Chapter 3 Open ended question

How is Helen able accept her own transition from Buddhism to Catholicism and yet is unable to accept Mona's transition from Catholicism to Judaism which is being done for the same reasons?

Why does Mona insist on being a Jewish although her mother disagree?

Mona in the Promised Land Question - Spina

What is Mona trying to get across with the taking down her Christmas tree? The fact that it isn't native to China or because Catholics celebrate Christmas and she wants to be Jewish?

[ I know that's more than one question but it had 2 parts :) ]

Mona in the promised Land Question

What is the main reason why Helen doesn't want Mona to switch to Judaism, after she has switched herself from being Buddhist to Catholic?

Mona in the Promised Land

Why does Mona's family not support her becoming Jewish? Why do they hate the idea of it so much?

Why does Mona's mom hate the idea of Mona being Jewish so much?

Why does Mona convert even though her family does not want her to?

Mona Question Leshem

¿Was there a specific reason that Helen was so upset at Mona for converting?

Why do you think Helen was so upset about Mona turning Jewish?

Open-Ended Question Chapter 3

Do you think that Mona turning Jewish was worth all of the work and arguing?

Chapter 3 Open-Ended Question

Why is Callie obsessed about what is American and what is Chinese?

Mazo Mona Question

How does Mona's conversion to Judiasm affect her family?

St Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves Video

https://vimeo.com/56223373

Open ended flashlight question

Why were the students so mean to Mirabella? Why would they treat her with such little respect?

Flashlight Question

Why are they always biting each other and why did the parents not know about the kids returning home? (Character Question)

Flashlight Question

How did the parents not know that the kids weren't supposed to return home?

Flashlight question

At that moment at the end of the story when she was back "home," do you think she regrets going and getting changed into her more human side?

"St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised By Wolves": Open-Ended Discussion Question

Why did Claudette say that her first human lie was that her family's cave in the woods was home?

Open-ended Question

Why does Claudette treat Mirabella with such disrespect, and then have the decency to leave her a little something before she leaves?

St Lucy's wolf school

If Mirabelle is the youngest, she should adapt the fastest because she hasn't learned as much as the others yet she is the slowest to learn and refuses?

Open-Ended Question

Why were the students so mean to Mirabella, including her own sister?

Open ended question

Do you think the girls wanted to become more human like or were they forced too?

Question for Where are you going, where have you been

Why did Connie finally agree to go outside with Arnold French?

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Flashlight Question

Why does the narrator still betray Mirabella even though she loved her?

Open-Ended Discussion Question: Mazo

How are Marabelle and Jeanette compared to each other throughout the story?

Where are you going, where have you been

Why does Arnold take Connie with him.

Where are you going? Where have you been?

How did Arnold Friend know everything about Connie and how was Arnold Friend able to locate her house?

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Bob Dylan)

You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last

But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin’ through
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty-handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
All your reindeer armies, are all going home
The lover who just walked out your door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you’ve left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who’s rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start anew
And it’s all over now, Baby Blue

Flashlight Question - Spina

Why does the music play such an important role in her life? It seems the world stops when music is playing.

Flashlight question

Did he find out all of this about her family after he saw her in the parking lot, or has he known about here since before, and purposely saw her that night?

Flashlight Question

Why is music mentioned so many times throughout the short story? What does it symbolize?

Who is Arnold Friend? How does he know everything about Connie's family? Does he own some kind of supernatural power?

Flashlight Question

How did the boy/man know everything about her and her family?

Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

Why is Arnold Friend a part of this story and what is his significance playing the antagonist? Who/what is Arnold Friend?

Flashlight Question

How was Connie convinced into coming outside?

"Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?" - Flashlight Question

Who or what is Arnold Friend? Does he symbolize anything?

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Mazo

How was Arnold Friend represented as an antaigonist and what ways did he use in order to mess with Connies mind?

Apartheid in South Africa

Actual Cannibal Shia LeBeof

I used all the tips Amanda gave me like when I skipped over some parts or moved too fast. I also lengthened my epic simile to make it EPIC. When I was reading it out loud, I fixed some parts that didn't flow well or just didn't sound good. I also realized that I repeated lots of words alot

Alessia Caruso

I rewrote my entire rough draft, however, used the tips and comments Thomas had given me. I changed Athena’s attitude towards Odysseus and made my thesis clearer. Additionally, I changed my delivery of my speech. I spoke slower, putting more emphasis on certain words, and used hand gestures.

Odyssey Revisions- Jacqueline Dugan

In my story, I changed many things after seeing the comments posted by my partner and after I read it out loud about 5 times.  I changed some vocabulary to make it more sophisticated.  For example, I changed "I went far into the palace" into "I traveled deep into the depths of the palace".  I also added more description and adjectives.  Instead of just saying "i looked away from the suitors eyes", I added "I looked away from the suitors cold, sharp eyes".  I also added more thoughts Penelope was having during certain times, like her feelings and emotions.  I added an epithet and an epic simile.  I also tried to read it more clearly and in a way Penelope would tell the story.

Editing reflection

After editing my story and reading it over 5 times I changed grammatical and presenting errors. In my paper I changed the tense, edited the simile and made sure that my thoughts were developed and that everything flowed. When I read out loud and recorded my self it was easy to find the errors because not only did they sound awkward when I said them but I was able to actually watch myself speak and see the pace, the clearness of my speech and add emotion to the speech.

Odyssey Story Revisions

After reading my story five times aloud, I altered some of the sentences to make it sound better, and I added more to the story. In the content of the story, I changed some of the sentences, so that they would be easier to speak and make the story sound better.  In my delivery, I changed it sound that I ha d varying tones based on the situation I was talking about, so the story would not be monotone and dull.

