Character Relationships (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Miss Maudie and a Calpurnia, are both very similar, and yet different, in several ways.  First of of all, both of these characters are women who openly express their opinions, mainly to Scout.  I feel that both these characters would voice their ideas more to the public, if they had the power freedom, and frankly if they thought that they would actually be listened to.  Whether they're speaking about matters of the Radleys, flowers, manners, or whatever topic, they always have advice or a little something to put in.  Another similarity between Miss Maudie and Cal, is their role in the book when it comes to religion.  Calpurnia took Scout and Jem to an African American church and provided them with a similar, yet different religious experience than what they were used to.  Miss Maudie hosted an extremely symbolic and powerful conversation about religion to different extremities (foot washers).

However, Miss Maudie and Calpurnia have their differences as well.  For example, Calpurnia has more of an affect on Scout as a mother figure when it comes to discipline and manners, such as when Walter Cunningham came over for dinner, whereas Miss Maudie's advice was generally pertaining to life situations or concepts.  In addition to that, Calpurnia's relationship with Scout is more direct and explicit, but Miss Maudie's affect was more passive.

These characters both play an important role in Scout's childhood and process of maturing, as they serve as mother figures.  Both of these important women influence Scout in ways that will alter and guide the sculpting of her character.  Although these two characters aren't the only ones who play as a mother figure to a scout in this book, or attempt to at least, they are probably the most important ones and the ones that influenced her the most.  The changes they made on Scout, or the behaviors they instructed and modeled for her to follow, varied in categories of manners, clothing, respect, and points of views on all kinds of subjects.

Maycomb Photograph Analysis (TKAM) 11-24-15

This picture represents the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird, in many ways.  For example, the book is set in southern Alabama, where it's relatively hot and dusty, and you can tell that the setting of the picture has similar traits, when you look at how none of the children have shoes on, and their all dressed for that type of weather.  You don't see coats on them, and they have big hats that could potentially shield their eyes from the sun.  In addition to that, you can infer that the ground below them, is dry and dusty dirt or sand, by analyzing the possible texture of the ground.

Another possible connection to the book that I can see, is the character similarities.  The young children in the picture, could be like Scout, Jem, and Dill.  By studying their facial expressions and moods, we can see the resemblance of curiosity, mischief, excitement, and yet seriousness at times, maybe even a little sadness too, which can all be seen in the child characters of the book.

A final similarity between this photograph and the book, was the clothing, and the fact that the picture was taken in black and white.  First off all, the clothes that the people in the picture seem from previous generations, and you don't really see kids going around today in those sorts of clothing.  Overalls, sun hats, and you don't see girls wearing skirts outside without shoes on.  Skirts are usually for special occasions or celebrations, and aren't utilized for every day activity anymore.  Second, the picture was taken in black and white, which isn't common at all these days, but was the only option several years ago.  All these clues, connections, and similarities help me to realize more and more that this picture relates to the setting, time period, and characters of the book To Kill a Mockngbird.

Theme Blog on "The Breadwinner" 11-19

I devised a potential theme from the book, "The Breadwinner" than most other readers might have.  I've completed the book, and formed an opinion based off of different character's actions and choices.  I think that whether it was intentional or unintentional, the author helps readers realize that courage comes in different forms, and sometimes courage isn't the best quality to have in a certain scenario.  The definition of courage is, "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear..."  

However, would the action of bravely stepping in front of an entire enemy army to fight by yourself be considered courageous?  Techniquely your facing danger, without fear, but it certainly wouldn't be the smartest thing to do in that situation.  It often seems that courage comes hand in hand with stupidity, and although some people may not consider the "smarter" thing to do courageous, it could be the better option.  For example, during the book, Parvana's mother goes out to look for her husband in jail among the Taliban.  It was banned for women to leave the house unaccompanied by a man, so this was very dangerous for Parvana's mother.  Some may consider this a bold act of courage, while others with realize that it obviously was quite stupid.

On the other hand, there are certainly cases where courage is extremely hard to conjure up and harness, but can be really helpful.  In the book, Parvana has courage practically forced or thrust upon her, considering it is the only option for the survival of her family.  She has to be extremely courageous and/or brave while being smart at the same time.  I don't want to go into too much detail on these events, considering some readers may want to check this book out, but anyone who's read the book will know what I'm referring to. 

I know that there are multiple themes to this book, as there are to many others as well, but this is one that I wanted to focus in and go in depth within.  I've now thought more intensely on this claim about courage, and have came to the conclusion that this theme not only applies to the book, but to real life situations and events as well.

