Hi all, here's another mindmap I had to do during the holidays, regarding the effects of war on civilians as well as soldiers...
Monday, 21 June 2010
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Merchant of Venice Mindmap
Hi all, this is one of the mindmaps I had to do for my LA holiday homework regarding the Merchant of Venice plot...
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Term 2 e-Learning Task 2
Hi all,
This is Task 2: An Analysis of the poem. In case you want to read the poem again, here it is:
Okay, now for my analysis:
1. Point of View
The poet, being a soldier once himself, is anti-war, and he feels that war is unfair. He says that children are "in the darkness" and "have not seen the light"; the children are forced to be soldiers and learn how to fight, and do not know about what typical kids do (read, dance, etc.) War is seen to be "dark", and the children are trapped in war; "[they] are not free", have no freedom, and they cannot escape. He also mentions that the children are not even "[given] half a chance", let alone a chance, to experience life as a typical child, not knowing how to "read" or "dance". The children's "body and soul" are instead "[consumed]" by war, their whole "life and blood" left to drain on the battlefield.
2. Situation and Setting
In the poem, there is imagery of children being taught how to fight and take up arms during the Vietnam War. The contrast between "darkness" and "light", as well as its repetition, emphasizes the hopeless situation the children were in. War is portrayed as a "dark" place, cruel and depriving children from freedom, while other places free of war would be bright and cheery, with children with freedom and living their typical child lives.
3. Language/Diction
The poet uses various literary devices to emphasize the dire situation the children were in. Firstly, he repeats the phrase "Could we", emphasizing that the children are deprived of freedom and their usual child life. The imagery of a locked door with no key further shows how the children could not escape war. The personification of war consuming the children's "body and soul" emphasizes how cruel war was, and the contrast between "light" and "darkness" is similar to the contrast between war-free countries and war-struck countries: war-free countries are bright like "light" and cheery, while war-struck countries are "dark" and gloomy.
4. Personal Response
I feel pity and sympathetic for the children in war-struck countries. They have to face the hardships and harshness of war at such a young age that I doubt we can endure. They are forced to go to war for the sake of their country when they should obviously be enjoying their childhood in school or at home. In all, the poem evokes a strong feeling of pity for the children in war-struck countries in me.
This is Task 2: An Analysis of the poem. In case you want to read the poem again, here it is:
Children in the Darkness | ||||
There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light Henry M Bechtold | ||||
Okay, now for my analysis:
1. Point of View
The poet, being a soldier once himself, is anti-war, and he feels that war is unfair. He says that children are "in the darkness" and "have not seen the light"; the children are forced to be soldiers and learn how to fight, and do not know about what typical kids do (read, dance, etc.) War is seen to be "dark", and the children are trapped in war; "[they] are not free", have no freedom, and they cannot escape. He also mentions that the children are not even "[given] half a chance", let alone a chance, to experience life as a typical child, not knowing how to "read" or "dance". The children's "body and soul" are instead "[consumed]" by war, their whole "life and blood" left to drain on the battlefield.
2. Situation and Setting
In the poem, there is imagery of children being taught how to fight and take up arms during the Vietnam War. The contrast between "darkness" and "light", as well as its repetition, emphasizes the hopeless situation the children were in. War is portrayed as a "dark" place, cruel and depriving children from freedom, while other places free of war would be bright and cheery, with children with freedom and living their typical child lives.
3. Language/Diction
The poet uses various literary devices to emphasize the dire situation the children were in. Firstly, he repeats the phrase "Could we", emphasizing that the children are deprived of freedom and their usual child life. The imagery of a locked door with no key further shows how the children could not escape war. The personification of war consuming the children's "body and soul" emphasizes how cruel war was, and the contrast between "light" and "darkness" is similar to the contrast between war-free countries and war-struck countries: war-free countries are bright like "light" and cheery, while war-struck countries are "dark" and gloomy.
4. Personal Response
I feel pity and sympathetic for the children in war-struck countries. They have to face the hardships and harshness of war at such a young age that I doubt we can endure. They are forced to go to war for the sake of their country when they should obviously be enjoying their childhood in school or at home. In all, the poem evokes a strong feeling of pity for the children in war-struck countries in me.
Term 2 e-Learning Task 1
Hi all,
As expected, I do have work I have to post on my blog. 2 tasks, all regarding poems. Task 1 is to do research on a given poem and write a report on the conflict represented in the poem, and Task 2 is analyze the poem given. So here is Task 1:
First, the poem (easiest of them all):
Why is it that when I type the Title and Author of the poem in Google so many blogs come out!!! I'm trying to do research here! In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 33 already displayed. WHAT! All BLOGS.
