Animal Farm Project - Abuse of Language

Poetry Out Loud Performances

Joshua Kelly was one of the top performances for Poetry out loud. His recitation of Dulce et Decorum Est was done extremely well. His voice and articulation was right-on, he spoke clearly, his voice was audible at all times, and he spoke at a good pace so you could understand every word in the poem. His appropriateness of dramatization was very good too. He was dramatic, but not over the top - He does just enough for you to show the poem's graphic scenes and haunting war images. His overall performance was very good, and I thought he grasped the meaning of the poem well, and his performance made the poem much more interesting to listen to.

I interpreted the poem, Dulce et Decorum Est, as how people see war as something to be idolized and glorified, but the soldiers of the war are stripping away all of that, to show how bitter and terrible the war truly is. They reveal how horrible everything is, and it is nothing to be proud of. "Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning..." {Second Stanza} This was a very good example of how the soldiers are sharing their pain of the war with other people, and making the war no longer seem so glorified. Overall, I thought the entire performance of the poem was done very well, and the meaning was well shown.


-Nicole Dandridge

Mockingbird Motif

In the beginning of the year when we had to know all the definitions of the literary terms, Motif was one of the literary terms I just couldn't grasp. None of the definitions could explain well enough what exactly a Motif was. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird I finally understand what exactly a Motif is. A Motif is a reoccurring symbol or event in a novel that enhances the theme/themes in a novel. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the 'Mockingbird Motif' was a symbol meaning that it's a sin to kill a mocking bird.

Harper Lee says it's a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they don't ever do anything wrong they're put on the Earth to do good things. In the novel, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are considered mockingbirds. They were both innocent people who were trying to do something good for someone else. Tom Robinson was considered a mockingbird because he was put on trial and then killed because the jury thought Tom was guilty of the raping and beating of Mayella Ewell, even though he did not do anything to her. And Boo Radley is considered a mockingbird because he was always there for Jem and Scout and he was always doing something right for them, and people were always brought up thinking he was a bad insane man, but he really was a good man. Both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley were good, innocent people trying to do good for other people - They are like mockingbirds.

-Nicole Dandridge

Life Lessons

Through out my life, my parents have always had many little lessons for me but there is one that has proved to be the toughest one to learn, but is also the best one they have ever given me. Their lesson to me is, once a person shows you who they really are, you need to believe them. I have most recently discovered how true this is. People can be very hurtful and cruel, and they often make bad choices. So, once a person shows you that they do these things, you need to know that's how they really are. You need to learn it, accept it, and move on.


The reason this has had such a strong influence over me, is that I have had friends in my life who I thought were the best, and that I cared for strongly, who made really dumb choices or treated me badly; They just weren't good friends to me. They showed me what kind of people they are and what kind of choices they choose to make on a regular basis. No matter how much it was upsetting to give them up, I accepted them for what kind of people they are, and I moved on. After a few weeks, I have realized how much better off I am without people like that in my life. I have learned a lot from my parents, and their opinions and lessons they teach me almost always have an impact on my opinions and thoughts.

-Nicole Dandridge

My three best friends

My three best friends.

I do not only have one best friend, but I have three - Ariana Burdick, Nikki Herbison, and Chase Labranche. I love them all the same. So, I couldn't just write about one.


I'll start off by describing Ariana Burdick. Ariana is very tall and very thin. She has blond hair that is almost white. She is amazing at basketball, but doesn't like any other sports. Also, she is very outspoken and she speaks her mind most of the time. Ariana is a very bubbly, lively, sweet person. The next best friend I'll tell about is Nikki Herbison. Nikki comes off as very quiet and shy, but is very talkative once you get to know her a little better. Nikki is average height, and is thin, like Ariana. She doesn't do sports, but she is very creative with art and pictures. She is seen by other people as very sweet, and shy. Nikki is the opposite of Ariana, as in she doesn't speak her mind very often (which is okay!). You could say she is just more conservative with her thoughts than most people. My last best friend to describe, is Chase Labranche. Chase has long, lovely dirty blond hair and is average height for a guy. He skateboards amazingly, and loves good rock music. People perceive Chase as quiet, and shy. He talks more as you get to know him. People make friends with Chase very easily, because he is extremely nice and easy going. The same goes for all three of my best friends.

To start off, none of my best friends are egoists or egotists. I have a hard time getting along with people who are conceited. All three of my best friends are very different, but very alike in some senses. Nikki is an ambivert but tends to lean towards introvert, but only when shes around a large group of people. I say this because she is so shy and quiet most of the time, and she's extremely creative and very smart. Ariana on the other hand, is leaning towards extrovert. She is extremely outgoing, loves meeting new people and being adventurous. And then Chase is right in between. Id say hes probably an ambivert, because hes not an extrovert or an introvert. He is all of those physical descriptions. Overall, even though we are all three very different, and are all ideally individualistic, we are all best friends. I suppose that's why we are - because were all so different.

