Final Review Reflection

I used to think that every story or piece of literature was completely different and most were unrelated. Throughout this semester I learned that two pieces as different as "The Right to Your Opinion" and Hamlet could have so much in common and relate to each other in so many ways.

The conversation we had as a class on Thursday was extraordinarily beneficial in relating basically everything we learned this semester into one 40 minute conversation. Hearing everyones' different opinions and why they think in that way was helpful in making additional connections for myself. I saw stories and made connections in ways I hadn't thought of before.

I wish I could've been in class for the second half of that discussion today, but I am writing this from a Hotel room in Rialto with Noah after a long day of wrestling and another long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Keep being awesome dplit-comp

Poem remix

I sat down to draw a remix for the poem "summons" but then I remembered I am terrible at drawing so I got frustrated and made this paper airplane instead #opsl

While this may just seem like a way for me to try to get out of an assignment and in a way it was but now that I think about it the airplane goes with the poem. The author presents a desire to see all kinds of new things instead of doing the same old same old (sleeping). Everyone knows that airplanes go all over and see things and I would much rather create something like this than do an assignment because I love building things and creating tangible things people can see and enjoy. 

Intro to Poetry

1. The title "Summons" has great importance and relevancy to the poem because the poem reflects the authors desire for a "call to adventure." He wants to be summoned to see the world and all kinds of great things.
2. The tone of the poem shows the author as bored with regular life and a desire to get out and see and do things, and his desire to be adventurous.
3. This poem resonates deeply with me. I greatly enjoy traveling and seeing all kinds of cool stuff. When I was abroad this summer one of the jokes the group I was with had was "I can sleep when I'm dead" because we were all so exhausted from staying up so late seeing the sites but yet we still woke up early and went to bed late again.
4. The poem shifts about a third of the way through from telling someone to keep him awake and make him go outside to why he wants to go outside, what he wants to see and do.
5. Go see the world.

Hamlet essay

            The quote “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t,” is extraordinarily important to the theme and tone of Hamlet by Shakespeare, demonstrating how Shakespeare truly intends Hamlet to be seen, and comments on the “two facedness” of people in general.

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t,” is an extraordinarily important quote stated by Polonius in the first third of the play. Hamlet is seen by most characters as being absolutely mad, and Polonius is no exception, however, there comes a point where Polonius realizes, that Hamlet may have some kind of agenda. Polonius is right. At this point in the play Shakespeare wants the audience to understand that Hamlet knows what he is doing. Hamlet isn’t being indecisive, he has a plan that he is carefully carrying out. By having Polonius recognize this Shakespeare is trying to leave little room for interpretation. If even Polonius, who is often completely clueless, can recognize Hamlet’s agenda, than Shakespeare meant for Hamlet to act crazy while he really has a plan.

Hamlet acting crazy when he really isn’t demonstrates an important theme that is relevant throughout the play: people aren’t always who they say they are. Claudius acts like a good king who recently lost his brother, when he really is a power hungry murderer. Hamlet acts like a deranged teen whose father died when he is really plotting revenge. “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” clearly demonstrates that people act one way when they truly are a completely different person.

By showing what Shakespeare truly means throughout the play, and contributing to the theme, the quote “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” is important to a true and meaningful understanding of the play Hamlet.

New Forum Topic!

Because of all the confusion and disruption today's events created, I created a new board on the forums to discuss events such as this in order to figure out what really happened, if/how it be avoided and was the administration's response was justified.

Hamlet Isn't Mad

Is Hamlet Mad?

            Many people think Hamlet is about an insane teenager who can’t make up his mind. They’re wrong. As illustrated in De Boer’s paper “The Performative Utterance in Hamlet” Hamlet doesn’t have problems deciding what to do, he has problems turning his thoughts and words into actions, which is reasonable when it comes to killing another human being. While there is compelling evidence suggesting that Hamlet is in fact mad, there is even more compelling evidence that he is not.

            In the beginning of the play, Hamlet sees a ghost. But at this point in the play, Hamlet isn’t crazy for seeing the ghost, because several other people see it too. When Hamlet sees the ghost later in the play and Gertrude does not, it isn’t evidence that Hamlet has lost his mind, but rather evidence that Gertrude is blind to what is really happening. The ghost tells Hamlet that he needs to kill King Claudius, and Hamlet freaks out in a way. Hamlet freaking out and acting “like a mad man” doesn’t necessarily mean that Hamlet is mad. Hamlet acting crazy after being told he has to kill someone is more evidence of him being sane because most people would freak out if they were told they had to kill someone, showing Hamlet is thinking clearly.

 Since Hamlet has decided to kill Claudius it is easy to assume that Hamlet is some kind of sociopath. The definition of a sociopath is someone with abnormal, violent and antisocial behavior, often criminal, with no moral responsibility or social conscience. Because Hamlet is very self-critical and self-reflective, it is clear he is not sociopathic because he has morals and a conscience. Hamlet is also not antisocial, using situations to be sure he needs to kill Claudius (again showing he is thinking clearly). More evidence that Hamlet is not antisocial and sociopathic is that he knows how to deal with people effectively. He uses witty speech even under pressure with many double meanings in what he says keeping the people watching him confused, again showing he is thinking clearly. It could be argued that Hamlet is violent, killing Polonius, and therefore Hamlet has some characteristics of being a sociopath, but Hamlet didn’t mean to kill Polonius. When Hamlet was talking to Gertrude, he was ready to kill Claudius having seen the proof that Claudius was jealous. The killing of Polonius was an accident. Hamlet thought Polonius was Claudius who is the person Hamlet wanted to kill even from the beginning of the play, showing that Hamlet didn’t have trouble making up his mind, and that Hamlet isn’t some crazy sociopath.

