Page 3 of 3

To kill a mocking bird – Symbolism

March 2, 2015 / / 2 Comments

The feature of symbolism is used in the novel on page 179, during which Scout is describing the new courthouse, as the old one no-longer stands from being burnt. ‘From the other side, however, greek revival columns clashed with big nineteenth-century clock tower housing a rusty unreliable instrument, a view indicating a people determined to preserve every physical scrap of the past.’

From a certain standpoint, the courthouse would symbolise the world around them, newly built from the old whilst maintaining is foundations. The clock representing racism, old and useless to which many have given up on, but those few still check it for the time. And the columns standing for different things from different perspectives (as the rest can too), perhaps Atticus holding up justice, or Scout and Jem holding up the burden of Atticus defending a black man, seen as how they seem to be affected more than their father is.

From logical veiwpoints rather than metaphorical the ‘film of dust’ would suggest the courthouse or its proper uses are rarely used. This would lead to enthusise that the law of maycomb disregard their duty, and make things how they wish them to be- weither somone is innocent or not.

To kill A Mocking Bird – Morality

February 11, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Throughout the book the character Scout asks questions and seems conflicted of right and wrong. In A way, Harper Lee is communicating with the reader through Scout.

I believe methods such as making her A tom-boy are intentional, and are ways or making her relatable to A brouder audiance. Her innocents was also purposely performed so as to not cut off people who think differently to the ongoing events. Younger readers may be targeted, as Scout is growing up and learning just as they are. Going deeper, Scout may have many characteristics and features taken from Harper Lee, which many authors do, in order for them and others to create A likeable subject.

Jean-Louise’s innocents is expressed in events such as the racism. She is almost oblivious to the crime. Examples would be when she asks her father, Atticus, what A nigger is, or her questioning why people call Atticus A nigger-lover.

 

 

 

Ghost Rider – Antihero

January 31, 2015 / / 1 Comment

The Bounty hunter of the devil himself, named the Ghost Rider, for being spiritually possessed, and for driving/riding on hell on wheels (sometimes hoofs) – transportation that turns along with the host of the Rider.

A comic character originally and acted later by Nicolos Cage in the 2007 movie, Johney Blaze makes a deal with satan in an attempt to save his stunt bike performer dad’s life. He only asks for A small thing in return – his soul. Having never seen any old horror movie in his life (a joke that is later mentioned in the sequel) he signed the contract.

Years later, having left most of his old life as a circus performer, Johney is doing well for himself, still contuing his stunt biking. But thats whats bothering him. After numerous close calls, his alive. “You’ve got A guardian angel!” his friend says. A mutter from Johney follows “..or maybe its something else..”

Discovering the powers of the Rider and learning more about the legends, it is known that it is an enslaved demon that is responsible for bringing the souls of the damned down to hell. He’s essentially being forced to work for a devilish fiend, so he’s quite relatable to any working man. As if that wasent enough to class him as an antihero, his soul sucking is usually done by burning out the life of the evil doers through their eyes- his penance stare, the Rider’s most powerfull weopon.

Closely following Johney Blaze’s battle, burns also one inside him, to which he loses love and friends to both. He considers himself A monster so long as this curse is his to burden. But if this is HIS curse, he will claim it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wolverine: Origins – Antihero

January 12, 2015 / / 2 Comments

The Wolverine: Origins graphic novel explores the untold aspect of the Wolverine. Reading it, James Howlett is not yet the antihero. He isn’t the tough bearded fellow you see in the films or other comics. He’s vulnerable, quick to trust others and wishes the problems he encountered never happened, rather than to combat them. This being his origin story, doesn’t show him being born and continue from there, but instead shows the pinnacle events that occurred in his early life that made him the man we see today, depicted in the present comics and movies.

Tragedy after tragedy strikes before the man with accelerated healing has any time to spit them out and close up the wounds.  Family disputes, love affairs and abandonment hits hard, all at once, ripping Logan up and leaving him to put himself back together, but regeneration doesn’t medicate a broken heart, and some wounds become permanent scars. If every day you kick the dog you walk past, eventually you’re going to get bitten, and the animal wont make the same mistake of letting you make the first move next time.

By the end of the book, the character is not in the same place he was in the beginning. He isn’t quite the polished product that is the Wolverine, but you would never look at him in the same way. Instead of some of Logan’s actions being perceived as cruel or unkind, they’re what’s expected from him. His choices are understandable, given the circumstances at the time, and if he has gone through something similar before. To be cold-hearted, still requires a heart to be frozen over. That meaning that no-one is born the way they are; its their surroundings that shape them. There is a reason why he is constantly trying to withhold his animalistic side, why he tries his best not to get too close to people, why he’s so hard on himself and others. Now I know that reason.

