Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Lord of the Flies Jigsaw

2.)What survival techniques or strategies are used by the boys? They do not have to be only physical.

· establishing leadership roles
· rules and regulations to keep things in order
-conch shell, designating jobs
· signal fire
· group of hunters
· building shelter
· Jack's group tries to survive through hunting and killing-animalistic
-Jack looks out for himself, violent, does whatever necessary to survive
· Ralph's group tries to survive through working together to live and not just survive
-Ralph focuses on getting everyone through struggles as a community

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Essential #10

Rewrite a 5-10 sentence passage from Jane Eyre in third person. How does this change the characters, the plot, and your interpretation of the novel?



"I now ventured to descend ... she brought my coffee and bread"(65).

Jane climbed down from her disgraced seat upon the stool. Her fleeting sense of support and triumph gained from classmates' glances was gone. Jane was overwhelmed; she burst into tears and sank to the floor. She felt alone and hopeless. Her grief consumed her. Jane felt like she had always tried her hardest to accomplish so much, but after this public embarrassment all of her hard work once again would be dismissed. Jane was immensely distressed, and wished to die. Suddenly, Helen Burns approached her sobbing friend bringing coffee and bread.



Analysis:

Rewriting Jane Eyre in the third person showed the large effect that Jane's narration plays throughout the novel. Many of Jane's thoughts and statements are very passionate and emotional. Seeing the novel written in third person takes a lot of the emotion out of the reading. Jane's narration definitely makes the reader grow emotionally attached to her. However, when written in third person, Jane Eyre becomes much less personal. The feelings for Jane are much more distant because we are opened to different perspectives other than just her own.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Essential #9

How do Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein compare and contrast as men, scholars, and scientists?

Both Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein are men who both have an intense drive to achieve their goals and expand their knowledge. Robert Walton is setting off on his first journey to the North Pole. In contrast to Walton's inexperience, Frankenstein has already attempted to reach his goals and hopes that Walton "may deduce an apt moral from my [Frankenstein's] tale"(13). Both men are extremely curious as well as passionate, and even consumed by their intellectual hunger. In their quest for education, both initially researched their passions themselves without any outside help. In Walton's case, his "education was neglected yet I [he] was passionately fond of reading"(2). Similarly, Frankenstein "was, to a great degree, self-taught with regard to my [his] favorite studies"(21). However, unlike Walton, Frankenstein's self education was supplemented with the schools of Geneva as well as the university of Ingolstadt. Scientifically speaking, Walton's expedition was focused on "discovering a passage near the pole [...] or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet"(2). Frankenstein's ventures included "discovering the cause of generation and life"(31).

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Essential #8

Are Petrucio and Katherine in love?

Although Petrucio and Katherine are married, they are definitely not in love. Although Petrucio aggressively pursued Katherine, he did not do it because he was attracted to her. He wanted to tame her: "Thou must be married to no man but me. For I am he am born to tame you, Kate, And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate"(95). All that Petrucio wanted was the challenge of chasing Katherine. In addition to this, Petrucio does not respect Katherine at all. When people are in love, they love the person for who they are. Whether the person is in a good mood, bad mood, angry, sad, or happy, if people are truly in love, the love is always present. Petrucio does not feel this way about Katherine, his goal is to try to change who she is. If he loved her, he would not want her to change. Relationships are about making each other happy, and not about one person serving the other. Petrucio was extreme in forcing Katherine to obey him, even for the time period believing in "An awful rule, and right supremacy"(217). Katherine also knew that if she did not submit to Petrucio and change her ways that her marriage would be horrible. She would rather give up parts of herself to make things run smoothly. None of this is love. Relationships are based off friendships, partnerships, and equality.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Essential #7

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

Hamlet is not insane, he has created his own insanity. He makes Horatio swear to keep seeing the Ghost a secret, no matter "how strange or odd some'er I [Hamlet] bear myself"(1.5.190). Hamlet realizes that in carrying out revenge for his father may cause him to act insanely. Hamlet reiterates this when he explains, "I am mad but north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handshaw"(2.2.402). Hamlet knows when to act mad and when to act normally. Hamlet has experienced great tragedy in the death of his father and the quick marriage between Gertrude and Claudius. Many perfectly sane people would see logic in Hamlet immediately carrying out revenge on his father's murderer. However, Hamlet shows us his sanity in being unsure of vengeance. He feels sorrow and anger for what has happened, and his hesitation to act impulsively shows us that Hamlet has a good heart and is able to sanely rationalize and think about his actions. Hamlet does decide to carry out revenge and realizes that to follow through with what his father says, he may need to do crazy things. Acting insanely may also be a part of Hamlet's plan for vengeance.

