1st Person POV or... 3rd Person POV? Hmm...

These few days during LA lesson, we have been touching a lot on the 1st and 3rd person perspectives which are used constantly in stories. Therefore, I decided that I should do a blog post on it and tell you my opinions and feelings of both perspectives. :)

So basically, the 1st person point of view is used in stories only when:
1) You want to bring out the feelings and perspectives of ONE character, the main character which you have placed the most emphasis on.
2)You want the reader to experience the situation from the character's point of view.

And you use the 3rd person point of view when:
1) You want to show the feelings of all the characters in the story.
2) You want to make more emphasis on the development of the plot and description of the setting.

Most of the time, if we would want to develop on the character and show a complex idea or theme in an interesting, entertaining but yet simple way, we would choose to use the 1st person. However, if you would like to focus on the plot of the story, the 3rd person would be a better idea as it allows the narrator to be omniscient.

Actually, in my opinion, I love to use the 1st person point of view because most of the time, stories which I write actually happened to me in real life. Therefore, when I write them, 1st person would be easier as I can easily convey my feelings and perspectives of the situation. I also prefer using 1st person because I find that stories are usually more interesting and exciting when they are written in 1st person. Most of the reasons for this includes how 1st person can be more suspenseful then 3rd person. However, I think that my view of this has changed. After viewing the stories of "The Apprentice" and "Red Letter Day" in the Narrative Viewpoints Package, I find that by writing in 3rd person, it can be equally as exciting and interesting! :) So I guess I should trying using 3rd person soon yea? xD

So that's all for today! :)

Cheers,
Raphael

Describing Setting: A Beach :D

Hi everyone!

We had a very fun LA class today with a very interesting assignment. :) It was about describing a picture of a beach and then receiving another of your classmate's picture with the need to match up the description to the picture. Alton got my picture and he managed to track my description down! :D

Here it is!

The sand gleamed under the wrath of the scorching sun, like jewels sparkling in the lime light. The water engulfed the sand near the shore, painting them a darker colour. John and I were bursting with excitement. Without a second to spare, we leaped onto the sand and felt the softness of the sand within our toes, the warmth of the sun under our feet. We ran all around the beach and jumped into the sea, just to feel the cold water wrap itself around our dark coloured skin. The crystal blue water along with the winds billowing across the sky brought along with them the smell of the saltiness of the sea. While the blue sky blanketed the background, the outline of a small island filled with the robust colours of tropical green broke the horizon of the sea. 

Hope you liked it! (:

Cheers,
Raphael

Home Learning Assignment! TOON DOO! :D

We had a very interesting Home Learning assignment today. :) To make a short story/plot and showcase it in a comic strip. Thus this is my product after using the internet programme, ToonDoo. :D

  

- Why did you choose the different pictures or background(s)? 

 I chose the different picture and backgrounds to represent the actual situation and scene which is happening in that panel. For instance, in panel 1, it shows a meeting room as I wanted the readers to understand that Pear Inc. is a company. In panel 3, I placed an angry mob of people in order to show their unhappiness towards their boss' treatment of his employees and in panel 4, I wanted to mimic an actual chart which is drawn on a piece of A4 size paper, thus I made the background a piece of foolscap paper.

- How do they contribute to the elements (plot, setting, characterisation) of your narrative?

I believe that the different pictures and backgrounds of my comic strip help to bring out the plot of my story. I spent most of the time making the comic strip trying to choose the most suitable background which suits the panel of my comic and only after much consideration do I finally make a decision on the background which I want. I think that the backgrounds chosen helps to make my story and comic strip more realistic like how a chart should be on paper and a meeting in an office. It would be kind weird if I chose to hold the meeting in the middle of a park, won't it? xD

-  How did you make use of the different elements to contribute to the theme you have chosen? 

