Amy


 * __ My favorite poetic device in literature is... __ the symbolism of blood utilized in __Macbeth__ by William Shakespeare . As this piece of literature progresses, blood becomes a reoccurring symbol that, at first, represents justice in Macbeth's eyes. In the opening scenes of Act 1, Macbeth's purpose for shedding blood includes fighting for his country, honor, and reputation. However, when the Weyard sisters predict that he will become Thane of Glamis, Macbeth alters his intentions. Eventually, Macbeth's killing spree becomes an internal battle for power and success. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, his wife, end up betraying and killing Macbeth's cousin Duncan. As the blood that is shed throughout the book increases, so does the guilt that is entailed along with it. Overwhelmed with the guilt, Macbeth starts to lose himself, sees hallucinations, and sees the ghost of Banquo. This feeling starts to take over him and he feels compelled to keep on killing anyone associated with revealing him. __"I am in blood Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more."__ Overall, the symbolism of blood was my favorite poetic device because it truly portrayed the intensity of this work; the definition blood transformed trememdously as Macbeth changed his purpose for killing and the desire of power from the blood shed ended up encapturing Macbeth to a point unbearable which led him to his death.


 * __ My favorite characterization in literature is... __ ﻿from __The Bluest Eye__ by Toni Morrison and states __"The birdlike gestures are worn away to a mere picking and plucking her way between the tire rims and the sunflowers, between Coke bottles and milkweek, among all the waste and beauty of the world..which is what she herself was. All of our waste which we dumped on her and which she absorbed. And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us."__ This quote characterized Pecola to be connected to the earth. I thought it was interesting because when we are outside, we look to the earth more in a passive way just as others did to Pecola. This was because she considered herself ugly and did not recognize her own beauty. As a result, Claudia and Frieda felt beautiful standing next to her. This was my favorite characterization in literature because it characterized both Frieda and Pecola at once through one connection which I thought was very clever on Toni Morrison's part.


 * __ My favorite quote in literature is... "Life, he realized, was much like a s﻿ong. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it'﻿s in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile" __ from __The Last Song__ by Nicholas Sparks . This is one of my favorite quotes because I completely agree with this. It's not the ending or beginning of our lives that make us who we are, but the actions and impacts that we make on others that make us who we are and gives us a reason to live life. Much like Ronnie's life from __The Last Song,__ she is consumed by partying and drinking after her father leaves her family but as soon as she reunites with her father, she changes her life completely and ends up making something of her life with her musical abilites and building a closer relationship with her family.


 * __ My favorite dialogue in literature is... __ in the book __Pride and Prejudice__ by Jane Austen . In the scene when Elizabeth refuses the proposal of her cousin, Mr. Collins, she runs outside by being chased after her mother. The communication between Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet defines their relationship to be loving, but comical. When Elizabeth says no to marry Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet freaks out. She begins insisting fiercly to Mr. Bennet to change her mind. Through their disconnected dialogue, we can see that Mrs. Bennet is acting somewhat foolish and looks to Mr. Bennet for assistance. This shows Mr. Bennet to be the superior figure in the household while all the women are subject to his final decisions. However, we do see that he has love for his wife when he considers what she says at first, but ends up taking his daugher's side. This shows Mr. Bennet to be a quiet rational man, while his wife is a dramatic, emotional woman that focuses too much on status in society rather than her daughter's happiness. This is my favorite dialogue because it was hilarious to read the comments Mr. Bennet makes because they are subtle and, in some cases, likens to what the reader is thinking while reading the dialogue.


 * __ My favorite theme in literature is... __ ﻿jealousy in the book __A Seperate Peace__ by John Knowles . The reason why it is my favorite is because it was completely unexpected by everyone else for Gene to be severly jealous of his best friend to a point where he wanted to physically put him in pain. __"____He had never been jealous of me for a second. Now I knew that there never was and never could have been any rivalry between us. I was not of the same quality as he. I couldn’t stand this. . . . Holding firmly to the trunk, I took a step toward him, and then my knees bent and I jounced the limb. Finny, his balance gone, swung his head around to look at me for an instant with extreme interest, and then he tumbled sideways, broke through the little branches below and hit the bank with a sickening, unnatural thud. It was the first clumsy physical action I had ever seen him make. With unthinking sureness I moved out on the limb and jumped into the river, every trace of my fear of this forgotten."__ This theme gave the book serious intensity and depicted the way children mature into adulthood.


