Canterbury Tales Prologue Addition

Leah Mancuso
Canterbury Tales Prologue Addition

 There was a young boy who had lots of charm,
He had a “believe” tattoo on his arm,
He goes by Justin or maybe “JB”,
His most famous song is known as “Baby”,
The moment that he sings the girls go wild,
His biggest fan is probably a child,
Although his voice used to be very high,
No longer does it make the boys go “why?”,
A few weeks ago he threw up on stage,
But no girls cared no they were not enraged,
It does not matter what he ever does,
He will always be the nation’s buzz.

Heorot High

Leah Mancuso
Beowulf and the City Story

                                                                         Heorot High

        “Now class, please tell me you remember the story of King Shield...” Mr. Hroth said in exasperation. He had taught this story over and over, but nothing seemed to register with the kids.
         “He was the first king to rule Denmark. He led the Danes to great peace, and no kings could ever live up to his glory.” Beau spoke out. He was the “Mr. Popular” of Heorot High School. Funny, smart, flirty, and handsome to top it off.
         “Finally! Thank you Beau!” Mr Hroth sighed in relief. “Why can’t you all be like Beau?” He couldn’t help but ask aloud.
         Grundy groaned from the back of the class. Perfect Beau. He could do no wrong. Rolling his eyes, Grundy felt his glasses down his face. He pushed them back up and glanced around the room, trying to ease his everlasting boredom that presented itself everyday in this history class. His mind suddenly thought back to the 7th grade. He was walking aimlessly around the gym at the middle school dance, looking for someone to talk to. He noticed that everyone was crowded around Beau in a tight circle, watching him do his signature break dance. He even remembered the stupid name his fanbase gave it: “The Hrunting”. Grundy remembered snorting. How stupid. Grundy specifically could remember Freya, his long-time crush, laughing and clapping along to the music while she watched. Grundy had liked her since grade school, but he vividly remembered  at that moment realizing he had no chance with her.
          The bell rang, interrupting Grundy’s flashback. The class shot up and ran out; finally, it was lunch. Grundy sighed and packed up his belongings, but not before looking up and seeing Beau laughing and joking with Mr. Hroth. He even had Freya’s father’s friendship.
           Grundy stalked out in anger. He had a bad feeling that maybe Beau would be asking Freya to prom today. Not a chance. Grundy suddenly growled to himself. He wouldn’t let it happen. It had been nearly 12 years he spent in school liking Freya, and he wasn’t going to waste his last year watching Beau have her yet again. He would make Freya see that she belonged with him. Even if it meant facing off with Beau.
            He quickened his pace to the cafeteria. He felt himself full of rage, and fueling it were the memories he had throughout his life of Beau tearing him apart through his words and actions. Grundy could feel his face flush as he realized that Beau was the reason he had such a tortured soul; that he was so alone. He wasn’t going to stand by and let Beau beat him down anymore.
             Grundy threw open the cafeteria doors. He felt the lunchroom grow quiet and all of the student’s stares crept up on him.
            “Beau!” Grundy yelled out, not even sure where Beau was. He looked around in every direction, until he finally laid eyes on his prey. Beau looked up, his eyes big, and a smile crept up on his face.
             “Grundy.” Beau said simply with his smirk growing bigger. “You finally about to crack?”
              Grundy lost control. He felt himself grab Beau by the shoulders and toss him to the ground like he was nothing. If there was one thing Grundy was, it was physically strong. The lunchroom gasped. Nothing like this had ever happened at HHS.
               Beau was only startled for a minute, and soon regained himself. Picking himself off the floor, he managed to throw a punch at the fuming Grundy.
               “Give it up Grundy! I know you want Freya, the whole school does. You couldn’t make it more obvious. But guess what Grundy? I have her. I have everything. I have everything you’ve ever wanted, and now you’re taking it out on me. I know your pathetic game.” Beau spit in Grundy’s face. Grundy could take punches, but Beau’s words sliced right through him. Slinking back, Grundy fell to the floor and looked around in embarrassment. Heat rushed through him. Everybody knew. He jumped up and ran out as soon as he could, before the laughter shaking the cafeteria reached him.
                  Grundy ran and ran until he couldn’t anymore. He couldn’t get Beau’s words out of his head. He shook his skull until he felt like his brain was rattling against it. Dropping to his knees in front of his swamp house, he cried. He realized Beau was right, about everything. Beau had exactly everything Grundy wanted. He unleashed everything he had held in for his whole life. He felt his heart so ready to explode of sadness. He had finally got the courage to stand up for himself, and he was crushed and smashed like a stupid little bug.
                   After a minute or so of tears, he pulled himself together. He turned around and stared at the school in the distance. A thought came to his mind, and this time it was going to work. This wasn’t about Freya. This wasn’t even about Beau, or their so-called fight. This was about revenge.

