Blogroll
This is the space where you will make your posts from dialectical journals.
It is also the place where you will read and respond to an emerging response from one of your classmates.
Example:
Response by Ms. M
“I was my luck to have a few good teachers in my youth, men and women who came into my dark head and lit a match.” ~The Life of Pi (27)
This year is going so fast, it is at times hard to see the forest through the trees. In other words, staying focused on our task (learning and preparing for the AP Language Exam) can be challenging. In order to keep you focused, I will be assigning readings, writings, exercises, activities, and practice test questions to increase your chances of earning that 4 or 5 on the May exam.
(That date is in week #2, Wednesday May 13th, 2009.)
We must make the most of our days together. During this six weeks you will see an increase in your outside of class reading, writing, and homework. This is the lighting of a fire of knowledge we began in the first six weeks together.
I will strive to keep a balance of class assignments and homework when I can.
Please take advantage of tutorials during the six weeks. You can always come in and study, you don’t need to come for assistance!
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I look forward to using this educational tool in class.
The Life of Pie chapter 1 was really unusual. Your comments on how good it is has helped me make up my mind. I think it is one book in my collection that I want to finish.
“She knew things that nobody had ever told her. For instance, the words of the trees and the wind…She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a women.” –Their Eyes Were Watching God pg#25
–Janie obtained knowledge of things no one had ever told her and I think thats why she became a women. She also had seen marriage as a magical thing where two people in love unite together, but in her case she was getting married not loving crushing her dream. Usually someone has to go through reality and with reality comes and unfair life where you learn you cannot always have what you want and the way you want it. Jaine getting married symbolized that unfairness demonstrating her growth from a child into a woman.
“People have gone down the same path as you have and you can learn from them.”
~The Catcher in the Rye (246)
#1) Paraphrase (From The Bluest Eye):
Throughout the story so far, the girls’ have a strong dislike toward Rosemary. the girls’ also describe their dislike for “white” dolls. They don’t understand why people feel they are superior and more “beautiful”.
Interpret: I think the girls’ dislike the white dolls because of the association with the white girls in town, like Rosemary. They see white girls as being arrogant. Their culture at that time showed that if your skin was of light tone, you were superior. Rosemary treats the girls’ badly and calls them ugly, so they feel that way.
“You should’ve seen old Phoebe. She had on these blue pajamas with red elephants on the collars. Elephants knock her out.”- The Catcher In The Rye (163)
You can tell that Holden really adores her in this passage; except I don’t fully understand if ‘knock out’ is a good thing. I believe it is because I don’t think that he would be making fun of his sister.
“Due to the racist’s powerful hold on the purse strings of whites and Negroes alike.”~Black like me[139]
This is a good use of metaphoric language. Meaning, because of the power of whites, they have a hold on the blacks.Giving them more reason to be feared.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Chapter 2 dialectical journal.
Chapter 2 starts with Janie collecting different memories from throughout her lifetime. A few new characters are introduced, such as Nanny (her grandmother), Mrs. Washburn (Nanny’s white employer), and Jonny Taylor. Janie begins to tell her story. She starts by telling us about her and Jonnys first kiss that Nanny witnessed. After this incident, Nanny chose a husband for Janie. He was a much older man who was named Logan Killicks.
On the very first line of chapter two, there is a great example of symbolism.
-”Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf.” (8)
The tree symbolizes life.
“They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged.”(Hurston 33)
Huston uses imagery and flashes back to Janie’s view of the world and how it is renewed every night, and recreated. This quote, to me, kind of shows the good and the bad, and how they come from the same place , and are created together.
“It was a cityfied, stylish dressed man with his had set at an angle that didn’t belong in these parts, His coat was over his arm, but he didn’t need it to represent his clothes. The shirt with silk sleeveholders was dazzling enough for the world.” (Hurston 27)
Hurston uses imagery to describe Joe Stark, Janie’s future husband, when she first saw him. This foreshandows Janie having nice things and being well off.
#2) Paraphrase: Claudia expeiences early on the challenges she will expierience in life being poor and black during that time. The adults in her life treat her with disrespect and coldheartedness.
Interpret: I think Claudia shows how she feels powerless. She seems sorry all the time for who she is and how she is. I think sometime later in the story it will show some kind of strength again for the girls. For Claudia, many issues coinside with her “growing up” and finding herself.
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.” –Their Eyes Were Watching God [pg # 1]
“Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.” –Their Eyes Were Watching God[pg # 1]
–The first quote establishes the meaning of what is the life of men, while the second quote states the difference in which they are different from men.
–Both these passages open up Their Eyes were Watching God, establishing a different outlook of the difference between men and women. In these two quotes, the idea that women need specific things from men and men from women is a topic that occurs throughout the novel. In Janie’s quest to find a man to fill those needs that need completion, the topic appears. These passages basically foreshadow the novels thematic concerns. The statement of women being insolent and pompous and the way they control what they want as far as chasing after their dreams and men really don’t go after what they want is one of the thematic concerns. While the novel unravels, Janie goes after what she’s missing, what she feels she needs for her to feel complete, in the direction of her dreams. She for once does what she wants to do and not what she’s been asked to do.
“And I’m standing at the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff.”~The Catcher in the Rye(224)
Salinger uses imagery in this passage by painting the image of Holden standing on a cliff and catching those who come close to falling off. Also there is details in the personality of Holden by the fact that he wants a job that doesn’t exist. Therefore this suggests that he is a dreamer.
“To Janie’s strange eyes, everything in the everglades was big and new. Big Lake Okeechobee, big beans, big cane, big weeds, big everything” (118) Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Janie is marvelling at her new environments. She says it is all new, but is this good or bad? This can also say that since everything around her is bigger, that her life is bigger also>
#1 Paraphrase from “Snow Falling on Cedars”
Carl’s boat had two batteries in the battery well of different kinds, a D-6 and a D-8, with a dead D-8 somewhere else on the boat. Kabuo’s boat had two D-6’s in the battery well with no spare battery.
Interpret:
Why would Kabou go out without an extra battery, and if he did, how did that D-6 get into Carl’s boat. I think it’s pretty obvious that Carl had a dead battery and no spare and Kabuo was just helping helping him out.
“The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom.”
~The Catcher in the Rye (243)
This is very true. People don’t admit to failing very easily. Those around can see the fall yet man still thinks he can fly despite what he is told.
“Montagomery looked different that morning. The face of humanity smiled-good smiles,full of warmth;irresistible smiles that confirmed my impression that these people were simply unaware of the situation with the Negroes who passed them on the street.”~Black like me[Nov.29]
People are blind. They see color and don’t look past that. Their unaware of what the Negroes are going through in their lives. White’s see color. “Unaware” This word is used several times throughout the text. Whites were simply unaware.Unaware what difficulties blacks went through.Some simply just didn’t care.
First Blog
Their Eyes Were Watching God
“It was name,nobody wouldn’t have tuh look out for babies touchin’ stoves would they? Cause day just naturally wouldn’t touch it. But they sho will. So it’s caution.”
“Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing dat God ever made. He made nature and nature made everything else.” (pg 64, par9)
In this passage the dialect alone sets a playful tone and embraces the African American culture of language. Nature is again present within the story and questioned. This developes each character and their personalities which makes them more relatable to the reader. I agree with Sam and that nature made everything.
Paraphrase #1
The Catcher in the Rye
At the end of chapters, Salinger never leaves the reader hanging or wondering what might happen next. He usually just ends it with a short sentence about what Holden is thinking at the time.
examples:
“I’m glad I didn’t.” (98)
“I swear I’m a madman.” (134
“They gave us a test.” (149)
“I can’t stand it.” (193)
Interpret:
I think this is a writing strategy of Salinger because Holden is a young, immature guy and he probably is trying to express his thoughts into how Holden would probably be narrating it and his possible thoughts.
(1st Blog)
“The Bluest Eye”
September 27, 2008
Page 61
“My daddy’s face is a study. Winter moves into it and presides there. His eyes become a cliff of snow threatening to avalanche; his eyebrows bend like the black limbs of the leafless trees. His skin takes on the pale, cheerless yellow of winter sun; for a jaw he has the edges of a snowbound field dotted with stubble; his high forehead is the frozen sweep of the Erie, hiding currents of gelid thoughts that eddy in darkness.”
The author’s using a lot of adjectives that are sometimes abstract. I love the diction for it seems a little euphonious. For the whole paragraph, that is, and not just a word. It’s pleasant sounding in my ears. When one reads it, it seems to be flowing. At the same time, it’s describing. It describes how a daddy looks like to a young kid, I guess.
