The Conclusion

In looking over my 28 total blog posts from across the year, I noticed that from past to present, I've really opened up in my writing and in expressing my thoughts. I had not really had blogging experience of any kind before this class, and so at first I didn't quite know what type of writing fit blogs well. I remember spending ages, and much too long, on my initial entries, determined to make every sentence perfectly right. As a result, at the beginning, many of them seemed quite forced and unlike how I usually write. Commonly, I would use complex terminology that did not fit the prompt and the rest of my language, in an effort to make the post more essay-like, such when I used the phrase "accumulated considerable admiration" in my third blog on To Kill A Mockingbird. Due to such things, the blog assignments felt stressful and time-consuming at the start of the year. Now, I feel considerably more free in my writing, and do not have to stop and think hard every few words, but instead write continually, which is much more enjoyable. It helps me to be able to express my style of writing and my thoughts much more easily, and while I still often strive to use more complex words, they are much more natural, and are used to help the point that I am conveying, rather than to just make the diction more formal. As said by writer Somerset Maugham, "a good style should show no signs of effort: what is written should seem a happy accident."

Another thing that I noticed upon viewing my past posts was that there were a great spectrum of different topics that I wrote about from the many different kinds of prompts that were assigned. The variety of the prompts had not occurred to me at the time when I was writing them, as I was concentrating on the writing itself. They ranged from interpreting theme statements, connecting to characters, and interpreting passages to relating to modern culture, making New Year's resolutions, and writing poetry. It was quite interesting to see what kind of ideas and notions were on my mind back then for the topics that I was writing about, and to consider how I would have written each kind of entry differently if I were to do it now. I find that as a blog writer, the types of prompts that ask me to reflect on past experiences or discuss things that I've done, rather than to make connections or identify themes, are much more relaxing to write, and thus are more enjoyable. A pretty good example of that is the blog post that I'm writing right now.

Up to this point, I had also forgotten many of the in-class activities that we did as a group in English over the course of the year. Going over my past posts really helped me to remember a great number of them, as some of the blog assignments involved discussing those activities. For instance, the unit that we had on reading and analyzing writing, such as the "Lobsters" poem and "The Knife," had slipped out of my mind. Reading my post from November on the Lobsters discussion that we'd had in class brought back a lot of memories on the subject. It caused me to remember the 5 part paragraph that I'd written on "The Knife" at around the same time, and then my experience learning about tone, diction, connotation, denotation, and many other things during the unit. I was astounded by the number of recollections that came flooding back to me just from reading one blog entry, and even more astounded by the detail in which I could remember those experiences when I put my mind to it. Looking back on the posts not only helped me to reminisce on what we did in class, but to give memories on how it felt back then, and how much everything has changed since. It allowed me to watch my journey through the year from the progression of my writing and what I wrote about. In my opinion, my blog is, if not a fully complete representation, still quite an excellent one of my year in English, and a great reminder of how much fun it was to learn, meet new people, and enjoy myself. I am thankful for that.

Memorable Assignment

While I am not very good at choosing favorites in general, one memorable assignment for me this year was the painting that I did on the novel Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut. It was the first outside reading project that we'd had for the year, where not everybody was reading the same book, and the first major art project as well. I didn't think that the artwork was exceptional, but I felt that it showed, at least to myself, that I really understood the meaning and message of the story. With certain books, I feel a great sense of understanding once I've finished them, and artwork is a good way for me to express my feelings and mental image of the story onto paper. In addition, the time of year that the project was assigned and due was, as I remember it, quite hectic for me, and so that is reflected as well in my memory of the experience.

I don't paint very often, and so I was quite pleased that my interpretation of the events in the book resulted in a final product that satisfied me. I recall putting many hours of work into first sketching the outline of the painting in pencil, choosing colors to fit the tone and mood of the book and then applying them. The colors contrasted between dark blue, purple and green on one side of the picture to bright red, orange and yellow on the other side, to represent the protagonist Billy Pilgrim's time in the respective locations of the imaginary planet Tralfamadore and the bombing of Dresden on Earth. However, one of the project's greatest values in memorability is that it serves to remind me of the quote that I chose for the painting, and the weight that it holds: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."

