Mirkwood poem

They walked in single file,
into a gloomy tunnel.
What made noises could not be seen,
sometimes yellow or red or green eyes would stare.

A gloomy party each night,
no hope of ever getting to the end.
Lay down and die of starvation,
this they all did that day.

Chapter 8 quesrions

The Hobbit

Chapter 8 Study Questions

1. The closing lines of chapter 7 tell us, “Now began the most dangerous part of the journey” as they “plunged into the forest.”  List and briefly describe the dangers they meet and confront in Mirkwood Forest.  Why is this called the most dangerous part of the journey? It was dark in there, moths at night, spiders, food started running out, nothing edible to eat from the forest, only have a limited water supply, elfs in the woods,

2. List all the things black Bilbo and the dwarves encounter in Mirkwood Forest.  What does Tolkien communicate through this imagery? The the light, the water, the squirrels and the spiders. He uses black to show that they could be evil or diseased things.  

3. Bilbo and the dwarves have varying responses to light in this chapter.  What are the responses and what meaning do they carry? What do they learn from their encounters with the light? Some of them enjoy the light and that could show that they are fundamentally happy people.

4. What role do the spiders play in this chapter?  What does the great spider do to Bilbo and what is his response?  What heroic feat is Bilbo able to perform because he stays clear of the webs? They are the main obstacle for this chapter. The spider tries to tie up Bilbo but Bilbo fends him off and kills him. He manages to save the dwarves.

5. How is Bilbo viewed by the dwarves at the end of the chapter?  Why?  What does that say about how self-esteem is built? They admire and respect him a great deal more because he saved them. It says that you have to earn self esteem and respect through great deeds.

6. The dwarves recognise that Bilbo possesses three essential qualities for success.  Name these qualities.  Do you agree with the dwarves?  He had wits, luck and a magic ring. I agree with the dwarves.

Poem Stanzas

The wind passed around two lovers
and above their house it hovers;
while the world seeks to bring them down,
the wind is their only cover.

Chapters 6-7 questions

The Hobbit

Chapters 6-7 Study Questions

1. Having escaped the elves, Bilbo is momentarily quite alone.  As he walks to the other side of the Misty Mountains, what is he thinking?  Do these thoughts express a crucial change in him?  Why? He is wondering about Gandalf and the dwarves and wondering whether they got out ok. I do not believe this shows a crucial change in him because any ordinary person would wonder about their companions in an event like this and because Bilbo has been friendly towards them so far so that implies that he likes and cares about them at least a little bit.

2. “... Bilbo’s reputation went up a very great deal with the dwarves after” which event? When he finds their camp after the mines and sneaks in wearing the ring so nobody can see him. They all believe that he had just snuck in and was astonishingly sneaky.

3. Gandalf urges the group to travel at once and quickly to put space between themselves and the goblins.  He then adds, “You lose track of time inside goblin-tunnels.”  Speculate as to the symbolic significance of this loss of time. Time is important in their travels and if they lose time they could miss out on traveling through certain paths.

4. When the dwarves and Bilbo fear a pack of evil howling wolves (Wargs), what do they do to protect themselves? They climbed up trees.

5. Why are the Wargs puzzled and angry at the dwarves and Bilbo?Because they planned on raiding a nearby town with the goblins and having discovered the group there, they thought they were spies.

6. Describe the ordeal Bilbo and the dwarves have to endure at the hands of the goblins before they are rescued by the eagles. They are stuck in trees for awhile until Gandalf starts lighting things on fire causing the wolves to freak out. Then the goblins arrived and steered the fire towards the dwarves trees.

7. Being rescued is a frightening proposition for Bilbo and one that prompts him to drumble.  However, he soon reminds himself “not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit.”  What has happened to Bilbo since his heroic escape from Gollum’s cave that reminds him of his low stature? That he had to be rescued and would have died otherwise.

8. Describe Beorn.  What does he represent and how does he enhance the significance of this tale? He was a large muscled man with a big beard.  He is kind of like a lumberjack and is friends with Radagast. He allows Gandalf to summerize what has happened so far.

9. Beorn abandons his guests for nearly two days, leaving them to wonder what happened to him.  What happened to him? He had gone out and gathered information from the goblins and wargs.

10. What provisions and advice does Beorn give the travelers as they prepare for their journey into the Milkwood?  How is the advice received? He gave them food and ponies.

