The Outsiders Final

            Now as I come to an end of The Outsiders by S.E. Hilton, I really notice how wonderful this book is. I understand, the more times I read it, why it is considered an American Classic, and required reading in school. It has many themes throughout it, and while many of them are easy to see, others must be sought out. For instance, the life of a gangster is a theme that is very easy to see, but to notice that being displaced is another theme is more difficult to find on first glance.

            Ponyboy is a character who is displaced; his environment doesn’t suite him. For example, Ponyboy is a literate, intelligent character who is put into the path of the Greasers-a gang of hooligans. In fact, on page 2, Ponyboy says that “nobody in the gang digs movies and books the way I do. For a while there, I thought I was the only person in the world that did”. Ponyboy feels lonely and without anyone to talk to sophisticatedly, he is almost dumbed down. Ponyboy is displaced because if he lived in a more educated situation, he would thrive more, have another pen in his hand rather than another cigarette-school rather than rumbles.

            Another way that we see Ponyboy being displaced is that he is very considerate and thoughtful. He worries about his friends and family. When he wakes up the day after Johnny kills the Soc member, he becomes concerned with not only Johnny’s safety, but the safety and well being of his brothers. What kind of gang member worries so much? A gang member who has no other choice but to be involved in the gang.

            A final reason for why I feel that Ponyboy is displaced is that he does at first hate the Socs, because they hate him and Greasers, but during the end of the book he hates them less and less. Not that he would switch sides and become one of them, but because he’s a normal, rational human. This is what we would deem as being thoughtful and correct (not hating your “enemy”), but in the world of the gangsters, that isn’t correct. Being thoughtful isn’t good. You wouldn’t hear Sodapop saying “guys this isn’t right, fighting like this does no justice”. Ponyboy is not supposed to be in the situation he’s in and we know that by hearing his beliefs towards the Socs at the end of the story.

I feel sorry for Ponyboy; he has no direction. Darry tries to steer him clear of danger as much as possible, but Darry isn’t well equipped to being a parent. Ponyboy is a character who, if he had better guidance, could have a very successful life ahead of him. He’s smart and likeable, he would be a good candidate for a good career, marriage, parent, friendships, etc. but it won’t happen because he isn’t being taught the right morals during the time in which he is coming of age. He doesn’t have that role model in his life that he wants to be like.

Overall, The Outsiders was a fantastic book. I recommend this for all and although this wasn’t the first time I’ve read the book, I’m sure it won’t be the last time either.

The Outsiders Post #1

The Outsiders has been a novel which I have read time and time again, but never have I ever looked at it in a coming of age eye. This unit has brought me to dig deeper and pull out even more themes from this incredible piece of literature. I’ve noticed that Ponyboy is a product of his environment, before I didn’t even put thought into it.

            There are many things which have led me to believe that Ponyboy doesn’t fit in the context of the book. First off, his personality differs completely with the rest of the Greasers, or for that matter, any gang member. Ponyboy shows an emotional and thoughtful side by worrying about the safety of his friends and family, and by weeping by thinking about the situation both him and Johnnie were in after they ran away. He also shows a solitary side. For example, on page 68, Ponyboy has persuaded himself 1//2 way that he had dreamed what happened and that it wasn’t real. Also, instead of hanging out with the other guys, he goes out to the porch and thinks to himself. Yes, it could have been a product of his situation/environment, but it also could have been that he has a less social personality, unlike the other greasers. The traditional gang member that you would think of would be a huge, ruthless maniac that could kill anyone in his path. No sympathy. No empathy. In contrast to that, Ponyboy is extremely understanding and emotional.  Although Ponyboy’s personality forces me to stop and think that he doesn’t fit in with the time period or place in which the book takes place, it’s not the only thing.

            Another way in which Ponyboy differs from the Greasers is that he is very intelligent and literate. For instance, Johnnie buys Ponyboy a copy of Gone with the Wind because he knew that Ponyboy had wanted to read it, and so that Ponyboy would be able to read it aloud to the rest of the Greasers. Ponyboy did as planned, but when Johnnie tried to read it, he wasn’t able to. He said that there was no real story; just a tale told by Ponyboy. As if reading a book was real! By being able to read Gone with the Wind, Ponyboy shows the Greasers, and the reader, that he was the most scholastically advanced and literate out of all of the characters. It’s almost as if he was learning from rich education.

            The major reason for why I feel that Ponyboy is a product of his situation is that if you were to take his character and place him into almost any other situation, he would probably fit. In fact, he seems as if he had grown up in a richer family than he did; would he fit in with the Socs if he was part of them? I would even venture to say that he seems displaced in the Greasers; the Greasers are made up of trouble making, less fortunate people with “no future” while Ponyboy could have a successful future ahead of him. He’s not given enough support though. Growing up with no parents was a real detriment to him.

            Now that I’m over halfway through with The Outsiders, I can see many themes that correspond with this book, but most of all, I can tell how relatable many parts of the story is; the situation of being a product of your environment is an issue in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Another thing I can relate this book to is my life. I can see Ponyboy as a sort of stand out, I can’t quite see what for, but I can see it. The problem is that he doesn’t have enough backing from home (I understand that it isn’t anyone’s fault). I do many extra activities where I see standouts; music, baseball, school, etc., and many could be so much better at what they do than they are, but they don’t have enough parental support. Overall, The Outsiders is a pleasure to read over and over again, because no matter how many times you read it, you’ll always notice something different that you never noticed before.

The Age of Aquariums

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1196890/index.htm

Do we really need all the extras in our ball parks? When they built Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, two stadiums that are almost 100 years old, did they assume that fans needed more than the game to have a great time? I don’t think so. Back in the days of the historical ball parks fans came to see the game, not to go shopping or gaming. Today with new ball parks such as the highly styled Miami Marlins Stadium, people can do it all except watch the game in peace. Baseball is clearly not enough for people today, they need performance art between innings and a shopping mall on premises in case they have the urge to buy stuff not related to the game. Sadly, long gone are the days that ball park dimensions were determined by the streets around it. One of baseball’s secret charms is the fact that each ball park is unique in its footprint. Each one has different dimensions but the game always comes first. Ballparks used to made of brick and wood and they felt organic while now there are plexi glass fish tanks behind home plate, what for?

2012 is a year of change in baseball, some teams are switching leagues, the post season format is changing allowing more teams into the race, the season opened in Japan and the ballpark is the new amusement park. Baseball seems to be spending a lot of money on things that have little to do with the game I love and they make it harder for regular families to enjoy the great American pastime. While some kids might like all the bells and whistles of the new ballparks I just go for the baseball and maybe an ice cream and a few hot dogs and nachos…ok, I like all the new food choices that the stadiums have now, the changes are not all bad.

Baseball like music before sampling, has character because of the human touch. Umpires make calls in every play that can change the outcome of games and some would like to change this and institute a replay rule for baseball. I say No! No replays in baseball, part of the game is the ump and that is the way it should be. Baseball can tinker with the dimensions and layouts of its parks and they can add teams to the playoff format to make for a more interesting end of the summer but I ask the MLB to stop short of taking the human element away from the game. Let us enjoy our game with no clocks the way our parents and grandparents enjoyed it, simply.

Plagiarism

1. What did the student do wrong? What could he/she done to include the source correctly?
~In the example given, the student plagiarized; he/she took an excerpt from a source and used it as their own. Not showing that it was taken from somewhere else was what the student did wrong. He/she could have used the name of the source and put the excerpt in quotation marks in order to let the reader know that it was taken from somewhere else.

2. Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase. Also, make sure to cite correctly...
~"There is a peaceful essence flowing from the structures. Perhaps the cool dark colors and the fiery windows spark memories of our own warm childhood years filled with imagination of what exists in the night and dark starry skies. The center point of the town is the tall steeple of the church, reigning largely over the smaller buildings. This steeple casts down a sense of stability onto the town, and also creates a sense of size and seclusion.To the left of the painting there is a massive dark structure that develops an even greater sense of size and isolation." (http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html)

3. What are at least 3 ways to avoid plagiarizing?
~You can paraphrase the quotation, use quotation marks and cite the source correctly, or preface the statement you are about to make by using the name of the source.

