Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Lord of the Flies #1

Discuss the evolutionary behaviors of the boys and how the progress and/or digress as a society. What causes the to evolve and change?

  • The boys become very hostile towards each other, especially Jake and Ralph
  • The littluns start off as excited because there are no adults, then as time goes on the become afraid because they realized there are no adults to protect them
  • The boy's survival instincts come out, making some very angry and hostile and others are able to think with more clarity
  • The lack of food and nourishment causes the boys, especially the littluns, to become very weak and sick
  • The beastie also causes the boys to become vulnerable

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Jane Eyre Point of View Exercise

First Person Point of View:
"Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the sever cold: we had no boots, the snow got into out shoes and melted there; our ungloved hands became numbed and covered with chilblains, as were our feet: I remember well the distracting irritation I endured from this cause, every evening when my feet inflamed; and the torture of thrusting the swelled, raw, and stiff toes into my shoes in the morning. Then the scanty supply of food was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, we had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid. From this deficiency of nourishment resulted an abuse, which pressed hardly on the younger pupils" (57).

Third Person Point of View:
The children's clothing was insufficient to protect them from the sever cold: they had no boots, the snow got into their shoes and melted there; their ungloved hands became numbed with chilblains, as were their feet: It was a distracting irritation they endured from this cause, every evening when their feet were inflamed; and the torture of thrusting the swelled, raw, and stiff toes into their shoes in the morning. Then the scanty supply of food they received was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, they had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid. From this deficiency of nourishment resulted an abuse, which pressed hardly on the younger pupils.

Analysis:
This excerpt being in third person point of view is very difficult to determine who the protagonist is. Yes, the children are the main focus point of the paragraph, but there is no one person who could be the protagonist. Where as in the first person point of view, one can tell that Jane is the protagonist by the use of "we" and "us". This excerpt also loses it's feeling. In the first person point of few, one can really feel and relate to what the children are feeling because it is on a more personal level, but in the third person point of view, one can almost just pass over the harshness the children are feeling because there is nothing to draw one on a personal level, it's almost just like stating fact, unlike in the first person point of view the use of "we" and "us" makes the reader feel like they are part of the story.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Essential Question 8

Are Petruchio and Katherine in love?

In the beginning Petruchio and Katherine were the furthest thing away from love. Petruchio was only in the relationship for the money and Katherine had no choice but to be in the relationship. As they continue with their relationship, however, things seem to change. Petruchio may seem harsh in trying to "tame" Katherine, but after awhile it seems that he is doing it to break Katherine out of shell and show her real self. He is doing it because he cares, he does not want Katherine to always be so angry, he wants her to be happy (his way of doing doing hat may not be the best, however). We also see Katherine's love for Petruchio, "thy husband is thy lord, the life, the keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee" (219). Love takes sacrifice, and Katherine was willing to sacrifice her shrewish behavior for love.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Essential question #7

Do you think that Hamlet has created his own insanity, or has he lost his sense of reality completely?

Hamlet has not created his own insanity, he has been through a terrible family crisis that made things seem unreal. What has happened to Hamlet has made him seem insane because of his haste and irrational actions, but it is the only way he can respond to his dilemma, considering he can't tell anyone about any of it. All of his anger, hurt, sadness, all of these mixed and deep feelings are building up inside him just waiting to burst out, which is the reason why he may seem insane at times, "I am but mad north-north west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw" (107). Hamlet, himself, admits that at times he seems crazy, but once again it is only because he has all these feelings building up inside him.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Essential 6

What parallels can be drawn between the Pardoner's Prologue and his tale? How is this tale different from the other two that we have studied? Think in regards to the Pardoner's voice and how Chaucer's style changes.

The parallels that can be drawn between the Pardoner's Prologue and his tale are the vices he discusses in both. In his tale, he tells a story about 3 men who indulge in the vices of fraud, gluttony, blasphemy, etc. and like these 3 men, the Pardoner also indulges in all of these vices. This tale is different from the others because the Pardoner's tale does not tell a story of difficulties/vices and how to learn from them, the Pardoner still continues to act upon the vices. The Pardoner does not learn from his mistakes, even though he tells others that they should.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

society reflection

In a society, there are certain roles to be played. I was to come with a society consisting of only fine people, which is very limited, to I had to be very careful in who I chose. For my five people I chose Tommy Pickles, James Bond, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hermione Granger, and Gary Thorpe.
At the head of my society is Tommy Pickles. Tommy Pickles is a great leader. He is a confident and brave person. He is also a very encouraging person and always instills hope in his people. Not only does he encourage is people by words, but by actually working with them and helping them along the way. Working beside them to keep the society growing, he gives them hope, courage, and wisdom.

To keep my society in line I have James Bond. James bond is a strong, hard working, and intimidation man. If anything were to go out of line, he would have no problem dealing with it and setting it straight. Also with his intimidation, the people do not want to break the law, but his hard work and dedication gives him respect and the people see him as a guardian.

Everyone needs to feel loved and to do that I have Mrs. Doubtfire. Mrs. Doubtfire is the nurturer of my society. She is very motherly and caring. She wants to best for the people of the society and makes sure everyone feels comfortable and is happy where there. With Mrs. Doubtfire really being a father, Daniel Hillard ,she serves as the father-figure too. Daniel Hillard is hardworking and a guardian. He watches over and encourages the people like a father would do.

Hermione Granger is a very well round person. She is the educator, role model, procreator, and healer of my society. She is a very smart woman and studies hard to know and learn all she can and happily teaches everything she can. She is also a very pretty women and fits well into being the procreator and the princess. Hermione is also a witch of Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry and, therefore, knows the spells for healing a person with little to no pain and in record time. With all of these great qualities, she is highly looked upon in my society.

Finally, every society needs entertainment and Gary Thorpe is the best fit. Gary is extremely funny and entertaining. He keeps the society happy. Not only is he the comedian, he also the friend. Gary is a very sensitive and caring person. Whenever someone needs a friend, he is right there. He keeps the society comforted.

These five people all have one more quality, there are all workers of the society. They al have their part to keep the society growing and strong. Although they are all good candidates for their role, I do have some essential roles missing. I do not have a male procreator, so that makes Hermione’s role as a procreator irrelevant. I also do not have any sort of clergy, so there is no religious guidelines to my society, so no one really knows what is right or wrong. The people that I do have, though, I believe to be good candidates, but not the best. If I were to have a society consisting of only 5 people, I would have reevaluate to make sure I have all the important roles taken care of.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Essential Question 4

Where do we see seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain, our young hero? What is the author trying to tell us?

Seduction and lust start to destroy Gawain when he goes into the castle and meets the rulers wife. He sees that the lady is absolutely beautiful and wants more than just an acquaintance with her, "our knight and the noble lady were accorded so closely in company there, with the seemly solace of their secret words" (lines 1010-1012). And indeed, Gawain's wants became realities and he and the lady had an affair, "sweet pipes beguile their cares and the trumpet of marital tones; each tends his affairs and those two tend their own" (1016-1019). This affair will not only be a burden of wrong-doing in the back of his mind for the rest of his life, but it will also be a huge problem to try and offer all he has gotten from the castle back to his host, considering he cannot give back what he has given the noble lady. Not being able to stick to his word and stick to the five knightly virtues could be the downfall of Gawain. Just by doing this one act he is disobeying every single knightly virtue. The author is trying to tell us that unless Gawain realizes what he has done and gets his act together, this story will not have a happy ending.