This quarter has been very big, but a great learning time. I am both a visual and a listening learner. I don’t think I could learn without one of them and I am happy I can express both.

I think I have developed many strengths this quarter and one of them is writing a report on a book by looking back in the book and translating the information into my own voice. When we did the lit circles, this quality helped because we got assigned jobs and we got to summarise the book in our own voice. Also being a persistent and hard working person really came in handy for everything this quarter. My challenges in Humanities are being able to focus hard on tasks that I don’t enjoy as much as other work. I struggled with this when doing the plague letters. I think I am my best learner when I can first learn by Lynne talking in class, and then look at some kind of study guide, that reflects some of the important things Lynne talked about. This helped me a lot when doing are medieval women presentation because first Lynne told us about some of the important women and then we read more about that women. I think the skill I am most proud of is being able to work as hard as I can on something until I am proud of it. Sometimes I worry about a test or a quiz which some people might think is bad, but I look at the bright side. When I worry the only way to soothe my worry is to be absolutely sure of what I am doing, so I study. It prepares me and I like that quality about myself. This helped me on the Who the Heck are You? piece because I had to get the answer I wanted from my interviewer without pushing it on them.  I need to be able to take constructive criticism better and stop being as stubborn. Sometimes if I think I have a great idea and the teacher does not agree. It is hard for me to change that idea that I still think is so great, but I am working hard on it and I think I will soon change. I need to put my stubbornness aside and learn from the teachers. I think I could work on this with the plague letter. I made a very dramatic piece and I liked it but Julia didn’t, so I just had to trust her decision and put it behind me. My goals for the 4th quarter are to read more, work harder, and be able to relate with what the teacher wants more. I will try to work on writing exercises out of school on my own time, to help me improve. I want to wrap up this year well, and if I follow my goals I will be able to.

This quarter has been full of new and great things. Even after all of the fuss and craziness of the quarter, we always had book partnerships. If you just need to sit down with a book and relax, book partnerships are great. You just pick a short writing assignment to do after your reading, and then about twice a week you share your thoughts of the portion of the book you read that week. I had a goal at the begging of book partnerships, that I would read a book that I really wanted to read, but was a school assignment. The book Al Capone does my Shirts,(the book we read in book partner ships) really connected with me, because it was about a kid my age, who was really going through the same thoughts and decisions that both me and my partner go through, and I think that that was why it was so intriguing.

 

1. This quarter we have read Parzival. After we read it we wrote an essay on it. We picked a topic, and three examples supporting are topic. I decided to edit and fix grammar mistakes as I was writing. I usually just write every thing that’s in my head and then edit, so doing this was a challenge. I leaned that If you edit while you are going all the work doesn’t pile on at the end.

   One of the most astounding qualities of a protagonist is bravery. In the book Parzival by Katherine Paterson, bravery is a big part of Parzival’s (the protagonist’s) life. He is a young boy, looking for adventure. Bravery brings him to his wife, his long lost brother, and his coronation. Parzival stays a brave man through all of his journeys because he, defeats many knights, he saves the Queen, and goes to Wild Mountain a second time to ask the question.

 

Parzival is brave each time he defeats other knights throughout the book. There are three different examples of Parzival showing bravery. On page 94 Parzival is faced with a brave night of the wild mountain: “ ‘Halt there!’ A knight was barring down the path. ‘Who are you who dares beat a track though my lord’s forest?’ he cried out. The knight came charging towards him nonetheless. They struck lance upon lance, and backed and charged… Parzival knocked the castel night off his horse and into the chasm.” On page 28 Parzival is faced with a bullying knight in red armor: “The red knight beat the boy with the shaft of his lance until the blood gushed. At first Parzival could not move under the blows, but as soon as he could, he raised his javelin and hurled it through the gap in Sir Ither’s helmet.” On page 65-66 Parzival runs into a duchess on the road from which he has stolen. He also meets her husband, a duke, who beats his wife. Parzival is furious and fights the duke. “It looked as though someone was sure to die, the fighting was so fierce. Part of the duke’s fury was his own guilt that he had left his wife unprotected… Now he fought like the very dragon that adorned his shield. Parzival was his equal in fury…They struck at each other with lance and sword, charging until both horses were in lather… the strong young knight grabbed the duke around the waist, hoisted him from the saddle, and hurled him through the air as though he were a bundle of twigs.” As you can see in the first piece of evidence, Parzival is always ready to defend himself and fight with all his might. This is a humongous act of bravery. On the second piece of evidence Parzival is proving to us that he will never give up, even when he is ailing on the ground and gushing blood. This shows that he is brave and will fight until the end. In the third piece of evidence, Parzival is gallantly fighting the duke, even though the duke is more experienced and a stronger fighter. Parzival uses his drive to succeed as a motivation to win the fight. Parzival fought skilled knights, upon skilled knights. He defended himself and fought bravely. Parzival was surly a brave man because he fought many knights.

      Parzival is brave when he saves the Queen from her town’s great poverty. There are 2 examples of brave acts Parzival does for the Queen. On page 38-39, Parzival finds a very poor town ruled by an upset Queen. He offers all he can do to help with their poverty. “For it broke the Queen’s heart for her people to suffer. ‘How can I serve you?’ said Parzival. ‘We have word that Clamide’s chief officer, Kingrum, will arrive tomorrow at the head of a large army…I fear all is lost.’” On page 39 Parzival protects the Queen’s land by fighting the chief. “Parzival donned his shining red armor and spurred the red sorrel out of the castle towards the advancing foe. Kingrum, seeing a lone knight coming, spurred his horse, too, so that the two of them met. This was Parzivals first fight…He returned Kingrum blow for blow until at last he had hurled the older man upon the ground.¨ From the first evidence, Parzival is ready to strike into action and save the Queen’s town. Clamite is an evil king from a rich town. He has taken the money of the town and says he won’t stop until the Queen marries him. Parzival is bravely stepping in and offering to risk his life for the Queen’s safety. If this isn’t brave, what is?  On the second piece of evidence, Parzival fights in his first fight and wins. Not at any point does he stop and reconsider the actions he would do. He fights the chief with a full heart, and while doing so, is extremely courageous and brave. From these facts, Parzival is heroic through his process of saving the Queen. He fights with all his might. He is surely a brave man. From these facts, Parzival offers all he can do to help with the Queen’s poverty, and defeats the savage man that is taking from the Queen. Parzival is surly a brave man in doing these actions.

 

     Parzival is brave when he searches and finds the wild mountain for a second time. There are  two examples when Parzival rigorously strives to find the wild mountain for the second time. On page 90-93, Parzival realises that god is not on his side, but he still searches for the wild mountain. “‘God himself is against me,’ said Parzival… Four years and more he roamed the world, his bones aching with weariness, his heart sick with longing, his soul heavy with despair. Searching, searching his eyes strained in searching for the castle that would not let itself be found.” On page 122, Parzival is at his final destination. He has been looking for for four years, the wild mountain. “‘Lead me to the king,’ he said. At the great door, he hesitated, for there, propped against his pillows,lay Anfortas, shivering beneath his fur…Tears sprang to Parzival’s eyes and he cried out,…’Dear uncle…what is wrong with you’” This first piece of evidence is a humongous act of bravery on Parzival’s part. He knows that the most powerful man is against him, and he is still trying his hardest to find the wild mountain. This second piece of evidence does not seem brave at all, but it might be Parzivals bravest time. The whole book is centered around this point. Anfortas lives on the wild mountain. He also is a king that has had a curse on him. The curse says that Anfortas will have an eternal illness that can only be cured by the chosen one asking the question. This is not Parzival’s first time on wild mountain. He has been before and failed to ask the question. That was four years ago, and all he has felt since is guilt. This is the peak of the story and Parzival has finally asked the question. Parzival is committed and brave in finding the Wild Mountain. He ignores the most powerful being on earth in order to save an old man, and he asks the question with pride and honor.

 

     From this evidence, Parzival stays an audacious and stalwart man through all his vagabondages. He is sensitive, compassionate, but most of all, he is brave. He defeats many knights, he saves the Queen, and goes to Wild Mountain a second time to ask the question. Bravery is a skill that Parzival has been blessed with. He is a man like no other, and a brave man at that.