Emotions

  Recently, we began to read the book The Stranger. The main character of the book reflects a personality seen in few books. He is an emotionless person who takes life for what it is. He shows little attachment and interest in people and what they have to say. Although, he displays this emotionless persona to people as readers we have an inside look at to what he really is thinking. He seems to give people the benefit of doubt. Why shouldn't he help them? People seem to feel as if he doesn't care, but in reality he has no reason to. It makes us question our relationships with people. Does what we say always reflect how we are truly feeling? Some people rely on the words of others to reflect on certain people's opinions or feelings towards them. Words really have a lot more value than we depict.

Insanity.

 

  In class, we are discussing the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. With the sudden mysterious murder of his father and the marriage of his mother to his uncle, Hamlet falls into a deep depression. Many think he is mad with grief of the events that just occurred while others feel as if he is mad due to the rejection of Ophelia. We see two sides to Hamlet. At times, we see him display traits to those who are mentally unstable. He talks to himself, has sudden outbursts, and takes on weird behaviors. He also becomes isolated from his family and loved ones. However, on the other side we see a more intelligent side to Hamlet. He knows that he has to avenge his father by killing his uncle, but he also know that this is something that requires much deliberation and patience. He needs a just cause to kill his uncle rather than just acting on pure emotions. So, he devises a plan to guilt his uncle into confessing that he killed his father. As a reader, you question whether Hamlet is sane or insane? Where is the line drawn? Is Hamlet mad or is he tactful?

Rap or Poetry?

   When we think of poetry, we typically think of poets such as Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, or Ernest Hemingway. These are classical poets that we are exposed to in grade school and are well renown throughout the world. They are applauded by critics for their use of language, poetic devices, and are accredited for being the pioneers for the basis of poetry. Few people realize that they are not the only classic poets out there. Many times musical artists are poets also, but the difference is their art is said to a beat. These artists or lyricists are familiar to the people and more easily understood then say the works of Shakespeare which is written in Old English. A prime example of this would be the rapper known as Tupac Shukur. The rapper addressed issues within the community and made people aware of these situations. He his famous for his use of assonance and alliteration in his songs. His raps told stories. Artists such as him are famous for conveying urban issues by a use of a small anecdote.
      I feel as if as students we should not only be exposed to the classic poets, but also the more modern ones. Few people can relate to the diction and situations depicted within poems in history. Today, a lot has changed and a lot more issues have arose. Students should be exposed to both (of course, the less vulgar forms of lyrics for today's music).

Body Language

     Body language is something that few people discuss, but everyone pays attention to. The way people carry themselves helps distinguish who they are as a person. This is one of our first impressions when meeting a person. You can come off as welcoming or "stand off-ish." It also can depict certain traits of your personailty such as, confidence, self-conscienceness, or shyness. The use of body language as a form of communication is just as strong as using your words. It is your own personal form of silent communication. We see examples of this in everyday life. We even base our "next moves" off the body language of someone else. If a girl gives a guy, "the eye" you know she likes him. If she doesn't pay attention to what youe saying, she's not interested. We use body language sublimenly all the time. It is our way of expressing our emotions without physically saying them. It even provides emphasis to certain emotions or situations. Not every word, needs to be said.

Breaking Dawn.

   Tomorrow is the last movie to be released to the Twilight Series. The movie is called Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. In 2008, the first movie of the Twilight Saga was released. Millions of teenagers camped outside of movie theaters across the nation in excitement. The twilight craze swept the country. At first, I paid little attention to the book and movie. I felt as if the whole concept was rather stupid. Vampires? Werewolves? I'll pass. One day I actually decided to stop being lazy and investigated what all the hype was about and read the book. I was hooked. Some feel as the books have literary merit, while others considered it a classic of this time period. The real question is where is the line drawn? When is a book considered popular? When is a book considered a classic? The answer to that question would vary from person to person. As the reader, I became more intrigued in the plot rather than the literary devices the author used (if any). There are different types of classics that vary throughout the time period. We see this in examples such as Shakespeare and Homer. These are two contrasting ideas, works, and time periods, but both still to be considered classical pieces of literature. Classics appear to shift with the time period. How do we know when to classify one and when not to?

The Classics/

     In school, we are forced to read and analyze different works of literature. These works include plays, novels, epics, and short stories. As we read, I realize how the author constructs their works of art is meant to be viewed a specific way by the audience. Plays are meant to be seen, while short stories and novels are meant to be read. But on the other hand, some epics were meant to be told orally. These are key factors that we must pay attention to while reading these works. But the real question is, why we even read them if their purpose was to be heard or seen? The answer is the techniques that different authors used. Shakespeare's poetry and use of other literary devices was unprecedented. The literary culture had never seen works like his before which make them unique and impossible not to study. Oral epics are classic and encompass much of a specific culture. Not only do they serve as a literary device, but also as an historical one. In conclusion, classics are classic for a reason and should be read.  

