Survival Paper

Students will write a fictional story about survival. The student will place themselves in
a situation where they have crashed in a deserted location, and they only have the 5
items that we came up with as a class in their possession. The paper must be at least
300 words. The paper must contain 3 examples of strong, vivid imagery in purple
writing. It must contain 8 examples of figurative language in red writing and labeled in
parenthesis. It must contain 4 examples of characterization, with 2 internal traits
highlighted in blue and 2 external traits highlighted in green.

CONTENT
/5

300 Words
/5

GRAMMAR
/5

IMAGERY
2/3

Internal Traits
3/2

External Traits
5/2

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
8/8
(simile, hyperbole, alliteration, personification, idiom, metaphor, onomatopoeia,
allusion)

___/30
 Lost In the Jungle
By: Bode Menegay

As I slowly wake up, I dont know where I am or what Im doing. The

million
last thing I remember, I was freefalling towards the ground at a

miles an hour (hyperbole). I look out of the small airplane to see the lush

green landscape below me. The next thing I know I was laying on the

ground. That must be where I am now, in the jungle, in the middle of

nowhere.

After I laid on the ground for a minute, I stumble to get up and my

head really hurts. Once I slowly get up, I look for my bag. I know there is

something important in it to help me find food or shelter. I slowly walk

along the narrow beach with beautiful white sand. I search the edge of the

jungle careful not to go in too far. I dont know what lies inside. As I hobble

along, I can taste the salty sea water in the air. The fresh breeze gets ahold

of my dusted blond hair and blows it around the top of my head. I can smell

the fresh, yet salty water. As I walk along the shore, I can feel the soft shelly

sand squish between my toes (alliteration). The salty sand piled up on my

blue Croc flip-flops as I walk. After awhile of walking, I come across my bag.

It is a hard plastic suitcase, the color of the turquoise ocean that lies around

me. Inside, there is only five items. I only have a pocket knife, extra shoes

and clothes, a first aid kit, and a mirror. I don't know where the other items

went.

The first thing I do is take out the mirror. I flip it open. I turn the

mirror to face myself. I look to see my pale face cut open on my cheek. My

forehead, which is actually a five head if you ask me, has a large black and

blue bruise that looks really dark because my face is so discolored. My light

blue plaid cut off shirt and jean shorts are torn. My side is showing. My

body is badly bruised, and it really hurts.

The second thing I do is take out the first aid kit. I take out the

rubbing alcohol and clean all of my open wounds. Then, I wrap my

forehead with gauze and put bandages over all of my smaller wounds. This

will keep all of the dirt out while I walk through the woods trying to find

supplies for food and shelter.

I know the next thing I need to do is build a shelter before the sea

swallows the shining sun and the curtain of night falls upon me.

(personification, alliteration, metaphor). The shelter will keep me as warm

as a bagel in a toaster oven (simile). First, I find a flat sandy spot on the

edge of the beach as I am still unsure what lurks inside of the plush

greenery that makes up the forest. Then, I gather long and slender sticks,

colossal pieces of thin and brunette palm bark, and lengthy green vines. I

also gather large green banana leafs that look like they belong on the side of

an elephants head. I cut down the vines using my pocket knife my

grandfather got me when I turned ten. It has a smooth red wooden handle

and a shiny steel blade that can cut through things like butter (idiom,

simile). After I gather all of my materials, I start to assemble my shelter. On

the ground, I lay out the banana leaves. These provide comfort and

protection from water that may occur on the ground. Besides the banana

leaves smell nice, they smell like fresh cut grass with a hint of fruit (simile).

Next, I tower up the sticks so they are in a teepee form. I wrap the small

logs with the vine, and then tie it to support the sticks. Lastly, I cover the

structure with the thin palm bark. This keeps any natural elements out.

These include rain, wind, and other forms of precipitation. Plus, the palm

bark will keep heat in, I am still unsure what temperatures drop to at night

on the island. For all I know, this island can become the arctic at night

(metaphor) similar to Death Valley, a place I have recently traveled to with

my family. My mother and father are now separated, which made the trip

very special to me. It was the last vacation we had as a family. Now, I go on

separate trips, one with my mother and one with my father. They both

describe me as a kind, caring, and curious child. My mother always says

things like, Oh, Sophia what a wondrous child you are. My father always

says things like, Sophia, what a great mother you will become. Youre so

kind and caring. Now, I sit in my hut wondering what danger lies around

me and if anyone will ever come to rescue me.

