The Conclusion

Of all my blogs I think that my favorite was the one where we got to write in formal or informal diction. We got to be really creative, and it was fun to show our writing in a unique way. Over the course of this year my writing has improved a lot. I have gotten to be a better writer throughout this year, and my blog really showcases that. In a post from September I wrote “As we got older she began to talk more and express her opinions. My mom told me a few years ago, that when we were little we were playing some sort of imaginary game, as kids often do, I was explaining to my sister all these ideas, and things we could do, and she just said, "No, this is how it's going to be." And she told me. My little sister told me what to do. And I listened.” In that quotation, pay more attention to the quality of writing than the actual content. It shows that while my writing wasn’t bad, it was just simple. Now I have more creative ways to write, I write better.

            I have written a lot about the books we have read, and analyzing those books. At the beginning of the year, there was a lot of To Kill A Mockingbird posts, and that led into my outside reading, Animal Farm into The Importance of Being Earnest, into Great Expectations, and so on. Anyone reading my blog would see that I am an avid English student and that I enjoy it. My blog really shows how I get into my work and enjoy what I’m working on. From viewing all the posts that I have written it reflects that I have been able to become a better writer during this year.

            My best blogs are the ones where I compare a book to something in my life I know my life, and can compare those two things really well. I think in ways where I can understand deeper meaning of things better if I can put into perspective of my life. My writing in that area has always been pretty good, but it has gotten better over the year, and having the blog to be able to keep track of that through the blog is really special. I will be able to have it to remember what we did in Honors English this year, and how much I learned and grew as a writer.

Memorable Assignment

The assignment that I liked most this year was the Outside Reading Project first semester. I really liked this because it gave us some freedom from which to choose what we wanted to do. I read The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I liked that we got to read it at a pace set by our specific group so that we could all talk about it together. I liked that there were multiple books to choose from so instead of talking to the whole class about it we had our little groups to discuss with. That was fun because I got to really enjoy the book with a smaller group rather than the big class where I don't get to talk about it as much.
  The Bean Trees was a pretty easy book to get through, but in my group some people were having trouble keeping up with the reading because of their extra-curriculars and other homework. I maintained being able to read and became sort of a leader for my group because I was always done with the readings. When I was always prepared it was fun for me to come to class to talk about the book because I was up to date. This project was my favorite thing all year because it gave us freedom within the restrictions to do what we wanted. Since we could choose the book we wanted to read, it was more fun to talk about with the other people who wanted to read the book. It's not always as fun to discuss a book when half the people don't like, or want to read it. When everyone in the group want to read the book its much more enjoyable to discuss!

Experience with Poetry

      In the past, poetry has been good for me. In elementary school we would make those little books filled with poetry that we wrote, and some by other authors that we read in class. I still have my old books, and I still like to look at them. I think they are really cute and are really nice to have as a memory of the class, and as a bookmark for how I wrote poetry as a kid. Though those are fond memories, my best experience with poetry was last year.
     Last year, we got to read a lot of poetry from all different kinds of books, and then write our own poems. We then put them in our own poetry anthologies and read some for the class. Part of learning to write, read, and perform poetry was just reading poems to other people. We did this cool thing where we would do partner poems. We would have a partner and we would read the poem together and then tell it to the class. I remember it being really cool. The change in voice between the two people reading it, and the emphasis it puts on the different parts of the poems because of the changes. It was really cool to hear how other people interpreted the poem, based on how they said it.
   That unit really changed how I viewed poetry. Before then, I wasn't interested in it. I liked reading novels better because I didn't think that poetry had a deeper meaning besides just the words. I liked the imagery in poems, but I didn't think of anything else inside the poem. Analyzing poems has really made me respect poems because they are like novels in that they have theme, and a meaning, but they can manage to get it across much more quickly and often much more subtly. That is something that is really cool about poetry and why I like it.
  Right now, I do like poetry. I hope that this unit will be fun and give me more reason to like it. I think that it;s fun because it's short, and so analyzing it doesn't take a long time, but there can still be a lot of things to notice.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