In conclusion, Hamlet is not a crazy teenager who can’t make up his mind. It is quite clear that Hamlet did have his mind made up, and is defiantly not crazy. Hamlet has nothing in common with someone who is sociopathic, and freaking out when told to kill his uncle shows that Hamlet is in fact normal.

Act III

I can't stand to take notes while I read. I can't stand having to stop and write something, it interrupts the flow of the piece and makes it harder for me to understand rather than easier. Because of this, I did not take notes on act III... but I can summarize:

The players act out the scene Hamlet gave them and  it pisses off Claudius
Claudius confesses in private to murder and seems to feel bad somewhat
Gertrude calls in hamlet to talk to him and he makes her feel bad about what shes done but really insults her
Hamlet catches Polonius eavesdropping and mistakes him for the king and kills him through the curtain but doesn't feel bad.
The ghost comes and calms down Hamlet reminding him not to harm Gertrude but Gertrude can't see it.

"To be or not to be"

"To be or not to be" By Sixth Period

Cake

Sorry for the terrible video quality
Credit to Hans Zimmer artist of the track used at the end

Vocab 6

abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
Falling in the quad abased her
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
Recently the Catholic Pope abdicated
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
The work was an abominationbrusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
His response was brusquesaboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
Terrorists are saboteur'sdebauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
Movies depict teens always involved with debaucheryproliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
Watering the plant caused it to proliferateanachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
There are many photos of anachronistic people nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
There is a nomenclature associated with physicsexpurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
My essay was expurgatedbellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
The boxer was bellicosegauche - adj. lacking social polish
Nerds are often seen as gaucherapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
Lions are rapaciousparadox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
If Pinocchio says his nose will grow but it doesn't, than he's lying, so it would grow, but if it grew he would be telling the truth so it wouldn't grow...conundrum - noun a difficult problem
Figuring out paradox's can be quite the conundrumanomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
I am an anomalyephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
I wish the school day was more ephemeralrancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
Politicians are often rancorouschurlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
I don't like churlish peopleprecipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep;done with very great haste and without due deliberation
Procrastinators are precipitous

Chaucer analysis

Coggle

HOW F***ING COOL IS THIS!?!?

Canterbury tales essay

Thesis: the point of Canterbury Tales is to show the difference between who everyone thinks we are and who we are

Body 1: The Knight is supposed to be chivalrous and a good christian but kills people for a living

Body 2: Chaucer seems to admire Knight but states inconsistencies between his ideals and reality

Vocab 5

Shenanigans: secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering

The three were up to their usual shenanigans planning a prank on the teacher.

Ricochet: a projectile rebounding of a surface

The bullets ricocheted off the wall nearly hitting him.

Schism: a split or division between strongly opposed parties

There is a schism between democrats in republicans

Eschew: deliberately avoid using

He appealed to the crowd to eschew violence

Plethora: A large or excessive amount of something

The iphone six has a plethora of new features (not really)

Ebullient: Cheerful and full of energy

When I see people who are ebullient in the morning it almost makes me angry because I’m always tired.

Garrulous: excessively talkative

Sixth period English is defiantly not garrulous.

Harangue: a lengthy and aggressive speech

Hitler gave many harangues.

Interdependence: the mutual dependence between two things

Technology and the rest of the world are interdependent

Capricious: given to sudden or unaccountable changes in mood or behavior

I can’t stand when people are capricious.

Loquacious: talkative

We already did a word with the same definition I’m not writing a new sentence

Ephemeral: lasting for a very short time

Unfortunately the school day is not ephemeral

Inchoate: Rudimentary

My parking skills are anything but inchoate.

Juxtapose: to put together for contrasting effect

Black and white are often juxtaposed

Perspicacious: having a ready insight and understanding things

Wise men are perspicacious

Codswallop: nonsense

Jafioap;oeifaowifneofijasoifheofhaofhioawehfiohaweofi

Mungo: cloth made from woven material

The sweater was mungo

Sesquipedalian: characterized by being long

The word sesquipedalian is sesquipedalian.

Wonky: askew

The tower was all wonky

Diphthong: sound formed by two vowels and one syllable

Oil

Joeybury tales

For years and years I have been told to find myself. And as I sat there in class I thought how I had spent my whole life so far doing so many different things from sports to clubs you name it. I did so many different things. But I still can’t answer the question “Who is Joey Buelow?” The summer going into senior year in high school, I went on a trip. I went to Spain and France and England. And this trip changed me. “Travel is more than the seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living.” This quote bounced around my head as I sat in class and I  thought about a movie I saw about the camino de santiago de compostela where a man walks across Spain on a Journey designed to help you find yourself. It’s used to be part of an ancient pilgrimage to a cathedral and now many people even non-religious like myself, take the pilgrimage to find themselves. And as class continued even though I wasn’t paying attention, I heard my professor say “the point of this assignment is to find yourself…” and even though I hadn’t heard the rest of the assignment I knew what I had to do so I got up and left. When I got to the door the professor called out “where are you going!?” and I instantly replied “To find myself,” and walked out the door to call my friend Jacob. 

While I waited for him to arrive I sat there thinking I was crazy. Walk across Spain?  Who does that!? Jacob arrived and I told him how I felt that I needed to just get away from everything I knew and plunge into the unknown and just go on an adventure and figure everything out. He sat there for a while, taking it all in before finally looking up and asking “You want me to go with you?” It amazed me that he was willing to give up everything to do this with me but I knew this was something I needed to do alone.

That night I packed up everything I would need to go backpacking across a country: warm jacket, tent, some emergency food, sleeping bag, spare clothes, toothbrush, etc…  I caught the next flight to Barcelona. From there I took a bus up north to Somport where I would start my journey. For the next month I spent every day walking miles and miles, going from village to village staying at hostels meeting new people including other people walking the camino, and I had so much time to myself, thinking and seeing new things and simply getting away from my life.

When I finally arrived at the cathedral I didn’t know what to do. I still didn’t know who I was. I sat down and listened to mass. I didn’t know what the preacher was saying but it didn’t matter because I wasn’t listening. I felt like I had failed. I walked all those miles for nothing. Feeling disgusted with myself, I stood up and left the church. The sun was setting and as I sat on the cathedral steps and watched the magnificent colors disappears beyond the horizon; I realized I had never felt more alive. I had just walked across Spain on an impulse, by myself. And I realized I could answer the question “who is Joey Buelow?”

I am Joey Buelow

The Point of Canterbury Tales is...

To show the difference between who everyone thinks we are, and who we are

Green Eggs and Hamlet

a) "To be or not to be"..?
b) His plays were performed at the globe theater (below). Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter
c)Students frown because they way its taught doesn't show them how it's relevant, plus it's hard to understand what is happening.
d)Acting it out would defiantly make it memorable but I think what would be more helpful is to watch some short movie clips for some of the more difficult scenes along with reading it together as a class.
Here is a video on Youtube "Epic Rap Battles of History: Shakespeare vs Dr. Seuss" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3w2MTXBebg

Globe Theater, London UK
(I went there)

Coggle

I think I have added everyone onto coggle. If you haven't received the invite or if the link doesn't work, comment with your email and I'll add you as soon as possible. Thanks

Character Study I

            The fact that I’m doing this a week late, and have restarted three times before writing this is some indirect characterization for you.  I don’t even know where to start to describe myself. There are so many different ways people perceive me.

            He sat there in the middle of the room wondering what the heck everyone thought of him. He looked around the room and wondered if everyone else was thinking the same thing. There were groups of people he thought were talking a little loud as if to try to say “Yeah that’s right I have friends” and it just seemed fake. “I’d much rather sit here by myself than be like them,” he thought. It’s the first day and he could feel everyone judging each other and realized he was doing the same. He thought how what he is seeing isn’t who any of these people really are. No one would know that he was a wrestler, or that he was actually smart, or that he was extremely competitive, or that he was even just an interesting person in any way. He knew he could probably find something to talk about with every person in the room from the nerdiest nerd to the “coolest” jock, but everyone was too busy judging each other to take that first step to start a conversation, and he hated it but yet he did nothing about it. He hated how no one was getting to know each other but yet he wasn’t making an effort to get to know anyone. He thought about all his friends he had back in high school and how easily he could talk to anyone because we had all spent so much time together. He reassured himself that eventually things would get less awkward.

Canterbury Tales I

Canterbury Tales Collaborative Story

Today Dr. Preston talked about creating a story where the entire class is the author and we all have different characters and we are supposed to just "see what happens" and make our characters all interact so their stories interconnect. I thought it would be cool to represent this visually in the form of a mindmap. It would make it easier to follow one idea plus it will look cool like a giant web of interconnecting ideas. I found the webapp "Coggle" that is completely free and uses your google account to login. Mindmaps can be shared to have multiple authors and it is visually appealing. I also posted about this on the forums, which if you haven't signed up for yet the link is here (please sign up)

Chaucer lecture notes

Vocab #4

Obsequious: obedient of attentive to an excessive degree

When she had the treat in her hand the dog was obsequious.

Beatitude: Supreme blessedness

Christ’s first beatitude is to the poor in spirit.

Bête noire: a person or thing that one particularly dislikes

Broccoli was his bête noire.

Bode: be an omen of a particular outcome

Their constant arguing did not bode well for their relationship.

Dank: disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold

The basement was dank.

Ecumenical: representing a number of different Christian churches

The local churches are sponsoring an ecumenical service on the green.

Fervid: intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree

The speech was fervid, and he was sweating by the time he was done delivering it.

Fetid: smelling extremely unpleasant

The streets of New York City were fetid.

Gargantuan: enormous

My workload is gargantuan.

Heyday: a period of a person’s or thing’s greatest success

The internet is in its heyday.

Incubus: a male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women

The idea of the incubus is disturbing.

Infrastructure: the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society or enterprise

In the early United States, there was great debate over the federal government’s ability to develop interstate infrastructure.

Inveigle: persuade to do something by means of deception or flattery

Some people try to inveigle to get what they want instead of working hard or using skills.

Kudos: praise and honor received for an achievement

Kudos to you for finishing early.

Lagniappe: something given as a bonus or extra gift

At the end of the year employees are often given lagniappes by their employers.

Prolix: using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy

Some people don’t say enough in their essays, others are too prolix.

Protégé: a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person

New hires are partnered up with older ones to be their protégés until the new employee learns the ropes.

Prototype: a first, typical or preliminary model of something especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied

Companies make prototypes before starting full scale production on their products.

Sycophant: a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage

There is a derogatory term used to describe sycophant used in every day speech (kiss a**)

Tautology: the saying of the same thing twice in different words, generally considered to be a fault of style

People often use tautology to try to make their essays longer.

Truckle: a small barrel shaped cheese

The store was filled with truckles.

