The Conclusion

Wow! is it really the end of freshman year? It seems like we all just moved on from middle school, and took this big leap into high school. This year has gone by extremely quickly yet slowly at the same time, but it has also been my favorite, and the best of all of my years of school.  Looking back at every single blog that I did over the course of this year, I have noticed my writing has developed tremendously.  in my first blog "The Introduction Tom My Blog" My writing seemed overly uptight. reading over it right now, it  the tone doesn't really sound like my writing. Over the course of the year, My blogs have relaxed. They still have the same amount of effort in them, but they show my personality in them rather than shallow, wordy pieces of work.  after all thats what blogs are for right? to speak whats on your mind and share it with your readers?
Come to think of it,  I never missed a blog, and they have always been on time. some may have been a lover quality and posted at 11:57 but, they were done and well thought out. Apart form the wonderful, and sometimes annoying experience of writing a weekly blog, I really enjoyed reading classmates' blogs  and getting to know their ideas and opinions through their writing as well.
a quote that reflects on my blogs and writing this year is:


As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.
                      ~ Eleanor Rosevelt

This shows that I  took on one thing at a time. I soaked in every blog assignment along with others, gave them my best, and did what I had to do to get them done. I am really proud of my accomplishments, and work this year, and think that it is a fantastic way to kick off high school, and afterwards, roll right along in life.
English, this year has been one of my favorite classes. It was a challenge, and I have really learned a lot. from essays, and  analyzing poetry, to our almost weekly word power assignments. aside form these aspects,  I love how our class has  sort of bonded. we all have had fun and funny times in class, for example today when some people were talking down the trim in the classroom, the atmosphere was lighthearted and happy., and everybody was enjoying themselves,and the company of their classmates.


Thank you Mrs. Gilman for this amazing year! :)

~ this picture was taken the first week of school when we first set up our blogs in the computer lab :) and here we all are now wrapping up our last blog posts, and getting ready to move on to a whole new year.

Memorable assignment

Each and very person in our class has achieved so much this year in english, weather it was the blogs, our essays, poetry out loud, or artistic book assignments, and much much more.Over this last year I have really enjoyed being in this class and have learned so much! It has definitely been a great class to kick off my high school career.

So what is my favorite and most memorable assignment I have done this year? Hmm... I'm going to have to say my Great Expectations essay. Although I didn't particularly enjoy actually writing it, I loved the final results. Once I was finished, and we received our essays back with the grades, I was, and still am extremely proud of it.

A Good Experience With Poetry

In all of my years of school, i have had many opportunities to study, and create poetry. I remember going out to gardens with my class in elementary school and writing poems about what we see and how it made us feel. One positive experience I had with poetry is another time we went to a garden. Our teacher had us make our own little sketch/ poetry book, and we went and sat by different plants of our choice to draw them and describe them in poetry. We went out there every day for about a week and sat peacefully and wrote.

At the end of the week, we chose our favorite picture and poem to share with the class.  some were silly, and some were serious. It all depended on the maturity level of the classmate. Each poem was different, and had its own flow to it. Our class thoroughly  enjoyed it.

Right now, My attitude towards poetry isn't the same as when I was younger. I don't enjoy it as much, But if I get into it, it becomes fun. I prefer the poems that are short and humorous  rather than the long sort of depressing ones., so I have sort of mixed feelings about launching into our Poetry unit.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

The Capulets, and the Montagues. Enemies. They have one gigantic conflict that will never end. Their grudge, a factor in their lives that will always repel the families like two opposite sides of some magnets. This was brought up towards  the beginning of the play,  when Romeo and Juliet realized who each other really were, and that they shouldn't be in love. This family grudge is one of the most important conflicts in the play, because it is the whole reason to make the two teens want to rebel and pull close to each other even more. It is the reason for heart break, deaths, love, and anger. it is the foundation of the book.

Everywhere you look in our society, there are also grudges of all kinds. There could be the dog and the mailman,  you and the neighbor over the fence, or even just between siblings. Every grudge is a little different. it could be for so long as a minute, like two friends fighting over one piece of candy, or a lifetime like the Montagues and the Capulets.

Romeo and Juliet and The Sound of Music

If you think about it, every story has it's brother, or sister, another story out there with a different look, gender, and personality, but the same DNA. the same plot that makes them related. One of Romeo and Juliet's many siblings is the movie The Sound of Music. Lisle and Rolf, like Romeo and Juliet, love each other very much. But because of their family's beliefs, political views, it is forbidden love. They are suppose to be enemies. With Rolf, being a Nazzi, and Lisle's father a sea captain that loves his country, and doesn't want it ruled by Hitler, they shouldn't be in love, but they are. Just like the Capulets, and the Montagues. Romeo and Juliet, enemies from birth, but in unconditional love.



