Vocabulary #2

Vocabualry #2:

Definitions: 

1.  Accoutrement: an accessory item of clothing or equipment; or an identifying and often superficial characteristic or device.
2. Apogee: the point in the orbit of an object orbiting the earth that is at the greatest distance from the center of the earth; or the farthest or highest point: culmination.
3. Apropos: at an opportune time: seasonably; or by way of interjection or further comment.
4. Bicker: petulant quarreling: altercation.
5. Coalesce: to grow together.
6. Contretemps: an inopportune or embarrassing occurrence or situation.
7. Convolution: a form or shape that is folded in curved or tortuous windings.
8. Cull: to select from a group; to reduce or control the size of by removal of the weak (population control).
9. Disparate: containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements.
10. Dogmatic: characterized by or given to the expression of opinions very strongly or positively as if they were facts.
11. Licentious: lacking legal or moral restraints; marked by disregard for strict rules of correctness.
12. Mete: to give out by measure.
13. Noxious: physically harmful or destructive to living beings.
14. Polemic: an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another.
15. Populous: densely populated or numerous.
16. Probity: adherence to the highest principles and ideals: uprightness.
17. Repartee: a quick and witty reply.
18. Supervene: to follow or result as an additional adventitious, or unlooked-for development.
19. Truncate: is to cut off a part of or to cut to short.
20. Unimpeachable: not impeachable, which means reliable beyond a doubt.

Sentences:

1.The vacuum cleaner has all of the accoutrements for cleaning furniture as well as floors.
2. The roller coaster reached the apogee of its drop before it zoomed down the high ramp.
3. The final note in the newspaper about the United States political situation was apropos.
4. My sister and I used to bicker when we were younger, but luckily we barely fight now.
5. The goal on the volleyball team is to coalesce in order to help one another both on and off the court.
6. One of his challenges will be the contretemps over the dogs.
7. The art gallery was full of convolutions that were very interesting and fantastic.
8. The basketball coach had to cull a team from the hundreds of kids, who tried out for the team.
9.Two scientists have now resolved seemingly disparate trends.
10. The final statement in the article was just a dogmatic assertion.
11. The prisoners were licentious when it came to the guards and the cops.
12. The baker had to mete all of his ingredients in order to prepare his famous bread recipe.
13. The chainsaw was extremely noxious to the forest as it tore numerous trees apart.
14. The political debate in the election of 2012 was polemic.
15. The city of New York is very populous due to tourism.
16. The lawyer questioned the probity of the witness.
17. During an argument, Annie came up with a repartee that ended the disagreement.
18. The scientist supervened on the facts of the human mind.
19. The movie accidentally truncated due to a malfunction in the DVD player.
20. The president spoke with impeachable authority and integrity.

Beowulf Questions:

Beowulf Questions:

Prologue: The Rise of the Danish Nation:

• The way Shield became ruler of the Danes was unusual because he was an orphan. Although he came from rags, his funeral was one to be admired. It was on a ship at sea with his most loved companions and filled with treasures. Shield is Hrothgar's grandfather. 

Heorot is Attacked:

• The magnificent work that Hrothgar undertook was the construction of the spectacular mead hall, Herot. The monster Grendel attacked Herot, killing thirty warriors; unable to fend for themselves. The attacks lasted twelve years. The Danes did nothing and continued to suffer.

The Hero Comes to Heorot:

• When Beowulf hears of Hrothgar's problems with Grendel, he sails out with 14 of his bravest warriors to Herot.

• When the Geats arrive in Denmark they first meet a Danish watcher. The watchman asks what business they have in this specific area. Beowulf explains their intentions are not to harm the Danes, but to bring peace by slaying Grendel.

• The name of Hrothgar's herald is Wulgar, a messenger. He asks the Geats their business, impressed with their appearances and manners, relays the message to Hrothgar who realizes he had known Beowulf prior to this meeting. I am not surprised Hrothgar knew Beowulf so well because he was well-known across many people for his bravery and nobility.

Nakesha Willis (http://nakeshawillisrhsenglitcomp13.blogspot.com/) 

• When Beowulf enters, he tells Hrothgar that he is ready to fight and kill Grendel to protect the kingdom. Hrothgar settled the dispute Beowulf started with the Wulfing’s by paying with old treasure.

Feast at Heorot:

• Unferth accuses Beowulf of being too proud, and that Beowulf cannot handle battling against Grendel. Beowulf replied back by describing his perspective of the story Unferth told. He also told about how he killed the sea beast that pulled him down to the bottom of the sea. This episode is relevant to the poem as a whole because the whole poem is about Beowulf battling in different situations. Beowulf accuse Unferth of not participating in any battle.

