DUE FRI 3/2 Personal Reflection

Write about a time that your pride had negative consequences (or related to that, your inability to forgive). You can also write about someone else or write about pride in another book.

When I was in 5th-6th grades I used to be a troublemaker. I would do lots of things that were unacceptable. In other words, some of the things I did got me in trouble with the teacher. My 6th grade teacher was a very interesting person, he would eat his lunch and other snacks in front of us as he was teaching the class.

Getting back to the question; It was a regular day, the sun was smiling, the birds singing and me about to get into trouble. We were at the park and there was a little stream of water that was going down the sidewalk. There were ants that were trying to cross it; to us a little stream of water is small, but to an ant its like a big roaring river. I was a mean little boy back then so I asked my friend for his eyeglasses. They were such a high prescription that when he put them on his eyes were three times the size. I took his glasses and started to burn the ants and watch them scurry all around. As I was doing that the principal of our school came over and told me that those are Gods creatures and to stop burning them. It was really fun to me and I liked to do it.

So that day when I got home I took the magnifying glass and started to burn the ants that had been peacefully going about their duties. Then I thought to myself; "maybe if I got some tissue and made the ant crawl all over it the maybe I could light it on fire." So that’s exactly what I did. As I was burning it my dad was watching me the whole time through the window. I was in big trouble, because when he came out you could see that he was ticked by the look on his face. I was in big trouble because I wasn't supposed to be playing with that type of stuff. In the end, after doing it again about three more times, and him seeing me; I got all of my things taken away, all because I was having fun burning things.

How was your pride, or the other person's, similar or different to that of Achilles?

I think that me and Achilles’ pride was some what similar, and we both had great consequences. Achilles got punished by Zeus and got shot in the heel by a poison arrow and died. For me, my dad is like Zeus; except he didn't punish me by shooting my heel; he punished me by taking away all of my prized possession which made it feel like as if I died.

DUE WED 2/28 Iliad Assignment

What was your opinion of Achilles before reading Book 9? Does it change after reading Book 9? Explain why or why not.

From what I had heard about Achilles, I thought that he was a very cool guy. He was fearless, not easy to kill, those types of things. Achilles seemed like a big hero to me. He was half god half man. But when I started reading the book I still thought he was cool because he sounded indestructable. But as I read on, I learned that he was killed by a poison arrow. I was so confused, I thought that he could not get killed. I thought, how could he have gotten killed. Mr. Jana then said that when he got dipped in the river, he got held by his heel. Since his heel didn't get dipped it was the one part of his body that didn't become indestructable. I really don't think that my opinions of Achilles have really changed. I still think that he is pretty cool, I think that even thought hes going to die I think that he's a very good fighter and. For him to be fighting on Agamemnons side and not fighting under his orders, I think that is ver cool. It shows that he somewhat likes to be independent.

DUE THR 2/22 Iliad Reflection - Book One

If you were an ancient Greek, which of the following statements would you agree with?

A) Achilles’ rage is justified and I support his decision not to fight, even if it means the Greeks might lose lots of men, or even the war itself.

I support his decision not to fight because I really don't hink that he should have to fight if he does not want to. I think that Achilles can choose the dicision not to fight because he know that he does not have to fight. he's just fight for Agamemnon so that the Greeks can win the war. If I were Achilles I would just not fight, I would not like being used by a king who is just a greedy person who knows that the only way that his side could win was just simply to have me to fight the war for them.
Like in the movie when he is in the boat, he says to his people that they are under his control. He is not going to take and messing around from Agamemonon. He just wants to go to war is because he know s that if he dies that he will be remembered for being the brave knight who killed tons of people all by himself and a few other people.

DUE THR 2/22 - Disagreements and Fights ...

1) In your blog write about a time when you had a big disagreement with a friend or other person that led you or the other person to regret things that were said or done.

There have been many times where I haven't gotten along very well with my friends. A time that I disagreed with my friends, alot of the times are when we are in socratic seminars. I get so frustrated, its like when someone say something that I don't totaly agree with, then I get mad and don't really like that person like I did before the seminar. There are times like in the seventh grade
when I got really angry and completly disagreed with the person, and just yelled out that I completly disagreed and practicly spit in there face telling them why they were wrong! I don't like people who don't totaly agree with the things that I say. Thats all that I think about my disagrements. I really never have any fights at a seminar or with my friends.

DUE WED 2/21 Iliad Reading

1) Ask questions about things that confuse you about the reading. Be prepared to share them with the class.

I am not confused about anything. But I was reading and thought that this sounded much like "Troy". Is it about the Iliad, and does it have some connetion with the Movie that we are watching?

2) Give short bullet point summaries of the most important things that happen in this reading selection.

