I can’t remember anyone exceeding
my expectations. This kind of upsets me, because I think most of my childhood I
spent dreaming about fairies, being a princess, and stuffed animals being real.
I was a dreamer, and I guess nothing can live up to those expectations. Wait. I
just remembered one… When I used to go down to my grandpa/great aunt’s house I
had these neighbors. I don’t remember them that well, but I remember they had a
son. Their son and I would always play in the neighborhood. He taught me how to
boogie board and we would play detective looking for interesting things with
his “detective dog” in our backyards.
I remember one morning I woke up really
early and went to knock on his door, I didn’t think that he’d be awake but his
mom opened the door for me and smiled. “Wait right here” she said letting me in
to sit down at their breakfast table, she ran up the stairs and woke him up.
She had been making pancakes and invited me to stay for breakfast. I guess
because I don’t remember spending much time with both of my parents and
brother, it felt very homey and nice. They asked me about myself, and only
having known me for 2 weeks or so; they invited me into their home life. It
felt so nice. That boy and I spent what was left of my time there at the beach
on boogie boards, or playing with his and my grandfather’s dog Winston. It’s
such a fond memory because every time I think about it I remember the beach,
laughter, people caring about me, and happiness.
As for me I don’t really feel like I’m exceeding anyone’s expectations
often. I go out of my way to make certain people happy sometimes, and they act grateful
and happy but I just do it to see them smile. Also, I don’t know what anyone’s
expectations are for me, and I think it’s more important to live up to my own. Sometimes
I exceed my own, but my parents’ praise seems so paper-thin. I just think I
don’t live up to what they expect, my mom’s very loving and stuff, and my dad
always wants us to do well in school. I feel as if I haven’t really exceeded
their expectations, and I used to mind it a lot but now I think it’s more
important to live up to my own goals. On the other hand, My little brother
makes me feel like I exceed his expectations all the time. I like the feeling
of having him look up to me, and he always seems more genuinely impressed when
I do something I’m proud of than my parents do. I guess I love him more than I
realize…. my cousins are that way too. Not that I don’t love my parents. They
just don’t ever seem as genuinely impressed as I’d hope for, but they still
praise me.
My environment has shaped me. I didn’t want my environment
to ever affect me but it has as I’ve grown older. I can’t change that because I
didn’t plan it but it’s just the truth. Many of my friends do bad things and I
thought they’d never change. I know everyone and everything from 15 year olds
on acid and speed, kids who’ve done cocaine, kids who have piercings all over
their bodies, kids who have sex like it’s a hobby, kids who cut, throw up,
kleptos, drinkers, smokers. Everything. And I never thought I’d ever even
associate with it. I thought I was better than those people, that I’d never
even be their friend. I hate society for not finding a better way to teach us
about reality because it’s a lot scarier than anybody ever warned me. When it
hit me that drugs and violence, and people throwing their lives away were
everywhere around me I just felt overwhelmed. Because of this I just sort of
get frustrated with the way people deal with things. Everyone’s gotten MORE
immature due to these things if you ask me. I just get upset with how people
deal with things, and that makes me a hypocrite because I don’t always deal
with things in the best possible way either. When people are hurt, or upset
they do horrible things to themselves to self medicate, and make themselves
feel better. It’s something that everyone is going to see at some point in their
life, and some people will get trapped by it. I think that even so? What really
matters is that I try. What hurts me the most about seeing my friends fall into
these dirty, dark, habits is that they begin to forget everything that ever
mattered to them. And even scarier they begin to forget themselves. That’s what
separates me from them, is that no matter what happens in my life and no matter
how hard or painful it is? I won’t let it affect me negatively. I’ll only keep
getting stronger, better at dealing with these situations. I would never purposefully hurt myself
in any of the ways that my friends do. I just couldn’t let something consume my
life before I’ve had my full chance at becoming everything I can.
The book The Five People You
Meet in Heaven is a very interesting book about life and death and the
possibilities of afterlife. The Five
People You Meet in Heaven opens your eyes up to a whole new level of things
that could possibly happen when you die. This book was on the New York Times
best seller list for 95 weeks straight in 2003 when it was released. The novel
was also turned into a movie in 2004, staring John Voight.
The book starts out with the main character
Eddie (an old man) who has worked at Ruby Pier the amusement park for almost
his whole life. He dies trying to stop one of the rides at the park from
falling and killing the passengers inside, but once the passengers are safe,
the carts of the ride fall and Eddie gets killed.
When he arrives at heaven, he notices that the
sky changes rich, beautiful, colors and he feels his youth come back even
though he is still inside his old worn looking body. He meets one person at a
time in his or her own heaven and they explain to him certain events in his
life, how it affected them, and why his life had purpose. When he is done in
the first heaven, the sky begins to change beautiful colors again, and he
arrives in his second person’s heaven. He feels his body growing older every
time he reaches a new heaven as the people explain their relevance to his life.
When he is done meeting all five of the people, he gets to choose his heaven,
and then the book ends.
The
main character in the story is Eddie, but some of the other characters that
played big roles in his life where is wife Marguerite, his father,a little girl named Tala, Ruby, the
Blue Man, and the Captain. Marguerite is Eddie’s first and only love in the
story. He comes home one day and tells his brother that he met the girl he is
going to marry. And one day, he does. His father played a big role in his life
because his father was hard on him, and pushed him to follow in his exact footsteps,
working at Ruby Pier. This is something that Eddie regrets and resents his
whole life, as it is the life he wishes he had escaped. The little girl named Tala,
Ruby, the Blue Man, the Captain, and his wife Marguerite are the five people
that Eddie meets in heaven, all of which somehow played an important role in
his life, weather he knew it, or met them, or not.
This
story has many conflicts, because it focuses on Eddie’s life as a whole, and
throughout his life there are many things that weren’t right like his
relationship with his abusive father, and the way that when he came home from
the war he was a broken man.
My favorite character in this book was the Blue Man, because I
leaned about the way silver nitrate was used as medicine long, long ago and how
this man drank so much silver nitrate to help ease his tension and his jumpy
behavior that he turned blue. After he turned blue, he had to change his name
to “The Blue Man” and his father never spoke to him again because he saw him as
an embarrassment, so he went and joined Ruby Pier’s freak show. He is my
favorite character because I think his story was the most interesting one, and
he seemed very relaxed, and okay with himself the way he was.
The
most important thing to take away from this book is the fact that life isn’t
something that we can label or define, we can’t fully understand everything
that’s happened in our lives until they are over, and we really don’t know what
comes next, if anything. An important theme in this book is that we don’t know
what happens when we die, and the form of life after death in this book makes
you really think about the fact that when you die, anything is possible.
Regardless of what you believe in.
I could relate to Marguerite (Eddie’s wife) in the story because
she was the type of woman who was always happy with what she had. She loved
children, and when problems like being infertile came up, she thought of alternate
options without feeling upset or depressed for very long. I am similar in the
sense that I try and make the best out of every situation as well.
Eddie
always felt like he could never live up to his father’s expectations. Nothing
he ever did was enough for his dad. When I was younger, I remember wanting so
much to live up to the rest of the world’s expectations. I think back to it
now, and I’m glad that the only expectations that I live up to now are the ones
I want to live up to, and my own. I don’t think it’s good to live doing what
someone else wants you to do your whole life. Living up to a stereotype or
doing things that influence your life to please someone else isn’t smart, and
it won’t make you happy although completely understand what that feels like.
My opinion on this book is that it is really keeps you interested.
I liked it a lot because it was a different style of writing than the kind I am
used to, and because it had a lot of valuable lessons worded perfectly. One of
the strongest things about this book is that it was very well composed, and Mitch
Albom is great at setting scenery in your mind. Another thing that I think
Mitch Albom did very well is that he created connections to everything in the
story, and in the heaven he created he decided that everything important in
your life would get explained. This book was very well written, and I honestly
don’t think that there were any weaknesses. If I could change anything in the
book I’d change the ending to find out what Eddie’s heaven looks like, but at
the same time I think that might be hard to do since it was a great book.
I would very much recommend this book to people because it really
gets you wondering about how things work. We don’t know how many things are
going to happen and when they’re going to happen, so it’s nice to have that
subtle reminded to keep our minds open to the many possibilities.
Introduction I chose 6 journal entrees, that was from the middle and beginning of the school year. They are mainly form the book Freedom writers, that was my favorite book this year. These journal entrees are true and very expressive, I think you all would enjoy these.
Journal 1
I write because writing is am addiction. I’m
addicted to the way the pen makes music too the paper. The way it balances
between two lines. The way my soul and thoughts just fall out of the pen. It
tells all of your inner thoughts, the intertwine between the paper, pen, and
your soul is a match made in heaven. I fein for the way the pen races across
the line paper, it never gets tired. I don’t write because a teacher told me or
because it is an assignment. I do writing freely, just the way my small
chocolate hand grabs a pen and my soul just opens up though the pen. It’s
almost like I’m conversing with someone. I don’t need a clinic or hospital, but
with out writing I would be sick. I love my addiction.
Journal 2
They say I’m cocky, I will never be anything.
Coming from the deep dirty streets of south Philly, I’m just another black
girl. Trouble only come from girls like me, well at least that’s what they
think. Their looks cut me; I can hear their thoughts screaming so loud. She
going be pregnant by the age of 16, she going be addicted to boys. Only if you
really knew me, no question is do you really know me? I’m the girl who had to
grow up to help her mother. I’m the girl who smiles to make others happy. I
work my fingers to the bone to have a great education and to try to satisfy my
insatiable appetite to learn. I’m the girl who’s scared to step her foot out
side her door, or to even watch a movie with shooting in it. I’m that girl you
people think so bad of that helps her sick dad. The girl who doesn’t believe
she is conceited but confidant enough to walk with her head held high, never
looking down. That same girl who loves her family. Yes, I’m a black girl and
from south Philadelphia, but also this girl if not a whore, and I’ll not be
pregnant by 16. I’m glad you don’t know me, because frankly I do not want to
know you.
Journal 3
I feel sorry for you. They spit in you face and
treat you like dirt. They look at you like you’re a piece of dross. They look
at you like you’re a piece of gum on the bottom of shoe. They spit on you when
you’re down; you slice your arm and the red pain leak from your skin. You will
have sex for attention. You are insecure and feel your self-esteem is at a low.
