Week 9 Progress

 1. Review. 

How do you feel about your progress so far?  

I feel very good about my progress so far, I am very happy with the grade I have at this time. One of my fears when I was thinking about returning to school, was I what if I failed? I can happily say that I am not failing and have the motivation needed to transfer and graduate. 

What are the class assignments that you enjoy the most? 

Honestly, I am enjoying the readings, I have never been a huge reader. During my younger years of school reading, was difficult and I lacked motivation. In this class I have enjoyed most of the readings, some of them I have to re-read them to help me understand it better, some I have not been interested in and have been hard to read, and others I love and don't want the reading to end. 

Are you using any of the extra credit options?

I have used a few of the extra credit options, but since I have been able to stay structured and focused, I have been able to complete almost all of my assignments. 

 

2. Look forward.

Are there any changes you want to make for the second half of the semester, in terms of your participation in the course? 

I like the first half of the semester, it was challenging in the beginning, but then I have gotten used to the format and expectations. I think reading a free choice book is change enough. 

Any mistakes or possible challenges in finishing you want to avoid? 

none at this time. 

Something new you want to try?

Reading the free choice book, is something that I am excited to start and complete by the due date, I can't remember the last time I read a book from start to finish. 

Topic Brainstorm, Week 8, 3 Possible topics

Topic 1: Love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections.

Love: During our readings there has been lots of stories about love, falling in love, love of family, love of culture, love of landscape, and love of one’s self. I the theme of love can be found in many of these stories. I want to compare two stories and discuss how they both have the theme of love and the different ways love is shown.

Topic 2: Think about a theme you see running through your life. Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme. Explore connections between how the theme play out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading.

In the beginning of this class, when I selected this topic for our first analysis, my reason was different. Before I said that I did not see a theme from the readings that were similar to my life, however now that we have read so many more I can relate or connect with some of the stories. There has been a few themes that I can relate and connect with. As I continue to read the next few weeks, if another one presents it’s self then I will choose this topic.

Topic 3: From a piece of fiction choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project.

I would like to choose a female character from a story because I would like to see how the author creates, describes, and has the female play a part in the story. The female role will show how the author feels towards woman and can be a reflection how they feel in real life. Females did not often have a main role in a stories, they were not treated as equal as they are now. Different authors have different views and I will be able see how this author views woman.

Literary Analysis, Week 8, From Martin Eden

The passage from, From Martin Eden, by Jack London, left me feeling very sad because a passage went from childhood memories of being beat up for years and not giving up to Martin earning everything he could have wanted, but gives up on life. London used many literary devices in the passage.

The first literary device was flash back, Martin was in his apartment and frustrated that his writings were being returned from the publishers. He then shared his childhood memories about being bullied and beat up on and off for many years, which ended in a huge gang fight that left him with a broken arm and so angry that he could not stop punching his attack, Cheese-face, he had lost control of himself. These memories tell moments when he was as young as six years until he was eighteen and how these moments made him a fighter in life and not give up.

The second literary device used was conflict, London writes about how Martin is having inter conflict with himself, later in Martin's life, when he becomes famous for his writings and has a lot of money, but he talks about how unhappy he is in life and he does not like to be around others. He goes to the doctors because he feels like something is wrong with himself, he is told that he is psychical healthy. "It was his "thinking machine" that had gone wrong, and there was no cure for that except to get away to the South Seas." pg 366 He boards the Mariposa and is a first class passenger, something he had wanted in the past and thought would be so great, but he was still unhappy. "There was no satisfaction in being awake." pg 367 Martin was miserable, nothing around him made him happy.

Lastly London uses irony and suspense as literary devices. One evening Martin picked up a volume of the Swinburne and he found himself interested and happy. "That was the meaning of it all: he had been drifting that way all the time, and now Swinburne showed him that it was the happy way out."pg 369

"Life was ill, or rather, it had become ill-an unbearable thing. "That dead men rise up never! That lined stirred him with a profound feeling of gratitude. .... When life became an aching weariness, death was ready to soothe away to everlasting sleep."pg 369. Martin climbed through the porthole in his room and went into the milk sea and drowned himself.

Martin gave up on life, he was not happy and although he became a successful writer, he was not happy, the money and all the things he wanted and was able to have were not enough for him in the end.

From Martin Eden, Jack London 356-371

Reading Notes B, Week 8: Jeffers

Robinson Jeffers pg. 407-413 poems about the California landscape, granite, and hawks. Jeffers used many different literary devices in his poems.

Continent’s End:

Literary device: Setting –

“when the earth was veiled in late rain, wreathed with wet poppies, waiting spring,

The ocean swelled for a far storm and beat it’s boundary, the ground swell shook the beds of granite.” pg 408

Tor House:

Literary device: Imagery –

Jeffers uses imagery in this poem, when describing the landscape and the possible changes that will occur as time passes on.

Hurt Hawks

I

Literary device: Suspense –

“The broken pillar of the wing jags from the clotted shoulder,….. and pain a few days: cat nor coyote.”pg 410 Jeffers is talking about a hawk with a broken wing and is he going to survive and get better, or get eaten by a predator.

The Purse-Seine-

Literary device: Plot –

Jeffers is describing fishermen fishing for sardines. Going into the waters at night, spreading the net off of the coastal waters; Monterey, Santa Cruz, New Year’s Point or Pigeon Point when they see the “lakes of the milk-color light on the sea’s” pg 411. The fishermen bring up the nets full of the sardines, sea-lions come to watch.

