Sestina

~Algernon Charles Swinburne ~

I saw my soul at rest upon a day

   As a bird sleeping in the nest of night,

Among soft leaves that give the starlight way

   To touch its wings but not its eyes with light;

So that it knew as one in visions may,

   And knew not as men waking, of delight.

This was the measure of my soul’s delight;

   It had no power of joy to fly by day,

Nor part in the large lordship of the light;

   But in a secret moon-beholden way

Had all its will of dreams and pleasant night,

   And all the love and life that sleepers may.

But such life’s triumph as men waking may

   It might not have to feed its faint delight

Between the stars by night and sun by day,

   Shut up with green leaves and a little light;

Because its way was as a lost star’s way,

   A world’s not wholly known of day or night.

All loves and dreams and sounds and gleams of night

   Made it all music that such minstrels may,

And all they had they gave it of delight;

   But in the full face of the fire of day

What place shall be for any starry light,

   What part of heaven in all the wide sun’s way?

Yet the soul woke not, sleeping by the way,

   Watched as a nursling of the large-eyed night,

And sought no strength nor knowledge of the day,

   Nor closer touch conclusive of delight,

Nor mightier joy nor truer than dreamers may,

   Nor more of song than they, nor more of light.

For who sleeps once and sees the secret light

   Whereby sleep shows the soul a fairer way

Between the rise and rest of day and night,

   Shall care no more to fare as all men may,

But be his place of pain or of delight,

   There shall he dwell, beholding night as day.

Song, have thy day and take thy fill of light

   Before the night be fallen across thy way;

Sing while he may, man hath no long delight.

Sestina

Ch. 24: The Conversation with Mr. Antolini

When ever my parents give a lecture about how valuable a good education is I  tend to zone out and not pay attention to them. This isn't because I don't agree with them, personally I feel that a good education and help a lot in the your future. A good education is something many people, around the world, would die to have.  The reason I zone out is because my parents are alway giving me this lecture. 

Ch. 20 & 21: Holden's Internal Conflicts

In chapter 20, Holden pretends he to be shot in the gut and to have pneumonia. I think Holden does this because because he want to have some attention and he want to know what it is like to have people worry about. Holden is depressed and feels that he has anyone to talk to anymore, He chose these two illness because he wanted to know how people would react if he was dying.  

Chapter 19: Catcher, The Wicker Bar

Even Holden didn't like Luce, he didn't want to see Luce go because he is depressed and lonely. Holden feels that no one cares about him. Since he is running out of people to call, Holden is starting to realize people don't like him and the people he is with get annoyed of him. At this point Holden doesn't care who he is with, he just to know someone is there for him. 

Chapter 15: Holden and Mercutio

I think Holden identifies with Mercutio and not Tybalt because like Mercutio is doesn't like people who show off and are into the latest fashions. Through out the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, Holden talks with complete strangers who aren't in the same financial status as he is. For example Holden  talks to Horowitz, the cab driver, who isn't showy. Also I think Holden is like Mercutio because they both get angered but can control it.

Ch. 12, Catcher: Conversation with Horowitz

Horowitz is a rude, nasty, and unfriendly. He doesn't care to talk to Holden about the ducks or anything at all. He just want to get Holden to the clubs and get paid. Horowitz Holden on the other hand is over friendly and invites the cab diver to get a drink. Holden is trying to make conversation even though some of what he is saying are lies. Also Holden is comes form a very rich family and Horowitz, a cab driver, is poor and doesn't make much money. Holden always tries to analyze thing and find out why thinks happen and Horowitz doesn't want to know why things happen, be thinks it things and we shouldn't want to understand why, they just happen do.

Allie's Writing Assignment

Acrostic 

Smooth pencil strokes 

Khaki 

Escape form reality 

Time flies why you are having fun 

Calming my nerves 

Hot Magenta 

Balance 

Over dramatic colors

Ochre 

Keep trying 

Haiku 

Eraser Sheddings

Skills are achieved over time

Practice makes Perfect 

Fire and Ice 

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire 

I hold with those who favor fire

But if i had to perish twice 

I think i know enough of hate

To say destructive ice is also great 

And would suffice 

~Robert Frost 

Little Fly 

Little Fly,

Thy summer's play

My thoughtless hand

Has brush'd away.

Am not I

A fly like thee?

Or art not thou

A man like me?

For I dance

And drink & sing:

Till some blind hand 

Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life

And strength & breath

And the want 

Of thought is death;

Then am I

A happy fly,

If I live,

Or if I die

~William Blake 

Catcher Ch. 8: Holden's Conversation on the Train

Dear Ernest, 

How are you? I had the funniest encounter will one of you fellow student on the train the other day. I think his name was Rudolf Schmdit. He was quite an awkward child. But he told me that you have a lot of friends of a Prency Prep and that you many of your peers like you. He also told me that you turned down the offer to be class president. I'm trying to be rude, but after all these year your father and I were sitting here thinking you were a sensitive. To be honest, I don't believe everything Rudolf told me. He said he was leaving early from Prency because he had a brian tumor, but I would think that his family would have came to pick him up. Well, I  guess I'll finish asking you questions when you come home. See you soon.

Love always, 

Mom

My Object

- rough 

- black

- eraser shedding 

- can be bought at an art store 

- used to express yourself and your thoughts 

- pencil smudges 

Catcher in the Rye: Mark David Chapman

1. What happened at the scene of the shooting? Where did this take place?
The shooting took place on December 8,1980 outside the Dakota apartment building in New York. At around 10:49 p.m., Chapman, who had received an autograph form Lennon earlier, shot 5 bullet at Lennon. Four of which hit Lennon in his back and shoulder. Instead of fleeing the site Chapman took out a copy of Catcher in the Rye and 

read it until the police arrived.

2. What behavior on the part of Chapman set the stage for this amoral act?
Chapman had ran away form home which can led us to believe that he may have had a troubling childhood. Also he was emotionally unstable and he tried to commit suicide twice. Chapman was a Beatles fan and on the morning of the shooting while leaving the Sheration hotel he signed out as John Lennon and crossed it out and then signed his own name.

3. Why do you think Chapman felt a connection with Holden and the Catcher in the Rye?

I think Chapman felt a connection with Holden because both are emotional unstable. Also both may have felt as they were social pariah because people treating then different and no one could truly relate and understand them.

Blog 4: Catcher in the Rye, Ch. 1 & 2

..."I'm pretty sure he yelled, 'Good luck!' at me. I hope not. I hope hell not. I'd never yell 'Good luck!' at anybody. It sounds terrible, when you think about it," (pg. 15-16) 

This quote is important because this tells us that the main character, Holden Caulfield, isn't an optimistic person.  Because he has a pessimistic attitude about life and hope it can leads us to believe that he doesn't care what will happen to him and has a negative outlook. This may lead to his misfortune.

Has someone ever said something to you that you believed was unnecessary?

Blog 3: Pre-thinking about Catcher in the Rye

A phony person is someone who isn't genuine or a person who is fake. I feel that anyone can be a phony because any person at any age can lie about who they really are. I also believe many teenagers or people around that age tend to lie about themselves to fit in and be like everyone. Most of people who are phony do this to have a place to "fit in." But this isn't them fitting in, because they are lying  to themselves to have a group they want to befriend. I think if you are act like yourself you may not find someone who is just like you but you can find someone who has the same interests. 

Blog 2: Montana 1948, Epilogue

The events of left many scars on David, and these event effected him in his adult life. For one the death of Wesley and Julian, both who dies from stokes. This is irony because the strokes can be explained by something that is passed down form generation to generation. Yet, David think it was caused by both of them having to keep the secret about Frank. "They held it in, the pressure built, like holding you breath, and something had to blow. In there case, the vessel in their brain..."(page 171).

The death of Marie Little Solider also followed him into adulthood. On pages 172 to 173 David had a flashback about his happily memory with Marie Little Solider and Ronnie Tall Bear. He says that this is one of the only handful of moment when he felt expected, that he actually had a family. ...",because I felt, for a brief span, as thought I was a part of a family, a family that accepted me for myself and not my blood or birthright." (page 173). 

Blog 1: Montana 1948, Part III, pgs. 141-162

In part three of Montana 1984, Larry Watson sets the emotional mood 

the characters by change the way the character look at Frank. 

Throughout the entire book we look at Frank as a pervert. But on pages 

156 to 158, Wesley tell David about the time when Frank saved him 

and his friend the Highdogs, who were chasing them because Wes 

was taking golf ball from the golf course. Wes even said...

"Well,they didn't catch them but that was all right. The important thing was, they 

saved our bacon." (pg 158) From this story we start to feel sympathy and look at Frank

as a good guy.

At the end of part three Wesley and David found Frank died in the basement. The

night before when they heard Frank throwing the jars, he wasn't just trying to get attention

but he was attempt to commit suicide. This know puts Wes in a awkward position because

now everyone will want to know how he dies and what happened and his family ties will

never be the same. David is upset with the death of his uncle but, at the same he his feels

mature because his parent are including him in adult responsibility.