The Best Stories Ever Told.

   

   I have to admit, I still am in love with Disney movies (mainly the classics). I faithfully watch at least one a week, as my "relaxation" period of the week. Few people know that many Disney movies are based upon numerous components of classic literature such as Shakespeare (The Lion King), the Brothers Grimm (Snow White), Greek mythology (Hercules) , and Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist). These works provide the pre-cursor to movies we all love and cherish today. My personal favorite is The Lion King. The plot uses elements from Shakespeare's, Hamlet, and takes us on Simba's journey to re-conquering what belonged to him even while he attempted to escape his destiny. 

   Although, Disney gives little credit to these literary works without them there would be no story. Disney gives us the illusion that these classic stories were created and illustrated by them, but in reality are just "re-makes" of someone else's works. I do have to give credit to the Walt Disney Production company for providing such vivid images in a kid-friendly way, just not for the story line. Classic works of literature are classic for a reason. They not only are notable works of art, but also help spark other ideas that provide the basis for other stories and films. 

Bye Bye Odyssey !

 Recently, we completed Homer's, The Odyssey, in English class. Although, I cannot say I am not completely distraught that our time with The Odyssey has ended, I do feel somewhat disappointed. At the beginning of the Odyssey, I wasn't completely excited that we were reading it (all I saw was 400+ pages of reading). But as the story progressed, I did begin to enjoy reading it. I mean, as much as I dread reading (now), I wouldn't mind picking up the book and casually reading it. Instilled in the Odyssey is a lot of controversial themes i.e love, relationships, revenge vs. justice, and divine intervention. These are typically ideas I wouldn't normally think about, nor would any other teenage. As I read the book, I realized how modern society still struggles to answer the same questions of those of ancient days. It is vital to study our past in order to continue to move into the future. Then, maybe we could come up with some of the answers that they didn't come up with. Not only, do I feel as if I can hold an intelligent conversation and make literal references (making me feel smarter), but I also feel as if I realized what was important in life. People have little control on what goes on. Things happen. You can be on top of the world one moment, and one the bottom of it the next.  Homer's The Odyssey is something people should read because of the morals it holds. Maybe people can learn something from old Odysseus.

There's No Place Like Home

      Numerous times  the media introduces us to various movies, TV shows, and movies. Whether we realize it or not most of these sources depict a theme or moral lesson that we subconsciously associate with the medium. A prime example of this would be the story of The Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz is a fantastical story about a small town girl from Kansas who embarks on a mystical journey far from home once taken away by a tornado. Along her journey she encounters several friends, that help her make her journey to find herself and her way home. These friends are known as the tin man, the scarecrow, and the cowardly lion. The story uses personification giving each of these characters human characteristics. Each character has an inner conflict that serves as a setback. The tin-man lacks a heart, the scarecrow lacks a brain, and the lion lacks courage. The four set out on a journey to find, The Wizard, who holds the answer to all their problems only to find out that The Wizard is a fraud and the answer was within them the whole time. The answer lied within them.  

     As a child, you see the story in "black and white," and for what it appears. I mean come on. We all dressed up as Dorothy or munchkin for Halloween, at least once. It's a fun, colorful, musical with a noteworthy soundtrack and cast. It wasn't until I reached high school till I realized the true meaning of the story. Each character depicted the classic human virtues caring, courage, and intelligence. Ultimately, home is where your heart is and you have the ability to get what you want because the power lies within you. The answers that you are sometimes seeking are right in your backyard. Within this movie, lies a lot of life lessons that are hard to distinguish as a young child. But once you evaluate the movie from an analytically standpoint you are able to see these themes more clearly. In life, you sometimes have to pay less attention to the monochromatic idea and search for the more kaleidoscopic solution. 

Dreaming

 "Dreams are a way of acting out one's secret desired." - Sigmund Freud 

Recently, we read Book 19 in the Odyssey. There was a particularly significant passage that we were to re-evaluate and search for the latent meaning.We each developed our own interpretation on what we felt Penelope's dream truly meant. We searched for the meaning behind the dream. Sigmund Freud was the pioneer of psychology. He believed every dream had a surface and a deeper meaning. This makes you question all the dreams of your past. As children we are given that simpler definition of what a dream really is; something that your imagination creates while you're asleep. From the works of Freud, we now evaluate ourselves in relation to our dreams. Our dreams reveal our inner most thoughts in a lively perspective. I'd like to think that they are thoughts that we hate to admit to ourselves. Things we think, but don't want to admit that we want them to happen. They are feelings that we have subconsciously. They also us to imagine, create, and full fill our deepest desires without revealing to the public what we secretly want. Dreams also allow us to differentiate what we want from what we think we want. It's nature's way of weighing the pros and cons.

