Macbeth is first introduced through indirect characterization. His name appears in the conversations in scene 1 and 2. Through these conversations, we can characterize Macbeth as a brave, strong soldier who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty with blood. In scene 3, we see foreshadowing when, right after the witches tell Macbeth he will be thane of Cawdor, Ross comes to tell Macbeth the king has indeed made him thane of Cawdor. There is also foreshadowing when the witches declare Macbeth will soon be king, and though Banquo will never be king, his children will sit upon the throne. Shakespeare's use of foreshadowing right at the beginning of the play gives the readers a sense of what's to come in the play. We are able to learn about the characters, settings, background information through the conversations of the characters. Shakespeare's characterization of Macbeth reflects the sinister, eerie tone because we first learn about Macbeth through the conversations about his violent acts in war and how he killed Macdoneald by chopping off his head. The theme of the story that is clearly evident in Macbeth's character and conflict is violence. I predict the rest of the play will be filled with even more bloody and gory killing scenes, and a lot of the characters that were just introduced will quickly die off.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Seeking Mentor
My expert has a lot of information they can pass on to me to help with my masterpiece. Something I really want to focus on asking is how she advertised her business. Casey Ho is an entrepreneur that made her fitness idea into a business. It's been so successful that she has made appearances on tv shows and even has her own fitness clothing line. I think it would be beneficial to both my group and I to learn new ways to advertise our website.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
My Macbeth Resources
1) I found this website that will be helpful while reading Macbeth. It gives detailed explanations for each scene in case you are confused about what happened. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbethscenes.html
2) Here is a quiz that would be helpful to take once the reading is finished to make sure you picked up all the information. If you don't know an answer, it gives detailed explanations for each question. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/quiz/macbethquiz/macbethquiz1.html
3) Since we have already read Hamlet, it may be beneficial to some to compare Hamlet with Macbeth.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/examq/meight.html
4) The dictionary app is another resource that can be helpful because whenever I read Shakespeare, I always come across a word I don't know.
5) Shakespeare writes in such a unique way that may be confusing to the readers. Here is a link to a website post that helps to explain his language: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/shakespearelanguage.html
Wednesday's Resource
My resource for today is my phone. I have been contacting some of my friends who are currently in college both through text messages and through talking. Some things I have been asking them are how the classes there are, how their dorms are, and if they have any tips for freshman. I've been taking notes on these conversations and will be posting a post on it soon.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Resource of the Day
My resource of the day is www.blogilates.com. My expert is Casey Ho and she is the person who created blogilates. I am looking at the way she organized her website, looking for any tips I might be able to use for our website. I am also looking at the way she incorporated all of her social networks in such a way that she is advertising her business to the public.
Is There an Expert in the House?
My expert is Casey Ho from Blogilates, an entrepreneur and a fitness instructor. She started out with a blog that soon became famous. Since she started her blog, she has appeared on numerous talk shows and has started her own fitness clothing line. I think she would be very helpful with our group as she could give us tips on how we can expand our website just as she did her blog.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
This is Only a Test
Here is a screenshot from my group's masterpiece: TheClassyU
Now that we have a few posts, our next step is going to be advertising the website to the public. Sarah and I have brainstormed a couple of ideas we will be putting into motion next weekend. We will be utilizing all of our social media accounts by posting about our website and sending out links in a variety of different posts.
I will be posting a "progress report" like this one every week to track our progress in respects to our post number and page views. Our long term goal is to have 100+ posts and 5,000+ views by June.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Literature Analysis: Of Mice and Men
1) George and Lennie are two best friends who are on a road trip. They are broke because Lennie can't hold down a job due to his mental illness but they are best friends so George can't leave him. They finally get a job at a ranch in Soledad, California. They meet Candy who has one hand, Crooks a lonely, African American stable worker, and Curley who is a man with anger management problems. Curley has a wife but due to his attitude, nobody is allowed to look at her let alone speak to her. Slim and Carlson are two other ranch hands who we met later on. Candy has a hard time putting down her dog and Carlson encourages her to adopt a new puppy and shoots her old dog for her. Carlson we learn is a very violent guy. He ends up getting in a fight with Lennie who crushes his hand. The climax of the book is when Lennie is in the bard one day with a dead puppy he has killed. He is scolding the puppy for getting killed and encouraging him. Curley's wife comes in and offers her head to Lennie so he can pet but he accidentally breaks her neck and kills her. He runs off and when Candy discovers Curley's wife's body he runs to get George. George runs out to find Lennie and talks to Lennie about their dream farm. George tells Lennie to look out to the river and imagine it and when he does, he shoots Lennie in the head. When everyone comes over, George explains that George tried to take the gun away from Lennie but struggled and Lennie ended up shooting himself. Everyone believes the story except for Slim who understands.
