To begin our blogging discussions for the school year, please respond to the following questions:
-What is your favorite literary work? (This can be a novel, short story, poem, or drama.)
-Describe the elements and/or characteristics of the work that made the work enjoyable for you.
-What is one goal you would like to set for yourself for this school year (with respect to this class)? Explain your reasoning.
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ReplyDeleteOne of my recent favorite literacy works would have to be The Catcher in the Rye. There are many elements in this book that I enjoy. One of the elements that I like is that it is told in the perspective of a young adult who is in college and is just at the point of his life where he has to start making his own decisions. This books shows how Holden struggles to grow up which fascinates me because I like seeing different young adult's growing up in their own way and dealing with problem's. I also like that in many parts of the novel Holden is depressed or lonely, and even though he is usually not happy he still deals with life and tries to find happiness in his sister. One goal that I would like to set for myself for this school year would be to improve my writing and interpreting skills. I have struggled with writing in the past and have been improving so I would like to continue that. I would also like to improve on interpreting skills by spending more time with a piece of literature and finding all the elements in that work. Improvement in these two goals will help me reach my all time goal by getting the best grade I can in English.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite literary work is “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou. One of the best things about this poem is the use of imagery. I also like the varied emotions. It goes from joyful to sorrowful with each stanza, making it more effective. However the main reason I like this poem is the message it carries: the idea of freedom. Although it is represented in the poem as a bird, the idea can be applied to any part of society today. Rather it be racial equality or freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteI have many goals for this class. The most important one is to improve on my literary responses, especially ones that are timed. I say this because on past tests and exercises I have found it difficult to finish on time. I would like to learn how to narrow down the information I provide so I can be more efficient in the time I have. This will improve my test scores and better prepare me for the future. Another improvement I could make would be on my ability to write a literary analysis. Although I have improved tremendously over the past year I could still use some more experience writing them.
As I have grown to like many different literary works lately, The Secret Life of Bees is my all time favorite. I enjoy this novel for many different reasons. Foremost, I like the idea of a happy ending, which this book has. Lily, the lead in the novel, has a harsh upbringing with the death of her mother and a neglectful father. With that being said, she finds happiness and love from a complete stranger who takes her in and gives her guidance. I also love this book because it is such a simple read, yet fulfilling, and, in the end, feels like you were there with Lily every step of the way.
ReplyDeleteMy goal this year is to improve my writing skills, and I aim to improve my grammar and punctuation, as I have struggled with those for years. I feel like this is a good goal to have as it would obviously help me in English class, but also in all my other classes. I feel this way because writing is something you in which you can constantly get better, and is a skill that is needed in life.
My favorite book changes very frequently, but currently it is The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen. It is a novel taking place during the turn of the twentieth century. I remember I used to loath historical fiction until I started reading this series. I must have taken the first book out ten times before I finally decided to read it. Then I finished the four hundred pages in a day and a half. Though the book is written in third person with five main characters, it seems like it is almost first person because of the limited perspective. Each chapter is through a different character’s eyes. I like this style because it is how I usually write. The imagery is beautiful, too, especially when the author describes the Victorian dress. Mostly, though, I just love learning about the time period. Since I read this series, all I ever read is historical fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe goal I want to set for myself this year is writing better timed essays. When I am at home writing a lit or other paper, I can think and come up with good theses (sometimes) and supporting paragraphs, but in class during the half hour or so we have to answer an essay test question, I completely freeze. My theses make no sense or they are completely unsupported. I don’t feel I have time to write well or find useful quotes. On top of that, I’m worrying in my mind about how my grade will reflect this, which only ends up slowing me down more. I don’t know how to help this, but I really hope to work on it this year.
My favorite literary work at the moment is Animal Farm by George Orwell. Although I don't actually know all of the history on which the book is based, Animal Farm is enjoyable as a story by itself. As an animal rights activist, the idea that certain animals, including humans, will always be viewed as higher than other animals ("some animals are more equal than others") bothers me. After reading Animal Farm, I read Nineteen Eighty-Four, and loved seeing the similarities between the two, especially how history was continuously rewritten in both stories. I think Orwell is a great storyteller, and the humor he slips in makes his works entertaining to read, even among the feelings of terror and helplessness they evoke.
ReplyDeleteOne of my goals for English class this year is to improve my grammar usage. I feel that everything I write is incorrect, and that words are always out of place. Many of my papers last year had red marks for "awkward phrasing" and similar errors. I notice that I often struggle to find the correct word to use, and then mess up the entire sentence because of it. I think that reading more, both in English class and outside of class, will help improve my grammar because I will get used to seeing what is correct, even when I'm not specifically learning the rules. Also, I will try to work on learning the difference between phrasing that one would use while speaking casually and phrasing that one would use in a formal paper.