Who Killed Wellington

     Wellington was found 7 minutes after midnight on Mrs. Shears front lawn. A garden fork was stabbed all the way through the dog. It would take a lot of anger to want to stab a dog with a garden fork. A stranger walking down the road wouldn't stab a dog out of nowhere. The killer was someone close to the dog, or Mrs. Shears. Before the killing, Mrs. Shears and Mr. Boone were very close, and now they don't talk anymore. Mr. Boone had motive, opportunity, and means. Which is why Mr. Boone killed Wellington.

     Usually when someone has done something bad, they will try to play it off or steer attention away from it. In chapter 41 on page 14, when Chris is at the police station, Mr Boone sternly tells Chris not to investigate. He says, "Christopher, you have to stay out of trouble, OK?" and "Just try to keep your nose out of other people's business." But when Christopher insists that he is going to investigate, Mr. Boone gets angry and says, "Leave it." He also tells him again in chapter 79 on page 32. Obviously he wouldn't want his child going around harassing people, but it's very suspicious when he gets so mad and frantic when he hears that Chris is investigating. In chapter 4 of The Hounds of Baskerville, on page 47, Stapleton tells Watson not to go into the Grimpen Mire. This is because he is hiding something. This would link to Mr. Boone because if he's hiding something, he wouldn't want Chris to investigate either. 

     In chapter 79, on page 32, Christopher gets in trouble for poking around Mrs. Shears garden. When his father confronts him about it, Chris shares that Mr. Shears is his number one target. He says that he may have wanted to hurt Mrs. Shears, and could have done that by killing Wellington. Mr Shears had motive, but he also had opportunity because he knew Mrs Shears and Wellington and could have easily gone back to the house, gotten a garden fork, and killed the dog. To other readers, this would make more sense because you can argue that Mr. Shears was very comfortable around the dog and Mrs. Shears, and also had a better opportunity. This draws attention away from Mr. Boone as well.

     As much as Mr. Shears has a good motive and lots of opportunity, that is just a ploy to focus attention on that instead of the real killer, Mr. Boone. In chapter 67 we learn that Mr. Shears left Mrs. Shears, and that is when she and Mr. Boone became very close. But throughout this whole story, Mr. Boone and Mrs. Shears never interacted once. It's seems weird that there was no explanation as to why they don't talk anymore. Clearly something happened between Mr. Boone and Mrs. Shears, which could have been part of Mr. Boones motive. Also, in chapter 97, on page 39, Mrs. Alexander tells Christopher that his mother and Mr. Shears were having an affair. If Mr. Shears was the one to leave Mrs. Shears, then he wouldn't have motive. Mr. Boone may have wanted to harm Wellington to get at Mr. Shears, because that is his dog as well.

     No matter how much Mr. Boone tries to encourage Christopher not to investigate, it is obvious that he is the killer. He has a short temper. He drinks a lot. His job makes him stay up late. Add up all those details and you have a case of a dead dog, an autistic boy, and a secretive father, who also happens to be a killer. 

       

Song I Relate To

The song I chose that I relate to most is "Storm" by Lifehouse. 

 

The lyrics are:

How long have I been in this storm?

So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form

Water's getting harder to tread

With these waves crashing over my head

If I could just see you

Everything would be all right

If I'd see you

This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water

And you will catch me if I fall

And I will get lost into your eyes

I know everything will be alright

I know everything is alright

I know you didn't bring me out here to drown

So why am I ten feet under and upside down

Barely surviving has become my purpose

Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface

If I could just see you

Everything would be all right

If I'd see you

This darkness would turn to light

And I will walk on water

And you will catch me if I fall

And I will get lost into your eyes

And I know everything will be alright

And I will walk on water

And you will catch me if I fall

And I will get lost into your eyes

I know everything will be alright

I know everything is alright

Everything's alright

Yeah, everything's alright

I chose this song for 2 reasons. The first is because it's a slow, peaceful song and when I feel stressed or worried it helps calm me down. I listen to it all the time. The second is because the lyrics actually relate to being in a stressful situation. The situation in the song is about someone missing someone who has passed away, and not knowing if they'll be able to get through that. When I listen to it, I don't think about someone who has passed away, but I think about someone who is close to me that I wish could be there to help me. The part in the song that says "If I could just see you

Everything would be all right

If I'd see you

This darkness would turn to light" relates to me because sometimes when I feel worried or stressed, I also feel alone. And I wish that I had someone there to talk to about it and could help me through it. The lines that say "How long have I been in this storm?

