I think that my blog post that best demonstrates my strongest, most distinct voice is my post called Divergent- The Beginning.
In my blog post I wrote, "Those who are found to be divergent are killed because being different is not okay in their society. If you do not belong to one, and only one faction, then you don't belong in their society." I thought that this represented the voice of author of Divergent very well because even though that leaders in the society do not admit that being different is okay, inside that is what they believe. The author tried very hard to show the reader this in the book from what the main character experiences. I think that this also showcases my personality as a writer because I like to tell the reader exactly how the author intends for the reader to interpret their writing, even if everyone does not interpret it that way. I like to write in a way that is practical and it accomplishes the intended purpose efficiently.
Some diction and syntax choices that I made to enhance the writer's voice was when I said, "When Beatrice took her test, she had very contradicting results and they were inconclusive." In this sentence, I used words like 'inconclusive' and 'contradicting' to describe the results of the test. Although these words to not come directly form the book, I used them to better describe the results in a way that was clear and understandable. I used higher level words, and even though these words can be more difficult to read and comprehend, they describe the test results very well. If I used words that were not as specific or of lower-level interpretation, then I would not have properly described the test results. A syntax technique that I used is that I used comma's properly, and I also didn't use too many. Sometimes in a sentence, the writer can use too many comma's and therefore create an overuse of it and it degrades the effect of the comma.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Divergent-The Choosing
Beatrice and her brother Caleb aren't more than a year apart, so they will go to the choosing ceremony together. At the choosing ceremony, there are five groups of teenagers from the five factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, and Condor. Before they go into the ceremony room, Beatrice is a nervous wreck beceause she is so unsure of what faction she will choose. But Caleb, her brother, is calm and sure of what faction he wants to be in. She doesn't think that she wants to stay in Dauntless, but she still has the desire to stay with her family in Abnegation. She is so sure that her bother will choose to stay in Abnegation because he always acts with such selflessness.
Before Beatrice walks into the choosing ceremony, her mother hugs her tight and says, "I love you no matter what,"which makes Beatrice think that her mother knows that she won't stay in Abnegation. At the front of the room there are five bowls, which all have objects in them which represent each faction.
Before Beatrice walks into the choosing ceremony, her mother hugs her tight and says, "I love you no matter what,"which makes Beatrice think that her mother knows that she won't stay in Abnegation. At the front of the room there are five bowls, which all have objects in them which represent each faction.
- Abnegation- stones
- Candor- glass
- Erudite- water
- Dauntless- coals set on fire
- Amity- earth
Divergent- Beginning
As I began to read Divergent, I noticed that the society that the main character, Beatrice lives in is a book with a society with a government that predetermines many decisions in people's lives. In the fictional Chicago where Beatrice lives, the city is divided into five factions: Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. Dauntless represents bravery, Abnegation represents selflessness, Erudite represents intelligence, Amnity represents kindness, and Candor represents honesty. Every child that is born into a faction has the choice to either stay in their current faction they live in, or to change to another faction when they become of age. Whatever virtue they have the most strength in, they are urged to join that faction.
When each child becomes of age, they take a test. The test is an assessment of themselves in an effort to better help the child understand which faction that they belong in. When Beatrice took her test, she had very contridicting results and they were inconclusive. The administrator told her that she was what they called, divergent. She wasn't sure which faction she belonged in, and she had strengths and in Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. She was equally qualified to be in all 3 factions, and this is what made her divergent. Those who are found to be divergent are killed because being different is not okay in their society. If you do not belong to one, and only one faction, then you don't belong in their society. I think that this is very harsh just for being different, but that is the society that she lives in.
When each child becomes of age, they take a test. The test is an assessment of themselves in an effort to better help the child understand which faction that they belong in. When Beatrice took her test, she had very contridicting results and they were inconclusive. The administrator told her that she was what they called, divergent. She wasn't sure which faction she belonged in, and she had strengths and in Abnegation, Dauntless and Erudite. She was equally qualified to be in all 3 factions, and this is what made her divergent. Those who are found to be divergent are killed because being different is not okay in their society. If you do not belong to one, and only one faction, then you don't belong in their society. I think that this is very harsh just for being different, but that is the society that she lives in.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Krista Ramsey-The very poor case for arming teachers
In this article, Krista Ramsey tells us about how certain teachers and students are wanting to arm school staff with weapons, or firearms in case a shooter enters the school and threatens anyone inside the school. Krista says that this is an unwise decision because of many reasons, many of which are valid concerns.
