The Scarlet Letter
GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
This novel is about a woman named Hester Prynne who is accused of committing adultery and having a child with a man who was not her husband. She is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter for the rest of her life and is asked to reveal the father but she refuses. Hester’s husband who was believed to be dead is actually alive and plans to seek revenge on the man (the town minister: Arthur Dimmesdale) who had the affair with Hester. The rest of the novel is filled with revenge and guilt.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The main theme I saw in this novel was that of the identity that society seems to assign to each character, whether they like it or not. An obvious example is with Hester Prynne who is forced to wear the scarlet letter, or move to a different town and forget about the letter. Hester refuses to leave town and to some this may seem odd because she could live a normal life, but to her it makes perfect sense. Leaving town would give the notion that society had won, instead she keeps the letter and wears it as a reminder of who she is and how her past actions/sins have made her who she is.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
During the time this novel was written, Puritans were renowned for their morality and religious intolerance. In the Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne through his tone shows his views on Puritan society in a disapproving way.
“being of the most intolerant brood” page 86
“the blackest shade of Puritanism” page 211
“Meagre, indeed, and cold was the sympathy” page 47
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone.
-Personification- “The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment” page 173
-Rhetorical question- “Is there not law for it?” page 45
-Metaphor- “poor little Pearl was a demon offspring” page 88
-Oxymoron- “die daily a living death” page 153
-Anaphora- “Live, therefore, and bear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and women-in the eyes of him whom thou didst call thy husband-in the eyes of yonder child!” page 65
-Simile- “The door of the jail being flung open from within there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and gristly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand.”
Allusion- “Divine Maternity” refers to the Virgin Mary and is used to describe Hester Prynne
Flashback- This entire story is basically a flashback. The narrator stumbles upon a manuscript describing the events that unfolded and he reads these descriptions to us.
Situational irony- Chillingsworth is Hester’s old husband in disguise.
Symbols- Hawthorne uses many symbols in this novel including the scarlet letter (shame and identity for Hester) and Pearl (Hester’s living scarlet letter).
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
Direct characterization: “But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity…” and “beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion” Direct characterization seemed to give away the tiny details that were almost irrelevant, but still important enough as to help progress the story and paint a more vivid picture of each character. They were more used as descriptions of appearances whereas indirect characterization gave insight to the personalities of each character. Some examples include Hester choosing to keep the scarlet letter on as opposed to leaving town and starting a new life, and also Chillingworth’s decision to go undercover and seek revenge on the man who had an affair with his wife.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The diction and syntax change with the different personalities that are presented in this novel. Pearl who is younger and more contemplative asks a lot of questions but has a far less advanced vocabulary. Dimmesdale is a minister and his diction and syntax have a religious tint to them. A lot of his emotions are actually expressed through his sermons, and his guilt is prevalent in his speech and outer appearance (which we see degrade as the novel progresses).
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
Hester Prynne is a dynamic and a round character. Because of her punishment, she is alienated and becomes a contemplative thinker. She has lots of time to speculate about moral questions and human nature. This matures her character and makes her more motherly and independent. She is a round character because of the wide array of emotions and characteristics she displays such as anger, love, compassion, caring, and hatred.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
I feel like Hester Prynne was just another character that I read because her choice to defy society is so different from what people nowadays would do. It makes her an admirable character, but hard to view as a realistic one. In today’s time, people would rather go with the flow of things than stand out.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Lit analysis #5
The Road
General
The Road is the story of an unnamed father and son’s several months journey along a road south to the coast, after the world has been almost completely destroyed. The earth has been scorched by fire and no plants or animals are alive. Only a few people have survived whatever devastating event occurred several years ago and some of the people have turned to cannibalism to survive. The father and son, travel along the road, foraging for edible canned food amidst the ruins, and trying to avoid other people. The son had been born after the devastating event and he might be about 8 years old. Ash is everywhere in the air, presumable blocking adequate light for vegetation to grow despite the frequent rain and snow. The father believes it to be October at the beginning of the story, but hasn’t been able to keep track of the days for years now. Ruins of buildings, vehicles, dead burnt trees and dead bodies are scattered across the landscape. Although the father and his son travel for several months in the story, the setting does not change very significantly. They come across some usable stuff and food in various locations, but death, devastation and distrust covered in ash is all that the earth has become. With this setting, the author creates a world seemingly void of all hope. Even when they finally reach the coast, the situation shows no improvement. The boy’s mother had committed suicide around the time of his birth, leaving the father alone with the child. The father considers his son, his only reason to live. “If he (the son) is not the word of God, God never spoke.” Several places throughout the story, the father refers to his son as his only connection to any god if one existed.
The theme of the novel is a warning that great environmental destruction could befall the Earth, but despite the desperation, we see an example of positive human existence when the father and the boy don’t feel as if they can go on anymore and all is becoming too hard, the father is able to comfort the boy by saying that things will be ok because “We are carrying the fire”. In a world that seems to have illimitable darkness this perception of “Carrying the fire” provides the father and the boy with hope to carry on. This perception of the fire and the hope that it brings is made ever brighter by the fact that they are surrounded by such darkness. The will of the father and the boy to stay alive is amazing. They are faced with many hardships and events where they could have easily given up. The true distinction between good and evil behavior is how people survived in abandoned civilization and how one encountered its hardships. The struggle between good and evil influences the main struggle of survival throughout The Road.
The tone is overwhelmingly desperate, but the mere fact the man and boy struggle without giving up to stay alive each day is a testament to man’s will to survive and perhaps to a type of faith. We are left to imagine how you could still believe in a god when he has so forsaken the place, but this is always the contemplation of mankind who has free agency. So perhaps we should always be gratefully and hopeful and in being so, some measure of joy or happiness will exist.
The author uses frequent foreshadowing and the ending is partly expected with the father dying, but a somewhat unexpected twist leaves the boy with a small amount of hope for the future with a new family. The father is frequently coughing. Ash is everywhere in the air so they wear cloth to help filter it. The father’s cough gets worse as the journey progresses and he starts to cough up blood. Other important foreshadowing is that the boy sees another boy early in the book and periodically talks about him. After the father dies, it is this boy’s family that takes the son with them. The father finally gives in to his disease and dies in the end saying he could not bear to see his son die first. The boy and his father struggle to survive through the story, as they are “good” guys “carrying the fire” looking for other good guys. In the end the son is found by other “good” guys “carrying the fire”. Although the world still remains in desperate destruction, the father’s journey is over and the boy has some hope for the future.
Characterization
The characters are mostly revealed through direct characterization. I can’t really imagine the world becoming as depicted in the book, but it is not an uncommon struggle to feel desperate and alone even in a world where survival is “easy”. I find it unrealistic that people have survived for years with absolutely no vegetation, bugs or animals. I would think that at least cockroaches would survive. The story is such an ultra-extreme depiction of an earthly condition that I question the sanity of the main character(s). They are able to survive the impossible situation carrying whatever supplies they find in a couple of backpacks and a shopping cart.
There are only two main characters in this story, the father and his son. They are developed through direct characterization as you learn who they are through their own thoughts, dialog and actions. Both the characters are quite heroic in nature. The father, although he has witnessed the almost complete destruction of the world, he struggles because of his love for his son to stay alive. The son who knows only this totally desperate world and it’s emanate dangers, trusts and loves his father and shows compassion for those they do encounter on their journey. The father in the attempt to keep his son alive keeps him away from everyone, possible even from those who could potentially help them. They are supposedly on a search for other “good” guys but the father is too paranoid and distrusting to ever find them. One person they encounter in the book grabs his son, so the father shoots him. This unfortunately seems justified as the people, they encounter are either most certainly going to die or are the people who are eating other people to survive. This no win situation for the pair only resolves itself with the death of the father. Despite the desperateness of it all, the father demonstrates that he unconditionally cares for his son. For example when the boy forgets to turn off the valve on a camp stove they found, and the gas that should have lasted for weeks is gone in a day, the father does not get mad at his son instead he takes the blame. The son also shows compassion beyond what might be expected for the situation. He encourages his father to give some food to an old man that they met on the way even though it won’t prolong his life much.
Although the father has many admirable characteristics when it comes to his compassion and caring toward his son, he is distrustful of everyone else, so it would be a little hard to get to know him. The son seems like someone who would be nice to know because he is caring and compassionate.
The characters resemble people in real life but the situation they are in is so extreme. I think the characters are developed this way to make the point that even in the most desperate situation, you are defined by your relationship and connection to someone else. Even as the father was dying he tried to pass on hope to his son by saying that his son can talk to him in his imagination after he dies. When his son asks about the little boy he had seen on the way, his father says “Goodness will find the little boy. It aways has. It will again.”
