Monday, December 22, 2008

chapter 9

this chapter is in now in the present. nick tries to find people to come to gatsbys funeral but no one will come. the only people there are nick jordan servants and gatsbys father. gatsbys dad take a picture of his sons house and fills nick in on all of the events of gatsbys life. he then breaks up with jordan and decides to leave west egg. Jordan is engaged to another man. he sees tom in new york and tom tells him gatsby deserved to die. he ends the book by telling us how corrupt and obscene america has gotten and it is no longer a place for dreams.

chapter 8

gatsby starts by telling nick why he fell in love with daisy and why she was so important to him. she told him that she would wait until he returned from the war to be with him. the garder butts in and nick leaves. nick is late for work and is sitting in his office thinking about the past events. wilson is thinking about what happened to myrtle and says that god wants revenge he goes to find tom because he knew who owned the car and saw the car at gatsbys. he shoots gatsby and himself.

are the eyes of eckelburg supposed to be the eyes of god?

chapter 7

this chapter starts by nick going over to gatsbys to find all the servants replaced. he meets a rude one at the door and says its to stop the gossip. nick goes over to the buchanans house and finds gatsby and jordan there too. tom starts asking questions about gatsby since he now knows about him and daisy. gatsby finally says that she doesnt love tom and tom flips. daisy convinces them to all go to town they then go to a hotel to have drinks tom keeps poking at gatsby they leave and gatsby and daisy ride together. jordan nick and tom stop on the road to see that myrtle had been hit by a car. daisy was driving.

chapter 6

the chapter starts by gatsby telling a reporter about his life and what really happened. after that nick goes over to gatsbys house to find tom and the sloans there. They invite gatsby to dinner rudely and he accepts but they leave before he can join them. tom and daisy then go to the next party at gatsbys. it seems as if daisy isnt having much fun at the party but she says she is. they leave and then gatsby is depressed because daisy was unhappy.

if daisy loves gatsby why doesnt she just leave tom since she knows he has another girl anyway?

chapter 5

the chapter starts by nick telling gatsby that he will help him. gatsby then tells nick that he will help get him some money. the next day it is raining and gatsby is nervous because they are supposed to meet with daisy that day. Gatsby is about to call off the plans when daisy pulls in the driveway. Gatsby and her are very nervous about talking to each other and nick then leaves the two alone for a while and returns to see daisy crying and everybodys happy. they all go over to gatsbys for a tour of his house so he can impress daisy. the chapter ends with nick leaving the two at gatsbys mansion

why was gatsby so nervous?

chapter 4

gatsby asks nick to dinner and nick agrees. they start their trip to the city and drive in gatsbys car. gatsby starts telling nick about his past on the pay in to the city. they meet wolfsheim at a restaurant. gatsby tells nick that jordan needs to talk to him about something so jordan and nick have tea and jordan tells him that gatsby wants nick to have daisy and gatsby over so gatsby can see if she still loves him.

whats the importance of wolfsheim?

chapter 3

nick starts off the chapter by getting invited to gatsbys mansion for a party which is how he is so famous around the neighborhood. nick makes the short walk over to the mansion and sees jordan. He starts hearing all these rumors about gatsby like hes a german spy and hes killed a man. nick then meets a man that says he knows him and it turns out they served together int he war. then a man introduces himself as gatsby to nick and jordan then asks jordan if he could have a word with her inside.

why does he hold these parties all the time?

chapter 2

Tom takes nick to go see his "lover" in the valley of ashes. He meets mr. wilson and he asks tom about a car. nick then meets myrtle toms lover. tom takes myrtle to new york to some apartments where daisys name is brought up so tom hits myrtle in the nose because shes the one who said it.

why does tom go to see a person in a desolate wasteland?

chapter 1

Nick, the narrator, starts off the book by telling us that he just moved in to west egg, new york. Nick knows people over at east egg. He has a friend named tom that he went to school with and a cousin daisy. he goes over to their place one night and finds a friend named jordan, shes a pro golfer. nick then finds out that tom has another woman.

this book starts off really slow and doesnt seem like it has a point.

