Stella's Portfolio

Name: Stella Sept. 2016

Making Thirteen Colonies Homework

Directions: Read chapter 2 in Making Thirteen Colonies. Answer the following questions below. Use complete sentences. The following assignment is due on Friday, September 16th.

Questions:

1. What are the (10)  characteristics of the “gentlemen” as described in this reading? (Please be detailed in your description). How do they differ from “younkers?”

On the ship half of the men on it refered to themselves as “gentlemen”. In England, the gentlemen were not expected to work. The relied on the family money. They had a lot of time to adventure. They only go to the New World hoping to get rich. A lot of them brought their best clothes on the trip. They brought there puffed knee pants, their silk stockings, feathered hats, and showy blouses. The gentlemen had servants who were the “younkers”. Some were carpenters and bricklayers and some were just young boys. They were expected to climb the ropes on the ship’s mast, help set the sails, and look out for land or danger. If a younker fell in the ocean of the mast and was lost they wouldn’t help him. I can infer that the gentlemen were much more important than the younkers were. If a gentlemen fell of the ship they might have looked for him but the gentlemen didn’t do much so it was probably very unlikely that one would fall off. I can also infer that the gentlemen’s families must be pretty rich if they can rely on their money and not make any themselves. The younkers must come from poor families because they have to work and still are poor. I think younkers and going to the New World to start a new life and get rich just like the gentlemen.

1. Take a closer look at the picture of page 19 and the caption that accompanies it. How are people in London imagining the New World based on what this picture shows? Be specific and be sure to reference the picture.

The people in England thought that the Native Americans were savages. They think that the they always fight and are dangerous. The English go to  the New World thinking that the natives are a threat to them. I also think that the English didn’t understand that this is what the Native American people needed to do to survive. They had to kill their own food instead of just buying it from a market or store. Some of the people in the picture are half naked. The English most likely frowned upon that because everyone in England wore clothes or the poor people wore rags to cover themselves up. The picture show untouched land and in England, where it was really crowded and dirty for peasants, this is an ideal for people who wanted to get away. There is also a lot of forest in the New World and at the time England was struggling because their timber was getting scarcer and scarcer as they used it all to build houses and the farmland was disappearing. London’s streets were filled with beggars. People also thought the New World was filled with gold so they went there to get rich This what the English imagined the New World would be like.

1. How well prepared would you say this group of men and boys was for the challenges of a new and unfamiliar land? Do you predict success or failure for this company’s colonizing attempts at this point? Why? Be sure to use textual evidence and analysis. (You need direct quotes in this one)

I think that some people were more prepared than others. Captain Newport probably had a very good idea of what would happen, like having to build new houses and hunt for food. On page 19 the text says “Ocean travel was risky- they all knew that. They also knew that their captain, Christopher Newport, was one of England’s finest sailors. As a privateer, he had sailed the New World’s seas.” The Captain knew how to start with nothing and survive. . He had discovered new lands and he also knew how to fight because he had most likely attacked the Spanish. I think that the younkers could imagine working but there was more than they thought. They were creating a new society, which was a lot of work. I think that the least prepared people were the gentlemen. They didn’t  know how to fight or defend themselves. They had never worked in their lives and they had no skills. On page 18 it says “In England, gentlemen were not expected or trained to work. They lived on family money.” They had been given everything they needed without working for it. That means that half of the people can’t do anything to help the community grow. I think that they are in a small way destined for failure. Some people aren’t interested in doing anything to help a community grow. They just want to get rich.

Notecards #8

Importance of Food and Social Status                Stella Kekalos

Source:

Kalman, Bobbie. The Kitchen . Crabtree, 1993.

Pages:

13

Quote:

“Food played a very important part in the social lives of 18th-century Virginians. Aside from providing basic sustenance, dining was also one of the most important ways that colonial Virginians exchanged information. The dining process might last for two hours in some upper-class households. It wasn’t unusual for a conversation that began at a dinner table to continue well into the night. The taverns of Williamsburg also provided the food, drink, and atmosphere the helped propel the American Revolution. On numerous occasions, the Burgesses retired to one of Williamsburg’s many taverns to continue their political discussions with food and drink.”

Paraphrase:

– Food was very important to social lives in the 18th century for the Virginians

-Eating together was one of the most important was of exchanging information

-The upper-class ate dinner for about two hours

– It wasn’t unusual that a conversation the started at dinner went well into the night

– The taverns of Williamsburg also provide food, drink, and an atmosphere that helped drive the American Revolution

– Many times the Burgesses finished their day at one the the taverns in Williamsburg to continue political discussions with food and drinks

My Ideas:

Food was very important to social lives in the 18th century for the Virginians. It brought them all together and finished the day. Eating together was one of the most important was of exchanging information. Most of the time people were out working or doing housework so they didn’t get to spend time together. Dining might last for two hours in some upper-class households unless their conversation carried them into the night. The taverns of Williamsburg also provide food, drink, and an atmosphere that helped drive the American Revolution. On many nights the Burgesses finished their day at one the the taverns in Williamsburg to continue political discussions with food and drinks. Taverns were places where people gathered and where information was spread. Most foods served in taverns were middle class food, only affordable for some. Taverns could not provide the variety and choices that the gentry could. I know that the slaves would all gather at the end of the day and eat just like the English. After a long day of working in the fields dinner was the only time they could be together. For the Natives I know that they all gathered around the fire for meals. I wonder if the Natives had a special place that they met or was it just the fire. In taverns the owner would cook all the meals and serve everyone. I’m positive that the Natives did not have any servers treating them to meals. Did the gentry every go to taverns? I think that some might of like Burgesses are wealthier people and they gathered there. Maybe it was a little too lower class for the Governor who had his own kitchen and staff. 

