Figurative Language Writing

 Picture yourself reading a poem and as you continue reading the poem you find yourself laughing,crying,and smiling.What do you think has happened? If you hadn't realized you connected to the poem and shared or expressed your emotions.Now ask yourself how does poetry share and connect us with the emotions and experiences we all have as humans? Katy Perry and Ernesto Santiago are people who can answer that question in their poem Firework and The Bird.This answer can specifically can be commented through experiences and emotions in a short story.
 
 Katy uses the first level of figurative language that compares things.However,the two main types that were being used were simile and allusion.For example,"Just own the night,Like the Fourth of July" was mainly an allusion with a mix of a simile because it or the Fourth of July is compared to a part in history with a person.The following quote is a simile,"Like a lightning bolt Your heart will glow" because Katy,the songwriter uses the word "like" in this stanza.


 Katy was not the only person who used some type of figurative language was used in Mr.Santiago's poem called The Bird. Like Katy, Ernesto also used a simile in the poem which reads"A traveler,with its red feathers,Exploded,into force,like An airborne ranger".This man uses personification because in the poem it talked about a human characteristic which can be spotted when he said"Limitless sky,A traveler"."worries what to eat"is imagery because we tend to taste what being consumed.
 
 The reader had not expected the speaker or writer to create deep thinking when publishing what seemed to be an ordinary poem.It is figurative language,in the end,that makes the poem more juicy and less simple. Throughout the poem,Katy along with Ernesto both effectively created these pieces through figurative language,simile,human characteristic,and more.

Commentary 2

 Each "if" is an if that I will wonder too like the similar if's in the poem. The title "if" seems mysterious but I like how it leaves you wondering what its going to be about. There are so many things you can "if" about so  thought the title was a creative yet mysterious touch to the poem. I thought that all these ifs are something that a teenager thought of and the author wrote them down in a poem. This poem yet deep and interesting at the same time. Normally I don't like poems but this poem caught my attention because after I read it I felt that I could relate to it.


 The theme to me is the Ifs that deal with a different aspect of life that young teenagers think about as they get older. The first stanza I paraphrased it so that it could say what happens if you can keep your head up, if you can trust yourself, if you can wait, and not get tired of it. The second stanza is the ifs to your dream and your thought but also bearing the truth. The third stanza paraphrased it to say the two main ifs which are making a heap of all your winning and force your heart. The fourth stanza I thought it could say the Ifs of the friends, men you in the end.


The most obvious pattern in "If" is the topic organization in all the stanzas. The effect it might create is the organization of the ifs  since there are different major themes in each stanzas. The major themes Kipling addresses are waiting and trusting in lines one through five, ten through fifteen are about dreams, thoughts, and truth then lines seventeen through twenty-four are about winnings and heart. Lastly the major themes in lines twenty-five through thirty-two are men,(un)forgiveness and friends.


In the end this poem built up a great story that had a mysterious title to it so I liked a lot. This poem seems like something that I could read over and over again which is the first for me. I still love the title "If" because its mysterious and creative.

Commentary 1

The poem "Ain't I a Woman" was very interesting to read and I would think that it sounded like a Hip-Hop poetry. I liked this poem, it made me feel something though not just feel something but dream something as I fell asleep. "Ain't I Women"  made me think if Cinderella and Rosa Parks. You might wonder why Cinderella why her? Well it was her because she was slave but not really she just did a lot of things on her own and stood up for herself. I thought of Rosa Parks because she also stood up for the things she believed in and for the truth but instead of a fairytale like Cinderella it was real, it was real life.

When TP-CASTT the poem the first thing that had to was consider the title and I thought that it was going to be about women in general but then I had to examine the title again so I thought women having the same rights as men do. The theme of this poem in my own words is women work hard as men do therefore women should have the same rights men did or do. The "man" can be her husband or her father, stepdad possibly.Each line spoke to me because it was so deep and it all made sense to me. The first part, lines one through eight I paraphrased it and in the end I came up with women should be taken care of we/they are women. Then in the second stanza I thought that maybe she has done a lot one her own, without a man by her side. In the fourth stanza I paraphrased it and the result was children make you feel like a slave and you cry out for your mom's help along Jesus's help too. The following stanza I came up with just because Christ was not women does not deal with the fact that women should have less rights and that women are powerful. The "calling to action" the author put forth all women to embrace if the world is to be turned "right side up again" is making a scene like a Rosa Parks or a woman voting for president.

