For Real Last Blog Post

What was the most fun thing that you did this year in ELA?

The most fun thing for me was the oral history project.

What was the most challenging thing about the class?

The most challenging thing in the class was doing those drama and novel study booklets.

What was your favorite book that we read together, and why?

My favorite book we read this year was Persepolis, because that was the most memorable book we've read.

What was your LEAST favorite book that we read this year, and why?

My lest favorite book was 1984, mainly because it was a very confusing book to read. I was confused for the most part which made it hard to follow along.

If you could change something about the class, what would it be, and why?

I would change the amount of drama/novel study booklets having us do less of them, or if we do actually do them again have little chunks of it due throughout the time of the reading. Doing the drama/novel study booklets wasn't easy to understand and I didn't really understand the reason why we were doing them.

What is one thing that you think should stay the same, and why?

I think only reading two plays is pretty good, it makes the school year a little more fun and it's not a hastle when we are discussing it during class.

Overall, do you think your ELA skills improved over this year? Please mention any specific skills that you believe improved.

I believe my essay writing has improved during the time of my sophomore year, this was also the first time I had written an analytical essay so figuring that out was fun :-D

Final Blog Post? Boo Yah Baby!!

What do you think is the main message that the author is trying to get across to you in your book? This main message is the theme of the book. Provide three quotes from your book to back up your answer.

 The author Jamie Freveletti is getting across the feeling of suspense, you feel a sense of urgency throughout the whole book. She really makes you feel like you are on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens next to Jon Smith. For example when Dattar, the terrorist leader yells "I wish to know why the American isn't dead yet!" you know exactly who he is taking about, he's talking about Smith. Dattar wants Smith dead, and his right hand man Rajid says ".....If the American isn't dead already, then it will happen soon......"

The Janus Reprisal

Describe the major characters in your book. Who is the protagonist and antagonist? What are the major characters like - appearance, age, mannerisms, clothing, etc. Also, do you think that the author has effectively developed these characters. Please explain your answer.


In The Janus Reprisal Jon Smith is the main character, he is a military doctor, as well as a troop commander for the military. The antagonist isn't really a specific person, it's more of an entire group. The antagonists are terrorist, and Smith is working with the military to catch the terrorists. I haven't really gotten that far in the book yet, so I don't know many characters yet.

Much Ado About Nothing 3

What do you think that the theme of the play is? Remember, a theme is not just a word, it is a whole sentence that conveys the message that the author (Shakespeare) is trying to get across to the audience (you). Find three quotes from the play to support your assertion. 

I believe the whole play has a few themes going on, trickery, humiliation, betrayal (kind of),  probably some others but I want to focus on these three. Humiliation, betrayal, and trickery all happen pretty bluntly in the same act. Let's get started, Don John tricked his friend Claduio into believing that Hero "betrayed" him by cheating on him. Don Pedro "exposed" Hero for cheating on Claudio before her wedding. This also ties into humiliation because, during the wedding scene when Don Pedro says "Myself, my brother, and this grievéd count. Did see her, hear her, at that hour last talk with a ruffian at her chamber window. Who hath indeed, most like a liberal villain, confessed the vile encounters they have had a thousand times in secret." pg. 64 lines 86-93.

Much Ado About Nothing 2

Choose one central character and determine what kind of conflict s/he is experiencing. First of all, is it internal or external? Secondly, are there any other types of conflicts at play here (person vs. self, person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society)? Explain your answer and provide an example from the play (meaning a quote). 

Character: Hero 

Central

Hero is experiencing and external conflict, person vs person. For example when Hero was going to marry Claudio, Don John hatched a plan to humiliate her at her wedding. The reason why they did this is quite intriguing, Don John did not like Hero and he ruins her image by telling Claudio that she has slept with other men in the city. Claudio gets upset then he and Don John wait until the wedding to humiliate Hero. Hero has to pretend that she is dead in order to receive peace from those who want to hurt her. 

Much Ado About Nothing 1

Choose a challenging passage from Act I, and follow the thought. Explain your process of following the thought and then write the passage in your own words using contemporary English. 

I will be "decoding" the following:

LEONATO    A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings home full numbers. I find here that Don Pedro hath bestowed much honor on a young Florentine called Claudio.

MESSENGER   Much deserved on his part, and equally remembered by Don Pedro. He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion. He hath  indeed better bettered exception than you must expect of me to tell you how.

Okay, so first we need to locate the words we might not know the meaning to. The words we have are, borne, and hath. Borne means carried or transported by, and hath means have.

Translation:

LEONTAO    A victory is double when the victor takes home a trophy. I find that Don Pedro has brought honor to Florentine named Claudio.

MESSENGER   He deserves a lot for his part, he's remembered by Don Pedro. He has to carry himself with pride, by being the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion. He has is better than you would think let me tell you what he has done. 

I basically re-worded the two passages by learning the meanings of two unknown words, and applying them in the appropriate places and re-wording the statements as I go along.

All The Light We Cannot See 4

Well, I guess what I would like to talk about is how after that last letter from Marie's dad, we don't hear from him again. I always thought he was dead meat, right when I read that his angle was leaving, I thought "oh snap, he gonna die, I don't know when or how but he will" and that's what I'm guessing what happened, cause that was never stated out right by the author say "hey, he's dead". We just never heard from him again, and Marie just had to live without him. It was just so sad yet empowering to see, well read, Marie learn all these things, and for her to carry on even though she didn't know what was going on, that was awesome.