Animal Farm Project

On Animal Farm set forth Napoleon,
Vindictive and strong.
While not as passionate and hopeful as Snowball,
He was the real corrupter all along.

He soon raged with greed and power:
Work hours grew longer,
Rations grew shorter,
and hope became almost non-existent.

He established the rules, set in stone,
All animals are equal,
If only his comrades had known
The truth.

Time passed,
Promises were broken,
Rules were twisted,
And corruption was vast.

If he only felt the suffering of his followers,
Their hunger,
Their exhaustion,
Their fear,
Maybe his cynical power would
Vanish.

Poetry Out Loud Performances

I watched Jackson Hille's performance of Forgetfulness by Billy Collins. Billy's comfortable stage presence and smooth articulation made the poem enjoyable to listen to by the audience. His appropriateness of dramatization was evident as well: he was able to express the poem with wit and poise without going over the top to show the meaning of the poem. While the difficulty level may not be the strongest point, his solid performance in other aspects made it pleasing to watch.



The recitation of the poem helped bring out the main points: the humor and warm tones of the poem. My interpretation of the poem was quite simple: he shows how forgetting some little things in life (such as quadratic equations) is just a funny thing people experience throughout life. The traits that most brought out the performance of the poem was the easy pacing and overall presence: if it was performed awkwardly, I would have most likely lost the point of the poem.

Mockingbird Motif

By definition, a motif is a recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work. Before honors english I did not have a slight idea what motif was and to be quite frank, had never heard of it. When I was working on my summer assignment and found motif, it was actually the most intriguing part of the project to me. Catcher in the Rye had excellent examples of motif and symbolism, which gave me a greater understanding of the word and a greater appreciation for analyzing literature.

In reading To Kill a Mockingbird, motif was used abundantly and enhanced some key themes of the book, such as justice vs. injustice and standing in another's shoes. I also like motif in the sense that it gives more depth to characters and shows some of their motives. Most obviously the mockingbird motif represented innocence, which could be used to heavily describe characters such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. In context of Boo Radley, I think the quote “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird" describes him perfectly. Killing a mockingbird is ultimately destroying innocence, which is what happened to him as a child. Although he was corrupted his purity and goodness was shown when he helped the children, which to me helped tie in the motif. In Tom's case, his innocence became obvious during the trial. Tom's sincere and helpful nature was twisted into an unfair court verdict, which also helps tie in the theme of justice. vs injustice and show Maycomb's racial tension.

While in general I didn't love this novel I developed a greater appreciation for the book and it's literary devices. :)

my three best friends!

I would hate to stick to saying I only have one best friend, which is false, so i'll describe all three of them :)First off would be Karissa. She has been my absolute best friend since second grade, and we've had so many fun times together. She's extremely tall, witty, and sarcastic but sweet and caring at the same time. She's a self-proclaimed band geek (she's on marching band at Tumwater High School) and loves all the arts. She is also a proud vegetarian! What amazes me is we haven't gone to the same school since fifth grade but are still best friends. When you first meet her she come off as introverted but she's very talkative once you get to be friends!

My next best friend's name is Amanda. She's average height, has dirty blonde hair, and blue eyes. We've had the craziest and most hilarious times together! We have the weirdest inside jokes like topo, squirrel, limos, COLETON, and other random incidents. Amanda is funnily uncoordinated and dorky and its makes me laugh! I talk to her constantly as well. We've been friends since fourth grade. She's obsessed with music and sings all the time. When you meet her she is definitely extroverted and will talk to ANYONE ( which is sometimes awkward) But I still love her!

My final best friend is Anna. We've been friends since sixth grade and I can talk to her about almost anything. She's brutally honest but still sweet and funny. She gives really great advice and can always cheer up me. She loves talking about being asian and Pokemon, which is cool (: I would consider Anna an ambivert because she's social but not obnoxiously loud.

Well, while my friends may be pretty different I like them for different reasons!

Early memories

One of my earliest memories reverts back to when I was about three. My mom gave me my older brothers stuffed duck named Ducky ( i know the name is stupid, i didn't name him) Even though my brother was only about 4, he hated the stuffed animal and didn't care about, so it became mine. Once I was given Ducky, he rarely ever left my side. I dragged him (sometimes literally) everywhere and snuggled with him when I went to sleep. I even have a distinct memory of m sitting on the couch, watching my mom patiently trying to sew Ducky's mangled arms back on after so much wear. Ducky is pretty bizarre looking I might add; his body is covered with colorful jelly beans and he has a lace bib around his neck. Even though he was a weird stuffed animal to own, I absolutely loved him and played with him all the time.

Now, looking back at Ducky sitting on my shelf is pretty hilarious; i see how strange and worn he truly is. I'm happy though that I had such an awesome security blanket growing up.

-I probably have a million pictures of me and ducky, i will add them here ASAP. :)

Metamorphosis: Tone

In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, tone is used heavily to reflect Gregor's human perspective and his reality of being a cockroach. Although Gregor is instantly transformed into a giant bug, his view of life and human feelings do not fade. Tone is used to show his life as a bug: in the beginning, Gregor was slightly optimistic because he's being taken care of by his brave sister, and he has hope that he will just wake up one morning and be human again.

Progressively through the story, the tone becomes more somber. Gregor had almost become abandoned and was saddened at the fact he could not provide his family money and send his sister to the Conservatory as he had promised. In between, the tone becomes hysterical when his human possessions are moved, and his mother faints. In the end, the tone is satirical: Gregor succumbs to his pain and dies, which sets his family free and allows them to move away. While imagery was a strong reflection of the tone, tone is what held the writing in the novel together.

Reading

Reading, in many ways, is an escape from reality:  a chance to enter a new world where anything and everything is possible. In other ways, its just a boring part of english thats required to pass the class.  In my opinion, however, reading is a bit of both: if the book is good, it should be an escape to an infinite amount of possibilities, but there always seems to be dull or boring parts of books.  When I begin to read, I usually try to find a quiet or secluded area: such as my room. Noise to me is usually distracting and takes away from my concentration.  If the reading situation is anything but ideal, I just try to concentrate or listen to my ipod to focus in. I hate reading in the car though: it makes me nauseous.  Once i'm settled, I begin to read: if the first few pages are boring, I try to give the book a chance and remind myself that the book will probably get better. If it doesn't, I usually just quit reading the book and start a new one.

My favorite thing about reading is the feeling of being absorbed in a new world; the feeling of reality fading and the characters taking over.  Fiction is my absolute favorite genre for one main reason: I love learning about the characters and following their actions and transformation throughout the story.   Reading fiction is also calming in a way: you get to experience the others persons problems see a glimpse into someone else's life beside yours.

The main reason I chose to be in Honors English is reading, so i'm excited to take on the new challenges this class will bring me!