Memorable Project

  Hm...something memorable of the year. I think probably the thing that I remember the most about is the one blog that we get to relate a novel we are reading in class to something that we have read or watched in the past. That's because I watched a lot of Asian Romance Dramas and I really wanted to share the dramas or novels that I read that was really good. Sharing my thoughts about the novel or drama that I watched with my cousins is good. But I wished that I could share with other people who are out of my normal social range and have them watch the drama or read the novel that was really good that I think should deserve more attention. Also, there doesn't seem to anyone that can relate to how  I feel about the drama. For example, sometimes when I talk to my cousin about a movie that I really liked, they would say "okay..." but I could see that they don't really have an interest in what I am talking about.

   For instance, there was a blog assignment that the students was supposed to relate something that was similar to the story line of Romeo and Juliet. The tragic play of Romeo and Juliet was filled with romance, but the romance in the play was too corny. I like to watch dramas and read novels that contain romance and Romeo and Juliet was one of them. But then when I read the play, there was many uses of literary techniques used in the characters speech that sometimes I don't get what the characters are saying. Reading Romeo and Juliet was probably the one novel that increased my knowledge on how much a author and use to compose a story that can be confusing.

A Good Experience with Poetry

   Well, telling the truth, I don't really read poetry or recite poetry with my parents. At first when I was forced to watch T.V. with my dad, which contained many historical sayings. I didn't know what they meant, but then later in life when I got older, I tend to want to know more about wise or so called old sayings. When I listen to the adults talk, especially the women, they often add a saying here and there when they speak, and I would ask what it meant. I feel that I don't really like poetry at all, but then when I hear a verse in chinese that I don't know and sounds interesting, I would want to search what it means. I don't read poems at all in my reading, but now that a assignment about poems is assigned, I went to find that one book that had multiple poems in it. There was one that I liked but couldn't fully understand.

人生一世，草生一春。
黑发不知勤学早，
转眼便是白头翁。

   It it saying that lifetime is only once and grass can only grow one spring day. Black hair as in saying when you are young and don't learn as much as you can or earlier, when you turn your head you already passed your lifetime. There was also, a story about the past but I don't want to translate the story.

   The positive impact that this poem had in my life was that, I keep talling myself that as long as one works hard,they will be awarded.Also, my parents would always tell me to learn as much as I can and that learning more won't harm you. In my mind, poetry is like a phrase that contains more wisdom than one can imagine. Poetry is like a paragraph that is shortened to about one to two sentences that contains more than what the original paragraph is about. So because of the shortened sayings, the meaning behind the words are harder to decifer.

Conflict in Romeo and Juliet

   So far in the play, Romeo and Juliet I have cleared that the conflict is a person vs. person. For example,Capulets Vs. Montagues because of the feud between the two families their next generation and people are affected by this feud. The feud between has already affected their next generation, which includes their sons and daughters. Because of the feud that is still going on between the two families, Romeo and Juliet have fallen in love but if it is found out, then they would be in grave danger. Then, the another conflict that is because of the feud that arises. The conflict of Tybalt and Romeo, the hatred that was from the Capulets side seem to rub off quite a bit onto Tybalt, causing Romeo to be put into a difficult position when he doesn't even want to fight Tybalt. On top of that there seems to be problems that has arise in each family because of the family's feud. For example, Juliet and her parents, especially her father. Falling in love with Romeo has cause Juliet to rebel against her father because Capulet doesn't agree with the decision that Juliet made to be married to Romeo.

   I don't really have any problem or conflict with my family or the people care about. But it seems that in society, when there is a conflict between something, there is another conflict that is started because of the big conflict that started. Like when a group of friends say that something is gross or bad, one would go along and agree with them. But, really inside you don't think that way yourself. Then again because of the way how other people react, we don't want to be different from how the group of people act.In my eyes, from a normal small conflict, it restricts humans to do things that they want to do because they think of how other people will see them. So it's basically because of one conflict arises more and more conflict that we can't take it anymore and breakdown.

The Coward and the Weaver Girl

   From the dramas that I watched, I that this was the one drama that held the strongest resemblance to Romeo and Juliet. The storyline of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl is basically the same, except how they met. Also, the character's background isn't the same. Where Juliet is Si Yin a fairy, a princess of one of the kings up in heaven. Romeo is Niu Lang, a poor and honesty boy from earth that is unloved by his family. They both met when Si Yin was 7 if i remembered correctly and that's when they fell in love. Despite the happiness that both of them experienced when they were young, when they grew up, things became more difficult. Si Yin was to be engaged to the water prince （Paris) and the crisis down on earth became more and more devastating. According to the law, humans and fairies are forbidden to fall in love. If they do fall in love then their punishment would be death. But in Si Yin and Niu Lang's case, they were separated to the two ends of the world where they can never meet. So according to Legend, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, magpies would form a bridge where Si Yin and Niu Lang can meet. This couple could be called the star crossed lovers, which is also how Romeo and Juliet is like. Except Juliet poisoned herself and both of them went into suicide where, Si Yin and Niu Lang was just separated. Not to mention, Si Yin and Niu Lang gave birth to a girl and a boy. I thought that this was a story that was also exactly like Romeo and Juliet, but this is one of the four most famous Chinese folk tales.

