Tuesday, May 7, 2013

AP Test Readiness Reflection

Its almost that time.. the AP test is in a day and a half. After everything that Dr. Preston put us through to help us, I can actually say that I am decently prepared. I have participated a lot in class and all the discussions we have had as a whole really helped. At this point, my performance is just based on the little extras I can do in one day. Things such as getting a good amount of sleep and eating healthy is all that it is up to. Hopefully everyone has a high amount of confidence going into the test. Good luck all!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Todays Journal Topic

MAY 3

You've written a lot this week; is there anything left for you to practice/improve over the weekend?  Do you need to practice more multiple choice?  Take inventory-- one last time-- and describe how you will address any areas where you feel less than 100% confident.

 I definitely have written a great deal this week and I am happy to say that I feel completely prepared for the AP Exam. Throughout all the essays this week, I feel Dr. Preston gave us too many and when we finally get to the exam, it will be easier than I expect. The only thing left for me to do would be to go over the literary devices a couple more times and brush up on those. More multiple choice questions I think would just overwhelm me at this point and I need to have an easy last week. I feel very prepared for the test and can't wait to get it over with. 

May 3 In Class Essay






































Monday, April 22, 2013

Analyzing my performance on today's exam.

Today's micro exam on Macbeth was just what I had been expecting the questions to be like. I still need to practice a bit and go over these type of questions but I have faith in myself for the real exam. I was semi successful on it and that is why I said I could do more practice.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Jane Eyre Questions

Test One
1.A
2.D
3.B
4.B
5.B
6.A
7.C
8.B
9.E
10.E
11.D
12.C
13.C
14.A
15.A
16.D
17.A
18.B
19.E
20.C
21.E
22.E
23.A
24.B
25.D
26.C
27.E
28.A
29.A
30.E
31.D
32.C
33.D
34.B
35.C
36.B
37.C
38.A
39.D
40.E




Test Two

1.A
2.D
3.B
4.B
5.B
6.A
7.A
8.A
9.B
10.E
11.E
12.A
13.C
14.B
15.B
16.D
17.C
18.B
19.C
20.E
21.E
22.A
23.B
24.C
25.C
26.C
27.D
28.A
29.C
30.E
31.A
32.E
33.D
34.C
35.D
36.B
37.C
38.B
39.C
40.A
41.E
42.B
43.D
44.C
45.E
46.A
47.A
48.E
49.D
50.D
51.C
52.D
53.B
54.D
55.E

Friday, March 29, 2013

March Literary Analysis THE THINGS THEY CARRIED

GENERAL
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
The story of The Things They Carried is a narration of the past and present through the eyes of Tim O'Brien; a bleeding-heart liberal who was drafted into the military to fight in Vietnam. He tells the tales of the events that unfolded before him and his fellow soldiers of the Alpha Company Throughout the novel, Tim brings up multiple characters that reoccur in various chapters for various situations. Tim explains what all the characters were feeling and what they were thinking; why certain characters felt guilt or anxiety, why and how they died, and how the war affected them. Every chapter serves a purpose, from explaining how he got into the war in the first place to the images and memories that haunt him. The whole novel is Tim trying to write out his guilt and dark feelings, because writing about them (fellow soldiers, dead friends, victims) helped him stay alive and cope with the true conflict within him; the death of his first love Linda.


2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The theme of The Things They Carried is that life, love, and war provide literal and figurative burdens that one must find the strength to "carry". Each soldier in the novel all carried physical items on their backs while trekking through the jungles of Vietnam. More of a burden than that though, they each carried some sort of emotional baggage that alone was heavier than the guns, ammo, and clothing combined. Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s lucky pantyhose, he believed that he couldn't be hurt while wearing them, even after she ended their relationship. To him, those represented the love and comfort that he longed for him life. Cross carries compasses and maps, those represented the care he had to show for the men he had to lead. The men who survived the things they carried through Vietnam didn't come through unscathed. They men who survived came out of the war with guilt, confusion, and regret. With this theme he hopes for the reader to help carry the burden because the men who suffered need justice, they need to live on because they suffered so much and deserve recognition. Tim O'Brien wants the reader to see the theme and help the characters and himself live on through reading these stories.


3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The tone of The Things They Carried is introspective, yet unreliable because the lack of confidence in story telling and memories.


