Life of Pi

So i've been reading The Life of Pi over the break for the book discussions we are going to have this week. I was really interested in the book due to the movie and the fact that my dad actually read me the story when I was younger and didn't understand the book at all. What I got from it back then was that a humongous tiger was on a boat in the middle of the ocean and somehow was nice enough to let this really awesome guy live with him. After reading the book again with a bit better focus and understanding of religion and science and just a love for the adventure the book presents, I got a lot more out of it.

One of the interesting parts about how the book is written is that it is actually a story retold by an author who had the privilege of hearing the actual tale from Pi himself. The author presents chapters from Pi's point of view while occasionally slipping his own view of Pi in his life recently into the book. I found that very interesting as it presented many comparisons and kept you wondering just how Pi actually managed to survive and tell this tale to the author.

Also, the book gives a long backstory that not only describes Pi's childhood and unusual life, but explained a lot about science and religion that I didn't know. It gave me knowledge about the Hinduism as well as the Islamic faith and how they can somehow connect to Christianity through Pi's life and experiences. The scientific facts were not only funny and insightful but they gave me the knowledge I needed to understand just how insane Pi's adventure in the middle of the ocean was. The conditions became much more severe and unbelievable to me after reading about the endless dangers, abilities, and lifestyles of the animals Pi grew up around. However it's these same facts that probably saved Pi in the end.


Reading Details:
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

• Saturday: 2hours
• Tuesday: 2hours 15min
• Wednesday: 45min
• Saturday: 1hour 20min
• Sunday: 1hour 45min

When Re-writing My Literary Analysis (uh oh)

Overall this year I have struggled with the formatting and citations in my paper, they are the one trait that I have lost points for all three papers we have written. I'm not sure what the problem is because when I am formatting the paper on my computer everything seems to be right. I just hope that I can fix this problem when I...... yes, rewrite my Literary Analysis.

I must be crazy for wanting to write this again but it was definitely my worst paper out of the 3 and we have to do one.... so here it goes.

I struggled with Ideas and Organization in this paper which is strange because typically these traits are simple and easy to get 10s on as long as I have an main point for my paper and details to expand upon it with. I had ideas in this paper just not ideas that I could easily explain. I was a bit confused with the purpose and the point of my paper from the beginning, which must have caused my execution of the insanity of thoughts in my head to be a jumbled up mess of ideas on the paper as well. This brought the organization down too just because I was lost as to what went where and how I should go about explaining the ideas that weren't completely making sense to me. So this time around I really need to get a good understanding of what I'm talking about, otherwise I really have no right to write about it.

My voice, word choice, and conventions always seem to do well in my papers. I'm not too worried about the sentence fluency although it was pointed out by Dr. D int he rubric. I think that if my ideas are straightened out and I find an organization that flows, then the sentences will too. So wish me luck as I try to rewrite something that I've yet to even completely understand.

Jane Goodall's Mistake

This whole situation seems extremely serious. If plagiarizing can put a student in danger of suspension even expulsion at Episcopal, then in the real world where this work had a chance of being published there could be enormous consequences. As they explained in the article, Jane is not a qualified botanist as she has never studied the subject or received a degree in that area of science. She is simply interested in the topic of plants. This lack of knowledge was what caused her to go searching for extra information and explanations on websites that may not even be trustworthy or correct. Jane's mistake shows just how serious giving credit to a source is, especially since this mistake may even make Jane look as if she as trying to pass off someone else's research and knowledge as her own.

I think that Jane and her co-writers/editors should just turn over a new leaf with this book. It seems as if a majority of the book is plagiarized due to the fact that it was all factual information that Goodall did not know. She could maybe release a different work that includes knowledge of her own and her stories, but not include such deep research due to the people she may have offended with her mistake. Not paraphrasing a paper or work is a mistake that could be almost impossible to fix, and Goodall will have to work hard to do so.

Reading Details

Split: (Sarah Nguyen's book) it was really short and interesting!

• Wednesday: 2 hours
• Friday: 45 minutes
• Saturday: 2 hours 20 minutes

The Life of Pi (Morgan and Cameron's book) just started it but I saw the movie so I know this should be even better...

• Sunday: 15 minutes
• Monday: 10 minutes

Chapter 7: Nervous Conditions

Chapter seven was very eventful compared to some of the chapters in Nervous Conditions. Moving on from Nyasha and Babamakuru's intense fight we meet some new characters. Lucia, the wild, independent, and strong-willed younger sister of Ma'shingai meets Baba's family at the door as a bit of an unexpected surprise. After reading this chapter I understand her backstory and the true reason she has come to stay at the homestead.Since Lucia is pregnant with Takesure's baby (Takesure being a cousin of Babamakuru who came to the homestead for a job) everyone assumes she has stayed at the homestead in order to entrap a husband for herself. Some even believe that she is trying to trick Jeremiah into marrying her with her attractive looks and exciting life.

The real reason for her stay is her sister. Lucia and Ma'shingai seem to have a very strong sisterly bond. Lucia has seen the way Jeremiah treats her sister. Ma'shingai has been trapped with him at the homestead, with his lazy and disgustingly dangerous habits since she was only fifteen. Lucia wants to protect her now that she is pregnant and has an excuse to be with her at the homestead. SHe wants to ultimately take Ma'shingai away from the dilapidated house and the tiring and depressing work she's been living through for the majority of her life. Lucia will succeed in providing a better life for Ma'shingai by speaking out and conferencing with Babamakuru, but that is in chapters to come!

Reading Times

Nervous Conditions:

• Wednesday: Chp. 7 (45 min) with annotations
• Friday: Chp. 8 (30min) with annotations
• Sunday/Monday: Chp. 9 and 10 (55 min) with annotation

Work on the Vocabulary Test and Reading Guides: 1hour 20 min

Multiple "Me"s

I definitely feel like I have tons of different personalities throughout my daily life. If I were to take you through my daily routine you'f probably meet a Mckenzie you never thought you'd know.

Beginning at home I can tell you right now i'm an enormous pain. I love my sister but we rarely get along perfectly. We can never agree on things whether they're important or ridiculous and that causes lots of "screeching" (as my mom puts it) to ring throughout the house. To my parents I'm somewhat different. I really want to make them proud and do my best to please them. I mean of course i'm a teenager so I annoy them more than anything, but I also try to go the extra mile to help around the house or complete the tasks that need done. There are lots of extra daily events that take place in the Dorris household due to my sister and some of her new needs while off chemotherapy. Because of this and the past events i've been through I feel as if i'm become a very mature person at home. I take care of Larkin and the things she needs whenever my parents can't and i've become a personal assistant when not in charge. I enjoy helping and don't think I'll ever outgrow it.

Moving on to the moment I walk onto the school campus, I'm as immature as I can get. I think its an escape for me really. I home I feel like a lot depends on me and I have so much to prove, remember, and live up to. There's stress at school yes but my friends the family free environment just provide me with a sense of immaturity. I act like a kid and all of my friends can assure you of that. I don't act stupid or ridiculous just not uptight and mature like I am in front of my parents. I enjoy this Mckenzie the most I think, she's the girl I can be around my friends when i'm out or on campus, at sports or in a show, she's the Mckenzie I can be with myself.

When I enter the classroom some minor details are changed. I can say that yes i'm what you would call a "goodie two shoes" and unfortunately a lot of people know that. For the majority of my lower and middle school years I was copied off of and inquired of everyday during who knows what class because everyone just assumed I had the answers. What it really is is that fear of disappointing coming back. When I fail a test or screw up an assignment I get so angry with myself and I immediately want to improve. I pay attention in class because things don't always come as easily as people think they do. I have to work to know what I do.

Lastly for this post, when I reach my dance studio at the end of most every night, I just feel awesome. I love dance and the strength I seem to gain when I'm practicing or performing. The same goes for singing or acting, just being onstage and letting myself go is my favorite feeling. I also feel this sense of a team and the dependency we all have on one another when competing or performing difficult tasks. I love the feeling that i can try and eventually do anything i work for and I like to set goals for myself.

So i have the shy and uptight classroom Mckenzie, the loud and obnoxious 10 year old Mckenzie my friends all hopefully don't get too annoyed with, the hardworking worrisome stay home Mckenzie who really wants her sister to have the best life she can at this point, and the Mckenzie who is unafraid to put herself out there and reach new heights. I love all the Mckenzie's and they're all a huge part of Me.