Well this week is quite hard for my class, we are still on the second group, and not even half way done with their annotation yet. To be honest if Ms. Holmes has not stopped people in my class to ask questions and force each group to point out only a few things. We will still be on our first group. And there will be no way for us to finish the annotation by January 6th. Not much I can say, we didn't really do much this two week other than talk about Ceremony, and 5th hour is not anywhere near close to be starting to look at the multiple choice test practice.
Ceremony is a fairly interesting book, I liked it more than Death of a Salesman, partly because it is a novel instead of a play, and it is more straight forward compare to the other two literature we have worked on. I think Silko is an amazing writer in that she was able to fit so many ideas into a novel, and if we didn't do a close read and try o digest the novel it would have been easy for us to miss some minor details that Silko is trying to tell us.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Close Reading #5
When Thoughts Turn to Sex, or Not
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/fashion/sex-on-the-brain-studied.html?ref=health
This is a very interesting essay, lets focus on DIDLS in a little bit, right now I have to point out that "man" does not always think about sex. And we have scientific proof. Way too many times have I heard "you are so dirty" or "you are such a perv" in the hall way. And when these words are said, they come from girls, and the target is always a guy. Now I am not saying man don't think about sex at all. But not as often. And there is really no proof of saying that "man" think about sex, because according to this article, the rate of times man think about sex can differ from 1- 388 times a day. And that depends on the person too. And according to the article, woman think about sex quite often too.
Now lets get back to the close reading, Pamela Paul wrote this article as if she is one of the person being accused of thinking about sex too often. She used syntax in her article, she said “I’d really like to sleep with my boss’s new assistant” or “I wonder whether squirrels mate in the spring?” as if she was saying that herself. Expressing the sexual thought of a person. She then used diction to point out eating disorder and how that could be a factor to the sexual thought. She emphasize on how sexual thoughts are not created by just merely sexual desire, but other things could also be involved. When Paul wrote about the part where students uses clickers, it created an imagery for me, while I was reading I feel like I could see students struggle on whether to put the truth down or not, even though it wasn't a clear image but I feel like I was in the environment with those students. Paul also used numbers to emphasize on the detail of the analysis.
Not a lot more left to digest, I feel like this is a interesting article and I think everyone should read it, to see that no one is really "perverted", often times when a sentence was said, it wasn't suppose to sound sexual, but people can turn it into a sexual joke, and to be honest I feel like more girls does the transition then guys do.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/fashion/sex-on-the-brain-studied.html?ref=health
This is a very interesting essay, lets focus on DIDLS in a little bit, right now I have to point out that "man" does not always think about sex. And we have scientific proof. Way too many times have I heard "you are so dirty" or "you are such a perv" in the hall way. And when these words are said, they come from girls, and the target is always a guy. Now I am not saying man don't think about sex at all. But not as often. And there is really no proof of saying that "man" think about sex, because according to this article, the rate of times man think about sex can differ from 1- 388 times a day. And that depends on the person too. And according to the article, woman think about sex quite often too.
Now lets get back to the close reading, Pamela Paul wrote this article as if she is one of the person being accused of thinking about sex too often. She used syntax in her article, she said “I’d really like to sleep with my boss’s new assistant” or “I wonder whether squirrels mate in the spring?” as if she was saying that herself. Expressing the sexual thought of a person. She then used diction to point out eating disorder and how that could be a factor to the sexual thought. She emphasize on how sexual thoughts are not created by just merely sexual desire, but other things could also be involved. When Paul wrote about the part where students uses clickers, it created an imagery for me, while I was reading I feel like I could see students struggle on whether to put the truth down or not, even though it wasn't a clear image but I feel like I was in the environment with those students. Paul also used numbers to emphasize on the detail of the analysis.
Not a lot more left to digest, I feel like this is a interesting article and I think everyone should read it, to see that no one is really "perverted", often times when a sentence was said, it wasn't suppose to sound sexual, but people can turn it into a sexual joke, and to be honest I feel like more girls does the transition then guys do.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Responses to Course Material #4
This month a lot has happened, I like reading Death of a Salesman, even though Willy is a complete ass, but he had his reason, and in the end he still died for his sons. I respect that. The essay we had to write in class was a little extreme, I only got a 4 on it. It was really hard and I definitely need a lot more work on them, I hope by the time of AP exams we will all be hardcore essay writers.