"But listen. Even that story is made up...
'Daddy, tell the truth,' Kathleen can say, 'did you ever kill anybody?' And I can say, honestly, 'Of course not.'
Or I can say, honestly, 'Yes.' (Page 171 - 172)

"In the daylight, maybe, you didn't believe in this stuff. You laughed it off. You made jokes. But at night you turned into a believer: no skeptics in foxholes." (Page 193)

"I'm young and happy. I'll never die. I'm skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story." (Page 233)

4. Describe literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
Some literary elements that helped me understand the theme and sense of tone of the novel were the imagery, diction, syntax, characterization, and motif.


IMAGERY:

"He stepped back and shot it through the right front knee. The animal did not make a sound... Rat took careful aim and shot off an ear. He shot off the hindquarters and in the little hump at it's back. He shot it twice in the flanks...shot the mouth away...He shot off the tail. He shot away chunks of meat below the ribs. All around us there was the smell of smoke and filth and deep greenery...Again the animal fell hard and tried to get up...then he shot it in the throat..." (Page 75). This imagery shows that the sorrow that Rat Kiley felt and carried about losing his best friend Curt Lemon developed into demon that fully took over Kiley.

"His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole, his eyebrows were thin and arched like a woman's, his nose was undamaged, there was a slight tear at the lobe of one ear, his clean black hair was swept upward into a cowlick at the rear of the skill, his forehead was lightly freckled..." (Page 118). Tim can remember the man he killed perfectly, an imaged scarred into his head forever.

"Azar moved to the dike and sat holding his stomach. His face was pale... the men nodded and got out their entrenching tools and began diffing. It was hard, sloppy work. The mud seemed to flow back fast than they could dig, but Kiowa was their friend and they kept at it anyway..." (Page 167). These men had to dig up their friend from a field of feces, a few of them felt guilt, mainly Lieutenant Cross because he stationed them their in the first place. To get rid of this weight they carried for letting their friend Kiowa die, they had to dig him out. They would have done anything under any circumstance to save his dead body and their own psyche's.

DICTION:

"...they carried like freight trains... and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry." (Page 15). They men didn't just carry like humans, they carried like freight trains meant to carry literal tons of cargo. The 'mystery' and 'unknown' were the metaphysical things that the soldiers carried.

"They were just goofing. There was a noise, I suppose, which must've been the detonator, so I glanced behind me and watched Lemon..." (Page 67). With this casual wording of a major event that took place in front of Tim's own eyes, it gives the reader a sense of tone. Tim 'supposed' instead of 'knew for a fact'. Tim guessed that something 'must've' been a detonator instead of saying straight forward that it was the detonator.

"I learned that words makes a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucket than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't matter much if it's dead." (Page 226). The use of language the characters used helped keep more weight off their chests.


SYNTAX:

"Sometimes I'd roam around the base. I'd head down to the wire and stare out at the darkness, out where the war was, and think up ways to make Bobby Jorgenson feel exactly what I felt. I wanted to hurt him." (Page 184). The long sentence was the continuation of one thought which the reader was given time to absorb while reading. With the abrupt stop and new, short sentence that follows, the reader gets the feel that what Tim feels is real and true and he has been thinking about this thought for a long while.

"...He was beyond that. He was just a kid at war, in love. He was twenty-four years old. He couldn't help it." (Page 11). With these short sentences the reader can see that Tim's point had to be made. Lieutenant Cross (who the quote is about) was a young man in love, and that was all, that was what he carried with him in the war. Because his mind was with Martha on the Jersey shore, other characters were harmed which in turn made him feel guilt.

"That's how I felt - like a civilian - and it made me sad. These guys had been my brothers. We'd loved one another." (Page 185). Short, quick thoughts show the reader that Tim is remembering how he felts and almost saying it for the first time. Spitting it out so he can get past it.


CHARACTERIZATION: Tim O'Brien changed throughout the novel. He went into the war a bleeding-heart liberal student and came out a changed man. Through the stress and guilt he felt (the burdens he carried), Tim had extreme mood and personality changes depending on how far in the war he got into.

"... I had the feeling that I'd slipped out of my own skin, hovering a few feet away while some poor yo-yo with my name and face tried to make his way toward a future he didn't understand and didn't want." (Page 52).

