We went to Macbeth and wore our European Heroes shirts. :)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
what to do?
Well, I am very surprisingly the first to post on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, so I am unable to comment...which is not good because my mom has become a computer hoard since she started taking classes at Ivy Tech. So if any of you who have my number see this, it may be greatly appreciated if text me later to remind me to get back on and comment. please and thank you so much.
GREEN!!!
I finished reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight earlier today. So here I am to make my post. . .
1. An epic hero is often thought of as being braver, stronger, smarter, and more clever than the average person. Sir Gawain meets these stereotypes to certain degrees, but he also fails to meet them. In the beginning of his tale, he is not really that much more extraordinary than anyone else; he only takes the challenge because he thinks himself less worthy than others, therefore a less troubling loss. However, while his motives for taking the challenge seem strange, they prove him to be brave because he is willing to risk his own life to save that of King Arthur, or any of the other knights.
Sir Gawain does take on the Green Knight's challenge and holds true to his covenant to meet him a year after delivering him a blow to receive the same in return. Along his quest to find the Green Chapel and the Green Knight he comes to a lord's castle, where he stays and makes a covenant with him. At first he holds honest to it, but on the last day of it he does not. So, he can be seen as being flawed in the aspect that in fear of losing his life, he takes the queens corset and hides that from the king in spite of their covenant.
Sir Gawain is an epic hero type character because he is brave and goes on a quest to uphold his end of an agreement. He stays true to his knighthood ways for the most part, but at some point he proves himself to be human as well. He has his own flaws like an person. He, like most people, came to the point where his life seemed more important than other things and he was not honest in his covenant with the king to try to save his life from the Green Knight.
2. I did not find the Green Knight to be evil. While he was not the nicest man alive, he was not exactly evil either. He sought out King Arthur's court to test the knights of the Round Table. He made his challenge and it was freely accepted, he did not force it upon any of the knights. I would say that the Green Knight, while he was not evil, was rather deceiving and somewhat tricky. He tried to trick Sir Gawain into breaking the covenant he formed with him (the lord) by tempting him with his wife. He ends up succeeding, but only because Gawain feared for his life. He is able to tempt Gawain into doing something he ordinarily would not, which is breaking his covenant. He wanted to stay true to his word, but he has a weak moment and is unable to. The Green Knight did not come up with this scheme on his own; he was fulfilling a task set upon himself by Morgan le Fay to test the knights of the Round Table. So I believe that the Green Knight is not an evil being, but only a man fulfilling what he was sought after to do.
3. The color GREEN can have many meanings. Green can symbolize a lack of experience. I think that in that case it would apply to Sir Gawain, because it appears as though Sir Gawain is not a very experienced knight. His covenant with the Green Knight was probably the first he encountered of great importance, so the green symbolizes his inexperience and the growth he undergoes throughout his quest. The color green also often relates to nature and a large part of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes place in nature. Green can also represent a newness and growth. The first part of Sir Gawain's covenant takes places at the beginning of a new year, so it is a time for a new things. Sir Gawain changes throughout the course of the year that leads up to his quest. It is again a new years when he fulfills his half of the covenant. Gawain changes again right before and after his second acquaintance with the Green Knight, so the new year once again represents a new beginning for Sir Gawain.
1. An epic hero is often thought of as being braver, stronger, smarter, and more clever than the average person. Sir Gawain meets these stereotypes to certain degrees, but he also fails to meet them. In the beginning of his tale, he is not really that much more extraordinary than anyone else; he only takes the challenge because he thinks himself less worthy than others, therefore a less troubling loss. However, while his motives for taking the challenge seem strange, they prove him to be brave because he is willing to risk his own life to save that of King Arthur, or any of the other knights.
Sir Gawain does take on the Green Knight's challenge and holds true to his covenant to meet him a year after delivering him a blow to receive the same in return. Along his quest to find the Green Chapel and the Green Knight he comes to a lord's castle, where he stays and makes a covenant with him. At first he holds honest to it, but on the last day of it he does not. So, he can be seen as being flawed in the aspect that in fear of losing his life, he takes the queens corset and hides that from the king in spite of their covenant.