First Quarter Reflection 10-28-15

I thought that as a student, I emitted a mediocre performance when it comes to grades, or effort as a student.  I wouldn't say it was a bad job, I just think I could've done better, and I plan on doing so within these next few quarters.  I definitely think the transition was a large reason in this lack of quality, considering 8th grade is different from the past, and that the school adopted an entirely new grading system.  However, now that I've gotten a taste of what it's going to be like, I think I'll have a better understanding of what's expected of me, and therefore be able to meet and strive above my standards.

My life and actions have been revolving around other aspects besides education throughout this quarter as well, for example, it was my birthday about a week ago, and that was exciting.  Friends came over to celebrate, and then I went paintballing the next day to celebrate as well.  Basketball season has just started up as well, and as usual, has me super excited.  Afterschool programs, sports, and other hobbies have filled up my free time whenever I'm not completely focused on school.

8th grade is also especially different from previous years, in the sense that students are searching for the high school that will provide a scenario to best fit their needs.  I've already shadowed at three schools, and am still narrowing the choices down, and weighing the advantages and disadvantages that pertain to the commute, offered education, and other activity facilities.  However, I plan on looking at high school the same as these next few middle school quarters.  I'm going to do whatever I can to choose the right path for me, and see where I end up, and I plan on doing my best and making the best choices for not only myself, but others as well.

The Boy on the Wooden Box 10-14-15 (Can you compare the lifestyles and/or technology of the book's time period to today's?)

The book that I'm currently engaged in, is set during World War Two.  Considering I'm not too far into the book, it's would be hard for me to conduct a really detailed interpretation of the whole story, but I can explain some of my thoughts thus far.  I've blogged about similar topics to this in the past, and personally, I think it's really interesting to compare and contrast somewhat different, yet similar topics, time periods, or mindsets.

Therefore, with this blog I'm going to focus on the difference between the society portray within the book, and the way I view our community.  Within the first 30 pages of the book, I immediately realized that there's a big difference in what children of today's generation find really amusing or astonishing, and how the characters in the book react to certain concepts, ideas, or inventions.  On page 33, the main character says, "What excited me most was the indoor plumbing...""I decided the lightbulb and electricity were second to the toilet and indoor plumbing."  This really made me think about how people today, take incredible inventions and creations for granted, all the time, because we can't imagine life without them.  The book is placed almost a century ago, therefore, you can infer that characters of the novel might be inspired and in awe at things such as electricity or indoor plumbing, and we're getting excited over the new video game system coming out.

Also, the author's father has been working in the city for some years now, in order to support his family.   After he gathered up enough money, he returned to his hometown to move his family to the city with him.  The transition is a big one for the kids, considering they had been inhabiting a small house out in the country.  Once the family enters the city, the main character is exploring, and taking in as much information as physically possible, before falling asleep in complete astonishment.  I guess children of today's generation who live in rural areas, might have a similar reaction when witnessing the city for the first time, just maybe at a lesser level.  Due to the fact that we have social media, advanced technology, and other modern inventions, the impact from seeing the city might not be as big as someone who had absolutely no clue.

Since I'm only a few chapters into the book, I plan to read more over the next few days, conduct additional blogs that interpret messages of the book, explain my thoughts on the story, and potentially add to this blog, if I find more comparable concepts.

OBAA Mawi's Lifelines Blog

The Cruelty of a Classroom

My parents and my brother had taught me to see beauty in everyone

I often saw the least beauty in the 

coolest

most popular kids

I wasn't popular enough to get elected

But I figured

What the heck

The other half of the class wouldn't have voted for the cool kids 

Not if their lives had depended on it

All throughout high school

The cool kids had made them feel 

Like beetles

My classmates had discovered the best way to hurt me 

not with their fists

but with their words

Sticks and stones can break bones

But words

Can often do worse

They can destroy

The hopeful things

Inside us

OBAA vs Syrian Refugees Article 10-2-15

        The book that we've read as a class, Of Beetles and Angels is about generally the same topic as my chosen article of the week.  Both the book, and my article went into detail on refugee issues and big, awful occurrences forcing citizens of their country to flee and seek refuge somewhere else.  However, while the book told the story of a family during the Sudanese refugee incident during the Ethiopian civil war, while the article discussed the more current Syrian refugee crisis.  Both authors, the article's author and the book's, give their stories and facts several details, specific information, quotes, and dates for public readers to refer to, as to better understand the topic.