(2nd Blog)
“The Bluest Eye”
September 30, 2008
Page 204-205
“So it was. A little black girl yearns for the blue eyes of a little white girl, and the horror at the heart of her yearning is exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment. We saw her sometimes. Frieda and I—after the baby came too soon and died… We tried to see her without looking at her, and never, never went near… We were so beautiful when we stood astride her ugliness. Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health, her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent. Her poverty kept us generous. Even her waking dreams we used—to silence our own nightmares. And she let us, and thereby deserved our contempt. We honed our egos on her, padded our characters with her frailty, and yawned at the fantasy of our strength. ”
-Claudia
So it was. Exactly like the paragraph describes. A little black girl yearns for a difference in life. A luxury given only to little white girls of this time. She wants everyone’s attention. She wants their affection. She wants everything a little white girl can have. She’s not jealous but she wants equality. Then there are the others again. Feeling more superior than the young Pecola because of what had happened. Before this event, Pecola was in the chest-deep mud of discrimination. Now, she is drowning. What does one do? Enjoy the feeling of superiority while it last. Am I wrong?
#2 Paraphrase
The Catcher In the Rye
“…what I did after I went home, and how I got sick and all, and what school I’m supposed to go to next fall.” (page 213).
This was one of the final sentences of the book and it made me have a number of questions. I wondered what Holden meant when he said that he got “sick and all” because I thought it might of meant a serious sickness and in that case, I wonder why Salinger didn’t go forth and tell the reader what happened. Another question that rose was what did it mean when he said “…school I’m supposed to go to” because he didn’t sound excited and he didn’t sound positive about that decision. Those were some of my final questions in the novel.
The Bluest Eye
Entry #1
“Our flowers never grew. I was convinced that Frieda was right, that I had planted them to deeply. How could I have been so sloven? so we avoided Pecola Breedlove forever.” [Pg. 205]
The flowers they planted for luck never grew which is kind of ironic because the baby never really grew, and the love of Pecola’s family never grew and nothing really ever grew except the bad things, like gossip, and lies.
Entry #2
“When Cholly was four days old, his mother wrapped him in two blankets and one newspaper and placed him on a junk heap by the railroad. His Great Aunt Jimmy, who had seen her niece carrying a bundle out of the back door, rescued him.” [Pg. 132]
What kind of mother would go through all that pain to just throw it all away? It’s a living, breathing human being. Why would you throw someone’s life away just because you made the mistake of thinking you could take care of it? That’s dumb.
a comment on Alex P.
I completely agree with her statement. It is true that the chapter begins with symbolizing life, her life. The tree is magnificant because they grow and like Janie she will grow. She still as a lot in her future, even though her grandmother decides her husabnd. She has to just wait.
I agree with Kait’s statement; although I do feel “Elephants knock her out” means something along the lines of she looks good in them or they flatter her, and he says this because he admires his big sister.
“The driver wass sort of a wise guy. “I can’t turn around here, Mac. This here’s a one-way. I’ll have to go all the way to Nindieth Street.” – The Catcher In The Rye (60)
The way the author wrote this made it to where you can amost here the accent in the drivers voice. Also, when he said he was a ‘wise guy’ the author did a good job at making that noticed when he spoke.
“What is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.” ~Les Miserables (p.11)
Depending on how it’s taken this quote could either support or contrast the rest of the novel. One could either take this literally, that men follow what is said of them, or think a bit deeper into the quote, that men will change to disprove what others say about them.
(Entry 2)
Chapter 20. “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.” pg. 184
Janie is pretty much just taking a look back on her life and dreams, and realizing what a life she has really had. Nice metaphor with the fishnet bringing in all her life experiences for her to examine.
Their eyes were watching god
“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while a mature man want to live humbly for one.”~The Catcher in the Rye (244)
This is true many people will speak of dying for their country or their cause but few people ever speak of living for their cause.
Catcher in the Rye
1)”I swear to God I’m a madman.” pg. 134
This is a very simple but blunt statement. I wasn’t sure if I was suppose to take it as a joke or very very seriously. But with previous knowledge of the text I knew that it was foreshadowing.
2)”I mean he was very intelligent and all, but you could tell he didn’t have too much brains.” pg. 185
Holden is a very observant character that isn’t impressed that easily. Also, this statement is a total juxtaposition and it makes me question his sanity even further.
Chris B.
This is really deep. I agree because it is true that people strive for things too far out of reach thinking that they can reach it, and then when they fail they don’t admit it.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Chapter 7 dialectical journal
Numerous years pass, and their marriage status stays the same. The chapter talks mostly about the way Joe is aging. Not only is it his appearance, but physical changes are also occuring. He becomes more and more abusive as years pass, and soon enough Joe decides to strike Janie as hard has he could, and ordered her to leave their work place.
-”She was a rut in the road. Pleanty of life beneath the surface but it was kept beaten down by the wheels.” (72)
“Their Eyes Were Watching God”
“So she sat on the porch and watched the moon rise. Soon its amber fluid was drenching the earth, and quenching the thirst of the day.”(pg99.par2)
The author uses words like “quenching” and “drenching to hint that the charcter is satisfied. These rythmis words enhance sentence fluidity.
“Undoubtedly they seemed very depraved, very corrupt, very vile, very hateful, even, but those are rare who fall without becoming degraded; there is a point, moreover, at which the unfortunate and the infamous are associated and confounded in a single word, a fatal word, Les Miserables; whose fault is that? And then, is it not when the fall is lowest that charity ought to be greatest?” ~Les Miserables (p.435)
I believe this quote is where the book takes its name from.
I am commenting on #4 Kati D.
I agree, it is very evident that Holden has a deep admiration for his sister. I also think that “knock out” is a compliment in Holdens eyes.
“Janie gets married to logan, because she thinks it will take away the loneliness and be in love, but days pass and she does not feel anything and goes to nanny and tells her about her feelings towards the marriage, and ask why she has’nt felt complete. “Janie first dream was dead, so she became a women.”(chaper 3)
i agree that women sacrafice more, because we want to feel a certain way, thats why women are so strong and can be very good under pressure, when you have to go through hard times.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
“No hour is ever eternity, but it has it’s right to weep.”
page 184
I think this quote is very profound in its truth. After Janie is forced to kill her beloved, rabies infected husband, Tea Cake, she is confronted with the guilt and mourning of his death. Janie is an extremely strong character and she knows that her moment of loss will not last forever however, she does not view her grief as weakness, she believes it justified and necessary.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
“She pulled in her horizon like a great fishnet. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and dropped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.” Page 193
This imagery and metaphor combines every aspect of Janie’s life into a series of events in which she has learned to cherish, prosper, and most importantly overcome. She finds value in every one of her tragedies because through it all she has experienced life. She calls her soul to come learn from every shining memory in the net of her life.
” The whole prospect was hideous, hateful, grim, and desolate. There was nothing in the field or on the hill, only one ugly tree, a few steps from the traveler, which seemed to be twisting tremulously.”~Les Miserables (68)
Could hugo be any more depressing? Yes he did a good job with setting the scene, but he could have at least made it a little happier. Just reading this makes me want to crouch in acorner and die.
1. “It was this red hunting hat, with one of those very, very long peaks. I saw it in the window of this sports store when we got out of the subway, just after I noticed I’d lost all the foils. It only cost me a buck. The way I wore it, I swung the old peak around to the back-very corny, I’ll admit, but I liked it that way. I looked good in it that way.” (Salinger 24)
Holden’s red hunting hat is one of the major symbols in the book. He never likes to wear it around people he knows. He wants to be like others, but at the same time, he feels proud to be unique and wear it.
1st blog
“Les Miserables”
September 29, 2008
page 939
“He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly, unconscious of what he was doing. he held her up though tottering himself. he felt as if his head were filled with smoke; flashes of light slipped through his eyelidsl his thoughts vanished; it seemed to him that he was performing a religious act…Moreover, he did not feel one passionated desire for this ravishing woman, whose form he felt against his heart. he was lost in love” (939, Hugo)
The chronology of the love life of Marious and Cosette has been in the right place, however, it is normal for a father to able to worry about his only daughter. This is the start of the challenges for Jean Valjean (Cosette’s father). It is very hard for him to know what really is going on in a teenage girl’s mind. In the thinking of some people, it is very weird to hear this kind of situation/circumstance. How could someone be attracted and be in love to someone whom you haven’t known before? Is it really practical to be in love at first sight? Does it happen?
“We should fear ourselves. Prejudices are the real robbers; vices the eal murderers. The great dangers are within us.”
[Les Miserables]
The main character,Jean, is angry because of how society is and how they/it treated him. He spent years in prison for stealing because there was no other way to help his family because society stealed from him!The same people that robbed him punished him for a crime they committed on a deeper level. He took bread; society took dignity. Being livid or outraged comes after years of this mental, torturing, conundrum. Eventually his heart is hardend.
