Blog Post 13: English 325: Stallworth Article

For this week’s blog post I will be focusing on the Stallworth Article that we were asked to read. Its focus is on using multicultural texts in the classroom from the teacher’s perspective. In reading this article it didn’t change much on how I perceived teaching Young Adult Literature. In fact it made me even more confident to teach it. The reason being is because in the article it states how it’s the teacher’s job to incorporate texts that allow for students to “respect” and “understand” the background origins and heritage of the diverse groups in the classroom. This is something I have been incorporating in my lesson plans already and after reading that it is a standard that needs to be met, it reassures myself I am on the right track for my teaching career. I also was impressed with how in the article how it brought up the issue of “good literature” is “classic literature.” However, as we have talked about in class it’s harder for students to relate to some of those texts so it makes the current Young Adult literature novels we are reading more relevant to them which in conclusion make for “good literature,” because the students are actually gaining something out of it. The article backs up my point when it states that “good literature” is a mixture of traditional and non-traditional texts. This reminds me that in my classroom I need to have a solid balance and not strain and focus on just one. Another teaching tip I gained from this article was how it explained by case study of the classics evolving. It goes into depth on how certain books overtime have become a classic; this reminds me that I need to be aware of changing trends in the texts I provide in the classroom (Once again going back to the point of having balance between traditional and non-traditional texts). Another theme that I gained a lot from reading was the hardships that may occur while trying to incorporate multicultural texts. When talking about lack of resources it really shows how sad it is that students are not getting the full educational experience based off of lack of materials. This is something as a teacher that is going to be a hard obstacle to overcome and is now something I need to start thinking about when making lesson plans (Especially with YA literature because most schools only carry the traditional texts). The last point I would like to touch on for this post is the preparation factor. In the text a teacher believed she wasn’t qualified to teach Euro Classics because she wasn’t a historian, however I see this as a cop out. It’s the teacher’s duty to put in time outside of the classroom just as the students do to become masters of the work they are teaching. If it takes a weekend to analyze and go over the text then it needs to be done. There should be no excuse for a piece of text to not be taught because of this excuse, I don’t have the best background with some of these historical texts we read, but with a little research on the topic, author and novel creation it can be taught and be taught thoroughly. This article overall made me even more excited to teach YA literature because it opened my eyes to a lot of different areas that I had never explored before.     

Blog Post 11: Extra Credit: TEAM WHY

This being the final blog post of the semester it will be reflection based. When the semester first started I thought that this blog was going to be to be super easy and just another weekly assignment. However, after the first few weeks I realized the exact opposite. It wasn't super easy and took some time and consideration to get the blog’s done well and thoroughly. You really needed to know what you were talking about and have good examples in order to have a successful blog post for the week. I liked how the blogging was set-up; I enjoyed the fact that it was once a week so it wasn't too overwhelming, but I also liked the response aspect. The reason the response aspect was key is because you got to see the different ideas, thoughts, insights and opinions our peers had for that’s week’s theme or topic. It started to make us think outside of the box and in different ways. My blog manifesto did alter throughout the semester, at first we just wanted to be blunt critics and be different than everybody else, but as the semester proceeded on we changed our approach. We wanted to make actual good blog posts, even if it meant being somewhat like other posts; we learned that not being different is sometimes okay, especially when our newer posts were written better and more thoroughly. We did stick to critically reviewing the material, its themes, characters, but just started to branch out of just the cliché topics of writing. The blog posts that were the most fun to write about and to respond to were the detective section/theme of our class. These were the most interesting because a lot of the class had good relations to theme, which made for really good class discussions and posts. As a whole I learned from this blogging group that it’s okay to change from where you started even if where you started was really good, being able to develop your ideas to a new level only will result in more knowledge and better understandings of the text. I would highly recommend inserting this type of blogging into other English classes.  

Blog Post 10: The Awakening; Characters/Themes/Etc: TEAM WHY

This week’s blog post is going to differ from last weeks “Awakening” post off of the fact that this week’s post is concerned more than just sexuality as a theme and will also be dealing with symbols and character details. The first theme I would like to bring up is self-expression. This is mainly shown through the main character Edna. First off she expresses herself through art; Mademoiselle Reisz and Edna as explained in the text are almost in a way communicating through their music. Next Edna expresses her love and passion through two other characters; Robert and Alcee. This expression is a pretty blatant theme because she never expresses this with anybody else in these ways. Lastly, as Edna expresses herself throughout the story her new identity makes society not understand as well. This means that people aren’t understanding or empathizing with her. Another theme that is occurring throughout the text is “children.” The first brought up topic about children is how Edna is not a motherly woman. This also is linked to Ratigniolle who is the ideal woman because she is pregnant and tries to persuade Edna to not continue down her “awakening” path. Then you have Reisz who is the exact opposite and act childish herself; she doesn’t follow the rules and more importantly knows about Robert and Edna’s relationship, yet doesn’t say anything about. Overall you then have Edna whose journey in the text is that of a child; becoming re-born again and finding her true happy identity. This is a theme that I believe is much overlooked and should be looked into more carefully to gain a deeper understanding of the novel as a whole. The last theme I would like to bring up is independence. This may be a very easy one to depict out of the text, but it is an important one to talk and analyze about. Independence is the striving factor behind Edna’s decisions, she doesn’t want to be tied down and told what she has to do or can’t do; she wants to make her own life decisions and she indeed acts on them as seen in the story. (Acting on her emotional and sexual desires for example) This novel as a whole contains many more underlying themes and just need to be exploited through careful reading, consideration and analyzing. These are just three of the main themes that stood out the most to me while reading it. I would highly recommend this book, because of the messages it sends about woman in the 19^th century.   

English 325: Blog Post 10: Wintergirls

This week’s blog post will be concerning the novel Wintergirls by Laurie Anderson. This text was one that was really eye opening, simply because of the fact that both of the “main characters” were having the same issue. Something that is not usually seen with these type of drastic elements; at least this is case in my background of reading. However, I really enjoyed how the author set-up the story. It was done very well in following Lia through her journey of beating what has become in modern society a quite common disease. What made this text hit home even more was that Lia had to endure the heartache of losing her best friend of 10 years to the same battle she was fighting. This is an easily relatable topic to students, not just for eating disorders but any problem that they share with someone else. This topic or theme could be brought up in the classroom and made a lesson around the fact that a cry out for help should never be taken lightly, even when fighting your own demons. This definitely sounds easier said than done, but are something that should be brought up. The next topic that this novel brings up is a guilty conscious. Cassie’s ghost throughout makes Lia feel guilty about not picking up the phone and is egging on her negative lifestyle. Lia chooses to handle these thoughts and feelings by herself and not reach out for help. This is yet another life lesson or themed discussion that could be brought up in a classroom setting. Teaching students that’s it is okay to reach out for help when emotionally distraught and that getting help doesn’t make you weak. It is really hard for some students to be able to do this and I believe that this book could show them how not getting help can negatively affect them if they don’t. Bringing these two themes together shows that this book even though graphic, horrific and eye opening makes some good lessons that can be gained out of reading it. The part that was most enjoyable about this novel was that even when you thought Lia had given up and gave in to Cassie’s ghost and no longer wanted to live; she snapped out of it. This gives the side of that it’s never too late to give up; as long as you are living and have the will-power you can change. This would be the most crucial theme or aspect of the novel I would bring up while teaching it because of the fact that students in today’s society give up way to easily on themselves. In reading a novel like this one and seeing everything that Lia had endured and yet still overcame should give them confidence and hope in themselves that they too can change at any moment. This indeed sounds a bit over the edge for a concept to bring into the classroom, but why not bring in such a possible life changing possibility? Even if the students only take away a bit of what was discussed on the novel, they will get the books theme, message and purpose. (Which ultimately is the main goal) Overall I would rate this book a B to B- range and would recommend for a later middle school and on age range.      

