Animal Farm Project (Poem)...

Power Corrupts

Animal Farms demise
resides on one animal shoulders,
he is on all fours
unlike Stalin
but together inside is just a black hole.
Power Corrupts

This one pig,
Napoleon,
might blame all the plights on Snowball,
but truly this is just an excuse for all his mischievous tyrant plans
Power Corrupts

His secret police
chased Snowball out,
banned from the farm.
This left the animals fate in his hands.
Power Corrupts

He acted as part of the team
all for the greater good,
but enough was enough.
And so the downfall began.
Power Corrupts

He invokes fear in all
confessions made;
slaughtered….one by one.
A heap of bodies reminding them.
Power Corrupts

The animals start to wonder,
Beasts of England;
Is this what we wanted?
Power Corrupts

Breaking all commandments,
one final sin;
standing up right.
The lines blurring
between the races.
Humans,
pigs,
what’s the difference?
Power Corrupts

Animal Farm Project
Throughout the novel, Animal Farm, a major theme is power corrupts. This means when everyone is not equal, there is always a power struggle, and in this case it ended in a dictatorship. As the pigs rise to power, Napoleon manipulates the animals into what he wants them to believe. For instance changing the original seven commandments, and then abolishing them so that there was just a single one. “All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.” In the poem I wrote for the project I summarize main events to emphasize that when Napoleons takes over, he corrupts Animal Farm, and the ideals they had for themselves at the beginning of the rebellion. As a result of the fear that Napoleon spread through the farm, he could control everyone’s thoughts and actions. The first act was banning Snowball, following that were little things like the pigs breaking the commandment because they thought they were more equal than the rest. Also getting Squealer to convince the animals that whatever they remember was wrong and that Napoleon was right. Furthermore, when the dogs brutally murder some of the animals because they confessed to being in contact with Snowball. As the corruption becomes worse the animals start to realize this is not what they wanted when they thought of overpowering the humans and living a happier and better life. At the end we see the final result of what the corruption has done, the pigs walk on two feet and consider themselves equal with the humans.

Poetry Out Loud Peformances...

Amanda Fernandez recited " Unknown Girl in the Maternity Ward". Her physical presense was strong and her voice and articulation were clear. Her dramatiaztion was perfect because she had great body language and nice facial expressions. I would say it was pretty difficult because of the length but the language was fairly easy. You could tell she understood the poem from the way she told the story.

I could understand the poem because of how she acted when reciting. At the end she says "hand you off..." i can tell that she had to give up her child. The poem describes the happiness that the mother feels with her child and the situation shes in because the father left.

"Mockingbird Motif"...

The "Mockingbird Moif" is really the base of the story. It plays into the themes of racism, justice vs, injustice, walking in anothers shoe, good vs. evil, growing up and losing your innocence. Moif is a reocurring theme, idea, or subject, and in this novel its that killing a mockingbird is a sin. Or in other words harming someone who does good without needing recognition.

Two characters in the book who are the main symbols for this motif are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Boo does good deeds for Jem and Scout like fixing Jems pants and giving Scout a blanket. Tom Robinson just helped a girl who had no one else and was punished for something he didn't do. These characters really add a symoblic level to the story.This book has definately increased my understanding of the literary device, motif.

A symbol for Atticus...

The symbol i chose to represent Atticus is a rainbow colored umbrella. Yes, this may seem odd and too jolly but just bare with me. A rainbow colored umbrella covers you when you need it, stands out in a crowd, excepts all colors ( and Atticus does not discriminate people no matter their race, gender, size, shape, or opinions). I mean doesn't this just embody Atticus, I think it does, there are alot of things that could represent Atticus but this is the one I chose. (:

Please comment I want to know what your opinion is!!!!

My dear wise parent's life lesson....

Through out my life my mom and I have been really close, and since my teenage years began she has made her personal mission to give me advice, even if I don't want it.(: A constant life lesson that she has instilled in me is, be yourself. When first hearing this I thought of course I will, who else would I be! It never registered that I would try to be or act like anyone else. My friends have said that I've always been very confident , someone who is not afraid to stick out in a crowd, or to be my own person.

As the years progressed I realized what my mom had meant. She was referring to peer presure, and not doing things just because others were. Also not trying to blend in and be like everyone else. Now whenever it occurs to me that I'm being pushed to do something or put in an uncomfortable situation, I just think back to her wise words, be yourself.

My Best Friend...

I have chosen to describe one of my best friends that I have known since 4th grade, her name is Brittany Russell, but I call her Britt. If you saw her you would see she has thick blonde hair that falls about an inch below her collar bone, gorgeous blue eyes that peirce through you in all of her pictures and a gentle and friendly smile thats always on her face. She falls below average in height, about 5'3" but can dances like shes six feet tall. Brittany has done ballet for most of her childhood and moved up to point last summer. I have seen her preform and I was blown away by her skill. She also is part of the drill team at Capital High School. We took private lessons for clarinet together all the way until 7th grade, I switched instruments along the way, but we discontinued them as our hearts were no longer in it. The people that surround Britt can tell shes has and easy going personality and is all ways fun to be with. She doesn't really care alot about school, she does well but rather spend time on dancing. Everybody seems to like her unless you've crossed her which leads to her giving you the cold shoulder. But that doesnt happen very often for she can be an alturist because she hates to hurt others peoples feeling. Others can also infer that she cares about her looks because shes always has the cutest outfits and there is never a hair out of place. Shes a teenager what else can you expect!

Brittany is a ambivert because she never wants to hurt anybodys feelings so she keeps her thoughts inward but when its just me and her shes definately is an exrovert because she tells me everything.

ahh a childhood memory...

Back when I was a kid i lived in Orlando, Florida. My days were filled with blue skies, a blazing sun, and playing in the clear blue ocean. Not far from my home was my favorite place in the world, St. Pete Beach. We used to spend weekends over there in the same beach side hotel every time, I can still remember the old lady who ran the place. At the age of 5 she was only about a head taller then me, her deep permenate tan left her wrinkled. She greeted us with the same warming smile every time, saying that our usual room, 21, was waiting for us. We visited so frequently she knew my name and always noted that I had grown.

One of these vistits contained a once in a life experience, that even a 5 year old would never forget. It was a ordinary day at the beach, we had ate breakfast at the small but famous cafe right on the beach, bulit sand castles, and soaked in the sun. We waded out into the water until we reached the sand bar, the water so crystal clear you could see your toes squishing into the sand with each step. My mom and I looked around trying to find sandollar fully intact, from ones as big as my hand to ones the size of a penny. All of a sudden we see this long gray shape moving toward us, our fist reaction was shark! But as it approached we realized it was a long path of stingrays. They looked like one huge long stone pathway all scrunched together that never seemed to end. Mom says that there must of been hundreds, they passed right through our legs, paying us no attention. We stood absoultely still as they all finished passing, we were still in awe of what we had just witnessed and knew that this day will always remain with us.

The Catcher and the Rye: Motif

The author utilized the literary device, motif, so we could understand the antagonist more and also to contribute to the theme. The motif i chose was the idea that Holden wants to hold on to his childhood and immaturity. J.D Salinger uses symbols such as a red hat, a lagoon, a museum display, his relationship with his sister, and the idea of the "catcher and the rye" to more distinguish the main motif. All of these examples have a deeper meaning that let us related more to Holdens situation of wanting his life to be unchanging and simple as if he was still a child.

They also help delineate the theme of becoming of age, the troubles and pain of departing from your childhood and arriving into adulthood. Holdens desperate attempts to stay child like are hidden meanings within the symbols the author used but are ironic because he acts the opposite, such as drinking and swearing, which is linked to being an adult. No matter what you will eventually grow up and what he is going through is all part of the process

My Outside Reading...

For my outside reading project i chose to read the novel The Catcher and the Rye by J.D Salinger. So far i am having troubles getting into it due to the main character , Holden, who is not really grabbing my attention. The way the author portrays the character seems distant. As though the character is not connecting and therefore the reader my not be interested. This also might serve a purpose in getting across to the audience that this is the exact problem that Holden is facing. I am not very far into it so I hope as i progress i will start to like it more.

At this point i am still trying to figure out the predominate literature element but i think as read on it will become more apparent. I do have a few guess's at what it might be such as irony or motif. I think the author wrote it using those because its the best way to get the main point of the story across which is "becoming of age". Holden seems to be sarcastic like most teenagers are and so irony helps the reader identify with him.

I am having troubles deciding the tone because im not quite sure what it is because I feel as though the antgonist is cynical and moralistic but that does not necessarily mean that is the tone. i may have to wait until i am finished with the book to really understand the tone.

ALERT!!! i need your help if you have any insight on this book that could help me please leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thank you(:

my thoughts on reading...

Reading is a way to escape from the world around you, this world might be hectic and can cause your departure to be delayed. How do you cope with this chaos? Try to imagine yourself in the pages of your novel, read the words slowly and try to feel the emotion behind each sentence. This of course can be difficult, but if you really love reading we all know that you would do anything to find out what happens next. Now if you can't really get into your book, if its just not capturing you like a good novel should, just keep trying. I say if you've read about 100 to150 pages and its still not worth reading it usually isn't. There are some exceptions though, for example The Secret Life of Bees was dull to me but i absolutely loved the end part. Most books had a lot of thought put into them so give your attention to them and let it have a second try. I personally have troubles reading a book that doesn't hook me from the start (unless i have been warned ahead of time haha.) There are certain days that reading is all i do, especially those cold rainy Sundays of winter that all you need to do is have hot chocolate and good book. On the other hand, the simmering days of summer call my name and unless I'm thigh high in a novel i belong to the sun. I usually prefer to read at night because its so quite and i can let myself go completely to the books power.