Last Post!!!!!!

Senior year is coming to an end, and there are just a few things that I need to finish before the end of the year. For my english presentation, I plan on talking about my paper and what my whole project was about. To get the class to interact, I'm going to hand out a copy of Stairway to Heaven for the students to analyze. There is a lot of speculation on the meaning of the song, so I want to see what everyone thinks. While they are trying to figure out its meaning, I figure I'll play the song in the background. After having the class share what they think, I will show them the blog that I've been working on. It will have an entry in which I did the same thing, along with a little research. As for the blog itself, I just need to finish a few entries.

weekly outlook 5/19

Having finished my paper, I can now focus on my creative project. As I have mentioned before, it will be a blog similar to my paper. On the blog, I will debate major issues such as which bands were the best in each decade, who started rock music, and other rock and roll related topics. The blog will delineate the mental selection process I went through to decide which bands I woud include in my paper. The format will be similar to my research paper; I will go in chronological order starting in the 1950's and work my way to the present. In regards to the presentation, I'm thinking of handing out a copy of the lyrics to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and having the students get in group to determine what they think is its meaning.

weekly outlook 5/12

Last week I wrote three body paragrpahs for my paper. I did the rock music of the 1950's through the 70's with Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin respectively. This week I will finish up my paper with Van Halen for the 80's and the Foo Fighters for the present decade. The 90's are still up for debate. I'm trying to decide between the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. So far I have been able to find all of my information from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's website, but since more recent bands have not been inducted yet, it may be more difficult to find reputable information on them.

weekly outlook 5/5

For this week I will be altering my primary focus from working on both my blog and paper to just my paper. At this point, the paper is more important since it is due soon, so I will be holding off from working on the blog until my paper is finished. Last week I wrote the intoduction to my paper and what I thought would be my first blog post. The post will now be the first body paragrpah in my paper. This week I plan on writing a few more body paragraphs, each one being about a separate decade of rock music.

weekly outlook 4/28

For this week I plan to get started on my fourth quarter project. I will begin my research starting with the 50's and possibly the 60's and document the music of that era. In addition, I will create my blog for the final project and begin my research paper. Quantatatively, by the end of the week, I should have my blog up, my reseacrh for the rock music of at least the 50's finished, and begun my research paper. Hopefully I will get my first post up on the blog for my project.

Fourth Quarter Projection

I have come up with a general idea for what I plan to do for the fourth quarter. I've always been interested in music, rock in particular, so I have decided to do something on the evolution of rock. To do this I will listen to the music, read the lyrics, and research the bands which I believe to be the best in each decade. So far it is looking like Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Guns N Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Foo Fighters. I am taking what is in my opinion the best band (or musician) from each decade and using them as a representative for the entire decade. After finishing all of my research, I'll write a paper explaining what I have found and analyzing the material along with my own conclusions. For my presentation I plan to play a few songs from the artists that I have researched and have the students make an analysis of the music's progression while paying special attention to the lyrics, instruments, and overall product. The final product will be a series of magazine articles analyzing the music of each individual decade. I will be writing them as a columnist for Rolling Stone magazine.

This is why

Although I felt that my hypothesis as to the meaning of the title was accurate, I knew I should do some research to see what other people thought, possibly including Anthony Burgess himself. The first source I came upon said that the term was meant to mean anything queer, strange, or unusual. Other than Alex’s mannerisms and the awkward slang used throughout the novel, I couldn’t see much of a connection to the title since those three adjectives have nothing to do with the plot. Also included was a quote from Burgess from a Rolling Stone article that read, "The title of the book comes from an old London expression, which I first heard from a very old Cockney in 1945: 'He's as queer as a clockwork orange' (queer meaning mad...). I liked the phrase because of its yoking of tradition and surrealism, and I determined some day to use it." Maybe if I were British I would understand it better. This can be associated with the maddening nature of the novel and how crazy the idea of messing with free will is. Traditionally, when something is referred to as “clockwork”, it can be noted as automatic because it sticks to a schedule and is persistent. So now, “orange” is most likely something that interferes with the clockwork. The more I thought about the meaning, I began to understand what Burgess was trying to do. Since the whole novel is written in an odd vernacular, the title probably was meant to blend in with the rest of the novel and be part of the slang. As I was reading the novel, I gradually learned what each of the words meant based on how they were used in context; therefore, I would need “a clockwork orange” to be used more in context to decipher its meaning. It was used very little in the novel so I decided to consult another source. The best definition for “a clockwork orange” was “[something with] the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound by God or the Devil.” This explanation depicts Alex after his cure perfectly: he is a character with the qualities of a human being but can only act according to how his treatment allows him. Alex lost the ability to choose, although it appears as if he chooses to do good all the time. This definition must have been the translation from old London vernacular that Burgess was referring to.