English Portfolio!!!!!!!!:)

                  Throughout the year I have recognized my many strengths and weaknesses.  Some of my strengths is that I can really analyzing a book after I am done reading it with my class. I can understand many aspects of the book, which allows me to complete a really great benchmark project.  I can make many connections to the book with other texts, world events, or connections with myself. Even though I have much strength as an English student, I also have many weaknesses. I like everyone else make a lot of simple and easy grammar mistakes. I sometimes have trouble noticing that I have a word spelled wrong when I am proof reading my work. I also have a lot of trouble with tenses, and realizing if I am writing a story in past, present, or future tense. I think that as I grow to become a even better student of English I really want to focus on these weaknesses and also search for other weaknesses that I have and improve those too.

                  I have had a great experience doing his portfolio through out the year. I remember the feeling I had each time I completed a piece of writing. I felt really accomplished and happy.  Before I had the feeling of accomplishment, I also had difficulties with my writing. I usually have weaknesses on concluding my essays. However I also had lots help with these situations. I was always able to rely on my classmates to revise my writing and give me good feedback. If there was a time when I felt that I didn’t receive great feedback from a classmate I went to Lit Lab and I was able to improve my writing there.

                  Out of all my works on writing in my portfolio my favorite was definitely the Odysseus and Harry Potter comparison. I remember I had a lot of fun writing this essay since I really enjoyed reading Harry Potter. When I realized that I wanted to compare Harry with Odysseus I felt that I had a perfect idea in front of me. As I started to work on the essay and complete it I knew that I did a great job and that my grade would not displease me. I felt extremely confident and that is why this writing in my portfolio was my favorite.

11-3-10

Lady Macbeth 10 Quotes

In Act 1, scene 5, Macbeth has just sent a letter to Lady Macbeth saying that he has been promoted, and is now Thane of Cawdor.  He also tells her about his encounter with the three witches and he will become king. Lady Macbeth is elated to hear this news. She is happy to know that Macbeth has been promoted and will become king but she doubts that he has the strength of killing Duncan in him, to become king. In her soliloquy she says to herself “Yet do I fear nature It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” (Line 15-16 Pg. 16 ACT l.5) Lady Macbeth is saying that she thinks Macbeth has too much kindness in him and is too weak to kill King Duncan. She is saying this to herself, she believes that he is not capable of finding his way to becoming king by himself. She in trying to convince herself that she will not let Macbeth’s weakness to stop them from becoming king and queen. At this point in the play Lady Macbeth is really selfish, and greedy, but she is not aware of how much her greed will increase.

In Act 1, scene 5, Lady Macbeth just got news that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor and will soon become king. She gets news that Macbeth is going to come home and that King Duncan is also coming over to stay for the night. She deeply wants Macbeth to become king as soon as possible, it has suddenly become her obsession. But she thinks that Macbeth is to soft to do the job, she feels that she is more capable. In her soliloquy she says “Come to my women breasts and take my milk for gall” (Line 46-47 Pg. 17 ACT l.5) In this quote Lady Mac is saying to take out all means of kindness from her and replace it with coldness. She is trying to make herself more strong and stonyhearted in order to harden Macbeth as well. Lady Macbeth’s is progressing at becoming greedier.

In Act 1, scene 5, Lady Mac continues her soliloquy, she so badly wants Macbeth to succeed at becoming king. Lady Mac puts all her worries behind her and her number one priority is to get Macbeth to become king. She does not want to take any risks that will put her in danger of not reaching her goal. As she continues her soliloquy she says “Come you spirits that tend to my mortal thoughts, unsex me here,” (Line 39-40 Pg. 17 ACT l.5) This quote means that she wants to do the job her self and kill Duncan herself and play the role of the male in the house. She knows that Macbeth has a lot of loyalty and respect for Duncan and killing him will be a huge decision to make. Lady Macbeth wants to be the man in the family so she can go ahead and complete the task without thinking twice like Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is still acting cold hearted.

In Act 1, scene 5, Lady Macbeth still continues her soliloquy filling it with more cruelty by each word. She is loosing respect for her self as she becomes less humane by the minute. The only thing that remains in her world is Macbeth being King. She continues to say in her soliloquy “Make thick my blood; Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse,” (Line 42-43 Pg. 17 ACT l.5) In this quote in the same soliloquy Lady Macbeth is saying that she does not want to regret anything she is about to do. She feels that if she feels remorse that will make her weak. Lady Macbeth at this point in the book is determined to reach her goal and will loose self respect to reach her goal.

