Wouldn't it be great...?

If the Red Sox kept Manny and got Jason Bay?

If school was only 4 hours long?

If the army caught Osama Bin Laden?

If 9/11 never occured the way it did?

If there was taco bell in the cafeteria?

If our school had more activities for all grades?

If I could get straight A's?

If Peyton and Eli Manning were cool?

Fixed Sentences from all blogs

1. Ambiguity in The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty The Irish Civil War was a very bad time when people were fighting brothers and other relatives.

In “The Sniper”, Liam O’Flaherty mentions the ambiguity that happens in the time of the Irish Civil War, it was a very bad time when people were fighting, brothers and other relatives.

2. Over the years superstition has surrounded many movies, but The Dark Knight is one of them.

Over the years superstition has been focused around many movies, The Dark Knight could maybe be considered one now.

3. The old man says “if she takes this she’s going to be scared of the girls you meet at parties,” it’s that strong.

What the old man is trying to say is; if she takes this potion it will have such an effect that she will be jealous of almost everything you do if its not with her.

4. There are a few good examples Bruce talks about, one being, “got in a little hometown jam; so they put a rifle in my hand.”

There are a few examples he uses to show how living in the U.S. isn’t always the best one being, “got in a little hometown jam; so they put a rifle in my hand.

5. In this he talks about how he got mistreated in his days there.

In this short novel it mentions how Bruce might have not had the best time growing up but he got through it.

6. The man is dead on the street and the sniper has an urge to see who it is. He rolls the man over and discovers it’s his brother.

The other sniper is lying dead on the street and the sniper feels he has to see who it is, so he turns the body over and discovers that its his brother.

7. Sue Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees consists of a young girl thriving for stability in a tough culture.

Sue Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees is about a girl that is thriving for stability in a tough and beat culture.

"The Dark Knight" Curse?

Gawker, an online source, addresses the concerns about The Dark Knight, the recent Batman film, and how it may be cursed. The movie was made and directed by Chris Nolan and had a few popular cast members known as Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, and Christian Bale. All three of these members were somehow sick or worse after the movie was shot. The movie was released July 18, 2008 but the incidents happened before it came out. The film was made mainly in Chicago but some parts in the U.S. and took place in Gotham City in the movie. The media asks why and how this happened and: was it just a case of bad superstition or cursed? “Other movies were supposedly cursed like the Exorcist etc. and now maybe the Dark Knight will join those ranks.” Some say that there is no such thing as curses; “it was a fluke accident that swiftly stopped his sure to be fame in its tracks.” Gawker also mentions that Christian could have controlled his accident. “He is said to have had a troubled childhood, that’s what might have led him to his outburst.

Over the years superstition has surrounded many movies, but The Dark Knight is one of them. Morgan Freeman broke his arm and his elbow in a car accident most recently out of the three. Heath Ledger died on drug overdose in his house in January, and the last incident is how Christian Bale got arrested for going insane on his mom and sister leading to his arrest. These could have been controlled, and Freeman’s accident was just bad luck. Some people think that this has to do with a curse that other movies had too, and it can be in the same group. Even after the article there is no proof that there is a curse and it was most likely just bad luck.

2 Examples of Irony in "What is the What"

1. This is a good example because a lady says "Come to me children I am your mother, run to me" then she shoots them both in the chest well there running towards her. This shows a good example beacuse instead of saving them like she said she kills them.

2. The second example is he says he wants to move back to Kakuma even though he lives in a "plastic hut twith sandbags and owns one pair of pants." This shows a good use of Irony because: why would he want to live there even if its a mess?

Sentences from "The Lottery"

Adjectives out of order
Hurt and bleeding, Mrs. Hutchinson gets stoned to death.


Adverbs out of order
Nervously, carefully, Mr. Hutchinson picks the paper.


Infinitive phrases
To not pick the bad paper with the dot on it is the goal of the villagers.


Introductory Adverbial Clause
Even know the lottery is a tradition in the village, some people find it harsh to throw stones at others.


Absolute phrase
Knowing that she does not have much left, Mrs. Hutchinson goes down without a fight.

12 examples of Irony in life

1. An electrician has no light in his house

2. A heart doctor has a heart attack

3. A little dog that can scare a big dog away

4. A grocery store that doesnt sell food

5. A cop that gets arrested

6. A fireman's house burns down

7. A cow eats a piece of steak

8. A dentist has messed up teeth

9. A dermatologist who has acne

10. A salesperson who cant talk

11. A monkey that is allergic to bananas

12. A dog that can "meow"

Ambiguity in "The Sniper" by Liam O' Flaherty

Ambiguity in The Sniper By Liam O’Flaherty The Irish Civil War was a very bad time when people were fighting brothers and other relatives. In “The Sniper” the main character is on a roof top sniping at someone across the street. The man gets hit and fakes his own death to fool the other man. He pulls it off, and the man across the street exposes himself for an open shot. The sniper hits him and kills him. The man is dead on the street and the sniper has an urge to see who it is. He rolls the man over and discovers it’s his brother. But in the story it is the civil war so whether it is his real brother or his figurative brother is unclear. This is an example of ambiguity because the story never explains if it is the snipers real brother or his friend that he considers a brother, or if O’Flaherty means that all men are brothers that join war together.

Irony in "The Chaser" by John Collier

The irony in “The Chaser” by John Collier is that Allen was looking for love but in the end he needed a poison to get rid of his love. He said the potion he needed was to make his love fall in love with him, the old man replied “One might call it a life-cleaner.” Alan said he didn’t want to have to do with that, but was warned that the love potion; not the poison was very strong. The old man says “if she takes this she’s going to be scared of the girls you meet at parties,” it’s that strong. He sells the potion to Alan for only one dollar knowing that he will be back to buy the poison. The old man knows this because he knows how effective this potion is. So that sums up the irony of this story because he wants to fall more in love with the girl he’s with but he’s going to end up not liking the result and going back for the poison.

Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."

The recurring use of the words “Born in the U.S.A” by Bruce Springsteen ironically highlights how lousy it can be for one person to live in the U.S.A. There are a few good examples Bruce talks about, one being, “got in a little hometown jam; so they put a rifle in my hand.” This explains how he had the choice to go to jail or the army. Another display of the harsh country is when he mentioned “sent me off to a foreign land, to go and kill the yellow man.” So even though he chose this option; it wasn’t the path he was thinking about going down. The final example is when the writer says “I’m ten years burning down the road, nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go.” In this he talks about how he got mistreated in his days there. Bruce Springsteen shows good ways and examples of how the U.S.A. was at one time not as great a country, that’s why he made this song.

Life in Sierra Leone

In the autobiography A Long Way Gone: The Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah shows and explains the troubles that the poor village people have to go through. Sierra Leone is a scary place for them. They are in the middle of a war and have trouble finding food and all the things they need to live. “10,000 Sierra Leonean children have become separated from their families during the displacement process. They are especially vulnerable, and may end up in informal foster care, in institutions, or on the street.” (http://www.cryfreetown.org/SCF.htm)This war gives them a harder time then they are already having by “increasingly making children serve as combatants or as cooks, informants, porters, bodyguards, sentries, and spies. Many child soldiers belong to organized military units, wear uniforms, and receive explicit training, their lethality enhanced by the widespread availability of lightweight assault weapons. Other children participate in relatively unstructured but politically motivated acts of violence, such as throwing stones or planting bombs. (http://pangaea.org/street_children/africa/armies.htm) According to InfoPlease, the conflict was officially declared over in Jan. 2002. An estimated 50,000 people were killed in the decade-long civil war. The UN installed its largest peacekeeping force in the country (17,000 troops). (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107959.html) The war from Beah’s point of view was horrifying; he had to jump a 2 year old kid with corn to survive: “I felt guilty about it for a few minutes, but in our position, there wasn’t much time for remorse.” The first day of his capture was so scary everyone was speechless. Beah showed this fear when the soldiers came out: “We were in the middle of the grassland walking in single file, our shirts on our shoulders or heads, when suddenly three rebels rose from behind the dried grasses and pointed their guns at Gibrilla.” That was just the first move they made towards Beah and the group, until they took everyone. One soldier decided to be the leader and tell the group whose boss. The leader took out his fury on them: “He was behind us, aiming his gun at our heads, and at some point he said, if any of you makes a move, I will kill everyone.” Beah’s book A Long Way Gone: The Memoirs of a Boy Soldier states the things that the poor people had to go through in the war and living the normal, stressful life in Sierra Leone.

Queen Elizabeth's Speech to Her Navy

Queen Elizabeth’s "Speech to Her Navy" was meant to be a warning, more or less a threat to the Spanish armada. She is telling her “loving people” that she would even fight if anyone crossed the border or barriers of the area. She says “I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman,” but she’s just saying it as a figure of speech that she is willing to take action if anything tragic happens. So that basically sums up the speech that Queen Elizabeth said that day and all of the pride she takes in her position and also for the caring of her citizens.

Characterization quotes from "SLOB"

Rosaleen: “Rosaleen planted herself in front of him” (11)
“I was so proud of that flower and didn’t have a soul to show it to except Rosaleen. (13)
“When it was cold God-help-me-Jesus, she made me go to school wearing long britches under my Pentecostal dresses.” (9)


T-Ray: “He started to swoop at the biddy with his tractor grease hands.” (11)
“T-Ray refused to speak it.” (12)
“T-Ray had found me in the peach stand sticking a nail into one of his peaches.” (16)


Lilly: “My hair was black like my mother’s, but basically a nest of cowlicks.” (9)
“I was the only student who didn’t groan and carry on when Mrs. Henry assigned us another Shakespeare’s play.” (15)
“I worried so much about how I looked sometimes that I felt I was impersonating a girl instead of being one.” (9)

Discussion Question of the Secret Life of Bees

What is the relationship between Rosaline and Lily, and Rosaline and T-Ray?

Imagery on The Secret Life of Bees



Sue Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees consists of a young girl thriving for stability in a tough culture. In the beginning of the novel Kidd helps the reader understand the text better by using imagery. To back this statement up, the reader can tell how she was sleeping and she got swarmed by bees. She helps you picture it by using imagery: “I heard them tunneling through the walls of my bedroom, sounding like a radio turned to static in the next room.” Another example of how she uses imagery is stating “I watched their wings shining like bits of chrome in the dark and felt the longing build in my chest.” She describes what the bees are doing and what they even look like at the moment it happened. The last example of imagery used by Kidd is her telling about her mom: “Mother forgive. Please forgive, and she would kiss my skin till it grew chapped and tell me I was not to blame.” That’s what she was thinking of that night as she lay in bed. So that was what the first few pages were about and how the author uses imagery in many ways.

McCarthy’s Diction by: Greg Gannon



All authors display their own style of diction. In the excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God, the author develops diction which is both clever and slang-like. An example of his diction could be used in a sentence saying “I looked down at this little gal I was with and give her a big wink and about that time they brought the old ape out”. This can show how he’s clever using different scenes to help the reader picture it. The term “ye” he uses does catch the reader’s eye even if it’s not in the most understanding way. The author starts off a sentence “ They was” which is more on the slang side which is fine unless the reader has a hard time understanding it. So basically Cormac is a unique type of author in both good ways and a little more complicated ways.