"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."
The description in this quote makes you see a beautiful country that has plenty of land and food, and is also housing people well, helping them survive. Each thing in this description explains what the country should real look like. With this description is makes you think that the novel won't have any problems at all and everything is hunky dorey.
If I came up to a place with tall bright houses, with pretty yards and kids laughing and giggling while playing with their dogs outside. I would imagine that everyone is happy and nothing can go wrong.
But then if I came upon a plavce with all dark houses, with broken windows and kids dressed in black sitting on the porch crying would make me feel sad and gloomy and think that everything is going wrong.
Monday, December 19, 2011
My Antonia: Behind The Scenes
Willa Cather suggests in her novel, "My Antonia", that she agrees that life back then was very hard if you did not have the necesssities. During that time, you needed land, know how to communicate with other farmers, money, and enough people to work your farm so that you can grow enough food to survive.
My Antonia is told in the perspective of another main character, Jim, but if the story was told in Antonia's perspective things would be different in many ways. Jim is on the richer side of it all, he was born and raised in America and had all the land for farming. Antonia was an immagrant who came with her family to America hoping to have better life. What Antonia got was a life of struggle trying to grow enough food and barely living right. If the story was told in Antonia's perspective, a lot of things that Jim did not know about Antonia would come out.
Cather being a woman does not tell the things that a man would do in the situation that Jim was in. If the author of this novel would have been a man, Jim would have acted totally different towards Antonia. The perspective of the novel is a mix of both sounding like a man writing, and sounds like a woman pretending to be a man. The perespective sounds like a man writing because of othe way that Jim did not help Antonia, but in the same way it also sounds like a woman because of the way Jim cares about Antonia.
Jim changes the title in my opinion because he understands Antonia, he knows what Antonia has gone through throughout the life that she has lived. They may have never became a "couple", but they were extremely close. Also becasue Antonia probably only actually acted a certian way towards Jim, meaning that she was his Antonia.
This novel shows the way that pioneers struggled during that time, and the hardships of being an immagrant. Willa Cather shows well how a person of Antonia and Jims caliber would handle situations. A book in Antonia's perspective would be an awesome sequel to this novel.
My Antonia is told in the perspective of another main character, Jim, but if the story was told in Antonia's perspective things would be different in many ways. Jim is on the richer side of it all, he was born and raised in America and had all the land for farming. Antonia was an immagrant who came with her family to America hoping to have better life. What Antonia got was a life of struggle trying to grow enough food and barely living right. If the story was told in Antonia's perspective, a lot of things that Jim did not know about Antonia would come out.
Cather being a woman does not tell the things that a man would do in the situation that Jim was in. If the author of this novel would have been a man, Jim would have acted totally different towards Antonia. The perspective of the novel is a mix of both sounding like a man writing, and sounds like a woman pretending to be a man. The perespective sounds like a man writing because of othe way that Jim did not help Antonia, but in the same way it also sounds like a woman because of the way Jim cares about Antonia.
Jim changes the title in my opinion because he understands Antonia, he knows what Antonia has gone through throughout the life that she has lived. They may have never became a "couple", but they were extremely close. Also becasue Antonia probably only actually acted a certian way towards Jim, meaning that she was his Antonia.
This novel shows the way that pioneers struggled during that time, and the hardships of being an immagrant. Willa Cather shows well how a person of Antonia and Jims caliber would handle situations. A book in Antonia's perspective would be an awesome sequel to this novel.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cellphones in School.
Assertion/Claim
Opposing Claims/They Say:
My Rebuttal/I Say:
Cellphones should be allowed in school. Allowing students to use cellphones would help with the safety of the students and the mind set for the safety of the child for the parents. It would also allow the students to contact their parents during a time of emergency. Using the attack of 2001 as an example, we never know what could happen. If schools don't allow their students to have the availability of their cellphones, how will they contact their parents if a so called "attack" or "crisis" occurs and communication is unavailable through the students school? A student can get sick at anytime without any symptoms before, such as just throwing up on instant. If a student is in the restroom sick and no one knows that they are there, with the availablility of the cellphone the student can call a parent to notify them to come get them. Students would obtain more knowledge during school knowing that they have their cellphones instead of wanting to rebell against the "no-cellphone" idea and try to sneak their phone and text during class. Because of the 190 minute classes, students tend to get extremely bored and begin to have the urge of wanting to text during class while the teacher is teaching. Saying that, I believe that students should be aloud to have out their cellphones when the teacher isn't teaching and has done all of their work. High school students are at an age where they want to rebel against everything possible, which brings that students would rebel if they know that they can have cellphones on them during school.
