Animal Farm- Power Corrupts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TO2wgsrCuQ

Poetry Out Loud

I watched the video of the second place winner, Barbara Gooding, reciting “Progressive Health” by Carl Dennis. I think she deserves some admiration for her excellent job of memorizing such a long poem. I also thought her physical presence was exemplary. Throughout her recital, she maintained good eye contact and provided visual gesture that gave the audience more view into what the poem was about. She picked a challenging poem and I think it may have affected her final standing.

I think Barbara Gooding’s performance was a little bit on the boring side. Part of this may have been due to the poem she selected. “Progressive Health” repeats the same ideas too much (donate your lungs, liver, etc.). Her voice didn’t seem to help matters get better as she began to sound like Mr. Smith from the Matrix. Her performance seemed to drag on, and that is why I believe she got second in the competition. I understand that she was trying to get into character and show that she understood the meaning of the person being a bit ominous and convincing, but it was too much.

Mockingbird Motif

When I first started the summer assignment, I stared at the list of words we had to define for a while. I didn’t know what the bulk of those words meant. If you asked me what motif meant I would have only been able to tell you exactly what the dictionary said. After reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” I can now explain what a motif is in my own words. In this novel the motif is a recurring symbol that exemplifies and enhances the themes.

The two times in “To Kill a Mockingbird” where the mockingbird motif is directly referred to is with Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The use of this motif started when Atticus told Jem and Scout that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird after they got their toy guns. When Tom Robinson was killed Mr. Tate said that it was like the senseless killing of a songbird (mockingbird). The way Tom was an innocent being but was treated like dirt and eventually murdered. The motif was brought up again after Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell but didn’t want himself to be recognized for his deed. Scout thought that it would be kind of like killing a mockingbird to let people know that Boo was hero because he would get too much attention. The last thing Boo wanted was to be in the lime-light. She is saying that it would be like a crime to bring misery to the man.

Life Lessons

Throughout my life, instrumental, life changing events have been accumulating in my mind. One of the most significant quotes that I have gathered was first heard when I was about six years old. I was but a juvenile in the dentist office with a cavity. My mother was furious. Her voice pierced wisdom into my mind when she next said, “We provide you with all the tools you need to accomplish a task, but it is up to you to motivate yourself to do what needs to be done”. By this she meant that she supplied me with the necessities needed to maintain my dental hygiene. From that point, through present day, my parents have recapitulated the importance of grasping this concept and incorporating it into my life. Though I originally heard it on the subject of having unblemished teeth, in my later years, I have come to utilize this quote to excel in both academic and athletic arenas.

Since apprehending this momentous directive, I have become motivated to become motivated. In the present day, I am able to take note of the fact that most of the needed “tools” are already at my beckon and I simply need to seize them with both initiative and determination. These “tools” are things like the dental tools they originally were, but also books, parental help and guidance, and, in an athletic perspective, the opportunity to join a great soccer club that has extra practice time always there for my taking. As I progress though life, I am able to more fully reflect on those early words and now realize how I am ultimately responsible for the outcome at my journeys end. Adding to my parents’ words, I can allege that it is legitimate that I am bestowed with the required instruments of success and that I must complement these with my motivation.

My Best Friend

I have had many friends throughout my life, but only one stands out as my best friend. He is average height and weight. He is a very friendly and outgoing person. People meet him and immediately notice him as a talkative person who is never shy around new people (the complete opposite of me). He has short, blond hair and blue eyes. I have known him for about four years and he has revealed himself to be an extremely exciting and daring person. Nearly every memory I have, involves him doing something wild and insane. My best friend is also very smart and it can get him into a lot of trouble.

I think that he would be best described as an altruist and extrovert. He is always friendly and puts others before himself. Also, like I said in paragraph one, he turns his feelings outward and is very social. His knowledge and desire for excitement often finds him into situations where he has taken a household item apart and turned it into a car or a bomb. Obviously his parents don’t like this at all. He has a good sense of humor and we have a fun time together.

Earliest Memory

The earliest memory I have was from when I was about two years old. It was a toasty warm Fourth of July evening and, just like everyone else, I was having fun and enjoying the fireworks. I had spotted a sparkly, flashy stick that I found exceptionally interesting. It was called SparklerJ!!! Yay, I thought, I wanna hold it. When my mom let me hold it, I accidently touched the hot part, threw it down and stepped on it with my bare feet. “OUCHEY!” I exclaimedL.

To this day I still have that repulsive blemish on the soul of my foot. The memory wasn’t all bad though. It was one of my first lessons in fireworks safety and common sense. It seems that my most vivid memories are those in which I have grasped a great knowledge or understanding of something. Even if it is something as obvious as grabbing the right end of a sparkler, it will become slashed into my memory forever.

Treasure Island: Imagery

I think the dominant literary element is imagery. Every page of Treasure Island is packed with figurative language and very descriptive details. Many people have many different views on pirates. In this story, Robert Louis Stevenson gives his version of the infamous sea dogs with rich images of both, their rotten, drunken and violent attitudes along with their smelly scents. I also noticed that at every major table turning event, the author uses even more imagery to give readers the clear image and importance of what has just happened. Without the abundant use of imagery in this novel I don’t believe that it would be nearly as entrancing.

Outside Reading

For my outside reading assignment I am reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. So far I am enjoying this book. It grabbed my attention from the first page. It describes a seafaring man with a big sea-chest beneath his arm approaching the inn that the main character’s family owns. At this point I could tell that the story would be full of pirates and adventure.
So far, I think the dominant literary element is imagery. There isn’t a lot of it but I haven’t found very many cases of the other elements so imagery is probably the best choice. I am only about one fifth of the way through the book so I’m expecting this to change. I think the author used imagery in the way he did to enhance the setting of the story. For example, when something sad or bad is going to happen, he foreshadows it by creating a bitter cold or dreary, rainy atmosphere.
The tone in Treasure Island­ shifts from chapter to chapter but the chapter that sticks out with having the strongest tone would be Black Dog. In this chapter vexed would be the obvious tone. When Black Dog comes to visit the captain, the meeting is full of anger. They soon begin yelling at each other and then they each draw their swords and battle.

Writing About Reading

Although I can read in almost any condition, my favorite place is on my bed. It is easier for me to read at night. I can concentrate on my book with more peace and quiet. My only main annoyance while reading is in a car ride when the sun is flickering through the trees onto your book. When the first few pages of a book are challenging, I will find myself rereading sentences over and over but I eventually fight through them (hopefully to a better part). When I find myself reading a good book, I can almost never put it down. I’ll tell myself to read just one more page before I go to sleep but after one page, another follows, and another after that until I finally fall asleep. I read fiction because I enjoy reading about a plot full of adventure and twists. It is hard and boring to read a book no action and excitement.