TKAM Found Poem: "The Second Letter"

Hidy do, Mr. Arthur.
You haven't been carried out yet, so
You must still be in that sad house.

Why haven't you run off?
Maybe you've got nowhere to
Run off to.

Hold your head high
And don't get it shot off
For the knot-hole.

It's filled up,
So your pocket watch
Is the biggest gift we got.

We walked on eggs for you
Appreciate everything from you
You wrapped around us...

Thanks.

-Jem Finch
-Jean Louise Finch (Scout)


Commented on:Sofia
Jackson
Sophie

TKAM Pairs: Aunt Alexandra and Atticus

      Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are similar to each other in the fact that they both want what's best for Scout. In the book, it says, "Aunty had a way of declaring What Is Best For The Family, and I suppose her coming to live with us was in that category." Atticus, of course, is a part of that, as it was up to him as the final decider to let Aunt Alexandra live with them. Also, Atticus supports Alexandra's decision. In the book, it says, "We felt it was time you children needed—well, it’s like this, Scout,” Atticus said. “Your aunt’s doing me a favor as well as you all. I can’t stay here all day with you, and the summer’s going to be a hot one.” In this manner, one person fills the gaps in reason left by the other's logic.
      However, they're very different to each other, and nowhere is this more obvious than the matter of Calpurnia. In the book, it says “Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are. Besides, sister, I don’t want you working your head off for us—you’ve no reason to do that. We still need Cal as much as we ever did.” The argument seems to have been a pretty tense one judging from his reaction, but we can't tell as it happened off-page.
         The two characters both have different relationships to Scout. Based on previous evidence, Alexandra appears to be the foil (based on prior evidence), while Atticus appears to be the alter ego, based on both his and Scout's use of witticisms. In the book, it says, "And for goodness’ sake put some of the county back where it belongs, the soil erosion’s bad enough as it is.” Scout uses humor like that at least once a chapter.  The two characters have very different influences on Scout. While Scout seems to find more of her own personality in Atticus, she frequently gets into conflict with Alexandra. In the book, it says, "Who was the “her” they were talking about? My heart sank: me. I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away. Immediately."   Even if the conflict is indirect, it still happens.
(Also, I apologize for the terrible pun in the attached image.)

 

To Kill A Mockingbird Setting Blog

(I apologize if the image doesn't render. Blogger seems to detest working on iPads today.)
The church in the image looks similar to the one described in To Kill A Mockingbird, at least in a more general sense. On page 6 of the book, it says, "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square." If we apply this general setting and building style to a church, and then compare it to the attached image, we can see that what we're looking for is kind of an old, slightly sagging church. The church in the image is definitely not new, as evidenced by the damaged condition of the wood around it, and it certainly does seem to be resting heavily on its base, kind of being pulled down towards it. Also, the paint appears a bit more worn and/or imperfect around the edges.  If we excuse the black-and-white nature of the image, we can see that the church is painted a pale, dull color, which is probably a whitish-gray one regardless of the image's nature. Therefore, it fits the description and is a good stand-in for Maycomb's church.

It's definitely possible to see Atticus and Scout in the church, the preacher droning on about whatever,   Atticus focused intensely upon its meaning, and Scout, quietly plotting the Boo Radley play's minor details in her head. I imagine that Scout would be in charge of this because on page 51, it says, "Jem said, 'Scout, you can be Mrs. Radley--'" If you remember, the role of Mrs. Radley is not as massive a role as any of the others. Additionally, the boys are only thinking about half a step ahead (at least compared to Scout's extremely high intellect), which is why it makes sense for Scout to fill that role.
Additionally, I have a few questions about the book with regard to that church. The first one is, "Will we ever see Atticus and Scout in a church like this?" The other one is, "Did Harper Lee ever actually go to a similar church, or are my assumptions here way off the mark?" I wonder if any of my questions will be answered...

On that note, happy Thanksgiving break!!



Delano, Jack. Negro Church near Greensboro, Alabama. July 1941. Library of Congress, Greensboro, Alabama 

Election Reflection Blog (Sigh...)

