herot

Using links is as easy as this -

I met a really cool musician while I was in Halifax last fall. His name is Thom Knowles, and he and his band (Jimmy) are currently recording a new album. Thom reminds me a lot of James Taylor with his laid back guitar style and lyrics. He has a great song called ‘John Lennon’ that was recorded at a house concert. Here’s a few lines:

“I can’t believe John Lennon is dead, / He died, before I really knew him” (Thom Knowles, “John Lennon”).
I agree, John Lennon was a really interesting guy, although I couldn’t really tell you what he stood for. I know he and Yoko Ono hung out in bed for days and invited the press in a Montreal Hotel as an act of protest, and that he marched a lot for peace.

Anyways, Thom is a great musician/songwriter who is not afraid to be honest and happy. He’s also a great guy to chat and joke with.

P.S. we played it in class, and the class thinks it is good Cafe/easy listening….

isn’t the web great???

Hi everyone,
[I ALSO POSTED THIS TO THE LIT HOME BLOG….]

I am really frustrated to hear some of you are recieving spam emails that are coming via this and the team blog…how it works: basically, someone has a program running that goes out and puts comments or ‘trackbacks’ (- in short a link to a site -usually a blog- that appears as an excerpt or quote from that site…) on posts at random. They seem to target a site once they get in…any of you who have subscribed to comments on the blogs will more than likely get these spam messages in your email with my address on them….

In order to help put a stop to this, I have deactivated the commenting ability on posts on this blog that are more than 21 days old.

I would also suggest you block the email address that comes with any spam you get. I know it is mine, but I don’t use that address anymore and I only recieve emails at that one (ie I don’t send from it…) So, please block it!!

I hope that helps….Spam sucks…

Onto updates….
This one is a bummer…Remember I mentioned about questions for the first section of the exam (multiple choice) being in chronological order, and the site passage questions being in random order??? Well…I wasn’t sure I trusted that knowledge, so, yesterday afternoon I wrote the multiple choice questions of the most current Lit. exam. The good news is I did great and I think you will too…that portion is easier than I thought it would be…so if you were in class and read the stuff, then I think you should do really well!
The bad news is that the chronological order thing worked great until you got to the section where they have quotes you have to identify…then it broke down. The chronological thing doesn’t work with the ‘identifying quotes’ section of the exam (which was only about 7 questions on the one I wrote…).
So, I went back to re-check that information on the exam specs….and it turns out I misread it. My bad….terribly sorry about that mixup. Here’s the truth on it:

1. The first section is chronological
2. The recognizing authors and titles section (where you identify quotes…) IS NOT -
Thinking about it now, this totally makes sense, as it would be way too easy if they put them all in order…

I will clarify this in class as well…

BUT…I want you to know that the multiple choice section was way easier than I expected, and I hope that you will find it the same. The quotes they put in aren’t hugely tricky - they make sense…and I think writing that part with the reading list in front of you would help jog your memory…They even put in at least one from when I was away with our new baby, (and I didn’t read that poem…) and I was able to guess it no problem…

So…hope that clarifies a bunch for you.
Monday we will start reviewing Hamlet , as was requested in Friday’s class. I think this is a good move, as you are guaranteed to be responsible for at least 18 marks for this play on the exam, whereas which poems you have is a toss up…

Hope you have a stellar weekend and that your exam anxiety is very low. From what I have seen with your ‘mock essays’ in class and what you’ve done with practice exams so far (and all that other stuff we have done…), I think you will do more than fine!!

Hi everyone.

Looks like this blog has been targeted by some slick spam comments.

If you are getting emails that appear to be from me, but are just ads for hotels, drugs, credit cards, etc, please let me know.

I have upped the security on the blog, which means I have to approve every comment that appears here, so hopefully this will help filter out the junk.

This kind of stuff really bugs me, especially when this blog is meant for school stuff.

My apologies.

Mr. N.

3. a) The crew believed the Albatross to be the bringer of good luck during the storm- a time when their voyage was completely encumbered with the exact opposite (bad luck).  They thought of the bird as ‘good’ and the weather as ‘bad’. 

b) The Mariner kills the Albatross for no apparent reason.

c) The Mariner wears the Albatross around his neck because he killed it.  The consequences of the Mariner’s actions, and thus the guilt of those actions, were thrust upon the Mariner- the Albatross necklace symbolized this.  If the Mariner killed the Albatross, the crew felt that he should be the one to suffer from the turmoil that the Albatross’ death caused to happen.

5. a) The Albatross finally falls from the Mariner’s neck because, in that moment, the ‘curse’ he was put under by killing the bird was broken.  Following a moment of ’sublime’, the Mariner prayed and the spell broke.

b) I think that the Albatross symbolizes the blessing of God.  It was sent when the crew and the ship were in the middle of a storm and were being driven to the South Pole- and it caused all turmoil to cease.  The wind came and began to blow and push the ship northward.  The Albatross basically saved them.  So, why did the Mariner kill it?  No reason is given.  Maybe he wanted to try to get them out of the storm on his own.  Regardless, he definitely suffers for his actions (as do his shipmates- all those around him) and has to bear his curse around his neck.  The breaking of this curse comes as the Mariner beholds and adores the things that God has caused to spring into being- then he, as he says, “…blessed them unaware…” (line 285).  Following this moment of peace, the Mariner prayed and the Albatross fell from his neck, and the spell was broken.

