Troy


 * Quater 2**

Point of view

In //The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,// is first person limited. Since it's first person narrating, the story is written in nostalgia format, which telling the personal story in the past. This makes it more realistic to the reader by knowing the internal conflict and the external conflict between the characters. For example, reader can see the internal conflict in the narrator that he loves Sheila however he is getting mixed signal from her. He couldn't be sure either she loves him back or not. Also, for external conflict, we see that there are a lot, between the narrator and Sheila. One of the example is when the narrator was rowing the canoe he saw another rod, however Sheila wasn't even looking and she let him row the entire way. In this example, we feel the narrator getting little unhappy about her ignorance and the resentment between him and Sheila. In addition, the reader can figure out the dramatic irony in plot and the characters' personalities, which Sheila is self centered and the narrator is caring. Thus, the first person limited could help the reader to understand better on different conflicts (external and internal), dramatic irony, and characters.

Reason: I chose this paragraph, because it is the best paragraph I have written among of all the writings.

Of Mice and Man (Character)

In the story "Of Mice and Man," the characters are clearly shown. John Steinbeck used indirect and direct characterization to show the audience of each characters in the story. At the beginning of the book, he describes Lennie and George, who are the protagonists, by using direct characterization. For example, John describes George as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hand, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.” (pg. 2) Also for Lennie, he is “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws.” (pg. 2) By the vivid descriptions of the physical appearance and features, we understand how the characters appear in the story as well by looking at the description. For indirect characterization, John has shown clearly of their character through quotes. It describes the voice and the relationships among the characters. For example, we can figure out who Lennie is by seeing how he forgets things and speak unintelligently. Also for George, he is kind and caring to Lennie however sometimes get easily fierce. “ ‘Well, we ain’t got any.’ George exploded. ‘Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty it I was alone I could live so easy.’” John Steinbeck did well showing the characters through indirect and direct characterization with vivid description through quote.

Comments: Troy, your paragraph is really organised. But there are some grammar mistakes in the paragraph. And some sentences are a bit confusing--- the meaning is unclear.

 Connie

= __Research questions__ = Hi Troy :) So, I didn't get to have a conference with you about your research project, but I will attempt to make some comments to further strengthen your investigation! Feel free to ask me about the comments, and to talk to me if you feel like I've misunderstood your purpose and we could work on your ideas! /Jenna

- How many hours of sleep do you get per day? Good, quantitative data - perhaps doing a likert scale would be appropriate? - Are you stressed out about homework and test? To further specify this you could ask them about HOW stressed they feel, for example ranking it in a scale. - Feel like spending too much time on homework? To make this more formal, you should add "Do you feel like you spend too much time doing homework?" or perhaps, "Is homework too timeconsuming for you?" - Feel like everyday is exactly the same? This made me smile! Very philosophical Troy! I'm sure the participants will be taken by surprise. I'm not positive about your intention, but you are perhaps intending to investigate the level of satisfaction students feel towards the balance of fun and academics? It's a deep question, but specify it to make it more in context!

I would like to investigate "Are high school students stressed out about homework and test?" Good question! Perhaps specifying it would make it better for your research, I see that you have a heavy focus on homework (links below and questions above and below). I think you should omit the test part and just investigate whether or not high school students are stressed about homework. It is essential to consider the nature of the course that the participant takes, but I think doing an overall view would not be too out of line. It is excellent that you have specified it to highschool students in your research question, it may seem obvious, but it is necessary!

Link1: http://www.greatschools.org/students/homework-help/homework-is-too-much.gs?content=251

Link 2: http://articles.cnn.com/2000-12-29/health/homework.stress_1_homework-family-stress-family-life?_s=PM:HEALTH

From these sources, I learned how teenagers are stressed about tremendous school work that they get from school and pressurized to finish them all. Sacrificing their health and straining themselves on homework and grades is not healthy. It sure is not! But consider the counterclaims - is pressure necessary for students to grow and develop? Do they need to re-prioritize and adapt to the adult world from middle school? I myself find homework excessively stressful, nevertheless you must try to discuss the matter from both sides. Has the amount of homework become TOO MUCH that it is not nurturing and more detrimental than helpful? Then you must recognize that homework to some extent is considered helpful. Otherwise, good feedback on your sources even if it should be further expanded. You could call your links "Preliminary Bibliography".

