October 29,2008

Pages 48 to page ??



Quote for the day:

"A terribe desire came upon me to rid the world of such a monster" (page 54 Johnatan). Meaning that Johnathan wants to kill Dracula because he thinks the world would be better without him.

Johnatan tries to escape from the castle. He escapes from the window to find Dracula's room there he finds stone passage way which leads to a Dracula's coffin where he sleeps at. Johnatan hits Dracula in the face with a shovel while he's sleeping. But nothing happens to Dracula because in order for him to die you have to stave him in the heart. Dracula told him that the next day he's free to go but Johnatan wants to leave that same night. Dracula agrees and Johnatan was about to leave the castle when the wolves appears and hes frighten that he might get eaten by them that he decides to stay there until morning.




New characters: Mina (Johnatan fiance) and Lucy.

10-28-08

today in the book Jonathan almost got bitten by some crazy chick vampires that live with the Count. He wrote more letters to Mina and Hawkins which Dracula stole, opened, and read right in front of him. Jonathan wakes up in his room with all his clothes folded in a manner different from his so he think the Count moved him there. All his stationary stuff is gone, which makes Jonathan think that the Count acctually knows whats going on. One of the themes that are connected with this reading is good vs. evil due to the fact that Jonathan is prisoner and he is trying to outsmart Dracula by writing letters to people in code, and Dracula always seems one step ahead of Jonathan and takes even more of his freedoms away. I think that the mind games that Dracula are playing on Jonathan will eventually make him go crazy, or cloud his mind so he won't be able think clearly and make a plan to get out.

Monday October 27,2008

Pages: 34-38

" And yet, unless my senses deceieve me, the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which more 'modernity' cannot kill."-John Harker (page 37)

Today we read about how Dracula is talking Basically good v.s evil and modern v.s antique. The qoute is saying that good isn't always what people think it is. Dracula has been around for a very long time. You could basically say he is ageless, he's like centuries old. He has been around and seen alot of things good and bad. The connection of the quote and the theme today would be the fact that he is just talking about how mondernity cant be killed or cant die. This meaning it will continue forever. There's nothing that can be done to change this.

What we read today to be brings the story together a little more. I can understand whats going on and how times use to be when vampires did exist.

October 24

PaGe 26 - 34
Dracula is going to realize that he is about to be stuck in the castle. He can not get out because of the danger of the wolves. We talked about why Dracula would want a house that is so old and with chambers. He needs a prison-like house. Johnathon cut himself while shaving and gets uncomfortable by Draculas reaction to his cut. He was about to bite him but the cross necklace around Johnathons neck stopped him. He finally realizes that he is a prisoner in Draculas castle and he starts to get worried. Stories that Dracula shares shows that Draculas has been living for a very long time. Dracula has told johnathon than he must stay for a month. Dracula also allows Johnathon to write letters but he has to be careful because he would read them.

Christianity comes up. In chapter one the citizen were blessing him when they found out where he was going. He wears a crucifix that 'comforts him and strenghtens him whenever he touches it.'


Johnathon needs to wear the cross at all tmes. I think thats the only thing that can protect him from Dracla killing him. Well actually i dont really know that much about vampires so maybe that wont save him. He should start planning his escape though before its too late.


ACUMEN= sharpness of mind; quickness and accuracy of judgement (p.32) "For a man who was never in the country, and who did not evidently do much in the way of buisnness, his knowledge and acumen were wonderful"

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Today we read pages 9-19

This book is about sex.. um.. that didnt happen yet but i guess thats what vampires like. Well.. Jon is traveling to the castle in a carriage and theres a weird blue light flame thing, its really dark outside and Jon is scared by howling wolves and the sound of the horses.. and it starts snowing.. umm.. Jon arrives at Count Dracula's castle. Jon describes how Count looks like.. Pale skin.. Sparp teeth.. yup.. and theres something about a note or papers.. and Count had dinner with him and gave him a room so he can sleep and stay over the night. I think Jon is scared and nervous..
The quote.. "Ah, Sir you dwellers in the city cannot enter in to the feelings or the hunter"- Dracula page 19. In class we talk about.. Symbols for evil... Wolves and Dracula..and Suspense.

today we met the characters of the book the main 10 at least. the book is epistolotory which means that the book is written in the form of either journal or diary entries even letters. so each entry comes from a different character the first one we read today was jonathon. so far he has learned about the region to which he will be travelling it is very superstitious and he is interested to learn about why. an old woman began the spooking when she told him about the eve of st george where at the midnight hour all the most evil things come out and she gave him a crucifix and said it's for your poor mother or something so that must be very re-assuring.before he leaves for the carraige ride evryone at the station gives him an omenous blessing adding to his confusion.on the carraige ride to the castle and everyone else is talking in their languages about satan and wolves and evil things. the land is beautiful and amazing with grassy hills sweeping pines and groves of fruit trees but jonathon feels uneasy and he doesnt know why...

Comment Review Day 10.20.08

Here's how you get candy, prove your knowledge, get points for your blogging grade, and practice your memory of Oedipus for tomorrow's test. Write four comments on four different posts (NOT THIS ONE!):

1) Using one of the vocab words that the blogger gives us in a sentence OR offering what you think the meaning of one of the important quotes is.

2) Agreeing or disagreeing with the blogger's opinion AND WHY.

3) Giving your take on one of the story's themes as they relate to one of the posts: FREE WILL, EGO, or SIGHT

4) Filling in any gaps about the story's events or characters, CONNECTING your contribution to something in the blogger's post.

THE FIRST TEN COMMENTERS EARN CANDY!

Wednesday, October 15th

Today in class, we talked about the themes in the story Oedipus. The two major themes of the story are ego and free will. Oedipus's ego is somewhat of a disease to him, his ego makes him feel untouchable and that his actions won't have a consequence. Oedipus does have free will and at the same time he doesn't. He doesn't have free will because his fate is chosen for him but he also has free will because he has the decision to make the right choices. His immense ego leads him to lose his free will and commit sinful actions.

~Vocabulary~

Dirge (pg.314) - funeral song
Arcturus (pg.309) - bright star signifying the beginning of autumn from Greek lore
Blasphemer (pg.321) - person who shows disrespect for sacred things
Ordained (pg.319) - decreed or commanded
Inviolate (pg.300) - pure


~Quotes~

(pg.327) " No more here your power ends. None of your power follows you through life." - Creon

(pg.320) " Now loathed by the gods...what grief can crown my grief? Mine alone - I am
Oedipus." - Oedipus


I felt we had a good discussion today to help us with the upcoming test on Tuesday. It was a good review on the characters and the themes but I think a couple people including me will have a hard time with the vocabulary and the quotes from the story. Oedipus has a good moral to the story that fate basically can't be escape and what's meant to happen will happen.

oct 14

320.

A. Why Oedipus blinds himself when he finds out that his wife and the man that he killed are his parents. what does he do after he finds out, what happens to his kids or his sisters. why does Oedipus bless creon when he could have stop what happened. Creon could not kill him because that was family.

B. Oedipus is asking the worng things. Pleasing the gods so that you can go through life. Fate is the main them of the play. Fate is something that you can't escape. the main them is that you can do anything you want but in the end you already have your story played out.

C. This is a sad story. Its messed up the way they take the kids away from him. Creon is still power triping and he should have worned them of this in the start. The story was out of wack. Creon should have killed oedipus in the start. This dude lost that ego problem that he had. They made a veggie movie about it and its wack as hell.

Oct. 13, 2008

The messenger announces to the city the current predicament of their kingdom. He describes the death of their queen and to what provocation presented itself to her to drive the insnity within her to surface and cause her to die at the mercy of her own hands. Oedipus then comes forward, blinded by his own hands and delivers a well-rehearsed monologue to his people, in effect, essentially confirming everything the messenger has just said.

Oedipus blinds himself not so he can feel the pain, but because he cannot stand to see the horrors around him. Because he can no longer look at his children of his wife and mother. Because his eyes are stain by his wife's and mother's dead body dangling from a rope. The world is ugly through his eyes.

I thought this was a sorrowful section of the book and every character had every reason to react as they did. I don't know how I wouold deal with any of it if I had been in the queen or Oedipus' position. I too would have killed or blinded myself. I also think this was a very well written section of the play, very captivating.

Thursday oct,9 2007

pg.296-310

VOCAB:

Gall: rude boldness/nerve

Marauding: roaming in search of plunder.

Clairvoyant: person who can see the future.

Sanctimonious: making a show of being holy or rious.

Mantic: prophetic.

Oedipus is starting to figure out that his wife is his mother

and how he is adopted when he thought that his adopted family was his real family but he came to find out there not he also found out that is father is dead. because of a sickness i believe of old age he also found out why his foot is so big because his foot got pined together as a baby and that he's finally figuring out what his life really was like when he was a baby and its not as what he thought it was

10/8/08

pp. 285-296

Oedipus continues to accuse Creon of conspiracy, killing the king, and planning to kill Oedipus. Creon denys it and tells Oedipus to go talk to the oracle himself. Oedipus calls Creon his mortal enemy and threatens to kill him. Jocasta enters and with the help of the Chorus break the two up and Creon leaves. Jocasta tells Oedipus to ignore the prophet because she thinks that the prediction about her baby killing her husband and marrying her didn't happen. Jocasta talks about how Laius and where he was killed. Oedipus starts to realize that he was the one who killed Laius. He wants to talk to the one survivor who was with Laius when he was killed.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Page Numbers: 274 - 283

-write about the events in what we read today
-write about any themes that come up and how they connect
-your opinion on what we read today

Nobody can actually point out the murderer. The chorus believes it was a group of people not just one. Oedipus hasn't even brought up the fact, or even thought about it, that he killed a man with gaurds on his way to Thebes. Also, no one in the chorus has mentioned that Oedipus showed up one day, and then the next day or so the king was found dead. Oedipus and Tiresias begin arguing and Tiresias come out and says the Oedipus is the murderer. Tiresias then tells Oedipus that his downfall will be his own, and that his family lives in disgrace. Oedipus tries to tell them that he can't be the murderer because he got rid of the Spynx. There seems to be alot of deception going on in Thebes. Maybe Tiresias knows more than what he's actually saying. Perhaps he saw the murder of the king. I think Tiresias may know who Oedipus' father is. He keeps hinting at Oedipus about who he really is. He tells him that the real murderer has killed his own father, that he was born in Thebes, and that he is now rich with power. Why doesn't Oedipus put the pieces together? Can't he see or even think that he might be the true killer? Oedipus doesn't want to believe anything that Tiresias says. He still believes that his parents are the king and queen of Polybus. Oedipus is an idiot!!!

TuEsDaY OcT 7

I lOvE pOlLeY