In Act 1, scene 5, Lady Macbeth is now trying to set an example of herself to the king. She and Macbeth are welcoming the king to their home. Lady Macbeth is going to tell Macbeth her plan for Macbeth to be king. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it,” (Line 64-65 Pg. 18 ACT l.5) She says hear to play a show for Duncan, making him think that the couple are happy that he is at their home. Lady Macbeth wants Duncan to think that everything is all right when his death is awaiting him. Lady Macbeth now is already planning ahead but she has idea what the outcome will be like once Macbeth is king.

In Act 1, scene 7, Lady Macbeth is now trying to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan. She is going through a plan that will successfully kill Duncan and Macbeth will not be suspected. Macbeth is absolutely afraid of doing anything. Even though he wants to become king he is scared of killing Duncan. She says “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it sleeped since?”(Line 35-36 Pg. 22 ACT l.7) Lady Macbeth thinks Macbeth is acting stupid and insults him, calling him a coward and unworthy of being her husband. She uses her sexuality a lot in this part of the book. Macbeth gets mad at Lady Macbeth but continues to do what she wants. Lady Macbeth uses his weakness to get what she wants.

In Act 2, scene 8, Lady Macbeth is now trying to convince Macbeth that he did the right the thing by killing Duncan, but he is feeling like he is betraying Duncan because he is really loyal to Duncan and he was satisfied with being The Thane Of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth then says “A foolish thought to say a sorry sight.” (Line 24 Pg. 28 ACT ll.8) This is saying that Macbeth says he shouldn’t have killed, but Lady Macbeth says that killing Duncan was their plan all along. Why would they not want to kill the king? Lady Macbeth is happy that Duncan is dead, she thinks everything is perfect. They have successfully killed Duncan without being suspected since the guards get the blame. Lady Macbeth now feels even more confident that she is doing the right thing but she still isn’t aware of her mistakes.

            In Act 2, scene 2, Duncan is now dead, and Macbeth is king. Everything is going fine. Macbeth has made plans to kill Banquo but Lady Macbeth is unaware of that. There have been some changes in Lady Macbeth now. She is starting to feel weak. Macbeth talks about about Banquo and his son Fleance. Lady Macbeth says  “What to be done?” (Line 46 Pg. 47 ACT ll.2) Lady Macbeth says asks Macbeth what he has done when she says this quote. Macbeth still hasn’t told Lady Macbeth making it a surprise for her. Lady Macbeth does not want anymore killings. She is afraid there secrets will come out. At this point of the book Lady Macbeth is staring to shift. She is loosing some of her boldness.

In Act 5, scene 1, Lady Macbeth is now sick. She is going insane and is being kept under the eye of a servant and a doctor on Macbeth’s orders. She is starting to sleepwalk. She is so afraid of her truth coming out that she sees what she has done in her sleep. She is talking about what she has done without knowing that there are witnesses like the servant and the doctor. She says “Out, damned spot! Out I say!” (Line 35 Pg. 84 Acts V.1) She is rubbing her hands together seeing the blood of King Duncan on her hand. She desperately wants the blood to come off. She feels remorse and the remorse is driving her to insanity. She is now fully aware of her mistakes.

In Act 5, sence 1, Lady Macbeth is continuing to struggle. She doesn’t want anyone to see the blood on her hands. She doesn’t know that she is imagining the blood. She is still sleepwalking when all the drama is occuring. Lady Macbeth then says something that stuns the audience ”Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Lines 38-40 Pg. 84 Act V.1) Lady Macbeth absolutely regrets killing Duncan. She wants all proof of the killing to disappear. Meanwhile the doctor and the servant overhear her saying this. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s secret has now been exposed. Of course since Lady Macbeth is asleep she is unaware of this. Soon enough her insanity leads her to suicide.

Through this timeline of ten quotes Lady Macbeth starts of confident and full of boldness but ends up in insanity. She thinks that she is making the correct decision but is not aware of her consequences. Lady Macbeth’s true colors start to come out as she goes into insanity. In this book Lady Macbeth plays a really strong character that starts to fall.

Uh-Oh! I Broke My Fast! 

