AshleyPascoe

Evil will always prevail, because good is dumb!~Dark Helmet, Space Balls

2009-09-22T02:20:34Z

Here is my Portfolio for my Writing About Literature class (Here's a link to the course website) at Seton Hill University (Here's the school's website). A portfolio is a listing of all of the blogs I have made for this class up to date, and then they are seperated into categories. The categories are as follows:

Coverage, Depth, Interaction, Discussion, Timliness, Xenoblogging, and a Wild Card.

Coverage:This is a list of all of the blogs I have made for this class

Depth: These blogs are the ones that I put the most thought and research into

Interaction: These are contributions I have made to my classmates' blogs or their comments on my blogs

Discussion: My blogs that my classmates have commented on

Timliness:These are the blogs that I have done on time

Xenoblogging:Contributions to others' blogs

Wild Card: These are the blogs that I am most proud of

To see my classmates' portfolios, click here!

Now the snarfblatt dates back to prehysterical times when humans used to sit around and stare at each other all day. Got very boring. So they invented this snarfblatt to make fine music~Scuttle, The Little Mermaid

2009-09-21T22:23:31Z

During class when we started talking about the different Disney Princesses and how it related to the play we just read, I began to think about how the three female characters perfectly portrayed the different types of princesses there are. Juliet would be the princess, like Snow White and Cinderella, who just sits and does nothing, being completely confident in the fact that her prince will come to her someday. Desdemona would be one of the active ones who pretty much does what Snow White thinks the men should be doing for her just like Pocahontas and Mulan. Finally, our main character, Constance found her self being in the middle of the two others. She would be equated to the princesses who did something but didn't go overboard with it, like Ariel.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

Daddy! I want a squirrel!~Veruca Salt, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2009-09-21T22:10:00Z

Sylvia Plath's poem, "Daddy" was probably one of the most confusing poems I've ever read. I just simply could not figure out if she hated her father or if she loved him. There was so much diversity throughout the poem it began to get extremely confusing, really fast. However, that was exactly what made this poem so interesting. It almost seemed like she was wanted it to be as confusing as it was, and wanted the readers to get exactly that. I think that she was confused about how she felt about her dad herself, and wanted to convey that to her audience.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

And since I am dead, I can take off my head To recite Shakespearean quotations!~Jack, The Nightmare Before Christmas

2009-09-21T21:49:21Z

While I was reading Shakespear's "Sonnet 73", I really enjoyed all of the descriptions he included. It was really easy for me to picture everything that he was saying and it was all very vivid. Although during the first two quatrains I had a difficult time trying to figure out what he was trying to convey to his readers, but the third and fourth quatrains were clear enough that they clarified all of the confusion that I had.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

Let me show you around, maybe play you a sound. You look like you're both pretty groovy. Or if you want something visual...that's not too abysmal. We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie.~Dr. Frank-N-Furter, The Rocky Horror Picture Show

2009-09-21T21:37:22Z

In Robert's fourth chapter, I again felt like it was another review. However, there was a diagram on page 78 that I know will help me keep everything straight. The faces that were shown in the diagram consisted of all sorts of different expressions which also goes to show that at one, single event, everyone will have different reactions and thoughts. I'm an extremely visual person and I know that if I keep this diagram in mind, it will make life easier for me in the long run.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

I beat you up twice and I'll do it again!~West Side Story

2009-09-21T21:13:46Z

This was the second time I've read Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" and I didn't get anything new out of reading it a second time. The first time I read it, I thought it was alright, it did have a surprising ending but other than that I didn't think there was much to get out of it. I wouldn't mind reading the story again, but if I had my choice, I would probably want to read another piece of his work.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

Brad, hi!You been holding this long?Uh huh.I'm incredible.Yeah,Neverland.Uh-huh.Lost Boys.Jim Hook,duel to the death.I'll fill you in later.Listen,I'd love to chat,but I gotta climb a drain pipe right now.Why?Because I ran out of fairy dust!~Peter, Hook

2009-09-21T20:21:06Z

Out of the poems we had to read by Billy Collins, I liked, "On Turning Ten" the most. I can remember feeling weird about becoming a 10 year old. My Dad would always say, "You'll never be in the single digits ever again." However, I feel like the poem, in general, can be related to growing up instead of just turning ten. This year I've had to accept alot of new responsibilities and how much growing up really really sucks. So at the end when Collins says, "It seems only yesterday I used to believe/ there was nothing under my skin but light./ If you cut me I would shine./ But now when I fall upon on the sidewalks of life,/ I skin my knees. I bleed", I feel like it relates to every point in life where you have to accept more and more responsibilities.

