Rotation II

I was wondering what to draw, and after a while i decided to draw the two main protagonists in this book. Lyra Belacqua and Pan. I tried my best with the drawing but it didn't turn out so great, but it's ok (I think) Lyra is the female protagonist in this book and  Pan is a raccoon, she is Lyra's demon. Demons in this book (from what i understood, and read) are basically human protectors which are animals or so. Every human has his demon in this book just like Lyra has Pan. 

Connection Captain: Enders Game: Rotation 2

I apologize if this post is posted a day late, I am posting it from Tanzania (Africa) and well, the internet here is... Almost nonexistant... Anyways I hope itll count as something :)
I finished reading Ender's Game the other day and Ive been thinking a lot on how I can personally really connect to this story... The most interesting and well, honest connection I can make is below...
Ender's Game is set in what I can relate to as a 'different/other world'... Presently I am in Tanzania and this is a completely 'different world' to my eyes. While Enders Game is set in the future where children are taught to fight and aliens are attacking, Tanzania is set in african-poverty, the expression of happiness of life, and the essential difference in culture. As you (the reader, as I hope you are ALL reading my post!) should understand by now, I am not very familiar with either of these settings. My connection is my unfamiliarity between these two places, or 'different worlds'.
Again I apologize for the late post, happy new years to you all!

Summary Sultan: The Golden Compass / Northern Lights

Well I've finished the book and I have previously read it, so I have to summarise it. Ever so sorry to those who may not have completed it already.

Northern Lights or The Golden Compass is a novel which sets itself in an alternate universe where people are ruled over by a Magisterium and each person has his or her own daemon (rather their own soul). The two principal protagonists are Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon (often called Pan), her daemon. Early in the book she is fairly reckless, however she is driven by an insatiable curiosity. As we follow Lyra and Pan we learn of the two main antagonists Lord Asriel, Lyra's uncle, and Mrs. Coulter who is head of the Gobblers despite her charming appearance. The Gobblers are a renowned group of child snatchers in alternate England, and they have Mrs. Coulter as their head.  

As the story progresses Lyra learns this horrifying fact, however she also learns another. As she flees away from the Gobblers she meets the Gyptians, a sea-faring peoples who tell her that Asriel and Coulter are in fact Lyra's parents. The Gyptians then stop at Trollesund where Lyra and Pan beet Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear who has lost his armour. Lyra locates it for him and in return the bear helps them on their quest. This quest of theirs gets Lyra captured, and a war erupts between several factions on this alternate Earth. 

The whole story is driven by the alethiometre (the golden compass) and this notion of 'dust.' Dust could, essentially, be used to bridge the gap between worlds and to thus control the universe if you had enough power. Lord Asriel has a notion to use this dust for just that, and he does indeed end up opening a strange rift in time and space. The alethiometre is wielded by Lyra as a great truth-saying device. Instead of hours, or directions, it instead carries little symbols, each with it's own particular meaning that can be used to uncover the truth about something.

THE GOLDEN COMPASS BY PHILIP PULLMAN, 2ND ROTATION

This week my job is Line Illuminator, I should copy 2 passages from book that I read.

1."The witches have talked about this child for centuries past," said the consul. "Because they live so close to the place where the veil between the worlds is thin, they hear immortal whispers from time to time, the voices of those beings who pass between the worlds. And they have spoken of a child such as this, who has a great destiny that can only be fulfilled elsewhere – not in this world, but far beyond. Without this child, we shall all die. So the witches say. But she must fulfill this destiny in ignorance of what she is doing, because only in her ignorance can we be saved." 

In this passage we can see that the witches have known about her for centuries.She may even be known about in other worlds. 

2. "Yes, here, man. And I shall need a screen and a projecting lantern, also here, also now," The Butler could hardly prevent himself from opening his mouth in surprise, but managed to suppress the question, or the protest. "Wren, you're forgetting your place," said Lard Asriel. "Don't question me; just do as I tell you."