Odyssey Story Revisions

My first draft had several issues with poor phrasing and grammar, as well as some unresolved tense issues, and by reading my story aloud I could fix these. There were also sections where I had failed to explain the context of what was happening fully, so reading it aloud helped me to see where the story was congruent and where it needed to be redone. Adding context and fixing phrasing and grammatical issues were the only changes I made to the text, but I also had to change several things in the delivery of my story. I needed to slow down, enunciate, and work on my rhetoric in general.

After reading my story for five times, I corrected some grammar mistakes and wrong sentences. I also added some details to my story as I read.
I recorded myself when I read the story for the third time, and found out I spoke too fast that some of the words were hard to recognize and mispronounced. Thus, I tried to speak slowly and more clearly in my fourth and fifth time which sounded much better.

Revisions for my Story

After getting back comments about my story, I made a lot of changes in order to make it sound more like Eurycleia as well as making it include more detail. To do this, I added more sentences that were her personal thoughts during the events occurring, and I described the events in more detail. Additionally, I tried to improve my epic simile by elaborating more and including more descriptive words.

After reading the story outloud, I fixed some sentences that sounded off and noticed that some of my verbs were in the wrong tense. I also changed the wording of some sentences to make it sound less formal, and instead, something that Eurycleia would say.

Odyssey storytelling corrections

After I practiced telling my story aloud, I found that there were sentences I needed to make sound clearer and smaller fixes to make sense of the context I was speaking in. I found that when I spoke the story aloud, it was almost like proofreading it over again, but I could actually hear the sentences to see if they made sense grammatically and in the context of my story. So I went back and changed a couple of those sentences.

As for the delivery of my story I found myself sounding more monotoned and not very expressive, for my presentation I need to make sure I use hand gestures and use different tones for different parts/emotion in the story.

Book 22, Telemachus Rough Draft changes

For changes to my first draft, I didn't make any huge changes from my first draft, just some corrections in spelling, I added more epithets, hopefully improved my epic simile, and added more descriptive details about how he felt, what he saw, and what he thought.

For changes in content I added more descriptive words to make it sound alittle better and I fixed a few run on sentences so that they were alittle more smooth sounding.

For changes in delivery I made myself alittle louder so that it was easier hear, I stood up straighter to make myself slouch less, and I made myself look at my notes less when reading so that I could start memorizing all of the details of the story better.

Spina - Odysseus Revision to Story

1. The changes I made were just details and making everything flowed smoothly when I was talking so that it wouldn't be choppy, and that I wouldn't have to stop and look at my story because everything would flow.


2. In the content of the story, I just re arranged words so that it sounded better as I'm speaking and also so I do repeat myself. When you write it, it sounds different in your head than when you actually say it aloud.


3. In my delivery, I want to make sure I don't use to many hand motions because I talk with my hands a lot, which isn't too bad because I'm being interactive in a way. Also, I want to make sure that I am clear in my delivery. I tend to mule sometimes where people can't hear me, so I want to make sure I am as clear as possible and go at a steady pace.

Alessia Caruso: Point of View

The first thing i had on my to do list was to go back to Circe’s and tell her what had happened. Then again, she was the person that told me to meet with Tiresias. So I told Circe what had happened in the land of the sea, not that I saw my mom, but what Tiresias had said to me. After I had explained to her what had happened, she informed me about something that I was not expecting. Circe said that I would have two journeys to complete and during those journeys I would encounter Scilla, the devourer, and Corruptus, the swallower. Let me tell you, that was not what I wanted to hear. I was yearning for Ithaca and the people in it, my wife, my child, and my mother.Then I remembered what I saw in the Land of the Dead and discarded that memory. Beyond that, I was missing my dog, the shadows of the long afternoons, the terraces and vineyards, and the scent of herbs on the breeze. Life was simpler in Ithaca and I couldn't wait to be home. I knew that I would have to face anything, to get my life back to how it used to be.

Jacqueline Dugan monolauge

Song of Spheres

One of Odyssesus men’s point of view

It all started at the sandbank.  Everything about that island gave off a bad vibe.  We went straight to Circe’s island. When we got there Odysseus went straight to Circe and told her everything that happened on the island.  I couldn’t hear quite well but I did hear Circe telling Odysseus that there were several trials he had to go through until he would find the island of the sun god perian.  She went on talking about the events Odyssues would go through on his journey, such as a six headed dragon named skilla who would kill six of his crew members.  When I heard this I got really nervous.  My palms started to sweat and all I could wonder was if I would be one of the men who is killed.  I would talk to Odysseus but he didn’t really care about his crew, only about him returning home.  In the morning, we went on our way.  We passed the daughter’s of the muse and Odysseus insisted we pass by so he could listen to the music.  He made us cover our ears.  He started screaming but all I could see and hear was him mouthing words.  We continued on and all Odysseus could hear was a song.  He was distracted while we tried to keep the boat afloat.  He called this song “the song of the spheres”.

Josh- Odysseus, Shipwrecked

After my men were killed by the awful dragon I kept sailing.  Soon I saw an island just as Tiresias had described, with beautiful cattle.  I knew I could not stop, or else bad curses would happen.  One of my my men, Eurilochus said he doubted if I was even a man, or a god in disguise, because I didn’t mourn about the men being killed.  I knew this was not true at all, but my crew seemed to agree with Eurilochus.  WE stopped the boat, only after they agreed not to touch the cows.  Soon after we docked, I fell asleep.  I was woken by Eurilochus shaking me, and he showed me the great storm that was going on, and how if we would have left, we'd be dead.  However, the storm went on for days,  and days turned into a month.  We ran out of food, and were so tempted to eat the cattle.  I went and made a big fire and prayed to the gods, hoping for the storm to end.  When I woke up, the storm was over, but when I went back to camp, my men were roasting two cows.  Eurylochus came up to me and offered me a cut, he said they sacrificed the best part of the cow to the gods, and the storm ended.  I knew the meat was cursed, and refused.  We set sail, but a weird cloud was covering the sail.  All of a sudden, a huge lightning bolt came out of nowhere and destroyed the ship.  I knew it was Hyperion and Zeus's doing.  Soon I realized we were in Kurpius, a great whirlpool Circe warned me about.  I grabbed a hold of a fig branch, and escaped for a second.  All my men were killed, but I prayed to the gods, and was spared. I drifted and reached an island.  A nymph rescued me and said her name was Calypso.  Soon she fell in love with me, but I refused, only loving my wife Penelope.  I stayed there for seven years, thinking about how I refused Calypso for someone I haven’t seen in so long.  I was actually nobody, there wasn’t anything I could do.  Eventually I built a raft and left.  BUt soon Poseidon destroyed it and I swam for three days and landed on the island of King Alcinous.  All I want is to get back to Ithica, where everything is.  I’ve lost everything.          

