Diary of an Honor Student

Final Essay

2005-06-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Here it is.

Amanda Shih

June 5, 2005

Honors English

Final Essay

As the school year draws to a close, it surprises me that most of the people who were involved in Honors English this year managed to read their way through seven books. Though we were required to read books that we probably wouldn’t normally have read on our own, I believe that we all benefited from the experience. Each book we read this year had its interesting points, and each taught us more about some of the country’s history. The books that were chosen were written in a way that helped to keep our interest and keep the books relatable, and therefore taught us more than our textbooks would. So, in this essay, I’ll tell you everything I learned from the books we read, and from my history class this semester.

In Shane, we entered a fairly rural, farm-type setting that we hadn’t really seen in any of the previous books. In the book, when Fletcher kept trying to find ways to blackmail and fight their way into getting the Staretts’ land, I was reminded of when we talked about the Indians and early white settlers in history class. In Shane however, Joe Starett was offered a fairly decent amount of money to give up his land. The white settlers, on the other hand, presented Indians with fake deeds, and cheated them out to get more land than they were offered. The main difference between the two though, is that the Staretts managed to protect their land, while the Indians, who were at a disadvantage, did not.

In The Call Of The Wild, the book begins with Buck being stolen from his home by his owner’s gardener and sold off to become a sled dog. As I read the book, I continued to come by instances where the dogs were greatly mistreated by their owners. I felt that most of the mistreatment came from Charles, Hal, and Mercedes. The constant beating, starving, and trading of the dogs in the book strongly reminded me of the things we learned about slavery in history. Just like the dogs in The Call Of The Wild, the slaves were stolen, beaten, starved (for the most part), and traded amongst different owners. It’s a pity that, just like the slaves, the sled dogs were seen as an inferior race, existing for the sole purpose of doing their owner’s bidding.

Strangely enough, it was The Call Of The Wild that brought back thoughts of they things we learned during our slavery unit in history, and not The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Things that did match up were the laws that were passed. For example, in the book Jane mentions that she’s hearing stories about slaves up North getting captured and returned to their masters in the South. This coincides with what we learned about the Fugitive Slave Law in history class, which allowed owners to recapture runaway slaves. Also, the Secesh are mentioned in the book, and in the book we are currently reading in our English class, Across Five Aprils, the secesh were also mentioned. The thing is, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman is set after the Emancipation Proclamation has been passed, and we have yet to reach that point in our history classes yet. However, the book definitely helped me get the general idea of how hard and unfair life still was for black people in those times.

In conclusion, I have greatly enjoyed being part of the Honors English program this year. I was introduced to books I never would have read on my own, and was at times, pleasantly surprised. I find it interesting how people can listen to their history teachers talk and not feel a connection to the stories they’re hearing at all, but then read one of these books, and feel a complete connection to the characters and the time period.

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Mueller: I realize that there may be a couple lines missing from the end of the essay. Sorry about that. I hadn't been able to save the document when I wrote it, so I had to use the Auto Recover today. I'm not sure it actually recovered the whole essay. I'd be happy to edit my post when I get my essay back and fix it up.

To everyone else: It's been fun blogging with you guys. I'll see you around. ^_^

Last Post!

2005-06-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, so this is the last post for this blog. Depressing...ish... o.0 But then again, there's still the final essay, so we may need to post that later on too.

Anyway, here's my last Jane post.

I really liked this book. I'd probably give it a 8.5/10. It was descriptive and the way the story was written made it seem real, but at times I got confused by the flow of the story. The ending was kind of another one of those cliffhanger type things, though you can assume that Jane Pittman lives through the demostration and continues to live at Samson. I find it kind of sad that Jane never actually made it to Ohio, and ended up staying where everyone kept saying she was (Louisiana). I guess after a while, Ohio didn't seem so important. I think that maybe Jane's hope of getting to Ohio and finding Brown was what kept her going as a child, but as she grew older, she found security right where she was. I wonder if Jane would ever think of her determination to get to Ohio in her later years.

