English 11

Blackout Poem – “Death of a Salesman”

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In the play, “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, it is based around a man named Willy Loman, who is a traveling salesman living in New York in the 1950’s. He lives with his wife Linda, who is a very caring woman and is concerned about Willy’s mental illness. He also has two sons, Biff and Happy, who are two years apart. Willy is struggling to finically support his family of four, and constantly worries about his son’s not becoming successful with their lives. In this play, we are able to dive deep into the American Dream, and see the reality behind it. The play “Death of a Salesman,” fits within the genre of tragedy because Willy Loman is trying to live the American Dream, which caused him to have such a high standard for his sons, which ended up ruining their relationships. Willy believes being well liked, well connected are what really matters when it comes to success and achieving the American Dream. But, in reality, all those things you need to work for, which Willy was unable to understand. The blackout poem is based around the main character, Willy. Willy undergoes fairly a lot in the play, and by reflecting the blackout poem around him, and his decisions that he made throughout helped create a poem that shows his regret and shame he felt during the play. Willy kept that huge secret to himself for 15 years that he had cheated on his wife until his son Biff discovers the woman and Willy in a hotel room together. Biff’s image of his dad changed from being a godlike figure came crashing down as finds out his father has cheated on his mother. In the poem, it goes on about how hurt his wife is and how his actions damage her. The tree in the blackout poem symbolizes development, and the heart that is connected to the tree roots represents no matter how much a person can change, their actions will still be with one, that is why the tree roots are wrapped around the heart.

DOAS Monologues

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The following is an example I created of a monologue for the character of… from “Death of a Salesman.”
I am a man who is powerfully made and well built. I have many goals that I want to achieve, but my brother Biff has accomplished more than me. I have been very successful with my job, and have suffered from my father’s expectations, which have pushed me to please my father, but as my father starts to lose his mind, I have focused less on pleasing him and been more self-absorbed. I always live in the shadow of my older brother Biff, who is less self-assured.

This is a monologue because…
It is uninterrupted, and reveals something about the character

This monologue would fit in the current plot when…
When him and Biff were in the bedroom together talking

Characterization (3D) – “Henry”

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“Henry; the choir boy who had fainted sat up against a palm trunk, smiled pallidly at Ralph and said that his name was Simon” (28).

  • This quote talks about Henry, who is apart of the choir, and when the littluns arrived, they were wearing their choir jackets

“Henry was the biggest of them” (pdf 83).
– “Them” indicates the little ones. Henry is bigger than the rest of the little ones but smaller than the big ones.

“This was fascinating to Henry. He poked about with a bit of stick, that itself was wave-worn and whitened and a vagrant, and tried to control the motions of the scavengers” (pdf 85).

  • This quote shows the readers that Henry has an interest in nature.

“There were little boys, fair, dark, freckled, and all dirty, but their faces were all dreadfully free of major blemishes. No one had seen the mulberrycolored birthmark again” (122).

  • This quote does not talk in particular about one certain littlun, but it is the overall appearance of them all.

“They were dirty, not with the spectacular dirt of boys who have fallen into mud or been brought down hard on a rainy day. Not one of them was an obvious subject for a shower, and yet—hair, much too long, tangled here and there, knotted round a dead leaf or a twig; faces cleaned fairly well by the process of eating and sweating but marked in the less accessible angles with a kind of shadow; clothes, worn away, stiff like his own with sweat, put on, not for decorum or comfort but out of custom; the skin of the body, scurfy with brine—” (pdf 157).

  • This quote explains how the boys became dirty.

“The undoubted littluns, those aged about six, led a quite distinct, and at the same time intense, life of their own” (61).

  • The readers can assume that Henry is about 6 years old.

“They were very brown, and filthily dirty” (61).

  • This quote shows that the Littluns are very filthy and have dirt all over them

“And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose” (61).

  • The boys became dirty as they haven’t showered for a long time.

“on the beach, Henry and Johnny were throwing sand at Percival who was crying quietly again” (pdf 94)

  • The readers can assume that Henry would be covered in sand.

From the novel Lord of the Flies, the Character Henry, who is also a known as a littlun, appears to be the biggest one of the Littluns, but he is smaller than the Big ones. Before Henry came to the island, he was apart of the choir, and when they arrived on the island, he was wearing his choir jacket, but he later took it off as we read on. In the novel, Henry showed interest in nature. Most of the Littluns, including Henry, were describes as being little boys, with dark, freckled, and they are all dirty, and look as if they have fallen into mud or been brought down hard on a rainy day. It is very obvious that Henry has not showered for a while, and his hair is long, tangled and knotted. Henry’s clothes were worn away, and stiff with his own sweat. Henry and the rest of the Littluns appeared to be around 6 years old.

