Will Grayson Will Grayson

I think the main message in this book is about the the three ways of love. 1) Learning to love and accept who you are. 2) The love, appreciation, and respect of loving a friend or friends. 3) Romantic love and how it will only work if you choose to make it work. A big theme that you see in this book is choice. Choosing between allowing yourself to fall, or break ones rules, or choosing to let yourself be happy. The Will Grayson have to learn to love who they are, appreciate those who they have in their lives, and allow themselves to fall in love.

"Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters."

"maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure out if you want to fall, or how and when you're gonna land, and i gotta tell you, friends, to stop thinking about the landing, because it's all about falling."

"need is never a good basis for any relationship. it has to be much more than that."

"NO. No no no. I don't want to screw you. I just love you. When did who you want to screw become the whole game? Since when is the person you want to screw the only person you get to love? It's so stupid, Tiny! I mean, Jesus, who even gives a fuck about sex?! People act like it's the most important thing humans do, but come on. How can our sentient fucking lives revolve around something slugs can do. I mean, who you want to screw and whether you screw them? Those are important questions, I guess. But they're not that important. You know what's important? Who would you die for? Who do you wake up at five forty-five in the morning for even though you don't even know why he needs you? Whose drunken nose would you pick?!"

Will Grayson Will Grayson

The main characters of this book are Will Grayson and Will Grayson.
Will Grayson #1) 16 year old boy who likes to not stand out. He is a protagonist in this story. He is attractive but not found attractive by all. He had two rules that he must follow 1. Don't care too much and 2. Keep your mouth shut. He breaks these two rules at once when he stand up for another student who then becomes his best friend. I have gotten to a point where I see Will Grayson #1 facing an inner conflict on whether or not he should allow himself to fall for a girl named Jane.

Will Grayson #2) 16 year old boy who faces a daily struggling of depression and hating himself. It is just him and his mom who he doesn't like. He is a protagonist of this story. He is secretly gay and has a secret online boyfriend. He has a best friend named Maura. Maura has obvious feelings for Will. I've gotten to a part where Will is ready to meet his mysterious lover boy.

Tiny Cooper) Tiny Cooper is ironically not tiny. The opposite of tiny, Tiny is a 16 year old boy who is described to be a huge football player. Tiny is extremely gay. This is actually how he is described in the book. He is a football player who is in a SAGA, does Musca theatre, and is in love with love. He goes through boyfriends like crazy and "falls in love" with everyone. He is Will Grayson #1's best friend. He challenges him to come out of his bubble. These two make an amazing best friend pair.

1984

I really enjoyed reading 1984 and seeing the messages and topics that were hidden through the story. I think my favorite part of this book was how much it opened my eyes to what our society has become and is becoming. From the being watched every minute by the government (conspiracy theory) to people in our society become blank drones. Following along with what society tells us to do and believe. I also found the dynamics and traits of Julia and Winston very interesting. I didn't believe that they were in love until we were in a seminar. Someone had said that this our form and definition of love can't be applied to what they have because of the way their society is. This blew my mind! We have the freedom to love who we want in anyway we want. With their world they are so constricted. They aren't even aloud to have there own thoughts. I strongly recommend this book to people who haven't read it.

Main message in 1984

I think the main message in 1984 is a warning of what we as people and society can become. It shows how society could take over. That it influences is and that we could slowly be losing our of freedom and thoughts. "War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." We our becoming ignorant to what our society is turning us into. You could really say that while we have freedom in our country we are prisoners to ours society. "Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious." I think this quote is about waking up and being aware of what we are becoming or can become. "Power is not a means; it is an end." People need to be aware of what we are becoming to have change.

Julia in 1984

Julia is a protagonist in the story. I think that Julia is a round character. She has contradicting views and opinions against the Party. Also, in the beginning she has a rebellious sexual relationship with Winston. I think over the time that she has spent with Winston she has developed feelings for him. This makes her a dynamic character. "The woman with the black hair who works in the ministry of truth in the fiction department." I like that sentence because it's just his first impression of her but really there is so much more to her her.

