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.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
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
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
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Poetry Out Loud
I chose the poem "Under the Vulture-tree" by David Bottoms. I really feel strongly about this poem and really can connect with it. I have always been a really strong beleiver in the less liked, more misunderstood animals. Vultures are an animal that people are naturally frightened of and just don't tend to like. I know they are doing the enviroment a favor by eating dead animals. Like the last line says, "with mercy enough to consume us all and give us wings", by consuming us when we die, the vultures let us give our nutrients back to the earth.
I hope to try and make the poem show that the vultures aren't animals to be disliked or feared. Although the author uses adjectives to describe the vultures like "wrinked, fleshy, raw" he is trying to convey that true beauty lies within the intensions of them. It can also conect to humans. Many people draw conclusions of a person based on physical impressions. They don't try to see what the person is really like and see how they can be a really nice person on the inside with the best of intensions. I will use my voice in a way that turns those ugly adjectives into a way that will make people think about how the author chose those words specificaly. Maybe people will think of the misunderstood in a different way.
Alena
I hope to try and make the poem show that the vultures aren't animals to be disliked or feared. Although the author uses adjectives to describe the vultures like "wrinked, fleshy, raw" he is trying to convey that true beauty lies within the intensions of them. It can also conect to humans. Many people draw conclusions of a person based on physical impressions. They don't try to see what the person is really like and see how they can be a really nice person on the inside with the best of intensions. I will use my voice in a way that turns those ugly adjectives into a way that will make people think about how the author chose those words specificaly. Maybe people will think of the misunderstood in a different way.
Alena
Monday, December 6, 2010
Urgent Extra Credit Blog- 5 Part Paragraph Skills
Although I didn't read over my other 5 part paragraph blog before I made my new one tonight, I realize that I did try to make sure that the skills I was weaker in before were better this time. I think I did a much better job this time on making my commentary not so plot summaryish. My other paragraph could be border line at some points. Also, my commentary specifically supports the thesis. Everything I wrote relates back to the main point I was trying to prove in the topic sentence. On my other paragraph, I had a solid thesis, but not all my concrete details directly supported it. What really helped me see how I needed to improve on this was critiquing so many of the 5 part paragraphs in class. All that class time wasn't wasted; it really did help improve my writing.
Alena
Alena
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Poetry Out Loud
Part 1: Website Cruising
1. "A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky" by Lewis Carroll
2. "Coda" by Basil Bunting
3. "I heard a Fly buzz- when I died" by Emily Dickinson
4. "Under the Vulture-tree" by David Bottoms
"The Arrow and the Song" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Part 2: What I Think
I liked "The Arrow and the Song" and "Under the Vulture-tree" the best because I could connect to them the most. I really like archery and I am an ambitious birder. When I have to recite a poem, if I don't like them, I can't motivate myself to remember it. Formerly, I had memorized "Mushrooms" and another poem about owls. Because I like these poems, I never had to kick myself to learn them. Rather on the contrary, I enjoyed reading and rereading them in order to memorize them. "The Arrow and the Song" and "Under the Vulture-tree" are the most interesting to me so it will be not difficult to motivate myself to memorize them.
I did not like the other three as much. Either they just weren't interesting to me personally or couldn't connect with them. "A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky" is about remembering a beautiful world that you are no longer a part of. Fortunately, I have never had that experience and can therefore not connect with the meaning of the poem.
Of the two I like the best, I will pick "Under the Vulture-tree" because "The Arrow and the Song" is much shorter and I am not so confident in my poem reciting abilities to score top points with a very simple and short poem. They both are excellent poems that I like very much but I will peruse and further analyze "Under the Vulture-tree".
