Unit Four

1. ELAALRC3 The student acquires new vocabulary in each content area and uses it correctly.




I struggle with this standard because there are sometimes when I have a problem with putting the right vocabulary in certain spots. Also it is difficult for me to pick up vocab terms in each content. Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism are opposites and it was kind of hard for me to explain their differences through vocabulary.





2. I picked the Harlem Renaissance because I want to learn more about my ancestry and history.
I think that it would be good to know how they struggled and why they struggled. People in the Harlem Renaissance had a hard life. Even though their life was hard they still were able to create great works.






3. The story that I read was called "Sweat" by Zora Neale Hurston. This story was very funny but it was hard to read the dialogue. The character named Syke was very mean towards his wife Delia. Even though he was very mean to her she still stood her ground in her own way. He felt threatened by her sometimes.

The things that I didn't like about the story was the way he treated her. For example, he was very abusive, he brought different things around her that she was scared of like snakes, and he was unfaithful. He didn't like her helping other people especially if they were white. The things that I did like about the story was the way things changed on him. For example, instead of her getting bitten by the snake he got bitten.

The theme of the Harlem Renaissance can be seen in this story. For example, at the beginning of the story Delia squats "in the kitchen floor beside [a] great pile of clothes, sorting them into small heaps according to color, and humming a song in a mournful key, but wondering through it all where Sykes, her husband, had gone with her horse and buckboard". Delia isn't living the American Dream because she's overwhelmed with labor. She also hums a sad song as she's doing the labor. This shows that she has an awful life. She is sorting the clothes by color just like people were doing to races. While she is working, her husband is not there and she's wondering where he could be. She can't depend on her husband.

Delia is treated with unfairness by her husband Sykes. Hurston creates this story by showing unfairness as it would be in real life. For instance, when Sykes comes home "He [steps] roughly upon the whitest pile of things, kicking them helter-skelter as he [crosses] the room". Sykes is showing unfairness by disrespecting his wife and her hard work. His mean actions reflect the racism at the time because he steps on the whitest pile of clothes. Hurston showed just how hard life was for Americans in this story. The struggle between Sykes and Delia reflects the struggle between blacks and whites.



4. Richard Corey

This poem is about a rich man who is envied by many people. Even though he had a lot and acted a certain way, he "put a bullet through his head". Richard Corey was very unhappy with his lifestyle. Even though he lived the American dream, his life was a nightmare. This poem supports the Modernist idea of how the American dream was very unrealistic.

Mending Wall

This poem is about a man wondering why a fence is put in his yard. Frost invites us into the mind of the speaker as he wonders about the walls. For example, he wonders what he is "walling in or walling out". This thought comes from the speaker's mind. Psychology can be seen in this poem by showing us the thoughts of the speaker.

A Dream Deferred

This poem basically is trying to guess what happens to a dream deferred. Hughes uses similes to explain his question. I think that this is a good poem because it's kind of tricky but it makes you think about what it's trying to say. This poem shows Modernism because it describes a dream that "just sags like a heavy load". Modernism, specifically the Harlem Renaissance, didn't believe that the American dream was possible.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

The poem talks about his soul. It repeats that his soul has "grown deep like the rivers". This was a good poem because it somewhat explains his life in a certain way. Modernists had thoughts that the world was changing. In this poem the soul of the person changes.

Incident

This poem described a very hurtful incident. This poem was short but it expressed a big meaning. The speaker was young and his rejection was "all that [he] remember[ed]". This rejection reflected how African Americans were treated. I like this poem because it showed a person's feelings towards a personal racist experience.

5. I have used new vocabulary throughout this unit. For example when I said "envied by many people" in my response to Richard Corey, the word envied represents a good use of vocabulary.

Unit Three

ELAALRL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents.




I think that it's trying to say that students should think before they write or say something. Also that it is important that students should remember what they learn and be able to use it when they really need to like in essays or music.





What would your argument to this philosophy be? Are all people good? Is the voice inside people's heads the pure voice of God?






I don't think that all people are good because there are some people in the world that do things just because they want to even if they hurt some or themselves. There are a lot of crimes that happen in the world because people don't have good lifestyles and some people make poor choices. The voice inside people's heads is not always the voice of God because most people don't believe in God or they may not just listen to him.











