Breaking the Mold - The End

English - literature, grammar, Dickens, Shakespeare, poetry, and language. But this year, my English blog has been about so much more. From little Scout to greedy Pip, and Team Algernon to suicidal lovers, we covered everything in English this year, and I have it all captured in my blog, forevermore posted on the World Wide Web. Though we did everything the other 9th grade Honors English classes did, one thing we did they didn't was have a class blog.

I really enjoyed having this blog. It gave us a chance to do something more- to break the mold of journals and paper assignments. I feel it gave us a chance to do all the required things, but still get our opinion out there and discuss and think about it outside of school. Having this blog provided the opportunity to write what we felt outside of the strict essay format. I was able to say what I wanted, how I wanted. I will say, though, some blog assignments felt like I was writing an essay because the required so much thought and answering of questions. I think if you were to compile all the blog assignments into one big paper, it would equal more pages than all of my essays from this year combined.

I would have to say that one my favorite blog assignment was discussing fate in Romeo and Juliet. I got to research my zodiac sign and learn more about it, then compare all that to a beyond-famous play. Wow, that play is so famous, I think I knew about it before I was born. Freaky! Shakespeare really knew what he was doing when he wrote that. It was really interesting to learn more about Scorpios, especially since while I was reading it, I was like, "Whoah! That is totally me!" Isn't it so weird how simple things like looking at the stars can be so accurate?

Another one of my favourite (gasp! did I really just use the British spelling?!) posts was my early childhood memory. I had completely forgotten about how my dad mocked my dream about being sucked down the bathtub drain. I don't think I have ever worn a shirt with animals on it after that. Bad connotation. *shudder* It's always fun to look back on things from your childhood and go, "Wow, I can't believe I was actually scared of that!" Kids just believe the darnest things.

If I had to chose one post where I was really proud of my writing, I would chose the Spring Break extra-credit blog. I wrote that one from third person narrative - which isn't always easy - and I think it's something different. I broke the mold, if you will. I always find it fun to write things from unexpected points of view, mainly second person. Second person narrative really isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be. If you think about it, you do it quite often. Like that sentence. It was in second person. I think that blog post really described my writing style. It was different, yet interesting and fun to read.

This year in English was so much fun. I wish Mrs. Gilman would teach 10th grade Honors English next year so I can have her again. Her class was always my favourite (there I go with the British spellings again) class of the day. It's just so much fun! Plus Wyatt was in that class. No class with Wyatt is a bad class.

Alas, fair English blog, I must now say goodbye. Maybe if I remember in years to come I will log on once more and read everything I posted on you. As William Hurt once said, "You have to create a track record of breaking your own mold, or at least other people's idea of that mold."

Essay Accomplice

Literary analysis is now something I am very comfortable with. I even find myself picking apart books I read for fun and going, "Oh, I think _____ might be a theme/motif/symbol/other literary device." Could that mean I have done too much of it? Can you ever do too much literary analysis? Yes. But now I can write an essay with more confidence and know it won't sound elementary level. I know what needs to be in each part of the essay and can do that with ease. Thanks to Mrs. Gilman and the 9th grade Honors English curriculum, essay writing and critiquing had become like a 6th sense.

Yet I also think that it is impossible to be a perfect essay writer. There's always something you can improve on and make better. For me that is not making my commentary too repetative. I sometimes feel like I am just reiterating what I already said instead of introducing new ideas. Maybe that's because I always choose such hard topics to write on that I have issues coming up with things to say. Who knows? But hopefully I'll fix that in 10th grade Honors English next year and become an even better essayist.

Summer Classics

"Les Miserables", the daring tale of a past convict trying to start and honest life as he is being pursued by the one man that knows who he is, the prostitute just trying to let her daughter have the life she lost, and the ever-greedy inn-keeper man and his wife. In his book, Victor Hugo mocks the French judicial and political system, but still captures the hearts of readers. It is a book that will be a favorite for generations to come.

"Oliver Twist", the tragic story of an orphan boy turned out on the streets and finds his way to London, where he gets mixed up with a gang of pick-pocketers, and eventually, the notorious Bill Sikes himself. Can Oliver save himself?

