Essay On The Strangers That Came to Town

     In The Strangers That Came to Town a story about a European family that immigrated to the United States. Their neighbors don't accept their different way of life.  

Praying Mantis

     There are many interesting facts about praying mantises!  Mantises can be seen and enjoyed by anyone, because they live all over the world.  Their beautiful appearance is like no other.  Their unique way of hunting and defending is amazing.  They can eat almost anything smaller than themselves.  Because mantises can eat almost anything smaller than themselves, farmers like to have them on their farms to protect the crops from harmful insects and rodents.  Mantises are always hatching from their tiny eggs keeping their species from extinction.
     About 1800 species of mantises live all over the Earth.  Most of them live in Africa or Asia.  The United States has 20 native species like the Carolina Mantis, but the Chinese Mantis and European Mantis were introduced to the US for agricultural purposes.  Canada only has one native specie!

Malaysian Orchid Mantis

      Praying mantises are beautiful insects.  Their bent arms make them look like they are praying.  The word mantis also means prophet.  The praying mantises scientific name is mantis religiosa.  They can be many different colors including brown, green, pink, and white.  Although they can be all of those colors most are brown or green.  Their natural colors help them to blend in with their surroundings.  Some praying mantises look a lot like flowers.  Others appear to have leaves growing out of them and still other mantises can look like small sticks.  Most Mantises are at least 3 inches long.  The world's heaviest mantis is the Giant Asian Mantis weighing about 1/4 oz.  The mantises appearance helps them attract their prey.
     These carnivorous insects have a unique way of catching their prey.  Mantises arms were created so that they can grab their prey without it getting away.  Mantises arms also help them with climbing.  Another interesting thing about mantises is that they are the only insect that can turn their head 180 degrees!  Their ability to turn their head behind their shoulders makes it easier to see their prey walking toward them or to help them see a predator sneaking up behind them.  Some of their predators are bats, birds, frogs, spiders, and fish.  Praying mantises have compound eyes that help them to see in all directions.  Some people might be wondering what their prey is after reading this.
     Praying mantises eat all kinds of things.  Throughout a mantis' life it will slowly start to eat bigger and bigger insects.  Young mantises (nymphs) will eat small fruit flies or even it's brother or sister.  As it becomes an adult it will start to look for bigger meals that might include butterflies, crickets, frogs, scorpions, snakes or even birds!  Chinese Mantises were found to have fed on pollen when there was a shortage of prey.  Because of their big appetite farmers all across the world purchase and raise mantises, to help get rid of harmful bugs and rodents.

Mantis Eating a Cricket

     Mantises are great for agricultural purposes.  They will eat the insects, snakes, rodents or birds that are harming the crop or landscape.  Farmers buy them while they are young so that they will last longer.  Mantises live all over the world and in order for them to stay that way they have to reproduce.

Mantis Nymphs

     Young mantises, called nymphs, are created almost every second.  They come into this world in an egg and can have from 10 to 400 siblings.  A group of mantis eggs is called an oothecue.  A special liquid hardens the oothecue for Winter keeping them warm and safe for the nymphs.  Eggs will start to hatch in about 2 months.  Praying mantises can fly but a female cannot fly after giving birth.
     So many things are true about praying mantises.  What isn't to like about it?  Mantises live almost everywhere, allowing many people all over the planet to enjoy them.  These bugs are so beautiful that even their prey can't resist looking them.  Even their name suits the well.  A praying mantis has no problem hunting because it can eat almost anything.  Without this bug other insects and animals might be getting into peoples food.  Imagine finding a rat in your dinner! With 10-400 mantises hatching almost every second praying mantises don't have to worry about becoming extinct.  There isn't anything very bad about praying mantises.

Resources

www.wikipedia.org  (Mantis), Biggest Bugs by George Beccaloni and another Insect book

