"Dead Poets Society" Response

I would rate this movie a 8 or 9.

I like this movie a lot I actually think that if I were ever bored or even if I weren't I'd watch it over again. I think that the theme of the movie many people could relate to, the whole new teacher inspiring the students. I also think that this movie had a strong message about speaking out against the "authorities" and about conformity. It says something about how poetry is a way to not conform and how poetry is like an art that breaks away from what society really acts like.

I think it is very relevant to poetry because it shows how people can get sucked in to poetry. It helps to show students that poetry is not just something that they had to learn it could actually be enjoyable. I think that if you can get students to really want to study poetry like Robin Williams' character did for the students that the impact on the students actually learning the materials and they could od better on the tests on it that they have to take.

I think that this movie should be shown in future AP classes. First this movie shows how much a student could learn if they actually got into the poetry subject. If students see how poetry made the characters in the movie react they may want to learn more about it also. Another reason is that to me this movie is almost like a poem in itself. For instance, the characters end up having to deal with suicide and love and conformity which is what many poems are themed around. Students can learn things like that from watching this movie.

Song Lyrics Post

Did you expect it all to stop at the wave of your hand? Like the sun's just going to drop if it's night you demand. Well, in the dark we're just air so the house might dissolve. But once we are gone, who's gonna care if we were ever here at all? Well, summer's going to come, it's gonna cloud our eyes again. No need to focus when there's nothing that's worth seeing. So we trade liquor for blood in an attempt to tip the scales. I think you lost what you loved in that mess of details. They seemed so important at the timebut now you can't even recall any of the names, faces, or lines. It's more the feeling of it all. Well, winter is going to end, I'm going to clean these veins again. So close to dying that I finally can start living.

Essay Question # 3

In George Orwell's novel 1984, the protagonist Winston has thoughts about his past that haunt him and affect the way he lives gravely. Works of literature use past events that positively or negatively affect parts of the character. In 1984, Orwell uses past thoughts of Winston’s mother to highlight the affect she had on him.

Winston has flashbacks about not only his mother, but his wife. These thoughts seemed to haunt him through his daily life. His personal feelings about his mother make him go through life wishing that he was nicer to her. When he has the dream about being a little child and throwing temper tantrums about not having enough food for himself to eat, afterwards he would go through his day wondering where she was. The thoughts of Winston’s mother made him think about things like if she were still alive and if she was not than it would be his fault because he left her to starve. Also memories about his life would affect the way his was with Julia. The memories would be almost harmful to their relationship in that he would worry about how things would end up with her and how he liked to compare how much better Julia is than her.

Orwell uses these events to affect his characters for numerous reasons. The memories help to make the setting in 1984. Also the character’s memories help create the rebellion that Winston wanted against the government. Winston’s memories of his mother make him want to rebel so that maybe the way of life could be bettered.

Winston Smith’s haunting memories help to create his thoughts of rebelling against Big Brother. These past events with his mother negatively affect Winston to try and rebel. Authors use events like this in literature to produce actions or feelings in a character.

Album Response

i do not like the words to the third song. however i think that without the words it would not be good either. i think that words are needed for it just different words. the whole impossible germany unlikely japan thing is dumb but i also thing that it symbolizes something more important to the writer. overall i liked the message of the album. the way that most of the other words were put together really made you think and challenged the listener. one of my favorite songs was the forth one because of the way that the music and the writing flowed together. the way that poetry works with music is such an art form. the more creative that you get with it the better everything will flow together and sound better to the listener. even all the songs on this album seemed to flow with each other. for example on some cds one song will have nothing to do with another song even though the artist would say that they do. the transitions from one song to the next worked well. i do like songs that have a depressing sound to them. it think that when an artist writes out of depression that the work can be composed extremely well. however that doesnt mean that im saying to go off and get depressed or anything. there are many artists out there like kurt cobain, pete doherty, or blue october's justin furstenfeld who were depressed and into drugs that were trying to find themselves through all this stuff and they can be considered some of the most talented artists out there. tragedy seems to produce some of the most brilliant minds.

Metamorphosis Essay #2

Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis uses many symbols to illuminate the role. Symbols hold a vast importance throughout the entire novel, bringing forth the special ideas that Franz Kafka wants to share with the world.