Blog Post 9: The Awakening/Sexuality TEAM WHY

This week’s post is going to be concerning the similarities between the theme of “sexuality” and the text “The Awakening.” We would first like to concentrate of the meaning of the theme sexuality. Sexuality had become a popular trend in the 19^th century and was starting to make its appearance in many texts. In The Awakening this theme occurs quite frequently and is centered on the main character Edna. It starts out with her being sexually frustrated with her significant other Leonce because of his busy work schedule. This frustration turns into her trying to find her independence, emotional and sexual self. It then leads into an emotional attachment with a man named Robert and after many encounters with each other she finally starts to get the satisfaction she has been looking for. However, once he leaves the picture for a while it leads into her needing to find her sexual satisfaction elsewhere. It once again appears when she starts an affair in her hometown city with a man named Alcee Arobin. This relationship was purely for her sexual satisfaction, nothing else. It’s clear to see that through this novel already that sexuality is one of the main themes because of all the decisions that the main character is making. It doesn’t stop just there she finally at the end of it all realizes that in her sexual and emotional decisions that she was selfish. She forgot about her past life which included a whole family. In this guilty state of mind she goes back to the place where she first felt these sexual sensations. (Grand Isle the location where she met Robert) She decided to give herself away to it and commits suicide by swimming away in the ocean. This theme of sexuality took over her life and ended up causing the end of it. Beyond just this text, there have also been many texts that have been centered on this theme. In the novel “The Library Illustrative of Social Progress” it contains much content that is concerning lust, emotions and of course sexual encounters; it has even been related to the modernized popular “50 Shades of Grey.” This is an example of how sexuality has developed over time from being a new theme in writing into a common occurrence with positive reviews. Sexuality overtime has become a more comfortable topic and writing style. Kate Chopin the author of “The Awakening” had received scrutiny for the text, however as we can see now it was a very good novel which is now being taught at the college level. It’s a theme that should be more looked into and should be looked for in all types of novels. There is almost a guarantee that you will find it in some shape or form. 

English 325, Blog Post 9: Unwind

In this week’s blog I am going to be focusing on the novel “Unwind” written by Neal Shusterman.  This novel is in a sense an almost realistic dystopian text. What is meant by this is the pro-choice and pro-life supporter battle. This is a battle that we as a society are facing today and this type of battle does potentially have the significance to end up reaching these types of decisions to be made. It is safe to say that children could have their organs and whatnot donated to others. With all this being said it’s a very easy topic to relate to the audience and makes for some great conversations and arguments. As for the details of the novel I found it most honorable how Connor took the baby from the doorstep even while he and his fugitive friends are wanted. It takes a lot of courage for someone of such young age to think beyond just them.  This could be a great theme to bring up in the classroom; courage. Was Connor acting courageous while initially going AWOL or was he just doing what he had to do to survive? I also had a lot of respect for Risa because she took her chance for survival on the fly, nothing was planned yet she took the opportunity arose by Connor to survive.  Obviously the audience is going to feel bad for Lev due to his most unfortunate circumstances (it was weird his sudden change in heart wanting to be unwound for honor then helping out the others very suddenly) however this is what made this book a good read. In having three different circumstances for the three main characters to prevent their “unwinding” made the reader realize that this new way of living didn’t care if you were rich, poor or medium class. It was all dependent on the guardian, something that is original and fresh to read.  I also was really fond how this novel had the characteristics of the Underground Railroad epidemic. People were helping the less fortunate and in this case children with networking sources and safe houses.  It’s as though history is repeating itself in America if this were to become a real thing, another great topic in which to bring into the classroom. The books climax ending was a bit surprising. It took another piece from past historical events with involving suicide bombers. The historical incorporation was done very well in this text. I never expected Lev to alter his mind in order to save Connor and still don’t have any respect for him because he was the one who signaled for the bombers to detonate in the first place. This is not a heroic act; the heroic act occurred when turning himself in so he could do no more damage. The author did a good job in incorporating a character like Lev because it kept the audience on its toes and could never expect what he would do next. I believed the party at the Admirals house was fitting and sincere, it was a good satisfying point in the book. Connor becoming Admiral was an event you could foresee throughout and was necessary to end it all. I would give this book a grade of a B. I would teach this in a classroom setting.  

Blog Post 8: Sherlock Holmes: TEAM WHY

This weeks blog post is going to be based off of the famous Sherlock Holmes. The text in which we read this week was revolved around this historic figure. I found that the most interesting part of the text was how it incorporated many different aspects about Mr. Holmes. The first aspect was his addiction to drugs; especially cocaine. This was a trait in Sherlock that wasn't really exposed before. In addition to this was his arrogance. In other views of Sherlock he is most definitely cocky individual, however, in this text he believes he is better than anybody else who walks on the same ground as him. One theme that was most intriguing about this character was how he became humbled at the end. I would have never guessed for him to admit defeat and want a photo of the one who outwitted him. I firmly believe that Sherlock even after the story is in attempt to get even with Irene Adler. This however, contradicts the episode of Sherlock Holmes watched in class. He in the end of this story ended up helping Irene, this was due to his passion and affection towards her. This could be a link between the two because there is a definite attraction towards Irene in the novel due to her intelligence. It has become apparent that Mr. Holmes is attracted to woman who are not only intelligent, but also keep him on his toes and make him chase her. This is a difficult task for any woman because Sherlock is no easy task to take on. Sherlock is a very loyal character as we have seen in both the text and film. He will do anything for his best friend Dr. Watson, even though they have their bitter moments towards each other, what good friends don't. One of the most obvious themes that was involved towards Sherlock Holmes was his observing skills and attention to details. There was a valiant effort to make sure the audience could see how this was one of the main reasons for his success. The one example that stood out the most to me was when Sherlock took Irene's heartbeat during their sexual/heating up scene. It was this small detail that cracked the whole situation and eventually led to his victory in the end. He could prove that she did indeed have feelings for her because of her elevated heartbeat. All these themes and characteristics make Sherlock Holmes the character that he is. He is unlike any others, this is why he is so famous and well known. Not many detectives can match up with the famous Sherlock Holmes. This unit for the class ended up teaching us a lot more about this famous icon than we knew before.

