One Last Thing

I tried commenting on other blogs, but for some reason Google says my account is not verified.  I took the steps to verify it, and they said it worked. Apperantly, the people at Google are liars.  :)  So that's why I didn't comment on anyone's blog this week.

LAST BLOG OF FRESHMAN YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

   

     I can't believe it's already the end of my freshman year! Man, time flies! Well, looking back on all of my old blogs really showed me a lot about how I have progressed as a writer.  From the time I started blogging up until this final blog, I could see how I started out trying to have the best blog ever.  In my “Blog Introduction” I was forcing the words.  What I was saying was meant to sound good, not natural.  By the time I was getting to our Great Expectations blog, I could write much more fluently.  I noticed that as a beginning writer, I wrote about the prompt given.  Most people would think that was a good thing, but to me, that only means that I was not willing to dive into the deeper meaning of what I was writing.  As I said before, I forced the words out of my head, to my fingers, and onto the computer.  Once I became a more developed writer, however, my blogs had much more fluency.  I especially like the one I wrote about connections between Romeo and Juliet and modern day things.  After some consideration of what I wrote, the connection itself made little sense at all, but I noticed how my writing had changed and become much more myself.  My blog as a whole is basically about English prompts.  One of my favorites was writing in either high or low diction, because I could truly be myself and talk how I would in a normal conversation.  Mainly my blog served its purpose in that it helped me develop into a writer that was fluent, natural, and willing to put effort into discovering the hidden meaning in literature.  Monica Dickens said, “Writing is a cop-out.  An excuse to live perpetually in fantasy land, where you can create, direct and watch the products of your own head.  Very selfish.”  The reason I chose this quote is because I this is how I view writing.  Not as selfish, but as a way to escape reality and create a world that is all your own.  I think that part of the blogs purpose was to allow us to really enter the world of another person.  If you think about it, that’s really the 95% majority of what we do in English class.  We read a book which is a mini universe that was put on paper.  Its origin is the mind of another person.  Their thoughts were preserved on the thin pages we now examine.  After reading, what do we do?  We analyze the work.  We study it, decode it, dig out its heart all to find the message that the world’s creator was trying to convey all along.  This is what I loved most about blogging.  The way that we were able to enter into an alternate universe absolutely amazed me.  I love reading, and I will never cease to love it.  This blog has made a huge difference in the way I analyze literature, and the skills that blogging has taught me will help me so much with English classes in high school and through college.

Memories of a Frosh :)

     My favorite English memory from freshman year is the Great Expectations discussion that we did.  I am definitely not saying that it was my favorite assignment.  I am not saying I loved sitting and trying to think of questions or loved reading the book.  I do think, however, that I put a lot of time and effort into this project.  The hours that I spent thinking of evaluative and in-depth questions really paid off in the end, and I think that my well-thought-through comments contributed to the discussion.  I also felt like, in that discussion, I asked a lot of questions and really got my ideas across.
     The gist of the project was having to come up with 10 interpretive and 5 literal questions about Great Expectations and provide answers that were about a paragraph in length.  Being the lengthy, rather intricate novel that it is, I found it hard to come up with interpretive questions that I could answer myself.  After all the questions were written, we had fishbowl discussions where we asked and answered each others questions.  Though I found this assignment to be a more difficult one, I enjoyed the challenge, and I feel like I did a good job overall.
      

Poetry

I have had several good experiences with poetry.  My all time favorite experience is definitely writing my own peotry.  I wrote a poem called "I want to be..." and I absolutely loved it!  I actually wrote this poem after we did our Poetry Out Loud unit.  I realized just how deep poetry could be, and I think I wanted to make a connection like that.  I wanted something that I wrote to have a deeper meaning than just the words on the page, and that's how my poetry began.
     The other way poetry has made a positive impact on my life is being my way to express myself.  I found that whether I was happy, sad, or angry, I could put down exactly how I was feeling if I was writing poetry.  I liked the challenge of coming up with words that rhymed while also trying to convey the deeper meaning behind the words.  I felt like writing poetry has become my way of dealing with some of the challenges in life. 
     When I hear the word poetry, I think of a piece of artwork.  Everything flows and there is connotation behind everything, and like a painting, the colors or words chosen are picked out specifically by the painter to show meaning and emotion.  When I hear the word poetry in class, however, it has a negative connotation.  I feel like there is a lot of analyzing poetry for different terms, and though it's necessary to analyze the poem to discover the deeper meaning, I wish there was less analysis.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

