Interpreter of Maladies

Foreshadowing means that the author brings something up that is shadowing something that's going to happen further in the book. I think that maybe the boy child is adopted and wasn't from the mother. Or maybe he has an illness that makes him pale. 

The Red Convertible

1. What is the setting of this story? The setting of this story is on a Reservation in North Dakota (1970). 

2. What is the main character's opinion on the army and his brother's involvement? The main character's opinion on the army and his brother's involvement was that when Henry finally came home, he was totally different. The different wasn't for the better, and he was so quiet. They used to seat around all day and just hang out, talk with each other. But Henry doesn't like to sit around anymore, he's always moving around and going places. He never even laughed anymore, and he used to make jokes all the time. He just turned mean when he came back. 

3. Provide an analysis behind the symbolism of the red convertible. Include a definition of symbolism in your answer. The red convertible symbolizes how Henry used to be. It makes Lyman remember all the good times they shared together. They were together when they first saw the car, and when they first bought the car. They went places together in that car, and traveled one whole summer together. 

4. This short story was written in 1984. Based on events that occurred during the 1980s, explain why the author may have developed certain plot elements/ literary devices in the story. This story was in the 1980s which was during the Vietnam War. But, the book was written in 1984 which was the same date as when the Vietnam War Memorial was opened in Washington D.C. I think she used this as inspiration to write the story, since it was written in the same time as the Vietnam War and the Memorial made for it.

Blog 3: A White Heron

Sylvia felt a connection with the white heron because she's closer with nature than she is with actual humans. Her and the bird are very close because they both want the same thing and freedom, and they both are by themselves. In her relationships with other people, she's disconnected from them because she isn't good with communicating. Her cow and the white heron are her best friends because they're alike in ways, and connect with each other from the things they have in common. 

Sylvia tries to stay true to herself and to the white heron in the end because he doesn't tell the guy the secret of the bird. Freedom symbolizes, in this story, that you have to find it yourself and be true to yourself always. 

 

Blog 2: The Body of Christopher Creed Ending

My final thoughts on the ending of The Body of Christopher Creed:

-Kind of confusing in a way of how it ended
-He says .."Reply That Makes Me Believe Totally That Creed is Alive"

~I agree with that because when you read the letter that he says he

thinks Chris Creed is still alive, it seems like it's Chris writing about

himself and why he doesn't want to be found.

-It's really frustrating because you really don't know if Chris is alive or dead

~In the book, he says they never find where he is, and that's what

you've been looking forward to this whole time you were reading.

Did you enjoy reading it?

-I really enjoyed reading this book because I could really get into it and it

didn't take forever for me to start to like the book.

~This book is like the kinds of books I enjoy reading

-The author did a really great job in keeping the reader fascinated with

the book, and everything that was happening.

Theory for the responses on Torey's web page:

-The first response on Torey's web page was from someone named Torey J.

Healy. The response was kind of weird in a way with the words and phrases

she/he said back to Torey. "If I had a candle and you, I would dance naked

to 'Titanic' while you read passages of this poetic journey from sweet youth

to robust manhood." [page 326]

-The second response on Torey's web page was from someone named Alex

Healy. His response was pretty mean and cruel, responding to something

as serious as Torey's story. "The fact you failed to capture was the pain of

the Creed mother and father, but being that you're just a boy, you could not

understand the agony of parents who lose a child." [page 326-327]

-The third response on Torey's web page was from someone named Michael

Alex Adams. This one, to Torey, said he thought it was Chris Creed in disguise,

because when Michael wrote back, he only responded to Torey's grammar

problems during his whole story. "Use your spell-checker and/or stick to

songwriting." [page 327]

-The fourth and last response on Torey's page is from Victor Adams. This is the

one where Torey says that it makes him believe Chris Creed is "totally alive".

Creed and Woobees:

"...I didn't care, the sounds of my guitar made me calmer, somehow. Guitars are like 'woobees'.." [page 185]

A woobee is from when you're little or when you're older, something that made everything better when you had it with you. Something that you looked at, held, listened to, saw that made you feel safer or less upset or made you happy. Torey needs to calm down at this point in the book because he's getting so worked up over everything that's been happening with Bo involving Chris Creed. 

