A Good Man is Hard to Find Blog

1. What character do you find most interesting in the story? Why? 

[When presented with the question of which character is the most interesting in the short story titled "A Good Man is Hard to Find", I could not help but find myself drawn to 'the misfit' character.] The misfit character is first introduced in the first page of the story. Right off the bat, I knew the character would be reintroduced later in the story but I assumed he would be presented as a cheesy murderer from the movies we all love. However, I was blissfully surprised by the character, he turned out to have a lot of depth. His first encounter with the family is on page 13, the grandmother at first does not realize who he is but quickly finds out. He begins talking about his father and I started to get an eerie vibe. He goes on to say why he was locked up. on page 19 he says "The head-doctor in the penitentiary said what I had done was kill my daddy but I know that for a lie". The misfit then goes on to explain that his daddy died of the flu and was buried. I feel this adds a lot to the character, it made me wonder whether or not he was crazy and imagined his fathers death by the flu, or maybe he was actually innocent. The story also leaves a bunch of questions for the reader. For instance, what was his connection with the grandmother? why did he kill the family? All of these instances and characteristics lead me to believe that the misfit character has the most depth and is the most interesting.

Blog #4

Sage Griffee

When I first learned about the OHP I was dreading what the next few weeks would hold. I thought that I could never enjoy an oral history. However, coming out of the project I feel quite the opposite, the project was actually very eye opening. One thing I really enjoyed about the project was the insight I got into the life of Maura Joyce during and following harvey. I thought going into the interview that we would just get a very boring recount of roughly  two weeks of Ms. Joyce's life, what I actually got was an emotional and very important tale of the rebuilding of our school and the importance of generosity.

If there was one thing I could change about how my group went about our interview it would be how we formed our questions. There are two things I would change about them, one would be to have more questions, and the other to change the type of question. The reason I would want to change the types of questions we had is because a lot of our questions were based on factual events and not about Ms. Joyce's mental state during the Hurricane. I also believe that more questions would have greatly benefited the project and given us more material to work with. Overall, I really enjoyed the project and thought that I learned a lot from it.

Blog Post #3 (One I Want Graded)

Sage Griffee

Dr. Cobos

ELA

27 October 2017

What led to Marjane's grandmother yelling at her? Was the yelling justified? Why or why not?

In the chapter titled “The Makeup” marjane starts wearing makeup in order to please her then boyfriend, as he had made remarks about her appearance(pg. 285-287). While waiting in the streets to meet up with him she sees guardians of the revolution coming her way, in order to not get in trouble she throws a citizen under the bus. Her and her boyfriend then laugh about it,(pg. 287) When she later brings this up with her grandmother later that day her grandmother snaps and yells at her, saying that what she did directly disrespected her ancestors. What her Grandmother said could not be more true she did not even begin to contemplate the wrong she was doing. (pg. 291) Marjane was raised to be passionate, stand up for her beliefs, and to be kind to others. The reason her grandmother yelled at her is because what she did went against everything she was taught as a child,(pg. 291) all she cared about was getting out of a troublesome situation not pausing to think of what the consequences could be. Her grandmother's actions could not be more justified, what Marjane did was horrible and could very easily have lead to the man she threw under the bus being seriously hurt. I think most would agree when I say Marjane's actions were unlike how she was raised and how most readers viewed her up to that point. I Believe this was a direct result of moving to Austria, perhaps the things she had to go through made her forget the struggles of her country. Nonetheless this experience definitely affected Marjane moving forward with life in Iran.  

Blog Post #3 2017-2018

Sage Griffee

Dr. Cobos

ELA

26 October 2017

In what ways did Marjane find it difficult to fit back into Iranian society? In what ways did this surprise you (or not surprise you)?

When Marjane first moved back to Iran I knew that it would be difficult for her to adjust, a lot of what she did in Austria was forbidden in Iran so it would obviously be difficult to hide all she did. When she gets home she does her best to avoid people as she thinks they would be disappointed about her life in Europe(pg. 261). However, what surprised me is that later in the book she wants everybody to know that she had been through so much and they should almost pity her. She doesn't people to find out about her life in Austria and she also wants people to know that just because she did not go through a war it does not mean that life was not hard. All of this lead to her being depressed. When reading along marjane's journey I thought that moving back to Iran was exactly what she needed, she could forget the past and get to know her family. However, when she arrives the opposite happens, she can not relate with anyone because they either judge her for her westernisation or bring up the war of which she feels she ran away from. Eventually Marjane reinvents herself and began to fit into Iranian civilisation once again but I don't think she will ever forget her journey in Europe.

Blog Post #2 2017-2018

Sage Griffee

Dr. Cobos

ELA

29 September 2017

Why did Marjane's parents decide to send her to Europe? Do you think this was the right decision? Why or why not?

