Something That Symbolizes Me

            The object I chose to represent me is my headphones. Headphones to me represent freedom, because when you listen to music you block out everything. When you are having a bad day, you can forget it all with headphones and music. When I listen to music I feel like I can do anything. It can be so calming and relaxing. It feels like you are in a different world. The music you listen to can be very inspiring, so when you listen to it, it can inspire you and make you feel better. People say that music allows you to escape from the real world. I think this shows that you feel free when you listen to music. 

I commented on Devin's, Rebecca's, James', Sam's, and, Bianey's blog.

Blog for Week 5/11/15

Prompt: Although the plot has the same ending in both the book ad the movie, the actual moments of each piece are different. The movie ends with a flashback; the book ends with dialogue. What does the flashback show? How does the flashback leave the audience feeling at the end of the movie? Does the feeling match the feeling at the end of the book? Why do you think the director chose to use a different ending rather than just showing exactly what's in the book? What is the line of dialogue that ends in the book? What does that line tell about the speaker? What feeling does that line leave the reader with? How does it make you feel when he says that?

            I think that the flashback at the end of the movie shows that George didn't kill Lennie out of hatred, but friendship. You saw George crying at the end thinking about Lennie, showing that he didn't want him to die, but he was capable of hurting people. The flashback showed that Lennie and George were very good friends because they seemed like they had a close bond. This shows that since George cared about Lennie, he didn't want Curley to kill him, or have him in jail. If the flashback showed events of when George yelled at Lennie, then it would probably mean that George didn't care for him as much, so he killed him. 

            The flashback left the audience feeling sad at the end of the movie, because it showed that George just killed someone who was his best friend, and someone who was vey important in his life. I think that the feeling in the movie feeling does not match the feeling at the end of the book. I think this, because in the end of the book it ends with George and Slim walking off to drink, and Carlson saying, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?" In the movie it ends with George crying on a train remembering the times he had with Lennie. The ending in the book was less sad than the ending in the movie.

            The dialogue at the end of the book is said by Carlson, and he said, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?" This line shows that Carlson was a little clueless on what was going on. He thought that George killed Lennie, because Lennie took Curley's gun, and George had to fight him for it. When really, George killed Lennie out of friendship, because he didn't want Lennie to go to jail, or have Curley kill him. When Carlson saw George walk with Slim sadly, he was confused, because I think he looked at it like the death of Lennie was a good thing, because he was dangerous. The feeling the reader has with that line is kind of confused. At first a lot of my classmates, including me, did not get what that meant. When Carlson said that that line, I felt like he really didn't understand the relationship with George and Lennie. He doesn't get that George just killed his best friend and how he cared for him so much.

Blog for Week 5/4/14

AOW Impression Blog

            This AOW gallery walk allowed us to learn about things that are going on around the world right now. I have learned many things that I didn't know before, and because of this I do know now. I think that this activity was really helpful, because it opened our eyes to see what is currently happening in the world. I think not just me, but a lot of people learned a lot of new things during this activity. Also this was important for us to do, because a lot of us, sometimes, don't have the time to do this at home. Some things I learned from the gallery walk was the earthquake in Nepal, and the riots in Baltimore.

            During the gallery walk I learned a lot about the earthquake in Nepal. I saw more than one person do this article, so I thought that this must be very important. What I learned from this is that about eight million people were affected by this earthquake. I also learned that over 7,000 people died! A lot of people are still missing. Many of those missing people are foreigners. 1.4 million people were injured.

            The article I had and lot of other people had was on the riots in Baltimore. What I read that started this is that a man died in police custody from a spinal cored injury. Then many people became mad at the police and stared to looting and rioting. What I learned from this is that many people are looting and setting cars and buildings on fire. I also learned that many people got arrested and injured. I think that the riots are just making everything worse. People are getting hurt because of this. I read that many of the rioters threw rocks and bricks at police officers. Many people were arrested, and more than a dozen police officers were injured.

Poem Blog 5/1/15

Prompt: Using "To A Mouse" by Robert Burns as inspiration, write a short poem expressing what happens when you have a dream and it doesn't come true.

"Dreams To Come And Go"
By: Diana A.

When you have a dream

It's the greatest feeling

When you have a hope you beam

You just think, staring at the ceiling 

When your dream doesn't work out

It's not a great feeling

You just want to pout 

Your feelings are not appealing

Dreams don't always come as planned

You just have to get over it

Just hold somebody's hand

You can get over it in a bit

Even if you can't

You can at least try

You feel like hope is scant 

It's okay to cry

More dreams will come soon

Maybe in a strum

Maybe in late June,

But they will come 

I commented on Jared's, Joseph's, and Devin's blog

Blog for Week 4/27/15

Prompt: Brainstorm the different types of conflicts via your Google doc, creating a chart that addresses the conflict, types of conflicts, and the effect that the conflict had had on a plot so far. From your brainstorming session, choose at least two conflicts explore more in depth in this blog. Be sure to include textual evidence and support and also identify the effect that the conflict has had on the plot so far. 