Monday, December 15, 2008

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in st. paul minnesota of Irish decent. His father was a failed businessman from maryland and his mother showed him off because she didnt have anything of her own to show off. She put him in many shows, anything to get him attention. She later put him in dance classes.
Fitzgerald enlisted in the war but the war ended shortly after he entered. before that went to st paul university where he wrote his first story. in 1913 he entered princeton, four year laters he had to drop out due to his grades. After that he went to the army.
In 1918 he met Zelda Sayre, she is the woman that changed his life. He married her two years after they met. They had their first kid in 1921. The Fitzgeralds were financially declining, they also kept moving between europe and america.

The quote to me means He wants to impress the younger generation with his writing because they will be the future critics and the future teachers.

The 20's were a big age of music also known as the "jazz age." The economy boomed due to the invention of the assembly line and the invention of the first vehicle. Also the end of the 20's began the start of the depression.

"He has built a monument more lasting than bronze"

Friday, December 12, 2008

Henry symbolizes the conscience of all of the other soldiers.
Henry faces many struggles with right and wrong throughout the whole book. One is when he finally gets in to the army he wants to go home. When Henry first realizes he “wants” to go to the army his mother doesn’t really want him to leave. He wonders is he doing the right thing? Every other soldier that enlists has to deal with the same thing. Every other soldier has somebody to go home to that misses them not only Henry. As Henry copes with his decision every other soldier thinks about the same thing. He depicts this in chapter 2 by saying "He wished, without reserve, that he was at home again."
The second dilemma Henry deals with is death. Everywhere Henry goes there are soldiers lying on the ground gazing into the sky with a glaze over their eyes. "To the youth the fighters resembled animals tossed for a death struggle into a dark pit." He can’t help but think that could be him. Every turn he takes he witnesses death. It’s one thing he just can’t get off of his mind. The first time he deals with death is when Wilson believes he is going to die in one of the first battles. He hands Henry a letter and tells him to give it to his family. Henry was left awestruck. The second dealing is with Jim. Jim was Henry's last friend and Henry watches him die. He then realizes he is alone. Henry is not the only one dealing with the fear of death. Every soldier that has someone to go home to doesn’t want to die. Even if they don’t have anyone to go home to they still don’t want to die.
The third dilemma Henry deals with is running. When the first battle takes place everyone is petrified, no one knows what to do. Henry sees death all around him and he himself doesn’t want to die. Henry contemplates mixed feelings in his head. To me this is what everyone else is feeling and thinking but we hear it directly from Henry. He finally decides he can’t take it any longer and "He ran like a blind man." Henry, however, is not the only soldier that runs away, many other soldiers run away with him. This helps prove my point by saying that those other soldiers were contemplating the same thoughts as Henry. When he finally gets away from the action Henry can’t believe he just did that. He ponders on the thought of did he let everyone down? What will everyone think of him? These are the thoughts of the other soldiers that ran but being displayed through Henry’s conscience.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Courage- The Upham showed the greatest gain of courage in the movie. At the beginning he was totally against shooting people and even during the final fight he was afraid to do anything. At the end though he finally gained courage and shot the man that killed Mellish.
Manhood- Private Ryan probably showed manhood the best because when he heard his brothers were dead he decided he should just stay with "the only brothers he has left."
Self-preservation- When they are about to take out the machine gun nobody wanted to stay and fight except the captain.
Disregard for Human Life- Once again when they took out the machine gun and Wade died everybody wanted to kill the German that was still alive.
Noise and Silence- When everybody's fighting its really loud but when they take a minute to look around it went totally silent.
Light and Dark- During the battles it seems like its always dark out but when they're done and everybody snaps out of the zone the light seems to shine again.
Clean and Dirty- When the movie first started everybody's face is clean but in the end they're all covered in soot and blood.
Youth and Maturity- Upham started out not knowing anything and asking questions about everything. At the very end of the movie he finally realizes that he has to mature and start to take charge.
The Dead Soldier- the dead soldier symbolizes what could happen to everybody if they're not careful. It could also represent the possible future.
The Flag- The flag represents what they died for and what it cost them.
The letter- This represents what everybodys family is going to hear when they get the news that they died.


