Final Fall Blog Post Dec. 12

1. I think reading Maus was most meaningful to me because I got to learn about a really interesting topic, the Holocaust; however it was told in a very different way. It was not the standard fact after fact that one usually sees when reading about the Holocaust.
2. I think that the most challenging thing was making my presentations engage the audience.
3. I would like to add a section about poetry, especially slam poetry!!!
4. I liked how we did the blog posts.
5. The books we read were great and I am so excited to do mood rooms!

Purpose of Violence in the Odyssey Journal Dec. 7

3. Throughout Books 22-24, Homer describes Odysseus's fight against the suitors to reclaim his house. I believe that this violence is necessary for Odysseus to receive nostos. If he hadn't fought and killed all the suitors would he actually be home? I mean, yes he would be in the land where his home was located, but it wouldn't be like how he remembered. I believe nostos means that one's homecoming is not only returning the location of their home, but also returning to how their home was before they left. With this definition, if Odysseus hadn't killed the suitors he wouldn't have returned to how his home was before he left. Also if Odysseus hadn't killed all the suitors, he probably wouldn't have the same respect from the people of Ithaca as he did before he left. Without this respect, his home wouldn't be like how he remembered so he wouldn't have nostos.

Xenia in the Odyssey Journal Nov. 22

The Odyssey contains many examples of xenia. One clear example can be found on pg. 45. Telemachus arrives at Menelaus's palace and is treated with great respect. "They (Telemachus and Nestor's son) went into the polished tubs. When the maids had bathed them and rubbed them down with oil, and clothed them in tunics and fleecy cloaks, they sat down on chairs beside Menelaus. A maid poured water from a golden pitcher into a silver basin for them to wash their hands and then set up a polished table nearby. Another serving woman, grave and dignified, set out bread and served generous helpings from the other dishes she had; a carver set sown cuts of meat by the platter and golden cups; and a herald came by and poured them wine" (Odyssey 45). Menelaus gives many gifts to Telemachus as he is getting ready to leave. As one can see Menelaus treats his guests with great respect even before he knows why they have come. This partly because the Greeks believed that everyone should be treated with hospitality because you never know if a God or Goddess (in disguise) might come to your door. Greeks also showed xenia towards strangers, so that they could show off their wealth, or kingdom. Another example of xenia can be seen when Odysseus arrives at in the palace of Alcinous. "He (Alcinous) took the hand of Odysseus, the cunning hero, and raised him from the fireside and had him sit on a polished chair... A maid poured water from a golden pitcher into a silver basin for him to wash his hand and then set up a polished table nearby. Another serving woman, grave and dignified set out bred and generous helpings from the other dishes she had" (Odyssey 100). Both of these examples contain nearly the same sentences. (A maid poured...table nearby.) & (Another serving woman...dishes she had.) These similar sentences could have been put in the song to serve little reminders, or checkpoints for the singers. One can see that xenia in this book is all based around showing off one's wealth and status by serving fine foods, making the guests as comfortable as possible, and giving them gifts.

Oral Tradition in Greece, November 16

1. Oral tradition was very important during the time of the Greeks because it was a way to pass on history. However, it wasn't straight facts like normal history. It was influenced by people opinions and ideas. It was a way for groups of people to express their opinions and share them through song. Since most people didn't know how to read or write in Ancient Greek, by sharing the history through song, more people could learn about it. When it was written down, it was only one version of the story. It limits people from being able to change the story. However, writing the story down on books made it permanent. Oral tradition was like a big game of telephone, and it would eventually have gotten terribly  messed up in its telling. This would cause it to be lost; yet if it was written down, it would never be lost. 

Blog Post November 7

       So, I didn't really know what to talk about, since this was a free post. I thought for a while about cool things that I could talk about, but I eventually decided to talk about my internship. On Wednesday, November 5, I went to the HMNS to visit Christine Batten, my mentor. I had to be there at 9:00, and Ian had to be to another internship at 8:30, so I decided to just go over with him. At nine, I met Christine inside the Sharks! exhibit because she helps run it. We then went downstairs to the Animal Alcove, a room on the Lower Level that houses lots of animals. She wanted to put some new rocks in the Sharks! exhibit to give them more places to rest. In the Animal Alcove, we picked up some supplies that we would need for the day: water, some plastic bags, and rocks. We went back up to the Sharks! exhibit and piled rocks in the tank in three different locations. We went back to the Animal Alcove to pick up some crabs, which I would be putting in the shark tanks. Before I put the crabs in the shark tank, they had to acclimate to the temperature of the tank, so they didn't die of shock. To acclimate them, I first put them in a plastic bag filled with the water they were used to. I floated the bags in the shark tanks for fifteen minutes. During these fifteen minutes, Christine and I went to check on an existing, empty tank that she and I are planning on putting creatures in. We discussed different things that could go in this tank, and we felt like nudibranchs would be best for this tank. I am currently writing a proposal to get nudibranchs and other supplies for this tank. After checking on this tank, we traveled back down to the shark tank, and I took the crabs out of the floating bags and placed them around the shark tank.

