Conclusion to my Blogs

Looking back at all of my blogs throughout the year it was difficult to pick out a running theme or meaning to blogs including one examining the romance of Hey Arnold and another talking about violent imagery in For Whom the Bell Tolls. But one thing I have noticed is my tendency to try to relate the topic in the way I see it, through my writing, what I reference, even how I say basic themes I've tried to do it in my own way. I may not have understood everything or had my own "unique" thought but even then I tried to compare it to something I did understand or through terms that allowed me to relate. When I compare the love theme of Romeo and Juliet to a kid's TV show it's because that was a place where I noticed it, albeit in a basic form, but in remembering it and seeing that in something I did understand helped me know the work better. Even with themes I could understand like dissatisfaction, friendship, the want for something better I had my own personal viewpoint on them. And I think my viewpoint has tried to show the theme of being an independent being in control of yourself. In examining Romeo and Juliet use of dream's I agree that dreams have meaning but more as a warning, a warning to change your future not just to mindlessly bore onwards into any obstacles. I blamed Pip in Great Expectations for his lot in life, as he chose his path. He should try to change things instead of constantly moaning. He eventually changed and did right but that was his duty in the first place. I think that people should live life to their own ends, and to get what you or they want they have to strive to achieve it. In my examination of Somewhere to Paris I say that being happy with your lot in life is of the utmost importance, and if that's not true it's up to you to change your situation. I think this is what I've shown, on purpose or not that is the running theme, one that I agree with as well.


Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.
-William James

Essay Writing

Speaking of the skills relevant to essay writing, I believe I have gained and/or refined those skills throughout the year. Which I hope will be relevant in my essay. The skills involving both literary terms and how to express my thesis and opinions in a manner both relevant and succinct. I have learned how commentary should relate to the concrete details, and what commentary should be like, original and new. Gaining these skills has helped quite a bit in essay writing, and writing overall, learning what makes a piece of work easy/fun to read, how the pacing of a work should play out and many other things.

I do think that on occasion I have problems in expressing the original thoughts I do have. I have a hard time condensing all I want to say into a single essay and I will have problems both relating commentary to solid examples. I think I have a few things to learn but overall the year has taught a lot.

Summer Reading List

This Summer I plan on reading both The Candle of Distant Earth by Alan Dean Foster, it's the final book of a trilogy I've been reading and I want to get into it. I really love the story and each new book introduces completely new ideas and environments so they stay fresh and reading never feels boring.

I will also read Lord Sunday by Garth Nix, it's the seventh book in a series I've read and even though some of the magic has been lost I need to see how it ends. Garth Nix has always been one of my favorite authors and even if this series has been drawn a little thin I still love the writing style.

There will probably be a few other books as well as the required reading but those are first on the list.

Theme and motif: Dreams

Throughout the play characters have dreams and get feelings of what will happen in the future that they sometimes believe and sometimes don't. The characters almost always ignore these signs though, and that ends up bringing them harm. I had a dream when I was starting this year and had failed a biology test. The dream was a few days before the following test and I had dreams and constant feelings of failing and then failing the class and the trend continuing to the point where I fail school and my life is completely destroyed. It was strange and I completely believed it even though it's nay on impossible to fail because of test corrections. But I was very worried about failing and studied hard for the following test and was completely satisfied with a B. Which I would normally dislike.

I would also align myself more with Romeo's view of dream's the belief in the power or at least relevance of dreams seems unavoidably real. Your mind can tell you a lot and I don't think it is always random nonsense. Dreams have to come from somewhere.

This motif carries a lot of weight in the play, and this is shown very clearly in act III. Romeo's feeling that he will die because of that party is beginning to come to fruition and though this was not a dream the Friar's warning not to rush into their love was not heeded and this has produced severe consequences, some might even say it caused Tybalt's death and Romeo's banishment. The motif of dreams is significant both in what it produces and in the fact that it help represents the immobility of fate. And the destiny of "the star-crossed lovers."

Culture Shock

Romeo and Juliet is referenced in a TV show I loved growing up, Hey Arnold, throughout the entirety of the series Helga and Arnold liked each other but never thought they could show it. But, in the episode where their class actually performs Romeo and Juliet Arnold gets the part of Romeo and Helga goes to great lengths to be Juliet. Her mom tells everyone that the only reason she's not Juliet is so she doesn't have to kiss Arnold. And Arnold's grandpa argues with her to no end. But Helga makes it so the other girl cannot be in the play and she becomes Juliet, getting to kiss Arnold and showing their love.

Link: http://www.bigvidpro.com/?v=VxCFWCOZQYOUgqap9nPrLw

Plot summary: The school is doing the play "Romeo & Juliet." Arnold lands the role as Romeo, so Helga will do anything to beat out the other girls to get the part of Juliet, so that she can kiss Arnold in the final scene.

Arnold and Helga never showed their love because they were too embarrased to do so, they both wanted to be together but because of their friends and their family they never were. And though they wanted to be together they never felt able to. Helga's family moves away after they try and change the neighborhood while Arnold's family trying to stop them. The fight goes on until Helga says she wants to mave to see Arnold stop suffering from the fight. While this isn't them killing themselves their love is ended as is the feud and it's because of their love. This is a very clear reference to Romeo and Juliet throughout the season.

Great Expectations Skit Post

I think that the dialogue and proceeding action of Miss Havisham throwing herself in a fire (404) would be excellent to act out because it is not too boring and involves things that would be fun to act out. Another scene that would be fun to act out would be the beginning where Pip first meets the convict, this scene has a lot of action and I think would be entertaining to watch. A final scene

i would like to perform would be when Trabb's boy ridicules Pip, I like the scene and think it would be fun while it, like all of them, is important to the story and compares Pip to

Wopsle.

Another Great Expectation Question

The Question I have right now is: why is the other convict, Compeyson, trying to find Magwitch? Is he trying to seek revenge? This doesn't make sense because it was Magwitch who tried to stop him and he had tried to flee him, Magwitch even sacrificing his freedom to stop him from profiting. Maybe something happened in between theses time periods but it seems unlikely as he was sheep farming. If he is free again why would he want to find Magwitch?