Author: Will

IRJE #10

In Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo characterizes his characters through the situations they are in. Putting characters in different spots can really bring out their true sides, and Hugo does that really well. For example, during the main part of the novel, there is a mob rioting outside of the palace in the city. The people, including the King, all were under the impression that the mob was against the palace or bailiff, and nothing else. This suspicion is changed, however, when Master Oliver comes to visit the King personally, accompanied by two knights to tell the King the true intentions of the mob

Sire, replied Oliver with the evil look of a man rejoicing that he is about to deal a violent blow, it is not against the bailiff or the palace that the mob is rebelling

Against whom then?

Against you, sire.

The old king sprang to his feet, then stood erect like a young man

Explain yourself Oliver! Explain; and be aware of your head, compère, for I swear, by the cross of Saint-Lô, that if you lie to us in this matter, the sword that cut Monsieur of Luxembourg’s throat is not so notched, but it can cut yours off to! (p. 449)

Master Oliver has a sense of power in this situation. Based on the line of “replied Oliver with the evil look of a man rejoicing that he is about to deal a violent blow”, gives off the impression that Oliver isn’t used to having a sense of power over the King, and seeing him freak out made it all better. But this is the type of person Oliver is. He is calculated and knows when and when not to do something, and we become aware of that through the various situations he puts himself into

IRJE #9

In Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, book 8 of the story gives us the main characters, Phoebus and Fleur-de-Lys. These two characters are lovers in the book, but Fleur-de-Lys is having some doubt if they are even going to get married, as seen by the quote.

Phoebus. Fleur-de-Lys said abruptly in a whisper. We are to be married in three months.Swear you have never loved any women other than me.

I do swear it, my beautiful angel! Replied Phoebus. His adoring eyes combined with his sincere tone of his voice convinced Fleur-de-Lys. Perhaps he even believed himself in that moment.

This quote really shows the type of person Phoebus is. He is willing to lie straight to his girlfriends face in order to convince her to stay with him, rather than being honest. He is one of the more shady characters in the book, and this quote supports that theory fully. After reading this quote, it made me want to read more to find out if Fleur-de-Lys ever found out about his lie, and what the outcome would have been.

Personal Writing #8

I don’t know what it is about golf, but there is something about it that just makes it perfect. Whether it is shooting your best round ever only to go back the following day, play horribly, then question your game entirely, or if it is practicing every day for hours on end, knowing that perfection is impossible to achieve, or if it is enjoying the game with friends who all have the same goal in mind as yourself, and you keep pushing and pushing each other. Maybe it is the feeling of hitting that one perfect shot that will keep you coming back for the next couple of days. It could also be the satisfying feeling of making a small or large change to your swing, then seeing great results a few weeks later once you’ve mastered the motion. Perhaps it is relaxation of getting out on the course with some friends after a long week at work or school. It may be the pure joy you get of sinking a long putt on the 18th green to edge out your friend by 1 stroke. I have been playing the game of golf for around 10 years now, and I still have no idea what makes the game perfect. But, that gives me another excuse to head back to the course to try and find out.

IRJE #8

In Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it is one of the more strange novels I have ever read. Hugo puts multiple books in one, but the same characters appear in some of the same books, which can make it confusing at times. In the seventh book, Quasimodo, one of the main characters, was trying to help out some of his friends who are in a band. He noticed they were under-performing, so he decided to head down and help them.

“Go on! Go on, Gabrielle!” he said, “pour all your music into the square. Todays a feast day. Thibauld, don’t be lazy. You’re slowing down! Go, go on! Are you becoming rusty, loafer? That’s it. Quick! Quick! Don’t let the clapper be seen. Make them all deaf like me. That’s it, bravo!”

This quote really shows the true person Quasimodo is. He is a funny guy, as he says, “Make them all deaf like me.” but he is also a very kind, and whole hearted person, as he is helping out his friends, trying to make them all better by motivating them. This scene really helps to develop Quasimodo’s character, and it changes our opinion on him as a reader for good.

They Shot 6 Cabinet Ministers

This piece by Hemmingway provokes a lot of emotion in me, as the paragraph opens up with, “They shot six cabinet ministers at half past six in the morning against the wall of a hospital. Right away, this gives the reader a sense of sorrow, as naturally we feel bad for the people who were shot. Then throughout the paragraph, the sadness continues through little details such as “There were wet dead leaves on the paving of the courtyard, and “It rained hard. All the shutters of the hospital were nailed shut. I know for myself, at least, I associate sad times, like death, with rain, so this sentence compliments the first line perfectly. The dead leaves in the courtyard reflect the dead cabinet ministers. These little things build an image for the reader to imagine. This sets up the rest of the writing, as whatever happens, we imagine in the scene we have pictured. The diction used in Hemmingway’s piece matches the imagery, as he is using smaller words. In my opinion, the use of smaller words makes the imagery feel more prominent, which is what he was going for. The smaller words allow us to concentrate on the image we are producing, rather than focusing on how to pronounce a word or two. Using these two literary techniques primarily, Hemmingway gives us an awakening piece of writing

