Thursday, February 27, 2014

Literature Analysis # 5

I read the book online.There weren't any page numbers. :(


1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

The book starts off by introducing a girl named Hazel. Her mother believes she is depressed which could be from the factor that Hazel has thyroid cancer that has come down to her lungs, and her lungs fill up with fluid. She attends these support meetings for people with cancer, and happens to meet a boy named Isaac and a boy named Agustus. Agustus had a from of cancer from the bone, but was cancer free (until it comes back later...) Hazel and Agustus share a connection with books, and exchange titles. They often talk about suffering, discover the fear of oblivion, and themes around death such as after life. Hazel and Agustus travel to Amsterdam to meet an author, who ends up being especially rude to them. Hazel doesn't want to be with Agustus to end up leaving him alone when she dies, but anyways they end up as a couple. More moments pass in the novel, good times, sick times and Agustus gets cancer again. After that his health begins deteriorating (he's clearly thought about it before, having a tux for his funeral already). The deteriorating Agustus changes, and ends up dying. He asks the rude author to write a eulogy for Hazel, with the final words of "I do."

 2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.


One of the major themes of the novel is life after death, and what is beyond that. From early on in the novel, Agustus asks Hazel if she believes in the afterlife, and she's claims no, but unsure. Where I believe Agustus believes in the afterlife. Beyond the suffering done by everyone, he finds the one worth suffering for, and ends final letter with "I do." Even after he is gone, I do is supposed to be a commitment, a binding even though he is gone, after life ties into the I do.

 3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).


The author's tone is genuine and sincere. He establishes this tone because has wants to make the characters believable and connect with the audience.

 4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. 
Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How? 
Example(s)?



 3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

I would say Hazel is partially dynamic and partially static, only because the change she goes through isn't because of herself but, its a small change. Hazel's character changes due to how she devotes her time. Her parents before remarked how she never got out and after Agustus entered her life, she devoted more time with him. I believe Hazel is more of a flat character, little development but there still is some
 
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction. 
After reading the book, I felt like I met a person when it came to Hazel. She seemed apathetic towards some concepts, like most teens which made me establish a connection with her. Along with the apathetic factor, she was pretty much like every teenage girl. Another relatable part is she always (along with Agustus) always seems to question their purpose in life, what were they put here for, and me personally I question my purpose.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

JURY I

Marisol: description of Bernard is dead on and I like the way you presented it. As Ashley said, some grammatical mistakes and such, as well as the use of I. "I would characterize Bernard's motivations" But you directly addressed every part of the prompt

Kylie: I like how you demonstrated Bernard was an outcast not by comparing him to others such as Hemholtz, but you described the norms of the society within the world state to demonstrate it. You identify another way Bernard is distinct, by using examples like the part "piece of meat " back up how Bernard is different mentally. Over all, I think your Essay was really good since you presented your information and backed it up with some textual examples.

Miki: I agree with Ashley and Allyson, some sentences seemed awkward. "...but still often alienated by his appearance." I also had trouble responding to this prompt due to only knowing the 5 chapters. I feel like you did a good job of answering it though.

Erica: You addressed the prompt thoroughly like a lot of people said above, but I would have to say, "A good example of this " not to use this in an essay, because its like i'm going to show this.. just say it. Other than that, you did very good describing Bernard and capturing the novel.

Teanna:   I didn't see the connection between soma to pain killers. You need more evidence to back up how pain killers are like the soma, most of it seemed like opinions. Personally I would not use "we" in an essay either. My favorite paragraph of yours though would be the 4th paragraph about the castes and discrimination and relating it to the middle class, homeless etc was really good. I was able to see clearly what you were trying to get it.

Lesther: I really love your prompt, its different compared to the others I have read, different is good.
"Their society dictates how they act, talk, listen, think, etc." My favorite line in your essay for some reason it stands out to me.
Your essay has one or two grammatical mistakes, like one in the first paragraph.
You did a good job of addressing the prompt, and adding questions within the middle of your paragraphs was a nice touch too. Incorporating modern day technology to BNW about the purpose of cloning was good. I also agree with Mia for more examples historical ones would be great evidence.


