I always can count on these three people when I need help with my blog. They are always up to date and we work very well in class as well!
http://kerhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/ Katie Enstad
http://narhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/ Nicole Anderson
http://erlrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/ Lizzie Level
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Literature Analysis
Catcher In The Rye
J.D. Salinger
Main Character: Holden, 17 years old, narrator
Summary: The novel begins with Holden getting kicked out of school and sent to a psychiatrist. While there he confesses he was expelled from an all boy prep school called Pencey Prep. We find out Holden is the jealous type when he gets angry at a boy who is taking holden's ex girlfriend out on a date. Holden begins a new chapter in his life and moves to New York.
*An interesting topic and possibly symbolism gets brought up with the ducks.*
He wonders what happens to the ducks when the pond freezes over, but his question is dismissed and not examined closely. Holden becomes a regular at the bars and even gets a few prostitutes. He uses the prostitute as an outlet and talks to them as a type of therapy. Unlike others who use prostitutes for sex, Holden just simply wants to talk. Holden mentions his "kid sister Pheobe" a lot and his previous relationship with Jane. He then goes to find Pheobe and ends up sneaking into his own apartment to tell his sister he got kicked out of school, which she doesn't like at all. He also tells her about his fantasy of becoming the "catcher in the rye" and wanting to stop all of the people before they run off of the cliff. Holden decides to leave one day and Pheobe wants to come along but he refuses. The novel ends very strangely... and I had to do some research to find out why this was. Holden goes to the zoo with Pheobe and Holden buys Pheobe a ticket for the carousel. He begins to cry when he sees how happy Pheobe is and then it begins to pour rain. That's it, the novel ends right there just like that...
Theme: Innocence, the struggles of growing up, and loneliness
Tone: Colloquial style, and a style of somber tied in. It can be straight forward and bitter at times.
" I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse."
"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game."
Lit Techniques:
Symbolism/imagery- the ducks. Holden kept bringing up the ducks numerous times throughout the novel and it symbolized his innocence and curiosity. The ducks ultimately symbolized himself.
Diction/syntax- colloquial. The choice of words by the author helped the reader better understand Holden's internal struggles as well as external.
"I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy."
Setting*- the setting added to the overall tone of the story. It is interesting how something that simple can affect the story overall.
Direct/Indirect characterization- The author uses these techniques in such a way that the indirect characterization shines through and really explicates the structure of each character. "I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing – that is, I used to be. They made me cut it out."
J.D. Salinger
Main Character: Holden, 17 years old, narrator
Summary: The novel begins with Holden getting kicked out of school and sent to a psychiatrist. While there he confesses he was expelled from an all boy prep school called Pencey Prep. We find out Holden is the jealous type when he gets angry at a boy who is taking holden's ex girlfriend out on a date. Holden begins a new chapter in his life and moves to New York.
*An interesting topic and possibly symbolism gets brought up with the ducks.*
He wonders what happens to the ducks when the pond freezes over, but his question is dismissed and not examined closely. Holden becomes a regular at the bars and even gets a few prostitutes. He uses the prostitute as an outlet and talks to them as a type of therapy. Unlike others who use prostitutes for sex, Holden just simply wants to talk. Holden mentions his "kid sister Pheobe" a lot and his previous relationship with Jane. He then goes to find Pheobe and ends up sneaking into his own apartment to tell his sister he got kicked out of school, which she doesn't like at all. He also tells her about his fantasy of becoming the "catcher in the rye" and wanting to stop all of the people before they run off of the cliff. Holden decides to leave one day and Pheobe wants to come along but he refuses. The novel ends very strangely... and I had to do some research to find out why this was. Holden goes to the zoo with Pheobe and Holden buys Pheobe a ticket for the carousel. He begins to cry when he sees how happy Pheobe is and then it begins to pour rain. That's it, the novel ends right there just like that...
Theme: Innocence, the struggles of growing up, and loneliness
Tone: Colloquial style, and a style of somber tied in. It can be straight forward and bitter at times.
" I don't care if it's a sad good-by or a bad good-by, but when I leave a place I like to know I'm leaving it. If you don't, you feel even worse."
"Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game."
Lit Techniques:
Symbolism/imagery- the ducks. Holden kept bringing up the ducks numerous times throughout the novel and it symbolized his innocence and curiosity. The ducks ultimately symbolized himself.
Diction/syntax- colloquial. The choice of words by the author helped the reader better understand Holden's internal struggles as well as external.
"I'll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy."
Setting*- the setting added to the overall tone of the story. It is interesting how something that simple can affect the story overall.
Direct/Indirect characterization- The author uses these techniques in such a way that the indirect characterization shines through and really explicates the structure of each character. "I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing – that is, I used to be. They made me cut it out."
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Socratic Seminar
1.
Q: Are brands more powerful than governments?
- Names of countries are brands themselves
- Some brands are governments
- the way they power relations in the world and how they are structured
Q88: what does the future you want look like?
- To encourage more creativity and NOT to teach so much to the test!
The video with the people asking the questions reminded me of a socratic seminar
Q: why are other countries less developed than ours?
- possible not the right resources?
The Need for Play
- structure vs. free play
- playing in a sandbox with many freedoms or being stuck in a small place with few resources? Who is more likely to succeed..
1a.
This will help me greatly when grades no longer matter. For example, some things especially from this class will help me later in life. Being able to reference to a poem I memorized in this class may be the one thing that separates me from someone else and make me stand out amongst others. When there is not longer a carrot and stick effect (getting that A) people are going to need to self motivate to get what they want in life.
1b.
These concepts will help build on my learning skills especially for the AP test. I have to remix everything I learn and put it into words that have meaning to my everyday life, including the AP test which I will eventually be taking. I have learned to take information and develop it and manipulate it in such a way that it will stick in my brain until I need to dig it back out again. These skills we are learning in this class will take us a long way, above and beyond the testing world..
1c.
I think we have already got a good start on collaborating with these concepts starting with our socratic seminar. We each have our own ideas that we remix again and again to try and imprint on others our personal way of thinking. I am inspired to share this information with others via internet to help them expand their learning abilities and explore ideas of thinking they otherwise would not have the opportunity to do.
Q: Are brands more powerful than governments?
- Names of countries are brands themselves
- Some brands are governments
- the way they power relations in the world and how they are structured
Q88: what does the future you want look like?
- To encourage more creativity and NOT to teach so much to the test!
The video with the people asking the questions reminded me of a socratic seminar
Q: why are other countries less developed than ours?
- possible not the right resources?
The Need for Play
- structure vs. free play
- playing in a sandbox with many freedoms or being stuck in a small place with few resources? Who is more likely to succeed..
1a.
This will help me greatly when grades no longer matter. For example, some things especially from this class will help me later in life. Being able to reference to a poem I memorized in this class may be the one thing that separates me from someone else and make me stand out amongst others. When there is not longer a carrot and stick effect (getting that A) people are going to need to self motivate to get what they want in life.
1b.
These concepts will help build on my learning skills especially for the AP test. I have to remix everything I learn and put it into words that have meaning to my everyday life, including the AP test which I will eventually be taking. I have learned to take information and develop it and manipulate it in such a way that it will stick in my brain until I need to dig it back out again. These skills we are learning in this class will take us a long way, above and beyond the testing world..
1c.
I think we have already got a good start on collaborating with these concepts starting with our socratic seminar. We each have our own ideas that we remix again and again to try and imprint on others our personal way of thinking. I am inspired to share this information with others via internet to help them expand their learning abilities and explore ideas of thinking they otherwise would not have the opportunity to do.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
Literature Analysis: Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1. The novel begins with two men, George and Lennie, who are migrant workers in California. They travel to many farms trying to find work. George is “small and quick and dark of face” and Lennie is a giant man with the mindset of a child. Although nothing is directly said about him, it is inferred that he has a disability. George and Lennie have a brother-like relationship, and Geroge acts as Lennie's older brother. When George and Lennie get let off a bus miles away from the farm they are supposed to be at they decide to walk and along the way they discuss their plans for the future. Both of the men fantasize about their dream of owning their own farm. When they finally arrive at the ranch, all of their dreaming and fantasizing comes to an end and they are brought back to harsh reality. They meet the boss's rude son, Curley, who just married and is very protective over his wife who tends to be very flirty.. Lennie ends up meeting her later and develops a little crush on Curley's wife. This foreshadows the unfortunate events to come. As the day goes on, George and Lennie meet the other ranch hands. George meets a friend called Slim and and confesses to him that Lennie has gotten them in trouble for being innapropriate to women and he was accused of rape. Curley goes into a frenzy trying to find his missing wife later that night, and decides to take his anger out on Lennie. Lennie is very strong and powerful and he breaks Curley's hand. This symbolizes that Lennie has more power than he is aware of. The next day, Lennie is found very upset because he accidentally killed one of the puppies from the ranch. To help calm him down, Curley's wife offers to let him touch her hair because he likes the feel of soft textures. Lennie, again not realizing what power he possesses, gets flustered when she starts screaming, and he tries to make her quiet down. By doing this he breaks her neck and kills her just like that. The end of this book always makes me cry. George and Lennie escape and George shoots Lennie in the back of the head. You can tell this book was not from this time period because everyone was so ignorant when it came to handicap and disabilities. Lennie was misunderstood and because of people's lack of knowledge, he was killed out of fear.
2. Theme: isolation; ignorance; selfishness
3. Tone: brutal, straightforward, matter of fact
- “I don’t know why I can’t keep it. It ain’t nobody’s mouse. I didn’t steal it. I found it lyin’ right beside the road.”
- “For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside. He crouched down in the hay and listened. ‘I done a real bad thing,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad. An’…he said…an’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Tha’s what he said.’”
- “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering. George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.”
4. Literary Techniques/Elements:
Foreshadowing- When George confides in Slim about how they got in trouble at their last farm it foreshadows how they are going to get in trouble at their new ranch too. They set up a “lynch party” when they got in trouble in Weed and when they get in trouble in Soledad.
* “Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he like. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do….”
* “Well that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie.”
Symbolism: Lennie's lack of knowledge of how much power he had symbolized power and lack of knowledge.
Setting- The story, being set in a rural area isolated from a lot of people helps set the stage for isolation.
*“ On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool.”
Irony- It is ironic that George ends up killing his best friend, and someone he promised to take care of.
* “George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes.
Time Period: This book would not have been able to exist in any other time period because that would never happen in today's society. People have more knowledge about mental disabilities, whereas in this book everyone was scared of him because they didn't know why he was different.
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