I have to admit that I had much difficulty with bringing out the theme, which is the importance of good leadership. Especially when I am only limited to only 6 panels, I have to compress my entire story into a very short comic strip. I actually didn't use many elements in most of my panels as I wanted the reader to concentrate on the more important details like the characters and dialogue and not the miscellaneous props like chairs, tables, and shapes here and there. However, I did apply some elements in the 4th panel as it was necessary to show the dip in the sales report, making it more interesting than just dialogue telling the story. 

Yupp so that's my comic strip! Hope you liked it! :D

Cheers! Raphael :D

Blog Prompt 2 (:

Well we were given our second blog prompt and it was:

1) Have you ever been in the company of a group of which you clearly were not included? Describe the circumstances. How did you act? How did the situation / event affect you?

So here's my reply. :)

I have to say that no matter what happens, everybody once in a while would be clearly excluded from a group or company. But I have always felt excluded from this specific group of people. Since I am a Catholic, every week I would go to a church at Siglap, which is in the East. And teenagers had to go for Cathecism which was something like Gospel Class. And just because I was in the Gifted Education Programme and studied in Hwa Chong Institution, I would sometimes feel excluded from the class. You would need to understand that the students in my Cathecism class came from neighbourhood schools and most often than not they will possess the mentality that GEPers are smart and geniuses UNLIKE themselves. So they would be slightly hostile towards students who are from schools like Hwa Chong Institution. Fortunately my Cathecism teacher and the majority of the students accept me for who I am. :)

So yupp, that's my response and it's true! However I guess sometimes we would just have to live with it and despite all the criticism about you, just continue to trust in yourself and keep persevering on. :)

Cheers!
Raphael (:

Tough tough week...

Oh gosh I'm so glad the week is over. I have to say its the TOUGHEST week ever! And it's only the first week of Sec 2... *Faints* I guess the first week is always the most screwed up. :P

I mean like considering I left school at around 7 on Monday, Tuesday, 9 on Wednesday O.O, and 6 on Friday, with loads of work and council stuff and debate stuff, quite a lot of pressure yea? But I'm not giving up! LET'S KEEP THE SPIRIT UP! :D

Lemme tell you my awesome personal motto: "Be Yourself! Stay Positive! Keep Fighting!" Whenever I feel down, I think about it and sure enough, I keep persevering through. And guess what, I was right! The week ended of pretty well with a successful CCA Orientation for the English Debating Society. :)

I'm still looking forward to TWO OH ONE ONE. :D Give me any challenges and I will still be able to overcome it. With my awesome classmates behind me, I know I can make it. :)

Cheers!
Raphael :D

Prejudice Explanation: Lesson on 14th January 2011

Ms Huang really cleared up my messy concept on Prejudice today so here's my notes for the day. :)

Prejudice comes from the word Pre-Judge. And the definition of Pre-Judge is to judge someone or a group of people before you establish the true facts, understand the true situation and know the person. Most often than not, the source of prejudice is from a single opinion which spreads and influences others, resulting to discrimination in the end.

During the lesson, Ms Huang also talked about generalisations and stereotypes. Stereotypes being over- generalisation. xD Such stereotypes include saying that all Americans are white and more easily related to: all Hwa Chongians are communists or that all Rafflesians are superior in English.

Generalisations on Prejudice (which my group came up with):
1) Prejudice is a biased opinion that has no reasonable basis.
2) Prejudice causes a group of people to have an advantage over another.
3) Prejudice inadvertently leads to discrimination.
4) Prejudice arises from idealisms of superiority and uniqueness in people against others.
5) Prejudice arises from differences among people.
6) Prjeudice leads to tension and unrest in the populace.

That's all for today. Cheers!

Raphael.

Know, Want, Learnt (KWL) :D

Hehe Ms Huang shared with us this format of reflection (well you can refer to it as a reflection...) and it's called as Know, Want, Learnt (KWL). So this is my KWL for the Language Arts lesson on 13th January 2011. :)

Topic: PREJUDICE


Know: What do I already know about?

