Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
http://voicethread.com/?#u1410288.b1471580.i7761389
1) I am doing a voice thread for the most important scenes. I talk about how Janine runs away with Logan Killicks hoping for a new and better life. After her mom ran away Janine's grandmother took her in to make sure that Janine was cared for. Other things included are how tension rises when Janine starts flirting with Joe Starks, she then leaves Logan to marry Joe. A major theme that I included was how everyone is treated and called "mules.
2) I liked doing the voice thread. I originally did a toondo but then voice thread seemed like a better option. It was easier to get the most important parts of the book where when I tried doing a toondo I couldn't find what was most important.
3) The book was fine to read but the language used was terrible. Since none of the people in the book were properly educated, the dialogue was very improper. Most of the people who talk were either former slaves or family of former slaves and since they were black they were never given a proper education. The rest of the text that was not spoken was written very well it was only when someone would talk that the dialogue became a type of southern accent. Next marking period I am going to scan through the book and see how most the dialogue is and if I don't like it I will get a better book.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Chapter 9- Gatsby Reflections
"[We] were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life"
In the book most of the people that are mentioned come from somewhere in the mid-west to west coast and decided to come east to New York. In the 1920's, New York was big in the sense that people wanted to go there to start new lives and make a new name of themselves. Since prohibition was put into place many people, such as Gatsby, resorted to illegal means of getting rich just to live the good life, and since New York was one of the more popular cities doing illegal things could get you money fast. Nick went East in order to get into the bond business which was a well known business during this time period. Many people were not use to living in a city with such corruptness and illegal means going on that many did not know what to do because of the fact they were not used to seeing it occur. Many fell into this trap because they wanted to "fit" in with the rest of the crowd and tried to adapt to the Eastern way of living, but it was hard for mid-west/ west coasters to change. This quote sums up how many people felt in the 1920's because a lot of people went from the west to the east in hope for a better life.
In my lifetime so far I have lived in the East but not for the same reasons as people before chose to. I did not pick this area because I knew I could get rich quick, or live the good life. The American Dream has long since changed and instead of it being get rich as quickly as possible, have a big house, and a fancy car, I believe we should live for a better reason. Living on the East or West does not make a big difference anymore since on either side you can find many of the same jobs, houses, and futures that once were never thought to be able to be sought after. Now the thought is go west to places like Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Las Angeles to make money quickly and in some cases illegally.
In the book most of the people that are mentioned come from somewhere in the mid-west to west coast and decided to come east to New York. In the 1920's, New York was big in the sense that people wanted to go there to start new lives and make a new name of themselves. Since prohibition was put into place many people, such as Gatsby, resorted to illegal means of getting rich just to live the good life, and since New York was one of the more popular cities doing illegal things could get you money fast. Nick went East in order to get into the bond business which was a well known business during this time period. Many people were not use to living in a city with such corruptness and illegal means going on that many did not know what to do because of the fact they were not used to seeing it occur. Many fell into this trap because they wanted to "fit" in with the rest of the crowd and tried to adapt to the Eastern way of living, but it was hard for mid-west/ west coasters to change. This quote sums up how many people felt in the 1920's because a lot of people went from the west to the east in hope for a better life.
In my lifetime so far I have lived in the East but not for the same reasons as people before chose to. I did not pick this area because I knew I could get rich quick, or live the good life. The American Dream has long since changed and instead of it being get rich as quickly as possible, have a big house, and a fancy car, I believe we should live for a better reason. Living on the East or West does not make a big difference anymore since on either side you can find many of the same jobs, houses, and futures that once were never thought to be able to be sought after. Now the thought is go west to places like Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Las Angeles to make money quickly and in some cases illegally.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Gatsby- Chapter 3
I believe living the "good life" now is looked as having a very nice house, multiple cars that are very famous brands, wearing certain brands, and having lots of money. I don't believe this is the "good life" and that the good life is something better. I think if you can be happy doing what you are doing, happy with where you are living, and helping out others not just thinking about yourself is the "good life". In the 1920's the good life was somebody who had a ton of money, the newest cars, a big house, and had the biggest parties. Since the value of money has changed since the 20's I think so has the view of the good life. Many people could get bigger houses and do what they wanted with a lot less money then you need today. The "good life" isn't always about the best house, best cars, and best new items, it's about being happy and enjoying what you do with the time you have on Earth.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Ubd & F. Scott Fitzgerald
Themes we may study this year include:
Aspiration: F. Scott Fitzgerald since he was 13 had longed to be a famous writer and began his career by writing a short fictional story for his school newspaper. He continued on with his writing after meeting Father Sigourney Fay, a priest from his high school, who told him to follow his dreams and write as much as he could. He was able to achieve success by writing 4 novels in his lifetime.
Failure: At first F. Scott was not able to get anything major published trying many times. He held off his writing for a little after meeting his future wife Zelda leading him to build up some debt. To try and pave his way out he began writing again but wasn't too successful. In turn his wife ended up cheating on him and left him saying that she will get back once he is famous.
Aspiration: F. Scott Fitzgerald since he was 13 had longed to be a famous writer and began his career by writing a short fictional story for his school newspaper. He continued on with his writing after meeting Father Sigourney Fay, a priest from his high school, who told him to follow his dreams and write as much as he could. He was able to achieve success by writing 4 novels in his lifetime.
Failure: At first F. Scott was not able to get anything major published trying many times. He held off his writing for a little after meeting his future wife Zelda leading him to build up some debt. To try and pave his way out he began writing again but wasn't too successful. In turn his wife ended up cheating on him and left him saying that she will get back once he is famous.
Independent Reading- MP1
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
9.30: Page 70
10.18: Page 150
10.28: Rest of book
The setting of my book is in the South during the 1920's- 30's.
My book is about an African American woman named Janine who is trying to follow her dream while growing up in South/central Florida. She has to struggle with one being black and two being a woman.
Characters: Janine Crawford, Tea Cake, Pheoby Watson, Jody Starks, Logan Killicks There are a few other people but do not have any impact so far on the story. The people mentioned all have something that connects them to each other. Janine was married to Tea, Jody, and Logan. Her best friend is Pheoby who is with her most of the novel.
Some themes so far include language/speech- even though she doesn't have the best vocabulary she still uses her voice strongly, power- they want the power to achieve something that they normally can not have, love/relationship, race/racism
The time period that this book takes place in is during a rough time in America in the South. Even though it wasn't all just in the South racism was very much looked upon as normal custom. For many African American women to be successful in this era a lot of hard work and struggle had to be dealt with.
Zora Neale Hurston
9.30: Page 70
10.18: Page 150
10.28: Rest of book
The setting of my book is in the South during the 1920's- 30's.
My book is about an African American woman named Janine who is trying to follow her dream while growing up in South/central Florida. She has to struggle with one being black and two being a woman.
Characters: Janine Crawford, Tea Cake, Pheoby Watson, Jody Starks, Logan Killicks There are a few other people but do not have any impact so far on the story. The people mentioned all have something that connects them to each other. Janine was married to Tea, Jody, and Logan. Her best friend is Pheoby who is with her most of the novel.
Some themes so far include language/speech- even though she doesn't have the best vocabulary she still uses her voice strongly, power- they want the power to achieve something that they normally can not have, love/relationship, race/racism
The time period that this book takes place in is during a rough time in America in the South. Even though it wasn't all just in the South racism was very much looked upon as normal custom. For many African American women to be successful in this era a lot of hard work and struggle had to be dealt with.
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