Opinion Editorial

Think of the classes we have right now in school. English, math, science, history, probably gym. All these are academic classes but none of these teach us about the hard core facts of life we will have to face. Yes, I agree they are and will be exceptionally helpful someday but they will not teach us about financing, something that will be important in the future. Our parents will not be there to hold our hand. Schools should also include classes about certain jobs that we might find interesting. For example classes about nursing or engineering. I think these classes could help inform us about jobs of our liking.

I think classes help us better handle our money would be great. I for one would love to learn how to invest in my money. Or I could learn how to save it for a rainy day or how to spend it wisely. I think this could be a very helpful class to take advantage of in high school. There are some people whose job it is to help you manage your money but why pay someone for it. I think that would be a waste of your money.

I believe classes that teach us about different jobs can help us students understand them better and give us greater ideas and options for the future. I think this could help better prepare us for the future. I think that with these classes we could discover a job that we are engaged in and be able to learn more about it. Then the student could decide to take that career path if they wanted to. Then with that in mind they have a clearer picture of what kinds of classes to take in college/university.

I think these type of classes would be ideal to take during high school. They could be taken as an elective class. That way the student can have a choice to take it if they want. I think classes like these can help make the rode to our future a little less bumpy.

The Joy Luck Club Essay

Jing-mei’s Success

In the book The Joy Luck Club the author talks about the lives of four different pairs of mothers and daughters and explains hoe their lives intertwine with each other. One of those pairs are Suyuan Woo and her daughter Jing-mei “June” Woo. Suyuan Woo founded the Joy Luck Club and continued it in San Francisco when she left her home in China. Suyuan also had to leave behind her twin babies because of a war. Now that Suyuan is dead it is up to Jing-mei to continue what her mother started and to finish what her mother could not.

Jing-mei was at a Joy Luck Club meeting and her aunties received a letter explaining that her mothers’ lost daughters were still alive. Jing-mei’s aunties encouraged her to go meet them because her mother would have wanted it. Jing-mei’s mother spent all her life searching for her lost daughters and now that they are found it is too late for them to see her. Jing-mei agrees to see her half-sisters and to tell them everything she can about the mother they lost. If Jing-mei would have said no, the sisters would have never met and they would not know that their mother is dead.

At the Joy Luck Club meeting Jing-mei’s aunties gave her money to go to see her sisters in China. That money was going to make everything possible for Jing-mei. When Jing-mei enters China she feels like she has changed. She finally understands what her mother meant that someday she will see the part of her that is Chinese. If Jing-mei’s aunties would have never given her that money Jing-mei would have figured out a way to come up with the money herself. When Jing-mei is headed to China she feels like she is also bringing har mothers dreams and wishes along on her journey.

Jing-mei is headed to Shanghai and on the plane she wonders what she is going to say to her half-sisters and how she will describe her mother to them. When she arrives she notices how much they look alike. She also notices how much they are the splitting image of their mother. Jing-mei realizes that she has at last granted her mother’s last wish. If Jing-mei never went to China she would not have fulfilled her mother’s last wish the thought that she died with. Jing-mei’s mother lives on in her in spirit and she will continue to live within her.

Jing-mei has now found what her mother lost many years ago. Her mother died having this thought in her head and now she has put an end to what her mother thought of for many years in pain and sorrow. Suyuan lives on in her daughter Jing-mei. Jing-mei’s trip to China made her realize what it meant to be Chinese just like her mother.

Leopard Man Questions

9. Why is Tom Leppard called “Leopard Man”?

He is called that because he has covered his body in leopard spots.

10. What does the author think about people with tattoos and piercings? why does he have

these opinions?

He thinks they are desperate for attention. He has these opinions because they have failed to capture his attention.

11. How is Leopard Man different from other tattooed and pierced people?

He does not live for the attention or reactions.

12. Where does Leopard Man live?

He lives in the Scottish wilderness.

