LOTF Chapter 12

            In this chapter, there were some very important things that happened. Samneric betray Ralph and give away his hiding spot to the savages. This shows how much Ralph is completely on his own. Ralph then runs and hides in another spot, where he is found once again. Ralph is running away and the savages are chasing him when suddenly, Ralph stumbles upon a ship captain who says he saw the smoke of the fire.

            I found this to be a very abrupt ending to the book. It was weird because in the middle of an intense scene, an adult enters the story and the fight stops. Then, they are all on their way home.

1st Semester Books

Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Through my Eyes by Tim Tebow
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

            This semester, I have learned that I am not a very fast reader. I don't get through books very quickly. However, I do enjoy reading if I like the book. I really like football books and books with action. I like books that are relatively short in length and that I can relate to. I can relate to the Alex Rider series because Alex is about my age in the book.
            I probably should expand on the type of books I read next semster. I maight try reading a less realistic genre. I think it would be good to expand because I might find something I like even more than thhe books I normally read.

LOTF Reading Focus

Reading Times (LOTF):
12/3    pp. 95-99    10 min
12/4    pp. 99-124    75 min
12/5    pp. 124-145    50 min
12/6    pp. 145-169    60 min
12/8    pp. 169-183    35 min
Total Time: 230 min


            My focus for Lord of the Flies is fear. There is obviously a lot about fear throguhout the course of this book specifically concerning the beast. Although, there is sometimes a surprising lack of fear in some of the boys. One time that a lack of fear was apparent was on one of the first few pages of the book (page 8). Ralph realizes that they are alone with no grownups and starts to celebrate. You would think this would make little boys kind of scared.
           Another key moment for my focus was when the beast was first brought up by the boy with the birthmark on his face (page 36). The beast ends up representing all fear in the book so this was a critical moment for establishing fear on the island.
             A third key moment for fear in this book was when Simon staggers out of the woods into the chanting circle of hunters (page 152). The hunters start chanting and act like he is the beast. Simon screams out in terror and is totally defensless as he is basically tortured to death. This proves Simon's previous theory that the beast was inside of all of them and represents that they were just fearing themselves.

LOTF Chapter 11

            In this chapter, there were a few very impotant occurrences. Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric went to try to get Piggy's glasses back. What ends up happening is that Roger is hurling rocks at Piggy and Ralph and hits Piggy, who is holding the conch. Piggy falls over the cliff and dies, and the conch was shattered by the rock. The conch being broken sybolizes the loss of order and civilization. It was very sad how Piggy had to die this way.
           Also in this chapter, Jack and Ralph yell at each other a lot. Ralph calls Jack some insulting things, and Jack tries to kill Ralph with his soear and is almost successful. When Ralph is running away, some of the other people in Jack's group also try to throw spears at him, but miss also. I'm not sure where Ralph will go after this. He ran into the woods after almost being killed. I think he may hise from everyone else and try to live on his own.

LOTF Chapters 9 and 10

            In chapter 9, there was a very sad event. It was dark and the boys were having there feast when Simon staggered out of the woods. He was trying to tell them that the beast was just a dead body, but he was stabbed and killed by the group. It was unclear who exactly killed him or did the most damage to him. These boys have officially gone insane. I guess this somehow ties in with Jesus being killed.
            In chaoter 10, I niiticed tyhat Ralph forgot why the fire was important multiple times. Piggy had to keep reminding him that it was to put off smoke so that a boat could see them if they passed by the island. Also, three people from Jack's group, I think it was Jack, Maurice, and Roger, attacked Ralph's group in the night. They got into a brawl in the shelter, and Jack's group ended up stealing Piggy's glasses. Now Piggy can't see, and they can't keep their fire going. I wonder if Ralph and his group will try to get them back.

LOTF Chapter 8

            In this chapter, Jack decided that he had had enough of being ruled by Ralph and went away from the group. Pretty much all the hunters went with him (Roger, Maurice, etc.). They killed a pig and invited the other group to a feast. I still don't realy know why they would want them at their feast.
           The end of this chapter was very strange. I think the pig or the pig head was the Lord of the Flies, but it started talking to Simon. I don't know if Simon was dreaming or just imagining things, or if the pig's head was actualy speaking to him. Either way, it said some weird stuff, and also said that it was going to get angry. Maybe this could realte to Piggy somehow?

