Friday, October 30, 2009

Writing Comments

Today as we began to explore how to write comments on blogs, we came up with these guidelines for your responses. Write comments that focus on the ideas, that encourage the conversation to continue. To do this, you can offer comments that...

Give constructive “push-back.”
Dig deeper.
Raise the bar.
Gently lead the writer to re-read and re-assess (especially if they have mis-read).
Offer new perspectives and ideas.
Make connections.
Relate your own experience.
Challenge ideas and ask questions.

Everyone should also keep this in mind:
Present your best self.
Express your sincere self (no poseurs).

An Advice

"...you will come someday to a craggy pass of the channel, where the whole of life's streams will be broken up into whirl and tumult, foam and noise: either you will be dashed to atoms on crag points, or lifted up and borne on by some master wave in to a calmer current-as I am now"(144)

This quote reminds me of the time when my dad told me that I was old enough to hear this: you're going to reach a point in life where, you have a problem and two choices: you can either fail alone or fail together. I didn't comprehend what he was saying until he explained. My dad gave me this advice to make me aware that in my future I will come across problems where the solution is going to be failure. He stressed the fact that there's two different kinds of failures; I have to pick the best one.

The same situation happens with Jane. Mr. Rochester is older and more experienced in things he knows Jane hasn't encountered in her life yet. He decides to give her an advice,because he has seen that Jane is trustworthy. Mr. Rochester gives Jane the advice: that one day she too will come across a problem where there's either a wrong or right.

For example, when someone comes across a problem of major gravity, and he/she thinks that he will never find a way out. That person should read this quote because I think it opens a chance of hope. Just knowing there's a chance for everything to be cleared up in the problem gives great inspiration to keep going.

Lesson Learned

The charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear disturbs it;and fear with me became predominant, when half an hour elapsed and I was still alone.

Jane is saying that even though she's excited about trying new things, she still doubts because she knows that she cant go back to her past. Fear strikes her heart when she thinks about the possible failure of her new journey, because she is concerned about what others will think. Not only that, but she will also have to make a long trip back to Lowood, where she would probably be shamed, dishonored, and abased because she will be known as a quitter and will not have used her lessons from Lowood wisely. Leaving Lowood was a big and brave difference in the schools traditional status. Most of the people who graduated from Lowood were expected to teach until they eventually got married and left.


When new journeys come my way, I start to get excited because I envision all the prosperities and lessons that I can gain from the experiences. New encouraging people and good life lessons are only few of many things that you can gain form taking on the risk of a new experience. Even though I may be excited, I also have fear of rejection and failure because I have certain standards set for myself. sometimes this feeling may be hard to bear because I have witnessed several tragedies where people have let fear control their lives. For examle, if I was to get denied to a college that I wanted to attend and I let that one failure stop me from achieving my gaols in life. i try to deal with this complex problem by always trying to keep a positive frame of mind. If you are negative, it will keep you from achieving your dreams and goals. when you think positive even when filure strikes, it won't be as hard to take risks because you're not going to let fear take control of your life.


Self-Conscience

“When Mrs. Fairfax had bidden me...offered me before it was earned.” (99)


This quote reminded me of how I felt during my first year at Chinquapin. Jane feels that she has finally come to a place where she can be her true self and do the things she loves without anyone judging her. She can talk and act without Mrs. Fairfax questing her. And everyone there is very kind and understanding with her. For example, when Mrs. Fair fax picked a room for Jane. She picked a room were Jane would feel comfortable.

I felt the same when I came to Chinquapin. I was scared of being judged for my looks, my intelligence, and my actions. I was scared about what my first impression would be at this school. I didn't want to look like a nerd or like weirdo. I was scared that people would make fun of me because of the things I wore because if I wore something that is not considered cool; everyone would think I'm lame and would beat me up. I was used to people at public school judging others because of their appearance. I was also scared of being too smart. At the public school I attended, my classmates made fun of me when I did my work while they played around in class. They would also depend on me to give them answers on school work. I also took care of the way I talked and acted. When I first had a conversation with my new classmates at Chinquapin, I didn't want to talk or act weird, so I was always conscious of how I acted around my classmates. I always went with the flow. I spoke like my classmates, and followed their example. I would tell my self if what I was about to say or do was accepted by my classmates.

