Life After this Blog Post

I just wrote a future letter to myself and won't get it until December 2014. That is such a long time to think about! I wonder what will be different, like where I am going to college or who I am hanging out with? As long as I take one day at a time, I know that I can do anything. All my hard work will pay off and I hope to be very successful!

Comparative Essay

          Imagine a sound just outside the field of your peripheral vision, or an action that inspires or outrages you. Being a slave from the "Allegory of the Cave", your response to this event would be bewildering. On the other hand, Estella from "No Exit", would now how to take this response and show it through her emptions. Their response reflects the characterization, theme, tone, and general philosophy of the author, Plato and Sartre, who created the characters.

Thinking Outside The Box

1) Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day:

My hell would be a place where I was all alone with no one to talk to. It would be white walls with a sharp painful sound of silence. The mind can be in hell in a beautiful place because the mind is a very powerful thing and once it takes control, it doesn't matter where you are. There is in fact a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment, but usually the people put in hell aren't able to find it. I couldn't even imagine living in hell endlessly night and day. It would be like dying painfully over and over again, which I have never experienced.

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Living in a cave is like a life without water
People don't understand what they don't know
Where outside there is sun and it is hotter
Being enlightened helps people to grow

Our senses of what is real, our minds will conceal
Plato explains that we have become blinded
To those captured inside they think it's surreal
Bound in shackles they aren't open minded

When one becomes free, his ideas are shifted
Trying to shine light has but none effect
Our comfort deems more important than was gifted
Our skins tells our thoughts it should reject

Humans were only raised with a sheltered mentality
It's our decision to ensure it doesn't stay our finality

Plato Study Questions for Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave in located here.

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?

The Allegory of the Cave represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality.

Mind Maps

The websites that I found for mind maps are located below.

http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/ppc/mindmapping.htm?id=31671&gclid=CMeW3KKd4roCFU-CQgodY30AlQ

http://www.mindmup.com/

We Hang Together

These notes are on The Roles of Interdependence in Strategic Collaboration. This article is found here.

Interdependence-The key to any strategic alliance, community partnership, or interpersonal collaboration.

"To deal with unforeseen contingencies, the partners must make decisions jointly."

We depend on each other for our existence and survival.

"The distinction between fighting the absence of a valuable resource versus attracting, cultivating, and depending upon the resource itself is critical."

Poetic Inquiry

My big question was.... What would the world be like now without electronics? Would we all be different and how would we be different?

Recipe to You
By: Jenna G

We eat, we sleep, we get up and repeat.
Never to care to add a little spice;
And pick up our sticks to play a drum beat
Or roll your life by playing with the dice.

Our life is a result of what we make
Add sugar and spice plus everything nice;
It should turn out to be a grand big cake.
Don’t forget love, it will double the price.

Homemade cookies always beat the store bought brands;
So reach for the stars and shoot for the moon
Don’t be afraid to take hold of your hands
Turn that spoon like you a flying baboon.

Ingredients are only up to you;
There is no book or even a how-to.

• I chose this sonnet, because without technology our life is still our life and this is how we should take it head on. I got this sonnet here.

Sonnet Analysis #1

• Sonnets come from the Italian word meaning little sound; little song.
• A poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.
• A Petrarch is divided into an octect and a sixtect.
• A Shakespearian is divided into three quatrians and a cuplet.

Hamlet Remix

        Actions speak louder than words. Whose to say they both can't take on the same degree of impact. The term performative utterance suggests that there is a division between what is said and what is done. When you read "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, you find that the way Hamlet speaks constitutes action in itself. He is able to impact the characters and the plot of the play, by his use of words, actions and inability of self expression.

Hamlet Essay

         Actions speak louder than words. Whose to say they both can't take on the same degree of impact. The term performative utterance suggests that there is a division between what is said and what is done. When you read "Hamlet", by William Shakespeare, you find that the way Hamlet speaks constitutes action in itself. He is able to impact the characters and the plot of the play, by his use of words, actions and inability of self expression.

Vocabulary #9

1) Aficionado: enthusiast: somebody who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about something

2) Browbeat: intimidate, typically into doing something, with stern or abusive words

3) Commensurate: corresponding in size or degree; in proportion 

Tools That Change the Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

The Performance Utterance in Hamlet

The Performance Utterance in Hamlet text is located here.

• The play is about a man trying to figure out what is real and what isn't
• The central problem of the play is that people's feelings are represented in a non-realistic way
• Polonius has a narrow vision of madness and that hurts him in the play
• Hamlet is a modern man while Polonius is a pre-modern man 
• Claudius is incapable of controlling his definition of himself 
• Hamlet's evolution is towards faith, closure and acceptance 

Thoughts on Hamlet (In Progress)

My thinking about the play has evolved from the time we began reading to the end of Act III dramatically. When we first began reading, I thought this would be just another boring story, but with Hamlet's father's ghost returning and Hamlet killing Polonius, how could it be boring. When I first started reading Hamlet, I thought that this kids dad just died and he will mourn and get over it. Little did I know that Hamlet would seek revenge for his fathers death and kill Polonius in the process. From here, I see things getting worse. I feel like Claudius will try and kill Hamlet and it will all just be a huge blood bath and Gertrude will have to intervene.

What I Think About When I Think Of Act III

In act III of Hamlet, a lot of things happened. I still don't understand why Hamlet didn't kill Claudius when he had the chance, because he thought he would go to heaven for repenting of his sins. To bad after Hamlet left, Claudius said his thoughts were low and he wouldn't be able to go to heaven for them. When Hamlet killed Polonius, I saw it coming. First of all, Polonius shouldn't have been eavesdropping on a personal conversation between mother and son, and second, why would he yell from behind a curtain and not show his face? I really hoped that when Hamlet's father's ghost appeared that Gertrude would see him as Hamlet does and realize he isn't as mad as people may think.

To Be Or Not To Be

http://youtu.be/ELFSRSnYI8Q

Literature Analysis #3

1) The story of Cannery Row follows the adventures of Mack and the boys, a group of unemployed men who inhabit a  fish-meal shack on the edge of a vacant lot down on the Row. Mack and the boys want to do something nice for Doc, the owner of a biological supply house on the Row. They plan to give Doc a party and spend a good deal of time getting provisions for the party while bothering Lee Chong, the local grocer. They set up in Doc's lab, and the party begins while they wait for him to return. Doc is late in getting back, and when he drives up at dawn the party is over and his place is completely trashed. A bad feeling takes over the Row for a long time after the party, and unfortunate

Dear Ophelia,

So a price says he loves you, but your father and brother hate him and they told you to stay away from him? Now that is quite a conundrum you are dealing with. Family members like to make precipitous decisions without hearing your own input, so I understand. They don't always mean to be churlish, they just want what's best for you. You must not become rancorous with them, or if so only for an ephemeral moment. The best thing to do is follow your heart and think about everything before you do it. Look at the long term effects and see if you can work things out. You don't want to lose either people, so communicate with them and hopefully they will understand.

Literary Fiction & Empathy

Reading fiction can help you understand others in many ways. The article, For Better Social Skills, Scientist Recommend A Little Chekhov, by Pam Belluck is found here. The article states, "It found that after reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people

So My Main Point Was....

Chacuer is one of those authors that makes you want to read more and try to figure out his twisted web of stories. His style gives us insight into his purpose for writing and his intended audience, by his sense of tone, subject matter and characterization techniques.

Green Eggs and Hamlet

A) I honestly don't know anything about Hamlet, other than William Shakespeare wrote it.
B) The things I know about Shakespeare, is that he wrote a lot of plays and is very well known for writing Romeo and Juliet.
C) A lot of students frown when they hear the name Shakespeare, because his writing is written in a way that we aren't used to. We have to try and translate what he means and it involves a lot of concentration when you read his works.
D) We can all work together to try and understand the points that Shakespeare is trying to make and read Hamlet as one unit.

Vocabulary 7

We were all traveling through Candyland on our way to defeat the dragon very ebullient. Our moods were ephemeral as we neared the castle. Ice Queen Sarah who was usually loquacious was quiet. Professor A started to think that our plan was inchoate and we would fail at our mission. This capricious behavior started to make Princess Rachel feel unsure of if they should follow through with this whole plan. Connor while he was driving was still up to no good shenanigans trying to stop us from killing his dragon. Whitney was garrulous speaking in complete codswallop. Breanna on the other hand was attemting to give us a harangue that ended up coming out a little wonky. As we drove through the castle gates we all got ready to go to battle with this hellish dragon. We had a plethora of weapons. Connor was the sehsim of the group he planned to eschew the weapons. His plan completely ricocheted when we came to find that the dragon was already dead. The dragon was covered in mungo laying in the moat of the castle. Connor announced that his plant his whole time was to save the dragon and dispose of the rest of the group. Breanna laughed at him because his whole plan was juxtapose. Sarah was perspicacious to Connor because Connor really loved the dragon. Because we were all interdependent on each other for a ride out of Candyland we decided to make our trip in to a vacation and drive to Egypt to do some sightseeing.

*I could not find the meaning of dipthong or sesquipedalian.

If I Just Had More Time

If I had more time before the midterm, I would just look at all the words in general. While taking the test, my only issue was that I couldn't remember the words we had. I kept thinking some words were our vocab words when they weren't. Overall, I think that I did very well on the midterm and I wouldn't change a thing.

Literature Analysis #2

1) "The Grapes of Wrath" follows the movement of thousands of men and women during the dust bowl migration of the 1930s. This book is about an Oklahoma farm family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California.
2) The theme of the novel, is that it isn't about the destination, it is about the journey.

The Comparison's Tale

My group and I read The Wife of Bath's tale which has several similarities to the other tales we heard in class.  Chaucer writes each tale as though the person in the story is really the person writing the story.  The tone and diction used in the Wife of Bath's tale make the story sound as though a real woman is telling it.  The imagery is described so detailed and the emotions sound like the Wife of Bath is telling the story.  Another similarity that many of the stories share are the profane and graphic events that lead to each journey.  In the Wife of Bath's tale, a knight rapes a young maiden. Chaucer's stories all include profanity and sin that quickly catch the reader's attention.

Tale of A Canterbury Tale

First of all, my group decided to split our readings into sections which you can find on Amara's blog. I have section three as follows. The Wife of Bath's Tale is our Tale.

Summary:
This excerpt is all about a women telling a story about her husbands and how they are and how she acted with each. She explains that she wants what she wants and not one man satisfies her, and she always has an appetite.

Character Study 3

The beginning of our jorney was starting out smooth. We were all getting along and enjoying the company of Princess Rachel's puppy. As we began driving out of Ice Land, we suddenly hit something with our motor home. We got out of the car and were staring at a three-headed mutant completely in tact without a scratch. The three heads in unison said their names were Dan Smith, Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace and EEE EEEE. They told us that they are the Dragonbuster and were here to help us slay the dragon. After a brief discussion amoungst ourselves we decided the the mutant could travel in the trailer we were pulling that housed Ninja Whitney's horse Thunder. Once we crossed into Candy Land we were all hungry so we stopped to make food. Connor went to check on the mutant, or so we thought. In reality his plan was to stop us from slaying the dragon. One way he knew he could slow us down was if he got rid of the Dragonbuster. While the rest of us ate happily, Connor brutely murdered the Mutant. When he returned to the motor home he stated that the mutant fell out of the trailer and died. When he told us, we all honestly believed him. The only sceptic in the crowd was Professor A, who could sense he was lying. But we did not find this out until it was too late.....

Character Study 2

Our journey starts off with a princess who lived in Candy Land with a bodyguard named Connor. Connor gave the princess Rachel a pet dragon for her birthday as a child, who is now a danger to the whole town. The dragon grew up to take over the castle of Candy Land and Princess Rachel hopped in her candy motor home with her body guard and went to get help from her sister, the queen of Ice Land, named Sarah. Queen Sarah new exactly what to do and gathered her team of fighting crime, called the Revengers to take action. The Revengers include Professor A, the genius of the group, Whitney, the secret ninja with her horse Thunder, and Breanna, half fish at night and bird by day. Whitney not only wanted to help the Princess, but she wanted to avenge her fathers death. Our plan was one that would ensure we would have pure victory over the menacing dragon.

Canterbury Tales 1

The character I enjoyed reading the most about, was probably the tavern host. I know that the whole prologue is supposed to be focused on the characters who are flawed and have secrets, but I can't help who interests me. I love how the host sees all of these people and asks to join them on their journey. In a way, I feel as though I would be just like the host. I would make a deal with them all as he did and have them tell me stories. I am all for bets and stories, so that is why he is my favorite. In the prologue itself, you find the author wanted commoners to read his work and be entertained by his lavish descriptions.

Netvibes

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to start a netvibe and try to add a new thing to my life. I didn't relize it would be such a convenience! I love it already. I was able to add a weather widget, calculator, gmail, facebook, twitter and it's all on a sports page. All of my social networks are in one place and it keeps my brain from going crazy.

Character Study 1

I am a secret ninja with a horse named Thunder embarking on a journey. I carry a pack of many necessary tools for the journey, including throwing stars, a grappling hook, knife boots, a bow and arrow and a sword. My main goal in life is to avenge my father's death by killing the evil dragon that killed him.

Vocabulary #6

1) Accolade: An award or privilege granted for special honor.

I receive an accolade every sports season for a high GPA.

2) Acerbity: A sharp bitterness.

Her response was acerbity towards the person she was talking to.

3) Attrition: The action of weakening by attack or pressure.

I was trying to wear down my sister with attrition.
 
4) Bromide: An unoriginal idea or remark.

My sister's responses are bromide.

What A Character

A fictional character that has made an impression on me, would have to be Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. I was first lured to her because of her strong personality. I guess in a way she reminds me a lot like my own sister in many ways. Elizabeth never left her family's side, even though time became tough and it was hard to support them. She never let her society form her, she is her own person and no one can get in the way of that.

Vocabulary #5

1) Obsequious: Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

They were served by obsequious waiters.

2) Beatitude: Supreme blessedness.

You can receive beatitudes from God.

3) Bete noire: A person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads.

Hair cuts are my sisters bête noire.

4) Bode: To announce beforehand, or predict.

I want to bode the news of my wedding before it happens.

Declaration of Learning Independence

My goal as of right now, is to finish high school and graduate on stage. After that I plan to go to Cal Poly in San Luis starting next year as a freshmen studying in Kinesiology. I want to become a physical therapist and help others. My goal is specific, measurable, attainable, reinforce able and timely. It may look like a small goal, but it will take a lot of preparing for and waiting.

Literature Analysis #1

1) Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two laborers in California who hustle work were they can. They plan to live on the fat of the land once they earn enough money to own their own acres. George helps Lennie to remember how to act and what and what not to say. Everything seems within their reach until a flirtatious woman leads Lennie to do something he regrets, ending his life. The narrative fulfills the authors purpose by getting the overall message across through his writing. Everything is very nicely detailed and it reached my expectations perfectly.

All Of The Above

On the 1987 AP exam, I did alright. I miss quite a few, but the ones I missed turned out to be mostly the ones everyone else missed, according to the statistics. I didn't really surprise myself in any way, because all of my test usually are just average. I never really exceed expectations or score lower than average. My performance was accurate due to how much time I spent taking the test.

Voabulary #4

1) Accolade: An award or privilege granted for special honor.

I receive an accolade every sports season for a high GPA.

2) Acerbity: A sharp bitterness.

Her response was acerbity towards the person she was talking to.

3) Attrition: The action of weakening by attack or pressure.

I was trying to wear down my sister with attrition.
 

Beowulf Essay

        Beowulf is a character of great strength, wit and determination, which relates to one of our modern heroes today, known as Iron Man. Both Beowulf and Iron Man are mere mortals, but they both use their abilities to fight evil. Beowulf is compared to Iron Man in a myriad of different ways, including how they both have epiphanies that change their life, the tone of their stories give off the same meanings and in a way they are both symbols of hope.

Will Study For Food

I need scholarship money to help pay for the college of my choice, which is Cal Poly SLO. My family isn't very well off, so I  need as much money as I can get if I am accepted. I want to get as much as I can, and I know that college cost a lot more that I am able to pay for. I have two scholarships that Mrs. Dirkes has given me to start off with. It isn't much, but it is a start. I am taking one day at a time.

Vocabulary #3

1. Apostate: abandoning faith

People who have lost everything usually become apostates.

2. Effusive: unrestrained in emotional expression

 

My parents get very effusive when I do something great.

3. Impasse: a road or passage having no exit

Why This Book?

The book I chose to read for my first literature analysis is "Of Mice and Men", by John Steinbeck. I chose this one, because a lot of my friends have read it in their old honors English classes and I wanted to see what they were talking about. I started reading it and so far it is really interesting.

Vocabulary #2

1. Accoutrements: Other items carried or worn by a person used for a special activity.

She never leaves her house without her accoutrements.

2. Apogee: The highest point in the development of something; the climax or culmination.

The White House is considered the apogee of American achievement.

[Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother] (lines 1383-1650, pp. 63-68)

My group consisted of Amara Sharp, Sarah Stevens, Rachel Nolan, Breanna Timmons, Connor Albright and myself. For the exact work divisions, you can go to Amara Sharp's blog.

[Beowulf Fights Grendel's Mother] (lines 1383-1650, pp. 63-68)

1.How does Beowulf tell Hrothgar to respond?

He tells Hrothgar to respond as though a blood feud has been started. He told him that he should be revengeful and not feel sorrow.  Beowulf tells him that killing Grendel’s mother is the only way to truly avenge Aeschere.

Text Book Pgs. 31-60 Notes

Beowulf translated by Burton Raffel talks about Grendel, the monster who haunts and is an evil creature. They say this creature was to be punished forever by God and is split into a thousand forms of evil. He snatched up thirty men and brought them to his lair to slaughter. Grendel killed those when they slept but those who fled him were safe. Grendel would never king Hrothgar's throne in

Notes on Intro to Beowulf

The poem has no distinction between myth and history, although people now read it as though it were 'history with fabulous elements' or 'myth with some correspondence to fact.' Beowulf can't be described as fiction or fact. It is a narrative with people, creatures more or less human, praise, blame, lyrical moments, grim comedy and even grimmer tragedy.

My Opinion Isn't A Right

Last Friday's Socratic seminar was very interesting. We first learned that interdependence is shared authority based on each other. It has a rippled effect and we will effect others. We all discussed that out opinions are not rights and in an argument facts need to be presented to decide who is actually right. Just because saying we are entitled to our own opinion is understood as a social norm, doesn't make it an accurate statement for the argument. You have the right to possess an opinion, but it doesn't mean you are entitled to your own. Lastly we defined limbic as an emotional part of the brain and schema are routines of thinking to make our lives economical.

Vocabulary Words Week #1

1) Adumbrate: To outline; or to foreshadow 
Karla's paint style seems to adumbrate the outline of the car.

2) Apotheosis: The elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god
Some kids would consider my dad an apotheosis by the way he towers over them.

Reflections On Week 1

1. Factors that I think will affect my participation or experience in this class is access to a computer. If I am in a car traveling after a sports game or my family has taken up the computers with their work, it will be difficult to be plugged in with what's going on in the class online. Also, since I don't have a smart phone, it really limits me on internet access.

2. One of the best learning experiences I encountered was being yelled at from playing basketball. I learned how to take criticism without getting angry or fighting back. I always messed up and did something wrong and my coach yelled at me during the game in front of everyone. I learned that if I just pay attention the first time to what my coach has to say, I won't get yelled at later for doing it wrong. I knew that being yelled at was a learning experience, so that I listen better and not mess up badly again.

3. I am most concerned that I won't be creative enough or think outside of the box. I am looking forward to ending the year feeling accomplished and happy with what I have done. I think it will make a difference in my life to do everything with hard work and passion.

1987 AP Exam Notes

The AP exam was very time consuming. I wasn't able to see numbers 33-46, so I guess they weren't meant to be seen. Also, on the essays I only saw two of them, so I don't know where the third one went. It looks like a lot of the elements from this exam were taken away after it was put on the internet. I think they still used those elements in the years after 1987, so that is the reason we aren't able to see them now. Overall I did ok, but testing for long periods of time isn't my forte. I get really bored and tired of the same thing very easily. Hopefully I will get better at it by trying to focus more.

Austen/ Montaigne Essay

        "What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant." This excerpt from David Foster Wallace's story "Good Old Neon", contradicts "The Complete Essays of Michel De Montaigne" in more ways than one.

Essay #1 Poisonwood

          "Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience.  It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home; its essential sadness can never be surmounted." This quote by Edward Said greatly explains the life of a women named Orleanna Price from "The Poisonwood Bible". Orleanna experienced exile with her many new homes and the breaks in between them when she married her husband Nathan, when she moved to the Congo and lastly when she dealt with the grief of her daughters passing.

Poetry #1

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KT16DcHcjRA?rel=0

1. From what poem/author does this commercial borrow (without credit)?
2. Why might the use of this poem by a corporation be considered ironic?
3. Does the poem reflect the reputation of the author? Why/why not?
4. How did you find the answers to #1 & #3? Describe your research process and your sources in detail.

1. The author of this poem is by Charles Bukowski.
2.The use of this poem by a corporation is condsidered ironic. The peom used in this commercial is a way of expressing freedom and rebellion, while society tells us to live by rules and society.

AP Lit and Comp!!

My name is Whitney Houg and I am making this blog for Dr. Pretston's AP Literature class. This is my new blog for my senior year!! I am very excited to start posting new things. Follow me at the top and you will be able to see everything I post in your email. Thanks for following!!