Tiresias-Calvin

I was doing spiritual things in the land of the dead when all of a sudden, I smelled blood. I hurried to it and saw three men holding off the other spirits.  I recognized their leader as Odysseus. He let me drink and when I had, I told him all the knowledge he needed to know. I told Odysseus that he would land on an island where he would see the Sun God's cattle and that he would lose everything if they killed one. Then he saw something, screamed and ran off and I never saw him again.

Eurycholus' Perspective - Shipwrecked - Poulios

We sailed for days after leaving the island of Circe. Our ship finally reached an island, but Odysseus said we must go on. The crew and I went ballistic. We just went through a terrible tragedy. Our friends were eaten by a dragon! I demanded that we land on that island. Odysseus finally agreed, and we landed. The island looked like paradise. A herd of cows grazed lazily in the sun. Odysseus told us to only eat the things we had brought from Circe. We complied with the request despite the appearance of the cows. I fell asleep that night filled with the food from Circe. She trapped us and turned us into pigs earlier, but we trusted her now because of the prophecy of Odysseus. I woke up suddenly in the night. I heard a howling wind. Rain drenched my clothes. I shook Odysseus awake to brag about how I had been right. We shouldn’t have sailed on or our bones would have washed ashore by the time the storm was over. He awoke. I showed him the storm. The storm went on for several days. We ran about of bread, cheese, and wine. We had no more food left. Odysseus wandered off that day. I had no idea where he was going. He was crazy, so why should it concern me. We hadn’t seen Odysseus for days after he had left. I assumed he died. We got so hungry that we disobeyed Odysseus and killed two of the cows. While we were feasting, Odysseus showed up. When I offered him a piece of meat, he looked horrified as if I was suggesting he eat a person, and not a cow. He didn’t eat. That was fine for me because it was more for the sane people on the island. When we finished most of the cow, we packed it up and sailed on. While we were sailing, a strange cloud formed above us. All of a sudden a lightning bolt struck our mast and tore our ship to shreds. Debris floated around us. I could hear laughing. It was probably Odysseus welcoming death. I struggled against the current that pulled me. I was stuck in a whirlpool. I got whipped around like a ragdoll. I saw Odysseus holding onto a branch, and that was the last thing I saw. I got sucked the underwater by the current, and then there was only darkness.

Shipwrecked- Calypso

I found Odysseus on the shore of my island when I was doing my daily walk. He looked like he needed some help so I brought him to my cave and nursed him back to health. As I nursed him I fell instantly in love with him and offered him immortal life if he would  just stay with me. At this point I didn't know what was going through his head but then he refused my offer. I was so angry I trapped him on my island for seven years and tried to convince him to stay with me and to love me. He never fell in love with me or accepted my offer so eventually I had to let him go because of Athena. I gave him the materials to create a raft and he sailed off. We spent seven years together and I don't think I will see him again.

Odysseus' Mother- "Land of the Dead"

A journey is not completed without a goal. My son Odysseus set out on this journey to find the homeland Ithaca. Odysseus misses the terraces, vineyards, scent, mountainous regions, sandy beaches, and he missed me. He realized how much time had gone by without my embrace. In the underworld, Odysseus has seen my reflection, making him realize his reason for the journey was to come to his homeland, where unfortunately I will not be at by the time he gets back. The underworld is on the other side of the "River of Forgetfulness", it's safe to say Odysseus was forgetful of me, his mother. The time flew and he didn't realize which will make his journey a lot more rough knowing I will not be on the other side of it to praise him.

Land of the Dead- Odysseyus

I just wanted to go home. I missed everything from there, and my memories of Ithaca and my wife Penelope were the only thing that kept me going through the land of the dead. Fortunately Circe gave us supplies before we left because as we went north to get to the underworld, it got colder and colder until we could almost not even function properly. We finally made it to a giant wall of fog. Having no choice, we went into it and sailed through it for what seemed like forever. The grayness and gloom of this endless ordeal was unbearable. At long last we made it to a sand bank, and my men and I took a few sheep and began to walk into the living nightmare that was the land of the dead. The bleakness of the underworld infected my men and I. I felt like all my worst fears were coming true and I could barely think. My mental and psychical capabilities were so subdued I felt as though I had been drugged. At last we came to a dark oily river, which I recognized as the river of forgetfulness. Across the river through the fog was the land of the dead. We dug a little hole in the sand and slit the throats of the sheep we brought along as a sacrifice to the dead. The ghosts of the dead rose up, and were more terrifying than any war of bloody combat me and my men had ever seen. I told my men to keep the ghosts back so Tiresias could drink the blood and then tell us the prophesy. They were so horrified they could only stand and stare. I tried to keep the eerie specters at bay, and fortunately I saw one ghost more dignified than the others, and I knew it must have been Tiresias. I let him drink and when he had had his fill I inquired about my fate. He told me that my journey would be hard because of Poseidon fury. However if I could control my crews and my urges by not slaughtering the sacred cattle of Hyperion we could make it home safely. The catch was, if we weren't able to control ourselves and did slaughter his cattle, Hyperion would go to Zeus and demand revenge so the only way I could ever reach my homeland was alone, unknown, under a strange sail, and find danger waiting where there should have been welcome. And even if I could overcome all this stuff, the only way for me to ultimately avoid the wrath of Poseidon would be to go inland, plant and oar in the ground, and make sacrifices. Only then could I be at peace with him, and I could live a long and happy life. The easier option was obviously to just show my humility by not slaughtering the cattle. If I could just do that I'd be home quickly. Then among the ghosts I saw the saddest thing yet, my mothers ghost. That meant even once I got home, she would be gone. I left the underworld with a deep sadness because I knew I would never see my mother again, but also with a sense of hope, because I was now closer to being able to get back to my beloved homeland of Ithaca than I had been in thirteen long years.

