Why I Write

1. Why does Orwell write?
Orwell writes with four motives. They are sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose. However, he believed that political purpose was the motive that most improved his work.

2. Why do you write?
 I write mainly to communicate a thought or idea. Most of the writing I do is for school, so it is primarily explaining a truth or giving my opinion on something. My main motive for writing is usually historical impulse, but on occasion, I write out for Aesthetic enthusiasm.


3. What did you learn about writing?
I learned about the motives for writing. I never really thought about the different things that would inspire a person to write.


4. What did you find most interesting about the piece?
I thought it was interesting that he went through a period of time when he wanted to get rid of his desire to write. I don’t really understand why he would avoid something that he knew was his true nature.


5. What one sentence would be the best grounds for an argument? Why?
“All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.” This sentence is the best grounds for an argument because not every writer is vain, selfish, and lazy. It was just his view of writers, and it would be wrong to say that they are all like that.

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis on Trailmeme

Tolkien Quotes

“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.”
I like this quote because it shows that the appearance and stereotypes of people and things may be misleading. Just because something is gold, doesn’t mean we should assume it glitters, and just because someone wanders, doesn’t mean they are lost.

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”
I like this quote because it shows that true faith can easily be seen when life is not going as well as you hoped. It is a good reminder to keep faith even during tough times.

Both of these quotes are from The Fellowship of the Ring, which was written by J.R.R. Tolkien.
More quotes from J.R.R. Tolkien
More information on J.R.R. Tolkien

Coronation Address and Truisms

Graves, Robert. “Coronation Address.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald A. Horton. Greenville, SC: BJU Press 2003. 713-714. Print.

MacNeice, Louis. “The Truisms.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald A. Horton. Greenville, SC: BJU Press 2003. 716-717. Print.

Lord of the Flies

Golding Reading

Miss Brill Discussion

Miss Brill Discussion Link

Feuille D' Album Discussion

Feuille D' Album Discussion link

A Haunted House Discussion

A Haunted House Discussion link

Response of Hope

Dear Virginia,
Please don’t feel that all is lost, and you can’t fight any longer. You can do all things through Christ. He is close to those who are crushed in spirit. He is a stronghold in times of pain and struggle, and His love never ends. If you find Him, He will be sufficient in all that you do. He has a great purpose for you and your life. Also, you have a husband who loves and cherishes you. He makes you happy, and you make him happy. Think of how losing you could affect him. Please don’t lose hope.
-Courtney

Lawrence and the Rocking Horse

Joyce Recap

An Araby Critque

"Araby" Link

Yeats Tour

Kipling Short Story

1. “Watches of the Night”

2. One life application that I got out of the story is to not take jokes too far because they can greatly affect the lives of others. The joke, played by Platte and Mrs. Larkyn, ruined the relationship between the Colonel and his wife. Because of this, the mistrust had begun killing the Colonel’s wife and caused the Colonel to be miserable.

3. I thought the story was interesting and enjoyable to read. It taught a good lesson and definitely threw a lot of drama into the storyline. I also found it amusing how all of the mistrust and troubles started all because the Colonel accidentally dropped a watch.

Kipling, Rudyard. “Watches of the Night.” Readbookonline.net. Web. 11 Apr. 2011. <http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/2469>.

A Poem Inspired by Kipling

If you can persevere when all seems lost,
Never giving up no matter what the cost
If you can adapt to a situation so new,
If you can trust that God will guide you through,
If you can wait for the things you want
And keep your focus on the positives in life,
If you can be a blessing to those around you,
Then you are likely to accomplish much.

Dickens' Stories

Scrooge, a wealthy but selfish man, is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Throughout their visits, they show him his faults, and he promises to change. Given the second chance, Scrooge turns out to be a caring and giving man.

SparkNotes summary link

Book-a-Minute link

"SparkNotes: A Christmas Carol: Summary." SparkNotes. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/christmascarol/summary.html>.

The Hound of Heaven

Sorry about all of the laughing

Housman

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields were glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

So set, before its echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.

And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.

Housman, A. “To an Athlete Dying Young.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald A. Horton. 2^nd ed. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 678. Print.

Hopkins

Pied Beauty.egg on Aviary.

An example of alliteration: “And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil”

Hopkins, Gerard. “Pied Beauty.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald A Horton. 2nd ed. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 675. Print.

Hopkins, Gerard. “God’s Grandeur.” British Literature. Ed. Ronald A Horton. 2nd ed. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 676. Print.