How A Character Has Changed Due to Certain Events That Have Taken Place In His/Her Life (Literature)

     Based on the novel, Step by Wicked Step, by Anne Fine, the character that I feel has changed due to certain events that have taken place in his life is Colin. The changes happen gradually after  his mother decides to leave her boyfriend secretly and quietly. Colin adores his mother's boyfriend - who is stepfather - 'Dad' and gets along very well with him. His mother's decision of leaving Colin's stepdad leaves Colin longing after him. Colin used to love life with his stepfather. He remembered every little detail about his stepfather, from him rolling his own cigarettes out of tobacco in a tin, down to the silver patches of hair over his ears. After Colin's mother brought Colin with her to a completely foreign neighbourhood, Colin's character changed drastically.

     Firstly of all, this made Colin changed into a very  lonely and never happy boy after moving away from his stepfather. He had to join a new school when his mother moved out of their home with him but he didn't adjust well to his new surroundings He had to go through an unpleasant experience in his new school, he got ignored by the students in school. Nobody bothered with me, except to snigger when I didn't understand all the stuff they'd been doing. (page 52, line 27,28). His mother, however, found a new job and was constantly busy with her daily routine that she did not bother about Colin. This made Colin miss his stepfather all the more, because he used to be able to confide in Jack about his troubles. It wasn't how it used to be with Dad. It is evident that Colin had transformed from a loving boy to a very lonely boy after the move.

     Secondly, Colin becomes a dreamy boy. This causes him to have less focus in class and consequently doing badly in school. The reason for this was due to him missing his stepfather very much. Every night, he would take the tobacco tin out of the toe of his boot and put it under his pillow. Colin would then pretend that Jack was still by his side, ready to listen to his rant of the day. He would hum his and Jack's favorite song and stay awake for hours talking to his dad,whom he pretended was there. He pretended that his dad was there with him. 'I pretended.' (page 56, line 17)

     Next, Colin became resourceful. He was determined to search for his stepfather. His first effort was to write a letter to his stepfather, addressed to his old house. He did not receive a reply but he did not give up. Colin saved practically every penny that comes his way. He even does three paper rounds and always prefers cash for Christmas instead of gifts from his mother. Colin keeps an exact account on how long he was apart from his stepfather, which was 5 years, 8 months and 7 days.

     On the whole, we can see many changes from the character Colin after his mother decided to leave his dad. Colin responded negatively to the changes in his life. He became sad, dreamy and moody.His love and longing for his dad motivated him to become optimistic, resourceful and patient in his mission of finding his dad. 

Comparison between two Characters (Literature)

    Based on the novel, 'Step by Wicked Step', by Anne Fine, can made a comparison between the characters of Richard and Colin. Richard and Colin are two characters who share the same fate of having a dysfunctional family. They both have to learn how to live without their father and remain strong there are two characters that have several differences as well as similarities. 

   Firstly, I would like to talk about Richard and Colin's love for their dads. They both missed their fathers dearly. However, in Richard's case, he had lost his father forever as his father had already died and moved on to a better place, in the heavens. Colin merely lost contact with his father after he moved away with his mother without leaving any clues for his father to search for them. While Richard had no way to get in touch with his father again, Colin was still searching for his stepfather. Colin saves up all his money in a safe space for the time when he will embark on the search for his stepfather. I keep practically every penny that comes my way. Colin is determined to look for his beloved stepfather when he is old enough. As soon as I'm tall enough, I'm off.  Clearly, Richard and Colin are unable to let go of their love for their dads.