Blog Post 8: English 325, "Feed" Joshua Zaborowski

For this week’s blog post I will be concentrating on the novel “Feed” by M.T. Anderson. This has to be one of my favorite dystopian novels that I have read. What really stood out to me in this novel was how in a few scenes in really related to everyday issues that teens deal with today. The first example was when Titus didn’t want Violet to know about his friends “manufacturing.” This is an easy situation for readers to relate because they are one of three parties in this case. They are either the one having the drugs hidden from, the one hiding the drugs for their friends or the friends doing the drugs. Most to all readers of this novel will have a situation to relate to in this case, which makes for a great classroom discussion that can go into whether or not Titus was doing justice for Violet or his friends. This leads to many different avenues to bring into the classroom. Another theme that was brought that was intriguing was educational value. This was brought up when Titus and the crew went to the hospital. It was explained how nobody valued the educational process because they had already knew everything and could contact purely through thoughts. (Example: Violet knew how to write with a pen, which was very abnormal) This is a good point to bring up to the audience because it shows them that people with access to everything they need without even thinking about, still think about the educational process in a sense. It should in a sense show students to be grateful for their opportunity to become more intelligent, especially when others don’t even get an opportunity to become educated. This stand-point is of course coming from a future teacher. This theme could also be taken other directions as well. The last theme I would like to cover is friendship and change. Throughout this text it showed how friendships change, develop or are diminished due to live events that occur. This is a true case for any time period or any friendship; which makes it easily relatable for the reader. Titus and Violet started out becoming good friends, but as the novel developed their friendship was diminished. Titus was even so selfish at one point to delete Violets memories that she had trusted him to keep. This was the turning point of their friendship because Titus had lost interest/faith due to Violets fading “feed.” This may seem a bit harsh; however this should show the audiences that pre-caution should be taken in the “trust” factor for the friends you choose. The reason I bring this up is because it plays the devil’s advocate for good classroom discussions. It will allow students to bring up their own thoughts and feelings, which will allow for a better understanding of the novel. This is my overall goal when rating this text. This is why I bring up these types of themes and topics. Lastly I would definitely recommend this book over so many other dystopian novels and would rate this text a B+/A-. 

Blog Post 7: TEAM WHY Detective Themed Texts

For this week’s weblog post I would like to concentrate on the topic of Detective text. This has been one of the main topics of this week’s readings. Some of the main themes that are included in Detective novels is that there is dead bodies or a crime, clues, investigation and of course suspects of the crime. This was especially a popular type of text in the 19^th century and there themes are still re-occurring in current films and novels that involves detective work. One of the main points I would like to bring up is the difference from now and back then how these types of texts are created. For most of today’s detective type creations they are based off of old true story crimes (Zodiac, Ted Bundy, Green River Killer), which occurred before technology really started hitting the scene. However, these modern creations still use the type of methods and procedures that occur in our reading “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” They both pay attention to detail, think as if they are the criminal themselves and use their past experiences to solve their current problem or situation. The texts from the 19^th century are more based on their modern real life experiences and methods that they have developed, but this is due to the fact that they are the ones who led the way of this Detective themed texts. This brings us to the next point of how impressive the detective novels were for their time. With the lack of technology during their time and the way in which they used what they had; mostly their knowledge and hard work to accomplish what we do today. Whether it is a fiction novel or a real one. In our modern day novels for this theme technology takes over the hard work of the humans for the most part. This makes for the authors in the 19^th century to come up with more creative ways in order to make the story not only exciting, exhilarating, but also satisfying in the sense that they get the job done. It’s important to compare the two different time periods because it gives a much deeper appreciation of the work that was created in the 19^th century. It also gives a bigger shout out to the authors that created these novels such as: Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe and Wilkie Collins among others. This has been one of my favorite themes discussed this far and is one that should be analyzed like as discussed above. I would highly recommend reading some of these older works that involve detective work as a theme. Contains more than what meets the eye.  

English 325: Blog Post 7 Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

For this week’s blog post I will be discussing the novel “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” The author Sherman Alexie does a great job of integrating some of his own life events on the reservation into this text. Having firsthand experience makes for better details when describing the reservation life. He did a very good job in explaining from a young male’s perspective how alcohol takes over people’s lives; including his own. He also did a fantastic job in describing Junior’s family situation, the part when Junior explains how his father chose not to booze to be able to give him 5$ shows that his family does care. This is also shown when his family gives full support in the decision to attend Reardon High School instead of going to school on the reservation. The reason that this was such a big part of the novel because it wasn’t just Junior taking scrutiny from the whole reservation for being a “sellout” it was his family as well. However, his parents cared for him so much that they stood by him. This is a great part of the novel for students to read, understand and analyze. It will show kids that even though it may be hard decision to go against the grain of what your friends, family and neighborhood do that you have to do what is best for your future. This would be a great classroom discussion and a great lesson to implement. This novel also shows perseverance and persistence. Junior endures many hardships while attending Reardon high, not only does he deals with being an outsider but no longer has his best friends Rowdy to have his back. He even has to deal with feeling like two different people when on his first day of school the teacher announces his birth name. This should be showing to the audience that just because people come from different backgrounds that will occur with different name styles and types that they are people just like everybody else. This is another lesson and classroom discussion that should be incorporated. It will allow for students to see first-hand how it is rough for young adults to endure these small encounters when it may seem like nothing. Another theme that was implemented very well and is something that any reader of the novel can relate to is death. Junior explains in the novel how death is common occurrence on the reservation and talks about the amount of funerals he has attended in his life. The audience can easily relate to this because death occurs everywhere. Sherman Alexie did an overall amazing job in having his main themes be relatable, but more importantly showed how these themes are huge on reservations. I would like to end this blog with how Junior never gives up. An attitude that is perfect for a young adult literature text. This will show young adults that as tough as life can be that anybody can lie down and give up, but it takes a person with true character to keep preserving. Junior is a great character to show this. I would high recommend any of Sherman Alexie’s pieces of work and would rate this novel an A+. 

English 372: Blog Post 6, TEAM WHY: Native Americans

Links to the 4 sources used for our topic: Native Americans

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:1:./temp/~ammem_xf21:: (Buffalo Dance)

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?papr:2:./temp/~ammem_kwpR:: (Sioux Ghost Dance)

http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=January&Date=16 (Cartoon of the Day in 1869)

http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=December&Date=6 (Cartoon of the day in 1879)

This week’s blog post will be focused around Native Americans and how people of the 19^th century viewed them. The first findings that I found were old vintage films of Native Americans performing ritual dances. The first two links up above will lead you directly to the videos being discussed. My first thought when watching these films was how cool it was to still have film evidence of these rituals that have been going on for hundreds of years. However, then I noticed that in the films it didn’t look like the Natives were in their natural habitat and with their whole tribe. This then lead me to seeing that the Europeans and Whites in the 19^th century didn’t truly value the Natives and their secret ritual dances. It was purely for their benefit. In the white man being able to show their secrets to the outsiders, it loses value for the Natives. From what I have understood through my history classes is that the Native Americans take these dances very seriously and is something that only their tribes people know. This is making a statement from the white man that the Natives traditions will last no more. This then leads into the very judgmental “Cartoon of the Day” clips from the mid-late 1800’s. Both of these images are highly downgrading to the Native Americans. Both of them have the European’s taking advantage of them and making them look like non-human beings; as if they have no rights. The one I dislike the most even though it is more non chalant is the cartoon of the day in 1879. This image is showing the Native Americans having to do just stand there and watch as the white man takes their land and promises them good new homes on reservations. Knowing how history actually played out makes this image an even more disturbing one. The other image is no better. It has the image of a white man holding a Native American by his own hair. In the background there is signs that state “no shooting” and it contains the white man holding wheat representing bread. This is representing the fact that the white man is taking away their right to hunt and continue their usual way of feeding themselves. Analyzing these photos and videos is a definite eye opener. Even though we read about this time period in books, seeing it visually makes it hit home a lot harder. Overall these sources are showing people in the 19^th century didn’t see Native Americans as equal human beings. They saw them as people who could be pushed around and have their whole life ways taken away from them, which is precisely what they did. They ruined a way of life for a group of people and never even thought twice about it. Looking back on these type of sources also makes us realize how far we have come as a society.    

