. Even so, he was merely following his instincts, trying to find food so that he could survive. I could not hold that against him, after all every living thing dies at some point. It is the circle of life, we are at the bottom and he is at the top.
With my new knowledge and a clear head I thanked Theodore and went on my way. I left the cold darkness of the cave and stepped into a bright new world. The sun blinded me, but the warmth soothed me as my vision adjusted. It seemed even more beautiful than I remembered. I turned and soon met the path that I had been following. The rough path extended in both directions farther than I could see, the right path was shaded by broad leaved plants and farther down the path I could see several large trees, they looked like perfect spots for a raven to nest, so I decided that I would start looking there.
With the heat of the sun beating down on me I could not make it more than fifty paces before I had to stop and catch my breath. I could feel my skin tugging as I moved; I decided it was time to molt. I slipped off my old skin and underneath my body was a lovely orange color. My old skin lay in a heap, it is very nutritious, and so I quickly ate it. As I lay in the shade of a large leaf I heard a loud cry, the cry of a raven. I looked up and through the leaf I could see a faint black silhouette fly into the tree. Could this be the raven that ate my sisters, I could only hope so. I walked to the base of the tree and gazed up the thick trunk, it was a dark brown riddled with knots. Before I had a chance to second guess myself I started up the tree. My legs did not grow tired as they had before, instead I could feel a new strength driving me upwards.
Above me the leaves rustled and I could hear squawking. Cautiously I emerged, what I saw surprised me. A large raven was lying on the top of the tree and another smaller one was hopping around him nervously. The squawking increased as they noticed me. I slowly began to approach the two ravens. The silky black feathers of the ravens glistened in the afternoon sunlight. The squawking subsided and in a calm voice I asked the raven what his name was. He told me it was Jeremy; he was 2 years old and very sick. He had fallen ill four days ago after eating two small caterpillars. This was the raven, the raven that had eaten my sisters, they had they made him sick. The raven was not one of the animals that could successfully digest our caterpillar species. Our bodies are extremely toxic to many animal species. It was a characteristic written into the genes of our species to help protect us from predators. I told the raven that the caterpillars he ate were my sisters. I told him that I had come here to get my revenge, he chuckled, but I also told him about the spider and his story. I could see the ravens face grew solemn, that he felt resentment for what he did. Cautiously I approached him; I stopped centimeters from his face and told him that I forgive him. His eyes filled with tears and he began to quietly sob. He told me he was sorry, while his giant tears pounded the leaves below him. I turned to leave, but before I left I thanked him for allowing me the opportunity to learn and explore the world around me. The raven stood up and stretched his wings and took flight, gliding of into the distance. I shrunk back into the canopy of leaves and returned to my lush green home. Had my compassion cured him? I would never know, but I was now a wiser and happier caterpillar that will one day transform into a beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterfly.
Vincent
All I could see was the pale yellow light shining through the soft shell encasing me. I meticulously removed layer by layer until I could force my way through and into the warm afternoon breeze. The sun hung low on the horizon casting long shadows like towers behind every object it encountered. As the dark green leaves swayed slowly in the breeze the rustling sounded like a symphony. My two sisters each emerging from their own pale yellow shell stretched their bodies to the sky, trying to warm themselves before the sun disappeared and was replaced with a white pearly orb. I called out to them, as they crawled towards me I could see the flesh of their bodies was still damp from the fluid inside of the eggs. I told them my name and they told me theirs. Emma and Elizabeth were their names; Emma had emerged seconds before Elizabeth making her the oldest of the two. Emma had a perfectly symmetrical pattern covering her face, but Elizabeth had a black pattern covering only half of her face. I told them to eat some of the passion flower leaves before going to bed and that I would talk to them in the morning. I watched them nibble as I turned away.
Slowly I crawled to the edge of my leaf to eat and regain my strength that had been lost trying to break free from my egg. As my mandibles pulled apart the leaf, I could taste the rich nutritious fibers filling me up until I could not eat another bite. As I lay, skirting the edge of the leaf, the sun disappeared and my eyes fell shut and I was engulfed in darkness.