        The Texas Ecology exhibit opened up about a week before I visited, and she offered to show me it. Of course I said yes! It was incredible. It was clear that lots of effort had been put into making this exhibit look as real as possible. Each tree in the exhibit had trunks that were living. Christine said that the artists creating the exhibit got living trees and pulled each leaf of individually. She said they then attached fake, but realistic, leaves to where the real leaves were. There was also living Spanish moss hanging from branches that were coming out of the ceiling and walls. There were three animatronic animals, a skunk, a woodpecker, and a rattlesnake. I would defiantly recommend going to the HMNS to see this exhibit as it is just stunning.

Journal Nov. 1

I chose to write about this book through the conflict theory perspective. I believe that everyone in the book is in conflict with one another and that helps society. For example, the Nazis were in conflict with the Jews, the Americans were in conflict with the Nazis. Although I don't believe that the Holocaust aided society very much, I could see why someone could think that it taught people a valuable lesson about human mortality and preservernce. Lots of scientific facts were found during the Holocaust and without the Holocaust we would probably never find out about them. Also the Americans in conflict with the Nazis aided society stopping the terrible tortures that went on in the Holocaust. All of these conflicts aided to society in one way or another with some helping more than others.

Journal Oct. 25

2. I chose to write about Art and the Jewish stereotypes that his father matches up with. One major Jewish stereotype is that they are penny-pinchers; they don't want to spend money. Art's father hates spending money. He also saves tons of things that he doesn't need. Even when others offer to throw the things out for him, he refuses. I think one of the major reasons why Vladek doesn't want to get rid of anything is because he had everything taken away from him during the Holocaust. I believe that it would just be natural for one to want to hold onto all of their belongings after everything that they had was taken away. The Holocaust took nearly everything that he loved away and destroyed it. It took away his belongings, his family, and his dignity. The only thing that it didn't take away was his wife. Oh wait, it did. It made her incredibly depressed to the point that she committed suicide. What reason would he have not to want to save everything after all his things were taken away from him.

Journal Oct. 19

I think that it is harder to draw and tell someone else's story than it is to draw or tell your own story. This is because one cannot know every single detail of a story, such as details like who is in the background and what the weather was like. The drawer of the story has to create/imagine these details to put in the story unless they have been told them. The person whose story is being told could possibly get offended by the lack of authenticity in the story just because a few details are not accurate. It is also hard for the drawer to know what emotions the person was feeling at the time they were experiencing this event, which could pose a problem when trying to make the story emotionally accurate. However, the drawer can have a very easy time making the story interesting and intriguing because they can choose what points of the story the want to emphasize. They can also exaggerate other "scenes" of the story to make them more intense and dramatic. This can help to capture the readers attention even if it makes the story not one-hundred percent accurate.

Journal Oct. 10

I am going to write about the Englishman in the novel. I thought that it was really weird that the book randomly stopped talking about him. Pablo said that he went off to go study and practice alchemy, but the book never mentions him again. This leaves the reader with lots of questions like: is the Englishman okay, will he ever make the philosopher's stone, and will he meet the alchemist again? I think that this was poor writing on Pablo's part, but I was wondering what you guys think about it. 

Journal October 4

For my final Alchemist blog post, I would like to talk about names in this book. The book is very strange when it comes to names. Throughout the book, the author only mentions Santiago's name once, and this is when we are introduced to him. "The boy's name was Santiago" (pg. 1). I think that this is so the reader can relate to the protagonist more. A name puts another barrier between the reader and the protagonist. By not having a name for the protagonist, the reader will be able to relate their journey through life to Santiago's journey through life. Even though readers most likely won't travel through Egypt, they will be able to understand his journey to complete their goals easier since Santiago is just called the boy. They will also be able to put their name in place of the Santiago's name because he is just referred to as the boy.

