Independent Reading Groups -- Mini Book Clubs

If you were in a character’s place what would you do differently? 

If I were in a character's place, mainly Holden, there would be many things that I would do differently. First, I would try very hard in school, so hard that I won't even come close to failing because in the story, Holden doesn't even try one bit and ends up failing out of four schools. With this in mind, it's obvious that Holden has no future because what is there for Holden if he can't even use his brain to succeed. I understand that his brother and one of his schoolmates die which causes him to be in the emotional state that he is in but at least he could try while being in school. Also, I will not be so judgmental about so many people because it makes you look like a bad person. For example, if I were to call a bunch of people fake in a way where they lie to other people and mislead them and I end up doing the same thing to others, I will be a hypocrite and no body will like me or want to be friends with me. So what I would do if I were in Holden's place is that I would just be myself. If I were to call people fake I wouldn't even try to be fake myself. You will gain a lot in life if you'd just be yourself cause when you do that, people see that you are a good person. One more thing that I would do if I were in Holden's place is that I wouldn't run away from my family to a run down place in New York where my life could be in danger. In the story, all Holden's family was trying to do was help him but he didn't want their help and ran away. 

Independant Reading Groups

The book that me and my group will be reading is Catcher in the Rye. The action in the story takes place in December 1949 in a hospital. This does matter because depending on what year a story takes place in, it affects the characters because if the setting took place like in the 30s or near the 30s the characters will be different than characters that are from the 90s. Some of the characters in the story are Holden Caulfield, Ackley, Stradlater, Jane Gallagher, Phoebe Caulfield, Allie Caulfield and D.B. Caulfield. The plot of the story evolves around Holden Caulfield's life. The one narrarating the story is Holden Caulfield, who is in fact the main chara

PLN 4

My opinion about the tweets and post that I read about the Miami Marlins is that there are a lot of people that have something to say whether it is about the Marlins or someone or something that is related to the Marlins. More of the tweets that I saw were positive rather than negative. According to the article that I read about Ozzie Guillen's interview about the comments made about Castro, I believe that he won't have much support from the fans because following the comments that were made, nothing could be done to get the support of the fans. In result, the Marlins home games might be not as crowded as they usually are.

Comments On Topic Related Article

This is a photo of a bunch of Cuban protestors and above it says that the news conference that was held for Ozzie Guillen to speak failed to convince the people that were hurt by the comments that were made by Guillen that were about former Communist Fidel Castro. I agree with this article because most of the people who were hurt by the comments made by Guillen were cuban and might of have some family that were under Castro's control. I would be hurt as well if I were a Cuban citizen when these comments were made. By reading this article, I predict that the Marlins will be approaching a huge storm, meaning that since most people do not like Ozzie Guillen for the comments he made, Marlins might not get that many attendance's by fans at home games, which in result, will cause the organization to be in jeopardy because no if no fans attend a marlins game or not that many show up, not a lot of money will be made.

Introduction: My Topic

The topic that I am going to choose to talk about is the Miami Marlins. The Miami Marlins, used to be called the Florida Marlins, is a new team in the MLB dating back to the beginning of the 2012-2013 Baseball season. They have a new stadium as well which is where the Orange Bowl used to be in Little Havana, about 2 miles west of Downtown. Their new stadium is called Marlins Park and the name of their old stadium was Sun Life Stadium. Both arenas differ because the new one is a tad bit bigger and has a retractable roof so they can either play in door or out door. They have a new manager this season and his name is Ozzie Guillen. Guillen used to manage the Chicago White Socks. Before they changes their name, the Marlins used to have the colors Black, Grey, White and Turquoise but now their colors consist of Black, Red – Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow and White. Since the Miami Marlins are a new team, their start this season seems to be a little bumpy because not only has the logo and the colors change but there are some new players and new staff members. 

