Friday, April 3, 2009
"The Shining Houses" By Alice Munro
I think Mary is the victim of social oppression in this story because her "friends" are trying to force her to take their side against Mrs. Fullerton. When Mary refuses to sign their petition for a lane, she realizes that she has served herself up as a "conversational delight for the next coffee party". Because of this, her group of friends do not respect her opinions and did not even listen to her side of the story. In this story Mary does not really have the freedom to do as she chooses because she knows that there will be consequences for her doing what she thinks is right. She does not really have freedom of speech either because none of them even listened to her and they all just thought she was being ridiculous and will most likely talk about her behind her back as soon as she leaves. They "listen" to her politely but don’t really listen, and as soon as she’s done they ignore her opinion and start trying to convince her that their way is the right way and the only way. Her group of friends think that they are the victims because they have to look at an ugly old eyesore house and they can’t make the old lady get rid of it. Mrs. Fullerton, if she knew what was going on, might think she is the victim because she is being driven out of her home by a bunch of unfriendly neighbors who don’t like her because her house isn’t geometrical. However, I think Mary is the victim of social oppression in this story because she isn’t given what should be her right to voice her opinions or do what she thinks is right without paying the price for it.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
"Ode to a Nightingale"
Why does Keats bother with seeking out the bird to write his poem?
Keats wants to immerse himself in nature. He wants to feel all the things that the nightingale’s song makes him feel without interruption from any other thoughts of his.
How?
Keats’s poem seems to be all about the nightingale and how it’s song makes him feel. There are no apparent outside influences on this piece of poetry other than the nightingale. Keats achieves this by engrossing himself with the nightingale’s song and the feelings it creates. He pays no attention to the outside world in his poem because there is nothing mentioned about the things happening in his life that make him feel the way he does.
Keats uses rhetorical devices to make his poem flow smoothly and to give it a sad and beautiful tone. Alliteration is common in his poem such as “deep-delved”, “breezes blown”, “self-same song” and “still stream”. Assonance such as “beechen green” also achieves the same effect.
Keats wants to immerse himself in nature. He wants to feel all the things that the nightingale’s song makes him feel without interruption from any other thoughts of his.
How?
Keats’s poem seems to be all about the nightingale and how it’s song makes him feel. There are no apparent outside influences on this piece of poetry other than the nightingale. Keats achieves this by engrossing himself with the nightingale’s song and the feelings it creates. He pays no attention to the outside world in his poem because there is nothing mentioned about the things happening in his life that make him feel the way he does.
Keats uses rhetorical devices to make his poem flow smoothly and to give it a sad and beautiful tone. Alliteration is common in his poem such as “deep-delved”, “breezes blown”, “self-same song” and “still stream”. Assonance such as “beechen green” also achieves the same effect.
Informal Essay
I would say that I am a typical teenager. Monday through Friday I attend school, followed by volleyball practice, and I also play basketball for Kitchener. Between practices, tournaments and homework I should still have time to go out and have fun, right? Wrong. My hectic schedule makes it a rare occurrence for me to get the required 8 to 9 hours of sleep at night, and even more unlikely for me to show up to school with all my homework completed. It may not be obvious to most, but there is an immense, superfluous amount of stress that burdens the average student athlete.
It is an infrequent circumstance for me to be prepared for all of my classes. I seem to always be finishing up an assignment or homework at lunch, and see others doing the same. This is not because I don’t budget my time wisely. I do budget my time, but there is just not enough of it. I haven’t gone out with my friends since the short break after first semester exams. I feel that taking a break to have fun is a very important thing for kids my age to do, and I wish very much that I could do it more often. Every night I ask myself ‘should I go to practice and get behind on my homework, or skip practice, complete my assignment, and get benched at the next game? Or should I do both and get 3 hours of sleep?’ The question ‘should I take a break and go out tonight?’ is one that has not be pulled from the back of my mind in quite some time.
