Louie Figliulo Humanities

Giver Essay October 2014

The Power of Knowledge

      Power and Control

  Imagine a world where you have no choices because the people in power are making them for you. In the Giver by Lois Lowry there is a boy who has pale eyes and can see… beyond. This boy is named Jonas.  All of the jobs in Jonas’s community are assigned but there is one job that is the most important, the Receiver of Memory. As a Receiver he gains memories of the past from the Giver. By being the Receiver, Jonas finds out the truth. Jonas has trouble because he finds out that his community Elders are lying. They are shaping people’s lives because the Elders are making choices for the citizens. He wants to tell the rest of the people in his community the truth. Though the citizens believe they are living in a utopia, select people in Jonas’ community have power that no one knows about and that makes it a dystopia.

In Jonas’s Community the people who have power are the Elders. The Elders make up the rules and they enforce them.  For example, the Elders made up a rule that the people in the community can’t lie. Only one person in the community able to lie, the Receiver. “You may lie” (pg 57).  In Jonas’ community everyone follows the rules as they’re supposed to. Though Jonas is allowed to lie, he’s afraid to because his whole life he’s been told lying is bad and against the community rules. Everyone follows the community rules because it’s what they’ve known since they were assigned their families. They also believe it makes a utopia.

The Elders are trying to make a utopia, but the reality is they have created a dystopia. In The Giver there is a dictatorship because the Elders are the only ones who make the decisions because they hold all of the power. They create rules that block love and emotion and control everyone’s life. In conclusion the Elders have the most power… that the community knows of.

The Receiver and the Giver have power that the rest of the community does not know about. The Receiver and the Giver can give everyone the memories and they remind the Elders what happened when there was war and joy. They also can decide the fate of the community. The Giver gives advice to the Elders. “Sometimes I wish they’d ask for my wisdom more often—there are so many things I could tell them; things I wish they would change. But they don’t want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable—so painless. It’s what they’ve chosen”” (82). This quote shows that the Giver has the knowledge and power to change the community but the Elders don’t want him to. He can tell the Elders what to do and he can chose what memory to tell them. In conclusion Jonas and the Giver have the real power. Though the Giver has power he does not act on it. At the end Jonas does by leaving the border to release his morrories into the community.

In Jonas’ community the Elders have power that everyone knows about, but they keep the truth from the citizens. Therefor this is a dystopia. The Giver and the Receiver have power that no one knows about and the Elders are making sure that the citizens don’t find out. The Elders want to make a utopia by making everyone the same, but by doing so they have created a dystopia. In a very popular book called Divergent by Veronica Roth the same thing is happening. Everyone believes they are living in a utopia but it is a dystopia. It is worlds like this that make you wonder if anything is “perfect.” If you found out the truth then wouldn’t you want to fight the power?

This is a link to my template:

This the the to the review sheet that I work on of the s.s. test. link:https://docs.google.com/a/lrei.org/document/d/1CIPwe9ouRsuUndq7nCErmyuYkP0AyrbsQY3AY_kdSME/edit

My strengths on this test were the long and short writing parts. I was surprised at first that I did good on these parts and not the short answer part. I think that because spelling did not matter it helped a lot. One area I think I can improve on is  writing longer. In the essay parts I was getting all the information out but it was in a small paragraph. I prepared for this essay test by filling out the review sheet to the best of my ability and by studying off of that. I knew the information side of it but I worked on phrasing and grammar.

So far in math I have been pretty good with homework. I think that I could be better with writing notes. The notes are on connect and my goal is to start using them. The reason why my notes are bad is because my handwriting is not neat.  On the recent test, I think that I did pretty well. The test was easy but the writing portions of it I could have added more. My overall goal in math is to have better notes and to work more on division.

Name: Louie Date:  9/22/14

Split: B Beat the Basics Sept. Follow-Up

Please describe any kind of math review work you completed over the summer.

I completed the math workbook that Margaret gave to me to do over the summer.

Based on your recent Beat the Basics assessment, what will you continue to practice with the help of friends, family and Michelle.  Please put an “X” next to all that apply.