Awakened by a violent shaking I looked up to see the sky painted black by the feathers of a raven. Majestic and terrifying it swooped down like a rocket and tore my sisters from their leaf. Before I could even process what had happened it was gone. All I could see was the black silhouette floating on the wind. The crumpled leaves hung limp against the thick stalk, as I stared at the empty gap where my sisters had laid only moments before. I could feel a burning deep inside of me, that kept growing and growing until it consumed me. One fatal moment had changed the course of my existence. I turned my head off into the distance where I could still make out the small black speck that could only be the raven that had murdered my sisters. The image imprinted in my mind fueled my anger as I began my journey to find the raven.
My journey down the stalk proved more difficult than I had anticipated. My sixteen legs were young and weak, but the small hairs that covered the stalk provided traction as I ventured toward the dark brown earth. The dirt was still damp from the dew that had settled during the night. Above me the stalk towered, its leaves blocking out the sun and providing a dense canopy to protect me from the heat. The vast landscape in front of me stretched farther than the eye could see, but if I was going to find the raven I had no choice but to venture out into this previously unknown world.
I ventured out onto a long path that stretched out before me. Rising above me on either side were giant stone walls. Holes cut out of the sides allowed me vision into the blackness where the giants dwelled. Spiked plants guarded the base, like sentinels, forcing me to go only one direction; straight ahead. As I reached the end of this straight stretch of land I saw a small cave, formed with large stones, as it was getting dark I decided to venture inside and stay until morning. It was cold and damp, the floor was sticky, and a stale scent lingered in the air. As I moved into the farthest corner of the cave I heard a whisper, looking up I saw a mass of webbing. A swift rustling amongst the webs alerted me that there was something lurking in the dark. My heart nearly stopped, I just ventured into the cave of an arachnid.
My body became rigid, my small limbs paralyzed, I could not tear my eyes away from the web. A flicker of white light glistened off of the eight terrifying eyes as the long spindly limbs emerged from the darkness. My terror subsided as the moonlight illuminated the pale head of the arachnid. He abruptly stopped moving, and I could see that he was not dangerous. His limbs were pale and almost translucent and his large eyes conveyed a strange sense of compassion. He said nothing but simply watched me and under his watchful gaze I slumbered. A cool gust of wind woke me. Above me the arachnid was still, his position suggested that he had not moved all night. His eyes remained fixed on me. I assumed that he was not going to say a word to me, but as I turned to leave in search of the raven that had killed my sisters a raspy voice vibrated the spines on my back. I faced the arachnid and in the kindest voice, he told me his name. Theodore was his name. He told me that he was almost 20 years old. He was once a proud bachelor of the black widow race, strong majestic; he even had the females chasing after him.
One day he was prowling amongst the dense weed forest when he hit a wall. It was like nothing he had ever experienced. In front of him there appeared to be nothing, but he could not move forward. He was met with an immovable force that he did not understand. Before he could contemplate any more he was lifted up and carried through the air. It was like he was floating and moving faster than he ever had before. Objects flew past him in flashes of color too fast for him to examine until he stopped moving. He was once again suspended in mid air, until out of nowhere he fell. The invisible force had let him fall. He was plunged into darkness as he hit the cold hard ground with a thud.
He was trapped in a black prison; he had no sense of time or direction. To him it seemed like an eternity until one day light shone upon him. It was a bright light unlike any he had seen before and as he gazed around he could not recognize where he was. He had never seen this place before. It was dull and cluttered with containers, large and small, but before he could take in any more a sharp pain pierced three of his left legs, and then his right leg. He lost feeling in his legs; he could no longer feel the ground under him. His body contorted and he shriveled into a ball. His legs wrapped tightly around his abdomen. His mind went blank and he was once more engulfed in blackness.