 Secondly, both Colin and Richard were ignored by their mothers. They both did not get any attention from their mothers. '... sometimes I (Colin) get the feeling that Mum thinks things that are happening to both of us are only really happening to her. As if how I feel doesn't matter quite so much.' (page 58, line 20-23) We see the contrast by the way their mothers ignores them. In Richard's case, his mother did not defend him when Reverand Coldstone treated him badly. 'All that my mother did was lower her eyes...' (page 20, line 1,2) However, Colin's mother was not aware of how much Colin misses his dad as she was too busy working at the canteen and doing household chores. 'I think Mum thinks I've forgotten him (dad).' (page 60, line 28) Yet similarly, they both did not feet their mother's love.
   Thirdly, Richard and Colin wanted to run away to make things work. They could only think of running away as the best option to solve all their problems. Richard ran away from home with the hope that he could make life more pleasant for everyone. Without me, the three of them would get on well enough. Colin however, was planning to run away to find his stepfather. Both of them have their differences as Richard realized that running away does not solve any problems. This is apparent when he had to face the damage he had done by piling one wrong on another. Colin, on the other hand, was still bent on the idea to search for his stepfather. He even does three paper rounds in an effort to accumulate more money for the search.
   In a nutshell, the two characters had suffered much pain and sorrow. We see how no one really cares about them by asking about their feelings or simply sitting down to listen to them. They both loved their father, were ignored by their mothers and finally decided to run away. From their actions, we can see that running away does not solve any problems, in fact it affects the people around. It is crucial for us to think carefully before making a decision in life, however small it make seem.

'Step By Wicked Step' - one has to struggle to improve one’s life.

Based on the novel ‘Step By Wicked Step’ ,by Anne Fine, it is very true indeed that one has to struggle to improve one’s life.

Richard’s story clearly exhibits the struggle of a young boy who has lost his father, whom he loved so much, in exchange for a stepfather, whom he despised. When his father passed away, his mother, Lilith remarries and his stepfather is Reverend Coldstone. Richard never got along with Mr Coldstone and neither did Mr Coldstone get along with Richard. “I’ll be no son of his! Not ever!” When Richard is found to be uncontrollable, he is whisked away to Mordanger School, where he suffers in silence. “I have learned nothing except how to freeze, how to starve, how to be bullied, and beaten.” So, he decides to leave home, thinking that that is the way to improve his lifestyle, thinking that that is the best solution for everyone, but it only brought tremendous anguish to his family.

Claudia finds that she has to tread carefully after her parents’ divorce. She tries not to hurt her mother by sounding less keen to be with her father. “I’d try not to sound too keen, so as not to upset mom.” She initially resents her father when he has a girlfriend. As a result of her father’s new relationship, Claudia feels treated as second-best and unimportant. “It made me sort of second-best, and not important.” Her relationship with her father’s girlfriend, Stella, is also unpleasant until she realises that Stella should not be blamed for what happens between her parents. Claudia decides to openly acknowledge and appreciate Stella in front of her father’s friends, an act which earns Stella’s gratitude and her friendship. This clearly shows that Claudia had initial setbacks with Stella, and decides to improve on their relationship, resulting in a better relationship with Stella and her father.

Pixie, whose parents are divorced, thinks her father is more concerned with his new family0020and does not side with her anymore. She tolerates her stepmother, Lucy, whom she thinks she can ignore but does not like her stepsisters, Sophie and Hetty, who drive her up the wall. “I can’t stand Hetty Payne.” Pixie is unable to consider them as her family, and she voices this out in her confrontation with Lucy over Hetty. After a heated argument, both of them soon realise that Pixie’s father is irresponsible and does not help in any way to improve relationships. They decide to let bygones be bygones and allow their relationship some time to grow. In the other end, Pixie and her stepmother understood each other better. Pixie also managed to make a better bond with Hetty and improve her Maths skills.

The struggle between a stepchild and a stepfather is also seen in the case of Robbo’s sister, Callie. Unlike Robbo, Callie hates their stepfather, Roy and insists that she will never get used to him. “I don’t think he’s too bad, but Callie really hates him.” As a result, Callie made life difficult for everyone. Robbo realises that in order to keep their family intact and happy, they must have a different strategy and even have ‘fresh teams’. “I want to start over again. New season. Fresh game. Fresh teams.” He encourages his mother to let Callie go and live with their father as Callie wishes, and for he and his mother to start afresh with Roy and his half-brother, Dumpa. He had to struggle a lot so that his sister could finally improve her life. And with her at their father’s place, there were less fights, resulting in everybody’s life improving.

In conclusion, it can be seen clearly that to improve your life, one has to overcome many problems. On the other hand, one should think wisely before acting or it could ruin other people’s life, as seen in Richard’s story. The other characters meanwhile not only improved their lives but their families lives as well in many aspects. Therefore, by pushing through life and making the right decisions, everyone will learn their lesson and benefit from it.

Cell Phones Misued

Cell phones have lost their meaning over the years. These small devices were once developed to get in contact with someone else in case of emergencies, and now talking on the phone while driving has turned out to be a way of life for millions of American drivers. More than 85 percent of the 100 million cell-phone subscribers frequently talk on the phone during driving. Talking on the cell phone while driving should be illegal, because of the dangers they cause. Driving while using the cell phone is one of the major problems here in the US. Cell phones should not be used while driving. This matter is too dangerous to let it go unnoticed.

According to the essay, Yes, Prohibit Their Use, which appeared on the congressional quarterly’s web site on March 16, 2001, the Harvard Center for risk analysis printed a study in 1999. They appointed a crash risk factor to using cell phones. In the summer of 2000 it came out to 450 to 1,000 fatalities each year. The NHTSH says that for every fatality, there are 666 property-damage and injury-producing crashes. There are about 300,000 and 650,000 different crashes due to cell phones! This same essay states that Japan is one of the 14 countries banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving. The accidents caused by the use of cell phones dropped by 75 percent the next month, proving cell phones are not necessary parts of the driving nature.

There are major dangers connected with driving and cell phone use. Drivers have to take their eyes off the road while dialing. Also, drivers can get so deep into their conversations that their ability to concentrate may be dangerously limited. This jeopardizes the safety of the people inside the vehicle, and the pedestrians outside. In order to drive safely, the driver should be able to put 100% of his or her focus on the road. Cell phones are simply a huge distraction while driving.

It is understandable that there are some cases where the use of a cell phone is needed. In these cases, I agree with the author of Yes, Prohibit Their Use, the driver should pull-over somewhere safe to use the phone. If someone receives an incoming call, he should wait until the car has come to a complete stop. Then he should proceed to use the phone. If he feels that the emergency is urgent enough to take action right away, then the person should use the hands free headset. Only in emergencies should cell phones be used.

Some people argue that there are other distractions other than cell phones. While using a cell phone when driving may not be the most unsafe distraction, studies prove that it is the most common cause of car crash accident, and common cause of death here in the US.

The use of cell phones while driving should be banned in Philadelphia, because many people die due to distraction of cell phones. Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year. (www.livescience.com/technology). Another reason to not use the cell phone while driving is devastating the many lives of the victims and their families in the case of an accident.

When driving, cell phones should not be allowed. Help the statistics decrease not increase.

Haze

  The haze is a constant phenomenon faced by Malaysia and her neighbouring countries. The haze is basically pollution of atmosphere, which is clogged with pollutants and other substances from forest fires.

            The haze is a direct effect of forest fire in Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesia due to slash and burn method of farming. The Indonesian authorities appear to have no power to control farmers from practising such methods. The haze is further worsened by open burning practised by most Malaysians. Open-field burning of rice straw by the rice planters and open burning of dried leaves and garbage done by the public are a few examples that done by Malaysian. Many are ignorant of the health effects of open burning.

            During the haze, hospitals and clinic often report a dramatic increase in respiratory problems, lung infections and asthma attack. The Air Pollution Index (API) usually indicates the hazardous and dangerous levels of pollution during this period. The haze has long-term side effects. Prolonged inhalation of polluted air will result in serious lung infection which particularly affects the elderly.

            The government must play its role to reduce the haze treat. It has to cooperate with the Indonesian authorities to stamp out forest fires. The culprits must be brought to justice, either through healthy fine or prison sentence. Constant vigilance would ensure the perpetrators do not repeat their offence.

The government should also raise the public awareness of the dangers of forest fire. Continuous campaign of the cause, solutions and steps-need-to-be-taken to reduce the haze need to be promoted through all types of social media like television, radio, newspaper and even via internet. The authorities should also provide assistance to farmers and introduce more sophisticated forest clearing methods.

