Heroic traits and tragic traits

Caesar-
He was very ambitious to be able to get what he wanted.
He was determined the get what he wanted. 
Tragic traits

Ignorance

Overly confident

Headstrong

Hunger for power

http://www.amazing-planet.net/slike/lastwords/Julius_Caesar.jpg


Brutus- 
He had leadership qualities. 
He was able to convice people easily.
He didn't show much emotion even when times were not good.  
He could get people to follow him.
Tragic traits

Trusting to easily

To extreme

Believed the motives of others

Puts public life before private life

Naive

Impulsive

25 random facts

1. My first dog's name was Amber
2. I dislike writing blog posts for school
3. I can count to ten in 3 languages
4. I don't like most country music
5. I have a freckle on my big toe on my left foot
6. I share the same birthday as Daniel Radcliffe
7. My favorite color is green
8. I have brown eyes
9. Football is my favorite sport
10. I have never been outside of the country
11. My middle name is Scott
12. My favorite season of the year is summer
13. I used to play baseball
14. I don’t have a favorite food
15. I have a trophy in my room for dodgeball
16. I have never broken a bone
17. I had braces for three years
18. I have lived in the same nieghborhood all my life but not the same house.
19. When I was little, I used to wakeup at 6 every morning
20. The latest I have slept till is 1 in the afternoon
21. My favorite channel on TV is the NFL network
22. The furthest west I have been is Texas
23. I have never gotten a dentention in all my lifetime
24. The hardest class in school ive had is Mr. Perry's Earth Science class Freshman year.
25. My favorite NFL team is the Baltimore Ravens

Symbols

Symbol list

Roots of trees- African people without any roots

Pear tree- Janie's budding womanhood

Mule - Black women get the worst treatment. Logan buys Janie a mule to represent how he is tired of treating Janie like a princess or white woman, he wants her to do heavy labor on the farm 

Gate and the road - related to he metaphor at the beginning of the book. The Gate is the shore and the road represents the waves as Janie looks down the road to find a new dream

The New Horizon- Janie is constantly looking over the gatepost, down the road, to a new horizon ( a dream or new start).

The Eatonville General  store- Represents the center of this first all-black town.

The illumination of the lamp post represents the start of a new all-black town. It also shows that Joe Starks is all-powerful and likes others to bow down to him, including Janie.

Joe and Janie's two story house - seems to represent his similarity to a plantation owner, while the hard-working townspeople live in small shack style homes like servants quarters .

Tobacco spittoon- this Represents again how wealthy Joe is

Guitar- playful side of people

Overalls- working side  equality

Janie's head rag- Bondage to Joe

Janie's long braid - freedom

Color blue- Tea Cake and Janie's proof of love for each other

Fishing- Sharing relationship

Checkers- Janie's equality with Tea Cake

Packet of seeds- new life and remembering

Booker/ Ms. Turner- racism within a race

Muck- The dirt working class, rich, growth

Hurricane- God's almighty power

Rabid dog-  When good happens life changes

Book review

I read the novel Their eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I liked part of the book but i disliked other parts. Overall, it was an okay book. At some parts the book was very slow because not much happened in a few chapters. The last chapters seemed rushed because so much was crammed into the last chapters. The book was wrapped up and some of the loose ends weren't tied up at the end. It left you hanging. I thought the author was a little harsh on the main character ( even though the main character Janie isn't real). In the story, every one of Janie's relationship companions was either abusive or died. At the end, you had to guess what happened becuase the author didn't tell you what happened after the story was over.
In all the novel was not bad but it also was not a really good story. 

Their eyes Questions

1.       The Ship metaphor is showing that you can’t just wait for something you have to make it happen

2.       The towns people talk about Janie behind her back and gossip about her

3.       Phoebe Watson wants to know what happened to Janie so Janie tells her story

4.       Janie tells her story to Phoebe because she wants someone to know the truth of what happened to her.

5.       Nanny raises Janie because both Janie’s parents have left her and gone away.

6.       She sees in a picture that was taken of a group of people and that was the first time she saw herself and she was different than everyone else because she was black.