My Thinking:
This paragraph is mainly deductive thinking because of the theory and reasoning I presented.
Source:
- Cellphones should be allowed in school.
- Allowing students to use cellphones would help with the safety of the students and the mind set for the safety of the child for the parents. It would also allow the students to contact their parents during a time of emergency.
- Using the attack of 2001 as an example, we never know what could happen. If schools don't allow their students to have the availability of their cellphones, how will they contact their parents if a so called "attack" or "crisis" occurs and communication is unavailable through the students school?
- A student can get sick at anytime without any symptoms before, such as just throwing up on instant. If a student is in the restroom sick and no one knows that they are there, with the availablility of the cellphone the student can call a parent to notify them to come get them.
- Students would obtain more knowledge during school knowing that they have their cellphones instead of wanting to rebell against the "no-cellphone" idea and try to sneak their phone and text during class.
- Because of the 190 minute classes, students tend to get extremely bored and begin to have the urge of wanting to text during class while the teacher is teaching. Saying that, I believe that students should be aloud to have out their cellphones when the teacher isn't teaching and has done all of their work.
- High school students are at an age where they want to rebel against everything possible, which brings that students would rebel if they know that they can have cellphones on them during school.
Opposing Claims/They Say:
- The National School Safety and School Services state that "We have opposed policies allowing or encouraging students to have cell phones in school. On a day-to-day basis, they are disruptive to the educational environment."
- Some teachers from BHS state that, "Students would never learn anything with cellphones."
My Rebuttal/I Say:
- Although I agree with teachers up to a certain point, if students know that they can have their phones when they get their work done then they will get their work done and pay attention.
Cellphones should be allowed in school. Allowing students to use cellphones would help with the safety of the students and the mind set for the safety of the child for the parents. It would also allow the students to contact their parents during a time of emergency. Using the attack of 2001 as an example, we never know what could happen. If schools don't allow their students to have the availability of their cellphones, how will they contact their parents if a so called "attack" or "crisis" occurs and communication is unavailable through the students school? A student can get sick at anytime without any symptoms before, such as just throwing up on instant. If a student is in the restroom sick and no one knows that they are there, with the availablility of the cellphone the student can call a parent to notify them to come get them. Students would obtain more knowledge during school knowing that they have their cellphones instead of wanting to rebell against the "no-cellphone" idea and try to sneak their phone and text during class. Because of the 190 minute classes, students tend to get extremely bored and begin to have the urge of wanting to text during class while the teacher is teaching. Saying that, I believe that students should be aloud to have out their cellphones when the teacher isn't teaching and has done all of their work. High school students are at an age where they want to rebel against everything possible, which brings that students would rebel if they know that they can have cellphones on them during school.
My Thinking:
This paragraph is mainly deductive thinking because of the theory and reasoning I presented.
Source:
Friday, September 30, 2011
Running: Henry vs. Forrest
Running:
In intense situations, a persons instinct to run varies based on one's self preservation.
HENRY:
Henry Flemming wanted to perserve himself so he just ran. Ran like the wind, he did.
What do I think? I would've done the same thing, so I believe that he did the right thing. But compared to Forrest he ran for himself, so he is classified as a scardy cat.
FORREST:
Forrest Gump didn't really know what to do. They told him to run, so he did exactly what they told him.
Forrest did what they told him, but he did it because he had no idea what to do. But instead of running for himself he turned around and ran to help out the people he was with. He was going to save them, because he didnt know any better. He didn't really care about himself.
