My Favorite Holiday

To me, my favorite holiday to celebrate is Christmas and there are many reasons why I like it so much. First off, Christmas is not only exciting but it is also important because it is a time where you can gather round and spend time with your family and have lots of conversation and reminisce the good times that were spent in the previous year. Spending time with family is one of the most important things because it creates healthy relationships. Usually when I get together with my family on Christmas, we sit down and have dinner and talk about different things, like what good things happened to us the past year or what things we plan on changing in the following year. This is a good thing because we are able to share different ideas and such. I think that it's the best feeling to be surrounded by the ones who mean the most to you on a Holiday like this because it doesn't happen that often where a family gets together and has dinner and has conversation. Another reason why Christmas is my favorite holiday is because I not only get to spend time with my family but I also get presents and the feeling of getting presents is almost the same as the feeling of being with your peers. Although it feels good to receive gifts, the feelings mutual when you go out and buy presents for family or friends because it shows that you care about them. Overall, there is no other holiday that beats Christmas because it is at the end of the year and it is a time of reminiscence of the good times that were spent that year   and where famalies can all gather round and spend time with each other

After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost

1.  My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,

And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough. Bough- a main branch of a tree

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Essence of winter sleep is on the night,

The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.

I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight

I got from looking through a pane of glass 

I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough

And held against the world of hoary grass. What is hoary grass? 

It melted, and I let it fall and break.

But I was well

Upon my way to sleep before it fell,

And I could tell

What form my dreaming was about to take.

Magnified apples appear and disappear, What are Magnified apples? Are they small?

Stem end and blossom end,

And every fleck of russet showing clear.

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,

It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.

I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.

And I keep hearing from the cellar bin

The rumbling sound

Of load on load of apples coming in.

For I have had too much

Of apple-picking: I am overtired  It seems that the author is tired of apple-picking

Of the great harvest I myself desired.

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch, He is implying that there many fruits

Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.

For all

That struck the earth,

No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, 

Went surely to the cider-apple heap

As of no worth.

One can see what will trouble

This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. 

Were he not gone,

The woodchuck could say whether it's like his

Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,

Or just some human sleep.

2. Annotations

• Stubble- the cut stalks of grain plants left sticking out of the ground after the grain is harvested 
• Pane- a single sheet of glass in a window or door

3.  The reason why I like this poem is because it is very deep when it talks about life. In the poem, the person is apple-picking and soon enough, he is tired of it but doesn't know if it is an end-of-the-day tired or something deeper, meaning that the person doesn't want to work anymore and wants to retire. Apple-picking is a metaphor for work in general and it is something that the person might not find interest in anymore. This poem appeals to me because it makes me think of life in the future, like will I ever get tired of working or will I keep going and make something of it. Personally, I am a hard worker and from reading this poem, I start to think more about working because when I go out into the world, I want to be known as a hard worker and not a slacker. 

4. 

• "This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is." - I like this line because this is when the person is not sure whether he is naturally tired or if he's just tired of working and thats something that really speaks to me
• "Of apple-picking: I am overtired" - is he really tired of apple-picking physically or just in general?
• "The scent of apples: I am drowsing off." - It seems that he is tired of smelling apples. This shows that he doesn't find interest in something that he's been doing for a while. 

What Defines an Archetype? What are some notable Heros of the 21st Century that compare to Beowulf?

In the story Beowulf, Beowulf, the main character of the story, is characterized as the hero because of the many qualities that he possesses. These qualities that he has are that he in noble, he is very powerful, so powerful that he cannot be stopped. He is also characterized as a hero because of the encounters that he has with the monster Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and a fire-breathing dragon because they were all evil and Beowulf had what it took to defeat them on his own. Three different qualities that a hero would possess around 700 are the quality of being very strong, being noble, and being humble. The hero needs to be a strong one with power in order to defeat all evil that stands in his/her way in order to save others or just themselves. They need to be noble because if a hero is noble, mainly to their supporters, they will keep that support because when someone is noble, they always do the right thing and makes it so it stays that way to make the people happy and feel safe and secure. Last but not least, hero’s need to be humble because if you’re a hero and you act all cocky, no body’s going to like you and no one finds interest in someone who is cocky and shows off. On the other hand, if the hero was humble people would respect them because even though they are saving many people by defeating many opponents they try and not show off. A text of the 21^st century that exploits the same characteristics as Beowulf is King Kong. The reason why King Kong exploits the same characteristics is because like Beowulf, King Kong fights off a bunch of opponents like dinosaurs to save Ann Darrow, played by Naomi. Also, King Kong and Beowulf are similar in another way and that is that they are both very strong and not really able to be stopped by anything or anyone.  One thoughtful comment on what we discussed in class is that there is more to a hero than you think you know because most people would think that a hero is just someone who is powerful and can fight off different opponents. Well Beowulf is a good example of this because not only does Beowulf fight off opponents is very powerful and strong, he is also a good swimmer and that is something that you don’t really hear about any hero. 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

1. Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   I like these two lines because it talks about stopping to view the beautiful snow.

My little horse must think it queer  <-- What does the speaker mean when he uses this word?

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,  I like this line because it is saying that the beauty of the snow can only be viewed for a certain amount of time then you have to get back to reality

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

2. The reason why I like this poem is because it talks about someone who enjoys beautiful scenes, in this case, the snow is the beautiful scene and there is someone who stops in the middle of the woods just to view its beauty. While viewing the snow, this person realizes that they have many miles to travel before they go to sleep. Hweat the whole point of this poem is that admiring and viewing natures beauty wont last forever because there are many other things that need to be done . Another reason why I like this poem is because it is by Robert Frost and he is a poet in which I admire most of his work. 

3. 

Lady Macbeth: Then and Now

B. 


What, quite unmanned in folly? Fie, for shame!

When Lady Macbeth says this in Act 3, she is awake and she is asking Macbeth if he is afraid of the Ghost and she is trying to calm him down.

Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard?


When Lady Macbeth says this in Act V, she is sleepwalking and while this is happening she is dreaming and reliving the moment when Macbeth killed the king and Lady Macbeth is trying to get blood off of her hands and she is paranoid then she tells Macbeth that he is a soldier and that he shall not be afraid of being caught for killing the king and that she didn't know that the killing would be so messy and so hard on her

Innocent People

In the story Macbeth, there are many people who are as innocent as could be but

they end up getting murdered for something that they were accused of.

Unfortunately, the same things applies to the real world because almost every day

bad things happen to innocent people whether it be getting robbed, murdered or

beaten up so badly. A perfect example of how bad things happen to innocent people

is the Virginia Tech Massacre, which happened on April 16, 2007. In this horrific

massacre, 32 people were killed and 25 were wounded. It’s obvious that these

people did not deserve to die or be wounded because these were very good students

that had a bright future ahead of them and on this day they probably were just in

class working hard trying to make something of them selves when suddenly the

killer, Seung-Hui Cho, came in and started shooting up the school. Cho was a senior

at Virginia Tech and he had been previously diagnosed with anxiety disorder which

probably could be the reason why he went crazy and killed and wounded all those

people that day. This was the deadliest shooting by a gunman in U.S. history and had

an effect on a bunch of people. It is one of the worst things to hear about innocent

people being killed by some psycho like Cho and it really breaks their heart to hear

about something like this because they are probably thinking in their minds what

did this person do to deserve this and most of them break down into tears. The

Virginia Tech Massacre really had an effect on me because me as a person, I do not

break into tears a lot but at the time when I found out about the massacre on the

news, I sort of cried because I can’t imagine someone being killed while they are in

the process of chasing their dreams or if they are just innocent. In conclusion, this

shooting probably would of never happened if Cho didn’t have an anxiety disorder

but at the same time, people need to deal with what ever problems they have and

should never take it out on others. 

Charcter Line Assignment: Lady Macbeth

Only look up clear;
To alter favour ever is to fear.
Leave all the rest to me. [Exeunt]


Act 1, Scene 5- Lady Macbeth 


Summary: Lady Macbeth is talking to Macbeth and she wants him to appear innocent and if he somehow changes his expression then there will be reason to fear.

Comment: the words in this line shows us that Lady Macbeth is a very evil and cruel woman because she wants Macbeth to appear innocent when at the same time she wants him to kill Duncan and if she doesn't kill him then she will.