Journal Sept. 28

3. I think that omens are meant to serve as a guide to the characters in the book. They help the characters stay on track during their Personal Legend. Omens also help protect the characters in the book. For example, Santiago saw two hawks fighting and believed that that meant that soldiers were going to bring war to the oasis. If Santiago hadn't seen this omen, the oasis would have most likely been ambushed. Another example is when Urim and Thummim fell out of the hole in Santiago's pocket. This reminded Santiago of the stones, which helped him make decisions that led him on the right path to his Personal Legend. Santiago's repeating dream is also an example of omens guiding a character on the path to his Personal Legend. If Santiago hadn't realized that this repeating dream was a sign from a higher power, he never would have gone on this journey to find the treasure. He would still be a shepherd traveling from place to place.

Journal September 19

I don't completely agree that when you want something the whole universe conspires to help you. If Santiago wanted to go to the pyramids, the universe should've helped him, using this logic. However, they made the trip expensive, long, and hard. He had to spend all his money that he earned from herding sheep to just travel to Morocco. Once he got there, he had to work for about nine months to go on the trip. He almost didn't even go on the trip. The universe could have made it so much easier for him to get to what he wanted. Also, not everyone gets what they want. Tons of people want to get rich, and famous but they don't. I think that the universe helps you sometimes, but not all the times. However, it helped him get to the pyramids, since he eventually decided to go there.

Journal Sept. 13

I think that the author started the book wit this modified version of Narcissus because in this story, the lake finds it true beauty through something else. I think that the lake symbolizes Santiago. In the story, the lake finds its true beauty by accident. It was only when someone else did something to the lake, 'looked in it', he was able to find himself. He was just thrown into this situation, and found his inner self through it. I think that this is kind of like Santiago. I believe that Santiago will be thrown into a journey to find this treasure because the king and the gypsy were so persistent about the treasure in Egypt. During this trip, I think that he will find his inner self, or inner beauty, just like the lake.

Journal September 4

This year in ELA, I want to become a better writer. I plan to do this by expanding my vocabulary, reading different styles of writing, and just practicing. I think that my writing could be greatly improved through out the year. I also would like to work on being able to pick out symbolism in books. I plan to do this by just reading more and more book that have multiple layers of symbolism. I would also like to just read some interesting books, as well as develop my video making skills.

Journal May 23

1. Critique of The Fault in our Stars. MONTROSE MAVENS ROLL OUT!!!
My book, The Fault in our Stars, is a very interesting book. I was really excited to read it because it is so popular, so I assumed that it must be great. However, I found that it was overrated. The plot was predictable and followed the same plots as most generic love stories. It was written very well, and I seemed almost like the main character was writing it. However, I predicted the ending as soon as I opened the book. I thought that the author did a great job of making the book very realistic, and he must have done a lot of research on cancer. I also liked how the plot was similar to the cancer the main character has. Everything was good and happy, but then one day basically, s*** hit the fan. After s*** hits the fan, the 'fan' breaks and things further deteriorate at a faster speed, until everything stops. This is similar to the protagonist's cancer because everything seems good until the cancer gets worse. Things deteriorate in their body faster and faster, until everything stops. Everything stops when the cancer finally wins, and the protagonist dies.

Journal May 17

*SPOILER ALERT*

My book, The Fault in Our Stars, contains many different climaxs. However, I think that the main one is when Agustus, the protagonists lover, says that he has cancer. Before this the book is on an uphill slope, and everything seems to be getting better, but after this things start to mess up and spiral downwards. Agustus gets more sick and eventually dies. I think the main conflict in this book is man vs. self or man vs. nature. I believe that it is man vs. self because it is all about people coming to terms with the fact that they are going to die soon. However, it is man vs. nature because it is also people battling cancer. I believe that the protagonist loses her man vs. nature battle because she is terminally ill, and her boyfriend dies from cancer. However, she wins her man vs. self battle because she comes to terms with the thought of death.

Journal May 10

2.  

 My book, The Fault in Our Stars, starts off with Hazel Grace, the protagonist. She is going to a support group for people with cancer. She is friends with Issac, a member of the support group who is going blind from cancer. Through Issac, she meets Agustus, or Gus. Agustus has overcome cancer, and is in remission, Agustus and Hazel meet and become friends. They are both teenagers around the age of 17. It is unclear, what Agustus's goal in life is. However, I believe that Hazel's goal is too overcome cancer, or just live a happy life for as long as she can. It also seems like another goal of her's is to fall in love. This book is set in the present time, and in Indianapolis.  

Journal April 26

Feed, or feed, as it is written in the book, was a mind-boggling book. One thing that I noticed through-out the book was the lack of correct capitalization. For example, on the first page of the book (where it said the title), I noticed that feed was not capitalized.