The more and more I thought about this poem, the more it became inspiring to me. My family has taught me to always be responsible and accept my own duties and any necessary consequences I may have. However, they have also taught me to still be my own person and have fun in my free time. This poem really reminded me of what it was like to be a kid, and I feel like it can be a reminder to adults to make sure they take time out of each busy day to have fun, and let your hair down!

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

So join the marines. It's like feminism never even happened. You know?~Gracie, Mrss Congeniality

2009-09-21T17:20:18Z

In Susan Glaspell's "Trifels", she offers her readers a typical view of feminism. When investegating the murder of a neighbor, the men automatically make assumptions and simply start walkin around the house to see if they can find any evidence, where as the women immediately begin an investegation in order to find the truth. Throughout the play, readers can find many different things to represent feminism.

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Its time to expand the minds its homework time !~Mrs. Doubtfire

2009-09-21T01:25:10Z

Robert's thrid chapter seemed to, again, be just a review of things we've already learned. It was good to be able to go over things again in the start of the school year, but I had hoped it would have expanded on things that I hadn't really known yet. It basically just went over the different types of characters that can be involved in literature and the way authors can present them.

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Hi! I'm Tourguide Barbie!~Toy Story 2

2009-09-21T00:20:16Z

This chapter really explained in detail how to write a close reading paper. Close reading is basically focusing on one portion of a work of literature and showing how it affects/significantly relates to the rest of the work. "Analyzing an individual part, therefore, should bring out not only the meaning of the part but also the function of the part within the larger structure of the work." (Roberts, 54) It states that there are three things we need to expect: and early passage to get things going, a midpoint passage to include anticipations of thw work's conclusion, and things to come togheter in a passage at or near the conclusion. I think this chapter will really come in handy the next time I'm writing a close reading paper because it provides a nice guideline to go by.

To see what my classmates have to say, click here!

Get used to disappointment!~Westley, The Princess Bride

2009-09-20T16:45:30Z

Ann-Marie Macdonald's "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" was relatively entertaining. It had some creative twists and a few slightly amusing blunders, however, it was one of the most predictable things I've read. There were many not so little clues about the ending of the play. There were three things that blatantly foreshadowed the ending; the inscription on the cover, an attempted subtle play on words, and the ghost.

The inscription on the cover of the manuscript read, "You who possess the eye to see/this strange and wonderous alchemy,/ where words transform to vision'ry,/ where one plus two makes one, not three;/ open this book if you agree". (pg. 21) After reading this inscription before Constance gets magically sucked into her trashcan, I immediately thougth of the title. At this point in the play, we have found our main character to be Connie, and the title makes it fairly obvious that we will be meeting Desdemona and Juliet some time in the future. Connie plus Desdemona plus Juliet= three characters. According to the manuscript, "one plus two makes one not three", and here we have three main characters. One of them, Constance, is assigned with the task of figuring out her own identity. So, with the information given to us at this point in the play, we can safely assume that the three of them make up that one the inscription mentions.

The second piece of evidence that allows the readers to easily see the ending of the poem is cute little play on words. Shortly after Connie befriends Desdemona, they get into a conversation about Connie and where she is from. During this conversation, we find that they come to a cultural misunderstanding about what "B.S." is. Constance explains as follows, "A kind of lie. For instance, Academe believes that you're a doomed and helpless victim." And Desdemona questions, "I?", receiving a response from Connie being, "Ay." (Pg. 38) While I was reading this, I could easily see the difference between the responses, but in my head, it sounded as if Connie was correcting Desdemona and saying that it was her who the world she came from found her to be "a doomded and helpless victim."

