The Conclusion To My Blog

     In this year of blogging I have covered so many unique and interesting topics. I have analyzed plays, poetry, motifs, symbols, ancient literary works, conflict and a plethora of others. As I was reading over some of my old posts, I was struck by how much I have grown and matured, not just as a writer, but as an analyst. At the beginning of the school year I would write about the prompt provided and just skim the surface of the deeper literary meanings. I would go on about the obvious answers and explanations but didn't bother to dig deeper. Now, I am a much better writer and have improved significantly in the area of analyzing for literary meanings. One of the most memorable blogs I posted was one about the poem "Lobsters" by Howard Nemerov. This poem was brilliantly written and is very thought provoking. In my blog I went below the surface and tried to uncover the deeper meaning in the poem, aside from the obvious. I enjoyed this poem because it uses very well-worded imagery to capture the audience, but also has a darker, less known meaning. At first glance, this poem appears to be about lobsters sitting in a tank at the supermarket, waiting for their death, but that image is just a metaphor for our inevitable fate. Poetry has played a role in my interpreting skills as it demands quite a bit of interpretation.

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
Henry David Thoreau

This quote by Henry David Thoreau in his book "Walden" is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It captures the idea of motivation to accomplish really anything. It says that you should set high goals for yourself and they may seem unattainable, but goals be high. This means that something worth working toward will be difficult, but it will be worth it. This was true for my growth as a writer this year in english. I had a somewhat hazy goal of becoming a better writer and reader in 9th grade honors english. But after many hours of overloading my brain with endless lists of motifs, symbols, conflicts, diction, character development, figurative language, inagery, and poetic devices I can now say that i have accomplished my goal of becoming a better writer and reader. I now appreciate words more and understand the deeper meanings in works of literature. Thus concludes my 9th grade honor english blog!

Memorable Assignment

     This year of English has entailed so many assignments including blogs, word power quizzes, essays, papers, posters, and discussions. If I had to chose my favorite assignment of this entire year, it would be my Great Expectations essay. When I first started reading the book, I despised it and thought it was a complete waste of time. I didn't understand the language and thought it was too hard. But as I read further, I was amazed at how deep the novel really is. There were so many motifs, symbols, allusions, and below-the-surface meanings that I hadn't initially caught. This book was brilliantly written and I realized that reading this book stretched me as a reader and helped me expand my literary "horizons."
     The essay, likewise, was difficult at first. But it forced me to dig even deeper into the novel and uncover the themes and motifs. I labored over how I was going to effectively convey the theme of the entire novel in five paragraphs. I was surprised at how easily it flowed and came together. I am proud of the final product and of my final grade on this essay. The Great Expectations essay is definitely my favorite assignment of honors English.

Experience With Poetry

     Since I was a young child, I have loved poetry. I don't remember my very first experience with poetry, but I never remember not enjoying it. I started reading Shel Silverstein's poetry when I first learned to read and from then on was hooked. My dad purchased three of his poem books for my siblings and I. I would sit on his lap in a huge arm chair and giggle as he read aloud rhyming tales of deep-sea monsters and mischievous little children. My dad noticed my love for poetry and gave me a book of Robert Frost poems at the age of ten. While burying myself in this book I soon discovered another side of poetry, a side that didn't involve children's rhymes. I developed an passion for words and trying to unearth the deeper meaning in poems.
     In sixth grade, we did a poetry unit in my class. In this unit I was introduced to a multitude of emotions expressed through the words in a poem. We read many poems by Edgar Allen Poe and I recognized how specific word choice can convey such passionate emotions. I think one of my favorite parts of poetry is how it forces you to stop and really think about it. I love the imagery and figurative language used to describe thind. The beauty of poetry is that it is somewhat hazy in meaning yet can express such passion. At this point, I am still in love with poetry and am excited to learn how to better decode its hidden meanings.