Goodbye Blog

I can't believe after blogging the entire year of English IV this my last blog. Blogging has been such a unique homework experience and I feel like I'm going to want to blog occasionally while in college. I especially enjoyed the creative blogs because it really allowed us to think outside the box and think of new and creative topics to talk about.
I can't believe senior year is coming to an end. High school has been filled with so many phenomenal memories and I am going to miss everyone so much. So many people are truly responsible for the amazing experience I had in high school. I want to thank all of my friends and amazing teachers (yay Dr. Forman) for making high school a part of my life I will look back on with a smile. I am sad to be leaving but also excited for what lies ahead
I hope the class of 2011 will stay in touch forever...

If only the whole year was like this

Could you imagine if the whole year was actually this relaxed? It's so nice to be under zero stress and coming to school and really feeling like nothing needs to be done. It has been a one hundred eighty degree turn from first semester with the stress of keeping our grades up and filling out all those college essays. At last, we finally know where we are going and it truly feels like we have completed every task for the year and for our high school. School has actually become a nice break.

What to bring to College (top 5)

1. An Open Mind
2. Lots of Notebooks and pens
3. Blanket and Pillow
4. Laptop
5. Lots of Pictures of Family and Friends to cover my dorm room walls

College T-Shirt Day

College t-shirt day was such an interesting experience. It was a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Putting on my newly bought college t-shirt was such a strange experience. With 11 days left of school, I really want to hold on to the days that we have because clearly they escape fast. I still remember being a freshmen watching the seniors pose in their college shirts. I can't believe we are there...

Finally Decided

It is a great feeling to finally know what college I am going to next year. However, deciding has made it seem real. It is just starting to hit that we will no longer be going to Buckley. We will no longer be going to our home away from home. We will have to start all over, creating new relationships with our peers, professors, and TA's. It's exciting and scary at the same time. The two poems we read about leaving and moving on to college has really made me think. I hope we can hold on to these last 12 days of school, and really make them count.

Creative Blog 4

Just a couple months ago, Sweet Butter opened on Ventura Blvd., less than 5 minutes away from school. Ever since its opening, business has been flying. This place became a hit so quickly, and it has sustained its popularity. I have been quite a few times myself since the beginning and I have to say it is one of my favorite restaurants. What makes the restaurant so special and amazing is that all of their food is so fresh. All of their ingredients are fresh and you could tell the quality of their fruits and vegetables. My personal favorite is their spicy tomato soup and their jidori chicken tenders. Whenever I got to Sweet Butter I always first ask for a sample of their soup (which are always good due to their fresh vegetables). The only complain I would have is that some of their foods are not as good (but only slightly) from when they first opened. For instance, the chicken tenders are not nearly as juicy as they were in their opening weeks. It's possible that I am feeling what Gregor was feeling in Metamorphosis when he was more appreciated when he first brought home money. Maybe I was more excited to go to Sweet Butter and thought their food tasted better at the beginning because it was something new.
Regardless, Sweet Butter is amazing and if you haven't had it before, you are really missing.
Ps. I highly recommend getting something from their bakery for dessert (their chocolate chip cookies are amazing!) 

Creative Blog 3

Glee is amazing unlike what Tony says. The cast is so talented, and every week they come up with new and exciting songs to sing. This week on glee they came up with their own original songs which was actually very catchy. If you look at itunes at the moment, both of the originial songs from the last episode are numbers one and two on the top single's list. In addition, sometimes the Glee versions of songs are actually better than the original. For everyone that says they don't like Glee, they obviously have never seen Glee (which Tony has admitted). I will admit that Glee can be cheesy at times, but if you get past they fact that they randomly break into song on some occasions, the plot is rather interesting and the music is always good. Everyone needs to watch a full epsiode of Glee before they can argue that it is a "stupid" show. Furthermore, Glee promotes the value of being unique and individual which can realte to our discussion on conformity.

Creative Blog 2

This whole college process has got me thinking about why have we (the seniors) done what we did for the past 4 years. Did we do all these extra curricular, AP's, community service, etc. just for the sake of getting into college? In class we discussed after reading Kafka's novel, "Metamorphosis," in what ways has society still remained conformist.  In conjunction with our discussion about conformity, have you noticed that going to college has never been questioned. It has always been assumed that we will go to college. We never stop to think of we are actually working towards what we want to do. We have all been programmed from a young age that when we are finished with high school, we would progress to college. This progression has been considered a norm. I wonder if students had the option from a younger age, would they go to college?

Creative Blog 1

Congratulations to the cast of Pride and Prejudice, it was truly memorable. The cast was perfectly chosen and everyone successfully portrayed their character. The characters were enacted exactly as I envisioned them. In regards the the plot of the play I didn't necessarily like the abridgment. I understand that the full story would have taken over four hours, but I just felt like there were some important and memorable scenes were missing. I wish the play stayed more true to Jane Austin's work because some of my favorite moments were lost. Besides that I greatly enjoyed the play. The actors really worked well together and made the novel come to life.

Confromity Intro Parapgraph

The image of the perfect American family can be described as a white picket fence, a stay home mother making dinner as the children return from school, and the father from work. An important aspect of this image is that can relate to the discussion on conformity is the role of the father and mother, the man and woman. From the time of Genesis, where woman was created from man, to Kafka's "Metamorphosis," where Gregor is the provider of them family, there seems to be little change in the conformist role of men and women. Even with all the victories for women's rights, have women still maintained their subordinate role? When Gregor describes each member of his family's ability to work, he seems to put more emphasis on his father. Why is it that men are still associated as the providers? Kafka's "Metamorphosis" acts as an indicator that although society is not as conformist as before, in some aspects, the conformist mentality still exists, specifically in regards to the idea that men are the providers for the family.

