post #6

The Authurian legend has withstood the test of time because of many different things. Two books and a movie that I recently watched in english class remind me of this topic.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a perfect example of the test of time and how the Authurian legend withstood it. In this story, Gwiniviere does everything she can to make Sir Gawain unworthy. She uses her "womenly powers"in order for Sir Gawain to be attracted to her. Since she is married, Sir Gawain would do things that aren't right. I believe this story is still relevant to our life today because it relates to how teenage girls are today. They often do everything in their power to start drama. They do this to hurt eachother and get in the middle of a relationship.

The Candle in the Wind is another story that relates to how life is today. One of the important points of this story, in my opinion, is how other peoples' decisions can affect the life of someone else. This relates to how our governor, Chris Christie, decided that education is a waste of money. Because of this, four electives from my senior schedule have been cut. He may think that cutting these classes will help our school budget, but its really not going to matter. Our national debt is so high that I really do not believe this will help at all. Taking away our education is such a mistake because it will affect our future society in a bad way.

The movie "The First Knight" shows how relationships, as well as feelings, change. In this movie, Candice Proctor falls in love with young and handsome Lancelot, while being engaged to King Arthur. This movie relates to relationships even today because it shows just how painful love can be.

Is Beowulf selfish in his hunger for fame?

I do not believe that Beowulf is selfish in his hunger for fame. After thinking about the quote from Beowulf's boast, "fame after death is the noblest of goals" (1388-1389), it can easily be seen that Beowulf wants to be famous for his great accomplishments after he dies. But I really don't think this is the only thing on his mind either. I believe that since his father was strong and was a hero, Beowulf wants to follow in his footsteps and just be like him. Beowulfs strength is like a part of him, he was born with it. It's as if someone was born extremely smart. They were born with the gift, so why not use it? This is how I think Beowulf feels.

Which cover of "The Fifth Child" is the best?

In my opinion, the second cover out of the four is the best one. I think this is because throughout the book they are freaked out by Ben's image. Especially when he was first born because they were used to having children whose images were absolutely perfect in their eyes. But as for Ben, "He's like a troll, or a goblin or something." He was thought of as a goblin or a troll because of the way he would crouch down when he was about to get into some trouble. He scared his mother, father and his siblings with every move he made. When Ben wasn't doing anything at all but looking around, he was still the center of attention, and not in a good way at all. On the second cover if you look very close you can see Ben crouching, but the overall picture that i believe most people see is the face of a monster. Both of these images describe Ben very well, which is why i feel that this cover is most accurate in describing the story.

the "picture perfect" family

My society defines the "picture perfect" family. No family is absolutely perfect, but I find that we tend to act more caring toward others when we see how other families react to one another. If you see a family in public, some are happy and others you can tell that there are many conflicts that go on in their life. When we see a happy family, it inspires us to behold our own happiness. When we see a family in public that has many problems, it tends to cause us to hold onto one and other more closely, because we see how good we have it and we never want our family to be unhappy like that. Most people want happiness because it feels so right and we won't settle for anything less than what makes us happy in life.
I define the "picture perfect" family. During family gatherings and vacations, I do my best to create a positive environment for myself and the ones who surround me. I hope everyday that the love that I give off reaches others and they too can give away this love. I think of it as a good flu. There are other very important people in my life, such as my good friends and my boyfriend, who are not related to me, but have been there through so much. They've made me the person that I am today. These people and I have shared times that will never escape me. Obviously, times are not always so smooth. There are going to be some rough times, and the only people who stick through that with you are the ones who are going to matter in the end. These people are the ones who truly make up my "picture perfect" family.

According to Christopher Schildt, "Mary Shelley was not writing about the evils of science and progress, but suffering and loss and pain, the feeling of being ostracized- that i think she knew very well." I completely agree with Schildt. We as people feel this way sometimes; like we don't belong in this world and that we feel, at times, lower than everyone around us. We feel like an outsider sometimes, and people treat us as if we literally are a monster. Everyone has those days where they just cant wait for them to end because nothing seems to be going right for them. I can't imagine my entire life like that though. Personally, I think that Mary Shelley wanted her story to help cope with all people. She probably thought that it would be a huge success if people could relate to the story and feel sympathy for the creature. If she were writing the story about the evils of science and progress, there really wouldn't be much connection between the creature and the reader. But since the reader is often able to relate to how the creature feels, it actually makes the story worth the time reading.

My reaction to Frankenstein thus far.

This story is not like anything I have ever read before; it is much different. The reason I say this is because the actual storyline is nothing like our interpretation of Frankenstein before reading it. When I was young I used to enjoy watching the movie called Young Frankenstein. It was appealing i suppose, even when watching it in black and white. But I always thought that Frankenstein was the name given to the monster that was created. It never occurred to me that Victor Frankenstein was actually the creator of the monster. Until I discovered that what I had been thinking was wrong, I was confused while reading.
When I finally started to understand the story, I realized that I had to think about something; who was actually the monster at this point? If you haven't read the story, you would obviously think right away that the monster was the one who was created. But I believe that the real monster was Victor Frankenstein. I believe that this is true because he is rarely ever happy with his life. Whenever he is feeling depressed he has to go to the valleys in order to feel better. Victor Frankenstein in my opinion is not really a content person, and is very dependent on other things or people to form some sort of happiness. The monster that was created may not look so innocent on the outside, but inside he cares for others and would do anything to help anyone. When the monster looks at his reflection in the water, he is shocked! I think before that moment, he thought that since he was a good person in his heart, he would be nice looking too. That is why I believe that this story is so ironic; because before you read the story, it is interpreted so much different than what actually happens.