"And the goodbye makes the journey harder still... What will you leave us this time?"
"...so our human life but dies down to its root, and still puts forth its green blade to eternity..."
what occupies our time...
Funes,the Memorious - by Jorge Luis Borges
MY OTHER ENGLISH PAGES
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (quotes)
**To help you deal with all of this, I've put a star next to the writing that I like the best.**
First Journal --
Relating The Things They Carried to
"Funes, the Memorious" ~ What happens when someone finds relief
in nothingness?
The Things They Carried vs. "A Place for Stories" -- Examining the truth of The Things They
Carried ~
What is the defining difference between story and truth?
*The Things They
Carried --
In-Class Journal --
What is the relevance of the last chapter of The
Things They Carried to the overall book?
Third
Journal--The Things They Carried
-- Same as the in-class journal, but much
more in-depth (everything I didn't get to put into the other journal.
*Memory -- We watched the
movie "After Life," then had to choose the memory we would choose
to live for eternity. (IMDB link
for After
Life)
*Gatsby
Journal* -- The illusion of love between Gatsby
and Daisy.
*My Story -- Fairly
self-explanatory; you begin with a memory/image that stands out in your mind
then determine how that image defines you.
Harold
& Maude and The Book
-- Both of these pieces deal with the same
issues. This paper is about
enjoying the beauty of life before it is too late.
(IMDB link
for "Harold and Maude")
*Maude's
Legacy --
A journal that sums up what Maude has taught me.
(One of my favorite papers)
AP
Prompt -- Richard Rodriguez (In-class)
-- An AP prompt about Richard Rodriguez (myy first good prompt of this style).
Pillow
Book -- The secrets of the world, in my
eyes. (The assignment link is here.)
Our
Time by John Edgar
Wideman --
Journal about how John and his 'jailbird' brother Robby are not so different
after all.
Incidents
in the Life of a Slave Girl
by
Harriet Jacobs--
Journal on the true self of Jacobs/Linda... and a bit about how memory can
define our sense of self.
Comparison:
"Our Time" (Wideman) and "Incidents in the Life of a Slave
Girl" (Jacobs) -- In this essay, I analyzed Robby
from "Our Time" and Linda from "Incidents" in a number of
ways, including how they are both in similar conditions of imprisonment/slavery
(but have allowed themselves to be), how the narratives of both are clouded
by another point of view (and a bit about what memory is), and
finally, an examination of the concept of "worse than death."
Term III Work
AP Prompts: Ecclesiastes - Wisdom and whether knowing more is better or worse (Defend, Challenge, Qualify), Virginia Woolf's *"Death of a Moth" (Rhetorical Analysis), King Lear - Societal Equity (or inequity) as it pertains to wealth (Defend, Challenge, Qualify), Prochazka - about the divisions between the public and private selves and why we need to keep them separate (Defend, Challenge, Qualify)
Analytical Work: Gender Paper - how feminism may have gone too far... and its effects on the male species (I don't like this one that much, but I do feel obliged to share as it was a result of a rather lengthy discussion of gender... I like the idea... just not the elucidation of it.) ... I suppose it is a sign from my subconscious that I completely forgot to turn that paper into a page and send it to myself here at school... After going home, I realized I did make it a webpage - just didn't remember to send it. Unfortunate. Making that link gave me a lot of trouble, too. Grr.
Wanderings (my personal favorites): *On Seeing: Cascades of Beauty... those would be snow. A bit about how the beauty of the snow struck me one afternoon.
*Arcadia paper - a definition of what Arcadia truly might be... some intense defining going on in this one here... beware... the full contemplative forces of Julia were released in this manifesto. (My favorite paper of the year.)
Journals (basically more wanderings): "Diamonds" - about the various roles women can assume and how women (and I) assume these varied roles, but end up losing their selves; this *journal is from from St. Patrick's Day (the day Bush made his speech about the war) and my reaction to what might happen... with a bit of Arcadia unintentionally woven in.
And the beginnings of the end... Term IV
*Okefenokee Swamp - The last AP prompt (comparative rhetorical analysis)... Basically I made the guidebook romantic and optimistic and an imaginative mind pessimistic and close-minded... I stretched this one a bit, but hey, it works! ; )
*Random Journal - What happens when Julia attempts to do homework outside... wandering and wondering result!
In Cold Blood journal -- my [rather unresolved] debate over the morality of the death penalty... this was an in-class journal, but in my infinite knowledge I did it two days before that assignment came about.
In Cold Blood paper -- actually, I forget what this one was about... Just kidding... This quasi-manifesto is allllll about how Capote's rhetoric and the style of the movie "In Cold Blood" serve to manipulate the reader/viewer, and how they present a skewed view of the phenomenon that is capital punishment.
*Walden Journal -- just some thoughts on Walden... unintentionally, this turned into a great end-of-the-year reflection, because Arcadia and Harold & Maude and words and phrases I've used to define concepts over the past year or two all slipped in... all my favorite ideas just thread together perfectly...!
...And somehow, that ends it all... How can something like this end so quickly? The realization that I have written my last English paper for this year, a year of inspiration and happiness, is rather saddening -- but the knowledge that it will continue is not. Check back in the fall for Senior writing, and if I have half a mind to, I may post some random stuff on a page somewhere over the summer, because I assure you, I will continue to write...
For some selections from my online journal (i.e. some summer writings), click here.
Written September 10th, but still further pondering upon the ideas brought forth in writing above: [untitled].
Last Updated: September 10, 2003 [albeit in a very minor way...]
To view this page, you will need the fonts Harrington and Garamond.
*I haven't activated the link for this paper because it's a bit personal to broadcast to the entire world... if you want to read it, let me know and I can tell you what the link is.
The quotes at the top of the page:
The first, Cat Stevens' "Oh Very Young" -- crying song of the end of the year
The second, Henry David Thoreau, "Walden" -- for all that is gone is never, ever, lost...