The Plot Thickens

I've reached the end of the first section of my book, and let me just say there was some drama. Ivy and Mr. Rafferdy ended up forming a relationship that could have progressed into marriage, but because of their different social statuses, Rafferdy took the Edward route, letting go of his true love for a woman more befitting of his family.  I hope that, like the characters in Sense and Sensibility, he changes his mind and marries his Elinor, but, as of where I currently in the book, Ivy has reason to give up hope.  Right after receiving the depressing news that Rafferdy was engaged to someone other than herself, Ivy walked in on an even more depressing scene.  Her mother had suddenly died in her absence.  Now, in order to provide for her sisters, Ivy decides to leave to work for an old family friend she never met, Mr. Quent.  At his home, she will be paid to care for his young cousins.  Finally, after over 200 pages, the name "Quent" has been introduced.  Even though the Mrs. has yet to be mentioned, one thought that has crossed my mind is that Ivy may become Mrs. Quent.  Just a theory, but that'd be interesting.  So that's the basic plot right now, but this book has many subplots as well.  Mr. Garrit has disappeared from the last fifty pages - I can only assume hes running around causing a revolution still.  Other plot lines include the character of Mr. Bennick, a mysterious man who many associate with magic.  He is seemingly helping Ivy solve the riddle to rescue her sick father, but at the same time, he sends Mr. Rafferdy an ugly ring which represents an ancient magical family, alluding to the idea that Mr. Rafferdy may process some magical ability.  Overall, its a very strange book.  A very long soap opera.  I'm enjoying it, but it is no work of literary genius, just an interesting read.  I think its an entertaining book, so I'm looking forward to reading more.

My Favorite Class Claims

These are my top five favorite claims that other students in my class made for their projects:

1) In this scene from Nick Cannons film Drumline, the aggressive and alert style, quick, narrow movement, and percussive, thundering rhythm expresses an alive sense of energetic celebration and modest jubilation.
          - Case 1

2)Phantom Regiment's professional execution of the contrast between powerful, fortissimo fast-paced, militaristic style and the more lyrical, graceful, slow ballad underscores the emotional contrast between vengeful violence and sorrowful lost love.
          - A Scrap of Parchment

3) On the album cover of Titus Andronicus's "The Airing of Grievances," the commanding, classic font and layout of the cover, as well as the cluttered and colorful use of space in the photograph convey the band's homely practice environment and admiration for the old-fashioned symbols of history.
          - The New Zealander

4)In this dance routine, the modern, pounding sound of the drums, the intence and piercing facial expressions and the alive, over the top arm movements creates a sense of fragile chemistry between two people that are desperate yet indecisive at the same time.
          - True Story

5)The sweet tasing sensation of a skittle releases a flavor of fruitiness drowing all your taste buds in a pool of heaven. The numerous amount of these miniture, round, chewy candies create a rainbow effect in your mouth when devoured.
          -Peanut Butter without the Jelly



These are my two favorite artifacts that other students chose to do a close reading on

1)  A Photograph of a Ballet Dancer
          - Eddie

2) Phantom Regiment - Sparticus 2008
          - A Scrap of Parchment

My favorite claim is Case 1's statement on the movie Drumline, and my favorite artifact is A Scrap of Parchment's choice of Phantom Regiment's 2008 show.  Obviously, I'm in the marching band.

Close Reading Project

Gene Kelly Tap Dancing on Roller Skates

My project this week is to do a "close reading" of any subject.  Since I love tap dancing, I thought this video of Gene Kelly would be the perfect thing to observe and describe.  I already tap dance, but my new goal in life is to be able roller skate as well!  I'm thinking I would have the best act in the Variety Show with this!

Observe:                                                                             Infer:

Sound: rhythmic, drumming, sharp, resonant                          Joyful

Skating Motion: smooth, graceful, elegant, swift                      Blissful

Tapping Motion: quick, sharp, wild, exciting                            Content

Arm Movement: slapping, waving, swinging,                            Excited

Use of Space: wide, aggressive, turning                                  Enthusiastic

Facial Expression: blissful, content, hopeful                            Playful

Claim:

In this scene from Its Always Fair Weather, Gene Kelly's graceful skating, hopeful facial expression, and sharp, exciting tap dancing create a sense of blissful enthusiasm.

Poet of the Month

For my poet of the month project, I have chosen to look up another poem by an author we have read in class and write about it. I liked Gary Snyder's poem "The Trail is Not a Trail," so I researched and found "Riprap" by Gary Snyder. It’s a strange poem because it refers to itself. I haven't seen much poetry that describes how a person should read it, let alone poems that describe the process by comparing it to rocks. As a whole, the poem doesn't make much sense to me, but maybe I'm just one of the "lost ponies with dragging saddles." Never thought I'd claim that about myself, but it’s a possibility. It’s strange and makes me think, so I like it.  If life is like an “endless four-dimensional game of go,” then I’m glad I paused the game long enough to read this poem.

A Stone Circle I Saw in England with Mr. Clough's English Class
 (This is my interpretation of "rocks placed solid by hands." 
I'm not sure how I'm supposed to read a poem like these, but hey, whatever.)

