Although " Google Groups" was a good place to post work, I believe that "Blogger" is much better. As a student " Blogger" has helped me as a writer in many ways, such as the ability to comment on your peers work. This helps me spot errors that others seen or even how good it might have been. This website also helps me get use to the future of doing homework and many other assignments. Submitting writing has me reading much more longer pieces that my friends wrote that maybe I would not have done if it was on paper. This also let me see others thoughts on a specific topic or current event. The feature I like the most is that you can actually have your own profile and member picture. This almost reminds me of a " Facebook."
This experience is very different then many other English classes due to the fact that we always had to write in a journal or a log. The usage of a log was always long and boring. Now that we can post work online I believe it is much more interesting and fun. The communication between 11-1 and 11-2 has not grown. It seems as though we only comment on the people in our class. There is no hatred between the two its just that we rather comment on our close friends. Hopefully, we will start commenting on theirs and have a better relationship.
In conclusion, I really like the idea of " Blogger" and I am glad we changed. Also, I believe you should use this technique for future classes.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
“Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.”
–Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway
For this weeks assignment I decided talk about one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous quote about " riches." To me this quote has a very strong meaning to many of people today. In life there will be unfortunate people and fortunate people, but that means nothing. You must carry a good personality and always have interest in what people have to say to you.
Throughout my life I have noticed that the " lower class" of people always seem to be nice and willing to help you when help is needed. They always carry hope, even though they are in tough times. They try to benefit from everything they do and pray that one day they can have a home or a nice family to live with. In America today a " recession" has hit and many are trying to scurry money together. What many need to do is hold their heads high and be thankful we are who we are. Fitzgerald I think stresses that in this quote because he states that you can basically have all the money in the world, but if your personally is poor you will get no where in life.
As for the " upper class" of people who are always snobby and think they are "king's of the world" need to realize that it is one thing to have money, but your character is the main attraction upon yourself. In my opinion, Fitzgerald tries to stress this to these people hoping one day they will be a better person inside. The "charm" can be allot of things such as donations and helping out the lower class. They can be nice if they want to, its just that the " greed" can sometimes overcome them.
–Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway
For this weeks assignment I decided talk about one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous quote about " riches." To me this quote has a very strong meaning to many of people today. In life there will be unfortunate people and fortunate people, but that means nothing. You must carry a good personality and always have interest in what people have to say to you.
Throughout my life I have noticed that the " lower class" of people always seem to be nice and willing to help you when help is needed. They always carry hope, even though they are in tough times. They try to benefit from everything they do and pray that one day they can have a home or a nice family to live with. In America today a " recession" has hit and many are trying to scurry money together. What many need to do is hold their heads high and be thankful we are who we are. Fitzgerald I think stresses that in this quote because he states that you can basically have all the money in the world, but if your personally is poor you will get no where in life.
As for the " upper class" of people who are always snobby and think they are "king's of the world" need to realize that it is one thing to have money, but your character is the main attraction upon yourself. In my opinion, Fitzgerald tries to stress this to these people hoping one day they will be a better person inside. The "charm" can be allot of things such as donations and helping out the lower class. They can be nice if they want to, its just that the " greed" can sometimes overcome them.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
"The Great Gatsby"- Chapter 1 Journal Entry
While reading through chapter one, I thought the book was going to be very boring and that the vocabulary would be well out of my range, but I was wrong. The author describes the rough times in the 1920's, and does a very good job doing so. What I learned throughout the course of the chapter was that Tom is a " wealthy" and " selfish" man who is married to Daisy. Nick Carraway is the narrator from Minnesota, who went to Yale. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy man living in the Gothic Mansion. Daisy Buchanan is Tom's cousin, but she is the women who Gatsby loves. All in all, I believe Fitzgerald sets very good moods throughout the chapter and that it was a very good opening chapter.
