Q4 Benchmark Part 4

 


Journals

How important is it to fit in? -

It is not even important to try and fit in with everyone. If you can’t fit in, then you were not meant to be there. It’s kind of like a puzzle, if the piece doesn’t fit, don’t force it in, it’ll just break or mess everything else up down the road. Basically, it’s not worth killing yourself over fitting in, soon all the pieces will fall into place.

 

 

 

What makes a good story? What kinds of stories do you like?

For me, a good story is one that leaves you unfulfilled and hungry for more at the end. I have never liked stories that have a completely happy ending with nearly all the problems resolved. BORING. I like conflicts and I love it when the ending is sad with so many questions unanswered. For me, it makes the story be interesting and keeps me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book. A book should not give the reader everything they want, and it should make them wait.

 

 

 

Response to reading/hearing/saying the “n” word...

In these days, the N word is not a big thing, plus it is in a book that is centered on the time of slavery. There is no reason anyone should have gotten mad because of that word just because of its context. In addition, so many people have used the N word and being called the N word is a good thing. Just because someone who is not black says it doesn’t make it racist. It is just hypocritical to be offended especially if you are one of those people.   

 

 

What is a “hero”? How would you define it?

A hero isn’t afraid to give his life; a hero will save you just in time. This can be interpreted in several ways. A hero isn’t afraid to give his life, for example. Their “life” might not be as extreme; it could be their social life, their possessions or their freedom. So a hero is not afraid to give up something dear to them in order to protect someone. A hero will save you just in time; can also go another way. It can mean that the hero will race to help you out no matter what. It can also mean that they wont let stop something before it gets out of hand, like a rumor. The hero will also take the blame for an ill deed, in order to not get anyone else involved. That is what I think a hero is.

 

 

 

Quarter 1 Benchmark (Macbeth Character Analysis)


(In our first benchmark we had to show how macbeth evolves as a character.)
Roger Bracy                                                                                                           11/1/10

Macbeth Evolved

            Throughout the story of Macbeth the character of Macbeth has evolved in so many ways. Macbeth has changed and evolved from a heroic and ambitious person to evil and mean spirited.

            In act 1 scene 2 of Macbeth, Macbeth is thought of as heroic for the country of Scotland he is one of a kind on the battlefield. He is praised when the captain describes him on the battlefield; “like a valor’s minion carved out is passage till he faced the slave which ne’er shook hand nor bade farewell to him till he unsreamed him fro the nave to th chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements.” (Act 1, scene 2, p 4) The captain is saying that Macbeth is a warrior who is very gruesome on the battlefield. Showing he is heroic and will fight for his country.

            In act 1 scene 7 of Macbeth, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are planning to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth plans on killing the king to get Macbeth prophesies to happen faster. Although, Lady Macbeth is confident in the decision Macbeth is not, he thinks to himself when he states; “If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well it were done quickly. If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success.” (Act 1, scene 7, Page 20) insuring that he will get his power. Macbeth is saying that, if the assassination were done then he could get his success promised to him by the three witches much faster. As the story goes on the Macbeth get more and more anxious to make his prophesies come true.

            Also in act 1 scene 7 of Macbeth, after Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, gave him the idea of killing King Duncan, Macbeth man-hood is questioned because he doesn’t have the strength to kill. So he second-guesses himself by stating; “Bloody instructions, witch, being taught, return to plague th inventor.” (Act1, scene 7, p 21) This shows that Macbeth is very humble to King Duncan because he says he doesn’t want to kill the man who taught him how to kill. However this shows Macbeth is willing to at least think before he and his wife make a decision.

            In act 2, scene 1 in Macbeth, Macbeth finally makes the decision to kill off the king. He is doing this to prove his masculinity to his wife and to prove the witches prophesies true. Through peer pressure Macbeth makes the decision to kill the king when he says. “ Is this a dagger I see before me? The handle toward my hand” ( Act 2, scene 1, p 25) Macbeth is trying to state that he is not ready to do this, and he is about to do something he will regret.

            Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth, the deed is done and not only is Macbeth feeling guilty but Lady Macbeth acts like there is nothing wrong. Macbeth shows his guilt when he comes back with the bloody dagger he used to kill Duncan with, and says. “Will great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand.” (Act 2, scene 2, p 29) Macbeth has stated that he wants to wash this blood from his hands because he doesn’t like that he just betrayed someone who he trusted. He has to over come his guilt if he ever is going to be a powerful leader and right at this point he doesn’t show those qualities.

            In act 3 scene 1 of Macbeth, the town finds out what was done but not who had done it, so the lords group together to find this mystery. Banquo, who is also a lord like Macbeth, has a suspect that there was foul play involved and he tries to go farther into in, but Macbeth soon find this and tries to shut Banquo’s investigation down. He decides, without influence from his wife, to kill Banquo by having two murderers follow him. Macbeth makes this plan by saying; So is he mine; and in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my near’st of life.” (Act 3, scene 1, lines 116-118) Macbeth is now on the path of evil because he is stating that he will kill banquo because he is a threat to his crown. Banquo will soon have his revenge.

 

 

            In act 3 scene 4 of Macbeth, after Banquo is killed he comes back as ghost to haunt Macbeth at his dinner party, but Macbeth is the only one who can see him. Macbeth knows he’s in way over his head when he says; “I am in blood, Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more.” (Act 3, scene 4, p 55) What is being said here, is that Macbeth is feeling some guilt he mite have done to much. As a reader, Macbeth is now making his own decisions and is not influenced by anyone else but himself and he is becoming more of villain with all these murders under his belt.

            In act 4 scene 4 of Macbeth, Macbeth is now a full blown king with and he is using his power to become a villain instead of a leader. Macduff was next to get executed because he knew too much about what happened to King Duncan and Banquo. So because of this Macbeth decides to kill Macduff while he is at home, what the muderers found was a house only filled with Macduff’s wife and son but he wasn’t there. Macduff hear this news and Malcolm, the real king who was next to receive the crown but run away, comforts him when he says; “This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues once thought honest, you have loved him well; he hath not touched you yet.” (Act 4, scene 4, p 73) Malcolm statement on Macbeth shows that he is a disloyal king and cannot be trusted as the King of Scotland.

             In act 5 scene 5 of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth has just passed away because of her sickness and Macbeth isn’t fazed by this because he has a bigger challenge ahead of him.

This challenge is the war between Macbeth and the other lords. He doesn’t even think about his wife when the messenger says; “The Queen my, lord is, dead” (Act5, scene 5, line 16) Macbeth is feeling no hurt because he has been through this situation before with King Duncan. So now he has no one to back him up and he will face this army alone.

            In the end, Macbeth is found to be a ruthless killer, who has no feeling for his wife or his country. These quotes connect to my thesis because they help describe Macbeth evolvement into the monster that he became in the story. Shakespeare’s motive for the story of Macbeth was to inform readers to be happy with what you have, because Macbeth was given a promoted and the prophecy that he will be king; but he was impertinent and need more power.

A not so happy new year (Q3 BM) English revision Q4BM

This is my favorite piece by myself and it was a rather upsetting time for me. I started my new year off with an argument with my step dad. It escalated and at the time I wished that the New year had never came.



“A Not So Happy New Year.” – By: Victoria Yarbrough.

New Year’s is such a joyous occasion. Being with family, seeing people that I haven’t seen for months, and feeling the triumphant feelings of getting through one more year (Magic Three). However, the “joy” of New Year’s was cut short for me. My step-dad and I had an argument that ruined my New Year’s and days to come. We were all at my Aunt Teresa’s house having a good time seeing family again. Everything was going smooth. We were all dancing, hugging, and eating. (Magic Three)  Like being asked to marry (Simile), it felt unexplainably great to see them again. After the ball dropped and everyone screams “Happy New Year!” my mom, dad, and I sit down for a while and begin talking. We were talking about how glad we were to start fresh and what were our thoughts of 2010.

 

We all agreed that 2010 was a trying year and that we were going to make the best out of 2011. My stepdad and I begin talking about the events of 2010 and how we were going to change. Him and me have had some issues in the past, like all stepchildren I just didn’t feel that he possessed the authority to tell me what to do. This caused sizzling hot (Imagery) arguments, and dark (Imagery) mean words to occur just about every day. How can you expect me to respect you if you don’t even know the first thing about me? And when I asked him this he got upset and began yelling at me. “ Oh, but when I am throwing money in your damn face everything is all cool and I’m your dad huh? But when I tell you to clean your room I’m just a stranger to you”. (Dialogue)  When it’s not even about that, “I just don’t feel that you should be yelling at me when you don’t know the first thing about me.” I replied. (Dialogue) So we drove home. All the while my step-dad is yelling at us. I remained silent while my mom took the back lashes (Imagery) for me. She was trying to defend me and explain my point. I felt helpless and stupid. How could I just sit there and listen to “Shut the Fuck up” (Dialogue), and “You don’t even matter” (Dialogue)? I still look back and think how I should have defended my mom. Seeing her cry made me hate him from an unknown place within me (Imagery). He has me mistaken because I don’t think that way. Why would I? I’m not some self center egotistic manic or a user. We arrived home and I went upstairs to my room and slammed the door as hard as I could.  With the anger doing tap dancing inside of me, I picked up an old juice bottle and threw it at the wall of my room. ‘CRASH’ (Onomatopoeia). He hollered at me through the door as if I had no right. I was furious. I was here before him! It’s practically my house next to my mom. Who did he think he was? Sometimes I despised him. The way he paraded around the house as if he was the boss, as if he were my real dad! No! He would never replace my real father. I locked the door of my room so he wouldn’t get in. I wasn’t in the mood for him, not tonight, not on new years. It was quarter to 2, and my mother began to knock on my door. I didn’t answer. The sound of rushing pounds (Imagery) came to be annoying. Constant bangs against my door. “BAM, BOOM, BOOM, BAM.” (Onomatopoeia) She began screaming. “VICTORIA! UNLOCK THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!” (Dialogue) I kept the door locked. I didn’t care. I was pissed to a new level. Why did he have to say something like that? I’m not a user and for the record, I never considered him as my father in the first place. More importantly, I didn’t mean to get my mother involved but I didn’t want to see anyone at this moment. Later on she stopped screaming and yelling. I was left alone for the moment and I began to cool down. Anger still ran through me (Personification) at an all time high. The thought was still swimming (Imagery- Personification) through my mind and I wanted to feel a little less. I felt numb and confused so I went to sleep. That was a waste because I woke up 20 minutes later to the sounds of hollering…

 

…Enough was enough. I swung open my room door and followed the sounds. They were in the basement.  The next thing I hear is “ If she cant respect me then I cant respect her, so Imma’ talk to her any way I want to.” (Dialogue) I hate how he thinks that he is right. He sounds like a child. “But that’s not what she’s saying at all. She just thinks that maybe you should get to know her before you try to be a direct father figure.” (Dialogue) My mom shot back. At that moment, I didn’t even want him to get to know me. Being on a stranger like bases sounded completely fine. Right when my step dad was about to say something, I came down the basement stairs and said, “ She’s right you know. I try to be friendly with you but we all know that you don’t care about me. You only do things for me because it pleases my mom.” (Dialogue). Surprisingly, it got really quiet. And I knew what the silence meant. I had been right. He didn’t give a damn about me. All though I tried to stop them, tears fell out of my eyes. Right there in front of my mom and him. I hated myself for it. Those tears made it seem as if I cared, but they were tears of anger. I felt played. All that time he didn’t care and I thought we were working towards some kind of relationship. I guess I should have expected it, but it shocked me. Why couldn’t he accept me? Why did I have to be so ideal for him? After that, we stopped talking to each other as much as we used to. Now, we barely speak. And I wish the New Year never came. At least last year, words were exchanged no matter how gruesome. Words were words.

My stepdad and I had a rocky relationship. But now that I know he doesn’t care about me, I don’t think there is a relationship.  It may be wrong to feel that way, but after knowing him for a few years and still not being on good terms what am I supposed to think? Maybe in reality we are both being silly. Whatever the case may be, I’m not ready to forgive. If there is one thing I can take away, I can probably say to trust my first instinct. Why? I knew he was a phony but I let the curious side of me win and I wound up getting hurt. Now I know to not be so trusting and to not distribute my respect and love if I won’t be loved and respected back.

 

Revision:

“A Not So Happy New Year.” – By: Victoria Yarbrough.

New Year’s is such a joyous occasion. Being with family, seeing people that I haven’t seen for months, and feeling the triumphant feeling of getting through one more year (Magic Three). However, the “joy” of New Year’s was cut short for me. My step-dad and I had an argument that ruined my New Year’s and days to come. We were all at my Aunt Teresa’s house having a wonderful time seeing family again. Everything was going smooth. We were all dancing, hugging, and eating. (Magic Three)  Like receiving a surprise gift(Simile), it felt unexplainably great to see them again. After the ball dropped and everyone screams “Happy New Year!” (Dialogue) my mom, dad, and I sat down for a while and began talking. We were talking about how glad we were to start fresh and what were our thoughts of 2010.

 

We all agreed that 2010 was a trying year and that we were going to make the best out of 2011. My stepdad and I begin talking about the events of 2010 and how we were going to change. Him and me have had some issues in the past, like all stepchildren I just didn’t feel that he possessed the authority to tell me what to do. This caused sizzling hot (Imagery) arguments, and dark (Imagery) mean words to occur just about every day. How can you expect me to respect you if you don’t even know the first thing about me? And when I asked him this he got upset and began yelling at me. “ Oh, but when I am throwing money in your damn face everything is all cool and I’m your dad huh? But when I tell you to clean your room I’m just a stranger to you”. (Dialogue)  When it’s not even about that, “I just don’t feel that you should be yelling at me when you don’t know the first thing about me.” I replied. (Dialogue) So we drove home. All the while my step-dad is yelling at us. I remained silent while my mom took the backlashes (Imagery) for me. She was trying to defend me and explain my point. I felt helpless and stupid. How could I just sit there and listen to “Shut the Fuck up” (Dialogue), and “You don’t even matter” (Dialogue)? I still look back and think how I should have defended my mom. Seeing her cry made me hate him from an unknown place within me (Imagery). He has me mistaken because I don’t think that way. Why would I? I’m not some self center egotistic manic or a user.

