4th Quarter BM Portfolio Refelection

                                                             Short Reflection On The Year

Through out Freshman year I have improve tremendously. When I mean tremendously I mean tremendously. When I first came to English class in September I thought that it was going to be a nightmere. I thought that I would do so bad because I thought that my  english teacher Mrs. Dunn was going to be very very stict. In the begining of the year she had told the class that she was a writer for vogue magazine, and that scared me because I assumed she would be so strict knowing that she is such an awesome reader and writer.  Later on in the year I noticed that she wasn’t that bad. 

She was very layed back and she aloud you to have do fun things but you had to make sure that you did your work. However there were many challenging things for me in english class this year. It took me a while to adjust to the teaching of the new teacher and environment. I thought that this was the most challenging thing of all. Till this day I have to adjust to certain things knowing that this is my first year of high school. I’m not yet familiar with alot of things yet but I do know that I have accomplished many things that I needed to accomplish. 

I know that I have alot of things that I need to get better at but I also know that not everyone is perfect. However I will work harder next year in english class to accomplish what ever I didn’t accomplish in this years english class. There were also some relatively easy parts that I had accomplished in english class this year. This year I had did a better job with communication skills and I asked for help when ever I needed it. I got very good grades in english this year and I am really proud of that. I am truly blessed to have been apart of englsih 1 this year and I will truly miss the class itself and my teacher Mrs. Dunn.

I thought that she did a great job teaching us the english material and also putting her best foot forward in helping the students better understand english related stuff. The one thing I learned about this class other than english is that students should never beat themselves up and stress out about a letter grade. Always try your best in what ever you do and know that you are more than a conquerer through jesus christ. That’s all folks.                                                                                

                                                  Macbeth Character Analysis
For this project each student had to create a piece that demonstrated one characters developement and growth throughout Macbeth. We had to use quotes from the play to illustrate the transformation of Macbeth or Lady Macbeth. This project had to have a thesis statement, character quotes and a crafted conclusion that ties it all together. For this project I chose Macbeth. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                                                    

                                                                    Macbeth Character Analysis

                                                              Quarter 1

 

    Thesis:  At the start of the play, Macbeth is apprehensive about being aggressive to become King, but by the end, he turns into a strictly vile man. 

In (Act 1 scene 4), Macbeth say’s  “Star’s hide your fears; let not light see my black and deep desires.” Macbeth in this scene is very upset that Malcolm was named prince of Cumberland. Macbeth felt upset inside but he didn’t want to show anyone he was upset. So instead Macbeth dealt with it and he moved on.  

       

            In (Act 2 scene 1) Macbeth has just talked to Lady Macbeth about the witches prophecy.  Lady Macbeth tries to force Macbeth to kill the king but Macbeth doesn’t want to. Macbeth ask’s “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” Macbeth meant that he see’s a dagger and he wants use it on something but he complains that he right know has fatal vision, so he is becomes a little demonic. 

           In (Act 2 scene 3)(p. 29) Macbeth say’s that “ I am afraid to think what I have done” . Macbeth is very upset about the fact that he had killed King Duncan because right before King Duncan was killed, King Duncan gave him a promotion to be the Thane of Glamis. His wife Lady Macbeth pressured him to kill Duncan. In this case, because of this, he was named the next King of Cawdor. In Macbeth’s mind he would have thought that he didn’t have to be picked to become the Thane of Glamis, but because of his and Lady Macbeth’s greed he tried his best to 

get everything he wanted and that was to kill King Duncan so that Macbeth could become king. 

        (Act 2 scene 3)(p.35) say’s “O, yet I do repent me of my furry that I did kill them”. This Quote mean’s that Macbeth regret’s and he is very afraid to admit that he killed those who were in the chamber. The guards were the victims who were killed and their hands and faces were covered with blood and so were the daggers. Lenox had brought the news that they were dead.  “We hear our bloody cousins are best owed in England and Ireland, not confessing 

parricide.” (Act 3 scene 1)(p. 40) Macbeth means that he hears the people in Ireland and England and talking about the parricide and what happening about the killing and how dreadful he is. 