The thrid, and probably most blatant thing that foreshadows the ending of the book, is the ghost who Constance believes is Yorick. Everytime that Connie attempts to ask the ghost if he is Yorick, he responds by saying, "Na-a-ay. You're it." (Pg. 73) This situation happens on a couple different occasions, the last being the part where she finally understands everything.

All in all, "Goodnight Desdemona (Goodmorning Juliet)", is an amusing play to read, and it may be fun to watch, but it was extremely predictable which ends up taking out alot of the fun of reading. I think if it were less predictable, then I would have enjoyed it much more than I did.

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Why do men feel they can justify death?~ Benjamin Martin

2009-09-20T00:22:35Z

Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed", is a poem that really brings its readers inside the mind of people who have been to war. It shows how the narrator attempts to justify the actions he had to take, and experiences regret.

As readers, we can see that the narrator attempts to justify himself, to himself and the reader, in the third stanza. "I shot him dead because-/Because he was my foe." The narrator stutters as he is trying to explain to his audience why he shot and killed the other soldier. Some may find it odd that he needs to justify this, or that he is stuttering over it, but both of those factors show that the narrator realizes that he has, unfortunately, been forced to take the life of another human due to the circumstances and demands of war.

Through the majority of the poem, readers can see that the narrator is regretful of his actions. The fourth stanza of the poem is entirely dedicated to the narrator realizing that the soldier he killed could have been just like him, "He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,/ Off-hand like--just as I--/ Was out of work--had sold his traps/ No other reason why."

Thomas Hardy makes it easy for his readers to see inside the thoughts of the narrator. By doing this, he allows readers to see what it might be like inside of the mind of people how have had to go to war.

To see what my classmates have to say,click here!

Iocane comes from Australia,as everyone knows.And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals.And criminals are used to having people not trust them,as you are not trusted by me,so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.~Vizini,Princess Bride

2009-09-19T22:25:45Z

In Mark Twain's story, "Luck", I thought that the reverend seemed relatively suspicious because he seemed envious of Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby. The reverend is only telling the narrator of the story about Scoresby's so called idiocy at the actual banquet to honor Scoresby.

Alnother important factor is that in the middle of the story, we find that the reverend was actually involved in the army previous to his position as a military man. This furthers the proof that the reverend is jealous of Scoresby because the new Lieutenant-General has out ranked any of the positions the reverend may have held during his time with the military.

Also, our narrator is supposedly the first person the reverend has told about how Scoresby is supposed to be a complete fool. He kept this part of the the Lieutenant-General's life a secret until it came time for the banquet to honor Scoresby's new position in the military. These kinds of banquets are bound to make some people envious of the person that is being honored at the banquet.

Unfortunately for our poor narrator, he has put his complete trust in the reverend simply because he is part of the church. It is now up to the narrator to take or leave what the reverend has to say to him since, with a little bit of close reading, the readers can see that the reverend is jealous of the Lieutenant-General Lord Arthur Scoresby.

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We have to encourage a return to traditional moral values. Most importantly, we have to promote general social concern, and less materialism in young people.~Patrick Bateman, American Psycho

2009-09-19T21:38:06Z

I found Guy de Maupassant's story, "The Necklace", something that I could easily see happening to some people in this world. Everything seems to be about "keeping up with the Jones'". For some people, if their neighbors get a 46 in. flat screen television, they have to get a 52 in flat screen television. If their friends get a 5 person spa, they have to step it up a notch and buy and 8 person spa. It wasn't really even a surprise to me to see that someone like Mathilde could be so materialistc and overwhelmingly concerned with the way people saw her.

This kind of situation is unfortunately way to common and I believe that it is something the everyone can relate to these situations whether they have been involved in them themselves or they have just seen it in action.

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After all, your case will come up for review in 10 to 20 years, and you will get your name in the papers all over again.~Roxy Hart, Chicago

2009-09-19T20:57:21Z

The first chapter seemed to be primarily review. Most of everything I read were things that I've already learned in the past years. At first I was a little annoyed by this because I felt like I was simply wasting my time by reading this chapter. However, after I was about half way through this chapter, I started to appreciate it. It was, in fact, the longest chapter I noticed in the book, and there were a lot of things that it reviewed. After reading the whole chapter, I felt much more refreshed from the summer break!

To see what my classmates have to say,click here!