Archive for April, 2008
Piece Of Me.
We’re now starting work on the novel “Animal Farm”. I handed back in my Macbeth book. Which I never finished reading. Horrible, I know. Mr.Murray says this book is straight forward. I really hope so since I haven’t seen a play for this one…
We got our report cards last Friday. I’ll say I’m a little disappointed. My current average is not high enough to place me on the honour roll. I need to work harder. Considering the classes I have, I should be sitting on there right now.
I finally received a mark for my Macbeth essay. I suppose I’m happy with that mark. Just that it’s a crummy feeling knowing it could have been higher had my title page font been smaller, or my beginning quote been shorter. Little things like that I guess is where I went wrong. Hopefully I’ll do better on the next one.
Exams are only half a semester away. Oh gosh.
Sammills.
Activity 5.1
Animal Farm: Chapter 1: Vocabulary
- scullery: a small room or section of a pantry in which food is cleaned, trimmed, and cut into cooking portions before being sent to the kitchen.
- mincing: to cut or chop into very small pieces. : to soften, moderate, or weaken (one’s words), esp. for the sake of decorum or courtesy.
- tyranny: arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. :the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler
- dissentients: dissenting, esp. from the opinion of the majority.
- enmity: a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism.
Study Questions
1. Who owns Manor Farm?
A. Mr.Jones.
2. What problem does he have?
A. A drinking problem.
3. Who is Old Major?
A. The prize Middle White boar.
4. Why does Old Major assemble the animals?
A. He had a strange dream the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals.
5. List the ideals outlined by Old Major that should occur after the rebellion.
A.
6. What broke up the meeting?
A.
7. What political idea in Russian history does Old Major represent?
A.
8. To what political figure in Russian history does Jones correspond?
A.
Audio?
We were instructed to look for audio on the norton website from or about our literary figures. There was an audio track for Lord Byron… although it’s not him? I believe it’s an interpretation of one of his poems. Ms.Orr concluded not to bother with it. But here’s the link for it anyways.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio_romantic.htm
George Gordon, Lord Byron : facts.
- On January 22, 1788 George Noel Gordon was born with a clubfoot.
- Attended the grammar school in Aberdeen, Scotland.
- For the most part, George’s father was absent from his life.
- “He was extremely sensitive of his lameness; its effect upon his character was obvious enough . It was rumored that his nurse, May Gray, made physical advances to him when he was only nine. This experience and his idealized love for his distant cousins Mary Duff and Margaret Parker shaped his paradoxical attitudes toward women.”
- At the age of 10, he inherited the title of his great uncle after his death, Lord Bryon.
- In 1806 George privately prints his first volume of poems, Fugitive Pieces.
- In January 2, 1815 Byron marries Annabella Milbanke. On Decemember 10th, their daughter Augusta Ada is born.
- In 1816 the couple divorce.
- Byron has an afair with Claire Clairmont during the summer of 1816 and she gives birth to his daughter Allegra on January 12th.
- He is also claimed to have another daughter named Elizabeth Medora.
- In 1824 Lord Byron “catches a chill in the rain” and dies less than a month later on April 19th.
People To Research.
- Charles Dickens
- George Gordon, Lord Byron – (don juan) >> mine.
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly – (Frankenstein)
Activity 1.6
Task:
Q. In the passage above, underline any words that you do not know, and look up their meaning in a dictionary.
A. bleak: Bare, desolate, and often windswept: a bleak plain.
nettles: Any of various hairy, stinging, or prickly plants.
aforesaid: Said or mentioned earlier or previously.
dykes: An embankment of earth and rock built to prevent floods.
leaden: Inertly heavy like lead; hard to lift or move: a leaden weight; leaden feet.
Q. In your own words, write out a short explanation of the excerpt. Include the following details: who is talking; where is he; whom was he visiting; what is he doing and why?
Q. Although Dickens wrote in Late Modern English, there is one thing about Nineteenth Century writers’ work, which makes it quite difficult for Twenty-first Century readers to understand – the length of their sentences! Read and highlight the one that begins, “At such a time…”. How many words are in this sentence?
A. 124
Q. What piece of punctuation does Dickens use a lot to allow himself to write such long sentences?
A. Commas ( , )
Q. Research the hobbies and pastimes of the Victorians. Compare the things they did at home in the evening with the kind of things you do – does this explain why Victorian authors wrote long, complex novels with verbose language?
Sunsets and Car Crashes.
WOO, I finished my essay. But with only having use of wordpad, I can’t make it double spaced, or do the 5 space indenting for my long quotes. Therefore, I need to wait until tonight when my sister gets home to do it on her laptop. *sigh* Hopefully I won’t get penalized for having it in after school hours? Still the same day though right…
I was going to do it today at school in the library during lunch. Doesn’t look like I’m at school though. I missed my bus. Of course. After working so hard on my essay all last night, why would I make it to school?
sm.
