Animal Farm : Revision of the Past

Just Kidding

Battle of Cowshed
Many had fought,
but most brave of all – Snowball
to save animals, he got shot.

Later, when he was gone
some still remembered his feat
but, Oh, just kidding!
He was actually a cheat.

Snowball and Napoleon argued.
And when Snowball planned
for a great, big windmill
Napoleon passionately contended.

No, just kidding.
Squealer explained
that it was in fact Napoleons plans.
And it seemed so valid..

"No animal shall drink alcohol"
It was to be the process,
Just kidding, it was truly
"No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Such as these were modified
but t’was all justified
Except for one, drilled deep in their minds
from a land distant time.

"Four legs good, two legs bad"
Even the sheep knew, that’s what was sad.
Already, it is altered
"Four legs good, two legs better"

Life in equality, no humans, no tyranny
was really, all too imaginary
for when time came for understanding
they found that the pigs were just kidding.

Poetry Out Loud Performances

Shawntay A. Henry recites Frederick Douglass By: Robert E. Hayden with a powerful voice that causes my brain to slow, and catch every word she says. Her physical presence alone was sure to define confidence; the thoughtful glance she had, the confident stance she took, and the key movements she expressed deliberately were as if she were the one who wrote the poem. However, it was her voice and articulation that helped me understand the meaning of the poem. The strength behind the words she delivered was not at all hindering, nor overwhelming. It held the passion of a story teller telling her own story, and the authority of high rank.

Listening to her recitation helped me interpret the poem. Basically, what Hayden was trying to capture with his poem was that the hard work put into acheiving freedom mustn't be forgotten. Frederick Douglass was a slave, beaten for his hope in a freedom that we've taken for granted, and he must not be forgotton. The beauty and grace of freedom must not be forgotton. For the dream of a man in history is now alive in our hands, and we must keep appreciating it, or it is worthless.

Mockingbird Motif

To tell the truth, I've had the impression that a motif was just a made-up word designed to fool honors freshman. In my summer assignment, I ended up guessing on the answer, deciding that to find a motif, I must find a foreign word. "To Kill a Mockingbird" enlightened me with a better understanding of what a motif is; it is definitely not a foreign word, but a recurring symbol. From what I've read, it seems to me that a motif is also a concept that is centered around - an idea that runs the plot, and motivates the themes.

Obviously the motif of this book is shown as the mockingbird - a melodic creature who brings nothing but goodwill, one whose pure innocence is overlooked. It is referred to often in the novel, and serves a connection to the many themes; it ties them all together to create a well-knit plot and moral. The themes: Prejudice(race, class, and gender), Justice vs. Injustice, and Standing in Another's Shoes all focalize the main point which is "to kill a mockingbird". Tom Robinson was quite a literal example of a mockingbird. He was the picture of innocence; respectful, gracious, and eager to help. He was also framed to be the rapist of Mayella Ewell. No matter how obvious he was innocent, the townsfolk would not let a black man's word go above a white man's (pardon- woman's*). The jury was vicious, and held fast to the clutches of prejudice. Letting their tainted minds overrule the truth, they found him guilty of a crime he did not commit. This is Injustice defeating Justice; it is "killing a mockingbird".

Life Lesson

"No matter how unimportant you think you are, you are an influence to SOMEONE."
-PJ Moon. Only 23yr's old, and he's said the one thing that caused me to rethink my whole way of living. He was a youth leader, who meant to change our attitude towards responsibility - and it worked. Pj Moon told me that there ARE people paying attention to me. But who am I influencing that it matters? I wondered. "Your little cousins, students of lower grades, your friends, or perhaps even your brother notice changes about your attitude, your responses, and your thoughts." Pj said, "If you start cussing, soon they will see you as an excuse to start cussing themselves. If you start living right, they will see you as someone to look up to, and will try to live right as well. No matter how unimportant you think you are, you are an influence to SOMEONE."

Though his words made me a bit self-conscious of everything I do, it's helped me to do everything right. When tempted to watch an R-rated movie with friends, my conscious seems to start up like a record player, replaying Pj's words with an annoying vengeance, and lays out two options, 1) watch the movie that's filled with violence/sex/and or profanity, or 2) say no. Though it's hard to watch my friends laugh at my silliness when I choose option 2 ("it's just a movie, Anna" they say), for up until now, I've held my dignity and followed what was right. And I now realize that my diligence is starting to pay off, as my friends look at me, and ask me seriously, which PG13 movie we should watch.

I just had to choose what was right for myself, and peers around me would change their lifestyles for themselves. Seemingly, Pj knew what he was talking about.

My Best Friend

Of my closest two friends, Carey is my second choice. Haha! Just kidding - you and Amanda are both equally loved.

Carey has been with me through thick and thin since the beginning of middle school, and I love her to death. Though her personality is overall quiet and seemingly timid, she always confides in her best friends. As far as I can see, she rarely makes a mistake, and her ideas are very intellectual and insightful. Sometimes I envy her in how much she sees out of the world whereas I can't get past the outer appearance. However, the way she views herself falls slightly under positive. I remind her over and over how much she's worth - ALOT. Carey is slightly short in height compared to peers, but it never impaired her abilities and won't ever. In fact, she is absorbed in the sport of baton twirling, and is especially talented in it.