One of the main conflicts in the play is Romeo and Juliet’s love and marriage versus the society in which they live.  They love each other and can’t live without each other, but at the same time, they aren’t supposed to be together because of the fight between their families.  For example, Romeo tells Juliet, “My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself because it is an enemy to thee,” (2.2.60).  They know that their love is not supposed to be, yet they can’t help but love each other.  Friar Lawrence only agrees to marry the two because he thinks their marriage will solve the fight between their families that keeps them apart, (2.3).  This conflict helps enhance the theme that nothing but death can keep true love apart.  The mere fact that the Montagues and Capulets are fighting will not separate Romeo and Juliet.  They are so in love that if they can’t be together, they would rather kill themselves.

                This person versus society conflict is present in our world today.  For example, people may be in relationships that their family and friends don’t approve of like Romeo and Juliet.  Another example is the pressure people may feel to go into a certain field of work that they don’t feel passionately about.  There are many more examples, but this type of conflict is important because people are forced to do something that they may not want to.  The decision s that people are making may affect them in negative ways, but they succumb to the pressure they are feeling.  I don’t have much experience with this type of conflict, but I have experienced person versus person conflict, and it has had a large impact on my life.  If I am in a conflict, I will typically walk away until I have cooled down so that I can deal with the problem more rationally.  Other people get fired up, and they explode without considering their decisions.  Conflict is present in Romeo and Juliet and in our lives today.  That is part of what makes this play such a timeless classic, and it is why this book will continue to be read by teens and adults alike for a long time to come.

Modern Culture References

This movie reminds me of Romeo and Juliet though I have only seen the commercials.  In the play, Romeo loves Rosalind, but she doesn't love him back.  He is heart-broken and only wishes he could find love.  Juliet is about to be engaged to Paris, and Shakespeare is clear that they are not meant to be together.  In the end, Romeo and Juliet find each other and live happily ever after.  In Something Borrowed, there are role reversals.  The main girl is like Romeo, and the main guy is like Juliet.  She loves him, but it's unrequited.  He becomes engaged to her best friends which makes their love even more forbidden.  The commercials allude to the fact that they will fall in love and live happily ever after as well.  With a modern twist, the story lines are very similar.  All in all, I love the play and can't wait to see the more modern movie!

Connections To Romeo And Juliet

I think that the relationships between the title characters and their parents are similar to situations today.  For example, I can metaphorically relate to the self conflict that Juliet feels.  She loves Romeo, but she is expected to love Paris.  She feels torn within herself between her heart and her parent's wishes.  I totally understand that feeling especially when it comes to school and extra-curricular activities. People expect things that either aren't realistic, or they want something for you so they try to force their ideas upon you.  Then the decision lies in who you will disappoint.  There's one thing I know for certain:  you can't please everyone.
As far as the reading goes, I doing it twice.  At home, I read in my room or in the car when it's quiet and I can really concentrate on what I'm reading.  For the most part, I clearly understand Shakespeare's language and writing styles.  I have read Shakespearian plays before, and that has been a huge advantage.  I thought I would have to use Spark Notes a lot, but it turns out that I haven't.  Reading Shakespeare is a lot easier than I would have thought, and I really enjoy Romeo and Juliet.  I definitely feel like I understand it better when we read in class.  We are able to share ideas about interpretations, and I like that aspect a lot.  Also, it is easier to pick up on the puns and such when it is read aloud.  Reading the material twice really implants it on our minds, and I think it is serving it's purpose very well.

Wrapping It Up :D

     I feel like the main message of Great Expectations was that money can't buy you happiness.  I think that everyone can relate to the experience of feeling inferior to someone or something.  No one can be the absolute best at everything, so there will always be someone that a person feels subordinate to, much like Pip and Estella.  Naturally, humans want to improve themselves which is why people will try to better themselves so that they can feel more confident and have more self esteem.  All of the self improvement, however, will not make a difference in a person long term.  For example, if you get 10 dollars, next time you want 20 dollars.  Now, money can give you short term happiness, but obviously, that won't last forever. Humans can never be satisfied, and at some point in their lives, everyone has to learn that no matter how much money is in their possession, money won't be able to make them truly happy.  In the end, people will realize that family and friends are the truly important things in life, and they need to keep the most significant things closest to their hearts.  This is pretty much the development of Pip's character through the novel, and I feel like no matter who picks up the book, the lesson can relate to the young, the old, the rich, or the poor.  Dickens was trying to develop a theme that is timeless, and by golly, he did a mighty fine job of doing it.