            In Malaysia, strict laws must be imposed to penalise those who practise open burning. On-going campaigns on the dangers of open burning should be intensified. Individuals too have a role to play. They must participate in every campaign and stop burning. Students can advise their parents not to practice open burning.

            Every individual has to remember that we do not own the world, but instead we lent it from our future generations. We must protect our world so that our grandchildren woulh have a healthy earth to live.

Pollution

Pollution is an issue of concern in the modern world that we live in today. There are many types of pollution, namely air, water and noise. Pollution in our environment will undoubtedly affect our quality of life. Our naturally beautiful world becoming ugly because it is suffering from the effects of environmental pollution. Pollution can also cause various health problems and other negative effects.

Air pollution is caused by the emission of toxic gases from vehicles, factories and open burning. Nowadays, there are more and more vehicles on the road as society gets more affluent. More and more people strive to have a better quality of life by having the convenience of driving to their destinations instead of taking public transportation. Automobiles provides transport to millions people around the world to enable them to travel to their workplace, school and other places, therefore, the air around us is getting more polluted by the carbon dioxide that is emitted. Carbon monoxide is another type of gas which harmful to the environment as it can cause the reduction of oxygen in the bloodstream.

Another example of contributor to the air pollution is the manufacturing factories. The manufacturing of products in factories to meet the growing demand of society is also causing air pollution. Factories release toxic gases to the environment. Some factories also use coal to generate heat and energy. As a result from the burning of coal, carbon dioxide is released into the environment.

            Besides factories, many people are still practising open burning as a way of disposing their household wastes. Although burning our household wastes is a convenient way of getting rid of our rubbish, it is harmful to the environment as it contributes to the worsening of the air quality. As a result, air pollution causes people to suffer from health problems such as chest pain and asthma. In extreme cases, people can contract lung cancer.

            Water pollution is also a problem that we are currently facing. The marine life is the first to suffer from water pollution as they depend on the nutrients in the water to survive. As a result, we are robbed of beautiful sea corals and unique species of fishes. Besides ruining our marine heritage, the disappearance of marine life will affect the livelihood of fishermen, not to mention our source of food. Water pollution is caused by harmful waster from industries, farms and sewerage systems which are dumped into our sources of water such as rivers and lakes. This irresponsible act contaminates our drinking water and can cause serious health problems and can even culminate in death.

            Noise pollution is another form of pollution. Noise from heavy machinery and vehicles can cause hearing problems and in extreme cases, deafness. As there is growing number of vehicles on the road, we are exposed to noise pollution every day. The government in advanced countries encourage their citizens to take the public buses and trains by providing an affordable and efficient transportation system. This effort discourages people from driving their private vehicles and consequently reduces the number of vehicles on the road.

            We must work together to reduce pollution so that the future generations can live in a healthy, unpolluted environment. As the saying goes, precaution is better than cure. Lets hands on hands together by recycle and conserve the world for the better future.

A holiday I would never forget

Holidays, a time everyone gets hyped up over, parents planning activities for the family to spend quality time with and school children ( as well as teachers) jumping for joy. Hello, waking up late, celebrating, goin for tuition and best of all, vacations! In myy case, a holiday I would never forget is a fruitful one I expereinced five years ago, where my family I spent six days in the land of K-Pop and ' kimchi '- Korea.

        Finally, after ages of waiting, our family arrived in beautiful Korea. Stepping out of the plane, we could feel the chilly weather to our bones. Never experiencing that kind of weather, my siblings and I were totally excited. Passing through immigration and baggage claim, we were talking animatedly about our new surroundings. Since we went with tour group, we knew we were in good hands.

        Incident number one. We were supposed to take a bus to check in at the hotel, as instructed. I guessed I was overeager and without thinking. I ran to a random bus and knocked on the door. The young bus driver opened the door and looked at me with a puzzled expression. He started asking me something in Korean, which of course I did not understand. I tried to reply in English, but before I could make the attempt, my father quickly apologized to the driver and walked me back to the tour group who was watching from afar, shaking with laughter. It turned out that the bus I was running to was not the bus we were supposed to take. I dismissed my burning cheeks. I was glad I could be the butt of everyone's jokes on my first day in a foreign country.