Lit Anal 1

1.      Exposition: Strong imagery describes the shanty town of brush homes by the beach with poor Native American families. The narrator tells how their days follow a routine rarely straying from it. Kino and his wife Juana have young son Coyotito who is still a baby. After the family eats breakfast, Coyotito is put in his box that serves as a crib, and a scorpion dangles above him. Coyotito laughs and tries to reach for it and the scorpion poses to attack. Kino moves in to grab it but it falls on Coyotito and stings him. Kino kills the scorpion and Juana tries to suck out the venom from Coyotito’s shoulder. Hearing the commotion the village gathers at their hut, showing the strong community feelings in the town. While killing the scorpion the narrator describes Kino feeling the “song of the enemy” and the rage that came with it. The metaphor of “songs” is used throughout the novella to refer to emotions that come along with various reoccurring situations, referring to the Native American culture’s strong emphasis on spirituality. Kino and Juana take Coyotito to town to see a doctor. The doctor refuses to see them because they have no money, exposing the great racism between whites and Native Americans. It is hard to tell where and when the novel takes place other than early morning in the brush village by the beach.

Inciting incident: Just like every other morning, after eating breakfast the family gets into the canoe and paddles out to the oyster bed just offshore. Kino dives down to collect oysters looking for pearls and finds a large oyster under and over-hang and thinks he spotted a pearl inside. He grabs the oyster and carries it and the other oysters he already collected back to the surface. Kino is afraid to open the big oyster and opens all the other ones before opening the big one. When he finally opens it, he finds a huge pearl inside. He returns home and the pearl is literally the talk of the town. With a crowd of neighbors in their home Kino and his wife talk about what to do with the money they get when they sell it. Kino talks of material things to improve his family’s life. The villagers can’t decide whether the pearl will be his downfall of upbringing. The narrator shows how people can be ruled by ambition for material gain through greed.

Climax: Kino and Juana argue over the pearl. Juana wants to just get rid of it seeing the bad fortune it is bringing them (Coyotito gets worse after a visit from the doctor, people come and try to steal the pearl, when Kino goes to sell it he believes he isn’t getting fair prices) and in the middle of the night she goes to down to the beach to throw it in the ocean but Kino stops her and beats her. Walking back to the hut he gets attacked by people trying to steal the pearl and Kino ends up killing one. Realizing what has happened, they make plans to flee. Trying to outrun trackers, Coyotito is accidentally shot because his cry is mistaken for a coyote by the trackers while Kino is moving in to kill them. Kino kills all three trackers, before realizing that Coyotito has been killed.

Falling Action: In mourning Kino and Juana walk back to the village with Coyotito’s body.

Resolution: Kino throws the pearl into the ocean.

The author’s purpose was to show how our ambitions for material gain lead to our downfall, and the killing of Kino’s son, which was Kino’s whole purpose for trying to gain material things, destroys him.

2.      The overarching theme of the novel is that human ambition for material gain leads to our downfall. (Just like Caesar)

3.      The tone of the narrator portrays Kino as a tragic hero, displaying respect for his ambitions, but recognizing his mistakes. The narrator uses descriptive details of the environment.

“Kino awakened in near dark. The starts still shone and the day had drawn only pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east. The roosters had been crowing for some time, and early pigs were already beginning their ceaseless turning of twigs and bits of wood to see whether anything to eat had been overlooked. Outside the brush house in the tuna clump, a covey of little birds chattered and flurried with their wings.”

“Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl…. But Kino and Juana did not know these things. Because they were happy and excited they thought everyone shared their joy… Kino looked into his pearl, and Juana cast her eyelashes down and arranged her shawl to cover her face so that her excitement could not be seen. And in the incandescence of the pearl the pictures formed of the things Kino’s mind had considered in the past as impossible.”  

“It was the rifle that broke down the barriers. This was an impossibility, and if he could think of owning a rifle whole horizons were burst and he could rush on. For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more. And it is said in disparagement, whereas it is one of the greatest talents the species has and one that has made it superior to animals that are satisfied with what they have.”

4.      Foreshadowing: The stinging of Coyotito and his near death experience foreshadows his death later in the novel

Allusion: alludes to the bible; Kino is trying to play god by choosing his own fate sacrifices his son Coyotito (Jesus). Coyotito dies for the sins of his father.

Metaphor: Kino and Juana are compared to animals being chased by hunters when they are trying to outrun the trackers. The hunters catch the prey at the resource they both need: water. Kino and Juana are near the water pool when the hunters catch up with them.

Imagery: Steinbeck uses strong imagery throughout the novella to describe that natural aspects of the town, the beach the mountains, showing the importance of nature.

Authorial Intrusion: The narrator often pauses the action to give insight to a theme or to describe the setting.

Indirect Characterization: Kino’s personality is slowly revealed throughout the story, with the actions he took and examples of his ambitious personality eventually leading to his downfall.

Direct Characterization: The doctor is given direct characterization describing him as a nostalgic, fat, selfish man, who is only in search of money and not in helping people.

Irony: The pearl had the potential to save Kino’s son and to improve his families living condition, but instead it lead to the death of his son, and the destruction of his property, leaving him in a worse state than he begun.

Connotation: The narrator mentions the songs of things but means songs in terms of stories and emotions that go with situations not literal rhythmic music.

Motif: throughout the story the motif that shows how ambition can lead to a human’s downfall was prominent.

Characterization

1.      Direct characterization: The doctor was described explicitly as lazy, fat selfish and wealthy.

The dealers are described to be well organized immoral people part of a larger organization trying to cheat the Indians out of their pearls. It is also noted that they want to move up in the world, and long to own an organization of their own.

Indirect Characterization: Kino’s character is revealed throughout the story as loving his family and wanting to move up in the world. However the longer he has the pearl the more his true ambition and immoral standards show.

The trackers come in at the end of the story and are their actions of tracking and trying to steal the pearl from Kino shows them as corrupt and evil.

The author uses both approaches to set up the juxtaposition between the characters that directly influence the plot line in a major way, against those who are more minor characters and are only a small part of the plot. The characters that are described via indirect characterization are ones I feel I know better because I know them through their actions and make my own interpretations of them, whereas the direct characters I only have what the narrator gives me and there isn’t a whole lot of room for my own interpretations.

