It's Really The End...

Dear Readers,

I guess I knew this was coming even before it was assigned but leaving this blog is a little hard yet also pretty easy. This blog has become a habit of mine and I doubt I will ever forget this big assignment to create a blog and write in it almost every week, it was definitely a very memorable English project.

Though this assignment was long and sometimes time consuming it was worth while because as I was reading through old posts I discovered that the more we wrote and the more practice that I had writing the better I have become. I have especially advanced my skills in the vocabulary that I use. For instance in more recent posts I have heightened the diction and usage of adjectives so that they aren't necessarily over whelming but don't go unnoticed. A few traits that I have had through out my writing for this blog are confidence and positivity. When I say confidence I mean that I am not ever afraid to either ask questions, or share my real opinion about the subject. With some of the books like TKAM or GE I was nowhere close to ashamed admitting that at the books where hard to start or that I wasn't really connected to the story, and in my opinion that is a good writing trait as well as a personality trait. When I say I had positivity in my writing I mean that even if a book isn'y appealing in one way I will find another literary element that I like a lot and really accentuate in the rest of my writing.

From having to write about a lot of the main projects on the units that we have done over the year I have learned a lot about myself and my own writing capacity and how by just working hard will pay off. You know what they say "practice makes perfect" and maybe you can't be a completely perfect writer but you can certainly grow into a very good writer by just experimenting with different things to write about like what we have been doing on this blog all year. We have written about countless different things from books that we have read to assignments on the books that we had to read. We have also had to write about the different units we were entering like poetry and comparing pieces of literature to our own lives as best we could. These blog prompts this year required lots of thought and patience and in the long run I didn't slack off on the blogs the way that some other people did.

This year in blog format has been wonderful and to sum it all up I like a quote from Saint Augustine, he said, "Patience is a the companion of wisdom" and while writing this blog I was testing my own patience and my blogs turned out quite well as a result. Like I have said before I will miss this blog.

Love, Forever and Always,
Amaya
 

Representation In Photography

Dear readers,

This picture may be a little weird but  think that it represents Pip very well in the first two stages of this book. In this picture it looks like someone is trapped beneath leaves and that can symbolize the way that Pip is trapped in his small little village and trapped in his low class of being a blacksmith. All Pip wants is a way out of his small measly life. and he does that by working for Miss Havisham. And that brings me to the second significant part of this photograph. The hand that is sticking out and trying to grasp onto anything it can reach symbolizes Pip's chance to escape his poor life in forges and go to bigger and better things. For example his chance to go to London and him receiving his great expectations. But also since the rest of the body is still encased in leaves it could represent the guilt that ties Pip to Joe and Biddy, and that he feels this guilt for leaving them. All in all  think that this photograph represents Pip's life through out the first two sections of this book very well. with the taste of freedom that that hand is getting but also the suppressed body that is Pip's old life.

Love, Amaya

My Favorite Project, It Could Be Hard To Pick

Dear Readers,

After thinking about all the projects that we have done this year and which ones I am most proud of and which were the best I would have to say that I am most impressed with the journal assignment for Great Expectations because I got full points on it but I also put a lot of time and effort into making that journal into the best that it could be. If the assignment that I am talking about is a little hazy in your memory I will give you a brief description. In the six weeks that we read GE each week we had to produce a description of a new character from that weeks reading, a new character development, and a comparison or contrast in the reading. For the explanation, significance, and description we had to write a paragraph. Each week I always had the journal in on time with great detail and quality in the the work.

I am really proud of my self because it could be a tedious process sometimes but I powered through with high quality and lots of thought. Since I knew that this journal would be important I really wanted to be able to put out the best work that I could so I prioritized it over other assignments so that it would be fresh and well written while I was wide awake. Even though GE was not my favorite book this really is  the assignment that I am most proud of.

Love, Amaya

That Happy Warm Feeling With Poetry

Dear Readers,

I personally am no that biggest fan of poetry but my best experience with the art form was this year while doing poetry out loud. I got to do poetry out loud for two classes this year, English and Drama. For my Drama class I memorized the poem Echo by Daryl Hine. For English I picked the poem Full Moon by Elinor Wylie. These poems both moved me beyond words and it was a great experience to memorize them.

