Utterly Perfect Murder

I think the "Utterly Perfect Murder" will be something associated with a murder case about getting revenge on someone. There were several times when I wanted to get revenge on someone, especially my older sister. When I was young, my sister and I would always find ways to get back at each other whenever we fought. One time while our family was visiting another friend's house, I told the family's son who my sister had a crush on. I know, it sounds like a shallow and extremely mean thing to do, but I was only five at that time, so I still had that childish, immature side of me. At that time, I thought I had a valid reason to do so because that same morning, my sister had told my parents that I had dropped the cake we bought, when really BOTH of use were holding the cake box. I didn't get in much trouble, but a gentle scorn from my parents was enough to convince me to get revenge upon my sister. So that's what I did. I told the family's son who my sister liked and the outcome of it? It was terrible. I got into huge trouble by my parents who yelled at me and told me that what I did was a childish and mean thing to do. Honestly, I didn't think it was that big of a deal because he didn't even know who the crush was, but now that I think of it, it was a pretty pathetic thing to do.

Warm-up Blog

A couple years ago, I read this biography that was recommended by my violin teacher. It told the story about a young Korean violin prodigy. He was talented, but he did not like the violin. He had no interest in practicing, but he could never say the words "I want to quit." Noticing his discontent with violin, one day at his lesson, his teacher, Dorothy DeLay, asked him if he were to quit violin, what would he do instead. He answered that he wanted to draw. With that, he quit violin, but as the months passed by, he started to notice the emptiness in his life without music. I can relate to this because I also play the violin, so I can understand the feeling of why he would want to quit. There have been several times in my life where I also wanted to quit, but then I knew that if I were to, then I would feel this huge empty hole in my life. I think connections are important because it helps the reader understand what the character is dealing with.

P.S. He continued violin lessons and became really famous.

The key components of this introduction are:

-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God

-All things were made through him and without him, nothing would have been made

-In him was life and that life was the light of men

-The light shines in the darkness; but the darkness has not understood it

-The world did not recognize him

Here, the characters that will also appear later in the story are introduced. The setting is also described and we are given background information. This passage would be the exposition of the story.

1) When we read something, we don't really keep in mind about the structure of the story. We simply just read the text, but we don't understand the importance of the underlying elements of a story. The beginning is the exposition, then rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. The purpose of the exposition is to inform the readers about the plot, characters, setting and theme of the story. The rising action is what leads up to the climax. It builds suspense all the way up to the climactic finish. The highest point of tension is the climax. Following that is the falling action, where the after effects of the climax usually occur. Lastly, the resolution is the end of the story. At this point, the conflicts are resolved and ends with a conclusion.

2) The structure of a story is like the foundation of a building. It the foundation is weak, then the building will collapse and will only leave behind a huge mess to clean up after. If you build a strong foundation, you will have no worries of it collapsing. This goes the same for stories. If the structure of your story is weak and does not have strong components, your story will be surely shoved aside and ignored. Nonetheless, if your story is structured well and has strong elements, then it will stand out among others. The overall structure should have a smooth arc of rising action, climax and resolution. The plot should grab the reader’s interest and be strong enough the carry throughout the whole story. The readers should be able to easily identify the exposition, falling action, climate, etc. and the theme of the story.

3) "Marigolds" is an example of a "strong building." I noticed that it had smooth transitions from the exposition, to rising action, the climax, falling action and settled down well at the resolution. The plot was interesting and focused. Everything in the story was connected and led to the climax without any distractions. The characters were balanced and went along smoothly against the moving plot. The pace of the story was never too slow or fast. It did not drag or skip over parts. I was slightly confused at the beginning of who the narrator was, but I quickly caught on. The dialogue was clear and I could differentiate between who was speaking without being told.

4) I interpreted the theme as growing up follows a loss of innocence. It is shown in this story that compassion can only be understood when innocence is lost. In the beginning, the author explains that Lizabeth lives in a neighborhood full of poverty. Lizabeth is at an age where she is ready to give up her childish acts and become a young woman. However, in this time period (Great Depression), she is confused and cannot fully understand what is happening to her. At the climax of the story, she rips up Miss Lottie's marigolds, which marks her loss of innocence. She feels great compassion for Miss Lottie after realizing what she has done, as shown in the falling action. Although she shows her sincere remorse, Miss Lottie never plants marigolds again. Here, the theme is evident. It is at this moment that Lizabeth sees with the eyes of adulthood, compassion, and she knows that her childhood innocence is gone.

Personal Connections

1) In the first paragraph, Lizabeth only remembers the dirt roads and grassless yards when she thinks of that time and that place. When I think of my old home, I remember the beautiful flowers in our yard and the grayish-white bricked house.

2) In the second paragraph, Lizabeth always comes across this strange nostalgia when she thinks of that memory. For me, when I think of my old home I always (for some strange reason) remember our neighbor’s two black dogs. I hated them, so maybe that’s why I always think of them.

3) In the fourth paragraph, Lizabeth describes the poor conditions she lives in. Having no radios, few newspapers and no magazines and being called “culturally deprived.” These living conditions remind me of when I visited the “poor” side of Korea and the homes had no running water, barely any electricity and no technology of any kind except old half-broken T.V’s.

4) Miss Lottie planting marigolds reminds me of my neighbor who lived across the street. Everyday, I would see the middle-aged woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat planting flowers and watering them. She seemed to have great interest in her flowers and care for them greatly.

5) When Lizabeth pretends to act tough and show false courage when Joey asked her, “You scared, Lizabeth?” it reminded me of how I used to pretend to be all strong and stuff in front of my friends so I wouldn’t appear weak to them.

6) The children’s fear of Miss Lottie reminds me of the fear I used to have towards my great-grandmother. As weird as it sounds, my great-grandmother had this dull, slightly frightening countenance. I feel really bad now that I think of it, but I was very young at that time.

7) After destroying Miss Lottie’s flowers, Lizabeth’s feeling of shame reminds me of all like times I felt ashamed whenever I did something shameful.

8) When Lizabeth is bored in the summer, it reminds me a lot of how I get really bored in the summer because I repeat doing the same stuff over and over everyday.

9) At the end of the story when Lizabeth destroyed Miss Lottie’s marigolds out of her anger, it reminded me of how every time I’m angry, I always have something to rip up to calm my anger.

10) The overall setting of the story reminds me a lot of Detroit. The people live in poor conditions and there always seems to have this depressing atmosphere that lurks around.

Story

This summer is one that I'll never forget. One that will stay vivid in my memories and become a story to share with other people. For the first time in my life, I moved to South Korea. Being here several times before to visit, I wasn't completely clueless of the lifestyle here, but I never expected to be living in this land. It was a huge culture shock for me that I couldn't adapt to easily. The diverse culture, people, and location was just too different from America. I was used to big land, clean air, peaceful nights and limited traffic, whereas here, there was small and cramped land, polluted air, heavy traffic and the constant sounds of cars honking at night. While I did experience much of what was expected, awaiting me at Korea was also the very unexpected as well.

As I boarded the plane that was to take me seven-thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean to the southern tip of Korea, I felt a sense of mixed emotions. I was mainly curious. After all, I was living halfway around the globe from where I grew up. But aside from being just curious, I was fearful and anxious. Having being born and educated in the states my whole life, I had little knowledge of the Korean culture. What worried me the most was the language. Being a fluent English-speaker, my Korean was no way near the same level. I could understand and speak some of the language, but it was never to the level of a native speaker. I was fearful of appearing unconvincing to other people's eyes and having to put up with stares of shameful looks upon their faces.

The plane ride was a dreadful 14 hours. We took a shuttle bus which drove us to our new home: LG Metro City. This would be my new address I would use whenever I would have to fill out applications, mail letters, or invite friends over to. It would become a place where I would spend lonely nights doing my homework or studying for the SAT's.

That soon changed, however. This whole time, I was always thinking that I would attend Busan Foreign School. But hearing upon the poor academic level and college acceptance this, I knew I just could not trust this school to prepare me for college. Hearing that the international school in Daejon was a much better place, my family and I took a trip to the school. Getting a positive first impression of the school, I decided to enroll. However, if I wanted to enroll at this school, that meant that I had to stay in the dormitory.

The idea of staying at a dormitory for an entire school year didn't sound convincing one bit to me. Living together with my family for the past thirteen years, I couldn't just live separately from them so suddenly. A day before entering the dormitory, I cried my heart out. All the tears I've been hiding inside me this whole time finally poured out. I refused to leave. The thoughts of living alone and not being able to see my family for several weeks haunted me. After all, I was only thirteen. I was too young to live my own life. It was too late to turn back now, but I wished that I had never enrolled to this school. Education's important, but what can beat family?

The next morning we drove to Daejon. Normally I hated long car rides, but this time I hoped that it would never end. Each minute we were closer, I felt the tears building up inside me again. I managed to swallow them back and crack a weak smile. After finish registering and listening to the orientation, we unpacked my belongings in the dorm. I took a glimpse at the ticking clock and constantly reminded myself, only fifteen more minutes, only fifteen. Ten minutes had past and the unpacking was just about done. There was a silent pause among us, but a knock on the door had broken it. As I slowly opened the door, a woman I have never seen before smiled brightly. She introduced herself as Mrs. Midkiff, one of the dorm parents. After having a short greeting with the rest of my family, she notified us that I had to leave in 5 minutes for the student orientation. It was time.

I exchanged my final goodbyes and hugged each of my family members tightly. As I was in their arms, the tears started streaming slowly down my cheek. I wiped them with the sleeve of my already damp sweater and waved goodbye. The muscles of my fingers felt weak as I slowly waved my hand left and right. I took a step out of the room and smiled, saying goodbye for the last time.

The student orientation brightened up my mood a little bit. The games and humor lightened up the tense mood of mine and allowed me to laugh. I talked with many new people and even made new friends on the first day. I decided that dorm life wouldn’t be as terrible as I thought it would be. I would have many friends to replace the loneliness of being away from my family and even though I may be apart from them, I knew that they would always be with me in my heart.

Exposition: The first 4 paragraphs.

Rising Action: 5-6 paragraph

Climax: 7 paragraph

Falling Action: 8 paragraph

Resolution: 8 paragraph

The conflict in my story is that I had to enter the dormitory. I wasn't prepared, and I wasn't

ready, but for the sake of my education, I came to the conclusion that that would be best.

Classwork

2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Chamber-Secrets-Book/dp/0439554896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250346216&sr=8-1)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Prisoner-Azkaban-Book/dp/0439136369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250346274&sr=1-1)

The Outsiders (http://www.amazon.com/Outsiders-S-E-Hinton/dp/014038572X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250346512&sr=1-1)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Center-Earth-Enriched-Classic/dp/1416561463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250346566&sr=1-1)

Thomas Jefferson (http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-R-B-Bernstein/dp/0195181301/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250346752&sr=1-1)

3) My favorite genre is realistic fiction and fantasy. Opposite genres, but both very interesting and enjoyable to read. I like realistic fiction because I can relate to the book and make connections. I read fantasy for my enjoyment and pleasure. Some of my favorite authors include L.M Montgomery, Tamora Pierce, J.K Rowling and Judy Blume (when I was young).

4) When I read, I always like it to be quiet. I don't listen to music because it distracts me and I can't fully concentrate on what's going on in the story. I'm not much of a reader, but once I start a book that catches my attention, I get totally absorbed into it and I can't stop reading.

5) I'm not against books being made into movies. Actually, when a popular book is made into a movie, I look forward to watching it. I always know that the movies will never be better than books, but I still find myself anticipate the upcoming movie. The reader can't help but be curious about the movie. You can now visualize the characters or the story and see it in motion.

Open-Minded















Risk-takers















Caring















Thinkers

















Knowledgeable















Communicators

First Stab at Essential Questions "QW"

1) What are my current reading skills?
I wouldn't call myself an avid reader. In fact, I don't read that much. I like reading, but I just can't seem to find time to do it. Because I don't read many books, my current reading skill is probably about average. My goal this year is to read many books so that I can increase my reading skill.

2) How can I improve and grow as a reader?
The best way to become an improved reader is probably to read many books. Reading many books will allow you to become familiar with the context and also increase your vocabulary. Increased vocabulary and familiarity with different contexts is definitely an improvement.

3) What purpose can literature serve in my life?
If literature were to have not exist, humans would not be as learned and mature. Being able to read, to express and communicate is a basic skill humans need. Literature gives us the gift to read, learn and understand.

4) What resources can I find in the library that will help me in this course and other courses?
Since English is a very broad topic, I can find a wide variety of books. Grammar books, writing skill books, vocabulary books and anything that pertains to the English language will help me in this course.