LA EOY Study Plan

Language Arts Revision Guide Strand 1


Paper 1
1 – Writing Free Essay Situtional 30 30 60 40%1h 45 mins
Writing (formal letter)

Basically for me, I find writing the most challenging part of a LA examination. Therefore, I have vowed to devote more of my time and spirit on this section in the study of Language Arts. Of course, the most traditional advice on studying is to manage our time well and I'm here to say that the statement is most definitely right. We can't study every single tips on writing and improve just after one day can we? I don't think I can. Therefore, the key to this is to start early, I would not do last minute studying and instead, devote a few hours of my time everyday on writing. After I have gotten hold of daily studying time, the next step would be to look through all notes on writing and feedbacks from Mr. S. Revising once more at home is one of the best ways to study. Not to mention looking through the pieces of writing that I have done so far and making note of comments from Mr. S.

Obviously, school materials take priority over external materials so, only when I'm done revising for all the school materials, would I start to read over model essays done by teachers from assessment books. Through the years, I have found reading over model essays to be extremely helpful in writing as not only would it provide you with many creative possibilities to a situation, it would also enhance our knowledge of volcabulary.

Just recently, I had gotten unfavourable results from the latest narrative writing assignment and who knows, maybe the mistakes corrected by Mr. S would proved to be useful in the EOY examinations. A blessing in disguise indeed, only that I would need to make that blessing.

Paper 2

2 - Comprehension Comprehension Vocabulary 15 5 20 40 30% 1h 45mins

Summary

The main problem that I found in myself on comprehension in the past few months is that, my answers were too long and contained many unnecessary information. That was one of the reaons for the downfall in my comprehension marks last term. I did not have too much problem in summary although one of my problems was also, wasting the word limit and writing past many important points and not noticing them. To sum up, the main "theme" for the studying of comprehension and summary is - Tight Answers.

Althought time management and vocabulary knowledge for studying this section is important, but the most critical skill is understanding the very meaning of the passage itself. To achieve this goal, I will have to, of course look through every single comments, former work and notes in the comprehension area done in school. However, this time, I will have to practice understanding difficult meanings in the passage, that is, surfing the net for famous pieces of prose and try to understand their core meanings. I am not sure how effective this method will be but, I am sure this would help me to understand passages more efficiently and effectively within a time limit as proposed.

Practicing to write more tight micro-fictions could help with summary as both of these exercises' aims are to write tight. As writing micr-fictions are more enjoyable yet rewarding, it will definitely relieve stress and also improve my "passage-tightening" skills. With all these plans going smoothly, I am sure my grades would improve dramatically in the EOY examinations than in Term 3.

Paper 3

3 - Literature strand 1 Unseen prose or Unseen Poem 25 25 50 30% 1h 45mins

Novel - Animal Farm

So far, literature has been one of my best scoring components in LA and I guess its my passion and love for reading which brought me into that stage. Therefore, I would be most delightful to study for this section of the LA EOY exams. Obviously, the first thing we should do is to re-read Animal Farm several times. I know it sounds tediou but not for me as I just love to read. time seems to be whizzing past even if I were to read a piece of badly done plotline. The re-reading of "Animal Farm" should commence as soon as possible as I would need to re-read it let's say, about three more times to fully hold its contents in my brain and be able to handle the closed book exam. If I were to do last-minute reading, I would definitely not enjoy it and more importantly, I would only have read only halfway through, which is not beneficial. I have a study guide to Animal Farm at home and it has some really good content. Reading that guide several times will also be included in my to-do list.

As we already know that we will be having the choice of answering the "Unseen Prose" questions, I will definitely study for it instead of poetry. The first thing I will do is to sort of memorise the differet types of diction, sentence structure, figurative language tools which will be useful in analysing a piece of prose. Without them, all our analsis would be pointless and without meaning. The memorising would commence bit by bit everyday, and not memorising a whole chunk in just one day which would cause short-term memory. Reading more prose passages would also be important as it will help us familiarize with the structure of a prose and of course, I would also try to retrieve some past year questions on 'Unseen prose" and Literature, or maybe even paper 1 and paqper 2 from the library and attempt them with knowledge from the memorising so that we would be practising the skills often.

To end off, I would like to say that the most important thing for me is to sleep early and avoid sleep deprivation. I wouldn't want myself to fall asleep during lessons or studying would I? :)

MBA - Who am I?

Ok, first of all, here's my finalised choice of songs after surfing the web for like, almost two days. Here's a link to it but you can watch the music video here in my blog if you wish to do so.

The Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs

The Climb - by Miley Cyrus

The Lyrics :

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side's the climb

The struggles I'm facing

The chances I'm taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I'm not breaking may not know it

But these are the moments that

I'm gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Some body's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there

Ain't about what's waiting on the other side's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It's all about, it's all about the climb

Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

The Analysis relating a "mirror" of myself and the song's lyrics :

OK, first of all, I chose this song as I realised that it reflected many aspects about myself, and some of those aspects were not known by me before listening to the song even when its myself! Let's get to the analysis:

The first "stanza" begins with the singer dreaming about a goal in her head. Irony is used here as while her "sight" shows her the dream, her "hearing" tells her that it's impossible. The voice is also personified as it takes on a inner being inside the singer and discourages her to do something she desires. This definitely describes how I motivate myself. I know that this is amusing but, whenever I have a difficult task ahead, I tend to tell myself I can't make it. Yeah, it sounds depressing but soon after, I will somehow get motivated greatly by my thoughts and start to work harder, eventually yielding better results. Strange, huh?

The subsequent "stanza" describes the singer's feelings as she takes a step towards that goal she desires, however, she finds herself lost, and her "faith shaking" instead of the will to go on. A small repetition is used here : The first and second lines have "Every" which emphasise the movements she made every time into two separate actions to "weighten" the feel of the song. Well, how this relates to me is that, before I get motivated, I tend to get discouraged like her sometimes after making a step towards that feat. Failures occurs and disrupts my faith sometimes, too.

The third "stanza" is a rather short one, though it reveals a great insight of the singer's attitude and well, my attitude. The singer doesn't give up despite all those bickering and keeps her "head held high" to fend off the negative thoughts growing inside of her. Again, repetition is seen here as the word "gotta" is repeated twice to emphasis the effort she is putting in to this cause. Well, I also "gotta" say that I am quite a persevering person and only occasionally would I give up even though complications are seen.

In the fourth "stanza" the singer comments and admits that no matter how hard she tries, there is always going to be another obstacle, and she would always wanted to be able to "move" it, as in overcome the difficulty. She also freely admits that sometimes, if all odds are against her, she has to give up for her own good, but every difficulty will be at "war" with her first before any results are out. Symbolism is seen here as "mountains" are used as a reference to giant obstacles. She also mentions that the whole overcoming is not about how fast we overcome it, nor is it about what's waiting for you as success. It is the overcoming process that matters most. Repetition is used here in "Ain't about" to show greater emphasis on the disagreeing of the two points mentioned. She also tells us that the "chances" she is taking and her "struggles" might overpower her, but she is not gonna lose hope and break down. A rhyme is seen here as the last word of the last four and three stanzas end with "facing" and "taking" which supposedly rhymes. In my daily life, I too, have many great obstacles and yes, its true that I might fall sometimes, but I am not going to give up and lose hope. This "stanza" has described my perseverance perfectly.

In the next "stanza" the singer implants some firm thoughts in her mind: "Just keep pushing on" to let her never forget that she must not give up. The next few lines are repeated as alliteration to further strengthen her view of overcoming obstacles and remind listeners of this fact. I too instill some firm inspirational thoughts in mind, to always remind myself of the crucial level of "pushing on, never give up,". The next and the last "stanzas" is another form of alliteration, repeating the real reason we must we aware of while we are fighting with difficulties.

Response in poem form:

A Gift

When all the world is looming dark

And things seem not so clear,

When shadows seem to hover 'round

Lord, may I persevere.

When it seems everything's been tried

And there's no way to go,

Just let me keep remembering

Sometimes the journey's slow.

I may just need to stop and rest

Along the path I trod,

A time to try to understand

And have my talk with God.

As I gain new strength to carry on

Without a doubt or fear,

Somehow I know things will be right,

And so, I persevere.

Metaphor Poems (Household Items)

Steed
by Seong Jin

Three sharp weapons to kill with,
Oh, how horrible!
Each time I stab and slash,
Blood oozes out,
And tarnishes my reputation.

It is not my fault,
How could I be when I live to serve?
How could I be when I serve to live?

I am driven,
By a force stronger than mine,
Stabbing and Slashing,
Three times a day.

Reflections on E-Learning

i) Overall did you put in more hours per day with E-Learning or a regular school day with homework?

Most people's typical answer would be "Aiya, of course not." However, for me, I reaally had problems on time management during the E-Learning. I wear glasses like most people but my degree is unusually high for my age. Hence, the greatest obstacle for me was eye management and I had to rest my eyes frequently during the E-Learning in between assignments, not subjects. This deprived me from my ususal speediness in doing homework at school and it sowed me down a great deal. In the end, the online lessons ended 3 hours late than a normal school day. To round up my reply, yes, I put in more hours on E-Learning than a regualr school day with homework.

ii) Were you able to complete the Language Arts assignments in about an hour each or did they take longer?