Carmel Point

Literary device: Simile –

Jeffers describes a beautiful landscape, “unbroken field of poppy and lupin walled on clean cliffs;” and how it is destroyed by all of the homes. He says no to forget the beauty that surrounds us, “Safe as the endless ocean that climbs our cliff….. We must uncenter our minds from ourselves.” Pg 413

Week 8, Reading and Writing

Looking back:  

How are the reading and writing assignments working for you?  

The readings are going well, I have noticed that I have a hard time with analyzing the poems, I enjoy reading other class members analysis of them, they help me understand them better.

The first few weeks I was struggling with the readings and then analysis them, however after I had my meeting, and did a few more writings, they started to get easier.

What has been your favorite reading so far?

About the House Girl

Are your reading notes helping you each week with your story post?

Yes the reading notes really help because I am writing information that will help with the analysis. I choose parts of the passage I liked or stood out to me and then analysis them. I have also been thinking and choosing some of the literally devices used in the passages.

Have you discovered any new reading/research strategies?

This is all been a learning experience for me, since I have not been in school for 11 years. I am using a lot of the information and links you have provided and have also searched the internet for additional resources.

Are you happy with your class project? 

I feel like it was ok, I really appreciated the feedback given to help improve the project. I did not receive any feedback for the final submission and did not make any changes or submit the last submission. I really don’t have a good reason; I just wasn’t able to focus on it to add any additional edits.

What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment(s) in your writing for this class?

I would consider this whole class and all of the writings an accomplishment, I had never started, published or posted on a blog before. I feel great about this class and the writings, I am able to submit them ahead most of the time and be happy with them.

Looking forward:

Is there anything you want/need to do in order to get more out of the reading and writing experiences in this class?

Looking forward, I am getting so much out of this class, everyone’s responses are helpful and encouraging, I am just embracing this class and all of the experiences I am gaining from it.

Reading Notes A, Week 8, London

The passage from, From Matin Eden, by Jack London, left me feeling very sad. The passage started with Martin in his apartment frustrated that his writings were being returned from the publishers. He then share his childhood memories about being bullied and beat up on and off for many years, which ended in a huge gang fight that left him with a broken arm and so angry that he could not stop punching his attack, Cheese-face, he had lost control of himself. These memories tell moments when he was as young as six years until he was eighteen and how these moments made him a fighter in life and not give up.
The passage then goes to later in Martin's life, when he becomes famous for his writings and has a lot of money, but he talks about how unhappy he is in life and he does not like to be around others. He goes to the doctors because he feels like something is wrong with himself, he he told that he is psychical healthy. "It was his "thinking machine" that had gone wrong, and there was no cure for that except to get away to the South Seas." pg 366 He boards the Mariposa and is a first class passenger, something he had wanted in the past and thought would be so great, but he was still unhappy. "There was no satisfaction in being awake." pg 367 Martin was miserable, nothing around him made him happy.
One evening Martin picked up a volume of the Swinburne and he found himself interested and happy. "That was the meaning of it all: he had been drifting that way all the time, and now Swinburne showed him that it was the happy way out."pg 369
"Life was ill, or rather, it had become ill-an unbearable thing."That dead men rise up never! That lined stirred him with a profound feeling of gratitude. .... When life became an aching weariness, death was ready to soothe away to everlasting sleep."pg 369 Martin climbed through the porthole in his room and went into the milk sea and drowned himself.
Martin gave up on life, he was not happy and although he became a successful writer, he was not happy, the money and all the things he wanted and was able to have were not enough for him in the end.

Week 7, Weekly Analysis, Closed End,

In the Land of the Free, by Edith Maud Eaton, takes place in San Francisco. A Chinese couple were living in the San Francisco, the wife, Lae Choo, returned to China to give birth to their child, The Little One. Her husband, Hom Hing stayed in San Francisco and continued to work as a merchant, he owned a store and they lived above it. Lae Choo and her son had stayed in China longer than they expected because Hom Hing’s parents were ill and she needed to take care of them. Hom Hing had never met his son, who was 20 months old. Lae Choo and The Little One arrived under the Golden Gate bridge aboard, Easter Queen. Hom Hing met his son and as they were leaving the ship the family was stopped by two men with the intials U.S.C. on their caps. The Little One did not have any papers and none of the papers about Lae Choo had mentioned anything about a child, because he was not born when the papers were filed. Against the parents will they had to hand their son over to the men, until they could get approval from the government to let the child in to the US.

The next day Hom Hing when to get his son, when he returned home, he did not have his child. Lae Choo was devastated.

One literary device used was suspense, Easton had me wanting to read faster to see how and when was Lae Choo, going to get her son back. This is shown in the story with the following quote. “Her food she takes only when I bed her and her tears fall continually. She finds no pleasure in dress or flowers and cares not to see her friends. He eyes stare all night. I think before another moon she will pass into the land of spirits.” pg 326. As a mother I cannot even imagaine having my baby taken from me for so long, from what started as a day turned into 5 months and then 10 months.

The second literary device used was tragedy, this is shown when after 10 long months Lae Choo was able to get her son from the missionary where he was taken care of. She was so happy to see him but he did not know who she was when he saw her. “But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman’s skirt. “Go ‘way, go ‘way!” he bade his mother.”pg 329 As I was read this last quote and then end of the story in our book, I felt so heartbroken for Lae Choo. After all of those months, tears, sleepless nights, Lae Choo just wanting to hold her son again and when the moment comes he rejects her. This is a true tragedy for this mother.