"For all my education, all my fine liberal values, I now felt a deep coldness inside me, something dark and beyond reason." (Page 191).

"There was that coldness inside me. I wasn't myself. I felt hollow and dangerous." (Page 197).


MOTIF: The fear of dying is a motif because of the ending of a human connection that can be felt, not because the person is dead. When a person dies, the worldly connection dies with them, the spark that others can feel because of them dies with them. They become limp, lifeless bug food. Tim understood this, this was one of the burdens he carried with him throughout the novel. It was a major burden the weighed on him that grew and grew as time went on.

"An old one. It's up on a library shelf, so you're safe and everything, but the book hasn't been checked out for a long, long time. All you can do is wait. Just hope somebody'll pick it up and start reading." -Linda (Page 232). She says this after Tim asked her what it was like to be dead. With this idea planted in his mind he had to keep writing and telling stories, to keep him and Linda alive.

"Even then I kept seeing the soldier's body tumbling toward the water, splashing down hard, how inert and heavy it was, how completely dead." (Page 220).

"I wanted something to happen between us, a secret signal of some sort... Everything was quiet... (Page 228)

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)?

An example of indirect characterization is here from the first story when Lt. Jimmy Cross is opening his letters and hoping for a love letter from his girl. His actions show that he is a hopeful man who tries to remain positive.

"First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried letters from a girl named Martha, a junior at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey. They were not love letters, but Lieutenant Cross was hoping, so he kept them folded in plastic at the bottom of his rucksack. In the late afternoon, after a day's march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending."

Another example of indirect characterization is here from the story SPIN and you can again see how Ted Lavender was a mellow man from what he said.

"Like when Ted Lavender went too heavy on the tranquilizers. "How's the war today?" somebody would say, and Ted Lavender would give a soft, spacey smile and say, "Mellow, man. We got ourselves a nice mellow war today."


2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
Tim O'Brien, the author does not change his syntax and diction a lot mainly because he is the speaker throughout the whole story. He talks about others in the somber tone of war and tells the tragic stories with the same amount of respect. Since the stories are being told by someone who was actually participating in these events, they will show the sadness through the words.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The author is a static character as he just tells the vignettes. There is no real problem created and the reader is just supposed to enjoy the stories and think about them.

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 this book I definitely felt as if I had met the characters in the stories. O'Brien tells the stories on such a personal level and it makes me feel as if I am meeting the characters as he introduces them to the reader. The story is fiction but with very real factual references, the characters were based off of real people.

An example from the text that helped me feel closer to the characters was when the draft noticed came and I was inside O'Briens head with him while he was reading it.

"The draft notice arrived on June 17, 1968. It was a humid afternoon, I remember, cloudy and very quiet, and I'd just come in from a round of golf. My mother and father were having lunch out in the kitchen. I remember opening up the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. I remember a sound in my head. It wasn't thinking, just a silent howl. A million things all at once—I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn't happen. I was above it. I had the world dicked—Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude and president of the student body and a full-ride scholarship for grad studies at Harvard. A mistake, maybe—a foul-up in the paperwork. I was no soldier. I hated Boy Scouts. I hated camping out. I hated dirt and tents and mosquitoes. The sight of blood made me queasy, and I couldn't tolerate authority, and I didn't know a rifle from a slingshot. I was a liberal, for Christ sake: If they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk? Or some dumb jingo in his hard hat and Bomb Hanoi button, or one of LBJ's pretty daughters, or Westmoreland's whole handsome family—nephews and nieces and baby grandson. There should be a law, I thought. If you support a war, if you think it's worth the price, that's fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line. You have to head for the front and hook up with an infantry unit and help spill the blood. And you have to bring along your wife, or your kids, or your lover. A law, I thought."

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

BNW Essay Draft 1

Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using
characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender,
race, class, or creed. Choose a play or novel (BRAVE NEW WORLD)

in which such a character plays a significant role, and show how that 
character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions and 
moral values. 

