Thursday, March 27, 2014

Quarter 3 Blog # 4

1. Love After Love
Derek Walcott, St. Lucia
The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

This poem to me means that it is important to love yourself. The poet is describing a typical scene of greeting a friend and eating with them. Except in this situation the poet is describing you doing these things with yourself. He is saying that we must look back on life and realize how important the past experiences have been. You will love yourself afterwards and deserve to reward yourself once in a while. Reflect on your life and learn to love yourself again. This poem has a pretty deep meaning and the author does a good job portraying it.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Quarter 3 Blog#3 The Hobbit

The Hobbit: Book and Movie Comparison

I've read The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkein a few times over the years. I have also seen both the movies that are based on the book. The movies have mostly stayed the same with the book except for a few changes. The most changes I have seen were in the most recent movie. One major change they added to the movie was adding the characters Tauriel and Legolas. These characters are two elves in Mirkwood that are made up in the movie. They help Bilbo and the dwarves escape Mirkwood and fight off the goblins. I think he added these characters to contribute to the plot so he could make another movie out of the book. Another change that I noticed is the talking eagles that flew Bilbo and the dwarves to safety. In the book, the eagles spoke to them and were friendly. In the movie the eagles did not speak, but they still flew them to safety. I also noticed that the goblins were more persistent in the movie. The goblins still followed Bilbo and his band of dwarves, but you saw more of it in the movie. I think the director did this to include more action in the movie. The last major change I noticed is in the first movie. The character Radagast plays an important role in the movie and he is doesn't do much at all in the book. These changes are small and the movie stays with the plot pretty well. I enjoyed both of these movies and I can not wait to see the third one.

A Walk: Blog #2 Quarter 3

A Walk: Blog #2 Quarter 3

4. A Walk
~Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemia/Austria
My eyes already touch the sunny hill.
going far ahead of the road I have begun.
So we are grasped by what we cannot grasp;;
it has inner light, even from a distance-­
and charges us, even if we do not reach it,
into something else, which, hardly sensing it,
we already are;; a gesture waves us on
answering our own wave...
but what we feel is the wind in our faces.


This poem uses a lot of imagery, and it uses nature to describe its meaning. I think this poem is trying to describe life as we age/grow physically and mentally. We start out uncertain of the road ahead, and we are confused on where we are headed. In life we are motivated to do something, and well all have some type of motivation to become the person we want to be. This is referring to the "inner light" mentioned in the poem.  Even if we do not reach this inner light or main goal, we are still living for am important purpose. We may not notice this purpose, but eventually in life we will see our calling and notice our true purpose in life. This is my interpretation of "A Walk". I think the poet did a great job in trying to give the reader a message from his poem. This really speak to me, and it is a powerful poem.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Why did Li Mu Bai have such a strong desire to teach Jen?

Li Mu Bai is impressed by Jen's ability to teach herself, and he wants to teach her more of what her know to further develop her skills. He fights her and sees that she is a skilled warrior, but she needs guidance. Li Mu Bai notices that Jen values the sword more than her skill set. He wants to teach her that being a good warrior is not in the sword, but it is in the person. He does this when he throws Green Destiny in the river. He wants to show Jen that she does not need the sword. She goes after it and almost drowns trying to get it. Jen's only guidance was Jade Fox, and Li Mu Bai wants to give her a better influence. Jen is too young and inexperienced to accept Li Mu Bai's teachings. He wants to give her the knowledge and experience for her to become as great as he is.