Cyrano de Bergerac/ Roxanne - Compare & Contrast

Apparently Cyrano de Bergerac is more according to the original play and Roxanne is a modified version. Cyrano de Bergerac sets in France, characters speak French, and the story happens in the ancient times. Roxanne sets in America, characters speak English, and the story happens in the 80's.

Since the two movies are based on the same play, both have the basic, main characters. However, the names change in the modern version. Cyrano de Burgerac becomes C.D. (Charlie) Bales. Christian becomes Chris. But Roxanne is still Roxanne. According to the original play, Cyrano and Christian are soldiers, but in "Roxanne" they are firefighters. Roxanne, while in the original play is just a rich young lady, studies astronomy in the modernized version.

The characters behave similar and have the same relationships: Cyrano/C.D. has a big nose but is eloquent and funny. Christian/Chris is handsome but useless when it comes to women. Roxanne seems to be just pretty in the original play, but in the modernized version she has more depth as a character, and smart too.

Of course during different time periods there are different norms. Writing letters to a person you like seems normal in the early times, but it's odd during modern times when you could just use a telephone. That's why in Roxanne C.D. has to "justify" Christian's act of writing letters.

The endings are different, too. The original Cyrano de Bergerac is very tragic. Christian died, Roxanne mourns over his death, and Cyrano doesn't reveal the truth until he is dying. But in Roxanne, it has a happy ending. Christian finds someone he truly loves, Roxanne discovers the truth while she and C.D. are still young and healthy, and everyone is happy. C.D. even finds an advantage for his nose!

Favorite Legend

My favorite legend is Journey to the West, the traditional Chinese story, written by Wu Cheng’en in the Ming Dynasty. The story is about a monkey, a monk, a pig, and an ogre traveling to India to get a Buddhist scripture, as well as enlightenment. They encounter various monsters along the way and defeat them, sometimes with the help of gods. I like this legend because I was introduced to it since I was little. The story had become a culture among Chinese people. When I was in kindergarten I used to listen to the audio-book/children version of the book in my mother’s car. It has a very original and interesting plot that can be funny in some ways. The characters are very different from each other and are depicted vividly. The story is an extended allegory, too. The journey to India symbolizes the journey to one’s enlightenment. Each character represents a kind of weakness in us that we must overcome. I was going to read the original version of the book, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The Odyssey, Part One - Quickwrite (pg. 749)

- My parents
- Sun Yat-Sen
-  Martin Luther King Jr.
- Wiliam Wilberforce

- brave
- would sacrifice for other people
- good intentions
- strong will
- not stupid
- fights tirelessly for a cause

I think most of the traits I wrote are universal for heroes.

Animal Farm Movie Impressions

For a 1950's cartoon, Animal Farm is relatively well-drawn. The animals don't really talk much...except the pigs. Most talking is done by a narrator. In the book the animals seem to talk even more than the humans.
At first when Old Major makes his speech, the book version says he died a few days later, but in the cartoon he died right where he sits. In the Battle of the Cowshed (in the movie there's no name for the battles), Snowball gets a bullet scratched along his spine but in the movie his leg is wounded. The result of the battle, according to the book, is that a sheep is dead. In the movie the dog dies, and that is also the reason why Napoleon took away the puppies.
The movie doesn't really mention some characters like Clover, Mollie, Muriel, etc.
I don't remember Napoleon traded with Mr. Whymper for jam in the book.
The book doesn't really say who destroys the windmill, but in the movie it is Mr. Jones who bombs it.
And the pigs have fangs in the movie...that's unusual. I think for little kids this movie is really scary. The pigs and dogs have evil eyes and sharp teeth and the dogs kill!

Beware of the Dog - Quickwrite (pg. 686)

Misled by appearances happens all the time. Several times when I walk down the street trying a find a restaurant for dinner, I would go for restaurants that look clean and decent. However, the food could be not as decent as it looks on the menu.

Somtimes you can find someone's appearance attractive, but after being with that person for a while you find him/her the most annoying person ever.
"Don't judge a book by its cover." But sometimes the cover of a book looks so inviting that you blindly buy it, and after reading the first ten pages you throw the book away.
An orange may look round and smooth and healthy on the surface, but inside the it's spoiled and rotten.
A person appears to be very nice to you, but secretly he/she is planning to use you for something for his/her own benefit. You could be deceived by his/her kindness on the outside.

What is Bullying? Have You Ever Been Bullied?

Bullying is when a person do personal attacks to another person. It can be physical or oral. Most of the time bullying is intended to cause pain to the other person. Sometimes a person can be bullied by segregation from the rest of the group. Bullying can be seen everywhere, school, workplace, or your neighborhood. The seemingly stronger and more powerful person is often the bully. He/She would choose someone that looks weak to hurt.
Now there's even cyber-bullying, in which a person bullies another with text messages or social websites. They are often anonymous, using false identities.
Bullying is not right, but it's natural. All animals would somehow strengthen its own power and look down at the weaks.

From what I can remember - I've never been bullied. But I've seen people being bullied.

American History - Quickwrite (pg. 660)

- September 21st, the giant earthquake in Taiwan, I slept through the actual earthquake but the effect was unforgettable, and people kept talking about it.
- Taiwanese people wore red to protest against ex-President Chen, I didn't actually go to the march but I supported them.
- Ex-President Chen was put in jail for corruption, Taiwanese people don't have to suffer under his governing anymore.
- My sister became the first home-schooling middle-school student of Taichung, made me realize that Taiwan's education is awful, and later I began home-schooling too.
- Michael Jackson died, I've always liked his music and it was quite a big event at that time.
- Aug. 8th flood, it destroyed the road that led to our little cabin (it is sold now), as well as large areas in the mountains. It was terrible.

