Memorial Day Weekend

With only a month left of school it was so nice to have a long weekend. The first two days was spent riding my horse and going to the gym during the day and hanging out with friends at night. Saturday morning I woke up and had the house to myself! My whole family went to the beach for the remainder of the holiday weekend. The America's Next Top Model re-runs soon became boring. I called up my Grandma and we went to the mall for dinner and a movie. We had some chicken terriaki did a little shopping. I can always count on Granny to get me something nice! We ran up to the movies to catch Made of Honor. It was SO good! The next night of vacation I spent at a sweet sixteen. My final two days of vacation were spent relaxing and doing a little of my history homework and my english essay. It was a lovely break from school, and unfortunately we're back in the swing of things until the very end!

Outline

Final Assessment/ Research Paper Outline
Use this outline to prepare your thoughts and ideas for your paper. Once you finish, cut and paste it over to your blog. This paper will be between 3-5 pages, so make sure you have enough to discuss. There are spaces for 4 body paragraphs; if you don’t need that many, then ignore them.

What is the question you are answering in your own words?
Is the plot and events of the memory keeper’s Daughter sound? Are they realistic and backed up?

What is your thesis statement? This sets up the entire paper with your focus and direction.

By forming a plot that incorporates doubt, honesty, and creating a new life, Kim Edwards creates a story that is realistic and believable for the reader.


BODY PARAGRAPH 1
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?

Doubt

What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Misconceptions of people with mental disabilities
Misconceptions relating to mental retardation – Richard Antonak
b. mental disabilities are limitations – not boundaries – you can still be intelligent

What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. David doubts that Phoebe will be able to survive, and compares her to his sister


b. Phoebe is successful in almost everything she does, and is a very functional person while Paul, the normal child is a disappointment to the family


BODY PARAGRAPH 2
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?

Honesty and Keeping Secrets

What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Keeping secrets in a serious and lifelong relationship is damaging

b. when you tell lies it builds up – so it is harder to be honest in the end

c. keeping secrets can be a way to save your family and your marriage
jeanine amber – essence (ebsco)

What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. David does not tell his wife that their baby is alive, but is mentally ill.


b.







BODY PARAGRAPH 3
What is the topic/idea of this paragraph?

Creating a new life

What quote(s) ideas from research will you use to help prove your points?
a. Many single women adopt children

b.

What example(s) from the book(s) will you use to help prove your points?
a. Caroline creates her new life to become a new person with Phoebe as her child


b.

CONCLUSION
What should we now understand after reading your paper? Where idea(s) does your paper lead to?
a. The plot/events of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is realistic enough to have happened in 1964


b. The way the book is written, in great detail, helps aid the reader to believe they are reading a nonfiction story.

Cornell Notes

Cornell Notes for Research Paper
Cornell Notes for Sources

http://www.bookreporter.com/features/beachbag2006/memorykeeper.asp
TITLE: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
AUTHOR: Marie Hashima Lofton
YEAR PUBLISHED:

Main Idea #1: David did a bad thing by lying to his wife

Summary: David told his wife that their second baby died, but he actually sent it away with the nurse.


Quote: What David decides to do is pretty close to being a crime --- he asks Caroline to take the baby away to a home that cares for children like Phoebe, and he tells his wife that their daughter has died.




Question: Did David have a choice? Would telling the truth break his wife’s heart? Would she have wanted to keep the baby?



Main Idea #2: When David gave his daughter away; he also gave away his family’s happiness

Summary: When David gave Phoebe to the nurse to go to the institution, it was unknown that the nurse actually took the baby and raised it as her own. David’s son ended up being the shadow child and his daughter survived and ended up thriving and making another family happy.


Quote: The fact that Phoebe thrived despite David's predictions for her is tragic, because he deprived his own wife the love of a daughter who she thought had died. While Phoebe blossoms into a productive and healthy woman, her twin Paul grows up in her shadow, not knowing she's alive, finding that he's competing with her for his parents' attentions despite the fact that she is "dead." This is what drives the story --- as one family thrives, the other one deteriorates.


Question: Could David have forseen that giving away Pheobe would break apart his family? Was he unwilling to raise the child because he wanted a ‘normal’ family life? If so did he get it?

Main Idea #3: Children = happiness?

