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Sunday, May 22, 2011

25 Random Facts About Me

1.      I am the middle of five children.
2.      My younger brother was born on my fourth birthday.
3.      I love chocolate chip cookies!
4.      My favorite colors are pink, green, and blue.
5.      I am a cheerleader and play badminton at John Carroll.
6.      I used to play soccer, basketball, softball, lacrosse, field hockey, indoor soccer, dance, and gymnastics.
7.      I have a goldfish named Brian, who is three years old.
8.      I have a dog named Rudie, who is always mistaken as a male dog.
9.      I moved to Maryland going into fourth grade and used to live in Pennsylvania.
10.  I was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
11.  Both of my parents are lieutenant colonels in the U.S. Army.
12.  I used to have an au pair each year when I was in first through seventh grade.
13.  I like to laugh, even when something isn’t funny. (I even laughed when I wrote that.)
14.  I altar serve at St. Margaret Church.
15.  I had braces from fifth to seventh grade.
16.  Math is my favorite subject. 
17. When I moved into my Maryland house, the whole thing was painted pink.
18.  I was not held back in school, even though I am old for my grade.
19.  I like to make and watch movies.
20.  I am a flyer in cheerleading.
21.  I like to buy things.
22.  I am Catholic and I love God.
23.  I sprained my wrist when I was in fifth grade by falling off a scooter going downhill.
24.  I am pretty clumsy and trip a lot.
25.  I am shy around strangers, but I am pretty hilarious once you get to know me.




Me holding 3rd place trophy from the Reach the Beach Cheerleading Competition

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Field Trip to DC

       I thought that the field trip to Washington, D.C. was a lot of fun. We went to the Folger Theater, ate lunch, and took a lot of pictures. Bill's Buddies made Shakespeare's plays very understandable. The next time that I read Shakespearian plays, I will act it out and look for clues on what the actor is trying to say. Bill's Buddies gave us clear examples of what Shakespeare meant to say that some people did not understand. My favorite part was when they brought a group of the audience to each have a "fake death" scene. Another good part was when they interpreted the climax of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was easy to understand for us because we already read that play. Overall, the trip was a lot of fun, and I advise that the Honors English next year should go, too.

Grace, Katie, and me

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Caesar Vs. Brutus Heroic Traits and Tragic Flaws

Julius Caesar


Heroic Traits: 


•        Cried for the poor 
•        Cared for and helped the people of Rome
•        Took care of Rome
•        Brave

Tragic Flaws:

  • too ambitious for his own good
  • had too much ego
  • didn't respect his wife, her advice, or the soothsayer
  • oblivious to the conspiracy
  • too powerful


Marcus Brutus

Heroic Traits:

•        Only killed Caesar because he wanted the best for the people of Rome
•        Deep and sincere
•        Stoic of all emotions
•        Idealistic 

Tragic Flaws:

  • too trusting
  • believed the motives of others
  • put his public life above his personal life
  • naive
  • felt guilty



Julius Caesar
http://www.wikipediaondvd.com/nav/art/m/a.html
Marcus Brutus
http://aizuddinhumanitiespink.blogspot.com/2010/03/julius-caesar-essay.html

Saturday, April 30, 2011

My Review

me, the reviewer
         Their Eyes Were Watching God was a remarkable book. I would give it a ten out of ten if I were to rate it. I would also recommend this book to teenagers that enjoy romances as Janie searches for her horizon. When we first started reading the book, I thought it was going to be boring and hard to read, but I started to understand it better. Hurston’s critics were definitely too harsh on her because her book was amazing! She used symbols and imagery throughout the novel to add to the detail. Hurston is definitely creative and a great writer. Janie was a very strong character that learned life lessons through her own experiences as a person. People judged her a lot, but she still kept a smile on her face. There were a lot of significant life messages sent in this book. 

Imagery in Their Eyes Were Watching God

            Imagery is “figurative or descriptive language in a literary work” (dictionary.reference.com). It is sensory writing and used in many pieces of literature. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston enhances her writing by using evocative words to make the readers use their senses to create mental images in their brains.


Chapter 1
1. “the great rope of black hair swinging to her waist and unraveling in the wind like a plume,” Description of Janie’s hair, which is a big symbol in the novel. Page 2
2. “time makes everything old so the kissing, young darkness became a montropolous old thing while Janie talked.” Time loomed on as Janie told her story to Phoeby. Page 7

Chapter 2
1. “She had glossy leave and bursting buds and she wanted to struggle with life but it seemed to elude her.” This compares Janie to the blooming pear tree and how it is blooming as she is growing up and becoming a woman. Page 11
2. “Mind- pictures brought feelings, and feelings dragged out dramas from the hollows of her heart.” Nanny is trying to raise Janie while remembering the past things from her life, and trying to do better this time. Page 16

Chapter 3
1. “The new moon had been up and down three times before she got worried in mind.” It had been a long time before Janie started to worry that she wasn’t falling in love with Logan as she hoped she would with time. Page 22
2. “She knew the world was a stallion rolling in the blue pasture of ether.” Life is fast changing and constantly moving. Page 25

Chapter 4
1.”He did not represent sun-up and pollen and blooming trees, but he spoke for far horizon.” Joe Starks was a man that lived on his own limits and made his own rules. Page 29
2. “They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.” This is symbolizing the start of a new day, and Janie has a new start for happiness. Page 33

Chapter 5
1. “She must look on herself as the bell-cow, the other women were the gang.” Janie had to work at the store like she was of higher class than anybody else. She was different from the other women because she was Joe’s wife. Page 41
2. “Speakin’ of winds, he’s de wind and we’se de grass. We bend whichever way he blows.” Joe controls the people in his town to get what he wants. He takes advantage of people. Page 49

Chapter 6
1.”Every morning the world flung itself over and exposed the town to the sun.” The townspeople were busy during the day. Page 51
2. “That was the rock she was battered against.” Joe allowed Janie to waste her time arguing over dilemmas in the store. That was one of her few privileges. Page 54

Chapter 7
1. “The years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul.” Janie became stoic and stopped talking to Joe. She stopped trying to fight him and gave him the silent treatment. Page 76
2. “For the first time she could see a man’s head naked of its skull. Saw the cunning thoughts race in and out through the caves and promontories of his mind long before they darted out of the tunnel of his mouth.” Janie easily predicted what Joe would say or do before he did anything. Page77

Chapter 8
1. “But the stillness was the sleep of swords.” Although it looked quiet and peaceful from a stranger’s view, Janie and Jody’s relationship was chaotic. When they didn’t talk to each other, it meant that they were furious with each other. Page 81
2. “The icy sword of the square-toed one had cut off his breath and left his hands in a pose of agonizing protest.” Death caught Joe off-guard while he was arguing with Janie. Page 87

Chapter 9
1. “She had been getting ready for her great journey to the horizons in search of people; it was important to all the world that she should find them and they find her. But she had been whipped like a cur dog, and run off down a back road after things.” Janie was on her way to her horizon, but Nanny had taken it away from her by making her live the way Nanny wanted her to. It threw her off-track. Page 89
2. “Like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine.” Janie tried to live the way she wanted. Page 90

Chapter 10
1. “Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day.” The moon lit up the night and put out the need for daytime. Page 99

Chapter 11
1. “You got de keys to de kingdom.” Janie had everything she needed to win the keys to Tea Cake’s heart. Page 109
2.”He did not return that night nor the next and so she plunged into the abyss and descended to the ninth darkness where light has never been.” Janie hadn’t seen Tea Cake for a while, so she began to worry and became fearful of all of the circumstances that she created in her head. Page 108

Chapter 12
1. “Ah jus lak uh chicken. Chicken drink water, but he don’t pee-pee.” Phoeby tells Janie that she can be told something and not spread it around to everyone. She can keep secrets. Page 114
2. “So Ah got up on de high stool lak she told me, but Phoeby, Ah done nearly languished tuh death up dere.” When Janie did what Nanny wanted her to do, she suffered and felt like she didn’t belong. Page 114

Chapter 13
1. “He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place.” Janie fell in love with Tea Cake and finally felt like she belonged with someone. Page 128
2. “But, don’t care how firm your determination is, you can’t keep turning round in one place like a horse grinding sugar cane.” Everywhere Janie looked, she could not find the money. She kept looking in the same places hopelessly. Page 118

Chapter 14
1. “Work all day for money, fight all night for love.” During the day, the people would work, and during nighttime, people would live their lives. Page 131
2. “It’s hard trying to follow your shoe instead of your shoe following you.” It is harder to be struggling while looking for the best way to get money than to have money come to you easily. Page 131

Chapter 15
1.”A little seed of fear was growing into a tree.” Janie became scared that Tea Cake was cheating on her. She became jealous and just kept getting more and more jealous. Page 136

Chapter 16
1. “Janie’s coffee-and-cream complexion and her luxurious hair made Mrs. Turner forgive her for wearing overalls like the other women who worked in the fields.” Janie had a white person’s features and Mrs. Turner was fascinated by her hair and complexion. Mrs. Turner was so distracted by her beautiful features that she didn’t mind her working side. Page 140
2.”Just like he had been sand-papered down to a long oval mass.” Tea Cake was sorry for Mr. Turner because he felt that Mr. Turner was easily controlled by Mrs. Turner. Page 144

