What Christmas Means to Me

My favorite holiday celebration is Christmas. It is my favorite holiday because I always see all of my family, and give and receive many presents. Usually, during Christmas break I visited all of my family that that lived close to me in Pennsylvania. Then, I would usually go visit my family in Florida, or go somewhere else with them. However, now that I have moved to Florida, I will not be seeing any of my family from Pennsylvania. Christmas feels much different in Florida, because there is no snow and it is very warm. I used to like coming here for Christmas to get out of the cold, but now I miss the snow and the cold very much. Also, during the holiday I have gone many places, both cold and warm, I have gone to Canada, Colorado twice, the Caribbean, Mexico, and this year I am visiting the Bahamas with my cousins and Aunt. I am very excited for our trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas this year, I have seen the resort before from a cruise ship, but I have been to it. I love traveling to places during the holidays and having Christmas in different locations around the world. I have done many fun things over this holiday, but my favorite was snowboarding in Colorado, I hope too go back for another Christmas some year. My least favorite thing about Christmas is the food; I do not eat much of Christmas dinner when my family does. I love the sights and smells of Christmas, my grandmother always brings candles with us anywhere we travel for Christmas, and to me, those candles are the smell of Christmas. Also, my Aunt’s house is always decorated great; she gets the biggest tree, and decorates the palm trees in the front and back yard. Overall, Christmas is the best holiday for me because of the combination of family, gifts, travel, and beautiful sights and smells.     

"Snowflake" by William Baer

"Snow Flake"

    By William Baer

Timing’s everything. The vapor rises

high in the sky, tossing to and fro,

then freezes, suddenly, and crystalizes

into a perfect flake of miraculous snow.

For countless miles, drifting east above

the world, whirling about in a swirling free-

for-all, appearing aimless, just like love,

but sensing, seeking out, its destiny.

Falling to where the two young skaters stand,

hand in hand, then flips and dips and whips

itself about to ever-so-gently land,

a miracle, across her unkissed lips:

as he blocks the wind raging from the south,

leaning forward to kiss her lovely mouth.

I like this poem because it describes the wondrous creation and life of a snowflake. Also, despite living in Florida, I enjoy snow and it reminds me of my previous home in Pennsylvania. This poem makes me picture the forest with a thick layer of snow on the ground and tree. This poem makes me feel happy, and also it makes me miss the cold and the snow. I like the way this poem personifies the snowflake. 

      

"The vapor rises high in the sky, tossing to and fro, then freezes, suddenly, and crystalizes into a perfect flake of miraculous snow." I like this line because it helps me realize how amazing the creation of snow is, and that each snowflake is unique. Also, this line gives me a vivid picture of the snowflake and its origin as it flys across the sky.

"For countless miles, drifting east above the world, whirling about in a swirling free- for-all, appearing aimless, just like love, but sensing, seeking out, its destiny." I like this line because I would not expect to see a snowflake described with these particular words that give it a sense of life. Also, I like this line because it makes it sound like the snowflake has a purpose and a life, and it personifies it well.

"Falling to where the two young skaters stand, hand in hand, then flips and dips and whips itself about to ever-so-gently land" I like this line because it makes it sound like the snowflake is playing with the young skaters. Also, I like this line because it makes the snowflake appear graceful.   

As I was reading Viola's part in Scene 5 Act 1 I was reminded of the song Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin. Viola is confused because she realizes that her brother is alive, and everyone thinks that she married Olivia.  

Viola’s lines

“Dazed and Confused,” by Led Zeppelin

He did me kindness, sir, drew on my side, But in conclusion put strange speech upon me. I know not what ’twas but distraction. Who does beguile you? Who does do you wrong? No, my lord, not me. My lord, I do protest— Why are you talking like this? I never hurt you. You waved your sword at me for no reason, but I was nice to you. I didn’t hurt you.  He was dressed just like you are when he drowned. If ghosts can take on someone’s body and clothes, you must be a spirit who’s come to frighten us.

