1.Matilda could be seen as:
sensitive, highly intelligent, observant, open to new ideas, able to be herself
List examples/scenes of where you see these characteristics in the text.
She can be seen as sensitive when Grace dies and she is sympathetic towards her death. She is also sensitive when her mother is raped and killed right before her. She is seen as highly intellegent when she listens to her mother who tells her not to intervene when she gives her life for her daughter. She is observant when she notices that the rebels disappeared all of a sudden and knew that it meant something was going to happen. She is open to new ideas when she explores the teachings of Mr. Watts and the Great Expectations, even making it her new reality. She is able to be herself when she is in Australia with her father who she has,'t seen in over four years.
2. do you think mr. watts made the wrong choice in marrying Grace and in staying in Bouganville? Give your reasons for this.
No, I think he made the right decision, because he loved Grace and he didn't want to abandon her home just because all the other white people were doing it. Although he left his previous wife behind, he lead a more happier life in his new home and he was an essential asset to the children's education.
3. Does Delores ultimately succeed in redeeming herself after stealing the book from Mr. Watts? Do you think Matilda should share some of the blame because she did not tell the other villages?
I think she does redeem herself when she sacrifices herself for her daughter before she is to be raped. Instead, she dies and the soldiers leave the village. I do believe that if Matilda had spoken up earlier there would have been less conflict, as she was part of the reason why mr. Watts died in the first place because she wrote that name in the sand.
5. It has been said that it is impossible for a white man to take on the voice of a black woman. Do you agree?
I think it is possible if the white man has experience of what it is like in Bouganville day-to-day and what they go through. If he grew up there he may know even better what it was like, such as the way mr. Watts had for so many years.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Mr Pip recap up to Pg 105
1.) Choose a passage in the first 105 pages that you connected with or felt that it was important to the story as a whole. Post it on your blog and explain why you connected with it or think it is important.
"Everyone called him Pop Eye. Even in those days when I was a skinny thirteen-year-old I thought he probably knew about his nickname but didn’t care. His eyes were too interested in what lay up ahead to notice us barefoot kids."(Pg 47, Par 1)
Not only is this an important introduction to the story, it also defines one of the main characters, Mr. Watts. It also hinted on the way the people of the village looked at him, and the white people in general.
2.) Where are the themes of story telling and oral tradition apparent in the novel? To whom are they important and why? List and describe as many as you can.
The first example of story telling in Mr. Pip is when all the parents come to the school to talk about what they know. This is important to the children because it helps the children learn about new things. When Matilda's mom talks about the bible, few of them know of the devil or anything from it and she describes her experience with the devil. Since the kids can't go too far from the village, they have to hear about things other people experiences. It is most important to the children because of this.
"Everyone called him Pop Eye. Even in those days when I was a skinny thirteen-year-old I thought he probably knew about his nickname but didn’t care. His eyes were too interested in what lay up ahead to notice us barefoot kids."(Pg 47, Par 1)
Not only is this an important introduction to the story, it also defines one of the main characters, Mr. Watts. It also hinted on the way the people of the village looked at him, and the white people in general.
2.) Where are the themes of story telling and oral tradition apparent in the novel? To whom are they important and why? List and describe as many as you can.
The first example of story telling in Mr. Pip is when all the parents come to the school to talk about what they know. This is important to the children because it helps the children learn about new things. When Matilda's mom talks about the bible, few of them know of the devil or anything from it and she describes her experience with the devil. Since the kids can't go too far from the village, they have to hear about things other people experiences. It is most important to the children because of this.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
1.) What reason do you think Mr. Watts has for inviting the children's parents to speak in the classroom.
Mr. Watts invites the children's parents to the classroom to teach them something that they are familiar with, such as cooking and the cycle of the may fly. Everyone is made to feel as though they contributed.
2.) Why do you think Matilda says that she will have to choose between Mr. Watts and her mother?
Matilda was engulfed in the book they were reading and the story from the book was co-existing to her with the real world. The story had nothing to do with her mom, so she would have to choose between real or make-believe. She believes more in Mr. Pip then her mother's strong beliefs in God.
Mr. Watts invites the children's parents to the classroom to teach them something that they are familiar with, such as cooking and the cycle of the may fly. Everyone is made to feel as though they contributed.
2.) Why do you think Matilda says that she will have to choose between Mr. Watts and her mother?
Matilda was engulfed in the book they were reading and the story from the book was co-existing to her with the real world. The story had nothing to do with her mom, so she would have to choose between real or make-believe. She believes more in Mr. Pip then her mother's strong beliefs in God.
3.) What does Matilda's mother mean when she says that Mr. Watts is "the offspring of a shining cuckoo"? Why does she call him 'pop eye' instead of Mr. Watts?
Matilda's mother references Mr. Watts to the shining cuckoo because of her hatred towards him since he was white and white men had named Matilda, started the mines trouble and tooken away her father. The reference is how at a certain time of the year they leave their home and head for strange territory, they find a nest and boo out the eggs of the host bird and lay their own eggs before flying off. This implys that the white men come overseas, leave their mark and advance to another new territory to do it again.