From this passage we can tell from his treatment of the butler (and hos snow leopard daemon), Lord Asriel is an authoritative man that people listen to. He is powerful.

Word Warlock: The Golden Compass

Word Warlock for the Golden Compass:

1.)  Oblation
Part of Speech in Text:  Noun
Dictionary Definition:  the act of making an offering, especially to a deity
My Definition:  making a sacrifice or giving something up 
Synonyms:  gift, offering, presentation, sacrifice
Line from Book:  "I heard someone say who the Gobblers were, they were called the General Oblation Board..." (Pullman 118)

2.)  Fretful
Part of Speech in Text:  Adjective
Dictionary Definition:  Disposed or quick to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, etc.
My Definition:  Full of stress or worried
Synonyms:  cranky, peevish, petulant, uneasy
Line from Book:  "She wandered through the two big rooms where the party was taking place, half-listening to the conversations around her, half-interested in the taste of the cocktails she wasn't allowed to try, and increasingly fretful." (Pullman 93)

3.)  Commissionaire
Part of Speech in Text:  Noun
Dictionary Definition:  A uniformed attendant, as a doorkeeper or usher
My Definition:  A paid man or woman in a sharp-looking uniform who are there to help both the host and their guests at a party
Synonyms:  Usher, helper, doorkeeper
Line from Book:  "She wasn't aware that anyone was watching her until the commissionaire appeared at her side and bent to say..." (Pullman 93) 

4.)  Oratory
Part of Speech in Text:  Noun
Dictionary Definition:  A place for prayer such as a small private chapel
My Definition:  A small room used for praying and worship.  Not a public church.
Synonyms:  chapel, bethel, vestry
Line from the Book:  "Lyra and Roger turned reluctantly and walked, draggin theri feet, into the great musty-smelling dimness of the oratory" (Pullman 51)

Connection Captain: The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass
Rotation 2
Pages 34-93
Connection Captain:

Credit: Bryant Oden

1.)  Lyra and her relationship with Roger reminds me of my best friend from Nashville and I.  In The Golden Compass, Lyra is more of the leader.  Everything is her idea, and Roger goes with it.  She led Roger into the Jordan wine cellars and was the one who decided they were going to start drinking.  She led Roger into the crypts, and was the one with the idea to switch all the gold Daemon coins around the old Masters' skulls' mouths.  My friend Thalia was always more of the leader.  She would have all the ideas, and I would just go along with them.  She was also a horrible liar, like Lyra.  She would always tell me things like how she was Harry Potter's sister, and how if I woke up at exactly midnight and I read out loud the words to a "spell" she'd written for me, I would see the elves dancing outside.  However, just like with Lyra and Roger, she wasn't exactly a bad friend - she was loyal and trustworthy, we had fun together, and we are still friends to this day. 

The Kite Runner

credit: kelvincheungcollegewriting.wordpress.com

2.)  To me, Lord Asriel is very similar to Baba from The Kite Runner.  Both of them are imposing, and to me, they both seem to have this aura of strength and power.  It intimidates both Amir and Lyra, and other people respect them for it.  Also both men are wealthy, which adds to their power.  Another connection between the two men is that both seem distant from their children.  Lord Asriel never really shows any affection to Lyra except to bring her presents, and she never even finds out that he is actually her father until the Gyptians tell her.  Although Amir from The Kite Runner knows that Baba is his dad, the two do not really connect the way most fathers and sons do.  Baba even tells Rahim Khan that he sometimes he finds it hard to believe that Amir is his son.  Although the relationships between Lord Asriel and Lyra and Baba and Amir are similar, I believe that Lord Asriel and Baba are most connected by this strength and power they seem to have. 

