Andrew's Blog

While writing an APA paper I learned many things. First off I learned how to write in a professional tone without clutter. Another thing I learned is that you must be willing to find your own mistakes.

This will make writing papers in the future easier. Writing about things I don’t like is very frustrating. Nearly everything in this section was new to me.

This year in English we learned many things. My favorite thing however was the research project for the English middle ages. That project was mostly a precursor to Beowulf and Hamlet.

One of my least favorite things throughout the year believe it or not is these blogs. They make me summarize the year which can be good but they are quite tedious. New kids going into english 12 I recommend that you don’t expect to get everything done in class.

Brave New World is a book about a very different world from ours. In this world people have vastly different ideology than society today. It still takes place on earth and in our everyday cities but people live under heavy influence by world controllers.

Bernard Marx is one of the main characters who is a member of this society. John the savage is another main character but he lives in a place where a culture a bit more similar to our everyday culture exists. These two characters take us on a journey to see the world from different perspectives.

Bernard doesn’t fit in well and eventually goes and visits the savage reservation. There he finds John who he takes with him back home. John is appalled by what he sees and Bernard’s culture is appalled by John. Things don’t end well for John but are a bit better for Bernard.

There are many different types of Satire. In our Satire project my group was assigned with horatian satire. Horatian satire, Juvenalian satire, and Menippean satire are the three main types of satire. All three types focus on the creation of comedy but some are more or less aggressive than others.

Horatian satire in particular is the most gentle of the three. It is light hearted and focuses on society as a whole. It was used historically to point out problems in government or ideology.

Hamlet is very similar to The Lion King in many aspects. They have a nearly identical story and have characters that mirror each other. They also however, have many differences.

One of the similarities is the way that Simba’s dad is killed and so is Hamlet’s. A difference though is that Simba is there to see his father die whereas Hamlet is not. Another example of a similarity is that both plays/shows have armies, one in the form of hyenas and the other in the form of human soldiers.

Hamlet is a tragedy about a prince of Denmark and the murder of his father. A ghost reveals to the young Hamlet that his father was murdered and demands to be avenged. Hamlet refuses to act and instead searches for more evidence proving Claudius guilty. Claudius is eventually proven guilty in Hamlet’s eyes when he stops a play that Hamlet has set up that recreates the murder of Old Hamlet.

Hamlet considers killing Claudius immediately after the play but Claudius begins praying. Hamlet fears that if he kills Claudius while he’s praying he will go to heaven. Hamlet then visits his mother where the ghost appears to him again. At the same time Hamlet notices Polonius, who he believes is Claudius, hiding behind a curtain. Hamlet stabs the figure only later to find out it was truly Polonius.

Hamlet is then sent to England but in secret doesn’t go. Hamlet with the help of Horatio finds Laertes who eventually with the guidance of Claudius challenges Hamlet to a duel. Laertes believes Hamlet is guilty for the death of his father and sister and in order to exact vengeance he poisons his sword. Both Hamlet and Laertes take a slash from the poisoned blade. Before his death Hamlet stabs Claudius and forces him to drink poison intended for Hamlet. In the end only Horatio is left to tell the story to the new king of Denmark, Fortinbras.

The movie Field of Dreams has many similar qualities to Beowulf. One of these qualities is a hero with unique qualities. Another is a mysterious guide. A third similar quality is a journey that the hero must endure.

The main character of Field of Dreams had a rough childhood which is what makes him the unique person he is. A voice tells him what he must do, acting as the mysterious guide. The main character must then travel across the country to seek someone out. These qualities are used in modern movies as well as old legends. Some say that no new story is truly new.

We watched a couple videos in class about society as a whole. The main takeaway from one of the videos for me was, that technology has made us form less meaningful bonds. Between parenting strategies that insist on giving kids everything they want and technology giving nearly instant access to content, the next generation is set up to fail. Another factor was the way that corporate companies use young workers.

I agreed strongly with most of the information shared in the video. I have even experienced much of what I talked about in my personal life. Making good friends is harder than ever and finding careers instead of jobs is proving a difficult task. The video this paragraph is about helped solidify my perspective on today’s world.

There are some Medieval Romance qualities that appear in most shows and articles. One of these qualities is the repetition of 3’s and 7’s. Another quality is large deeds that the heroes are known for. One more quality is the world seeming normal except for a few mysterious occurrences.

Morte D’Arthur uses 3’s when a knight attempts to throw a sword in the lake and actually does on his third try. Characters are known for their great deeds such as Arthur getting his sword from the lady of the lake. The lady of the Lake is a prime example of mysterious world. Shows today still use some of the same qualities.

The Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories giving a social commentary of the medieval time period. There are multiple stories included such as The Pardoner’s Tale and The Wife of Bath’s Tale. All of the stories have a central theme towards which they all build towards. All of the stories are built into others making a frame story.

I enjoy the stories personally because most of them have an ironic nature. Some of the stories show characters who are corrupt and/or immoral. Other characters teach lessons that are contradictory to their own actions. The stories help give social commentary of the medieval time period.

One of the morals we learn about is that greed is the root of all evil. This moral is still prevalent even in today’s world. Many of the lessons taught in the Canterbury Tales are important even now. The morals of the stories also help give social commentary.