The Things They Carried - Essay Assignment

The stories that I will be talking about are 'The Man I Killed' and 'Ambush'. I will prepare to discuss these stories by talking bout the different elements: The setting, the characters, the plot and the theme. The theme that ties to 'The Man I Killed' is guilt and responsibility. The Theme in 'Ambush' is pretty much the same as 'The Man I Killed' but also has the theme of imagination because he imagines that his daughter is an adult and tells her about the story of My Khe. The setting in 'The Man I Killed' is in My Khe following the murder that O'Brien had committed. The setting in 'Ambush' is at O'Brien's house where he is talking to his daughter about the story of My Khe.

'Style' Blog

If i were in the same scenario as the men when they encoountered the dancing girl, I would react to her strange tactics in a way where I would have no clue what is going on because everything that belonged to this girl was destroyed so I would expect her to be distraught rather than happy, so happy that shes dancing.

Explain the importance of the field. How would you feel if your dad brought you back to an important memory?

The importance of the field in the story is that it was a memory and it is also a beautiful place, unlike the muddy field that the soldiers were in. If my dad brought me back to an important memory it would mean everything to me because a memory part of what makes me who I am. Also, it would be like a bonding moment with me and my dad if he were to take me back to that memory.

Why is the story called "Speaking of Courage (Consider the title to be ironic and not ironic)?

The title is ironic because the main character in the story, Norman Bowker, is more of a coward rather than someone who has courage because he's afraid to do anything.

Think about a time when you felt you had to use a lot of courage in your life.

A time when I had to use a lot of courage in my life is when I began competitive swimming. The reason why I used courage is because at first swimming was very tough, so tough that I though that I was never going to be good at it. Instead, I toughened up and swam almost everyday and I got much better and I became a better athlete.

Blog Post #18

2. The character named Tim O’Brien provides an interesting structure to the discussions of this work of fiction: how much of Tim O’Brien the actual person is “in” Tim O’Brien the character?

Not much of Tim O’Brien the actual person is “in” Tim O’Brien the character because he didn’t do things in the story that he said.

3. “The Man I Killed” describes intimate aspects of the dead man’s life. Where do these details come from? That is, how does the narrator know these things?

O’Brien imagines that the man he killed was born in 1946 and that his parents were farmers; that he was neither a Communist nor a fighter and that he hoped that Americans would go away. He imagines that the boy began studying at the university in Saigon in 1964, that he avoided politics and favored calculus.

4. How do these stories relate to each other?  Themes are tied to form in this novel. The multiple-story, multiple-perspective format emphasizes how similar and yet how different the Vietnam War was for the different men. One theme in particular is developed these three stories: the idea of moral responsibility for our actions, even in war.  How is this theme woven throughout and tied to perspective in the three stories?

This theme isn’t really woven throughout all three stories because in “Good Form” O’Brien talks about the difference between real truth and story truth and not about his actions in the war. In “The Man I Killed” he reflects on the boys life that he killed and how his life was cut short so the theme is sort of tied in to this story.

6. Why does O’Brien keep writing war stories? To what extent is this book a collection of personal memories?  To what extent is it “a work of fiction”?

O’Brien keeps writing war stories because some of them were requested by other people or that he wanted to show the memories. For example, “Speaking of Courage” was written at the request of Norman Bowker, who hanged himself in the YMCA. I think that The Things They Carried is more of a work of fiction because it talks about things that didn’t really happen more than the memories that were talked about.

7. What does O’Brien mean when he says there is a difference between “story truth” and

“happening truth”?

When O’Brian talks about the difference with “story truth” as appose to ”Happening truth” he is talking about how the story is told and the censorship which is applied to the story told. It is told in a way that is more presentable in the present to other people. In his book O’Brian says this and uses a description of the body of a man he killed and how he describes it to show this. In the happening truth he is more forward and honest talking about how there where many bodies and he felt regret and remorse for this man. However in his story truth he simple tells how the man died, the state of his body and bullet wound, and says he killed him.