I used to have a woobee when I was younger, and it was my blankie. I still have it in my closet but I don't really use it anymore. I have a new woobee for myself now that I'm older. I have a bear that I have to sleep with every night and it helps me fall asleep. It used to be my Aunt Kathy's bear but I took that when we went to her apartment to clean it out. 

TBCC: Chapters two and three

"How could people live their whole lives with their kid and not know this?" [pg. 25]

Torey is talking to himself about Chris Creed and his parents. He's pretty much saying that how could Mrs. and Mr. Creed not know who Chris was or how he felt this whole time he lived with them. It sort of ties back to how they think of their son Chris. They always thought he was so normal and had friends or was just a happy kid. But for their whole lives they didn't know he was so unhappy and wanted to run away or possibly kill himself. This stood out to me because the importance of knowing your children and knowing what they're going through is really important, as you can see.

Chapter 23: Graduation Speech

I feel that the graduation speech would have been a lot different if the speaker was African-American and not Caucasian. The Caucasian seemed to be talking down to the African-American students, making him seem superior to them. It was sad though because their response was putting their heads down, or not speaking up to what he said. If the speaker was African-American like the students, I feel that the speech would be a lot more uplifting and encouraging. I think that Harriet Tubman would make a great speaker for the students rather than that Caucasian man who talked down to them. Her speech would be something like .. 

"Hello students. My name is Harriet Tubman, and I'm an African-American, just like you guys. I know what you've all been through. I've seen all the cruelty and discrimination in this world like you have. I've been discriminated against, and wished I was something more beautiful than who I am before too. 

I'm here to talk to you guys and tell you not to think that anymore. If you've ever been discriminated against, look passed it. There are so many people out there who try to put us down because of what we look like, and how we're "different". Well to be honest, we aren't as different as they say we are. We've achieved a lot of the same stuff, possibly even more stuff.

There are many sports athletes, inventors, speakers, writers, and more that have been African-American who have achieved so much in the past and present. When someone is putting you down, you shouldn't give in and give up. You have to think about what's fair to you as an individual and remember that we're all the same, no matter what "color" we are. We've all achieved the same things, some better than others, but we've all achieved something and made a difference. We shouldn't be labeled on who we are, but what we do as a person. 

The next time someone puts you down, remember this. You aren't different, they are. They're the cruel ones, and they're the ones trying to make things different for us. We're the change we need to see in the world someday, and one day, things will be different. You just need to have hope, and believe that you can make a difference."

Chapter 19: Serena Williams

Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan in 1981 and is now the 7th tennis player in the whole world. She grew up with 4 other sisters, one of them being murdered in Los Angeles, California in 2003. Serena got her first grand slam in 1999, with four straight years of grand slams until 2003. Unfortunately, in 2003 she suffered from a knee injury that made her sit out for 8 months.

"I've always said that I'm insatiable." - Serena Williams.    

This relates to the book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings because the athlete in it loved what he did. And for Serena, when she was out because of her knee, she went right back into playing when she got back in. It was like a lot of motivation for the thing she loves. That relates to the book because he loved what he did, and he was the best at it. He beat Caucasian's at it, which surprised a lot of people since he was so motivated.                                                                                                                                  

Chapter 17 & 18: After the "Retreat" & The Revival

"The idea came to me that my people may be a race of masochists and that not only was it our fate to live the poorest, roughest life but that we liked it that way." - Page 121.

I chose this quote because it stood out to me, before we talked about it in class; kind of. This quote really ties in with the book and the African-Americans. It shows how hard an African-American's life is, and how it used to be too. It's showing how the African-Americans are 'masochists', meaning people who like pain, or endure pain in their lives. It shows how the African-Americans are so used to being put down, beaten, and scorned that they're used to all the pain. That they'd rather feel the pain, then have people pity them. 

I chose this particular quotation because it was easy to find a connection to the book and the African-Americans. It really stood out because when it says ".. my people may be a race of masochists .. we liked it that way," I got really confused. I got confused because why would you like to feel pain, and live a life like that? But then I realized not only are they used to it, but they sort of have to get used to it. It's pretty sad when you think about it, and how much pain African-Americans were/are put through.

