Sunday, December 9, 2012

Literature Analysis #5


Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck


1. Two friends, George and Lennie, travel together from farm to farm in order to find work. George takes care of Lennie, who has some sort of mental disability. They come across a farm in California where they are planning to work after getting chased away from their last job. They get hired and meet the staff: Candy, who is an old-time employee with an elderly dog, and Curley, the boss's strict, mean son. Curley is also newly married to a girl who flirts around with all the employees behind Curley's back, making him constantly jealous and angry with her. In order to avoid trouble, George tells Lennie to keep his distance from the woman and if he gets into any kind of trouble, he should run off to their secret hideaway just to keep safe. George and Lennie go on to meet Slim, a respected mule-driver, and Carlson, a ranch hand. We later find out how George and Lennie got chased away from their last job; Lennie was accused of rape after constantly stroking a woman's dress. In the meantime, Carlson keeps pushing for Candy to kill his old bag of a dog to the point where Candy actually gives in and lets Carlson shoot him. George and Lennie continue to try to keep their plans of owning some land a secret until Candy finds out and wants in. With a bit of consideration, they allow Candy to join them on their pipe dream. At the same time, Curley is going mad over the fact that he can never keep track of his wife and takes out his frustration on Lennie. George then tells Lennie to fight back and he ends up crushing Curley's hand. The next day, Lennie meets Crooks, an African American employee, and they strike up a friendship. The day after, Curley's wife comes to talk to Lennie about how disappointing her life has been since marrying Curley. She ends up letting Lennie touch her hair and when she tells him to stop, he panics and ends up breaking her neck, killing her. Lennie then flees to the secret hideaway while the men find out about the murder of Curley's wife. When George comes to find and console Lennie, he begins to talk about the dream farm as he shoots Lennie in the back of the head. George is left distraught and emotional; the other men don't understand why he feels so horrible and leave him in confusion.


2. The main theme of the novel is the fraternal bond of two men and how important a male friendship can be. This message ties into their dream of owning a farm due to the fact that this dream keeps them together until George realizes the fact that in reality, it may never happen for them. Despite George killing Lennie in the end, he still feels a tight bond to Lennie and realizes the tragic end to their brotherhood.


3. The tone of the novel is very sentimental and at the most important moments, slightly tragic. The mood it portrays gives a feeling of compassion for these two optimistic dreamers who lack a sense of reality.




 Lit. Techniques
Simile

-" At about ten o'clock in the mornig the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars"

Diction

-"We could live offa the fatta the lan"


Imagery

"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones."


Foreshadowing

-"I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog."



Characterization:

1.     The author uses indirect characterization as he reveals what the characters’ are feeling through his actions.

2.     The diction and syntax changes as the author talks about different characters’. For example the rich and the poor, the blacks and the whites.

3.     The protagonist is both dynamic and round because he changes and matures over time.

4.    I definitely feel like I met a person because I felt like I was in the story .

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Thinking Outside The Box


In both Plato and Sartre writing there is a metaphor that helps enforce the idea of limitation in our own thinking. For example, in Plato he uses the metaphor of the Cave to show the limited resources that the people have in the cave. The people in the cave are clueless that there is life outside the cave because they aren’t very knowledgeable. They don’t understand where they are at and what a cave really is. Same idea with Sartre, the metaphor being used is hell. In the play the characters don’t really know what the room is and they don’t know what actions to take. In both writings they are stuck in the unknown because of their limitation in their thoughts.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Literary Analysis #4

Great Expectations

GENERAL

1.  Pip was an orphan living with his sister and her husband in the marshes of Kent. One day while looking at his parents tombstones an escaped convict comes up from behind a tomstone and grabs Pip and tells him to bring him food and a file
. Pip is taken by his uncle Pimblechook to play at Satis House, the home of the wealthy Miss Havisham. Pip falls in love with her and dreams of becoming a wealthy gentleman so that he might be worthy of her. He even hopes that Miss Havisham intends to make him a gentlemen and marry him to Estella, but she doesnt. Miss Havishman decides to make him a common laborer instead.In London, Pip becomes friends with Herbert and he said he would help him become a gentlemen. A complicated mystery begins to fall into place when Pip discovers that Compeyson was the man who abandoned Miss Havishan at the altar and that Estella us Magwitch's daughter
. Pip sees the good in Magwitch and begins to care for him deeple. Estella marries an upper class lout names Bentley. At the end Pip finds that Estella's coldness and cruelty have been replaced by a sad kindness and the the two leave the garden hand in hand, Pip believing that they will never part again.

