The Final Blog

I have really enjoyed the blog project this year. My class last year tried to set up and use blogs, but failed so I never really had a good feeling about them at the beginning of the year. As I got more comfortable with it, I realized that I kind of like posting my writing online and being able to read what my student peers write. The quality of the of the majority of my blogs is fairly good; since I enjoy blogging, I put effort into my blog assignments. Throughout the year I have tried to have original ideas and write an in-depth response to the prompt. Abraham Lincoln said "Things may come to those that wait, but only the things left by people that hustle." This quote to me is about hard work. I absolutely believe in hard work. It sounds nerdy, but I have never not done a homework assignment or gotten less that a 4.0. I am never tardy, and rarely am excused from class. To me, dedication is just as important as intelligence, for where would you be if you were purely genius, but never did anything with your brilliance? Not as far as if you were of average intelligence but worked your tail-bone off.Slackers annoy me to no end, people that never turn in assignments or indulge in drugs. They don't seem to realize that hard work does pay off later. Or maybe they just don't want to realize this. Either way, I can't see a legitimate reason to not at least try. Because lets face it, its not that hard to study for a little word power test or do a simple little blog each week. These blogs seem like easy points to me anyways, doing them is not difficult. Adding a little more time and effort to make them better is not going to ruin your day, so you may as well at least try. 


Not only have the blogs been fun to write, I think they have made me a better writer. A few of the posts were something about how I could do better on something so they really made me stop to think and reflect on my abilities. Also, numerous of them are about making connections to other pieces of literature,  and these made me think deeper about whatever we were working on at the time. This blog has made me a better writer in general. One of my favorite things about it is that I get to use any writing style that I want. I don't have to write in a formal essay format or in a pre-decided way. My blog is one of the only places where my true voice comes out in my writing. It is probably pretty easy to distinguish, since I have a fairly distinctive style. My style of writing often includes a slightly sarcastic tone and can contain a rant (as is shown where I go on and on about slackers, also in another blog about vultures for the poem i recited). When I write about something I am truly passionate about then I just can't stop writing and that evolves into a huge chunk of writing that can sound like me just whining. But, I suppose that is what I sound like in my pure writing, so I'm glad that I had somewhere in my 9th grade English career to let my style be shown. Writing formally gets boring after a while. And when I get bored while writing, the quality of it goes down, that is why I think my blogs have been pretty good all year. 


The last thing that my blog has helped me with is getting more comfortable with technology because I was dreading the computer part of these assignments all year. I may be a teen in the Age of Everyone Has as Ipod and Cell-phone and Laptop, but I am technologically challenged and I could swear that all computers hate me. I didn't know the difference, until recently, between a web browser and a search engine. Sometimes I can't figure out how to use Microsoft Works. It's pretty sad. This blog hasn't necessarily given me all the tool and knowledge to be tech savvy, but it has given me confidence that I can make some computer-related things work. I'm not as afraid of technology projects for school now. And all because of a simple, little blog. 


I have truly enjoyed blogging this year,
For the last time, 


Alena

Most Amazing Project

I am most proud, by far, of my Great Expectations essay. I would like to, however, write about my creative project for Animal Farm. I had way to much fun making this silly little, but insanely awesome video. My little sister happened to have this really big wooden barn, so we set the scene with that. All the plastic farm animals accompanied it. The only animals we were missing were the pigs. Great, they are the most important characters and they are the only ones that we don't have figurines for. We had a dilemma. Well, Jamison showed up late to the park to film, as expected, but saved the day by bringing the plastic pig in a mud bath-car. It was one of those kinds that you can push backwards and then they drive forward themselves and sing a little song. It was perfect. 


I'm sure the seriousness of our trailer might have been taken down a notch because of our mud-back cartoon pig, but I think it made the video exponentially better. The other thing that made our trailer project stand out was the music we put to it. Numa Numa is the song for truly cool people. Others might hate on it, but it is honestly inspiring to watch plastic dogs maul plastic chickens will listening to Numa Numa. But besides the pig set-back and the coolest music ever, the best part of this project by far was the scene where the animals drive the human away. Jamison hold the squeaky toy and the viewer can see my arm release my dog who attacks him. We thought we might get a better re-try so we try the scene again because the camera action wasn't so great, but none of the others turn out so good. Then we think we accidentally deleted the first one and all of our spirits fall. Gypsy, my dog, by this time has lost all interest in the toy so another retake is out of the question. The good heavens must have been smiling upon us that day because we miraculously found the first take and we were able to use it in our video. Every time I watch our trailer I start to crack up and cry at the same time. It will forever be the most amazing video to ever be shown or made on this world or the next.


