Reflection on Little Red Cap

Originally, the story of Little Red Riding Hood was known to be "Little Red Cap", the titular name of the poem Duffy wrote. Not all fairy tales had happy ending as glossed over by Disney, and some may be even be originally morbid such as the story of Sleeping Beauty, originally coined by Charles Perraut, whereby the Princess was raped and impregnated while asleep. As the poem uses the title of the original story of Little Red Riding Hood, we see how Duffy is removing the sugar-coated gloss on the fairy tale that we are familiar with to link it back to a darker story.

Through the analysis, we are able to see sexual symbols and motifs in the poem. As sexual beings, we project our biological wants and needs through our interpretation of the world, and specifically in the realm of fairy tales, in the interpretation of its symbols and motifs. According to Freud as written in the BBC Article, "Maleficient:What Do Fairy Tales Really Mean?", fairy tales are stemmed from the same place as dreams, and motifs like forests and thorns indicated repressed desires and wish-fulfilment fantasies. Red Cap appears to be on the brink of puberty as highlighted by the opening line of "At childhood's end" and lead to a cat and mouse game involving the "Wolf" upon "first clapp[ing] eyes on the wolf" as she tries to make sure that he "spotted" her. The Wolf tries to "lead [her] deep into the woods" but little did he realise that he is falling into Red Cap's trap instead. This illustrates a complex plot as opposed to a generic one of a fairy tale, suggesting a ideas beyond a mere superficial value. 

With the advantage of a sultry disposition as exemplified by the term "babe", Red Cap being able to lure the Wolf easily also show a role reversal in which power and control now lays in Red Cap's hand as she has the power to manipulate the Wolf into her ulterior motive of exacting revenge over the death of her grandma, who was eaten by the Wolf.  There could also be an allusion that Red Cap could genuinely be attracted to the older "paperback" reading and wine-sippingWolf as she could see that the Wolf is able to "lead [her] deep into the woods" or being able to extend and widen her knowledge. However, Red Cap also reveal to be multifaceted with the ability to remorse and contemplate on the killing of the Wolf as she realise similar to cheetahs not being able to change their spots,  "year in, year out", the Wolf will still have the "same rhyme, same reason" illustrating how it will always be a killer in nature.

"Little Red Cap" ultimate challenges our perception of the role of women in society against traditional stereotypes. Such stereotypes that then become measures of qualities are warped and turned around in today's modern world and Duffy uses this poem to challenge the conventions of what it means to be a woman today.

Reflection (22/4/13-26/413)

Rereading Never Let Me Go this week has given me a better insight. This phase allowed me to zoom in on words and I could see things I've never noticed previously such as the characteristics of the main protagonist- Kathy and the importance of her narrating within the novel.

The test practice on Tuesday was also very helpful after we finished and looked at each other's work. For example, I compared my work with Wi Kiat and saw the weaknesses in my writing such as not being able to provide enough contextual evidence.

In preparation for next week's exams, I believe we'd still need to practice on more writing exercises. I am starting to get the hang of analyzing poetry better yet I believe we could benefit from a class session of discussion together with Ms. Abena to talk about tips and advices.

Reflection (25/3/13-29/3/13)

We further discussed Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence". Discussing about the lyrics this week in a circle on the carpet felt good as we simply exchanged more ideas and we gained a better insight. The key is that there is never a right answer but a logical analysis. Sometimes while analyzing, it seems that we truly forget to consider how we felt and instead get too caught up with what the author is trying to imply or how it affects the reader. I believe that we have to keep a balance of our personal response too.

We also analyzed "Anthem for Doomed Youth" which I personally found, very challenging. However, through this exercise, I realize the importance of a strong vocabulary bank. Certain words, even though archaic, carries great analytical value. Even when these difficult words have their definition given, I would not take the risk to depend on it and by practicing often on vocabulary.com, this will put me in good stead for those challenges.

I cannot mention enough that vocabulary.com has been incredibly helpful. I've been learning a lot of words and I feel great when I spot them in daily usage. I hope that we are pushed to continue the practices on the website as even when I hesitated at first, it has turned out to be incredibly useful.