            “Wake UP! Stupid child! Time is running out! HURRY!”(OPENER and DIALOGUE) Mom shouted at my sleeping face almost dragging me out of bed. I started to get used to waking up at 4:00 am instead of 12:00 pm. It was summer, but also the last day of Ramadan, and everyone in my family was going crazy (MAGIC THREE). Slowly taking my time I got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. I splashed water into my face, I don’t really know many times I had splashed water into my eyes for them to finally stay open. I walked out the bathroom, still taking my time, like an old lady does when she gets out of a public bathroom, and there are others waiting to go (MAGIC THREE and SIMILIE). All the lights in the house were turned on and it was really bugging my eyes, I mean I thought we were suppose to save energy here (HUMOR). As I walked into the kitchen I smelled the cinnamon and mint from chicken curry in the air. I sat down next to my dad on the kitchen table and started stuffing myself with rice and delicious chicken curry. My mom looked back from washing the dishes and said, in her unusually stern voice, “hurry up you have about four minutes to finish eating.” (DIALOGUE) I gasped, munched, and gulped down my food fast (MAGIC THREE and HUMOR). I hardly tasted anything I ate. During Ramadan Muslims wake-up at sunset to eat and start off a day of fasting. As soon as the sun is set, there is no more eating, and fasting has started (MAGIC THREE).

Feeling as fat as a pig (SIMILIE and HUMOR), I went back up the stairs to pray. Before I started prayer, I took a shower. Everyday after eating in the morning at sunset I would take a shower to start off my day of fasting. After I showered, I fetched my praying mat from my messy closet and laid it out facing towards Mecca, the direction in which Muslims all around the world pray (MAGIC THREE). I started to pray, clearing my mind of all thoughts and only focusing on prayer. I recited parts from the Quran in whispers, and thanked god for a pleasant month of Ramadan. I closed the prayer. After I finished prayer, I went back to bed and I fell asleep almost instantly. 

            Today’s tiring day went by like the autumn winds (SIMILIE). I didn’t even get to sleep until my usual 12:00 pm. My family went through preparation after preparation getting ready for tomorrow’s Eid (Eid was the celebration for the end of Ramadan, where Muslims spend time with family and friends eating and having fun together.) But until Eid I had to make sure everything was in tip-top shape.

 Finally only three more hours until sunset and I could finally eat! But in order for time to pass by, I had to do chores. The only breaks I was able to take were for prayer.  Cleaning up the house is a pain in the eye in my case. I would rather try out for the part of a clown in the circus (HUMOR). After cleaning the house from head to toe my mom ordered me to go grocery shopping. Going grocery shopping wasn’t so bad as long as I could be sneaky and buy a bag of chips while I was at it (HUMOR). Finding the main ingredients for traditional Bangladesh food wasn’t hard. Mostly it was rice and a bunch of spices for the seasoning. After coming home with my hands full of groceries I collapsed on to the coach, picking up a glass of water from the table, and taking a big gulp (MAGIC THREE). All of a sudden my eyes went open in shock (HYPERBOLE). It wasn’t time to break my fast yet.

I was more scared than I have ever been before. I put the glass back on the table as if it was a poisonous snake (SIMILIE and HUMOR). I didn’t even want to look at it anymore. I quickly averted my eyes across the room and saw my mom standing with a small grin on her face.

“Why are you smiling?! I just broke my fast and it wasn’t time to eat yet!”(DIALOGUE) I said in a shaky and horrified voice. My mom just shook her head, smiled and walked away (MAGIC THREE). I ran back to her. “What do I do??”(DIALOGUE) I asked sounding like I just ran 10 miles (SIMILIE).

“Nothing, just go on like you haven’t done anything. As long you didn’t drink water on purpose it doesn’t make a big difference,” (DIALOGUE) she said conscientiously (VOCABULARY). I gave a huge sigh of relief. I felt like a great amount of weight had just been lifted from my back (SIMILIE). I had always thought that fasting meant not eating. Not eating until a given time. From my mothers words I was proven wrong. I hadn’t meant to drink that glass of water. It was an accident and that is what counts. I should have known better than to panic and just step over mistakes that aren’t a big deal. At least I know now not to worry about this kind of a situation in the future.

            It was time to eat. I ate like never before. Today’s meal was just the same as any other. My plate was filled with all sorts of foods.  Dates (a special fruit that are usually a tradition to eat during Ramadan meals.) Lentils (a high-protein grain that is dried and then soaked and cooked before eating) and of course chicken curry (MAGIC THREE and IMAGARY). Nothing had changed. I didn’t feel any different than I did when I fasted yesterday or the day before. It was just a normal last day of Ramadan. I felt accomplished. I also felt sad that Ramadan was over but I also looked forward to next year’s Ramadan and the year after that. Tomorrow would be Eid and there would be no more fasting and I would be starting off the new month after Ramadan with a great start.

3-7-11

The Odyssey vs. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

There are hundreds of stories about people always doing the impossible and accomplishing the most incredible tasks. Some people may say it’s Hercules or Achilles while others think the true hero is Sherlock Holmes. However Harry Potter and the Great King Odysseus are also true heroes. On the contrary Harry and Odysseus may be very alike on the outside, but on the inside the two characters are a thousand miles different; Odysseus is prideful and shallow whereas Harry is selfless, and caring.

