Traveller by L.W. Samuelson (reading comprehension books .txt) đ
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Willy. What he wrote was real even if it was fiction,â Lori said. âSteinbeck actually spent time in a Hooverville. At one point his tent was even flooded out during heavy California rains. He spent a miserable night in the mud and water. Not only did he have firsthand knowledge of the migrant workerâs plight, he also collected the stories and experiences of those he wrote about. Lennie was based on a real person. So you see, Steinbeckâs writings shed light on the inequities that existed in the 1930sâ
âIâm supposed to write about how Steinbeck explores friendship, none of the people in the book was friends. Curleyâs wife marry him for his money, donât even like the man. She be all cominâ on to everyone she meet. Crooks ainât got nobody but hisself. Even George and Lennie canât be friends since Lennieâs too simple to understand what friendship is. Everyone in the novel be all alone.â
âThatâs right,â said Lori. âExistence was so precarious that people often thought of survival first and other people afterward.â
âThatâs why George has a dream of having his own farm where he and Lennie can grow their own garden and raise chickens. A place without a boss, where they donât hafta worry âbout where their next meal is coming from,â said Willy.
âThatâs the American Dream for them. Whatâs the American Dream for you Willy?â asked Traveller.
Willyâs eyes sparkled with a faraway look. âMan, I wanna be a star in the NBA, make lots of money, be respected. How about you?â
Traveller never said anything. After several moments, he replied, âI snuck off the ship because I was bored. I never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from or even what the temperature was outside until I landed here. My space pod was a one-way ticket to Earth. I donât have a dream because Iâm like Lennie, Iâll never fit in.â
Jesseâs temper flared, âYouâre nothing like Lennie. You have friends.â
âYeah man, you also have a blood brother. Donât be all forgittinâ âbout us,â Willy said.
âSo maybe Iâve already found the American Dream, friendship,â Traveller smiled wistfully. He looked at Jesse, âWhat about you?â
âMan, I donât think enough about the future to have a dream. Iâm just going to go to school and let things take care of themselves.â
âWhat about you, Lori?â Traveller asked.
âIâm going to get a masterâs in American Literature. Iâd like to become a college professor at a major university,â she replied.
âWhatever you decide to do, youâll be good at it,â said Traveller with conviction.
âI believe that success is achieved by having goals and then thinking about how to achieve those goals. Thatâs why school has been so difficult for Jesse. Itâs not that heâs not smart enough, itâs just that he has no motivation,â Lori said.
âSame with me,â admitted Willy. âI only started studying so I could play basketball.â
âThink about it, Willy. What are the odds of playing professional basketball? Not very good and yet youâve been given a chance to get an education. Donât let the opportunity pass you by,â said Lori.
âIâm beginning to understand that. Itâs just that school is so hard for me. It took me over an hour and a half just to read twenty pages of Steinbeckâs novel,â Willy said.
âBut reading is like anything else, the more you practice, the better you get at it,â said Lori. âDid you get any notes? I wasnât paying attention.â
Willy showed her the blank tablet. âDonât worry,â he said. âI learn by listening. When I get home Iâll write everything up and think about it. Iâll write the essay before Christmas. Will you proofread it?â
âI would be honored,â said Lori.
âAre we done?â asked Jesse. When no one said anything, he shouted, âLetâs watch some basketball, the Knicks are playing the Celtics.â
When Willy got back to his dorm room, he wrote down everything he could remember about the discussion at Loriâs adding his own thoughts to the notes. He finished with over ten pages of hand-written notes.
On Monday Willy jumped out of bed early. He had thought about Of Mice and Men all night. He started writing and he couldnât stop. He wrote about being powerless to affect the world around you. He wrote about how the common man often suffers from the policies made by the rich. He wrote about how economic hard times can bring out the worst in people. He discussed prejudice and discrimination. He wrote about the millions who are denied access to the American Dream. He explained how sports provided a way out of poverty for so many African Americans.