2. Which side of the divide do you fall? Are you closer to being a Transcendentalist or a Dark Romantic? Explain your answer with a short paragraph.












I think that I am a Dark Romantic person because there are people that can be evil but only in their own way. For example, people can be selfish with different things like money, sharing, and relationships. People have the potential to be good but there is always someone or something that makes them contribute to bad behavior. I am the type of person that really tries to dodge things or people that get in my way, but there have been a couple of times when someone has did or said something me made me want to change myself from being nice to being mean.

I read the story called Hop-Frog was pretty interesting but it was also kind of mean. The reason why I thought that it was interesting was because I liked the part when they were talking about the way Hop-Frog had more muscular strenth in his arms. I said that it was mean because some of the people in there did some mean things. For example, " when the girl was trying to implore him to spare her friend he pushed her violently from him, and threw the contents of the brimming goblet in her face." I put that qoute because it gave the reason for me saying that this story was mean. To me I think that he illustrated Dark Romantics and transcendantalists very good but also made an argument out of it because there were a couple of parts in it where people may have started out as Transcendentalists but changed to be Dark Romanstics. For example, Hop-Frog started out cool and nice but ended being bad by setting something on fire.

5. This poem basically seems like he's talking about different things that go on in his life and how he was feeling at that point. For instance, Poe's wife was dying in real life. In the poem he mentions a "rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore". The Lenore in the poem was compared to his dying wife. In this poem he talks about the sorrow of his real wife.

The Raven in this poem is basically a symbol saying that there is a bad chance that his wife is going to die. For instance, the speaker in the poem asks the raven if he shall "clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore", and the Raven responds "Nevermore". The Raven's response indicates the death of Poe's real wife. The Raven was a sign of doom in this poem.

Unlike transcendentalists, this poem is not optimistic. The speaker tells the raven to "Leave [his] loneliness unbroken". This statement is pessimistic because in the poem Poe wants things to turn out fine but his wishes are not coming true. The speaker tells the raven that "thy God hath lent thee". Transcendentalists believed that God spoke through human's pure mind. This poem is anti-transcendentalists because the Raven is not human and does not have a pure mind.

6. In this poem, Poe symbolizes that the chamber door is a reflection of his mind. The Raven represents the thoughts tapping on the door of his mind. When the Raven came in he landed on the bust of Pallas who is the Greek God of warfare. The speaker himself is battling with the loss of his wife. He is experiencing his own war.

7. I met standard one when I said:

Unlike transcendentalists, this poem is not optimistic. The speaker tells the raven to "Leave [his] loneliness unbroken". This statement is pessimistic because in the poem Poe wants things to turn out fine but his wishes are not coming true.

I showed evidence by quoting The Raven. By doing that I supported my arguement.

I met standard two when I said:





To me I think that he illustrated Dark Romantics and transcendantalists very good but also made an argument out of it because there were a couple of parts in it where people may have started out as Transcendentalists but changed to be Dark Romanstics. For example, Hop-Frog started out cool and nice but ended being bad by setting something on fire.





I think this example demonstrated the word theme. I showed an understanding in this by using Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism.




I met standard three when I said:





This poem basically seems like he's talking about different things that go on in his life and how he was feeling at that point. For instance, Poe's wife was dying in real life. In the poem he mentions a "rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore". The Lenore in the poem was compared to his dying wife. In this poem he talks about the sorrow of his real wife.





I made connections with Poe's life and struggles by recognizing his thoughts and feelings through the speaker.


Realism:



A. One detailed example was: "But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought". All Mrs. Mallard was doing was looking out the window. I think that this shows realism because it is very descriptive.



B. Chopin talks about the supression of feminine socailization. After Mr. Mallard's death, Mrs. Mallard started to discover a "self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!" She discovered that she was free when Mr. Mallard died.









9. The Realists were extremely descriptive in their explanations of what a character is and what a character does. For example, in The Battle with Mr. Covey the main character was fanning wheat and then he fainted. He "broke down" and his "strength failed" him. He was "seized with a violent aching of" his head and was "attended with extreme dizziness". This description is very detailed because it described every thing that he was experiencing.