Monday, December 1, 2008

Courage- This whole book deals with the courage to stay in battle or to run. at the end of the story henry and wilson both have gained their courage.
Manhood- This goes along with courage in my mind anyway. manhood was dealt with when henry decided to run he thought everybody would make fun of him because he ran and he wasnt man enough.
Self-preservation- this also deals with when henry ran. he ran to take care of himself instead of the rest of the regiment.
Disregard for Human Life- in war you have to get over your morals and kill the people that are trying to kill you.
Noise and Silence- the noise was the commotion of the war going on. the silence were the times when henry wasnt fighting and just thinking.
Light and Dark- light and dark has to do with the fighting scenes. when there was fighting going on it always seemed to be dark but when it was over the light poked through the clouds.
Clean and Dirty-when he started he was clean and had no experience but at the end he was dirty but had all the experience he could have wanted.
Youth and Maturity- the youth and maturity showed when he was thinking. He kept thinking oh i cant believe i ran but when he finally was mature enough to let it go he became a great fighter in the war.
The Dead Soldier- the dead soldier represented the possible future and maybe even fear. This makes henry realize what could happen to him.
The Flag- this could possibly represent the pride and the sense of a win coming near. when they get the flag everybodys moral was boosted.


Henry- the main character of the story. The whole book is basically based in his head. he is a farm boy that decided to enlist one day.
Jim- referred to as the tall soldier. He is the one that runs wildly then dies.
Wilson- he is a good friend of henry. henry thought he died and then he finds him later in the book. When henry finds wilson it brings him courage and hope.
lieutenant- The leader of henrys brigade. not many people think he is doing a very good as his job since they keep losing men and battles.
tattered soldier- a soldier with many battle wounds that finds henry and witnesses jims death too. henry gets mad when he keeps asking him about his wounds so henry leaves.
Mother- you dont see much of henrys mom just in the beginning really. She lives with henry on a farm does much of the work on the farm. She is sad to see henry leave just like any other mother would be.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

