Masterpiece Academy Question

Judith Lee

AP English Final

8 June 2015

Masterpiece Academy Essay

    AP English Literature and Composition started off as any other rigorous college level with multiple reading assignments followed by essays and memorization of poems and lines of plays. Then, came the freedom to remix essays, select AP worthy books that I, not the teacher, wanted to read, and create a passion of mine to reality. This level of trust was earned because I and my classmates were able to show our ability to do the traditional classwork the first two weeks and it was time for us to create our own version of what learning should look like. I was able to utilize this freedom to create my own remixes and find a joy in a different type of education . I have also been able to discover my peers' talents through their remixes and even collaborated. 
    Macbeth's theme of greediness also relates to me, maybe not in a evil way, but the will of wanting to do well and striving to reach that end goal with college applications, scholarship opportunities, and countless scholarship opportunities. With the view of the future classroom and transition from books to tablets, I relate this to the Brave New World where cultural adaptations take place to fit in with the new environment. The idea of an unknown, new future reminds me of The Poisonwood Bible as I start this fresh adventure to college. 
    It was this year that validated my love for teaching kids. Through the masterpiece academy, I reestablished the bond I shared with the children. I smile at their constant curiosity and I hope to help the lightbulb shine after having answered the one hundred and first question. I want to be a teacher, one that instills purpose and empowerment in students' lives because at the end of the day, the most valuable lesson I learned in high school is the importance of relationships and service. 
    I remember the day Preston called on me to interpret the meaning of a poem. I was right. I am not one to be quick to participate or be the first to engage in a conversation first so it came to a surprise to everyone when I said something aloud that was correct . I didn't laugh out loud but it was a moment that made me smile after Hannah gave me a pat saying "atta girl." I guess I learned that I should participate more.
    An observation that I found interesting throughout a majority of everyone's introduction was "I originally was going to do... but did... instead." I think this shows the evolution of people through time. Interests change and it's not a bad thing to follow or change your passion. Almost everyone started their presentation like this. Also, there are going to be obstacles. Philanthropy also seems to be a universal topic. As busy high schoolers, we rarely had the chance to spend money or time on others as our focus was always on building our future. Since we were given this chance to do something we really couldn't do but felt passionate about, I feel like we were able to reveal that compassion that each individual holds. Elizabeth's happy project revolved around sacrificing something (hair) for the better of a big cause (locks for love). Even Noah and Alec had an element of service by teaching little league baseball players the bigger picture that just strictly abiding by the rules. And of course, Courtney's project was the epitome of giving back. My masterpiece with Hannah and Sierra also correlated to philanthropy in a way also by spending time with kids just because. We all found joy in sharing something that we had that would bring joy to others: hair, wisdom, opportunities, and care.
    When we had a discussion about Beowulf and heroism, I defined a hero as someone who is willing to make a sacrifice and put others and a bigger purpose before themselves. In my case, I think I qualify as a hero. Key club and ASB has been a huge part of my high school journey and I've participated in them all four years because I care and wanted to do something with a bigger purpose than just myself. Through this experience I've met two of the most inspirational mentors who I respect immensely. Before I was able to rejoice in these successful times, I had to go through the harshuos of elections, rebuilding a club, and working past deadlines and boundaries. I've established connections and relationships as well as experiences that has helped mold me into the person I am today.  Through both good and bad experiences, I've become the hero I think I am. High school has been influential in teaching me to live according to my vocation. 

Masterpiece Video

https://youtu.be/Z4aZVUu6DFE

Macbeth Act IV Study Questions

4.1

1. There are three witches in this scene. 

2. The first apparition says to be wary of Macduff and careful of him. The second tells Macbeth he should be a strong willed ruler- bold and brace. In other words he should not accept defeat. The third warns of attacking armies coming, and tells Macbeth he won't be defeated until the kingdom of Norway attacks. Macbeth doesn't feel safe after the apparitions. He has worries about Macduff's intentions and the possibility of an oncoming attacking army. Yes he should feel unsafe because he is in a very precarious position. After the fourth, the line of kings, Macbeth is terrified. He saw the ghost of Banquo at the end, whom he killed. This frightened him as well as drawing out his guilt.

3. In line 158 Macbeth learns from Lennox that Macduff is running away to England. In response Macbeth decides to send someone try to kill as many of Macduff's family members as he can.

4.2

1. Lady McDuff seems to feel betrayed and angry at McDuff because he left them (her and her son) to die. She was advising her son to dislike his father because he fled when he discovered that Macbeth is planning to kill him.
2. The purpose of the scene between Lady McDuff and her son is to have his son have false impression about his dad. Also, the scene assists in the growth of the theme : fair is foul and foul is fair. This is because Macbeth is willing to kill McDuff in order to achieve what is"rightfully" his and McDuff fled, afraid of Macbeth's actions towards him. It also shows how McDuff's son refused to believe that his father left them to die, showing devotion, faith, and trust.
3. The entire McDuff family ends up being killed by Macbeth.

4.3

1. Macduff's family has been killed. 

2. Malcolm doesn't want to go home because he's afraid of judgement since he ran away. Malcolm is suspicious of Macduff bc Macduff has his own personal agenda. He might be secretly working for Macbeth since he left his family. Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty to him and he passes. When Macduff starts to leave Malcolm takes back the lies he's told and trusts Macduff now- they're now allies. 

3. Malcolm says he's a bad king but Macduff says Macbeth is a way worse king and that he needs to return to restore peace and justice. Avarice bothers Macduff more in a king, it sticks deeper with kings in the terms of greed and lust. 

4 

5 coming soon...

6. Ross tells Macduff that his family is dead, it takes him a while to tell him. Macduff says they must save their grief for later and Malcom says to turn their revenge into a medicine for their grief. Macduff says "he has no children" and he is referring to Malcom because he says he needs to mourn and "feel like a man" when Malcom tells him to dispute it like a man. To be a "man" in this play means to have feelings and don't hide but don't let them cloud your judgement.
7. Malcom, Macduff and Ross are ready to attack Macbeth's castle, they just need to go there.

Macbeth Act IV Notes

The three witches seem to be gathered around a cauldron saying chants/spells. They put in random, wierd ingredients: "Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, witches' mummy, maw and gulf." 

Hectate enters then leaves stating, "oh well done!"

Macbeth appears (because of the spell?) and demands to know what is going on.

"Thunder" represents a sudden, quick entrance. Hectate and first apparition both enter then leave shortly after having delivered important info as well as the second and the third apparition.

First apparition appears and warns Macbeth of Macduff and the thane of Fife. 

Second apparition appears (bloody child) stating that a woman will not threaten his throne.

Macbeth declares Macduff must be killed.

Third apparition appears, a child with a crown, states that Macbeth will not be threatened until the Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill appears. 

The witches then show eight kings, last is the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth immediately questions the meaning and the witches do not really answer him and disappear. 

Macbeth asks if Lennon saw the wierd sisters, claims he didn't. He gives news of Macduff fleeing to England. Macbeth claims that Macduff and those associated with him need to be killed. 

