Lit Analysis 2

Fahrenheit 451 is an intriguing book that shows a wise insight into a possible, and quite probable, world of tomorrow.  It follows a man named Montag who in a fire man, however rather then put out fires his job is to burn books and the people that try to read or write them.  The Country of the United States no longer values education; in fact it seems the entire purpose in life is to be ‘ignorant and happy’.  The logic being when you are ignorant of bad things, sad things and the truth that you are happy.  To give a view into what they live their lives like when they aren’t working most people are in a room called a parlor with every  wall being a screen showing different programs, even interactive TV where you play one of the parts of a show.   Parents no longer raise kids but send them to massive boarding and conditioning schools or plop them in front of a screen and never talk to them, one woman in the story even admits to not have talked to her children, who are barely 12, for almost 7 years.

Books are forbidden, the penalty for owning a book is death, immediately no trial or anything, you just get killed, burned alive with your books.

Executions are broad cast on the TV screens in parlors like it’s some game.

Happiness and ignorant bliss over reality, controlled by technology and ease of access, the world portrayed in the story is not all that different than what our world is becoming, people don’t want to read and see things that make them unhappy, they want it censored.  And in fact, what they hear is being censored, look up something on Google, or Bing, or some other search engine, you will get censored and tailored results off of you search history, what you will like and what will make you happy, ignorant.

In fact, just the other day I was explaining filter bubbles on the internet to someone I knew, and they said they liked the idea of filter bubbles, they said I quote “Yeah I’d rather hear what would make me happy then what is actually happening”.

I connected with this book so many things I see happening in the real world around us, I hear adults talk about how their kids are such a hassle so they just have them watch TV all day, don’t eat dinner with their children etc.  I grew up playing with my older brother and mother and grandparents, eating dinner EVERY night as a family and growing connecting, my parents have been my greatest point of support so to imagine a world where all that is frowned upon? In all honesty it scared me.

Now why am I getting so worked up over the book? Simply because of how Ray Bradbury has crafted his words, sculpted them into a vivid image that strikes fear of what may come.   How he describes the ignorance of people and their want for an easy life over a real life, to stay inside all day rather than go out and work and experience life, I can’t attempt to describe it as he has.

In the story he makes people seem so low, so stupid and incapable to think for themselves that they listen to orders that come from a screen showing a person they’ve never met named ‘Uncle’ from a group called the ‘family’.

Of course there are those that avoid the burning of themselves but read books, memorize them and share them, live a life out in the plains and forests, along the railways, intellectuals and teachers and librarians thrust from society for their knowledge, Montag meets these men, becomes one, because he to realizes that why do we just go through life? Why are there so many unanswered questions? Why do we burn books? What is the danger of knowledge? Why when a world war looms over their heads to people not realize they are in danger but think it’s going to be fun?

He meets a young girl early on in the story named Clarisse McClellen, she talks about gardening and her family, they resemble a good natured family from today’s world, together, united, laughing and experiencing life, Clarisse collects and draws leaves, enjoys asking questions, a little girl, not even in her teens is portrayed as wiser then the majority of the population! However she unfortunately dies, hit by a car while in the front yard, this is the beginning of Montag’s realization of the ignorance of people, her death could be seen as the final straw, the end of innocence and ignorant bliss for Montag.

Faber, an old college professor, helps Montag, tells him to read and learn, tries to help him make books, teaches him how to ignore all the loud propaganda and lure to have a happy life rather than a real life.

Yes the world of Fahrenheit 451 is not a world I would want to live in, ever.  For I would rather know ever y pain of this world then be ignorant, the truth hurts yes but without the truth, and the will to think for ourselves all we are in the end is mindless drones, going about a daily grind, smiling stupidly, thinking everything is perfect, while shadows creep up on us, until its to late to stop them, that’s when we notice them.

Mid term study strategies

I am most likely going to use the same strategy that I used in tenth grade to study the vocab, make flash cards, do them once or twice a day, and every few days take a chunk of them and use them in sentences.

Hamlet questions

a) I know that Hamlet is written by Shakespere and that everyone that could be a main character dies in the play and the name sounds like Omlete.

b) Shakespere has written some of the best plays in existence, watching them is supposed to be enjoyable but reading them is a B.U.B, Bland, Uninteresting and Boring *trademarked

c) As stated before, its a B.U.B. and most students have trouble reading his writing.

d) We could try to do the play ourselves in class, improv outfits or turn it into a groupd project where after reading it we make a satire version or parody of it in groups.

Character Study, parts 1 and 3

First thoughts, first disblief

I would like to say that I am one of those happy go lucky kids, that puts his best foot forward, well I have a face for that, but that’s not me.

I’m not the type of kid that likes to play sports, or play with animals or ride bikes.

No what I really love to do it think, odd for a kid in 7^th grade I know.

