Why this book?

Why this book?

I chose Dean Koontz's Velocity because I have an obsession with suspension, thriller, mystery, and horror. Which contradicts my personality, but Koontz is able to build up suspension and unpredictable endings. Although, it's not a book on the AP list, I chose this book so I can break it down and allow myself to think more about the theme, character structures, and diction; rather than just reading the book itself. I just started reading Velocity and I am already absorbed in to Koontz's mind of twisted thriller.

Vocabulary #2

Accoutrements: additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.

·         In order to play golf, certain accoutrements are required such as polo shirts and soft cleats.

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

·         The apogee of the movies was when the prince defeated the dragon.

Apropos: with reference to; concerning

·         A student came with an apropos to the teacher about her grade in class.

Bicker: argue about petty and trivial matters

·         The two boys bickered about evolution in biology.

Coalesce: come together and form one mass or whole

·         When the girl fell in between the train tracks, everyone coalesced to tip the train on one side to save the girl.

Contretemps: an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence

·         There was a contretemps when the two couples were yelling at each other about their relationship issue at the restaurant.

Convolution: a coil or twist, sprain, twirl

·         The DNA molecule structure has a convolution because of the bendable proteins within.

Cull: select from a large quantity; obtain from a variety of sources

·         In order to do my English homework, I culled from every website I can find to get my answers.

Disparate: essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison

·         Among the yellow flowers, a pink one disparate from all the other flowers in the field.

Dogmatic: inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true

·         The dogmatic dog did not listen when I told her to get off the couch.

Licentious: promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters; sinful

·         People who tend to act licentious don’t usually go far in life due to their actions and behaviors.

Mete: dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment.

·         I believe people who commit crimes should have a harsh mete rather than sitting in a cell all day.

Noxious: harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant.

·         The chemicals with fluorine are noxious; it can lead to a slow death.

Polemic: a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.

·         During the debate, people use polemic words against those who disagree.

Populous: having a large population; densely populated.

·         In a populous country such as Japan, it’s harder to do certain things such as driving in busy street.

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

·         People who have probity are usually stubborn and dogmatic.  

 Repartee: conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies

·         I usually give a repartee when someone is trying to talk to me while I am working.

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

·         The movies got supervene by my friend because she was asleep.

Truncate: shorten (something) by cutting off the top or the end

·         I had to truncate my drawing to fit the matte board.

Unimpeachable: not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy.

·         Surgeons have to be unimpeachable when they treat patients or else they may be offended when you question their abilities. 

1987 AP Exam

I know this is late but forgot to post it. 

Beowulf Notes: Literature Book

Beowulf Notes: Chapters Prologue-X

Beowulf Questions

The Beowulf question went well for me because I joined a group of five other people to do this assignment. Working as a collaborative group allowed me to take my time and answer the questions I was signed by my group with more detail, rather than quickly trying to finish the questions. The group was very collaborative and efficient. 

I used http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/main.html to find the answers to my questions.
.
.
.
.
Courtesy of Rebecca Aldrich
(Questions: 1,2,12,13,34,35,45,46)

[Prologue: The Rise of the Danish Nation]

1. It was unusual how Shield became ruler of the Danes because he was orphan, found as an infant who rose to extreme power and became a praised leader. At his funeral, he was very much honored and mourned. He is carried to shore and put on a ship by his companions, like he had requested. He was cast off into the ocean along with his many treasures. Hrothgar is Shield’s great great grandson (Shield’s son is Beow, Beow’s son is Halfdane, Halfdane’s son is Hrothgar)

[Heorot is Attacked]

1. Hrothgar’s magnificent work was the creation of a grand hall called the Heorot where parties and feasts were held. Heorot was attacked by a fierce monster named Grendel. Grendel attacked the hall at night and killed 30 men. For 12 years no one went in Heorot because every night Grendel would kill anyone he saw so the people stayed as far away as possible. The Danes lived in great fear of this monster.

Courtesy of Melissa Steller 

[The Hero Comes to Heorot] (lines 189-490, pp. 36-42)

1.What does Beowulf do when he hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel?

