Revision Activities

February 21, 2015 / / 1 Comment

To Kill a Mockingbird

How is Boo Radley shown in the first five chapters of the novel?

Boo Radley is shown as the mysterious man of Maycomb county. Scout is curious to know who he is and what he looks like and she hears of bizarre stories which would spread around the town. Jem describes Boo at the end of chapter 1 “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained – if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” He is described as a monster despite scout nor Jem having ever seen Boo Radley. Harper Lee wants us to create an image of boo Radley just like scout is and the image created is built from myths and stories of Boo, which raises questions such as ” Is Boo Radley what they say he is”.

At the beginning of chapter 1 dill dares Jem to go pass the Radley gate and touch the house. When Jem does touch the house they hear something move and they all run away. This showed that Boo Radley did exist but he is shown as the monster of maycomb among Scout and Jem. Because they have never seen Boo Radley the children create scary stories about him, this shows their creative imaginations and Curiosity to know more about Boo Radley.

To Kill A Mocking Bird Chapter 16

February 10, 2015 / / 1 Comment

How is identity shown in chapter 16 of to kill a mockingbird

Chapter 16 shows the beginning of the court case and describes the environments of the white and black groups and represents the different identity’s of these groups, both living in Maycomb county. Different groups have their own identity’s and would describe each-overs identity’s in different ways, this shows their segregation. They are separated in very obvious ways and sit in their own sections of the court. By following these social contracts and not separating from there ‘white’ community, they are blending their identity’s into own whereas Mr. Dolphus was always around the black sections of the court which made him stand out and allowed him to show his own identity.

Language Component 1

January 25, 2015 / / 1 Comment

Argue Against TV Advertising

Picture this, you’re relaxing and watching your weekly instalment of your favourite TV show. The tension is building and you can’t wait to find out what will happen next. You feel your face filling with joy! BUT…There’s an ad break! Spoils all that tension, doesn’t it? This is one of the many reasons why TV advertising should be abolished.

 TV advertising is a waste of time and money and no longer benefits our society. It used be effective when there was only one or two channels, as everyone would would be viewing and they could get across important public messages, such as public announcements, (informing you of current events or safety advice) , which were very informative at that time. Now, however, it’s a way to persuade people to buy their product or service through one/two minute/s of manipulation and lies.

 Advertising has been know to be manipulative and at the end of the day all they want is your money. I recently saw an ad for the Google nexus. It was simple combination of some sad music and the story of father not being at home for Christmas, mixed with the nexus’ video calling capabilities. A sad but classic example of TV advertising being manipulative and wanting to show their sympathy, when all they really want is you to buy their product, and in this case: the Google nexus .

Some may argue that adverts can provide people with knowledge of these new products and services but if you purchased the product after viewing the advert then chances are that you probably didn’t need the product in the first place. The advert creates a persuasive illusion insinuating that this the perfect product for you, a product that you did not need nor want prior to watching the commercial but suddenly you may have the desire to want this product. For example, as a child you always wish for the latest toys after seeing the amazing visuals shown on the advert but in reality you are presented with a toy which is far more basic than the advert shows. This is manipulation and is what they use on a larger scale today with business and products.

 The extent of advertisements throughout TV shows can reach ridiculous figures, shown in research from the TNS Media Intelligence, “An average hour of monitored prime-time US network TV programming in Q408 contained seven minutes, 59 seconds (7:59) of in-show brand appearances and 13:52 of network commercial messages, for a combined total of 21:51 of marketing content”, This means that an hour show will be 36% commercials! This is unacceptable and should not be ignored. Readers you should be alarmed at these figures, but you may saying “what can I do to stop it”, The problem is that the huge company’s producing the adverts are too powerful and some, even a threat to government power, will never stop advertising , the only thing you can do is show your support against it and expose the simple methods in which they try to persuade you to buy their product through the advert (such as writing this article).