The sad truth is I’ve been dealt the worst hand in life, well not the worst I’ve come to realize in thinking, but pretty shitty, sorry, pretty bad.  I walk weird, talk weird, write poorly, mishear, don’t know how to make friends, in fact I spend most  of my time alone, just thinking… what about? Well you know…. Stuff. Anything that comes to mind I just welp, think about it.

But recently I’ve been thinking about religion and God, my grandparents and aunt always say ‘Jesus love you’ and ‘God made you like you were for a reason’

What was that reason did my parents piss him off? Oh! Sorry, did my parents make him angry? 

Well, I asked them why, and they came back with the same statement, well am I really supposed to believe if I can’t even get a real answer? How is a faceless, nameless entity supposed to help me get through a day of bullies, grouchy teachers, parents that don’t listen and a whole mess of homework?

Yeah, you could say I’m not the biggest believer, I don’t even own a pair of Sunday trousers.  Oh, well class is starting might as well get going, I’ll think more later but I gotta focus on class.

Realizations, understandings and a revelation… 3 years later

Cancer, my uncle had cancer, when I heard that my heart stopped, blood ran cold, I couldn’t believe it, my uncle had always seemed a pillar of strength to me, nothing could stop him. And how could he have cancer? He never did any wrong and me meant so much to so many people he was a marine

A Father

A son

An Uncle

A friend

So how could HE have gotten cancer, he was healthy, happy and had the most infectious laugh you’ve ever heard, you’ll hear it in another room and you’d start laughing, just because you heard him laughing.  I couldn’t believe and in the first time in years, since that day in the 7^th grade when I first stopped believing I prayed to god, offered up myself in place of him.  But no answer came, and for months my uncle struggled in pain through his treatments, his wife, my aunt weeping alone at night when he wasn’t there and his children, my little cousins, not even fully understanding why their dad wasn’t coming home every day, why his hair was gone, why he had stopped laughing, why he got thinner, paler.

I prayed every day, every night and whenever I tried to think I just couldn’t get it out of my head and I prayed, but no answer came, no salvation, he continued on in pain and suffering and I couldn’t do shit about it. I felt helpless, I couldn’t help one of the people that meant the world to me, for months it was like that then…

I was told my Grandpa had cancer, I almost fainted, I was sitting down, otherwise I may very well have toppled over, they all prayed, I prayed to, and after I prayed I cursed God, my Grandpa had a bad mouth, drank, but he was always happy, always joking around and fun to be with, when he started treatment, he stopped calling me shit head and brat, dumb ass and knuckle head, he drank less, he smiled less, and that look in his eye was so dull, like it had given  up.

And I cursed God, I sat in my bed and I cursed him, sent my hate to the heavens and I lay there thinking vulgarities no man should think.  

In time they got better, my Grandpa started to believe in God, something he hadn’t done in years, my uncle returned to normal, everyone was happy thanking God, I was happy, but I cursed god, I stopped praying, stopped thinking about him, I thought I’d be able to ignore that faceless entity forever, but as fate would have it I would send one last curse up there, just 2 years later.

Forsaken and Alone, I curse you this last time…

He was dead, one of my brother’s best friends lost his battle against cancer, he had a future, he had so much to live for, and know he was gone, an entire community was praying for him, and yet he died; only a few years after graduating high school god saw fit to take him away.

Screw ‘god’.

I remember, seeing my brother speak at the memorial service, I thought, he is braver, stronger, and more courageous then I’ll ever be.

And for the first time in years I watched my older brother cry, he never let anyone besides my Mother, and a few others, see him cry, he was the big brother, he had to be strong for his little siblings, and for the first time in my life I heard him trip over a sentence as he held back sobs of grief. 

When everyone had cleared out and gone into the side rooms to chat and drink and eat, to remember he who me lost I reentered and I stood in front of his pictures, it seemed like a garden of flowers had been placed around it, he smiled there at me and I cried, I cried and I cried, I couldn’t stop, I looked up to him, he was creative, he was smart, kind, he was a listener, a thinker another person like me, he made me think, maybe I could amount to something.

Now he’s gone.

I remember standing there and thinking, why him, why not me, if I had died it wouldn’t have mattered.

I was useless

I’d never amount to anything

My death wouldn’t make an entire community grieve,

My parents had my brothers and my brothers each other.

My friends well, I didn’t think they’d much mind, I was always kind of a third wheel

Yet I was still here and he was gone, he had a future, I did not, I wanted to scream.

But I didn’t instead I sat down and for once I didn’t think, my mind was blank and in that empty room I felt alone. So alone, then I realized the feeling wasn’t foreign to me, I was always alone, I just realized it know.

Then I heard music, a boy, not much older than me was playing the beautiful song on the piano, I listened to it, let it fill my head and banish that feeling of alone for just a moment, I was floating on  a sea of sound, and then it stopped and the boy left I sat alone again.

Then I looked at the ceiling, looked past it to the heavens and I gave my last curse.