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I want to read both these books because 1) they're classics and 2) I've seen the movie/musical for both. I always like to see how different a book is from it's screen remake and I love the thrill of watching words I've read come to life not only in my imagination, but before my eyes.

Fate: Scorpio

Scorpio; determined and forceful, powerful and passionate, emotional and intuitive, exciting and magnetic. All these things describe the zodiac sign of the Scorpio. Scorpios harness aggression, yet "are pleasant to be with, thoughtful in conversation, dignified, and reserved." (www.astrology-online.com/scorpio.htm) They relate to their fellow peers as leaders but can be critical to the point of cruelty to people they dislike. Scorpios like the feeling of being persuasive, hidden causes, and being told the truth.

I think that this is very much like me. As I was reading all the websites that described the zodiac signs, I was shocked and amazed at how most everything sounded exactly like the way I am. I am very determined, especially with the little things. I have to get them done and done in a certain way, which therefore makes me forceful in order to get it done the way I want it. Often I feel like a very emotional person, and I most definitely feel passionate about many things. I often guess things people are going to tell me, even when it's something completely out there.

I do not, however, feel like I am powerful. I'm not a huge fan of feeling like I hold something above other people, probably because I so often put everyone else's needs before my own. Yet at the same time, I do like the feeling of being persuasive. I, like most people, like to see things go my way, but more often than not I will succumb and let the other person have their way. If I get annoyed at someone, I will hold back that aggression and let it build to the point of exploding. I hardly tell people what's wrong until that point of explosion because I don't want to bother people with my problems. But if you do make me extremely mad at you, I can be very mean.

I think astrology does have something to do with your character, but not so much with fate. I have rarely found my horoscope to be true for that day, but every description of a Scorpio I read sounds exactly like me. In Romeo and Juliet, I believe that the reason they rely so much on the stars is because they do not have the science that we have now. We have computers and doctors educated enough to tell you when you are going to die, but in the time this play was written, there was no such thing.

Also, I think that fate is not predetermined, but it is rather what you chose to make it. I do not think that there is a plan for your life set in stone somewhere. If Tybalt hadn't returned to Mercutio's death place, he never would have died. It's all about the choices you make. If Romeo had not tried to come between the fight, then neither would have died, at least not how they did.

Astrology can be true to an extent, but in the end it all comes down to you and the things you do.

Harry Potter's Romeo and Juliet

People reading this are probably thinking, 'What? "Harry Potter" is nothing like "Romeo and Juliet".' Yet if that were true, then why would I be writing a blog about it?

Forbidden love. It appears everywhere, including in "Harry Potter". Voldemort's parents, two star-crossed lovers that lose their lives, are JK Rowling's Romeo and Juliet. One a pure-blood witch, the other a mere muggle that can have any girl he wishes. Her parents hate muggles, his don't even know magic-folk exist, but neither would have chosen this for their child. Their love was secret. No one else knew until it was too late and their child was dead. But even their child's death could not stop her family from hating muggles.

The only difference is, Juliet couldn't give Romeo a love potion to make him love her.

Extra Credit Post

Upon the page, she writes, "The moon shone through the open window as if someone had placed a light bulb in the sky. The light from the stars was equal to a million Christmas lights strung throughout outer space."

This darn writer's block, she thinks, sitting at her computer, blank thoughts racing across her mind. She found it so easy to memorize poems, the words came so freely in her essays, but why can't she write a simple blog post? It's just putting your thoughts on the Internet - she does that all the time. But why, when it counts for a grade, can she not do it?

She can put her opinion in an essay. Easy. She can express herself through poetry. Simple. She can breeze through the horrible DGP. Trouble free. She can voice her thoughts. Painless. She can participate in circle discussions more than the required number of times. Effortlessly. But write an English blog? Hard.

When everything is all said and done and the night is almost over, she is still sitting at her computer with a blank mind. It's a good thing it's only Tuesday and she has until 11:59 on Friday to think of something. Maybe she'll go write something in another story until inspiration pays a visit. Until then, this is goodbye, English blog. Time to wait hopelessly for a revelation.