So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form

Water's getting harder to tread

With these waves crashing over my head" are a metaphor saying that they're in a tough situation, and they're starting to struggle to get through it. I can also relate to this because I get stressed out easily and I worry about stuff and I tend to always feel like it's the end of the world even if it's not. The last part I can relate to is "And I will walk on water

And you will catch me if I fall

And I will get lost into your eyes

I know everything will be alright

I know everything is alright". These lines are saying that they have one person in their life that they know will always be there to help them get through their hard times. For me, that would either be my dad or my best friend. I find that they're the easiest to talk to and they give the best advice. But they aren't always there the second I need them which is why I relate to the first part about wishing I could see the one person that helps me get through everything. 

http://youtu.be/4w0RGrTbbqw

R&J Relationship Essay

     Despite being centuries apart, the relationships in Romeo & Juliet and modern day relationships have many similarities. There are many relationships in the play including parent/child relationships, friendships, marriages, cousins and so on. The relationships that teens today relate to most is the relationship that Romeo and Juliet share.

     When Romeo and Juliet met they instantly fell in "love". Shakespeare described them as "star crossed lovers" and believed that it was their destiny that they be brought together. Nothing has changed between then and now. Even in today's time people say "it's meant to be" when they think they have found someone they're in love with. Romeo and Juliet were teenagers. Time does not change how a teenage brain works. Obviously social media has a large affect on today's relationships, but hormones and the things that happen inside a teenagers body haven't changed. That saying, "love at first sight" can be true. The first thing you notice in someone is their appearance. Romeo and Juliet were drawn to each other just based on that. It's unrealistic to be in love with someone without knowing who they even are but the aspect of wanting to be with someone because of physical appearance happens a lot. Teenagers get hung up on the idea of love. There is a quote that says "There are certain people that define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like." That saying basically sums up everything. There is no definition of what love is because it's a feeling. Tons of teenagers today go around saying that they're in love, just like Romeo and Juliet did. Yes, Romeo and Juliet probably set the standards for love a little high, but at the same time it goes to show that once a teenage has that feeling of what they think love is, they get hooked on it.

     It's easy to argue that you could never be in love with someone without knowing who they are and getting to know the person. Romeo and Juliet knew each other for less than a week before getting married. That doesn't usually happen in today's society. Most of the time people spend years together getting to know each other before they get married. The benefit of that is that you get to learn all about the person and see who they really are. You wouldn't want to marry someone based on looks alone. There were a lot of arranged marriages in Romeo and Juliets time though. A lot of people didn't have a chance to get to know their love and were forced to marry them. Romeo and Juliet was the opposite of an arranged marriage. They weren't supposed to even be talking because of their families rivalry. But at the same time Juliet was being forced to marry Paris. She didn't know him well either but she was instantly drawn to a Romeo. Teenagers today are like that too. Someone could have a crush on someone, but that person could feel nothing at all for them, and everything for someone else. It's not a matter of "you can't help who you fall in love with", but more that when you see something in someone, such as a trait or characteristic that you're drawn to, you instantly want to get to know that person better.

     Parents also had and have a big influence on relationships. In Romeo and Juliet their families hated each other. There was an ongoing grudge that neither side would let go of. When Juliet found out Romeo was a Montague, at first she was devastated. Saying things like "My only love sprung from my only hate." But then she realizes that "Montague" is just a name, and doesn't define who Romeo is. "Tis but thy name is my enemy; thou art myself, though not a Montague, What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face, nor any other part, belonging to a man O, be some other name." She tells herself this, and is willing to look past the fact that he is from a rivalry family because she loves him. This can relate to a teenager so much! If someone brings home their boyfriend or girlfriend or anything like that and their parents don't like them, the teen tends to go behind their parents backs, just like Romeo and Juliet. Teenagers are constantly rebelling against their parents so they can do what they want. There are tons of things to do with religion and race and sexuality when it comes to relationships that parents may disagree with, and in Romeo and Juliets case it was the fact that their families hate each other. Juliet basically said that she was willing to ditch her family to be with Romeo. In today's time that still happens! Teens seem to value relationships like that more than relationships with their parents. It's probably because teens like the feeling of being able to do whatever they want. Parents are there to look out for you, but just like Juliet, teens get their backs up and instantly rebel. 

      Each relationship from the play can relate to a teenager in some way. Every teenager experiences hormones differently, which means they also feels relationships differently. Teenagers are over reactive and feel like everything is the end of the world. That is exactly how Juliet felt about Romeo and vice versa. They were willing to do anything for each other and I'm sure every teenager has felt like that about someone before. The relationship Romeo and Juliet share relates most to a teenagers life.