Entry 1
Item 1: Poem
Dreams [1]
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
(Langston Hughes)
Rhetorical devices:
- Rhyme: die-fly, go-snow, frozen-snow.
- Metaphor:
o A broken-winged bird that cannot fly (a meaningless life)
o A barren field frozen with snow (an aimless life)
- Repetition: “Hold fast to dreams” ( “Hold fast to dreams” was repeated as an urgent message which the author want to send to the readers – Let hold fast to dreams to make life meaningful and beautiful).
Message:
Dreams are very important in anyone’s life (they are our aims, the beautiful things which we believe in…), so when we have no dream, our lives become nonsense. Therefore, everyone needs dreams and “Holds fast to dreams” to make our life meaningful and beautiful.
Item 2: Moral story
The obstacle in our path [2]
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
Rhetorical devices:
- Metaphor:
o The huge rock (the obstacle in life)
o The purse (the achievement which people get when they overcome the difficulties)
Message:
There are many obstacles in our lives; each of them hides an opportunity. All we need is to face up to these obstacles, try to find the solutions then we will get the deserved achievements.
Item 3: Cartoon
Rich and poor [3]
Rhetorical devices:
- Symbol: the scale is the symbol of justice.
- Irony: the person who represents justice discriminates against the poor.
Message:
In our modern society, the discrimination against the poor still exists apparently.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[1] http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dreams-2/
[2] http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-79-The+Obstacles+In+Our+Path.html
[3] http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Rich%20and%20Poor_56306
U have a good job because these items are true with the guideline of this lesson. However, I wanna contribute some comments to 1 item.
Trả lờiXóaFrom my point of view, u should explain the phrases “dreams die" (no dreams),"dreams go" (give up dreams). From this, the author give the reasons why we are to have dreams in life (lines number 3, 7) to lead to the message "dreams is very important in anyone's life."