Grammar Bytes!

            The activities that I attempted was the activity with comma splices and fused sentences and the second one is with fragments. For the first activity I scored a 16 out of 20 and for the 2^nd activity I got a 17 out of 20. I think that this activity helped me improve my ability to find these grammar errors and help me make less of these mistakes in my writing. In the future I think it will help me avoid making some of these same mistakes in my writing. When I first started doing these activities I was having a little bit of a hard time defining what it what, but as I continued I improved.

"The Destructors"

1) Which character is the most dynamic? Static?
I think that the character that is the most dynamic is Trevor. He came up with new ideas for the gang to use and carrier out. The most static is Blackie he still thinks small and does all the small and insignificant prances.    

2) What elements of Trevor's characterization make him well suited to lead the gang on the August Bank holiday weekend?

For one Trevor had the guts to go to Mr. Thomas and ask to come in and look around. Trevor knows the inside of the house and has the plan all worked out. Trevor now has all the new ideas that the gang can now use. Trevor as a character is darker than the ex leader Blackie. Blackie was a more happy-go-lucky kind of character.  

3) Discuss the ways in which the author manages to cloud morality within the story.

The author makes Mr.Thomes sound like a mean old man by calling him Old Misery and mainly focusing on the house and not the man. Having the narrator tell the story instead of having one of the characters tell it takes away all the thought that the characters have, this way we can’t know if anyone is doubting the plan because of their morals. And the fact that the house never burned.

4) Explain why you think the story is called "The Destructors" rather than "The Destroyers."

Because they did not entirely destroy everything they only partly did their plan.

"Horses of the Night"

1. Explain the final line of the story. How is it possible to be ‘ruthless’ and gentle at the same time?

I think the only way that it is possible is if, in your mind you think and believe that you are being ruthless. But in reality you are gentle to it, because of the memories and things associated with the item that you are putting away. But to you what you are doing feels ruthless. 

2. Create a character sketch for Chris. Is he a character with whom you can sympathize?

Chris always seems to be happy but really he is suffering on the inside and won’t let anyone really in to help him. He copes with his ‘depression’ by making up stories and saying that he owns a ranch up north and that the lake use to have monsters in it. He always seemed to be hopeful for the future even thou his future will, like everything else in his life, will not work out. He is kind to everyone and can relate to Vanessa. Chris likes to occupy his time with making mine items. For example he made Vanessa a tiny saddle. Chris is a character a can sympathize with because of his situation. He had great ambitions but in the end he did not have the money to pursue his dreams. Not a lot of things work out for Chris and for this reason he is a character that you can sympathize with.

3. Is Vanessa a static or dynamic character?

The character Vanessa is more of a Static character her state of mind stays the same mostly though out the story not changing the why she thinks.

4. Consider the saddle as a symbol. What, in your opinion, does it represent?

In my mind the saddle represents the imaginary world that Chris has made for him self and what Vanessa thought Chris’s life is like in her mind. It also represents the had work that he is willing to do, it must have taken such a long time to make and he did it very easily.

 Miss Brill

1) Describe the narration used in "Miss Brill"
The narration for the story Miss Brill is unreliable narration. The story was some what miss leading and forces you to think what really happened.     

2) How reliable is the narration in "Miss Brill"? What are some clues that the actual events in the story are somewhat different than the narrator's version?
The story had little clues as to who Miss Brill is for example the last 2 paragraphs 
"On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the baker's. It was her Sunday treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice, sometimes not. It made a great difference. If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present - a surprise - something that might very well not have been there. She hurried on the almond Sundays and struck the match for the kettle in quite a dashing way.

But to-day she passed the baker's by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room - her room like a cupboard - and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying." 

I have a feeling that she is crazy and had imaged or added things to her reality to make things interesting. There are other parts in the story that have thing that hind to the fact that the actual events are different then what is written.    

The Shining Houses

"The Shining Houses"

1) Explain what type of narration is used in this story.
The type of narration that is used in “The Shining Houses” is third person, retrospect and omniscient. I think that the narration is third person because there is a lot of he and she when taking about people. I know that the narration is also retrospect because the story is told in pass tense. I know the third narration is omniscient because the narrator knows all and what everyone is thinking about. Almost god like is a sense.   
2) How is "The Shining Houses" structured? Why do you suppose Munro structured the narrative this way?
The Story "The Shining House" is structured with a classic beginning and end. It starts out with Mary talking to Mrs. Fullerton you find the back story of her neighbor and find out that she is not as bad as the new neighbors will portray her to be. With out previously knowing the back story of Mrs. Fullerton the story would not work out in the same way and you may not feel the same as you read it. I think that this is the reason why Munro wrote the story this way. Munro wanted you to feel compassion for Mrs. Fullerton and show how Mary had real morals.  
3) Discuss irony in the story with respect to the title.
The irony in the story is that when you think of the new and wonderful looking homes you probably thought that the people living in them were just as nice as the houses that looked on at the street in peace. But it turns out that the people that live inside of them are mean and think only of them self and not for their neighbor. They are the opposite of what you originally thought of them.
4) What distinction does the story highlight in terms of the difference between legal and moral?
The distinction between legal and moral is that it is legal to petition for a new lane to be made that goes though Mrs. Fullerton’s home but it is not the moral thing to do. Mrs. Fullerton has lived in her home for 40 years and these people from Garden Place want to get rid of her and her home. That is not a moral thing to do a justifying it by making a lane that goes though her property is just as bad as letting the kids play with fire at Mrs. Fullerton’s house.
5) Sketch Mary's character. (Note: this doesn't mean draw her; rather it means to describe her in terms of the definition above)
Mary is a moral and respectful person. She wants to know her neighbors, all of them not just the people in the new lots, Mary is not the kind of person that judges people because of what they look like or how their house may look like. She cares for people even the people that others do not care for. And the best thing about Mary is that she tries to do what is right and not what others want her to do she never gave in to the presser that her neighbors from her community put her though.