We arrived home and I went upstairs to my room and slammed the door as hard as I could.  With the anger tap dancing inside of me, I picked up an old juice bottle that I failed to throw out some time ago and threw it at the wall of my room. ‘CRASH’ (Onomatopoeia). He hollered at me through the door as if I had no right. I was furious. I was here before him! It’s practically my house next to my mom. Who did he think he was? Sometimes I despised him. The way he paraded around the house as if he was the boss, as if he were my real dad! No! He would never replace my real father who I know for a fact wouldn’t treat me the way he does. I can’t help but have curiosity towards what my life would be like if my real dad was still around. I locked the door of my room so he wouldn’t get in. I wasn’t in the mood for him, not tonight, not on New Years. It was quarter to 2, and my mother began to knock on my door. I didn’t answer. The sound of rushing pounds (Imagery) came to be annoying. Constant bangs against my door. “BAM, BOOM, BOOM, BAM.” (Onomatopoeia) She began screaming. “VICTORIA! UNLOCK THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!” (Dialogue) I kept the door locked. I didn’t care. I was pissed to a new level. Why did he have to say something like that? I’m not a user and for the record, I never considered him as my father in the first place. More importantly, I didn’t mean to get my mother involved but I didn’t want to see anyone at this moment. Later on she stopped screaming and yelling. I was left alone for the moment and I began to cool down. Anger still ran through me (Personification) at an all time high. The thought was still swimming (Imagery- Personification) through my mind and I wanted to feel a little less. I felt numb and confused so I went to sleep. That was a waste because I woke up 20 minutes later to the sounds of hollering…

 

…Enough was enough. I swung open my room door and followed the sounds. They were in the basement.  The next thing I hear is “ If she cant respect me then I cant respect her, so Imma’ talk to her any way I want to.” (Dialogue) I hate how he thinks that he is right. He sounds like a child. “But that’s not what she’s saying at all. She just thinks that maybe you should get to know her before you try to be a direct father figure.” (Dialogue) My mom shot back. At that moment, I didn’t even want him to get to know me. Being on a stranger like bases sounded completely fine. Right when my step dad was about to say something, I came down the basement stairs and said, “ She’s right you know. I try to be friendly with you but we all know that you don’t care about me. You only do things for me because it pleases my mom.” (Dialogue). Surprisingly, it got really quiet. And I knew what the silence meant. I had been right. He didn’t give a damn about me. All though I tried to stop them, tears fell out of my eyes. Right there in front of my mom and him. I hated myself for it. Those tears made it seem as if I cared, but they were tears of anger. I felt played. All that time he didn’t care and I thought we were working towards some kind of relationship. I guess I should have expected it, but it shocked me. Why couldn’t he accept me? Why did I have to be so ideal for him? Is it my fault that you don’t like me? After that, we stopped talking to each other as much as we used to. Now, we barely speak. And I wish the New Year never came. At least last year, words were exchanged no matter how gruesome. Words were words.

My stepdad and I had a rocky relationship. But now that I know he doesn’t care about me, I don’t think there is a relationship.  It may be wrong to feel that way, but after knowing him for a few years and still not being on good terms what am I supposed to think? Maybe in reality we are both being silly. Whatever the case may be, I’m not ready to forgive. If there is one thing I can take away, I can probably say to trust my first instinct. Why? I knew he was a phony but I let the curious side of me win and I wound up getting hurt. Now I know to not be so trusting and to not distribute my respect and love if I won’t be loved and respected back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

End Of The Year Digital Portfolio - Independent Reading Review

​During the year, we had to read to books of our own choice. Then, we had to write a book review about what we thought about the book, our favorite parts, and if we would recommend it to people. I picked the book Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler. Here is the book review. 

            The book I read was ‘I Am An Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World.’ by Eve Ensler. Eve Ensler is also the write of the ‘Vagina Monologues’, which was a bestseller. She received many awards for being an activist, Vagina Monologues, and some screen plays that she directed.

Basically, the book is made up of about 35 vignettes/stories that are fictional but inspired by girls around the world and their problems. There isn’t a main character but there is a conflict. The conflict is the way the world sees girls. The fact that girls are not able to speak, taken seriously, or allowed to have any right in controlling their life. The book is about showing people what girls have to go through and the real thoughts.

I don’t have a favorite character in the book but I do have a favorite vignette.

My favorite is ‘My Short Skirt’ which is about why girls wear short skirts. This is my favorite because it states the real reasons why girls my age where short skirts. “My short skirt is not an invitation, a provocation, an indication that I want it or give it or that I hook.”. “My short skirt is happiness. I can feel myself on the ground. I am here. I am hot. My short skirt is a liberation flag in the women’s army. I declare these streets, any streets, my vagina’s country.” I think this quote means that a short skirt is celebrating the fact that she is a women and talking about how women rule the world. Women rule the world because we have vaginas, we can give birth to all the children in the world, without us there wouldn’t be any. These paragraphs are my favorite because I connect to them the most. Also, they are universal for all girls that usually wear short skirts, with the expectation of some girls. I think people should take away the life of girls and how they are. Also, those men can find out that women are just as important in society as men are.

I can relate to many vignettes, for example, ‘What Don’t You Like About Being Girl?’, ‘I Dance (I-III)’, ‘Things I Heard About Sex’, and ‘What Do You like About Being A Girl?’.  I can relate to these stories because they are things that came up in my life and things I have thought about. Also, the paragraphs in the each vignettes there is at least two that I have talked to my friends or family about. I have done some of the things, for example, instead of dancing, I would sing. Even though I sing horribly, it would help me feel alive and go into my own place just like drawing would too. Another thing is that they had vignettes called ‘Would You Rather?’ which was two girls at a sleepover. One of the girls is asking the other girl questions and then girl isn’t answering the questions because they are just really out – there questions. I have done that with my friends and they ask really crazy questions and I don’t even try to answer them. I have felt some of the things that the characters did too. I feel that men don’t care about women’s feelings and that my views on things weren’t listened too before.

            I love this book. I am deeply, utterly, and totally in love with this book. I think the whole book is empowering but, mostly toward women. The book is good that is talking about the trouble within the women society. I think it would be better if that were connected to men because then men can change their ways. Also, they would learn about women society. Even though, men created most of the problems today for women. Men need to know about the way women are suffering. I wouldn’t change anything in the book, actually. I love the book that much and I think it should be appreciated in its original form.

 

 

 

 

End Of The Year Digital Portfolio - Journal Entries

​Over the school year, Ms. Dunn had us do different journal prompts. Sometimes, it was a free-write, a prompt that has to do with our novel that we are reading, or it is a response to the book we are reading. Here are some examples from over the year. 

December 1st 2010

 

            My future isn’t a subject that comes up very often. Not in my head, not out of my mouth, but more of my parents asking questions. ‘Are you going to college,’ ‘What college do you like,’ ‘PLAY SPORTS! GET A SCHOLARSHIP,’ ‘Join clubs, it will look good on your college application!’ my parents start to talk and I just shutdown…completely. I have one plane for now, get good grades and past 9th grade, don’t be a dropout. The future scares me and I have thinking or talking about it. I don’t even know if I want to go to college but I have to know by 10th grade (says my parents). I just want to live to be 20, I have dreams don’t get me wrong. On the other hand, I hate thinking about college. My mom and dad technically didn’t go to college. My mom is worried that I will just say I don’t want to go to college because she didn’t do to college. I wouldn’t say that…ever. That is a very childish excuse. I just don’t have the motivation yet. PARENTS! If I do go to college…I would go to USC (University of South California), Ohio State, or Penn. I can barely talk in front of my class without getting nervous. Maybe, I should get over that first before I think about college. I just got out of middle school! My parents are frustrating.

 

 

December 17th 2010

 

A time when you were a part of a group but didn’t know what the group was doing or wanted to be a part of a group.

           

            In my old school there were a group of girls and older girls/boys that like ruled the school. None of them got eased and they always looked so nice. I thought that if I were in that group then I wouldn’t get picked on because I liked different things. I didn’t want to be a loner and they didn’t get into trouble. Also, they went to a lot of places and had cool accessories.

            My friend was in the group, but she wasn’t supposed to talk about what they did. Which I thought was really stupid. One day, it was just she and I hanging out and I asked her what they did in the group. She told me about everything! They all had C’s in classes, always were making out, and spent too much money on pointless things. We had uniform at our school, so it was pointless because they couldn’t wear it. Also, I saw some pictures of the group out and they all dressed the same and I hate that type of style. My friend told me about how they stole things from stores, too.

            I completely changed my mind from a week and half of waiting to be in the group, I changed my mind in the matter of 12 minutes. I didn’t want to make out with people all the time. I want to go somewhere in my life. I wouldn’t get there with all C’s and stealing things. I didn’t care if I would be teased, be popular, or be cool. I will be myself and get somewhere in life. I am glad I changed my mind because now I am in a great. Better off than everybody else! (:

 

March 17th 2011

 

What were you feelings when you read “nigger” last night? What are your thoughts about using the word in general?

           

My feelings were that I already knew and suspected what time period this story was taking place in, so I knew it would come up once or more than that. I prepared myself for it. Even though, I don’t like hearing the word because it is offense and rude, they thought black people weren’t even full humans. The fact that they are still using the word even though, when people come around they don’t, that means the word isn’t used.

            I think the word is terrible to use, like when people use it now, I think it is wrong. Why do people choose the word that haunted their ancestors for years? A word that still makes some people cringe and the darkest time for African American. Any form of that word is offense and then fact that people call their best friend ‘nigger’ is wrong. I know a lot of people that use it and I just don’t talk to them. That’s just unattractive and ignorant. I don’t think there is any excuse about why people should use it because it is a horrible word that makes me feel like black people don’t realize how stupid they are when they use that word. Also, the fact that people use it in different spelling and thinks it is okay, is nonsense. People think that ‘niggah’, ‘nigger’, and ‘nigga’ have all different meanings because it is different spellings. No it isn’t different, same word, and same meaning.

 

 

 

April 4th 2011

 

What are some of the expectations put upon you by others? What are your own expectations of yourself? Are these expectations different? How?

 

            I have a lot of expectations put upon me by my family, but mostly from my parents. My parents don’t want me to be like my cousins and go to jail or get into drugs. Also, to have a kid so they have grandchildren, to be successful in life with a good job, to be happy, and to be satisfied with my life. My grandparents want me to able to provide for myself, have a better life than they did, and be happy with myself.

            I know I want myself to be happy, but sometimes I can’t always be happy. I want to be able to live in a house or apartment. I want to have a job that I am happy with and interested in. I want to have kid(s) and a good family. They don’t have to get along sometimes because that wouldn’t be normal, but I don’t want any abuse. The things I want are things I expect to happen.

            All the expectations are mostly the same. For example, the fact that my grandparents want me to have a better life than they did with more privileges, that’s something, I would want too. Another thing is that they want me to have a happy family and have a job that I like; I expect those things of myself. I expect those things because I am the one that can make those things happen.  

 



Drue's English Portfolio.

Reflection. This is a reflection on all of my English work this year.


What do you feel your portfolio says about you as a 9th grade English student? What are we as viewers supposed to “get”/understand about you when we see your work?


What my portfolio says about me is that I have come along way as a writer. All of my writings are never perfect so I have to keep working harder and harder to make them better and better. That’s what I want my viewers to understand. My work is not perfect but I am working toward it.


What do you consider to be your strengths in English? What are your weaknesses? What would you still want to work on?

 

One of my strengths in English is journaling. I love to journal, I have such a good time doing it and getting all of my feelings out and expressing myself. One of my weaknesses is that I’m shy. I don’t like to get up in front of the class. Like for example, when we presented our Me Magazines. I rushed through it so I could get off the stage and I wasn’t up there long, nor had anything else to say. That is one thing I would like to work on. Talking in front of people and getting used to it. Another thing I would like to still work on would be adding literary devices to all of my paper. I get creative in the beginning and then as the paper goes on I start to lack on the creativeness.


What were your experiences in making this portfolio. What issues did you encounter? How did you resolve them? What was it like going back through all of your work?


Making this portfolio I thought was really interesting and fun. One issue that I encounter was finding one of my benchmarks. I didn’t remember what I had labeled it. I resolved it by typing in everything I could possible think of. Another problem I had encountered was fixing my 2nd quarter benchmark. I wasn’t sure how to edit it exactly at first, until I had asked Ms.Dunn. The last problem I had encounter was with the first benchmark, I had forgotten a lot about Macbeth, so when I was editing it was difficult. I fixed it by re-reading the whole paper and it started to come back to me. It was kind of weird going back to my old work. I seen how much I grew as a writer which was very interesting.


What is the piece you are most proud of, and why?


The piece I am most proud of is my 2nd quarter benchmark- Best Friends? I am most proud of this because I really took my time in writing it and put my heart in it. I had such an easy time remembering everything that happened because it had a huge effect on my life. Writing it made me realize how strong I was when this was going on.





Macbeth Character Analysis. This was the first paper that I have ever completed in Ms.Dunn's english class. At first I was nervous because I wasn't sure how I was going to get it all done and what exactly I was going to do. But after Ms.Dunn went over it and told us that we had to choose our favorite character, and show their changes. I had got started I was working very well and had fun doing it!


Drue Boccuti

    10/28/10

Thesis and 10 quotes

Thesis statement- Young Lady Macbeth didn’t care who she hurt, but old Lady Macbeth became a whole different person.


In Act 1 scene 5 Lady Macbeth has just gotten news that Macbeth and the King are coming to visit her. And she wants to kill Duncan, so Macbeth can work his way up to king. (Act 1 scene 5)“Make thick my blood; stop uh the access and passage to remorse.”

What she’s doing here is asking the spirits to make her not feel guilty so that she can help Macbeth kill Duncan because Macbeth feels too nice. Here is when she’s being cold hearted.


Act 1 scene 7, Macbeth just let Lady Macbeth know he doesn’t want to kill Duncan anymore, because it hit him that Duncan has been kind hearted to him and there close friends. But Lady Macbeth doesn’t want to hear it.(Act 1 scene 7.) “And pity, like a naked new born babe, striding the blast, or heavens cherubin horsed” She refers to a new born baby, that if she had promised Macbeth she would have killed it for him she would have and its not right he promised her and now he’s going to chicken out. She’s forcing him to kill Duncan, and making him feel lousy that he let her down.


In Act 1 scene 1 Macbeth keeps asking him self if he really wants to do this and is thinking what if it goes wrong? And trying to show her all the ways this can go wrong. Lady Macbeth doesn’t want to hear it. (Act 1 scene 1.)“But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we will not fail.” Basically she’s telling him that if he listens to her and does it right he wont fail. She’s only worrying about her and her husband but not the King or his family.


Still in Act 1 scene 7 Macbeth wants to put an end to this. He’s just nervous and is good friends with Duncan.(Act1 scene 7.)“We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions form all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newest gloss, not cast aside so soon.” He doesn’t want to kill him and he’s finally getting respect from him. And he thinks its wrong. But she doesn’t care.


Act 2 scene 2 Macbeth has killed Duncan , and can’t stop thinking about it. He is very guilty. (Act 2 scene 2.)“A little water clears us of this deed.” Lady Macbeth is sick of hearing him. She told him when you wash your hands and the blood is gone, were free of the killing. It’s over. She clearly has no problem with no ever thinking of this again. All she’s thinking is that there one stop closer to becoming king and queen.



Act 3 scene 4 Macbeth killed Banquo and now he’s seeing his ghost and is freaking out. Lady Macbeth thinks he’s crazy.(Act 3 scene 4.)“O proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear.” She doesn’t believe him and thinks its just because he’s guilty. She just wants him to stop being a baby because it will all be worth it to her when they are king and queen.


Act 5 scene 1. Now the tables have turned and Lady Macbeth is going crazy. And Macbeth just wants to rule and he doesn’t care who has to die for that to happen. Now Lady Macbeth is being watched by a woman.(Act 5 scene 1.)“It is on accustomed action with her to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her to continue in the quarter of an hour.” The lady starts to notice how she’s washing her hands all the time and talking about blood but there’s never anything on her hands to any one else but her. 


Act 5 scene 1. Now the women and a doctor are now watching her. They are both questioning all that she’s doing and what she’s saying.(Act 5 scene 1.)“Here’s to the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand.” What this means, is all the times she washes her hands and puts sweet smelling stuff on them it will still smell like blood and she will still see the blood out of her guilt.


Act 5 scene 2.  Lady Macbeth been so guilty that she just admitted to killing Banquo and King Duncan, that she actually admits it. (Act 5 scene 2.)“Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out of his grave.” Because of what Macbeth and she did, he will never be alive again. (Act 5 scene 2) “ Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?” This is an explanation that she had killed Duncan because she mentioned that he had a lot of blood. She knew this, because she helped kill him.


Act 5 scene 2.The doctor finally found out what was wrong with Lady Macbeth because she just admitted to him that she killed him. (Act 5 scene 2) “Foul whisp’rings are aboard. Unnatural deeds. Do breed unnatural troubles. Infected mines, to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. More needs she the divine than the physician. God, God forgive us all. Look after her; Remove from her the means of all annoyance, and still keep eyes upon her. So good night. My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight. I think, but dare not speak.” He prayed to God, so that he will forgive Lady Macbeth, for all the bad things she had done or helped Macbeth do.  Such as helping the murder. She then died.


In conclusion, based on all the passage examples it is very clear that Lady MacBeth has had a drastic change between the first couple paragraphs and the last paragraph. By wanting to help Macbeth be king, even if it required killing people. But now it has came back to haunt her and she feels very awful. She has such a hard time sleeping. Shakespeare’s message to us could be not to be greedy, and just take everything life gives you. Because in the beginning they had each other, and at the end yes he was king but he didn’t have a wife. 



The second benchmark I completed for Ms.Dunn was the Memoir Vignette. This was one of my favorite benchmarks. What we had to do was tell about a important life chaining snapshot in our life.



                                Drue Boccuti

Orange Stream

Best Friends?

I really look up to Demi Lovato. Yes you can say she’s my role model. When I seen her in Camp Rock she had this really cute hair cut with front bangs, I really liked the way they looked on her so I talked my self into it and got them cut. Little did I know that changing my look would make two of my so called “best friends” furious with me.


Then next weekend I went down the shore and I showed my friends. Well they made a very big deal that one girl Madison had side bangs. They swore that Demi Lovato had nothing to do with my hair decision and that I copied off of Madison. That very next week, I became a victim of cyber bullying.  I innocently was sitting on my computer only to find out that my two best friends, Katie and Madison were having a brutal bashing session about me and my new hair cut and how I thought that I was so special because I got these bangs.  I thought these girls were my friends. I found out the truth about them. Madison would go along with Katie just so Katie would like her. Everyone would, like she was something special. She had this kind of power over them and she got almost all of my friends mad at me for getting my haircut. I was really upset so I tried talking to Madison about it and she just made me feel worse. The fact that she was making me feel horrible about myself was making her feel pretty. This episode happened in September and continued through the whole winter. However my mom kept telling me “I know it’s killing you inside but just ignore them. The more that you ignore them the more it’ll get them knowing its not bothering you.”

“I know but it’s easier said then done.” I said with tears in my eyes.(Dialogue.) It was killing me inside, the months went on and I deleted them off my MySpace and avoided contact with these two people I considered very close to me. Then when I was finally over it one day in February Katie text me and says she wants to talk to me so when she finally did call I decided to talk the call and see what she had to say. It was shocking to hear her apologizing to me and blaming Madison for the whole thing.  Just like that she turned right against Madison. So I forgave her but kept it in mind how quickly she turned on Madison and when I got back to the shore in April we were friends again. It wasn’t a good while until I became friends with Madison again but it happened. As the summer went on Katie and I grew a little bit apart and from what I can see now I believe that maybe she didn’t like me for no reason at all and just has a grudge she holds upon me. I came to this conclusion because one night during the summer she invited everyone to the boardwalk but me so I am in my house minding my own business and she has one of her friends call me up from her sister’s phone and start with me out of the clear blue sky. 


“Hello?” I was nervous.

“This is Haley don’t ever call Briana ever again, ok?” Her voice was like scratching someone’s nails down a chalkboard. (Simile)

“Okay? But why are you calling me and starting something?” I wasn’t about to let her step on me. (Hyperbole)

“Who do you think you are?” (Dialogue) She could not answer the question I asked, and she knew she wasn’t making any sense and also that I was right. Not that any of the fighting made any sense anyway.  So I just hung up on her.



I wasn’t going to let them make me upset but they did make me very angry. My mom was there to hear the whole thing. I didn’t want to get the parents involved and I begged my mom to stay out of it. But she couldn’t so she got Katie’s parents involved and they were furious. They came over and apologized for their daughter’s friends’ behavior so I accepted their apology. “This isn’t the first time we’ve had problems with Haley.”(Dialogue). Then her dad went on to say- “Were not to crazy about her either.”(Dialogue) I just looked at my mom when they both said this. All that was running through my head- Why would you invite her down here if you weren’t crazy about her? But I was done bothering with them for good so I just decided to say ok. This was the second time that an innocent fight broke out and I was not going through this every summer. I wanted to enjoy my summer so I ended that friendship as quick as a cheetah runs.(Simile) Madison however fell out of the picture because she got extremely disgusted with the Katie drama that she doesn’t even come to the shore as much anymore. It is really sad that one girl could start so much trouble and Madison let her win and doesn’t come back that much. Everyone always told me she was jealous, but I don’t see any reason for her to be jealous of me. One time even my friend’s mom had said- “Drue, she’s so jealous of you.” (Dialogue) She had came out and said it plan and simple. I really couldn’t find anything for her to be jealous about, but I just agreed to disagree. I don’t know what goes through girls’ heads now of days and why they create such fights over some things that do not matter. I was taught to treat people like you would like to be treated. I for the most part am nice to everyone and I would never even think to be mad at someone for getting a haircut. 


This past summer I wasn’t as excited as I have been in the past because I figured here we go again. What kind of lies is Katie going to make up about me and who will be mad at me now. To my surprise this summer turned out to be one of the best summers I ever had. As they say what goes around comes around and if I didn’t see it with my own eyes I would’ve never believed it. Katie came down the shore and all the people who she got to turn against me weren’t there, she was all alone. Just like a dog whose owner goes away and leave them there. (Simile) Her own sister was even tired of all the drama and remained my friend and hung out with me all summer. Katie was alone and had no one to bully around or to hang around with because everyone was just so sick of the drama that everyone stayed away and found her out. She started to bring down Haley and I thought it was going to be a problem as if another war was going to start over. Luckily it didn’t. At one point Haley even admitted to my one friend that she was jealous of me. So there it was. The truth had come out. 

All things happen for a reason right? I found out who my true friends really were who stuck by me and they are my friends Alexis, Luc & Damian. No one could take them away from me not even Katie. During this summer I also made some new friends and that drove Katie crazy because I know she was dying to hang out with them but no one really bothered with her. Even after all that she put me through, I still kind of felt bad. I know the feeling of being put down and having really hurtful things said about you. I still see Katie and Madison, however I am friends with Madison but not like it use to be. We used to be stuck together like glue but not anymore. (Simile)  I don’t have time for Katie’s nonsense and to make sure that nothing will happen again we came to a solution that we will be civil. She is still up to her old tricks she bullies another girl that I know Erin. You would think that Katie had learned her lesson. Erin is smart and just like I did she doesn’t let her know she is bothered by it. I do feel bad because Kate is even worse this time because Erin is usually picked on. I don’t have anything against her and will always stand by her because I know how it feels and how one friend makes a difference. She knows what happened between me and Katie and the best advice I give her is to just stick to what she is doing and don’t let Katie know she is bothering her because one day I hope for Katie’s sake she’ll grow up. This was a lesson well learned. I learned not to put my trust in to people because they can be very jealous for no reason at all and there is nothing you can do about it. I don’t understand how or rather why they can be so hateful or jealous of you. Girls become animals when they want you to feel horrible inside and make themselves feel important. (Hyperbole) Why can’t everyone just try and be nice to each other? We would have such a better time down the shore. If you have one friend who sticks by you then that is the only friend you ever need. In my case I had three of them who stuck by me through all this nonsense.


The third benchmark that was given to us was compare and contrast pieces involving the Odyssey. What I compared and contrasted was two pieces of art work along with a poem about the sirens.


Drue Boccuti

Orange Stream

      Same but Different

Ulysses Captator: The Appropriation of Myth in Roman Satire” By Dr. Bryce Walker. “Ulysses and Sirens” By John William Waterhouse, and the “Siren Song” By Margaret Atwood. Although they make look different, they all share a lot of similarities. In the Odyssey Homer describes the Sirens as hideous along with John William Waterhouse, Dr. Bryce Walker made the sirens appear gorgeous to show just how powerful their voices are.


The point in comparing these three very different works of art is because there are a couple things that they all have in common. For example, they all take place in the sea. “They swung aboard at once, they sat to the oars in ranks and rhythm churned the water white with stroke on stroke.”(Homer, The Odyssey book-12 line-158-159) This is important because in the poem it says–“It forces men to leap overboard.” When the pieces show us that they all take place near or in water, it makes it very easy to create a picture when we are reading this part in The Odyssey. Another common thing that these pieces share is, anyone looking at the paintings or reading the poem can definitely tell that the Sirens are deadly and not things that you want to interact with. The poem comes right out and says it. “The song nobody knows because anyone who has heard it is dead, and the others can’t remember.” The picture by Waterhouse displays some skulls next to the Sirens and Dr. Walker has made them look like vultures that are getting ready to attack. The poem actually includes both of the descriptions that the pictures display.  Margaret says –“Even though they see beach skulls.” Also, “Will you get me out of this bird suit?” There is a lot more then meets the eye with all three pieces of works. This is also a very important feature.


Margaret Atwood along with Williams had made these girls look awful. He also and made them fly. Dr. Walker took a different path has made them look beautiful and naked so that you would see that Odysseus, along with the other men were attracted physically other than just vocally “So they sent their ravishing voices out across the air and the heart inside me throbbed to listen longer.”(Homer, The Odyssey Book 12 line 208-209) What they do, and just how mean they really are. The reason that Dr. Walker did this was because he wanted to prove that the girl’s voices are strong enough to make the men go with them. But the poem -“Siren Song” and the painting by Waterhouse “Ulysses and Sirens” just tells you that the Siren’s are really dangerous and you need to plan out to stay away.

One more difference between the pictures and the poem is Odysseus’ reaction. The picture that John Williams Waterhouse had created “Ulysses and Sirens” he decided to go with Odysseus tied up just like in the book had described. “I alone was to hear their voices, so she said, but you must bind me with tight chafing ropes so I cannot move a muscle,”(Homer, The Odyssey Book 12 line 174-176) While Dr. Bryce Walker had made him look so strong that it looks like he was attracted so strongly that he broke off the pole. He is now fighting threw his men to get to the Sirens. While in the poem, it is just directed to what happens to all the men. The position of Odysseus is important because it gives you the meaning that no matter who you are, or where you’re at on the boat you’re going to be attracted to these voices. 



Even though these photos and poems may look very different, which they are, like all the examples that were given. But in some ways they have things in common and show the main point. For instance, they all show how powerful the Sirens voices are and how strong they are. Just like Homer had mentioned, “The high, thrilling sound of the Sirens will transfix him, lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones…”(Homer, The Odyssey Book 12 line 50-52) 


One creative piece that we did this year was the Macbeth creative project. We had to take the 10 quotes from the book and make a creative way to show them. It could have been anything you wanted. I decided to make a keynote.


http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12821390/Macbeth.%20Key%20note..key


Independent Reading Project was a paper that we had to write and basically give a review of a book that we had just completed reading. Tell what its about, the main characters, the problem if there is one.


Drue Boccuti

Book Review-


The book I read is called The Outsiders By S.E. Hinton. The movie, was based on the book. The movie was made in 1983, but the book was written in 1965. The book is also a best seller.

Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, is the main character of the book. He and his best friends are called Greasers, they’re the poor kids in their neighborhood and are always in some kind of trouble with the rich kids who are called Socs. One night Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-bit walk home with these two girls Cherry and Marcia, who are Socs. Their boyfriends are very drunk and they catch up and see the Greasers with their girlfriends.  The Socs are not crazy about it at all, there is almost a huge fight until Cherry (Bobs’ girlfriend) stops it and decides it would be easier to get in the car with the boys.  Later that night when Ponyboy comes home it’s really late and his oldest brother Darry was very worried, his other brother Sodapop tries to standup for Ponyboy but Darry pushes Ponyboy and he gets so upset and he leaves and runs into the park with Johnny. 

Johnny and Pony are just sitting at the park minding their own business when a car full of drunken Socs pulls up. Since they couldn’t fight the greasers around the girls now is their perfect opportunity.  The Socs are drowning Ponyboy in a fountain and the other is kicking Johnny.  Bob leaves Johnny to go help drown Ponyboy, Johnny gets out a knife and he stabs Bob.  Everyone else is scared so they run off, and Ponyboy is knocked out. Since Johnny had just committed murder he waits for Ponyboy to wake up and then they go to their friend Dally.  Dally is the one in the bunch who is always in trouble so he knows where to go and how to hide. He tells them to take a train to this desolate church in another part of town where no one will be looking for them. My favorite character is Ponyboy. I like that Ponyboy hates fighting even though all of his friends seem to enjoy it.  He seems to appreciate life and what surrounds him even though his life is bad.  There are a couple conflicts in the book, but the main one is person vs. person. For instance Johnny has to face all the Socs, because he killed one of their best friends. What people should take away from this book is that you shouldn’t start fights with people who are different then you.  Its just like bullying because people are different than someone else they like to tease or hurt it is pointless and sometimes it comes back to you.

