The Test

             I feel I didn't do so well on the benchmark because of time management. I spent too much time on one section and not on the others, therefore I don'r think I got a good grade But since I'm actually good on tests and quizzes I feel that this is a one time problem and I don't have to worry about it as much. I just have to keep it in mind when taking the test. I did have a problem with the vocab, especially when the questions asked about which sections of the readings showed (insert vocab word in). I had vague ideas but I didn't quite remember. I get the reading comprehension questions so I have to make my vocabulary stronger. Vocab!!

You Get A Car!!!

                   Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved is a unique story that sets itself apart from the rest through its vivid narration and characters. Although the movie had a more interesting medium to work through, visuals, I felt that it wasn’t up to par with the novel. The movie lacked something, maybe depth, which was clearly in the novel. The novel had a phantasmal and mystic atmosphere about it with characters who were well thought out.. The movie was more horrific with lack luster acting from its male and female leads. The film, in my opinion, doesn’t measure up to the book. Maybe it was due to the book having many qualities that cannot translate into a film. Maybe there was a miscast. Though for all it’s faults the film is a must see.

                The two versions of Beloved begin in very much the same way. After the first scene involving Sethe’ dead baby attacking their family, Paul D. arrives. After exchanging pleasantries and nostalgia Paul D. and Sethe enter her house. In the novel an unseen force overwhelms Paul and he becomes frightened. In the film however, Paul becomes awash in red light that covers the home. Although they both convey the haunted nature of the home I feel that the novel relays it with subtlety and the film is blatant and in a manner of speaking: tacky. The novel relies on dark undertones while the film is brazen with the ghostly nature of the story.

            Another scene that the novel and film share is the arrival of Beloved herself. Instead of lying on a rock as her novel counter part did, she looks crucified on a wooden tree in the film. Beloved, a central character is not portrayed as the enchanting and mystical being she is in the novel. In the film she has more of a demonic quality, as if she were from a low budget horror movie. The scene where she spells her name really focuses on the horror aspect.  When Thandie Newton recites the name with a gravely quality that seemed inhuman.  

       The final scene that really stood out to me was Baby Suggs’ gathering. The film actually conveyed the joyous attitudes of the people more fluently than the novel. What we have at a few paragraphs there is a whole scene. The movement of the people and the music gave he movie an authentic quality when it came to black culture. I feel that without it the film wouldn’t have the air of reality and be another movie about black Americans without knowing how they lived or what they valued. I commend the film for portraying black people as people, flawed, human, and with their own minds.

             The film could have been more novelistic. It could have stuck more to the novel and played up the dark, mystic atmosphere than make it outright horrific. I feel that if the film were made now, and a script given to more talented actors, it would be a success. As of now, however, the film cannot stand alone when compared to the novel.

( Through the whole thing I kept expecting Oprah to leap up and yell" YOU GET A CAR!!" )

Prejudice: It Ain't No Unicorn

             Prejudice has existed from the dawn of time from the cro -magnons to the first humanoids. Simply  creating a few laws and having recent reform isn't going to stops eras of oppression like a band aid. It's like a cancer that if ,left unchecked, grows. Most people think it's gone, but it's not, they simply don't chose to see it or are blissfully ignorant of it. It's not some mythical notion that primitive societies believed in: it's not a unicorn. If anything it's like a lion and shark, dangerous to it's prey and destructive if ;eased upon the general population. So during the debate I thought my side, that prejudice still exists and matters, has won. I enjoyed the debate because not only am I concerned about prejudice (because I am a double minority: black and a girl) but it was a good way to get other perspectives on it and learn. I even got to get up and say something worth value this time. I also feel that mostly everyone enjoyed the debate and worked collectively and cooperatively. There was a good balance of group numbers, outspoken people were placed in different groups, and it was a good discussion topic.My group also brought up good topics and rebutted some of the other sides claims, so I though we won. P.S I was so glad to be laced on my team because if I were on the other, I wouldn't know what to do.

It's Storming Outside

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/-white-slaves-used-for-1860s-fundraiser-propaganda-1330466217-slideshow/

        This very very brief article is about slavery and race, which is a recurring topic in Beloved. Sethe wants to escape her past as a slave and tires to live her life in freedom. The article relates to this as well because it's about half black children who don't want to be slaves and want to be free. Only they won't do it by running away, they'' do it through education. Even though the children are being used as a sort of propaganda to raise money the benefit is that they will(at least partially ) free. The circumstances about slavery is very disturbing and sad,  if you are born to a certain race you are automatically a slave. You will have to live a life without opportunities and have extreme hardships. Which is the life Sethe survived and the life the children are trying to avoid.

Sometimes They Come Back

                       Does the past really die? Well yes and no. When something has happened it is forever in history. It has existed and become real. In that way the past is still alive. As long as the little boy fell off the monkey bars that moment will always exist for him.  It will exist in history because it happened. However when the people who are directly by the past die, and when toe who are affected by them die, then the past is forgotten and nonexistent. The past, I think, is always with us. It's apart of our personal history that's ours and makes us who we are. And no matter what we can never truly forget ( unless you have soap opera amnesia). Human beings can move on, and learn form their past, but complete erasing is impossible. Take Sethe for instance, she'd rather not remember her time at Sweet Home but can't forget it. It's something that took place and shaped her. What I do disagree with is not letting go of the pass. It's not dismissing it or looking through rose colored glasses, it's accepting it and moving on. Berniece didn't do it and she was unhappy and bitter for a good portion of her life. Dwelling on the past can often can often blind you to the future (cliche). Now, I will provide a little sad story on this subject. Once upon a time I lived next to a boy who's mother treated him pretty badly. I didn't know this, and was focused about why he spent a lot of time over my house and around me. But one day I moved away and it wasn't until I was older and when my mother told me that I realized the truth: he was being abused. All of a sudden I nitpicked all my memories of him  to try to spot the warning signs, and I blamed myself for not noticing and not getting help. But I realize that I was just a kid, what could I do?I don't harp or obsess about what happened but have made up my mind to stop and get help for abuse if I ever come across it. Therefore my past hasn't really dies, I keep it in my memory to serve as a caution and reminder to do better in the future.

Benchmark Assessment Test

4.) Answer: D. What I put :C. Now knowing what the correct answer is I realize the error of my choice.The "vilely phrased" quote is pretentious because it's a round about way of sating Oxford Street. Why not just say Oxford street instead of "the street which borrowed it's name"? And now looking up the definition of pretentious, which means excessive or unjustified claims, I realize that the speaker is pretentious and so is his tone. This may be difficult because if the reader didn't know what vile or pretentious is and how it relates to the speaker it would be hard to understand.
7.) A ; B. Question asks to evaluate the way a particular sentence is used and how it is used in relation to other sentences, which I'm not really good at. I thought it was introducing an exception to the rule that everyone in the world is thinking except England, but that's wrong. I really don't know why it's the wrong answer( but I hope I learn tomorrow!) I also think that the reader had to know specifically what rhetorical and digression means.
9.) E ; A. I chose A because I thought that some the answers have some ti-bit of truth in them, so I chose the more broader answer because that process  has worked in the past. But I do see why the answer is right because reflecting on it this answer is found in the passage.
13.) C. I got this question right. I think the question is difficult because of the answer. Compared to A which is simple. C is very complicated. The combined words of "paradoxical", "inversion" and "conventional " all in one sentence is very confusing. But because I knew what these words meant I applied them to the passage and got it right. Paradoxes are contradictions that are circular. Inversion is like the opposite . And conventions are commonly perceived ideas. The speaker talks badly(inversion) about something everyone seems to like(convention): nature.
21.)D ; B . Grammatical questions are a hassle and are so out of the mainstream norm of level 2 questions it feels tedious to do them. People (me) don't give them any introspection and want to quickly get it over with so they'l go with their first instinct, which may not be right.
24.) E; D. If you don't know what idiosyncratic means you are really in a jam. Idiosyncratic means unique about an individual. The question states which is LEAST idiosyncratic , which is the meter, everything is pretty unique( capitalization, tone, diction).
54.) E ; D. I can't believe I got this wrong. I guess because the reader is so focused on Louisa, the main character being so subtle and quiet, I automatically assumed that Dagget is. Especially because of the sparse dialogue and quiet mood. Dagget is very straightforward and I realize I made a not so smart mistake.

Debate: Should Huck be Taught in Schools?

              I found the debate today to be very intresting. I haven't been in many debates but I think that is the best one yet due to the subject matter and how everyone was devoted to winning. Personally, I think Mr. Beddingfield won, but that was because he is super eloquent and knows how to spot hole in our argument.I also think he choose his stance purposely so that his chances of winning are higher. The student side had alot of information and ideas, but I feel that we were a bit unorganized and didn't work as a team. Though I feel that if we had that we could have won, we had evidence and good points. For all the controversy involving Huck Finn, I think schools should read it. It's got plenty of merits and in my opinion Heart of Darkness is much worse(Jim actually was an individual, not a swirling mass of elderich abomination). And, at the end of the day, the book is just a book. It won't change a person's life, except maybe a fledging black panther, and it's not going to give soemeone a great epiphany.