4.) What do you think Mr. Watts means when he says that he hoped his wife might ventually grow into her name?
When Mr. Watts is telling Matilda his big secret, he brings up his wife. Grace, originally named Sheba had to take on a new persona when her name changed due to "certain events". I think this may have been because was black and she wanted to take on a white name to "fit in" better.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Four Types of Comedies
Physical
The Three Stooges - Curley's Sweater
The physical humor is found by how every few seconds one of them is being hit by the other. They're always getting into silly situations that cause them to wind up getting themselves hurt and it was an easy way to make a television show back then. It didn't require any technology other then sounds added in every time someone gets hit.
Situational
College Humor - Guy Stuck in Class
In this video the boy is stuck in class and his mind is running wild. He is thinking to himself the whole time though the viewer can hear everything. He falls asleep and is caught sleeping. Then he says something out loud that he shouldn't have. Many students can relate to the situation of being bored, almost as though they're stuck, in class.
Verbal
Seinfeld - The Soup Nazi
The "NO SOUP FOR YOU!" saying has been spread across the internet as a meme and is a well-known symbol of those who know about Seinfeld. It contains a built-up setting throughout the episode and mainly provides dialog. It is funny because they are denied the soup for speaking "out of line" to the soup nazi. He becomes very offended and hilarity ensues.
Sienfeld - Soup Nazi Scene
Ironic
Family guy - Over scene
Family guy is full of random scenes that are nearly unpredictable. In this scene the term "over" is used over, and over, and over, and over again. The punch line is at the end when Stewie doesn't understand what Brian said for not saying over after his message through the walkie-talkie. He finished by shouting over and pulling the wire down and Stewie with it.
Family Guy - Over Scene
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Sympathy For the Devil
Q. Do you feel sympathetic toward Oedipus and his situation? Why or why not?
A. I do not feel sympathetic toward Oedipus and his situation because he brought it upon himself. Yes, he was shown his fate and he had no choice other then to accept it. But he refused what he was told by the seer, Tiresias, which in turn was the will of the gods, the one's who controlled the whole world. He tried to make his own fate. In doing so, he made himself kill his father and marry his mother. He wouldn't have killed his father if he didn't want to get with his mother. So I think he was his own reason for stabbing his eyes out, whether it was fate's path he took, it sure looked like he made all the choices in his tragedy.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Greek Tragedy
Greek Tragedy is a form of art that has to do with human suffering to create pleasure for the viewers. It was performed in theatres through drama. The leading writers for it were Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. The plays were performed every year in between March and April at a festival for Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. The plays have a character, a protagonist, who tries to overcome something and experiences some form of non-accidental tragedy in his journey. It is usually caused by either divine intervention or by human emotions. It usually has a sad ending, but not always!
The theatres they were performed in had no roofs. They were made this way so that the people would be exposed to the elements and the open air for a more pleasant atmosphere. They made up for this with naturally curved walls in the audience to increase accoustics. The actors used masks to show their expressions. This was especially useful for those farther from the stage to see, as the masks were quite colourful. These actors were always men, even when the role was a woman. In Greek culture, it was considered disgraceful for women to be on stage. In tragedys, the chorus was called the emmelia. Much like in music, that were sung out loud by a group of people, which were divided into strophe, antistrophe and epode. Strophe is sung from west to east, antistrophe is sung from west to east, and epode is when it is all sung together.
I think seeing a live play performed of a Greek Tragedy in modern times will be very different from the way it used to be. Even with shakespear plays, the ancient scripts are modified or rewritten to better please today's audiences. I think reading the play first would be the best approach. As with books and movies, the movies usually leave a great deal of information and story out from the book. I would imagine if I saw the play first, I would have a lot of questions or maybe not understand what is going on. Although the experience might change, it would be more clear and interesting to see.
The theatres they were performed in had no roofs. They were made this way so that the people would be exposed to the elements and the open air for a more pleasant atmosphere. They made up for this with naturally curved walls in the audience to increase accoustics. The actors used masks to show their expressions. This was especially useful for those farther from the stage to see, as the masks were quite colourful. These actors were always men, even when the role was a woman. In Greek culture, it was considered disgraceful for women to be on stage. In tragedys, the chorus was called the emmelia. Much like in music, that were sung out loud by a group of people, which were divided into strophe, antistrophe and epode. Strophe is sung from west to east, antistrophe is sung from west to east, and epode is when it is all sung together.
I think seeing a live play performed of a Greek Tragedy in modern times will be very different from the way it used to be. Even with shakespear plays, the ancient scripts are modified or rewritten to better please today's audiences. I think reading the play first would be the best approach. As with books and movies, the movies usually leave a great deal of information and story out from the book. I would imagine if I saw the play first, I would have a lot of questions or maybe not understand what is going on. Although the experience might change, it would be more clear and interesting to see.
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