Entry #9

Entry #9


The image that I chose is a picture of a lion looking into the pond when he looks into the pond there is a reflection of a sheep. The picture is called The Lion and the Lamb by Heather Cooper. The story that accompanies the picture is The story of Echo and Narcissus. The picture is filled with lots of dark colors and is not very cheerful. The lion in the picture looks very dreary and his eyes look like he is hurting. However on the lamb in the reflection looks happy and his eyes look like there is a hint of glimmer or faith in them. The lamb looks cheerful in contrast to the lion. The lion could be looking into the pond thinking that there is something better on the other side. In fact there is something on the other side, a cheerful or happier side of him. The tree is also creating a ripple in the water. The ripple could symbolize a domino effect or another reaction. The lion could be looking into the water wishing it would tell him more and maybe have another reaction. A lion could symbolize strength and power. There could be a strong man with a hard outside looking into his reflection and seeing himself as a soft person. Maybe the person wants to be a sensitive person (like a lamb). He is longing to be someone other than what he is. He wants to be a lamb and not a lion.
The story of Echo and Narcissus is a myth about a women called Echo and a man named Narcissus. All in all the story of Echo and Narcissus is a warming to those who love someone who can not love them back. It is often used as a basis for understanding the implications of a condition known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In the picture the lamb could be looking into the pond because she loves the lion but the lion does not love her back. This picture could be trying to portray the meaning of the myth and The lamb seeks the lion but he can not love her back.

I could not find a link to the picture so I took a photo of it and here it is:

Entry #8

Entry #8

Puck is a mythological fairy in the play “A Midsummer night’s dream” but the creature was derived from Celtic mythology and English folklore. He is a spirit that plays tricks on people. In other words he is a trickster. This is significant because Puck is indeed a trickster in the play. In the play Puck also had another name, Robin Goodfellow. The spirits name explains that he is not good-natured and he plays pranks on other people.

Cupid is also referred to in the play. The fairies talk about the love-in-idleness flower and use it to make a love potion that will make each other fall in love with each other. Oberon claims that cupid shot his arrow at the virgin queen but missed and hit the flower. Cupid is actually the Greek God of love. Cupid has wings and can fly and shoot arrows at people making them fall in love with the first person they lay eyes on. Cupid is Venuses (the roman Goddess of love) son. Cupid and Venus were companions and shot the arrows of desire into men and women.

A Centaur is a creature that is referred to in “A midsummer Night’s Dream.” A centaur is a creature that is the head of a man or woman and the body of a horse. A centaur is a creature from Greek mythology. The centaur is one of the only mythological creatures that good and is a friend. Shakespeare my have wanted to include this character to portray that this character is friendly and will be a friendly character.

Oberon is a character in the play. He is the king of the fairies and he fights Titania (the Fairy Queen) for the ownership of the stolen Indian child. Oberon comes from eastern mythology and is an exotic myth. When him and Titania are arguing in the story it causes disruptions in the weather patterns. Oberon is a mythological creature from India. The changeling boy that he and Titania are fighting over is also Indian.

Entry #7

Entry #7

Shakespeare is the most quoted poet and has influenced many words in the English dictionary. His quotations have passed down onto everyday language. Shakespeare has influenced over 1,700 words in the English oxford dictionary.
These are some words that Shakespeare has invented:

Jaded: dulled or worn out.
From King Henry VI

Hobnob: to associate on friendly terms
From Twelfth Night

Cold-blooded: without emotion or feeling
King John

Zany: one who plays a clown or fool
From Love’s Labour Lost

Swagger:
From A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Courtship: the wooing of one person or another
From Love’s Labour Lost

Countless: to numerous to count
From Titus Andronicus

Torture: the act of excruciating pain
From King Henry VI

Unreal: not real or actual
From Macbeth

Worthless: without worth or useless
From King Henry VI

All of these words are still used in the English language today. Pretty good for a man that was alive over a hundred years ago.

Entry #6

Entry #6

I visited the sites that had the virtual tours on them. I saw an animation of the old theatre and all of the people that visited the plays. The people were divided into sections and the rich got better seats than the peasants. The poorer people did not was and people could not bare the stench of the other person. In the older theatre it looked like a bad place and personally I don't think that I would have liked to go there. I also visited a virtual tour of the theatre where you could see the modern look of the theatre. Now the modern theatre looks like a great place to go and watch one of Shakespeare’s great plays. The architectural appeal of the building is amazing and all of the stone carvings around the stage are really quite amazing. I think that I would really enjoy going to London’s Globe Theatre. I would like to sit in the galleries were there are seats and a better view of the stage. In the galleries you can also purchase food and have a better viewing experience. Many of the people sitting around you would also be of higher class and it might be more enjoyable than standing in the pit. In the theatre in pat times people would smell horrific and it would be probably be very distracting to watch the play. Sitting in the gallery would be far more enjoyable. An interesting fact that Mr. Keenan told us that was at the door the people would give you a lemon to hold in front of your nose so that your wouldn’t have to smell the horrible stench. On one of the websites it said that the person sitting beside you might have not have had a shower for over a year.

Entry #5

Entry #5

After finishing the Novel October Sky I think that the activities scheduled for this unit were very fun and intriguing and also very thought out. I liked that it was an independent novel study and that we didn’t have to read it out loud with the class. I would far much like reading it on my own time and by myself than having to read it in groups. We had to do an independent Character sketch, which I finished very fast and was able to understand it completely. It helped me understand the characters more in depth and it also really helped me write the final essay with more ease. I think the character sketch was very effective. We also had to do the blog journal entry assignments for October Sky. I have never had to a blog in a school assignment before and I really learned a lot about creating and commenting on blogs. In doing the blog assignments Mr. Keenan told us that we had to work on the entries at home and do it at our own pace. The entries took about half an hour for me and they weren’t very time consuming. I did six blog entries in one weekend and I didn’t have to worry about them all week. Which worked well for me because I didn’t have time in the week to write them. For the final assignment we had to make a science fair project about the book October Sky. We were put into groups and we had to pick a major theme to do the website around. I really liked my group and we worked well together. We had to some out of the classroom work but not too much. I have never had to do a science fair project on a website before. I think that it was a very creative way to do a project and no other teacher has done this before with me. Although we did have some troubles with the mac books all of it worked well and the final product turned out amazing. I also made a short animation to go in the project. I combined my computer animation skills with the theme of the project and made some pretty neat short movies. Mr. Keenan has done a great job incorporating technology into the English Curriculum and I have really enjoyed all of the creative assignments.

Entry #4

Entry #4

By definition friendship is the cooperation and supportive behavior between two or more human beings. By my definition friends help, trust, respect, love, care for, show esteem, show affection, and loyalty between two people. Having a friend is very important because you can share your feelings and talk to each other. Talking and sharing with other people helps you meet your need for a strong psychological mind. Many people would go crazy if they had no one else to talk to, having a friend will help you reach you need. Friends usually have similar tastes and interests will usually be similar to one another. Friends will usually have in mind the best interest for each other as well as a mutual understanding. In terms of the novel October Sky all of the rocket boys have an understanding for each other. They help put each other up and help them when they are down. Sonny represents all of the boys at the science fairs. He shows off all of their combined hard work. They all share the similar hobby of building rockets together. They all had what the author called “ a silent bond” when Sonny’s cat died and they all came to help Sonny grieve. No one called the boys to come help Sonny they all just sort of knew. The “rocket boys” all had a very strong bond. They did everything together, such as; mined for the steel together and also discovered the Ginseng Root. In terms of my own life, friendship is very important. I have many close friends that I can be myself around them. They accept me for who I am not what I wear, where I live, how wealthy my family is or what interests me. The Christian Gospels state that Jesus Christ declared, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." My mom used to tell me this quote and whenever I get in a fight with one of my friends she reminds me of this and I say it over to my friend. I realize that a small fight won’t bring my friends and me apart and we can get through it. Friendship is a strong bond and it is very important and no one should take it for granted.

October Sky Question

October sky Question

In the beginning of the chapter the principal told Sonny that life wasn’t fair, by the end of the chapter Sonny didn’t get into the calculus class because his grades were to low but he said it was the fair thing to do.

Do you think that at the end of the chapter Sonny learned a lesson in fairness? What other lesson did he learn?

Yes I think Sonny learned a lesson in fairness. The principal told Sonny that this school was a coal miner and football school and not for science clubs. Sonny said that that wasn’t fair and that he wanted a class that taught calculus. Miss Riley really pushed for the calculus class and it did, but only six people could be in it. Out of the seven people that signed up Sonny had the lowest grades and got cut. Sonny told his dad and his dad asked him if he wanted to talk to the teacher but Sonny said that it was alright and he had the lowest grades. His dad complimented that he was right and it was the fair thing to do. Sonny learned that life really isn’t fair and sometimes you have to make sacrifices. He fought for a class but he didn’t get to take it which shows a lot of his strong points.
The Principal also told Sonny that he learned a great lesson of life: life is quite ironic. The principal told him “You worked to get this class and now you will not be able to take it.” This was quite true and Sonny accepted it. He also did not fight the principal. I think that Sonny did learn many lessons in this chapter; he learnt that life isn’t always fair and that life is sometimes ironic.