Something Interesting

     During the discussion, a classmate of mine made a very interesting comment about the poem, "Lobsters."  They said, "The author isn't comparing lobsters to humans.  He is comparing humans to lobsters."  These very simple words gave me a completely different perspective on this poem.  It completely changed my views about the meaning of the poem.  It gave it a deeper meaning.
     As to how my view about the poem changed, I understand better the meaning the author was trying to portray throughout the poem.  It seemed that the author was saying that lobsters are like humans in that they merely sit and await death.  The author was, however, comparing humans to lobsters.  The lobsters are just an analogy.  It helps us to understand the theme on a deeper level.  The switching of the comparison truly made a difference in the way I view this poem.  It's amazing how those simple words can completely and totally alter one's view on a subject.

5 Part Paragraphs

     While writing the 5 part paragraphs, I started to realize that there are quite a few things required in writing a good, quality paragraph.  A writer must start a paragraph off with a good topic sentence.  This sentence must include the book name, author of the book, and a point to be proven.  A hook may also be included but is not required.  Concrete details (CD) are the next important part of a paragraph.   There must be 3 CD's in the paragraph, and these quotes must be embedded.  This means they are introduced before-hand and cited with a page number afterwards.  Following the quote, there is commentary (CM).  The CM must be based off of the writers own ideas; it cannot include plot summary.  It should also relate back to and support the idea(s) in the topic sentence.  As the class was reading the paragraphs aloud, there were many times that plot summary was an issue in their CM.  Most people need to include more original ideas that support their theme statement in their commentary.
     In my 5 part paragraph, I think I did pretty well.  One of the things I did well was I had a good topic sentence.  It set out to prove something which I did throughout my paper.  Also, my CM did not have plot summary.  I tried to make my ideas original.  One of things I could work on, however, was my quote choice.  My first quote didn't fit into my paragraph as well as I originally believed it would.  I think my word choice was a little repetitive at times, and that is something I can definitely work on for next time.  Overall, I think my first "Olympia High School 5 part paragraph" was fairly good.