Sir Gawain is an epic hero type character because he is brave and goes on a quest to uphold his end of an agreement. He stays true to his knighthood ways for the most part, but at some point he proves himself to be human as well. He has his own flaws like an person. He, like most people, came to the point where his life seemed more important than other things and he was not honest in his covenant with the king to try to save his life from the Green Knight.
2. I did not find the Green Knight to be evil. While he was not the nicest man alive, he was not exactly evil either. He sought out King Arthur's court to test the knights of the Round Table. He made his challenge and it was freely accepted, he did not force it upon any of the knights. I would say that the Green Knight, while he was not evil, was rather deceiving and somewhat tricky. He tried to trick Sir Gawain into breaking the covenant he formed with him (the lord) by tempting him with his wife. He ends up succeeding, but only because Gawain feared for his life. He is able to tempt Gawain into doing something he ordinarily would not, which is breaking his covenant. He wanted to stay true to his word, but he has a weak moment and is unable to. The Green Knight did not come up with this scheme on his own; he was fulfilling a task set upon himself by Morgan le Fay to test the knights of the Round Table. So I believe that the Green Knight is not an evil being, but only a man fulfilling what he was sought after to do.
3. The color GREEN can have many meanings. Green can symbolize a lack of experience. I think that in that case it would apply to Sir Gawain, because it appears as though Sir Gawain is not a very experienced knight. His covenant with the Green Knight was probably the first he encountered of great importance, so the green symbolizes his inexperience and the growth he undergoes throughout his quest. The color green also often relates to nature and a large part of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes place in nature. Green can also represent a newness and growth. The first part of Sir Gawain's covenant takes places at the beginning of a new year, so it is a time for a new things. Sir Gawain changes throughout the course of the year that leads up to his quest. It is again a new years when he fulfills his half of the covenant. Gawain changes again right before and after his second acquaintance with the Green Knight, so the new year once again represents a new beginning for Sir Gawain.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
HUGE scroll!
Okay so Amanda and I went to the IMA today. We made it without the GPS or getting lost, aren't you proud of us? haha. :)
The whole point of venturing there was to look at the scroll version of Jack Kerouac's On the Road. I honestly do not remember ever having heard of this guy or his book until P-dise suggested we go look at it. I was rather amazed by the scroll. It was incredibly long and it wasn't even entirely rolled out. If I remeber correctly, I think one of the information things said there were like 6ooo some words. And I think it took him like a week (or maybe it was a month, I'm not sure) to write it. I found it interesting that two strangers got together and worked together like Kerouac and Robert Frank did. It was interesting because not many people wrote in the way that Kerouac did; he sat down and just typed continuously on a long sheet of paper until he was done. (I find that a bit crazy myself, but I guess if it works, it works.) He only transfered it to the typical form of a book to please the publisher and his lawyer.
***Okay, so anyone who went there to see it probably saw the typewriter that said you could sit down and type on it... well I did, and I just wanted to tell you what I typed....
ap paradise european :) tana & amanda :)
....so i just thought I'd tell everyone because I'm sure there are at least a few people would find it amusing. :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Beowulf
Beowulf is of a very different sort of writing than I am used to reading. That is partly due to the fact that I don't tend to read about things along that type of story (i.e. warriors, fighting, kings, monsters, gold, etc.) and also because it has a very different way of saying things than the much more recently written books I read. I will probably encounter more books that are unlike my norm throughout this year of AP. Although it varied from my norm, I was able to comprehend the big picture and at least some of the details. So, while I know I did not catch every little thing, I do believe I generally understood it.
Now to the point of this post. . . I am going to focus on the last question. It asks about revenge being a theme of the poem.