The same is true for the blessing of God.  It comes when we need it most.  As the Mariner had to wear the Albatross around his neck, we have to live with what happens when we decide that we no longer want God’s blessing.  When we come to a realization of the good things that God made, the separation between us and God disappears, or the ‘Albatross falls from our necks’.

6. a) The Mariner’s lifelong penance is to travel the world and tell everyone his story, and teach everyone to love God and all the things he made and makes every day.

b) The Wedding Guest was deeply intrigued by the Mariner’s story at first, and after hearing it, he was, as the story says, “…like one who had been stunned,[…]is of sense forlorn,[…]sadder, and […] wiser…”  The listener learns a great deal from the Mariner’s story.

c) This story could be suggesting not only that we learn to love God and all of the things he made, as the Mariner is teaching, but that we listen to and learn from one another, and the Wedding Guest learns from the Mariner.  Everyone has a story to tell… and we can each learn something from every single one.

3.a) The crew makes a contradictory connection between the Albatross and the weather. The crew says that the Albatross is a lucky bird but then they say that its the cause of the storm and the Albatross must go.

  b) The Mariner kills the bird.

  c) The Mariner wears the bird around his neck to avenge the bird and keep away any unexpected evil spirits that they may encounter while on their voyage whether in the form of a human or spirit.

5.a) The Albatross finally falls from the Mariners neck because the curse of killing it has finally been lifted.

  b) The Albatross symbolizes Jesus and how his death was so impacting to history. Not that Jesus cursed the world but he saved us by dying on the cross.

6.a) The Mariners lifelong penance is to confess that he had made some bad mistakes in his life. For example killing the Albatross.

  b) The Mariners story leaves us in awe and wonder because its so meaningful and significant.

  c) The larger lesson about life that the Mariners story may suggest is that all life is precious and should be treated with respect. Even the life of the Albatross was precious and they killed it. That wasn’t right! Even the littlest in life should be upholded and considered precious!

5.a) Satan still believes that he should be more powerful than God. Even though because of that belief and trying to over through God, he was sent to hell, he still believes he better. No matter how long he’s in hell or any other place that he goes, it will never change how he thinks. It doesn’t matter to him what state he’s in, he will always, always believe that he is better than God. 

  b) “Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven” to understand this we must also understand that the way we view things is crucial to how are emotions are. We can be in a terrible situation for example “I’m in debt, my families a mess, my children don’t like me, house was burned down last week, and I lost my job.” It’s very obvious that this is a bad situation, we may even call it Hell itself, but it can be Heaven if we let it be. It’s the same for “a Hell of Heaven,” we can be the total opposite of the previous situation, “I’m not in debt, my family is happy, my kids love me, my house has never been better, and I got promoted.” This is definitely a good situation! But in this situation for some reason it can become Hell, we may not be happy even though everything is going great! We may even get greedy and want things to go better, even though they maybe can’t get any better. God has given us the ability to reason, and judge. We can be in a terrible situation and look past it and at least think it’s all that bad or we can be in a great situation and think if it were only better. Are mind is capable of choosing to psychologically change a situation.

Response to # 7.

a. In line 26, Milton says he wants to “justify the ways of God to men.”  In the time period that this story was written (1642-1660), the government of England was undergoing great changes and turmoil, the people of the country were feeling the repercussions the most.  With all of the changes in the form of the government, they were greatly longing for something concrete; something to hold on to.

Along with this discontent came doubts about God- the people began to wonder whether God really knew what he was doing.  If he did, why would he allow such bad things to happen?  Thus, along came Milton, as wise as they come, and he sensed the desire this nation had to find answers.  He did not write Paradise Lost for his own glory, he wrote it for the people.  And in line 26 the mission of this literary work is found- “to justify the ways of God to men.”  Humankind has always had trouble understanding the ways of God, but in writing this piece of literature, Milton made an attempt to clear things up.

b. This attempt of Milton’s to help humankind understand the ways of God a little bit better has been greatly successful.  I cannot speak for anyone else, but as for myself, I can say that reading it has made real to me what went on ‘in the beginning’.  Of course, the ways of God will never be completely understood inside and out, for, as the Bible says, his ways “are not our ways.” (I can’t remember exactly where that verse is, but I know it’s in there!)  Perhaps what Milton did in writing Paradise Lost was bring all who read it a little bit closer to understanding what God has done throughout history.  And, in that sense, God’s ways are justified.

Milton describes hell as a horrible prison with no way to get out. There’s an infinite amount of flames, but the flames don’t give off light, they give off darkness. Hell is a place where peace and rest can never exist, and it’s full of endless torture, sorrow, ever- burning sulfur. It is a place that is as far away from God and heaven as possible.

Lines 94-99 describe Satan’s reaction into falling into hell. Basically, Satan refuses to ask for forgiveness from God. He’s really mad at God at this point. I can just picture Satan sitting in hell, arms crossed, and pouting like a little kid who refuses to say sorry.

#2. a) Milton explains the story of Adam and Eve, particularly the fall. He says that our “grand parents” were moved from the Garden of Eden because they violated God’s will because of one restraint, which was not to eat from the tree of good and evil.  Milton says that the ‘infernal Serpent’ was the person to ’seduce them to that foul revolt’, and says the serpent’s ‘guile stirred up envy and revenge,’ and deceived the mother of mankind, a.k.a Eve.

b) The fall of Adam and Eve is related to the fall of Satan.  Both cases involve Satan full of pride, thinking he can overpower the opposition.  In the case of Adam and Eve, this is true, but he cannot overpower God.