Lit Circle Reflection

Lit Circle Reflections

The rubrics from the first discussion were lower than I excepted them to be, however looking back I realize how new the idea of a lit circle was to me and how unexperienced I was with them. The thing I needed to work on most from the first discussion was participation. I tried to improve my participation by offering more of my ideas during the discussion. I also think having already done a lit circle helped my participation because I knew what to except. I am really enjoying my group. I think my group works well because we all have our own opinions on parts of the book, which makes for a good discussion. I think my group could improve by using the book more during the discussions to support our opinions. I think by coming more prepared with the text marked with post-its would help me and my group use the book more during our discussions. 

Simon in Lord of the Flies

In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Simon represents a Christ figure. Simon is the only character who is never tempted by Jack and his tribe to become uncivilized. He is the only boy that acts out of morality for the entire book because he believes it is right, unlike the other boys who were only civilized off the island to avoid punishments from adults. In one scene Simon is being followed into the forest by littluns and helps them get fruit. “... Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach and passed them back down to the endless outstretched hands” (56). Simon is the only main character who helps the littluns, showing his morality and connecting him to Christ. Later in the book Simon is alone again when the other boys are at Jack’s feast. He comes across the Lord of the Flies which is a pig’s head on a stick. Simon hallucinates the Lord of the Flies, which represents the devil, talking to him. During their conversation Simon clearly opposes it, showing he is a Christ figure. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?” (143).The Lord of the Flies is talking to Simon and tells him the beast is not real, but exists within every boy, something Simon had suspected all along. The Lord of the Flies also says he is the reason things have fallen apart on the island, implying again that humans are instinctively evil because he exists within all of them. The Lord of the Flies is trying to convince Simon to be tempted by Jack like the other boys. Simon then finds the body attached to the parachute and realizes it is the beast they have been afraid of. When trying to tell the boys the truth about the beast, he is ultimately killed by all the boys, even Ralph and Piggy, who think he is the beast. Simon’s death makes Ralph and Piggy realize they can’t join Jack’s tribe. Simon was sacrificed on the island to save Ralph, just like Christ was sacrificed.    

A Walk to Remember Book Review

Jessica Kern

10/18/13

Period 1

Nicholas Spark’s “A Walk to Remember:” One You Won’t Forget

Reviewed by Jessica Kern

In A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks, 17-year old Landon Carter seemingly has it all: looks, popularity, and money; but with an unexpected turn of events, Landon takes Jamie Sullivan to prom. Jamie was raised by her single minister father because her mother died when she young. She is often alone, carrying a bible with her and has always been a social outcast.  Despite their differences, Landon and Jamie form a friendship and eventually a relationship and each learn something about life from the other. However Jamie has a secret and Landon must learn to accept her fate.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Even though I had known the ending before I starting reading, I couldn’t put this book down. It is a book that makes you feel all emotions from happy to sad. Since this book’s major theme is love, it is easy to interpret it as only that. However while on the surface love is a major theme, growing up and faith are also major themes. For example, Spark writes, “I don’t think that we're meant to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith.” (Sparks 199)

Stylistically, A Walk to Remember is very sophisticatedly written book. It was a book I couldn’t stop reading not only because I was interested in the plot, but also because it has beautiful descriptive scenes. At the beginning of the book describing how Landon remembers his past, Sparks writes, “I close my eyes and the years begin to move in reverse, slowly ticking backward, like the hands of a clock rotating in the wrong direction. As if through someone else’s eyes, I watch myself grow younger; I see my hair changing from gray to brown, I feel the wrinkles around my eyes begin to smooth, my arms and legs grow sinewy. Lessons I’ve learned with age grow dimmer and my innocence returns as that eventful year approaches. Then, like me the world begins to change: roads narrow and some become gravel, suburban sprawl has been replaced with farmland…” (Sparks Prologue xiii) Nicholas Sparks is easily able to convey a picture in the readers mind in his writing as well as make them feel emotion.