•  When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel, he and his fellow Geats set sail to Denmark to promise Hrothgar that he will slay Grendel once and for all.

2.Whom do the Geats first meet when they arrive in Denmark? What does he do, and what do they do?

•  When the Geats first arrive in Denmark they meet a Danish watcher patrolling along the cliffs.  He happens to be Hrothgar's lieutenant who demands to know who they are and what they are doing there.  The Geats respond that they have come to meet with Hrothgar and they they intended to rid the Danes of their beast, Grendel.  The lieutenant believes them and takes them to Herot.

3.They next meet Hrothgar's herald. Who is he? What does he tell them? What does he tell Hrothgar? What does Hrothgar respond? Are you surprised that Hrothgar knows Beowulf so well?

•  Hrothgar's herald is Wulfgar of the Wendla tribe.  When he first sees the Geats he stops them and asks them why they carry so much armor.  He them implies that they are there for adventure rather self gain because they seem brave.  Wulfgar goes to Hrothgar and tells him not to refuse their help because their leader Beowulf seems strong and worthy.  Hrothgar speaks of knowing Beowulf's father and encourages Wulfgar to go get the Geats right away.  I'm not surprised that Beowulf and Hrothgar know each other so well because Beowulf wouldn't  otherwise risk his life and the life of others for someone he didn't know.

4.What does Beowulf tell Hrothgar when he enters? What did Hrothgar do for Beowulf's father?

•  Beowulf tells Hrothgar that he is basically very experienced and planned to take Grendel on with no weapons.  He also told Hrothgar not to refuse him.  Hrothgar paid off Beowulf's father's feuds during a waring period for the Geats.

[Feast at Heorot] (lines 491-661, pp. 42-46)

1.What does Unferth accuse Beowulf of? How does Beowulf answer him? How is this episode relevant to the poem as a whole? What does Beowulf accuse Unferth of?

•  Unferth jealously claims that Beowulf couldn't beat Grendel and brings up a time in the past when Beowulf lost in a swimming competition to Breca.  Beowulf tells Unferth that he is drunk and claims the true story that he was separated from Breca and pulled underwater by a sea monster that he later killed.  This shows how confident and competitive Beowulf is throughout the story.  Beowulf then accuses Unferth that if he was really as brave as he said he was, Grendel would have never come to Herlot.

2.What is Queen Wealhtheow doing during the feasting?

•  She hands out mead goblets first to Hrothgar and then to the rest of the men.  She thanks God for Beowulf and then takes her seat next to Hrothgar.

[The Fight with Grendel] (lines 662-835, pp. 46-49)

1.Heroic poetry normally has a scene in which the hero arms for battle. What is different about Beowulf's preparations for his fight with Grendel?

•  The difference with Beowulf is that he is getting rid of his armor.  He plans to take care of Grendel with his bare hands

2.What happens when Grendel enters Heorot? How does Beowulf fight with him? What happens when Grendel tries to leave? Does Grendel escape? What does he leave behind?

•  When Grendel enters Herot he immediately goes to his business of eating sleeping soldiers.  When he gets to Beowulf, he isn't asleep and Beowulf immediately latches onto him.  Grendel tries to flee but Beowulf's grip is too strong.  Grendel barely escapes and leaves behind his arm.

[Celebration at Heorot] (lines 836-1250, pp. 49-60)

1.When the Danes and Geats return from following Grendel's tracks to the mere, someone sings in Beowulf's presence, comparing him to Sigemund and saying that he was not like Heremod (lines 883-914). How is Beowulf like Sigemund? How is he not like Heremod? (Be alert for inserted stories such as this one. Beowulf contains many of them, most much more complex that this one.)