General
The Road is the story of an unnamed father and son’s several months journey along a road south to the coast, after the world has been almost completely destroyed. The earth has been scorched by fire and no plants or animals are alive. Only a few people have survived whatever devastating event occurred several years ago and some of the people have turned to cannibalism to survive. The father and son, travel along the road, foraging for edible canned food amidst the ruins, and trying to avoid other people. The son had been born after the devastating event and he might be about 8 years old. Ash is everywhere in the air, presumable blocking adequate light for vegetation to grow despite the frequent rain and snow. The father believes it to be October at the beginning of the story, but hasn’t been able to keep track of the days for years now. Ruins of buildings, vehicles, dead burnt trees and dead bodies are scattered across the landscape. Although the father and his son travel for several months in the story, the setting does not change very significantly. They come across some usable stuff and food in various locations, but death, devastation and distrust covered in ash is all that the earth has become. With this setting, the author creates a world seemingly void of all hope. Even when they finally reach the coast, the situation shows no improvement. The boy’s mother had committed suicide around the time of his birth, leaving the father alone with the child. The father considers his son, his only reason to live. “If he (the son) is not the word of God, God never spoke.” Several places throughout the story, the father refers to his son as his only connection to any god if one existed.
The theme of the novel is a warning that great environmental destruction could befall the Earth, but despite the desperation, we see an example of positive human existence when the father and the boy don’t feel as if they can go on anymore and all is becoming too hard, the father is able to comfort the boy by saying that things will be ok because “We are carrying the fire”. In a world that seems to have illimitable darkness this perception of “Carrying the fire” provides the father and the boy with hope to carry on. This perception of the fire and the hope that it brings is made ever brighter by the fact that they are surrounded by such darkness. The will of the father and the boy to stay alive is amazing. They are faced with many hardships and events where they could have easily given up. The true distinction between good and evil behavior is how people survived in abandoned civilization and how one encountered its hardships. The struggle between good and evil influences the main struggle of survival throughout The Road.
The tone is overwhelmingly desperate, but the mere fact the man and boy struggle without giving up to stay alive each day is a testament to man’s will to survive and perhaps to a type of faith. We are left to imagine how you could still believe in a god when he has so forsaken the place, but this is always the contemplation of mankind who has free agency. So perhaps we should always be gratefully and hopeful and in being so, some measure of joy or happiness will exist.
The author uses frequent foreshadowing and the ending is partly expected with the father dying, but a somewhat unexpected twist leaves the boy with a small amount of hope for the future with a new family. The father is frequently coughing. Ash is everywhere in the air so they wear cloth to help filter it. The father’s cough gets worse as the journey progresses and he starts to cough up blood. Other important foreshadowing is that the boy sees another boy early in the book and periodically talks about him. After the father dies, it is this boy’s family that takes the son with them. The father finally gives in to his disease and dies in the end saying he could not bear to see his son die first. The boy and his father struggle to survive through the story, as they are “good” guys “carrying the fire” looking for other good guys. In the end the son is found by other “good” guys “carrying the fire”. Although the world still remains in desperate destruction, the father’s journey is over and the boy has some hope for the future.
Characterization
The characters are mostly revealed through direct characterization. I can’t really imagine the world becoming as depicted in the book, but it is not an uncommon struggle to feel desperate and alone even in a world where survival is “easy”. I find it unrealistic that people have survived for years with absolutely no vegetation, bugs or animals. I would think that at least cockroaches would survive. The story is such an ultra-extreme depiction of an earthly condition that I question the sanity of the main character(s). They are able to survive the impossible situation carrying whatever supplies they find in a couple of backpacks and a shopping cart.
There are only two main characters in this story, the father and his son. They are developed through direct characterization as you learn who they are through their own thoughts, dialog and actions. Both the characters are quite heroic in nature. The father, although he has witnessed the almost complete destruction of the world, he struggles because of his love for his son to stay alive. The son who knows only this totally desperate world and it’s emanate dangers, trusts and loves his father and shows compassion for those they do encounter on their journey. The father in the attempt to keep his son alive keeps him away from everyone, possible even from those who could potentially help them. They are supposedly on a search for other “good” guys but the father is too paranoid and distrusting to ever find them. One person they encounter in the book grabs his son, so the father shoots him. This unfortunately seems justified as the people, they encounter are either most certainly going to die or are the people who are eating other people to survive. This no win situation for the pair only resolves itself with the death of the father. Despite the desperateness of it all, the father demonstrates that he unconditionally cares for his son. For example when the boy forgets to turn off the valve on a camp stove they found, and the gas that should have lasted for weeks is gone in a day, the father does not get mad at his son instead he takes the blame. The son also shows compassion beyond what might be expected for the situation. He encourages his father to give some food to an old man that they met on the way even though it won’t prolong his life much.
Although the father has many admirable characteristics when it comes to his compassion and caring toward his son, he is distrustful of everyone else, so it would be a little hard to get to know him. The son seems like someone who would be nice to know because he is caring and compassionate.
The characters resemble people in real life but the situation they are in is so extreme. I think the characters are developed this way to make the point that even in the most desperate situation, you are defined by your relationship and connection to someone else. Even as the father was dying he tried to pass on hope to his son by saying that his son can talk to him in his imagination after he dies. When his son asks about the little boy he had seen on the way, his father says “Goodness will find the little boy. It aways has. It will again.”
Monday, November 26, 2012
Lit Analysis #4 The Awakening by Kate Chopin
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same.)
- Edna starts off as the wonderful wife who fulfills the role of a proper mother. They take a vacation as a family and spend their time in Grand Isle. There she meets a man named Robert and a romance begins. They end up declaring their love in the novel and we see the two grow and fall apart. Robert seeks a marriage but couldn't find it in Edna. Edna also became intimate with another man named Alcee. That connection Alcee and she had seemed like pure lust because he awoke feelings in her that lead to other realizations but no attachment Edna learns about her independence while being with these men and she tries to become the woman she always wanted to be. Her marriage seems to be fading away as she spends more and more time with her new persona. As her family is away she moves into her own home persueing her new lifestyle. Times goes by and her past is awaken when her friend Adele goes through a birth. Adele reminds Edna of the life she left behind and this leads Edna to think about things. Edna realized that in the end she was left albone, because Robert had walked out on her. She then decides to return where everything began and end her life there.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
- The theme revolves around marriage and Edna's involvement within her life. During their time period marriage, money and security was all society cared for. Love wasn't a favored characteristic in relationships because then they had different priorities and beliefs. Edna underwent a dramatic change that lead to her marriage's collapse. She became a wild and disobedient women as the novel progresses letting her true colors free. Her decision to start her life over with her lover helped the audience see that marriage wasn't of great importance for her.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
- The author's tone is gloomy and direct. She addresses Edna's feeling on marriage in the story but reveals that Edna isn't the caring, loving person a mother's supposed to be. The tone is shown when Edna speaks to her husband or when she reveals Edna's thoughts on marriage. It sounded like the relation they had faded away as Edna found herself and let her past fade away.
1) "Before dinner in the evening Edna wrote a charming letter to her husband, telling him of her intention to move for a while into the little house around the block, and to give a farewell dinner before leaving, regretting that he was not there to share it.." (Chapter 26)
2) “They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow as ministering angels.” (Chapter 4)
3) "Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate." (Chapter 7)
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
*Symbolism: “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude.” (Chapter VI) For the first time she feels free and is reborn.
*Dialogue: "The water must be delicious; it will not hurt you. Come." (Chapter V) He tries to convince her that she should trust in him.
*Setting: “They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow as ministering angels.” (Chapter IV) She's surrounded by the ideal mothers.
*Diction: “He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her. She fancied they was a sympathy of thought and taste between them..” (Chapter VII) It reveals how she feels about the situation.
*Foreshadowing: "She is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blundder of taking you seriously." (Chapter VIII) Adèle Ratignolle warns Robert that Edna might take his affections seriously.
*Imagery: "A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength." (Chapter X) It shows Edna’s rebellious side.
*Irony: "She remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that siezed her at the fear of being unable to regain to shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on..." (Chapter XXXIX) Edna's death in the ocean.
*Forshadowing: "He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation" (Chapter 17) Shows Edna losing interest in her husband.
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
- The author uses both direct and indirect characterization because it helps the reader understand who each character is and how they are. Every reader takes in a story differently and characterization helps in developing a visual image for those who need it.
- DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION:
1) "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself." (Chapter 16) She tells that she is in it for herself and her needs. That she wouldn't give herself up for her children.
2) "That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect." (Chapter 14) Edna has changed and this is being stated by showing a new person masked behind the old Edna.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
- The diction does change because the author is adding emotional appeal to it. As you read about her romance with Robert the diction changes adding an atmosphere of mystic. She experiments many things with her lover thus changing the way she thinks, sees and feels the world. For every action she made her character changed as well as how she spoke or acted.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
- Edna is a dynamic and round character because she shows change from the beginning of the novel to the end. Every time she encounters new people her persona changes and we see her feelings change as well. The reader was able to pick this up as they saw how she treated her husband and her lover Robert.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
- I read a character because not everyone is as open as Edna was. She underwent a dramatic change which is understandable considering the time period, but she wasn't all there. Emotionally I saw a woman who needed to find herself and experiment the only way she could. Not everyone will see or think the way she did because putting oneself in her shoes would make you think otherwise. The ocean is where Robert and she spent some time and it's ironic how she spent her last hours there. Only a character would end there life where their grief starts not an actual person.
