Fiction Story

                                                                                                            Colin Feeney

                                                                                                            12/5/11

                                                                                                            Class-F

                                                                                                            Fiction story

I had seen plenty of pictures of snow before, but the real thing seemed dirtier. It is amazing that pictures can make things look a lot better than they actually are.

“Paul, isn’t it beautiful?” my mother interrupted. Nothing had been beautiful since they split up. My father had found someone else he enjoyed being with instead. This has changed my whole life dramatically. There were so many new things that came into my life that were so stressful.

“Paul, Tom is joining the basketball team for his high school. Would you like to try out for your school?” My mother asked me. I knew my mother wanted me to be just like my brother, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to try out, basketball wasn’t my thing. Even though school has been going on for over two months, since we just moved into a new house my mother decided to enroll us into the schools a week after we arrived.

            A week after we arrived it was that morning I woke up and stumbled into the shower. While in the steaming hot shower I couldn’t stop thinking about the new kids that are going to be in my junior high school class. I mean, I am a really nice guy and can make friends really easily. Well, at least at my old school. My mother screamed up the stairs, “Paul breakfast is getting cold!” I went downstairs and ate my breakfast fast enough so I could get to school on time. My mother than had to drive me to school and on my way out the car door my mother wished me luck in my new school. She could tell by the look of me that I was nervous.

            I walked in and I saw lots of tall kids, a lot bigger than me. On the way to my homeroom class basically every person I saw was staring at me like I was naked or something. One kid asked who I was and I told him my name was Paul White. I remember his hand squeezing really hard when he responded “oh hey, my name is Mike Stanley and you’re the new kid that is going to get beat up today after school.” As he walked away, I stood there in silence not knowing what to do. I felt like running out of the school and never coming back.

            As I was walking into my homeroom class I looked around the room and I don’t believe who is in my class. There he was sitting there smiling at me as I walked by. As of now I have realized that this kid is a bully. I knew I had to think of something to get out of this school. I went to throw my trash away and fell and told the teacher I need to go see the nurse. I told her my knee was killing me. She allowed me to go but this was not a good idea. Once I got down to the nurse she asked me what was wrong and I told her my knee felt like it was going to explode. She gave me this look and knew something was up. The nurse said, “Your knee doesn’t hurt. You’re just trying to escape the bully!” my eyes opened wide and she started to smile and then gave this creepy laugh and as I was running out of the door back to my homeroom teacher, she screamed , “He’s going to get you!” and then banged on her table.

                  I made it back to my homeroom teacher and I told her about the bully and what was going on. She looked at me like she knew what I was going to say and she also gave creepy smile. I knew that something was wrong with this school and that I needed to get out.  I tried to run out the side doors but they were all locked. I tried opening it with all my might but it didn’t budge one bit. So I decided to hide in the bathroom. What do you know? Mike was standing in there punching his right fist into the palm of his left hand. I then tried to escape out the door but I felt someone tugging on it from the other side. At this point I was panicking like a little baby. Mike then pushed me to the floor. It felt like a 20 year old man’s powerful arms pushing weight on a bench. He then started banging my head against the toilet and it broke my nose. I felt liquid pouring from my nose. It looked like water pouring from a water bottle. As I was trying to fight back I couldn’t believe who I saw walk in. It was the principle and it was the biggest relieve of my life.

            I screamed to the principle, “Help me!”, but he just stood there and watched the blood drip from my nose. He stood there with a smile on his face just like the nurse and the teacher. The bully looked me in the eye and said “you’re going to die little boy”. The principle then started to walk over to us, maybe to help me. But he came over and kicked me right in the face and then grabbed me by the throat. I tried breathing but it was impossible. My face started to turn red and while I was getting choked, Mike was punching me in the ribs. At this point I fell and pretended like I passed out or even died. With blood everywhere, they finally decided to leave. As they were walking out the door I looked at both of them and they were smiling and gave each other a high five. I was really disappointed at this point.

