Culture Shock: Romeo and Juliet

It was pretty dificult to find something to blog about, but I found a story about a police officer who arrested a man who was about to kill his wife. The man was driving too fast and had his high beams on, which is a typical sign of a drunk driver, so the cop followed him. He pulled him over and searched the car and there was a gun. The guy with the gun broke down and was really overwhelmed because he was going to use that gun to kill his wife.

This exemplifies a theme from R&J which is said by Friar Laurence, "Young men's love then lies, not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes." This shows how the man married his wife mostly for good looks and not for true love, so that fake love ended up turning against him to hate.

English Reflection Extra Credit Blog

This year in English has been a very good one so far. Some of my favorite activities are the group activities where we get to pick our own groups. The skits were very fun, but I felt like we didn't have enough time to prepare, and that we could have done a much better job if we had had a couple more days. But I understand that it was the week before spring break and we had to finish it quickly. I really like doing DGP all on one day, because it is always pretty easy to get 9-10 points. It has sort of become something that you just get used to doing, getting out DGP and working with a friend, finishing way ahead of time, and then talking. Another thing I have liked in this class is how the atmosphere is always calm and happy and everyone just sits on top of their desks and talks during the 10 minute break. I have also really enjoyed the frequent extended due dates, not because I don't finish the work, but because it makes me feel not as rushed and that I have that much more time to do a good job on it. I have never felt super-pressed about this class, and it has always been a class that I look forward to before lunch. It is one of my favorite classes, for sure.

Great Expectations Skit

Some ideas I have for the skit are as follows...

1. The part where Mrs. Havisham catches herself on fire and Pip uses his greatcoat to smother the fire and ends up burning his hands.

2. At the beginning where Pip first meets his convict and he tips Pip upside down and eats the bread in his pocket.

3. The scene (that is only described in the book) where Molly kills the person she was jealous of and gets the scratches on her wrists.

Which one is your favorite?

A Question about Biddy

Pip and Biddy are talking to each other in the very end of this week's reading...

"Biddy," said I, "I made a remark respecting my coming down here often, to see Joe, which you received with a marked silence..." "Are you quite sure, then, that you WILL come to see him often?" (ch 35, 306)

I don't understand at all why all of a sudden Biddy was extremely mean and condescending to Pip. I get that he says that he'll visit Joe often, and he doesn't, so Biddy doesn't believe him, but why is she just so mean? That is what I want to know, because the two used to be extremely close.

Great Expectations Photo

The picture that I chose for chapters 17-22 is a waterfall, and it symbolizes two things. One, it shows how Pip just lets his emotions pour out on Biddy, like water pouring over a cliff. He doesn't stop for anything, and lets Biddy know all his feelings, and in the same way the waterfall doesn't stop falling. (until it hits the water below). Another thing the waterfall symbolizes is Miss Havisham's life. She starts off really well, being an heiress with a ton of money and about to be married, but then she just falls and falls... eventually she just hit the water below and became stagnant, having the clocks stopped and nothing in the house changing.

Great Expectations Quote

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

This quote takes place the night after Pip goes to Miss Havisham's house. He was refering to this day and how he was forever changed. This day has altered him in several ways. First, he decided that he does not want to be Joe's apprentice. He wants to be a gentleman, so that he can impress Estella. He has also became embarrassed of his home. Pip describes it as grimy, plain, and doesn't want Estella to see him in this 'lowly' state. He ended his fantasies of the door being a 'magical portal', and other similar sayings that represent immaturity. Pip's character has been changed drastically starting from this day. He was young and foolish, and has dreamed of being Joe's apprentice. He was also having childlike fantasies, but this all started to end after this date. He was becoming a 'young man', and realized that he doesn't have to follow what others have planned for him, like being Joe's apprentice. He wants to be a gentleman, so that he can impress Estella.

One day that has forever changed my life was during the last week of 6th grade. Mr. Allison, my band teacher, asked me if I'd like to try an instrument called the bassoon. I said I would like to, even though I had no idea what that was. I took the instrument home over the summer, and in 7th grade Mr. Allison had me playing in the 8th grade band. Ever since that, I have loved playing, and have been able to go to All-States, be in paid orchestras, and play in solo competitions. This has affected my character because I can relate a lot of the parts of practicing my instrument to my life. Tricky notes and fingerings are just like problems you have to deal with, and you work them out untill they are perfect. Sometimes we practice the easy parts in life or music too often, and we need to work on what we can't do, so when the time comes to perform, you are completely ready.

p.s. I have a concert with the Capital Philharmonic Orchestra, and we will be performing several pieces such as the Star Wars Suite and The Planets. The concert is at the Evergreen Christian Church, and it starts at 6:30 (pm). Here is a link:

http://capitalphil.com/

Please come! It will be an awesome concert!

This is actually the graded part.

Topic sentence: Jack and Gwendolyn have a very cautious and formal relationship with each other, and Wilde is using this as an example of most Victorian Era relationships.

Transition/point #1:
an example of this.../formality, politeness
CD: "You're quite perfect, Miss Fairfax!" -Jack, p 38

CM1: very formal, talk using high diction
CM2: polite to each other, very complementary

Transition/point #2:
this shows how.../cautiousness, unsure about their love towards each other
CD: ""Do you really love me, Gwendolyn?" -Jack, p 39

CM1: slightly unsure about whether they really love each other

CM2: this makes them very cautious, at to not offend anyone

Transition/point #3:

Wilde's point by showing this is.../satire, demonstrative of all Victorian relationships

CD: "I mean we must be married at once; there is no time to be lost." -Jack, p 42

CM1: suddenly they become wanting to be married the moment they are sure of each others' love

CM2: Wilde uses satire and saying that all relationships were like that during the Victorian Era

Concluding sentence/Transition to next paragraph:

Jack's unknown brother, Algernon, is in a much different type of relationship with Jack's ward, and Wilde again uses satire in their relationship.

So there it is, and Josh, you can start off your paragraph based on my conclusion, or tell me what is wrong with it, and either of you can give suggestions. please!