In Romeo and Juliet there are many types of conflict. One example of conflict is internal/personal conflict. This specific conflict is exemplified when Juliet is deciding who she loves and is sad for after Tybalt's death. "My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain, And Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband." (3.2.115) This dialogue is showing Juliet's angst about Tybalt's death. She loves Romeo, but he killed Tybalt who was her cousin. This conflict is important to central themes of the entire play because it is a smaller battle in the huge fight between the Capulets and the Montegues. The conflict that Juliet has with her self is showing that he character is innocent and very unsure about what to think. This is important conflict in the play because Juliet keeps changing her mind about Romeo or Tybalt, Tybalt or Romeo. Throughout the whole play, characters change their minds (Romeo from Rosaline to Juliet; Friar Lawrence against the marriage of Romeo and Juliet to performing the ceremony, etc.) and so this little conflict shows how many other characters do it also.
      In my life I find that I do think things through a lot. I will have conversations in my head, not out loud like Juliet in the play, but I will think things through the way Juliet did. I think that I do argue with myself the way Juliet does. Everyone in society talks to themselves-not like they are saying "oh hello", "how are you?" aloud like that, but they will talk things out. I reason things out in my head. When I'm making an important decision or just thinking about what I need to do for the rest of the day I have a thought process. I'm not necessarily arguing and having a conflict with myself. In society everyone talks to themselves to make easy day to day decisions to figure out little things, or sometimes bigger more important things. This isn't really conflict for me, but if I am torn about something I will just try to relax and maybe make a list to get all my thoughts out. If I have a conflict with another person, though, I try to relax also and do what I can to be calm when I am having that conflict.

Romeo and Juliet: It's Everywhere!

My reference to Romeo and Juliet is in the Disney movie version of Robin Hood. I will admit that it isn't excactly like Romeo and Juliet, but some of the themes and ideas are similar.  In Romeo and Juliet they are both very young, and in Robin Hood, Robin Hood and Maid Marian are young and their romance started when they were kids. Both couples are very much in love and they come from places where they shouldn't be together. Maid Marian is royalty, and Robin Hood (though good in his actions) is considered a theif. The Montagues and Capulets are enemies also. Robin Hood goes to great heights to get Maid Marian's attention, even risking his life for her at the Archery competition. Romeo does the same for Juliet when he sneaks by her house to talk her. Romeo and Juliet is a timeless book, and the ideas and themes in it are ones that can be and are used many times over, and will continue to be.

Connecting with Romeo and Juliet

There isn't really much that I can connect with in Romeo and Juliet, but there are a few things that I can relate to. Romeo's overdramatic personality is something that I can recognize. We all know someone who makes a big deal out of nothing and how much they drag on things to get attention. Of course Romeo is exactly like that but it's something that is similar. I can also connect with Romeo's friends. Benvolio and Mercutio try to help Romeo by getting him to move on past the girl he sought after in the beginning. This was the right thing to do as friends, though the best choice may not have been taking him to a party where they were specifically banned; however, as he met Juliet, it did seem to be effective. I have definitely given my friends advice, (and had it given to me) about life, school, boys, etc. I feel that I can best relate to Benvolio because of his ways as Romeo's friend.
   I think that reading at home and then in class is really helpful. If there is something that I'm confused about at home, it's good to read over it and understand it the next day in class. I think that also watching the movie clips are nice in class because its a visual aspect to see how that is portrayed in the movie from what we are reading. I can understand most of the reading before we get to class, but it's nice to have the refresher and just in case there is something I don't understand. I wish sometimes that we wouldn't spend the whole period reading because I start to zone out sometimes after we have been reading out loud for a long time. The reading is helping me get new ideas in class that hadn't occurred to me the night before, but the group activities are good to do also. It's nicer because then there is more time where we are physically doing something with the text than just reading it, or hearing it read. I think that I am getting a good understanding of the novel and both the readings in and out of class are what helps with that.

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

In the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens there are a few different things that could be overall messages. I think that the most prominent and widely used one is that money doesn't guarantee happiness. Throughout the story Pip longs to be a gentleman and have money to buy nice clothes and other things. As the novel progresses Pip realizes that even though he has come into money he is still unhappy. I think that this is a universal experience for people everywhere. People often see something that is "better" or more expensive than what they have and automatically want it. It is just human nature for people to want more than they have. Decades, centuries, ago people longed for something better; now people long for the same. That is one of the parts of this book that makes it timeless. People can always relate to wanting something better (and then feeling ashamed of what they have currently in comparison to that better thing). Even though they know that having a better house, better clothes, etc doesn't mean they will be happy and satisfied with their lives people don't seem to ever get over the feeling of striving for better. The message that money won't ensure happiness is universal for everyone everywhere, which makes Great Expectations a book that people will enjoy(or not), but relate to nevertheless for years to come. 