      First things first....why? There is no way this has actually happened. I can't believe it. Anyway...my thoughts on the results of this election? Well...I think I understand what we've just witnessed. As most of Trump's expected wins were in rural states, and he appealed to their platform, that makes sense. As for how he still won with that, I'll explain. Trump figured out the way to win unexpectedly: Win the electors of the 10 to 20 states (mostly rural) that have 20 percent of the population, but 80% of the vote (due to the Electoral College working that way), blindside every other living creature, and give me a nasty shock at 6:25 AM yesterday. To put it bluntly, I'm ticked off at...something....but I don't know who or what to blame at this point. The other 80% of the Republican party, I guess. You had one job, adults.
        This election was a mess on all fronts. Trump wasn't supposed to get this far. His only platform was [insert non-Trump here]-ist madness. However, that is perfect for the Internet, whose denizens live off this stuff. That spread Trump farther and farther and so on, but not far enough...until Hillary showed up. Democrats got furious at Republicans and Republicans got furious at Democrats, until enough sat out of voting to let Trump win. Did anyone plan this? No. However, Trump's against Common Core, which I view as a huge plus (in comparison to the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 minuses...)
      I am quite excited to vote in the next election, as I feel that Trump will remove a few bad things and then a bunch of good things. After that, a light will shine down from the heavens, promising to reverse the bad and keep the good. That light will be the Democratic/Libertarian/whatever other party candidate. And I'll vote for them (unless this was a lot worse than I thought and...)
Okay, you know what? No more politics.

"Together" -Veterans' Day Poem

"Together"

Veterans of

Wars of the past

Wars of the present

Wars of the future are

Heroes

Then and now 

And

Family members

Beloved by all

Respected by all

The sacrifices made

Missing chunks

Of lives

Of flesh

Or even of souls.

Those left behind

Often work 

as hard as the soldiers.

Even those who stay left behind

Leave poppies for Papa

And always remember

The good parts

The bad parts

The happy parts

The sad parts

All the parts.

Funny, veterans kind of represent the U.S. in more than name, don't they?

They have parts (families, emotions)

That are best together

And together when apart.

Even when "apart" eventually means literally worlds away,

All veterans (active or not)

Are together

With someone.

Even if only he or she knows

There's always someone.

There always will be someone

Even if they haven't been found yet.

That someone guides them,

The veterans, representing the U.S.

In so much more than name,

Through the war or whatever else there is.

First Quarter Reflection Blog

Before we start: Happy Halloween! Also, since the quarter is rather conveniently ending today, I have a reflection blog to write. Enjoy!

       My E/LA goals for this year are few, but critical. Firstly, I need to get down the science of homework balancing. I have had problems, in the past, with equalizing homework load and time spent. But no longer! You see, I have a formula in order to solve this, which I won't get into here to save time. Another goal I have is to ensure that my writing skills are up to the level of the other people in this class at all times, as my stories and pieces are often lackluster compared to others. This is, in fact, a fixable issue, and I will fix it. The third and final goal I have is to remember to have fun doing some of this stuff, as I often forget to do. "Have fun." Such simple advice, but also so hard at times... moving on!

    I have learned a lot about the world. The first thing I learned is that the universe doesn't halt when your traditions are forced to. I actually learned this over the summer, when a combination of surgery and circumstances made it so I was unable to swim on Wednesdays or go to the Dells like I usually do. I thought it would be the end of the world, but the world kept going, which was quite a shock to the past me. I also learned that no matter what happens to you, you can always rebound (unless you die, of course). R.I.C. gave me the strength I needed to get back to some semblance of normality, and I use that strength daily. The third and final thing I learned is that there are always going to be people who want to watch sanity burn. The Alicia Project assembly failure showed me that, as maybe 10% of the student body got 100% of us in trouble, and that's the way it always is in a school behavioral failure. 2-3 kids get 26 of us in trouble, and so on... and it appears that I've realized why this keeps happening: it physically cannot be stopped. The way middle school is set up prevents us from doing so, no matter what measures are taken.