I knew when I read the poem that I could connect with it. Since I was very young I have been a supporter of misjudged animals. My sixth birthday party was spider themed; I have never had a princess party. When I was three my ideal future career was that of a shark scientist. I disliked ponies and dolphines because they were the "good" and "nice" animals. I loved bugs too. "Creepy crawlies" were my garden friends. But when I read this poem for the first time I thought of fifth grade. Another fifth grade teacher had a non-bullying poster. It was a vulture with a huge red "X" across it. When I asked her what this meant she said it was because vultures pick on animals. They do pick on animals, but literaly, not symbolically like she was portraying it. The eat dead animals. Dead animals. Animals left uneaten by vultures would attract other animals to it. The majestic bald eagle, our national bird is a carrion eater. They would rather scavenge for rotting flesh than fish for their food, yet no one thinks of them as bullys. Vultures do the enviroment a favor, actually. Some animals, left uneaten will start to bring desease. Magotts and flies fester on decaying flesh. This is dangerous for animals that eat the carrion later. Another reason vultures are disliked in society is their unapealing apreance. Ugly, vicious, disgusting birds, right? Nope. Their bald heads and long necks help keep the bird clean as it eats the meat inside. Also they are known to fly long distences after every meal to find water to cleanse themselves. They are surprisingly clean creatures. And vicious? They don't kill animals- ever. They weren't made for it. As you can probably tell I have alot to say in vulture's defense. The same can be said about spiders, sharks, owls, and other very misunderdstood and misjudged animals. The last line of the poem, "...with mercy enough to consume us all and give us wings" shows how the vultures do help the enviroment. My favorite nickname for them has always been "nature's recyclers". Because that's what they do; return the dead's nutrients to the earth.
Part 3: Scoring Criteria
Conveying the meaning of the poem to the audiance will be easy, since I have such a strong opinion about it. Also, my physical articulation is pretty decent and my voice is clear and easily heard. I don't whimper. So I don't think I will have to work very hard to make sure I meaningfully portray the poem's themes and articulate them well.
I can prepare well for recitations, but calming myself before a preformance may pose a challenge. I get nervous and speed up, which can lead to mispronounciations. The worst thing about getting nervous for me is saying something, then immediately forgetting what you just said and having no idea what to say next. This is particularly frustrating during presentations and preformances. The second criteria that will be hard is the dramatic appropriatness. I am not very good at making sure I use my hands to enhance what I am saying. But by being nervous that I am not acomplished at this, I may overuse dramatic appeances and make the poem seem insincere.
Part 4: Videos
Jackson Hille recites "Forgetfulness" in a very entertaining way. This makes the preformance successfull in the way that it is never boring or make you wonder what in the world he is talking about. Plus, it's a topic we can all relate to; we all forget things. This makes the poem easy to understand in a very interesting way to the audience.
Madison Nieemeyer recites "I Am Waiting". This is a repetive, long poem that could become quickely boring. The way she tells it, however, is not boring though it is repetive and lengthy. Her vocal nuances and enunciations are perfect for the slight urgency of the poem. Also the way she uses her body language enhances the meaning without taking away from the poem or is distracting.
Part 5: Summary
I think this competition will be a great challenge. I love to read and recite poetry, but it is done so unnaturally that it makes you work hard. I have my heart set on winning, but I realize my competition will be feirce. Reciting poetry like the people in the videos do really exposes you; it would be so much easier to just say a memorized poem instead to reciting it in a meaningful way. But it's a risk I am going to take to get to the school competition.
1. "A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky" by Lewis Carroll
2. "Coda" by Basil Bunting
3. "I heard a Fly buzz- when I died" by Emily Dickinson
4. "Under the Vulture-tree" by David Bottoms
"The Arrow and the Song" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Part 2: What I Think
I liked "The Arrow and the Song" and "Under the Vulture-tree" the best because I could connect to them the most. I really like archery and I am an ambitious birder. When I have to recite a poem, if I don't like them, I can't motivate myself to remember it. Formerly, I had memorized "Mushrooms" and another poem about owls. Because I like these poems, I never had to kick myself to learn them. Rather on the contrary, I enjoyed reading and rereading them in order to memorize them. "The Arrow and the Song" and "Under the Vulture-tree" are the most interesting to me so it will be not difficult to motivate myself to memorize them.