If I would have to say that I could relate to any character in the book, I would say I relate to Ponyboy. I would relate to Ponyboy because I also hate fighting. In my shore house there is always fighting going on and I try to stay out of it just like he does but somehow I always get included. I always feel like Johnny felt. Guilty. Now don’t get me wrong I have never killed someone or even hurt anyone on purpose. However, I always feel bad about everything. If I was really mean to someone who didn’t deserve it I will try to make it right immediately. 

I loved this book. It is actually now my favorite book. One strength of the book is that it’s so real. The way they talk, the way they live all their lives and act. For example, Darry has to raise Ponyboy and Sodapop because their parents had died. They are always fighting just like normal teenagers. I honestly can’t think of any weakness of the book. I like it that much. If I could change one thing in this book, I would make it so that Johnny didn’t die. It is sort of ironic that he killed someone and even though he did such a gallant thing by going into a burning church to save little kids, he dies from it.  

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It’s a great story about friends who really do love each other. It teaches some good life lessons and it has some funny parts also.


Journal was something that we did very often in class. We would walk in class and there would be a topic to write about on the board. I enjoyed journaling.


Journal entries-


How important is it to fit in? 12-1-11 (1)


Fitting in, is somewhat important to me. Because I’m very self consciences and extremely sensitive. If I was getting made of and no friend to stand by my side I don’t know what I would do. No matter what its always a good thing to have at least one friend that’s always with you so you can tell all your feelings to and the comfort you. I’ve never done something that I felt bad about doing just so that I can fit in. Like I said, I’m very sensitive and I also take other peoples feelings into consideration. If one of my friends was making fun of someone else I would stop them from it and make them apologize. I think fitting in at this age is so important because kids are cruel and you don’t want to be picked on or left out. Also, just so you can have someone to laugh with. I think as I get older fitting in won’t be so important. I’ll have my true friends by my side and that’s all I will need.



What are people’s expectations of you? What are your own?

 (2)


The expectations that are put on me are high ones. My family expects me to do great things with my life. In school and out of it. They aren’t always strict which is nice. I’m very proud of these expectations because I try to exceed them and make my family proud and it feels good. Its also nice that they believe in me and think that I am capable of doing these things and more! My own expectations are the same. I know I can do anything if I put my mind to it, so I try very hard to do well in everything I do. Also, to stay out of any kinds of trouble and surround myself with good people.


If you really knew me.  (3)


If you really knew me you would know that I love to dance. I’ve been in dance classes ever since I was 2 years old. I used to take tap, hip-hop and ballet. I stopped taking classes when I was in 6th grade. However, just because I stopped taking the classes doesn’t mean that I still don’t have the same love for it now then I did when I was taking classes. If you really knew me you would know that I love my family. My family means more to me then anything else in the world. I love spending time with them and laughing with them. If you really knew me you would know that I absolutely love spending all of my summers down the shore. I love laying on the beach and spending my nights walking on the boardwalk. Those are my favorite things to do.


What makes a hero? (4)


A hero doesn’t have to be someone who wears a cape and beats up evil guys for a living even though that it definitely one. A hero can be someone who is just a nice person all the time to almost everyone. Hero’s are of course people who do save people just like a cop or a firefighter especially. There are way to many qualities that qualify someone as a hero. Everyone has different ones. Being nice, loving, and kind. These are all such great things to be in my book. My dad to me is a hero. He is such a kind person. I remember one night we were driving home from a party and when we were driving by this old man had fallen my dad did not even hesitate to pull over and go help that man up. The man was having a hard time getting up but my dad did not stop until the man was up and walking again. This is just one of the act of kindness that he had done but I promise you there are so many more. If that’s a hero then I must not know what is.



A time when you were part of a group but didn’t want to do what the group was doing. (5)


At my shore house there is a lot of kids my age. We all get along very nicely. However some times I do not want to do what everyone else is doing.  No, I’m not talking about not wanting to go somewhere where they are going or do some sort of activity. I am always up for everything and anything. But when they are making fun of people and making them feel bad I’m not okay with that. I always try to make them stop but when its me against 4 other girls there’s not much I can do but either leave them and go with other people in my group or just ignore them until it stops. Last summer, one morning we were all going to the water park and my friend Briana’s mom was driving us.  Well, Briana didn’t want this girl Erin to come. Erin never did anything wrong to any of us Briana just felt like being mean to her. So we were all leaving at 10, well Briana told Erin to be at her house at 11. I didn’t even notice that she wasn’t with us until after we had pulled up to the water park. At that point there was nothing I could have done. I was extremely mad and it wasn’t even done to me. I don’t like leaving people out because in my head I always think “What if that was me?” So to make sure this doesn’t happen anymore I try to get my mom to drive everywhere so that everyone is included.


Reflection on Winter Break. 1-3-11 (6)


My winter break wasn’t really anything special other then Christmas. Christmas was the best day of my whole winter break. I got a new camera and 2 new pair of Uggs which was great! Other then the presents though, I enjoyed having all of my family over my house and talking with them. Sleep was something that I got a lot of I would wake up between 10:30 and noon everyday. My cousin also had slept over and we had a lot of fun. There was also a lot of mall time in my winter break which I always enjoy! On New Years I went over to Goldies' house because she was just getting back from Florida, she had a party which was a great way to bring in the new year. I wish we had a week off more often! So I guess in a way my break was special!

English Profolio - Reading Review "The House of the Scorpion"

 

A book review was when we choose a book and instead of giving a traditional book report instead we had to review it. The difference of the two are that in a report you more tell the about the book but in our reviews its like more showing than telling.


The book I am reviewing is a science fiction novel called “The House of the Scorpion” by  Nancy Farmer. This book has been honored with many awards such as
Newbery Honor, National Book Award, Michael L. Printz Award, Young Hoosier Book Award, etc.

 The basic plot of the book Is about a boy named matt that is really a clone to a evil science professor named El Patron who controls mostly everything  and  everyone. But as through out the book Matt learns more and more information about himself as a clone and El Parton as a dictator to society.  The conflict of this story is person vs. person. This is because its Matt vs. the dictator El Parton  but the problem is that Matt is brain washed to believe that El Parton is his friend but he is really just a clone he wants to be in handy for spare body parts if something goes wrong.  You should take away from this book that everyone is not your friend and you can not live in world blind of your own personal thoughts. For example you can not expect someone to always be their to do everything for you and lead you through life’s task. Basically you should take away from this that its good to have independents

I  can relate to Matt in this story because just as for him everyday in my life is a opportunity to learn something  new with in my self. So I can someday have a vision of what a great life is for. The feeling I felt that a character in the story also felt was the down feeling of being accused of something and having no one believe me when I say I didn’t do it. This was the same feeling that Matt has when everyone is accusing him of killing Furball.

My personal opinion of this book is that it is a must read for anyone. This story had me on my toes from the minute I picked it up. The special thing about this book is that I have not came across to anything with a similar plot or way to present the conflict. The strength of this book is that it’s a original plot and  the suspense level it puts on the reader is unbelievable. I don’t find significant weakness in this text.

 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a different kind of story to read and loves a suspenseful book fraught with mystery this is the book for the job. I loved this book and wish everyone could obtain the same care for it as I did.

English Profolio - Top Journals


IF you found a way to get on a block websites would you share it?
1.​I would keep it to myself so  I could do it again if necessary because if a lot of people begins to use the same trick it becomes easy  to get catch up with. For example  if you find a way to use block websites in school you mite not get catch but you tell your whole class the trick your teacher or the school distinct sever will detect it faster.

What is a “hero”? How would you define it?
2.I define a  hero as someone who is not necessary supernatural but is able  to make a difference in someone’s overall life.  For example someone that could be a hero is a great teacher that lesson shaped you on to the path to success. Or your hero’s can be your parents that guided you through your life through thick and thin.

3.If you really knew me......

You would know that i just a regular kid looking to have fun everyday.If you really knew me you would know that i hate work but know the importance of it so i just get it done. If you really knew me you would know that sometimes i feel like im people expect to high of me. 

4.What makes someone an “adult”?

What makes someone is someone that is 18 and has independent from their parents. For example if you are 18 but you still love under your parents home and they pay for everything your more of a big kid then a adult to my standards.

Penelope V. Penny (Quarter 2 BM revision) Q4 BM

We were reading the "Odyssey" at one point, and then watched a movie  ( "O, brother where art thou?") that based it's story line off of the "Odyssey". As a benchmark, we had to take two characters from the book and the movie and compare/contrast them. I chose Penelope who was the wife of Odysseus/Ulysses.


Victoria Yarbrough

Penelope v. Penny

 

Authors and directors have very different ideas on the way a character should be portrayed. However, it can confuse a viewer or a reader and make things a tad bit hard to follow. In The Odyssey, Penelope is viewed, as strong while Penny in “O, Brother Where Art Thou” is viewed as mean. A viewer may wonder why a director would change her character, but the differences in the two are important as well. Even though Penelope is portrayed in both “The Odyssey” and O, brother where art thou? She is stern towards Everett in “O, brother where art thou”, while Penelope is more loving, and understanding in “The Odyssey”.  However, both these characters challenge Odysseus and Everett, which leaves the viewer with a bad taste for Penny in O, brother where art thou? and makes it hard for Odysseus and Everett to settle down and be home.

 

In O’ brother where art thou?, Penelope is strict and hurt by the fact that Everett left, but she conceals it with anger. For example, when Everett comes back to his hometown and sees Penny in the store, she gives him the cold shoulder and disowns him in front of some of the townspeople and his own children. This shows that she does not want anything to do with Everett. There is a moment of intensity and attraction when Everett grabs Penny, but she quickly goes back to being stubborn and not giving him the chance to tell her all that had happened. This proves that she still has feelings for him, but is upset that he left her on her own. Instead of being understanding, she lets her “suitor” challenge Everett in a fight, which he loses and causes him to get thrown out the store. Viewers do not respond well to this because Everett is the main character and went through all of his triumph and adventure just to be with Penny, and in response, she acts like he is a stranger and not the man she married.

 

However, in “The Odyssey” Penelope is more loving and understanding. For example, through the whole entire book Penelope is faithful. There are countless times where she weeps for Odysseus, stands up in his name, and tricks her suitors to buy time for Odysseus. On Page 393 [99-104] Penelope says “ “Make no mistake you brazen shameless bitch… how well you knew that I meant to probe this stranger and ask about my husband… my heart breaks for him.” Penelope rages at one of her maids for being rude to a stranger who has information on the whereabouts of Odysseus. This is evidence that Penelope still yearns for Odysseus and is faithful no matter how far away he is. If she wasn’t faithful, then she would have never spoken to Melantho in that way.

 

Together, both Penelope’s challenge Odysseus and make it somewhat hard for him to fully return home. In “O, Brother Where Art Thou”, Penny – after much convincing- remarries Everett. However, she will not marry him without her old wedding ring, which is all the way back in their old home. This task is challenging for Everett because the house is far away and the ring may not even be there.  Also, in the “Odyssey” Penelope challenges Odysseus to see for herself if it’s really her husband. In the “Odyssey” Penelope says,  “ Come, Eurycleia move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber- that the master built with his own hands …”  (Page 461 lines 198-200) she says this to test Odysseus because only he would get upset by her saying this.

 

The differences in both these women make the character of Penelope hard to follow at times. However, the differences are what make the “Odyssey” and “O, brother where art thou” tie together in the end. It shows how an author thinks the way Penelope should be. A viewer would ponder the reason why the author of the book, and the director of the movie would make Penelope different, but in all, the sternness of Penny and the cunning way of Penelope help to make both the movie and book a good read and an attention keeping film.


REVISION:

Victoria Yarbrough

Penelope v. Penny

 

Authors and directors have very different ideas on the way a character should be portrayed. However, it can confuse a viewer or a reader and make things a tad bit hard to follow. In The Odyssey, Penelope is viewed, as strong while Penny in “O, Brother Where Art Thou” is viewed as mean. A viewer may wonder why a director would change her character, but the differences in the two are important as well. Even though Penelope is portrayed in both “The Odyssey” and O, brother where art thou? She is stern towards Everett in “O, brother where art thou”, while Penelope is more loving, and understanding in “The Odyssey”.  However, both these characters challenge Odysseus and Everett, which leaves the viewer with a bad taste for Penny in O, brother where art thou? and makes it hard for Odysseus and Everett to settle down and be home.

 

In O’ brother where art thou?, Penelope is strict and hurt by the fact that Everett left, but she conceals it with anger. For example, when Everett comes back to his hometown and sees Penny in the store, she gives him the cold shoulder and disowns him in front of some of the townspeople and his own children. This shows that she does not want anything to do with Everett. There is a moment of intensity and attraction when Everett grabs Penny, but she quickly goes back to being stubborn and not giving him the chance to tell her all that had happened. This proves that she still has feelings for him, but is upset that he left her on her own. Instead of being understanding, she lets her “suitor” challenge Everett in a fight, which he loses and causes him to get thrown out the store. Viewers do not respond well to this because Everett is the main character and went through all of his triumph and adventure just to be with Penny, and in response, she acts like he is a stranger and not the man she married.

 

However, in “The Odyssey” Penelope is more loving and understanding. For example, through the whole entire book Penelope is faithful. There are countless times where she weeps for Odysseus, stands up in his name, and tricks her suitors to buy time for Odysseus. On Page 393 [99-104] Penelope says “ “Make no mistake you brazen shameless bitch… how well you knew that I meant to probe this stranger and ask about my husband… my heart breaks for him.” Penelope rages at one of her maids for being rude to a stranger who has information on the whereabouts of Odysseus. This is evidence that Penelope still yearns for Odysseus and is faithful no matter how far away he is. If she wasn’t faithful, then she would have never spoken to Melantho in that way.