Henry M Bechtold was in Vietnam in 1967-68 and in 1969 (during the Vietnam War 1955-1975), and till today, he could not forget the war and "[his] soul lives in Vietnam". During Christmas 2009, he was in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as Saigon) trying to write a poem, but he could not get anything. Then, he saw this picture on the television:
and as he remembered the Vietnam war, the poem just came to him, and he quickly typed to out.
Conflict represented in the poem:
These children are deprived of a typical child's life, but are instead forced to go to war. They do not learn with chalk and blackboards, but instead learn how to fight. They have no freedom whatsoever and are tied to war, unlike typical children who go to school and have fun. They do no have a choice, not even half a chance, and do not know how to read, nor dance. All they would know is war, spending their whole life on the battlefield.
First, the poem (easiest of them all):
Children in the Darkness | ||||
There are children in the darkness Who have not seen the light There are children in the darkness Who someone will teach to fight Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they can not flee And these children are not free Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance Could we teach them how to read Could we teach them how to dance Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul Will their life and blood be poured Down some endless thirsty hole Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light Henry M Bechtold | 5 10 15 | |||
So there's the poem. Now for the research:
Henry M Bechtold was in Vietnam in 1967-68 and in 1969 (during the Vietnam War 1955-1975), and till today, he could not forget the war and "[his] soul lives in Vietnam". During Christmas 2009, he was in a hotel room in Ho Chi Minh City (previously known as Saigon) trying to write a poem, but he could not get anything. Then, he saw this picture on the television:
Conflict represented in the poem:
These children are deprived of a typical child's life, but are instead forced to go to war. They do not learn with chalk and blackboards, but instead learn how to fight. They have no freedom whatsoever and are tied to war, unlike typical children who go to school and have fun. They do no have a choice, not even half a chance, and do not know how to read, nor dance. All they would know is war, spending their whole life on the battlefield.
The next post will be on my analysis of the poem.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Literature Review Competition
Okay, the submission date is over. Okay, fine, technically it isn't over till 2359hrs, but you get the point.
So, how was the literature review? Well, I'm pretty proud of it. I did do it all by myself, and my teacher guide told me that it was pretty well done. What happened to the other group members? Well, firstly, when doing the literature review, I did not ask them to do anything, so yea, my fault. But when I asked them to do the reflections via an email, requesting that they respond once read, only one responded. And the one who responded did not send me his reflections either. So I did their reflections. Weird.
Okay, enough complaining. Well, another thing I can talk about it the Homestay trip I went for during Sabbatical Week. Well, all MSP students had to go to some village in Kota Tinggi, Johore, Malaysia, for some homestay programme so we could learn Malay, as well as the traditions and culture of a typical Malay village. It was pretty rewarding; we learnt to make baskets out of newspapers, bookmarks out of leaves, and I learnt Japanese along the way. Japanese? You must be wondering. Well, I went to a bookstore and bought a book teaching you how to speak Japanese, and read it during my free time, so I do know a bit of Japanese now.
Well, I think that's it for today, so see you soon (most probably tomorrow or the next day for e-learning).
So, how was the literature review? Well, I'm pretty proud of it. I did do it all by myself, and my teacher guide told me that it was pretty well done. What happened to the other group members? Well, firstly, when doing the literature review, I did not ask them to do anything, so yea, my fault. But when I asked them to do the reflections via an email, requesting that they respond once read, only one responded. And the one who responded did not send me his reflections either. So I did their reflections. Weird.
Okay, enough complaining. Well, another thing I can talk about it the Homestay trip I went for during Sabbatical Week. Well, all MSP students had to go to some village in Kota Tinggi, Johore, Malaysia, for some homestay programme so we could learn Malay, as well as the traditions and culture of a typical Malay village. It was pretty rewarding; we learnt to make baskets out of newspapers, bookmarks out of leaves, and I learnt Japanese along the way. Japanese? You must be wondering. Well, I went to a bookstore and bought a book teaching you how to speak Japanese, and read it during my free time, so I do know a bit of Japanese now.
Well, I think that's it for today, so see you soon (most probably tomorrow or the next day for e-learning).
Friday, 23 April 2010
Results.