Now you wear tight clothes, and show off the little you have on your body.
Suicide won’t be the answer. Show people you are a human just like them. I
never thought we would hate people for what they like. Race, creed, nationality
yeah maybe, but not for what they like. You hide who you are for friend’s
bullies, and families. You cry at night, because you don’t want to like what
your heat like. Be proud of your self; be proud to be gay and who you are.
Journal 4
The S sounds funny when people say it; it rolls
off there tongue in a stumble. They spell it so wrong; my family says it means
something special. People joke about it all the time, but I still yet to see
what’s so funny. My name seems so sudden and scary, like the
color grey. Grey is not to dark and not to bright, but dull and unfriendly.
My name is a mixture of my aunt and grand mom name. My aunt name
is Trina, my mother youngest sibling. My grand mom name is Sarah my mom’s
mother. She feels I remind her of them in some way, but I don’t think so. My
grandmother is so loud and rambunctious. Her attitude frightens people, and she
has a problem with listening to stuff people has to say. My aunt on the other
hand has attitude that people walks away from. She thinks she is still a young
girl, and her character seems like it should be forbidden off this earth. She
feels that she is better than every one; she doesn’t help with our family most
of the time. She takes responsibility for stuff that’s her, but not others. She
fun to be around and has the ability to relate teens.
My grand mom appearance seems so young and
sassy; her hair color is a shimmery gold. Moles on her face, and perfect square
bright teeth. I love knowing my grandmother she is spontaneous and full
character. My aunt dressy fun and sexy, her butt attracts much attention.
I have a mixture of two names that has two personalities. That’s
probably why I act the way I do, I don’t know weather to be shy or jus have
outburst. Does my name say anything about me? Does it even mean anything
special? These the questions I think of, like why did my mother think of this
name? But I know the answer to that question it’s because I’m special to her,
just like my grandmother and aunt.
When I get home my real name is never said, its always Re or Re
Re. At Home it’s like my name doesn’t exist, unless it’s a serious occasion.
They throw Re around but its only two letters from my name, the two letters smack
dab in the middle. I don’t love my name but I like my name sort of. Does it
define me? Watch when I try to say it, Sarena the S rolled off my tongue in a
stumble to.
Journal 5
I’m scared; I’m
afraid, and petrified. They do it but not me; I got a mind of my own. When it
comes to this one specific topic, my skin, and tummy, does a cartwheel. I’m on
my own as I walk with a straight posture; they stare and can smell the virgin
on me. Girls got gaps between their legs you can tell they been poked before. We
are so young in high school, and me having the attitude I have. I know for a
fact that Sex, won’t be for along time. I hope my scent lingers. But sometimes
I wonder does my mature ways and strong personality cause me to be different. I
hope the smell of my virginity makes them insecure and jealous.
Journal 6
I would gravel on
the ground and eat dirt. I was in my own unknown world, fresh meat. I seen this
one group, they were it. They seemed special, amazing, I would love to be part
of that group. I realized being fresh meat, means you are not ready to be
tenderized yet.
Overview- The purpose of the myth project was to research about a mythical God who we found to be very interesting. There was one catch though, in order to choose this God it was best to know the least information about this mythical character. It was best to learn information that was fresh to the mind, in order to ensure that new information was gained and doing the project wasn’t boring.
(For some reason the file wouldn't upload, so here is a link: https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2LDaXKN0qv1NTcxZTE4MTMtYTk0Yy00MmY4
I think that
Odysseus and Max are very similar in the sense that they both take control in
every situation. But at the same time, Max would rather die than let anyone in
her flock be killed. Odysseus on the other hand is all about getting himself
home safely and finishing his journey by himself.Odysseus just wants to get through his challenges so that HE
can get home to his wife and son. He doesn’t really care too much about the
well being of his other shipmates who are just there for him, and trust him
completely.
Max and Odysseus
are fierce, strong, and confident leaders. They both are attacked with
challenges and face them without fear. Both leaders are very strategic and
unafraid of the frightful experiences they must face. Odysseus had to face the
horridly beautiful Sirens which makes a point about how things never are what
they seem. The Sirens are beautiful but awful creatures that if given the
chance would kill any man they see. Odysseus barely escaped them. Max likewise
has to get past the unknown sea creatures that have been formed by toxic waste
in the depths of the oceans. The creatures lure them in with their mysterious
shapes and sizes and leave them in awe, and almost destroy them. On the
contrary though, Odysseus is lured in by the sirens’ beautiful voices, and Max
and her flock are lured in by the mysterious sight of the unknown creatures in
the sea.
Max and Odysseus are both strong,
confident leaders, but every leader has his/her flaws.Max is impatient, and Odysseus is
selfish. There are people constantly attacking and throwing challenges at both
crews and they handle everything in similar ways. The only thing that isn’t
similar about the crews is that max is selfless and does everything to protect
the people she is with/that are backing her up. Whereas Odysseus just about
lets all his men die and be killed by monsters he knew he couldn’t stand a
chance against like Scylla. Odysseus is all about getting himself home safely
and finishing his journey by himself while creating as much glory for himself
along the way. Nevertheless Max is all about protecting her flock and trying
NOT to draw attention to herself. There are people constantly attacking and
throwing challenges at both crews and they handle everything in different ways,
both portraying them in my mind as strong and confident leaders.
Another thing that
is different about Max and Odysseus is that Max is a girl, and regardless of
how tough she comes off as she still does have her breakdown moments where everything
overwhelms her. Due to the fact that Odysseus is a good 30 years older than Max
at the least, and the fact that he is a man I think it’s safe to say that when
it comes to battling and staying strong and confident, it’s easier for him. Max
has to leave her mother and her sister at home and take the flock of
genetically mutated kids whom she cares very much for with her, and she worries
about everyone of them every day. Odysseus hardly ever thinks about his men as
people and sees them more as sidekicks who aren’t quite as important as
anything else.
More than
anything, I think Max and Odysseus have about as much in common as they don’t.
By that I mean that they are very similar when it comes to their rough
lifestyles, constantly traveling and not sure whom they can trust, and the
tough challenges they have to live through. But at the same time, they are
different because Odysseus is only thinking about himself and Max has a deeper
bond where she is honest with the people that accompany her on her insane
adventures and journjourneys.
You know how
people say great things happen when you least expect them? (Opener) Well
that’s the way it all began between Nick and I. It all started on a Friday,
(October 30th, the day before Halloween to be exact) a day that I
didn’t expect to be out of the ordinary. I had dressed up like a vampire to
school for the costume competition, full with plastic fangs, chalky white
makeup, and a cape.(Magic Three) Of course, I ended up being one of the only
people who dressed up, but on the bright side, that never fails to make people
laugh, right? My field hockey team had a very important game against a very
good, prestigious team that day after school. We on the other hand just
referred to them as “that snobby annoying school with a bigger field than us”.
Some of the younger girls on my team decided that since it was the night before
Halloween, we should try and “scare” the other team. I happily supplied white
and black face paint,(glad that
some use came of it) painting every girl on my teams face white with black
circles around their eyes. We were all laughing and making fun of each others
bad makeup, and I guess our game plan to distract them worked, because even
though we overheard them calling us freaks in the girls bathroom the victory
was ours.
My
best friend is named Emmi. Emmi has long blonde curls, and fierce, deep blue
eyes(Magic three). We do everything together and she had stayed to watch my
game. I went downstairs and she waited with me while I washed off the messy
face paint and changed out of my clothes, looking like I’d been tossed around
in a tornado(Metaphor).We were going to a haunted house that night with my
step brother, and his friend who I’d never met.
Emmi and I walked
out of school, and over to love park where everyone hangs out after school when
it’s warm. The cold hadn’t hit yet, and fall was at its warmest point. We went
and met up with some of the kids we usually hung out with, skaters. Swoooosh,
swiiiish, swoooooosh, their boards slid by us as they jumped around us doing
skateboard tricks, and we laughed eating junk food from the Seven Eleven (repetition
for effect).We didn’t feel like going to the haunted house anymore because we
were having fun with our friends, and left in dismay when my dad called.
We hopped on the
train and talked about school and field hockey, and how the other team looked
when they lost. We trudged into my house expecting a quiet, dull and boring
night and I had pretty much forgotten that Grace, Johnny (my step brother) and
his friend were coming to the haunted house with us(Magic three).
Emmi and I were
never pessimists, so I turned on music, and made both of us soup. We sat at my
table laughing andeating when
suddenly the front door opened, and a boy walked into my house. I didn’t know
him, but saw shortly after that Johnny was right behind him. The boy looked
around my house and made small talk with Johnny while they walked up the
stairs. I barely ever liked anyone at first sight, but when I saw him I
immediately thought he was attractive. I turned to Emmi and cupped my hands
around her ears“he’s cute!” I
whispered into her ear, she whispered back “I know!” they walked towards the
table where we sat and I searched my mind for something to say. I ended up asking
them the first thing that came to my head. “Want some crackers?” they laughed
and looked at each other “no I’m okay” said the boy smiling. My step mom walked
in through the door then andthe
introductions were made, I analyzed the boy standing in front of me, he was tan
with dark brown hair that flipped over his eyes. I signaled at Emmi and stood
up from the table, “we’ll be right back” I said grabbing Emmi’s arm and pulling
her into my room. We sat on my floor, my music was on as always and we brushed
our hair and wiped the left over Halloween makeup from our faces. Just then
there was a knock at the door. “Grace is here!” I said standing abruptly, Emmi
right behind me. We opened the door and introduced her to Nick and Johnny.
“Hi!” Grace’s freckle dabbled cheeks turned into a grin, and she hugged Emmi
and I.