Athena

Athena, the goddess of Wisdom, was watching this big battle in her own palace. Through the 3D magic mirror she owned, she saw the mirror suddenly transformed into a big whirlpool, and all the crew on Odysseus's ship was sucking by that giant hole. She could see the fear and horrified expression showed on each person's face, and their despair and desire to live when they nearly reached the very bottom of the hole. Athena was eager to save their life, but her power was far less than Zeus. Suddenly, she noticed that Odysseus was struggling in the edge of the whirlpool and had not been sucked in yet. Thus, Athena transformed three tons of water into a big wood trunk that will carrying Odysseus away from danger. When Odysseus was floating, Athena let six dolphins to guide him in this endless ocean and he finally reached a island where Calypso took care of him very well. 

Shipwrecked - Charybdis' point of view (Spina)

They were lurking slowly towards me as the storm raged on. The large red cloud and the storm above me distracted Odysseus and his crew. They clearly didn’t know what was coming but were along for the ride. They were about to face Charybdis! After all, I am the most treacherous whirlpool that cannot be stopped. Not even the most powerful Zeus would be able to get them from my tight grasp. Once they get sucked in, they can never go back. That’s the end for them. After basking in my own glory, Zeus’ lightning bolt thrashed down on Odysseus’ ship tearing it limb from limb. As the crew members try to hang for their lives, they descend into the water and squirm, trying to find a way out. I sneak up behind them and suck them down. I ripped all of them to pieces just leaving their carcases at the bottom of the ocean. That’s where they’ll stay. Odysseus was the only one left. His ship was gone, and he was hanging on for dear life on a weak branch. I tried to swallow him up as well, but just as I got over to him and was about to let him face my wrath, the storm led up as he passed through the clearing and was out of sight. If only I would have been able to swallow up  “The Great Odysseus”, maybe then I would have been satisfied.

Song of the Spheres- The Sirens

I begin to sing on top of the pile of bones that I have been standing on for what seems like forever. The sun beats down on me as I look across the shimmering water, and am surprised to see a ship coming our way. Who are these people? I sing with the other sirens and fill the air with a beautiful song, trying to curse the men that are intruding our land. I peer at the men on the ship, hoping that they will become enchanted. However, the men push forward, looking unaffected by our song. The only man that looked somewhat dazed was the one tied to the mast of the ship. He was screaming out orders to his crew, yet none of them seemed to notice. How? I tried to focus and started to sing the Song of the Spheres, but still, the men did nothing. We made the sounds of the beating of a swans wings, the sound of the sea, the moan of the wind, and the rhythm of the passage of the seasons all join in harmony. Even after this, the men continued to come closer to our deleted island. I looked at my fellow sirens, with the bodies of vultures and the heads of women, and they gave me a puzzled expression. Why weren't the men falling under our spell?

Odysseus Shipwrecked

As I walked back to the camp site, excited to go to my crew and tell them that we could finally set sail, I noticed something on the fire. As I got closer to my crew to see what they were cooking I thought to myself, "There has been no food for weeks. What could they be cooking?" When I arrived I saw a sight that sent shivers down my spine. My men were eating the sun gods cows after I had pleaded, begged, and ordered them not to, they slaughtered two of them and had cooked and eaten them. One of my men walked over and said, "Do you see Odysseus? There is no danger, we have not been killed or burned alive by the sun gods wrath. Here take a piece and fill your stomach before we take off." I looked down at the meet my stomach growling like a dog, but I forced myself to stay strong knowing that the meet was cursed. "No. I do not wish to eat this cursed meat and die like the rest of you."I said. He looked at me,  said nothing, and picked up the cow meat and stuffed it down his throat without saying anything. After an hour of laughing and eating, they walked over to the boat where I sat in silence, and my first mate said, "Nothing has happened. You were wrong and we are fine, not dropping over like the dead cattle we slaughtered." He said this with a grin. As we cast off from the shore I looked back on to the island and thought,"Were they right. Could I have eaten the meat and been fine? It doesn't matter for I am almost home." Two hours later we were hit by a bolt of red lightning and flung into the Charybdis where all my men but I died.

Circe - Spina

Wordle: Alessia Caruso

Sack of Wind wordle

Sack of winds

Sack Of Winds Word Cloud

Circe Key Words

The Cyclops Word Cloud- Amanda Bucknam

Sack of Winds Word Cloud

Circe Key Words and Phrases Word Cloud

The Cyclops Beck

"Cyclops" Word Cloud

Odyssey audiobook

          I really liked that the narrator was able to use different tones of voices and talk differently, like when he would whisper, raise his voice, use a different voice etc.  It really kept me paying attention as opposed to some other monotonous audiobooks where it's easy to zone out. The audiobook can also make it easier to visualize it and realize what is going on as opposed to just reading it.
          There were some things about the book that I didn't like, or won't like in the future.  During those  two parts, there was nothing that confused me, however in the future if there is something I don't understand the first time and want to re-read it, it it much more difficult than just looking back in the book.

Odyssey Questions - Spina

I enjoyed the narration. It gave the story a more historic/intense feeling. It made the content itself more interesting opposed to listening to a monotone voice describe the prologue of the Odyssey. Also, the description and imagery also gives it a more interesting effect. Next, the thing that frustrates me the most is the fact that sometimes, i didn’t totally understand somethings and it was harder to go back and try to find the spot I wanted, whereas if I was reading the book, I could easily go back and find the spot i wasn’t understanding and reread it until I got it. Thats harder to do with audiobooks.