Personal Writing #7

Instead of going to Tofino this weekend, I decided to hang back and prepare for a few upcoming golf tournaments. One of which fell this past Sunday. Uplands golf club was where it happened to be. Uplands itself, is simple. It is so flat in comparison to other courses, and the holes are also very simple. However, I still played bad. My putting was as bad as ever, and if I putted average, I would’ve been in the mid 70’s. But golf is a game of would’ve’s. That is why I love it so much, since you can never, ever perfect it. Additionally, getting off the tee was rough, as I either hit a 20 yard draw, or hit it dead straight. Thankfully, irons and wedges were above average, which really saved the round. I ended up finished in the low 80’s, in a tie for 5th place.

Next weekend I have the zone 5 amateur. This is a two day tournament at Arbutus Ridge and Olympic View. The tournament is for all the good amateurs on the lower island (any age) to play in to qualify for the BC amateur. Overall, I am very excited for this tournament, as one of the rounds is at my home course, that being Olympic View. If I continue to practice every day for a couple hours (especially putting), I am hopeful I am able to place well, and who knows, maybe even qualify.

Romeo and Juliet Reflection

While there may be several people out there who consider Romeo and Juliet to be an “essential to watch”, I, myself, don’t. I have never been that amazed by love stories of any sort to be frank. I find them too slow and to fake. But, I had no choice this time but to sit tight, watch the film, and pay close attention as I knew there was a blog post to be done following the finish. So, here are my honest thoughts of the film.

The film starts with a man reading out the prologue, which is then followed by a market scene. There, we get the first look at the people. And oh boy, were there outfits hard to look at. I mean, the Capulet’s were dressed in a bright red and yellow, which did not contrast very well, while the Montague’s were in a hideous shade of dark green and blue. But getting past their outfits, the first scene really set the tone for the whole movie. It outlined the Capulet-Montague rivalry which is a constant right until the end, and there was action right away, as it took only three minutes for there to be a sword fight. Overall, my first impression of the movie was pretty good, which was unexpected. However, it was all downhill from here

Moving into the ballroom scene, this is where my opinion took a turn for the worse. seeing Tybalt get stood-up was sort of a highlight I guess, as I didn’t like him very much. But apart from that, it was bland to me. The dancing was really weird and I found it too look rather strange. Then don’t even get me started on the scene when that one guy was singing and Romeo and Juliet were trying to find each other. I remember thinking to myself,”Why can’t they just see each other through the circle, signal to each other to meet somewhere, and get on with it. But no, they had to play ring around the rosy for what felt like an eternity, only for them to have one of the weirdest interactions in all of movie history. I just didn’t agree with the scene whatsoever. Then 5-10 minutes later, the scene on the balcony was introduced. There are no words that come to my head to describe the scene, as it was so hard to watch. Like, the two of them met not even an hour ago and they are already making out. Then when Romeo goes, Juliet calls him right back up, all for them to do it over again. When he leaves again, the same thing happens. I guess this is the true reason why I hate love stories, as they are way over-the-top and dramatic. But I guess it couldn’t get worse from here, right? Well, I wish that was the case, as it does indeed get a whole lot worse.

The next scene I will talk about is when Romeo is engaged in a duel vs Tybalt. This was right after Mercutio died to Tybalt, which made Romeo stand up for his friend and avenge him. The two go on to fight for a long time, and it is majorly exaggerated. There are several times when Romeo should’ve died, but he miraculously cheats death. Anyways, after Romeo stabs Tybalt through the chest and his body falls down near Mercutio’s, the Capulets chase Romeo all through the town. A short while later, Romeo is banished from Verona, which sends him into a fit. Not because he will basically never get to see his friends and family again, no no no, it is because he will not get to see his beloved Juliet, who he met only the night before. At this point in time, I thought we had hit rock bottom and the film was going to get better. In fact, it just had to. But oh boy, I could not have been more wrong.

