Of Mice and Men Blog post

Logan McCormick

Mrs. Parkinson

English 3B

14 March 2016

How does Of Mice and Men talk about racism and segregation?

    In the book Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, racism and segregation are key aspects. This is especially true in chapter 4 because this is when the reader is introduced to Crooks. Cooks lives in his own living area due to the color of his skin. As Crooks says in Chapter 4,”’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink’”(Steinbeck 68). At first Crooks appeals to the audience as an old grumpy man that doesn’t want the company of Lennie, but as you read about Crooks life working at the ranch you come to realize that he has developed this attitude toward others from all of the times he has been excluded or mistreated because he was black. Some may say that Crooks is not a victim of racism because he has his own room and his own furniture. However, this statement only analyzes the point of view of another person and not the view of Crooks. In the time period of which the book takes place is a time when African Americans were still segregated but had earned some respect.  

"America" poetry analysis

Logan McCormick

Mrs. Parkinson

English 3B

7 March 2016

Claude McKay was a famous and very important writer from the Harlem renaissance that wrote “America” in the 1920’s. Throughout this poem McKay explains his views on America at the time. McKay starts the poem America by saying, “she feeds me bread of bitterness,”(McKay) and then he goes on to say “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth”(McKay). These quotations explain that although America is a very bitter place, he loves the country because it challenges him.

During the Harlem renaissance African Americans were facing both struggle and opportunities. The poem shows this by shifting its tone between the positive and negative connotations of America at the time. Words such as: “darkly”, “terror”, and “malice” support the negative view of America during the Harlem renaissance. As for words such as: “love”, “granite wonders”, and “treasures” show the positive aspect of America in McKay’s point of view at this time.

The Importance of Kindness

In the passage The Importance of Kindness George Saunders, the author, has extraordinary voice. The first time that I watched the video I sat in my chair staring at the screen puzzled. This was because the words were not coming through the audio of the computer. At first I thought that it was supposed to be like that. This leads me to the first aspect of the writer's voice which is the narrative techniques employed throughout the passage.  As I watched the video I could easily see the movement through the story as each picture changed all the way to the end where the video became much brighter. This is exactly how the passage was built. The passage started by describing everything in great detail. Then it went on to show the greater meaning of the passage. The story was about a girl that the narrator use to have as a neighbor. The girl was described as “small, shy. She wore these blue cat’s-eye glasses that, at the time, only old ladies wore”(Saunders). This shows the author is using imagery as he describes the character in the story. Also, though the imagery of Ellen chewing on her hair you are able to better understand the character. The author also uses dialogue such as, “Does your hair taste good?”(Saunders). This dialogue made the reader feel sorry for the main character, Ellen. By saying this it puts the reader in her shoes and makes them feel sorry. Then, the story comes to a screeching halt by saying, “One day she was there, next day she wasn’t. End of story”(Saunders). As this occurs there is a major shift in tone and voice. The video finishes by talking about the greater idea of this story. This greater idea was that you must always be kind.

Another aspect of voice that can be studied by this piece is how perceptivity is exhibited. This means that the author shows a keen insight or understanding of the story. First of all, the narrator has insight on the subject because it happened to him first hand. This allows the narrator to have a more casual tone as he speaks. This insight is shown by the imagery that the author uses. An example of this is “eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked, as if, having just been reminded of her place in things, she was trying, as much as possible, to disappear”(Saunders). This use of imagery allows the reader to be able to see the story from the point of view of the narrator, who is speaking from experience. Everything the first half of the story is seen from the narrator's point of view. Therefore, everything that happens is shown with great detail.

A third insight of voice from The Importance of Kindness is the use of surprising observations and information. This narrator uses surprise to end the story telling that occurs in the first half of the writing. In the writing it directly says, “End of story”(Saunders). This shifts the idea of the writing from a story to a greater meaning. The text also includes small details that authenticate the text. An example of this is when the narrator says, “After awhile she’d drift away, hair-strand still in her mouth”(Saunders). This quote explains in detail how the character would walk away after being teased. Finally in the end as the narrator talks about the greater meaning of the text the author uses rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions to create a matter-of-fact tone.

Blog #2

One moment from the end of chapter 16 that creates a strong vignette is when Holden goes to the museum. The author uses lots of imagery to create a picture in the readers mind of what the museum looks like as Holden walks through it. Holden especially likes how no matter what the exhibits in the museums never move. "Nobody'd be different. The only thing that would be different is you"(Salinger 158). This means that as the exhibits never change and the birds flying south in the museum will always be flying south no matter when you come. However, every time you go to the museum you have have changed since the last time that you were there. This shows how such a simple thing such as visiting a museum can have a deeper meaning.

Blog Option One

The rattle in the car and the baseball mitt have one similarity. This similarity is that they both have a symbolic meaning. The symbolic meaning of the baseball mitt is for Holden to always remember his brother Allie who died. The symbolic meaning of the rattle in the car is it’s just like a thorn in your side that only you can deal with.

In the article the author uses the rattle in the newish car to show that if that was her biggest problem of the day then she should be extremely fortunate. She goes on to say that this so called problem is really just a small thorn in her side. The author explains that everyone has a rattle, and that rattle provides you with comfort once you realize what it is and can get over it.

The second half of this article can definitely relate to Holden in The Catcher in the Rye because Holden’s rattle is Allie’s baseball mitt. Allie’s baseball mitt is Holden’s rattle because it gives him comfort because he understands everything about the mitt. Also, the mitt bring back the memories that Holden made with his brother Allie. In the article the narrator says “I hope this moment of understanding and acknowledgement gives you some comfort” (Darynkagan). This shows that by Holden being able to understand his rattle he is able to get comfort from it.

Monster summer entry #4

          The first thing that caught my eye when I was looking for a summer reading book was definitely the title, Monster.  For the title being only one word, it really got my attention. On the cover, Monster, is written in all caps and creates a dark and suspenseful feeling to the book before I even started reading the book. The first connection I made to my book is that I am almost the same age as Steve Harmon.  He is already 16 and I’m 15.  Another personal connection that I can make is that Steve always kept faith in himself no matter how bad things got and that’s something I have to do when I am in tough situation.

I really liked Monster by Walter Dean Myers and I definitely would recommend it to most of my friends.  Especially to my friends that have an interest in someday working in the court system; such as becoming a lawyer.  Honestly, I would recommend this to almost anyone in my grade because most of us are almost 16 or turning 16 which is the same age as the main character, Steve Harmon. Overall I very much enjoyed reading this book as my summer novel.

Monster summer entry #3

“I know she thinks I’m guilty.  I can feel it when we sit together on the bench they have assigned for us.  She writes down what is being said, and what is being said about me, and she adds it all up to guilty.  “I’m not guilty,” I said to her.  “”You should have said ‘I didn’t do it,’” she said.  “I didn’t do it,” I said.”(Myers 138).

            This quote is the dialogue between Steve Harmon and his attorney, Kathy O’Brien.  At the beginning of this quote from my book Steve is saying that he doesn’t trust his attorney. This is because he just doesn’t feel that she believes that Steve is actually innocent.  The next part of the quote is when Steve states that he is not guilty.  However Mrs. O’Brien says that saying he is not guilty is not the same as saying that he did not commit the crime that he is now being tried for.  As I read this line the first time I didn’t really understand why this mattered so much. If you think about it a little though it starts to make sense of what the difference between saying, “I’m not guilty,” and “I didn’t do it”.  The main difference between these two phrases is the confidence that you need to have to say I didn’t do it.  However, in the long run from Steve’s point of view he is being wrongly convicted of this crime.