Emily's Super Cool Blogs (try to enjoy!)

Prompt: In the first chapter, we found out that Thi's father Bô was not in the delivery room with Má when their children were born. What do you think about that when you read that? And by the end of the book, did you ideas shift? If so, how and why? If not, how and why not? In the first chapter Ma says that Bo was not present for all of his children birth. For Thi's birth Bo was actually at the movie theater. When I read this I thought that this was part of their culture. Ma also seemed to be okay with this. I also feel like this might have something to do with generations. It might have been okay for Bo not to be their for his children's birth than if Travis wasn't there for his child's birth. I think that Bo and Ma's relationship had something to do with why Bo didn't come to the delivery of his children. Throughout the book my thoughts developed about Bo's absents. I believe that he was very scared for Ma and he didn't want to see her in ...

Q: What character do you find most interesting in the story? Why? Point to specific parts of the text to discuss this. ^The two people I found most interesting was The Misfit and the grandmother. This is beacause they really go well together ad they are connected in the story because without eachother the story wouldn't have meaning.^ *The Misfit was very calm and knowledgeable when we meet him. This is the opposite for the grandmother. The grandma is very hyper, energetic, and has a lack of sympathy. When the story climaxed the grandma started to become more calm. She also believed in the Misfit and she thought he was a good person. “Listen,” the grandmother almost screamed, “I know you're a good man. You don't look a bit like you have common blood. I know you must come from nice people!” This proves the point that the grandma believed in him. The Misfit was very intelligent, in my opinion. A quote that stood out to me was, “ She would have been a good woman,” the Misfi...

Q: Marjane must learn new cultural expectations, including but not limited to religion, language, gender, and living situations. In what ways does this affect Marjane? In the second part of Persepolis Marjane moves to Europe. When she first moves there she notices that a lot of things she was used to was completely different than what the normal cultural expectations in Europe were. I think that the thing she would normally not do but she does anyway is smoking. This is from peer preassure not because she actually wants to but she wanted to fit in with the people she hung out with. She noticed that in Europe it was okay to have sex before marriage and she wasn't used to it. On page 186 Marjane was very disturbed but this changed her view later on in the book. She didn't think that sex before marriage was okay until the cultural difference started to have an influence on her on page 213 when she said that she was "too ugly for him to want her." Marjane chang...

I read a book called, Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld. It is about a society in which everyone turned “pretty” after their 16th birthday. Before they are 16 years old they are considered ugly. The two main characters are named Tally and Shay. Tally meets Shay and they become friends and they played a lot tricks. On the night before their birthdays (they had the same one) Shay asks Tally to run away to the Smoke. The Smoke is a place where people are all ugly but they live like normal people because they don't get the procedure to turn them pretty. Tally says no but later on this group called, Special Circumstances, questions Tally about Shay and tells her that she can’t turn pretty until she finds Shay with a note that only Tally can understand. Tally finds the Smoke but she ends up liking it. She lies to the people there until she feels like it’s her home. Special Circumstances gave her a pendant which would track her as soon as she opened it. It throws it in the fire assumi...

Of all the texts that we've read this year, which one is your favorite, and why? Which one is your least favorite, and why? My favorite text that we read this year was definitely The Great Gatsby. I liked The Great Gatsby because it is very lively and visual. I also enjoyed the movie with all of the colors and the actors. My least favorite book was The Merchant of Venice. I disliked this book because I don't understand Shakespear. To be honest I didn't really understand the book. For me it was a very bland book. The Great Gatsby and The Merchant of Venice are two very different books. In the end I prefer The Great Gatsby.

Write about anything having to do with The Great Gatsby that you have not already discussed or wish to expand upon. In other words - what interested you about this novel and what do you have to say about it? Something that I thought about while reading The Great Gatsby was the possibility of Daisy staying with Gatsby after the hotel scene. I think that it would be very different if they stayed together. I feel as if the death of Myrtle wouldn't have happened. If it did I think it would have been Tom who accidentally killed her because he would have been angered because Daisy chose Gatsby in this case. I also think that things between Gatsby and Daisy would be tense because she already stated that she loved Tom once. In conclusion, I believe that things would be more calm if Daisy stayed with Gatsby rather than Tom.

How does Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel, fundamentally change over the course of the novel, and how is this change caused by the central conflict(s) that Gatsby faces? Use textual evidence to support your claim. I think that Gatsby's mood for Daisy changes over the book. In the beginning of the book he is very patient with Daisy, not to mention that he waited 5 years. Once he meets with her it is very awkward between them but Gatsby and Daisy finally get more comfortable with each other. Then his love grows more and more intense for her. Soon it becomes kind of controlling and desperate in my point of view. “Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now – isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once – but I loved you too." (7.261) I think that this quote shows how Gatsby only wanted Daisy to love him and no one else. He then gets so angry and almost hurts To...