Catcher in the Rye
1
“So what I did, I wrote about my brother Allie’s baseball mit. It was a really descriptive subject. It really was. My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder’s mit. He was left-handed. The thing that was descriptive about it, though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he’d have something to readwhen he was in the field and nobody was up to bat.” (page 38 paragraph 1)
This is the first time Holden’s more sensitive side is uncovered. The subject of his dear, deceased brother tears down the serious facade he tries so hard to build up. We see his love for and admiration for this lost sibling in the word choice and syntax that create a very insistant nature. Throughout the book the motif of childhood innocence and goodness is key and begins in this passage.
2.
“Boy, I was shaking like a madman. I was sweating, too. When something perverty like that happens I start sweating like a bastard. That kind of stuff’s happened to me about twenty times since I was a kid. I can’t stand it.” (page 193, paragraph 7)
Another motif is jucstaposed to childhood innocence and that is the evil of adults. This passage reveals reasons to Holden’s distrust and thus further developes his character. We learn of possible reasons for the facade he has developed and has worked desperately to maintain.
“They could feel the cold as it crept in through the cracks, reaching out for them with it’s icy, death- dealing fingers; and they would crouch and cower, and try to hide from it, all in vain.” Page 88 “The Jungle”
This is, by far, one of the best uses of personification I have ever read. Very well written, this quote elaborates almost to the point where I could could see the cold coming into the small house.
I am commenting on comment number 14.
I agree entirely and think that this is a wonderful analysis. The diction and words such as “warm” and “happy” are combined to create a feel of disgust rather than the typical joy that accompany them. This creates a myriad of emotions that are understandable in the situation.
Life Of Pie by Yann Martel
“Bapu Ghandi said, ‘All religions are true’. I just want to love God,”(pg 69)
A perfect answer to the “three wise men” who were telling Pi that he must choose one religion. He explains that all religions are true if you love god. All he wants to do is love God. The three wise men’s response to this is just as it should be, ashamed. They probably felt embarassed athow they had handled the situation.
“But religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for”(pg 48)
After reading the thoughts and words of Pi Patel, I have come to a conclusion of my own. Pi as a boy, and probably even as a man, was a boy well beyond his years. He trusted his religion and understood it, unlike many people today, grown and young alike. Pi knows what the rite and ritual of his Hindu faith truly stand for.
1st Blog
Their Eyes Were Watching God
We were asked about the book’s ‘Word Color’. Could this mean what color did we get a vibe of when reading this book? Because when i read, i get colors and shapes that connect to the book. If that is what was meant by word color, then i got a very midnight blue or deep purple sort of a vibe and i associated a square with this book.
Is this what was meant???
“The stone is entirely blank. The only thought in cutting it was of the essentials of the grave, and there was no other care than to make this stone long enough and narrow enough to cover a man” (1462, Hugo).
Lastly, a moral value of being so humble and down to earth has occured right before Mr. Valjean died. He mentioned such things and of course becuase of the love that was given to him, his daughter did what he wants just like when she was a little girl telling her what to do. It is in reality sad to not put your name on your burial place because you don’t want to and because of the era after the French Revolution, the space may easily be removed and be replaced by something else. However, due to kindness, he is, for one last time, willing to do such a thing. Does the place have a big influence on this?
blog #2.
“Their eyes were watching god”
pg.157
“Tea cake!” He heard her and sprang up. Janie was trying to swim but fighting water too hard. He saw a cow and swimming slowly towards the fill in an oblique line. A massive built dog was sitting on her shoulders and shivering and growling. The cow was approaching Janie.A few strokes would bring her there.”
This is the climax of the book! Tea cake saves Janie, even if he got bit it was better then her getting injured. The tone is very scary and exciting,you dont even know whats going to happen, it keeps you wanting to read more and not wanting to put the book down, i love when authors do that because you can be there and feel the passion and become part of the book, even though you are not there physicaly.
(1) Life of Pi
Chapter 1, pg.6
“I love Canada. I miss the heat of India, the food, the lizards on the walls, the musicals on the silver screen, the cows wandering the streets, the cows cowing, even the talk of cricket matches, but I love Canada. It’s a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos.”
When I first read this, I thought it crazy that anyone would ever miss the heat of a place. Living where I live, I feel that I get more than enough heat and probably wouldn’t miss it if I moved to, say, Colorado.
Secondly, I noticed the alliteration of the C’s. Maybe the author did this for emphasis… I’m not sure though — just an observation.
(2) Life of Pi
Chapter 92, pg.280
Paraphrase: There’s a part in the book where Pi finds a tree with black fruits. He finds it odd because no other tree on the island bears fruit. After dissecting the fruit, he finds a tooth in each one. At night, he throws a meerkat out of a tree. It screams, then immediately climbs back up the tree.
I wonder why the fruit appeared to be black. Was that a sign of what was inside? Why teeth? Why not claws or fingernails? How does an island become carnivorous, and why is it that way only during the night?
Catcher in the Rye; Chp: 1 Pg: 4
“I don’t care if it’s a sad good-bye or a bad good-bye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t, you feel even worse.”
——-
The tone in this paragraph actually starts off really bitter but when he starts describing why he is standing on the frosty hill he actually appears to be somewhat sentimental. In this book those moments are far and few between. When I read this book, the fact that he is capable of having moments like that, like the day he spent with his sister later on, always made me wonder why he made himself appear so cold and harsh to others? He sounds like he came from a normal family so what made him change?
I am commenting on number 19.
I have to agree with the fact that the author uses a lot of adjectives. Pertaining to the meaning of the word ‘adjective’ it describes nouns. In that certain passage, the author is using deep imagery. It seems that they way the author addresses what is going on with the characters is very detailed. The way the kid thinks of his father is just like an ordinary child would think about someone older. Someone that he thinks of as a superhero who can do everything. Lastly, the way euphonious is used by the reader is a little different because doesn’t that mean pleasant to the ear, music wise? But it seems to have been connecting very well.
In response to the 2nd entry posted by #22:
I agree with Katy. It’s so illogical to just toss a baby out because of the inability to care for it. She could have asked someone for help, gave it up for adoption, or let her aunt care for it before she threw it out and her aunt had to rescue it from a pile of rubbish. I think it displays great immaturity, ignorance and lack of preparation to do what this girl did. I also think that people shouldn’t have children if they are not ready and equipped to care for them which is clearly what this girl has done.
Hello students!
Remember safety protocols.
First name, initial.
Enjoy your weekend!
Ms. M
The Catcher in the Rye
(Pg 40-41)
In this chapter he uses the word, “goddamn,” a lot, there really isn’t any reason to be using that word especially the way he uses it, “goddamn stupid footsteps,” “goddamn footsteps,” “goddamn word about Jane,” “goddamn composition,” “goddamn bed,” “goddamn baseball.” He uses his word so repetitively it’s annoying. It’s like everything is annoying him, at least that’s what I’m thinking. Every time he uses that work I think something is annoying him. In these cases, footsteps, composition, something about Jane, are annoying him. No one really curses unless they are extremely angry or perhaps curse out of habit. Holden doesn’t have a habit of just using the word, “goddamn,” its only concentrated in chapter 6. What are his reasons for using that word over and over again?
The Catcher in the Rye
Pg 193
“I didn’t want to, but I started thinking about old Mr. Antolini and I wondered what he’d tell Mrs. Antolini when she saw that I hadn’t slept there or anything.” I don’t understand why he just got up and left Mr. Antolini, he was obviously supportive and listening to Holden, and he decides to get up and just leaves, without even telling anyone. If he actually cared enough about the Antolini’s he’d stayed at least till morning and then deicide to leave formally. Maybe he wants people to miss him?
(reply to Michelle S. #33)
I agree with her, that some women do give up more just to be with the one they love. Some other women prefer to be independent, and not relying in a man to give them happiness.
In ” Their eyes were watching god”
blog#1
pg.190
After Tea Cake’s funneral, the men of the muck realize how poorly they treated Janie. Her story ends telling Pheoby that she is content to live in Eatonville again. She realizes however that Tea Cake gave her much and that he will always be with her.
Janie had bad luck finding true love. Pheoby should take Janie’s childhood life as what she going to have coming her way. Janie knew what she was telling her because she lived throught it and was encouraging her not to do the same mistake as she did.
Response to #36 Chelsea B. from the quote:
“No hour is ever eternity, but it has it’s right to weep.”
-I love the quote that you picked. It’s only a sentence long but I think it holds a message of value. The diction is a little abstract and I think it holds somewhat an example of a little personification, although it doesn’t really point to the subject weeping but it did say a “right to weep.” Even if I have not yet read this book, your comment conveys the tone of truth in it and, from my opinion, I’d say that you’ve certainly made your point.
Response to #50:
Maybe there were teeth in the fruit, rather than claws or nails, because the island’s carnivorous? Is there any reason he throws a meerkat and not some other kind of animal?