     There are two central strategies that have benefited me so far this year. The first is, of course, the TIQA format. By virtue of it effectively being an AoW or Blog Mad Libs, it has made homework take far less time, and that is always a good thing. Heck, I could make a copy & paste template right now and my fellow students would have so much free time that they could take over the WORLD! Anyway, another strategy that has benefited me is F.R:G.I.A.D.I.C, which stands for Forgo Reading:Get It All Done In Class. It's exactly what it sounds like, and if I have enough time, I can often ensure a complete lack of homework (then I read). If all students did this, homework would be gone forever! It's useful, is what I'm trying to say.

To conclude: Acronyms are hard.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Montresor Murders Mean Man With Mortar!

(This was a newspaper entry based off a transcript).

MONTRESOR:In Venice, I killed Fortunato. It was for reasons that appear to only make sense to me, and not to any of you fools! You desire to know them? Well, since it appears I'm tied up at the moment (quite literally, might I add), I might as well.
      I killed him for one simple reason:his skills with regards to wine were his only strength, but he was a quack and a dunce with regards to all else. I knew it all: art, wine, furniture....but he got the limelight. Every time he did this, my fury built. Every time, I didn't act upon it, until he dared to insult me. Me, who was superior to him in all regards. But then, he ventured to say these words: "I guess you know who's the connoisseur." I knew how that was directed, and as it stewed inside me, something snapped. I swore revenge, then causally strolled to my pallazo and plotted it. I knew it had to be done where there would be no witnesses or evidence or notices of his disappearance for days. Then, the whole plot hit me, and when the right time rolled around, I executed it and him.
      Now you may be wondering why I chose the method I did. I wanted him to suffer, knowing he was alone in there whilst he withered to nothing. I wanted to keep him in the dark, as he had done to me. I, above all, needed a place, where I could mock his soul, as he had done to me. I needed to wall him off from my life.
Literally. Now take me away.
Commented on:
Aine
Clement
Lorin

"My Father The Hero" (OBAA Life Lines Poem)

"My Father The Hero"

Sometimes you try to do something good
and end up being punished for it.
If he could have read his future
my father might have feared the headlights.

Such is the fate of many immigrant fathers, as
my father, a healer,
had been robbed of his power to heal.
Those who befriended him sought to rob him
And metamorphose him into a tragic, flawed beetle.

Those back in Adi
Kept my father in their hearts
As a measuring stick, as a lifelong
inspiration.

Remember your people.
Remember your people.

So I decided
I would always keep my father
the hero in my heart
tragic and flawed though he might be.

His heart saw angels
And he treated everyone as an angel,
saying,
“God sends angels to all of us.”

Parallel Viewpoints (Mawi/Syrian refugee crisis) blog

      The article "Report: Half of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon not in school" has a very different and yet similar viewpoint from Hileab and Tsege on the importance of education. In Of Beetles and Angels, Mawi says about his parents, "From our very first days in America, my mother and father hammered into our minds the importance of excelling in school." This shows that they have an extremely pro-education viewpoint, which caused several mini-conflicts in the memoir. Additionally, organizations supporting Syrian refugees in the modern day agree with this viewpoint. In the article, it says, "'Children should not have to sacrifice their education to seek safety from the horrors of war in Syria,' Khawaja said." This shows, again, that the higher authorities in this situation agree with the values of the parents in the memoir, which would objectively be a good viewpoint to have.
      However, some of the children in Syria oppose those viewpoints. In the article, it states, "Syrian refugee Saddam al-Khleif hates going to school..." as well as, "'I love to play and prefer to go to work rather than going to school.'" While he may have a legitimate viewpoint, it is stunningly different from Mawi's parents' points of view, and also interesting that there are two different points of view on what, one would assume, would be a rather one-sided topic. To conclude, different circumstances may, and often will, result in a stew of different viewpoints.

Edit: I forgot a paragraph. Here it is. (Sorry.)
     War affects individuals and their societies as a whole negatively. For example, separation from home and the life you knew is a common occurrence. There's also a lack of education, good food, and  generally anything we'd associate with a normal life. That's huge. War is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone, and the fact that Mawi succeeded through that is incredible on the level of climbing Everest. Well, maybe more than that, but you get the general gist.

