Critical Reflection Paper

The Odyssey by Homer is a great text that manipulates the skill of storytelling bringing out the meaning of being human, the spiritual and physical homecoming. It is an archetypal epic expedition essential for understanding ourselves and other modern texts following the same pattern. The text brings out the ancient Greek beliefs and customs that are essential in studying Western Literature through the evaluation of different characters, and the themes manifested are essential in establishing a good foundation for any literature student. The themes therein such as leadership skills, folly, retaliation, mythology, death, ogres, temptation seduction, deceit, and warfare make the text an essential student companion in the quest of comprehending literature.

Miline, Ira Mark. Short Stories for Student. Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories Volume 8Virtual Reference Library. Detroit, Mich: Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.

Short-stories have made a name for itself through the various accomplished publications by initiating emotions, imagination and love between the characters and the reader. As Harold Goddard in The Meaning of Shakespeare stated “The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in.”

Being part of the oldest surviving pieces of literature, displays its importance of being saved and handed down throughout time and suggests one of the reasons why it is considered canonical. It has gained status from many generations of readers. Homer was “one of the most translated authors of the late twentieth century.” (Robson, 2014, p.240) and Homer holds authority still today, through frequent study and reworks of Homeric poetry, Robson suggests “The regard that previous generations, as well as our own, have had for the Iliad provides a compelling reason to believe that it is an important work of art.” (Robson, 2014,

According to the article “BlackBerry Posts Loss as Phones Go Unsold”, BlackBerry performs a poor performance. Business has a quarterly loss in 2013 for $965 million. The revenue had drop 45% that down to $1.57 billion from $2.86 billion compares with a year earlier. BlackBerry lost $248 million, or 47 cents a share, and analysts forecast 49 cents a share loss for the quarter ended August 31. The net loss is $235 million which excluding inventory charge and restructuring charges in the latest quarter. The cash position also down to $2.6 billion from $3.1 billion at quarter-end. Smartphone maker report a hefty operating loss of nearly $1 billion charge on inventory of unsold phones.

Introduction A short story is “A prose narrative too brief to be published in a separate volume – as novellas and novels frequently are. The short story is usually a focused narrative that presents one or two main characters involved in a single compelling action.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, p. 1493) Short stories have all the dynamic characters, interesting settings, suspenseful plots and conflicts, and the surprising resolutions as full length novels.

A short story is a work of literature that is shorter than a novel. Although some may believe the length may not be enough to develop a noble story, in these few pages an author can pack a tight punch that will leave one in awe, disgust, or utter sadness. Whether there is a moral of the story or it is simply for the reader’s enjoyment, each author has their own style of conveying a message through their work in very diverse ways. Through Flannery O’Connor and Chuck Palahniuk’s works we can see this very evidently.

Short stories have been written for a long time for many reasons. Whether the reason be for getting a point across, persuading someone or just for the pleasure of the reader. The creation of short stories has been a privilege for the writers especially because of every writer has a purpose and they can portray it through their literature and show how it has evolved from when it was first created. Many critics also think that short stories can teach more than novels because of the fact that author’s get their point across quicker than an author in a novel. Through the stories of “Paul’s Case,” “Bartleby the Scrivener,” and “To Build a Fire,” American authors present many themes for the readers to consider.

For four long years I felt as if my high school was in a different world in of itself. I had spent that time interacting with an extensive amount of groups, or “cliques”, and getting to know what they do. Through my experiences, I had begun to realize what made this “subculture” high school of sorts run like it did. High school is an incredibly dynamic time for people, and I had changed as a person dramatically from my freshman to senior year. Like many, my freshman year was quite awkward, as remnants of my middle school self remained with me. As time went on, how, I talked to more people and grew out of my passive and shy personality. This did not just randomly happen without reason though. I began to learn and realize who I was and whom I enjoyed talking to in school, which explained why I spent so much time socializing with multiple kinds and groups of people. Everyone’s concept of “normal” was different, and high school was where I learned that lesson and will never forget.

Short stories are defined as pieces of fiction in literature which can easily be read in one sitting. Each short story tends to have a certain meaning or theme behind it, followed by structural elements. These themes and structural elements are significant in impacting one’s reading experience. Each short story is created with the author’s willingness to make you reflect, or think back on your own experiences. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, A Rose for Emily, and The Things They Carried,” are all short stories which involve these specific characteristics.

Many years ago in ancient Greece, Plato initiated a debate about the usefulness of literature by declaring that poetry had no place in the ideal society, mainly because it was full of lies and because it evoked undesirable emotions. His pupil Aristotle, however, took the opposing side of this dispute and argued that literature was, in fact, useful. Aristotle agreed with Plato that literature induces undesirable emotions, but he stated that it only does so in an attempt to purge us of these harmful sentiments, a process which he termed “catharsis”. The events in Homer’s Iliad, while used by both Plato and Aristotle to defend their theories about literature, lend themselves to the defense of Aristotle’s ideas more so than Plato’s.

This paper is a work of self-examination to find out what influenced my development from birth to this my 56th year. I will delve into my past and try to honestly and without judgment describe what events and actions led me to become the person I am today. I will look at the way in which the culture and family I grew up in build the frame-work of the person I have evolved into.

At GCSE level I studied Physical education in which I received 2 GCSE’s as I did 2 courses in 2 years. This was accomplished due to my devotion to the subject and hard work which allowed me to achieve A*’s in the practical parts of the course. However, the physical education theory is the area of the course that particularly feeds my hunger to learn every aspect of physical education, as it gives me more potential to be the best teacher possible. Understanding how the body can complement exercise through nutrition to reach maximum capabilities within the sport as well as living a healthy active

A literature class, of course, has to require that the students to read a lot of different examples so they will understand the elements of the different types of writing. Unfortunately, many of the works selected will seem archaic and outdated. They may demonstrate a specific method or element that a student needs to understand, but the works themselves do not seem to hold interest or fit a modern style. However, it has been a surprise that the stories, poems and plays have actually been entertaining. Good writing is not difficult to find because there have been so many people who have been writing for so long. The purpose of this course was to demonstrate what good writing is and the elements that make up a good piece of writing regardless of type. It is the purpose of this paper to look at the writing sample that were required to be read for this class and examine them for the elements they contained, and to especially notice the morals and values presented.

Every fourth-year teacher trainees will have to conduct practicum and will work under the guideline of their associate teachers and supervisors. The purpose of doing the practicum are to put training into practice, to become accustomed to teaching in the tertiary school settings, and to develop and expand each trainee’s teaching expertise and confidence. In the following paragraph, I will express what I have learnt from doing practicum to reflect on my past teaching strengths and weaknesses from the teaching practicum.