Praiseworthy?

In my opinion I think this is a very praiseworthy book and it should be read by many people. This is a very heart-touching well wrote story about a real life incident that happened to this young women. After reading this memoir  it will really open up some peoples eyes and make them think how lucky they really are to have grown up with a normal childhood. It explains what she went through most of her childhood.

Main Theme

The main theme of a story like this is to be aware of everything around us. It teaches people that they need to be more aware and alert of what may be happening to their friends, family, or kids. It kind of informs people that there are bad people in this world and that no matter who you are and if you think you are invincible anything can happen to anyone.

Compare vs Contrast

Three Little Words Vs. A stolen Life

Three Little Words

• Girl was adopted and in foster care her childhood
• Did not know if she would ever see her mother again, did not have any hope in anyone or anything
• Aware of her surroundings and the environment she was living in.
• Mom did not care about her

A Stolen Life

• Got kidnapped.
• Mom cared about her
• She was not aware of how she was being raised and it messed her up

Compare

• No settle homes
• Felt as if neither of them had anyone who cared about them or wanted them
• Both stories about girls that had childhoods stolen from them.

Three major events

1) The day Jaycee got kidnapped. "It was an ordinary Monday morning school day" she had woken up to get ready for school. Her mother was already gone at work, her baby sister still asleep in her crib, and her step dad out working in the backyard already. She makes sure to put on the ring her mom gave her four years ago before she met her step dad. She finishes getting ready then goes down and eats and plays with the puppies down the street. Then heads off the bus stop where usually a neighborhood dog will walk with her, but she wasnt there today. She is walking up the hill to the bus stop, she hears a car behind her and it pulls up beside her. The guy rolled down a window and asked her for directions, then he bolted out of the car and uses something to "paralyze" her. She tries getting away, but can't escape. He drags her by her arms and throws her in the truck. She eventually passed out and wakes up at some random place.
2) Jaycee has her first baby. Her kidnapper was a child molester. It was Easter 1994 when she first learned she was pregnant. Her kidnapper and his "wife" came into her room and told her they think she is pregnant. She can feel the baby move and kick her ribs and she realizes she won't be able to give up the baby. She feels a connection with the baby inside of her stomach. Her body is growing everyday and her ribs are bieng pushed out and she is in pain. This happend about two years after he kidnapped her. Her baby came into the world August 18th, 1994 and she is fourteen years old. Her name was "A".
3) Second baby. "A" is now three years old, and Jaycee learns she is pregnant yet once again. She is seventeen years old and about to have her second baby. November 13, 1997 Jaycee gave birth to her second baby "G". Jaycee is stuck raising two little girls at just seventeen in the backyard of her kidnappers home.

Most important element

The most important elements in the story are the character and the events. The character is obvisouly the author and it's a true story based off of what happened to her. It wasnt very common for children to be abducted back in the day, and when this happened it was a big shock to everyone. Everyone in town knew each other, so everyone wondered what would just happen to a little girl? The place can be tied into an important element because the place she was kidnapped and taken too was just right outside her town that she lived in and noone had suspected it when she was just right there. Events are very important because this took her life away from her. Not only did it take life away from her, but it took life away from her mother too. She grew up for 18 years not knowing anything, not finishing school, not learning anything a girl should learn, giving birth at a young age. She didnt know what the outside world was like.

Mood of Book

The mood of the book is very suspensful. It is also very sad and serious. She wonders if she will ever go home, she wonders if her mom is out looking for her when she gets taken by this man. It all leads up to her future now. Its very suspensful because it makes the reader want to keep on reading to see what is happening to this little girl, and the book is very interesting and some of the things that happen in it make the reader want to keep on reading to see what will happen next. "Will this stranger take me home?" She wants to know if she will ever go home, what will happen to her next, and what does this stranger want from her? She is very worried about what will happen to her. "What happened when I didnt show up at school? Will I get in trouble? Does anyone know what happened? Where is my mom? If she still at work? Is she looking for me? Did Carl see this man take me? Is he sending someone to get me? When can I go home? Will this stranger take me home?" All these questions are things that will make the reader wonder if any of them come true which makes the reader want to continue to read. Jaycee is only getting fed when he comes to feed her "I hear the lock rattle and know he is coming to feed me." She doesnt get any sort of homemade foods like she used to, its all junk food. How often does she eat? What does she eat? Why is he doing this to her? It all leads up to the suspense in the story.