Also, I chose to talk about a specific character that stood out to me in many ways. The character would be Tom Buchanan. He is a very miserable man who is not afraid to speak what is on his mind. Tom is a very racist and sexist man who is very snobby and wealthy. Tom reminds me of many men and women today, by being racist. No matter what time period it, many people dislike one another due to the color of their skin or their heritage. Another reason Tom relates to some people I know is that rich people always keep their chin up and think that the ground below them is like gold. In conclusion, this is how I believe Tom can relate to many of us today!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
American Poetry Supermarket
Tyler Price
11-1
“The Debt “
The Debt
This is the debt I pay,
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.
Pay it I will to the end-
Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release-
Gives me the clasp of peace.
Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best-
God! but the interest!
The poem I chose to interpret was “The Debt “by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Dunbar was the first African American poet to “garner national critical acclaim.” He was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. Dunbar mostly addressed the difficulties of members of his race and trying to solve the equality problem in America. Dunbar wrote mainly during the 19th and 20th century. He gained much fame by writing the 1896 “Lyrics of a Slowly Life.” He was then quoted to be one of the best African-Americans of all time. To me this poem is very unique in many ways. Dunbar believes that’s he has seen his cultural get torn apart and they try to fight back but nothing can stop these evil men. He uses this poem to show that even though he gave so much back to his owner or master, he still will never be free. He states that the only way he will be free is if he meets the grave. “Pay it I will to the end-Until the grave, my friend, Gives me a true release- Gives me the clasp of peace,” this stanza stuck out to me because it shows how hard he must of worked and he can never be free until he is gone.
There are many rhetorical devices that I noticed in this poem, but to me the one that stuck out the most was hoe Dunbar stresses the tone. In the first stanza, Dunbar stresses how he feels and how he thinks that he don’t even know him-self anymore. Dunbar feels that what was done was wrong and he wants to stress this to the world so that they make sure something that evil could never happen again. I believe he compares slavery to “debt” because it is something you can never fully recover from. For some reason I can refer this poem to a gambler, and how he would loose his money and eventually have nothing left to survive on.
The second poem I chose to analysis is called “A Golden Day.”
I found you and I lost you,
All on a gleaming day.
The day was filled with sunshine,
And the land was full of May
A golden bird was singing
Its melody divine,
And I found you and I loved you,
And all the world was mine.
I found you and I lost you,
All on a golden day,
But when I dream of you, dear,
It is always brimming May
This second poem I chose by Dunbar was very unique. In my opinion I liked how Dunbar compared this day to a beautiful day in the month of May. He uses many examples to show how nice the day was nice, such as he says “A golden bird was singing.” Dunbar is very good with details, it’s almost like he wants you to be there with him. Although I could have chosen to read other poems, I believe Dunbar’s poems were very well done.
In my opinion, I believe Dunbar is an “American” poet. Dunbar wrote short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays. All of these writing became well known. The writings were most popular with the blacks and whites of that time. Much of Dunbar’s work is still used today. Many say Dunbar was gifted in poetry, almost compared to Mark Twain. What I think makes Dunbar an “American” poet is that he writes about specific events that’s happened to our country at that time. He shows how people struggled and how they benefited from these acts. All in all, this is why I think Dunbar can be classified as an “American” poet.
11-1
“The Debt “
The Debt
This is the debt I pay,
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.
Pay it I will to the end-
Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release-
Gives me the clasp of peace.
Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best-
God! but the interest!
The poem I chose to interpret was “The Debt “by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Dunbar was the first African American poet to “garner national critical acclaim.” He was born on June 27, 1872 in Dayton, Ohio. Dunbar mostly addressed the difficulties of members of his race and trying to solve the equality problem in America. Dunbar wrote mainly during the 19th and 20th century. He gained much fame by writing the 1896 “Lyrics of a Slowly Life.” He was then quoted to be one of the best African-Americans of all time. To me this poem is very unique in many ways. Dunbar believes that’s he has seen his cultural get torn apart and they try to fight back but nothing can stop these evil men. He uses this poem to show that even though he gave so much back to his owner or master, he still will never be free. He states that the only way he will be free is if he meets the grave. “Pay it I will to the end-Until the grave, my friend, Gives me a true release- Gives me the clasp of peace,” this stanza stuck out to me because it shows how hard he must of worked and he can never be free until he is gone.
