Taylor

This year was not one of my best years in any of my classes. It was actually my worst. This year was like my year of adjusting and understanding highschool and responsibilities. In English I had an somewhat ok year, but it could have been better. Overall I had a lax approach to my work and plan to work up to my full potential next year.

I feel that my portfolio says a lot about me. My portfolio can show that I am well-spoken person and intelligent, but certain parts of it could be better. So that shows that I may not work as hard as I can sometimes. It shows that I have a creative side and I when I want to I do my work very thoroughly. You as viewers are supposed to understand that I am a hardworker, but that I can also rush my work or not put 100% into it all the time. You should understand that im a good student and can do my work incredibly well, but as a young man growing up I still have my areas I need to get better in and grow in.

My strengths in English are me being able to read and understand, comprehend what I need to comprehend, being able to memorize material easily, and I enjoy the class so I put forth a good effort. I would want to work on my study habits, listening skills, and work ethic. Everything else is pretty much in order.

I had a few different experiences making this portfolio. I had to go back and alter every single thing that is required for this project. I experienced true hard work for like the 3rd time this year, because I haven’t really put forth that much effort this year. Issues I encountered during the creation of this project is that I could not find my odyssey paper and that I had a crappy Macbeth creative piece. Im glad i found the odyssey paper but i had to type it all up again. I must say that is better than not getting credit for it, but I did redo my whole creative project to make it look like I actually put some effort into it.

I think the piece I am most proud of is the Macbeth Creative Piece because it shows my creativity and my best work ethic in this portfolio. I think this piece best represents me. Well, better than the rest of the rest of the portfolio

This first piece is going to be my odyssey essay. MY odyssey esssay was the first essay of the year so it shows me when i first became a frshman. Enjoy!! :)

The process of becoming a man can be a difficult task as we see from Telemachus’s actions. Telemechaus I becoming a man because he takes care of business, he steps to the suitors and tries to get them out of his house, and talks to the old about their sons behavior. Telemachus is taking care of business when he goes and sails to Pylos and Sparta to find out more information about his father. Before parting for his journey Telemachus tells his mother “So, Mother, go back to your quarters. Tend to your own tasks…(409-414 pg.89) Telemachus manned up and told his mother to take her place and let him take his. Telemacahus believed by doing this that people would respect him because he stepped to his mom, and took his authority. As we saw in the book he practiced the same against the suitors. Telemachus steps to the suitors about getting out of his house, and stop messing with his mother. He wants to get rid of the suitors because he believe they are the cause for all of his problems. He then exclaims “You suitors who plague my mother, you, you insolent, overweening…” (422-437 pgs. 89-90). Furious that the suitors would not leave him, his house, and his mother alone. He went to talk to their fathers, and hoped they would help. Telemachus approaches the old men and confronts them about their sons behavior. Athena then later dresss Telemachus up to look like a god. Once he was dressed up he told the old men he called the assembly, and he was the reason they were all there. He then said “ Sir, that man is not far off--- you’ll soon see for yourself --- I was the one who called us all together. Something wounds me deeply…” (41-85 pgs. 94-95). Telemcahus did this because he thought he could make a difference with the suitors by doing so. He wanted the suitors to respect him and his commands so he tried to appeal to the elders for help.

In Conclusion stepping to the suitors, taking care of business, and talking to the old men, it would seem like Telemachus is finally becoming a man. Being a man on such short notice can be a tough transition.

The next piece to this portfolio is going to be my memoir vignette. This is a little later in the year, but im still young and new to being a freshman.

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The third piece of this portfolio will be my kindred essay. I had a bad grade on this project the first time so i had to redo this as well for this portfolio.

In this book Dana constantly is being transported to and from the Antebellum South. The antebellum South is a time period where slaves and blacks were treated unequal toward white people. Dana is called back to the past to help Rufus, but while she is there she attempts to alter the time she Is in.

The very first time Dana was called to the past she is called back to save Rufus from drowning. She does not really know why she is there, but she sees a red-head boy drowning and she attempts to save him. Once she saves him Margaret, Rufus’ mother, screams ” You killed my baby! ” “You killed him!” (pg. 14). The reason the woman thought Dana had killed Rufus is because in this time period blacks were considered to be stupid, illiterate, below whites. So Dana yelled back at the woman trying to tell her that she had saved her son. The lady took this as a form of disrespect because a black woman had yelled at her. Dana constantly tried to tell her that she was not below a white person. After this Dana realizes she had a gun to her head and before she knew it she was back at home. Another time she met Rufus when he was young, she met his friend named Nigel. This is the time where Rufus had fallen from a tree and broke his leg.” Where we come from” “its vulgar and insulting for whites to call blacks niggers, Also where we come from, Whites and Blacks can marry.”(Pg. 61) Said by Dana. Dana then tells Rufus abut her coming from the “future” and how whites and blacks could marry, and how women could wear slacks etc. After this she tries to tell Rufus where she is really from.

At this time in the book Dana is now going back and forth to the past. She is now spending more time with Rufus and building a bond with him. Dana is now going to Rufus’ house with him and Nigel with his father. Tom doesn’t really like Dana and he does not show that he loves his son very much either. Dana insists that she and Kevin go with them. “ Your gambling with history”(pg 83.) said Kevin. Kevin says this because Dana is taking a risk by going with Tom Weylin back to his home on the plantation. Dana wants to stay with Rufus and heal and help him when Kevin constantly tells her not to do so. Tom Weylin does not want a black woman caring for his son but a white professional. Even though Dana tries to stay and help Rufus Tom takes her out of the room until Rufus begs for her to stay. This now shows that Dana is starting to bond with Rufus even though she should not be. Kevin knows this is not such a good idea but Dana does what she wants and stays with Rufus. “He had already found the way to control me – by threatening others.” Dana feels that the way Rufus is treating Sarah and the others on the plantation is to get back at her. Dana doesn’t want them to feel this way so she tries to comfort them. As a result Dana slowly builds a long-term relationship with Rufus.

Later in the book Dana runs into Sarah. Sarah is the cook who is kind of like Dana’s mother in a way. Sarah is the one who was left with only one of her children(Carrie who is mute,). Dana is trying to convince Sarah to not give into the harsh commands of Rufus. “… The house nigger, the handkerchief-head, the female Uncle Tom- the frightned powerless woman who had already lost all she could stand to lose, and who knew as little about freedom of the North as she knew about the hereafter.”(pg.145). Dana tells Sarah this to try and encourage her and get her hopes up, because she is feeling down about her life on the plantation and Rufus is making it that much worst for her. “Slavery is a long slow process of Dulling”. This happens when Dana goes to take a bath and she can barely wash herself because she feels the pain of her unhealed back. In this book this quote means that the slavery is finally taking it toll on Dana. After Dana finally realizes this she begins to try and teach Rufus to respect her as a black woman. She constantly tells him not to call her a nigger, but what she really is. This eventually takes it toll on Rufus and he begins to change himself and treat Dana and the other slaves a bit differently. As a result Dana is later on respected as a black woman Alice killed herself and the other slaves have been released or killed.

Dana is called back to the past to help Rufus, but while she is there she attempts to alter the time she Is in. This paper was about the way Dana handles the situation of being teleported back and forth into the antebellum south.

After the kindred essay is my favorite piece of this portfolio and that is my macbeth creative project. I like this piece it shows my creative side. I like it so i hope you do to.



And the last piece of this portfolio is my top four journal entries. These are journal entries through the course of the year.

Dréquan Taylor April 12, 2010 English Journal Entry When I was in like 6th grade I went to an afterschool program and it lasted until 5 o clock. One day me and one of my friends decided that we weren’t going to go. So we called another one of our friends and told them to sign us in. We went to just chill out because we didn’t feel like going. That one day I had came home my mom said she received a phone call that said I had skipped my program and she was pretty upset. When she confronted me about it I had to lie my way out of it. Eventually I had to make up more and more lies so I wouldn’t get in trouble. I started to feel bad because I was lying right to my mom’s face when she gave me opportunities to tell the truth. She eventually scared me into telling the truth but then I felt bad and was on punishment…

Family relationships can shape us in many different ways. They can affect the way u think about u and others, the way you act, your attitude. The way you are treated by family can affect the type of person you are and the way u treat others f.e if your parents and authority figures in your family constantly tell you that everyone is a liar and everyone are backstabbers you would have trouble/a problem with trusting people with your secrets/private life. If you have a good relationship with yur family members you are most likely to become a nicer more outward person, but if you have a bad relationship with them you may not be as happy and you would be more of a person who likes to bottle things in. Why we write? There are a lot of different reasons people write, but I write to express the feelings that I can’t really say aloud. I also write when I am bored or feel like writing poetry. When I write I usually have some kind of feeling that is not normal unless its for school. When I free write its usually poetry or how I feel. I mostly write love poems. I write about a lot but I seem to favor that topic. Writing is a form of expression and art for many people.

A lot of things can make a good book. A few things that can make a good book is key stylistic devices such as: good transitions, hyperboles, figure of speech, Metaphor, Similies, different points of view and many more. Other things that also make a good story can be different voices used for different characters, humor, and enjoyment. I like a good book even though I do not read a lot. I like stories that tell a good story, and gives me a life long lesson to learn.

This is the last piece to my portfolio. Hope You enjoyed my presentation!! :)