Group Earnest Essay!!

So,
I'm doing the paragraph on dairies for our essay (topic #6). My first concrete detail is when Cecily says that dairies are a sensational read on the train. Second is when Cecily is talking about how she write everything down in her diary or else she would forget it. My final detail is when the two girls are comparing diaries while they are trying to figure out who the real Ernest is. Basically, I want to relate all these points back to the three-volume novel and show how they are pretty much the same. For my transition sentence, I'll say that diaries relate to three-volume novels as do the sermons...

Sound good?

Victorian Era?

Before I researched the Victorian Era I basically knew that it was a time period in England and there was a playwright named Oscar Wilde who wrote a play called The Importance of being Earnest which I hadn't read. Even in the beginning of the project, I was still quite confused about what exactly went on during that time period and how it related to the play we were about to read. After a few periods of researching, I wrote my first question. And thats when it finally clicked-the play was set in the Victorian Era!

Over the next few days, I struggled to find questions that would help me learn about components of the Era that would be actually relevent. I learned a lot about the Victorian Era while doing this and it greatly contributed to my understanding of this play. Looking back, although writing those questions was tedious, I don't think I would have enjoyed or understood the play as much if I had not done the project.

2010!!

Think for a while about what you would like to improve about yourself or your life and make a new year's resolution. Write at least two paragraphs - one focusing on your inspiration for this goal (your shortcomings or areas for improvement) and the other focused on the goal itself and your on-going plan for achievement.

This needs to be realistic and must be something you can work on every month of the year - not just during one sport season, etc. The goal does not have to be academic. Plan carefully! I'm going to check in with you on this throughout the second half of the school year.

I'm a pretty busy person, on-the-go from school to sports to friends and such. I don't always take the time to eat a healthy snack or meal in-between. I end up coming home usually late at night, practically starving and begging my caring father or mother to make me something to eat.

My resolution this year, is to learn how to cook a few types of food. This may seem rather easy, but I struggle with the motivation to learn new things when my parents can easily do it for me. That being said, they rarely agree to do these things and I should probably learn if I ever plan to leave the comfort of my parent's home.

Animal Farm-Movie

Mockingbird Motif

At the beginning of the year we discussed the meaning of "motif" as it relates to a work of literature. How has reading To Kill a Mockingbird enhanced your understanding of the term "motif?" What is the "mockingbird motif" and how does it add a symbolic level of meaning to the other themes in the novel? Write at least two well-developed paragraphs in which you address the questions above. Showcase your understanding of the characters, events, and themes in the novel as well as your ability to analyze literature thoroughly and with insight.

To Kill a Mockingbird has helped define what a motif was. I used to think motif was basically the theme. After reading the book, I've started to think of it a little bit differently. The recurring "mockingbird motif" showed me that a motif is a symbol that appears repeatedly throughout the book.
The "mockingbird" motif first came up in this book when Atticus told Scout and Jem that they could shoot at many blue jays as they wanted but it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. As the book progresses, the motif is used less literally. One example is in the last portion of the book: Atticus is advocating fro Boo to go to court, but Mr. Tate wanted to lie in order to protect Boo. Scout recognizes that like a mockingbird, Boo Radley never meant to do any harm. So, he should not be bothered. This motif contributes to one of the major themes of this book: standing in another person's shoes. Throughout the story, the author used the motif to help define the theme and give the reader a symbol to connect with throughout the book.



My computer was being crazy and wouldn't let me publish my blog post. Seriously.

Extra Credit!

I think that a one-way street sign represents Bob Ewell. People help him in many ways and he never gives anything back. Maycomb county gives him relief money and he doesn't even pay taxes. People even come to his house to give Christmas baskets even though his is a disgrace throughout the community. If you compare Bob Ewell to someone such as the Cunninghams, the only major difference is the Cunninghams give back what they take.

Life Lessons

Think of something insightful that one of your parents or another influential adult may have told you. This should be something meant to help you understand the world around you or the actions of others that resonated - something that you have thought about or considered since. Write two paragraphs: the first paragraph should explain the context and what was said, the second paragraph should discuss when and how you have thought of this since and the life lesson you learned as a result.

"Your choices show who you are, far more than your abilites," my dad used to always say. When I was younger, I would just ignore him but now that I'm older, I've started to think about it a little more.
Everyday, people have the chance do change the world in amazing ways, but they don't. At the same time, other people choose to use their abilities to help eachother. I try to think about this and how it applies to my own life. My abilities don't actually matter that much, I can be good at things but unless I choose to use them in a way that helps someone or something, my talents don't matter.