After discussing the American Dream at length, his essay turned to friendship. He discussed how every individual is ultimately alone in the world since no one can truly share the experiences and thoughts of another person. He wrote about how the characters in Steinbeckâs novel were totally isolated from one another. He concluded the essay with the killing of poor innocent Lennie who never understood the world around him. He ended the composition with these sentences, âLennie trusted George. His lack of understanding blinded him; he didnât see the bullet coming. We all have some Lennie in us in that we are blind to many aspects of life, but if we educate ourselves and study the world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we can avoid the unexpected bullet that destroys our life.â
Willy was so engrossed in writing that time had seemingly stood still. It was eight oâclock at night when he finished his essay. He had drunk large quantities of coffee and hadnât eaten all day.
He decided to call Jesse, âHey honkie what youâall be doinâ?â he asked after hearing his friendâs voice.
âI just got back from playinâ basketball. Whatâs up?â
âIâm lookinâ for a pardner to go eat. Are you hungry?â
âStarved.â
Willy and Jesse walked down the campus and across the street to McDonaldâs. Willy couldnât contain his excitement. âMan, I finished that sucker. I wrote over twelve pages. I never thought doing something like that could be so much fun.â
âIâm proud of you Broââ Jesse said.
They sat down after they had ordered their food. Just as they were pulling double-cheese burgers out of the sack, a couple of Willyâs friends walked over to their table. âHey Willy, what yâall be doinâ hanging out with a white boy all the time?â
âHey Tom. This is Jesse. Heâs a friend. I donât worry âbout what color he is.â
âThat right? Well a couple of us are going to Ribs for a little after hourâs fun tonight. You cominâ?â
âNaw man, I tryinâ to get back on the team, got more important things to do.â
âIf yâall change your mind, you know where it is,â Tom said. He and his friend shook their heads and left.
âShit, canât believe I just did that. First time I ever turn Tom down. I usually donât miss a chance to drink beer and play cards,â Willy said.
âWho would have thunk that writing an essay could change you into a geek,â joked Jesse.
âI know broâ. I know.â
Willy had delivered his essay to Lori on Christmas Eve. It wasnât until two days later that she had a chance to read it. She could tell it had been painstakingly written. Several misspelled words had been crossed out with the correct spelling written above. He had even made a few grammar corrections.
The composition revealed a depth of understanding she thought Willy incapable of. She was wrong. It was obvious that Willy had truly been moved by Steinbeckâs writing. Lori cried when she read the part about the farmhands feeling worthless and Willy wrote, âThere isnât a day that goes by that Iâm not haunted by the disgusted look on my old manâs face as he says, âYou ainât worth a shit.â Iâll spend my whole life trying to prove him wrong.â
When Traveller saw her crying, he asked, âIs that Willyâs essay?â
âYes, if this doesnât get him a passing grade nothing will.â
âGreat,â Traveller said and in his excitement he changed topics abruptly. âGuess what?â
âYes?â she asked.
âI have a job. I start loading boxcars tomorrow,â said Traveller. âIâll be able to help you out with expenses now.â
âThatâs great Traveller. Welcome to the world of drudgery.âChapter 31 - The World of Work
Pocatello was a railroad town. It served as a major hub for the western United States. It was there that the alien found a job loading boxcars. Traveller reported to the loading dock at three-thirty in the afternoon. Although his shift didnât start until four, the foreman pressed him into action immediately.
âYou donât mind starting now, do you Sonny?â the grizzled man with a hard demeanor looked up at Traveller. He doesnât look like the brightest bulb on the circuit the old foreman thought.
âHi, my name is Travis,â Traveller said.
âThatâs nice. See that guy over there moving slower than my grandma? Heâll show you what to do.â
âYour grandmother works here?â
âYeah right. Sheâs that bearded guy on the train tracks,â the foreman said.
