Final Blog

Well I can’t believe this class is over. It felt like it went by so quickly for me. I think that’s mainly because I was either busy doing homework, at work, planning for my sister’s wedding, or doing housework. I think staying busy all the time helped keep me on task this semester too which is good. I think my experience with Lit 110 has been a good one. We worked on poetry, which I have had some experience with before. Also I think another good experience that came out of this class was the people. I’ve met some pretty interesting people this semester. And they are what kept me coming back and wanting to make the class fun and exciting. I also actually had some time to read too. I hardly ever pick up a book and read it during the summer. I think having the reading goal helped keep on track with that though.

I got to experiment with a few things this semester too. My favorite was probably doing the ten minute plays. They were fun, but there was no pressure to go along with it, just read your lines and have some fun with it! I also wrote some pretty cool poems during the poetry workshop. This workshop helped me expand my poetry skills a lot. I learned that not every poem has to rhyme or even make any sense. And how could I forget about the poetry slam! I have to admit I was a little freaked out at first, but it turned out to be an experience I’ll never forget. Writing flash fiction was pretty cool too. My story just kind of stopped when I was finished with it, but I think that’s one of the joys of flash fiction. Your not exactly sure what is going on or what is going to happen.

And I also expanded my literature skills as well this semester. I think the short story unit is what did it for me. The stories that stuck out most to me were Party Down at the Square, Catskin and Orientation. I thought Party Down at the Square would about an actual party until the plot does a complete turn-around and it ends up being about a lynching. And Catskin, oh my where do I start? Wow, what a weird story! I mean who comes back to life as a cat and sews together a bunch of cat skins for their youngest son to wear? That story was just down right weird and gave me nightmares! I thought Orientation was neat because it was written in second person. Also because I could picture myself walking through an office and having someone tell me all the odd things about everyone who works there. Another way I have expanded is by going to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I have never been much of a Shakespeare fan, but going to see it in person definitely has changed my thoughts on it. Ewing Manner was amazing and the plays under the stars was sweet! I definitely feel like Lit 110 has broadened the whole scope of literature for me this summer. Thank you everyone for making it a fun and enjoyable class. And thank you Stephanie for keeping the spirit alive in all of us this summer!

Cultural Opportunity #3-Sylvia

For my third cultural opportunity, I chose to watch the movie Sylvia, mainly because I’ve been studying about the time period when she wrote, which is the Confessional movement. I have really enjoyed her reading her work so far. And I think the poem I’ve enjoyed the most is her poem Cinderella. This poem was also written by Anne Sexton as well, another writer during the Confessional movement. This movie chronicles the suicidal life of Sylvia Plath played by Gwyneth Paltrow. The beginning opens up with her reciting a few lines from her poem Lady Lazarous. This is ironic to me, because she says to Ted in the movie that she is Lady Lazarous. Plath suffered from depression decades before it was branded an illness, and this movie digs deep into the spirituality of her malaise. The Sylvia we see has little or no control over the moods that ultimately tear her existence apart. Plath, as played by Paltrow, is boiling over with literary and erotic hunger, possessed of a vision that scarcely fits into her strict era. In 1956, she's an ambitious undergraduate at Cambridge, and from the moment that she meets Ted Hughes played by Daniel Craig, the gravel-voiced, square-jawed, morosely charismatic British poet who has had the temerity to pen a negative review of her verse, is nothing but love at first bite. At the school dance, she's so smitten with passion that she draws blood from his cheek. This is just a taste of what is come throughout the rest of the movie.

Cultural Opportunity #2

For my second cultural opportunity, I actually went to a Battle of the Bands contest in Creve Coeur. It was held at the American Legion Hall. And there were four bands competing. Two of them I didn’t know too well, but the other two I had seen before. One of them was Led by Last, which a local band of four guys who live in Geneseo. I had heard their stuff before and I really enjoy it. They mainly write about love and the hardships that come with breaking up with someone. Their first album is titled, Trying the First Step to Heartbreak. Each song is about how each guy deals with their breakups and how their life is after it happens. It’s really cool to listen to how other people think and react.
The other band I heard is actually a band from around where I live. It got started in the garage of a kid’s house that I went to high school with. He lives in Lake Camelot and his neighbor also joined in and it grew from there. They call themselves Last N Line. And like Led by Last, many of their songs are also about love and breakups. I think it would be really cool to hear the two bands perform together. The contrast between them mainly is the whole age factor. Both bands did an awesome job! And Last N Line won!