‘I forsake you, how can you exist.’

He that nameless entity that had long forsaken me and others, who did not show any sign or give any salvation or hope to us, why should I believe any more?

I was done believing,

I was done hoping for a better tomorrow

Life happens, it moves like a current, and we can’t fight against it.

Alone, thoughts, faces, and I am Alone….

Alone, that is what I feel at every moment. Alone in my mind. I watch others and I ponder, what are they thinking? Do they like me? No, they aren’t, they can’t, I’m alone in mind and thought, if I wasn’t alone then the last sure fact in my life would disappear.

I need to be alone to keep myself going.

So I ponder:

How will they react to a statement, so I say something inappropriate to see their reactions, they think that’s me, their wrong. And until they are right I can only ponder why they are wrong and retreat within myself as I always do.

I walk alone around in a circle, deep within my thoughts, alone. A repeating cycle, my feet move on their own, nothing ever gets in my way, I am alone. Creating a world of my own, immersing myself in that sea of thought to escape the horrible existence that is reality I for a second can go back to that bench, with that boy playing the piano, and escape it all, if only for a moment.

Then someone comes to the table, calls me on the phone, so I won’t be alone, but I am, not in body, but in mind and in thought, my mind wonders as my body talks, what is this person in front of me doing? Why are they doing it? Who exactly they are, do I know who they truly are? What makes them  who they are? Where are they going by thinking about where they have already been. But no matter how long or hard I ponder I can’t find an answer, I can’t be right, for if I was right I would no longer be alone in my thoughts.

I am alone.

They are alone.

We are all alone.

All of us trapped in our own cycle of thought, acting with multiple faces to fit in, to be loved, to belong, but those force us to be forever alone.

These are the thoughts I have realized in my years, so I’m going to keep walking, alone, and thinking, alone, because what else can I do when all words  are lies, all emotions a veil all time and action simply used to create farce images and faces?

These are the things I think, they make me, the true me.

Not the fool that cares for nothing among friends.

Not the son that strives for acceptance and love.

Not the student that gives his all.

Not the scholar that finds answers.

These are faces, farce images. Just elaborate lies I have come up with to call truths. My thoughts are me, and I am alone.

Years of solitude, but an eternity of thought

I jolt awake from my deep sleep and am left breathing deeply, just a dream, but I can’t recall it, probably something I’d rather not remember.

It’s been 30 years since I left it behind, it forsook me, so I forsake it.

I have traveled the world, writing of places and of people, learned how they think, but I myself have hardly spoken. I spend my time away from home, I have a family now, three children and a beautiful wife, but I am still alone.

They give me happiness, and in return I try to smile for them and try to return the favor, but I can’t so I travel and send money, send letters where I can lie about my own happiness so they will not worry.

I am a truly miserable creature, alone, cold and scared in a foreign land, that land that is reality. What I would give to escape it if only for a moment.

I wish I didn’t miss so many of the things my children have done, the youngest is 16, the twins are 19.

Why do I travel when I miss so many moments I wish I could get back? I travel seeking an answer, and someone like me in thought, yes it is the one constant in my life, but I can’t help it, I would give it away if for a moment I can cast away the feeling of Alone, it is heavy now, heavy because it is important, or heavy as a burden, I cannot tell, I cannot know.

I travel and I have realized that there is no hope to know, there is no hope at all. I see people in all countries poor and cold on the streets, I see people praying to innumerable Gods and Idols for help, for salvation, for hope. There is salvation, there is no hope. I sometimes find myself asking the question. ‘If there is a god, or some being out there that created us, does he love me? Does he love them? Does he love us?’ I’ve never found an answer, it could be that he doesn’t, then again it could be that he loves us, but wants us to live on our own, forging our own path through life. I don’t know, I can’t know.

Yes we are alone, I know that, the one thing I do know. I am alone, and my family across an ocean, mountains and rolling plains of grass are alone.

How the twins hate me, how my wife must hate me as well, but for the life of me, I don’t know why my youngest still cares, how he could say he wants to be like me, it’s another thing I ponder, but I can never find the answer to, I guess it doesn’t matter, after all, he’ll be alone, just as we all are.

Achievements and tears

My lungs hurt, cancer they say, stage 4. I’m not going to live, but I don’t mind, I’ve had a good run, eighty something years old, I stopped counting, and I saw the world, wrote books, got awards, hell my name is known worldwide, I would laugh if it didn’t hurt so damn much.

Yeah I’m happy know, you could say that I have lived a full life, I still feel alone, my wife left me, years ago ,good go how long ago… 40 something years?

My youngest was only 18 so yeah, just about 40 years or so.

The twins haven’t said a word to me, haven’t seen them since then, she, my wife that is, got custody of the kids, after we got divorced I mean, but the youngest looked me out, found me in an old warehouse in down town New York I was renting. That was a day to remember- oh wait ah yes that’s right I need to watch the TV, damn it hurts to move.