2) The main theme of this novel is the expectation of the American dream versus the reality. George and Lennie dreamed about one day living on a nice farm but in reality, they couldn't succeed in this dream. Too many things like Lennie's illness got in the way. Instead, they ended up working on a ranch instead of owning their own.
3) I think the tone of the novel was depression. It was hard for all the characters, especially George, to deal with Lennie's illness. He kept forgiving Lennie for everything he did and failed at but in the end, George had to shoot Lennie. "Simmer down, George. Almost as soon as we meet him, George is stomping around the novel flinging verbal abuse as Lennie. Does Lennie acknowledge this as a kind of violence, or is he generally unaffected by it?" "Lennie obviously has no concept of consequences, since he can't even remember the wrong that he did. So we have to ask: it just for George to keep dragging Lennie around with him? Or should George have taken action before Lennie ended up killing someone?" "[George] heard Lennie's whimpering cry and wheeled about. "Blubberin' like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you!" Lennie's lip quivered and tears started in his eyes. "Aw, Lennie!" George put his hand on Lennie's shoulder. "I ain't takin' it away jus' for meanness. That mouse ain't fresh, Lennie; and besides, you've broke it pettin' it. You get another mouse that's fresh and I'll let you keep it a little while.""
4) Symbolism- dead mouse= death
Imagery- "On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees— willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool."
Characterization- introducing Lennie and George, "Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws."
Foil- Slim and Curley, opposites (tall/short and intelligent/simple-minded)
Evocative- When George had Lennie look out to the river and picture their dream of owning their own ranch, it brought out a great deal of sadness and left the readers reminiscing. Right after that, however, George shot Lennie in the head which brought another wave of sadness.
Dialogue- "'Huh? Oh! Hello, Crooks. What’s’ a matter?'
'You told me to warm up tar for that mule’s foot. I got it warm.'
'Oh! Sure, Crooks. I’ll come right out an’ put it on.'
'I can do it if you want, Mr. Slim.'
'No. I’ll come do it myself.'"
Suspense- after Lennie kills Candy's wife, what is going to happen to Lennie
Foreshadowing- a peaceful landscape then George and Lennie run through is causing animals to be alert and flee
Motif- value of everything, “'I got hurt four year ago,' he said. 'They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county.'"
Pathos- When George shot Lennie, we were really able to feel great sorrow for him. The fact that George had to shoot his best friend really dug into the emotion of the readers.
Characterization:
1) Steinbeck used both direct and indirect characterization in this novel and both had a very lasting impression. He used direct characterization on appearances at the beginning of the book so we could picture both George and Lennie in our heads. Once we had that picture, he started to use indirect characterization. I noticed he did this a lot in his dialogue. They way George talked to Lennie you could tell that he really cared about him. Lennie also got really sad when he realizes he did something to upset George and this shows that he also cares a lot about his best friend.
2) I don't think John Steinbeck changed his syntax/diction at all when he focused on one character. He kept a very consistent tone and style throughout the whole book, never did he stray from it.
3) I believe George was a static, flat character. He never really strayed from his kindhearted self. He always stood behind Lennie and did whatever was possible in his power to help him even if he had to end his life. Never once did George stray from his morals nor did he ever think twice about leaving his best friend.
4) After reading the book, I feel like I met George. I was so sad at the end of the novel when he had to kill his best friend and could never imagine having to do something like that. George was such a remarkable character because he really looked out for Lennie and stuck with him even though he could have left Lennie and probably could've become much more successful.
2) The main theme of this novel is the expectation of the American dream versus the reality. George and Lennie dreamed about one day living on a nice farm but in reality, they couldn't succeed in this dream. Too many things like Lennie's illness got in the way. Instead, they ended up working on a ranch instead of owning their own.