The pressure and anxiety of being a senior student athlete does not rest when I do. In the few hours when I am eating, driving or sleeping, I am constantly concerned about university acceptances and paying tuition, and wondering ‘what do I want to do with my life?’ It seems like every time that question is posed, (which is often as it has become the new icebreaker for conversation) I have no answer. This worries me. Some adults tell me not to fret, that I have ages to sort it out. I don’t have ages. The deadline for university applications has already passed, seeing me applying to the programs I think I want. Even now I do not know if I chose the right ones. I feel nervous not knowing, not having a plan, and appearing lost. This making it up as I go along didn’t used to scare me. That used to be the rule I lived by: one day at a time. My opinions, desires, likes and dislikes varied with the days. It did not matter because I had no important decisions with looming deadlines attached.
Now I am back to one day at a time, but instead of just living that way, it feels like I am struggling through day by day. Like I can only make it through a tough basketball practice by knowing I can sleep after. Like I can only finish a mountain of homework by not thinking about doing the same thing tomorrow. Like I can only make my way through school, volleyball, basketball, and then homework by not looking more than one hour ahead, and not focusing on doing the exact same thing the next day. It is a strategy that works for me, but I don’t like it. Living day by day because it is the only way to avoid a mental breakdown is much, much different from living in the moment because I have no decisions, no troubles, and no cares.
It is an infrequent circumstance for me to be prepared for all of my classes. I seem to always be finishing up an assignment or homework at lunch, and see others doing the same. This is not because I don’t budget my time wisely. I do budget my time, but there is just not enough of it. I haven’t gone out with my friends since the short break after first semester exams. I feel that taking a break to have fun is a very important thing for kids my age to do, and I wish very much that I could do it more often. Every night I ask myself ‘should I go to practice and get behind on my homework, or skip practice, complete my assignment, and get benched at the next game? Or should I do both and get 3 hours of sleep?’ The question ‘should I take a break and go out tonight?’ is one that has not be pulled from the back of my mind in quite some time.
The pressure and anxiety of being a senior student athlete does not rest when I do. In the few hours when I am eating, driving or sleeping, I am constantly concerned about university acceptances and paying tuition, and wondering ‘what do I want to do with my life?’ It seems like every time that question is posed, (which is often as it has become the new icebreaker for conversation) I have no answer. This worries me. Some adults tell me not to fret, that I have ages to sort it out. I don’t have ages. The deadline for university applications has already passed, seeing me applying to the programs I think I want. Even now I do not know if I chose the right ones. I feel nervous not knowing, not having a plan, and appearing lost. This making it up as I go along didn’t used to scare me. That used to be the rule I lived by: one day at a time. My opinions, desires, likes and dislikes varied with the days. It did not matter because I had no important decisions with looming deadlines attached.
Now I am back to one day at a time, but instead of just living that way, it feels like I am struggling through day by day. Like I can only make it through a tough basketball practice by knowing I can sleep after. Like I can only finish a mountain of homework by not thinking about doing the same thing tomorrow. Like I can only make my way through school, volleyball, basketball, and then homework by not looking more than one hour ahead, and not focusing on doing the exact same thing the next day. It is a strategy that works for me, but I don’t like it. Living day by day because it is the only way to avoid a mental breakdown is much, much different from living in the moment because I have no decisions, no troubles, and no cares.
Persuasion
Monday should not exist. I do not know of a single person who enjoys Mondays. If everyone hates them so much, then why do we have them? Good question. I don’t think we should have them. If there were no Mondays, there would be no students sleeping through classes and being late to first period at the beginning of every week. This, in turn would mean less grumpy teachers. One could deduce that less grumpy teachers will dish out less homework. Less homework would be wonderful. For those people with full time jobs, they would not have to endure that sinking feeling of dread every Sunday night. I know that feeling and it can really ruin a Sunday night. Instead of showing up reluctant and huffy to work on Mondays, we could all show up energetic and cheerful on Tuesdays. If the whole wide world detests Mondays, can’t we just get rid of them and take one small step towards making our world a better place?
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