Jacqueline Dugan

1. What did you enjoy about listening to this story? 
I enjoyed how you can listen to another person read to you. I think it's easier to focus and there's more to absorb when someone else is telling you the story. 2. What frustrates you about listening to a story rather than reading it?
I don't like how if you miss something while your listening you can't just go back and re read it.

Audiobooks

When listening to an audio book there are many positive aspects to it but there are also some negative ones. What is good about listening to the book is that it allows you to only focus on the audio instead of focusing on how fast you are reading or turning the page. Besides that it also helps visualize and comprehend the story better because of the tone the reader speaks in. It is also more convenient to listen to the book because you can download it on your phone and put some headphones in and listen to it anywhere. What is not as good about audio books is that it is easier to miss some things when you are listening to it. It also depends on the narrator of the book because if he speaks very choppy it is hard to understand what he is saying. Also sometimes the reader, reads very slow and it is annoying, but sometimes you can adjust the pace.

Odyssey Jack

I think listening to online book is better than reading it. The speaker can use different kind of voice to help you distinguish the character, and voice are more attractive than words which can make you absorbed in the book immediately. Furthermore,  you could listen to the online book anytime in any places. For example, people can listen to audio books when they are seating in a car.
What I dislike about audio book is the speaker tells the story in his own way, although the words are the same, the speaker always add his own understanding. Sometimes the speaker dislike a character in the book, and he will express that in his accent which force us to think that this character is not a good guy. This give us limited space to form our own understanding.

Odyssey Calvin

1 I liked the online book because you can do something else while you listen to it. On the other hand, you don't know the page you are on and you can't take notes on the book while listening and it distracts you from the other thing you are doing or you don't listen closely to the story.

Listening to the Odyssey

There are ups and downs to listening to an audio book. You don't have to physically flip the pages, which allows you to do other things while still listening and paying attention to the details of the book. But on the other hand it's hard because you can't annotate important details, and it's hard to find a section or word that you want repeated so you can understand it. I personally could go either way by traditionally reading a hard copy of the book or listening to it on my laptop/phone.

Alessia Caruso: What I like and don't like

1. What did you enjoy about listening to this story?

• I enjoyed how the speaker spoke with such emotion and helped envision the how the characters felt in the audio book.
• I also enjoyed envisioning what each of the characters and the setting looked like.
• I like how brief, yet descriptive, the narrator is in his writing.
• It allows you to take notes while you’re listening to the tape, rather than reading something, having to put the book down to write a couple of notes, then have to pick up the book again and keep reading.
• The narrator also keeps us on our toes and really makes the audience fell that they are part of the story, through his tone and choice of words.

2. What frustrates you about listening to a story rather than reading it?

• I do not like how if you miss something, you have to rewind and try to find where you had left off, rather than if you miss something while reading, you can just go back a sentence or two and read it again, more thoroughly and carefully.
• I also do not like the long breaks in between his words as he narrates, in comparison to reading something at  a much quicker pace.

Thomas Betts- Odyssey Listening Reflection

I enjoyed the fact that while listening to the Odyssey I enjoyed the fact that the reader told the story emphatically. By switching voices for the different characters and adjusting the tone of his voice for different portions of the story it became more interesting than if I were to just read it myself. Something that could be considered a good thing but is also a bad thing about listening to the book is that we all hear the exact same story, read the exact same way. This provides clarity and because the meaning of what is said in the book is told to us through the readers enunciation there will be no confusion as to what Homer intended for words to mean, because that has been interpreted for us by the author. This is also frustrating in the aspect that individually as readers we are not able to make decisions for ourselves and interpret things as we read them. Another thing that is both frustrating and enjoyable about the process of listening to the book is the fact that the authors pace is steady and slow. It would be easier and quicker to just read the book and I could consume more information more quickly. The upside of this is that in forcing me to slow down the audio recording also forces me to look more carefully about what has been said. Finally, the fact that it is an audio recording makes it difficult to go back to a specific place and re-read to further comprehension. In my experience with listening to the Odyssey I found that despite the advantages of hearing a story rather than reading, the sacrifice of efficiency and functionality makes it frustrating.

Likes and Dislikes about the Odyssey Audiobook

What did you enjoy about listening to the story?

• I enjoyed the narrators dramatic voices for the characters instead of him speeking in a boring monotone voice, it keeps me interested
• I enjoyed the words used to describe the scenarios and scenes, very descriptive and informative without going over the top and spending to long explaining
• I enjoy how the narrator sounds, he sounds in my opinion like he is really getting into character
• I enjoy being able to do something else while listening to the story like writing this blog post, instead of having to go back and forth between the book and the blog
• I enjoy how much shorter the audiobook is unlike the actual book which has 24 chapters and 485 pages in contrast to the 16 chapters of the audiobooks

What frustrates you about listening to the story rather reading it?

• I dislike how occasionally there is an unusually long pause before sentences which can be heard in the "Prologue" often
• I dislike how I have to rewind the story to hear something that I missed

Listening to "The Odyssey"

I had mixed emotions about listening to "The Odyssey." I really liked listening to it because it allowed you to really picture what was going on and it was more entertaining than just reading words on a page. Also, I was able to multitask and do my laundry while listening to it, yet still understand what was going on. However, it was kind of hard to listen to because if you space out or miss something important, it's a lot harder to go back and try to find it again. In a book, you can simply reread a page, when in a recording, you have to rewind and try to find out where you need to start the recording again. Therefore, listening to "The Odyssey" was fun but also kind of annoying.