I want to find out __how much homework is too much for the students.__ PERFECT! As you see in what I mentioned above it is not about whether or not to have homework, it is about whether or not the amount of it has become exaggerated = more detrimental than nurturing. You will "prove" your point using your data that you gather.

__Survey questions__

- How many hours of homework do you spend per day? Consider slight rewording: "How many hours do you spend on homework everyday?" - How many hours of doing homework fluctuates everyday? Are you investigating how amount of homework differs everyday? Be more clear and specific in your question even if fluctuates is a nice word :)

Overall I think your project is heading towards the right direction! You appear to have a rather developed idea behind your research. KEEP IT UP! :)

=**Quater 4**=

__**Table of content**__

- English speech - Reflection on speech - Analytical writing example - 4th quater goals


 * __English speech__**


 * __Adolf Hitler once said, “What luck for rulers that men do not think.”__**


 * //What do you think?//**
 * //You are not thinking right now, you are just waiting for me to tell you what I think! Lack of individual thought may make it easy to control the masses, and leaders get to keep the position and rule how they want it, however it doesn't make a good society.//**
 * //You are not thinking right now, you are just waiting for me to tell you what I think! Lack of individual thought may make it easy to control the masses, and leaders get to keep the position and rule how they want it, however it doesn't make a good society.//**
 * //You are not thinking right now, you are just waiting for me to tell you what I think! Lack of individual thought may make it easy to control the masses, and leaders get to keep the position and rule how they want it, however it doesn't make a good society.//**

Adolf Hitler stated that "What luck for rulers that men do not think." This means that the **people who don't know enough to question the decisions of their rulers are easy to control.** I agree with Hitler that people in general do not think for themselves, and expecting their leader to think.

__See you are doing it again..... you are waiting for me to tell you what I think.__ Listen......

The Adolf's statement is only selfish, order to keep the position as referring the situation as "lucky." However the Hitler might keep his position, the society won't last harmoniously.

Furthermore Society in North Korea supports the statement made by Adolf Hitler.

In past, societies which had lack of thoughts and incentive aren't doing well in society today. For example, North Koreans are very insuffient on thoughts and incentive for their country and for themselves.
 * The people who are not thinking ahead or lack of incentives are encouraging the idea that people who should follow the ruler's order without any thoughts.**

Therefore, since no one in the country like to think and get motivated, Kim Geong Ill is still the ruler in North Korea. As like North Korea,those people who always follow the government's rules,, will always be stuck under the government's rules, unintelligently without any protests which for governments it's easy and very lucky to have men who do not think about different rules or changes.

The lack of thoughts and incentive applies in Animal Farm as well. Boxer and sheep don't protest in any of the pigs' command. Lack of thinking and incentive,... led the pigs to rule for a long time without any protests which was also lucky for them to keep their position. Boxer and the sheep are the characters who "mainly" don't think much and follow the pig's order.

Boxer works most faithfully without any complains and the sheep do whatever the pigs would tell them to do. The rulers are lucky that the men don't often think, so it's unnessary tohold accountable for their decisions. Adolf

Hitler's statement still holds true today, I am sorry to say. Obama, as the president of the United States of America, gives out effective speeches to American people about "changes." However, many people listen to "talking heads" on TV and don't think for themselves, they dislike anything Obama has done and just accept wildly inaccurate criticism as fact- just because they heard it on radio or TV. Just following along believing, change means something because they are not intelligent enough to abosorb the Obama's idea.

Obama is an intelligent president and the society would be better if more people actually listen and think what the president wants to do, fully. Are you thinking? I'm not going to tell you what to think anymore,Well... By now, after all the examples I have explained, it should be clear as to why the Adolf's statement is selfish and does no good to society.