Did I mention I have cancer? Well I got Shingles to, ain’t that a double whammy for you huh?

Well anyway, I buzzed the nurse and she got it there for me, I smiled and thanked her, she’s cute, and nice always smiling, I enjoy it when she’s here, more than the big male nurse, god I hate it when its his turn on bath day, why can’t I have that lovely flower every day its bath day?

Oh its starting, yeah, I won another award, take that parents and teachers, said I wouldn’t be anything, stupid bastards. Ow! I laughed, see it hurts.

Well doctor said I’m too sick to go get it, but my son went instead, yeah that boy is one in a million, I’m leaving everything to him in my will, old cousins and great grand kids and grandkids of my cousins twice removed have looked me up, trying to get my stuff, well screw um. Nope every things going to my youngest.

Oh shush up now! My boys speaking, I sent him a few lines to say to the crowd, then he gets to say whatever.

‘My father, as many of you know, can’t be here today, he is sick and I wish him the best and I hope that he is in your prayers.’

Damn it, I don’t want their prayers, or their pity.

‘but if he was here he’d say something like. ‘Er thanks for the award, where’s the alcohol?’ then he’d lumber off back to his seat.’

Well he was right, that’s what I told him to say.

‘but I’m going to share a story with you. When I was just a little kid, my dad was never home, he was out traveling, but he always came back for my birthday, for my siblings and mothers birthday to, and he’d come back at other times now and then. I never forgot how much I looked up to him, he always seemed strong, able to face the strange big world alone.’

Aw damn it, he’s getting sentimental, yeah he does that.

‘And never did I think, why isn’t daddy home? Because in a way, I knew I wasn’t alone, and neither was he. We were always with each other.’

What’s this now? Has he blown a fuse or something…

‘That’s why I found him, that’s why when I could after I was taken from him I searched for him. When I found him I couldn’t be happier. I remember him talking about how he was always alone, a philosophy that has come up several times in his books and that is the same idea he focused on in the book he’s being awarded for tonight. But I could never agree with him; that is the one thing I never agreed with him on.’

Now I’m listening, really I am, what just cuz I’m old means I don’t listen? Bah your arrogant as always know that?

‘We are never alone, when we truly care about each other, when two people, whether they be related or not, truly care for one another, no distance or circumstance will separate them, because they know the other is out there, when you clear your mind and think you can feel it, on the fringes of your perception, you can feel them there.’

Now that was something, you know he was probably right, I’ll have to congratulate him later.

Final Thoughts, and an apology

I don’t know how many people were at my funeral, know my boy was, know he spoke, and hell that’s all that matters, well cancer got me, bit me right in the arse, well lungs but whatever, suppose it doesn’t matter now, the point it though, I wasn’t alone, my boy was with me. It’s a good feeling, not being alone. Have someone with you, it can really brighten up a day, I spent so many years thinking I was alone when I didn’t realize, my boy was always there with me.

This bench is hard, when’s that damn train gonna get here I’ve been waiting for ages…  No one else is here, maybe I’m early?

Well enough of that; how’s my tie? Is my hat on straight, sorry guess I’m a might nervous, going to meet my maker and all, oh well here he comes, Hm, trains not here yet, guess we are taking it together.

‘Been awhile.’ That’s what I said.

He only nodded and said ‘Yes’

‘You angry with me.’

‘No.’

‘Well why not’ I asked him, I really did you believe it.

‘Why should I be angry with you? Are you angry with me?’

‘Well, don’t suppose no not anymore, though I have to say, you were a little late on the killing me and all.’

‘It wasn’t your time, we all have things we need to do.’

‘Hrm, well I guess you’re the boss. Why the hell isn’t the train here yet’

‘Are you ready to get on the train, do you have a ticket?’

‘Oh well no, guess I don’t…. say how come you never answered me, all those years ago but you answer me now’

‘I did, you just weren’t listening.’

I stopped at that ‘oh, well guess that makes sense, can I ask you a question since I’m listening now’

He only nodded

‘Did you love them, did you love me’

He only smiled and I heard the train coming, I looked down and there was a ticket in my hand, well gotta catch this train, don’t know when the next ones coming and all.

Literature Analysis #1

Literature Analysis #1

The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford

                The Good Soldier is by no means a straight forward book, and it also has no true discernible plot.  The events and chapters in the story are not written in chronological order, leaving it up to the reader to piece together when certain events happened and what led up to them.   However I am able to construct a general idea of the story and its events.

