Sunday, August 29, 2010
Alice in Wonderland: Chapter 9 & 10
When Alice meets the Mock Turtle with the Gryphon,they talk about a teacher who was called the Classical master, who was an old crab. It says the Classical master taught Laughing and Grief and the lessons would decrease in time everyday. The Classical master teaches them emotions, but we learn them naturally. This may be their natural teacher that teaches them these emotions, but instead we teach ourselves when we we're children. The reason why the lessons would lessen each day because like an old man or old woman, they seem to experience everything in this life. So whenever someone grows up they learn all these emotions and other experiences from life and eventually experience everything and learn everything. So for them the lessons lessen each day.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee (Ch. 5-8)
In these chapters Jem and Dill become better friends and leaves Scout as the third wheel. They rarely want to play with her anymore. Scout then decides to hang out with Miss Maudie Atkinson over the summer. These chapters seem to focus a lot on her. Miss Maudie is much older than Scout, but they are good friends. Miss Maudie gives Scout information on Arthur Radley and that he is still alive.
I find Miss Maudie to be a very interesting character because she is much older than a child, but she seems to be in more scenes with Scout than with adults. Scout likes her very much, so this could infer that she has a young spirit like a child, but can also relate to adults (Often she jokes with Atticus). Miss Maudie even gives Scout advice and information on what she wants to know. This helps truth to be known because the only other person willing to talk about the Radleys is Stephanie Crawford, but she is the neighborhood gossip.
When her house gets burned in the fire, she does not complain. She looks at the situation in a positive way. She can now rebuild her home and have a bigger yard for flowers. I believe that Miss Maudie is hiding something about herself, but she is a very good role model for Scout. In a way she replaces Scout's mother since she died.
I find Miss Maudie to be a very interesting character because she is much older than a child, but she seems to be in more scenes with Scout than with adults. Scout likes her very much, so this could infer that she has a young spirit like a child, but can also relate to adults (Often she jokes with Atticus). Miss Maudie even gives Scout advice and information on what she wants to know. This helps truth to be known because the only other person willing to talk about the Radleys is Stephanie Crawford, but she is the neighborhood gossip.
When her house gets burned in the fire, she does not complain. She looks at the situation in a positive way. She can now rebuild her home and have a bigger yard for flowers. I believe that Miss Maudie is hiding something about herself, but she is a very good role model for Scout. In a way she replaces Scout's mother since she died.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee (Chapters 1-4)
So far this book is not what I expected. I was expecting more details on how most families live on a farm because of the time period. Last year I had to read the Grapes of Wrath. In that book there are many details on how people lived after their farms were taken away from them because of the few jobs left. I thought that this book would be about children living on a farm and the mockingbird would symbolize for something, but I still do not know what it means.
So far I have thought about the relationship between Jem and Scout. Scout has mainly talked to Jem. They fight often and tease each other, but they prefer to play together and both become friends with Dill. I am surprised that Scout has not played with any girls. She seems to act more as a tom boy than a girl.
I have noticed the relationhip between Atticus and his children is very formal. Jem and Scout often call him 'sir' or 'Atticus'. They do not call him father. As Scout is narrating the story, she calls Atticus by his first name as if they are not related. I remember reading in one of these chapters that Scout says their relationship is "decent" and he kindly ignores them. It seems that Atticus does love his children, but he is very formal with them because of the time period. This is when you had very strict parents and had to do whatever they said or you could get physically beaten. Even in the school they are hit with a ruler if they do not behave.
So far I have thought about the relationship between Jem and Scout. Scout has mainly talked to Jem. They fight often and tease each other, but they prefer to play together and both become friends with Dill. I am surprised that Scout has not played with any girls. She seems to act more as a tom boy than a girl.
I have noticed the relationhip between Atticus and his children is very formal. Jem and Scout often call him 'sir' or 'Atticus'. They do not call him father. As Scout is narrating the story, she calls Atticus by his first name as if they are not related. I remember reading in one of these chapters that Scout says their relationship is "decent" and he kindly ignores them. It seems that Atticus does love his children, but he is very formal with them because of the time period. This is when you had very strict parents and had to do whatever they said or you could get physically beaten. Even in the school they are hit with a ruler if they do not behave.
Monday, August 23, 2010
AP Vocab List
Here is my experiment part I, AP vocab. You need to print this out and have it in class. If you have any problems, let me know immediately.
Mr. Soeth
http://bit.ly/dhdr6I
Mr. Soeth
http://bit.ly/dhdr6I
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Alice in Wonderland
In Chapter 5, Alice met a Caterpillar sitting on a mushroom and smoking a hookah. The Caterpillar asks Alice who she is, and she can give no suitable answer. Alice has changed so many times that she feels she can no longer answer the question with confidence. They have a discussion in which the Caterpillar gives significant guidance to Alice. The Caterpillar asks Alice to narrate a poem "You are old, Father William" which Alice does, but she recited it the wrong way. The Caterpillar also tells her that soon she will grow familiarized to the feelings of the animals. Alice speaks a wish to be larger and the Caterpillar disagrees with her repeatedly. Before crawling away, the Caterpillar tells Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her taller and the other side will make her shorter. Alice is not sure which side is which so she bites into one piece. One side makes her shrink smaller than ever, while another causes her neck to grow high into the trees, where a Pigeon mistakes her for a serpent. The Pigeon worries for her eggs so Alice tries to guarantee that she is not a serpent. However, Alice must answer honestly when the Pigeon asks if she has eaten eggs. The Pigeon argues that even if Alice is a little girl, and if a little girls eat eggs then they must be a kind of serpent. Then, after some more arguing, the Pigeon tells Alice to go away. Alice eats from each of the mushroom, until she brings herself back to her normal size.
The discussion between Alice and the Caterpillar conveys into the themes of change and evolution. As an example, the evolution and change for the Caterpillar is a normal part of his life. The Caterpillar is consistently calm, except when Alice complains of being only three inches tall, while the Caterpillar is exactly three inches tall. The Caterpillar seems to be less argumentative than the many of the creatures of Wonderland, even though he disagrees with almost the whole thing Alice says. Furthermore, change and evolution is what Alice is trying to learn in Wonderland in which the Caterpillar seems to understand ( makes him smart). Especially, when the Catterpillar asked Alice to recite the "You are Old, Father William" that also has a theme of change and evolution.
The discussion between Alice and the Caterpillar conveys into the themes of change and evolution. As an example, the evolution and change for the Caterpillar is a normal part of his life. The Caterpillar is consistently calm, except when Alice complains of being only three inches tall, while the Caterpillar is exactly three inches tall. The Caterpillar seems to be less argumentative than the many of the creatures of Wonderland, even though he disagrees with almost the whole thing Alice says. Furthermore, change and evolution is what Alice is trying to learn in Wonderland in which the Caterpillar seems to understand ( makes him smart). Especially, when the Catterpillar asked Alice to recite the "You are Old, Father William" that also has a theme of change and evolution.
Alice in Wonderland
One of the things that was really beneficial to me was the constant change of characters and settings. Since the book constantly changes the setting and meets new characters, I've noticed that it has become a constant thing. So, whenever it goes to a new setting, I can expect a new character introduced with a whole new part of the story. For instance, in chapter 5, when Alice was walking, she meets the caterpillar, then after she left she met the pigeon. In chapter 6, Alice walks to a house where she meets the Footman. After, when she walks inside the house, she meets the Duchess, Cook, and the baby.
Chapter 5 and 6. Too large to post as a comment.
As the story progresses, I find that the story is moving at a rather rapid pace. The settings keep changing and Alice meets more and more people or animals during the story. The chapter opens with her discovering a Caterpillar relaxing and smoking a hookah on top of a mushroom. The Caterpillar asks her who is she is, but she has trouble explaining. The Caterpillar begins to recite a poem and then asks her what size she wants to be. The Caterpillar tells her that the mushroom can make her grow if she eats it and then the Caterpillar leaves. She finds that eating one side makes her smaller, and eating the other side makes her grow larger. Alice finally grows back to her original height or somewhere near her original height. She begins to talk to herself again and plans what to do next. She brings up the garden again , then she gets distracted by tiny house about four feet tall. I think that her getting easily distracted symbolizes her childish mind. She ate the mushroom to make her shrink again so she could enter the house.I also think that her eating the random things she eats and drinks symbolizes her transition from childhood to adulthood. When the Caterpillar asks Alice who she is, she answers but begins to doubt her answers and thinks it over again. This could symbolize her confusion of this transition because in real life when we make this transition we are often confused of what to do. This adventure that she's on could symbolize Alice trying to find herself before she makes that transition into a adulthood. The hookah could symbolize everything as a dream, because when you smoke hookah, you begin to see things that aren't possible in reality.
When the two footmen bowed, their curls got tangled and Alice began to laugh showing her childish personality. The Footman didn't open the door saying that the people inside were making too much noise to hear her knocks, so she lets herself into the kitchen. There, she meets a Cheshire Cat named Duchess, and it begins singing to the baby. Alice takes the baby outside and discovers a pig outside. The pig leaves, and she runs into the cat again. They chat for a bit and then the cat leaves again, leaving Alice to travel to the March Hare's house by herself. She finds that the house is quite larger and she eats some mushrooms to grow larger. She walked up to the house rather shy, as a child would when first meeting someone. As she grows larger, i think the author uses repetition to emphasize the growing and shrinking of Alice to represent her confusion of this transition.
When the two footmen bowed, their curls got tangled and Alice began to laugh showing her childish personality. The Footman didn't open the door saying that the people inside were making too much noise to hear her knocks, so she lets herself into the kitchen. There, she meets a Cheshire Cat named Duchess, and it begins singing to the baby. Alice takes the baby outside and discovers a pig outside. The pig leaves, and she runs into the cat again. They chat for a bit and then the cat leaves again, leaving Alice to travel to the March Hare's house by herself. She finds that the house is quite larger and she eats some mushrooms to grow larger. She walked up to the house rather shy, as a child would when first meeting someone. As she grows larger, i think the author uses repetition to emphasize the growing and shrinking of Alice to represent her confusion of this transition.