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same.)
- Edna starts off as the wonderful wife who fulfills the role of a proper mother. They take a vacation as a family and spend their time in Grand Isle. There she meets a man named Robert and a romance begins. They end up declaring their love in the novel and we see the two grow and fall apart. Robert seeks a marriage but couldn't find it in Edna. Edna also became intimate with another man named Alcee. That connection Alcee and she had seemed like pure lust because he awoke feelings in her that lead to other realizations but no attachment Edna learns about her independence while being with these men and she tries to become the woman she always wanted to be. Her marriage seems to be fading away as she spends more and more time with her new persona. As her family is away she moves into her own home persueing her new lifestyle. Times goes by and her past is awaken when her friend Adele goes through a birth. Adele reminds Edna of the life she left behind and this leads Edna to think about things. Edna realized that in the end she was left albone, because Robert had walked out on her. She then decides to return where everything began and end her life there.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
- The theme revolves around marriage and Edna's involvement within her life. During their time period marriage, money and security was all society cared for. Love wasn't a favored characteristic in relationships because then they had different priorities and beliefs. Edna underwent a dramatic change that lead to her marriage's collapse. She became a wild and disobedient women as the novel progresses letting her true colors free. Her decision to start her life over with her lover helped the audience see that marriage wasn't of great importance for her.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
- The author's tone is gloomy and direct. She addresses Edna's feeling on marriage in the story but reveals that Edna isn't the caring, loving person a mother's supposed to be. The tone is shown when Edna speaks to her husband or when she reveals Edna's thoughts on marriage. It sounded like the relation they had faded away as Edna found herself and let her past fade away.
1) "Before dinner in the evening Edna wrote a charming letter to her husband, telling him of her intention to move for a while into the little house around the block, and to give a farewell dinner before leaving, regretting that he was not there to share it.." (Chapter 26)
2) “They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow as ministering angels.” (Chapter 4)
3) "Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate." (Chapter 7)
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
*Symbolism: “The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude.” (Chapter VI) For the first time she feels free and is reborn.
*Dialogue: "The water must be delicious; it will not hurt you. Come." (Chapter V) He tries to convince her that she should trust in him.
*Setting: “They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow as ministering angels.” (Chapter IV) She's surrounded by the ideal mothers.
*Diction: “He pleased her; his absolute devotion flattered her. She fancied they was a sympathy of thought and taste between them..” (Chapter VII) It reveals how she feels about the situation.
*Foreshadowing: "She is not one of us; she is not like us. She might make the unfortunate blundder of taking you seriously." (Chapter VIII) Adèle Ratignolle warns Robert that Edna might take his affections seriously.
*Imagery: "A feeling of exultation overtook her, as if some power of significant import had been given her to control the working of her body and her soul. She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength." (Chapter X) It shows Edna’s rebellious side.
*Irony: "She remembered the night she swam far out, and recalled the terror that siezed her at the fear of being unable to regain to shore. She did not look back now, but went on and on..." (Chapter XXXIX) Edna's death in the ocean.
*Forshadowing: "He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, evinced so little interest in things which concerned him, and valued so little his conversation" (Chapter 17) Shows Edna losing interest in her husband.
CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
- The author uses both direct and indirect characterization because it helps the reader understand who each character is and how they are. Every reader takes in a story differently and characterization helps in developing a visual image for those who need it.
- DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION:
1) "I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself." (Chapter 16) She tells that she is in it for herself and her needs. That she wouldn't give herself up for her children.
2) "That she was seeing with different eyes and making the acquaintance of new conditions in herself that colored and changed her environment, she did not yet suspect." (Chapter 14) Edna has changed and this is being stated by showing a new person masked behind the old Edna.
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
- The diction does change because the author is adding emotional appeal to it. As you read about her romance with Robert the diction changes adding an atmosphere of mystic. She experiments many things with her lover thus changing the way she thinks, sees and feels the world. For every action she made her character changed as well as how she spoke or acted.
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
- Edna is a dynamic and round character because she shows change from the beginning of the novel to the end. Every time she encounters new people her persona changes and we see her feelings change as well. The reader was able to pick this up as they saw how she treated her husband and her lover Robert.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.
- I read a character because not everyone is as open as Edna was. She underwent a dramatic change which is understandable considering the time period, but she wasn't all there. Emotionally I saw a woman who needed to find herself and experiment the only way she could. Not everyone will see or think the way she did because putting oneself in her shoes would make you think otherwise. The ocean is where Robert and she spent some time and it's ironic how she spent her last hours there. Only a character would end there life where their grief starts not an actual person.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Plato's Allegory of the Cave
1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
-The allegory of the cave represents how individuals reject reality and don't understand the truth behind life.
2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
-Prisoners were the ignorant individuals, cave was a world of imagination, sun was the reality of life, darkness was the lacking of truth, and the freed prisoner was philosophers.
3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
-After a while an individual will get the opportunity to embrace the truth. One must take the knowledge and do wisely with it.
4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
-Shackles show the prisoners being held against their will to live a life that is planned for them. The cave is merely where they plan to revise it to any state they want it to be. They are trapped from reality and unable to realize what lies past the light.
5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
-The government shackles our minds by controlling everything we do and removing anything that may lead to someone discovering something.
6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
-The freed prisoner was exposed to self thinking and realization, while the cave prisoners were stuck thinking their "normal" was normal.
7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
-
8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
-Cave prisoners get freed by being exposed to freedom. Other people let them see the light and show them a new source of knowledge.
9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
-Yes, because not everything is what is seems. People could assume that just by looking at someone they were a tidy person, but when they look inside the person's backpack it seems as if a tornado had already been there.
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
-The allegory of the cave represents how individuals reject reality and don't understand the truth behind life.
2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
-Prisoners were the ignorant individuals, cave was a world of imagination, sun was the reality of life, darkness was the lacking of truth, and the freed prisoner was philosophers.
3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
-After a while an individual will get the opportunity to embrace the truth. One must take the knowledge and do wisely with it.
4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
-Shackles show the prisoners being held against their will to live a life that is planned for them. The cave is merely where they plan to revise it to any state they want it to be. They are trapped from reality and unable to realize what lies past the light.
5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
-The government shackles our minds by controlling everything we do and removing anything that may lead to someone discovering something.
6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
-The freed prisoner was exposed to self thinking and realization, while the cave prisoners were stuck thinking their "normal" was normal.
7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
-
8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
-Cave prisoners get freed by being exposed to freedom. Other people let them see the light and show them a new source of knowledge.
9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
-Yes, because not everything is what is seems. People could assume that just by looking at someone they were a tidy person, but when they look inside the person's backpack it seems as if a tornado had already been there.
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
Friday, November 9, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Who was Shakespeare?
I did a quick search to find out who William Shakespeare was.
First, I went on duckduckgo.com. Then I entered William Shakespeare. I found this website.
It does a great job with Shakespeare's biography. Click to learn more. http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
Students percieve Shakespeare's writing to be this horrible hard to read literature. This all changes when they begin to read and break it down. Students begin to learn new strategies on how to better their own writing and they also learn that shakespeare can be interpreted in many different ways. The name "Shakespeare" alone evokes strong feelings. It is amazing as to how even after centuries his writing is still able to effect you the way it does. At some point in our young lives we have all read Shakespeare . It might have been a stripped down less complicated version but it was still his writing. And now as we get older, we begin to read a more abstract version that is hard to understand. You will not completely understand an act after reading it once. It will take lots of practice.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Sonnet
Men call you fair, and you do credit it,
For that yourself you daily such do see:
But the true fair, that is the gentle wit
And virtuous mind, is much more praised of me.
For all the rest, however fair it be,
Shall turn to naught and lose that glorious hue:
But only that is permanent and free
From frail corruption that doth flesh ensue,
That is true beauty; that doth argue you
To be divine and born of heavenly seed;
Derived from that fair spirit, from whom all true
And perfect beauty did at first proceed:
He only fair, and what he fair hath made:
All other fair, like flowers, untimely fade.
-Edmund Spencer
Vocab # 11
Affinity- relationship by marriage
-It is quite common for your affinity to go wrong or come past a conflict.
Bilious- of or indicative of a peevish ill nature disposition
-The teacher was bilious in a way where all his students thought very poorly of him.
Cognate- of the same nature
-The two elements in the science lab are cognates so they both work as equal catalysts.
Corollary- A proposition inferred Immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
-The victim had a corollary which no one believed from the lack of proof.
Cul-de-sac - a pouch
-The main character always carried around a cul-de-sac with her family heirloom in it.
Derring-do- a daring action
-He was always taking derring-do's becasue he enjoyed the adrenaline and thrill.
Divination- The art or practice that seeks to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge due to the interpretation of omens
-The fortune teller was famous for her ways of divination.
Elixir- A substance capable of prolonging life indefinitely
-Myths and stories say that an unicorn's tear drop is an elixir.
Folderol- a useless accessory
-Many people in society wear folderols that make you look tacky and seeming to waste money.