• Definition: Prejudice is like showing biasness towards a group of people. The group of people are most often then not different from the rest and possess different psychological or physical traits.
• Example: Black people are treated differently from White people, where the Whites are given more advantages, a good job and a good lifestyle while the Blacks are poor, have difficult jobs and hard lives.

Want: What do I want to know about?

• The specific definition of Prejudice.
• Other examples besides the example of the Blacks and Whites.

Learnt: What have I learnt?

• Prejudice is not only related to the issue of discrimination of the Blacks in America. It can also be related to issues like the persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust. Prejudice can even be associated with gender issues and discrimination of females.
• Other examples are like the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust. Jews were discriminated just because Hitler thought that they were weaker and unclean. They were not allowed into certain areas like playgrounds, made to stay together in ghettos and etc.

Yupp! So thats my KWL for my LA lesson!

Cheers,

Raphael :D

Blog Prompt 1 xD

When Ms Huang told us to go home and find a poem which we really liked and talk about it. I was really excited cos I knew exactly which poem I would choose. So here it is. (:

Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein

I'll tell you the story of Cloony the Clown
Who worked in a circus that came through town.
His shoes were too big and his hat was too small,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
He had a trombone to play loud silly tunes,
He had a green dog and a thousand balloons.
He was floppy and sloppy and skinny and tall,
But he just wasn't, just wasn't funny at all.
And every time he did a trick,
Everyone felt a little sick.
And every time he told a joke,
Folks sighed as if their hearts were broke.
And every time he lost a shoe,
Everyone looked awfully blue.
And every time he stood on his head,
Everyone screamed, "Go back to bed!"
And every time he made a leap,
Everybody fell asleep.
And every time he ate his tie,
Everyone began to cry.
And Cloony could not make any money
Simply because he was not funny.
One day he said, "I'll tell this town
How it feels to be an unfunny clown."
And he told them all why he looked so sad,
And he told them all why he felt so bad.
He told of Pain and Rain and Cold,
He told of Darkness in his soul,
And after he finished his tale of woe,
Did everyone cry? Oh no, no, no,
They laughed until they shook the trees
With "Hah-Hah-Hahs" and "Hee-Hee-Hees."
They laughed with howls and yowls and shrieks,
They laughed all day, they laughed all week,
They laughed until they had a fit,
They laughed until their jackets split.
The laughter spread for miles around
To every city, every town,
Over mountains, 'cross the sea,
From Saint Tropez to Mun San Nee.
And soon the whole world rang with laughter,
Lasting till forever after,
While Cloony stood in the circus tent,
With his head drooped low and his shoulders bent.
And he said,"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT -
I'M FUNNY JUST BY ACCIDENT."
And while the world laughed outside.
Cloony the Clown sat down and cried. 

This poem was actually introduced to me by my classmate Goh Xian Fong during Poetry "Nite" in 2010. He did mention parts of the poem here and there and what it means but I actually had a personal connection to the poem itself. Though it actually started off on a light note, sounding quite cheerful, it is actually a pretty sad poem, which I weirdly gained a liking for. I don't really wish to start talking about what the poem is about from the surface, so instead I'll actually tell you what the poem really means to me.

This poem actually allowed me to feel how other people might react if I said something hurtful to them, no matter whether I knew that I hurt them or not. Sometimes, we really need to just step into the shoes of the other person and personally feel how they feel. I actually feel lucky to have been exposed to this poem before I actually felt how Cloony The Clown felt in real life. It came to me that we shouldn't do things to others if we know that they won't like it. If they are different from the rest, we still have to accept them into society and make them feel welcomed. Cos they're differences don't make them inferior, it only makes them unique. :)

So that's my favourite poem which really touched me. Hope you liked it :D

Cheers, Raphael :)

Yesh... Back to a Whole New School Year :)

First few days of school was excellent. Really enjoyed it. :)

Wondering why I'm reviving this blog? Haha, the URL address of my blog tells everything xD

Gonna write a new post on one of the poems that I really liked soon. :P

Cheers,
Raphael

P.S. Feels pretty good to be chairman of 2i1 xD