Lady Macduff questions to Ross why Macduff has "fly the land." 

Lady Macduff tells the son that his father is dead. He replies that he'll "act as birds do." He questions if his dad is a traitor but he questions the validity of it. 

Messenger arrives with news of danger. Murdets arrive asking the whereabouts of Macduff and stab the son after he exclaims that the murderers are lying when claiming his father as a traitor.

Malcolm and Macduff discuss the future of Scotland. After conversing, Malcolm trusts Macduff as an ally. Ross arrives with news that at first his family is safe but then tells the truth that they are dead. Malcolm is in shock and upset at first but then seems angry. 

Macbeth Act III Notes

Banquo thinks of how the witches' vision came true, Macbeth is now king. He is invited by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to their feast but before he'll go for a ride.

Macbeth wonders if Banquo's children will succeed the throne after him as he has the knowledge of the witches prophecy which seem to be true so far.

Macbeth provokes/ convinces the first murderer to kill Banquo.

Macbeth seems uneasy while he's talking to Lady Macbeth about Duncan's death. 

Banquo and Fleance approach with horses when the murderers kill Banquo while Fleance escapes. 

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth welcomes everybody. The murderer tells him what had happened. 

Macbeth is startled to find Banquo's ghost on his place. He is shaken and Ross states that they should leave but Lady Macbeth tries to tell others that they should stay to not offend him. Lennox states good night as Macbeth continues to act wierd. 

Hecate seems mad at the witches for talking to Macbeth.

Lennox explains what the wierd things that have happened to a Lord and he replies with news of Macduff 

MY MACBETH RESOURCES

1. My peers of course!

2. Dr Preston

3. This website seems to be an expert on Shakespeare and his works: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/macbethresources.html

Macbeth Character Map

I looked up multiple sources.

I found this one most accurate from what I've read so far and so easiest to understand:

http://www.anoisewithin.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/01/ANW_Macbeth_Character_Map.pdf

This character map seemed fairly accurate as well and was very informative:

http://humbleisd.net/cms/lib2/TX01001414/Centricity/Domain/3523/MacbethCharacterchartANSWERS.docx

Macbeth Act II Study Questions

2.1

1. The opening gives a sense of forboding, things are not as they should be. The discussion serves to have Banquo acknowledge the weird sisters rather than claim they are a hallucination. 
2.  Macbeth is extremely stressed about having to Duncan and he is attempting to talk himself into committing the deed. He talks about it as if he is in a haze, a dream and he continues by making it a reality and committing the deed.

WHAT ABOUT MY MASTERPIECE?

I did my masterpiece over spring break! It was such a fun and eye opening experience. Hannah, Sierra and I went to the Boys and Girls Club and put on a three day camp for two hours each day. It most definitely gave me a taste of what life would be like as an elementary school teacher. The kids did test my patience and by the end of the two hours I was already exhausted but it was worth seeing the laughter in their eyes. The days didn't really go as planned. The first day was fun interacting with the kids through sports. Hannah had planned a scheduled soccer camp with drills but instead we decided to all play a scrimmage as a group picking teams and playing against each other. Not only did we play soccer but also basketball and baseball. We did this because their entertaininment was our priority.

 The next day, Sierra planned to have a fashion show with the kids making outfits of newspaper. And of course, the exact plan did not happen. We ended up making individual outfits and they also made ones for us. As entertaining as it was, the kids were also sensitive. Being more familiar with us, the kids would fight for our attention. Hannah made sunglasses for one kid and them every other kid wanted a pair too. I made a dress and soon every girl wanted to design one too. Sierra spent a good forty five minutes making an entire outfit for a boy. The kids were very rowdy and excited. Kids would come up pointing fingers that he stole my hat or he's using my tape. Each day seemed to get harder.

The last day, which was my day, was most definitely the most difficult day. I planned a fun game day with the kids. The first activity was building the tallest straw tower. I had planned on a friendly competition with candy for reward. It started off small with six kids so I had each kid make their own when the original plan was to have six teams but it would work. Then more kids showed up and I decided to have sessions because each kid wanted their own towers and I didn't bring enough straws. The first set of kids had 20 minutes and so on. That's when the name calling and competitive nature built. I was disciplining kids that it wasn't nice to be mean or to call names or to touch other's towers. The chaos built as we'd moved onto musical chairs. The Disney songs were great and they sang along but then kids began to be sensitive as they went out. As I ran the game, off to the corner, I saw two boys and with a girl crying in the corner. She left the room and the two boys looked at me innocently. It was hard for me to keep a serious face and discipline them. I got the two boys to understand that what they did was wrong and they apologized. The second big obstacle was over and I figured we needed to calm down and I put on a movie and of course there was a big argument over which movie. I put on Hotel Transylvania but some kids complained that they were halfway through the movie already. One kid immediately grabbed the remote and fastfowarded it. I kindly asked that he give me the remote and other kids began to back me up telling him to give it to me. Another boy tried to grab it out of his hand when he pushed his face away. I was very upset because that was absolutely unacceptable. I was going to have him go the time out but just in time a supervisor came in and took care of it. The day built as it continued within two hours. I would be lying if I said it was a piece of cake but looking at the picture as a whole was a good thing. 

Macbeth Act I Study Questions

1.1

1. Beginning the play with a dialogue between the witches sets the mood to be dark, evil, and mysterious. This foreshadows the plot, theme, and mood for the future of the story in the same manner. In comparison of Shakespeare's other plays, Macbeth requires more ambiguity and the syntax and diction used needs to be more bleak. For example, Hamlet highlighted the themes of betrayal and complexity of relationships and power. Even though, the theme falls in the same ballpark with Macbeth, the gloominess of the plot of Macbeth overpowers that of Hamlet. In the beginning of the play, the witches were going to meet Macbeth at the "ere of sunset." Line 10 was "Paddock calls" and line 11 was "Anon." The phrase paddock class means a toad, which symbolizes transformation. The word anon means soon or shortly. The "toad" and it's transformation could metaphorically be compared to Macbeth and his evolving and transforming to be a completely different person or even having a transformation in his status and power. The witch's response as anon signifies how Macbeth will shortly have a transformation - to be declared a thane. 

1.2

1. The bloody seargent indirectly characterizes Macbeth by glorifying his actions towards Macdonwald. Macdonwald is a rebel who was executed. He tried to attack them. Macbeth executed macdonwald with his sword. This did not end the fight with the rebels, the Norwegians are still attacking.
2. The traitor was the Thane of Cawdor, as we learn from Ross. Duncan says that its a relief the thane of cawdor was executed and that Macbeth now owns his previous title.