The other famous moment that the author is alluding is Rosa Parks scene. The question about line 12 is that it could mean that men do not always have to lead women because women are capable of doing certain things without a male's help. In line six the author is alluding that obstacles in life when she or he talks about "Or over mud puddles". In order for me to answer the question about line 10 I had to check out the definition of plowed because it was the first time I ever heard that word. These questions had me flipping the page to check line in each stanza so that I could answer the question.

Social Imaginiation

I do agree that we all have social imagination because I would say that, that's how dreams are started and ended because of social imagination. Inventing our visions is where imagination comes from. Imagination comes from inspiration of the things we are sourrounded by school, the streets, our neighborhood ,and work.  All those things come from society which help us create or invet our visions.

Future, Past, Present.

People say that the truth comes out some how whether its soon or years, months even days later.  If you keep a secret then the it can come out in the future just by holding it inside for a long time. The  truth eats you up and in the future it can eat you up because it could become a dark secret. 

As for the present lets just say you can't keep the secret inside its like you don't want to hide anything,  you want to remain an open book, remain trustworthy, and not a liar. The truth has to come out as sooner than later. Additionally, you don't want the ones that involve the secret to get hurt all because of you not speaking soon  enough.

The past... Well you make mistakes in the past and you don't necessarily want to make them again so want to be able to be forgiven, you want to erase those bad sins away; wash away the past. The main way to regain trust is to start by telling the truth so that others know that you are loyal again. Beginning to tell the truth after one has messed up is almost like getting a fresh start in life. 

Oedipus Rex

Does the scene take place in a church or a big celebration in a altar? Does Oedipus care about the children that are in a sorrowful prayer? I am guessing that the Priests along with the children believe that Oedipus can help save their city. I think Oedipus should help the priest and the children because Oedipus seems to be a powerful man and it would be the right thing to do. At first I  thought he was jerk but then I continued to read and realized that Oedipus is good man. What does Creon mean when he says "for it is murder's guilt that holds our city in destructive storm? I don't get it, is murder the problem? So just by banishing murder will help save their city. Once they find out who murdered Laius, they will declare banishment of murder? This story about Oedipus Rex is interesting and some of these scenarios remind me of what I have been learning in my World History class. These people in the story stand up for what they believe in and they have a bad temper in a way and these characters that show it are Oedipus and Teiresias. I noticed that the two main characters of course, Oedipus and Teiresias. The way the story was arranged made it too awkward, and the fact that he had children with his mother was very disturbing for me! I wonder how Jocasta felt about the whole situation when it was all played out. I wonder how she felt when she realized she married her own son? That is just abnormal for me and for others. Did Jocasta even care that is was her son? How would you tell your kids that your mom is my mom and we made babies? I feel that he should be executed for that,well the both of them. Although that situation is disturbing the whole story is entertaining because it's a weird story to hear and its not usual but that is what leaves me on the edge of my seat.

Exit Ticket: Social Satire

Fitzgerald uses youth to make fun of them by well, using youth to be the joke because young people are easier to trigger than old folks reason being, we are never satisfied. The fact that he includes that there are mountains made out of diamonds is how he, Fitzgerald is using wealth to create humor.

Great Gatsby Movie Reflection

 Discuss the controversial portrayal of women in the movie/novel?

   The scenes in the movie in regards to the females or specifically Daisy is not how things are today its actually way different than what is being portrayed in the movie. Reason being, today women do not think that a man cheating on them is normal nor okay to do but, in the movie The Great Gatsby Daisy didn't think that Tom cheating on her was the wrong thing to do. Basically in today's society women want respect in their  relationship and don't want to be treated or considered as fools though, in this film Daisy told Nick that "a girl being a fool is the best thing that she can be, a beautiful little fool." Daisy didn't have a problem with that only because she acted like a fool throughout the entire movie. Women are labeled as fools in the Great Gatsby one of them being Daisy.

Truthfully, no woman should be labeling themselves as a fool unless they actually act as a fool. It seemed as if Daisy was encouraged to be a fool because she like the men in the movie was being a player. In the film Daisy was originally in love with Gatsby but eventually married Tom for the money that he consumed. In the beginning the relationship between Tom and Daisy had its awe moments but then escalated into something more serious. The relationship escalated because Daisy found out that Gatsby was still alive and had lived near her for five years keeping in my that Daisy still loved Tom. Then her love for Gatsby came back when she spent time with him multiple times eventually her love was open to two men, Gatsby and Tom. Finally the point where she made herself seem like a fool was when she went back fourth confessing or showing her love and affection to whom she claimed to love. Daisy went though a lot of trouble because she acted like a fool, a fool that ended up staying with Tom since Gatsby, her first soul-mate passed away. All in all she proved that she and the female characters in the movie were fools. The controversial portrayal of women in The Great Gatsby was that they grow up to be the best thing they can ever be, a beautiful fool.

American's Story

This poem does not tell a lie! The whole poem has true facts because things have changed, good and bad. This reading reminded me that not only are we sometimes selfish today but back then people were a bit selfish and crucial to one another based on skin color compared to how the society is today.
Sure we have more laws today but back then citizens were more rude to others based on their race and today some Americans are not at all like that.

Independent Practice

Living in the 1920s in New York we would meet different people at any place which would make us all socially active people. Since we were rich we went to parties, wore fancy clothing ,and did fancy activities. Because people were rich in New York it made it sound like the city that never slept since there was always something going on at night and in the evening. The 1920s is basically like living in a relaxed and fun world. The 1920s were relaxed times because we partied, never slept, and we wouldn't have to worry about a thing in that time frame. The reason that living in the New York during the 1920s were fun was because it was a place where you can make your dreams come true and drove fancy cars.

Paradox Purpose

Personally I think the purpose of this paradox that Martel purposely put in the novel and film was to show the two sides of a person or in this case Pi. Not only that but the purpose was to have something symbolize the dangerous or wild side of Pi. By including this paradox in the story it all ties up to Martel's purpose of Life of Pi which is storytelling, giving us some meaning and religion, teach us something (goal/purpose)

Was "Life of Pi" work of magical realism?

In the beginning I must say that didn't think that "Life of Pi" was a work of magical realism but now my ideas have changed. My idea changed because I learned about the elements in magical realism. These elements are unbelievable, two realities, serious, normal setting, message/symbolism and life different than normal. After learning about what is magical realism I came to a conclusion which was " Life of Pi" was a work of magical realism because the list of the elements that tie up to what magical realism is has been included in the novel and movie. Though I had solution, I wasn't sure that my conclusion had clever evidence so I then thought that "Life of Pi" wasn't a part of magical realism because it seemed like a "normal "story to me. All in all I was stuck between the two choices.  Both yes, Richard Parker was not real and no, Richard Parker was real ties up with Martel's purpose.

Reader Autobiography

People read to better themselves in vocabulary and to get out of the real world. Readers not judging the book by its cover is what makes a person a reader. What one has to do in order to earn that title is they must have a passion for reading tons of different novels. If someone wants to become a good reader then they should want to read a book for pleasure so that they become better on their own. My favorite author is Suzanne Collins and John Green. What I like about these authors is that they let imagination flow through their minds and then make their novel come to life. I really don't consider myself a good reader. Reading isn't necessarily a part of who I am because I don't read on my spare time and I wasn't born to read books. I learned how to read when I was in kindergarten. As a reader I am blocked because I dislike reading and I don't let books come my way. As a reader I would like to become better by reading more books on my spare time that I have and finding "the" book. Honestly I do not choose to read, I only read when I am asked to. The readings I enjoy are mystery or murder, romantic and comedy. The readings I am required to do are informational and religious. The readings I fear are the ones with a lot of boring facts because I might have an assignment that deals with the boring book and will result in me failing that project. I now know what I need to work on, what my interests are ,and what I fear. This process was shocking because I didn't know that I was going to say this.

Writer Self Study

People write because they feel the need to express themselves or share their imagination with others. Being able to express what you think or feel and being comfortable with sharing your story is what makes a person a writer. To "earn" that identity the writer must achieve confidence and excellent writing skills. In order for someone to be a good writer they must practice and practice. My favorite writer is John Green and what I like about him is that his stories are creative ,and he has inspiring quotes that are included in his stories. I do consider myself as a writer but not necessarily a "good" writer because I don't practice and I am creative at times. I learned how to write in 7th grade by listening in class. I am a passionate writer because I love to express my feelings. As a writer I would like to get better at word diction and creativity. The kinds of writing I choose to do is personal writings because writing out my personal problems is my therapy.The kinds of writing I enjoy are funny yet inspiring because I love to laugh but I also want to feel inspired so that my fears wash away. I gained knowledge as opposed to what I like in a writer and what I want to improve on as a writer as well as what I consider myself as. This process to me was exciting.

This picture shows a snake that ate an elephant. The first image can lead to a better story, reason being is that you can tell that the animal that is thin and long is a snake and showing in the snake is an elephant that is visible unlike the second. Plus the first image does not leave a mystery which makes it a lead to a better story.