Well, as I have mentioned above, most of the lessons took a long time for me to accomplish. However, surprisingly, Language Arts assignments were the only subject I could sail through and complete it in time, or sometimes, so early that I had spare time left. Poetry was something new to me and I take an interest in learning new things. I guess this caused me to be absorbed in poetry and the interesting blog assignments by Mr Spelmer really intrigued me. They were meaningful and soon made time fast for me while doing them. Only once did I pass the time limit but in overall, every Language Arts lesson went on smoothly without prevail in about an hour or less.

iii)Which assignment(s) did you like the best and which one(s) did you like the least? Explain why.

For me, probably every assignment was interesting for me as it was all something enw to me, a new style of learning. However, I do have an order of likings. The assignment I liked the best was lesson 3, "Analysing & Composing Poem". I have multiple reasons for this "biasedness". The most powerful reason was that this assignment was the first assignment that enabled me to write my own poem which I have never done before. The instructions also enabled me to wander away from the busy school life and drift back to the good old days and express them into poems. While writing my own poem, I even smiled at the thought of my friends and hilarious things that have happened to me since Day 1 at Singapore and comment on how foolish I was back then. Analysing a poem was also a new topic for me and I was proud of myself upon completeing my very first analysis on my own. Since then on, I analysis in the coming assignments longer and more in depth, thanks to this assignment.

However, the assignment that is in the bottom of my list is lesson 1, "Figurative Language". Although it was a new topic for me, searching for all the hyperboles and other types of figurative language in a poem deprived me the chance to really absorb the meaning and lesson from the poem and also enjoy it in depth as all I was instructed to do was search for specific things in a poem. That is the main reason why I disliked lesson 1 the most. In overall, despite the setback, I liked all the lessons very much and it will never be erased from my memories for a lifetime.

iv)My suggestions to make E-Learning better are...

I guess one improvement that most of the students want are the timing of the E-Learning. As most students sleep late and wake up late too, they would not like to be deprived of their sleep by E-Learning. What I would suggest is to shift the time of E-Learning to the afternoon, instead of in the morning which makes it very inconvenient even if it takes place in our own homes.

Another improvement that can be made is more accessible communication. Email will take a much longer time than in the classrooms for teachers and students to communicate. For example, queries and questions that needs to be helped answered might be urgent but the teacher will not reply immediately due to email restrictions. Therefore, I suggest putting up a chat board in the ivle for various teachers for ease of communication and understanding.

v) A general reflection on how you feel the week went. Please share your honest opinion as ALL feedback is critical at this time.

In general, this whole E-Learning program was very meaningful for me, especially the Language Arts lessons and I reallt enjoyed them, all too much. However, I am worried that my eyes will worsen after this week. Let's hope it won't so. I have also the freedom of order of which lessons to do at what time unlike normal school days and also learn at my own pace as sometimes, lessons would be too slow or fast paced for me. Another thing I like is that we don't have to write, which does not waste our pen inks and various other accessories. Instead, we type. which makes it more convenient and fast for us to do our homework and lesons.

In overall, I would say that this week's E-Learning turned out great and I hope another of these would be executed soon.

Emergency IT Lesson 6: Compulsory Blog Entry

I have chosen Question 2.

Q2.The casino being built in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and job creator. However, many people have spoken against it. Talk to a parent or adult and get their view on the casino. Listen to the NPR and YouTube offerings and choose one that substantiates your viewpoint and include a quote from it as well. Your blog entry has to be at least 200 words and you must either support the casino or condemn its construction and ultimately the hardships it will cause in Singapore.

Well, first of all, before I answer this question, I must ask myself, is Casinos good or bad for the welfare of society? My mother believes that Casinos will not only spoil people's minds but also corrupt many families in Singapore. She thinks Casions should not be existing in this world at all. For one thing, I partly agree with her. Casinos are bad for people. Let me repeat: Bad. It disrupts a person's social welfare and community welfare too and eventually cause destruction in families.

Although the casino in Singapore is supposed to be a money-maker and a job creator but if the government tries to earn money from making people gamble, it will literally mean "stealing" away citizens' money. People pay money to gamble and they usually gain nothing out of it. And where does all those money go to? Other gamblers of course. However, in this process of winning and losing, the government gains money and from those who have lost their money. Just because of a Casino, many families in Singapore will go bankrupt and problems regarding Casinos would start to appear on newspapers. Social prolems will emerge and many people, especially workling adults, will get addicted and ditch jobs.

I would think that it's a double edged sword. I mean, a huge casino in Singapore would surely create many jobs, as advertised time and time again. it would certainly boost Singapore's economy.But then again, as Singapore government goes by, only those with acceptable standards of degree holders are able to get the jobs, meaning, in singaporean terms:those who have studied lo.no study, bo cert.bo cert, employer mai.and mostly, only those with no acceptable certs are those who are in the lower-range of income status, so again, it goes another round. Below is a video that explains why Casinos can be good for the citizens of singapore.