The Odyssey: Listening Reflection

The Odyssey: Listening Reflection

1. What I enjoyed about listening to The Odyssey was that it was easier to imagine everything that was happening and think about it instead of reading it and imagining, which is what you would do with a book. There was also more emotion.
2. What frustrates me about listening to a story rather than reading it is that it is harder to go back if you missed something when you are listening to it because might have to listen to something you already listened to to get to the right part. That can be annoying.

three reasons Jacqueline Dugan

JACQUELINE DUGAN MEMOIR

In the book, The Glass Castle, Jeanette (the narrator) talked about many life experiences she went through, good and bad.  She used these experiences to her advantage. She learned many life lessons out of each and every one of them, learned from her parents, and learned to stick with her family.  Throughout the book she was honest and wasn’t afraid to tell the reader what she was thinking when she went through these things.  She made sense of who she was and who she is now, and how certain things changed her for the better or for the worse.  She also made sure the reader took away from her experiences.  She wrote a very good memoir.

In the story, Jeanette talked about how she learned many things from her experiences as a child/teen.  When she was younger, she caught on fire while making hot dogs.  She was in the hospital until her dad snuck her out because he hated hospitals and the way they did things.  When she got home she made hot dogs again and was more careful.  She wasn’t afraid to make hot dogs again, but she learned from what happened and she never got hurt making hot dogs again.  When she said this, she didn’t lie and say her dad wanted her to stay but he needed her to leave, she told it how it was.  He didn’t like hospitals so they left.  Throughout every memory she mentions, Jeanette does a good job explaining everything truthfully.

Even though in the story, she had many bad life experiences, she made sure the reader knew that her parents taught her many things and that the reader took away from each memory.  When she was learning how to swim, her dad didn’t hold her until she was comfortable enough to go in the water, he threw her in until she was almost drowning and scooped her up and told her that she now knows how to swim.  When I was reading this, I thought, “what kind of parent would do that to her child.” But now I know.  He wanted her to know that she has to learn how to do things for herself.  

Lastly, when Jeanette went through these things, she learned to stick with her siblings.  She also made sense of who she was and who she is, and how certain things changed her for the better or for the worse.  Before she graduated high school, she made a deal with her siblings that they would all move to New York Together when they all graduated.  This brought them all closer together.  At the end of the book she mentioned how these things changed her as a person.  After she described each memory, she mentioned how she would’ve reacted back then and how she would’ve reacted now.  

Overall Jeanette wrote a good memoir.  She was honest and made sure the readers took away from the experiences she went through.  Also last she made sense of who she is and who she was, and how certain things changed her for the better or the worse.

Alessia Caruso

Thesis: The Color of Water by James McBride portrays William Zinsser’s lay out perfectly, with great detail and focus.

In Zinsser’s lay out, it states,” They [Ruth and James] elevate the pain of the past with forgiveness, arriving at a larger truth about families in various stages of brokenness.” This statement corresponds with Ruth and James life as adolescents  significantly. As a teenager, Ruth went through sexual abuse (leaving her with a low self esteem), depression, and sat Shiva (meaning that her parents acted as if she had died and never talked to her). However, when time got hard, she never felt sorry for herself. Instead, she felt sympathy and empathy for Mameh, her mother, and her sister, Dee- Dee. Thus, she was leaving them behind, having to deal with Tateh, her father, by themselves. Additionally, Ruth promised Dee - Dee she would come back, but never did, resulting in Ruth feeling deeply sorry and Dee-Dee upset. However, Ruth had to do what was best for herself and move up north, thus she can get away from all the tussle and drama, and settle down.
James also went through countless tussles involving his race, his mother's race, drugs, and alcohol. As James was growing up, he didn't seem to notice the fact that he was black and that his mother was white. And if he had, he did not think it mattered, which it shouldn't. However, as he was growing up, he began to notice how his mother was being treated differently, in comparison to his friend's black parents. Although, when he would ask his mother why, his mother would answer the question indirectly and change the topic. As James was reaching his teenage years, he was understanding why his mother was being treated differently. In James's early teenage years, the Civil Right's movement was brewing, thus blacks tended to hate the whites and the whites the same. James's friend even began to hate on whites, and James would occasionally join in on the rant, feeling pressured to join in, even though his mother was white. Additionally, James began to use drugs and alcohol in his teens after his step-father, Hunter, had passed away of a stroke. Hunter was a real role model for James, having his biological father passed away. He did what every other dad did, played, nurtured, and loved their son. However, when he passed away, James didn't know how to get his frustrations and anger out, therefore he turned to drugs and alcohol as a way to ease and forget about pain and reality. However, James was able to get his self back to normal and healthy, with the help of Chicken man, a man that worked at Jack's, that made millions of mistakes as an adolescent and as an adult. He warned James of the dangers that it would cause and told him how education is key to being successful. There on, James began to focus on school, returning to getting good grades, and learned his new love for jazz. James tussle's indicated all the bad, miserable memories Zinsser's lay out included and explained.
Zinsser's also explains that,"With the feat of manipulation they arrive at a truth that is theirs alone, not quite like that of anybody else who was present at the same events." Ruth had grown up in the Polish Orthodox Judaism, thus she came from a very strict background. Therefore, her parents, mainly her father, tended to be more forceful with countless things. Consequently, Ruth switched to Christianity and found it a better and more peaceful religion. She found it a way to seek God's help and love and made her feel as if she was another person. However, Ruth never wanted to look back at her old religion, because it would only bring up the hard times and events she faced as an adolescent. Nonetheless, she is forced to come face to face with it, when she attends James's friends wedding, and chooses to accept the fact that she had a hard background and now can move forward in life.
In conclusion, The Color of Water does portray Zinsser's lay out, though the fact that Ruth and James had gone through miserable events, arrived at a truth that is theirs alone, forgave their past, and never felt sympathy for themselves.

