In Character!

Cookie Monster!
To be completely honest I think that cookie monster had a great impact on society. I mean lets be honest, he could relate to children in their love for sweets, and he was a kind funny character on Sesame Street. I think Cookie Monster isn't very facsinating, but his history is! The fact that his character really wasn't planned out makes him that much more special to the show. However, when the whole drama came out of sugar craving character Sesame Street tried to make it better by having other characters on the show sing to Cookie Monster about how cookies are only a "sometimes" snack. Luckily, they didn't really change anything about Cookie Monster, and the fact that he has such an obsession of cookies just adds to his character and makes him memorable. In my opinion Cookie Monster is the man, he's great on the show and whenever I think about cookies I think about the fuzzy blue monster who always says "C is for cookie; and that's good enough for me!"


Dora The Explorer!
This girl is definatly a big influence on the children in society today. Her show is said to be the most popular for children of all genders and races ages 2 to 5. The fact that she is latino and teachs children in America some spanish words, I think is a great way of bringing diversity throughout the country instead of just saying "diversity is good, all people are equal, cultures are different" blah blah blah and so on. This show is a great way for some children to see that there are different cultures throughout the world, and there are different languages. Also, Dora is a powerful female role model. She's very courageous and displays that girls can be just as good as boys. The show is also a good way for kids to learn how to problem solve. Dora asks the viewers many questions which they are supposed to respond to and answer. Yeah, it sounds dumb and whatever, but toddlers totally dig that stuff. She definatly has a way of interacting and teaching children in a fun but still educational way, I think her show will be successful for many years and hopefully bring about some new shows like it!


Nemo and Marlin
I think that as a duo these father and son characters bring a lot to society because they totally display the relationship of a parent and a child. Nemo, the fun free spirited child that wants to explore everything, and see everything from a different view, is often struggling to accept his fathers overprotective view on everything. I know that a lot of kids think that they can do anything, and that their parents try to stop them from everything, and this view totally applies to Nemo and his father Marlin. Also however, the movie and the characters display the idea that family will always be there for you, and always love you and basically do anything for you if you really think about it. After Nemo got captured you see that he feels this way about his father and realizes that his dad really isn't doing anything but trying to protect him. And Marlin, once he reaches and rescues Nemo, realizes that kids will be kids and that he needs to lighten up when it comes to letting Nemo do certain things. They are just a great pair that show good qualities and teach children in society good lessons that hopefully have an impact on them.

Characteristics Of A Well Told Story

We all have heard and read stories.

It is one of the first things many parents do with their kids.

Part 1: I think that parents tell us stories when we are children because it allows us to grow our own individual imagination and sometimes teaches us good life lessons in easy to understand ways. Stories are important in childhood because they get our mind moving and let us gain new knowledge. Typically when I think of a childhood story, I think of a story that has a really lame way of showing how to do things like share, be nice, make friends with everybody, and so on. Things that we learn as children and that our parents try to demonstrate for us so we can grow up respectable adults.

Part 2: I believe that older people read stories, especially during the educational years, because like childhood, it teaches us things. In my experiences in High School, I've read some books that definatly had an impact on the way in which I look at things. For example, the most moving and well written book I've read for a class reading was the book "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This book I found was full of important life lessons that I can still carry with me today.

Part 3: I kind of find that reading stories and especially popular ones listed in the New York Times can bring people together. By reading the same story as a nation, there's many ways for people to discuss their own individual view on the novel with someone who may have a totally different idea. Although reading a book is such a small and enjoyable task, people can really become a little bit closer through discussion of different issues.

Part 4: One of my favorite childhood books was "I'll Love You Forever". I remember my mom used to read this story to me before I went to bed, and everytime she did I could imagine the mom in the story as my mom. It was a book that I think taught me at a young age how much family really loves you, and how no matter what they will be there for you. Also, I remember my grandpa from Holland always had the best stories to tell. He would tell me about when he was a magician or the times he had in the war. And then he would also have the stories to tell that you knew he made up, but didn't care because they were that intriguing. My grandpa's stories will always be something that I remember, he was a great story teller, and I hope that when I'm older and have grandkids of my own I can do the same for them.

Part 5: My list of good story characteristics:
1. A strong title that will make the reader want to start reading
2. A powerful opening that draws the reader in, maybe a small story or exciting event
3. Characters that can somewhat relate to most readers, or someone totally different
4. The storyline should be clear and make sense throughout the book
5. The climax should be very clear and fit in well with the rest of the story
6. The characters should be easy to remember
7. The ending should be intense and fit in well with the story, happy or sad it needs to have a lot of emotion tied into it