 

Together, both Penelope’s challenge Odysseus and make it somewhat hard for him to fully return home. In “O, Brother Where Art Thou”, Penny – after much convincing- remarries Everett. However, she will not marry him without her old wedding ring, which is all the way back in their old home. This task is challenging for Everett because the house is far away and the ring may not even be there.  Also, in the “Odyssey” Penelope challenges Odysseus to see for herself if it’s really her husband. In the “Odyssey” Penelope says,  “ Come, Eurycleia move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber- that the master built with his own hands …”  (Page 461 lines 198-200) she says this to test Odysseus because only he would get upset by her saying this.

 

The differences in both these women make the character of Penelope hard to follow at times. However, the differences are what make the “Odyssey” and “O, brother where art thou” tie together in the end. It shows how an author thinks the way Penelope should be. A viewer would ponder the reason why the author of the book, and the director of the movie would make Penelope different, but in all, the sternness of Penny and the cunning way of Penelope help to make both the movie and book a good read and an attention keeping film.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Quarter 3 Benchmark ( The odyssey Compare/Contrast Essay)

Penelope Vs. Penelope

 

The third benchmark was comparing a character from the The Odyssey, and I really had to think and enrich my mind, and think broadly.

People Write about Penelope everyday from her beauty to her love to her tale to her story. The comparison of both Penelope from The Odyssey and Penelope from the poem  “Penelope”. Both authors write different styles but they both look at Penelope in a unique way, and describe her love and passion for her husband in two totally different perspectives but also at moments the same way. Homer the author of The Odyssey writes a book and gives a lengthy story about how Penelope story goes and Dorothy Parker the author of “Penelope” gives me a good 8 lines not too much and not too little, about the missing part of Penelope life. While both Penelope from The Odyssey and Penelope from the poem  “Penelope” hope for their loving husband Odysseus, one gives another point of view on the story of this couple.

 

 

            Penelope from the poem “Penelope” is sad and hurt, by the tone of the poem and the strong words she use for the language of the text. She States, “ I shall sit at home and rock; Rise, to heed a neighbor’s knock”. She wants to wait for him and believe he is still out there, she won’t do anything until the love of her husband return. Similar to Penelope from The Odyssey she is sad that her one true love is away for so long, and she yearns for his love again. She talks to a man in disguised which is Odysseus and tells him how she really feels about her husband being gone for so long, she states” A black day it was when he took ship to see the cursed city, destroy I call it, I hate to say its name!”(Book 19; line 297- 299, Page 399). Her heart cracks as words stumble out her mouth as she talks about the day Odysseus, left, she wants her husband back. Both Penelope in poem and Penelope from book wait in sorrow for their loving husband Odysseus to return, and they want him back but while he is gone their hearts continue to ache.

 

            Penelope from the poem “Penelope” speaks for herself in her own words showing the audience her own heartache for her husband’s return. In support of this Penelope says in the poem “ Brew my tea, and snip my thread; bleach the linen for my bed. She talks about how she feels, she speaks from the heart and say’s what she does in her own voice. Penelope from The Odyssey doesn’t speak her self; the person telling her story is Homer.  In The Odyssey he describes Penelope saying,Now down from her chamber came reserved Penelope, looking for all the world like Artemis or golden Aphrodite” (Book 19, page 392, lines 55-56). He starts from when she comes down the steps to comparing her to Artemis or golden Aphrodite. Penelope from the poem speaks for her self; if she feels pain she expresses it in her own voice. Penelope from The Odyssey voice is drowned out by Homer, he speaks for her and expresses how she feels.

 

Penelope from the poem “Penelope” waits for Odysseus, she tries to be strong and hopes for the best for but she still waits for his return. The tone of the women is so up beat as she tries to think positive she says, “ He shall ride the silver seas, he shall cut the glittering waves.” She thinks he is out there coming back to her, riding in the breeze trying to find his way back to her love, and has much faith. Penelope from The Odyssey doesn’t waste any time, she think my husband is gone for 20 years he is dead. He most likely won’t come back, and I will not sulk over him I will get re married. In her pretty voice you can hear how she doesn’t believe he is coming back she states “Odysseus never again will I embrace him” (Chapter 19, page 398, line 95). Penelope from The Odyssey lost faith in the one she calls her husband and Penelope from the poem “Penelope” waits and has faith her strong man is at sea.)

 

           

            Penelope from the poem  “Penelope” seems as though she has more love for Odysseus even though she and Penelope from The Odyssey are quite similar. They have similarities because both wait in sorrow for their loving husband Odysseus. But the two have differences in their personalities. Penelope from The Odyssey has Homer speaking for her and Penelope from the poem “Penelope” is speaking for herself. Also, Penelope from The Odyssey thinks Odysseus is dead and Penelope from the poem “Penelope” thinks that he is still out there and she will wait for eternity. The Poem “Penelope” showed a different type of Penelope and with out she would be just a one - dimensional character.

 

 

English Profolio - Me Mag

The Me Magazine was for each student to express their self to their new classmates in a creative way. The overall goal was for us all to get to know a little about each other.

Me Mag Whole

Quarter 2 Benchmark (Memoir Vignette)

Room 436

 

This is benchmark 2 the memoir vignette, and this is actually my favorite. I actually got to pick what I wanted to write about and speak form my hard, instead of stating facts from books. This is a true and inspirational story.

I woke up again with a groan, not wanting to be bothered. Mom and her scratchy loud voice, you can hear her two blocks away. This short woman sure has pipes on her as I whispered while slowly crawling out of bed, man do my mouth taste disgusting (opener). I had knots and a bad feeling running in my body (foreshadowing). Time for another day at school, as my looney family bum rush down the stairs. When I stepped outside an instant wind blew threw my hair cheating for my brother, stopping me from running. My cheeks and ears stood still as I tried to beat the wimp. Mother comes screaming out the door as always, now for about five minutes we wait for my dad to wobble out it was a tradition. We waited the five minutes, then he came out different, he wasn’t walking normal, and all he kept doing was coughing but like a dog, bark bark barking all over (repetition and foreshadowing). The sound effect startled me; my mom wasn’t paying attention she was too busy talking about tonight. He slammed the door and waited for a minute to start the car. My mom noticed the bark and then she put on her wife voice the voice of a soft humming bird (metaphor). She said, “ Are you alright babe”? (Dialogue) while rubbing his back. Then she gave my dad two big fat thick white missiles that he had to shove down his throat. (Imagery and hyperbole) Ahhh, that soothing sound, finally I can hear the mean and grumpy engine start, its like music to my ears (personification).

            Sitting in class with screaming kids and annoyed teachers. I felt like I was in first grade, kids had baby stains all over there shirts. Girls rolling their eyes and popping there gum, but I was zoned out in another world. I was thinking about what my mom was talking about in the car this morning. I wasn’t paying attention I think she said something about meat loaf, I sure hope not. The time sure was moving sluggish, but when the bell screeched all you could hear were screams, lockers slam, and curse words in the thundering hallways (magic three). Then this loud mean munchkin hall motor screams down the hallways, “ GET YOUR DAMN STUFF, AND KEEP IT MOVING”(dialogue) She continues her rampage down the rest of the hallway. I walked out slowly, thinking I was catching the stinky cheese bus (Imagery). But surprisingly my aunt was there to pick me up, I got in the sparkling silver car, and I seen my wimpy brother, thinking to my self this was a lucky day for both of us. My aunt wouldn’t say anything the whole ride, her eyes had water sliding down them. It was like a water slide on her face (simile).  But then I noticed this wasn’t the normal way. Instead of taking the busy highways, we took the dirty and loud downtown streets. There was nothing but traffic and horns beeping. We showed up at the place where babies were born.

            The two sliding doors flew open, the lights were bright. People everywhere, I think to my self, it must be my baby cousin with the bad case of the runs, I call him Poo Poo Kazoo (humor). Sounds coming from everywhere coughs, sneezes, ambulances, and babies crying (Imagery-sound). The smell was awful; it smelt like vomit, cafeteria food, and sick people (Imagery-smell). I stayed close to my aunt and my brother stayed close to me, we were walking like we were in a scary movie about to get murdered (simile). My aunt asked “Where is room 436?’ to a man that look like cookie monster, he had on a bright blue uniform on with a badge that said front desk security (simile). The guy said 4th floor then a left, we got on the elevator and went up which seemed like forever. Finally the fourth floor, we went down this long hallway, the light got dimmer and dimmer. Then there was the room, room 436, the numbers made me nauseous and nervous. I was scared, there were old mean with there hairy, wrinkly butts dangling out the back of dotted pajamas which looked like sheets (humor).

            The door too room 436 was cracked, we walked into the dark room with a Television playing, and the news was on at a very low volume. Then they slid back the blank white curtains it was my dad. The horror in my eyes, they burned before the lava fell from them (metaphor). My mother sitting there, with a pale sick look on her face. She didn’t even say hi babies, like everyday when we come from school. I study my father like I had a test the next morning on a big black man in a bed (simile). He had snakes shooting venom in his arms. Something breathing for him, and one half of his body moving and the other half practically dead (metaphor). As I stood back for a while, I felt like a sponge I was absorbing all that just happened (simile). But I got the courage to walk, to the man I didn’t even notice. I slowly grabbed his hand; my hand was shaking it never done that before. His hand was rough and fragile, his eyes popped open, I whispered “dad why did you have a stroke”? God chose you why were you bad to him (dialogue). A gentle tear trickled down my face as I said “I would do anything you ask, are you in here because I spilled all of your cologne”(dialogue). He grabbed my hand tight, tight enough to lose circulation and chuckled. He kissed me and said, “I love you young lady, and no matter what happens life changes. “(Dialogue) That was the first day I ever heard my dad call me young lady, that day I grew up in that hospital, knowing that life will throw obstacles in your way. But when it happens you have to be prepared. I whispered “I love you too dad”(dialogue), and let go of the sand paper hand (imagery and metaphor) and then I left the room 436.

 

Q1 Benchmark (Macbeth Character Analysis)

 Lady Macbeth

 

This was the first benchmark that was received and it was the hardest one. This benchmark is about looking at a character from the beginning of Macbeth to the end. I chose Lady Macbeth, I felt she was basically the only girl, and she was tougher than most the men. This benchmark required a lot of patience and time.

 

Thesis- Lady Macbeth is a conniving woman, let greed arrogate her body, and then her mind erupted.

 

In Act 1, Scene 5, Macbeth sent Lady Macbeth a letter telling her that he had been promoted to Thane of Cawdor. He had an encounter with Weird sisters, and they read a prophecy that he could become king. Lady Macbeth, showed so much excitement, she stated, “Is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness, to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (Page 17, line 16 – 19, scene 5, Act 1). Lady Macbeth is questioning Macbeth’s ability to get the job of killing Duncan done; she feels he is too kind. She thinks he doesn’t have enough ambition or drive to go on with the murder. This reveals the start of a cold heart, and how she is letting her greed and ambition take charge.

 

The King is coming, to celebrate Macbeth becoming the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth came home from the war greeted by the greedy Lady Macbeth, discussing with his wife when the king is coming. Lady Macbeth say very proudly, “Shall sun that morrow see your face my thane is as a book, when men may read strange matters” (Page 18, line 60-62, scene 5 Act 1). Lady Macbeth is saying that she can read Macbeth like a book, all his expression and all he wants is on his face. This reveals that Lady Macbeth and her conniving ways have grown.

 

Macbeth broke the news to Lady Macbeth saying that he is too loyal too the king, the plan about killing Duncan isn’t good. As anger travels through lady Macbeth body, she says harshly “Does unmake you, I given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done this” (Page 22, line 54-59, scene 7 Act 1). Lady Macbeth is saying she would do anything for Macbeth, and he should kill the king for her. He promised her he would be strong and kill king Duncan and she would keep a promise if he tells her to kill a baby. Her veins are running with avarice that’s how bad she yearns to be queen.

 

Scene 7, Act 2, Macbeth just killed Duncan and came back with the murder weapons. Lady Macbeth very worried and anxiously says “You do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hands”(Page 29, line 48-50, scene 7, Act 2). Lady Macbeth is a woman, who wants things done her and the right way. She said that wasn’t the plan, you did something dumb by bringing the weapons here. Wash the blood, guilt, and everything else off your hands. Her manly over coat was revealed, she had to take charge of the situation. She is willing to put her guilt and anger inside behind her, her mind is in charge of her heart.

 

Macbeth killed Duncan, she is telling him to man up, wipe the guilt off of your hands. Be strong, and go like nothing ever happened. He brought the murder weapons with him and she grabbed them to plant them on the guards to finish the job. Macbeth was acting like he was in shock and very guilty. Lady Macbeth had to transform into a deceitful mastermind. As her over coat of manly essence came, she had to grab hold of the situation so she stated, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white”(Page 29, line 67 – 68, scene 2, Act 2). Lady Macbeth states her hands are the same color as Macbeth covered in blood, but she doesn’t care. Her heart is so cold and greedy she can just go like nothing ever happened. She is ashamed to be as weak as Macbeth, she wants him to just man up. Lady Macbeth is a woman of a manly essence and this shows so much. Her guilt is killing her but the ability to rule and be in charge is keeping her alive and well.

 

             Banquo and his sons found Duncan murdered, and all the thanes, and Duncan children are reacting abominable. As Macbeth and Lady Macbeth reactions are phony, acting like they don’t know what’s going on. Lady Macbeth’s sham is still in place as she is about to faint she says  “Help me hence ho!”(Page 35, line 116, scene 3, Act 2. Lady Macbeth went with the plan by acting very dramatic like she didn’t know what was going on. She plays heartbroken and very sad that there was a murder in her house. She is basically saying help me, I don’t feel well. This shows that Lady Macbeth cold heart, yearns to be queen and when she want something she will get it, even if it calls for her to act very fake.

 

Act 3, scene 4, Macbeth is alone a lot, Lady Macbeth asked for a word with her own husband. He is dropping hints that Banquo and Fleance will be murdered. Lady Macbeth very curious asks, “What’s to be done?” (Page 47, line 45, scene 4, Act 3). Lady Macbeth doesn’t know what’s going to happen, she is not included in the plan. But she is curious to know what’s going on. She asks what’s going to happen or what will you do. Now she is worried, she is not the one in charge of this murder; this reveals that now her manly essence and partnership with her husband may be fading.

 

Banquo was murdered, there is a dinner going on at Kings Macbeth’s house. The lords, thanes, and Queen all around the table. Then Macbeth sees Banquos ghost, no one else can see him. Macbeth is reacting horribly and has everyone worried thinking he is severely sick. Lady Macbeth pulls Macbeth aside says very firmly “O proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air drawn dagger, which you said led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, imposture to true fear, would well become”(Page 52, line 61-65, Scene 4, Act 3). Lady Macbeth acts very strong, and tells Macbeth this is only your imagination and fear. You killed Duncan, you feel guilty don’t worry about it. She saying you are not really seeing anything, calming him down. She is taking control of the situation, making sure the secret wont be told, this reveals her greed.

 

Act 5, Scene 1, Doctors come to exam Lady Macbeth, she is very sick. The gentle woman shows the doctor how Lady Macbeth is acting, she is sleep walking. Lady Macbeth face is zoned out, and you can tell in the expression in her face she is angry, she says “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One – two - why then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to accounts? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Page 84, line 34-40, scene 1, Act 5). Lady Macbeth has cracked, her strong scent of manly essence has faded away, she is sleep walking. She speaks aloud about what she and Macbeth had done. She is saying get the blood and guilt off my hands, we kept it a secret, and nobody knows it, we killed Duncan. She knows so much evil things her heart has caught on fire, and now she feel like she’s in hell. Everything she done had caught up to her, she wonders why this guilt won’t wash away from her skin, her mind had erupted.

 

 Gentle Woman and doctor come to examine Lady Macbeth. She wants blood, and guilt to get out of her head and go away. She is sleep walking telling all of her secrets, what her and Macbeth had done. As the doctor and gentlewoman discuss what is happening to Lady Macbeth, the gentle woman states “I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whole body” (Page 84, line 54-55, Scene 1, Act 5,). She is saying she would not be that cold hearted and mean, she would not have such an sinful heart in her body; for the health and respect of the body.  She saying all those secrets, guilt, betrayal, greed, and evilness in one heart, can really kill you. The gentle woman feels its melicious, just gut wrenching. Lady Macbeth heart is fully charged with guilt, evilness, and deception. This conniving and greedy woman with a heart of the devil, manly scent is gone, her heart is filled with guilt and her mind is corrupted and lost.

 

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth has evolved because she was a woman who was strong, and wanted Macbeth to unsex her, and make her manly. She was conniving and convincing, to make Macbeth kill Duncan. Her smart plan could fulfill her dream to become queen, the greed she had running through her vain and blood stream arrogated her body and mind. But her manly essence started to fade away as the story went on. The quotes from the stories supported the thesis because it showed how this cold hearted, strong, and conniving woman that was corrupt and evil, turned brain sickly. Shakespear sent out a very interesting true message and that is if you do evil things, bad things will bound to happen to you, perfect example is Lady Macbeth. Her heart was cold and bad, and she did very evil things. But then, Her heart started to get warm and her woman appeal took over again. Her mind started to erupt and all the lies, greed, evil, betrayal and deceit killed the woman, who had a scent of a man and heart of a devil.

Reflective Letter

Short Reflection

 

I sat for a while and thought, what does this portfolio say about me as a 9th grade English student? Honestly I have no clue, but I would say that this portfolio shows my weakness of writing but also my strength and greatness of writing. You can tell in this portfolio that I am creative with words, and different with my style of writing from most 9th graders. But also my work takes so much editing, before my teacher, audience, and me can be satisfied. I’m that 9th grade student that can be one of the best writers, my potential is there but the work sometimes doesn’t show. I need grammar work, and learn how to write better in past and present tenses.

When you read my portfolio you will see a strong writer, that puts effort, thought, and precision in her work. You will see my creativity, and how I love to use imagery to spice up my writing and give it that BAM! I have two pieces that have that special BAM! First one is Room 436 my Memoir Vignette, My endearment for this piece is so prodigious because I got to go free, and we didn’t have a specific guideline. Room 436 shows how great of a writer I am, and I open up to my audience so they can really meet the author. The second piece I idolize is my Macbeth creative, also another piece with no guideline. This piece showed a side where you just don’t write stories and big paragraph but also short sentence that can me just as much as a paragraph. You can write a stanza that will have your audience pondering, and that’s what I did with this piece. I wrote a big poem that sometime a young audience doesn’t understand, they have to think deeply to actually read it. These two projects were superb and every minute of creating it was substantial.

If I could start 9th grade English over again I wouldn’t because I have grown so much in the process that I don’t want to go back where I started. I have difficulties with writing pieces, such as the 10 paragraph Macbeth benchmark, because I started to run out of what to say and how I would describe a lady I didn’t know. I looked at her as a character in a book that we were reading. Going back through my work, I see that I have grown from just a freshman writer, to a sophomore or maybe a junior writer.

Musical Instrument #2

1. How is sound produced by this instrument (now that you know more about sound, please try to refer specifically to the energy transfer and vibrations)?
- It is produced by hitting the notes, when that happens it vibrate and there for it would most likely produce sound. 

2. Based on your understanding, how are you changing the pitch? What physical characteristics are important in this instrument? 
-To change the notes so that it can change the pitch, i'm guessing, you would have to switch notes up.

3. What materials will you actually be using for your instrument and why? How will you play your instrument? What is your plan for constructing the instrument?
- I would be using a flat surface like a board or something so that my tabs can be leveled right and i would have some type of pipes for my tabs and i would use like a spoon or something to hit my notes.

4. What outstanding questions do you still have?
- I don't have any questions to ask =)

Lady Macbeth (character analysis)

This was the very first piece I ever wrote for Ms. Dunn. It was also my worst piece of writing. This is the paper that showed I was still in 8th grade. My writing looks different now however. This was another piece we had to do for "Macbeth". We had to follow a character throughout the story and use quotes to show how much/how they had changed.




Victoria Yarbrough                                                                                               

October 30, 2010                        English

 

Lady Macbeth, a woman once filled with greed and lust, is now filled with remorse and guilt. She was driven to the edge and in turn died.

 

Her beginning:

Lady Macbeth gets the news that Macbeth is being promoted to the thane of Cawdor. She is overjoyed but begins to hatch a plan that involves Macbeth becoming more than he already is. “Page 16, 1.5”  “Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue”. This means that Lady Macbeth hopes that she can persuade Macbeth into seeing her plan by talking to him and seducing him. She is now starting to see a queenly future and will stop at nothing to get it.

 

Realizing that Macbeth doesn’t has what it takes to kill Duncan; Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to help her be more manly and unremorseful. She thinks that she has to be strong for the both of them. Page 17, 1.5“Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse…”. She means that she wants to be strong and have no remorse in her heart to get this done.  She is firing herself up to be strong.

 

Lady Macbeth was out drinking with the guards and now she is fired up to proceed in killing Duncan. Page 27, 2.2 “That which hath made me drunk hath made me bold; what hath quenched them hath given me fire.” She means that the alcohol that made the servants drunk has fired her up and she is ready to kill the king. Lady Macbeth says that she is ready to kill the king, but she does not have to do anything but make the guards drunk.

 

Now That the king is dead, Macbeth is really paranoid and is regretting killing him. Page 29, 2.2 “Why, worthy thane, you do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things.” She means that Macbeth is driving his self-crazy thinking about the repercussions of killing Duncan. She says this because she wants him to forget about it. Also, she does not want to be worried about too, so she tells him to forget about it.

 

Now that people have found Duncan dead, Lady Macbeth pretends to be surprised as if she doesn’t know who killed Duncan. Page 34, 2.3 “What in our house?” She is now being a weak lady again who didn’t know what happened, she will now be queen.

 

Her down fall:

 

Now that lady Macbeth is queen, she does not want to kill anymore. She has gotten what she wants so now she is taking the backseat as queen. Page 46, 3.2“You must leave this”

Lady Macbeth does not want to kill any more She will begin to feel guilty because she only had one objective.

 

Everyone is at a banquet prepared by lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Macbeth has gotten word that the murderers killed Banquo, while at dinner he saw Banquo’s ghost and is now acting crazy in front of the lords. Page 52, 3.4“, Are you a man?” lady Macbeth notices Macbeth acting weird in front of all of the guest at the dinner party. She pulls him aside and asks him is he a man. She really doesn’t know what is going on now; she had no prior knowledge of Macbeth killing Banquo.

 

 

Now that Macbeth is being suspected of killing Duncan and Banquo, lady Macbeth is sick with guilt and remorse. She is on the edge of insanity. Page 84, 5.1,“Out damned spot! Out I say! One two- why then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie my lord, fie! A solider and afeard? What we need we fear who knows it, when no one can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?”

lady Macbeth is spiraling downward into guilty insanity, she is seeing things that are not really there, and is babbling aloud to herself. She sees Duncan and Banquo’s blood on her hands and is feeling guilty for what she talked Macbeth into doing.

 

Lady Macbeth is dipping in between insanity and reality, she is telling herself to go to be and forget about it. When she just was seeing blood on her clean hands. Page 85, 5.2“Wash your hands, put on your night- gown, and look not so pale. I tell you yet again Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out on’s grave.” Lady Macbeth is now trying to convince herself that everything will be all right. That what is done is done. So she is telling herself to go to bed and not worry about anything, and get some rest.

 

Macbeth and the servant are talking when suddenly they hear a scream. Another servant comes and tells Macbeth that lady Macbeth died. Page 91, 5.5, lady Macbeth dies of guilt.  She probably just could not take the guilt any more and it may have driven her to the edge. She probably became so guilty and so worried that she died a sick woman.

 

Lady Macbeth went from greedy and lustful to insane and guilty in a matter of scenes. She wanted to become queen and coaxed her husband into making her so. However, lady Macbeth did not think of the repercussions, which was her own health and sanity. This goes to show that good things come in time and that if you rush, you mess up the order of things.

 

 Revision:


Victoria Yarbrough                                                                                               

May 18, 2011                        English

 

Lady Macbeth, a woman once fraught with greed and lust, is now filled with remorse and penitence

 

Her rise:

Lady Macbeth gets the news that Macbeth is being promoted to the Thane of Cawdor. She is overjoyed but begins to hatch a plan that involves Macbeth becoming more than he already is. “Page 16, 1.5”  “Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue” she says. This means that Lady Macbeth hopes that she can persuade Macbeth into seeing her plan by talking to him and seducing him. She is now starting to see a queenly future and will stop at nothing to get it.

 

Realizing that Macbeth doesn’t have what it takes to kill Duncan Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits to help her be more manly and adept. She thinks that she has to be strong for the both her and Macbeth now since he won’t kill the king. On page 17, 1.5 she calls up to the spirits and says “Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse…”. She means that she wants to be strong and have no form of guilt in her heart to get this done.  She is firing herself up to be strong.

 

Lady Macbeth was out drinking with the guards of the king and now she is fired up about the idea of killing king Duncan. On Page 27, 2.2, she says “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; what hath quenched them hath given me fire.” She means that the alcohol that made the servants drunk has her up ready to proceed in her devious scourge to become queen. Lady Macbeth says that she is ready to kill the king, but she does not have to do anything but make the guards drunk to have a successful outcome. She uses the alcohol to manipulate a drunken guard into sleep.  Then he is blamed for a deed that Macbeth committed.

 

Now that the king is dead, Macbeth is really paranoid and is regretting killing him. Lady Macbeth says to her husband on Page 29, 2.2 ,“Why, worthy thane, you do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things.” She means that Macbeth is driving himself crazy thinking about the repercussions of killing king Duncan. She says this because she wants him to forget about it doing it and be happy for what’s to come. Also, she does not want to think of the consequences if they get caught, so she tells him to forget about it for the sake of her sanity as well. People have found Duncan dead, and Lady Macbeth pretends to be surprised as if she doesn’t know who killed Duncan. On Page 34, 2.3, she says with an innocent tone “What in our house?”. She is trying to come off as a weak lady who didn’t know what happened; All the while she is going to become queen.

 

Her down fall:

 

Now that lady Macbeth is queen, she does is satisfied. She has gotten what she wants so now she is taking the backseat. On Page 46, 3.2, when Macbeth begins to grow an insatiable attitude, Lady Macbeth says, “You must leave this”. Lady Macbeth does not want to kill any more or She will begin to feel guilty because she only had one objective, but in turn created a monster.

 

Everyone is at a banquet prepared by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to celebrate their new royalty. Macbeth has gotten word that the murderers killed Banquo (who was his next objective after Duncan). While at dinner his mind sees Banquo’s ghost and is now talking to himself and acting crazy in front of the lords. On Page 52, 3.4, surprised, Lady Macbeth asks “, Are you a man?”. Lady Macbeth notices Macbeth acting weird in front of all of the guest – who are just as surprised as she is-at the dinner party. She pulls him aside and asks him is he a man meaning is he sane, and what did he do this time? She really doesn’t know what is going on now; she had no prior knowledge of Macbeth killing Banquo.

 

 

Macbeth is being suspected of killing Duncan and Banquo, Lady Macbeth is sick with guilt and remorse. She is on the edge of insanity. On Page 84, 5.1, she’s at the hospital yelling “Out damned spot! Out I say! One two- why then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie my lord, fie! A solider and afeard? What we need we fear who knows it, when no one can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?”

Lady Macbeth is seeing things that are not really there, and is babbling aloud to herself. She sees Duncan and Banquo’s blood on her hands and is feeling guilty for what she talked Macbeth into doing. Lady Macbeth is dipping in between insanity and reality, she is telling herself to go to bed and forget about it all that has happened when not too long ago, she was seeing blood on her clean hands. On Page 85, 5.2, she says, “Wash your hands, put on your night- gown, and look not so pale. I tell you yet again Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out on’s grave.” Lady Macbeth is now trying to convince herself that everything will be all right and that what’s done is done. She is also partially talking to Macbeth who was worried about murdering Duncan and Banquo in the beginning as much as Lady Macbeth is now.

 

At the end of his prime, Macbeth and a servant are talking when suddenly they hear a scream. Another servant comes and tells Macbeth that his queen has died. On Page 91, 5.5, lady Macbeth dies. She probably just could not take the guilt any more and it may have driven her to the edge of insanity, stress, and remorse. She became so guilty and so worried that she died a sick woman.

 

Lady Macbeth went from greedy and lustful to insane and guilty in a matter of scenes. She wanted to become queen and coaxed her husband into making her so. However, lady Macbeth did not think of the repercussions, which was her own health and sanity in the end. This goes to show that good things come in time and that if you rush, you mess up the order of things and in turn screw yourself over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarter 4 English Portfolio

Sean Force



Reflective Cover Letter


I feel that this portfolio shows that I have at least stayed somewhat constant if not improving in my writing over the course of the year.  I consider my strengths to be reading and then translating or explaining what I read to others.  I consider my weaknesses to be writing.  I found that it was much easier than I thought it would be to edit my old papers and to make this portfolio.  I am most proud I think of my independent reading review.



Q1 BM


For this benchmark we had to pick a character from the book “Macbeth” either Macbeth or Lady Macbeth and trace their character path though the course of the book.



During the play Macbeth, many characters changed in many ways. Macbeth was an example of one of these people.  Macbeth started this play as a decent person, someone who could make a good king but by the end of this play he had become the kind of person who would disgust the devil himself.  

During act 1 scene 2 Captain, a bloody man has just approached King Duncan and is telling about what he just saw on the battlefield.  “But all’s to weak: for brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name - disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel which smoked with bloody execution, like valors minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave,”. (Act 1, scene 2, lines 15-20) This quote means that Macbeth was too good for them all, he just hacked right through them all until he reached his destination.  This is an important quote because it shows that Macbeth may not have been the nicest guy but he was brave.  Bravery is an important quality that a king should have to be a successful.  The fact that he didn’t hesitate is also a quality that a good king should have.

In act 1 scene 2 Captain, King Duncan is still questioning the captain about what’s going on on the battle field.  “Yes, as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.  If I say sooth, I must report they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe.” (Act 1, scene 2, lines 35-38) This quote states  that the enemy frightened Macbeth and Banquo about as much as a sparrow would frighten an eagle or a rabbit would a lion.  In fact when they saw this new enemy they fought twice as hard as before.  This is an important quote because it also shows that Macbeth was a brave and noble man.  In addition, it shows that Macbeth would do almost anything for his country.  It also shows how Macbeth and Banquo are such good friends and that they trust each other so much.

During act 1 scene 3 Ross, Ross and Angus have found Macbeth and Banquo and are about to tell Macbeth that he has been promoted to Thane of Cawdor.  “The king hath happily received, Macbeth, the news of thy success, and when he reads thy personal venture in the rebels' fight, his wonders and his praises do contend which should be thine or his.” (Act 1, scene 3, lines 91-93) What he means here is that King Duncan was happy to hear about the success of Macbeth on the battlefield and he is so amazed that he can’t think of what he could possibly say.  This is an important quote because it shows that Macbeth can impress people in high places which is a desirable quality to have in a king.  This also shows that Macbeth must have been a good warrior if he impressed the king.  

Over the course of act 1 scene 3 Macbeth, Ross and Angus have just informed Macbeth that he is the new Thane of Cawdor.  “The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?” (Act 1 scene 3, lines 107-108) In this quote he is saying, the Thane Cawdor is still living so why are you calling me by his name.  This quote shows that Macbeth didn’t want to make an uninformed decision and he wanted to be sure before he did anything.  This quote also shows that Macbeth is very inquisitive which is a necessary thing for a king to have in order to make skillful decisions.  

Throughout act 1 scene 4 Macbeth, Macbeth is appearing before King Duncan so that King Duncan can thank Macbeth for his services in person.  “The service and the loyalty I owe in doing it pays itself.” (Act 1 scene 4, lines 22-23) In this quote he is saying that he  was only doing his job.  Also just serving the king was payment enough for him.  This quote shows that Macbeth was not greedy at the start of the play, he was just happy to have helped.

In act 3 scene 1 Macbeth, Macbeth has summoned the murderers into the room with him so that he can tell them to go and kill Banquo.  “So is he mine; and in such bloody distance that every minute of his being thrusts against my near’st of life,”. (Act 3 scene 1, lines 116-118) In this quote Macbeth is telling the murderers that Banquo is his enemy and so much so that every minute that Banquo is alive pains him greatly.  This quote shows how Macbeth is progressing into a horrible person because Banquo was his best friend and now he is having him assassinated.  Also a king shouldn’t have to have his subjects assassinated if he has a problem with them.  He should just tell them to fix the problem or go.  Finally Macbeth is hiring assassins to have Banquo killed and keeping it a secret.   Instead he should give Banquo a fair fight and announce that Banquo is an enemy of the king and have the army fight him.

Though act 3 scene 2 Macbeth, Macbeth is telling Lady Macbeth that something is going to happen to Banquo.  He is not saying what, just that something is going to happen and that she needs to put on a sweet face to hide the knowledge of the deed to come.  “...unsafe the while that we must lave our honors in these flattering streams, and make our faces vizards to our hearts, disguising what they are.” (Act 3 scene 2, lines 33-36)   What Macbeth is saying in this quote is that Lady Macbeth needs to act normal around Banquo tonight and that they need to pretend that nothing is going to happen.  This quote shows how Macbeth is progressing into a horrible person because he is telling Lady Macbeth to do what she told him to do earlier when they were killing Duncan.  When she was telling him to do this, she had no real friendship with the intended victim but Macbeth was best friends with Banquo and now there is nothing of that friendship left with Macbeth.  Also it’s not like she can stop the murderers from killing Banquo at this point because the order has already been given. Since the murder is going to happen he didn’t have anything to lose by telling her, that way he didn’t have to go through with having Banquo assassinated alone.  She could also have given him a suggestion after he found out that only Banquo was dead.

During act 4 scene 3 Ross.  Ross is telling Macduff that Macbeth has just had his family killed.  “Your castle is surprised, your wife and babes savagely slaughtered. To relate the manner, were, on the quarry of these murdered deer to add the death of you.” (Act 4 scene 3, lines 204-207) In this quote Ross is telling Macduff, your castle was attacked your whole family was murdered, if I told how they were killed then you would probably die too out of sorrow. This is more evidence that Macbeth is turning into a horrible person because he has had Macduff’s entire family killed because Macduff wasn’t there to be killed himself.  Also, if a person has a problem with another person, then the dispute should be resolved between the two people rather than including the other person’s family.  

Throughout act 5 scene 5 Seyton, Seyton has just returned from checking on a scream that came from another room and is reporting that Lady Macbeth is dead and Macbeth is mostly unfazed.  “The queen, my lord, is dead.” (Act 5 scene 5, line 16) In this quote Seyton says to Macbeth, the queen is dead my lord.  This just shows Macbeth turning into a cold hearted monster because his wife has just died and he doesn’t really care.  Most people, if their spouse had just died would show at least a little emotion not just sit there and say that they should have waited a little longer to die.  

Over the course of act 5 scene 7 Macbeth, Macbeth has just fought with Siward’s son.  Siward’s son is bloodied and dead but Macbeth doesn’t care. “Thou wast born of woman.  But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that’s of a woman born.” (Act 5 scene 7 lines 10-11) In this quote he means that Siward’s son was born of a woman and that when he sees a man who was born of a woman, no matter what weapon he holds, Macbeth laughs because none born by a woman can harm him.  Macbeth has just killed Siward’s son and he doesn’t care.  Life means nothing to him anymore.  Macbeth has plucked the last straw, he’s there, to the breaking point.

All of these quotes show how Macbeth has transformed from a decent person into someone even the devil would revile.  His conscience was dead by the end of the story.  Macbeth was an angry, scornful, paranoid man who feared only Macduff.  In the end he chose to fight Macduff to the death rather than surrender or commit suicide.


Q2 BM


To learn more about memoirs and vignettes by reading the book “The Freedom Writers” which was filled with memoirs and vignettes, we also read some short stories and “The House on Mango Street”.  Then after all of this we wrote our own vignettes.


Having Fun at the Beach

On Tuesday, March 10, I woke up at 2:00AM and very tiredly stepped into the shower to get ready for a journey that no one in my house had done before, so as you might expect I was rather wary (Vocabulary) of this.(Opening Sentence)  I was feeling nervous because I may have been on a plane before but I was only a year and half, so in a way this was my first plane ride.  If I’d known ahead of time just how it would be I probably wouldn’t have been as nervous at this point.  I was also feeling excited because this a trip of a lifetime, because not many people get the chance to travel with their classmates and teachers to another country that is also the homeland of one of the teachers.  When we were at the airport I went through security with the members of my group.  The airport security proved to be an effective bulwark (Vocabulary) considering I did not know what to do or say in the airport and what to say to the airport personnel, you might have even said that I was rather inept (Vocabulary) at traversing the winding path through the airport (Imagery).  Most of my group knew what to do so I asked them.  Soon we were on our way to Costa Rica.

One of the best times I had was when we went to the beach in Curu.  The cabins that we stayed in were almost right on the beach.  One of the first things I noticed right away about the beach, was the dark sand with holes in it.  The holes were about the size of a quarter but went more than a foot down.  Judging by the fact that there were hermit crabs coming out of the holes we figured that they must be the homes of the hermit crabs  Then our eyes followed the sand to the clear ocean water.  When we got on the beach we looked around and it was rather barren (Vocabulary), of people at least as the boys had gotten out of the cabins before the girls.  A couple of people found some hermit crabs, so we all started looking for hermit crabs.  When Ben and I started looking, we found some little tracks that we thought might be hermit crab tracks so we followed them.  The little things must have been rather shrewd (Vocabulary) as it got a little confusing because their tracks crossed over each other a couple of times, they split a couple of times, and the tide had washed parts of them away.  When I finally found one and picked it up, I noticed the crab was brown and purplish.  Its legs were hairy and moving quickly, like it wanted to escape, but then the crab sucked back into the shell.  I looked at the shell, it looked bumpy and it had ridges.  I started walking away from the water and all of a sudden the crab pinched me.  It must have wanted to get down and that’s what it did as I dropped it by accident.  I picked the crab up again, it pinched me again, but this time I put it down and watched it scurry away.  It walked kind of straight, unlike the other crabs which walked sideways. 

  A little while after that, Amir found a bunch of hermit crabs and wanted to make a shelter for them so that he could amass (Vocabulary) an even larger quantity of them.  I helped him dig one.  We used our hands and some of the many pieces of driftwood that we found on the beach.  Using the driftwood made us rather adept at digging through the wet, dark, and heavy sand (Magic Three).  The sand felt damp and smooth.  Some of the smaller crabs almost got covered with sand while we were digging the shelter.  When we were finished, the hole was about six inched deep and about the size of a piece of copy paper.  Soon our classmates were finding hermit crabs and telling us so we could add them to the shelter.  By the end, we had about fifteen hermit crabs of varying sizes and different color shells.  Some were as small as a dime while others were as big as a half dollar.   A lot were trying to climb out.  They would get about half up and then slide down.   

Since I was quite sandy, I wanted to rinse off in the water.  I walked down and waded into the warm water.  When I first got out there, I jumped at the wrong time and got a mouthful of salty water.  Most of my classmates were out in the ocean.  They were laughing and playing with a beach ball.  I stayed in the water for about twenty minutes and then went back to the hermit crabs.  Most of them were gone from the shelter.  They must have figured out how to get out.  Yet again shrewd (Vocabulary) little things.  The last one was on the edge, making his break for freedom.   

After checking on the hermit crabs, I decided to go in the water again.  I spent a little more time digging on the beach with my friends.  I went into the water to wash my head and body because I had gotten watery sand on myself while digging.  I got out of the ocean and then Maestra Sandra said it was time to get washed up and changed for dinner.  This was a meaningful experience to me because it was really a once-in-a lifetime experience.   Now I like my tech stuff but even though the beach can be rather low-tech it had still been a fun day on the beach in Curu in the end.


Q3 BM 


For this benchmark we read the book “The Odyssey” and then we had to compare and contrast it to another piece of media, I chose to compare and contrast it to “O’ Brother Where Art Thou?”


Some people prefer to watch movie then to sit down and read a book.  For this paper however the subject is both.  While the movie “O, Brother Where Art Thou” and the book the “The Odyssey” are almost the same they do have a few differences, these differences cause them to be liked by different types of people.

These two pieces of media are similar for the most part because the movie is supposed to be and interpretation of the book.  However this doesn’t mean that it was exactly the same.  For example with Polyphemus, the cyclops, in the book he ate some of Odysseus’ men “He lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching two at once.....But once the Cyclops had stuffed his enormous gut with human flesh, washing it down with raw milk” (Book 9:324-334).  In The Odyssey the Cyclops hinders them by eating some of their men and robs them of time.  Meanwhile, in the movie, the character who is similar to the Cyclops robs them of their money, food, time, and transportation.  He hinders them by robbing them of the previously mentioned items then, knocks them around and injures them.


One reason that they are different is that the movie may be more liked because

the book is a difficult read for many people while the movie they just sit back press play and watch.  Another thing is that may have caused people to like it better might be because it was less confusing and contradicting of its self.  For example, when Odysseus and his men were in the Cave of Polyphemus when he was closing up his cave “Then to close his door he hoisted overhead a tremendous massive slab, no twenty-two wagons rugged and four-wheeled, could budge that boulder off the ground” (Book 9:271-274). Then shortly after that for dinner Polyphemus, the cyclops, eats some of Odysseus’ men, “He lunged out with his hands toward my men and snatching two at once.....But once the Cyclops had stuffed his enormous gut with human flesh, washing it down with raw milk” (Book 9:324-334). These two quotes from the book would show  a picture to most readers of a huge hulking monster who has the ability to change his size at will because the first quote would paint a picture of large monster whereas the second would paint one of a monstrous figure about the size of two large men.  Now in the movie it is more constant with the Cyclops figure being portrayed by Big Dan Teague who is large but not one who can change his size at will, which is more believable.


Another difference that they had was of course time, which as would be expected caused some very different things to happen.  For example, instead of them passing the sirens while they were on the boat, the main characters were in a car.  Still this didn’t prevent them from ending up getting into trouble just like Odysseus would have if he hadn’t had his crew there. “I signaled the crew with frowns to set me free-- they flung themselves at the oars and rowed on harder” (Book 12:210-211).  Now since Odysseus was on the boat with his crew, he and they were able to escape the sirens, whereas Everette, Pete, and Delmar were not warned plus they were in the car with no crew to help them past the sirens. On the other hand, Odysseus was on the boat with his crew to help him get through it and they were warned, which may also have helped them.

While both pieces had their similarities and differences which may have affected which types of people liked these different pieces of media they were both very interesting to watch and read.  Their similarities most likely came about because of the fact that the movie was an interpretation of the book.  They did have their differences like the movie was not as contradicting of itself whereas the book did.  Time was another factor in their differences as in pre 700BCE, you couldn’t just stand on the side of the road and ask for a ride to Ithaca. Similarly, in 1937 you wouldn’t just run around shooting people with arrows and cutting other people up.  So, which is better sitting in the movie theater and lazily watching the story go or sitting down in the shade with a cool breeze blowing through the air with the book.


Creative project

After we did our papers on macbeth we had to take those quotes we used and put them into a creative piece.  I chose to do a keynote explanations of the quotes





Macbeth Creative Project
​Independent Reading 


Throughout the first and second semesters we had to read a book of our own choosing and then write a review on it for the one for the second semester we could choose what type of project we wanted to do on it. 


I’m here to talk to you today about the book Reckless by Cornelia Funke and Lionel Wigram.  This book is in my opinion one of the best books that I have read to this date, now I know and acknowledge the fact that there are people out there with different view who might think that crazy.  Some interesting thing that I’ve found out about this book is that Cornelia Funke worked on this book with another person, Lionel Wigram and as far as I can tell she has never done this before.  Another interesting fact is that one of the writers of this book Lionel Wigram has been involved in some well known movie productions like "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole," “Sherlock Holmes,” and the Harry Potter series so although I haven’t found anything that says it will or it wont become a movie, I think that it has a good chance of becoming a movie.

This book is about a about an other world that is called by the main character, Jacob Reckless, “The Mirror World” and it as obtained this name because of the fact that to get to it from “our” world he must travel through a mirror.  Jacob Reckless is the kind of person that doesn’t like to make mistakes and then one day when he finally does it sends his both of his worlds whirling into a spiral where they both collide causing his brother, Will Reckless, to be infected with the curse of fairy.  As much as Fox, a young vixen shapeshifter that Jacob has met in in treasure hunting, tries to console him Jacob blames himself for what is happing to his brother,  and to make matters worse Will has decided to bring his girlfriend, Clara, along who even more so than Will, Jacob has to remind of the dangers of this world like; attacking trees, the Goyl, and countless little forest creatures just itching for a some human flesh.

A favorite character of mine is Jacob Reckless because he is a master of his trade, treasure hunting so he has amassed all sorts of little magical items ranging from a handkerchief that creates gold coins when rubbed to a magical hair that also when rubbed gains infinite length and attach to whatever you look at.  Another reason is that he is sort of a “I’ll-tell-you-it-when-you-need-to-know” kind person which I think is kind of comical to watch, that is as long as I’m not the one from which the information is being withheld.  If there’s one thing that I think people should take away from reading this book it is that mistakes happen even to the most careful of us and that thing usually work out in the end, not always for the better but they do tend to work out.  Another good idea to take from this book or maybe more so from Jacob Reckless is to try and not make stupid mistakes.

One character that I can relate to in this book is Jacob Reckless because I know what it is like to have little brother that can be so annoying that you just want to be able to go to another world to get away from him, unfortunately for me I don’t have another world to go to when he is being annoying.  Another reason that  I can relate to him and probably we all can is that we all know what it’s like to want something that we can’t have, like the saying goes, “The heart wants what it can’t have”, maybe it’s not quite the same things as Jacob maybe it is.  I don’t personally think that I have done many of the same things as really anyone in this book has done and there probably aren’t many aspects of this book that many people in the world could have done, at least not that many that are still living.

Like I said earlier in this review I think that this is one of the best books that I have read so far.  A strength that this book has is that it is very descriptive in a way that it almost transports you to the Mirror World. However a weakness that I believe that this book has is that it will at times jump around to a different character, but this can also serve as a positive to keep you from just falling into a sort of waking sleep.  If there is one thing that I could change it would be where it ends, I would make it keep going.  Another thing that I might change is that you never find out what the Dark Fairy’s name is which is something that really bugs me so I might change it so you do find out what her name is.

I would recommend this book to most people but there are some people that I know would not like this book and some people that I know would like it.  So the long and short of it is that I would definitely recommend this book to people who like magic, action, and creepy creatures.  


Journal Entries


Most days when we went into Mrs. Dunn we would have a journal prompt to write about, sometimes it would be related to the unit we were working on, other times it would be more of a “get to know you” kind of question.

 Journal #1


I finished the magazine

I would maybe do a power-point, get it really checked sooner 

Nothing really popped like that


Journal #2


We write so that we don’t forget.  We write so we have to.  We write because we want to. We write to talk when ow voices can’t.  We write to express.


Journal #3


It is important to fit in because if you don;t then you wont be able to make friends.  Without friends life can be very stressful because there wont be stand up for you, to help you.


Journal #4


People are technically an adult when they reach the age of 18 but to me someone doesn’t really seem like an adult until these conditions are met, they are at least 18 years old (at least hopefully older), has a kid (at least one), has a steady job, grandparents are all dead and are married/dating seriously.





English Profolio - Benchmark 3

In this project we had to compare and contrast the book The Odyssey and the movie brother thou art thou. We had  to come up with Points of Contrast and Comparison. Then Conclude the charters at the end.

Robert Jenkins

March 6, 2011

Orange Stream

 

The movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” and “The Odyssey“ features two adventurers who encounter similar pathsb but  but handles their paths in told different ways. Everett is a convict that is sentenced to work on the chain gang. He makes up a lie about a treasure of 1.2 million dollars. So that his friends Pete and Dumar will break free and help him get to his wife before she remarries. Odysseus is a leader of a Roman army who has been away from his wife Penelope and his Son Telemachus for 10 years. He tries to get back home before his wife remarries because he is believed to be dead.

 

Odysseus and Evert are both on journeys to get back to their loved ones, however they both take two different approaches to complete their journeys. Evert has to lie in order to make his friends want to break out but Odysseus already has a loyal army that also needs to get home as well. This shows that his peers respect Odysseus more, because he doesn’t have to make up a lie in order to get followers to join him on his journey. Also during Evert’s adventure, he has to continue to fight for power as the leader of Pete and Dumar, especially after they learn that the Treasure is a fake.

 

There are many differences in how Evert and Odysseus take their journeys.  Evert has only his two friends Pete and Dumar to take on his adventure but Odyssey has too lead him and a whole army from island to island through so many different dangers and encounters. However they both do encounter Sirens for example in book 12 Circe says to Odysseus as she explains to him about his journey. “First you will raise the island of the sirens.”(Book 12: line 44). In O Brother Where Art Thou Evert and his companions are led to the sirens by their song then is left there over night and Pete is captured by the ”Devil” and forced to tell were they are trying to get towards as they run away from the chain gang. 

 

Evert and Odysseus are both sharp-witted men who have to go through great obstacles to get back to their homes and loved ones. But even though Odysseus and Evert are both on journeys to get back to their loved ones, they both take two different approaches to complete their journeys.

 Robert Jenkins

March 6, 2011

Orange Stream

 

The movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” and “The Odyssey“ features two adventurers who encounter similar pathsb but  but handles their paths in two different ways. Everett is a convict that is sentenced to work on the chain gang. He makes up a lie about a treasure of 1.2 million dollars. So that his friends Pete and Dumar will break free and help him get to his wife before she remarries. Odysseus is a leader of a Greek army who has been away from his wife Penelope and his Son Telemachus for 10 years. He tries to get back home before his wife remarries because he is believed to be dead. The main difference in this is that Everett has to lie to get people on his side but people just generally follow Odysseus as a leader.

Odysseus and Everett are both on journeys to get back to their loved ones, however they both take two different approaches to complete their journeys. Everett has to lie in order to make his friends want to break out but Odysseus already has a loyal army that also needs to get home as well. This shows that his peers respect Odysseus more, because he doesn’t have to make up a lie in order to get followers to join him on his journey. Also during Everett’s adventure, he has to continue to fight for power as the leader of Pete and Dumar, especially after they learn that the Treasure is a fake.

There are many differences in how Everett and Odysseus take their journeys. Everett has only his two friends Pete and Dumar to take on his adventure but Odyssey has too lead him and a whole army from island to island through so many different dangers and encounters. However they both do encounter Sirens for example in book 12 Circe says to Odysseus as she explains to him about his journey. “First you will raise the island of the sirens.”(Book 12: line 44). In O Brother Where Art Thou Evert and his companions are led to the sirens by their song then is left there over night and Pete is captured by the ”Devil” and forced to tell were they are trying to get towards as they run away from the chain gang. 

Everett and Odysseus are both sharp-witted men who have to go through great obstacles to get back to their homes and loved ones. But even though Odysseus and Everett are both on journeys to get back to their loved ones, they both take two different approaches to complete their journeys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English Portfolio- Reflection

 
Reflection: This portfolio shows how I changed as a 9th grade student and also how much fun and passion I have when I do these projects. I have many strengths and weaknesses when its come to English. Some of my strengths are that I can be very creative and write a lot of great content into my work. Some weaknesses are that I get frustrated and give up to easily, so I don’t always put out my best work. I still would like to work on becoming a better writer, a skill that I have not fully grasped yet. It was hard for me to go back and fix things where I really didn’t see where I made errors. It was weird and humorous to go back and see how I used to write to how I write currently. The piece I am mostly proud of is the Macbeth Creative Project where I made the poem. I am very good at rhyming so me doing that project was very fun. Overall I am pleased by my portfolio. 

English Profolio - Benchmark 2


This was when we had to do a Memoir of a time are life that matters to us. I chose to talk about the time I had a summer job and work for a horrible boss.

The Boss By Robert Jenkins (
Original)

Bull Crap Bull crap, these young adults don’t listen to me I’m a kid. Man let me tell you last summer I decided I was going to make me some money with my free time. So I could be independent till September then it’s in my parents pockets I go. I was going to be able to buy clothes, go to the movies whenever, and buy any videogame I wanted. So I found a job at MLK Recreation Center they tell me I get paid 7.25 an hour for 4 hours a day. So I'm like what a sweet job and its watching kids at an after care that’s cake.  All I have to do is interact with little kids. But little did I know my boss was some big grumpy lady that sole purpose was to make my summer full of anguish. She gave me the job of watching kids ages 15-16 even why knowing I’m 14. But gave her daughter and niece the job of watching kids ages 5-10 that’s totally unfair.

 

How was I supposed to make people older then me listen to me as their guardian? Then though they all were shorter then me and had a mind set of a little child. But still if I was in their shoes I would look at this 14 year old and say sit your little a** down who you think you talking too.  So after that moment I decided I was going to let them do whatever and I were going to sit somewhere and just sit back and relax the day away. Like their 15 why do they need after care anyway I can see you go to camp but after cares for little babies who can’t be home by there self. So when it was time the go outside they went out and started harassing the little kids and I just sat on the bench at the end of the park texting not realizing that the Boss will chew me up if anyone gets hurt on my watch. So I got up and did my job and led them back in into the building. As I did I noticed the kids starting to look at me as if they were going to do something, but they had another thing coming if they thought they could just run all over me like a Track star. So when we got in the class room I told them they were going to sit still and play like young olds with common sense.

 

However that attempt was what I call an epic fail because in less than a half and hour the room was uncontrollable and I didn’t know what to do. All I could think of was to ask my boss what to do. As she sat at a desk watching this mess and stuffing her fat face full of KFC chicken. Nevertheless she was no help because all she said was  “You have to make them know you’re the boss” and then she started laughing. I didn’t see what was so funny yes the kids where having fun but they could have did this in a more Conscientious manner of acting.

 

After two hours of uncontrolled time with the children I was switch it to finish the rest of the day at the front office. What a relief from them villainous kids and that dumb lady. This ending of my day was way better than working with kids because now I was a assistant and I didn’t have to deal with my main super visor. I was running back and forth doing all kinds of task. Such as filing, cleaning and working at the sign-in desk.

 

It’s almost time togo for me since their parents have picked up all the kids in my group. After they were gone I cleaned the messy room and was ready to rush put the door. But that Insolent woman stopped me and said “There is pieces missing to three board games your group was playing with them so your responsible for them being found and you can’t leave till they are.” I groped around looking for the pieces that I finally found in a child’s desk and then left work 10 minutes later then schedule. I though about quitting that day but I realized I’m not a quitter and sometimes a man's got to do what man have to do.

 The Boss By Robert Jenkins

I was at MLK recreation but this was not my dream. Man, let me tell you about last summer. I decided I was going to make me some money with my free time. With employment, I could be independent until September then dependent on my parents come school again.. I was going to be able to buy clothes, go to the movies whenever, and buy any videogame I wanted (Magic 3). So I found a job at MLK Recreation Center for $7.25 an hour for 4 hours a day. So I'm like what a sweet job and its watching kids at an after care that’s a piece of cake.  All I have to do is interact with little kids. But little did I know my boss was some big grumpy lady whose sole purpose was to make my summer full of anguish(vocab). From the first time we met she was yelling at me for being late on the first day even though I explained to her I never had even been in North Philadelphia by myself and I had gotten lost. After being torn of my happiness she gave me the job of watching kids ages 15-16 even while knowing I was 14. But she gave her daughter and niece the job of watching kids ages 5-10.

How was I supposed to make people older than me listen to me as their guardian? Even though they all were shorter than me and had a mind set of a little child, the fact was they were still older than me.  If I was in their shoes I would look at this 14 year old and say sit your little a** down who you think you talking to.  So after that moment I decided I was going to let them do whatever and I were going to sit somewhere and just sit back and relax the day away. Like they’re 15 why do they need after care anyway I can see you go to camp but after cares for little babies who can’t be home by themselves. So when it was time the go outside they went out and started harassing the little kids and I just sat on the bench at the end of the park texting not realizing that the Boss will chew me up if anyone gets hurt on my watch. So I got up and did my job and led them back in into the building. As I did I noticed the kids starting to look at me as if they were going to do something, but they had another thing coming if they thought they could just run all over me like a Track star(simile). So when we got in the class room I told them they were going to sit still and play like young adults with common sense.

However that attempt was what I call an epic fail because in less than a half and hour the room was uncontrollable with kids doing whatever they wanted like playing dodge ball or nearly breaking windows with baseball. As they yelled loudly with a variety of foul words that you think you would only here from a sailor. All I could think of was to ask my boss what to do. As she sat at a desk watching this mess and stuffing her fat face full of KFC chicken,  she was no help because all she said was  “You have to make them know you’re the boss”(dialogue) and then she started laughing. I didn’t see what was so funny. Yes the kids were having fun but they could have did this in a more conscientious(vocab) manner of acting.

After two hours of uncontrolled time with the children I switched shifts to finish the rest of the day at the front office. What a relief from those villainous kids and that dumb lady. This ending of my day was way better than working with kids because now I was a assistant and I didn’t have to deal with my main supervisor. I was running back and forth doing all kinds of tasks such as filing, cleaning and working at the sign-in desk.(Magic 3)

It was almost time to go for me since the parents had picked up all the kids in my group. After they were gone I cleaned the messy room and was ready to rush out the door. But that insolent(vocab) woman stopped me and said “There is pieces missing to three board games your group was playing with them so your responsible for them being found and you can’t leave till they are.”(Dialogue) I groped(Vocab) around looking for the pieces that I finally found in a child’s desk and then left work 10 minutes later than scheduled. I thought about quitting that day but I realized I’m not a quitter and sometimes a man's got to do what man has to do.