Final Blog: Course Reflection

     When no one notices how fast the time flies, we are all already at the end of sophomore year. I still remember how I difficultly wrote Blog Post at the beginning of the year and how I did not like reading books. Recall back to what I have learned in our English class, I realized that I did learn a lot of things. 

     Most of what I have learned were from reading books. We read six books total this year in class. Those books were all different kind of types which allowed us to have different reading experiences. We had tests and quizzes while we were reading the book. Although we do not like them, they actually helped us to understand those books better. My favorite books among them were "Gathering Pearls" and "We Were Liars". "Gathering Pearls" created a resonance inside me, because I had similar experience with Sookan who was the narrator in the book. I could feel her emotional change in the way she told us her stories in America. Also, I love her characteristics of insistence and endurance. While I was reading, those good quality of Sookan made me think about myself. I learned from it as well. "We Were Liars", I will say, gave me an exciting experience of being a "detective". Its mysterious plots led me to make a lot of hypothesis about the ending. It also emphasis the importance of the family value. I love my family even more after I finish this book. 

     I think this year, the most prominent accomplishment for me is reading books. I didn't really like read books in English before. I had a difficult time reading it because I always had to search so many strange words, translate the sentence into Chinese and then figure out the connection between all these sentences. I could spend one hour only read three or four pages. Reading was really a pain of my life in school. However, I got a lot better by reading so many books this year. I start to read faster and really enjoy the story which the book is telling. There are also things I need to improve on, especially in writing and speaking. I feel writing can express my ideas or opinions better compare to speaking. When I speak, I feel I could not find the best word to describe my thoughts and what I think doesn't turn out to be the result I expect before. While I am writing, I have more time to put my thoughts in a logical way and rearrange my sentences. So the skill of speaking might be one thing that I really need to put efforts into. However, my writing has some problems as well. Although I can express my ideas pretty well when I write things, I have so many grammar mistakes that I don't even realize. I really don't know what the effective ways are, but I'm going to set it as a long time working goals for next year.

     In all words, all the knowledge I learned in our English class this year is not just learning from what our English teacher teaches to us, but a big part of the knowledge is from those books I read. I will continue my reading and try to improve my skills in both writing and reading. Hopefully, next year at this time, I can say I achieve my goals and feel confident in English. 

Bone Chiller: The Best Play Ever

     "Bone Chiller" is a show which was written by Monk Ferris. It combines both comedy and murder mysteries all together. It brought audience both laughs and surprises in the past few days in our school's Black Box Theater. I'm really glad I was able to see this show and really enjoyed it. 

     This show started with people coming on to the stage which was inside a house. They were there because they wanted to figure out Josiah Travers' will and who would eventually get his money. These people are not just family members, but also some odd people who didn't even have relationship with Josiah. Travers' will finally was revealed to those people and surprisingly, it was a puzzle containing pictures, symbols and words in it. Jerry led the way to try to solve the puzzle but they all were stuck in some very important sentences. They know that Travers' death was not a suicide but a murder, and his will refer that the murderer was among the people in the room. However, Mauve, the butler seemed to know who the murderer of Travers was, but then she was murdered after a sudden off of light. At the time people there were still trying to solve the puzzle, another murder happened on the cook, Lucretia. The murderer tried twice to kill Pippi and Jerry but failed. Lastly, the murderer or I should say the "murderers" came out: it was the lawyer and the policeman. 

     This ending was very surprising, but actually not really for me. During the break before Act One and Act Two, I asked my neighbors who they thought the murderer was and they all talked about how strange the leaving of the girl in a green dress was and probably the butler did not even die. After a while, a thought just somehow came out of my mind: the murderer was either the lawyer or the police. I didn't have any explaination for my guess, but I just felt a little bit weird at the appearance of the policeman and the behavior of the lawyer. However, I did not expect that the "murderer" was not only one person, but both of them. 

     This play was probably my favorite among those three plays we had in this year. Although the language was still difficult for me, I could follow along with the story line. I like the feeling how the truth of a mystery was exposed at the ending. I also like how the light was changing and all actors and actresses were at the best conditions of acting. Just like in the Spelling Bee, my favorite character among them was the one who Julia Rafferty played. I love the way she acted and how she interpreting the personality of her character. I also love her Russian accent. It was hilarious! I think she really did a great job. 

     One thing that I think the show can be improved is that maybe the parlormaid, Pippi, should speak in a lower voice and a more calm way. I really was shocked by her scream and I don't know if this should be an important part of the show or not. Her acting kind of took people's attention from the main story line. 

     In all words, I think this play is a real success. I love it, an I really hope there could be more plays as interesting as this exhibited to our audience. 

They Are Imaginary

In Summer seventeen, Cadence spent most of her time in Cuddletown with the other three Liars. However, the ending reveals that the three Liars had died two years ago. In my opinion, the three Liars in Summet seventeen were all Cadence's imagination. Cadence got migraine due to the accident, not just physically, but also emotionally. She was so sad and so painful that her body told her not to remember those things happened in Summer fifteen. In Summer seventeen, Cadence tried so hard to find out what had happened in Summer fifteen. Thus, imagination is the way which helped Cadence to gather her memory fragments. This is one outcome due to her head injury. It makes perfect sence that those three Liars were created by Cadence's imaginary. Just like what the ending shows, Cadence describes that she saw the three Liars swan farther and farther, and they left her alone on the tiny beach. Now because all her memories came back and she had recovered from migraine, her imagination problem disappeared with the three Liars as well. This is why I think the three Liars, Johnny, Mirren and Gat, are Cadence's imagination instead of ghost. 

Reaction to the Ending of We Were Liars

     After I finished reading the book "We Were Liars", I felt really sad no only just for the main characters but the whole Sinclair family. This book narrated things that happened between Summer fifteen and Sumer seventeen. Cadence had an accident which caused her memory lost, and she lived in her imagination and gathered her memory fragments all Summer seventeen. While everyone was wondering who caused Cadence's accident, it turned out that Cadence was actually the one who caused her injury. She also caused the other three Lars's death: Jonny, Mirren, and Gat. When her memories all came back, she found out that she killed the three people who she love most in the world. I think this is so sad as an ending, and it is such a cruel punishment on Cadence. Cadence did not mean to do this kind of thing; she will never hurt her loves, but the fact is that she did. Yes, she achieved her goal that the aunts never fight for the money after the fire, but she is going to live with guilt forever. She would always question herself why she was alive. The biggest punishment and pain are left to the survivors why they did not die while others were in heaven. 

     To be honest, I think this was not fair to Cadence. She did nothing wrong. She just wanted to have a peaceful and a real family. She wanted her family members really care each other. She just didn't plan it right. She just didn't know other ways to make her family turn better. There were so many things that a fifteen-year-old girl don't know. Besides, she didn't set the fire by herself. She shouldn't be the one who suffered and endured the aftermath. 

     Although this tragedy reunited the whole Sinclair family, its price should not be three young teenagers' lives. However, I really don't know if there could be a better ending than this. I don't really like tragedy, but I think it is the best way for people who read and acknowledge the story to actually think and readjust their family values. Tragedy makes people sad but think. 

50~70 new information

From Chapter 50 to 70, Cadence figured out more things about her accident. She knew that Clairmont had a fire in summer fifteen, and it was the four Liars who set the fire. The aunts were arguing about getting the inheritance and Granny Tipper's things. She remembered that on one dinner night, Grandad came to the four Liars and asked for their advice about naming the building which he donated money to in Harvard. Aunt Bess wanted the house when Candice and her mother live because she thought it was too big for them. She also remembered that Gat told him that Ed proposed to Carrie and was refused by her, because she wanted to get the money from Grandad. 

Questions

1. Why Gat's motto is "don't accept an evil you can change"?
2. Why Cadence created another fairly tale in Chapter 40?

Chapter 31~40 important events

Chapter 31:
Cadence and Mirren meet on the beach and have a conversation. Cadence asked if Mirren receive her old Barbies, but Mirren never did. Then, Johnny joined their conversation, Cadence told them about giving her belongings away.

Chapter 32:
Gat asked Cadence to start over their relationship after lunch, and Cadence finally compromised.

Chapter 33:
Cadence went to Clairemount and saw this house's opulent changes. Grandfather said there was a book for Gat but he yelled when Cadence said most of his books weren't here. She asked aunt Carrie if she went back to sleep yesterday, but she had no idea what Cadence was talking about.

Chapter 34:
Cadence tried to find out what had happened in summer sixteen from the littles,  but they were told to not mention about it by Cadence mother.

Chapter 35:
The four liars were redecorating Cuddledown, the three liars knew Cadence's lost of memories and they were also told not to mention anything to Cadence.

Chapter 36:
The four liars played tennis and Cadence told them about her journey in Rome.

Chapter 37:
Cadence mom asked her if Cadence was playing tennis because she heard the balls. Cadence remembers a night two weeks before her accident. The aunts were kind of arguing about ownership to the house in Boston in that summer, but right now, they were siting together in a lovely and peaceful sence.

Chapter 38:
The four liars played Scrambles at midnight in Cuddletown. They talked about mottos and Mirren told Cadence that she should never do what she's afraid of.

Chapter 39:
Gat told Cadence that her grandpa always sees him as Headcliff no matter how good he would become. He was seen as not good enough for dating with Cadence.

Chapter 40:
Cadence wrote another fairy tale talks about a love story between a princess and a mouse, which hints to the relationship between her and Gat.

Important Events: Ch16~25

Chapter 16:
Cadence wrote her own fairy tale during her journey in Europe. This fairy tale kind of relates to the condition in the Sinclair family. The three daughters all want to get the inheritance, they all show their love to Cadence's Grandpa, but no one can tell if they really love him.

Chapter 17:
After her Europe trip, Cadence starts to give things away. She gave her old Babies to Mirren, strips to Johnny, pillow to a strange girl outside of library, King Lear to public library, and even her Granny Tipper's picture to the Goodwill.

Chapter 18:
Cadence lost her memory of her accident although she took a lot of medicines to cure her. She asked her mother over and over again, her mother eventually got infuriated by her. Cadence asked her mother to repeat one more time and she wrote it down so that she can get the answer when she wanted to asked. Although there were things that she doesn't understand, it's the best way to keep herself sober.

Chapter 19:
Cadence doesn't want to spend the whole summer with her dad in Australia for summer seventeen. She wants to go to the Beechwood island. She wants to remember, to figure out the mystery. However, her mother said no. The next day, her grandad comes. He looks so different since Granny died: he lost weight and has a port bellied slump. At night, he told Cadence that she would inherit all of his fortune and property because she would be an ideal Sinclair: tall and blond.

Chapter 20:
Cadence wrote another fairy tale, another one that also relates to the Sinclair family. After her grandad left, her mother called her dad and finally negotiate succeccfully that Cadence would stay in Beechwood Island for four weeks.

Chapter 21:
Cadence is still giving away her stuffs including Gat's olive hunting jacket. She is angry at Gat, but she actually still loves him,

Chapter 22:
Taft called Cadence and asked her is she is a drug addict because he heard it from Bonnie.

Chapter 23:
Cadence and her mother finally arrived at Beechwood Island. Cadence saw everything has changed: the lawn, the maple tree and the new, cold house. She felt very sad but still follow her mother's words of being normal. She also saw the three liars waiting by the wooden fence: Mirren, Johnny and Gat.

Chapter 24:
Cadence met her aunt Bess, the littles and her Grandad. Bonnie said to Cadence that she looks died like vampires.

Chapter 25:
The four liars gathered in Cuddledown because Bess and the littles were going to live with Grandad this summer. Cadence couldn't stop looking at Gat. She was mad at him but still felt happy that she finally saw him. They talked some which made Cadence think that he was flirting. Johnny asked about Cadence's school life and Mirren told them that she had a new boyfriend. They all agreed at the end that they didn't want to spend summer in that cold new house.

Volcabulary Group Work

Taxidermy- n. - the art of mounting the skins of animals so that they have lifelike appearance
It is full of original New York cartoons, family photos, embroidered pillows, small statues, ivory paperweights, taxidermied fish on plagues.

Villainous- adj. - extremely wicked, the person who is willing to harm other people or break the law in order to get what they want
They always look villainous in the dark of the evening.

Recuperate-v. - regain a former condition after a financial loss
Mummy took me home to Vermont to recuperate

Quarrel- v.- have disagreement over something.
It is hardly glamorous the way Mummy and I quarrel now how dad is gone.

Constellation- n. - a configuration of stars as seen from the earth
I was glad Gat didn’t try to sound knowledgeable about constellations or say stupid staff about wishing stars.

Snorkeling- adj.- skin diving with a snorkel
Mirren and Johnny were snorkeling or wangling the littles.

Stagger- v. - astound or overwhelm, as with shock
I’d stagger from the table or collapse in quiet shameful agony.

Traumatic- adj. - of or relating to a physical injury or wound to the body
Post-traumatic headaches, also known as PTHA

Heroine- n. - the main good female character in a work of fiction
Her pale skin and watery eyes make her look glamorously tragic, like a literary heroine wasting from consumption.

Ivory- n.- a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses
It is full of original New York cartoons, family photos, embroidered pillows, small statues, ivory paperweights, taxidermied fish on plagues.

Shore- n. - a beam or timber that is propped against a structure to provide support
There are big rocks in off the shore, craggy and black.

Hilariously- adv. - in a hilarious manner, extremely funny
Covertly, hilariously, behind Grandad’s back while he drove the motorboat.

Stunning- adj. - causing or capable of causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility laid the poor fellow senseless with one stunning blow  
She was a stunning woman, even she was old

Pitiful- adj. - inspiring mixed contempt and pity
Different from my pitiful voice messages, these are charming.

Glamorous- adj. - having an air of allure, romance and excitement
(P39 it is not glamorous that I can't drive a car.)

Collapse- v. - a sudden large decline of business or the prices of stocks (especially one that causes additional failures)
I’d stagger from the table or collapse in quiet shameful agony.

Giddy- adj. - having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling
had a headache and felt giddy
(P27 Johnny, Mirren, gat and I snuck glasses of wine and felt giddy and silly.)

Embroidered- adj. - decorate with needlework
It is full of original New York cartoons, family photos, embroidered pillows, small statues, ivory paperweights, taxidermied fish on plagues.

Surpasses- v. - be or do something to a greater degree.
Eventually she surpassed her employer in skill and her food is known thoughout the land.

Agony- n. - intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain.
I’d stagger from the table or collapse in quiet shameful agony.

Ten Volcabulary Words

Glamorously p38
Quarrel p39
Recuperate p32
Marvel p30
Destabilize p29
Giddy p27
Exquisite p20
Illicit p21
Constellation p21
Flippant p21

Relationship Between Characters (Ch1~Ch5)

     In the beginning of the book "We Were Liars", Chapter one to Chapter five, it has several main characters who are mostly Sinclairs. This is a big old money Democrats family. Those main characters are all children of: Cadence, Johnny, Mirren and Gat. Harris Sinclair who is the grandpa in the book has three daughters: Carrie, Bess and Penny. They all were tall, merry, rich and beautiful. They were like princesses in a fairy tale as most people seen. Cadence is the daughter of Penny, Johnny is the son of Carrie and Mirren is the daughter of Bess. For Gat, he is the nephew of Ed who had been together with Carrie. Gat met those kids on the Beechwood Island, which is owned by Sinclairs, when they were eight. Cadence is the narrator of the story. She is a girl who acknowledge her whole family and who they truly are. She knew people in their family had to pretend and behave well as a proud Sinclair. She is bored by life living as a Sinclair and a grand house full of expensive and useless objects. She was distressed inside when she saw her father left her and her mother and chose not to be a Sinclair anymore. Johnny is an energetic and sunny boy. He often likes to play tricks with his cousins. Mirren is a curious girl and likes to play with kids. They were all cousins except Gat.
     The story starts from the beginning of the Summer Eight on the Beechwood Island. It is when Gat met Cadence for the first time. Cadence's aunt, Carrie, was pregnant with Johnny's brother Will when her husband left her. By that summer, Will was taken up by Ed and Carrie, so when they came to the island, Ed brought his nephew who was already a good friend of Johnny. Gat was very shy at first when he met Cadence. Cadence could feel his contemplation, enthusiasm and ambition when he stood in front of her. When their eyes were locked, Cadence turned and started running. Gat followed, Johnny followed Gat, and Mirren chased after Johnny. They stopped at the tiny beach down by Cuddledown House, and Cadence wrote the four of their names on the sand. This was what happened when they first met each other. However, they got really close as the time goes on. They got to spend every summer on the island because Johnny begged to have Gat stay longer and their grandparents agreed, because they never said no to their first grandson. On the Summer Fourteen, They took out a small motorboat alone and jumped into the sea. After they got off the sea, they hogged together and joked at each other. They both had a good feeling with each other. One day, they read book together in a hammock and Cadence saw Gat always read with a pen in his hand. He wrote Gat on the back of his left hand, and Cadence on the back of his right. From that point, Cadence knew clearly that they could understand and feel each other, although Cadence didn't label that feeling as love.

Notes for Chapter 8 & 9

Chapter 8:
Lorenzo got onto the bus and decided to go to the hospital to see his grandmother to get the medicine for Olivia. He saw his grandmother being a "prisonor" in the hospital and felt so bad. His grandmother asked him to tell him a story so he told her the most recent one that he had made up about a robot which kills millions of people. His grandmother was satisfied, and then Lorenzo left the hospital really quickly.

Chapter 9:
Lorenzo took the risk to be found by his parents and the silver monkey to find medicine for Olivia. He went back to the cellar and saw Olivia lied on the sette stiffly. He thought she was died, but then he saw her arms are moving. Olivia just took two sleeping pills and she needed more sleep. Lorenzo felt more relaxed and let her fall asleep. He was tired and fell asleep with her.

Reaction to the ending

In the ending, Lorenzo and Olivia said goodbye to each other and they promised they would see each other again sometime in the future; however, after ten years when Lorenzo sees Olivia again, she is died. I don't really like this ending. I think this ending is too sad for me to accept it. I was imagining scenes when they see each other again. I tried to think how happy they are, what kind of things they will talk about but I've never expected the death of Olivia. Lorenzo seemed really calm when he saw her sister lying on the bed and covered by a white sheet. I don't think he could easily accept it. The goodbye they said to each other last time will be the goodbye for ever.

End questions for Me and You

19. In this passage, Olivia told Lorenzo the real reason why she was so sick. After Lorenzo knowing the truth, he knew he got to help her and if he wasn't going to help her, she would die. Then he saw she was lying on the floor, surrounded by money, and she was so desperate and lonely. This scene made him connect to the scene where his mother was insulted by the big guy on the day they had an accident. On that day, he was so angery when he heard those bad words the guy used to his mother, but he wasn't brave enough to stand out and protect his mother. Right now, a similar thing happened in front of him and he would not let regrets to occupy him again. This is why Lorenzo decided to help Olivia. This is a very important point in the novel because it indicates that Lorenzo has changed. He became more brave and was able to defeat his fear to help others. He finally did something that his inside mind wanted to do. Also, this was the first time Lorenzo actually helped other people, so it is a significant turning point in the novel.
21. I would consider Olivia as an authentic person, because her messy and troubled life is the same as what many people in our world have right now. They have no goals, and they just waste their life and let others to do anything with their body. They are desperate and alone in their real life. They see no future or don't even want to have a hope for the future. These people are just like Olivia. Olivia hates herself when she behaves badly. She knew she shouldn't take drug, and she neither should cheat her body and her soul. However, she is in a marsh and the harder she is trying to get out of it, the deeper she's in it. These bad behaviors could unleash her anger toward her father. She felt like if she just let herself be like this, it would take revenge on her father. Her behaviors and personality inspired Lorenzo deeply. He knew clearly why she did this to herself, and he realized that he should be true to himself. He should not hide anymore because it would only drag him down. He needed to find the "real" Lorenzo and be him for the rest of his life.
24. The reason why the author chose to sandwich Lorenzo's experience is because it can emphasis the change of Lorenzo. It used the flashback to tell the story behind the Lorenzo today. These chapters marked how important Lorenzo's sister Olivia is, who brought a great influence on him and gave him a life change. The end chapter also is the tone setter of this novel. When readers were still wondering the scene when Lorenzo and Olivia meet in the future, it told the readers that when they met ten years later, Olivia was died. It appealed that Olivia broke her promise to Lorenzo. This sets a sad ending for readers and leads readers to a deeper thinking of the overall story.