2. Pip’s great expectations are a dramatized exploration of human growth, ambition, and the pressures that distort the potential of an ordinary individual, especially in the process of growing up. Pip is a simple blacksmith’s boy who aspires to cross social boundaries when he realizes his own upbringing is common; however, he has no means to change. Mysteriously, he is given the means, but wealth only brings with it idleness. He learns that happiness in life can be achieved only by hard work and that great expectations not grounded in reality can only lead to tragedy and heartache.



3. Dickens uses tone to better express the emotions of the characters aggression, fear, and pain.


- "...on a memorable raw afternoon towards evening." That is a great example of tone because it is setting th seen to be both cold and exciting.(pg.9)


4. Symbolism: mist of the marshes, darkness, and statues


anaphora – the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.” (Winston Churchill)

apostrophe – a form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate as if animate. These are all addressed directly: “Milton, thou shoulds’t be living at this hour.”

Bildungsroman – a novel of education or spiritual growth of the main character as he/she undergoes a moral crisis

Chiasmus – a verbal pattern in which the second half of the expression is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed, as in the saying, “You can take the girl out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the girl.”

diction – word choice used to convey a certain effect

euphemism -The substitution of a mild or less negative word or phrase for a harsh or blunt one, as in the use of "pass away" instead of "die." The basic psychology of euphemistic language is the desire to put something bad or embarrassing in a positive (or at least neutral light).

hyperbole –a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration ex: “The shot heard ‘round the world.” It may be used for serious or comic effect.

Polysyndeton– the repetition of conjunctions in close succession for a rhetorical effect, as in the phrase “here and there and everywhere.”

Synecdoche – aa figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole (as a hand for a sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for a police officer), or the material of a thing for the thing made from it (steel for sword).


CHARACTERIZATION



1. I didn’t really see any direct characterization because the author expresses characterization through actions. The author does this because he wants the reader to use their imagination and to give their own opinion on what they think the character is like.


2. Pip is a dynamic character because over the course of the book the character matured therefore he changed. Pip is also a round character because he plays an important role in the book.

3. After reading the book I would like to meet Pip because he is the person who is always striving to better himself and he sets high expectations for himself as well

 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet


Unknown, unreal, unclear

Living with so much fear.

Darkness forever in the cave,

Hope is the last thing it gave.

The shadows were seen,

And many believed it was reality.

The shackles and the cave suggests that the world is imperfect,

And the prisoners thought life was not worth it.

But then came the light ,

Shinning so bright.

The fire came,

And illuminated their brains.

Now the reality is shown,

And never will it be unknown.

Sunday, November 18, 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 being in the darkness. The unknown if you will. It is simply lost with no worldly help.

2.What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?

  -Key elements used in this allegory include the wall, the dark, the sun burning and irritating the slave. And so forth.

  3.  What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or            education?

-The allegory suggests " the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort; and, when seen, is also inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right, parent of light and of the lord of light in this visible world, and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual; and that this is the power upon which he who would act rationally, either in public or private life must have his eye fixed. " about the process of enlightenment or education.

4.What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?

-imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners that they are lost. They do not know about the world because they have been trapped since childhood. Shackles on the mind. Forbidden to learn.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?

-Freed Prisoner : Able to learn...explore...breathe in new life where as a Cave Prisoner knows not. Never able to learn beyond where he lies. Not because he does not want to but because he is being forced beyond control.

7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?

-According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. They are "I mean to say that objects of sense are of two kinds; some of them do not invite thought because the sense is an adequate judge of them; while in the case of other objects sense is so untrustworthy that further enquiry is imperatively demanded.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?

-Prisoners get free "But the release of the prisoners from chains, and their translation from the shadows to the images and to the light, and the ascent from the underground den to the sun, while in his presence they are vainly trying to look on animals and plants and the light of the sun, but are able to perceive even with their weak eyes the images in the water (which are divine), and are the shadows of true existence (not shadows of images cast by a light of fire, which compared with the sun is only an image) --this power of elevating the highest principle in the soul to the contemplation of that which is best in existence, with which we may compare the raising of that faculty which is the very light of the body to the sight of that which is brightest in the material and visible world --this power is given, as I was saying, by all that study and pursuit of the arts which has been described."

9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?