1.3

1. The witches speech gives a first look at Macbeth and his wife without saying who they are. Indirect characterization of the two. Similar to Hamlet where he gives a mini synopsis early in the story. "Weird" in Shakespeare's day meant future seers not weird as we know it, prophecy and destiny. Shakespeare means that Macbeth's wife has him by the balls. They  cast a spell to control his destiny. 
2. Macbeth says something very similar to what the witches said at the beginning of the play. This could be him falling into the destiny the witches set up. Dried, chapped fingers, gender ambiguity, hairy, old, they have literal beards. The witches tell Macbeth that he will thane of Candor and eventually King, right then he finds out he is thane of Cawdor. Banquo asked the witch why they had nothing for him, they told him he is lesser but greater than Macbeth. We knew he was thane before he was thane.

3. Banquo says the witches were a figment of their imagination that they lie or that they are hallucinating. Macbeth learns that he is thane of Cawdor from Ross and Angus. During lines 114-156 he was going over his plan in his head and how everything had just happened to him. He acts very happy and shows no incredulity at being thane. Macbeth's aside shows him rationalizing what happened to him and he begins to think that he is going to be King soon. Macbeth tells Banquo that he is happy and excited and nothing more he explains his behavior by saying he is confused.

1.4

1.Cawdor was executed after openly confessing his treason and pleading for mercy. Malcolm tried to stick up for the thane, but the king responds by basically saying that you can't trust a man according to his face. He doesn't believe the thane was truly repentant.

2.The king greets them by saying that he can never repay them enough for their good deeds, but announces he will leave all his estate and names his son, Malcolm, prince of Cumberland. He then proposes that they go to Macbeth's castle at Inverness. Macbeth tells himself that the only way to be king is to get rid of Malcolm, and even though he'll be appalled at his action, he must do it.

1.5

1. Macbeth was honest with his wife when he informs her of his new title as "Thane of Cawdor." He refers to the witches as "weird sisters" probably because he doesn't want her know that he is associated with the "evil servants."

Lady Macbeth responds by saying that she thinks Macbeth is playng things off as if everything is fine. By saying "but be the serpent under't", she describes him as someone that lies to make everything appear under control. This doesn't really match the characterization of Macbeth so far in the story which implies that there is something the audience doesn't know about him. 

2. The wife was confident about the guests visit. She also seemed prepared and a little cocky about the way her and her husband would handle it.

3. Lady Macbeth. Yes she wants to kill Duncan. No, he isn't sure whether he wants to follow through with Lady Macbeths orders or not. She tells him not to let Duncan see tomorrow. 

4. The question appears to answer itself. 

1.6

1. The opening speeches (1.6.1-10) describe how the surroundings of the castle are "pleasant" and the air is sweet-maybe even too sweet. From the outside, the castle appears to be paradise.
Lady Macbeth's welcome is formal. Her language is totally different from her language in the previous scene which shows how fake and dishonest her welcome was.

1.7

1. "If it were done when 'tis done then 'twere well." If it were done when it was done it was done well. (Meaning if he completed the death quickly and efficiently and with no complications then he did the job well.) Macbeth is determined to kill the king and be done with him but in lines 1-12 he is fearful of how the "inventor" will judge his actions. He's violating the hospitality of his kinship and responsibilities as a host towards his guest by trying to kill his guest instead of protecting them. The motivation that Macbeth attributes to himself in lines 25-28 is the attribute of an Arabic heaven-like God. He will be seen as a "God" and that is his source of motivation to get the job done. 

2. In lines 28-30 she is complaining about him leaving the chamber because it was  almost time for dinner. Macbeth responds to her complaining by saying did he ask for me? And lady Macbeth says don't you know he did? The positions are lady Macbeth is ready for the King to be killed while Macbeth is still hesitant and on the fence about it. Macbeth convinced Lady Macbeth by explaining that he is an respected person and doesn't want to lose his honor while Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth by convincing him to gain the power and kill the king. The stronger person in the scene is Lady Macbeth because  she's more verbally confident in her argument while convincing Macbeth to kill the King. 

"Young Goodman Brown" Essay

Self doubt leads to questioning the past and present but also to fearing what is to come. Often times, a conclusion is not met as a circle of confusion builds and one question leads to another. In "Young Goodman Brown," the last "evil purpose" changes Goodman Brown into a doubting individual whose visions on his previous judgements and religious commitments change. His past acknowledges what is right and what is wrong but after his trip, his guilty conscience causes him to see light differently. 

In "Young Goodman Brown," the reoccurring theme is good vs evil. In the beginning, Goodman Brown seems to hold a strong view of what is right and what is wrong when he feels the guilt of leaving his wife, Faith. He knows of his guilt and tries to alleviate them, but the guilt is soon pushed aside in place of suspicion and a sort of obsession of finding out "the truth." During and after, he struggles to decipher good vs evil and feels an urge to identity the people of Salem as one or the other. His uncertainty, controls his life as he struggles to believe what he had always put his faith in and instead, questions his present and future.

"Dover Beach" Essay

Prompt: Write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poem's organization, diction, and figurative language prepare the reader for the speaker's concluding response.

I selected this prompt because the overall description of the elements of Dover Beach together conveyed the author's meaning.
The speaker in "Dover Beach" conflicts over the changing beauty of nature but most importantly, the changing natures of humanity itself. The confusion and constant conflicts are shown through shifts and the usage of juxtaposition. The silent appreciation of the beauty of nature at night is overtaken by the cold waves that disturb the "tranquil bay." This contrast correlates with the theme in that sudden hatred is built against mankind towards each other as greed builds through "the high strand." The "naked shingles" symbolize the raw emotions that are hid behind the "breath of the night wind" in which most do not reveal. The reference to Sophocles sheds light to the Greek myth on human destruction which is what the author is hinting that the world is coming to: man vs man. In the context of the poem as a whole, the author is suggesting that faith in humanity needs to be restored rather than pointing fingers at others and being quick to blame.

Blog Feedback

Masterpiece Update!

Well, it's been quite a while since I've posted a masterpiece update but I finally have a plan! Last summer, Hannah and I went to the Boys and Girls Club and demonstrated fun science experiments. At the end of the session, we made a promise to come back and now we'll be able to keep that promise! Hannah, Sierra, and I will be putting on a three day camp for two hours a day during spring break. Hannah plans to have a soccer camp and Sierra plans to do a fashion related activity. I've been going back and forth on what I want to do with the kids from doing more science experiments to having story time or maybe having like a future me workshop where the kids could discover different aspirations. I thought back to my childhood on what the greatest memories were and when at school I had the most fun and also thought when I have the most fun at school today. The key word that came to mind was "interactivity." I loved playing with other kids, building blocks together and playing duck duck goose. And today, I love when we have socratic seminars and when we participate in teambuilding activities. My point being that instead of having a science demonstration or me talking about the future I want it to be all about the kids and engaging. I want to revisit my childhood and do little crafts with them, play duck duck goose and competitive games which like candy prizes. Something to get the kids excited and get to know each other.

"Dover Beach" Analysis

Title:

The title is referring to the beach that the author is observing 

Paraphrase:

"We find also in the sound a thought hearing it by this distant northern sea" We revisit different memories that is reminded by the similarities of our current settings

"But now I only hear it's melancholy, long, withdrawing roar." Only the harsh, cold waves coming in and out can be heard.

