Farewell

My fellow AP English classmates:

(To the tune of Good Riddance by Green Day)
Another writing prompt, a thought stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the pen, directs you where to go
So make the best of this class, and don't ask why
It's not a journal, but a lesson learned in time

It's something simultaneous, but in the end it's right.
I know you had the time of your life.

So take the blog topics, and pre-writes in your mind
Hang 'em on a shelf in good health and good time
Novels of Nurses and Destroyers of the world
For what it's worth it was worth going blind

It's something simultaneous, but in the end it's right.
I know you had the time of your life.

It's something simultaneous, but in the end it's right.
I know you had the time of your life.

Thank you AP English, class of 2011! Farewell.

Should I Take AP?

The common question among sophomores. "To [do] or not to [do AP English.] That is the question." But my recommendation for most of them would be yes, you should for the 10 following reasons:
1. Whining rights. As the class in our high school with the most homework, you can whimper. A little.
2. Never losing the ability to write. Now that it is a full hour after my test and I have not lost any of the information that I needed for the test, I know I'll be able to write quickly and efficiently for the rest of my life.
3. Having Ms. Serensky as a friend. Given that over half the school is totally intimidated by her, you can use this to your advantage.
4. Being smart. Not only do you get better at English, but you just become a smarter person in general.
5. Freaky relations to your own life. Characters, events, and relationships from books literally BECOME your life. Weird? Yes. Cool? Yes.
6. Bragging rights. You can always use the line: "Why don't you call me up when YOU finish a 23 page data sheet!"
7. Inside jokes. They just come naturally. Ask any AP English 12 student about "Dear Journal..." and a smile will come over their face.
8. All the life lessons you can learn. The verbal lashing that came to us after we verbally abused a substitute teacher really taught us our place.
9. Applications to the outside world. Although you can feel like you are in your own little world in the AP English classroom, analyzing the effect of juxtaposition or symbols to something as simple as a Harry Potter movie can give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
10. The gratification of walking out of the AP test with a smile on your face, thinking "I rocked that."

Amy, Chasuble and Harding arrive at the rec center, looking anxious.
Chasuble: “Will the interment take place here?” (Wilde, 27)
Amy: Well, she “keeps tottering forward, mimicking life, but without much warmth, or soul, or even a pulse” (Currie, 200)
Harding: “You haven’t had the pleasure [of taking an AP Test]. Pity. An experience no human should be without” (Kesey, 188)
Chasuble: “But have you any grave doubts on the subject?” (Wilde, 27)
Harding: “It’s cheap, quick, entirely painless. It simply induces a seizure” (Kesey, 189)
Amy: “She’ll be trapped with herself. I’m hoping it will destroy her” (Currie, 92)
Harding: Hey! She “is a veritable angel of mercy and why just everyone knows that” (Kesey, 61)
Chasuble: “I am on my way to join her” because she looks like she needs me to give her all the answers (Wilde, 50). Join me, will you?
Amy: “There’s something exciting about the risk of it” (Currie, 203)
Chasuble: “You were always the most generous and forgiving” (Wilde, 26)

Everything Does Matter

My favorite book this year was Everything Matters! not in spite of the end, but because of it. Now, please do not get me wrong--I do not like watching death in any matter, nor do I think life is "a messy and heartbreaking and overall pointless affair" like Junior might believe, but I love the paradoxically realistic nature of the science fiction story. As much as I might poke fun at Ms. Serensky for saying that she does "not want to have to be a silver lining for anybody," I believe that Junior's outlook is in accordance to hers; he thinks that the reality, not any false hope, is beauty. He wishes that people "understood...that from the moment two cells combined to become one the were doomed," because then they could truly appreciate life in its entirety. Although one may have the mindset of Amy at first, who saw things as "beautiful and doomed and thus terrible," if this person reads Everything Matters!, they can learn to appreciate the beauty in things that are doomed. This was by far the best book because through it, I learned to find beauty in everyday experiences.

annual flowers (a.k.a. they die every year)