Revenge is a very prominent theme in Beowulf. Many of the things that happen throughout the course of the story have to do with someone wanting revenge. From the very beginning there is a want of revenge, although it is very subtle at the beginning since it isn't personal between Beowulf and Grendel. Beowulf first comes to Hrothgar to help defend his people from Grendel. Then after he slays Grendel, Grendel's mom becomes angered and wants revenge for her son's death. She in turn comes to Herot to get her revenge. Upon her arrival she kills Hrothgar's advisor AEshcere. His death upsets Hrothgar so Beowulf goes after Grendel's mom to get revenge for Hrothgar for his friends death. Beowulf goes after her and defeats her as well. And I believe that is where that train of revenge ceases. However, there is more later on. Back in Beowulf's home area, there was a dragon that guarded a treasure. A man tried to steal it and was able to make away with a small portion, causing the dragon to seek revenge. To do so, he burned the village. The burning of the village angered the people, including Beowulf. So he and some other warriors went to take on the dragon for revenge for their homes. Beowulf becomes harmed in the battle, but he is able to kill the dragon, so he gets his revenge, even though it costs his life. Sooo, as you can see, REVENGE is a very distinctive theme in Beowulf.
Now to the point of this post. . . I am going to focus on the last question. It asks about revenge being a theme of the poem.
Revenge is a very prominent theme in Beowulf. Many of the things that happen throughout the course of the story have to do with someone wanting revenge. From the very beginning there is a want of revenge, although it is very subtle at the beginning since it isn't personal between Beowulf and Grendel. Beowulf first comes to Hrothgar to help defend his people from Grendel. Then after he slays Grendel, Grendel's mom becomes angered and wants revenge for her son's death. She in turn comes to Herot to get her revenge. Upon her arrival she kills Hrothgar's advisor AEshcere. His death upsets Hrothgar so Beowulf goes after Grendel's mom to get revenge for Hrothgar for his friends death. Beowulf goes after her and defeats her as well. And I believe that is where that train of revenge ceases. However, there is more later on. Back in Beowulf's home area, there was a dragon that guarded a treasure. A man tried to steal it and was able to make away with a small portion, causing the dragon to seek revenge. To do so, he burned the village. The burning of the village angered the people, including Beowulf. So he and some other warriors went to take on the dragon for revenge for their homes. Beowulf becomes harmed in the battle, but he is able to kill the dragon, so he gets his revenge, even though it costs his life. Sooo, as you can see, REVENGE is a very distinctive theme in Beowulf.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
SCHOOL. . . . . [[ugh]]
So my summer went by really fast. I don't know if everyone else's did too, but everyone I have talked to agrees. I hope everyone's summer was enjoyable, even if we had homework. Haha :) For me it was full of volleyball and softball and Jared. I just turned 17 about a week ago, so while some of you are turning 18, I am not :( but oh well. It just seems weird that you guys are 18 now. Well I think I have gotten everything on here done that I was supposed to, I sure hope so. So I will see all of you tomorrow.
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Its seems as though everyone knows the plot of Romeo and Juliet so I probably will not ruin it for anyone.
There are the two feuding families Capulets (Juliet's family) and the Montagues (Romeo's family). Romeo and Juliet find each and fall in love. They talk the Reverend into secretly marrying them. An argument between members of the families breaks out, Romeo kills someone and is banished from the town. Juliet's family, not knowing of here marriage, tries to marry her to Paris. The Reverend gives her a sleeping potion to make it seem that she is dead. While she is passed out Romeo returns and finds her passed out, and thinking she is dead he drinks poison so he can be with her in death. Juliet wakes up too late and finding him dead she kills herself as well.
Romeo and Juliet is a good example of a tragedy. I have yet to write my paper, but since I still have a month before it is due, I am going to re-read it before I write it.