Blog Post 6: English 325 Joshua Zaborowski "American Born Chinese"

For American Born Chinese I would have to start off by saying that it was a refreshing read. It was unlike many other readings that I have encountered in a long time. I was most intrigued with how all three mini stories came together at the end. In addition I really enjoyed what this book could bring into a teaching aspect in the classroom. This text shows some great examples of racial stereotype. For example is Jin Wang getting picked on at school because of his racial background. This is a vital part of the text to comprehend because it’s showing firsthand what is occurring in our schools every day. In exposing students to this type of text it will have them be much more understanding when looking to their left or right and seeing someone of a different race. I also really liked how the author played with the theme of identity. Identity in this text played a huge role. I enjoyed how in the first story that the Monkey King got put into his place and ended up realizing his place. This proves a good lesson as well showing that you can’t always get what you want. It shows that something’s just aren’t meant to be. Another key lesson that could be brought into the classroom. Still going off of the whole identity theme, I was intrigued to learn of the disguises that came about throughout the text. I am sure that nobody would have guessed Jin was Danny in disguise, but it was Jin’s way of getting revenge to someone else because of the hardships he faced; was the only conclusion I could come up with. Next I was more caught off guard by the fact that the Monkey King was Chin-Kee. However, after looking back now at the text the fight scene between Danny and Chin-Kee had some give away moments due to Chin-Kee/Monkey Kings extremely talented kung Fu skills. The author had these characters disguised because the disguises were ways for the characters to unleash and let out their inner emotions. This was a creative way to do so in a text and makes for a great analyzing unit for a classroom as well. The last theme that I want to point out is that this text shows a very valuable and popular way in which people in society deal with problems: violence. When stepping back and looking at the whole text almost every single problem is dealt through violence. Was this an intentional doing by the author? Even if not it’s a great point to bring up to students and what their thoughts and feelings about it are. This is a great way to show our youth that violence is not always the answer and doesn’t get the ending result you may want or think you deserve. Overall, I believe this text has a lot to offer and would definitely be a piece of work I would like to include into my classroom. It would be something new and refreshing for the students along with good entertainment. I would rate this story in the A- to A range.             

English 372: Blog Post 5, Western TEAM WHY

For this week’s blog post we will be talking about some of the thoughts and opinions that we had with one of our short story readings: “The Luck of Roaring Camp.” More importantly we are going to be connecting the themes in this western text to other western stories as well. In “The Luck of Roaring Camp” we have a bunch of rowdy drunk men who end up changing their ways because of the birth of a new born child. This is unlike any other western type book, film or TV series I have ever seen or heard of. This is what made the story have more uniqueness compared to other cliché western novels. In addition to this you get to see the bond between a man and a child, where even the littlest things mean the world to the man (Kentuck with baby aka Tommy Luck). Showing another example of a huge difference from this western type text to others. One theme that really stood as well was the fact that the men were miners. This is an overlooked fact because when people think western they are thinking Texas, New Mexico along with other Southern states with criminal outlaws fighting against the local sheriffs or authorities due to the fact they are wanted for murder or robbery. This was a nice new touch to put on the western theme as a whole, it still contained smaller themes that fit the genre; being dirty, gambling, boozing, fighting and living in a small town. However, this author did a great job in twisting up the genre to fit a much more heart felt sad ending. Going off of the last note the ending to this film was heartbreaking. I, along with most of the audience reading could all agree we never saw a flood being the cause of the death of their new hope and good luck charm (Baby Thomas). Most western do end up in the death of a main character and it is very sorrowful and has a lot of emotion, but this ending was just different. Having a child be the heartfelt death is always hard to watch or read, but having the child as one of the main characters and the character supplying hope to an entire town has never been done in the western genre. Bret Harte did a fantastic job of creating a new and innovative western type of text, which included all the essential themes to be included in the genre, but did an even better at making it completely different and unique. I would definitely recommend this to a wide variety of crowds.     

English 372: Blog Post 4: Hard Times, TEAM WHY

For this blog post I would like to concentrate on the ending of the book Hard Times by Charles Dickens. I thought that the ending was a decent one and did tie together loose strings, however my only dislike towards it was that it felt cliché. The reason I say this is because each main character for the most part ends the novel in a depressant or somber state. The one character ending that made me the maddest was Bounderby; I thought for his major role that he needed a more exciting and meaningful ending than just dying in the streets of Coketown 5 years after firing Mrs. Sparsit. With all of this being said I would edit the ending to make for a more exciting and fulfilling one. The ending in which I would create would for Stephen Blackpool to come back in revenge for being screwed over; and in his comeback finds a flaw that Bounderby has in his factory and bank. In which he then black mails him and makes a deal for him to sell over most of his wealth. The reason I think this would make for a better ending is because the small man on the totem pole would end up on top. Even though Tom was the one who had set up the whole sitting outside the bank ordeal, it would create a plot twist because it could be included that Blackpool had set him up to somehow use the money “stolen” for illegal purposes. This type of plot twist which has characters being screwed over, getting back at the wrong people and losing it all makes for a much more intriguing ending. The next part of the ending that I would alter would to have Louisa not even the get the satisfaction of being loved and apart of Sissys’ family. The reason I chose this new ending is because no remorse should be felt towards her. She chose to marry the rich man who was double her age, but as we can see wasn’t happy. Throughout the whole novel she did nothing but cause more drama between herself and the male species. She put herself in the situation she ended up in. This is why I firmly believe that she should have grown old by herself. This causes for a character ending with extreme circumstances because of their decisions. In adding these two different endings which are extreme and can be taken in many different ways will create for a better ending. This will allow for the reader/audience to have to really think on why the author ended the novel this way. Creates a more analytical ending.    

