12.

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.

I showed my ability to identify evidence in my response to The Battle With Mr. Covey:

"This vivid description shows how horrible life as a slave was. It also shows the very realistic traits that the author is using in his writing. He is not leaving anything up to your imagination. He wants you to see how horrible life as a slave really is."



ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.

"Through these intense descriptions of the atrocities that took place under slavery the reader is made aware of the social issue that Douglass wants to address; which is slavery itself. The story shows a reader who is not aware of the crime that is slavery how bad it really is. The story, in my opinion, is also a warning to slave owners in the south that the slaves can and will rise up from their appaling treatment eventually. The story effectively raises awarness of the social issue to those who are not in the know and threatens those who know what is happening, but are willingly taking part in it."

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.

I showed my understanding of works of art with my analysis of Eastern Promises:

"My example of a piece of realistic art is the film Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg. The film depicts the brtual life of the underworld of Russia. The film has one exceedingly disturbing scene in which an undercover police officer who is trying to deeply infiltrate the mafia organization is told to rape a prostitute as his initiation. The scene bluntly shows you how terrible things really are for those who have fallen into such a life in Russia. This is an excellent example of realism because it jars you into remembering that there are horrific circumstances around the globe that we are not aware of simply because we are not there."

ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.

I displayed this skill with my short story:

"He knew not where he was, or for how long he had been there. The rope that tightly bound his hands behind the chair was digging into his already raw wrists with every tug and tussle that he made in effort to break free from his bondage.

“I know you know where the rest of the explosives are” the soldier said to him.

“You can keep playing coy with us as long as you want, but we’re going to find out where the bombs are sooner or later, one way or another.”

He knew that the soldier was more than just a grunt, his insignias told him that much. Upon deducing this piece of information he hoped that he could reason with man, but just as he went to open his mouth to plead for his freedom the shock coursed through his body again.

Khadim remembered it all. He was standing on the sidewalk waiting on the 4 o’ clock bus when the ground shook beneath him. He awoke about a minute later with intense ringing in his ears, as he raised he saw the destruction of the checkpoint about 20 yards from him. A lone rifle lay on the ground; bent wildly out of shape from the force of the blast. Chaos ensued for about 20 minutes. Khadim waited for another blast to occur, as they usually come in pairs, but one never came.

Instead, four Humvees emerged on the scene. Twelve American soldiers came out and one of them who knew Arabic announced to the crowd of the injured and confused that they were securing the area until Iraqi Security Forces and the medics arrived. One of the soldiers immediately saw me, Khadim waived the solider to come over, and he did. But instead of helping the woman who was bleeding profusely from her arm the soldier rifle butted him right in the nose and once more Khadim fell out of consciousness.

The jolt of electricity to his back had triggered the flashback. He remembered now that this was the third time he had been tased during the interrogation. As Khadim raised his head slowly, in agonizing pain, he saw that the solider that was of higher rank than the others in the room was speaking with yet a higher ranked army official. This one was Iraqi. He seemed to be yelling at the American, but Khadim couldn’t make out any of their words. Finally, the Iraqi left the room and a man from behind Khadim untied him from the chair. The officer said get him out of my sight. And with that Khadim was dumped outside of the compound a free, but badly battered innocent man."