         Specific individuals and groups are mentioned and explained in both the book and article.  Many are very similar to each other, considering the situations are somewhat alike.  However, others don't correlate at all.  For example, in Of Beetles and Angels, the World Relief Program plays a big part in the story, and in the article, Leonard Doyle is a representing member of the International Organization for migration.  Both of these organizations are systems that are doing their best to prevent, solve, or lessen the impact of these refugee disasters.  I can see this evidence in the book on page 16 when the author states, "World Relief agreed to work with a family of five, not a family of six.  They agreed to bring you now, not later,..."  The article mentions the thousands of families of refugees that are attempting national transitions.  The book is literally written and told by Mawi Asgedom, who was part of a family making a very similar trip, and he's talking about his family the entire time.  This journey is shown in the article when the author said, "...tens of thousands more have already travelled into the continent.  Borders are being sealed with bewildering speed, as columns of desperate people move from country to country in their attempt to find a haven.

        I also compared the book and the article by studying the ideas or messages portrayed through their work.  Despite the fact that both pieces are about quite similar issues, the book invokes a somewhat different or separate connotation than the article.  Mawi elaborates on the good that came out of the awful time he spent as a child, in a refugee camp, and describes how you can turn something really small into something great, whereas the article is basically presenting a possible solution to the problem, describing how awful the conditions are in refugee camps, and providing the staggering statistics of misplaced citizens and refugees.  The author of the article shows the viewpoints of certain individuals and groups, and explains how they believe complete chaos will continue until the problem is solved in a certain way.  You can see this in the article when the author provides the quote of, "You need a period when you take big numbers and settle down, then people feel some kind of moral settlement,' Moraes said.  "Until you do that, chaos reigns."  One of the book's positive messages is that forgiveness is key to success.  This is shown when Mawi said, "How can I feel ill will toward Ahferom when I know that soon after, he joined one of the Ethiopian Liberation movements?"  He was showing how he has forgiven his childhood bully and that taught him a valuable lesson and helped him achieve great things in life.

How does the author make you feel like you are actually inside the story? (The Hideout) 8-16-15

Prompt:  How does the author make you feel like you are actually inside the story?

Date:  8-16-15

          Peg Kehret, like any other successful author, is really good with descriptive writing and adjectives.  This is shown in the book on page 13 when Kehret is describing the train crash that Jeremy was in.  The book says, "Crash!  The noise of the impact filled Jeremy's ears, momentarily blocking out all other sounds.  Jeremy fell sideways out of his seat, landing in the aisle.  His backpack came down on top of him.  The lights inside the train went out.  The din of disaster surrounded him:  glass shattered, wood splintered, pieces of metal clanged against one another.  The whistle was silent.  Inside the dark car, people screamed.  A baby cried."  While reading this one paragraph of the book, I was able to picture complete, solid chaos.  The author did a great job of showing readers what the crash was supposed to be like.

          Another thing that helped me personally picture Jeremy's journey, was the fact that I've been camping several times before, and could relate with Jeremy's experiences in the woods on his own.  Someone from deep Chicago who is used to the city life might not be able to picture Jeremy's trip just as well as someone who goes on regular campouts out in the country.

          Peg Kehret's descriptive writing, combined with readers' imaginative and colorful minds can create the perfect mental setting of a story.  Also, the great thing about Kehret, and many other authors' writing is that people with not so imaginative minds can still see the scene that Kehret is trying to set, because of her advanced writing.  I strongly recommend this book to readers who've enjoyed the outdoors before, and who are looking for an adventure to follow.

Discuss the pros and cons of independence at a teenage level. (The Hideout) 8-16-15

Prompt:  Discuss the pros and cons of independence at a teenage level.

Date:  8-16-15

          Most people have heard the term, "With independence comes responsibility."  Many children beg their parents for more independence and freedom, but don't realize what the other side of the deal is.  Someone with independence must be trusted to make good decisions without as much outside advice.  That's why it's important to find the right balance of independence for any kid.

          The reason I chose this prompt is because of how big of a role independence plays in the story.  Jeremy, the main character decides to try to live on his own for a long period of time.  A lot of kids don't realize how huge certain decisions can be, and they need help making some of them.  Therefore, independence at Jeremy's age can be dangerous or risky in enlarged amounts.  However, independence is a great way to prepare teenagers for adulthood and to slowly expose them to self reliance in the real world.

          Even as an adult, independence should still be carefully managed.  At an older age, adults know how to take care of themselves, but definitely still should take advice from others, and listen to other ideas.  Team building, and collaborative experiences, mean nothing with pure independence and self reliance.  Companies, teams, and groups of people need to work together to become truly successful, and the qualities of a good leader are being able to work well with others, and listen to their ideas.

Why do you think the author chose to write about the topic of their book? (Abduction) 8-16-15

Prompt:  Why do you think the author chose to write about the topic of their book?

Date:  8-16-15

          It's pretty common for an author to write about something that happened to them as a child, or something that really affected their lives as a child.  Peg Kehret has written two books about a kidnapping experience that I know of, and there could possibly be more.  If you asked me what influenced Kehret to write about this topic I wouldn't be able to tell you.  However, I would be able to make a couple of guesses.