The memorization process was hard but it really helped me understand what the poet was trying to say and the emotions that they were conveying. Both of my poems were depressing but spoke to me and grabbed my attention. These poets were very deep with there emotions and I believe that these poems would have spoken to anyone, not just me.

Hine and Wylie were great poets who knew how to write poetry and write it well. The fact that these poets were so great made the whole experience of Poetry Out Loud way better, and really made the recitation really worth it. Also being able to make visual aids and analysing poems was a big help with being able to memorize. All in all this experience with poetry was great and I would love to do it again someday.

Even though I liked Poetry Out Loud I am not so keen on poetry in general, because I am not the best at writing poems. I am quite bad at rhyming as well so I have pretty much just givin up on writing poetry and poetry itself.

Love, Amaya

What's The Big Problem?

Dear Readers,

We are almost done with Romeo & Juliet and are getting ready to write an essay, and according to the prompt we must choose a specific conflict so I will be going over how Juliet is having personal problems because she is is betraying her family by loving Romeo, the son of her families ancient enemy. You can tell that this conflict is present when she is having trouble deciding weather of not to feel sad that her dear cousin Tybalt has been killed or that her newly betrothed husband is now in exile. This can either be interpreted as a 'person vs. self' conflict or a 'moral conflict'. This conflict is important because it is the deciding point for Juliet to be all in for either Romeo or her family. This conflict represents the theme of love.

People are always fighting with themselves and having difficulty following their own morals when they have and offer that is almost to good to pass up or when something is pushed onto them. Many kids have moral troubles when they are offered drugs or alcohol. Kids may have promised themselves or their parents that they will never do drugs and not drink until they are of age, but it can be very hard to keep to those promises when all of your friends are doing these illegal things. Teens experience conflicts with them selves all the time and have trouble choosing what they will end up doing.

Love, Amaya

Where Is Romeo & Juliet? Oh, Now I Remember, Its Everywhere!

Dear Readers,

In my humble opinion Shrek the movie is very much like Romeo & Juliet. It includes R&J's timeless story of a forbidden love and an unexpected match. There are also some character matches such as Donkey and Benvolio. They both are the best friend that tries to take control and wants their friend to be happy, even if their friend is hesitant at first.  If you have never seen Shrek i will give you a quick synopsis. A scary ogre agrees to save a beautiful princess from a tower. He finds out that she turns into an ogre every night. and they eventually fall in love. But they are not supposed to be married because she is, well, a human and he an ogre. There is also another man that wants her hand in marriage. Just like Paris wants to marry Juliet. But in the end Shrek and his love get married. A happier ending then that of R&J.

Love, Amaya

Who, What, Where, When? Am I Really Getting This Book?

Dear Readers,

As I have started to read Romeo and Juliet I have realized my connection to both Benvolio and Romeo, well frankly more of the relationship that they have and what they do for each other. I personally have been on both ends of their friendship, the sad one, and the one to cheer the friend up. Sure I have been sad about many things, friends, crushes, family, school, life, but I have always had a friend like Benvolio to pull me up and get my mind off of things. Be it going out for a party or staying in and watching a movie, I have always had a good friend to be the Benvolio to my Romeo. I have also had to play the opposite role of Benvolio for a friend and I try to be that character as much as possible because a good friend is always there to help you up when you're down. I also think it's a really important quality in a friend to know exactly what to do in a situation like that.

As for the reading of the book, It has been good. It has become easier and easier to read the more I read. But the reading in class is very beneficial to my understanding of the book because I can only catching so much from my own reading. With the added ideas from group members, and classmates  it is very helpful for me and my knowledge of the shakespearian language. Using the opposite pages in the book is also very handy tool for a quick understanding of a few things that are confusing in the book. With the reading in class and the special Folger edition book I at least have a chance of knowing what is happening in the book.

Love, Amaya

Well I Guess Its Over.

Dear Readers,

Since we finished Great Expectations we learned a lesson, a moral, like any good book it teaches us something. I admit, this was not my favorite book ever and it wasn't very easy to follow sometimes, but I stuck with it and what Dickens was talking about beneath the surface was pretty important. What I got from this book is that family and friends are important, more important than most people think or like to acknowledge. If you got everything you ever wanted who would you go to if it all disappeared in the blink of an eye? I personally would go to the people that helped me most in life and the ones that loved me the most. You trust them and they trust you, even if you have done something to them like leave them behind they will still love you no matter what. Because that is what real family and friends do for you, they will stick by your side in your time of need. Also money can really go to a persons head and they may think that they are perfectly fine but as the saying says, money can't buy you happiness, and most people are happiest with family and friends.

