Final Post For The Fall Semester

   I've really enjoyed being in Mr. Mullins class. So far I think it has been one of my favorite english classes ever. We really got involved in our work and our various discussions. Everyday was interesting and we always had something to do that we didn't hate doing. I also really enjoyed all the short stories we've read this semester. They were all literary, but they were just as interesting and entertaining as any commercial writing. I also enjoy these blogs. They're a way to express our feelings and opinions. It's kind of fun to write them and I like reading what other people have to say too. Although at times they do interfere with other things that I have going on and I sometimes forget about them, which is why i'm writing this right now.

   Things I feel i've improved on are my essay writings. I did terrible on the first one we did at the beginning of the semester, but I did a lot better on our most recent one. Essays have always been one of my weakspots but I feel that with Mr. Mullins advise and lessons, i've gotten a a better handle on them.

   I can't wait for next semester when we get into our poetry unit, i've always loved poetry, but what i'm not looking forward to is more essays, especially our final project that involves reading three books with a common theme. That's going to be a downer.

   Overall I really did enjoy this semester and I hope that next semester is even better.

Satire

   I've always liked the idea of satire. They involve many great things such as irony, sarcasm, and poking fun at others, which is always fun. Satire, like allusions, is used all the time across the globe. It is a fun and entertaining way to get the point across.

   I've learned that there are three different types of satire;

   Horatian satire- Horatian satire is the most common of the three. It is meant to amusingly poke fun of some aspect of humanity, like greed for example or the search for true love. As the audience laughs at the silliness of others they are also laughing at themselves saying "True. True. That is just like me!" It is a more lighthearted thing meant to make people smile as they think about the subject at hand. An example of this would be Mark Twain's speech "Advice to Youth" which humorously and harmlessly makes fun of societies attempts to educate young people on proper behavior.

   Mennipus satire- This type of satire resembles Horatian satire in that it is harmless and humorous but the only different is that it does not focus on just one subject. The point is not really to get any kind of message across about anything. It is simply meant to be laughed at and enjoyed. An example of this type of satire would be Family Guy. Family Guy is an endless medley of satire upon satire upon satire. There are so many allusions and references in the show that there is not really any sensible story. It's simply something to laugh about.

   And the final form of satire is...

   Juvenal satire- This satire is the most serious of all satire. It sets out to make fun of something in a harsh and unforgiving manner. It is not meant to be funny it is focused on getting a message out and making people face it. This type of satire would be used by someone who really wants to make a point with force. This type of satire might be used during times of election when people are trying to make others look bad and foolish. It might also be used in times of trouble when people need to be pushed into action.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

   I felt pretty good when I went to the library to pick this book up and saw that it wasn't even 200 pgs long. I expected the book to be decently long since it was such a widely acclaimed book, but I guess it's hard to make a book incredibly long when it's entire plot takes place in one day. Besides, I don't think the author was worried about the length of his book. Solzhenitsyn set out to write a book that was real, true, and hit people in thier minds and hearts, and he succeeded.

   This book was really powerful. It spoke truth about humanity and how everyday is a struggle to stay alive in this messed up place we call our home. Whether we're living in a WWII Soviet prison camp, or livng right here in Lexington, everyday we must fight for our right to live, exist, to love, to be loved. If we are to live our lives happy and fulfilled we need to stay true to ourselves, despite society's attempt to crush our inividuality. We need to band and work together, to live in peace and harmony with one another if we want to thrive. We also need to take care of ourselves; to nourish our body, mind and spirit.

   I really like this book. It was inspirational and showed a side of humanity that hinted towards hope.

The Salem Play

   I really enjoyed this play. It was funny and serious at the same time and kept me entertained. It also seemed to be written to appeal to a teenage audience more, which helped to keep it interesting. The use of puppets as adults was a nice detail as it added to the fun factor of the play without making it childish. My favorite character was Mr. Johnson. He was an  awkwardly-funny-kind-old man.

   Going deeper into the play, I feel its message was to take the time to think about everyone's needs and feelings and treat everybody with respect and understanding. It doesn't matter what somebody's race, religion, age, gender, or personality is; Everybody deserves the chance to be understood and accepted. All of the characters in the play had different personalities and backgrounds and they all had almost nothing in common with one another, but they all learned to come to terms with each other and take the time to care for one another. In the end, the kids caring for each other kept their teacher from getting fired, helped Vynique's character earn more respect for the teacher, allowed the kids to perfect and perform their play and saved the janitor from hanging himself out of depression. A little caring and acceptance can go a long way towards making the world a happier place for everyone.

Why do people read Oedipus Rex?

   I really liked this play. It had a good story and even though we already knew what would happen before hand, the use of irony in the story really helped to make it really great. The way the irony enhanced the story was through giving the reader (or viewer) a sort of reward for noticing it. It's kind of how advertisements use allusions to help sell whatever it is their advertising. When a person sees the advertisement and goes 'Ha, I get it. That's clever.' it makes them happy that they understood it so they enjoy the advertisement and it sticks in their mind better.