Decimal addition Decimal multiplication

Decimal subtraction Decimal division

Fraction addition Fraction multiplication

Fraction subtraction Fraction division

Integer addition Integer multiplication X

Integer subtraction Integer division X

Order of operations Percent problems

Habits I need to develop.  Write agree or disagree at the end of each statement.

• I need to be better about double checking my work, making sure that my answers make sense. agree

• I need to slow down to avoid making careless mistakes. disagree

• I need to read directions carefully before beginning any work. agree

Louie Figliulo     Math Profile

Split B    9/9/14

In math I like adding decimals and fractions, but I think that math is not as fun as I want it to be.

In math class the homework was to write a 200 character math profile.

   Life with no Script

on Stage and off

Improv is a type of acting where there is no script. Think of a conversation where everyone says “yes.” That’s the first step of many on the road to becoming an improviser. I have become a young improviser by taking a class at the Atlantic Theater Company. My class was ten weeks long. Once a week we met for an hour and a half. In the beginning we were just playing games that everyone thought were just for fun but really they were shaping our improv skills. We started with a small scene. Then it got longer and longer. Then we were ready for the final shows. Throughout the class we learned some important rules of improv.

There are three main rules of improv; if you can master them, then you are an improviser. The first rule is to always listen. For instance if two people are in a scene and want a third person in the scene they might imply it, so you have to listen for the right time to jump in the scene. The second rule is alway say yes. An example is, if someone says we’re zebras and you say no then the scene is over. But, if you said yes then add on, then the scene can go on much longer and become much better. The third rule is to never assume. In improv the way to avoid that is if you say to someone, we’re on the moon then don’t assume they will say what you want them to say next.

In addition to learning the rules of improv, I also learned the tricks of improv. I learned things from how to start a scene to making a German accent. I learned a lot of tricks from the teachers and also from the other kids. For example Sam, another improv student, always used an accent and it was really good. He explained it’s best to think of someone you know who has that accent and try to imitate them. I practiced a British accent and “grumpy old man” and I am pretty good now. An older experienced kid named Tyler was really good so I watched him to pick up tricks. He was really good at staying in character and also switching characters quickly. He was really good at trying new things to develops his characters and I tried to do that as well. The skills I learned in improv will help with other kinds of acting.

After I finished with my improv workshop I did a two week theater camp. I was in The Hundred Dresses and I played Scott Rider, Janitor Healy, and Principal Vickers. Each of these characters was very different and required many costume changes. Every costume change I had to make was me changing my personality. But, when you’re doing improv you’re becoming the character without the use of props, set or costumes. This improv work really helped me become a character. My improv skills also helped me think about the tone of my voice in relation to each character. The play takes place in the 1940s/1950s. Though in improv there’s no set time, you and your scene partner develop a setting together. That skill helped me commit to the time that the play took place in. All of these skills and tricks will not only help me when acting but also help me in life.

I can apply the rules and skills of improv to my life. Like the first rule, listen, I can apply this when having a conversation with friends, family or with my class. I usually have lots of ideas and want to share them right away. Improv can help me not only hear the key points of my classmates but also add on in a big way. Another important skill I learned was observing others to get ideas. For example, if teachers are giving a lesson on writing, by watching them closely and seeing what and how they write, I will become a better writer. If I take everything that I learned from improv and apply it to my life, I will become a better person.

x

The Chocolate War

Characters

Archie – manipulative, has a lot of power, senior, he’s supporting a good cause but his intentions are evil, an “expert” in terrorizing other kids

Jerry – freshman at a new school trying to start a new life because his mother died and his dad works a lot, he’s kind of on his own, he wants to fit in but he stands up for what is right, he comes to realize that standing up for yourself is a good thing, he experiences a difficult bullying situation but learns to be strong

Brother Leon – his intentions are good but the way he goes about doing things is not very good, Archie has power over him, he doesn’t seem to care about the kids at the school, Jerry thinks he’s a demon inside

 Gooper – he’s a good person who chose the wrong path, he stops going to school, Archie has control over him for much of the book, he and Jerry become friends and he stands up for Jerry, he stands up for Jerry but gets badly hurt, he also tries to stand up for all the kids who are being bullied by Archie

Setting

a Catholic school in a small town

 Conflict

The main conflict is that the school doesn’t have money so they are selling chocolates to raise money. A group of kids are bullying the rest of the kids to sell the chocolates.

