Bye Bye, Adrienne's Super Amazing Honors English Blog.

Looking back at all of my blogs from this year has actually been strange. Despite feeling as though summer is weeks and weeks away and that this school year has hardly begun, some of the assignments that reading this blog has forced me to remember feel like they happened years ago. Quite frankly reminiscing about projects happening that were mentioned throughout the blog was much more amusing than reading the actual blogs themselves. Some were thoughtful, insightful, and reasonably well written (more so toward the beginning of the year when this project was introduced when it was new and exciting). Others, however, made me recall writing them and what I was thinking during said writing process. And generally, I was writing them just to get it over with. More than just a few aren't just lacking depth or substance. They're lacking existence. It appears that my mind has slipped many a time on finishing my blog, regardless of it being one of the easiest things about this class. Pretty much all that is required is for them to be uploaded and to consist of more than mindless, off topic jabbering.

But did this stop me for pushing it to the back of my mind and ignoring them? Oh no it did not.

However, the ones that are written with more in mind than just getting it done are quite good. Although, as mentioned in my very first blog, I do still feel like my writing comes across as arrogant at times. But on the opposite side of the lovely writing spectrum, some of my posts sound more nonchalant and playful (using phrases like "those lovely gentlement" in reference to Jack and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest). My posts also sounded less and less like up tight, purely academic pieces and a literary voice began to peek through.

I must admit, having this year long project was far from my favorite assignment. I actually hated it a lot of the time. But I think it was a great thing to force us to do. The suffering was worth it. It really helped develop a personal style in my work. And you are going to have to do things you don't want to do in life, and lord knows I did NOT want to do this. But I'm better off because of it. If nothing else it was great practice getting out my ideas on topics. And it helped me realize something about myself as a writer: when I'm good, I am excellent. But when I'm bad or not enjoying what I'm doing, that comes across.

The posts relating to The Importance of Being Earnest are some of my favorites. It was my far my favorite thing to read this year, so those blogs were the best just because I liked writing them. I had clever diction, well formed sentences, and all my ideas flowed in a way that made perfect sense. On the other hands blogs regarding Great Expectations were shorter and less fun to read. Because I hated that book. With a passion. With the white hot intensity of a thousand suns (which many, I'm sure, would second).

Although it does not relate directly to what I've said in this particular post, the quote: "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed," (Ernest Hemingway) is the quote I've chosen. Some of my better blogs were written with little thought put into them, I just wrote what I was thinking. And they were good because I liked what I was doing at the times. The ones that I didn't want to do but knew I had to had no heart put into it. It was me, robotically typing for a letter grade. Writing well is all about loving what you're writing. And rereading my entries has completely embossed that into my brain.

Even though this wasn't my favorite thing to be doing with myself at times, this project reminded me why I love writing so much. When I'm really into what I'm doing, I do it better than you can imagine. I'm a little sad this year is almost over. I really loved this class. I loved the writing. And I give it a hard time, but I'm gonna kinda miss this blog.

My Poetry Experience

Poetry is something that, it seems, most people hate. Whenever a teacher mentions the words "poetry unit", there is more often than not a collective groan of irritation and disappointment from the entire classroom. I, however, love poetry. Writing it, analyzing it, or even just reading it has always been something that I've loved doing. Anything from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss tends to entertain and amuse me.

Edgar Allan Poe has probably had the largest influence over me. The excerpt from The Raven titled "Lenore" was one of my favorite things to read when I was around 6 or 7, as strange as that is. As I got older, I began to read more and more of his work. His poem,"Annabel Lee" really made me want to start writing my own poetry. I still have notebooks upon notebooks filled with old poetry that I'd written, almost all of which had a morbid or somber tone very similar to his. Most of it, I have to admit, is a terrible expression of teenage angst and has nothing to do with legitimate problems like Poe's work. But it did help me discover that writing is by far my favorite outlet for emotion.

My attitude toward poetry as of late has changed quite a bit. I've branched out form my narrow genre of depressing, painfully emotional poetry to almost anything I can read (even though "Alone", which as you can probably guess from that title is incredibly depressing, is my favorite poem). The poetry I write has also transitioned from a horrible attempt at being deep to being much more calm and not necessarily all that emotional. And even though most of my classmate hate the idea of doing a poetry unit in class, it is by far my favorite part of the year every year.