LOTF Chapters 6 and 7

            In these chapters, the main focus was the beast. It started with the twins Sam and Eric claiming to have seen the beast. Some of the boys decide to make an expedition to try to find and kill this beast that keeps poppng up. We find out some things about some of the boys when reading about their expedition.
            One thing I was suprised about was when Ralph stabbed and wounded a boar and was so riled up about it. He kept talking about how he definitely hit it and wounded it. He almost seemed to act a little bit like Jack when they killed their pig. I didn't expect Ralph to react to stabbing a pig like this. It seemed like he wanted to hunt more after that.
            None of the boys ever want to admit their fear. Fear starts to become a big thing that the boys talk about. They often say, "You aren't scared, are you?" It is an embarrassment now to most of the boys to be afraid.

Reading Times

Lord of the Flies:
11/14    p. 32-58    75 min
11/15    p. 58-76    60 min
11/25    p. 76-95    60 min

Total Time: 195 min

Reading Focus: Fear

            My reading focus for Lord of the Flies is fear. Chapter 5 definitely involved a lot about fear. The littluns were talking about the beast that they are afraid of at night at the assembly. Most of the older boys don't believe any of it at all at first, but you can tell that some of them are a little scared of what the young boys are talking about.
            You can tell that Jack is somewhat scared of this beast by the way he keeps asking the young boys questions about it. If he doesn't believe in it at all, why would he be asking so many questions? It suprised me that Piggy seemed not to be scared of this so-called beast and says that he doesn't believe it exists at all. I thought Piggy would be the one who would be most frightened and start freaking out.

Midterms

            I feel like I understand the summer reading I did pretty well. I did well on the first essay we wrote about Nation and I understood the books I read. I also feel pretty confident about the short stories and interpereting them.
            The main category that I should review more is the literary analysis. I am a little confused about exactly what the main goal of the paper should be and how I am going to put it together. I also will keep reviewing Lord of the Flies and make sure I keep up with where we are in the book as a class.

LOTF Chapter 5

            In this chapter, I noticed a lot of talk about fear which is my focus. They talked to the little boys about the beast they claim to have seen. The older boys are not convinced at first, but they begin to become afraid that this beast may actually exist.
            Ralph talks about how they all have begun to loose order and fun and have started to become scared and unorganized. He realizes this and tries to talk tp the boys about it in the meeting. I think this shows traits of a good leader.

LOTF Chapter 4 Response

           In the beginning of this chapter, we get a basic overiew of what happens in the spare time that the boys have. It explains what the older boys do and also what the "littluns" do. It seems like the young boys help each other out and get comfort from being around each other. They all miss their homes and when they get sad, they cry and go next to each other for comfort. It seems like they have each other's support, unlike the older boys.
            Also, I never really knew much about Roger as a character before this chapter. He was being very mean to the little boys by knocking down their sand castles and throwing sand in their eyes. I don't unerstand why he was being so mean.
           It was such a bad coincidence that in the couple of hours that the fore was out was when they saw a ship. I could not believe that Jack and his group let the fire go out. I think Ralph and Jack are starting to not like each other as much as they did before. Also, we saw some violence from Jack when he punched Piggy in the stomach and in the face. Jack also kept talking abou when they killed the pig and about the blood. It really seems like he is going a little bit insane.
           I noticed a couple of times where Simon was being somewht nice to Piggy. One was when he picked up his glasses for him when Jack knocked them off, and once when Simon gave Piggy some of his food. Though these are small acts of kindness, they are pretty much the only ones I've seen toward Piggy throughout the course of the book so far.