Response to #38:
Les Miserables is paralleling the french revolution; that’s certainly not a particularly pleasant time period. That early in the book is only setting up the worst to show how Valjean’s life changes and, to some degree, gets better.
(2)Les Miserables p. 74
“Jean Valjean, a liberated convict, a native of —,…, has been in prison for nineteen years; five years for burglary; fourteen years for four attempted escapes. This man is highly dangerous.
Jean Valjean has some serious issues with learning the first time. Four attempted escapes?! You would think that being caught once would be enough to stop him from doing it again.
I am commenting on number 43.
I would have to agree with Jeff. The personification is amazing, it’s right up there with Victor Hugo’s writings.
Entry 1.
13) pg. 121, ” The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was. Nobody’d move. You could go there a hundred thousand times, and that Eskimo would still be just finished catching those two fish, the birds would still be on their way south, the deers would still be drinking out of that water hole, with their pretty antlers and their pretty, skinny legs, and that squaw with the naked bosom would still be weaving that same blanket. Nobody’d be different. The only thing that would be different would be you.”
- I love this passage. It is very real and deep. Before reading this, I had never really given much thought to the concept of museums and why I’d felt so comfortable in them, and it pointed it out to me so directly. It was a sense of security knowing that each time, it’d be the same, yet different for you at different points or times in your life, where you were able to analyze and discover new things you might not have before.
Entry 2.
20) pg. 157, “It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.”
- Caulfield definitely knew this concept, he displays it throughout the entire book. Although slightly subliminally, he is very manipulative in his mannerism, and actions. This, however, was about the only time he admits it.
I agree with Simeon C. on number 28 because it really is rare that you ever hear that. Everybody is so quick to die so they can be remembered as a hero, when in reality they will receive more credit for proving that you can be noble and come out strong, not so defeated. It just seems more logical in my eyes to want to live and see what you fought for exhibited, rather than to leave and never see the creation of your work.
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
“Hatsue settled into missing her husband…a deliberately controlled hysteria that was something like what Ishmael Chambers felt watching her in the courtroom.” (Chapter 7, pg. 93)
Ishmael recalls events in the past where Hatsue and himself were alone together. At that time Ishmael thought that their relationship was preordained. I think Ishmael still believed that he would one day be reunited with Hastue.
Do you think that Ishmael felt any resentment towards Kabuo or Hastue because of their current relationship? Do you think Ishmael was happy because of Kabuo’s current situation?
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
“The trick was to live here without hating yourself because all around you is hatred.” (Chapter 11)
Paraphrase: Fujiko tells her daughters about hardships and how they must endure them. Afterwards, Fujiko and Hatsue have an argument. Hatsue argues that the Americans are not so different then them, while Fujiko tells her that they are very different. Fujiko then calmly tells her not to say what is in her heart for the moment (to be quiet) after Hatsue exclaimed that she didn’t want to be Japanese.
I think the Hatsue is frustrated because of her secret relationship with Ishmael and her Mothers’ thoughts about Americans. She probably found what Fujiko said to be extremely offensive, but she can’t fully express her feelings because of Ishmael.
Commenting on reply #4
This is a very simple statement, yet many people don’t seem to apply it to their everyday lives. There are always people around you that have shared similar experiences in the past. They are the most valuable resources one can have.
“…As for the sea, it looked rough, but to a land lubber the sea is always impressive and forbidding, beautiful and dangerous.”
Life of Pi (pg. 113)
I thought the diction in this quote, contradictory words put together to describe the sea, was a good choice by Piscine, and I loved the combination he used.
“The knife was in plain view on the bench… I stabbed him in the stomach… Blood was pouring out… I stabbed him in the throat next to his Adam’s apple. He dropped like a stone. And died… He had no last words… His blood soothed my chapped hands… His heart was a struggle… I managed to get it out. It tasted delicious, far better than turtle. I ate his liver. I cut off great pieces of his flesh.”
Life of Pi (pgs. 344-345)
Woah. This paragraph has some very vivid and intense imagery! I liked this quote because it showed how desperate Piscine was and what he had to go through to survive.
The Catcher in the Rye: pg 1
1:
“They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all but they’re also touchy.”
“That kills me.” or “that killed me.”
Also, “Knock out”
The first time I read this and throughout the book, I realized that the author repeated alot of things. These being Holden’s thoughts and all, I wondered why things needed to be repeated? Perhaps a feeling of being sure or just to emphasize a thought.
2: pg 173
“It’s ‘If a body (catch) meet a body coming through the rye’!” old phoebe said “It’s a poem by robert burns.”
This is the first time in the whole book where the author finally shows the connection of the title. From the poem, it says “O Jenny is all wet, poor body, Jenny is seldom dry:
She draggled all her petticoats, Coming through the rye!
Coming through the rye, poor body, Coming through the rye, She draggled all her petticoats, Coming through the rye! Should a body meet a body Coming through the rye,
Should a body kiss a body, Need a body cry? For me, I thought this kind of matched the mood of the story and that when you’re finally happy, do you need anything else?
I am commenting on #12
I do agree that Holden is a dreamer and that all he really wants is to finally be himself and just be happy with everything.
Response to #43 Jeff B. on the quote:
“They could feel the cold as it crept in through the cracks, reaching out for them with it’s icy, death- dealing fingers; and they would crouch and cower, and try to hide from it, all in vain.” Page 88 “The Jungle”
I totally agree with your comment. Especially in regards to the quote’s personification. I really think it’s a good quote and I love how you responded to it. The way the author used his words makes the diction quite concrete yet abstract. You can also imagine the cold “reaching out” to them with it’s “death-dealing fingers.”
I am commenting on number 19.
I have to agree with the fact that the author uses a lot of adjectives. Pertaining to the meaning of the word ‘adjective’ it describes nouns. In that certain passage, the author is using deep imagery. It seems that they way the author addresses what is going on with the characters is very detailed. The way the kid thinks of his father is just like an ordinary child would think about someone older. Someone that he thinks of as a superhero who can do everything. Lastly, the way euphonious is used by the reader is a little different because doesn’t that mean pleasant to the ear, music wise? But it seems to have been connecting very well.
Response to #18
Yeah, I also noticed that the author used that strategy in his writing. It kind of keeps you wondering more about the story.
Response to #51
I think that what made him change was that he was probably tired of trying to fit in and stay in school. Maybe he made himself seem so harsh to others because he has a low self esteem or low confidence.
(1)Their Eyes Were Watching God
Chapter 1;page 1
“It was time for sitting on porches beside the road. It was the time to hear things and talk…They became lords of sounds and lesser things.They passed nations thriugh their mouths.They sat in judgement.”
-In this opening statement it immediatly reminds me of Salem village from the ‘Crucible’. It is a heavely judgemental society that watches and analyzes your every move.
(2) Their Eyes Were Watching God
page 81
“So new thoughts had to be thought and new words said. She didn’t want to live like that.”
-This was Janies second marriage and she knew if she didn’t change something about their relationship the same thing will happen as the last time. This is also for the future, her trying so hard to change things shows her love for her husband and the want to stay with him no matter what.
I am responding to blog #40
I wanted to read this book so bad and i understand the basic idea behind it because of the broadway show. I aggree completly that it is hard for a father and a serious challenge. I think LOVE at first sight is a little of a stetch, it takes time to fall in love.
Blog:1
Their Eyes Were Watching God
“The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining agaisnt crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might agaisnt His. They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.”
Explanation:
Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat seek refuge from the raging hurricane outside; the struggle at the heart of the novel is set forth in the starkest terms: humans agaisnt God, and Jane and the others agaisnt nature.
Blog 2
I am commenting to blog #10 by Devon L.
In my opinion, if Claudia is being treated the way he explains then later on in the story, she will change and show that she is beautiful and powerful the way she is. Having people put you down at a young age will make you want to prove them wrong; that will make you feel better about yourself. This is what will happen to Claudia later on in the story, well that is what I believe.
Blog #3
Their Eyes Were Watching God
“Listen, Sam, if it was nature, nobody wouldn’t have tuh look out for babies touchin’ stoves, would they? ‘Cause deyjust naturally wouldn’t touch it. But dey sho will. So it’s caution.”
“Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. It’s de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made. He made nature and nature made everything else.”
Explanation:
This was between Lige Moss and Sam Watson on the porch of Jody’s store. Sam and Lige are arguing about the relationship between mankind and God and between themselves and the world around them.
In response to number 41
I agree competely and believe that society robbed him of his dignity. This concept that the main character, Jean, and the society have stolen from each other goes hand in hand with what I herd in another book, which I cannot recall but think is named “Utopia”, that “society creates the criminals/theives and then punishes them for the very acts that they have grown to know or are helpless from comitting”.