Thoughts on Reading

      The story line of Great Expectations was fine in the first stage, very dry and boring in the second stage, and it picked up a little bit in the third stage.  I liked the development of Pip's character, but the static characters in the book were by far the best.  They were the most likable and realistic characters.  The setting was so depressing.  Dickens always talked about the gloominess and I felt like I get enough of that living in Washington.  The writing style was pretty cool, actually.  It was a challenge, and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to decipher the meaning.  I thought he was an OK author.  His story was dry, but his writing style made it a little bit better.  I was able to sympathize and relate to Pip a little bit.  There have been people in my life that have inspired a change in me in a negative way.  I felt pressured to change, just like Pip did.  As far as being able to solve mysteries, I couldn't really solve any mysteries.  I had seen the movie and that kind of gave everything away.  I would not have been able to guess the ending though.  To be honest, I like the movie ending a lot better.
     I read the entire book of Great Expectations.  I didn't really have a habit of reading my book.  It got crazily fit into my schedule alongside all of my other homework.  With track 5 days a week and soccer 3 days a week, I was really hard pressed for time to spend on homework.  I did however manage to find time to read the book.  I typically read right before I went to bed or while I was in the car on my way home from track or to and from soccer.  I usually read when it was late and I was tired, but I don't think it really had an affect on my comprehension of the novel.  I didn't use Spark Notes that often, and I understood most of what happened.  The things that I didn't understand, I asked my group members.  I think the book was a rather dry read, and I would not read it if I didn't have to.

Survey =)

I took the survey on the website, but I wasn't sure how to post it in my blog.  Just wanted to say that I took it though.  I tried going back to the website so I could try to copy and paste it, but it wouldn't let me.

Photo Connections :)

I chose the photo of a man in prison for a few reasons.  The first reason is rather obvious.  It relates to the theme/motif of prison and convicts within the novel.  Up to the point that we have read, all of Pip's story, his great expectations, and livelihood have originated from convicts. His benefactor was a convict that he met as a little boy.  Now, Pip is trying to help and save that very man from going to prison again and being hanged.  He would not be in the position that he is in, with all of his money and wealth if it had not been for this convict.              The second reason I chose this picture has to do with the character of Pip.  I think that Pip feels trapped within himself and within his lifestyle.  He says multiple times throughout the novel that he wishes he had never met Miss Havisham or gotten his expectations.  As a child, he wanted to become a gentleman more than anything else, but as he finally got what he had always wanted, he realized that being a gentleman was not as great as he had thought it would be.  Since he has assumed this social status, he can't really back out of it anymore.  He is trapped in the lifestyle that he has, and he feels, in a way, like a prisoner.

The last reason I chose this picture is based on love.  Pip loves Estella, but she does not return those same feelings.  Again, I think he feels like a prisoner because he is on the outside looking in.  He is trapped within Estella's love, and he knows he can never have it. 

The prison theme is present in several aspects of the book, both literally and inferentially.  The relation to the book is very important in the story as a whole, and that is why I chose this picture. 

Marie Antoinette

     In the book Great Expectations Pip was a common boy that suddenly, rather out of no where, got his expectations and rose to the status of gentleman.  As he grew up he became increasingly ashamed of his family and lifestyle.  He wanted to become a gentleman, but when he grew up, he realized that being rich and having everything that he wanted wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  Pip got into trouble with debt, and while he knew that he couldn't afford to spend so much, he did it anyway.  The same is true for Marie Antoinette.
     
     When Marie became the queen of France, she lost all of her common sense. She spent money like crazy without giving a thought to who or what she was affecting with her current spending habits. Like Pip, she falls into the common "human motif" of greed.  She wasn't used to having all of the money that she now possessed, and she failed to use it wisely.  She bought anything she wanted when she knew there were much more practical and even more necessary uses for the money.  In the end, her greed lead to her death in a revolt.
    
      Not just her greedy nature relates her to Pip.  For example, she also fits into the theme of "becoming a gentleman".  Or in her case, becoming a queen. Marie grew up in a nice home and had a good life, but she was promised to be married to a prince and become the queen of France (which was a lot better than what she had).  She rose from being a commoner (not quite as common as Pip) to the much envied position as queen.  When she met the prince and all of the other people that were willing to wait on her, she realized that her life would never be the same, and she felt pressure to change herself and her lifestyle just like Pip did. 
    
     In all, there are important similarities between the movie of Marie's life and Great Expectations.  The story lines have many similarities and so do the themes and motifs of the characters.  I loved the movie, and so far I am loving Great Expectations.

The Second Stage :)

     In chapter 25, Pip talks about how he has aquired expensive habits.  Pip confesses to this guilty pleasure while he is studying with Mr. Mathew Pocket.  Pip doesn't have to work for any of his money. It is pretty much handed to him whenever he asks for it.  He may spend it on anything he wants, and he can spend it whenever he wants.  He doesn't have to work for his money because his generous benefactor, whoever that may be, simply gives him anything he wants.
     This scenario relates to the theme of becoming a gentleman.  During this era, the aristocracy were stereotypically rude and rather snobbish toward any of the people in the lower class.  As Pip becomes a gentleman, he starts to become a snob.  He looks down on Joe even more, and he also realized how differently people started to treat them; he liked the way he was being treated.  The main reason that Hubert hasn't turned into such a snot because he has to work for all of his money.  The gentleman Pip gets anything he wants, and that's why he fits into this theme.

Pip's Quote

Pip is referring to the day that he realized how common and ordinary his life was.  He started out realizing how ordinary he was when he met Estella.  She criticized him, and she made him feel terrible about himself and all that he had.  The first link is the first thing that made him realize his commonality.  Pip is now terribly ashamed of his entire life from Joe to his house to his profession.  Pip used to be satisfied with his life and family, but now he feels like he would die if Estella or Miss Havisham saw his house or saw him at his dirtiest at the forge.  These are definitely negative changes.  I now view Pip as an ungrateful, selfish child that believes he is above everyone else.  He wants to become a gentleman to please Estella even though she already hates him. 
Since I was a little kid, I have always loved to act.  I dressed up with my friends; I would pretend to be someone else on the phone; I would perform songs and poems for an audience of my parents, friends, etc.  I got into as many plays as I could.  In kindergarten, I was the lead angel.  In third grade, I had the lead role in a play with first graders to high school students.  In sixth grade I was in the music man both at my school and at Olympia; and I shared the lead role of our school play eighth grade year.  All in all, I love acting and drama which lead to my being in the drama classes now.  I am now much more comfortable performing in front of others, and I suppose this can all be traced back to the day that I was the "lead angel" in the Christmas Pageant when I was in kindergarten.

Great Expectations Questions

"'Lookee here!' said my convict to the seargant. 'Singlehanded I got clear of the prison-ship; I made a dash and I done it. I could ha' got clear of these death-cold flats likewise-- look at my leg: you won't find much iron on it-- if I hadn't made discovery that he was here. Let him go free? Let him profit by the means as I found out? Let him make a tool of me afresh abd again? Once more? No, no, no. If I had died at the bottom there"-- and he made an emphatic swing at the ditch with his manacled hands-- "I'd have held him with that grip, that you should have been safe to find him in my hold.'" (ch5; pg35)

my question about this paragraph is why would a convict go to such lengths to make sure that a fellow convict was captured? It seems more beneficial for the two of them to work together. Plus, the first convict must have known that he would get caught, so why would he make such a stupid decision? Does he just figure that he will be able to escape again?
Please help!
-Sarah

Group Essay Colaboration

Well group members, I haven't really changed anything in my paragraph.  It is still pretty much the same.  As for questions, I am wondering if any of you guys have any ideas for the conclusion paragraph. I am having trouble thinking of ways to reword the thesis.  Any ideas?