   At first I didn't know that such a folk tale existed until I saw the commercial that advertised this drama. I didn't watch the whole thing but I saw the important parts and I asked my mom about the story of the cowherd and the weaver girl. The Chinese name of this drama and folk-tale is called "Niu Lang Zhi Nu" ( 牛郎织女）. Although I got to say, the actors of the drama wasn't really good looking~ I think that's why I didn't watch the whole thing. What I call good looking actors is from “Romantic Princess”( 公主小妹）。

Connecting Romeo and Juliet

1. From what I have read of Romeo and Juliet, I think that there isn't really anything that I can connect with the story. But maybe the part how Montague doesn't really force Romeo to this and that at the beginning of the play. That's because my parents are the same, they let me do what ever I like most of the time. Just not when I'm lazing around and not doing my chores or homework, they would start telling to do my chores or homework. Also, when I think back, I didn't really have my parents by my side when I was younger. I was with my relatives most of the time that my parents were working at a restaurant that they owned. If I was at the city attending school, I would remember how my Dad came to pick me up from school no matter what weather, rain, sun, or storm. From what we read in class, I was thinking that most of the experience that I've had in my younger years and now is quite the opposite of what happened in the play. But, I would like some of the things that happened in the play to happen to me in real life...lie romance.

2. When I'm reading at home, I would understand most of it, maybe just the connotations of the words are a little harder. When I read at home, I wouldn't notice as much puns or humor as when I'm reading at school. I think that reading at class aloud helps me understand more of the play because of the meanings that are conveyed by another person. So, far I haven't used any resources to help my reading but I think I will use some later on when the play gets to more of the complex scenes. But one thing that I don't like about the play is that when the acts or out of nowhere they change the scene without telling. For example, in act 1.4 it started with Romeo and Benvolio talking, I thought they were at Romeo's house. But, I found out later that they were on their way to the mask party.

Wrapping up of Great Expectations

   So,every book that we read always have a lesson that is taught or a message being conveyed. In Great Expectations ,Charles Dickens use characters that are innocent and haven't seen much of the outside world. But, then when they actually come in contact with the outside world, it completely changes their views on things. Like for example, Pip comes in contact with someone who is his age for the first time and from the outside world, Estella. With the influence of Estella's point of view on Pip's outward appearance, she makes fun of pip how he is so much like a commoner and that if he liked Estella, then he would never be able to stand on the same line as she is without becoming a so called " gentleman". Now, this shows that human nature is to want more, what we don't have is what we admire or want. But, when we do get out hands on the thing that we wanted or is forbidden, we lose what is originally ours.Also, the thing that we have achieved isn't what we thought it really was. Meaning that we have to sacrifice something to get something else that we wanted. Take this, Pip becomes a gentleman throughout the years with the help of his mysterious benefactor, sure he doesn't get the girl he loves, Estella. But, he finds that Estella isn't really what he thought she was, he was trying all this time to match up to her status of a lady, but really she is the daughter of two criminals. Also, in the process, Pip loses the comfort of having Joe as a best friend and talk about what ever they want.Adding to what I also, say, I think that we should be happy with what we've got and not be greedy wanting for more than what we already have with us.

Thoughts on Great Expectations

Over all I thought the book was okay...but I feel that it could be more interesting. In a way, the novel wasn't as appealing as I thought it was. Truthfully stating, I DO NOT like Charles Dickens writing. I feel that he has too much of non- exciting writing and that the novel was one like one of his works "A Christmas Carol". The movie was interesting and fun to watch, but the novel was in short boring. But Great Expectations wasn't as boring as A Christmas Carol as a writing. Or it could just be that Dickens doesn't fill the holes that I are exciting and interesting to read. Although, I got to say that his writing style is pretty unique, not your usual writing that you read these days. Also, his usage of words were kind of confusing made the novel more complex than it really was. Then, when there's humor or some kind of important thing, I thought it wasn't important or the humor didn't reach me at all. I sympathized with Pip in the beginning of the novel, but when it reached the 2nd stage, I just started hating him and the story got sooo boring. Most of the mysteries that I was uncertain about got solved as I read more of the novel, so basically at the end all the mysteries are wrapped up and solved.


   I didn't read the entire book, but I read most of it. I like skipped 2 or 3 chapters and looked at spark notes, other than that, I only looked at spark notes when I was confused with the storyline. I started out reading the assigned reading assignments but then as the novel dragged, my reading was dragged. I would suddenly get behind on reading 3/4 of the way on the 2nd stage. Then, the reading would seem too long and I would read need to read about 40-60 pages a night to make up for previous night that I didn't read.