Author: Aaron

Philip Reeve makes Shrike an effective character because he has 2 different personalities. Firstly Reeves tries to make Shrike look heartless. “He turned and stumped away across the steaming garbage, losing all interest in Hester. He only wanted stuff he could he could sell, and there was no value in a half-dead child. Old bug tyres, now – those were worth something…” Shrike thinks that old garbage is more valuable than a child.

However he does also have a caring side, soon after he decides to leave the child he comes back and says “YOU CAN’T STAY HERE, CHILD,” This proves that he still cares for people as he knows the dangers and he is willing to warn young Hester,”YOU MUST NOT,” was all the Stalker said. “YOU’LL BE KILLED.”

Earlier in the book Shrike is seen as a heartless monster but by having a caring side it raises questions such as “Why would Shrike kill someone he cares about?” “Or does Shrike really care?” This raises suspension for later in the book where they answer the unanswered questions.

On Airhaven Shrike attacks the floating city. On one side he is a thoughtless  murder who will hurt other innocent people just to kill one person. On the other hand he is merciful as he “rewarded” Hester for her good thinking. “He was pleased at Hester Shaw’s quick thinking, and he decided to let her live a few more hours as a reward,” He still postponed Hesters death  even though he could track her using his advanced technology. This leads people to believe that he is still merciful even though there is a reward for Hesters murder, it also adds a contrast on the reader on whether Shrike is still a ruthless bounty hunter or if he’s being forced to do this.

Later in the book Shrike attempts to kill Hester to fulfil his “hearts desire” “All right,” she said. “But let Tom go.”

“HE MUST DIE,” insisted Shrike. “IT IS PART OF MY BARGAIN WITH CROME. YOU WILL NOT REMEMBER HIM WHEN YOU WAKE IN YOUR NEW BODY.”

“Oh please, Shrike, no,” begged Hester. “Tell Crome he escaped or drowned or something, died somewhere in the Out-Country and you couldn’t bring him back. Please?” “VERY WELL,” the Stalker said. Gently, he stroked Hester’s face with the tips of the blades. “THE BOY CAN LIVE.” Some people may see this as a selfish act because of the fact that Shrike is doing this for a reward. Furthermore he’s doing this for HIS hearts desire which proves just how selfish he actually is. On the other hand because he lets Tom live, this contrasts the fact that he’s doing this for himself and by letting Tom live he has also sacrificed some of his reward. Because of this the reader can become confused about whether he really is such as a bad person as the author says he is.

Most of the characters themselves see Shrike as just a robot made for killing. “Shrike doesn’t have feelings,” This leads people to believe that Shrike really is just a murder despite all the evidence that shows he has a caring side.

MINECRAFT TROLLING

In school I noticed that people liked PvP and hunger games on Minecraft A LOT so I decided to make a PvP server of my own. However under the floor there were stacks of TNT ready to be lit. Moments after people joined and started battling with each other with their fists (it took a while for someone to die) little did they know they were trapped inside the arena. When I lit the TNT everyone was blown up!! Many people were angry because they were in the middle of a good fight before they blew up. A few days later I joined another server with cheats meaning I could do what ever I wanted to do which also means that I can kill everyone.

Dear Mr Dastagir

Hello, my name is Aaron and I am here to raise awareness about an issue around the school which students know as “banter”. You did an assembly a few months ago on this topic and people might have ignored your presentation. I suspect this because students are still using the phrase “it’s just banter” around the school.

The fact is that saying, “it’s just banter”, makes it seem acceptable to say rude comments   around the school and in the community, making people feel uncomfortable. Moreover it could destroy the reputation for the school.

Your students are insulting other pupils with rude comments about race, mothers etc and then saying that “it’s just banter”. In my opinion, people say that because they are “joking”. However the victim does not see it as banter. This is not acceptable because they are only thinking of their own feelings but not anyone else’s. Furthermore, the victim may feel worse because the student insulting him does not see the serious side of the insult: the part that is offensive.

Another use for the word “banter” is as an excuse for being rude as by saying, “it’s just banter”, they are trying to blame the offended student of wasting time to get out of trouble although the insult is very rude and the offender knows it is offensive. In addition it also shows a lack of responsibility as instead of owning up or apologising they try to make insults seem acceptable because they do not see it as serious as other students see it.

I said earlier that people had ignored your assembly. The reason is because students enjoy “banter”. It also because it causes fights for students to watch which allows students to use cusses for more “banter” or just to cause even more trouble. Most of the time fights are caused by a student taking banter too far and then making the matter worse by saying “it’s just banter”. Racist banter is usually when it is too far, or sometimes it is because  mothers have been cussed.

Banter is an issue which needs to be dealt with around the school because banter covers up bullying. Furthermore the community around our school will feel uncomfortable and the school’s reputation will go down. Eventually the school will be closed down due to the poor behaviour of certain individuals using banter as an excuse to be rude to others.

In conclusion, what I would like to see is a therapy where the student can understand why banter is not acceptable. I’m suggesting this because just giving a sanction will not help but just make matters worse. However if they still ignore the advice then a serious sanction , such as red cards, should take place because you have already done an assembly on banter. Another way of solving the problem is to have more teachers supervising the corridors and outside the school because this is where banter occurs most, when teachers are not there to see it happen.

I hope you have listened to my feedback because this is an important issue in the school

Yours sincerely

Aaron Asenso Boateng

One of the things I believe  about chapter 1 is that there are many links between chapter 1 and different parts of the story. For example story water was mentioned in chapter 1 and it is explained in chapter 4. “From the great Story Sea. I drink the story water.” Another idea that is developed is storytelling because Rashid is the Ocean of Notions meaning that he is like an ocean of stories because he never runs out of ideas.

The climax starts when Soraya runs away with Mr Sengupta because of Rashid’s story telling causing Rashid and Haroun sadness. Because of this Rashid looses his storytelling ability which leads to him “unsubscribing” which means he cannot receive story water from the story tap. This prepares you for chapter 5 ,when Haroun goes to Gus city, because in chapter 1 it Salman Rushdie  explains everything in chapter 1 so that in chapter 5 you don’t get lost in the events of the chapter.

Story water is developed in chapter 4 when Haroun drinks the story water. In chapter 1 Rashid explains to Haroun what it is but he doesn’t explain what it does so you don’t find out until chapter 4. Butt (the name) is mentioned in chapter 2, the name of a bus driver who enjoys speed and has feathery quills. Similarly in chapter 4 the hoopoe who is