Deconstructing an ad

This ad is from Women's Health magazine. Women's Health owns and paid for the making and ads of this magazine. In order to make a profit off people who want to be healthy or enjoy health and excerise. The target audience for this magazine are both for people who are out of shape and for people who are. The target for them could be seen as this is how you get into shape. We are the magazine that get you looking like this woman on the cover. The model on the cover of the magazine has a perfectly toned body and is wearing a bakini. Clues of this are words on the cover like "New Year New You" "A fast and easy plan to drop pounds and beat stress" "Look five years younger in 5 minutes." This ad is selling you this beautiful, young, toned body secrets that are easy and quick. It is hinting at we are the magazine that can give you this for not that much work. What's not being told is that it's the models job to work hard to have a body like that, it's not something that is achieved in 5 minutes. Also it isn't being told that this model is most likely photoshopped to fit more of a targeted image of beautiful and sexy. This ad disempowers any woman who doesn't have this figure. It is saying this is what sexy looks like and if you don't have this you aren't sexy.

1984

When George Orwell was writing 1984 World War 2 was going on. We learned in class that the World Wars were devastating to people, they truly thought this was going to be how the world would end. I don't know how the second World War couldn't have been an influence on George Orwell. This book is talks about how the future will be a place where there is basically no freedom. A place where every move you make you are watched. I think that this book could be how George Orwell thought the war was going to affect the world. During WW2 there were some major leaders, for example Hitler. George Orwell could have taken a leader like Hitler as inspiration for the character Big Brother. Maybe he thought Hitler would win the war and this is how the world would be from it.

Much Ado About Nothing

I think that there are multiple themes in Much Ado About Nothing. One of the first themes that comes to mind is deception and manipulation. Throughout the book you see people overhearing conversations and manipulating or deceiving people about the information that came from the conversations. An example of this is when Benedick and Beatrice overhear that the other one is in love with each other. Then is manipulated by people around them to believe it. I also saw the theme of honor of the ones you love. I saw this theme when Beatrice continuously tries to defend Hero after the wedding scandal. Also Hero's father reacting to the scandal.

Following the thought

"Claudio: That I love her, I feel.

Pedro: That she is worthy, I know 

Benedick: That I neither feel how she should be loved, nor how she should be worthy, is the opinion that fire cannot melt out of me. I will die in it at the stake." 

The thoughts that I am following are Claudio's and Benedick's. Claudio's thought is that he is in love with the character Hero. Before and after this line Claudio is saying how beautiful she is and he wants to marry her. "In mine eye she is the sweetest lady I have ever looked on." 

Benedick thinks this is a horrible thought. He is opposed to marriage and he thinks Hero is ugly. Benedick is very passionate about how much he hates Hero. He says he would rather die on a stake than marry her.  

This is what the passage would say if it was in modern English; 

Claudio: I love her. 

Pedro: I think she is good enough. 

Benedick: Are you kidding me? I don't think she is good enough for you at all! I don't see how anyone could love her. Nothing is gonna change my mind about this, I would rather be staked through the heart or burn to death than love her. 

All The Light We Cannot See

All The Light We Cannot See has been my favorite book we have ever read in ELA. My favorite part of the book was the imagery. The way the author uses basically every sense (sight, taste, touch.., etc) was beautiful. I loved it so much I am writing an essay on imagery for my response project. Some examples of the imagery in the book are "Bees are silver; pigeons are ginger snd auburn and occasionally golden. The huge cypress trees she and her father pass on their morning walk and shimmering kaleidoscopes, each a needle a polygon of light." "Out of loudspeakers all around Zollverein, the staccato voice of the Reich grows like some imperturbable tree; its subjects lean toward its branches as if toward the lips of God. And when God stops whispering, they become desperate for someone who can put things right." "We are mice he thinks, and the sky swills with hawks." "The eggs taste like clouds. Like spun gold." "Seconds later, she is eating wedges of wet sunlight." I strongly recommend this book.

Marie-Laure and Werner, how has your opinion of Marie-Laure and Werner changed and why?

Marie-Laure: My opinion of Marie hasn't changed that much throughout the book. I think she is very smart, amazing, and I love how much she loves her family. I think its so impressive how she can solves the puzzles her father makes her and navigate her way around the neighbor based off counting and memorization. I think she is a very caring person. Always thinking of her father and helping her uncle in anyway she can.