 * __ A favorite line of my own writing is... ﻿ __ from an essay I wrote last year in Mr. Narter's English 3 AP class as from an essay we were assigned to write. The line is " Saville defines the king’s power over the people to establish a new perspective allowing all the king’s flaws to subside through metaphors, analysis, and delay." I liked this line of my writing because it was straight to the point and defined what Saville point was.


 * __ My favorite poetic device of my own is... __ personification because it grabs the reader's attention (like that.) Personification gives life to something inanimate and, naturally, that is the purpose of most poets/writers. It gives us an insight into something others may not be able to see or understand. That way, we can share with others that same insight and portray what we set out to make a point of.


 * __ My favorite characterization of my own is... __ ﻿of Mrs. Breedlove in The Bluest E ye. "Mrs. Breedlove is characterized as a violently moral women that gains her self-esteem by serving those who bring her down."


 * __A setting I would write about is...__ anywhere simplistic like the outdoors. I would like to write about settings that everyone can relate to because I enjoy giving life to something completely inanimate through writing.


 * __ A conflict I would write about is... __ ﻿making decisions because during high school, it seems as if every small minor decision can determine how your future will pan out and I believe that will be something that everyone can relate to.


 * __ A theme I would like to address is... __ doubt and uncertainty because that is the main thing that restrains us from making decisions or taking action about a particular thing or subject throughout our lives.

__Remember Me__ __﻿__ I saw you as my guardian; the one who would always be there and defend me on our journies. You were two years older and I was still just a baby in your eyes. Everything was so simple back then. We made forts out of cushions and took naps on your bed, sometimes you would even let me play with your birds. But, as we grew up, I noticed a difference. Mom would take me to the doctor and discover that there were bruises on my back. You started to push me and poke me like a toy at your dispense. At the time, I figured it was just child’s play and paid no attention to it. Mom and dad would yell in the kitchen about schooling, hospital bills, and social worker visits, but again, I did not want to hear it. As a few years went by, I started to make friends and play with Barbies, but you would play in the backyard by yourself with bugs. “Why are you doing that? Come play with me” But, you were to distracted, too occupied… “No, leave me alone.” And so we started to drift away from each other.

Then, I started to realized. You were different from all my other friends’ brothers. You did not have friends or want to talk to me. My mother brought me in the living room that day and said “your brother has been diagnosed with ADHD.”

I had no idea what that meant as a child. Little did I know, my life would change completely after that. My brother was put on several medications such as Ritalin and the diagnoses would only continue as we visited doctor to doctor.

As the medications grew, your violence and hyperactivity increased. You came home one day crying because the bullies called you a “faggot” at the park and threw rocks at you while you were observing plant life in the backyard just because you wanted to be friends with them. So, you destroyed the majority of your baby pictures and hurt yourself for being different. You wanted to disappear. I wanted to tell you that I loved you, what they said was not true, and you weren’t alone, but you did not like to talk to anyone. I cried almost every night because I felt like I lost you. My brother was gone.

After that, you started to hate everyone around you; Teachers told you that you were dumb, doctors diagnosed you with something that would shelter you from life, policemen would suspect that you were up to no good, and, ultimately, people would judge you. Every time people would ask me what was wrong with you, I was forced to explain, but I myself did not understand. So, I hung out with my friends and kept you as a secret. I told no one about you, afraid that my friends would judge me and treat me the same way that the bullies treated you.

Then you went away for 2 years. They took you in at a school for special education far far away. I thought I would be relieved from all the stress and embarrassement, but I missed you horribly. Our family grew closer since no one was fighting, but I still missed your natural love to help out animals, your hope for the future, and your quirky sense of humor.

When you came home, I hugged you. It was an interaction that I was not allowed to do because you did not like people to touch or talk to you. However, since I couldn’t talk to you, I wanted to show you without words how much I missed you. Even though you felt like nobody loved you, I did and always have. After that, I was never ashamed of you again. You will always be my brother no matter what happens and I will always be here for you. Remember me.


 * My inspiration for writing this story was growing up with my brother and being right next to him when he went through all of this. This story is true and very personal but I feel that children with special needs or a disablility are pushed aside and people take what they say or do to a child for granted. My brother was just a kid dealing with all of this and most of his life, he grew up to hate everyone else just because of how everyone treated him.