Rotation #1: Line Illuminator

"'No. Of course not. So I'll put it bluntly. Human beings are free except when humanity needs them. Maybe humanity needs you. To do something. Maybe humanity needs me - to find out what you're good for. We might both do despicable things, Ender, but if humankind survives, then we were good tools.'
'Is that all? Just tools?'
'Individual human beings are all tools, that the others use to help us all survive.'
'That's a lie.'
'No. It's just a half truth. You can worry about the other half after we win this war'"
(Card 35).

I keep forgetting that Ender is a six-year-old child. He might as well be 26. This is such a deep and serious conversation to have with a kid. It makes you think about how serious life must be in the setting of this book.I like this conversation because it foreshadows a lot. "We might both do despicable things" sounds to me a lot like foreshadowing. It makes me wonder what sort of dilemma Ender and Graff might get into. It also enforces the motif that Ender is a tool to be used by these people - whoever they are - that talk at the beginning of each chapter. I think that's an effective tool in itself to establish this whole "tool" or "puppet" idea.


“I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse”
(Card 7).

Ender’s theory when fighting, which drives him to kill Stilson and Bonzo, as well as to fight brutally against the older boys in the battleroom, the Giant, and the buggers. He will not follow the traditional rules of combat, whether it is by fighting beyond the normal point, striking an opponent in a new way, or going against what he sees as the teachers’ rules for a game.

Ender's Game: Line Illuminator

Title:  Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Rotation #1
Line Illuminator
 

credit: handsfromtheriver.com

1.)  "I've lived too long with pain.  I don't know who I am without it."  --page 250
This quote is said by Ender at the very end of the book, when he asks Valentine if they can leave the colony on the bugger planet, because he has begun to almost feel happy.  It is significant, because I believe that it shows exactly how painful Ender's experiences have been for him:  he has been in pain so long that he does not know how to handle being happy.  Ender does not even really want to be happy, because without pain, he isn't Ender Wiggins.  Without pain, he is some other boy.  This quote makes me feel extreme pity for him.

credit: marketingforhippies.com

2.) "Instead, he found a mirror.  And in that mirror he saw a face that he easily recognized.  It was Peter" --page 91
This quote is from the part in the book where Ender reaches the "End of the World" in the computer mind game.  I believe that it is significant, because when the computerized Ender looks into the mirror, he sees Peter.  Because the computer knows Ender so well, I think that this means that Ender has begun to see himself as Peter - as a monster.  Ender despises it, but he sees himself as a killer, just like his brother.  However, you can tell that Ender is not like his brother, because when he sees Peter in himself, he hates and grows scared of it.  When he sees that he is becoming like Peter, he reminds himself that he does not enjoy killing, which is very much unlike Peter. 

Illustrious Artist: Ender's Game

Having read Ender's Game within the first two days of receiving, I want to waste no time getting my post done, however I also don't want to give anything away. Luckily, I'm the 'illustrious artist,' so that covers that.



This is somewhat how I picture the battles that Ender undertakes during his time as a captain. Here you can see several smaller Imperial Fleet ships, glimmering with a hopeful light, contrasted with a dark and menacing bugger hive ship, which is engulfed by a deep, evil purple. This image really does emphasise the goals of the IF, which are to liberate mankind of the bugger menace. It does put the buggers in a negative light, despite the fact that they have no intent of harming the human race. If anything, this picture also shows the unfairness of it all: one hive ship against countless thousands of the IF fleet ships. It demonstrates a human upper-hand, and a very human desire to always be greater than the opponent, and to always be the good guys in a situation where we might not be. It also shows Ender's tactical ability to simply overwhelm his adversaries using sheer cunning, something that is always useful in wartime.



Ah yes, the moment you've all been waiting for... the Ender's Game movie! Well, it comes out next year, so hold tight to your seats, it's coming soon. This image shows the IF officer Graff standing over the new recruits at the training centre. It demonstrates to us the overpowering view of the IF on the recruits, and you can see that this recruit is not even looking the officer in the eye. Ender's Game does have a very 'respect your elders' feel to it for about half the novel. After a while though, the children / adolescents begin to resent the IF officers and Ender sees them as the bad guys in this whole thing, which their behaviour would reflect.