As Juliet finds out the news, she too, falls into tears. Her father still believes she is marrying Paris, a fellow noblemen, but Juliet doesn’t want this. So, when she tells her father she doesn’t want to be married just yet, her father goes off on her, yelling that if she didn’t marry Paris in a couple of days, she would be thrown out of the house. This makes her cry even harder. She then heads down to Friar Lawrence to see if he has any ideas. To her relief, he does. She would drink a potion that would essentially kill her for a while, she would be put in the Capulet tomb area, then she would wake up with Romeo, and the two would ride off together in the sunset. Things go South, however, when Romeo’s “spy” sees Juliet’s body being carried to the tombs. Friar Lawrence had initially sent a message to Romeo, but his spy beat the messenger to it, and Romeo now was under the impression she was dead. Romeo being the love-struck fool he was, galloped on horseback to the tomb to get a look for himself. As he gets there, He sees Juliet’s lifeless body there, and he starts to sob weakly. He then kisses her seemingly dead body not one, not two, but three times, which is disgusting. After this, he pulls out a small flask and chugs it. A few seconds later, he dies, as it was poison he drank. Two seconds later, Juliet wakes up. She sees Romeo’s body and breaks down into tears, yet again. She then begins to kiss Romeo’s lips, looking for poison that he didn’t swallow. to her dismay, there was none left. But, there was a dagger sitting next to his body, so she picks it up and stabs herself in the heart, with her body collapsing right onto Romeo’s chest. (The ending does explain, however, why there is a knife and a vile of poison on the cover of our textbooks)

I had thought up of a few different ending scenario’s in my head, but none were even close to that. Even sitting here, writing this now, I can think of no good reason why she killed herself. Despite this unnecessarily dramatic film, there are still lessons to be learnt from here. The first being, focus on yourself, don’t let another person bring you down. This is a big one, as a lot of people today who will feel so depressed when their girlfriend or boyfriend decide to break up (or in this case, die) when you should keep your head up high and keep on pushing through life. The second is that your actions can effect others. At the end of the movie, when the Prince is brought the two bodies, he yells out, “You will all be punished!”. This doesn’t exactly imply that he will punish them, it does imply, however, that there will for certain be a fierce battle between the Capulet’s and Montague’s in the near future. Overall, I think I am going to keep away from love stories/drama films and movies for a while, and just watch some simple comedies.

IRJE 7

Golf’s most fascinating rivalry, written by Bob Harig, compares and contrasts two people: Phil Mickelson, and Tiger Woods. In this book, Harig tells various stories sometimes with the two of them going head to head, or sometimes just stories about Woods, and sometimes stories only about Mickelson. In this particular entry, I will be focusing on one from Tiger. This took place earlier in Woods’ career, as it was in 1996. It was the finals of the NCAA matchplay championship, and Woods was in it. For the finals, you play 36 holes instead of the usual 18, making it harder for both players to stay zoned in for that long. This took place after the first match, and Woods found himself 2 down to his opponent, Steve Scott. Woods was on the practice range, working on his posture, when his caddie, Butch Harmon, came over and said to him,

“I know he’s ticked off.” Harmon recalled. “So, I put my arm around him and said, ‘Have you noticed that every time Steve Scott wins a hole, that cute little girlfriend of his is laughing at you?’ Tiger turned to me and said, ‘You noticed that too?’ I knew that was all I had to say. i remember after he made that [birdie] putt on the 35th hole, he sprinted past me going to the 18th tee. He slapped me on the butt and said, ‘She ain’t smiling now!'” (p.73)

All Tiger ever needed was a spark. It didn’t matter the size, he just needed one. Here he got it, and he ended up winning the match, playing a lights out final round. When he got a spark, he had something to play for. Sure, there was the trophy and the bragging rights, but for Woods that was never enough. He was always hungry for more. He wanted to win to silence the haters.

BNW Personal Response

When we first began reading the book Brave New World, I’m not going to lie, it was horrible. The book made absolutely zero sense to me. The whole “Brave new world” was just a really strange thought to me, and it sounded terrible. Then, as the book progressed, we were slowly introduced to new characters. Characters like Lenina (although she was really annoying in my opinion) and Helmholtz added more depth to the story, which increased my interest. However, the part where I feel I really started liking the book was when Bernard was focused upon. Bernard was one of the stranger characters. From his strange personality, to his huge ego, learning more and more about him made the book more enjoyable for me. After learning more about Bernard, him and Lenina take a trip to the savage reservation, where they meet John and Linda. This chapter was packed full of interesting things. For example, we got to see the upbringing of John. In a lot of ways, he was like Bernard. He was a loner. He enjoyed things like reading, which no one else liked. Similarly, Bernard also enjoys things no one else does. Knowing this, you’d think they would become friends, right? Well, they did at first, then John betrays Bernard by not showing up at a party that Bernard had planned for everyone to see him. A few short chapters later, John, Bernard and Helmholtz are all arrested and brought before Mustapha Mond, a World Controller, for John throwing Soma out a hospital window, and the other two being his friends. Here, the 4 engage in a long conversation, where Bernard makes a last-ditch effort to not get deported by throwing John and Helmholtz under the bus. it backfires, and the trio are all deported to separate islands. The last chapter is purely focused on John. He is living in complete isolation, trying to live his best life. This is made hard, however, as there is constantly reporters and people filming him everywhere. It gets to the point where John the Savage decides to hang himself, putting himself out of his misery

Huxley’s Brave New World was a rollercoaster of a ride to say the least. There were plots that I couldn’t have guessed in a million years, which made the book a lot more enjoyable. With all things considered, I truly did enjoy the novel.