         When the ghost of Banquo shows up at dinner and sit’s in Macbeth’s seat Macbeth say’s             

“ Blood hath been shed ere now, I” th” olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle 

weal.” (Act 3 scene 4)(p. 53). This means that, blood has been shed and now the compassion has 

gotten rid of his patient’s for this ghost. No one see’s this ghost but Macbeth. Macbeth wants 

to prove that he see’s the ghost. Macbeth then goes crazy because the ghost of Banquo is sitting 

at the dinner table and the people at the table thinks he’s lot’s his mind.

         In (Act 5 scene 1)(p.68) the quote states that Macbeth say’s “Infected be the air whereon they ride, and damned all those that trust them!” means that when the Macduff’s men travel to Birnam wood the air should be toxic and the men should die from the air, and for those who 

trust Macduff’s plans, be damned (cursed). Macduff is going to try and get Siward, the Earl of 

Northumberland’s 10 thousand men together so that they can defeat Macbeth together. 

Everyone’s hope’s are very high now because they really want Macbeth to be defeated so that 

there could be another king of Cawdor.  

In (Act 4 scene 1)(p. 68) say’s, “ The very Firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” This means that Macbeth has a lot of thoughts about his title as king and let them come true. In this scene Macbeth say‘s “to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done.           

           (Act 5 scene 3)(p.88)  say’s “Go prick thy fear, Thou lily-livered boy.” Macbeth meant to get over what ever you were thinking and talking about. Suck it up and take it like a man. Stop your sulking and get over your fears. The servant, Satin complained about the 10 thousand men who were coming and he had fears. Macbeth didn’t want him to talk about it because it would bring him down.  In (Act 5 scene 7)(p. 94) it say’s “But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that’s of a woman born.” This meant that Macbeth’s weapons used in battle made him feel elated because Macbeth truly believe’s in violence and the weapons are 

apart of violence. In this scene was during the war and how the weapons all motivated Macbeth 

to do better fighting.

In conclusion the quotes showed Macbeth’s aggression. Through out the play Macbeth became more and more angry because of the witches prophesy. These quote’s basically go along with the certain changes that Macbeth is going through. In the quotes they show how Macbeth start’s out being calm but when the witches prophecy’s kick’s in, he goes completely crazy. 

                                                                  
                                                 


                                                        


                                                        Memoir Vignette
For this project we had to craft a memoir vignette of our own and utilize stylistic devices to make our personal piece of non-fiction interesting for an audience. The writing process for our vignette had to have full in depth brainstorming, outlining, rough drafting, final drafting and peer review. This vignette had to be powerful, compact and makes an impact with stylistic devices and other interesting aspects of storytelling. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                                   -“Portland Covered Under The White Blanket”-

                                                                                   Quarter 2

          

“Hello Travelers I have very bad news, all Flights will be cancelled due to the snow storm, Thank you” (Dialogue). I spent 5 treacherous hours stuck at the busy airport of Minneapolis due to a snow storm (Opener). The end of December is always a bad time to travel to certain places. Flight Delays were every where. People were talking loudly, sleeping on the floors and devouring all the food they could possibly eat at the fast food restaurants. You would have thought that the world was coming to an end with a fleet of so many people screaming and panicking. Many swarms of airport security men patrolled the airport in search for unaccompanied minors. Rolling wheels of suite cases make the annoying roar sounds. 

          I felt like saying, THIS IS TORTURE, Beeee Quuiiet to all those crazy people!!!! My grandmother and I had to escape before the people ate us alive (Hyperbole).  We decided to go to the Mall of Americas, the worlds largest mall. As we cruised down the escalator to the metro train, the loudness became completely silent like when a person turns the volume dial slowly on a radio (Simile). We took the quiet, empty train to the Mall Of America’s so that we could kill at least a little bit of time before our next exhausting red eye flight to Portland Oregon.