8. What kind of multi-media, documents, and sources can you use to make your presentation a solid, coherent, in-depth, and challenging? Keep in mind that you have to use the book, no matter what.

For our presentation we can use interpretation tools such as sparknotes and cliffnotes to better interpret the works, and to form our actual presentation we will likely use Prezi to creat a good vivid visual aid for our presentation.

9. How will you ensure that the audience participates attentively throughout?

 The way that my group and I will ensure that the class will participates with the lesson; is that we will give 5-10 questions on what we have discussed during the class, my group and I will have the class act out what is going on, but let the student lead the acting, and we will have the class take a short quiz on what they learned.

10. Do you want to assign a blog or homework (to be done in advance or after your session)?

Yes, my group and I will assign a blog to do during the class forthe students to do. The blog will be on which ever chapter they liked the most and they will have to explain why and give qoutes from the book in there blog post.

Blog Post #17

When we are preparing for a student-led presentation, my expectations are to explain everything to the students so that they understand what I and my group are talking about. I expect for my group to understand the material that they are going to talk about to the other students. I expect for the other students in the class to be quiet during the presentation and have respect for me and my group. I also expect for them to have many questions for us after the presentation is over.

Blog 16

I do agree that “stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are” because usually in the late night when there is a group of people like the one in the things they carried, they aren’t really doing other than hanging around and suddenly they begin talking about stories, whether it be about a funny memory or an event, etc. My experience is when I usually have a sleep over with 2 or 3 friends. Most of the time we are just chilling and don’t really know how we ended up in the spot we were in and suddenly start talking about different stuff that are either funny or serious. I think that this is a frequent occurrence with groups of people in the night time because stories are what keep them entertained when there is nothing else to do. Usually stories can be funny or something to think about, whether it be a certain memory or a made up story. 

5 things I would bring with me

If I were to go away, whether it'd be a vacation or if I'm moving and I had to choose 5 different things to bring I would choose things are important to me or that get me through the day. First off I would bring my iPhone because all the time I like to listen to my music because it somewhat soothing and helps me relax. Also, I like to keep in contact with people who I am close to, whether it be a friend or someone from my family. Next I would bring a pair of tennis shoes because overall, I am someone who likes to workout a lot and if I go a day without working out the day seems useless to me. I would then bring some cash because if I didn't have cash with me I wouldn't be able to buy important necessities like food which could lead to starvation which can result in death. Last but not least I would bring a speedo and a pair of goggles because there's nothing I love more than competitive swimming because it has made me a better person and it is an excellent workout, possibly the best. I think that these items that I would like to bring along with me will tell people that I am a social person who likes to just chill and take care of themselves all the time

Artist related to Grendel?

Tyler Okonma, better known by his stage name, Tyler, the Creator, is a rapper raised in LA. Growing up as a kid, he had no father because his father left him and his mother when he was born. This song, which is called Inglorious, pretty much talks about Tyler's father leaving him and how mad he had been as a kid. In the beginning of the song Tyler quotes: "My father died the day I came out of my mothers whole and put the burden on my soul until I was old enough to understand that the fucking faggot didn't like me much he loved my moms enough to bust a nut and then he shake Junt." This tells you that Tyler's dad didn't want to take the responsibility of having a baby and taking care of it. This makes Tyler, the Creator similar to Grendel because in the story, Grendel never had a father and it was just him and his mom. It also made Grendel a little mad that he didn't have a father. 

Eminem is also the same as Grendel in a way in which he never really had a father as well. Two other ways he is the same as Grendel is him with other people. Eminem is one of the best rappers to ever live so not only does he think he is above everyone else, he is above most of them, just like Grendel and how he thinks any creature or human being is below him. The other way he is the same as Grendel is that he doesn't care what people think about him, which is clearly portrayed in the song above which is called The Way I Am. In the chorus of the song Eminem quotes: "I am whatever you say I am", in a very angry tone so it seems as if he is confident in who he is, just like Grendel.