Personal Writing #6

On February 22nd, while playing basketball, I dislocated my knee.

After finishing lunch, I headed straight to the gym to play basketball, soccer, badminton, whatever was going on. I decided to play some basketball with the younger kids. After shooting around for a bit, we decided to play a game. I don’t remember the teams, but I do know that it was fun. At 12:25, the younger kids had to go to reading block, leaving the gym clear for the older kids. Since there were a surprisingly large amount of kids there, we had enough to play a full court game. The first 15 minutes were awesome. It wasn’t all that competitive, so we were having some fun, shooting shots that would never be shot if it was a game. After our team lost the ball, it was the other team’s ball behind their own hoop. The person with the ball heaved a long pass, intended for Logan. I jumped up, trying to intercept it, but missed. However, I landed on my left leg, and my knee collapsed. I heard a loud pop, and a lot of pain followed. On the ground, I saw my knee in a spot it wasn’t supposed to be. Then, I watched as it popped back into place. The whole experience was pretty gross. The pain was still immense, as I was unable to move. Dylan helped me to the couch, and Calla got me an icepack. I was driven to the doctor’s by my mom, where they took an X-ray and all of that boring stuff. Thankfully, there was no bone fractures or breaks, and the ACL, MCL and PCL are all fine.

 

IRJE #6

In the book Dawn of the Belle Epoque, written by Mary McAuliffe, we take a look at France in the 1800s. The book focuses on many famous people, such as Claude Monet the painter, and Émile Zola, the writer. In this particular passage, we are looking at Monet. Monet had been struggling to make a living as an artist for years and years. But this all changed, however, when his paintings did start to sell, he capitalized on the opportunity. He partnered with another impressionist, Renoir, and the two went into business together. When this didn’t work, Monet decided to start up his own gallery to sell faster and make more money

Monet, much like Renoir and Rodin, was on his way to success. (p.102)

This quote represents a turning point in his life. From here on out, Monet was going to start making a name for himself, and he would end up doing very, very well. And it all started with 1 small opportunity.

Personal Writing #5

When I was in the 4th grade, I had probably the best moment of my life. Me, my dad, and some other of his friends were playing in Men’s night at Olympic View. Men’s night is on every Monday night where a bunch of guys get together and play 9 holes, then afterward everyone would head up to the lounge for a get together, to eat and drink, to win prizes, and for “the putt”, which I will explain later. Anyways, since i wasn’t 18, I wasn’t allowed to play for the prizes, but I was allowed to just go out and have fun playing golf with my dad. Oh, and I was allowed in the lounge afterwards. After our round, which I don’t really remember how good or bad I did, we all adventured into the lounge and took our usual seats. After eating, the draw prizes were called. You could win anything from a sleeve of golf balls, to a Scotty Cameron putter. Sadly, I also wasn’t allowed in these either. But the one thing I was allowed in was the putt. Before the renovations, the lounge at Olympic View was all carpeted, and there was this small disc that was placed on top, and 3 names would be called up and they would get a chance to win. But since the prize pool was over a thousand dollars and it was the last mens night of the year, they were going until the putt was won. My dad had bought some tickets for me, and it was basically a lottery. After about 40-45 guys all went and missed, my ticket got drawn. Everyone started cheering me on as I picked up the putter. After taking some practice swings and addressing the ball, everyone was silent. Then, as soon as I hit it, everyone started yelling and cheering. And when the ball barely crept over the edge and stayed in, the place went ballistic. I will always remember the cheers of joy from all the guys. People were high-fiving me left and right, and the head-pro came over and lifted me up on his soldiers. Also, i had won 1200 dollars in pro-shop credit, which was a lot, especially for a 10 year old.

 

Brave New World – IRJE

In chapter 3 of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, all the kids are outside having play time. Now, play time for the children in the story is miles different then what it is like now. For us, play times includes playing tag, sports, or running through the playground. But a regular play session for these kids includes sex games, which is very strange. But “strange” is exactly how the older kids felt about our current play time activities.

He let out the amazing truth. For a very long period before the time of Our Ford, and even for some generations afterwards, erotic play between children had been regarded as abnormal (there was a roar of laughter); and not only abnormal, actually immoral (no!): and had therefore been rigorously suppressed.     (p. 27)

When the older students heard this, they were in disbelief. They couldn’t believe that there was once a time where children didn’t participate in sex games. It is like someone telling me now that sports never used to exist. I mean, living in a world without sports seems no fun, and that’s exactly how these kids felt, only about sex. It truly rocked their world.

Willingham – Outsmart your Brain

Over the course of Willingham’s  Outsmart your Brain, he teaches us many diverse techniques to help the audience on how they can do better when reading a book, studying for an exam, etc. I will now go over the two most important things I took from the text.

The first being how to study for an exam. Exams are a huge part of school, so naturally, essentially gaining a “cheat code” sounds exciting to me. One of the ways to prepare for an exam is to essentially practice, take a pre test, then practice again. This helps the student, as they are simulating the real thing. After a study session, you take a homemade test the following day. This can be done by simply answering questions on the content you have been studying. After self assessing yourself, you get the chance to analyze your mistakes, then study them after, until everything is right. This can be repeated if necessary. Overall, this is defiantly a good way to study, and I will be using this method in preparation for future tests.

The other important technique I found was how to use a study guide. This again, goes back to studying for exams. If a study guide is made, what good is it for if you have no idea how to properly use it? Well, one of Willingham’s ways is to separate the topics you have learned about. If you keep reading your notes or flashcards over and over again in the same format, it isn’t doing to much, as come test day, the order will be completely revamped, and you may forget. Additionally, the topics would all be in order, and mixing those up can challenge yourself, and get you more prepared. Building off of that, answering the questions aloud can really help your understanding. as Willingham says, it is proven that when speaking aloud, your answers will be more developed. So when that big final comes round, you will be 100% ready.

There are many other useful texts displayed in Willingham’s novel, but I found these two to be the most important and I can see myself using these to improve my marks in the future

Personal Writing #4

Taking part of the personal project has been tough to say the least. However, I have found that I have learned a great bit about myself and my project. For my product, I am writing a golf book about Tiger Woods. Shocker, I know. Anyways, when I first began the book in October of 2022, I was under the impression that writing a novel was easy. If I knocked out a chapter per week, I would be finished with plenty of time to spare. But oh boy, was I ever wrong. Here I am in mid-January with my book that is on the verge of completion, when I first expected to finish before winter break. I truly under-estimated the amount of planning, researching, and editing that goes into writing a novel. My book currently sits at 46 pages, which is nothing compared to the 70+ hours I have put into it.

Analyzing Tiger Woods’ career has been something that I have wanted to do, I just never got around to it. But the personal project gave me an excuse to make my idea a reality. There has been countless times of me sitting over my laptop, simply not wanting to work anymore. But pushing through those times and getting some real work done is all worth it in the end. When all my hard work is completed, I will be overjoyed. Even now, every time I open my document to work, I scroll down through all the pages, thinking to myself, “Wow, this is a lot of writing.” And it is. The feeling of finishing any project is always amazing, but finishing my novel will give me a feeling of gratitude like no other.

IRJE 5

In the novel Tiger woods, written by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, the two dive into depth on how Tiger Woods (the greatest golfer to ever play) became Tiger Woods. They look at his childhood, his home life, his parents, everything. In one specific part of the novel, Tiger was 11 years of age. He had just finished school and he was ready to devote all summer to practicing and playing in tournaments. Despite being 11, Tiger had probably the best summer in junior golf history.

 But in 1987, at age eleven, Tiger entered thirty-three junior golf tournaments and won every single one of them. ‘There’s no feeling I’ve found that matches the feeling that I’ve beaten everybody.’ Tiger said. ‘Second place is first loser.’ (p. 33)

From a young age, Tiger was always brought up to be a winner. He would watch his dad hit golf balls in the garage at the age of 6 months, then when he was 2, he had a pretty much flawless swing. Fast forward to age 5, he was practicing for 2 hours a day at the range. He was truly unlike any other kid, or golfer for that matter. Now at 11, he was dominating. It wasn’t uncommon for Tiger to win junior tournament by 10 strokes or more, which was certainly unheard of. Despite being only 11, Tiger was going to take the golf world by storm in the next years to come.

Unit 1 Final – Reflection

For me, the biggest thing to work on is time management. While writing my fist paragraph comparing the 2 passages, I went too far into detail. This resulted in a dip in quality for the second comparison paragraph and conclusion. To improve this, I can assemble a clear cut plan prior to starting out, where I put an equal amount of time into the main points. This will make my writing both easier to read, while brining the quality up.

Utopia

While living in the perfect society will probably never happen, it is still a cool idea to think what it would be like to live in one. My life is centered around sports, and more specifically, golf. So, my perfect world would be a place where the sun shines almost all year around, the weather doesn’t get to cold or to hot, and I have access to any golf course in the world. The golf courses would be in pristine condition all year long. I would also never have to work. My job would be to just play golf with friends and family until the day I die, which would be alright with me.

Outside of golf would also be dreamlike. Everybody would be treated equally and receive the same amount of respect. Poverty, war, and hunger would all be stopped. People would also have more freedom. Travel by plane, boat, train, etc. would all be free, and it would be encouraged. Food would be a lot cheaper everywhere you go. People would receive major pay bonuses so they can afford anything they wanted and so they can provide for their children . Oh, and the Vancouver Canucks would win a Stanley Cup.