7.       The pear tree is a symbol of love for Janie

8.       Nanny saw Janie kissing Johnny Taylor

9.       Nanny doesn’t want Janie to end up like herself.

10.   Nanny doesn’t believe in romantic love

11.   Janie doesn’t want to marry Logan because she doesn’t love him and she thinks he is old.

12.    Janie thinks that she will fall in love with him now that she is married to him. She is wrong and does not fall in love.

13. She finds out that being married to someone does not make you fall in love with someone.

14. Logan becomes tired of Janie overtime and stops being romantic towards her and he wants her to do more work around the farm.

15. She thought he was very wealthy and nice to her.

16. She decides to run off with Joe because he would treat her better than Logan would.

17. They thought there was nothing there except for a few run down homes and woods. It was very disappointing to them.

18. His goals are to help build up the town and get a mayor for the town.

19. He gets the town more land and puts in a post office and a new store.

20. They liked that he was doing all the things to help the town but they didn’t like the way he told people what to do.

21.  An advantage was that she had money and she was highly respected in the town. Her husband is very busy all the time because he is the mayor.

22. Janie dislikes working in the store. She doesn’t like the bandanna she has to wear on her head.

23.   Joe does not think women should have the same rights as men. He won’t let her play checkers.

24. The head rag symbolizes the control of Joe over Janie

25.

26. Joe buys the mule from Matt because it was a gift for Janie

27.

28. Janie didn’t make him dinner the right way

29.

30.

31. Janie was not sad about Joe’s death. She had money and a house to live in and all without Joe.

32. Janie made it look like she was sad at the funeral when she wasn’t

33. Janie wanted another man but she wasn’t sure of how soon she would after Joe’s death

34. Tea Cake came into the shop that Janie worked at during the day while everyone was at the baseball game and they hung out and played checkers.

35.  Tea Cake purposefully chose that time of day because everyone else was at the game and he knew he would get time alone with Janie.

36.  Men did not let women play checkers and it was a sign of equality that Tea Cake let Janie play checkers.

37. She liked him and it was a flirty word she used to mean that he was odd.

Zora Neale Hurston Critics

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, it shows what people thought African Americans acted like in their lives. The author of the book, Zora Neale Hurston, was greatly criticized for the portrayal of African American life. The book included many stereotypical events that made some writers like Richard Wright, very angry. Richard Wright openly criticized Zora Neale Hurston's book and made people not want to read the book because of how stereotypical the book seemed. The part that made Richard Wright so infuriated was that Zora Neale Hurston was African American, so people who read the book thought the stereotypes were true because it had been written by an African American.  Some of the stereotypes were that African American men were abusive of their wives. In the novel, the main character Janie was married to a man named Joe. Joe was nice at first but when Janie started to disobey him, he slapped her across the face. 

Harlem

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement where African American literature started to be recognized for their literary abilities.

 It started in the early 1920's to 1930's after World War I.

 It gets its name because it was centered in a neighborhood called Harlem.

There were advances in African American theater, music, art, and politics.

 Critics began to take African American literature and music seriously.

 In the time between the 1920's to the 1930's 16 African American writers published more than 50 volumes of poetry and fictional stories.

  African American artists made a big impact in the art world with their music, paintings, and theater.

 The works produced during the Harlem Renaissance was appealing to mixed audiences.

 Blues and jazz music were a big part of the Harlem Renaissance.

African American performers performed for mixed audiences.

 This was the first time that this happened.

Louis Armstrong was a trumpet player, singer, and popular entertainer. He was a bug influence on American jazz music. He played jazz music and R&B music. He was best known for his trumpet playing. He is one of the most well known trumpet players of his time. He lived form 1901 to 1971. 

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/photos/profile/louisarmstrongbio.jpg

Duke Ellington was an american pianist and composer. He lived form 1899 to 1974. He composed jazz music and other popular music. He composed over 2,000 pieces of music. He composed swing music. He was most known for his abilities in playing the piano. 

 http://www.allaboutjazz.com/media/large/a/4/0/65ec271297e71ee8e333736565ae6.jpg


Claude McKay was a writer during the harlem renissance. He lived from 1890 to 1948. Home to Harlem was his first published book.  He was originally form Jamaica.  He was known for his stories and poems about African Americans. 

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/mckay/mckay_a.jpg 

Final Project Powerpoint

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AWT9YjS5RFE-ZGc1YzZxcmNfMGt0aGI0ZGZq&hl=en&authkey=CIqV97ML

Characterization Chart

Chapter 1

Page 4

Quote: " He wasn't carrying anywhere near as much food and gear as you'd expect a guy be carrying for that kind of trip"

Impression: Chris was unprepared and he didn't seem to know what he needed to survive.

Page 6

Quote: "But he wouldn't give an inch. He had an answer for everything I threw at him."

Impression: Chris was stubborn and he was determined to survive in the wilderness no matter what anyone said.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Page 18

Quote: "It was a different story with Alex. He was the hardest worker I've ever seen"

Impression: Chris knew how valuable the job was to him, so he put in all of his effort.

Page 19

Chris gave a copy of War and Peace to Wayne Westerberg

Impression: Chris felt that he was close to Wayne and wanted to show it by giving Wayne a copy of one of his favorite books.

Chapter 4

Chris burned the rest of his money because he didn't think he would need it

Impression: Chris seems a little crazy for burning his money. He should have kept it just in case he ran into trouble. He was a bit unreasonable.

Chris bought a canoe to ride down the Colorado River

Impression: Chris was very adventurous and he seems like the kind of person that craves excitement.

Chapter 5

Chris doesn't like to wear socks

Impression: Chris feels like socks contain and he doesn’t like to wear them because he feels contained. He likes the feeling of being free.

Chris was offended when the manager at McDonald's asked him if he needed soap.

Impression: Chris was very proud of what he had and he didn't want to take something from someone else.

Chapter 6

Page 51

" Look, Mr. Franz, you don't need to worry about me. I have a college education. I'm not a destitute . I'm living like this by choice" - Chris

Impression: Chris feels that he can support himself and he feels that no one needs to help him. He wants to be self- sufficient.

Chris writes a letter to Ron Franz telling him to go do what he has always wanted to do.

Impression: Chris doesn't let things prevent him from going and doing what he wants. He lives life like it was his last day to live.

Chapter 7

Chris didn't like rebelled against his parents when he graduated college.

Impression : Chris didn't like authority. He hated being told what to do.

Chris didn't drain the grease before cooking the chicken.

Impression : Chris is very smart but sometimes he lacks common sense.

Chapter 8

Page 71
" the author describes a man who has given away a small fortune, forsaken a loving family, abandoned his car, watch and map and burned the last of his money before traipsing off into the wilderness"

Impression: Chris was crazy because who would give that up? He had what most people want.

" Forget Boy Scout rule number one: be prepared?"

Impression: Chris was not ready to go into the wilderness. He lacked common sense because you need to be prepared before doing something like this.

Chapter 10

People had a hard time producing evidence that they knew Chris

Impression: Chris wanted to not have connections that let people know who he really was. He wanted to make a new life for himself.

Page 102

" Chris almost always had short hair and  was clean shaven"

Impression: Chris had let himself grow  his hair to show that he had changed.

Chapter 11

Page 107

" He could be alone without being lonely"

Impression: Chris was self sufficient and he didn't need other people.

Page 109

" but Chris wanted to keep going to the top"

Impression: Chris wanted to finish what he started. He liked to push the boundary.

Chapter 12

Page 118

" Chris said how much he respected Dad for starting from nothing"

Impression : even though he didn't get along with his father, Chris showed appreciation for what his father had done.

Page 120

Chris told people only what they needed to know.

Impression: Chris was a simple person and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to details

Chapter 13

 page 128

" Chris was crazy about Buck"

Impression: Chris seemed like he was an animal person.

Page 128

" His expression is identical"

Impression: Chris didn't change much over the years.

Chapter 14

Page 135

Chris was only 24 when he went to live in Alaska

Impression : Chris was a little too young to be trying to live in the wilderness of Alaska

Page 134

" I now walk into the wild'

Impression: Chris knew he was risking his life. He didn't seem to care though.

Chapter 15

Page 155

"like Chris McCandless, I  was a raw youth who mistook passion for insight"

Impression: Chris was very passionate about what he wanted to do.

Chapter 16

Page 159

" He wasn't what you would call a typical hitchhiker"

Impression: Chris seemed like he was friendly to most people.

Page 160

Chris  wouldn't call his parents

Impression: he was proud and didn't want his parents to know where he was.

Chapter 17

Page 173

" unlike McCandless however, I have in my backpack a topographical map"

Impression: Chris was unprepared

Page 185

Chris had made some dumb mistakes

Impression: Chris didn't know exactly what he was doing. He just did what he wanted.


Final Thoughts:
 I thought that Chris McCandless was not like a normal person. He had an unorthodox way of living. He was very bright but lacked a little common sense. He was self reliant and hated taking things from others. His lack of common sense and self reliance is what got him killed in Alaska. He was prepared to a point. He had all the things he needed in the begining of his trip. His problem was he decided to get rid of those things and to not rely on them because he thought he could live in the wilderness by himself with nothing but the land. He was not native to the land so he had no idea how harsh it was to live off the land in Alaska. He had the mental thought of he could do anything and there was nothing that he wouldn't try.  His mental ideas and thoughts was eventually what put him in the situation to starve to death.

Quotes Blog

Jack London

White Fang

" A Vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the Spirit of it was not even that of sadness. "

Page 9

This Quote relates to Chris McCandless  because he is in the wilderness. There is nothing but Chris in the wilderness. He was not sad about it either. It is What he wanted to do. He was not miserable even though it was very cold.

http://www.esquire.com/cm/esquire/images/esq-02-jack-london-other-111709-lg-46139930.jpg

Leo Tolstoy

Family Happiness

" I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life"

Page 15

This quote relates to Chris very well. It explains why he was seeking his adventure into the wilderness. He wanted excitement and danger. The only way to get this was to go to Alaska. It was his way of getting his energy out.

 http://www.linguadex.com/tolstoy/tolstoy_big.jpg

Theodore Roszak

In Search of the Miraculous   

" In may, after all, be the bad habit of creative talents to invest themselves in pathological extremes that yield remarkable insights but no durable way of life for those who cannot translate their psychic wounds into significant art or thought"  

Page 70

This quote relates to Chris in his thinking. It is saying that people with extreme ideas sometimes can not think logically about small details. People who have had psychological wounds have a hard time healing, but they do this by extreme activities. For example, Chris's family problems might have led him to go to Alaska and try to live in the wilderness.

 http://events.stanford.edu/events/245/24585/AVT2_Roszak_830.pjpeg.jpg

1 Timothy 4:12

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

This is one of my favorite quotes because it shows that anyone can set an example. It shows that anyone can make a difference. This related to Chris because even though he was young, he set an example of how people should treat each other with an open mind.

Into The Wild Questions

1.            What is the personal history of Chris McCandless? He grew up in Washington D.C and he went to college at Emory University. (Page 1 to 2)

2.            What themes does Jon Krakauer introduce in the “Author’s Note”? It was for the reader to decide whether Chris McCandless had courage or if he was just insane. Page 3 of Authors note.

3.            What is the purpose of the quoted material at the start of Chapter One? It is to introduce the story and give background information. Page 3

4.            Who is Alex? Alex is a young man who wanted to try to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. It is also the name Chris McCandless calls himself instead of using his first name.  

5.            Who is Jim Gallien, and how did he meet McCandless? Jim Gallien was an electrician who was driving on the road outside Fairbanks and he met McCandless on the side of the road because McCandless was hitchhiking. Page 4.

6.            What was Gallien’s assessment of McCandless? He though that McCandless was friendly looking but he lacked the supplies for the trip he was about to take. Pages 3 to 4.

7.            What kind of advice did Gallien give McCandless? He tried to convince him it was a bad idea (page 5)

8.            What was McCandless’s response to Gallien’s offer?  Also, what gift did Gallien give to McDandless? He gave him boots. (Page 7)

9.            Why did Gallien decide not to alert the authorities about McCandless? He thought that McCandlees would give up after a few hours. (7)

10.          Gallien’s statement that McCandless would “probably get hungry pretty quick and just walk out to the highway.  That’s what any normal person would do,” is an example of the literary device of irony of situation.  What is ironic about the statement? Chris McCandless wasn’t the normal person.

11.  Why would Krakauer include a quote from another author such as Jack London as the heading for this chapter? It introduces the title of the book and Chris liked Jack London’s books. (Page 9)

12.  What is the purpose of the detailed descriptions of Mt. McKinley, Denali, and the Stampede Trail? It was to show the type of terrain to get an understanding of the Environment. (Page 11)

13. What was considered to be the cause of Chris McCandless’s death? Starvation was thought to be the cause of death. (Page 14)

14. Who is Wayne Westerberg and how do Wayne and Chris get along? Wayne Westerberg was a man who employed Chris while he was in South Dakota. Wayne and Chris got along well. (Page 16)

15.  Local color is introduced when a writer uses regional or colorful terms to present an image of a distinct area or culture.  The terms “leather tramp” and “rubber tramp” qualify as examples of local color.  What culture do they describe, and what is the difference between rubber tramps and leather tramps? Rubber tramps had cars and leather tramps were on foot. (Page

16. Why did the author say that McCandless found a “surrogate family in Westerberg and his employees”? He felt close to the employees and thought of them almost as family.

17.  Why did McCandless leave Carthage? He left because Wayne was arrested and in jail. (Page 21)

18.  How does the reader know that War and Peace was important to McCandless? He spoke highly of it. It was one of his favorite books. (Page 19)

19.  Describe McCandless’s early years and family life.

20.  What clues did McCandless give that he was out of step with the commercialism of contemporary society?

21.  What change did McCandless make that symbolized the new life he expected to build after he left Atlanta? He changed his name to Alex Supertramp. (Page 23)

22.  The head note to this chapter concludes that people go to the desert “not to escape but to find reality.” How does this statement apply to Chris? Chris is setting out to find out about himself.

23.  Who is Jan Burres, and how did she figure into Chris’s travels? Jan Burres was a “rubber tramp” and she offered Chris a ride in her car. (Page 30)

24.  Describe the trip that Chris took in the old metal canoe that Chris bought in Topock, Arizona. It was a long trip that took him all over the southwest U.S and northwestern Mexico. (Page 35)

25.  This chapter contains numerous excerpts from the journal Chris kept.  What is noticeable about the writing in his account of his Mexican adventure? He struggled finding his way around in Mexico. (Page 35) 

26.  Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the individual’s responsibility and free will to direct the course of his/her life.  What existential conclusion does Chris reach when leaving Las Vegas?  (Look at end of chapter 4 for ideas.)

27.  What kind of life did Chris lead in Bullhead City? He led a simple life of a homeless person until he was offered a place to stay. (Page 41)

28.  Describe the conditions and the residents of the Slab.  Note some of the local color that makes this community memorable. The slabs consisted of people trying to avoid things in the real world. (Page 43)

29.  What character traits and skills does Jan Burres recount about Chris in chapter 5? She said he was a people person and he had musical talent (page 43)

30.  What was Jan Burres’s assessment of Chris’s ability to survive in Alaska? (End of chapter 5)  She thought he would come out alive. (Page 46)

31.  Who was Ron Franz, and how did he enter the story?  What does Krakauer think about the relationship between Franz and McCandless? He was an 80 year old man and he was inspired by McCandless. They met when Franz offered McCandless a ride back to his camp. (Page 59).

32.  What is Anza-Borrego? It was a State Park. (Page 48)

33.  What was the tragedy of Ron Franz’s life? While he was in the army a drunk driver got into a car accident with his family and killed them. (Page 50) 

34.  How did he feel about Chris and what request did he make of Chris? He thought of Chris almost as family.

35.  What role did leather making take in their relationship? It brought them closer together. (Page 51)

36.  The author gives a brief character analysis of McCandless after recounting that Franz dropped him off in Colorado.  What does the author say about McCandless?

37.  When Chris sent Franz a letter from Carthage, what advice did Chris give to Franz and how did Franz respond to this letter? Chris told Ron he needed to see the world before he was too old and Franz listened to that advice. (Page 57)

38.  How did Ron Franz learn that McCandless had died and how did this death change Franz’s life? He learned it form two men on a bus on his way home. This made Franz turn atheist.  (Page 60)

39.  Why was Wayne Westerberg annoyed at the beginning of chapter Seven? His combine had broken down. (Page 62)

40.  What is the author’s analysis of the relationship between McCandless and his father?  How did Chris feel about his sister Carine?

41.  What is the purpose of including the full story of Gene Rossellini?   His story was similar to Chris’s. (Page 75)

42.  What motivated Krakauer to include the story of John Waterman? It showed how there were other people like Chris who were unprepared. (Page 77)

43.  Finally, what is the purpose of including the story of Chris McCunn in the narrative? It showed how being unprepared could kill you in the wilderness. (Page 83)

44.  Summarize the story of Everett Ruess and his fascination with the American West and natural beauty.

45.  What Ken Sleight’s conclusion about Ruess and McCandless?

Where I Want to Go

If I could go anywhere in the United States I would choose to got to a place called Destin, Florida. It is a place that is located on the panhandle of Florida along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.  It is known for its beautiful beaches with clear turquoise colored water and white sand. It is also a destination for winter vacations because it is still spring like weather even in the winter.  On February 11, 2011, the high temperature of the day was 50 degrees F.  I would get there by plane. First I would have to get a ride to BWI ( Baltimore Washington International ) Airport . Then I would  fly to Fort Walton Beach Airport.                From that Airport I would get a taxi ride to Destin.           

My grandparents always travel to Destin  every year so I could always hitch a ride with them. What I know about Destin I have been told about by my grandparents. I would want to go there because I have seen pictures of the beaches and I would like to see the beaches with my own eyes.  The water is a light blue to turquoise color.  Also, the sand is white and it looks like snow because the color was such a pure white color. The reason the color is so white is that the sand is made of crushed quartz. Also, many people have said that when they walk on the sand it makes a sqeaking type of noise because it is made up of quartz. If I went there I would have fun at the beach. After hanging out on the beach I would then explore the city.          

                                           http://www.destin-florida-i.com/images/destin2-03003.jpg

http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2096019409_798eae2b8d.jpg

Jon Krakauer

Jon Krakaur was born in 1954 in Oregon. His father introduced him to mountianeering at a very young age. In May of 1996 he climbed Mt. Everest. He wrote a book called Into Thin Air that was about his climb of Mt. Everest. He also wrote the book Into the Wild. It was about Chris McCandless's journey in the wilderness of Alaska. He is still living today. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/krakauer/author.html

http://www.newnewjournalism.com/authors/Jon_Krakauer.jpg

Into the Wild

For English class we ar about to read the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. The book describes a two year wilderness trek of   Christopher McCandless. Christopher survived about 119 day in the wilderness of Alaska. He kept a journal of his journey. He collected food from plants and hunted moose while he was in the wilderness. It was thought that he died from eating a poisonous plant. It was also thought tha the bag in which he stored food contained mold that was poisonous. When he ate the food the poison from the mold killed him. No one knows excatly how he died. Information from wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild#Summary

new quarter

It is now the third quarter in school this year. We are reading a "Midsummer's Night's Dream" by Shakespeare. We have read up through act 4 and it was actually boring. It was boring because it focused to much on the sounding of the words that not much happened in the story. There was not enough occuring events in the story to keep me interested in the story. After we finish we will be reading another book Into the Wild. hopefully this story will be more interesting. The tird quarter is not a whole lot different. There are still the same things going on as there have been alll year long.

dreams

I have had some odd dreams in the lately.  Some of the details are hard to remember because when I think about it my memory of it starts to fade. One of my most recent dreams that I remember is one from two nights ago. I was talking to my ex-girlfriend and having a fun time and we were talking about the god times we had over the past year. Then all of sudden we started to argue about something. I don’t remember exactly what it was about. But then we started yelling at each other for no reason.  She said she was in a relationship with someone else and was mad that I had chosen to look for other girls even though she had already been in a relationship with someone else before I stated looking for other girls. It was confusing, but after that the dream just faded and I woke up.