Currently

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent, Galen Beckett

Pages Read this Week: 158

Pages Read this Semester: 485

Sentences of the Week:

1. "Go back to your seat you omadhaun, you poltroon, you thing from the far dark corner of a bog." Angela's Ashes

2. "I'm sure people would be far gladder if they simply stopped searching for all the causes of their unhappiness." The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

3. "Though he supposed the good were always drawn to the wicked for wanting to save them, and the wicked in turn to the good - not in hopes of being saved or with desires of corrupting but rather like a moth in the dark, fascinated by a light it can never really know but might at least behold."  The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

My first sentence was just funny.  Not only does it include a vocabulary word we have been studying (poltroon), but it is possibly one of the best insults I have ever heard.  I may have to beginning calling my sister a "thing from the far dark corner of a bog."  I wonder how she would respond.  The second sentence was insightful.  They're words of wisdom, but ironically, they come from a character who is foolish.  In a weird way, it reminded me of Polonius' statement "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."  These are intelligent words spoken by an idiot of a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.  Sentences like these make me wonder if even the stupidest people can have a little bit of depth to them.  Finally, the third sentence was profound.  I'm not really sure why I liked it, but it sort of reminded me of the musical Wicked.  Other than that, I just thought it was cool.  The moth simile was pretty great.  Good sentences this week!  I'm enjoying finding them and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Magic and Mystery

My book has been getting better!  It's become rather complicated - a series of plots all combined in the first 150 pages.  There are many characters that all have their own adventures, but so far my favorite plot lines are those of Ivy and Mr. Garrit.  Ivy is on a mission to help her father, a magician who for some reason has gone mad.  Strange men in cloaks have been visiting her house, looking for a mysterious magical item, so she is attempting to find the missing object in order to bribe them to help save her father.  Her quest is an exciting mystery that is further explained in about every other chapter. In other chapters, the plot turns to Mr. Garrit and his goal of improving the fortunes of himself and his sister.  He planned to invest in a trading company that was supposed to bring back profits twenty times his original investment, but he did not have enough money to buy the share.  Through a series of strange events, he received the money from a highway man who seems to have a thing for his sister.  However, the money wasn't given freely.  Now, Mr. Garrit is following these strange directions from the criminal - delivering letters that are surely involved in a rebellion against the king.  Being a respectable citizen, Mr. Garrit decides to pay the highwayman back after weeks of doing his dirty work.  He goes to the company he invested in, only to discovered they have swindled him.  Now he is in the service of a criminal and helping in a revolution he doesn't want, all in order to increase his social status, earning a better life for his sister.

Both of my favorite characters share something in common - they each want to help those they love.  Personally, while my family can seriously get on my nerves, I want the best for them.  I worry about my little sister as she grows up and starts high school and hope that she is given all the good fortune she deserves.  Unlike my favorite characters, however, I am blessed to live in a family where I don't need to provide for everyone.  Ivy, in the fashion of Elinor from Sense and Sensibility, is essentially in charge of her family.  Lilly, the Marianne Dashwood of the family, and her mother are hopeless romantics.  With her father sick, Ivy is left to monitor the finances of the once wealthy family, keeping purchases in check and remaining sensible.  Mr. Garrit has a similar situation.  He is the son of a diseased, disgraced nobleman who owes money to every money lender in town.  While Mr. Garrit is an honest man, he is unable to get ahead in life to due to his illegitimate birth and his inability to get a loan because of the sins of his father.  Both characters take the weight of the world on their shoulders to support the people they care about.  I only hope that I will always have the sense to support my family in a similar, if less dramatic, way.

The Magicians and Mrs. Quent

My new book is pretty random.  I've never heard of it - its just a book I bought on sale when Mitchel Books went out of business.  Its pretty big and I've been meaning to find time to plow through it, so now seemed like as good a time as any.  So far I like it.  I'm about 100 pages in and I'm not totally sure what its about, but the characters seem realistic and interesting.  In the beginning of the book, there were three separate groups of people, and each chapter is told from their point of view.  The first section concerned three sisters, Ivy, Rose, and Lily.  They are all very different, but Ivy is the main character and the person I can relate to the most.  She loves to read and cares deeply for her family.  Mr. Rafferdy is another character - a proud son of a rich nobleman, who spends most of his time drinking and buying clothes.  The final main character is Mr. Garrit -  the illegitimate son of a disgraced nobleman.  For the first few chapters, the main characters go about their lives, but I just reached the part where they are all together for the first time. I have no idea where this will lead, but from reading reviews, I have learned that the book is supposedly part fantasy, part mystery, and part period novel.  I like all three of these genres, so this should work for me.  Also, I have learned that the book is a bit of a combination of works by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Austin, and Charles Dickens.  Already, I see the similarities.  Having read Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, David Copperfield, and Great Expectations, I can't help but notice that Ivy seems to be a lot like Jane and Elinor and that the description of the time period seems to match how Dickens describes the worlds of David and Pip.  I will have to brush up on characters from theses books, since I would like to see if the parallels run deeper than just the surface.  So far, it seems like an interesting book and I am looking forward to reading more!