Jane's overall first impression is that Thornfield Hall is a great place; a place where she can express her true self. In a way, Chinquapin has been my Thornfield. It has been the place where I can be my true self, the place where I can do the things I love and not have anyone judge me. A place where people are kind, they would judge someone by their actions and not by their behavior.

The Disadvantages of Imagination

When once more alone, I reviewed the information I had got; looked into my heart, examined its thoughts and feelings and endeavoured to bring back with a strict hand such as had been straying through imagination's boundless and trackless waste, into the safe fold of common sense. (162)


This is around the time that Jane Eyre has just questioned a servant about Mr. Rochester and other people at Thornfield. She has gathered information from about everyone important in a conversation from Leah, a servant. Jane is saying that she can't help letting her imagination get in the way while she is trying to process the information she has just received from Leah. She tries not to let her imagination take over because a person's imagination could run wild and over-think and make fiction become reality. Jane doesn't want this to happen because she is afraid that her imagination will slip up and make her say something she doesn't want to say that will mess up her life in Thornwood.

On several occasions I have felt the same way. Once, during a conversation about about the Ten Plagues mentioned in the Bible, I chose a side that was against the idea of the Ten Plagues happening. I was defeated. This loss wasn't at a cost. The people on the opposing side gave me some of my own ideas to re-think. After several months of thinking it over, I couldn't help letting my imagination get in the way. Once, I tried to figure out how the river that ran through Egypt could turn red, as mentioned in the Bible. My imagination told me that maybe there was a battle that made the river turn red. I knew that this couldn't be true because there was no such evidence of a huge battle to make the river turn red. I still think about it untill this day. Like in the past, my imagination sometimes takes over and makes overstatements about the Ten Plagues. Another reason is that I caution what I say. If I say something that my imagination tells me to say, but I know is stupid, people can use that to blackmail me and make fun of me. Once, I had a classmate that gathered every dumb remark that I had done and just used to make fun of me every time I went against him.

Hidden emotions

Ere long, I had reason to congratulate myself on the course of wholesome discipline to which I had thus forced my feelings to submit. Thanks to it, I was able to meet subsequent occurrences with a decent calm; which had they found me unprepared, I should probably have been unequal to maintain, even eternally”(164)

Here Jane has acquired the ability to hide her feelings from others. She says that if her employers found her incapable of doing the job, they hired her for, she wouldn’t have been able to handle it; she might burst out into tears right there on the spot. Harsh criticism isn't something that's easy to take; it really brings you down. Jane says that in order for her to be able to be a successful governess, she must mask her emotions from others; she must hide her confusion and insecurity because if people were to see this side of her, they are less likely to take her seriously, and less likely to hire her.

Certain emotions can be a sign of weakness, and those must be thrown away and locked in the closet so that no one can see them; vulnerability is unacceptable in the business world and is often labeled as unstable. As an employer, he's less likely to hire someone if they have uncontrollable mood swings. One second they’re happy, the next angry, and then sad. It can get very tiresome and get in the way of a job. The employee is less likely to be effective if she is too busy dealing with her emotions.

The sad truth is that as much as we fight it, people are usually quick to judge others; if someone’s emotions are just leaking through his or her body, you are going to judge them based on those emotions. If you want people to see you as a strong, stable and reliable person, then you wouldn’t want people watching you as you are crying, because it takes away from the strong, stable persona you are aiming for.