Great Expecations: Thoughts on Reading

1. Overall, I actually liked the book. At the beginning I was thinking, okay this could be good, but as the first stage went on Pip started to become such an annoying character that I didn't think I would be able to get through it. When the second stage started the writing was just so dry I just could not get into the book. As the third stage was coming closer and eventually came the plot started to pick up and get interesting with the arrival of Magwitch, and I was more excited to read. I thought the book was a good, it was just lengthy and hard to understand. I think Dickens is a good author, but he just makes too many metaphors at times. I like metaphors, but when there are four of them in one sentance it becomes confusing and hard to figure out what the sentance is actually about. I liked the desciptions of the settings, it made it easier to imagine. I has sympathy for Joe and Biddy because they were so sweet and happy and Pip was just so mean to them it made me sad. I actually guessed that the convict would be Pip's benefactor. I have been saying since Pip got his expecations. I was hoping that Pip would realize that he didn't need money and clothes to be happy in the end, so that came true. I did use Sparknotes, but I didn't read ahead and find out what happens.
2. I honestly read the whole book, and I did all the reading assignments on time. I would usually know that I would need to spend 20-25 minutes a night reading Great Expectations or doing the journal assignment. I  would always read and annotate at the same time. Usually this is the last homework I would do because then I could go straight to sleep. After I read and annotated, I would go on Sparknotes for the particular chapters and just make sure I understood everything correctly. I knew that if I fell behind in my reading it would be really hard to catch up, so I kept up the whole time. During the second stage I found it hard to find things to annotate, but there were some things I found occasionally. I think that if I had done my reading earlier in the day I might have understood it better because by the time I got around to reading I was really tired, but otherwise it wasn't that bad because I had Sparknotes as a back up in case I was really confused. I found that since I kept up with the daily reading it wasn't really a problem to stay with it because I was used to the daily reading. As for the journal I would usually do that as one of the first things I did for Thursday homework, just to get it out of the way. The journals really weren't that hard, it was just about looking through your annotations, and having good ones. Overall, my experience reading Great Expectations was good!

Great Expectations Photo Post

This is a picture of a boy growing into a man. I feel like this is the best way for me to describe Pip's growth, but I must say that though this shows physical growth (as Pip has), I don't feel like Pip has matured all that much. Pip's personality has definetely changed, but not necesarily in a positive way. When he was little he was small, naive, and with a strong coincience. Now he is bigger, but he has become arrogant and distainful. Yes, he has grown and changed, but he isn't all that much better. In fact its quite fair to say that he was a much more likeable character when he was the innocent little boy, rather than the smug Pip that we know at this stage of the book.

Making Connections

  In Great Expecations there are a lot of themes, but one stands out to me. That is finding satisfaction and happiness with whatever you have. Pip never seems to be content with what he has at any particular moment, and so he is always is looking for something better. He wants to get out of the forge and move on to becoming a gentleman, and when he gets that, he wants to be with Estella. These ideas are similiar to the movie Annie. In Annie the orphan, Annie, isn't happy living under the "care" of Miss Hannigan (similiar to Mrs. Joe). She longs to meet her real parents or to be adopted and leave the orphange. Unfortunately her parents (like Pip's) are dead. Annie tries to be happy with what she has, but still isn't satisfied. It isn't unlike people to want more than we have, but is a message in both of these. I don't know what will happen to Pip in Great Expecations, but I know that in Annie everything works out for her and she is very happy.

  Also in Annie is the theme of pentinance/crime and punishment as in Great Expectations shown with the convicts. In Annie Miss Hannigan's brother, Rooster, and his girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, break the law and Rooster actually tries to kill Annie. They are caught and sent to jail, as are the convicts imprisoned on the "hulks"(prison boats). This is a message that people are constantly reminded of; newspapers, radio, television, internet all broadcast the idea of paying for commiting a crime, so it's not an original idea in either of these tales.

  These two stories are similiar in many ways (same sort of main character, similiar plot line, common themes) and so I am hoping that Great Expectations will have as happy of an ending as Annie has. Everything works out for Annie, so I hope that it will for Pip, too. I also hope that Pip's character will turn around and things will start to look up for him because he isn't being the same sort of lovable character as Annie is!



Miss Hannigan talking to Annie in the 1982 movie.
Not my own picture.

Second Stage of Great Expectations

    In the second stage of Great Expectations there are many new characters that Pip encounters. One of these is the Pale Young Gentleman that he had previously fought with at Miss Havisham's house. This time they are introduced differently, and Pip learns that the Pale Young Gentleman is really Herbert Pocket. (pg. 173-175.) Pip and Herbert become friends at once and are so excited by this new friendship they decide to be roommates. This is a coincidence in the book because they had first met, Pip had been rather frightened of him, and then beat him in their fight (though when they meet again Herbert remembers himself winning). Herbert also agrees to help Pip with his manners to make him a better gentleman.
     The two boys meeting each other and becoming friends relates to the motifs we have been talking about in class of becoming a gentleman, and mystery. Herbert helps Pip with his manners and therein allowing him to be a better gentleman. This is good for Pip because Pip wants to be a gentleman so badly, but he is used to the manners from his lower class life. Pip is being taught by Herberts father, but more school type things rather than how to eat properly. Herbert also tells Pip about Miss Havisham and Estella. He clears up why she is in her wedding dress with the food rotting and the clocks stopped at 8:40. This is because the man she loved sent her a note on their wedding day at the exact time, and she has remained stuck there since. Herbert also tells Pip that Miss Havisham adopted Estella. That clears up some of the mystery surrounding Miss Havisham and Estella, but still leaves some holes. Who was the man that left Miss Havisham on their wedding day, and why did he decide to leave her and split money with her brother instead? How and when did Miss Havisham adopt Estella? These are all questions that are left open and continue the mystery motif created in the first stage.

Pips Life-Altering Day

      In this quotation, Pip is referring to that now he knows about the upper class society, he wants to be like that. He wants to be a gentlemen for Estella and Miss Havisham. He is ashamed of Joe and his lower class lifestyle. In the first nine chapters Pip is a young boy: sweet, innocent, and cute, but as he gets older he isn't so much so anymore. When he starts to become embarrassed of Joe he turns into a less like-able character. When he says he is ashamed of Joe's "commonality" he is just a bad character in the readers eyes because Joe is so kind. It is hard for the reader to see Joe criticized and therein the view of  Pip is changed. He has become a totally different character.
     A life-alterning day for me was the day I found out I had a bone cyst. It was when I was four so I don't really remember it that well. I know that it meant that I would have multiple surgeries over the following years of my life. I can't remember what happened that day very well, but has been described to me by family members since then. It seems that everyone in my family knew that this was a day that would change my life, and effect theirs. Now I have to deal with constant hip pains and soreness. I have built up scar tissue in my hip that makes it really tight. I have pain when I run and play soccer that makes it harder for me to play sometimes. I think that it is going to be a pain I have to live with for the rest of my life. It is just a bump in the road that I will have to overcome. To this day during my soccer games I will have hip pain, but I can play through it because of my love of the game. 

Confusion in Great Expectations

In Chapter 6 there are some confusing parts and this passage was confusing to me:

"The fear of losing Joe's confidence, and of thenceforth sitting in the chimmeny-corner at night staring drearily at my for ever lost companion and friend, tied up my tongue. I morbidly represented to myself that if Joe knew it, I never afterwards could see him at the fireside feeling his fair whisker without thinking that he was meditation on it. That, if Joe knew it, I never afterwards could see him glance, however casually, at yesterday's meat or pudding when it came on to-day's table without thinking that he was debating whether I had been in on the pantry. That, if Joe knew it, and at any subsequent period of our joint domestic life remarked that his beer was flat or think, the conviction that he suspected tar in it would bring a rush of blood to my face. In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong." (Ch. 6, pg. 40)

From this I understand that it is about how Pip is too cowardly to admit to doing something he knew wasn't the right thing. What I don't understand is what is hidden in this passage. I think there must be something important in the passage because it could have been said a lot easier and shorter. Thanks for your help!

Group essay

1. In my paragraph I am changing a few things. I am going to be changing my first concrete detail. It will instead become the second quote moving my original second one to the first. This quote will be more of a paraphrasing of the part when Cecily is confirming that Algernon is Ernest and Jack isn't, but is also the part where she finds out Algernon is really Algernon. My commentary for that quote will be accordingly different. It will be about how they have fallen for the person in their head, but they are becoming confused with the real one who isn't like they imagined. I am going to change around some of my other commentary a little bit, but not huge significance.
2. The main thing I am having trouble with is the concluding sentance. I don't want to repeat myself and just go over everything that I have just said, but I don't want to say something new and confuse a reader. From what you guys remember of my paragraph what should I do?