11. Why does Gandalf plan to abandon Bilbo and the dwarves at the edge of the Mirkwood Forest, that most dangerous of places?

12. The narrator tells us that “now began the most dangerous part of all the journey.”  Aside from a literal interpretation, how else could this warning be construed?

Measuring Corruptibility

If I was offered what I wanted most unconditionally, I believe I would say no, simply because at this point in time I don't know what I want most.

Fame-1 I think fame is corrupting simply because when you are that popular it gives you a god complex and it exposes you to things you normally would not be exposed to.
Beauty-3 I think beauty is corrupting because when you are "beautiful" people compliment you a lot so that it goes to your head and can make you think you are better than other people.
Immortality-7 I think this is the least likely to corrupt because you would see other people die, you would lose friends and family till you realize that nothing lasts and it would make you humble.
World Peace-8 technically speaking if you possesses world peace then that would make you the most humble and peaceful person out there.
Invisibility-4 Because you would consider yourself untouchable and the master off all things sneaky.
Clairvoyance-2 Because you would consider yourself smarter than everyone else.
Money-5 I still think money is highly corrupting, I just don't want to change any other places out. Its basically the same reason as fame. I would place it as 2.
Security-6 Not very corrupting because i dont think you would believe you are better than other people.  

Shadow Bride Questions

                                         Shadow Bride Questions

1. I think the lady represents light and the man represents dark.

2. Because he is darkness and darkness has no shadow.

3. She brings him to life. She has this effect because she is the opposite of him.

4. Because her shadow is darkness so he could consume her and wrap her in darkness as well.

5. Undedrground has no day or night.

6. He strives for one shadow which would mean the absence of light so there would be darkness. Light and darkness are said alot in this poem.

7. Darkness- night, shadow, moon, stars, grey, twilight.

   Light- day, sun. dawn.

8. Light and Dark. i believe his theme was to show the difference about light and dark and how dark absorbs everything.

chapters 3-5 questions

The Hobbit

Chapters 3-5 Study Questions

1. Describe the elves and briefly discuss Bilbo’s relationship with them.  What insights can you offer about both through their relationship? He gets along well with them and enjoys their company although he is a little scared of them. They are noble and fair beings.

2. Describe Elrond and discuss in what ways he advances the plot of the story. He tells about the goblins and Moria. He tells them about the moon runes and what they say.

3. Having found refuge in the cave from the stone-giants, Bilbo has a dream that partly comes true.  Describe the dream and the aspects that are realized.  Then explore the symbolic significance of the dream. That a crack appears in the floor and a ramp comes up from it basically. When he wakes up he realizes the part about a crack is true. The significance of the dream could be that he was in trouble.

4. Who/what are the goblins?  What do they add to this story?  Describe them thoroughly and assess what their song reveals about them. They live in caves and tunnels underground. They are big and ugly looking. They have stony voices. Some goblins also have large heads. From their song, they seem to be loud, abrasive creatures that are unmerciful and enjoy causing pain and discomfort. They show in the story that there are truly evil creatures and they further the plot along by allowing Bilbo to meet Gollum.

5. Gandalf is a wizard of many talents.  Describe some of the ways in which he has helped Bilbo and the dwarves, and then describe some of what he can’t or won’t do and explain why. He has many magical abilities like throwing his voice and some destructive magic. He is willing to use magic to harm creatures that mean the group harm, but he wont use it because he dosent want to and that he has his limits.

6. One of the most memorable characters in all of literature is Gollum.  Define what it is that makes Gollum so memorable.  What is most important to him?  What do his appearance and his “home” reveal about him?  Why does he converse with his “precious” and why does he refer to himself as “we”?  His way of talking and his intense focus on the ring make him memorable. Plus, the fact that he is entirely different from all other creatures helps make him stand out. The ring is most important to him. That he is dark minded, slimy and undesirable. They also place him as a trickster and someone you cant trust. I beleive he refers to the ring as precious and himself as we because he is insane and that is just how he talks now.

7. What is revealed about Bilbo and Gollum respectively through the riddles each of them asks?  What stops Bilbo from killing Gollum?  What is the winning riddle that Bilbo asks Gollum? That Gollum prefers more dark and morbid things and Bilbo prefers light and wholesome things. Bilbo doesnt kill Gollum because at the last minute he feels pity for Gollum. He asks Gollum what he has in his pocket.