This has probably been the strangest blog I have written all year, forgive me.
Alena

How I Feel about Poetry

In sixth grade was the last time I have done a big poetry unit in class. We had to memorize a poem of choice and explain why we chose it. This, I knew was going to be easy. I'm pretty good about memorization, and I'm not too shy about reciting or getting up in front of the class. I know everyone else is just as nervous and probably more than I, so why sweat it? If I mess up, big deal, I know it happens. My teacher knows I work hard, so it wouldn't be like I didn't try. I just didn't think much of peotry back then. It was just kind of a nice break from regular reading. Little short rhymes to think about and analyze, not like the lengthy novel we had just finished. I thought differently after I picked the poem I was to recite.

I chose the poem "Mushrooms" by Sylvia Plath. Now, previously, I said I was good at memorizing. This I meant only to the extent that a few weeks after the recital or a test, my mind goes blank. And just like that, the information is gone. I'm like a machine, programed to wipe its memory after a set amount of time. But with this peom, it was different. Three years later, and I can still recall some lines. I'm just amazed I remember the title, let alone the author and some lines. I don't know what it was about this poem that made me start to legitamately love poetry. Once I really understood the deeper meaning behind the lines, I could fully appreciate the resason peotry exists. To give messages about life in a way that is beautiful and not time-consuming. This is what I think of when I hear poetry, and I always think back to that first time when I recited that quaint little poem about fungi.

Alena

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

There are many internal conflicts in "Romeo and Juliet", but the main external one is about the two rival households. The dislike for the other has grown so large that even the sevants of the households argue amoungst eachother. This is shown when at the begining, the servants start a fight in the streets. This type of conflict is person vs. person, because it is two equal groups of people going head to head rather than say person vs. society. The thing is, though, that the families have been fighting for so long, they don't even know why they do fight. They aren't that different, but old grudges just haven't been let go. There really should be some reason for all the fighting. This  conflict helps lead up to the theme that differences in families shouldn't hold love back, but will eventually lead to your downfall.

Everyone is raised a little biased to someone or a group of people. It is nice to think that we can be completely fair and judge everyone on their character, but lets face it; we are human. My mom never liked lawyers after not being properly defended in court, so I grew up with a bad impression of them. Lawyers are often in a profession commonly accosiated with being dishonest and being fairly well to-do. Just because it is impossible to not be raised with some instilled disliking of something, doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get past it and see someone for who they are. I try to look for the goodness in people and not judge based on labels and classifacation. It is imporatnt for all people to base their opinion of someone on what they experiance, not what they are told.

Connections to Romeo and Juliet

Last year in band we played the highlights from "The Westside Story" and got to watch the movie in class. Reading Romeo and Juliet is kind of déjà vu. Pretty much the basic plotline is that they are two gangs in New York. The Jets (White) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican). Two young people of both gangs meet at a dance and fall in love. Tony of the Jets, and Maria of the Sharks. They don't let the gang's differences come between them. Tony tries to stop a looming gang rumble out of his love for Maria. The Jet leader (and Tony's best friend) is shot by Bernardo (the leader of the Sharks and Maria's brother). Out of rage and vengence, Tony kills Bernardo. They plan to run away together, but Maria's friend is so mad that she tells Tony that Maria died. Tony is so devastated that he lets the man that wants to kill him find him. But as he does find him, Tony sees Maria right as he is shot. "The Westside Story" clearly shows the same timeless theme of pre-made grudges coming between true love and how it will lead to the lovers destruction.

Alena

Connnecting with Romeo and Juliet

I guese I can sort of connect with the characters. I deffinatley have my rebelious teenager moments. Like Juliet, I have never felt the need to be married by fourteen or lose my virginity as a child. Unlike her, however, I don't have a mom pressuring me into doing so. Quite the opposite, I'm sure I would be kicked out of my house and disowned if I were to ever pull either stunt before I move out.