English 372: Post #2, Poe, Tell Tale Heart. TEAM WHY

Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe is one of the most known and historic pieces of writing. It has been being taught for as long as I have been in school and for good reasoning. It has so many aspects to dissect that even in today’s literature classes this piece of work could be analyzed for a solid week. My thoughts however, when reading in college compared to middle and high school has changed immensely. My thoughts on it reading it for the third time were much more analytical and scholarly. I finally noticed all of the gothic attributes that it contains. The first characteristic that I noticed was the disturbing images that pop into your mind when reading it. For example the line “because Death, in approaching him,” really stood because I never had realized the severity of the passion to murder the old man. Yet, this had me making the relation towards the gothic consistency of focusing on death. The whole main plot of this writing is night after night waiting for the right time to execute the murder of another living being. With this being said the setting of this story is taking place entirely inside of a house, which also fits the characteristic of isolated settings. However, the only suggestion I could have to make the setting a more proper one for the situation would be to have day time stalking events in an old run down town where the sun never shined. I believe in adding eerie scenery would add just a bit more suspenseful drama. Other than that I believe the description of the whole story was done very well. Moving towards the end, I was shocked at the end when the noise he had been hearing was the beating of the old man’s heart under the floor boards. This stood out so much because it was an un-natural occurrence compared to most stories you’ll ever read. That is what it makes this so unique. It also once again makes the story follow almost to a tee the characteristics of gothic writing. When I was all said and done reading it, I couldn’t believe that the narrator had spilled the beans to the policeman. After analyzing this for quite some time I realized that even though in literary terms it was on point for following a certain theme, it also fits a moral theme. Guilt. Guilt will get the best of nearly all human beings and this just another story of how it’s true. Poe I believe un-intentionally wanted to portray, but it happened that way. He finished his story in a way not many authors had done before and in the process ended up sending a moral message. This is however, just my opinion on the ending. I believe that in thinking in the un-like gothic literary terms that other pieces of writing like this can un-cover other messages.      

English 372: Frankenstein Blog Post: Team WHY

In class we have been reading the book Frankenstein, and the three main words that stand out to me when thinking about how to describe this novel are as followed: science, human and emotions. I chose these three words because they each describe key components and themes that occur throughout. Starting off with the word science; science is the whole reason why this post is even relevant. Dr. Frankenstein along with his pride created a specimen that even he could not believe. The development of science and modern technology had just reached a new level. Another component to this word that is crucial is that Dr. Frankenstein starts to believe he did more than just science; he played god and created a harmful creature. I don’t blame Dr. Frankenstein one bit, anybody with the brain power he has would test the limits to see how far they could go as well. He just happened to be the one in taking science to a level no eyes could believe that they are seeing. Next, the word human is another vital theme. The debate continues on whether or not the beast of creation is human or not. It is no simple matter to debate over because the argument can be easily swayed off of the fact that Frankenstein was made artificially. Yet, what artificial creation has the thoughts, feelings and most of all emotions of a human. This fact alone is what makes the debate get heated. Frankenstein after watching the family for some time starts to build a bond with them and realizes that if he had somebody with him that he could be happy in a world he is not wanted in. Now if anybody can name another artificially created creature with the human attributes that Frankenstein possess’ I would like to be notified? However, in all honest opinion I do believe that Frankenstein is non-human because it never states he has the ability to reproduce and most of all that he does not have a soul. All humans have souls correct? The last word I would like to bring up for this discussion is emotions. This book throughout has so many emotions coming from not only main characters, but side as well. Dr. Frankenstein has an emotional roller coaster in his head going from self-pride of his creation to fear of what he has created to lastly guilt for what the beast has done. Then you have the beast himself who starts gaining feelings and emotions towards human objects, people and scenery. It’s crazy how three words can describe such a famous piece of writing, shout out goes to the author for staying consistent with the themes and novel objectives.   

English 325: Blog Post #2

Between shades of grey in one word is an INSANE book. Even though I have only read half of the book it was one that was hard to put down. The plot has started to reach its peak, I still don’t know where it’s going to go, but I know for a fact it’s going to be an interesting one. I couldn’t imagine having my family taken away with only 20 minutes to pack. As the novel continues I can only imagine the pain that this family is enduring. Losing their dad and yet still having the will power to endure hardships and stay together as a family. The characters have been dealing with the cards they have been dealt. Analyzing Lisa, Jonas and their mother can only be put into one word “Troopers.” They have been starved, treated like nothing, but yet still do what it takes to stay together and survive. It’s almost hard to say that they have developed as characters in this novel because they have throughout been nothing but in survival mode. A few themes that I have noticed so far that relate to other texts is that Lisa believes in leaving drawings/clues for her father that he will find them. This relates directly to the film The Mummy Returns where the boy that was taken captive leaves clues for his parents to know where is headed next. Also another item that I noticed was that at the beginning of each chapter the first few words are in all caps, something that I have rarely seen in books. I have the up most respect for the mother because in the heat of the situation that they are in she still is building relationships with everybody in order for her family to survive. She even gives away her husband’s watch for Jonas to stay with the group. The community that has been built between the main and sub characters is something you don’t see in many novels. Giving food to each other, even though some are not grateful. . . Mr. Stalas. Continuing with the community bond, when everybody refused to sign the contract to work for 25 years, it made a statement to the NKVD. They had no power because since none of them agreed and that they were supplying their manual work force they couldn’t afflict any damage due to their needs of them. Even though the soviets tried to flex their muscles and scare them, all of them stayed strong and withstood it. I believe that this is a key component for the book because in order for them to survive they all must stay together. At one point Lisa believes that Andrius has betrayed them and started working for the soviets. However, little did she know that he was simply doing it for him and his mother’s welfare; he even still continues to help them and supply food that none of them have access too. It’s hard to comprehend how a son will sacrifice a sell out because his mother has to be pimped out to the enemy in order to survive. He has the willpower that most men don’t, if it were me I would be dead because I would have killed anybody trying to touch my mother without her consent. Yet, this is such a different circumstance and nobody can have an opinion unless they lived it. Let’s just hope it was worth it by the end of the book.   

Blog Post 1: Eleanor and Park

After finishing the novel of Eleanor and Park I noticed that it portrayed a lot of good YA literature themes such as the following:

Teen love, family issues, bullying, gender/cultural conflicts along with many others. This may sound cliché, but in order for a book to be considered a successful YA book it must contain a good portion of these themes. I was really impressed with how the author incorporated character development in this novel because it was done like no other book I had read. In most YA literature when the teens are falling for each other it takes no time for each of them to say those three little words. . . “I love you.” However, in this book we had the case where Eleanor who wouldn't confess her to love Park as he had done for her, but as the book continues we get to see the development in Eleanor’s self-worth and confidence. The post card that contained three words to Park has been an implication of her expressing her love. This character development then relates very well with the themes of the novel because it exploits the characters personalities. Eleanor’s family issues can make the argument as to why her self-confidence is low. Cultural conflict such as needing to be “skinny, wear new clothes, etc” can be the argument as to why the kids who don’t fit this persona are bullied. These themes overall did a great job in portraying teen life. The only main critique I could give on this book is that I felt the family issues were too cliché for each party. We have all seen the poor guy or girl end up with the wealthy significant other. I would have been more intrigued if Eleanor had come from a more wealthy family such as Park had, this could have made for a new type of YA literature theme and created different options for the book to have gone. This being said I just think this book fell too much into the gender stereotype of the poor girl getting the wealthy guy; this theme occurs in the movies Cinderella, Sixteen Candles, Maid in Manhattan along with many others. Other than this critique I believe that this book was very well done and great read. This text is clearly positioning towards adolescents because it is including every day issues that teens endure. This makes for a teen to be keen into reading this book because they can relate to it. Adolescence is not an easy time in life for people; you endure lots of changes and start facing day to day issues that can cause immense pain. This text is portraying just that, it is showing how social status, looks, athletic skill and other factors can have a huge impact on your teen years. This appeals to teens because everything that they are reading is what they are living. It is something they can relate too and even has the possibilities of helping them cope with their problems or change their behaviors (positively or negatively). There is so much good that comes out of teens reading these types of YA literature which is why I would give this novel a solid B+/A- grade. It shows the actual real life problems, situations and day to day issues that teens endure and is an easy text to connect with.   