Countdown

High school can be described as many things. Intellectually stimulating may be low on the list for some people, but I've found the top 10 best intellectual acheivements that I have experienced throughout high school.
9th grade:
10. Mrs. Ashkettle chose me to act as Ralph in The Lord of the Flies simulation in our classroom. Maybe because I was the only one in that class who talked (or at least was the only one awake during first period) but I thought of it "as a priveledge, a great honor" to be chosen not only as the leader, but the intelligent leader (Currie, 8).
10th grade:
9. Understanding reflections and refractions in AP Physics. I cannot to this day brag because my understanding of this subject is still a little faulty. It seemed like I saw everything "in a way that is not an acurate reflection of" itself (Currie 162), but I got the concept enough to get a 4 on the exam.
8. AP Tests in general. This is the first year of schooling I felt challenged and I realized it was for a purpose, not just "pure sadism on the staff's part" (Kesey, 189).
7. Completing the ENTIRE research project mostly by myself. No offense to my partners, they would agree, but with me, "they both guaranteed their trip was safe as pie, safe as pudding, not a thing to worry about" (Kesey, 209)
6. Using my Creative Writing notebook as a journal. I was used to writing without freedom, but "it [became] more than a moral duty to speak one's mind" (Wilde 37) as, suprisingly, I found out I have a lot to say.
11th grade:
5. Guiding my own teachings in AP Chem. In the period and a half, we had a lot of freedom, and I thought, "this world is good enough for me" (Wilde, 25) but I found that with freedom comes responsibility.
12th grade:
4. Finishing my data sheet before the Harry Potter 7 midnight release. I knew that without this project finished, "Idle merriment and triviality would be out of place" (Wilde, 21)
3. Being awarded with cum laude. I never felt praised for my academics, but it was nice to know that "I was obliged to be looked at, too" (Kesey, 277).
2. Getting the top Multiple Choice Score in AP English for the third quarter. Multiple choice has NEVER been my thing. I've always banked on my essay, which I guess "would simply be an easy way of passing our problem on to another" issue, so it's nice to know I have more brain power than I thought!
1. FINISHING. Guys, we have 4 real days of school left. I am the last person to admit to senioritis, I'm still quite motivated, but "there is is joy in this fact, greater joy and love in this one last moment than [we] experienced in the entirety" of our journey.

Children, Tears, and Almanacs...What Could Be More Enjoyable

Yes, for my favorite poem of the year, I, of course, choose the saddest one. For some reason, I am always drawn to sad movies, books and, now apparently, poems. When I first read this poem, I felt...well confused, as I do with all poems, but as I dug a little deeper, I knew it evoked raw sadness, "the sort of pure, inconsolable grief that only children are capable of" (Currie, 286). I have always cherished innocence and think it is the key to happiness. The fact that the girl from this poem barely had a chance to see innocence evokes that kind of sadness from me. I just wish for this child to be "separated, however temporarily, from [her] awareness of the" tears she can percieve everywhere (Currie, 266). When the almanac "plants tears," it truly shows how much the girls innocence is being taken away by her environment. Although some people may believe that children "should be aware of the trials ahead so that [they] may appreciate the effortless" nature of childhood, I think they should be ignorant of their innocence (Currie, 3). This is the only true path to pure, childlike happiness.

The Dream Day In AP English

Everyone knows that the best day in AP English includes a movie. Even if you have to take notes, that movie is a gift from the gods. In an alternate universe (or, you never know, sometime in the near future), we all sit in this well known room attentively, waiting for the movie to begin. For, we know any small misbehavior may threaten our privilege. I sit near the back, not on purpose, but it gives me a clear view of Ms. Serensky and her practiced hands, grading our in class essays from the previous day. As the movie wears on, I see a flick out of the corner of my eye. I turn to stare at Ms. Serensky. She is reading my paper. About a minute into it, "she swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand." Is my paper really that bad? Is she that upset with my reaction to her teaching techniques that I've actually brought her to tears? I feel deflated as the movie ends, knowing I have to face the big fat 2 on my paper. I flip over the paper she has placed strategically on my desk. I see a 9. I am in disbelief. A 9. "I [feel] like I [am] flying. Free." I look to see if she commented on the back. One sentence presented itself: "That certainly seems a satisfactory [analysis], does it not?" Yes, I think. Yes it does.

Im-a Blow That Up

Reggie paces as well as he can in his wheelchair as Lane gets the van ready. He does everything that Reggie tells him, using his quick wit to keep himself from blowing up--metaphorically of course. He knows that if Reggie were to actually understand his subtle sarcasm, Lane would have physically been blown up by the maniac already. Reggie snarls at Lane, "Pour me a shot'a that Turkey" as Lane replies, "Yes sir; [you've had] eight bottles and a pint" by now. Reggie doesn't care. All he cares about is blowing up the C-4 building. Earlier, when he had asked Lane his opinion on how the government treats disabled people, Lane replied, "I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present," and Reggie knew he had his man. Though, what Reggie perceived as weak and haughty, was actually a strong character hidden behind a facetious facade. As it gets closer to Reggie's ETA at the C-4 building, Lane drives the car more and more slowly. Although Reggie does not know this lack of rapidity is on purpose, he screams, "either move this van, or I'm a get real weird with it. I'm a blow it up!" Lane continues to drive at 10 miles per hour and calmly states, "I didn't think it polite to listen sir." He then guns the gas pedal, and jumps out of the car as it screams down the road, straight into a riveen. He rolls, brushes himself off, straightens his jacket and walks into the sunset; another crisis hidden by the behind-the-scenes, sardonic Lane.

Foggy Day in AP English

I sit in my usual dark corner of the English room, and now I can barely see. I thought the fog was bad. But this. This I can barely see through. I look down and see the multiple choice test I took yesterday. I know this will be the worst day in the history of AP English. As, I look around the room, one boy in particular stands out in the fog more than anyone else. I don’t know his real name, I just call him Journal Boy. To myself, of course, as I don’t speak to anyone in the class. “the only thing they’d miss if I didn’t show up would be the [pencil] and the [paper] floating around.” Journal Boy looks at his team and the rest of the room and exclaims, “I am both a blessing and a curse.” His group will win. I know it. I, on the other hand, do not have a group—a severe consequence of my not talking. As he spins his pen around on his hand and clicks it, “this sound mixes with the whirr and clang of the rest of the machines.” They all cheer and brag throughout the fog. With each click of Journal Boy’s pencil, “the hand on the end of that arm pumping bigger and bigger as he clenched and unclenched it.” We neared the end of the game, and the tallies on the board just floated along with the rest of the faces, A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s of multiple choice. The only thing that has any detail is Journal Boy’s face—until a look of extreme anguish comes over his face, he suddenly disappears back into the fog. I look onto the board and see, “Winner: Group Bromden.”

The Year of Junior: Junior's Experience in Junior Year AP English

Q: So, Junior, as a person who has successfully completed AP English 11, how do you feel about your accomplishments?
A: Well, having completed another life before this one, I feel like I finally am on the right track. Before this life, I never tried. I thought, “What does it matter?” constantly and “blue was the predominant shade of [my] life,” to invoke what I now know is colorful diction, if I do say so myself (121). It is a completely different life than before, but even if I didn’t relive this part, it would still feel so different because of how much I have changed from this class.
Q: You say you have changed. What would you say is the largest thing you have changed about yourself due to this class?
A: The obvious answer would be to say that I have become smarter, that I know how to use my brain to its fullest potential. But that isn’t the biggest change. At times in this calls, my “grief was full and violent” due to the amount of work that was involved, and I found that, from this work, I learned myself better (299). I grew to become who I am.
Q: So do you plan on taking AP English 12?
A: Without a doubt. It is a difficult class, but I will choose “to suffer every same calamity and anguish a second time” because I know it will make me a better person in the end (292).
Q: Thank you, Junior. Enjoy your End.
A: Thank you. You as well.

Children of Alcoholics

I've really enjoyed this ecclectic and different book that we've been reading for class.  Although, it seems that, as Dominic mentioned in our face-off today, every character's father is an alcoholic.  A friend of mine, Jake*, has an alcoholic parent and I analyzed his actions, deficiencies and strenths, comparing them to that of the characters in Everything Matters!  I found that although he has a very realistic approach to things, he is very critical and expects a lot out of people.  At first, I believed that this easily compared him to Junior, but Junior's all-knowing force seems to help him with a sense of self confidence, which Jake paradoxically does not have.  Also, Jake does not easily forgive people for their faults, which parallels him to John Sr., who condemns many of the men with whom he works.  However, I find that Jake seems to have unrealistically high standards, while John Sr. only asks people to do what he believes they should.  In parallel to Debbie, Jake rarely mentions his father, and obviously, yet forgivably, avoids any detail regarding him.  Debbie also avoids her problems, and mentions to as little people as possible about her past.