•  "A Danish scop recites the story of Sigemund, a great hero who slays a horrible dragon. The dragon is a keeper of a treasure chest that Sigemund wins by slaying the dragon. The treasure won by Sigemund resembles the gold rewards earned by Beowulf from the ring-giver, King Hrothgar. This Norse myth is obviously recited at Beowulf’s celebration to compare both Sigemund’s and Beowulf's heroic acts. (...) Heremod is known as an evil Danish king who turns against his own people. This is clearly a symbol of the reverse of Beowulf’s characteristics. By comparing and contrasting Beowulf to two different kings, the narrator is indicating that Beowulf will be king later in the epic."(http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs2003a/Johane,Heidi&Yee/)

2. Hrothgar responds to Beowulf’s deed by celebrating him. He announces Beowulf as his son and says that he will never be forgotten. He gives Beowulf numerous gifts including a sword. Unferth doesn’t have much to say to Beowulf unlike the first time they spoke. He is more humbled now that Beowulf has saved the Danes.

3. The singer sings the story of Finn during the feast. Basically, in the story Finn, Lord of the Frisians, marries Hildeburgh, a Dane, to end a feud between the two tribes. The idea was to use the bride to ensure that the families wouldn’t feud anymore but obviously this was a bad idea. The Frisians killed Hildeburgh’s brother when he came to visit her. Finn was also eventually killed out of revenge.

Courtesy of Allyson Brown

4.  Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar not to give the throne to Beowulf, but to trust in his biological son’s abilities to rule as king.  She believes that the throne should stay in the bloodline.

5.  It is foreshadowed that Beowulf gives the necklace to his uncle Hygelac, who wears it until he dies in battle.  She also asks Beowulf to guide and protect her children, but not to take the throne from them when Hrothgar dies.

6.  So many men remain in the beer hall to sleep because they believe it is as safe as it once was now that Grendel is dead.  This is a mistake because Grendel’s mother comes to the hall for revenge for her son.  She takes one of Hrothgar’s esteemed men and the arm of Grendel back to her cave.

[Beowulf and Grendel's Mother]

1.  Grendel’s mother has come to Heorot to revenge the death of her son.  She is melancholy and wants the men to pay for what they did.  This motive for coming to Heorot is different from Grendel’s because Grendel only terrorized Heorot for the thrill of killing men and to stop the constant merrymaking in the hall he kept hearing about.  He wasn’t seeking revenge for anything.

2.  Hrothgar’s response is to go to Beowulf for help.  Grendel’s mother killed one of his dearest friends and advisers, Aeschere.  He wants Beowulf to kill Grendel’s mother as he killed Grendel.

3.  The mere is a lake surrounded by a dark forest where Grendel and Grendel’s mother supposedly live in an underwater cave.  It is described as a place where a hunted animal would rather die next to the water than go into to it to survive.

Beowulf Fights Grendel’s Mother

1.  Beowulf tells Hrothgar to respond as though a blood feud has been started; he should not feel sorrow, but he should be revengeful.  Killing Grendel’s mother is the only way, Beowulf says, to truly avenge Aeschere.

2.  Before Beowulf enters the mere, he and his men kill a sea monster in the water, and then Hrothgar and his men find Aeschere’s severed head on the shore.  This solidifies Hrothgar’s motive for Beowulf to kill Grendel’s mother.

3.  Beowulf prepares for battle with Grendel’s mother by putting on his new armor from Hrothgar.  During the process, Unferth, the man who originally doubted Beowulf’s abilities, gives Beowulf his sword, Hrunting, to fight with.

Courtesy of  Brenna McNamara

 [Beowulf Fights Grendel’s Mother]

4. When Beowulf enters the mere, Grendel’s mother grabs him and pulls him down as other monsters are trying to attack him; however, he is unharmed because of his armor. It’s surprising where Grendel and his mother live because it takes half a day to arrive there.

5. The sword Beowulf borrowed from Unferth breaks as he strikes Grendel’s mother.

6. Beowulf’s armor saves him from the knife wound Grendel’s mother was trying to inflict on him; he then was able to use his strength to throw Grendel’s mother off of himself.

7. Beowulf uses the sword of Eotens (forged by giants long ago) and cuts the mother’s throat. Seeking vengeance for those killed by Grendel, Beowulf brings his decapitated head home. But, his sword melts from the mother’s acidic blood; only the hilt is left.

