A Seperate Piece

In English we are reading A Seperate Piece by John Knowles, the main characters are Gene and Phineas. At first, they both seem to be "best friends" but as the book goes on, it seems like they start to separate. Both boys seem to have different opinions and thoughts of the war. They both go to the same private school and are in an Era where the war is taking place. Many young boys are being drafted into the war. While Phineas seems to be frightened of the war and being drafted, Gene is ready and is committed to the war. 

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  John Knowles has a great sense of writing. Knowles deeply describes his book and shows how war can change many people's lives. Knowles also shows the strong friendship between Phineas and Gene. While at first Phineas and Gene are "best friends", their friendship soon starts to fall apart. Like most friendships, there are always fights and anger that goes on sometimes, but after a while it goes away.  Phineas was a non-academic student, who stuck to sports. He played almost every sport and even broke a school swimming record. Phineas is the sort of young boy that likes to show off how good he is in sports, but as he breaks the record, he never wants anyone to know about it. On the other hand, Gene is the type of young boy who is very studious and intelligent. He is very academic and has a decorum attitude. Gene is looked on most as the kind, innocent boy, while Phineas takes on challenges. As Phineas makes the Summer Session Club and begins to want to take Gene to the limb, to jump it, Gene begins to sense that Phineas is taking away his time and distracting him from his studies. Gene abhors the fact that Finny keeps taking away his time, but maintains the positive side of their friendship. After Gene got asked to go to the limb by Finny, Gene gets angry and lets out his emotions to show how he feels. Gene realizes that he was mistaken about the rivalry between them and goes to the limb. As Finny goes to the edge of the limb, Gene bends his knees and jounces the limb. Phineas falls into the bank and breaks his leg. 

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As Gene knows that he jounced the limb, he doesn't want to say anything, but as soon as the doctor says that sports are over for Finny, Gene was contrite and told Phineas. Gene hated the fact that he jounced the limb because there was no reason for him to do that. Gene's actions were heinous. Finny doesn't believe him, but Gene knows it's the truth. 

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Now that Phineas isn't at school, Gene begins to want to enlist with Brinker. They begin to think that the military is going to be great and they do not understand the consequences that there may be after or during the war. The army is no place for young boys, but Gene and Brinker agree to enlist together. This creates irony because that same night Finny comes back and right away Gene decides to not join the army. Phineas denies that there is a war going on and says that it is all just a conspiracy to keep young men from eclipsing the older authorities. Finny tells Gene that he wants Gene to replace him in sports and Finny collaborated with Gene and he agreed to train Gene to go to the Olympics. This is ironic because Finny was once that super star athlete and now that he can't play sports, he gives Gene a chance to be the new Phineas ! Leper was the first one in their class to join the army and soon he was sent off to the war. When Leper came back , he was a whole different person. Leper has been transformed into a different person by the war and has gone mad. Gene sees how Leper reacts at the war and realizes that the war is not what he thought it was like. That it will mess him up just like Leper. 

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http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html

This link relates to how war is bad. War is very destructive, not only to the human body, but to the head. War really messes you up and can cause very much damage. The war is something that you should decide to join after much thinking because there is no guarantee that you will come back to your family. This link shows the many casualties that happen all around the world. 

Blog #5

This week we have been reading The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare. Caesar is determined to gain as much power as possible. He is a very selfish and believes he is perfect in everything he does. He is very adamant in everything he says! Caesar has epilepsy and has trouble hearing through his left ear. 

Brutus is Caesar's friend, but Brutus fears that the people will chose Caesar for their king. Brutus says he loves Caesar, but he would rather not have Caesar assume the position as king. Cassius says to Brutus,"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our starts, but in ourselves, that we are underlings"(1.2.140-141). This quote resembles that we shouldn't blame other people/things for our problems. We need to take responsibility. This shows that Caesar is above them because of his actions, not because of his fate.