         After boarding the narrow locomotive we sat down in the red fabric seats and went for a bumpy, uncomfortable ride to the mall. Finally, we got off the Metro and entered the gates of heaven (Metaphor). As I walked in the warm air hit my face. I was amazed at the large doors and the enormous mall.There was red carpet, expensive stores, an Aquarium, a mini Theme Park and a big fat man wearing red with a white beard called Santa Claus on a large poster (Humor). This was a place were I wanted to be. 

           I felt like I won 1 million dollars. The shoppers were so calm. There were no rolling wheels, no food devouring people and no people sleeping on the floors (Repetition For Effect).   This was a place to chill out and shop. Thank god!!! For five hours I went on a mini spending spree, visiting many of the stores. Nike Factory, Best buy, H&M and Hollister were all in the same walking distance. The walking distance was shorter than the yellow brick road itself (Metaphor). 

            Time had easily eluded from us and we needed to head back to the airport quick, fast and in a hurry . So we did. Sadly I had to say my farewells to my beloved shopping mall. After a short period of time we arrived at the Minneapolis airport and everyone was just so peaceful. That was because half of the travelers from earlier were all gone. Then there came a great noise. “All Passengers traveling to Portland, Oregon please board the plane at Gate C7 right know.” 

              Without hesitation my grandmother and I ran to the jetty so fast I thought I saw fire behind us. “ Excuse me mam and Sir, may I have your tickets (Dialogue). We kindly gave the man our tickets and boarded the aircraft. I searched high and low for seat 9 and found it. “Aaaahhh yes, right next to the window” I said (Dialogue). As soon as everyone was seated the airplane pushed off from the gate and went straight onto the runway.  

             5,4,3,2,1 we blasted into the dark cloudy sky. I tried to stay awake but really couldn’t. My eyes closed, opened, closed, opened and closed (Repetition For Effect) . I fell asleep. AAAHHH!!!!, I woke up to the loud announcement on the PA system. “We are landing at the Portland Airport in 3 minutes. Thank you for riding with us on US Airways.” Looking towards my left I saw the sweet twinkling city lights of Portland Oregon covered in a white blanket of snow. I then quietly whispered to myself, “I am so happy I finally got away from that disaster and I can finally call this place home for a few weeks.” 

                                    The Odyssey Compare/Contrast Essay

For this project we had to craft an essay comparing a character or event in The Odyssey to another work of art. We had to examine how other artist can use and change the archetypes from The Odyssey to explain a human theme, feeling, or experience. The process of this project envolved brainstorming, collecting evidence (quotations), crafting a thesis, outlining, analyzing quotations, rough drafting, peer review and writing a final draft. For this project i chose Everett the main character in O Brother Were Art Thou. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                        “The Tales of Everett & Odysseus”

                                                            Quarter 3                   

              Although Everett and Odysseus loved their wives, one wife showed more compassion for her partner. The other wife had an interest in his money instead of their relationship. In the movie, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, Penny’s marriage is driven by Everett’s money. In order for her to get the money she must divorce him. All of Penny’s actions are driven by her lust for money. Penny needs the money to support their kids.

              Odysseus was an extremely strong, brave and courageous man when it came to handling big tasks. However, when his wife Penelope came near him he became more gentle and loving. On the other hand, Everett was a very silly and slick person when it came to getting his men out of trouble, but when his wife Penny was near him he showed a positive and serious connection to her. Penny didn’t show the positive connection to him.

             While suffering the long tragic trails Everett seemed to be determined to provide for his wife and children. He thought that he could get back with his wife and kids, but when he gets to his wife Penny, Penny denies him of being a true husband and father to his 6 young children. “ By saying, ”I don’t love you anymore Everett. I’m getting married to Vernon T. Waldrip”.  Even though Everett tries to become a better father and husband by changing the wrong things that he has done in his life and tries not to repeat the mistakes that he has done before; Penny’s anger and love for Vernon T. Waldrip overpowers the marriage. This shows that love can be a driving force in a relationship.

             When he visits his wife Penny, Everett tries to work his problems out but has a difficult time trying to make Penny forgive him. Everett say’s “Penny I don’t do the things I used to do anymore. Please forgive me for all of the things I have done. We can be a family.” So at the end of the movie Everett wants to get back with Penny and he says he would give Penny the ring from when they got married. Everett then noticed that the ring was 10,000 ft in the lake. Penny had said to Everett “ In order to marry me you must go and get that ring in the lake”.