Dishonesty

     Dishonesty relates to humor in epigrams because the characters ideals or beliefs on life are hypocritical.  They say one thing, and two seconds later, the contradict it.  In a way, they are lying.  Also, some of the beliefs that the characters have are based off of lies such as the situation with Algernon and Jack pretending to be a man named Ernest.  Dishonesty relates to the satire of social institutions because the rich and snotty people which are also known as the upper class, can pretty much do whatever they want (including lie) and get away with it.  For example, Algy decides that he wants to miss his business meeting, and he doesn't even care because he won't get in trouble.  Dishonesty is related to the pursuit of pleasure because the women decide they wouldn't love the men unless their names were Ernest.  That is the women's pleasure, but the men are lying about their names.  Also, for Algy and Jack, pleasure comes before being a gentleman.  The go bunburying to party and have a good time instead of being true to their families and friends.  The name Ernest and the title of the play (earnest) are related to dishonesty for obvious reasons.  Again, Gwendolyn and Cecily think the name Ernest inspires absolute confidence.  Algy and Jack  are lying about their names and relatives to meet that criteria.  It's ironic that the women say they could never marry someone who isn't named Ernest when they love Algy and Jack.  I would also classify this as satire of marriage.
     I think Wilde is trying to show that lying will get you into trouble in the end.  This play is like a web of love, but it only gets to be that way because of the characters' lies.  Then Algy and Jack get caught up in those lies when they both pretend to be Ernest for different women.  As both men and both women end up at the same house, it becomes quite clear that the men will have to tell the truth.  I also think Wilde is saying that lying can seem like fun and a good idea at the time, but in the end, one will be discovered as a liar.

Animal Farm Project Evaluations

1.  Brooke: Song: I thought the song did an OK job of portraying the book.  I thought it was kind of choppy, and it didn't flow as well as I would like.  In general, however, this was a good project.
2.  Kayla: Animal Pyramid:  This was an excellent project! It was creative, and it was easy to understand.  Kayla did a good job portraying the book and it's elements of irony.
3.  Melanie: Power Point:  This is another great project.  It very clearly showed the elements of the book.  It was creative, definitely computer based, and this is a project that deserves an A.
4.  Donna: Video:  I thought this project portrayed the elements of the book very well.  The video was nicely done and put together.
5.  Reagan: Poem:  I loved her project!  It met all the criteria, and it was very introspective and thoughtful.
6.  Alena: Video:  This was a great project.  It conveyed the book elements, and it was interesting and fun to watch.
7.  Brittany G: Drawing:  This project would have been better had I been able to see it.  It wasn't easily seen, and I'm not sure how it reflected irony, foreshadowing, and the like.
8.  Leah: Comic Strip:  This was a very cute project.  I liked how it showed the irony in an almost satirical fashion.
9.  Sherwin, Ketl, Chase, Zack:  Video:  Again, a great project.  The use of both songs not only enhanced the performance, but it was also a new way of viewing the story.
10.  Olivia: Poem:  This poem was short but good.  I could tell, despite the length where she was getting across the ideas of irony and such.

I think my project compared very well to the other projects.  I think some people could have spent a little more time on their projects, but in general, the projects were very good.  I think that my group and I spent a lot of time on our project, and it payed off.  I'm proud of my work, and I am glad I got to work on this project with my friends.

New Year's Resolution

This year, I have made a personal resolution to read the entire Bible in a year.  My youth pastor's wife has created a group on Facebook that I have become a part of.  Each day, she posts the passage of the Bible that needs to be read in order to finish by the end of the year.  I am a Christian, and I believe that reading the Bible in a year will greatly improve my life.  God's word has so much to teach me and anyone else who reads it.  I definitely want to live a more godly life, and this will help me accomplish my goal.  As far as keeping resolutions, I have had trouble in the past.  The Facebook group will keep me on track, just like a calendar/planner or a devotional.  I also have some other New Year's resolutions, but reading the Bible in an entire year has always been a goal of mine, and I am excited that I have the opportunity and resources to accomplish this goal.

Animal Farm Project

For our artistic response to animal farm, we made a trailer and mini movie. The video shows foreshadowing and themes through the background music. One song is about power and control, which foreshadows corruption. Irony is present when Napolean accepts an invitation to drink with the farmer breaking not just one, but two of his own laws. We also added in the windmill as a symbol of success in a unique way. We hope this video enhances your perception and knowledge of Animal Farm and that you enjoy the movie!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-ZM9Rkm78