On
the car ride over, I made small talk with Nick and Johnny, and Grace and Emmi
stayed moderately quiet. I found out that Nick played ice hockey, one of my
favorite sports. He lived in New Jersey, and according to him he “never got
scared”. We teased him, hoping that the pennententary would scare him the way
it always scared us. We got out of the car and signed our wavers, walking
through the long line of people and listening to the screams coming from the
inside of the haunted jail. People dressed as monsters crawled on the floor
and ran around, screaming and cackling with gouged eyes, rotten teeth and
bloody wounds, but I was more interested in the boy named Nick (Magic
three). Him and I decided to exchange numbers, solely for the slight chances
that one of us got lost, of course. As we walked in, there were foggy lights
and sirens going off. The jail looked like something straight out of a
horror movie and every five minutes an actor that looked like he’d fallen into
a bucket of toxic waste, would jump out from behind us or beg us to let it out
of it’s jail cell (metaphor). Nick started squinting and saying he couldn’t
see because of the strobe light, he kept walking into things so I grabbed his
arm and he walked with me. Johnny, Emmi, and Grace were all in front of us
and every now and again we could hear Johnny shrieking like a child at the
doctor’s office(Metaphor). Every little while I’d check in to make sure
Nick was ok, and he just kept blinking as if he were blind. Emmi, grace and
Johnny went ahead and Nick and I were walking slowly. Everytime I got scared
I’d jump andhe’d occasionally ask
if I was ok. Eventually we reached one of those bridges where the walls spin
around you in circles with creepy patterns on them. More actors were standing
underneath the bridge scraping the metal walkway with their fingernails. I got
really dizzy and couldn’t keep walking so Nick grabbed my hand and put his arm
on my back, helping me out of the tunnel. When we got out of the tunnel, we
didn’t let go of each other’s hands. I stood still for a second, (I’m known to
get dizzy very easily) “are you good?” he asked me, I nodded my head and
smiled. I was still holding his hand we braced the rest of the haunted house.
My heart felt full andI felt
comfortable with him. I remember thinking to myself“I don’t even know this guy…why do I feel so comfortable
with him? Why am I holding his hand?” but I never said anything. Eventually we
got out, and if it were up to me I would have made the haunted house a LOT
longer. We saw Emmi Grace and John, and awkwardly let go of each others hands
mutually feeling as though Johnny would not be happy if he saw. When Anne (my
stepmom) and my dad arrived, we took some pictures in front of the prison, and
piled into the car.
Back
at my house, I felt a sinking feeling in my chest as if an anchor were weighing
it down, knowing that I would probably never see the boy named Nick again
(Metaphor). We played with a football in my house, ate some chips, and
then asked if we could walk around the neighborhood with the boys. By then it
was like 11:30 but my dad said sure. We walked them to Market Street, and
everyone was quiet except for Nick and I. We were making jokes and having silly
arguments. We all eventually sat and talked trying to figure out who was
taller, about school, how Johnny didn’t like the kids where he was from, Emmi
and I teased them about being from Jersey, and Grace joined in every once in a
while. Eventually we had to go back home and I felt my heart sink even more. We
hugged them goodbye and I watched them close the door with brief smiles. Grace
got picked up shortly after, and Emmi was sleeping over so that the next day
(Halloween) we could go trick or treating together. We layed on my couch and
watched Chuckie, when all of the sudden I got a text that said “Hey it’s Nick
:P” my heart skipped a beat, and I showed my phone to Emmi. I remember staying
up until 2AM texting him. Eventually we became closer and closer, and he asked
me out. He was literally the boy version of me, and it still amazes me how when
your not looking, you find some of the most important things in your life. Nick
has now been my boyfriend for a year and five months, and he’s like my best friend.
This story isn’t supposed to be one of those lovey stories, but it’s supposed
to show that things happen when you least expect and that’s the greatest
suprize. That night will now forever be special to me, even if Nick and me
don’t stay together, he’ll still be special to me.
Introduction: this is my compare and contras benchmark
for my third quarter. This was about comparing big Dan from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? And the
Cyclops is from the book odyssey. All this is about is how
both of them are alike.
Thesis: Even though Big Dan and Cyclops have some of the same characteristics,
they are portrayed differently in the stories.
Body Paragraphs:
#1. Point of Comparison—Big Dan
and Cyclops the same
Specific examples: Both have 1 eye
Both big and strong
They
greedy
Stick
#2. Point of Contrast—Big Dan and
Cyclops different (tricking)
Specific examples: Big Dan tricking Everett and taking all his money
Cyclops he
got tricked by Odysseus when he gave him wine that made him drunk then he fell
asleep. Odysseus stabs him in they eye and blind him.
#3. Point of Contrast—Big Dan and
Cyclops different (Big Dan is smarter than Cyclops)
Specific examples: Big Dan did not lose his eye, didn’t gettricked. Cyclops falls for Odysseus’ trick.
Big Dan was more prepared. He expected Everett to come. Cyclops didn’t
know that Odysseus was going to come.
Conclusion: Restate your thesis.
Your conclusion is that while both men have physical similarities, they are
portrayed differently in how they handle situations.Big Dan seems to be smarter than the Cyclops because he is
prepared for Everett and doesn’t fall for his tricks.
I have enjoyed myself in English class for my freshman year.
I have learned a lot and have grown a lot. In portfolio, you can see that I
have grown a lot, the more recent my work get. My project tells that I am not a
person that gets my emotions out all the time and like to get it out on paper.
Also, from my projects you can tell I try my best in everything I attempt.
Even though I have grown being in this class for the last
past couple of months, I still
have things I need to work on. One big weakness that I have and need to work on
is to stop procrastinating. My work is not as good if I do it the night before
and most likely, I won’t complete my work on time. I do think a strength is
connecting my emotions to my piece of writing or to a book. Making this
portfolio was really interesting. It almost seemed to me like an evolution. It
was fun looking through all my work. It was easy to edit because I had all of
my papers right in front of me. I am most proud of my book review. My book
review was one of the best papers I have ever written in my life. My grammar
was perfect and I scored really high on it. Maybe the highest I have ever
scored on a piece of writing.
Quarter one Benchmark was my first benchmark ever for
English. This was a project based around a Shakespeare’s play called Macbeth. I was walking into this project
naive and a little nervous. This was a project I wasn’t used to because we had
to create a thesis and I had to create a essay on a Shakespeare play.
Thesis- In the
beginning of the play, Macbeth was a beast on the battlefield and a very loyal
friend, but by the end he had a frozen heart and would do anything to get to
the top.
In Act 1, Scene 3 of
Macbeth, King Duncan has sent Angus and Ross to go pronounce the title Thane of
Cawdor to Macbeth. King Duncan gave this title to Macbeth because he heard of
the incident on the battlefield and felt that he deserved it. Also, the
previous King of Cawdor was not trustworthy and sneaky. So, King Duncan sent someone
to kill him and sent Angus and Ross to pronounce the title to Macbeth. Macbeth
and Banquo had just got their prophesies from the weird sisters. Macbeth’s
prophecy stated that he would be pronounced Thane of Cawdor, and later would be
pronounced King.Angus and Ross
surprised Macbeth and Banquo to pronounce Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. After
this, aside Macbeth says, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the
swelling act of the imperial theme” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 128-129). Macbeth is
in shock right at this minute. He really can’t believe all this just came true
because he didn’t believe the weird sisters. Macbeth was saying that part of
his prophecy came true and he can’t believe it. He has all these different
emotions stirring up inside.
In Act 1, Scene 7,
Macbeth started to think of what the murder of King Duncan would do to his
reputation. Also he felt that he didn’t have the guts to do it. King Duncan was
very good to Macbeth and trusted him. Macbeth just felt that he couldn’t betray
King Duncan’s trust and loyalty. In a result of this, Macbeth went to Lady
Macbeth and says, “We will proceed no further in this business” (Act 1, Scene
7, lines 31). What Macbeth means is that Lady Macbeth and himself will not go
through with the plan of murdering King Duncan. He can’t cough up the courage
to do something that cruel. He seemed to be very upset and stern with this
statement. Lady Macbeth was enraged with this decision that Macbeth has made. She
feels that he is being a wuss and needs to man up. She tries to convince him in
a very sexy and sneaky way to be back in tune with the plan.
In Act 1, Scene 7, Lady
Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth to go through with the plan. However,
Macbeth was being kind of stubborn and strict with his decision not to murder
King Duncan. Then Lady Macbeth started to become convincing and Macbeth started
to become very gullible. Macbeth started to kick back in gear with the plan and
started listening to Lady Macbeth. Macbeth was feeling uneasy with the plan so he
asked Lady Macbeth “If we should fail?” (Act 1, Scene 7, line 59). Macbeth asks
Lady Macbeth this he wanted to know if she knew what they were going to do if
they did fail. However, Lady Macbeth came back with a very confident answer.
Basically, she told him to man up and don’t think about that type of stuff and
that they were not going to lose.
In Act 2, Scene 2, King
Duncan is a guest at Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s home. They decide to go through
with the plan. They were going to get the guards drunk and wait till Duncan was
asleep and murder him with daggers. After that, they were going to plant the
bloody daggers on the guards. Macbeth noticed that King Duncan was asleep and
wanted to get the deed over with. He had murdered Duncan and walked in the room.
Lady Macbeth was in the room and stated to Lady Macbeth “I have done the deed.
Didst thou not hear a noise?” (Act 2, Scene 2, line 15). He said this in a very
shaken up tone. Macbeth was terrified and paranoid. He couldn’t believe he just
did what he did and swore someone was going to find. He was so shaken up, that
he brought back the bloody daggers. Lady Macbeth noticed that he had them and
told him to go plant them on the guards while they were still out of it. He was
so paranoid that he couldn’t do that.
In Act 3, Scene 2,
Macbeth has decided to kill Banquo because he is getting to suspicious about
the murder of Duncan. Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo. This was
going to take place while Macbeth and the lords were at dinner. Banquo was suppose
to attend this dinner, but this was all Macbeth’s plan so he could kill him.
However, Lady Macbeth wanted to know what was going on with this plan and
wanted to know what it was about. Macbeth wanted this plan to stay a secret and
on the “down low”. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth “Be innocent of the knowledge,
dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed” (Act 3, Scene 2, lines 46-47). What
Macbeth was saying was that he was not going to tell Lady Macbeth until his
plan was accomplished. He wasn’t going to tell anyone about this because he
didn’t want it to get out to anyone. He also wanted to think of this on his own
and didn’t want anyone to change his mind or manipulate his plan. He even went
through lying to his wife to successfully accomplish his plan.
In Act 3, Scene 4,
Macbeth was at the dinner with the lord and Lady Macbeth. Banquo was suppose to
be there, but Macbeth sent out hit men to kill Banquo. The murderers came back
and told Macbeth that the deed was done and Banquo was no longer alive. The murderers
then started to explain what they did to him. They told Macbeth that Banquo’s
throat was cut. Then Macbeth states “Thou the best of the cut throats” (Act 3,
Scene 4, line 19). This is when Macbeths really starts getting mean and cruel.
