2nd Quarter Reflections

 2nd Quarter Reflections

Many in this world view the topic of reflection as one where you recall the most positive events that have shaped you for the better, but I view reflection as an unfiltered view into what you have realized about your past, both positive and negative, and that's what I would like this blog to be about. An unfiltered, sincere reflection of what has happened this year, what I have realized about the world and other facets of life, and how these could potentially shape the future. For each inquiry addressed in this blog, I will provide you, the reader, with my upmost most honest answer. This means no sugar-coating, no cherry-picking, etc. Enjoy!

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts?

 I do not believe I have made an immense amount of improvement this year, for I am still in the process of becoming aware of my greatest weak-points, but there has been multiple smaller difficulties that I have been able to eradicate. One of note is essay formatting. I am aware that I have listed this as a facet of improvement in past Reflections, but it is indeed facing ongoing improvement. Prior to the 2nd Quarter, I hadn't exhibited expertise in formatting whatsoever. My theses were unorganized, my structure was utterly mismatched, and my attention getters either were depicted as "boring", and/or "perpetual". But now that I have undergone vast improvement with the help of guidance, my formatting is much more clear and organized.


What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of?

In upmost honesty, I have proudly accomplished only an immensely small modicum of note this school year, let alone the Quarter. Pieces of literature I had believed to be rather well-written had been perceived as mediocre at best by my peers and educators. I would often let cockiness get the best of me, which is one of my greatest regrets. But I digress, if I were to pinpoint one accomplishment, this would be my improvement in formatting while writing, as it has made my writing somewhat better.

What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

Despite other insecurities/adversities I have faced, One of the most difficult aspects of the quarter is feeling monumentally inferior to my peers in Mrs. Larson's Accelerated Language Arts Class. Being unintelligent had been something rather difficult to accept this year, and being placed in a class of students whom do possess intelligence had been quite a drain on my self-esteem. I would often leave class distraught, as I witnessed my intelligent peers excel in their work, while I would have had nothing to offer the class. I still struggle with this to this day, which is why I have been devising ways to aviod letting my lack of intelligence deter me from progressing in school.

What have you learned about the world? 

One of the main lessons I have learned about the world is that not everyone is born with conventional intelligence. We will often brand others as being conventionally "unintelligent" or "idiotic", despite the possibility that we could qualify for one of these labels. While a very small percent of the general population would be considered "unintelligent" by conventional standards, people who indentify as belonging to this minority, such as I, will often feel as if we could never succeed, which is simply untrue. Success is measured in your determination, drive, and persistence, and really anyone could possess these qualities.

TKAM Comparative Blog

To Kill A Mockingbird: Movie vs. Novel  

Over the past month, I have been reading the novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird", written by Harper Lee, and, I will say, this was no small literature assignment. Not only have I paid the book my full attention and thought, but I have even gone passed the novel's features, for I, as well as many others attending my class, have put the novel into analysis, and utilized the findings in poems, character comparisons, and connections to current world events. This has given me a great deal of understanding about the novel, making it rather simple to compare it to similar works, or in this case, the "To Kill A Mockingbird" film, released in 1962. In this blog, I will note the immensely emphatic differences between the acclaimed movie and the novel I was able to find, and how these differences impact the movie's plot and/or quality.

The biggest contrast I had found was one that comprised of a substantial number of smaller contrasts, and that is, the lack of minor characters in the movie. I was able to draw this observation from the following few absent characters:

1. Mrs Dubose- Mrs. Dubose may have had minimal page space, her impact in "To Kill a Mockingbird" was all but minor. Mrs. Dubose was a representation of Maycomb County's many thoughts on the Finch Family. From heckling Atticus about his newest client's race to degrading Scout's attire in a complacent manner, Mrs. Dubose stated not only her beliefs, but the beliefs that almost all of Maycomb held, making her impact that of note.

 But in lieu of this, Mrs. Dubose was next to absent in the film. We are only shown her heckling the Finch children as they walk down to Atticus, an event that may have happened in the book, but one that was far from one that represented her impact in the novel.

2. Dolphus Raymond- Another character that had a substantial affect on Maycomb's image and eventually the novel was a man by the name of Dolphus Raymond. Raymond was a rich, white man whom was soon to be wed, but his white fiancé had committed suicide, thus causing him to leave her for an African American woman. Maycomb's White Community shunned Raymond, as he had biracial children with this woman, which was seen as "sinful" and "immoral". Scout, Jem, and Dill later encounter Raymond in trial when Dill starts to feel sick from Atticus's Interrogation. It is later revealed that Raymond disguises Coca Cola as beer, for an alleged alcohol addiction would be easier for Maycomb Folk to understand why he made his choices.

Raymond was a living, breathing example of the oppression/discrimination many faced in Maycomb due to race and/or racial associations. His lie also highlighted Maycomb's concern with race, as opposed to other issues many of us deem as much more concerning, such as alcoholism. However, he is nowhere to be found in the film, which validates the observation made earlier.

3. Mr. Link Deas- Link Deas had also felt the need to combat racism in Maycomb, but unlike Raymond, he had taken a much more active role in standing up for African Americans in the community. During the trial, a voice could be heard showing support for Tom Robinson's case. This
 is then confirmed to be Deas. He also had provided Tom Robinson's wife, Helen, with employment when Tom had passed.

Link Deas was a representation of the scarcity of concern for racism in the community, for it is of note that almost every action or statement he had performed/made was met with ridicule. But despite this, he wasn't to make even a slight cameo in the movie, which is one of my final examples as to the absence of minor characters.

In light of these findings, it is safe to say that I believe that the novel had been able to convey the primary message slightly more sufficiently. This is due to the novel's utilization of minor characters, which gave the readers multiple examples of Maycomb Folks, and due to these character's complex storylines and ridicule, (or lack there of in few scenarios), from the general Maycomb population, the readers are more inclined to draw their own, individual conclusions about Maycomb and Racial bias/ prejudice. The film may have been able to get it's message across, but the lack of minor characters doesn't give the audience to come to rather complex, comprehensive conclusions about the city.