Gamut- an entire range or series
-The watch tower had to be taken down because it lacked ability for the watchmen to see the gamut of the city.
Hoi polloi- the General populace
-The hoi polloi was at the presidential speech held in the biggest stadium in the world.
Ineffable- incapable of being expressed in words
-My feelings for him were ineffable.
Lucubration- to study by night
-I always end up lucubrating since I can never put myself up to finishing homework right when I get home.
Mnemonic- intended to assist memory
-It helps to create mnemonics when memorizing something.
Obloquy- abusive language
-The man was known for his obloquy toward everyone.
Parameter- an independent variable used to express the coordinates of variable point and functions of them
-In math class we are ,earning to use parameters.
Pundit- a learned man
-The pundit opened up a small school for the village so young children can be educated.
Risible- provoking laughter
-They both had a risible that made little kids in the neighborhood intimidated.
Symptomatic- having the characteristics of a certain disease but arising of a different cause
-The daughter was symptomatic and the doctors didn't know how to cure her.
Volte-face- a reversal in policy
-There was a volte-face when the first policy did not work.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Ap hamlet PLN
http://shslboyd.pbworks.com/w/page/8889829/AP%20English%20Literature%20and%20Composition
-This website has mannnnyyy links and worksheets that reinforces Hamlet. It also has cartoons.
http://vickivestenglishclass.weebly.com/ap-english.html
-In this website, there is the a worksheet with a lot of Hamlet info. Info ranges from a broad summary of the play to connections and relationships in the play. There are quotes that are explained. there are character's that are explained to some extent. Overall very helpful.
http://aplove.blogspot.com/2007/11/ap-lit-hamlet-actscene-notes.html
-I like this website because it has summaries for each scene from each act. The summaries are very concise and so very helpful for a quick glance to refresh the memory.
http://gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com/2008/02/hamlet-study-guide-for-act-11-31.html
-This ap english class is basically doing the same thing we are. They have various videos from each scene and they have a forum for questions
Qustions After Reading Hamlet
1) why does hamlet wait so long to avenge his fathers death?
2) Do the clown's jokes at the beginning of Act 5 have any relevance in the context of the play?
3) Why is Fortinbras presence important?
4) What exactly happened to Ophelia at the end of the play?
5) Whose wine did Gertrude drink?
6) Could Ophelia have been pregnant?
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Notes on Hamlet: Act 5
Part 1
Hamlet has returned to Elsinore with Horatio
To be, To do, To act
Hamlet wonders why he sings while digging graves
The man keeps throwing out skulls of the grave
Hamlet asks the grave robber whose grave he is in
The man says a dead womans
The man also talks about Hamlet (Yet does not know he is talking to him)
Hamlet questions the man asking why Hamlet went to England.
The man replys that he was mad...and as Hamlet questions further on what grounds...yet the man seems a bit naive ..he jokes and sings so waggishly
Hamlet comes back to find his old jester dead (yorick)
Part 2
Hamlet sees the king, the queen, Laeretes, and all nobility coming to a funeral (he hides)
Laeretes speaks profoundly over Ophelias death, Hamlet listens to it all.
We can tell Laeretes blames Hamlet, Hamlet rushes out of hiding to confront Laeretes.
Hamlet is destroyed to find out that it was Ophelia who took her own life
Laeretes tries to kill Hamlet
Hamlet tells his love of Ophelia
Claudius says Hamlet is just mad
Claudius tells Gertrude to send watch on her son
Part 3
Horatio tells Hamlet that Rosencrantz and Guilden stern are dead
Hamlet does not care, he says Claudius has killed his king and whored his mother
Hamlet is invited to a duel
The man inviting Hamlet tells him how Claudius is betting on Laeretes winning
That is Claudius's plan to make Hamlet fight ..thus winning...thus drinking from a poisoned cup
Part 4
Hamlet says he fights of love with Laeretes
No wrong
Laeretes lies and says he accepts
Claudius admits to betting against Hamlet
Hamlet gets a fraud hit and Claudius gives him the wine to celebrate his winnings
The wine is poisoned
Hamlet denies the wine and plays yet again
Hamlet again wins except now his mother took the cup
Claudius warns her not to drink but Gertrude says " I will my lord, I pray you pardon me"
Laeretes and Hamlet fight again, except this time Laeretes tries to kill Hamlet, cutting the back of his neck....Hamlet runs after Laeretes
Hamlet cuts Laeretes neck too
Gertrude falls , Hamlet comes running... Gertrude tells him that it was the drink...poisoned
The blades were poisoned...Laeretes falls and tells him it was the king
Hamlet cuts Claudius and gets him to drink what his mother drank
Claudius dies
Hamlet now falls in Horatio's hands
Horatio tries to follow Hamlet to the death
Hamlet throws the cup
Hamlet tells Horatio to tell Hamlet's story...then dies
Monday, October 29, 2012
Fact Of The Day
In American’s first automobile race in 1895, the winning car had an average speed of 7 mph.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Fact Of The Day
In a span of just 4 years, Magic Johnson won a high school state basketball championship, the NCAA championship, and the NBA championship.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Fact Of The Day
Each year, 86,000 Americans go to the emergency room because they trip over their pet.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Fact Of The Day
The battleship USS New York, was built with 24 tons of scrap steel recovered from the World Trade Center.
Vocab #9
Abortive: failing to produce the intended result
Bruit: spread a report or rumor widely
Contumelious: scornful and insulting behavior
Dictum: a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source; a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle
Ensconce: establish or settle
Iconoclastic: characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions
In medias res: a narrative that begins somewhere in the middle of a story rather than the beginning
Internecine: destructive to both sides in a conflict
Maladroit: ineffective or bungling; clumsy
Maudlin: self-pitying or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness
Modulate: exert a modifying or controlling influence on
Portentous: of or like a portent; done in a pompously or overly solemn manner
Prescience: the power to foresee the future
Quid pro quo: a favor or advantage granted in return for something
Salubrious: health-giving, healthy; pleasant, not run-down
Saturnalia: the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December; an occasion of wild revelry
Touchstone: a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
Traumatic: emotionally disturbing or distressing; relating to or causing psychological trauma
Vitiate: spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of; destroy or impair the legal validity of.
Waggish: humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner
Bruit: spread a report or rumor widely
Contumelious: scornful and insulting behavior
Dictum: a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source; a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle
Ensconce: establish or settle
Iconoclastic: characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions
In medias res: a narrative that begins somewhere in the middle of a story rather than the beginning
Internecine: destructive to both sides in a conflict
Maladroit: ineffective or bungling; clumsy
Maudlin: self-pitying or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness
Modulate: exert a modifying or controlling influence on
Portentous: of or like a portent; done in a pompously or overly solemn manner
Prescience: the power to foresee the future
Quid pro quo: a favor or advantage granted in return for something
Salubrious: health-giving, healthy; pleasant, not run-down
Saturnalia: the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December; an occasion of wild revelry
Touchstone: a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
Traumatic: emotionally disturbing or distressing; relating to or causing psychological trauma
Vitiate: spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of; destroy or impair the legal validity of.
Waggish: humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner
Hamlet Remix
HAMLET:
To be, or not to be, that is the question.
Is it nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to fight against a sea of troubles,
And end them by fighting? To die, to sleep,
Nothing more, and by sleeping, to be able to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That the body gets as part of life is an ending
To be wished for very earnestly. To die, to sleep,
To sleep! Perhaps to dream. Yes, there's the catch,
For what dreams may come in that sleep of death,
When we have left this life on earth,
Must make us stop. There's the respect
That makes a mess of long life,
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's insults,
The pangs of rejected love, the law's delay,
The inexperience of office, and the disdain
That patient merit takes from the unworthy,
When he himself might his final settlement make
With a bare, sharp knife? Who would bear these burdens
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
Except that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose borders
No traveler returns, puzzles the mind,
And makes us bear those problems we have
Rather than fly to others that we don’t know about?
In this way, a conscience can make cowards of us all,
And in this way the natural color of making up your mind
Is covered with the pale shadow of thinking,
And projects of great substance and significance,
And in this regard, their movement turns erratic,
And lose the name of action. Wait!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in your eyes
May all my sins be remembered.
To be, or not to be, that is the question.
Is it nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to fight against a sea of troubles,
And end them by fighting? To die, to sleep,
Nothing more, and by sleeping, to be able to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That the body gets as part of life is an ending
To be wished for very earnestly. To die, to sleep,
To sleep! Perhaps to dream. Yes, there's the catch,
For what dreams may come in that sleep of death,
When we have left this life on earth,
Must make us stop. There's the respect
That makes a mess of long life,
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's insults,
The pangs of rejected love, the law's delay,
The inexperience of office, and the disdain
That patient merit takes from the unworthy,
When he himself might his final settlement make
With a bare, sharp knife? Who would bear these burdens
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
Except that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose borders
No traveler returns, puzzles the mind,
And makes us bear those problems we have
Rather than fly to others that we don’t know about?
