The Tale of Tragic Love in 2011

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Reflective Essay Blog!

"The Germans are Coming!"

When I look back at the three weeks my family spent with our German exchange student, I remember all the great times we had with Dennis.  I was so nervous to meet him; What would I say? Would I be able to understand his English? Would he like it here?

Luckily, non of this things were a problem. The first time I ever saw him I was so nervous what to say. But he walked in the door and gave me a big hug while saying "Hello, American sister!" Way to break the ice. I was so glad it was not awkward.

Through the few weeks we did lots of things.

We went to New York; we saw the Statue of Liberty, we went to see American Idiot on Broadway, we saw blue man group, and we went into NYU buildings. But outside New York Dennis Wendlinger went to DC. He said he ate pizza everyday. He was glad he was back to normal, American, moms cooking. 

I had high expectations to meeting the German. I was excited to learn everything he could teach me, but when he got here I realized he was just like my brother and his friends from America. As an average 16 year old, I realized he was into music, school, fashion, and entertainment. Dennis was a very good pianist and we shared interest in theatre. Even though my German brother is gone, I have kept in touch with him and his family.

One of my favorite experiences with him was on the second day he was here. It was the  first time he ate a bagel. He was not sure what he was to do, so I told him how I make mine. He didn't get fancy with jelly or anything but I believe his bagel turned out tasty. When he took his first bite, I had to take a picture of it. I felt so excited that it was the first time he ever ate something that I eat almost everyday.  After my friend, Daria and I both finished our bagels I look over to see if Dennis was done with his, he hardly touched it. It seemed like he didn't like it. But through every meal we had together, I realized that he did not eat as much as people in America.
I am very glad Dennis Wendlinger came to stay with us. The experiences I  had with him I will never forget. He will forever be my German Brother! [=



***Bonus Blog***

Through the story Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson and the movie directed by  Rouben Mamoulian there where lots of differences, as well as similarities. One similarity was that women were in both the movie as well as the book but the amount of women was largely different.A difference was the way woman where portrayed. In the movie the women were portrayed more as an accessory to men then to their wife of equality. They were there to stand at the mans side and "look pretty", however in the book their were no women mentioned, to stand by the men. In the book there where only three woman, and in the film, it seemed as the whole story line was about woman. I believe Mamoulian changed these areas because he believed that the story left the readers with a few cleft hangers, and he wanted to answer them for us. Through telling us these altercations he might have been trying to express how this time period really was. Woman were around all the time and they meant a lot to men. Without a respectable woman you were a less respectable man. So as you can see although the movie was based off the original story there was in fact differences between the two and also similarities.

 

Jekyll and Hyde Essay!

Can anyone explain to me what we are to do for the Jekyll and Hyde Essay? I am very lost due to missing a day of class.
I believe we are to do something using our Persuasive Argument, but I'm not sure how. Please Help!

Blog Assignment # 4: Persuasive Argument

People of the jury, I insist that my client Mr.Edward Hyde has been accused of a heinous crime that was not indeed beyond a shadow of a doubt, entirely his fault. There is no denying Mr.Hyde has had confrontation with Sir Danvers Carew, from the Member of Parliament, but how do we punish Mr.Hyde without the innocense of Dr. Henry Jekyll being prosecuted. Because you see, though Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde are two different people, they still share the blood running through one body. It is very important for the jury to understand the great breakthroughs of Dr.Jekyll and what he has given to science. It would be unethical for you to find my defendant guilty because you would be convicting not only a guilty man, but an innocent one as well.

Blog Assignment # 3: Character/Theme

  When I first saw the poll on Mrs. Flemings Blog I immetiatly picked Mr. Hyde. The reason I picked him was the way Stevenson described Mr. Hyde. He was so evil, so monsterous, so interesting. But then I quickly  realized that it was not him I was drawn to, it was Dr.Jekyll. I was very intrested in the relationship between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Through this mistery about Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde I believe Stevenson was trying to get a theme through. One theme Mr.Stevenson could have been trying to get through might have been human nature. When people do things that others tell them is wrong they usally do it because of human nature. What else would Dr. Jekyll have to do with Mr. Hyde? I believe there relation was for Dr.Jekyll's scientific pleasure. The pleasure of discovering something new, know matter if it hurt and ruins relationship between friends. Dr. Jekyll did what he wanted and in my opinion the experiment went very wrong all because Dr.Jekll would not listen to the people around him. Soon it was to late, no matter if Dr.Jekyll believes it or not he will never be able to get rid of Mr.Hyde. Stevenson was trying to let us know throughout this story that sometimes human nature is not a good thing and we should listen to people around us, not just our instincts.

"Story of the Door" Reaction

In the chapter "Story of the Door" I was blown away by some characters reactions. In one scene Mr. Enfield tells a memory about a man who trampled a young girl, and before the disfigured man could get away, Mr. Enfield collared the gentleman and brought him back to the scene. This moment makes me think about how I would have handled this situation differently in today's society. Today I would be terrified to just automatically grab this monster' s shirt and pull him back to the eight year old girl, like Mr. Enfield did. It would seem that someone as malicious as this monster to trample a child, as if she were an ant, has no conscious. In today's society, it is important to realise someone with no conscious may hurt me as well. This may be because I am just a little bigger then that eight year old girl, so I too, could be trampled just like her. But no matter the reason it would be crazy for someone like me to take charge with a grown, scary adult like Mr. Hyde.

As I read about Mr. Enfield's story I was brought back to the article "The Philosophy of Good and Evil" and how there is a balance between good and evil. Mr Hyde's action's can be seen as evil, since they can be judged by the good of Mr. Enfield. It is society that judges what is right and wrong, and our society does not allow for balderdash and abrasive behavior towards one another.

Within this memory Robert Louis Stevenson is trying to make Mr. Hyde sound like a monster with his contradicting phrases, such as  "trampled calmly over the child's body." Stevenson also describes Mr. Hyde as a monster yet ironically defining him dwarfish. It is hard to picture an abnormally small monster yet his play on words allows for an imagery that is engaging. Through making Mr. Hyde seem like a monster with Stevenson's word choices, I believe Stevenson is implying the potential theme of a contradiction within one being, fighting good and evil within.