She keeps a positive attitude in everything she does, and her smile is infectious. She would be considered a humanitarian, but her kindness doesn't blind her from right and wrong; if I were to vandalize Mrs. Gilman's whiteboard and she knew I did it, she would know to do the right thing and report me, even though we are bestfriends. Carey might seem like an introvert, but she is my painfully well hidden extrovert :) Sides of her, nobody else has seen, are expressed regularly to me, such as the way she freaks out when a hot guy passes by (she's probably going to get angry that I mentioned this), or that she complains excessively about how 'Mormon' her mom is. She is comfortably annoying around her friends, and we are comfortably annoying to her. Balance developes our friendship, and I know that she feels the same way.

Earliest Memory

There was an event that had most imprinted itself into my memory. Backtracking 9 years into the past, it brings me to this blurry scene of a too warm evening on a humid day. Coming home from dinner at a restaurant, I was sitting in the back seat of our huge van thinking of ways to pester my brother the most. Suddenly I realized that I was missing the familiar fuzz that was K.C. which was always plastered between my arm and side. Tears were streaking down my scrunched face, as panic flooded my mind: My puppy was gone! Did someone steal him?

It wasn't until I started wailing, that mommy and daddy looked back at me with a frown. Maybe, 'cause I never cried unless it had to do with my K.C., but they knew at once that I had lost him, and I felt real bad. But now I missed him, and they drove us back to the restaurant, and told me to stay in the car.

I don't remember how long I had my face pressed against the glass, waiting. Then out of my hazy vision, I caught sight of my parents seeming to walk hand in hand, however, when I looked closer, I distinguished the small ridiculous figure that caused all this trouble. And I remember this now with embarrassment of how irrational I was at the temporary loss of a stuffed animal.

Metamorphosis: Tone

I chose Tone as the most prominent literary element of Metamorphosis. This stood out as the most prominent to me because throughout the book, there wasn't an area that didn't have tone.
But to tell the truth, I chose Tone through the process of elimination. Perhaps motif might have worked as a more dominant literary feature, however, I didn't see how I could use it, considering I still don't know what it means.

Still, the tone did reflect on the events, and helped enhance the story. Tone was probably chosen by Kafka to convey the idea of being transformed into a cockroach as a horrid life; it gives a looming feeling of melancholy, gloom, and pessimistic attitude. Throughout the story, the tone changes in different forms of negative feelings and heads toward the climax of the story where it is tied in subtly.

Outside Reading: Metamorphasis

Starting this book, it immediately grabs my attention because it gets straight to the point of the story, and keeps me intrigued. It's not hard to get into because, right off the bat, it gives me a new idea and concept to ponder.

The most prominent literary element so far in this book seems to be Imagery and Detail. This is obvious because he describes every view of his situation, and transformation. He uses these literary elements to illustrate a different aspect of life, such as being a cockroach

The tone in this novel first seemed nostalgic, because Gregor was confused and gloomy with his transformation. However, later on in this novel, he is more calm and confident in his reality.

Writing about Reading

This is my passion, my alternate universe, and my own silent observation – reading. A new book is in many ways like moving to a new place; you don't know the standard here; you don't know these people; and you wonder, what is the possible outcome? Maybe if a book stated the ending right there in the beginning, it wouldn't be considered a book – maybe that's why a book that is so open to countless opportunities energizes me. This is why I rarely put down a book just because I find the beginning dull; I keep in mind that there may be an erratic ending that I might miss if I shoot this opportunity.

After the rising motivation peaks, there comes a problem of continuing the book, halfway into it. The motivation stops there because of one crucial issue – distractions. There’s nothing in the world like having a big brother. I’m not talking about the basic “Give me respect, and get me the cup of water that sits 5 inches from my hand” type of big brother (which is still true), but the big brother that has not yet grown up. “OH YEAH! THAT’S RIGHT, NOOBS!” is heard, yet felt, reverberating around my entire house when he wins a game of COD4. Why exactly might this disturb me? – because I intended to read my book peacefully at that moment, while Andrew, not knowingly, just lost my spot in it. There is always a solution to these kind of problems, and I happened to find mine at the nearest Target®; Skull Candy Earphones that block out all other sound besides to the music it’s connected to happens to be the cause for calming, uninterrupted reading. (Results may vary)

Unconsciously, I’ve created a habitual schedule that gives testimony as to why I’m always wanting to sleep an extra 3 hours when I wake up. It is because when I start reading, I get hooked and keep reading, and I tend to read the best when it is nearly 11 – this happens to be when everyone in my household are quietly dreaming – and don’t stop until I realize it’s past midnight, possibly 1AM. I’m not sure if this is because I’m starting to show signs of being a loner, or because I just like the feel of entering the world of my book when no one else seems to be around me. When I’m lost in a book, it’s hard to tell.

The way I read shows why it’s hard for me to stop reading before its 3 hours past. I’ve created a system where I try not to get up for a bathroom break or for water, this way there’s absolutely no distractions standing in the way of me and the book that is always in my vicinity. This often creates problems when people are trying to talk to me or text me, because when focusing on a book, my mind tends to classify those notifications as unnecessary as bathroom breaks or water, and ignores them to saturate my pulsating need to read and read.

Why do I read fiction? This is definitely something as vague as “asking why we breathe.” (Quote: Carolyn Gilman) I once thought that reading fiction was the perfect way to ‘escape reality’ when in fact, the morals and themes of fiction stories seem to underline reality in such a way that it is implied, undefined, and comes back to bite you in the butt. However, I will never enjoy reading non-fiction (reality) as much as fiction, because unlike non-fiction, it has a unique quality to it that varies with each author, that conveys a NEW story that only matches their own imagination – and this inspires me. Fiction builds integrity in a style that also stimulates imagination and a casual view of the world.

This is my perception of reading.