Turing Points - Quickwrite (pg. 646)

- Sun Yat-Sen, who overthrew the Qing Dynasty
- Jane Goodall, chose to study the chimpanzes in Africa
- Sojourner Truth, spoke out against slavery and women's rights

To Da-duh, in Memoriam - Quickwrite (pg. 607)

Country:
- love for animal
- love for plants
- food (rice, vegetables, fish, etc)
- green and brown
- space
- farms/ fields
- fresh air

City:
- computer
- cell phone
- school
- elevators and tall buildings
- garbage
- gray
- cars and scooters
- convenience
- people

Analyzing a Poem - Quickwrite

When first analyzing a poem, just look throught it. The first time reading it, quickly and casually. The second time, carefully and slowly, stopping at certain points. Then you can start to find figures of speech: similie is easy; metaphor is okay; personification, alliteration, etc. To get a deeper meaning of the poem, read even more carefully and try reading it out loud or in your mind. With the most difficult part, try to form an image out of the words. Connect the seemily meaningless words and sentences with something else, or find something similar to it. You can also listen to other people's interpretations. See how they feel about the poem and what they come up with. Then come up with your own feelings and interpretations toward the poem.

Pg. 537 Quickwrite

I would like to inherit the kindness of my mother and when I have my own children I would teach them like my mother did. My mother is not like the other Chinese mothers who limit their children, beat them and scold them when they get a bad grade, and control their future.

The Base Stealer/American Hero - Quickwrite (pg. 551)

I'm a table-tennis player. The game is coming to an end, and we have a tie. A tie-breaker is what we need. One last game, and we will know who is the champion.
It's my turn to serve the ball. The tiny ball feels shapeless and weightless in my left hand. My hands are almost trembling, but I steady them. I aim at the other corner and hit the ball. Suddenly everything is sped up and my eyes can't catch all of them. I'm going to rely on my ears and arms and legs, but not my eyes or brain. The ball comes, I hit it at the right angle without thinking.

Folding Won Tons In - Quickwrite (pg. 508)

When I started learning to play guitar in Taichung: morning, walking or biking, acoustic guitar in guitar bag, picks, fingers, strings, glass door, paper, ink, piano, violin, chair, tuition every month, pain, short/long finger nails, strength, practice, songs, music, chords and notes,

Country Scene - Make the Connection (pg. 500)

My life and everyone around me will eventually fade away. My posessions are even sooner, because some of them would break or be missing. Some people say when a person gets really old, he/she has nothing left except memories, so, memories would be the last thing with me. The work I've done in my life would be forgotten, unless it's something that appears in books, but that's very hard to get. My name would be forgotten, too.
"Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky," from Dust in the Wind, is very precise, except that this is from the human's point of view. Who knows when wouldn't the earth explode and break down? That sounds very depressing, for nothing seems to last forever.

Haiku - Quickwrite (pg. 494)

The notes were right beside my ears, almost ponding my ears, for I wore earphones. The music is not too loud, but loud enough to create a world separated from the others around me. Notes of different pitches bind to each other in harmony; none of them could be missing. The beats seemed to penetrate my ears and ponded my heart. I couldn't move. I became a hollow body that was filled with nothing but the flowing music. When I finally came to my senses, I found my eyes

Let Your Backbone Slide Rapping Practice

 

That is not my bed in the background...

A Blessing - Quickwrite (pg. 480)

A butterfly flaps its wings and rises up from the leaf. Its feathery wings are slow and elegant, as though the air helps the butterfly to fly, not itself. The wings are of wonderful, vivid colors that stand out from the rest of the scene. Red, yellow, white, and black, all join together in harmony. Its tiny, black body looks dimmer compare to its wings. Though, if you look closely, its antennae tremble slightly, and its long and thin legs clutched together at its chest. When it finally finds a place to relax, its legs stretch out to grab the leaf and with a few swings, it steadies itself. Its wings are closed up.

I Am a Rock - Writing

While listening to the song "I Am a Rock", I see a person who hides away from other people. The person had supposedly been hurt from his past relationships from friendship and love. He pretends to be a rock and an island, which symbolizes him being isolated and self-protecting. He tries to live in his own world.

One of my favorite songs is "Can You Forgive Her" by Pet Shop Boys. The song shows me strong imageries of a person struggling within himself. It also provides a dream-like atmosphere, since the story happens at midnight. I can see how the narrator of the song have a hard time being with his girlfriend. And how the girlfriend is being mean to him. Also, images are given about how the narrator met his first love.

Quick Write - Symbolism in Stories I've Read

In "The Necklace", the necklace acts as a symbol. It represents the false identity of Mathilde when she dresses up beautifully and pretends she's as rich as the other ladies at the party. Just like the necklace, she is not real. And when she loses the necklace, it symbolizes that Mathilde also loses anything that might suggest she's rich. She becomes extremely poor to pay the price of the new and real diamond necklace.

The Scarlet Ibis Quickwrite

1. When a person performs on the stage for Talent Show and when he/she finishes the audience gives a tremendous round of applause, then the person would be proud of him/herself.
2. A student would be proud when he/she gets a high score on a test.
3. A mother sees her son graduated from college and is proud of him.

Pride can be good or bad, depends on how the person takes it.