"To Kill a Mockingbird" Blog:

I LOVE this movie! It is so amazing. I read the book for 11th grade summer reading and it is still so fresh in my mind. The author completely transports the reader to the setting, the hot, humid, sticky, southern summer. Or, the dark, mysterious, ominous, Radley yard. I love how it focuses on Scout's point of view. It's a much less biased representation of the events. What does the dog represent? Could it be the racist town of Maycomb? Judge Taylor said Atticus was the only person that could defend Tom Robinson, as Sheriff Tate told Atticus he was the only person that could shoot  the dog. Therefore, is Atticus shooting down the town by defending a black man’s word against a white man’s? Is the rabies that is infecting the innocent dog racism? I believe it is. Defending Tom Robinson was Atticus’ “one shot” in bettering Maycomb and teaching his children.

"Precious" Blog

Alright, so, that movie was deep. At some points, it was really hard to watch. I wonder about the ending, though. How is she going to take care of her two children, work, and go to school? How can anyone possibly do that? I know from personal experience that people are forced to stay in abusive relationships because they are unable to support themselves and their children. It's impossible. The abuser, unfortunately and fortunately, supports the family financially. "Support" being a very ironic word. I'm glad she was able to. She made huge strides, in regard to her education. Precious was unbelievably strong. She, somehow, managed to never give up. Her strength, I think, was driven mostly by the need to care for her kids. At the end of the movie, she said something about her HIV diagnosis and the fact that she might die, but somehow she had to care and raise her kids. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was along those lines. Her strength unrelenting. I found it interesting that even though the mom was shown doing the most horrific things, I still was sympathetic towards her character. 

Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" Blog


Black Knight with no arms left after a battle: "It's just a flesh wound." 
This scene was probably one of my favorites out of the entire movie. It was terrifyingly gruesome and violent, but so hilarious and ridiculous. Like, I'm watching someone have all of his limbs chopped off and laughing hysterically (on the inside, because no one else in class was busting out laughing, so I had to hold it all in.) If this was a "horror" movie I would not have been able to watch it, but because it's British comedy, I'm fine with it. Somehow, the British accents also soften the blow....I don't know, it makes it that much funnier. So, I did a little research in regard to the "Black Knight? and this is what I found. "The black knight is a literary stock character, often contrasted with the knight-errant; also see white knight. The character famously appeared in Arthurian literature and has been adapted and adopted by various authors, in cinema and popular culture. The character is sometimes associated with death." Thank you Wikipedia. The knight never gives up, even when he is just a torso. When the Knight is hopping around on his torso, he still tries to fight King Arthur. He says, "I'll bite your knee caps off."  As with the the characters in the rest of the movie, they were all adapted from characters from that era. So, I guess the whole movie would be a satire. Right? Yeah. The movie spoofs the real tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The movie spoofs movies, too. The opening credits, for example. The entire movie is an exaggeration/hyperbole for the sake of comedy. They didn't have to do much, though, as the world is a ridiculous place, not far from Monty Python's version.

Blog #12

WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;	5
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This poem uses many literary techniques, including alliteration, assonance, consonance, end-rhyme, imagery, metaphor, and repetition. An example of alliteration would be, "mystical moist." An example of assonance would be, "rising and gliding." Consonance, "mystical moist" I think that would be consonance, because they bot have "st" myst, moist... I'm not sure about that one. End-rhyme, "heard the learn'd." Imagery, "moist night air," "much applause." A metaphor in the poem is , "rising and gliding out." A person can't really glide. Repetition is big one. "When I" was said a lot. Just the word "when" was used at the beginning of 4 lines. Also, "time to time." The poet also repeats the ending " 'd" multiple times: "wander'd, learn'd, look'd."

Blog #11

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

This poem is so short, but still so meaningful. It includes end-rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration. "We real cool. We left school" is an example of end-rhyme and assonance. "Sing sin... Jazz june" are examples of alliteration. So, this poem is a great example of using literary techniques. It is also meaningful. People often aspire to be cool. The opposite of cool is supposedly lame, and no one wants to be lame, so really, cool is the only way to go, right? No. This poem illustrates the true meaning of the term cool, which is not something one should aspire, too. According to the poem, cool kids drop out of school, stay out late, participate in activities that are bad for one's spiritual and physical self, and eventually die. Everyone dies, but based on the author's tone, I, as a reader, believe that these "cool" kids are dying prematurely. I wonder what "jazz june" means... what is that? I really want to know. Is jazz for bad kids? Smooth jazz, cool cats? Hmmm...

Blog #10:

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

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Okay, I have no idea what this poem is about. Alright, wait, maybe I do. Daisy, Aan, and I read this poem and let's just say they had much better ideas than I did. So, after some thoughtful discussion, we came to the conclusion that it was about a soldier, a gunner, most likely getting bombed. First, Daisy thought it might be about an abortion, which I didn't get at all, but I don't know. 

Blog #9, Poem #5:

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,	5
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,	10
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, I think the narrator wants to die. Or, at least, he's not against death/dying. "Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me." If death dies, the narrator can't die; therefore, he wants death to live, which is quite paradoxical. Or is it an oxymoron? I think it's a paradox. Life is hard. The narrator describes that in saying, "Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." Is he saying that all of people/beings get in the way of Death's work. At first, I thought the narrator was saying that people are "slaves" to "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men," but now I think he is talking about death being controlled by them. But, wouldn't Fate and Death work together? I guess Fate over rules Death, so in that case, Death could be Fate's slave. "Death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." When a person dies, death is no longer in their future. So, in a way, the only way to defeat death is to die. That is when one is totally free, not only from death, but from "Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men." "Death thou shalt die." That is very ironic. The narrator has completely defeated death at that point. He's saying, "Death you shall die, and I will be forever free."