IRJE

The book Golf is not a Game of Perfect, written by Bob Rotella, it is about a professional golf teacher who shares stories of him interacting and teaching many pros. There is a certain moment when he was teaching one of the most famous pros, Tom kite, that really grabbed my attention. The pair were talking about full swing, more specifically, approach shots. the coach (Bob Rotella) is talking about your pre shot routine. This includes your practice swings, your 1 “trigger” which gets you in the right place to hit the shot, and arguably the most important one, the target. Before every golf shot, whether it is a driver or a putter, you should always pick a target beforehand. Bob would then explain the exact details of the target your picking.

Whenever you are choosing a target, try to make it as small as possible. A tree, or a house way in the distance are best. This is because you have a more precise thing to swing toward, and this results in a better golf shot. p 133

This is some of the best golf advice I have ever heard. My dad was the first to tell me this before my provincial golf tournament, and I went out and shot 79 – 76, which are pretty good score for me. Bob is overall a great teacher, who understands the game of golf deeply. I have learned a lot from his book already, and i am eager to learn more.

Personal Writing

When I was in the forth grade, I had one of the most memorable moments in my life. Me and my family were vacationing in San Diego for a few weeks in mid February at the Welk Resort. We were swimming everyday, golfing nearly everyday, and just relaxing. Life was perfect. But the third or forth day in, I woke up with heat stroke. I remember doing absolutely nothing for the two days in which I had it, because you have no energy. It was brutal. I was missing out on all the fun the rest of my family was having. The trip went from the highest high, to the lowest low. However, it would all shift back again when I recovered. I woke up one morning feeling so much better. After a morning of relaxation, we went swimming in one of the many pools. Life was back to perfect. But, little did I know, the best was yet to come. My dad woke me up at 6am the following morning, and told me we were going to play Torrey Pines! Torrey Pines is one of the most prestigious golf courses in the entire world, and it was a dream come true for me to finally play it. It was also right on the ocean, making the experience ten times better. The course was amazing. It was in mint condition, the greens were rolling fast, and the views were out of this world. I shot a 98, which wasn’t bad for me at the time. My dad shot even par, which was a decent round for him also. I do greatly wish that I can play there again some time in the future. It was the nicest golf course I ever played, and it was also the happiest I have ever been on a golf course.

IRJE

In the book Golf is not a game of perfect, written by Bob Rotella, it is about Bob and his career as a coach. Bob is not only a golf coach, but he also majored in phycology. Phycology is a big factor in the game of golf. Keeping your mind in the right place is the key to success. In the second chapter, Bob was in the middle of a lesson with one of his many pro students, Nick Price. Now Nick was struggling with consistency. One day he would play lights out golf, the next day he would play terrible. Bob noticed that how he played usually was decided on the first few holes. If he played well, he would play well the rest of the round, and vice versa. It was all a mental thing. Bob then said this to Nick,

You’re going to have to decide before the round starts how you’re going to think, and do it on every shot. You have to choose to think well.

This was great advice from Bob, and any golfer, no matter the level can use this. It was the perfect advice to help Nick Price out in a pinch, as he had a tournament in a few days. Nick went on to play very well, despite poor starts in 3 out of his 4 rounds. It just goes to show that with the right frame of mind and a determined soul, they can accomplish anything.

Golf is a crazy game. I remember last year in April I participated in a school golf tournament with Tiago and Lucas (both were in grade 11). The tournament took place at my home golf course, Olympic View. Olympic View is a very tough course, and with crazy weather, it can be even harder. The tournament lasted 2 days, and schools from all over the island, and even one from Vancouver all played in it. The first day, the conditions were miserable. It was pouring down rain, and the wind was also blowing upwards of 40 kph. I don’t exactly remember what I shot, but I know I played very poorly. The second day, however, made the first day look like nothing. I remember waking up and looking out the window and seeing rain pouring down from the skies above. Today was going to be a challenge. As we got to the course to warm up, the rain mellowed out a little, but it was still there. Because of the number of kids, it was a shotgun start, meaning that groups start on each hole, and when they fire the gun, it means begin. My group was the same as yesterdays, and we were starting on the eighth hole once again. I started out with a bogey, but because the eighth hole was the hardest on the course, I was not upset. On the 10th hole, it was raining so hard that when doing my practice swing, the club flew out of my hands and 20 yards forwards. Thankfully, no one was injured. When we got to the 17th green, we could see the 14th green. The 14th green now had a puddle on the back of it. Any standing water on a golf course, especially during a tournament makes scoring well near impossible.

After the par 5 18th hole, I remember going up to the pro shop and purchasing some rain gloves, so what happened on the 10th doesn’t happen again. My fist shot with them was a bullet right down the center of the fairway, so I was pleased with my decision to buy them. I was now left with 111 yards to a middle pin. With gap wedge in hand, I hit it purely, directly at the pin. As we got up to the green, we did not see my ball. I went up to check the hole, and there it was. This was my longest hole out in a tournament, and longest hole out ever. The rest of the round I played horribly, but I didn’t care. While golf is crazy, that is the reason in which I enjoy it so much.