   Another way in which this technique is employed is through popular sayings. For example, if I said "I feel that the dificulty of the Short Story Unit exam was over 9000" those of you who keep up with memes are probably having that 'Ha' moment, while the rest of you are thinking "Wemna?" So going back to Oedipus Rex, Sophocles does an incredible job of employing this technique, which is why over 2000 years after it was first written and performed, Oedipus Rex continues to entertain people everywhere.

Short Story Results/ Theme for Essay

   I feel that the test was incredibly hard and unfair. I had re-read all the stories the night before and had come up with possible themes, symbolism, etc. but I still ended up doing pretty bad on the test. I think the main reason for everyone doing so poorly was because it seemed that all the multiple choice questions had what seemed to be two or more right answers. The answers were all pretty similar or all seemed like they would be able to answer the question. Especially the questions that said 'choose the best possible answer.' On those I would read through all the answers and be forced to simply pick the one that I felt in my opinion to be the best theme, etc.

   For my essay i've chosen the short story 'The Guest' and the third prompt asking to explain sources of pleasure and disquietude. I feel that the reader experiences disquietude at the thought of what Daru and the prisoners actions will be and of what the consequences will be, but at the same time, the reader feels a kind of elation when they find out what those actions and consequences are. The choices Daru and the prisoner make are not the safest ones nor the easiest ones and leads to suspense and anxiety, but they have both positive and negative outcomes which confuse the reader, but at the same time content them with the reality and morality of it all. These are just my initial, really jumbly thoughts on the book and the essay. I feel I can do a really good job with this and make it to the best of my ability.

   I like the idea of being given more freedom with the structure of the essay, instead of having to strictly follow a given outline. We still have to follow the basic format, but we have a lot more liberty to express our ideas in the way that we want to without having to tweak them in order to suit requirements.

  

Short Story Unit Test

   I feel I probably got a B on this. Maybe an A. Maybe even a C. At this point I really have no idea because the multiple choice had lots of questions that seemed as though they had multiple answers. Lots of the questions had me stuck between two of the answers and so I would be forced to just pick the one that I thought would be the best answer, but I don't know if my idea of the best answer was the correct answer. Hopefully my instincts worked with what i've learned and already knew this year to have helped me make the right choices.

   As for the short answer portion of the test, I also have no idea how I did, but I did my best and hopefully it was good enough. I had pretty good ideas for the themes of all the stories that were in the short answer part, but my trouble was trying to support them with the passages given to us. I think that pretty much for all of them, I had to either re-word my theme so I could support it with the passage, or I had to come up with a completely new theme that was shown inside the passage.

  

Existentialism

   The idea of Existentialism is pretty interesting. What it's saying basically is that the point of life is to survive, that everything someone does is selfish and meant to better ones own life. I feel that this is mostly true, but I deisagree with the other part of Existentialism, that acts of selflessness are a removal of oneself, that if someone does something selfless, they are ceasing to exist.

   That doesn't make sense to me. If I do something selfless, lets say give some money to charity, how is that removing myself and ceasing to exist. By doing something selfless I am revealing and shaping the person that I am. Existentialsm says that you must voice yourself and act as you would in order to impose yourself upon the world and help to form it, but acts of selflessness do show the world who you are and help to shape the world around you. In no other moment are you revealing more of yourself to the world, than when you do something for others, for no reason other than you feel you should do it. So I think Existentialism is wrong to say that acts of selflessness are bad and things should only be done selfishly.

Where are you going, where have you been?

   This story was really weird and creepy. It was realistic and I felt really mad at the girl for acting the way she did. I understand she was scared and that this would have been some peoples reaction but I would have acted more sensibly. I would have closed and locked the door. Then I would have called the police while keeping my eye out for the man. If he got in I would have, if I thought I could take him, gone to the kitchen and grab a knife or some weapon and take him down or, if he were way bigger and stronger looking then me, flung something at him to slow him down, then run out the back door of the house and run towards another person's house. I know it was probably at least a mile from her house to somebody else's house but still I would have just kept going and if I saw the man's car coming after me I would try to hide while still making my way towards safety. After all the man was somewhat drunk and that would have given me an advantage over eluding and/or fighting him. I just think the girl should have at least tried somewhat to keep herself together and put up a fight. Why did she have to go and give herself up so easily when she stood a pretty good chance of saving herself? Other then size and strength possibly I don't see that the guy posed that much of a threat to her. These are all just my thoughts on the situation.