What is the climax (turning point) of the novel? How do you know? How is the central conflict addressed in the climax? Use textual evidence to back up your claims. There are two possible turning points in The Great Gatsby. They are when Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in a long time (chapter 5-6) and when Tom and Gatsby fight the hotel (chapter 7). I believe that the climax of the novel is when Tom and Gatsby fight in the hotel. This fight is over who loves Daisy more and Gatsby tells Tom that she loves him more and she always has. Tom disagrees but also admits that he has “cheated” and he says “And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." (7.251-252) Later on in the book Daisy actually runs away with Tom instead of Gatsby, which makes Gatsby in a very melancholy manner. I think that this is the climax because after a climax there has to be a big fa...

Prompt: In chapter 5, when Daisy and Gatsby meet, how is weather used to create mood, and what mood(s) is created? In chapter 5, Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in 5 years. In the morning, when Gatsby sends people to Nick's house to fix it up a bit, it is raining. Gatsby is nervous and scared of reuniting with Daisy. Gatsby doesn't think that it will be the same between him and Daisy. When Daisy comes to Nick’s house it is still raining. When Nick and Daisy enter the house Nick expects Gatsby to be sitting in the same place he was before. To Nick’s surprise Gatsby is gone, but he then hears a knock at the door and he finds Gatsby drenched in rain. Gatsby goes into Nick’s house with a scared attitude and his meeting was very awkward with Daisy. Nick leaves but Gatsby catches him before he can and tells him he should stay and that the meeting was a big mistake. At this point it is still raining, but when Nick comes back he finds Gatsby glowing with happiness an...

Prompt: In the first two pages of the novel, Nick Carraway claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgment." Do you find that this is true so far? Please provide textual evidence to support your position. When Nick Carraway claims that he is not judgemental, this statement became a quote that was very questionable. I believe that he will become more judgemental throughout the story. As the narrator, Nick has to eventually give his own thoughts about people in the story. This book was meant to show the reader what other people think about you. Nick narrates what other people think and judge about people, but he also does the same. A paragraph after he states that he is “inclined to reserve all judgment” he then says, “Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes but after a certain point I don't care what it's founded on.” This meant that he doesn't care if he judges. Nick is also quite fond of Gatsby and he is the “only one” who sees the good i...

Describe the characteristics of the type of play that you are reading (history, tragedy, or comedy). How does your play conform to these characteristics. Does it differ? If so, in what way? I am studying Henry V for my play. It is a historical play that was written in 1599. Characteristics of a historical play include English monarchs, dangers of civil war, and glorification of queens. I feel like Henry V was more of a play leading up to a fight not a war. It was not considered a civil war in the play. Also there wasn't very much information of a queen in the play. It was about Henry V trying to be a monarch. It would be more relevant if he was already the king/monarch in the play. It would have made it more clear that the play was a historical one.

Reflect on your project. How did it go? Do you feel like it was successful? If you could change something about the process or the outcome, what would you do differently? Would you do this type of project again? Be sure to briefly describe your project before reflecting upon it?           My project was about how the women in The Merchant of Venice and how they weren't like the women during the time it was written in but more like women in the modern ages. It went well and I feel like I did a pretty good job getting my point across. I wrote a paper and I took examples of women being strong, independent, and modern.  I think I did a pretty good job doing this.  Presenting it was a bit confusing because I didn't know if I should have read my paper, make a slide, or talk about it.  I just decided to make a overview of my report and just talk about what I found.  I could have been better at presenting but I am pretty shy when it comes to presen...

Write about anything having to do with The Merchant of Venice that you did not already write about that interests you.      In The Merchant of Venice something that interested me was that when Jessica and Lorenzo decided to elope. I think that this was something that was very uncommon thing to do in the 16th century.  I feel as though Jessica would have been judged by a lot of women and obviously her dad. Women usually had big eventful weddings in the 16th century and what Jessica and Lorenzo did was very strange. When they eloped I would have liked to see other characters reactions. I thought this was interesting because there weren't many reactions to the elopement. People in the 16th century defiantly didn't elope and they didn't want to on a norm.