Conflict in Romeo & Juliet

One of the primary conflicts in Romeo & Juliet is one that both of the protagonists face: choosing love over family. Romeo, being a Montague, and Juliet, being a Capulet, are forever sworn to be mortal enemies. But because they are so in love, all loyalty to their families in their ongoing feud disappears. At first, their struggle was finding a way to marry in secret (which ends successfully, thanks to Friar Lawrence), but in a single act of passionate anger, Romeo kills Juliet's cousin, Tybalt after he slaughters his best friend, Mercutio. Because of his moment of fury, he is banished from Verona... and pulled away from Juliet. Now, more so than ever, Juliet has to decide who she is loyal to. Her own family, or her one true love and husband? Her instinct, it seems, is to justify Tybalt's murder by telling herself that he surely would have killed Romeo if he had not been slain. It really shows the strong bond they have when she sides with her husband of one day over the family that she has been devoted to her entire life.

Although the murderous family rivalry, dueling in the streets, and banishment are not the most relatable events, the core ideas are things that most people could identify with. Wanting to be with someone that either your family or friends don't approve of and having to choose between them and what everyone around you is saying is something a lot of people could relate to. Or even just wanting or doing anything at all that the people you're surrounded by don't agree with is something virtually everyone has experienced. And most people can probably see where Romeo and Juliet are coming from with picking each other over their unreasonable families. Most people would probably do what they want to do instead of doing what their loved ones say they should do (within reason). I think that Romeo & Juliet is a very easy story to identify with if you look at it for it's central meaning and look past the outlandish fights and dramatic actions.

Connecting with Romeo & Juliet

I personally, while reading Romeo & Juliet, connect with Romeo the most. He takes things that to most people seem like no big deal, and manages to blow them way out of proportion. I'm not nearly as dramatic about it as he is, but I do have a habit of making things seem worse than they are. Like when Benvolio goes to speak with him and finds out that he is upset about Rosaline not loving him. Romeo seems to be under the impression that his life no longer has meaning without his current one true love, when in reality, he's going to get over it and move on with his life.

Reading the play on my own hasn't been too difficult. I love reading Shakespeare and it mostly makes sense to me. I really enjoy reading his work because it's so poetic and fluid. And it also helps having it read aloud in class, because I feel like it's easier to understand when you're hearing it and not just reading it. It also makes a big difference that before we started reading, I watched the play with my step dad who explained a lot of it for me (he has taken many classes on Shakespeare's writing and has a very strong understanding of it). I think that it's safe to say that Romeo & Juliet has been my favorite reading assignment so far this year.

Wrapping Up Great Expectations

After reading Great Expectations, there are many themes that could be taken out of it. Which theme is the most important is completely a matter of opinion. Personally, I think the most important theme is this: appreciate what you have because you won't realize how great it is until it's gone. This is an idea I think that virtually anyone can relate to. Almost everyone has had an experience where they had something great, but they didn't know how special it was because they were too busy longing for something else. And by the time they'd noticed how amazing it was, it was too late and it was gone (like Pip, wishing so desperately to be a gentleman that he didn't see just how great his life with Joe was until all his ties to home were broken). I think that I identified with this theme very strongly because this is a lovely little life lesson that I seem to keep having to revisit. While I was reading, I can't say that it really jumped out at me immediately. But once I began to think about it, and tired to find something meaningful in this story that I could relate to. This by far overpowered themes like keeping those you love close to you, or monetary wealth is no substitute for happiness because those seem like obvious, regular life no brainers. But appreciating what you've got while you've got it is something people genuinely struggle with, and can be a very hard learned lesson. So I think readers, if they are going to take anything away from Dickens' novel, should take Pip's struggle with this idea to heart and learn to love what they have and not spend time pining over what they can't and/or don't have.

Thoughts on Reading

To be honest, I did not enjoy Great Expectations. I wasn't particularly compelled to read to book to solve the mysteries. I didn't care all that much. Dickens' style of writing was much too drawn out and wordy for my taste. And part of why I didn't like it all that much is that I felt no sympathy or connection with Pip, and I think it's important to have that with the main character of a novel. I thought that he was just shallow and overly obsessed with silly things (like Estella; she was terrible to him and he let her basically control his life after meeting her once). Little of the reading actually stuck because it was just so dull. After I did my reading, I had to check Sparknotes almost immediately after just to remember what happened. That website was a life saver; without it, I probably would have had to reread all of the chapters at least twice.

Because I was so tired of Dickens' novel, reading and annotating was difficult. I tried to read every night, but that usually consisted of me glossing over the chapters after reading the first few paragraphs. I had to do a lot of catch-up reading on weekends, too.During the week, I'd be so busy with other homework, I would completely forget about reading the next few chapters. I woke up around 5:00 on a few occasions to finish the reading (which was not fun at all, especially considering my lack of coffee). I can't say that Great Expectations had compelled me to read any more Dickens stories. My family had warned me that it was slow and dull, but I had no idea it would be this bad. Maybe this is only my opinion because I'm too young to appreciate sophisticated writing... but I can't see myself voluntarily rereading this book or any of his others in my lifetime.