In the book The Big Miss, it is all about the man who coached Tiger Woods from 2005 to 2011. Over the course of the book, he talks about what it was like working with Tiger, his personal friendship with Tiger, and how good Tiger was, as he is the best golfer of all time. There is this part on chapter 4 that really stood out to me. Tiger had hurt his knee 10 years ago and it required surgery. The injury had come back, but that wasn’t all. His tibia had also been messed up, as well as his ACL. As Hank (the coach) and Tiger were sitting in the doctor’s office, the doctor told Tiger that his leg was not doing well, and surgery would be required as soon as possible. With a look of blank expression for the next 20 seconds, Tiger suddenly shifted into a state of determination

I am going to win the US Open next week. It’s just pain. Come on Hank, let’s go down to the range. We need to practice. p 187

At his very words, the doctor stood speechless. He cleared him to go only because his injury couldn’t get any worse. The US Open is the second biggest tournament of the year and winning would be defining all odds. Tiger trained as hard as he could for the next month and had daily therapy for his leg. The hard work paid off and Tiger won the US Open with a crippled leg. This is the biggest moment in the sport of golf, and arguably in the world of sports.

Personal Writing

On October the 9th I had a golf tournament at Highland Pacific Golf Club. Up to this, I had been hitting the ball great. I was (and still am) practicing every day, keeping my game as sharp as possible. I got to the course and went to the range to warm up. I was hitting it very good, so my expectations were high. The greens proved to be rolling  fast, so I had to learn the speed. To get the speed down, my dad always taught me to hit putts uphill and downhill, back and forth. Once that is mastered, move on to flatter putts. This worked good for him, and good for me. As my name was called, I was excited and a little nervous. I have played in many, many tournaments previously so the nerves weren’t anything new to me. My first shot went down the middle of the fairway. This helped settle the nerves a little. I would go on to make 2 early bogeys, however I made a 30-foot putt for birdie on the 9th hole. I finished 2 over through 9, a decent score. I was playing very well, until the 16th hole. I had 125 yards, so I thought. Turns out that was the yardage to the back rocks, and the pin was only 95 yards away. I airmailed the green long, into a hazard. This resulted in a double bogey. I went on to finish 78, good for 3rd place out of 15 which is alright. I could have played better, but that is golf. It is a game of misses, and whoever misses the best will generally win.

Comparison of They Shall Not Grow Old, All Quiet on the Western Front and Soldier’s Home

They shall not grow old was a movie created in 2018. This movie, along with All Quiet on the Western Front and Solder’s Home, all depict the struggle soldiers had coming home after the war ended. Krebs had trouble telling people how he truly felt, Baumer struggled to reconnect with his past life, and the British soldiers found it hard to find jobs after the war.

All Quiet on the Western Front focuses in depth on what life was truly like in the front lines, while the short story Soldier’s Home focuses on focuses on life after the war. The movie They Shall Not Grow Old on the other hand uses very gory imagery to drive home how scary it really was on the front lines. Everything from charging into the German frontlines, to even sitting in your trench, praying you don’t get sniped in the head. You were never, ever safe no matter where you were.

Overall, these three pieces of literature focused on 3 different topics, which broadened my range of WW1 knowledge exponentially.

In the book The Feeling of Greatness, written by Tim O’Connor, it is about Moe Norman. Moe Norman was a Canadian born golfer. Ever since Moe was a kid, he loved hanging around the golf course, hitting golf balls or caddying. However, Moe had a small case of autism, which made him only want to do one thing: golf. By the age of 17, Moe’s goal was to hit at least 1,200 golf balls per day. He would hit balls until his hands would bleed and bleed, then he would do it again tomorrow. In this quote, Moe was 27 years old playing his home course in Kitchener Ontario. By now, Moe was one of, if not the best ball striker in the world.

                 “Moe’s confidence was also incredible. You’d see him at the parking lot in Rockway before a game, pulling clubs out of his bag. I’d say “Moe, what are you doing?”

‘The wind is blowing down number six, so I don’t need my five iron, and up on 10, so I don’t need a four iron.’ Moe said

He knew the clubs he’s hit on every hole so they wouldn’t weigh the bag down. I thought, ‘No one is this good!”

This quote really stood out to me because it showed how good Moe really was. As a fellow golfer, knowing what clubs you are going to hit every hole before you even play is so remarkable. Even looking at professional golfers today, no one on the PGA (Professional Gold Association) tour is doing anything even close to this. Moe was truly something special to the game of golf. He showed that hard work and pure dedication can get you so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soldier’s Home

In the short story Soldier’s Home, Harold Krebs was an American soldier who went to fight with the British army. In this response, I will be comparing and contrasting Krebs to Paul Baümer, the main character in All Quiet on the Western Front.