On animals and hands
Throughout the entire book I've seen a the occasional punch between the wall of animal and humans. Of course there are the obvious ones of animals talking and the various clothes they wear, but also there are few more subtle occurences. Such as the use of hands. Animals lack opposible thumbs, and so can not do many of the tasks animals in Alice in Wonderland can preform. Such as the dodo pressing his fingers against his forehead, the rabbit's servants attempting to subdue Alice, and most recently the caterpillars use of the "bong".
Though these pushes are not limited to animals becoming like a human, but can go both ways. Alice when invading the rabbit's house was treated like a vermin and they attempted to estinguish her, like a vermin. As well her inability to control her impulses and to drink or eat anything that might be slipped under her nose seems to be a very animalistic tendency. Alice is also shown to be the foolish one in many situations, and animals (such as the caterpillar and cat) are most more knowledgeable about her situation and how to fix it.
The more subtle events suddenly break down when the baby and the pig who actualy transform from one to the other.
Though these pushes are not limited to animals becoming like a human, but can go both ways. Alice when invading the rabbit's house was treated like a vermin and they attempted to estinguish her, like a vermin. As well her inability to control her impulses and to drink or eat anything that might be slipped under her nose seems to be a very animalistic tendency. Alice is also shown to be the foolish one in many situations, and animals (such as the caterpillar and cat) are most more knowledgeable about her situation and how to fix it.
The more subtle events suddenly break down when the baby and the pig who actualy transform from one to the other.
Alice in Wonderland
Of all the things that have helped me understand this novel more it would have to be the hooka smocking caterpillar and the Cheshire cat's conversations with Alice. One of the main things that helped me understand Alice was undergoing a transformation from a youth to an adult, in which she losses track of who she is, is the caterpillars question "who are you?" Alice replies something along the lines of its to hard to keep track with me changing sizes every ten minutes. This is symbolic of the transformation that all humans face in there life, the transformation from a child into an adult. All the expectations that society puts on children during the transformation from a child to an adult makes is extremely easy to forget who oneself truly is. This whole ordeal makes it extremely clear that themes in this book include; age, expectations of society, and self identity.
The cat also made it easier to understand the themes of the self identity by further questioning Alice about where she wants to go. Then saying that by simply going anywhere will always end up making you wind up somewhere. This conversation is also symbolic of the question humans all face when we get older, the question of what are we going to do with our lives. The cat then brings up another interesting point by saying if you keep on moving one will surly end up somewhere meaning that in life as long as we keep trying we will inevitably get somewhere.
The cat also made it easier to understand the themes of the self identity by further questioning Alice about where she wants to go. Then saying that by simply going anywhere will always end up making you wind up somewhere. This conversation is also symbolic of the question humans all face when we get older, the question of what are we going to do with our lives. The cat then brings up another interesting point by saying if you keep on moving one will surly end up somewhere meaning that in life as long as we keep trying we will inevitably get somewhere.
Chapters 5&6 Alice in Wonderland
The Cheshire Cat is in a way weird but logical. When Alice meets up with him in the woods, she asks which way she ought to go. The Cheshire Cat replies "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to". That makes sense, Alice has no clue where she's going, and asking a random cat which way she should. Alice isn't being very logical when she says she doesn't care where she goes, if she doesn't care then why is she asking the cat?
It is a little confusing when the Cheshire Cat says everyone is mad, including Alice. Does that mean that she has to be a little crazy to be there? I think it might mean that she's imagining the whole thing, or dreaming about it, and that everything is a little crazy. Since she is dreaming it, then she must be a little crazy.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Alice in Wonderland: Chapter 5 & 6
(Recent One)
During the scenes when Alice was taking care of the pig it seemed very odd. So I thought about it more and it reminded me how parents would treat their newborns. For example, Alice was given the baby even if it's mother didn't know her at all. A lot of mothers would give their baby to a maid or to anyone else to raise them instead of themselves so they can do other important things. When Alice let it go and let it run away it's like when parents abandon their children in the streets. And the reason they would do this is maybe because their child is ugly looking (like the pig) or it's too much responsibility. I know in Japan during the old days, when newborns weren't girls the fathers felt it dishonors the family so they would kill them. This is a similar situation.
Yee!
(Ugly One)
In the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll uses imagery to help me to be able to see the images in the book. Especially, since the setting changes so suddenly the imagery can help me find out where I am in the book. For example, on page 43 the imagery presented describes the house of the rabbit. Thanks to these descriptions I can figure out the setting and where Alice currently is. It can get confusing at times because she suddenly appears in a different setting. For example, she continues to walk and then surprisingly a house is in front of her. Because of imagery I'm able to following along with the story and where Alice is, helping me understand the story and making it a bit more clear.
During the scenes when Alice was taking care of the pig it seemed very odd. So I thought about it more and it reminded me how parents would treat their newborns. For example, Alice was given the baby even if it's mother didn't know her at all. A lot of mothers would give their baby to a maid or to anyone else to raise them instead of themselves so they can do other important things. When Alice let it go and let it run away it's like when parents abandon their children in the streets. And the reason they would do this is maybe because their child is ugly looking (like the pig) or it's too much responsibility. I know in Japan during the old days, when newborns weren't girls the fathers felt it dishonors the family so they would kill them. This is a similar situation.
Yee!
(Ugly One)
In the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll uses imagery to help me to be able to see the images in the book. Especially, since the setting changes so suddenly the imagery can help me find out where I am in the book. For example, on page 43 the imagery presented describes the house of the rabbit. Thanks to these descriptions I can figure out the setting and where Alice currently is. It can get confusing at times because she suddenly appears in a different setting. For example, she continues to walk and then surprisingly a house is in front of her. Because of imagery I'm able to following along with the story and where Alice is, helping me understand the story and making it a bit more clear.
Alice In Wonderland
The whole adventure Alice is going through in Wonderland is pretty crazy. Falling down a rabbit hole into a room of doors where a bottle of shrinking potion and a cake that makes you grow is waiting there for her. She's always encountering talking animals and acts like she's known them for a while. Nothing really makes sense in this book, and it's pretty unpredictable.
Alice In Wonderland
In chapters 5 and 6 of Alice In Wonderland, Alice continues on her journey and meets more animals and even actual people. She talks to the Caterpillar about changing and attempts to find common ground with him (he will eventually turn into a butterfly and she"s not the same as she was). When Alice meets the Pigeon, she is accused of being a serpent. This could represent the stereotypes everyone goes through in real life.
After getting back to Alice's real size, she meets the Duchess, the Cook, the Cheshire-cat, and a little baby/pig. Those four sort of have the domestic abuse representation especially since the footman ran off to get away from it all.
Before Alice was starting to realize that Wonderland was weird but then she begins to think that everything is normal again, having no problem with the baby turning into a pig or with having a conversation with a disappearing cat when before she was amazed it was grinning. This could show that Alice has fallen into an even deeper sleep.
-Emilia
Alice in Wonderland: Ch. 5&6
In Chapters 5 and 6, Alice continues her journey through Wonderland. Along the way, she meets new creatures such as, the Caterpillar, the Cat, and others. The continuous change in setting helps me understand the progression of the story. In these chapters, Alice had been to several houses, and the woods, and the many encounters with other creatures.
Also, her interaction with the other animals, continues to be the same throughout the story. She continues to talk with animals like it is natural and normal. This helps my understanding of the story because it reveals that Alice is not the usual person if she is acting like everything in Wonderland is natural. I understand that Alice is a stange person, and throughout chapters 5 and 6, the one thing she continues to worry about the most is what size she is. So concerned, that she enters the White Rabbits house and just drinks a little bottle that was on the table, just to see if her size would change.
Also, her interaction with the other animals, continues to be the same throughout the story. She continues to talk with animals like it is natural and normal. This helps my understanding of the story because it reveals that Alice is not the usual person if she is acting like everything in Wonderland is natural. I understand that Alice is a stange person, and throughout chapters 5 and 6, the one thing she continues to worry about the most is what size she is. So concerned, that she enters the White Rabbits house and just drinks a little bottle that was on the table, just to see if her size would change.
Alice, 5 and 6
So i noticed from the start of chapter five that Alice mentioned how she's changed and grown every ten minutes. I caught this as a symbol that this child is growing, and she doesn't happen to like it. She's growning out of her child years, and changing into a pre-teen, but doesnt want to let the joys of being a little girl go. She thinks she's losing herself because she is changing so fast, and she can't handle it all at one time. She's got this mind set that since shes is changing that she is losing who she was, and that she can count herself as a stranger.
And why is there a smoking catepillar? O.o
And why is there a smoking catepillar? O.o
Alice in Wonderland.
Where are you when end up in a magical world where nothing makes sense and reality has seemed to have disappeared? Alice could have fallen asleep and is currently in a dream or maybe rabbit holes are just portals that take you to strange places where animals talk. In chapter 5, Alice finds a Caterpillar smoking a hookah sitting on top of a mushroom. In my opinion, this is so random. It makes me wonder if the author dealt with drugs. Alice and the Caterpillar have a discussion about who she was. The Caterpillar asked the same question twice, "Who are you?". Alice could not answer this question because she kept changing throughout the beginning of the story from small to big and vice-versa. Her dilemma felt like a symbol of her stage where she leaves her child hood behind and begins her young adult life. Alice notices the Caterpillar is at a "VERY unpleasant state of mind" and seems to ignore what it has to say. This little outbreak felt like her trying to hold on to her childish ways a bit longer. In the end the Caterpillar leaves Alice with a choice where she must choose a side. She chooses both and is left with a problem or what I believe to be the first step in maturity.
You eat it.... you pay for it; in this case you eat both and end up with a serpent neck. :D
You eat it.... you pay for it; in this case you eat both and end up with a serpent neck. :D
Alice in Wonderland!