When reading the essays I was able to see some different approaches to my topic and how some were able to elaborate more on the prompt I had trouble talking about. Although, some did have unique topics like Lesther's. In a few I found some uses of "I" or "we" in formal writing, would be something not to use, but in many I found different ways to directly approach the prompt and relate it to different things.








MY TEAM

Today in class I was able to know what my class is passionate about or also what they are unsure about. For example, my friend is still unsure of what to do for their project, but they want to connect it to positivity. I was able to help her connect positivity to community service.  From the feed back I got in class, I got ideas about connecting art to thing things I've taken from literature, by using art to demonstrate themes in major things I have read or anyone else has, which these themes are a lot of the time present in my and everyone else's senior year. So my project will go from themes in novel, taken from reading alone/ lecture notes from Preston > Senior connection > pictures.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Launch

 Recipe: start with your answers to those six questions; stir in the feedback you've gotten in class and on your blog; cook until the idea is complete enough for you to commit to; check in with peers and/or Preston if you need to; write.]



 I am passionate about art, drawing, sketching, doodling, whatever you want to call it. I want to be able to relate art with my senior experiences with learning and also with the things I've been able to take from this course. I don't want it to be a traditional research paper, since I am a visual learning and I learn well reading associated with pictures. I want to get other students involved in it as well.

The internet can help me to connect art with learning, and associative learning, where an individuals associates a sign/image with another (learned from Biology). It can assist me to go more in depth about associative learning, how to relate my drawings to literature and the impact of art and learning. The tools I learned from last semester will help me connect literature, art, learning. One thing I've been able to take from last semester is things are connected always, and there will be a connection.



In order to feel accomplished and no regrets by June, I want to have fun doing my project, and fill the entire project up with drawings/doodles that will make me remember pieces of my senior year and my time spent in the course. If I can associate my pictures with literature, my passion, and my experiences, I accomplished my goal.







I will be able to impress others with my ability to connect and compare my contemporary life of senior year to modern art, translate it into drawings, explain how I've been able to get my own take on it is from the course.

 
In order to make this a reality, I need to incorporate friends as soon as possible. I have to figure out how to connect the dots between my senior year > Literature > the course. Once I make these connections the art should come easy. Beyond those connections and information, the materials I would need would be markers, paints, color pencils, color crayons, and lots of paper or a really big piece of paper. And Also, a few long days after school/weekends

















My peers, and experts will be everyone who participates/collaborates with me even in the smallest way. The public will be pretty much everyone who is exposed to my project, I will try to leave pictures and explanations of it on my blog before the course is over.


















http://cwestrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/2013/06/interdisciplinary-education.html
^ that's Dr. Preston. :)

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Brave New Essay

To choose an essay topic, I looked at the blogs of Erica, Marisol, Kelly, AmaraMaddi, Miranda, Javi, Maria, Allyson, Miki



Select a novel, play, or epic in which a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.
 - I like this prompt the best out of the ones founds but lacking the meaning of the work as a whole because I have not read the entire book

     In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, several characters are distinct from the others within their castes such as Hemholtz and Bernard within the Alphas. To be in exile, a character can be physically separated from their birth place, or can be cut off mentally and emotionally from the people within their birthplace. Bernard experiences an exile without being removed from home due to his differences that lead to alienation as well as benefits.

 The normal for Alphas is big in height and stature, while you have the easy authority of the lower castes. Soma was eaten regularly for content and controllable individuals. From very early on within Brave New World, the author, Aldous Huxley makes the distinction of Bernard to others in his caste (alphas). His physical appearance differs from the other castes such as Hemholtz who is the ideal Alpha in stature and size. Bernard's size deficiency leads to lower castes not giving him obedience that an Alpha should have. This becomes alienating for Bernard since  he is set apart from other alphas are given respect while some of the lower castes do not see him as superior.
  
 Another experience that sets Bernard apart from the rest of the alphas, is him "enjoying" soma. Bernard must pretend he is affected by the soma and fit in with the others. Bernard's alienation demonstrates the humanity left in him, while the others have lost theirs. Bernard's ability to express emotions demonstrates that he is human and sets him apart from the others, but it also enriches him. Because Bernard isn't taking the soma that everyone is taking to be controlled and happy, he is granted an ability others lack. The ability to have independent thoughts and ability to express emotions

Huxley uses characters such as Hemholtz to compare the humanity that lays within the "normal" alphas as opposed to outcast Bernard. He is cut off from his home because is size, and physical appearance. His humanity created independent thoughts and thinking which made him distinct from the other alphas who had no independent thoughts.