Caesar has epilepsy and while he is passing by through the streets, the Soothsayer tells Caesar to beware the Ideas of March, but then tells him to speak into his right ear because he has a problem hearing with his left ear. Caesar was offered the crown 3 times and because of his seizures he was not able to accept them. Brutus does not know that Caesar has epilepsy. The play uses dramatic irony when Cassius is planning on sending messages to Caesar, pretending that it is the people of Rome, to make Caesar leave his position.
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 Superstitions start when it is late at night and there is lightning. Dangerous weather starts to approach and an owl appears when it flies through the market. Cassius says that it is natural for this to happen and that heaven has infused supernatural forces to make them fear and give them warning. Cassius has gathered the noblest-minded Romans to help him with the dangerous consequence of killing Caesar. 

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"Brutus, thou sleep'st; awake, and see thyself"(2.1.46).

Brutus hasn't been able to sleep and he is worried about killing Caesar. Caesar is liable to be more dangerous with the crown. Caesar is like a snake. They have to kill the snake before it is born out of the shell and becomes bigger and more powerful. If Caesar is given the crown, he is more exposed and has more freedom to do whatever he pleases, but if they kill him before he gets the crown, he will never become more powerful.                                                                "Brutus, thou sleep'st; awake, and see thyself. Shall Rome, and c. Speak, strike redress"(2.1.46-47).                                                                                       This quote shows how Brutus can't sleep because he keeps on thinking about what Cassius told him, that Caesar is just going to become more powerful, and they need to kill them before he does. If they don't kill him, Caesar will take over. They just want to punish him for future actions, not present.                                    

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The Day of Caesar's Fall !

Cassius has round up noble people to kill Caesar. Everyone wants to kill Caesar and Marc Antony because they believe that if they kill Caesar, then Marc Antony will want to harm them. Cassius says lets just go after Caesar or else, it will be too bloody. By 8:00 A.M., the conspirators will have Julius Caesar at the capitol. Brutus hasn't been able to sleep and his wife,Portia, walks in after the conspirators have left to see what has been keeping him up. She has noticed that he has been hiding something and tells him that as his wife, he should tell her what is going on. Portia feels left out and she has started cutting her thighs because she feels alone and Brutus keeps ignoring her. Brutus is starting to feel bad about Portia and he is understanding that he  has not been paying attention to her. Conspiracy pulls Brutus back when someone knocks at the door. It is the Conspirators. Brutus leaves Portia to go to Caesar's house.

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It is still The Day of Caesar's Fall.

There is thunder and lightning. 

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, it seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come"(2.2.32-37).

- Caesar explains that he knows everyone dies. He says he is not a coward, he will not say no! He shall go forth! Caesar explains how powerful he is and he that will not give up, nor will he seem scared, because he is very powerful and can take over anyone!

*** Calphurnia has been having dreams that show that Caesar will be killed at the Capitol if he goes. Caesar says he will stay home with Calphurnia until her dreams go away, but as soon as the knock comes to his front door, conspiracy also pulls Caesar away. At the door is Decius who waits to take Caesar to the Senate for his death. But Caesar tells Decius that he will simply not be able to attend because his wife has been having dreams that show that something terrible will happen. There has been many signs showing that something bad will happen : there was lightning and thunder, an owl passed through the market, etc...Decius tells Caesar that he has to go to the Senate, that Calphurnia's dreams are not real. Then suddenly, Decius says that the Senate has decided to crown Caesar and if he doesn't attend then the senators might change their minds , but then Decius says"Unless you are afraid.... then we will wait until your wife has better dreams" and automatically Caesar says no! Caesar shows selfishness when he says....

"How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia"(2.2.105). 

Caesar ignores Calphurnia's belief's and says he will go to the capitol. 

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Going to the Capitol !

Caesar grows superstitious and Artemidorus tries to save Caesar by giving him a letter about what is going to happen, but he neglects it. Portia has a feeling that something bad will happen and she is worried about Brutus. She Tells Lucius to go to the Capitol and watch over on what is happening. The Conspirators decide that Casca will be the first to stab Caesar. 

*** Caesar is quickly killed by all the conspirators. There is a contrast of imagery when they say to swoop down and rub Caesar's blood over their arms and go to the market place and say"Peace, Freedom, and Liberty" and to say that it was the right thing to do. As Marc Antony enters, he sees Caesar's corpse on the ground and says that if they are to kill him, then they should kill him now. Antony is very sad and says that Caesar was a good guy. Antony shakes each of the conspirator's bloody hands' and all he wants is for Caesar to have a good burial and to let him say a few words at the funeral. Brutus says yes, but you may not blame us for this, you must say you had our permission to speak, and you shall speak after we have all finished talking.

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This Play shows how important it is to listen to your loved ones, because they are the ones that will always help you and support you in anything you do. If Julius Caesar would have listened to Calphurnia and not have gone to the Senate, he would have not gotten killed. But because he thrived for more power than what he had, he was driven to his death. This is very similar, with a slight nuance to what happened to a young boy who had started smoking and his girlfriend told him to stop but he didn't listen until he got a lung disease called emphysema. 

[**This is a story of a couple from Phillipins, There was a girl named Julie who used to fear falling in love because she has seen her mother's suffering, this girl has lost her father when she was 13 and her mother was left all alone with his memories. Her father used to smoke a lot and because of smoking he suffered from cancer and died !

It's true no one knows destiny, this girl Julie who used to fear love and hate smokers has fallen in love with one of his class mate named McCoy who was a chain smoker. she used to tell his father's story to him every-time they met expecting him to quit Smoking. she realized that he has started avoiding her as his friends used to tease him whenever he used to smoke with them. Julie wanted to see him happy so she stopped objecting him :'( and just after 3 months of her relationship she realized that he is suffering from a lung disease called emphysema caused due to smoking.

McCoy has fallen seriously ill and his treatment started, it continued for 2 years many times his health became so worst that doctors also thought he will die !! But it was Julie's love who kept him alive and recover, all these 2 years she spent all her time with him in the hospital (Check The Picture).. she stopped going to college.. fought with her mother & relative.. invested all her pocket money.. and thus she defined love ..♥

The Boy Recovered And Has Quit Smoking !! He Has married Julie And now they both are living happily together !! He always feels guilty for not listening to his Love ♥ Julie earlier, he now gives one message to everyone "Do 100 things that friends asks you to do, but please don't do at-least that one thing that your love don't want you to do ..♥"

"Friends, i will not say Smoking is dangerous for health because that is already written on the box of smoke but i will like to tell you.. that you started smoking for yourself now quit it for someone who loves you !!

next time when your Love or your parents ask you not to smoke recall this True Love Story and answer yourself that do you want them to suffer for a mistake that you are doing today".**]

McCoy eventually listened to Julie and quit smoking, but that was only until he got lung disease. He later condoned her for giving her correct support. That is why it is always important to listen to your loved ones first before you off doing bad things. 

Family comes first in needs and advises!

Blog # 4 : Lord of the Flies

This week in English we have been talking about Lord of the Flies and about how all the children have dispersed into their own team, Ralph vs. Jack! Most of the littleuns have stayed with Ralph and mostly all of the bigguns have gone with Jack except for Simon. Jack has become distant from the others and doesn't care anymore about Ralph and what he does. Golding has mentioned that Ralph has been having flashbacks and he mentions the wild ponies in two separate occasions because he is still thinking about his family and memories, he doesn't stick to the idea that he will be on the island for a long time.His dreams were trying to connect to his past life and now that he is in the wild, it is not just a dream anymore, it is real life and in order to survive he has to cope with what he has. Ralph has a peaceful and tranquil memory. Ralph had a barrier that would keep all the danger, that would come to him, away, the barrier was like a safety wall where there was rules and if you didn't follow them you would get in trouble, but now that he is displaced from the civilized society, he is becoming more wild and there are no more rules, parents, policemen, laws, school, and the barrier has disappeared. There is no more safety on the island and everyone has become wild. 
In Keating's class we also talked about what the black caps represented and about Jack's characterization. The black caps show that Jack feels more powerful and that his group is much more powerful than Ralph's group. The black caps shows that they turn to the dark side  and the group is showing loyalty to Jack. They are reestablishing militarism. They descent into savagery, they don't have the same civility as before and Jack is like a stain that marks the purity and innocence of others. Jack Characterizes himself as insecure, he needs to prove he's a leader. Now he wants to harm other boys which represents Militarism vs. Harmony.
                            
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Mr.Keating described that even boys from the same race, same education, same class, color, country, they decend into chaos. Golding steps back and we watch. it is "MAN KIND'S ESSENTIAL ILLNESS". Every single person has a breaking point. 

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In Lord of the Flies on page 142, Golding has Ralph forget about what the fire is for because he is focusing more on survival, than getting rescued. Ralph is progressing to savagery and he wants to come before the group's needs. This is significant because the most well behaved people also forget what the purpose is of getting of the island. In this same chapter, Simon goes to talk to the pig's head and the pig manipulates his mind by telling him to go hunt, to go be like the others. The Beast is a manifestation of war inside Simon's conscience. It is all magical realism because it shows that Simon is just talking to the pig in his mind. Lord of the Flies expands on the identity of the beast and only Simon can figure this out about talking to the pig. 

http://www.lucifereffect.com/  - The Lucifer Effect was a Stanford Prison Experiment at Stanford University. This experiment was a physiological account of how ordinary people turned crazy and evil after just being shut up in a basement "prison". The experiment involved college students; guards and prisoners. It was an experience of being out of control. One of the college students that was a guard said, "Once you put a uniform on, and are given a job to keep these people in line, you really become that person once you put on that khaki uniform, you put on the glasses,you take the night stick." In this case the prisoners forgot the reason of why they were there. The students has absorbed there roles and and they were so involved that they forgot they were students, not prisoners.The prisoners were ostracized from the rest of the world and they hated that they were told what to do by the guards. They became crazy and needed to be expunged (released) and some said "No, I can't leave, they will think I'm bad", but then they realized that it was just an experiment and they weren't really prisoners. This relates to how Ralph acted when he forgot what the fire was for. The fire was for getting rescued and he wasn't focusing on getting rescued. Though people are well behaved after being trapped on an island and being jailed in in a "prison" for so long, people actually forget the purpose of why they are there.

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In Lord of the Flies, chapter 9, Simon goes back into the jungle to go look for the beast. He sees the beast and notices that it is just a parachutist who has been rotting. Simon releases the corpse and gives him back his dignity. Simon see the good truth in humanity, sees deep into nature of reality, Simon is like a Christ figure, he is very candid. Simon is going back to the troop, to deliver the news that the beast is a parachutist. When Simon goes back to tell everyone the news, the boys start to reenact the hunting of the pig, and they mistake him for the beast and start attacking him with their bare hands and teeth. Jack bigots Simon because he is different from the other boys, he doesn't adapt to his surroundings. Eventually, the boys kill Simon and he jettisons over the rocks onto the beach and is swept into the ocean. Golding chooses to kill Simon because Simon is one of the good kids and Simon highlights savagery, fading of rational thinking, and goodness in society. Golding also takes Simon out because if Simon were to tell everyone that there was no beast, Jack would not be powerful anymore, he would not be the leader. The Actual Beast kills the news of the proposed beast. The way Simon is killed is significant because they tear him apart with their own hands and they act like beasts. The forget what they are doing and kill one of their own. 

