Quiz / blog 43

2. What connection does Ashmol make between the land covered with seawater and Pobby and Dingan? Why is that important to the story?

 

While Ashmol was seeking Pobby and Dingan in the abandoned mine, he remembered that dad had once told Ashmol that, "where Lightning Ridge is now was once covered by seawater and how all kinds of sea creatures had been found fossilized in the rock"(Chapter 9). Ashmol found this fact very amazing and meanwhile incredible, because Lightning Ridge, where the sea was, is now nothing but a dried continent. Ashmol would never know this happening in the past unless his dad told him, because he could not see or feel what Lightning Ridge was like from now. It then made Ashmol thought of Pobby and Dingan, the imaginary friends of his sister Kellyanne. If where he was standing was the sea, then these two creatures could be true too, even if they are invisible and untouchable. He realized that he couldn't say something is wrong or does not exist just based on his thoughts or whether he could see them or not. This turning point of Ashmol's mind is important in the story, because after Ashmol recalled this fact, he changed from a materialist to an idealist, and  became the first person in town to believe that the imaginary friends of Kellyanne are truly existing.  

5. In the very end of the novel, Ashmol talks about what it’s like to “believe in something which is hard to see. Or to keep looking for something that’s totally hard to find.” Discuss the importance of imagination and dreams in this novel. Why are they so important even if they cannot be seen. Consider what dreams Rex, the father, and Annie, the mother, have in the story. Consider, also, the dream that Ashmol has. How do those "unseen" dreams connect to Kellyanne's belief in Pobby and Dingan?(Rex)

  

Everyone miner in Lightning Ridge had a dream of finding precious opals and earn big money. They might want the money for buying houses, living luxurious lives, marry pretty women, or many other purposes. The father of the Protagonist, Rex Williamson has the same dream. He brought his whole family to this village to accompany his mining career, and wished to give her wife Annie and their children a good life in a better place. His dream of earning money and giving his family a good life was like the faith to supporting him in the boring and endless mining work. In the dark mines, in the crowded town, on the arid land, an unreachable dream is the reason why he was here working day and night.

 

Even if finding a precious opal has a very small probability, Rex still wanted to do so, because he has a beautiful wife and two lovely kids to feed, and he has the responsibility of being a husband. His wife's job in a grocery was the only income in the family, and as a man, Rex really loves his wife and wanted her to have some rest. He wanted to take care of her and not have her being too exhausted or busy about earning money, and he wanted to contribute something to maintain the finance of the family. Ashmol, his son was supporting him on mining a lot, which made him more energized about his life and work.

 

But, when Rex spent too much time on working, he had not noticed that his children needs him at home too. Because of her parents are too busy working and Ashmol was helping, Kellyanne was all alone. She had no friends in school but only imaginary friends in her mind because no one was playing with her, even including her family. When Rex started to notice this problem, it was all too late. Kellyanne started to be very sick, and nothing could heal her physically. The symptoms gain the parents' attention to her, which made her felt somehow better because she was taken care of and paid attention to. Even if she didn't realize, she got better when she started to feel not lonely.

Story about my vacation / blog 42

It was a chilly spring break in March; I went on a flight to China and spent my entire break with my family there. When I walked out of the airport in Shanghai in the dawn, I saw my dad and my aunt standing there waiting for me to come home. A warm stream flowed into my body when I got into the car. I saw the sun rising little by little bringing sunshine to the city. My family prepared a huge feast at night welcoming me for coming back from school, and I really appreciated that.

 

I spent most of the time with my family during the break, and a little with my friends because they are preparing for their IGCSE exams and I wanted them to have time to review for that. One day I went out with Joyce and Jerry to Gokurakuyu where is a place providing Japanese style hot springs and massage, and we spent a great time there. It didn't locate in the center of the city, but it needs only five minutes of walking from the subway station, which is very convenient for us to go. After we showered, we went to the dining hall there and ordered a lot of food. I ordered a soak cooked rice in tea with salmon, Jerry ordered udon with pork, Joyce ordered curry and rice with fried chicken, and we ordered a bibimbap just incase to make sure that everybody has enough to eat. The food there was pretty delicious and I really appreciated that.

 

We were done at ten o'clock on that night. Joyce lives near the hot spring so she went back home on her own, and Jerry and I live very close so we decided to go back together. Jerry was too tired playing in the hotspring, so he wanted to call a taxi because it drives him directly home, but I wanted to save some money so I suggested him to take the subway. My grandma told me to save money and use public transportation as much as I can if I need to go anywhere, but Jerry's family had taught him not to care about money, but instead to use it for making himself comfortable at first. We didn't agree with each other, so we decided not to talk to each other.

 

Fortunately I forced Jerry to compromise. He decided to walk to the subway station with me and save our money, but when we went downstairs through the staircase, we were informed that the last train had left just a minute ago. I was pretty upset because I couldn't save my money as what my grandma told me, but Jerry was happy because he needed to walk no more. We took the taxi and went back home and Jerry paid for it, which made both of us very satisfied.

Pobby and Dingan appearance / blog 41

Pobby and Dingan is the title of the book that we are reading in English class, and they are also the names the imaginary friends of Kellyanne, the narrator’s younger sister. Being imaginary means that Kellyanne is the only person who could see them and talk to Pobby and Dingan. In Lightning Ridge. Kellyanne seems to be the only one believing Pobby and Dingan’s existence, people around her just pretend like they exist or some of them don’t even admit it. Kellyanne described how they look like when her dad lost her friends and Ashmol, her brother wanted to help. It says in the book that Kellyanne and Dingan won the opal princess competition in the third place, so we could tell that Dingan is a girl from this piece of information. She lately told Ashmol that “Dingan had a lovely opal in her bellybutton...And Pobby had a limp in his right leg”(Chapter 5). I would assume that Dingan was a very cute looking girl who wore a fancy gown that has an opal in the bellybutton because she was on the opal princess competition, and she might care about her appearance a lot because she was a girl. Pobby might be a little shy because he might lack a little confidence than other kids because he had a limp leg, but he would probably have a nice personality because he was with Kellyanne all the time, and Kellyanne was very affable. When Fat Walt came and claimed that he found Pobby and Dingan shooting each other, Kellyanne told him immediately that her friends are pacifists. I assume that they loved to play with Kellyanne peacefully and hated to fight or to have arguments with others. When Domingo came to Kellyanne’s room and claimed that he found them in the back castle eating chips and steak, Kellyanne said right after, “Pobby and Dingan only eat Cherry Ripes and Violet Crumbles and lollies.” These are all treats and desserts, which showed they were still little kids that were nuts about treats and sweet stuff. I was insane with desserts and treats when I was little too, and I’m still in love with them. Over all, Pobby and Dingan seemed to be two very lovely kids to me..

Vocab Chapter 1-2 / blog 40

claim(n.)

Mum asked one night when she’d got back from her job on the checkout at Khan’s and me and Dad were relaxing after a hard afternoon’s work out at the claim.

Definition: An assertion of a right (as to money or property).

wobbling(v.)

The noise of a car drove into our ears and a four-wheel-drive police jeep came wobbling down the creamy red track that leads to our claim.

Definition: An unsteady rocking motion.

startled(adv.)

My dad turned around, startled

Definition: shocked by sudden surprise.

figment(n.)

Kellyanne glared at me through tears the way she did the time I slammed the door of the ute in Dingan’s face or the time I walked over to where Pobby was supposed to be sitting and punched the air and kicked the air in the head to show Kellyanne that Pobby was a figment of her imaginings.

Definition: hallucination or illusion; things made up by imagination.

rummaged(v.)

He rummaged through piles of rocks.

Definition: a thorough search for something.

ute(n.)

One time he even took Kellyanne, Pobby and Dingan out to the Bore Baths in the ute.

Definition: a kind of vehicle.

crackpot(n.)

Lightning Ridge was full of flaming crackpots as far as I could see.

Definition: a crazy person; lunatic.

Mello Yello(n.)

I said, hiding my anger in a swig from my can of Mello Yello.

Definition: a kind of drink similar to sprite.

mates(n.)

“I still say Kellyanne could do with some real-live mates,” went on my dad, as if he was talking to someone inside his beer.

Definition: a friend/ partner.

opal(n.)

The secret of an opal’s color lies not in its substance but in its absences.

Definition: a type of precious stone.

fairdinkum(n.)

“Fairdinkum?”

Definition: a nice person.

imaginary(adj.)

Now, I was as much a rockhound as the next kid, but I wasn’t crazy enough to talk to imaginary friends, I’ll tell you that for nothing.

Definition: something that's not real and made up by imaginations

grub(n.)

She said they were quieter and better behaved than me and deserved the grub.

Definition: food

fossilized(adj.)

There’s rumours going that Lucky Jes has taken out a million-dollar stone and a fossilized mammoth tooth with sun-flash in it. We’re close, boy.

Definition: become hard and form fossils

mammoth(n.)

There’s rumours going that Lucky Jes has taken out a million-dollar stone and a fossilized mammoth tooth with sun-flash in it. We’re close, boy.

Definition: extinct huge elephant 

For each word, write the sentence that it comes from, the part of speech, and the meaning as it is used in the sentence.

In class Writing / blog 39

          We read the first two chapters of the book Pobby and Dingan later in this week. The names in the title of the book are two imaginary friends of the narrator's sister Kellyanne. I think they are not real, because first of all, they don't have a state to exist in the real world. When it was said in the book that "[Kellyanne] wasn’t concentrating in class and was always talking to herself and hugging the air", was she really hugging the air as her friends? Nope, because her friends were not the particles in the air but were pretended by her mind to be existing. Secondly, there was a opal princess competition held in their town, and the third place winners, Kellyanne and Dingan took a photograph together. The photo was then posted on a local newspaper, where it said "Two Opal Princesses—Kellyanne Williamson (aged eight) and her invisible friend Dingan, who won third prize in this year’s Opal Princess competition". On the photograph, as the narrator described, is Kellyanne holding the air (Dingan's shoulder) in her costume and crown. Dingan as an imaginary friend, is not a real figure according to the word "imaginary". She only lived in Kellyanne's imagination and nowhere else, and couldn't be touched or captured by a camera. Thirdly, the other imaginary friend Pobby, was driven away by dad for some exercises with Dingan together. Dad pretended to be fastening their seatbelts and pretended to be talking to them. If they are real, they would have a shape and dad did not have to pretend like he was doing something, because he would be actually doing it. Thus, these are the reason why I think Dingan and Pobby aren't real. 

 

Improvements of my drafts / blog 38

          From the first draft of the paper, I basically wrote down summaries and some analysis in all of my paragraphs, and had a few sentences that demonstrates the main idea of the paragraphs. The grammar was not revised, nor the clarity of the sentences. The ratio of summary and analysis was extremely not balanced because I had too much summaries in my body paragraphs, and there wasn't a lot of analysis of how they changed and why they changed. 

          In the final draft, I revised on my languages, grammar, clarity of the sentences and ratio of analysis and summary, and I had also added some new ideas on why an intense relationship is important in my concluding paragraph, which provides some spaces for the reader to imagine and consider about. I balanced the summary by adding more analysis to both of my body paragraphs. I corrected my citations and all the mistakes in the paper after peer reviewing with my friends and classmates, which is a great improvement from the first draft.