2.      Yes, when the author is focusing on imagery, or making commentary, he uses more flowery language, whereas when he focuses on the characters the sentences are more concise and to the point.

3.      The protagonist is dynamic. He is both a family man and a businessman. Both trying to better his place in the world and help his family. He has large spiritual influence through his Native American ancestors that influence his moral and conduct. Kino is also a round character. In the beginning he is a moral family man, but after obtaining the pearl his morals slowly decline as he begins to focus more on his ambitions. He begins beating his wife and ignoring his obvious fate because his ambition has such a strong influence on his decision making.

4.      I felt like I had met a person, because I could connect with him. Throughout the book (from the time Kino gets the pearl to the end) I could identify with his ambition. I can identify with feeling like you have one shot and you need to do whatever you can to make it work in the best way possible, and I’ve felt myself become obsessed with that ambition and lose sight of the bigger picture much like Kino did. And by becoming so obsessed, ultimately I failed and I had to give up, and I wasted the opportunity all together just like Kino did by throwing the Pearl away. Sometimes it’s just not worth the trouble.

Forum

If you haven't done so already, please sign up for the forum and leave a suggestion on what you would like to see from it. Without everyone's input Jacob and I won't know what to make available on the forum.

So far we have a place to post your big questions/ masterpieces, a place to talk about 5ph1nx, college, and AP lit.

If there is anything you would like to add please leave a comment below or better yet leave your suggestion on the forum here under the suggestions thread.

Vocab 3

Accolade: an award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit

Renaissance gives accolades to students of scholastic achievement every semester.

Acerbity: sharp and forthright

Old people are often acerbic.

Attrition: the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure

In wrestling we use attrition to break our opponent and win, thoroughly exhausting them.

Bromide: a trite or unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate

People often choose bromides over the truth, choosing to live in a bubble.

Chauvinist: a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism

The people of the American Revolution were chauvinists.

Chronic: long lasting problem difficult to eradicate

I suffer from chronic school hatred.

Expound: present and explain (a theory or idea) systematically and in detail

I hate it when teachers over expound easy concepts.

Factionalism: the quality of being self-interested

The United States practices factionalism in foreign relations.

Immaculate: perfectly clean

The kitchen was immaculate.

Imprecation: a spoken curse

In his anger he threw out imprecations at everyone and everything.

Ineluctable: unable to be resisted or avoided

Some say fate is ineluctable.

Mercurial: subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind

She has mercurial swings going from happy to pissed off in a matter of seconds

Palliate: make less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause

People take pain killers when they have a headache to palliate the pain.

Protocol: the official procedure of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions

In court there is certain protocol followed to maintain order and fairness.

Resplendent: attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous

The sunset was resplendent with its many colors and light patterns.

Stigmatize: describe or regard as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval

There are many social stigmas based on race.

Sub rosa: happening or done in secret

Many CIA operations are done sub rosa.

Vainglory: inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements

Some people display all their awards for everyone to see because they are full of vainglory

Vestige: a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists

People can see the vestiges of ancient civilizations in ancient ruins

Volition: a faculty or power of using one’s will

People develop habits and begin doing things without volition. 

Saving Your Blog

Dr. Preston pointed out to me today how bad it would suck if everything on our blog was deleted so I looked into backing it up to my computer and the instructions are fairly simple:

So if your blog is deleted you have a back up you can re- upload using these instructions:

School Rant

Lately I've felt like I am accomplishing very little by being at school. I feel like I could be accomplishing so much more outside of the primary education system. Not that a primary education isn't good, I just feel that the only reason I'm still here is because I have to be. If myself and others like me could just move on to college when we were ready rather than when the state says is okay so much more learning would be done in so much less time. Lately it just seems as if the majority of my classes are pointless and are nothing but busy work. I don't mean to discredit any one or any class, but I HAVE LEARNED NOTHING. Because I took physics last year so far AP physics is all review so far, Econ is just common sense, so far calculus is a review from trigonometry and algebra and there is very little new material. It seems that my English class is the only place I'm learning anything and the things I'm learning aren't typical things one would learn in English. School just seems like a waste of my time, like nothing but busy work. If college would just hurry up and arrive already I could be done with the monotony of school and move on with my life and really accomplish things.

Workload Rant

I felt like I was managing myself fairly well with the whole college thing approaching until English today. It wasn't that English stresses me out, it's that the journal really made me think how I am spending my time and made me realize just how busy I am and suddenly I felt tired and burnt out. Applying for college and scholarships and the stress it causes has concrete research behind it showing that it's overbearing for seniors. So not only do I have that huge weight on my shoulders, but I have the heaviest course load I've had my entire academic career. The classes I'm taking have all seniors in them. The teachers know that I am going through one of the most important processes of life trying to start my adulthood, yet they still assign wayyyyyy too much homework. I have such a long laundry list of things to do it gets to the point where I just have to do them and move not really paying too much attention to quality. On top of this course work load I do a sport that has the biggest time commitment of any other sport. We have four hours of practice and we aren't even in season. On top of this I have to manage my weight outside of practice and even do extra workouts on my own to watch weight. During season we miss a day almost every week for league or tournaments. I have a huge time commitment. I know I put that upon myself and I could just quit, but in reality I can't if I want to stay competitive for college. Wrestling puts me in a leadership position and shows commitment and colleges apparently like to see that. I would busy enough just with wrestling but I also have an extraordinarily heavy course load and the combination of these things is ridiculous, and then college is piled on top of this. Trying to balance school college wrestling and enough sleep is proving to be impossible. The only reason I even have time to write this is because I didn't go to wrestling today. But I wouldn't have to skip if teachers would just back off with the homework and assignments. If all I had was extracurricular activities and college, I would be fine. I would be able to manage and get my sleep. But no. Teachers don't seem to understand what I have to do outside their class for the future of my life. I'm not saying don't assign any homework I'm just saying take it easy until college app's are done. Please

Beowulf Essay

Throughout history every culture has developed values and heroic figures that exemplify these values in literature. As one of the first English stories Beowulf is the first hero exemplifying the values of the English speaking world. The story of Beowulf has many similarities and differences to heroic stories told today. Through literary techniques and common heroic qualities, Beowulf and the modern hero, Superman make for a good comparison.