Krebs and Paul, whilst they have many differences, are also alike in some ways. For example, both boys attended school, from there they were transferred to the war. However, Krebs left voluntarily, while Paul was signed up. Also, Paul was sent to battle as soon as the battle began. Krebs, on the other hand, only joined the war in 1917 when America did. However, one of the larger differences of the two is their parents. Paul’s mother is gravely ill, the cause of which is believed to be cancer. She didn’t care all too much about the war, she only cared about Paul surviving.  Paul’s father on the other hand is very into the details. He wants to know what it was like in the frontlines, battling for your life. Krebs mother was intrigued about the war, but as Krebs was telling her stories and experiences, she lost interest easily. Krebs’ father was not non-committal, there were times where he would lean toward Krebs educating him on the war, and the next it would be the last thing he wanted to do.

 

“My mother is the only one who asks no questions. Not so my father. He wants me to tell him about the front; he is curious in a way that I find stupid and distressing.” P. 165 of All Quiet on the Western Front

“She often came in when he was in bed and asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered. His father was non-committal.” P. 2 of Soldier’s Home

While there is clearly many, many differences between these two gentlemen, there is one big similarity: They feel disconnected and out of place with their families and the rest of the world. In the short time Paul has at home with his family, he feels as though the old Paul was gone. It was only a couple of years ago that he lived permanently in his home. Back then, he felt like he was himself. However, the aftermath of years of fighting really caught up to him. He now feels as though his childhood is long in the past. Krebs on the other hand also felt out of place. He came back from the war a year later then everyone else, which gravely impacted him and his emotions. All the soldiers who returned home immediately were honoured and celebrated. But because Krebs was late, he was not honoured or celebrated. He now wasn’t able to talk about his feeling because everyone had heard the same stories over and over again. Krebs also felt disconnected for the fact that he actually enjoyed the fighting. He liked the adrenalin and the rush of war, which was unlike anyone else. This put him in a dilemma because he didn’t want to tell everyone he liked fighting, which would make him sound like a monster. So he had to keep his feelings bottled up inside which tore him apart.

 

“I breathe deeply and say over to myself: -‘You are at home, you are at home.’ But a sense of strangeness will not leave me, I cannot feel home amongst these things.” P. 160, All Quiet on the Western Front

 

“At first, Krebs, who had been at Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne, St. Mihiel and in the Argonne did not want to talk about the war. Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it.”

 

This was one of the most tragic parts about the war. Even if you were lucky enough to survive the combat phase, there was a very good chance that you still die mentally. Surviving soldiers never would be the same again, which is very sad to even think about. It makes me feel so lucky to be in a safe country with no need for war.

All Quiet on the Western Front – Personal Review

I believe that in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque uses a wide variety of imagery to showcase powerful and/or important moments. In this short essay, I will explain my reasoning for this, and provide examples in the form of quotations from the novel.

In chapter 9 of All Quiet on the Western Front, the main event that happens is Paul finds a dying British soldier on the ground. He has a large chest wound and is clearly suffering. Paul makes his way over in attempt to save the man’s life. However, the man believes that Paul is going to finish him off.

“I bend forward, shake my head and whisper, ‘No, no, no,” I raise one hand. I must show him that I want to help him, I stroke his forehead. The eyes shrink back as the hand comes, then they lose their stare, the eyelids droop lower, the tension is past. I open his collar and place his head more comfortably.” P. 219

This is one of the most powerful moments of the whole book. It shows what a true, kind-hearted person Paul really is. Paul has the same attitude throughout the whole book. He mentions that the people on the other side of the war are just the same as him. School boys, average workers, husbands, fathers, etc. Paul feels sorry for each and every death, whether on his side of the battle or not, and this part really drives home that thought.

 

Another example of when imagery was utilized was in chapter 4. When Paul and Kat are in the graveyard getting bombarded by the British artillery and Sulfur Mustard (the most common and deadly gas of WW1), they are crawling around, doing their best to protect themselves, but more importantly their lives. As they are maneuvering about, Kat gets the word out to Paul about the incoming gas

“I grab for my gas-mask. Some distance from me there lies someone. I think of nothing but this: That fellow there must know: Gaaas—–Gaaas—.”

Whenever I read this part, not just the quote but the whole page, it makes me feel so lucky that I was not a part of any war. It would be truly traumatizing being put in that scenario, gas and artillery trying to kill you, as well as gunners from the frontlines. This part corroborates with the first statement about Paul, as his only thought was to let the man know about the gas. Not to get out to a safer spot, not to stay put and keep safe, but to protect his fellow soldiers. He puts others before himself.

 

All things considered; All Quiet on the Western Front is a very powerful novel. It gives readers a first-hand look at trench life, war life, all the suffering that happens, and the trauma all the living soldiers go through. It is truly unlike any war movie or other novel.

By: William