Word Map: Night

Character Description: Lady Macbeth

In the beginning of Macbeth, we sort of find out that Lady Macbeth is somewhat ambitious who is hungry for power and position. It seems as if she is more stronger than Macbeth as she scorns Macbeth and demands that he has Duncan dead so that Macbeth can take the crown and become King. Lady Macbeth shows this attitude in Act I, Scene 5, "This night's great business into my dispatch; Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. Overall, Lady Macbeth is a cranky woman and she wants her way with everything.

Word Map: Sleep

Text and Subtext

A good example of a situation in which it would be better to try and get what you want indirectly, rather than asking for what you want would be a guy asking a girl on a date. The reason why this would be a good example is because the guy might be shy and would want to ask the girl out in a way that would seem less awkward for him. The approach that the guy would take would ask the girl what her plans are for the weekend. If the girl has a response like "I don't have anything planned" the guy could take the initiative and ask the girl if she would like to do something like go see a movie.

The Three Witches

When I think of the three witches from Macbeth, the picture that forms in my mind are three scary witches who are very ugly and are obviously up to no good. In the picture above, the three witches are standing side-by-side which means they are a group and they are wearing all black and the color black usually represents evil or something that is not good. Another thing that I notice about the three witches in the picture above is that they really have no expression on their faces so this could mean that they are not happy or they're just plain evil.

When I think about Macbeth, the first thing that comes to my mind or reminds me of Macbeth is a crown because in the story he becomes king after one of the former kings were murdered so as for him becoming king, he receives a crown. Not only does the crown represent Macbeth being king but it also represents a sense of power because when you're king you have a crown which shows that you have a lot of power over many aspects. So when ever you see somebody has a crown on their head it suddenly comes to mind that they have total authority of something or they are some sort of leader. 

What is ambition?

To me, ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve something which can require determination. At times, when someone has an ambition it can either be positive or negative because that someone can have the ambition to do something either really good or really bad. When I think about ambition, I think of it as something that really drives someone to accomplish a goal, making it so that they are really determined and focused to achieve that goal. An example of a positive ambition will be somebody who wants to become a doctor and possible find a cure for a certain disease. The reason for this being positive is because finding a cure for a disease will have a positive effect on the world by reducing the number of people with the disease which a cure was found for. An example of a negative ambition is someone who is driven to get revenge on somebody by either killing them or doing what ever. This is a negative ambition because most of the time violence is not the solution because morally it is not right and it can usually get you into trouble.

"The 32 Second Macbeth"

In the beginning of "The 32 Second Macbeth", actors 1, 2, and 3 come in and say "fair is foul and foul is fair followed by actor 4 saying "What bloody man is that?", meaning that he is questioning the man who is covered in blood. Actor 2 realizes that Macbeth is making his way towards them and shouts out "A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come". Once Macbeth arrives and says "So foul and fair a day I have not seen", in other words he has not seen a day that is not foul and fair. After Macbeth says that actor 3 tells everybody to hail Macbeth and that he shall be king for now on. Macbeth says that if he does become king then he will be crowned and then actor 3 tells Macbeth to unsex her. Macbeth questions her of when it will be done and she tells Macbeth to screw his courage and then he sees that he has a dagger then kills actor 3. After the killing, actor 5 says "A little water clears us of this deed", meaning that water will wash the blood away, making it look as if nothing had happened. Actor 6 tells Fleance to fly then dies and Macbeth says "blood will have blood" which most likely means bloodshed will lead to more bloodshed. Actors 1, 2 and 3 come over and say "double, double, toil and trouble" which point to the calamities that actor 6 suffers from being killed. Actor 7 then says that he has been killed to his mother and dies. Following the death, Actor 8 says "bleed, bleed, poor country!" which explains that many people are dying, which means a lot of bloodshed. Macbeth ends up dying in the end and Actor tells everyone to hail the king of Scotland. In this script, the two observations that I saw were many people being killed and a bunch of people bowing to Macbeth as he makes way. Two questions I would have for this script is why would actor 3 want to be unsexed and what does actor 8 mean by saying "Turn, hell-hound, turn!"?