Question Commander

This book was amazing. I managed to read it for only 9 days. Every time i left it, i was wondering what will happen in the next chapter. I have also improved my reading skills with this book.

 

What makes Ender so unique?

Ender does not wish to cause harm to anyone. He always wishes for events to be resolved without violence, he is a brilliant child manipulated by adults into playing a game he never wanted to play. Ender is smart enough to understand the manipulation, and knows that it is necessary in life. He represents the best in a human being.

What does Ender do to win the final battle?

"I don't care if I pass your test, I don't care if I follow your rules. If you can cheat, so can I ... If I break this rule, they'll never let me be a commander. It would be too dangerous. I'll never have to play a game again. And that is victory." 

This is the reason that Ender decides to use the Little Doctor against the planet, not part of a grand, last-ditch effort at victory, as his audience believes. Ender's final game, in terms of war, is his last battle against the buggers. He looks at it like a game, and he cheats in it, and the cheating is what allows him to win the war.
This is the reason that Ender decides to use the Little Doctor against the planet, not part of a grand, last-ditch effort at victory, as his audience believes. Ender's final game, in terms of war, is his last battle against the buggers. He looks at it like a game, and he cheats in it, and the cheating is what allows him to win the war.

How does Ender's army work differently than any other army?

Ender is a brilliant commander, far better than any of his competition. He is able to lead his soldiers effectively and gets the most out of all of them. All along Ender has never had the intention of angering Bonzo and the others. Ender's empathy is strong enough so he does not hate others even when they hate him.

Ender's game by Orson Scott Card, 1st rotation

This week my job is Sultan Summery, I should make a summery for pages that I read. So because we said that we will read every day 40 pages, it means that I should write a summery for whole book.

Ender's game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card,  first published in 1985. 

Ender Wiggin, the third in a family of child geniuses, is selected by international military forces to save the world from destruction. Before being chosen Ender wears a unique monitor that allows the heads of the military to see things as Ender does. Ender's brother Peter and his sister Valentine also wore this monitor, although neither was selected, nor did they have it for as long as Ender, and Peter will never forgive Ender for this. Peter hates Ender, and even when the monitor is taken out it does nothing to decrease Peter's anger. The same is true of Ender's schoolmates, and he is forced into brutally beating the leader of a gang of bullies in order to protect himself. Although Valentine tries to protect Ender from Peter, he is only saved from his brother when Colonel Graff of the International Fleet comes to take Ender away to Battle School. Ender leaves behind Valentine, who loves him, in order to help save the world from the buggers.

Battle School is located on a ship far from earth. On the flight there Ender demonstrates his ability to brilliantly visualize gravitational effects, and Graff begins to isolate him from his fellow classmates. Ender lives with the new recruits, called Launchies. He makes a few friends among the recruits and ends his isolation, although his brilliance will never cease causing resentment. Inside the battleroom, Ender figures out how to maneuver in null gravity, along with another recruit named Alai. Ender and Alai become friends, and this helps Ender fit in with the rest of the group. Ender manages to get farther in one of the computer games, called the mind game, than anyone ever had before him, and although he does not know, the military commanders take notice.

Ender is abruptly promoted to Salamander Army. There Ender is befriended by Petra Arkanian, the only girl in the army. The army commander, Bonzo Madrid, does not like Ender and does not want him around. Ender practices with Petra and begins to teach his launch group what he knows. Ender helps the army by disobeying Bonzo, who hates Ender, but fortunately Ender is traded to Rat Army. Ender is put in Dink Meeker's platoon. Dink is an excellent toon leader, and Ender does well in battles. He continues teaching his Launchies, even though this causes resentment among other soldiers. Ender gets into a fight and he hurts four older boys who attack him. It is clear to Ender that the teachers are leaving him to fend for himself.

