A Direction the class needs to go in

         First off english is my favorite subject. I don't even know why, it's crazy because I never have anything favorite. In case you didn't know I'm very indecisive and I can hardly ever pick my outfit out every morning. Thats the amazing part about it. I think what began my interests in english was the 7th grade. Before I was already good at english but in 7th grade my entire perspective changed. My teacher was AMAZING! I loved her sooooooo much. She taught english in a way that made everything seem so fun and interesting yet we learned so much at the same time.  And she was funny, she had me rolling on the floor laughing everyday. Yup so thats her my amazing funny 7th grade teacher that sparked my love for the subject of english.
         Besides all my love for english the class is just amazing alone. With Sohrob, Kirkland, Giana, Charlotte " my dog" lol etc. our class in my opinion is perfectly fine and needs no adjusting. In a way I look forward to coming to this class everyday and it always lives up to my expectations. If there was one thing I would have to change though is ........................ Ummmmmmm I wonder..................... NOTHING!!!! That's just how I feel about the class and that's where I am right now. If ever anything changes drastically I will notify you but I seriously doubt that and with that being said I think I will be satisfied with my 5th period english II class forever. O wait I do have something to request, if possible you could get this same exact class next year. I mean every single person stayed the same. I don't really think you could pull that off but if you could o if you could I would be soooooo happy and exciting and you might just become one of my favorite teachers.
                And I forgot to mention that I want to be a teacher and I remember a comment you said about how when you were a child you would've wished for your class to be structured how you teach now, and maybe that provides me with insight on how I would structure my class if ever I became a teacher.

Holden Caufield

        Throughout our many discussions in class we have talked about what type of person Holden is or if he's phony or not. In my opinion I don't think he's phony or if he is there isn't enough evidence yet to prove this. I can recall a question from a group work activity in which it asks in what ways is Holden phony? My group basically said that we didn't think he was a phony because he lies to himself but does not conform to what society wants or expects of him. The people that he considers to be phony are phony because they change to become something that they are not. Like in the case of Stradlater. Holden says that he is a secret slob but he portrays to be of this very clean, fresh handsome guy. He somewhat puts on this front to satisfy society. Society being the other guys. Others may think that Holden is phony primarily because he has qualities similar to those he call phony in that what he considers to be phony he in turn does himself. But this doesn't make him phony because he does things for different reasons. Reasons to him that are his so called principles. So in reality he isn't phony because he stays true to himself, and what he beliefs to be right.
         When I mentioned that he lies to himself I mean that we only know what he tells us, and alot of the stuff he says is only his train of thought. He doesn't do a lot of what he is actually thinking. And then also he paints these images in our head of how lousy his childhood was that is not so in reality. Another instance in which I think he lies to himself is when it comes to his age. When he went to the club in the hotel he asks for a Scotch and the waiter knows he isn't old enough and asks for verification of his age. But he seems to allow us and himself to believe that he looks older than he really is because of his gray hairs. But this does not necessarily make him phony because we find out that he does some things for the sake of survival in this lonesome and depressing world.

My red hunting hat

        In the Catcher in the Rye Holden Caufield wears this red hunting hat quite often. What is the significance of this hat? First off a hunting hat is something worn by hunters to stand out so that other hunters won't mistakenly shoot them. And also because deers supposedly are color blind to the color red and their are unable to distinguish the hunters from their other surroundings. Holden's hat was symbolic. Referencing back to the meaning of what a hunting hat really is the hunters are him and other people seeking out and trying to find who the real people are. They can see him because they have qualities in common in that they are real people (supposedly). The deers are the phonies or the people that Holden believe to be phony. They can't see him or see the burden that they are to him because he never comes out and tells them. They are blind to his real emotions and feelings. So is Holden phony?

       What is my hunting hat? I think my hunting hat is my appearance specifically my hair and the color of my skin. It makes me stand out and fit in depending on the circumstances. My old school was predominantly african american and people would constantly ask me if I was mixed or white or whatever. I didn't have a problem with it but I am all african american , just very light skinned with long hair, But it makes me stand out because  although I am black my light skin complexion makes me stand out. On the other hand I can also fit in. In places such as Whitney Young where there is a more diverse crowd of students I blend in more in that there are a lot of other people that looked like me or were in my same situation. And then also people really don't care as much because they are used to seeing so many different races that it doesn't matter if im all black or not.

       So my red hunting hat is my skin complexion and my long hair because most people don't think that I can be all black with long hair and light complexion. This makes me stand out but I can also blend in.