            One of the conflicts in the book Of Mice And Men by John Steinfield is that Curley and Lennie get in a big fight. This is a Man vs. Man type of conflict because this situation was between two people. The effect on the conflict could be that Curley wants to get back at Lennie. He could get them fired because he is the son of Lennie's boss. In the book the effect on this is that Lennie's face had cuts and bruises. Curley ended up getting his had crushed by Lennie, because George told him to fight back. Lennie now is scared of Curley

            Another conflict in the book is that Lennie kills Curley's wife. This is also a Man vs. Man conflict because it was between two people. In the book it states, " 'But Curley's gonna want to shoot 'im. Curley's still mad about his hand.' " This shows that one of the effects on this could be that Curley finds out and gets mad, and would want to kill Lennie. Since Curley is still mad about Lennie hurting his hand, this would just make the situation much worse. 

            The last conflict to talk about is how Candy decided to end the life of his old dog. This is a Man vs. Self conflict because Candy is the one who has to deal with it. The effect on this is that Candy felt very upset. He also felt lonely because he has had that dog for a long time, and his dog was very important to him. Also the effect on this was that he felt regret. He felt regret because he thought that he should have been the one to kill him and not someone else. 

I commented on Justin's, Nick's, and Emily's blog.

Blog for Week 4/20/15

Prompt: Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse. Be sure to include characteristics of different characters that were formally or informally introduced to us in this chapter. Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.  Why doesn't Curley's wife have a name?   What message, if anything, is John Steinbeck  trying to send by not giving her a first name?  Support your choice with textual evidence and interpretation.

           The atmosphere of the bunkhouse and ranch is usually negative. Mostly because Curley doesn't seem to like George and Lennie. George and Lennie seem to dislike Curley a lot too. In the book Of Mice and Men, Curley says that he does not like big men. I think this goes to Lennie as a bad thing since he is big. I think more into the book their will be more problems between them. Some of the characters are suspicious of them because they think George is going to take away the money that Lennie earns from working. The people in the ranch seem like they are always arguing. 

           I think Curley's wife doesn't have a name because of the time period they are in. In this time period women were not treated very well. Since she doesn't have a name, maybe Curley wants everyone to know that they are married and together. In the book the characters call Curley's wife some mean names. Showing that women didn't have the same respect they had for men.

          I think the message John Steinbeck is trying to send out about Curley's wife not having a name is to make the story more realistic. In this time period there was discrimination between men and women. If they treated Curley's wife like she was gold, it wouldn't make sense. In that time period women were called the names they said in the book. It would be more realistic if the characters acted and thought this way about her in the book.

I commented on Mia's, Sebastian's, and Emily's blog.

Blog for Week 4/13/15

Prompt: Draw four objects that represent your reading. Write a paragraph for each, telling what each item says about what you've been reading.
A Dog's Life by: Ann M. Martin

             The first picture is of a stray dog. I picked this picture because the main character, Squirrel, is a living as a stray dog. The book is in the perspective of Squirrel. Squirrel has gone through some hard times as a stray dog. Throughout most of the book, she is a stray dog. Squirrel wasn't always alone. She had a mother and a brother. The mother left both of them in the shed. The brother, Bone, was there for him after that, but then was taken by a girl. After that, she eventually found a friend.

             The second picture is of a highway. I chose a highway because more than once has Squirrel ended up on the highway. One time was with his brother. That's when George and Marcy found them, and took them home. Marcy wanted to keep them, but George did not. This is a very dangerous place for them to be, because they could get hurt by the cars. 

             The third picture is of a mall. At a mall is where Squirrel was separated from his brother, Bone. While they were staying at George's and Marcy's house, George did not want them. George then took them to a mall and left them there alone. They had injuries after being thrown out of George's car. A girl then came and saw Bone and Squirrel. She only took Bone, and left Squirrel there at the mall.

             The fourth picture is of a trash can. Squirrel loves to go through the trash to find food. The first time he went through he trash was with his mother and brother. After he was all alone he always went through trash. The time he was with his brother in Marcy's and George's home, they both ran to the trash and got in trouble for making a mess. For some reason, Squirrel loves the smell of garbage. Every time he smells it, the garbage lures her toward it.

I commented on Emily's, Jeremiah's, and Rebecca's blog.