Melissa Giovanna Evans

Melissa is a schizophrenic 16 year old living in Connecticut. She is in a mental institution and has vivid and persistent hallucinations. She has completely hallucinated her best friend, but she is convinced that the girl (Isabella) is real. 

Introduction: We learn that Melissa is in an institution, but we don't know why. She doesn't believe that she needs to be there.

Rising Action: Melissa is called in by her therapist and goes to talk about Isabella for the umpteenth time. 

Climax: She realizes that Isabella isn't real.

Falling Action: Melissa is miserable and grieves her nonexistent friend.

Conclusion: She finally finds closure when she agrees to talk to a girl not too much unlike her.

Note Trends

     I am perfectly aware of the fact that this has to be one of the most petty observations that you will read, but I digress... I don't like any of the characters in any of the stories. They all are extremely annoying in their own special ways. Da-Duh was xenophobic, and she never failed to jump to the conclusion that her granddaughter was lying about the technology in New York. Sammy impulsively quit his job after the girls in bikinis were kicked out of the grocery store. The angel was, simply put, a jerk for *almost* helping the needy. Maybe I am just in a bad mood today, but most of the characters weren't the kind that I'd take kindly to.
   On a less personal note, I also noticed that many of the characters were extraordinarily self-righteous.  The men in the barber shop in "Dry September" were all unwavering in their opinions on what Will Mays did. None of them seemed to want to come to a mutual conclusion. They were doomed to argue from the start. In "A&P", Sammy seemed to hate everyone. He didn't like the housewives at the store and referred to them as "sheep" and "swine". The same can be said for Da-Duh as she tried to prove that Barbados was better than New York.


Reading Times:

Wed: Fellowship of the Ring J R Tolkien
30 mins

Thurs: Dry September
30 mins


Sun: Siddhartha Herman Hesse
1 h

Comment Book

Disregard this post. I've made this to keep track of comments.

08-19
Bailey S.
Jacob

08-28
Jacob
Bailey S.

09-08
Bailey L.
John

09-26
Emelia
Deven

10-03
Bailey L.
Madison R.

Falling Asleep

    Two years of these cold cement walls, painted a rather disgusting shade of green. It's so cold in here. It's always cold in here. I've never liked the cold. The concrete makes me feel uncomfortable. People make me feel uncomfortable. I don't care how long that I stay here. I will never feel okay next to the other girls. Giggling and crying and giggling and crying. It makes me sick. I'm not supposed to think about this. Miss Janie says that I shouldn't. What does she know with her stupid clipboard? "How do you feel?" and "Are you feeling ok?" I wish that she would leave me alone.

     When I watch that heart shaped pen scratch her paper, I can't help but roll my eyes. She thinks that I don't notice the "little improvement" red banner on my chart. No one thinks that I notice anything around here. I hate her. I hate this whole facility. No one ever seems to get better. Old girls check out, unimproved as ever, and new girls check in. Everyone leaves except for me. I don't need to be here with all of these lunatics. I can't sleep while listening to their screams and sobs in the middle of  the night. I want to go home. I want to go back to Eliza. I don't care what they say about her. I know that she is there. 

Reading Response: Da-Duh

     The entire time that I was reading about Da-Duh, I couldn't figure out whether to despise or to actually like her. Her character is described as a frail-looking old woman that is actually very rambunctious, but she just acts like a jerk. She was much too competitive for my liking, and she seemed harsh. She sort of freaks me out. I didn't really like her character at all, and even in the end, I didn't really feel anything when I learned about her death.

     Da-Duh's xenophobia was amazing to me. Not being completely up to date on civil rights in America is one thing, but she didn't even know about ubiquitous technology in the 1930's. She was in disbelief every time her granddaughter told her about each innovation, and I don't understand why she never ceased to be shocked. It's also weird that she wanted to compete with her granddaughter to see who had the better homeland. She struck me as strange to have that little knowledge as to what was happening outside of Barbados.



Reading:

Mon:
Harrison Bergeron
25 mins

Thurs:
To Memoriam: Da-duh
30 mins

Sat:
Crank (Ellen Hopkins)
45 mins

Sun:
A&P
30 mins

E-Book

I can think of one word to describe my feelings about this ebook. Troublesome. I didn't want to reveal my literacy narrative to my own classmates, never mind the whole world. The entire idea is terrifying to me, but I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't feel a small sense of accomplishment once it's published. I usually change the names of people anyway, so going back to change the names of people will not be an issue for me. It is always nice to proofread, but I tend to do my best editing right after I hit "submit".

I don't have the most creative ideas as to what kinds of media that we should use for the ebook. I think that it would be interesting to create shaped texts and to illustrate pictures. We could also use different fonts and colors to strengthen the meaning and individuality of each story. Maybe we could provide necessary background information before each piece. I want to see the final results of this assignment, but I will admit that the idea of having my personal writing publicized makes me uncomfortable.

Response to the Situation in Syria

I know that someone else in the class responded to the situation in Syria, but I wanted to give my own opinions. I think that America really needs to step out of Syria. Civil wars should be handled domestically with no external assistance. Considering the fact that America seems to have a terrible track record with removing leaders and replacing them with presidents (think Egypt and Libya), we should probably spend the money we use overseas for something a bit more productive at home.

When the topic of chemical weapons come up, things become much more complicated. It is inhumane to use chemical weapons against civilians, but America does not have to be everyone's "knight in shining armor". This situation will eventually sort itself out without American intervention, and all we are doing by butting in, is making even more enemies. How many times do we have to try to replace dictators with presidents before we realize that this system is not working?


Mon:
Essay 30 mins

Wed:
Essay 45 mins

Thurs:
Essay 45 mins

Fri:
Crank Ellen Hopkins 30 mins

You're Fired!

Bob was an average guy, and his emerging beer gut trembled as he sat. He looked forlornly at the young assistant, remembering his own youthful optimism. Such warm feelings seemed impossible today. Mildred walked over, reeking of stale coffee and cheap perfume and handed Bob a chart. His heart sank.

     "Morning Bob," she mumbled with a nod. 

     "Hi Mildred," he replied nervously.

     "You're being replaced," she said, looking at the red marks on his portfolio.

     "Why?"he said, choking back a squeak. 

     "You are lazy and no longer an asset to this company," she sneered.

     "I can change my ways," he stammered. 

     "We have a corporate policy of no second chances. I hope that you understand," Mildred snapped, clearly annoyed. 

     "I need this job. I have two kids and a goldfish," Bob begged, tears welling up. 

     "Seek employment elsewhere," she said as Bob caught a particularly unpleasant whiff of her breath. "I suggest that you remove yourself from the premises."

     "I don't know what to do now!" he said, nose running and and tears streaming. "I've worked so hard to get to my position."

     "Mr. Bob, you no longer are a fry-cook at this McD'Arnolds."

Literacy Narrative Update

     I think that I've finally reached a roadblock. I churned out my first draft in about an hour and a half, but I'm stuck. Really stuck. If I add to the first draft, it usually sounds a bit choppy, as if two different people wrote it. I don't know why this happens to me, but if I ever add anything to writing, it never sounds the same as the original. Even when I remove and reorder phrases, it sounds different. It's not subtle either. I unintentionally change my style drastically, and when I do anything to fix a paper, it reflects.

     This happens every time that I write a paper. It's hard to recapture a state of mind. My thought process usually goes something like this:
     Hmm, I should probably get around to revising that paper. Yikes! That transition could be better. What to do? What to do? I know, I'll rephrase it like this. Wait, that doesn't sound right... What about replacing that sentence? Man! This is frustrating. What if I go to something else? I can't fix this either. What am I going to do? I have to revise my paper. It's due soon. I can't come back to it. I have to do something. I can't sit here freaking out like this. BUT I CAN'T FIX IT. I KNOW I CAN'T. Forget it. I'll do my math homework.

Hopefully I will be able to say something different about this paper next week.

Reading Log:

Mon: 30 mins, Crank, Ellen Hopkins

Tuesday: 45 mins, The Odyssey, Homer

Saturday: 1 hour, Crank, Ellen Hopkins

"This is Water" Response

     It's a little bit too easy to fall into the "default setting". I have no interest in familiarizing myself with the minutia of complete strangers' lives.   It would take too much time out of my day to brainstorm potential reasons why a person does what they do, and it's not practical to think that way. It is true that some people have legitimate reasons to do annoying things, but I still don't believe that I will ever be truly able to accept that the person across from me in the restaurant is not some drooling invalid.
     I have an egocentric view of the world because I only, truly, have to worry about self-gratification. I know that that is a very selfish way of going about my life, but if I tried to help out every charity case that I found, I wouldn't have time to blink. I probably wouldn't chew out the woman in the checkout line for bringing her screaming child to the grocery, but I still think that I have the right to be annoyed. I can't afford to spend the time to think that maybe her husband stayed at work late, and she had no choice but to bring the kid there. When similar situations occur 20-30 times a day, I have trouble finding empathy. I know that this opinion is very unpopular, and I more or less missed the meaning of the whole speech, but I feel as if I have responded honestly.

Reading Response

How do authors evoke conflicting feelings about characters?

     It's simpler to create one dimensional characters that are either ultimately lovable or repulsive. Odysseus is neither. I don't hate his character, but he isn't amazingly likable. He seems to take advantage of the hospitality of his hosts. He always asks for a crew and food, but for one reason or another, they end up dead and starving. It's more than a little bit annoying that he seems to take gifts for granted, but I do realize that it's culturally accepted.

     However, Odysseus does have some likable qualities about him. He's quite devoted to getting home and will stop at nothing to get there. Odysseus is one of the most resilient characters that I've ever seen. He does not completely freak out every time that something goes wrong. When he was stuck in the sea for days, he floated calmly as the current took him. I don't know if I would do that myself. I appreciate his skill in strategizing, as his plans are ingenious. He isn't the most lovable character in the world, but Odysseus is an interesting person. I look forward to finishing the book.

Tuesday 30 mins

The Odyssey, Homer

Wednesday 30 mins

The Odyssey

Thursday 30 mins

Crank, Ellen Hopkins

Sunday 45 mins

Crank