Reflection (18/3/13-22/3/13)

This week in English, we learnt more figurative language terms. I was astounded by the number of techniques that are apparently common yet I've no knowledge of until recently such as pathetic fallacy, iambic pentameter and many more. To fully apply these terms in my writing, I still need to practice using it as through my unseen poetry practices.

While we listened to Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", it was really fun to spot the techniques they use to convey subtle meanings such as anarchy. I've often searched up meanings of songs that I like and am appalled that this could also be a technique to improve my writing. Like poetry,  the top review of "The Sound of Silence" gave me a vivid and creative look towards the lyrics of the song which makes me see how important it is to master these techniques and to be able to use it creatively.

While analyzing the song, I could see that I'm starting to identify parts of the lyrics by seeing which parts fit into a certain technique. From there, I would carry on investigating it's meaning. I find that this is very helpful if we've learnt those techniques as it makes analysis much easier.

Reflection (11/3/13-15/3/13)

This week in English, it was all about vocabulary! It's been ages since I've updated my language record but Vocabulary.com has since become incredibly useful in replacing my record. I love using the website to practice my usage of words as you are able to "learn" a word until we are familiar with it. I find this incredibly useful! Outside, I use a word learning application called Anki to learn Chinese and this strategic way of 'remembering' words that we aren't familiar with and drilling us until so makes learning really effective.

The "Orpheus the Lyrical" game however was rather hard for me as the examples are sometimes hard to understand and I have to juggle playing while recording the examples and their figurative language style. I would get too distracted with the game or with recording resulting in a chaos.

I would definitely keep using Vocabulary to enhance and widen my vocabulary skills and hopefully apply my new knowledge of words to my writing.

reflection (26/2/13-1/3/13)

This week, we reflected on the mock papers that we had sat for last week. Being asked to predict what band our work would be in is a great move in really making us students to really look back on the marking schemes. By recognizing what we need to aim for ( such as criteria in a higher band) and how we are able to add what's missing in our work, this will lead to the gradual process of simply getting better at writing for the exams.

Moreover, breaking down the Assessment Objectives helped a lot as well. Most of the time, what I find excruciating is to differentiate the tiny actions that separates bands apart and breaking down the main ideas of the AOs. Simply put, I had no idea what I'm expected of as the AOs can sometimes be too general. By breaking down the AOs into understandable levels, we see what it is that examiners want to see.

Reflection (28/1/13-1/2/13)

This week, we decided to analyze Never Let Me Go and make poster boards out of the analysis. In my group, we focused on analyzing the characters in the book and decided to produce a Venn diagram of the three main characters, Kathy, Ruth and Tommy.

The Venn diagram helped us in differentiating their characteristics but also to unite similar characteristics as well such as how they were all related through their upbringing in Hailsham. I also see others starting on the timeline for the storyline which I believe is the most challenging task as one has to be familiar of all the flashbacks and place them in an orderly manner. I think as the weeks progress, the timeline would be extremely helpful for us in grasping important events and how the build up to other events, like a wave.

Reflection (21/1/13-25/1/13)

 This week, we utilised acronyms in helping us to write better analysis for poems. While working on them, I realise that were other factors to consider in analysing a piece of poetry as well such as rhyme, audience and speaker. 

However, I found it hard to remember these acronyms unless they are short. Hence, I believe S.M.I.L.E. ( structure, meaning, imagery, language, evidence) was the most memorable and effective acronym as each alphabet covers a range of things that needs to be considered. 

Our literature circles had been great so far with members trying to come up with new ways to spice up our meetings. This week, Victoria made a jumbled up piece synopsis cut out of paper and we had to rearrange it. We also had fun using Zondle for our vocabulary.

Reflection (14/1/13-18/1/13)

This week, we reviewed each other's work on the chapters of the novels assigned to us. I believe we gave each other constructive feedback and gave a thorough analysis of the quality of work. Overall, I think some groups did a great job in creating illustrations and slideshows for the chapters' synopsis. After we collected the pros and cons of each chapter, we were able to understand what needed to be improved. I also believe this method was very productive! If we do this for the next chapters (11-20) we will be done with this project in another week!

Ms. Abena's example chapter also taught us about how to make use of Wallwisher  and to include more embedded exercises. The group discussion proved to be useful when we head over to the library to discuss about Sex and Sexuality. We were open and matured while discussing hence producing a fruitful discussion on issues about sex and sexuality. I found it refreshing to discuss about something that really matters to us teens but were always considered taboo.