8.  Beowulf safely swims back to the surface and none of his men are there because they doubted his ability to beat Grendel’s mother.

[Further Celebration at Heorot]

1. Beowulf gives Hrothgar the hilt of his sword, as well as Grendel’s head.

2. Hrothgar praises Beowulf but also warms him of how to be a fair ruler; the consequence of not being fair was told by Hrothgar in the context of a story. Heremod (the worst king because of his betrayals and murders) was banished and exiled; eventually the tables turned and he was betrayed and killed.

3. Beowulf gives Unferth his sword, Hrunting, back.

[Beowulf Returns Home]

1. Hrothgar predicts a future in which Beowulf will come back to protect the Danes once again.

2. Hyd is the Queen of the Geatlands (young and wise), however, unlike Modthryth, she won’t kill and torture her people for simply looking at her.

3. Hrothgar is hoping that by having his daughter, Freawaru, marry Ingeld, he can thus create peace between the Danes and Heathobards. However, Beowulf assumes that Hrothgar is only bringing back the feud and it’s inevitable that more conflict will arise because it’s difficult to simply to forget history. This is a different side to Beowulf because he previously wouldn’t put much thought theoretically and would result to acting on impulse rather than reason.

4. Beowulf reports that he earned glory. He doesn’t add any false details to his stories but he does report them in a way that makes him sound very brave and glorified.

5. Beowulf gives most of his gifts to Hygelac and Hygd. He gives his king weapons, armor, 4 horses and most of the other treasures he received. Beowulf gave Hygd the necklace that Wealtheow gave him. Hygelac gives Beowulf land, a sword, and a house. 

Courtesy of Rachel Shedd

[BEOWULF AND THE DRAGON]

1.  Fifty years later, Hygelac and Heardred have died since Beowulf received his treasure which makes Beowulf himself become the king.  A dragon has awoken since then, however, and has become very angry.

2.  A man stole a golden goblet from the dragon guarding the treasure, which made the dragon very angry.  The dragon was to guard the treasure for an ancient civilization since they all died out.  The man took the cup because he wanted to take the cup to his master in return for his freedom.

3.  The dragon burns all the houses of the Geats to avenge his losing the treasure.

4.  Beowulf thinks that his house was burned down because the dragon burned all of his kingdom.  He calls for an iron shield to be made for the battle against the dragon because he knows that a wooden shield would do nothing against a fire breathing dragon.  He planned on fighting the dragon with a sword, too, due to its poisonous breath.  He doesn't plan on being a hero but rather accepting his death and not calling for any assistance.

5.  Hygelec died in battle!  Beowulf escapes and is offered to run the kingdom but he turns it down because he thinks that Headred should run the kingdom.

6.  Headred lets exiled Swedes into his kingdom.  These Swedes are Orneala's brothers, which Orneala wants to kill... And he does!  He kills Headred and Eanmund in battle and Beowulf vows to avenge their deaths by killing Orneala.

7.  Beowulf brings eleven men and the man who stole the goblet to confront the dragon, even though he vows to fight the dragon alone.

8. Hygelac’s oldest brother, Herebeald, was accidentally killed with an arrow by Haethcyn while they were hunting. His father, King Hrethel, knew this was was an accident but died of grief (Herebeald was his eldest son). After Hrethel’s death, the Swedes and the Geats continued fighting which led to deaths of Haethcyn and Hygelac. Beowful avenged the death of Hygelac by killing the great Frankish warrior, Dayraven.

[Beowulf Attacks the Dragon]

1. Beowulf tells this companions to wait and observe rather than fighting the dragon with him.  

2. The first time that Beowulf and the dragon fight, Beowulf feels very confident going into the fight but that quickly changes. The shield that is protecting Beowulf begins to melt. His sword breaks before it is able to do any real damage to the dragon. All of Beowulf’s companions abandon him when he is losing the fight, except Wiglaf. Wiglaf tries to make the other warriors stay and he attempts to make them feel ashamed for deserting because they all promised to be loyal to Beowulf. Wiglaf joins Beowulf in battle.