          It is probable that the author didn't personally get kidnapped as a child, but maybe witnessed a kidnapping or similar event.  It is even more likely that the topic is one that has always interested her, or one that she often heard her parents talk about, or saw on the news.  In most cases, an author doesn't just write about something they've never heard of or thought about.  Another book of hers that I've read and will be blogging on, is "Hideout."  It's about a boy named Jeremy whose parents were killed in a terrorist shooting at a mall.  As you can see, the topics of her book are somewhat similar, and most likely were built of a specific experience of Kehret's childhood.

          If I turned out to become an author, I'm pretty sure I would write about something that interested me, or a topic that I could easily relate to.  Edgar Allen Poe is a internationally known poet, who wrote poetry about his dark and depressing childhood.  Events and experiences that happen to a person through both their childhood and adulthood are what make up their personalities.  Someone who is really interested in computer programming, will probably not write about an experience as a pro football player.  While reading books from well known authors, I've often realized that the author's personality can reflect on the personality of their character.

         

Can you relate to, and understand the main character's thoughts and decisions in your book? (Abduction) 8-16-15

Prompt:  Can you relate to, and understand the main character's thoughts and decisions in your book?

Date:  8-16-15

          One of the books that I finished over the summer, was one called "Abduction."  This book is about a girl named Bonnie who ends up having to unravel the mystery of the kidnapping of her younger brother Matt.  Throughout this novel, she has to make several decisions that could possibly mean the difference between life and death for herself, and her brother as well.  With this blog, I plan to break down Bonnie's thoughts and decisions to see what I would have done in a certain situation in comparison to Bonnie.

          An example of a situation where Bonnie had to make an extremely important decision, was when Bonnie sees Denny Thurman, (Matt's kidnapper) and Matt heading down an escalator at a Mariners game, and has a very short amount of time to decide whether she should call the police, or chase after them.  The book quotes, "She had only a moment to decide:  run to a phone and call the police - or follow Matt and Denny down the escalator."  In my opinion, calling the police is most likely the best decision in this scenario, and many others similar to it.  However, my natural instinct would be to immediately run for my younger sibling and do whatever I could to get him away from the kidnapper, and that would be hard to overcome.  Later in the book, Bonnie reflects on her final decision and how everything might've played out differently if she hadn't done what she did.  I'm not going to quote her though, as to not spoil the story for future readers.

            After Bonnie and Matt escaped from Denny at a restaurant, they had to choose whether to hide or run, and that decision did affect how the rest of the story played out.  Personally, I would hide, considering I would have a younger child who would most definitely slow us down, and have us caught.  Again, I'm not going to actually quote the book so I don't spoil the story.

          Decisions are very important in life, even the ones that aren't nearly as big as some of the choices in the book.  They're also interesting to think about and to analyze the consequences of them.  Therefore, make sure you carefully think out every decision you make, if you have the time.

       

Paradox Reflections 5-21-15

Date:  5-21-15

Prompt:  1)  Read “Paradox and Dreams” by John Steinbeck

2)  Underline and/or highlight every paradox that you come across

3)  Choose two paradoxes that speak to you and reflect

4)  Reflections should be at least two paragraphs in length, should include a topic sentence, and include quotes to support your reasoning.

"We say we are self-reliant, yet at the same time, we are completely dependent."

          I think this paradox resembles how many Americans argue, and fight for freedom or independence, yet they are so dependent on so many different factors, and they don't even realize it.  It kind of comes back to the claim that many people want things, just because they don't already have them, even if it isn't realistic at all.  Many citizens act like they're getting everything on their own, and doing all the work, yet buying already prepared meals at the grocery store isn't doing all the work.  This common mistake by citizens is a modern day illusion.

          This paradox is right at the front of our nose, just waiting for us to notice it.  In my life, along with 99% of other teenage relationships with family and teachers, all we want, is to be left alone to do our own thing.  Again, all the time we are requesting and begging for that freedom and self-reliance, we don't realize how dependent on our instructors and parents we actually are.  Without them, we wouldn't have an education, food, water, or shelter for that matter.  There are times where these requests are reasonable, when they come in small manner, asking for small favors pertaining to have our own responsibilities.  However, there are also often times where we just don't realize how much we actually would have to do without them.  You end an argument with your parents, tell them how strict and over-protective they are, and how much they're in your business, and then you walk into your room to a made bed, and folded piles of clothes without even giving them a second thought.

"We shout that we are a nation of laws, not men - and then proceed to break every law we can if we can get away with it."