The Lesson

   Last week we were assigned to read The Lesson. This short story had a good variety of themes about the value of money, value of educationa and the difference in perspectives. Aside from this, I didn't like the actual story.  The story is stale, having no action, suspense, drama, or anything else that stimulates my mind. The main character, who's name escapes me right now, is the type of girl I hate to be around. She is arrogant, bossy and doesn't want to accept the reality of life. She doesn't want to prepare for the 'real' world. On the other hand, her cousin Sugar is a much more appealing character, which is why I remember her name. She is actually open minded and when she and her friends are taken on the trip to the toy store, she seems to have an epiphany and realize that there is much more she needs to learn about if she wants to live her life to the fullest.

How Far She Went

   This story was very well written in its intent to express the somber aspects of the human nature. none of the characters in it are characters that people want to read about to experience enjoyment. They all have traits that make them unappealing, but at the same time, make them human.

   The bikers are the cliche bad guys. They are thugs and bullies and have no respect or decency. They chase down the two women, destroy there car and threaten to hurt them, but they are human and there are real peoplee who behave as these two do.

   The girl is a typical teeanger. Young, anxious, rebellious and mad at the world. She hates being controlled and doesn't respect authority, but at the end of the story, after her encounter with the bikers, she has an epiphany and gains a better view on the world. She has a better understanding of how the world works and she has a new bound respect for her grandmother and herself.

   The grandma has been hurt. It is never directly explained how she got hurt but she's been hurt emotionally and we can all relate to that. She could never bring herself to fully love or understand her daughter, so her daughter grew up rebellious and died an early death. Now the grandma is in charge of her grandaughter, but because that miscontent with her own daughter still lingers, she cannot come to love or understand her grandaughter either, leading to her grandaughter also growing up rebellious and feeling like she doesn't belong. It is a sad turn of events, but it happens and it is always sad, and hopefully after going through this terrible incident, the grandma and her grandaughter learn to accept and understand one another so that they can have a happy and healthy relationship.

   I did not enjoy this story because it was so somber and unhappy, but I enjoyed it on a deeper level because everything in it was relatable and gave me a peek into an aspect of humanity that we all try to hide away.

Haroun and the Sea of Stories

   Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a really good book and i'd recommend it to anybody who likes to read. It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz in that Haroun, like Dorothy, finds himself in a fantastical world full of colorful and bizare creatures and every other one of these creatures reminds him of someone he knows back on earth. I think it's really cool. It is a literary book but is written to be enjoyed by both children and adults. Every page is full of childish humor and wimsy but it still delivers a satisfying and entertaining story full of memerable characters and places that will keep people of all ages and interests reading 'till the end.

   Along with the fun and exciting story the book provides is a long list of literary elements, like metaphors, that get the reader to think about the characters and ideas in the book and how they emplify the different aspects of humanity and how the idea of life differs from person to person. Some people like to think of it as one big joke, or a really fun time while others think of it as a competition that must be won or a job that must be completed in the most effecient and beneficial way. The real way to go about living is to try and find balance between all aspects of life. Have as much fun as you can and laugh as much as you can, but don't forget to work hard at everything you do and do it because it's what you love to do and by balancing your life in the most beneficial way, you'll live a life that is both fun and fulfilling.

“In my life I have found two things of priceless worth - learning and loving. Nothing else - not fame, not power, not achievement for its own sake - can possible have the same lasting value. For when your life is over, if you can say 'I have learned' and 'I have loved,' you will also be able to say 'I have been happy.”
― Arthur C. Clarke, Rama II

Birthday Party

   Birthday Party by Katherine Brush was a really powerful piece of literature. It was short, barely 3 paragraphs, but within those three paragraphs was an incredibly, well-crafted story that was full to the brim with emotion. More than any other short story or novela or full on novel, this made me feel true emotions as if this had actually happened with me sitting there in the restaurant as a primary witness.

    Although not much is given on characters other than a general, physical description and that they were a normal looking couple, we delve deeper into the characters and learn to hate, in the case of the husband, and love and pity, in the case of the wife. Subtle hints like 'the man had a round, self-satisfied face' and 'the wife beamed with shy pride' let us as the reader, get to know the characters, relate to the characters and say 'Hey, I know someone like that'. The generalization of the characters makes them more appealing to readers because it allows us to come up with our own stories and assumptions about them.

   As I said before, the story is very well written and even though I don't know the characters and they doesn't exist, I find that I absolutely hate the husband and I wish I could have been there to comfort his wife. I am very glad I read this piece.

The Most Dangerous Game

   I've always liked The Most Dangerous Game. It's entertaining and when I read it I think about how humans can be really cruel creatures. Humans can be cruel enough to just hunt animals for fun without giving a second thought to how the animals feel being hunted and killed. Not only are we mean to animals but humans are even mean to each other. There are people out there who don't have money to buy food or clothing or shelter and rich people can just go around spending money on things like hunting expeditions when they could be using that extra money to help others.  People can bully, murder, rape and abuse each other and do it because they enjoy it. I've always beleived that humans are an incredibly imperfect race and could do with a lot of improvements.