Vocabulary:
Percolator (78): a kind of coffeepot in which boiling water in a repeated process is forced up a hollow stem, filters down through ground coffee in a sievelike container, and returns to the pot below.
Flagstone (79): rock, as sandstone or shale, suitable for splitting into flagstones.
Literary Devices:
“It may all be all very well in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you’re reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything comes together in the end like an equation, where the balance of what was once disturbed must be restored so the gods can smile again (67).” This is an example of simile because he compares the outcome of the story to an equation.
“The chainsaw is a Jonsered. Not that I think Jonsered is the best brand, but they only use Jonsered here… So Jonsered rules here. And Volvo (69).” This is an example of personification because it is saying that a brand rules.
“They drive like the Greeks do and use the horn instead of braking. Only a few weeks ago, I had to drive into the ditch, the colossal brute thundered past me well into my lane (70).” This is an example of simile and metaphor because he compares the driving to the Greeks using like, and the truck to a colossal brute.
Quote:
“You can learn a lot from films if you have a good memory, watch how people do things and have done them always, but there is not much real work in modern films, there are only ideas. Thin ideas and something they call humour, everything has to be a laugh now. But I hate being entertained, I have no time for it (78).” This quote explains a lot about his personality, and shows that he is intelligent because he has never actually seen a person sharpen a saw, but remembers seeing it in e documentary he watched years ago.
Theme: A possible theme is that one should be self-sufficient, because you cannot always rely on others.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Out Stealing Horses week 3 post b
Out Stealing Horses has turned out to be a surprisingly melancholy book. It is the reflection of an old man on his life, and is written in a style that leaves a feeling of loneliness and makes me ache for this man. He has not yet revealed the cause for this sadness; but has revealed that it might have something to do with his father and childhood neighbor, Jon. His life lately has not been too bad, and he does not need much to satisfy his needs. He has recently purchased a house on top of a hill in the woods of Norway, a prime piece of property with a cabin that needs many repairs that are hard for an old man to complete. He does not know how to do many of these things on his own, but can think back to the time when he lived with his dad in a cabin in the summers of his childhood and remember what his father would do.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Post B Week 2 OUT CHASING HORSES
Out Chasing Horses has been a really sad book so far. First Jon and Trond go out chasing horses, which means they steal horses and ride them for a while. It's cool because they are like those cowboys on TV, one of them scares the horses, and the other hangs from a branch of a tree. When the horses run underneath him, he drops and lans on a horse. Unfortunately, it looked easier than it truly was and Trond gets hurts when he hits the horse, and then gets bucked off. That's not the sad part though. After Jon and Trond have done this, the go climb a tree. There is a tiny birds nest, which they look at for a while. Trond comments on how precious life is, and how lucky these birds will be when they have grown and are able to fly away and live thier lives. This affects Jon in a way Trond could not have anticipated, and Jon is hurt and crumbles the nest, and lets it drop from the tree. What Trond didn't know is that earlier that day, Jon had returned from his favourite pastime, hunting, and set his gun down on the table and left to bathe in the river. His younger brothers, who idolized him, went to the table and found the gun, and begun to play than they are hunting, just like thier older brother Jon. Not knowing the gun was not locked, Lars jokingly pulls the trigger, accidentally killing his brother.
Post A Week 2 OUT CHASING HORSES
Vocab:
Paddock (18):a small, usually enclosed field near a stable or barn for pasturing or exercising animals.
slowcoach (20):someone who moves slowly, slowpoke.
Lit. Devices:
"...,fishing in the river for trout, balancing on the shining yellow logs that sailed the current close long after the clearing of the river was done (17)." This is an example of imagery because of the shining yellow logs.
"... or we went to Jon's house in the other direction where I was treated as the crown prince (21)." This is an example of simile because the novel compares him using "as".
"Jon's face was a chalk-white mask with an open mouth, and from that mouth uttered sounds that made my blood run cold (33)." This is an example of a metaphor because it says that Jon's face is a chalk-white mask.
Quote:
"christ." I said. "It's wierd that something so little can come alive and just fly away." and maybe it was not well put and certainly less than the light airy feeling I felt inside me. But something happened at that momment I that I had no way understanding, for when I raised my eyes and looked up at Jon's face it was strained and totally white (33)." This quote is iomportant because it shows the immense change in Jon for no apparent reason. He then crushed the tiny birds egg he was holding, then the nest, making Lars feel terrible, helpless, and desprate. I don't know what the significance of this incident will be, but he makes it clear this is important.
Theme: The theme of this book is that people are unpredictable, and that they constantly change.
Paddock (18):a small, usually enclosed field near a stable or barn for pasturing or exercising animals.
slowcoach (20):someone who moves slowly, slowpoke.
Lit. Devices:
"...,fishing in the river for trout, balancing on the shining yellow logs that sailed the current close long after the clearing of the river was done (17)." This is an example of imagery because of the shining yellow logs.
"... or we went to Jon's house in the other direction where I was treated as the crown prince (21)." This is an example of simile because the novel compares him using "as".
"Jon's face was a chalk-white mask with an open mouth, and from that mouth uttered sounds that made my blood run cold (33)." This is an example of a metaphor because it says that Jon's face is a chalk-white mask.
Quote:
"christ." I said. "It's wierd that something so little can come alive and just fly away." and maybe it was not well put and certainly less than the light airy feeling I felt inside me. But something happened at that momment I that I had no way understanding, for when I raised my eyes and looked up at Jon's face it was strained and totally white (33)." This quote is iomportant because it shows the immense change in Jon for no apparent reason. He then crushed the tiny birds egg he was holding, then the nest, making Lars feel terrible, helpless, and desprate. I don't know what the significance of this incident will be, but he makes it clear this is important.
Theme: The theme of this book is that people are unpredictable, and that they constantly change.
Post B Week 1 OUT CHASING HORSES
Out Chasing Horses is about a man who lives in Norway and lives in the forest. He loves the Norweigian countryside and has waited his entire life to be able to retire to a cabin in the woods such as this one. One night, he is sleeping in his cold, dark cabin and is awoken by noises in the wood. He looks out the door and sees his nieghbor out hollering for his dog who had run away. He decides that is wasn't right for his nieghbor to be alone in the middle of the night, with only a flashlight as company, so he walks with this man until the dog bounds back into sight and they journey back home.
I can understand why this man would want to live in the peace and quiet of the Norweigian wilderness, because two summers ago I traveled there and loved it.
I can understand why this man would want to live in the peace and quiet of the Norweigian wilderness, because two summers ago I traveled there and loved it.
Post A Week 1 for OUT CHASING HORSES
Vocab:
Skint:having no money; penniless.
Breadth:The measure or dimension from side to side; width.
Literary Terms:
"There is a reddish light over the tree by the lake (5)."
"It is starting to blow. I can see the shape of the wind on the water (1)." THis is an example of personification because the wind cannot blow, and does not have shape.
"It was a disturbing should, and the man in front of me bit his lip and ran the fingers his left hand over his forehead with an uncertain movement before he went ( 14)." This is an example of imagery.
Theme: The theme of this book is being alone but still helping others.
Skint:having no money; penniless.
Breadth:The measure or dimension from side to side; width.
Literary Terms:
"There is a reddish light over the tree by the lake (5)."
"It is starting to blow. I can see the shape of the wind on the water (1)." THis is an example of personification because the wind cannot blow, and does not have shape.
"It was a disturbing should, and the man in front of me bit his lip and ran the fingers his left hand over his forehead with an uncertain movement before he went ( 14)." This is an example of imagery.
Theme: The theme of this book is being alone but still helping others.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Suitors "Self Esteem"
In the epic poem prior to the Odyssey, Odysseus leaves to fight in the Trojan War. When he leaves, his wife Penelope and son Telemachus are left alone, and soon many suitors move in to Odysseus' palace to court Penelope. These suitors are pathetic, and wouldn’t have had the courage to disobey Odysseus and harass his wife if he was still in Messina.
Also when Telemachus confronts the suitors at a town meeting, they reply that Penelope had been messing with them, telling them they would have to wait until she had finished weaving her web until they could be with her. Penelope is obviously playing with them, screwing with their heads, and they do not have the courage to confront her about it until they are in a large group.
The song “Self Esteem”, by The Offspring, is about a guy who has no self-esteem. His girlfriend walks all over him and cheats on him, yet he cannot tell her how he feels.
"I wrote her off for the tenth time today
And practice all the things I would say
But she came over
I lost my nerve
I took her back and made her dessert
Now I know I’m being used
That’s okay man cause I like the abuse
I know she’s playing with me
That’s okay cause I got no self esteem"
This reminds me of the suitors because they spineless and would not dare to do this to Penelope if she had no one to guard her and they were not acting as a group.
Also when Telemachus confronts the suitors at a town meeting, they reply that Penelope had been messing with them, telling them they would have to wait until she had finished weaving her web until they could be with her. Penelope is obviously playing with them, screwing with their heads, and they do not have the courage to confront her about it until they are in a large group.
The song “Self Esteem”, by The Offspring, is about a guy who has no self-esteem. His girlfriend walks all over him and cheats on him, yet he cannot tell her how he feels.
"I wrote her off for the tenth time today
And practice all the things I would say
But she came over
I lost my nerve
I took her back and made her dessert
Now I know I’m being used
That’s okay man cause I like the abuse
I know she’s playing with me
That’s okay cause I got no self esteem"
This reminds me of the suitors because they spineless and would not dare to do this to Penelope if she had no one to guard her and they were not acting as a group.
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