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 Pardoner reveals important information about himself through his the Prologue and his tale. The Pardoner is nothing but a greedy, hypocritical liar. He claims that all of his sermons preach about the sin of avarice: "I preach for nothing but for greed of gain"(243). The Pardoner admits that "my exclusive purpose is to win And not at all to castigate their sin"(243). He preaches to people about honesty and purity, when he practices neither of those virtues. In the Pardoner's Tale, he first preaches of the evils of sin. He then goes on to describe a story of three boys who were so consumed by greed that it ultimately led to their deaths:"these two murderers received their due, So did the treacherous young poisoner too"(256). It is ironic that the Pardoner's story preaches of the evils of sin, especially greed. His entire occupation is based off of acts that he condemns. The Pardoner, like the boys from his tale, tricks and stabs others in the back for his own personal monetary gain. Even more ironically, at the end of his tale he asks the group "If there be one among you that is willing to have my absolution for a shilling"(257). The Pardoner has the nerve to try and trick those whom he had just revealed his true nature too. He unquestionably "tell[s] a hundred lying mockeries"(242).

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Constructing Society

Society, real or fictional, is rarely perfect. However, If I had the opportunity to create my own ideal society, the five people I would chose to make up my society would be: Tom Brady, Michelle Obama, Heidi Klum, Batman, and Adam Savage. The combination of different roles, strengths, and talents that this group of men and women bring are the necessary components for creating an ideal society.
Every society needs to have a strong leader. Tom Brady would be the hero and leader of this society. He has experience leading because he is the quarterback and captain of the New England Patriots. Tom Brady has experienced pressure situations throughout his career, and overcoming tough obstacles ensures that he would be a strong role model for the other members in society. Furthermore, Tom Brady would also serve as a procreator and a father figure. He already has one child, and this experience in addition to his amiable character would allow him to be a father figure in the community.
Michelle Obama would complement Tom Brady's strong leadership though her sapience. Her role as First Lady has given her necessary leadership skills in society. She would be a peacemaker and a decision maker. She is able to make wise decisions and think things through fully to ensure the best possible outcome for a society. She would be a positive role model and influence to those around her. She could also play a nurturing role, as she already has two children. Michelle Obama would be a great addition to any society.
Every society needs a guardian. Batman would serve as both a guardian and law enforcement. He would fight criminals that threaten society. Also, in the movie "The Dark Knight" one of Batman's roles is to be the scapegoat. Batman stepped up and unselfishly took on the responsibilities that no one else could handle for the good of the community. Also, Batman's true identity is Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne would also greatly contribute to society because of experience of management and seemingly endless bank account.
Heidi Klum would serve society by being a lover, nurturer, and procreator. She is beautiful and could be seen as the temptation, wife, or princess. Heidi has four children of her own and would definitely be looked upon as a nurturing, motherly figure. She is a model, actress, artist, television hostess, and fashion designer and could provide a lot of much needed entertainment in the community. She is also a business woman and could help stabilize an economy.
Adam Savage of the television show "Mythbusters" would be a great asset to any society. He is an extremely intelligent inventor. He could educate others and teach them how to manufacture and build things. He has great problem solving skills and would be extremely helpful in the physical construction of society. He would also bring comedy and entertainment to the society, which is always needed.
This society would be lacking in some areas. For example, there would be no religious leaders, educators, or workers. However, religion could develop over time and people would have the freedom to choose their own religions. Furthermore, there may be no specific educators, but everyone should be an educator. All of the members of the society are educated and would pass their knowledge to others. Similar to educators, all members of societies would be workers. Everyone has to do their fair share of hard work to make the society great, this is a responsibility that should be shared by all.
No society is perfect. However, in an ideal society all members' strengths will compliment one another's to form a fully functional community. Well-rounded, hard working members of society will ensure that a society will grow productively. Tom Brady, Michelle Obama, Batman, Heidi Klum, and Adam Savage bring the skills and diversity needed to create an effective society.