Summary: Both Norah and Caroline become better and more independent women once they have children- whether it is of their own blood or not…


Quote: Ironically, David's decision to get rid of their child to protect his wife actually ruins their lives, while it brings hope to Caroline, a lonely spinster who didn't know if she ever would find true happiness. As she fights to give Phoebe the best life she can, Caroline grows from a meek and insecure woman to one of strength and self-assuredness. Norah also becomes a stronger woman despite the loss of her baby and David's misconception that she needed to be protected.


Question: Why do children create different parents? What is it about raising a child that can change a grown adult’s lifestyle and attitude?



How will this source help you write your paper?


http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/Info_34445.asp
TITLE:
AUTHOR: Angie Bonner, Resident Scholar
Betty-Jeanne Korson, Resident Scholar
Dana Riedberger, Resident Scholar
and other Scholars

YEAR PUBLISHED:

Main Idea #1: Caroline is in love with David

Summary: Because Caroline is secretly in love with David, she does what he asks and brings the baby to the institution.

Quote: Caroline, secretly in love with the doctor, would do just about anything he asked of her.


Question: Did Caroline take the baby as a reminder of David- the man she could not have? Is David part of the reason she felt attached to the baby?


Main Idea #2: David’s guilt comes to haunt him.

Summary: David knew that his daughter never went to the institution (speculation), and he tried to contact Caroline to see how she was. His guilt of giving her away and then having someone become happy with her while she is successful in life made an impact on him to the point where he tried to contact his rejected child.


Quote: During the next 25 years, David tries to contact Caroline who writes him terse letters keeping him in touch with Phoebe's progress.


Question: Does David deserve to know about Pheobe’s progress?

Main Idea #3: Norah was kept in the dark about the secret child.

Summary: Norah doesn’t know that her baby girl is alive. Because David knows, he will never be able to be completely honest with her. He cannot help her grieve, or grieve with her. He only lives under the shadow of his lies.


Quote: Norah Henry grieves the loss of her twin baby girl while trying to be a mother to her son Paul. David Henry lives in his own world of guilt not knowing if his decision was right or wrong and how can he ever tell his family what he has done.


Question: Will Norah be able to continue her life and be a good mom, or will this secret hinder her love for Paul?



How will this source help you write your paper?


TITLE: The Memory Keeper’s Daughter - Edwards
AUTHOR: Amy
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2008

Main Idea #1: Pheobe was taken away very easily

Summary: Babies are usually protected for years after birth, but Pheobe was sent away just hours after she was born. She was not protected by her parents and she was taken far away to begin her life.


Quote: 
I had a difficult time swallowing the events that followed. Of believing that it could be so simple for the daughter to end up in another's hands, eventually skirted away to a distant city to be raised.

Question: Was David careless giving her to Caroline so quickly?


Main Idea #2: Lies last more than just the moment you tell them

Summary: David’s lie did not leave the moment he told it. His marriage became based on it and his wife’s grief came from his decision. Once Norah becomes so upset by her daughter’s death, the truth will only hurt her more than the lie she has been living in.

Quote: We witness the effects of the lie, the walls constructed to protect the liar, the lie, and the truth from being set free. It is no surprise the difficulties that arise in the marriage.


TITLE: Prenatal Peace of Mind
AUTHOR: Caitlin Stine
YEAR PUBLISHED: 2004

Main Idea #1: People can prevent carrying children with defects to full term

Summary: Pregnant women can have a test which can determine whether or not their baby has Down Syndrome. It can be done in the First trimester, when a pregnancy can be terminated as well.


Quote: Researchers found that the new first-trimester test for Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) and Edwards syndrome (Trisomy 18) appears to have a higher degree of accuracy than the standard second-trimester test, known as the triple screen. "This test more accurately predicted abnormalities with fewer false positives," says Ronald Wapner, M.D., chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine, in Philadelphia, and lead author of the study.


Question: Would a test like this have helped Norah?

