Corinne+deLeon

 Corinne de Leon  AP English  Mrs. Murchie  Dialect Journal - Silas Marner

Corinne de Leon AP English Mrs. Murchie Dialect Journal - Frankenstein
 * Passage || Page #/Paragraph # ||  Code and Response ||
 * # “William’s suggestion alone jarred with the general sympathy..He observed that..this trance looked more like a visitation from the devil than proof of divine favor.”  ||  7/1  ||  (P) It seems to me that William does not have Silas’ best interest at heart, this kind of accusation suggests that William wants to call Silas under suspicion in the church. Therefore, I predict that there will be a falling out between the two friends. ||
 * 2. “.. ‘You stole the money, and you have woven a plot to lay the sin at my door..’” ||  9/2 ||  (CL) My prediction above was confirmed here as William’s betrayal of Silas becomes clear, to Silas, as well as myself as a reader. ||
 * 3. “The little light that he possessed spread its beams so narrowly, that frustrated belief was a curtain broad enough to create for him the blackness of night.” ||  11/3 ||  (R) The light being spoken about in this sentence can represent a multitude of things when thinking about live and humanity, such as, hope, love, positivity, etc. Silas’ “light” has been severely dimmed because the things and people that he had hope in, the things/people that he loved, hurt him or were taken from him. ||
 * 4. “A man falling into dark waters seeks a momentary footing even on sliding stones; and Silas, by acting as if he believed in false hopes, warded off the moment of despair.” ||  34/1 ||  (C) I think everyone who has misplaced something important can connect to that instant feeling of panic and denial. When I think I’ve left my phone on a shelf in a store, but I’ve already left, I have a moment of despair, followed by phoney reassurance to myself that I definitely just left it in the car. ||
 * 5. “This kind of unflinching frankness was the most piquant form of joke to the company at the Rainbow, Ben Winthrop’s insult was felt by everybody to have capped Mr Macey’s epigram.” ||  38/6 ||  (Q) What feelings does Winthrop possess to drive him to insult, or degrade these men? Why was this statement of his so final in the setting? ||
 * 6. “‘If it was you who stole my money,’ said Silas clasping his hands entreatingly, and raising voice to a cry…” ||  45/8 ||  (R) The body language of Silas described here conveys to readers the desperation Silas feels over losing his money. It had become his obsession. ||
 * 7. “He was not likely to be very penetrating in his judgements, but he had always had a sense that his father’s indulgence had not been kindness…” ||  59/2 ||  (Q) What had given Godfrey the sense that his father’s “indulgence had not been kindness”? Had their relationship been rocky in the past? ||
 * 8. “The fountains of human love and of faith in a divine love had not yet been unlocked, and his soul was still the shrunken rivulet, with only this difference, that its little groove of sand had been blocked up, and it wandered confusedly against dark obstruction.” ||  71/3 ||  (C) When things in life are going wrong, or you’ve just been through a traumatic event of some kind, it is easy to shut down and become numb to the world. I think this passage describes that season of emotion perfectly. The death of a loved one or even a breakup can cause the “fountains of human love” in an individual to stop flowing completely. ||
 * 9. “Slowly the demon was working his will, and the cold and weariness were his helpers.” ||  91/2 ||  (C) This quote connects me to the passage in Frankenstein when Victor speaks of destiny, the same tool of personification is used to illustrate the looming darkness in the plot. ||
 * 10. “‘But you must make sure, Eppie,’ said Silas in a low voice-- ‘you must make sure as you won’t ever be sorry, because you’ve made your choice to stay among poor folks, and with poor clothes and things, when you might ha’ had the everything o’ the best.’” ||  143/6 ||  (E) I believe the author is demonstrating here the progress Silas has made emotionally since he left Lantern Yard. He speaks to Eppie with gentle warning, with no motive of selfishness to keep her to himself. ||


 * Passage || Page #/Paragraph # || Code and Response ||
 * # “It was a strong effort of the spirit of good; but it was ineffectual. Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.” || 23/3  || (P) Even at this early in the book, this statement casts a shadow over the rest of the story that is unable to be ignored. It gives destiny power and a face of doom for Victor. As a reader, I can predict that whatever task or field Victor chooses to pursue, will cause him a great loss. ||
 * 2. “William is dead!--that sweet child...Victor, he is murdered!” || 47/3  || (CL)Here Victor learns of his brother’s death through a letter from his father, further confirming and progressing his ‘utter and terrible destruction,’ this is just one of the many losses that his actions will cause him. ||
 * 3. “Time had altered her since I last beheld her; it had endowed her with loveliness surpassing the beauty of her childish years.” || 53/6  || (Q)Through the entirety of the story, Victor has spoken very fondly of Elizabeth. They seem to possess a very special type of caring for one another. This makes me question the thoughts feelings of Elizabeth during the time when Victor was working on his project, as well as the time he spent in solitude. Was she concerned? Was she angry? Did she ever consider seeking him out? ||
 * 4. “..instead of that serenity of conscience which allowed me to look back upon the past with self-satisfaction..I was seized with remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe.” || 61/1  || (R) Victor is consumed with thoughts to a degree where he compares his state of mind to hell. He cannot find words to describe the way he is feeling. I believe most people would agree that regret and guilt are among the most torturous of all human emotions. Being in a mental place darkened with remorse can begin to affect one’s physical health. As humans, mental health should be a priority; if the mind is unhealthy, consumed by harrowing thoughts, the body can begin to reflect this state of being. ||
 * 5. “I shunned the face of man;...solitude was my only consolation -- deep, dark, death-like solitude.” || 61/2  || (C) This quote brings to mind a piece of Silas Marner. After Silas was betrayed and socially exiled from the church and the Lantern Yard community as a whole, I can imagine he would find this feeling quite pertinent to his situation. Silas moved into a far-away cottage and avoided human contact as much as possible. After being hurt by humans, Silas found comfort in solitude. Although in Victor’s circumstance his need for solitude was caused by hurting humans by releasing the creature upon them, the feelings in their hearts and heads must’ve been in close proximity. ||
 * 6. “All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” || 68/3  || (R) The Creature is reflecting here on the magnitude of the wretchedness of his state of being. He seems to be completely distraught at how much he must be hated. ||
 * 7. “Here, I thought, is one of those whose joy-imparting smiles are bestowed on all but me.” || 102/3  || (C) I imagine this is how Godfrey Cass thinks of Miss Nancy Lammeter, in Silas Marner. ||
 * 8. “‘...we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we will be more attached to each other. Our lives will not be happy, but they will be harmless, free of the misery I now feel.” || 105/2  || (R) It is amazing to me how the Creature is able to reason this request with such passion. Anyone who has felt alone must understand the compromise that comes with companionship, that one may not be ‘happy’ exactly, but they will not have to suffer the feeling of loneliness. ||
 * 9. “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” || 123/1  || (Q) Does fearlessness really equal power? How can the Creature be fully confident of his fearlessness when he has not experienced all of life’s pains yet? ||
 * 10. “The human frame could no longer support the agonies that I endured,...” || 129/6  || (E) The author is using this quote to refer back to the time when, the now deceased, Henry Clerval supported and cared for his friend, Victor, during his time of mental and physical sickness. ||