Slowly, however, even though adverts are not being reduced , less people are being bothered by then (including myself) thanks to programs such as ‘netflix’ and other streaming services. This means for a small fee people can stream unlimited content and for for the majority, advert free. Recent studies suggest 18- 24 year old’s are watching less TV and more online services, this could result in a big decrease of TV viewers, but not everyone is willing to pay for such services, which I find strange as people are being forced to pay a TV licence once a year at a high price. BBC is the only channel to only promote their own shows and not interrupt the current show with any advertisements but the law requires you to pay a TV licence, which is unfair and shows a corrupt system in the TV advertising industry.

If advertising continues in this direction then advertisement will only grow onto more platforms and fill a wider space. Nowadays it’s impossible to walk through London without seeing advertisements everywhere you go. The world we live in is corrupted with the global spread of of advertisements. Who knows what else could come in the future, technologies fast advancement could result even more types of advertisements, even blocking our skyline or even worse, parading the skies above hiding the true beauty of the stars and space to be hidden. This is why not only TV advertising, but all advertisements should be radically reduced and changed to better are current and future society. All forms of advertisement could be the downfall of our future society and inevitably push us into a deeper hole of global corruption.

 

English Literature

January 17, 2015 / / 0 Comments

How are flaws presented in Othello and a range of poetry you have studied?

Flaws are presented throughout Othello and a range of Browning poems in many different ways. They use different types of language to Show characters flaws. Many characters behave in unusual ways when their flaws are exploited. I will show these characters downfalls in Othello and the Robert Browning poems, Childe Roland to the dark tower came and The Laboratory Acien Regime. These poems show characters who’s flaws effect their actions and drive them to come to irrational solutions. There are links between the Browning poems and Othello when analysing how the writers display these ideas in their work.

Othello’s Flaws lead him to believe in Iago’s manipulation and accept that Desdemona is unfaithful. This is shown through Iago’s deceit and slowly unraveled to reveal Othello’s aggressive and paranoid nature. Shakespeare presents these flaws via different uses of figurative language and this can be used to surprise the audience with effective methods, such as dramatic irony. Othello can be easily provoked and this is one of his flaws which lead him to make very bad decisions. ” Did Micheal Cassio, when you wooed my lady, know of your love?” This was when Iago first began to make Othello question Desdemona and himself, Iago does this whilst sneakily inferring his suspicion towards Cassio. He does this by saying that when you (Othello) was first in love with Desdemona, did Cassio know? Implying that Cassio is Attempting to ‘woo’ Desdemona. This aggravates Othello and this is when his flaws are revealed. Othello becomes aggressive and demands to know his intentions for saying this and repeating ” Why of thy thought Iago.”, a use of repetition.

This is similar to Childe Roland to the dark tower came, where Childe Roland is on his quest to the dark tower and shows many flaws on his quest such as paranoia and his negativity toward all the situations he’s faced with. Browning uses symbolism throughout this poem and I think Roland is actually on his quest through to Heaven or Hell but Roland’s flaws lead him straight to hell. I also think the dark tower resembles Hell. When Roland comes to two separate paths, a man points to one path and Roland describes him: “that hoary cripple, with malicious eye” This is a very aggressive way to describe a person,  a cripple can also be a derogatory term to use. He also describes him with paranoia by saying malicious eye, as if he doesn’t trust him through his judgement. This description is also in Iambic pentameter and this may show that he has an honest doubt towards this man (whom he had never met), which may suggest that the man could be the devil guiding him to hell. Browning uses these techniques to present Roland doubt.

After Iago continued to manipulate Othello and convince him of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness, Othello finally demanded proof: ” Be sure of it. Give me the Ocular proof” Othello now demands proof of which he can physically see with his eyes. Iago then receives the handkerchief from Emilia and Iago uses it to plant on Cassio and show Othello, after this Othello is Convinced that Desdemona is unfaithful and Othello starts to act fueled through his flaws. Othello questions everything in his life and is convinced that everyone is turning against him and similar to Childe Roland, Othello is showing paranoia.