          Many people in our nation, claim that they're something that they might not actually be.  It's sort of a mix between exaggeration, and actually thinking you're better than you are at something.  I think that when Americans have a certain quality, like a good law system, they tend to brag about them, even if they don't use it or take advantage of it.  I mean, we are a country of freedom, our roads are, "paved in gold," and yet we are thousands of dollars in debt.  We don't use our privileges!

          I can relate to this paradox because of personal experiences between me and my siblings.  One of us will get something that the other really wanted, and we would brag and brag about it, even if it didn't apply to us, or if we couldn't use it the proper way.  Our country has all the right aspects and qualities to be great and really successful, but we make mistakes and don't pay attention to the great things we could be doing.

Final Reflection of 7th Grade 5-19-15

Date:  5-19-15

          My seventh grade year at Heritage Middle School turned out pretty well.  I learned a lot of new things, and created a lot of memories.  However, I feel that the most important thing that I learned in Mrs. Larson's LA/Lit class, is that time management can, and will, mean the difference between success and failure.  Time management issues were probably my largest struggles that I had to overcome this year, in order to do well in my classes, and in other activities such as sports.  Also, an experience that we shared in this class, that I'll remember for my whole life, was when we attended the musical, "Shrek", presented at Morton West High School, and by its students.  This event really stuck out at me, because even though I still don't have that much of an interest in theater, it really influenced me to feel a new appreciation for performance, and the effort put into musicals and plays.

          Throughout the year, our class has seemed to work really well and efficiently together, and we've cooperated, and helped each other out.  The most generous and nicest thing that someone did for me this year, was text me what went on in class, what was explained, and what we were expected to complete for homework, when I was absent and sick from school.  They didn't have to notify me, it wasn't their responsibility to help me out, but they did and it really made a difference.  I hope they realize that it really did help me complete my work.  I also am proud of the nice things I've taught my peers and teachers, and all of the things I did for them as well.  I'm so glad we could work together and make our lives easier in our LA/Lit class.  The most significant thing that I taught, or helped guide their thinking rather, was how to suceed within our AoWs or Article of the Weeks.  There was one particular student who was having a little trouble with their AoWs, but who had much more potential then needed to do well with them.  I just helped them start their engines, and guide their own learning, so they could do well on their own with their own learning goals afterwards.

          I can say with a lot of certainty, that my diction, vocabulary, or word choice is the area that I built the most off of, and made the most improvements in.  The other day, I went back to look at my first few blogs, and the difference between my wording at the beginning of the year, and now, is alarming and staggering.  There are a lot of skills that I've mastered within my years of education, that I've had trouble finding too many realy life scenarios where I'd actually have to use them.  However, I can now see the purpose of vocabulary, and how far it could possibly take me in my life.  I can tell that the weekly vocabulary tests, AoWs, blogs, and other challenging activities within, and outside of class, is what helped bring my diction to what it is currently.  That was what I made the most improvement upon, but the worst part of this year, or most challenging obstacle to overcome, was again, time management.  I so often found myself up at 10:00 p.m, finishing blogs, or Articles of the Week on Thursday night.  I even sometimes had to wake up early in the morning to finish my work, and sometimes took tests without hardly studying at all.  I was sleep deprived, and full of anxiety every Thursday night, and I know for a fact that I'm going to organize my time so much more efficiently in 8th grade.

          I can't even pick out a "best piece of writing" from this year, probably because it's pretty hard to analyze your own work, and because there's so much of it.  However, I can tell that my blogs have really increased in quality, and have now began to show what kind of work I can really incoorporate into my writing.  I think it's important that people don't look at their own, and others' work, and analyze it off of length, or size.  The size of a paper doesn't have nearly as much to do with how good it is, as its content and thought or effort put into it does.

          My favorite book that I read in class this year was, "Of Mice and Men".  I say this because even though I'd read the book before we started it during our class, I didn't originally get nearly as much out of the book than I did the second time.  The first time, I mainly read the book solely off of recommendation and entertainment, whereas the second time, I was actually analyzing the meaning, messages, characters, and setting behind the story, along with the author and his life.  This experience really reminded me of how you might watch a movie when you were younger and see it a certain way, or with a certain point of view, but when you're older, you start to see all kinds of different hidden meanings, jokes, and character similarities or comparisons.

          The most valuable piece of advice that I can give to Mrs. Larson's next class, is to give every piece of work your very best effort, because it's going to end up so much easier, than having to redo the assignment several times, because you didn't try your best or put all your thought into it.  Don't forget time management too!  Start your work early so you aren't cramming for a test or hurrying to get stuff done at the last minute!  I promise, you'll see improvement in the quality of your work if you do it this way.  Trust me, I went through time organiztion problems, and I learned the hard way, from experience.  Listen to my advice, and your time in this class shouldn't be that bad.