He awoke lying on the rough ground outside this hole. He could not feel some of the limbs that had been there before. As he tried to hoist his body into a walking position he collapsed. He went through each leg making sure it was still there. He only counted four. With four he could not function, he could hardly move so he dragged his body to the opening of this cave and slunk away into the darkness. For years he lived inside the cold damp cave, contemplating his life, what had happened to him? He had lost everything he ever had in an instant. Anger burned deep within him. He resented whatever had done this to him, but he could not do anything. He wondered why the giant would have done this to him, but he could not find any logical conclusion. Years went by and his hatred never swayed, never subsided. His exoskeleton lost its glossy luster and became a dull white. He became weak, but one day as he was staring at the light outside of the cave mouth he smiled. He had spent years of his life hating the giant that had mutilated him, but he never thought about what good may have possibly come out of it. He changed his mind set, instead of merely focusing on what he could not do and why he could not do it, he began to think about all of the great things that he had done. In no time at all he found himself thanking the being that had mutilated him because it gave him a chance to look back at all of the wonderful experiences he had throughout his life.
As Theodore spoke to me about his life I began to think about my own predicament. What was I doing? I was going to try and find this raven that had killed my sisters, but then what. I could do nothing, but ask him to apologize; after all I was miniscule compared to a raven. Even so, he was merely following his instincts, trying to find food so that he could survive. I could not hold that against him, after all every living thing dies at some point. It is the circle of life, we are at the bottom and he is at the top.
With my new knowledge and a clear head I thanked Theodore and went on my way. I left the cold darkness of the cave and stepped into a bright new world. The sun blinded me, but the warmth soothed me as my vision adjusted. It seemed even more beautiful than I remembered. I turned and soon met the path that I had been following. The rough path extended in both directions farther than I could see, the right path was shaded by broad leaved plants and farther down the path I could see several large trees, they looked like perfect spots for a raven to nest, so I decided that I would start looking there.
With the heat of the sun beating down on me I could not make it more than fifty paces before I had to stop and catch my breath. I could feel my skin tugging as I moved; I decided it was time to molt. I slipped off my old skin and underneath my body was a lovely orange color. My old skin lay in a heap, it is very nutritious, and so I quickly ate it. As I lay in the shade of a large leaf I heard a loud cry, the cry of a raven. I looked up and through the leaf I could see a faint black silhouette fly into the tree. Could this be the raven that ate my sisters, I could only hope so. I walked to the base of the tree and gazed up the thick trunk, it was a dark brown riddled with knots. Before I had a chance to second guess myself I started up the tree. My legs did not grow tired as they had before, instead I could feel a new strength driving me upwards.
Above me the leaves rustled and I could hear squawking. Cautiously I emerged, what I saw surprised me. A large raven was lying on the top of the tree and another smaller one was hopping around him nervously. The squawking increased as they noticed me. I slowly began to approach the two ravens. The silky black feathers of the ravens glistened in the afternoon sunlight. The squawking subsided and in a calm voice I asked the raven what his name was. He told me it was Jeremy; he was 2 years old and very sick. He had fallen ill four days ago after eating two small caterpillars. This was the raven, the raven that had eaten my sisters, they had they made him sick. The raven was not one of the animals that could successfully digest our caterpillar species. Our bodies are extremely toxic to many animal species. It was a characteristic written into the genes of our species to help protect us from predators. I told the raven that the caterpillars he ate were my sisters. I told him that I had come here to get my revenge, he chuckled, but I also told him about the spider and his story. I could see the ravens face grew solemn, that he felt resentment for what he did. Cautiously I approached him; I stopped centimeters from his face and told him that I forgive him. His eyes filled with tears and he began to quietly sob. He told me he was sorry, while his giant tears pounded the leaves below him. I turned to leave, but before I left I thanked him for allowing me the opportunity to learn and explore the world around me. The raven stood up and stretched his wings and took flight, gliding of into the distance. I shrunk back into the canopy of leaves and returned to my lush green home. Had my compassion cured him? I would never know, but I was now a wiser and happier caterpillar that will one day transform into a beautiful Gulf Fritillary butterfly.
Guerilla Advertisement
Our second project during Pams class was a guerilla advertisement. We were groups of two and created guerilla ads about our media essay. My partner was Hunter Bragg and we worked together to create a three dimensional sculpture to demonstrate internet censorship.