-The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. I agree because hamburgers on tv look a lot better than the actual hamburger.

10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?

 

 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Literary Analysis #3

The Great Gatsby


1.The Great Gatsby is focused around Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, who moves to New York in the summer of 1922. He finds himself in West Egg, an area that is populated by the rich. Nick Carraway's neighbor is Jay Gatsby, a rich, highly mysterious man, who throws lavish over the top parties every weekend. Nick gets invited to one of Gatsby's parties, and through Nick's newfound love interest, Jordan, Nick is able to learn a bit about Gatsby. He founds out Gatsby is madly in love with a woman named Daisy, who he has not spoken to in years. Daisy happens to be Nick's cousin and married to a man name Tom. Regardless of this marriage, Gatsby and Daisy start a love affair. Things turn awry when Tom confronts Gatsby. This confrontation leads to a distressed Daisy taking Gatsby's car and driving off. In the midst of all this chaos Daisy ends up hitting and killing a woman named Myrtle. Myrtle's husband thinking Gatsby was driving the car ends up shooting Gatsby and killing him. Nick throws a funeral for Gatsby where there is little attendance. Nick then ends up cutting off all relationships he has in West Egg and returns to the Midwest.


2. The theme of the novel The Great Gatsby the destruction of the American Dream. These characters were after wealth rather than happiness. Being so consumed by money and social status eventually led to the corruption of the true American Dream. This corruption not only destroyed the American Dream, but also destroyed relationships, like that of Gatsby and Daisy.


3. The author's tone in The Great Gatsby is cynical.

-"This was untrue. I am not even faintly like a rose."

-"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made..."

-"I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to, for I felt suddenly as though I were talking to a child."


4. The author used similes, imagery, symbolism, allusion, and foreshadowing in order to convey the theme and tone.

Simile: Similes occur regularly throughout this novel

-"In his blue garden men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."

Imagery: The author is very detailed when describing the world that Nick has entered.

An example of imagery is the constant use of the color green throughout the novel

Symbolism: The green light at Daisy's house represented the unattainable for Gatsby

-"A single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock..."

Allusion: There are numerous references throughout the entire work to literature, such as the John L Stoddard Lectures, and Hopalong Cassidy.

Foreshadowing: Throughout the entire novel the author foreshadows the demise of Gatsby

-"He snatched the book from me and placed it hastily on its shelf muttering that if one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse.”


Characterization:

1.     The author changes his diction and syntax depending on the maturity of the character.

2.     Jay Gatsby is dynamic because how he is perceived changes throughout the book as new information comes to light.  He is also a  round character because he is fully developed so the reader has a good picture of their looks and personality.

3.     I would like to meet Gatsby because he is rich and he has amazing parties.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Sonnet Analysis Part I

 The sonnet I chose is a poem of fourteen lines ,using formal rhyme schemes and typically having ten syllables per line.

Big Question

How much water does the body need per day ?

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Vocabulary List #11

Affinity- relationship by marriage
-My parents affinity didn't last very long because they got a divorce.
Bilious- of or indicative of a peevish ill nature disposition
-
Cognate- of the same nature
-Our personalities are so similar therefore we are cognate.
Corollary- A proposition inferred Immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
-The courts corollation was unclear.
Cul-de-sac - a pouch
-Not sure how to use cul-de-sac in a sentence.
Derring-do- a daring action
-The boy derring-do  his friend to drive with his eyes close.
Divination- The art or practice that seeks to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge due to the interpretation of omens
Elixir- A substance capable of prolonging life indefinitely
Folderol- a useless accessory
Gamut- an entire range or series
Hoi polloi- the General populace
Ineffable- incapable of being expressed in words
Lucubration- to study by night
Mnemonic- intended to assist memory
Obloquy- abusive language
Parameter- an independent variable used to express the coordinates of variable point and functions of them
Pundit- a learned man
Risible- provoking laughter
Symptomatic- having the characteristics of a certain disease but arising of a different cause
Volte-face- a reversal in policy

SONNET

Truth and Beauty


Strange Truth and Beauty are enemies,
Treading forever on each other's toes!
Strange rhymes are always made of that which is
Too false or silly to be said in prose!
Now here's a sonnet by our village poet
"Inscribed to Kate," in most romantic style,
Whereas,--and one with half an eye might know it,--
He means Sophronia Tompkins, all the while.
He sings of "golden curls." If fiery tresses
Had heat to match their hue, her hair would burn;--
He mentions "airy grace,"--while she possesses
A form as shapeless as an old-time churn,
Heavens! after this I never shall inquire
Why people always call the poet's song a LYRE!

