Final Blog Post Of The Fall Semester

1. What did you do this semester in ELA that was most meaningful to you, and why was it meaningful?

This semester in ELA the most meaningful thing I did was the essay for Maus. It was meaningful to me due to the reason that I learned a lot from it such as how to cite a website in MLA Format. Also, I learned how to properly write an analytic essay without “in my opinion” or basically how to write confidently!

2. What was the most challenging thing about ELA this semester, and why?

The most challenging thing about ELA this semester was keeping up with my reading and making sure I speak up during seminar. It was pretty challenging because

3. What would you like to change about ELA, and why?

Something I would like to change about ELA is the turns we have to take for the response projects. I would like to change it because I feel like it would be hard to choose creative writing or an essay for the project I want. However, a solution would be to set a balanced amount of writing we have to turn in for the semester. For example, if we have six books to read we would need to have three essays and three creative stories by the end of the semester.

4. What would you like to stay the same in ELA, and why?

Something I would like to stay the same in ELA would be the books we are reading! They are very good books, and I truly enjoy reading them! Another thing, I would like ELA to stay the same about is the response projects along with the books.

5. I really enjoyed this semester, and I hope to improve more throughout the school year! Thank you Ms.Harrison!

Find three heroic epithets. Explain how you think these epithets were useful to the singer of poems in the Greek oral tradition.

Find three heroic epithets. Explain how you think these epithets were useful to the singer of poems in the Greek oral tradition.

On page 45, there is a heroic epithet. "And red-haired Menelaus..." The heroic epithet is the fact that he has red hair.

On page 219, "And you answered me, Eumaeus, my swineherd:" Eumaeus being the swineherd is the heroic epithet.

On page 196, Poseidon is described as the Lord of Earthquake(which is pretty awesome). "And Poseidon, the Lord of Earthquake:"

I believe that these epithets helped the singer of the poems in the Greek oral tradition. One of the ways, it helped was helping the singer and audience remember the characters, and who they are. Another reason, it helped the singer remember the time. For example, the hero epithet with Dawn and her fingers. It helped the singer and audience know whether it is day or night. Also, the hero epithets explained several characteristics that separated many of the similar names. It helped you acknowledge who were the gods and  mortals and their roles. There was many ways the hero epithets helped the singer.

Find two passages in The Odyssey that are examples of Xenia. Compare these two passages. Be sure to cite them as well.

          On page 44, the beginning of book 4, we can see Xenia.
           In this section, Xenia is shown as the Lord Menelaus welcomes Telemachus and Nestor to their palace. He does not question who they are, yet he welcomes them and treats them like gods. The horses are unyoked and taken to a stall where they are fed the best horse food. Menelaus's maids bathed and rubbed oil on Telemachus and Nestor. Later, they are given a feast. Out of respect, they do not question if Odysseus is his father, until the end of supper. During the supper and their time there, they are treated and fed like gods. They have the best of the best and no less. At the end of supper, they found out who they were. They did not speak of it till later because of the sadness.
        On page 90, in the middle of book 6 and in book 7 (page 97), we see Xenia.
        In book 6, Odysseus and the princess, Nausicaa, show Xenia. Nausicaa helps Odysseus and treats him like a guest despite his appearance when he is naked. Like Telemachus and Nestor, he bathes and is provided oil to clean himself because he does not want young girls looking at him naked. In book 7, he is treated like a god and given a feast and wine. Also, everyone respects him, and he entertains them with his stories.
       This was very different from Telemachus and Nestor due to the experiences and leadership that Odysseus earns him more respect. Another thing, people may believe that Odysseus has more knowledge because of his stories and heroic/godlike abilities. In conclusion, the more money and godlike the person is, the more Xenia that will be shown. It's still equal with the strangers, but of course the bigger people get more attention.

The first four books of The Odyssey are known as the "Telemachy," as they introduce us to the voyage of Odysseus' adolescent son, Telemachus. Why do you think that The Odyssey begins with this story, and what are the most important things that we learn about Telemachus?

The first four books of The Odyssey are known as the "Telemachy," as they introduce us to the voyage of Odysseus' adolescent son, Telemachus. Why do you think that The Odyssey begins with this story, and what are the most important things that we learn about Telemachus?
       I believe that the first four books of The Odyssey, "Telemachy," begins with Telemachus so that we can understand how Telemachus's circumstances are at home. Also, we learn several characteristics of Telemachus and the characters around him. It is good to learn the characters and setting so that we do not get confused throughout the story due to the amount of characters within the story.
       It is very important because we learn how much an impact Odysseus really has back home. We learn some stuff about his son too, like his age and the amount of power that he has. We learn that he is barely at manhood and that everyone does not take him as seriously as his dad. Not only do we learn about him, but we also learn about the people in his home, such as Penelope (his mom), the suitors, and some gods visit.

"Why do you underline certain sentences in a book?"

When I am reading a book, I enjoy underlining certain phrases. The phrases I underline are things that I find important and meaningful. Sometimes the sentence, or sentences, are pretty simple, but I can relate to them in a whole different level. When I write my book, I want people to find these type of phrases and for the phrases to stick with them whenever they are having a hard time. I love turning these phrases into quotes and writing them down in my journal and journaling about them. It’s important for me not to underline the a lot of phrases because if I do underline a lot, then the meaning of underlining loses its meaning and value. Personally, I believe this should not mean that I am annotating because annotation is way different from underlining. In a way, underlining is just lazy annotating. It’s more for fun rather than force.

The Conflict Perspective in Maus

In the book, Maus, there is about four different groups in the society. These groups are known as the Jews (mouses), Nazi party (cats), Americans (dogs) and Polish (pigs). The Jews struggle for food and for their lives in the concentration camps and this is all dealing with the fact that the Nazi is fighting for power over them, the Polish, and the Americans. The Jews are in conflict with the Nazi, while the Americans are in conflict with the Nazi. Throughout the book, it shaped the group’s ethnic. The ethnic is their religion, and how the Nazi disagrees with their beliefs. This shaped how their society, or at least some part, believed that all it was okay to abuse the Jews. The conflict was all over the power and ethnic.

On pp. 102-105, Art includes a copy of another graphic story, "Prisoner on Hell Planet," that he wrote about his mother's suicide. To what extent to you think the events of the Holocaust might have caused her suicide, and why do you think Art Speigelman chose to share "Prisoner on Hell Planet" in Maus.

There are many events during the Holocaust that could have lead to Anja's suicide. I believe that one of them could have been the fact that her five year old son, Richieu, was killed so that he would not have to be sent to a concentration camp. This was on page 111, where Tosha had to kill all three children and herself. The life changing event was not only depressing, but she had to keep moving forward and try and save her own life. Personally, I think she felt useless and she felt as though no one loved her. I believe this can be shown on page 105, in the graphic story, "Prisoner on Hell Planet." She asked Artie if she still loved her and he pretty much told her no. She was asking for reassurance over her son's love, and he rejected. Another thing, she had lost plenty of family members due to the Holocaust such as her father (page 117), her young son (page 111), and so many more members throughout the book. The death if her family might have made her feel alone and the way they died makes it worst.

I believe that Art included the copy of the other graphic story, "Prisoner on Hell Planet," so that the audience could understand how the suicide took place and the events that happened after it. For example, in page 105, Art draws his mother in the bathtub dead with details. It gives the reader a picture of how the situation looked in real life. Another thing, I think he wanted to show the imagery through humans, and he wanted to show the details. The details make the story more gloomy and realistic in a way. In my opinion, he wanted to draw this section in particle with humans, not animals, to make the moment more realistic and intense.