quiz
henry has changed because now he has gained experience and no longer needs to be called the youth. i believe he was just being called the youth because of his age and because of his lack of experience. Toward the end of the book he learned so many lessons about life and how he should live his life that he shouldnt be called a youth anymore. Henrys jump of courage from the beginning til end of book is huge. Henry couldnt stand in one fight and runs shortly after the start then he contemplates for a couple of chapters. Near the end though he finally just takes charge and he forces his regiment through the enemy when they charge forward.
Wilson begins the story being extremely confident and big headed really. he thinks he can take anybody and gets into fights. towards the end of the book he starts to be more quiet and self contained. he doesnt worry about what everyone else is saying and just does what he believes is right. Wilson made a change for the good now he isnt so wild and has settled down quite a bit. Both of them have made great transformations and make this a good book.
chapter 24
the war is now over!! Henry and the others are told to go back to where they started. Henry begins to ponder over the war and what has happened over this past little while. he cant believe how he used to act and even that he ran. he finally overcomes the wrong he made at the beginning of the war! he now can see how great his progress has been. he then sits in the rain but a beam of light shines through the clouds .
this was a pretty good book it was boring in parts like when he would just ponder through the whole chapter. towards the end it started to get better when there was more action.
chapter 23
They are then told that they must charge forward. Nobody wants to do it but if they dont they will be killed. they finally charge they fence. the give all they have to get to the fence but henry then notices something. he notices that their flag carrier was shot and he thinks he go and retrieve the flag. so he and wilson go after the flag. wilson grabs it while henry protects him. they once again drive the enemy back!
Henry and wilson are making great accomplishments in these battles.
why dont the generals care about them at all?
chapter 22
Henry can then see other regiments fighting. they keep getting closer and closer until theyre so close he can read theyre faces. Henry and wilson and the others start fighting but theyre all getting hurt. Henry cant find wilson and continues to look finally he finds him still fight and says that he will fight until he dies. the enemy goes behind a fence where they are protected and in firing position at the same time.
this chapter has brought good action to the book along with the new found courage in henry. what are the other regiments doing meanwhile?
chapter 21
Henry and his group are now extremely angry. the other regiments make fun of them because they stopped so early. Henry then looks around and realizes their huge gain really wasnt so big after all. a general then comes and calls them names because hes so disappointed with the men. Henry and his men are extremely angry now. then somebody comes over and tells henry and wilson that they were the two best fighters in the regiment.
Why does everybody just make fun of them for what they did? why cant they just show a little respect?
chapter 20
Henry and wilson continue to the forest with the flag. Henry then fights wilson for the flag. after their fight Henry gains the flag and marches forward. he thinks to himself if they dont win it wont be an easy win for their enemy atleast. they continue to charge after the enemy and they do it. the enemy retreats! this boosts everyones morale for the moment atleast.
Henry really showed his courage off in this chapter of the book.
Where is the new found courage coming from?
chapter 19
Henry and the rest of the men are now in battle. they are charging and taking fire. bullets are flying everywhere but nobody knows what to do they all seem asleep. Wilson then fires a shot which gives everybody a second wind. it helped every snap back to reality. they move over to the forest and on the way the guy that was holding the flag gets shot. Henry and wilson then pick it up and continue running.
This chapter finally started to liven things up again since there is fighting going again. why did they pick up the flag?
Chapter 18
Henry and the others are now waiting again. they hear a shot and then hear someone cry in pain. jimmy rogers was shot. Wilson and henry then go to get water for everyone but there is no water near them. on their way back they hear the generals talking and saying that they are going to charge the enemy. They then go back to everyone else and tell everyone the news some people are scared some are excited.
What did jimmy rogers have to do with anything? Why did they get chosen to charge?
chapter 17
finally the time has come to fight and henry and the other soldiers start fighting. Henry is firing and reloading and firing and reloading at an unbelievable speed. Henry doesnt stop for anything, until he can hear people behind him talking and laughing. Henry then realizes he was shooting at nothing. people were staring at him in complete awe. They thought he was totally war crazy. Then once again henrys courage rose.
Is henry really going insane?
chapter 16
Henry is waiting with wilson and the other soldiers. Henry is mad because of his generals leading. He doesnt think its their fault theyre not winning. Suddenly henry gains a huge amount of courage and says i think its our generals fault. another man comes next to him and asks him if he thinks he fought the whole war. He says no and falls quiet. The general then leads them to a new spot where they wait for battle.
What was with the guy that was making fun of henry? did he see him run?