Kafka writes most of his stories as allegories. The Metamorphosis is one of his most famous novels where even the smallest, insignificant thing represents something. Many of the furniture and things that make up Gregor's bedroom are symbols for something else. For instance the window that Gregor sits and looks out of represents the outside world and Gregor's freedom. The furniture as a whole represents the past and how Gregor will never be able tot go back to the way his life was. The door is also a main symbol in this novel. The door represents freedom like the window, however the way that the family leaves it open for Gregor to watch them out of represents more than just freedom. Looking at this, makes the door possibly represents the deeper part of Gregor's feelings along the lines of how he really, deep down, resented his family. Because of them he had to work for this company that he did not like and he was not able to go off and have a life of his own because he was the only one around to take care of his family. The standing open door with him watching the family represents how although Gregor resented being with them he actually does now.

These symbols may not only stand for other things in the book. They can stand for things that were going on in a country around the world. When Gregor's family decides to let him go, get rid of him, and stop taking care of him acts like a form of betrayal. This betrayal symbolizes a much greater betrayal going on in the world. Kafka tries to use his novels to show impurities in life. The Metamorphosis was written to do something just like that; to possibly show how corrupt our families and lives can be and also show how a family may not have faith in a person once they go through a profound change.

The Metamorphosis holds strong literary merit as an allegory. The symbols that Kafka uses helps to show the reader specific ideas he has about the world and society.

A Hunger Artist

1. Why would starving himself possibly make him happy?

2. How does the part where he talks about starving himself for 40 days relate to the bible?

3. Why in the world would could he be "fanatically devoted to fasting"?

4. Could this short story be trying to say something about how animal like society is if the hunger artist were to represent society?

5. What changes did u make about what you thought the symbols were once the hunger artist said his very last line?

6. What do the butchers represent?





The hunger artist used to be a very important part of society once. However now-a-days his popularity has started to decline. The hunger artist used to be able to sit around in his cage with tons of people gwaking at him. All sorts of people would come to watch the hunger artist; children, adults, even butchers would come to make sure that during the wee hours of the night the hunger artist did not eat. Even though the hunger artist would be obviously fasting people would still have their suspisions. The hunger artist foudn it the easiest thign in the world to fast. It was easy for him because he knew how to make it easy.



the Impresario sets the maximum amount of days to 40, he would never let the hunger artist go past that. Even after 40 days the people would probably start to loose interst in the hunger artist anyways, although different towns could be spoken for. On that fortieth day the cage door would be opened and the hunger artist would be removed by two young women. Outside the cage woudl be thousands of people; Usually a band and a couple doctors were the most specific. The women would take him to a table set with a hospital meal but when he would finally get to the table he would not feel liek actually eating.

After the many years that the hunger artist had done this it had grown old with the public forcing him to find another job. The hunger artist did not want another job however so he joined the circus where he would sit outside by the animals where people would walk by and maybe just glance at him. Every now and then a family would stop and teh father woould explain teh purpose of the hunger artsist to teh children however teh children still did not understand.

So many days had passed and the hunger artist had become unnoticed by all. Until one day the manager of teh circus saw teh cage and had to take it away teh hunger artist explained to him that he owuld ahve eaten if there just had been a food that he had liked. Making this his final words, the circusreplaced him by a rambucious panther.

Metamorphosis Essay 1

In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World John the savage torments himself with thoughts about his two worlds. As the thoughts fight in his mind and his actions help him discover which way to go he helps the reader to understand why utopic societies hurt the individual.

John the savage troubles himself with two main forces that pull him in different directions. The first force deals with the society that he grew up in. That society, the savage reservation, is what is natural to him, it is what he understands. John feels driven towards this society because it is his comfort zone even though as a child he was given mostly heartache. The other force compelling John is haunting new world.With his love for Lenina, he gravely attempts to fit in, however with the way in which both societies tug at him, he falls into confusion and despair.

Brave New World shows the inner part of John's mind. As the story unfolds and John comes to realize that this utopic society has it's flaws and could really never work. This society brings john down and destroyes him. Because of his troubles John decides to end his life, in relation to today's society this shows that if someone is brought into a new lifestyle through a sudden unpredictable change then serious pain could be brought upon that person. Brave New World is like a hint to the world about what could happen when society puts too much pressure on a person, showing how they could overwhelm themselves in the end taking their lives.