I don't really like Romeo's character. He seems very wrapped up in his own "depression", which doesn't even appear to be that deep because I'm guessing he gets over her quickely when he meets Juliet. To me, I think he is acting this way to get attention through being overly dramatic. And why is he surprised that Rosaline doesn't love him back anyway? She just doesn't want to lose her virginity yet, and Romeo makes such a big deal out of it. I doubt he has even considered her point of view on it, he just wants the sex. It is really annoying to me when people don't even think about how an action will affect you and then are later mad about it. People think and feel differently. Some people want some things; others want other things. Who does it affect more? In Romeo's case, I think it is safe to say that it affects the girl more, as she would be the one to carry the evidence under her sweater.

I read the play at home and can understand what the characters are doing, physically. Like they are gong to a party or talking about Juliet. It is harder to comprehend the importance of each event. Also, I ussually don't get the puns and jokes. Occasionally I can pick up on the humorous banter. Reading in class and talking about it as a whole group seems to make the most sense and helps me understand it the most. Everthing seems to run smoother when we discuss as a class for the majority of the time. Also, it takes less time so we can cover more content when we don't have to worry about being a "facilitatator" or something. Not that there aren't good things about little groups too. It is easier to ask for help on something when the people are right across from you.

Alena

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

Dicken had many little themes throughout his 500 page novel, but there was also one major theme. Being faithful and careing about the people you love is superior to having wealth and a stylish life. Also, gaining large sums of money can easily make you lose track of what is really important in life. This book helps to show people  that you should worry more about what people mean to you, and what you mean to other people than to be a Scrouge. The setting was taking place a very long time ago but this universal message about life and human nature is eternal. People one hundred years from now will still be able to learn from this valuable lesson and take it into their lives and learn to live by it. It is also human nature to want more than you have, like money, but then you have to realize that is not what life is about having.

Thoughts on Reading

1. In general I enjoyed this book. It was, however, a little difficult to beleive in some parts, as a few of the main concepts or happenings were a little far-fetched. How many times have you had the experiance of randomly running into an escaped convict? Also, most every chasracter was way overblown. Miss Havisham was overly creepy to imagine. She isn't your the average little old lady down the street. She was deranged and dramatic to a point that she was almost obnoxious to read about because she is so unbelievable. There were some humerous parts too, though. My favorite was when Wemmick is with Miss Skiffins and he keeps trying to put his arm around her. So in all it was a good book to have read, but probably not one I would reread willingly. I was able to deduce most of the mysteries myself exept for Estalla's parents. I wish at he end that Dickens showed Molly again, to see how she reacted to her daughter.

2. I am proud to say that I actually read the whole book. I got behind for two days, and frantically caught up by reading three assignments in one night. After that, I never fell behind again. I either did my reading right before bed; that has always been my favorite time to read, or in the morning. It may sound like procrastination, but like you had your coffee, I would make myself a steaming, delicious chai tea latte. I get up at 5:10, take a shower, then look forward to settling down with my tchai and book. At 6:00 Mackenzie comes over and she finishes her other homework before we go to the bus stop. My mornings are peaceful and I probably prefered reading before school in the morning than at night because I would usually end up going to sleep late. Also, I could comprehend the book better in the morning and it would be fresher in my mind before first period. I will sorely miss my chai tea, Pip-filled mornings.

Alena

Picture Connection

This picture of a plant, that grew from a "Pip" reflects the motif of wanting to become a gentleman. All of Pip's potential that he had as a child (or seed) let him bloom when he got his great expectations. And just as a plant can droop, Pip also changed his ways for the worse as he grew older.

Alena

A Book SImilar to Great Expectations

In Robert Stevenson's Treasure Island there are similar themes to Great Expectations. Both novels have a convict or pirate motif. The criminals from GE aren't really pirates but that is the image I get from them simply because they went to jail in the Hulks, and the way they are physically described. Pistols and leg irons, eye patches and the like. Having the pirate/convict theme in both of the novels sets a similar atmosphere or mood to the book. Another thing that makes them seem similar is the time period. Both are very old fashioned because the writes lived around the same time as eachother. The way of speaking is specific to that special era.

Also, the main characters are similar. Jim Hawkins from TI and Pip from GE are both young lads as they set out to see the world. Jim and Pip both have a sense of conscious. They can destinguish right from wrong. Whether they chose to act on these morals is a different story. In both tales you get to know the character as he grows up. Jim on his unexpected adventure, and Pip following his great expectations. They seem to act similarly most of the time, but have their moments of differences also. For example, Jim is never really ashamed of his humble upbringing as he goes into the company of higher class people.

To conclude, these novels are similar because both share the theme of convicts and pirates and the main characters are quite alike also.

Alena

Second Stage of Great Expectations

One motif from the first stage is Pip's desire to become a gentleman. He yearns for a better life and to not be common. He becomes embarrassed to be seen with Biddy and Joe and starts to act indifferent or aloof to them. This grows in the second stage as he prepares to become a full-fledged member of upper society. Mr. Jaggers is seen to Pip as a sort of role model. An extremely respected and distinguished wealthy gentleman. Pip strives to become like him. Although London came as a dissapointment to Pip, it shows  him how common he really was and enhances his snobbish attitude.

 

Through wanting to become a gentleman, Pip changes considerably as a character. He is less liked by the reader because he isn't an innocent little boy who isn't ashamed of the only people who actually care about him. He used to be content with his life as a normal boy, and although he  didn't have parents or a nice sister, he had Joe. He was happy with the notion of becoming his only companion's apprentice. When the time came, his change of heart made him want more. He was not satisfied with what he had. Pip thinks he deserves more than he has. What a coincidence it is when he randomly gain's a gentleman's fortune and education. When he does learn this, his actions and thoughts change for the worse as he developes into an arrogant "gentleman".

 

Alena

Response to Quote

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

Pip is saying that a chain of iron or gold, flowers or thorns is like your life. Each link makes up a day, where a good day would equal a flower or gold in the link, and a bad day would equal a thorn or iron link. By becoming an apprentice to Joe, something he doesn't want to do because it makes him "common", it puts a thorn or iron link on his life. Because of Pip's change of heart, no longer wanting to learn this trade, it shows a significant turning point in the book. From chapters 1-9 Pip is content with Joe's compainonship but in cahpters 10-16 he lets what Miss Havisham say shame him. By Dickens making Pip feel this relatively new emotion of shame, the reader tends to like Pip less. I no longer want to root for him as he struggles through the hardships of his life because he was so easily influenced.

One time that was deffinately a thorn in my life was when my parents got divorced. I am pretty sensative on the subject and have passionate opinions about it and i have very cynical views on marriage and parenthood. I can be overly critical and extremely jealous of people that were raised by two parents. Sometimes I feel like it was my fault and blame myself, and other times I feel cheated of a normal childhood. No matter what I do with my life or who I become, having my parents get divorced is one thing that will always be a part of me.

Alena

Confusing Passage

A part I found confusing is were Pip says "This was so much her normal state that Joe and I would often for weeks together, be, as to our fingers, like monumental Crusaders as to theur legs." (pg 20, chapter 4). What does this mean? I realize what Pip is saying is supposed to exagerate how horrible Mrs. Joe acts to her husband and little brother but the Crusader reference is difficult to dechiper. Also, the detail about fingers doesn't make much sense to me either.

Sorry my Blog was late but please help me!

Alena

Group Essay Collaboration

1. I haven't changed much in my paragraph. I did forget the conclusion so i do have to add that but that shouldn't really change anything in your paragraphs. What transitions did you guys use? I said "To start off bieing dishonest about your about identity is used by many of the characters to open different doors of oppertunity for pleasure." We have to make sure our sepreate topic sentences are the same as what we put in the introduction.

2. Chase- Did you type up the final draft of the conclusion?

Bobbee- What concrete detail did you use for your last one?

