Reading Assigned for the Week of June 22, 2009

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Outside Reading for the week of June 22, 2009

Outside Reading for the week of June 15, 2009

I watched my favorite movie of all time today. The shawshank redemption is one of the greatest examples of American cinema. I have seen the movie more times then I can count. The narration by Morgan Freeman is flawless. He weaves a wonderful and enchanting tale from begining to the end of the film . My favorite character is Andy Dufrane. He reminds me of the kind of person I would like to become. My favorite line is the one where Morgan Freedman charachter describes Andy. He describes him in the following lines.
"I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him, a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled, like a man in a park without a care or a worry in the world, like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah, I think it would be fair to say... I liked Andy from the start."
The story is filled with wonderful moments. My favorite is when the warden discovers that his rieg over the prision is over along with his life. Here is a quote from that paticular scene.
"I'd like to think that the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him."
The movie has only one drawback. It has not romance plot. Which is ok with me since it is a prision movie. I would reccomend this film to anyone. The tale is timeless/

Reading Assigned for the Week of June 15, 2009

Catskin

Catskin was by my favorite story for the week. I loved the story for its out of this world weirdness. The author weaves a story from threads made from fantasy, fairy tale, and a pinch of horror. The characters come alive off the page. They seem more real to me because even if there circumstances are far from normal they still make the same mistakes we all do. Some of the most notable mistakes of the story was made by her two eldest surviving children. They make the decision to head to north against the advice of their dieing mother. They do eventually come back to the house. I will leave it up to you to decide if they learned from their mistakes. The other aspects of the story that stood out was all the symbolism. The story pro bally has a hundred plus hidden in little places everywhere. The ants were my favorite symbol in the story. I enjoyed how they carried time of the witch and the witch Lack. The time that in which they carry is the time lost because their lives were cut short. The story was also extremely vulgar and increased as it progressed. The following is the plot explocation for the story.
The exposition was the events that occurred before the witch died.
The rising action was the events that happened between the witchs death and the death of the witch Lack.
The climax was the death of the witch Lack.
Falling action was the events that took place all the way up to the resolution.
The resolution was a short paragraph wrapping up the events of the story.

Outside Reading for the week of June 08, 2009

I have chosen the poem "The Road Not Taken". This poem written by Robert Frost is one of the greatest examples of poetry put down on paper. I recommend you to read this poem and do so soon. In fact I want you to read it now. I will wait here for you to return. I suggest you to check Google. It can also be found in the poetry section of the textbook. Have you read it? There are two meanings placed in this poem. The first is the literal meaning. It is quite simply a narration of a man telling a story about a single chapter in his life. The chapter focuses on a simple choice on which path to go down. The paths before him are of identical value. He chooses the one less traveled on. He travels down the the path less traveled for a day. He then remarks how the path will not bring back again. He laments that he will look on this decision with he made with a hint of regret. The poem then ends with my favorite line.
"And that has made all the difference" (Frost)
The figurative meaning of the poem is how some choices in our life can change it permanently and often can not be repeated. It also brings up a good point. We often look back and wonder what might have been. What small choices brought us here. How do these choices effect us? What are your thoughts on this poem?

Reading Assigned for the Week of June 08, 2009

The reading for the class for this week was introduction to story. This section of reading is found within the textbook assigned to the class. I found many of the elements in which i already was familiar with k to have subtle nuances. I also found a few that I was not aware of. A major item I will consider is the overall theme for the story in which I am reading. I understand how the theme of story could come from a large list of things. I will look for them carefully when i read the short stories provided to me this weekend. I learned about the various parts of a plot. I learned that some stories may have all of them or just a few. The order of standard plot is exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. A great example of this is plays of the immortal bard William Shakespeare. His plays are typically divided into five acts which evenly correspond to the parts of plot. I will also look for characterization of the characters in the stories. I will ask the following questions. What archetype does character follow? Is this a major or minor character. Is it integral to the plot? Is the character flat or dynamic? Does this character display several sets of personality traits when faced with different situations or a single set? Is the character static or dynamic? Does the character evolve as the story unfolds.