Reflection
One of the famous Adolf Hitler's quotes, “What luck for rulers that men do not think.”  Since Hitler was arguably one of the most loved and hated men of his time, I thought it would be interesting for the audience to know more about the quote. I mentioned few examples of similar situation that people don't think when a men is talking. I came up with three good examples such as Communism in North Korea, Animal farm: relationship between pigs and the animals, and Obama and the citizens. I thought the examples were valid to the audience, when I explained why these examples are related to the quote. Also, I inserted few humors that are related to my topic such as "**Are you thinking? I'm not going to tell you what to think anymore".... (not completed... wait)**


 * Analysis**

= = Farmgirl Marries analysis

The poem, "Farmgirl Marries" is a well written lyrical ode at its best. It tells the true feeling about love relationship between two different ethnicity. Overall, the tone of this poem is ironic or comical- since the author juxtaposes the "news headlines" with a tragic story. The poem explores the theme that no matter how ethnicity would differ, love can be made. A part of the poem that emphasizes this is "PARENTS DISAPPROVE (stanza 2).... SUSIE TO MARRY IN DECEMBER (stanza 4) DETERMINED COUPLE THWART MOTHER'S PLAN (stanza 6) FARMGIRL MARRIES CHINAMAN. (stanza 6)" The meaning behind that is the girl, Susie, was deeply in love with Danny (Chinaman), therefore no matter how her parents are disapproving the marriage, she marries him at the end. The poem contains six five-line stanzas and it's written, using a style of newspaper headlines. It addresses to the reader that headlines are always significant. It has a strong use of imagery and the realistic creation of a situation in the reader’s head which strongly depended on the personal attitude of the protagonist. In conclusion, I think this poem conveys a belief of sincere love and it's sincereness. The structure is plain but well-turned and the metaphors are used appropriately, and it deepens the meaning of love and beautifies the poem.


 * 4th quater goal**

- **Listening:** I will listen more careful to the direction. - **Writing:** I will have better organization and deeper thinking before I write.
 * - Reading:** I will improve on my critical thinking and gain higher reading level
 * - Speaking:** I will speak more formally, reducing use of slang words.


 * Book review**


 * __The Catcher in the Rye__**

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger is a great novel that explores variety of themes that are commonly felt by teenagers. Through out the book, there is an idea which Salinger is trying to communicate with the reader that children start to lose their innocence as they mature, and the narrator Holden, is trying to protect them from maturity. Holden Caulfield is the main character in the novel. He often likes to judge his surroundings by what he sees. He believes that there are enormous corruptions and harms in society. He knows that the children of the world are ruined by the corruption of adults around them. As an example, Holden wants his sister, Phoebe to be protected from the corruptions. He gives a red hunting cap that he used to wear to his sister. This symbolizes sort of security. Because it can be pulled over your ears, and protected from the rest of the world. I personally think that Holden has a wrong idea of maturing. It’s ambivalent that he has a right idea however in an awry way. The reason for that is even though Holden has the right ideas and judgments about the world, he still feels all-alone in a strange world because he wants to be “the catcher in the rye.” I believe that he is definitely a very unique narrator. He is most contradictive guy I ever seen. If he ever attended my school, then I would recommend him a council.

__**The Whale Talk**__

In Whale Talk, Chris Crutcher did a great job capturing the teens’ spirits and emotions through out the novel. He describes different emotions that occurs in high school age such as racial tension, fear, cursing, anger and other emotions that happens during high school. Whale Talk is narrated by T.J. T.J is the protagonist in this novel. He is an Asian-African-European-American racially mixed teenager who lives in Cutter, Washington. He plays for Cutter swim team and he faces few obstacles such as battle with a football star, or have a gun pulled on them by an alumni everyday. Personally, from my point of view, Chris Crutcher didn’t balance out the story with more realistic example such as forgot to prepare for test or unprepared for a class. This would have made the novel much more exciting and more realistic to the reader. Another problem I had with the novel is lack of suspense. Most of the events abruptly happens, such as in the climax for the story, when the gun shots were shot which readers weren’t expecting. This has lessened the drama that could have been better when it was expected. However aside from that, it was well written novel with believable characters with inspiring themes, which are overcoming obstacles and humanity.

