To Kill a Mockingbird - Ending of The story

Guiding Question - Did the ending of the novel surprise you? If you were the author would you have ended the story differently? Explain.

I think that if I was Harper Lee, I would still have ended the story in a similiar method, as the ending of the story encompasses several main points:

1. Appearance of Boo Radley
2. Death of Bob Ewell (End of the Conflict)

Therefore, the end of the story, also allowed for the closure of the main story arcs, being the Kindness of Boo Radley, and Bob Ewell's actions. The ending also shows how Boo Radley left the safety and comfort of his house to protect Jem and Scout, even though he might have endangered himself in the process. Also, the death of Bob Ewell ends the story on a calmer note. The last few sentences of the story, implies how Boo was actually like.

" 'An' they chased him 'n' never could catch him 'cause they didn't know what he looked like, an' Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things ... Atticus, he was real nice....' " (Pg 287)

Lastly, the last sentence of the story, ends the story on a calm and peaceful note, with Scout falling asleep in bed.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Character Analysis

My favourite character in TKAM is Miss Maudie Atkinson. I find that her defining qualities are how she is very sharp tongued, and also quite sarcastic.

She is also very witty, and her sharp tongued comments usually force the other party to give in. For example, when Miss Stephanie Crawford told the town that she saw Arthur Boo Radley staring at her at night, Miss Maudie replied, "What did you do Stephanie, move over in the bed and make room for him? That shut her up for a while." (Page 51, Chapter V)

Furthermore, unlike other characters in the book, Miss Maudie treats Scout and Jem very fairly (like Atticus), and does not hide things from them. She also tries to teach them about how all people are equal. She might also be seen as teaching Scout and Jem many lessons throughout the events of the book. For example, when Jem was upset by the outcome of the trial of Tom Robinson, she reassures him that the town was taking baby steps to become less prejudiced. Also, when Scout is embarrassed of Atticus, Miss Maudie tries to convince Scout that Atticus is quite talented, although Scout is only convinced after Atticus shot Tim Robinson.

Also, Ms Maudie is very strong, as even after her house burned down, she still continued her gardening, and did not seem to be deeply affected be the event.

Chinese New Year and Other News!!

Today was the HCI CNY celebrations! usually, after the celebrations, we would go visit our primary schools. However, today, there was a bit of a problem as Henry Park Primary celebrations ended at 10. However, HCI celebrations ended at about 10.30. This meant that we couldn't visit our teachers this time...

Anyway, the celebrations were as usual. We had the Lion Dance, Chinese Orchestra Performance, Choir, a few games, etc. However, in my opinion, last years CNY celebrations were more lively compared to this years! A good thing is that a performance area was set up in the middle of the hall, so everyone could have a great view. It was a great idea!!

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.