Sunday, April 15, 2012

Response to Article


      
     The article I read is “Evicted From Park, Occupy Protesters Take to the Sidewalks” by Colin Moynihan. This article is about the Occupy Wall Street protesters occupying the sidewalks because they were removed from Zuccotti Park. This article is important because it shows the devotion of the protesters. The protesters have overcome obstacles to continue protesting.
     This article shows that the protesters are dedicated to their cause. After being disbanded in November form Zuccotti Park, they didn’t give up. They decided to start occupying the sidewalk. In order to camp out on the street, the protesters used a court decision from 2000 that allows them to sleep on the streets only if they don’t block doorways or half the sidewalk. This shows their dedication to their cause. Even though they were disbanded, they found a way to continue protesting.
     This article also shows that the protesters are stubborn. The police might have disbanded the protesters, but that didn’t stop the protesters. The protesters moved to the sidewalks and continue their protest from there. They want their voices to be heard. Now from the streets, they can continue to spread their ideas. After protesting for many months, the disbandment from Zuccotti Park couldn’t stop the protesters from spreading their message.
     From reading this article, I realized that the protesters are determined on making a change. Their message is how the financial system benefits the rich at the cost of the citizens. They have been protesting since September and have over obstacles to continue protesting. This is why this article is important. It shows the dedication the protesters have to spreading their message.
   

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Plagiarism


What did the student do wrong? What could he/she have done to include the source correctly?

     What the student did that was wrong was that he or she plagiarized. He used the author’s words and tried to pass it off as his own. He copied and pasted the words of the author and claimed them as his own. The student should have paraphrased instead and then cite his source. The student could have also quoted the source and then cited it. If the student was going to incorporate a source, he shouldn’t have copied it without crediting the author.
   
Write a sentence using the original source correctly: use a quotation or paraphrase.

     The structures in the painting seem to cause a sense of isolation. The two structures that cause this feeling are the steeple and the dark structure to the left of the painting. The steeple ”casts down a sense of stability onto the town, and also creates a sense of size and seclusion”. The dark structure to the left “develops an even greater sense of size and isolation”. (A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings, Unknown Author)

What are at least three ways to avoid plagiarism?

     One way to avoid plagiarism is by paraphrasing. Instead of just copying and pasting, you can rephrase the text into your own words.  You can quote a line from the text instead of just copying it. Finally, you can make sure you cite your sources correctly. You should include both the title of your source and it’s author.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Two Favorite Blog Post


     813 has produced many great blog post, but my two favorite blog post have to be Izzy’s and Wolfe’s blog post. Izzy’s post is about Romeo and Juliet’s love and if it is real. Wolfe’s post is a series of intriguing poems. These are blog post great in their own ways.
     Izzy’ uses a lot of textual evidence to support her idea. Her blog post is about Romeo and Juliet’s love. She is questioning if they are truly are in love. This is a really deep thought about the book.  She uses a lot  evidence from the book to support her point. She uses lines that really support her idea. She also elaborated on the quote well. She explained the importance of the evidence to her point.  She also organized her essay well. She organized her paragraphs in a chronological order that showed their relationship. Her use of textual evidence, elaborating, and organization made her post good.
     Wolfe’s uses imagery and symbolism to enhance his poems. In his poem about cherry blossoms, he uses imagery to create a vivid image. He uses imagery to create an image of the cherry blossom fall to the ground. In his poem about Picasso, he uses symbolisms to represent Picasso’s emotions.  The symbolism in his poem represents Picasso’s deteriorating psychological state. He used this symbolism to express Picasso’s state in creative way. His use of imagery and symbolism make his poems creative.
     I think I can improve my blog post by using elements that both of these blog post. I can use more textual evidence from books to support my claim in my reading responses. When I write poetry, I can use the techniques that Wolfe used in his poems to improve my poems. 

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Much Ado about Nothing Review


     My class and I went to see Much Ado about Nothing in the CSC Theater. I haven’t read or seen much Ado about Nothing before, so I thought this play would be confusing.  This was not the case. This play was easy to understand and also very entertaining. They follow the original dialogue, but put their own twist on the story. This twist, along with their stellar acting and amazing effects made this a spectacular show.
     The play is the same as the original, but the twist they added made the show magnificent. Instead of performing in a 1500’s scene, they choose a 1920’s scene. They made changes to the play to fit the scene such as changing costumes. Instead of having old fashion dresses and suits, the soldiers were dressed in a modern army uniform and the women were dressed in more modern dresses. They also wore suits that were up to date. This updated version of Much Ado about Nothing was a creative idea that was performed well.
     Other aspects of the play made it amazing. The actors did an excellent job performing. They spoke clearly and did well in dramatizing their lines. An example was the actor acting out Don Jon. He used props to express his anger. The effects in the play helped create a mood. They used lighting to help the mood. They used more light at a time, or less, and sometimes even used a different color of lighting that helped a lot. Also, they used music as well. Because this is a modern version of the play, they used Jazz music. They used music to help enhance the mood.  For example, in some parts, very uplifting music was played to show a feeling of happiness.
     This play was excellent and very entertaining. The plot was engaging, the acting was amazing, and the effects were spectacular. I would recommend this play to anyone.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Irony in Romeo and Juliet


