Sophie Globe 
May 14, 2015
English 7X
Historical Memoir  



                      A school is a place for children to grow, a place for them to feel safe and comfortable. On December 14, 2012 a man named Adam Lanza destroyed all of this for kids attending Sandy Hook Elementary. It was a normal day, students wake up in the morning, brushed there teeth, their hair, packed their lunch and drove to school. Soon after parents drop their kids off at school and say have a nice day. As the bell rings the kids run into their classrooms and start their day learning. But later something terrible happens, something unspeakable happens. A man abruptly tries to get into the locked doors as he shoots his way in and kills twenty children and six staff members. After this tragic event occurred schools of all around the United States became more alert of intruders breaking into their schools. Parents were worried about the well being of their children at school. Truthfully, I was a little scared about my safety at school. I didn't know if I was completely safe at school but soon after the Sandy Hook shooting our school hired a security guard to protect and watch over our school. I think the Sandy Hook shooting was a wake up call to all schools that anything can happen at any moment. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was an event that we as people want to say never happened but the families and loved ones of the kindergartners and staff members that died will morn their deaths forever.   

We all believe dreams are good and only good things come from dreams. But for Lennie, George and Kino their dreams become their worst nightmare. In both novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, the characters are both destroyed by their dreams and their journey to reach them. 

After Coyotito (Kino's son) was infected with the scorpion venom, Kino wasn't able to pay for Coyotito's recovery. Because Kino was a fisherman, he could find pearls to help his son and get him to a doctor. Kino wanted the dream of finding a Pearl to be true so badly that he ended up hurting all those around him including his family. Juana, Kino's loving wife, was trying to help him by throwing the pearl in the ocean. Kino heard the dark figure move by the ocean and he crept along the sand of the beach. Soon he started at full sprint toward Juana, she started sprinting towards the water too but Kino got to her first. He grabbed her arm which was about to throw the pearl and struck her over the face. Juana fell to the ground and Kino kicked her in the side.  " (pg. 59) In the pale light he could see the little waves break over her, and her skirt floated about and clung to her legs as the water receded." Kino's obsession also effects people he does not know. One night Kino heard something and thought this random guy stole his pearl; he was so furious,  he killed the man with his knife and fled the scene. At the moment of the murder Kino experienced his second brush with the dark side of himself and his dream and will have to live with it for the rest of his life. The final and worst example of Kino's obsession with the pearl is that he would put his own son's life in danger just to have the pearl and in the end the worst case scenario came to be; Coyotito (Kino's son) could not be saved and died. After Kino murdered an innocent man he and his family had to leave their town. They went through the forest and hid in a cave and some trees. When the trackers came for them Juana and Coyotito hid and Kino went to fight them. Kino took off all of his white clothes so that he wouldn't be seen when he came up behind the trackers and attacked. Coyotito, still recovering from his scorpion wound, was howling in the silence of the night. The trackers heard the howl of his roaring cry thinking that it was a coyote. Kino saw the trackers and he threw his knife at one of them, it hit his chest then he grabbed the rifle and shot the other two. With glory and victory Kino raised the rifle and fired in the air. Something went wrong while Kino was shooting, he hit something even more precious then the pearl; Coyotito. 

The dream of finding something soft and warm is shared by Lennie and George. But Lennie is obsessed with the dream and kills many animals and finally a person forcing them to run. In the beginning Lennie introduces us to his dream; having the rabbit farm. George uses Lennie's dream, of tending the rabbits as a threat for Lennie to listen and obey him. But Lennie doesn't always listen to George and it eventually gets out of hand. When Lennie and George are walking through the mountains to get to the farm where they will do their future work, Lennie kills a mouse and that foreshadows the future events that come at the end of the book.  When Lennie finds the mouse he pets it so hard that he kills it and when George finds the dead mouse in Lennie's hand he is furious.  After a couple days at their new job a dog on the farm gave birth to a litter of puppies and Lennie was dying to have one. George knew that it would be dangerous for Lennie to have a puppy and for him to have the responsibility of taking care of a living thing. Slim, one of the workers on the ranch, said that it would be ok for Lenny to have a puppy. So every day Lennie went to visit the puppy but one day Lennie was just petting it too hard, as he had done before with the mice, and he killed the puppy. Trying to hide the terrible thing that he had done Lennie threw the dead puppy into the hay.  Suddenly a person appeared in the door way and it was Curly's wife. Lennie knew that he wasn't suppose to be around Curly's wife and told her that she needed to stay away from him. But she didn't listen and of course went and sat next to Lennie. She asked him what he was doing and Lennie told her about the dead puppy and the horrible thing he had done. After a couple minutes of talking back and forth, Curly's wife asked Lennie to touch her head. Lennie was a little hesitant until she asked him if he liked velvet. Lennie replied with a blasting, "(pg90) You bet by God." Curly's wife told Lennie that her hair feels just like velvet and that she wants him to feel it. Lennie put his hand on her head and felt the smooth and shinny hair. Lennie was so intrigued that he didn't let go, she told him to let go but he couldn't. She squirmed left and right until her neck snapped and she died. Lennie knew he had done something horribly bad and that he couldn't control himself. Lennie ran for the hills and left George to deal with his mistake. When George walked into the barn and saw the dead body laying there he knew instantly that this must be the doings of one person, Lennie. Their dream of having their own farm is now impossible and it was Lennie's enthusiasm that destroyed the dream.  

The obsession with the dream is also the downfall of the characters in each book. George destroys his own dream because he can't separate from Lennie even though he knows that Lennie is dangerous to his dream. George said, " ( pg 104)  But I got you and I got you."  In the beginning of The Pearl  Kino's family was his first priority and he was surrounded by the Song of the Family but now the dream of the pearl has taken that place and hurt everyone around him. Lennie's desire to always hear more about the dream is similar to Kino's dreaming obsession with the pearl. Both books have foreshadowing of where the dream will eventually lead. 

The more the men in these stories pursue their dreams the farther they get from realizing them until finally their dreams have become nightmares. In both of these stories it becomes clear that if perusing a dream is the only thing you care about then it can hurt all those around you including the one who holds the dream. In both books there were many warning signs that the dreams would never come true. Having dreams are important but we need to listen to the warnings and signs that are along the way. 

From the moment you step onto the St. Matthew's campus you know that the students and faculty really display the qualities of serving, leading and flourishing. Over the years that I have spent at St. Matthew's the teachers and principals have always encouraged these different traits in our community. This specific motto has shaped the person that I am today. Starting this year I just joined the National Charity League (NCL) where I get to give back to my community and help others in need. Many other kids also contribute to this amazing organization and help at the local thrift store and donate clothes to people who need it. At school we also serve our community by doing food drives to raise money for The Westside Food Bank. As 7th graders we also have to be great role models and help lead the younger kids at our school. We have 3rd grade buddies who look up to us and we need to be great examples. At St. Matthews there is a variety of activities for all kinds of people to do. There are clubs, electives and sports; I personally flourish in sports. I love to play volleyball in and out of school! Contributing to the schools success in sports is a really good feeling. Outside of school I play at a very competitive but fun club that has really improved my skills.  I also play tennis for the school tennis team and play on a team outside of school. Overall, my experience at St. Matthews has been amazing and the lessons and mottos that I have learned along the way really inspire me to be a better person for my community.