Page:89 Line: Whole Paragraph

When Achilles is crying and thinking about his mommy. When he reached out his arms and started praying for hi morther. "Mother! You gave me life, short as that life will be, so atleast Olympian Zeus, thundering up on high, should give me honor." I like that part of the reading and think that is important becasue he is realizing that his mother gave him life and is praying for his mom to pray for him because he knows that he is going to die in the battle.

Due THR 2/15 Iliad Assignment

So Basically all that I really want to know is where is the girl that they are fighting over. There isn't alot of mentioning of her in this story. I kinda want to know whats going on with her while all of this is happening!!!

DUE WED 2/13 The Iliad Assignment (Late okay - Due 2/13)

1. Write a summary bullet for each stanza

• So basicly what they are saying in first paragraph is that Thestor's son is scanning the birds and thinks about the things that are happening are going to happen and did happen.


• So what happens in the second stanza is that Achilles is ordered to explain Apollos anger.


• So Achilles wants to make a deal with Zeus to defend him. There is a man that he will make mad, He is a mighty King and he is way to strong to fight.


• So here Zeus is saying that he will pretect Calchas so that no one will be able to touch him when he will be fighting.


• So here In this stanza The priest and Agamemnon are talking about the girl that had gotten talken away as a war prize. The priest does not want any ranson and there is no price that Agamemnon can say that will interest the priest so that he will give up the girl.
  

2. Write a question for each stanza - be specific - don't just say "I don't get it" say "I don't understood who Calchas is on p. x "

• I do not have any questions for these stanzas.
  

3. Make a prediction when you finsish the three stanzas.

• I think that this war is going to go for along time before Agamemnon will get his women back since the priest will not take any ransom for the girl.

DUE TUE, 2/23 - Iliad notes (Late okay - Due 2/13)

1. Summarize with one or two quick bullet points per stanza - ones that you will be able to understand when you read your notes later.

• So basicly what these stanzas are saying is that there is an old man that is terrified. He had taken orders to go down the shore line to where an old priest was praying for the son of Leto.


• There is also a god who is being shot with arrows in his back and falls to his knee.

2. Ask questions about the reading from one or more stanzas.

• Why was the God (that went on his knee) getting shot by arrows in his back?

3. Predict what will happen next.

• I really have no idea what is going to happen next. This is just the most confusing thing that I have ever read!!!

DUE TUE, 2/12 My Rage - Cause (Late okay – Due 2/3)

It is Monday morning and I am so sick. I ask my dad if I could stay home because I don't feel good. So my dad leaves the house. I think to myself saying " what is there to do now". I go onto the computer and go to Myspace.com. There is no one on and I feel like nobody in the world will talk to me. I start to get mad and want to go back to school. But at the same time I realize that I am t sick to even go to school. So I wait and think and wait and thing some more and come up with a solution. I will play online with my PS2 but then I see that nobody is on because they are all at school.

So I just play my games alone in the house with my dog by my side acting like a cushin for my tired arm. Hours go by and I am still in a rage from not having anyone to play with. I hear my dad coming to the driveway. That was a horrible sound to here, I didn't want him to come home because I am starting to have fun playing my games. Now I am even more mad because I won't be able to play my games.

DUE THR, 2/7 Descriptive Writing Assignment (Late okay - Due 2/8)

Bottom of Page 119:

Montag only said, "We never burned right..." "Hand it over Guy," said Beatty with a fixed smile. And then he was a shrieking blaze, a jumping, sprawling gibbering manikin, no longer human or shot on continuous pulse of liquid fire on him. There was a hiss like a great mouthful of spittle banging a red-hot stove, a bubbling and frothing as if salt had been poured over a monstrous black snail to cause a terrible liquidation and a boiling over of yellow foam. Montag shut his eyes, shouted, shouted, and fought to get his hands at his ears to clamp and to cut away the sound. Beatty flopped over and over and over and at last twisted in on himself like a shared wax doll and lay silent.

Rewritten:

"What do you mean by that? Here, hand it over before you get hurt! All of the sudden a burst of flames is towards me I try to jump but the flame was just too fast. I could feel it hitting my hands, face, and legs. I realized that there was nothing I could do but run around and try to get the flame of me. I can't see, but I can feel all of my skin that was now under this cover of flames bubbling up and popping and sizzling. I just can't take the pain and fall to ground in agony."

My Terrifying Dream - WED 1/30

So what happened was that I woke up. My dad told me that I had been sleeping for 30 years. I was astonished, and like anyone who had slept for 30 years I wanted to see what new buildings had been developed. So we went out side and got into the car. It was a car I've never seen before. He told me that he got it just 3 years ago. As we pulled out of the drive way I looked around and saw that there were funny looking cars like they would have in the future.

After driving around for awhile we decided to go walk around in the neighborhood, and as we were walking we heard two gun shots. It was coming out of a church that there were people running out of. Me and my dad ran to the other side of the street and watched.

Finally we saw who the shooter was. It was and old lady that was obviously really high on something. She was coming over to our side of the street where I was telling people that she was coming. In no time she was on our side. She looked at me, looked away, and shot the lady next to me. She then looked at me again. I was so afraid that I just broke out running and trying to dodge the bullets. As I was running she was chasing me still shooting.

I fell, I'm trying to get up before she gets to me but it was too late. She stood right over me and shot two individual shots, one in my arm and the other just to the left of my heart. I tried to get up, struggling to get up onto my knees. I get it but I fall right back down onto the ground. The police arrived minutes later. I could already feel it getting harder and harder to breath. There was nothing that the cops could do but sit there by my side and watch me slowly die a painful death. I thought that I was going to die from bleeding to death.

I was thinking of the fun things that my dad and I did. How I never really listen to what he had really had to say most of the time. I was regretting all of the arguments and all of the fights over school and wished that I didn't give him such a hard time.

I see them putting me into the ambulance and see everything went dark. I can barley feel the needles they were sticking in me that would usually hurt. I was realizing that the time had come, I was dying. My hearing was going away and I could fell my heart stop. I'm dead.

Waking up in bed I am crying. Thank God I'm Alive!!!!!

DUE, WEDNESDAY 1/30 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 154-165

What does it mean when Montag says "And when they ask us what we are doing, you can say, "We're remembering."?

I think that he is remembering what life was like before the war had begun. They also were remembering how society was, how it was always so peaceful; how nothing really went wrong. I think this is important because you sometimes need to realize what has happened in the past to know what desicions should be made in the future. That’s why it's a good quote, and that is why it is important in this book.

DUE TUESDAY, 1/29 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 138-154

Read Pages 138-154

How has Montag changed from the beginning of the novel to this part? In writing about this you might want to notice that the environment has changed from the city to nature. Is this a coincidence or is the author trying to say something by contrasting the city to nature in relation to the ways Montag has changed.

I think that he has changed in many ways. like in the beginning of the story he was a fireman that just burnt books. Now he's running from people who want to get him.

I think that he has also changed emotionally also in the beginning of the story he was happy and really was aware of things. Now he's just like this crazy psycho who burnt his boss and is now running. away from the people who want to kill him.

DUE Monday 1/29 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 126-137

Question: At page 39 at the top, why were they counting to ten?

Read pp. 126-137

Find a line from the story or a paragraph that you like and explain why you like it.

I chose when the author says "Montag ran. He could feel the hound, like autumn, come cold dry and swift, like a wind that didn't stir grass, that didn't jar windows or disturb leaf shadows on the white sidewalks as it passed."

I like how Ray chose an interesting way to tell how quietly and gracefully the hound was chased Montag. Its also interesting how he used metaphors like when he says "he could feel the hound, like autumn."

DUE Friday 1/29 Debunking Assignment - Flight 93

The Wreckage

Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences.

So what they are saying is that since there is no wreckage of flight 93 around the area of where people say that it crashed. They suspect that Flight 93 had been shot down by a heat seeking missile.

Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences.

They are saying that the reason why there is so little debris is because it hit the ground so fast that it broke-up into small pieces. They're comparing the plane crashing to an egg. " You can liken crash debris to an egg. At a low speed, dropped from your hand, the impact will crack the egg and you'll have large pieces of shell." However "if you take an egg and drop it from a 20 story building you will have small pieces of shell leftover.

DUE Friday 1/26 Debunking Assignment - The Pentagon

Intact Pentagon Windows

Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences.

After Flight 77 hit the Pentagon a lot of the windows around the point of impact were still in one piece, even the ones right above the crash were in one piece. Since a lot of the windows are still intact provides support for the theory that it was actually a missile or a smaller plane that hit the Pentagon.

Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences.

The reason why the windows withstand the impact of Flight 77 was because "that is exactly what they were designed to do." The windows in that part of the Pentagon were blast resistant. The windows had been placed there weeks ago because it was a part of a "massive Pentagon modernization plan." The old windows where installed way back in the 1940s. Weighing in at approximately 1,600 pounds a piece, the new windows where laminated glass that had a thin polymer interlayer which was in between two or more panes of glass.

What do I think:

I don't think that just by chance a big Pentagon modernization plan was in progress when the crash happened. The funny thing is that the point of impact just happened to be in the only section of the Pentagon that had blast resistant windows installed. Also why would they even install blast resistant windows. It's like as if they knew that this was going to happen.

DUE Friday 1/26 Debunking Assignment - The Pentagon

Big Plane, Small Holes

Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences.