But building of the casino would create more gambling habits among people, even though one would need to pay a sum for entering, but those with huge gambling habits would just do the same once again, beg from family members, borrow from loan sharks,steal from people.But then again, it's people's actions and the government can't really do much about it. Although it's a wonderful idea to create more jobs, help the economy and etc.there's always a pro and a con to everything.

Emergency IT Lesson 5: Poetry on Gambling

Q1.Show how the poem Tom Beatty could be compared to The Rocking Horse Winner. In studying the poem, note that the opera house is really life and when He makes the rules it’s either the Lord or perhaps the devil. Beatty suggests that everyone has about 70 years, but Paul in The Rocking Horse Winner had much less time. Explain what Paul’s weakness was, how the cards were stacked against him and do you think Paul was lucky not to live to be an old man fumbling the cards, leaden-eyed and whining about his losses?

There are several connections to be made between these two literary works. In Tom Beatty, it is emphasised that a gambler's life is like in an opera where either the Devil or the Lord makes the rules and your life is decided by him. The poem also suggests that a gambler has about 70 years of life compared to Paul in The Rocking Horse Winner who is, in fact, most prominently a gambler too for horse race betting. Paul's life, had been a short one, even in a gambler's perspective. Paul had several weaknesses, which allowed the cards to stack against him. He believed in luck and his "abilities" when it was actually a mere coincidence. He believed too much in them, unable to stop, determined to rock on his horse until he get his answer, until his worn-out body finally gave way. His weakness is also his fear of the "There must be more money in the house" which caused him great downfall. Because of his fear of this, is when he began his gambling habits, and which indirectly lead him to death. The cards were stacked against him whenever he lost any horse race betting and also when his mother, the person he had been trying to help, asked him to stop gambling. Hence, we can say that the mother, without knowing it, were the cards stacked against her son. Paul died at an unfortunately early age, as young as 6 or 7 due to gambling. Because of this insignificant event in his early stages of life, he was corrupted and lost his life. It would have been better if he were to live till the age of 70 where he would be an old man whining about his losses. He could have enjoyed some quality time in his life even when gambling, but sadly, in this case, Paul could not enjoy the rest of his life due to gambling.


Q2. In The Green Clothes, green is the color of envy, greed and money! This poem is thematically similar to Paper. Even though the poem takes place at a roulette wheel the gamblers from the short story and the poem have similar experiences. Explain how tips, dry lips, and all that was spent in vain could apply to the short story Paper.

In the Green Clothes and Paper has gamblers who share similar experiences in life, gambling. The same insanity, vanity, unresourcefulness is found in both the literary works' gamblers. Their life wasted away through gambling, constantly focusing the the mind, the brain and the body on on tiny action that can win money, and not striving to do anything but wait, wait, rejoice or revenge. In Paper, Tay Soon's life depended on stock exchange and buying and selling of stocks, which is ultimately similar to gambling, and he constantly gained new "tips" to help him sell the shares at the highest price. He would wait effortlessly every price exchange and if he sells it at an lower price by chance, he got this determination to do it again, believing that he would get it right this time. In The Green Clothes, the gamblers in the casino, wait for a tiny ball which would determine their fate to show the results and is they lose, they take revenge by wanting another gambling round. There is connections in these two outcomes and it is quite obvious. The time spent on waiting for the stock price rise is all that was spent in vain, the tips were the "advice" given by his wife's jealous friend. The dry lips were Tay Soon's anxiety for the loss in money or the price share rise or it could be his extreme deformity after losing all his savings. But in either works, it is emphasised that gambling takes away your body, your soul, and your life, eventually.

Q3.Ah Boh in Lottery has about one dollar, there’s a “blind man,” the number 13 and ultimately zero dollars to bet. These last examples are taken from One-Dollar Gambler. Show how they also relate to Ah Boh.

In Lottery, the "blind man" could be Ah Boh herself, emphasising that she was blind as to where her life was going in the path of gambling and the ultimate consequence and impending dangers of gambling. She was blind to all these. The number 13 is the lottery number she always betted on and always lost on, and the number 13 also means bad luck, hence inferring that gambling is bad luck. The ultimately zero dollars to bet would be Ah Boh's future, her consequence, her punishment. After spending on the hopeless lottery for a certain time, she would eventually have no money left and hence have "zero" dollars to bet on.

Emergency IT Lesson 4: Theme: Gambling

Q1. In relation to Paper, you should explain exactly what the title refers to and why it is so significant to gambling, gains on the stock market and ultimately the conclusion of the story.

