Reading+Reflections


 * Prime of Miss Jean Brodie **

Reflection #1:

Miss Brodie is the type of teacher which dedicated her life to teaching and providing information for her students. Throughout the book she encourages the girls the be the "crème de la crème" and telling them what characteristic that will carry them through their lives. The fact that she invests so much of her own time shows that she wants to be a good teacher; even if some of her motives are selfish. Moreover, by telling the girls which single trait they will be known for Miss Brodie is able to mold the minds of each of the girls around that single trait, making the girls into the type of woman that Brodie wants them to be. This backfired on Brodie and is what caused her own destruction in the betrayal of one of her girls. I believe that The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is a good book that shows the fine line in a student teacher that should not be crossed and what happens when a teacher takes the trust of a student too far and tries to implant his or her own ideals on a single or group of students.

Reflection #2

Aside from her dedication to her students Miss Brodie also incorporates a lot of her personal life into the subjects which she is teaching to her students. Throughout the book Miss Brodie discusses her deceased lover who died in battle during the war. Even though the battle was part of the lesson she could have taught it without mentioning that the man was her past lover. Moreover, she and the Brodie set take frequent weekend trips to Mr. Lowther's house. These trips for the girls to be on because at the time Brodie and Lowther were having an affair and having her students witness their weekend rendezvous is inappropriate in the student teacher relationship. Furthermore, when it comes to light that Lowther is supposedly engaged to another woman Brodie sends her students to investigate. This behavior is highly inappropriate and is not information that a student should be getting for a teacher. Overall, I believe that Brodie exploited the relationship that she had with her students and encouraged them to do things that benefitted her.


 * Pygmalion **

Reflection #3:

One thing I noticed in the play as Eliza's character changed is that in the beginning of the play she constantly says how she is good girl. But the more educated she becomes the less she says that and instead begins talking about how ignorant she was, so why does she no longer think that she is a good girl at the end of the play? Also, I think that even though she gained self respect and confidence I think that she is more critical of herslef at the end of the play than at the beginning. This might be because at the beginning Eliza was truly unaware of the extent of how uneducated she sounded in comparison to those around her. Furthermore, I think rather than making her a lady, Eliza ended up being stuck in the middle having the facade of a lady but the mind of the flower girl on the inside. This split in how she react is one reason why she chooses Freddy becuase I think that with Freddy Eliza can truly feel like a lady and not someone who merely speaks like one.

Reflection #4:

At the end of the play after Eliza is able to win the bet with Higgins at the garden party I was surprised at the reaction that Higgins had. Although Higgins did not knowhow his words would affect Eliza I felt that he was even meaner after the bet ended than when he was trying to teach her. That might just be because that was how I interpreted the tone of the scene but I also believe that Eliza reacted normally to the situation because after months of hard work, on both of their parts, her does not get any congratulations but instead hears Higgins talking about sending her away. So justifyably throwing a shoe at him was not completely an extreme reaction to the situation. Moreover, Eliza new found self respect is fully shown when she is able to turn down Higgins offer at the end of the play in favor of marrying Freddy who is more likely to treat her better than Higgins could.


 * Second Quarter: **


 * H **** ans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales **

Reflection #1: Thumbelina This was the fairy tale that I enjoyed. Thumbelina would appeal to an audiance of older children to late teens, this is because it's meant more girls that are coming of age. There's an underlying theme of marriage that is mentioned several time throughout the story. First, when the toad wants Thumbelina to marry his son, then the june bug wanted her because he originally thought that she was beautiful, next the mouse wanted her to marry the mole because it would be a "good match" for her and finally she marries the fairy prince at the end. The story is aimed to show that people should marry for the right reasons. Also, the use of animals throughout the story that Thumbelina encounters may represent the urges and simplistic desires that all people have while the fairie prince is representitive of a civilized option. Moreover, the mole in the story is used to reflect that of wealthy older man through the use of his "grand" underground home and his nice fur coat. Overall, I enjoy Thumbelina because it is about waiting for the right person and thought that are good and pure will end up with who they are meant to be with in the end. Reflection #2: The Princess and the Pea This fairy tale is the one which I disliked, this is because I do not fully grasp the theme of the story. I understand that it's about distinguishing people not from their appearance but through his or her actions and how they represent themsleves. But, the whole idea that even though there are multiple matresses on the bed and the princess can still feel the pea just bothers me and makes it seem that she is spoiled and bratty, even though it is suppose to show that she is use to high quality and the best of everything. Also, the story did not have a full plot and just a paragraph and barely gave the characters any traits. Reflection #3: The Snow Queen //﻿The Snow Queen// was the fairy tale that I did not know. It is a story based around good and evil and how good will win. The tale is broken into seven different parts that take place over a series of time. The mirror is representive of evil has the power to freeze a person's heart and when a piece of it enters Kai's eye and eventualy travels to his heart it allows him to fall victim to the snow queen. When the snow queen takes him she makes him forget about Gerda and his family, but Gerda does not forget him and it is her love that saves him in the end from the queen. Overall the tale is about how goodness and love have the power to defeat the forces of evil that people face intheir lives if they are willing to fight it.

**Flowers For Algernon** Reflection #4: I have already read //Flowers For Algernon// when I was younger, but did not analize it so rereading the story has given me a fresh perspective of its plot and deeper meanings. The first several reports that are in the story show the mind of Charlie who is unable to comprehend what is happening around him, due to his mental retardation. An example of this would be the jokes that people make about him at the bakery that he works at. This is because Charlie believes that those people are being nice to him by acknowledging him and laughing with him, whereas in reality they are mocking his disability and finding humor at his expence. It is also at this point that Charlie discusses the experiment that he will undergo which will make him smarter, but the way in which he addresses the procedure displays that he is not fully aware of the dangers and risks that he is taking in going through with this experiment.

Reflection #5: In reports 8 and 9 Charlie begins to see a reaction from the procedure. This is shown through a slight increased awareness in what is happening around him and his abilty to grasp new concepts such as working the dough machine in the bakery. Also, Charlie's memory is increasing and he can recall events from his past which show that he was always treated poorly such as when his mother would not let him hold his little sister. Moreover, Charlie's brain is continually improving which is displayed when he beats Algernon at a race and is able to finish //Robinson Crusoe.// Also, Charlie's writing is improving with an increase of correct punctuation and grammer that was not previously in his reports.

Reflection #6: In later reports the reader is able to witness an increase in Charlie's ability and awareness. He eventually surpases the minds of normal people is able to comprehend complex situations. Moreover, he is able to understand everything that has happened to him that prior to the experiment he did not understand, such as how his co-workers treat him and the scientists do not view him as an actual person but as a test subject much like Algernon. He also separates himself from his life prior to the experiement by refering to memories as "Charlie said" rather than "I said" displaying how he feels disjointed from his past due to increase in intelligence.