Learning Model #2
By: Anna
Point of View
The author Joan Aiken, develops Sandy's point of view about Lob by using thoughts, action and dialogue. For example the author states, "Oh no, I think he's beautiful." said Sandy truly." Sandy really likes Lob when she meets him on the beach. She starts to play with him and enjoys his company. What Sandy doesn't know is she's forming a strong connection with Lob. This shows that Sandy is already starting to want Lob as her dog. She thinks the dog is perfect for her. And her siblings like Lob too, luckily for the Pengelly family Lob wants them to be his owner. In addition, "By this time the children breathless in the background, listening to one side of the conversation, had realized what was in the wind and were dancing up and down with their hands clasped beseechingly." Sandy and her siblings love Lob so much that they're overjoyed that Lob is going to stay with them. They're so happy they can't contain their thoughts and excitement. Consequently Sandy and Lob's connection continues to grow, especially when Sandy realizes Lob will be staying with her. Even though Lob is a gift for the whole family, you can tell Lob and Sandy have the strongest bond. Also, "At the sound of the whine Sandy stirred just a little. She sighed and moved her head the least fraction. Lob whined again. And then Sandy turned her head right over. Her eyes opened, looking at the door." Sandy was hit by a car and she wasn't waking up. When what Sandy thought was her dog came by her bedside she woke up. Even though the dog wasn't Sandy's it helped her wake up. This reflects that Sandy and Lob have formed such a strong connection that Lob basically woke her out of her coma. Even though it wasn't the dog, the dog looked the same and it helped Sandy wake up.
Figurative Language
Compare/Contrast Genres
Stage Fright and Life doesn't Frighten Me deal with the idea that people need to overcome their fears. One similarity is that both stories are from the authors point of view. In Life Doesn't Frighten Me, Maya Angelou says "They don't frighten me at all." In Stage Fright, Mark Twain says "My heart" and later "I recall." I can tell that both stories are from the authors point of view because they both say things like I and me. All the things they're talking about are from their experience. Another similarity between the two texts is that both authors are afraid of something. Mark Twain said "My knees were shaking so I didn't know whether I could stand up." And Maya Angelou said "Shadows on the wall, noises down the hall." In both stories you can tell the authors are afraid by the way the authors say it. Even though they both have different fears both authors are afraid. One difference is the genre, Mark Twain wrote an autobiography while Maya Angelou wrote a poem. I can tell because Mark Twain is talking about his experiences. I can tell Stage Fright isn't a poem because of the way it's written. Stage Fright has paragraphs while Maya Angelou has stanzas. And even though Maya Angelou is writing it from her perspective she doesn't have complete sentences like an autobiography should. Another reason the two texts are different is the way the authors handle their fears. Mark Twain embraces his fear and tells people all about it. "If there is an awful horrible malady in the world, it is stage fright and sea sickness." While Maya Angelou tries to hide her fear. "Tough guys fight, all alone at night, life doesn't frighten me at all." Maya Angelou is hiding her fear and trying to not let anyone know she's scared. I know because everyone is afraid of something while Mark Twain embraces his fear and tells people all about it. The last difference is Mark Twain and Maya Angelou's number of fears. "Tough guys fight", "lions on the loose", "dragons breathing flame." Maya Angelou appears to have many fears while "it is stage fright and sea sickness. They are a pair." Mark Twain appears to have two. While reading these stories Maya Angelou tells more about her fears while Mark Twain does his whole autobiography on two of his fears. To conclude, although both Maya Angelou and Mark Twain have fears Maya Angelou tries to hide her fears in the form of a poem, while Mark Twain embraces his fear and tells people all about it in the form of a speech. I think both stories are written well, but their ideas are expressed in different ways.
Compare/Contrast Text and Movie
Reading the written version of All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury was similar and different when compared to watching the movie version. One similarity was where Margot was around her classmates. "Margot stood apart from them, from these children who could never remember a time when there wasn't rain and rain and rain." and "She told me to make sure everyone goes under the sun lamps, even you." In both instances Margot stands apart from her classmates, she feels alone and left out. In the text it just explains how she keeps her distant from people and in the movie you see her standing away from everyone while she's supposed to be under the sun lamps. Another similarity is how Margot looks. The story said, "She was a very frail girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair." And in the movie she looks very dull and all those qualities fit her. Consequently, even though in the book I can't see Margot I picture her in the same kind of way I see her in the movie. The movie makes it easier to picture Margot. One difference is the beginning. The beginning of the story get right to the point. "Ready." "Ready." The beginning of the movie starts out with water dripping and shows some of what the students call home. Also, in the beginning the students are under some sort of sun lamps. This shows that the beginnings are different because in the movie there are sun lamps, and you see all of Venus. But the book doesn't say anything about where the students live or about the sun lamps. Another difference is when they lock Margot in the closet. In the book it states "They heard her muffled cries" while in the movie Margot says "William. Let me out. William!" This shows that the movie is much more dramatic. In the book it just says that they heard her cries but the book doesn't say much about her cries. The movie is much more detailed because she's crying out and pounding on the door and you hear her cries for a good amount of time. Another aspect that is different is when the kids go out and play. In the story it says, "They ran among the trees, they slipped and fell, they pushed each other..." While in the movie the kids are running and playing, they're playing hide and seek, they're picking flowers. This shows that the movie goes into much more detail and it's so much clearer then it is in the story. This happens in more than one instance. To conclude, although in both the movie and the text of All Summer in a Day, Margot looks and feels similar, the movie shows everything in more vivid detail while the story gets right to the point. Movies are different then text because in some cases the movie shows more detail but in other cases the book is more in detail then the movie.