What is tone? Didn't understand until now.

I was always confused when it came to tone. I really didn't understand it's importance until I learned about it a little more in Mrs. Elliott's class, but now i have a clear understanding as to why tone is really important in literature. Tone enriches or modifies the meanings of spoken words.We are all familiar with the great variety of tones possible in speech. We may be put off by a note of condescension, or whining, or aggressiveness. We can be comforted by tones that are sympathetic or soothing. We find ourselves persuaded not only by cogent reasons, but by the sounds of patient reasoning. We often sense that a person is saying something quite different from what his words convey: his words may be calm, but his voice agitated; or his words may be pleasant, while his entire manner speaks of impatience or dislike. Words of praise are easily turned into words of scorn by a touch of irony in the voice. It all makes sense to me now. -Zaid H.

What's in a promise?

     Before Thanksgiving break we were asked the question of what a promise meant to us. To me, a promise holds trust. The definition of a promise is a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; it's a commitment. When someone promises you something you trust them to keep that promise. When we make and keep a promise, we are building trust with that person. If you know you can't keep it- don't make it. As the saying goes, rules are meant to be broken, but promises are meant to be kept.

~Kaylee Hernandez

Teamwork...Brittany Delaney

This semester every student was put in an english team, and was expected to work together to achieve the final goal of growing as a english group.  I had never really talked to the people that were put in my team so i was kind of hesitant to believe that we could ever grow close.  As the year started to progress, we began understanding eachothers flaws and strengths, and learning eachothers personality traits.  We started hanging out together after school and depending on eachother in ways other than just academic needs.  I started to trust my team not just as fellow students but as friends.  As i started to get to know the people on my team, i started to love them for all of the diversity that our group shared.  Zach had the idea that our team should meet for pink berry after school one day to bond and get to know eachother better.  when we arrived it was kind of quiet and awkward, but as the meeting progressed everyone started to loosen up and before we knew it we were all laughing and having a great time.  As we came into class the next day, and earned our first participation sticker, we felt accomplished and like we were finally an official team.  From that day on, we knew that we could count on eacother and that i had met a new group of people that had become friends that i loved.  I want my team to know that i appreciate them and the support that they give me in english class.  I have truly met an amazing group of people that have opened my eyes to a better understanding of what teamwork really means.  I love you all and i can't wait to see what next semester will bring us!

Retrospect

As the end of the semeseter approaches, we look back at the semester as a whole to determine where we are. It is interesting to look back at what we've learned and how we've done. In retrospect, those annoying assignments may have proven to be worthwile. For example, the "To the Snake" assessment was confusing to me at first and i did not like the poem. After I began to understand the complex symbols and archetypes I realized how facsinating the poem was. It went from a simple poem about a Green Snake to a poem about human life that was very easy to connect to. The same goes for the novel, Frankenstein. I think the quote Mrs. Elliott showed the class at the beginning of the semester, "to live a life worth living" has shown up in a lot of our assignments. All of the literature we've read has had some outlook on a life worth living. Even the reading response to "The End of Solitude" talked about life. I think the class goal of learning not only Literature is being met, or at least in the progress of being met. I know I've learned a lot; however, in retrospect I know I can work harder to gain even more knowledge. Looking back at the past  teaches you how to approach the future and strive for goals.

-Andrew V

what we have all been waiting for: the end

As the semester is coming to a close, many bittersweet memories come to mind. Times of triumph and success and times of fret and worry. Even though this is an English class, there were times, I admit, when I needed to ignore everything around me, even if that included the lesson (sorry Mrs. Elliott!), to study for an art history quiz or a physics quiz later on in the day. Among other things, if there was one thing I learned from this class it was how to study effectively by tuning out everything and paying attention to the task at hand. Fortunately, when I did listen to the lesson (which was most of the time) I was able to implement this characteristic and strength to the tasks at hand. With this new found trait, I was able to focus on essays, different types of analysis, and effectively cooperate with my team/group members.

Many of us view this ending semester as the grand finale. I always hear students in the hallways talking to their friends about how there is just one more week of school and then they can stop trying. In reality, it is true that these seniors deserve a break. I mean, they have worked hard for the past three and a half years, so a break is well deserved. BUT, I think this second semester is where us seniors grow into the college students we dream to be. There are many important skills that we have not learned yet, and just giving up after finals this semester is not the smartest thing to do. New skills can be grasped next semester that can even better our education and outlook on academics in college. After all, what's the point of being in school if you're not actually going to try?

