The Importance of Integrity

Integrity.  The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.  Having integrity means that you have good morals and a good character.  Why does the theme of integrity matter in novels?  How does it affect the characters?  I’ve found that having or not having integrity drastically changes the outcome of both the plot and the characters. 

In the book, To Kill a Mocking bird, Atticus often shows the theme of integrity.  He first noticeably shows integrity with the story of Mrs. Dubose.  Even though she is rude to him and calls him offensive names, he is still polite.  He realizes that the old woman is sicker than she looks and probably doesn’t mean everything that she says.  He also knows that it is only her opinion and not necessarily the correct judgment of what he is doing.  Atticus also shows the theme of integrity when the mob comes to his house.  They question him and mock him, but he knows that what he is doing is right and that is enough for him.  Atticus also shows integrity just by taking Tom Robinson’s case.  He tells the kids that he took the case because he could “never ask you to mind me again.” He is basically saying that he took the case because it was the right thing to do.  Atticus had nothing if not high morals and shows this an innumerable amount of times throughout the book. 

In Four Truths and a lie, a lot of the main characters don’t have integrity.  When Scarlett’s language arts class is assigned a “stranger writing” activity she is paired with “#17” from another school.  When he sends back a letter challenging her to play four truths and a lie or have her secret be revealed to everyone, she accepts.  Her first task is to find out if her teacher, Miss Cardanelli is dating the other school’s language arts teacher, Mr. Lang.  She already displays the theme of lack of integrity when she invades her teacher’s privacy and stalks her at the mall.  Then, the second task is to find out if “number 14” is named Louis Masterpole.  Again, she shows lack of integrity by sneaking in to a classroom during lunch to look in her teacher’s desk and her grade book to find the list of pen pals.  This demonstrated low moral because she is going through someone else’s private desk just to see find out something for her own personal benefit.  She also shows the theme of lack of integrity when she gets the third and fourth statements; Karli Montesorri meets her boyfriend on Monday nights in the library after curfew and Hannah Wilcox got busted for shoplifting over the summer and the school almost didn’t let her come back.  She invaded people’s privacy and broke not only in to the library, but also broke in to the principal’s office and looked in someone else’s record.  She had the least amount of integrity with the last statement; Amber’s dad isn’t actually in the military.  She completely displays the theme of lack of integrity when she opens her best friend’s private journal.  Despite that Scarlet has no integrity with the game, she also lets down her basketball team by meeting her pen pal in the woods when she is already on probation.  She couldn’t play and caused the team to forfeit because they only had four people that could play.  She showed a lack of integrity when she broke the rules for her own benefit even though she knew that she might disappoint her team and ruin the game for the rest of them.  Scarlett had almost no integrity for the entire book because she was so scared that her secret would be revealed, that she didn’t mind exposing others’ and hurting other people to protect herself. 

Even though Scarlett had almost no integrity, her pen pal, James and her roommate, Chrissa, had even less.  James overall had a weak personality at points in the plot.  He let Chrissa convince him to blackmail a perfect stranger because she said that it would be “fun.”  What kind of person finds blackmail fun?  That alone displays lack of integrity.  He is also letting Chrissa tell him what to do even though he knows that it is wrong.  This is lack of integrity and shows lack of morals.  Despite that James is sending the statements, Chrissa is really the antagonist in the story.  She tries to trick James in to ruining Scarlett’s social reputation just because she is jealous that Scarlett seems to take everything too lightly and not get stressed out about everything.  Chrissa wanting to hurt someone else because of envy shows the theme of lack of integrity.  People with integrity don’t purposely to harm other people just because they don’t like them, or don’t want them to succeed.  Almost none of the main characters in this story have integrity. 

The only main student with integrity in this book is Amber.  Amber is Scarlett’s best friend at her new school.  Amber doesn’t care that Chrissa (who happens to be the most popular person in their grade) starts rumors about Scarlett.  She also doesn’t care too much about what other people think about her and she doesn’t change her personal beliefs and opinions to match other people’s.  Amber also shows the theme of integrity when she forgives Scarlett for looking in her journal.  She realizes that Scarlett’s personality is more important than what she did when she was being blackmailed.  Another example of when Amber shows integrity is when she doesn’t tell anyone Scarlett’s secret.  Even though she knows that it would help her social status to tell other people Scarlett’s secret, she knew that a real friendship was more important than her social status.  By looking at the bigger picture and looking over her immediate reactions to the events in the book, Amber showed the theme of integrity by acting in the best way possible in all situations. 

Having or not having integrity can be a saving quality or a fatal flaw for the characters in these novels.  All the characters with integrity had better outcomes, because inside they knew that they did the right things.  It is important to have integrity because then you can be happy with the decisions that you make and the kind of person that you are.  People like Atticus and Amber have happier endings because they can be more at peace with themselves, because they did the right thing when others were too afraid to.  Stories like these can be an example to us and can show that integrity shouldn’t just be a literary theme; it should also be a quality that we recognize and have in our own lives.  