Double, double, toil and trouble.

If I were the fourth witch, I'd put this into the potion:

A gooey booger and a bloody lip,

with moldy skin and a grandma's hip.

Ramasco's waste and a pile of poop,

with my neighbors dead dog and toenail clippings soup.

A box of fingers and a hairy monkey,

with 50 teeth and a grandpa that's chunky.

A case of B.O and a rotten plumb,

with a dirty diaper and a little kid's thumb.

Act III - Story Time

In the play Macbeth, a lot of bad things happen. The main character, Macbeth is turning into a mean person. It's not that he wants to become someone bad, it just seems like the crazy things are taking him over. His wife, Lady Macbeth, is very mean and pretends to be friends with someone just to use them for something she wants. Like say you're coloring a picture of the rainbow, and you need the Red to make the first line. As soon as your finished using the Red, and you don't need it anymore, you just put it back from where you got it. That's like with Lady Macbeth with people though, which is very bad. So, when these three Frankensteins come and talk to Macbeth and his friend Banquo, they tell them that they can see into the future. Frankensteins tells them that they both will become Kings! But that will only happen when King Duncan, the man who is King now, stops being King. When Macbeth tells his wife what the Frankensteins told him. When she hears this, she gets very excited. She wants Macbeth to become a King as fast as he can, so that she can become special too. But since Lady Macbeth is a mean person, she decides to try to get King Duncan to not be King anymore. A lot of things happen, and Lady Macbeth finally gets King Duncan to not be King anymore. She does this by hiding him in a very dark closet for the rest of his life, not being able to come out. Macbeth feels really bad for King Duncan, but Lady Macbeth's meanness makes Macbeth forget about it. 

Act II: Gorgon Reference

When Macduff says, "Approach the chamber and destroy your sight/ With a new Gorgon.." he's relating to Greek mythology. The Gorgons are three sisters, who were very beautiful. Medusa, one of the sisters was the youngest and the most beautiful out of the three. She was turned into a monster with snakes as her hair, fangs, claws, and a black tongue. 

He said that 'With a new Gorgon' .. because Medusa was so horrible looking that everyone who looked at her, turned to stone. He meant that go into the bedroom to see what happened, and you'll freeze with horror to see what is there.

Act 1: Scenes vi and vii - The Macbeths

If i were a marriage counselor I would give this advice to Macbeth and Lady Macbeth:

1. You guys rarely agree on anything, and if one doesn't agree with the other, you have to talk it out and figure out another solution to do. It's not good to go through with something that your wife/husband isn't okay with.
2. It seems like Lady Macbeth has the back bone in this relationship right now, and maybe she could lighten up and give Macbeth an easier time. It seems that she can convince him to do anything she wants him to do, or anything she wants to do; even when it's something bad like killing someone. 
3. They could talk about their problems, figure out why or how they created this problem during their marriage, talk about their fighting and arguing, and try to clear everything up as much as they can. 

Shakespeare's Language..

Before we start reading William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" as a class, it is important for all of you to become familiar with the playwright's language. 

Please answer the following questions in your own blog:

1. What is "blank verse"? [We discussed this yesterday, but if you are not sure, check out your poetry unit notes.]

Blank verse is a verse line of 10 syllables with 5 stresses and no rhyming

2. Interpret these Shakespearean lines using your Shakespeare Packet: Reading Shakespeare's English:

    a. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" [R&J] Hey wait baby, you're so beautiful, you're blinding me through the window.

    b. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate." [Sonnets XVIII] You are very pretty and hot.

    c. "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well." [Macbeth] If it was done when it was supposed to be done, then it'll be done well.

    d. "Whither are they vanished?" [Macbeth] To where are they escorted to?

3. How many creative Shakespearean insults can you come up with? Add "thou" or "thine" to the front of the lists picked up on your way in: "Thou+Column A+Column B+Column C!" Thou reeky pale-hearted whipster. Thou rug-headed nut-hook. Thou rank rug-headed rabit-sucker.

Post your BEST Shakespearean insult as a "comment" below.