There are many rhetorical devices that I noticed in this poem, but to me the one that stuck out the most was hoe Dunbar stresses the tone. In the first stanza, Dunbar stresses how he feels and how he thinks that he don’t even know him-self anymore. Dunbar feels that what was done was wrong and he wants to stress this to the world so that they make sure something that evil could never happen again. I believe he compares slavery to “debt” because it is something you can never fully recover from. For some reason I can refer this poem to a gambler, and how he would loose his money and eventually have nothing left to survive on.
The second poem I chose to analysis is called “A Golden Day.”
I found you and I lost you,
All on a gleaming day.
The day was filled with sunshine,
And the land was full of May
A golden bird was singing
Its melody divine,
And I found you and I loved you,
And all the world was mine.
I found you and I lost you,
All on a golden day,
But when I dream of you, dear,
It is always brimming May
This second poem I chose by Dunbar was very unique. In my opinion I liked how Dunbar compared this day to a beautiful day in the month of May. He uses many examples to show how nice the day was nice, such as he says “A golden bird was singing.” Dunbar is very good with details, it’s almost like he wants you to be there with him. Although I could have chosen to read other poems, I believe Dunbar’s poems were very well done.
In my opinion, I believe Dunbar is an “American” poet. Dunbar wrote short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays. All of these writing became well known. The writings were most popular with the blacks and whites of that time. Much of Dunbar’s work is still used today. Many say Dunbar was gifted in poetry, almost compared to Mark Twain. What I think makes Dunbar an “American” poet is that he writes about specific events that’s happened to our country at that time. He shows how people struggled and how they benefited from these acts. All in all, this is why I think Dunbar can be classified as an “American” poet.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Mark Tawin and American Realism!!!
American Realism era ranged from 1865-1910 and had many talented writers such as Mark Twain, who wrote about situations and how people handle them. A book I am very familiar with that Mark Twain wrote was " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." Twain usually writes about the problems people face and what the outcome of these problems are. During this week in class we read many stories on which " nature" and the "government" affected people and how it lead them into a certain direction.
Twain, very different then many of the American Romantic writers, actually writes about actual situations and the solutions that people had to face at this time. The other writers usually talked about how the love for someone could solve a problem. To me this almost seems like a fictional fairy-tale. In the two writing's " The Story of the Bad Little Boy" and " The Story of the Good Little Boy," Twain bases this short story on a real life issue and shows how this character is affected by this situation. He does not let love or nature get into the mind of the boy, but lets his religion take control.
In the stories Twain tries to send out a point. He believes that if the boy is nice to everyone and does not do harmful things then good things will happen to him. Twain wants everyone to believe this so that there could be a better world and so that people would not have many problems to deal with. In " The Story Of The Good Little Boy," there is a boy named Jacob Blivens. This little boy is very fascinated with Sunday school and always helping people out. He fells as if he does the right things, something may be in return. Twain uses real life issues in this short story and shows how this little boy goes around helping people and solving problems. Sadly, this little boy dies and has very bad luck. For example, I have an uncle who is very kind and loves to help everyone out where help is needed. Unfortuantely, when it was time for him to get help no one was there to back him up. Twain wants the reader to realize that is always good to help someone out, but just don't do it becuase you have to or want to get lo9oked at. In the second story which is " The Story Of The Bad Little Boy," there is a boy named Jim who is totally different then Jacob Blivens. This boy always has the propers luck and everyone likes him, but he is always doing the wrong things. He will not help anyone and he only cares about himself. In my opinion, I believe that everyone should worry about themselves and if there is a time when someone needs help you should be there for them. To me its not all about getting good karma or even luck, its feeling accomplished that counts.
Twain sends this message out to anyone of any race, size, age, or culture. He wants people to realize doing the right thing isn't always right, but doing the wrong thing is also not right. Twain really inspired me to live my life to the fullest and not be afraid of doing things or even being shy of helping people. He makes us all want to just sit and think how we have helped people in the past or how we did wrong, but yet good things still came to us. To me religion is also another main factor and if you believe in God then he will guide you into the right direction.
What caught my attention of Mark Twain was one of his most famous pieces which is called " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." This book was very good and it held my attention throughout the whole thing. Reading this piece wanted me to venture out and find new reading of him. Even though these stories were similar I still really enjoyed them. The excerpt I chose to talk about was " Once he climbed up in the Farmers Acorn's apple-tree to steal apples, and the limb did not even break, and he didn't fall and break his arm, and get torn by the farmer's great dog...." One time in my life I played " knock, knock runaway and happened to run into a tree and hide. We stayed there while another friend got in trouble and I felt like I did wrong. So this quote can relate to me very well.
All in all, Twain taught me a very valuble lesson and his writing is deffinetly an example of American Realism.
Twain, very different then many of the American Romantic writers, actually writes about actual situations and the solutions that people had to face at this time. The other writers usually talked about how the love for someone could solve a problem. To me this almost seems like a fictional fairy-tale. In the two writing's " The Story of the Bad Little Boy" and " The Story of the Good Little Boy," Twain bases this short story on a real life issue and shows how this character is affected by this situation. He does not let love or nature get into the mind of the boy, but lets his religion take control.
In the stories Twain tries to send out a point. He believes that if the boy is nice to everyone and does not do harmful things then good things will happen to him. Twain wants everyone to believe this so that there could be a better world and so that people would not have many problems to deal with. In " The Story Of The Good Little Boy," there is a boy named Jacob Blivens. This little boy is very fascinated with Sunday school and always helping people out. He fells as if he does the right things, something may be in return. Twain uses real life issues in this short story and shows how this little boy goes around helping people and solving problems. Sadly, this little boy dies and has very bad luck. For example, I have an uncle who is very kind and loves to help everyone out where help is needed. Unfortuantely, when it was time for him to get help no one was there to back him up. Twain wants the reader to realize that is always good to help someone out, but just don't do it becuase you have to or want to get lo9oked at. In the second story which is " The Story Of The Bad Little Boy," there is a boy named Jim who is totally different then Jacob Blivens. This boy always has the propers luck and everyone likes him, but he is always doing the wrong things. He will not help anyone and he only cares about himself. In my opinion, I believe that everyone should worry about themselves and if there is a time when someone needs help you should be there for them. To me its not all about getting good karma or even luck, its feeling accomplished that counts.
Twain sends this message out to anyone of any race, size, age, or culture. He wants people to realize doing the right thing isn't always right, but doing the wrong thing is also not right. Twain really inspired me to live my life to the fullest and not be afraid of doing things or even being shy of helping people. He makes us all want to just sit and think how we have helped people in the past or how we did wrong, but yet good things still came to us. To me religion is also another main factor and if you believe in God then he will guide you into the right direction.
What caught my attention of Mark Twain was one of his most famous pieces which is called " The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." This book was very good and it held my attention throughout the whole thing. Reading this piece wanted me to venture out and find new reading of him. Even though these stories were similar I still really enjoyed them. The excerpt I chose to talk about was " Once he climbed up in the Farmers Acorn's apple-tree to steal apples, and the limb did not even break, and he didn't fall and break his arm, and get torn by the farmer's great dog...." One time in my life I played " knock, knock runaway and happened to run into a tree and hide. We stayed there while another friend got in trouble and I felt like I did wrong. So this quote can relate to me very well.
All in all, Twain taught me a very valuble lesson and his writing is deffinetly an example of American Realism.
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