I always take into account my favorite Serensky quote: "there is a big difference between people who read books and people who don't."  I whole-heartedly agree with her, and would like to reccomend this book to Jake.  He may or may not be mature enough to handle it, which holds me back a little from telling him to read it.  Yet, I know he can learn a lot about himself from doing so.

*Name has been changed

Unnecessary Nerves

As it so happens, I have nerves today.  In fact, I believe everyone does.  Not only had I been nervous for my biology test, I was nervous that my nerves for something else would cause me to do badly.  My nerves for running the mile time trial today threatened to take over.  Even more so, they threatened my biology grade.  As I continued to think over these nerves (because that'll make them go away...), I realized that they were completely self-fabricated.  I knew I was only nervous for biology because of my time trial.  I knew I was only nervous for my time trial because I made myself nervous.  I mean, this is a pre-pre-season run! Who cares about it other than me? No one.  I keep telling myself this, but I continue to have nerves.  Right as these butterflies in my stomach were really starting to get to me, I found that they were more necessary than I realized.  These nerves help me push myself to do my best and if I didn't do that, no one else would take up the job for me.  My biology test and the test in my mile will only go as well depending on how hard I push myself to do them.  Maybe nerves, seemingly obnoxious and unnecessary at first will help me after all.

Me and Myself  :

The List of Lists

Today I decided to try out this new-fangled list idea that everyone has been talking about...then found I had nothing to make a list.  Therefore, I found that making a list of the 8 best lists in the class might encourage others to follow this magnificent trend:

8. The Silence of Society-Cat Cashy
This revealing post shows how little our society communicates with one another face-to-face.  This shockingly disturbing exposition shows how much we can accomplish in silence, which may not always be a good thing.

7. Qualities of a Good Leader-Lizzy Burl
Burl applies the known qualities of a good leader to McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.  Although he was "crazy" enough to have a lobotomy, he knew how to lead his people.

6. Some Days You're the Bird, Some Days You're the Statue-Meghan Shroyer
Meghan lists the highs and lows of AP English class.  Her humor shines through, as I find all these things easy to relate to...and disturbingly accurate.

5. "Insanity" in everyday life-Emily Helwig
In this post are quotes from people in Emily's life who have used the word "insane."  It depicts how it is quite overused, but paradoxically versatile.  It truly makes us question the true meaning of insanity.

4. The Awkward-Sarah Greenlaw
Greenlaw asseerts the overuse of the word "awkward" in our teen culture, which I had also notice before reading her blog.  But sometimes you "gotta just bite the bullet" and admit that things can be awkward sometimes.  Her list of incredibly awkward situations made me laugh out loud...making another awkward moment for me and the others in my computer room.

3. Simultaneous Disappointment-Mariel McGuiness
Some of you may have heard of this post from the Blog Banter, but even though I was cracking up in class, it did not give this blog enough justice; Mariel's humorous and somewhat depressing situations are comparable to The Office.

2. The Wonders of Winter-John Shoemaker
John makes me feel less guilty about the Winter Blues.  I knew right off the bat that this had to be high on my list of lists because his halarious list starts off with a bang: Winter is darker than Chase's beard.  I'll leave that as a cliff-hanger for you all to go check out this wondrous list.

1. A Slient Language-Carly Cott
Carly's list of interpretations of body language is not only insightful, but also interesting and keen.  I liked learning about this because I feel that many people misinterperet body language for something it is not.  I encourage you all to go see Carly's list along with the rest of these fabulous interpretations of a blog assignment!

Comparative Analysis

Data Sheets : Paper :: AP (Biology : Chemistry)

Vacation

Every year, a new vacation pops into the heads of my family, and each of us has our own conviction of it.  My dad, worried about money, becomes overjoyed and passionate about good deals (as example, "I just found a hotel for thirty bucks a night!"--Thanks Daddy, all I ever wanted in a vacation was a smelly carpet and bullets being shot two doors away).  My mom begins trying on every outfit in her closet the day we begin to plan the vacation, and buys new clothes as well--most likely to make up for my dad's bartering with the hotel companies.  I begin a stream of opinions, non-stop, and very likely will not stop until weeks after the vacation is over, criticizing it in every single way, planning how to make it better the next time.  But the most strange reaction of all is my brother's; he feels no need for input and remains quiet.  Pathetically, he becomes the biggest target for vacation woes and a victim of all our bickering.