I did not like the other three as much. Either they just weren't interesting to me personally or couldn't connect with them. "A Boat beneath a Sunny Sky" is about remembering a beautiful world that you are no longer a part of. Fortunately, I have never had that experience and can therefore not connect with the meaning of the poem.
Of the two I like the best, I will pick "Under the Vulture-tree" because "The Arrow and the Song" is much shorter and I am not so confident in my poem reciting abilities to score top points with a very simple and short poem. They both are excellent poems that I like very much but I will peruse and further analyze "Under the Vulture-tree".
I knew when I read the poem that I could connect with it. Since I was very young I have been a supporter of misjudged animals. My sixth birthday party was spider themed; I have never had a princess party. When I was three my ideal future career was that of a shark scientist. I disliked ponies and dolphines because they were the "good" and "nice" animals. I loved bugs too. "Creepy crawlies" were my garden friends. But when I read this poem for the first time I thought of fifth grade. Another fifth grade teacher had a non-bullying poster. It was a vulture with a huge red "X" across it. When I asked her what this meant she said it was because vultures pick on animals. They do pick on animals, but literaly, not symbolically like she was portraying it. The eat dead animals. Dead animals. Animals left uneaten by vultures would attract other animals to it. The majestic bald eagle, our national bird is a carrion eater. They would rather scavenge for rotting flesh than fish for their food, yet no one thinks of them as bullys. Vultures do the enviroment a favor, actually. Some animals, left uneaten will start to bring desease. Magotts and flies fester on decaying flesh. This is dangerous for animals that eat the carrion later. Another reason vultures are disliked in society is their unapealing apreance. Ugly, vicious, disgusting birds, right? Nope. Their bald heads and long necks help keep the bird clean as it eats the meat inside. Also they are known to fly long distences after every meal to find water to cleanse themselves. They are surprisingly clean creatures. And vicious? They don't kill animals- ever. They weren't made for it. As you can probably tell I have alot to say in vulture's defense. The same can be said about spiders, sharks, owls, and other very misunderdstood and misjudged animals. The last line of the poem, "...with mercy enough to consume us all and give us wings" shows how the vultures do help the enviroment. My favorite nickname for them has always been "nature's recyclers". Because that's what they do; return the dead's nutrients to the earth.
Part 3: Scoring Criteria
Conveying the meaning of the poem to the audiance will be easy, since I have such a strong opinion about it. Also, my physical articulation is pretty decent and my voice is clear and easily heard. I don't whimper. So I don't think I will have to work very hard to make sure I meaningfully portray the poem's themes and articulate them well.
I can prepare well for recitations, but calming myself before a preformance may pose a challenge. I get nervous and speed up, which can lead to mispronounciations. The worst thing about getting nervous for me is saying something, then immediately forgetting what you just said and having no idea what to say next. This is particularly frustrating during presentations and preformances. The second criteria that will be hard is the dramatic appropriatness. I am not very good at making sure I use my hands to enhance what I am saying. But by being nervous that I am not acomplished at this, I may overuse dramatic appeances and make the poem seem insincere.
Part 4: Videos
Jackson Hille recites "Forgetfulness" in a very entertaining way. This makes the preformance successfull in the way that it is never boring or make you wonder what in the world he is talking about. Plus, it's a topic we can all relate to; we all forget things. This makes the poem easy to understand in a very interesting way to the audience.
Madison Nieemeyer recites "I Am Waiting". This is a repetive, long poem that could become quickely boring. The way she tells it, however, is not boring though it is repetive and lengthy. Her vocal nuances and enunciations are perfect for the slight urgency of the poem. Also the way she uses her body language enhances the meaning without taking away from the poem or is distracting.
Part 5: Summary
I think this competition will be a great challenge. I love to read and recite poetry, but it is done so unnaturally that it makes you work hard. I have my heart set on winning, but I realize my competition will be feirce. Reciting poetry like the people in the videos do really exposes you; it would be so much easier to just say a memorized poem instead to reciting it in a meaningful way. But it's a risk I am going to take to get to the school competition.
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