Monday, November 24, 2008

Chapter 15
Henry and wilson are awaiting march. Henry is thinking that he still has the envelope that wilson handed him before he thought he was going to die. This makes henry think he is superior to wilson because he wasnt so dramatic. Also courage is building up inside of henry because he thinks he ran with dignity instead of fear. Henry is just looking for excuses and trying to make him running seem right.
This was a shorter chapter but it still drug on just because it doesnt seem like anything is happening. the past chapters have just been events inside of henrys head.
When do they get to go home?
Chapter 14
Henry wakes up to a mist in the air. he cant tell whats going on he can just see vague figures of people. Finally he focuses and sees wilson making breakfast. Wilson comes over to look at his head and henry yells at him for not being careful enough. Wilson tells him to get some breakfast to see if it will make him feel better. Henry keeps thinking that wilson has changed. Then all of a sudden a fight breaks out and wilson gets up and splits it up.
This chapter was pretty good it starts to let you know whats really going on in the book.
How did Wilson change?
Chapter 13
Henry finds himself at his regiments camp. He hears someone talking to him.. its Wilson! Henry cant believe that wilson is alive and the same with wilson. He asks henry what happened to him and he says that he got separated and went to the far right. He also says that he was shot in the head. Hearing that wilson immediatly got help. He goes and gets a guy that helps henry. After that henry takes wilsons blanket and goes to sleep like everyone else.
This chapter was alright a little boring but it helps that you find out that wilsons alive.
What happened to wilson?
chapter 12
Henry starts the chapter on the battlefield. People are moving all around him. He is suddenly aware that he is hungry and his feet are like giant sores. His eyes have a green mist in front of them also. He grabs a man and wont let go, so the man hits him in the head with his rifle. He nearly passes out from the hit. he finally gets up and a man comes to his aid. He helps him find his regiment by carrying him there.
This chapter was more exciting than the others just because there was more action. It's been a while since we've heard something other than "why did i run."
who was this man that helped him?
Chapter 11
Henry finds himself walking towards the battlefield. The noise grows louder and louder. He has some extreme turmoil going through his head. He tries to think of some reason to justify him running. He just keeps walking towards the field and thinking why he ran. He thinks everyone's death is his fault.
This chapter didn't have much of a point to me either. It seems these past chapters have just been about the turmoil in his head.
What happened to the others that ran?
chapter 10
Henry and the tattered man have just witnessed the death of jim. Henry cant believe that his friend has now just died. The tattered man thinks his funny how he died. He kept saying how much strength jim had. Henry is torn apart by the death of his friend and the tattered man keeps talking to him. He says he should take care of his own wounds so he doesnt get hurt more so. The tattered man searches over him to look for wounds but cant find any. He asks him where hes hurt but Henry just walks away and leaves.
This chapter just kind of seemed to drag on to me anyway. It seemed like they were repeating stuff over and over again.
Why doesnt Henry just say he ran?