   

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Peter Brook uses many different types of images and sounds to describe what happened before the plane crashed on the island/sea. Peter Brook sets up the story and gives us background. He gives black and white images to show how long ago this happened. He gives an image of an evacuation plan in case the students have to evacuate because they are at war. He gives an image of smoky clouds and planes to show that war has started and that there are many disasters and crashes. Peter Brook also gives sounds like a drum beat that relates to when the boys said "Next time we need a drum beat to go with the reenactment of the pig hunt." He also gives a gong crash to show when the plane crashes in the sea. He gives sounds of boys' singing to indicate what the boys' did at school. This is a transition from good to bad because it shows how happy people are and all of a sudden the war starts and planes start crashing. The adult conflict bleeds into the lives  of the kids. The sounds and images are used to give the movie/book visual and listening techniques and to heighten emotions. 

Blog # 3

This week in class we have been discussing Lord of the Flies,by William Golding and how everything is evolving into life or death situations!
Golding has characterized Jack in many ways that shows various changes in the novel. Jack has become more of an avaricious and stuck up boy where as before, he used to want to get off the island, wanted to take care of everyone, and behaved. Now all he wants to do is hunt and get meat for everyone, while Ralph, Simon, and the others need shelter, water, and the need to be rescued. Jack isn't thinking about survival skills,nor does he have the need to get rescued anymore like everyone else. He is not thinking about the little ones who need love, care, and safeness so that they don't cry at night because Ralph said that the little ones talked about a beast when they were asleep and they were scared of the "beast"! In my opinion, Jack IS the beast, because he has evolved into this crazy, wild boy who isn't responsible anymore, and he painted his face to make himself look different. But really he sees a different person when he sees himself with the mask on his face.He paints his face to change his appearance because he doesn't like the way he is. He makes himself more wild and creates a whole new Jack. The mask makes Jack feel more powerful and makes him think that he can do whatever he wants. He also wears the mask to be more furtive in the forest in order to kill a pig!

Jack has become very selfish with his actions. He hasn't been taking care of the fire in order for everyone to get rescued. He doesn't care for other people's feelings and hasn't been listening to Ralph even though he is the leader. During the feast of the pig, Jack kept on interrupting and wasn't following the rules about the conch. Jack always gets irascible and calls the children a bunch of babies and sissies that cry at night and are always talking about a beast. Ralph is very surprised by what Jack calls the children: the children are obviously going to cry when they have no one to look up to and feel safe around. Ralph is beginning to realize that the dreams that the children have are about how Jack is becoming more wild and beastly-like. 

While Ralph wants unity with the whole group and wants to get off the island, Jack worries about meat and lets the fire go out when a ship passed by. Jack tries to influence the younger boys to be scared so that he gets more power. Jack also contradicts himself when he says that there is no beats: but if there is, then i'll kill it! During the feast of the pig, I can see that the children are starting to pick who they are going to follow in order to be safe!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/29/charged-bullying-massachusetts-teen-killed/?test=latestnews

This current event represents the bullying that happened when Jack calls the boys sissies and babies. Jack just wants to seem like he has more power so he can do things on his own and not have a responsibility of taking care of the children and fire, ..etc.. In this situation, this young girl killed herself because she was being bullied and harassed at school. These young boys will soon be pressured to pick which side they will be part of (Jack's or Ralph's). Ralph has to make some decisions so that the children don't lose hope to get rescued!

Blog #2

This week in class, we started reading and discussing Lord of the Flies, by William Golding!



Lord of the Flies!

 We have started reading this story and we have been discussing what has happened so far in the story. Golding is a very good writer, so far he has descirbed everything with deep thinking. He takes writing to another level by showing us pictures and giving us descriptions of what the characters look like and feel. Golding has described Ralph as a white boy with dark hair that is very well-built and handsome. He is very leader-like and is prepared and thinks ahead of what he has to do or will do. He is very mature and takes things seriously and is probably in the middle/upper class. Golding also describes Piggy as a chubby boy and more of a closed person where he communicates but is shy at times. He does not like to be called "Piggy" because that is what they used to call him at his school. When Ralph introduces piggy to everyone, Piggy felt ignominy because he told Ralph he didn't want to be called Piggy! Jack is very thin and bony. He wants to be leader, but Ralph is more mature and leader-like than Jack. Jack is more bossy and likes to tell people what to do. He has freckles and blue eyes. He is very sociable and likes to do adventurous things! Simon is a very small boy, I assume that because Ralph and Jack say that Simon walks in the middle of them and they can talk over his head. Simon is very sociable and likes to do the hard/working/difficult things.All these characters are unique from one another because they all have their own characteristics and beliefs. At first when Ralph and Jack meet they do not really like each other, but then slowly the start bantering with each other and becoming more like friends because in order to survive on the island they have to work together like a team!  