~ the computer I'm on now will not let me upload a picture so I will upload it as soon as possible.

Connecting With Romeo and Juliet

Even though they are in two completely different eras, my family And Juliet's family have some similarities. They both care about us, and want what is best for us. Our families want different things for us, but they care very much. Sometimes we might not appreciate that as much as we should, but when we do, we are very grateful.

Reading Romeo and Juliet outside of class Is good. I personally enjoy Romeo and Juliet more than Great Expectations. I understand it for the most part at home, but it definitely helps reading and talking about the book in class. I also like annotating in class rather than at home, because I don't have to worry about it when I am reading the section for the first time. We have a chance to just read and then go back and annotate. also, ideas shared in class are fresh in my head. It was sort of a shock just starting a book that has more of artistic language instead of commonly used language, but as we proceed through each act, I am getting used to it and am able to understand it more on my own.

Wrapping up Great Expectations!

There were many details and themes that Dickens included in Great Expectations, but In my opinion, the main message that Dickens is trying to portray in the book is to accept who you are and be happy with what you have. Also, to accept who your family is too. Appreciate them while you have them before it's too late. People learn throughout life and experiences, wanting something more than what they already have doesn't make them any happier. It could lean them in the other direction. The same goes with family. Dickens shows what a result could be by pulling away from your family, and later on it could be greatly regretted. These I believe are just two little but very impacting themes of the book that come together among others, to make it the classic it is.

Thoughts on Reading

Overall, Great Expectations was an okay book. It wasn't the best, but it also wasn't The worst.I think that each character was well thought out and had their entirely own personality. None of them were very similar. Dickens did a good job living an insight on the settings. as I read, I could really picture the surroundings of the characters. The writing was extremely detailed to a point where it was a gruleing book to get through. In my opinion, Dickens' work is heavy, and takes some skill to completely understand, but that is also what makes him a great author. One Of the mysteries that I figured out by myself was why Miss. Havisham is such a wreck with her clothes, and the clocks set to 9:20.

I did not have a particular routine that I followed for reading assignments, but I did complete them by the due date. Some nights I would be too busy with other homework to read, so the Next day I would have to catch up. When I did read,I read around 10 or 11 which made a great impact on my comprehension of the book, so I would go back and brush up on what I read with spark notes. Even though I had varying reading habits, I think that my overall understanding of the book is pretty good.

Photo Post!

This photograph represents Pip, and the dark side of his life. Pip does have Joyful moments, but the darkness overpowers them, with his guilt and shame pulling down and sticking with him through the deep pages and chapters of his life in the book. From his childhood when he feels guilty about feeling ashamed of his family and social class, to his adulthood, feeling guilty for Mrs. Joes death. Pip is sort of a tortured soul, imprisoned by the circumstances of his wide imagination, and life. Through the surrounding darkness in the photograph, a twinkle still manages to penetrate and show a hopeful spirtit underneath, as observed in Pip's character.

Making Connections

Great Expectations and Despicable Me have many similarities, if you really think about it. Sure, Despicable Me is a newer story, but the characters Pip and Gru hit similar issues while going through their lives. Both of  these characters have the desire to be somebody they aren't on the inside. Pip wants to move to a higher social class and become a gentleman, and Gru wants to move higher in the"villains social class" and be the best villein in the world. Once Pip and Gru finally reach their goals, they don't feel as fulfilled as they thought they would. They feel as if they were happier when they were lower in the ranks.

Some motifs that tie through both stories are guilt and shame. After the two characters actually get what they want, they feel guilty and ashamed of themselves, about their attitudes to their loved ones. Pip is controlling and almost fake towards his family, and Gru doesn't go after his little girls when they are taken back to the orphanage. As seen in both of these stories, there is always a way to turn your  bad feelings, into good ones.

Great Expectations ~ The Second Stage

Over the coarse of Great Expectations so far,  Pip's Character has developed significantly. He goes from being an innocent little boy with little worries,  to a little boy who has a great weight of guilt and shame towards his life and family on his back. Next, he moves on to greater things, like becoming a gentleman, but along with that package comes his attitude towards loved ones that he is better than them because he is the one with the  excellent opportunity. After going through that, and getting to go away to London,  he turns his bratty attitude around to reveal his real self, a much more gentlemanly  gentleman.

