Character Study (III)

Miki arrives at Pacific Crest Trail at 9:00 sharp and she was surprised to see all her friends gathered up. Allyson, Melissa, Brenna, Rachel, and Becky were all serious and suspicious. To lighten up the mood I said, "hey everyone!" No one said anything, they were staring at me with a blank face. Finally, Melissa said, "I gathered up everyone to look for Lindsey's body, apparently there's a reward." It suddenly came to me that her name was Lindsey! "Sounds like fun to me," is what Miki thought. As Melissa and Becky led the way, we started the Pacific Crest Trail. A minute in to the hike, my legs were all ready about to fall off. "Can we take a break?" Allyson groaned, "I guess." Just when Miki was about to hit down, a horrifying scream came from the woods. We all quickly rushed there and surprisingly we saw two black guys and one white guy falling off the cliff. One of large muscular gangster was crying and screaming about a centipede on the cliff. The white guy was screaming for help and the other guy was confused. Rachel and Becky helped the white guy, we found out his name was Dan Smith. Miki was pretty sure, Becky found him attractive by the way she looked at Dan. On the other hand, Brenna stabbed the centipede with her knife. Miki was awfully disgusted, she wishes she had looked the other way. Everyone settled down, we learned that the two other guys were Quatro Quatro and Javaris. They always happened to be looking for Lindsey's body. Miki asked, "how did you guys know Lindsey?" They looked at each other and laughed, "we don't even know who Lindsey is." By then, Miki was so confused, Allyson tried to explain that people are after the reward. . .

Character Study (II)

Clumsy Miki trips and tumble by a cafe nearby, she notices a small run down cafe. She decided to buy a cup of coffee with two sugar cubes and a creamer before she leaves to go somewhere far away from home. The television was on, there was a picture of a missing girl on the screen. Miki froze and she drops the cup of coffee. She couldn't believe it, it was her friend. Still feeling shocked, Miki walks out the cafe and sits on a bus stop bench. "It's been four years," Miki murmurs.  Four years has passed since Miki and her group of friends that she can hardly remember graduated from high school. The memories of the friend on the television screen come across her mind. Tears rushed down, although Miki wasn't sure if they were tears from her missing friend or the scratch on her knee when she tumbled down the sidewalk. With watery eyes, Miki decides to go back home to grab some more bandaids for her first aid kit. Soon as she arrives to the door steps, a letter was placed under the "welcome" mat. Miki picks it up and opens the letter. It said, "Meet at Pacific Crest Trail, 9:00 sharp." Without any concern, she lets go of the door handle and began to hitch hike to Pacific Crest.

Character Study (I)

As Miki finishes to pack for her journey, she realizes she forgot one thing. She quickly runs over to her cabinet and grabs her favorite mint flavor lip balm to put in her bag. You can see that Miki has never been the brightest one out of the people around her, but she certainly packed well. She sharped her knife, brought a water bottle with a purifier, matches, and a first aid kit. She looks at her empty room and begins to think about how she won't be able to use the internet or shower regularly. This decision left Miki thinking for three minutes. Lastly with a big sigh, she left to begin her journey.

Canterbury Tales (I)

The prologue for Canterbury Tales was interesting in the way, many characters were involved. From the knights to the pardoner, the level of many social standing were shown. Do you think the order of what characters introduced has to do anything with the book or the meaning itself? I thought it was the social standings, from royalty to a commoner. While I was reading, I came cross fustian, I knew it was a soft linen because of our vocabulary #1. (The knight wore a fustian under his armor) I believe each character has their own story in Canterbury. They may seem to be represented stereotypical but actually the author maybe have put in a plot twist. The character I would like to read is the pardoner or the summoner. The pardoner because he seems to have no importance to society, yet Chaucer added him into his tales. The pardoner is a romantic gentlemen, but something is different from the rest. The summoner seems interesting to read because everyone in their town has a drunk, but the summoner may not be the typical "always drunk," summoner. Chaucer used interesting name choices for the summoner and the pardoner.