3) I think the tone of the novel was depression. It was hard for all the characters, especially George, to deal with Lennie's illness. He kept forgiving Lennie for everything he did and failed at but in the end, George had to shoot Lennie. "Simmer down, George. Almost as soon as we meet him, George is stomping around the novel flinging verbal abuse as Lennie. Does Lennie acknowledge this as a kind of violence, or is he generally unaffected by it?" "Lennie obviously has no concept of consequences, since he can't even remember the wrong that he did. So we have to ask: it just for George to keep dragging Lennie around with him? Or should George have taken action before Lennie ended up killing someone?" "[George] heard Lennie's whimpering cry and wheeled about. "Blubberin' like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you!" Lennie's lip quivered and tears started in his eyes. "Aw, Lennie!" George put his hand on Lennie's shoulder. "I ain't takin' it away jus' for meanness. That mouse ain't fresh, Lennie; and besides, you've broke it pettin' it. You get another mouse that's fresh and I'll let you keep it a little while.""
4) Symbolism- dead mouse= death
Imagery- "On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees— willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool."
Characterization- introducing Lennie and George, "Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws."
Foil- Slim and Curley, opposites (tall/short and intelligent/simple-minded)
Evocative- When George had Lennie look out to the river and picture their dream of owning their own ranch, it brought out a great deal of sadness and left the readers reminiscing. Right after that, however, George shot Lennie in the head which brought another wave of sadness.
Dialogue- "'Huh? Oh! Hello, Crooks. What’s’ a matter?'
'You told me to warm up tar for that mule’s foot. I got it warm.'
'Oh! Sure, Crooks. I’ll come right out an’ put it on.'
'I can do it if you want, Mr. Slim.'
'No. I’ll come do it myself.'"
Suspense- after Lennie kills Candy's wife, what is going to happen to Lennie
Foreshadowing- a peaceful landscape then George and Lennie run through is causing animals to be alert and flee
Motif- value of everything, “'I got hurt four year ago,' he said. 'They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county.'"
Pathos- When George shot Lennie, we were really able to feel great sorrow for him. The fact that George had to shoot his best friend really dug into the emotion of the readers.
Characterization:
1) Steinbeck used both direct and indirect characterization in this novel and both had a very lasting impression. He used direct characterization on appearances at the beginning of the book so we could picture both George and Lennie in our heads. Once we had that picture, he started to use indirect characterization. I noticed he did this a lot in his dialogue. They way George talked to Lennie you could tell that he really cared about him. Lennie also got really sad when he realizes he did something to upset George and this shows that he also cares a lot about his best friend.
2) I don't think John Steinbeck changed his syntax/diction at all when he focused on one character. He kept a very consistent tone and style throughout the whole book, never did he stray from it.
3) I believe George was a static, flat character. He never really strayed from his kindhearted self. He always stood behind Lennie and did whatever was possible in his power to help him even if he had to end his life. Never once did George stray from his morals nor did he ever think twice about leaving his best friend.
4) After reading the book, I feel like I met George. I was so sad at the end of the novel when he had to kill his best friend and could never imagine having to do something like that. George was such a remarkable character because he really looked out for Lennie and stuck with him even though he could have left Lennie and probably could've become much more successful.
Huxley's Brave New World
Watching this interview really did change my perspective on the book. It was really cool to see Aldous Huxley talk about his views on the world he was living in. He didn't just talk about the book, but he also talked about propaganda, democracy, and the advertising of the world. He talked about how children ran around singing beer commercials and this showed how big tv influenced people. After watching this interview, I was able to really connect our world with Huxley's Brave New World. I think that, after having watched this interview, I would have been able to write a better essay. I could've made some references and connections about the real world with the new world.
Monday, March 17, 2014
My Resource of the Day
Today, my resource of the day is Pinterest. I have been finding a lot of cool dorm ideas I have been transferring onto our website from Pinterest. There are also a lot of studying tips I plan on putting onto the website too. I am also going to look into putting a Pinterest gadget straight onto the website tonight which can be very helpful to our viewers.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Essay Draft: 1979 Prompt
Prompt:
1979 Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play ofrecognized literary merit who might, on the basis of the character’s actions alone, be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.
Pre-write:
Essay Draft:
When John the Savage walks into the futuristic society of the "Brave New World" filled with advanced scientific practices and biologically engineered bodies, he doesn't fit in at all. In fact, the citizens consider him to be quite immoral and alienate themselves from him. Aldous Huxley, however, presents John in such a unique way that makes the readers feel sympathetic towards him despite the opinions of the citizens.
Just as John the Savage is introduced, Huxley immediately creates a sense of pathos towards him. John is one of the few characters in the book that stands up for himself and has faults. When he shares flashbacks about the times he saw his mother being harassed and beaten, the readers can't help but feel bad for him. As they read further along in the book, these incidents will always be in the back of their mind. Also, John's offensive epithet promptly characterizes him as a barbarous, unpolished person. This helps promote the sense that John is mistreated and shunned by his peers which, again, brings out a heartache in the readers for him.
