5 Stories

Enzo DeLuca

Chad Summers

Ms Peifer

10 IB class 5

6-1-09

    In Grace Ogots The Green Leaves the story revolves around a village in Africa.  One night cattle thieves try to steal the oxen from of the men of the village.  The villagers chase him down and injure him to a great extent.  They cover him in green leaves and return to the village.  A man named Nyagar returned to the scene to see if the man had any money.  At first, Nyagar's conscience wouldn't let him go near the man but his greed for money kept him going.  The thief wakes up and assaults Nyagar.  Nyagar, shocked by the blow stumbles backwards and falls. The thief throws the leaves onto Nyagar and runs away.  The next day the people of the village tell the white police people that they have killed one of their people.  When they check the green leaves, they find Nyagars dead body.

        Elements:

• Greed and Beliefs-If Nyagar had not wanted to go out to check the man's pocket he would not have been killed that night. The villagers did not kill the thief because of reasons due to their religion.
  
• Imagery-The author describes many situations with detail,
• Setting-The setting affects the story through the white village oppressing the black village.  
• Motivation-The character would not have went to get the money without the motivation of greed.
• Mood- The mood of the story is very gloom and bloody.

     In Isabel Allende's An Act of Vengeance there was a girl named Dolce Rosa and she was the most beautiful girl in the land.  Words of her beauty reached a brute named Taedo Céspedes.  Céspedes went to Dolce Rosa's town and raped her and killed her father.  For thirty years Dolce Rosa sought vengeance on Céspedes.  She and Céspedes met again, but she could not bring herself to kill him, she had fallen in love with him and he with her.

Elements:

• Love-Dolce Rosa had fallen in love with and Céspedes and Céspedes had fallen in love with Dolce Rosa
• Vengeance-Dolce Rosa sought vengeance upon Céspedes for thirty years after he had raped her
• Forgiveness-Dolce Rosa forgave Céspedes and ended up falling in love with him
• Blood-Céspedes was plunged into a world of violence at a young age
• Imagery-Allende used descriptive detail to make a setting, and describe what happens to the characters

    

     The story A Gray Moon sets place in Japan at night.  A man is sitting at a train station alone waiting to head home.  He gets on the las train and there is a younger man that is asleep on the train.  The other passengers make fun of this young man and they say that he could be either homeless or drunk.  The young man finally awakes and said that he was supposed to get off at a certain stop. The passengers laughed and said that they had already passed that stop and that he was making a "full circle."  The young man said that it didn't matter to him anyways, and that effected the main character.

Elements:

• Setting-Shows how the Japanese people work very hard and late into the night
• Imagery-Author uses images to depict emotion and feelings
• Descriptive Details-uses this to describe the characters and their roles in the story
• Point of View-Author uses this to help the reader feel apart of the story.
• Theme-helps to display a central focus for the reader.

    Zong Pu's The Tragedy of the Walnut Tree is a depressing story.  The main character Qingyi was a lonely old woman.  Her boyfriend left her to go to war, and though she waited he never returned.  Her daughter Ahyou could only visit her sometimes.  The only real companion that she had left was a walnut tree in her courtyard.  The walnut tree had become her best friend.  Qingyi could talk to the walnut tree when she was lonely, and the walnut tree would make her feel better when she was sick.  One night men came to Qingyi's house and vandalized it, they also took walnuts from her walnut tree.  Qingyi realized that to keep peace in her home the walnut tree would have to go, she would have to kill her best friend.  Qingyi did not have a permission to cut down the tree and she was fined, but it was a small price to pay for her peace of mind.

Elements:

• Personification-Zong Pu gave the tree human like qualities so that Qingyi would have a friend
• Imagery-Describes the pain that Qingyi was in when she had to cut down the tree
• Metaphor-The tree could have symbolized the missing people in Qingyi's life
• Religion-Zong Pu could have used the Buddhist belief of reincarnation and made the soul of Qingyi's boyfriend be the trees voice
• Nature-As in all chinese literature nature plays a big role

     In Before the Law a man is at a door and proceeds to try to open the door, but the door man stops him.  The doorman explains that there are more terrifying things beyond the door and that he should not enter the door.  The man sits at the first door and contemplates what could be beyond the door.  He however dies of old age and never finds out.  The man never really lived a life for he was afraid of the unknown.