Friday, November 21, 2008

Chapter 9
Henry is walking around the battle field and looking at all of the wounded people. He stumbles upon jim lying in the road. Jim has been shot and is now dying. They talk about the fight and how worried jim was because he couldnt find henry. Jim then looks Henry over for a battle wound but can't find one and tells him to leave him a lone. The tattered man he met in the last chapter then meets up with them and says he should pull jim out of the road or hes going to get run over by a wagon. Jim gets up and starts running into the forest. Henry and the tattered man soon follow. Jim then stops and dies as the other two watch.
Now that jim is dead Henry doesnt have any friends in the army. He now is left totally alone since jim and wilson are now dead.
Why did Jim run away?
Chapter 8
Henry finds himself still angry and disappointed with himself for running. He starts to hear gunshots in the distance, so ironically, he ran after them. He ran through the forest to see the battle field which shots were being fired. He arrives at the battle field to see bodies lying everywhere. He meets a tattered man and he gets up and walks with Henry for a while. He was telling him about how good of a fight it was and how proud he was. Henry couldn't take it anymore so he left the man in a hurry.
All the characters that Henry is meeting are supposed to be changing his thoughts. They're supposed to be helping him by making him feel bad for the things that he has done wrong.
Will Henry ever get over the fact that he ran away?
Chapter 7
Henry finds himself angry at himself. He's disappointed that he ran and he can't deal with what the other men will say about him. He leaves and walks through a forest. He thinks to himself why did I have to run? Did I do the right thing? He then sees a squirrel and throws a pine cone at it. He tries to justify his ways by using the squirrel as an example of what he did. Run. He then stumbles upon a dead body in the thick of the forest.
I think Henry is just Making up excuses for what he did. He doesn't want to cope with the thing he has now done.
Is Henry on the blue or gray side?
1. What does the title of this book mean? Be specific in your response, noting Henry's comments.
That the red badge may be a bullet wound and they died fighting for their friends and their country which makes them courageous.
2. What is the importance of the tattered man? What does he represent?
He represents all the men that died or were injured in the battle. It also helps Henry realize that he did the wrong thing by running.
3. What role does Henry's mother play while he is away from her?
She represents his past life on the farm and his inner monologue. She's the reason why he runs away because really, he doesn't want to be there in the first place.
4. How does Henry use the squirrel to justify his actions?
He throws a pine cone at a squirrel and it runs away. It symbolizes what he did in battle.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Chapter 6
Henry and the others take a minute to bask in their own pride. He and the others feel they had just made a great accomplishment by winning that battle. Soon enough the other army comes over the hill and begins to fire again. Henry can't believe this is happening. He sees other people start to run so he runs too. They win the fight even without Henry and the others.
Henrys will is challenged every chapter. He can never decide if he wants to run or not even though in this chapter he decided to.
Why were there no supports?
Chapter 5
Henry finds himself in the midst of battle. He is so frightened he doesn't know what to do. Their lieutenant tells them that they have to stop the other brigade. Henry suddenly doesn't remember if he loaded his gun or not. He vigorously scrambles for his ammo loads and fires a shot off into the distant army. He then remembers that he was supposed to wait until he could see the faces. He looks around and sees all of the fighting and destruction. He sees a man run away and the lieutenant runs after him and brings him back to the fighting. Finally Henry sees red flags being put up in the distant army. They have one their first battle.
I think Henry surprised himself when he stayed as others were running. In the last chapter he was debating on staying or not but he must have made his mind up.
What does the red mean?
Chapter 4
Henry and the rest of the men are now awaiting battle. Everybody is gossiping about the events that are taking place. Many of their own brigades are being taken down. Finally their own brigade is attacked as bullets fly by everybody is frozen in fear. Their own lieutenant was shot in the hand. The battle takes way and Henry is petrified with fear and doesn't know if he should run or not. He finally decided to stay and see what everybody else ran for.
The battle field was extremely graphic the author lets you know exactly how it looks like from the smoke to the different colors and the looks on the soldiers faces.
Why was everyone running?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Chapter 3
Henry and the boys are now on the move. They march in a tight bunch stopping for nothing but to sleep and to eat. Their commander keeps leading them further and further towards gunfire. Henry afraid, starts to doubt the wisdom of his commander. Further and further they march, many of the men are now starting to fight about what is going on. Near the end of the chapter the real battle starts, and the loud soldier (Wilson) hands Henry a note and some things to give to his parents because he believes he will not make it through this battle.
This chapter makes you think whats going on through Henry's head. It really lets you know how rushed and unorganized things in the army really are.
Why does Wilson give the stuff to Henry?
Chapter 2
Everyone is starting to doubt the rumors about going to battle until colonels arrived by horse. While everybody is talking to the newly arrived soldiers and dancing about, Henry, a.k.a. "the youth," goes and lays down on the grass and stares up at the moon. He starts wondering why he came to enlist in the first pace. He starts getting a little homesick and wants to leave but then the tall soldier comes to talk to him. They start talking about battle and if they would run or not. Henry then upsets the tall soldier and he gets up and leaves.
this chapter is very detailed. The author wants you to see the things exactly like Henry did.
Why do they call him the youth?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Chapter 1
Henry, the main character, is a farm boy that lives with his mom. He decides he wants to enlist in the army but his mom is against it. One day he enlists on his own. He returns home to his mom who then gives him a long speech before he leaves. He goes to town to say goodbye to some of his old friends and then departs. He ends up at an army camp where he meets veterans that tell him stories of war. He then starts to doubt his decision and wants to leave but another soldier named Jim helps him ease his nerves. There are rumors that they will start battle soon.
What war are they fighting in?