LOTF Chapters 2 and 3 Response

            In Chapter 2, I realized that Piggy really is the most knowledgable and intelligent boy on the island. Though he has good ideas and says important things, nobody seems to pay any attention to him, and when they do, Piggy ends up getting laughed at. An example of Piggy being a little bit smarrter than the rest was when everyone was cheering when the woods caught on fire, and Piggy realized that they were burning a big portion of their source of food. Also, it was very sad when they realized that the little boy was killed in the fire.
            In the beginning of Chapter 3, there is a scene of Jack hunting in the woods. He almost seems like he has gone crazy. It said he was crawling like a dog on the ground and was acting very animal-like. Jack had a spear and seemed like he just wanted to kill anything that he could at the moment. I was a little confused at the end of the chapter when it described Simon going out into the woods alone and just kind of standing there. It must have meant something, but I can't seem to figure out what. 

LOTF Response

            I think Lord of the Flies is a pretty interesting but somewhat strange book so far. I thought it was a little bit strange how many of the boys stranded on the island were doing a lot of joking around and laughing. I would have pictured the boys to be more scared about being stuck on a deserted island.
            I also found it strange that Merridew and his group came to the sound of the conch shell all organized and even matching in clothing. Why was that group able to establish such organization? I am suprised that the boys actually listened to Merridew. I would probably want to try to do my own thing and be more independent.
           

Plane Crash Activity

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz:
11/7    pp. 215-223    10 min
11/8    pp. 223-234    15 min

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz:
11/8   pp. 1-11    15 min
11/9   pp. 11-21   10 min
11/12    pp. 21-44    30 min

Lord of the Flies by William Golding:
11/11    pp. 7-32    70 min

Total time: 50 min


            In our class during the plane crash activity, a few people tried to be leaders and tell people what to do. This did not work very well. Nobody really listened to anybody else. There were a lot of side conversations and not many people tried to be organized.
           If this really happened and we acted like we did in class, I think there would be a lot of chaos and argument. Eventually, people would probably split up into their own grouos and go try to survive on theiir own. I don't think we would all be able to work well together as a team.

Free Write

            Right now, our family is in a little dilema. We are thinking about getting a new boat for our fishing camp in Grand Isle. We cannot decide whether to sell our boat that we have now (a 22 foot Grady White that can be used for inshore and offshore fishing) and get a new bay boat, or keep the boat we have now and get a used bay boat.
            The reason we want to get a bay boat for our camp is because although the boat we have now can be used for inshore fishing, a bay boat makes inshore fishing much simpler because it allows you to get in shallower water that the Grady White that we have now. However, a bay boat cannot really ever be used for offshore fishing unless there are virtually no waves at all. We don't know if we are willing to sacrifice that ability to go offshore.
           Our family has owned the Grady White for about 10 years now. I have been on countless fishing trips with my dad and brother on that boat. There are so many memories involved with that boat, like trips where we caught a bunch of fish, or times when one of us has fallen overboard. The sentimental value of this boat to our family is making this desicion very difficult.

Reading Response

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz:
10/30    pp. 136-140    5 min
10/31    pp. 140-149    15 min
11/1     pp. 149-166    25 min
11/2    pp. 166-182    20 min
11/4    pp. 182-215    40 min

"An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
11/1    45 min

Total time: 150 min


            This week, I continued reading Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. It is in the Alex Rider series. I have really liked the book so far. It is basically about a boy whose uncle died on a mission. Alex is now trying to finish the mission that his uncle had started. There is a lot of action in the book. After I finish this one, I am probably going to go on to the next book in the series.
            The book is written in a 3rd peron limited point of view. I like the way the book is written. It is not too difficult of a read but it is not extrememly easy either. It seems like the author is writing the book for boys about my age. I really like the book.

Short Stories

Stormbreaker:
10/22    pp. 78-106    40 min
10/24    pp. 106-111    10 min
10/26    pp. 111-127    20 min
10/28    pp. 121-136    20 min

Short Stories:
10/25    The Sniper    30 min
10/26    The Return    30 min

Total time: 150 min


            The three stories that I read outside of class were "Hills like White Elephants," "The Sniper," and "The Return." I think the two that have the most potential for a strong thesis are "The Sniper" and "The Return." I had some trouble understanding "Hills like White Elephants." I think point of view would be a good aspect to focus on to make a thesis for either one of these two stories.
            In both "The Return" and "The Sniper," I think point of view is the most important aspect. In "The Sniper," the point of view is 3rd person omniscient. If this were a different point of view or if the narrator was limited, the reader might have not known that he had just shot his brother. The story could have been a lot different. In "The Return," I think the point of view is 3rd person limited. It is limited because there was basically no background information given about the main character or the camps that he was returning home from. In both of these stories, point of view was a very important factor.

Reading Times

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz:
10/16    pp.1-5    5 min
10/21    pp.5-78    125 min

10/15    Hills Like White Elephants    20 min

Total Time: 150 min

Reading Times

Short Stories:
10/8    Dry September    45 min
10/9    And of Clay are we Created    45 min
10/10    Harrison Bergeron    20 min
10/12    Waltz of the Fat Man    40 min

Total time: 150 min

Literary Elements in Short Stories

            In the short story "And of Clay are we Created", the literary element that stuck out to me the most was point of view. It was a strange point of view because it changed from first person to third person (omniscient) multiple times throughout the story. At one point in the story, the narrator would be stating her thoughts and where she was and what she was seeing, but then it would change over to where Rolf Carle was and whtat he was thinking about.
            The reason that I think the third person point of view was omniscient was because of the part in the story where Rolf Carle talks about how the girl trapped in the mud reminded him of his bad childhood. He talked about what it made him feel like to see the girl trapped, and there is no way that the narrator (his wife) could have known all of that just by watching him on teh TV screen. I think this point of view worked well in this piece because it let you see what was going on in two characters' minds.

First Qarter Participation Evaluation

            Overall, I think my particapation was pretty good this quarter. I took all the notes that we were supposed to take and made some comments about the short stories when we discussed them in class. I don't remember a time coming to class without something I needed. However, I do feel that i could have improved in some areas. For about a week, I din't have a free reading book. I had finished my last one and just never got around to getting a new one. Also, all my free reading times added up to either the bare minimum, 150 minutes, or only a little bit above that. For the next quarter, I should read more each week and do more than the minimum.
            For the next quarter, I am going to try to do more than the bare minimum in most of the assignments that I will have. I will put more detail in my writing. Also, I need to always remember to study for vocabulary quizzes because I forgot to learn the words a couple of times. I don't want to loose points on small assignments like that. Hopefully, I can do even better in all of these areas next quarter.

Reading Times

Short Stories:
10/2    Da-duh    30 min
10/3    A&P    30 min
10/4    A very Old Man with Enormous Wings    30 min

Hero:
10/2    pp. 237-255   20 min
10/3    pp. 255-270   20 min
10/5    pp. 270-289    20 min

Total Time: 150 min

I am a Writer Who...

            I am a witer who can come up with good ideas and write a paper pretty efficiently. I find that I write the first draft of my papers in a relatively short amount of time. This might not be the best strategy because it leaves little gaps in detail and ends up making my following drafts not as detailed as they should be.
            I should start trying to take my time a little bit more on my papers. Being more careful and putting more detail into my writing would probably help me make a better writer. Hopefully I will remember to do this the next time I write for this class.

Reading Response (Plot Structure)

Hero by Mike Lupica:
9/25    pp. 132-151    15 min
9/26    pp. 151-160    10 min
9/27    pp. 160-202    40 min
9/28    pp. 202-237    35 min

"To Build a Fire" by Jack London
9/27    50 min

Total time: 150 min


            In Hero, I think I am still in the rising action portion of the plot structure. The main character, Zach, has just learned that he is special and has powers. He is trying to figure out how his dad died.I am more than halfway through the book, so I am not sure when I will reach the climax.
            If I were to draw a graph of the plot structure of this book, it would have a short exposition and a long rising action. I find the plot structure of this book to be a little bit strange. I feel like the author isn't getting to the point fast enough.