Socratic Seminar 2

Nicole – he didn’t get what he deserved – he wanted that – he inflicted in pain on others
Brent – he got what he deserved – he put himself into that situation by his own efforts and he got himself out of his again by his efforts
Mariana - It is hard to know if he deserved it- but it was the best decision he could have made- everyone including his family got out of the situation when he killed himself – no guilt
– ends the summer solidly otherwise the jail part would be carried on for more than the summer
Nicole – they didn’t let you think for yourself about what was happening in the basement – they gave you the information – they should have gone to see him in the basement –
Justin – they should have gone down – information that david doesn’t know
if they went down they would have seen that frank wanted to kill himself

Matt – comparable to Macbeth – similar to the hero aspect seen in the beginning before things go wrong
Mariana – similar to catcher – similar age and see things from a similar viewpoint
Both trying to grow up – deal with issues – nobody to talk to about their issues and get help

Lauren – good choice to leave= moving on –
Justin – things wouldn’t have ended for them
they needed progress – they found something david
Nicole – they would have thought of what happened if they were in the same house – you can do anything you put your mind to
Cristina – they had to start over by moving – new reputation – gossip would have killed their family reputation
Mariana – living up to family expectations would have affected david= no worries if he moves

Nicole- later on Indians were treated with respect – as time moves on they arend discriminated against – as a teacher wants to teach about how they really are
Matt- he is stuck in that summer – it is a big thing that happened – will progress but will always think about it

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

http://www.bookreporter.com/features/beachbag2006/memorykeeper.asp

This website reviews The Memory Daughter's Keeper as being a book where tumultuous events evolve into a family's biggest secret. This author attacks the husband's attempts to save his wife from a lot of grief that he once experienced. The drama is described vividly and it is told that this is a book that is hard to put down. Themes of deprevation, grief, and hoping for the best all roll into one to create this dramatic story.

By Marie Hashima Lofton

http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143037149,00.html?sym=QUE

This article is an intierview with Kim Edwards, the author of the book The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Kim describes the events of her book as one of the critics did, "like a stone being thrown in water- she says it's not the event itself that's interesting, but rather the ripples the event creates in the lives of characters." The interviewer and Kim speak about the motivation that Kim put behind the main character, which basically creates the story. They talk about how Kim uses photography as a metaphor to create a more vivid picture for the reader. This article is sympathetic towards the main character's actions, and view them as a desperate attempt to live a normal life.

by the penguin group

http://littleelizajane.blogspot.com/2008/01/memory-keepers-daughter-edwards.html

This blog's author was very surprised by the many significant events that shaped the plot of the book. She views the actions of the husband as a wife would, and shames him for keeping his wife in the dark about their secret daughter. Because she was unaware, the writer speaks of the amount of lies that the husband must continue to create to keep his secret. The author is emotional about the selfishness that the husband portrayed and how he was able to continue his life and live with the lie he created.
By Amy

http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/Info_34445.asp

This website has a lot of readers showing their individual and unique point of view on the book. Some readers agree with the protagonist and some with the antagonist; certain posts even compare the book to other books that they have read in the past. At the bottom of the website there is a detailed chart with things such as the characters and the themes.

By Angie Bonner, Resident Scholar
Betty-Jeanne Korson, Resident Scholar
Dana Riedberger, Resident Scholar
and other Scholars


A past enveloped in love, A future that's uncertain

This is a real case of a person who has lived with Down Synrome their whole life. He depends on his parents, but as they get older, and his disability gets worse with age, he may not have anyone to take care of him. He can do simple things that anyone else can, but sometimes he needs a bit of assistance


By Maureen O'Hagan

Prenatal Peace of Mind

This article talks about the medical tests that women can take which help them see if their baby has a disease. Down syndrom is one of the abnormalities that can be tested for in this test. Women will not have to worry about abnormalities in their baby after they take this test

Caitlin Stine

http://literaryfeline.blogspot.com/2007/03/memory-keepers-daughter-by-kim-edwards.html

This blog is by a woman who reads a lot of books and reviews them on her website. She describes how she felt as she read the book and which characters she connected the best with. The author picks up on major themes that come from the struggle in the book and she describes how each character deals with the hardships.

By Wendy R.

Annotated Bibliography on Family Expectations

Works Cited
"Family Expectations." Philidelphia Health Management Corporation. 2006. University of Pennsylvania; Office of Health Education. 28 Apr. 2008 . Researchers from the Office of Health Education provide testimonies of youths who feel the pressure of what their families feel about their actions. The participants felt guilt for things such as wanting a social life outside of family and school, and wanting to find individuality away from their families. In one example, the participant felt pressured by his/her family to major in what they chose or else his tuition money would be taken away. Reading the testimonies shows insight to the struggle that the participants, who range from undergraduates to professionals, are dealing with.

