Hi Maryanne,
What a wonderful and insightful poem. You have really painted the picture of a lively and happy family. Particularly, I enjoyed reading this poem as I too can agree on the importance and value of family. Coming from a large family myself, I recognize the importance of family and the memories that are formed during family time. I think that the visual was an effective way in emphasizing again your love and respect for your family.
Good work. You have definitely shared with the audience something that is special to you!
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Peer review week 10 Blake Hicks
Blake,
I completely agree with your views on Pinter. He is a remarkable man with the capability to expose and persuade us to see the truth! He is ruthless in his expression and I especially enjoyed Pinter’s assertion that we have chosen to ignore what is really happening, in the world and ‘sit back on the cushion’. This is completely and totally correct!
Thank you for sharing your views on Pinter.
Hayley
English Vlog
Our group scored 9.3!!!
FIND THE LINK BELOW
Week 10 blog question 2
2/ Find out what the world reaction was to Pinter’s Nobel speech. Was it listened to? Was there any positive feedback?
I found a range of positive comments in relation to Pinter’s speech. Many individuals claim that pinter was a remarkable, strong, and influential person. Individuals found that Pinter’s courage to speak out about the truth was both mesmerizing and courageous.
Links below heighten world reactions to his speech.
Week 9 (peer review) Vanessa Luu
Vanessa, I could not agree more that Lawrence’s view of the snake in the poem “The Snake” is one of great respect. I too argued in my blog post that the snake was not seen as a threat, yet rather the persona was intrigued to find out more about the snake. Furthermore, the snake is shown as being majestic and peaceful. This becomes evident if we look at Lawrence’s description of the snakes action. It is clear that Lawrence respects the snake as he describes the creature as being “like a king”.
I personally like that you have drawn our attention to societal views of the snake. I think that you are accurate in suggesting that societal views can have a powerful influence over our views (which Lawrence highlights in his poem).
Additionally, I agree that the persona experiences emotional and personal conflict as he is unsure how to react to the snakes presence.
In my blog post I focussed more on how Lawrence is challenging societal views and suggesting that we should form our own views instead of following others. Yet, you have deepened my understanding of the poem by putting forward your interpretation of the poem: “I believe that through the persona’s reaction to the snake, Lawrence is attempting to communicate the idea that both humans and animals have the right to live, respected and with respect”.
Thank you again for providing us with a wonderful piece of writing to consult.
Hayley xxxx
Week 8 (peer review) Christina Templis
Wow!
Thank you Christina for opening up. I think it is so beautiful that you have chosen to discuss a past relationship and have been able to take something positive from that relationship which is your new understanding and awareness of customs, beliefs, history and culture. I bet it must have been difficult for you to discuss this, but I personally believe that in doing so you have informed others of your enlightened outlook. I Believe it is important to date people who are different from yourself. They can really open your eyes to new possibilities and despite your differences you will find similarities and shared passions. I really liked when you discussed the differences between eating. This made me reflect on my own personal experiences with my own family and my partners family. My partner is Italian and his family is very religious. At his house, we have formal dinners with only immediate family, we pray before every meal and we eat traditional italian food. Whereas, my family are extremely laid back Australians. We have big dinner parties with friends and family, we eat a range of food and have lively discussions. I love both my family and his, but it is definitely fascinating to witness the differences between the cultures and family life.
Thanks again for sharing this experience with us
Hayley xxx
http://christinatemplis13.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/week-eight-topic-one/comment-page-1/#comment-5
Week 7 (peer review) Cameron Cescutti.
Hi Cameron, You have done well to follow the blog instructions this week. You can definitely see the difference between your first and second paragraphs. For example, in your first paragraph you have replaced full stops with semicolons and commas. Your sentences are much longer (too long), which as a result has made your writing a lot harder to understand. Furthermore, in your first paragraph it is much harder to connect with what you are saying. I think you have done very well and your second paragraph reads well and is succinct. However, I think that another way you could have approached this blog is by adding more complicated words to your first paragraph.
Thanks
Hayley 🙂
Week 9
2/ Look at D.H Lawrence’s poem “The Snake” and describe what you think his reaction to the snake is.