We also got back our poem analysis essays and compared it with Miran's outstanding piece. I was impressed at her interpretation of solder as I did not understand the symbolism behind it. I think the practice essays really help us in preparing for the upcoming exams.

▲

Brain's numb. Numb from all the noise that infringes my space.

There's not enough space.

Shut up, just. Shut up.

Pathetic yelps. I smile a lot less. 

Is this what they call as "growing up"?

A nice long sleep on my bed. That's all I want.

Overcoming the trauma of metamorphosis. 

The slow transition into an ugly brew. A lifelong battle with oneself.

I want this but I should do this. Blergh.

"Yeah it's overwhelming, but what else can we do. Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute."

Reflection (7/1/13-11/1/13)

 discussion study guide

This week in English, we did a lot of poetry and kicked off the week with a nice game of 1 truth two false. I had been given an interesting word, "diction", and I had no idea what the theme of the game was as there was even "Kalashnikov" in it until we read the poems in our anthology. I had a newfound appreciation for some poems such as "Fatima" and "Clearance" as I analyzed the backgrounds of the poems (e.g: "Fatima" had a background of the Sarajevo war and ethnic segregation in it) and I learnt so much about "Clearances", the poem which I was most unfamiliar about, until Ms. Abena told us about the culture of Irish cuisine and its familiarity with potatoes. I found the poem really heartwarming after I  found the key behind the symbolism of potatoes within it and I could almost vividly imagine the poem inside my head. Out of all the poems, "Fatima" and "Clearances" have to be my favourite.

I chose to write on "Clearances" for my analysis essay as I felt that it was a breakthrough revelation after understanding its symbolism with potatoes. However, besides the symbolism, I also learnt to compare the writer's perspective and talk about the emotions that the poem carries in my essay as I feel that I could imagine the poem in my view.

We also played out the poems, which I initially thought it wouldn't be helpful but at the end, had indeed helped me in understanding the poems better. While acting out "For Rita With Love", I learnt that "Rita" could possible have Down's Syndrome and when I tried embracing my classmates, their genuine reactions of being freaked out was unfortunately real. I would not be able the situation of the poem ever  if I hadn't seen the faces of my classmates. This gave me an appreciation for the poem as I really learnt more of it's subtle significance. I saw how by being kind, people actually think of it as an odd manner because it's uncommon to be nice and kind. To hug other at random. To say, "I like you" to strangers.

Lastly, we discussed about our Study Guide project and I felt that questionnaire helped us all to see how we REALLY felt about working on the project. I was glad that we were all honest about how we weren't putting enough effort into the project but at the same time, we were not going to give up as we knew it would be beneficial at the end. We had a productive discussion and concluded that each chapter will be worked on among pairs. I think that as soon as we finish the project and put it aside, we will be able to focus on preparing for the exam.

reflection (2/1/13-4/1/13)

Another year unfolds and what better way to celebrate(for us students) than to hand in our first coursework! Apologies to Ms. Abena who has to mark a mountain pile of it though. :( The week kicked off great with us organizing ourselves to collaboratively work on the study guide and we've to play our part as everyone has a role. Our discussions resulted in a productive timeline and a division of tasks for the study guide. However, some did not participate in the discussion and were insensitive towards others such as Afifah who has too many tasks for herself to do.

I really hope that we could care for others and not wander off during important discussions as the study guide is for the benefit of all of us. I'm looking forward to the weeks to come where I could finalize my second essay and count the time ticking away to my secondary school graduation. May this be a start to another productive year in English class!

Reflection (26/11/12-1/12/12)

 This week, it's been great to finish off our essays on Saturday. I thought it was better to just focus on the language essay on saturday as juggling both essays at once would be an arduous task. The reference samples that were given to us were really helpful but I wish I had it earlier to clear some of my confusion on how to write a sophisticated commentary, producing annotations and elaborating on my chosen sources.

However, I think we all did great and I felt supported by my teachers and peers. I really appreciated the fact that Ms. Abena and Ms. Sandra was willing to spend half of their Saturday to help us as well. With this, I felt like our class have worked together as a team to help each other.

