Animal Farm Trailer-Seven Commandments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW888a-Bx2U

Mockingbird Motif

Since reading To Kill a Mockingbird, i have understood what motif is much better. The motif in this story to "never kill a mockingbird." Which means to not punish someone that doesn't know any better and can't help themselves. This is referred to several times throughout the book.

Once when they kill Tom Robinson, an innocent, disabled man. Not only did they kill him but they shot him way too many times. Another time is when Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell to save Scout and Jem. Punishing Boo, a man that stays in his house all through the day, would be like killing a mockingbird. All he was doing was protecting the kids.

Life Lessons

I'll never forget coming home crying in first grade because I was having issues with a few of my friends. My mom said, "Honey just be yourself and if somebody doesn't like you, then they're not a real friend. If you just be yourself you will find people who like you for who you are and not what you try to be." Although at the time it didn't seem like what my mom had just said was very important, it has stuck with me my whole life and is some of the best advice I've ever received.

This has been one piece of advice that I can honestly say has never let me down. Through all the drama of my pre-teen and teen years so far I have stuck to this. As long as I'm true to myself I will find people who will be true to me. This life lesson has helped me throughout the years to find out who my true friends really are.

Best Friend

One of my best friends is Katherine Frank. We met in fourth grade and have been very close ever since. She is very athletic and passionate about her sports. She is an amazing swimmer and can play any sport she wants if she puts her mind to it. Katherine seems shy at first, but once she warms up to you, she is very bubbly and has a funny sarcastic sense of humor. She stands about 5'9 with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Though Katherine's personality may seem introvert, underneath that is a very artistic, creative, fun person. You can tell a lot about katherine from walking in her room; covered with 43 elephants and a ton of picture of her friends. She is one of the most easy going people I know. We can sit in her room for hours, doing absolutely nothing, and never get bored. She is a very reliable friend and I know she will always be there for me.

Earliest memory

One of my earliest memories was meeting Noelle in kindergarten. I thought she was pretty and she liked me hair bow, it was as simple as that. We've been best friends ever since that first day of kindergarten. We both had quite the attitude as 6 year olds. Everything was "pathetic" in our eyes. Me and Noelle were inseparable. We even shared the boy we were madly in love with. He was a fourth grader at the time. Those kindergarten boys just weren't cutting it.

I will never forget our kindergarten graduation play we had to do in front of the school. Noelle and I, being way too cool for school, refused to participate as the other students did. While all the other kids would be singing and doing all the hand motions, we would stand there next to each other acting like it was the most stupid thing on earth. Although Noelle and I quickly outgrew our "we're too good for this" stage, I'll never forget my kindergarten year and meeting a friend I know will always be there.

The metamorphosis- imagery

Franz Kafka, the author of The metamorphosis, uses imagery to describe the main character, Gregor. He uses strong imagery, making clear descriptions of waking up as a cockroach. He uses imagery all the way through the story, throughout the decline of Gregor's life. This was a very important element in the story.

Without strong imagery the book would've been very dull. No one knows what it would be like to all the sudden wake up one morning as a giant cockroach. The author did a very good job of describing that through his use of vivid imagery. I had a clear idea in my head throughout the story all the way leading up to the main characters death.

Outside Reading.

I am reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. I chose this book because of Keenan's very exciting, long, booktalk. This book drew me in from the very beginning. If a book isn't interesting from the start, I usually have a very hard time reading it, but this captivated me from the very first page. I'm not very far along yet but so far the main character is just very confused as to why he has turned into a bug. Imagery definitely is the dominant literary element in the book. The author has to use a lot of imagery to describe what it's like to wake up as a giant insect.

Writing about Reading

I know I'm not enjoying a book when I have to reread a chapter over and over due to my short attention span and constant day dreaming. Unfortunately I find this to be the case way too often. I've never really been a "reader", actually I hated reading for the majority of my life. But I've learned to deal with it and if it's a really good book, I enjoy reading. The story has to be very suspenseful and engaging or I am very quickly uninterested and often find it dreadful to finish.

My ideal reading environment is sitting at home on a rainy day, wrapped up in a million blankets. When a peaceful place isn't available to me, I find it extremely hard to focus. I'm the kind of person that can do a hundred different things at one time, but not when it comes to reading. I need a place free from any kind of distraction, or it's nearly impossible for me to concentrate.

I read fiction because I love it's endless possibilities. With non fiction, you're often reading something very boring and informational, which I hate. Fiction on the other hand, can be very exciting and full of adventure, always stimulating your imagination. I love when I can get completely lost in a story and read for hours, completely unaware of everything happening around me.