The Crucible: the last straw

So, this week has been a long week enduring the ending of the book, The Crucible by Arthur Miller.  As I have said before, I really enjoyed this book, however the ending kind of seemed to get on my nerves.  John Proctor's indecisiveness got a little irritating after a while.  I understand that the situation he was in was very intense and would chose whether he lived or died, but he had a lot of time to think about his decision and yet he was still unsure.  While I was reading, I was secretly hoping for a happy ending where John and Elizabeth would truly fall in love, the witch trials would end, and everyone would live happily ever after. But I knew that this wouldn't be the case, as the unfortunate events earlier in the book boded to.  However, I still don't understand why he would chose to die and keep a good name than live with a mediocre name.  The reason behind this on my view is that he has a wife and 3 kids, with a fourth on the way, so why would he chose to leave them to fend for their own than to live with a dirty profile but be loved and have the opportunity to earn his right back.  Also, I feel that this decision would be extremely hard on Elizabeth because in the tie period in which the book was written, women still didn't have many rights, it was mainly the men.  Therefore, leaving Elizabeth would be worse than staying and trying to help. 

The Crucible

During this week in class, we continued reading The Crucible Acts 2 and 3.  I have been listening to the audio book for these acts, as Ms. Besl told us to.  I have really enjoyed listening to it.  I have talked to a lot of other students who are also reading this book right now but have a different teacher than we do and have to actually read the book.  All of the kids that I have talked to said that they have not enjoyed the book at all.  I, on the other hand, feel the exact opposite and have loved the book so far.  I have been finding it very interesting to learn about how people actually thought of witchcraft.  Before reading this book, I knew that witchcraft was a major issue in America's history but hearing an actual story has been really cool.  The actors in the recording, I feel, have done a really accurate job portraying their characters.  It makes the whole book itself seem more interesting.  The court scene in act 3 has been my favorite part so far.  It is so intense and it was so amusing to just sit and listen to the whole event unravel.  I am so excited to keep reading and see how the whole thing comes together and ends.  I hope that the ending makes sense and ends with a conclusion rather than a sentence that leave the audience hanging and left with a little of suspense still left. 

Satire!!!

This week in class, we began our next book, we were introduced to the unit focusing on satire.  At first, I didn't really get it and I didn't see why it would be an effective style of writing, but after discussing and talking about it more, I am starting to understand it.  I think it is interesting how this style of writing is brought into literature and actual articles.  I give authors of satirical writing credit because it doesn't seem like it would be easy to do.  Since they are making fun of something and being sarcastic, some of the things that will be said or brought up might be found to be offensive to some people.  Because of this, the author must make sure that he/she has talked about the topic a lot, but also make sure that they didn't talk too much about the topic that they could offend someone.  One example of this is in the video from Saturday Night Live that we watched in class with the title Black Jeopardy.  Although most of us found it funny and entertaining, but some people could have easily taken it the wrong way and been hurt.  What I have found is that many satirical pieces focus on stereotypes and generalizations and many of the can be touchy subjects, especially when intentionally trying to make fun of them.  I think that satire is a cool way of writing, but I am not looking forward to having to write one myself. 

At the Cinema: The Great Gatsby

This week in class, since it was a short week, we started to watch the movie to the novel, The Great Gatsby.  I knew that the movie had gotten amazing reviews before we has started watching the movie, but I was curious as to how well the movie actually followed the book.  Now that we are almost done with the movie, I can say that it closely mimicked the events that occurred during the book.  I thought it was interesting how differently the movie portrayed different scenes than I had imagined in my head.  The biggest and most relevant example of this was the character Nick Carraway.  When we were reading the book, as mentioned in an earlier blog, I liked his character, but I enjoyed his character even more in the movie.  While reading, I saw Nick as a shy and an easy 'push-over' person, but in the film, he is more of a wing man or a loyal friend rather than a nobody.  He also played a bigger part in the film.  My favorite moment shown of Nick was when Gatsby asked him to ask his cousin, Daisy, over for tea.  I really liked the actual scene where they are preparing the house and Daisy walks in and Gatsby doesn't know what to do or how to act.  I thought it properly showed the real kind of person Nick is during this scene.  I especially liked how he just went outside and stood by the tree.  However, when I read this part during the book, it didn't quiet play out this way.  I portrayed it as Gatsby telling Nick what to do and how to act, not the other way around.  I also liked how the movie showed Gatsby and how he acted when he was around Daisy.  When I was reading the novel, I thought that Gatsby wanted Daisy because he wanted it to achieve his dream, but in the movie, it showed Gatsby as being truly happy.  Throughout the progression of the movie, Gatsby is shown as a very mellow guy, and even when he is throwing an enormous party at his even more enormous house, he still has very dull expressions.  But, when he is with Daisy, he is usually smiling and he looks genuinely happy.  This gave me a different impression of Gatsby than what I had read in the book.    I cant wait to finish the movie and see how the producers see the ending scenes. 

The Great Gatsby: Book Review

This week in class, we finally finished with our Great Gatsby unit, not that I am complaining.  For being a 'school book' I really enjoyed it.  Usually for me, when I am forced to read a book, I don't enjoy it as much as I normally would if I got to read it on my own at my own pace, but this book really surprised me.  I loved how Fitzgerald incorporated colors into the book.  This acted as my focus throughout the book.  Although there is no correct answer to what the colors mean, I thought it was cool how different people could see the meaning of the same color in extremely different ways.  My favorite character while reading the book started off being Daisy, but during the middle of the book when her character changed, I lost interest in her and began following the character of the narrator, Nick.  Although he didn't usually play a large role in the story line, he acted as a 'rock' and never changed even though everyone else around him was.  He told the truth, whether it was positive or not, and gave the reader a break from all of the things going on around him.  He also never had an opinion.  This gave the reader a chance to think for themselves and form their own opinion about what was happening.  I really liked this feature about Nick.  After reading this book, I would probably give it four out of five stars. As we start to watch the movie next week,  I hope that the movie will follow the story line of the book and keep some of the features in the book that made me enjoy reading it so much.  But, as long as Leonardo is in it, I'm sure it will be great!!!

Daisy

This week in class, Ms. Besl brought up a cool idea about the character Daisy.  She asked us why we thought Daisy stood for.  Well, I was curious about that, so I looked it up and the results were actually very interesting and I wanted to share them with you.  First of all, the actual daisy flower is a white flower with a yellow center.  So far, in our discussions, we talked about how the color yellow means wealth, but it could also mean death or tragedy.  In the case of this example, we will be talking about the yellow that symbolizes wealth.  White also stands for innocence and purity.  The flower represents that Daisy is sweet, innocent, and pure on the outside, but on the inside, she is really only paying attention to money and wealth.  I think that this statement matches Daisy relatively well because one of the main reasons that she stayed with Tom and was attracted to Gatsby was because of their wealth.  Another symbolism that I found while looking around was that the actual daisy flower, when sent to someone from another person, symbolizes that the sender of the flower can keep a secret.  I found that the most interesting thing of all because it made sense.  Gatsby and Daisy's relationship was always a secret and no one knew about it until near the end of the book.  Finally, and probably the most intriguing fact, that a Daisy can also symbolize a gesture of departure.  I really liked that because Daisy was the reason for Gatsby death/departure.  If Daisy hadn't gotten in the accident with Jordan Baker, then Wilson never would have been angry and Gatsby never would have died.  Also, when Gatsby did die, Daisy ran off.  I am not quite sure why I found that so interesting, but I hope that didn't bore you with my blog this week. 

The American Dream and The Great Gatsby are actually connected?!?!?!?!??!

This week in class, we talked a lot about the American Dream and how different groups of people perceive them.  In the article, Serving in Florida, we got to find out the view of the American Dream through the eyes of a waitress/ hostess in the lower end of the economic ladder.  On the other hand, the Great Gapsby Society political cartoon shows what living the American Dream is really like on both ends of the economy.  This piece was the most relevant in explaining the issue which is the wage gap.  The guy on the right is in  a work outfit, like the main character of Serving in Florida, and is working several jobs in order to receive the basic necessities.  The guy on the left, however, is shown to be very rich and is so rich that he doesn't see the problems with the wage gap because it doesn't affect him.  I feel like the guy on the left represents Gatsby himself, but I am not sure who the guy on the right would represent from The Great Gatsby.  In addition, my group discussed how the wage gap crack in the cement could represent the Valley of Ashes because they were once part of society but now are too helpless to try to reenter.  My personal article was about how the uncertainty of the future economy and government is affecting the success rate in America.  I felt like this connected to the Great Gatsby because of the theme.  The theme of Great Gatsby is achieving the dream and I personally feel that if someone is trying to achieve the dream but they are unsure about whether or not they will succeed, then they will be less likely to try.  This, once again relates to the valley of Ashes from the Great Gatsby. 

Colors of the Gatsby Rainbow

What do you think of when you think of colors?  Does each color stand for something different?  Do those meanings change based on the context the color is used in?  So far, the colors in The Great Gatsby have really fascinated me.  Although there has been a plethora of colors used in the first 3 chapters, the most prominent colors up to this point have been blue, green, and white.  According to http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.htm, the color blue represents depth, stability, trust loyalty, wisdom, confidence, trust, faith, and heaven.  The color blue was used in The Great Gatsbv to describe his blue gardens and to describe TJ Eckleburg's eyes.  I think that TJ Ecklburg's eyes stand for trust and tho show that Gatsby trusts TJ.  However, I am not quite sure what the blue garden stands for. The next color, green stands for growth, harmony, and freshness. Green is used in the book in the very first chapter when it talks about Gatsby reaching out for the green light.  In this case, I think that the green stands for growth, but the growth that he is still longing for.   Lastly, the color white is also used very often throughout the first 3 chapters.  White stands for light, goodness, purity, cleanliness, and faith.  Fitzgerald uses the color white in the novel to represent Daisy.  When they first introduce Daisy, she is wearing a white dress.  In this case I feel that Daisy is innocent and does represent purity, the example given about her dress.  As we continue to read, I am curious if any of the meanings of these colors will change and if they will change to make someone seem worse than they started.     

