To Kill A Mockingbird Vocab/Lit Webs (1-8)

To Kill A Mockingbird Paragraphs (1-8)

The Radley house has always held a sense of mystery for Jem and Scout, but it is only really when they meet Dill that it becomes a more important part of their everyday lives. Perhaps this is why, for Jem, the story of Tom Robinson began with Dill daring Boo Radley to come out.

But who is Boo Radley? Though in reality not very much is known about him, the children and the neighborhood gossip, Ms. Stephanie Crawford, do not hesitate to fill in the blanks. Much in the way of telling scary stories and adding mystery to the unknown, they say that “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall…he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch…There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Adding further mystery to the story of Boo, the people of the town say he only comes out at night, that unexplained crimes are his doing, and that he once drove a pair of scissors into his father’s leg. Ms. Stephanie Crawford swears she saw him looking in her window at night. But this is only speculation, Boo’s true character is not known, primarily because he has never been seen. Boo is a recluse, and it is very unlikely that he is the cause of the rumors about him.

To the children he is fascinating. They dare each other to touch the Radley house, try to slip notes saying “hey” in his windows, and re-enact his life story (as told by the town and Ms. Stephanie) on their front lawn. One summer, Jem even goes to the back porch, to look in the window and flees the scene, leaving his pants caught in the barbed wire fence surrounding the Radley property. Reading, you also get the feeling that Boo Radley knows what the children are up to, and that finds it amusing. He likes the children, even though he is still Boo Radley to them, and you can tell this by him leaving them gifts in the hollowed out tree, giving Scout a blanket the night of the fire, folding and mending Jem’s pants when the get caught in the fence, or even laughing when Scout rolls into his yard on the tire and everyone freaks out because she has landed in front of the Radley house. Undoubtedly, the Radley house will continue to play an important part in the book as the story progresses. 

To Kill A Mockingbird Representation- (1-8)

To Kill A Mockingbird Representation Write Up (1-8)

This picture is reflective of the different points of view in To Kill A Mockingbird. The idea of looking at something from a different perspective is first introduced by Atticus, who tells Scout “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39).

The Loons Vocab/Lit Webs

The Loons Representation 

The Loons Representation Write Up

I chose an image of a loon for my representation of the Loons. Aside from the evident literal meaning and connection to the story (the title is "The Loons") the loon is also a metaphor for the Metis people. 

The Loons Paragraphs

Margaret Laurence’s short story, “The Loons” is set in the small Canadian town of Manawaka and the nearby Diamond Lake. Both the town and its inhabitants are fictional, however the stories told and prejudices present are not. In a way, Margaret Laurence’s tale is a reflection on aspects of both historical and modern Canadian society.

This story is narrated by the somewhat naïve Vanessa MacLeod, who is reflecting on the experiences and memories she had as a child. In particular, she remembers the relationship she had with a young Métis woman, Piquette Tonnerre. Piquette’s story is not uncommon; perhaps it is because of this that it is so striking. Diagnosed with bone tuberculosis at a young age and feeling responsible for taking care of her family, she was never a child. She stays with Vanessa and her family one summer and Vanessa is overjoyed to learn that there is an actual Métis girl living with them. She can’t wait for Piquette to start exploring the forest paths with her, talking with animals, and reciting poetry. In actuality, Piquette’s character is different both from the stereotypes people in the town have expressed about her family, and the idea of who she is Vanessa has expressed. Many of the circumstances she faces are tragic and when Vanessa next sees her, she has found a new hope of being free. Yet Piquette’s story is both tragic and impactful because in the end, this hope is never achieved and she returns to the life she has lived in for so long, eventually dying in the circumstances she faced as a child. As she sits by the lake, Vanessa realizes that Piquette is like the loons she has seen.  

First Entry/Course Intro

It is difficult to describe who I am, and it is even more difficult to know how to start writing on a blog. I like new beginnings. Life is full of fresh starts, and new ideas, opinions, and outlooks, and it is inspiring to think that there can be fresh chances and opportunities to make things better, even in bad situations. Knowing how to start something, especially something I’m writing, is important to me.

So how do you describe who a person is? I could sketch a basic description of who I am; my age, name, birthday, and gender. I could talk about how I appear, my hair color, eye color, height. But I don’t think that that is who a person is, and even if I thought so, I could not write it on a blog which any person could read. That would really be quite unsafe.

Not only that, describing who a person is completely is impossible. Who you are is constantly changing, evolving and growing, as you learn more about yourself and the world around you. It is composed of thousands of factors and life experiences, as diverse as the world we live in. Not only that, who you are shifts slightly in new circumstances, as different people, expectations, and responsibilities bring out different sides of you.

If I was asked to tell you about myself, I would say that I love life. I want to become a cultural anthropologist, and I love learning about ideas, philosophies, worldviews, and people. After highschool, I would like to go to university in Montreal, and take a variety of courses, including course in anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, religious studies, film, and international development. I can be quite left leaning, and very humanitarianistic (is that a word?). I would love to be part of an international development program like Canada World Youth and live and volunteer in another country. I also love to travel, and would like to visit Tibet, Brazil, India, Africa, Europe, and New York City. It would also be pretty great to visit Australia, if only because they have kangaroos. And quite cool accents! I love to read, write, and debate. I also like watching classic movies (Dr. Zhivago, Casablanca, etc) and musicals (I love Rent and Moulin Rouge).  

I have two younger brothers, Jack and Will, and though they get on my nerves sometimes, I love them very much. I can be pretty protective of them too. My father’s a professor at Mt. Royal, and my mother works at FFCA, which is a little bit silly because she doesn’t really agree with their philosophy or teaching style. Most of my family lives in Toronto, so I don’t get to see them very often, though my Mom is in Toronto now, visiting relatives for a week.

After school, I am a part of very few extracurricular activities, teams, and groups. I play the flute in the Senior band and am an actor in the Westmount production of the Hobbit. I’m also a part of Summerstock, a theatre group based out of Westmount, that rehearses every Friday night from six until eleven thirty. At the end of July we perform our finalized show (usually a Broadway musical) downtown at Olympic Plaza.

My goals for English 10 definitely include learning how to write an essay, and passing word within the word tests. I can improve my essay writing skills by managing my time better (either by writing a schedule or planning to start my essay at least a week before it is due), learning how to express what I think through information, facts, and research, not just opinions, and reviewing criticism on the essays I have already completed. Word within the word expertise can be achieved by reviewing each new list of words as they come up, using tools like flashcards or websites to study, and working on my memorization skills. Linking the words to ideas or concepts is also a useful way for me to study. I am happy to be taking English this term, and I hope that the course will go well for me.