At first, I thought that this was just a simple mistake, but then I noticed that none of the chapters were capitalized. I believe that this was to further enforce the point of the book. I believe that this book was showing that society is getting dumber and dumber because we are getting more connected to technology, and we are not having to do as much for ourselves. I also noticed that none of the pages, which said the chapter name, had page numbers. I think that this is also put in their to further enforce the point of the book. 

Journal April 19

1. 

http://youtu.be/uKoTpcs8ip8

This commercial is for the 2015 Dodge Challenger, and it is filled with tons of logical fallacies.  It starts off with having an abundance of elderly people talk about their life and to live yours with no regrets. They give advice and make you proud and happy. This is an example of the Appeal to Emotion fallacy. Dodge wants you to associate proudness and happiness with the 2015 Dodge Challenger, so they fill the commercial with things to make you proud and happy. The second fallacy committed is Appeal to Authority. It has many elderly people in its commercial, which makes the viewer think that it is a good idea to buy the car, since many people with tons of life experience are supporting it. The third logical fallacy committed is Bandwagon. It has lots of happy people supporting this, which makes the viewer want to be happy, and thus "join" the bandwagon. This commercial also commits False Cause. It makes the viewer think that the 2015 Dodge Challenger causes people to live long, happy lives, since it shows all of these elderly people before it shows the car. It tricks the viewer into thinking that there is no other reason that these elderly people would be in the commercial, except for the fact that they are happy because of Dodge. In conclusion, this commercial contains many logical fallacies, such as Appeal to Emotion, Appeal to Authority, and False Cause. 

Journal April 12

http://youtu.be/dP3r3SPXgKs

This video is a commercial for Proactive, aka one of the most persausive acne brands. It uses pathos and logos to persuade the viewer, but mostly ethos. The main way it uses ethos is by having one of the most famous pop stars, Katy Perry, act and promote this product. She starts off talking about how she has tried all other acne medicines, and says that none of them work. She then says she finally tried Proactive and it was fabulous. This makes the viewer feel like they need to buy it since one of the most famous people in the world buys and uses it. People watching feel as if they can trust Katy Perry because she is a famous person. She opens up to the camera about her insecurities and backstory, which makes her seem vunerable and even more trustworthy. It uses pathos by playing upbeat music, which makes the viewer happy and more likely to want to buy the product. It also shows lots of people smiling and Katy Perry performing, which makes people watching think that all people who use proactive are happy or successful. It finally uses logos by providing many before and after pictures, which show how well Proactive works. Overall, I believe that this commercial does a good job of balancing pathos, ethos, and logos, and persuading many people to buy Proactive. I think that it is geared towards mostly younger people, who would know who Katy Perry is. It is also filled with young adults, which makes me think even more that it is geared towards young people. 

Journal March 1

After finishing the book, I think that the Green World vs. City World theory is supported even more. Portia still clearly is in charge of Belmont, as one can see from this line, "I had it of him. Pardon me, Bassanio, for by this ring the doctor lay with me." She basically says that she can still do whatever she wants. She also tricks Bassanio, her husband, into giving someone his ring, which he told her he would never part with. This shows that she is still higher than him in ranking. Portia also let's Antonio into her house. Bassanio doesn't just bring him into her house, he has to ask her if it is okay. This again shows that Portia is higher than Bassanio. Also, the main conflict in the play, Shylock vs. Antonio, is solved by women. If Portia didn't sneak into the court, Antonio would have been killed. This again shows that the women in this play are higher up than the men. The romantic situation with Portia and the caskets has also been solved. A main characteristic of the green world is that romantic problems are solved. Portia solves her romantic problem by marrying Bassanio. Nerissa and Gratanio also decided to get married, which is another romantic problem that has been solved. Another characteristic of a "Green World" is it is the opposite of the city world. Problems in Belmont(Portia and the caskets) are being solved right as problems in Venice are being made(Shylock and Antonio's loans). Once the problems in Venice were solved(end of court scene), problems in Belmont are being made(Portia and Bassanio getting mad over the ring). This further supports the theory that Belmont is the Green World.

Journal Feb. 23

1. I believe that Shylock is a tragicomedic character; however, I think the play is a comedy. The play is a comedy because is comedies the character who causes the problem usually dies or is banished. In Merchant of Venice, Shylock, who causes the problem, has a spiritual death. He is forced to convert to Christianity, and to him it probably felt like he was disobeying Judism and that he would go to hell, which is worse than death. However, I believe that he was a tragicomedic character. He clearly has some traits of being a comedic villain. One of the main characteristics of a comedic villain is that they are stupid. Back when Shakespeare wrote this play, the audience probably thought that Shylock was one of the stupidest people on earth. They probably thought this because he was a Jew, and Jews were hated. He was also threatening a Christian's life. They thought that Christianity was the best religion and threatening a Christian was a very stupid thing to do. Another characteristic of being a comedic villain is that they are pure evil. The audience of this play back when Shakespeare wrote it probably thought that Shylock was pure evil because he was a Jew and he was threatening a Christian. However, I think that Shylock changes from being just a comedic villain to a tragicomedic character at loc. 3437. This is when Shylock gives his "Hath not a Jew" speech. During this speech, he shows that he is a tragic character. He says that he is doing this for revenge just like what a Christian would do if a Jew wronged them. He also shows that he is just a human and is not evil, he is just acting like how a Christian would if a Christian were in his position. This is why I believe that he is a tragicomedic character. 