I’ve had experiences like this throughout my entire lifetime. I hide my emotions from the people around me; in fact, I do it most of the time. I'm not nor ever have been comfortable showing my feelings to to others, and I have a hard time doing it. Typically I try to hide my weaker side; I try to hide the emotions that are characteristic of a weak, unreliable person. I try to mask what I am ashamed of and show others what I want them to see. Although I do it all the time, I will admit it is not the best thing to do. I have found that the more I try to hide my emotions, the more seclusive I am, and while it is not a good thing to do, I sometimes feel like it's what society expects of me as a male; society expects me to hide my emotions. Thats why I connect with this quote, because Jane has also becomes emotionally reticent, but she's congratulating herself on it, and I guess in a sense I do it too; otherwise I would cease to hide my emotions.


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Confidence

Mr. Rochester: "It is not its cure. Reformation may be its cure; and I could reform-- I have strength yet for that-- if-- but where is the use of thinking of it, hampered, burdened, cursed as I am? Besides, since happiness irrevocably denied me, I have a right to get pleasure out of life: and I will get it, cost what it may." (pg. 138-139)

This quote gave me a better sense of who Mr. Rochester really is. It kind of made me feel bad for him because it seems as if he can never find true happiness because something always goes wrong. Mr. Rochester isn't a bad person, so why shouldn't he be able to live a life full of happiness? All he wants is to be happy.
I like how this quote shows his attitude towards life. It shows that he is not a quitter. He is the type of person who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants and wherever he wants.
I like this about him because I myself don't really like to give up. I try my hardest not to be a quitter. I like to finish what I start. To me, quitting shows people your weak spots, and you should always show that you are strong.
This quote also makes Mr. Rochester look like a pretty confident person. In the last sentence, he makes it clear that he is going to get pleasure out of life, not just think about it and ignore it. He knows what he wants and he is willing to do whatever it takes to get it.


Revolt Against Tranquility

It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot.” (111)


This quote states exactly how I feel in my life because it says that humans are restless beings who need action in their lives. In my weekly routine, I cannot go a long time without having some sort of adventure because if I don't have action I feel useless in life. I get tired of the usual pedantic book studying at school and want to just get out into the world and explore instead of being confined to classroom walls. My mind gets restless because of the lack of variety of exciting ideas it receives daily, and I try to come up with amazing things to do to feel a bit of adrenaline rush through me.

It is not human nature to live a boring and routine life. This is very well displayed in history where explorers have sought new lands and new people even though they did not know what fate would meet them in those new places. In jail, which is mainly full of uneducated barbarians, one is confined to a plain life where one is not allowed the freedom to explore new thoughts and ideas because one is limited to other intellectual minds whom one can learn from. Even though prisoners can read, for many humans it is hard to understand something without the help or idea support of others who know more. As one of my uncles, who was once a prisoner, recalls, many prisoners revolt by spending their days studying the meaning of their life or just of life itself by lying in their jail beds and escaping into their own world, or by simply pondering upon what they did to get there and how they could have avoid it. This is a revolt in the sense that these prisoners decide to go against what most of society thinks of them (of being heartless beings without feelings and full of evil), and they silently prove to themselves that that is not the case anymore. I think the only humans satisfied with tranquility are those no longer living.

First Impressions

''I took up my muff and walked on. The incident had occurred and was gone for me: it WAS an incident of no moment, no romance, no interest in a sense; yet it marked with change one single hour of a monotonous life. My help had been needed and claimed; I had given it: I was pleased to have done something; trivial, transitory though the deed was, it was yet an active thing, and I was weary of an existence all passive. The new face, too, was like a new picture introduced to the gallery of memory; and it was dissimilar to all the others hanging there: firstly, because it was masculine; and, secondly, because it was dark, strong, and stern. I had it still before me when I entered Hay, and slipped the letter into the post- office; I saw it as I walked fast down-hill all the way home. When I came to the stile, I stopped a minute, looked round and listened, with an idea that a horse's hoofs might ring on the causeway again, and that a rider in a cloak, and a Gytrash-like Newfoundland dog, might be again apparent: I saw only the hedge and a pollard willow before me, rising up still and straight to meet the moonbeams; I heard only the faintest waft of wind roaming fitful among the trees round Thornfield, a mile distant; and when I glanced down in the direction of the murmur, my eye, traversing the hall-front, caught a light kindling in a window: it reminded me that I was late, and I hurried on." pg.117-118