Additionally, the actions of John when he enters the "Brave New World" help to build the compassionate feeling in the readers. "'Don't you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood and freedom are?' Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. 'Don't you?'" John's emotions explode out of him when his mother dies and he is horrified that everybody is so calm and composed. When people die it's natural for others to react so intensely and the readers understand that. They feel for John when he goes crazy and pours out all the soma he can get his hands on. Unable to deal with the grief, John ends up committing suicide at the end of the book which leaves the readers reminiscing one last time of all the horrible events John had to live through.
In conclusion, Aldous Huxley's techniques and use of literary terms really created a sense of sympathy towards John the Savage. Even though he was corrupt in the eyes of the citizens of the "Brave New World", the readers couldn't help but empathize with John.
Additionally, the actions of John when he enters the "Brave New World" help to build the compassionate feeling in the readers. "'Don't you want to be free and men? Don't you even understand what manhood and freedom are?' Rage was making him fluent; the words came easily, in a rush. 'Don't you?'" John's emotions explode out of him when his mother dies and he is horrified that everybody is so calm and composed. When people die it's natural for others to react so intensely and the readers understand that. They feel for John when he goes crazy and pours out all the soma he can get his hands on. Unable to deal with the grief, John ends up committing suicide at the end of the book which leaves the readers reminiscing one last time of all the horrible events John had to live through.
In conclusion, Aldous Huxley's techniques and use of literary terms really created a sense of sympathy towards John the Savage. Even though he was corrupt in the eyes of the citizens of the "Brave New World", the readers couldn't help but empathize with John.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
ClassyU
Sarah and I just got done putting up our website for our group's final project. I added a link to it on my page so be sure to check it out! We will be posting a lot more this weekend.
Resource of the Day
My resource of the day is Pinterest. I absolutely love Pinterest and I just got done pinning a lot of things I am going to be posting on my group's website. Check it out here.
Monday, March 10, 2014
10 Questions
Here are 10 questions I would ask my expert:
1) How did you become interested in your career? Did you always know what you wanted to be?
2) What does a typical work-day look like for you?
3) What tips can you share to help people interested in your career?
4) What subjects did you major/minor in during college?
5) Do you have a favorite project you have worked on? If so, what was it?
6) Have you ever made a website before? If so, what site did you use to make it?
7) Do you have any suggestions on how to make a website appealing?
8) Do you have any suggestions on how to direct traffic to a website? What kind of advertising/marketing techniques?
9) Do you have any tips you would like to share about your time in college?
10) Can you give me any contacts that might be helpful for me as I start majoring in marketing/business?
1) How did you become interested in your career? Did you always know what you wanted to be?
2) What does a typical work-day look like for you?
3) What tips can you share to help people interested in your career?
4) What subjects did you major/minor in during college?
5) Do you have a favorite project you have worked on? If so, what was it?
6) Have you ever made a website before? If so, what site did you use to make it?
7) Do you have any suggestions on how to make a website appealing?
8) Do you have any suggestions on how to direct traffic to a website? What kind of advertising/marketing techniques?
9) Do you have any tips you would like to share about your time in college?
10) Can you give me any contacts that might be helpful for me as I start majoring in marketing/business?
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Benchmark: ClassyU
For my Masterpiece I am working with Sarah Stevens, Rachel Nolan, and Caroline Mantoura to make a website about college life. Our goal is to create a website with tips on how to adapt to college living, different ways to manage your money, ideas on how to decorate your dorm, and much more. Even though we all have very different majors and career choices, we are going to find some way to incorporate it all into the project. Sarah is going into accounting so she will be focusing on researching and discussing different ways to manage money. Rachel hopes to become a teacher so she will be focusing on using the website to clearly convey a message to her audience. Caroline is going into cosmetology and so she will be making tutorials on how to do your makeup and hair quickly. Lastly, I am going into marketing so my goal is to market our website off to the public. We are trying our best to get our website up quickly because my goal is to have over 100,000 views on our website before the school year ends.
So far we have sketched out a rough draft with what we would like our website to look like and have come up with numerous names for different tabs. After days of brainstorming we have also finally come up with our website name, ClassyU. We thought this name really fit with the different tab names we came up with and it represents college in the name because the U stands for university.
Something we are having trouble with is finding the perfect website to make our website with. So far we have been through Weebly, Webnobe, Yola, and WordPress but they are all either very confusing or cost money. Tomorrow after school I am getting together with Sarah to do more research on websites and if we don't end up finding one, we will just use blogger.
Once our website is up I will be sure to make another post and attach a link to it! :)
So far we have sketched out a rough draft with what we would like our website to look like and have come up with numerous names for different tabs. After days of brainstorming we have also finally come up with our website name, ClassyU. We thought this name really fit with the different tab names we came up with and it represents college in the name because the U stands for university.
Something we are having trouble with is finding the perfect website to make our website with. So far we have been through Weebly, Webnobe, Yola, and WordPress but they are all either very confusing or cost money. Tomorrow after school I am getting together with Sarah to do more research on websites and if we don't end up finding one, we will just use blogger.
Once our website is up I will be sure to make another post and attach a link to it! :)
Friday, March 7, 2014
Brave New World: Completed
I actually finished reading Brave New World by Aldous Huxley a few weeks ago. I read this book sophomore year and after the first few chapters I found myself reading ahead because I had forgotten what happened at the end, and it was bugging me. Before I knew it I had finished the book so I ended up doing my last literature analysis on it. The ending surprised me once again! I had forgotten that Bernard, John, and Helmholtz all got sent away, and that John committed suicide.
My overall thoughts on this book was that it is a very interesting, well written book. Huxley did a really good job at predicting what the future would be like as a lot of things that he predicted are occurring today. Here is a link to an article I found a while ago that I also mentioned in a previous post, that explains some of these occurring predictions. All of this left me feeling a little bit fearful about our society quickly evolving into one where nobody has control over their own lives. I began thinking about how it is possible today for parents to pick out their babies hair color, eye color, height, and even personalities. Though it is very uncommon among parents because of the outrageous prices today, I predict that, unfortunately, in the future a lot more people will be using this process.
This week during class while we had a substitute, I talked about the book with Caroline. We were both in the same English class sophomore year when we read the book together. Our old teacher used a variety of different techniques to help us understand the book and Caroline and I ended up reviewing everything he said. In conclusion, I am feeling very good about the book and will be ready for any quizzes or tests.
My overall thoughts on this book was that it is a very interesting, well written book. Huxley did a really good job at predicting what the future would be like as a lot of things that he predicted are occurring today. Here is a link to an article I found a while ago that I also mentioned in a previous post, that explains some of these occurring predictions. All of this left me feeling a little bit fearful about our society quickly evolving into one where nobody has control over their own lives. I began thinking about how it is possible today for parents to pick out their babies hair color, eye color, height, and even personalities. Though it is very uncommon among parents because of the outrageous prices today, I predict that, unfortunately, in the future a lot more people will be using this process.
This week during class while we had a substitute, I talked about the book with Caroline. We were both in the same English class sophomore year when we read the book together. Our old teacher used a variety of different techniques to help us understand the book and Caroline and I ended up reviewing everything he said. In conclusion, I am feeling very good about the book and will be ready for any quizzes or tests.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Tasty Resource of the Day
My group and I decided to get together after school to start putting up our website, and what better place to do it at than Starbucks? My resource of the day is this tasty "Shirley Temple" drink I ordered off the Starbuck's secret menu. (A blended strawberry lemonade with orange mango instead of strawberry, and one pump of raspberry affigato) 
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Resource of the Day "Weebly"
My group and I finally came up with a name after days of brainstorming. We decided to name our website "ClassyU", which was one of Rachel's suggestion. Sarah and I came up with a lot of tab names when we were brainstorming and since they sound kind of elegant and classy, this name was perfect. The U stands for university which helps present the fact that this website is about college. The website we planned to use to set up our website on ended up costing money so Rachel and Sarah suggested we use Weebly after they remembered someone in their class talking about it.
http://www.weebly.com
http://www.weebly.com
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Resource of the Day #2
http://thesaurus.com/
Yes, my resource of the day is a thesaurus. So many of the names my group and I have come up with are taken so we are trying to exchange some of the words with a synonym. I have actually found a lot of really neat words that I never thought of using in our website name. I forgot how handy a thesaurus can be!
Yes, my resource of the day is a thesaurus. So many of the names my group and I have come up with are taken so we are trying to exchange some of the words with a synonym. I have actually found a lot of really neat words that I never thought of using in our website name. I forgot how handy a thesaurus can be!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Resource of the Day #1
My group and I are having a hard time coming up with a name for our website. We want it to be really creative and catchy. Before we can even make our website, we have to have a name picked out so we have been brainstorming out ideas through a group message on our phones. I found this cool website that helps generate names. Here is the link.
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