__**The Chocolate War**__ __The Chocolate War__ by Robert Cormier, is a novel that shows how peer pressure is a big factor in high school and how it makes decisions and put people in situation that they do not want to be in. Robert uses a teenage boy name, Jerry Renault, as the protagonist. He goes to Trinity High School as a freshman and there is a gang in his school which he feels like they are in control of his life over him. “The Vigil,” the school gang, they force Jerry to sell the chocolates for 10 days. At first, Jerry follows their order. However he starts to feel control over his life so he refuses to sell. This is courageous reaction from Jerry, because his mother died recently of cancer and he felt he had absolutely no power over his life. Therefore from it, he becomes the school hero for being a man or boy admired for his bravery and eluded himself from peer pressure. For example, on the first day of the chocolate sales, when Brother Leon called out each boys name and were to say yes or no. “Yes” as they would see the chocolate and “no” meaning they wouldn’t. Every boy said, “yes” except for Jerry. He firmly kept his answer as “No” without any hesitation. With Jerry’s continuous refusal of the Vigil’s assignment, he eventually becomes the outcast. However, it got worse he becomes the victim in the school, meaning a person who get injured or destroyed. At the end of the novel, he get lured into a evil raffle where he get punched by guys and Jerry wasn’t allowed to block any of the punches. However, he realize that the sacrifice was worth it, thinking that he didn’t take the peer pressure and he gained a control over his life. There are many obstacles order to be an individual. If you are looking for less severe obstacles, more preparation would be needed. Peer pressure is everywhere and order to prevent from getting involved is to not worry about what other people think about them and Robert Cormier did a great job vividly presenting the situations through out the novel.

__The Outsiders__ By S.E. Hinton Troy Kim

“The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton is a novel based on two juvenile gangs who are divided by economical and social reason, as the lower East side Greaers and the upper West side Socs. It is a short novel, however it has great adventures and vivid plot. The protagonist is Ponyboy who is a young fourteen year-old boy, who isn’t mature enough to figure out things in his life. Ponyboy is on the “Greaser” side and he gets into a few troubles. For example, he has two brothers; Sodapop and Darry, also Johnny and Dallas as an extended family. They save Ponyboy often from the trouble. For example, when couple of Socs tried to drown Ponyboy. Johnny quickly stabs the Soc and save him from the drown. Even though Ponyboy seems immature, he is the most likable character in the novel. I believe that most young people can create relation between them and Ponyboy. Also, since the character is well developed, it gives us vivid image of them as real people, which made the book much more interesting. However, my least favorite thing about this book is that if Ponyboy and Cherry actually went out, it would of developed the characters much more realistic than it is. I believe “The Outsiders” is a novel that is relevant to today’s societal violence. It deals with gang warfare, alcohol, drugs, child abuse, murder, survival and growing up. The novel develops the theme which the reader realize that many teenagers have no choice in their given lifestyle. I would strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy reading descriptive story on adolescent behavior.

__I Am the Cheese__ __By Robert Cormier__ Troy Kim “I Am the Cheese” by Robert Cormier is a great novel that explores a few significant themes. One of the themes that I found was the importance of knowing your own identity. Cormier is trying to convey to the reader that knowing who you are is very significant, and without it, life is miserable and confusing. The protagonist, Adam, has a problem of remembering his own identity, therefore he struggles to find out who he is by talking to Brint. Brint is a psychiatrist, who only desires to find out what Adam knows about himself and the information about Adam’s father. The setting of the novel is quite confusing to keep track of. Cormier did not mention either he was in hospital, discussion room or FBI secret research facility. However, I believe that Robert did a great job keeping the suspense of the audience by barely exposing any details to keep the readers going until at the end of the novel. The characters were realistic, but the plot could have been improved by making it simpler.