Qoute:People always think something’s all true. The Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 2
Response: to me this could be the same as saying that alot of people beleave everything a person tells them, I being one of those people. Some cant determine which is a lie or which is the truth so they take the whole thing as ether all true or all false.
qoute #2: Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.The Catcher in the Rye,Mr. Spencer in Chapter 2
Response: Life truely is a game in some aspects. Allthough you cant reset life like that of a game, you can still follow many different paths that you decide for yourself much like the outcome of a game. But there are still rules that you must follow in life that will have consquences if you dont follow them, jus tlike that of a games rules.
In response to #28: I agree with this in the fact that many men state that the will die for there country thinking that is the noblest way to do things, But it would be better for men to Live rather than die as to be able to help ones country when it needs it most. Dieing could be seen as the easy way out of hard work needed to be put forth.
“I swear to God, if I were a piano player or an actor or something and all those dopes thought I was terrific, I’d hate it. I wouldn’t even want them to clap for me. People always clap for the wrong things.” Pg: 84; Chp: 12
————
Why does Holden think we clap for the wrong things? What does it mean to clap for the wrong things? We normally clap for something that we think is well said or when something is awarded and we congratulate them through applause. So what would be wrong with clapping there?
Comment on #62 Carey M
I’d have to agree with the statement. He definitely hasn’t learned his lesson or he is trying to take the motto “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again” to heart. Though he may be some one who simply enjoys braking out of jail.
Comment on #39 Brittney J
I remember that hat coming up through out the book and how insecure he felt about wearing it. If he loves that hat so much why wouldn’t he enjoy wearing it no matter the occasion? I would just toss it onto the growing pile of Holden’s oddities.
Qoute: So when we looked at de picture and everybody got pointed out
there wasn’t nobody left except a real dark little girl with long hair
standing next by Eleanar Dat’s where ah wuz s’posed to be , but ah couldn’t recognized dat dark
chile as me. So ah ast, where is me? Ah don’t see me
Response: I thought this was kind of funny when I read this . It kind of showed what it was like at that time
and growing up around a bunch of white children.It showed how much she really knew about her self and it kind
of shows how her character developed from the way that she was raised. Since she was raised with a bunch of white
children I thought it was weird that I didn’t affect how she treated people as she grew older.
Quote: There are years that ask questions and years that answer. Page 21 Their eyes were watching god
Response: I thought this meant that you do not know what lies in the future. it might turn out to be a good year for you or not, or it could mean that with age comes wisdom, that learning new things is a part of growing up.
In Response to #4
if you were to start going down a wrong path there is probly someone else thta has gone down that exact same path. You can learn what you need to get through promblems that may arise.
The Cather in the Rye
“I sat down in a vomity-looking chair.”(pg. 76)
“It was raining like hell.”(pg. 78)
“It was the closest we ever got to necking.”(pg.79)
“I don’t want you to get the idea that she was a goddam icicle or something.”(pg79)
The author in the following quotes seems to be descrbing Holden through descriptoins of solid objects, and through dialect. The term “vomity-looking” is used to describe holden through the image of a stationary, boring, dry chair. Necking is used to describe that wholesome activity of swapping spit with a significant other. Icicle is used to describe a young proper women who would never fool around. The use of the dialect seems to degrade younge Holden’s reputation by giving the reader the illusion of a improper child. A person who is uneducated and very pessimistic.
The Catcher In the Rye
“What he was doing was, sitting on the floor right next to the couch, in the dark and all, and he was sort of petting me on the goddam head.”(pg. 192)
In this passage Mr. Antolini is patting Holden on the head while he is at rest. As he is doing this Holden suddenly wakes up, and he backs away believing that it is some sort of homosexual come-on. Yet, the interpratation was taken wrong for it was only an act of alleviation. Mr. Antolini was the first person to that actualy tries and wants to help Holden. Yet, Holdens recluse characteristics only made him pull away. It interconnects with the song. To the point that he wanted to catch Holden. It’s just that he is to stubborn to let him or anybody help him. His overreaction lost him a great father figure.
Response to Number 25
I completly agree with kati’s view of the author. He is great at giving the image of certain types of people through there dialect. It is a great writting stategy that seems to give a better understanding of what type of time they live in. The type of things that are done and said. As well as, the type of feelings those people with held. This broadens the understanding of some of the characters and there many attributes that they hold.
The Catcher in the Rye (#1)
“I think if you don’t really like a girl, you shouldn’t hoarse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you’re supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be carful about doing crumby stuff to it…“(Pg. 66, Holden, chapter 9)
This is an extremely interesting quote in several ways. For one, it illustrates again how morally conscientious Holden can be when he think about various issues in society. Also, this quote’s syntax is very peculiar. It is a very long sentence, broken up with a lot of commas. This creates a tone of rough, jagged talk, illustrating how difficult and unnatural it is for him to talk about sex. His language, adjectives, and other vocabulary choices resemble that of a ten year old trying to talk about the issue of sex. This shows how uncomfortable Holden really is about this subject, even though he has formulated some in depth opinions on the matter for himself.
The Catcher in the Rye (#2)
“The only good thing, I knew she wouldn’t let old Phoebe come to my goddamn funeral because she was only al little kid . . . I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something.” (pg. 161, Holden, chapter 20)
Holden is so concerned about Phoebe losing her innocence and growing up, that he experiences joy when he thinks Phoebe won’t be at his funeral. He believes the less horrific and depressing things she experiences, the more naïve she will remain o the horrors of humanity and thus will no succumb to human nature herself. Also, this quotation illustrates how little he values his life. Holden would rather be thrown in a river or somewhere instead of being buried in a cemetery. He says this is because he believes cemeteries are depressing but I think it is because he has so much contempt for humanity that he doesn’t think the body should be glorified but rather discarded like a piece of garbage. But does this mean that he believes that his Brother Allie’s body should have been discarded, or does he not seeing this as applying since he was young and hadn’t lost his innocence yet?
(1) Catcher in the Rye – Ch.1, pg.3
Quote: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap…”
Response: This is a good example of an allusion. Here, Salinger alluded to “David Copperfield” because that book was mainly about the life of the protagonist, Copperfield, from childhood to adulthood. That’s was Holden, the protagonist from “Catcher in the Rye”, is talking about in this quote. All that stuff about his life, but he doesn’t really go into it. He only gives us bits about his family and childhood throughout the novel.
(2) Catcher in the Rye – Ch. 8, pg.70
Quote: “Women kill me. They really do… I just like them, I mean. They’re always leaving their goddam bags out in the middle of the aisle.”
Response: I thought this was pretty funny. This was right after some lady got on the train that Holden was on and sat down right next to him even though the train was almost empty. She put her bag in the middle of the aisle where everyone could trip on it. He says she’s really pretty even though she’s older. I thought it was funny because he was saying how much he like women and then said something about them that isn’t a good thing. I thought it was a little oxymoronic.
Chapter 91 was a hard chapter to read, and must have been an extremely hard time for Pi, as Richard Parker kill his brother and had eaten away at his face so Pi couldn’t see his brother at all. Pi had eaten little strips off his brother’s body for he had no food, he used his skin for bait and when he caught a fish he stopped eating his brother.
I can’t even begin to imagine what this would have been like to have to do this because of your circumstance.
From the Life of Pi
In response to #39
This passage really puts a picture in your mind of what the hat looks like and how much it was related to the character, how he felt special to wear it.
Holden didn’t just leave without telling anyone. Holden woke up in the middle of the night and Mr. Antolini was like petting his hair. Holden freaked out (and I would’ve too) and just bolted right then with Mr. Antolini right there. It wasn’t because he wanted people to miss him, it was because Mr. Antolini was being weird and, if I had been in Holden’s place, I would have bolted, too.
In response to #71 (Lauren C) – 2nd Entry.
I agree with the statment you said at the end that it matched the mood of the story. It really did and I liked that. I also liked that you put the poem in there. (Thank you!) But, it actually wasn’t the first time in the book where the author made the connection to the title. That quote is in Ch. 22, but in Ch. 16 it says “The kid was swell… He was singing that song, ‘If a body catch a body coming through the rye.’”
1.”Life of Pi” Yann martel
“I have a story that will make you believe in God.”
p . x Author’s Note
When I first read this I was outrageously disgusted, yet so simply intrigued. I was curious of how such a small and seemingly simple book could make ME believe in God.
I love this sentence because it so simply sums up the book with elegant foreshadowing. Pi’s entire struggle with himself, religion, and his predicament point to this one statement. I wonder if the word “make” was meant to be in this sentence, he could have said, convince, suggest, but no he said make, which is very similar to force.
Blog #1
Holden: “I oughta go down and say hello to her, at least.”
Stradlater: “Why the hell don’tcha, instead of keep saying it?”(pg. 32-33)
When Holden said that he should go and say hell o to Jane, it was the third time that he said he was going to. I wonder why he keeps saying he’s going to say hi to her but he hasn’t. Maybe he’s nervous? I’m not very sure, but it seemed very odd that he kept avoiding it since they’ve known each other for a while. Maybe he’s scared to go say hi to her because it might be awkward since they haven’t kept in touch or anything. It just bothers me that he didn’t end up going to see her after talking about her so much.