3. Wiglaf and Beowulf work together as a team to defeat the dragon. Wiglaf fights bravely and is able to stab the dragon. Beowulf is bitten in the neck by the dragon but is able to deliver one last vital wound to the dragon. The killed the dragon together but Beowulf will die from his wound.

My part:

4. Dying Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring the gold to him before he dies. When Beowulf sees the gold, he thanks God for allowing him to get rid of the dragon. Finally, Beowulf wanted his body to be burned at the coastal headland and named it, Beowulf’s Barrow.

[Beowulf's Funeral]

1.When the companions return, Wiglaf tries to bring Beowulf back to life, but it was already too late. Wiglaf yells at the companions for leaving Beowulf behind and letting him fight by himself. He expects that in the future that the Geat’s empire will be destroyed. 

2. The messenger tells the city that Beowulf has died. At the Ravenswood, the Gaets were threatened by Ongetheow and his men, but Hygelac saved the Geats from Ongentheow the next morning. Although, Ongentheow and his men retreated, Hygelac still killed Ongentheow. The messenger says the gold is cursed and those who tried to steal it will also be cursed. The final image of the messenger’s speech was the dragon. 

3. Wiglaf tells the crowd that Beowulf would have been alive if he had listened to the people, but since he was a military hero they decided to give him a burial. Also, Wiglaf mentions what a brave and honorable warrior Beowulf was.

4. Wiglaf’s men pushed the dragon off the cliff and fell in to the ocean. Everyone was rejoiced after the death of the dragon.

5. During the ten days of the funeral celebration, everyone mourns for Beowulf and place rings and jewelries around this grave. They talk about his war achievements and praised him.

6. The Geats said that Beowulf was the “kindest of kings”, the friendliest, and most honorable man. The words kindest and friendliest would not be used to describe a military hero because Beowulf killed his enemies with no regrets. Although, he was honorable which is a characteristic used for a military hero.  

1987 AP Test Essays

Essay #1 Leisure 

             Leisure means the accessibility of having spare time, the author writes about an old man who has no objective in his life. “Old Leisure” is what the author named him, Eliot refers to him as a human being who lives a simple but relaxing life and lists all the wonderful activities Old Leisure has done to keep himself in company.  “He was a contemplative, rather stout gentleman of excellent digestion,” Eliot describes Leisure in a positive way, acting as if she has watched Leisure for a long time. The last lines of the poem shows that Leisure’s life has become so attached to Leisure that he won’t be responsible enough to go to church.  

            The way “old Leisure” was described was how he lived a life, smelling the apricots and felt amusement. Eliot describes leisure as if it’s he is her friend; she talks about his leisure of being able to live a normal life with museums, sleeping, and eating dinner. “He fingered the guineas in his pocket, and ate his dinners, and slept the sleep of the irresponsible,” the life Old Leisure lived was unbelievable to the author in a way she was offended when his sleep missed the Sunday church.  From the art museums to Sunday sermon were all Leisure’s activities, Eliot scolds, “Fine old Leisure!” because Leisure is irresponsible, he did not go to church on Sunday. Eliot is trying to say, with all the time in the world, how Old Leisure could miss Sunday church. The author describes Leisure as if he was blessed and lucky to be living a quiet, ease life.

            The author George Eliot describes calls an old man, “Old Leisure” because of the plentiful time and days he has with his life. He lives such a luxurious and inattentive life therefore the author makes a comment when he has all the time in the world, how can his miss church. Eliot makes a comment about how irresponsible he is to forget church, but it’s because he’s lived a life without any responsibility. Old Leisure lives day by day, the author says, “life was not a task to him,” meaning that life was not difficult for old Leisure. Eliot describes Old Leisure in an envious and aspiring way. 

Essay #2: Modification 

“Death was a friend, and sleep was Death's brother.” In the book, Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the Joad family suffers from the Great Depression, struggling to survive they work in a brutal condition to tame fields of grapes. The family goes through a series of events such as death, starvation, and ultimately losing everything they once had in their possession changed their attitudes from the beginning to the end.  As the family’s journey continues on, the author modifies the reality of Joad’s poverty and instead makes the idea of “American Dream” as the theme.