Next, I need to build a fire to stay warm. I wont need to eat until the

morning because I am too worried and scared to eat. I had seven soft,

chocolaty, and delicious complimentary cookies on the plane, because I was

traveling first class. My mother has always been very worried about me

traveling by myself, so she put me in first class. Now, I see why she is

always worried. I sit on a small shiny grey rock staring into the water

wondering how I will build a fire. As I sit here, I remember watching a

survival show once with my father. First, they got flint and steel, which I

dont have, causing the idea to go out the window (idiom). Then, I

remember they showed us three different ways. The one other way they

showed us should work. It is worth a shot (idiom). The first thing I need to
do is clear out a small spot near my camp area. Next, I gather dry grass and

leaves in the woods. I am not sure I want to go into the canopy of foliage,

but I have to if I am going to find the dry grass on the island. The supplies

for the fire are limited on the beach. Once I step through the leaves of many

palm trees, I am now inside the greenery. I look around and then quickly

find a crippled old fern and a couple of hard palm leaves. After that, I create

a nest looking shape made out of the greenery. Now, I need a substantial

piece of wood. I look around to find a piece of driftwood lying on the pale

white sand. Then, I cut a small slit in the sticks left over from my

temporary house. After I do this, I rub another stick against it vigorously

until smoke begins to soar up into the clouds (personification). When I see

the smoke, I drop the stick into the nest of dried vegetation. Then, I lightly

blow on the nest causing a few small flames to appear. When this happens,

he
I lay the driftwood on top of the fire. The next thing I know, I have fire. T

flames dance on the wood (personification) as the aroma of musky smoke

fills the air around me. As the heat washes over me, it brings back

memories of camping with my family.

I sit here until night falls wondering who will come and rescue me. I

sit by the fire all night keeping myself warm as it starts to drizzle causing
the fire to pop (onomatopoeia). When the rain starts to fall more steadily, I

go into my temporary house. I'm very delighted I made the house because i t

is now raining cats and dogs outside (idiom). As I lay on the leaves thinking

about my parents, I slowly fall asleep. While sleeping, I dream that my

parents are still married. We are sitting by each other on the couch while we

watch our favorite movie laughing together. Then, I quickly arose when I

heard a crack (onomatopoeia) of thunder in the distance. The sound startles

me as it always does when Im alone at home in a thunderstorm. Once I

woke up, I dont know where I am. I feel as lost as Helen Keller in a corn

maze (allusion, simile). After I realize where I am, I lay back down and fall

asleep very quickly. I am very exhausted.

Once I wake up, the sun is shining down on me. I feel very thirsty.

After I see the water around me, I know I need something to drink. I figure

that Ill walk around the island looking for a source of fresh water. Ill also

look for food. I put on my tennis shoes that were left in my bag. They will be

the most comfortable to walk long distances in. Then, I put on new clothes.

I plan on washing my old ones in the water, when I find it. I walk casually

down the beach searching for a fresh water source. I stop to listen for any

streams or other forms of flowing water, but I can't hear anything over the
waves crashing into the beach. They are quite loud compared to the

surroundings. I decide to walk into the woodland, there has to be a water

source in there. After I walk in further, I hear water running in the distance.

I follow the sound until I come across a small stream. I trail the stream,

until to my surprise, it flows into a small reservoir. The reservoir reminds

me of a small pond. The water is crystal blue much like the waters of

Cancun. I sit near the edge cupping water in my hands. The water is fresh.

It tastes better than the city water I have at my house. The water here

smells like nothing as it should, where the water at my house smells like

chlorine and other chemicals. I quickly swallow the water, eager to drink

more. After that, I dunk my clothes I had on yesterday in the water. Above

me sits a large toucan. It squawks (onomatopoeia) and flies down close to

me, because there is a large berry bush to my right. Now that I see the

toucan eating the berries, I figure I can too. I step off the wet ground and

taste the berries, they are sweet and delicious. They have a small

resemblance of blueberries. Hopefully, the berries will keep me going for a

while. Plus, the never ending supply of water will quench my thirst. After I

am done at this location, I remember where it is, and then I start to walk
back to my camp. Next, I lay my clothes over a low lying branch to let them

dry. After all, I think I can stay here a while.

A couple of days later I am sitting in the sand near my campsite when

I see a helicopter hovering above me. On the side it is labeled Coast Guard.

The helicopter is here to rescue me. The gentlemen inside says that they

found me by locating the black box in the former airplane that I was

traveling in. He says that my parents are very worried about me, and they

are together at the base waiting to see me. I jump in the helicopter ready to

leave. The next thing I know I am back with my parents.