The Massacre of my Tree

RAlec114
Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:00:08 +0000

How about some CR preparation to lighten the mood?



So as I write this, the tree in my front yard is being massacred.

It started when it was raining two days ago and there was loud splashing outside because the window was open (the window frame is warped because of age). My dad says that something is wrong with the gutter so the next day he goes outside and climbs on the not tall enough ladder to go check it. A little background on him - he and my mom got separated (not legally) when I was in kindergarten and it was good because he is extremely conceited, and criticizes everything and everyone and acts like he is a professional in everything. You cannot tell him that he is wrong or he will talk to you like you are stupid. This is why it is good that he lives in a different country now, so he can’t annoy us. Also, he doesn’t know when people don’t want to listen to his opinions like when watching a movie. All conversations with him is one sided.

Back to the tree. So he says that there are leaves in the gutter from the first story garage roof and to solve this problem, he decides to cut “just the top branches” off from the tree to prevent the leaves from going in. The next time I go outside ONE HALF of the tree top is gone LITERALLY THE TOP HALF CHOPPED OFF and 80% of the leaves GONE AND ON THE DRIVEWAY. He is continuing to cut it. I called my mom and she told him to stop but he just told her she was wrong in a horrrrribly condescending tone. He is still convinced it will grow back. The tree is now going to die even though we all told him to stop. I liked that tree… its new leaves turned purple in the summer. Now I will never see it again.

Also, he likes to keep yard waste in our patio, because he wants to use it for firewood. Its extremely aggravating because it has filled up the entire yard and he will not get rid of it, instead killing more trees unnecessarily.



The second paragraph’s main purpose is to

A. Link the imagery between the first line and the second paragraph
B. Contrast the entrance of the story
C. Add background information vital to the understanding of the narrator’s father
D. Give the reader a sense of the narrator’s family life
E. Shift the focus from the tree to the father, as the father is the main focus of the essay

On topic: it could be worse than cutting down trees… how big was the tree?