Dishonesty in "The Importance of Being Earnest"

Dishonesty relates to the epigram of "the truth is rarely pure and never simple". First of all it is humerous because that is a short, simple statement on the truth, so it contradict itself just in that. But it is dishonest in the way that the truth should be pure, because it is truthful. Dishonesty in the upper class is made fun of alot in the play. Wilde shows that the social expectation as an affluent person is to always have a carefully cultivated mask of courtesy and manners. That is why when Cecily and Gwendolen have their little spat they are passive aggressive. Also the men think that the women should not know the truth and find nothing wrong in pretending to be called "Erntest". The fact that they want to change their names at all to "Ernest" is dishonest. Changing their names is the un-earnest thing to do; earnest literally mean serious and truthful. The contradicting dishonesty is what makes the play humerous. Also, as far as pursuit of pleasure goes, Algernon is the worst. He said that one must be serious about one thing in life to have pleasure (epigram), and that he is serious about Bunburying. Bunburing is in fact lieing (being dishonest) about where you are going and/or who you are to get away from serious expectations or responsibilites. Therefore, the one thing Algernon is serious about is being unserious as he goes somewhere to goof off.

Wilde is trying to show that dishonesty was partialy expected the the Victorian times for the upper class. Everyone lived behind a facade of manners or lies to hide true feelings or emotions. Also, what makes the play humerous and funny is that by becomeing "Ernest" takes away any "earnestness" that you had. By being dishonest (changning your name to Ernest) you are no longer earnest. So if the men kept their names, they would be earnest, not Ernest. Another thing Wilde says in this play is that being dishonest doesn't necesarily put you in much trouble. After the women figured out the men had lied, they forgave them almost instantly and still wanted to be engaged. No real harm was done. Most literary works put out the theme that being dishonest will not benefit you, but Wilde's play shows no bad outcome of being earnest.

Animal Project Viewing

1. Zach, Sherwin, Ketl, and Chase
I really liked thier song/ comentary recitation because it showed how the song "Beasts of England" was a symbol of hope for the animals and how it was taken away from them and a new song replaced it that only promoted Napoleon, not freedom.

2.Molly, Sarah, and Grace
The movie they made very clearly showed the corruption of power as the animals first had  equal power before it was soley controlled my the pigs.

3. Sean
Sean's comic strip was entertaining and very well put together. He chose pictures that clearly portrayed the way the pigs took power and morphed into humans.

4. D'Andra
Her poem cleverly twisted the three elements together in a way that was interesting to read. It clearly shows when the pigs take power when the lines start with "By himslef he..." instead of the first half that started with "As one we..."

5. Donna
Donna's movie was very creative. She used the stuffed animals to show the irony when Napoleon takes power.

6. Brooke
Brooke's song showed how the pain-staking task of biulding the windmill, the symbol for less work, changed as things kept happeneing that hindered it's construction.

7.Will
Will's comic strip showed how ironicly the pigs turn into the humans they worked so hard to get away from. His pictures clearly convey the corruption of power.

8.Emery
Emery listed the parallels of the animal characters to their alter egos in the Russian Revolution. This showed foreshadowing as the animals later fill their roles as the Tsar or the rebelious workers.

9.Rachel
Her Animal Farm game was an original idea that explained the three elements in the answers to the trivia questions.

10. Katie
Katie's picture showed the foreshadowing as it put the humans and pigs side by side to show that the pigs later become like the humans.

I honestly think we did a good job on conveying the three literary elements. We put in alot of time filming and editing, and although there was more I wish we could have added when I look back, I think our hard work payed off. Our classmates created good projects for the most part. The majority  portrayed foreshadowing, irony, and symbolism too.

Alena

Extra Credit- New Years Revolution

I resolve to study more for tests. Usually I can pass my science tests well with absolutely no studying. This, I know, will not work next year. Instead of enjoying the time when I can get good grades with no studying while I can, I should start studying now. This will, in turn, prepare me for next year where there is no way that I will beable to pass my scinece tests without studying. Then, making time to study will not be so difficult when it matters. Learning to set aside a certain amount of time each day for school is a valuable skill I have not quite yet mastered. Usually I get my assignments done as fast as possible to get a good grade. I can tell I am improving though, because I am doing a much better quality work on my math assignments. I take more time and write much neater. This does make a difference, as my handwriting is so horrible that when I take notes extremely rushed, they become illegable even to myself. I will slow down and write more carefully. It is my New Years resolution to make more time for studying and schoolwork.

Alena