Victor Frankenstein's Power

Many of the ideas presented in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein are fascinating when thought about.  She had many things to say about the purpose of life as well as other important aspects of humans and the choices we make in our life. One of my favorite quotes, said by Victor Frankenstein in chapter 4, states

"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it."

Victor says this right after his new discovery of the ability (power) to create life.  While he said in a way which was contemplating what his next step should be, which was to create the monster, we can apply it to anything else, including our own lives.  When we gain a form of power how will we use it? Will we use it to benefit others, or just for ourselves? Many people "hesitate" to act upon the power given them, rather than act upon it. Do you think this is harmful to people or beneficial to them? Overall it depends on the manner in which we use our power.

Chad L.

Blog Ten-For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls

So this isn't really team related, but I think it's an interesting subject to talk about. :)

For my table’s group project, we chose the play “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls,” a parody of The Glass Menagerie. I won’t deny, there were some really funny parts. However, while I was reading the play I felt kind of sad. I think it was the poor treatment of Lawrence that upset me. How did you guys feel when you were reading it? But overall, I LOVED the play. So if anyone would like to watch it, here’s the links to watch the play on Youtube...

For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls-Part One

For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls-Part Two

For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls-Part Three

For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls-Part Four

I think these videos ideally show the differences between written works and drama. In addition, it also shows the differences between a written and performed play. :)

-Shelby F.

Blog Nine-Reflecting on Blogging

Well, I just deleted everything I wrote regarding this topic. -___- So here it goes again...

As you can see, this is our first team blog in a little over a month. Yikes! Our team already reflected on our blog and that was the team goal we set on the reflection paper yesterday. But since we’re on the subject of blogs…

When we first started the year, I was really excited to do team blogs. I never had a teacher that cohesively intertwined our school work with the internet/blogging. (Web searches and research papers don’t count!) I was excited to share my ideas with other students via a blog. The first half of the semester our team was very consistent with our blogs. Every one completed the blog on time during the correct week and everything was running smoothly. Until college application deadlines came…

I cannot speak for the rest of my teammates, but when college app deadlines came around I started slacking in my school work. It wasn’t my choice and I really didn’t want to, but I had to prioritize. In English, for me, it was the blogs that were compromised. This blog I am writing right now was supposed to be for the first week of November. Oh goodness. I knew a B- wouldn’t look great on my transcripts and it might have prevented me from getting into a top school, but not even turning in the application would guarantee I would not get into that particular school. However, I don’t blame it all on college applications. Sometimes I just completely forgot to blog. (Taylor can vouch for me…). My memory is usually pretty good and I don’t forget things often, but this semester I just could not ever remember to blog. Even if I clearly wrote it in my planner, I would still forget. 

Reflecting on this semester’s blog, I have come to the conclusion that it is not best for me personally. I love our team blog and I love being able to express myself in a different way than I ever have before. However, I just cannot remember to do it on a consistent basis. Sheets of paper with essay prompts or other work are tangible reminders of the homework I have. Maybe I need a new way to remember to blog. Does anyone have any recommendations? What do you think about blogging for AP Lit?

-Shelby F.