Animal Farm Power Corrupts Movie Trailer

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Poetry Out Loud Preformances

I watched Stanley Jackson (one of the top 12 finalists) recite "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and I thought the overall performance would probably be an 11 out of 12. His physical presence was good, and his voice and articulation was very precise, with good pauses. The only problem was his dramatization; it was a bit over done, in an exaggerated way. The poem was quite long, and difficult, in my opinion.

By the way Stanley expressed the poem, it seemed like he really understood the real meaning (the theme) of the poem. "I know what the caged bird feels!" is the last line of the first stanza, which means he knows how the cage bird just feels. The last line of the second stanza was "I know why he beats his wing!", which describes the cage bird's actions, and why. Finally, the last stanza was "I know why the caged bird sings!" which describes that he finally understands clearly how/why the caged bird sings. All of this is expressed clearly based on Jackson's voice/presence, and articulation.

Mockingbird Motif

At the beginning of the year, I thought that a motif was just a theme of the book. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I realized that a motif is a reoccurring theme in the novel, not just a specific theme out of many others. I now feel like I can understand the motifs in other books, and analyze them more deeply, not just reading thoughtlessly.

The mockingbird motif is pretty much a sin to kill something innocent. It was first brought up in the book by when Miss Maudie tells them that it's a sin to kill an actual mockingbird. As the story progresses, the motif gets deeper, and begins to relate things to innocence, such as Tom Robinson's case, how he was innocent, but still guilty. This describes clearly the theme of justice and injustice. Also, when Tom gets killed, the motif is brought up again by saying it was a sin to kill cripples.

Symbolism

I chose Jem as the dog and Scout as the cat because Jem is always aggressive, has his own thoughts and beliefs, and can also be playful and caring, like a dog. Scout on the other hand, sometimes does not know how to handle things, but does poke around alot, wanting to know what's going on, like a sneaky cat.

Life Lessons

My parents always tell me to be happy with what you have. When I was younger, I sometimes would want a new toy, or whatever other kids had at school. I remember complaining and being annoying to my mom and dad. They always remind me that there are people out there who don't have a home to live in, or food to feed their family. I volunteer at the food bank now, every other Wednesday, and there are a surprisingly large amount of people that come in to get food to feed their family.

I see now how lucky I am, to live in a house and have food at the table to eat. I never waste any food, even if I'm full, I finish it. (Or just put it in the fridge.) Some people don't realize that there are people that are sleeping outside in freezing temperatures, and worse. The main lesson is, be grateful for what you have; don't take things for granted.

My Best Friend

I consider my best friend the person who I've known the longest. Ever since Elementary school, we've been good friends. He always can make conversations engaging and interesting. He likes to play the guitar, skate, and rock climb. His laugh is pretty unique; he kind of shouts a little then continues to laugh. It's hard to explain. Everyone loves him; he's very easy to get along with.

I would say that he is an altruist and an extrovert. For example, if someone forgot their lunch, he would always offer them some of his, even if it was extremely delicious. He isn't scared of many things, he always is ready to do something new. He never gets embarrassed, and always likes to say hi or wave at someone he knows whenever he sees them.

My Earliest Memory

It was my first day of Kindergarten; I remember looking at all the other kids in my classroom. I had Mrs. Varano; one of the best teachers I have ever had. We didn't do much that day, we just pretty much played around, getting to know each other. I met a person named Kevin, and he was a great friend of mine all through Elementary school. The funny thing is, we talked to each other in chinese, (Yeah he's asian too :O). I didn't know much English in Kindergarten actually. I felt relieved that I had gotten to know him on the first day.

After the day was over, I remember getting on the bus and sitting with Kevin, he lived in a neighborhood near mine. The picture of the bus above was kind of how our bus was. Kids were just crowded on the bus talking in loud, irritating noises. The bus driver was probably deaf after all the cacophony. When it was my stop, I felt extremely glad that both of my parents were there to pick me up. Based on that first day of school, I had a good year of Kindergarten.

The Catcher in the Rye: Tone

The author uses tone heavily in this story. The reason is to describe the main character, Holden's, tone, or his view of life. Holden is extremely cynical, which is the main point the author wanted to describe. Many of his descriptions include mildly bad words to show Holden's attitude towards things/events that happen to him.

Salinger also describes Holden as depressed and stressed out all the time. Whenever he doesn't really get what he wants, he always thinks negatively and gets depressed. At times when Holden gets excited of his plan or something, he sort of yells, which makes things even worse, especially if that plan is horrible. Basically, the author uses tone to display Holden's perspective of life, and his reactions to it.

Outside Reading

I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye, and so far, it's pretty good. This type of book was interesting, it didn't grab my attention, but I didn't want to stop reading either. Unlike the other books that are like 200 years old, this one I can actually understand well. I'm thinking that the dominant element would be the tone, because the story is told in the main character's perspective, which is pretty negative.

The author probably decided to make tone dominant because he wanted to show how the main character's view of life was. This protagonist seems to hate many things in his life, and has a negative outlook on everything. The tone of the story would definitely be moralistically cynical, because, as I said, he always thinks about things negatively, and hates everything.

RE: Writing About Reading

I like to read all sorts of books, as long as they have some sort of adventure, action, or humor. These kinds of books are easy to enjoy and continue reading.

The main genre I read in middle school was fiction and fantasy, though I'm starting to get into more high school-level books. As for non-fiction...what's non-fiction mean? I disdain books just about facts, they're way too boring. I'm learning how to acutally understand the books that have high diction, like those on the Summer Assignment list.

Always when I begin to read a book, I pay close attention to the first few pages. This lets me know usually the setting of the story, or maybe even some hints of the author's tone. Once I know the main setting and what's going on in the book, I can easily continue reading. Sometimes when I really like a book, time goes by really fast. Overall, I love books that have a interesting beginning; it's like an insurance that I'll enjoy the story.