Meanwhile, Peter has convinced Valentine that it is time for them to assert themselves. Peter has unlimited ambition, and he is intelligent enough to try to manipulate world events. Valentine agrees to work with him because she wants their impact to be a positive one. Disguised on the information networks they soon begin to exert an influence. By this time Ender is nine years old and a platoon leader in Phoenix Army under Petra's command. Everyone respects his brilliance and his practice sessions are attended by many, but he is depressed and is stuck in the mind game. Colonel Graff comes to visit Valentine and has her write Ender a letter. The memory of Valentine helps Ender to ground himself, and he is able to continue on in the mind game, which is a great relief to his teachers.

Ender is made commander of Dragon Army and given a group of soldiers, most of them Launchies. The smallest one, Bean, is very bright and precocious, much like Ender was, and Bean proves his mettle in practice sessions. Ender's army is given an unprecedented number of battles to face, with advantages given to the enemies, and he wins every one. Each toon of his army acts as an independent unit, and this revolutionizes battleroom strategy. Bonzo is humiliated when Ender beats him. Bonzo attacks Ender in the shower room and Ender beats him, brutally, because he was forced to. Ender is then transferred out of Battle School to Command School.

The authorities figured out Valentine and Peter's actions but have decided to leave them alone. Valentine visits Ender while he is given a brief vacation, and it is clear that things have changed between them. Graff takes Ender to Eros, the planet that holds the International Fleet command, and there Ender is introduced to Mazer Rackham, the hero of the second bugger invasion, who saved mankind. Rackham runs Ender through a series of simulated battles, where he now commands an entire fleet. Ender learns that the buggers are like highly evolved insects and they communicate instantaneously—their queen thinks for all of them. Ender begins having strange dreams about the buggers. He fights more and more difficult battles and one day fights a huge battle against impossible odds with many officers watching. Ender wins, at great cost, and it becomes apparent that it was a real battle, as were all of his supposedly simulated battles, and that he completely destroyed the buggers. Ender was used, and he knows it, as do his teachers, but they explain that they needed him, a child, to have the compassion to understand the enemy. At the same time they needed him to think it was a game in order to be able to win with such great loss of life.

Peter has taken over control of the world and Valentine convinces Ender to set off with her on a colonization mission to populate the worlds left behind by the buggers. Before he goes Ender learns that he did killed Bonzo as well as the bully back in school. On the new planet Ender finds an area that he realizes looks just like the mind game and he realizes that the buggers had prepared for his coming—they had looked into his mind and knew he would defeat them. He finds a queen pupa, left behind for him to find a place for the buggers to live again. Ender can think to the queen, and sees that the buggers did not truly wish to fight the humans and feels their sorrow for all that happens. Ender decides to make it his mission to find a place for the buggers to live.

I really like book, and I hope that The Golden Compass will be interesting like Ender's game. :D 

Ender's Game-Rotation #1-Word Warlock

Title: Ender's Game
Author: Orson Scottcaro
Pages: 0-300
Job: Word Warlock


   Ambiguous:

• Adjective
• Definition: Having more than one possible meaning.
• Synonyms: equivocal, evasive, double meaning...
• "They both renounced their religion -- your mother was a Mormon--

but in fact their feelings are still ambiguous."(Scottcaro 22)

    Jackal:

• Noun
• Definition: A wild dog that hunts in groups.
• There are different types of jackal: African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, fox, hyena...
• "There are worse things than being Third, worse things than big brother who can't make up his mind wheter to be a human being or a jackal."(Scottcaro 25)

    Vengeance: 

• Noun
• Definition: The feeling of wanting to do something bad to someone who has done something bad to you.
• Synonyms: revenge, payoff, retaliation...
• "He didn't plan to get vengeance on Bonzo for hitting him."( Scottcaro 96)

    Hegemony:

• Noun
• Definition: 1.The position of being the strongest and most powerful and therefore 

able to control others.