Traveller looked puzzled. âBut heâs a man.â
âYouâre really not very bright, are you?â the foreman said with disgust. âIf you want the job get busy.â
Traveller ears burned with embarrassment when he realized the foreman thought he was stupid. Anger welled up inside of him. He wanted to hit the grizzled man with the dirty cap perched on his head. Stay calm. You are on Earth now. Lori needs the money. You could be arrested he thought.
He walked over to the heister parked in front of an open boxcar. The older man was picking up boxes and stacking them inside of the refrigerated car. âHere let me help you,â Traveller said taking a box from the manâs arms and stacking it.
The man looked at the foreman. When the boss nodded yes, the man jumped off the dock and left.
It took over an hour for Traveller to load the boxcar. Unused to repetitive labor, his shoulders ached when he finished.
The foreman watched him with approval. When the last box was loaded, the heister backed up to drive into the warehouse. It returned with another pallet of boxes labeled Idagold Frenchfries. The machine stopped before the open door of another boxcar.
Traveller looked at it with disbelief. He stood with his hands on his hips until the foreman shouted, âWell go on, load âer up.â
This time he paced himself. Realizing that he would be doing this for eight hours, he worked more deliberately. After two and a half hours of loading boxes a whistle sounded.
âFifteen minutes,â the foreman said. When Traveller kept working, the foreman angered. âDamn it! Take a break. Are you tryinâ to get me in trouble with the union?â
Traveller came out of the boxcar and sprawled out on the dock to rest.
He could feel the foremanâs glare. When he felt his own anger return, he imagined the Sawtooth mountains and then the Christmas dinner with his friends until he calmed.
Traveller closed his eyes and dreamed of being back on Ship. He was sparring with Porter. His sensory saber strokes were masterful as he danced and parried against his opponent. He he was just about to deliver the victory blow when the whistle sounded again.
âBack to work,â the foreman said.
When Traveller stood up, his back ached; his legs felt weak. He steadied himself and started loading French fries again. He developed a rhythm, things seemed better. An hour and forty-five minutes later the lunch whistle sounded.
âLunch time. Go to the cafeteria,â the foreman directed.
Traveller looked around. When he saw other workers all heading for the same place, he picked
âIâm supposed to write about how Steinbeck explores friendship, none of the people in the book was friends. Curleyâs wife marry him for his money, donât even like the man. She be all cominâ on to everyone she meet. Crooks ainât got nobody but hisself. Even George and Lennie canât be friends since Lennieâs too simple to understand what friendship is. Everyone in the novel be all alone.â
âThatâs right,â said Lori. âExistence was so precarious that people often thought of survival first and other people afterward.â
âThatâs why George has a dream of having his own farm where he and Lennie can grow their own garden and raise chickens. A place without a boss, where they donât hafta worry âbout where their next meal is coming from,â said Willy.
âThatâs the American Dream for them. Whatâs the American Dream for you Willy?â asked Traveller.
Willyâs eyes sparkled with a faraway look. âMan, I wanna be a star in the NBA, make lots of money, be respected. How about you?â
Traveller never said anything. After several moments, he replied, âI snuck off the ship because I was bored. I never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from or even what the temperature was outside until I landed here. My space pod was a one-way ticket to Earth. I donât have a dream because Iâm like Lennie, Iâll never fit in.â
Jesseâs temper flared, âYouâre nothing like Lennie. You have friends.â
âYeah man, you also have a blood brother. Donât be all forgittinâ âbout us,â Willy said.
âSo maybe Iâve already found the American Dream, friendship,â Traveller smiled wistfully. He looked at Jesse, âWhat about you?â
âMan, I donât think enough about the future to have a dream. Iâm just going to go to school and let things take care of themselves.â
âWhat about you, Lori?â Traveller asked.
âIâm going to get a masterâs in American Literature. Iâd like to become a college professor at a major university,â she replied.
âWhatever you decide to do, youâll be good at it,â said Traveller with conviction.
âI believe that success is achieved by having goals and then thinking about how to achieve those goals. Thatâs why school has been so difficult for Jesse. Itâs not that heâs not smart enough, itâs just that he has no motivation,â Lori said.
âSame with me,â admitted Willy. âI only started studying so I could play basketball.â
âThink about it, Willy. What are the odds of playing professional basketball? Not very good and yet youâve been given a chance to get an education. Donât let the opportunity pass you by,â said Lori.
âIâm beginning to understand that. Itâs just that school is so hard for me. It took me over an hour and a half just to read twenty pages of Steinbeckâs novel,â Willy said.
âBut reading is like anything else, the more you practice, the better you get at it,â said Lori. âDid you get any notes? I wasnât paying attention.â
Willy showed her the blank tablet. âDonât worry,â he said. âI learn by listening. When I get home Iâll write everything up and think about it. Iâll write the essay before Christmas. Will you proofread it?â
âI would be honored,â said Lori.
âAre we done?â asked Jesse. When no one said anything, he shouted, âLetâs watch some basketball, the Knicks are playing the Celtics.â
When Willy got back to his dorm room, he wrote down everything he could remember about the discussion at Loriâs adding his own thoughts to the notes. He finished with over ten pages of hand-written notes.
On Monday Willy jumped out of bed early. He had thought about Of Mice and Men all night. He started writing and he couldnât stop. He wrote about being powerless to affect the world around you. He wrote about how the common man often suffers from the policies made by the rich. He wrote about how economic hard times can bring out the worst in people. He discussed prejudice and discrimination. He wrote about the millions who are denied access to the American Dream. He explained how sports provided a way out of poverty for so many African Americans.
After discussing the American Dream at length, his essay turned to friendship. He discussed how every individual is ultimately alone in the world since no one can truly share the experiences and thoughts of another person. He wrote about how the characters in Steinbeckâs novel were totally isolated from one another. He concluded the essay with the killing of poor innocent Lennie who never understood the world around him. He ended the composition with these sentences, âLennie trusted George. His lack of understanding blinded him; he didnât see the bullet coming. We all have some Lennie in us in that we are blind to many aspects of life, but if we educate ourselves and study the world we live in, maybe, just maybe, we can avoid the unexpected bullet that destroys our life.â
Willy was so engrossed in writing that time had seemingly stood still. It was eight oâclock at night when he finished his essay. He had drunk large quantities of coffee and hadnât eaten all day.
He decided to call Jesse, âHey honkie what youâall be doinâ?â he asked after hearing his friendâs voice.
âI just got back from playinâ basketball. Whatâs up?â
âIâm lookinâ for a pardner to go eat. Are you hungry?â
âStarved.â
Willy and Jesse walked down the campus and across the street to McDonaldâs. Willy couldnât contain his excitement. âMan, I finished that sucker. I wrote over twelve pages. I never thought doing something like that could be so much fun.â
âIâm proud of you Broââ Jesse said.
They sat down after they had ordered their food. Just as they were pulling double-cheese burgers out of the sack, a couple of Willyâs friends walked over to their table. âHey Willy, what yâall be doinâ hanging out with a white boy all the time?â
âHey Tom. This is Jesse. Heâs a friend. I donât worry âbout what color he is.â
âThat right? Well a couple of us are going to Ribs for a little after hourâs fun tonight. You cominâ?â
âNaw man, I tryinâ to get back on the team, got more important things to do.â
âIf yâall change your mind, you know where it is,â Tom said. He and his friend shook their heads and left.
âShit, canât believe I just did that. First time I ever turn Tom down. I usually donât miss a chance to drink beer and play cards,â Willy said.
âWho would have thunk that writing an essay could change you into a geek,â joked Jesse.
âI know broâ. I know.â
Willy had delivered his essay to Lori on Christmas Eve. It wasnât until two days later that she had a chance to read it. She could tell it had been painstakingly written. Several misspelled words had been crossed out with the correct spelling written above. He had even made a few grammar corrections.
The composition revealed a depth of understanding she thought Willy incapable of. She was wrong. It was obvious that Willy had truly been moved by Steinbeckâs writing. Lori cried when she read the part about the farmhands feeling worthless and Willy wrote, âThere isnât a day that goes by that Iâm not haunted by the disgusted look on my old manâs face as he says, âYou ainât worth a shit.â Iâll spend my whole life trying to prove him wrong.â
When Traveller saw her crying, he asked, âIs that Willyâs essay?â
âYes, if this doesnât get him a passing grade nothing will.â
âGreat,â Traveller said and in his excitement he changed topics abruptly. âGuess what?â
âYes?â she asked.
âI have a job. I start loading boxcars tomorrow,â said Traveller. âIâll be able to help you out with expenses now.â
âThatâs great Traveller. Welcome to the world of drudgery.âChapter 31 - The World of Work
Pocatello was a railroad town. It served as a major hub for the western United States. It was there that the alien found a job loading boxcars. Traveller reported to the loading dock at three-thirty in the afternoon. Although his shift didnât start until four, the foreman pressed him into action immediately.
âYou donât mind starting now, do you Sonny?â the grizzled man with a hard demeanor looked up at Traveller. He doesnât look like the brightest bulb on the circuit the old foreman thought.
âHi, my name is Travis,â Traveller said.
âThatâs nice. See that guy over there moving slower than my grandma? Heâll show you what to do.â
âYour grandmother works here?â
âYeah right. Sheâs that bearded guy on the train tracks,â the foreman said.
Traveller looked puzzled. âBut heâs a man.â
âYouâre really not very bright, are you?â the foreman said with disgust. âIf you want the job get busy.â
Traveller ears burned with embarrassment when he realized the foreman thought he was stupid. Anger welled up inside of him. He wanted to hit the grizzled man with the dirty cap perched on his head. Stay calm. You are on Earth now. Lori needs the money. You could be arrested he thought.
He walked over to the heister parked in front of an open boxcar. The older man was picking up boxes and stacking them inside of the refrigerated car. âHere let me help you,â Traveller said taking a box from the manâs arms and stacking it.
The man looked at the foreman. When the boss nodded yes, the man jumped off the dock and left.
It took over an hour for Traveller to load the boxcar. Unused to repetitive labor, his shoulders ached when he finished.
The foreman watched him with approval. When the last box was loaded, the heister backed up to drive into the warehouse. It returned with another pallet of boxes labeled Idagold Frenchfries. The machine stopped before the open door of another boxcar.
Traveller looked at it with disbelief. He stood with his hands on his hips until the foreman shouted, âWell go on, load âer up.â
This time he paced himself. Realizing that he would be doing this for eight hours, he worked more deliberately. After two and a half hours of loading boxes a whistle sounded.
âFifteen minutes,â the foreman said. When Traveller kept working, the foreman angered. âDamn it! Take a break. Are you tryinâ to get me in trouble with the union?â
Traveller came out of the boxcar and sprawled out on the dock to rest.
He could feel the foremanâs glare. When he felt his own anger return, he imagined the Sawtooth mountains and then the Christmas dinner with his friends until he calmed.
Traveller closed his eyes and dreamed of being back on Ship. He was sparring with Porter. His sensory saber strokes were masterful as he danced and parried against his opponent. He he was just about to deliver the victory blow when the whistle sounded again.
âBack to work,â the foreman said.
When Traveller stood up, his back ached; his legs felt weak. He steadied himself and started loading French fries again. He developed a rhythm, things seemed better. An hour and forty-five minutes later the lunch whistle sounded.
âLunch time. Go to the cafeteria,â the foreman directed.
Traveller looked around. When he saw other workers all heading for the same place, he picked
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