John the savage's mind is compelled by two different societies. With one being utopic and the other being "savage" he finds himself unable to understand the methods of why people do what they do. Also he cannot find a way to overcome his problems without suicide.

Harrison Bergeron

Vonnegut is satirizing quite a few things in this piece. I feel that he first satirizes the leader of our country by making him so big, saying that he is a genius, and because he's so smart. That is alot how our government thinks it is even though they never really say it. Also when the Handicap General came and shot Harrison and his emporess is like a resemblence to how the United States just goes into Iraq and starts a war. This story is told in third person. This story is more effectively told in this point of view rather than from first person Harrison Bergeron because if its told from first person opinions may be thrown into the text such as Harrison telling why he did what he did, stories have greater impacts if they do not have an opinion. (That did not come out how I wanted to so it sounds like I'm saying that stories without personal opinion dont make an impact which is not what I really mean). In Harrison Bergeron both men and women are the same, infact all the people are the saem as each other too. Both men and women are given handicaps that do not allow one person to become better than another. Another way that Vonnegut creates equal people in this stroy is that he has Harrison choose an Empiress that will share his power and throne.

"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" Response

This story makes me wonder how the people can do that to a little child. It also makes me wonder things like what happened to the child's parents and why would the leave their child to that kind of fate. This child must be pretty special to hold the equilibrium of an entire city, what made it so special? This stroy makes me wonder if it maybe takes place in the past because if the city was holding the child hostage today they might make it alittle more comfortable for the child by cleaning where its being held, the technology of today is made possible so that humans can live comfortably.

I don't think that this peice is connected that much to 1984 because it's center is around a child being held hostage, however in that way they are the same; people were being help up in their minds and not allowed to be themselves so in a way they are both being held hostage. Also the people live happy, comfortable lives while the child is locked up, in 1984 the society think they're happy but that's only because they cannot remember what it was like before they were locked under the thinking laws. Another similarity between the two pieces is the festivals. 1984 had Hate Week and in "The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" they have the Festival of Summer. These festivals are, however, not for the same things, the Festival of Summer is for a happy time celebrating summer and crops while Hate Week is to push hate upon the enemies of Oceania.

Many literary devices are used in this piece. metaphor is used to help get an idea for the mood and the surroundings of Omelas. Similies are also used; once to describe how the people were happy. Also the fact that the people of Omelas are celebrating a time of good and a time for good crops when to get all the good stuff in their lives they have to keep a child locked up in a cold dark room living in it's own wastes is ironic

1) Do you find it ironic that the people of Omelas are celebrating a good crop when they have to keep a child locked up to get this good? Explain.
2) Why does the author put so much into the description of the city and the festival and then makes the child sitting in the room seem like a small part about the city?
3) What time do you believe this story is taking place in?
4) What do you think would happen if the city tried to kill the child to put it out of its misery or do you think that it would help the city to put the child down? Explain.
5) Why doesn't the child try to break out of the room and leave?

Goals

top 3 college choices

1. U of M
2. Eastern
3. State

GPA Goal

• +3.8

AP Test Goal

• +3

Asimov Reading Response

In this piece and in 1984 the societies/governments/power holders are both out to create a new perfect society. In this piece humans are trying to create the more perfect society by making robots in 1984 the government was trying to create the perfect society by controlling the citizen's minds and actions. If George Orwell and Isaac Asimov were to have dinner together they would talk of the society of today and how it's even more corrupt and messed up and other things like what could be done to make it better. One might say that it is impossible to fix society because no matter what is done there are still even bigger problems that cannot be fixed.

1st blog

1. The Watts' thesis is that there is some special taboo on religion. 2. He feels that religion is religion and that even though there is a taboo on religion he's not gonna be afraid to do what he does even if it goes against or offends another. 3. he says that god is nature and that god is just playing hide and seek with himself in people so nature can not be conquered because it all powerful. 4. he says that the new experience should be "I". "our normal sensation of self is a hoax or, at best, a temporary role that we are playing." (pg. 11 2nd par) 5. he thinks that myths are lies and that "mythical explanations of the world are crude." (pg 15 3rd par) 6. he says that you must inflat the ego and when a person with an inflated ego gets brought down or popped you discover yourself. 7. people believe things because they are absurd is one thing said in teh excerpt however in 1984 winston is trying to not beleive in the absurd hes trying to get to the truth he does not want to beleive what hes being told anymore.