Meet Macbeth

How is Macbeth introduced through in/direct characterization?
Macbeth is introduced indirectly through a speech given by the sergeant. He is considered to be a brave and courageous war hero, looked highly upon.

What elements of foreshadowing do the witches provide?
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair." This quote spoken by the witches lays out the entire play for the reader. It is foreshadowing that good will not always be necessarily good and bad will not always be bad.

How does Shakespeare's approach to exposition give the reader background information about the setting and characters and a sense of what's to come without spoiling the play?
In the exposition the witches say that Macbeth will jump two positions from where he currently holds, that being said, the two holding those higher positions are somehow going to die as the play continues.

How does Shakespeare's characterization of Macbeth reflect a sense of tone (i.e., the author's attitude toward the character/s, audience, and/or subject matter)?
Shakespeare characterization of Macbeth gives the reader the sense that he thinks very highly of Macbeth but he wrote in a sense where it seemed like Macbeth will make a downfall and possibly become very disliked.

What themes appear evident in Macbeth's character and conduct?  To what extent do you think these themes will drive the rest of the play?
When he hears what the witches have to say of his future position he is shocked and appalled. However, I think this could turn into a sense of guilt in the future, and this idea of guilt will be evident throughout the play.

Literature Analysis: Brave New World

1. When the novel begins, some students are being given a tour through the World State. Henry Foster and Lenina Crowne, two employees of this center, have been dating each other a little too often, going against state rules. Lenina's friend Fanny warns her against such promiscuity. Lenina then decides to date Bernard Marx, who is not quite like the others of his caste. Lenina and Bernard decide to go on a vacation to a Savage Reservation. On the reservation, the inhabitants live in an almost primitive manner. Before Bernard leaves for his vacation, he is warned by the Director about his non-conformist ways and threatened with exile to Iceland.  Lenina and Bernard meet Linda and her son, John the Savage, on the Reservation. Bernard learns from John that long ago Linda had come to the Reservation with the Director, who had abandoned her there. When she realized she was pregnant, she knew that she could not return to the World State, and therefore stayed on the Reservation and raised John. Hearing this story, Bernard goes to the Controller and gains his permission to take John and his mother back. When Bernard presents the pair to the Director is humiliated and resigns from his position. Bernard no longer has to worry about being exiled to Iceland.  While living with Bernard, John becomes the man everyone is interested in. Bernard at first revels in the attention that he receives because of the Savage. Things, however, do not go smoothly. John soon grows repulsed by the ways of the New World and becomes unhappy. Despite his mood, Lenina finds herself terribly attracted to John and tries to seduce him. John, however, is disgusted bt the ways of the World State and ends it with her. When his mother dies, John goes crazy. Rebellion results and Bernard and Helmholtz Watson are blamed. When the two of them are taken to Mustapha Mond, along with John, Bernard and Helmholtz are exiled. John is retained for further experimentation. He resists and tries to flee into solitude, but the citizens of Utopia continue to hound him and eventually John commits suicide.
2. One main theme has to do with fitting in. Being a misfit, like John and Bernard, create much of the novel. They both are unhappy and not satisfied with their lives and it really takes a toll on themselves and the reader. Another important theme would be how technology has taken over the World State and how it affects everyone.
3. Huxley's tone changes with the character he is talking about. For example, Lenina is always a "go with the flow" type personality and Huxley makes sure his writing correlates with that. However, his tone changes when he talks about Bernard because Bernard tends to be depressed and negative toward the World State. The overall tone is dark and twisted.
4. Imagery: (specifically to animals) Huxley compares the humans to animals quite often. For example, "straight from the horse's mouth."
Narrator (Third Person): "He knew that what he was saying was absurd in its injustice… But in spite of this knowledge… Bernard continued perversely to nourish… a secret grievance against the Savage."
Allusion: To Shakespeare. "O wonder! ... How many goodly creatures there are here! How beauteous mankind is! ... O brave new world that has such people in it!"
Irony: The readers know certain things that the characters do not.
Parody:Utopian novels were about a happy future, this novel sets the idea on its head by being a dystopian novel.
Foreshadow: "What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder."
Metaphor: "For suddenly there had swarmed up from those round chambers underground a ghastly troop of monsters. Hideously masked or painted out of all semblance of humanity, they had tramped out a strange limping dance round the square..."


1. Direct Characterization: Bernard is described as short and mentally superior
Indirect Characterization: Bernard is considered a rebel cause his actions show that he does not want to participate in the World State events.
2. Huxley's syntax and diction change based on the character he is talking about. Each character is very different so he manipulates his writing to fit that. His syntax also changes from the beginning of the novel to the end. It was very descriptive at first but as the novel continued it seemed to speed up and the sentences got shorter.
3. John is a dynamic and round characters. The reader sees his personality change as he is placed in different environments and it gets to him and he eventually takes his life.
4. Because of the author's descriptive writing and focus on all of the characters, the reader learns a lot about each character, so yes I did feel like I met them, but I don't necessarily relate to them. There personalities seemed extreme to me.

Seeking Mentor

A mentor is someone who is a professional about something you are striving to improve in. Annette and I think it would be awesome to meet John Green, the author of "The Faults In Our Stars" and "Looking For Alaska," two of the books we are using in our masterpiece. However, our masterpiece isn't really focused on improving our writing skills, more on how we understood the novels. That being said, if we were able to reach John Green, it'd be more to say how much we appreciated his books, not needing help. Our plan is to make a blog on tumblr to show our progress and I'd say we are both experts in that, kind of.

My MacBeth Resources

Dr. Preston doesn't like spark notes, but they help me understand the text so much better.
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/macbeth/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/macbeth-at-a-glance

http://www.gradesaver.com/macbeth/study-guide/

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/macbethresources.html

https://apsaunders.wikispaces.com/Macbeth

Resource of the Day

Why reading is important from the point of view of a teenager

http://www.teenink.com/opinion/school_college/article/382103/Benefits-of-Reading/

Masterpiece "Test"

A test is something to show what you know. And so I'm going to share with you what I know about my masterpiece that I haven't told you before in previous posts. Sorry this isn't very creative but I like the simple route that is easy to understand.

Currently, there is not much more to tell. Annette and I haven't found the time to sit down and start pulling apart techniques from the book, but I can tell you the ones I can think of off the top of my head. For example, in "Looking For Alaska" by John Green one main theme is that there is more to life than any one person can experience. This statement is so relatable for teenagers and it something that should be taught to them in school, but we aren't. Also, you can get so much from all the characters. They are so uniquely different yet they build relationships with each and change your perspective on everything.

I don't want to give away too much, cause I'm excited to share everything Annette and I find and I want it to be a surprise.

Huxley's Brave New World

I don't think we will ever be in this type of society Huxley talks about but we have made steps toward it. It is no possible for us to completely forget feelings and emotions but our world has been become more controlled over the past years. More and more regulations are being implemented by the government, restricting us from what we can and cannot do. The more rules that are placed in our society the more the people break them. This country was built upon the idea of freedom and slowly one law after another, the government is taking that away from us. In Brave New World, the world state is in full government control and they barely have any freedom. Thankfully, we still have some but we are increasingly taking steps toward that.

Another reason we are similar to the world state Huxley describes in Brave New World is the fact that even if our country hits a hard time it doesn't affect us greatly. Compared to 3rd world countries we float through life so easily and yet we still complain. In the novel, we see some of the characters complain but eventually the hypnosis will kick in and they return to their happy state. We are fortunate enough that our government didn't do that to us, and won't ever be able too.

Resource of the Day #5

A little advice for future teachers...

http://teaching.monster.com/benefits/articles/9250-advice-for-future-teachers

10 Questions

10 Questions I'd ask my expert...
1. What is the best part of being a teacher?
2. Would you do anything differently when preparing to become a teacher?
3. What is most needed when being a teacher?
4. Why did you become a teacher?
5. Is it difficult collaborating with other teachers?
6. Do you enjoy your job?
7. How do you benefit most from college with a tight budget?
8. What's does an average day look like?
9. It is hard to manage your time?
10. Do you have any advice for me?

Benchmark

Since I thankfully had 26 posts, I got the opportunity to remix this benchmark project. So instead of a 5-7 research and because I'm not creative whatsoever, I made a prezi.
Here's the link: http://prezi.com/924zrtzaandz/edit/#0_24309637

Resource of the Day #4

Is homework really necessary, or beneficial? Or should teachers reevaluate what they assign to students?

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/living/parents-too-much-homework/

Resource of the Day #3

A couple weeks ago I had an interview and they were going to possibly ask about current events. That being said, I needed something that I could get the quick run down of what is going on in the world today. I asked my friend who is in the air force so he likes to know what going on, and he told me about this app called newser. This app takes stories from huge newspapers, summarizes the stories, and puts it all in the same place. It was very helpful for me and I still even use it every once in awhile.

Resource of the Day #2

Today is pancake day! Unfortunately I'm not getting any free pancakes from Ihop, but my friend is. So I guess I'm the resource of the day. If you didn't already know you could get free pancakes, now you can. Have a Happy Pancake Day!

Resource of the Day #1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/teens-teen-books/379003056/

This website talks about a lot of books that would be a good read for teenagers. Personally, I have the list of books that I want to tackle, but in case you guys don't, now you have something to start with.