College Essay - Final Draft

Leah Mancuso
College Essay

          When the typical person thinks of Mickey Mouse, various words may come to mind. A few popular ones might be cartoon, children, or just simply, Disney. To me, however, a rush of words flow in. Inspirational, influential, imaginative and so much more. To me, Mickey is symbolic of the life and dream of one man, and the the whole world that he affected. This man, Walt Disney, created more than he most likely ever dreamed of when he drew his first sketch of Mickey Mouse. This sketch led to the start of one of the world’s biggest companies of all time, and one that influences almost every industry on Earth.
            All my life, I have been a dreamer. When I started off in high school, I lived off of my fantasies and dreams of someday being happy and having a life people could only dream up. After a while, it was hard not to believe that they weren’t reality, as they were so vivid in my mind. As I grew older and I matured, I realized that I couldn’t sit around and wait for these dreams to just “come true”. While I used to almost live by the quote, “Good things come to those who wait”, I realized that although patience is a virtue, some things did not come from simply waiting. While Disney movies are notorious for their prominent happily ever afters, in real life they do not come without work. Walt Disney showed this with his creation of the Walt Disney Company, which in no way was produced overnight.
             The biggest thing about Mickey that has had an influence on me and my life, is not actually Mickey himself but a quote about him said by Disney. The quote, “I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing -- that it was all started by a mouse,” is simple, but can go much deeper. The idea is that any small thought, even one such as tiny and insignificant as a mouse, can lead to something much, much bigger, like the Walt Disney Company. As far as my life, that quote and the idea behind it is something that can speak to me on many levels and something that I try to apply to my life everyday. When I think of my future in college, and the always infamous post-college job searches, I try to keep this idea in my head: to be big, you must start small. This is to also never be discouraged when you feel you have close to nothing, because every big thing had to start somewhere. So in my life I plan on never giving up when it seems my dreams are impossible. I’ll do it for Mickey Mouse, and of course, Walt Disney.

Feminist Criticism Paper

Leah Mancuso
Feminist Paper
Period 3
1/22/12
Art Spiegelman’s two books; Maus I and Maus II, are both very bold writings of
his father’s survival in the Holocaust. After their publications, they opened up many criticisms
from people around the world. Most readers thought they were great representations, but
others thought Spiegelman exploited his father, and even some feminists believed the books
were sexist to women due to the incredibly “weak” women characters. Spiegelman’s portrayal,
however, of women in Maus I and Maus II, is merely based off of his father’s accounts, and is
neither negative or positive.
One way that his books were not a negative representation of women, is that the
main female characters were split by different time periods. Lucia and Anja were written mostly
in a WWII and post-WWII setting, where things were much different. At the time, the world was
in a state of war-panic and paranoia. It’s understandable that even little things would worry
someone more in this time period then the current one. Francoise, on the other hand, lives in
more of a present-day time and in America where freedom isn’t questioned like it was in Europe
in WWII. Mala, who also lives at this time, is considered weak, but this could be from the affects
of WWII, which she was alive for.
With different time periods comes different viewpoints, specifically of women.
The women’s rights movement, a going movement from the 18th century, was still working
on making much progress in the 1930s/40s, when WWII was happening. The movement still
had not reached it’s current status until much later in the 20th century. This shows that there
was still a much more negative view of women at the time, making Lucia and Anja’s struggles
more emphasized. In the late 20th century, where Francoise’s story took place, the feminist
movement was at it’s high point. Women were top leaders of their industries, and had the right
to stand up for what they believed in, like Francoise often does. The completely different overall
view of women at the time more then likely affected their strength and how they were perceived
to us now.
Another reason Spiegelman’s writings were not meant to be negative on
women, is that the women all went through very different situations that would affect how strong
they are. For example, Anja went through the Holocaust, and Francoise did not. Of course
their experiences are very different, so to belittle Anja for her “lack of strength” is unfair. Lucia,
who may or may not have went through the Holocaust, is more debatable as far as if she has
a “right” to be weak, but it all goes back to the time period. Mala went through the Holocaust as
well, and it could be argued is the reason for her weakness in the present-day.
Maus I and Maus II are just Spiegelman’s written accounts of his father’s
experiences in the Holocaust, and should not be up for debate, especially on feminist grounds.
To even try and compare any of the women’s situations to each other is like comparing apples
to oranges. Spiegelman’s portrayal of women are only based off of what his father, Vladek, told
him, and is neither negative or positive.