The title can refer to many things. The most prominent fact is that lots of the term "paper" is referred to and used as significant contributions to the story. In "Paper", it is quite obvious that money is involved, hence, it can refer to the paper notes of money. The couple in the story have done a lot of paperwork in contribution to their savings, too. In the story, it is clearly emphasised that gambling can not only be in casinos but in business life, too. Gains in the stock market, buying and selling of shares, are all unstable rates which depends on luck, similarly to gambling. Hence, paper could be also trying to foreshadow the unstableness of the future of the couple, and the stocks and shares. The conclusion of the story has the most obvious example of symbolism to paper. When the sick Tay Soon was deceased, his mother bought a beautifully decorated paper house for Tay Soon's funeral and burnt it along with his death. This also implies the term "unstable as paper" as the house, made of paper, was the house of his dreams, only made in paper. It was so insignificant, so fragile compared to the reality of the house he had dreamt of. Together with Tay Soon's death, the paper house burnt away too, weakly and unstably.

Q2.For Lottery, do an analysis of 100 words in which you look at Ah Boh’s superstitions regarding gambling.

For a typical Ah Boh, gambling was all she could hope for, and that is what ruined her mind and state. She became more and more addicted each day, letting her sense drain away as she became undauntedly superstitious about the “tips” to winning. She would associate with every single things related to lottery numbers, from a cat’s weight, an infant’s coincidental behaviour to a license plate of a wrecked car in a car accident. She did extravagant things, including praying to the gods every morning and offering joysticks to her dead husband. She believed in foolish things like the “sign” that her husband gave to her. Ultimately, these were what caused her mother’s death indirectly, and things would have been better if she were a real fortune-teller, however. She is only a mere domestic helper addicted to gambling.

Q3.For The Rocking Horse Winner, write a paragraph of 100 words in which you point out who was responsible for Paul’s death.

For this case, its not just one person who is responsible for Paul's death. Several people were involved and they were the ones who caused Paul's death, and ultimately, also Paul himself. Paul was initially spurred on and inspires to ride to his "luck" no his horse when he heard the whispers in the house and his mother's replies. Paul's mother and father both should not have talked about money so loud in front of young children as those would corrupt the minds of youngsters, just like Paul. Also. when Paul asked his Mother about luck, his mother should not have mentioned anything about money, or defaming her husband. We can say that the whispers were the roots of his death and his Mother's response was the shoot of his death. Paul and Basett themselves are also greatly responsible for Paul's death. Paul should not have resorted to gambling even though he wanted to help his Mother and that cause the corruption of his mind and eventually lead to him being pre-occupied with gambling all day long. Basett should also not have encouraged and spurred the young child on just for money. He should have identified the problem and eliminated the corruption taking place in Paul's mind. Same goes for Oscar. Hence, we can conclude his death by saying that ultimately, the real cause of Paul's death was money.

Emergency IT Lesson 3: Analysing & Composing Poem

Another poem provided by Mr. S!

The Son is in Secondary School
by Affran Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something
At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem
It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays
I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts
The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another
Seven to the power of five is unreasonable
On Chinese New Year Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo
The capital of Singapore is Singapore
My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper
In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed



Q1.What are the poet’s thoughts? What were his feelings as he think back on these?

The poet's thoughts as he writes this poem may be that he is wishing for his primary school days to return, with great longing for those days and all the fun times he/she has experienced inhis school life judging by the fact that many insights of interesting moments were goven to the readers and it is written in a very lighthearted and humorous tone. Furthermore, the poem ends with another interesting fact, the camera capturing him on a wheelchair with his eyes closed.

The most probable reason that he wished for his primary school days so much was that, although he was in a wheelchair, and was physically handicapped, he was able to enjoy his life in primary school. I guess after his primary school days he did not have the same joyful days as a handicapped person maybe due to social or more physical problems.

Q2.Think back on our days in Primary School. Do you share the same sentiments? What were your memories of those days? Write a poem of no less than 4 stanzas.

Of course, in fact, almost everyone would. Who wouldn't miss their primary school days with friends who have shared their worries, happiness, sorrows, joy with you for 6 years! Class bonding was more prominent iin my primary school days and of course, less stress although PSLE is an exception. Now I dedicate the poem below to my days in primary school.

Grateful Days


Giant metal bird lands
And me and my parents
Are off to find a new school
Foreign land,
Foreign home,
Foreign school.

When everything seemed
So foreign
So different,
Friends in school
Are my guiding light,
My guide to Singpore,
although they chided me
For not bringing
Colour pencils,
And instead crayons.

I met two friends,
Of the same origin as me,
And we played,
We ate,
We studied, together.
Good times did not last though.