Glass Castle Sam Mazo

The Glass Castle is a non-fiction novel that follows the life of Jeanette Walls, a girl born into an impoverished family led by her her occasionally drunk father, Rex Walls, and artistic mother, Rosemary, and her three siblings Lori, Brian, and Maureen. As the story progresses throughout her life, Jeannette learns to fend for herself and her family against the hardships of the impoverished world as they travel from place to place all over the United States looking for a place to call home. Though she faces some sad and painful times in her life she also has had a few good times with her dad, when he is not drunk, and her family always hoping to find a place to build The Glass Castle with them. The story The Glass Castle is a good memoir that pays attention to the smallest details and hardships of Jeannette's life while also being a well made structured novel.

As the story progresses through her life, Jeannette uses the element of carpentry to carefully construct the story and make it into a good memoir. William Zinsser writes that any good memoir needs two elements, one of these is carpentry which is, "...a careful act of construction." which allows all the ideas of the memoir to fall into place after careful planning and," a jumble of half-remembered events." The story The Glass Castle clearly has this element do to its interesting back-stories and intense memories as seen on page 66 when Jeannette is being taught to swim and is constantly betrayed by her father when he pushes her into the water whenever she tries to get out,"He did it again and again, until the realization that he was rescuing me only to throw me back into the water took hold, and so, rather than reaching for Dad's hands, I tried to get away from them." Therefore the memoir The Glass Castle acquired the second element that Zinsser wrote about in his article making it a good memoir and novel.


As the story progresses, Jeannette starts to grow older and starts to understand the world and all that happens in it. She starts to write more realistically talking about how hungry they would get and how hard they would have to fight to stay alive showing more and more realism as more of the story progresses. One scene that shows off this realism and hardships they had to face was on page 174 when the family is in Welch and is starving,"My teeth hurt,' Mom said, but she was getting shifty-eyed...'It's my bad gums. I'm working my jaw to increase circulation.'" After a moment Brian takes her blanket off and all the children see a half eaten family-sized chocolate bar which they take and distribute amongst themselves while their mother watches and cries. This scene shows the gritty realism of how their mother was keeping food from them and how they were forced to take for themselves. Clearly, based on this scene you can see how the realism and hardships they faced as kids made this a good memoir.

In conclusion the book The Glass Castle is a good book because it includes Zinsser's second element of a good memoir and shows the hardships and realism that the Walls family faced.

Three Reason Argument Olivia Coxon

There are both good and bad memoirs in the world. A good way of deciding whether a memoir is good or not is by reading Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir by William Zinsser and asking yourself if a memoir that you have read follows the criteria. “The Color of Water” by James McBride is clearly a good memoir because it is meaningful, carefully constructed, and is not just complaining.

“The Color of Water” is not just complaining. In the memoir, both the mother and son have extremely hard lifestyles, growing up in bad neighborhoods. The mother is molested by her father, the son does drugs, they face many issues in regards to their skin color, and they don’t have a lot of money. The mother's hard life is shown on page 42 when it says, “My father did things to me when I was a young girl that I couldn’t tell anyone about. Such as getting in bed with me at night and doing things to me sexually that I could not tell anyone about.” However, these facts are listed not just because it makes the reader know that their lives are bad, but because it shows the reader how much they had to overcome. This provides a deep message of getting through terrible times, and in “The Color of Water,” they turned to God, as well as their family and friends, to do so. Therefore, “The Color of Water” has a dark side to it, but is not just complaining.

In addition, “The Color of Water” is very carefully constructed. The order in which events occur and the significance of each one is crucial to the lessons learned throughout the story. There could probably be an infinite amount of events listed that add on to the evidence suggesting that the characters have bad lifestyles, but instead, only the most important events are chosen from the characters’ crazy lives. These events shape the memoir and show that the writer isn’t just saying things with no purpose, but are telling the events that mean the most to him. Many of these events have to do with the constant struggle with the color of the characters' skin, which is extremely an important topic. An example of the struggles that the family face due to the color of their skin is on page 89 when it says, “Being the token Negro was something I was never entirely comfortable with. I was the only black kid in my fifth-grade class at P.S. 138 is the then all-white enclave of Rosedale, Queens… someone in the back of the class whispered, ‘James is a nigger!’ followed by a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room.” This embarrassment was just one of the many struggles that the family had to face in regards to the color of their skin. Therefore, “The Color of Water” is very carefully constructed with many important events.

Finally, “The Color of Water” is a very meaningful memoir. Throughout the story, both the reader as well as the boy discover the dark past of the mother. The mother overcomes this dark past by turning to God and thinking positively, and this idea is shown in the last chapter of the book. The mother says a speech in a church at the end of the book, moving the people in the church as well as the readers. This speech shows how much she had overcome and how God really changed her life, giving her a different perspective in life and encouraging her to push through the pain. The moving speech is shown on page 258 when it says, “‘God bless you all in the name of Christ!’ she shouts, striking at the air with her fist and sitting down, her face red, nose red, tears everywhere, in my own eyes as well.” Therefore, “The Color of Water” is very meaningful and moving.

In conclusion, “The Color of Water” is a great memoir because it isn’t just complaining, is very well put together, and is very moving and meaningful.

Three reason- The Color of Water- Lian Wolman

The memoir the Color of Water by James McBride is a good memoir because, it keeps the reader interested, there was conflict and it was definitely eventful.

The memoir was about identity, religion and race conflicting in an unusual way.The mother had a crazy background, she was originally Jewish but married a black man and eventually converted to christianity and became very involved in churches.  The mother in the memoir had a past that the children did not know about which made her children wonder especially because she was white and they were black. The children were trying to find out who they were at the same time that they were trying to figure out who their mother was. This created a bit of mystery about the mom that let the reader wonder throughout the book which kept the reader fascinated and made the memoir interesting.

The memoir was also about household with an outrageous number of kids which  made this memoir eventful. Since there were so many kids it was very hard for the mother to supply all of their needs. When ever she spent a little one on one time with any of them it was a big deal. She worked a lot of low paying jobs which made it hard to feed all of them and buy them new things. At one of her jobs they gave their workers a free meal so she would try to take as much food as she could and bring it home for her children, but even that was not enough to feed all of them. Since there were so many kids in a small house with a low family income it made the book very eventful.