Pip's Quote (Repost)

 *The first time I posted this, it didn't show up on my blog, so here's the retyped, reposted version :)

"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."

With this quote, Pip is saying that one decision can alter a life completely. One good or bad choice will lead to an entire string of events that only happen because of the influence of that first decision. For the first nine chapters, Pip is content with his life (if you ignore his sister's screaming, being force-fed tar water, and being attacked with "Tickler"). All he wants is to grow up and live an honest life as a blacksmith like his father-figure and friend, Joe. He's proud to be taken care of by Joe, who he sees as being incredibly wise and trust worthy and a good person to look up to. That is, until his entire perspective on his situation is warped. After meeting Estella and Miss Havisham, Pip becomes humiliated because of his home life. All because one little girl ridicules him to the point where he feels an immense sense of shame toward everyone he once cared for; for a future he was proud to have in store for him. Although Pip is maturing and beginning to see that the world is harsh and not everything turns out the way you picture it as a child, he also loses his endearing qualities. He becomes shallow and values people for their social class, not their characteristics. Slowly, the sweet, easy to relate to boy morphs into a superficial adolescent with no ambition that doesn't involve being a rich and sophisticated.

A day that stands out to me as altering my life happened semi recently. At the end of seventh grade to half way through this past summer, I was completely dominated by what other people were doing. I was constantly concerned with having people I barely knew like me, and I followed around some of my new... friends like an adoring puppy to ensure that people liked me. This lead to me distancing myself from my close, genuine friends. It wasn't until two of my best friends (and by best friends I mean people that I'd only know for 9 or 10 months) abandoned me for no obvious reason and my old friends stepped in immediately to pick up the pieces that I realized I needed to stop. I had to stop being obsessed with having a clique of people (I hardly knew that weren't even all the nice) accept me into their inner circle. Sure, at the time everything seemed like rainbows and unicorns, but in retrospect that bad outweighed the good. When it was good, it was great but when it was bad, it was so bad that I would dwell for months on what happened. The lows of the up and down roller coaster that my life turned into were miserable, which hardly made up for the good times. I realized this while I was in tears because of everything that was going on (I'll spare the details). One of my friends who I hadn't spoken to in weeks because of what happened put aside my behavior and comforted me. Knowing that I had people who cared that much about me, whether or not I did something to aggravate them, made me hate what I was turning into. So I started trying to get close to people who I legitimately related to and whose company I enjoyed. I especially made sure that these were people who were kind to me all the time, not just when other people weren't around. And I realized that I was happier this way. And after a year of being constantly surrounded by petty, dramatic problems that got completely blown out of proportion, staying true to myself (pardon my blatant cliche) has made me a lot happier.

Making Connections

The books Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee held some surprising similarities once the thought of them being related crossed my mind. Although Great Expectations has a much longer time span than To Kill a Mockingbird, both books have a similar theme of growing up and losing childhood innocence.

When Pip is a young child, despite living with a mildly abusive older sister, is a generally happy child who can't wait to grow older and work with his guardian and best friend Joe as a blacksmith. Scout also begins the novel as a carefree little tomboy who just wants to play games and whose biggest concern is her neighbor, Boo Radley. But throughout the novels, both Pip and Scout mature and go through experiences that change their attitudes toward life.

Upon meeting the harsh, but entrancingly beautiful Estella and the withered, bitter Miss Havisham, Pip forgets his dream of becoming a common blacksmith and instead becomes quite interested in the life of a gentleman. As he slowly gets older, he altogether abandons his home and loved ones to move to the dirty and disappointingly dark city of London. Scout witnesses the case, trial, and conviction of a local man, Tom Robinson, and her happy-go-lucky view on life gets increasingly darker as she sees how harsh the world can be. She even goes through a feeling of severe disappointment like Pip does when she sees Tom Robinson being convicted when he's obviously innocent.

So both of the novels protagonists go through a similar experience... seeing a once cheerful and promising world for what it is: a place that can be very cruel, dark, and disappointing.

*My computer won't allow me to post images along with my blogs :(

Second Stage, Becoming a Gentleman

In the second stage of Great Expectations, Pip's life takes a new course when he arrives in London to pursue his new found dream of rising from his place as a blacksmith's apprentice and becoming a gentleman. Although, sadly, his hopes of entering into a high class city of aristocrats who will help mold him into what he hopes to become, he finds a dark, dirty, and mildly depressing city that I doubt is what he was hoping to see. Upon his arrival, he narrates, "While I was scared by the immensity of London, I think I might have had some faint doubts whether it was not rather ugly, crooked, narrow, and dirty." (161). Apparently, Dickens' opinion on that particular city and it's aristocratic reputation was less than high. The reader can infer that he felt living as one of  the "upper class" wasn't all it was cracked up to be... that it was instead rather gloomy.