Revise poems

To Our Dining Hall

Things could be better

Fresh, various fruits and meals

Students will like more

Musical is life

"I am not that smart

My parents keep telling me..."

Musical is life! 

Thinking questions

Why didn't Lorenzo go out to stand out for his mother at the beginning?

Why did Olivia come to the cellar?

Why did Lorenzo hug Olivia and cry with her? 

Characteristics of Olivia

Olivia is an girl with distinctive characteristics on her. She is very independent. She can find her ways to live in a good life. She is not that kind of girl who will cry a lot. She is very tough. From the letter she wrote to her father, as well as Lorenzo's father, she told him that she didn't need his help and he just needed to mind his own business. Olivia either like someone or hate someone; she would be in the middle, nor she would use tears to solve problems. She is a very "cool" person. She is also very smart. When she got the phone call from Lorenzo's mother, she knew exactly what to say and she acted perfectly as Alessia's mother. 

Summary of Ch. 5

It was the first day Lorenzo lives in the cellar. He woke up at nine o'clock and decided to explore the cellar a little bit. Then he got a phone call which he thought was his mother but it was actually his stepsister, Olivia. His stepsister asked him whether his parents were at home at that time. Lorenzo thought this strange phone call was a trap and he realized that he has more serious problem to solve ---- his mother wanted to talk with Alessia's mom. Then, he just threw that thought and started playing games until a person came down to the cellar. Lorenzo immediately hid himself, but then he was found and he found out that this person was Olivia. Olivia came here to try to find her box and the money in it. After she found nothing, she left and Lorenzo reminded her to keep his staying at the cellar. When he was remanaging Olivia's box, he read her letter to their father and he was very angry at Olivia. At the midnight, Olivia came and asked for staying at the cellar for one night. Lorenzo strongly opposed her staying, but because of her "threatening", he had to compromise and let her in. 

In class writing

While Lorenzo and his mother were stuck in traffic on Corso Vittorio and his mother saw a dress she really liked and she decided to park in a free parking space which a Smart car was going to pull out to pull the car in. This yellow Smart car was hit by their cars. Their BMW didn't have a scratch on it, but the Smart car had damages. A big guy got out of the car, shouted to Lorenzo's mother and screamed bad words, too. People in the Smart car insulted Lorenzo's mother and asked her to be responsible for this incident while Lorenzo was sitting in the car. Lorenzo felt angry when he heard them insulting his mother with bad words, but he didn't choose to get out and try to protect his mother, because he was so afraid of that man. When he thought about what else the man would do to his mother, he finally decided its the time to get out, but then he fainted.  When he was in the car, he felt he was sitting on a huge giant made of stone that was hugging him and won't let him go. This is important to him because he should have been a man who can stand out and speak for her mother, instead of being a boy that needed to be cared of.  He is scared of being hit by the man. It's the fear that held Lorenzo in the car. Fear beat his anger in this case. 

chapter 3 summary

Lorenzo's mom calles him again. She wants to talk with Alessia's mom and Lorenzo lied again to his mom. He knows her mom will insist to talk with Alessia's mom in her later calls, and he is afraid of he can't come up with a good reason anymore.