Blog #2
” I had a date with her this afternoon. Boy, it seems like twenty years ago!” (Pgs. 190-191)
Yeah I agree with Holden. It didn’t seem like everything that happened was all in the same day. I felt like it was forever ago that they went on a date. This just seems like way too much going on for one kid in one day. I would’ve been so exhausted from everything that had happened.
#1
The Catcher in the Rye
“The leading man can’t go on. He’s drunk as a bastard. So who do they get to take his place? Me, that’s who. The little ole goddam governor’s son.”
This is an allusion to the Ziegfeld Follies which were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York city from 1907 through 1931. What were the Ziegfeld Follies about?
2. “Life of Pi” Yann Martel
“I know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently.” Pg 381
I have to wonder, did Pi’s ridiculously far fetched story with a tiger ever happen, or is it just some result of his extremely dehydrated imagination? It’s so, unbelievable. I have to agree with the Japanese interrogation, it’s just unrealistic, fun to read, maybe even fun to listen to, but unrealistic. I suppose the only one who really, truly knows is Pi. The rest is
left up to an over imaginative writer.
Perhaps the entire story was just some big metaphor, a work of fiction designed to poke holes in line between reality and fake.
What do you think?
The author uses a sling tone, repition, and symbolism to tie the end of the book to the beginning, again referring to “You” the Japanese, but also the reader.
Their eyes were watching god
“Listen Sam, if it was nature, nobody wouldnt have tuh look out for babies touchin’ stoves, would they? ‘Cause dey just naturally wouldnt touch it. But they sho will. So its caution.” Naw it ain’t, it’s nature, cause nature makes caution. Its de strongest thing dat God ever made, now. Fact is it’s the onliest thing god ever made. He made nature and nature made everything else.”
-Well this little debate that they are having here is between Lige Moss and Sam Watson on the porch of jodys store. Lige is saying that humans are taught what they know while sam is saying that humans are naturaly cautious. I have to be on Lige’s side here. She is saying that humans are taught what they know. A quote from Mark Twain
“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.” ~Mark Twain
People learn from experience.
In response to blog number 48.
This book sounds really interesting, and if that’s the climax then i bet it was pretty good. This quote sounds really exciting!
The Catcher in the Rye
2. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids, and nobody’s around-nobody big, I mean- except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff, what I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff-I mean if their running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazt, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.” (Salinger 224)
This shows Holden’s imaginary view of the world. He views children as innocent and adults as hypocritical. This also shows his disconnection from the rest of the world.
In response to blog number 3.
I agree with you about that quote. I wish I would have read this book to know exactly what happens with Janie, but judging by the other comments and all the great quotes, it sounds like a great book.
#2
The Catcher in the Rye
When I got out in front of Ernie’s and paid the fare, old Horwitz brought up the fish again…”Listen,” he said,”If you was a fish, Mother Nature’d take care of you, wouldn’t she? Right? You don’t think them fish just die when it gets to be winter, do ya?”
“No, but-”
“You’re goddam right they don’t,”…
Before this passage Holden asks the cab driver about the ducks and the lake. Holden brought up the question of the ducks once before, but this cab driver is the only one that gives him a real answer. I don’t understand why he keeps asking about the ducks. Also, what does the cab driver’s answer mean?
Response to 49: Lindsey J
“I love Canada. I miss the heat of India, the food, the lizards on the walls, the musicals on the silver screen, the cows wandering the streets, the cows cowing, even the talk of cricket matches, but I love Canada. It’s a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos.”
Life of Pi
Chapter 1, pg.6
Heat is something to appreciate. As the world slowly begins to freeze it’s self over in an attempt to reverse Global Warming, I will savor the sweet golden rays of the sun and bask in it’s heat.
When the author said “heat”, he referred to not only the temperature of India, but also the overall pulsating waves that India gave out. The smells which were carried by the waves of heat which floated on the street, the sounds which sliced through the smooth all encompassing oven.
I love how the author uses imagery in this Quote.
I wouldn’t read into the couple of C words that are in this quote. They don’t stand for anything, nor do they stand to point to something else.
In response to number 70
That quote is very vivid. There is a lot of imagery. It really helps you get a picture in your mind of what is going on.
Blog #1
The catcher in the Rye
Boy I rang that doorbell fast when I got to old Spencers house. I was really frozen. My ears were hurting and i could hardly move my fingers at all. “C’mon, c’mon,” I said right out loud, almost , “somebody opened the door,” finally old mrs. Spencer opened it. They didnt have a maid or anthing and they always opened the door themeselves. They didnt have too much dough.
I really liked this quote by Holden on pg. 8-9 because it easily exploited some key characteristics of Holden early in the book. After reading this quote you could come to the conclusion that Holden is somewhat of an impatient person who does what he wants to do when he wants to do it. Also it showed his relation to money, and thoughts most people in the middle class today would think of as ignorance when he points not having a maid open the door for you means you dont have alot of money.
Response to #55
I noticed that too. But, the author uses the spelling “goddam.” I believe this is an example of a euphemism. Also, I think he uses that word repeatedly just because that’s the way people talked back then.
The Life of Pi by:Yann martel
Quote numero uno:
“Just beynod the ticket booth Father had had painted on a wall in bright red letters the question: DO YOU KNOW WHICH IS THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO? An arrow pointed to a small curtain… Behind it was a mirror.”
-Pg. 38-39
This is both a funny prank and a serious statement at the same time. The first animal you think of when you think of dangerous animals is probably not yourself, but mankind is debatably the most harmful species to the environment. It can easily be put forward that what people are doing in zoos is bad and harmful to the animals involved.
In response to #17, Tara S
I too agree with Tara and the character Sam in that nature was created by God and thus is a major force in sculpting the rest of the world and humanity. In nature, caution is a fundamental instinct that all organisms have that is a necessity to survive. So in saying that caution is what keeps a child from touching the stove instead of nature, you are not seeing that caution is included in the overarching theme of nature.
The Life of Pi by:Yann Martel
Quote number two:
“It’s no use.
Today I die.
I will die today.
I die.”
This is how I view life every day… lol just kidding.
This is the end of Pi’s last journal entry before he runs out of ink. He has all but completely given up all hope by this point. He has already had his companion Bengal tiger eat the only other human being he has come in contact with on his voyage. I think his status of despair is within reason.
The Bluest Eye
Blog 1:
(pg. 38-58)
Summary: In this chapter, the main charater, Pecola Breedlove is introduced, and her life is revealed. Her family is convinced they are ugly and outcasted in society so they live accordingly. Mrs. Breedlove let it define her, Sammy violently afflicted it on others, and Pecola let it eather up and tear her down secretly.
Response: This is the beginning of the main focus in the book. The common societal ill caused by discrimintion is portrayed throuh the story of this family, but especially through Pecola. The drepressing and heart breaking tone of this chapter really touches any reader with a heart.
Blog 2:
(pg. 61)
Summary: There is a deep and detailed description of her father’s face, which not only portrays his physical features, but his inner details, as a person, as well.
Response: This description jumped out at me immediately, and is honestly one of the best descriptions I’ve ever read. Not beause of it’s complexity (because it is quite simple), but because of all the hidden double meanings, and imagery that the reader picks up from just one simple passage.
Blog 3:
(pg. 170)
Quote: “She was to have been the answer to his unstated, unacknowledged question- where was the ife to counter the enroaching non-life?”
Response: The embedding of this question in this chaper really puts the question in the reader’s mind as well. I found myself imagining life in his shoes and wondering how I would view things differently. This question portrays a longing for answers in this man. I get the feeing he wants to know a purpose for life so badly, but no matter what he does, he ends up “lifeless” ad pushing away the only true life influences he has.
Blog#2
The Catcher in the Rye
pg.150
“The cars zoomed by, brakes screeched all over the place, his parents paid no attention to him, and he kept on walking next to the curb and singing ‘If a body catch a body coming through the rye.’ It made me feel better. It made me feel not so depressed anymore”
I liked this quote because Holden finally shyed away from his almost always negative thoughts in the story, and it created somewhat of a relieving mood. Also I think it is the main quote describing the title of the story which in my opinion is stating that Holden is, “The Catcher in the Rye”. I beleive this because It relates to Holden in a way that describes him as a person who has no limits and is free to do whatever he wants or what makes him happy without a care of what others thinks or regards to there feelings.
In response to post #43
“They could feel the cold as it crept in through the cracks, reaching out for them with it’s icy, death- dealing fingers; and they would crouch and cower, and try to hide from it, all in vain.” Page 88 “The Jungle”
This is, by far, one of the best uses of personification I have ever read. Very well written, this quote elaborates almost to the point where I could could see the cold coming into the small house.