     Irony is an outcome of an event that is not expected. Irony is a literary technique that is used a lot in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this play, the irony he used is not only enjoyable, but it also helps with the plot. In some cases, one ironic event led to another ironic event.
     One example of irony is in Act 1 Scene 2. The ironic event is between Capulet and the Serving man. Capulet gives the Serving man a list of names of people that are invited to his party. Capulet instructs the Serving man to tell the people on the list to come to his party. The irony is that Capulet doesn’t know that the Serving man is illiterate. The Serving man can’t read, so he can’t tell anyone on the list about the party. This ironic event actually leads to another ironic event.
      The event is in the same act and scene. The Serving man doesn’t know what to do. He has to give the list to someone who can read and have him or her read it to him. That is when Romeo and Benvolio stroll in. In desperate need of help, the Serving man gives them the list. The irony is that Romeo is a Montague, an enemy of the Capulets. This event also helps to progress the story. Romeo finds out that Rosaline, his one true love is going to attend that party. So he decides to crash the party in order to meet her. Irony is being used as a way to progress the story.
     Finally, one ironic event that is very important to the plot of the book is in Act 1 Scene 5. In this scene, Romeo falls in love with Juliet when he first sees her. The irony is that he came her to see his “true love” Rosaline, yet he fell in love with another girl. Also, Romeo says many times that Rosaline would be his only love, yet on line 60, he complete disregards his love for Rosaline. He says,” For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” He’s saying that he has not seen true beauty before, until he saw Juliet. This is also an important event because this is where Romeo and Juliet’s relationship starts.
     This is not all the irony in this book. This book is rich with ironic events and ironic dialogue. Shakespeare uses this as a way to entertain his audience. People are interested to find out what happens because of theses events.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

My Favorite Character in Romeo and Juliet


     In Romeo and Juliet, there is a numerous amount of characters, all of which vary in personality. You have Romeo, the emotionally charged lover, willing to do anything for the girl he loves. Then there are people like Sampson who are disgusting. In Romeo and Juliet, my favorite character would be Capulet because of his actions. He is a good father, and a good person that cares about his daughter.
      He shows concern for Juliet when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage. He shows his concern on line 13 of Act 1 Scene 2. He says “And too son marred are those so early made”. This line means girls who get married too soon grow up too soon. In the play, Juliet is only thirteen, so Capulet is worried about her. He doesn’t want her to get married because he thinks she’s too young.  He also doesn’t want her to grow up so fast.  Capulet is a caring and protective father.
      Capulet also has good morals. An example is when he is talking with Tybalt on lines 72 to 99. Tybalt points out that Romeo was at the party. Romeo is a Montague, the enemy of the Capulets. Instead of getting angry for Romeo being there, he gets angry at Tybalt for getting so upset. He says that Romeo is a dignified gentleman with a good reputation. He puts his hatred for the Montagues aside and allows Romeo to stay. Capulet shows that he is willing to allow someone from a family of people that he hates to his party out of respect. Capulet has morals that make him someone to look up to.
     Capulet is a character that anyone can look up to. He is a caring father and has morals that make him respectable. He is a shining star amongst the other characters in the play.  

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

     From what I know, this will not be a good ending for Romeo and Juliet. After seeing how their families responded to seeing each other, you can tell that the there is some bad blood between them. They seem to be very volatile, drawing their weapons at the sight of each other.  They also seem to have personalities that seem rather disturbing. Sampson for one is very short tempered. If this wasn’t bad enough, he is a complete pervert, making sexual innuendos for a good chunk of his dialogue.
     I’m not having much trouble reading Shakespearean language because I have read another of his amazing plays. When I read Macbeth for the first time, I was fairly confused.  But after reading over and over again, I learned what it meant. If your having trouble I would recommend reading the passage over and over again.  You can also use a Shakespearean dictionary to understand something if you need more help.
     After seeing the reactions of the Capulets and the Montagues from just seeing each other, I can tell that Romeo and Juliet are going to have to overcome many obstacles. From the first scene you can tell that Romeo is deeply in love with this girl and that he wishes that he could have her. But there something that stops Romeo causing his depression because all he wants is this girl and he can’t have her.