Socratic Seminar

Hey guys, here is another great post on the socratic seminar that we had in our english class:

I agree that the book is starting to pick up relating to plot, but it was pretty slow in the beginning
I agree with the fact that he should turn Wesley in but it must be the hardest decision to make. It is a family member and he is sending him to jail. I think it is different in their case though. Frank and Wesley never got along so I can’t relate to them. I get along with my brother and I would never send him to prison; however, if I didn’t get along with my brother, maybe it would do him some good
I agree with Erick that all the books in our curriculum are slow in the beginning, but you just have to keep reading and wait it out and then you will realize that the book is worth reading
I think that a major image would be the gun. In the beginning, David explained the gun into major detail, so I expected something big will happen having to do with the gun and something did. David is like 12 and he shot the gun. He was shooting birds.

Montana 1948!

What are the major themes in Montana 1948?

One of the main themes in Montana 1948 is sibling rivalry. The novel illustrates how sibling rivalry can result in problems among the family members. For example, when Uncle Frank came over to the house, Wesley knew that something was going to go wrong because he and his brother never got along. “Brothers naturally invite comparison, and when comparisons were made between those two, my father was bound to suffer.” (Montana 1948) Frank was always the favored child in the family; therefore, Wesley hated whenever he was compared to him. Wesley had good looks; however, Frank had good looks, a built body, and athletic ability that Wesley never had. The tension between the brothers was carried through the years even up to when they were adults. This demonstrates how sibling rivalry can become a large problem within families.

Sibling rivalry is prevalent in all ages. What are tactics to stop sibling rivalry? Are those tactics seen in our literature?

Sibling rivalry can result in problems among family members; however, there are ways to control it. One way to control is to not let the situation get out of hand. Siblings should make sure that no one would get angry to a point where they can’t control the outcome. Another way to deal with the rivalry is to remember that they are family and the only family you have. It is not worth it to fight when you love each other. For example, “Genevieve and I are brother and sister, so most of the time we try to do our best and work things out,” says Max. (as stated in Henry, 2008) The novel, Montana 1948, illustrates how sibling rivalry can result in problems among the family members. For example, when Uncle Frank came over to the house, Wesley knew that something was going to go wrong because he and his brother never got along. “Brothers naturally invite comparison, and when comparisons were made between those two, my father was bound to suffer.” (Montana 1948) Frank was always the favored child in the family; therefore, Wesley hated whenever he was compared to him. Wesley had good looks; however, Frank had good looks, a built body, and athletic ability that Wesley never had. Even though they used to compete with each other, they eventually grew out of it. They used the tactic of outgrowing jealousy and developing maturity when it came to those kinds of things.

Yay, my annotated bibliography for the article on Native Americans!

Grant, Steve. "Images In Stone: All Over New England Native Americans Left Clues
Called Petroglyphs." 27 Apr. 2008. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Pascack Hills
HS Lib., Montvale NJ. 29 Apr. 2008 . In
this article, Steve Grant talks about how Native Americans left symbols and
clues for people today. The rock carvings done by Native Americans were the
"closest thing to the written word." Grant explains how he made
his way by the Connecticut River near Bellow Falls, Vermont. He finds
petroglyphs and explains deciphering them. The author discusses how the
symbols represent something very important in our history, unlike the
e-mails and text messages we use today. "He says a petroglyph is a
window into a long-ago culture." Grant explains how Edward J. Lenik,
archeologist from New Jersey, believes that petroglyphs are amazing to tell
Native Americans thoughts and beliefs.

Hi everyone. Today, this post is about guilt. Guilt can mess with a person's mind. I know it has messed with mine. An example of someone who did something terrible and felt guilty about would be a character on the hit TV show One Tree Hill. In season 3, he killed his brother before he even knew whether his brother was responsible for what had happened to Dan. Well...Dan started to feel so guilty that he killed his own brother. Some people, (other characters on the show), found out that he killed him, but didn't say anthing to the police because they didn't have proof, but because Dan felt so guilty for what he did, he turned himself in! He would rather be in jail for years and years then live his life in pure guilt and regret. Guilt has also played tricks on me. When I was six years old, I broke my mom's favortie vase, which was her great-grandmother's. (meaning it was very important to her.) I took the vase and put it back together with a glue stick, (I was six, what do you expect), and I put it back where is was. I didn't tell my mom or anyone for that matter. After a couple of days, I started to feel so guilty for what I did and how my upset my mom would be if she found it like that instead of me telling her. I knew she would want me to be honest. I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I told her the truth.
In the shakespeare play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth started to feel very guilty after forcing her husband to kill King Duncan and the other people he killed. It actually came to the point where she began to sleep-walk and dream about the blood on her hands from the murder scene. The plot drastically changed when she was found dead. She most likely commited suicide though we are not know for sure. But if she did commit suicide, it was because of the guilt the murders were putting on her.

Hello world. Time for another intellectual, yet interesting post. I believe in feminism. In today's world, feminism is important to many other women as well; however, it is not as big an issue as it was in the late 1900's. The article that I read stated that many of the battles for women's rights that they were fighting for, have already been won (Is Feminism Dead?, 2000). But the real question is do women get treated equally even though those battles have been won? The answer or should I say answers would be yes and no. Women do get treated equally in some cases, such as when it comes to jobs. An example of that would be one of the candidates in the upcoming presidential election, Hilary Clinton; she has this amazing job in which many men and women would love to have. However, when it comes to cleaning and cooking, all of a sudden we have to throw the apron on. This is a reason why many women were fighting for equality. Who says women have to be the ones to do everything around the house? There are many women in the world who are great role models for young girls and women. One great role model would be Avril Lavigne. She is one of the few celebrities who you never hear about in the daily tabloids. She keeps her personal life to herself, unlike many other people such as Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Avril also worked hard to get where she is today. She worked amazingly hard and today she is happily married and has a great career. I think that Lady Macbeth is a good role model because she is a strong person and stands for what she thinks is right. She also influences people more than other women would especially in that time period.

Hey everyone! Today in class, we had a Socratic Seminar, which is where we talk all together about the book that we are currently reading. In today’s seminar we first talked about Lady Macbeth and whether she is a good role model or not. I agree that Lady Macbeth is a good role model because she is a strong person and she influences other people more than other women would in that time period
I think that Paris Hilton is a good role model regarding feminism and “girl power;” however, the things that she does are very influencing and not in a good way. She does very stupid things. She does believe in being equal when it comes to men and women, which I agree with.
I agree with the fact that a good role model in today’s world would be anyone who has worked for what they have today and didn’t get it handed to them. I agree that they should have accomplishments that brought them where they are today as well.
I sort of feel bad for Macbeth. I agree with Taylor that he was manipulated into doing the things he did such as the murders. I do agree with Ed as well because everything he did was his fault; he could have said no to Lady Macbeth and not done the things he did.
I would not want to know my future because if I didn’t like it, it would try to change it. I agree with Brian because if someone told me when I was going to die, I would be living my entire life in fear of that day.

Hey everyone. I'm back with another awesome post. Do good people do bad things? This is an amazing question; however, it makes you think. Britney Spears is an example of someone who made some...ok a lot of bad choices in her life and she screwed herself over because of it. She started doing drugs and then she went and got herself pregnant. It was mostly stress that brought her to do the drugs. I'm not really sure what exactly she was thinking when she met Kevin Federline though. I think that stress is a big reason why people, not only Britney, do drugs. It, temporarily, takes the pain away.
Now to Macbeth once again. Macbeth did make some pretty bad choices so far. For starters, he killed the king...the king! The main reason that Macbeth changed as a good person to make this decision was because of his wife. Lady Macbeth is a pretty intimidating person. She called her husband a coward and said that he was too weak to do this "deed." Being called a wimp by a girl is harsh, and Macbeth was called a coward by his wife! He wanted to prove that he could accomplish this. He reason was justifiable. He wanted to become stronger mentally like his wife.