Love, Amaya

ROCKY!!

                                              

Dear readers,

I believe that the motion picture Rocky represents Great Expectations very well. At the beginning of Rocky he is working at a meat shop and also collecting debt on the side, and really doesnt like his position in life as Pip did not like his when he worked as an apprentice in Joe's forge. Rocky meets a very shy women and  they befriend each other. This happens to Pip when he meets Biddy and they become friends and she teaches Pip to read and write. One day In Philadelphia Rocky Balboa is chosen to fight against a world renowned boxer named Apollo Creed, Rocky had been wanting his shot at a title and this was his chance. This part of the movie reminds me of when, in the book, Mr. Jaggers come to Pip and tells him he will become a gentleman.

Also in the movie Rocky and his friend Adrian are almost complete opposites and contrast each other. Adrien is a shy girl that can't talk to any man. While Rocky is a buff fighter that can never be hurt. It reminded me of all the contrasting happy couples, for example Joe and Mrs. Joe, and Mr. Pocket and Mrs. Pocket.

All in all There are manysimilarities between these two stories

Love, Amaya

Learning To Become A Gentleman

Dear readers,

Ever since Pip has moved to London becoming a gentleman has been a main subject. In this particular quote Pip is, without even knowing it, learning an important lesson of become a gentleman. Pip is walking Mr. Wemmick to work in london a observes this, "By degrees. Wemmick got dryer and harder as we went along. and his mouth tightened into an post office again. At last when we got to this place of business and he pulled out his key from his coat-collar, he looked as unconscious of his Walworth property as if the castle…had all been blown into space together…" (pg. 209) Mr. Wemmick is becoming a proper business man who has almost no resemblance to the Mr. Wemmick that Pip saw at his home.

To be a professional gentleman you must be serious and when out in to world must treat everything with business like attitude. This ties into Pip's schooling to become a gentleman, and how just being around a gentleman can be very beneficial to him. Something in the first stage that is a lot like this is when Pip first sees Mr. Jaggers. Pip's description of him is what Pip believes is what a gentleman should look like and uses this example when the time came to furnish himself for gentleman-hood.

Love, Amaya

The Turning Point

Dear readers,

As we all know Pip had a very horrific time working at Satis House. From spending time with Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip has started to feel very self conscious about his living condition and what he will grow up to be. Before he worked for Miss Havisham he was exceptionally excited to be apprenticed to Joe. But after Estella put him down and and call him "common". After this is his turning point. He only wants to be a gentleman, ultimately to empress Estella. I think Pip's changes are very hurtful to his life because he will lose most of the people he loves to heighten his social standing. In the last sentence of chapter 9 Pip is trying to have the reader relate to him and understand why he wants to, or must, change and get the general understanding of what Estella and Miss Havisham have turning him into.

Just like my Boo Radley School was my turning point. At a young age I realized that work and learning is important and life all isn't just about playing house, and sliding down the slide on the playground. At that point I knew that they had to be balanced to have a happy and successful life. This all started while my sister was telling me about her work and how hard she worked in college to get to this wonderful job. She told me the key was to work very hard and take challenging classes but also to take classes that were relaxing and fun to work in. I have tried to keep this balance to this very day by taking advanced Math and Honors English while taking Drama as a fun and entertaining class.

Love, Amaya

Confusion!

Dear readers,


Help! Great Expectations is quite confusing with some of its skewed terms that I have never heard before. these terms confuse me almost to no end. One part is when Joe notices that Pip's bread is no longer there, “You know, Pip,” said Joe, solemnly, with his last bite in his cheek, and speaking in a confidential voice, as if we two were quite alone, “you and me is always friends, and I'd be the last to tell upon you, any time. But such a—” he moved his chair, and looked about the floor between us, and then again at me—“such a most oncommon bolt as that!”

“Been bolting his food, has he?” cried my sister.

“You know, old chap,” said Joe, looking at me, and not at Mrs. Joe, with his bite still in his cheek, “I Bolted, myself, when I was your age—frequent—and as a boy I've been among a many Bolters; but I never see your bolting equal yet, Pip, and it's a mercy you ain't Bolted dead.” (Dickens 10)

I really don't understand all this talk about 'bolting' anyone know? I understand the general meanings of most things but I feel that by not know what specifically the words mean that i am missing the full experience of Dickens and his writing.

Heaps of thanks!

Love Amaya

New and Improved.

Dear readers,

The title of this particular blog post is misleading because nothing in my body paragraph has changed. At least not yet. So that is the question I have for my group, What do you think I need to change? My topic sentence I think may be a little shaky so any suggestions on that would be wonderful. Also with any repetition that is in there would be a helpful comment. Thanks for the help!


Love, Amaya

Honesty Is The Best Policy

Dear Readers,

As for The importance of Being Earnest there is quite a bit of dishonesty and in many ways. First of all with all of the epigrams, by the definition of epigrams they are a paradox which in itself is not the truth. An epigram in this book is when Cecily says that happy endings make her terribly depressed when at the end of the book she has a happy ending with Algernon and is not depressed at all. Dishonesty in marriage was a main theme in this book. Just one example is when Lady Bracknell say that she never undeceives her husband with matters that are unimportant to him. This symbolized that there was a lot of lies in their marriage and in many marriages of that time period. The main plot of this play is that Jack and Algernon were being dishonest with their names, which is ironic because the definition of earnest is to be truthful. In this book the pursuit of happiness has to be built on a lie just to get out of responsibility. Each character has their own lie for their pursuit of pleasure, for instance, Cecily has her fake engagement in her diary and Jack has Ernest.

I think that Wilde was trying to say that when people are not aware that the lies that they tell will effect them drastically in the long run. He shows this aspect by having the characters do very self centered things that would benefit themselves the most. But this goes right along with the pursuit of happiness because if you want to be really happy you must do whatever is best for yourself. Wilde is conveying that if you just go along with what others say and never find your own happiness that you will not succeed. He is also saying that if you go to far with your lies even if they are for the pursuit of happiness they could come back and bite you in the butt.


Love, Amaya

The Art Critic

Dear readers,

These are the evaluations made by a classroom critic.

Jake B.
Artwork.
Jake's Art piece shows that she understood that there was so much tyranny, he expresses this by putting Napoleon at the top surrounded by the dogs. He also captured that Napoleon was holding back on the other animals by having him hold a money bag.

Galen B.
comic strip
Galen showed that the pigs had all of the power go to there head so the farm could not thrive. He also showed that the animals broke the commandments and all together changed them. Galen also conveyed how the pigs accentually became humans.

Emma H.
Artwork
Emma understood the propaganda and foreshadowing of the story. She used the crow and the commandments to show this. She also conveyed irony well with boxer going to the glue factory.

Porter N.
Artwork
Poter focused on how the animals were treated. He showed that the animals were treated the same way as they had been treated while Jone's was still in power. He also showed how the pigs became the humans by having the pig in clothes and standing on two legs.

Jamison C.
Video
This video showed the rebellion and how the rules were changed. They made the pigs power very obvious by having the pigs at the top of the barn,

Britta S.
Poem
Brittas poem talked about how persuasive the pigs were  and how the pigs would also lie to the animals and tell them everything was ok.

Joel R.
Artwork
Joels project focused on how the pigs slowly progressed into humans through out the book.

Olivia T.
Artwork
Olivias picture explains how the animals and humans are equal and how the pigs adopt the humans vices which is ironic because Old Major told them not to very specifically.

Kady Z.
Video
Kady's video effectively showed the Problems with the windmill and the hardships of the animals. Their video also showed the hardships of rebellion, when all rebellion lead to was the same horrible life that the animals had before.

Matt B.
Artwork
Matts picture show napoleon having power because he is on the top of the barn. His picture also shows how snowball lost power by putting him at the bottom of the picture.

After looking at my peers projects I think that I did just as well as them. I showed that Napoleon gained power, what the animals did and how the pigs broke the rules. I also showed propaganda and how the commandments were changed into just one commandment.

Love, Amaya

My Fantastically-Amazing-Beatiful-Awesome Animal Farm Creative Project

Dear Readers,

Please just copy and paste this into your address bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Okhij0oqI

Hope you like it!

Love Amaya