In this way, a conscience can make cowards of us all,
And in this way the natural color of making up your mind
Is covered with the pale shadow of thinking,
And projects of great substance and significance,
And in this regard, their movement turns erratic,
And lose the name of action. Wait!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in your eyes
May all my sins be remembered.
Vocab #8
Abeyance-(N.) A state of temporary disuse or suspension.
Ambivalent- (Adj.) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Beleaguer- (V.) Beset with difficulties
Carte blanche- (N.) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Cataclysm- (N.) A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
Debauch- (V.) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
(N.) A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
éclat- (N.) brilliant or conspicuous success
Fastidious- (Adj.) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Gambol- (V.) Run or jump about playfully
Imbue- (V.) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Inchoate- (Adj.) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
Lampoon- (V.) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
(N.) A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Malleable- (Adj.) Easily influenced; pliable
Nemesis- (N.) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Opt- (V.) Make a choice from a range of
possibilities
Philistine- (N.) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
Picaresque- (Adj.) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Queasy- (Adj.) Nauseated; feeling sick
Refractory- (Adj.) Stubborn or unmanageable
Savoir-faire- (N.) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Ambivalent- (Adj.) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Beleaguer- (V.) Beset with difficulties
Carte blanche- (N.) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Cataclysm- (N.) A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
Debauch- (V.) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
(N.) A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
éclat- (N.) brilliant or conspicuous success
Fastidious- (Adj.) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Gambol- (V.) Run or jump about playfully
Imbue- (V.) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Inchoate- (Adj.) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
Lampoon- (V.) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
(N.) A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Malleable- (Adj.) Easily influenced; pliable
Nemesis- (N.) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Opt- (V.) Make a choice from a range of
possibilities
Philistine- (N.) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
Picaresque- (Adj.) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Queasy- (Adj.) Nauseated; feeling sick
Refractory- (Adj.) Stubborn or unmanageable
Savoir-faire- (N.) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
What Campuses are Learning About Online Teaching
This article came out in the Wall Street Journal this morning, and seems to have a close connect to open source learning and my future at MIT.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578012262106378182.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444620104578012262106378182.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Vocab Midterm Study Strategies
Since these are words I have already seen, I will most likely just look at the definitions I have previously posted on this blog. I will make sure I can use words in context and compare and contrast words with similar meanings.
Vocabulary words thus far:
adumbrate - to outline; foreshadow
apotheosis - the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of God.
ascetic - simple life, denies material satisfaction.
bauble - a showy, cheap ornament, jester's scepter.
beguile - to influence by trickery, flattery
burgeon - to begin to grow or blossom
complement - something that completes, makes up a whole or brings to perfection.
contumacious - disobedient or rebellious
curmudgeon - an ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.
didactic - intended to instruct
disingenuous - not straightforward or candid; insincere
exculpate - to clear of guilt or blame
faux pas - a social blunder or indiscretion
fulminate - to explode or detonate
fustian - pretentious speech or writing; pompous, bombastic
hauteur - arrogance, pride
inhibit - to hold back, restrain
jeremiad - a literary work or speech expressing a bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of doom.
opportunist - one who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end with no regard for consequences.
unconscionable - not restrained by conscience; excessive.
accolade - any award, honor or laudatory notice
acerbity - harshness or severity, as of temper or expression.
attrition - a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength
bromide - a platitude or trite saying
chauvinist - a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic.
chronic - constant, habitual
expound - to set forth or state in detail
factionalism - self-interested: partisan
immaculate - free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean; free from blemish
imprecation - a curse; malediction
ineluctable - incapable of being evaded, inescapable
mercurial - changeable, volatile, fickle, flighty, erratic
palliate - to relieve or lessen without curing
protocol - the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality
resplendent - shining brilliantly; gleaming
stigmatize - to mark with a stigma or brand
sub rosa - confidentially, secretly
vainglory - empty pomp or show
vestige - a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence.
volition - the power of willing; will
apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
effusive: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.
impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.
lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
consensus: majority of opinion
dichotomy: division into two parts
constrict: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of
architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.
punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur: to tell
sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
non sequitur: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object,
endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaning
quagmire: anything soft or flabby
parlous: perilous; dangerous
acumen (noun)- keen insight.
adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.
anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.
apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
disparity (noun)- inequalityThere will always be disparity of wealth within this society.
dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross
immolate (verb)- to sacrifice
imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.
lackey (noun)- a servile follower
liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word
nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.
patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.
propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
sic (verb)-to incite to attack
sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer
beatitude- Supreme blessedness
bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)
bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome
dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold
ecumenical- Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches
fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate
fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant
gargantuan- of great mass
heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity
incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare
infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation
inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery
kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement
lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift
prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy
protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied
sycophant- A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer
tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words
truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously
aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
Vocabulary words thus far:
adumbrate - to outline; foreshadow
apotheosis - the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of God.
ascetic - simple life, denies material satisfaction.
bauble - a showy, cheap ornament, jester's scepter.
beguile - to influence by trickery, flattery
burgeon - to begin to grow or blossom
complement - something that completes, makes up a whole or brings to perfection.
contumacious - disobedient or rebellious
curmudgeon - an ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.
didactic - intended to instruct
disingenuous - not straightforward or candid; insincere
exculpate - to clear of guilt or blame
faux pas - a social blunder or indiscretion
fulminate - to explode or detonate
fustian - pretentious speech or writing; pompous, bombastic
hauteur - arrogance, pride
inhibit - to hold back, restrain
jeremiad - a literary work or speech expressing a bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of doom.
opportunist - one who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end with no regard for consequences.
unconscionable - not restrained by conscience; excessive.
accolade - any award, honor or laudatory notice
acerbity - harshness or severity, as of temper or expression.
attrition - a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength
bromide - a platitude or trite saying
chauvinist - a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic.
chronic - constant, habitual
expound - to set forth or state in detail
factionalism - self-interested: partisan
immaculate - free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean; free from blemish
imprecation - a curse; malediction
ineluctable - incapable of being evaded, inescapable
mercurial - changeable, volatile, fickle, flighty, erratic
palliate - to relieve or lessen without curing
protocol - the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality
resplendent - shining brilliantly; gleaming
stigmatize - to mark with a stigma or brand
sub rosa - confidentially, secretly
vainglory - empty pomp or show
vestige - a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence.
volition - the power of willing; will
apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
effusive: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.
impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.
lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
consensus: majority of opinion
dichotomy: division into two parts
constrict: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of
architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.
punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur: to tell
sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.
vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
non sequitur: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object,
endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaning
quagmire: anything soft or flabby
parlous: perilous; dangerous
acumen (noun)- keen insight.
adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.
anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.
apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
disparity (noun)- inequalityThere will always be disparity of wealth within this society.
dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.
flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross
immolate (verb)- to sacrifice
imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.
lackey (noun)- a servile follower
liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.
monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word
nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.
patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.
propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
sic (verb)-to incite to attack
sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer
beatitude- Supreme blessedness
bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)
bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome
dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold
ecumenical- Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches
fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate
fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant
gargantuan- of great mass
heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity
incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare
infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation
inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery
kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement
lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift
prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy
protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied
sycophant- A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer
tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words
truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously
aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
Outside Sources of Hamlet
Hamlet Blog:
itintegrationsg.blogspot.com/2009/01/hamlet-study-chart.html
Crestwood High School Act 4:
English Class studying Hamlet website:
libguides.mpsaz.net/mhsap
itintegrationsg.blogspot.com/2009/01/hamlet-study-chart.html
Crestwood High School Act 4:
English Class studying Hamlet website:
libguides.mpsaz.net/mhsap
Pre-Will Questions
a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
My knowledge of Hamlet is very limited. But I had heard the famous quote from the play many times; “To be or not to be, that is a question.” I know Hamlet is one of four great tragedies wrote by Shakespeare. The play is very dramatic and gothic. The protagonist Hamlet who is the Prince of Denmark tries revenge for the murder of his father. And I know nothing about “Melancholy Dane”.
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
I know Shakespeare is been known as the greatest renaissance playwright, poet. He was born in Stratford, England; the exact date of his birth is still remain unknown. Shakespeare’s writing was been recognize by aristocrats. The famous works of Shakespeare are Roman Juliet, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar…etc.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
I think the diction and syntax of Shakespeare makes really difficult to read. He used lots of literary element in his writing, which means that we need to read in between the lines and analyze it to get meaning behind it. I had read Julius Caesar and The Taming of Shrew by Shakespeare; I actually like both of them. I like the plot of the play, and the historical elements behind it.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
Since it is a play, I think we should watch the theater version of Hamlet. I remembered that I had seen the original performance in theater of the play The Taming of Shrew, it was hilarious. It was from many years ago, they don’t have any advance technologies/materials to decorate the background/stage. But, it is still fun to watch it.