The Laboratory is about betrayal and the things jealousy and anger can make you do . The woman in the poem has many flaws and Browning presents them through the actions she takes. The woman plans to poison her ‘rival’ lover. She receives help from an Alchemist, who makes the poison in a laboratory. The woman’s flaws lead her to poison the woman out of jealousy and Browning shows that she begins to doubt what she’s created: ” If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?” This shows that she may be regretting her decision to poison her as she questions if it could hurt herself, which shows her selfish nature.

Childe Roland can also doubt most things and could be described as a pessimist. When the ‘cripple’ speaks to him, Roland says: “My first thought was, he lied in every word” This could be Roland not believing anything anyone says and being paranoid but I believe Browning purposely gave Roland these flaws to hint at who the Cripple ‘really’ is. I think Roland is right when he says he lied in every word because I believe the cripple is the devil and in this case his flaws could help him avoid hell but Roland follows where he pointed and is flawed for doing this.

The time period Othello and the poems were created can show the flaws in their society. In that time period it is clear that woman were viewed in very negative ways and shown as the housewives of society. Iago uses sexist language in Othello : “I would say I would drown myself for the love a guinea hen” This is considered a derogatory term to use and a sexist use of language, similar to being described as ‘tart’. It shows the reputation woman had and the language they used towards woman in this time period. Also in act 2 scene 3 ” I will turn her virtue into pitch” is said another sexist use of language and this shows the respect woman lacked in their society. The Laboratory also shows how woman behaved in their era. “you may kiss me old man, on my mouth if you will”. This shows that she happily offered the alchemist sex in return for the poison he made, which shows woman’s status and how, even with her money she still offered her own body to the alchemist stranger. This is a flaw within the plays society.

Flaws are also presented through Othello’s angry threats. When Iago convinces Othello of Desdemona’s dishonesty, he begins to threaten her: ” I’ll tear her all to pieces” This is a violent threat and shows Othello’s need to enforce his anger upon his blame towards Desdemona. This is a big flaw from Othello and his anger only makes his paranoia worse.

All these text present Flaws in effective ways and all through different methods of figurative language. They also show that everyone has flaws and they affect people in different ways. All the characters downfalls were a result of their flaws and Shakespeare and Browning use these flaws for the audience to relate to and also for a strong reaction when seeing how the flaws change the characters when exploited. This shows the writers clear intention to impact the audience.

 

 

Language Component 2

January 15, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Descriptive Writing

The Florescent orange lights were populated with the flying insects, stretching their patterned wings as if reaching for freedom, but always becoming a stretch further away. The moths admired the bright flickering of light as they all stared, hypnotised by the artificial illusion of freedom. The light lit the dark void of water below whilst an old dusty boot, clumsily splashed through the puddle, paying no attention to the beauty it destroyed. The path of Destruction continued as the boot created a distinctive print into the, once, natural pavement. The shadow drew further and further into the dark, ignoring all the innocent plants, lying dead on the ground, crushed by the ignorance of a man’s power.

The street couldn’t help but fell empty, the missing element of natural life lurked over the street, like a ghost from its past. The pure shimmering of light from the untouched bowels of darkness tried to fight the wreck humanity had created but it was too late. No one could save the unnatural world from the chaos that lay on planet earth.

Listen Closely. Do you hear the unconscious thoughts? Spreading from house to house like a pathogen infecting the body. Do you hear the silence? Silence of the policemen, silence of the shopkeeper, criminal, citizen, and teacher. The sound passes through time until every ding! And every Beep! Floods into the streets.  Listen closer. Do you now hear the concious thoughts parade through the bright street of life.

” Come n’ get your fresh fruit!”     “Juicy strawberry’s, 2 for £2!”                                                                                                             The enthusiastic seller yelled at the top his voice. He wore dark overalls, which had seen better days but the dust didn’t bother the joyful seller as he tried to make a living. It was the most natural part everyone’s day. Life’s one beautiful cycle, where once again, the great ball of fire would fill every dark void, putting our artificial bulbs to shame.