As one by one,
We parted.
At Primary 2,
There were two of us.
At Primary 3,
There was one of "us".
I was alone.
Or was I?

At primary 3,
At the beginning of the year,
I took a test,
And promoted,
As clasmates were too young.
Finally at my right age,
at Primary 4,
I did realise that,
Friends were everywhere,
Friends were not just,
People of my origin,
They were also,
People of my foreign land.

As time passed,
I opened up to them,
And they opened up to me,
And we became bonded,
As one,
As a class.
I wasn't alone anymore.

By Seong Jin
In memory of his primary school days

Emergency IT Lesson 2: Favourite poet

Robert Frost

(1874 - 1963)

"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

What I was walling in or walling out,

And to whom I was like to give offense.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That wants it down.'"

- Robert Frost, "The Mending Wall"

Introduction

Robert Frost is recognized as an important "nature poet" in American literature, famous for his depiction of the New England landscape. Some of his most famous works include: "The Road Not Taken," "Mending Wall," "After Apple-Picking," and "Home Burial."

Robert Frost attempts to conceal the troubles of his life through the use of symbolism, metaphors and other literary devices in his writings. His tragic vision of man is disguised through the themes of love, friendship, family, and social relationship. He wrote to ease the tensions of his struggle for survival, individuality and happiness.

Frost's poetry not only teaches readers to understand basic concepts, but to contemplate them as well. Hence, Frost is also a philosopher. "The Mending Wall" is a wonderful example of this side of Frost. The surface of the poem comments on the literal walls neighbors build to separate their property. When pieces of these walls crumble, they are mended quickly. Further scrutiny leads one to a more personal understanding of this concept. One "must think beyond the stone walls of New Hampshire to walls within themselves and in the world, which in our day, are breaking and reforming" (Sergeant 415). Clearly, Frost is questioning the purpose of a physical wall around one's property; but he is also questioning the purpose of the symbolic walls people build around themselves. Frost makes his opinion apparent in the first line: "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" (Frost 983). The something that does not love a wall is the heart. In order to love and be loved (a need felt by most all of mankind) one cannot keep a barrier around their feelings and emotions."

Birth and Death

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874. His father came from prerevolutionary Maine and New Hampshire stock but hated New England because the Civil War it had supported had robbed his own father of employment in the cotton mill economy. When Frost's father graduated from Harvard in 1872, he left New England. He paused in Lewistown, Pa., to teach and married another teacher, Isabelle Moodie, a Scotswoman. They moved to San Francisco, where the elder Frost became an editor and politician. Their first child was named for the Southern hero Gen. Robert E. Lee.
When Frost's father died in 1884, his will stipulated burial in New England. His wife and two children, Robert and Jeanie, went east for the funeral. Lacking funds to return to California, they settled in Salem, Mass., where Mrs. Frost taught school.

Frost's Complete Poems appeared in 1949, and in 1950 the U.S. Senate felicitated him on his seventy-fifth birthday. In 1957 he returned to England to receive doctoral degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. On his eighty-fifth birthday the Senate again felicitated him. In 1961, at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, Frost recited "The Gift Outright," the first time a poet had honored a presidential inauguration. A final volume, In the Clearing, appeared in 1962.
On Jan. 29, 1963, Frost died in Boston of complications following an operation. He was buried in the family plot in Old Bennington, Vt. His "lover's quarrel with the world" was over.

Poems

Three well-known poems by Robert Frost are listed below.

After Apple-Picking

by Robert Frost

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still,And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now.

Essence of winter sleep is on the night,

The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.

I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight

I got from looking through a pane of glass

I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough

And held against the world of hoary grass.

It melted, and I let it fall and break.

But I was wellUpon my way to sleep before it fell,

And I could tellWhat form my dreaming was about to take.

Magnified apples appear and disappear,

Stem end and blossom end,

And every fleck of russet showing clear.

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,

It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.

I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.

And I keep hearing from the cellar bin

The rumbling soundOf load on load of apples coming in.

For I have had too muchOf apple-picking:

I am overtiredOf the great harvest I myself desired.

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,

Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall. For all

That struck the earth,

No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,

Went surely to the cider-apple heap

As of no worth.One can see what will trouble

This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.

Were he not gone,

The woodchuck could say whether it's like his

Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,

Or just some human sleep.

A Patch of Old Snow

by Robert Frost

There's a patch of old snow in a corner

That I should have guessed

Was a blow-away paper the rain

Had brought to rest.
It is speckled with grime as if

Small print overspread it,

The news of a day I've forgotten

--If I ever read it.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Bibliography:

http://www.terebess.hu/english/haiku/frost.html

http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-frost

http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost.html

http://www.thesisabstracts.com/articles/publish/printer_178.shtml

Emergency IT lesson 1: Figurative Language

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Figurative Language

Hyperbole

1.I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Used towards the end of the poem to emphasis that he has come to the decision that, for good or ill, the choice he has made will be permanent and highly effecting of his life. He looks ahead to to time when he can look back and tell that the choice he made, whether wisely or unwisely, was the point at which his life's path was set.