Introduction Episode Two: The Intro Strikes Back

Hello Internet! I'm Max, an 8th grader in Illinois. This blog is for my E/LA class, so it might jump around, topic-wise. Anyway, my interests include video games, Nerf, and goofing around randomly.
  I have two cats (one of which has been very annoying recently with the waking me up a bit too
early) and one sister. It gets pretty hectic.
     One goal I have for this year is to find a better iPad stand, as my messenger bag isn't working so well. Another one is to stay organized. The third and final goal I have is to try and get the hang of this user interface. It's not very good.
  Goodbye for now, Internet.
Fin

The Final Blog For This Year (a reflection)

      It's the final countdown blog!! It's a reflection with nine questions to "really make us THINK!" I have no clever segue from one part to the next, so let's just go to this question: What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year? The advice I would give is, "Manage your time well, as you will never truly see ahead and the homework shows up out of nowhere frequently." Another thing to add is, "Never procrastinate or your evening is going to be overloaded with homework."  I would also say, "Make sure to check Edmodo nightly," as I need to remember that myself. The last piece of advice is a simple one: "Mrs. Larson's in-class parties are full of food, so make sure not to be full as you enter." Those three tips will help the new seventh graders survive and thrive (the survive part is a joke). 
      
       The next question to answer is What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best? The best piece of writing I did was arguably "An Apology by a Toxic Metal" because it was the first time I'd ever written outside of my own point of view, and I liked it. Also, I did one of my favorite things: Bashing Trump. There was also the apologetic tone I took, which is another thing I don't do (most of my writing is happy or objective).  I should probably do that more often...hey, that just gave me an idea! Also, here's the link if you wish to see it.  Question three is Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why? I would have to say The Dresden Files because it's set in Chicago, which makes landmarks more understandable  Also, Harry Dresden's a powerful detective/magical consultant who goes through enemies easily. The series is epic. Continuing along, question four happens to be What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life? The answer is that epic Christmas party we had. The way to my memories is through my stomach and that food was delicious. Also, any party in your class is epic because of the sheer amount of food we all end up bringing. However, this one will be the most lasting due to it being the first.
      
      I have decided that question five is What was the most challenging part of this year for you?
My answer:Somehow managing the homework. It was hard given my busy schedule, but I pulled it off by strategically dividing it according to this algorithm: Take homework, divide by days,  and rebalance so that you end up doing the minimum amount and it prevents overload on Thursday. If you need a picture demonstration of the algorithm, here you go:
 
 
       Advancing smoothly along, we have question six, which is What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year? The nicest thing someone did for me this year was Anthony being my elevator buddy, as well as generally helping me out in class, as I can be a bit clueless sometimes. However, he never is. I hope we're seated next to each other next year, or it will be a very dull class.
Also, we are good pals and when we put our heads together, things get done. As we are nearing the end, I'm running out of segues, so here we are with question seven: What are the three most important things you learned this year? Those three are "don't toss papers unless the unit is over" (you keep referring back to them), "manage your time precisely" (I have an absurdly busy schedule), and "get stuff done so you don't cram and destroy your grade" (self-explanatory). Those three things have been the core tenets of this class since I got here, and probably have been and will be forever.
        
      Question eight is What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year? I'd have to say "No matter how much class you miss due to abnormal circumstances, you can still be a good student." I miss much of this class (sorry, Mrs. Larson) and yet I still have respectable grades. However, I have seen other people in other classes just not do the work and not care, even though they were in class the entire time (which I find odd). Perhaps it's that they don't understand the significance of it...? Regardless, everyone here knows it now, and that should be enough. 
      
      The concluding question is In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of? I think my biggest improvements have been in research. Before this year I barely understood how to do respectable research, much less the point. But now, I can hammer out an essay with the research that would make [pick an essay writer] happy, if not proud. Something I'm proud of is my argumentative essay, because it was so much work that culminated in something well-written and worth reading. That is all from me, for now. See you next year, etc. Bye!

For now...

