Essay writing skills

      I will say this first: I love the Gilman Method! It has been SO helpful! I like to be extremely organized and have everything completely ready to go, with CD's and CM's and transitions, before I start typing. The Gilman Method is perfect for that!

      I was very scared at the beginning of the year for essays. I had no idea how long they would be, what I would write about, and how I would think of enough ideas. But as we started doing short timed writes, the group essay, and finally the Great Expectations essay, and now this, it sort of worked it into me. I have been able to annotate knowing that later on I am going to have to write an essay. Some days annotating is just to get my homework done, but when I see a good idea I try to remember what color it was so I can use it later. (I use several colors of sticky notes) I have also been able to find a good motif with two sides (light/dark, strong/weak), and explain how those develop a theme. I like doing that because 1. it makes 3 easy paragraphs and 2. It keeps me from repeating commentary. The commentary used to be very hard to think of, but it has become easier and easier ans I have been learning more and more.

      This essay has been more fun to write that a nuisance because I have a very clear understanding of what I want to do for the 3 body paragraphs. On the 'B' list is:

1.Transitions may be poorly used, rough, or lacking.
I think my essay flows pretty well, but there aren't that many transitional words between 'chunks' and CM's. (Yet!)

2. Failure to use present tense always.
I use it almost always, but I think there are a couple of things like 'was' or 'were'. (In progress!)

Other than that, I think I have done pretty good on my essay! Again, I would not be able to do this without the Gilman Method! Thank you!

Summer Reading

I had to think way back to the beginning of school to remember a good book for reading this summer. I thought of some books that other classmates had read for their summer assignment that they said they liked, and I got these:

The first book is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I want to read this book because Jacob Peterson said it was really good, and it sounded like a very interesting plot. The time line is not chronological, and it is told from different peoples' points of view, so the timeline develops with the plot. Most off the characters are in the air force, and the main character's name is Yossarian.

The next book I chose is Mutiny on the Bounty, by Charles Nordhoff and James Hall. It is an extremely long book, but I like longer books sometimes, because I take longer to read it. I have heard it has a very engaging plot, but can be a little bit slow at times. I am up for a challenge!

I cannot wait for summer! (to read the books, of course!)

Themes and Motifs: Fate

I decided to do fate as the theme for this blog post. I saw Clash of the Titans during spring break and the intro to the movie was talking about all the stars pre-determining fate and everything being set way before time even began. I personally do not believe any of it, but because it is a very standing out theme in the play and I understand it I decided to blog about it.

The Chinese animal symbol that I am based on my time of birth is a monkey. Weird. My zodiac symbol is Gemini. Also very weird. The planets I have personal control over are Mercury and the Sun. I possess creative potential and enhance my impression on others by wearing 'the finest attire'. My lucky colors are copper and gold. It just gets stranger and stranger. I don't care at all about any of this, and hardly any of it fits me! I like to think I am creative, but I am not a monkey (?) and I don't wear 'the finest attire', I don't plan on owning any planets, and my favorite color is blue. But how does this fit into Romeo and Juliet?

In the prologue it says "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" (1.0.6) and this says right from the beginning that they will have bad luck together and that they just aren't the right fit for each other. But a good quote from scene three would be where Romeo says "I doubt it not; and all these woes shall serve/For sweet discourse in our times to come." (3.5.52-53) He is finally realizing that his fate has already been set for him to be banished from his true love. I think that just because I am creative and that is what my horoscope says doesn't mean all of them are true for everyone. In the same way, Romeo is hoping that what has supposedly been pre-determined he can switch back the stars to do what he wants them to do. Romeo also says to Friar Lawrence, "Ha, banishment. Be merciful, say 'Death'" (3.3.13) His star (if he is one) is simply being shot out of a cannon in the exact opposite direction that he wants to go. He would rather just end his life and get rid of the tormenting that he is going through.

That is all. Again, I don't believe anything of the star-stuff, but it is kind of funny to look at. I found out I am born on the same day as Andy Griffith!