Final Writing test

Trifles

This is the story of a death which circumstances are unclear that takes place in the early 1900.It is written by a woman, Susan Glaspell, whom concealed her identity when publishing this story. Why did the author hide her identity is clear to me, at the time women's rights were a controversial subject , therefore a woman writer would have been dismissed or ignored. That brings me to the realisation that the story is a metaphor for male and female relationships and that they affect happiness and lives, at that time.


It is the death of John Wright that is in question, and the fact that he’s wife did not hear him scream, gasp, or anything we he died by the rope around his neck next to her in their bed. Two separate parties observed the crime scene and searched for clues; one group was the men; the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mister Hale. The other was a group of two women only know by their married names; Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters. The women were presented as quite meticulous and emotional, and the men seem to refute everything the wives say by being unimportant, thus trifles. The clues were mostly notice and disguised be the ladies when the men were away looking. They new he troubles of Mr. and Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hale expressed an understanding of Mrs. Wright’s struggles. During the investigation the women where able to understand implicities, suffering that the men simply overlooked. The symbolism in the story is irrefutable; the canary that Mrs. Wright loved so had been killed is neck had been rung. Mr. Wright had taking all of her little joys away; the woman no longer sang, or wore pretty closes and did not go out anymore. She had, the women thought, put up with many things. In my interpretation, the sinning bird was just like Mrs. Wright, all it wanted was a little freedom but it was cooped up in its cage, also it seems that Mr. Wright is the cause of the bird’s death, “the last straw” I would say for Mrs. Wright. What happened next, a result of Mr. Wright’s controlling habits that took a toll on his wife’s mind threw the years. He killed her, therefore she returned the action. The women did not directly express this fact but, in my opinion, there comprehension of each other suffering threw there own relationships with their husbands seems to show the truth that neither Mrs. Peters or Mrs. Hale dare mention.

I believe that the women lives, lives that did not seem their own, were determined by the lives the husband desired. In the early twentieth century relationship affected, lives and happiness but also, status, credibility, and the future. Perhaps it is has a feminist voice to it , but the story is full of symbolism , twist and turns , and is very interesting no matter how you interpret it.

491 words

Final writing test : Dec. 8th 2008

Formative work 3

Writing Journal

A short story by Shirley Jackson

published in 1948

The story takes place in a small American farming town.It shows contemporary life with a dark barbaric ritual that the small town performs known as "the lottery". The ritual takes place as a game. They assemble on June 27th of each year, each family draws a piece of paper , one of them has a black spot on it which means that the person in the piece of paper with the black spot on it again shall be stoned, as per tradition. The villagers perform this because since they can allremember ,because it should guaranty a good harvest that is soon to come. Who would it be this time? No one new. That year it was Mrs. Hutchinson-a simple woman-whom never saw it coming. They never think it will be them. Even her children and husband participated in her stoning. How could they do that to her?

I couldn't help wondering if Mrs. Hutchinson's family care more about the "tradition" then there mother and wife, and how could they just murder her without remorse or a second thought? Did they justify their actions by telling themselves ; "We have always done as such, and everyone always participates!" Maybe they decided that tradition and common well being is more important than an individual life, or could it just be generational brain washing?

Some points of view explain that the whole story is a metaphor for the author's , Shirley Jackson, own life in which she considered herself as an outsider. I considered this point of view and realized that symbolism is scattered threw out the story. For instance ; the man in charge of the ritual is Mr. Summers, the season in which the ritual takes place, and he is described as a jovial man,strange for the leader of such a dark ritual. Also, there is the name of the postman ,who helps during the precedure; Mr. Graves, a dark name which seems to underline a pending death.

In conclusion, Shirley Jacksonshows us a fictional story with realistic judgment of todays society. I interpret it as a vulgurization of the way silly outdated traditions, rituals, and beliefs, still control our lives, although they are obviosly either wrong or inapplicable in modern times. Perhaps the author was just frustrated with society or her externalized life or just wanted to "stir up" peoples thoughts for once. I shall never really know what she wanted to state, I guess. All I can say is that I enjoyed Shirley Jackon's short, and disturbing story.

words:407

Mid-term writing test: "The story of an hour"- corrected

Part A. Short-answer questions. 40%
1.What is Louise Mallard’s opinion of marriage? Indicate the line or lines that suggest it?
She seems to think of marriage as a forced obligation that had been imposed on her and others also. The lines that suggest it :
-"There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself."(paragraph 12-line1)
-"There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow creature."(praragraph 12-line2)
2.Why does Louise Mallard suddenly stop crying? Indicate the place in the text?
Louise stops crying when she begins to reflect upon the death of her husband and the new given freedom that she receives, fearfully. Around the fourth and fifth paragraph she becomes physically exhausted, and glances at the window in a sort of halt of her very thought.
4.How does Louise’s sister and his friend, Richards, feel about the Mallard’s marriage? They don't have a specific opinion that is mention
ed in the text. By my interpretation of the story; I believe that they think that the Mallard's are very much in love; therefore, they took precaution in the way they announced the death of Bently to his wife, and not only because of her fragile heart,but in the time period in which the text is writing, persons marriage is their business and no one elses.
5.Why is there so much description of what is outside the window when Louise is alone in her room?
Because of Louise's physical and mental exhaustion:"[...]suspense of intelligent thought[...]". She seems to think of nothing and simply observes the world around here through the window. All the sites and sounds that she could she. Almost waiting for what was to come for her without being able to imagine life ahead during those few moments of quiet exhaustion.