News From Chicago
Click this link to get some of the latest news on the school strikes in Chicago.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/19/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thinking About Your Thinking
Answer this not-so-simple question: How does extensive Internet/media/technology use change the way you think? Focus on your memory, your ability to concentrate, your sense of time and priorities, and the subjects/topics that interest you most. If you find "thinking about your thinking" difficult to assess, try the following strategies: compare yourself with older people who did most of their formal learning before smart phones and 2.0 existed; compare yourself with contemporaries who don't use those tools much today; read up on what education leaders and thinkers have to say about generational differences in thinking (and remember to cite your sources).
When what we need becomes accessible at the tip of a finger. We begin to loose our ability to learn for ourselves. Granted the fact that we even get out in the world and look for new things is concluded as the process of learning. Most of the things we search have already been pre-decided for us. That is through an unknown entity that follows and tracks us during our online activities. Then from that determines what we most be interested in and pushes that to the top of the list of our searches. Yet how does it know what we want? How does it find such an answer? It makes me think about what I am thinking. What exactly have I researched on this computer that allows it to make (what almost seems as if conscious) choices for me? Why am I trapped in the filter bubble of this society? And yes we know more now then we ever thought possible through technology. But it's what we don't know...or are not allowed to know that leaves me curious. How do I think about thinking when I do not have the full access to what I want to think of? (Well, online that is.)
Lit Analysis: 2
Catcher in the Rye
1. The Catcher in the Rye starts off in the present day with Holden Caulfield explaining his state of being. He’s in a mental hospital at the moment, but doesn’t give any information on how he ended up there. The rest of the book is Holden narrating the events that led up to the mental hospital. He starts off by telling us the school he was enrolled at and how he hated it there. To him it was just another prep school that his parents shipped him off to so they wouldn’t have to deal with him. Holden is a bright boy, but doesn’t have the ambition or desire to excel in his studies. Because of this, he is failing in almost all of his classes. Holden knows he is going to be expelled for this and so he decides to take an earlier winter vacation in New York City. He takes all his belongings and hits the town. He jumps from place to place, depression seeming to follow him everywhere he goes. You can see that he wants to have a good time, he wants to forget, but everything just seems to be gloomy no matter where or what he does. (sucks) Various events such as hiring a prostitute, talking with an old classmate and hates and seeing his younger sister still aren’t enough for Holden to feel like he has a place in this world. Throughout the entire novel, Holden ask questions about everything that vary from serious issues such as his life to childish curiosity ones such as where the ducks go in the winter. He eventually falls ill from walking around the below freezing temperature of the city. This then leads us back to when Holden is talking about his current situation in the mental facility.
2. The theme Salinger was trying to convey was that isolation/alienation can truly drive a person insane. Holden was shunned everywhere he went and while some of it was due to his cynical, blunt characteristics, his family, the very people you expect to love and cherish you, weren’t there for him. Due to this, he built a wall around him where is defense is to criticize the people around him and no one wants to be around that. Hence his loneliness and his inability to form relationships with anyone.
3. The tone of the novel was cynical and pessimistic. Holden sees life as “the glass half empty” and so his words and action reflect such attitude.
· Take most people, they're crazy about cars. They worry if they get a little scratch on them, and they're always talking about how many miles they get to a gallon, and if they get a brand-new car already they start thinking about trading it in for one that's even newer. I don't even like old cars. I mean they don't even interest me. I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake.
· Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will.
· Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody.
4. Symbolism – Salinger uses many symbols that represent things to Holden. The red hunting cap was Holden security blanket whenever he felt uncomfortable; it was the only things in his life that stayed the same.
Foreshadowing – From the start, we know that he was institutionalized in a mental hospital; this leads a hand into what events will play out.
Syntax – Salinger uses pretty easy, colloquial language. The text is mostly about Holden’s inner thoughts and his opinions about things. It’s descriptive without being difficult to understand.
Metaphors – The title of the book is a metaphor of Holden’s life. He explains in one of the last chapters why he feels like he is a catcher in the rye and how this has brought about a sense of purpose to him.
· "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."
· "This fall I think you're riding for - it's a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn't permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement's designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn't supply them with. Or they thought their own environment couldn't supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started."
· "Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
To Facebook Or Not To Facebook?
Facebook has become such an influential part of
our everyday society. "It gives us the impression
that we are out of the deep blue of school" As stated by Dr. David Preston. Yet in all honesty, Facebook has become a way of life. An emotional and mental release. For it is not without technology that a lot of things wished to be said would be said. It seems to be, that the fear that runs through our minds, looses its strength when we are hidden behind a screen. Why is it that we no longer find the ability to confront our emotions when placed in a realistic situation ? I wonder how different our lives might be , had we said everything in truth rather then in a online conversion. Would we be better off with our minds spoken out , or would we fall short of the respectable approach decided by humanity?That is to say, would we be condemned for doing what most ask of us (To say what we are thinking)? Although it does make me wonder. Is Facebook dangerous? Are we relying too fully on a screen to get our messages across? Why are we slowly decaying in the aspect of true human contact? Just because you are given this tool as a way to connect to others. That does not mean you should be able to abuse its power. We have now taken it upon ourselves to deny responsibility for our actions through this almost pathetic mannerism. For society has developed a bad habit of finding shortcuts and Facebook is of no exception. It is a shortcut to facing the world. One in which leads to a weak sense of being. Take my advice, try to leave the addicting aspect of Facebook for a week. See what you did with those hours once spent with your face shoved in the glowing light of a screen. See where your emotions and thoughts end up if not on a post. See what new things you can accomplish without being involved with the dramatic aspect of the surfaced web. Please comment to this blog with your adventurous findings. Best of luck!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Dear Ophelia
Oh my, I've heard so much about what has been going on lately. It must be tearing you apart, I must say I would be quite outrageous and would be planning to rebel, but you are too sweet Ophelia. You have always been so obedient and caring. You would never do such a thing to dishonor nor embarass your father. But from what I see, this situation is entirely unfair! Where's the chivalry? Who has given your father and your brother to bind you away from true love? I just cannot understand the reason for using you as a decoy to bring Hamlet down, when he could be a normal man wanting a normal future. You must not panic, don't make quick assumptions or conclusions. Is this so called love fantasy? A dream? Most certainly both of us don't want it to be reality. Well, hang in there dear Ophelia, we will talk again soon.
Love,
Karianne
Who was Shakespeare?
I did a quick search to find out who William Shakespeare was.
First, I went on duckduckgo.com. Then I entered William Shakespeare. I found this website.
It does a great job with Shakespeare's biography. Click to learn more. http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
Students percieve Shakespeare's writing to be this horrible hard to read literature. This all changes when they begin to read and break it down. Students begin to learn new strategies on how to better their own writing and they also learn that shakespeare can be interpreted in many different ways. The name "Shakespeare" alone evokes strong feelings. It is amazing as to how even after centuries his writing is still able to effect you the way it does. At some point in our young lives we have all read Shakespeare . It might have been a stripped down less complicated version but it was still his writing. And now as we get older, we begin to read a more abstract version that is hard to understand. You will not completely understand an act after reading it once. It will take lots of practice.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Vocab Midterm Reflection
The first two sections went amazingly well for me.
The last two sections were iffy
Actually a lot of content has been sticking with me. I have been using this vocabulary more often then I had thought.
And next time I will not procrastinate on studying. I am going to be making an everyday calendar to help.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Vocab list #7
aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
Thanks ubi!!
Friday, September 21, 2012
Notes on Textbook Pages 64-82
The Epic
Epics--> Long narrative poems that celebrated adventures of legendary heroes
Heroes were role models for their times.
Gilgamesh--> An ancient Near Eastern poem about 4,000 years old
Iliad--> A Greek poem that is almost 3,000 old
Heroes-->Role models for modern time period
Gilgamesh: The Prologue
Gilgamesh built the city of Uruk
Son of Lugalbanda/Lady Wildcow Ninsun
Perfect warrior
Two-thirds a god/one-third a man
Uruk-->Ancient Sumerian city
Iliad
Hektor (Trojan) has killed Achilleus's (Greek) best friend
Achilleus wishes nothing but the death of Hektor
Achilleus and Hektor fight
Hektor pleads with Achilleus--> Achilleus too consumed by anger
Achilleus eventually kills Hektor
A History of the English Church and People
Bede gives the geographic details of Britain at beginning of work
Bede tells of the different seasons in Britain
Presently there are 5 languages and 4 nations within Britain
British men shared wives with the Scots--> Ruler chosen only from the female royal line, not male
Bede describes the island of Ireland in detail
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
In the year 896, Britain split between the East and North
Danes caused much destruction along the sea-coast
In the year 900, Alfred, the king of all of England passed away
His son Edward took the thrown
Peace between North and East occurred during the year of 906
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Literature Analysis #1
All the Pretty Horses
1. This novel consists of three guys' journeys from the United States into through the Mexican border. The novel has three main characters John Grady Cole, who runs away with his friend Rawlins on horse back, at the age of sixteen after his grandfather passes away. Another character is Jimmy Belvins whom the other two boys meet along the way. The novels goes on to talk about the boys struggles in Mexico along with a twist of a love story in it. In the end all the boys split up through out all their difficulties and John Grady finds himself with out a home or any sort of family.