by :Elizabeth Akers Allen (1832-1911) (pseudonym Florence Percy)

 


GROWING MY PLN

I tried commenting on some blogs, but so far I have no reply from any. I'm still waiting so if anyone comments back I will update this post with our conversation.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

HAMLET PLN


http://gallagherseniorhonors.blogspot.com/2008/02/hamlet-study-guide-for-act-11-31.html
-I can connect to this website because this AP class is doing similar things to us and it is good to compare.

 http://vickivestenglishclass.weebly.com/ap-english.html
-In this website explains quotes on Hamlet which is very helpful because the diction is hard. It also gives good summaries on the acts.

http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0701/hamlet.htm
-This another version of Hamlet because it’s written by someone else. It is very informative.

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://shslboyd.pbworks.com/w/page/8889829/AP%20English%20Literature%20and%20Composition
-This website is very entertaining because it shows many images and provides worksheets for it.



VOCABULARY LIST #10


aficionado- a serious devotee of some particular music genre or musical performer
browbeat- to discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate
commensurate- able to be measured by a common standard
diaphanous- Of such fine texture as to be transparent or translucent
emolument- Payment for an office or employment
foray- A sudden raid or military advance
genre- a category
homily- An inspirational saying or platitude
immure- To confine within or as if within walls; imprison
insouciant- carefree or unconcerned; light-hearted
matrix- a substance, situation, or environment in which something has its origin, takes form, or is enclosed
obsequies- A funeral rite or ceremony
panache- A bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet.
persona- The role that one assumes or displays in public or society; one's public image or personality, as distinguished from the inner self
philippic- a bitter or impassioned speech of denunciation; invective
prurient- unusually or morbidly interested in sexual thoughts or practices
sacrosanct- Regarded as sacred and inviolable
Systemic- Of or relating to systems or a system
tendentious- Marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan
vicissitude- A change or variation

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Literary Analysis 2

 

    1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
     
    Jane Eyre is an orphan living with Mrs. Reed and her three cousins at Gateshead Hall. She has a very hard childhood because they mistreated her, such as putting her in the "red room" which is were her uncle died. Jane is later sent to Lowood, a school for orphans. But, she doesn't have much luck there because she is also treated in a cruel matter. The only nice people there is the teacher Miss Temple and Helen her best friend. Helen dies, but soon Jane makes another friend, Mary Ann. Jane stays at Lowood until she's 16 then becomes a teacher and remains there until she's 18. She later accepts a job as a governess for Adele Varens at Thornfield. She soon meets Mr. Rochester who she has an attraction to. Jane saves Mr. Rochester's life while the sneaky Grace Poole supposedly sets his curtains on fire. After that Janes aunt gets sick and even though she treated Jane bad Jane still helps her. When Jane returns to Thornfield she decides to marry Mr.Rochester. On the day of their wedding, two men come saying Mr. Rochester is already married. They find out that his wife is Bertha Mason, the one who's been doing crazy things at night. He tells Jane to live with him in France, but they'll have to pretend to be married. She refuses to be another mistress and runs away. She moves in with the River's family and becomes a teacher. Her Uncle, Mr. Eyre, passes away and leaves his fortune to Jane. St. John tries to marry Jane, but Jane doesn't want to . She's about to say yes to St. John's marriage proposal when she apparently hears Mr. Rochester's voice calling her. The next day, she leaves and returns to Mr. Rochester. They rekindle their love and they marry .
     
    2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
     
    I think that the novel had a lot of themes but the one that stood out to me the most would be the theme of family. Jane never really had a sense of what family really is because she was raised as an orphan.She lived with her aunt but she never really felt like she was part of the family because her aunt treated her very badly. She was always looking for a sense a belonging, when she went to school she found a teacher who she connected with and a best friend, but soon they were out of her life. That was the closest she was to finding some type of family .Then, she met Mr.Rochester who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with but once again things went wrong and she wasn't able to have the family that she always wanted. Finally, at the end of the novel she goes back with Mr.Rochester and they marry. She finally gets that sense of having a family, that for so long she was striving for.
    3. Describe the author's tone. Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
    The author's tone is sympathetic. Through out Jane's life she has always been faced with stuggles starting at a young age. The author makes sure that the readers understands her struggles as a orphan. Jane grew up being bullied by her aunt Mrs.Reed and when she went to school the teachers also treated her badly. Janes' life was always faced with adversities and obstacles, but at the end she finally found the happiness that she had been looking for her whole life.
     