Skits=Fun

Scene 1: When Pip first goes to Miss Havisham's and meets Estella. I think it would be interesting to see people's interpretations of the characters and afterwards by the brewery when Pip is crying and pulling his hair. It may be a little harder, but interesting nonetheless.

Scene 2: The fight between Joe, Orlick, and Mrs. Joe in the forge right before Mrs. Joe is attacked. This scene involves a lot of characterization and interpretation, which would make it very fun to do as a skit.

Scene 3: Depending upon the group size, when Pip, Joe, and Wopsle go to the marshes to look for the convicts in the beginning of the book. I think it would be interesting to see not only those three's reactions to finding the convicts, but also the fight between the convicts. I would like to see the portrayal of it, not just the fight.

In Love With a Spider?

In the end of chapter 39, pages 311-312, Pip talks to Estella after the ball/dance-thing, and Estella says she is not interested in Bentley Drummle. Then in the end of chapter 44, page364, she announces she is engaged to him. Is there something I missed? Did I fall asleep while I was reading and just kept turning the pages?

As I understood it, Estella knew Pip loves her and felt the same back, she just couldn't show it. But now she's marrying "the Spider" even after Pip confessed his soul to her.

So my question is, Does Estella love Pip or is she just playing with his emotions?

"I never was happy with her" Confusing Quote

"And still I stood looking at the house, thinking how happy I should be if I lived there with her, and knowing that I never was happy with her, but always miserable." (end of chapter 33, page 272 in my book)

This sentence greatly confused me. As I understood it, Pip was madly in love with Estella and wanted nothing but to be with her. But now he is saying, as he looks at the house Estella is now staying at, that he is only miserable when he is with her, but yet he wants to live with her. Earlier he talked about how he was miserable without her. She was so mean to him when they were younger, but hasn't she changed now? Estella is different now, but I thought Pip still loved her.

Does he love her or dread being with her?

Great Expectations Picture

The court papers that make Pip apprenticed to Joe become like a prison cell for him. They bind him to Joe, and through him, to common life. Pip greatly wishes to become a gentleman, but he knows if he completes his apprenticeship, he will have very little chance of advancement. Pip is trapped. He doesn't want to hurt Joe, but how else could he fulfill his dream? Is the only way to escape from prison to hurt the ones you love? This is probably the biggest problem for Pip so far. He never knew how a few simple papers could change your entire life, until he wanted so much more than he was set out for.

The First Stage

With that quote, Pip is referring to being born into a certain life. The "one memorable day" is the day that you were born. The links symbolize days or years that form one big chain that is your life. "Iron" is the common life, "gold" is the wealthy, high class life. Similarly, the "thorns" means a life of work and hardship, while the "flowers" represent a life of ease and admiration. People usually look upon thorns as being bad, but flowers are seen as pretty, fragile, and better than other plants, like a bush. Pip is saying once you are born into this life, you are bound to it. This has altered Pip's character because he now wishes to be a gentleman after spending so much time at Miss Havisham's house, but he knows he will never be anything but a common worker. Our young Pip has grown up and now cares about his social standings, as his character development shows. He is in love with Estella, thus wanting to be a gentleman so she will love him back. He is no longer the little boy that "believed in the forge was a glowing road to manhood." (106) Pip longs for something more than being a common blacksmith. He wants to be a gentleman.

It must've been the summer before sixth grade, or the summer of 2006, if you prefer, when i first got the insane idea to write a book. The concept seemed so impossible at the time, but just crazy enough to make me want to do it. That one day changed my life into one of unsure to one destined to write. I am always writing now. I have no idea what I would do with the little free time i have if I never started writing. The book is not finished yet, mind you, but give me a few years and you'll see my name in the book store window.

My Paragraph- Sermons

When Dr. Chausible asks Jack if he could allude to Earnest's death in his sermon on Sunday, Oscar Wilde is mocking how written publications are simply real life stories, but just use fake names and different places. Wilde is making fun of how authors at the time never came up with their own ideas, instead wrote about themselves or someone they know.

On that same note, authors also write what every other written work is about. Cecily says Chausible is smart since he's never published a book, meaning he can come up with his own ideas and doesn't base his sermons off other's he's read/heard. Wilde is saying how monotonous literature is and how it gets old soon.

