EOY Preparation

Basically, the only thing that we can do for the upcoming End-of-Year examinations is to revise, revise and revise. So that is just what I am planning to do. Metaphors, similes, hyperboles, oxymorons... I will have to fully utilize these figures of speech in order to do well for the poetry analysis and doing revision is the only way to achieve that. Besides this, I will also do more practises, after all practice makes perfect. Hopefully, all these will suffice and allow me to get a good mark for the final exam.

Major Blog Assignment (No Boundaries)

The song that I have chosen is "No Boundaries" sung by Kris Allen.

Here are the lyrics:

"No Boundaries"
Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want, but how long can you wait
Every moment lasts forever when you feel you’ve lost your way
What if my chances are already gone
Started believing that I could be wrong
But you give me one good reason
To fight and never walk away

So here I am — still holding on!

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you’ve almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

I fought to the limit to stand on the edge
What if today is as good as it gets
Don't know where the future's heading
But nothing's gonna bring me down

I've jumped every bridge and I've heard every lie
I've risked being safe but I always knew why
I always knew why

So here I am - still holding on!

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one thing

Just when you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you’ve almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can

You can go higher
You can go deeper
There are no boundaries
Above and beneath you
Break every rule cause there’s nothing between you and your dreams

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
Yeah
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

With every step you climb another mountain
Every breath it's harder to believe
You’ll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes

There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

Personal Feelings/ Reflections
Just like what the title suggests, "No Boundaries" is actually implying that we should not let anything hold us back from achieving our goal, and that we must persevere and strive for the best. After all, nothing can stop us once we put our heart and soul into doing it, and that's just how strong human potential is. No human being knows what the future holds for him, but he can choose to create a better future for himself, it's just a matter of whether he wants to or not. Just like how love has no boundaries, life has no boundaries too, it's up to us, human beings, to change our lives for the better and achieve our goals.

Analysis
The song starts with "Seconds, hours, so many days", suggesting that time is involved in the song, however the purpose is not stated yet. In the following lines, we finally understand that the songwriter nearly gives up on something, as he does not want to waste time, however because of a certain reason, he is able to "fight and never walk away", never giving up and "still holding on".

In the second verse, the songwriter talks about how he could not believe that he could actually persevere, and finally reach his goal. This was stated in the sentence, "Every breath it's harder to believe, You'll make it through the pain", finally getting "to that one thing".

The third verse states how the songwriter actually wanted to give up, "almost gave up on your dreams", but he persists, not allowing anything to hold him back as "There are no boundaries".

The songwriter mentions in the fourth verse about how surviving today could be the last straw, "What if today is as good as it gets", not even knowing what would happen tomorrow or in the future, but despite all this, he still does not lose hope as "nothing's gonna bring me down".

The fifth verse includes the songwriter's past experiences and the motive as to why he risks his safety.

The verse that starts with "You can go higher" talks about how the songwriter thinks that he can achieve anything he wants as "There are no boundaries", thus anything is possible.

Personal Response
Addition of lyrics:

Just believe in yourself and you'll see
How cool reality can actually be
You've made it through the pain
Now come and face the day

There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries
There are no boundaries

Parent's Response
I agree with what Guo Yue thinks of himself, having no boundaries to hold him back and being able to strive for the best. He has proven his point that he can actually work harder and aim for success in his studies, though I have noticed that his English standard
seems to be dropping, however I believe in him and I know he will not disappoint me.

Sorry for the late post.
I faced problems doing my blog on Friday and Saturday while using the laptop.

Views On The Casino

Knowing the plights of those who have gambled and lost all their money, I am against gambling and thus does not hope for the casino to be built in Singapore as this means that more people can gamble and once again, more people will suffer at their own hands due to gambling.

However, after reviewing the current situation, I have decided to change my point of view.

The construction of the casino might be a good thing after all. With the current economic downturn, many people are losing their jobs and source of income, but with the casino, more people will be able to get jobs and some who are lucky might even get rich after gambling. Thus, I guess I am alright with it. My parents also have the same mindset as me in the sense that this is what's best for Singapore. Besides, with the casino, more tourists might be attracted to Singapore and this may lead to more money earned.

"There is an assumption out there that casinos are recession-proof." I guess this statement makes sense.

Poetry On Gambling

I think the comparison should be made like this:

1. Tom Beatty - The Rocking Horse Winner

2. The Green Clothes - Paper

3. One-Dollar Gambler - The Lottery

My reason:

1. Both Tom Beatty and The Rocking Horse Winner are talking about gambling, luck and also of the consequences if you are obsessed with it. In The Rocking Horse Winner, Paul's mother told him of luck and how it could bring them money. In order to silence the voices in the house and to help his parents earn money, he went in search of luck. But his desparation to earn even more led to him becoming insane and finally dying. From this, we know that his parents were to blame. In Tom Beatty, they also said that you can waste seventy years to gamble but ultimately, you will not win and will still die.