Been Dazed and Confused for so long it's not true. Wanted a woman, never bargained for you. Lots of people talk and few of them know, soul of a woman was created below. You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies. Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize. Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been. Gonna love you baby, here I come again. Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay Try to love you baby, but you push me away. Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been, Sweet little baby, I want you again. Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true. Wanted a woman, never bargained for you. Take it easy baby, let them say what they will. Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

Been Dazed and Confused for so long it's not true.

Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.

No, my lord, not me.

Lots of people talk and few of them know, soul of a woman was created below.

Who does beguile you? Who does do you wrong?

You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies. Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize. Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been. Gonna love you baby, here I come again.

My lord, I do protest—

Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay. Try to love you baby, but you push me away.

Why are you talking like this? I never hurt you. You waved your sword at me for no reason, but I was nice to you. I didn’t hurt you.

Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been, Sweet little baby, I want you again.

He did me kindness, sir, drew on my side, But in conclusion put strange speech upon me. I know not what ’twas but distraction.

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true. Wanted a woman, never bargained for you. Take it easy baby, let them say what they will.

He was dressed just like you are when he drowned. If ghosts can take on someone’s body and clothes, you must be a spirit who’s come to frighten us.

Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?

I liked this combination because Led Zeppelin is talking about problems with women. In this act, Viola is having problems with Olivia, and also hiding the fact that she is a woman. Although that is not exactly what Led Zeppelin had in mind, the song and the lines fit together well. Also, I liked this combination because Viola is confused about many things throughout Act 5, just like the singer of Led Zeppelin is in his life.      

Poetry Post:"After working sixty hours again for what reason," By Bob Hicok

After working sixty hours again for what reason

By: Bob Hicock

The best job I had was moving a stone

from one side of the road to the other.

This required a permit which required

a bribe. The bribe took all my salary.

Yet because I hadn’t finished the job

I had no salary, and to pay the bribe

I took a job moving the stone

the other way. Because the official

wanted his bribe, he gave me a permit

for the second job. When I pointed out

that the work would be best completed

if I did nothing, he complimented   

my brain and wrote a letter

to my employer suggesting promotion

on stationery bearing the wings

of a raptor spread in flight

over a mountain smaller than the bird.

My boss, fearing my intelligence,

paid me to sleep on the sofa

and take lunch with the official

who required a bribe to keep anything

from being done. When I told my parents,

they wrote my brother to come home

from university to be slapped

on the back of the head. Dutifully,

he arrived and bowed to receive

his instruction, at which point

sense entered his body and he asked

what I could do by way of a job.

I pointed out there were stones

everywhere trying not to move,

all it took was a little gumption

to be the man who didn’t move them.

It was harder to explain the intricacies

of not obtaining a permit to not

do this. Just yesterday he got up

at dawn and shaved, as if the lack

of hair on his face has anything

to do with the appearance of food

on an empty table.

I like this poem because it is very interesting, shows the corruption of society, and shows how it is hard to be a worker in a business man's world. This poem shows the corruptness of officials and their fear of the workers being smart or thinking too much. This poem made me feel the sense of unfairness that the worker felt when this happened to him, and how I would feel if this happened to me. I like this poem because it is a over exaggerated and more simple view of our society's working class and their difficulties.

"The bribe took all my salary." This sentence makes me think of the rich official who takes bribes so the normal people can work, and how unfair and convoluted that is. If this sentence were true there would be no point to the normal people working, they would just be working for nothing.
"I took a job moving the stone the other way. Because the official wanted his bribe, he gave me a permit for the second job." This line also makes me think of the corruption of society and the convoluted way that society functions. I like this line because it shows that the officials are not very bright, and just want more money; also, how the worker gets mistreated and treated like they are dumb.
"When I pointed out that the work would be best completed if I did nothing, he complimented my brain and wrote a letter to my employer suggesting promotion on stationery bearing the wings of a raptor spread in flight over a mountain smaller than the bird." This line makes me think that the regular, uneducated workers are smarter than the people that are in control of them. This line also shows how you should work smarter, not harder, but in the end, the employer is afraid of his cleverness.