Friday, February 22, 2013

February Literary Analysis DEATH OF A SALESMAN

GENERAL

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
The play, "Death of a Salesman" is a story about the Loman family and their quest to achieve the picture perfect American life. However, the family faces multiple conflicts between each other and ultimately fail at the one thing they were all thriving for, a normal and happy life. The beginning of the play focuses around one of the main characters, Willy. His job is a traveling salesman and he absolutely hates it to pieces. He's been a travelling salesman for the majority of his pathetic life and he is not getting anywhere with his so called profession. He also cheated on his wife years ago but he couldn't get away from the guilt. This leads him to become depressed and often think about suicide. He begins to ignore his wife and get into constant arguments with his oldest son, Biff, who used to make Willy proud (He was the all star football player, a real straight shooter) but now only mirrors his failures. Willy has a second son, Happy, who he gets along with much better. Happy along with Linda (the wife) are the more innocent members of the family who have good intentions towards each other. Linda worries about Willy and his sanity, and tries to have him talk to his boss to get relocated to more local areas. Willy stalls on that conversation with his boss because he knows it will never happen. He's been doing so poor on his sales that he can't even bear to step foot in his boss' office. When Willy finally got the courage to ask his boss to be relocated, he was fired due to his old age and lack of sales. Willy's termination led him to go mad. The mixture of Willy being fired, Biff being a total flake and not being able to keep a job, and Happy wanting to impress everyone to the point of embarrassment sent the family over the edge and Willy into a ditch. The play ends at Willy's funeral where none of the problems the family had faced were solved, leaving them in the same place that they started.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
The main theme in this play is The American Dream as well as guilt. The whole family tries to achieve this picture perfect life but ends up failing in their attempt to look perfect from the outside. While Willy lets the guilt of being an adulterer as well as not living up to his own expectations put him in a depressed and angry state.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The expressed tone in the play was monotone. All of the emotions of the characters pretty much stayed the same throughout, including their dialogue.

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)


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)?
Because this piece of work is a play, all of the characterization is indirect. We must learn everything about the characters from what the others say to each other.


Willy speaks to Linda about their son Biff.

WILLY: How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!
LINDA: He’s finding himself, Willy.
WILLY: Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!
LINDA: Shh!
WILLY: The trouble is he’s lazy, goddammit!
LINDA: Willy, please!
WILLY: Biff is a lazy bum!

Here you can tell how Biff acts based on the conversation between Linda and Willy. They are discussing how they feel he is becoming a failure.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
Because this story is a play, the author does not have any narrative parts. The diction and syntax all are specific to which character is speaking.

An example of Willy's diction is..

WILLY (with pity and resolve): I’ll see him in the morning; I’ll have a nice talk with him. I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time. My God! Remember how they used to follow him around in high school? When he smiled at one of them their faces lit up. When he walked down the street... (He loses himself in reminiscences.)

He is very concerned about Biff but at the same time realizes that he needs a lot of help in the motivation department.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist in the play is Willy Loman and he is a static character. He is one-dimensional as the only thing he wants is the perfect American life. He works and works days on end for the dream but it ultimately gets him nowhere. He is old and his sales aren't up to par so he gets fired. The stress of everything going on eventually leads to his death and he never realizes that the material things aren't important anyways. Willy is also a flat character because he never reached the self realization that a round character would.

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 this play I felt as if I definitely read about characters. It was difficult for me to get into the story and take interest in it maybe because the characters were not developed fully in my eyes. Without the description and personal thoughts from a narrator, I felt as if I needed to know more about them.

An example of the dry text that didn't do me any good was,

WILLY (with wonder):I was driving along, you understand? And I was fine. I was even observing the scenery. You can imagine, me looking at scenery, on the road every week of my life. But it’s so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick, and the sun is warm. I opened the windshield and just let the warm air bathe over me. And then all of a sudden I’m goin’ off the road! I’m tellin’ya, I absolutely forgot I was driving. If I’d’ve gone the other way over the white line I might’ve killed somebody. So I went on again — and five minutes later I’m dreamin’ again, and I nearly... (He presses two fingers against his eyes.) I have such thoughts, I have such strange thoughts.

Here we can only know what he is saying because its a play and you don't know what he is thinking and what his "strange thoughts" are.


Monday, February 18, 2013

I AM HERE

     My progress toward this course in the first grading period is slow but it is getting there. My SMART goal was to apply to ten scholarships and so far I have applied to a couple. Scholarships are a great way to get money for college, especially since you don't have to pay it back. One of the big scholarships I applied to was the Santa Barbara Foundation Scholarship, they give out alot of money to tons of students in our area.