-Nicole Dandridge

Earliest Moment

One of my earliest memories is from kindergarten, when I was about five years old. I was at my uncle's appartment with my little brother, Ian, and my two cousins, Brandi and Ashley, who are older than me. We decided to go to the small park behind the house to play on the toys. Being the adventurous person that I am, I decided to try something a little more exciting. I ran over to the monkey bars, climbed up, and tried to jump and reach not the first bar, but the third or fourth (it would have been too easy to reach the very first one!). As I leapt off of the platform, I realized I would never make it, and instead of grabbing the bar, I fell and landed with my arm out and behind me at a very strange angle - CRACK! Everyone went crazy--they started yelling for my uncle and running around!

The last thing I remember was my oldest cousin, Brandi, picking me up off of the ground and running to the house to get my uncle. Before I knew it, we were speeding down the freeway to get to St. Peter Hospital. As we pulled up, I recall my dad picking me up and taking me in. I remember they gave me a teddy bear and some medicine that made me very sleepy! It was scary when the doctor said I would need surgery to repair the compound fracture right by my elbow, but the worst part was when the nurse had to cut my shirt off to get me ready for surgery! It was my FAVORITE! It was a white shirt with the coolest sparkly heart on the front--the kind every five year old must have! I woke up hours later in a hospital room, with a cast on my entire arm. They put my arm back together but two long silver pins held the bones in place and had to stay in for about six to eight weeks. It was really wierd because they stuck out of my arm. I'd rather not mention what it felt like when they pulled those out!

Another big part of this that I remember, is being in a commercial and in an ad for the paper for St Peter Hospital. My mom is a pharmacist at the hospital, so we did an interview, a photo shoot and commercial (with make-up, hair and everything). It was pretty cool, actually.

-Nicole Dandridge

Rebecca - Imagery:

Why did the author of Rebecca use imagery as the dominant literary element in the novel? I suppose Daphne De Maurier uses imagery so frequently throughout the novel to describe the setting and the different things and places, in and around Manderly.

Life at Maderly is supposed to be perfect and up to standards, but it is also dark and creepy. Everyone describes how life was at the mansion, when the first Mrs. De Winter was alive (Rebecca). Imagery is used to describe the good and bad sides of Manderly and the people with in it, and that visit. Imagery just describes everything better and helps define things better. Also, without the imagery, the book would be all about the girl and what she has to say, which would not be very interesting. Imagery adds depth and makes the novel much more interesting in my opinion.




-Nicole Dandridge

Outside Reading

The book I am currently reading outside of class is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. A supposedly creepy, suspense novel. So far the book seems a little bit boring, but I am not very far into the story yet. It is hard to get into right now, because it is moving a little slow, and the author is still introducing many of the characters and their personalities.

Though I am not very far along in Rebecca, it is obvious to me that the dominant literary element is imagery. Almost every page in the book is full of descriptive terms that fill my mind with a well painted picture. I suppose the author uses imagery as a main literary element, because it keeps you more interested if you're able to picture things well, and I think it helps you understand certain things much better than if the author used different elements.

So far in this book, I see the tone as Somber or maybe even Nostalgic. The author used terms and words that make you think of melancholy things. Also, the characters seem to be in off - strange moods and their behaviors change constantly. Overall, I'm not sure what the exact tone is yet.

Writing about Reading -

READING - I love it! I love to read any book that captures my interest and that keeps me on the edge of my seat. I almost always prefer a book over a movie, and in my opinion movies based off of a book, are never as good as the book.

When starting a book that doesn't really grasp my attention for the first few pages, I often just stick with it for a few chapters. But if it still doesn't seem good, I usually just start a different book. Unless I have to read that specific book for an assignment or what not. As for books that confuse me... I either just read through it and try my best to understand, or I ask my friends or my family for some type of explanation to help me understand the book a little bit better.

My ideal reading place? I would have to say my favorite place to read is somewhere comfortable, quiet, and free of distractions such as in my bedroom, or out on my back porch. But at times, such as during the week, I am often stuck reading during the Varsity's soccer game, or in the dining room with my family (who talk very loudly). I try my best to cope with this, but I usually get distracted if I'm not in a quiet area, so I try to get most of my reading done on the weekends, or days when I don't have practice or other loads of homework. Also, my reading style is a variety of things. I can read any genre of book, but I tend to lean towards fiction books the most.

Why do I read fiction? Well... fiction books are probably the most interesting, captivating, and well written stories to read out of any other genre. I love reading about all the made-up characters, places, and events. To me, it is way more interesting than reading books about real events, such as different wars or other famous events, though they can sometimes be interesting too. I just think fiction is much better and way more interesting than any other writing there is.



-Nicole Dandridge (: