Today we practiced for our exam next week. We did 33 questions from a sample AP English test, which we should all take in the summer, may to be exact. We had to read 3 passages in which we had to refer back to, to answer the questions. The questions were based off of the passages we had to read. I answered my questions as I were instructed to do and the next day we were to grade them.

-Today I graded my questions and if I had taken the actual AP exam, I would have failed. From this I learned to take my time, and evaluate all parts of the passage.

3 girls enter a grocery story A&P, and they are dressed in swim suits. Sammy along with a coworker gawk at the girls beauty. Sammy is espcially interested in the leader of the girls who he calls "Queenie." The store manager chastises the girls for entering the store in bathing suits, since its against policy. Queenie states her case that her parents sent her inside the store to buy snacks. Sammy dreams of how her parents probably sip on "drinks the color of water" as his own parents throw parties where they drink lemonade and cheap beer. Sammy then quits his job because of how the store manager embarasses the girls. Hoping that thee girls notice sammy does so and proceed to leave the store. Lengel the stor manager tries to stop him but he quits anyway. When sammy reaches the parking lot he sees that the girls are gone and he begins to worry about his future.

Lord of the Rings the first movie was the movie project we watched today. We took four corner notes on the movie and had a fish bowl discussion. Luckily I wasn't chosen for the fish bowl discussion. But I did take plenty of notes. I found that the ring was of course a symbol as well as the sword. The ring was the since of confusion and corruption amongst the characters. Gandalf gave Frodo the ring to protect, and destroy the ring after the long journey. Frodo and his hobbit friends along with some protectors had to take the ring in a journey to destroy it. Along the way Frodo and his hobbit friends were almost killed by Ringwraiths. The ring has the power to corrupt the humans, which is what Gamdalf is. He's a human and it's easy for his mind to be corrupted rather than a hobbit. Though Frodo has a hard time with the ring as well. On the journey Frodo and the group of protectors meet elves. The elves bring him in to nourish him to health and give hospitality. The queen if the elves passes a test in which she sees that she can be an evil queen with the possession of the ring but turns it down. The group as well as Frodo defeat a dragon. The dragon slaying was an important part of the movie. During this part Gandalf says "You shall not pass." This quote was the most important and the most alluded to in American fictional culture.

 There are 8 steps to the Epic Hero Cycle. 
1. The call to adventure.
2. Refusal of call?
3. Aid from projective other.
4.Crossing the threshold into the unknown.
5. Road of different trials and different tasks.
6. Beginning intiation.
7. Reaching the bottom.
8. Marriage, baptism, blessing.
9. Recieving a gift/boon.
10. Magic light of rescue.
11. Sharing gift.
12. Living in the next world/ prep. for next call.

American History- A subject beginning with the explanation of Christopher Columbus' explorations all the way up to present day.
Judith Ortiz Cofer- PUERTO RICAN author. Born in 1952. Moved to Paterson, New Jersey in 1956. Moved to Augusta,Georgia in 1967.
Motifs: obsession, disappointment,hope, sensitivity, being nonchalant, death.
Symbols: flower in the couples yard, death of the flower, death of JFK, sensitivity of Mr. Depalma, moms worries of daughter after puberty, music from apt. Building, Eugene mother, green door.
Irony: green door representing hope which is what Elena had. But in the end hope couldn't save her against Eugene's mother.-Situational
Characters: Elena-means "the bright one"
Eugene-means "well/ noble born"
Elena's mom- worried her daughters puberty will cause her do something crazy.
Eugene's mom- dynamic character, was nice at first, change dramatically.
Eugene's dad- mowed the lawn, and mowed flowers of the older couple.
Old couple- had issues but stuck through them. Were the vision Elena had of her and Eugene.
Black girls- to Elena had adjusted to the cold weather, the way she wished she had.
Analysis of Symbols: the flower in the garden is a definite symbol of the hope or dedication of the older couple. They had many flowers which means they took care of their yard. The fact that the flower died after the older man died was a way of saying hope is dead, and the relationship exists but isn't alive. Elena's wanting to water the flowers is a way to show she wants to have what the couple had. She wants to keep they hope alive. Eugene's dad mowed the lawn. This could be symbolic of the a dead relationship amongst him and his wife. They exist as a couple but don't eat dinner together as the older couple did. Him mowing the lawn is a clearing the past and bringing reality to Elena.
-The green door in America represents safety, prosperity, and it's proven that the color green is used to reduced stress. Though when looking up the green door of "American History" the door is meaningful of hope.
-the death of JFK could represent the numbness of Elena. She's so enthralled by the idea of Eugene that she doesn't realize someone who her mother and her fellow Puerto Ricans highly respect. To her mother this death is parallel to the end of the world. She plans on going to church because of his death. She as other Puerto Ricans had pictures of JFK in her home. This can be an obsession with JFK or merely patriotism. Her "obsession" is somewhat similar to how Elena is with Eugene. She's bumps into Eugene "accidentally" , tries to figure out his schedule, goes to the library with him, spies on him, and day dreams of a future with him.

Today we watched this movie in class. I found the movie rather Muy Miserable! I took four corner notes on the movie. My  notes consisted of Symbolism, Foreshadowing, Irony, Setting, Characterization, Theme, Motifs, and  Diction. The setting was France during the 19th century. The theme was once a criminal, doesnt mean you always have to be a criminal. Those who have had a troubled past aren't entitled to a troubled future. The motifs were orphans, and disguises like how Valjean disguised his old identity. I found this movie kind of boring. I'm not interested in France or Europe as a matter of fact. It's history had a major impact on the united states but I don't find it interesting.

I just realized "Animal Farm"is based off of animals who revolt and stand up for themselves against the humans. The animals believe if they stick together, nothing will stop them for reaching their common goal, which is the be free from the socialist party of humans. The humans are constantly taking their goods, and using what they take from the animals did their own prosperity. The animals are told by the prized boar not to believe that the two groups, animals and humans, share the same idea of prosperity. The prosperity of humans, money, share no value to the animals. The animals learn the song "Beast of England" which is the socialist anthem. The barn is then quieted down after a gun shot of the farmer. They all proceed to fall asleep. The animals 3 months after the death of Major the boar, begin to revolt. They run their owners away and proceed to start a lifestyle of their own. The three animals in charge are Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball. The pigs get caught taking rations of milk and apples for themselves. This upsets the animals, but they are so deleterious that they believe the pigs lies they tell. The pigs write seven commandments which are an allusion to the 10 commandments. After a gruesome battle Boxer the horse and Squealer receive medals of honor. Shortly after the battle, Snowball is ran away. Squealer tells the animals he has been a secret agent for Mr.Jones, though the animals don't believe it. Napoleon becomes the new person in charge, making the lives of the animals harder than it was before. Napoleon is now planning to make a windmill that doesn't interest the animals. Napoleon is now the idol of the animals as they all look to him as their savior. The sheep proceed to scream "Four legs good,! Two legs bad!" The seven commandments change to fit the beliefs and behaviors of the pigs each day. Napoleon sleeps in beds like humans and probably consumes alcohol like the humans. Shortly after the commandments change Napoleon is seen walking on his two hind legs. The humans come to take their farm back and celebrate because it was a victory. Though, between the pigs and humans it's hard to determine who is who.

I scream for GLPP Career day!!! Actually that was an allusion to the phrase "I scream for ice cream." today was the last of our career days at Ypsilanti High school for Global Leadership and Public Policy academy. Sad to say I didn't enjoy it as much as i wanted to. I came in very sick with some type of stomach virus. I remained calm, cool, and collective and kept rreminding myself that the day would soon be over. I greeted my career day representative. Malik Peacock and I, welcomed him to donuts and refreshments. Soon the sessions began, and i began to feel really vulneraable. I sat through all the sessions though towards the end session, i had a sick feeling. I ended up leaving 10 minutes early because I couldn't take it any longer. I said goodbye respectively to my GLPP Careeer day guest and went home. I learned that I know how to demonstrate self control at times when people need me most. I also learned its okay to call in sick, or leave sick without feeling bad. Besides my sickness, GLPP Career Day was a sucess!

Today in class we read "Where are you going, Where have you been?" alone in class. I thought this story was extremely confusing at first. I reread the story in class, annotated the story and found it was one of my new favorite stories. I learned that if I don't necessarily understand something, to go back and reread the story and break down all aspects of the story. I searched the author, and the title on the Internet to see what I may find. I found the authors history and took note on that. As I read the story I decides to look up the character names, and important dates as well. I found a connection between the "antagonist" to a criminal nicknamed the pied piper. This connection brought me to read an article directly relating to the story. I then assumed the antagonist , was supposed to be "The Pied Piper." every aspect I found I researched, I also referred to my email and found some links my teacher sent me. I utilized the emails, and made connections to the emails and what I found. Lastly after annotating, I felt like I had just run a marathon. It felt good to successfully get all my predictions and assumptions right. I told my teacher "I think I'm having an epiphany." I had a sudden realization that annotating was pretty fun, when you get into it.

Well, the title says most of it. We learned 4 types of irony today. Situational, comical, verbal, and dramatic. From our teacher we recieved skit assignments and we had to act them out on a later date. I've always thought irony was like sarcasm, but ironically its not. Truthfully, i don't know if that was irony that i diden't know sarcasm was irony, but I guess I'll get better at figuring out what irony truly is.