Dishonestly in The Importance of Being Earnest

   In The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, there are many relations to dishonesty through different literary techniques. Characters in the play often say many things that contradict things they say earlier. Epigrams in particular seem to come up repeatedly and are often little quips that don't always make sense. Algernon seems to always say life lessons that are not very sensible which makes them also a little untruthful. There is a lot of satire on social institutions especially regarding marriage. Then marriage was about who had money or property and was more of a business deal than about love. That is not dishonest because when you marry someone you are supposed to love them, but if it is a business deal that isn't necessarily so. References to the name Ernest, or to the trait are common. At the end Jack finds out that his birth name is Ernest. He has been going by Jack, a name given to him by his adopted father. He then went on to make up "Ernest" and then go by that name in London. While telling everyone about this so-called "Ernest" he didn't realize that he was spilling lies, he was actually telling the truth. At the end he figures it out and is unhappy with this. Wilde conveys the pursuit of pleasure through many characters, Algernon in particular. Algernon always wants the lush, lavish clothing; he wants the delicious food; and he wants to party. He creates his friend "Bunbury" to make sure this happens. By making up this Bunbury he is always lying to someone.
  In the play, Wilde seems to be saying that dishonesty will always come out somehow. That is an epigram in itself. By creating this characters who lie, and live half their lives falsely it makes fun of people in life who do lie. Wilde is trying to poke fun at the upper class people during the Victorian Age who would do whatever they liked and not get in trouble for it. In this play it came back to bite Algernon and Jack, though they did end up squeezing out of it. An underlying message in The Importance of Being Earnest is how being dishonest and untruthful will end up for worse. 

Animal Farm Project Evaluation

 1. Grace did a movie with Molly, Sarah, and Kady. They did a really good job putting the preview/movie together to make it look real, which helped a lot with reinforcing of the literary elements. I thought that the footage of the actual pigs, and how they showed certain parts of the novel (ie. Farmers drinking and hanging out with the pigs at the end, the commandments) really made the themes of Animal Farm stand out.

2. Alena and Mackenzie also did a movie. The movie did a good job talking about the book and creating an idea about the book for the viewer. They really established the idea of the pigs becoming the rulers of Animal Farm.

3. Olivia wrote a haiku. She used careful diction and meaningful words to make the poem dark, as the book is. Each word and syllabul are picked to describe the despair and pigs taking over in the novel. 

4. Sean made a comic strip. His comic strip represented the ideas of corruption of power really well. He had really good pictures and well written sentances to go with this theme. I thought his comic was really creative.

5. Rachel created a game for her project. I thought this was a great idea because it had never even occured to me to do something like this. Her game was a little complicated, but after awhile I understood it. I liked that she showed all the of elements of Animal Farm in a fun, easy to use way!

6. Reagan wrote a poem for her project. She made each stanza represent a different part of the central themes. It began with a happy vibe because they overthrew Mr. Jones, then eventually changed into a darker idea. Throughout the poem she capitalized some letters and I thought that was a typo at first, but then I realized that they actually were on purpose, and spelled out "TYRANNY" which I thought was a cool idea that enhanced the poem.

7. Donna did a video for her project. I thought she did a good job expressing the feelings in the book with the background music changing from slow and sad to cheerful depending on what was happening. I thought the filmwork was a bit choppy and a little unrealistic looking, but overall it was good!

8. Kayla made a class pyramid. I thought that she showed how Animal Farm was and then how it changed. It was an interesting comparison between the two, and I thought she did a good job creating it, though I wasn't sure if the "Before" was before The Rebellion, or before Napoleon completely took over and Snowball was sent away.

9. Brooke made a song for her project. I thought it was a good idea, but I was sort of confused by the caption. Her song itself was pretty good, but it seemed to overall happy, throughout the whole thing even though Animal Farm wasn't happy the whole book.

10. Will and Paul did a comic strip. They did a good job of describing the full novel, but I thought it was sort of simple, and they could have gone more in depth. They had all the ideas there, they just needed to draw them out a bit more.

I thought my project was pretty good compared to most of the projects. I think I was in the middle. Grace, Molly, Sarah, and Kady's video was really good, and then there were some projects that were lacking a little bit. I think that I incorperated themes from the book well, but it was hard to get everything from the class disscussions and everything from the novel into a comic strip; however, I think I succeeded in doing enough. I think I definetely put in enough effort. I spent a long time phrasing the words in the right side of the comic. I also spent awhile choosing the right quotation from the book.

Animal Farm Creative Project