The eras presentation was ok, the project itself is fine but prezi took my group two days to figure out how everything functions. Jino, Ken, Yash, and I had really big trouble working with prezi, especially when it randomly log us out like every twenty minuets.
The eras presentation was ok, the project itself is fine but prezi took my group two days to figure out how everything functions. Jino, Ken, Yash, and I had really big trouble working with prezi, especially when it randomly log us out like every twenty minuets.
Close Reading #4
A Phone App for Switching Out Your Light Bulbshttp://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/a-phone-app-for-switching-out-your-light-bulbs/?scp=7&sq=phone&st=cse
This passage isn't especially special in my opinion, although I like the diction use, there were a lot of them, and I like the fact Witkin used the reference "light bulb" in his story, it is the main reason why I kept on reading. Also Witkin's syntax grabbed me, "How many mobile-phone apps does it take to change a light bulb?" this "how many.... to change light bulb" phrase has been around for ever. It usually meant to be a joke, but Witkin worked his way around it. He started out by making the passage seem funny, but what he is trying to achieve is for readers to read about the new information that he is proposing. His information is dull, but his writing skill is old school, funny, and clever.
This passage isn't especially special in my opinion, although I like the diction use, there were a lot of them, and I like the fact Witkin used the reference "light bulb" in his story, it is the main reason why I kept on reading. Also Witkin's syntax grabbed me, "How many mobile-phone apps does it take to change a light bulb?" this "how many.... to change light bulb" phrase has been around for ever. It usually meant to be a joke, but Witkin worked his way around it. He started out by making the passage seem funny, but what he is trying to achieve is for readers to read about the new information that he is proposing. His information is dull, but his writing skill is old school, funny, and clever.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Open Prompt #5
1970 Also. Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.
In the story Lord of the Flies, Piggy is the most intelligent, rational boy in the group, and his glasses represent not just a guild for Piggy to be fit in the group, it represents the last connection between them and the old world and the intellectual endeavor in society. The significance of the glasses was laid out from the very beginning of the story, when Piggy used a word that no one else understood.
Piggy is described as the boy that is the least physically fit. Other than that Piggy is really fat and cannot exercise because of health issue, he is also the only kid on the island that has to wear glasses to be able to see. Part of the reason he gets so upset when other kids took away his glasses is that, without them, he can’t see anything. “Seeing” is Piggy’s greatest attribute; it is main reason the boys don’t ostracize him completely; it’s the one way he’s useful. Without his glasses, then, he is actually useless.
The boys find themselves at an utter loss for a way to start the fire. Jack mumbles something about rubbing two sticks together, but the fact is these kids just aren’t wild enough to do what is done by barbarians. They have to rely on some remaining relics of their old world. So, of course, the glasses breaking mean they are in danger of losing touch with the civilized world they’ve left behind. With one lens broken, they’ve got one foot over the line.
The glasses first symbolized intellectual and the superior knowledge of one individual over the society. Piggy is the single most intelligent child on the island. He understands science, and how to survive in the wilderness without any adults. While other kids are laughing at Piggy about asthma, Piggy is the only kid that knows the danger behind the scientific term and he would be careful to protect himself from being hurt.
Piggy is always the one person that is left out for everything, he is physically unfit in every way compare to all the other kids. But he carries the single most important object on the island. The glasses, the glasses that started out the fire, the glasses from the old world, and ultimately lead to the huge fire of the island that got them rescued from the wilderness.
Piggy is described as the boy that is the least physically fit. Other than that Piggy is really fat and cannot exercise because of health issue, he is also the only kid on the island that has to wear glasses to be able to see. Part of the reason he gets so upset when other kids took away his glasses is that, without them, he can’t see anything. “Seeing” is Piggy’s greatest attribute; it is main reason the boys don’t ostracize him completely; it’s the one way he’s useful. Without his glasses, then, he is actually useless.
The boys find themselves at an utter loss for a way to start the fire. Jack mumbles something about rubbing two sticks together, but the fact is these kids just aren’t wild enough to do what is done by barbarians. They have to rely on some remaining relics of their old world. So, of course, the glasses breaking mean they are in danger of losing touch with the civilized world they’ve left behind. With one lens broken, they’ve got one foot over the line.
