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.”