Macbeth 3/31/11

I find Macbeth interesting for one main reason, and that is that it is so easy to relate to the feelings expressed by the characters. For Macbeth, he knew what he was going to do was wrong, yet driven by greed and against his best judgement, he went on to kill the king and guards anyway. This is a common theme that appears in everyday life; though not on as large a scale, people are faced with scenarios where they do something that they know is morally wrong, yet out of greed they do it anyway and feel horrible about it afterwards. Lady Macbeth plays the role of the instigator, the one who is really pushing to do a bad thing out of greed, but doesn't wish to get her own hands dirty. And the list goes on. I don't think I would be nearly as interested in this play if it did not have this modern day connection.

Research project schedule 3/30/11

So this is the plan that I'm going to work with, I think. I would like to have my "guiding questions" done by Friday April 15. By that point I will have confirmed what I am working on and will have a clear direction to work towards. By the following Friday, April 22, I want to have all or at least most of my sources identified and started on. By Monday, May 2, I want to be completely finished reading and taking notes on my sources. By that day or soon thereafter, I should be able to create my outline. I am going to put all of this on a calender that I have shared with you.

Thus the research project begins 3/28/11

So after today and the brief discussion that we had, I think I am have a workable topic for the project. I found that the transcendentalists were a bit of an enigma for me, and I would really love to understand them more. For English honors, we had to read The Metaphysical Club, which was all about that movement, and I didn't understand a word of it at the time. I think that it can become a really useful resource for me though now that I understand the implications of the movement. I don't know how much of the book talks about Margaret Fuller, or if she's even mentioned at all, but I can at least use it as a umping off point. I don't really know what I want to study about her yet, but I think I will be able to choose a more focused field once I have done more research. At this point though, it is all about Fuller

Macbeth Act 1 3/27/11 (late)

        This is my blog for last Friday just so that you know. I am finding the reading and annotating of Macbeth to be very confusing actually; it is not an easy story at all to follow, as it just seems to jump right into something that we know little about. Also, I'm a bit confused honestly why we are reading this in American Lit. It's not really American at all. Not a complaint, just a curious observation. The annotation of the story is marginally useful. Most of the work that my group, myself included, have been doing is just defining words with the stick notes, which isn't really needed when you can just double-click for a definition of a word.
        I'm somewhat anxious about this project that we are going to be doing. I think I understand, but it is really hard to find a start-off point. I think it would be really helpful to have a day of class time to ask questions and formulate what we want to do in terms of our projects and schedules.

3/23/11

So since I was not in class this past Tuesday, I will tell you about our wonderful trip to WCU. It was only 11 of us who went, plus Madame Shook, and we had to leave at 7:30, which wasn't fun. The day itself was a blast though; we did a skit that we put together and also an impromptu musical. We were the first up in the skit category, and there were four schools in total. We were doing a murder mystery in the Catacombs of Paris. The skit went well, and in the end we took second for it. That was the only thing that we had planned for the day, but we noticed that there were only two entries in the French Music category, so we did an impromptu song that we had sand for Café Night and actually took second out of three for that too :) It was a really fun day, and I think we represented Rabun Gap well. And, my personally favorite part, we stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home.

Diigo 3/20/11

I think Diigo could prove to be a very useful tool, especially if we use it collaboratively. I personally found that it made me analyze the work that I was reading a little more in depth, since I was looking for places to comment. I think it would be easier to use if you were to specifically say, "find passages that discuss naturalism," or whatever it might be. It makes it more difficult to know what to look for when you just say "go forth and highlight." I do think that it has a lot of potential for our needs, and I think we will be able to use it to its fullest when we work collaboratively.

Yellow Wallpaper 3/15/11

-John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him.

-I never saw so much expression in an inanimate thing before, and we all know how much expression they have! I used to lie awake as a child and get more entertainment and terror out of blank walls and plain furniture than most children could find in a toy-store.

-I'm getting really fond of the room in spite of the wall-paper. Perhaps because of the wall-paper.

-And I know John would think it absurd. But must say what I feel and think in some way -- it is such a relief!

-Of course I never mention it to them any more -- I am too wise, -- but I keep watch of it all the same. There are things in that paper that nobody knows but me, or ever will. Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day.

-At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candle light, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be.

-Did not that sound innocent? But I know she was studying that pattern, and I am determined that nobody shall find it out but myself!

          These are just some of the quotes that I found over the course of the story that best explain this poor woman's transition from a semi-sane person to one of complete and utter insanity. I think that there was honestly nothing that peculiar about the wallpaper; that was just the one thing that she chose in which to manifest her insanity. If not the wallpaper, then perhaps the window would have been her obsession. I found a good majority of the things that she began to say at the end legitimately disturbing. I read her "reasons" for writing this, but I think only someone who is presently mentally insane could even have the potential to. Unless. perhaps, if she was like Poe, who was in a permanent state of insanity. In all honestly, I found no greater moral behind this story, and if there is any, then I would love to know about it.