Homework Help: English

ocarinagirl · 02-24-2005, 04:53 PM

Okay. The way these topics will work is that there will be a different topic for each subject. In each topic, I will decide to appoint a sort of "teacher" for that topic, meaning that he or she will kind of of just run that topic and help out whoever needs help in that subject. Other members can help out too, if they so wish. I'll need help deciding the teachers for most of the topic except for a couple, which I'll get to in a minute.

Now, I'm going to be the head of the English topic since, dur, I'm going to be an English teacher anyway. So I need the practice. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

So if any of you non-English and lit people out there need any help with papers or projects, I can pretty much help you out. You can even put up some papers you want to turn in to be proofread and evaluated ahead of time. Don't be shy, I won't embarrass you...much. I'll even post up the MLA guidlines for you if you lost them, I'm so nice. [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

And....That's it.

Kirin Damascus · 02-24-2005, 07:13 PM

Just a general English question, but is there some specific way to find examples of symbolism in books? I'm reading The Great Gatsby right now and I'm sure we're going to be discussing symbolism in the future, so if there are any ways to pinpoint the use of symbolism in novels, I sure could use them.

Prince Toad · 02-24-2005, 08:14 PM

^Just make it up. As long as it sounds plausible, they can't really say that's not what it symbolizes. Plus it's funny.

(This is why I'm not going to be an English teacher.)

ocarinagirl · 02-24-2005, 09:50 PM

Indeed. Let me do the speaking. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I remember that one of the big symbols from GG was The Eyes of T. J. Eckleburg, on that huge billboard in town. Supposedly, the eyes represent the eyes of God watching over humanity, and since the eyes are over the valley of ashes, this suggests that God is looking down with judgement upon an America that has essentially become a moral wasteland.

That's all I got on that. Also look for the Green Light at the end of Daisy's dock (supposedly representing the American Dream).

Prince Toad · 02-24-2005, 09:52 PM

Pff. [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] Whatever.

Kirin Damascus · 02-24-2005, 09:53 PM

The eyes and the ashes are the symbols my teacher mentioned to us, but we're only on Chapter 3, so I don't know how God's judgment is shown through anything in the book. At least not yet.

Green light? The one Gatsby was looking at from Chapter One?

ocarinagirl · 02-24-2005, 09:56 PM

^^Silence, cretin.

^Yeah. The whole thing about it being the American dream is touched on near the end of the book. And the whole eyes and ashes symbolism is instilled by the characters later on in the book. You'll get to it.

I didn't like the Great Gatsby that much, though. That's just what I remembered...=/

Kirin Damascus · 02-24-2005, 10:03 PM

Alright, thanks. I'm not even that far yet, and now I think I'm going to understand the symbols now. Or at least understand them a little.

I don't like The Great Gatsby much, either, or at least what I've read of it.

[sage] · 02-24-2005, 11:22 PM

Ya it was a summer reading book last year. Defintely changed books.

Vinny · 03-10-2005, 01:43 PM

Honestly, I think that symbolism is a load of bull. I don't think that the writers really consider symbolism (perhaps a few symbols, yes, like Holden's brother's baseball glove in Catcher In the Rye) as seriously as interpreters do. I think most writers just write their stories, then sit back and wait for all the high-minded scholars in Oxford and Harvard to write 20-page-long dissertations and have penis-size contests with their friends over who can come up with the most complex symbolism discreetly interwoven into the story, and then they (the writers) just laugh at them behind their backs.

Vinny · 03-10-2005, 01:45 PM

Oh yes, and could anyone give me advice on how exactly to identify a preposition? Cheers.

Prince Toad · 03-10-2005, 03:15 PM

^I think those are just any word that shows placement. Before, above, behind, out, with, etc. I believe there's a few others too, like about and without.

Right?

By the way, I agree with you on symbolism. The conch was a symbol in Lord of the Flies. Ralph taking off his snakeskin belt was not.