As a child, I can never remember a year where my brother had a happy, carefree vacation.  At age five, in Rehoboth Beach, he got sand in his eye and needed drops for the next two weeks.  Two years later, he got a terrible burn in Florida--the next year my mother learned to put sunscreen on him, only to find that sunscreen had infected his other eye.  Two years later, carefree, little ten-year-old Jonathan Halper planned to spend a week with Mickey, Goofy and the gang, but sprained his neck on the first day on Space Mountain--he was bed-ridden all week.  The worst of all was his thirteen-year-old adventure in Rehoboth Beach.  We had shrimp for dinner and, trying to kick him out of his "picky eater phase" (which still exists, by the way) demanded that he try some.  With the smallest bite, he slapped his hand over his mouth.  I critically said, "Jonathan, it really can't be that bad.  Calm down."  Later that night, he had to be rushed to the hospital, barely able to breathe, and was diagnosed with a death-threatening allergy to shell-fish.  Don't be let down by the fact I left out two stories of 105 degree fevers,one story of an ear infection and countless sunburns.  It is safe to say that my brother never has had high expectations for a vacation, and I guess, therefore, has never been disappointed by one.

Face The Music, Clive

As I began to read Amsterdam, I was thoroughly enjoyed by all the allusions to music, mostly because in Lehman's terms, I am a piano nerd.  I thought this Clive guy sounded pretty cool, I mean writing a symphony is a pretty big deal, and he seemed to understand the nuances that create a masterpiece.  As the pages wore on, I found my inclination towards liking Clive slowly slipping away.  Then, I began to compare him to one of my favorite composers, Ludwig Van Beethoven.  Beethoven is the epitome of a tortured artist; he never found love, he lost all his money taking care of his sick brother, and routinely became seriously ill himself.  I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Beethoven, as he finished his career still composing and conducting his symphonies--almost completely deaf.  Also, I like him because he provides a stark contrast to the weak character of Clive.  Clive stresses over one symphony, while Beethoven composed nine.  Also, Clive is very high maintenance and must have the perfect setting to compose his music.  He becomes annoyed at a woman who makes noise as she struggles for her life.  Beethoven would never had complained over such a trivial diversion from his concentration (although, depending on how old he was, he probably would not have heard this woman).  Although Beethoven sets the bar high for Clive, Clive should do everything in his power to strive to be as heroic a composer as Beethoven.

Singing Our Lives Away

Coming back to the new semester brought much foreshadowing of eventual demise for the use of brain power for seniors.  Yet, for me, I continue to power through and worry more about the new schedule than any sort of lack of motivation.  The first day (or two...or three) of the new semester bring stresses, but I never could guess how apprehensive my fellow students would become over the smallest of things.

You would think the stresses of picking up a new class at the semester or the continual arduous work our teachers demand that we do would stress my students the most.  But this is an entirely false claim.  The gossip of the day includes the fact that we must sing in front of our entire English class.  Being an AP course, we have been reared to react intelligently to prompts and other tasks that catch us off guard.  I saw a completely different reaction to this singing task.  Now, my voice is no gem, but I believe that people should feel less stressed about this than they do.  In our lives we will have to deal with much more difficult and serious requests than singing a tune in front of our peers.

Bloggin' 'Bout Bloggin'

Overall, I feel that I've had a positive experience from this project.  I've had two small complaints, but I'll get to that in one moment.  I really enjoyed reading other people's writing styles and how they do or do not let their own voice shine through their work.  Also, I felt I was able to pull more creative things from my mind than I ever have in the past.  I know this helped me become a better writer because, for all the writing we do for the class, it has been more systematic than anything else.  I feel much more confident about writing as I make my next step in life and head to college.  One thing I would like to change is how familiar I am with the website.  I know, Ms. Serensky, you can do nothing to change this, but I know I had some really creative ideas as gadgets, but I did not really know how to put them down in the website with the choices they provided us.  Also, I wish we did not have to think of an official title until the very end, as we do when we write our papers.  I feel that, if we had a chance to develop our blog with a cohesive theme, we could come up with a creative name by the end that would envelop the main idea of our blog.  Other than these two small glitches, I've really enjoyed the project as a whole.

Is It Wrong or Is It...Left?

As I debated what to write for my blog, I yearned for something creative to display, and hopefully show off in front of the class on Thursday.  I've always felt that my creativity in this project has seriously lacked, at least compared to my classmates.  Then, I questioned why, which got me thinking about whether or not I am "Right-Brained" or "Left Brained," and how this helps me in English.  I've never known for sure, because I love math and science, but I also love to read and draw.  For those of you who do not know the difference, the right brain is visual and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details.  The left brain is verbal and processes information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole.