Elements:

• Imagery-Kafka used details to describe the door and the area that the man was in
• Setting-Corresponded with the imagery
• Metaphor-The door was a metaphor for an unknown path, and the doorman could have represented the human conscience showing fear of the unknown
• Theme-Don't be afraid of the unknown, for if one avoids taking risks, then one has yet to actually live
• Point of View-The way the story was written applied to the suspense, and the philosophical thought

Li Po Comentary

Chad Summers

Ms. Peifer

10 IB hr.5

4-20-09

In Li Po's "Written in Behalf of My Wife', he uses metaphors and similes, imagery, and mood to achieve his purpose. The authors purpose is to express his outstanding love for his wife and how he misses her.

Comparisons are used in this poem between animals and humans to express his emotion. The authors also uses inanimate objects to express feelings. "my thoughts that follow you in your wonderings are as interminable as the stream" (Po 3-4). This quote is a simile comparing his love for this woman to the stream. He is saying that his love can never be severed such as the stream.

 

Imagery is an important piece to this poem. it helps the reader imagine and relate to the poem by creating an image in the reader's mind. "the grass before our gate in the autumn lane has turned green in spring" (Po 5-6). This quote helps the reader to create images of the grass and spring and also keeps the reader engaged in the poem. 

Mood is another very important piece in the poem and helping the author achieving his purpose. The mood helps the reader feel the emotion given out by the poet. The author creates a very moody and sad atmosphere in this poem. Its a very sentimental and lethargic poem. "I cry for the absence of my beloved" (Po 23). This statement describes the mood of the poem.

All these elements come together to deliver the authors purpose. the literary devices help to express the authors love for his wife in an interesting and enjoyable way. 

  

Shakespeare Sonnet #30 Commentary

Shakespeare's purpose in Sonnet 30 is to show how regretting things in the past can affect you negatively but having a very close friend can remedy  those negative feelings. Shakespeare Achieved this by using literary devices such as, Alliteration, setting an Atmosphere, and creating an overall theme that can be extracted from the sonnet.

Shakespeare used alliteration in several spots in the sonnet. "sessions of sweet silent thought" is one example, "Grieve at grievances" is another. He uses this literary device to give a rhyme apart from the structure. Also it might grab the attention to the reader and keep him attentive to the sonnet.

Shakespeare sets sort of a two tone atmosphere. for the first 3 groups are very sad and depressing atmosphere. but in the last 2 lines (couplet) the atmosphere changes to a feeling of acceptance and carelessness of everything that has happened "All losses are restored and sorrows end"(couplet). Atmosphere also helps get the reader to feel and better relate to the sonnet. This is shown through the diction he uses to express emotion. Words like woe, sad, grieve, and death.

Shakespeare creates a overarching theme or moral that can be taken from the poem. The moral is that whatever you may wish you had done or you had not done you should always have someone to confide in and find comfort in. This is shown by the couplet "But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, All losses are restored and sorrows end" (couplet). 

Shakespeare makes great use of these literary device. He uses these devices to achieve his goal of displaying morals and themes. Shakespeare achieves his purpose by use of several different literary devices that appeal to the reader.

Here's a little short story for your enjoyment

Death By Scrabble
or
Tile M For Murder

It's a hot day and I hate my wife. 
     
We're playing Scrabble. That's how bad it is. I'm 42 years old, it's a blistering hot Sunday afternoon and all I can think of to do with my life is to play Scrabble. 
     
I should be out, doing exercise, spending money, meeting people. I don't think I've spoken to anyone except my wife since Thursday morning. On Thursday morning I spoke to the milkman. 
     
My letters are crap. 
     
I play, appropriately, BEGIN. With the N on the little pink star. Twenty-two points. 
     
I watch my wife's smug expression as she rearranges her letters. Clack, clack, clack. I hate her. If she wasn't around, I'd be doing something interesting right now. I'd be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I'd be starring in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I'd be sailing the Vendee Globe on a 60-foot clipper called the New Horizons - I don't know, but I'd be doing something. 
     
She plays JINXED, with the J on a double-letter score. 30 points. She's beating me already. Maybe I should kill her. 
     
If only I had a D, then I could play MURDER. That would be a sign. That would be permission. 
     
I start chewing on my U. It's a bad habit, I know. All the letters are frayed. I play WARMER for 22 points, mainly so I can keep chewing on my U. 
     
As I'm picking new letters from the bag, I find myself thinking - the letters will tell me what to do. If they spell out KILL, or STAB, or her name, or anything, I'll do it right now. I'll finish her off. 
     
My rack spells MIHZPA. Plus the U in my mouth. Damn. 
     