8. Why is finding the ring seen as Bilbo’s “turning point in his career”? It allows him to sneak around unseen and after his brush with Gollum he becomes more confident and sure of himself.

What is Bilbo’s response to Gollum’s outrage and pain?  What does that tell you? He has no compassion for him. He simply does not care. It tells me that Bilbo can be hard and uncaring and at times selfish.

my own riddle

I am not created by violence, nor can I be sustained by it.
The government hates me and angsty teenagers love me.
What am I? 

My chosen riddle

A certain crime is punishable if attempted but not punishable if committed. What is it?

Stone Questions

1. That trolls are dark and evil creatures and that light is good and it cleanses evil.

2. I believe we would because The Hobbit portrays them as bad so their would be no moral problem with it, plus the legend behind trolls would have faded away by our present time and would have been forgotten.

3. I think he would feel the same as me, since he is implying they would have there own little happy world inside the stone and would not care what happens outside.

4. That that is how he would like to die and go when he is dead. He is implying about stones that inside them there might be light and color and heat and other such things.

5. I think he would like the poem and maybe even agree with it.

Hobbit chapters 1 and 2 questions

Rhett Chartrand

1. They are about 3 feet tall, have no facial hair and have large feet. They can be a bit chubby and dress in bright colours.

2. That he wants to be polite when describing Bilbo and not say any negative things about him.

3. It is built into the side of the hill, has a circular door and many different tunnels as hallways. There are multiple windows.

4. He is described as being a respectful hobbit that never goes out or does anything exciting, although others in his family have been known to go on adventures.

5. He is about 50 years old. Yes I am surprised because by human standards that is old.

6. The yes, because it will affect how quickly they can travel at certain times and what not.

7. There is an adventurous past to his family and as a hobbit he has some remarkable traits that could come in happy.

8. Because he has never burgled before and seems unsure of himself.

9. I would think that he is the leader of the group. I would describe him as wearing robes, having a long beard and a staff. i would also say that he is tall.

10. Dwalin- blue beard and bright eyes.

Balin- old with a white beard and scarlet hood.

Kili and Fili- blue hoods and yellow beards.

Dori, Nori, Ori, Gin and Gloin- Two purple hoods, a grey hood, a brown hood and a white hood.

Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin- Two yellow hoods, one pale green one and a sky blue one.

11. That they are great builders and have great profits in the mountains. That they are adventurers and have a proud past. He momentarily entertains the notion of going with them on an adventure.

12. Because thirteen is often viewed as an unlucky number.

13. He is slightly anxious but believes it will be easy.

14. The terrain gets more covered with hills and trees cover a lot more of the land.

15. That there could be people or other beings where the light is. Bilbo is sent to investigate because he is the burglar and he is supposed to be sneaky.

16. They were very large, with large legs, hands and faces. They are also not very smart.

17. Bilbo found it, I suppose the author made him find so it would show that Bilbo can be useful.

18. They took some swords and weapons out and some food for themselves.

19. His ability to step out of his comfort zone and live without things he is normally accustomed to.

The journey
Rhett Chartrand

2.a- I think a feeling of change would do this, a feeling as if change is coming or is already happening.
b- I would take my friends Reid and Maggie. They are the people I am closest to and the ones I would trust if things went downhill fast.
c- I might be more mature or more aware of what's going on in the world.
d- It might open me up to how other people live and interact. It might change my beliefs about things.
e- I imagine it would be kinda scary and at the same time it would be deeply interesting and enlighting.
f- A hero is a male, a heroine is a female. I think character qualities for a hero would be brave, confident and reassuring to those around them. Some deeds that would be expected of them would be risking harm for others, saving and helping other people.
g- At the end of most journeys the adventurer could turn into a people. The hero is normally the main character.

Poetry questions

My Papa’s Waltz and Those Winter Sundays

My Papa’s Waltz

1.            Summarize in one sentence the main idea of this poem. How a father cares for his daughter.

2.       Characterize the speaker in the poem. How old do you think he is? I think he would be young, about 8 or so.

3.       How does the poet convey the perceptions of a child? As innocent and caring/loving.

4.       What childhood emotions are portrayed? Caring for a parent or innocence.

5.       List the details that create an ambiguous mood in "My Papa's Waltz," and discuss two different interpretations of the poem. The whiskey on the dads breath, the details of the fathers appearance and the boys age.