• During the feast, Queen Wealhtheow attended to everyone in the banquet hall and welcomed the Geats.

The Fight with Grendel:

• Beowulf prepares for his fight with Grendel by disarming himself which is different because heroes are usually described to have prepared themselves to fight by arming themselves.

• When Grendel enters Heorot, Beowulf watches Grendel attack the vulnerable. Beowulf fights Grendel by gripping Grendel’s hand first. When Grendel tries to leave, Beowulf’s men tried to slash Grendel with their swords, but their swords didn’t do much. Grendel escapes to his lair, critically wounded. He left his shoulder and arm behind.

Lesther Villanueva (http://lvalenzuelarhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/) 

Celebration at Heorot:

• Like Sigemund Beowulf experiences a very strong sense of valor and love of the kill and war, yet he lack the wisdom to be a general or command because he doesn’t take the time to think a plan out

• Hrothgar responds with joy, gratitude, and generosity. He says that Beowulf is like a son to him and gives him treasure. Unferth was proven wrong in his attempts to discredit Beowulf.

Shane Hunter (http://shunterrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/)

• The story is about a Danes battle against Finn, who was the king of the Frisians. The poem is quite confusing, but basically it was based on the battle of Finnsburgh, which was an absolute bloodbath between the Frisians and the Danes. The battle came to an end when Hnaef, the Danish leader, was killed during battle. The Danes called a truce and promised to live with them separately but they would follow the same rules of equality in order in sure peace among the people. Now, the Danish princess named Hildeburh married Finn, but she was still depressed due to the death of her brother, Hnaef, and her son.  After months of hardship, the Danes revolt against the Frisians and kill Finn while his wife, Hildeburh, goes back to Denmark. The wisdom of using a bride as a way to heal enmity between tribes was to show that they were connected and must keep peace within their society. There are thousands of books, poems, and movies that show arranged marriages in order to restore peace or to connect with the other culture. Family shouldn’t attack family. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t, but they may be less inclined to attack and more inclined to make amends.  

• When the feasting resumes, Wealhtheow asks Hrothgar to not give Beowulf the throne.

Maddie Klusendorf (http://mklusendorfrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/) 

• Beowulf later gives the golden torque to Hygelac, in which he wears it on his death. Wealhtheow asked Beowulf to act as a friend to Hrethric and Hrothmund (Wealhtheow's daughters), to offer them protection from the darkness, to be a guidance, and to treat them kindly.

• So many men remained in the beer hall to sleep because the other sleeping halls were full. The men who slept in the beer hall made a mistake because Grendel's mother descended on Heorot to seek vengeance for her son’s death where Grendel's arm was located on the wall of Heorot and Aeschere (Hrothgar’s trusted adviser) was captured by her.

Another Attack:

• Grendel's mother came to Heorot to seek vengeance for her son's death. Grendel's reason to come to Heorot wasn't the same as his mother's reason because he only wanted to cause destruction. 

• Hrothgar's response to Grendel's mother killing Aeschere (Hrothgar’s trusted adviser) is for Beowulf to seek out and kill Grendel’s mother.

• The mere is a magical swampy wood  lake in which it seems endlessly deep and it is where Grendel's mother lair is located at

Beowulf fights with Grendel’s mother:

• Beowulf tells Hrothgar to respond by taking care of the Geats and returning his property to Hygelac if he dies in the battle to kill Grendel's mother

Danny Luu (http://dannytbuuluu.blogspot.com/) 

• Before Beowulf can get to the mere he and his men find the many bloodied and dead men that were killed by Grendel and his mother, including the head of Aeschere. His men and Beowulf must fight off reptiles and sea dragons that live in the mere’s water. Also he gives a speech and names Hrothgar is successor should he die, and says that Hrothgar must take all the riches to Hygelac.

• Beowulf prepares for the battle by putting on his chain mail and metal helmet and took Unferth’s sword for Hrunting.

• When Beowulf enters the lake it takes him a long time to find the Grendel cave, but the Grendel mom knew that he was in the lake and tried to attack him. However the chain mail held and the Grendel mom was thwarted, so she just pulled his body into the cave. When Beowulf gets to the cave he is attacked by sea monsters. (Some more.) What was curious about the cave is that there was no water in it, and a fire going. That makes sense….

• The sword Beowulf borrowed proves useless and the steel doesn’t pierce Grendel’s mother at all. The magical sword’s spell in broken.

• Beowulf’s “net-of-chain” or chain mail saved him from dying because it deflected Grendel’s knife. And then he notices a pile of swords and stuff in the cave and pops up and grabs and sword to fight with.

Maddison Hill (http://mhillrhsenglitcomp13.blogspot.com/) 

• Beowulf kills Grendel’s mother by cutting her throat with the sword of Eotens. Her blood melts the sword, so only the hilt is left. Beowulf takes Grendel’s head with him from her house.

• All of his men are gone because they didn’t believe he could kill Grendel’s mother.

Further celebration at Heorot:

• The hilt of the sword and Grendel’s head.

• Hrothgar tells Beowulf a story about a horrible king names Heremod who was banished, exiled, and eventually killed. Hrothgar tells this story to teach Beowulf not to be a bad king too.

• His sword, Hrunting.

Kelsey Robertson (http://krobertsonrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/) 

Beowulf Returns Home:

• Hrothgar predicts Beowulf will rule his people with a bloody fist. Very forcefully that is. But also he insinuates he has earned it and Hrothgar supports him fully.

• Queen Hygd was the opposite of Modthryth. While Modthryth was a violent queen, Hygd was virtuous and kind to her people.

• Beowulf plans to marry out his daughter to a conflicting neighbor as it were to create a temporary peace at least. He expects it to be settled until prosperity can be re-established, then fighting will break out. This shows Beowulf to be a cunning and almost pessimistic leader despite his inhuman strength.

• Beowulf played off the fact he killed Grendel as if it were nothing, He reports accurately, but diplomatically enough not to seem like he was boasting of his feats.

• To appease old tradition, He gave the treasure to his leader, and in return, Hygelac gave Beowulf his "boar standard, a suit of armor, and a sword belonging to Hrothgar's brother." My personal interpretation of this is Hygelac gave Beowulf his deepest honor and loyalty.

The Dragon Wakes:

• Heardred and Hygelac both fell in the 50 years after Beowulf's conference with Hrothgar.

• The Dragon was angry that his pillaged treasure was re-pillaged by a tribe. The lone man stealing the cup to make amends with his lord led the tribe to the barrow where an ancient tribe held their considerable wealth. 

• In the first day, the dragon killed and burnt down the countryside of the Geats.

• Beowulf heard of the burnt countryside and ordered a new iron shield to be made to withstand the flames, he believes he will fight the dragon the same way he fought Grendel, but his age gave him weakness and will die.

• Hygelac died from neighboring tribe invasions, Beowulf seeks revenge on them, but declines the honor of ruling his people. When he is home he finds out how the dragon got angry and sought to find him.

• Heardred was killed by the dragon (?) and Beowulf sought revenge by blood by killing the dragon.

• Thirteen men, including one who knew the whereabouts of the barrow, accompanied him.

• Heardred gets killed by the Swedish king's men over a century old feud. As retaliation, Beowulf kills Onela, a Swedish noble responsible for his death. SO MUCH DEATH. Beowulf killed everyone who killed his kinsman. The Swedes and the Geats were in a state of feud after the kill-fest.

Jacob Hoffman (http://aplit2013-2014.blogspot.com/) 

   

Beowulf Attacks the Dragon:

• Beowulf tells his companions to wait on top of the dragon’s den, and observe the battle instead of fighting in it.

• On his first battle with the dragon, Beowulf just counters the dragon’s attacks, until Beowulf strikes the dragon, barely wounding the dragon while the dragon burns Beowulf.  All of his companions flee to a nearby forest, but one, which is his kinsman Wiglaf.  Wiglaf tells of how Beowulf helped his family as Wiglaf grew up.  Wiglaf goes down to help Beowulf, by means of encouragement and help in the battle.

• The second time Beowulf meets the dragon, Beowulf’s sword fails again, and the dragon attacks twice, the second time, fatally biting Beowulf.  Wiglaf kills the dragon with the rage left from the attack on his king.

• Beowulf asks Wiglaf to bring him the dragon’s treasure.  When Beowulf sees the gold, He thanks God for letting him die rich, and tells Wiglaf to be king.  Beowulf wants to be buried in a tall tower so that he can be remembered by everybody who sees “Beowulf’s Tower.”

Beowulf's Funeral:

• When the companions return, they see Wiglaf trying to revive Beowulf.  Wiglaf scolds the company for not standing by the great Beowulf in his last battle, and he predicts that the Geats will be terrorized by rival clans once again.

• The messenger tells the city of Beowulf’s death, and begins to predict things that will happen due to the death of their king.  Overnight, Ongentheow’s army verbally terrorized the Geats, and the next morning, Hygelac returns with a Geat army.  Ongentheow killed a man named Wulf, whose brother, Eofor, ended up killing Ongentheow to avenge his brother’s death.  The messenger tells the Geats to put the gold on Beowulf’s funeral pyre as to melt with his burning body.  The final image of the messengers’ speech is the freshly slain dragon, from Beowulf’s last stand.

• Wiglaf tell the crowd that comes to see the dragon and Beowulf? Wiglaf tells the crowd that it is bad to sacrifice yourself on your own will, and warns that doing this will hurt many.

• The dragon is left alone, but its hoard is taken by the Geats to use in Beowulf’s funeral pyre.

• While Beowulf and all of the treasure from the burrow burn on the pyre, a woman sings a song about the fall of the Geats, and the Geats build a tower over Beowulf’s pyre over the next ten days.

• “Said he was kindest of kings under heaven,

Gentlest of men, most winning of manner,

Friendliest to folk-troops and fondest of honor.”

In these lines, the Geats talk of Beowulf’s kindness, friendliness and gentleness.  These are odd words to describe military heroes, at least by today’s standards, because today, military men are portrayed as manly men who do not show much emotion, just stoically save people

Daniel Rucker (http://druckersrhsenglitcomp13.blogspot.com/) 

For this assignment, a group of us collaborated on Facebook from various periods. Jake Hoffman started the post and I thought it was an excellent idea because we could work and complete the assignment together. It was really helpful since I was able to see various people's different points of views, which allowed me to better understand Beowulf while I was reading it.

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

During Friday's Socratic Seminar, we discussed "Right to Your Opinion", which gave a new point of view about the idea of truth and opinions. The author of this piece of literature does not believe in the right to your opinion, so there is a tone of sarcasm and ridicule in order to express this claim. A key point that is presented by the author is that declaring your opinion does not make it right or truthful. The irony of that situation is that it actually makes your opinion a fallacy. Many people use it as an excuse to avoid being wrong or as a way to end an argument instead of admitting or facing the truth. In order for an opinion to be right, there must be evidence that supports it. Now, we can try to change someone's opinion by explaining our point of view or showing evidence, but the choice is entirely up to the individual on whether or not to listen or learn.

Vocabulary #1

Vocabulary List #1 (of many)

Definitions:

1. Adumbrate: to foreshadow vaguely, to suggest, disclose, or outline partially. 
2. Apotheosis: elevation to divine status or a perfect example.
3. Ascetic: characterized by or suggesting the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgences, typically for religious reasons.
4. Bauble: a small, showy trinket or decoration (lacks importance and worth).
5. Beguile: to enchant or charm sometime, but usually is a deceptive way.
6. Burgeon: begin to grow or increase rapidly; to flourish.
7. Complement: a thing that completes or brings to perfection.
8. Contumacious: stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority.
9. Curmudgeon: a bad-tempered or surly person.
10. Didactic: intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
11. Disingenuous: not candid or sincere, typically pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
12. Exculpate: to show or declare that (someone) is not guilty of wrongdoing.
13. Faux pas: an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.
14. Fulminate: to express vehement protest; explode violently.
15. Fustian: a pompous or pretentious speech or writing.
16. Hauteur: haughtiness of manner; disdainful pride.
17. Inhibit: hinder, restrain, or prevent.
18. Jeremiad: a long, mournful compliant; a list of woes.
19. Opportunist: a person who exploits circumstances to gain immediate advantage rather than being guided by consistent principles or plans.
20. Unconscionable: not right or reasonable; excessive.

Sentences:

1. She was only able to adumbrate a few of the chapters due to that book's lack of clarity.
2. Romeo and Juliet represented the apotheosis of iambic pentameter.
3. The life of the monk was ascetic and simple.
4. My grandma's house is full of baubles that cause her house to be cluttered.
5. The witch beguiled the sweet princess to take a bite of her poisonous apple.
6. The burgeoning of human populations is a huge environmental and economical problem.
7. The belt was a perfect complement with the dress and the shoes.
8. The contumacious teenager refused to complete his homework and chores.
9. Bob is a curmudgeon, who treats others poorly and without respect.
10. Some schools are being didactic about the usage of technology.
11. His apology was disingenuous and lacked honesty.
12. The judge exculpated the convicted individual after a trial.
13. Each student suffers from at least one faux pas moment during class.
14. The writer wrote a fulminating article in the local newspaper about global warming.
15. The critic wrote in a fustian way that caused his literature to be inaccurate.
16. Her hauteur caused her to lose various friendships.
17. She had to inhibit her little brother from running into the theme park before the arrival of the rest of their family.
18. The film was a boring, tasteless jeremiad that caused the audience to fall asleep while watching it.
19. Various politicians are opportunists, who focus mainly on themselves rather than the people.
20. The amount for a designer handbag is unconscionable. 

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1.  I have quite a busy schedule with academics, family, and volleyball especially in the spring time since I play for a high-level volleyball club team that is an hour away from where I live. My club team practices 3 times a week along with tournaments every weekend in Anaheim. Also, my sister plays there as well on a different team due to her age, so we leave the house at 3:30 pm and don't get home till around 10:30 pm since our practices are never at the same time. I have played for this club team for 2 years and it has effected my participation and efforts in the past, but it wasn't as bad as you would think. It actually mostly affected my amount of sleep because I would rather not get any sleep than not complete my assignments. Now, last year, I learned how to be better with time management since I took more AP classes than I did in years previous, so I don't think that it will be a major problem...well at least I hope not.

2. The best learning experience I have ever been a part of was Mrs.Bryne's honors English class in 10th grade. I was never a big fan of English since I had trouble putting my thoughts on paper in an organized manner, but Mrs. Bryne helped me figure out how to do that in a high-level way. In addition, I absolutely loved being a part of her class. The whole environment and course gave me so many opportunities to learn and also I adored all of the books we read, so that made her class much more enjoyable as well. Overall, I learned how to be a better writer, student, and person.

3. I'm extremely excited for this class because I love the idea of individuality and being able to express yourself while learning. There are many rules and guidelines in other classes that prevent students from being able to show who they truly are because they would rather follow those rules and get an A than be themselves. Now, I am concerned about the work load of this course since I play on a high-level club team and have three other AP courses, but I personally believe that this class will prepare me for college and the real world, which will give me more opportunities to achieve success later on in life.

1987 AP Exam Essay #2

The world is constantly morphing and evolving each and every day. Much like the world, our society is changing as well. In A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, the idea of social transformation or change was not a prominent concept within their 18th century society especially when it came to their attitude towards women. Torvald, the father and husband of the play, pushes and tosses Nora around like a "doll" because he thinks of her more as an item of pleasure and usage than anything else. He lacks respect for his wife, who is the mother of his children, which leaves Nora in a pit of despair in which she covers with fake, over-exaggerated emotions. After years of feeling hopeless, Nora finally builds up enough valor against the man she once used to love in order to create and live a better life for herself. This not only represents change especially in that time period, but it also shows the strength in which women have.

Nora is displayed as an emotional wreck and is like a terrible actress, who over-acts every single line. She seems fake and is supposed to represent the traditional "housewife" of that particular time period, in order to show how difficult it was to change her position in life. Ibsen wants the audience to develop a bias or an unbreakable way of thought in order to destroy it later on. Ibsen's goal is to shatter the glass house in which society has build in order to allow freedom to come through. By Nora finally leaving her husband, she breaks the mold of woman within her society and represents a new way of life almost  like a butterfly finally busting through its cocoon. Despite the struggles and lack of opportunities for women at that time period, Nora still leaves in hopes to find happiness rather than money, status, or prestige.

The role of women in the 18th century was that women were supposed to be helpful, caring, and kind-hearted individuals, who served their husband and their children. The play, A Doll's House, fractures this social reputation by showing that women have courage, strength, and determination through one of the main characters named Nora. Nora is the average household woman, but she completely demolishes that reputation by leaving her husband for her own benefit, which is completely unacceptable during that era of history. This represents a transformation in both society and women by showing an absolute pure form of fearlessness.

1987 AP Exam Essay #1

Leisure is defined as a freedom provided by the cessation of activities especially time free from work or necessary duties, but is that what it has always meant? George Elliot feels as though leisure has changed over time and affected our society. Elliot often refers to the idea of old leisure, which was sinless, pure, and dilatory. She believes that modern leisure in her time period, which was 1859, was too rushed and heterodox. The comparison between these two types of leisure is shown through irony, personification, allusion, contrast and descriptive language. Elliot craves old leisure and dreams that it was the modern way of thought.

"Leisure is gone-gone where the spinning-wheels are gone, and the pack-horses, and the slow-waggons, and the peddlers, who brought bargains to the door on sunny afternoons." Elliot uses descriptive language to convey images that allude to a specific item that contains significance. The peddlers and spinning-wheels had disappeared from modern life by 1859 due to the invention of more practical ways of completing those chores, so by alluding to those items, the reader has a better understanding of the drastic loss and significance of old leisure. Elliot also uses personification to express what she believes to be old leisure. She makes old leisure embody the soul of a old man in order to show its innocence, goodness, and simple qualities that are embedded within. This embodiment connects with the audience on an emotional level due to the fact that we connect our own older relatives that we care about deeply to the soul of the old man in which she personifies. By doing so, Elliot was able to make a clear point about the how disappointing the loss of old leisure was and how modern leisure is nothing in comparison.

"Even idleness is eager now-egad for amusement." Elliot describes her dislike to the modern leisure and uses it as ammo to support her view on old leisure. By using modern leisure to contrast with old leisure, she is able to provide and support accurate evidence to her claim. An example of this would be usage of images such as "the great work of the steam-engine" to contrast with "-sunny afternoon." This shows the serenity of old leisure and how modern leisure isn't even or shouldn't be considered leisure at all, which is the irony presented in her piece of literature.

"Fine old Leisure! Do not be severe upon him, and judge him by our modern standard." Old leisure was calm, innocent, and lacked stress, but as time passed, this definition began to change. George Elliot  describes the loss of old leisure and how modern leisure is a turbulent cycle of knowing. The lack of restrictions in old leisure allowed the mind to wander and gave imagination the opportunity to run free. Sadly, she explains how modern leisure strips that freedom and leaves only rules in its wake. The main theme presented within this piece of literature is that modern leisure isn't even leisure at all and that old leisure is the way in which we should follow.

MONTAIGNE/AUSTEN ESSAY

The human brain is constantly creating, imagining, thinking, and even forgetting thousands, maybe even millions, of ideas daily. These ideas could be something completely ludicrous or practical, but due to the amount of ideas, we barely scratch the surface of their true potential. "What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant." David Foster Wallace perfectly displays this aspect of human nature through this quote and also provides a new, exhilarating understanding of the mind of Michel de Montaigne. Montaigne's writing style was based on the concept of stream of consciousness, which is allowing your thoughts to captivate a page without over-analyzing it like a painter with a paintbrush and an empty canvas. He attacks both serious and frivolous subjects with a sense of openness, honesty, and reality that resembles Jane Austen's style of writing in Pride and Prejudice.  Although, Jane Austen writes in a much more delicate manner unlike Montaigne, who holds nothing back and allows his ideas jumble with the pages of his essays. She still remains loyal to her style and themes in order to portray her story in a realistic light. These authors may have written their pieces of literature at extremely different times, but both authors are focus on one goal, which is to portray their story to their audience in a realistic, veracious manner.

Montaigne's Essays are the essence of the human mind because the style in which his essays are based on are considered the natural flow of ideas or concepts within his mind. He is able to touch and explain various ideas within his essays without losing the focus of his audience. His style can be confusing at times, but his sense of honesty and reality never falters. Now, during some parts of his essays, Montaigne does go into depth on serious topics that either connect with his ideas or his own personal experiences, which display his true emotions such as his own illness, the deaths of some of his family, and his struggle with depression. Emotions are very significant is Jane Austen's writing as well because they have a certain, human truth to them that allows readers to connect on an emotional and mental level. Now, Montaigne is not as emotional or subtle as Austen's writing, but the idea of natural thinking and emotions are present in both pieces of literature.  In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth's point of view on Mr. Darcy is extremely negative and as the story progresses, we see a growth in Elizabeth as she becomes closer to both Darcy and the truth. This growth expresses a natural process of change that is meant to bring her audience closer to the characters even though her book is fiction. Now, unlike Austen, Montaigne is writing for himself and not to please others, which is why his writing is more confusing, but the main point is that both are trying to elicit an emotional, natural connection. 

The major difference between these two authors that pertains to their style of writing is the difference in time. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813 while Montaigne's Essays was published about 230 years prior in 1580. Despite the difference in time, these authors are still able to share and stay true to their writing style. Now, these two authors had opposing views such as their views of woman and society. Jane Austen portrayed women as strong and confident, while Montaigne didn't think much of them and treated them with less respect, but that doesn't make one point less than the other. Both of their points of views possess a quality of strength and truth, which were either common or opposing ideals in their particular time period, but it's up to the reader to decide whether Austen's or Montaigne's literature pertains to them. 

The flow in which the human mind follows is erratic yet systematic. The constant array of ideas that jumble within our minds leads to a brighter and bolder future for ourselves and for the world around us. Montaigne's Essays display with enticing style of thought along with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that gives the audience a new sense of reality. Although these authors have a different approach to the way they write and are from two different time periods, the message of honesty, reality, and the natural process of thought is crystal clear.

1987 AP Exam

My notes on the MC of the 1987 AP exam.

The 1987 AP exam resembled the AP exam I took last year, but it contained a lot more poetry. I'm not the biggest fan of poetry due to the fact that I find poetry difficult to read especially when it's written in old English, but I would like to be able to learn more about it in hopes of enjoying it more rather than struggling through it. I also haven't studied poetry in quite a while, so when it came to figuring out if the poem was in Dactylic hexameter, Heroic couplets, Rhyme royal, or Ballad Meter... I was completely lost.  I recognized the words, but I didn't have a clue of what they meant. I researched later and found out that the poem was written in heroic couplets, which refers to the sequence of rhyming pairs of lines in iambic pentameter.

Poetry and vocabulary were my weaknesses when taking this exam. There was one word in particular that drove me insane and that word was pious! I had no idea what it meant and I saw it a few times! After I finished the exam, I looked in up immediately and found out that it means to be marked by or showing reverence to worship or religion. I won't forget that word again! In conclusion, the MC part of the AP exam was challenging, but not impossible.

POETRY #1

1. The poem that is used in the Levi's commercial is called "The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski.

2. This poem is quite ironic in the Levi's commercial due to the fact that the objective of the commercial was to convince the viewers to purchase their products! By advertising to the public, the Levi's company is trying to get people to buy their products in order to make a profit. This poem is about living your life and not letting others dictate your actions. An example of this is "your life is your life", which encourages individuals to live the life they always wanted and to make their own choices. In addition, the poem also states "be on the watch", which means that there are others trying to control your life and you must not allow them to tear away your personal goals or dreams. The Levi's company is trying to take a hold of your life in order to convince you that their jeans are fantastic, which is the irony presented in that commercial.

3.  Charles Bukowski faced various challenges both mentally and physically in both his life and when trying to be published. He was turned down many times by different publishers, but that didn't stop him from trying. "It may not be much light, but it beats the darkness" shows his drive and perseverance on his journey to achieve success, which actually connects to our journal topic today in class. Our journal topic was based on a story about Thomas Edison that showed the importance of making mistakes and having failures in order to achieve success. Failures are lessons to learn and grow from that allow you to find the path to success. Bukowski failed many times, but was able to beat the challenges he faced. The line that expresses this is "your life is your life. know it while you have it." because it expresses that he took those failures and used them as tools to achieve what he wanted.The poem encourages the readers to do the same. Bukowski also dealt with illness, alcoholism, and bullies, which is shown in the poem such as "you can beat death in life, sometimes,". In addition, the poem is quite pessimistic and depressing at some parts ("you can't beat death") due that fact that he foreshadows what is to come, but that doesn't mean there isn't going to be an opportunity to change it or learn from it.

4. I found #1 by searching the title of the commercial on Dr.Preston's website, Go forth 2011, which led me to a poetry website that showed the rest of the poem, the title, and the author. I researched Charles Bukowski on various websites such as http://bukowski.net, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/charles-bukowski, http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-bukowski/, and http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/394. These websites were great sources of information on both his personal life and his life as a poet.

ESSAY #1

“Listen. To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I've only found sorrow.” In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the Price family goes on a religious mission to Africa for their father, who is a baptist preacher. The mission changes all of their lives entirely. One of the daughters, Leah, craves the attention of her father and knowledge, but as time progresses, her views change drastically. She no longer feels connected to her birthplace and begins to lose her faith in her father because she no longer feels like she belongs within American culture. Leah choose to never live in the United States again because she doesn't feel she belongs there. As the most out-spoken and independent daughter, she not only learns from Africa, but she soon becomes a part of the African people, culture, and way of life. At the beginning of the book, her skin color did define who she was and how she was treated. She was not an Congolese local, so she had many more indulgences than those of the Congolese people. As the story continues and politics shift, Leah begins to realize how privileged she truly is and how those privileges weren't even that important. This revelation causes her to leave her old way of life behind in order to adopt the Congolese way of life in which she feels more connected to. Her tone and usage of words shows how she felt more like an African than an American. This change and the idea of clarity are themes in the book in which Leah embodies.

"I could see that this whole idea and business of Childhood was nothing guaranteed. It seemed to me, in fact, like something more or less invented by white people and stuck onto the front end of grown-up life like a frill on a dress." The African way of life is extremely different than the lifestyle in the United States of America. The African people struggle each and every day due to their lack of resources. Now, due to her father's quest to bring the salvation to the rest of the world, Leah was thrown into this hard lifestyle without any idea of how it would actually affect her. In the beginning, Leah was privileged and didn't quite understand the African culture, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try to adapt. As a driven and strong-minded individual, Leah immersed herself into the Congolese way of life. She had a hunger for learning. Leah soon began to connect with the African people unlike her father, who was too proud to steer away from "God's way". As time passed, Leah no longer felt like she was an outsider. She had become a part of Africa itself. Now, even though she had proven her worth to the African people, her skin color and gender did effect how she was looked upon, but she broke down those barriers over time. Leah was a hunter, a teacher, and a wife of a Congolese man. She performed and conquered these responsibilities just like a man, which was unheard of in the Congolese community because women were not afforded the same privileges as men were. She was in the middle of two societies. Her physical appearance fit in with the American lifestyle while her mental state was devoted to Africa.

"But my father needs permission only from the Saviour, who obviously is all in favor of subduing the untamed wilderness for a garden." As a young girl, Leah looked at her father as a role model and truly believed in what he was preaching, which was that Africa was full of sin and he needed to come in order to save all of the damned souls, but this changed once they moved to Africa. Due to her father's stubbornness, Leah learned and communicated with the Congolese community in order to help her father, but she soon realized how insane her father was due to the fact his religious point of view didn't make sense to the Congolese way of life such as wanting to baptize their children in alligator infested waters. Now, Leah was different from the rest of her family. She choose a harder lifestyle than her previous one. The reason why she choose the Congolese way of life was because she felt like it was more rewarding. She struggled each and everyday in order to survive and support her family. The struggles and challenges were worth it in Leah's eyes since she felt that by living that way, her life had more meaning and was more rewarding.

"We are the balance of our damage and our transgressions… Believe this: the mistakes are part of the story. I am born of a man who believed he could tell nothing but the truth, while he set down for all time the Poisonwood Bible." The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a story that digs underneath the lines to uncover the truth about adapting to diversities, discovering new points of views, and finding where you truly belong. Leah Price and her family moved to Africa on a mission for her father in order to help show the Congolese people the way of God. Originally, she was just your average American girl, but the influence of Africa changed her point of view entirely. She began to fall in love with Africa and soon felt as if it were home. By the end of the story, she holds no connection with the United States of America because she feels like her home is and always will be Africa. She had to deal with biases and misunderstandings, but in conclusion, she realized that Africa was her home and that the challenges were worth it.

Dare to know.

"dimidium facti qui coepit habet:sapere aude, incipe" 

 This quote means "He who has begun is half done: dare to know, dare to begin." (sapere aude can also mean dare to be wise). To be honest, when I first translated this quote I was a little confused, but it made a lot more sense once I figured out where this quote originally came from. 

This quote was used in the first book of Epistles by Horace when a character decides to wait until the river stopped rushing water in order to cross it, which makes no sense, but that was Horace's point. The quote was meant to express the tenacity of individuals when trying to achieve goals no matter how difficult, challenging, or ridiculous they may be. In addition, it also shows the importance of effort. Trying your best and applying yourself to be the best of your ability is the key to success. For example, we as students, signed up for this course, but it is entirely on us to make the effort in order to make the best out of the information that is brought to us. What good is a book if you don't sit down and read it? The cover may be pretty or the title may be awesome, but you have to make the effort to open the book and carefully read it in order to be able to understand what the author wanted to portray. 

There is an old saying that states that instead of working harder, we need to work smarter. I agree with half of that statement. Personally, I believe that there is no substitute for hard work (quote from Thomas Edison), but what if we did both? Worked harder and smarter? Think about all of the possibilities and opportunities that would be created! We would not only better ourselves, but also the world around us.

Now, how is this quote relevant? This quote is relevant to both this course and our lives because no matter what your goal is (in either life or in this course) by working hard and trying your best to learn, we can achieve our goals and hopefully much more.

Be the change.

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world"- Mahatma Gandhi

As an another amazing summer ends, a new school year is about to begin. To be honest, I have such mixed emotions about being a senior. Part of me is super excited and ready to start the year, but then there is a part of me that just can't believe that this will be my last year in high school. I will be going to my last first day of school tomorrow, which is absolutely crazy to think about! All I know is that this year is going to be the year of change and I want to be able to make this year the best it can possibly be.

Live Like Jay

"What are you afraid of? You've got a chance to change everything. Take it. This is about choices you make in life. This is about finding that one thing that sets you free. You need to believe in yourself or none of this matters."

In less than a few days, summer will come to a close and another school year will begin. Like most of us, I spent my summer either hanging out with my family or friends and watching a good amount of Netflix. Recently, I watched a movie called Chasing Mavericks, which is based on the life of Jay Moriarity (a professional surfer, who is famous for surfing Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California). I was originally drawn to the movie since I grew up in Half Moon Bay, so I was already sort of emotionally connected to film before I even started watching it, but after watching the movie, I feel like I have a new point of view on life. The quote above was my favorite in the entire movie because it's about being yourself and taking chances to better yourself as a person both inside and outside. In addition, the title of this post, Live Like Jay, is a motto about how Jay Moriarity always looked on the positive side of life instead of the negative even though he had been through the toughest of times. I try my best to always look on the bright side of life and after seeing this film, I want to be able to be more positive than I ever was before and to be more grateful for what I have. I'm so glad I watched this film because it just reminds me that life is precious and we should live it to the fullest.