Do you find the story primarily humorous or sad? Which does García Márquez seem to intend the story to be? Why?
I believe Márquez wrote the story to express her main theme of mankind's greediness. The best way to convey this message for Marquez was to write a sad story. Márquez's sad writing style makes the reader pity the angel who was being poked and prodded by the crowd for their amusement. This "fallen angel" indirectly brought Pelayo and Elisenda property and wealth with the tickets sold to view the angel. Yet, when Elisenda is watching the rejuvenated angel fly away, she feels happy that "there was no longer an annoyance in her life." Her ungratefulness and selfishness were best translated through Márquez's sad and meloncholy story.
Chapter One O
Chapter 10 shows the communities version of a public trial. This public trail regards a family matter where the wife is beaten by the husband, and runs off to her three brothers. There are nine villagers in the egwugwu, the group deciding the fate of the trial. The women and children fear that one of these villagers is Okonkwo because of the noticeable springy step and the fact that he is not sitting among the elders.
In this specific case, why do the women fear that Okonkwo is amoung the egwugwu?
Near the end, an elderly man criticizes the egwugwu for even hearing such an insignificant dispute.
With the ruling of the trial, how are woman treated in the village?
In this specific case, why do the women fear that Okonkwo is amoung the egwugwu?
Near the end, an elderly man criticizes the egwugwu for even hearing such an insignificant dispute.
With the ruling of the trial, how are woman treated in the village?
One Day in the Life of Johnny (two shoes) Grant
The door slams, and John raises his eyelids. With everything still blurry, John has to squint to see the time on his cell phone. 6:54. ‘How could this be?’ he thought. He sluggishly checks the 6:30 alarm on his phone, and the alarm has already been “dismissed” this morning. He shifts his entire body around on the bed and plops his feet of the floor. He stands up and the sheets, covered in dog hair, fall to the floor. John stretches, first flexing his leg muscles while on his tippy toes. Then his arms reach for the sky as he lets out a deep grown. SLAM! ..John’s left arm still hasn’t learned about the new positioning of his bed in relation to the ceiling fan. Without making a peep, he clinches his teeth, and drunkenly stumbles to the shower. “Johnny!! It is 7:15,” his mom yells. From the bathroom Johnny groans back, “I’m up.” But actually, It sounded like gibberish. Even with his wrist throbbing and hot water running down his back, John drops in and out of sleep leaning against the shower wall. He dries off, dresses himself, and peeks a look at the clock. It is now 7:15. He had fallen for his mother’s trick yet again.
After packing his book bag, John looks for his three non-losable items: keys, wallet, and cell phone. Just like every morning it takes him five minutes to remember they were all still in his shorts from yesterday. As John is walking to the car, his mother hands him his road breakfast, a waffle and peanut butter sandwich. She then says, “have a good day at school sweetie,” while tapping his butt out of the door. He arrives at school. In a non-stop flight pattern, John, walking the entire time, goes to the student center and buys chocolate milk. He then proceeds to his first class all the way in the Hormel Art center. He enters class with heavy bags under his eyes and an empty bottle of chocolate milk in his open hand. The bell rings unnecessarily loud and John finds the perfect seat, closest to the door. He then realized he forgot to bring his soccer equipment with him, and must go back home later during a free that day. Johns classes could not have moved slower through the day, but his AP Statistics test, which he was up late the past night studying for, proved this wrong, and was even slower.
Soccer practice that afternoon could not have come later. He has eagerly waited since lunch break. John and some players walk down to the soccer fields in the blazing sun. Cottonmouth as already begun to set in of Johnny, and a splash of cold water is greatly anticipated. The stream of water swishes around in his mouth, until Johnny realizes the water is luke warm with particles in it. Then the liquid (notice it is not called water anymore) is projected from his mouth and falls to the yellow and unevenly trimmed grass. Gross. The bottle, along with the water inside it, has sat in the training room over the long weekend. Disappointed, Johnny grabs another bottle and fills it with the fresh, chilled water. Practice only had few road bumps, and the team was surprisingly focused because of important matches the next couple of days.
Johnny drove home after practice. He noticed a note on the kitchen door in his moms had writing that reads, “At Or’ Adam. There are Rubio tacos in the fridge. XOXOXO <3 Mom and Dad.” Awesome, he thought. John grabbed his favorite drink, an Arnold Palmer, and ate his cold tacos in front of the Monday Night Football game. Like most nights Johnny procrastinates in his room for an hour or so and begins his homework around 11 o’clock. He completes each assignment one by one. After two and a half hours of intensive studying, John Buckner dozes off in bed. But of course after he has to move the growling dog that has already claimed prime positioning on the mattress, smack in the center.
After packing his book bag, John looks for his three non-losable items: keys, wallet, and cell phone. Just like every morning it takes him five minutes to remember they were all still in his shorts from yesterday. As John is walking to the car, his mother hands him his road breakfast, a waffle and peanut butter sandwich. She then says, “have a good day at school sweetie,” while tapping his butt out of the door. He arrives at school. In a non-stop flight pattern, John, walking the entire time, goes to the student center and buys chocolate milk. He then proceeds to his first class all the way in the Hormel Art center. He enters class with heavy bags under his eyes and an empty bottle of chocolate milk in his open hand. The bell rings unnecessarily loud and John finds the perfect seat, closest to the door. He then realized he forgot to bring his soccer equipment with him, and must go back home later during a free that day. Johns classes could not have moved slower through the day, but his AP Statistics test, which he was up late the past night studying for, proved this wrong, and was even slower.
Soccer practice that afternoon could not have come later. He has eagerly waited since lunch break. John and some players walk down to the soccer fields in the blazing sun. Cottonmouth as already begun to set in of Johnny, and a splash of cold water is greatly anticipated. The stream of water swishes around in his mouth, until Johnny realizes the water is luke warm with particles in it. Then the liquid (notice it is not called water anymore) is projected from his mouth and falls to the yellow and unevenly trimmed grass. Gross. The bottle, along with the water inside it, has sat in the training room over the long weekend. Disappointed, Johnny grabs another bottle and fills it with the fresh, chilled water. Practice only had few road bumps, and the team was surprisingly focused because of important matches the next couple of days.
Johnny drove home after practice. He noticed a note on the kitchen door in his moms had writing that reads, “At Or’ Adam. There are Rubio tacos in the fridge. XOXOXO <3 Mom and Dad.” Awesome, he thought. John grabbed his favorite drink, an Arnold Palmer, and ate his cold tacos in front of the Monday Night Football game. Like most nights Johnny procrastinates in his room for an hour or so and begins his homework around 11 o’clock. He completes each assignment one by one. After two and a half hours of intensive studying, John Buckner dozes off in bed. But of course after he has to move the growling dog that has already claimed prime positioning on the mattress, smack in the center.
I Want Radio-active Blood!
Jim Hall’s Spiderman poem distinguishes itself from the other poems I have become familiar with. Of course, one of these distinguishable qualities is the character Spiderman’s lisp, which makes reading the poem aloud very entertaining. But more importantly, the Spiderman poem has a deeper meaning that is unrelated to its comedy side. Jim Hall connects to the wide audience who wish to re-invent themselves or tweak certain aspects of their lives, such as a particular job. This poem helps individuals reflect upon themselves, analyzing strengths and flaws.
In “Maybe Dats Your Pwoblem,” even Spiderman wishes to re-invent himself and “buin” his suit. Having a superhero as the flawed narrator is extremely effective for Hall. Superheroes have had the connotation of being flawless, and the fact that Spiderman wishes to start over is surprising and ironic. One would expect a superhero to be living the good life, and having fun. But instead, Spiderman finds his job/responsibility dull and repetitive. Apparently for Spiderman, swinging from one skyscraper to another does not make his heart beat “at a difwent wate,” but racing cars does. Since Spiderman can’t burn his suit, and neither can anyone else, I would love to trade with him, as it has been most boys’ dream to become a superhero. Spiderman in the poem perfectly exemplifies a man struggling with the responsibilities he has been forced to live an entire lifetime with.
I, myself, have had this same opportunity of self-examination. As arrogant as it may sound, I found it very difficult to find even one minor flaw. Truly, It is a positive sign that I was unable to choose a single characteristic that I would change about myself. Maybe some people are lucky, or maybe some people have already learned to love what they do. However, with the plethora of opportunities that my parents and PCDS have made available, I feel I have been able to do what I love. And for this, I am very blessed.
