Melissa+B.

March 26th, entry eight I think my areas of strength for the research paper are the introduction and the in text citations. I thought they were fairly easy to do and that is probably why I did so well on them. An area of weakness I had was using transitions effectively. I wasn't sure how to word things at times and as a result, the information sometimes appeared unorganized and sloppy. I think I will definitely have to work on this the next time I write a research paper.

March 8th, entry seven I am researching John Steinbeck. I feel that this research project was somewhat difficult. The hardest part for me was organizing the information in a way that made sense and seemed to flow. I had bits and pieces of information sometimes that I tried to word in a way that made sense but it just seemed awkward. It took a lot of thinking to organize it in a good way. The easiest part for me was getting four pages typed. Once I knew what I would write, the information just flowed and was easy to write. The most helpful activity i've done for writing this paper was the notecards. They helped me write a good outline and therefore made the paper a lot easier to write.

March 2nd, entry six: America's Inspiration [|http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Steinbeck-John.html#b] My author I am researching is[| John Steinbeck]. An interesting thing I have learned about Steinbeck is that he went to college for six years off and on but never graduated with a degree. I thought this was interesting because most authors usually have a college degree. I also thought it was interesting because Steinbeck seemed very smart from his books and it seems like he could have easily gotten a college degree. An interesting thing I learned about research methods is that I have to be very specific when searching for information. If it is not specific, I will get too many results that aren't even relevant to what I am searching. Knowing this will definitely help me with future research projects and I am very grateful for that.

February 15th, entry five: Sad Conclusion

[] Kino - Kino is a family man and would do anything for his family. He is at times a stubborn and avaricious man who goes to great lengths to get what he wants. Kino is known to have anger problems and lash out at people in a moments notice. It is because of the "evil" around him that makes him act in such a hostile manner. Overall, Kino is definitely a protagonist and does not let anything stand in his way. Juana - Juana is the loving and caring wife of Kino. She is very submissive to him and always follows his orders. She thinks it is always right to obey the man of the house. Juana has a passion for the gods and lets them guide her through everyday life. In turn, she is seen as very spiritual. She is also a very loving mother who would sacrifice her own life for that of her childs. Juana is sweet and would do anything to protect her family. The doctor - The doctor is a very conceited and prejudice. He does not give any one his attension unless he views them as worthy and wealthy. He prides himself on his excellence and seems to be full of himself given what his title is. Overall, the doctor is a very arrogant man and only cares for himself. Juan Tomas - Juan is very loyal to his family and supports them in every way. He is seen as a caring individual that will help anyone in need. Juan is also very sympathetic and does not judge anyone. He only cares about the truth and how he can help out in a situation. Kino, Juana and their baby Coyotiio are living in a small house by the sea and are relatively poor. One morning, a scorpiion appears in the familys house and stings Coyotitio. When Kino and Juana take Coyotitio to the doctor, they are turned away because they are too poor to pay. Later on, Kino and Juana go out on the sea to go [|pearl diving]. When Kino arrises out of the water, he comes out with a large oyster. When he opens it he finds the largest and greatest pearl he has ever laid eyes on. Kino knows that all the familys problems are solved now and they can enjoy life soundly. Eventually though, the pearl brings evil on to his family as if the pearl is cursed. New problems arise and when Kino tries to sell the pearl, he is not offered a fair price. When Kino is nearly at his breaking point, the evil comes in the form of man trying to steal Kino's pearl. Kino accidently kills the man and has to decide whether the town will turn on him, or if he should just run away with his family and sell the pearl to continue his hopes and dreams. I give this book a rating of 4 because it had a great plot but tended to drag things out too much. I loved how creative and original the story was. It was suspenseful and always kept me wanting to read more. This book definitely challenged me with some of the words it used which is rare for me to find becuase I love big words. The Pearl lost a point though because at times it would drag out an idea that was already very clear to start with. This would cause me to space off while in the middle of a paragraph because it went on so much about one thing. Overall, this is a great book to read and I encourage anyone that enjoys reading, to read this book. I think the wiki is a fairly good idea to discuss books. It allows me to put all my thoughts in one place and gain more insight at the book I am reading. It made me think more about what I read so I would in turn remember the story better. I also enjoyed reading some of the other peoples blogs too. The only fault I see with the wikis is the requirement of commenting on two other people's blogs. In my opinion it should not be a requirement because I think most people probably do not care about what other people are really writing about. They just comment on something that stuck out so they can get the points. Otherwise, I think the wikis are great and fun to do.
 * __Characters__**
 * __Summary__ **
 * __Rating__**
 * __Wiki Reflections__**