Someone asked me if Lewis Carol was "high" while writing this book. I don't blame that person. It seems as if the world she created within the book is full of nonsense and pandemonium. However, chapters five and six function to clarify the themes of the story. In a sense, the adventure that Alice is going through represents "growing up/" It represents her transition into maturity. The one element that helped me clarify this theme was the Cheshire cat. Towards the end of chapter 6, Alice has a conversation with this cat. "would you tell me please, which way i ought to go from here?" "It all depends on where you want to go." (73) Alice is confused on where to go. The cat, however, implies that she needs to figure our her purpose and where she WANTS to go. Essentially, we can relate this to our own lives. Part of growing up is discovering what we want to do with life. Alice is going through this stage. She's confused and doesn't know where to go. These are all conflicts that we as humans all encounter during our life. During our transition into maturity.
Furthermore, I find it interesting when the cat states, "we are all mad here. If you were'nt mad, you wouldn't be here." (74) The cat is implying that there society is made up of inconsistencies in the subconscious, or the mind itself.
all in all, i find this story interesting. im tired as hell, so i should go to sleep now. Night everyone :]].
Between being young and growing old
In this already hard-to-understand story, chapters five and six provide an opening for clarity. By identifying symbolism and a theme (as well hints from discussions in 2nd period), this tall tale's purpose is more clearly drawn out.
You could almost see Alice in Wonderland as allegorical, representing the transition of growing up from a child to an adult (remember how she fell asleep because of her sister's book without pictures? That in itself discreetly set the story's approach).
For instance, both Alice's size changes and real-world age changes offer a new set of privileges but set a bar of limitation as well. But once a level of understanding of growth is gained -- for Alice it was from speaking with the caterpillar, and for humans it's by maturity and learning important life lessons -- us humans (or Alice) can understand that one can still live their life to the fullest, even with inevitable restrictions of time and growth in place.
At the start of chapter five, Alice, like any growing teenager, expressed confusion in identifying herself. With that, the caterpillar repeatedly asked Alice who she was, and after periods of silence, was told to watch her temper. By the end, she found out that eating the mushroom was the secret to control over size.
The whole encounter was symbolic of the personal and life questioning that people sometimes go through as they approach maturity: as you begin your transition between a child and an adult, you never really know who you are and you're on a search to answer the question "Who are YOU?" just as Alice was. When life poses silences and doesn't give us answers, we often get impatient as Alice did. Only by holding our tempers can we find answers right in front of us.
In the middle of chapter six, her conversation with the Cheshire cat symbolizes the next step in transition: deciding where to take your life, even if you haven't quite figured out exactly who you are. It said that "you're sure to do that [get somewhere], if you only walk long enough". This holds true in both Alice's situation and in life; when you grow up, you're bound to make something of yourself as long as you keep pushing through life and choose a direction to go.
With that, I'm off to sleep (: See half of you tomorrow!
You could almost see Alice in Wonderland as allegorical, representing the transition of growing up from a child to an adult (remember how she fell asleep because of her sister's book without pictures? That in itself discreetly set the story's approach).
For instance, both Alice's size changes and real-world age changes offer a new set of privileges but set a bar of limitation as well. But once a level of understanding of growth is gained -- for Alice it was from speaking with the caterpillar, and for humans it's by maturity and learning important life lessons -- us humans (or Alice) can understand that one can still live their life to the fullest, even with inevitable restrictions of time and growth in place.
At the start of chapter five, Alice, like any growing teenager, expressed confusion in identifying herself. With that, the caterpillar repeatedly asked Alice who she was, and after periods of silence, was told to watch her temper. By the end, she found out that eating the mushroom was the secret to control over size.
The whole encounter was symbolic of the personal and life questioning that people sometimes go through as they approach maturity: as you begin your transition between a child and an adult, you never really know who you are and you're on a search to answer the question "Who are YOU?" just as Alice was. When life poses silences and doesn't give us answers, we often get impatient as Alice did. Only by holding our tempers can we find answers right in front of us.
In the middle of chapter six, her conversation with the Cheshire cat symbolizes the next step in transition: deciding where to take your life, even if you haven't quite figured out exactly who you are. It said that "you're sure to do that [get somewhere], if you only walk long enough". This holds true in both Alice's situation and in life; when you grow up, you're bound to make something of yourself as long as you keep pushing through life and choose a direction to go.
With that, I'm off to sleep (: See half of you tomorrow!
Alice in Wonderland.
Alice is constantly encountering weird, interesting talking creatures and bottles with a certain kind of substance, making her either grow larger or shrink. In chapter five, Alice runs into a caterpillar sitting on a mushroom, smoking a hookah pipe. As they talk Alice becomes fraustrated with the comments Caterpillar has and walks away. But soon, she comes back to listen to what the Caterpillar is trying to say to her. None of it makes sense. Everything in Wonderland is confusing. In a way, Wonderland manipulates the thoughts of whoever visits. For example, the main character Alice. As the story progesses it is seen that she is beginning to forget who she really is and what she is. When Alice eats a mushroom her neck grows too long and a bird flys over saying she is a serpant. For a moment, Alice thinks about this and declares she is a little girl, but with uncertainy.
So far, everything about this book is confusing, but entertaining and it is uncertain what will happen next.
So far, everything about this book is confusing, but entertaining and it is uncertain what will happen next.
Alice in the Wonderland
Chapter five starts off with Alice meeting the caterpillar. I found it interesting how Lewis Carrol decided to use a caterpillar as some kind of guidance for Alice because I would have gone for an owl or something not like a super chill hooka smoking caterpillar. But nevertheless the caterpillar was able to get her to think about stuff that she doesn't seem like she thinks about on the daily. The caterpillar was just basically asking her questions on change and she doesn't really get it, but she got really annoyed by how the animals were so quick to get offended. She's like stuck in figuring out what she wants and when she offends an animal or something, she is so quick to change so whoever she offends come back and help her figure out. Anyways in chapter six, Alice eventually finds the house of the dutchess and she finds the scene so absurd because you see the dutchess sneezing, holding a baby who is howling and also sneezing and a cook throwing random house-hold items at the dutchess. Alice and the dutchess eventually get into a conversation in which this time Alice is the one who gets offended because the dutchess basically insulted her. Then she leaves the house with the baby because she felt as if the baby was in a dangerous place, but she leaves the baby because it became a pig, which probably meant the kid was snobby (in which the kid was a snobby kid!). Alice keeps going and talks to the cat she briefly met in the house of the dutchess. The cat was also some kind of guidance because the cat also made her think like what did she want to do and where she should go,but it was kind of difficult because Alice doesn't know specifically what she wants; all she want to do is go someplace different. And that's her problem; she just wants to go with the flow, but she kind of has to start thinking of goals like how should she get out of that maddening world. I think this is a turning point for Alice because she's beginning to think about that stuff.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Chapters 5&6
The chapter starts off with a caterpillar smoking a hookah. I'm glad that it did start off with something that would catch my attention because the caterpillar smoking a hookah just made me want to keep reading. Anyways, this novel is very unorganized as I can already tell. A dream turned into a novel basically. Anyways aside from the caterpillar, there was the talking cat. These two are probably the ones who are most influential to Alice because of their sayings.
This novel is built with imagination, I can never picture what is going to happen next in the story because of the fact that is like a dream, you hop onto different scenes once your done with the previous scene. Throughout the novel, I noticed Alice is well interacted with a series of animals. The animals give a sense of personification when they speak like humans. What I also noticed about Alice is that she doesn't really think before she says something. Also she is very childish as if she is the age of 5 but thinking she is knows everything. For example, when she noticed the "Drink Me" sign on the bottle at the rabbits resident, she continues to drink it knowing that it would do something to her body once again.
Thinking upon what Alice does throughout the novel, she makes me think that good will come to her soon from all the mistakes she has made so far. Maybe her mistakes foreshadows something that will later occur in her adventure.
This novel is built with imagination, I can never picture what is going to happen next in the story because of the fact that is like a dream, you hop onto different scenes once your done with the previous scene. Throughout the novel, I noticed Alice is well interacted with a series of animals. The animals give a sense of personification when they speak like humans. What I also noticed about Alice is that she doesn't really think before she says something. Also she is very childish as if she is the age of 5 but thinking she is knows everything. For example, when she noticed the "Drink Me" sign on the bottle at the rabbits resident, she continues to drink it knowing that it would do something to her body once again.
Thinking upon what Alice does throughout the novel, she makes me think that good will come to her soon from all the mistakes she has made so far. Maybe her mistakes foreshadows something that will later occur in her adventure.
Alice in Wonderland Chp. 5 & 6
From what I have read so far, Alice in Wonderland is a really interesting story. The imagination of Alice keeps me interested in reading. It is nothing like a story that I would expect to read now which makes me want to read it even more because of the fiction parts.
Foreshadowing is what I noticed that makes me want to read more. For example, when Alice asks the Cheshire-Cat which way to go and says doesn't matter where "----so long as [she] get somewhere," the cat says "Oh, you're sure to do that." The tone of this quote kind of foreshadows that something will happen when Alice choses to go one way or the other. The tone is filled with warning for Alice that she will end up in some unexpected place. Something out-of-the-way will happen like it has been happening since her fall. With foreshadowing and Alice's imagination, this is a very interesting story to read.
Foreshadowing is what I noticed that makes me want to read more. For example, when Alice asks the Cheshire-Cat which way to go and says doesn't matter where "----so long as [she] get somewhere," the cat says "Oh, you're sure to do that." The tone of this quote kind of foreshadows that something will happen when Alice choses to go one way or the other. The tone is filled with warning for Alice that she will end up in some unexpected place. Something out-of-the-way will happen like it has been happening since her fall. With foreshadowing and Alice's imagination, this is a very interesting story to read.
Alice in Wonderland Ch.5&6
When Alice comes across a caterpillar she relates to them in a sense because they both go through physical changes. For example Alice was getting frustrated about her height and she wanted her height to go back to normal. So she asks the caterpillar questions saying she relates to a caterpillar. But the caterpillar rewords her questions asking her the same and helps her find answers to her questions. Alice also meets a cat who helps her with some questions just like the caterpillar. Both the cat and the caterpillar direct her and guide her. It is weird how she is not shocked by animals being able to talk to her. Alice feels comfortable talking to the animals has as if she has met them before. With her crazy imagination Alice fits in perfectly, but is slowly forgetting her past life. The story is fast paced and some parts get repeated like the cake and the drink. There is a lot of imagery in the story describing the places she goes to and the adventures she experiences.