GUILT

What is guilt? When do we feel it? Do we associate our feelings with guilt? In my life I have avoided the feeling of guilt. I use other words, more specific than guilt, but are within the category. Within guilt, there is regret. This feeling is probably the worst in the world. It is that feeling when you just want to turn back time and do things over again. When someone is guilty it may be because they made a wrong decision or they made the right one, but it makes gives them a guilty conscience. In Wildfire, Kris bears too much guilt to continue dating her boyfriend Junior, whose family owns the rival barn to hers adoptive family’s barn. This case shows Kris making a right decision for her barn but a wrong decision for herself. She immediately feels guilty but over time she moves on. In the current season, she and Junior get back together. For Kris, a happy ending comes out of her guilt.
In my life, I have felt guilt many times, although I try to avoid it. In one case, I was going to purchase a horse and decided not to at the last minute. A few months later I found out that he died. I felt guilty for his death because I knew I would have been able to prevent it. Unfortunately, there was not much I could do to relieve myself of this guilt. I had to come to terms with the fact that things happen for a reason and that it is possible that I wouldn’t have been able to prevent his death. I have felt guilty before, but for small fights with my friends or my parents. Feeling guilty for a death is difficult to overcome.
Within the play Macbeth, two of the characters have guilty consciences. Lady Macbeth begins to sleep walk at night and wash her hands. This is symbolic for her washing blood off of her hands after Macbeth killed Duncan. After having this weigh down on her conscience, Lady Macbeth dies suddenly. Macbeth has delusions because he murdered the King and had his friend murdered as well. He has episodes in front of his dinner guests as well. Macbeth’s conscience has not been cleared and at some point his guilt will affect the way that the play ends.

Socratic Seminar

For the most recent Soratic Seminar, here are the major points of the conversation and my reactions.

When we talked about Lady Macbeth and related her power over Macbeth to feminism, the group said that she shows her power well, but she abuses it- therefore it cannot be called feminism. I agree with this because Lady Macbeth took the idea of attaining power and went overboard. The way that she controls Macbeth is pure manipulation and it does not show that she is brave or courageous. She is not open about being a feminist because she is beind the scenes of Macbeth's success and nobody will ever find out.

Later, we talked about the future. In this area, many ideas were expressed but the one I agreed with the most was that the future is set in stone, but knowing it may destroy it. It is true of almost anyone that if they knew they would achieve something great, they would rule out all of the other options. Unfortunately, the future might mean having many talents, and one leads you to the next. By ruling out everything but what if predicted, you could ruin your shot of having a future.

Lastly, the group talked about how Macbeth is rushing into his new position as king. One opinion was that he had a choice to refuse to kill Duncan. I disagree with that because Macbeth was manipulated into killing Duncan. Being that he was manipulated, he probably didn't think through his actions as well as Lady Macbeth had. She is the one to be blamed for Macbeth rushing into his position as King, and him killing Banquo as well! Everything that has happened leads back to Lady Macbeth because if she had not pressured Macbeth into killing Duncan, he would have backed down and Duncan would have lived. In that case, Banquo would be alive too.

Feminism

Feminism today has changed from how it used to be. Originally it was a movement to ensure women political, social, and economic equality. As goals were met over the years, newer goals were made. Now, feminism means ensuring abortion rights, equality in political power, and in the workforce. Women’s individuality has been taken from the men who used to control them, and they are now trying their best to move forward in their newest opportunities. The biggest issue that women face today is social inequality. Statistics prove that the average working woman only makes 81% as much as the average working man (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Unfortunately, many women still fit the stereotype that they should be doing domestic house chores such as cooking, raising children, and cleaning. In my mind, this is the issue that women are the most frustrated with. It is hardest for the average woman to advance in the work field because of how men think of them. A woman can make the choice to use her head or her body to create success. Many times, the woman who uses her head will be called unemotional. In the other case, the woman who uses her sexuality to make achievements will be called names and on top of that, they will not be taken seriously. Although this issue is not directly solvable, the controversy on abortion can be helped with every person who supports it. Mainstream feminists are in favor of protecting abortion rights. Personally, I agree with this cause. Feminists are trying to prolong the legality of abortion; the bodies that abortion affects is the feminists themselves, but not the males who are voting against it in Congress.
For young girls today, appropriate role models are far and few. In our society, there are plenty of bad role models such as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears. In summary, these girls go club hopping, are linked to many men, and are seen going into rehab and jail. Yes, some girls look up to them. But if these are not the right people to look up to, who is? Off of the top of your head can you think of someone who is a good role model? Of course mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts are usually good role models, but are they fighting for the feminist movement? In my mind there are no good role models for girls anymore. From reading books like Macbeth, it is evident that Lady Macbeth does not portray positive characteristics for women. It is not possible for many women to keep control of their husbands by using guilt to control their actions. For example, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he is a coward if he does not kill Duncan. She controls him enough to push him to kill! Although it is not Lady Macbeth’s achievement, she certainly has upward mobility in society with her husband. This is not a healthy relationship, and this is not what feminists want from individuality. The movement is not an effort to have authority over men, but to reach the same levels with them. Lady Macbeth takes the idea of achievement much too far.