Reflection (19/11/12-23/11/12)

verb noun collocation, poem , kathy tommy, lit circa, trello 

This week in English, we learnt about verb+noun collocation. Collocation is an expressive phrase that determines which words go together. But before that, I've always wondered what's the difference between 'learnt' and 'learned'. I hope that my fellow peers could shed some light on this if anyone has any idea. 

From our previous meetings online, when we were asked to collaborate on the Tommy essay, my group and I instinctively remembered to set up discussion times. This proved that our communication skills improved with the help of one another and we became more initiative when responsibilities are shared.

Discussions on the poem "Base Details" were also intense and I enjoyed it very much as we concluded from a light squabble among our peers about the 'real' meaning, there IS no exact meaning. The point is to analyze and interpret it with evidence and explanation hence it could possibly mean anything, as long as you could support it. This gives me an idea about our essays as there is never a right or wrong essay, but it all depends on how we use our explanation to further support and concrete our ideas.

Reflection (12/11/12-16/11/12)

This week in English, I think our class did really well in working together outside of school. We definitely made an effort to support each other by meeting on Skype for our literature circle and Edmodo definitely keeps me on track with work while Ms. Abena was away. It feels like any ordinary week and there's actually more work than any other normal week.

Communication was definitely important this week as we have to keep in touch with our literature circle members and help each other for the presentation. I think Edwin did great and was glad we were able to meet up to help him. It was the only arduous task of the week as some members forgot to come online for the meeting and we encountered some technical difficulties on Skype. However, I hope after this week, I am able to spend more time finalizing my essays.

Reflection (5/11/12-9/11/12)

This week in English, we talked about idioms and creative writing. These happen to be one of my FAVOURITE things in English as in my opinion, makes everyday conversations and pieces of writing more interesting. I can remember vividly when I first came across the idiom "raining cats and dogs" a few years ago as it completely baffled me. Why on earth would people describe the pouring rain as a weather with cats and dogs falling out of it like a scene from cartoon? That was probably the moment that piqued my interest in using idioms and bombastic words to make my writing like a piece of puzzle for the reader to slowly unravel.

I had fun to writing about a boring everyday event, which was waking up. As I listen to my classmates read, I realize that there's a lot more depth to them that I've never noticed before. I realize that some had effortless wittiness and some talked about their everyday event so meaningfully I felt as though I've gotten to know a part of themselves. Their stereotypical image are erased into oblivion as I hear Chua talking about 'waking up' as well but contained a depth that I never saw.

By sharing, I noticed how different each of us think, which the thoughts then are put into a piece of writing. There were honest reflections, poems, stories and even comedic writings from all of us in that circle and I could possibly say that by being exposed to different writing styles, the world of writing expanded in my mind. We should definitely find time after the essays to have a creative writing session again and also a carpet sharing session as all of us really do have a piece to share. Through peer support, we could help one another get inspired to produce great writings and also enhance oratory performance.

Reflection (29/10/12-2/11/12)

This week, I have been trying to apply what I've learnt from writing my research essay onto the my first comparison essay draft. I realize that a lot of what we practiced on the previous essay flowed smoothly- I naturally remembered to cite every source, I tried to keep my sentences simple and understandable, and applied the P.E.E.(Point, Evidence, Explanation). I remember that creating a bibliography absolutely fazed me when I wrote my research essay but with practice, it has now become a skill.

However, I still feel that my P.E.E. is still weak as I did not write my plan orderly. The same mistake is now repeating itself but through reading a few examples of comparison essay on http://www.writework.com/ , I became inspired. Questions like 'what are the ideal paragraph sizes?', 'what is a good essay?" and "Am I not following the format?" just diminishes as I compare the similarities and differences of my writing style and others. The 5/5 grading on every paper also gave me a rough estimate on what is 'good' or bad'. I really suggest this website to other learners if they would like to see examples of well written essays NOT TO COPY, but to get a little inspiration from.

The anthology session we had in class on Thursday was really fun. Those poems were honestly really interesting to read especially Latitudes. I felt as though I have a newfound appreciation for poetry after reading the poems in my booklet. They weren't boring and through discussions, I was able to interpret these poems into many different ways. Our discussions were also constructive as we open ourselves to each other's opinions and ideas. Our brainstorming time on the carpet felt really nice as a sense of community existed and most of us tried to share ideas. The idea of passing a 'speech turn' was also really useful as we all tend to talk at the same time resulting in a lot of us not listening. I think that discussions are just really engaging and I hope we are able to do more cozy carpet discussions during anthology lessons.

10 p.m. rationale

 Do you know that feeling?

Those sudden urges to just do it. Don’t think. Just. Do.

We live our lives dictated by fear. Say, right now I would like to pack a bag, go to Times Square and watch as the people pass by me in a city that never sleeps. You would say,

1.     That’s brash.

2.     That’s selfish.

3.     You’re just dreaming.

So let me ask you. Why not?

Why can’t I pack my bags and buy a 1-way ticket to New York right now? Why can’t I embark on a journey? Why can’t I follow my heart?

What is right or wrong anyways?

Our world is guide lined by so-called ‘ethics’. Just put that aside for a sec. don’t think about how you would get sacked of your job, don’t think about how you won’t be able to graduate with honors. Don’t think about what others think.

Just one question. What do you want to do right now?

And really, what is stopping you?

Someone once told me that being selfish is not necessarily a bad thing. I feel that I can’t do what I want because my actions affect others. I feel like, I owe people parts of me. I can’t do this because he/she/it don’t like it.

I want to have steak and fries tonight. But gran can’t eat beef, dad has indigestion problems and mom prefers Chinese.

But what if I politely tell them, that I have been waiting to get out of boarding for weeks and every cell in my body will not relax until I have a plate the size of Jupiter with steak and fries right in front of me? I will say please of course.

Doing what you want is different from being inconsiderate. Doing what you want is telling someone that this is what you want to do in life, not in purpose of agitating others but simply, because it makes you happy. And if you are important to those who are important to you, they will see it.

Dad could have a smoothie with a bowl of salad. Gran and mom could go for Chinese in the restaurant next door and we could all resume shopping together afterwards. Because they know just how much I’ve waited to eat that disgusting plate of grease. Even if it’s the most absurd thing they ever hear me wanting to do.

See, it doesn’t matter if I want a plate of overcooked meat with trans-fat chocked fries or if I want to go to New York and stand in the middle of Time Square to watch people pass by or even if I want to go to an ivy-league school.

If I have the passion for it, I have the power to get it. And not one person will be able to reason out otherwise.

I think figuring out what you want is the hard part. If you want something without any basis, anyone can pull you down.

It is so important for us to dream. Search.  Question. Wander.

“Not all those who wander are lost.”- J.R. Tolkien

What is your identity?

What do you really want out of life?

Figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your career and life at the age by the first quarter of your life doesn’t make sense. Guess the point of all these expensive tuition fees is just to give you a glimpse of a speck of what the world has to offer. Unfortunately, we’re mindlessly focused on academia that life almost seems limited to the number of A’s we get sometimes.

I’m searching for an answer. It’s been almost a year since I’ve asked myself,

“What do you want?”

I had little to no avail in answering it. I haven’t given up on answering it though. I’m still working on it.

“So what are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know.”

reflection (22/10/12-25/10/12)

This week, I faced some difficulty with my essay as I had not gotten my structure checked. With a little bit of peer assessment, I found my way back this week again. I found it vital to plan the structure for this essay as compared to the research essay as this needs a lot more analysis in my opinion. I realize I had forgotten a lot about 1984( one of two books that I'm writing on) hence I need to do more research on it's quotations. I've repeated my mistake of not preparing a solid structure again for this essay and I really need to stop doing this.

That aside, it's been amazing to see the responds I got from 'rant'( thank you for sharing my post with others, Ms. Abena! :D) as I got great responses that developed my ideas of improving our current education system further. Of course it's still a pipe dream at the moment but all these feedback made me realize that I'm not alone and there are lots of people; people whom I never thought would agree with the idea of exams being an dispensable qualifier for students, sharing their opinions and simply widening my perspective even more. I really felt happy that my sudden vent had an affect as I would love to continue writing more and developing my ideas further.

Asessing ourselves to death

Good read on exams-http://shankerblog.org/?p=6835