I think it's funny that a person always does something stupid when they are around someone they don't know, or someone they are trying to impress. Jane's first encounterment with Mr. Rochester is when she scares his horse and it slips on ice and he falls. I think this happens because deep down we are trying too hard not to mess up and you end up messing up. It's the nervousness, I believe, that takes control over the body and makes a person mess up. Jane wasn't really nervous though. She didn't know that Mr. Rochester would end up being her boss. It was just a strange coinsidence that it happened that way. I think first impressions are very important because if you show a person what your going to give them, lets say in a job, then you will most likey get hired because they are going to like how you presented yourself. In Jane's case though it was a little bit more complicated. Jane's first impression on her boss was knocking him off of his horse, even though at the moment she didn't know that was her boss. That was bad of her, but the magnificent thing about Jane is that she tried to fix it by helping him and that shows a lot of courage. Another woman would have probably went running to get help, but she didn't. She wanted to help him herself. And not any woman would let a man lean on her none the less touch her. But Jane thought it was necessary in order to help him back on his horse. And that I think made Mr. Rochester curious about how Jane really is and didn't fire her right away after she knocked him over. He wanted to see more of this girl with the courge and he indeed did so.

Wrong Person

“If he expects me to talk for the mere sake of talking and showing off, he will find he has addressed himself to the wrong person.” (135)

As I was reading this, it seemed to catch my attention because I was able to relate to this. Here Mr. Rochester is sitting down with Jane and he is asking her to talk about her life. I think that Jane is saying she won't talk just to talk. I think this because Mr. Rochester is asking her to talk. If he didn't ask her, then she wouldn't talk.
If someone were to ask me to talk just for the fun of it, I wouldn't talk. I wouldn't know what to say. If I do say something, I feel people would make fun of what I had to say. I feel that Jane feels the same way. This man she doesn't even know is trying to talk to her. She may feel uncomfortable talking to a stranger.

Life-Changing Moments

“It was a strange sensation to inexperienced youth to feel itself quite alone in the world, cut adrift from every connection, uncertain whether the port to which it is bound can be reached, and prevented by many impediments from returning to that it has quitted.” (95)

Jane is going through an extreme change in her life. For her entire life she has lived only in two places, Gateshead with her abusive aunt and cousins and then at the grim Lowood Institution. Now Jane is deciding to leave her teaching job at Lowood and start a new life as a governess at Thornfield. She has never been anywhere else in her life, and she has no idea how the people will act in other places. She doesn’t even know if she will do well at her job.

I see what Jane is saying as a metaphor for growing up, just like a young bird leaves the nest to be on its own. I had the same experiences when I first applied to Chinquapin. I had no idea of what was going to happen or if my goal of graduating from Chinquapin could even be reached. If my goal wasn’t accomplished, I would know what to do. I didn’t want to go back to public school. It would have been humiliating to go back to public school to be made fun of because I wasn’t start enough to stay there. I couldn’t go back because I refused to go back. I would just take my chances and see for myself what the future held.

When I first started attending Chinquapin, I felt that my life was beginning to change forever. Everyone I had known before went to different public schools, because they said it would be easier than Chinquapin. But I applied despite what they had to say. I got into Chinquapin not knowing anyone. I felt isolated. As a naturally shy person, I found it difficult to make friends; I would hardly talk to anyone and didn't want to be involved in any clubs. As for my old friends, I hardly ever saw them. We would talk on the phone every once in a while, but the conversations slowly died after a while. Like Jane, “I was cut adrift from every connection” (95).