While reading the novel, Homer & Langley, one of the main things that I saw was the condition of the mansion in which they lived in and the condition of the mansion was very bad and unhealthy because everything was cluttered all over the place, as portrayed in the picture above. There were also rats and such roaming around the mansion because there was so much garbage that was laying around that Homer or Langley didn't bother to pick up because they are lazy people, well Langley is lazy not Homer because Homer is blind so he can do nothing but be guided by somebody. Having all these things scattered throughout the house not only had an effect on the condition of the mansion but were Langley slept. Langley did not sleep in a bed, he slept on the counter in the kitchen were it was a very hard surface so he probably never got a good nights sleep. Another effect that the scattered belongings had was that Langley soon got paranoid and put traps around the house while he was taking care of Homer when he was sick. Langley soon ended up dying due to the fact that he got caught in the traps that he set and this would cause Homer to die sooner or later because he was sick and he was blind so he had no one to come to his aid. Overall, the way in which Homer and Langley kept their mansion kind of showed what kind of people they are and the lifestyle that they live and trust me it is not sanitary.

Why is Literature Important?

There are many reasons why we should care about literature. One reason is because when you read something that is literary you can really take a lot out of it and learn something from it and possibly relate it to your life. This might help you in the long run because sometimes there are lessons to be learned when reading something literary. For example, when I was in 11^th grade I read a book called Into the Wild and it was about a young man who left everything behind and tried living life in the Wild for no apparent reason. After reading this book, the lessoned that I learned was that you really need to look on the bright side and appreciate everything that you have and the people around you because if you let any of that go, things could really get out of hand like with McCandless in the book. Another reason why we should care about literature is because literature kind of assists us to understand and make sense of the world around us because with literature, we look at the human condition and analyze how and why people think the way they do and feel the way they feel. In addition, literature makes it possible for us to strengthen our minds in a way of analyzing and promotes open minds. In other words, if we were to be without literature or never paid any attention to it, we would lack the understanding and insight of human nature and how it works, like not being able to figure out why someone acts the way they do or feel the way they feel. In my opinion, paying attention to literature and studying it will benefit you in the future

About Me

Let me introduce myself, my name is Adam Garrett Grenadier and I am a Florida native and I am from the city of Coral Springs. I was born on August 25, 1993 at the Coral Springs Hospital so now I am 18 years old and I have been living in Florida since I was born.  My family consists of me, my dad, mom, me and my two sisters. Out of me and my two sisters, I am the youngest, one sister is 19 and one is 24. In my opinion, I think that being the youngest is the best.

            To begin with, I am a real laid back person and I have a good personality so I’m pretty easy to get along with. The thing I like to do most is workout and play sports most of the time when I’m not busy with work and such. I participate in two different sports and they are basketball and competitive swimming. I’ve been playing basketball for about 9-10 years and swimming for 4 years. I started swimming when I first got into high school, which is North Broward Prep. In basketball I usually play shooting guard and in swimming my best stroke is the breaststroke.

            When it comes to academic work, I always take it seriously because I know that if I don’t take it seriously then I wont succeed in life and that’s not what I want so I believe that succeeding in school will take far in life. In English IV this year, the things that I would like to learn is strategies in taking the SAT/ACT, developing in writing better paragraphs and having a better work ethic because without any work ethic, you probably won’t succeed in anything.

             Sometimes I have thoughts of different ideas and when ever they come to my mind, the one that I care deeply about is what will I be doing when I finish college, like what kind of job will I have or will I be successful. I care about this idea the most because where I’ll be in a couple years is important to me because being successful in life is one of the many priorities to me so each day I work as hard as I can so that I can make it through life successfully.

            When it comes to publishing a book, directing a movie or even doing a painting, the artist whose work that I admire is Steven Spielberg because almost every movie I saw that was directed by him blew my mind because the movies he makes are amazing. Out of the movies he made, I would say that my favorite one is Jurassic park because everything seemed so real in the movie and also it was the first one I saw that was directed by him. In my own words, Steven Spielberg can be regarded as one of the most successful directors of all time.

            Most people say that reading books can strengthen your brain but me, I don’t really have an interest in reading books but out of the many books that I read, the one I love the most is Into the Wild which was written by Jon Krakauer. The reason why I like this book is because it’s a true story and it was easy to understand. It was about this kid who graduated college and didn’t really appreciate anything and just went off, left everything behind and went into the wild and lived there. He soon had nothing to eat and died of starvation and was discovered about two weeks after his death.