Connotation:

"moon-blanched" the night is whitened by the moon light

"naked-shingles of the world" the raw emotions of people without the layers to hind behind 

Attitude:

The attitude is melancholy, reflecting, and also pleading in a way to go back to the past life of the beauties in humanity. 

 Shift:

"With tremulous cadence slow, and bring the eternal note of sadness in."

In awe of nature's beauty at night but then shifts to a melancholy tone. 

"Sophocles long ago heard it on the Aegean" shifts to an even darker mood with a reference to human destruction

Title Revisited:

The title isn't just referencing to a specific beach but what it's contents symbolize: cliffs, gleams, pebbles. 

Theme:

Learn to trust one another in the dark world we live in, as only love preserves "where ignorant armies clash by night." The night life represents the dark world we currently live in.The transition from the scenic beach at night to the dark, cold waves and "grating roar of pebbles" take over the night like humanity losing trust in one another. 

Tobermory Explained

The tone of Saki's Tobermory is contradicting from pessimistic to optimistic. He starts off creating the lifeless setting, but then puts the attention on Miss Blemley's house party filled with guests. The focus is then put on Mr. Cornelius Appin who has a "negative personality." The tone is shifted once again when Mr. Appin's is seen almost as a spectacle of entertainment and is ridiculed when he explains his "scientific discovery." The talking cat, Tobermory speaks. The guests seem intrigued but with caution and then rage when he reveals the personal talk that was held in the room. They are scared of their greedy secrets being revealed. The  shifts back and forth. The themes include selfishness and

"If he was trying German irregular verbs on the poor beast," said Clovis, "he deserved all he got." 

I'm not really sure what this line if supposed to mean. I think this line in the context of the tone and theme is like a last laugh for Clovis at Mr. Addin for trying to show that he is better than everyone else at the house party. I also think this could mean that he got what he deserved for trying to do something, human speaking on animals, that wasn't yet accepted or experimented and trying to control things in a way that shouldn't be controlled.

Literature Analysis #2

Looking for Alaska by John Greene

1.  Miles Halter is socially awkward and has no friends when he leaves his home for a boarding school, Culver Creek in Alabama. He has an interesting passion of memorizing last words. His roomate is immediately aggressively friendly who is known as the Colonel. He nicknames Miles, Pudge. He also meets the beautiful Alaska Young who he is immediately attracted to but finds out she has a boyfriend. Pudge begins to adapt to life on the campus with his rebellious friends who pursue rebellious lifestyles smoking, drinking, and breaking rules, but Pudge manages to keep interest in his religion class as well as maintain stable grades in other classes. However, he begins to fall more into the life of Alaska and her obsession over the labyrinth as well as her mood swings and transforms into a somewhat different person. Pudge also befriends Takumi and Laura with whom he forms a brief fling with. Alaska and the Colonel are known for pulling off pranks and Pudge, Takumi and Laura take part in their master plans putting blue hairdye in the Warrior's hair products who are the rich stuck up kids, setting firecrackers on campus, and changing the Warrior'a grades that would be sent home. One night, the Colonel, Pudge, and Alaska hang out in Alaska's room completely drunk when Pudge and Alaska start to make out but eventually fall asleep. Alaska awakes to pick up the pay phone line which is a call from her boyfriend. She returns very upset and insisting she leaves. They help her by setting the firecrackers in a different direction while she drives off. The next morning they find out she died in a car accident. The Colonel and Pudge  feel responsible and obsess over finding out the truth behind her death. They try different things including asking questions to the police officer who owned the car that Alaska drove into but learn that she directly drove into it without even swerving. They even try drinking as much as the toxicity level that Alaska had that night to see if they were as unconscious enough to not even swerve. Their last resort is her boyfriend, but give up with the only clues being that she had lilies in the back of her car and that she didn't even swerve when hitting the cop's car. They do however carry on her legend of pranks by hiring a stripper as a speaker for their annual guest speaking. Pudge is able to conclude while looking at the payphone that the lilies drawn on there were the lilies that Alaska drew which were in the back of her car that night. She was going to her mother's grave as she had once mentioned a while ago that her mother died the day after they went to the zoo together. Her death still remains a mystery but Pudge is able to move on and accept her death.

2.  Themes of the novel include obsessions and relationships. Pudge had an obsession over last words and Alaska had an obsession over the labyrinth of life. These two obsessions in a way foreshadowed Alaska's death and it's complicated nature. The relationships in the novels were very important to the story's development in creating strong friendships that were tested.

3.  The tone of the book was melancholy and negative anticipating Alaska's death. "Although I was more or less forced to invite all my "school friends" i.e., the ragtag bunch of drama people and English geeks I sat with by social necessity in the cavernous cafeteria of my public schools, I knew they wouldn't come." 

4.  Diction pg 3

"She festooned our living room and green and yellow streamers, the colors of my new school."

Overstatement pg 9

"Unfortunately, the shower seemed to have been design for someone approximately three feet, seven inches tall, so the cold water hit my lower rib cage."

Reflection pg 20

"The phrase booze and mischief left me worrying I'd stumble into what my mother referred as "the wrong crowd," but for the wrong crowd, they both seemed awfully smart

Foreshadowing pg 44

"Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." 

Setting pg 64

"I vaguely remember Laura standing in the doorway, the room dark and the outside dark and everything mild and comfortable but sort of spinny, the world pulsing as if from a heavy bass beat."

Symbolism pg 88

"So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

Hyperbole pg 114

"The thousand-yard stare of intoxication, I thought, and as I watched her with an idle fascination, it occurred to me that, yeah, I was a little drunk, too."

Personification pg 148

"The cold wind buffeted against the door..."

Metaphor pg 148

"...and I sat in my bed and thought of the Colonel out there somewhere, his head down, his teeth clenched, walking into the wind."

Imagery pg 171 

"I picked up a blue chair and threw it against the concrete wall, and the clang of plastic on concrete echoed beneath the bridge as the chair fell limply on its side, and then I lay on my back with my knees hanging over the precipice and screamed."

Theme pg 220

"But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin cannot end, and so it cannot fail."

1.  Direct characterization:

"I stared, stunned partly by the force of the voice emanating from the petite girl and partly by the gigantic stacks of books that lined her walls."

"But even in the dark, I could see her eyes -- fierce emeralds."

Indirect Characterization:

"And we'll call you... hmm. Pudge."

"Still, my mother persevered, awash in the delusion that I had kept my popularity secret from her all these years."

2.  The author's diction does not change when focusing on the character, remains descriptive and dark.

"She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die."

3.  The character is round and dynamic. Miles begins with being unsocial and very proper to a rebellious and confident with his friends. He is fully developed as a character through the descriptive language, reflections and innermost thoughts.

4.  I feel like I met Miles because I was really able to relate and sympathize with his raw emotions after losing Alaska. I was able to relate to him even more as he goes through the awkward phases of adapting to college for the first time and sharing his sadness and struggles. The sudden questioning of life after experiencing the loss of a close one.

Huxley Interview Essay

Our society is in a way living in the Brave New World. The idea of mass production is all too familiar. Costco attracts a myriad of customers from everyday denizens to small business owners as the cheap, abundant quantities of a variety of products are not only convenient, but also financially more affordable in the long run. Huxley also claims that "impersonable forces" are pushing in the direction of less freedoms most visibly, overpopulation. For example, because of the "baby boom," there are currently more older people residing in the United States. Overtime, it is predicted that the social security act will have to be reformed as there would be more money being taken out to give to the elderly, over the money coming from the younger generation through taxes. Lastly, Huxley predicted the overwhelming power of technological advancements.

Today, technology serves a very important role in our lives as society revolves around it's function. A common goal that our society shares is constantly advancing to becoming a "better" community. Aldous Huxley made several predictions of the future about limited freedoms and am overpowering dictatorship. The communist element is not shown in politics today but socially may be true with the ethical and social issue of genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is becoming more popular and it manipulates different species to produce the "fittest." Although Huxley's visions of the future are a little extreme and on the border of crazy, we are slowly headed in that direction of overorganization.

Brave New World Notes Ch. 1-4

Page One: 

Figurative language:

Personification "the light was frozen, dead, a ghost" 

Juxtaposition "bleakly shining"

Irony, Dichotomy "fertilizing room" when previously talking about death

Symbolism "shield"

Restatement "wintriness responses to a wintriness"

Chapter 1:

Director doesn't have a name, a name creates personality. 

Cold presence of cruel, artificial, external, imposed, freezer of death

"Director of Hatcheries" not mammal, industrialized

Operant conditioning: rewards and punishments alter one's behavior

Chapter 2:

"single window" dark isolated 

Students are introduced to Nurseries with babies who are being trained by being shocked when playing with flowers and books. 

Director manipulates the babies mind to dislike books in order to "be safe from books and botany all their lives."

Boys blush at "parents." Why?

Viviparous: bringing forth live young that have developed inside the body of the parent

In Elementary Class Consciousness, children listen to tapes that emphasizes their duties in their specific caste. 

These names seem very distant and unrelateable, fake and industrial.

Chapter 3:

Naked children play in a garden.

I have a very difficult time understanding this chapter with the children in the garden and then the end of the chapter with three different conversations.

Chapter 4: 

The Love of Learning

Often times students, especially high school seniors, question the importance of schooling and it's purpose. The valuable enrichment of knowledge is forgotten as instead, we get caught up in "completing assignments" and "writing research papers" which are assigned to enhance our knowledge. The value of educating's one self is to inspire life goals and to find an aspiration that one is really passionate about. Through "trials and tribulations" we learn what we're good at and what we're not good at, what we fall in love with and what we absolutely cannot stand. Learning "boring" materials is also a valuable resource as we can learn something that may not be of interest to us. The love of learning helps us to broaden our perspectives on wordly matters and discover different passions that together help create a vision that every individual has. The vision is formed through experiences and knowledge on that subject. Though some might not think so, every person enjoys learning. It may not be the textbook type of education, but learning to knit or learning to discover new species can be someone's joy. These visions can only be created if we value the importance of learning and love to appreciate it.

Lit Terms #6

simile - noun a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as')

soliloquy - noun a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections; speech you make to yourself
spiritual - adj. lacking material body or form or substance; concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul; resembling or characteristic of a phantom; concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church; noun a kind of religious song originated by Blacks in the southern United States
speaker - noun someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous); the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly; electro-acoustic transducer that converts electrical signals into sounds loud enough to be heard at a distance
stereotype - noun a conventional or formulaic conception or image; verb treat or classify according to a mental stereotype
stream of consciousness - 
structure - noun a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts; a particular complex anatomical part; the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations; the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships; verbgive a structure to
style - noun a slender bristlelike or tubular process; a particular kind (as to appearance);editorial directions to be followed in spelling and punctuation and capitalization and typographical display; (botany) the narrow elongated part of the pistil between the ovary and the stigma; a pointed tool for writing or drawing or engraving;distinctive and stylish elegance; how something is done or how it happens; the popular taste at a given time; a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; verb make consistent with certain rules of style; designate by an identifying term; make consistent with a certain fashion or style
subordination - noun the quality of obedient submissiveness; the grammatical relation of a modifying word or phrase to its head; the state of being subordinate to something; the act of mastering or subordinating someone; the semantic relation of being subordinate or belonging to a lower rank or class
surrealism - noun a 20th century movement of artists and writers (developing out of dadaism) who used fantastic images and incongruous juxtapositions in order to represent unconscious thoughts and dreams
suspension of disbelief - noun w
symbol - noun something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible; an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
synesthesia - noun a sensation that normally occurs in one sense modality occurs when another modality is stimulated
synecdoche - noun substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa
syntax - noun the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences; studies of the rules for forming admissible sentences; a systematic orderly arrangement
theme - noun a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work; (music) melodic subject of a musical composition;(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed; an essay (especially one written as an assignment); the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; verb provide with a particular theme or motive
thesis - noun an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument; a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree
tone - noun (linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages; the quality of something (an act or a piece of writing) that reveals the attitudes and presuppositions of the author; a steady sound without overtones; a musical interval of two semitones; the quality of a person's voice; a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color; (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound); a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound; the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people; the elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc. that facilitate response to stimuli; verb give a healthy elasticity to; change to a color image;change the color or tone of; vary the pitch of one's speech; utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically
tongue - noun the flap of material under the laces of a shoe or boot; a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity; a manner of speaking; the tongue of certain animals used as meat; any long thin projection that is transient; metal striker that hangs inside a bell and makes a sound by hitting the side; a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language; a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea; verb lick or explore with the tongue;articulate by tonguing, as when playing wind instruments
in - adj. currently fashionable; directed or bound inward; holding office; adv. to or toward the inside of; noun a state in midwestern United States; a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot; a rare soft silvery metallic element; occurs in small quantities in sphalerite
cheek - noun either side of the face below the eyes; impudent aggressiveness; either of the two large fleshy masses of muscular tissue that form the human rump; an impudent statement;verb speak impudently to
tragedy - noun drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity; an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
understatement - noun a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said
vernacular - adj. being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language; noun the everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language); a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)
voice - noun a means or agency by which something is expressed or communicated; the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech; the ability to speak; the sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract; something suggestive of speech in being a medium of expression; a sound suggestive of a vocal utterance; (metonymy) a singer; (linguistics) the grammatical relation (active or passive) of the grammatical subject of a verb to the action that the verb denotes; the melody carried by a particular voice or instrument in polyphonic music; expressing in coherent verbal form; an advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose; verb give voice to; utter with vibrating vocal chords
zeitgeist - noun the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation

AP Exam Preview

The AP test materials don't seem extremely difficult, but reading comprehension and writing has always been my weakest point. I have a hard time concentrating while reading these type of materials  but I hope with a bit of practice, I will improve. The exam contents don't seem too strenuous. As long as I get practice in being able to point out the writing techniques more easily, I think the writing and multiple choice should be easier.

Literature Analysis #1

A Child Called "It"

1.  David is a child who lives with an abusive, manipulative mother. He also has two brothers who are actually treated the opposite of him and are not hit. He has a very passive father who cares about David but does not have the will to confront his alcoholic, aggressive wife. David lives in cruel conditions where he is basically a slave who is ordered around by his mother. He has to do chores in order to eat and wash. Often times he is timed to finish a certain housework and beaten before he can eat his "food" which is often left overs from his brothers' plates. Most times he is starved. This leads him to steal snacks from kids at his school but news arrives to his mother and get's a painful beating. Sadly, he accepts it because he was so hungry, he was willing to take the risks. At a young age, David "masters the game" in which he learns to act like he is seriously in pain before she becomes more aggressive. Before, four year old David remembered his loving, perfect mother who gave him warm hugs, always kept the house clean, and took care of them while their dad often worked long days. She then began to change, spending hours on the couch still in her pajamas and her discipline soon changed to violence but little David adapted to accept it and keep quiet. He had a painful childhood where his mom threw him across the room, kicked him, shoved ammonia down his mouth, at one point stabbed him, shoved his face in his little sisters poop, and attempted to burn him on the stove. He was often covered in bruises but of course in unnoticeable places to avoid trouble. His brothers would even turn on him because they were scared of being beat themselves. His mom would never abuse him in front of his dad but he catches on and is also a dog on her leash. He tries to sneak David scraps of food while she is not looking. David grows to be a dark, cold child. More than fear, intense anger begins to build up in him. He's bullied often and has moments of rage. Soon, his dad leaves his life and now he is left alone in the "hell house." 

2. Stand up for yourself. Sometimes, it's very hard to leave. Whether it be something happy you're leaving or even something terrible, habits and routines stick with you. There were many times David wanted to stand tall and leave, but he was too afraid to leave the life he had learned to always live.

3.  The authors tone is dark, consistent and melancholy.

Pg 141 "My morale had become so low that in some self destructive way I hoped she would kill me, and I felt that eventually she would."

Pg 127 "Even though I had begun to accept my fate, I never felt as alone, as I did on the mornings that Father went to work." 

Pg 73 "I simply wished mother would beat me and get it over with." 

4.  Characterization pg 17 "My father, Stephen Joseph, supported his family as a fireman, working in the heart of San Francisco."

Setting pg 17 "We lived in a modest, two-bedroom house, in what was considered a "good" neighborhood in Daly City. I can remember looking out of our living room bay window on a clear day, to gaze at the bright orange towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the beautiful skyline of San Francisco."

Flashback pg 26 "I never felt as safe and as warm as that moment in time, at the Russian River."

Inference pg 34 "With both arms stretched out and raised, mother came at me. As she came closer and closer, I backed my chair towards the wall. Soon, my head touched the wall." 

Simile pg 48 "At night I was so hungry, my stomach growled as if I were an angry bear."

Juxtaposition pg 79 "In the darkness of the garage I closed my eyes, dreaming I was a king dressed in the finest robes, eating the best food mankind had to offer. As I held a a piece of frozen pumpkin pie or a bit of a taco shell, I was king, and like a king on his throne, I gazed down on my food and smiled."

Personification pg 84 "As June turned to early July, my morale dwindled."

Symbolism pg 94 "Within a few seconds my sparked fizzled out."

Stream of consciousness pg 141 "My morale had become so low that in some self-destructive way I hoped she would kill me, and I felt that eventually she would." 

Allusion pg 153 "...and deliver me from evil."

Characterization: 

1.  Indirect characterization:

Pg 59 "As the prince, I knew I could end the charade of acting like a servant any time I wanted."

Pg 126 "Deep in my heart I had known mother was being nice to me for some reason other than wanting to love me." 

Direct characterization:

Pg 17 "He stood about five feet ten inches tall, and he weighed about 190 pounds."

Pg 18 "His thick black eyebrows matched his hair." 

2.  The author's syntax and diction is pretty consistent throughout even when focusing on the character. 

Pg 58 "Father occasionally try to sneak scraps of food to me, but with little success." 

Pg 84 "At the first syllable of her order I snap my head level, stood up and sprinted up the stairs."

3.  David is a dynamic, round character. Over the course of the book, he becomes a stronger person but he continues to live under the shadows. He lives in pain and fear but is scared to escape it. The book ends with him seeming to run away from his "family."

4. This book was so personal and descriptive of his life that I felt like I met the child. The author was very descriptive of his daily routines and life that the reader is able to take a look into his life.

Pg 68 "Sometimes at night I would wake up and try to imagine I was a real person, sleeping under a warm electric blanket, knowing I was safe and that somebody loved me. My imagination worked for a while, but the cold nights always brought me back to my reality. I knew no one could help me. My teachers, my so-called brothers or even my father. I was on my own, and every night I pray to God that I could be strong both in body and soul. In the darkness of the garage, I laid on the wooden cot and shivered until I fell into a restless sleep."

I cried as I read this book. It makes me livid that someone who calls herself a mother could possibly so such cruel things to a child. What infuriates me even more is that his teachers don't take notice of his ragged, ugly clothes and instead blame him and distance themselves from him. How could someone who is with a child for six hours, five times a week not pick up the signs of insufficient lunch boxes, clothes with holes, and bruises? My masterpiece relates to children and wanting to be a teacher. I want to make at least a small, positive difference in a child's life and build empowerment and purpose in their life. It sickens me that there are people who bring down people's dreams and I believe a big dream starts at a young age. Kids need guidance before they can get there so I hope that I can I inspire an idea or dream in children. 

A Tale of Two Cities Notes

Collaborated with Hannah H. Sierra S. Imanie P. Shailynn J. Courtney R. 

Pattern of influences: the history behind the French Revolution and Dickens's reactions to London and Paris.

In 1857, Dickens wrote the play, "The Frozen Deep." 

Dickens acts as the character who is a hero in sacrificing himself for others.

Originally wanted to name Sydney as Carton or Dick.

There is a parallelism between Charles Darnay and Dick Carton, "doubleness in character"

April 1858, Dickens began public readings for charity but also read for profit. As a result, he began to establish a relationship with his readers and was known as a great reader and writer.

May 1858, separated from his wife, Catherine and called it "Some Domestic Trouble of Mine" 

November 1858, separated from his publishers and ended his journal 

The following year he published a new journal.

April 30, 1859, chapters one to three of A Tale of Two Cities were published.

He moved to London when he was ten to work under his father's demand. Described his experience as "extensive and peculiar knowledge at the city", "wretched darkness", "great fascination."

As an adult he called it a "vile place" but he was able to be creative and find an inspiration in the "magical land."

- dickens wrote about London as a newspaper: everything is there but disconnected 

- organized at early age 

- London city of extremes, maze

- first impression of Paris: most extraordinary place. Perfectly distinct character. Novelty and strange things. Expressive of own character. Every house and person added to the "book". Never was such a place for a description. 

- Paris half size of London

- lacked uncontrolled nature of London

- crime common but replaced with urban city

- end of Two Cities is rememberance of this change 

- visits during period of political change and change to urban land scape

- 1879 dickens died

- Paris was modernized city with vibrant life of elegance. Had light

- dickens describes progress of city

- dickens attracted to dark side of city. Go visit morgue

- attraction of repulsion theory

- eye for detail and described Paris is deep detail when leaving city on way to Italy 

- dickens sets two cities back in time 

- articles describe beauty of two cities of London and Paris

- describe Bastille fortress in great detail 

- Dickens makes it very clear in his opening of Tale of Two cities that his worlds of London and Paris are very similar

- his opening is very profound and famous

- it was the best of times the worst of times

- he sets us back in time published in 1859 and set back in 1775

- it brings us back to the present time 

- He issues a very modern historical setting that uses a modern parallel 

- Tale of Two Cities moves back and forth from England and France immediately following the French Revolution

- Dickens uses the historical facts of the period as background

- timeline is from 1757 to 1794

- Victorians were haunted by the memory of the French Revolution in 1789

- only happened 70 years before Dickens wrote Tale of Two Cities

- the book marks violence very powerfully 

- Dickens makes it very clear between pre revolutionary France and contemporary Britain

- the novel was weary of confronting the great Victorian fear of revolution 

- the novel came out in weekly parts with one or two chapters available each week

- the novel wasn't eye appealing but was made in the US

- his book sold very well in the US

Dickens was comfortable with sending out his pages weekly

- Dickens wanted a volume of a couple chapters of the Tale to be published that including illustrations, monthly

- the taste of the people was moving more towards a realistic style of illustrations 

- Dickens style of writing was precise that left cliffhanger endings  for people to buy the next issue each week

- Dickens wrote a new chapter or chapters each week that developed the creative flow of work and characters and the plot adjusting to the audience as they were reacting to it

- "the best story he has written" was told to him by one of his colleagues 

In 19th Century England, there was a scare of Revolution.  Thus it parallels with the incubation of the French Revolution, the setting of the Tale of Two Cities.

Following A Tale of Two Cities by monthly installments is good because we can see where he intentionally put cliff hangers and where he wrote in reaction to his audience which read his writings monthly.  

He didn’t write the whole story and chop it up to fit monthly installments, he wrote it month by month and like a TV show, episode by episode.

Carlisle, friend of Dickens, wrote a symbolic historical book on the French Revolution. This, Dickens used to write the French portion of the plot of The Tale of Two Cities.

In addition to Historical Story of the novel, runs very personal stories of Dickens

Passage about Mystery in chapter 3 reflects back on Dickens personal life and is hardly connected back to the rest of the novel showing that it follows a personal plot.

It stands out in the novel

Depth of personal intensity

A time of war, every weapon possible being used, people had bloody hands, in a time of need and fear

- life on no account, ready to sacrifice 

- man giving orders telling people where to go. 

-setting in France, 

-living sea (metaphor)

- the attack started, symbolism of smoke and repetition of stone wall, work, smoke, gunfire, eight great towers

- told to work, women could kill, armed in hunger and revenge instead of weapons 

- wet straw, bravery, living sea repeated, massive great walls, 

- talks of Alice, a white flag, not audible in the distance, a surrender, 

- as he had been struggling in the south sea, simile 

- jack three, multiple "jacks"

- cries, loud roars, 

- man with the touch, défage says where is the north tower 

- went fast to descend, find the north tower, find a key man to the plot locked in the tower, this is a key area of the book

-likes to describe the sea, and revenge and suffering 

- two groups of seven, all very different In faces of prisoners, carried, all lost and scared to die, lost faces 

- other seven dead, droopy faces, seven heads on sticks, seven alive and released 

- found documents of former prisoners died from "broken heart"

-1789, in Paris 

- has a driving passion to move things forward, 

- dickens responses well to criticisms 

Criticing letter from Edward Bollard Lintel Responds to the criticism with many facts. 

Riviting public theme, the creation of a world back in the 1770 1780

Inevitability of history but equally powerful personal story.

Authorial-not given to a character comes directly from him at start of chapter 3. Stands out differently from the rest of the novel 

Characters become mysteries to others. Sidney Counten most mysterious to the response and reaction.

Depth of personal intensity which characterizes other layer of the novel. Character rocked to sleep by the regular movement of the coach and Dreams of recording of the life the prisoner.

Dr Minets face, Man been in prisoner for 18 years and is 45 and is recalled to life 

Met Ellen turner in 1857 and he was 45 and she was 18 and she was born in 1839 in Rochester

Changed the prisoners sentence from 15 to 18 years 

Then met Lucy who is only 17 been conceived but not born when Minet was in prison. 

Described her as blue eyes very pretty and her being young and smooth. He held that child on the passage across the Channel. 

Highly personal thing in dickens experience 

Sidney Counten enabled Charles to escape and spend his life with Lucy and their family. 

What's the Story?

Dickens wrote Great Expectations to let himself out in a way and portray his own character.  He wanted to convey the life struggles of making critical decisions on who you want to be and who you don't want to be. This novel is the most bibliographical to his story than any of his other books. He uses personification, simile, imagery and irony. 

"But he was down on the rank wet grass, filing at his iron like a madman, and I told him I must go, but he took no notice, so I thought the best thing I could do was to slip off." This simile shows his fleeting presence literally in different scenes, but also lifestyles and phases.  

"It was a dry cold night, and the wind blew keenly, and the frost was white and hard. A man would die tonight of lying out on the marshes, I thought." Foreshadowing?

"When the gate was closed upon me by Sarah of the walnut-shell countenance, I felt more than ever dissatisfied with my home and with my trade and with everything; and that was all I took by that motion.

Lit Terms #3

exposition - noun (music) the section of a movement (especially in sonata form) where the major musical themes first occur; an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse; a systematic interpretation or explanation (usually written) of a specific topic;a collection of things (goods or works of art etc.) for public display

expressionism - noun an art movement early in the 20th century; the artist's subjective expression of inner experiences was emphasized; an inner feeling was expressed through a distorted rendition of reality

fable - noun a short moral story (often with animal characters); a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events; a deliberately false or improbable account

fallacy - noun a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning

falling - adj. becoming lower or less in degree or value; decreasing in amount or degree;coming down freely under the influence of gravity

action - noun something done (usually as opposed to something said); the most important or interesting work or activity in a specific area or field; an act by a government body or supranational organization; the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism; the trait of being active and energetic and forceful; the series of events that form a plot; the state of being active; a military engagement; a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a wrong done or for protection of a right or for prevention of a wrong; a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings); verb institute legal proceedings against; file a suit against; put in effect

farce - noun a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations; mixture of ground raw chicken and mushrooms with pistachios and truffles and onions and parsley and lots of butter and bound with eggs; verb fill with a stuffing while cooking

figurative - adj. (used of the meanings of words or text) not literal; using figures of speech;consisting of or forming human or animal figures

language - noun the mental faculty or power of vocal communication; a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols; the cognitive processes involved in producing and understanding linguistic communication; a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline;the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number; (language) communication by word of mouth

flashback - noun a transition (in literary or theatrical works or films) to an earlier event or scene that interrupts the normal chronological development of the story; an unexpected but vivid recurrence of a past experience (especially a recurrence of the effects of an hallucinogenic drug taken much earlier)

foil - noun a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button; a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal; picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector; anything that serves by contrast to call attention to another thing's good qualities; a device consisting of a flat or curved piece (as a metal plate) so that its surface reacts to the water it is passing through; verbcover or back with foil; enhance by contrast;hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

folk - noun people in general (often used in the plural); the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community; people descended from a common ancestor; a social division of (usually preliterate) people

tale - noun a trivial lie; a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

foreshadowing - adj. indistinctly prophetic;noun the act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand

free - adj. not literal; unconstrained or not chemically bound in a molecule or not fixed and capable of relatively unrestricted motion; able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint; not held in servitude; not occupied or in use; not fixed in position; not taken up by scheduled activities; costing nothing; adv.without restraint; noun people who are free; verbfree or remove obstruction from; grant freedom to; free from confinement; free from obligations or duties; make (information) available publication; make (assets) available; let off the hook; remove or force out from a position; part with a possession or right; relieve from; grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to

verse - noun a piece of poetry; a line of metrical text; literature in metrical form; 

verb familiarize through thorough study or experience; compose verses or put into verse

genre - noun a class of art (or artistic endeavor) having a characteristic form or technique; a kind of literary or artistic work; an expressive style of music; a style of expressing yourself in writing

gothic - adj. characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque; of or relating to the Goths; of or relating to the language of the ancient Goths; characteristic of the style of type commonly used for printing German; as if belonging to the Middle Ages; old-fashioned and unenlightened; noun a style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries; characterized by slender vertical piers and counterbalancing buttresses and by vaulting and pointed arches; a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries; extinct East Germanic language of the ancient Goths; the only surviving record being fragments of a 4th-century translation of the Bible by Bishop Ulfilas

tale - noun a trivial lie; a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program

hyperbole - noun extravagant exaggeration

imagery - noun the ability to form mental images of things or events

implication - noun an accusation that brings into intimate and usually incriminating connection; a relation implicated by virtue of involvement or close connection (especially an incriminating involvement); a logical relation between propositions p and q of the form `if p then q'; if p is true then q cannot be false;something that is inferred (deduced or entailed or implied); a meaning that is not expressly stated but can be inferred

incongruity - noun the quality of disagreeing; being unsuitable and inappropriate

inference - noun the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation

irony - noun incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs; witty language used to convey insults or scorn

Lit Terms #2

Circumlocution

Classicism

Cliché

Climax

Colloquialism

Comedy 

Conflict

Connotation 

Contrast

Denotation 

Denouement

Dialect 

Dialectics

Dichotomy 

Diction

Didactic 

Dogmatic

Elegy

Epic

Epigram

Interesting Conversations

Today's journal was like a parallel to Joe's and Jagger's character about good  vs evil and class. Jaggers represents the evil character in the who makes money despite his job at the graveyard. He manipulates people with his secrets and is more of a realist who judges others. Joe represents the good character in the "lower class" who makes decent money but lives by his feelings. Although Dickens does make this contrast, he seems to describe everyone as victims of evil deeds. 

Yesterday's lecture was very informative and nice to just have a traditional lecture. I think lectures are great once in a while, but I wish we had more time to read more of the book so we could of had more of an engaging lecture and reform new opinions based on our own interpretation and the lecture. I know that it's supposed to be an instructive lecture and not an engaging lecture but I wish we would have broken the book down with the lectures after taking our own notes.

We shared our lit term remixes of what form of studying works best for us. Visual representations help me so I used pictures for my remix. 

Hacking my Education/ English Homework

I missed the first week of school back from winter break. I learned things that school could have never taught me within four days. Outdoors School with ten other cabin leaders and enthusiastic sixth graders was one of the most memorable weeks as well as one of the most enriching experiences. This trip confirmed my passion for wanting to teach children as well wanting to help others just because. At my dining table a boy said, "Cactus (my nature name), you always seem happy." I replied back with a laugh and it was a great feeling knowing that my outward expression was just as joyous as how I felt on the inside. In that moment, I was really happy to be surrounded by bright kids who spoke their minds and were so excited to share new things they encountered that day. Getting to know cabin leaders was another joy. I got to meet awesome people who I knew of but did not really know. Through hikes, pictures, and free time, we were able to enjoy nature and get to know each other better. It's always enriching to meet new people with different lifestyles. 

Another interesting realization was of how visions change. I remember when I went to science camp in sixth grade, there were way too many kids to be comfortable around. The dining hall was huge, but when I walked into it this time, it was similar to the size of Righetti's cafeteria and not too overwhelming. The most interesting perspective change was on the last day when we learned that connections was the most important thing in nature. It's almost ironic how much of an impact the word has on me. I must have not realized it when I was a sixth grader, but as a senior that word has so much meaning to me. The relationships that I hold today is how I've become the person that I am today and because of those connections I am able to experience new adventures and meet people who give me new insight each day.

Pictures...

   Cabin Leaders

    Sixth graders! 

I plan to use this experience as a guide for this semester. Even this late in my high school career, I want to make an effort to meet new people. I want to be more passionate and curious about my education and do each assignment with care and thought just like the sixth graders did at science camp. 

Masterpiece in Planning

I have a passion for helping others, learning new things, and children. I've recently realized that I want to be an unconditionally giving teacher who teaches more than the basic education but also inspires big dreams. I want to combine my interests to create a philanthropic reality for poor or uneducated children. I want to learn and want others to learn that there is a bigger purpose than just their own and to be aware of their surroundings and how a small act of kindness could change someone's day. To do this, I would have to have an understanding of child psychology, education in basic math, English, and science, and money.  I still need to figure out exactly what this "philanthropic reality" will be. Hannah and I went to the Boys and Girls club over summer to show science experiments so I could plan something along the lines of scheduling a day of spending with the kids doing icebreaker actives, science experiments, poetry crafts, and maybe a field trip. I could also do something at the homeless center by coordinating an informal seminar with the kids and talk about the future and possible careers to think about or something less serious like decorating the center as a carnival/ dance. I want the kids to be inspired from  these events and to dream big. I think one of the most important things is being inspired everyday. When I lose motivation, I always try to find an inspiration. I would definitely need more hands to help this project. I could incorporate Key club into this event as we always look for volunteer events to assist. I would need to organize fundraisers for the money. I want to collect moments of this project with pictures. I could make a video but I also think making a collage of pictures to have a more tangible masterpiece would be nice.