Benjamin Franklin, Models, and Rough Drafts

For American Literature, I finished reading Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, some Frost poems, and a Eudora Welty story. We talked a lot about Benjamin Franklin and the American Dream in class.

For British Literature, I had to read Love Melancholy and Hobbes. I also had to write a rough draft for my ten page paper on Queen Elizabeth I.

For drawing, we had two students from the class pose for us while we drew them with charcoals and pencils in class. I also had to draw a raven with a pumpkin.

For espanol, we learned the terms for household items and daily routines.

Velvet Dress

Model in a Chair

Raven & Pumpkin

Steinbeck, British Plays, and Pointilism

For American Literature, I read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.

For art, I had to draw my lipgloss bottle using ink and only drawing dots. A fellow student in the class posed for us with his guitar on Thursday and we had to draw him.

For British Literature, I read the plays: The Duchess of Malfi by Webster and Volpone by Ben Jonson.

For Spanish, I had to memorize the days of the week and clothes I wear to church, the beach, and to school.

Volpone

In Ben Jonson's comedy Volpone, he writes in the prologue, "Here is rhyme not empty of reason. in all his poems still hath been measure, to mix profit with your pleasure," which goes along with The Defense of Poesy and could sum of the life and work of every poet. They write for their voices to be heard, to leave a legacy and make an impact on the world, to sometimes make a fortune, and "to teach and delight."

This comedy is about greedy people and how low they will go to be the benefactor of Volpone's fortune, hoping he will die at the hands of his illness sooner rather than later. They bring him gifts, including a married woman named Celia to tempt him into signing over his fortune. Volpone is onto their schemes and describes this encounter as "The vulture's gone, and the old raven's come."

There are a lot of references to Greek and the Romans. Mosca says "Let's die like Romans, Since we have lived like Grecians." Volpone says, "But angry Cupid, bolting from her eyes, Hath shot himself into me like a flame," about his lust for Corvino's wife Celia. Corvino and Mosca send her into to entice Volpone, using her female persuasion, while Mosca places Bonaro to watch from the background. Celia would rather "take down poison" than be dragged into their schemes. When Volpone tries to rape Celia, Bonaro jumps out and says "Lady, let's quit the place. It is the den of villainy." It certainly seems that way.

Guitar Model

Lipgloss

Scotland

The Great Gatsby

I first read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, when I was in high school and got the opportunity to read it again for my American Lit: Modern class. Nick Carroway describes himself as open an uncritical to experiences. Tom is viewed as a brute and Daisy is viewed as complicated, wearing a happy face with grief behind it. Fitzgerald makes notes of a green light hanging from Daisy's dock. Gatsby is an "American Adam," with the chance to start life all over again. Gatsby keeps a schedule similar to the one in Benjamin Franklin's biography. Gatsby believes in the American dream and dreams of possessing everything. Nick Carroway tells us that Gatsby turned all right in the end.

Fall Break, Midterms, and The Great Gatsby

For American Lit, I read The Great Gatsby, and poems by Frost and Jeffers.

For Art, I had to draw a teddy bear in color pastel and draw something from one of my heritages. I chose Scottish because of my Grandma Wayment.

For British Lit, I took my midterm exam which included 2 essays, 15 matching, and 10 lines where I had to name the title of the poem and author. It was brutal. I also read a play by Elizabeth Cary and the history of King James and King Charles.

For Espanol, I had to memorize sentences with breakers, the names for clothes, and numbers 10- 1,000,000.



On Monday night, my parents and I went and saw Couples Retreat. It was alright. It was kind of dirty.



Yesterday was fall break, which I was grateful for. I spent the morning shopping with Mom and going out to lunch.

Member of the Wedding

Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding (1946) is about a dysfunctional family in a small Southern town awaiting the wedding day of the oldest son after a long summer, the days leading up to it, and the fall season after it. The protagonist and sometimes antagonist to herself, is a twelve year old girl named Frankie Addams who has "Anywhere But Here" fever, believes the grass is greener on the other side of her town and surroundings, and is determined to break out of the glass box she feels she is confined to. Frankie is a complex character with real emotions, who any reader of the novel can relate to in one way or another.

Frankie has problems with discovering her true self and establishing her identity. "The reflection in the glass was warped and crooked, but Frankie knew what she looked like" (2). She doesn't like the way she looks and she believes that if she was shorter, her legs were smaller, her hair longer, and her shoulders wider, she would be truly happy (2). She is afraid of the dark and decides she will "not let things make her sad and she would not care" (24). She feels her "heart is divided like two wings" (42).

Frankie is lonely, because her best friend Evelyn has moved away, her father is always working at his jewelry store, and her foster brother Honey only appears briefly (23). Her only confidantes are her cook, Berenice and her six year old cousin, John Henry. "The three of them sat at the kitchen table, saying the same things over and over, so that by August the words began to rhyme with each other and sound strange" (1). She gets tired of talking to and having to entertain John Henry, but she won't let him leave when he wants to, for fear of not having anyone else to talk to (7). If her mother had survived giving birth to her, Frankie would have adapted better to her surroundings much better, because she could ask her mom for advice about how she dealt with being a teenage girl.

Frankie is desperate for attention, even mailing her older brother candy while he was in Alaska, just for the chance that he will write her a thank-you note (5). Frankie is jealous that her older brother is getting married and is able to leave their small town while she is stuck there (2). She believes her brother and his betrothed "have a good time every minute of every day" (3). She wants to run away with them and not "return after the wedding" (5). Berenice tells Frankie, "You're going crazy. That's where you going" (34).

Frankie lives in what she feels, is the most boring town on the planet and she believes "The world seem to die each afternoon and nothing moved any longer" (1). She starts getting anxiety and claustrophobia, and tells Berenice and John Henry "the world is certainly a (small) sudden place"(4). She points out "The irony of fate," because the butterflies want to be near her windows on her house, instead of "flying anywhere" (11-12). She doesn't see any value in her own surroundings. She wishes she "could tear down the whole town" (23).

Frankie needs an adventure. She talks of going to exotic places and having new experiences, she wouldn't have if she stayed in her hometown (21). She is jealous that John Henry has seen snow, when she hasn't (7). She once saw a freak show at the fair and feels like she could fit in with that group (17). Like many kids her age, her boredom leads her to look for entertainment and excitement. She tries shoplifting, shooting guns at still objects, and a fascination with holding, throwing, and thinking of mutilating her feet with sharp kitchen knives (23-26). She recognizes that there is a restless "feeling in her" (38). When she gets that feeling, she hits "herself on the head with her fist" (41).

Frankie doesn't like her name. She is "sick and tired of being Frankie" (20). She changes her name to F. Jasmine, to be like her brother Jarvis and his bride Janice (15). She was mad at her father all summer, because he wouldn't let her share his bed anymore when she got scared at night, but now with her new personality and name, she is not mad at him anymore (46-47). Berenice tries to tell her the importance of having a good reputation based on her name, but she refuses to listen, and thinks everything associated with her name is meaningless (108).

F. Jasmine does things the old Frankie would never do, like hanging out and drinking beer at an adult bar called the Blue Moon and talking to men who are way older than she is, even making a date with one soldier (64-66). She insists that she isn't pretending and she "wanted only to be recognized for her true self" (56). She even imagines what people will say when they see her doing something in her new life (60).

Like her old self, F. Jasmine has severe emotional problems. She is overly dramatic, emotionally unstable, and obsessed with the wedding. F. Jasmine claims to be not afraid of dark anymore and she threatens to kill herself if the escape at the wedding doesn't go exactly as she plans (75). When Uncle Charles dies the day before the wedding, she worries about how his death will affect the wedding (71).
F. Jasmine seems fascinated with other people's lives while on the verge of destroying her own. She wants to know "everybody in the world," (110), probably to get their stories and pass them off as a part of her new identity. She wants her freedom and thinks if she has nothing to worry about, she will be free. Berenice tries to let her know that "We go around trying one thing or another, but we caught anyhow" (114). When she later tries to run away, she writes, "Please Papa don't try to capture me," (141) in her note.

Ultimately, when anyone's life doesn't go the way they plan or they get let down in some way, they feel a certain degree of hopelessness and depression. When it happens to F. Jasmine, she again adopts a new personality in which she calls Frances, which is probably is her given name at birth. This personality is very bitter, wanting "the whole world to die" (135) and "hates everyone and wants only to spite and shame" (136).

Frances pushes away all the people she cares about and tells them "All I wish in the world is for no human being ever to speak to me so long as I live" (140). I'm sure that many teenagers have utter that exact phrase to their parents somewhere in the world, after such an event. Berenice assures Frances she will overcome her despair, find new friends, keep her dreams until the right time, and move on with her life (140), like everyone else in the world.

Whether her name is Frankie, F. Jasmine, or Frances, she is still a relatable character for people who have gone through the troubled teenaged years and have survived. Carson McCullers writes the development of the protagonist's personality in this book as realistic. The tone of the town and the main characters are set like people who could be living in the same town and having some of the similar experiences as John Singer and Mick Kelly in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. In this novel, McCullers gives us more stream of consciousness and we are able to tell more of what the character is feeling on the inside and how her brain breaks down, making Frankie more relatable.

Source
McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding. Houghton Mifflin: Boston. 1946.

Teddy Bear

Hansel and Gretel Witch

Apple on a Pillow

Apple and Cardboard

Chantico

Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is a romantic and mythic story, which I also read while I was in high school. I liked it better the second time, because I appreciate the writing more than I did back then. It is important to note that Santiago is viewed as a Christ figure.

Shakespeare's Sonnet # 138

As someone who usually has a hard time understanding what William Shakespeare wants to reveal and the moral lesson he wants to take away from the words he writes, it is interesting how the sonnets seem to connect with me than his tragedies or comedies. Sonnet #138 is the perfect example of true love.

"When my love swears that she is made of truth, I do believe her, though I know she lies" reminds me of a man who knows his lover is imperfect, but loves her in spite of her flaws. It was interesting that footnotes talk about "the obvious sexual pun," makes me think this man knows his lover is not a virgin, but she is trying to pass herself off as pure and a naive girl. Sometimes in thinking one thing about a line and then reading the footnotes, makes me ponder the line in different direction.

"That she might think me some untutored youth, unlearned in the world's false subtleties" is a declaration from the man to let us know he is on to her schemes and to not underestimate him. He has got her figured out and knows what she is capable of. Shakespeare gives the impression that the couple both believe they are the cat and the other one is the mouse.

"Therefore I lie with her and she with me, and in our faults by lies we flattered be" is a sign of a couple who enjoy being together in spite of what they pretend to be. They are trying to keep the excitement going in their relationship. If they keeping playing games with each other, then their relationship won't go stale.

Day of the Dead