         

OMAM Movie vs Book Comparison (Sections 3 and 4) 5-14-15

Date:  5-14-15

          "Of Mice and Men" has both a movie, and book, both with similar, but different endings.  The book ends with a quote from Carlson, to Curley about George and Slim.  The movie ends with a flashback of George and Lennie together.  The flashback at the end of the movie shows George and Lennie walking together, calmly, naturally, and in a friendly manner, as if they were really close to each other.  They're walking in a light, yet shaded, and very peaceful field, facing away from the screen or camera, in a casual fashion.  This flashback obviously represents the tight and dependent relationship that exists between George and Lennie, and the bond between them, that connects their companionship or friendship.  

          Previous to our viewing of the film, I had predicted what the response or reaction of our class would be as the credits rolled.  As I had inferred, everyone was silent, and seemed to be deep in thought.  We were thinking about the message of the story, its outcome, and the content of it.  I can say with certainty that the director chose to end the movie this way, instead of how the book ended the story, because of the opportunity or chance that they were given.  Think about how hard it might be, to describe a flashback in a book, while having the readers know it's a flashback, with it having the same impact as physically showing it.  Having the ability to explicitly show a message on screen, in the perfect, if not almost exact way that you want the reader to see it, is a privilege.  The director of the movie ended it perfectly with the readers experiencing a mixture of awe, wonder, compassion, and grief, along with positively many other emotions that wrapped the message of the movie up in a very unique and flawless manner.

          The line that finishes the book is said by Carlson, and says, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?"  This quote really tells me that Carlson didn't understand the relationship between George and Lennie at all.  I mean, to not show any signs of sympathy towards George, or any signs of even acknowledgment that he understood how George felt.  Maybe this was because Carlson, along with the majority of the other men, travel alone and haven't really experienced the kind of friendship that George and Lennie had, or maybe it was because Carlson felt that George wanted to kill Lennie because he was actually a bad person, for some reason.  Honestly, I haven't completely figured that part out yet.  This line is a little bit of a final topic switch or an extra tiny twist to analyze about the book.  You know, I don't feel as much anger or annoyance at Carlson's inadvertent ignorance, as I feel sorry for him.  I think Carlson said that last quote, because he didn't understand what George was feeling, and why.  To be working, traveling, and living practically alone without the feeling of love that George and Lennie shared, isn't even imaginable to me.  Therefore, when Carlson first said that line, I was in disbelief and a little angry, but now I feel only sympathy and feel sorry towards Carlson's numbness.  

          In my opinion, the reason this book was so great, is because of how it can relate and appeal to practically anyone.  I strongly and passionately recommend this book to anyone who's ever known or felt a strong relationship with family, or friends, and I truly hope that this story provokes them and guides them to similar feelings and thoughts that I experienced while reading "Of Mice and Men."  The biggest or the most substantial impact that rubbed off on me throughout this story, was the true privilege and importance of friendship.  As I've proceeded through my childhood, friendship and tight personal relationships have always been taken advantage of, along with take granted for by me.  It is the same with the theme of hopes and dreams throughout the book and movie.  Without hopes, dreams, people you love, bonds, relationships, and friendships, there's absolutely nothing to strive for.  What is life without those aspects?  That's the question that was invoked in me, by "Of Mice and Men", and its answer is nothing.

AOW Impressions 5-5-15

Date:  5-5-15

          This week's AOW Gallery Walk was quite like to the previous ones we've experienced, because several of the articles were the same, or very similar depending on what our world is experiencing at the time.  For example, there were at least seven articles this week, covering the devastating earthquake in Nepal.  However, there are always a decent amount of students who decide to challenge themselves and supply the rest of the class with a different story.  Personally, those are the articles I enjoy the most, because there's more information on the topic, considering we already know a lot about the popular topics.

          I really appreciate the opportunity our teacher offers us with these Gallery Walks.  I rarely am fully aware of the events that take place in our world, and I use these presentations to help get me on track with everything on the news, and on TV.  Another aspect of these AOWs that I've taken advantage of and noticed, is that on the news, they hardly give all the details on a subject, and through these articles, many of our original questions on an event can be answered.

          These AOW displays can really help increase all kinds of different skills, or change them for the better.  Some of these skills are presenting, listening, and note taking.  Also, by selecting different articles that should be important to people all over the world, we can extend or break free of our comfort zones.  The great thing about these whole class activities, is that often, when someone is describing a story to you, you'll be struck or influenced with new ideas.  Whether that's because of how you relate to the characters, or how the story surprised you, or any other connections.  Different articles might cause someone to want to help out in a conflict, change their actions, who knows.

Dreams Poetry 5-3-15

Prompts:  1)  "Using "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns as inspiration, write a short poem expressing what happens when you have a dream and it doesn't come true."  2)  "Based on your brainstorming via Edmodo, write a short poem elaborating on your dream and/or why dreams or visions are an important part of life."

Date:  5-3-15

When Dreams Break Down

Anticipations

Special destinations

Dreams of work or jobs

Dream vacations

Work hard, you may

Fight, try, and also pray

The reality within

Might choose not to stay

All about your goal, you'll want to learn

Until suddenly, your interest takes a turn

Something else big, then fills your mind

At the blink of an eye, you've lost concern

As you can see, plans don't always work out

However, nothing will be gained, by starting to pout

The road to a new possibility

Should be your new route

As a door shuts, another is left ajar

New visions will be seen, from very afar

Feelings of doubt and hardship, will fill your head

But you can do it, reach for that star

  

Total Happiness 

My ultimate dream, plan, or scheme

Is to compete on a professional basketball team

But that's not all, not even half

I want to be around people I love, who make me laugh

Family and friends, are the most important part

Without them in my heart, I wouldn't know where to start

People to come home to, while knowing

They'd keep me and growing

Dreams for us, are very much a necessity 

When it comes to keeping us trying, goals are the recipe

Without our will to try hard for our dreams, and endure the suffering

Life's meaning, would add up to nothing

OMAM Conflicts 5/1/15

Prompt:  Explore two or more conflicts from "Of Mice and Men" deeply, and discover the effect they had on the plot.

Date:  5/1/15

***SPOILER ALERT***

          Curley's fight with Lennie was one of the main conflicts of the story, and I feel like it was the first major problem, that set the scene for other possible future fights.  After Lennie had crushed Curley's hand, I thought Curley was going to find a way to come back for revenge, however, that never really happened.  The book states, "Curley’s face reddened. “I’m goin’,” he said. “I’m gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand. I’m gonna get ‘im.”  This shows me how the fights and confrontation between Curley and Lennie brought the tension in Curley to the climax, and that this was the last straw, when Lennie killed Curley's Wife.

          Another conflict of the story, was how Candy's dog got shot.  In the story, it said, "A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him.

For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent."  This textual information helped me realize that the death of Candy's dog didn't really play too much of a role in the plot, however, it was definitely very important because of how it portrayed a message or part of the moral of the story.  I feel that companionship and loneliness played a huge part in what this novella is defined for.  Candy was a very old man, and his best friend was his pet.  Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to see that Candy felt very remorseful and sorrowful when he didn't do it himself, and had his dog forced away from him.

Conflict	Type of Conflict	Effect
Curley fights Lennie	Man vs Man	Curley might want to come back for revenge.  Curley’s hand is also completely broken.
Candy’s dog gets shot	Man vs Self	Candy feels remorse, and guilt for agreeing to the killing of his old dog.  It really lowered his self-esteem.
Lennie grads dress at weed	Man vs Man	George and Lennie are forced to hide in an irrigation ditch, and run from Weed.
Lennie and his mental disability	Man vs Self	Lennie forgets things very often, he gets in a fight with Curley, and isn’t able to communicate his feelings very well.
George’s frustration with Lennie	Man vs Man	George always yells at Lennie, and often confuses him because Lennie isn’t sure what he did wrong.
George is forced or obligated to shoot Lennie	Man vs Self	George is going to feel a lot of remorse for what he did, and he took Lennie’s life for his own good because he had to.

OMAM Guidance Questions 4-22-15

Prompt:  Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse. Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.  Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name?   What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck  trying to send by not giving her a first name?  Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

Date:  4-22-15

Commented on:  Mia C., Saul G., and Siari R.

          I feel that by describing the bunkhouse and ranch, the author is kind of setting the stage for future events or for the ongoing plot.  The bunkhouse seems a little eerie because of the described lighting, and the characters on the ranch all have unique personalities.  What I've noticed, is that no men are traveling together like George and Lennie are.  They all seem to be taking their own paths, in their own way.  Slim even explicitly states it when he says, "Funny how you an' him string along together."   He also says, "Oh, I dunno.  Hardly none of the guys ever travel together."  This tells me that I was right when I thought that there weren't too many other pairs.  All of the men have different personalities, either explicitly, or implicitly described, or both.  There's George who has a really bad temper, and is, in a way, street smart.  He watches out for Lennie as well.  Lennie is a big, lumbering man, who wouldn't purposely hurt anyone.  He's very slow when it comes to thinking, and seems to be mentally disabled in some way.  Another character is Curley, and he seems to be becoming the main antagonist.  He's starting to pick on Lennie, just because Lennie's big, and he seems extremely arrogant and cocky.  I can identify Curley's personality in the book when it says, "Curley's like a lot of little guys, he hates big guys.  He's alla time picking scraps with big guys  Kind of like he's mad at em' because he ain't a big guy.  You seen little guys like that, ain't you?  Always scrappy?"  That statement tells readers a little bit about Curley and sets the scene for possible future events.

