Third Quarter (Finally!)

I tried to write this blog a while ago, but with all of the missing days, we hadn’t made enough progress for me to feel comfortable highlighting a student’s work.  However, now that we are further into the quarter, everyone’s work is really progressing nicely, and I have some new topics to put on display. 

            First, here’s a list of everyone’s new topics:

                        Ben D.L. – science fiction

                        Ben K. – historical buildings

                        Brayden – Navy SEALS

                        Chris – war

                        Colten – Tom Clancy novels

                        Eric – food

                        Jak – addiction

                        Jess – J.R.R. Tolkien

                        John-Luc – weather

                        Kelcy – Stephen King

                        Lauren – medical trauma

                        Luke – war

                        Max – music

                        Michaela – abduction stories

                        Mike – African culture

                        Nicolette – corrupted childhoods

                        Riley – crime

                        Sean – American classic novels

                        Yiannis – dystopian societies

            Secondly, I want to highlight a couple blogs from students who got off to a slow start blogging first semester but are starting to pick it up.  Kelcy is studying Stephen King novels and has written some great posts so far.  Here’s one on magical realism in The Green Mile.  I’m not sure how Kelcy even knew about the concept of magical realism, but she does a great job of explaining it here!

    In Green Mile, King focuses on the genre of magical realism and introduces readers to supernatural elements that take place in ordinary, realistic environments. Before the inmate Delacroix arrived in Cold Mountain Penitentiary, a mouse showed up on E block and went from one empty cell to the next. The mouse seemed determined to see the cell that would soon belong to Delacroix. Paul Edgecombe, the super, had said that it seemed as if the mouse was waiting for Delacroix and that he sensed his arrival. On the day Delacroix appeared on E block, the mouse immediately went to him and climbed up on his shoulder. Delacroix later told the employees that the mouse whispered in his ear that his name was Mr. Jingles. The inmate became obsessed with the rodent, keeping it as his pet and teaching it tricks like fetch with wooden spools. Even the employees were amazed by the mouse because it appeared to be human-like and intelligent. After Delacroix went to the electric chair, the mouse disappeared but Paul had found a stash of wooden spools that Delacroix used to play with the mouse.

                                       http://media.monstersandcritics.com/articles/1221394/article_images/mrjinglestakesashinetodelacroix.jpg

Green Mile solely focuses on the case of John Coffey and as the novel progresses, a supernatural element is revealed. Paul Edgecombe had a severe urinary track infection bothering him for over a week which made it painful for him to perform his job duties. One day when the pain almost overtakes Paul, John Coffey incessantly pleads for him to come into his cell. Paul knows it's against the rules to enter an inmate's cell ,but he ignores that thought out of his mind. Paul sits down on the bunk next to John and he quickly places his hand on top of Paul's crotch. Paul is obviously alarmed by John's sudden touch but he notices the pain decreasing the longer John's hand is there. John Coffey appears to be choking with his bulging eyes and pain etched onto his facial features. He then opens his mouth and a swarm of black insects come out and disappear in seconds. He asks the super if he helped with the pain and Paul is in shock. John Coffey just performed an astonishing talent and Paul had no idea how John knew about his UTI. 

King uses examples like these to express the genre of magical realism and supernatural elements to readers. He does it in a way that isn't too over the top or exaggerated because he wants people to believe that something of this nature could actually occur. It's very interesting to read about because it's so vivid and King does an amazing job of making it lifelike.

            Next, here’s Ben K. answering one of his essential questions:

To answer my essential question "Why are these buildings significant?", old buildings have a great deal of character and often a very rustic feel to them. They were put together like a puzzle rather than slapped together. They are far more thought out and sturdier than modern buildings of the same type.  They were built at a time when nails were very expensive because they all had to be hand made. Because of this, they were only used where absolutely necessary. You may think that there would still be many many nails needed, but only a handful are needed. There are ways to build without them that have existed longer then nails themselves have. The first and probably most obvious is the stone design. This has been around for thousands of years and has proved both sturdy and long lasting. This later developed into brick and mortar. Another way of building without nails is the log cabin. These can be made with either even tiers or alternating tiers. This means that on the corners the logs meet at the same level or they lie on top of each other respectively. For even tiered designs there must have a corner post or something  to connect the logs to. On the other hand alternating tier buildings require no posts and tend to be sturdier. There are countless ways to secure the logs in there place on the corner such as saddle notch where the wood is removed in an upside down U shape to fit the contour of the log beneath it. There is also a method called dovetail where the corner of the log is tapered inward so that the logs cannot slide off the end.

Beyond log cabins there are other ways to build more complex buildings without nails. Framed houses are made using similar techniques to the log cabins. Clever locking joints and wooden pegs are the main tools in the making of a framed house. They are made of mostly posts and beams that  must be put in place in a particular order so that each one locks the last in place. These joints are more solid than any nail. A 10"-10" oak beam has a lot more heft than the 2"-4"s of today. It is like the difference between opening a box of Legos, or customizing your own Legos.  

I also really enjoyed reading this entry about New England barns:

 Barns come in all shapes and sizes, and many are specific to there region. New England's barns are known to have distinct differences to the rest of the country. For example New England's barns were all connected to each other, to the house, and to any other buildings on the property as shown in this picture.

Buildings typically included  houses, barns, workshops, utilities, wood sheds, livestock pens, storage sheds, silos, corn cribs, garages, and other small buildings. The continuous architecture system was created and made popular because of the heavy snowfall in New England. A farmer could tend to an entire day's worth of chores without having to go outside into the snow. Including. collecting fire wood, milking cows, feeding pigs, and getting food for that nights dinner. This design most likely started as breezeways or when a farmer knocked down a wall to access his connected wood shed in the winter. The house was always on one end so that the farmer would not have to walk through the house therefore keeping it cleaner.

 

This barn is a great example of a connecting barn, but it is also an example of another classic New England barn feature, the roof. When it is bent in the middle like this it is called a gambrel roof. they are designed so that there is more room for storing hay than a traditional peaked roof, but it still sheds snow well. As we know here at Pentucket a flat roof could leak or even cave in from the weight of the snow.

Ben's a really active kid, and I can see him pursuing building as a career.  If he does, I hope he'll have a hand in the preservation of some of these historic buildings.  That would ba a really need segue from this quarter's reading!

            So, there we are in the midst of third quarter.  Lots of snow still and end of winter colds and flus.  I’m excited for spring but not for this class to end.  It’s still the most interesting one I’m teaching this year, and I really love reading all of the blogs and seeing the kids hard at work (and learning so much!) every day. 

CJF