Last honors blog

How has your thinking changed regarding American history or literature?


by doing honors in literature i learned what made literature literature, and how it is different from fiction.I new that there were great differences between literature and fiction but i was not sure what they exactly were. But through reading classic literature, and discussing the books with Randy and my litgroup-i learned that in literature the plot is driven by the characters, and fiction is driven by the plot. I though that this was really interesting because, i had always wondered why books that had fantasy and science fictions themes were not considered great writing. It makes perfect sense to me now.

Final reflection

What did you learn?

I learned several new things about writing-article writing in particular. What I learned about writing articles is that you have to make the beginning and end attention grabbing-and that your intros and conclusions should contain information about the topic of your article, and self reflections of how it relates to you. I also learned that all the filer words and sentences in my writing like "was able to" or "a lot" are unnecessary-and that my writing is much better without them.

How did you learn it?
I learned this from reading newspaper and magazine articles-and listening to the discussions in class, and taking note of how i can use the tips that i got to improve my writing. Getting critiques and advise from people was helped me learn as well.

Why is this important?

It is important because i can take what i have learned from this project-and use it to help me with my future writing assignments. It is good in general to know the important writing techniques.

Magazine reflection II

1)I think one of my writings biggest improvements is that i took out the filler words, and unnecessary sentences-and made my writing flow, and get to the point, without being too long. I used to think when it came to writing, having the longest paper is what makes it good writing. However when i would read through my work i realized that my writing conveyed that i was just trying to get my work done instead of doing a good job at it.

2)Overall it think my writing structure is the best part of my writing-but still i need to work on the flow, my word choice, and adding "character" to my writing.

3)One specific part of my article that i improved on was the sentence "I get them on the press boat and we make our little press boat grouping, its usually the pilot boat we go out on, and we follow all the ships coming in and sometimes the crew men on the ship will be up in the rigging, and its very stately." I changed it to "I get them on the press boat and we make our press boat grouping. It's usually the pilot boat we go out on.We follow the ships coming in. Sometimes the crewmen on the ship will be up in the rigging, and people will be out on the deck waving-It's all really colorful." I improved it by making it into separate sentences, taking out unnecessary words, and parts from different paragraphs.


4)I learned that the content of your writing is much more important than the length.
Quality over Quantity.

Magazine reflection

1) the thing that went well for me during the process of creating the magazine was having an editor assigned to my group. This was helpful because i had a specific person that was assigned to help me, and if they were helping someone else i could get help from another person in my group.

2)The most challenging thing about creating my final project was shortening it to fit the magazine. My contribution to the magazine was a very long interview-that had to be drastically shorter, and critiqued for grammar and flow. it was very time consuming to go through the whole thing and make it presentable.

3)Magazines like Time, and National Geographic helped me with the layout and design of my article. They also helped me make my headline and sub-headline more catchy and interesting.

Obama the Socialist

Obama is often accused of a socialist. I think Obama's policies are similar to socialism, but not the same. I do not think that the label "socialist" is completely accurate for Obama, but i also think that it is not a bad thing to be a socialist, because socialist views involve having health care and other necessities for paid by the government.Most Americans don't know what socialism really is and that it would beneficial for them, and that there are organizations that they support that have socialistic views.

There have been other presidents that are similar to Obama. Obama's term has been compared to FDR's term because they both came into office at times when the the economy is at an all time low.
Another similarity that Obama and FDR share is they both wanted to make huge legislative changes because of economic crisis's.



Articles

Link
Link

The Star of India

Figure head








The Star of India originally called “Euterpe” after the Greek Muse of music, song, and dance. She was used as a cargo and passenger ship that took immigrants to New Zealand and cargo to India during the 1870’s.She was renamed Star of India when she was purchased by the Alaska Packers Association of San Francisco in 1901 and used for the Alaskan salmon trade. The Alaska Packers were an alliance of several different fishing companies, who would send their ships up to Alaska every year to fish for salmon. The Alaska Packers gave all of their ships “star” names such as “Star of England” and “Star of Ireland” The Star of India continued to sail with the Alaska Packers until her retirement in 1923.



Helm






On her many voyages the Star of India went through collisions, cyclones, and conspiracy among the crewmembers. So when Jerry Macmullen and a group of maritime enthusiasts bought the Star for $9,000 in 1926 she was very badly damaged. Taking care of the Star was difficult because money was short, and the combination of the economic stress from The Great Depression and World War II complicated things even more. Because of these obstacles they could not collect enough funds to begin her restoration until 1959.By July 4th 1976 she was able to sail again, and has been going on voyages every five years ever since.



Wheel







The ship is steered by the Helmsmen, who also had to keep an eye on the compass and sails. The wheel steers the ship by shifting the direction of the rudder, which changes the direction of the ship. When you stand by the wheel you can see the HMS Surprise and the Berkeley, both of which are ships owned by the museum. The Surprise is a replica of an 18th century Royal Navy frigate, which was used in the movie “Master and Commander” and the Berkeley is an 1898 steam ferryboat. The Berkeley is where the Museum is based; it has the most exhibits and the library, which is where the other interns and I do most of our work.


Mast







The Star of India is the last authentic tall ship that can still be sailed. Tall ships are large traditionally rigged sailing ships. She was built at Ramsey Shipyard on the Isle of Man in 1863 as one of the first experimental iron ships in a time when most vessels were still made of wood. The Star has been virtually unchanged since then, and she is the world’s oldest active sailing ship.



Back of the ship







Today people come to San Diego Bay to visit the Star of India for tours and exhibits on her, and maritime history, and students and families can go on mock voyages to learn what the life of immigrants and sailors would be like during the 1800’s.
People also come to the Maritime Museum to access the Jerry Macmullen Library aboard the Berkeley, which has collections of books, pictures, tapes, and other Maritime related documents. The library is where I do most of my intern work, and spend most of my time when I am at the museum.