                         2. Domination.

• Synonyms: predominance, leadership, control...
• "Because as long as people are afraid of the buggers, the I.F. can stay in power, 

and as long as I.F. is in the power, certain countries can keep their hegemony." ( Scottcaro 110)

Welcome Roy(1,2,3), Riena (2,3,4), Andjela (3,4,5), Nikola/Teodor (4,5,6), Jude (5,6,1), Jana (6,1,2) Roles for Winter Blog

Read both over 3 weeks ending each rotation on the Saturday: Saturdays: Dec. 22, 29 & Jan. 5
Your role for each week is represented in the Title Line above (the number corresponds to task/week)
Comment on all posts each Sunday after all posts are done: Sundays: Dec. 23, 30 & Jan. 6
Decide before you leave how you will divide up to read both novels.
Here is the great surprise:  If all is done on time & well--I will place a "10" mark in each criterion for your quarter 3 levels.  Happy Holidays!  Glad you chose to do extra to better yourselves.

Job # 1 – Line Illuminator – Your job is to select two passages
from the reading selection that you think are worthy of being read shared and
discussed with your group members. The Line Illuminator writes down the
passages word for word in quotes, citing the page # from where the lines come
from in parentheses at the end. You are free to pick whatever quotes you like,
but they must have some sort of significance or importance. Pick lines you find
insightful, or lines that confuse you and throw you for a loop. Under each
passage, in one to two sentences per quote, you must explain the significance
of the line and why you picked it. 
Job # 2 – Connection Captain – You are in charge of
connecting what is happening in the work of literature to what you are studying
or the world around you. You can also connect the events to personal
experiences you have had, things you have seen or heard about in real life, or
events that occurred in other books you’ve read or movies you’ve seen. The
connector will often use phrases like: “This reminds me of…” or “This event was
similar to…” The connector must write 2 strong paragraphs.
Job # 3 – Word Warlock – You are to serve as a lexicographer,
generating a list of 3-5 words from the text that you believe are worth
knowing. The words you pick should be words that were unknown to you before,
or familiar words used in unfamiliar or unusual ways. For each word, generate
the following: 1) the part of speech based on how it is used in the text, 2) an
easy-to-understand denotative (dictionary) definition, 3) your own personal
connotative (personal association or feeling) definition, 4) three other words that are similar to that word’s denotative definition, Finally, write down the line from the book that contained the word, citing the
page # in parentheses.
Job # 4 – Question Commander – Your role is to make a list of 3
 “thinking” questions that can prompt a discussion amongst your literature
circle group members. The questions you choose
should be designed to get your group members thoughtfully engaged in the
issues and topics in your reading. Often, good questions will attempt to reveal
the nature of the characters and why they make the decisions they do. Was it
unclear why a character did something? Was part of the plot unclear or
confusing? Do you think the author has a hidden agenda or motive? These make
for great questions. After asking your question, provide, in one
paragraph for each question, a possible answer with supporting details. It
doesn’t have to be “right,” but it should serve to foster thought and discussion.
 Job # 5 – Illustrious Artist – You are in charge of visually
displaying the events in a series of chapters. You may choose to depict an
important object, character, or scene that stood out from the reading. The
illustration may be hand generated, consist of magazine cut-outs or Internet
image downloads, or be created using computer graphics programs (like
AdobePhotoshop). Regardless of what you choose, it must accurately display
what happened in the reading. You also need to describe, in two to three
paragraphs, the image(s) you selected, and its significance.
 Job # 6 – Summary Sultan – Your role is to prepare a summary
of the session's reading. Think about what details, characters, or events are so
important that they might be included on an exam. You should consider the
following questions for your summary: What are the most important events in
the section you read? What makes them so important? What effect do these
events have on the plot or character? What changes – in plot, character, or tone
– did you notice when you read? Your summary should be in either list format
(with numbers or bullets) OR in a linear style resembling a timeline. Your
summary should be concise and informative, but it should also be sufficiently
detailed, weighing in around 150 words.