The story follows a nameless narrator through his adult life as he retells the tales of two people whom he was close to, you could say his best friends, the Ashburnham’s , Edward and Lenora.  The narrator tells of his life with his wife, Florence, a woman he believes to have simple joys and wants, cursed with a weak heart, for as long as he knows her they never engage in sexual relations, even though they are married, because all of the doctors he asks tell him “It will be too hard on her heart.” But he enjoys his life with her, taking care of her, they travel all over Europe but spend most of their time at a spa town by the name of Nauheim.  Together they witnessed the trials and tribulations of the Ashburnham’s, Edward, a Captain in the British Military who enjoys simple passion and is somewhat of a romantic, having dreams similar to the stories of old where the hero whisks the maiden off her feet and off to some far away fairy tale land.  He gambles and drinks and dances simple because it is expected of him to do so with his class.

But his life would be like a night on a stormy sea, an endless night of torturous winds and massive waves.

It is revealed that the Edward and Lenora’s marriage is one of convenience rather than love, and Edward often takes mistresses throughout the story, he is seeking his true soul mate, someone that will listen. And for a good time all is well, until the day the treachery of Florence is discovered.

The narrator discovers everything he knows of Florence to be a lie, while he has been faithful she has had affairs with multiple men, including Captain Edward Ashburnham, a man by the name of Tom that once rented a loft in their home and several men of Noble class they met through their journeys of Europe.

Upon the narrators discovery Florence commits suicide and that is when the Saddest Story truly begins, Edward falls to depression and seeks a new flame, he finds it in the arms of a Spanish Dancer, wed to an Archduke, however for a hefty fee she shares a bed with him and listens to his woes, when she tires of him she cuts off all dealings and leaves him alone in a city foreign to him, his body drained of passion and love, he takes to drink and gambling where he gambles away his families fortune, his wife Lenora is forced to step in and take care of finances and sadly this is how his affairs continue, till his heart can no longer take the loss and he dies in his bed, after a lifetime of pain and loveless affairs, he never found his soul mate, and was not once faithful to his dear wife Lenora, who never took another man.

                The story is written, as I said before, in a non-chronological order, it is a style called “unreliable narrator” where for some reason what the narrator says cannot be taken as fully truthful or correct. In fact in the beginning of the book the author states that “I cannot assure you that everything in this will be true to as what really happened, but it is what I perceive to be the true events that took place.” He openly admits his words cannot be taken at face value.

Not several pages later he asks “I would implore you to listen to me beside this hearth…” implying that the reader is in fact a nameless friend to him whom he is regaling with the story of the Ashburnham’s, the story he calls, The Saddest Story.

I did a little research and discovered the original name of the book was actually “The Saddest Story” but was changed to “The Good Soldier” after the onset of World War I to promote patriotism in Britain.

The style of writing stays constant throughout the book, however as Edward sinks deeper into a pit of sadness and loneliness we can see a noticeable change in diction by the write, as he uses less light and happy wording and moves toward using heavy, more depressing words.

                The author’s style is something I have not seen before and it was one of the things that kept me reading the book once I got started.  One of the things I enjoyed was that the tone of the story didn’t change with the views of the characters begin affected by the events but was only changed by the narrators point of view on the situation.  So at times when the reader expects a sad tone, perhaps a mourn tone, such as when Florence dies, we get a tone of indifference.

                One point of interest for me was the conflicted feelings of the writer, he would often state an opinion before openly contradicting himself with another, such as when speaking of Florence after her death he says “She was a wretch, she took me around Europe and refused me happiness, and I only gave her joy.” To in the next few sentences say “I suppose I still loved her, despite her deceptions, I love her with all my heart.”

                The writer was also not one for physical description, only giving light direct description he enjoyed using nature when describing actions or feelings and sometimes alluding to other objects, such as his description of Florence “She was like a small flower sitting in her study alone, her scent was something of a summer breeze lightly billowing past my nose, and when I touched her I found her to be made of silk.” And he describes the Spanish Dancer Edward pays to share a bed with him as “A rare creature rarely seen, delicate, yet ferocious she hunted Edward down in a time of weakness and a predator stalks its prey, her cheeks holding a setting sun and her body swaying as tree branches in a soft breeze.”

What is the world coming to?!

Hello, you may remember the post about the Wonderful piece of Artwork that was ruined... erm, messed up, by a caring elderly woman that wanted to help and do her part by restoring an old picture of Jesus, well now she is sueing for royalties, look here
I would like to thank Susie for pointing me toward this article.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/09/20/cecilia_gimenez_ecce_home_81_year_old_woman_who_restored_sanctuary_of_mercy_church_s_fresco_suing_for_royalties_.html

Chicago Teachers Strike

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-strike-updates-pickets-up-as-more-talks-scheduled-20120910,0,4173856.story
please read through this article and share your opinions with me, do you agree with the teachers strike, it is hurting or helping the  students, i will be lookin for follow up articles on this strike

AP list book.

I have chosen The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox.

It's an old English book made before the onset of World War I, previously called The Saddest Story its name was changed when the war started.

It is loosely based off of Ford's rather messy personal life and two cases of adultry, it is written in a from known as "Unreliable Narrator" being told in a series of flash backs that aren't in chronological order and there for leaves the story unclear till the end of the book.