2. Both Paper and The Green Clothes are similar in terms of tips, dry lips and all that was spent in vain. In Paper, Tay Soon and Yee Lian heeded the tips and bought the stocks that were rumoured to bring them more money. When the stocks crashed, Tay Soon and Yee Lian lost all their money. Devastated, they cried and this was what caused the dry lips. All the money they invested in the stocks were all that was spent in vain.

3. In Lottery, Ah Boh was similar to the blind man in the sense that they both failed to see what gambling can do to them. Similarly, number 13 also symbolizes Ah Boh's superstition. Finally, when Ah Boh lost all her money, she would have zero dollars left.

Gambling Materials

1. Paper, the title of the story, is actually a form of symbolism, which represents something insignificant and of little value. "It's just paper gains so far" tells us that the money they made through selling stocks and shares so far is merely a fraction of what they can get in the end if they continue. Proving that the amount of money they had then was as insignificant as paper which can be easily replaced as it is cheap and of little value. What's important to them is that they must have more money and fulfil their dream of living in a grand house.

Also, when gambling, people rarely consider whether they are wasting money or not as what is of utmost importance to them is to strike the lottery and gain a huge fortune. Even if the money is wasted, they would not really bother as it is still insignificant compared to what they think they will win when they strike the jackpot.

When Tay Soon dies, his mother prepares his "dream house" for him, only this time it would be made of paper. From this point, we know that the house is no longer important as the husband is already dead, thus buying the house would no longer have any meaning to it.

2. Ah Boh is a superstitious woman who believes that lady luck will shine on her one day and let her strike a fortune. However, as the days pass, none of the predicted things came true and that led to Ah Boh resorting to plans like assigning numbers to each object or event dreamt about etc. Nothing good comes out of gambling; however Ah Boh fails to understand that. When her mother dies, Ah Boh was just at the scene of the accident and seemed a bit unstable as she muttered to herself ways of making her mother forgive her.

3. Paul's parents were responsible for his death. Though Paul's parents were not rich, they still spend the money on unnecessary items. When they finally realize that they were running out of money, things became worse. The children, especially Paul, were affected. At this time, Paul also learnt about luck and soon he also learnt about horse races which could gain him money if he was lucky. So whenever there were horse races, he would ride on his toy horse which would give him the inspiration. But it soon became an obsession which led to his demise.

Analyzing and Composing Poem

Response 1.

The poet was probably feeling nostalgic, sad and yet a little happy while reminiscing the past and recalling the good old days when he was back in primary school.

Response 2.

------------------------------

Recalling The Past

------------------------------

Walking down the aisle,

I walked to my teacher,

Retreived my result slip,

And went back to my seat.

Not daring to take a look,

My friend took the initiative for me,

Seeing his look of disbelief,

I lost all hope.

But that was not the case,

As my friend turned,

He tapped my shoulder,

And told me the good news.

As my other friends crowded around,

And began to congratulate one another,

Tears started welling up inside our eyes,

This would be our last happy moment together.

But that moment did not last long,

Not wanting to dampen our spirit,

We decided to go on a trip and enjoy,

Our last moments together.

At the end of the day,

We knew it was time to part,

Though I wanted it to last longer,

It was not within my power to do so.

Accepting our fate,

We held back our tears,

Saying the last goodbyes,

We turned our backs and walked away.

Favourite Poet

I am sure everybody should have heard of William Shakespeare. Being regarded not only as the foremost dramatist of his time, but also the world's preeminent dramatist, Shakespeare was also the greatest writer in the English language.

Evidence indicates that both he and his world looked to poetry, not playwriting, for enduring fame. In his poems and plays, Shakespeare never fail to invent thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French and native roots. His impressive expansion of the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, includes words such as: birthplace, courtship, downstairs, radiance, schoolboy, hunchbacked etc. proving that his degree of literacy was excellent.

Shakespeare wrote more than 30 plays. These are usually divided into four categories: histories, comedies, tragedies and romances. His earliest plays were primarily comedies and histories such as Henry VI and The Comedy Of Errors, but in 1596, Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet, his second tragedy, and over the next dozen years he would return to the form, writing the plays for which he is now best known: Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Anthony and Cleopatra. In his final years, Shakespeare turned to the romantic with Cymbeline, A Winter's Tale and The Tempest.

Now I shall touch on why I chose Shakespeare. Since my primary school years, I have came across some of his poems and plays and they have left a very deep impression on me. I am indeed awed by his degree of his literacy, there is no doubt that he is indeed the greatest writer in the English language. He is able to come up with words that no one thought of before and write amazing plays and poems that can captivate the reader. I really respect and admire him a lot.

Here are my 3 favourite poems:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They that have power to do hurt and will do none

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They that have power to hurt and will do none
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow;
They rightly do inherit heaven’s graces
And husband nature’s riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

-------------------------------------------------------------

When I consider every thing that grows

-------------------------------------------------------------

When I consider every thing that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment.
That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment.
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheerèd and checked even by the self-same sky,
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory;
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay,
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
Where wasteful Time debateth with decay
To change your day of youth to sullied night;
And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day

-------------------------------------------------------------

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.