Different points of View - First person and Third Person

Both first person and third person points of view have their own advantages.

Advantages of First person POV:

1. The narrator is mostly involved in the story
2. The narrator can experience most feelings firsthand
3. Certain stories can make use of unreliable narrators - Information can be filtered by the narrator to show only certain POVs

Disadvantages:

1. Character has limited vision only.
2. No access to other Characters' thoughts.

Advantages of Third Person POV:

1. Allows access to all of the thoughts of the characters
2. Omniscient and Omnipresent narrator - able to see things and narrate the story in non chronological order. For example, the omniscient narrator can skip foward slightly - "Jane thought it was all over, but little did she know that more was to come." However, first person narrators cannot do so unless it is a flashback.

Disadvantages:

1. The reader can feel alienated from the characters if they are not elaborated upon well.

Picture Description - LA Writing Exercise

This is a creative writing exercise for LA:

It was a beautiful day, nearing dusk. The vast expanse of sand, was nearly empty, as beachgoers had left. The clouds, were wispy, like little fields of scarlet cotton candy. There were various abandoned sandcastles, being swallowed up by the swelling tide. The sun disappeared behind a cloud, flooding the sky with crimson orange red. There were many boats preparing for the end of their working day, waves gently rocking the boat.

LA comic strip - Storyboard of Short Story - Identity

For panel three, I used that background as I wanted to symbolise the vastness of the entire world, so I chose a more abstract background. For the rest of the backgrounds, I chose them to work and fit into the storyline. I tried to compress the entire storyline into just 6 panels, and thus had to chose my words and scenes very carefully. Thus, I chose the scenes which were most vital to the storyline. Also, due to the limitations of Toondoo, I had to use the Man as the main character as it had the most postures, and was the easiest to resize.

LA Home Learning - My favourite poem

My Favourite poem is Digging by Seamus Heaney. We went through it last year during Language Arts, and it made a deep impression upon me, due to its imagery, which I find quite vivid.

Digging by Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rest; snug as a gun.

Under my window, a clean rasping sound
When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:
My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
Bends low, comes up twenty years away
Stooping in rhythm through potato drills
Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug, the shaft
Against the inside knee was levered firmly.
He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep
To scatter new potatoes that we picked,
Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade.
Just like his old man.

My grandfather cut more turf in a day
Than any other man on Toner's bog.
Once I carried him milk in a bottle
Corked sloppily with paper. He straightened up
To drink it, then fell to right away
Nicking and slicing neatly, heaving sods
Over his shoulder, going down and down
For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mould, the squelch and slap
Of soggy peat, the curt cuts of an edge
Through living roots awaken in my head.
But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I'll dig with it.

How is Imagery used in the poem?

The imagery in the poem is meant to appeal to all five of the human senses. Smell - "Cold smell of potato mould" Hearing - "Squelch and Slap" Sight - Seeing the Father digging, Touch - "Cool hardness in our hands" Taste - N/A. Other than that, the rest of the imagery focuses on how the Narrator's Father and Grandfather both had jobs which "dug" or required them to dig - E.g Cutting Turf, Digging for potatoes. This trend leads to the last line -- "I'l dig with it".

Why do i like this poem?

I like this Poem due to the effective use of Imagery, as well as how the poem is very vivid and detailed. Furthermore, the poem really allows me to visualize what is happening better than most poems. I also like the theme of the poem as it is about the previous generations of his family. However, he does accept that he cannot completely follow in his Parents and Grandparent's footsteps either. Therefore, I like both the theme, and the poem for the exceptional imagery.

About the author:

I also like many of this poet's other poems. For example, Mid Term Break and Blackberry Picking. I enjoy the former due to how poignant it is, and the effective use of imagery to convey the emotion to the reader. I enjoy the Latter due to how it shows the greed of a younger boy, even though he knew the Blackberries would spoil. The poem is also very vivid as the descriptions make up a significant part of the poem.

How To Kill a Mockingbird Short Analysis

Why is it necessary to understand the historical and cultural context of the Novel?

How does it help to understand the author’s background? Is it necessary to learn about the author’s background?

Is it possible to appreciate the text without pre-reading about the historical and cultural context of the novel/background of the novel?

It is necessary to understand the historical context of the novel, as because nowadays, prejudice is less common (though it is not eradicated) Therefore, we might not be able to properly understand the nuances of the novel itself. For example, a person who did not understand the background of the novel would not understand the true meaning of the novel, and would also miss out on some of the parts of the novel.

Knowing the author's background is important, and would help with understanding the novel, and the author's reasons behind it. However, it most books and cases, it is not really necessary to understand more about the author. Harper Lee (Actually Nelle Harper Lee). She wrote the novel in 1944, approximately 79 years after the conclusion of the American Civil War, which was fought to free Negroes from Slavery. The book is actually set a few years after the American Civil War, in a Southern State (Which supported Slavery and fought against the Union during the Civil War).

First post of Sec 2 LA Online Lesson - Prejudice

For our first LA lesson in 2011, we have a short free writing exercise. For today, the exercise is on Prejudice.

What I already know about Prejudice:

Prejudice is a form of discrimination against an individual, institution or group of individuals. The prejudice may be racial, religious, etc. For example, when Adolf Hitler tried to exterminate all the Jews, the unsuccessful genocide may be viewed as Religious Discrimination or Prejudice.

Such Prejudice was also seen in the USA during the Civil War period, where a war was fought between the Confederate and the Union, to free negro slaves. Although the war was won to free them, they did enjoy complete equality, until recent years. However, since Mr Barack Obama became president, it might be seen as a milestone that the country and its people have managed to overcome such racial prejudice.

What I want to know about Prejudice:

I want to understand more about how a prejudice can develop, and affect a society.