Written in the second century A.D. the qualities possessed by Beowulf reflect the values of a strong individual during that time. The Chaos, barbarism, and turmoil experienced by people in this time drove people to follow people who were strong leaders and fierce warriors. Beowulf is a good example of this. He is able to single- handedly take out a demon without using any weapons or armor, he is brave and noble. The story uses hyperbole to make Beowulf seem even stronger and fiercer through giving him seemingly super- human qualities, like being able to hold his breath for so long to fight Grendel’s mother. Beowulf is an epic poem, like many stories written in that era around the world. With more than 3,000 lines, the poem is able to tell a complex story and maintain detail and structure throughout.

It was once said that there is only seven types of stories in the world, and all the stories written are just different versions of those same stories. We can compare elements of every story and find similarities and some differences. Take for example Beowulf and Superman. They are both regarded as heroes in their eras of origination. They both have super- human strength and other abilities. There are however some differences. After his victory, Beowulf basks in the glory and accepts his rewards and treasure, while superman tries to stay hidden and avoid the limelight acting as modestly as possible and trying to lead a normal life. The beginning of the story in modern heroes usually begins with the back story showing the hero’s life and reasoning for who they are. Beowulf did this differently to modern heroes by showing who Beowulf’s family was and how great his ancestors are. In that culture you are defined by your family, so by showing who Beowulf’s family was, the author showed who Beowulf was. There are also differences in the media the stories are told through. Superman and other modern hero’s originated from graphic novels and have since become movies, showing great emphasis on visuals and looks, whereas Beowulf originated from oral tradition eventually moving to written text, which focuses more on narration .

It is clear that Beowulf exemplifies the heroic qualities and literary techniques of its time. The war and chaos of the period shows the need for a strong and braver hero. And with English still in early development the epic poem reflects the available literary techniques. The comparison of a modern hero and Beowulf shows how some traits and characteristics of heroes and literature carries over from period to period and others change. Every story has a hero.

Forum App!!

So the forum that Jacob and I created is compatible with an app (thanks Henry!)

The app is somewhat difficult to get going with but once you are in and signed up it's pretty simple.
1. Download the app "tapatalk"
2. Create an account
3. I makes you chose at least one personal interest to progress form a list
4. Next it forces you to follow three forums based on the interest that you chose (don't worry you can unfollow them later)
5. Once you're through to the page labeled "feed" click on explore and search for "open source learning" and a forum should pop up with a warrior logo as the emblem. Click "add"
6.You can now return to the "forums" tab down at the bottom and unfollow the forums you originally signed up for (if you want)
7. You can now view the various boards and posts we put on the forum from your mobile device and reply and start conversations

College Rant

Today I was asked to find a scholarship I qualify for as an assignment and it made me think, why should I need to do this? Why should I to go into so much debt for education? What is wrong with our society that education is for a select few in relativity to the masses of the uneducated? In much of Europe the equivalent of college is free for those with the grades, no matter your income. I could avoid the thousands of dollars in debt by not going to college and not advancing my education. Doesn't that seem like the better option? Why should I put myself into debt when there isn't any guarantee of employment either way? Trying to get to college has become an extraordinarily stressful feat. Colleges focus on so much more than grades. It's already extremely difficult to maintain my over 4.0 GPA, and now if I want to go to a good school, I need to play a sport, be in clubs, have a ton of volunteer hours, and present myself in less than 1,000 words to someone I've never met, and convince them to admit me. Also, colleges are looking at things that are out of my control including race, sex and my parents income. Why should someone of Mexican ancestry or African American ancestry with the exact same qualities as me be admitted and I'm white and I'm declined. I understand that colleges are trying to make their campuses more diverse, but by trying to "not be racist," they are being racist. Why should the fact that I'm male influence whether I'm admitted or not? Why does the fact that my parents make more money than someone else influence the admission officer? Because I am a white male from an upper middle class family I am not going to get any favors from the admissions officer. To get admitted I have to be the best of the best instead of just the best. It may just seem like I'm some spoiled privileged brat who doesn't realize what he has, but my parents make to much money to qualify for financial aid and not enough to pay for college easily, and because I'm a white male from the upper middle class, if i get admitted, I'm not going to get much money from the school. While my family may be better off than others, the fact that these "less well off" families get  tons of financial aid is really an equalizer because I will graduate with debt.  How is this an equal opportunity? The American Dream is to take whatever circumstances you begin with and improve them, not backtrack because of debt from trying to better yourself through education.

Will Study For Food

MCS- Middle Class Scholarship
http://www.csac.ca.gov/mcs.asp

Provides undergrad students who's parents are in the middle class income range to got to a UC or CSU, it gives no less than 10% of the system wide tuition and fees.

Vocab 2

Accoutrement- additional items of dress of equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person, or used for a particular activity

The fishermen arrived with all their accoutrements.

Apogee- the highest point in the development of something

Many people say the apogee of their education is high school graduation but I think that’s wrong.

Apropos-very appropriate to the situation

It is very apropos to have students use vocab in a sentence when trying to learn in it.

Bicker- argue about petty and trivial matters

Shailynn and I bicker constantly

Coalesce- come together and form one mass or whole

The crowds in Ferguson coalesced to try to show their discontent with the police.

Contretemps- an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence

Dropping his phone in the pool was a contretemps.

Convolution- a coil or twist, especially in a confusing way

Our DNA is a convolution of amino acids.

Cull- select from a large quantity, taking away non essential elements

He culled the herd

Disparate- essentially different in kind, not allowing comparison

Open source learning is very different to other classes but not completely disparate.

Dogmatic- inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true

He was dogmatic and ignored everyone else at the conference.

Licentious- promiscuous and unprincipled

Many may call someone who is licentious a pioneer others call them rude.

Mete- dispense or allot justice, a punishment or harsh treatment

The judge mete the criminal.

Noxious- harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant

Tear gas is said to be noxious.

Polemic-a strong verbal written attack on someone or something

I don’t want to have to give Dr. Preston a polemic, but it doesn’t seem like he’s helping Jacob and I get the word out about the forum very well.

Populous- having a large population; densely populated

New York City is populous.

Probity- the quality of having strong moral principles’; honesty and decency

Heroes are supposed to exemplify probity

Repartee- conversation or speech characterized by quick witty comments or replies

Robin William’s standup comedy is characterized by repartee.

Supervene- occur later than a specified or implied event or action, typically in such a way as to change the situation

It’s annoying when events are supervened

Truncate- shorten by cutting off the top or end

Some people truncate shotguns to make them more lethal.

Unimpeachable- not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized

People have always viewed teachers as unimpeachable which I think is stupid.

P2P

Please check out the forum that Jacob Sussex and I made for the peer to peer evaluation, and leave a suggestion. It would really be helpful for building the site if everyone signed up and let us know what they want to include or even if they don't like the idea of a forum at all, anything is appreciated. The link is here and on the sidebar of my blog.

The Laughing Heart- Charles Bukowski

Prologue- Chapter Ten

Prologue

A King named Scyld the Scefing was a wealthy man who was looked up upon by the people of his town.

Nobody challenged him, he was better than everyone else

Had a son and named him Beowulf.

Son was looked up to and was generous to all the people of the town. 

Ship created to hold dead body, very wealthy items, 

Description of armor and expensive weapons.

Ship sent to sea, talk about a flood

People mourn for the death of the child.

Chapter One

A new person came to the thrown named Healfdean. 

Was a strong leader

Had four children Heorogar, Hrothgar, Halga, one not living 

Heorogar was known for his bravery on the battle field.

A hall was built in his honor 

Something of evil comes from "moore land" to hurt the happiness 

Cain awakens evil creature to ruin the fun. 

Vocab

March-rieve- A disturber of the border, one who sallies from his haunt in the fen and roams over the country nearby. This probably pagan nuisance is now furnished with biblical credentials as a fiend or devil in good standing, so that all Christian Englishmen might read about him. "Grendel" may mean one who grinds and crushes.

 Ettins-Giants

Chapter Two 

Went to house and found group of people mourning the death of a person 

 The next morning Grendel found out his servant of 12 years was murdered

That night Grendel looked for the person who killed his servant and was determined to get his revenge

The murder wasn't hard to find and Grendel found who he thought killed his servant

There was another person continuing to murder people ruthlessly 

People said he still lurked the "moorlands" but nobody said where this place was because they were so afraid 

People prayed that they wouldn't be killed by this person but also prayed he would be forgiven by god 

Chapter Three

Grendel seen as a hero and people thought his valor should be recognized by the king 

Grendel chosen to lead a group of 14 men (called the Geats) to sea 

He and his men found the place they were sailing to - Danes 

Get off boat armed with weapons and shields 

Met by a warden ("scylding clansman") on horseback that was armed 

Warden explains that his job is to protect the people of Danes from sailors who land there

He also explains he had never seen people come there and be so obvious that they were warriors

Warden tells them that he is praying for them on their voyage 

Chapter Four
The warrior (seafarer) leader claims he is the son of Ecgtheow who's widely known and honored by many
The warrior got wind of the "monster" that tortures and haunts the Danes and demands that he and his men attempt to defeat this "scathing", "dark ill-doer" monster
Agreeing with the plan, his men marched to the village/palace in which Hrothgar loved
Some men were assigned to gaurd the boat and escort the others to the palace, protecting the boat from their foes; "gaurd it kept o'er the man of war..."
The men can see the shimmery, glistening, gold palace from afar
The men who were assigned to gaurd the boat and also escort the other men then return to the boat where they spend their time being on the look out
Chapter Five
The men, while marching, observe the shiny, well-decorated streets and atmosphere of Heorot
The men were approached by a proud, curious warrior who stopped the men and asked what their purpose of arrival was
Beowulf, the leader of the men, and Wulfgar(the warrior described above) discuss the matters. Wulfgar directs the leader and his men to the throne of Hrothgar
Wulfgar asks Hrothgar to speak to the men
and exclaims that Beowulf appears to be a strong, firm leader; "In weeds of the warrior worthy they, methinks, of our liking, their leader most surely, a hero that hither his henchmen has led." 