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Throughout analyzing this poem, I decided that this is my favorite poem of all time, so far. I am really glad we were able to read this and expand on it.
In “Maybe Dats Your Pwoblem,” even Spiderman wishes to re-invent himself and “buin” his suit. Having a superhero as the flawed narrator is extremely effective for Hall. Superheroes have had the connotation of being flawless, and the fact that Spiderman wishes to start over is surprising and ironic. One would expect a superhero to be living the good life, and having fun. But instead, Spiderman finds his job/responsibility dull and repetitive. Apparently for Spiderman, swinging from one skyscraper to another does not make his heart beat “at a difwent wate,” but racing cars does. Since Spiderman can’t burn his suit, and neither can anyone else, I would love to trade with him, as it has been most boys’ dream to become a superhero. Spiderman in the poem perfectly exemplifies a man struggling with the responsibilities he has been forced to live an entire lifetime with.
I, myself, have had this same opportunity of self-examination. As arrogant as it may sound, I found it very difficult to find even one minor flaw. Truly, It is a positive sign that I was unable to choose a single characteristic that I would change about myself. Maybe some people are lucky, or maybe some people have already learned to love what they do. However, with the plethora of opportunities that my parents and PCDS have made available, I feel I have been able to do what I love. And for this, I am very blessed.
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Throughout analyzing this poem, I decided that this is my favorite poem of all time, so far. I am really glad we were able to read this and expand on it.
LAW. and order
Antigone- by Sophocles (442 B.C.)
Dictionary.com defines law as, “the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people.” This is different to what dictionary.com defines natural law as, “a principle or body of laws considered as derived from nature, right, or reason.” To me laws help define and outline between what is right and what is wrong (legal vs. illegal). In Antigone, we come across a dispute over such laws.
Two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other while fighting on opposite sides during the Thebes civil war. Creon, King of Thebes and uncle of Eteocles and Polyneices, orders Eteocles body a proper burial and Polyneices body be left untouched on the battlefield to be eaten by the carrion animals, the worst punishment at the time. Antigone, the sister of both E and P, wants to give Polyneices body a proper burial, which is against Creon’s ruling. Antigone is caught and later kills herself (as do Eurydice and Haemon) before Creon could take back his mistake.
This clash of values between Creon and Antigone are important to the play. Creon is strict in following the state laws. He demands his people obey the law, right or wrong. He says, “there is nothing worse than disobedience to authority.” On the other hand, Antigone believes in the higher law of the gods and natural law. She fells that the state laws can and need to be broken in an extreme case. In her situation Antigone’s case is about honoring the gods, whose rules certainly outweigh those of Creon’s. The moment of recognition for Creon comes when the blind prophet, Tiresias, informs him that the Gods side with Antigone. Creon realizes his mistake to place the law of the state above the law of the gods far too late, and three people have already killed themselves. But like in most tragedies, knowledge and wisdom are gained for some future happenings.
Antigone was right, and she fought for what she believed in as morally and logically correct. It was Antigone’s defiance and stubbornness that made this story, where natural law is above state law.(381)
Dictionary.com defines law as, “the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people.” This is different to what dictionary.com defines natural law as, “a principle or body of laws considered as derived from nature, right, or reason.” To me laws help define and outline between what is right and what is wrong (legal vs. illegal). In Antigone, we come across a dispute over such laws.
Two brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, kill each other while fighting on opposite sides during the Thebes civil war. Creon, King of Thebes and uncle of Eteocles and Polyneices, orders Eteocles body a proper burial and Polyneices body be left untouched on the battlefield to be eaten by the carrion animals, the worst punishment at the time. Antigone, the sister of both E and P, wants to give Polyneices body a proper burial, which is against Creon’s ruling. Antigone is caught and later kills herself (as do Eurydice and Haemon) before Creon could take back his mistake.