The glasses first symbolized intellectual and the superior knowledge of one individual over the society. Piggy is the single most intelligent child on the island. He understands science, and how to survive in the wilderness without any adults. While other kids are laughing at Piggy about asthma, Piggy is the only kid that knows the danger behind the scientific term and he would be careful to protect himself from being hurt.
Piggy is always the one person that is left out for everything, he is physically unfit in every way compare to all the other kids. But he carries the single most important object on the island. The glasses, the glasses that started out the fire, the glasses from the old world, and ultimately lead to the huge fire of the island that got them rescued from the wilderness.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Open Prompt #4
1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
Deceitfulness and betrayal are the central conflict in Death of a Salesman. In the story we see that Biff and Willy are always fighting. Miller made it seem like Biff is the fault for everything. Although it is true, but Biff is the only one in the family that is not living under lies and he is the only one that knows the truth to his father’s betrayal.
The Lomans are almost all extremely self-deceptive, and in their respective delusions and blindness to reality, they fuel and feed off of one another. Willy, the main focus of the story, convinced himself that he is successful, well-liked by all, famous everywhere, and that both of his sons are destined for greatness. Unable to cope with reality, he entirely abandons it through his vivid fantasies and ultimately through suicide. Linda and Happy similarly believe that the Lomans are about to make it big. Not connected with the reality, and believe that Willy truly is famous. But the other members of the family, Biff, grows to recognize that he and his family members consistently deceive themselves, and he fights to escape the cycle of lying.
Biff went away from home for a few years. He wants to get away from Willy, and get away from these lies. He knows he is not good enough of a person or worker. And he knows he cannot be successful in the world of business. He wants to be himself and not the person in his father’s dream. Biff knows the lies his family is living under, he tries to convince everyone in the story, but he was accused for being lazy and not trying. While Biff is the only one that sees the reality, he was cast away from the rest of the family, causing conflicts to happen within the Lomans.
Death of a Salesman is full of betrayal. Willy betrays Linda’s love and Biff’s trust with his affair. As the chief betrayer himself, Willy is preoccupied by the fear of betrayal. His frequent accusations that Biff is spiteful reflect his understanding that Biff’s failure in business is a rejection of Willy’s own dreams of success, and that Biff’s inability to keep a job is related to Willy’s love affair. Even outside of his family, Willy feels that his boss is betraying him by firing him, but Howard says that there’s no room for feelings of betrayal in the business world.
No one else but Biff knows the story behind Willy’s betrayal. Biff was the only one at Boston when he caught Willy having an affair with a young woman. He immediately loses all of his respect toward his father. Unable to accept the truth, Biff left the family without saying a word to the rest of the family. After he came back, Biff said Willy was a fake but refuse to tell why, causing conflicts between Linda and himself. Willy feels everything that went wrong is a betrayal toward him. And Biff is the only one that knows the wholes story, he is also the only one that understand the Lomans are living under a lie, so Willy feels Biff is betraying him in everyway.
Deceitfulness and betrayal are the central conflict in Death of a Salesman. In the story we see that Biff and Willy are always fighting. Miller made it seem like Biff is the fault for everything. Although it is true, but Biff is the only one in the family that is not living under lies and he is the only one that knows the truth to his father’s betrayal.
The Lomans are almost all extremely self-deceptive, and in their respective delusions and blindness to reality, they fuel and feed off of one another. Willy, the main focus of the story, convinced himself that he is successful, well-liked by all, famous everywhere, and that both of his sons are destined for greatness. Unable to cope with reality, he entirely abandons it through his vivid fantasies and ultimately through suicide. Linda and Happy similarly believe that the Lomans are about to make it big. Not connected with the reality, and believe that Willy truly is famous. But the other members of the family, Biff, grows to recognize that he and his family members consistently deceive themselves, and he fights to escape the cycle of lying.
Biff went away from home for a few years. He wants to get away from Willy, and get away from these lies. He knows he is not good enough of a person or worker. And he knows he cannot be successful in the world of business. He wants to be himself and not the person in his father’s dream. Biff knows the lies his family is living under, he tries to convince everyone in the story, but he was accused for being lazy and not trying. While Biff is the only one that sees the reality, he was cast away from the rest of the family, causing conflicts to happen within the Lomans.