Sources

1923, steam ruled the seas. Sailing ships were obsolete, scores were laid up in ports, and including the. "San Diego Maritime Museum : Historic Ships : Star of India." Maritime Museum of San Diego. 16 Mar. 2009 .

Arnold, Craig. " Journal of San Diego History." San Diego Historical Society. 16 Mar. 2009 .

To Kill a Mockingbird

Jean Louise "Scout" Finch

1. What physical presence does the character have? Include height, weight, size, physical fitness, posture, etc.

She is short and skinny, and is always in "action" she does not stay still.

2. Describe the characters further visual details. Include hair, eyes, face, teeth, scars, tattoos, etc.

I imagened her to have dark blondish chin length hair that is parted down the middle. I saw her as having hazel eyes and a few freckles.

3. What distinguishing items does the character wear? Include clothes, jewelery, shoes, and any other physical item the character keeps with him/her.

She wears boys clothes(overalls and button down shirts) she never wears dresses because she is always playing outside and climbing trees with her brother Jem and friend Dill, and wearing dresses would be inconvenient.

4. What distinguishing behavior does the character have? Include habits, preferences (music, food, literature, etc.), speech (sayings, stalling words, etc), and demeanor.

She is very smart, and learned to read before she was even in school. She is also confident, and thoughtful. She is allways wondering why things are the way they are, or the reasons behind peoples actions.

5. What is the characters role in society? Include his/her job, hobbies, and uses of time.

She is the Daughter of Atticus finch, who is the towns layer, and the younger sister of Jem Finch and a friend to Dill. She is far to young to have a real job.


6. What is the character's religion or philosophy? What beliefs does he/she hold? How does this create or mitigate internal conflict within his/her psyche?

Scout believes that all people in her community and in general are inherently good. She does not believe in the stereotypical gender roles.

7. What do others in the book say about the character?

Her father and friends all care for her, but find her a but hard to deal with at times.

8. What connections does this character have to history, established religion or the world beyond the book?

The story takes place in the south during the great depression which is an important time in history, the book also deals with the prejudices that were going on back then.

9. What does the character's name suggest? Authors rarely (if ever) name characters at random. What could the name symbolize? What evidence do you have for this?

Her nick name "Scout" might come from the fact that she is always out on adventures and playing imagining games. Also her last name "Finch" has to do with the title because a finch is a kind of bird.

10. How does the character develop during the plot? How does he/she change?

She gets a better idea of what the world is like; that there is evil and prejudice, and not just good. But she also learns that there is still a lot of good in the world despite that.




Jeremy "Jem" Finch

1. What physical presence does the character have? Include height, weight, size, physical fitness, posture, etc.

I imagined him to have short light brown hair.

2. Describe the characters further visual details. Include hair, eyes, face, teeth, scars, tattoos, etc.

his arm was broken at one point so one of his arms is slightly longer than the other.

3. What distinguishing items does the character wear? Include clothes, jewelery, shoes, and any other physical item the character keeps with him/her

Like Scout, he wears overalls most of the time.

4. What distinguishing behavior does the character have? Include habits, preferences (music, food, literature, etc.), speech (sayings, stalling words, etc), and demeanor.

He is very confident, and also a loyal companion to Scout.

5. What is the characters role in society? Include his/her job, hobbies, and uses of time.

Jem is still a in school throughout the book so his job is going to school.
He also spends his time climbing trees and playing

6. What is the character's religion or philosophy? What beliefs does he/she hold? How does this create or mitigate internal conflict within his/her psyche?

Scout believes that all people in her community, and in general are inherently good. She does not believe in the stereotypical gender roles.


8. What connections does this character have to history, established religion or the world beyond the book?

I do not know what Jem himself represents, but like Scout and Atticus he is living in turbulent times; in the middle of the great depression,and when racism was common.

10. How does the character develop during the plot? How does he/she change?

He realizes that there are very bad people in the world that do unimaginable things, but good people are still very common, and balance out the bad.




Atticus Finch

1. What physical presence does the character have? Include height, weight, size, physical fitness, posture, etc.

Tall, average weight, stands up straight.

2. Describe the characters further visual details. Include hair, eyes, face, teeth, scars, tattoos, etc.

Dark hair, balding slightly, wears busyness clothes, wears glasses.

3. What distinguishing items does the character wear? Include clothes, jewelery, shoes, and any other physical item the character keeps with him/her.

He always carries a pocketwatch.

4. What distinguishing behavior does the character have? Include habits, preferences (music, food, literature, etc.), speech (sayings, stalling words, etc), and demeanor.


He is calm, and speaks firmly and patiently and persuasive. He is very intelligent and wise as well. He also has a dry sense of humor.

5. What is the characters role in society? Include his/her job, hobbies, and uses of time.
He works as a lawyer, and he spends time with Scout and Jem (his kids) and cook Calpurnia.

6. What is the character's religion or philosophy? What beliefs does he/she hold? How does this create or mitigate internal conflict within his/her psyche?

He is one of the few citizens in the town of Maycomb who believes in racial equality, and he defended a black man in court despite what people thought about it.

7. What do others in the book say about the character?

Scout and Jem do not like the fact that Atticus does not go fishing or play catch with them like regular fathers.But they both care for and respect him very much.

8. What connections does this character have to history, established religion or the world beyond the book?

He is related to prejudice that went on in the south during those times. Not long after that the civil rights movement began, and in the book Atticus is a strong believer in equal rights between races so he relates to that as well.

9. What does the character's name suggest? Authors rarely (if ever) name characters at random. What could the name symbolize? What evidence do you have for this?