Part B. Development question. 60%
I have recently read a short story, « The Story of An Hour », by Kate Chopin; and I have disclosed an opinion about certain aspects of the story. I believe that the message of the story, or the moral of the story, is that we should all take a moment to evaluate, and think, before we make a decision; in a relationship and/or situation, therefore the way we treat others and our selves can make a world of difference in our life. In the fallowing paragraph I shall discuss; the ironic and marriage/relationship aspects of the text.

There are many elements of irony in the text; there is a difference between the result and the expected one. For example in the third paragraph: “she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance.” She did not react as others would have been know to by refusing to believe the event that has happened; instead, she begins to cry suddenly without saying a word when the news is first announced to her. Fallowing that, she ironically feels joy through the death of her husband; therefore she once again does not fallow the normal actions that would be accepted of her as a wife. Like in this sentence: “She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her.” Chopin uses irony to establish her message of self assertion and reflection, in a subtle and under lined manner.

The story theme is mostly; relationship and marriage, love and hate, and submission and assertion. Chopin expresses her opinion on those subjects in a strong minded; yet, subtle way throughout the story. She expresses a reluctance to marriage because during that period of time. It was more about anything else but love; therefore, unfulfilling. Also she seems to speak of love not being the only driver of women, although, during that time, women where considered as weak emotional beings. Paragraph 13: “What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” Chopin was clearly sending a message trough her writing.

Finally what Kate Chopin was trying to say was that the way we do things , reflect, observe and even love makes or breaks everything in our lives.

403 words

Cat on a hot tin roof: November 11,12,13

1. Where and when does the story take place? Mississipi,
2.Who are the characters? Maggie and Brick
3.What is their relationship? Married
4.What is the mood of the scene? Tense
5.What and whom are they talking about? Big daddy and the birthday party down stairs for Big daddy.

Questions on Study Guide

Context: Write short answers.
1-What kind of family did Tennessee Williams (TW) have? Dysfunctional: Sister was schizophrenic. Father was a drunkard and a gambler.
2-Where does his first name come from? A college roomate.
3-What is the Pulitzer Prize? Top american award worth $ 5000 to $ 10 000 , for plays , novels, music, etc.
4-How was the original play changed for both Broadway and the cinema?
5-How did TW die? Brodway changed act 3 for better resolution;and the movie director took out references to bricks homosexuality.
6-What was the new American drama that TW represented? ??

Cat Quiz: How’s your memory?
1. What is Gooper's occupation? He is a corporate lawyer
2. What is the name of Skipper and Brick's pro football team? The Dixie Stars
3. What happened to Big Daddy in Morocco? He was propositioned by a child prostitute
4. What body part do Mae's children apparently lack? Necks
5. What did Maggie buy Big Daddy for his birthday? A robe
6. Who is described as a cat at some point in the play? Maggie
7. Daddy believes that he suffers from which of the following? A spastic colon
8. What is the ostensible object of Brick's disgust? Mendacity
9. Where did Maggie and Brick go to school? Old Miss
10. How old is Big Daddy? Sixty-five
11. Who was a cotton carnival queen? Mae
12. What do the children sing to Big Daddy? Skinamarinka-dinka-dink
13. What is Big Daddy's trademark word? Crap
14. What is Big Mama's name? Ida
15. What were the names of the plantation's previous owners?

16. How many official versions of Cat are in circulation? Three
17. Who directed the premiere of Cat? Elia Kazan
18. When did Brick start drinking? When Skipper died
19. Who confronted Skipper on his love for Brick? Maggie
20. Who revealed this love to Brick? Skipper
21. How does Maggie get Brick to sleep with her? She locks up his liquor
22. Who tells Big Daddy that he is dying? Brick
23.Who does Big Mama jostle in her lap? Reverend Tooker
24. Who keeps calling from Memphis? Sally
25. Who sleeps next to Maggie and Brick's room? Mae and Gooper

formative work 2 : Due october 24- course 3&4

#3-Grammar skills for writing 1: Punctuation in sentences.

General interest:4\10
I wasn't interested in the lesson at first because I though that I would not learn anything , its just punctuation, easy right ?

Time: i lost count!
It took me a really long time! It was so full of multiple questions and texts to analyze, ouf!

Score:78%, not bad!
I was surprise, but at the same time not, at first I was doing very well the first few sections of questions where easy, at the end I just got really tired of all the questions and started getting lazy with my answers. Also the farther I got into this course the harder it got!

Comments:
I actually learned a lot more then I expected, there is more then just simple punctuation; capitalization lessons are present and more words take them then you think . Didn't really enjoy it but appreciated its contents.

#4-Grammar skills for writing 3:Subjects/verbs/pronouns.
General interest: 3\ 5
Gesse Louise! That was one heck of a boring course...and really hard to , well I guess grammar cant always be fun , I meen it is grammar after all!

Time: Darn it!
Almost as long as the last one ....But even more boring to be honest!

Score: 61% >_<
I am really not impressed with my self but I already knew that I needed to work on my grammar skills.

Comments:
Not very captivating in my opinion but I learned a few things. I guess practice makes perfect!

Writing journal 1 : "The Tell-Tale Heart"

During these first few weeks we've read tree, in my opinion, very interesting short stories; "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Lady or the Tiger?" and "The Nightingale and the Rose". But out of the tree stories, I enjoyed significantly more The Tell-Tale Heart written by Edgar Allen Poe.

The story is about a mad man who does not believe that he is mad. He is in an asylum and tells his story about how he got there; so that we may be the judge of he's madness. It all starts with the old man with whom he lived. He speaks fondly of the old man and says he never meant to do him any harm, however, he murdered him. It seems to be because of the eye, the old man's "milky white" eye, for which he developed an unhealthy obsession. He felt watch by "the eye". So, he began to watch the old man, in the doorway at midnight, during his sleep for a full week. And on the eight night, he entered the room, but this time the old man awoke, but could not see because of the darkness in the room and ask who was there. No answer. Terror filed the old man and his heart beet faster as if he new the other man was there. The mad man leaps on him, throws him to the floor, and suffocates him under the heavy bed. Relived he dismembers the body and places it under the floor planks in that very room. A knock on the door. He answers to two police officers who received a complaint about a scream. Well convincing the officers that there is no problem and that the old man is simply away on business, he invites them in for tea as they take a look around. The officers find everything normal, but the man begins to hear the old mans heart beat pounding in his head. Suddenly he admits to the whole crime and shows them were the body lies.

The writing style and the perspective that the author gives us is very interesting and I recommend the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" the most out of the tree short stories. In my opinion it is the most captivating out of all of them.

Thesis statement

The thesis statement.

What is it exactly and how to use it?

Well im going to try and explain that.

Sometimes in writing or reading the authour or reader developpes a point of view about the subject at hand. But it can take a little bit of persuasion to convince people that what you are defending is important and/or logical. That when the thesis statement comes in to play.

A thesis statement is a way to organise a text so that you can convince effectively the reader or in most cases your teacher. You must organise the text in the fallowing way; introduction of the topic that you are defending and give your point of view. Those few lines make up your thesis statement that will be a kind of summary of the view that you will be defending in the rest of the text.

Here is a example of a thesis statement:

There are some negative and positive benifits to the use of Herbal Tea Supplements.

Because Herbal Tea Supplements promotes rapid weight loss that seems to results in the loss of muscle and body weight, it poses a potential danger to customers.

Formative work-1:course 1 & 2

#1-Grammar practice exercice 1-2,

General intrest: 4/10
I'm not very interested in the course but I have to do it. Personnaly I don't appreciate the cours, but I find it hard to find a online cours that I do enjoy. Maybe I should explore more next time before just choosing a cours at random.

Time:
The time given was unlimited but I finished it in an hour or a little more , there was only fourty questions per exercice .I'm not sure how difficult it is suppose to be, but it is a good way to improve the way I correct my own texts.

Score: 62% :(
I got a pretty low score in it only 62 %, in punctuation and capitalisation I was bad. But in the adverbs,verbs,and pronouns and verb selection, I did very well. I don't think I learned much but my score is proof that I do need a lot more practice in my grammar more exercices will surely help!

Comments:
I was a little disapointed with the cours because they don't give you any explaination of why your anwser is wrong. When i revised my exercice they simply show the anwser I gave and then the correct one. It seems like i'm missing out on a big part of the cours, getting better by learning from my mistakes.


#2-Essay writing pratice:Informative

General interest:6/10
I found the fact that i could pratice my essay writing interesting, but not as fun as the essay suject that we are presented with in class or in writing journal.

Time
The time given was about an hour and a half but it took me maybe thirty minutes, because they did not give a minimum or maximum of words to write.

Score:3/6
I think a did fine, considering that the subject of the text was "Writing can be taught". But I wrote what I though was good information. Witch was , apperently, not enough.

Comments
Over all, I think it was a good evaluation for an informative writing essay, but they probably could have found a more inspiring subject for the texte.

Gains profile of Audrey-Anne

Audrey-Anne studies at St-Laurent Cegep in the" Arts et lettre (communications)" program.

In her short term, her goal is to possibly travel and see the world a little bit , and mid-term she hopes to finish succesfuly her courses at St-Laurent and get her DEC so she can go on to university and continue in communication . Long term, Audrey-Anne hopes to work in what she loves, communication.

She is Proud to have made it all the way to cegep St-Laurent, iveen if it is far from her home town in the Laurentiens.

Mostly she likes to see shows, go out and have a good time , and meet people. She has a intriquet network made up of her familly and her friends in the Laurentiens, and also her 2 dogs.

She is a skillful team worker, socialisation is what she does best. Obviously, that is why she likes communication so much, because shes good at it.