            In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and his two best friends are on the search for horcrux’s (objects that will destroy Lord Voldemort an all time evil sorcerer) that could be anywhere in the world. In the beginning of the book Harry pleads to Ron and Hermione not to come to the trip with him due to the fact that there are many dangers involved. Saying this it is clear that Harry really cares for his two best friends and would rather have him be put in the hands of danger than them. Odysseus is merely the exact opposite. In book 12 Odysseus and his men have to make their way through the Scylla, a horrible female sea monster. Circe of course warns Odysseus about the dangers up ahead and it’s Odysseus’s job to make sure he and his men are going to be okay. Instead of telling his men about the horror onward he says “friends, we’re hardly strangers at meeting danger- and this danger is no worse than what we faced when Cyclops penned us up in his vaulted cave with crushing force! But even from there my courage. My presence of my mind and the tactics saved us all” (Book 12, lines 226-230). Saying this Odysseus thought he would be able to calm down the crewmen from

 panicking. This shows that Odysseus really doesn’t care about how his men are feeling. All he wants is their cooperation so he can make it through Scylla and go on with telling his amazing stories in the future. In both of these situations it comes to the matter of what is really important: friends and crew by one’s side or pride and glory.

            In many ways Harry and Odysseus have proven to be different but they also have characteristics that make them slightly alike.  In Chapter 12 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry, Ron, and Hermione are captured by Death Eater and brought over to Malfoy Manor. Hermione is tortured brutally while Harry and Ron are locked away in an underground cellar. When almost all hopes of survival are lost for Hermione, Harry and Ron find ways to escape the cellar out of fury and anger together saving Hermione. While reading his chapter it was obvious that Harry wasn’t going to give up and let everything go down the drain. In a similar situation in The Odyssey in Book 9 “The One-Eyed Giant’s Cave” Odysseus and his men are all locked inside of a cave full of sheep and the only way of getting out is if the Cyclops itself lets them out which in unlikely to happen. In thought of panic Odysseus thinks, “what was the best way out? how could I find escape from death for my crew, myself as well? My wits kept weaving, weaving cunning schemes- life at stake, monstrous death staring us in the face-” (Book 9 Line 470-473). Under heavy pressure Odysseus and his men come up with a plan to hide themselves under the sheep that the Cyclops tremendously cared for. Hiding under the sheep’s wool they were able to leave the cave. In this chapter Odysseus proves that he is intelligent and is determined to escape dangers. Both Harry and Odysseus are determined to fight their way through till the end. Even though Odysseus’s journey lasted for twenty years and Harry’s only lasted for one, they both pushed their way till the very end.

Harry and Odysseus both complete their legendary journeys they still have not embraced peace and freedom. After Harry has hunted down all the horcrux’s he reaches Hogwarts finally to find the last with his two best friends, Ron and Hermione with him. Of course he is still not left alone and finds himself at war with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Odysseus is in a similar situation. After finally coming home to Ithaca with out his men who have died during the journey, he learns that he has to face a hundred and forty suitors. “How on earth can two men fight so many and so strong? These suitors are not just ten or twenty, they’re far more-” (Book 16 Line 275-276).  Odysseus, his son and two other loyal servants come together to fight the empty suitors, just like Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to fight the many Death Eaters with the help of Hogwarts teachers, The Order Of the Phoenix (A organization of wizards who want Voldemort defeated) and qualified students. With the help of all the people who remained loyal to Harry rather than Voldemort, Hogwarts was able to overthrow Voldemort just like Odysseus and his little crew vanished every last of the suitors.

            Odysseus and Harry have proven to be both alike and also very different. But they have proven more than just that. Harry has proven to be caring and selfless, and Odysseus has proven to be prideful. Harry really cares for his two friends trying to keep them out of danger and this enabled the three friends to come home to Hogwarts unharmed. Odysseus of course returned to Ithaca empty handed without his crew since they died when trying to make it through Charybdis. In conclusion Harry and Odysseus are more different than alike since Harry’s selfless and caring personality led him and his friends to come home safely and Odysseus’s prideful character caused him to come home alone without anyone by his side.

 CREATIVE PIECE: Macbeth Poster

Independent Book Review

Research:

            I have chosen the book Marked book one from the series House Of The Night by P.C. and Kristen Cast who have a mother are mother and daughter relationship, writing The House Of The Night series together. The two authors published the book Marked in 2007. The book takes place in a boarding school called the House of the Night in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The entire series of the house of the Night was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for 63 weeks straight. The series has sold in 39 countries and over ten million copies have been sold. Marked has also been translated in German and reached #1 on the Der Spiegel (a German Weekly Magazine). The House Of The Night is a series with a total of 12 books. So far eight books have been published and fans are breathless to read more.

Summary:

            The protagonist in Marked is a 16-year-old teenage girl named Zoey who gets marked to become a vampyre. Zoey has no idea what to do about being marked and is now a fledging (vampyre in the process). Her human friends and her parents don’t want any relations with her. The only person Zoey can rely on is her beloved Grandma. After Grandma’s help, Zoey arrives at the House of the Night (Vampyre school). Zoey feels more at home then she has ever been. She makes many new friends Stevie Rae, Damien, Shaunee, and Erin. Zoey thinks of her mentor Neferet the High Preistess, as her own mother and Zoey feels loved. As the story goes on Zoey learns what it is like to become a fledging, she takes classes with teenagers just like her and she is familiar with the atmosphere.

As everything goes on smoothly Zoey even has a new boyfriend Erik the hottest guy at school, but also a friendly fledging who helps Zoey through out her problems. Soon enough Zoey encounters problems with Aphrodite. The antagonist in the story. Aphrodite is a stuck up bully of the school who wants to be the next High Priestess and Zoey and her new friends are now determined to make things right about Aphrodite. Zoey schemes to reveal Aphrodite’s evilness to Neferet. On a very special day Aphrodite has planned a ritual to thank all the Vampyre spirits and the goddess’s above. Zoey and her friends feel like this is the perfect time to reveal Aphrodite to Neferet.

Aphrodite feels as though she is perfect and can go through the ritual flawlessly. Unfortunately she makes mistakes during the ritual because of her clumsiness and spoils the ritual. Aphrodite feels that Zoey is the one to blame and acts disrespectfully towards Zoey only to find out that Neferet is witnessing the situation. Under Neferet’s command Zoey replaces Aphrodite and trains to become the next High Preistess. She along with her friends returns to the school from the ritual happily.

Favorite Character:

            My favorite character is Stevie Rae. Even though she doesn’t take a huge role in the book like Zoey or Aphrodite she is always supporting Zoey. In the book she is looking forward to becoming Zoey’s friend and wants Zoey’s trust. She understands what Zoey is feeling like; coming to a new place totally different from a world she is used to. Zoey is able to tell Stevie Rae anything knowing that Stevie Rae won’t reveal anything to anyone. Stevie Rae is a comfort to Zoey. Another reason why I Stevie Rae is my favorite character is because she reminds me a lot of my best friend whom I can talk to about anything, I trust her to keep my thoughts to herself just Like Zoey can trust Stevie Rae.

I think that readers should take away a lot of simple lessons that the book teaches. Readers should take a way lessons about friendship, and how to reveal someone's true identity when they aren't thinking along the correct lines like Aphrodite.

Personal Experiences:

            I’ve never been through any of the situations Zoey has since in the real world Vampyres don’t exist, but I have felt some of the things the characters did. Zoey has always loved her mother till she remarried. After Zoey’s mom remarried she has fallen under the grip of John Heffer, now Zoey’s dad. Zoey felt as though she was being separated from her mother. I feel this when I always see my brother or sister with my mom. I feel as though I never get to spend any time with my mom just like Zoey feels like she doesn’t recognize her mom anymore. Another way I can relate to the characters in the book is Zoey and her relationship with her grandma. Zoey always runs to grandma when there is trouble. I feel like I am the same when it comes to my grandma and me. When I am in trouble and I don’t have the courage to go to my parents I can always rely on my grandma to help me out just like Zoey can count on her grandma.

My Opinion:

            I really liked the book; overall I thought it was pretty good and I can’t wait to read the next books of the series. I want to know more about Zoey and her adventures with her friends. I think one of the main strengths of the book is the way P.C and Kristen Cast made up Zoey’s character. Zoey is really strong and when she feels weak she is given support from her friends. I thought that was a really important thing of the book that I really liked. Another thing about the book I liked is Zoey and her relationships with others. I liked the way in which the authors evened out the protagonist vs. antagonists. I think one of the weaknesses of the book was probably the ending. I think it could have been written a lot better. If I were to rewrite the book I would mainly focus on that. The ending of the book happened really rapidly and was hard to understand what was going on. If the authors slowed down the pace of the events in the end of the book it would be greater.

Book Recommendations:

            I would definitely recommend this book to people who are on the look for a good page turning read. I think I would mostly prefer teenagers to read this book since it is a book that can teach lessons about coming of age, romance and friendship. I don’t think this is a good book for adults because there is a lot of drama in the book and I find it that teenagers would enjoy reading the book more.