The Lottery

I would name the story "The Town's Lottery" because the odd one out is not the winner but the town is. Since Mrs. Hutchison got the black dot she didn't win anything but she loss, and the rest of the town's people won.

I felt that "winning" the lottery was not a good thing for a few reasons. One reason was because when the two kids didn't win they were happy and smiling, another was that when Mrs. Hutchinson got the black dot she was reluctant to show it, and finally Mrs. Hutchinson was screaming that it wasn't fair so I figured that it was something horrible happening to her.

When I didn't receive the end of the story I was held in suspense about what was going to happen so I asked questions about what's happening. I felt nervous at first because I wasn't sure what it was and also because I had the black dot which I thought at the time was something bad. I thought that it was the end of the story and maybe some explanation about it as well. I followed the instructions written on the paper because not having the ending left me in suspense during the day and I began creating the ending in my head so I waited to see if I was right. I waited because even though I didn't enjoy the feeling of suspense to much I waited until 5:00 p.m.

The black box confused be at the beggening of the day when we first came in because I didn't know what we were going to use it for and once we we read the story i knew it was for the lottery. I was nervous when I drew a black spotted paper because I didn't like being the one singled out because of how Mrs. Hutchinson reacted so I was really nervous about what was going to happen.

I was really shocked at what I read because I didn't think that the stones had any significance and that the death was so brutal for Mrs. Hutchinson. I felt shocked and a little sorry for Mrs. Hutchinson because she did nothing wrong but only drew the wrong slip of paper and she had to die for it.

My predictions were no where near correct because I predicted that Mrs. Hutchinson would have to do something for the town, like harvesting corn, but nothing like being killed. I felt very confused and when I read the end of the story because it was no where near what I thought it would be. I was held asking questions about the story and about what was happening at the time.

I think if the part where the town people pick up the stones wasn't in the ending I would have made a better guess about what would happen in the end. If I read that they picked up the stones before the void I would have thought that something horrible would happen to Mrs. Hutchinson.

The author left these voids in the story to create tension in the audience so that they would be asking questions about what happens and finish reading the book. She also created these voids so that the audience will ask questions and be in suspense and then they will want answers so they keep reading.

Since I didn't get any title or author information I could make no connections to what might happen and since I had no ending I asked questions about what the ending would be and what happens. The text clues gave me ideas about what would happen but there was no way to know for sure so I was questioning what would end up happening in the end and the mystery paper made me think about what was inside and once I guessed that it was the ending I asked myself again what's the ending going to be? The delayed ending created a lot of suspense in me because I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen and why that Mrs. Hutchinson reacted as she did.

Power of the Void

Part 1

The International School of Kuala Lumpur provides an exceptional education that challenges each student to develop the (silence) attitudes, skills, knowledge and understanding to become a highly sucessful, spirited, socially responsible global citizen.

I think by putting the silence right before listing what each student would develop would create a lot of tension in the audience. I believe that this place would be appropriate because when you add a void it keeps the audience curious about what their children will be learning and developing at ISKL. This also keeps people listening and paying attention because what there child would learn is a very important part of how they choose schools. This would make the audience very nervous and anxious about the school's curriculum so they wait for the answer listening intently. That is why I believe putting a silence before telling the audience what their kids will be developing and learning is the best place to put a void.

Part 2

One way that composers can create tension in a piece of music is with a pause. This would cause a lot of tension because the audience would be very confused about where the music has gone and also why it has gone but also anxious for the music to come back. A composer could create the release of the tension by starting the music again answering any questions and also hooking a few more audience members to listen more intently. The composer can make this most important by using a crescendo before the void so the listener would think that the music would keep growing but then suddenly it stops. That is one way the composers can create tension and a release through music.

"The School of Athens" ~ Rafael

If I were to be a character in the famous fresco "The School of Athens" I would be Plato. In this painting Plato is in a conversation with his student Aristotle. The two are at the centre because they are depicting the two different ways of thinking during the Renaissance. Plato is more interested in the real and the physical side of thinking. Plato, like I, is interested in the subjects of music, maths, science and anatomy. I enjoy finding ways that I can apply math to everyday situations and I also enjoy finding reason that everything works in the world and not only accepting that it's amazing. I also am intrigued at about how the human body works, and trying to figure out what is wrong with the body when someone is sick or hurt and how the body repairs it self. Plato was also the teacher of Aristotle and even though I am a student my self I enjoy sharing my knowledge to others and helping them as well. We have so much in common from our intrests to our personalities that is why I believe I would be Plato in "The School of Athens"