            I knew I had to do something about this. I knew that I had to get this bully back for what he has done. So I decided to go to the janitor’s room. The door wouldn’t open so I ripped out the screws in the door. I got in and found some tools but I decided to get a broom that was in the corner. I took the broom and ran into the lunch room where I knew he was. I saw him, came up from behind him and cocked the broom stick back and swung as hard as I could to the back of his head. I kept beating him over the head with it until the wood broke on the broom stick. I knocked him down and then stood on his chest with my right foot. I felt so good in myself and as I was running out of the lunch room the bell rang and all the kids ran out of the school. I went with them and took the bus home. I couldn’t wait to tell my mother the crazy story that had happened in school that day.

Son Analysis 1

                                                                                                                                    Colin Feeney

                                                                                                                                    10/24/11

                                                                                                                                    Class-G

                                                                                                                                    Song Analysis

                In “Life’s Been Good” one of the songs we listened to in class that I really enjoyed listening too, Joe Walsh uses lots of illustrated imagery, serious slant rhyme, and masterful mastery to show all of his song listeners that he will do anything to have fun in his life.  Maybe not anything, but Joe Walsh wants everyone to know that his life has been good to him even with all the struggles he has been through.

            Joe Walsh uses some illustrated imagery in this song and he uses it really well.  When he says, “So I got me an office, gold records on the wall.  Just leave a message, maybe I’ll call.” When he says this it makes me think of that wall in his house with the gold records on it.  When he talks about his mansion he uses imagery because it makes me think of his huge house, but he won’t tell us the price of it. “I have a mansion, forget the price.  Ain’t never been there, they tell me it’s nice.”  He is basically bragging when he says this because everyone wishes they could say that. These are two examples how Joe Walsh uses imagery in his song.

            Also in this song, Joe Walsh uses a slant rhyme. When I was looking through this song I could only find one of them. He talks about how hard it is to deal with all of the fame that he is getting and also how he hasn’t changed. “It’s tough to handle this fortune and fame. Everybody’s so different, I haven’t changed.” This is a slant rhyme because he rhymes “fame” and “changed”. These two words don’t look like they rhyme, but they do rhyme when you say the two words. So that is why this is considered to be a slant rhyme.

            Another literary device that Joe Walsh uses in this great song is mastery.  I chose this device because it is just a great song.  I had never heard this song before in my life until the day in class we listened to it.  As soon as the song came on and he started using his lyrics I got attached to the song right away. I don’t know why it is just the way he did the song wicth  was so good. After I heard it I couldn’t stop thinking about some of the lines in my head.  They just stuck in there because my brain loved it so much. Once I got home I put this song on my ipod and I will probably listen to it for the rest of my life.  Since this was the issue, I had to put mastery as one of the devices just because I couldn’t say this about any other song that we have listened to. I just got hooked on to it right away. This is why I chose mastery in the song “Life’s Been Good”.

            Joe Walsh is a great song writer and he has a really good voice to put along with his lyrics.  I haven’t listened to any other songs by him, but I’m sure I would like them. He uses great literary devise in his songs and he puts them together really nicely.  Joe Walsh is awesome and I hope to learn a lot more about him and a lot more about his songs.  Eminem is still my boy though!

Song Analysis 1

                                                                                                            Colin Feeney

                                                                                                            10/16/11

                                                                                                            Class-G

                                                                                                            Song analysis

                In one of Eminem’s most famous and my favorite Eminem song “Stan”, Eminem uses unexpected irony, difficult but good oxymoron and ironic paradox to prove the obsession Stan has for Eminem. Also, Eminem wants to show his fans not to be so obsessed with him and to follow his footsteps.

            In this song Eminem has a lot of unexpected irony. He uses this to show how being so obsessed with someone can make you go crazy and maybe even die from it, like what happens to Stan. Stan goes from being Eminem’s favorite fan (he claims) to hating him because Eminem never writes him back fast enough. “It’s been six months and still no word, I don’t deserve it, I know you got my last two letters, I wrote the addresses on them perfect” This is one of the ways Eminem uses irony in this song.

            Eminem also uses oxymoron in his song “Stan”. “Dear slim, I wrote you but you still aint callin” this line shows how he uses it because he is saying he wrote Eminem but then he is saying that Eminem won’t call him. Also when he says “I know you probably hear this every day, but I’m your biggest fan” he is saying he is Eminem’s biggest fan but obviously he can’t just say that. Eminem uses oxymoron great in a lot of his songs and also in this one.

            Another unique literary device Eminem uses in this song is ironic paradox. “Dear Stan, I meant to write you sooner but I’ve just been busy” this is how Eminem starts off his last verse after Stan has already died. This whole verse is a paradox because the whole thing is ironic. It is ironic because Stan has been writing to Eminem a lot and not getting anything back. Then right when Stan dies Eminem writes him a letter apologizing how it took so long to answer and so on. It is just ironic how it worked out like that.

            Eminem is my favorite rapper/ person in the world and I have been inspired by him since I was like 8. He is a lyrical genius and can come up with the craziest but best lines sometimes. Some of these times he uses some literary devices as well. Eminem will always be my favorite and he uses these devices really good in a smart way.

Song Analysis 2

                                                                                                                                              Colin Feeney

                                                                                                                                                11/15/11

                                                                                                                                                Class-G

                                                                                                                                                SA2

Lose yourself

            Eminem is all about becoming a rapper. Coming from a poor family and a bad environment in the song “Lose Yourself”, Eminem’s usage of encouraging metaphor, rough tone and nervous imagery explains that you have to never give up on whatever you’re trying reach and how “you can do anything you set your mind to, man.” Eminem went through a lot like “being boo’d off stage”, but that did not stop him. He didn’t let any opportunities slip from him because he believed that being famous was the only way to support his family. Working through the day making minimum wage was not his idea of success, so he believed that if he kept trying to become a rapper it would eventually happen.

            Eminem has many examples in this song of a metaphor and uses it in many ways. He uses the line “you only got one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes one in a lifetime.” Here, Eminem is saying that people usually end up with one chance to be famous or even to just achieve their goal and if they don’t make the best of it they could lose it. This is a metaphor because it sounds like he’s talking about a gun. Eminem also talks about how time keeps counting down and how “the clocks run out.” Eminem is talking about running out of time and missing the opportunity to do what you want in life. The clock isn’t actually running out. If there not ready to take on the opportunity, their time will run out. When Eminem says “the souls escaping, through this hole that is gaping” he is saying that he is finally making it in to the rap industry and his success came faster than he expected. Eminem uses metaphor’s to show how important it was for him becoming so famous and one of the best rappers of all time. Well in my opinion.

            Eminem also uses a really rough tone in this song as well. His voice throughout the whole song id kind of deep and sounds sort of angry. The song starts off slow with this basic beat, then the electric guitar come. Right when the guitar comes there’s a boom sound keeping a steady beat like a drum. The song from there gets really intense and Eminem tears it apart. I love his voice in this song and h does it in a lot of other songs as well.

            Another device that Eminem portrays in this song is imagery. He uses a nervous imagery in it. Eminem’s “palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on his sweater already.” He uses this line in the song because he would always be nervous before he would do a rap battle and many times he choked and didn’t say a word. This song is based on his life and as well as the movie Eminem was in called “8 Mile”. This was a really good movie and if you want to see all the imagery, then you should watch the movie. Eminem is the greatest artist EVER!

Part 2 with sub

                                                                                                            Colin Feeney

                                                                                                            10/25/11

                                                                                                            Class-G

                                                                                                            Part two

            On July 25, 1965 Dylan performed at the Newport Folk Festival. The audience was full of students and professors studying rather than experiencing the great music that these artists were performing. Bob Dylan got attention really quick because of the hit he made in 1963 “Blowin’ in the Wind”. This song got him really famous. So when Dylan when on stage the first song he performed was “Maggie’s Farm”. He played this song on an electric guitar and parts of the crowd were surprised. Dylan was booed by a section of the audience. While the crowd was still booing at him he played two more songs, “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Phantom Engineer”. Dylan said “Let’s go man, that’s all” and walked off stage as the crowd was still booing him, some clapping. Dylan then came back on stage and performed two more songs, but by himself. He preformed “It’s all over now, Baby Blue” and “Mr. Tambourine Man”. The crowd was still shocked and silent during these two songs, but then after they started to cheer for him.                                                                                                                                                            http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/spotlight-0725/

            Eminem released his sixth album on May 15, 2009. His album was called relapse. He named his album this because he was addicted to lots of drugs and had to go to rehab for it. He went to rehab and then once he got out he relapsed. So then he made this album. Eminem was addicted to sleep medications and he claims that he was an hour away from death. That is when he admitted he had this problem. The album came out and it was a pretty good one, but not his best. Eminem has now been sober for a really long time. He has been sober for over a year now. (my Head)

            In this Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band there are many people that I do not recognize and there are also some people that I do recognize. One person that I recognize is Karl Marx. The only reason I recognize this person is because I had to do a project on him last year for Sociology. I also recognize Bob Dylan. I know this guy because my dad is in love with him and also he is your (mr. Kefor) favorite artist. I also recognize John Lennon because come on who doesn’t know who that is. He is in the Beatles! There are also lots of people I don’t know in this picture. I don’t know who Wallace Berman is. I guess he is an artist. I got to look in to him more, maybe he is good. I also never heard of Sonny Liston. He is a boxer though. This could be bad that I don’t know who he is, but hey nothing I can do. Also I don’t recognize Diana Dors. This girl is an actress. These are 3 people o recognize and don’t recognize in this picture.

            http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/dnb/39021.html

Little Green song analysis

                Colin Feeney

                                                                                                            11/4/11

                                                                                                            Class-G

Little Green

            In “Little Green”, Joni Mitchell’s use of illustrated imagery, phenomenal characterization, and repetition of personification are all displayed in this song to show how Mitchell shifts from her mother to father and how she feels bad for giving her child up for adoption, but knows it was the right choice. “You’re sad and you’re sorry, but you’re not ashamed.”

            Joni Mitchell displays a positive and negative artistic imagery. She displays this illustrated imagery in order to show how happiness “like the nights when the Northern lights perform.” She puts this quote to show the happiness she feels when the Northern lights do perform. Also, she shows some lack of happiness as well. She writes about how everything won’t always happen the way you want it to “and sometimes there’ll be sorrow.” Mitchell displays a good artistic imagery in the song “Little Green”

            Mitchell shows her great characterization to her daughter and uses it perfectly. “Little Green, be a gypsy dancer.” She is saying this about her child because she wants her to do what she wants and maybe her child wanted to be dancer when she was little. Mitchell also shows great characteristics to her child “Little Green, he’s a non-conformer.” She wants her daughter to realize what life’s about and do it the way she wants.

            Mitchell also repeats personification in this song. She uses it in this song to describe how “her eyes are blue.”  There are also some other examples in this song about it as well. Mitchell got a letter telling her that her Childs eyes were blue. Personification is a literary device that is used in lots of songs. Even different types of music, it is everywhere. It is also in poems and the way people talk as well.

            Mitchell uses all of these devices in her song “Little Green” and she uses them really well. She didn’t want to give up her child but she knew she had to do it. She didn’t have that much money and wasn’t happy either. Those two things do not go along together that much. “I was dirt poop. An unhappy mother does not raise a happy child.” That quote right there explains all of it. She knew if she put her child up for adoption she would have a happier life. Mitchell wanted he child to grow up doing what she wanted and not what other people would tell her. This was a pretty good song and when I found out Mitchell and her daughter reunited 30 years later it made me really happy.