13. According to Feys, what kind of people does society fear? Why?

Society fears loners because they pursue their own values without seeking others’ permission.

14. What is the “world’s most common but dangerous psychological disorder?” Explain

Feys argument in this paragraph.

Feys claims conformity is the world’s most prevalent and most pernicious psychological disorder because the consequences of it are no less than the suppression and destruction of one’s self.

15. Why is Leopard Man so happy?

He is happy because he is free from social pressures and is on his own paradise on earth.

Latin Roots #6

Roots and Derivatives

1. corp(or) (body):corpse, corporation, corps, corpuscle, corporeal, corpus, corset,
2. cred (to believe, to trust):credo, credit, discredit, credence, credentials, accreditation
3. cur(r), curs, course(to run, to flow):current, excursion, discourse, concur, recourse, curriculum, recurrent
4. dic(t) (to speak, to say):diction, indication, edict, jurisdiction, dictionary, addict, interdiction

Word List

1. benediction- the invocation of a divine blessing, as at the close of a religious service; a blessing or state of blessedness
2. concourse- a running or flowing together; a broad public walkway or hallway; a crowd or throng
3. concurrent- occurring at the same time; meeting or acting together
4. corporal- related to the physical body 
5. corpulent- very stout; fleshy and obese; fat
6. credibility- the quality of being believable or trustworthy
7. credulity- the (naive) willingness to believe too easily without proof. 
8. cursory- a done in a superficial or hasty manner
9. dictum- an authoritative saying or maxim
10. incorporate- to form into one body or functioning unit; to combine several different things into a whole
11. incredulous- not believing, skeptical, or doubting
12. indicative- characteristic of or very much like; suggestive

1. As the priest finished reading the benediction was soon to come.
2. There is always a concourse of people in line at theme parks.
3. My two favorite movies of all time are playing at concurrent times.
4. Corporal punishment is still very common in some schools.
5. Pigs are considered corpulent animals.
6. A cop must have extreme credibility.
7. A judge does not have credulity when it comes to any case.
8. I woke up late for school so I had to do my bed very cursory.
9. A person I once knew favorite dictum was “Si se puede”.
10. In order to make a delicious cake you have to incorporate many different ingredients.
11. When my sister crashed the car my parents looked at her incredulously because she’s usually a great driver.
12.  My parents gave me many indicative choices for college.

Literary Analysis #2

The Color Purple

By Alice Walker

1 The plot of the novel is about a young 14 year old girl named Celie who is given away as a wife by her father to a man she only knows as Mr._____ and he abuses her throughout the years. Before this happened, her father had raped her and she had two children, Adam and Olivia, who her father gave away and Celie thought they were dead. Celie moves in with Mr._____ her sister Nettie goes with her but she soon runs away. Celie’s sister Nettie writes to her for years but Celie never receives the letters because Mr._____ has kept the letters from her so she assumes Nettie is dead like her children. Mr._____ bring his old lover back Shug Avery, who is a famous singer, because she was sick and he still had feelings for her. Celie was the one to care for her and they soon became close friends. Both Celie and Shug Avery cared and loved each other. After many years have passed Shug Avery was the one to find out that Mr._____ had been keeping all of Nettie’s letters. Together they took them all back and read them. After learning that her sister and children are alive in Africa with the couple that adopted her children she rights her back. Shug Avery has given Celie the courage to stand up to Mr._____ and declare that she was leaving him to start a new life of her own. Celie had moved in with Shug and lived with her for a few years until she receives notice that her father had died and that the house that he lived in belongs to her and her sister. In the end Celie is finally reunited with her sister and children.

2 I think that the theme of the book is about hoe heroic Celie is after suffering many years of abuse by her father and Mr._____ and the fact of having to think that everyone she loves is gone.

3 The protagonist, Celie is dynamic because she has changed from a shy girl who let herself be bullied and bossed around to taking charge of her own life. Shug Avery is an important character because she gave Celie the help she needed to become the character she is in the end of the novel.

4 The letters that Celie and Nettie write to each other are symbols in the novel because the letters that Celie received from Nettie gave her something to live for and make her hope that they will soon meet.

5 The reason I chose this book is because the person who read it said they liked it and it looked like an interesting but sad topic. What kept me reading was the fact of what will happen to Celie. Will there be a happy ending, will she see her sister and children again.

6 Shug Avery was in a way Celie’s parent she loved Celie and cared for and she wouldn’t let Mr._____ beat her. In a way Shug is like my parents they too love me and care for me. I guess I can compare myself to Celie because she is lost and hurt and needs to find who she is in the world even if it took some time. I too need some time to find out where I am going and what I want to do in the world.

7 The one thing that I won’t forget are the letters that Celie wrote to god and Nettie. Celie can look back at those letters and remind herself how much she has changed and how strong and brave she has become. I think memories are important even the bad ones because you can tell yourself that you are stronger then you’ve ever been. They can change you and make you the person you are and will become.

Greek Drama Questions

1.       What kind of prize is given for dancing choruses of worshippers?

Bulls or goats were given as prizes for the dancing choruses of worshipers.

2.       How many spectators would gather in the open-air theatre of Dionysos?

As many as 14,000 thousand spectators would gather.

3.       How does the mask affect the voices of the actors?

The masks had exaggerated mouthpieces which amplified the actors’ voices.

4.       Why was Antigone suspenseful to viewing audiences?

Since the audiences already knew how the story ended their suspense came from knowing the

impending doom of the characters on stage.

5.       How is the shepherd to leave the infant on the mountainside?

He was to leave the infant to die on a lonely mountainside with his ankles pinned together.

6.       What is the riddle the Sphinx gave to Oedipus?

“What creature goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?”

7.       Who are Oedipus’ kids?

Oedipus’ children are Polyneices, Eteocles, Antigone and Ismene.

8.       After Oedipus is exiled, who takes over Thebes?

Antigone’s two brothers agreed to rule in alternate years.

9.       What did the family do to the dead body?

The family closes the dead person’s eyes and mouth and began to prepare the body for the prothesis, the wake. The women of the house washed the body and dress it in white. Then they placed the body on a bier, a portable framework, making sure the feet pointed toward the door, and sprinkled the body with herbs which were believed to keep evil spirits away. At the prosthesis, while the women waited near the body, the men entered formally, with their right arms raised high in the air. When the closest relative held the dead person’s head with both hands, the other mourners began to beat their faces and tear their hair. They also wailed and sang.

Antigone Writing Assignment

 First off I would plan to bury my brother because it is the right thing to do even if no one else sees that. I have tried to convince my sister to join me because it is not right to leave someone unburied and left for the birds to eat. His soul will never be at rest. It is not fair that my jerk of a brother is being buried like he was some hero when he is just as guilty. My brother deserve to rest in the afterlife and no rule or proclamation can stop me. My sister does not agree with me she is afraid of the consequences if we are caught. She’s always thinking of the “What ifs”, she might have a point, my brother might not want me to sacrifice my life to bury him but I must do it. I must not let anyone else know about my plans and hope my sister does not tell my uncle. I will have to move his body so anyone who is against his burial cannot find him. I will have to bring a shovel so I can dig his grave and when I am done I will bring flowers to plant on top to mark where he is buried. I will come back each year to where those same flowers bloom. But I have to be careful that my uncles’ men don’t catch me. I have to make sure that no one can connect me to doing this. I will have to create an alibi to put me somewhere else and not burying my brother. Maybe my sister will vouch for me that we were together. After it’s all done I’ll need to make sure to clean my shoes just in case I bring back dirt and I’ll need to change my clothes as well. If my uncle finds out someone has buried my brother I must act surprised to find out someone has went against him so he does not suspect me and believes I am loyal to him. It would be a true pleasure if he never finds out who did it. And then maybe my brother can rest without ever being disturbed.