In D.H Lawrence’s poem “The snake”, the snake has been represented in such a positive way: as a free, majestic and peaceful creature. Thus, the snake “lifted his head dreamily, and flickered his tongue, seeming to lick his lips… looked like a god and climbed the broken bank of my wall face.” There is a feeling of respect exhibited by Lawrence toward the snake. This is evident by Lawrence’s use of language and description of the snake. The snakes actions are observed: “He reached down from a fissure in the earth- wall in the gloom and trailed his yellow- brown slackness soft bellied down, over the stone trough and rested his throat upon the stone bottom…”
Lawrence challenges the stereotyped view that snakes are dangerous. The snake is used as a symbol to heighten the fact that we should not follow societal views and rather establish our own views. For example, despite the fact that the persona finds the snake interesting and harmless, he still has a desire to attack the snake. This is evident through the first person narration, “The voice of my education said to me, He must be killed.” It is clear that the persona does not wish to harm the snake, yet he is prompted to by the societal views that snakes are harmful creatures. The persona is battling with the inner thoughts in his head. The voices in the persona’s head drive him to attack the snake: “If you were a man, You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off”. The persona’s choice to attack the snake is greatly regretted. There is a sense of anger and self hate exhibited by the persona as a result of his decision to attack the snake. This is evident through exclamation “what a mean act!” The persona’s assertion of the snake as “my snake” and the personas desire for the snake to “come back” heightens his strong connection to the animal and furthermore reveals that the snake is not harmful.
In “The Snake” Lawrence is showcasing that we need to form our own beliefs and not adopt the beliefs of those around us without considering the repercussions. In the case of the persona in “The Snake”, it is clear that he feels extreme remorse after attacking the snake. The persona explains, “Immediately I regretted it, I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education”.
In the final two stanza’s of the poem the snake is again presented in a positive way. Lawrence uses simile to heighten the persona’s view of the snake. Thus, the persona believed that the snake was “like a king, a king in exile”. This line suggests that the snake is a mistaken creature who is perceived as being a threat. However, this contrasts with the persona’s belief of the snake as a peaceful, majestic and free creature that should be left alone.
In his poem, Lawrence is highlighting how societal expectations and beliefs can be persuasive and force us act in inhumane and unjust ways. Therefore, we must make our own decisions and not rely solely on what others are saying or doing to guide our decisions.
Week 8
Respond briefly to the idea that opening our heart to some one outside our comfort zone can be a real catalyst for personal growth and awakening. Base this on your own experience.
I personally think it is essential to be open minded, to be kind and to always and I stress always be accepting of those who are different. People are so quick to judge those who do not look, sound or act the way that they do. I feel disgusted when I see the way that people stare at disabled individuals. I feel disgusted when I hear the comments that some people say. To think that some people could be so unaware and so apathetic towards individuals who cannot help being disadvantaged. As a teenager I would witness disabled students being taunted by other students at high school. Growing up, I lacked the confidence to stand up for what I believed to be right. I lacked the confidence to stand up for those individuals who I believed could not stand up for themselves. I never really knew how to even communicate with disabled people, I personally felt scared to even try. This all changed however when my cousin Sam was born with severe deformities. His head weighed over 5 kilos and his body weighed 3 kilos. He had the life threatening disorder Campomelic dysplasia. I was lucky enough to visit him before he died as a toddler…he was a beautiful little boy. During my visit something really stood out to me, the way that people were reacting when they saw my cousin was horrible. I felt angry and disappointed, a lot has changed in the last 4 years and now I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe to be correct and appropriate. Now, I am 20 years old and I work at 3 schools, I work with children from a range of different backgrounds and some children that I work with have a disability. Each day I am challenged and working with these children provides me with the greatest joy possible. Today at work during an excursion, I witnessed a teenager yelling at a disabled boy (who was uncontrollably screaming) to “Shut up”. I was disgusted and went straight up to that teenager and advised him that he needed to stop what he was saying, it was inappropriate and just plain wrong. It is disgusting to see that some individuals act in such a negative way to those who are disabled. People need to open their hearts, they need to show some respect and furthermore exhibit some empathy. After all NO disability or NO dictionary is capable of accurately defining who an individual is!
Opening your heart and letting people in can have such a positive and life changing effect on your life. It did for me! I want to end with what I believe to be a very powerful quote by Morgan Freeman: “Attacking people with disabilities is the lowest display of power I can think of”
Week 7 Orwell
4/ Rewrite the first paragraph of your essay in the most horrible, convoluted, ugly way that you can. Change all the simple words to latinate complicated words, link your sentences making them menacingly long. Then sit back and undo the horrible mess you have created and present a clean, effective version… have fun!
The first paragraph is a re- written version of the first body paragraph from my essay on Remarque. The second paragraph is the original paragraph from my essay, I received a DI for this essay, Enjoy!
Remarque presents the central character Paul Baumer as a unique and brave individual who has experienced the brutality, terror, frightfulness, horror and trauma of the front line. Despite Paul Baumer’s direct experiences with such horrible conflict, Baumer presents to be an enlightened character, therefore, he possesses a deep appreciation and lust for life. His appreciation and lust for life is evident through the high modality “… This is everything – just sitting in the quiet” (Remarque 117). This statement beautifully describes the rare moment in which Baumer is away from the violence, gruesomeness and ghastliness on the front line. Thus, this statement suggests that “war is not heroism, but terror, either waiting for death or trying desperately to avoid it” (Murdoch 207). In his novel Remarque masterfully heightens how those who did not partake in the war held a positive view regarding to war and thus, they could never understand what the war was really like. Baumer is disjointed and alone, he does not possess a connection with those at home, the civilians. Baumer fails to connect with the civilians as, “they have problems, goals, desires that I can’t see in the same way as they do” (Remarque 117). Baumer’s absolute frustration and annoyance is reiterated through repetition and sarcasm, “Of course they understand, they agree, they think the same way but it’s only talk, only talk” (Remarque 177).The attitudes that come through from those who did not serve on the front line are substantially wrong and on a high scale appear to be inappropriate. Consequently, this becomes apparent if we consider the views of the educators. These educators viewed war as a patriotic and heroic deed. They believed that serving in the war was one of the greatest honors. Ironically this view is very incorrect. In the novel, the teachers are represented tremendously critically as providing young men with a lie, provoking them to enlist, “Kantorek kept on lecturing us… until the entire class marched under his leadership down to the local recruiting office to enlist” (Remarque 7). It appears that, “the overall message of the novel is that the mechanized warfare of WW1 had terrible consequences, especially for the uncomprehending and innocent young soldiers” (Murdoch 9). The statement … “this is everything – just sitting in the quiet (page 117)” intensifies the idea that life is delicate and brittle and can be easily ended. Death is portrayed as being a probable result of the war.
In this above paragraph I have made my sentences lengthy, by replacing full stops with commas. I have added an unnecessary amount of descriptive terms (that appear to be inappropriately placed). My sentences no longer flow and the incorporation of bad word choice makes in harder to understand the paragraph.
ORIGINAL PARAGRAPH THAT RECEIVED POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM MICHAEL:
Remarque presents the central character Paul Baumer as an individual who has experienced the brutality and horrors of the front line. Despite his direct experiences with conflict, Baumer is enlightened; he possesses a deep appreciation and lust for life. This is evident through the high modality “… This is everything – just sitting in the quiet” (Remarque 117). This statement beautifully describes the rare moment in which Baumer is away from the violence and the noise on the front line. Thus, this statement suggests that “war is not heroism, but terror, either waiting for death or trying desperately to avoid it” (Murdoch 207). Baumer observes brilliantly how those who did not partake in the war could never understand what the war was really like. Baumer is disconnected from civilian life, he explains, “they have problems, goals, desires that I can’t see in the same way as they do” (Remarque 117). Baumer’s frustration is reiterated through repetition and sarcasm, “Of course they understand, they agree, they think the same way but it’s only talk, only talk” (Remarque 177). The attitudes that come through from those who were not at the front are painfully wrong. For example, the educators had a purely heroic view of war, in which war was seen in a noble way, a true representation of heroism. The teachers are represented very critically as providing young men with a lie, provoking them to enlist, “Kantorek kept on lecturing us… until the entire class marched under his leadership down to the local recruiting office to enlist” (Remarque 7). It appears that, “the overall message of the novel is that the mechanized warfare of WW1 had terrible consequences, especially for the uncomprehending and innocent young soldiers” (Murdoch 9). The statement … “this is everything – just sitting in the quiet (page 117)” effectively supports the idea that life is fragile and death for young soldiers is a probable outcome of the war.
Hayfields1994 