In the side of the Pentagon there where two holes right after the attack. There was a 90 foot whole in the building wall. In ring three there was a big round whole in the wall. Both of those holes were to small to have been made by a Boeing 757. How is it that a plane that is 125 feet wide and 155 feet long fit through a hole that was only 16 feet across.

Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences.

So when Flight 77 hit the wall it created a 90 foot in the building. They say that the reason why the hole made by the jet was 90 feet wide was because there were pieces of the wall falling off. One reason why they say that there is only a hole on the wall is because both of the wings were damaged because it hit light posts on it way into the building, and that the reason why there is no debris from the wings is because the fuel that was stored in the them got ignited and disintegrated them.

What do I think:

I think that the disintegration of both wings is possible, but I would think that light the surrounding vegetation on fire.
I don't believe that a plane that is 125 feet wide only made a whole that was only 16 feet wide. Even that’s not a big enough hole to have been made be a Boeing 757.

DUE Friday 1/26 Debunking Assignment - The Pentagon

Flight 77 Debris

Claim: Short summary in one or two sentences

So what they are saying is that how could Flight 77 have hit the Pentagon when there is no Debris. Wouldn't the plane make a the biggest mess of wings and engines and wheels. Well there was none of that all there was was a engine turbin that was not even the standard engine for that type of plane.

Fact: Short summary in one or two sentences

What others are saying is that it wasn't an air plane that hit the Pentagon, it was actually a cruise missile; that’s why there aren't any holes that would have been made by the wings. Also how could the witnesses have seen a plane if they weren't even paying attention. Allot of people said that they just heard a big BOOOOMMMM and suspected that it was an airplane that hit the Pentagon. It very possibly could be true that it was a cruise missile. You can't tell what hit the Pentagon from looking at the security cams didn't catch the plane. All there was on the film was a white blur. Who knows what it was.

What do I think:

I think that it was a planned attack on the Pentagon by the Government. On the security cam film there was a small blur. A plane as big as a Boeing 757 would not be a small blur.

DUE FRIDAY, 1/26 Fahrenheit 451 pp. 110-125

My Question: What does the author mean when he says "And he shot a bolt of fire at each of the three blank walls and the vacuum hissed out at him?"

1. Summarize what happens in one or two sentences:

So what happens in this part of the book is that there is a carnival that’s going on down the block. Guy is talking to Beatty and then goes crazy because of something that he said that has to do with burning down his house. Then Guy gets a flamethrower goes into his house and starts burning everything that reminded him of Mildred. While he was burning the house Beatty was behind him talking to him, Guy wasn't listening so Beatty punch him in the head which made Guy fall to the ground. Beatty was somewhat threatening Guy. Guy got feed-up and pressed the trigger and lit Beatty on fire.

2. On your blog, copy down one sentence from this reading selection that strikes you as particularly descriptive. Which of the 5 senses does it appeal to? What verbs, adjectives, or figurative language are used and why are they effective in describing a certain action, person, or thing?:

"There was a hiss like a great mouthful of spittle banging a red-hot stove, a bubbling and frothing as if salt has been poured over a monstrous black snail to cause terrible liquefaction and boiling over of yellow foam."

I think that this appeals to sight because if you just read that you can imagine Beatty's skin bubbling frothing. There was a lot of figurative language that makes this sentence sound much more interesting. Like when he says "bubbling and frothing as if salt has been poured over a monstrous snail." From thinking of what a snail looks like from when we pour salt on it I can see a clear picture of what is happening to Beatty.

DUE THURSDAY 1/25 Fahrenheit 451pp. 91 - 110

My Question:I'm getting confused about Guys name. People in class are using Montag, I thought that it was Guy?

Summarize the two main scenes in the selection of Fahrenheit 451

The Living Room:So what happened is that Mildred has Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Phelps over so that they can chat for a while. They were watching some weird show on the parlor and then Guy flipped a switch in the wall which turned off the parlor. As a result of him doing that the woman gave him a dirty look and started talking. Then from what I remember Guy went to go get a book of poetry, read some, and then leaves the woman in the room while they are crying.

The Fire Station with Beatty:Guy goes to the fire station because he is frustrated. Then he sits down at the poker table and he and Beatty play poker. Then Beatty says to Guy, that after he had been called a fool, how they are just little sheep who leave the herd every once in a while.

Descriptive Writing - Figurative Language:The Quote that I chose was:"Not good night. I'll be with you the rest of the night, vinegar gnat tickling your ear when you need me"I think that this quote is effective because he uses interesting metaphors like "vinegar gnat tickling your ear". That’s another way that Faber is telling Guy that whenever he needs to say something that Faber will be with him the whole time.