I agree with Jeff’s comment that this is some of the best diction I’ve probably ever read. The author uses some choice words, like “crept”, “icy, death-dealing”, and “crouch and cower” to create that scary movie suspense in his writing. What movies accomplish through music, this author accomplishes through words. I’m not going to expand on that thought… lol. But this is an excellent passage and is very verbose. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thanks Jeff.
Responses to others:
#20: You are right. That passage portrays discrimination exactly the way I believe the author intended. Through the struggles and tribulations of Pecola, real life situations and problems are displayed and give us just a small idea of what people really went through during these times.
#5: I agree that the author used the doll as a symbol of “perfection” in thier society at that time. Because of the discrimination that polluted the country at this time, a white skinned, blue eyed, blonde hair girl was considered superior and in demand. But, where did this leave all the girls who didn’t look like this? It left them depressed with low self-esteem, and the idea that they weren’t wanted.
In response to post #45
Life Of Pie by Yann Martel
“Bapu Ghandi said, ‘All religions are true’. I just want to love God,”(pg 69)
I know we’re not supposed to respond to the same book we read, but I also had this quote in my dialectical journals, and love this quote. Pi is a more accepting and understanding character than most people in reality are. Very few people would even contemplate practicing three major world religions at the same time, let alone see nothing wrong with it. He is truly an individual, and his claim to only want to love GOD is astounding. That right there, to me personally, is an amazing statement of his faith in his “religions”. His heart is obviously in this.
The Catcher in the Rye
blog#1
“I was trying to feel some kind of goodbye.”
This quote shows how Holden had no memories of anything at his school so there was no feeling of emotion when he left.
In response to post #67
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
“The trick was to live here without hating yourself because all around you is hatred.” (Chapter 11)
This is an interesting concept, and my church actually has a similar type of saying(Live IN the world, but do not live OF the world), but I’m not going to go all religious on you guys. This is actually a rather hard thing to try to do, because whatever enviornment we are in tends to influence us greatly. It is hard to be in a room full of happy people and be sad, and vise versa. It is hard to be in a room full of sad people and be happy. Thus this idea of trying to live in a hate filled place, and still love yourself is way easier said than done. Just an interesting thought for me.
“Cather in the Rye”
Blog#2
“This is a people shooting hat , I said. I shoot people in this hat. ”
This quotes shows how he shoots people down . It shows that he is afraid of people.
Response to #55
I really liked this comment because it related to my nearly exact same feelings of annoyance I had about Holden not only cursing , but also constantly stating his feelings of depression towards things.
Responding to the question, “What are his reasons for using that word over and over again?”, I think the author did this to simply show Holdens Vulgar use of teenage lanuage, which other teenagers might of been using at the time, and to show Holdens great ease of being annoyed which in return make him say things like “goddamn”. Another reason Salinger might have done this may have been to show how Holden constantly uses words like that while speaking regularly throughout his day.
Response to number 12
II think this is a great depiction of imagery. It gives a good image of him standing on a cliff protecting people from falling.
Responce to 29 blog #2
Yeah i noticed that Holden was always observing people. He’s like a critic of a movie always giving his opinion and observing his surroundings.
“It’s funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they’ll do practically anything you want them to.” -The Catcher In The Rye (p.117)
Holden believes that people are more willing to pay attention to orders that make them feel uninformed. This also implies that by making oneself sound intelligent, they acquire the cooperation of others. This would possibly occur if the person established credibility from their statement. Like many of Holden’s notions, I disagree.
“I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be.” -The Catcher In The Rye (p.126)
This line is where the book derives its title. Holden mishears some lyrics and gets the idea that he wants to catch children playing in a field of rye from falling off a cliff. This is a prime example of Holden getting a crazy idea and elaborating on it. While his dream does not make a measurable amount of sense, he sticks to it.
Commenting on #45
Tasha M.’s 1st entry
I disagree. While most religions don’t conflict when it comes to the fact that one should love God, they disagree on many other things. They disagree as to how, when, and where God is to be worshiped. Furthermore, religions have varying degrees of disagreement as to who or what God is. By having conflicting definitions of God, it is not possible to love God unless an idea of who and/or what God is is determined.
I apologize for using the word “God” so many times, but I can’t think of an appropriate pronoun.
blog #1
“Selma Thurmer – she was the headmaster’s daughter – showed up at the games quite often, but she wasn’t exactly the type that drove you mad with desire. She was a pretty nice girl though, I sat next to her once in the bus from Agerstown and we sort of struck up a conversation. I liked her… What I liked most about her, she didn’t give you a bunch of hourse manure about what a great guy her father was, she probably knows what a phony slob he was.”
Mostly this shows, how, while he can except people hi own age he has a detest and higher expectations for adults. This can be seen by comparing how he talks about Selma (long and descriptive) to how he talks about the headmaster (short and to the point). Of course in his mind he may see good reason to do so.
Blog #2 Corey S.
Catcher in the Rye, Chapter 2
“‘Life is a game boy. Life is a game that one plays acording to the rules.’
‘Yes, sir.I know it is. I know it.’
Game my ass. Some game… No game”
This quote shows that while he may say one thing to an adult he may be thinking the complete oposite. This is much like most teenagers today, the less vocal ones anyway. Rather than start a needless quarl, he holds in his resentment, appesing the adults.
Corey S.
In respounse to #12
I completly agree with the characterization of Holden as a dreamer. I think that he has this idea of the ideal world in his head, and the fact that nothing matches up with it is what gives him his cynical attitude.
“IF YOU REALLY want to hear about it then you’ll probably want know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to tell the truth.”
Response:
In this first paragraph, Holden comes off from the start thinking his audience is expecting a certain story from him and kind of lumps himself into the ‘problem child’ stereotype. He goes on in adding that he’d really rather not talk about it and how it bores him. Salinger begins the book by building Holden’s’ character into a sarcastic and apathetic teenager who is struggling in school.
“Thats exactly where I disagreed with him. I said that I’d bet him a thousand bucks old Jesus never sent Judas to hell. I still would, too, if I had a thousand bucks. I think any one of the Disciples would’ve sent him to hell and all- and fast, too- but I bet old Jesus didn’t do it.”
Response:
I completely agree with Holden on this one. One of the main points of Jesus’ teachings and the reason behind his sending was forgiveness. If Jesus couldn’t forgive Judas then where is the line between forgivable and unforgivable?
Responding to # 69
I think that the way the sea was described here is beautiful, and i completely agree with how a ‘land lubber’ feels when they see the sea after a long sabbatical on land.
I am commenting on entry #71.
Lauren, I think the reason the author is using repetition so often is because yes, he wants to provide emphasis, but also to show how these people being “touchy” is effecting him throughout his lifetime. I would almost like to think of it as a universal mantra. I’ve never read the Catcher in the Rye though, so I’m not famililar with the storyline enough to set my response in stone.
In response to blog #27, There Eyes Were Watching God
I really like the way that the author illustrates the way Janie sees the ending of her life story. The imagery is amazing and really paints a picture for the reader. It shows just how much streangth Janie really has to still be content with her life even after a great tragedy. The author relates to all the fish in the sea as memories of Janie and the net gathering them all in to complete the book. It’s a very unique way of finishing a story but gives the reader the same satisfaction of a great ending.
Life of Pi
(pg.113)
Paraphrase: Theres a lebra, arang-utan, hyena, and a bengal tiger all on board of te life boat. Yet, none will attack any other animal or Pi.
Response: For all my life iv thought that animals would attack each other if they were close enough to each other ot if they thought another animal was invading its territory. Im wondering why none of the animals are attacking each other?
Life of Pi
(pg.8)
“He tried ti teac my parents to swim, but he never got them to go beyond wading up to their knees at the beach and making ludcrous round motions with their arms, which, if they were practicing the breath stroke, made them look like they were walking throught the jungle, spreading the tall grass ahead of them, or if it was the front crawl, as if they were running down a hill and failing their arms so as not to fall.”
response: This paragraph has very good imagery. when you read this you can tell and picture in your mind how fummy Pis parents look as they are learning to swim. This reminds me how funny it is to watch my sister try to ride a bike. When she is attempting to ride her bike it looks like theres a weight on one side and not the other.
in response to number 25:
I didnt read that book but when i read that quote i read it with a accent so i think kati was correct when saying that.
“Black Like Me”
1) “As we crossed the bridge, the water of Lake Pontchartrain reflected the sky’s gray tone…” (Grimes 53)
I know the author is using the expression “gray tone” to describe the sky and it’s gloomy tone it’s setting upon Grimes’ experience. But is their another half to what Grimes is trying to portray? The entirety of this book is about a man who changes his skin color from white to black chemically, so could the “gray tone” be him lost in the middle of the two races, searching for his identity within two very different cultures?