The heat of the sun is pushing at me through the window. I can hear buzzing insects outside. I hope they're not bees. My cousin Harold swallowed a bee when he was nine, his throat swelled up and he died. I hope that if they are bees, they fly into my wife's throat. 
     
She plays SWEATIER, using all her letters. 24 points plus a 50 point bonus. If it wasn't too hot to move I would strangle her right now. 
     
I am getting sweatier. It needs to rain, to clear the air. As soon as that thought crosses my mind, I find a good word. HUMID on a double-word score, using the D of JINXED. The U makes a little splash of saliva when I put it down. Another 22 points. I hope she has lousy letters. 

< 2 >

She tells me she has lousy letters. For some reason, I hate her more. 
     
She plays FAN, with the F on a double-letter, and gets up to fill the kettle and turn on the air conditioning. 
     
It's the hottest day for ten years and my wife is turning on the kettle. This is why I hate my wife. I play ZAPS, with the Z doubled, and she gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit. I find this remarkably satisfying. 
     
She sits back down with a heavy sigh and starts fiddling with her letters again. Clack clack. Clack clack. I feel a terrible rage build up inside me. Some inner poison slowly spreading through my limbs, and when it gets to my fingertips I am going to jump out of my chair, spilling the Scrabble tiles over the floor, and I am going to start hitting her again and again and again. 
     
The rage gets to my fingertips and passes. My heart is beating. I'm sweating. I think my face actually twitches. Then I sigh, deeply, and sit back into my chair. The kettle starts whistling. As the whistle builds it makes me feel hotter. 
     
She plays READY on a double-word for 18 points, then goes to pour herself a cup of tea. No I do not want one. 
     
I steal a blank tile from the letter bag when she's not looking, and throw back a V from my rack. She gives me a suspicious look. She sits back down with her cup of tea, making a cup-ring on the table, as I play an 8-letter word: CHEATING, using the A of READY. 64 points, including the 50-point bonus, which means I'm beating her now. 
     
She asks me if I cheated. 
     
I really, really hate her. 
     
She plays IGNORE on the triple-word for 21 points. The score is 153 to her, 155 to me. 
     
The steam rising from her cup of tea makes me feel hotter. I try to make murderous words with the letters on my rack, but the best I can do is SLEEP. 
     
My wife sleeps all the time. She slept through an argument our next-door neighbours had that resulted in a broken door, a smashed TV and a Teletubby Lala doll with all the stuffing coming out. And then she bitched at me for being moody the next day from lack of sleep. 

< 3 >

If only there was some way for me to get rid of her. 
     
I spot a chance to use all my letters. EXPLODES, using the X of JINXED. 72 points. That'll show her. 
     
As I put the last letter down, there is a deafening bang and the air conditioning unit fails. 
     
My heart is racing, but not from the shock of the bang. I don't believe it - but it can't be a coincidence. The letters made it happen. I played the word EXPLODES, and it happened - the air conditioning unit exploded. And before, I played the word CHEATING when I cheated. And ZAP when my wife got the electric shock. The words are coming true. The letters are choosing their future. The whole game is - JINXED. 
     
My wife plays SIGN, with the N on a triple-letter, for 10 points. 
     
I have to test this. 
     
I have to play something and see if it happens. Something unlikely, to prove that the letters are making it happen. My rack is ABQYFWE. That doesn't leave me with a lot of options. I start frantically chewing on the B. 
     
I play FLY, using the L of EXPLODES. I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, waiting for the sensation of rising up from my chair. Waiting to fly. 
     
Stupid. I open my eyes, and there's a fly. An insect, buzzing around above the Scrabble board, surfing the thermals from the tepid cup of tea. That proves nothing. The fly could have been there anyway. 
     
I need to play something unambiguous. Something that cannot be misinterpreted. Something absolute and final. Something terminal. Something murderous. 
     
My wife plays CAUTION, using a blank tile for the N. 18 points. 
     
My rack is AQWEUK, plus the B in my mouth. I am awed by the power of the letters, and frustrated that I cannot wield it. Maybe I should cheat again, and pick out the letters I need to spell SLASH or SLAY. 
     
Then it hits me. The perfect word. A powerful, dangerous, terrible word. 
     
I play QUAKE for 19 points. 
     
I wonder if the strength of the quake will be proportionate to how many points it scored. I can feel the trembling energy of potential in my veins. I am commanding fate. I am manipulating destiny. 
     
My wife plays DEATH for 34 points, just as the room starts to shake. 

I gasp with surprise and vindication - and the B that I was chewing on gets lodged in my throat. I try to cough. My face goes red, then blue. My throat swells. I draw blood clawing at my neck. The earthquake builds to a climax. 
     
I fall to the floor. My wife just sits there, watching. 

LRJ #1

The 15th century play Everyman, is centered around the common religious theme of inevitable judgement and how no earthy possessions can influence whether you end up in heaven or hell. Throughout the play, Everyman visits each of his mortal companions and comes to find that even though they were each valuable to him. They will play no audience in his audience with God. The only worldly  His various companions symbolize the sinful things man can allow himself to become tempted with.

The author uses the wise character Good-Deeds to teach Everyman an important lesson. "All earthly things is but vanity/ Beauty, Strength, and Discretion do man forsake,/ Foolish friends and kinsman that fair spake/ all fleeth save Good-Deeds and, that am I" (14). This shows the reader the most important theme of the story, the only things you can hold on to for judgement are your Good-Deeds.

Everyman's inner angel also attempts to aid him in his trial before God. "Come, excellent elect spouse to jesu/ Here above thou shalt go/ Because of thy singular virtue."(15). The angel reinforced the theme that Good-Deeds are the only things that are important in the eyes of God.

The important message of Everyman was that none of one's earthly possessions will help him on Judgement day, save one's Good Deeds. This theme was reinforced by Everyman's Friends throughout the play.       

Inferno Commentary

"A Monstrous clap of thunder broke apart 

the swoon that stuffed my head; like one awakened 

by violent hands, I leaped up with a start

And having risen; rested and renewed, 

I studied out the landmarks of the gloom 

to find my bearings the as best I could

And I found I stood on the very brink of the valley 

called the Dolorous Abyss, the desolate chasm

where rolls the thunder of Hell's eternal cry,

so depthless-deep and nebulous and dim

that stare as i might into its frightful pit

it gave me back no feature and no bottom.

Death-pale the poet spoke: "Now let us go

into the blind world waiting here below us.

I will lead the way and you shall follow."

And I, sick with alarm at his new pallor

cried out, "How can i go this way when you

who are my strength in doubt turn pale with terror?"

Chad Summers

Ms. Peifer

10 IB

1/9/2009

This passage is important because it shows Virgil, Dante's guide and hero, in fear of the path they are going to take. Dante is appalled at this and exclaims,"How can I go thin way when you who are my strength in doubt turn pale with terror?"(Alighieri 17-18). This quote means how can he continue on the journey when his guide and leader is just as scared as him. This passage shows a new characteristic in Virgil and uses literary devices that are key to the passage and book itself.

One literary device that is used frequently in this quote and the entire book is Imagery. Imagery is a key element in this story because its easy to use to make a mental picture and describe the journey that Dante and Virgil are on. It was used when Dante was starting to wake. " A monstrous clap of thunder broke apart, the swoon that stuffed my head."(Alighieri 1-2).

Another literary device used in this book is alliteration. Alliteration add a lyrical rhyme to the sentence and help key comparisons or descriptive words pop out and grab your attention. One way it is used in this quote is, "and having risen; renewed"(Alighieri 4). It adds an element to the reading that jumps out at you and helps to be more descriptive.

This passage is necessary because it introduces more elements to the book. In this passage we see Virgil for the first time cower or is scared for their future,"Death pale, the poet spoke"(Alighieri 13). This is also the first time we see Dante talk to Virgil with anger. This passage was key to the development of the story and introduced elements that were not yet seen.    

Beowulf LRJ #3

One key value in beowulf is that the strong never need any assistance. The quote, "Yet the prince of the rings was too proud to line up with a large army against the sky-plague." (Heaney 2345) expresses his feelings about being helped by others  and how he wold greatly prefer working alone. Another value is the massive bravery and pride of beowulf. He likes to take any challenge that presents itself and boost himself up by saying it will still be no match for the powerful beowulf.

In the last section we exhibit a much more toned down older beowulf. he is not the young warrior anymore that we saw in the previous chapters. "But I shall be meeting molten venom/ in the fire he breathes so I go forth/ in mail-shirt and shield" (2524) this quote show Beowulf's weakness due to his age.

Beowulf died a very honorable death. he was protecting the people from harm as he nce did as the young and powerful beowulf. We can know he died by the quote, "so well endowed on the day I die" (2798). Beowulf died in peace knowing that he had slain the flying beast and kept his people safe from any further harm from it.