Loralee Evans's Blog: Loralee Evans, page 59

To Kill A Mockingbird- by Harper Lee

I've blogged about this book before, many times, but my freshmen have just finished it, and so I wanted to blog about it again.

I cannot say how much I love this book.  The narrator, a little girl nick-named Scout, learns much throughout the book about right and wrong, and how to be an honorable human being.  While she connects with many people throughout the book, her biggest influence is her father, Atticus.  He's a single parent, their mom having died when Scout was too little to remember.  Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandria are there to help out, but Atticus has the bigger share of teaching Scout and her brother Jem about life and how to treat others.  The title To Kill A Mockingbird was very appropriate, I think, because according to Atticus, mockingbirds don't do anything to hurt people, they just sing for people.  There are many "mockingbirds" in this book, good people who haven't done anything wrong, and only want to help others.  Tom Robinson is the first one who comes to mind, a decent man who is blamed for something he didn't do, just because he had the "unmitigated temerity to feel sorry for a white woman."  Atticus himself is also a mockingbird, working hard to serve his family and his community, and getting little back aside from criticism and ridicule.  Arthur Radley is another I can think of, a good man, who after one minor mistake as a young person, is never let out into society again by his overly controlling family.

For myself, my favor for a book is determined by how well it helps people to become better, kinder, more tolerant, etc.

To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the books that does those things for me.  I'm glad Harper Lee wrote it.

School Visit

Yesterday, I got to visit Duchesne Elementary to give my school presentation.  It was so fun!  The kids got involved, and contributed a lot to the assembly.  I hoped they learned a lot about using plot to create their own unique stories.  I've really been enjoying these school visits.  I hope they help to fire up the imaginations of the students, and that someday, some of them can write and finish a few (or more!) of their own books!

School Visit and Fairview Museum

I had the fantastic opportunity today of visiting the students of Fairview Elementary to talk about the basics of writing a plot.  I got to Fairview early, so I had a little time to explore the town.  I went to the museum, which is a very decent sized museum for their town, and I was extremely impressed.  Click here, or here to learn more about this fantastic museum!  The centerpiece of the museum is a replica of a real mammoth skeleton that was found not far away from Fairview when Huntington Reservoir was being excavated.  Apparently, about 10,000 years ago, some unlucky mammoth got stuck in a bog, and met his demise.  Poor guy.  What a terrible way to go.  The folks at the museum were very friendly and knowledgable, and I really enjoyed my visit before heading back to the elementary.  At the elementary, the kids were very respectful and helpful, and it was so fun at the end, when some of the kids got into costumes to perform a short play for the other students.

I really appreciate the principal Mr. John Allan, and the staff and teachers at the school as well as the great students for letting me come visit them.  I hope they enjoy reading Felicity, and I hope they learned some good ideas about making fantastic, exciting stories!  

Author Deirdra Eden

Deirdra Eden is the author of The Watchers series which you can look at here, and has also designed some breathtaking book covers which you can look at, here.

She has also been kind enough to post a little bit of information about my book, Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale, on her blog, here.

Karen Hoover, a very talented author whom I am fortunate to know,and who was kind enough to come to the school where I teach to do an author assembly a few years ago, is the author of several books for which Deirdra designed the covers, namely The Sapphire Flute, The Armor of Light, The Emerald Wolf, and The Chrystal Mallet, and I have been very impressed with them.  Ms. Eden did a great job!

Some Awesome Scripture Verses

I wanted to write these verses from the Old Testament, because I really like them, and like what they help me remember.

...oOo...
2 Kings 6

14 There sent he (the king of Syria) thither horses, and chariots, and a great host; and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.  And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not; for they at be with us are more than they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

...oOo...Jacob 3: 1 But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart.  Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek  your destruction.

...oOo...
I like these verses.  They help me to remember that if I'm doing the best I can, I've got friends, even if I can't see them. 

School Visit, March 2

This last Monday, I went to Snow Springs Elementary to give my presentation.  It was the biggest group I presented to yet, and it was great!  The students in grades 3 through 6 were terrific.  They were so eager to ask questions and help out with the presentation.  I really enjoyed visiting, and I hope the students learned a lot of useful things about writing stories!

Boy's Basketball Takes State!

I'm very pleased with the Boy's Basketball Team at URHS.  They took State for Charter Schools just the other day.  They and their coaches did a fantastic job this season, working hard, and improving their already great skills.  Coach Dave Sorenson and Assistant Coach Ryan Jaseckas went far beyond in helping these young men become the champions that they are!

School Visits- Why I Write

This last week, I was very fortunate to be able to go visit two schools in Paiute School District, to talk the students about writing. 

Paiute County is a beautiful place, and I enjoyed traveling there, through Marysvale, Junction, and Circleville.  It is in south/central Utah, south east of the I-70 and I-15 junction.  Even though I've lived in Utah most of my life, I had not been there before, at least in my memory, and I am so glad I got to go.

I visited Circleville Elementary School and Oscarson Elementary School to talk with the students about writing, and the importance of each person being able to tell his own story.  I enjoyed visiting with the students and faculty of both schools.  I was even invited to eat lunch with the students at Circleville Elementary, the first school I went to, and I really liked the extra time to just sit with a few of the students there, and talk to them.  The students at both schools were attentive and respectful during the presentation, and asked many very good questions about writing, and about the stories that I've written.  The older grades in both schools had read my book, Felicity~ A Sparrow's Tale a little bit, and had enjoyed it so far.  That made me glad.  I'm so pleased when people enjoy my writing. 

The school visits also helped me remember why I write.  I want to write stories that help people, not just entertain them.  I want to write stories that make people better human beings; kinder, more tolerant, more humane, and braver.  I hope that my book Felicity helps the students of Circleville and Oscarson Elementaries to learn something about doing good for other people, not because we get something out of it, but because it's just the right thing to do.

J. Scott Savage

One of my favorite authors of all time, is Mr. J. Scott Savage.  He is the author of numerous books, including the Far World series.  His latest book in this series, and also, sadly, the last, is going to be coming out in the near future, and it will be titled Far World: Fire Keep.  It will wrap up the adventure of Marcus and Kyja that was begun in Far World: Water Keep, and I am looking forward to it very much! 

One thing I read that I really liked on his website which you can find here, is that he is coming out with a new series very soon, called The Mysteries of Cove.  The first book of the series, which will be titled Fires of Invention, will be coming out this fall.  I am very excited about that.

Not only are Mr. Savage's books great stories, but he and his lovely wife Jenn are great people as well.

I have enjoyed following the story of his characters Marcus, Kyja, and Kyja's skyte Riph Raph on their adventures.  I will be sad to see it come to a close, but at the same time, I look forward to see Mr. Savage's new series, The Mysteries of Cove, and all the adventures that will come!

The Twilight Generation and The Hobbit movies

The Twilight books, followed by the Twilight movies, came out after The Lord of the Rings movies.  The first Twilight book came out in 2005, two years after the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 
I don’t know if the attitudes and relationships portrayed in Twilight influenced the way The Hobbit was made into a movie or not, but there is a lot about the movie portrayal of the so-called romance between Kili and Tauriel that reminded me a lot of the attitudes and relationship dynamics that were in Twilight.  I don’t know if the attitudes and thinking of Twilight influenced what went into the making of The Hobbit movies, but they seem awfully similar.
Twilight has convinced almost an entire generation of girls that if a boy is manipulative and controlling, that he must care about them.  They’ve been convinced that a boy who is sensitive and thoughtful is to be passed over for the dangerous, brooding, manipulative one.  It has also convinced them that they are worth nothing without having a boy to define them.  Thanks in large part to Twilight, girls often think that it is romantic to think that the sole reason they came into existence, was to be with a man.  (I once read a fanfic wherein the female main character actually told the boy that she believed that she was born for the purpose of marrying him.  And the author honestly seemed to think that there was nothing wrong with it.  I was flabbergasted.)  These destructive ideas have been around for as long as humanity has, unfortunately, but Twilight has exacerbated the idea that a disrespectful, controlling man is actually the one who loves the girl the most.
In the Hobbit movies directed by Peter Jackson, the character of Kili starts off similar to the way he starts off in the book, which I love.  But in the second movie, when he meets Tauriel the female elf, he becomes someone I no longer recognize.  One of the first things Kili says to her, is that he wants her to look down his pants.  For myself, I saw through that comment, and realized that it was the disrespectful, suggestive, crude statement that it was, a statement that would never have escaped the lips of a man who had any real regard for the woman he was addressing.  Any girl who respects herself and is sure and certain of her worth as a person, and is not easily influenced by what the media tells her she needs to believe, would see immediately that such a suggestive comment is not something a man capable of feeling real love would ever say.  Unfortunately, not all young women are as level headed as they ought to be for their own lasting good.  They do what sounds pleasing, taught to them by books and movies like Twilight, and then end up in relationships that are abusive; mentally, verbally or physically, and don’t understand why.
After Tauriel heals Kili in the third movie, he will not let go his pursuit of her, expresses to her his sexual attraction to her, and asks her to leave her people and come with him.  Again, I saw this request for what it was.  He did not care about her lasting happiness.  Whether he was immediately conscious of it or not, Kili knew that Tauriel was immortal and that he was not.  He knew that in a few decades, he would begin to grow old, become unattractive, and eventually die while she would remain young looking and unchanged through the whole of their relationship.  In the Lord of the Rings movies, Aragorn knew this same thing, and because of it, he was very reluctant to bind himself to Arwen.  Not because he didn’t love her, but because he did.  Aragorn was concerned, deeply, about Arwen’s lasting good and happiness.  In contrast, Kili clearly showed by his aggressive pursuit of Tauriel that he cared nothing for her as a living being.  In all frankness, Kili was interested in Tauriel only for what she could do for him.  Sexually and otherwise.  Not for anything he could give her.  Kili clearly wanted Tauriel, but not because he was concerned about her lasting welfare.  Only because of what he believed she could do for him.  Despite his words declaring that he loved her, they were hollow and meaningless, and actually quite ugly to hear because of the way he showed his true feelings by his actions.  (Young people might argue vehemently that Kili died to save Tauriel, but that was a forced addition, something choreographed by the movie makers.  In real life, a man who talked to Tauriel in the same way that Kili did to Tauriel, would not put himself through any sort of difficulty for her sake.)
And for Tauriel’s part, she showed her fellow real life females nothing useful about how to react to the aggressive pursuit of a man who is good at lip-service, but clearly has no real regard for her.  She made it painfully obvious that she had no respect for herself.  But in this generation of young people, young women in particular, who were prepped by the philosophies fed to them by Twilight, ideas like this sell.
I am not a best selling author.  I write on the side as a way to hopefully bring in a little supplementary income to support my main income, which is teaching.  But if the only way to earn any substantial income from writing is to write what is popular, easy and comfortable, not what helps people become better human beings, then I don’t ever want to be popular.  I would rather be dirt poor my whole life, than ever find myself thinking like Stephenie Meyer, or the makers of the Hobbit movies.