Swordmaster Link · 03-10-2005, 03:35 PM

I vividly remember a poster in 5th grade with various illustrations, saying "A preposition is anywhere a cat can go"

So yeah...in, around, over, so on and so forth.

ocarinagirl · 03-10-2005, 04:35 PM

Yeah, I really doubt Shakespeare woke up one day and decided to put a ton of symbolism into every little play that he did.

Oh, also, never end a sentence with a preposition. Just thought you should know that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

The Missing Link · 03-10-2005, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Swordmaster Link:
I vividly remember a poster in 5th grade with various illustrations, saying "A preposition is anywhere a cat can go"

If it was in your butt, you'd know.

I heard it much the same, only it was with a fence.

"There are some who call me... Link?"

"Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!)
Zelda: The Grand Adventures | Triforce MUCK
ザ行方不明リンク
悪いユウモアの賢人

SuperLuigi64 · 03-11-2005, 09:30 AM

Anything a squirrel can do to to a log here

Vinny · 03-12-2005, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bad Andi:

Oh, also, never end a sentence with a preposition. Just thought you should know that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

"Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put." - Winston Churchill.

Actually, it's very likely that it was missatributed and that the quote itself has been mangled over the years, but you get the idea

.

Brandon2390 · 03-13-2005, 01:29 PM

So you aren't supposed to be like: I climbed up to the pillar above?

The Missing Link · 03-13-2005, 04:07 PM

The correct sentence would be: I climbed to the pillar above _____(me, the window, the moon, the garden).

"There are some who call me... Link?"

"Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!)
Zelda: The Grand Adventures | Triforce MUCK
ザ行方不明リンク
悪いユウモアの賢人

Princess Zelda of Hyrule · 04-12-2005, 08:48 PM

I break the preposition rule all the time. I'd rather say "I made it up" than "I made up it."

02-24-2005, 04:53 PM	#1
ocarinagirl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Ehhh? What? Where am I?! Gender: Posts: 3,010 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Okay. The way these topics will work is that there will be a different topic for each subject. In each topic, I will decide to appoint a sort of "teacher" for that topic, meaning that he or she will kind of of just run that topic and help out whoever needs help in that subject. Other members can help out too, if they so wish. I'll need help deciding the teachers for most of the topic except for a couple, which I'll get to in a minute. Now, I'm going to be the head of the English topic since, dur, I'm going to be an English teacher anyway. So I need the practice. [img]tongue.gif[/img] So if any of you non-English and lit people out there need any help with papers or projects, I can pretty much help you out. You can even put up some papers you want to turn in to be proofread and evaluated ahead of time. Don't be shy, I won't embarrass you...much. I'll even post up the MLA guidlines for you if you lost them, I'm so nice. [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] And....That's it.

02-24-2005, 07:13 PM	#2
Kirin Damascus Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Gender: Posts: 1,517 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Just a general English question, but is there some specific way to find examples of symbolism in books? I'm reading The Great Gatsby right now and I'm sure we're going to be discussing symbolism in the future, so if there are any ways to pinpoint the use of symbolism in novels, I sure could use them.

02-24-2005, 08:14 PM	#3
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	^Just make it up. As long as it sounds plausible, they can't really say that's not what it symbolizes. Plus it's funny. (This is why I'm not going to be an English teacher.)

02-24-2005, 09:50 PM	#4
ocarinagirl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Ehhh? What? Where am I?! Gender: Posts: 3,010 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Indeed. Let me do the speaking. [img]tongue.gif[/img] I remember that one of the big symbols from GG was The Eyes of T. J. Eckleburg, on that huge billboard in town. Supposedly, the eyes represent the eyes of God watching over humanity, and since the eyes are over the valley of ashes, this suggests that God is looking down with judgement upon an America that has essentially become a moral wasteland. That's all I got on that. Also look for the Green Light at the end of Daisy's dock (supposedly representing the American Dream).

02-24-2005, 09:52 PM	#5
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	Pff. [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img] Whatever.

02-24-2005, 09:53 PM	#6
Kirin Damascus Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Gender: Posts: 1,517 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The eyes and the ashes are the symbols my teacher mentioned to us, but we're only on Chapter 3, so I don't know how God's judgment is shown through anything in the book. At least not yet. Green light? The one Gatsby was looking at from Chapter One?