     Our senior project this year is promoting this course to underclassmen at our school. The plan is to go around to junior English classes and tell them what the class is about. We will explain the blog, SMART goals, Big Questions, collaborative working groups, and all the tools we use. Any questions they have will be answered and the goal is to get them to sign up for AP English 4.

   

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Lit Terms 82-108

Omniscient Point of View- knowing all things, usually the third person

Onomatopoeia- whose of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning

Oxymoron- a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox

Pacing- rate of movement; tempo

Parable- a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth

Paradox- a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas

Parallelism- the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form

Parody- an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist

Pathos- the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness

Pedantry- a display of learning for its own sake

Personification- a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas

Plot- a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose

Poignant- eliciting sorrow or sentiment

Point of View- the attitude unifying any oral or written argument; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing

Postmodernism- literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary

Prose- the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that doesn't have a regular rhyme pattern

Protagonist- the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist

Pun- play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications

Purpose- the intended result wished by an author

Realism- writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightforward manner to reflect life as it actually is

Refrain- a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus

Requiem- any chant, dirge, hymn or musical service for the dead

Resolution- point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out

Restatement- idea repeated for emphasis

Rhetoric- use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade

Rhetorical Question- question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion

Rising Action- plot build up, caused by conflict and complication, advancement towards climax

Lit Terms 57-81

Gothic Tale- a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay

Hyperbole- an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point

Imagery- figures of speech or vivid descriptions conveying images through any of the senses

Implication- a meaning or understanding that's to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author

Incongruity- The deliberate joining of opposite or of elements that aren't appropriate to each other

Inference- a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available

Irony- a contrast between what's said and what's meant or what's expected to happen and what actually happens or what's thought to be happening and what's actually happening

Interior Monologue- a form of writing that represents inner thoughts of a character, recording of internal, emotional experiences of an individual

Inversion- words out of order for emphasis

Juxtaposition- the intentional placement of a word, phrase or sentences of paragraph to contrast with another

Lyric- a poem having musical form and quality; short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings

Magical Realism- a genre developed in Latin American which juxtaposes the everyday with the magical

Metaphor- an analogy that compares two different things imaginatively

Extended- a metaphor that's extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it

Controlling- a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work

Mixed- a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies

Metonymy- literally name changing a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute is substituted for the usual name of a thing

Mode of Discourse- argument, narration, description, and exposition

Modernism- literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology

Monologue- an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel or narrative poem

Mood- the predominating atmosphere evoke by a literary piece

Motif- a recurring feature in a piece of literature

Myth- a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world

Narrative- a story or description of events

Narrator- one who narrates or tells a story

Naturalism- an extreme form of realism

Novelette/Novella- short story; short prose narrative, often satirical

Lit Terms 31-56

Dialect- the language of a particular district, class or groups of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others

Dialectics- formal debates usually over the nature of truth

Dichotomy- split or break between two opposing things

Diction- the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words

Didactic- having to do with the transmission of information; education

Dogmatic- rigid in beliefs and principles

Elegy- a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral

Epic- a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time

Epigram- witty aphorism

Epitaph- any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone

Epithet- a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone's character, characteristics

Euphemism- the use of an indirect, mind or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt

Evocative- a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality

Exposition- beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and or characters, in a detailed explanation

Expressionism- movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling

Fable- a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth

Fallacy- from Latin word "to deceive", a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound

Falling Action- part of the narrative or drama after the climax

Farce- a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue

Figurative Language- apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech

Flashback- a narrative device that flashes back to prior events

Foil- a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent

Folk Tale- story passed on by word of mouth

Foreshadowing- in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; "planning" to make the outcome convincing though not to give it away

Free Verse- verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme

Genre- a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content

Lit Terms 6-30

Analogy- a comparison made between two things to show similarities between them

Analysis- a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts and those parts are given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

Anaphora- a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses or sentences

Anecdote- a very short story used to illustrate a point

Antagonist- a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

Antithesis- a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

Aphorism- a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

Apologia- a defense or justification of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action

Apostrophe- a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

Argument(ation)- process of convincing a reader by providing either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition

Assumption- the art of supposing or taking for granted that a thing is true

Audience- the intended listener(s)

Characterization- the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality

Chiasmus- a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order

Circumlocution- a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

Classicism- art, literature, and music reflecting the principle of ancient Greece and Rome

Cliche- a phrase or situation overused within society

Climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered

Colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words, or phrases usually used in formal conversation

Comedy- originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending

Conflict- struggle or problem in a story causing tension

Connotation- implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

Contrast- a rhetorical device by which one element is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

Denotation- plain dictionary definition

Denouement- loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

Friday, February 1, 2013

THE TIME OF MY LIFE

Today I used my time to do a bit of homework and go to the gym. I like going to the gym everyday as it helps to clear my mind after I have been studying.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

January Literary Analysis OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

GENERAL

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a romantic novel set in old world England. The novel focuses on Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters. Each daughter encounters different romantic adventures. The novel mainly focuses on the relationship Elizabeth Bennet experiences. Elizabeth has a very difficult relationship with a man named Mr. Darcy. She is an intelligent, strong, young woman and struggles to give in to Mr. Darcy's arrogant personality.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
One of the many themes of Pride and Prejudice is a woman's role in society. During the time period of the novel women were thought to be more like property rather than equals. Fathers practically sold their daughters to successful young men. Women also didn't speak out against men in relationships. Elizabeth was very strong, but often struggled to tell Darcy how she really felt.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
One of the many themes of Pride and Prejudice is a woman's role in society. During the time period of the novel women were thought to be more like property rather than equals. Fathers practically sold their daughters to successful young men. Women also didn't speak out against men in relationships. Elizabeth was very strong, but often struggled to tell Darcy how she really felt

"In as short a time as Mr. Collins's long speeches would allow, everything was settled between them to the satisfaction of both; and as they entered the house he earnestly entreated her to name the day that was to make him the happiest of men; and though such a solicitation must be waived for the present, the lady felt no inclination to trifle with his happiness. The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained." -Narrator
"So this is your opinion of me. Thank you for explaining so fully. Perhaps these offences might have been overlooked had not your pride been hurt by my honesty..." -Darcy
"And those are the words of a gentleman. From the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry." -Elizabeth

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

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)?
Two examples of direct characterization are...

"Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character."


"Elizabeth Bennet for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in any thing ridiculous."

The author uses this type of characterization to forwardly get the point across how the characters act and behave. This technique is just as useful to me and helps me understand in black and white what their concrete characteristics are

Indirect characterization...

"You are too good. Your sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic..." This quote about Jane Bennet helps to characterize Jane by listening to other characters opinions of her.

"Her mind was difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news." This quote about Mrs. Bennet is also indirect characterization and helps us to see about the mother but by using clues the author has said.

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
Jane Austen's syntax/ diction does shift a lot as she goes from narrating to talking about characters. While in the "author state" her diction is quite normal, describing things around her and what is visually there. On the other hand, while inside the mind of Elizabeth, she is very sarcastic and definitely has her own opinion on things. It is satire at its finest.

Example of satirical quote from Elizabeth starts right at the very first sentence of the novel.  

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife"

This is satirical due to the fact that it is only universally acknowledged by mothers who have daughters!

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet is definitely a dynamic, round character. At the beginning of the novel she totally pre-judged Darcy and took him for a snot-faced rich man whom she wanted nothing to do with. Throughout the novel as they had many interactions such as him proposing to her and her saying no, she was quite disgusted by him. In the latter part of the book, she finds herself falling for him and realizing how he too could be pretty decent. She is a dynamic character because she allows her thoughts of him to change. Elizabeth is also a round character because she is given a conflict and changed by it. In the beginning of the story she wants nothing to do with a lowlife like Darcy and when she finds out otherwise she is changed.

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 this novel I feel like I had thoroughly met these characters. They were all developed with a lot of thought by Austen and they seem very realistic. When I was reading the novel I was happy that I was let into their minds and could see what they really were thinking.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Lit Terms 1-5 Remix

1) Allegory:


2) Alliteration:


3) Allusion:


4) Ambiguity:


5) Anachronism: