Great Expectations: First Stage

In the quote posted from the end of chapter 9, Pip is referring to his first day with Miss. Havisham and Estella. He is Also talking about a chain of memories. His chain started with this particular day. He says how these memories are special because they have changed or altered him in some way. This day altered Pip because it was his first up close encounter of the upper class. A place where the things he thought as something anyone would do like sit at the dinner table was seen as something common folk would do. He developed by coming to understand his surroundings and different kinds of places and people.

My memorable day or chain are the days when I have a realization. Some are big moments in the day or a small second out of it. For me it was a time when I learned something about life or myself. On those days I would start or add to my chain and try to change to fit those lessons. A person can have an altering day when they make the connection between something and themselves. Like how Pip saw the connection between classes and how they acted compared to each other. They are the days that make you think or instantly change your mood when you think of them.

The Importance of Being Earnest Group Essay

For my group essay we are doing dishonest. Our thesis is about how tolerance in different classes is different for the levels of dishonesty in the play. My first quote was when Algernon lies to his aunt about Lane not making her cucumber sandwiches. The second example is when Lane lies over Algernon's lie saying there were not any cucumbers at the market. The last one is when Algernon lies to his aunt about how he is bothered that there were no cucumbers when he in fact ate the sandwiches. For these three points I wrote about how they were white lies and how they were tolerated differently according to the different social classes. For both of Algernon's quotes I wrote how the lying was brushed off like it didn't happen. While when Lane lied he was yelled at by Algernon. I think my commentary works because it gives examples of the thesis.

I wrote my topic sentence but I didn't really need to tie it in to your guy's so I might have to change when we write the intro. I will also change my conclusion when i see the topic sentence coming after my paragragh.

The Importance of Being Ernest.

Before reading The Importance of Being Ernest I did research on the Victorian Era, the time in which the play takes place, to understand it more. The research helped me get how the people of the time thought of upper class and how marriage and the gender roles were.

Gender roles and marriage was a big part of the Victorian Age. Men were seen as the stronger worker of a couple women were supposed to rely on. Women were supposed to sit at home with the kids and cook and be the normal house wife. They were also supposed to be the uneducated person who would have to rely on the men. Marriage was a way for some to get money. It was also expected for girls to get married really young and they were also required basically to get married no matter what. Girls looked for men who were wealthy and came from a good background.This helped me understand why characters like Gwendolen and Jack, and Algernon and Cecily. Both of the women looked for the men to be wealthy and have a good family background.

Class was an unofficial rule that all people of the Victorian Age lived by. The characters are mostly upper class other then the help. Upper class has a lot of money, they look down on lower class and dress very proper. This is seen in how Algernon and Lady Bracknell treat Lane. The author often makes fun of the shallowness of this class. My research helped understand why the class acted the way they did in the play.

Animal Farm: The Storybook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkYqymrY8fM

Theme: Power Corrupts

~Poetry outloud performance Reveiw~

The dry humor you could hear from the voice of Jackson Hille when he performed "Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins was really the key reason why he was one of the finalists. The satirical way he spoke the poem made it even funnier. The articulation helped you understand it more. His pausing and hilarious, facial expression made it seem like he was reading it as if he knew that he would coincidentally forget the poem himself. His Physical Presence is funny and awkward, like his trying to show the strange,weirdand the way you feel while being forgetful.

Jackson truly captured the meaning of being forgetful and how the poem showed it. I felt that Ihfully agreed and understood the poem. How it really portrayed that annoying ironic feeling that you were forgetting something as you remembered something else. Also that the memory just leaves you brain on some "Mystical river" I got How all the random knowledge that is stored in you r head just leaves without your control and the only way you realize it is if you try to remember it.

~Mockingbird Motif~

Through reading To Kill a Mockingbird I got to understanding the literary elements that we have been learning in English. One of these elements being motif. In To Kill a Mockingbird the motif of the novel is actually killing a mockingbird. This basically symbolizes doing something wrong to someone who doesn't deserve it. There are a few examples of this in the novel. One being repeatedly shooting Tom Robinson to kill him for escaping when really one would have done the job. Another Example is when there is an argument about whether Boo Radley should be put to trial for killing Bob Ewell. Even though he did it to save the Finch kids.

This novel has helped me understand what the definition of motif is by showing clear and obvious examples. All through the book, the characters would say, "This is just like killing a mockingbird." Many of the themes have to do with bad behavior of one person to another. These being hypocrisy, prejudice, and racism. The motif shows how strongly theses problems are in a southern community and with people in the time in general.

~Life Lesson~

Through out my life there has been one lesson that has been repeated over and over to me, whether it was intentional or not. This lesson is that things happen for a reason. I know it sounds sort of obvious, like everyone knows that. But for me it was a big lesson and a very reassuring one. The lesson would usually pop up when I would feel bad or angry about something that has happened, and my mom would just say " Things happen for a reason." It would also come up when bad things would happen to others in my family, and I would hear my grandma or mom tell them the same thing they tell me.

I still hear this lesson from my wiser family members. in some ways the lesson makes me feel better. I learned not to dwell on little things. I learned to just look on the bright side and move on. It also makes me feel better because if bad things happen in my life or to those I care about, I can just know that this was meant to happen and there is a silver lining.This lesson as I mentioned before is big one that I have learned, and I am glad that I live by this lesson because it has taught me many important things that will help me get on through life.