           In, The Odyssey, Odysseus has trouble trying not to reminisce about his wife Penelope and his children. Knowing that he is separated from his family, Penelope has many doubt’s that Odysseus would come back to see her and the kids. Driven by love, Odysseus comes back to Ithaca and finds his wife but he comes back with a surprise. Penelope decides to set up targets in the hallway and she wants the suitors and Odysseus to shoot arrows at the targets. Who ever shot the arrows in the targets marries Penelope. The reason why Penelope did this was because she wanted to try to intimidate Odysseus and the suitors. She knew that Odysseus was a great shooter and that he would shoot all of the arrows.  While Odysseus was gone he really had to push himself to go back to the land of Ithica. He had to be there with his wife Penelope and his children. He couldn’t give up on his children and his wife. So that basically pushed Odysseus to come back to Ithica.

                   In Conclusion both couples get through their hardships, but different things motivate them. Penelope really loves Odysseus not just because of his material things but also because of his personality. However, Everett might struggle with his relationship because his wife Penny uses him to get his money and other material things. In both of these cases the main characters reveal that they have strong compassion for their partners and that they have different ways in which they handle their relationships. 

For the creative project we had to take all the information we learned about macbeth's aggression in the story and put it into a visual project. We had to include a thesis statement, quotes and a powerful conclusion. I chose to do a Slideshow for a visual. Below shows everything that the project entailed.
Macbeth Creative Project (Below)



For this project we had to do a brief project describing a book that we read on our own. This project had to include a summary and the books background information. You could have done this project on a slideshow, movie, podcast song or anything else creative. For this project I had chose to do a slideshow. Below shows everything that the project entailed.
Independent Reading Project (Below)

Four Top Journal Entries:

Define Hero and who is a hero in you life?

I believe a hero is a person who saves you from danger. I have many heros

in my life. One of my important hero's are my parents. My parents

demonstrate great parenting and also great success. They teach me

how to be a hard worker and when I get older and have children be

be a great provider for them. They show me how to handle my

different obstacles and they are teachers about life. Without them I

would not have any success in doing things. I am so thankful to have

a hero because I wouldn't know were I would be.

Was there a time when you wanted to switch your identity?

There are sometimes when I feel like changing my race to another.

Sometimes people discriminate againts black people and it is kind of

hard to take that in especially if you are black. Sometimes some black

people don't know how to act and they get in trouble and I some times

get upset because my race acts up. Seeing a lot of African Americans on

the news for murder is just so embarrassing. It seems as if some African

Americans don't care about their lives or the lives of others. We are known

to be lazy at times. Not all but I would say a hand full of them but I have to

say that I am very proud to be black because we are concuerers and we came

a long way. I believe that my ancestors were true hero's and i would want to

follow in there foot steps.

Does A Lot Of People Depend On You For Anything?
A lot of people depend on me for a lot of things because I am a very mature person and I have a lot of goals for my life. My parents have a lot of expectations for me because I am very organized and I have great communication skills. My parents know that I am going to be very successful in life because I have a lot of plans for my life and I am very serious about it. I have a lot of expectations for myself also. I am a very strict person and when I want something I would go out and get it. I am very hard on myself about school work and other things because I know that when you are hard on your self about things you get a lot of things done. You sometimes come out stronger. The expectations that I have for myself and the expectations other people have about me are very similar. However I believe that my expectations for myself are more harsher. However I believe that if you put your mind and soul towards things you will get it done.   

If You Really Knew Me?

If you really knew me, you would know that I am courages serious and faithful. If you really knew me, you would know that I am competitive and sociable. If you really knew me, you would know that I am old spirited and mature. One important thing you would know about me is that I am gods child.

                          

For this project each student had to pick a character from the book The Odyssey and had to research that person and pick quotes from that character. The student also had to include a powerful thesis statement. We had to make this project look visual. For this project I had picked Prometheus. Below shows what the project entailed.
Myth Project (Below)