          I think that by not giving Curley's Wife a first name, Steinbeck is trying to show how women were unfairly looked at in the past.  They didn't have rights as men did, and they were almost looked at as a piece of property.  This has definitely changed as we've moved into the future, but we have to remember when reading this book, that the past was a completely different time.  If all the guys on the ranch respected her for her personality and didn't just pay attention to how she looked, and they didn't look at her as property, they might have called her by her first name.  In the book, they call her "Curley's Wife", and they also called her several offensive names, such as "tart".  They describe her as a lady who dresses and acts teasingly, and she's always giving other men, "The eye."  The book has Candy and George having a convorsation about her, and they say, "Purty?' he asked.  'Yeah.  Purty... but --'   'But what?'   'Well, - she got the eye."  This tells me that they're judging Curley's Wife, and that they don't really respect her that much.
        

Analyze your performance in Battle of the Books 4-16-15

Prompt:  Analyze your performance in Battle of the Books

Date:  4-16-15

Commented on:  Joseph H., Evie C., and Giovanna G.

          Although I was reluctant to join in the first place, I feel that Battle of the Books has done a lot of good for me.  (That is, besides the extra-credit).  For those of you that don't know, Battle of the Books is basically a competition where you read books from a list, as a team, and then answer questions about the book in a trivia event against other groups.

          First off, knowing that I had a responsibility to fulfill for my team, I was motivated to read more books than I normally would on average.  Also, I tend to read books and not really think too much about the content or what everything means, I just go with the story.  However, with Battle of the Books, you have to memorize authors, and be able to remember quotes, or other important details from the stories.  Therefore, skimming quickly through the books isn't going to get you anywhere.  You have to carefully analyze and examine what you're reading.  I feel like this new way of reading for me isn't going to just leave me now, I think I've developed a habit and now I might be more aware to what I'm reading.

        I know for a fact that with my friends and I, along with a plethora of other students I'm sure, we have a natural competitive natural about us, and don't like to lose, or give up easily.  This way, I think we're feel more obligated to do our best.  During the competition, we divided the books up evenly amongst ourselves, and we have to relay the correct answer to our captain for them to say to the judges.  That part of the contest really helped us work well as a team and it incorporated teamwork into the whole thing.

          Even though we didn't do the greatest in the contest, we improved from last year and did pretty well with doing each of our parts.  I'm proud of my team, and maybe we'll do it over again next year.

Poetry Reflection 3-25-15

Prompt:  Based on our study of poetry, please take the time now to reflect and respond to what you have learned.

Date:  3-25-15

          Poetry does have a significant effect on my life, because of how it makes me think of every day events.  After having to analyze line after line for all kinds of poems, and having to rack my mind for new ideas to include in my lines, I have a natural instinct to think harder about almost everything.  Also, there's been poetry constructed about practically every aspect of life, so poems with different word choice and point of view has really changed my perspective on many topics.  Speaking of word choice, I feel that poetry has really opened my mind up to new vocabulary and diction.  Authors have included all kinds of words in their works of poetry, whose meanings I discovered with context clues.  Now I can incorporate them into my own writing and speech.

          I feel that the majority of people in this world, especially students and previous students, have had some sort of connection, or relationship to poetry.  Some people might not like or appreciate poetry as much as others, but in my opinion, everyone's affected by poetry in a positive way at some point.  I'm confident about this theory, because of how I think of my experiences with poetry.  Honestly, poetry isn't exactly on my favorite subject list.  However, I've taken a lot away from all the lessons we've been given, and event though it might be boring to me, I've gotten a lot of good out of poetry.  Therefore, I feel that several other students have had similar relationships with poetry, and other topics.

          We've gone through this discussion before, and I definitely do think the life or experiences of a poet affect their writing style.  Our class has discussed the example of Edgar Allan Poe, and I also like to use the example of myself.  Due to my interest and love towards sports, I've realized that many of my poems reflected back or were about sports.  Depending on the author's general lifestyle, and whether or not it was more negative or positive.  I really think it would be easier for someone to write about something that they've experienced and what their more open to.  Can't you see how it wouldn't be to easy for someone to write about a really negative life and experience, if they've grown up with everything great?  That's how I think the life of a poet changes their poetry.