In this article, the line that I thought was best written was when she said, "It's unrealistic and, in fact, insulting to think people who entered the profession of education should be turned into teacher-law enforcement hybrids." This sentence is important, and has a large effect on the reader. It effects the reader because it makes them think of teachers turning into a law enforcer, which is abstract. That can be scary to many students because most kids are slightly afraid of police officers, and to think of our teachers turning into them or anything like them is scary to most students. Also when Krista says that it is "unrealistic" for teachers to be armed, I think that she is suggesting that people will not allow for it to happen because it simply isn't the right thing to do.
Krista Ramsey's writing is successful at catching the reader's attention, and making them think about what she is writing. I can tell that she likes to start off some of her columns by saying things like, everybody knows, or, as you are aware of. She begins by saying something, assuming that the reader already has previous knowledge of the topic. She displays this in her writing. She also tends to integrate bias into her writing, which is okay in my opinion as long as she has evidence to back it up.
If I could ask Krista Ramsey questions about her writing, I would ask three. they would be:
In this article, the line that I thought was best written was when she said, "It's unrealistic and, in fact, insulting to think people who entered the profession of education should be turned into teacher-law enforcement hybrids." This sentence is important, and has a large effect on the reader. It effects the reader because it makes them think of teachers turning into a law enforcer, which is abstract. That can be scary to many students because most kids are slightly afraid of police officers, and to think of our teachers turning into them or anything like them is scary to most students. Also when Krista says that it is "unrealistic" for teachers to be armed, I think that she is suggesting that people will not allow for it to happen because it simply isn't the right thing to do.
Krista Ramsey's writing is successful at catching the reader's attention, and making them think about what she is writing. I can tell that she likes to start off some of her columns by saying things like, everybody knows, or, as you are aware of. She begins by saying something, assuming that the reader already has previous knowledge of the topic. She displays this in her writing. She also tends to integrate bias into her writing, which is okay in my opinion as long as she has evidence to back it up.
If I could ask Krista Ramsey questions about her writing, I would ask three. they would be:
- Do you think that integrating bias into writing is acceptable, even if you do not have all the evidence to back it up?
- Do you think that it is worth the risk of putting allusions into writing and risking the reader not understanding the allusion, and therefore not comprehending the writing the way the writer intended because of their lack of knowledge?
- In your opinion, do you think that you write representing your opinion, or do you write for the people and the majority opinion, and not so much for yourself?
News column from:
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/22/krista-the-very-poor-case-for-arming-teachers/5744065/
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/22/krista-the-very-poor-case-for-arming-teachers/5744065/
Monday, April 7, 2014
Fahrenheit 451-Characterization
The character that I chose to characterize in Fahrenheit 451 is Montag. To me, Montag is a mysterious character. Although he may be a fireman, which are feared most everywhere, he does have a meaningful life beyond being a fireman. And he is one among very, very few people that actually realize that the way things are now, is not happiness. Montag is not happy, and he is searching for it. Since he is searching and does not know any better, he turns to books because he has been burning them for his whole adult life, and so naturally he will be curious to know more about them, and his search for happiness only supports that and pushes him more. So he begins to bring books home, hide them, and read them secretly.
Since Montag is in the search of happiness, he has more tolerance for new and abstract ideas and concepts. He understands them more than some people, but he still has a long way to go. He is not a common fireman, and he is unique because he is more intellectually advanced than most. When Clarisse, a very mysterious character, who likes to think a lot approaches him and tells him about herself, he is not as threatening as other people she has approached were, and he is much more friendly to her. He is more accepting of her ideas, who she is, and she even makes him to come to really realize that he is not happy. That is when he really starts to take action.
Since Montag is in the search of happiness, he has more tolerance for new and abstract ideas and concepts. He understands them more than some people, but he still has a long way to go. He is not a common fireman, and he is unique because he is more intellectually advanced than most. When Clarisse, a very mysterious character, who likes to think a lot approaches him and tells him about herself, he is not as threatening as other people she has approached were, and he is much more friendly to her. He is more accepting of her ideas, who she is, and she even makes him to come to really realize that he is not happy. That is when he really starts to take action.
New book
Over the past few months, I have been hearing a lot about a new book, called Divergent written by Veronica Roth. Also, since the official movie has been released, there has been even more talk of it going around. It seems like it is a really popular book. I've been invited to go see the movie, but I think that I'm going to read the book before I watch the movie. I really like to compare the two, see how well the movie follows the book and so that I can understand what the purpose of the movie is, and also so that I can know what elements that the movie missed that is in the book.
It seems that movie producers now days are a lot more concerned about making movies look good visually, even if the movies don't reflect the book as the author intended. Like in the movie Lightning Thief, which was based off of the book The Lightning Thief, the movie didn't follow the book at all! The movie contained very few original elements that were in the book. So before I watch a movie, I like to read the book first so that I can have a better understanding of the real meaning. So I started reading Divergent, and it starts out very well, and it interests me. I think that I am really going to like reading this book, and I hope to continue the series.
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