Hello dear followers! I’m happy to introduce to you the fabulous second blog portfolio that you’re about to see. As you may or may not have noticed, all article titles are song titles, so feel free to check those out as well. Please take a few moments to read my little introductions to each link, and please enjoy the reading! Merry Christmas!
1. Coverage-
I’m not a girl, not yet a woman
This blog is about the article ‘Talking Back’ from Bell Hooks. The article deals with the struggle between being who you want to be and being who you are. I talked about the fact that the narrator says that she was never allowed to express her opinion, which I related to the ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood. Offred was easy to relate to the text because she was oppressed as well. Freedom of speech is the main focus of this blog.
Blondie one way or another
‘Blondie one way or another’ is about the article ‘Klaus Barbie, and other dolls I’d like to see’ by Susan Jane Gilman, which is a very feminist article. I talked about the way the author criticizes the Barbie doll, which many of us used to love so much. A childhood without a Barbie, is like a Wienerschnitzel without fries, at least I thought so. Again, this is a feminist article that I related to ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’. In a second part of my blog entry, I wrote about the article ‘Teen Mags: How to Get a Guy, Drop 20 Pounds and Lose Your Self-Esteem’ by Anastasia Higginbotham which was very similar to the first article, only referring to teen magazines instead of Barbie dolls.
You’re beautiful
This entry is about the article ‘The Beauty Myth’ by Naomie Wolp. The dilemma of why-am-I-not-pretty-enough is discussed in this blog entry, and I criticized the way women care too much about their appearances. The article focuses on the fact that women always look for some problem to deal with (like their physical appearance) because they don’t have to worry about fighting for their rights anymore. All women out there should enjoy reading this, because I’m sure that everyone can easily relate to it. Ladies, don’t be shy!
I don’t need a man
‘I don’t need a man’ is an entry about the feminist article ‘Blame it on Feminism’ by Susan Faludi. This article wrapped up all the ideas implied in the previous entries, and once again it says how miserable the women are nowadays. The focus in this article was that women are suppressed by men, which clearly reflects the feminist motifs in ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’.
What is love? Baby, don’t hurt me, no more.
I’m going to be honest with you; I really like this blog entry. It’s an informal commentary about a passage in the book ‘A Handmaid’s Tale’, which focuses on love. The commander and Offred have a conversation about falling in love. Offred shows in a negative tone how she feels about the downward motion of love. I discussed the tone, diction and imagery in the passage. In the extract, Offred compares love to religion, shown through the ironic tone. Diction portrays her struggle and instability, and imagery suggests that love is like a fall. Enjoy!
Trying to find the magic, trying to write a classic
‘Trying to find the magic, trying to write a classic’ talks about the chapter Narrating in the book How Fiction Works by James Wood. How Fiction Works describes the narrating devices a good narrator should be aware of. I related this to theatrical analysis, On Language by Zamyatin, The Road by McCarthy and We by Zamyatin. It’s very focused on language itself and not so much on content, which makes this discussed article different from the others.
Country roads take me home
‘Country roads take me home’ focuses on The Road written by McCarthy. I discussed the main focuses of the book, and I talked about what it was that made it so special to read it. This is a great book about relationships, and such as many other dystopian books, it warns us about our behavior. It was a pleasure reading and writing about this book, and I think that anyone who hasn’t read the book should definitely do so because it is worth every minute of your time!
2. Depth- this blog shows a depth of discussion as well as further research or analysis using secondary sources (linked or quoted)
Trying to find the magic, trying to write a classic
This blog entry turned out to have to most researched discussion, since it uses secondary sources to support the analysis. Writing this blog, I took the time to think about relating readings or methods that I had thought of before. Since I personally couldn’t relate to the article ‘How Fiction Works’, it forced me to think outside of the box to relate it to something that I could make personal (like the theatrical analysis).
2. Interaction- this is where you show breadth by reading peers posts, linking someone else's post to your own, and addressing what they've said.
Country Roads Take Me Home
I modified this blog to add my reflection on Pooja’s blog on the same topic: The Road. She helped me getting another perspective on the book since I was dazzled by the emotions the book evoked in me.
3. Discussion- this post generates such interest (or conflict) that a discussion amongst your peers emerge.
What is Love? Baby, don’t hurt me, no more.
This blog seemed to be the most ‘successful’ of my blogs, engaging a small but in depth discussion between Sabrina, Ms. Morgan, Pooja and I. I developed and defended my ideas thanks to my interested peers.
4. Xenoblogging-
Just your average Samantha Jones
This is a link to Pooja’s blog ‘Just your average Samantha Jones where she and I started a discussion about the article ‘Blame it on feminism’. We helped each other develop our ideas on her blog, as well as mine (http://jorina-hlenglish.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-dont-need-man.html ).
5. Wildcard
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
This is a poem that I recently wrote when I was sad about spending Christmas away from my family and friends in Europe. I used a format that I got to know in ninth grade where my French teacher assessed us to write up all our likes and dislikes, which I really enjoyed doing.