Death of a Salesman is full of betrayal. Willy betrays Linda’s love and Biff’s trust with his affair. As the chief betrayer himself, Willy is preoccupied by the fear of betrayal. His frequent accusations that Biff is spiteful reflect his understanding that Biff’s failure in business is a rejection of Willy’s own dreams of success, and that Biff’s inability to keep a job is related to Willy’s love affair. Even outside of his family, Willy feels that his boss is betraying him by firing him, but Howard says that there’s no room for feelings of betrayal in the business world.
No one else but Biff knows the story behind Willy’s betrayal. Biff was the only one at Boston when he caught Willy having an affair with a young woman. He immediately loses all of his respect toward his father. Unable to accept the truth, Biff left the family without saying a word to the rest of the family. After he came back, Biff said Willy was a fake but refuse to tell why, causing conflicts between Linda and himself. Willy feels everything that went wrong is a betrayal toward him. And Biff is the only one that knows the wholes story, he is also the only one that understand the Lomans are living under a lie, so Willy feels Biff is betraying him in everyway.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Close Reading #3
Facebook’s Impact on Student Grades
By REBECCA R. RUIZ
http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/fbook-grades/?scp=4&sq=facebook&st=cse
This article is pretty interesting because it relates to almost all high school student. I was surprised when I found this article, because I was surprised that someone finally care about grades enough to investigate. And I was even more surprised when I read the outcome. And now I can tell those parents who think "Facebook is the root of failing grades", you are only partially right.
According to Mr.Junco from Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania Facebook can actually make students participate in more extra curriculum activities. Students that use Facebook as a way to socialize with friends tend to have a higher grade. Yet students that don't socialize but still use Facebook a lot tend to have a lower grade.
Facebook is there for us to socialize with friends when we want and it is a way to contact people more efficiently as Ruiz tried to point out. More students participate in events outside of the school when they "shared links on Facebook or checked the site to see what friends were up to." But if students use Facebook as a way just to tell people how they feel each seconds, they tend to perform frightful academically.
Ruiz doesn't have a strong DIDLS involved in her article, but she does bring out the message of using Facebook as a way to communicate with peers and get in touch with multiple activities, even if it is school related. And don't use Facebook as a source for selfish use. Then Facebook will actually help students not just by being involved in the activities, but help in relation to school. And perform better at school. And if every student is able use Facebook efficiently then of course there won't be anymore parents screaming over your shoulder.
Responses to Course Material #3
I just have to say that I like annotating "The American Dream" It was helpful, and I am able to understand the poem better when the whole class is discussing. But I think when we discuss, we tend to over think, for instance. "You would rather sleep with me wouldn't you Daddy" this is a very simple sentence that means exactly as what is sounds like. But when discussing in detail my class had a twenty minute discussion on whether Grandma really meant it in a sexual way or not. Which I have to say is very unnecessary...
We didn't really do much these few weeks except reading and annotation "The American Dream". Oh and one last thing, on Friday fifth hour were reviewing the terms for the test. It didn't help me at all, I would really rather study the words slowly by myself, than having ten other people study with the speed of light. I don't remember stuff as fast as most people do.
We didn't really do much these few weeks except reading and annotation "The American Dream". Oh and one last thing, on Friday fifth hour were reviewing the terms for the test. It didn't help me at all, I would really rather study the words slowly by myself, than having ten other people study with the speed of light. I don't remember stuff as fast as most people do.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Open Prompt #3
1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.
When it comes to writing about contrasting places, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities shows the stunning history of the French Revolution which was right after the American Revolution. The “tale” of the two cities is quite different, in that London is portrayed as heaven where crimes are supposed to be justified yet Paris is hell where the French Revolution booms. Even though two completely different events go on in the two cities, the sense of injustice was shown by Dickens throughout the novel.
In A Tale of Two Cities the two cities, London and Paris, are contrast in the incidents that occurred. Britain just experienced the loss of America in the American Revolution. The war caused Britain to rest and fall back on extreme military use. When there is no war, there is no huge loss of money and troops. Citizens follow orders, and everyone is happy, but the court is not taking cases seriously, they judge by how ever people want things to be. There was no real law either, because everyone is so free of will. Meanwhile in France, aristocrats are getting nastier and demanding more from citizens. The class differences are getting so big and ridiculous that the aristocrat needs four people to make breakfast for them. Soon the French Revolution begins, killing numerous aristocrats and anyone that has power or money, France immediately turned into a blood shedding land. The blood shedding of aristocrats soon turned to the blood shedding of anyone who does not like the guillotine. The injustice that occurred in both cities creates either fear or carefree mood.