The Beginning.

Last night, I was forced to babysit my younger brothers since my mom and dad when out. I have two brothers for those of you who didn't know, one is 5 while the other is 6. Being the eldest sibling, this entitled me to the fantastic job of helping them with their homework. The oldest of my younger brothers is beginning to read, while the younger one is beginning to learn "memory" words. As I sat and assisted them with their homework, I began to loose patience as the struggled to recognize words or phrases that don't require much thought process for me now. Then, I realized I had to start out somewhere too.  In Kindergarten, you learn basic words such as "mom", "dad", "car", and "man"; words that you can quickly recognize. But as you progress to first grade, you begin to study more of the meaning of the words and start associating them with phrases. This made me look back at when I began to start to read. Is this how it really happens? As a child, your given the work in front of you, and if your as anal or competitive as I am, you do it because you want the best grade possible (at least that's how I thought, even at a young age). You don't realize that your developing essential fundamentals that are in fact the building blocks for vocabulary in literature, reading, and writing. You start small gradually adding more and more before it eventually just becomes natural. It's interesting to actually be the spectator rather than the participant this time. It I could do it all over again, I probably wouldn't because it's not something that's easy at that age. Nor would I suggest that ANYONE enter elementary school teaching if they lack patience because the job requires a lot of it. I commend teachers from the K through Third Grade level because it's not easy. I couldn't do it.

Divine Intervention

   Divine intervention is something that has been questioned for years.It is argued that there is a higher power above us that controls and interferes with our own fate. Many people question this theory. Is divine intervention something that is real or do we, as people, ultimately have control over our own destiny's and lives? Do all of our actions lead up to what the outcome of our lives will be or is someone "upstairs" controlling this and stepping in when they feel is necessary? Recently, we have completed the first half of the Odyssey. In the book, Homer reveals a chain of events that occur while Odysseus is attempting to make his way back to Ithaca. We are told that it was the Gods that decide to allow Odysseus to return home, but along the way he was going to encounter a list of inevitable events that would make his journey home even more difficult. However, throughout the story we see examples of how Odysseus' decisions reflect his own fate. Homer provides us with both sides to the argument. We are given multiple examples of when the goddess, Athena, interferes with Odysseus' setbacks providing him with aid, advice, and "hints." We also see examples of the god, Poseidon, causing his ship to crash and his crew to drown. But on the other hand, Homer provides Odysseus control his own fate to some extent. A prime example of this would be when Odysseus visits the land of the dead. At the land of the dead, he encounters Tiresias, a legendary Theban prophet, who reveals to him his fate IF he chooses to slay the cattle of the Sun god. Another example would be when the nymph goddess, Circe, instructs Odysseus on what path he should take and what he should do while sailing at sea past the island of the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. She does not choose the path for Odysseus, but leaves the decision up to him. This suggests that Homer believes in both sides. Maybe there is a such thing as divine intervention, but this so-called "higher power" gives us the freedom of what path we want to take. Thus resulting in the obstacles we face. Or maybe is the complete opposite, and the higher power already knows what path were going to take and "planned" it to be that way. No one really knows the answer.

Why does it matter?

  In English class, we are taught to follow certain rules and pronunciations when it comes to speech and language.  Proper grammar while writing and speaking was something that was incredibly stressed at the rudimentary level of schooling.  I remember the teacher constantly quizzing, assessing, and testing us on certain grammatical things that we were supposed to know. But as I mature, I'm starting to question what the point even is. Do we really need to know when to use "me" or "I" in a sentence or whether lie, lay, or lain is supposed to be used? Does anyone ever pay attention?  It seems like the same society that created all of these terms and laws, is the same society that doesn't even use them anymore. People have become more comfortable and relaxed in reference to language. Proper grammar has even turned into an annoyance to everyday people. I mean honestly, who wants to hear someone speak proper 24/7. We've even gone as far as creating a whole different "language" that we use via text, Facebook, or twitter that allows us to express things quicker and easier. For some of us it's just a habit. Personally, I know "how to turn it on/off." In class, I stress or attempt to stress the way I speak, write, and articulate certain words. BUT as soon as I hit the hallways or see my friends, I'm right back to using slang. Maybe this is due to just pure American laziness or maybe people purely just don't care anymore. Who knows.