What he means by this is that he is glad that Banquo is out of the picture and
in an indirect way, he is saying good job to the murderers. Macbeth starts to
get hardhearted at this point.
In Act 4,
Scene 1, “The Weird Sisters” had came back. There were also three Apparitions,
which are ghost like images of people. These Apparitions were telling Macbeth
to be aware of Macduff and his family. Macbeth took this in to great
consideration when they had told him this. Macbeth then starts to think and
wonder why should I fear of thee. Macbeth says “But yet I will make assurance
double sure and take a bond of fate” (Act 4, Scene 1, lines 105-106). What
Macbeth means is that he will make sure that Macduff and his family is out of
the way. In other words, Macbeth is going to kill Macduff and his family. He
goes about doing it the same way he kills Banquo. He sends murderers to
Macduff’s home and only his family was there, there was no Macduff. The
murderer ends up killing Macduff’s family.
In Act 5, Scene 5, Macbeth has just
found out that Lady Macbeth has died from her mind disease. Lady Macbeth had
went in sane because she was guilty about the murder of King Duncan and that
was haunting her. Seyton has informed him about this tragic news. However,
there was also a very important war going on right now, so Macbeth states to
Seyton “She should have died hereafter” (Act 5, Scene 5, line 17). What Macbeth
is trying to say is that there is nothing he could have done about her dying or
keep her from dying. However, he is kind of glad that she has died because that
is one less thing he has to worry about while he fighting a war.
In Act 5, Scene 8, Macbeth and
Macduff are in the battlefield. “The Weird Sisters” had told Macbeth in a Act
before that Macbeth could not be harmed “none of woman born”. Because of this
Macbeth did not fear the English army. Then Macduff and Macbeth start to fight
and Macduff reveals to Macbeth that he was born form his mother’s womb untimely
ripped. Macbeth starts to get frightened by the situation now. However, Macbeth
is to stubborn to even back down. He says to Macduff “I will not yield, to kiss
the ground before young Malcolm’s feet and to be baited with rabble’s curse”
(Act 5, Scene 8, lines 28-29). What Macbeth is trying to say is he is not
backing down. He is not going to apologize for what he has done because it is
already done. He is not going to back down to Malcolm basically.
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth started
out as a very loyal and caring friend. However as the play went on, Macbeth
started to get very greedy, stubborn, and in some way evil. My quotes support
my thesis very well. In the beginning you could see that Macbeth was just not
one to betray his friends and cared about them. He also cared about what people
would think about him. However, by the end of the play, Macbeth would do
anything to get what he want and didn’t care about what a soul thought about
him. He also became very careless about people’s feelings. Shakespeare’s lesson
or message to the readers could have been don’t let anything take away your
self-respect, no matter how much it means to you to get it because it can do
you dirty at the end.
Quarter two Benchmark was one of my favorite Benchmarks this
year. It was a personal vignette. This vignette let me get a lot of feelings
out on paper and softened up hard feelings. I had multiple connections to this
benchmark and was very surprised that I didn’t mind sharing this story with my
teacher.
Only If…
Lexus Forman
This day was a
beautiful day. Walking out of school, the sun was shining, kids laughing,
and my mom outside waiting to pick me up as usual (Opener-Magic Three).
When I got in the car all I could feel was negative energy. I knew something
was up when she didn’t say the usual, “What did you learn today, Lexus?” (Dialogue).
I thought maybe someone had said something to her that got under her skin,
or she got a dent in her car, you know, just a bad day. So, I asked if we could
go get something to eat. We went to KFC and as I was “grubbing” on my food she
sprung some devastating news on me out of nowhere. It was “Lexus… Grand mom is
in the hospital because she is in a diabetic coma”. I dropped the greasy
chicken, popped mouth wide open, and automatically started thinking the worst!
(Magic Three). “Is she dying? Am I never going to see her again?”
We pulled up to
hospital and I saw a swarm of people in front of the emergency room. I knew
that was my family because we have always hated to be waiting in the emergency
room with a whole bunch of angry sick people, who have been waiting to hear
their names called so they can be relieved from their sickness and that room
full of germs! I knew grand mom wasn’t doing to well when all five of her children
were at the hospital, all her grandchildren were there except for AJ who lived
in Atlanta, and a few people from the church too. By this time everyone had
been in to see her but me. I hate hospitals! I tried every excuse in the book
to keep me from going in there to see her. However obviously I did not win, so
I sucked it up and went in there. When I walked in her room I could not believe
what I saw. She was connected to so many tubes and needles. I knew that
couldn’t be comfortable at all. I felt so bad because I knew I couldn’t do
anything to help. I needed to get out that room; I just couldn’t bear the pain.
As I went outside
looking for some comfort, I walked outside to a bunch of arguing. I knew I had
a dysfunctional family, but right know, were they serious? I needed to get
away, and plus I had to use the bathroom. So, I went into the lobby and used
the bathroom. I was so overwhelmed and upset at the whole situation that I
broke down into tears. At the time when we need each other the most, they wanted
to argue. The only sane ones there at the time were my three-year-old niece and
me. I was thinking maybe they could learn something from us.
By the weekend
grand mom wasn’t doing any better. There was no progress made. By this time, I
kind of knew that she was not going to make it. However, I stilled kept my
faith and still kept my conversation with the man upstairs to pull grandmom
through this. I woke up one morning and went down to the hospital to spend time
with my grand mom. As walked in to my grand mom’s room there was a surprise… My
cousin AJ! It was an awesome moment that we shared when he hugged me because I
hadn’t seen him in two years because he lived in Atlanta. He gave me a little
joy. He was the only one that could really make me laugh and anyone else for
that matter. He didn’t only bring his luggage from Atlanta; he brought his joy
and bandages to fix the family. When he was there was no arguing because every
time he would feel a heated argument coming on, he would tell a joke. I think the
family started to notice that this is not the time to argue, this is the time
to come together because we all needed each other.
I woke up for
school this one morning and the hospital called my mother and told her they
wanted to speak to the family. I had the option to go to the hospital or to go
to school. I choose to go to school because from watching soap operas, anytime
a doctor wanted to speak to the family the sound effect “duh duh duhhhh”
(onomatapeia) came on. Surprisingly, I hardly thought about the
situation all day in school. When I walked out of school, I saw my mom
standing outside her car, my sister and cousin in another car, and my uncle and
aunt in the other.(Repetion forEffect). They all had on
sunglasses, although the sun was beaming that day I knew for a fact that was
not the case. I got down to the car, and my mom gave me the biggest hug in the
world. I could feel her pain trickling down my back. I pushed her off of me and
jumped in the car. I hate for people to see me cry because I think I’m going to
be viewed as a weak person.
Grandma, I need
you! Please come back. I don’t know how to make it without you! You were my
rock, my soul, and my sanity. (Magic 3). I promise I will do anything you
would like to do. You want to play cards? We can even watch those western
cowboy shows you loved so much. I can say I am a pretty strong human being and
some people even say I hardly have emotions, however I knew for this one I
needed strength. After the news of my grand mother’s death, I knew I needed
to go home, grope my bible, and pray till no end. (Magic 3). After I had
done this I had no emotions. I didn’t cry at all, I just thought. This tragedy
could not be amputated from my brain. When thinking about this, all I could
think about is how I didn’t make her the brownies I had promised for millions
of years, and how I never came over to help water the plants like I had
promised. The thing that gets me is my grandma lived right across the driveway.
I couldn’t do this for her anymore. Basically, I lied to my grandma! I wish
there was a postman for heaven, so he can come pick up the diabetic brownies I
made and deliver it to her mansion in heaven.
I was drowning in
my guilt. The anguish had captivated my body and soul. All I wanted to do is
sit in the bed and let the guilt suffocate me. I tried to convince myself that
what I had to do was so much more important than watering plants and baking
brownies. I was sure that going over friend’s houses and going to the park was
more important. Then I came to realize that those were only excuses grand mom
used to get me to come over and chill with her for a while. I never knew how
much I would miss my grand mom once she was gone. I would give anything up to
see my grand mom for just three minutes. Never will I take another human for
granted like I did my grand mom again. I treat my mom like the queen she is now
because I can wake up tomorrow and she can be gone! I would just love to be
able to hug my grand mom right now and if you have the opportunity to, then don’t
take any moment for granted.
Quarter three Benchmark was a little challenging because I
had to compare a novel and a movie (“The Odyssey” and O, Brother Where Art Thou) that had some comparison to each other.
However, you really had to understand both the movie and the novel to see the
comparison.
Lexus Forman
Q3 BM Dunn
Sometimes there is
a time to be big- headed and a time to just be chilled and modest. The main
character in The Odyssey, named
Odysseus had different ways of leading than the main character in “O, Brother
Where Art Thou,” Everett. However, a leader should be modest because when
people are calm and are giving the right type of direction then the plan goes
smoothly. Although Everett and Odysseus have some similarities, Everett’s
characteristics such as him being open-minded and modest helps to get what he
wants when Odysseus can’t.
In book nine of TheOdyssey,
Odysseus and his crew went to the Cyclops’ Island. During their journey at the
island Odysseus stabs the Cyclops in the eye and destroys it. Being that
Odysseus is very prideful, he tells the Cyclops in Book 9, lines 558-559
“Cyclops if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you,
shamed you so- say Odysseus”. Odysseus was not thinking of course because the
Cyclops is Poseidon’s son. Poseidon is the god of the ocean and Odysseus was
traveling in the, ocean. Even though Poseidon didn’t cause any damage to
Odysseus and his crew it could have been a huge possibility. However, Everett
is a different story. Even though, Odysseus and Everett both want their props for
their accomplishments, Everett remains modest allowing the crew to be safe.
When Everett recorded his song in the studio, the “producer” liked it a lot. He
liked it so much that he was willing to pay money for it. The producer was
blind, so Everett came up with a clever idea to make the producer pay for six
people when it was really only four. Everett didn’t brag about this mischievous
thing that he did because he was smart about it. Just imagine if he got caught;
he was already in enough trouble as it was.
In the Cyclops
cave, Odysseus needed a disguise to get out the cave all in one piece. He came
up with a sneaky idea for him and his crewmembers to hide under the sheep from
Cyclops cave. Because this was Cyclops Island and the Cyclops only had one eye,
the Cyclops is kind of limited or has a disadvantage on seeing some things.