             

Thankful for a Classmate

             I am thankful for Sohrob, he makes the class better. I think that Sohrob always adds a little extra to the class whether it be in his various changing voices or his enthusiastic way of answering questions. English in itself is one of my favorite classes but with Sohrob it is that much better because of his wonderful personality. In writing this blog there was a few people I had to chose between to write about but certain things just put Sohrob over the top. And I hope he reads this so that he can see how much I appreciate his presence in the class and how much I am thankful for him. Everytime we are having a discussion in class Sohrob never hesitates to raise his hand and provide a very intelligent sometimes somewhat eccentric but none the less useful answer. Sometimes his answers give a clearer understanding to something that at first wasn't quite clear to me and in doing so he also provides additional information that one day will come in hand. And then he also amuses me while in the class together when he speaks in a different tone of voice. I can recall once when we were reviewing this excerpt in our text books and he was asked to speak like a preacher and I thought it was hilarious because he did it so excitedly and realisticly. At the end of the day I am thankful for my entire American Literature class but especially Sohrob because to me he is just always so anxious and enthusiastic in participating in class and that makes me exciting to continue the rest of the year with him in my class. Happy Thanksgiving! :)

Cormac McCarthy

The theme I chose to focus on was how he closely relates The Road to his own personal experiences with his son. And trying to express how he protects his son and this idea of what a father son relationship should be like. In a wall street journal interview McCarthy talks about how his son was the co-author because some of the conversations that the boy and the man had in the book are exact conversations that he and his son had. In another part of the interview they ask him why the father and son never say " I love you" if this is supposed to be a love story between the two. And he responded that he thought it wasn't neccesary because it wouldn't add anything to the story, but I thought it was a way to indirectly say that actions speak louder than words and if the book is supposed to show how a father would do anything for his son in any circumstance which it does then there is no need for "I love you". And then also he choses not to give the man and boy names. Before discussion and research I thought that was mainly because the  past has been erased and it is gone now and with that goes your name. I also thought that it represented who you were and gave you an identity and now there is no need because all but a few humans are remaining and no one needs to be able to know who someone else is. But know I know that is somewhat because he wants the father and son to represent him and his son or for that fact any other father and son. McCarthy says that his work is often driven by pain because if you don't have something in the back of your head driving you nuts you might not do anything. So along with the relationships in his personal life McCarthy also displays a sense of dark, violent, and painful periods throughout his books and movies. In No Country for Old Men there is violence, depravity and mayhem as in All the Pretty Horses and Blood Meridian and The Road. But overall I think that Cormac McCarthy tends to make his novels personal and always somehow come back to his interpretation of the west or death or religion etc.

Letter to Charles Bukowski

Dear Charles,            After I read your poem Dinosauria, We so many thoughts were in my head of the world we live in today and if we will ever become the idea of the this or if we already have become it. You wrote this poem in the 1970s and it is an accurate representation of the modern world. Are you psychic? Or is it just a reasonable assumption based on occurences in 1970? Regardless of what it may be I think the outcome you described will eventually surface and that is the scary part. Through your poem we see everything that we happen to our world in the future. But the question is what is the future? How close is it? And most of all is it the END of the world? In your poem one thing that really struck me was when you said Dante's Inferno will be made to look like a children's playground. Dante's Inferno referencing to Hell. I thought that to be a strong line because your saying that the world will eventually come to be so bad that Hell, something that we think of as being a horrible place that most don't won't to go to, becomes something desirable, enjoyable and something to look forward to. And then you said the fingers reach for the throat the gun the knife the bomb..........the fingers reach for the bottle the pill the powder. In today's world so many people look to violence and abuse to solve and cope with the problems. And in your poem when this is occuring all these realistic events of wanting to kill and reference to wanting to take drugs also occur. Lastly I think a strong part to your poem is that you continue to repeat "this" or born into "this", which for me adds to the intensity of the poem in the fact that it shows readers that "this" is serious and cannot be taken lightly. Your prediction or assumption of what the world will become is accurate because of the actions of human beings. The way we are headed in our world today with people having the mindset that the world can fix itself or that eventually it all will not pile up is the wrong mindset because it will and I think that everything you described in  your poem can happen and is possible. The only way it can be fixed is with the help of the entire human population, which is highly unlikely, starting now before it is too late or else they won't be another chapter. THIS will be the end.

Father and Son

Currently we are reading The Road, a post- apocalyptic story describing a son and father's journey through the disastrous world. Their relationship is one that is not typical of a father and son relationship, because in modern day most fathers are not as gentle, and compassionate as the one in the story. That is the role of the mother supposedly. They believe in tough love and making their sons men . But in the Road the father knows that the child won't be able to live a normal life or for that fact know what a normal life is. The father tries as best as he can to comfort the child and he begans to show motherly like  qualities.