When good goes bad

When given the assignment to this blog my teacher wrote, “there are times when some very good people choose to commit horrible crimes.” I could not agree more with that statement nor could I rephrase it well enough. Macbeth is a perfect example of this idea. When he sees an opportunity opening up for him, his loyal morals changed and he took full advantage. Unfortunately, this meant that he would have to kill King Duncan. Before Macbeth commits this crime, he was an honorable hero and a loyal friend to the King. Although nobody knows of this deed, Macbeth went from being one of the best men to one of the worst men, and nobody could have predicted it.
Similar to Macbeth’s story, Lisa Nowak wanted something greater than what she had, and took a risk to achieve her goals. As an astronaut for NASA, Lisa was a very successful and respected. In her case, she wanted to have a more exclusive relationship with one of her co-workers; she felt that his girlfriend was her competition. Lisa kidnapped her co-worker’s girlfriend and sprayed her with pepper spray. Although this is not as severe as killing someone, like Macbeth did, Lisa committed a crime to achieve her goal - a private relationship with her co-worker. This type of motivation can change many people’s morals, and Lisa proved that she was easily swayed by what she thought would come after she committed the crime.
Neither one of these offenses are justifiable. The reasoning behind them make sense, but the crime creates more of an obstacle than before it was committed. Achieving goals is done by hard work and dedication. This is backed up with the court system. There wouldn’t be penalties for crimes such as these if they were justifiable. In my opinion, Macbeth’s crime would have been justifiable if it had been murder in self defense. This is not the reason why it was committed however. These two crimes will both be punished accordingly, and hopefully will teach many people not to ruin their reputation to achieve their goals.

Book Introductions

So recently I’ve read an amazing book and seen a phenomenal movie. When I saw a commercial for The Other Boleyn Girl movie, I knew I had to see it. Something hit me though- I knew that I had that book somewhere in my room. My problem is that I have hundreds of books in my room, many of which I have read and some I haven’t gotten to yet. Once I started reading The Other Boleyn Girl I was hooked. Its not too hard for me to get into a book, but within five pages I felt as though I was the character. Oh, and my other problem is that when I find a book that I like I cannot put it down until I have read until the last page! So for about four days I had my head stuck in between the pages of this 650 page book. The novel starts with the main character Mary telling about her life and giving a basic description to her life in the court of Queen Katherine of England. In these first few pages, I learned about the personality of the characters and the schemes that the families in the book would try to make. These pages set up the mood of the book- striving for acceptance from the King and from family members. This is similar to how Macbeth introduces its plot. Within four scenes the reader knows that Macbeth is thinking about overthrowing the King. When a text lays out the groundwork for the path that the book will take, it makes the reader eager to finish and learn how the story concludes. Even papers need to lay out the foundation with a good introduction. These kinds of texts make me excited to get to the end! In Macbeth I’m positive that Macbeth will be seen as sneaky if he plans to overthrow the King for his own benefit. When this type of mood is in a book- ones with rivalry and jealousy- it is much easier to get to the end because the reader gets sucked into finding out the ending. I’ll keep you updated!

My Favorite Dressage Freestyle

If you don't know anything about dressage, look at the way that the horse's feet hit the ground and rise from the ground perfectly with the music. While the horse dances, the rider looks as if he is doing nothing. This is what makes a good horse and rider- not being able to see any signs of movement from the rider, but being able to see amazing movement from the horse.