2. The theme of the novel is the strive for independence and freedom in ones' own mind. Another theme could be coming of age because these were young boys who didn't know what the world held for them and they were rudely awakened in Mexico.
3. The author's tone is sort of hopeless. An example of this tone from McCarthy is, "The wind was much abated and it was very cold and the sun sat blood red and elliptic under the reefs of bloodred cloud before him." Another example of the hopeless tone shown in the novel is, "The closest bonds we will ever know are bonds of grief." I thought this was an example of this tone because not many people think that they have a bond with grief, that's sort of a depressing statement. The last example from the text that i found was, "Those whom life does not cure death will."
4. Literary elements that i found in the novel that helped me better understand it were diction, imagery, description, tone, and the use of metaphors. In the novel the description McCarthy used really put me right there with John Grady especially when he says, "They rode out along the fenceline and across the open pasture-land. The leather creaked in the morning cold. They pushed the horses into a lope. The light fell away behind them. They rode out on the high prairie where they slowed the horses to a walk and the stars swarmed around them out of the blackness. They heard somewhere in that tenantless night a bell that tolled and ceased where no bell was and they rode out on the round dais of the earth which alone was dark and no light to it and which carried their figures and bore them up into the swarming stars so that they rode not under but among them and they rode at once jaunty and circumspect, like thieves newly loosed in that dark electric, like young thieves in a glowing orchard, loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing." This whole passage let me grasp the way the author writes in a completely different way than usual. The way he wrote allowed me to stay focused on the novel. The tone especially helped understand the theme in the end. With in the novel if the author would have written in a joyful tone I would never have grasped the true struggle that the three boys; John Grady, Jimmy Belvins, and Rawlins, had gone through in Mexico. When they are abused in jail the way McCarthy tells the torture being done really sets the tone perfectly for the reader to interpret the theme accurately.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Vocab #5
acumen -The ability to make good judgments and quick decisions
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adjudicate -Make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter
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anachronism -at the wrong place in the wrong time
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apocryphal -Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true
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disparity -A great difference
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dissimulate -Conceal or disguise (one's thoughts, feelings, or character)
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empirical -Based on an observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic
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flamboyant -Tending to attract attention because of their exuberance, confidence, and stylishness
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fulsome - flattering to an excessive degree / of large size or quantity; generous
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immolate -Kill or offer as a sacrifice, esp. by burning
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imperceptible - impossible to perceive
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lackey -A servant
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liaison -A person who acts as a link to assist communication or cooperation between groups of people
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monolithic -very large and characterless
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mot juste -The exact, appropriate word.
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nihilism -The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.
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patrician - an aristocrat or nobleman
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propitiate -Win or regain the favor of someone by doing something that pleases them
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sic -Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands
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sublimate-Divert or modify into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity
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adjudicate -Make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter
-
anachronism -at the wrong place in the wrong time
-
apocryphal -Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true
-
disparity -A great difference
-
dissimulate -Conceal or disguise (one's thoughts, feelings, or character)
-
empirical -Based on an observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic
-
flamboyant -Tending to attract attention because of their exuberance, confidence, and stylishness
-
fulsome - flattering to an excessive degree / of large size or quantity; generous
-
immolate -Kill or offer as a sacrifice, esp. by burning
-
imperceptible - impossible to perceive
-
lackey -A servant
-
liaison -A person who acts as a link to assist communication or cooperation between groups of people
-
monolithic -very large and characterless
-
mot juste -The exact, appropriate word.
-
nihilism -The rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless.
-
patrician - an aristocrat or nobleman
-
propitiate -Win or regain the favor of someone by doing something that pleases them
-
sic -Used in brackets after a copied or quoted word that appears odd or erroneous to show that the word is quoted exactly as it stands
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sublimate-Divert or modify into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity
Saturday, September 8, 2012
How to Design Blogger templates or Blogspot Templates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsXeTverQt8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
If anyone wants to design a template for your blog this is how you can do it!
If anyone wants to design a template for your blog this is how you can do it!
Jake Baro and Dan Murillo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTA2Hy-E034&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Everyone should check out our class mates that are good and probably have a future in singing! We should all support each other :)
Everyone should check out our class mates that are good and probably have a future in singing! We should all support each other :)
Friday, September 7, 2012
Reflections on week 1
1. This year the homework load could definitly be challenging. Twice a week I have soccer practice in Santa Barbara which makes it very challenging to complete homework on those days. Also over the weekends I usually have soccer tournaments and starting in the fall I have league games every weekend that range from the closest ones which are in Santa Barbara to the farther ones in San Diego, this also makes doing work on the weekends pretty challenging. I do have a smart phone so I have easy access to the Internet but I'm not very skilled in how to use it all which also brings some challenges.
2. I can't really think of my best or most awesome learning experience. I feel like the learning experiencesthat have the biggest impact on me usually do not come from a classroom setting but more based on real life mistakes. I've never really made any huge mistakes yet that have left a significant impact on me that's worth noting, however my mistakes are what teach me the most.
3. I am most excited to learn using technology this year. I am hoping to become a lot more familiar and experienced with technology because I feel like technology plays a big role in society today. I look forward to this new style of leaning because I always like to try new things and it appears to make the class much more interesting by not limiting it to just the typical classroom setting.
2. I can't really think of my best or most awesome learning experience. I feel like the learning experiencesthat have the biggest impact on me usually do not come from a classroom setting but more based on real life mistakes. I've never really made any huge mistakes yet that have left a significant impact on me that's worth noting, however my mistakes are what teach me the most.
3. I am most excited to learn using technology this year. I am hoping to become a lot more familiar and experienced with technology because I feel like technology plays a big role in society today. I look forward to this new style of leaning because I always like to try new things and it appears to make the class much more interesting by not limiting it to just the typical classroom setting.
Reflections on Socratic Seminar
In today's Socratic seminar I didn't get the chance to say much on my thoughts on whether or not we really do have the right or entitlement to our opinion. Hearing Conner and Alex's ideas on it did, however, keep me still imbetween on the subject. I feel as though I cannot make the decision on whether or not we really do have this right to our opinion because the definition to "right" and "entitlement" are all just people's interpretations. Thinking about it like that leaves me in a place where I cannot make a straight forward answer on the subject based on the basicness of the way the question is worded and viewed.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Vocab list #4
APOSTATE: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
EFFUSIVE: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.
IMPASSE: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
EUPHORIA: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence
LUGUBRIOUS: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
BRAVADO: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
CONSENSUS: majority of opinion
DICHOTOMY: division into two parts
COMSTRICT: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
GOTHIC: characterized by gloom and mystery
PUNCTILIO: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
METAMORPHISIS: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur to tell
SINE QUA NON: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
QUIXOTIC: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable
VENDETTA: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
NON SEQUITUR: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
MYSTIQUE: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object, endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaninG
QUAGMIRE: anything soft or flabby
PARLOUS: perilous; dangerous
EFFUSIVE: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.
IMPASSE: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
EUPHORIA: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence
LUGUBRIOUS: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
BRAVADO: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
CONSENSUS: majority of opinion
DICHOTOMY: division into two parts
COMSTRICT: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
GOTHIC: characterized by gloom and mystery
PUNCTILIO: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
METAMORPHISIS: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur to tell
SINE QUA NON: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
QUIXOTIC: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable
VENDETTA: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
NON SEQUITUR: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
MYSTIQUE: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object, endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaninG
QUAGMIRE: anything soft or flabby
PARLOUS: perilous; dangerous
Monday, August 27, 2012
Bewolf part 2 25-53
(A continuation from Megan's first 25 questions.
[Beowulf fights Grendel's Mother]
7. Beowulf finds a great sword, one forged by the giants long ago, unsheathes it, and with one big swing lops of her head. He then searches for Grendel's body, determined to avenge all who dies because of his "raids". He finds the corpse, and decapitates it. By doing so, though, the sword melts due to Grendel's acidic blood, leaving him with only a hilt and Grendel's head. (Is Grendel an alien?)
8. Beowulf is able to swim back to the surface without any monsters attacking him. As he come out his men are rejoicing for his arrival, themselves not even believing he could best Grendel's mother.
[Further Celebration at Herot]
1. There is a huge feast in honor of Beowulf, with Grendel's head and the hilt of the sword given to Hrothgar as a sign of good faith.
2. Hrothgar has a speech prepared so as to praise Beowulf while at the same time warning him about what it takes to be a good and fair ruler. He gives an example of Heremod, a man who some considered the worst king ever to exist due to he betraying and killing his own people. Heremod was eventually banished and exiled to the Jutes, where he was subsequently betrayed and killed. He uses this example to show to Beowulf what happens when you aren't a fair ruler of your people.
3. Beowulf returns Unferth's sword, Hrunting, back to him.
[Beowulf Returns Home]
1. Hrothgar predicts a great future for Beowulf, one where he will come back and protect the Danes yet again.
2. Hygd is the Queen of the Geatlands. She is a young, yet wise woman, one who would not kill and torture many of her people just because they looked at her, unlike say, Modthryth.
3. Hrothgar hopes that by having his daughter marry Ingeld, he can create peace between the Danes and the Heathobards and end the bloody conflict. Beowulf is under the impression that Hrothgar only brought back up the feud from its dark recesses and that more conflict is inevitable, especially once the Danes and the Heathobards see each other's possessions of their own families. This is different than what we're used to from Beowulf, as he usually acts on impulse and doesn't think things through until they've already happened.
4. Beowulf exaggerates the story, emphasizing things like the viciousness and how terrifying Grendel and his mom were and how intense the fights were, so as to make himself seem even more superhuman than he already is.
5. Beowulf gives the treasure he received from Hrothgar to Hygelac. In return, Hygelac gives Beowulf a jeweled sword, land, his own personal hall with his own personal throne and 7,000 hides.
[The Dragon Wakes]
1. This part of the story takes place 50 years after the events of the last. Both King Hygelac and his successor Heardred have been killed, leaving Beowulf as the King. And then the dragon awakes.
2. The dragon is furious because someone stole a cup from under his nose! He had given himself one task, guard the treasure, and now a cup is missing, stolen by slave who hoped to give it to his master so as to obtain freedom. The treasure trove was originally guarded by an ancient civilization, until only one man was left. After that man died, the aforementioned dragon found the trove and guarded it for 300 years until a cup was stolen.
3. In a fit of rage, the dragon goes about destroying the Geatlands, hoping to avenge his failure.
4. By having his great hall destroyed, this leaves Beowulf believing he has offended God. He orders an iron shield, one that can protect him from the dragon's flames. However, he also has nagging suspicions that this will be his last battle, the one where he will finally be slain in battle (which turns out to be the case).
5. Hygelac was killed in battle, with Beowulf barely escaping with his life, swimming to safety while carrying thirty battle dresses. Hygd offers him the chance to become king, but he declines it, believing that it should got to Headred.
6. Headred accepts a group of exiled Swedes who also happen to be the brothers of Onela. Onela attacks Geatland in the hopes of killing off his brothers, which lead to Headred being killed in battle along with one of the brothers, Eanmund. The other brother, Eadgis, and Beowulf avenge the deaths of Headred and Eanmumd by killing King Onela.
7. Eleven warriors selected by Beowulf and the slave who stole the cup accompany him to meet and fight the dragon.
8. Haethcyn accidently killed his brother, Herebeald, with an arrow while they were hunting. King Hrethel, knowing this was an accident, but still mourning the death of his eldest son, died in a fit of grief, leaving his kingdom to Haethcyn and Hygelac. After Hrethel died, the Swedes and Geats continued fighting, eventually leading to the deaths of both Haethcyn and Hygelac. Angered over the death of Hygelac, Beowulf avenged his death by killing Dayraven, a great Frankish warrior.
[Beowulf Attacks the Dragon]
1. Beowulf tells his men to wait outside and not attack the dragon.
2. Beowulf's trusty sword doesn't pierce the dragon deep enough to do much damage. This leads to Beowulf retreating while the dragon is continually breathing fire on him. His men, seeing Beowulf retreating, flee back into the woods except for one, Wiglaf. He tells the fleeing soldiers that Beowulf put his trust in these men, and they must repay his trust by aiding him in battle. Beowulf also asks for help, but only Wiglaf aides him.
3. Beowulf's sword snaps as he tries to pierce the dragon's neck, leaving his own neck vulnerable for a bite. As he is bleeding, Wiglaf stabs the dragon in the stomach, giving Beowulf the distraction he needs to pull out his knife and fatally stab the dragon in the neck.
4. Beowulf asks Wiglaf to search the lair and bring back some of the treasure so that he can see what he won before he dies. He praises God for all the treasure he can now give to his people, and asks Wiglaf to build a barrow "Beowulf's tower" by the sea where he can be buried on a funeral pyre and where he can be recognized by anyone who spots it.
[Beowulf's Funeral]
1. When the companions return, they witnessed Wiglaf starting to bury Beowulf. He chastises them for abandoning Beowulf when he needed them most, and predicts that the Geatland will eventually be attacked and destroyed by their rivals.
2. The messenger tells the city that Beowulf is dead. He tells them of Ongentheow, the man who killed Haethcyn, and how he made fun of the Geats all night in Ravenwood. However, he did not account for Hygelac coming the next day and subsequently was overwhelmed and corned. Refusing to give up, his defiance had him killed by Hygelac. According to the messenger, the gold is cursed in that anyone who attempts to steal it will be cursed (much like Indiana Jones). The final image is that of... a dragon!
3. Wiglaf tells the crowd of the various heroics Beowulf did, and how Beowulf was a warrior among warriors and a king among kings who will never be forgotten, and always be honored.
4. The dragon was pushed off a cliff and into the ocean, never given a proper burial due to its evil nature.
5. People cried and sang over the death of Beowulf during and after the funeral.
6. According to the Geats, Beowulf was a kind and beloved hero who will be remembered for all time. If one were to describe a military hero, one who made fame by killing other creatures/people, I would think that the world "kind" would seem a little out-of-place.
Vocab #3
1. Accolade - any award, honor, or laudatory notice
Conor won an accolade for being so awesome.
2. Acerbity - to make sour or bitter; to exasperate
The lemon had an acerbity nature to it.
3. Attrition - a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength
There seems to be an attrition of students willing to do their own work.
4. Bromide - a person who is platitudinous and boring
Catholic priests are the most bromide people I know.
5. Chauvinist - a person who is progressively and blindly patriotic; sexist
Nathan Price is the epitome of a chauvinist.
6. Chronic - constant; habitual; inveterate
Alex is a chronic procrastinator.
7. Expound - to explain; interpret or to make a detailed statement
"Deus Ex Machina" is when God suddenly appears to expound the confusing plot.
8. Factionalism - of a faction or factions; self-interested
I have never been a fan of factionalism myself.
9. Immaculate - free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean; pure
The Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ through the Immaculate Conception.
10. Imprecation - a curse; the act of cursing
The witch put a imprecation on Shane where he could no longer get a girlfriend.
11. Ineluctable - inevitable; inescapable
It's ineluctable that I will get a better grade than Lizbeth in every class.
12. Mercurial - changeable; volatile; animated; lively
John was mercurial when he was accused of a crime he didn't commit.
13. Palliate - to relieve or lessen without curing; excuses; apologies
Tim Bundy tried to palliate his crimes, but it fell on deaf ears.
14. Protocol - the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality
"Sorry sir, we're only following protocol," said the security guards to John.
15. Resplendent - shining brilliantly; gleaming
The stars were resplendent in the night.
16. Stigmatize - to set some mark of disgrace or infamy on
Hester Prynne was stigmatized by the Boston population.
17. Sub rosa - confidentially; secretly
"Remember this information is sub rosa," the spy told his companions.
18. Vainglory - excessive elation over one's own achievements
Beowulf seems to have a little vainglory in him.
19. Vestige - a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that no longer exists
The fossil record is the only vestige we have of the years past.
20. Volition - the act of willing, choosing or resolving
Commander Shepard is re known for his volition.
Conor won an accolade for being so awesome.
2. Acerbity - to make sour or bitter; to exasperate
The lemon had an acerbity nature to it.
3. Attrition - a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength
There seems to be an attrition of students willing to do their own work.
4. Bromide - a person who is platitudinous and boring
Catholic priests are the most bromide people I know.
5. Chauvinist - a person who is progressively and blindly patriotic; sexist
Nathan Price is the epitome of a chauvinist.
6. Chronic - constant; habitual; inveterate
Alex is a chronic procrastinator.
7. Expound - to explain; interpret or to make a detailed statement
"Deus Ex Machina" is when God suddenly appears to expound the confusing plot.
8. Factionalism - of a faction or factions; self-interested
I have never been a fan of factionalism myself.
9. Immaculate - free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean; pure
The Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ through the Immaculate Conception.
10. Imprecation - a curse; the act of cursing
The witch put a imprecation on Shane where he could no longer get a girlfriend.
11. Ineluctable - inevitable; inescapable
It's ineluctable that I will get a better grade than Lizbeth in every class.
12. Mercurial - changeable; volatile; animated; lively
John was mercurial when he was accused of a crime he didn't commit.
13. Palliate - to relieve or lessen without curing; excuses; apologies
Tim Bundy tried to palliate his crimes, but it fell on deaf ears.
14. Protocol - the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality
"Sorry sir, we're only following protocol," said the security guards to John.
15. Resplendent - shining brilliantly; gleaming
The stars were resplendent in the night.
16. Stigmatize - to set some mark of disgrace or infamy on
Hester Prynne was stigmatized by the Boston population.
17. Sub rosa - confidentially; secretly
"Remember this information is sub rosa," the spy told his companions.
18. Vainglory - excessive elation over one's own achievements
Beowulf seems to have a little vainglory in him.
19. Vestige - a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that no longer exists
The fossil record is the only vestige we have of the years past.
20. Volition - the act of willing, choosing or resolving
Commander Shepard is re known for his volition.
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