Good Time of Year

            There are two things that I get excited about when the weather starts to get cooler: football season and duck hunting. Once the temperature starts to get below the 90s, you know the time for these to things is just around the corner. I am even more excited about duck hunting season than usaul because we might be getting a great new lease to hunt on for this year. My dad, little brother, and I may have to build our own blind for the lease. I think that would be very fun.
            I have been duck hunting with my dad since I was a little kid. It is my favorite thing to do with him. He gave me my first shotgun when I was six, and I shot my first duck when I was seven. Duck hunting got even more fun when my brother got old enough to come with us. In the duck blind, it feels like you have no other worries at all and you can just forget about everything for a while. It is such a great activity to do with your family in my opinion, and the duck meat tastes great, too.

Readiing Response

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow:
9/19    pp. 253-257    5 min

Hero by Mike Lupica
9/20    pp. 1-55    60 min
9/21    pp. 55-109    55 min
9/23    pp. 109-132    25 min

Worked on literacy narrative for 15 minutes outside of class

Total Time: 160 min


            The new book that I am reading is Hero by Mike Lupica. It is an easy and interesting read about a boy named Zach whose father dies in a plane crash on a mission for the president. Zach is trying to find out more about is dad's mission and exactly how the plane crashed. The author uses a simple style in the book and it is easy to understand.
            I read this book because someone recommended it to me and it sounded interesting. I also didn't feel like starting a long and complex book so I chose a pretty short and simple one. I really like this book so far and I am glad I chose to read it.

Literacy Narrative

            I am writing my literacy narrative on a book I read last year, Coming Back Stronger by Drew Brees. I am going to write about my experience reading this book because it is a book that I can relate to personally. I can relate to it because I was born in New Orleans and moved to Baton Rouge because Hurricane Katrina flooded our house in New Orleans, and this is the period of time that this book takes place. Brees talks about Katrina and how it affected the city so much. I have also always been a big Saints fan, and Brees has always been my favorite player in the league.
            I am not really sure exactly how I am going to organize it yet. I also think it might be difficult to make it two full pages, but I think I will be able to. Once I start the paper, I will probably be able to keep expanding on specific points and make a god paper out of it.

Reading Response

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow

9/10    pp.196-209    25 min
9/11    pp. 209-213    10 min
9/12    pp. 213-2226   35 min
9/13    pp. 226-238    30 min
9/16    pp. 238-253    30 min

Norton literacy narritives

9/10   20 min

Total Time: 150 minutes


            I am pretty much finished with the book now except for the epilogue. This past week, I have read about Tebow going into the NFL and being selected by the Denver Broncos. He only started a few of the games he played. This is understandable because it was his first year. Tebow talked about how different playing in the NFL was than playing in college games. I thought it was funny that he said that his first year as a Bronco was his first time to ever play on a team with a loosing record in a season. This shows how much of a winner he has always been.
            I got this book expecting it to be basically all about football, but it definitely was not. I thought Tebow balanced the book very well with content about interesting things about him and his life story as well as his football career. I liked the style of his writing and how it felt like he was having a conversation with the reader rather than just writing. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys football or wants to know more about Tim Tebow.

Response Post

           Most comments I have received from other students have been agreeing with my post. This helps me see that I am not the only one who thinks like I do. I am glad that many other students agree with my ideas and posts.
          I agree with Dr. D that I should be expanding more in my posts and adding more detail. This means that I have to start thinking more deeply about my posts and putting more detailed thoughts into them. I think these will make my posts more interesting and will be more well written.

3rd Reading Response

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow
9/5    pp. 109-116    10 min
9/6    pp. 116-127    20 min
9/9    p. 127-196    120 min
Total: 150 min

            This book has gotten much better throughout the time that I have continued reading. In the part that I am currently in, it is Tebow's sophomore season, his first starting season as a Gator. He explains every game in great detail in terms of scoring, specific plays, and certain favorite moments of his. This kind of detail makes it fun to read for me because I almost feel like I am watching the game on television or listening to it on the radio.
            Prior to reading this book, I was not a big Tebow fan. I didn't dislike him, but didn't like him in particular, either. As I have read this book, I have found out what kind of person Tebow really is, not just on the foobtall field, but in everyday life. He often explains how he puts all of his effort into everything he does. This book is turning out to be a great book for me and has changed the way I look at Tim Tebow.

Week Off

            The first day of our week off of school, I was throwing a ball in my backyard with some friends. There is a wall of windows looking into the backyard from my house, so my dad said, "you can throw the ball, just don't throw it toward the windows." "Okay," we said. We didn't throw it toward the windows for a while, until I forgot about what my dad had said and hummed the ball at my friend standing by the window.
            Right when I let go, I realized I shouldn't have done it. I watched the ball sail at the windows, praying they wouldn't shatter. Just as the ball was about to hit the window, I closed my eyes and hoped it would be okay. To my relief and surprise, the window stayed intact. It would have been a bad time to break a window, right before a hurricane hit.

2nd Reading Response

8/30 - pp. 66-77 - 30 minutes        
9/2 - pp. 77-91 - 60 minutes
9/3 - pp. 91-109 - 60 minutes


            In the book that I am reading, Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow, I am starting to find out more about him personally and what he is like. As he explains his thoughts and the way he looks at things throughout the book, I understand him and his life more and more. His story is getting better as I get farther into the book. The most interesting part so far was him explaining how hard it was to choose between going to Florida or Alabama to play football. He explained his emotions in a lot of detail.

            I am still suprised at how little dialogue he uses in the book. I think it would make it more interesting to read than just paragraph after paragraph of just words of thought and no communication. Other than that, I think it is a great book.

                                     

In Defense of School Uniforms

            A lot of students think that we should not have to wear school uniforms and want to be able to choose what they wear to school every day. I personally think that having school uniforms is better. One reason is that it makes your school look nice by having all the students wearing clothes that represent the school. If everybody wore random and different clothes, it would not look as organized and neat.
            Another reason that having a designated thing to wear for school is that it saves time in the moring before school. If you could wear whatever you wanted, you would have to take time in the morning choosing what to wear. With uniforms, you know exactly what you have to wear and you don't need to take any time choosing. The uniforms are just right there ready to go. School uniforms are a good thing to have.

Reading Response

8/17 - pp. x-15 - 45 minutes
8/19 - pp. 15-23 - 15 minutes
8/20 - pp. 23-39 - 40 minutes
8/20 - pp. 39-43 - 10 minutes
8/21 - pp. 43-51 - 15 minutes
8/24 - pp. 51-62 - 25 minutes
8/27 - pp. 62-66 - 10 minutes          


            I am currently reading Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow. Where I am in the book, he is talking about what he did when he was a kid. One of the things I have noticed about his writing style is that he doen't use quotes a lot, but instead he tells the reader what was going on in his head. I find that this can make the book a little less interesting to read because if you here the same kind of thing over and over again, it can get a little boring. Even though he does this, it is still pretty interesting to find out more about Tim Tebow and his childhood.                                                                        
            One of the things I like about this book is that he goes into very deep detail while telling his stories. He goes through the story of his life telling the little and big things that happened to him. This allows the reader to get a really good feel of how he looks at things and how he lives. Over all, I have enjoyed the book so far.

In Defense of Food

            I thought In Defense of Food had some important and interesting information in it. I was suprised at how much of the food we buy today at the store is barely even food anymore. I didn't realize how many un-natural ingredients were in the common food items that everyone buys in the supermarket. Now that we have gotten into the so-called Western Diet, it will be difficult to try to go to eating the natural and real foods that people ate before they tried to make everything so healthy by putting so many extra things in them.
           Though I did like the points that the book made, they could have been made in a shorter amount of time. It seemed like the author was very repetitive and stayed on the same point for a long time, when you already understood it the first time he explained it. It was a difficult and slow book to read, but it did have very interesting parts in it. Some parts of the book were much more interesting than others. Over all, I thought the book was slow, but it was important to read.

Free Post

            In english this year, I hope to improve in reading and writing. I would like to read some interesting books this year and become a better reader. I also hope we do some writing and learn how to become a better writer than I am now. I hope I learn lots of new things.
            Hopefully I learn about things that I never knew about in this class. I hope what I learn will be useful to me and also hope that it will be a fun class. I think it will be a good year with lots of learning and interesting things.