As the years progressed, I slowly got used to life at Chinquapin. I gained new friends and encountered many life-changing decisions and experiences. But during stressful assignments or unpredictable drama, I sometimes wonder if I am just wasting my time at Chinquapin, making mostly B's when I could be making A's at my zoned public school. I still don't know what to do about this dilemma. I also wish that I was able to go back in time and be a child again, but I know that is never going to happen, for I can't go back to being a child both literally and figuratively. I have been a student for so long that I have forgotten how to be a child without a care in the world. And just like Jane, I am not even finished with my coming of age. I am still growing and learning every day.



Being a better person

Being a Better Person

I will break obstacles to happiness, to goodness-yes, goodness; I wish to be a better man than I have been. (Pg 145)

When I first read this it completely got my attention, because I can relate it to myself. Mr. Rochester says that he will to anything so that he can be happy. I feel like that every day but I don’t know how to get it. And then he talks about how he wishes he could be a better person. I also feel like this, I don’t really care if I’m not the best in school or at other things as long as by the end of the day I know that I was the best person I could be. That I don’t regret anything that day and by knowing that I’d feel good.

Jane Eyre

"I dress myself with care: obliged to be plain- for I had no article of attire that was not made with extreme simplicity_ I was still by nature solicitous to be neat. It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance, or careless of the impression i made: on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer: I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and a small cherry mouth; I desired to be tall, stately and finely developed in figure..."(pg.100)

Sometimes I feel this way, I feel that I have to dress a certain way so I can fit in. Also sometimes I wish I was physically perfect to attract the guy that I like. I desire to have a straight nose as well; my parents make fun of my nose, and that makes me wonder if others don't like my nose. I actually would like to be a little shorter, because most guys are around my height, and I like tall boyfriends.
Personally, I believe first impressions matter, because people would criticize you by the way you look. Everyone judges you by the way you, or someone looks every day. When people compliment you, you know that they were criticizing you, because people do criticize your clothes everyday; even if you think they don't. Yet the clothes that you own don't matter; just because that girl has Gucci and you have Walt-mart doesn't mean she's going to look better because she's wearing expensive clothes. Like my mom says, "You just need to know how to match you clothes." That's all there's to it. Also, some girls think that using gallons of makeup will make them look pretty, but that's not true. In my opinion, everything natural is better, but some lip-gloss and mascara won't kill you. This is why I can relate with Jane, she wants to look as best as she can with hat she has. But wishing she was better looking won't lower her self-esteem. She just wanted to make a good impression. I mean who doesn't?

CĂ©line's Infidelity

“On recognizing him, the fang of the snake, jealousy, was instantly broken; because at the same moment my love for CĂ©line sank under an extinguisher. A woman who could betray me for such a rival was not worth contending for: she deserved only scorn; less, however, than I, who had been her dupe.” (146)


Here Mr. Rochester speaks about CĂ©line being disloyal to him. He is telling Jane of the account where CĂ©line cheated on him with another man. On one or two occasions, I too have felt this jealousy rush through my body like the venom of a snake bite. This quote reminded me of the time where my girlfriend left me for another guy. The jealousy rushes through your body so quickly at a sudden rush as if you are having a heart attack. Giving her everything she could ask for, only to throw it away for someone else is heart breaking. And the change of emotions for the girl is unbelievable. Just as Mr. Rochester described it; it is crazy how one minute you could love her and with one disloyal act, all that was there is gone. For CĂ©line to trick him and do this behind his back was miserable, when she was aware of the love that Mr. Rochester had for her.

Simply Descriptive

I hastened to drive from my mind the hateful notation I had been conceiving respecting Grace Poole; it disgusted me. I compared myself with her, and found we were different. Bessie Leaven had said I was quite a lady; and she spoke truth: I was a lady. And now I looked much better than I did when Bessie saw me: I had more colour and more flesh; more life, more vivacity; because I had brighter hopes and keener enjoyments.”