English 372: Blog #1 TEAM WHY

Blog Manifesto:
1.) Joshua Zaborowski, Savanah Atabelo TEAM WHY


We have decided to name our blog group TEAM WHY because we don't know why we decided to name it that. Our blog's are going to be very voice and opinion based, they will be straight to the point and will contain no beating around the bush. Our main topics we will be concerning will be the overall topics discussed in class. The reason we decided this is because we want to create new insights for the whole class, that may further their understanding of the topic at hand. This however is not limiting ourselves to exploring new and different ideas. Not everybody may like our opinions, but it will a constructive part of the learning environment and are excited to get started.

Blog #7: Joshua Zaborowski

Part 1:
Paper #1: "Leader Creon"
The sentence pattern that I noticed the most that this student was using was "compound sentences." In addition the student also had great usage of different lengths of these compound sentences. For example the student wrote "I would like to apologize for my actions and I would like to make it up to her by giving her a home and a special spot at the throne by my side." This was a very long compound sentence, compared to the following short compound sentence: "This shall be a special wedding and I will like to honor them." I believe that this is what the student is trying to experiment in terms of writing. I believe the student is trying to get away from only using simple sentences. Overall, I would say that this student is at the beginning stages of convention understanding. With some work on their punctuation's and sentence flow this could be a great paper.
Paper #2: "Antigone"
This paper had a great variety of sentence structures and even played with question usage throughout the paper. I believe that this student was playing with the questionnaire sentences because it was a popular convention. For example he used it back-to-back at one: "I am suppose to be stuck in this cave so that the Gods can save me but what is the point in dragging out my death? Why should I suffer when all I wanted to do was help?" The student did a great job in using both compound and simple sentences to have a good flow, making it a easy and enjoyable read. Overall, I believe that this student has pretty good convention knowledge. I believe that with some work on punctuation use (commas, quotations, etc.) that this paper would be excellent. However, I also think that this student is ready for complex sentences and more advanced material to take their writing to the next level.
Paper #3: "Haemon"
This paper was one that had lots of good things going for it. It had a good variety of compound and simple sentences. I was most impressed with the flow of the content and how it was easy to follow. I noticed that for sentence patterns that this student was compound sentence heavy. The reason being is because I believe that they are trying to get all of their thoughts out in one sentence. However, at one point they did a great job using the short,simple sentence to make a great statement. "Though this is not right." This was my favorite line of the entire paper. It was powerful and was a good change compared to the other sentences. I believe that this student has a good start of knowledge when it comes to conventions. I believe that they just need to practice more and try out new strategies. Based off of this, I also believe that the student was playing around with the questionnaire sentence. In this paper there was a spot where they should have put a question mark but didn't. Example: "Is it right to argue with a prophet who says that the Gods are angry with his law." Overall, I believe the student has a great start and with more guidance and practice will create some fine pieces of work.
Part 2:
I have no real concerning questions about these papers, I really wasn't a fan of how the teacher marked on my first paper, because it made it more difficult for me to edit and read. For this class I would like to work with them on punctuation's mainly. I believe in teaching these kids how to properly insert commas and quotes (mainly) that it would make a huge difference in their writing. In addition I would work with them on sentence variety. Letting them know that it is still okay to use simple sentences. I believe they were all using compound sentences to frequently, but that could have been their objective the whole time. Overall, I believe that this class has a good start and with a little more guidance could be turning these papers into the next level.
Part 3:
The two patterns of the week I would like to focus on are as followed: Acronyms and Oxymoron's. The reason in which I would like to work on these is because I believe these are two overlooked tools of writing and can be effective in spicing it up and making it unique.
The first pattern I will be working on is the acronym. The following piece is a copy and pasted Social Media conversation. The reason in which I chose this is because social media is part of our everyday lives now and this shows how grammar tools are included even in informal settings. "OMG that was the longest day ever." (Oh my god) "Yeah I know thank god its over, btw (by the way) I really miss you." "I miss you more....ttyl" (talk to you later) [Acronym] This is how acronyms are used informally, but in reality these are used for our government, formal speeches and everyday life. Another example is the term SEAL: which stands for the Navy's sea, air, land team.
The second pattern that I will work on is oxymoron. I've chosen a few sentences from a few pieces of my work that show this pattern is used in academic writing. "The L.A. streets were organized chaos." (Chris Richardson, Representing the Hood.) [Oxymoron] "The woman look extraordinarily weird." [Oxymoron] These are two examples of how it can be used. It can also be used it lots of different ways as well.
I chose these two patterns because I believe that they will make peoples writing more fun, enthusiastic and overall better. Different pattern types such as these may seem informal, but can be a powerful tool in changing cliche writing.

Non-Blog #2: Australian-English: Joshua Zaborowski

For this World English project I want to focus on Australian English. The reason in which I chose to do my project on this type of English is for a few reasons. The main reason being is because it is one of the most chosen or requested places for college students to study abroad too. In addition to this I have a historical background in dealing with or staying with Australian foreign exchange students. The main guiding question I am going to be working with is "How do you teach students to value the variety of World Englishes." I am going to link my main focus to this question by taking the following approaches towards my future students: 
1.) Teach my students that by learning other World Englishes that they will be able to understand their own English dialect better, because they will see how these different dialects directly affect each other.
2.) In addition I will be showing them that by studying a different English dialect that they have interest in, that it will make them more inclined to learn more than what they thought existed in the English language.
More based for my teaching preferences the reason I want to do my project on this is because I would really love to teach in Australia someday and believe that by studying more into their English ways it will allow me to be a better teacher for them. I would like to focus on the grammatical differences between the two English dialects and in addition focus on the social implications. (The reason I want to focus onto both is because I have great information from this YouTube sensation that explains both of my focus') For the presentation portion of this I am going to be creating a PowerPoint that will contain YouTube clips, clips of my incredible skills and last of all valuable information with great pictures. 
The three sources I have found so far that will essential for my project are as followed:

YouTube Source: His username is TabloidJunk and I will be using a few of his videos throughout my presentation.
Australian Government Source: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-slang
The sources used for this story- 

• Baker, S 1983, A dictionary of Australian slang, 3rd Edition, Currey O'Neil, Melbourne
• Johansen, Lenie 'Midge' 1988, The Penguin book of Australian slang: a dinkum guide to Oz English, Penguin Books Australia, Melbourne
• Laugesen, Amanda 2002, Convict words: language in early colonial Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne
• Wilkes, G A 1996, A dictionary of Australian colloquialisms, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press, Melbourne
• Wilkes, G A 1993, Exploring Australian English: an expert humorous look at uniquely Australian idiom, ABC Books , Sydney

Article Title: 

The development of Australian English – Dan

by LUCA LAMPARIELLO

http://www.thepolyglotdream.com/development-australian-english/

The reason these sources are very good is because there is scholarly articles that go into depth on the development of the language as well the slang terms that are used in everyday life. In addition the YouTube source goes into comparison with the American English dialect which will help my presentation a lot to show comparisons in how English has developed across the world. 