So while students in your class may be sleeping, dozing off, or even studying for a quiz later on in the day, I know I will give my full attention to the class every day until graduation (most likely until the pain is unbearable).

~ Simon L.

Quote from Frankenstein

"a flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom he had given life." - Zaid H.

The Creature, Not Frankenstein

     This past Halloween, there were probably a lot of people with square heads with stitches and green arms stretched out in front of them trying to act like Frankenstein.  Everybody knows who Frankenstein is but nobody knows who the creature is.  Before I started reading the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I didn't know any better than the average person.  Now I'm reading the text from the original author who created the monster and I know that the monster created never had an official name but was most commonly referred to as the creature.  Why then does everyone refer to the creature as Frankenstein, when Victor Frankenstein is actually the man who brought the being to life.
     In 1818, Frankenstein was first published by an anonymous author with the second most important character in the novel not having a name.  The first few plays used the traditional nameless creature but within a decade after being published, the popular creature had to have a name so Frankenstein was adopted.  Frankenstein instead of the creature became mostly common after the film was made about Frankenstein in 1930.  Since then, people have been incorrectly calling the creature Frankenstein when he is actually just the creature while Victor Frankenstein was the person that brought the monster to life.

Zach Y.

Working Hard to Serve Others

     When I first read the poem "To Be of Use", by Marge Piercy, I read it on a literal level. Like most people, I thought that Piercy was literally talking about how she loved best the people who are hard workers. Even after inerpreting the text of the figurative language, I still believed the poem was about the ones who go above and beyond to get work done. After discussing the poem in class I discovered that the theme of hard work was only the surface meaning of the poem and there was much more to it than just that. Although it is about hard workers, it's about the ones work hard to serve others, "who strain in the mud and muck" (Piercy, Stanza 2). We strain because it is hard for us as human beings to lay down our selfish ways and serve others whole heartidly because all we want to do is serve ourselves. She loves the people of which have clean and evident work, the ones that strive to put others before themselves. We all want a purpose in life, Piercy describes people as a "pitcher" that "cries for water to carry," (Piercy, Stanza 4) This reminds me of how in the Bible it refers to people as vessels, a container of some sort meant to carry things. In the Bible, the vessels were God's people and their purpose was to share God's word and to be used by Him. So as we dig deeper into the meaning of the poem we come to find out that it is about much more than just hard workers, but about serving others.

-Kaylee Hernandez

Important Quote from Alice in Wonderland

"White Queen: Speak when you are spoken to!
Alice: But if everyone obeyed that rule,and if you only spoke when you were spoken to, and the other person always waited for you to begin, you see nobody would ever say anything"

-Cynthia Navarro

Found Poem from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

What a curious feeling?

Curious and curiouser

Who are you?

I wonder...what nonsense

Who in the world am I?

Who, are you?

I'm I

Not quite right

Who are you?

I hardly know

By: Andrew v

Then and Now: How Perspectives Change

After reading Alice in Wonderland, I found many archetypes related to growing up and the adult world. I remember wanting to read this book as a child, but when I finally got my hands on it, I had absolutely no clue what was going on. I didn't understand ANYTHING (maybe with the exception that the door to the garden represents the Garden of Eden: idealistic and perfect or maybe even the unattainable adult world). But for the most part I didn't understand how any of this information connected. Despite this devastating blow to my self-confidence I moved on. Now that I have read the book again (as a growing adult), I notice its references to the adult world (its archetypes) that a child could not possibly understand.

The reason I could not understand this novel as a child was because I was not experiencing what Alice was experiencing in the novel. In other words, I was not at the point in my life where I reached sexual maturity. But now that I am in the process of this phase, I feel what Alice went through because ALL teenagers have been through the same life stage: puberty, just some sooner than others.

Another symbol in this general archetype is the drink me bottle, which could possibly indicate the hardships and naivete of a child entering the adult world. Also, the fact that Alice keeps changing sizes could possibly represent the idea of growing not only mentally but also physically.

When I read this novel as a child, I could not connect the facts. But now that I realize it, my understanding of this novel as a child is the same perspective that Alice sees herself. What I felt, finding the adult world confusing and unbelievable and nonsensical, was the same that Alice felt. And I only realized it after going through this phase of maturity. So even though I failed to realize it back then, Alice shows obvious archetypes that can only be seen when the reader is feeling the same pressures as Alice, or essentially when one's perspective changes due to maturity.

~ Simon L.

HELLO

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