2) “Night coming tenderly, black like me.” (Grimes 119)
Taken from the Langston Hughes poem “Dream Variations,” this is how the book achieves it’s title. However, it also portrays the idea that not all blacks are rough and rigid like the image society has thrust onto their undeserving backs. By night “tenderly” awaiting it’s turn from the sun, Grimes has metaphorically implied that this is how the blacks should be approaching their lives. But when society treats them badly, they get into the mindset that they must push back on society, which ultimately gives them their devilish image. It is a revolving door that cannot be escaped.
Black like me
“Suddenly I had had enough. Suddenly I could stomach no more of this degradation- not of myself but of all men who were black like me.”
he is talking about how he felt as a black man and how he was getting sick of the segragation in those days
In “Their eyes were watching god”
blog#1 pg. 84
The doctor said that Jody’s kiddneys stopped working and will die soon. He thinks Janie is just accusing him but he tells her to stop but she continues. She takes off her head-rag. She ties it back, assumes of musk of saddness and yells out the window that Jody has died.
Janie gets her freedom now forever from Jody but its still sad to know that a bad sickness killed you. Janie finally gets to see her long hair for once since along time
Blog#2
pg.190
After TeaCake’s funneral, the men of the muck realize how poorly they treated Janie. Her story ends telling Pheoby that she is content to live in Eatonville again. She realizes however that TeaCake gave her so much and that he will always be with her.
Janie did have bad luck finding true love, but Pheoby should take Janie’s story and learn from it. Janie knows what she telling her because she lived through it.
I’m responding to blog #80
I agree with her comment because the describiton made it clear how the hurricane started and how it was. At first you can realize if it’s talking about a hurricane or a tornado..
In response to Justin H. Catcher in the Rye post
Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God also is forced to over come and prevail amoungst her hardships. Both these characters seem internally strong, independant and rebellious to many idea in their society.
2 Quotes with analysis
1)”What are you doing, Richard Parker? Don’t you love life? Keep swimming then! Treeee! Treeee! Treeee! Kick with your legs. Kick! Kick! Kick! (Page 98. Chp. 37 paragraph 9)
Interpret: This shows the major theme in the novel “Life of Pi” that if you have the will to live you can fight to overcome obstacles. This is when Pi is yelling at Richard Parker to attempt to help him survive.
2) The book “Life of Pi” first starts out with Pi declaring that he has suffered a great deal. He then goes into great detail about his religious and zoological studies. The main study that Pi purses in these chapters (1-3) is the study of sloths.” My suffering left me sad and gloomy. Academic study and the steady, mindful practice of religion slowly brought me back to life. I have kept up what some people would consider my strange religious practices. After one year of high school, I attended the University of Toronto.”
Interpret: This book first starts off with a very detailed image and description of Pi. I believe it is setting Pi up as the main character. I do find it interesting that he studied religion and zoology. These are two very different topics to be interested in.
2 responses to #45 and #49
1st response
In response to #45 the second one by Tasha M. I agree with her analysis of the way Pi has connected with his religious beliefs. This quote also was a good selection because it does show a major part of the overarching theme that religion effects Pi throughout the novel. Also when she mentions Pi was a boy and even maybe a man beyond his years this is a very accurate statement because within the first few chapters of the novel you get the sense he is an intelligent and informed individual.
2nd response
In response to #49 Lindsey J’s analysis I did find it odd that someone would like to live in the heat but mainly this book does use alliteration throughout many times. I know that I had two quotes within my dialectical journals that showed different types of alliteration. I believe that the Author uses this to get the point across in various situations. In addition by using the alliteration I think it helps create a image in the readers head by going into such great detail, for example in this situation Pi is describing Canada.
“These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless conviences all day long. Mules and other brutes had occupied their skins. But now the sun and the bossman were gone, so the skins felt powerful and human. They became lords of sounds and lesser things.
They passed nations through their mouths. They sat in judgement.” – Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
My first thought when I read this was people being the suits that animals would wear. When the animals removed the human suits, the suits were filled and came to life.
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.” – Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
When I thought about this I wondered what preface this would have to the story. Now that I think of it the story was mostly about choosing your dreams and how people followed them. The example of the Watcher being mocked by Time gave a visual that was similar to Joe. He wanted Janie to be everything that he wanted, but when he died is the real time she was able to live. She had grown and become more wonderful and he had withered.
I agree with michelle on entry #33 it is undoutedly were they got the name from, and seems like an interesting, melancholy book.
I think that Allison, in entry #78, is right. The quote does give some existence to the thought or Janie wanting to change.
Snow falling on Cedars
1. A quote that describes Ishmael and his father.
“He loved humankind dearly and with all his heart, but he disliked most human beings.” (pg. 36)
The main reason why I think Ishmael feels this way is because people don’t treat him the same as others. Since he has only one arm, that is concealed by a pinned up sleeve, people tend to look at him with strange looks, exspecially tourist. What this quote means is that he loves humans, because he is one,but he dose’nt like their attitude towards him.
Snow falling on Cedars
2. A quote that describes Hatsue’s fellings towards Ishmael.
“She concealed her love for Ishmael Chambers not because she was Japanese in her heart but because she could not in truth profess to the world what she felt for him was love at all.”
This quote reveils that Ishmael and Hatsue did have feelings for each other. Since she was Japanese, married, and in a place where love between other races were frowned upon, she could not show her love.
Response to number 66:
Ishmael probably did show a little resentment towards Kabuo, for murdering someone, and Hatsue, for chosing Kabuo to marry.
In a way I do beleive that Ishmael was happy about the current situation that Kabuo was in. If Kabuo was found to be guilty then Ishmael could get another chance to win Hatsue.
IN response to Jeff B. # 43.
I conmpletely agree the personification used in this passage is simply amazing. It creates a really good image.
Post number 2
“…Jurgis lifted up his head and began to sniff the air like a startled animal sensing the far- off odor of home”
Page 181 “The Jungle”
I truly love the way Sinclair continually compares Jurgis to scared animals. It shows his edginess and his characteristic of being wild or untamed. It adds a lot to his character development.
Response to 41
I love that quote. It gives me a feeling of insecurity, which I’m assuming it was supposed to. If more people saw things in that light, then maybe there would be less “prejudices” with in us. That’s definitely something to think about.
In response to 19
Wow! Awesome quote. It shows the appearance of “daddy” from a different light. It sounds almost childlike, yet with great diction. I’d also agree with Jelyne about the flow of the paragraph. Definitely well written.
“No one called ‘pissing’ in his childhood would not be caught dead with a cup of pee at his lips.”
Pg 167
Life of Pi
Funny and true, but i don’t think many kids call it “pissing”.
“Plan number seven: keep him alive.”
Pg 166
Life of Pi
Does the plan number have a biblical reference on purpose?
I believe it does. Pi is such a religious person that it only makes sense for his plan number to be holy.
In response to comment 50
I can’t hope to explain why the fruit is black, but the reason why the teeth remained intact is because fingernails would have decomposed. This would lead you to wonder why there wouldn’t be other bones inside the tree.
Response # 1
I’m responding to Linsey J’s first response to the “Life of Pi”
I totally agree with you here. Having to live up in Ohio for a couple of weeks really made me miss everything I hate about this Texas weather.
Response #2
This is a response to Tasha M’s first response about the “Life of Pi”
Recently on the bus ride home from a band competition a group of people I sit by and I got into a discussion about religion and how each one is different. Many people after hearing our discussion came to the same conclusion that there is a God but different ideas of getting to him. Kind of like languages.
Blog #1
“Life of Pi”
“The animal called out from it’s cage, while the boat steadily sunk.” Pg. 105
This is a great use of personification to amplify the animal crying out to release it from it’s caged death.
Blog #2
“Life of Pi”
“Mamaji remembered, Father dreamed.”
In this quote the author reveals a little more about Piscine by saying that Pi wanted more of an outgoing and adventurous father like Mamaji.
“Life of Pi”
“Reason is my prophet and it tells me that as a watch stops, so we die… If the watch doesn’t work properly, it must be fixed here and now by us.”
This is a quote by Pi’s teacher who is a devout atheist and refuses to acknowledge the presence of a divine god. If this quote is to be interpreted as a statement of the truth, then what happens if someone cannot fix the watch? Is it there fault that a life has been lost? I believe that when it’s your time, then it’s your time so live how you want to, because no one knows their time, nor the hour.
In response to Sal’s post # 132.
I agree with Sal, in the regards that people are not always drawn to things which they do not understand. In fact in our society many people are repelled by things that they misunderstand, and rather than try and strive for better understanding, they tend to push the notion away and stay wrapped in their own insecure bubbles, only welcoming in what they deem acceptable and regurgitating what is seen as right through the eyes of the beholder.