Kind of Person Author is

I'm pretty sure everyone has heard the story about Jaycee Duggard. Everyone knows what kind of person she is by now, or atleast should. She was kidnapped at a young age, had her childhood stolen from her, never knew if her mother was looking for her, or if anyone was ever looking for her, she delivered her first baby at just fourteen. People may ask why did she stay at her kidnappers house, and never run away when they went into public, or when the cops came to investigate, why didnt she tell them? I personally think she is a very careful person, especially with her own children. She probably cares about everyone around her, any person involved in her life. She is probably the kind of person who wants to help others, but doesnt want help from other people because she wants to do it all on her own since she didnt get to for the longest time. She is probably full of wonder, and wonders many things that she missed out on. She wants everyone to care, and care about someone besides themselves which is why she made her own life statement "Jayc" or Just ask yourself to care.                               

Purpose in writing book

The authors purpose in writing 'A stolen Life" is to inform people. May it be parents, or children, even teenagers or grandparents. The author of this book, is writing it about herself. She was eleven when she got kidnapped walking to school one day. She doesn't want this to happen to anyone, and she didnt want it to happen to herself. She wants everyone to be aware of the scares out in this world, and how bad it can harm you if something like that does happen. This book may change someones perspective on how they view this world, and how they view people. It may change parents perspectives on letting their kids do certain things. As Jaycee states in the author's note "This book may be confusing to some. But keep in mind throughout my book that this was a very confusing world I lived in." She is basically saying I may have missed out on a lot, and my childhood wasnt the way is should have been, but and I could have had better, but I didnt. She also states how damage had been done to her and her family over those nineteen years she was held captive in a guys backyard right outside of the town she lived in. This book is a book that will be heart touching and make you happy for what you have and for what you live for.

Persuasive Essay on "Life As We Knew it"

FCA's
1.  Identify a position (5)
2.  Explain your criteria, application, reasoning for your position with quoted evidence as support. Please indicate the page number of your quote in parenthesis following the quote. (10)
3.  Explain the position of the opposition and provide counterargument.  (10)

Prompt - Would you recommend or not recommend the book?

Please creatively identify your audience within the essay.

Post your essay on your blog.

Do not be too brief or too lengthy.  Be concise.

Many people say that Life As We Knew it is a very boring, slow pace moving book. How could people not like this book? Life As We knew it is a story based off of the world "ending", and the theorys created by people who think the world is going to end. It really is a creep you out kind of book that will get under someone's skin and make them think hard about what they have. I would recommend this book to anyone, even if people aren't into fiction books. This book will really catch an eye at some point in it.
Life As We Knew it is a fiction book, and many people do not like fiction books. But this book will catch the readers attention because it is pretty scary and will more than likely give the reader goose bumps while reading it. "The president was on TV tonight. He didn't say much that we didn't already know. Tsuanamis and floods. Untold numbers of people dead, the moon was out of its orbit, etc. Monday is national day of mourning, and we should all pray a lot." (pg. 43). This is one of the many quotes out of the book that will freak a reader out, it gives a lot of adventure and makes the reader want to continue to read it.
Not only does this book have a plot that makes the reader want to continue to read it, and make the reader get suspicious about the book, it makes you wonder why? How in the world could something like this ever happen? Why are people predicting these things happening to the world at the end of 2012. Where does it all come from? There are many questions people can ask while reading this.

Why?

I choose "A Stolen Life" because it starts off about a young, normal girl. We all think we are invincable and noone would ever try to mess with us, or try to steal us like what happened in Jacyee's case. It seems inspiring because it seems like it will really make me apperciate my life and what I have and who I have in my life. My mom always tells me to be careful when I leave to go somewhere, and to watch out for those kind of people. I was taught to never say "yes" if someone tried to offer me candy, and to run and scream if someone were to try and pick me up. In this case, she tried, but she couldnt, and she was held captive for so many unbelivable years. And the things that happened to her are stunning.

MLA documentation for "A stolen Life"

Dugard, Jaycee. A Stolen Life: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. 12 July 2011.