Part 1: An English Speaking World: Joshua Zaborowski

I was assigned Part 1: An English Speaking World and it was giving information on the development of modern English. Throughout the film it was showing examples of how English is a neutral language and how it is the most used and being learned language in the world. For example, In India there was a huge debate on what was going to be the main language throughout the country and it ended with English being the best option against the language of Hindu. This was baffling to me because I really had no idea that countries such as this on the eastern hemisphere were making these types of decision on language. In addition to this, the film also talked about how business, politics and law throughout the world’s countries are being done in English. This too me was very interesting because it shows that any important business that needs to be taken care of is taken care of in the world’s neutral language. I liked in the film how they talked about Public School English. The fact that they could get students from different areas and have their English tongue switched to all match one form is quite impressive. It also stated that once the British English started to die off that the American English gave it a rebirth, but now it has become bigger than its original “parents.” Going off of this note, the film also talked about how American English allows for more “slang” to be included in the dialect than does British English. I liked how they gave interviews to teens and young adults in America and explaining “slang” and how they use it in everyday conversation. These slang words that were talked about are still being used in today’s society. (Shows the growth of the English language even in modern terms) One of the most intriguing parts to me however about this documentary was when it started going into detail about the Chinese. Chinese is the second most used language in the world and it has more people in China speaking Chinese than our whole American population. Yet, there is huge portion of their population learning English because it is considered the worldwide language and “key to success” language in terms of job opportunities and such. This made me link the fact that the Chinese economy and workers have such a high success rate because they are very educated in language; giving them the advantage over the competitor workers. Overall, this film made me realize how the English language has developed and not only affected a nation or two, but the whole world as a whole. My favorite term used was when the host Mr. McNeil stated “the varieties of English not dialects.” This statement was neat because it was showing that English is all basically the same, it just contains different specifics.  

Week 6 Blog Post: Joshua Zaborowski

When reading Delpit it really opened my eyes up to a whole new world. It showed me the negative stereotype that “ghetto” and “Ebonic” language dialects receive. What I enjoyed most about this article was the fact that Lisa Delpit didn’t just complain about the situation, but instead explored what was causing this problem and how to fix it. The example I found intriguing was the one concerning her daughter Maya. Delpit didn’t realize the seriousness of this issue until it was in her own household, this isn’t saying that her daughter had a problem or anything it was just the start of her research. Throughout reading this article I found it eye opening concerning the correlation between a child’s native tongue and their self-esteem. I had never seem to noticed that the children I went to school with that had the least self-esteem were indeed the ones who had speech problems or spoke a different dialect of English. This being said I was encouraged as a future teacher to make this problem go away. It was refreshing to see somebody take initiative and find a way for students and children to incorporate their home language into the English language. Culture is a very important aspect in life for people and being able to combine that along with learning will allow for a better success rate. All we future teachers have to do is make it fun, flexible and welcoming. If we can succeed at this then we will be onto a better and brighter future not only for education, but culture and youth’s self-esteem.

For this blog’s revisions instead of re-writing out the whole paragraph above, I am going to be picking a sentence then switching into one of our sentence patterns of the week. This way it is much easier to follow my changes and for reading purposes as well. The first revision I believe that could be made from my original response is as followed: “What I enjoyed most about this article was the fact that Lisa Delpit didn’t just complain about the situation, but instead explored what was causing this problem and how to fix it” could be changed to I enjoyed that this article was a problem to resolution piece of writing. [Changing a long sentence into a much shorter one] Another revision I believe that would suit well for this week’s sentence patterns would be to emphasize the word “culture,” so to do this I made the following change:”… their home language into the English language. Culture is a very important aspect in life…” changed into their home language into the English language. Culture. A very important aspect in life. [Incorporating one word sentences] This allows for the word I want to emphasize stand out a great deal more. A pattern I could include without changing anything could be the sentence: Maya learned a new dialect. [Simple sentence] This would be good to include when I bring up Maya in my original response because it includes a little more information, but doesn’t go off topic. The next revision I would like to make for the response up above is changing the third sentence into a compound sentence, and here is how it would be done. I enjoyed reading about the articles problem, but also the solution to fixing the problem. [Compound sentence] For this revision I took out some words and added a few to make it a compound sentence; this adds some sentence variety and allows me to work on the patterns of the week. These were the 4 main sentence patterns I wanted to concentrate on because they were the ones I included the least in my response or didn’t include at all. When looking through my original response I didn’t add any more long sentences or complex sentences because they occur a few times throughout. Overall, for this post I wanted to concentrate on the patterns I don’t use to often and in addition I found it difficult to include some of these patterns when revising my own work. The reason being is because when I read over my own work it sounds perfectly okay in my head, but when I read it out loud I can see the areas in which these patterns would make sense to insert into. 

Week 5 Blog Post

In this week 5 blog post, I will be concentrating on mostly just two of the patterns of the week. The main two in which I will be practicing the most is using [Complex Sentences with the dependent clause coming after] and [Use of a repeated word, phrase, clause or sentence for emphasis or stylistic effect] I will still however, be touching a little on patter one; [Complex sentence, but with the dependent clause occurring first] The reason being is because I noticed in my writing I usually have the depending clause occur first, so I would like to work on it coming second (add more different types of flow to my writing). The first pattern I will be playing around with is pattern number three. For this pattern I am using lyrics from a popular song currently; Dark Horse by Katy Perry featuring Juicy J, the lyrics are as followed: “This love will make you levitate, like a bird, like a bird without a cage…If you choose to walk away, don’t walk away.” [Use of a repeated word, phrase, clause or sentence for emphasis or stylistic effect] In this example Katy Perry uses a repetition of two phrases; both “like a bird” and “walk away” to cause emphasis on her message for which is stating. She doesn’t want the man she is talking about or too, to walk away and to stay with her. This is a great example of repetition and how it can be effectively used. The next pattern I would like to focus on is pattern number one.         For this example I have a sentence that is from Shakespeare class last semester. After she found out the truth, she decided to take her own life away. [Complex sentence, but with the dependent clause occurring first] The reason this sentence has the dependent clause coming first is because the word “After” is the clause coming first, and in the independent clause is the second part of the sentence and it’s a sentence that doesn’t need any support to be an actual sentence by itself. Moving onto the final pattern for the week; this pattern I want to include more in my writing. Keegan got suspended from school, after he got in a fight with the two kids on the playground.   [Complex Sentences with the dependent clause coming after] This is a sentence I took from a writing prompt in class from English 302 last semester. The reason I want to include this pattern more often in my writing is because I never put the dependent clause “after,” I am always using pattern number one. This pattern included more evenly with pattern number one allows for my writing to my diverse and create different flow patterns.  