Experience with Poetry

In both my middle school and my elementary school before that, I have experienced poetry units in varying depths and for varying lengths of time. My earliest memory of a significant unit is from the 5th grade, where we were required to learn about and then write different kinds of poems, choose a couple, and then present them in at a recital in the evening. Because I was still relatively young, I had not had many moving experiences to reflect in my writing, and so many of mine, including a few limericks and my take on a sonnet, where solely based on humor and forced rhyming. However, there were one or two that I felt quite proud of, due to the work that I had put into them and my liking of the way that the sounded. I remember presenting my poems, particularly because I, at that young age, still felt the effects of stage fright.

At NOVA, my middle school, the poetry unit in my 8th grade year was a great deal longer, encompassing many weeks. Much time in class was spent on analyzing, researching, and discovering poetry. I associate a multitude of fun experiences with that unit, including going outside to read poetry in the sun, and reading two-voice poems aloud with each other. At the end of the unit, we each had compiled hand-made poetry books, which contained several poems of our own composition, several of our favourite poems from other authors, and a analytic paragraph on our feelings on one of the latter kind. The one that I chose was the poem "Caged Bird", by Maya Angelou, which both flowed and rhymed nicely and smoothly and had a a deeper meaning that made me think. Additionally, by 8th grade, NOVA had helped me to lose the stage fright that had once affected me, making presenting the poetry much more fun than in my earlier years.

In my opinion, poetry can be quite fun to write, but mainly only so when I am free to write in any style and manner that I wish, allowing me to express my true feelings into the writing. I most definitely don't find forced poetry, whether by my writing or another's, inspirational at all. Poetry's value to me is its sound, its flow, and what it can make the reader feel.

Romeo and Juliet Conflict

A specific conflict in the play Romeo and Juliet is that between the characters of Romeo and Tybalt. When Romeo comes to a party at the Capulet's house despite being a Montague, Tybalt expresses great anger at one of his enemies being present at an event held by his house. The conflict is, on a literal level, an interpersonal conflict, as it specifically concerns the two of them, but at a greater depth, it is also a multigenerational conflict, as the source of their disagreement is that of the strife between their respective house's. Major developments in the plot of the story come about from this altercation, including the death of both Tybalt and Mercutio, one of Romeo's friends, when the former challenges the lattermost to a duel. In fact, it could be argued that the eventual climax of the story is resultant of the conflict, as Tybalt's provocation causes Romeo to be banished from Verona, and thus introduces problems to the relationship of the characters Romeo and Juliet, later ending their lives. This being said, it is related to several central themes, including death because of love, as it is responsible for many instances of that throughout the play.

In our society, there are numerous cases of conflicts between pairs of individuals, whether because of a prior disagreement or a grudge. The reason could even be similar to that of the play, namely resulting from a difference in social group. Conflict generally ends with either compromise and a peaceful solution, or confrontation and violence. While in the play violence pervades the story and is how the tension between Romeo and Tybalt is broken, it is a much better choice to take the nonviolent approach in life. Many people in our society result to violence as a solution to their conflicts, and the consequence of this is nearly always harm or death. I take the philosophy that it is always important to harmonize and be positive, which helps to prevent conflict of the kinds found in Shakespeare's play.

Romeo and Juliet in Modern Culture

While the famous storyline of Romeo and Juliet makes appearances in much of modern culture, one particularly current similarity that I noticed is to the movie Avatar, by James Cameron.

A trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVdO-cx-McA

A movie poster

This movie is most directly related to Shakespeare's play in the love between the main characters, in the former case namely Jake and Neytiri, and in the latter, Romeo and Juliet. What strikes me as being additionally analogous between the two stories is the situation of conflict acting as a barrier to love. Just as how the fight between the houses of Montague and Capulet creates difficulty for the possibility of their children's love, the fight between the humans of Earth and the Na'vi of Pandora causes major problems for Jake and Neytiri's relationship.

I myself really felt strongly, in experiencing each story, the concept of love amidst a much larger hatred, and the pain and sadness that comes from the unfairness of such circumstance. It is a very deep theme, and so I understand greatly why it has lasted for so long, and why it will continue to.

Romeo and Juliet Connection

In reading the first scenes of the play, one personal connection that I can make to Romeo and Juliet is that concerning the concept of dreams. In his rant to Romeo, Mercutio shares his opinion about dreams, namely that they are nothing in worth and meaning, and that they can be misleading. In the past, I myself have had numerous experiences where dreams have caused me to think various things, whether positive or negative, until I woke up and realized the opposite. This is also similar to how Romeo was given a foreboding by one of his dreams. While I am in them, dreams often seem very real, not due to great verisimilitude, but because of my lack of consideration toward them. In the sense that dreams can cause me great psychological trouble when I am experiencing them, I find myself agreeing that Mercutio is somewhat correct about their detriment.

The task of reading the play is much less challenging than previously with Great Expectations. For one, the opportunity to read each section twice, both to myself and aloud with the class, helps me to understand both the immediate and more subtle meaning of the story. In addition, having the process of annotating coming in the second reading of the play makes the first reading much less cumbersome, as I do not have to continually stop and annotate while for the first time trying to decipher the text. Other than the notes and explanations on the side of each page in the book, I have not needed to use any other resources to help me in matters of understanding; reading has been going quite well.

Great Expectations Overall Theme

After reading Great Expectation, I feel that the overall message that Dickens wanted to send to readers is that it is important to think about the consequences and future effects of acting upon our immediate wants and desires. When people focus only on what they dearly want at the present, and try to achieve these wants mindlessly, they aren't thinking ahead, and don't consider what could happen as a result of what they are doing. In some cases of desires, the consequences of lacking forethought can be devastating. However, many people only realize the truth of the message after experiencing the negative effects of their rash actions, as happened with Pip for his love of Estella in the book (my limited reference to the characters). Once properly considered, the original desires that are the cause of rash actions often can be realized to be foolish themselves. In life, it can be difficult to look beyond the things that we have strong wants for. While they are not always bad, the vital point is to be able to analyze them with an objective mind, and thus determine if they are sensible or not before acting to achieve or reach them. This is the key to using forethought in regard to our desires, and in regard to many other things as well.

Great Expectations: Thoughts on Reading

Great Expectations is the second unabridged novel of Charles Dickens's that I have read, following my reading of A Tale of Two Cities two years ago. From my experience with each of these books, I can say that while I do not always appreciate Dickens's style of writing and diction, I have great respect for his ability to write stories with engaging plot. I found this to be especially so in the former, but not quite as much so in the latter; I thought that the Pip's adventures were much less well-defined in terms of a plot-line, and thus less enthralling. This and the diction were my main problems with the novel, along with the fact that neither of the endings to the story satisfied me as good closure. On the positive side, I felt that the book had an excellent range of characters and corresponding character development. My favorite character was Mr. Jaggers, with Magwith, Mr. Wemmick, and Biddy following close behind. I had a good deal less sympathy for Pip, mainly due to his actions and thoughts in the center of the novel.

With Dickens's literature, I find that to fully understand what I am reading, I need to concentrate intently and be constantly deciphering what is on the page. In other books, I can take in the story with my attention partially elsewhere, but with Dickens, if my mind is drifting, so will my comprehension. This being said, I at first found it rather difficult to fit the reading assignments into my schedule, especially with the soccer season taking up 2 new hours of my time every day. On one day, I was so busy that I fell slightly behind, but luckily the weekend allowed me to catch up relatively easily. Realizing this, I soon began to read a bit ahead during the weekends, so that I could afford to take a day off on a busy day during the week and still be on track. When the story progressed to the point that a great amount of action was occurring and a great number of mysteries were being resolved, about a week before the deadline, I decided to come back for annotating later and read the book all the way through, as I would for a book that I was reading for pleasure. I confined myself to my room and spent a morning reading the final 10 chapters. I am now very glad that I made this choice, as I was able to read without interruption or sudden stops. This most definitely helped me to better both understand and enjoy the story.

Great Expectations Photo Connection

Janus, the Roman God of Doors

Throughout Great Expectations, and so in both of the first two stages, there are a multitude of comparisons, contrasts, and association in doubles. These are a greatly important part of the book, as they concern and enhance many of its other literary elements, including characterization, plot, and setting. A great number of characters can be compared or contrasted with others, such as Pip and Herbert, Magwitch and Compeyson, Jaggers and Wemmick, and Estella and Biddy. In addition, other concepts can be compared to one another, such as the settings of Satis House and Walworth, and the relationship between Pip and Estella and between Herbert and Clara.

 In Roman mythology, the deity Janus is the god of beginnings, endings, changes, doors, and gates, depicted as having two faces. The photo depicting him serves well to give connection to the motif of doubles in Great Expectations. Janus strongly symbolizes, in his appearance, all of the twos that occur in the book, especially in the relationships between the characters. An added layer to this symbolism is that of the character Wemmick. Just as Janus has two literal faces, Wemmick has two figurative faces, namely two lives. 

Great Expectations: Connection to Another Story

One work of literature that I can relate to Great Expectations is the series The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathon Stroud. Though the latter is of the fantasy genre, with plot, conflict, and other literary elements being drastically different, one of the major underlying themes is shared by both. In the first book of the series, the main character, the apprentice magician Nathaniel, is apparent as young, childish, and inexperienced as to how to act in the world that he lives in. As the trilogy progresses, he becomes of an increasingly high status, both in class and in government, adopting a new name, John Mandrake, as custom to the magician world. However, he also becomes increasingly mean, and as a result, I experienced while reading the books a progressive loss of my liking and sympathy for him, these things moving to the supporting characters. At the climax of the series, he reverts back, metaphorically, from Mandrake to Nathaniel, to his old self and personality.

I have not yet reached the climax of Great Expectations, but I can still see in Pip much of what I saw in Nathaniel. What is most prominent is the path of character development that steers them both in their respective stories. Both have the opportunity to further their societal statuses, and each, most likely unintentionally, are changed themselves by this. My lack of affection and admiration for each occurred at identical times, and for the same reason. Another part of this is the connection with names. Pip becomes Handel as he becomes a gentleman, just as Nathaniel does in becoming Mandrake in his transition to being a magician of the government. Because of this, I am convinced that by the end of his book, Pip will return to his old name as well as to his old self.

While other connections can be made, such as the personalities of certain supporting characters and their roles in the story, the twin nature of Pip and Nathaniel is by far the most striking and distinct in my mind. It feels very inspiring to see this journey of The Bartimaeus Trilogy relived in Pip. I have faith in him to repair the damage of his actions and thoughts and to justify himself in my eyes, just as Nathaniel did.

Great Expectations: Second Stage

In the second stage, specifically chapter 21, Pip comes once again comes across the pale young gentleman that he met in the first stage, now named Herbert. As well as being an extraordinary coincidence, their exchange over dinner that night leads to Pip learning of Miss Havisham's past, specifically the history of how she was abandoned by her fiance. He also, by way of Herbert, comes to knowledge of much other interesting information, including the occupation of the latter, insight that Miss Havisham's purpose for Estella is to break the hearts of men, and details on how to become a gentleman, namely holding spoons, glasses, and napkins correctly.

The exchange between Pip and Herbert relates to several major motifs in the book. For one, there is an existing contrast between the two, as both are similar in age and size, and both are gentleman, or in the former's case, at least developing into one. This relates to the motif of "becoming a gentleman," as well as when Herbert helps Pip to become this by way of table manners. In addition, elements of Herbert's tale of Miss Havisham have some literary significance. Her delusion that her cousin had been jealous of her prior to her marriage is very similar to how Pip was deluded in to thinking that Biddy was jealous of him prior to him becoming a gentleman, providing an important "double."

Great Expectations Passage

In the passage, Pip is reflecting upon his experience at Miss Havisham's house that day. Previously, he had not been aware of the possibility that there could be much more to his contentedness than working with Joe in the forge and had not given thought to the fact that others would look down on him due to his class. In addition, he had most likely not met a person before, namely Estella, for whom he had romantic feelings. When Pip tells the reader to think of, "the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day," he is speaking metaphorically of the fact that his life from then on would feel altered completely, only as a result of that one day. After meeting Estella, his thoughts are mainly occupied with the desire to become a gentleman, something that he had never done before. Also, he begins to consider Joe, one of his greatest friends, as common, a most definitely negative change. As a whole, after first going to Miss Havisham's house, Pip becomes much less satisfied and content with his life, quite irrationally.

In my life, I find it difficult to think of a single day that I can compare to Pip's, as the many changes in my life were started by more gradual intervals of time. However, one experience that could be similar is the day that I started middle school at NOVA. The school had a greatly different community than I had experienced in the past, and over the time I spent there, I learned a lot about myself, especially in how my role as a student changed from year to year. In this way, the transition for Pip between his prior life and his exposure to new ideas is similar to my transition between a public elementary school and a private middle school. I think that the change for me was more positive than for Pip, as it was enjoyable, whereas Pip's made him in ways miserable. I think for sure that since that day, I have become more open and thoughtful, in terms of both personality and idea.

Great Expectations: Question

One section in particular that I was not able to understand as well as the others was in chapter 4, concerning the scene with Mr. Wopsle, Mr. and Mrs. Hubble, and Mr. Pumblechook. At first, Pip says that, "[m]y sister having so much to do, was going to church vicariously; that is to say, Joe and I were going." (21). However, later, the narration implied that the setting was in fact Pip and his guardians' house. Were they actually dining in the church, or did I misunderstand the passage about Joe and Pip going there?

The Importance of Being Earnest Essay

Firstly, here are the links to the paragraphs:

Introduction:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1439_-FHaJALppU047ezlzh1JOXv6lHd8Ox-aJ0tVX9I/edit?hl=en#

My body paragraph: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eUEkCI6r9SHHRh5jlEY08ju7VlS5Rg56vU9qDgeTkBY/edit?hl=en# 

Conclusion: 

https://docs0.google.com/document/d/1jGN5lZ146bhv-7MdppAGwRIPC8mP3vaapTmTZq9gXAc/edit?hl=en

My paragraph, on the motive for lying of pursuit of pleasure, is more or less the same as it was before, only I've changed some wording for clarity. I changed one of the commentary sentences on the point about John Worthing pretending to have a brother called Ernest, but the word choice isn't much different, and so it shouldn't cause repetition in the essay. Do you think that there are any repetitive words in my paragraph on its own? I've also made some changes to your guys' essays, such as add transitions at the beginning, to make them fit better into the essay as a whole. 

The Importance of being Earnest: Dishonesty

In The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde, the theme of dishonesty is expressed in relation to several other kinds of literary elements. An example could be the play's multitude of humorous expressions. A great number of these, particularly epigrams, concern the concept of dishonesty. In one passage, the character John (Jack) Worthing says to another character that, "[i]t is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth." (89). Mr. Worthing is discussing, in an epigram, how the things he had said and done were not untruthful, as he had thought, but in fact the truth. The theme of dishonesty is also involved in much of Wilde's satire of social institutions. A prominent instance of this is when the two characters Algernon and Jack seek to be christened by the church, only for unscrupulous reason of being renamed as "Ernest", so that they can continue in their deception of others. This mocks religion in that the characters' motive in for doing this religious practice is not for their belief in the religion, but for untruthfulness. This example of dishonesty relates to another major topic in the play, namely the many instances of the words Ernest and earnest. As stated above, both Algernon and Jack seek the name Ernest. Throughout the story, they deceive other characters into believing that it is their true name. This also gives incorporation to the literary element of irony, as Ernest is a homophone for earnest, and yet the characters that use this name are far from that. Additionally, Algernon and Jack use the nom de plume of Ernest for their own benefit. The former character, in the latter portion of the book, uses the name to be able to go to the country and visit the character Cecily, whereas the latter character, in the former portion of the book, does the same to visit the city and his love Gwendolen. In these circumstances, the men are using dishonesty to pursue pleasure.

Oscar Wilde incorporates the theme of dishonesty into a great portion of his play, in accordance to several literary elements, and through the dialogue of practically all of his characters. However, this dishonesty comes on many different levels as well. Some are minor, such as when Lane pretends that there were no cucumbers at the market, and others are much more major, such as how Algernon and Jack pretend to be called Ernest. The untruthfulness also varies in terms of intent and length of deception: when Cecily and Gwendolen say that they will not be the first to speak, they then do so a moment later; their intent is not to really try to trick or mislead any others, but to be slightly humorous. However, such as in the grandest lie, concerning the name of Ernest, the two initiators are being dishonest, with the intent of deceiving many other characters in order that they can have pleasurable experiences, and without the intent of ever admitting to the truth. It could be said that Wilde is trying to convey to the reader the multiple levels of dishonesty, and encourage them to think about each of these forms' existence in real life. The implication that I gathered from the novel is that of the many kinds of lies, some are certainly more, or less, harmful than others.

Animal Farm Project Evaluations

1. Aaron B: Artwork

I found that Aaron's project, an circular cycle surrounded with images, did well to convey the theme of the pigs becoming more like the humans that they had once overthrown. The element of symbolism was also well expressed in several of the images, such as the Picard facepalm.

2. Galen B: Comic Strip

Galen's comic strip provided a good and accurate representation of the plot and story of the novel. It also effectively expressed the irony of Animal Farm returning to Manor Farm.

3. Jake B: Artwork

The location of the characters in Jake's artwork was particularly thematic to the book. Napoleon and the dogs were at the top of the barn, being "more equal" in the story, whereas Snowball was at the bottom.

4. Daryl M: Artwork

Daryl's project was an appropriate symbolic depiction of Animal Farm in the arrows and speech bubbles of the animals. The altered commandments also had relevance to the novel.

5. Kyra B & Amaya K: Movie

Kyra's project, a paper puppet movie, well showed the events and alterations of the commandments in the book. This progressing change expressed the foreshadowing of further changes.

6. Kady Z: Movie

Kady's trailer and movie was very accurate to the book. The images, especially of the windmill being drawn and "un-drawn", and the music were symbolic of the events of the book.

7. Joel R: Artwork:

Joel's picture symbolically shows how the pigs become more like man. The pig wearing clothing in the right frame is an occurrence in the novel, and so relevant to it.

8. Britta S: Poem

Britta's poem, with the change from a version of Beasts of England to praise for Napoleon and the other leading animals, accurately expresses this theme from the book. The irony from the book is also present in the poem, such as concerning the windmill.

9. Josh A: Song

Though it was literal at times, Josh's song was quite relevant to the book in the facts that information that it gave. It also discussed the symbolism between the pigs and figures from the time of the Soviet Union.

10. Porter N: Artwork

Porter's artwork was directly symbolic to the theme of the pigs becoming like the humans in what they did. The humor in the depiction of the pig's face in the latter half of the drawing helped to convey the irony of this.

My Project

Having viewed some of the other projects of my classmates, I think that I put the right amount of work and effort into making my own project. Some of the other projects looked like they might have taken longer and more planning than mine, and some less, but I am satisfied with the product that I made. In respect to literary elements, I made sure to include each of the literary elements into my project, and I saw many other projects that did this too.

New Year's Resolution (Extra Credit)

With jazz band in the morning, requiring me to wake up early in the morning, and a host of extracurricular activities late at night, I have not been sleeping as much as I would want since the beginning of the school year. By the time I arrive home after soccer or Aikido practice, have a shower, and get ready for bed, its usually around 9:00. Depending on how much homework I have, I then only get into bed by around 9:00 to 10:00. As it takes me around 30 minutes to fall asleep, and I wake up at around 6:00, I usually only get around 7 to 8 hours of sleep, far less than I need. Thursday, when I have both piano and soccer, leaves me even less time at home to finish homework, and thus even less sleep.

A person sleeping in his clothes.

Lack of sleep has a greatly negative effect on me, throughout my day. In the morning, and sometimes even later into the day, I often feel sick and groggy when I am sleep-deprived. This makes it harder to concentrate on what I am doing, including school, homework, and my after-school activities. Also, being in this state raises the risk of me catching a cold or the flu, which would be extremely inconvenient to me.

I believe that the best way to allow myself more sleep is to be more efficient in my homework and piano practicing. With the exception of Thursday, I have around 2 to 3 hours at home before my soccer and Aikido practices. As I practice 1 hour of piano each day, this leaves me with 1 to 2 hours to do homework. If I could become more efficient in doing my homework, I could complete the majority of it beforehand, and then be able to get to bed sooner, guaranteeing me more sleep. In addition, I could take steps to help myself fall asleep faster, such as relaxing more just before I go to bed, or trying to clear my thoughts. Preparing my backpack and clothes the night before would also enable me to wake up 5 to 10 minutes later in the morning. For the rest of this year, and hopefully beyond that, I am aiming to try and get a great deal more sleep and rest.

Animal Farm Creative Project

Below is my creative, technology-based project on the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell. It is designed to resemble a portrait gallery, with the right side containing images of the historical figures of Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Karl Marx, and the KGB, and the left side containing the corresponding allegorical animal counterparts of Napoleon, Snowball, Old Major, and the dogs. The "X"'s on the portraits of Trotsky, Marx, Snowball, and Old Major represent their death or expulsion. Below the portraits, the seven commandments are written down, with obvious editing in red representing the alterations that the pigs had made in the story. The checks next to several of the commandments indicate that they have already been edited, while the question marks next to the others introduce the possibility that they could be changed later as well. The image can be enlarged to its original size if clicked upon.