One motif that goes along with this, is shame. In Pip's childhood, he feels ashamed of his loved ones, and himself, because they are common people with little money, thick boots, and coarse hands. His family and friends, on the other hand, don't seem to mind very much, but the feeling of shame transfers to them, when Pip gets his fortune. Of course they are happy for him, but they are also ashamed that he could just turn on them, and act like somebody they don't know.

Quotation Response

In Pip's quote, he is referring to his day at Miss Havisham's. If he never lived this day, he would have been a whole different person. It changes his views about himself, and his family. He had never really thought of himself as "common" or felt bad about his  thick boots, tough hands, or especially Joe. Over the coarse of just a few chapters Pip's character greatly changes. He becomes slightly tougher, and is determined  to make himself uncommon. In chapter 10,  he starts this off by going to learn a little bit from Bitty.

I think one of my most life altering days was when I met my best friend Ella. Looking back on that time, I didn't really get along with  a couple of my other friends. We would get into fights most days, and it wasn't very enjoyable being  around them anymore. Meeting Ella showed me that not all best friends had to fight, and struggle with their relationship. Ella and I connected extremely well, and it greatly changed my life, and the person I am today.

Great Expectations ~ Questions About a Passage

There is a small passage that i couldn't follow very well that I have had to read a couple of times to get, but it still kind of confuses me.
"... The fire to flare for them, the smoke to hurry away in pursuit of them, Joe to hammer and clink for them, and all the murky shadows on the wall to shake at them in menace as the blaze rose and sank, and the red hot sparks dropped and died, the pale afternoon outside almost seemed in my pitying young fancy to have turned pale on their account, poor wretches. ( 33, Chapter 5)
I have sort of an understanding of this, but this sentence kind of rambles on so I am not completely clear what some of this means. Does anyone have any views on what Dickens is saying in this passage?

Group Essay

Hey guys, so I was trying to think of my last point to make.
so far i have: poking fun at characters by showing their backgrounds, and the amount of money they have. Any ideas on the last one?

Dishonesty in The Importance of Being Earnest

Dishonesty relates to a lot of ideas in The Importance of Being Earnest. It relates to humor, because the characters would make dishonest yet funny remarks for example,when Algernon ate all of the cucumber sandwiches, and Lane lied for him. It also relates to Satirical social situations like marriage. Lady Bracknell is not honest with her husband when she has to go fetch Gwendolen from Jack's house. Algernon is also kind of dishonest when he says that Jack (Ernest) is one of the most Earnest people he knows. Jack is kind of opposite. He jokes around and is never really serious. Pleasure, is probably one of the most dishonest things in the play. Jack creates his "brother" Ernest so he can get away and be himself, Algernon creates Bunbury for the same reason, and all their lies eventually come back at them.

In my opinion, Oscar Wilde was trying to say that lying may help you in the present moment, but later, it could turn into a big mess. When the characters lied, it helped them at that time, but later on, the truth came out.

Animal Farm Project Evaluation

Emma:
Picture
Emma did a collage with different symbols that represented the book well showing all the literary elements also including the Russian Revolution.

Porter:
Picture
Porter made a comic strip that showed oppression before and after the Revolution in a clever way. along with irony etc.

Aaron:
Picture
Aarond did a collage that showed all of the literary elements well and in a creative way.

Meghann:
Picture
Meghann drew a picture that showed what squealer said and what he really meant. I think that it was a very clever Idea and it was well done.

Britta:
Poem
Britta wrote a wonderful poem that really showed the pigs actions. I thought it was extremely well written.

Galen:
Comic
Galen created a comic strip that I enjoyed looking at. Is summerized parts of the book well along with the different literary elements.


Keenan:
comic Strip
keenan Made a well done comic strip that showed Napoleon's Authority and how he was no better than having humans in charge.

Maddie:
Picture
Maddie drew a picture showing the impacts of events Happening. It is symbol but also easy to understand.

Deryl:
Picture
Deryl made a collage that was fun to look at and really showed understanding of the book.


Jake:
Picture
Jake did a Collage that showed Different characters of authority and other important details of the book.

Me
Picture
I Think that my picture was okay compared to some other classmates.I think Icould have put a little more effort into it, but i am satisfied with it for the most part.

Animal Farm Project

This picture shows irony in the book Animal Farm, because in the beginning, all of the animals were anti-human, and then in the end they couldn't tell the men from the pigs. Through the course of the book, the pigs are gradually changing the commandments which foreshadows what is going on in this picture. The man and the pig symbolize the book's twisted way of showing leadership, and eventual equality.