Anja's POV Journal

Leah Mancuso
1/11/12

November 17th, 1936

Today I recieved a letter about Vladek, the man I’m engaged to. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read it. In it, someone, a woman presumably, said the most hateful things about Vladek that really made me think. By the end of the letter, my eyes were so full of tears I could barely make out the faint “L” that was signed. Who “L” was was barely a thought that crossed my mind. All I could think was how could Vladek betray me like this? The man I loved, the man who I would be married to in a very short amount of time. How could he keep this from me? The letter said he had many girlfriends back at home. Well I’m sure that’s true, I’m nobody special. I bet a girlfriend wrote this very letter. He’s probably run back to her already. And he is just marrying me for my money? Well I bet that’s true as well. I’m not beautiful, or clever. All that I’m worth it my money. But...I love Vladek and I was so sure he loved me too.

-Anja

November 19th, 1936

Vladek came to visit me yesterday. He still loves me! How did I doubt him? I cried when I saw him and he comforted me so well. I can’t wait to marry him in just three short months. How did I get so lucky?

-Anja

Maus 2 Reaction Paper

Leah Mancuso
1/11/12

How would you evaluate...how the Holocaust affected Artie and Vladek’s lives together? While Vladek was the one who had to physically go through the Holocaust, it’s apparent that it had strong effects on even Artie as he grew up. It’s debatable who felt the effects worse, however. Some could argue that Vladek had to actually go through the horrors of the POW and concentration camps, while Art just had to hear about it. On the other hand, just hearing about it could be as bad or even worse for a child growing up. Two ways we can evaluate how it had an effect on their lives is in Art’s writing and Art and Vladek’s relationship and personalities.
You can see a strong connection with growing up as a “child of the Holocaust” and the way Art writes and draws. His drawings, black and white cartoons of mice, have often dark and graphic undertones. This is most prominent in Maus 2, Chapter 2, where it starts off with Artie undergoing the weight of the media and it’s pressures. The way he draws himself shrinking and shrinking, and then eventually to himself on a pile of dead bodies, really shows the dark side of his mind. The fact that he had to endure his parent’s pain and suffering over the Holocaust throughout his whole life, really shows in his dark writings and the way he so accurately represented succumbing to pressure. The effects of the Holocaust on Artie are obvious in this sense.
Another way you can see how the Holocaust affected their lives together was in their relationship and personalities in the last years of Vladek’s life. Throughout the books, the story switches from a “present-day” Vladek and Artie to Vladek telling Artie the stories of the Holocaust. In the parts where you can see Vladek and Art together, their relationship shows. They bicker a lot and over almost everything. Vladek’s personality is also a big indictor of how the Holocaust affected him overall because he is rather grumpy, needy, and articulate. He is constantly trying to “run away”, in a way, and is very particular about quantity. These qualities show how experiences in the Holocaust remained in Vladek throughout his life. Art gets easily frustrated with Vladek, which also shows a connection to growing up under the influence of Holocaust survivors. He talks about living under Richieu’s shadow, which can show why he, in Maus 2, finds himself crumbling under all of the pressure. All of these traits that Vladek and Art carry in their lives and their relationship show a vivid connection between the Holocaust and it’s later effects.
After evaluating different ways the Holocaust and it’s horrible events has a connection to the way Vladek and Art’s relationship was, you can see that it is a good argument for who “had it worse”. The answer is really, it’s hard to tell, because they both went through very different situations, but in the end, they were essentially the same.

"Hitler Killed My Father"

A tragedy is an event that greatly affects someone’s life in a negative way. Tragedy can be a death, or any kind of loss of a loved one. The Holocaust, for it’s survivors, was a tragedy in itself due to all the losses and deaths witnessed. Tragedy is remembered in a variety of ways. For most people, there is a process of grief that must be gone through, with the five stages of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. In each stage, tragedy is remembered differently. In the beginning, people may look at a tragedy in an extremely painful way, often blocking out memories. By the end, people are generally “healed” from a tragedy, and while it is still painful and sad, they are able to remember good times or even look at the tragedy in a positive way, for example, as something that made them stronger. A lot of the time a tragedy will always hurt, and people try not to think about it because it still hurts so bad. For example, in the article, the author’s father “…lived and breathed being a Holocaust survivor…” throughout his life. But however, his parents were able to live normal lives, as in the quote, “I marveled at my parents’ ability to live normal lives”.
I believe there can be a happy medium with tragedy. I believe once people get the closure they need, it’s easier to move on but still remember it. I think people try and force themselves to remember more then they should, because if it is something worth being remembered, they will absolutely never forget it. If someone blocks out a memory, that may be the only way for them to cope. In all, people deal with tragedies in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to deal with it.