Glass

Author's Note: This is a poem that I wrote because this week we had to write a creative piece.  In this piece, the narrator is insane and therefore not trustworthy.  The narrator is talking in circles and never really gets to a specific point other than sanity is like glass which would also be able to be found if you only read the first two lines of the poem.  

Sanity

A fragile glass

Waiting to be broken

And when it has broken

 The shattered pieces tear us apart

Our hopes and dreams

are crushed by sanity

But insanity is nothing but broken glass

A clawed hand reaching up and stealing your memories

Your thoughts crumble into nothingness

Clouded with delusion

Until nothing makes sense

Because sanity can be broken,

but insanity can’t be cured

Adele Parody point of view

Original Lyrics

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch
And it's bringing me out the dark

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it, to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

Baby, I have no story to be told
But I've heard one on you
And I'm gonna make your head burn
Think of me in the depths of your despair
Make a home down there
As mine sure won't be shared

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
The scars of your love remind me of us
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it, to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it, with a beating

Throw your soul through every open door (woah)
Count your blessings to find what you look for (woah)
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold (woah)
You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow (woah)
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
We could have had it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
It all, it all, it all
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You had my heart inside of your hand
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)

But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat.

What would the Adele song "Rolling in the Deep" be like if it was from her ex boyfriend's point of view.  I think that it would be more interesting because he had to be pretty upset with Adele.  I also think that it would make Adele seem like less of the victim and it would show how she is overreacting.  I left some of the basic sentence ideas so that it can clearly show him reacting to her.  

White/clear=ex boyfriend
Pink:Adele's responses/back-up singers(most of these lines were the same from the original song)

There's a fire dying in my heart
because you're out of my life and it's bringin' me out the dark
I could always see you crystal clear

you're the first to sell me out 'cause you never did care
I wanted to leave without any piece of you
why did you underestimate the things that I would do

There's a fire dying in my heart
because you're out of my life
and it's bringin' me out the dark


The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking how I didn't want it all
The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
I didn't want it all
( but why didn't you want to stay with me?)
 I wish you never met me
(why do tears always fall, I hate what you did to me )
You overreact to everything
(What did I do? why do you hate me)
And you blamed me for things all the time
(Tears are gonna fall, you ruin everything)

Baby, I never really liked you
I wanted to run away and go find someone new
You act like it's my fault for your unending despair
Finally I realized that I don't really care

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
because the scars of your love remind me of us
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
They keep me thinking how I didn't want it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
The scars of your love, they leave me choking
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
I can't help feeling
I didn't want it all
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
I wish you never met me
(why do tears always fall, I hate what you did to me)
You overreact to everything

(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you blamed me for things all the time
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
I didn't want it all!!!
why don't you understand me!!!
you overreact to everything
It's like you try to find things wrong with me!!!


you crush my soul in every open door (woah)
You ruin everything right down to the core(woah)
you act like sorrow is your treasured gold(woah)
you look for attention everywhere you go(woah)
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
I didn't want to stay with you
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
I didn't want to stay with you
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
with you, with you, with you
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

I didn't wan't to stay with you
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
sometimes you start to scare me
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
I can never do anything
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
without you writing a song about me
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

I just didn't want it all!
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)
please forget you ever met me
(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
You overreact to everything
(You're gonna wish you never had met me)

and you made me
you made me
you made me
you made me want to leave

The Worst Class of the Day: Math

I slam my locker door shut and slowly walk in to the class room.  I sit down at a table and talk to my friends in our last thirty seconds before complete boredom.  The bell rings in a sighing monotone voice.  I open my binder and flip to a blank page.  I stare blankly at my paper, only looking up to see if another antigonizing minute has ticked by.  The worst 70 minutes of every school day.  Math.

One thing about math that makes it horrible is the teacher.  Not all five of the teachers -- only the one.  All of the rest of them are completely nice and try to teach in the most helpful and interesting way possible.  Of course, there has to be that one bad teacher.  She is a looming dark cloud that reaches out from the crevices of the room to yell at students.  Even if she wasn't such a bad teacher that discourages her students from learning anything at all, she has a terrible personality.  She talks to students in a harsh, condescending tone, then expects complete respect from us.  She gives little direction, then expects students to be able to automatically know what she wants us to do.  This nightmare of a teacher is one very big reason that math class is the cloud shadowing my day.  

If this teacher is the dark, looming cloud, then Aleks is a hurricane.  I absolutely hate learning off of a computerized program.  ALEKS doesn't push me to meet my goals like a normal classroom setting does.  I dislike "work-at-your-own-pace" environments, because I feel like they don't motivate me to reach short term goals.  ALEKS also is rude and discouraging to the students.  If you click the explain button too many times, the programs says "let's try something else (because you obviously are too stupid to understand this topic.)"  This is not helped by the fact that a certain teacher always clicks the explain button after she explains the topic.  ALEKS is a program that works well for some, but not all students and is very unhelpful to the ones who don't like it.  