Odysseus knowing this straps his crewmembers to the sheep and Odysseus and his
crewmembers make it out in one piece. In book 9, lines 380-381 “Then he hoisted
the huge slab of to block the door and squatted to milk his sheep and bleating
goats, each in order, putting a suckling underneath each dam. Everett and his
“crew” Delmar and Pete met an African American man while driving down a road.
This African American man’s name was Tommy. They had lost Tommy for a little
while and found him again, but spotted him in a horrible place. Everett and his
“crew” spotted him at a KKK chant and were in trouble. As a result of that, the
crew disguised their selves as KKK members and was in the act of trying to save
him. They almost got caught, however Everett being the smart guy he is wiggled
his way out of that problem and rescued him.
In “Brother Where
Art Thou”, Everett is the leader of their crew. Right after the whole incident
with the KKK and rescuing Tommy, they were headed to the candidate’s pep riley.
Something in Delmar’s and Pete’s head clicked and they wanted to know why
Everett had to be the boss of everything and take charge. Even though Everett
knew he wanted to be leader because it is just an awesome title to have because
you have a say in what everyone does, he explained to the crew that he needed
them. He also explains that he doesn’t think that they would have made it that
far without them two on the journey with them. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was
also the leader of his crew. However, he didn’t have three crewmembers, he had
hundreds of them. Therefore, he is not able to care for his crewmembers like
Everett is able to. For example in book 12, lines 280-282, Odysseus says “Of all
the pitiful things I’ve witnessed, suffering, searching out the pathways of the
sea, the wrenched my heart the most”. He was saying he needed his men but
couldn’t really sit there and pity too much because he had other things to
worry about.
Everett and Odysseus
have similarities, but their differences ended up not helping Odysseus in the
end. During their journey at the island Odysseus stabs the Cyclops in the eye
and destroys it. Odysseus being prideful causes him to say something that
wasn’t smart, when Everett does something sneaky and manages to keep his mouth
shut. Also, Odysseus and Everett disguise their selves to get them out of
trouble. Finally, Everett cares about his men and lets them know that and
Odysseus does also, however he has too many men to really show it. This shows
you that Odysseus and Everett has different ways of leading and Everett’s way
pays off in the end.
The book I read for my Independent Reading assignment was “A
Child Called It” By Dave Pelzer. This book is an awesome book and as a result
of this the book review was a cool project to complete.
My
Book Review
By:
Lexus Forman
This book “A Child Called It”,
written by Dave Pelzer is spectacular. This book is an autobiography about a
child with a very unstable and abusive home. This little helpless boy was
brutally abused by his mother, Catherine Roerva. His child abuse case was one
of the most severe cases in California history. “A Child Called It” was
mentioned in hard rock band Buckcherry’s songs “Rescue Me” and “A Child Called
It”. These songs were on the album “Black Butterfly”. I have to believe that I
am not the only person who enjoyed this book because this book was on New
York’s bestsellers list for 6 years straight; that’s really remarkable.
This autobiography is about a
man, Dave Pelzer who was abused as a child by his alcoholic mother. His mother
had something against him. She didn’t treat her four other sons anything like
she treated Dave. She tortured Dave. She did things to Dave like stuff his face
into his brother’s soiled diaper and tried to make eat the feces, or force
ammonia down Dave’s throat. Dave has come to a lot of near death experiences
from his mother. The crazy thing is, that is mother wasn’t always an evil
woman. She was actually a very caring and nurturing mother before she became an
alcoholic mother.
The
characters in this memoir are Dave, Dave’s mother Catherine Roerva, Dave’s
father Stephan Joseph Pelzer, and Dave’s brothers Stan, Ron, Russell, and
Kevin. In this book the main conflict is between Dave and his mother, Catherine
Rovera. However, there are minor conflicts in the book with Dave’s father and
Dave. Dave’s father feels that he is too tired and stressed out to help Dave
with the abuse problem because he is a firefighter and works almost a 24-hour
shift everyday. I would have to say that Dave is a very strong and genuine
person, and that is why Dave is my favorite character. Dave made it through
that bumpy road in his life, and made it to be a very successful person despite
the tragedy he went through as a child. Also, even though Dave’s mother is so
evil and cruel, Dave doesn’t hate her. He actually loves her to death and cares
deeply for her.
This book is a powerful memoir
that really makes you think. It made me think of all the times I said “I hate
my mother!” or “She gets on my nerves!” Dave would have probably killed for a
mother like mine. I just believe that this book teaches people how to be
grateful for the good things that you have in your life even though you might
think that they are not the best because other people are going through so much
more and would die for something that you have.
This book is a great book. It is
an awesome book. I don’t think that this book needs any changes or has any
weaknesses. This book kept me entertained from beginning to end. The drama
never stopped and this might sound a little weird, but this book kept me
yearning for more. This book to me was like a drug and I can’t wait to read the
one that follows this book, “The Lost Boy”.
This book was not relatable at
all. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. Well maybe just one thing,
however it is a minor thing. I can relate to Dave with his dad situation. Dave
never sees his dad because he works a 24-hour shift and Dave’s dad knows what
it is going on in the house, but to a certain extent he doesn’t know how serious
it is. My dad doesn’t live with me and I barely see my dad. I can be going
through hell right now (even though I am not) and he wouldn’t know a thing
because he doesn’t see me at all. Dave’s dad could have saved him from his
mother. He wasn’t scared of Dave’s mother; he fought fires for a living!
I would recommend this book to
the world! This book is just a stellar example of a memoir. This is a
remarkable book to read if you do not love you life so much right now. I
wouldn’t recommend this book to the younger audience because the things in this
book are too severe for a 10-year-old to be walking around reading. However,
this book would be great for teens to read. I say this because being a teen; I
know that we take our lives for granted almost every single day, wishing we had
the glamour and all the money. We never say I am so blessed and thankful for
this in our lives and this book will make you stop and ponder on that.
I have had multiple journal entries to complete over the
past few months in English class. I have chosen my favorite to show case. I
enjoy getting my feelings out on a piece of paper and that’s what journals
allow me to do.
-A Hero
A hero is a person that I can look
up to. A person that I can count on to make good decisions and have respect for
their selves. I’m not saying a hero can’t make mistakes because in the movie
“The Incredibles”, Mr. Incredible made a mistake that almost ruined his whole
hero career. However, a hero doesn’t always have to be fictional, it can be
someone right in your own home like your mother, father, or even your dog. A
hero like this is never going to be perfect because they are only human. I really
appreciate when a person or better yet, a hero can be real and acknowledge
their mistakes and learn from them. That shows real character and gratitude.-----
-¿Secrets?
Hmm… If I got away with a really
good trick would I tell? That’s a good question. However, no I wouldn’t! I
would keep my big mouth shut! I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard because who
wouldn’t want someone to know what you did. You know that feeling when you feel
like you have to tell someone so you write it down, or in my case yell it into my
pillow. That might sound weird but it works, you should definitely try it. You
can’t trust some people these days because when you tell someone something, and
you say “promise you won’t tell a soul” knowing god darn well there going to
tell Sarah, Annie, and everyone’s grand mom. Therefore it’s good to keep you’re
secrets to yourself.
-All Alone
There have been plenty of times when I felt like I was alone
and had no one to turn to. However, recently I had an occurrence with that.
This was in the beginning of 9th grade, when we all got our
assignments for first quarter. It seemed as if they were never going to stop
piling on. I was not used to benchmarks, nor not having test. Also, at my
middle school I really didn’t have to try, the work was just really easy. All I
had to do was show up in class and listen. The work was really easy and I
completed a test like a pro.
I just wasn’t used to the work. The work was very
complicated and came all in one bulk. It seemed as though this school was
trying to set me up for failure instead of doing their best to help me. When
report cards came, I could almost die. I got a C on my report card. C’s looked
like the most ugliest letter at the time. I hadn’t gotten a C on my report
since the fourth grade. In fourth grade, I made a promise to myself that I
would never get another on my report card ever in my life. I felt like I had
let myself down. All my peers around me had great report card and I felt alone.
I almost wanted to crawl in a cardboard box.
-Am I Perfect?
How
do people expect you to be perfect, knowing that they aren’t perfect their
selves? I believe that’s how high a lot of the adults I know expectations of me
are. I have always been a “goodie two shoes” and now that I am a teenager,
things are bound to change. You know how people always say act your age, not
your shoe size. Well that’s what I believe I am doing. I am maturing with my
age. However, I believe with maturing, comes with making mistakes; with making
mistakes, you have to be mature enough to learn from them.
One thing I hate to do is
disappoint people. I especially hate to disappoint the people I love the most,
like my mom, dad, and close relatives. Their oppions is what matters the most
and impacts my behavior. I know for a fact I don’t act the way I do at home in
public and that is not something I am proud of. I think that if my family knew
how I acted outside of my home sometimes, they would have a cow. Therefore, I
try my hardest not to act like a teenager, and act like a mature teenager that
I know my family would be proud of.
My myth project was a project we had to complete based on
the novel “The Odyssey”. I had to tell the myth of a Greek God or Goddess and
this project got to show off my creative side just a tad bit.
In the beginning of the year, Ms.Dunn assigned us the
project of creating a "Me Magazine”. The magazine contains articles, pictures, and
facts about your life. In my magazine, I put three articles that are written on
my inspiration for music, passion for the Twilight
Saga , and Christmas that my family attends each year. A reason for creating this project was so we could reflect on our work at the end of the year. After reviewing my magizine in May, I seen how much I improve on my academic life.
In my essay I try to explain the process in which Macbeth
begins to go insane. The majority of the quotes I use are his and his wife’s. I
explain each quote, and then talk about what is happening in each act
underneath.
In Act 1 scene 4 line 149-155 Macbeth says “give me your
favor. My dull brain wrought with things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains
are registered where every day I turn the leaf to read them. Let us toward the
king. Think upon what hath chanced, and at more time, our interim having
weighed it, let us speak our free hearts to each other.” He is basically
stating that he wants to help his kind friends if they ever need it,and that he wants to be able to speak
with them freely, with them doing so in return. He is declaring his loyalty to
the king and these men, and acting as though they are his main priorities.
