Collaborating on Your Group Essay - Relationships - Week 12

For my group's essay on the different relationships throughout the book, I'm focusing on the couple of Chausable and Miss Prism. Our thesis for our essay is about how Oscar Wilde uses the various different couples in the book, to satirize marriage and social relationships throughout the novel. I will begin my paragraph by talking about what stands out the most about Chausable and Miss Prism, their age. They're the oldest couple in the play, and consequently, they're very different from Algernon and Cecily, and Jack and Gwendolen.

My first CD is about how Chausable and Miss Prism are less flirtacious than the two other couples. This is a great example of how the older generations tend to be more conserved with eachother. My next CD is about how the couple speak in a slightly high diction. I use this point to show that Chausable and Miss Prism value language, and being very "politicaly correct" more than the other couples. My final point is that out of all the couples, Chausable and Miss Prism are the only ones that have jobs. The other two couples seem to be more foolish, and live a life luxory, while Chausable and Miss Prism seem to be wiser and have higher morals.

The Importance of Being Earnest/Victorian Research - Week 11

I feel that my research on the Victorian Era greatly influenced my understanding of the play "The Importance of Being Earnest". I learned that men and women had completely different roles in the social infrastructure of the time. Women were expected to stay quietly at home, while the men were away. Jack and his ward Cecicly are a great example of this. Cecicly stays at home in the country all the time, while Jack goes to and from the country and the city as he wishes.

Also, during the Victorian Era, women were often seen as being very foolish people. This is portrayed multiple times throughout the book, mainly through Gwendolen and Cecily's obsession with the name Earnest. On page 86, Gwendolen says, "We are both engaged to be married to your brother Earnest, so it is a matter of some importance to us to know where your brother Earnest is at present". Gwendolen and Cecily aren't truly in love with Jack and Algernon, they just liked the name Earnest.

Animal Farm Project - Music Video - Week 10

A music video Jacob and I made on the theme of corruption of power to the song of "Climbing Up The Walls" by Radiohead.

(Press the fullscreen in the bottom right corner of the video)

Poetry Out Loud Perfomances - Frederick Douglas - Week 9

Shawntay A. Henry's performance of Frederick Douglass by Robert E. Hayden, was one of my favorite performances, and stood out from all the rest. She spoke with very clear articulation, and her powerful pacing emphasized the dramatic tone of the poem. Shawntay's hand gestures helped add structure, without being over dramatic. Her body language helped add to her powerful stage presence, which accurately conveyed the poem's sense of dignity.

This poem is about freedom and inequality, and Shawntay expressed this through her strong physical presence. When Shawntay snaps her fingers after speeding up and growing in intensity, she transitions into a more interpretive section of the poem. Her strong articulation and dramatic pauses inbetween words add to the solemn subject of the poem, and keeps the listeners interested.

Mockingbird Motif - Week 8

When I first started working on my honors English summer assignment, I came across a new word; motif. After looking up the word in the dictionary, I got the basic understanding that it was a recurring subject, theme, or idea in a piece of literature. When working on my visual organizer for my second project, I chose motif to be the dominant literary feature. I still wasn't sure of what it was, but I just chose multiple symbols throughout the book and decided that they were the motif. And then we started to read "To Kill A Mockingbird". By first week of reading, I was already noticing the symbols in the book. That's when I finally understood that a motif was a symbol that was being repeatedly used throughout the novel to support other ideas or themes.

The mockingbird motif is used in the novel in many different ways. It is first introduced when Atticus warns Scout when he got a toy gun that it's a sin to kill a mocking, because they are innocent creatures that have done no harm. The motif was more prominently used however in the form of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Both men were very decent well-meaning people, and for this reason many people, such as Atticus, beleived they should be left alone. Atticus is always trying to teach his kids to have strong morals, and the mockingbird motif further enhances this theme of respect. However, Atticus's idea of equality clashes harshly with the prejudice present in Maycomb, creating another theme of good versus evil. When you think about all the themes and ideas present in the novel, the mockingbird motif is behind almost all of them.

Symbolism - Tom Robinson - Week 7

I chose a picture of a pitbull as a symbol of the character I'm portraying, Tom Robinson. Pitbulls are often stereotyped as very viscous, violent, unloyal, and heartless animals. Many people won't even go outside when they see a pitbull, and will call the pound, even if the dog has done nothing wrong. However, pitbulls are very friendly, loyal dogs, they even are used as service dogs for the blind and mentally disabled. Sure, some pitbulls can be very violent, but so can many other dogs. The prejudices that many pitbulls face are very similar to the stereotype that Tom Robinson is given, because of his race.

Life Lessons - Week 6

For as long as I can remember, I have always procrastinated. At this very moment, I'm writing this blog the day before it's due, I could've finished it earlier today, or even earlier this week, but as I sit here, watching The Office, I remember one of my dad's sayings, "Get it done". I have no idea when my dad started saying this, but whenever I'm taking an unusually long time on an assignment, or putting it off until the next day, a "Get it done", is sure to be heard.

I've heard this saying so many times, it's gotten a little annoying, but overall it has probably drastically improved my work ethic. I've spent many tired evenings huddling over my work trying to concentrate, but as soon as I remember my dad's saying, I'm filled with a new energy, helping me finally complete my assignment. Unfortunately, I think I'll always have a problem with procrastination, but I'll always be able to look back on my dad's saying, and get it done.