Despite the ALEKS program, I also don't like the formulas in math.  In a regular course there are about 100 topics covered.  In ALEKS there are about 300 per course.  This not only increases the amount of work the student has to do, but also makes us memorize an unnecessary amount of formulas.  This is particularly problematic with parabolas.  I can remember all of the formulas, but I can't figure out which formula belongs to each type of parabola graphing method.  I know which one to use while I'm learning the topic, but it is nearly impossible to tell which one to use on tests.  An excessive amount of formulas in math confuses students and makes learning harder for everyone.   

In math, there are many things that I don't like.  Unfortunately, it is very important in life.  Despite my hatred of math, it has taught me one important thing.  Even if you don't enjoy something, you can always make the best of it and achieve your goals.  I think that this is a very important thing to realize in life.  You aren't always going to want to do things, but sometimes it is worth it to work hard and see past what you don't like to accomplish you goals.  

The Destination of Life

fleeting
fragile
breakable like glass
things that seem so solid, but can vaporize in an instant
why bother
why take the time if things are only temporary
an unreachable goal
breaking hopes and dreams
maybe
it's because
we need to realize that all goals aren't unreachable
and some things last forever
maybe
the beauty of it is that
it can only be what you choose to see
and maybe,
the joy is in the journey
and the destination is only a new beginning

Winter Wonderland

I pause at the street corner  and admire the frosty city around me.  The rosy cheeks and warm smiles of the people bustling around me melt through the looming layer of cold.  The stores and houses look different in the snow, like little gingerbread buildings, all lined up in their perfect rows.  Admiring the winter world around me, I cautiously walk up the icy steps to my front door. 

As I open the door, a gust of warmth washes over me.  I catch a glimpse of a collage of snow crystals on the windowpane.   Intrigued, I move closer.  I look out at the perfect frozen, white wonderland that reaches out for miles.  The unpenetrated sheet of snow looks as delicate as a soft peak of meringue.  Silhouetted trees reach out to the velvety, light gray blanket of sky.  Rooftops shimmer and sparkle in the fading light.  Anything seems possible in this stunning winter scene.  I turn away as the wind whisks winter wishes trough the wind.  Snowy dreams still drifting through my thoughts.  

Justice

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."  This quote means that even though to achieve justice you need to make sacrafices and struggle, it should still be your ultimate goal.  Despite the struggle, justice is a major theme in The Magic Half and other novels.  

After Miri looks through a mysterious eyeglass lens and gets transported back to 1934, she finds a girl named Molly and decides to bring her back to the present with her. The theme of justice is shown in The Magic Half when Molly's grandma explains to them why they traveled back in time. She says "Magic is just a way of setting things right". She explains to them that they were fixing things so that Molly's life would turn out better.  

Justice is also prevalent when Horst runs away. On the surface, Miri scares Horst away so that he doesn't change anything that would prevent Molly from returning to the present time with Miri. The underlying messae is that Horst got what he deserved.

Even though justice is a major theme in The Magic Half, it is also prominent in other novels, like A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Scrooge is visited the by three ghosts that show him how what he did in the past affects his future. He is suprisingly alarmed at what happens because of his choices int he past and present. This is because Scrooge believes only in money, not not material things like peace, hope, and justice. This becomes a problem for him when he realises that no matter how much money you have, the end result of you descisions will be what you deserve.

Even though there is the obvious theme of justice in A Christmas Carol, the song "Jar of Hearts", by Christina Perry, also has a less noticeable theme of justice. She says "And who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars.  Collecting your jar of hearts;tearing love apart,"  She's basically saying that it's not fair that this person is going around and breaking people's hearts. This is reiterated in the line "You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul.  Don't come back for me.  Who do you think you are?" She is now saying that he isn't above everyone else; he can't just come back and expect her to forget about what happened in the past. She is basically saying that you don't deserve to get me back. For example this line, "Cause you broke all your promises.  And now you're back -- You don't get to get me back."  Throughout the song, Christina Perry is always saying that he doesn't get to get her back. Why shouldn't he get her back? He houldn't get her back because it's not fair. He can't go around breaking peoples hearts, then expecting them to immediately forgive him. He crushed other people's feelings, so she decided to return the favor.

Why is justice such an important theme in these books and songs? It is because people feel that it is important to do what is right and for you to get what you deserve. It is the "tireless exertions and passionate concern" of the characters in these stories that make the theme of justice so prevalent. The characters feel the need to do the right thing, even if it is tireless, because it is important to make you life as just and fair as possible. Everyone should realize this, not just ictional people. People should try to always do the right thing, because it achieves justice. Doing the just thing not only makes you a better person, but it also sets an example for the rest of the world to do the best thing possible and to ultimately achieve justice.