Chapter 17
1. “A great deal of the old crowd were back. But there were lots of new ones too.” Many men and women cause jealousies to form in Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship. Some of the people had caused problems before, but new people had joined in. Page 147
2. “It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom.” Having fear is normal and important for people to have. It is an emotion needed for humans. Page 145

Chapter 18
1. “They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.” They were praying to God to give them a chance to live in the darkness of the night. Page 160
2. “It woke up old Okechobee and the monster began to roll in his bed.” The hurricane began to build up in the lake. Page 158

Chapter 19
1. “And then again Him-with-the-square-toes had gone back to his house.” Death had come and gone. Page 168
2.”Somewhere up there beyond blue ether’s bosom sat He.” God was watching everything happening. Page 178

Chapter 20
1. “Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.” Love changes and it is different for every person. Page 191
2. “She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.” Janie lived a fulfilling life. She had already chased her dreams and accomplished them and now she could reflect on the things that she had done. Page 193
Seashore
http://www.freefoto.com/preview/9907-09-4/Seashore
            My favorite example of imagery in this book is “Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore,” (191). I like it because it tells the reader a simile about love. It is also one of the ideal messages in the book. Janie experience many different kinds of love with different people, but only one person truly made her happy with her life. Love is different with every person it touches. 

Friday, April 29, 2011

Symbols in Their Eyes Were Watching God

Pear Tree
http://www.ettingersgardencenter.com/products.html

  1. Roots of Trees- African people without any roots
  2. Pear Tree- Janie's budding womanhood/ coming of age
  3. The Mule- the black woman's experience. She does the worst jobs for white people and black men. She gets "walked on." Logan buys Janie a mule to represent how he is tired of treating Janie like a princess or white woman, and now he wants her to do the heavy labor jobs around the farm.
  4. The Gate and the Road-opportunity; Related to the metaphor at the beginning. The Gate is the shore and the Road represents the waves as Janie looks down  the road to find a new dream.
  5. The New Horizon- Janie is constantly looking over the gatepost, down the road, to a new horizon (a dream or new start).
  6. The Eatonville general store- represents the center of this first all-black town.
  7. The illumination of the lamppost represents the start of a new all-black town. It also shows that Joe Starks is all-powerful and likes others to bow down to him, including Janie.
  8. Joe and Janie's two-story house- seems to represent his similarity to a plantation owner, while the hard-working townspeople live in a small shack-style homes like servants' quarters.
  9. Tobacco spittoon- This represents again how wealthy Joe is.
  10. Janie's head rag- bondage to Joe
  11. Guitar-playful side of people
  12. Overalls- working side
  13. Packet of seeds- new life, rebirth, remembering
  14. Janie's long braid- freedom
  1. Color blue- Tea Cake and Janie's proof of love for each other
  2. Fish- sharing relationship
  3. Checkers- Janie's equality with Tea Cake, but not Joe
  4. Booker T/Ms. Turner- racism within a race
  1. Muck- the rich dirt, working class, growth
  2. Hurricane- God's almighty power
  3. Rabid dog- when good things happen, life changes

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Hurston's Reviews

           The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston did not always get positive reviews. Although Hurston was a great African American writer during the Harlem Renaissance, other famous writers gave her negative feedback. Their Eyes Were Watching God was admired by white authors, but some African American writers did not approve of Hurston’s portrayal of African American men and women, the stereotypes reinforced, and the idyllic life in the book.
One of the people that reviewed Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God was Richard Wright, an African American writer. Wright stated, “Miss Hurston voluntarily continues in her novel the tradition which was forced upon the Negro in the theatre, that is, the minstrel technique that makes the "white folks" laugh. Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears.” Wright also said that the book carried no theme or message. He wanted all black writers to praise his race and portray the black characters as middle class who supported their nationality, and Hurston wrote her stories like she was rejoicing the black community and individualism. She was criticized for not addressing racial issues, and she criticized Jim Crow laws.
I think that her harsh reviewers were very judgmental. She just wrote what happened to be on her mind. I disagree with her critics. I do not think that Hurston deserved these reviews. She did not divide her characters by race, but she wrote as if each character is an individual, which they are. Hurston did not seem to be offending specific people, but the critics said that she was “making their race look bad.” Some people might say that I say that I disagree just because I am white, but I am pretty sure there are African Americans that do enjoy reading this book. Although it is referred to as fiction, the reader can still understand how life was like during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. I think that this book is very interesting so far, and Hurston is a great writer. Her imagery helps define the meaning of her story. She makes the reader feel like they are at the scene in the book.


Richard Wright
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/wright/wright0.html



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