Dr. Chausible uses the same sermon on the meaning of manna over and over again, he just changes it to fit the occasion. Oscar Wilde riducules prose with this statement. All three-volume novels have the same plot line, girl falls in love with the unlikely hero but a bad guy tries to tear them apart, the author just changes the characters to fit their own personality. For example, the main girl may be just a common farm girl if that is what the author was/who they fell for, depending upon the gender of the author.

If novels are based off reality, and they are all the same, does this then mean that reality is the same for each person?

To Be Earnest Or Not To Be

In the Victorian Era, women were pretty much servants to either their parents or their husband, depending on with whom they live. The parents basically got to decide their daughter's fate by choosing who they marry. The father, if not both parents in higher families, had to approve of the man that wished to marry their daughter before he could even ask for her hand in marriage. If the parents approved, the daughter usually did not have a choice but to marry him.

In the Importance of Being Earnest, Jack proposes to Gwendolen basically out of the blue without asking for her parent's permission first. Lady Bracknell is then appalled at the scene when she enters the room to find Jack down on one knee. Later when Algernon announces he is engaged to Cecily, Jack does everything he can to prevent it simply because he does not favor Algernon as a suitable match.

Also, the women in the play do not worry about getting their father's to agree like they would in real life during the Victorian Era. They seem to be in the state of mind that they get to decide their future, not their parents. In the Victorian Era, the daughters rarely got to decide their own fate. Sometimes the sons didn't either, if they're social standings were at risk. Though usually the women had no say. In the play, however, the both Gwendolen and Cecily completely go against that and agree to marriage without letting anyone else know.

Animal Farm Project

They started out

With these "great" ideas

Revolving around a rebellion.

I knew it wouldn't turn out good,

But no one listens to the donkey.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

We gained controll of the farm,

Drove old Jones away,

And things started out good.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

The rations were larger,

We were doing less work,

But like they say,

Good things don't last forever.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

The pigs learned to read and write,

Inscribed the Seven Commandments on the barn,

And they became the law,

For every animal to abide by.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

The talk of ideals continued,

Dreams of a windmill,

And three-day weeks were conjured,

Too good to be true.

That was when things changed.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

Napoleon drove Snowball off the farm,

By use of the dogs he had taught,

Then had some animals

Executed for minor crimes.

The next day, the 6th Commandment read;

"No animal shall kill any other animal without cause."

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

By now the pigs were living in the farm house,

A place we said no one would ever enter again.

Word had long since spread

Of them sleeping in beds.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

Slowly over the years,

The "ideals" Major had talked about,

Became nothing but a forgotten speach.

The pigs had now changed ever Commandment,

Into something that better suited them.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

The other animals thought

That maybe they had remembered

Something different,

But Squealer was always able

To persuade them differently.

"Four legs good, two legs bad."

Not only did the pigs

Begin to wear clothes,

But they started walking on two legs.

By the end,

The only Commandment left was

"All animals are equal

But some animals are more equal that others."

"Four legs good, two legs even better."

POL performances: Facing It

I think that Branden Emanuel Wellington's performance of the poem "Facing It" by Yusef Komunyakaa was very effective and did justice to the poem. His voice was rough, as it should be, but not so much that you couldn't understand him. He used hand gestures, though not nervous ones or acted out the poem. His dramatization was not over the top nor could it have needed more. Wellington seemed confident, even though the poem is about a non-confident veteran losing his self identity.

I think that this poem is about a Vietnam War veteran feeling survivor's guilt that he survived but his comrades didn't. He looks at the names on the wall, feeling like his should be among them. Wellington enhanced this by sounding confused and sad as he said certain lines. His facial expressions helped with his dramatization and showing the meaning. You have to face it, whether it be your reflexion in the cold, hard granit, or a past full of unwanted memories you cannot change.

Mockingbird Motif

Reading To Kill A Mockingbird has helped me understand the meaning of the word "motif" because every other theme has something to do with an innocent person. The theme of prejudice is shown in the Tom Robinson case, where Tom was innocent. Children are generally viewed as innocent and many adults learn from Scout and other children throughout the book.

The mockingbird motif is the idea of innocence. Mockingbirds do not cause harm, but rather stay in their trees and sing like other birds. It is a sin to kill one because they do nothing but create songs for you to listen to. This adds a symbolic level of meaning to the other themes because it ties everything together; Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children. Every theme has something to do with someone being innocent or seen as innocent, whether it be not commiting a crime or being young and naive.

symbolism

Mayella Ewell has six red geraniums planted in chipped-enamel slop jars in one corner of the yard. I think that these flowers symbolize that she is different from the rest of her family. The geranium flower represents friendship, stupidity, and sadness. Mayella has never had a friend and thought Atticus was insulting her when he asked if she had one. She is stupid, for she had received under two years of schooling. Loneliness is another thing she is feeling. Being in the house all day watching after her younger siblings as if she was their mother has probably made her feel alone. When she sees Tom Robinson go by every day and learns that he will do whatever she asks, she begins to feel for him, but not real love. I believe she only felt lust and her loneliness drove her to such extremes. The six little geraniums pretty much describe who Mayella Ewell is and that is why they are the symbol I chose.

Flower meaning from: http://www.tokenz.com/meaning-of-flowers.html

Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenprojects/3525575/Plant-containers-Time-to-cosy-up-to-your-bulbs.html

Life Lessons.

This is going to be one of the best times I will be able to describe this, so in other words, it's going to hit a nerve. Just bear with me. But because I do not have that raw, hurt, painful feeling right now, I'm going to put a few links in here to other things that I wrote while being depressed just to help you understand.

About a month ago, I went through a period of a week where I was absolutely depressed, crying all night, not sleeping, barely talking, and just not feeling good about anything. Though my reasons changed throughout the week, the one that started it all was my sister. Everyone can say that they love their sibling(s) and they enjoy having one. Only children even say they wish they did have one. The majority of the time, I hate mine. http://grasshoppergirl.deviantart.com/art/My-Life-124239779 Please read author's comments for some reasons why. So one evening while I was trying to make my parents understand something for once, my mom told me, "You cannot change who someone else is."

As a result, not much has changed. I finally realized I was being stupid and needed to do what was best for me - a lesson I am still learning. I got away from my family by going to a sleepover and came back feeling better. Until my sister hurt me again. She will never see how bad it feels or how often I cry because she will never pay attention to anyone but her, but I know it is something I cannot change.

http://grasshoppergirl.deviantart.com/art/Letters-to-Myself-139075850

Best Friends! Yay!

Well, to start off, Wyatt had short-ish blond hair and stands about 5' 8" or so. (yes, Wyatt, 5' 8". I'm 5' 7 1/2".) Her clothes are different than what most people wear but still totally awesome. She's sort of spontaneous and sometimes yells things that shouldn't be yelled. Wyatt spend a lot of her time (or so I'm guessing) drawing. She is amazing at art and very often makes me jealous. But then, pretty much anyone that can draw makes me jealous. Sewing is another thing she does very well. Last year she made her Halloween costume and it was beautiful. I wonder what she's making this year. . . .

Wyatt is creative, thus the amazing art and everything else. She is most defiantly not an egoist, she is not greedy or selfish. She's more of an extrovert if anything. A lot of things she says can be TMI. Wyatt is friendly and nice and beautiful and just over all wonderful. She's patient and helpful. She is the bestest friend anyone could ask for.

(please don't kill me Wyatt.)

Point of view: early memory.

ok, my memory sucks past a certain point so here we go.

when I was really little, I had the fear most kids did: being sucked down the bathtub drain. I was terrified. So one night I had a dream - nightmare actually - where I was sucked down the bathtub drain. I woke up with a start right as I started going down into that endless black hole, and went downstairs with my teddy bear to spend the rest of the night in my parent's bed.

Then the next evening at dinner, my dad asked me what my bad dream was about. I do not remember my reply, or if I even gave one, but my dad started asking if there were certain animals in my dream. I was like, wait a minute, and, looking down at my shirt, realized he was just saying all the zoo animals that were across my shirt. I got exceptionally mad at him for not taking my fear of being sucked down the bathtub drain seriously.