The Joad family starts off as a fairly normal, not rich, but an average family; as the Great Depression hits, the family continues to move until they have found a stable job. As for in reality, the Joad’s are suffering from poverty, they have no job, no money, or the necessities to live. Steinbeck instead blurs the problems and focuses on the Joads working hard to feed their loved ones and ultimately searching for the “American Dream.” The struggling of working in the grape plantation develop, Steinbeck continues to overlook the poor, money-less family. Joad’s called their work, “the grapes of wrath,” because that’s what will help them escape from the Great Depression, but it’s actually what leads to their so called, “American Dream” which in fact was a bittersweet dream to the Joads.

Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath with an intention of one theme which was endeavor the American Dream, although the book itself was about undertaking poverty and living life with empty pockets. The life events relating to the fact they family was poor and starving because of the Great Depression was modified in order to overlook the power of poverty and focus on the Joads’ lack of necessities they had to overcome to get to the end. The reason for Steinbeck to write this way was to stand out the hardship and to put poverty on aside, so it doesn’t become the center of attention. The modification allowed the novel to be uprising rather than concentrating on poverty.  

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right

Reflections on Week One

Questions: 

1. Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? Access to a computer?  Mobile/smart phone?  Transportation?  Friends/family? Schedule?
2. Think of an awesome best ever learning experience that changed you. What did you learn? Where were you? What happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or remember, or think?) How did you know what was happening? 
3. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning?  How do you think it can/will make a practical difference in your life?

Answers: 

 

1. Factors that are going to affect my participation or experience would be the loads and loads for homework. It's only been five days since we've been in school, and all ready my brain is on overdrive. Actually, I'm slightly exaggerating. I guess I have never been used to the number of assignments given in a day, it's not going to affect my participation besides the lack of sleep. 

2. This learning experience isn't the best, but when I was sitting in calculus room 613 the other day, I was mesmerized by the connection from math analysis to calculus. The other juniors and seniors seemed to be dozing off or extremely bored but I was more focused than ever. Math really interest me, I enjoy solving equations and numbers in general. I felt like the room was just me, my notebook, and math problems. You can say it was pretty awesome. 

3. I'm most excited about the literature we will be reading and the projects we will do in class. I generally enjoy projects, I love to get creative and crafty. Although, I am concerned about the amount of homework. Every day, it was been a lot more than usual, I can barely keep up with my other classes and golf. I'm looking forward to learning the lists of vocabulary words to expand on. I believe this class will make an impact on me by being prepared for college. I hope to be able to conquer and possibly ease through the college classes I take in few years.

Vocabulary #1

adumbrate: report or represent in outline.
I had an adumbrate about Shakespeare in English today.  

apotheosis:  the glorification of a subject to divine level 
God is apotheosis in many religions around the world. 

ascetic: practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline
Over time, ascetic person become mentally unstable over time.  

bauble: A small, showy ornament of little value
I got this bauble toy from the fair. 

beguile: Charm or enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way
The beguile look in his eye gave me butterflies in my stomach. 

burgeon: Begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish 
The plants we planted in biology burgeon rapidly. 

complement : Add to (something) in a way that enhances or improves it; make perfect
Everyone complemented on my new hairstyle. 

contumacious: Stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority 

I contumaciously disobeyed my mother because she said I couldn't go to the concert. 

curmudgeon: a bad tempered person
My sister tends to be a curmudgeon brat when she doesn't have it her way. 

didactic:  intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment 
My friend was being didactic when he talked about his disagreement with Rap music.

disingenuous: Not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
I think here you are being deliberately disingenuous; however, his other point is valid.

exculpate: Show or declare that (someone) is not guilty of wrongdoing
Often in court, lawyers exculpate victims that was blamed of crime.

faux pas: is a socially awkward or tactless act
I realized I'd committed a serious faux pas by joking about his wife's family.