Characters: 

The Geats- Beowolf’s clan, Beowolf born around 495

The Dantes- residents of Denmark, Scylding is Anglo Saxon lineage

The Swedes- lived in Sweden north of Geats

Finnsburh- The Fight at Finnsburh overlaps with Beowolf estimated time period and so studied together, example of Germanic heroic lay describing warriors experiences in war

Grendel- monster Beowolf killed and symbolic of when bad Cain killed good Abel (revenge), Beowolf is cause of trouble because rebel, Grendel’s mother is constant vengeful and represents cycle of war even when enemy seems to be defeated 

Chapter Six

Hrothgar is talking of Beowolf and only legends have been told (like rumors in today’s world) of how strong and great Beowolf is

They thank god (grateful) for having him send Beowolf to relive them of Grendel and his destruction

Grateful for someone/thing that they haven’t even met yet, they just know rumors and stories about.

 Like society today when we want to ay someone for their service but really we should just be grateful for their service and sacrifice to be there rather than having to pay them to make ourselves feel better about “hassling them”

Heros don’t get hassled, they just go out and do because that’s their “job”

People get mad about Beowolf not taking the money and gold but why should he? He did a good deed and shouldn’t it just be left to that?

Beowolf gets message that Hrothgar will accept him and his kin in his own kingdom for Beowolf’s bravery

Beolwolf replies by giving story of his own battles and how he came to be known as a strong man. He fought animals and his foes, many at a time, for his people (the Geats) and to avenge them (symbol of hero)

Beowolf knows his duty, in specific to defeating Grendel, and knows that he must use only himself and no other armor

Knowledgeable of situation and knows what needs to be done. Doesn’t put brawn over brains

 “So, from thee, thou sovran of the Shining-Danes, Scyldings'-bulwark, a boon I seek, and, Friend-of-the-folk, refuse it not, O Warriors'-shield, now I've wandered far, that I alone with my liegemen here, this hardy band, may Heorot purge!” - I am not sure what he means by I have wandered too far?

He knows he might die in battle and respects the “rules” of battle and lets his family know that if he is to die in battle, they shouldn’t worry about burying him properly.

Practical but still with hope that he will win the battle with faith

Chapter Seven

Hrothgar retells story of brother’s, Heorogar, death.

Killed by war between Wylfings and Scyldings over money and gold

Shows destruction of materialistic world and consequences of it

 “Then was this mead-house at morning tide dyed with gore, when the daylight broke, all the boards of the benches blood-besprinkled, gory the hall: I had heroes the less,” - descriptive language of how warriors died trying to defeat Grendel. Revenge Hrothgar wants. Passionate

Sit to eat after this gruesome story, shows culture and how they take death as a apart of life but then want revenge for wrongful deaths as do we in today’s world

Chapter Eight

Always refer to seafarers to tell a rumor or story, Why?

Enferth (son of Ecglaf) questioned Beowolf’s ability to actually fight Grendel and told of story where Beowolf and “rival” Breca swam the seas together and then Breca got out of the sees unharmed but he worries that Beowolf is not strong like Breca.

Questioning of strength is key in hero battle/adventure because it makes the hero think about his/her strength and if they really can achieve their goal

Also gives background to Beowolf and adventures

Questions that Beowolf will do anything without really thinking about it or consequences

Beowolf reinforces that he is ready and states that he was a child and didn’t know better but he did bring swords for protection

 He stayed by Breca until the very end until it was impossible to stay together because of the seas tearing them apart

 Beowolf defeated the beast of the sea and that shows give evidence behind why he is worthy of fighting Grendel

He supports this accusation on inadequacy and backs up his point with evidence as seen in today’s culture with giving effective opinions and if you want people to believe you then you give them reasons to

 He proves himself time and time again which is what a hero has to do because the people are putting their faith into him and they want credibility 

Beowulf Notes:

Chapter Nine

 Beowulf encounters evil sea monsters that make him feel threatened. So he kills them with his sword. He kills nine of them and they will never bother the sailors again. This is when he was separated from Breca. Reminds me of Moby Dick in a sense.

 He fought a difficult battle and the tides ended up taking him to the land of the Fins.

Breca was on of Beowulf’s closest kin, but he left Beowulf in the sea where he had to fight giants on his own, but Beowulf doesn’t wish war with him. Beowulf believes that his bad will come to him.

Grendel is the son of Ecglaf. Grendel was very jealous of Hrothgar so he brought him humiliation. Now Grendel would “rot in hell”. (Dante’s Inferno)

Beowulf fears no feud with the Danish; he will fight, murder and eat with them and the next day finds out the strength of the Geats.

Beowulf will fight with them and Hrothgar, jewel-giver, is pleased with his will to fight. The queen snickers at this but still continues to wear her gold and carried the cup of the hall.

The queen walked around the hall, first giving the king a drink (Hrothgar), and then giving the rest a drink. She was so happy that Beowulf had committed to fight with the Geats and if he didn’t help win the battle he would die in the process.

 The queen thanked the lord for her Savior, Beowulf.

The son of Healfdene wants to get to bed, but speaks with Beowulf before he goes. They speak of the hopeful glory for the battle the next morning. Beowulf will remain in the hall bequeathing, or giving the power over to him. Healfdene’s son would obtain the power over the hall, which was called Heorot Hall, for the night. ( A will? In case he died in battle the next day, Healfdene would inherit the power?)

Chapter Ten

Hrothgar and Wealhtheow, the queen, go to bed, but have a guard watch their room in order to prevent the monster from getting to them. The monster being Grendel. (Frankenstein was a monster to everyone)

Beowulf retires for the night and has a guard watch his armor, but he challenges the monster to a battle without armor or weapons. He says the gods will decide who is right.

Everyone laid down to rest not fearing of dying or not returning home the next day. Although many people had not made it back, they had no worries.

Metaphor of one man being different than the rest to god ruling over man-kind. Was Beowulf starting to earn the reputation of a god?

 Beowulf was the only man to lie awake looking at the wandering shadow in the hall. Beowulf could only think of the upcoming battle and would not sleep.