This clash of values between Creon and Antigone are important to the play. Creon is strict in following the state laws. He demands his people obey the law, right or wrong. He says, “there is nothing worse than disobedience to authority.” On the other hand, Antigone believes in the higher law of the gods and natural law. She fells that the state laws can and need to be broken in an extreme case. In her situation Antigone’s case is about honoring the gods, whose rules certainly outweigh those of Creon’s. The moment of recognition for Creon comes when the blind prophet, Tiresias, informs him that the Gods side with Antigone. Creon realizes his mistake to place the law of the state above the law of the gods far too late, and three people have already killed themselves. But like in most tragedies, knowledge and wisdom are gained for some future happenings.
Antigone was right, and she fought for what she believed in as morally and logically correct. It was Antigone’s defiance and stubbornness that made this story, where natural law is above state law.(381)
And now..the starting line..for Matt's BOOOOOOOKS.
1. With Rancor and Compassion by Martin Selling- My grandfather's book. I have not read the whole book yet simply because I don’t believe I am mature enough to embrace it, but I have read parts. I plan on reading it after graduation this year. The parts I read were jaw dropping and I wish I could have been much closer to my grandfather.
2. Animal Farm by George Orwell- this is my ideal book; fun, interesting underlying meaning, and short.
3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding- just loved the plot and adventures
4. Holes by Louis Sachar- Really fun, I even decided to read the book after I saw the movie, which is rare for me.
5. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card- I read this after my brother said he loved it, and I had the same reaction he did.
6. Harry Potter (#1) by J.K. Rowling- exciting and gripping fiction, I think every teen loved this.
7. Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger- I wish I played Texas football.
8. Steel Wave by Jeff Sharra- I learned the most from this book for my ID paper. World War II has been a fascination of mine ever since.
9. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes- Just a sweet book that captured my heart.
10. The Greatest- Muhammed Ali by Walter Dean Myers- I already knew of Ali’s greatness in the ring, but I learned of his greatest outside the ring.
11. Hatchet by Greg Paulson- Today, I am very interested in survival in the wild, and this book is the reason for that interest.
Everyone could use a miracle or 6
My summer was filled with family vacations, college visits, and basketball camps. During the travel time and usually before sleeping, I choose to read Leif Enger’s novel, Peace Like a River.
Peace Like a River is about the Land family’s journey across the northern United States. Reuben Land, also the narrator, and his family are searching for his older brother Davy, who was being delivered to a state jail after killing two intruders in the Land’s home. The Land’s journey is filled with unexpected events and happenings.
Leif Enger included many religious connections throughout her novel. This common theme was most present in the father of Reuben Land, Jeremiah, who was apparently given the ability to perform miracles, which he does many times. The most detailed of these miracles was the birth of Reuben in the first ten pages. Rueben’s lungs had failed to work for over twelve minutes before Jeremiah revived him by saying, “Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe.”
This wasn’t the only time in the novel that Jeremiah saved Reuben’s life. After being shot with a fatal wound to the chest, Reuben lays over his father’s body, who had also been shot, but not fatally. It is then that Reuben visits heaven, or described as the “other country,” which is peaceful and beautiful. He then awakens next to his dead father, and realizes his father, Jeremiah, had sacrificed his own life to save him. Reuben is ever so grateful to his father for that very last miracle.
These miracles were definitely dramatic, but in my eyes, were a little over the top, and not to mention predictable. Most of the obstacles that the Land’s faced ended up with Jeremiah using his divine power. Early in the book, I believe Enger wrote a message through Reuben, the narrator, directed to readers like me who are bothered by Jeremiah’s miracle working. Reuben said, “Real miracles bother people. Lazarus obeying orders and climbing up out of the grave -- now there's a miracle, and you can bet it upset a lot of folks who were standing around at the time.” To counter this and defend Enger’s work, Reuben said, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed -- though ignoring them will change you also.”
As a whole, the book was quite good. The characters were entertaining and sometimes witty. My favorite was Swede, the nine-year old sister, who was very intelligent. In fact she had written and epic poem series with the hero, Sunny Sundown, and the villain, Valdez. I loved how unique the events that the family went through were, just sometimes not how the events unfolded. Despite a few disagreements between the book and my liking, I am willing to read another Leif Enger novel, and hopefully connect the two by finding common themes. (483)
(Phew, first of many blog posts)
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