Personification

1.And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Here, Frost uses personification, saying that the road has a claim. Here the speaker seems to be contradictory. He has made a choice, but is still unsure about it. It is "just as fair" yet it has "the better claim." Personification occurs here also if wanted means desired. No personification occurs, however, if wanted means lacked.

Metaphor

1.Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

This line compares a decision to two diverging roads. To travelers, two diverging roads obviously mean this is the time to make a decision, choose one or another.

2.And that has made all the difference

This quote tells us that the road the speaker chose, which also means the decision the speaker made, has made differences in his life, showing that his choice impact his life.

Simile

N.A

Symbolism

1.Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

The two roads symbolize, obviously, the choices that the speaker faces in life. He cannot take both, as much as he would like to, so he spends time in comtemplation and observation.

2.And looked down one as far as I could / To where it bent in the undergrowth;"

This symbol shows to me that the person who needs to make this life decision is trying to peer into the future to see what the outcome would be if he takes a certain path.

Why I like this poem

The Road Not Taken

Although I must admit I am not a poetry fan, many of the poems of Robert Frost appealed to me, and this would have to be the one that appeals the most, in other words, it is my favourite poem. When I first read this poem, I liked it because of it free verse style (which I like) and its apparent simplicity, but after much study, its true meaning became apparent. The obvious basic meaning is that the poem is about a person's choices in life. The narrator describes coming to a problem with the fork in the road. He must go down one but he feels he will not be able to take back his decision. He looks to see the pros and cons of each choice, and then takes the one he says the least had travelled. He leaves the outcome up t the reader and the sigh at the end can be taken as good or bad. This leaves the reader the choice of deciding whether it is better to conform with society or rebel like Frost did and take up a less stable trade.

Book Review #1

War in the PACIFIC :
From the fall of Singapore to Japanese surrender

Written by Jerry Scutts

144 pages

As the title foreshadows, this book, more like an encyclopedia, features every single significant event that has taken place in the pacific from the fall of Singapore to Japanese surrender. Unlike our normal classroom textbooks, this book has history of war outside of Singapore, not only in Singapore. Therefore, this book gives an insight of the life outside of Singapore when she fell to the Japanese.

This book is a big non-fiction book which mainly uses illustrations and pictures to relay its message. Texts are rarely seen, and this irony of text and illustration is very much soothing for the eye. Through these black and white images, readers are constantly provided insights on the situation of war in the pacific. Maps with grids, actual army plans, pictures of real fighter planes are all comprised of in the book. This book is definitely ideal for soothing the eye for leisure reading and project work. By chance, it might even cure myopia.

This book is definitely my choice of non-fiction books and I strongly recommend anyone who wants to read non-fiction books without stress, this book.

The Mercurial Tom (Assignment)

Double Valentine



I wish to gift my wife,

on this Valentine’s Day.

She is so caring,

from my shirt’s button to shoe’s lace;

she never complain but take pride in serving me.

So, I am at this mall where young ones gather.

There I saw our neighbour, Tom and my wife,

drinking cola from the same bottle.

Micro Fiction #2 [Reflections]

Effects

New School.

New Faces.
New Formats.

New Assignments.

"Set up your blogs by next week,"

A Blog?

Astonishment. Disbelief.

"It will help you improve your writing,"

How's that possible?

Blog assignments were given,

and soon I realised,

the true effectiveness of blogging.

Thank to it,

I can finally write a Micro-fiction,

and of course,

ACE points.

55 words

Angels & Demons

On a perfectly fine Saturday, while my mother and I were eating at Junction 8, my mother suddenly suggested, "Hey, why don't we go for a movie today?" Upon hearing this, I was elated as it has been quite some time since I have watched a movie. I instantly agreed.

At the Cinema, I saw the movie poster "Angels & Demons". I had recently heard comments from my friends saying that the movie was great. Hence, as the other movies were all fully booked, I decided to see that one.