        It was a bit past lunch time when we were done checking in our hotel. Not doubt, everybody's stomachs were grumbling. Thank God after checking in, we were going to have our lunch and do a bit of sightseeing. While waiting for the others outside the hotel, we walked around nearby. There was a row of vending machines that sold various snacks and beverages, including Haagen Dazs ice-cream , and instant noodles. My mother had a craving for Nescafe, so she spent her first Korrean money on that.

        At the restaurant, a delicious meal was already spread out for us. That was the first time we all tried kimchi, a spicy  and sour vegetable side dish.I did not think it was horrible,  buut I preferred the fish kimchi much better. We all ate using chopsticks, so that was kind or awkward for me  and  my siblings, as we were not skilled at using them yet. Being Malaysians, we were used to rice, so it was a good thing that the Korean meal included rice and a few other side dish, eaten from a Bento box. It was weird though, the rice was stickier compared to the rice  we eat at home, mainly to make it easier to eat using chopsticks. There was also hot and scumptious miso soup together with the meal. Since my sister and my brother did not like it much, I finshed up theirs. I gulped the warm soup down my throat- a nice connntrast from the shivering weather outside.

        One of the highlights of our activities that we did in Korea was skiling. Everybody from the tour group was looking forward to that, even the 52-year old couple traveling with us. Since it was'nt fully snownig yet, the hill was coverred with artificial snow. After grobbing our ski gear, we listen to a briefing by the instructor. He was very help ful, especially with us kids annd the elderly couple.

        Feeling jumpy and hyperactive, me and my sister made our way to the cable car and successfully skied down a slope. I thought, " We're natural at this," and my sister could not agree more. When we came to see how our parents and brother were doing, my brother started to throw a snowball towards me and my sister. It hit me, and we started having a small snowball fight of our own, just like in the movies! I guessed we got a bit out of hand and my sister accidentally hit a woman's back. when she turned around, she had this angry look on her face and started to walk towards us.I hurried my siblings to continue skiing with our parents,and we ran away before she cold catch us. Breathless, we giggled innaivety as we recapped the moment.

        In a way, skiing is like swimming. Why do I say so? Well, when swimming ,you do not feel tired , but you would see the effect when you get ravenous and eat more after a session or when you aintend to tke a nap, but it is extended to long hours. The same goes to skiing. When we arrived at the hotel after skiing, we were drained out and starving. Instant noodles saved the day! We all ate curry-flavoured Maggi together, savouring the memontary pleasure. We also dozed off quite early that night , right after going for a walk to enjoy the amazing night view of th mountains, and breathing the cool, fresh winter air.

        Shopping in Korea was also different compared to Malaysia. Its malls were packed with small shops or stalla on every floor. Big boutiques were not seen as much as the quaint kiosks. Nevertheless, I found shopping at their markets more enjoyable, especially because you could haggle the price. Their specialities   were crystals, fabrics and outerwear. Apart form that, I also liked their wet markets , mainly because they were very clean and they did not have that fishy smell. I remembered a shocking incident when walking through the stalls of the wet market. A large fish jumped  out its aquarium  and onto the floor. I stared at it and suddenly, I saw a huge cutting knife slicing through the fish's neck! It was the owner of the stall's doing. Then, the owner left the fish flapping around lifelessly without a head.

        There was also a treasure trove among the stalls of the wet market- a tiny shoop which served grilled seafood. My family stepped into the shop and ordered some grilled fish and cockles.

        After saying our prayers, we devoured our mouth-watering find of the day. Dripped in a type of souce, the seafood was the best I had ever eaten, as you could taste the freshness. Or maybe I was just hungry after  a full day of activities.

        If it was up to me, there were so many things to write on my memorabe trip to Korean. Not onli we got to spend quality time together as a family, but we also learnt countless new things and even discovered hidden talents. My father always said we should travel with an open mind and an open  heart. This is when you get to see your capability to adapt to changes. Just enjoy the simple things in life and be thankful of what you have. So, do just that. Who knows you might discover a part of yourself you never know existed?