In Act 1 scene 5 line 64-68 Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Look
like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t. He that’s coming must be
provided for; and you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch,
which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and
masterdom.” Lady Macbeth is hinting to Macbeth that he should kill Duncan.
She’s pushing forward with this idea that his death will bring them power and
happiness, and that what more could they ask for than an opportunity for
leadership.
In Act 1 scene 7line 12-16, and line 25-28 Macbeth says “He’s here in double trust:
first, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong against the deed; then, as
his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife
myself…I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting
ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the’ other-“ Macbeth is debating
weather or not he should kill Duncan. He feels as though the deed is malicious
and two faced, but at the same time he is being driven by his great ambition to
get what he (thinks he) deserves. He ends his speech on a self-ambitious note,
but is interrupted. Tome it seems
like he is slowly leaning towards doing the deed.
In Act 2 scene 2, 47-53 Lady Macbeth says “Why worth thane,
do you undend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Go get
some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these
daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them and smear the sleepy
grooms with blood.”
Lady Macbeth is a little annoyed with Macbeth’s lack of
confidence. He’s acting weird, and not doing things according to plan. This
worries lady Macbeth, and she tells Macbeth to go back and do things right, he
is too scared though because he doesn’t want to have any part in what he’s
done…he is too traumatized.
In Act 2 scene 2 line 61-66 Lady Macbeth says: “Whence is that knocking? How
is’t that with me when every noise appalls me? What hands are here? Ha! They
pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from
my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making
the green one red.” In this scene, Macbeth begins to say weird things. Lady
Macbeth is confused, and he is acting completely freaked out. Macbeth begins to
say things that don’t make sense, and begins to show fear and remorse for his
actions. He has just heard a knock, and begins to talk about how he’s spooked,
and he is talking about how no amount of water could ever clean the blood off
of his hands. The deed he did was forever, and he cannot take it back.
In Act 2 scene 3 line 89-94 Macbeth says “Had I but died an
hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant
there’s nothing serious in mortality: All is but toys. Renown and grace is
dead, the wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag
of.” Macbeth is covering himself. He is pretending that he is upset and
distressed by the murder of Duncan. He wonders who it could be, and why anyone
would do such a thing to their worthy wonderful king but in reality, he is just
pretending and hiding behind his own words, for Macbeth is the killer.
In act 3 scene 2 line 7-10 Lady Macbeth says “Nought’s had, all’s spent, Where
our desire is got without content: Tis safer to be that which we destroy than
by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” Lady Macbeth feels like they’ve
done enough harm. In this quote she is saying that which they desired didn’t
make them feel any happier. She is also implying that she would rather pretend
nothing ever happened than to keep trying to find meaningless happiness, and
she hopes Macbeth calms down back into the man he used to be. She is implying
that Macbeth’s mind is starting to change.
In act 3 scene 4 line Macbeth says to the first murdered
“Thou art the best o’ the cut-throats: yet he’s good that did the like for
Fleance: if thou didst it, Thou art the nonpareil” What Macbeth is doing here
is he is bringing his trickery and bribery to a new level. He is trying to make
the murderer feel good about himself for doing his dirty deeds, when in reality
the only person he is fooling is himself. Lady Macbeth’s worries about Macbeth
only become realer and realer.
In act 4 scene 1 Macbeth says “how now, you secret, black,
and midnight hags! What is’t you do” Macbeth is beginning to loose his mind to
the point where he resorts to talking to the witches who brought him his
prophecies and problems in the past. Macbeth later continues on to yell at the
witches because he doesn’t want them to keep ruining his life.
In act 5 scene 3 line 3-9 Macbeth says “Bring me no more
reports; let them fly all: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, I cannot taint
with fear. What’s the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that
know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: ‘fear not, Macbeth; no
man that’s born of woman Shall e’er have power upon thee’. Then fly, false
thanes, And mingle with the English epicures: The mind I sway by and then the
heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. In this quote he is starting to panic
because there is chance of someone else taking his spot on the throne. Macbeth
is shaken, and has forgotten completely who he was. Macbeth is officially
insane.
My reflection: This project was a challenging project, It sounded easy at first, but then when I went out to take pictures I had trouble trying to find good ones that represent Globalization. I struggled to take pictures, and put it off for a while, working on the pictures I already had. The part of this project I did enjoy was the little bits of research here and there that I had to do. for example I never knew that solar panels were made by a french men. I was surprised as to how hard it was to find evidence of globalization, its everywhere, but at the same time it is hiding. I took a picture of the solar trash compactor on a hunch, before I even did the research. I'm curious as to what else is a hidden sign of globalization, and what other cities have a lot of globalization evidence. I'm guessing New York has the most, but I'm not sure.
This blog is mainly about my growth as a 9th grade student over the year. I feel like this portfolio shows how much I have matured. This will show my fellow readers that I have struggled , but i have tried to do my work.
My stregnths in english are that when i put my mind to do the work and i try , that i succed , but my weaknesses are that i do not try and i do not push myself like i should, which ruined my grades most of the time. I want to work on trying harder and working more and not doing everything late.
My expirences while make this portfolio where okay. I did not try a lot nor did i act like i cared about doing work , which i would consider an issue of mine. I barely tried to resolve them, but from what i could do , i tried. I wasn't as proud of going back on my work because i can honestly say i did not try this year. Years before i came to high school i was always an A student, but just recently i didnt seem to care.
The piece of work that i am proud of the most has to be my Me Mag. I have to say this because that potrayed who i was at that moment in time and it helps me see how i have changed. I loved doing that project the most.
VIGNETTE
Zaria Fortson-Linton
Wake Me Up When
September Comes Again
I hate the feeling
were you’re losing someone who once use to be so close to you. It’s as if you
feel so alone and tend to blame yourself for what happened. You ponder on the
fact that you might have been the reason why, like you changed, when all in all
it’s not just your fault.
My previous best
friend and I met in September. It’s funny how we became friends actually. I had
food and he asked for some and we shared it together. Our love for good food
brought us together I guess. We connected on a similar level. Realizing that we
can understand each either made us befriend each other even more. We later
found out that we had all the same classes and advisory. We were soon to be
inseparable, which I was very excited about.
One point in time,
a lot of our friends thought we were in a relationship. Such rumors like this I
think made our friendship go bad. Honestly, these rumors and thoughts made me
think of him in that manner. The true feelings I had for him soon came to the
light, but for him it was a whole different story. His smile was something that
once meaned nothing to me, actually brightened my day. His eyes, which I never
noticed soon, became something I loved to gaze into. I was smitten by his
charm, his looks, his everything. I felt like I was in love.
When I told him
how I felt about that topic, he didn’t respond to it. It was as if he didn’t
want to here it. I felt ignored, and soon that became the case.I began to notice that he became closer
with other people. He would never answer my text or IM messages. We stopped
talking as best friends for about two months. We would only talk to each other
when we were placed next to each other. The conversations changed from being
non-stop all day everyday, to innocent hellos and goodbyes. Then I was told
that he and my other friend (who is also in our advisory) had a “thing” going
on, which not only angered me because of how I felt about him, but also because
no matter what he would always come to me with important information like this.
I was hurt and crushed. Words could not describe how upset and forgotten I
felt.I didn’t want anything else
to do with him.
Ever since this
has happened, my attempts to try and gain our friendship back have died down.
Yes, I miss how close we once were but I was tired of being the only one trying
to rebuild our friendship when he didn’t want to help.
Also, this made me
wish that I held back the feelings I had about him. The trust I had for
him.The love that I had for him.
I wish we could have had a new start. Like September would come back, to bring
back that one memory we will always cherish, remember and miss.
ODYESS COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Thesis
Benchmark
Macbeth and the
Odyssey are both remarkable stories.In these stories they both revolve around peoples actions and changes.
The main female characters go by the names of Lady Macbeth and Penelope. These
women are both sent on emotional rollercoaster and eventually change from the
beginning to end of these books. Even though Lady Macbeth and Penelope both
change in the story, they both change opposite from each other.
In Macbeth and The
Odyssey both the leading ladies, Lady Macbeth and Penelope,
are married to strong men. Odysseus whom was married to Penelope was king of
Ithaca, thus making him powerful. Lady Macbeth’s powerful mate was Macbeth who
was a thane of Cawdor.The ladies
also change attitude wise and during that change, they were both strong at some
point. In the beginning of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth was tricky and confident. She
knew what she wanted and she wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way,
including the King.Towards the
end however, she became so crazy and paranoid due to her and Macbeth killing
the king. Lady Macbeth felt remorse and guilt, but as for Penelope, she started
out as being weak and timid. She became this way due to the suitors taking over
her house. She didn’t act as brave as she should have when she was in the
process of trying to get them to leave. Towards the end of the story, she
became more powerful. She proved this when Odysseus disguised himself as a
beggar and claimed to have known Odysseus. When Penelope found that out, she persistently
asked him how did he know him, what does he look like, etc.
Although they both
change, Lady Macbeth’s change was opposite to Penelope’s. In the Odyssey,
Penelope goes from being quiet to fearless. She was quiet and scared from when
the suitors took over her house. She didn’t act as brave as she should have
when kicking them out. Penelope near the end of the story became brave when
asking Odysseus (who was then in disguise) how he knew her mate. As for Lady
Macbeth, she goes from being strong in the beginning to becoming crazy towards
the end. She was strong in start when she knew she wanted to kill the King. She
knew what she wanted and even pushed the then un sure Macbeth to go through it.
But towards the end, she became swarmed with guilt and it soon sent her insane.
These women have changed due to the paths in which they
choose to fight for what they wanted. Their husbands careers is also the main
cause for why the changed. Ultimately, all that matters is that they have changed
from the start and ending of each book and that they were both dramatic.
ME MAG
This is my me mag. This magazine showcased many things about myself that my peers did not know. We made these in September which help us get to know one another.
Independent Reading Project
My Book Report
Zaria Fortson-Linton
Introduction:
The name of this book is called “I Like
Him, He Likes Her” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I found out that this book
is part of a series titled “Alice Alone; Simply Alice; Patiently Alice. It
follows the love life of a young girl named Alice who is struggling with school
, love, and life in general.