Dickens portrayed London as a heavenly place where everyone is nice to each other, no war, no battle, no real crime, no real law, no precise court, and no justice. Yet in Paris people are chopping off each other’s head. Paris started out as a revolutionary, an act to make the country better and bearable for everyone. The act then soon turned into random blood shedding, killing about forty thousand people. Dickens’ extreme contrast of the neighboring lands showed how London and Paris affect each other, either in violent way or justice.
In the end Dickens points out that the two countries are so different yet they are both injustice. In Paris thousands of people died without a real reason, and none of those that died had a chance of defending themselves before they were sent to the guillotine, and this happened every Saturday morning. While in London, those who committed crimes are not being punished enough, but those that didn’t do anything are being punished. The judge of the court are lacking on their job, judges listen to public desire and allows the desire to become reality. While the two cities might seem very different in that one is killing thousands of people and the other is so peaceful nothing happens. They are actually really similar in that there is no justice.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Close Reading #2
Sprint’s Shares Fall on News It Lacks Money for Upgrades
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/technology/sprints-shares-fall-on-news-it-lacks-money-for-upgrades.html?ref=technology
I thought Sprint was done for, nobody likes Sprint because their server sucks and they are more expensive. But I was shocked to see them still struggling to stand back up. In the passage it talks about how Sprint is buying iPhone 4S from Apple. But from my own perspective, unless Sprint can keep the selling of iPhone a lot lower than both AT&T and Verizon Wireless. There is no way anyone would buy it from Sprint. I simply feel sorry for Sprint; it had a good run, but was outrun by AT&T and Verizon.
Diction: The author of this article had a great diction use. The very first word I spot in this passage was “struggling”. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS could have used “strive”, it seems like a lot of articles use strive to show that something/ someone is still fighting on. But THE ASSOCIATED PRESS used “struggle”, as in everyone knew Sprint is as good as dead, but by signing a contract with Apple indicated that there is still the tiniest hope.
The rest of the dictions are just general ones that are used to draws readers into reading the article.
No imagery was found while reading this article. I don’t think we need an image of how bad Sprint is doing or how they are signing contract to try and save the company.
Not a whole lot of anything else can be found in this article. The main reason I chose to read this article is because I was shocked that Sprint is not dead yet. And upon reading the article, I don’t think Sprint has much fight left in them. They might be able to attract some costumers but they won’t get enough profit to pay for the amount of iPhone they bought while making profit of their own.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/technology/sprints-shares-fall-on-news-it-lacks-money-for-upgrades.html?ref=technology
I thought Sprint was done for, nobody likes Sprint because their server sucks and they are more expensive. But I was shocked to see them still struggling to stand back up. In the passage it talks about how Sprint is buying iPhone 4S from Apple. But from my own perspective, unless Sprint can keep the selling of iPhone a lot lower than both AT&T and Verizon Wireless. There is no way anyone would buy it from Sprint. I simply feel sorry for Sprint; it had a good run, but was outrun by AT&T and Verizon.
Diction: The author of this article had a great diction use. The very first word I spot in this passage was “struggling”. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS could have used “strive”, it seems like a lot of articles use strive to show that something/ someone is still fighting on. But THE ASSOCIATED PRESS used “struggle”, as in everyone knew Sprint is as good as dead, but by signing a contract with Apple indicated that there is still the tiniest hope.
The rest of the dictions are just general ones that are used to draws readers into reading the article.
No imagery was found while reading this article. I don’t think we need an image of how bad Sprint is doing or how they are signing contract to try and save the company.
Not a whole lot of anything else can be found in this article. The main reason I chose to read this article is because I was shocked that Sprint is not dead yet. And upon reading the article, I don’t think Sprint has much fight left in them. They might be able to attract some costumers but they won’t get enough profit to pay for the amount of iPhone they bought while making profit of their own.