February 7th, entry four: Greatness and Evil Have Come http://mrphinizy.wikispaces.com/the+pearl I am currently on page 50 in my book so far. What happened is that now Kino and Juana are idolized by the towns people and even the doctor now idolizes them. He treated Coyotito's scorpion bite only because Kino and Juana were now rich. Kino knows that the pearl will bring great success to his family and that it needs to be protected or else someone might steal it. Although, the pearl brings success, it also comes with a great [|evil]. The evil of someone stealing it or destroying it. This is as far as I got. I really hope that only greatness comes out of the pearl and that it does not destroy Kino's family. I think someone will try to steal it because of it's value and then Kino's hopes and dreams will be crushed. I think this novel's greatest strength is how descriptive it is. In the beginning of almost every chapter, there is vivid detail on what the scene looks like. It's almost as if I'm actually in the book because it is described so well. The descriptiveness definetly gives this book character and a sense of self in my opinion. I can't wait to finish this book!

January 27th, entry three:
 * A Great Discovery **

http://jewelrista.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Real-Pearl-In-Shell.jpg Currently in my book I am on chapter 3. What happened since last time is that Kino and Juana went on the lake in a canoe with Coyotito to heal her with items from the lake. Kino dived down to the bottom of the lake and searched for about two minutes. When we came out of the water he had brought an oyster with him. He and Juana opened it up to see what was inside and to their surprise, there was the biggest [|pearl] they had ever seen in it. They both shouted with joy at their discovery. They knew from then on that things would be very different. This is as far as I got. I thought it was very neat that they believed common items would heal Coyotito. I was also surprised that they found the pearl so easily. I thought it would of taken a few hours to find something that great. " KIno lifted the flesh, and there it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon. It captured the light and refined it and gave it back in silver incadescence." (Page 19) This is my favorite qoute in this chapter because it makes the pearl sound very powerful and magestic. It gives great detail on the essence of the pearl and how amazing it was for Kino to find it. It also made me feel like I could actually see the pearl as soon as Kino opened it. I cant wait to see how the pearl will change Kino and Juana's lives.

January 20th, entry two: **A Shocking Beginning!**



So far in my book I am on chapter two. What happened is that the main character, Kino, and his wife, Juana, were in their home when they saw a [|scorpion] crawling on the wall. They were frightened that it would hurt their baby so they tried to kill it but they were too late. It bit her and Kino soon decided to go to the town doctor. They were turned away though because they were indian. KIno was angry about this so he punched a gate and his hand started to bleed. This was as far as I got. I think that Kino may have anger issues because he punched the wall. It seemed that his behavior is motivated by his family though because he is most likely use to being treated differently because of his ethnicity. When they said the doctor could not treat his daughter because he was busy, Kino knew it was because they are indian. This probably angered him and caused him to punch the wall. I think he does have good morals because he cares deeply for his family. He would do anything for them that he thinks is right. I can't wait to read more and find out more about Kino.

For this project I chose the author John Steinbeck. I am going to read the book, The Pearl. I predict that in the story the main character, Kino, will find a pearl that will make all his hopes and dreams come true. Eventually, I think Kino will realize that he can't achieve happiness through an artificial object and put it back in hopes that someone else can receive the temporary happiness it brought him. Then, the pearl will continue on with giving whoever finds it, happiness. I hope this is a good story and has an easy plot to follow. I can't wait to start reading it and see what really happens with Kino and the pearl. If you would like more information about this book you can go to, http://www.bookrags.com/notes/pea/.
 * January 13th, entry one:**