    4. Describe ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.
     
    Symbolism: The red-room because throughout the novel she refers to it as an emotional piece. Whenever she feels insecure about herself or a decision she's about to make, the red-room is brought up as a reminder the struggles she'll have to face to find peace within herself.
    "Let her stand half an hour longer on that stool, and let no one speak to her during the ramainder of the day." That's exactly how Mrs. Reed treated her when she tried to get out of the red-room. (Mr Brocklehurst CH. 7)
    Allusion: When visitor's come to Thornfield, they talk about how cruel they've been to their own governess. It's a reminder of what Jane's childhood was like under the watch of Mrs. Reed. The idea of higher class being dominate to the lower class is shown as they converse.
     
    "What tricks Theodore and I used to play on our Miss Wilsons, and Mrs. Greys, and Madame Jouberts! Mary was always too sleep to join in a plot with spirit." (Blanche Eshton Ch. 17)
     
    Plot Tension: The reader could tell that Jane is falling in love with Mr. Rochester, but Mr. Rochester pretends to be engaged to Miss Blanche. Jane witnesses the two as a "couple" and concludes that Jane's secrete love could never be because of their class. Tension rises as the reader picks up the two's interest for each other.
     
    "He said something in praise of your eyes, did he? Blind puppy! Open their bleared lids and look on your own accursed senselessness! It does good to no women to be flattered by their superior, who cannot possibly intend to marry her, and it is madness in all women to let a secrete love kindle within them..." (Jane Eyre Ch. 16)
     
    Emotional Appeal: Jane is always expressing her attitude towards Mrs. Reed, Mr. Rochester, Mrs. Fairfax, the upper class. Rejection plays a huge role in this story as well as forgiveness.
     
    "I valued what was good in Mrs. Faux and what was good in Adele; but I believe in the existence of other and more vivid kinds of goodness and what I believed in I wished to behold" (Jane Eyre Ch.12)
    Imagery: Helps the audience go more in dept with how Jane encounters and sees certain situations . It gives readers the ability to be creative.
     
    "Something creaked: it was a door ajar, and that door was Mr. Rochester's, and the smoke rushed in a cloud from thence. I thought no more of Mrs. Fairfax I thought no more of Grace Poole or the laugh; in an instant, I was within the chamber. Tongues of flame darted around the bed: the curtains were on fire. In the midst of blaze and vapour, Mr. Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep." (Jane Eyre Ch. 15)
     
    Foreshadowing: The novel’s main instances of foreshadowing focus on Jane’s eventual inheritance (Chapter 33) from her uncle John Eyre. In Chapter 3, Jane tells Mr. Lloyd that her aunt has told her of some “poor, low relations called Eyre,” but she knows nothing more about them.
     
    Syntax: Syntax and style of the sentences are complex; phrases and clauses are elaborately interwoven, but still feel balanced and exact. For example, at the very beginning of the novel Jane tells us that she’s glad she can’t take a walk with her cousins: "I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed"

    Irony: At first Jane needed Rochester, she had no money and no family, he was rich, but in the end Rochester was alone and blind and Jane was independent, suddenly Rochester needed Jane- the one thing i'll always remember about Jane Eyre.

    Diction: The diction in Jane Eyre is chosen to add to the overall dark and foreboding mood of the novel. This masterful use of diction enriches the experience of the reader as the book progresses. When Jane first meets Mr. Rochester, he is described using words such as "dark," "stern," "ireful," and "thwarted."
     
    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)?
    ·         Examples of direct characterization:
    o    "John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me." (Ch. 1)
    o    "John Reed was a schoolboy of fourteen years old; four years older than I, for I was but ten" (Ch. 1)
     
    2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
    ·         The author's diction does change when she focuses on people like Bertha and Mr. Rochester. Through the diction the author shows their personality. For example for those two characters through the diction is shown to be cruel and aggressive. 
     
    3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
    ·         Jane Eyre is the protagonist and I feel she's a dynamic character. She changes from this shy abused girl to a strong independent young lady.
    o    "While arranging my hair, I looked at my face in the glass, and felt it was no longer plain: there was hope in its aspect and life in its color; and my eyes seems as if they had beheld the fount of fruition, and borrowed beams from the lustrous ripple." (Chapter 24)
    ·         Jane Eyre is a round character because she changed personalities within the novel. She overcame the hardships at Gateshead Hall, Lowood and Thornfield by herself. She faced abandonment, neglection and imprisonment her entire life, but faced her problems and learned from her experiences.
     