This memoir was good because there were so many prominent issues in the world today. In the memoir, it also kept the reader interested, had mystery and was eventful.

Thomas Betts Three Reason Post

The Color of Water by James McBride is a successful memoir because it reaches all the criteria needed for a good memoir. James McBride avoids dwelling on the negative parts of both he and his mother's life and simply states them as fact, then goes on to discuss the greater effect of this. James McBride also has integrity of intention and really went into his mother’s past to write this novel. Finally, the way this book is crafted pieces together James McBride’s mother’s and his scattered memories and puts them into a coherent story, making The Color of Water a good memoir.

A good memoir doesn’t focus on the negative events in the author’s life but only uses them to get a greater meaning across, which is exactly what James McBride did in The Color of Water. Both he and his mother went through a lot as children and the way he presents these facts is not in asking for pity but only to create a more whole picture of who his mother is and how she made him the person he is. He looks back on the mistakes he made with complete honesty. “ I was obviously hiding, and angry as well,” he says, referring to the fact he was committing crimes and dropping out of school, “ but I would never admit that to myself.” (p. 140) the fact that he blames himself rather than his surroundings and situation makes it a good memoir. By “elevating the past with forgiveness” as William Zinsser puts it he writes a good memoir.

James McBride did not write this memoir to have it be sold out and become a bestseller, but to discover more of his and his mother’s past, giving him integrity of intention. He has to look carefully into the past of him and his mother which gives the memoir meaning and purpose as well as allowing the reader to connect more deeply with stories of their own. When James went back to Virginia  where his mother grew up and talked to the people she knew as a child, it shows that he actually meant to accomplish something writing this memoir. "My own humanity was awakened, rising up to greet me with a handshake" (p. 229) he writes, referring to the emotions he felt in undertaking the journey into his mother's past, proving his integrity of intention.

Crafting a memoir is an element of writing James McBride successfully executes in The Color of Water. The way he writes from his mother's perspective and his own perspective alternating chapter by chapter and goes chronologically makes the memoir flow and make sense. He constructs his and his mother's lives from memory and stories and does an excellent job doing so. The way he carefully constructs the memoir so he and his mother's stories intertwine towards the end shows he carefully constructed his memoir.

By avoiding dwelling on the unfortunate aspects of his childhood and seeking pity, having integrity of intention while writing, and putting together his mother's and his memories into a coherent story line, James McBride writes an excellent memoir.

Three reason blog post- Jack

The Color of Water is a good memoir book that is written with maternal love.

James lives with his eleven brothers and sisters in Brooklyn, and their mother, Ruth, is the only white female in their area. Thus, James begins to aware that his mother is somewhat different, and because of his black skin, he wonders whether his mother is his real mother. But each time he asks this question, his mother will reply with the internal answer that she is his real mother.

Ruth is a very eccentric mother. She never lets her son to play or communicate with either neighbors or friends. Instead, she creates a own world in her home. Each children has their own role in this big family, and they are able to play games according to their role. Ruth also sets many family rules to her children such as they have to come back home before the sunlights went out.

Ruth is also a very remarkable mother. She never cares about money very much, and even once her purse was stolen by thieves, she just takes it very easy and goes back to her house like nothing happens. Because of her white skin, many black people around her area always mock and satire her, but she will only fight back when it is related with her children. The most important thing is she insist on to take all her twelve children to school even though it costs more than she can support.

The Color Of Water Calvin

The Color of Water is a good memoir, based on what William Zinsser says about memoirs. He says “A good memoir requires two elements, one of art, and the other of craft. He also says, “There’s no self-pity, no whining, no hunger for revenge.” In The Color of Water, James McBride tells his story with all of these traits.

The element of art which Zinsser says is what makes a good memoir is apparent in The Color of Water as James McBride tells his story without droning on and on. He tells each small detail and helps you visualize his life. McBride also adds in artistic elements like telling his mother's story as well as his own. Another element of art he uses is in making it good is by making it so you realize all of the decisions he made in high school with him robbing people and doing drugs. Then he shows that you can resist that urge to do what he did.

The element of Craft is another part of a good memoir. In The Color of Water James McBride crafts each sentence so that you can relate to him and his life. He tells what it was like living in New York and when he went to Kentucky.

When I was puerto rican bad memoir

When I was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago is a bad memoir because it very negative.  Even though she had a very tough childhood, she could have made the book more positive.  

At one point, her mother leaves her with her cousins in order to fly to New York to seek medical treatment for Raymond’s foot.  The entire time though, she is completely miserable at her cousin's house.  Even though she does chores there, as she does at home, she feels as if she is being treated completely unfairly.  She feels abandoned by her mother for leaving her there.  She said “it wasn’t fair.  Mami had given me away to Evangelicals who would make me peel potatoes all day long” (p.168)   She also got to hang out with her cousins all day, yet she doesn't talk about any of the fun they must have had.   

In another part of the book, when Esmeralda moves to America, she complains about she is almost forced to stay back a year.  Because it was her first year in America, the school want’s her to stay back a year and repeat seventh grade.  However, Esmeralda objects and argues with the principle to let her go on to 8th grade for 6 months.  In the end, she ends up in the dumbest group of eighth grade, and she wishes she could have stayed in 7th grade.  After all that being rude to an adult, she is still complaining about how she was with dumb people in 8th grade.

When her spoiled cousin Jenny got a bike, and was offering rides to the children, Esmeralda refused, and tried to force the children to not take the rides.  This was because she was the boss, and thought she should be able to tell everyone what to do.  One of her brothers, Raymond, eventually gets a ride against Esmeraldas will, but then gets hurt bad.  Even though Jenny takes the blame, and everyone blames her, Esmeralda wants everyone to be mad at her and blame her, even though it wasn't her fault.    

Throughout the book, Esmeralda talks about just about everything in a very negative manner, even though it wasn't always that bad.