This interested me and I decided I'd give it a try.

Beowulf questions 2nd half

These are the last of the questions, provided by Conor MacNamara, we split the work down the middle to lessen the load off of each other. I did the first half, he did the second.

7. Beowulf finds a great sword, one forged by the giants long ago, unsheathes it, and with one big swing lops of her head. He then searches for Grendel's body, determined to avenge all who dies because of his "raids". He finds the corpse, and decapitates it. By doing so, though, the sword melts due to Grendel's acidic blood, leaving him with only a hilt and Grendel's head. (Is Grendel an alien?)
8. Beowulf is able to swim back to the surface without any monsters attacking him. As he come out his men are rejoicing for his arrival, themselves not even believing he could best Grendel's mother.

[Further Celebration at Herot]
1. There is a huge feast in honor of Beowulf, with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword given to Hrothgar as a sign of good faith.
2. Hrothgar has a speech prepared so as to praise Beowulf while at the same time warning him about what it takes to be a good and fair ruler. He gives an example of Heremod, a man who some considered the worst king ever to exist due to he betraying and killing his own people. Heremod was eventually banished and exiled to the Jutes, where he was subsequently betrayed and killed. He uses this example to show to Beowulf what happens when you aren't a fair ruler of your people.
3. Beowulf returns Unferth's sword, Hrunting, back to him.

[Beowulf Returns Home]
1. Hrothgar predicts a great future for Beowulf, one where he will come back and protect the Danes yet again.
2. Hygd is the Queen of the Geatlands. She is a young, yet wise woman, one who would not kill and torture many of her people just because they looked at her, unlike say, Modthryth.
3. Hrothgar hopes that by having his daughter marry Ingeld, he can create peace between the Danes and the Heathobards and end the bloody conflict. Beowulf is under the impression that Hrothgar only brought back up the feud from its dark recesses and that more conflict is inevitable, especially once the Danes and the Heathobards see each other's possessions of their own families. This is different than what we're used to from Beowulf, as he usually acts on impulse and doesn't think things through until they've already happened.
4. Beowulf exaggerates the story, emphasizing things like the viciousness and how terrifying Grendel and his mom were and how intense the fights were, so as to make himself seem even more superhuman than he already is.
5. Beowulf gives the treasure he received from Hrothgar to Hygelac. In return, Hygelac gives Beowulf a jeweled sword, land, his own personal hall with his own personal throne and 7,000 hides.

[The Dragon Wakes]
1. This part of the story takes place 50 years after the events of the last. Both King Hygelac and his successor Heardred have been killed, leaving Beowulf as the King. And then the dragon awakes.
2. The dragon is furious because someone stole a cup from under his nose! He had given himself one task, guard the treasure, and now a cup is missing, stolen by slave who hoped to give it to his master so as to obtain freedom. The treasure trove was originally guarded by an ancient civilization, until only one man was left. After that man died, the aforementioned dragon found the trove and guarded it for 300 years until a cup was stolen.
3. In a fit of rage, the dragon goes about destroying the Geatlands, hoping to avenge his failure.
4. By having his great hall destroyed, this leaves Beowulf believing he has offended God. He orders an iron shield, one that can protect him from the dragon's flames. However, he also has nagging suspicions that this will be his last battle, the one where he will finally be slain in battle (which turns out to be the case).
5. Hygelac was killed in battle, with Beowulf barely escaping with his life, swimming to safety while carrying thirty battle dresses. Hygd offers him the chance to become king, but he declines it, believing that it should got to Headred.
6. Headred accepts a group of exiled Swedes who also happen to be the brothers of Onela. Onela attacks Geatland in the hopes of killing off his brothers, which lead to Headred being killed in battle along with one of the brothers, Eanmund. The other brother, Eadgis, and Beowulf avenge the deaths of Headred and Eanmumd by killing King Onela.
7. Eleven warriors selected by Beowulf and the slave who stole the cup accompany him to meet and fight the dragon.
8. Haethcyn accidently killed his brother, Herebeald, with an arrow while they were hunting. King Hrethel, knowing this was an accident, but still mourning the death of his eldest son, died in a fit of grief, leaving his kingdom to Haethcyn and Hygelac. After Hrethel died, the Swedes and Geats continued fighting, eventually leading to the deaths of both Haethcyn and Hygelac. Angered over the death of Hygelac, Beowulf avenged his death by killing Dayraven, a great Frankish warrior.