Dreaming of America

This week in class we talked about the American Dream.  I thought that this image portrayed the image very well.  It shows how it is risky and dangerous path leading up to the American Dream.  But, if you are willing to take that risk, anyone can make it across.  I really liked this picture because if you look at the guy on the end, the area is no longer cracked or broken, symbolizing that he made it.  However, I don't like the fact that it is showing that everyone made it.  On the other hand, though, they can't really show someone failing without portraying it wrong.  I also agreed with the variety of people trying to achieve the dream.  There are both men and women, young and old, and even a family of 3 with a son.  This really stood out to me because when I think of the American dream, like many others, I think of a family of 4, a mom, a dad, a daughter, and a son.  In addition, none of the families or people look particularly wealthy going into this journey.   Do you think money is an important factor when entering the process leading to the American dream?  I believe that anyone can achieve the dream if they are willing to put in the work, but money does help.  Those who start off with a reasonable amount of money will have a better chance to achieve the dream because they won't have to work as hard.  If there is anything that I missed when looking at this picture, please let me know in the comments. Thank you!!! 












https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjBpf2u1O7PAhUJPj4KHQNfCgkQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economist.com%2Fnews%2Funited-states%2F21586581-economist-asks-provocative-questions-about-future-social-mobility-american&psig=AFQjCNEhpEd8bJ2Kc2vsTIwKqANGwn8SOw&ust=1477234111220879

Expanding on Liberty

Question to think about before reading this blog: Do you agree or disagree with the quote above???






So, this week in class, we expanded on our learning of the topic of liberty.  Last week, I talked about the meaning of liberty.  I wanted to kind of continue on that subject but try to think of it in a different way, and try to see the bigger picture of how liberty connects to the current world and the elements inside of it.  Do freedom and peace connect to liberty?  When I read this quote, my initial thought was that Eisenhower was suggesting that peace is the best element about having liberty and freedom.  But, when I thought about, I then realized that it was saying that peace is a degree of freedom.  On one hand, you need to have a peace before you can introduce freedom.  But, does freedom give peace?  The answer is undefined, as it is everyone's opinion, but peace is, rather, one step leading to freedom.   There have been many cases where people have used their freedom but corrupted the peace, for example Martin Luther King Jr. When he gave his I Have a Dream Speech, it was said to be a turning point for the African American premises.  He used his liberty and freedom to stand up for what he believed in, but while doing this, he also disturbed the peace and caused many riots and protests, and even eventually lead to his assassination.  Does peace correlate with liberty? Peace is one step leading to freedom in this example because it took a while for the peace to return, but once it did, Martin Luther's dream was fulfilled and African Americans were granted their freedom.






Now go back and reread the quote.  Does my opinion and thoughts change what you thought initially about the quote???  Please leave your answer in the comments.

America, the best is yet to come.

October 7th, 2016
This week in class we talked about the topic of liberty, specifically the definition of liberty.  Each person views liberty differently, for example, Thomas Jefferson was seeking for liberty for Americans, whereas Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for liberty for women, and Frederick Douglass pushed for liberty for African Americans.  This helps to show the progression of the idea of liberty from 1776 to 1852.  Will America ever be satisfied with their rights?  Within the last month, Colin Kaepernick justified his right to liberty with his silent protest, the National Anthem Protest. 

As seen from Frederick Douglass, Kaepernick was displeased with the way the African American supremacist was beginning to become a larger target for police violence. In addition, Elizabeth Cady Stanton uses almost identical formatting for her piece, the Declaration of Sentiments, as the Thomas Jefferson did in the Declaration of Independence.  She did this because the Declaration of Independence was very successful and she wished for the same.  But, this also exaggerates the fact that the issue of liberty was never properly taken care of. This recurrence of these dissatisfaction's helps to prove that issues that were occurring in the 1700's and 1800's are still a problem now.  Is this still driving people to America as it used to?  America was and is still known as 'the land of opportunity' and a place for people to come and pursue their dreams.  The statue of liberty represents this, standing 151 feet tall on Liberty Island in New York welcoming all people entering America with hopes of succeeding.  Will liberty always be faced with the challenges of liberty?  If not, how will we change our country?

*http://insider.foxnews.com/sites/insider.foxnews.com/files/styles/780/public/082716_jim.jpg?itok=Hy8Qt-qp



*https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fd%2Fd3%2FStatue_of_Liberty%2C_NY.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AStatue_of_Liberty%2C_NY.jpg&docid=yo7k82eEZ4wvdM&tbnid=A9SCbvqVP9hF9M%3A&w=3558&h=2668&safe=strict&bih=659&biw=1024&ved=0ahUKEwjS79L77snPAhUr4IMKHQTmB7MQMwhxKA4wDg&iact=mrc&uact=8