But like I said, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman was one of the better books that we read this year in Honors English.

Hmm, I guess that means it's 'bye bye' to the bloggie now yeah? Well, I'll save my parting word until I'm sure we won't be posting our final essays on here. ^_^

Second Jane post

2005-06-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so later on in the book, Jane "marries" Joe Pittman. I was wondering...does the ceremony really represent anything in particular? It might have said in the book, but I don't remember. I thought that it was sad when Ned was killed, but I think that it's better that he died trying to do something rather than doing nothing at all. I have to wonder though, if Ned knew he was probably going to get killed, was he scared at all? He didn't seem it on the outside, but he still might have been. It's sad though, that Albert Cluveau was kind of Jane's friend before he killed Ned. It's almost as if he had no conscience, or maybe he was just so scared of what would happen to him if he didn't do as he was asked that he did it to save himself. I just think that Jane should have meant more to him, considering that he didn't really have any other friends.

1 more post, 2 more comments.

First Jane Post

2005-05-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

And the week of organized procrastination begins...

I really like this book so far. Like we mentioned in the book talk, I think that Jane was really snobby at the beginning of the book. Even though she was young, she was too stubborn to accept help from anyone! It makes me wonder what would have happened if she had really waited patiently with all the people that tried to help her. I don't think Jane realizes, maybe not even when she's older, that she was extremely lucky to have run into the people that she did. I was actually kind of suprised when I found out that the story wasn't real. The introduction of the book and the way the book is written just makes it seem very real. It took me a while to get used to reading the specific way of speaking that is used in the book, but now it's gotten easier.

Two more posts...3 more comments (?)

Last Post!!

2005-04-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, last Call of the Wild post. By the way, you people who haven't posted on the book yet make it extremely challenging to make 5 decent comments, I went through every single blog trying to get all my comments in. >_<

Anyway, I thought that over all, this was one of the better books we've read this year. I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. It was well written and descriptive (sometimes a little too discriptive) and I loved the way the author gave every single dog and person a personality. I also loved how at those final moments when Buck was battling with his need to live in the wilderness and his love for John Thurston, the author was very in tune with Buck's thoughts, feelings, and all his senses. This was a pretty good book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a little gore.

Post Four

2005-04-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I'm kinda jumping around in the book with my posts here, but work with me peoples!

Anyway, when I was reading the part where Buck was pulling the sled for a bet, I really couldn't put the book down. Scary eh? I think it was this part in the book after Buck meets John Thurston that really spells out how much they love eachother for the reader. When Buck attacks the person in the bar for hurting John, I was actually reminded of all the bar fights in Shane.

One more post, two more comments.

Oh my...posty posty post...three

2005-04-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

I think that the primitive looking man that Buck keeps seeing in the fire is a caveman. It was really odd to read about the man going to sleep hanging from a tree though...I never knew people used to do that. I had to force myself not to think of George of the Jungle on the tree swinging bit though...

I really liked the way the author wrote about Buck's instincts coming alive in him though. It almost makes you wonder... If we all set our dogs free like that...would the react the same way? o.0

Oh, and Anne: "Mm mm mm uh huh uh huh"

2 more posts 4 more comments.

Oy biscuits. Blog #2

2005-04-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so, diving right in...

I really didn't like Hal, Charles and Mercedes. They not only seemed completely clueless, but ignorant of what the dogs really needed. Which obviously, eventually ended in their deaths. The one of the group that really bothered me was Mercedes though. She whined, and complained, and played the "damsel in distress" role. I "strongly dislike" it when people act like that. I realize that the conditions were bad, but really, it was her choice to go on the trip in the first place. Suck it up and walk woman! But I suppose that what karma's for...

Three more posts. 4 more comments.

First CotW Post

2005-04-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

Ehh and as the due date week gets under way...my well planned procrastination kicks into gear. *breathes* Okay, here we go...I'm done with the book by the way.