Alice in Wonderland Ch. 5 and 6.
As the story progresses, I find that the story is moving at a rather rapid pace. The settings keep changing and Alice meets more and more people or animals during the story. The chapter opens with her discovering a Caterpillar relaxing and smoking a hookah on top of a mushroom. The Caterpillar asks her who is she is, but she has trouble explaining. The Caterpillar begins to recite a poem and then asks her what size she wants to be. The Caterpillar tells her that the mushroom can make her grow if she eats it and then the Caterpillar leaves. She finds that eating one side makes her smaller, and eating the other side makes her grow larger. Alice finally grows back to her original height or somewhere near her original height. She begins to talk to herself again and plans what to do next. She brings up the garden again , then she gets distracted by tiny house about four feet tall. I think that her getting easily distracted symbolizes her childish mind. She ate the mushroom to make her shrink again so she could enter the house.
When the two footmen bowed, their curls got tangled and Alice began to laugh showing her childish personality. The Footman didn't open the door saying that the people inside were making too much noise to hear her knocks, so she lets herself into the kitchen. There, she meets a Cheshire Cat named Duchess, and it begins singing to the baby. Alice takes the baby outside and discovers a pig outside. The pig leaves, and she runs into the cat again. They chat for a bit and then the cat leaves again, leaving Alice to travel to the March Hare's house by herself. She finds that the house is quite larger and she eats some mushrooms to grow larger. She walked up to the house rather shy, as a child would when first meeting someone.
When the two footmen bowed, their curls got tangled and Alice began to laugh showing her childish personality. The Footman didn't open the door saying that the people inside were making too much noise to hear her knocks, so she lets herself into the kitchen. There, she meets a Cheshire Cat named Duchess, and it begins singing to the baby. Alice takes the baby outside and discovers a pig outside. The pig leaves, and she runs into the cat again. They chat for a bit and then the cat leaves again, leaving Alice to travel to the March Hare's house by herself. She finds that the house is quite larger and she eats some mushrooms to grow larger. She walked up to the house rather shy, as a child would when first meeting someone.
Alice in Wonderland
In Chapters 5 and 6 of the sotry Alice in Wonderland, one of the things that stuck out to me the most was Alice's interaction with the Caterpillar. Throughout the first part of the story Alice talked to herself and repaeated a lot of the same actions and asked herself a lot of the same questions. I found it ironic about how she gets annoyed when the Caterpillar repeats himself when asking her questions. Alice also i bothered by the short answers he gives her, its almost as if he is acting careless.
Another thing I noticed about the Caterpillar is right off the beginning of his conversation with Alice, he tells her "on't lose your temper". This remark foreshaddows what was about to happen with Alice and her irration with the Caterpillar. I found it strange that after all the talking animals she has met, and the odd things that they made her do, that she got most annoyed with the Caterpillar of all of them. His layed back personality bothered Alice the most.
Another thing I noticed about the Caterpillar is right off the beginning of his conversation with Alice, he tells her "on't lose your temper". This remark foreshaddows what was about to happen with Alice and her irration with the Caterpillar. I found it strange that after all the talking animals she has met, and the odd things that they made her do, that she got most annoyed with the Caterpillar of all of them. His layed back personality bothered Alice the most.
CH Five & Six-ish
All right chapter five and six. What I started to notice in the beginning of the chapters was that Alice is such a naive girl, even though she's knowledgeable in some areas. It's as if her mind is processing that the animals she is speaking to aren't animals at all but people for she started to speak of her cat, again, saying that Dinah catches mice and eats birds. Why would anyone talk about your pet catching and eating certain animals with those animals? Which brings me to another topic as to why Alice is so comfortable with all these talking animals. Surely if the fact that she's recognizing the human features of the animals, such as the talking, but is only seeing animals instead of people is true then we can conclude that she truly is dreaming. But the elements of the surrounding area such as the sea and the garden, that is yet to be opened, is continuously changing and makes the reader wonder from where these places are coming from? Was it her imagination or is something influencing her to project these images in her subconscious? From what I can tell is that the garden is somewhere that Alice really wants to go however all these events prevent her from reaching the actual garden. So I was wondering, were these events intentional? Was there something in the garden that she wasn't supposed to see or if she reached the garden would something happen to her? Just as the foreshadowing the mother crab and caterpillar spoke of: keeping your temper. Will her temper cause something that will stop her from escaping this 'Wonderland'? Or will it help her 'wake up'? Again, this allows me to move onto how Alice continues to contradict herself. She always does things that causes her to be unhappy. Like eating the mushroom, for instance. She eats because she wants to be her regular size but this only accomplishes her crying over her mistakes again. Why do something that you aren't sure about? She needs to make sure she looks beyond whatever is in front of her. Sure, taking risks could lead to good things but if it turns out to be bad you need to know how to get out of it. So maybe this 'Wonderland' is teaching her a lesson: to learn from your mistakes. Or something like that. But I must say that the book is different. I hardly remember the Disney movie, I've never watched the Tim Burton version, and I wasn't able to finish the Syfy version. However reading this allows to get in depth with 'Wonderland' and it's many characters. It's a very random yet well played out story so I can't wait to see what pops out next.
Alice In Wonderland
This book is one of my all time favorites. I love Lewis Carroll's puns and his play on words. For example, in chapter 3 the Mouse tells the group of birds and Alice the driest things he knows because everyone is wet. The author uses the meaning of dry as in not wet and the meaning of dry as in dull and lifeless as a pun.
Everytime I read this book, my favorite part has always been when Alice meets the Caterpillar. This is where the pace of the story begins to pick up, whereas the first four chapters seemed to move pretty slowly. The Caterpillar keeps contradicting everything Alice has to say and it makes her question who she is and what she wants. The Caterpillar's arguments frustrate Alice because it wants her to explain everything she says.
From this point on in the story, Alice finds more characters that contradict what she says and thinks and they make her question who she is and what she wants more than ever. For example, when Alice meets the Pigeon she calls herself a "little girl" but says it with doubt because of all the growing and shrinking that she had been going through. Wonderland makes Alice doubt herself.
Everytime I read this book, my favorite part has always been when Alice meets the Caterpillar. This is where the pace of the story begins to pick up, whereas the first four chapters seemed to move pretty slowly. The Caterpillar keeps contradicting everything Alice has to say and it makes her question who she is and what she wants. The Caterpillar's arguments frustrate Alice because it wants her to explain everything she says.
From this point on in the story, Alice finds more characters that contradict what she says and thinks and they make her question who she is and what she wants more than ever. For example, when Alice meets the Pigeon she calls herself a "little girl" but says it with doubt because of all the growing and shrinking that she had been going through. Wonderland makes Alice doubt herself.
Alice in Chapters 5 and 6
In the beginning, Alice encounters a caterpillar. The caterpillar seems to do a better job than the rest of the animals in helping Alice find the answers to her questions. He does so by rewording them and asking her the same questions. When having a conversation with the caterpillar, it seems as if Alice is talking to herself and the caterpillar is sort of helping her direct her thoughts. The cat in a similar way helps her find the answers to her questions. Unlike the many other animals she has met throughout her journey, Alice learns something from these two particular animals. When they repeat questions (or disappear and reappear) maybe they are trying to teach her to get a hold her temper and patience. Maybe these two characters symbolize some people in her real life. The wisdom from the caterpillar may symbolize someone older (like an adult) that guides her and the cat might symbolize someone that is older than her but is not quite an adult.
Alice's World 101
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol is one animated book. Finishing chapter 6, I've found that the main character, Alice, has been having inner self conflicts. Alice is a pre-teen, too childish to realize why these crazy series of events are happening to her, but not yet mature enough to stick to a plan to get out of all these crazy events. Her self conflicts affects this tale of personifications, puns and irony by her innocence. When she forgets about her mini plans to accomplish something, she gets side tracked by someone, or something, new which makes the story more complex and silly. One of the examples of her self frustration is when she can't become happy with one size she gets into. Through the chapters I have read, I realized that her shrinking and getting gigantic has been one major thing that keeps re-accruing. But towards chapters 5 and 6, she uses this new skill to her advantage. She eats the one side of a mushroom to shrink and the other side to grow. This is showing how she is becoming more wise as the story progresses.
Another inner self conflict is how she talks to herself. Alice talks to herself all throughout Wonderland. Sometimes, there is the little child's tone that is rambling off about her cat, Dinah. And other times, there's a voice of authority that makes Alice stronger. It's her mature side and her immature side. She has to deal with her own battles of getting off of task easily and unintentionally scaring all of the talking animals away from her before she can make it in Wonderland. But so far, I'm in love with this book. The characters are adorable and their personalities are one of a kind. I love a book with pictures, too.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Chapters 5 & 6)
The first time I read this book I did not believe it was a dream. I believed the girl Alice was just very imaginative, but was very silly to create such strange things. I could not relate myself with her at all. I never thought anything in the story had a specific meaning. When I began to read this book again, I realized how I never looked deeper into the story than besides the words on the page. I have come to see Alice as another little girl with fears and dreams. I believe her dream is really her subconscious showing her what she fears the most, but because she is so young she cannot even understand it herself. She dreams of herself changing sizes so much because she is afraid of herself changing. She is afraid that the older she gets the more she will change into a different person. She is afraid of change just like every other little kid. When Alice speaks to the caterpillar, he asks her who she is. She is very puzzled because she really does not know. She does not realize that growing up gives her the chance to learn who she is. She is too afraid of what she will leave behind. When she meets the baby and sees it turn into a pig she really is thinking about herself and wondering how much she can change. Once Alice talks to the Cheshire Cat they discuss on where she wants to go. Again she says she does not know because in life she does not know which path she wants to take.
These two chapters have tought me that we are all a little "mad" because of how much we change. We have all had ideas that we now look back on and wonder why we thought this way. Sometimes we evene think we were a little crazy. But no matter how much time passes, we never stop growing. We all follow different paths so we all see things differently. Sometimes we are still afraid of what we will become, but we must always move forward. I have found that I am not so different than Alice as I thought.
These two chapters have tought me that we are all a little "mad" because of how much we change. We have all had ideas that we now look back on and wonder why we thought this way. Sometimes we evene think we were a little crazy. But no matter how much time passes, we never stop growing. We all follow different paths so we all see things differently. Sometimes we are still afraid of what we will become, but we must always move forward. I have found that I am not so different than Alice as I thought.
Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll has written a book that is in many ways a questioning of sanity and yet a book that makes the reader to keep turning the pages to find out what Alice's next adventure will be. In chapter five and six Alice meets new characters, of which one was the catepillar. Alice is not satisfided wth her height so the caterpillar tells Alice that one side of the mushroom will make her grow and the other will shrink her. As Alice is changing sizes- from shrinking to growing- I think the moral behind it was that when your young/small you can't do many things because you are not taken as seriously [or you just don't meet age/height requirments]. But then on the other hand when your old/big you don't have the rights to do things little kids do, because you have more responsebilities in life than the little innocent things we do as children. I think as Alice goes on through her adventure the caterpillar, cat, and the mad Hatter are going to be her constent guides who help her out and push her forward. The story just keeps unfolding in mysteries ways that's going to keep a consent thought in the reader's mind 'I wonder what crazy/insane thing will happen next.'
~Gursimran ;]
~Gursimran ;]
Alice In Wonderland: Chp 5 & 6
In chapter five, Alice meets wise, hookah smoking caterpillar. He continuously asks Alice who she is, and she doesn't have an exact answer for him. She is very hesitant to answer, and when she finally does, she didn't even have an idea who she was. The caterpillar told her that the mushroom would get her back to whatever size it was that she desired, so she took two pieces and finally got back to her original height. She comes to a house and is, yet again, not happy with her height so she shrinks back down to nine inches.
In chapter six, Alice becomes acquainted with the fairly rude, odd Duchess and the grinning Cheshire-Cat. Alice found herself caring for a baby, which I found a little weird because she herself was certainly not capable of taking care of such a thing because she didn't even know who she was herself. The Cheshire-Cat points Alice in the direction of two mad citizens of this odd world, a Hatter and March Hare. Alice ends up going to the Hare's house and changes her height yet again. She is still not happy with herself.
In chapter six, Alice becomes acquainted with the fairly rude, odd Duchess and the grinning Cheshire-Cat. Alice found herself caring for a baby, which I found a little weird because she herself was certainly not capable of taking care of such a thing because she didn't even know who she was herself. The Cheshire-Cat points Alice in the direction of two mad citizens of this odd world, a Hatter and March Hare. Alice ends up going to the Hare's house and changes her height yet again. She is still not happy with herself.
Alice in WonderLand (5&6)
At first I thought this "dream" of Alice's was quite interesting, following a talking rabbit down the whole just like every other normal Alice in Wonderland, but then the choices she makes like always drinking too much and shrinking or always eating to much and growing, were very wrong choices, and then it got stranger. I dont really understand what's going on in the story, it always seems to be changing settings and characters very rapidly and its very hard to keep up with the story line. Half the sentences the animals put together I dont understand and shes always confused and contradicting herself, she's not really sure of who she is and what kind of choices to make. But in these two chapters Alice finally starts to find some answers in the Caterpillar and Cat and things start to slow down.
Alice in Wonderland: Chapter 5 & 6
In the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll uses imagery to help me to be able to see the images in the book. Especially, since the setting changes so suddenly the imagery can help me find out where I am in the book. For example, on page 43 the imagery presented describes the house of the rabbit. Thanks to these descriptions I can figure out the setting and where Alice currently is. It can get confusing at times because she suddenly appears in a different setting. For example, she continues to walk and then surprisingly a house is in front of her. Because of imagery I'm able to following along with the story and where Alice is, helping me understand the story and making it a bit more clear.
Alice In Wonderland
Alice In Wonderland is such a creatvie story with intresting turns and twists so far. In Wonderland the animals and people ask a lot of questions and say random stuff. As each chapter progresses Alice starts to talk like them. Occasionally she will get insits of randomly placed logical thoughts that contradict everything happening in Wonderland.
In Chapter 5, Alice meets significant characters. One such character was the Caterpillar who was very insightful. The Caterpillar made Alice, and us the readers following Alice's adventure, question her thoughts. Alice gets frustrated with the Caterpillar because it is not answering her questions with answers, but ends up going back to the Caterpillar out of curiousity. Could the Caterpillar represent deep thinking and growing up, which seem to be occurances so far throughout the book, because it makes Alice question herself and shows that the Caterpilliar was not afraid of growing up into a butterfly?
In Chapter 6, other intresting characters are met. Alice first talks to the doorman who, like the Caterpillar, does not answer her question directly. The doorman makes Alice frustrated because he is asking her questions and calls him idiotic. Alice always seems to get angry when she is not in control. She meets the Duchess who is a brutal mother. Alice takes the baby which somehow turns into a pig, oddly enough she acts like it is a normal thing to happen. She then talks to the Cheshire Cat who tells her which way is what and foreshadows that they will meet again at the queens game. The Cheshire Cat tells Alice that everybody is mad, including herself, which seems significant somehow.
In Chapter 5, Alice meets significant characters. One such character was the Caterpillar who was very insightful. The Caterpillar made Alice, and us the readers following Alice's adventure, question her thoughts. Alice gets frustrated with the Caterpillar because it is not answering her questions with answers, but ends up going back to the Caterpillar out of curiousity. Could the Caterpillar represent deep thinking and growing up, which seem to be occurances so far throughout the book, because it makes Alice question herself and shows that the Caterpilliar was not afraid of growing up into a butterfly?
In Chapter 6, other intresting characters are met. Alice first talks to the doorman who, like the Caterpillar, does not answer her question directly. The doorman makes Alice frustrated because he is asking her questions and calls him idiotic. Alice always seems to get angry when she is not in control. She meets the Duchess who is a brutal mother. Alice takes the baby which somehow turns into a pig, oddly enough she acts like it is a normal thing to happen. She then talks to the Cheshire Cat who tells her which way is what and foreshadows that they will meet again at the queens game. The Cheshire Cat tells Alice that everybody is mad, including herself, which seems significant somehow.
Oooh Alice.
Chapter five and six were really interesting to me. This book isnt boring at all! I love how it's the caterpillar smoking with a hookah, the duchess with a crazy house, and a Cheshire cat that asks meaningful questions to Alice. The caterpillar reminded me of a hippie guru sort of person because he kept asking Alice who she was. I thought that was pretty funny but really meaningful. Now I like how the Duchess felt about the world; she said that the world would go round faster if everyone just minded their own business. She also brought up that Alice isn't very smart because it's so true! At last, what the Cheshire cat said was pretty deep. He was basically saying that there's no point of going somewhere if you dont go. These chapters help me understand that Alice is just so lost in her own head that she forgets about who she is. She's too focused on the garden.
A literary device that also helps me out is personification because if the animals didnt talk this story would make less sense.
A literary device that also helps me out is personification because if the animals didnt talk this story would make less sense.
Alice In Wonderland (Ch.5-6)
The Caterpillar seemed to be a mellow creature doing whatever it wants. It is as if it doesn't mind helping Alice, but it could have better things to do than help a little girl attain her goals. The Caterpillar does not seem that friendly or kind to Alice, but rather wise in such a way that it helps her by making her think critically about who she really is and brings her back to normal size by telling her what to do. The caterpillar smoking a "hookah" allows the reader to infer that the author is using personification. Personification is also shown when Alice arrives at a house and the footmen had the faces of a frog and a fish, and the bodies of men.
Irony is also portrayed when Alice is talking about the geographic term "axis" and the Duchess mistakes the term for "axes", which is an instrument used for chopping things. It seems as if the Duchess wasn't really listening to what Alice was saying.
So far, the story is confusing when one "dream" leads to the next and Alice's subconscious mind allows the dreams to not make sense. My favorite part was when I read about the Cheshire Cat disappearing and reappearing because that is the only part I remember from the Disney movie version of Alice in Wonderland.
Alice in Wonderland
While reading Alice in Wonderland the last few days, I realized that the book is alot different than both movies. So far, I like the book more then I liked either of the two movies. I noticed that the first few chapters are full of puns and play on words. Its interesting that there are so many of them that I never noticed when I read this book a few years ago. The book allows you to imagine whats happening without giving it away. For example, Alice is very confused about everything. She doesn't even know who she really is. When she talks to the catapillar, she doesn't know how to explain herself. Another thing I noticed was that when she drinking the liquid and gets smaller, she acts younger and crys herself a pool of tears.
Alice in Wonderland
Alice's interactions with the characters introduced in Chapters 5 and 6 seem different then those of previous chapters. The caterpillar and the Cheshire cat were characters that Alice was able to get information off of, however little it may have been. Alice was questioned by both as she asked her own questions, and since Alice is already confused she can do little to respond intelligently. By these secondary characters having dialogue with Alice, the main character, in such a way can show the reader how little control Alice has over this "dream."
Literary devices present so far are personification primarily. Many cases exist where animals take on the roles of humans. Another literary device exists in Alice's conversation with the caterpillar. Alice exclaimed that it would be weird for the caterpillar once it turns intro a chrysalis and then to a butterfly. This statement by Alice could symbolize how she feels out of place, not just in Wonderland but a point in her life where things change so much.
Finally, just a small note, I noticed how the text in parenthesis feel almost like the author's commentary on the events going on in the book. Lewis Carroll, it seems, is providing the reader with knowledge that the reader can infer but has no way of finding out.
Anyways, the story is imaginative and can easily grab someone's attention.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
During the fifth chapter of Lewis Carroll's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice meets a caterpillar. The Caterpillar seems to be more friendly than most of Alice's other encounters with other residents of "Wonderland", although there was good reason for the other animals to not be friendly to Alice, for she has been telling each of them about her cat Dinah, who could easily eat them all. Alice wants to reach the garden she found in the beginning of the story, and in order to do that she must regain her normal size. Luckily for Alice, the Caterpillar tells her how to do that, but she has some difficulties and makes another enemy with a pigeon. Alice has made more enemies than friends which I hope does not cause her troubles in the end of the book. At the end of chapter 5 she regains normal size.
In chapter six Alice reaches the Duchess's house and attempts to befriend her.The Duchess is given an invitation to play croquet with the Queen. The Duchess is rude, but does not seem to make enemies with Alice, and once the Duchess must leave, she leaves her Pig "baby" with Alice. Alice meets the Cheshire cat and has a friendly conversation with him. Surprisingly, Alice did not make enemies in this chapter, and she is hopefully beginning to gain some creatures in which she can befriend rather than make enemies. The story has a different logic than what most of us would use today, so it makes the story a little difficult to understand.
In chapter six Alice reaches the Duchess's house and attempts to befriend her.The Duchess is given an invitation to play croquet with the Queen. The Duchess is rude, but does not seem to make enemies with Alice, and once the Duchess must leave, she leaves her Pig "baby" with Alice. Alice meets the Cheshire cat and has a friendly conversation with him. Surprisingly, Alice did not make enemies in this chapter, and she is hopefully beginning to gain some creatures in which she can befriend rather than make enemies. The story has a different logic than what most of us would use today, so it makes the story a little difficult to understand.
Alice's Peculiar Adventures in Wonderland Chapters 5&6
Correct me if I'm wrong: You have a 10-year old girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole, always talks to herself, continuously shrinks and grows, cries all the time, converses to herself about her cat, meets strange talking animals who don't necessarily like her, and is stuck in this crazy parallel universe trying to find a garden.
Just when I thought the story couldn't get any more weird, it did.
Right when Chapter 5 opens, Alice converses with a caterpillar smoking a hookah on top of a mushroom. My initial reaction was, "Are you sure Alice isn't on drugs?!". Then, I payed closer attention to detail and realized that there may be more to the story than I thought; there was some 'beneath the surface' underlying meaning to Alice's encounter with the Caterpillar.
The Caterpillar's first question to Alice was, "Who are YOU?"; such a simple question that is easily over-looked. It took me a minute to realize that Alice had been struggling with her self-identity throughout the novel(for example, in Chapter 2, Alice believes she is Mabel); Alice doesn't know who she IS or why she's in Wonderland. She doesn't know where she wants to go or what size she wants to be. Alice says, "--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then...for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing". What Alice may not realize, is that no matter what size or what physical change she goes through, Alice will Still be Alice. Giant or small, Alice still conversed with herself, still seeked the garden, still got distracted easily, still thought logically and was still 10-year old Alice. When Alice asks the Caterpillar, "but when you have to turn into a chrysalis--you will some day, you know--and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?". The Caterpillar simply replies, "Not a bit". This reveals a theme of self-identity; knowing who you are no matter what new environment or what physical change you go through.
I also found that at the end of Chapter 3, a mom Crab states, "...Let this be a lesson to you: never lose YOUR temper!". Once again this message is reiterated in Chapter 5 from the Caterpillar to Alice saying, "Keep your temper". This message of keeping your temper and holding composure must foreshadow a future event for Alice, where she would have to abide by the advice she hears.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens to this peculiar girl in this even more peculiar book :D
-Charlene Asuncion
Just when I thought the story couldn't get any more weird, it did.
Right when Chapter 5 opens, Alice converses with a caterpillar smoking a hookah on top of a mushroom. My initial reaction was, "Are you sure Alice isn't on drugs?!". Then, I payed closer attention to detail and realized that there may be more to the story than I thought; there was some 'beneath the surface' underlying meaning to Alice's encounter with the Caterpillar.
The Caterpillar's first question to Alice was, "Who are YOU?"; such a simple question that is easily over-looked. It took me a minute to realize that Alice had been struggling with her self-identity throughout the novel(for example, in Chapter 2, Alice believes she is Mabel); Alice doesn't know who she IS or why she's in Wonderland. She doesn't know where she wants to go or what size she wants to be. Alice says, "--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then...for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing". What Alice may not realize, is that no matter what size or what physical change she goes through, Alice will Still be Alice. Giant or small, Alice still conversed with herself, still seeked the garden, still got distracted easily, still thought logically and was still 10-year old Alice. When Alice asks the Caterpillar, "but when you have to turn into a chrysalis--you will some day, you know--and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?". The Caterpillar simply replies, "Not a bit". This reveals a theme of self-identity; knowing who you are no matter what new environment or what physical change you go through.
I also found that at the end of Chapter 3, a mom Crab states, "...Let this be a lesson to you: never lose YOUR temper!". Once again this message is reiterated in Chapter 5 from the Caterpillar to Alice saying, "Keep your temper". This message of keeping your temper and holding composure must foreshadow a future event for Alice, where she would have to abide by the advice she hears.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens to this peculiar girl in this even more peculiar book :D
-Charlene Asuncion
Alice in Wonderland
Chapters 5-6 were by far the best chapters yet. meeting the hookah smoking caterpillar and cherish the cat were cool because they are two very important and two characters that you could remember easily. The caterpillar gives you that vibe that he is a care free creature but in the end he tells alice that the mushroom can make her grow or shrink her due to what she wants. this shows that he has some care for what happens to alice. Cherish the cat is one of the characters that are freaky but you have to love them. His long smile with his meaty teeth and the way he can appear and disappear at any time makes him that much cooler. In my own opinion i think these two characters are going to be a guidance for alice later in the story.
Alice in Wonderland
In the first four chapters of the book, the author creates a scattered, fast-paced, unpredictable sort of atmosphere, which at times becomes incredibly confusing. Alice repetitively changes her height and finds herself constantly wishing she were either taller or smaller. It seems that she is never happy. I think the author juxtaposes childhood and adulthood by showing Alice's changes when she enters Wonderland. In chapter 4, she says, "...I'm grown up now." I believe this is an ironic play on words- maybe she's referring to her transition into maturity; or maybe she is literally discussing her height obtained from eating the cakes, potions, etc.
This all becomes more significant in chapter 5, when the Caterpillar questions Alice on her identity. She replies with: "...I hardly know... I think I must have changed since then [this morning]." Alice finds it difficult to further explain herself, and the author attempts to draw a parallelism between Alice changing physically and her changing figuratively. Alice says it is confusing to be so many different heights in one day; just as Wonderland is confusing altogether. Her dream, which we presume she is having, is possibly linked to her subconscious transition to maturity. Chapter 5 is incredibly helpful with establishing Alice's situation and showing the symbolism of her constantly changing heights. This repetition is summarizes when Alice, confronted with a pigeon, says: "I'm a little girl". The text goes on to say that she said this "doubtfully, as she remembered the number of changes she had gone through that day." Analogies are present as well as Alice compares what she is feeling to a caterpillar that has just emerged from its cocoon.
Alice shows signs of never being happy with the size she is; she always is desperately wishing for something to make her either taller or shorter. This is similar to the cliche that "the grass is always greener on the other side."
The animals Alice encounters in chapters 5 and 6 make her question her identity and her reasons for being in Wonderland. The Cat and Caterpillar have short, symbolic, rather philosophical conversations with her. I think the significance of this will become more apparent as the story continues.
This all becomes more significant in chapter 5, when the Caterpillar questions Alice on her identity. She replies with: "...I hardly know... I think I must have changed since then [this morning]." Alice finds it difficult to further explain herself, and the author attempts to draw a parallelism between Alice changing physically and her changing figuratively. Alice says it is confusing to be so many different heights in one day; just as Wonderland is confusing altogether. Her dream, which we presume she is having, is possibly linked to her subconscious transition to maturity. Chapter 5 is incredibly helpful with establishing Alice's situation and showing the symbolism of her constantly changing heights. This repetition is summarizes when Alice, confronted with a pigeon, says: "I'm a little girl". The text goes on to say that she said this "doubtfully, as she remembered the number of changes she had gone through that day." Analogies are present as well as Alice compares what she is feeling to a caterpillar that has just emerged from its cocoon.
Alice shows signs of never being happy with the size she is; she always is desperately wishing for something to make her either taller or shorter. This is similar to the cliche that "the grass is always greener on the other side."
The animals Alice encounters in chapters 5 and 6 make her question her identity and her reasons for being in Wonderland. The Cat and Caterpillar have short, symbolic, rather philosophical conversations with her. I think the significance of this will become more apparent as the story continues.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a novel that I can picture exactly what is happening as a I read. Lewis Caroll created this absurd land filled with imagination and bizarre adventures Alice goes through. Caroll uses personification and repetition many times through out the story. As the novel progresses, Alice continues her journey through Wonderland meeting a caterpillar and a Cheshire cat. Although she comes upon food that makes her grow either taller or shorter constantly, there are also many animals that Alice talks to in all the different atmospheres she is in. When meeting the caterpillar, in chapter 6, Alice is still unsure of who she is, but is able to control her height that changes in different situations. The Cheshire cat in chapter six helps Alice go in the direction to the somewhere she wants to be. Both the caterpillar and the Cheshire cat help Alice through her journey. The characters and events that happen in Wonderland are strange but it keeps the novel interesting. The bizarre adventure Alice is on keeps me wondering what could happen next.
Lewis Carroll is a very creative mind. Alice in Wonderland is an attention-grabber with a very unique and memorable story. Chapters 5 and 6 were interesting and introduced characters like the Caterpillar, the Duchess and the Cheshire Cat. Alice still appears to be unsure as to who she is, or who she has become. She struggles with getting to her ideal height. Alice talks to the hookah smoking Caterpillar, who was somewhat rude to Alice, he interrogates her to try and find out who she is. The Duchess could care less what Alice had to say, she even said "If everyone minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster." The Cheshire Cat kept disappearing and reappearing. He is quite mysterious, as are many other characters. He has a good point when he said that if Alice doesn't care where she goes, "then it doesn't matter which way she goes." Alice seems very lost and confused. I'm curious as to why everyone is mad in Wonderland.
Alice and Wonderland 5+6.