Journal Feb. 15

1. I believe that the Merchant of Venice is a tragicomedy. However, I am not 100% sure since I have not finished reading it. From what we have read so far, it makes since for the play to be a tragicomedy. In tragedies, the main character usually does at the end. In the Merchant of Venice, it seems like Antonio, one of the main characters, is going to die at the end. He is going to die because if he doesn't pay Shylock back, then Shylock gets to take a pound of his flesh. This sentence, "hath an argosy cast away coming from tripolis" makes it seem like Antonio lost one of his ships which was carrying a lot of his money. If this ship was carrying most of his money than he won't be able to pay back Shylock. This is makes it seem like Antonio has bad luck which is another characteristic of a tragedy. However, this story also has many characteristics of a comedy. One main characteristic of a comedy is that at the end there is either a big feast, wedding, or party. in the Merchant of Venice, it seems like it will end with a big wedding since Portia getting married has been such a big part of the play. At the end of Act III, we find out that Portia is getting married to Bassanio. When Bassanio says, "Fair Portia's counterfeit" we know that they are going to get married. I believe that this is a tragicomedy because it has many characteristics of a comedy but also has dark overtones (Antonio and Shylock's deal).

Journal February 9

2. I feel like the Merchant of Venice fits the Green World Theory very well. It has to separate lands, Belmont and Venice. In my mind, I see Venice as the normal world, and I see Belmont as the Green World. One example of this is that the normal world is usually run by males. Venice fits this part of the theory because the main characters in Venice are all male (Antonio, Bassanio, Shylock). Also in  the green world, the females are usually the ones running it. Belmont fits this part because Portia and Nerissa are really the only characters that we have seen in Belmont. They are also both women, and Portia seems to run Belmont because she is able to choose her man. Usually in those days, the men would choose the women, but Portia can tell any man that he can't participate in the contest for her love. The normal world often has many laws and has order. This is shown in the quote, " Three thousand ducats—’tis a good round sum. Three months from twelve, then. Let me see. The rate. " this was said by Shylock when Shylock was giving Antonio and Bassanio a loan. This supports the theory because the idea of loans means that there would have to be some laws. Romance is usually a major theme in the green world. This quote, "Therefore the lottery that he hath devised in these three chests of gold, silver, and lead, whereof who chooses his meaning chooses you, will no doubt never be chosen by any rightly but one who shall rightly love" supports this idea. Nerissa is explaining the lottery to Portia and the audience. This lottery is for Portia's hand in marriage. If a suitor comes along who wants to try the lottery, Portia gives them a choice of picking one of three caskets. One casket contains gold, another contains silver, and the third contains lead. If the pick the on with the gold in it, then they get to marry Portia. However, if they pick the other two, then they can never talk to Portia again. This fits in with the green world theory because this lottery has to do with romance. In the end, I believe that Belmont is the green world, and that Venice is the normal world. However, this could change as the book goes on.

Journal February 1

2. I believe that it is very useful to study Shakespeare. First of all, he created if 2000 words when he was alive. This is an amazing task and reading Shakespeare would certainly improve anyone's vocabulary skills. Another reason that it is important to read Shakespeare is because Shakespeare is an important historical figure. He is the figure head for writers in that time period and changed the style of writing. His works are also still relevant to this day. They talk about problems that are still relevant. They also give us a look into the past unlike other stories. We also have more work from him than other writers of that time which is another reason why we choose Shakespeare over other writers. Shakespeare was also a wonderful story writer. His stories were often very complex and contained many twists and turns. His characters were also wonderfully created. He didn't just have them black and white like other stories of that time. He gave depth to them. He made some seem good and then do a bad thing or too. They weren't just good or bad, some were in between. He has also influenced our culture, and many stories now are based off of his stories, like the Lion King. Many people use quotes from Shakespeare and in order to pick up on these quotes one must read Shakespeare. Those are the reasons why I believe  Shakespeare is still useful to study.