Q: At the end of the play, social order should be restored. One facet of this in the 16th century is men having dominance over women. Is this true in this play? Who has the upper-hand, and why? Provide textual evidence. Out of all 20 characters there are only 3 women. These women were Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica.  The women in The Merchant of Venice had a big role in the play and were not like the women in the 16th century. They are more like the women in our community today. The women in the play were strong, independent, and modern.  These characteristics would be thought of as proper to women during the 16th century.  It is true that men in the 16th century were dominant over women but in this play I believe that they were quite even in social status. They help their husbands like a women in the 16th century old but they didn't just do housework or come to events with them. The women chose to help their husbands and fight with them. Portia and Nerissa tricked their ...

Q: Who owns the narrative in the play? In other words, is this play more about Antonio (the merchant of Venice) or Shylock? Discuss who the protagonist and antagonist are and why.       I think that the narrative in the play is Antonio because he is the Merchant of Venice, but I also think that Shylock has a really big part in the play.  This is because he is the antagonist and without an antagonist the play wouldn't be very interesting. Shylock is a kind of stereotype which is a bit overemphasized.  Shylock also wants to kill his daughter which is pretty bad.  Antonio is very innocent and is just going through life without giving people a hard time and he is accomplishing things.  I think that Antonio is the protagonist.  I think that there are a lot of protagonists in this story and mainly one antagonist.   

Emily Routbort Dr. Quillin ELA 01 February 2017 Blog post #14  Q: In Act 1, we are introduced to the major characters in the play. Which one do you find most interesting and why?           In act 1, scene 2 I found that the most interesting character was Portia.  This is because she was so picky about the person who she was going to marry.  Any girl would be picky about who they were going to marry but she had some interesting reasons as to why she wouldn't marry any of the suitors. Examples are; one of them was too fond of their horse and another was too serious. She also had a weird way of how she was going to choose her husband. That was if they chose the right box. I think that was kind of bizarre because in most old stories women chose their husband by seeing who was the most athletic or stunning. The punishment for not choosing the right box was that the suitors could not marry anyone. I think that Portia was very interesting in...

Write about something that you have not talked about in the Odyssey. In the book, The Odyssey, I thought it was very strange how the story gave so much detail of how Odysseus killed the suitors. I believe that this made Odysseus look very gruesome and not at all king like. In my opinion I don't believe that a king should act like how he did.  Not to mention the killing of the women was also very gruesome.  This might have been because it was so long ago (Not that it actually happened) and that we aren’t really supposed to put logic into our thoughts when reading this book.  I would have liked to see what happened to Odysseus if the fathers of the suitors didn’t have a spell of forgetness casted over them.

Find three examples of formulaic language (include them here) and explain how you think these might have been helpful when singing or speaking the Odyssey in the oral tradition. Throughout the book, Odyssey, there are many examples of formulaic language. Three examples that I saw were; godlike Odysseus, Athena the Grey-eyed One, and red-haired Menelaus.  The reason for formulaic language in this book is to remind the reader who the character is. In the Odyssey, there are so many characters and the formulaic language helps people remember who that character is. Formulaic language gives imagery as well. I think that formulaic language can help people when singing the Odyssey because of how long it is and would be to sing it. It emphasizes the character's role and in general, who the are.

Prompt: In the first four books, we are also introduced to Telemachus' mother and Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Using textual evidence, discuss her role in the story so far.      In the first four books Penelope, Odysseus’ wife is introduced to the audience. Throughout the book Penelope is very sad and depressed due to her missing husband. On page 66 the book states, “So the old nurse soothed Penelope's grief and let her eyes dry.” This quote means that she is sad throughout the first 4 books. I feel like Penelope was a character who was a motivation to many of the people in the book. Telemachus’ motivation to find his dad was driven by the Gods as well as the motivation to keep his travels secret from people was partially because he was trying to prevent his mother from becoming more sad. The suitor’s motivation to stay at Odysseus’ house is clearly that all of them want to marry Penelope.  They also enjoy using Odysseus's resources instead of their own. The reason w...

Prompt:  Write about anything having to do with the book that interested about which you did not get to write or discuss yet. In the book, Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass, I found it interesting that all of the overseers had a last name that related to something bad. For instance Mr. Severe and Mr. Gore. When Douglass was held as a slave by these overseers his life wasn't very good. I find it interesting that most of the bad overseers had a name that related to something bad. When Mr. Severe died he was replaced with another overseer. The book says that the new overseer was a good overseer (not that any overseer is actually good but he was better than Mr. Severe).  His name didn't relate to something bad. His name was Mr. Hopkins and he was considered a good overseer because he didn't take pleasure in whipping the slaves.