It Was/ I Was

High School, It was and will be some of the best years of my life.  From meeting new people freshman year, to winning the state championship at the end of freshman year.  So many memories that will make me always remember Millbrook High School.  I was a member of the Manic sections at all the sporting events.  I was a member of the mens tennis team.  I was a member of the IB diploma program.  These are all things I will be able to tell people from next year on about my high school experience at Millbrook.

All of these aspects of my time at Millbrook were essential in making me into the person I am today.  It helped me meet many new people and develop friendships that will last a lifetime.  It taught me hard work and dedication to my school work.  It taught me team work and how to fight through adversity.  It taught me how to learn from mistakes, because who doesn't make a couple mistakes while in high school.

I will always be thankful for my time at Millbrook and am both very happy and sad to soon be moving onto another chapter in my life.  I can't thank Millbrook enough for everything it has provided me with and am extremely excited to finish this last bit of time with all of my classmates and end this four year experience with a great finish.

Whitman's Wise Words

Journal Interpretation: Whitman's journal is very hard to interpret for me.  He writes notes with very simple phrases and his hand writing makes it very difficult at times to even read what he wrote and it is difficult to understand his meanings through the short phrases.  On the first page of his journal it looks like he recorded names and addresses of people that were influential or important for his writing so he would be able to access them when he needed to.  On many pages of the journal it looks like the page has a watermark or stamp of some kind, I can't tell exactly what the stamp says but it looks like two guns crossed at the bottom with wings around them.  One page that I was able to read well was the third page where it looks like he was brainstorming the idea for some kind of work which I think is a brochure and the two main characters he had in mind for the piece and the plot of it.  I also noticed that he recorded possible settings for pieces such as old England and then chose to not use certain settings and would cross them out.  He also recorded other preliminary ideas for pieces throughout his journal and some beginning ideas for these pieces.

Actual Meaning: Whitman actually did use his notebook to record the addresses of important people in his life, some of the addresses included in his notebook were those of his good friends and one was even of a tailor he used.  The idea that I had of page 3 in his journal of a potential piece of work was incorrect, Whitman was recording the time he saw President Lincoln get elected and when he saw the president travel from his cottage and how he seemed sad and emotionless.  My interpretation of Whitman using his journal to braintstorm and toy with ideas of works was correct, he used his journal to try and develop story lines and plots and to have for reference for works.  I was right that he did have stamps appear on many pages of his journal, the stamp was from the Library of Congress.  The journal was also useful in understanding some of Whitman's personal beliefs, one example was a small entry about religion and what it meant to him. Whitman's journal can be very useful in understanding him as a person and as a writer but is difficult to interpret due to his handwritting and his lack of expansion on some thoughts.

Livin the Dream

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

I think that all people have their own definition of the American Dream.  My definition of the American Dream has many different aspects that influence it.  Aspects of my life that I would describe as my American Dream would be to have a family with strong, healthy, smart kids, a wife that has a job that she enjoys and I myself have a job that I enjoy.  Hopefully the jobs that my wife and I have would provide plenty of money to support our kids and give us money to spend on some extravagant items.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

I think that there are many different areas of life where the word wealth could be used.  When I first think of wealth I think about how much money an individual has just like almost all people.  But when I begin to think deeper about the word wealth I think of different types of wealth, like a wealth of knowledge or wisdom.  I think that all these types of wealth are very desirable for all people because of the affect it can have on a person's life.

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

I think that the attitude towards wealth and poverty differs on the person and what their economic status in society is.  I think that poverty is an idea that is misunderstood by many people that don't face economic struggles wether it be kids with parents that make good money or individuals that are wealthy.  I think what these kind of people think poverty is being homeless and starving but that is far from it.  I think that Americans also misunderstand wealth at times.  They see wealth as being famous and not having to do much, like actors or athletes.  These people are wealthy but I think Americans can see wealth as a future shaped by hard work.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

My attitude is very similar to many Americans, growing up with parents that were able to support me I had a distorted idea of what poverty was until I matured and learned more and realized what poverty actually was.  I think my attitude toward wealth differs somewhat from what most Americans think, I believe that wealth is dependent on happiness and dedication.  I think that someone can make all the money in the world but if they don't like what they're doing then they won't enjoy their wealth all the way.

Translation

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

• This translation is very similar to the third translation. The start of the translation with as makes the reader seem like they are in the situation and the story is happening in real time.

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.

• This is the only translation that doesn't include the word bed. This could make the reader think a lot more about where the character being described it, could he be prisoner of a scientist doing experiments?
• Shortest of the translations, gets straight to the point and doesn't use much description, flows through the sentence very well.

#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

• The use of the word when makes the setting of the story seem like the past. Could make the reader think that the author started with a flashback or that the story is narrated from someone other than Samsa.