    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.
     
    After reading the book I learned that Jane is a very strong person because since a child she had to go through a lot of adversities. At the end she found happiness but it never came easy for her.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"Tools That Change the Way We Think."

Extensive internet media/technology changes the way I think in the way that I don't have to put much thought in what I have to research because more often than not google gives me the answer I need. Since the Internet limits the amount of thinking that I have to do, I tend to forget very quickly the information that I had just researched. In the old era, they didn't have internet so many great writers and philosophers were established. Don't get me wrong I think that the internet is a great source for information, but we shouldn't end it there. We need to think out of the box and actually take the information into our brains. We have to also be very careful with all the distractions on the internet.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Notes on Hamlet

At the begining of Hamlet, I felt bad for Hamlet because all of a sudden he had to deal with a lot of family drama. His dad died and his mother remarried his uncle, this is definitely something very difficult to deal with. After Hamlet killed Polonious I had a different view on him because he didn't even seem to care. After feeling bad for him, I felt angry at him because killing someone is a big deal and he didn't care at all because all he is focused on is killing Claudius. I think Hamlet is actually becoming crazy and he is not pretending this time.

Who Was Shakespeare?


"Little is actually known for sure about the man we call William Shakespeare, although his is a name familiar to nearly every English speaking person. His birthday is a guess, and just what he looked like is a mystery. Even his identity itself is sometimes disputed. But most people today consider Shakespeare the greatest of all dramatists. His plays demonstrate a profound understanding of the nature of humanity. His skill with language and his ability to construct a story through dramatic and poetic means is unequaled.

The generally accepted facts are as follows: Shakespeare was born in 1564, the third child and first son of John Shakespeare and his wife Mary Arden, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. John Shakespeare was a landowner, a merchant, a glovemaker, and a man on a political track. In 1567 he became "high bailiff," the highest elected office in Stratford, equivalent to a mayor today.

William was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 23, 1564. The exact date is known from town records. He most likely attended the local grammar school, the King's New School, where his teachers held Oxford degrees and taught a rigorous program of study.

In 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a farmer from the nearby village of Shottery. In 1583, they had a daughter, Susanna, and then twins, Hamnet and Judith, in 1585. (Hamnet died at age eleven).

Around 1588 Shakespeare and his family moved to London and within a few years he had achieved some success as an actor, a poet and a playwright. The Sonnets especially established his reputation as a gifted and popular poet, but it is the 38 plays he wrote or collaborated on that have firmly established his reputation as the greatest dramatist who ever lived.

Shakespeare became a charter member of a theatrical company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, in 1594. He first worked in theatres owned by James Burbage northeast of London, the Theatre and the Curtain. In 1598 Burbage moved to Bankside, along the Thames River, and built the Globe Theatre. As a partner in the Globe, (and later the Blackfriars Theatre, acquired in 1608), Shakespeare profited from its success. His plays were performed at the courts of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, who became sponsor of his theatrical troupe in 1603. Its name was changed to the King's Men"

.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/merchant/shakespeare.html

To Facebook or Not To Facebook

At first I thought of Facebook as a way to socialize with other and to catch up on all the latest gossip. I still see Facebook as the same way as before but now I also see it as dangerous. On Facebook you have no privacy at all because anyone can see your information. You have no power in deciding who sees your information because even though you may have it private your name can still show up somewhere on facebook. It is so bad to the point that I once saw a picture on myself on google that was originally on facebook, CREEPY!!! Basicly, now I don't think facebook is as safe as I thought it was. We need to be very careful.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Vocabulary list #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
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Sunday, October 21, 2012

Autopsy

Did you do as well as you expected/hoped? To what do you attribute the outcome? How can you improve for the final?

I think I did very well on my midterm. I studied every night for thirty minutes and that was very helpful because I never stressed about the midterm. I am hoping that the final will have the same turn out, but basketball season is coming up soon so that means that I won't have that much time anymore to study every night.

Hamlet Remix

Hamlet literally has "I HATE MY LIFE" written all over his face. You can also see this emotion through his facial expressions.His mom is blinded by her love for Claudius and Claudius is just evil.