Responses to Course Material #2
I learned a lot this past few weeks as to a more in-depth of syntax use, essay structure, and also I read a very interesting and childish play yet it has a structure that can create a very confusing mood to audience. For instance I thought that Grandma was suppose to be the dum-dum that doesn't know anything, because from the beginning of the play Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma herself kept on saying that "old people" is suppose to be "dumb", "annoying", "ignored". But in the end we find out that Grandma is on top of everything. She is the master mind of the entire story. Even though this play is very childish and sexual in ways, but I learned a lot of DIDLS from the play. In the play there Albee used DIDL to emphasize his characters. and used S to create a confuse readers. I learned how to use syntax, and how to find them in a text. It is very hard to figure them out. But with more practice, I think we can all manage to master Syntax, and master the magical use of DIDLS.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Open Prompt #2
1972. In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.
Almost every good novel or story starts out with a very catchy scene, a scene that is usually the setting of the whole story, scenes such as murder. Like Curtains, the Broadway musical written by Rupert Holmes. Jessica Cranshaw was mysteriously murdered at the beginning of the story. When Holmes wrote the story, he was careful not to show too much detail as to what had happened that caused the dramatic death. Yet viewers would immediately figure out this is a comedy-tragedy musical.
In the beginning of Curtains, Jessica, the lead singer, sings rather poorly. With each word pronounced wrong and very off key. Viewers knew that this is supposed to be a joke, and that something will happen to Jessica. At follow by the fall of the Curtain. Jessica died. At the point everyone knew that Jessica was supposed to die, but no one knows how or why. Holmes carefully wrote the murdering scene. He made sure that no viewers notice the oddness of two people going up the stage from two directions to present flowers. And the abstract of the colors of the flower, even if someone did notice, no one would suspect that one of those flowers is the weapon that caused Jessica’s death.
In the second half of the first scene, viewers learn that no one likes Jessica, and everyone hoped she either leave or die. So at that point everyone was considered suspect. Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, local Boston detective, showed up and locked up everyone from the show in the theater. Immediately viewers would see that Cioffi is now in charge of the scene. Everyone is under his control. Viewers might not know what would happen next, but comprehend that the rest of the musical would occur inside the theater. At this point viewers would understand that there is a killer on the loose, a detective trying to catch the killer, and everyone inside the theater is a suspect.
A lot of writers would show a dim detail of the plot which provides the basic background of the story at the first scene. This writing style prevents readers/ viewers from knowing too much about the detail of the story, yet understand what is going on and would guess around for answers. It creates a mood for the audience causing them to predict what would happen later on in the story. Holmes’ Curtains is one of the stories that provides enough information for audience to predict but not enough for audience to know the detail.
Almost every good novel or story starts out with a very catchy scene, a scene that is usually the setting of the whole story, scenes such as murder. Like Curtains, the Broadway musical written by Rupert Holmes. Jessica Cranshaw was mysteriously murdered at the beginning of the story. When Holmes wrote the story, he was careful not to show too much detail as to what had happened that caused the dramatic death. Yet viewers would immediately figure out this is a comedy-tragedy musical.
In the beginning of Curtains, Jessica, the lead singer, sings rather poorly. With each word pronounced wrong and very off key. Viewers knew that this is supposed to be a joke, and that something will happen to Jessica. At follow by the fall of the Curtain. Jessica died. At the point everyone knew that Jessica was supposed to die, but no one knows how or why. Holmes carefully wrote the murdering scene. He made sure that no viewers notice the oddness of two people going up the stage from two directions to present flowers. And the abstract of the colors of the flower, even if someone did notice, no one would suspect that one of those flowers is the weapon that caused Jessica’s death.
In the second half of the first scene, viewers learn that no one likes Jessica, and everyone hoped she either leave or die. So at that point everyone was considered suspect. Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, local Boston detective, showed up and locked up everyone from the show in the theater. Immediately viewers would see that Cioffi is now in charge of the scene. Everyone is under his control. Viewers might not know what would happen next, but comprehend that the rest of the musical would occur inside the theater. At this point viewers would understand that there is a killer on the loose, a detective trying to catch the killer, and everyone inside the theater is a suspect.
A lot of writers would show a dim detail of the plot which provides the basic background of the story at the first scene. This writing style prevents readers/ viewers from knowing too much about the detail of the story, yet understand what is going on and would guess around for answers. It creates a mood for the audience causing them to predict what would happen later on in the story. Holmes’ Curtains is one of the stories that provides enough information for audience to predict but not enough for audience to know the detail.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Responses to Course Material #1
For the first week of learning about DIDLS, I learned more about how to find the diction, imagery, detail, and language of a text. With all the practice we did at class, it really helped me to develop the skill. And I was about to find the "DIDL" of "DIDLS" more in depth, not just the brief meaning anymore. I was able to explain what I find and put them to use in the first few essays we did. Even though those essay are very poorly written, but I have put in what I learned to use. Although what we learned in class was helpful. But I have not master how to find the syntax, I would have to work on that a lot more.
Analyzing poems and literature are much easier now after the many worksheets we done in class. Diction can be found anywhere, almost every word can be counted as diction. Of course it has to be words that have a meaning. But even words like "life" can mean more than just its basic meaning.
I thought for a long time that imagery are just a text that makes you think of something, but what I learned in the class is that imagery will create a image. Text like "this cookie is hard like diamond, and rough like sand paper". Thing that create a image in your head is a imagery.
Detail was easy to find. At least that's what I thought until I was trying to find detail in the text in class. It took me a really long time to figure out what the little detail was. And it is easy to find the detail of a big text. but reading sentence by sentence finding the detail is really hard.
Language was not that hard to learn. We have been learning figurative language since 8th grade. It was just a matter of putting them into writing. But I think with more practice in the class, I can do a even better job at putting figurative language to use.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Open Prompt #1
2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good — are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
Ambiguous characters are often the key to the entire story. Without them the main character cannot succeed in their quest. Ambiguous characters are neither entirely good or bad so without them there won’t be such an entertaining conflict between good and evil. All Harry Potter fans would tell you that Snape is an ambiguous character, J.K. Rowling uses diction to show that Snape often seems evil but does all the good things that helps Harry to succeed.
Like in the first book, during the Quidditch game with Slytherin, everyone thought it was Snape that was making Harry’s nimbus 2000 go crazy. And everyone though that Snape was the one that wanted the Sorcerer’s Stone. But in the end we find out that Snape was the good character that was saving Harry Potter, and trying to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone.
J.K. Rowling was careful with her diction, causing Snape to “seem like the type” that would do evil things. And therefore no one expected to see that Quirrell was actually the one that wanted to get Harry killed. The way Rowling characterize her characters made no one to “suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell.”
Ambiguous characters are very important. They make the story more interesting by confusing the readers. Making readers to think one way at the beginning but conclude in another way. In J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series Snape always seem like he is the evil character. But in the very last book we found out that Snape has been helping Harry Potter all along.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Close Reading #1
9/11 Recalled — Kabul
By SHARIFULLAH SAHAKhttp://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/911-recalled-kabul/?scp=1&sq=911&st=cse In this passage, I feel a strong sense, that Sharifullah wants "peace and prosperity" for the citizens of Afghanistan. The love toward her country, the liking toward the "new and democratic" government, and the hate towards all the "killings and bloodshed" was attributed by the author. As an outside viewer and someone that was not within the country when 9/11 happened. I felt a strong motive from the author, a thirst for wanting to know more in depth with the tragedy. Wanting to understand more of what had happened that could have made Afghanistan a democratic country. And how the incidence "changed" her life, and gave the refugee "hope and wishes", creating a "comfortable" feeling for them. Things I have noticed. Diction: The author used "weapons" as to explain that back then before the 9/11 Afghanistan uses firearms to solve everything. Not so much a "democratic" government. The hoping and wishing to live a "normal" life. There could be many interpretation of the word "normal". But right here, the author mean to say, a life where they can get electricity, water, money for food, and mostly no killing. The author said "Where you have peace you have human life". "Peace" is such a beautiful word that sounds like everything is in harmony. But really the author said where "peace" is, is where you have "life". The kind of life that most people want. Especially when wars are surrounding us.Language: She said "bad", as in horrible, awful, condition not fit for human being. She saw senior governors working in hotels and clean stuff. Sharifullah Sahak is a very talented journalist who lives in Afghanistan. She really pulled me into the passage. I have a very brief knowledge on what happened after the 9/11 attack. The attack itself was pretty well known though. Hearing stories from American is intriguing, but it doesn't bring the perceive of reality. Her Diction and Language use can really grab readers and making readers want to know more of what is going on.
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