Paragraph 2: Talk about metamorphosis
Paragraph 3: Connect with Genesis and poetry
Conclusion: Relate to personal experience

Conformity

Everyone in the class made very valid points about conformity at Buckley and whether more or less conformity is needed. In my opinion, schools need to foster more freedom in the classroom and accept more free thinking. This free thinking needs to be started at a young age. When schools only allow students to think freely at an older age, a lot of times students are unable to that. They are too influenced by what other people say, specirfically the teacher. If students are allowed, at a young age, to express themselves they will be more likely to form their own opinions as they grow older.

2 Kafka Questions

1. When you first hear the lines the reaction of the reader is a mix of confusion and humor. You can't really tell as a reader if the author is really being serious. You don't know if it is a dream or is it just a very unrealistic plot. You begin to understand the serious intent when the author states that it was not a dream. It is stated so bluntly that you just have to accept it. There is some part of me that did not take the story seriously because it was so unrealistic.

2. Gregor's family always treated like an insect even before the metamorphsis. The family always seemed to be taking advantage of Gregor and what he did for the family. In addition, Gregor always willingly do what his family asked of him. He was always the worker bug of the family and always did exactly what he was told. Gregor's body was changing, but his role in the family stayed the same.

Leaderless Discussion

A leaderless discussion was a very useful tool for discussion. It is also very interesting to take an outside perspective on a discussion while not having the ability to participate. While watching the inner discussion and keeping a tally on the participation, it is evident that a leader does emerge without appointing one. It is interesting to see because it proves the tendency of a group to want and desire a leader to take control of the discussion. It was conversely very interesting to see the evolving discussion where a basic question is posed and from there ideas are just being shared. It is interesting to compare the starting point and ending point of a specific topic. I thought this was a very effective exercise because we were able to discuss solely with our peers, without the interference of adults. 

Introductory Paragraph

            Black is bad. White is good. If only it were that simple for Marlow’s journey to the Heart of Darkness. In Conrad’s novel the symbolic meaning of white and black are constantly changing and lack consistency. There is a certain ambiguity with the color images in the novel and a lot of the time the symbols are the opposite of their typical meaning. The ambiguity with the color falls into the general theme of the novel because most elements of Heart of Darkness are vague and perplexing. In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the symbolic meaning of colors, specifically black, white, and ivory, have an atypical ambiguity factor which contributes to the theme of Marlow’s journey to chaos.

3. Use any ONE quote from Karl to examine one aspect of the novel

"The persistence of dakness, especially the color black, sets the tone and elicits our response." In Heart of Darkness, the colors Conrad utalizes, specifically black and white, do not have the typical symbolic meaning in the context of the novel. In fact, the meaning of white and black are switched. That being said, the switching of typical meaninf seems to be a reoccuring theme in the novel. For instance, at the beggining of Marlow's tale, he speaks about England pre-colonization and compares it to ancient Rome, basically espousing the chaos. England is not usually associated with chaos and destruction so its one of the reversals in Heart of Darkness. The colors of white and black are one of the elements that contribute and foreshadow the overall journey to chaos.

Essay Ideas

My first essay idea is to examine Marlow's journey as he approaches Kurtz, specifically his mental and emotional journey. I will use literary clues to do so, for instance by analyzing his speech pattern and narrative style as well through the actions he takes. I want to also analyze his development of Post Traumatic Syndrome and look for signs of it.
My other idea would be to look specifically at one symbol perhaps the rivets or Kurtz as a character.

Marlow's Phsycological Journey

In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Marlow, the main character makes a physical journey to the Congo. However, as he explains his journey throughout the novel we gain incite to his physical journey. It is very evident through the way he speaks about his experiences that it took a toll on him emotionally. We can definitely see an element of post traumatic syndrome. For example, Marlow states "You remember it, you dream of it, you wake up at night and think of it-years after- an go hot and cold all over." Marlow's journey to Africa was unlike anything he had experience before and all this new information he received had an emotional impact on him.

#6 pg 430

The torch in the painting could have several meanings in the context of the story. It could represent civilization or the love of knowlege, but ultimately it is a beacon and it is a positive symbol. The torch juxtaposes with the dark face of the woman in the painting. The intersting aspect of the painitng is that the woman is blin folded, possible representing a blinded justice. There is a clear disconect between the torch and the blind fold which can possibly signify a abnormal moral compass. I think Marlow would agree with this painting because of the disconnect that exits between the torch and the woman but also between the people and colonizers. Marlow constanly makes note of the "strangeness" of the people to ther point where he is impressed with a man based on his ability to make himself presentable.

#2 pg 429

The first couple paragraphs of Heart of Darkness is very vivid in its discription of the ominous and dark setting. Marlow begins his tale of a journey to the heart of darkness with an account of London in "very old times,when the Romans first came here" to exemplify the darkness of the situation. The way Marlow describes London, England sounds like a terrible colony. England is the punishment for those who gamble are exiled to England. In the situation he explains, everything is reversed and that is why he makes the connection between England in Roman time and the English colonization of Africa.