This book follows Fergus Crane and his winged horse on an eventful adventure as he tries to save his schoolmates at The School Ship Betty-Jeanne from their teachers that are secretly pirates. None of this would have happened if he had slept threw the quiet tapping of the small silver box with wings on it's side delivering messages for him. When this scene is introduced in the exposition it states, "Normally, Fergus wasn't the sort of boy to open other peoples letters, ...but the strange mechanical box had tapped on his widow , so perhaps this letter was meant for him." This shows us Fergus is not a mischievous, troublesome boy and he needed to justify opening the box for himself. In the beginning, the author also conveys the idea that Fergus is a kindhearted, like-able and friendly soul by showing us his interactions with the people in his town as well as his mother who he appreciates dearly. The quote from page 6 is one of the first pictures the author paints on his community sees him, "...And as he hurried by, familiar faces appeared at the windows and waved or nodded. Everyone knew Fergus." As the climax begins to take shape Fergus is faced with having to repair a intricate messenger mechanical box. After he overcomes this obstacle he uses the box to send the following message, "The Betty-Jeanne had sailed. I MUST save my friends. What can I do? PLEASE HELP!" This scene expresses his determination to be the hero his friends need and with his personality he will be able to overcome any obstacles that he faces as he continues his journey.
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After reading What is the Statue of Liberty? by Joan Holub I learned that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France for its one-hundredth birthday of the United States, the pedestal was made in America and its unveiling was protested by suffragettes. In an article about the statue on Wikipedia, it states, "A gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886." Surprisingly on page 7 of this book, it shares that Americans weren't sure if they wanted the statue and almost said no to France. The pedestal, however, was made in America by an architect named Richard Morris Hunt. Chapter seven in this book discusses how insufficient funds and setbacks stopped construction on the pedestal many times. The liberty Ellis Foundation website informs that"Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal construction was finished in April 1886." When the statue was being prepared to be unveiled in 1886 women were not treated equally as men and barely had any rights. They were angry when they heard the statue was a woman that stood for freedom but, they weren't even allowed to vote. "They blasted protest, speeches, but those could not be heard over the din of steam whistles and cannon blasts in the harbor." as said in the article "Lady Liberty: A Counter Narrative" by Louise Bernikow. I enjoyed learning about the Statue of Liberty since I hope to visit it this Spring. |
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