Reading realism is similar to looking at a photograph. Realists settings are more descriptive but they are so detailed to where you would not have to use your imagination. For example, in The Battle with Mr. Covey the main character runs away from the abuse of Mr. Covey. He ran through the woods and scrapes he feet on "bogs and briers". His journey was "about seven miles" long. This description is explained very well because we can picture the setting in our own way.

The social issue in this story was the abuse of slaves. Fredrick Douglas wrote this story to let people realize how things were a long time ago. He uses disturbing details to express the brutality of slavery life. The main character in this story overcomes his fear of Mr. Covey. Even though he's still a slave he has a new sense of freedom.



10. Remember the Titans is a movie that demonstrates realism by focusing on problems with racism and segregation. The movie didn't hide issues concerning the hatred between races. When the football players first attended football camp they didn't like each other and they sat at different lunch tables. Another example is when someone threw a brick through coach Boone's window.



11a. I like Dark Romanticism because characters can sometimes be evil in their own ways.

b.

The Phone Call

One day Bryan went to school and when he got there all the lights were out and it was cold. So Bryan stayed at school even though his teacher told everyone that they could leave, but they should come back to see if everything was back on. So when everyone left Bryan hid under a table. The teacher came in the room to make a phone call and then he realized that Bryan was under the table. Rather than letting Bryan know that he was there, he made the phone call instead. What Bryan heard the teacher saying in the phone sent chills going down his spine because it scared him.

The teacher said that he had already gotten rid of one body but he needed help getting rid of the other one. The teacher then said, "Although I do have a body under the table, but it is still alive. How should I kill him?" When Bryan heard all of that he started to sweat. Then one of Bryan's friends peeked in the door and saw Bryan under the table sweating and looking very scared. Bryan's friend wanted to help him but he didn't want to blow his cover. His friend whispered the word Run to Bryan and Bryan nodded. With the teacher turned to the wall, Bryan began to run for his life. The teacher heard them and began to run after them.

What the teacher did not know was that Bryan had stopped and hid behind a door while his friend kept on running. When the teacher ran pass the door that Bryan was behind, Bryan quietly ran behind the teacher and hit him in the back of his head with a fire extinguisher. Bryan had knocked the teacher unconscious causing the teacher's cell phone to fall out of his hand. Bryan's friend turned around and saw what Bryan had done. He then picked up the phone and called the police. When the police arrived, the teacher was still on the ground. Bryan told the police every thing that happened and then told Bryan good job. School was closed for the rest of the day.

The End

C. The Dark Romantics believed in original sin. They thought that people could be evil, insane, or unpure. When the teacher was on the phone and asked "How should I kill him?" it was evil because he was talking about murder. The fact that he wanted to murder Bryan was not pure. The entire story was anti-transcendental because it showed how people can be insane.

12. I met standard one by showing evidence of me understanding Dark Romantics:

"The teacher said that he had already gotten rid of one body but he needed help getting rid of the other one."

This showed evidence because the teacher was being evil.

I met standard two by showing an understanding of theme:

Overcoming fear was a theme in this story because bryan was scared but everything turned out just fine because he faced his fear.

Unit Two

ELAALRL2 The student identifies, analyzes, and applies knowledge of theme in a work of American literature and provides evidence from the work to support understanding.



To me I think that it's trying to say that students are good at identifying, analizing things, and apply the right type of knowledge. There are many things that you can do or say that has to do with a Theme. For example, if you are singer or rapper or something close to that, whether or you write your own music or you still will have to have a theme when you start writing.






A theme is basically the main idea of a essay, a paragarph, a book, and also music. I would know a theme because they are easy to find and you have to have one before you start writing a poem or a book because that would help let someone know what you are talking about. They can be about a persons life, society, or human nature.






2. It said that Rip Van Winkle was a simple good natured fellow. They also talked about the mountains being noble and beautiful. The romantics wrote about ordinary people and nature.





3. " To him who in the love of Nature holds commuion with her visible forms" this quote from the poem talks about nature. " by unfaltering trust...down to pleasant dreams " this quote from the poem talks about imagination. "Thine individual being" this quote from the poem talks about ordinary people.