This story is based on the life of a girl
named Alice McKinley, who is a freshman, but so far her first year in high
school isn’t going well. Her boyfriend of a year named Patrick breaks up with
her for the new girl Penny, her father is getting married to her old middle
school teacher and high school work is so much pressure on her. The main
conflict in the story is her verses her feelings. Mainly because she’s learning
how to deal with her personal feelings. Her learning how to grow up makes her
my favorite character in this story. I think that readers will learn not only
being single can be a bad thing turned into a good thing, but also life can be
hard for young teenagers. What I mean by this is that most people make being
single & not having a bond with someone may be bad at first , but then
there are times in which being single can be a good thing. I also think that
life is hard for young teenagers because us just starting high school isn’t
easy. We have to adjust to new changes , getting older, meeting people , new
school work and becoming a young adult. It’s very stressful.
I can relate to the main character Alice. I
say this because I have been in this same predicament where the “love of my
life” has left me for “something better” and I’m just left there alone. . .
sad, not knowing what to do.
This book is a first person narrative which I
love. The strengths of this book are it’s very easy to relate to and very
understandable from Alice’s point of view. It is also very entertaining. The
weaknesses of this book is that it seems to take to long to get to the point.
Like it may take 2 chapters to understand what is going on. In order to
understand where the main conflict will come from you’ll have to read into the
story through the first 3 chapters.
I honestly would recommend this to young
readers. I say this because it is very relatable and it is very entertaining.
JOURNAL ENTRIES
The first time i was judge was when i went to the mall with my mom. We went to a high priced store and the lady told us that this wasn't "our type" of clothing. That they do not sell Baby Phat clothing which is mostly worn by african americans. We felt angry because it was really rude.
If i were to have a fresh start on my past i would change the way my first year of high school started. I am not liked because of the choices i made in the beginning of the year. A bunch of 11th graders were calling me names, so i made a video and called them all out and they hated me ever since.
It really isn't that much important for me to fit it , only because i like standing out, i like being my own person and i like being different. Im proud to say i do not fit in and i always try to encourage others to do the same.
I think people write to express themselves. To have a place to be free. ALso to show others who they are. To have a way to reveal to the world who they are. It is an expressive and safe way to be themselves.
I feel as though an adult is someone who will take responsibility on what they are right or wrong about. Someone who will help others be mature and are mature themselves.
My mother expects me to do good in school and to make sure im always on task. She knows that school is important and she feels as though school must be my number one priority.
Guns, money, gangs, sex, power. Is that what everyone wants out of life? That’s not what i want. I want to get get married become a lawyer, raise a family. My husband and I will be able to take care of our family. Everyone wants tattoo’s or per icings. I want them too, but not for the same reasons. Why does everyone have the same tattoos? Same cloths? Same hair styles? Most girls have weave, fake nails, fake body. My question is, why can’t you be yourself.
Journal Entry 12/17
I’ve always wanted to be the girl that always a had a hot boyfriend that was everything. I always wanted to feel loved and held tightly. But that never happen. I had plenty of boyfriends, but none really fit my “list”. I always wanted a boyfriend, that was just like the husband of a Tyler Perry movie. I got the reputation of being a boyfriend stealer at school. Thats not true. If your boyfriend loves you he wouldn’t leave you. Thats not all, I get along better with guys. I don’t really like girls.
March 16,2011
Who am I? That is a question everyone wants to know. I can say I am Danielle, but will that answer their question. I live in what people call the Mix Suburbs. I live on Penn Campus family section. My father works for Penn part time, while my mother attended Grad and medical school. When people ask where I live i say Univ.. City. I am the only Black person within 3 blocks of my house. My neighbors think of black people in a different point of view. Some think all blacks are bad, but when we moved in their views changed. Since i’ve been exposed to these types of things , i believe it makes me a stronger person. I feel like i can achieve anything .
December 2, 2010
Personally I do not care about fitting in. Cliques are mainly for people that don’t do their own thing. I have tried to fit in many times, but it never felt right. I tried a group, but it was for rich people. My family is middle class. The clic i wanted to join, wear all types of stuff, when I only wore Gap clothing. My parents were very disappointed in what I decided. I learned that fitting in is not important. As long as your you. If all you have anything that you really need to do, just be you. Not what people want you to be. Just do your own thing.
The Odyssey Compare/Contrast Essay
Penelope was born to Prince Icarius and Periboea. Periboea had to hide her daughter at birth, because she had given birth to a Girl, instead of a boy which her husband prefer. Once Icarius discover he had a daughter, he threw the baby into sea to drown. In her adult hood she was asked for hand in marriage. Odysseus her husband was to battle in the Trojan war since he was king. The Trojan War took 10 years, plus 10 more years to get home. For the past 20 years Penelope stayed faithful to her absent husband. Not knowing if her husband was dead or alive. Penelope decide to make a deal with the suitors if they allowed her to weave a shroud for her father-in-law, she would consider marriage. Secretly she would unravel her work nightly. Three long years went by and no one notice her secret. Until Penelope servant revealed her secret. After a while, it was time for Penelope to announce who she was going to marry. Penelope decided, who ever can shoot an arrow through a row of 12 ax heads she would marry that one suitor. Penelope’s husband has been out of her life for 20 Years. Could he be dead, missing, or worse taken by the gods. This myth to me, is like any other T.V show. Many people could be going through the same thing, as Penelope went through. What she did, many people would have never done. Rich, nice, caring suitors throwing themselves at you. Who wouldn’t take that? Why did Penelope wait so long, to try to attempt to remarry a suitor. There were 140 suitors more or less. Why couldn’t she just marry one. Is there something that Penelope felt, did she feel that Odysseus was still alive. What made her pretend to take three years to create a shroud? There are so many question that I want to ask Penelope. Why did she do what she did. She Probably thought she never see Odysseus ever again, only in her dreams she’d think he come back. If thats so, then Penelope dreams came true.
Read My Lips, Teri Brown. Read My Lips, is not a bestseller or has won any awards. Its is also a great book. It deserves an award. It honestly such a great book. Lastly this book was published by a wonderful publisher, Simon Pulse. Read My Lips, is a book about a teen girl named Serena. Serena just moved out from a small town into a suburbs area. Sarena family wanted to be closer to family, so they moved over 1, 000 miles closer to family. Sarena wanted what every other teen wanted, to fit in well to a new school. There was only one problem, Sarena was deaf. She wasn’t completely deaf, but she could also read lips. She made friends with the wrong crowd. Sarena had been invited to eat lunch with the most popular girls in the school, by a girl name Rachel. There are many girls in the group, Rachel, Sonya, Patrice, Kelly, and Kayla. Sarena can read the lips of other people to figure out what they say. Many people say Sarena has an-eye for Gossip. Sonya realized what Sarena’s talent can do to the clique. That’s when the conflict begins. Many students don’t expect a deaf girl to be in the most popular group. Its take other girls years to get into this “clique”, but only took Sarena a couple weeks. Once people start to find out that Sarena is the roots of all the gossip, drama is born. By the end of the book Sarena feels like the whole school, including her so called “friends” turned against her. My favorite charter was Miller. Miller ends up being Sarena’s Boyfriend. Miller was also called a school rebel. He is the type of guy that will do whatever he can do in his power, but he's also the type of guy that stays out of drama. Teri Brown reaches out to all types of people, mainly teens. In my personal view, I learn from other mistakes. This book was a learning lesson for me. I’m not saying I can read lips. But it teaches teens to not spread everything.
The way Teri Brown wrote the book, I can’t relate to. The story was meant from one teen’s stand point of life. There are many more. I don’t go to a suburban school, or hang with the wrong crowd. I have my own crowd, which is me. I am me. Serena was also her. We do have similaties, such as finding ourselves through many wrong roads.
This book had many strengths. I’m the type of person to learn from other’s mistakes. Serena taught me who is a real friend and who isn’t. Teri Brown showed teens from wrong to right in a creative way. In a way people would be interested. Such as safe sex, true friends, drugs, and also behavior at school. One weakness that I noticed was how the girls treat themselves, and other around them. How they weren’t respectful to themselves.
I would recommend this book to girl groups. Groups that are created for teen girls , just to sit and talk. It could also treat them a lesson like it did to me. M ay other people learn from other mistakes. This book can also help prevent things that happen in movies. Such as the movie Mean Girls. Many things happen in that movie that also happen in other schools. If girls would read this book and not only take it in, but believe it, a lot can be changed.