Textual Reading-July 23rd

Well so far, I have really enjoyed everyone’s literature salons. I think this was a neat idea. My only complaint is that I felt like I didn’t have much time to prepare everything. And I felt like I didn’t have much time to get the reading done. But that’s partly my fault, because I have been helping my sister plan her wedding for the past two months. And thank god she’s getting married on Saturday. I’m about ready to explode! Anyways, enough of my ranting, back to the literature salons. I’m willing to admit that sometimes I’m a big procrastinator! And I’m sure everyone else has done that a few times as well. I think the one that stuck out the most to me today though was the Black Arts Movement. I think this movement did many things. It broke racial ties and proved that being “Black” is not a bad thing. I think that racism is still present today. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but still present in other ways in our society. The big thing I think of when I say this is gangs. Their not as bad as they used to be, but still are present today. They also can still hurt anyone at any time. I think that Roger and Ryan did a great job at presenting it too. Their packet was easy for me to follow and understand. Also, I really liked their outfits. Good job guys!!

Cultural Opportunity- A Mid Summer Night's Dream

I was so glad I went to see A Mid Summer Nights Dream. I was a little weary about going at first, but I’m glad I went. I’m not much of a Shakespeare person, so this was new to me. I had never seen one of his plays performed. Plus, I really just wanted to get one of my cultural opportunities done. I really enjoyed watching it under the stars. That was cool! And Ewing Manor was so beautiful. I think that really tied in the whole Shakespeare experience for me.
I wasn’t really sure what was going on at first. I started figuring it out during the second half. I thought it was a very good performance overall. The accents confused me too like everyone else said. But then I got used to them. And what really threw me off was in the beginning when the fairies came out. I was like wait what. It went from talking about love and marriage to fairies. So I was very confused. But they made me laugh, especially when they laughed at their own mistakes. The end was really funny. I enjoyed watching the guys put on the miniature play. That made me laugh and so did the costumes. That blonde wig was hilarious!
Oh, and I must say that everyone’s food was delicious! I really have enjoyed our class. So thanks everyone for making this an enjoyable summer to remember!

The Sandlot

Ok, so as I was starting this, I couldn’t really think of anything to write about for my non-textual blog. So I decided to go with the all-American movie, The Sandlot. I’ve seen this probably about 100 times and it never gets old! Made in 1993 and directed by David Mickey Evans, this movie chronicles the lives of young baseball players. The movie is about a boy named Scotty Smalls who moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and step dad, and wants to learn to play baseball. The neighborhood baseball guru Rodriquez takes Smalls under his wing, and soon he's part of the local baseball buddies. They fall into adventures involving baseball, tree house sleep-ins, the hot lifeguard, Wendy, at the local pool, the snooty rival ball team, and the traveling fair. Beyond the fence at the back of the sandlot menaces a legendary ball-eating dog called The Beast, and the kids inevitably must deal with him.
I really like this movie because it about the one thing I never get tired of, and that’s baseball. I’ve been playing sports my whole life. I played softball for 8 years and my dad was a baseball coach for 30 years. So I can relate to this movie in many ways. I think that’s probably the reason why I never get tired of it. Plus I think one of my favorite things to say is, “You’re killing me Smalls!” It never gets old!
And yes Stephanie, this is another blog about baseball. but I'm being good! There is nothing about the Cards or Cubs. :)

Poems, Poems, Poems!!!

Ok, I think I definitely got my dose of poetry for this week. The poetry workshop we did on Tuesday was really cool. I liked the ransom note poetry and the magnetic poetry. And like Annie, when I write poetry, I always felt like my poems had to rhyme. Otherwise, it seemed like they just didn’t make sense. I think this workshop broke me of that, mainly because there was very little to work with to write a poem. I was really tested on this when I went to the fortune cookie poem. My topic was about being hasty. That was hard for me to get something started so I could write. And today was absolutely awesome too! The poetry slam went really well. There were definitely some interesting ones. The whole idea freaked me out at first, but I ended up going last. So I thought, well this is it. I was just worried about what everyone was going to think of my poem. I think I definitely got my dose of poetry for this week though. Thanks Stephanie for making it fun and exciting!
On a side note, I got a call on Tuesday about 3 or so from a friend who works on grounds crew at ICC. He hosed all of our poems off. :( That made me sad but oh well. And the only reason he knew it was me is because I signed my name. I guess that’s considered graffiti, and there’s not supposed to be anything written on the walls or concrete. BOO!!

That September Day by Alan Jackson

So I was listening to my Ipod today and the song That September Day by Alan Jackson came on. I couldn’t help but listen to it either. This song is specifically about September 11th. It is definitely one that always sticks in my mind. Mainly the lyrics are asking what you were doing on that day. I will always remember that day because I was sitting in a classroom just watching the TV and in shock. I couldn’t believe that someone would do something like that to hurt and kill so many people. So the lyrics hit home for me. Especially because one part he says “Were you teaching' a class full of innocent children?” That was me! Also another part I can relate to is in the chorus when he says, “I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran.” This relates to me because I was watching CNN that day. Also because I have 2 sisters who are in the Army. They were both on lock-down on the bases that day. They also have been to Iran and Iraq and have told me many stories of their travels. I still get them mixed up occasionally. I absolutely love Alan Jackson and his work. Many of his songs are memorable to me in some way. I was glad he wrote his song because September 11th will be in many people memories for a very long time.

Extra Blog-Poetry

The poem I chose to find my 5 terms on was also the poem I chose to read in class. The poem I chose is called The Purpose of Altar Boys by Alberto Rios. When I first read the title, I thought this might be interesting to read considering I’m Catholic. When I finished reading, all I could do was laugh! You never really think of an altar boy as being a naughty boy who looks down women’s shirts. I would definitely say this poem is funny! I think I would classify it as being verse satire, which is poetry that exists primarily to mock or ridicule, although often with serious intent. Symbols are definitely happening in this poem. The Holy Electric Shock refers to God’s presence upon receiving communion. The “shock” is a constant reminder of their sins, even though they are sitting in church receiving Christ. Allusion is also present because Christ is referred to. The irony is that even though the main character is an altar boy, he is rebelling against his structured environment. He is a judge of sorts. He knows about what goes on at night, and his holy presence is a constant reminder of the people’s sins. Some Sundays, he takes his position seriously. But on other Sundays, he uses his position for personal gain. Overall, this poem is an oxymoron because you typically think of altar boys as being pure. The truth of the matter is they are still having the same raging hormones that other kids do.

Textual Reading-July 9th

For in-class reading this week, we had to read the Introduction to Poetry, which was very dry and boring to me. I was glad that we didn’t have a Down and dirty quiz over it though. There were a lot of terms to remember. I would know considering I took 12 pages of notes!! Anyways, I was happy that we got to choose one poem that we liked and read it to the class. I think everyone chose very good poems. I have always been a fan of poetry. I enjoy writing rhyming poems more then anything, but reading and discussing them in class I think helped a lot of people find out the true meaning of what’s really going on in the poems. Hearing everyone’s perspective is really cool. And I didn’t know that the speaker of a poem actually had a name! I found that intriguing. I also didn’t know that an idiom was a poet’s personal use of words to mark his or her poetry. I was also really excited to find out more about confessional poetry, since Olivia and I chose to do our final project over the Confessional Schools period. Sylvia Plath is one of the main poets from that era and I have enjoyed reading her work so far. I still can’t believe she committed suicide! Wows there were some crazy people back then.

Star Wars Response

For my outside reading this week, I chose to do my blog about the Star Wars movie. And you can call me crazy all you want, but I’ve never seen all of the movies. Anyways, the most prominent theme that I noticed in Star Wars was a tale of good versus evil. I would say it definitely has something to tell us about that battle between good and evil. It is most prominent in the way Darth Vader has gone from the Evil Man in black armor to a fallen Jedi, the Empty Shell of a Man. But is anyone in Star Wars truly evil or anyone truly good? The only character who is good is the Emperor. This means that everyone else is either a good person who sometimes does bad things, or a bad person who sometimes does good things. Anakin falls to the Dark Side and redeems himself in the end. Luke uses a Force Choke on the guards in Jabba's Palace. But which characters are the good guys doing bad things, and which characters are the bad doing good? Anakin could go either way. There are no good people or bad people. There are just people, who sometimes do good and sometimes do bad. Some characters do far more of one than the other, to the point where they can be categorized as good or evil, but this is a person who is being made by their own actions. Star Wars is a tale of people who choose good or evil, always a mixture of the two over their lifetimes. Good and evil do exist, the Light Side and Dark Side of the force prove it, but people aren’t good or evil all the time.

Textual Reading-Ten Minute Play

For our in class reading, we were assigned to read the Introduction to Drama, pages 779 to 801. I did a few plays in high school and I really loved them! Many of definitions that came up, I have heard at one time or another. So instead of having to make us read plays, Stephanie gave an assignment where we had to perform a ten minute play. I was kind of nervous upon hearing this, but then I found out we were going to be put into groups. My group consisted of Deb, Olivia, Jeff and myself. We performed the play, Fugue, by Laura Elizabeth Miller. This ten minute play was about a serial killer who lives down the street from three little girls. He chops the remains in little pieces and buries each piece in a hole. The three girls are Amy, who was played by Olivia, Gladyce, who was played by Deb, and Lizzy, the girl who I played. The serial killer’s name was Harry, who was played by Jeff. When I first read the play, I was kind of confused about it. But then when I read it again, I figured out that each girl was actually talking separately but also to each other in a sense. The whole play was pretty much a flashback. In the beginning, the girls are re-telling their horrible tales of getting murdered, and then it flashes back to that day when they were murdered. I really enjoyed performing this play. It was a fun way to incorporate drama without actually having to read it. I also liked how we got to use our scripts. That took most of the pressure off of performing in front of the class.

Steel Magnolias-June 25th

One of my favorite movies of all time would have to be Steel Magnolias. I’ve probably seen this movie almost a 100 times and it never gets old! I pretty much know every line too! This movie stars Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts portrays a vibrant, young diabetic named Shelby whose decision to have a baby may cost her life. Sally Field stars as her mother, torn between love and anger. She chooses to give Shelby one of her kidneys because Shelby has Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis are the four loyal friends who support them with humor and unfailing grace. This movie is a warm and witty celebration of friendship, Southern-style! The plot is centered on Dolly Parton’s (Truvy) beauty parlor and some women who regularly gather there. The drama begins on the morning of Shelby's wedding to Jackson and covers events over the next three years, including Shelby's decision to have a child despite having Type 1 diabetes and the complications that result from the decision, There is also a glimpse of the complicated friendship between Clairee and Ouiser and Annelle's transformation from a shy, anxious newcomer in town, to a partying woman, then to a religious fundamentalist. Also, there are glimpses about Truvy's relationships with the men in her family. Although the main storyline involves Shelby, her mother, and Shelby's medical battles, the underlying group-friendship among all six women is prominent throughout the entire movie.

In Class Reading-June 25th

For in class reading, I chose to write about the short story, The Girl with the Blackened Eye. I chose this story mainly because it reminds of some of the shows that I watch on Dateline. I was really sad after reading this story. I felt like I was there watching everything happen to this girl at the time who was telling her story as a grown-up woman now. I couldn’t believe some of the depth and description that the author went into either. I found it disturbing but at the same time, I felt sympathy too. I felt like I wanted to go rescue her from that awful cabin. I also couldn’t believe that she didn’t want to remember that part of her past. I know it must have been awful for her but at the same time; it’s something that you can never really forget. Like most of the people on Dateline, they say it’s always going to be there and the internal pain will never go away. Most of them feel scared to leave their homes now or they always usually can picture those long days of being gone. They can never be erased from their memory. Even if something is really gruesome, disgusting or violent, I want to continue reading it to find out what happens. It's like the narrator in "A Party Down at the Square" had toward the lynching. You don't like it, but you can't really bring yourself to do anything about it.

Out of Class Reading-June 18th

For my out of class reading, I chose to write about a new series on MTV called 16 and Pregnant. When I saw the new commercials for it, I was kind of intrigued by it. But then I thought to myself, how could they make a show like this? I was really interested in how they would go about making it. This show follows the lives of young couples who have chosen to keep their children. It follows the everyday struggles of being a high school student and getting labeled for being pregnant and wanting to keep your child.
This particular episode is about a girl named Maci who is a high school senior and is almost ready to have her child and has to deal with graduation at the same time. Her boyfriend/fiancé Ryan is having doubts about keeping his child and doesn’t really want to be a good father. Maci pretty much does everything she can to make ends meat and still have time to finish her homework every night. She even had to switch schools because her due date was right around the time of her graduation. So she switched schools in order to still have her baby and graduate on time. Her and Ryan’s relationship was pretty strong before baby Bentley was born but now, their both just hanging on for dear life. The only reason why Ryan is staying with Maci is because of baby Bentley. He doesn’t want to do anything to take care of him and always wants to go out with his friends. They get in many fights and as a result, their marriage plans get put on hold. Maci leaves it up to Ryan. She wants him to stay for Bentley’s sake and have a father. This leaves Ryan with many questions. After his talk with Maci, he decides to stay for Bentley but feels like the relationship won’t last.

Reading for June 18th

For my in class reading this week, I chose to write about Everyday Use by Alice Walker. When I started reading the background information on her I was very intrigued. I liked that she was an African-American writer who was still living. And that she was the most widely read of any American woman of color. I was also interested in reading her story because I have wanted to read The Color Purple for awhile but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I think it would be an interesting story to read because I enjoyed reading Everyday Use. I also liked how she coined the term “womanist” to stand for the black feminist concerns of much of her fiction. That really stood out to me.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading the story. I felt like I could relate to the story too. I have two older sisters so I could relate in that way. The bond I noticed between Maggie and Dee wasn‘t like the bond I have with my sisters. I didn’t really like how Maggie put herself down and thought that her sister was better than her. Dee was always the one wanted nice things. And she never took NO for an answer. I like how she was determined in that way to get what she wants in life, but at the same time, she degraded Maggie a lot. Plus Maggie was already shy because she felt self-conscious of how she looked. She had burns on her arms and legs from when their first house burnt down. That too was also like symbolism, because there is always going to be that constant reminder of her old life.
I think the character I enjoyed the most in this story would have to be Mama. I love how she wanted the best for her girls and would do whatever she had to do to make that happen. She was also like the alpha-female who could do anything. Nothing like a down-home farm girl to show you how to do something!

Blog Post Two-Independent Reading Novel

For my independent reading novel, I chose to read the Gossip Girl Series by Cecily von Ziegesar. I was introduced to these books back in high school and I couldn’t figure out why every girl was reading them or wanting to read them. So today I answered that question. This series is about the lives of teenage boys and girls living in the Upper East Side of New York City. Their parents lead the lavish life. They have plush apartments and have everything imaginable. Maids and butlers wait on them hand-and-foot. This in turn trickles down to their children. They only attend the best schools and wear the latest fashions. The teens are also allowed to drink whenever they want because their parents aren’t home most of the time. Their always gone to some charity event or big dinner that every rich person attends. This means that they also have the house to themselves and they take advantage of it. This leads to the main character, Blair Waldorf. She is the ever-popular girl that everyone wants to be. Her boyfriend Nate is always over and let’s just says that he drinks a lot and drags Blair to do some interesting things. She wants to wait for the time to be just right before IT happens to her. This series is all about the ups and downs a teenager runs into in life and then some. Its all about drama and sex…which is a hot topic among the many characters. I’m so hooked on it. I’ve already read half of the first book and I just can’t put it down!!

Blog Post One-Reading Assignment

Here we go Stephanie. Not really sure how to start these blogs but here goes nothing. When I read the assignment out of the book, most of it was a review from me. I remembered most of the terms from my high school literature class. I did learn a few new things about the skin and bones of novels and short stories though. I found it very interesting that the novel came from Italy. I also liked the French words for open and closed endings of movies or stories. I also learned that the use of an "omniscient" narrator is used frequently in any type of story. I didn’t know that narrators only spoke in first or third person. A first person narrator is a participant in the story or play. He or she can be a major or minor character. A third person narrator is a non-participant but is a voice of authority. They move from place to place to describe actions or repeat dialogue if needed. An unreliable narrator relates events in a distorted manner, which in turn confuses the audience or reader.I enjoyed reading about the different types of characters. I’ve never heard of a character being considered round or flat or static or dynamic. Flat characters require a stereotype to describe them more in depth but only require one trait. Round characters are given one or more traits to describe the characters. A static character's personality never changes throughout the story. A dynamic character is one that changes throughout the story. The other type of character is the stock character which is mainly used for stand-ins for the different scenes.