I have learned different things from the different things that I have had to do, and understand it but some of it seem complicated. when I was reading about romanticism it told me about the different themes; Nature, imagination, and ordinary people, and I talked about all of them in numbers one and two.

A.original sin is Total Depravity which means that every human has been born with a sin and it comes from Adam and Eve.
B. The puritains really believed in original sin, they had no problems with it.
C.Rationalist were different from puritains because rationalist believed that anything could be understood through science, but the puritains thought this to be an insult to god since they thought that humans had no business trying to handle gods work. D.The main themes of romanticism were; Imagination, Nature,and ordinary people.

To me this story confused me because one minute it talks about nature and then it may switch up and talk about something else.

I truely disagree with the speaker because if I go somewhere out in the wild by myself I would be very bored because I would not have anything to do or have anybody around to talk to. Unlike me the speaker believes that a man should be able to go into nature and be able to see everything and be able to share his brain with god. As they said in book" standing on the bare ground - my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space-all mean egotism vanishes." The reason for me putting that quote is because it seems as if that person is not trying to think about anything else other than nature.

"These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world."

When you are by yourself you are able to hear God because you really don't have too many things or people to distract you, but when you are around other people you get distracted because you start listening to them and not God. A man should basically believe and rely in himself instead of tying to listen to everyone else because he may not be able to do what he has to do and how he wants to do it. "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and phiosophers and divines. There are alot of things and people that have alot of consistency but never has nothing to do.


I can apply Transcendental philosophy to the man video because as I talked about in my other paragraphs men can do things a little more better in nature when they are by thereself, and even a little more quicker. in the video the man is all by himself in the wilderness and he has the right tools to keep him safe while he's by his-self. To me he is serviving very well because when he found a nice spot somewhere he started cutting trees and ended up building a cabin for himself so he could have somewhere to stay. He also went hunting to catch different things like: Buffalo's and deers and he would also catch fishs, abd he did all of those things so that he would survive. "A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace."

The Best player of my city

The best basketball player in my city.
I feel like I am the best basketball player in Athens and that no one can beat me. I have been playing basketball every since I was four years old, whenever I have played it has mostly been with a street team. The only school team that I have played with was Barnett Shoals Elementary school my jersey number was 11. When I first started playing basketball, I really wasn’t that good, and whenever someone passed me the ball there would be times when I would just sit there and look around until somebody told me what to do. When I ran down the court it was kind of hard for the other kids to keep up with me. As I grew up and kept playing basketball I got better and better and that’s when I started getting negative comments from other people, saying that I’m not good and that they could beat me anytime and anywhere.

As I stated earlier, I have been playing basketball for a long time so basically that explains why I feel like no one can beat me. Everyone who’s played basketball and who has played basketball for a long time may not always be very good. Basketball may not be a sport that everyone knows how to play. There are some people that were not born with athletic ability, or they may know how to play other sports better than they can play basketball. There was one time when I was playing basketball at school with some friends and out of nowhere one my friend Benito said that he wanted play me one on one. I looked at him with a crazy looking expression on my face and said are you serious, you really think that you can beat me? He said yes. To me he seemed like he had a lot of confidence in himself. I said ok lets go to 25 and he said ok. We played and I beat him 25 to15.

Another reason why I think that I am very good in basketball is because I also have good shooting skills, but I don’t always make the shot. I can say that there’s a 50 percent chance that I will make it. When I am playing basketball I am usually one of the main people that get the ball. When I do have the ball I usually find one of my teammates open and I throw them a good pass, but sometimes when I give someone else the ball they could have a wide open shot and still miss it. That makes me and everyone else on the team mad because it could be an easy layup and it could probably help us win the game.

When I was young my dribbling skills were really not that good but as I grew older I kept playing and practicing and I have gotten much better, but if I haven’t played and practiced in a while sometimes I get a little rusty. Now that I am older I have become a better dribbler I can do different things with the ball that I never knew how to do when I was young. For example I never knew how to spin the ball on my finger but now that I have practiced it, I am very good now. My dribbling skills now are very awesome now, but there are still some times when I mess up, but that’s ok because everybody mess up and it may not even have anything to do with basketball or any other sport, it could be anything like spelling or taking some kind of test.

