Last Week of Class

The semester is rapidly coming to an end and with it so is our time in English 102. This semester I really enjoyed class with Sweeney and all of my classmates. I felt they all taught me a lot of new things and we had plenty of experiences. This week in class we peer reviewed our drafts for the final paper. Although my draft was fully completed I was able to get some key feedback from some of my classmates. Hopefully I will be able to use the comments to reconstruct my paper and receive a decent grade. Overall I enjoyed my time in Sweeney's class I wish all English would teach more Sweeney.

Taboo

Last week in class we played the game Taboo. It was a lot of fun for me and I imagine the entire class. It was a nice change and escape from doing regular class work. I was able to help lead my team to a tie game, even though i still think we should have won. Overall it was a fun class period and I think we should more activities like that in Sweeney's class.

Guest Speaker

Last week in class we had a guest speaker come and talk with the class about a organization that he is launching called GESA that would allow student at 2-year colleges to travel and study abroad. I was kind of neglectful at first but once he mentioned traveling and seeing the world while receiving an education drew my attention. The program seems to hopefully be able to offer a lot to students here at Richard Bland and other 2-year colleges. 

Poetry

At this point in the semester we are beginning to study poetry. Poetry is not my strongest subject but hopefully things will turn out better. So far the poems we have read have been enjoyable. The best so far have been Harlem by Langston Hughes and We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks. Hopefully the rest of the poetry section will be just as exciting.

Essay #2

Our second essay topic revolves around The Glass Menagerie, Sweeney give us a choice of topics to choose from all of which deal with a theme found in the story. For my essay I wrote about escaping reality. In the story all of the characters find some way to escape their current lives and dream of how their lives could be.

The Glass Menagerie

When we first started watching The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, I did not think I would enjoy it. It took me a while but i began to enjoy the movie. In the movie a mother her two children live in a little apartment. She lives here with her son Tom, and her daughter Laura. The mother Amanda, is quite annoying and always seems to be nagging at her children especially Tom. Tom puts up with his mother's behavior but he has had enough and is ready to leave his family behind although they are unaware of his intentions. Laura is a shy girl who is somewhat handicapped, she spends most of her time tending to her glass figurines. Amanda wishes the best for her children and she wants Tom to find a man for Laura whom she could marry and live comfortably with. Tom finds a man for Laura and invites him over for dinner where the two share a romantic moments but is cut short when he informs Laura that he is engaged.

Essay #1

For our first essay of the semester we were instructed to choose a character from the stories we read and write about how we can relate to them. For this essay i chose to write about the Indian from "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." from all of the stories that we read this semester i feel like i can relate to this story the most because the character deals with everyday problems that a lot of people face in their lives.

The Cask of Amontillado

The Cask of Amontillado is one of the better stories we read this semester. The story is written by Edgar Allen Poe. This is a tale of revenge, Montresor tells his friend Fortunato that he has purchased some wine that he believes to Amontillado but he needs Fortunato taste the wine to be sure. Montresor leads Fortunato deep into the Montresor family crypt where he then chains Fortunato in a cellar and walls him away to die. Montresor mentions that Fortunato had insulted him and that he could not be forgiven for this. The Amontillado was simply a trick to lead Fortunato to his own death.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

I found this story interesting mainly because of the title. In the story the main character/narrator is a Native American young man. He leaves his family behind on the reservations and moves to Seattle with his girlfriend. While in Seattle he feels as if he does fit in. He argues with his girlfriend who complains that he is a drunk. Also, he is harassed by the police for being in a neighborhood that is mainly white. When he moves back home to the reservation he finds that does not fit in at home either. In this story the Native American struggles with his race, he feels somewhat inferior because his skin color is not white. Essentially he is Tonto the Native American sidekick but, he wants to be the Lone Ranger and of this he is fighting with himself.

The Chrysanthemums

                                          

When first reading this story I had a difficult time understanding what was going on. The class discussion helped me to understand the story's plot and other aspects. The story's main character is Elisa. She is a lonely woman who is caught up in her life. She finds interest in a traveling stranger but she can't act on her interest because she is married. Her interest in the stranger probably comes from her lack of interest in her marriage. I think she is more interested in what her life would be like if she were a man.