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

• This translation uses the words monstrous vermin do describe what Samsa turned into. The other translations use the word bug or insect. This translation is much more descriptive and makes the transformation seem much more dark.
• Translation is split up in multiple areas by commas, makes the reader pause when reading and doesn't flow as well.

How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning? Is one more effective than another? Why? What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence?

There are many stylistic features that differ in each of the translation that affects the way it is read by readers. Each translation relays the same general idea of a character waking up and he has been turned into some kind of bug. The differing dictions in each of the translations create a different understanding for readers though. Some of the translations make the story seem like it is told from a narrator other than Gregor Samsa whereas another makes it seem like he is the narrator telling the story of his transformation. Another big difference in diction is when describing what he turned into. The fourth translation uses a much more descriptive choice of words to describe what he turned into, this made it seem like a much more dark intro and made it seem like he was much scarier than a bug after his transformation. Each translation has a much different tone from the other due to the diction and syntax of each. The fourth translation differs greatly from the other three, the use of all the commas and the description of the transformation as a monstrous vermin makes the tone much darker than the other translation and could make the reader believe the whole story to be dark.

This exercise is truly revealing of why texts that have to be translated can be difficult to read. Both Metamorphosis and Stranger are both example os how different translations can affect the reader. The choice of the translator can significantly affect the interpretation of the text. This is very significant for the opening sentence of both pieces of text, the differences can completely control the view a reader has for a text from the start. With the ability for the whole meaning of the story to be affected the true meaning that the original author could have wanted may not be presented correctly. This is also hard to be sure because most times the author is not alive to prove wether the author's true purpose is portrayed in translations.

Practice IOC

Criterion A: 5, I think that i referenced the text not just in the passage but as a whole pretty well.
Criterion B: 4,  I think I talked about literary devices but didn't focus enough on the effects of them
Criterion C: 2,  I think that I talked about important aspects but as a whole when I started talking and got nervous became unorganized.
Criterion D: 3, I think that I used good vocabulary to discuss the passage and the novel but I think I could've used more advanced language to strengthen the commentary.


I emailed my recording to Mrs. Genesky, I couldn't find a way to attach to my blog post.

Never Let Me Go Cover Examination

Cover 1: A attractive young female is the eye catcher of this cover.  The woman looks sad about something which might imply the plot of the story before reading.  She is sitting in a forest which could provide any idea about the setting for the novel.  The cover also includes an award that the novel received and a quote from New York Times about the novel.  I think that the illustrator of this cover designed it this way to attract people to read the novel.  It creates an mysterious idea that could make readers want to discover what the novel is about.  By providing the awards and the quote it shows readers that the novel is very respected and a good read and could make readers want to read it more.
Cover 2: The second cover also creates a mysterious feeling.  The image of a girl that seems to be fading away is revealing of what could be an interesting story.  It hints to the title of Never Let Me Go, it makes it seem like the girl is going away and someone doesn't want to let her go.  It could hint to the plot of the story and that there could be an aspect of love in the story.  The illustrator also places the title and author in the direct middle of the cover to attract readers.  They also included other novels by Ishiguro to attract readers of those novels to read Never Let Me Go.
Cover 3: This cover's main image is of a boat tied to a pole.  The background of the image is very calm and gloomy which could be revealing of the plot of the story.  The idea of the boat being tied up hints to the title of the novel and that if the boat wasn't tied to the pole it would be let go and it's the pole's job to never let the boat go.  This cover also includes awards the book received and a quote from Time to attract readers and show the quality of the novel
Cover 4: The main image of this cover is the insides of a human body.  This cover is the most revealing of the four of the plot of the story.  This image is very useful in creating an interest to learn more about the novel and read it.  It would be hard for a person to determine the plot of the novel from the title alone but the image helps create the ability for people to somewhat learn about the plot.  By not providing to much information about the plot with the image it creates want in readers to read more.  The illustrator of this cover did not include anything about the awards or any quotes and used the image as the main attraction of the cover.

These covers differ greatly and if I had never read the novel would have created completely different ideas about what the novel would have been about.  The first cover of the girl fading away would create the idea that the story would most likely be about the relationship of a girl and a boy and the struggles they go through but end up never letting go of each other, which is also helped by the title.  It would have been difficult for me to try and determine what the possible plot would have been with the second cover.  With the image of the inside of a human body it would have been hard to try and pinpoint what would be the focus of the story.  But with after reading the novel I can see how both covers are illustrated the way they are.  The creators of each wanted to focus on different aspects of the novel and were willing to rely on the fact that both would be appealing to readers and make them want to read the novel.  If I had to chose a cover that I think did a better job of creating an image for the novel I would chose the second cover but I think that both focus on very important aspects of the novel and are important to the plot.  I think that the first one would attract certain readers that like to read more about romance and the second would appeal more to those who are curious due to the mysterious idea presented on the cover.

Story Telling

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