JamieGrace

Color is Everywhere!!!

2009-12-02T15:19:35Z

While I was reading, I noticed the amount of color that Baum used.

"When Aunt Em came there to live she was a young, pretty wife. The sun and wind had changed her, too. They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray; they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now" (Baum 1)

I was first interested in this quote because when I also wondered why the beginning of the movie was gray and then it got colorful. This explained that, but then I also thought how terrible of a place this had to be that it changed everything pretty and happy about her life to gray and gloom. Why would someone stay there if it changed them that much and for the bad. When looking more into the color gray I found that. Gray is a cool, conservative color that seldom evokes strong emotion although it can be seen as a cloudy or moody color. It is a balanced color that usually stands for mourning. If you look at it in this persepective then Aunt Em must be mourning something, maybe her life and what it has become. Also if you look at in the perspective of a balancing color then maybe it means that she is at ease with her life and that she knows that it is going to be this way and balanced for a while.

"...shod in silver shoes with pointed toes" (Baum 3)

First, I thought it was really interesting that they are really silver shoes not red. But secondly, I was wondering why they made them silver. The witch that she killed was a bad witch but does silver have anything to do with that. Usually when people say that gray and silver are similiar so maybe they are silver because she died and she's mourned but then she was a bad witch so it is good that she died. When i looked into the color silver, I found that silver is cool like gray but livelier, more playful. So maybe this is irony for what is ahead for Dorothy. But some would say that her journey wasn't all fun. Silver also symbolizes riches. This could represent the strength that the wizard has so she is wearing the shoes to go to the riches of the wizard.

"The road to the City of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick" (Baum 4)

Yellow is a warm, sunshine color. Yellow is used as a celebration when a loved one comes home from war. In this case, I think yellow is used as a celebration that Dorothy will find a way home and the lion, scarecrow, and tinman will get what they need and want. It is a promising road that they had to take.

These are a few examples of the use of color in the book. Color is used in a lot of things but they way it is used and the idea of it. Color is strong, weak, and crazy.

I chose this as depth because I took many different parts of the book and went into each one. I researched each part that I talked about and looked into what each color was. I expressed my thought of what I thought each color meant in the situation and what the auther was trying to tell from it.

Past to Current

2009-11-11T02:14:29Z

Of the Training of Black Men

"Such higher training-schools tended naturally to deepen broader development: at first they were common and grammar schools, then some became high school. And finally, by 1900 some thirty-four had one year or more of studies of college grade" (para. 15)

So I don't know if anyone has noticed but I am also interested in the current to past connections. Here is another one. It is interesting to see how little schooling they had back then. Now a days, most people in the world attend college. Back then not many, mostly wealthy, people went to school let alone college. They just started it. It is just so crazy for me.

How tall you are?

2009-11-10T22:46:40Z

Present at the Creation

"John Henry stands tall, broad shoulders above the rest" (para. 1)

I thought this was really interesting because it could have a double meaning. John Henry could have broad shoulders and stand tall above everyone, but it could and most likely means that he does a lot more and is more recognizable than everyone else. He is bigger and better than the rest and has done a lot more than others. He said that he could be better than a drill and tried his hardest to prove it resulting in death. He died doing his work which was honored, especially what he did. So John Henry is higher than everyone in his work and effort.

Let me tell you a little about myself,..

2009-11-10T22:28:07Z

Two Thousand Miles for a Five-Minute Speech

"I have always had more of an ambition to do things than merely to talk about doing them" (para. 7)
"I always make it a rule to make especial preparation for each separate address...At the time, the audience before me absorbs all my sympathy, thought, and energy" (para. 35)

I chose two quotes to write about from this reading because I think they had a big significance to who he actually was. He didn't want to just talk about what he was going to do, he wanted to go and actually do it. That tells a lot about someone. He did become the speaker in this situation so it didn't actually follow through but he didn't have much control over that. The other goes a long with how he is and it is only the first and last sentence of the whole paragraph. He doesn't just write a speech and then keep saying it at different events, he adapted and changed his speech for each audience. That tells a lot that he wanted to change the speech for each audience. He wants them to take something away from the speech and feel what he feels about it.

I chose this as depth because I took two different quotes and connected them and discussed their significance to Washington. I went into it and told about the quotes and what they showed him as.

Is He Really That Bad?

2009-10-31T20:33:27Z

"The critical dislike of, or at least discomfort with, the ending is largely caused by the re-entrance of Tom onto the stage and the havoc that ensues" (Scott 188)

I have never read Tom Sawyer but I don't understand everyone's hatred towards him. I don't know if I completely took him and the book wrong or what but he isn't the worst of characters. As discussed in class, some that have read Tom Sawyer say that he is a lot nicer and likable in Huckleberry Finn. So I guess my point is that I am confused on why people are so affected by Tom coming back at the end. It almost seems that it ruined the book for them.