Character Analysis

I am playing the role of Sebastian. Sebastian is a very strong, passionate, and confused man. In this scene, the character washes up on the beach and wants to know about the country that he is in and also about the people in it. Also, Sebastian wants to know what happened to the rest of the crew. At this point in the story, Sebastian thinks his sister Viola is dead; later in the scene however, Sebastian and Viola reunite when the citizens question which one of them is real. This character is physically strong, but mentally very weak; in this scene he does not know what is going on and is being dragged around by Olivia. My character is very confused and happy during this scene. He is confused about why Sir Andrew tried to fight him, why Olivia is dragging him around, and about who the person is that is so similar to him. Sebastian is also very happy in this scene because he gets married to Olivia, who is rich and charming, and he reunites with his sister who is his only remaining family. I can make my character look confused by thinking about how I would personally feel in this situation and how I generally feel while I am confused and use that material to portray Sebastian's feelings. Also, I can make my character appear happy by thinking about how I feel and act when I am happy and using that material to accurately show how Sebastian feels.            

In the beginning of the play, Olivia is mourning her brother who has recently died, after her father died. Olivia is very depressed and said that she will be mourning them for seven years; she does not want to leave her house or see any other people. Olivia changes throughout the play by becoming in love with Cesario. In the end of the play, Olivia ends up marrying Sebastian, who she thinks is Cesario (Viola), when it is really her twin brother. Even though in the beginning Olivia says she is done with all men, she ends up getting married, which shows her character’s change. Although, Olivia's mourning could have just been an excuse so she would not have to see Duke Orsino or Sir Andrew. 

Why, then, build me thy fortunes

In this quote, Sir Toby is talking to Sir Andrew about how to win over Olivia's love. Sir Toby is telling him to fight Cesario, because if he does, Olivia will love him. Toby says that women love men with honor and fighting skills, and that if Sir Andrew hurts Cesario he will have both of those things. This quote shows that Sir Toby is either dumb, or that he is not really in support of Sir Andrew, and that he really wants to humiliate him. I think that Sir Toby is not really in support of him because he knows that Sir Andrew does not know how to fight but he also knows that he is too dumb to say no to one of his suggestions. Also, if Sir Toby really is trying it shows his lack of knowledge of Olivia and love. There is evidence of this when Sir Toby believes that just because Sir Andrew could injure Cesario, that it means that Olivia will love him instead, which is false.

Task	Findings	Line Numbers
Search for COMPARISONS your character uses. Choose several that particularly chime with your character’s personality. Summarize them or quote them.	Orsino says to Viola “Women are as roses” because their “fair flower, being once display’d, doth fall that very hour.” This quote means that women’s beauty disappears fast.	930-935
Find a passage that is thick with words that suggest a certain CATEGORY. Name the category and list the words that fit in it.	Orsino’s dialog suggests love, Orsino says many things about love, one of them being,”if ever though shalt love” and “For such as I am all true lovers are.”	900-910
Look for lines with a strong sense of DRAMATIC IRONY, lines where the audience knows more than one of the characters.	The audience knows more than the characters when Cesario (Viola) is telling Orsino about who she loves, this is shown when Orsino asks Cesario, “what kind of women is’t,” to which Cesario replies,”of your complexion.” This dialog means that Viola is saying that the person she loves is like him, which the audience finds funny because she loves him, he just doesn’t know it.	912-92
Consider how your character refers to himself. What style of SELF CHARACHTERIZATION is it?	Orsino characterizes himself as a lover and thinks he is the true example of one, this is shown when he says,” Come hither, boy: if ever thou shalt love, in the sweet pangs of it remember me; for such as I am all true lovers are, unstaid and skittish in all motions else, save in the constant image of the creature that is beloved.”	904-909

1. I think that men and women feel love in the same way. I think that men and women love each other equally, not that one loves one more than the other just because of their gender. I do not think that if men talk more they love the women any less.