Under the watchful eye of Father Silvano Bentivoglio and Dr. Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer), the CERN scientists start the Large Hadron Collider and manage to capture three vials of antimatter. Immediately afterward, someone kills Father Silvano, and uses his retina to break into the containment room to steal one vial of anti-matter.
In Rome, the Vatican mourns the passing of the Pope. The Vatican staff prepares for the Conclave of the College of Cardinals, which will select the next Pope. Until the Conclave selects a new Pope, Patrick Mackenna, the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) assumes day-to-day control of the Vatican. Reporters, nuns, priests and other faithful all crowd into St. Peter's Square, waiting for the white smoke from the Conclave. But the Illuminati, a 400-year old, underground secret society of scientists, kidnaps the four most likely candidates (preferiti) before the Conclave goes into seclusion. The Illuminati threatens to brand and publicly execute them at 8, 9, 10 and 11 PM, choosing methods of murder linked to the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. They do this as as vengeance for 'La Perga', when Illuminati members were cleansed of their sins and executed. They then threaten to destroy the Vatican in a burst of light at midnight, using the highly explosive anti-matter, shown on a live video illuminated by artifical light. The command is then given to systematically shut off the power in areas of Rome and the Vatican, so that they will find out which area the Illuminati are hiding the canister in.
The Vatican summons Dr. Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and Vittoria Vetra from CERN to help them solve the Illuminati's threat, save the four preferiti, and replace the vial's batteries. Langdon listens to the Illuminati message and deduces that the four cardinals will die at the four altars of the Path of Illumination. However, no one knows where these altars are located. Vetra demands the Swiss Guard fly Father Silvano's diaries from Switzerland. They hope he wrote down the name of whomever he discussed the CERN experiment. Langdon demands access to the Vatican Archives (a request he has made ten times already, in order to perform research for his book, and which has been denied each time) to see the original copy of Galileo's banned book. Using the clue from this book, Langdon, Vetra, and Lieutenant Olivetti (Victor Alfieri) of the Vatican police race to the first church, only to find the corpse of the first Cardinal, branded with the word 'Earth'. The first Cardinal's mouth and throat is found full of earth. They find the direction of the church with the second Illuminati altar, but arrive just in time to see the next Cardinal die, branded with the word 'Air', this one has been stabbed in the lung, thus making him unable to breathe.
While Langdon returns with Lieutenant Chatrand to the archives in order to discover the fire altar, Vittoria stays behind and begins to read the popes journals. Langdon finds out that the next altar is the sculpture of Theresa on Fire. Suddenly the power in the room, kept in a partial vaccum to protect the documents inside, cuts out. The oxygen levels begin to deplete and Langdon attempts to break the door by knocking it with a book case, which has no effect. He takes the hand gun of the now unconscious Chartrand and shoots the glass, before climbing back onto the book case and blacking out. However, the combination of the bullet-weakened glass and the pressure of the book case breaks the door just in time for the power to return. Langdon locates the third church with the third Illuminati altar, but fails to save the third Cardinal from burning to death, while the assassin kills the Vatican policemen. Langdon convinces the Roman police to race to a public fountain, the location of the Water altar, and manages to save the last Cardinal from drowning.
Vittoria meanwhile, explains to the Carmelengo that the Pope may not have died of a stroke as first thought, but of an overdose of medication, and that the signs on his body would only be apparent a week after his death. The pair go to the tomb of the pope, and sure enough the Pope has signs of an overdose on his body. Commander Richter then confiscates the diaries of the Father Silvano, outraging Vittoria. As 12 o'clock approaches, Langdon and Vittoria hurry to what they think the final altar, where they discover that there is a fifth brand, meant for the pope himself, or the Camerlengo. The assasin has been in the room the entire time, and reveals himself. He tells them he was not asked to kill them, but if they continue to persue him, it will be another matter. The assassin then abseils down the building and gets into his car, but it is unbeknownst to him that a bomb has been fixed to his car, which subsequently explodes, killing him. Vittoria and Langdon eventually return to find Patrick lying on the floor, branded, pointing at Commander Richter and accusing him of the branding. Chatrand then shoots Richter. The three eventually discover the canister, but there isn't enough time to change the batteries. Patrick grabs the canister and runs out to the helicopter stationed to evacuate the older cardinals. He gets in and begins sharply ascending with less than 5 minutes. Vittoria and Langdon watch, believing that Patrick is going to sacrifice himself, until they spot his parachute coming down. Suddenly the anti-matter explodes, destroying The Sistine Chapel and seriously damaging the surrounding area. The cardinals then decide that Patrick should be made pope, and summon him. Vittoria and Langdon return to Richter's office to take the journals, and discover that there are surveilance cameras installed throughout the vatican. Watching the evenings events, they discover Patrick was actually behind the entire Illuminati story, in order to appear a martyr and become pope. Cardinal Strauss sends Chatrand and his men to kill him, but before they reach him, Patrick douses himself in holy oil and sets him self alight. The only remaining member of the Prefereti is made pope, choosing the never-before used name 'Luke'. As a gift for his help, Langdon is given the document he needs to complete the second part of his book, with the request that in his last will and testimony it 'finds its way home'.