There’s one other thing that I am good at doing and that’s playing defense. When I am playing basketball whether it’s with a real team or with some friends, I always make hard for the opponent to get to the goal and make a shot. If it’s a real team everything is ok. I am serious and the coach likes it when I am playing defense because he knows that I will play hard and make it hard for that other person that I am playing. That’s why he keeps me in the game, so basically he puts me in as a starter for every game. He usually doesn’t take me out of the game unless I have gotten hurt or if I have been doing a lot and if he wants someone else to have a chance to shine. When I am just playing basketball with some friends I always have fun and I make them mad because they may not be able to make any shots because of my defense. When ever it’s a one on one game I always win and if it’s a team game we always start off good unless I’m not in the game.

Unit one

ELAALRL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to their contemporary context or historical background, as well as to works from other time periods.




I think that it is saying somewhat the same thing as the first one but using different syaings and what I meen by that is, that most students can understand the literary concept and Historical background of there future and the past. This is important because everyone should know what went on in the world before they were born, and what is going on now.





The Hunters
There were but two beneath the sky -The thing I came to kill, and I.I, under covert, quietlyWatched him sense eternityFrom quivering brush to pointed noseMy gun to shoulder level rose.And then I felt (I could not see)Far off a hunter watching me.I slowly put me rifle by,For there were two who had to die -The thing I wished to kill, and I.






This person to me is someone that hunt to live by killing deers and other animals, but it seems like this person doesnt' really like there lifestyle, so they are saying by them killing animals they can also hurt there self. If I was that same person and didn't like the way that I live I would not hunt, I would probably find me some kind of job somewhere so I would be able to buy me some food. Another thing that I would also make sure that I have some money so I can by me a car so that I can have some transportation to different places that I need to go.





Compare what you just heard to your Native American example. What are the differences in these two groups of people's cultures that stand out to you.




How do their ideas of God differ? Do you see ways in which their cultures may clash?





To me in a way they are not really that much different from each other but i'm not saying that they are not different because they are. They are different because they were talking about how there is nothing between a person and hell but the air and that it is the only power and mir pleasure of god. There ideas of god are different because it seems like they are talking a little more about what he makes happen with his powers. To tell the truth I do think that there are any ways that there cultures may clash. " They are really saying that the devil is trying to make you cum to hell by making you do bad things so that you would not go to heaven, so basically I guess you can say that they are competing against each other.

ELAALRL5 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.

I think that this is strying to say that a student of any kind should be able to understand any kind of vocabulary wether if it's old or new and should be able use it very good at all times. The main people that should be able to use vocabulary very well are students that are in school people that have recently graduated form high school or college.

What new vocabulary have you used in this unit already? What do these new terms mean to you? The vocabulary words are puritans, and rationalism. These new terms are basically words that basiclly tell about what went on in the past, but they really can't say anythimg about the future, because nobody knows about what will happen in the future but god. Original sin, is a word that the puritans used to explain there explonation about God.

Briefly describe the differences between the Puritans and the Rationalists. Please be careful not to repeat the same words you have read in this entry. Where in today's society do you see some of the ideas you have read about here represented?.

To me the puritains are a little more wiser than the rationalist and powerful and the reason why I say that is because if i'm not mistaken I think that god has something to do with the puritan or he is a puritan. If there was something understood through science from rationalists, the puritans thought that it would be disrespectful to god and plus the puritans believed humans had no business deconstructing gods work. Rationalists have good thoughts most of the time but puritans can actually make things happen at different times, when rationalist try to make things happen it's not a good thing and it make the puritans mad.

Before Unit one

ELAALRL1 The student demonstrates comprehension by identifying evidence (i.e., examples of diction, imagery, point of view, figurative language, symbolism, plot events and main ideas) in a variety of texts representative of different genres (i.e., poetry, prose [short story, novel, essay, editorial, biography], and drama) and using this evidence as the basis for interpretation.


To me this meens that when I am doing something thing, I shuold try to do things the right way but also make them understandable, and be able to prove whatevaer it is that I am doing.