There are the two feuding families Capulets (Juliet's family) and the Montagues (Romeo's family). Romeo and Juliet find each and fall in love. They talk the Reverend into secretly marrying them. An argument between members of the families breaks out, Romeo kills someone and is banished from the town. Juliet's family, not knowing of here marriage, tries to marry her to Paris. The Reverend gives her a sleeping potion to make it seem that she is dead. While she is passed out Romeo returns and finds her passed out, and thinking she is dead he drinks poison so he can be with her in death. Juliet wakes up too late and finding him dead she kills herself as well.
Romeo and Juliet is a good example of a tragedy. I have yet to write my paper, but since I still have a month before it is due, I am going to re-read it before I write it.
Schindler's List - Thomas Keneally
Schindler's List is set up like a documentary, so it took me longer than I had expected to read it. I would be reading for a while and only have covered a few pages, it was frustrating. Luckily for me the reading sped up towards the end of the book.
Schindler's List is the story of how Oskar Schindler saved around 1,100 Polish Jews. It tells how he came to Poland from his home town in prospect of becoming a wealthy businessman and he saw the war as a way to do that. He opened a factory to make wartime necessities. In the beginning he employed Jewish workers because they were cheap labor. But after witnessing a horrific Aktion, round up of Jews, that lived in a ghetto of Cracow; he vowed to himself that he would do what he could to undermine the SS (Nazi) system and to save as many Jews as he could. He opened his own labor camp at his factory to protect his laborers from the cruel treatment at the other labor/concentration camps. He spent large sums of money on creating the camp and on bribing officials to allow him to make it. Towards the end of the war he had to relocate and it took longer to get it approved and then the transfer of his laborers was prolonged by SS men. They were kept at Auschwitz for a period of time until they were finally sent to Oskar. The Jews of Oskar's camp referred to themselves as Schindlerjuden, Schindler's Jews. They saw his camp as a safe haven; compared to the other camps, Oskar's was a paradise. They were still made to work, but they were not beaten or killed and they were fed much better then the other Jews. At the end of the war Oskar had to flea so that he was not treated like the other cruel camp directors. He later became bankrupt, partly because he spent incredible amounts on his effort and because what he had left was confiscated after the war, and became dependent on the Schindlerjuden. They were more than happy to help Schindler in his time of need because he had helped them to incredible lengths in theirs. Oskar saved many Jews and was loved by them for it.
This book was very difficult for me to stay with. It read very slowly; however the story was incredible, mainly because what Schindler did was an incredible thing. Though some of the occurrences it tells about are gruesome and almost unbelievable, it is really a good story to read because it is educational. It tells the stories of the luckier Jews of the Holocaust.
Schindler's List is the story of how Oskar Schindler saved around 1,100 Polish Jews. It tells how he came to Poland from his home town in prospect of becoming a wealthy businessman and he saw the war as a way to do that. He opened a factory to make wartime necessities. In the beginning he employed Jewish workers because they were cheap labor. But after witnessing a horrific Aktion, round up of Jews, that lived in a ghetto of Cracow; he vowed to himself that he would do what he could to undermine the SS (Nazi) system and to save as many Jews as he could. He opened his own labor camp at his factory to protect his laborers from the cruel treatment at the other labor/concentration camps. He spent large sums of money on creating the camp and on bribing officials to allow him to make it. Towards the end of the war he had to relocate and it took longer to get it approved and then the transfer of his laborers was prolonged by SS men. They were kept at Auschwitz for a period of time until they were finally sent to Oskar. The Jews of Oskar's camp referred to themselves as Schindlerjuden, Schindler's Jews. They saw his camp as a safe haven; compared to the other camps, Oskar's was a paradise. They were still made to work, but they were not beaten or killed and they were fed much better then the other Jews. At the end of the war Oskar had to flea so that he was not treated like the other cruel camp directors. He later became bankrupt, partly because he spent incredible amounts on his effort and because what he had left was confiscated after the war, and became dependent on the Schindlerjuden. They were more than happy to help Schindler in his time of need because he had helped them to incredible lengths in theirs. Oskar saved many Jews and was loved by them for it.