Peer Blog Response

I've read 2 student blogs; Jake Lester (813) and Josh Waldman (813)'s blogs. I read Jake's response on Cats Cradle and Ice-Nine Josh's poem about America. Both responses were intriguing due to vocabulary, ideas brought up and techniques used.
Jake's response on Cats Cradle and Ice-Nine is interesting for me to read due to vocabulary. He uses phrases such as unrelenting distaste, meaning there must be some significance in the book of what he's describing. Another reason why I enjoy Jake's vocabulary usage is because it's very similar to how he speaks in real life. I remember when I was just learning how to write, teachers would say "write like how you speak", some people take that idea and create writing that is a little more difficult to understand, but Jake actually uses this idea and his writing comes out perfectly clear. In this response, another thing I like is how Jake uses true evidence from the book to support thoughts and even predictions. In fact, most of his statements tie in together, which he later explains. He really has found a way to take tons of text evidence and use it to prove a point that he's trying to make. Jake doesn't do very much retelling, he just elaborates on what he read.
Josh's poem on America is interesting because he uses tons of great technique and deals with mature topics. Josh uses techniques such as symbolism (belles), and even physical techniques like line breaks which help the flow and mood of the poem. Josh also touches on some mature topics such as unemployment in America and losing privileges such as Southern Blacks with voting. Josh finds a way to sneak politics and history into a poem about a place. The only suggestion I have for Josh is to change the color of the writing.
After reading these two blog posts, I've gotten some ideas of what to do. Using line breaks and techniques in poetry is healthy; it makes your artwork unique, and isn't that what writing is-a form of art?                                    Writing like I speak is a useful idea, but you can't take it literally because your writing won't turn out very well. trying to keep it similar to your own style is the goal though. One last struggle that I've had lately is citing sources correctly. Jake did it perfectly, so I will take his work into consideration. Overall, the two blog posts that I read were remarkable.    

Poem Response

            Studying poetry is hard. Trying to decipher what the poet is trying to say is challenging for sure, but I might be getting a little better at that. Picking the poem apart for certain techniques and literary devices is the easy part, decoding the language and finding what the author’s true intentions are is a different story. Two poems, “Harlem” by Langston Hughes and the lyrics to “Starry Starry Night” by Don McLean are very contrasting texts but they both touch on the power of your ultimate dream.

            A dream deferred, sad if you think about it. How many people do we all know living with a dream deferred, probably most. Sometimes, some things are more important than dreams. I actually can’t even believe I just said that, but I guess feeding a family can be more important than some dreams. Love might lead to a dream deferred, I could see that happening. In this poem, Langston Hughes uses many literary devices to catch our attention and although the poem is short, it drives the point home directly. Dream Deferred itself is alliteration, there are rhyming words and similes. There are lines in this poem that make your stomach turn and I found myself cringing at the thought of the smell of rotten meat and festering sores. Both of those images are awful to think about, the author must truly be disgusted at all the dreams he has seen deferred in a place like Harlem.

            Starry Starry Night is also about dreams but in a different way. Don McLean is telling us about a man who lived for his dream so intensely that it drove him mad. He has followed his dream down the road to obsession and from his room in an asylum, he paints. Nothing got in the way of Vincent Van Gogh’s dream of art, not family or love. He was in love with is work, a love never retuned but I must admit I think of him as courageous for standing by his true love. Don Mclean gives us the illusion that this a light and airy text with rhyming words like hills and daffodils. Palettes of blue and grey and summers day, these images are peaceful and the whole poem feels peaceful to me even though he is locked away and ultimately dies.

Animal Farm 2

The stage has been set for a rivalry between Snowball and Napoleon. On Animal Farm, the pigs have clearly established themselves as the ruling class. They are the smartest; they can read, debate, propose laws and have the ability to learn new skills. Since the idealistic views of Major, the pigs have been well respected by the other animals for their minds and opinions. Snowball and Napoleon have become the most outspoken and driven pigs on the farm. They can never seem to agree on anything at all. It does not seem that Animal Farm will be long for having two in charge. Soon enough, there will be one who rises up and takes control. Too much power to one person or one party is dangerous, humans and in this case pigs can get power hungry and greedy.

            I found it interesting that Snowbell wanted all of the animals to educated and have the ability to read. Even the Animals know the power of literacy. As it turns out you learn which animals are capable of reading and which were not. You also find out some key personality traits of some of the main characters. For instance on page 32, Orwell describes the dogs as “learned to read fairly well, but were not interested in reading any thing except the seven commandments.” This shows the dogs to be one track minded. They were intelligent enough to learn yet they did not have the sense to question they only wanted to follow the rules. This can represent the mindset of a soldier who internalizes the country or unit before self motto. A soldier who is taught not to question orders, only carry them out.

            Only a few animals of the farm were able to learn to read, the rest remained illiterate. Some of the stupidest animals were not able to learn the Seven Commandments by heart and they were condensed to one phrase that was at the heart of everything the Animalists stood for “four legs good, two legs bad.” Much like when they were in the barn watching Major give his rebellion speech and some of the less smart animals were only able to hum the tune of the Beasts of England. Although they were not fully aware of what was going on, they grasped enough to feel like they belonged to something so they stood behind it not totally blindly, but somewhat under informed. Condensing the Seven Commandments to only one line makes it lose a lot in the translation. A big part of the population of animals was only able to remember this line. When so many people/animals are so under informed it can lead following the wrong leader. When only few can read, question and be truly informed, it opens the door for others to take advantage of their blindness.

Animal Farm 1

            As this is an election year, I have been more aware of political speeches and campaigns. Last time this country had an election year I was a 4^th grader and had little understanding of the political system around us. Of course I was aware of the importance of Obama and Hillary and even Sarah Palin but since my knowledge and understanding of American history has grown so much since that time, I now see political speeches with a different set of eyes. Learning about how our government was formed and the great lengths gone through by our political grandfathers to ensure freedom and democracy for future generations, has made me understand why elections are so important. Speeches go a long way for candidates and they sway people’s opinions. To be a great speaker is a very powerful thing, it has the power to start a rebellion, to change a country or possibly even a farm.

            In Chapter one of Animal Farm by George Orwell, Major, the prize winning Middle White pig, from the Manor Farm in England, was a persuasive and passionate speaker. Under cover of night he delivers a speech of rebellion to the animals in the farm. He speaks of the evil Man who enslaves animals and gives only the bear essentials of life, only enough food to survive, only a life of work. He speaks of all the cruel deaths the animals will face when they are no longer useful. He appeals to everyone’s concern and everyone’s fears. He singles people out and predicts their doom. He sings a rally song that supposedly came to him in a dream and everyone joins in. They begin to feel like they are part of something, part of a change. Even the simplest animals in the farm were able to catch the tune, if no more, and hum along. They were all sold on the dream of Animalism.

            Major might have had the best intentions for the way life would be under a new rule but unfortunately, he did not see his dream become a reality. Three days after he delivered this speech, he died and his vision will soon become a warped image of itself. Speeches have the power to move you. Marti Luther King helped gain equality for all through his words. Adolph Hitler rallied an entire nation to a killing frenzy with his words. As I watch some of the newest political figures deliver speeches about how things should be done, I wonder, how much are people swayed by not what is being said, but by how it is being delivered?

Puppy: A personal sonnet

For I used to be an only child

The lone wolf puppy was how I was seen

Then one day he came, so spry so wild.

Two years in mutt, but in human fourteen.

Like the sun that sits alone in the sky

Some unique days the moon joins him in light

For I can see in my boyish mind’s eye

Their friendship has grown forever airtight

Rare are canines that have moustache and beard

Brindle all over, pure white on his chest

The rest of the fam'ly thinks he looks weird

But I can tell he is nothing but best.

For my home was just me, Dad and Mother,

Puppy came in and gave me a Brother.

3 January 2012 poems

Picasso Poem:                                     

There is always someone there

Someone hiding within

My lesser self

My lesser half

There is always something missing

One thing that got away

The thing I never had

The thing I’ll never say

Resting in my armchair

Just trying to forget

Always feeling broken

My needs are rarely met

On the surface I am one

Another lies just under

Just under is what you can’t see

Just under is the real me

Deformed, misshapen

I am so incomplete

Finding you inside myself

Always makes me weep.

What happens to the cherry blossoms?

What happens to the Cherry Blossoms bloom?

The pink leaves up high,

gracing the city streets.

So quickly turning brown,

meeting doom.

The white snow melts

as jackets are lost.

Warm winds hint in the air

Goodbye my frost.

Pink is the new grey

For what seems like

Only one day

It all goes green

In a flash.

What is Poetry?                  

            

Reading a poem is

admiring art.

Scanning the page

Like the halls of a museum.

Choosing your favorite

Words, passages, pieces.

Which one moves you

 colors, textures, materials.

Loosing yourself,

Endlessly

Finding yourself.

Poetry, like the library

Of songs

Floating around my head

Makes me feel.

Picasso Reflection

When given the chance to research an iconic artist I chose Pablo Picasso. Being the son of José Ruiz black sale and Maria Picasso Lopez wife was difficult. At the age of 10 little Pablo had to mourn the loss of his youngest sister. Picasso lived in one of the best outlets for what he did best paint. Beautiful cathedrals and architecture made Spain an inspirational place for an artist to live. Picasso a had good painter’s pedigree, his Dad was an accomplished painter and an art teacher and from a very young age, Pablo showed real talent for art. Picasso lived a tortured life perhaps events like his girlfriend committing suicide is what lead him to his sexual and twisted paintings. Picasso’s paintings show what seems to be hatred towards women. Although his paintings are often viewed as violent we can all agree that he was a thought provoking an inspiring painter.

Picasso is one of the founders of the Cubist Movement but he worked in many different mediums and his work is grouped together by periods. Picasso was innovative and challenged conventional art but his training was very traditional. At the age of 13 he admitted into the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona and soon after that he went to study at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, the most prestigious art school in Madrid. In 1901, Picasso’s Blue period began followed by the Rose period in 1905 and the African Influenced Period in 1908 and finally Cubism in 1909. Each of theses periods had their own unique characteristics and back stories. The Blue period is full of shades of blues and greens and has subjects that are often blind and under fed. The Rose period had more color and life; its subjects are often circus people, acrobats and harlequins. Cubism is a form of picking apart objects and analyzing their shapes, this period is characterized by his use of browns and neutral tones.

In 1929, Picasso painted the Large Nude in a Red Arm Chair. This is clearly a painting that gives you a feeling of unrest. A woman, sitting in an arm chair is melting out of herself. Her face looks tortured and pained, her mouth opened wide in horror. She has deformed, elongated limbs and her womanly body parts are misshapen and distorted. The part of her that is melting out seems incomplete, she feels like just half a woman with only one breast. A window is at the top of the painting, could this be a possible way out, an escape that she may one day take? Or is that a blank painting, showing the nothingness of her life?

The nude in a Red Armchair

(my Picasso poem about the painting I observed)

There is always someone there

Someone hiding within

My lesser self

My lesser half

There is always something missing

One thing that got away

The thing I never had

The thing I’ll never say

Resting in my armchair

Just trying to forget

Always feeling broken

My needs are rarely met

On the surface I am one

Another lies just under

Just under is what you can’t see

Just under is the real me

Deformed, misshapen

I am so incomplete

Finding you inside myself

Always makes me weep.

Sports in a new way

            I never thought that baseball was a game of math and science. Being a pitcher myself, and knowing nothing about “mechanics”, I thought baseball was a finesse game-a game of understanding how to do something within yourself. I had to work on my swing individually and perfect my motion alone, on the mound. A lack of coaching, maybe, but it could have also been a lack of research. Now that I found a book lying around my house, I’ve seen the game in a completely new way.