fulminate: to explode with a loud noise, detonate 
The bomb fulminated during the Boston Marathon.  

fustian:  A coarse sturdy cloth made of cotton and flax.
My shirt made out of fustian lasted me a long time.

hauteur: haughty manner or spirit; arrogance
The sisters in Cinderella hauteur and treated Cinderella with disrespect. 

inhibit: Hinder, restrain, or prevent an action or process
I inhibited getting hit by a ball in golf by paying attention to my surroundings.

jeremiad: a long literary work, usually in prose. 
We wrote a jeremiad in class, similar to Homer's Odyessy. 

opportunist: One who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end, often with no regard for principles or consequences
Some students are opportunist, they will cheat to get the grade they want. 

unconscionable: not right or reasonable 
It is unconscionable for someone to murder someone else, no matter what they have done to you. 

Essay #2: Montaigne/ Austen Essay

Montaigne’s essays are based off his thoughts and ideas written into an essay, as Foster says “what does on inside is just too fast,” his quote supports Montaigne’s writing in which the way his essays are incomplete thoughts and the essays are disorganized unlike Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. But Austen’s book related to few of the topics Montaigne overs in his essays. The Essays of Michel de Montaigne supports Foster’s notion Montaigne use in his techniques and topics and the comparison of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Montaigne’s style. “Man (in good earnest) is a marvellous vain, fickle, and unstable subject,” which is covered in Austen’s novel as how Fitzwilliam Darcy is characterized. The essays by Michel de Montaigne are written in a puzzled philosophical point of view.

Foster’s quote about the words interconnection and sketches support Montaigne’s techniques written in his essays. Montaigne’s techniques also consist of pauses, quotes, and his observations. Many of his written work is in his stream of consciousness; he writes what he thinks and as Foster states “sketch the outlines” clearly states the inter thoughts of Montaigne’s essays. Also, Montaigne’s essays don’t interconnect with each other. His essays tended to be almost a different topic after another since his mind worked in a “fast mode,” creating a jigsaw puzzle of essays. Montaigne’s window to thinking is his experiences and observations during the time he was alive all defined in to a single essay. He writes about how gentlemen should be and how a father should be, they are all his opinions and ideas. The “window” to his thinking connects with the style of his essay because the essays hardly relate to one another; his inspirations are all from his life.

Compared to Austen’s style, which is more planned out/ thought out rather than a mess of incomplete thoughts. Austen creates a fictional story rather than piling her train of thoughts on to a piece of paper. She describes Elizabeth as “beautiful and intelligent,” but Montaigne doesn’t have a “main character” in his essays instead they are about himself or other spontaneous people in his life.  The theme of Pride and Prejudice is about judging a person before you really know them; Elizabeth convinced herself that Darcy was rude and prideful, but she eventually realizes that it was a mistake.  Montaigne’s theme is overall about philosophy and what Montaigne believes. Austen’s novel is a traditional and modern type of book, compared to Montaigne’s that was written in the 1500’s, which is more difficult because of the use of old English. The relationship between Jane Austen and Montaigne’s book is that Montaigne wrote chapters about how gentlemen should be and Austen expressed the social standards and stressed the gentlemen in the book. Overall, Montaigne’s essay is written in a different era and the topics and techniques were different from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Austen did not put herself or personal events in her book.

The topic and techniques of Montaigne is complex just like what Foster said about thoughts and sketches of literature. His quote describes Montaigne’s technique in a way they are a diary full of theories and observation from his life. The essay itself differs from Austen’s work, her essay is thought out, organized, and doesn’t involve her personal events in to her book. The window to Montaigne’s mind has allowed him to produce an essay about his philosophical beliefs and aspects about life. Although, Montaigne wrote an “outline sketch” of his ideas, many more literature takes part in Montaigne’s original essays. 

Poetry #1

1. From what poem/author does this commercial borrow (without credit)?

- “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski

2. Why might the use of this poem by a corporation be considered ironic?

-  Using this poem as a Levi’s commercial is considered ironic because the poem is talking about choice in life, the way to beat darkness, and the gods offering chances, but ultimately the Levi’s jeans company wants the audience to buy their jeans. “Know them, take them” –the Levi’s company telling you to buy the jeans.

3. Does the poem reflect the reputation of the author? Why/why not?

-  I believe the poem does reflect the author’s past of his father abusing him at a very young age. The poem says, “there is light somewhere, it may not be much light but it beats the darkness” the connection is not necessary the word “beat” but the abuse in his life would be the darkness and the light would be him escaping his father. Also in his teenage years, the kids at his school would tease him and years pass by but still he was sadden and depressed. Bukowski  says, “you are marvelous, the gods wait to delight in you,” meaning if he gets through the hardship in life, some good will come out of it.

4. How did you find the answers to #1 & #3? Describe your research process and your sources in detail.

-  As I listened carefully to the video, I picked up “your life is your life, know it while you have it” and searched it on Google. I clicked the first link which was http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/the_best_american_poetry/2008/11/the-laughing-he.html . I read the poem and followed along with the video to make sure this was the right one. In order to find the answer to question #3, I read some background on Bukowski about his early childhood and family on Wikipedia and made some connection with the poem. 

Essay #1

Isolation can create distress to one’s mind and the desire to escape from the solitary. In the book, Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the Price family moves from the United States to Congo to do missionary work, but soon after the family realizes that they cannot escape from Congo. The one of the Price daughters, Rachel who is the oldest and known as a “beauty queen” brings her the most precious item from the states, which was a hand mirror. She tends to have a difficult time adjusting in Congo where she has to change her life style in order to survive such as the convenience of bathrooms, filtered water, and more. After being stripped away from her home, Rachel experiences isolation, loneliness, and closure during the time she spent in Congo.

At first, all the women are desperately trying to survive the wild life of Congo, but Orleanna guarantees that one of her daughters won’t make it out alive. In the other hand, Rachel seemed to not care for anything, but eventually reality strikes and finds herself stuck in Congo for a long time. The family is dealt with exile for a long period; most everyone in the family becomes short tempered and somewhat apathetic towards everything. The exile leaves Rachel bitter towards her father, "I was sore at Father all right, for us having to be there in the first place."  As the oldest child of the Price, Rachel enriched herself and helped out around the house when Orleanna and Ruth were lying “sick” in bed for a period of time. Although, the isolation in Congo changed Rachel’s attitude slightly, she closed herself from her family. Rachel only speaks in her mind, but her words are usually harsh and self-centered. Rachel carries around her mirror everywhere she goes. It was the most important item she took with her to Congo, but when the Kakaka (ants) infested the village; the mirror dropped and shattered. As Rachel stared at the broken pieces she felt that she can never escape the isolation and Congo because the mirror was the only thing that reminded her of her home. The events that Rachel had to overcome leads to her lying and desperate enough to do anything to escape the lonely African country, she intends to seduce Eeben Axelroot so he can fly her and her family back to the states.

The isolation of a typical American family plays an important role to the story. One of the many themes of the book is survival. Rachel is one of the “survivors,” although she never leaves Africa. Her experiences affect the book as a whole because she was the only one who wanted to escape from the beginning to end. Unlike Leah, who voluntarily stay in Congo with her husband, Rachel was not up for being “exiled” for the rest of her life. After her broken mirror, she vowed to herself that she would escape; but the irony was that she never truly escaped and went back to her home (United States). The attitude towards her family members was a feeling of guilt at the end when she was in her fifties. Although, Rachel does not exactly escape, she lives a luxurious she can dream of, but once again alone.   

Ultimately, the experiences Rachel dealt with exile have made her strong in way where she was able to commit and settle down in Congo on her own, but the past have left her a scar. Even after she escapes the wild life, she continues to live an isolated life when her sisters and mother are back in the United States. Rachel is basically trapped in a solitude life due to her actions and choices she made. Her desire and strength to keep her alive in the situations she was in allowed her to become independent yet with regret. The memories of leaving the states, the shattered mirror, and never getting home has shaped Rachel’s life in Congo differently from her sisters.