Lupe-nstein

As I sat in my room listening to my iPod on shuffle, a song by Lupe Fiasco named "Cool" came on, and apparently this song was a prelude to his next album "The Cool," which has an unexpected meaning within it. It follows the story of a fictional character named "Michael Young" that surrendered his soul and life to "The Game," a character used to represent the search for fame in the "rap game" or trade and its dangers. Well what does this have to do with class? Following our most recent theme of life, death and rebirth in "Frankenstein" and in other pieces of literature in class, I decided to listen to this album and read its story with that idea in mind. Our main character, Michael Young is much like Frankenstein in the sense that he basically gives The Game his soul and surrenders himself to it like Frankenstein and his creation. When one surrenders his soul, temporary pleasure may come, but long term affects may alter him greatly. In return, Young is incorporated in the rap business. Later on in the story, however, The Game kills Young for falling in love with his girlfriend, "The Streets." Young is then reborn with multiple imperfections like a bare boned right hand and a liquor-ish odor. This also goes with the class theme that when man tries to alter the cycle of life and death (like Young when he's reborn) there will be consequences, much like the killing of the albatross in today's ballad. This punishment stays with young and does not heal, as if it was a deadly sin with numerous consequences to be revived as he was. Although many may not appreciate hip hop as much as others, it can be surprising how deep the lyrical content can be and how discreet the messages that the writers are conveying are.

-Nicholas B.

Solitude: Changing as Much as Technology

            If you are reading this, you are, in a way, communicating at this moment.  If you comment on this blog, then a conversation begins- even though we are not near each other.  Recently, we read an essay entitled, “The End of Solitude” which describes how in today’s world, more and more people are interconnected due to cell phones and internet.   If you have a Facebook page, simply being of the internet- as you are now- usually leads to a trip to your page.  This shows this increased connection with others as frequent Facebook trips lead to more comments, statues, and likes that others can read and then respond to- which shows that the idea presented in this essay is true.  When you are connected to people in this way, how can you be alone?

            That being said, it is possible to be alone in today’s world.  Solitude has changed; it is now feeling alone whether or not you really, physically are.  When in a crowded room or visible on Facebook chat, you can still feel alone.  This is where I disagree with the article.  It’s not the end of solitude; it’s the evolution of solitude.

Emily S.

To be of use...

      This week in class, we worked on a poem called "To Be of Use" and wrote a response to it.  I personally enjoyed the response because I rewrote the poem with the descriptions of the people I love.  Because I love writing poems, I also enjoy reading them.  I think it is fascinating that so much meaning and depth can be hidden inside of a poem that just seems confusing.  The idea that anything, even random animals, can be used to describe people, and describe them well, is amazing.  Reading a poem is like solving a puzzle - you have to really think about the figurative language and what it means.  But the funny thing is that the meaning of the poem is quite often given away in the title.  The title, "To be Of Use" is talking about the people that Marge Piercy loves, people who do something useful and meaningful with their lives.  Often times, people get so caught up in interpreting the poem that they forget the biggest hint is in the title - at least i do.  You see, there are so many aspects to reading and understanding a poem that it makes it a challenge, which makes if kind of fun.  Call me a nerd but I actually really enjoy the process of interpreting and understanding a poem. (:

                                                            <3 Lisa L.

Literary Period that Started it All

In the past few weeks, the students in Mrs. Elliott's AP Literature classes have begun to study the literary periods, starting with Middle English.  Yet there was a literary time period before this, ranging from 450-1200, known to us as the Old English time period, or the Anglo Saxon period.  This period named "Anglo-Saxon" for the early language spoke in the area we know to be England today.  Many of the most important pieces in forming English literature were written during this time and were meant to be performed.  The main characteristic of this style was that the pieces that fall into this genre were written in a way that those who read them could easily remember their contents.  One of the most famous is the epic Folk poem Beowulf, dated around 1000.  Other genres of the time include legal works, Biblical translations, and famous sermons.  Some believe that the texts of Old English were written to suit the needs of Christians.  Only 400 manuscripts written during this time survive today.  The foundations of most of the fundamentals of writing that we know today originated during this early time of literary exploration.

-Meredith K.