                           

The boys have all been evacuated by a plane because the plane was going to crash. One of the boys said that he saw part of the plane with fire.Now they are in a deserted island with no one else on it ..only boys who aren't very mature enough to know what to do. Now the boys have to learn how to work together to find food, shelter, and learn how to stay safe.


http://www.rapturedays.com/apps/forums/topics/show/4551063-thai-navy-rescues-tourists-stranded-on-islands-
In this current event, there were big, heavy rains in Southern Thailand that left stranded many tourists on islands in the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand. The Thai navy rescued up to 730 travelers and took them aboard on the Royal Thai Navy's sole aircraft carrier, where they had to spend the night camping on mats. The flood affected 840,000 people in eight southern provinces and inundated 61 highways ! This current event related back to Ralph and the boys that were stranded on the island all by themselves without adults, food, or shelter. The boys can't go anywhere because water surrounds them on all sides! They will soon understand that they will have to work together or else they will die of starvation or shelter! 

Blog #1

This week in class, we have been talking about "To Kill A Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, and the themes it shows. The themes are race relations, childhood innocence, and rural poverty. For my essay, I will be writing about Race Relations and how people acted and lived during those times of which there was a lot of racism. This week we worked on our essays and learned how to plan them. We worked on our hook sentences, introduction paragraphs, our story background, and our thesis statement. We also traded our essays with our partners to get feedback in how to make our essays better. At the beginning of my hook paragraph, I added many extraneous things that I didn't need in my hook sentence. Then I refreshed it and made it much more clearer for it to be understood. This week, Mr.Keating also taught us about the sentence cohesion, that clarifies our paragraphs and sentences and makes them better. He used the staircase as his metaphor to go step-by-step and making your paragraphs more clearer. My theme, Race Relations, connects to the racism and the immigration services of Arizona. We Mexicans are always thought of : "We are never going to go to college!","We don't have money for anything!", "We don't have good jobs!" "We all cross the border for a better life!" People are always abetting other people to think of Mexicans, blacks, etc.. as bad people or not as equal as everyone else. All of these stereotypes add up and they are just like how people in Maycomb County felt about the black people. They always thought ,"Yeah, they are the ones, they are not equal and no one likes them, so we should punish them for things they didn't do, because no one will believe them! " In "To Kill A Mockingbird", mostly all of the white people were dogmatic about what the black people thought and how they felt. Even though you were just defending a black person that was on trial, and you were white, you were considered a disgrace to your people. An example of this is when Francis calls Atticus a "Nigger-Lover" and says that Atticus is a disgrace for the family and no one is happy about what he is doing. Just like in the story when Mr. Ewell coerced and spat in Atticus's face for accusing him of abusing his own daughter. After Tom Robinson was convicted as guilty, everyone in the Finch family was insipid. Even though Atticus had everything to prove Tom Robinson innocent, the judges still convicted him as guilty. When Tom Robinson went to prison, he tried to escape, and the guards shot him 17 times. White people in those days hated black people. All different colors had their own designated places like water fountains that were labeled for black people only or white people only! I believe that everyone is created equally and if you just get to know different people, you realize that there is not much of a difference between races and colors. EVERYONE IS CREATED EQUAL AND NO ONE SHOULD BE JUDGED BY THEIR COLOR OF SKIN!