Macomb Poverty

[Maycomb was a tired old town, even in 1932 when I first knew it. Somehow, it was hotter then. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning; ladies bathed before noon, after their 3 o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting from sweating and sweet talcum. The day was twenty-four hours long, but it seemed longer.
There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go and nothing to buy... and no money to buy it with. Although Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself... That summer, I was six years old.]

The maturity and perception of Scout is first portrayed in this paragraph. At an early age Scout understood the finacial condition of her small town even at six years old. The way she described Maycomb the feeling of laziness comes to mind. When i first started reading about the heat I just wanted to take a nap with the window open and dismiss the thought of anything that had to do with money.

Political Cartoon

As soon as i saw this cartoon it reminded me of my high school. I went to Novi High School in oakand county, and let me say it was a great facility. The reason this cartoon reminded me of high school is because when the Detroit schools shut down alot of the parents chose Novi to send their kids. I don't blame them for their choice, because i was friends with some kids who transferred over and they were in awe of how many computers and laptops our school had. It just made me think about how difficult it must be to go to a school that dosen't even have the money to stay open; let alone provide a solid education.

Beowulf and McCloud

When reading there were times when i found myself completly giving up on the text and relieing on the pictures to figure out what was going on. The way the text was printed did not help either. Reading old English with hard to read text never ends well for me. As mentioned in my previous post, I would tend to get lost in the story, because the way the dialouge was set up there were time when i had no idea who was talking, or what they were talking about. Luckily i had already read the story making it possible to follow along with the pictures.

Reading McCloud was much easier then Beowulf. Except for McCloud i found myself focusing on the text rather then the plain pictures. This is probably due to the fact the the black and white pages just did not catch my eye like the amazing pictures in the graphic novels. When reading McCloud i noticed the structure was much more clear cut then that of Beowulf, and that was greatly appreciated, because I went into the book trying to learn how to read and better understand comics.

Understanding Comics

Before reading the book Understanding Comics i had never read a traditional comic book before. The main reason i was never interested in the books, was because i could never follow or understand them. Even though the book was written in the same form as a comic book I had no trouble what so ever understanding what the author was saying. I wish i would have read the book before i looked at the graphic novels, because while reading the collected Beowulf i found myself getting lost.

The very first chapter entitled Setting the Record Straight completly changed my idea about comic books, and what constitutes as a comic book. I only thought comic books were the ones you associate Batman and Superman with. I never thought about considering ancient Egyptian and Myian paintings to be comics. The chapter also opened my eyes to how people look down apon comics. Comic writers would rather be called diffrent names, just so they are not associated with comics. Calling a painting a comic even though it was meant to be looked at like one is considered crazy talk. I do not fully understand why such an ancient art form is so looked down apon.

Hero

Does a hero have to be tall,muscular, and good looking? Does a hero have to have supernatural powers and fight crime? In my eyes someone can be a hero yet have none of the previously listed traits. A hero to me is someone who stands up for what is right even if it will bring much negative energy their way. A hero is someone who puts others before themselves in dier times. Finally a hero can come in many diffrent sizes and many diffrent ages. Just simply showing compasion to others and helping the less fortunate count as heroic actions to me. Our world needs as many heroes as it can get. I would not want to live in a world where everyone jsut looked out for themeselves and never took the time to help someone in need.

Beowulf

I have read a few translations of Beowulf through out my high school days. The translations by Seamus Heaney are by far the easiest to comprehend, and most entertaining. My favorite section of Beowulf is Grendel's arm. When Beowulf fights Grendel, it shows how much of a hero Beowulf really is. He is fearless, bold, strong, and cunning. One translation i read involved a dilougue where Beowulf asks if the deamon has any weapons. The answer to the question was no. After hearing that the beast was unarmed Beowulf too entered the battle with nothing more then his bare hands. Any story where a man fights a deadly creature with his bare hands is automaticlly entertaing to me.



A theme that i have noticed in the segment Grendel's Arm is loylity. While the men slept Grendel unmercifully butchered many men, until Beowulf arrived to stop him. Even after watching their comrads killed the men who followed Beowulf rose their arms and defended their leader, even though their weapons had no effect against the deamon Grendel.



With the increasing number of translations being written it is becoming easier to understand the story of Beowulf. Some translations try to add there own ideas or events to the story while others define the texts of old for a better understanding. Although there are many translations to the story of Beowulf each one depicts him as a hero. There is no denying that Beowulf has ventured the heros journey. A man travels to a city to rid them of a deamon, he has companions by his side to aid him in his journey, and he is successful in conquring all foes in his path. Beowulf is simply a classic heroic adventure.

The Story of Peyton Manning

Football has been in Peyton Mannings blood since his mother, and father (who is a former NFL quarterback) brought him into this world. Through the training and guidence of both of his father and coaches Peyton Manning was ready to enter the NFL, a world where one must be above average to excel. The quest for all who enter the NFL is to win the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy, rewarded to the winners of the super bowl. Through the help of his teamates and coaches, Peyton Manning finally wins the Vince Lombardi trophy after slaying the Chicago Bears on a rainy battlefield. Once Peyton Manning, and the rest of the Indianapolis Colts returned to Indiana a parade was thrown for the newest super bowl champions. The trophy was then used to inspire and motivate athletes of young and old to become the very best they could be, because if a southern boy like Peyton can do it, any one can.

What is an American?

An American, to me, is a person who does not take their freedom for granted, they are hard working, and respect the boundries of the law. An American does no have to be born in the United States, as long as they complete the proper paper work to become a citizen, and display the three traits listed before then they are an American to me.