Memior Vignette
I was never always who I wanted to be. I was scared to show who I really was. Scared someone would judge me, or disrespect me. I thought I had to be like everyone else. Scared to tell people things, like I model or play a lot of sports. Now I can do or say anything, without fear holding me back. “Now starting this week, there will be High Schools coming from all over Philadelphia. I hope you all are excited to see different High schools.” This is what my Middle school consular said to me. I can promise you I wanted to smack the life back into her. I wasn’t trying to go to a new school and start over. I was just trying to figure out who I was. Finding me. During this whole process of picking the 5 schools. I thought I was going to die. Shadowing was the worst. All the other schools expect for one, were not where I wanted to be. Most of the students didn’t look serious, and they were so “perfect”. SLA. That’s the school where I found myself. I could see myself attending the school. I was floating on a cloud when I shadowed. Months through the wait of an acceptance letter. I was still so attached to SLA that I had disconnected myself from Penn Alexander, the school I was attending at the time. I wasn’t well liked. I was myself and no one else. People didn’t really understand that. Why be like everyone else. It makes no sense. Everyone was mad to be themselves; your “creator” Created you as yourself not anyone else. That really upset me. Next came shadowing. I asked, begged, bribed so I wouldn’t have to go. But that didn’t happen. I was nervous. I had butterflies all in my stomach. SHOOT! I WAS SCARED! I went to the office with my mom, feeling like a pre-schooler on their first day of school. “Why did I apply to a school that had shadowing?” I asked my mother. As usual she ignored me, she does that when she thinks I said something stupid. “Danielle Little, you’re here to shadow correct?” Asked some lady from behind a counter. I know she can’t be the Sectary, they don’t wear jeans. Next thing I knew, this girl also named Danielle says I am her “Shadow”. Shadow…So I follow the person around like a shadow, this school gets weirder. The hallways were huge! SO MANY KIDS! SO TALL! Holy Crap, there was a hand coming my way. Next thing that hits me are people calling me shadow. Let me get one thing right into your head. My name is not shadow. My mother didn’t name me shadow. It’s Danielle. Not shadow. “Danielle how was it,” My mother asked. “It was a great school. Very nice. Different school, people, and teachers. But I think I will blend in well. “ I replied excitedly. I talked non-stop the whole way home. I felt connected, like I was going back tomorrow. I actually woke up thinking I was going back to SLA. I couldn’t wait. Couldn’t wait till get accepted, to finally fit in, have a new start. Oh shit! Im about to poop my pants, I was so scared! There were so many kids; TALL, short, black, white, orange and tanned. Saying hello once again. For me, this was my first hello actually attending this school. I saw a girl that looked like me…She looked like me from behind. She had locs, tall, dark skinned. She was very pretty. Later I learned her name after 35 weeks. Her name was Ayo-ola. I remember a girl named Morgan Taylor. Morgan and I grew up together. It was so nice to see her again I felt like I could make it through. I could be myself. Not be ashamed of who I was. Who Danielle Little is. I was especially happy that I have a close friend that also had locs. One month In this can feel like I’ve been here for 4 years. I made great friends. You can tell that Mr. Lehmann picked certain kids for a reason. Everyone in this school are not like anyone else. There is something that makes them different. No one follows anyone. Everyone is who they are. I feel that everyone knows me for who I really am. They don’t know the fake Danielle, they know the real one. The crazy, hyper, odd, nicest, caring Danielle Little there is. Along with people knowing who I really am, I met some really great people. New Best Friends, People that understand me. But there is this one person that stood out to me. Lets call him “Blue Eyeshadow”. Blue Eyeshadow is 3 years older than me, but he is different. He is not the type that just wants that one thing. We talk everyday, we find someway. Through Facebook, Ichat, Texting, or even in person. He is just amazing. Met no one like him Many people are like, Okay? Its just another guy. Well If you could see through my eyes you could also say, I can see her marrying him. Well all know guys aren’t into Married. I'm telling you I started looking at engagement rings, wedding dresses, bridesmaids. I’m a whole flight of steps ahead of the world. You ever read a book, and you wanted to know what happen so you asked your friends that read it. That's love you always want to know how it ends, and you get your friends to help you through it.
Overall, I love high school. Especially since i met “Blue Eyeshadow”. He made it all better. He helped me though a lot of stuff. Everything. One point in time i gave him the silence treatment for about 1 month. Christmas day, I swear was the magical day, where the happiness started. We text for 29 hrs. straight, while I was on a train to Chicago. Sigh, those were the days. I have some of our chats that really mean a lot save in a special folder for you. You got me going crazy. You taught me how to love, how to handle no bullshit, how to be real, you open my eyes to the world. Two, SLA defined me. I am very happy i applied, got accepted, and chose yo be at SLA. I had a huge hole in my heart, ready to be filled. Now, ever since September 7, 2010 its been filled. I found myself.
For our Quarter one benchmark, Red stream did a character analysis on either Lady Macbeth or Macbeth from the book Macbeth written by Shakespeare. Our mission for this benchmark was to create a piece that demonstrates one character's development and growth through out the play Macbeth. We did this by using quotes from the play to illustrate the transformation of Macbeth or Lady Macbeth. We also had to include a Thesis statement that was proven to be correct by looking at the quotes through out our benchmark. Finally, we made a concluding paragraph which is a summary.
Thesis statement: In beginning, Lady Macbeth is fraught with greed and wanted wealth and power, but towards the end, she starts feeling the guilt and regrets all of the deaths she and her husband caused.
In Act 1 scene 5, Macbeth sends Lady Macbeth a letter that explains to her that three witches hailed him as Thane of Cawdor and that he will be king. She doesn’t think Macbeth has the strength and great will and that he would just wait for the day to come instead of making his move now. So she is impatient and waiting for him to come home so she can convince him to do everything he can to get those roles as king and Thane of Cawdor. “Hie thee hither, that I may pour in spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round….” –Lady Macbeth 1.5.24-27. What she means here is she is talking to herself and trying to rush Macbeth to get home so she can encourage him to accomplish the roles that the witches predicted for him in his future. She wants to make a move now rather than just wait for the moment to come. This reveals that she is impatient and wants things to happen when she wants it, how she want it, and as soon as possible. However, she does not know if Macbeth will go along with her plans for him to become Thane of Cawdor and the King.
During Act 1 scene 7: Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth about her plan to gain the role of being the king. Macbeth is skeptical about her idea, he thinks the plan will fail and they will get caught or someone will put the puzzle together and get suspicious. “But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail.” –Lady Macbeth 1.7.61-62. What she means by this is, basically if you believe then you can achieve; don’t think you can’t do something you didn’t try.She is trying to convince Macbeth to join her in her plan, but Macbeth doesn’t think it will go as planned and work how she expects it to. Macbeth is still debating in his head weather or not he should go along with the plan and thinks it may fail.
Act 2 scene 2: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have invited the Thanes and King Duncan over for dinner. Lady Macbeth has convinced Macbeth in killing King Duncan. The first part of her plan was to get the guards, which was guarding King Duncan’s bedroom, drunk and poisons their drinks so it will seem as if they are dead. Now that the guards are drunk and everyone is asleep, they can make their move. Aside Lady Macbeth says to herself“That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold.” –Lady Macbeth 2.2.1. What she means by this is now that the guards are drunk she has gotten bolder and has faith that her plan to kill Duncan will work for sure. What this says about her character is that she is very selfish and only thinks about herself. She also would do anything to get her goals accomplished. However, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth still have to cover each other up so they will not get caught, and how much longer is it until everyone finds out what they have done.
Act 2 scene 3: Macduff is the first of the other Thanes to find out that Duncan is dead. He wakes up everyone in the castle and delivers the news that King Duncan is dead. Lady Macbeth exclaims, “What in our house?” When she finds out about Duncan. Lady Macbeth is trying to act as if she has the same impression as everyone else does, which is why she says this. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth doesn’t want anyone to get suspicious and think they killed him so they have to act as if they would if they didn’t kill him. At this point, Lady Macbeth doesn’t regret killing the king, and she is still focused on the wealth. Will she feel that she has accomplished something or did she just become insane?
Act 3 scene 2: Macbeth is now the king so Lady Macbeth has finally gotten what she wanted. Unfortunately, Macbeth is keeping a secret from her and she is scared of what he did because she doesn’t know what it is. Lady Macbeth says to herself “Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” –line 83. What she means when she says this is she would rather be the person that gets killed than is the killer with nervousness.Lady Macbeth isn’t happy with the outcome of killing Duncan and becoming queen. She is beginning to show regret. Will she remain sane and return back to normal?
Act 3 scene 4: Macbeth hired two murderers to kill Banquo because he didn’t want Banquo to start getting suspicious about the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth invited all of the Thanes over for dinner. Suddenly Macbeth starts to see Banquo’s ghost and he is talking to him. Macbeth seems crazy because nobody else can see Banquo but Macbeth. “Sit, worthy friends. My lord is often thus, and hath been from his youth.” –Lady Macbeth 3.4.54-55. What she means is sit back down Macbeth has had these problems since he was a child. When Lady Macbeth says this, she is trying to cover up for Macbeth. I think that she is starting to think that Macbeth is becoming insane.
Act 3 scene 4: They are at dinner and Macbeth is still talking to Banquo’s ghost that only he sees. So Lady Macbeth is trying to cover up Macbeth so he won’t seem so insane. “What, quite unmanned in folly.” –Lady Macbeth 3.4.75. What she means when she says this is to snap back to reality. Also that he is at a dinner with his friends so he can’t act so suspicious about their killings. However, with Macbeth talking to this spirit, hopefully he won’t say anything to reveal their murdering of King Duncan or Banquo.
Act 5 scene1: The Gentlewoman is talking to the doctor about Lady Macbeth’s strange sleepwalking at night. They are inside of her bathroom and talking about her. Then she walks into the bathroom and starts to talk. The gentlewoman tells the doctor that she is sleeping but it seems as if she isn’t. “A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching” –Doctor 5.1.9-10 What the doctor mean when he says this is, it isn’t normal to be sleep and able to do things you do when you’re awake.However, the Doctor and the gentlewoman have learned a lot about Lady Macbeth because of her sleepwalking incident.
Act 5 scene 1: Lady Macbeth is sleeping walking and she is in the bathroom and thinks that she is washing her hands. She realizes that the blood isn’t coming off of her hands and there is nothing to make it come off; it is permanently on her hands. She doesn’t know that the doctor and the gentlewoman are listening to her in the bathroom. “Here’s the smell of the blood still” –Lady Macbeth 5.1.50. When Lady Macbeth says this, she is saying that the blood she is seeing in her sleep on her hands isn’t coming off. Lady Macbeth is really feeling the guilt for what Macbeth did which was killing Banquo also I believe because of the killing of King Duncan. She is sleeping walking and she is revealing everything to the doctor and the gentlewoman without even knowing. She is trying to wash the guilt away by washing the blood off her hands in her sleep, but it just won’t go away. However, now that the doctor and the gentlewoman know about Banquo’s killing they may go and tell someone.
Act 5 scene 2: Lady Macbeth has just gone back to bed and the doctor is about to leave. He tells the gentlewoman to remove any or everything that Lady Macbeth may use to hurt herself. He thinks that Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking is unnatural. “My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight.” –Doctor 5.2.77. What the doctor means is, that the he has comments of his own that he doesn’t say to the gentlewoman. The doctor has saw what Lady Macbeth was doing while she sleep walks and he has heard what she was saying. As a result, of this the doctor and the gentlewoman have realized how crazy Lady Macbeth is.
Lady Macbeth is a very confusing character in the story Macbeth. In the beginning, she is very fierce and only care about what she wants. Once she starts to get what she wants, she does not appreciate it and starts regretting the things she has done to get what she wants. The quotes in this report supports the thesis statement made by, stating what Lady Macbeth says. This also supports how she evolved in her attitude and the way she thinks about herself throughout the story. Shakespeare’s message to us about life and how we live it to me is, to there are no cheat codes, short cuts, or easy pathways to life. I got this message by knowing that Lady Macbeth wanted to be on top badly, she took all types of short cuts. Some of which were killing people, seducing people, and tricking people in her own little way. In the end, she regretted everything she ever did and she killed herself unfortunately. She drove her self to the max and could not handle the pain and suffering she was going through.