There two sides to every coin, two opposite sides. There are two sides to every street. The current side bounced up and down ready for anything. Some waited. You could see every eye stare and the colours of yet again more lights. The Red tinge to the light was not enough for them. They just waited… and waited. The red glow reflected onto a shiny bonnet of an expensive car. If you looked closely you would see the rays of pride emitting from all angles onto the car. But when you looked inside you would see the man filled with nothing but shame. He tapped the wheel of the newly polished car. “Tap Tap” He waited and waited. “Tap Tap” His eyes began to go into a trance looking deeply into the soul of the red tinged light. “Tap Tap Tap”. His designer office shoe pushed deep into the pedal as a different, orange tinged light was shown. Another strange cycle which occurred on the slabs of road and pavement, which people, pathetically, call a street.

Are you waiting? Waiting for light to change green? Waiting for someone to give you your next command? Waiting for life’s cycle to run its course? The street was filled with waiters but the kind to serve you food, although these too just wait and wait. For the next order. For their next shift. For a better job to come their way. These people circulated around the street, living less productive lives than the moths on the artificial lights.

Othello Task

October 8, 2014 / / 1 Comment

Othello 2.3 – How does Iago manipulate Cassio?

Iago has mastered the art of deceit and has no boundaries when manipulating people . He seems to plant an idea in anyone’s head and they will believe it.  Iago leads them on and on,  and they are not even being remotely suspicion of his deceitful nature. Through the Play of Othello Iago is constantly ‘pouring Pestilence’ into the characters ears and in particulars Cassio’s ears. From the beginning we realise that Iago’s aim to to take Cassio’s role as lieutenant and to manipulate Cassio in order to do so. Iago persuades Cassio to have another drink and plans to get him drunk , Iago probably knew Cassio had a temper when he was drunk and this lead to Cassio being in a fight. Othello is left with no choice but take away his role of lieutenant and Iago’s wishes are granted. Iago is very quick to get what he wants but he still wants more. He always wants more.

The Laboratory-Ancien Regime

September 8, 2014 / / 1 Comment

English Homework 

How do I feel about the speaker in the Laboratory?

The speaker is a very interesting character. She has many strong emotions towards the characters as she is attempted to poison one of them.  She is very self-centred and will do anything in-order to get her way. An example of her selfish thoughts and actions is showed in stances XI “If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?”  This may be her doubting her actions for the first time, but not because of the consensuses upon the person she going to poison but on her. This shows another very selfish thing to think and also a paranoid thought. Her actions also suggest that she may mentally unstable, an example of this besides the fact that she is about to kill someone is “He is sure to remember her dying face!” This comes across as ‘slightly’ insane.

She tends to act fast and execute her actions before she thinks it through, but ends up worrying about it later. Shen begins to get very paranoid thinks everyone around her are watching and laughing, this is shown on stances II ” While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear empty church, to pray god in, for them” The quote proves she is imagining them laughing at her and is getting very paranoid. This backs up both of my theory’s on the speaker.

Language Component 3

July 1, 2014 / / 2 Comments

Response to Article by Isabelle Kerr

Isabelle Kerr’s article argues that slang is ruining the English language and new words being added (twerking, selfie and unlike) are pointless and appalling. Kerr is even embarrassed on behalf of her generation. Although she hates that they were added to the online dictionary, she also feels that they will just come and go as a fashion trend. Kerr used the example of “Groovy”, and argues “when was the last time you heard someone describe something as “groovy”?  I agree with the use of slang and I feel what she is arguing for is irrelevant and of no concern to her and the way she speaks. All Isabelle Kerr is doing is insulting the way some people speak and I believe this is unacceptable and an unfair judgement to make.

The new additions are described by Isabelle Kerr as “pointless”. If society is using these words frequently, then it’s clear that they are worth a little more respect than you give them credit for. All of these words have meaning, whether the meaning is important is debatable, but clearly these words are widely spoken amongst today’s society and could be considered as popular terms when the amount of people who use them is taken into account. and some people may think they are only used amongst the stereotypical youth, but with a new generation of people, comes a new generation of words and this evolution deserves to be a part of the Oxford online dictionary.

The complaining continues as she argues that it’s a: “constant battle for young people to prove we’re not all pathetic, ASBO-wielding yobs…” but by starting her article with a sarcastic tone on how young people use this language, she is only reinforcing this judgement. Her attempts of sarcastic humour begin to dry thin as she mentions that she had to “google this word”, this, however,  was not a sloppy attempt to be humorous but a common use of slang. ‘Google’ is a fairly recent addition to the ‘Colloquial dictionary’ and has only recently been used as a verb (‘googling’) and her demise towards slang should ensure that she doesn’t use a sliver of colloquial language but she somehow manages to, which just brings her argument to the ground and only continues to be buried deeper.

The article goes on to define ‘twerk’ followed by a sarcastic “Right.”.  The English language is evolved by us. The People. If ‘the people’ are unliking then add unlike to the dictionary. If the people are twerking then add twerk to the dictionary. This is the evolution of the English language, NOT the downfall. ‘The people’ must have seen Shakespeare as mad for creating new words, but the people followed and allowed the English language to take shape. This is a process you can’t stop and this may be just a fashion trend but currently it is a part of our language. It may end up as something from the distant past, but it will still be remembered. Not many people may use ‘Groovy’ but many people will still be able to define it and it is still a part of the English language.

Kerr then makes a very bold statement,  “the future of the English language looks bleak.” Using three words to determine the future of the English language is inaccurate and just a daft prediction. She then begins to apologise for “these linguistic calamities” on behalf of ‘her generation’. I agree that these additions do relate heavily to “image, reputation and sex” but you could still say that these words are about people ‘expressing themselves’ as today’s generation care more about how they look and the image they reflect towards other people. Kerr then backs up her points using her trusted source of her “twitter followers” She uses tweets from her, arguably, biased followers, which is just pathetic and argues, she is not alone.

Kerr complains that ” Twerk, selfie and unlike” do not reflect on how youths speak but then counters the point and argues that if they do then “The dictionary needs a reality check”. The new additions were placed onto the online dictionary, which can be easily altered or deleted. Which is the great thing about the internet, it’s not permanent and never will be. It’s fair for the online dictionary to add these popular terms to help individuals searching for the definitions and can only benefit the online dictionary for this purpose. Kerr says the additions are not doing us any favours, but are they doing any harm?

Isabelle Kerr’s Article raises strong arguments and views. She questions slang and argues that it is unacceptable for twerk, selfie and unlike to be used in the online dictionary. I believe it is our right to have these commonly used words within the online dictionary. If it was being published in the form of a book then many more would have a problem with it, but many are currently using these words on a daily basis and the rest rely on using online dictionary’s to find out more. This is all apart of today’s digital generation, Which Kerr refuses to accepted but the majority decide the popularity of these new words and if it is just a trend then they could remove it online with ease. The problem doesn’t lie with the words being published onto a dictionary, the problem lies within the connotations of the word and how the words can be used to better our society. Only time will tell if these words do better our means of communication. All words have their purposes and Isabelle Kerr may just be afraid of how these drastic changes will affect us. New words will always bring positive outcomes.

Joe Daniels

This is Your Online Domain

May 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Hello and welcome to your personal online journal.

Edutronic has been created to enhance and enrich your learning at the London Nautical School. Its purpose is to provide you with an audience for your work (or work-in-progress) and you have the choice (by altering the ‘visibility’ of your posts) of whether your work on here is visible to the world, or only to your teacher.

Anything you post here in the public domain represents you and thus it’s important that you take care with that decision, but don’t be afraid to publish your work – as the feedback you may get from people at home, your peers and people from around the internet is only likely to enhance it.

Remember you can always access your class blog and all manner of resources through the Edutronic main website – and by all means check out the sites of your peers to see what they’re getting up to as well.

If you have any questions for your teacher, an excellent way to get an answer is to create a new private post on this journal. Your teachers are am notified of any new posts and will reply swiftly to any queries.

Make the most of, and enjoy this new freedom in your English learning!

May 25, 2014

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway