Reading Great Expectations

     Great Expecations was one of the most challenging books that I have thus far in my life. It took a lot more than just skimming over the chapters to understand it. I had to slowly read each paragraph, sometimes even had to re-read it, to understand the point it was trying to get across. I would read almost every day, but a few times during stage 2, I just skimmed over the chapter and then read sparknotes because it got really boring. Reading this book was a good challenge for me. To help me understand each section after reading it once, I either re-read it, read sparknotes, or even listened to the chapter on youtube (but not often because each chapter was like 20 minutes).

     The part that I liked the most about this book, was when all the truths were revealed and Pip finally understood who were fake and who were true to him. Rather than that, Pip just made me mad throughout the book due to his decisions, so I wasn't to fond of seeing what mistakes he would make next. Thanksfully, I was able to hang in and stay till all of the truths were uncovered. I didn't really like this book to much due to the amount of boring content in the middle of the book, but the first few chapters of the book and stage 3 were pretty interesting. This has been a new experience for me because usually when I read a book I have a full opinion on the book, but Great Expectations is different, I have a mixed opinion on it.

Writing about Great Expectations

          From when we first started working on our thesises to now, I have really improved on finding a thought-provoking idea. At the beginning of these thesises, my ideas were very obvious and my thesis would sound more like plot summary. Now, my thesises aren't exceptional, but instead of them being based on a obvious topic, they are focused on specific motifs represented throughout the book. I started off with the big idea of Pip's perspective on the world changing, but later realized that this big idea was very obvious and not very unique. Then I slowly started changing my focus to the relationship between Pip and Joe, and how it has been affected by other characters in the book.
          "In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Pip's opinion of Joe becomes more complex when his perspective on life changes as a result of his awareness of his family's status." I think that this is my best thesis so far because it is focused on a specific motif in the book rather than the whole plot. The idea of Pip and Joe's relationship is the part of this book that I find the most interesting because as Pip changes, Joe's perspective on Pip changes, and that was exactly what Pip didn't want to happen at the start of the book when he helped the convict. This sentence skillfully places together my most interesting idea with the reason why it occured. This thesis allowed my following sentences to flow more smoothly creating a better overall paragraph.

Great Expectations: How's it Going?

          So far the reading is going okay, i'm able to understand most of the book after the first read, but I only get the whole picture after rereading the important parts of the book. Going over the parts of the book that we read in class also helps me understand the chapter. I'm able to understand the connection bewteen characters like Joe and Pip because I either have those connections in my life or have read books with similar connections. This helps me understand the feelings of guilt that Pip has felt through the book for not telling Joe about his thievery. Some parts of the book have been a little hard to understand, so I would have to reread those parts, and specifically look at each sentence to see the true meaing behind the words. This has made me better understand the book, and has made me a better reader.
          I have been reading the book everyday before I sleep in my room on my bed. Now, I know that at first look, it doesn't seem like a good idea, but all throughout middle school I have been reading the assigned book before I sleep on my bed, and it has worked great. My room is probably the best environment for me to read in my house because it is the quitest place in the house. Reading in my bed is really comfortable for me and allows me to just concentrate on the book. If I was sitting on a chair or even on the sofa, I would be fidgeting alot to find a comfortable position which wouldn't allow me to concentrate on the book, so my bed is the best option. The best and most effective strategy that I use is rereading. Sentences, paragraphs, or sometimes the whole chapter, I will reread it to help me understand each line more than I did before. 

Welcome to Second Semester!

          Finally, 1/8 of my high school year is done! As a learner I have learned that I learn better when working in groups and getting ideas and thoughts from others as well as myself. By getting input from others, that either contradicts or supports my thought, I can find out the correct meanings and ideas. I should study by splitting up larger topics into smaller ones so that it will be easier for me to understand. I found out that I memorize and understand things better by studying off of Quizlet or flashcards because I can test my knowledge, whereas if I study straight off my paper, I just end up starring at a piece of paper for a long time not understanding anything.
          I was surprised when I found out I learn better when working in groups because usually I work better individually. When completing tasks or learning material I usually work more efficiently when working alone, but after working in groups in this class, I found out that I actually learn a lot more when working in groups because I get lots of other input. To be successful in this semester, I plan to continue to work in groups so that I can learn a lot. When we start reading Great Expectations I plan to read in a quiet place in my house because this is a major part of this semester's grade.

First Semester Goals

          At the start of the year, I wasn't great at the 3 goals. I couldn't totally understand why the author made the choices he did, nor did I know what element of literature I was using when I was writing, and usually I looked for what the author did rather than why he/she used it. As we went through the semester I slowly got a hang of these. By reading the novels in class, and discussing them as a group, it gave me practice to understand the why from the author. I started to understand the different elements to a written piece, and what each element adds to it. Now, after getting practice from many novels and poems, I feel that I have understood these written piece elements.

          This semester I learned many different things including Diction, POV, Characterization, Inferences, Big Ideas, Author's Craft, Literary Devices, and much more. I learned all of these by doing group activites, and reading books and poems. It helped me understand how each of these literary elements are used, and what they add to a written piece. Mentally I started changing from looking at "what" to "why". Now, while preparing for the final, I know that I can pick out almost all of these elements in a poem by just taking a little bit of time to analyze it. By doing this, I can understand the full and deep meaning behind the poem.

Connecting With My Poem

          As I read through multiple poems trying to find the one that connected to me, I saw "Coy Mistress". "Coy Mistress" is a poem that has a meaning hidden inside of it. You have to read it multiple times to decifer the meaning inside of it. This complexity and the rhyming rhythm of the poem attracted me to the poem. Another reason that I chose this poem was because it was very unique, instead of telling some fictional story in a rhyming way, it shows a woman's perception on her lovers respect upon her. She perceives Time and Love as people that are paving the way for her. This idea of respect and patience made me choose this poem. 

Analyzing Author's Craft

          So far, I have found this novel very intriguing. Scout's point of view makes it really easy to understand the scenes because she is just a child, but when Atticus starts talking, you half to breakdown the paragraphs to understand what he is saying. Thats the only challenge that I have in this book, rather than that, this book has been very easy to read and understand.
          Almost everything Atticus does has a in-depth meaning to it. For example, when Atticus says its a sin to kill a mockingbird, the meaning behind that is that its a sin to kill or do bad to something that hasn't done any harm, and even though Atticus said that earlier in the book, its pretty much the moral of the whole book because it applies to the Tom Robinson trial. Tom Robinson is the mockingbird that hasn't done any harm, but the jury and the Ewells convict him for a crime he didn't do. I can relate to Scout a little in these situations, because sometimes she doesn't understand what is happening or she falls asleep during the trial. I used to do that when I was younger whenever adults were having an in-depth conversation about politics because half the time I wouldn't understand it.