In the end, Henry is a scaredy cat. And for Forrest, he is a hero in that movie.
In intense situations, a persons instinct to run varies based on one's self preservation.
HENRY:
Henry Flemming wanted to perserve himself so he just ran. Ran like the wind, he did.
What do I think? I would've done the same thing, so I believe that he did the right thing. But compared to Forrest he ran for himself, so he is classified as a scardy cat.
FORREST:
Forrest Gump didn't really know what to do. They told him to run, so he did exactly what they told him.
Forrest did what they told him, but he did it because he had no idea what to do. But instead of running for himself he turned around and ran to help out the people he was with. He was going to save them, because he didnt know any better. He didn't really care about himself.
In the end, Henry is a scaredy cat. And for Forrest, he is a hero in that movie.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wounded Warrior Project
The Wounded Warrior Project in my opinion is a project that helps the secret to war come out, and by looking over the websit and learning more about it, I began to realize the major effects it still has today even when the warriors do come home.
The news always talks about how many were killed, but never the ones who were wounded. To me, the warriors who were wounded are just as important as the ones who died for us. Those guys will live with the effects of the war for the rest of their lives and cause pain while the others died on the battlefield. People think that when the guys come home from the war that everything is all great and everything. But what people don't know is that it effects them for their entire lifetimes.
The warriors who are wounded are going to need help with the problems that they are going deal with for the long run. It's not just the families that help them, there are somethings going on in the soldiers head that cannot be seen on the outside. This project helps the soldiers by letting them tell the whole world what goes on in their head. So maybe one day a doctor can cure them.
Soldiers are sacrificing their lives to save our country, with this project we can share out appreciation in totally different ways. You can send the soldiers who are over seas care packages, more letters of encouragement. You can also send the injured soldiers who are home care packages to help them along the tough road ahead of them.
The website http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org, shows everything you need to know about the project and I hope if our class begins to help that maybe it could start a national chain reaction to help more soldiers than ever.
The news always talks about how many were killed, but never the ones who were wounded. To me, the warriors who were wounded are just as important as the ones who died for us. Those guys will live with the effects of the war for the rest of their lives and cause pain while the others died on the battlefield. People think that when the guys come home from the war that everything is all great and everything. But what people don't know is that it effects them for their entire lifetimes.
The warriors who are wounded are going to need help with the problems that they are going deal with for the long run. It's not just the families that help them, there are somethings going on in the soldiers head that cannot be seen on the outside. This project helps the soldiers by letting them tell the whole world what goes on in their head. So maybe one day a doctor can cure them.
Soldiers are sacrificing their lives to save our country, with this project we can share out appreciation in totally different ways. You can send the soldiers who are over seas care packages, more letters of encouragement. You can also send the injured soldiers who are home care packages to help them along the tough road ahead of them.
The website http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org, shows everything you need to know about the project and I hope if our class begins to help that maybe it could start a national chain reaction to help more soldiers than ever.
Monday, September 26, 2011
War Is...
War is demolishing, killing cities and the people in it.
War is killing, adding more headstones everywhere.
War is crushing, ripping hearts apart.
War is needed, protecting our rights.
War is pushing, taking away love.
War is hating, expressing hatred to other countries.
War is changing, bringing peace and sorrow.
War is loving, fighting for your country.
War is reminding, showing us who our country is.
War is ending, taking all the problems away.
War is killing, adding more headstones everywhere.
War is crushing, ripping hearts apart.
War is needed, protecting our rights.
War is pushing, taking away love.
War is hating, expressing hatred to other countries.
War is changing, bringing peace and sorrow.
War is loving, fighting for your country.
War is reminding, showing us who our country is.
War is ending, taking all the problems away.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Book Review- What Happened To Goodbye
Sarah Dessen's "What Happened To Goodbye" caught me by storm with the story of a girl around my age that I really related to. She has been scarred by her parent awful divorce and has moved from place to place and can't seem to find who she really is.
The theme of the book is that you only find out who you are by being yourself. In the story this girl has moved from place to place, but each place she has used a different name and is a different person for each name. But when she shows Dave who she really is, she is really surprised.
