Metaphor

 We use metaphors to understand the unknown. In doing this we use what we do know and compare it to what we don't know to understand the unknown. There are many different kinds of metaphors and there are a variety of ways we can use them. These metaphors are simile, personification, anthropomorphism, hyperbole, parable, fable, animism, and analogy. A well known metaphor is " It's raining cats and dogs". It's truly not raining cats and dogs obviously but it may be raining very hard and heavy.

 Simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by using the words "like"or "as" and "then". For an example , "Good coffee is like a friendship" rich warm and strong. Personification is when your comparing human traits to non-living objects. For an example "Cars dancing across the icy roads" meaning a bunch of cars just driving on icy roads. Anthropomorphism is where you compare human characteristics to animals or non-living things or characters (cartoon characters) can be used. Hyperbole is mainly the use of exaggeration. For an example, "My bag weight a ton" meaning that my bag was so heavy.  Parable is a a tale or short story that demonstrates one or more lessons or principles. Fable is a story prose or verse that features animals who are given human qualities and express a moral lesson. Animism encompasses the beliefs that there is no separation between the spiritual and physical. Analogy is a similarity between like features of two things.

There is an image of 5 blind men on and around a elephant. These blind men are using there senses . For instance, one of the men who is touching the tail of the elephant infers that the tail of an elephant is like a disconnected phone line. Another man who is touching the elephants leg infers that the elephant is "like" a tree killed by global warming. Theses blind men are using simile to define the unknown. They compare the elephant which is the unknown with things they do know.

In a poem named "Joy", a metaphor is present. In the poem it says, " first blade of grass, messenger of spring". Grass doesn't have blades , it really means that the grass was becoming visual as the snow was fading away and that's a sign that spring is coming.  In another poem named "Creativity" metaphors are present. "It moves and it dances" , this expert from the poem is describing the branch. The branch isn't actually dancing but it's moving due to the wind. "It writes it's story and the ink is living light", this expert means that the sun is giving the branch a shadow .

In poem called "My Town" personification is used.  "The leaves on the ground danced in the wind". The non-living moving leaves caused by the wind are being compared to dancing, which is a human trait. "The traffic lights yelled stop! slow! and go!". The non-living lights that are constantly changing are being compared to yelling a human trait. " Stars in the sky blinked and winked out", this expert is comparing the non-living stars to winking which only humans can do. The stars are bright and are shining in and out like a wink .

"The lion and the Mouse" is a fable with a lesson to be learned. This fable is about a little mouse who happens to fall in the hands of a king lion. The mouse apoligized and convinced the lion that he might be able to return the favor one day, so the lion let him go. One day some hunter's tied up the lion and the mouse happen to see the lion and untie him, he returned the favor even with being little. This fable has animals that are given human traits such as speaking to one another. This fable also has a moral , no matter the size of something or someone you should always help one another like you will want for yourself. " Treat people the way you want to be treated".

Emily Dickinson has a poem named "Hope is the thing with the feathers", this poem is a metaphor. In my perspective hope is compared to a bird. "And sings the tune without words". This is a meatphor because hope can't sing it's just a word. Hope is being visualized as a lovely song that doesn't need to say anything because it's just so beautiful that all it needs is the instrumental. Another poem by Emily Dickinson is "Escape". An expert from the poem "a flying attitude" is a metaphor.  Escaping doesn't have feeling and emotions its is just a word . Flying is the metaphor because escaping is getting away from everything so its a comparission to flying.

Linear Text

Samantha Sanchez

The digital world is changing writing, reading, learning and even thinking and living. The form of reading and writing is more connected to the digital world. We have to rethink our lives.

Digital text is different. Digital text is movable and easier than linear text when written on paper. Hypertext can link anywhere, text is fast. I can edit easy and change what I want as many times as I want. We choose what we want to read and see. We have the ability to read things in the way we want to not the way the author designed the piece to be read. The form and content can be separated in the digital world for instance we can edit things easier and organize things how we want them. The digital world can give us visual images of what we want. We can see pictures of places, people and things.

We link into the web millions of times a day all over the world. We post our life experiences and what we know on the web, we teach the web. The digital world is learning from us. We share our information with it. We are no longer consumers, but we are producers giving web what we know. We are the WEB. I myself have a web space of my own where I document my information and post my knowledge of what I know up on the web, I consume to the digital world.

We have to RETHINK what we are doing. We have no privacy, the web is using us. Just because something seems to be the easier way out it doesn't mean it’s the best way of doing things. We have to RETHINK everything. We are in control not the machines. We are the ones who link onto the web and feed it what we know and our experiences in our life and others.

In a article "Rethink Schools", it expressed how schools that have low budgets don't design their schools and its shown that a "learning environment" that includes designs can have a 11% increase in scores due to a more physical and digital look of education. The article explains that the 21st century learning environments should blend both physical and digital to infrastructures to support the students. The students need to have a visual access to what there leaning and be able to explore through the digital world. It’s reported that the traditional learning environment has changed from school and classrooms to just having technology and using the digital world. It argued that instead of an isolated classroom, one could accomplish more with use of technology and the outside world through the digital world.

I interviewed the owner of "The Yankee Tavern" named Joseph Bastone. Joseph was asked if he ever had to rethink anything in life that he has done. Joseph stated " there are so many things I wish I could undo but in the moment of time he seemed to take the easy way out." Joseph explained to me that he wish he had never taken any loans because it was difficult to pay off . Joseph also explained to me that he gave into so many advertisements for his restaurant and at times the product he gave into never benifited him so he winded up loosing out on his money. In addition he also included how he has spent so much money on cars that always seemed to break down or become an in convinence to him. Joseph concluded that he wish he had the wisdom he does now and knowledge so that he'd never made the mistakes he did in this past, "there's just so much I wish I would've thought over in life".

We need to rethink our lives. From using the digital world to our actual life decisions . We have to acknowledge that we are in control. In life we can't go back and rearrange our mistakes. The digital world allows us to go back and arrange the things we want to. The digital world offers us to correct our mistakes.... I am in control of myself.