This book was very difficult for me to stay with. It read very slowly; however the story was incredible, mainly because what Schindler did was an incredible thing. Though some of the occurrences it tells about are gruesome and almost unbelievable, it is really a good story to read because it is educational. It tells the stories of the luckier Jews of the Holocaust.
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
It has also been a while since I read this book, although not as long as the other one. . .
Pride and Prejudice is about a few different courtships and a mother who likes to get in the middle of things. The main courtship would be the one of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, which was of Darcy's own peculiar way. Their courtship did not follow the general way of their time. For the majority of it Elizabeth despised him, but in the end she is very fond of him. Another courtship is the one of Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth's sister, Jane. Theirs is a more refined courtship, it was like they were in the time. They saw each other at balls and at dinner parties. They slowly got to know each other through and series of meetings. But due the pride of Mr. Darcy, they were separated for some time. As the plots goes on Darcy grows fonder of Elizabeth, but she dislikes him because she thinks he is too proud. After a while she gets to know the true him (that is the man he is when he is around people of his social stature). I think the main plot line is the one that concerns their relationship.
I ended up really enjoying this book. Although it took half the book before I was really interested in it, I liked it a lot. I got the movie for my birhtday, but I have yet to watch it, I hope to find time to watch it soon. And as I said in the other post, I would recomend this book for others to read. :)
Pride and Prejudice is about a few different courtships and a mother who likes to get in the middle of things. The main courtship would be the one of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, which was of Darcy's own peculiar way. Their courtship did not follow the general way of their time. For the majority of it Elizabeth despised him, but in the end she is very fond of him. Another courtship is the one of Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth's sister, Jane. Theirs is a more refined courtship, it was like they were in the time. They saw each other at balls and at dinner parties. They slowly got to know each other through and series of meetings. But due the pride of Mr. Darcy, they were separated for some time. As the plots goes on Darcy grows fonder of Elizabeth, but she dislikes him because she thinks he is too proud. After a while she gets to know the true him (that is the man he is when he is around people of his social stature). I think the main plot line is the one that concerns their relationship.
I ended up really enjoying this book. Although it took half the book before I was really interested in it, I liked it a lot. I got the movie for my birhtday, but I have yet to watch it, I hope to find time to watch it soon. And as I said in the other post, I would recomend this book for others to read. :)
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Okay, it has been a little while since I actually read this book so I am going to talk about it from what I remember, while trying not to ruin it for anyone who has not read it before. . .
The Color Purple is mainly about the life of a girl named Celie. Celie is emotionally and physically abused by the men, mostly her father and husband, in her life. Her abuse caused her to become detached from the people in her life and to have a general dislike for men. She went through her life doing what she was told, trying to be a good daughter/wife. But she was a very unhappy girl; that is until she met Shug Avery. Shug was a very outgoing woman, very unique in her time, and she helped Celie live life again. While the two women are together Celie falls for her and they live together for a while, until Shug leaves her. They are later reunited but only as friends. Shug saves Celie from living unhappily for the rest of her life.
It took me a while to get used to the way the story was setup, and the fact that Shug and Celie were 'together'. But overall, I thought it was a good story. And I was happy with the ending (i would say why, but that would ruin it for people who have not read it). So although it was rather different I did like it.
The Color Purple is mainly about the life of a girl named Celie. Celie is emotionally and physically abused by the men, mostly her father and husband, in her life. Her abuse caused her to become detached from the people in her life and to have a general dislike for men. She went through her life doing what she was told, trying to be a good daughter/wife. But she was a very unhappy girl; that is until she met Shug Avery. Shug was a very outgoing woman, very unique in her time, and she helped Celie live life again. While the two women are together Celie falls for her and they live together for a while, until Shug leaves her. They are later reunited but only as friends. Shug saves Celie from living unhappily for the rest of her life.