Hi all,
Okay, straight to the point. Well, my partner and I got 1st. 1st runner-up. In other words, second. What a pity. We would have expected our story to have gotten 1st place (it was done very well), but no, only 2nd place was ours. While being a little disappointed, well, like I said before, I feel that the main point in competitions is not the prize (while it is a good target), but the process in doing it. So long as I have learnt something or enjoyed it, it is worthwhile.
Okay, I doubt I have anything else to say today... so yep. The result of the Story Telling Competition. 2nd place.
Okay, straight to the point. Well, my partner and I got 1st. 1st runner-up. In other words, second. What a pity. We would have expected our story to have gotten 1st place (it was done very well), but no, only 2nd place was ours. While being a little disappointed, well, like I said before, I feel that the main point in competitions is not the prize (while it is a good target), but the process in doing it. So long as I have learnt something or enjoyed it, it is worthwhile.
Okay, I doubt I have anything else to say today... so yep. The result of the Story Telling Competition. 2nd place.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Back. Finally.
Wow. It has been a pretty long time since I posted (somewhere in March, I think). Anyways, why??? Why have I been a away so long? Well, my life is the life of a typical Sec 2 student... Competitions... School Work.... Homework... CCA... etc. How busy was I? Pretty. In fact, very. Let's talk about my competitions.
First, there was OM (Odyssey of the Mind). Apparently my group had slacked off for many weeks, and soon, 3 weeks was left before the competition, so... you know the rest of the story. We spent many hours doing up the props, structures, script, play, etc. We even stay back till 11 in school just to finish it. And finally, it was the day of the competition. Cool. We did our best and did pretty well (in our opinion). But we got 6th position (out of 8 i may add). So well, a little disappointed, but the purpose of competitions is not for the prize, it's for the fun in the process (in my opinion). Of course, our group's process lasted only 3 weeks, but still, it was fun while it lasted.
Okay. Done with OM. But 3 days after today, there's another competition. Too much pressure? Not really, but yes, a bit of pressure. So, Thursday's competition is the Malay Conversational Story Telling Competition (or something like that). So, while preparing for OM, I was suddenly called on by my Malay teacher to join this competition, and I said yes unhesitantly (I should start learning to say no). Anyway, while the story seemed pretty long, I could finish telling it in around 3 minutes (which was the time limit). I've done the props already, and so has my partner (it's a story for 2, I'm the narrator with lots of speaking roles, while he's the actor with lots of acting roles). Wish us luck!
Done already? Nope. There's another competition in one month's time. I guess I can slack, but you never know. It's the Science Literature Review Competition. Apparently my group of 4 has to do a literature review of around 1300 - 1500 words and submit it by the 24th of May. Cool. At least it wasn't clumped together with the other 2 previously mentioned competitions. I should start on it now... but never mind.
Okay, I think I'm done with competitions for today (I still have to practice for the Story Telling Competition), so I think that's all for today!
First, there was OM (Odyssey of the Mind). Apparently my group had slacked off for many weeks, and soon, 3 weeks was left before the competition, so... you know the rest of the story. We spent many hours doing up the props, structures, script, play, etc. We even stay back till 11 in school just to finish it. And finally, it was the day of the competition. Cool. We did our best and did pretty well (in our opinion). But we got 6th position (out of 8 i may add). So well, a little disappointed, but the purpose of competitions is not for the prize, it's for the fun in the process (in my opinion). Of course, our group's process lasted only 3 weeks, but still, it was fun while it lasted.
Okay. Done with OM. But 3 days after today, there's another competition. Too much pressure? Not really, but yes, a bit of pressure. So, Thursday's competition is the Malay Conversational Story Telling Competition (or something like that). So, while preparing for OM, I was suddenly called on by my Malay teacher to join this competition, and I said yes unhesitantly (I should start learning to say no). Anyway, while the story seemed pretty long, I could finish telling it in around 3 minutes (which was the time limit). I've done the props already, and so has my partner (it's a story for 2, I'm the narrator with lots of speaking roles, while he's the actor with lots of acting roles). Wish us luck!
Done already? Nope. There's another competition in one month's time. I guess I can slack, but you never know. It's the Science Literature Review Competition. Apparently my group of 4 has to do a literature review of around 1300 - 1500 words and submit it by the 24th of May. Cool. At least it wasn't clumped together with the other 2 previously mentioned competitions. I should start on it now... but never mind.
Okay, I think I'm done with competitions for today (I still have to practice for the Story Telling Competition), so I think that's all for today!
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