Romeo and Juliet

As soon as I read this weeks blog topic, I couldn't help but laugh! I immediately thought of one of my favorite somgs when I was little: "Hey Juliet" by LMNT! Oh, what memories!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVzXe6kr9rA

Honestly, now that i'm listening to it for the first time in years, I'm really starting to like it again.

The chorus is:

(Hey Juliet)
I think you're fine
You really blow my mind
Maybe someday, you and me can run away
I just want you to know
I wanna be your Romeo
Hey Juliet

I really recommend listening to it! hahahaha

ExTrA cReDiT

I hope I don't get marked down for being too informal in this blog, but I'm going to make it as personal as possible. Wow, its really weird to think that we have been blogging for 7 months! This year in English has definitely been a lot different than any English class I've had before... A lot more freedom, if you will. In middle school we pretty much wrote essays, read together as a class, then shoved everything that we had learned into the back of our minds. Speaking plural probably isn't fair to some people, but basically that was MY middle school experience. But, in English class this year there has definitely been a lot less "hand-holding" (a phrase that's loved by pretty much every teacher I've had before...). Working in groups is something that i have really enjoyed, like the Earnest Essay. Ive also learned that there are a lot of books out there that are actually pretty decent, for example, I really liked Animal Farm, The Bean Trees, A Separate Peace, The Importance of Being Earnest, and (although i hate to admit it) there were some parts of Great Expectations that were really touching. This year has also been a lot of fun! Even though we do our share of work, I also like having a sort of party at the end of each novel. It feels like a sort of reward for getting through the book! I also think our class is really great, everyone is just so nice! So, as a whole, and as we are finishing up our last few weeks in English (craziness!), I'd have to say that English as a whole this year has been pretty great :)

Another Question

The question that I had in these chapters was near the beginning of the reading - Chapter 37. On page 292, Mr Wemmick is advising Pip about what to do with all of the debt that he and Herbert have. The part I dont get about this is when Wemmick all of a sudden brings up a metaphor. "I should like just to run over with you on my fingers, if you please, the names of the various bridges up as high as Chealsia Ranch. There are as many as six, you see, to choose from." I was very confused when I read this, and after Pip says to Wemmick himself that he donesnt understand his words, Wemmick replies: "Choose your bridge, Mr Pip. And take a walk upon your bridge, and pitch your money into the Thames over the centre arch of your bridge, and you may know the end of it. Serve a friend with it, and ou may know the end of it, too - but it's a less plesant and profitable end." Obviously, I can see that Mr Wemmick's advise is wise, but I dont fully understand what he's saying..the whole bridge metaphor is little bit weird.

Great Expectations Question

In chapter 29, when Pip returns to Miss Havisham's house to visit Estella, I had a few questions concaerning Miss Havisham. Throughout the entire book up to this point, I always thought that Miss Havisham was out break Pip's heart through Estella. That is, until I read this passage: "Hear me, Pip! I adopted her to be loved. I bred her and educated her to be loved. I developed her into what she is, that she might be loved. Love her!" (240) After reading this passage, I was a little suspicious. Is Miss Havisham setting Pip up for even more heartbreak, or is she finally excepting him and approving him for Estella? Ive always thought of Miss Havisham as a crazy old women who only cares about making others as miserable as she is, never as the women who wants to see a happy ending for the couple she and her finace never were. Whats up with Miss Havisham?

Great Expectations

I chose this image to represent the this weeks reading in Great Expectations because Pip is always dreaming of bigger things. In this picture, the sad caterpillar is dreaming about becoming a butterfly. This relates to Pip because he is tired of the life as who he is, and wants to flourish into something better and more glamorous.

Great Expectations

The very last line in Chapter 9 of Great Expectations really shows Pip's understanding and sophistication as he enters a new stage in his life. During this passage, Pip realizes the hard-working poor life he has been living and raisied in is entirely different from the life with Estella and Miss Havisham that he has newly grown accostumed to. The moral of the sentance that I got through Pip's words was that every little part of your life effects who you become in the long run. Through his encounters and time spent with Miss Havisham and Estella, his life was effected like it never had been before. Because of this piece of his life, the person he is and wants to be will change.
When I try to think of a time that I've been going through the same thing as Pip, my mind draws a blank. One thing I can think of, though, is how different (in a bad way) I would be if I wasn't a member of my church. I definately wouldn't be as nice of a person if I didnt have the guidence that I have today. By doing a small thing like attending church, my entire life will be different in the long run. Like Pip, by trying new things, you can expand your boundaries and become the person that you really want to be, not following others (Joe) in an 'ordinary' and 'common' lifestyle.

Group Essay

Hey Anna and Alex,

My piece of the group essay is pretty much done, Ive just got some pieces that I need to work on.
My opening sentence is: "Cecily Cardew and Algernon Moncrieff's childish love is by far the most immature relationship in Oscar Wildes' play." I suppose this sentence works because our thesis is all about the exagerated styles of Oscar Wildes' character's relationships.

The transition ties the opening sentence to my first CD. My transition says something like "The foolish romance between the two lovers evolves around an assumption concerning Algernon's identity." My concrete detail introduces the concept of the Ernest misunderstanding. My commentaries explain the whole thing; the diary, the letters, Algernons bunburying, etc.

My next transition introduces the ideas of Algernons and Cecily's love. My CD in this part is how basically Cecily wants to be loved, and Algernon wants to love someone, making them an odd but compatible pair. My CMs in this part of the paragraph include two quotes (one describing each persons views on love).

The third part of the paragraph is the part that I have DEFINATELY had the most trouble with... I'm really not sure what to do still. If you guys have any ideas it would be great. Right now I'm deciding between bringing in the whole concept of how their relationship is exagerated and unlogical compared to the "normal" relatinships of the Victorian Era, and talking about another trait that makes them childish (like Anna suggested the other day). For example, the impatience of Cecily and how she could hardly wait for someone for 5 minutes, let alone until she was 35.

The conclusion sentance is pretty important and also a bit challenging because I have to introduce our conclusion, which we really haven't even started working on yet. And, also because I'm not sure how I'm going to end my paragraph yet. I'll be be sure to make it ties into both the thesis and the concluding part of my paragraph.

Thanks so much for your help, guys :). Have a great Mid-Winter Break!