Apex (Based on Hawk Roosting)

December 5, 2014 / / 1 Comment

Looking at cars from A plane reminds me of being A kid. There was always an ant hill somewhere in the garden; and then one day, I found a box of matches. My sister shouted at me, asking me what they had done to me. “Look, now they’re fire ants!” I shouted back.  Makes me wonder, would the ants do the same to me if they could?

I never asked to be the best- I just am. Dad made sure of it, damn well made sure of it once mum had left with sis. “Doesn’t matter what you do” he would say “be the best at it”. Don’t explain why he signed me up for kickboxing. Never able to look at someones foot the same way again. I guess in some terrible way of getting beat in the ring, the beatings he would then give me, and watching him dish out the beatings on others, was him trying to toughen me up for the real world; make me into all of the things he wasn’t, and redeem himself in the meantime. Guess it worked, because after a while, I never wanted to win so bad. Looking back compared to now, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

Never got the best grades though. His idea was that maths would only ever help you when you’re counting the seconds you’ve got your arm wrapped around his neck. No job, and certainly no friends (I had a tendency  for hurting those who got near me) I enlisted in “serving our great country”. I’d call it the hardest few years of my life, if I hadn’t been spending my earlier teens being kneed and elbowed in the head at the club, and then given a good few more at home. It was really just like A school, for those who didn’t pay much attention in class the first time round. Kept my head low, got on with my work, just like i’d been doing the whole of my life. The physical becomes a routine, just like anything else, you get used to it.  It was the abbreviations, worded alphabet and all that stuff that was difficult. The one that did stick in, was KIA- Heard that followed by enough poor soul’s name to last A lifetime. Then like cow to the slaughter, they shipped me of to fight in a country id never set foot in before.

Few months there and they paired me up with this bloke called Andy. Never knew the guy up until then. Heard him and his mates at there table in the mess hall- this pilot, Ted Hughes, and real hardcore Veteran,  John.J, who later suffered from PTSD, and ended up killing these guys when he was looking for A place to eat, but that was about it. Real patriotic guy, Andy was. Believed he was doing himself, his family, his country and every bloody sod under the sun A ‘great duty’. The start of the best spotter and sniper friendship you will ever hear, is the day he asked me “AC/DC or Hendrix”. “No ones tied down this Rollin’ Stone yet, And” I said. ‘Eagles’ the other units called us. Fitting name, considering we both loved the band. There’d be times when And would wake me up in the night just to tell me ” ‘I Dreamed There Was No War’ ” or when he got a letter from his girl back home i’d say,   “Well she sounds like A ‘Witchy Woman’.

This one time, our squadron was tracking through the  jungle. It’d just finished pissing down and me and Andy were at the back, secretly playing air guitar on our rifles, as you do. Heard it before I saw it, this load bang and a puff of black smoke coming out the ground. All those excirsises come into play, its that time to prove to yourself and the rest that your sorry arse is worth anything; grabbed Andy by his helmet and pushed him down into the mud, me falling with him. “How the fuck didn’t spot that one, And.” Look at me; some guy’s legs have just been blown off and i’m cracking jokes. Guess i’d been in situations like this too many times to take it seriously anymore. I was already looking through my scope, tearing off heads. No-one wants to be there, not even the rebels. One or two collapsing, crying and wishing they were someplace else, anywhere but there. Id be lying if I told you, I didn’t love every second. Not because im some pyshco. But because conflict is the most basic thing I know. The more you hit, and the less you get hit, gets the win. Eleviating those poor basterds from their hell on earth was acctually the kindest thing that could’ve been done. Them falling down, the smoke from their guns almost resembling their souls escaping. I’d rehearsed these kills in my sleep. Im no saint, I’ve just got the balls to say it. Few minutes before we all heard “fall back!” That feeling, when you know you could’ve won, but someone had rung the bell too early, reminded me all too much of kickboxing as A kid. Gave Andy A tap and said ” ‘Life In The Fast Lane’ “. To this day, I know he knew that reference, and I got up from the mud and ran. Got quite A bit before I realised And wasn’t behind me. This lanky guy, who weren’t too bad at ping pong back at base, was pulling out guys who couldn’t make it out themselves, bringing them back to the coastline. From the looks and sounds of things, he was looking for A guy called ‘Bubba’, I think I heard him call out. Heard he got the medal of honer later.

I found Andy after I went back in. He was still in the mud looking through his binoculars. I called his name. He didn’t answer. I heard some of the other tommies shouting “Eagles!” They were looking for us. “And.” I said A bit louder. I turned him over. His face was full of blood and shrapnel. I’d had no issue with seeing gore. I was A sniper. I’d seen heads explode before. But this one bothered me. I picked Andy up, and walked back to the coastline where we were getting an evac. Nothing has changed since I began. I should’ve just kept things like this.

Poem 1 Analysis (Hawk Roosting)

December 1, 2014 / / 0 Comments

The poem ‘Hawk Roosting’ was written by Ted Hughes and was published in 1960. He was skilled at writing poetry regarding nature, such as this poem, as his veiws were heavily influenced by animals and their way of life, being that they served an insterest of his from an early age. This traversed into his literature. Ted Hughes used animals and nature as a metaphor for human life. It is written in A first person point of view from what I believe to be A hawk, eagle, or winged predator. The poems history At first read it looks like the creature is describing its flight and life. ‘Hawk Roosting’ can however, be interpreted deeper. I found help with this from the 4th and 5th stanzas. I believe that this isn’t layered with a deeper meaning or symbolism hidden underneath. It is simply “I am powerful, not only in strength, but with the power to do what I please with that power”.

Thats A Nice Accent!

October 8, 2014 / / 3 Comments / Sticky

I completely disagree with the article written by Isabelle Kerr. Slang is an evolution of the english language. As a teenager of 15 (now 16), in inner London, slang surrounds me and although it has become a big part of my life, it hasn’t consumed it. From time-to-time, users of speech may partially utilise or replace what has mistakenly now known as ‘proper english’ with slang, and those same people cannot, and will not sit idle while society diminishes it and doesn’t recognise it for what it truly is – A perfect example of what makes us human, and sets a profound example of evolution. Isabelle claims that she is part of this ‘young generation’, when she writes as if the colloquialisms and innovativeness is some exiled spawn of the illuminate. But if she were, she would have A different mindset, and wouldn’t need to research what the word ‘twerking’ meant. She even states herself that its important to keep up with language developments, and if slang, abbreviations and completely new creations don’t fit into that category, then A new category must be created which, again, counters her point and everyone else’s about sticking to ‘proper english’. You wouldn’t arrive in paris and expect everyone to speak perfect english, and listen whole heartedly to your demands to speak your language, so to invade A generation, criticise the way its speaks, and demand change, sounds an awful too much like a few decades back when A bloke from Austria wanted to take over with his iconic moustache.

Writers are currently, and will in the future, use slang in their literiture regardless. If they wish to properly simulate speech of present day youth or set a circumstance, then they will need to include slang for it to be genuine and authentic. To properly simulate a conversion between two people, a few syllables will need to be taken out, and more formal words will be replaced. There are even those who aren’t strong users of the misinterpreted gift, but utilise it to be comical – to have a laugh! If Isabelle and those who share het views seriously wish that desperately to exterminate others ability to joke with one another, its no wonder that their point is difficult for others to grasp and agree with. Even so, no-one uses ‘groovy’ as often as was in the 80’s, which is a perfect example of how words change as society does. Parts of slang as does ‘doth’ and ‘thou’ may predominantly dissappear from our vocabulary; or unify it.

Article writers like Isabelle, and even the common citizen, would claim that these new words are ‘pitiful emblems’, and that shakespeare would ‘turn in his grave.’ They would be wrong, considering Shakespeare helped construct language to what it is today through colloquellisms and neologisms. Creating words such as ‘assassination’, ‘uncomfortable’, ‘eventful’, words everyone is familiar with, but when questioned of their origins, aren’t too well informed. These words began as an idea – A spark in one mans head that sprawled across countries, in schools and amongst conversationalists. To claim that slang words today, aren’t worth permanence, you could be depriving the world from advancement; one that would have been founded by a youngster unintentionally following in the footsteps of a widely regarded brilliant mind. If such an idea like that was conceived in Shakespeare’s time, speech would face crippling outcomes, and we wouldn’t speak the way we do today; but regardless – and heres the interesting part- we would have still gotten those words, or words simular to them at some point across time; and that is because we are not in control of evolution. Its like asking a caterpiller not to become a butterfly, or requesting a ban on technology. You cant kill progress. Language is clambering out of the ocean to walk on land. Evolving; adapting to its environment; and I personally promise you, that there will always be that one, who isn’t content with whats already in the sea, and wants to see what treasures and secrets await him on the island.

Whether its to improve on what is originally there, or to change drastically, evolution is inevitable. Regardless on what limits we give ourselves, ideas will always be constructed, and ways of life will consistently change. Either get with it, or leave it alone. Evolve or die.

This is Your Online Domain

May 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to your personal online journal.

Edutronic has been created to enhance and enrich your learning at the London Nautical School. Its purpose is to provide you with an audience for your work (or work-in-progress) and you have the choice (by altering the ‘visibility’ of your posts) of whether your work on here is visible to the world, or only to your teacher.

Anything you post here in the public domain represents you and thus it’s important that you take care with that decision, but don’t be afraid to publish your work – as the feedback you may get from people at home, your peers and people from around the internet is only likely to enhance it.

Remember you can always access your class blog and all manner of resources through the Edutronic main website – and by all means check out the sites of your peers to see what they’re getting up to as well.

If you have any questions for your teacher, an excellent way to get an answer is to create a new private post on this journal. Your teachers are am notified of any new posts and will reply swiftly to any queries.

Make the most of, and enjoy this new freedom in your English learning!

May 25, 2014

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway