Group Essay

So, a day or two ago Mrs. Elliott impressed me once again, instead of giving us another routine, mundane essay we will be doing a collaborated work. I really like this idea because it makes the essay much more entertaining and also decreases the work load significantly. Also, it makes it easier to grasp the knowledge of the concept at hand because we can discuss it with our peers. Lastly, it makes learning and writing the essay much more enjoyable since I will be doing it with my friends.
-Jake K

Jane Eyre from Childhood to Governess

Jane Eyre from Childhood to Governess

By: Nikki L.

            For the past week, I have been reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Jane is a young orphaned headstrong girl who wants to feel loved by Mrs. Reed who took her in after Mrs. Reed had promised her late husband she would look after Jane. However, Mrs. Reed and her three children mistreated Jane to the point where Mrs. Reed sent her to Lowood Boarding School.

            When Jane first arrives at Lowood, she befriends Helen Burns, another student at Lowood; and Miss Temple, a teacher at Lowood. But within a few short months, Helen becomes sick with consumption and dies. Eight years pass at Lowood for Jane, in which she was pupil for six years and a teacher for two years before she sent out an advertisement looking for a new occupation.

            Her advertisement is answered by a Mrs. Alice Fairfax who is looking for a well-educated governess for a young girl at Thornfield Hall. Upon arriving at Thornfield, Jane meets Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper, and Adéle, the young French orphan who is the ward of Mr. Rochester. Jane then meets Mr. Rochester, whom Jane believed to be a hard, cruel man, but later falls in love with.

            Jane excelled through her years at Lowood by becoming an accomplished woman who can draw, play the piano, read, write, and speak French fluently. After Miss Temple had married, Jane decided to look for another place to work at. At Thornfield, Jane teaches Adéle her studies and meets Mr. Rochester who becomes intrigued with Jane and continues to ask for her company.

            Jane is an intriguing, stubborn young woman who speaks her mind, even when she was a child under the care of Mrs. Reed. Her stubbornness will help her while is at Thornfield and later on in the book when she leaves Thornfield and Mr. Rochester. Brontë wrote Jane to be a woman who spoke her mind, had a tender heart, and obeyed the commands of her employer and when she was surrounded by Mr. Rochester’s guests. If Jane had not been a headstrong woman, she would have been trampled on by each person who took advantage of her stature in society.

Time Flies! by Jessica Danial

For our table projects this week, my group chose to do the play "Time Flies". It is a comedic drama about two may flies who find out they only have one day to live. Although it was very funny with its puns, satire and sexual allusions, the play reveals a real life message to the audience : Time Flies! It pretty much tells us to make the most of it and to not waste your time with apologies, regrets, and fear...if you have one day left, go to Paris! Well not specifically Paris but make the most of your time and do the things you dream to do. This especially relates to us this year because we are graduating high school and are about to start new lives, so we should make the most out of our last year and live it up (wisely of course).

Frankenstein Reading Response

Right now, the relationship between Frankenstein and his creature is like that between a teen mom and her baby. Frankenstein has no idea what the responsobilities were for his creature and is way over his head; yet, he went on with his creation. now that the monster is born, Frankenstein is overwhelmed and wants to do away with it. The monster on the other hand, has conflicting feelings-- his creator wants to kill him, what should he do? The relationship between the two is complicated. Also, this draws upon the issue of abortion. should people be able to get rid of what has already been created? or should one just take responsibility for one's action.

My Walk

So last week Mrs. Elliott discussed with us the effects of walking around before class to get oxygen to our brains, which would in turn able us to focus more in class. At first I was skeptical of this and didn't actually imagine it having any effect on me, however, I realized I was wrong as soon as i sat back down in my chair. When Mrs. Elliott passed out the assignment I immediately began to work on it and was in the zone. I was able to work efficiently and think much more clearly about the task and produce better response, I give this credit to that pre-class walk. Thank-You Mrs. Elliott

The Creature of Frankenstein: Friend or Murderer

The Creature of Frankenstein: Friend or Murderer

By: Nikki L.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Shelley illustrates the story of Victor Frankenstein being fascinated with the creation of life and decides to create life in a non-living subject. On a cold and rainy November night, Frankenstein gives life to lifeless being that he had created from stolen body parts from dissecting rooms and slaughter houses. Thinking the creature would be beautiful, Frankenstein gave the creature life. After seeing how hideous the creature was, its yellow skin not covering its muscular system and its blood vessels, along with it being about eight feet tall, Frankenstein abandoned the creature hoping that he could live a normal life forgetting he had created a hideous creature.

Years passed by before Frankenstein gets word of the misfortunes back at home. Upon arriving back home, he sees the creature where his late baby brother has been found and comes to the conclusion that the creature had murdered his brother. However, Frankenstein does not tell anyone of this experiment and lets Justine take the guilt for killing his brother. Frankenstein kept quiet about the creature due to the fear of having no one believe him.

Frankenstein decides to ponder his thoughts in the mountains. He travels to the top of the mountain where he dwells for days about the past events, waiting for the creature to appear and show himself to him. The creature shows himself to Frankenstein and Frankenstein immediately attacks the creature accusing it of murdering his brother. The creature asks Frankenstein to listen and hear his side of the story before Frankenstein leaves and condemns the creature to solitude for the remainder of his existence. Frankenstein agrees to hear the creature’s story before judging him.

But will the creature’s story console Frankenstein to the point where he will love the creature for who he is and what is looks like, or will Frankenstein shun the creature away and take his revenge against the creature by killing it because he killed his brother and led to the death of Justine? Can the creature of Frankenstein be trusted as a kind-hearted friend or a murderer who has sought revenge against his creator for abandoning him? I believe that the creature will compromise with Frankenstein, who then begins to create the creature’s demand but before finishing the project, Frankenstein decides that for the world and the community, he will dispose of the project because he does not trust the creature will keep his promise once the creature gets his female companion and that if the creature does have a female companion, will the world be terrorized for centuries to come because the creature and his companion have created young monsters that will terrorize villages for generations.

Victor Frankenstein’s creation will not only cost him his life and sanity, but the lives of the ones he loves the most, including his dear father, baby brother, and wife Elizabeth whom he has known since he was a young boy.

But the most controversy question in the novel is whether the creature of Frankenstein is a friend that can be loved and trusted by others, or is a murderer who has a hideous face and is taking revenge of the town’s people for isolating him from the world and taking revenge on his creator for abandonment.

My Table

My favorite part about English class is my table, it consist of Me, Ryan, Scott, Dustin, and our leader David Bell. All in all, its a pretty dope set-up, we all talk trash on Dustin cause he's going to get back with S______ "again" and he gets all sad when we call him a ........... Ryan and Scott (when he tries) are the brains of our table and hold the dynamic of the group together. While David and I are the swag of the group, we're just completely awesome and do work. So all in all, i like English class, Mrs. Elliott is pretty sick and her swag teaching swag is untouchable.
On another note I like learning about poems they really expand on my horizon, especially the ones that are about who you are and where your from. These poems go tme to think a lot and i ended up writing one of my college applications on the basis of what we learned in class :)
-Jake Kent