Justice

     Many people have a different definition of justice.  In some fictional books the characters will show justice to other characters. In the story of Ooka and the Honest Thief the thief is given what he deserves.  Another story where a character is just to another was the story of A Just Judge.  One man that was just to another person was Mohandas Gandhi.
     Ooka and the Honest Thief is a story about a man that lost his job and couldn't afford to buy food for his family.  Every night he went out to the store and stole a handful of rice to feed his hungry children.  The owner of the store went to the judge and asked him for help catching the thief.  Over night the judge stayed in the rice store waiting for the crook to walk in.  When the thief finally walked in,   The judge recognized him, the thief was a man named Gonta.  The judge asked him why he didn't steal a whole bag of rice instead of only a handful.  Gonta told the judge that he would only take the amount of rice that his family needed.  Gonta was later punished for his crimes but wasn't punished as much as he could have been if he wasn't honest.  The judge understood that Gonta needed a job, so he gave him a job, but made him pay back the rice that he stole from the store owner.  The judge's definition of justice may have been, that a man shall receive what he deserves a punishment or reward or sometimes both.  Something to learn from this story is that grace should be shown to those that can change from their mistakes.
     In the story of A Just Judge a king came to another town to see the wise judge there.  While riding through the town he came upon a beggar that asked for a ride on the king's horse. Being a kind man, the king invited him to ride on the back of the horse.  When the king got to the beggar's destination the beggar wouldn't get off the horse.  The king told the man to get off the horse but the man screamed "this is my horse!"  The two men were then taken to court.  The judge there had a whole lot of people to deal with.  When it got to the king and the beggar he took the horse and told them both to come back the next day.  The next day the artless beggar was taken out to the horse stable and was asked to point to which horse was his.  The beggar pointed to the correct one and so did the king.  The judge noticed that the horse reacted differently to it's owner than to the beggar.  A day later the beggar was punished, and the king was given his horse.  The judge's definition of justice may have been that the innocent shall be rewarded and the evil doer shall be punished for his crime.  A lesson that we can learn from this story is that we should look at all the little clues so that we can find out for sure who did the crime.
      Mohandas Gandhi was different than all these fictional stories.  His story really happened.  After Britain took India in 1858 British people ruled over Indians.  Many Indians became poor because of large taxes, and because Britain wouldn't let Indians trade goods with other countries.  Very few Indians were allowed to become part of the government.  The Indians tried to fight against the unjust British government.  They tried to use violence to win their independence back but hundreds of people where killed and thousands injured.  Mohandas Gandhi proposed a new technique called satyagraha.  He said that they should not obey the British and burn their British clothing.  He showed them how to spin cloth to make their own clothes.  He showed them how to be independent.  About 6 months after Indians were given back their independence Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated.  Gandhi said "My life is my message" he also said that "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."  Mohandas Gandhi's definition of justice may have been that violence doesn't need to be used to carry out a punishment and that the innocent should not be punished.  One thing we can learn from this story is that if there is a path that doesn't involve violence take it!
   These stories are very helpful when trying to understand justice.  The best definition may have been the just judge's.  If someone did something wrong they shouldn't be treated like they are innocent they should be punished so that they can learn from their actions.  The innocent shouldn't be put in jail, they should be rewarded for their actions.  If the beggar had been given the horse and the king punished the results would have been very devastating.  When we are punished for doing something wrong we should think of it as a reward, because almost every punishment teaches us a very valuable lesson.

Mowgli And Atlanta

     Mowgli, from The Jungle Book, and Atalanta from The Story of Atalanta: The Fleet-Footed Huntress are excluded in various ways in throughout their stories.  Mowgli isn't accepted into either the wolf pack or the human culture.  Atlanta's strength is doubted because of her gender.  The men in the story told her, that because she was a woman, she wasn't allowed to go hunting.
     Mowgli has two conflicts, one of them is with a member of the wolf pack, and the other is with himself.  Because he was too human the wolves did not want to accept him into the wolf pack.  When he went to live with other humans like him, Mowgli wasn't accepted because he was too wolf-like.  After that he was forced to live in the jungle with his wolf brothers because no one would include him in their societies.  Mowgli is not the only one who has problems finding where he belongs, Atlanta also has these kind of problems.
     Atlanta is not welcomed very kindly by other hunters because she is a woman.  Atlanta was a fast runner, was strong and healthy, but the other hunters did not believe her because she wasn't a man.  On a hunting trip  for a wild boar, that was harassing the people of the village, the boar was killing the hunters one by one as they tried to run away.  Atlanta saw what was happening and she wounded the boar so it wouldn't wound any more hunters.  Even though she was a woman and wasn't welcomed as a regular hunter should be, she had more courage and strength than all the other hunters combined.
     Even though they were not accepted, these characters persevered.  Even though the humans and wolves wouldn't accept him Mowgli didn't give up trying to find a home, he went to live in the forest.  Atlanta, like Mowgli, didn't give up even though other people put her down.  Both these stories are alike and can be an example to all the people who doubt themselves.  With a plan, perseverance, and a little effort a person can do just about anything they put their minds to.  Mowgli wanted a home and he got one, and Atlanta wanted to hunt and she was allowed to hunt.

The Law of the Jungle

     Now this is the Law of the Jungle-as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the Law runneth forward and back-For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.  The stories from the jungle book support this poem.  The animals in the Jungle Book are to follow this law and other parts of it and respect it which makes the wolf pack prosper, but some of them do not and this results in suffering for the whole wolf pack.  Father wolf in the beginning of the book follows the law of the jungle, and the wolves prosper from his actions.  Shere Khan the tiger's disciples chose not to follow the law and follow Shere Khan.  Some of them are killed in the process and the wolves suffer because of their stubbornness.
     The Father wolf that was in the beginning of the book follows the law by bringing his wolf cubs to the wolf counsel. He knows that if he obeys the law he will prosper, and if he doesn't he will die.  He is also not sure about bringing the man cub that he and Mother wolf (Raksha) found, to the counsel because they know that some wolves may not accept him into the pack.  The man cub was accepted into the pack and the wolf pack prospered because of their actions.  While Father wolf followed the Law of the Jungle the wolves following Shere Khan didn't.
     Shere Khan the tiger in the story was a bad example and taught other wolves to not follow the Law of the Jungle.  The other wolves took Shere Khan's bribe and did not follow the law of the jungle.  They followed Shere Khan and did what he said, but Shere Khan was not a good leader.  The wolves following Shere Khan were hurt and some of them were killed.  Not following the law was a bad idea
     The theme of this book is that if the law is broken the law breaker will have to face the consequences of his actions, and if it is kept the people following it will not perish.   Shere Khan set a bad example for other animals in the pack and was killed for his actions.  Dad wolf was not killed and prospered for his courageous actions.  If laws are followed the person following them will live and might be rewarded.  If they don't follow the laws they commit to they will have to suffer for their behavior.

Susan B. Anthony

     For a very long time women were not given the right to vote and were treated like second class citizens.  Many women decided that it was going to change.  Susan B. Anthony was one of the leading women that tried to get the right to vote.  She wanted to be a full citizen.  She devoted most all of her life to making a stand for the women of America.   Her efforts are cherished and were the path that lead to equal rights for women.

     Susan B. Anthony and some other women wanted the right to vote.  The 15th Amendment said, "the right of the citizens of the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."  Susan B. Anthony wanted the Amendment to say "race, color, sex, or..."  Later the 15th Amendment was passed without including sex.  That made Susan wonder who was a citizen, and if women were actually citizens.  Later Susan decided to ask her friend, who had been a judge, if she was a citizen, and if if she could vote.  Her friend thought the answer was yes.

     Later on Susan went with 15 other women to try and vote even though it was illegal.  The news of their determination was spread throughout the whole country, and the women were called lawbreakers.  A few days afterword a police came and brought Susan B. Anthony to court along with the 15 other women.  While in court she brought up "We the people," and said that it doesn't mean We the male citizens.  Her speeches moved a lot of people.  Later she was found guilty because the judge was a foe of women's rights.  Susan was not put in jail.  Susan devoted the rest of her life to trying to earn equal rights for women.

     Susan's courage made a path for other women to get the right to vote.  Her efforts did not win women the right to vote everywhere, but 4 states granted women the right to vote.  14 years after Susan's death, the 19th Amendment was passed and women were granted the right to vote.

     Women fought so hard to be treated like full citizens.  Their determination to vote payed off in the end.  Without the road that Susan B. Anthony paved, the 19th Amendment might not have been passed, and women might not have been able to vote.

Writers

     During the 1800s and mid 1900s there were some very amazing authors.  One of these magnificent writers was Mark Twain.  Another wordsmith of the day was Upton Sinclair.  Children's book author Theodor Geisel was and is one of America's favorite authors.

     Mark Twain's books were and still are being enjoyed by many inspired readers throughout America.  Two of his most favored books were The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  The little fictional town called St. Petersberg in these two famous books was based off of Mark Twain's home town, Hannibal Missouri!  Mark Twain wrote many other books including Roughing It, A Connecticut Yankee In King Author's Court, The Gilded Age, The Prince And The Pauper, and a whole lot more.  Ernest Hemingway said "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. There was nothing before.  There has been nothing good since."

     Upton Sinclair was a word wizard.  He wrote nearly 100 works of literature!  He wrote about some of the problems that went on in America.  His book The Jungle exposed the conditions in the U.S. Meat Packing Industry.  Upton Sinclair's book the Jungle caused an uproar which partly contributed to the passing of the Pure Food And Drug Act and the Meat Inspection act.  later on he won the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction for his outstanding works of art.  Some other works he formed were The Fasting cure, Oil!, Saved By The Enemy, and many other fascinating works of literature.

     Another delightful writer of the day was Theodor Geisel AKA Dr. Seuss.  Dr. Seuss wrote hundreds of children's books.  The intriguing thing about most of his books is that they almost always rhyme!  Some of his books are There is a Wocket in My Pocket, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, Cat in The Hat, and hundreds of others.  Some of his books have been made into movies including The Cat in The Hat, Horton Hears a Who, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Lorax.  Dr. Seuss' books are great books to use to learn how to read and rhyme.

     These Authors were amazing, their works of art sparked some imagination and creativity into the lives of many Americans.  Mark Twain, Upton Sinclair and Dr. Seuss' creations are still admired today, and can be enjoyed by anyone around the world.