Pip has high hopes for his new life in London, thanks to a mysterious benefactor who is willing to sponsor his ambition. After being around people such as Miss Havisham and Estella, how could one be happy living the life of a rough blacksmith? Becoming a gentleman is a common theme throughout this novel.But now that the opportunity is being presented to him, it seems like his dreams of living a pampered, proper life are becoming less and less of a reality. His new surroundings (such as the dank, filthy Bernard's Inn he's living in) and the new people that are surrounding him (i.e. the menacing, impolite, cruel Mr. Jaggers) give the reader a clear idea of what becoming a gentleman (at least in Dicken's mind) really entailed: a joyless, cruel, and unfulfilling life of living in a twisted, ominous city.

Great Expectations Question

When Pip comes home in chapter two, and Mrs. Joe is about to come in, Joe says, "She's a-coming! Get behind the door, old chap, and have the jack-towel betwixt you."
I have two questions: one, what is a jack-towel? And what does 'betwixt' mean (because it is used a few more times over the course of the novel so far)?

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay Collaberation

Body Paragraph:

Lady Bracknell cares for nothing more than her image as an aristocrat. While interrogating Jack to decide if he is good enough for her only daughter, she asked where he lives. In response to his answer, she says, “The unfashionable side. I thought there was something,” (Act I). She had seemed perfectly pleased with all of his answers until something that could affect his social status is mentioned. She is so concerned with keeping her family’s image intact, she is willing to risk her own daughter’s happiness. Not only does she look down on Jack for being on the “unfashionable side,” but also because his family origins are a mystery to him. After meeting Cecily, she asks Jack, “…is Miss Cardew connected with any of the larger railway stations in London? I merely desire information. Until yesterday I had no idea that there were any families or persons whose origin was a Terminus,” (Act III). Lady Bracknell feels the need to mock his less-than-certainty about his family’s history to makes a point about their difference in class because she is positive that her family has a high class history. In her mind, because Jack could have come from a very poor family as easily as a wealthy one, he is not worth her daughter’s time. Lady Bracknell yet again displays her prominent lack of respect for anyone who isn’t rich when she is speaking to Jack about Cecily. She is unsure whether or not she is good enough for her nephew, Algernon, until Jack tells her that Cecily has 130,000 pounds in funds to which she says, “A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her,” (Act III). Cecily’s fortune makes her nearly a millionaire by today’s standards, which forces Lady Bracknell to bite her tongue and keep back her insults. She wouldn’t dare risk keeping Algernon from marrying into that amount of money. It shows just how much money means to her… and apparently it means everything. In her mind, who needs family, love, and happiness when you can have secure funds and power?

I didn't make many changes to my body paragraph, but I think I repeat a lot of words. Could you tell me if anything is too repetitive?

TIOBE- Dishonesty

One of the most prominent central themes of The Importance of Being Earnest is dishonesty. Which is ironic seeing as the title is The Importance of Being Earnest, a characteristic meaning you're sincere, stern, serious, and truthful. Ernest (Jack or Algernon, take your pick) is a person based completely on lies who is created by those two lovely gentlemen for one reason alone: the pursuit of pleasure... this again is an example of Wilde's use of irony because one who is earnest is serious and well mannered. Aside from his clever play on words and Jack and Algy's bunburying (which one can only assume will eventually lead to a complicated web of lies that can only be upheld for so long), Wilde utilizes this play to project his feelings on Victorian social institutions. He portrays the upper class (such as Lady Bracknell) to be self absorbed with little concern for anyone of lower class, and whose only goal in life is to remain as high standing as possible (ex. Lady Bracknell refuses to let her daughter, Gwendolen, marry someone whose background is not necessarily with a long line of upper class people). He also has lines throughout the play implying that once one is married, they lose all of life's pleasure. All of these ideas are shown through his quick-witted, somewhat dry (but still quite amusing) sense of humor.

What Wilde is saying about lies can be taken in many directions. Although lying is generally frowned upon, it can be a way to keep situations under control and keep yourself from living a life you don't wish to lead. Take Jack for  example: he is expected to be responsible for the sake of his young ward, Cecily. But one cannot be expected to be utterly stern and mature all day every day, so Ernest gives him an outlet to be irresponsible without effecting his friend's and family's impression on him as well as staying a good example for Cecily. But his lying has a major downside. He has made himself a lovely little alias that is now in love with Gwendolen. Because this is an alias and not his actual self, he now is constantly lying to someone he loves, he cannot marry her when everyone else is under the impression that he is Jack Worthing, not Ernest, and now his friend Algernon is taking this as a way to get to his ward that he is trying so hard to protect. So really whether the good out-weighs the bad is subjective... I suppose we'll all have to see how the story turns out.

Animal Farm