Nonetheless, A Walk to Remember is not a perfectly written book. One common complaint is Nicholas Sparks uses the same “formula” for each of his books; a love story with a tragic ending which can be predictable. A Walk to Remember is a well known book and was made into a movie; so it is hard not to know the book’s ending even if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie. Despite knowing how the books ends and being familiar with how Nicholas Sparks writes, I still enjoyed reading the book and was not bored. Even if you know the ending of a book, it is not ruined for you because you are still able to read the book in between the lines for symbolism and the character’s thoughts behind their actions.

One thing that surprised me about this book is that even though it is set in the 1950’s the characters were very relatable. Jamie and Landon are faced with the everyday challenges of life of teenagers like trying to get into college, dealing with peer pressure from friends, and learning how to grow up. Landon also must learn to accept things you have no control over and learn to have faith, two things he learns from Jamie. This book reminds us to live everyday to the fullest and have faith that everything that happens happens for a reason.  

Sparks, Nicholas. A Walk to Remember. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1999. Print.

Malcolm Gladwell Response

Warren Harding

        In his chapter, Malcolm Gladwell discusses how looks play a larger role in how we perceive someone than we might realize. He uses Warren Harding’s looks and there affect on his career as an example along with an IAT test that shows us our unconscious biases. Overall, Gladwell is trying to make us aware of the split second judgements we make on people based on their physical appearance.    

Leaders often need to look the part in order to be chosen. A leader must show strong work ethic, bravery, experience, and intelligence. When we see a person who would like to be a leader, we subconscious make decisions weather they will be good based if their looks exhibit certain traits. Changing your subconscious is very hard to do.  As Gladwell states in the article, your subconscious is based off of your experiences; if you live a society with mainly one race, you will have preference to that race. In order to change your subconscious you would need to completely change your way of life and who you interact with on a daily basis. 

I took the race IAT and it showed I have a slight preference for whites. I was not surprised by these results because I live in a largely white community as opposed to a diverse community. 

IAT Test

Tuesday Write SRVHS Bell Schuedule



         The new Monday bell schuedule is better than the old Tuesday bell schuedule because it allows people to ease into the week, get more sleep, and is constisent for people with an A period.

        Generally, Monday is regarded as the worst day of the week because it is the first day back from the weekend. With the new Monday bell schuedule it gives people something to look foward to on Monday. Also, people are used to sleeping in on the weekends, so the new Monday bell schuedule makes it easier to get up in the morning the first day back.

        The new bell schuedule makes it possible for students to get more sleep. It is commonly said that teenagers need more sleep than babies to support their brain devolpement. However with school work, sports, and other extracurricular activites it is becoming harder and harder for teenagers to get an adequate amount of sleep. With more sleep, students would be able to perform better on tests and be less stressed.

         The Monday bell schuedule is also better because it is more constisent for people with an A period. Last year on Tuesdays people with an A period had to come to school an hour later and instead of going to A period, they went to their first period; at the end of the day of they had to remember to go back to their A period. This was very confusing for many students to remember when to go to A period and was frustrating when 6th period ended and the rest of school got to go home. With the new schuedule this year, everyday starts with A period and ends with sixth so it is less confusing.

        Some people say last year's schuedule was better than this year's because everyone came to school at the same time. However, with everyone starting at the same time, the traffic coming into the school is much worse. Normally, people with an A period would come at 7:30, and the rest of the school at 8:30 but with A period moved to the end of the day, everyone came at 8:30 on Tuesdays. Because most of the people taking an A period are freshman, they were often dropped off in the senior parking lot, making it much harder to get to into on Tuesdays.

       The new bell schuedule is clearly better than the old bell schuedule for students. It allows students to ease into the week and get more sleep, is less confusing, and limits traffic in the morning.



My Introduction

My name is Jessica Kern and I am 15 years old and live in California with my parents. I also have an older sister who goes to college in Oregon. In my free time I like to hang out with my friends, spend time with my family, and shop. I also play soccer competitively and hope to continue to play at college. My favorite book I've ever read is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. I'm very excited for this year in English. Specifically, I want to improve my writing by being able to persuade a reader using what I write and also become a more clear and concise writer. In conclusion, one of my favorite quotes is "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened," by Dr. Seuss. I love this quote because it reminds you to be thankful for everything that has happened in your life and continue living your life to the fullest.