I put this as discussion because it sparked a discussion in class dealing with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Seriously

2009-10-31T20:11:48Z

"Despite their patriotic rhetoric, they, like Pap, were unprepared to take seriously the implications of "freedom, justice, and equality" (Smith 369)

I thought this was really interesting that Smith compared a category of readers of Huckleberry Finn to Pap. The readers were unable to accept and take seriously what the novel was showing and that was just like Pap. The readers could relate to Pap in a way. Wonder if that is why they didn't take it seriously. They either misunderstood or ignored the demystification of race. I feel like a lot may have ignored it because back then when they read it, race was a touchy subject so they might not have wanted to accept it.

Now ya tell me

2009-10-30T01:02:33Z

"Mostly, these are works I've mentioned along the way, works I like and admire for a variety of reasons, works I think you might like as well" (Foster 281)

I just want to say thanks for mentioning that now. The whole time I have been reading this book, I had no idea what books he was talking about and sometimes I have never heard of them either. To be honest, knowing he was going to mention certain books doesn't mean I would have read them but I would probably have researched them or looked into them a little. Foster said that he listed them in the Appendix which is at the end. I don't know about anyone else but I read books from front cover to back cover. I completely understand that he didn't make a whole list at the beginning of the book but he could have mentioned it.

What if You Could Foresee the Future?

2009-10-30T00:54:53Z

So I am sitting here watching Flashforward and was wondering what I would do if I knew what was going to happen in the future. I often say that I would like to see the future and see if all that I do is going to pay off but I think if I can see the future that will alter the way I do things. If I would see the future and see if I get married and to whom, when I would see that person than would I act differently than I would have if I have never seen that person before. I think that seeing the future would change the future or some cases make the future happen, like in Flashforward. Just a thought.

Expect what?

2009-10-30T00:29:29Z

"We expect a certain amount of verisimilitude, of faithfulness to the world we know, in what we watch and what we read" (Foster 228)

Honestly, the reason I was first interested in this quote is because I have never seen, to my knowledge, verisimilitude. So I reread the sentence many times, "We expect a certain amount of faithfulness in what we watch and what we read." I think it is based on everyone's own opinion. To say "we" is to assume a lot about everyone as a whole. I also think to expect a certain something is the wrong way to approach a piece of literature. With never reading or even hearing about what someone is about to read, their expectations of the book could be far fetched from what the book is actually about. To expect a certain amount of faithfulness to the world is also a big expectation that readers have. Read the book and take it how you should be and how the author wants it to be taken.

I chose this as depth because I went into the idea and topic more. I have a big opinion on this matter and was able to go into more than some of the other topics.

That was then, this is now

2009-10-28T16:38:31Z

"This at of censorship received national publicity and inspired debate throughout the country." (Mailloux 48)

This sentence stood out to me because it shows how different now and then are. They took this book off the shelves because of the way it was making boys and influencing them. If you go to a bookstore, there are a lot more influential books then just one about the way a boy ran away and lived. Times have changed a lot since then and a lot of people have made a living based on books that would not be acceptable back then.

Blogging Portfolio 2

2009-10-28T16:19:40Z

I accidentally deleted my portfolio 2 in order to start my portfolio 3 so if you are looking at this for the first time and something is missing can you please let me know because I had to redo it. Thank You

This is the Blog Portfolio 2 from American Literature 1800-1915.

Coverage: These are all the blogs that I have completed.

Chapter 4 - Thoreau

Chapter 13 - Thoreau

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 13-15

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 18, 19, 20

Edgar Allen Poe - The Raven

Edgar Allen Poe

Emily Dickinson

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Aiken

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 1-10

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - I, 21, 22

Introduction to AHF - Smith

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 11-35

Depth: These are my entries that were in depth that people could relate too.

Chapter 13 - Thoreau

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 18, 19, 20

Edgar Allen Poe

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - 11-35

Interaction: These are some of the entries of my classmates that I commented on.

What Season are You Talking About? by Kayla Lesko

Thoughts on Wood and Life by Jessica Pierce

Follow Your Own Path by Jessica Apitsch

Discussions: These are my entries that peers commented on and created a discussion in one way or another.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 13-15

Chapter 4 - Thoreau

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Aiken

Timeliness:These are my entries that were posted before the Monday before each class.

Chapter 4 - Thoreau

Chapter 13 - Thoreau

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 13-15

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - 18, 19, 20

Edgar Allen Poe - The Raven

Edgar Allen Poe

Emily Dickinson

Xenoblogging: These are entries of my classmates that I was the first to comment on.

What Season are You Talking About? by Kayla Lesko

Follow Your Own Path by Jessica Apitsch

Wildcard: This is my entry about something other than what we read in the class.

School Holidays

Blogging Portfolio 3

2009-10-26T03:16:40Z

This is the Blog Portfolio 3 from American Literature 1800-1915.