In the beginning, Alice is continuing her journey through wonderland and meets the Caterpillar, while she is still convinced that she doesn't know who she is anymore. As the Caterpillar asks her to tell a story, it tells her that she's wrong, from when she began all the way to the end. Its almost as if he's testing her or pushing her buttons purposely for his own amusement or some specific reason. Alice got more and more flustered by him and later pleaded for the Caterpillar to make her taller, but he seemed to think she was fine and began smoking again and starts to leave, but tells her to eat the mushrooms, which backfired. Her neck had grown so long that a Pigeon that flew by her thought, and is convinced, she is a serpent. They get in a dispute over her being a serpent or a little girl, and Alice being the innocent child she cannot lie, and tells the Pigeon she's a little girl who has eaten eggs before, which alarms the Pigeon who makes her leave. As she is on her way, she gets back to normal size, but needs to enter a house, so she shrinks to nine inches to continue on to the garden.
When she entered the house the Fish-Footman answered and gave her an invitation saying the Queen has invited her to a game of croquet. She laughed at the request, but then realized she shouldn't and knocked on the door timidly. The footman plays a sort of mind game with her as she tries to get inside of the house, until finally she is allowed entry. When she walks in she sees the Duchess eating peppered soup and the Cheshire cat. She simply asks why the cat grins like that and the Duchess snaps at her with a response ending with "Pig!", so violently that makes Alice jump. The Duchess seems to be a little strange, almost like she can't focus, and starts to sing to her child while aggressively moving him up and down, who she barely caught after the Duchess tossed him. She later has a conversation with Cheshire cat asking him how to leave, and once again another person seems to play mind games with her, saying that she is mad to have come here and wishes she had gone to see the Hatter instead.
When she entered the house the Fish-Footman answered and gave her an invitation saying the Queen has invited her to a game of croquet. She laughed at the request, but then realized she shouldn't and knocked on the door timidly. The footman plays a sort of mind game with her as she tries to get inside of the house, until finally she is allowed entry. When she walks in she sees the Duchess eating peppered soup and the Cheshire cat. She simply asks why the cat grins like that and the Duchess snaps at her with a response ending with "Pig!", so violently that makes Alice jump. The Duchess seems to be a little strange, almost like she can't focus, and starts to sing to her child while aggressively moving him up and down, who she barely caught after the Duchess tossed him. She later has a conversation with Cheshire cat asking him how to leave, and once again another person seems to play mind games with her, saying that she is mad to have come here and wishes she had gone to see the Hatter instead.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Ch 5 & 6)
Lewis Carroll must have had a truly wonderful mind. There is no way I could ever have thought up a world like Wonderland. The book is odd enough to stay interesting with every chapter, leaving the reader in suspense, just waiting to see what new adventures lie in wait for Alice. The personification throughout the story (talking cat, caterpillar, fish-footman, etc) allows the reader to see things from different perspectives. The chapters are not only lighthearted fun, but they also have meaningful symbolism and metaphors. Poor Alice never seems to be the right size, always too small or too large. However, after meeting with the caterpillar, Alice manages to balance out her height, controlling it for each new situation (back to her normal size, and then smaller to approach the March Hare's home). This could symbolize age. Often it seems as though you are too young (small) to be taken seriously or to be allowed to do certain things. And then when you grow up you become too old (big) to indulge in the innocent fantasies of being a child. Maybe Alice will finally find a way to be comfortable with who she is and take the caterpillar's advice to "'get used to it in time.'" Alice also seems to be plagued with a question that real people face everyday- who am I. These chapters bring to light the beginning of Alice's self-discovery. Wandering lost, not caring where she goes because she is constantly being distracted from her only purpose (to find the garden), and not truly knowing who she is, Alive will continue on a tantalizing, yet absurd, adventure that is sure to keep me turning the page.
Rebekah
Rebekah
Chapter 5&6
When i began to read chapter 5, i sorta laughed in my head to see that a caterpillar is smoking hookah when it first meets Alice. Anyways when i read both chapters it was very strange. The most strangest event in the story was when the Duchess kept tossing the baby up and down. I also thought it was strange when she meets the cat because usually cats don't talk and they don't point out directions. I saw imagery throughout the story because she really goes to different places and the creatures that she meets are really descriptive as well as other events in the story.
Alice In Wonderland.
Throughout the start of the novel, Alice finds herself encountering different animals. Not just ordinary animals though. And once again in chapters five and six, she meets some more. In the beginning of chapter five she encounters a caterpillar which she also has a little conversation with. Alice has a problem that seems to never go away. Her size. One minute shes small, the other shes too big. When she encounters this caterpillar that was sitting on a mushroom, smoking told her to eat the mushroom one side will make her smaller then other bigger. It took quite a few tries, but she evetually was satisfied with her size. Alice's dream takes quite drastic turns when talking about settings and whom shes around. She meets talking Fish, Frogs, a weird grinning cat, that would dissappear and then reappear in a moment. A crying baby pig, that grows up into a hound matter of seconds.
Her main goal is to get to the garden, but with all these distractions she forgets easily. Her imagination is so wide its hard to predict whats going to happen next. One thing I know I won't make a mistake on, is that she sure to encounter more animals, that walk, talk and who knows what.
Her main goal is to get to the garden, but with all these distractions she forgets easily. Her imagination is so wide its hard to predict whats going to happen next. One thing I know I won't make a mistake on, is that she sure to encounter more animals, that walk, talk and who knows what.
Alice in Wonderland ch 5 + 6.
In chapter 5 and 6 Alice still continues her adventure through the forest meeting the Caterpillar and Cheshire the cat. The Caterpillar gives Alice something to really think about. He asks her who she is, but she can't explain who she is. It makes her think who she is or why she's even in "Wonderland." In these 2 chapters, there is a repetition of Alice eating something and dealing with her height. Alice is 3 inches tall and eats the mushroom to grow back to regular size. Then eats again to reduce to 9inches tall. The story moves fast and quick, one second Alice is here, the next she's over there. In chapter 6, she finds a house. Alice seems to take all the characters in the book as if they are natural. Such as the dressed up frog, the talking rabbit, etc. From the house, she meets the cat. Cheshire, who seems to have a seemingly evil grin on his face. Alice wonders out loud about why would a cat have to hold a big grin. For most, the story is scattered and all over the place. Alice to me, seems to be in a dream, even though things relate back to the real world. The story isn't predictable which is a good thing cause it keeps you wondering whats going to happen next. I'm ready to read more.
Representation
This caterpillar is probably an allusion of Socrates, for with Alice, he uses the Socratic method to help her understand who she really is. In this conversation, Alice tells the caterpillar that when he grows up to be a butterfly, he will probably have a better understand. Carroll probably put this in to emphasize the growing-up and realization of who Alice is. There is a lot of repetition of "finding out who she really is" in every encounter with the animals, making it significant. Age and maturity is yet brought up again in the Father William tale.
Again, size represents her development in finding her true self. She tells of wanting to grow larger and grow smaller, in whichever circumstance that benefits her.
Alice in Wonderland
both chapters were weird and didn't make much sense but i liked both. the topic i mostly liked from both was when she met the Caterpillar and the Cheshire-cat. i love both of those characters because they tried to get her to think who she really is and why is she there and why have all these strange things happened to her. Aside from all the craziness and weirdness this book is really a great pleasure to me. it makes me think like a child again and not only this but this book reminds me of what i used to think of when i was little. these chapters were so far my favorite since it showed and told two of the many favorite characters i love in Alice in wonderland. despite the many weird things Alice has seen sop far she still seems to act no natural about all of whats happening in this wonderland. so as far as I'm concerned this book is awesome and so are the characters.
Alice in Wonderland : CHP. 5 &6
As I am reading Alice in Wonderland, I noticed the book is full of imagination, has a crazy plot and absurd thoughts and characters. Not to mention the million personifications the author uses in the story, like the talking animals. Alice seems to fit right in the world she fell into, but seems to forget about herself even more and more. There is a lot of foreshadowing and repetitive scenes, like when she drinks the potions and eats the cake. Alice is very childish but is courageous as she takes on the risks and adventures throughout the story. Everything seems to come by really fast and the scene changes very fast with even more crazy thought out characters. The animals in the story are close to human like figures and people who Alice finds herself very comfortable and "natural" to talk to. She mentions that its natural to her often in the story. She talks to the animals which surprises me greatly, like she knew them for awhile. I always knew the story about Alice in Wonderland but now that I have been paying more close attention to the text, i'm beginning to think very different from how I thought it was before. The author writes very crazy in my perspective and a lot of things are symbolized to mean something. I may not know specifically what each symbol may mean, but I have a feeling it may foreshadow in the book as we continue to read. Overall this book is quite interesting and unpredictable.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Alice in Wonderland
As you read the story, pay very close attention to any and all literary devices you can find - those will be a big indicator for events within the story and help guide you to a deeper understanding. At the same time, check out any historical connections you may come across.
Chapter one and two are due on Wednesday, bring chapters 3 & 4 with you to class.
Mr. Soeth
Text
http://bit.ly/c33fmx
Chapter one and two are due on Wednesday, bring chapters 3 & 4 with you to class.
Mr. Soeth
Text
http://bit.ly/c33fmx
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
My opinion has completely changed
From the day I found out we had to read this book I was not looking forward to the 376 pages that awaited me. Now, After I have read the whole book, I wish I could take back the judgements I made prior to this book. I never expected it to get so interesting. I found the book to be very intriguing and surprising. I found it strange that there was so much vulgar language and racism, as I do not come upon a book that shares the same diction and style. I often thought about how weird it must be growing up as Scout. Especially because of all the commotion in result of Atticus defending Tom Robinson. She must have been confused as to why her dad was friends with African Americans, but elders around the community were highly against it. Overall, this has to be one of the greatest books I've ever read. My dad kept saying, "They don't call it a classic for nothing!". Unfortunately, this is yet another time where my dad is right, and I am wrong. In this case, I am perfectly fine with being wrong, because this book was outstanding.
Finishing the book I have come to the conclusion that this book deserves all the awards that it has won. By the end of the book you feel connected with all of the characters in the story and never really know what is going to happen. For example, when the jury went into there room to find a verdict they were in there for a large amount of time and you have to wonder if they are actually going to find Tom Robinson not guilty. But in the end he was convicted. I like this book because no matter what it always kept me interested. Were there some rough spots? Yeah of course but the book more or tried to cover as much of the rough spots as possible by making a story full of excitement and making the story believable.
Mr. Ewell has got to be one of the craziest people in a book that I have ever read about. The guy abuses his daughter while he is drunk and even though Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, he goes on to stalk and even try to kill anyone that was a part of the courtroom. I think it is because he wanted to get revenge on Atticus by making him look like a fool in the courtroom. But whether Atticus did or not you do not try to get revenge on someone by trying to kill his children.
It still never seems to amaze how back in the early 1900s racism was a huge issue. Do not get me wrong people are still discriminated today by the way they look it just was not as harsh as it was back when slavery was barely abolished. Seeing as how this book was made in the 60s I feel that the racism is very much so necessary. Not because it is cool to be racist but because there was still high prejudice against African American people. The racism definitely makes me want to keep reading the story because I would like to see a town changed by one African American man.
As I was reading through chapter 8 i realized that there have been a lot of "presents" or Scout and Jem from who I assume to be Boo Radley. Now to me this is not ordinary for someone to do. If I were to be getting gum and pennies and folded pants from some complete stranger that I have never seen in my life then I would be a little freaked out about who this person is and what he or she would do to me.
Ending
To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel that has many unexpected events. This is what made me want to keep on reading towards the middle of the book. It was a little difficult for me to stay interested until chapter 15. Towards chapter 16, when the Tom Robinson case starts, that's when the novel gets my full attention.
The Tom Robinson case was when I wanted to keep on reading and get through with the book. This part of the novel, I connected to with a movie I watched. The case in the book is the same as the one that I watched in the movie. So I had some connections there. Something that I closely paid attention to during the trial is how the seating is arranged in the courtroom. Depending on the race, there is a certain place to sit. The colored people got the balcony where Jem, Scout, and Dill sit during the trial. At that point, when Mr. Braxton Underwood sees Jem and Scout in the colored balcony and snorts (252), I didn't understand the reason for his reaction. But then it makes sense that it was because of where they were sitting. This kind of situation is what I don't agree with. I understand that the colored weren't allowed to be with the white. But little children didn't understand it. Over and over again, there would be situations when someone would give rude comments to Jem or Scout about their father. But they didn't understand well. It's because they were children. This was something that I didn't approve of. Jem and Scout didn't have anything to do their father's job. Still some adults would say rude things to them.
Going back to the Tom Robinson case, I disagree with the verdict. It is stated at the end of the trial that Tom is guilty when he is completely innocent. The reason for the verdict is what I strongly disagree on. The only reason that Tom is stated guilty is because of his race. The court is where everyone goes for justice. Everyone is supposed to be equal in the courtroom. Nothing should be stated on the basis of race. However, race came in the way for Robinson.
Another thing that I disagree about is why Mayella brings the case to court. This also goes back to Tom Robinson's race. When she desired him, she "broke a rigid and time-honored code of society" (272). This states that a white girl cannot desire a colored boy. And I think this is not logical at all. The race should not determine who someone has affection for. But when Mayella realized what she has done and how the society will look upon her, she blames Robinson for what she has done. This act makes me agree with what Atticus says about "cheatin' a colored man is ten times wrose than cheatin' a white man" ( 269). To cover herself, Mayella puts robinson in danger.
After the trial, I kept on reading to find out if something happens about the Radley Place. But nothing happens soon, until the end of the book. When Arthur saves Jem, that is when Scout sees him for the first time. I was kind of disappointed that Jem and Dill don't get to see him. When Harper Lee gives details of Arthur leaning against the wall in Jem's room, the clues are obvious that something unexpected is going to happen. And that is exactly what happens. I wasn't expecting it to be Arthur until Scout says "Hey, Boo" (362). So I was kind of excited that Scout finally gets to meet him.
Overall, this book is a great with lots of themes going on at once. There are situations that indicate how children should be treated. This is shown by how Atticus treats Jem and Scout more like adults and how Aunt Alexandra treats them more like children and teaching them manners. There is a theme of how a community lives together. Everyone in Maycomb knows each other well and have their own societal rules. The last theme is the descrimination of the colored society. It is shown how they can't even get justice in the court, regardless of them being innocent. This novel is filled with many different meanings that keeps you interested.
The Tom Robinson case was when I wanted to keep on reading and get through with the book. This part of the novel, I connected to with a movie I watched. The case in the book is the same as the one that I watched in the movie. So I had some connections there. Something that I closely paid attention to during the trial is how the seating is arranged in the courtroom. Depending on the race, there is a certain place to sit. The colored people got the balcony where Jem, Scout, and Dill sit during the trial. At that point, when Mr. Braxton Underwood sees Jem and Scout in the colored balcony and snorts (252), I didn't understand the reason for his reaction. But then it makes sense that it was because of where they were sitting. This kind of situation is what I don't agree with. I understand that the colored weren't allowed to be with the white. But little children didn't understand it. Over and over again, there would be situations when someone would give rude comments to Jem or Scout about their father. But they didn't understand well. It's because they were children. This was something that I didn't approve of. Jem and Scout didn't have anything to do their father's job. Still some adults would say rude things to them.
Going back to the Tom Robinson case, I disagree with the verdict. It is stated at the end of the trial that Tom is guilty when he is completely innocent. The reason for the verdict is what I strongly disagree on. The only reason that Tom is stated guilty is because of his race. The court is where everyone goes for justice. Everyone is supposed to be equal in the courtroom. Nothing should be stated on the basis of race. However, race came in the way for Robinson.
Another thing that I disagree about is why Mayella brings the case to court. This also goes back to Tom Robinson's race. When she desired him, she "broke a rigid and time-honored code of society" (272). This states that a white girl cannot desire a colored boy. And I think this is not logical at all. The race should not determine who someone has affection for. But when Mayella realized what she has done and how the society will look upon her, she blames Robinson for what she has done. This act makes me agree with what Atticus says about "cheatin' a colored man is ten times wrose than cheatin' a white man" ( 269). To cover herself, Mayella puts robinson in danger.
After the trial, I kept on reading to find out if something happens about the Radley Place. But nothing happens soon, until the end of the book. When Arthur saves Jem, that is when Scout sees him for the first time. I was kind of disappointed that Jem and Dill don't get to see him. When Harper Lee gives details of Arthur leaning against the wall in Jem's room, the clues are obvious that something unexpected is going to happen. And that is exactly what happens. I wasn't expecting it to be Arthur until Scout says "Hey, Boo" (362). So I was kind of excited that Scout finally gets to meet him.
Overall, this book is a great with lots of themes going on at once. There are situations that indicate how children should be treated. This is shown by how Atticus treats Jem and Scout more like adults and how Aunt Alexandra treats them more like children and teaching them manners. There is a theme of how a community lives together. Everyone in Maycomb knows each other well and have their own societal rules. The last theme is the descrimination of the colored society. It is shown how they can't even get justice in the court, regardless of them being innocent. This novel is filled with many different meanings that keeps you interested.
Monday, August 9, 2010
changed opinions
In the beginning of the book I had read all about how the rasism seeped from every page, so in responce I tried to look for it in the most unlikely places. Though now that I am finished I have figured out this book is about a whole lot more than just blind racism. It is how the community reacts to certain things and the mom mentality they are forced into.
Likly some people didn't really want to go along with the trials in such a manner, but because of the scocial pressure to convict a black man they did it anyway. The looming prospect of being the only man to stand up against the majority would cruch most peoples resolve.
It is not the blame for a single person what happened throughout the book, but the blame of the community and their sense of community.
Likly some people didn't really want to go along with the trials in such a manner, but because of the scocial pressure to convict a black man they did it anyway. The looming prospect of being the only man to stand up against the majority would cruch most peoples resolve.
It is not the blame for a single person what happened throughout the book, but the blame of the community and their sense of community.
Friday, August 6, 2010
To kill a mocking bird
It took a while but I finaly finished reading this book. This book certainly deserves all the praise it's been given. All the characters were believable and EVERYTHING had a purpose for being told. I wish I had a bigger vocabulary and attention span to give more credit to this book. This book is the greatest I've ever read. At the risk of sounding cliche'd, I give this book an 11 out of 10. Also I'm voting Atticus Finch for president of 2012, I don't care if he's fictional, he would make an Amazing president.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Mockingbird has flown away
I know this post is way late, but it took some time for me to think, and i re-read the entire book all at one time, so i got a hold of the story fully.
For some reason, while i was reading the second part, I had this undying fear that there was going to be a death in the plot line. It turned out to be wrong (thanks goodness). However, the plot was never exactly what i guessed it to be, and it always kept me guessing.
For my essay, I'm using mood, character developement, and imagery. Those might be the most common, but i really don't care because they are the ones that stuck out to me most. The way that Lee described everything in the setting and the family history was practically enchanting. Sure, i had to re-read a lot of stuff, but once i understood all the detail being put forth, it was one of the most descriptive books i've ever read. I've always been a reader who plays the story out in the brain like a movie, so when the author can describe it in that way it makes it easier on my thinking skills.
So i'm done with the book, I am revising my essay, and I can't wait for some class discussions on this. I've been reading all you guys's posts and really love what you guys have to say :]
See ya soon! :D
For some reason, while i was reading the second part, I had this undying fear that there was going to be a death in the plot line. It turned out to be wrong (thanks goodness). However, the plot was never exactly what i guessed it to be, and it always kept me guessing.
For my essay, I'm using mood, character developement, and imagery. Those might be the most common, but i really don't care because they are the ones that stuck out to me most. The way that Lee described everything in the setting and the family history was practically enchanting. Sure, i had to re-read a lot of stuff, but once i understood all the detail being put forth, it was one of the most descriptive books i've ever read. I've always been a reader who plays the story out in the brain like a movie, so when the author can describe it in that way it makes it easier on my thinking skills.
So i'm done with the book, I am revising my essay, and I can't wait for some class discussions on this. I've been reading all you guys's posts and really love what you guys have to say :]
See ya soon! :D
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