02-24-2005, 09:56 PM	#7
ocarinagirl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Ehhh? What? Where am I?! Gender: Posts: 3,010 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	^^Silence, cretin. ^Yeah. The whole thing about it being the American dream is touched on near the end of the book. And the whole eyes and ashes symbolism is instilled by the characters later on in the book. You'll get to it. I didn't like the Great Gatsby that much, though. That's just what I remembered...=/

02-24-2005, 10:03 PM	#8
Kirin Damascus Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Gender: Posts: 1,517 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Alright, thanks. I'm not even that far yet, and now I think I'm going to understand the symbols now. Or at least understand them a little. I don't like The Great Gatsby much, either, or at least what I've read of it.

02-24-2005, 11:22 PM	#9
[sage] Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Florida Gender: Posts: 18,304 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 10 Posts	Ya it was a summer reading book last year. Defintely changed books.

03-10-2005, 01:43 PM	#10
Vinny Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The Fletcher Memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings Posts: 7,261 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Honestly, I think that symbolism is a load of bull. I don't think that the writers really consider symbolism (perhaps a few symbols, yes, like Holden's brother's baseball glove in Catcher In the Rye) as seriously as interpreters do. I think most writers just write their stories, then sit back and wait for all the high-minded scholars in Oxford and Harvard to write 20-page-long dissertations and have penis-size contests with their friends over who can come up with the most complex symbolism discreetly interwoven into the story, and then they (the writers) just laugh at them behind their backs.

03-10-2005, 01:45 PM	#11
Vinny Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: The Fletcher Memorial Home for incurable tyrants and kings Posts: 7,261 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Oh yes, and could anyone give me advice on how exactly to identify a preposition? Cheers.

03-10-2005, 03:15 PM	#12
Prince Toad Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Rookery Gender: Posts: 11,720 Thanks: 50 Thanked 65 Times in 56 Posts	^I think those are just any word that shows placement. Before, above, behind, out, with, etc. I believe there's a few others too, like about and without. Right? By the way, I agree with you on symbolism. The conch was a symbol in Lord of the Flies. Ralph taking off his snakeskin belt was not.

03-10-2005, 03:35 PM	#13
Swordmaster Link Super Bodyguard & King of the Arcade Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Wherever you want me to be Gender: Posts: 32,132 Thanks: 253 Thanked 951 Times in 640 Posts Blog Entries: 2	I vividly remember a poster in 5th grade with various illustrations, saying "A preposition is anywhere a cat can go" So yeah...in, around, over, so on and so forth.

03-10-2005, 04:35 PM	#14
ocarinagirl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Ehhh? What? Where am I?! Gender: Posts: 3,010 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Yeah, I really doubt Shakespeare woke up one day and decided to put a ton of symbolism into every little play that he did. Oh, also, never end a sentence with a preposition. Just thought you should know that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

03-11-2005, 09:30 AM	#16
SuperLuigi64 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Louisiana Gender: Posts: 7,699 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Anything a squirrel can do to to a log here

03-13-2005, 01:29 PM	#18
Brandon2390 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Connecticut Posts: 10,519 Thanks: 7 Thanked 30 Times in 22 Posts	So you aren't supposed to be like: I climbed up to the pillar above?

03-13-2005, 04:07 PM	#19
The Missing Link Professional Lurker Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: New Hyrule, Washington, US Gender: Posts: 17,128 Thanks: 405 Thanked 606 Times in 368 Posts	The correct sentence would be: I climbed to the pillar above _____(me, the window, the moon, the garden). "There are some who call me... Link?" "Carpe Gaium Domesticum!" (Seize the Cucco!) Zelda: The Grand Adventures \| Triforce MUCK ザ行方不明リンク悪いユウモアの賢人

04-12-2005, 08:48 PM	#20
Princess Zelda of Hyrule Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Hyrule Castle Gender: Posts: 6,128 Thanks: 35 Thanked 14 Times in 10 Posts	I break the preposition rule all the time. I'd rather say "I made it up" than "I made up it."