English Portfolio
Term 1 - January 25, 2005
Lord of the Flies
Of Mice and
Men
Romeo and Juliet
Greek Mythology
Why Boys Become Vicious?
The Gift of the Magi
The Most Dangerous Game
Jake Rucker
It’s ALL
About Me!
The Gift of the Magi
Overview
Author: O. Henry - prolific American short-story
writer, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in
New York City. O. Henry is known for his twists of
plot, resulting from ironic or coincidental situations,
and surprise endings.
Plot/Conflict: On the day before Christmas, Mrs. Young is
distraught that she has only been able to save pennies for a
present for her beloved husband, Jim. Della decides to sell her
most-prized possession, her hair, to buy a fob chain for Jim’s gold
watch. Ironically, Jim has just sold his greatest treasure and
source of mighty pride, the heirloom gold watch, in order to buy
Della a pair of beautiful, tortoise shell, jewel-rimmed combs for
her hair.
Setting: Mainly in a dilapidated apartment (flat)
The Gift of the Magi
Theme:
Analysis
True Love’s gifts are not represented by
money but by the sacrifices one is willing
to make for another love. The greatest
gift, and perhaps the wisest, is “generosity
[with sacrifice] added to love.”
Literary Devices:
Irony: Each lover buys a gift for the other by selling their most-prized
possession, only to find that their gift, which was meant for the other’s
most-prized possession, is no longer useful.
Simile: Della chooses the fob chain because “It was like him.” Jim and
the chain are both described as quietness and great value, value by
substance alone and not by ornamentation.
Allusion: The Magi refer to the Wise Men who brought gifts to infant
Jesus, the first Christmas presents, according to Christian tradition.
Foreshadowing: The reader does not know why Jim is dazed by Della’s
short hair. The author writes, “The magi brought valuable gifts, … this
dark assertion will be illuminated later on.”
The Most Dangerous Game
Overview
Author: Richard Connell
Setting: Privately owned Ship-Trap Island in the early 20th
century (when big game hunting was a popular sport)
Plot: Rainsford, a wealthy and avid
Conflict:
hunter, falls overboard and washes up
onto a jungle-covered island. He is
rescued by General Zaroff, also a
merciless hunter, who later engages
Rainsford in a hunt to the death.
External – Rainsford must escape from Zaroff, though handicapped
by having no weapon or knowledge of the treacherous jungle.
Internal – Rainsford cannot give into fear while being hunted by a
far superior hunter than himself.
The Most Dangerous Game
Analysis
Theme: People must experience both sides of a situation before
understanding it completely and correctly. Rainsford gets a whole
new perspective on hunting by becoming the hunted, not the
hunter. Zaroff finds hunting humans a sport while Rainsford thinks
that it is inhumane and uncivilized.
Literary Devices:
Foreshadowing: “Sailors have a curious dread of the place”
suggests that something disastrous might happen to Rainsford.
Zaroff tells Rainsford that he has “a quarry with which I can match
my wits,” which hints that he hunts an advanced animal (humans).
Irony: Zaroff says, “We do our best the preserve the amenities of
civilization here,” but he hunts humans.
Metaphor: Rainsford realizes that “the Cossack [Zaroff] was the
cat; he was the mouse.”
Overview
Author: William Golding
Setting: Desolate tropical island
Plot: A group of school boys from England
have crash landed on an uninhabited island.
Using their resources and minds, the boys
attempt to survive.
Conflict: Ralph and Jack, the two main leaders, compete for
power over the group of boys. Jack, tired of Ralph’s rule, creates
his own tribe.
Analysis
Theme: Civilizations
will deteriorate over time without order or
government. The group of boys changes from a civilized, productive
society through competition for power to an anarchy resulting in
murder.
Symbolism:
• RALPH symbolizes wise, considerate, and democratic order, while
JACK represents savage anarchy.
• SIMON represents purity, innocence, or the Christ figure. His murder by Jack’s
tribe shows the decay of reason (civilization) vs. impulse.
• FIRE SIGNAL represents strength in relationships. Strong fire is peace, while
weak fire is savagery.
• Piggy’s GLASSES symbolize intelligence, such as when they
are used to create fire. When the glasses are broken, it signals
the decline of civilization and the rise of Jack’s anarchy.
• CONCH symbolizes power at meetings. Whoever holds the conch has the right
to speak.
Why Boys Become Vicious
In his article “Why Boys Become Vicious,” William Golding argues
that there are two conditions in which evil will develop and grow:
Chaos and Fear.
CHAOS
For children chaos happens
when when a home-life is
unstable. Golding says
children need two parents
to avoid developing evil.
FEAR
Fear brings out the worst in people.
Add fear to chaos and evil flourishes.
Gangs of boys bond together from
their common viciousness. To Kill a
Mockingbird has a good example of
this vicious mob mentality.
Though Golding believes that all human beings are born with a black, or
bad side, to their nature, he also believes there is a capacity for love. So
Mother Nature alone is not at fault for evil acts.
Personally, I think that someone is born pure, with no hatred, racism,
or other vicious feelings towards another human being. With a good
upbringing and surroundings, a person can prosper and thrive. When
raised in a bad environment, however, a person has much lower
morals and values, promoting violence and immorality.
As Golding says,
“If there is no one around to guide children then they go wrong.”
Author: John Steinbeck
Setting: Salinas River Valley, Central California,
during the Great Depression.
Plot: Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, are drifting from
job to job in California. Lennie is docile and mentally slow but
physically strong. George guides and protects Lennie but also
depends on him for companionship. They share a dream of
someday buying their own piece of land where they can farm and
raise rabbits.
Conflict: Though George and Lennie are often able to get work,
Lennie’s unintentional blunders get them into trouble and they are
shortly forced to leave and move on to other places and jobs. The
Salinas Valley ranch has a cruel boss’s son and a trouble-maker wife.
Themes
• True love comes in all forms: there does not need to be a romantic
relationship in order to have an everlasting bond between two people.
Lennie and George would do anything for
each other, even up the the point when
George had to shoot Lennie to save him
from a worse fate.
• Events or times, such as the Great
Depression, can shape our lives and
create unlikely relationships. Of Mice
and Men was based during the Depression,
a time of recoil and struggle. It explains
why relationships were needed during this
time and how having a relationship was
essential for survival and advancement. Lennie and George had a symbiotic
relationship: Lennie provided physical strength and George provided intelligence
and guidance. Although Lennie may have been dumb, he got George work
because he was extremely strong. George nurtured and protected Lennie and
tried to keep him out of trouble.
Mythology: Poseidon FAQs
What powers does Poseidon have?
In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the God of the Sea.
His Roman name is Neptune. He controlled all the
oceans, rivers, streams, and fountains of the world.”
(Allan) His powers ranged from controlling the sea
tides and weather to creating earthquakes and
tsunamis. Because Poseidon had human-like qualities,
the powers he had changed with his mood swings.
When he was pleased and happy, he created new
islands and kept calm seas. When angered, he “caused
unruly springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks, and
drownings.” (Sellers) Known for his dangerous temper and jealous behavior,
Poseidon often argued with the other gods. He was also the god of horses.
What is Poseidon’s genealogy?
Poseidon is the son of Cronus and Rhea, with siblings Hestia, Demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Zeus. When the universe was divided, Zeus ruled the sky, Hades
ruled the underworld, and Poseidon became ruler of the sea. He is the most
powerful god besides Zeus. Like Zeus, he had many affairs with different
women, creating many different god-like creatures, including Triton (half-human
and half-fish), Pegasus (the flying horse), Arion (a horse with two human feet),
and Polyphemus (the Cyclops blinded by Ulysses/Odysseus).
Mythology: Poseidon FAQs (con’t)
What are the symbols of Poseidon?
Poseidon is represented by his three-pronged
trident or fish spear, dolphins, and a chariot
made of shell drawn by winged horses,
sometimes depicted as sea horses.
Why do sailors make sacrifices to Poseidon?
In ancient Greek times, sailors believed that Poseidon created swells and
storms of great sizes. Because these treacherous conditions could destroy a
ship, sailors needed to sail with good weather. Since Poseidon controlled the
ocean and therefore the trade routes, the sailors made sacrifices in order to
please Poseidon to assure the crew a safe passage. This concept plays a great
role in the myths about Odysseus and his long ocean voyages.
Was Poseidon involved in any Greek Wars?
Poseidon was greatly involved in the Trojan War. He helped the Greeks in
sending their troops to attack cities across continents and also prevented the
Spartans from traveling by sea.
Romeo and Juliet
Author: William Shakespeare
Setting: The fair city of Verona, Italy,
in the 15th century
Plot: Two prominent families, the Montagues and Capulets,
reignite an age-old feud, with servants violently battling in the
streets. The children of the two families, Romeo (Montague) and
Juliet (Capulet), become “star-crossed” lovers and secretly marry,
even as hostilities continue to grow. When Romeo kills Juliet’s
cousin, ensuing events result in the tragic suicides of both Romeo
and Juliet.
Conflict: Romeo and Juliet are deeply in love, though their families
are mortal enemies.
Romeo and Juliet
Notes
• Shakespeare’s most famous play
• A romantic tragedy based on the 1562 poem by Arthur Brooke:
The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet.
• Theme: Youthful love contrasted with violent hatred
• Foreshadowing:
The Chorus announces in the Prologue that Romeo and Juliet
are "star-cross'd." That and other frequent references to the
lovers' fate makes the reader think that destiny will prevail.
Fate vs Freewill (next slide)
• Irony:
• Juliet feigns her death in order to escape with Romeo, but
Romeo, misunderstanding the act, takes his own life.
• The deaths of Romeo and Juliet cause the families to end the
feud but also mean that neither family has children to carry on
the family line.
Fate vs. Free Will
William Shakespeare poses the argument of fate vs. free will in his play
Romeo and Juliet with fate prevailing.
The Stars Symbolize Fate
Chorus announces that Romeo and
Juliet are bound by fate:
“…a pair of star-cross’d lovers”
(Prologue)
FATE – The “power”
that determines the
outcome of events
before they occur;
destiny.
Romeo anticipates the upcoming
tragic chain of events:
“…Some consequence, yet
hanging in the stars…” (1-4)
Romeo reacts to Juliet’s death:
“…Is it even so? Then I defy you,
stars…” (5-1)
FREE WILL –
Freedom to
choose a course of
action without
external influence.
Romeo believed that he was bound by “the yoke of inauspicious stars.”
I believe that the life of a man is not predetermined, but that it is the result of the
choices he/she makes. This freedom to choose is a great responsibility and also a
burden because then man is responsible for the consequences of these choices.
Learning Victory
(a sonnet by Jake Rucker)
This competition set on Saturday
Began a war of brains and beating strengths.
Though ending with the sound of joyful play,
The fight to win raged on for several lengths.
When loss was for’boding, and almost sought,
My team advanced with pro coaching and skills,
And when the score flashed we were almost caught,
Ravens of Canyon Crest delivered thrills.
Fist, Double, Even, Odd, our plays devoured
Their sophomores, racing freshmen, parrying blows.
Above the clouds, Athena Nike cowered
As basketball’s best bat’l unfolds below.
Last seconds slipped and echoed his advice:
To learn is better than to lose by thrice.