Pirates

I AM BLACKBEARD

I am Blackbeard and that is enough.

I live in a society ruled by the great wide open.

I wonder whether grapeshot or hard tack would knock the enemy off their feet.

I hear the soft song of a mermaid, which I have yet to meet.

I see whitecap after whitecap until the edge of the earth.

I want more silver and gold than sugar and cocoa.

I am Blackbeard and that is enough.

I question leeward or windward which way will she go?

I feel the sting of the salt on my sun dyed skin.

I touch the singed coils of my beard that hang from chin.

I worry about scurvy making me thin.

I cry STEADY AS SHE GOES while the wild winds blow.

I understand no man is an island, all except me.

I am Blackbeard and that is enough.

I say never back down when you are in fear.

I believe one day I will be known far and wide.

I dream about planting myself in sand as I watch ships leaving the land.

I try to scare off my foes with a skeleton and dagger.

I hope that the earth is not really flat.

I was once thought to be fiercer than most,

But now I am known as an old pirate ghost.

I am Blackbeard and that is enough.

Revision of Poem:

I AM BLACKBEARD

By Connie Wyant

I am a dark figure against the setting sun, smoldering like mist from a pond.

I live as fiercely as the lion, only I am King of the Seas.

I wonder whether grapeshot or hard tack would knock the enemy off their feet.

I hear the soft song of a lovesick mermaid, which I have yet to meet.

I see whitecap after whitecap until the edge of the earth.

I want more silver, gold, rum, women, and sloops.

I am a dark figure against the setting sun, smoldering like mist from a pond.

I question leeward or windward which way will she go?

I feel the sting of the salt on my leathered skin.

I touch the singed coils of my beard that hang from chin.

I worry about scurvy making me thin.

I cry STEADY AS SHE GOES while the wild winds blow.

I understand no man is an island, all except me.

I am a dark figure against the setting sun, smoldering mist from a pond.

I say never back down when you are in fear.

I believe retirement is for the weak of heart.

I dream of wind on my back and wind in the sails.

I try to scare off my foes with a skeleton and dagger.

I hope that the earth is not really flat.

I was once thought to be fiercer than most,

But now I am known as an old pirate ghost.

I am a dark figure against the setting sun, smoldering like mist from a pond.

Double Entry Diary:

Section I

Part A

From the book:	What it means to me:
Quote: “I do not want to write of today’s evil acts; for they pain me so much. Yet I must, for I mean this journal to be a true and complete record of my voyage.” (p. 19)	Reaction:  I will explain to the class that he is building suspense with this text.  The author wants to keep the readers interest.We should predict what we think has happened that Jake thinks is too bad to record. This is a time to make an important point – this is history.  No matter how painful things seem – we must report it so that historical accounts can be accurate.  A great deal of what we know about history comes from personal accounts.
Quote: “He will surely die without any provisions, and it is all because of my awful clumsiness.” (p. 19)	Inference/Question:  I imagine Jake’s shoulders slumping and a look of despair on his face.  How does Jake feel about his uncle taking his punishment, so do you think his uncle feels responsible for Jake’s mistake?

 

Part B

Effect: “On shore pirates might be wild, but at sea there were strict rules.”  (p.6)	Cause:  They were on a ship – locked in by the vast ocean, they had to behave and obey rules to make sure that things went smoothly.  They had no choice, but to have strict rules.
Quote: “…pirate bazaars on the outskirts of New Orleans were social gatherings where you might see maids shopping for a pretty lace shawl and the governor’s wife looking for rolls of Chinese silk.” (p22)	Reaction: This makes me think of the streets of New York were guys are selling knock off jeans and pocketbooks and having to keep their eyes out for law enforcement officers.  I think that this sounds like a fun event.

 

Section II

Part A

Author’s craft: “…the beast’s gigantic body rose to the surface, and into the air blew a spout of water as tall as two men.” (p. 34)

Explanation: The author could have said that the fish blew a tall spout of water, but chooses more descriptive language.  The gigantic body helps the reader to “see” and fear the large whale.  The simile can help young readers to realize exactly how tall the spout of water is that the whale blew. The choice of the word beast shows that the reason that Jake was a scared of the animal.

 

Part B

Illustration: Pirate illustration and text. (p. 5)	Inference:  The reader must be able to see what a pirate actually looks like to get misconceptions cleared up before they start reading the book.  I like that the descriptions are short and to the point, with clear concise explanations.
Fact: “Gold earrings had a purpose.” (p. 5)	My opinion: I did not know that there was an actual purpose for the earrings.  It was to pay for a church service and a headstone.  This makes sense to me now, but before reading this I was not even sure that real pirates wore earrings.

 

Section III

Part A

Quote: “I looked with alarm as the shore, for we were now close enough to see the waves breaking on the treacherous sandbars, and the wind forcing us closer each minute.” (p.480)

Connection: This is a very scary thing to go through.  My husband loves deep sea fishing.  He was out last year and the motor on his boat died, he could not get it going again and he and his friend were panicking as the boat got closer and closer to the shore.  He and his friend worked frantically on the motor, trying to get it to crank before their boat hit the sand.  They finally got it going again, seconds before the boat ran aground.  I have never heard fear in my husband’s voice, but when he told me about this that evening I could tell how scared he had been.  The details that he gave and the sound of voice indicated that he had been very worried.  Knowing this, I could relate to  how scary this event was for Jake.

 

Part B

Quote: “Life aboard a ship was unhealthy.  Germs had not yet been discovered yet, and often half a vessel’s crew might die of typhoid, just because they did not wash their hands.”  (p. 30)

Question:  I have read that they had no way to bathe, but I never thought about the fact that they could not wash their hands.  I wonder if anyone washed their hands after using the restroom in that time period?

 

Section IV

Part A

1. Colonists were the settlers of the new colony in America.  They fled to North America do that they could worship as they chose, or for cheap or free farmland.  They were independent people with strong ideas.  They lived under harsh conditions such as food shortages, disease, and bad weather conditions.  They did not like the Navigation Acts.

2. Navigation Acts were a series of laws that required the colonists to trade only with England, using English ships and English crews.

3. The reason the colonists did not like the Navigation Acts is because it forced them to accept low prices for the goods they produced.  This is why they chose to ignore them.

4. Freebooters were smugglers who supplied untaxed goods to settlers. They usually had influential friends and were welcome in most ports.  Sometimes they were even funded by groups of businessmen, who would falsify letters of marquee for them.

5. Colonists and pirates had good relationships.  They needed each other to buy and sell at reasonable prices.

Part B

1. I learned that pirates were necessary to help governments maintain their colonies.  Seadogs were commissioned by Queen Elizabeth for protection while she built her Royal Navy.  Buccaneers were violent lawless men who were based in Hispaniola.  Freebooters worked with the colonists to bring them goods and to sell their goods, behind England’s back.

2. I found the freebooters to be the most interesting.  That is because they were based in North America.  I like the sounds of the pirate bazaars.  From what I read they were trying to “outsmart” the government and I found that to be very interesting.