Of Mice and Movie

      After watching the movie version of Of Mice and Men, I have some questions to answer. This blog is said answer. Anyway, the first question: In the film, the director shows us “the incident in Weed” differently from how we find out in the book. What’s different? Why do you think he chose to do it that way? How does it change the story? The only different thing is that we see it as a flashback to kind of show how we got onto this train at the beginning of the movie. Otherwise, the incident is exactly the way it was in the book. I think he chose to do it this way because it was harder to do scenery montages in a 1990s-era movie than it was in a book, and because it would give a bit more introduction to Lennie and George, which we need because it's a movie. This changes the incident's story from being a "Noodle Incident" sort of thing until later in the plot to being an exposition piece.
      The next question is The book begins with the “stage” set by the pond. In the film, we see George on a train first. Why would the director do this? What is the director telling us about George’s life? The director did this as a traveling metaphor. As we know, George and Lennie (before the events of the novella/movie) traveled around frequently to escape Lennie's mishaps.  The director is trying to tell us that George's life is fluid, never routine, because of this.
      The third question is What do you think of the director’s choice of Sharilynn Fenn to play Curley’s wife? Does she look the way you imagined her in the book? Whom would you have chosen? I think it was a pretty clever choice overall, though she looks way different from how I imagined her. If I were the director, part of her costume would be red hair, but the same actress would be Curley's wife because she really fits that role.
      Now then, my opinions as asked for by this question: What are your general thoughts, feelings, reactions of Of Mice and Men? What had the most profound impact on you or your understanding of the novella? Who would you recommend this  book to and why? Generally, I thought it was pretty good until the depressive downer ending. Curley's wife had the biggest understanding once she developed. I'd recommend this to people who like twist endings, as this book is one.  

Fin

Dream Blog (Sorry it's late, please don't be mad)

"A Foam-Made Dream"

My dreams are many:

Go to a good college, get a good job involving robots, and so on.

But if I had to pick just one?

It's simple:

Attend a Nerf war in a certain place in Georgia.

Why?

It's because those people are really cool (like [insert celebrity] for you normal people)

and shooting them with my creation (or getting shot back) is like them signing your face.

But it may not come true.

Why?

Well, it's hard to walk and other whiny things.

But that doesn't matter.

Why?

Well, my dream shall not be deferred like others

Because I do

What I must

To make it

Real.

It's important that I do

What I must to make it

Real.

This dream

Keeps me going

Until it is

Real.

Of Mice and Men...Versus Men

      Of Mice and Men has many conflicts. Said conflicts serve as plot hyper-acceleration, and if you know the types of conflict, then you'll understand the pun in my title. For those who don't: Great job finding my blog from the outside world! Here's a refresher as to what is what:

• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Self
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Society

Those are all self-explanatory, so I will skip that part and now move back to Of Mice and Men,  and two large conflicts within: Lennie vs Curley and Carlson vs Candy.  
      Lennie vs Curley is a physical conflict that has a large effect on the plot, being Man vs Man. In the book, it states, "He cried, 'Make 'um stop, George.'" This shows that the matter has gotten physical, whatever the matter was. Lennie losing anything is serious business because he's mentally disabled. However, this is quickly and crushingly brought around. A page or so later, it says, "He started crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw." This reveals Lennie's strength, and the first rule of being a minor character: Don't attack the hero(es) unless you want your butt handed to you heartily. This advances the plot a chapter and a half.

      Carlson vs Candy is a less noticeable conflict, but it kills off a minor character and advances the plot forward as well. In the book, Carlson says he'd, "'...shoot him right in the back of the head...'" Candy protests a while, but eventually gives in. Later, he brings it up. He says, "'I shouldn'tve let a stranger shoot my dog.'" This quote reveals that Candy wishes it occurred differently, which goes with my position of Carlson being evil.
   

Yes, this cat is starting a conflict, and with the end of the year fast approaching, I thought some humor best be added.

Of Mice, Men, And A Bunkhouse

      The atmosphere of the bunkhouse is very much like sharing a bedroom with a stranger: you each have your own reason for being there, you keep your head down, and you don't engage in any true friendships. Sure, there's the occasional card game around a "big square table" and an even more occasional side conversation, but that's just to pass time from payment to payment between working hours. They stay apart because they have no reason to unite.
      I think the reason Curley's wife is nameless is that she's such a minor character she doesn't get a name. We know next to nothing about her personality, but we know something about the personality of every other minor character. Perhaps it's that she's just a set piece we don't need to know about, as she has had few lines thus far, and they've just shifted further focus onto Curley, Lennie, and George (i.e. "I'm looking for Curley" and "You're the new fellas...") rather than trying to develop her as her own character.
    But what message was Steinbeck intending to send with this? I believe that the message was, "Not all minor characters are needed to ensure a rich story." She is literally used just to explain Curley's behavior, as shown by "Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married.") That is her only purpose, and my point.

EDIT:Edited to focus less on the creepy aspect of Curley's wife. 

You and I both know who this is supposed to be...

Third Quarter Reflection Blog

      Well, the end of third quarter is nigh. This means—you guessed it—another reflection blog must be written.
      I think the area I have most improved in (ELA wise) during this quarter is my writing skills. Before this, I wasn't as good with stuff like poetry, but practice makes perfect, as they say. The "practice" that I did produce was pretty good, however. Just look at my AoW poem, "An Apology by a Toxic Metal." Despite the bad subject material, it worked! My rhyming also improved, though that may be because of my genetically ingrained humorous tendencies. (That is actually a thing that's been proven.)
      Something I've accomplished this year is staying atop the monstrosity mudslide machine labor that is homework. In the beginning of the year, I missed a few assignments via inadvertent circumstances ingrained protocols incorrect assumptions logical errors. In second quarter, I still kind of muddled along with the homework. This quarter, I truly picked up steam (although that may have been because I really didn't want to miss Shadowhunters, and possibly because of technological shortcuts). I am now able to accomplish certain assignments much faster, but they haven't invented a machine that can copy people's handwriting into a notebook, so that's what really takes up time. I should probably try to invent that, because automation is fun.
        The most challenging part of third quarter was staying organized. One time, my homework sticky note was nearly rendered useless by a real-life problem (Mrs. Larson subbing for Mrs. Pancer).
If she assigned homework I couldn't put it anywhere on the note, as it was categorized by teacher. She didn't assign homework that day, luckily. I then added "subjects taught" into my sticky to prevent such an error from wreaking havoc again. The other problem was more files were being created than I could organize. To fix that, I buckled down, color tagged my folders, and organized their contents. The next step is to organize my downloads into this system. The third step is to feed my google drive files and Photobooth pictures in. Once all that is done, I can put all that into a single folder, transfer it onto a USB, and have 7th grade life all backed up.

Enjoy fourth quarter and whatever secrets that may hold.

Lit Circle Blog: Fahrenheit 451

     Our group read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The essential question I have chosen for this blog is:What caused Ray Bradbury to write a novel about book burning/censorship? This tied into my study in a few different ways. First, we never quite found the answer in the plot itself. This led to about 5 minutes of discussion that resulted in the logical outcome of this being a rebuttal to the Nazis' practice of book burning. The outcome was two different articles being chosen: one on book banning, and the other on book burning, as you will see below.

The firemen in the book are very similar to Nazi book-burners in method and reason. On the back cover of the book, it says, "The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden." This would seem to just be attention-hooking. However, there is in fact a reason for the book burning. "Just what is that reason?" I hear you thinking. This precise reason is brought up on the Holocaust Encyclopedia website, on the page marked "Book Burning", where it states, “...the burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or political opposition to the materials in question." This is, in fact, brought up-spoiler alert- in the book. They burn books for this exact reason, which ties back to my EQ (Look at me, tying things together!). Writing this has also sparked a bit of pyromania in me.

     There is also a historical reference to the burning of books. In the book's altered history, there is a line, which states, "Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin." Obviously, this never happened. But clearly there is a reference to the Nazi's historic symbolism of book burning! The historical symbolism was mentioned in the article too. In there, it is clearly written,“In a symbolic act of ominous significance, on May 10, 1933, university students burned upwards of 25,000 volumes of ‘un-German’ books, presaging an era of state censorship and control of culture.” Clearly, this was in fact written as a Nazi rebuttal. Even the references to a war being over before they can start again make sense in the wider context!