[Beowulf Attacks the Dragon]
1. Beowulf tells his men to wait outside and not attack the dragon.
2. Beowulf's trusty sword doesn't pierce the dragon deep enough to do much damage. This leads to Beowulf retreating while the dragon is continually breathing fire on him. His men, seeing Beowulf retreating, flee back into the woods except for one, Wiglaf. He tells the fleeing soldiers that Beowulf put his trust in these men, and they must repay his trust by aiding him in battle. Beowulf also asks for help, but only Wiglaf aides him.
3. Beowulf's sword snaps as he tries to pierce the dragon's neck, leaving his own neck vulnerable for a bite. As he is bleeding, Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the stomach, giving Beowulf the distraction he needs to pull out his knife and fatally stab the dragon in the neck.
4. Beowulf asks Wiglaf to search the lair and bring back some of the treasure so that he can see what he won before he dies. He praises God for all the treasure he can now give to his people, and asks Wiglaf to build a barrow "Beowulf's tower" by the sea where he can be buried on a funeral pyre and where he can be recognized by anyone who spots it.

[Beowulf's Funeral]
1. When the companions return, they witnessed Wiglaf starting to bury Beowulf. He chastises them for abandoning Beowulf when he needed them most, and predicts that the Geatland will eventually be attacked and destroyed by their rivals.
2. The messenger tells the city that Beowulf is dead. He tells them of Ongentheow, the man who killed Haethcyn, and how he made fun of the Geats all night in Ravenwood. However, he did not account for Hygelac coming the next day and subsequently was overwhelmed and corned. Refusing to give up, his defiance had him killed by Hygelac. According to the messenger, the gold is cursed in that anyone who attempts to steal it will be cursed (much like Indiana Jones). The final image is that of... a dragon!
3. Wiglaf tells the crowd of the various heroics Beowulf did, and how Beowulf was a warrior among warriors and a king among kings who will never be forgotten, and always be honored.
4. The dragon was pushed off a cliff and into the ocean, never given a proper burial due to its evil nature.
5. People cried and sang over the death of Beowulf during and after the funeral.
6. According to the Geats, Beowulf was a kind and beloved hero who will be remembered for all time. If one were to describe a military hero, one who made fame by killing other creatures/people, I would think that the world "kind" would seem a little out-of-place.

Beowulf questions 11-25

Celebration at Herot

1)

2) Hrothgar offers to let Beowulf join his family as an adoptive son as thanks for his great deed, which Beowulf accepts.

3)

4)

5) The narrator says Beowulf's king Hygelac, will wear the necklace in his last battle, and the Franks will steal it from his corpse at a later time.  The Queen presents the necklace to Beowulf and asks him to guide and protect her sons and wishes him good luck and fortune.

6) Though Grendel is dead the narrator says at least one of them is marked for death and Grendel’s mother still lives.

Another Attack

1) Grendel’s mother attacks to get revenge on the Geats and Danes for her son’s death, rather than an act of rage it is an act of revenge.

2) Grendel’s mother kills soldiers from both tribes, Danes and Geats, as well as kills and steals the body of Hrothgar’s Retainer, one of his dearest companions, a man named Aeschere. He asks Beowulf if he will track down and slay the demon.

3) The mere is a dark lake with seemingly no bottom, filled with sea creatures and monsters, that glows like fire at night, Grendel’s mother supposedly lives on the bottom.

Beowulf fights Grendel’s mother

1) Beowulf says that Hrothgar should come as well, for everyone dies and it is their duty to avenge their loved ones before they die.

2) The Geats and Danes kill a large Sea Monster before Beowulf enters the mere.

3) Beowulf prepares by wearing a golden helmet and chain mail shirt to not be cursed by the sea creatures on his way to Grendel’s mother. He wields a sword called Hrunting, a sword made and tempered in blood, it had never lost a battle and with it Beowulf would be unable to lose.

4) The poem is not very descriptive of it other than that the lair seems to be in a pocket of air under the lake, filled with treasures.

5) During the fight against Grendel’s mother the sword Beowulf borrowed is thrown aside when it cannot seem to harm Grendel’s mother.

6) Beowulf’s chain mail saves him from the knife Grendel’s mother tries to kill him with and is able to throw her off of his body, he heaves a large sword, from the era of giants the poet states, and uses it to cleave into the demon’s neck, killing her.

Beowulf Questions

Prologue

1)Shield came to be the ruler of the Danes by conquering each clan one by one till they all were forced to obey him and worship him as a King, this made him a ‘good king’.

Shield had been very specific on how he wished to be honored at burial.  His body was placed onto a long boat, then all of his treasures of gold and silver, precious gems and chalices, were loaded on top of him, as offering and to pay homage, then came the weapons, many sets of armor and different weapons used by the Danes were loaded onto the boat,  for he was a warrior king. After that the boat was set out to sea, to drift until it sunk, or was salvaged by someone else.

Hrothgar was the great grandson of Shield and a warrior who found great riches and fame in battle.

Heort is Attacked

1)  Hrothgar wanted to build a mighty fort like no other, so he went to building the mighty fort of Heort, a massive fort like no other.

 the Beast Grendel  hears the sounds of music and celebration from the fort, and due to its sensitive hearing became enraged and attacked the fort continuously night after night killing every warrior and bard in the fort again and again, however it did not attack Hrothgar or the throne.

The Danes turned to old stone idols and prayed to Gods that hadn’t been worshiped for years in an attempt to be free of the beast Grendel’s ravaging.

Hero comes to Heort

1) When Beowulf hears of the Danes problems with Grendel he ordered a ship to be readied and gathered his mightiest warriors to sail with him to Heort to defeat the great beast and help the King of Danes Hrothgar.

2) When the Geats first arrive in Denmark they meet a Danish Watcher that had been patrolling the coast, he confronts the Geats asking their business in Denmark, and why they seem ready for a battle. Beowulf replies by stating their business, they are Geats, he tells the watcher of his lineage his father’s father and his father. He then tells the watcher they have come to slay the beast that haunts the halls of Heort.

3) Hrothgar’s Hearld is a man by the name of Wulfgar, when he hears of Beowulf and his men he asks Hrothgar to give them audience and hear their plans. Hrothgar responds by saying he remembers Beowulf from his youth, and that the Geats are hardy warriors welcome in the halls of Hrothgar.

4)  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he plans to defeat Grendel in single battle, no lives of any Danes will be risked, only his own and his men,  that he would purge the evil from Heort so that the Danes no longer fear it.

Feast at Heort

1) Unferth accuses Beoewulf of losing in a swimming race to a lesser man and that Beowulf would surely turn and flee at the sight of Grendel.  Beowulf replies saying that he only lost because he stopped to slay a monstrous fish along the way, and that he could best any man in swimming. This is an important chapter in the poem because it shows that he would give up a race and show that he can take a hit to his pride, if it means slaying an enemy of man, it also show that some doubt the hero and that he must prove himself.

2)  The Queen spent the feasting time passing drink to the guests of Hrothgar, Beowulf and his men, and wished them luck with their coming battle against Grendel.

Fight with Grendel

1) Beowulf does little to prepare for the battle with Grendel other then enter Heort, he strips himself of his armor and weapons, wanting to fight Grendel with no armor or weapons, as it fights. This is the opposite of what would be expected, one would expect him to done more armor and weapons to fight the beast but that is not so.

2) Grendel  breaks through the front gates of the fort and immediately set upon one of Beowulf’s men and ate him immediately, upon trying to attack Beowulf the man jumped upon them.

They fought, grappling with each other, trying to tear each other apart with only their arms and bodies. Grendel leaves behind an arm at Heort for Beowulf tore it off as the beast tried to run from the battle.

Though Grendel escaped he bleed to death in his mother’s arm.

1987 results

1. c
2. a
3. c
4. e
5. d
6. d
7. e
8. b
9. e
10. c
11. d
12. b
13. e
14. c
15. e
16. b
17. b
18. e
19. b
20. a
21. a
22. d
23. a
24. b
25. e
26. e
27. e
28. e
29. a
30. b
31. d
32. b
33. -46 unavailable

47. b
48. c
49. e
50. c
51. c
52. d
53. e
54.  e
55. d
56. a
57. d.
58. d.
59. d
60. d
61. e

America's tunnel vision.

Alright, I was watching the 5 oclock news today and I hearh something that momentarily scared me.
They said.

"New update from Texas today, the death toll is rising to unbelieveable numbers." at this point I got worried then I heard.

"2 more people died today, making it 28." and though I was sad for their families I couldn't help but think, is that really unbelieveable numbers?

All around the world people die from sickness, natural disasters, and in some cases civil unrest. We hear all the time when other countries go through epidemics, the death numbers are almost in the triple digits in days.

Have we in America gained such ignorant tunnel vision that the 28 people dead here in America is a bigger problem, and causes a bigger panic to us, then hundreds dieing else where, women, children, defenseless people?
Now I understand, yes it may be because it is on our own soil and yes we have more develpoed medicine, but this is only one of the many examples I have seen, this one just brought the thought to the front of my mind.
Please share your thoughts with me on this.

I'm no artist but what was she thinking?

http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/08/22/13417610-i-can-paint-that-wait-no-i-cant-amateur-artist-messes-up-century-old-artwork?lite/
ok so I found this article and I would like for you all to read it, its short, and think on it. I will abstain from posting my opinion here for now and I would like to know the opinions of others in my class, and others who may be reading this blog.

August 20 3 questions

1) My family is absolutely lost when it comes to using the internet or computers for anything outside facebook, having to use the blog alot will no doubt be my biggest challenge as it is not something I am use to nor is it a way of learning that I can absorb easily.

2) Dr. Preston's English Class in the 10th grade comes to mind simply because it was a new type of teaching that I hadn't experienced yet and I felt the class brought a unique and new way to run the classroom. It helped me when it came time to look for a job through the career unit, I had a resume ready for use.

3) I am dreading the upcoming year, this is not a class that I believe I will be able to pass easily, let alone absorb the information I'm supposed to be learning, I am going to try my best but rather then getting excited about one thing I am simply going to work on passng hte class.