 

LOTF Podcast

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CITATIONS

“Lord of the Flies” – Island Description

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Here below is a drawing of what my group and I think the island looks like in Lord of the Flies. I also have quotes below from the stories that gives a description of what the island looks like

  • The Scar

He looked up and down the scar. “And this is what the cabin done.” The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested. “What happened to it?” he asked. “Where’s it got to now?” “That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all them tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it.” He hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. (8)

  • The Jungle

Ralph disentangled himself cautiously and stole away through the branches. In a few seconds the fat boy’s grunts were behind him and he was hurrying toward the screen that still lay between him and the lagoon. He climbed over a broken trunk and was out of the jungle. (10)

  • The Beach

The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar. (10)

  • The Beach

Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral the lagoon was still as a mountain lake—blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple. (10)

  • The scar

“All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat” (Golding 6) .

  • The platform/ meeting place

“Here the beach was interrupted abruptly by the square motif of the landscape; a great platform of pink granite thrust up uncompromisingly through forest and terrace and sand and lagoon to make a raised jetty four feet high” (Golding 13).

  • The beach

“The shore was fledged with palm trees” (Golding 10)

  • Sitewhere piggy and Ralph find the conch

“Ralph had stopped smiling and was pointing into the lagoon. Something creamy lay among the ferny weeds.” (Golding 18)

  • The Jungle

beyond falls and cliffs there was a gash visible in the trees; there were the splintered trunks and then the drag, leaving only a fringe of palm between the scar and the sea. (26,27)

  • The Scar

He looked up and down the scar. “And this is what the cabin done.” The fair boy reached out and touched the jagged end of a trunk. For a moment he looked interested. “What happened to it?” he asked. “Where’s it got to now?” “That storm dragged it out to sea. It wasn’t half dangerous with all them tree trunks falling. There must have been some kids still in it.” He hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. (8)

  • The Jungle

Ralph disentangled himself cautiously and stole away through the branches. In a few seconds the fat boy’s grunts were behind him and he was hurrying toward the screen that still lay between him and the lagoon. He climbed over a broken trunk and was out of the jungle. (10)

Walter Mitty Daydream Six

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“Walter! Walter!” said Mrs. Mitty. She had just exited the revolving doors of the drugstore to only find her husband, Walter tripping and falling to the ground, looking as if he was just shot down. Mrs. Mitty hurried over to see what had happened to Walter. Before she can reach him, he jumps up with ease, seeming like nothing has taken place. Walter slowly jogged over to his wife and grabbed the items that were just purchased by her. “Walter, what on Earth are you doing? You are inscrutable!” said Mrs. Mitty. “I was going to go to the corner store quickly and pick something up, but I tripped over the curb.” Walter said. “Well, you better hurry up and help me get my belongings to the car, we must get home.” Said Mrs. Mitty. Walter followed along and helped Mrs. Mitty to the car by opening the door for her. Walter had taken a seat in the vehicle and started the engine. Halfway through the drive, he had a craving. He pulled out the semi-used pack of cigarettes and lit one. He takes a puff and exhales the nicotine. He gives the cigarette a tap and ashes go all over himself. He is quick to respond by looking down, and brushes them off…

Walter is alarmed and looks up to only see that he is in a fire truck. The sirens caused pandemonium, and he has a whole team behind him. Walter is the captain of the team and has directions to a house fire in a nearby location. “Sir, you better step on it, the house is going to be burnt down by the time we get there!” Said by the second leading fire chief. Walter does what he is told, and in a matter of minutes, he is driving in an oddly familiar neighborhood. He sees the elementary school he drives by every day on his way to work, and a woman that looks very recognizable, that’s walking her 2 dogs. Walter continues driving the fire truck and pulls into the driveway of a house on fire. He is quick to jump out and start leading his team in directions. Walter takes a second to look at the scene, only to notice that it’s his house on fire. “This is my house! 1467 Park Ave, this is my house!” said Walter. His team gives him a concerned yet panicked look as they continued to spray the house down with water. Walter’s arm is grabbed and he turns in a quick motion…

“Walter, this is the second time today you have done something non-sense. I’m really thinking I should take you to the nurse.” Said Mrs. Mitty with distraught. Walter realized that he is standing on the very edge of his driveway, observing his house in a weird yet terrifying way.

 

Plot Point Photos Project – “Father and Son”

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In this project, we are told to find quotes that would match the plot points of the story and have an explanation below. The pictures that we have taken represent the main plot point from the short story. The short story, “Father and Son,” by Bernard MacLaverty shows the problematic relationship that a father and son have. The father and son had many struggles since the mother has passed, and have not maintained a balanced relationship since. In the short story, we are able to see both perspectives from the father and the son, and understand how they feel towards one another. The son undergoes a conflict and gets shot and is killed. The father is finally able to hold his son in his arms, and that is where the reader is able figures out the real relationship between the father and the son.

Exposition

Quote: “I know that in a few minutes he will come in to look at me sleeping. He will want to check that I came home last night” (MacLaverty 1).

Explanation:

this is introducing the father and the son, and their relationship that they have with each other. It shows a lack of trust that the father has for his son. This presents the main topic that the story is based around.

 

Inciting Incident

Quote: “I love him so much it hurts but he won’t talk to me. He tells me nothing” (MacLaverty 1).  

Explanation:

The father expresses the love he has for his son, but struggles to gain affection from him, due to the sons past which creates the reasoning behind the conflict of the story. The conflict is how the father can never succeed in creating a father-son bond.

Rising Action

Quote: “Let me put my arm around your shoulders and let me listen to what is making you thin. At the weekend I will talk to him” (MacLaverty 2).

Explanation:

the father is wanting to give his son attention and talk to him, but he struggles to do so. The father also is avoiding trying to talk to his son, and work things out between them, but fails to communicate with him.

Rising Action

Quote: “My son is breaking my heart. It is already broken. Is it my fault there is no woman in the house? Is it my fault a good woman should die?” (MacLaverty 2).

Explanation:

In this part of the story, it is showing how the father is trying to figure out the reasons towards his son’s behaviors, and blames himself, as well as thinking of all the reasons towards these actions.

Rising Action

Quote: “I want to hear you laugh with me like you used to. I want to know what you think. I want to know why you do not eat more” (MacLaverty 2).

Explanation:

This part is showing how the father is coming to the realization that he doesn’t, and never will figure out who is son is. The father is starting to become more concerned than ever about his son’s well being.

Climax

Quote: “There is a bang. A dish-cloth drops from my hand and I run to the kitchen door. Not believing, I look into the hallway” (MacLaverty 3).

Explanation:

The father hears a gunshot and runs towards the door without hesitation, he knows that something bad has happened. He sees his son, but the father does not want to believe that his son has been shot. This is the part of the story where the foreshadowing, and where all the conflicts in the story led to.

Falling Action

Quote: “My son is lying on the floor, his head on the bottom stair, his feet on the threshold” (MacLaverty 3).

This part is where the loose ends are tied up and that it has confirmed that the son was shot. It starts to create a conclusion towards the story from the climax, in which the readers get a sense of how the father will react towards this situation.

Denouement

Quote: “My son, let me put my arms around you” (MacLaverty 3).

Explanation:

As his son is lying on the ground, hole in his face from a bullet, the dad finally gets to put his arms around him. The only chance he has ever gotten in so long to give his son affection is the time where his son is no longer able to deny it.

 

Two Fisherman

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Write a brief history about what capital punishment is and its history in Canada. Referencing the short story “Two Fishermen” discuss how if the story was based in Canada when it might have taken place based on your knowledge of capital punishment.

Capital punishment is a penalty that is authorized to one whose action are to the extreme. There was over 1,400 people that were sentenced to death row in Canada, and 710 were excuted.  Capital punishment had first taken place in Canada in 1865 and then was later removed from the Canadian Criminal Code in 1976. In the short story “Two Fisherman” I think that this excution would have taken place around 1865-1962 in Canada because this was when crimes of murder, treason and rape carried the death penalty.

Also, discuss your opinion on whether Thomas Delaney should have been killed for his actions in defending his wife. Come up with an argument and three reasons why or why not he should have been killed.

I think that Thomas Delaney should not have been killed for his actions, but I do think that he should have faced prison time. One reason why Thomas Delaney should not have faced capital punishment is because the man that he murder rapped his wife, and he was only protecting her. Another reason is that he commited the crime out of frusteration. Lastly, yes Thomas did kill someone and should face prison time, but the man that he murder was not a good man to begin with, and he had to put a stop to it. Today if Thomas Delaney was going to commit this crime in Canada, he would definitly face prison time, but he would not face capital punishment.