Netvibes Dashboard

My Netvibes dashboard is really simple. I don't really understand how it works or how to decorate it, but I love how I can access my email through the dashboard instead of typing in gmail.com every single time on the search bar. Surprisingly, I had something similar called igoogle already and it has similar widgets I can access to on a single page. Netvibes definitely has more widgets and probably more designs I have more to discover. The most helpful thing about Netvibes besides the gmail widget is the calender. I don't have a calender in my room and the one that comes with my laptop is awfully small, so I like the widget.

Vocabulary #6

Obsequious: obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

The servant was very obsequious to the young impatient prince.

Beatitude: supreme blessedness

The girl showed beatitude when her parents showered her with expensive gifts.

Bête Noire: a person or thing that one particularly dislikes.

Snakes are my bete noire; I hate them.

Bode: be an omen of a particular outcome

Bode is like an omnious plot in a story.

Dank: disagreeably damp musty and typically cold

The dank atmosphere in the castle was chilling.

Ecumenical: representing a number of different Christian churches

The encyclopedia showed ecumenical symbols on the map.

Fervid: intensely enthusiastic or passionate

The girl showed fervid attitude towards her favorite sport team.

Fetid: smelling extremely unpleasant

Skunk sprays are extremely fetid.

Gargantuan: enormous

There was a gargantuan pile of money in the throne.

Heyday: the period of a person’s or things greatest success, popularity

The actor’s popularity decline came after his heyday in the 1980’s.

Incubus: nightmare

I had an incubus when I thought of the calculus test in my dreams.

Infrastructure: the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities

The school’s infrastucreus can be found on the web directory page.

Inveigle: persuade to do something by the means of flattery

I used inveigle to get my sister to do my homework for me.

Kudos: praise and honor received for an achievement

Massive kudos were given to the Harvard graduate.

Lagniappe: something given as a bonus or extra gift.

I was given a lagniappe after my large purchase at the store.

Prolix: of speech or writing using or containing too many words, tediously lengthy

The novice’s work was full of prolix; he should revise.

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

The apprentice had a protégé so he could learn more about techniques.

Prototype: a first, typical model of something

The first prototype set up examples for later editions.

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

A sycophant is similar to a kiss up student.

Tautology: the saying of the same thing twice in different words.

Synonyms is a good example of tautology.

Truckle: to submit, obediently

The dog truckled after we sprayed bitter spray at the dog to train him.

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

I was given an accolade for my perfect attendance.

Acerbity: sourness or acid of taste, character, or tone

There was acerbity in his mother-in-law’s tone.

Attrition: a rubbing away or wearing down by friction

Tires have to withstand great attrition.

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

She was a bromide while giving her presentation because of her monotone voice.

                                                  

Chauvinist: a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism

The chauvinist showed aggression towards his peers.

Chronic: marked by long duration or frequent recurrence

.     Chronic back pain makes me insomniac.

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

The professor expounded his new discovery to his passionate students.

Factionalism: a group of persons forming a cohesive

The factionalism of white male Republicans are held in the House of Representatives.

Immaculate: perfectly clean, neat, or tidy

The criminals made sure they were immaculate with their plan.

Imprecation: a spoken curse

The witch spelled an imprecation on her evil twin sister.

Ineluctable: unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable

The poor man was in an eneluctable situation; there was no way out.

Mercurial: changeable, volatile, having the quality of eloquence

I am mercurial when I give a speech about my life.

Palliate: make a disease or a symptoms less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause

The cream just palliated the rash, it didn’t fix it entirely.

Protocol: an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction

The protocol for the CIA is to call a number for an extraction.

Resplendent: attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous

The painting was very resplendent and attracted many viewers.

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

I had a great stigmatize for cheating on test because it’s unfair.

Sub Rosa: happening or done in secret

The birthday surprise was sub  rosa which was done by my friends.

Vainglory: inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements

.Her vainglory attitude drove away her friends.

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

Footprints are an example of a vestige.

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

People use volition to get what they want. 

What A Character

Describe a fictional character that made an impression on you.  What was it about this character that made him/her memorable?  Can you distinguish/identify literary techniques that contributed to the overall effect?

Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger has made an impression on me because of his attitude and actions through out the book. What made me believe Holden was special was when he talked about his dead brother and the red baseball cap symbolizes his brother's red hair. I probably read that section of the book multiple times because it was so intriguing and depressing at the same time. At that moment, I fell in love with his character because his inner thoughts were something I can relate to sometimes. For example, when he talked about his roommates and the people around his life behaved. Some literary technique that contributed to the overall effect was the characterization; typical boy who was kicked out of school. Symbolism through out the book; hidden meanings such as red baseball cap. Imagery use to describe Holden's actions and inner thoughts; negative comments about people he met. 

Declaration of Learning Independence

Well, the big question was sort of a joke to me. I was honestly trying to think of a question and nothing came up, so a friend and I thought of "How am I going to die?" Yes, it was silly, but honestly, that is not my big question. I really don't want to know how i'm going to die. So here is my new big question: 

In life, there are times that are unfair/ unlucky events, are certain people luckier than other? There's a relation to karma, why can some people get away with things without any consequences? When I do something regretful or bad, it always comes back and bites me, but I feel like there are some people who get away with everything. This big question ties in with my success in class because it will push me to work harder so I won't get unlucky or unsatisfied with my grade in class. I do feel like that I am unlucky with the effort I put into in some things such as tests. Collaborative working groups can also help me become successful but my big question does not relate to that. The groups are used to share out ideas and to create something. The smart goals, along with my big questions will all matter how successful I want to be. The smart goals also relate to my big question because one of my goals is to go to a college of my choice (short term), it is both attainable and manageable, but the time is running short. I believe getting in to college, I can prove that some people don't get away with consequences and all my effort I put in will pay off by getting in to the college of my choice. 

Vocabulary #5

Obsequious: obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

·         The dog was obsequious after the owner hit the dog for peeing in the house.

Beatitude: supreme blessedness

·         She was extremely beatitude because she got in to the college of her choice.

Bête Noire: a person or thing that one particularly dislikes.

·         She considered her neighbors as bête noire because they party often.

Bode: be an omen of a particular outcome

·         The bode in horror movies are caused by sudden incidents.

Dank: disagreeably damp musty and typically cold

·         The weather in Seattle is usually dank with all the rain.

Ecumenical: representing a number of different Christian churches

·         I believe there are too many ecumenical churches in Santa Maria.

Fervid: intensely enthusiastic or passionate

·         I am fervid for golf therefore I play on the golf team.

Fetid: smelling extremely unpleasant

·         When you pass the fetid fields in Santa Maria, it’s usually because of the fertilizer.

Gargantuan: enormous

·         I sometimes wish that there was a gargantuan amount of ice cream in my fridge.

Heyday: the period of a person’s or things greatest success, popularity

·         My heyday was senior year of high school because I won prom queen.

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

·         In the Bible, many people are afraid of Incubus because of his actions.

Infrastructure: the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities

·         The infrastructure of DNA is made up of mitochondria and nucleases.

Inveigle: persuade to do something by the means of flattery

·         He told inveigled so I did his homework.

Kudos: praise and honor received for an achievement

·         Kudos to the winner of the golf tournament.

Lagniappe: something given as a bonus or extra gift.

·         Along with my shoes, a coupon was given as lagniappe.

Prolix: of speech or writing using or containing too many words, tediously lengthy

·         The prolix dragged in English class forever that I fell asleep.

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

·         Sometimes I wish I was a protégé because then life would be so much easier with talent.

Prototype: a first, typical model of something

·         The prototype of the first automobile was so different from modern cars.

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

·         The commanding officer gives out orders to sycophants so they can train them for the army.

Tautology: the saying of the same thing twice in different words.

·         The tautology of the word soft is gentle and fluffy.

Truckle: a small barrel shaped cheese.

·         The variations of truckles at Trader Joe’s make it hard to choose with one to buy. 