I took a quiz, hoping that it would clear things up for me.  I am going to college next year and love my classes too much to decide which one I would like to pursue as a career.  Of course, after answering a few "yes-or-no" questions, the quiz came to the same conclusion I have: I am dead center.  I know extremes in life are never good, but maybe it is easier and more productive to be decided about a trait of ourselves than to be unsure, which has never been the case in my life.  So, what are you--left- or right-brained? Take the quiz on the URL to find out!
http://www.intelliscript.net/test_area/questionnaire/questionnaire.cgi

My Own Personal Nurse Ratched

As I worked on my data sheet earlier today, I went to scroll from my audience and purpose section up to the date, due to some sort of panic attack that I typed the wrong date.  Apparently, my panic attack was too much for the computer to handle, because in my panic to scroll from the very bottom to the very top, my computer froze and I had to restart so that the machine would not fry.

This caused me to draw parallels between my life and Bromden's.  I feel like we both have some sort of extreme fear of machines, but is it truly irrational?  I don't know about anyone else, but, on average, I save my data sheet about every thirty seconds.  That may be irrational, because I can easily remember what I wrote thirty seconds ago, and if the computer were to crash, it would do an "auto-save" of my document.  But, I always have a nagging fear that my computer would lock down and keep my data sheet from me like Nurse Ratched kept toothpaste from McMurphy.  I even keep an updated version on my data sheet on a flash drive, even though I have no intention of working on it at school.  This, of course, is because I am afraid it will not save and I will have to start from the place I began previously (which has happened before).

It is my own Nurse Ratched because I fear it, yet am still a slave to it.  Not only in school, but I look to the internet for my connections to the outside world.  Just as the patients hate Nurse Ratched, they look to her for support and decision-making.  Maybe machines control our world after all, just like Bromden believes.

Will Power?

We all know the Christmas season is full of eggnog, cookies, and other wonderfully fattening dishes that we would like to indulge in, but the thing that has always frustrated me is the flaky, unrealistic goals that each New Year brings.  As I spent all of December indoors to work out due to an unfortunate stress fracture, I watched the number of people at my work out facility dwindle as the month went on.  This did not surprise me, but it disappointed me.  If AP English has taught me anything (which, of course, it has), it taught me perseverance and the fact that we must work for what we gain.  I knew that, the split second it became January 1, 2011, many Americans would "turn a leaf" and begin their diets and work out plans all over again.  But how true is this "leaf?"  Now, I do not condemn these people for wanting a fresh start, but I learned through AP English that we must persevere through the difficult times, as the holidays may be for these people.  Also, I learned that one cannot start at the end.  We would not be where we are today as writers and students if it weren't for those multiple unfinished essays and the scary grouped up desks and the violent graded discussions.  Those who have a New Year's Resolution to be fit and active must take a realistic approach and not bog down the work out facility if they can't work the machines there.  Thankfully, I have persevered through my doctor-ordered 4 weeks off of running and am able to avoid the work out facility as much as possible.

Christmas Analysis

A few days before Christmas, during our annual baking of pies and cookies, my mother and I watched a classic Christmas movie, The Polar Express.  (SPOILER ALERT) For those of you who do not know the movie, the main character travels to the North Pole on a magical train and Santa Claus gives him the First Gift of Christmas.  He asks for a bell, which symbolizes his belief in Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas.  Yet, due to a hole in his pocket, he loses the bell, which brings him great despair.  The movie continues to show him feeling the hole in his pocket long after he loses the bell.  In response to this, my mother exclaimed, "Do they think we're that dumb that they have to show us that stupid hole every two seconds?"  I responded, "Mom, the repetition of the hole being shown aahhh-bviously is to evoke pathos from the audience."  Then I thought to myself, did I really just say that out-loud?  That scared me a little bit.  What scared me even more is that my mother did not even give me a second glance.  She just turned back to the pie crust, humming along to the movie's soundtrack, as though I said nothing out of the ordinary.  Although English only lasts two years, this memory of Christmas Analysis will always stick in my mind.  It made me realize how second nature analysis has become.  Also, I am sure that, in future Christmases, I will analyze Christmas movies just as well as if I were still in the class like today.