Those Winter Sundays

1.       Summarize in one sentence the main idea of this poem. The hard work of a father.

2.       How would you describe the speaker's father and the relationship between the poem's speaker and his father? Hard working and strict. I would I say that their relationship is strained.

3.       How do you define the words "offices" and "austere"? Offices is a workplace to me, and I do not know what austere is.

4.       From what point in time does the speaker view the subject of matter of the poem? I would say from a young age, maybe about ten.

5.       Why do you think “no one ever thanked him”? Because they all viewed what he did as what he was supposed to do.

Monologue #1

I can still remember how it all began. It was years ago in grade six at our schools first dance. As a young male of thirteen I believed myself to be invincible, the chosen one. But I believe that is something all young people believe. Like innocence it fades with time. To anybody else it wouldn't qualify as being romantic, it was just her asking me to slow dance to a song. But she was the first girl to ever do that, and to this day I can remember what song it was, what she looked like back then and how the world seemed to shrink till it was only us. After that we were friends, she of the abusive family and depression, me of the popular kids and loving family. All throughout middle school we were friends, never afraid to call on another in times of need.

Then high school arrived, with all its accursed drama and responsibilities. She never liked me the same way I liked her. You have to understand, to me she was my world. She was all I cared about. But to her, I was only a best friend, a brother. It took me a  long time to accept that. I still remember the feeling of my fist going into her first boyfriends face at a party. Me shouting obscenities at him as he lay on the ground. They broke up not long after that. We fought many times. I didn't approve of her foray into drugs and older men, and she hated my criticisms. There were times where we went months without talking, then out of nowhere we would meet and our friendship would blossom again.

I suppose you could say she is the source of all my problems today; smoking, drinking and my inability to grow close to anybody else. But for me those don't matter, I have her and she has me and that's what's important. I won't tell you her name, she's not the social type. But she's the type of girl who sits in the back of the class, the girl who wears black and long sleeves on sunny days. She's the girl everybody ignores and doesn't think twice about. But to me she is my best friend, that one person I want to talk to everyday.  

Short story questions

I Stand Here Ironing

Tilly Olsen

Discussion Questions 20-1

1.    Describe the narrator using as much detail as you can. I would believe her to be an old white lady, living in America, she has had a tough life and money has never been easy for them. She is divorced from her first husband and has multiple children.

2.    In your opinion, is the narrator speaking to someone in particular, or to herself?  Give evidence from the story to support your answer. I would believe she is speaking someone, she says she wants her daughter to know she loves her, and that she wishes things had been different. She also directly addresses the audience by asking a question early on.

3.    What things are important to the narrator? Her children, being a good mother.

4.    What people/events/things are responsible for Emily’s failings? Her mother for not having time for her and sending her to places she doesn’t want to go to, her sister for growing faster and being more popular than her. Her father for divorcing her mother. Her parents for moving around a lot and sending her to the boarding school.

5.    The image of the iron is repeated numerous times, telling the reader that it is an important symbol.  List all of the things that you think it MIGHT be a symbol for, and choose ONE that you think is most likely, and explain it in detail. (Note - marks will be given for evidence of thought, not necessarily for being right) It could be a metaphor for the fact that the mother is always working and doesn’t have time for her daughter. That’s the only one I can think of and I think it fits well.

Free-Writing Post

That picture was rather disturbing. The black eyes, the overall lack of color. It looks like it would belong with a Creepypasta. Something about a dead girl or a dead person or whatnot. That could have potential for being interesting. Some kinda dead and avcenging spirit or some such. Everybodys talking, making it hard to focus, baileys voice comes through the clearest. glad sawyers not in this class, his voice goes through anything. frigging kids impossible to ignore.  everybody keeps talking and talking. now its dylans voice that carries the best. chris just sucked on his lips. lane needs to shut up, same with dylan and bailey. teacher gave us the wrong email on the course sheet. well i already emailed that one so it can stay that way. never stop writing, well its kinda hard to have a free flow of thought in a busy classroom, wouldnt you think? but i digress, now people are whistling, i cant whistle, this sure dosnt feel very free. its like im deliberaly attempting to write down whatever i feel or see or hear. Baileys off making crude jokes again. I can hear maclayne typing.. im going to end this soon, im tired of writing and it feels like itds been close to ten minutes so im done typing, but then again maclayne started before me and shes still going so i should at least contuine until she finishes. but that could be awhile. ah, nevermind. shes done.