For some of the topics, I have included a reason on why I chose it to be under the specific heading at the end of the blog.

Coverage: These are all the blogs that I have completed.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch. 23-24

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 36-End

The Bad Boy Boom - Mailloux

How To Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch 25-26

There's More Honor - Scott....

Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse - Smith

John Henry

Address of Booker T. Washington

The Souls of Black Folk - Dubois

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - envoi

The Wonderful World of Oz - Baum

Depth: These are my entries that were in depth that people could relate too.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch. 23-24

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

How To Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch 25-26

Address of Booker T. Washington

The Wonderful World of Oz - Baum

Interaction: These are some of the entries of my classmates that I commented on.

Books smarts vs. street smarts by Heather Mourick.

Who Is Really Smarter? by Jennifer Prex

Ugh! I'm dying! by Jeremy Barrick

Oh John Henry by Katie Lantz

Du Bois's Unfair Attack by Jessica Aptisch

John Henry the mighty force of manual labor by Jeremy Barrick

There is No Place Like Home by Katie Lantz

Foster is Still Forcing Me To Grow as Reader by Jessica Apitsch

Discussions: These are my entries that peers commented on and created a discussion in either class or on the blog. Some comments have the same idea of me and some have conflicting ideas.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch. 23-24

The Bad Boy Boom - Mailloux

There's More Honor - Scott

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - envoi

Timeliness:These are my entries that were posted before the Monday before each class.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch. 23-24

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

How To Read Literature Like a Professor - Ch 25-26

Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse - Smith

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - envoi

There's More Honor - Scott

Xenoblogging: These are entries of my classmates that I was the first to comment on.

Oh John Henry by Katie Lantz

Who Is Really Smarter? by Jennifer Prex

Wildcard: This is my entry about something other than what we read in the class.

What If You Could Foresee the Future?

The Truth

2009-10-26T03:04:46Z

"I called it borrowing, because that was what pap always called it; but Tom said it warn't borrowing, it was stealing." (Twain 279)

I commented on a blog about this before and thought it was interesting. Huck is following his pap's footsteps and ways of life. He doesn't like his ways and always hid when he came to town but then does what his pap does. If it wasn't for his pap then he wouldn't have been through everything. Another thing is, someone finally told him that it isn't borrowing, it is stealing. One of the reasons Huck just kept saying it was borrowing was because he didn't know any different so he just kept doing it. Now there is someone to guide him in the right way. Even though Widow Douglas tried teaching him to be polite, this isn't something that he could have been taught in a house or in school. It's one of those hands on things that he needed to be taught in the woods like this.

I chose to put this under depth. Because I went into this more than most. I had a lot of opinions and ideas on this topic. It also had a comment that sparked more interaction.

Can't I Just Be Sick?

2009-10-25T22:47:20Z

"Naturally, what gets encoded in a literary disease is largely up to the writer and the reader." (Foster 221)

This quote intrigued me. As I read the last couple chapters of Foster, I wondered why all these illnesses were made such a big deal. Why can't a character in a story just get sick or a disease? Why does every time a character get a sickness, is it made into a big deal and have to mean something? When I read, I don't look for the meaning of why they got the sickness. I look at it as a mountain in their life that they have to get over and learn how to cope with it. It doesn't mean that they are happy or sad or depressed just because they got AIDS from their dad or whatever. I am sure there are readers out there that also read and look at the symbolism of the sickness right away. It's fully based upon the reader on how the sickness is taken.

I also thought of the idea of in a television show, when an actor or actress doesn't want to continue their role on that show, they often get sick and die. That way they aren't on it and their character just doesn't disappear. Another thing is what if the author thought that character was getting too boring or just needed to move on in their life. They can just have they get sick and eventually die. It is a really good way of ending a character because there are so many sicknesses out there. The author can pick one that best suits the time, atmosphere, and situation without it seeming too out there.

I chose this blog as a depth blog because I went more into the idea of sickness. I went outside the idea of sickness just in the book and went into tv. I had a good understanding of what I was writing about and talking about.

School holidays

2009-10-21T18:14:50Z

All through my elementary career, I have had parties at all major holidays. Since then most have been cancelled, leaving children to 2 parties a year. With Halloween coming up, aka the most exciting party that I had in elementary school, and the schools without a party, I decided to write about it. The students are not only not allowed to have a party but they are not allowed to wear their costumes to school. When I was in school, we had a parade and party full of games, candy and fun. Now students are not allowed to have a parade or bring in candy which cuts out on the fun. Someone I know said that there teacher gives them candy but are not allowed to tell anyone or they will not be able to get any anymore. I just think this is ridiculous and that the kids should be able to have fun and enjoy a fun afternoon after a week full of classwork and tests. They deserve a reward after doing all the work. Just a thought.