            The Physics of Baseball by Robert K. Adair has been the book I’ve been reading recently. It’s sophisticated and contains difficult terms to comprehend, but as an athlete, it helps. This book talks about trajectories, angle measures for optimal pitching, throwing, hitting, etc., and even variables which affect the game even more than you may think. Just some wind could mess up a pitcher’s game. I thought it was annoying, but I didn’t know that it messed with the flight pattern of each pitch. The ball is too heavy right? Wrong. The book even talks about how bat speed affects the distance of which the ball is hit. For example, you can’t hit a ball over 450 feet if you don’t have the bat speed of 77 mph.

            This book has taught me tons about the sport of baseball. I can conclude that the game takes a mix of both in order to succeed, but you can get by with only having one. If you don’t know about the optimal bat angle to hit a ball far, but your swing works for you, that’s fine. As for the math whizzes who aren’t the jocks, but wish to play on a team, I highly suggest this book-you can take it word for word and do very well too. Lastly, I strongly suggest people who take their game as seriously as I try to, to take a look at this book. I will never look at the game of baseball the same way again.

Too smart for school?

            I recently picked up the December issue of the Rolling Stone magazine. Having the interest of reading who this magazine touted as being the 100 greatest guitarists of all time (which I didn’t completely agree with) on the cover, I didn’t know what I was in for. The real headline that caught my eye was “What happens to a kid who’s too smart for school?” The person’s name is Santiago Gonzalez. Santiago’s IQ scores are off the charts. He’s so intellectually gifted that one test told him he’s on the level of a student who’s going into their third year of graduate school. Did I mention, he’s 11.

            I have mixed feelings about this situation. If you can excel in college at 13 years old, I say go for it. This kid, in fact, feels the need to be challenged and to learn. Only a college education could get the job done. This may be great, but there are some downsides to it also. As a child, you should do well in school, but you should also have a life, and have friends. Maybe even play some games, play in the park, play a sport. Santiago doesn’t have any of this. All he has is his superb mind. In a way, he’s wasting his childhood. Being in college at such a young age means he isn’t interacting with people his own age at all. I feel bad for him, it must be a lonely place, but that’s what happens when you’re a prodigy-your mind isn’t thinking like other people your age. He even has to sensor what he says around kids his own age, and even some adults because he knows how it puts them off. This is just sad to think of the level to which he doesn’t fit in. Is this what it’s like to be a prodigy? Because if it is, I’m happy that I’m not one. It would be cool to be so elite at something, not even having it be your environment, but if I’d have to deal with all the other baggage it comes with, I’d give it up in a heartbeat.

Reading Response-Baseball's Great Moments

                        On October 4^th, 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers won the World Series, finally. They had met 5 times before in the World Series, the Yankees had won all five. This year things would be different and “mothers holding babies would be dancing in the streets of Brooklyn” (pg 60 of Baseball’s Great Moments by Joseph Reichler and Jack Clary). Game seven of this series had twists and turns and in the end it all comes down to a combination of luck and skill that I think defines baseball and life; to be good at something you have to practice endlessly and when you’ve reached your peak, you had better hope you are on the right side of luck in the big moment.

            Dodger’s pitcher, Johnny Podres, was a young 23 yr old lefty who during the regular season was a mediocre 9-10. He had not shown himself to be an all star and gave no signs that he would be the hero of the World Series. It seems that sometimes the most unlikely person is the one who comes through when you need it most; on the field and in real life. He won game 3 and game 7, shutting out the favored Yankees 2-0. This game was won on his arm but so many things have to go right for you to win a baseball game, just like in life, there are a lot of moving parts. Every player on that field is skillful and successful, but to be a winner, luck has to be on your side. A player moves a few feet out of position and makes a diving catch he never could make before he moved. Runners get overly aggressive, it IS game 7, and find themselves out on the base path, a perfect relay from the outfield. Star players going hitless. So many variables on the field, so many variables in life.