Week #4 Blog Post: Joshua Zaborowski

For this week’s blog post I would like to practice and use all three of the patterns for the week. The reason which I am doing this is; is because my writing could use all of the patterns possible to make it more unique and intriguing to read. I would ultimately like to focus on the rhetorical fragment pattern due to the fact that it could put more tone or emphasis in vital sentences throughout my writings. To start off, I would like to work with the pattern of “compound sentence(s).” The example I am presenting is a sentence I just recently used for my English 339 class. Mookie kept running his mouth, and it caused him to get beat up. [Compound sentence joined with a comma+FANBOYS/Coordinating Conjunction]. To me when I wrote this sentence I didn’t even think twice about it even having a rule or pattern that it followed. However, after going over compound sentences in class it slowly makes me realize that compound sentences are a huge part of my writing; just like the sentence above. The next pattern I would like to address is using a rhetorical fragment. Now since I never really use this type of pattern in my writing I looked an example up online to analyze. I wish you would apologize for breaking my heart. Yet you never will. [Rhetorical Fragment] This example matches the example that was given in our directions; however the only difference is that in this example it is talking about another person as well, not just the speaker itself. Lastly, I would to practice using the “objective-case pronoun.” Just as the last pattern I talked about, I never have used this type of writing that much either. So instead of looking one up this time, I actually wanted to practice it and make one of my own. For this pattern I made up the following example: You want to go to the dance with whom? Or it could be reworded like this; whom would you like to go to the dance with? [Whom used in the object slot] This I believe is a good pattern to include into my writing because it adds a different writing style for my sentences. Now that I have covered the writing patterns for the week; I would now like to address my “Daily Oral Language” exercise example. My exercise was to “Conduct a sentence dictation activity.” A good example to introduce this to the class I believe would be too use a Shakespeare quote because the example from the packet states “Slowly read a sentence written by a published writer to students- then student write down what they hear and attempt to punctuate the sentence...” The quote I would use is “Where art thou now” because it’s a sentence in which students would analyze and have different opinions about. I believe a good gateway for understanding this concept.   

In this blogging post I will be addressing Patterns number 2 and 3: A list without the final "and" OR a list with all "ands" and no commas and use of the reflexive pronoun to refer to someone/something else in the sentence or to show emphasis. The reason in which I want to work on these patterns for the week is because for one I have never really used pattern 3 in my writing at all and it will give it a new technique to spice it up and make it better. Secondly, I’ve never formally used pattern number 2 correctly in my writing. I believe working with these patterns it will give my writing much more depth and seem more professional.

Starting with pattern number 2 here is a sentence that I have taken from English 339 class this semester: The boy was nothing more than a loser, coward, thief and most of all a disgrace to his family. [A list without the final “and” OR a list with all “ands” and no commas] Now this sentence when I was writing didn’t even cross my mind of how it could be written differently because it had been the only way in which I wrote lists. However, now looking back on it here are the two other ways to write it: The boy was nothing more than a loser and a coward and a thief and most of all a disgrace to his family. [A list without the final “and” OR a list with all “ands” and no commas] Or I could have done all commas instead of the “Ands” approach. I believe that in using these two different styles of making lists it will allow for my lists to have more emphasis and meaning because it will stand out to the audience more.

Next with pattern number 3 I took a sentence away from my Teaching and Learning 301 last semester and picked it apart. It is as followed: I see me as being a good role model for my students. [Use of the reflexive pronoun to refer to someone/something else in the sentence or to show emphasis] When the sentence should be structured as the following: I see myself as being a good role model for students. [Use of the reflexive pronoun to refer to someone/something else in the sentence or to show emphasis] After knowing how reflexive pronouns work, it has made my grammar in my writing technically correct. Learning this in class has helped a ton because now my writing can take a step in the direction to becoming even better.    

Week #2 Blog Post: Joshua Zaborowski

In this blog, I will be working and playing with two of the patterns that we worked on in class this week. I will be incorporating long sentence(s) followed by a very short sentence and two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon. The reason in which I chose these two patterns is because it will make my writing have better flow and more significance. Different types of sentences will make my audience or reader more intrigued to keep reading because it will prevent a monotonous sentence flow. To start off I’m going to be working with the first pattern I introduced and am going to use just made up examples, like we did in class all week. This week involves my 21^st birthday, along with the Juicy J concert and the Super Bowl; it’s going to be one long week. I’m going to die. [Long sentence(s) followed by a very short sentence] In this example, the purpose of this type of pattern is too put emphasis on the short sentence that follows the long one. The long sentence explains the situation which is occurring then the short one is the ending result that has the final punch of what’s going on. In this example, I explain what is going on in my life for the week, and then in my short sentence I tell the ending result of what’s occurring. I believe in using this pattern for my writing it will allow for my papers to have better flow from idea to idea and will keep myself from having boring sentence structures. Another example showing usage of this pattern is as followed: In baseball there has been a development in the game, its changing from strategic ways of winning to relying on the big home runs and plays to be successful. What a shame it is. Baseball’s new development has changed the way in which teams coach, draft players and are ran. [Long sentence(s) followed by a very short sentence] The other type of pattern that I want to start using in my writing is two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon. The reason in which I want to start including this pattern is because it allows for me to combine two like sentences and keep them closely jointed so it has more meaning and flow for the audience. Here is an example of this pattern: I always have loved sports they are good for you as a person; helping yourself develop as a person with good morals and discipline. [Two closely related sentences joined by a semicolon] This pattern’s definition is exactly what it does for sentence structure; it mixes in a new style in which ideas can be combined. After playing around with these patterns I am going to make a much stronger effort to plug them into my writing because it will make it better in all aspects.       

Self-Assessment: Joshua Zaborowski

In this blog I will be writing about the positives and negative factors in my writing. I will be showing examples and making commentary. Throughout this post it will be clear the mistakes I make in my grammar when trying to explain them. (Both my positive and negative factors) The first point I would like to expand on is my troubles on word choice. For example, instead of using more elaborate and descriptive words I tend to go with words such as: fun, cool or sad. When to make my writing more effective I should be using ecstatic, melancholy or stylist. The following sentence is an example of one my papers from English 302 last semester: Yet, Coors Light does a good job fighting this issue by making advertisements that appeal to multiple groups of people, not just alcohol consumers. When revising this sentence I simply changed the word fighting to combating and making to creating to show a much more descriptive and appealing argument to my audience. The next issue I have in my grammar skills is the usage of commas. This is by far my weakest skill. I tend to use them too much and put them in places where deemed un-necessary. This problem then leads to my writing having too many run on sentences. This next example is from an essay I wrote for my Shakespeare 205 class last semester:  Through the first weeks of class, I still thought Shakespeare was only a significant author because of his deep writing and how at sometimes it’s very difficult to decipher. This sentence is a perfect of example of an un-needed comma. The sentence structure from my understanding would be correct if it were to be removed. As for run on sentences goes my problem is that I try to put too many thoughts into one sentence, instead of developing one thought and making my case stronger. The following sentence is a made up example of me doing this. Lots of people like hot dogs, hamburgers, corn dogs, steaks and sea food more than they like vegetables and fruits; which is why these food items are sold more at social events because it is appealing to the consumer and will allow for the company to make more money. This sentence should be divided up and have each thought expanded on, because it will then allow my writing to be more clear and structured. To go off structure, I believe my sentence structure could use vast improvement. I have a horrible tendency of starting my sentences off with the same words and it starts to make my writing boring to read and in addition to this more than 75% of them use the same type of patter. As you can see throughout this whole write-up I just now realized that my sentences to explain these flaws were all exactly the same. I went from stating my flaw, showing the example and then commentating on it. These are all the things I want to work on throughout this course, so that might my writing won’t be so dull. Going off of that I want to learn new skills so that it will help me to get out of my comfort zone and take my writing to the next level.