This is the human race in its weakest hour: We find ourselves disgusted with what we think, when we feel the need to compare ourselves to others. Jane has lived through a lot of struggles; yet this seems to be her weakest moment. She hates that she compares herself to another woman and in a haughty way admits she is better. She seems arrogant, when she compares herself to someone who will probably never amount to anything than being a simple maid, while she, an educated governess, dares to say she is better. This is what I love about this book its realistic with emotions. Though the characters are fictional the emotions they live are what humans sometimes feel. This is another simple but complex way of looking at things. The simple fact that humans actually experience and feel like they are better makes it all the better. The story then becomes a novel about our human emotions. The emotions come to life because they are real. We actually sometimes find ourselves comparing each other. Though simple on the outside, this has a very intricate interior. Jane feels disgusts with her thoughts, which makes me correlate with her. I sometimes do compare myself to others, and though it isn't something very admirable it is my human defect. We are able to see Jane's greatest defect, her lack of confidence. She's an intelligent young women, yet she's insecure. This insecurity is what gives her the human character. She is a fictional protagonist but her actions make her come to life. Bronte does well in teaching us how to make a character come to life.

Jane Eyre

“... I will keep my word: I will break obstacles to happiness, to goodness—yes, goodness; I wish to be a better man than I have been; than I am...” (145)

This quote is one that is concise yet profoundly meaningful. It is one that values the meaning of keeping one's word or promise. Mr. Rochester is saying that he will do whatever it takes for him to become a better man; and change, even if he has to break the rules. This is great, because nowadays people seem to forget the value of their word as if it were nothing. That is a terrible thing to do because it can lead to many problems. And people will no longer trust or have faith in you. This is something that I have had to witness unwillingly. I know that this is true because I am irritated with my brother who promised me one of his trucks when I graduate. And guess what, he sold it before I even got the chance to graduate. Now he and I do not speak, not simply for that, but because he has broken his word on several occasion. Now I do not know when to believe him or when not to.

Life Lessons from Jane Eyre: Brainstorm

Branch out and develop a more distinct personality (beyond what is expected of you).
Pursue action: out there and do stuff.
Don’t let your past determine your future.
Learn from your mistakes.
Don’t let people push you around.
Learn how to forgive others.
Sometimes you have to let society win, even though it’s wrong.
Follow through on your decisions, and don’t give up
Don’t let your environment hold you back.
Life is not fair. Don’t let one catastrophic moment ruin the rest of your life.
Take advantage of what you have when you have it.
Be grateful for what god gave you.
Be dedicated to learn something new every day.
Sometimes you are just unlucky and you have to look on the bright side
Be emotionally strong – don’t let your feelings interfere with your confidence in yourself.
Live life to the fullest.
Don’t let people’s put-downs get to you.
Don’t let negativity get to you.

Monday, October 26, 2009

For Whom Are We Writing?

Today we had a good discussion about what goes in a blog (text, images, links, comments) and whom we are writing for -- for the moment our class, but possibly the wide world when we are ready to go "public." We discussed the kind of language we want to use and how this affects how people judge what we have to say. Finally, we talked about the importance of creating a positive digital footprint on the Web for all our future readers (colleges, jobs, etc.).

We agreed on the following:
Write with clarity. (Grammar and editing affect this.)
Use detail.
Write to be understood. (Avoid texting/IMing abbreviations, slang that won't be understood, etc.)
Write comfortably, as if you are having a really good conversation with someone you like to talk to.
Write for publication. (Use initial drafts to develop ideas, get feedback, clean it up.
Write about things (ideas, experiences) that you are comfortable sharing with a broader audience.

We will not doubt have more conversations about privacy on the web and building an impressive digital portfolio for your future. This is just the beginning.

I do want to caution you to relax into this somewhat, to be yourself, to share your own thoughts and reflections. Think about what you would like to read. Be yourself.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Welcome!

This is where my Language Arts II students will explore blogging, literature, and life. I look forward to seeing how things develop.