Why this Book? #2

Kafka on Shore by Murakami Haruki.
I chose this book because it's my sister's favorite book, she has told me many great things about this book so I am looking forward to reading it. I've always been interested in reading this book (mainly because the setting is in Shikoku, where my dad is from), so I thought it was perfect because it's on the AP reading list.

Literature Analysis #1

Literature Analysis #1: Velocity by Dean Koontz

Exposition: The book opens up with a typical guy named Billy Wiles working as a bartender during the day. Billy is in his thirties, living in Napa Valley. His wife is in a coma where he often visits her. As he was done with his shift, he goes out to the car and sees a note on the windshield of his car and it reads, “If you take his note to the police I kill the elderly lady, if you don’t then I will kill a blonde school teacher.” Billy thought this was a prank, but within two days there’s news about a female teacher getting beaten to death. Billy’s best friend Lanny who is a police officer investigated this note, but before he could another note was left behind. The second note led to Lanny’s death. Now Billy has to decide what the psychopath will do. Climax: Billy suspects Steve Zillis as the murder but after following him for a while, he had an alibi. Later on, he finds out Valis is the psychopath trying to play a murder game and along with Steve who was part of it. Resolution: Billy confronts him but Valis tries to run away and Billy shoots him and Steve. At the end of the book, Billy sits next to Barbara who is still in a coma, suddenly opens her eyes but falls back to sleep. Billy, who is the narrator, fulfilled Koontz purpose because his vivid thoughts and actions make the book suspenseful and intriguing. Koontz purpose is to make a murder and horror novel to attract readers by living through Billy’s mind.

2.       The theme of the book would be betrayal because Billy Wiles is an innocent ordinary guy who was put into a position of choosing the fate of other’s lives. The massive murder happen to be men who Billy knew personally, Zillis and Valis. Billy felt no betrayal because he ended up killing the two murders without knowing the truth behind the murders, but symbolically speaking. The murderers were so close to Billy that he never suspected. Another theme of Velocity is loneliness. While Billy’s wife was in a coma, he never did anything for himself. The murder games were haunting yet gave him something to do, but ones he finds his best friend, Lanny dead. He was once again alone. Later finding out that people he knew Valis and Zillis were the murderers who he shot cold, Billy was once again alone. At the end of the book, Billy’s wife, Barbara wakes up and closes her eyes into another coma; this represents Billy’s isolation and loneliness.

3.     

           One of the tones Koontz included in the book was despairing. The relationship between Billy and Barbara is complicated because the doctor tries to tell Billy that his fiancé is never going to wake up. “After holding his breath for a while, he said, “Barbara?” She did not answer.”  He knew miracles didn’t exist so he just waited for her to wake up one day because he believes there is no end to time. Another tone was haunting/horror, Koontz writes about incidents happening to Billy such as, “At 3:30 in the morning blustered at the broken out window, and became as alien to his heart as any foreign barrens.” The suspicion and mysteries makes the book horror like and haunting in a way. Quotes like, “Are you prepared for your second wound,” gets readers like me chills, which I believe Koontz was trying to capture. Finally, the last tone Koontz used was an apologetic tone, when Billy unintentionally killed his best friend Lanny, he wished for a mother with children to die instead. “If he had known, perhaps he would have made a different choice, even if the stranger was a mother of two.” The death of Lanny makes him lonely and apologetic towards Lanny because it was Billy’s ultimate choice to kill either a mother or Lanny.

4.       

  A.)Imagery:  the book uses many descriptive languages to describe the killer’s motive and events that happen to Billy. For example, “Picturesque chalk-white stucco walls with decorative buttresses rose to burnt- orange tile roofs.”  Koontz uses imagery to describe the situations or simple to detail out the setting or characters.

B.) Characterization: an important part of any book, but Koontz characterizes Billy in a way no author has described a character. “Billy himself had never been much of a talker, never one of those barkeeps who considered the bar a strange. He was a listener.”  In that quote, Billy is a man who was reserved and his qualities make up the decisions he makes throughout the book. For example, choosing between a man who won’t be missed and the mother of two children, Billy chose the mother of two because he was quiet and puts himself in every situation.

C.) Foreshadow: Koontz foreshadows most of the events by having a killer send Billy letters. One of the mails was, “Are you ready for your first wound?” Later on in the book, Billy was injured and woke up with three fish hooks on his forehead. The letters foreshadows the events in the book.

D.) Irony: The most ironic part of the book was Barbara’s coma, as Billy’s life is getting haunted by this massive killer and Billy has to make a life decision of every other person’s life except for Barbara, instead he avoids the doctors telling him that Barbara might never wake up. Also, the fact that Barbara is in peace with her coma while Billy is searching for a murder is ironic because they live in contrasting situations, “He looked at her and saw that her eyes were open and that she seemed to be watching the swallows.”

E.) Symbolism: the main symbolism in the book was the birds Barbara described near the end. The birds symbolized the freedom that Barbara was granted and that Billy was stuck in the real world. As this life changing event happens, the swallows escape symbolizing Barbara and all of the people Billy knew escaping/ leaving Billy behind. “The bird swallows flew elsewhere. Billy returned to the book that he had been reading.”  As the bird flew somewhere, Billy was still in Napa all by himself and waits for Barbara to open her eyes.

F.) Mood: the mood of the book was often calm yet suspenseful. The events of the murders and when Billy hunts down the murder is when the mood of the book changes drastically into a suspense. “My last killing: midnight Thursday, your suicide: soon thereafter,” this quote gives people chills and the mood of this quote is definitely haunting and suspenseful.

G.) Narrative:  The narrator is an unknown who narrates Billy’s life. It’s in a third point of view. The narrator refers to Billy has “he?”  “He tried to relax and breathe through his mouth. He rolled his head from side to side.” The narrative is important in the book because Billy’s thoughts do not influence the reader or see from only his perspective.

H.) Syllogism: The use of deductive reasoning to solve Koontz murder mystery. The letters throughout the book led up to the mystery murder. Billy later finds out that the hidden meaning of the letters lead up to Valis and Zillis. “The second, third, and fourth were chillingly similar to the “spiritual guidance” that Valis provided to assist his admirers,” this led to the person behind the murderer which was Valis and Zillis.

I.) Foil: Koontz characterizes Zillis differently from the other characters, as if he had some importance to the mysteries. He left an emphasis on Zillis’ spiritual guidance which later one reveals to Billy that he is the murder. Koontz characterizes him in a suspicious way, “When you are chopping the mannequins in the backyard, do you dream that they’re real women?” 

J.) Tragic Flaw: Although Billy was able to capture the murder, Valis and Zillis, the tragic flaw was that he loses people who he loved before he could stop him. They both killed Lanny and Barbara wasn’t going to wake up from her coma anytime soon. Billy is a hero in a way where he kills the murders to stop them yet he is still lonely because he has no one left with him. Therefore, the tragic flaw of Velocity was that Billy’s success has led him nowhere from where he started. “Then it was over. Sobbing but not for Zillis, he climbed once more behind the steering wheel.”  This quote shows that even though the murder is over, Billy has to continue living his life with Barbara in a coma and everything back to normal.

All of the Above

Sadly, I did not meet my expectations. I hoped to get more than half right but I didn't even get a 50% on the test. I surprised myself because the questions I thought I got right, I got wrong and the ones I guessed I got right. (very surprised) The questions I missed the most were literary terms and vocabulary I did not know, but the comprehension questions were very difficult.

Vocabulary # 4

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

·         An accolade was given to her because of her straight A’s all throughout high school.

Acerbity: sourness or acid of taste, character, or tone

·         Her voice was acerbity when her friend asked to borrow money.

Attrition: a rubbing away or wearing down by friction

·         Rubbing a bar of soap between your hands can cause attrition for the soap.

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

·         I knew that her essay was bromide because it sounds exactly like mine.

Chauvinist: a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism

·         He was acting like a chauvinist because he flipped over the table during the argument about politics.

Chronic: marked by long duration or frequent recurrence

·         The chronic illness I had, made me makes frequent stops to the hospital.  

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

·         The biology teacher had expounded about evolution in class today.

Factionalism: a group of persons forming a cohesive

·         The factionalism was made up of wealthy gentlemen from the country club.

Immaculate: perfectly clean, neat, or tidy

·         To avoid losing paperwork, I immaculately organize my binder.

Imprecation: a spoken curse

·         Gossips can be an imprecation because they often leave you with only consequences.

Ineluctable: unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable

·         I was ineluctable when I saw the old lady fall as she was walking across the street.

Mercurial: changeable, volatile, having the quality of eloquence

·         As soon as I found out about her secrets, my thoughts about her were mercurial.

Palliate: make a disease or a symptoms less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause

·         Chemotherapy is a drug often used to palliate cancer so it reduces the cancer itself.

Protocol: an original draft, minute, or record of a document or transaction

·         The protocol when there’s a fire drill is to quickly and safely get down on the fields.

Resplendent: attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous

·         The flowers in the garden were resplendent because of their beautiful bright colors.

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

·         After the teacher caught her cheating, she was stigmatized for the rest of the semester.

Sub Rosa: happening or done in secret

·         Black markets are usually sub Rosa because of their illegal actions.

Vainglory: inordinate pride in oneself or one’s achievements

·         Her attitude at the awards ceremony was vainglory because she won the athletic award.

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

·         The criminal took the vestige from the scene so that no one would suspect him.

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

·         As her boss yelled at her in volition, she slowly walked back to her desk. 

Essay #3 Beowulf

Beowulf & Harry Potter

As everyone hailed to the greatest hero of all, Beowulf; he has defeated every blood thirsty and revengeful monster. During the Anglo-Saxon era, the great epic story of Beowulf was pasted down from generation to generation, creating the most heroic story of the century. This classic hero has abnormal powers and ultimately fights evil. Similar to a modern film/book Harry Potter, one of many modern heroes, he also fights the evil and puts himself before anyone else. Three literary techniques that both involve Beowulf and Harry Potter are the hero’s characterization, the themes and the imagery in the context. Both of these characters have similar motive and heroic characteristics in themselves.

Beowulf was simply a tragic hero who he died with courage and bravery. The author of Beowulf characterized him as a courageous man with mysterious abnormal powers, similar to Harry Potter who is a wizard that holds a source of power in his wand. They were both “special”; stood out from their peers, Beowulf was described as a savior and the “only hope,” and Harry Potter was known as the “chosen one.” The side characters always looked up to them and treated them with respect and honor: Beowulf, the companions and Hrothgar and Harry Potter, his friends and few professors. The difference between the two characters would be the fact Beowulf shows greatness on the outside. He tries to show up to people who believe he can’t do it. During, the fight with the dragon, Beowulf tells his companion to step aside and watch. On the other hand our modern hero, Harry Potter is more humble and does not boost about his fame and bravery. Both heroes are different in their ways, but what makes them heroes is the characterization of each character’s action such as their efforts to defeat the evil.

What makes Beowulf and Harry Potter heroic stories is the fight between good versus evil. In Beowulf, he fought Grendel and his mother, and in Harry Potter, he fought Voldemort and home of his classmates in Slytherin. There were some success and failures in both stories. In Beowulf, he was defeated and killed by Grendel’s mother. In Harry Potter, Voldemort was not defeated until the end of the series, but along the way he has defeated other enemies. Another theme that was in both books was isolated/solo. Harry always saved his friends and put himself before everyone else, but he was all by himself. His good friends Hermione and Ron were there but never all the way. In Beowulf did not have any “friends,” but the companions would observe while Beowulf fought the monsters. Beowulf and Harry Potter seem to be both reliable by other company.  

               
             Beowulf and Harry Potter involve fantasy and mystical creatures, but the difference between a classic and modern literature is the usage of imagery. In Beowulf, they seem to focus mainly on Beowulf’s success and never his failure. His success was expressed deeply, “quoth that of all the kings of earth, of men he was mildest and most beloved, to his kin the kindest, keenest for praise..” He rarely had any suspicions about his powers or no detail of his past was mentioned in the story. Ultimately, the tale empowered his greatness, even after his death. In Harry Potter, the difference was that it evolved around his past and mistakes he did in Hogwarts. There was imagery in the dialogues between characters, “The world is not split into good people and Death Eaters. We have all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the power we choose to act on. That’s who we really are,” Sirius Black. The imagery used in both books allows these stories to become more realistic and serious rather than a typical hero in a children’s book.

             The classic tale of Beowulf is evolved in to many of the modern films and literature today. The classic “superheroes” all share a similarity with Beowulf. Especially in the book, Harry Potter, Potter was one of the heroes that were no ordinary human being and neither was Beowulf. Both Harry Potter and Beowulf possessed a mysterious power that was never fully explained, but they are known as great heroes because of their defeat of evil and bravery. The classic tale of Beowulf was the bases of heroic tales; in modern books you can see parts of classic hero tales in Harry Potter. What creates a hero is ultimately the situation and the actions that makes a character heroic, as Harry said, "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." 

Will Study for Food

The scholarship I have known for a while that seems like it's worth applying for was the Scholarship from the Santa Maria Breakfast Rotary Club. This scholarship fits me the best because I have been involved with the Interact Club since freshman year (Interact is the high school version of Rotary Club). The money that is granted to me will go towards paying for college tuition, books, etc. I hope to earn at least a few hundred dollars, really any money will help since I already have two sisters in college.

Vocabulary #3

Apostate: a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle

·         The apostate had abandoned the church to start his own beliefs. 

Effusive: expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.

·         I felt effusive when the teacher allowed me to have an extra day to study before the exam.

Impasse: a situation in which no progress is possible because of disagreement; a deadlock

·         When my friend and I fought over an impassive agreement, we didn’t talk for days.

Euphoria: feeling of great happiness or well-being

·         I got the feeling of euphoria when my father bought me a new laptop as a surprise.

Lugubrious: looking or sounding sad and dismal

·         Over the phone, she sounded lugubrious when she talked about her dog that just passed away.

Bravado: pretense of courage, bravery.

·         People who act bravado tend to embarrass themselves after they realize how they behaved.

Consensus: general agreement

·         We came to a consensus about who was going to be the president of the club.

Dichotomy: a division or contrast two things that are of are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

·         The dichotomy of a fruit and vegetable is that fruits have seeds and vegetables don’t.

Constrict: make narrower; tighten, contract

·         I had to constrict my belt so that my jeans won’t fall when I am walking

Gothic: relating or resembling the Goth (Germanic people)

·         The gothic era of literature was included in the romantic era; writers such as Edgar Allen Poe were gothic writers.

Punctilio: a fine or petty point of conduct or procedure, detail, refinement

·         It is important to master the punctilio of art because if you don’t, you may ruin a piece of art.

Metamorphosis: a transformation as by magic or sorcery; change in appearance

·         Many insects use metamorphosis to grow from an egg to full grown insects.  

Raconteur: one who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.

·         Back in the day, raconteurs were highly educated and well liked by the superiors because they were able to create stories and tales.

Sine qua non: a description of a requisite or condition that is indispensable

·         Flour and sugar are a sine qua non to make cake.

Quixotic: exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical

·         I find it quixotic when someone says they have seen a ghost or a shadowy figure.

Vendetta: a blood feud in which the family member of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or family.

·         In the Lion King, Simba was the vendetta because he wanted revenge towards his uncle Scar who killed his father.

Non sequitur: is an argument in which the conclusion does not follow

·         The lawyer’s argument was invalid due to the non sequitur used in her reasons.  

Mystique: attitude of mystery and reverence developing around something or someone

·         The new girl in class was very mystique since no one knew where she came from.

Quagmire: a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot, marsh, swamp

·         Animals that live in quagmires are usually reserved unless they are disturbed.

Parlous: full of danger or uncertainty; precarious

·         In the Poisonwood Bible, the daughters had to be careful in the parlous jungle where the Mamba snake lived.