The foods and preparation techniques used by colonial Virginians varied depending upon the wealth and social standing of the person. The last two Royal governors employed professionally trained European cooks. Known as “principal cooks,” these men were the highest paid servants on the property. They served an apprenticeship in Europe and had a level of training and skill unmatched in Virginia.The Governor was able to provide these cooks with the best-equipped kitchen in the colony. The governor’s cuisine reflected the French influence popular among upper class English society. Meals at the Governor’s Palace served those at the highest of social standing. The Virginia gentry were next in wealth and status. They demonstrated their social standing by providing a wide variety of meats and sweets at each meal prepared in a more traditional English fashion. The Virginia gentry employed slave cook who were less formally trained than the governor’s cooks, but they were extremely skilled. Highly skilled cooks were expensive and prized possessions. One slave cook who was known for her skill was Lydia Broadnax, who developed her reputation cooking for the Wythe family for many years and was eventually granted her freedom. Next in social standing in the 18th century were the middling class. They probably shared some of the food of the gentry when entertaining but ate more basic foods on a daily basis. The upper middling classes may have employed slave cooks, while the most relied on the cooking talents of the mistress of the house. Most colonial Virginians fell into the bottom rung of the social ladder. The poor were very limited in cooking equipment, often having only one cast iron pot. The wife of the house prepared basic soups and grain porridge. The most common type was hominy, made from corn, often flavored with salt-cured pork and vegetables. This basic diet was supplemented with whatever meats and vegetables they could find. 

I am really proud of this notecard because I think that there is a lot of detail.

TEMPLATE

Name: Stella                                                                   Humanities

7th Grade                                                                         The Giver

Outline for GIVER LITERARY ESSAY

Themes: Homogeneity vs. Difference

  Perfection (Sameness and Ignorance) and Control (Memory and Elimination of History of Feeling)

Paragraph #1: Introductory Paragraph (GIT)

Grabber Statement (G): Imagine a world where control is maintained by ignorance and fear, where sameness and perfection is valued. This is The Giver, by Lois Lowry.

Introduce Plot Summary (I): 12 year old Jonas lives in this world. He has no choice in anything that happens to him. He has to keep a secret from everyone which is that their world is not perfect. This secret shows him that he has been lied to his whole life. Realizing that there is more to his controlled society makes him want to change the norms.

Thesis Statement (T): Jonas’s society is a dystopia because everyone is the same and they have no choice. It is very controlled by the people in power.

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Paragraph #2: Thematic Analysis

Topic Sentence (T): In Jonas’s society perfection is valued.

Explanatory Sentence (E): The Elders control their society by making the people the same and ignorant. They want to make their world a utopia.

Evidence (E): For example the Elders keep people from rebelling. The Elders also attempt to control the society through rituals that promote homogeneity.  They script the lives of people by choosing their partner, children, jobs, houses, food– usually things that you would choose yourself but, in this case, they are chosen for you. One of the ways they do this is by having the ceremony of ages. On page 41, Lowry says “The entire community attends the Ceremony each year.”

Analysis (A): This ceremony represents how they take away difference to make a perfect world. The Elders think that if everyone is the same no one will have anything to fight about. There will be no conflict, no battle over difference. This Elders maintain control because they are the only ones who know everything and they strive to keep everyone else ignorant.

Concluding/ Transition (C):

In their heads they are making a utopia but does sameness and control over everything really make a world perfect? The Elders believe control and the elimination of memory and history lead to a utopia.

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Paragraph #3: Thematic Analysis Continued

Topic Sentence (T):Jonas’s society is very controlled.

Explanatory Sentence (E): The Elders are the main people in power. They keep everyone in line by making rules and rituals that everyone follows without question. They are very isolated from the outside world. Another way they keep power is by eliminating memory.

Evidence (E): The Elders have gotten control over everything including memory. For example they have one person holding all of the memories called the Receiver. The Elders take away memories, good and bad, which keeps people ignorant. The Receiver holds all the pain of the past by all the good things too. On page 103, Lowry writes “Jonas felt the joy of it as soon as the memory began” but she also writes on page 86 “The Giver had chosen a startling and disturbing memory that day.

Analysis (A): These quotes show how memory can be scary and dangerous but also joyful. The Elders think that they are protecting people from bad memories that could scare them or make them rebellious. Even though they trying to protect everyone they are blocking them from memories that are special and good. The people don’t know anything about history because the Elders have eliminating the history of the society. Jonas doesn’t even know who the failed Receiver was even though he was alive when it happened. That is how easily the Elders destroy history.

Concluding/ Transition (C): By destroying history they are making people more ignorant and easy to manipulate. This is the cycle that keeps them in control.

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Paragraph #4: Concluding Paragraph (ROC)

Reflection of Thesis (R): The people in Jonas’s society are living in an dystopia that is strongly controlled and is maintained by sameness, ignorance, and elimination of memory. By eliminating history and memory they are taking away progress and emotion.

Concluding Sentence– Comparisons and Connections (C): A utopia is a world where differences are treasured and important. It is also a place where conflict can always be resolved, where mistakes can be made but learned from. The Elders do not agree with differences and they want to eliminate them. They do this hoping that it will resolve conflict and it does in a way but they are taking away people’s best qualities which is difference. They think that by making everyone the same no one will fight about anything. Jonas realizes that some of the Elders ideas might not be what is right.