Jerry’s mother has died leaving him confused and lonely. Jerry is one of the main targets for bullying because he refuses to sell the chocolates. He likes a girl and tries to reach out to her but she’s not interested.

 Themes/Symbolism

Manipulation and abuse of power

Some people appear good but are evil and some people appear evil but are good.

 The scene where Jerry gets beaten up represents the whole book because he’s fighting again something more powerful than him but he stands his ground.

I read Insurgent  the second book in the Divergent series.  It was so good, I read the final 250 Pages in one day!

his is my Islam projrect

The Breaker of Tradition

by Lucian Figliulo

Rebels are brave and strong inside and out. In Shabanu by Suzanne Fisher Staples, a 12 year old girl in Pakistan was a rebel to her culture and her family. In Pakistan, women like Shabanu don’t have as much freedom as boys do. Shabanu   stands against sexisim. Shabanu is not a typical Muslim girl.

Shabanu does not do what is expected of her. She does not obey her father and she does not follow the role of a traditional Muslim women  “If I go to live with Sharma I will be free.” pg.232 This quote shows that she wants to run away and be free like a boy is. She will not have to be married, she could have more options and there would be different expectations of her. She will have her guardian angel, her aunt, Sharma. Shabanu’s life would be different with Sharma because she does not believe that boys are better. Dadi wants Shabanu to be a typical Muslim girl but she is not. “ You stay here and help your mother…” pg.230. This shows that Shabanu is not lazy but she doesn’t want to do what is expected of a girl. She wants to tend to the camels. But since she is a girl she must do the chores traditionally meant for girls. This is very sexist. Shabanu does not want to do the everyday work expected of her but she wants a say in her future.

Shabanu does not want to get married to Rahim-sahib. Every Muslim woman is expected to get married, but Shabanu wants to pick her own husband. She doesn’t want to have her parents pick her husband. “His eyes never left you. They begged you to look at him.”pg. 225. This is when Sharma is giving Shabanu courage to marry Rahim-sahib. This quote is interesting because Sharma does not want Shabanu to be like her, husbandless, but Shabanu is happy with being like her. Shabanu even wants to be like her. “…but my life will belong to him.” pg 231 This quote shows that Shabanu wants to be her own person but sadly she does not have the choice to be her own person. If Shabanu gets married she belongs to her husband and her husband gets a say in everything she does. Should Shabanu stand up to her husband like she did her father?

Shabanu stands up for herself. Shabanu protects herself against attackers.  “…tossing the water jugs down the side of the embankment…” p. 155 This quote shows that in hard situations Shabanu knows how to deal with things. These men were going to sexualy assault Shabanu, and her sister, Phulan. Shabanu thought quick and threw  water at them so they would be distracted. Most Muslim women don’t have the courage to do that so not only did Shabanu stand up for herself she stood up for Phulan. Shabanu is running away so she doesn’t have to get married  “… so they won’t know that I’m gone if they awake.” p. 234 She could stay and get married and be another old housewife but she doesn’t want to. She is standing up for herself and women everywhere saying that she’s not getting married.

Throughout the book, Shabanu rebels against things she doesn’t think are right.  Shabanu does not do what she’s told, she does not want to get married and she stands up for herself and other people. Though this is not what a typical Muslim women is like it is good that some Muslim women are like her. These rebels are going to change the view that men are better than women. Be like Shabanu and   fight for what is right.

This is my Shabanu essay. Shabanu is a book that we read in core. Our class wrote persuasive essays about it.

This is my musical style. I chose classic rock but it sort of morphed into my own style.