The events leading up to Marjane being sent to Europe made it so that I was not very surprised when her parents approached her about the topic. Like Dr. Cobos said in class it might be a possibility that the adult Marjane was trying to only include these events to almost hint at her being sent away. Her friend and neighbor's house being bombed was probably the final straw. I think that her being sent away was the right decision. The danger of her staying was too much for her to remain in Iran. You also have to consider her acting out and her “punk” attitude, just prior to her being sent away she was stopped by the Guardians of the revolution on page 132. They stopped her because she was wearing “punk” clothing.  This made me realize that it was probably unsafe for her to stay.

final blog post

For my book I chose to read The Old Man And The Sea, by Ernest Hemingway. I will give a short summary of the book. in the beginning of the book we meet an old fisherman named Santiago. Santiago lives in Cuba and has recently been struck with terrible luck when it comes to his fishing. Because of this his friend named Manolin, who has fished with santiago since he was a kid has to leave to join a "lucky" boat. When the old man leaves to fish he finally hooks a fish. it is the biggest marlin he has seen, measuring at 18 feet. the struggle to catch the fish lasts days and the old man sufferes many injuries along the way. eventually he catches the fish, finally. however, when he tries and pull it to the shore sharks attack the marlin and eat all the meat. Santiago gains nothing and is sorry that he killed the fish, thinking that it would bring him happiness.

 I feel the setting of the book was incredible, Hemingway recreates Cuba in a way that I feel I am really there. however, when I think on what I read I can't help but be confused as to the message of the book was. on one hand I can see and subject in the book of the old man never giving up even though he misses the times when he had a partner to fish with. towards the middle of my reading I thought the book was about never giving up and that you will get what you set your mind to. however, I do not think that is the case anymore, as we learn that the fish is eaten and he gains nothing. because of this I believe that the theme of the book is "when striving for material things you are not guaranteed happiness". my reason for this is that throughout the book the old man is always saying how much he wants the fish and how the young boy Manolin will be able to fish with him again. furthermore, later in the book after he has caught the fish he wishes he had not caught the fish saying that it is not good to kill beatiful things you love.

Blog Post #25

Of all the texts that we've read this year, which one is your favorite, and why? Which one is your least favorite, and why?

this blog post forced me to think about everything we have learned this year and find my favorite book. personally my favorite book was The Odyssey. i think the reason i liked the odyssey so much was because i have always been interested in mythology and the book gave me a different perspective on that. there were also very interesting subplots and side stories that made it easier to get lost in the pages. I also liked the experience i got from deciphering the text. this type of language was fairly new to me and made the book challenging. if i had to pick my least favorite book it would have to be the narrative of the life of frederick douglass. don't get me wrong i loved this book soooo much but i just feel i got more from the other books we read. this book was very emotional and i learned a lot from it but i feel as a whole this book made me more sad than anything. i guess i just feel that i could get more enjoyment from a book like the odyssey or the great gatsby.

Blog Post #24

Why is The Great Gatsby the great american novel?

the Great Gatsby is considered by some to be one of the greatest works of literature, or at least the great american novel. but why is it considered so? in the documentary we watched about the lost generation we saw that young adults who aspires to be writers would study literature from europe. for years writers would try and create a great AMERICAN novel. Fitzgerald accomplished this with his book. he tried to capture american values and the american dream and inserted them into a novel. Gatsby is the american dream, well at least part of him, he got rich quick, bought a big house and got the the girl, well sort of. this is why The Great Gatsby is the great american novel.

Blog Post #23

1. Is the climax the hotel scene when Tom and Gatsby argue, or is it when Gatsby meets Daisy at Nick's house? What central conflict or conflicts are being addressed in the climax, and how is this the turning point of the narrative (story)? Use textual evidence to back up your claims.

when I was reading The Great Gatsby if someone asked me what the climax was i would have said it was when Gatsby and daisy's relationship started. however, now that i have had time to reflect i can say that the climax is the hotel scene. my main reasoning for this being that this is the scene when all the stories conflicts are put out in the open. Gatsby's relationship with Daisy come out and we get a fight between tom and Gatsby. this is also the point in the novel where everything changes. you could argue that the story changes when Gatsby and Daisy meet but there are not really any major conflicts being resolved.

Blog Post #22

What is the climax (turning point) of the novel? How do you know? How is the central conflict addressed in the climax?

I believe that the climax o the great gatsby can be interpreted differently depending on who you ask. i personally feel that the climax of the story is when gatsby begins his "relationship" with daisy. there are multiple reasons for me to believe this. for example in the first parts of the book gatsby is trying to win over daisy, he wants to recapture what he had when they first met. this really changes the story when tom starts to become suspicious of gatsby's "relationship with his wife daisy. this change in story leads to a conflict between tom and gatsby. in this conflict tom questions  gatsby's background and accuses him of selling bootleg liquor. after the conflict, daisy and gatsby are driving home and hit and kill myrtle with tom's car. daisy was the one driving but gatsby's love for her causes him to take the blame. later on gatsby is killed because of what he did. you can really see that after daisy and gatsby began their relationship the whole mood and tone of the book changed.

The Great Gatsby Blog Post #2

1. In chapter 5, when Daisy and Gatsby meet, how is weather used to create mood, and what mood(s) is created? 

In this chapter daisy and gatsby finally meet. this meeting is probably one of the most important changing points in the book. the way fitzgerald uses weather to set up their meeting is incredible. on the day of the meeting the weather is terrible and gatsby becomes nervous that the meeting will not go as he suspected. the weather here creates a gloom unhappy mood and sets up a nervous and awkward meeting. however, later in the chapter when nick returns to his house the weather clears up and he finds the two to be very happy and cheery. the way the weather lays out the meeting is very clever and i will be looking out for more instances of this throughout the rest of my read.

Blog Post Great Gatsby #1

1.  in the first two pages of the novel, Nick Carraway claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgment." Do you find that this is true so far? Please provide textual evidence to support your position.

when reading these first chapters i could not help but feel that careaway does not reserve his judgment. i believe that he would like to think he does but he really does not. for instance when he describes the way daisy talks he says that she might talk in such a low voice so that someone would have to lean in close. he says other things about daisy that were completely judgemental. another instance is when he describes tom. he says that he were like a man that enjoyed everything at the age of 21 so that everything afterwards seemed bitter. this quote says a lot more about careaway than what he says himself.

blog post #19

With my group I read a midsummer nights dream. This play is a comedy. Comedy plays in this time would have complex plots, love obstacles, and they usually end in a marriage or feast. A midsummer nights dream fits into these characteristic almost perfectly. There is a love triangle, a VERY complex plot and ends in three marriages. The only way i think it might differ is in the beginning of the play. in the beginning when we are introduced to Hermia her father says that if she does not marry who he wants he will kill her, this might lead audiences to believe it might be a tragedy.

blog post #18

For my response project for The Merchant of Venice my group and i decided to make a short film. The film would alter the ending of the Merchant of Venice to highlight that no matter what Shylock did he would have been treated terribly from the people of the city. It went mostly well, we got done filming in one day and everything was in on time. however, I feel that there could have been more preparation, it should not have taken us 10 hours to film, and the camera work needed work. however despite these errors with preparation i was proud of the finished product and i can now look back in future years and remember that yes i made a short film. I would and will do other projects like this in the future. if there was one thing I could change about the project it would definitely be not checking our shots before pressing record.

Blog Post #17

For my blog post I chose to explore the significance of Bissanio in Antonio's plot line. Well this may seem quite obvious but without Bissanio there would almost be no plot. first of all he asked for the loan from Antonio which lead to Antonio taking money from Shylock. Secondly if it were not for him and his wife Portia interfering Antonio would have likely died at the hands of Shylock. so in a way we can root all of Antonio's problems back to Bassanio. that is not to say that all that happened to Antonio was Bassanios fault. In-fact I do not think Antonio minded almost dying for Bassanio as he was basically in love with him.

merchant of venice/blog post #16

1. In Act 4, Scene 1 (pp. 78-79) Portia gives a speech about the mercy vs. justice ("The quality of mercy is not strained..."). Explain what Portia is saying about justice and mercy, and why is this important in the play?

portia in this scene is  disguised as a doctor of the law. she is trying to convince shylock to give mercy to Antonio and not take justice. she does this by explaining the qualities of justice. she says " the quality of mercy is not strained it droppeth as a gentle rain from heaven". what i think she means is that mercy is not forced it is something wonderful that you should want to do. she also says the thing along the lines of mercy is in a king's heart, and that god possesses mercy. i believe she did this to almost glorify mercy, saying that if he were truly a good man he would spare Antonio. how is this important to the play. well this is important because we get to see how portia planned to free antonio. as i was reading i was thinking to myself "is what she saying sincere, or is she just saying this to try and get Antonio off the hook". even if her speech was not sincere i must say it was truly inspiring, and i think can apply to many things in our modern world.

1. On page 49 (Act 3, Scene 1) Shylock gives his speech that seems to be sympathetic to the plight of Jews ("I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes?..."). Considering the rampant anti-Semitism in the play, why do you think Shakespeare would have included this speech? How does it change what we think of Shylock? 

when we were reading the merchant of venice, moore specifically the first act you could definitely see the hate that a lot of the characters had towards jewish people. one of the bigger actions in that first act was when we learned how bad antonio had treated shylock (that he had spit on him and made fun of him). at the time i thought this was just a way shakespeare was almost making fun of shylock and to make him out to be the villain. but after shylock gave his speech about how he is still human i am not so sure. i instead think that he did this to make his characters not seem so black and white, and make them more realistic. this would also make the audience think of the way they have treated jewish people. as to how this affects how we think of shylock. at least for me i think it adds a lot more depth to the character, it made it so that i don't know who the good guy and who the bad guy is.

most interesting character in act 1

1. In Act 1, we are introduced to the major characters in the play. Which one do you find most interesting and why?

when we were reading and acting out act 1 of the merchant of venice I felt like shylock was my favorite character, and the most interesting. there are multiple reasons for this, i will try an explain some. first of all shylock is made out to be laughed at and made fun of in the community, and the way he deals with this is very strong and courageous. another reason i liked the character so much is because of how smart and patient he is. he obviously does not like antonio because of how he treated him. but instead of not lending him money he makes a deal that if antonio did not pay him back then he would take a pound of flesh from somewhere on his chest. i think he knew that antonio had all of his wealth at see and that it was very vulnerable. all of this combined to make me feel bad for shylock but also admire his cunning.