That was my blog. Enjoy your spring break and the party!
The article

Symbolism. Pyromania.

Poetry Reflection Blog

      This is the final blog for our poetry unit. I know you're all thinking "Yes!! New unit!!" However, I'd prefer it if you kept those comments to yourself, as this is VERY important and for a grade (according to Mrs. Larson). But, enough about that, let's get to the actual blog!

   The first question I have to answer is this:"Poetry can be a vital, real part of everyone's life. What place or importance does poetry have in my own life? Does poetry belong to everyone? How do I know?" Poetry has a lot of importance in my life, as any other form of literature does. It can express things in ways unique only to poetry itself and is a great way to spread the word about something. It can also make me laugh like no other written medium.  Also, poetry does belong to everyone. Why? Well, it's easier to get a point across as a poem than as an article, as well as being a favorite childhood (and possibly adulthood) pastime. Poetry has even worked itself into every inch of popular culture. Poems can be songs, if just put them to music and sing the words. Poems can be raps, if you just add music in the background. This connects to my last point about pop culture because, as most of us know, song and rap drive culture, and poetry drives them. That means that poetry is our culture, and some might say everyone's culture. Therefore, poetry belongs to everyone, from the smallest baby to the oldest great-great-grandfather.

       The next question that must be answered says, "How does the life and experiences of a poet affect the poem he/she creates?" My answer to that is, "That is often the core of poems: life experiences." However, it goes beyond that, as people who have had tough lives often write more glum and gloomy poems, and vice versa. This can be evidenced by Edgar Allen Poe; his poems were gloomy, as was his life. On the opposite end of the spectrum is me: I've had a (mostly) happy life so far, therefore my poems are mostly happy. It is really simple.

     Now I have to analyze some poems, so I'll be analyzing "Jabberwocky" first. It is written in quatrain stanzas, which gave Mr. Carroll a solid excuse to make up nonsense words. This allowed the single meaning of "complete nonsense" to thrive. All the nonsense words added to the nonsensical and humorous effects within the poem. There was also a trope from a certain game series in there where you repeat things without giving them any logical meaning and let the players/readers figure it out for themselves.

     The next part is one of my own poems, which will be my AoW poem. I wrote it with hints of rhyme in mind, without it rhyming per se.  I also have it as image-heavy as possible specifically to add to the effect. I designed the stanza breaks so that it would seem as if the speaker was pausing for a moment before going on with his tale. The meaning is "If you are used as a pawn, you'll regret it later." I have accomplished that easily with the tricks above.

Links 
-Bio-Poem
-AoW Poem
-Where I'm From Poem
-Spine Poem
-Found Poem
-The poorly formatted nonsense poem

Nonsense Poem: The most nonsensical poem that ever was or will be.

Click here to view "The Barven Quest"

Sorry, Blogger hates PDFs apparently...

"An Apology by a Toxic Metal"

This is my AoW nonfiction poem.

“An Apology by a Toxic Metal”

It is I, lead. Yes, I-who-poisoned-Flint.

But I’m not here to talk about my crimes.

I’m here to apologize.

The industry wanted me to keep people safe

but I could not.

All I could do

was hurt people (I’m toxic)

and when I tried to tell them

they denied me.

We had known since Roman times

and my crimes did not shift names (unlike their gods).

However, this was lost

and I was used to prevent

cholera and typhus

and thus, fear.

My ads were like Donald Trump,

spouting ludicrous lies

but I, honestly, tried to prevent the awful, atrocious

fate that befell those who drank from me

and ended up having another industry use my miniature Danger Dolan doughboy

to hurt and kill people.

The outrage against me and my corroded corpse

is deserved.

I failed at my job

and I am sorry.

Inspired by "'Lead helps guard your health': How U.S. companies sold a toxic product"

Lead:This is me and my brothers in 2009.