It took me a while to get used to the way the story was setup, and the fact that Shug and Celie were 'together'. But overall, I thought it was a good story. And I was happy with the ending (i would say why, but that would ruin it for people who have not read it). So although it was rather different I did like it.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
yay :D
I have just finished reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. For now I will keep my writing short because I need to return the book to the library, but hope to return and say a bit more at a later date. When I began reading this book I was unsure if I would like it and was really rather indifferent to it until I had a read a decent portion of it. As the date of its needed return to the library grew nearer I became a more aggressive reader and read it basically whenever I was able to, only being prevented by the visiting of my grandparents and my sports. As I have now finished it I am willing to say that I am happy that I chose to read it. I enjoyed it. I think what made it rather intriguing to me was the possibility of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy being together. I believe their possible relationship was what held my attention the most.
As I previous said, I liked Pride and Prejudice quite a bit, although it took some time to really grab my attention. So while I doubt most guys would find it very interesting I do believe some girls would like it. If you are ever in need of something to read, I would recommend reading it.
As I previous said, I liked Pride and Prejudice quite a bit, although it took some time to really grab my attention. So while I doubt most guys would find it very interesting I do believe some girls would like it. If you are ever in need of something to read, I would recommend reading it.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Oh ya...
...I was messing around the the settings and what not of this blog site and I added a survey thing that can be found on the right side of my page that you should answer for me. Please & thanks! You'll be like on of my favorite people of you do. ;)
S-U-M-M-E-R-!
I hope everyone is having an awesome summer, mine has not been to shabby. As most of my friends know, my summers as mostly filled with volleyball and softball as well as Mr. Hagenow's workouts. This summer I am not only playing in the community softball league, but I am also playing on a travel team...so I am playing many many more games than I am used to. I would have to say that I have been enjoying my summer so far for the most part. It took me a little while to actually get started with my reading, but I am currently on my second book (probably need to pick it up a little bit more though). Along with my sports and reading I have been doing a decent amount of nothing. I like to go watch Jared race on Saturday nights, that is if the rain does not spoil the fun by making them get cancelled :( . Today was rather interesting... I left my house shortly after 6:30, just in time for it to start pouring, headed for one of many softball games I was supposed to have today. I do not really care all that much for rain, especially today because it ruined my plans; however it probably turned out for the better because I actually started to do stuff with this blogging experience. Oh I also tackled the thought of cleaning my bedroom yesterday (mainly because my grandparents are coming into town and mom said I had to), I was rather surprised at how I did. I was able to clear my floor of my usual layer of clothes, which I tend to aquire because I do not really care for dreasers [[...is it just me, or do they seem annoying to anyone else??...I mean you put you clothes in them on top of all the others and then you can never find anyting without making a mess out of your drawers... I guess I just prefer to have things hanging in my closet or on the floor where they are easily accesible to me.]]. Now that my room is clean I must try to keep it clean until and through my grandparents' stay, wish me luck. ;) Sooo, now that I have rambled on, I am sure I left something out that I had intended to include, but oh well.
Hope your summers are going amazingly. See some of you soon and the rest in August. :)
Hope your summers are going amazingly. See some of you soon and the rest in August. :)
Not Too Bad
I did not think that I was going to like this whole blogging thing, but I kind of enjoy looking at other people's blogs and what my fellow classmates (and p-dise) have had to say about them. As of yet I still have not gotten used to the whole writing the blogs myself, but that is probably because this is only my second blog ever and my first one was written less than an hour ago. So I hope to catch on soon and will try not to procrastinate with my blogging experience as much as of I have so far.
New To This
Okay, so I am not really much a blogger so I do not really know what I am supposed to do or say on here. That is why I haven't blogged about anything yet, because I do not know what to do. So here goes nothing... summer is coming to an end. I have finished reading one of my books, The Color Purple, and am about half way through the next one, Pride and Prejudice. I am trying to buckle down with my reading and am getting better at not putting it off to do other stuff. I hope that our class goes well this year and to get a good start I need to finish my reading and write my papers.
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