Werner: My opinion of Werner has changed. At first I thought her was an extremely smart boy who was a great big brother. But, as time throughout the book as passed Werner has made decision that I do not agree with. For example how he never helped his friend by standing up for him, or when he threw the water on the man, and how he never writes to his sister. I understand that its not a black and white situation and that he is only a kid going through war. That never stopped his friend Frederick. I still like Werner though. I think he is very smart and talented.

"Just roll with it" Oral History

A granddaughter interviews her grandfather in a parking lot in her 1994 Buick. Why the parking lot? Her grandfather lives in a senior living home and didn't want to share his life with others. She begins the interview with questions about his life and her grandmother. Her grandmother passed away in 2012 and he loved his wife very much. Her grandfather has had lots of hard moments in his life. He lost his eldest son of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He now is dealing with Alzheimer disease. His family was poor growing up. He shares a story that one time he knew there would be no hot water at home so he broke into his school to take a warm shower. Throughout his interview though he has wonderful attitude, many laughs are shared. When his granddaughter asks if he has any advice for them as they get older? He responds with "Don’t fight it. Just roll with. I mean real life. Live it. It’s wonderful." I think that is a beautiful message and great advise. https://storycorps.org/listen/james-kennicott-and-kara-masteller-112015/#

My thoughts on Persepolis

I really enjoyed reading Persepolis. The story was capturing and beautiful. I strongly recommend the graphic novel. It was one of my favorite books we read for ELA. Marjane faced so much in her life and reading her life story as a graphic novel was amazing. The story also taught me a lot about the Islamic Revolution. One of my favorite parts about Persepolis was learning about how the revolution affected her and how she handled it. For example when she started to have to wear the veil and she first did it because she was told she would be killed, raped, murdered if not. When she had to leave her family because of the war you see her face many struggles from not having her family. She becomes depressed, sells and does drugs, goes through many changes in personality. A lot of the things she faced were experiences teenagers face like the changes in personality. I think that because she didn't have her family around she would be things she was disappointed in. Multiple times in the book she says that at those moments in her life she isn't the person her family would be proud of.

Character Sketch

I am doing my character sketch on Marie-Laure LeBlanc. Marie-Laure is a French sixteen year old girl. She is tall and has freckles. She is blind, but was not born blind. She has a very close relationship with her father. Her mother passed away so it is just her and her father. She loves to read and solve puzzles with her fingers. Every year on her birthday her father has a new one for her. She is able to solve them in less than 10 minutes. Her father is a locksmith and he works at a museum. She often spends time at the museum. Her father has built a small replica of her town, she mesmerizes the town by running her fingers along the model. She loves to drink coffee with lots of sugar in it. Marie-Laure and her father are running from the Nazi soldiers, it is not clear whether that is because she is a person with a disability or because she is Jewish. I look forward to finding out more about her.

Oral History Interview

This past week my group and I interviewed Dawn Callaway and her husband/business partner. Dawn , her husband Scott, and their two other business partners run 4 businesses together. We interviewed Dawn and Scott mostly about Black Hole and Poison Girl. Black Hole is a coffee shop and Poison girl is a bar. It was an amazing expierence. Dawn and Scott are very kind and had many great stories. I think the interview went very well. My team and I learned a lot of information, not only about their businesses but also about them. In the future I would request to have the interview in a more private setting. We had our interview outside of Black Hole. There was a lot of background noise, for example people starting a and stopping their cars. The most interesting parts of the interviews were their stories about how they feel apart of the community and stories about the buisneses themselves. My favorite story was the one about the giant Kool-Aid man in the back of Poison Girl.

Persepolis Character Sketch

I am doing a character sketch on the grandmother in Persepolis. Marjane's grandmother is the mother of her mom. She has a very strong voice and is my favorite character. Her sass and just rational thinking along with her being a total badass makes her my favorite character in this book. Marjane and her grandmother are very close. She loves the scent of lavender and sticks her breast in ice water for ten minutes every morning and night to keep them perky! She is a very influential character in this book. She gives Marjane some very important advise which is  "always keep your dignity and be true to yourself." She keeps Marjane on a good path and is very loving. Her badass side is like lying to guards and making up a whole story of how she is diabetic so they can get ride of all the alcohol. Reading her parts were some of my favorite parts.

Marjane's Personality

1. Explain the differences between Marjane's personality before she left Iran and when she returned after being in Austria. Why do you think she changed so much? Use specific examples from the book to support your claims.

Marjane's personality when she left for Austria and when she came back were very different. Before she left for Austria she was a typical 14 year old rebellious girl. She listened and followed her parents rules and she respected them. She was well behaved except for the small acts of rebellious nature. She was also very close with her with her family. When she returned from Austria her personality was very different. She went through so much in Austria. She had to grow up on her own, had sex, smoked, developed bad habits and got into the wrong crowds. All these things influenced her and when she finally returned home after hitting what I would say is rock bottom she has grown up and matured. She still has a passion for politics and fighting for what she believes in but she is a matured adult. 

Why is Marjane's relationship with her uncle so important to her?

I think that Marjane's relationship with her uncle started out as just wanting to have someone that was related to her be a hero. She was jealous that her friends got to tell stories of how their friends dads were heroes and she wanted that attention. I think that after she met and spent time with him though they bonded and had a true relationship. His stories fascinated her and he loved her. He treated her like a daughter because he lost his and she wanted to be with him. He gave her stories of rebellion and adventure. She was beginning to feel like it was time to start taking action with her life and I think he stories gave her ambition to do it. I really enjoyed reading about their relationship and seeing them interact with each other. It made me so sad when he died.

ELA This Year

1) What was the most fun/engaging activity that you did in ELA this year? Why was it fun/engaging?

The most fun activity I did this year hands down is the music video based on the Odyssey I worked on with Jordan Barger. It was fun and we got other students engaged. It was fun to write and film. It was funny, fun, and just overall an amazing project. 

2) What was the most boring activity that you did this year? Why was it boring?

I really can't think of anything that was boring. I have always felt engaged and not wandered off because I was so bored. 

3) What was your favorite book this year? Why?

My favorite book was a Raisin In The Sun. It was my favorite because we got to act in out in class and I like any chance to preform a little and because I really enjoy learning about the times of segregation it just really confuses me how people could find others less because of their skin color. 

4) What was your least favorite book this year? Why?

My least favorite book was Maus or Gatsby. Maus because the way the book was written and drawn was just really confusing for me to understand the story. Gatsby because the story was just really confusing for me 

5) What should I definitely keep the same for next year's ELA curriculum? Why?

Keep the seminars. The seminars help me to understand the story and see others peoples point of the book. I really enjoy seminarians the book. Also keep response projects the same. I love the response projects. 

6) What should I definitely change for next year's ELA curriculum? Why?

I really hated the vocab work exercises. They were just tedious and a waste of time they never helped in any way. It would be easy to just get the words and their definitions. 

7) Is there anything else that you would like to tell me about your experience in ELA? If so - please put it here.

I really enjoyed ELA overall. I think you are a good teacher I did learn a lot of new things. It did frustrate me though that I had specifically said I needed help with grammar and sentence structure and that you said we could do lessons and work on that but only did two lessons. The two we did were so helpful and then we never did them again. Again though overall I had a great experience. 

A Raisin in the Sun

I really enjoyed reading this play. My favorite part about reading this was getting the chance to read it in class and act it out with everyone. We should read more plays! Something that really interested me in this book was the topic of segregation. I have had an interest in learning about the times when segregation and racism was a very common and normal thing in the U.S. for a long time. I really enjoy learning about it and hearing peoples stories because I think everyone should be treated equally. It doesn't matter what the color of your skin is, where you come from, what accent you have, we are all people. No one is better. We are all incredible and beautiful human beings. One of the most impactful moments for me in the story is when the character Linder comes to the family and basically tells them they are not welcome because they are African American's moving into a white neighbor hood. I love that the family moved anyone despite what those people might do to them. I am glad that I am in a time where its better than it was but I would like future generations to not have racism at all. I hope our society and world can get to that place someday.

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