Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Service Learning May 5th

On thursdays meeting many issues were talked about. We talked about what we were gonna put in the garden. We talked about how we were going to keep the garden up. What we needed to keep the garden healthy. We were put in groups and toured the school on how we can improve it. I learned different ways of planting thing in the garden. We talked about why the garden at the jewish muesum was an unsuccesful project

Of Mice And Men(Motifs)

English
Of Mice And Men
Motifs

The book Of Mice Of Men had great ways of expressing emotion. Many of the characters had a point in the story where the characters share their emotions. In this story there are a variety of motifs. Some are displayed broadly, while others are disguised.
By reading this book and watching the movie, motifs is one of the most noticeable things in the story. Different characters have different parts in the motif of this story. The motif I will be focusing on is loneliness and companionship. I want to focus on characters such as Curly’s wife, Candy, Crooks, Lennie, and George.
Curly’s wife is considered as the lonely part of the motif. She was married to Curly but still found herself lonely. She often spent time flirting with the men whom worked on the farm. Although searching for conversation many of the men tried to stay away from her to dodge trouble from her husband.
Candy was not so lonely with his dog by his side, through half of the story. But when his dog was taken from him he grew lonely and was in search of companionship. His dog was his only friend and his only family. Kind of like his best friend. Without his dog he had to search for someone else to fill that empty spot where his dog once was.
Crooks was both lonely and in search of companionship. He was stuck in a situation where he was looked as an alien. In a farm full of white men he was the only black person there. The other men were able after working on the fields to come back to a bunker. But Crook was not able to stay in the bunker with the rest of the men. Instead he had to go to his little shack all alone.
Lennie and George were not in search for companionship because they had each other. But they were two lonely people. In the story or fantasy Lennie enjoyed that George told he would say that they were lonely men in search of home. But when the time was right they wouldn’t be lonely they would have a farm and a house. Even though Lennie seemed to be the only one to enjoy the fantasy George loved it just as much.
Loneliness as well as the search for companionship was in the air in this story. Every character suffered from one of them in a part of this story. Some overcame it. While others couldn’t.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Of Mice And Men(Symbols)

English
Of Mice and Men
Symbols

Currently in my English class I am reading a book called Of Mice and Men. At first I was skeptical about the book because of the name of it. But now I know I should never judge a book by its cover. This book not only tells a story but also has a symbolic meaning, which I will be explaining in this essay. I will be writing how an old dog in this story has a bigger meaning symbolically.
In this story there is an old man named Candy. Pretty old looks to be in his early to mid 60’s. On the farm he is useless because he only has one arm. Instead of working on the farm like most of the men on the farm he stays at the bunks and sweeps the floor all day. Even in the circumstance he is in he seems to stay happy and in a good mood most of the time. That is because he has a dog that he has had for half the years he was on this earth. He had that dog since it was a little puppy.
The dog in the story was a symbol. It basically represented what was left of his earlier life and his dreams. The dog didn’t only represent his dreams, but it was the closest thing he had to a family. Without the dog by his side he would be all alone.
The dog had grown old right along with Candy. His fur was no longer soft as he was in his younger years. He no longer barked and walked slow with rumatism running throughout his body. He grew so old he began to stink and the workers began to notice it. The men in his bunker decided the best thing to do with the dog was to take out in the back and shoot it. Candy denied the decision but was not going to go against the guys decision. When he heard the gun shot from the distance he slowly lay down and faced the wall and cried.
This story seems like a regular story. But many small things that are unnoticed have a greater meaning. There are symbols left and right in this book. You just have to look closely to find them.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Service Learning April 25th 2008

At this meeting on the 25th of April was very informative.
We talked mostly about where we were going to place the garden.
We talked about the Constitution Center having the garden there.
We planned to go visit the Constitution Center but did not have enough
time to go. We decided to do it the next time we had a meeting which
will be this thursday May 1st 2008.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Empire Of The Sun

Empire of the Sun in my eyes was a very good movie. This movies was at the same time informative and exciting. I learned many things from this movie. I am glad I watched it.
In this movie there were many symbolic events. At first it was confusing to figure out who was really the main character of the movie. But after a few minutes of watching it I was able to figure it out. The main character of the movie was a 9-10 year old boy named Jamie. Jamie came from a rich family, his father was a prime minister. They lived in japan in a large house. In his house he had 4 or 5 maids.
When the war started Jamie and his parents were trying to leave the city. They had to get out their car because a tank was gonna crush their car. That was when Jamie got seperated from his parents. When he seperated from his parents i think thats when the biggest change happened in him. He depended on his parents as do almost all children.
Without his parents by his side he seemed confused and lost. he was more adapted to having a family to go back to when in need and to care for him. But when he seperated from his parents it was a shocking change for him. He had to act and care for himself. With the help of nobody but himself. In the beginning of the movie he started as a bratty spoiled rich boy with a giving rich family. To a child sepreated from his parents in a empty mansion alone. Having that drastic change in his life was a major part of the movie.
Later on in the movie he became friends with some American guys. I think that was the best thing that happened to Jamie in the situation he was in. They seemed to be good but bad characters in the movie. In the beginning they brought him in their little brotherhood fed him and quickly turned into his guardians. But further on in the movie one of the American people named Bassie Jamie met were going to leave him behind. At the concentration camp Bassie became a very good friend to Jamie. He helped him out and was one of the key things that helped him survive through everything he went through.
In a way Bassie and the guys with him who were also American became Jamies second family. Throughout this whole movie one thing that Jamie was looking for was a family. In getting moved from place to place was putting him in a bad situation each time. He would start a family one place and move and try to start a family in another place.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Missense mutation

Missense Mutation is a type of point mutation. It is where single nucleotides are changed to cause substitution of different amino acids. That can render the resulting protein nonfunctional.This mutation is responsible for Epidermolysis bullosa, and sickle cell disease. Not all Missense Mutations lead to major protein changes. With a Missense Mutation, the new nucleotide alters the codon so as to produce an altered amino acid in the protein product.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Independent Services (Service Learning)

This is a list of five independent services I could do to complete my 15 hours:
1.YMCA Helping out with the basketball program.
2.I could work at the store on Stenton and Wadsworth to help the elderly owner out with his work around the store with heavy things.
3.I could work at the library.
4.I could volenteer at the park in Mt. Airy to clean it up.
5.Working at the homeless shelter