Historical Background (LA E-Learning - 'To Kill A Mockingbird')

Hey I'm back for LA E-Learning, while Mrs Anu is not teaching for this week, so we had to research and produce the research on the following topics. These topics are closely related to the book, "To Kill A Mockingbird", so we will better understand the HISTORICAL BACKGROUND which was the inspiration behind the novel. There is also another exercise, which will be posted later on, so please enjoy! :D

Slavery

The African slaves were first imported into the Virginia, America (then colonized by the British) by the Spanish Colonies in 1619. They were mostly blacks and were held by whites, although there were a few exceptions. The slaves mostly came from the region West Africa, now usually Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal and Cote I’voire. The main slave trading countries in Europe were England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.  There was a system to abide by. It was known as indentured servitude. This typically lasted for several years for white and black alike. People paid with their labour for the costs of transport to the colonies. They contracted for such arrangements because of poor economies in their home countries.

The Civil War

The Southern States during the 1860s were: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan and Delaware. Abraham Lincoln was the then-president who proclaimed war against the Southern states, after the Southern States got the news about a Republican victory, in which Abraham will take office. The Civil War was fought because Abraham Lincoln wanted to abolish the slavery system. Of course, the slavery states did not want that to happen and opposed that decision. In the end, a war between the North and the South was fought from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865. In the end, the Northern States, led by Abraham Lincoln, won the war, the territorial integrity of the United States of America was preserved, the was a reconstruction of The United States, and most importantly, slavery was abolished. Civil Rights Movement was about abolishing public and private acts of Racial Discrimination, and that matched exactly to the case of Tom Robinson in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.

Jim Crow’s Laws

Jim Crow is a song written by Thomas Dartmouth ‘Daddy’ Rice, it depicts a black man singing the song. Jim Crow Laws were state laws enacted between 1876 and 1965, mandating de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly “separate but equal” status for black Americans. Most of them were definitely glad that the law was put to use, and they definitely supported it. However, they were being overturned by the Supreme Court in the 20^th Century on constitutional grounds. Yes, we did see Jim Crow laws surface in the book ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. For example, when Tom Robinson was put on trial, black people and white people were supposed to be separated into different areas of the courtroom. 


That's all. See you next time! XDD

EL Home Learning- Comic Strip

By mrzhoufng1997 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

So this was my comic strip for the first Home Learning lesson of 2011.

Well, I chose this background because this particular scene REALLY happened in my room, or my house I should say. My bedroom, study room etc. So in this comic, I'm waking up and celebrating New Year, then realises that there's much planning to do. In conclusion1 my thoughts for 2011 was: 'MUST WORK HARD', and that's how it went.

I used a lot of books to emphasize that studies is the main point to focus in 2011. Thus, the underlying message is that achieving good grades is my aim in 2011.

THANKS and please like my Toon!

Forms Of Discrimination

Types of Discrimination:

1) Age Discrimination- Treating someone less favourably because of his/her age.

2) Racial Discrimination- People with odd skin colour are treated like aliens, are treated harshly and does not enjoy special privileges. 

3) Gender Discrimination- One of the gender is preferred over the other, and are treated unfairly, usually bias towards men.

4) Disability Discrimination- People with disabilities are neglected by normal people.

5) Religious Discrimination- People are treated differently from what they do or do not believe, due to their religious and practices.

6) Ancestry Discrimination- People may regard you from your forefathers if you descend from a infamous character, you will be looked down upon.

7) Language Discrimination- Your choice of language, in terms of class, group or category may be disliked by other people.

Those are the main types of discrimination. Here are some minor forms:

Based on: Nationality

                Political Affiliation

                Appearance

                Marital Status

                Employment

etc. etc.

There are still much more types of discrimination, but you can find more about it yourself on the Internet.

 

Literature and Life - Shel Silverstein's other 2 poems

Hey I'm back because I got informed recently that I haven't finished the English poems where you have to answer those questions. Well, let's get started now. It's not too late.


The Little Boy and The Old Man by Shel Silverstein
Said the little boy, "Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man, "I do that too."
The little boy whispered, "I wet my pants."
"I do that too," laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy, "I often cry."
The old man nodded, "So do I."
"But worst of all," said the boy, "it seems
Grown-ups don't pay attention to me."
And he felt the warmth of a wrinkled old hand.
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.



Q1) What is the underlying message that is being conveyed in this poem?


The poem is trying to tell us that life is not always fair when you are being neglected by other people from different societies. Nowadays, we are divided into 4 different stages of our life: Childhood, Youth, Adulthood and Elderly. We usually care about the youths, as they are the ones who will decide our future, and the adults, which takes up most of the workforce, and let us have a better life (our parents) However, the children and elderly are often neglected and not a lot of attention is paid to them, as some people regard them as not doing that much for the society. Thus, this  poem tells us that this 'trend' is certainly not to be proud of and we have to pay more attention to them, and not discriminate them (Age Discrimination).


Q2) Has Shel Silverstein used any particular poetic technique that brings out this message more clearly?


Yes, Shel Silverstein used dialogues between the child and the old man to emphasize on the underlying message that is being conveyed in the poem, and also simplifies things and not using too much vocabulary which wll in turn make the poem hard to understand.


Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!


Q1) Can you say that the poem is humorous? If so, how?


Yes, the poem is definitely humorous. Shel Silverstein exaggerated on most o the details in this messy bedroom. The untidiness of the bedroom is so exaggerated that it is simply unbelievable. This then brings out the humour in the poem that there is no bedroom that could be so untidy.


Q2) What aspect of the human character has been highlighted in the poem?


The poem highlighted out that the human character is weird in a form that humans are sometimes quick to blame others but not themselves and are blind to their own faults. One will always point a finger at someone else, but then realise that four other fingers are actually pointing at him.








YAY I'm done! Anyway, I'm starting some video blogging in my Youtube channel soon (zhoufng). So watch out! :D Byes.

Good News + Video Blogging COMING SOON!

Hey ppl I told u I would be back soon, because I JUST GOT MY NEW PC! Yay! *cheers + applause*. It's an Acer Aspire 4741G. I recommend this model to those who are still scratching their heads and pondering over their 'weapon' of choice.

Acer Aspire 4741G

Processor:  Intel Core i5-460M (2.53 GHz, 3MB L3 cache, Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 2.8 GHz )
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 420 M graphics card (Damn Good) Up to 2746MB TurboCache.
Screen (Resolution): 14.0" HD LED LCD

Memory: 4GB DDR3 Memory, 640GB HD
Other features: DVD-Super Multi DL drive
                       Acer Nplify 802.11b/g/n
                       6-cell Li-ion battery (5 hours? No problem)
                       HDMI output (great for presentations everywhere with a projector - HD graphics!)
                       Card Reader, Multi-Gesture (like your iPhone), 16:9 True Cinematic HD view

Price: At a sale, you can get it for less than $1000, anywhere else? $1100 at most.

Not that expensive right? I deem it as a worthy laptop. I also saw a laptop in a Gain City advertisement that costs $195. How ironic (I wonder what's its features)

As such, I can blog more frequently and  I'm starting a video blog, that is, with the Webcam on my PC. That's fine with me though, coz it's built in, I don't have to buy another webcam myself. So remember to visit my Youtube Channel- 'zhoufng' is the username. Thanks and see you soon