Monday, April 15, 2013
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Lesson4: Theme: Gambling
In relation to Paper, the title refers to the protagonist's, Tay Soon, grave. It is significant of gambling, as it tells of how addictive it is. At first, Tay Soon and Yee Lian have a dream house. When they turned to stock marketing, they earned alot of money their hopes of getting their dream house is raised. However, they started losing money but they still continued to gamble. In the end, the family went bankrupt and Tay Soon died. His mother arranged for a paper coffin to keep him, the model exactly as he described the dream house.
I feel that Paul is responsible for his own death. he pressed himself too hard for money. He did not even stop when Bassett and his uncle told him to stop. He kept on rocking to try to get a answer of which horse is winning. In the end while trying to find the winning horse, he rocked himself to death thus I feel that it is his fault.
I feel that Paul is responsible for his own death. he pressed himself too hard for money. He did not even stop when Bassett and his uncle told him to stop. He kept on rocking to try to get a answer of which horse is winning. In the end while trying to find the winning horse, he rocked himself to death thus I feel that it is his fault.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Lesson 3: Analyzing and composing poems
The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’sFor his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed
This poem tells about how he never understood his school's motto although he was there for 6 years. He also shares his good memories. The author is also trying to say that he did not cherish his primary school days and is feeling rather sad.
The School by Joel Lee:
The forgotten cupboard
Once carried tons of books
The forgotten table
once unblemished
The forgotten alley
once echoing our laughter
oh how much have changed!
My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’sFor his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed
This poem tells about how he never understood his school's motto although he was there for 6 years. He also shares his good memories. The author is also trying to say that he did not cherish his primary school days and is feeling rather sad.
The School by Joel Lee:
The forgotten cupboard
Once carried tons of books
The forgotten table
once unblemished
The forgotten alley
once echoing our laughter
oh how much have changed!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Day 1 - Lesson 2: Favourite Poet
Robert Frost. Does this poet's name ring a bell? Well, he is one of the top poets in the world! Frost was a man famous for contradictions, known as a cranky and egocentric personality – he once lit a wastebasket on fire on stage when the poet before him went on too long! I will be covering his background and historical context and will share with you 3 poems.
After researching and reading many of his poems, I felt that his works are extremely intruguing.
He was born in San Francisco on 26 March 1874, but he lived in California till he was 11 and then moved East — he grew up in cities in Massachusetts. Frost had deep US roots: his father was a descendant of a Devonshire Frost who sailed to New Hampshire in 1634. William Frost had been a teacher and then a journalist, was known as a drinker, a gambler and a harsh disciplinarian. He also dabbled in politics, for as long as his health allowed. He died of tuberculosis in 1885, when his son was 11.
In 1894 Frost sold his first poem, “My Butterfly,” to The New York Independent for $15.On the strength of this accomplishment, he asked Elinor Miriam White, his high school co-valedictorian, to marry him: she refused. She wanted to finish school before they married. Frost was sure that there was another man and made an excusrsion to the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. He came back later that year and asked Elinor again; this time she accepted. They married in December 1895.
Frost returned to the US in 1915, and by the 1920s, he was the most celebrated poet in North America, winning four Pulitzer Prizes (still a record). Upon his death in Boston on January 29, 1963, Robert Frost was buried in the Old Bennington Cemetery, in Bennington, Vermont. He said, “I don’t go to church, but I look in the window.”
Now, I'll share with you threee of his famed poems.
FIRE AND ICE
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
HOUSE FEAR
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Always--I tell you this they learned--
Always at night when they returned
To the lonely house from far away
To lamps unlighted and fire gone gray,
They learned to rattle the lock and key
To give whatever might chance to be
Warning and time to be off in flight:
And preferring the out- to the in-door night,
They learned to leave the house-door wide
Until they had lit the lamp inside.
THE IMPULSE
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
It was too lonely for her there,
And too wild,
And since there were but two of them,
And no child,
And work was little in the house,
She was free,
And followed where he furrowed field,
Or felled tree.
She rested on a log and tossed
The fresh chips,
With a song only to herself
On her lips.
And once she went to break a bough
Of black alder.
She strayed so far she scarcely heard
When he called her--
And didn't answer--didn't speak--
Or return.
She stood, and then she ran and hid
In the fern.
He never found her, though he looked
Everywhere,
And he asked at her mother's house
Was she there.
Sudden and swift and light as that
The ties gave,
And he learned of finalities
Besides the grave.
Sources: poetry.about.com/od/20thcenturypoets/p/frost.htm
www.poetry-archive.com/f/frost_robert.html
After researching and reading many of his poems, I felt that his works are extremely intruguing.
He was born in San Francisco on 26 March 1874, but he lived in California till he was 11 and then moved East — he grew up in cities in Massachusetts. Frost had deep US roots: his father was a descendant of a Devonshire Frost who sailed to New Hampshire in 1634. William Frost had been a teacher and then a journalist, was known as a drinker, a gambler and a harsh disciplinarian. He also dabbled in politics, for as long as his health allowed. He died of tuberculosis in 1885, when his son was 11.
In 1894 Frost sold his first poem, “My Butterfly,” to The New York Independent for $15.On the strength of this accomplishment, he asked Elinor Miriam White, his high school co-valedictorian, to marry him: she refused. She wanted to finish school before they married. Frost was sure that there was another man and made an excusrsion to the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia. He came back later that year and asked Elinor again; this time she accepted. They married in December 1895.
Frost returned to the US in 1915, and by the 1920s, he was the most celebrated poet in North America, winning four Pulitzer Prizes (still a record). Upon his death in Boston on January 29, 1963, Robert Frost was buried in the Old Bennington Cemetery, in Bennington, Vermont. He said, “I don’t go to church, but I look in the window.”
Now, I'll share with you threee of his famed poems.
FIRE AND ICE
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
HOUSE FEAR
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Always--I tell you this they learned--
Always at night when they returned
To the lonely house from far away
To lamps unlighted and fire gone gray,
They learned to rattle the lock and key
To give whatever might chance to be
Warning and time to be off in flight:
And preferring the out- to the in-door night,
They learned to leave the house-door wide
Until they had lit the lamp inside.
THE IMPULSE
by: Robert Frost (1874-1963)
It was too lonely for her there,
And too wild,
And since there were but two of them,
And no child,
And work was little in the house,
She was free,
And followed where he furrowed field,
Or felled tree.
She rested on a log and tossed
The fresh chips,
With a song only to herself
On her lips.
And once she went to break a bough
Of black alder.
She strayed so far she scarcely heard
When he called her--
And didn't answer--didn't speak--
Or return.
She stood, and then she ran and hid
In the fern.
He never found her, though he looked
Everywhere,
And he asked at her mother's house
Was she there.
Sudden and swift and light as that
The ties gave,
And he learned of finalities
Besides the grave.
Sources: poetry.about.com/od/20thcenturypoets/p/frost.htm
www.poetry-archive.com/f/frost_robert.html
Day 1 - Emergency IT Lesson 1: Figurative Language
Fast rode the knight by stephan crane
Fast rode the knight
With spurs, hot and reeking,
Ever waving an eager sword,
"To save my lady!"
Fast rode the knight,
And leaped from saddle to war.
Men of steel flickered and gleamed
Like riot of silver lights,
And the gold of the knight's good banner
Still waved on a castle wall.
. . . . .
A horse,
Blowing, staggering, bloody thing,
Forgotten at foot of castle wall.
A horse
Dead at foot of castle wall.
Figurative Language
personification- eager sword(line 3)
simile- like a riot of silver lights(line 8)
hyperbole- blowing, staggering, bloody thing(line 12)
I love this poem! It reflects the passion of Arthurian times, when knights were great men who fought for honor, their people, and their kingdom. When Stpehen Crane incorporates phrases such as "hot and reeking," "steel flickered and gleamed," and "riot of silver lights," it's like you can really see the bloody battle going on. I love the fact that the brave knight is doing battle in order to save the lady he loves. Isn't it amazing how poems even as short as this, can paint such a vivid picture in the mind's eye?
Fast rode the knight
With spurs, hot and reeking,
Ever waving an eager sword,
"To save my lady!"
Fast rode the knight,
And leaped from saddle to war.
Men of steel flickered and gleamed
Like riot of silver lights,
And the gold of the knight's good banner
Still waved on a castle wall.
. . . . .
A horse,
Blowing, staggering, bloody thing,
Forgotten at foot of castle wall.
A horse
Dead at foot of castle wall.
Figurative Language
personification- eager sword(line 3)
simile- like a riot of silver lights(line 8)
hyperbole- blowing, staggering, bloody thing(line 12)
I love this poem! It reflects the passion of Arthurian times, when knights were great men who fought for honor, their people, and their kingdom. When Stpehen Crane incorporates phrases such as "hot and reeking," "steel flickered and gleamed," and "riot of silver lights," it's like you can really see the bloody battle going on. I love the fact that the brave knight is doing battle in order to save the lady he loves. Isn't it amazing how poems even as short as this, can paint such a vivid picture in the mind's eye?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Blog Prompt: Is progress necessarily beneficial for society? Comment.
I think that progress is necessary for the benefit of society. I would like to cite evidence from Village by the Sea to support my argument.
Firstly, if Hari did not learn watch-making skills from Mr Panwallah, he would have not survived the development of Thul.
Secondly, most of the villagers in Thul were too stubborn to adapt to the development of the country.
I would also use animals to support my argument. For example, a clownfish adapts to the environment by hiding in the sea anemone while the clown fish protects the sea anemone from its predators.
Please comment.
Firstly, if Hari did not learn watch-making skills from Mr Panwallah, he would have not survived the development of Thul.
Secondly, most of the villagers in Thul were too stubborn to adapt to the development of the country.
I would also use animals to support my argument. For example, a clownfish adapts to the environment by hiding in the sea anemone while the clown fish protects the sea anemone from its predators.
Please comment.
Blog Prompt: Which part of Village by the Sea do you like best? State your reasons.
My favourite part of Village By The Sea was the part in which Hari left Bombay. I find this part interesting because this is the turning point in Hari's life. After suffering from the torment of his father, he finally succumbed and escaped to Bombay. You could also say that it was the climax of the story.
It was at Bombay when Hari met his benefactors, namely, Jagu and Mr Panwallah. Jagu provides Hari with a job, a place to stay,food and even tried to help Hari on some occasions. Without the help of Jagu, Hari would not have been able to survive in the mean streets of Bombay.
Mr Panwallah taught Hari many things, like how to adapt to the changes Thul is undergoing. Also, he taught Hari how to mend watches, which was very important in the later of the development of Thul.
Please comment.
It was at Bombay when Hari met his benefactors, namely, Jagu and Mr Panwallah. Jagu provides Hari with a job, a place to stay,food and even tried to help Hari on some occasions. Without the help of Jagu, Hari would not have been able to survive in the mean streets of Bombay.
Mr Panwallah taught Hari many things, like how to adapt to the changes Thul is undergoing. Also, he taught Hari how to mend watches, which was very important in the later of the development of Thul.
Please comment.
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