Okay, so at the beginning of the book, I thought it was sad that Buck got sold by his owner's gardener's helper, Manuel. But it was interesting to see how quickly Buck learned from the other huskies and adapted to the life he'd been dumped into. I have to admit, I was kinda happy when Buck overtook Spitz, just because Spitz was so overbearing to all the other dogs. I mean, I understand that that's the only way they gain their respect, but when you attack another dog just for the fun of it, that's just dumb. Anyway, new post coming tomorrow...

Last Shane Post!

2005-03-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

My last post on Shane! ^_^

Okay, so I would give this book an 8 out of 10. It was well written, though at some times, a little dull. Still, I can't help but relate to Bob's admiration of a person like Shane. I'm not saying a strange gunman who shows up at your house...I just mean someone older and more experienced who treats you as an equal. The author almost made you respect Shane, kind of like how some teachers manage to get respect from their students without having to demand it. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has a soft spot for mysterious characters with dark pasts.

2 comments and then I'm DONE!

And then there were four...

2005-03-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

Fourth post of...nifty postiness.

I really liked the end of this book. It kind of proves the theory that "everything happens for a reason". It's seems like Shane came to help the Starretts and the town through that one particularly tough time, and that's what he was there to do, and then pass on and do whatever ended coming up next. I still found the ending kind of sad though, because like I said before, Shane seems like an older sibling type person, so it was kind of like Bob was losing a sibling when Shane rode away.

1 more post 2 more comments

P-O-S-T #3

2005-03-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

Shane post three....

Once I'd gotten farther into the book, there was a lot of fighting. And honestly, these were the most exciting parts to me. I loved how descriptive the author was of the scenes in the writing. I think that if a movie director had to write out the way they were imagining a scene in their minds, they would go into the same amount of detail. What I find hard to imagine when reading are the speed of Shane's attacks and the fluidity of them. I think that those are things that would be a lot easier to see rather than imagine, because your brain in trying to take in so much detail as you read, you can't really imagine at that speed. Does anyone agree?

2 more posts 4 more comments....

Posty Posty

2005-03-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

*sigh* Shane post #2

At the part where Shane and Joe Starrett are hacking at the one tree stump, I was kind of confused as to what it symbolized. Shane said something about having to pay his debts. So I was thinking that maybe the both of them working at the stump together meant that they were both paying off debts they thought they owed to eachother. Maybe Shane though that if he chopped through the stump, his debts to the Starretts for keeping him for the night and to Joe for trusting him would be completely repaid and he could leave the next day, guilt free. What do you guys think?

3 more posts 4 more comments.

Shane

2005-03-20T19:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, as a result of Mr. Mueller's "subtle" hints, I'll post about Shane.

It seems like a fairly decent book so far, though I find the parts with fighting the most interesting. To me, Shane comes off as the older sibling that you look up to. You want to be like them, and you really care about them. I noticed though, that on the cover of the book, there's a picture of Shane on a horse with a gun at his side. But, in the book, he's never worn his gun. Does this happen later in the book, or was the illustrator just not completely true to the text?

There. One whooole post. 4 more to go >_<

Last Tom Post!!!

2005-02-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's my last Tom post for everyone.

I'd definitely give this book a 9/10. It kept your interest and had a decent ending that didn't completely leave you hanging for once. It was well written and true to it's characters. I especially like how factually based the writing is, for example, how the people talk in the book. I mean, just imagine having to type or write all of that out that way! I think everyone can even relate to Tom on some level. I mean, who never played imaginary games when they were little, or has exaggerated a story or two? While Tom is immature, I think everyone has the ability to be just as immature as he is. What do you guys think of the book?

4th Tom Post

2005-02-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm making my last two posts tonight.

So, going back, when I read about the way that Injun Joe died, I felt kind of bad for him. I mean he hadn't exactly been the best of people, but no one deserves to die the way he did. I mean, he had to drink drops of water just to be somewhat close to surviving! Also, I remember it saying in the book that he had chipped away at something, just for the sake of having something to do while he waited for his time to come. That's a pretty depressing thought. Does anyone agree with me? Or am I just being soft on Injun Joe here?

Third Tom Post

2005-02-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm back with my third Tom Post, though it's becoming increasingly hard to find a blog to actually comment in, since only a few people have been doing the posts they're supposed to.

Looking back on what I've read, Examination Evening sounds like our presentations in class all crammed into a showcase. I would hate to have to stand up in front of the entire town and try to recite things I'd had to memorize earlier. I had enough trouble with that as a kid during speech contests at Chinese School. This is basically the same thing. All of the presentations were okay though. I like how the book said that "the sermon of the least religious girl in school is always the longest and most relentlessly pious." It seems like people in general do that a lot. That being making up for a lack of something. Happy posting to everyone else! ^.^

So Behind!

2005-02-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

Eek, looks like a lot of us are way behind on posting! Luckily, I have finished Tom Sawyer as of now, but I'll hold off on my final review of the book until my last post, which will be coming Tuesday or Wednesday.

Okay, so leaving off where I finished in my last post, I personally think that the boys were stupid to go off and pretend to be "pirates". They may have thought of the reactions of their family and friends, but not thoroughly enough. I mean, they took pride in the fact that they were being missed and cried over, but didn't realize how it must have felt for everyone else thinking that they were dead. It makes me wonder if Joe or Huck ever felt guilty about what they'd done. Does anyone else agree? Or am I taking it too seriously?

First Semester Essay

2005-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

Okay, since Mr. Mueller said to...

Amanda Shih

Honors

January 24, 2005

First Semester Essay

In reading all the books so far required for honors humanities credit, I’ve learned a surprising amount of information about history. In fact, it seems like I learned far more than I originally thought, or probably even realize. While all three books varied in many ways, like genre, character view etc. each book seems to represent another leap farther forward in history. And each book seems to prove that while it may have taken a while, America has changed quite a bit since the time of Johnny Tremain. Sometimes changes were made for the better, sometimes for the worse, but either way, the books helped to lay out history before us in a way that was more understandable and more on our level of thinking.

The first book we read, Johnny Tremain, definitely touched back on things I had learned in my history classes both now and growing up, since I lived several years in Massachusetts. Compared to what I’ve learned, it was definitely an interesting way to think of how things could have been done back then. What I found most interesting was that while in history class, we focused mostly on the US Constitution and what came after that, and the book in turn, focused more on why it was written. I can only barely remember reading an explanation of what Whigs and Torys were in those times in my history textbooks, but in Johnny Tremain, not only did they go into detail about what Whigs and Torys were, the author went on explaining about the way that each group worked and thought. There always seemed to be a sort of secret language within each group, so to speak. It was as if every person knew everything and had a role in every plan. In our history classes, the Sons of Liberty etc. didn’t seem quite as close. Over all, I found that this book was surprisingly informative and interesting to read.

The second book we read, The Witch of Blackbird Pond managed to teach me more than Johnny Tremain had managed to, as I had never studied the Salem Witch Trials before. In our history class, we learned about the British leaving America when America had finally won the right to govern themselves. In The Witch of Blackbird Pond however, Matthew Wood gets extremely angry when Reverend Bulkeley questions Kit’s allegiance to King James and she asks how it was possible for a person not to be loyal to their King. The Reverend seemed to imply that living with Matthew Wood would place her loyalty in danger. I believe during this argument, Matthew also mentions “freedoms given to them in the charter”. We just recently learned in history that a charter was an official document saying that a certain piece of land belonged to the King or Queen, despite who actually lived there. This book was also an exciting read, though it would have been interesting to be getting into details about the Salem Witch Trials while we were still reading it.

The third book we have been assigned to read, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer places some diversity between the lives of people living in different states and towns during the same time period. It clearly proves that not every town was full of deeply religious people. Though I have not gotten very far into the book myself, it seems to tie nicely into what we have recently been learning in history about pirates in the Caribbean, when the boys are playing their pretend games. It also proves that America was slowly beginning to settle a little, though even in this book, going to Church seems like an extremely important thing. In history, we learned that in ancient Rome, going to Church was a way for people to forget about their horrible lives and a way for them to have something to believe in. I believe that the people in this book had the same general idea, though not so much as to forget any horrible life they may have. This book has so far been very enjoyable and I hope to learn just as much from this one as I did the other two.

In conclusion, the books we have read so far in this semester have only helped us understand the things we are learning in history better. My history teacher, Mr. Leander has said that most students find history boring because they can’t relate to it at all. I think that in reading these books, we are more able to place ourselves in these time periods because we’re reading from the point of view of someone close to our age. All the books so far have been both well written and informative, and I look forward to reading the other required books this year. Other people may or not have found these books interesting, but I’m sure the ones who did are the ones who enjoy the stories we hear in history more.

First Tom Post

2005-01-24T18:38:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I started reading Tom Sawyer a while ago, and once again, it seems far more interesting than Johnny Tremain at the moment. I've battled my way through to page 59, chapter 8 so far. (I really need to start reading both at school and at home.)

My first impression of the book was that the way people talk is definitely a bit different in this book, but obviously that has to do with the time period. I'm also wondering, how old is Tom? I'm thinking about our age possibly a little older, because he's old enough to have crushes on girls, but young enough to still fool around and act immature. But then again, he could also be younger than us, since he still plays pretending games and things like that. Anyone else have a guess? While Tom may not be the best role model for a kid, I have to admit that was a pretty smart way for him to get other people to do him work when he was supposed to be whitewashing that fence.

Anyway, I need to get more of my essay done so I can turn it in either tomorrow or Wednesday!

Last Post!

2005-01-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, hopefully I've learned my lesson. Procrastination = BAD

Like I mentioned in my last post, the book was great. I would give it a 9.5 out 10. It was very well written and grabbed your attention when you read. It also brought out a factor that everyone can connect to, and that is the feeling of not fitting in and being different. I think whether anyone admits it or not, everyone feels different in some way, which is why we understand Kit's thoughts and feelings so well. While this book definitely was a good and much more entertaining way to learn about history, I think they could have focused a little more on the Salem Witch Trials. It also could have tuned in on the fact that in that time period, it was mostly women that were considered "wicked". Isn't it true that the massive majority of recorded witch trials were held against women while only a small minority were against men? That's all I have to say on the subject. Now I just need to get The Adventures of Tom Sawyer!!!!

Amanda
xoxo

Done!

2005-01-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I finished the book over break, and I've just been procrastinating. Oops. So here are my last two, VERY HURRIED posts on WOBBP.

This book was great. I especially love the ending, because it's the kind that would make everyone happy. I'm, especially glad that Kit seems to have found a place where she feels like she belongs. It makes me wonder whether the Woods are relieved or possibly kind of sad about Kit leaving. I'd imagine it's a little bit of both, since there'll probably be less commotion around the house, which is both good and bad. I'd probably miss the exciting breaks in my monotonous life everytime Kit freaks someone out.

And thanks Mr. Mueller for the info on The Quakers and Quaker Oats. So do we just go to the library anytime to take the quiz?

Amanda
xoxox

A Quick Post Before I Leave the Country!!

2004-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm off to Taiwan tomorrow, but I figured I should do one more post before I go. I'm definitely way behind on reading (page 122) so I figure I'll just read it on the 13 1/2 hour plane flight.

What I was wondering is, what are "red ears"? I have a guess but I'm not quite sure. Does anyone know? Could anyone belive when Kit realized that Mercy loved John Holbrook? If you think about it, it does seem pretty perfect, but what do you think will happen? Or if you're already way ahead of me, what does happen?

I also thought that it's stupid that people are afraid of Hannah Tupper just because she's a Quaker. It's basically the same as being afraid of someone because you're Christian and they're Jewish or something. Also, another random thought, is there any connection between the Quakers back then and "Quaker Oats"?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Three More Posts To Go!

2004-12-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, so even though I'm on page 91, I'm going to back track a little and just say something. How stupid is it that John Holbrook acted all "scandalized" when he found out that Kit reads things other than the Bible. I also thought it was so stupid how William Ashby seems to have already decided that he's going to marry Kit, when they've barely said 5 competent words to eachother. It's pretty obvious that he only likes her because of her looks, which doesn't really seem like a good foundation for a happy marriage to me, especially since Kit is so open minded and outspoken, I highly doubt she would enjoy the dull life of a "member of high society" with nothing to do. Okay, off to comment on some people's blogs, man does this NEVER end?

Way Behind On Posting!!

2004-12-05T16:56:00.000-08:00

Blagh, I'm really behind on posting (compared to Lea anyway) even though I have been reading the book. So here's my first post on Witch of Blackbird Pond.

From what I've read so far, the book is a LOT more interesting than Johnny Tremain. It may just be because it's written from a girl's point of view, or maybe it's just written better than Johnny Tremain was. I think it's really stupid though, that if you can swim, you'd be considered a witch. I remember reading something once about how they used to make women accused of witchcraft walk into peat bogs or something, and if they sunk, it meant that they were witches. The thing is, you always sink when you walk into a peat bog, no matter who or what you are, so everyone died anyway.

I'm gonna do another post right after this one to catch up a little. Anyone else find this book more interesting than Johnny Tremain?

Last Johnny Post!!!!!!!

2004-11-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

Yay! This is my last post for Johnny Tremain. Even though my fourth one was done like a half-hour ago. A lot of people seem all depressed about how Johnny and Cilla never get together in the book. But I think they both know they love each other, but the middle of a revolutionary probably isn't the best time to profess your undying love to someone. lol. Not to mention, Johnny's what, 16? I thought it was the GIRLS that were supposed to be younger and marry some creepy old rich guy. Excuse the rambling. Anyone know when we take those tests on the books?

This Is What I Get....

2004-11-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

....for reading faster than I procrastinate. Okay, so I remember doing my history homework a couple weeks ago, and I remember reading something about the chair that George Washington was sitting on during the Constitutional Conventions. The textbook said that the chir he sat on had a rising sun and eye carved on the back of it. Isn't that Merchant Lyte's mark? I wonder if that's where the author got the idea. One more post and I think one more comment to go! I should probably hold off on reading Witch of Blackbird pond until then. :P

FINISHED!

2004-11-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

YAY! I finally finished the book! A lot of people say the end is dumb because it leaves you hanging. That part I agree with. I hate when books leave you hanging. But I liked the meaningful, kind of deep-like ending. I thought it was so sad when Rab died though. Do we know how to stop bleeding like that now? I'm guessing Rab had some internal bleeding or something. But I remember Mr. Leander saying something about how now, it's easier for people to kill other people, because you don't have to see them. Like, back in Johnny's time, you had to get pretty close to a person to kill them, but now you can kill someone from really far away. Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Kind of random actually. Two more posts to go! :P

First Post

2004-10-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I started reading Johnny Tremain a couple days ago, and it's actually pretty interesting. I like that it's written so that it's entertaining, but it's informative at the same time. I think what separates it from the boring history books that our parents (or at least mine) try to make us read is that it's written more on our level, and doesn't use so many confusing words, so that you can read it and actually take in the meaning of what the author's trying to say. Maybe that's why it won a Newbery Medal. Even though I'm only on page 65 right now, just after Johnny decides he's going to go to Merchant Lyte for help. I can't really decide whether that's a good idea or not yet. Post your thoughts if you care. ^_^

Diary of an Honor Student

Final Essay

Last Post!

Second Jane post

First Jane Post

Last Post!!

Post Four

Oh my...posty posty post...three

Oy biscuits. Blog #2

First CotW Post

Last Shane Post!

And then there were four...

P-O-S-T #3

Posty Posty

Shane

Last Tom Post!!!

4th Tom Post

Third Tom Post

So Behind!

First Semester Essay

First Tom Post

Last Post!

Done!

A Quick Post Before I Leave the Country!!

Three More Posts To Go!

Way Behind On Posting!!

Last Johnny Post!!!!!!!

This Is What I Get....

FINISHED!

More Reading

First Post