In the story there is McLean or Liz Sweet, she is a girl who is currently moving from place to place with her dads job. Sarah Dessen wrote this character very well because I know some people included myself that are like her in many ways. In the story, McLean takes the effort to make new friends like Dave and Deb. She also takes care of her dad, and helps her mom with the pain. Dave is a genius who wants to be real, I don't really know if I like this character or not in the genius part, but I do like the strict parents and rebellious side. I can relate some people to that.
The setting goes from place to place, but it is mostly in a small town. It takes a lot of time in the Luna Blu which is the restaurant that her father is helping rebuild.
This book is just like a lot of movies that you see, such as the film "I Am Number Four" when the character moves form town to town because of his culture. It also reminds me of orphans who move from foster home to foster home.
I thought the book was a fantastic and I recommend anyone who loves a good story about love and finding you real self.
The theme of the book is that you only find out who you are by being yourself. In the story this girl has moved from place to place, but each place she has used a different name and is a different person for each name. But when she shows Dave who she really is, she is really surprised.
In the story there is McLean or Liz Sweet, she is a girl who is currently moving from place to place with her dads job. Sarah Dessen wrote this character very well because I know some people included myself that are like her in many ways. In the story, McLean takes the effort to make new friends like Dave and Deb. She also takes care of her dad, and helps her mom with the pain. Dave is a genius who wants to be real, I don't really know if I like this character or not in the genius part, but I do like the strict parents and rebellious side. I can relate some people to that.
The setting goes from place to place, but it is mostly in a small town. It takes a lot of time in the Luna Blu which is the restaurant that her father is helping rebuild.
This book is just like a lot of movies that you see, such as the film "I Am Number Four" when the character moves form town to town because of his culture. It also reminds me of orphans who move from foster home to foster home.
I thought the book was a fantastic and I recommend anyone who loves a good story about love and finding you real self.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Remembering 9/11
West Elementary is where I, a careless first grader was learning her spelling words when it all happen. What happened you say? A shaky voice came over the intercom and told not only our teacher, but every other teacher to go into the hallway. I was so confused. At first I thought they were getting in trouble just like the other little boys do when they are talking to much. But when Mrs. Kathy came back inside with a red face and tear filled eyes, I knew something had happened.
I remember it being a very weird night at my household. Everyone was sitting in the living room watching the news on tv, when I stomped in there wanting to know why I couldn't see the Lizzie McQuire movie on telelvision and it was the news on every single channel I went to. My mom was crying and my dad wouldn't smile. Then when they told me what happened, Lizzie McQuire could come on another night.
All these years that only thing that I knew about the attack was that airplanes crashed into the twin towers and into a building somewhere else, and that a lot of people died. But now as I've gotten older I have learned what all of this has been about. It's an attack on the United States because we aren't the same religion as the Islamic followers. They hate us, want us to be apart of their religion, and if not we are devil worshipers.
This has taught me that our freedom of religion has caused a problem and a war. It has also cause grief and sorrow from the loss of all the innocent people, because we aren't Islamic. The main thing is that I need to stand up for my religion and find a way to bring these people down.
I remember it being a very weird night at my household. Everyone was sitting in the living room watching the news on tv, when I stomped in there wanting to know why I couldn't see the Lizzie McQuire movie on telelvision and it was the news on every single channel I went to. My mom was crying and my dad wouldn't smile. Then when they told me what happened, Lizzie McQuire could come on another night.
All these years that only thing that I knew about the attack was that airplanes crashed into the twin towers and into a building somewhere else, and that a lot of people died. But now as I've gotten older I have learned what all of this has been about. It's an attack on the United States because we aren't the same religion as the Islamic followers. They hate us, want us to be apart of their religion, and if not we are devil worshipers.
This has taught me that our freedom of religion has caused a problem and a war. It has also cause grief and sorrow from the loss of all the innocent people, because we aren't Islamic. The main thing is that I need to stand up for my religion and find a way to bring these people down.
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