 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

BRAVE NEW WORLD AP QUESTION APPROACH


To address this question I would:
1) identify the character I would use first and I would personally use Bernard.
2) Identify his "birthplace / homeland " etc. I would use where he lives in the beginning along with the other Alphas.
3) Identify some experiences that are alienating for Bernard such as him attending the meeting required of the other alphas every other week. He felt unaffected by the soma, so he often has to lie about it in order to not be even more of an outcast. Other people don't take orders from him easily since he's smaller than most alphas. So his physical appearance alienates him since alphas from his home are tall etc.
4. Identify how the experiences are enriching. Bernard is more human than other, own independent thought, makes him distinct from other alphas

HERE I AM

please explain your progress in this course during the first grading period.  Have you begun thinking/working on your senior project, big question, collaborative working group, or other endeavor/venture that shows how you're putting this course to work for you? Document and explain your performance.

To be completely and blatantly honest, I experienced a low this first grading period. Where I was so over whelmed and I just put things off and took a mental vacation, also known as senioritis, but I have finally recovered and I'm starting to catch up and get back into my old habits of completing my work on time. So in the beginning I started out pretty rocky.
I have began thinking about my big senior project and wondering who to include, or if not specific people, why not everyone? If I chose some people I would probably get my closer friends who are really into art and do a project with loads of art materials and how art is incorporated into literature. Or doing thing things we have taken from each literary piece and illustrate it. Or simply tying in what senior year means to us as individuals. I put this course to work for me by having this course affect my way of approaching my senior project. I knew that nearly everything was connected to literature so it didn't have to formally in words.


Monday, February 17, 2014

Lit terms #5

Parallelism:     the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form
 
Parody:           an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.
 
Pathos:            the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.
 
Pedantry:        a display of learning for its own sake.
 
Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.
 
Plot:     a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.
 
Poignant:         eliciting sorrow or sentiment.
 
Point of View:   the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.
 
Postmodemism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple  meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary
 
Prose:              the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.
 
Protagonist:     the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist
 
Pun:                 play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications.
 
Purpose:          the intended result wished by an author.
 
Realism:          writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightforward manner to reflect life as it actually is.
 
Refrain:           a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus.
 
Requiem:        any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.
 
Resolution:      point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.
 
Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.
 
Rhetoric:         use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.
 
Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion.
 
Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.
 
Romanticism: movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.
 
Satire:              ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.
 
Scansion:        the analysis of verse in terms of meter.
 
Setting:            the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

credit to Ms. Dolan's forms to help define the words.
 

Lit terms # 4

Interior Monologue:   a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.
 
Inversion:        words out of order for emphasis.
 
Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast                                         with another nearby.
 
Lyric:               a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings.
 
Magic(al) Realism: a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical.
 
Metaphor:        an analogy that compare two different things imaginatively directly.
            Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.
            Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work.
            Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.
 
Metonymy:      literally "name changing" a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.
 
Mode of Discourse: argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition.
 
Modernism:     literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology
 
Monologue:     an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem
 
Mood:             the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.
 
Motif:              a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.
 
Myth:               a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.
 
Narrative:        a story or description of events.
 
Narrator:          one who narrates, or tells, a story.
 
Naturalism:      extreme form of realism
 
Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.
 
Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person.
 
Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning
 
Oxymoron:      a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.
 
Pacing:            rate of movement; tempo.
 
Parable:           a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.
 
Paradox:         a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.
 

Lit Terms #3

Exposition:      beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.
 
Expressionism:   movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).
 
Fable:              a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.
 
Fallacy:           from Latin word "to deceive", a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.
 
Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.
 
Farce:              a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.
 
Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile).
 
Flashback:      a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.
 
Foil:                 a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.
 
Folk Tale:        story passed on by word of mouth.
 
Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; "planning" to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.
 
Free Verse:     verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.
 
Genre:             a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.
 
Gothic Tale:    a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence.
 
Hyperbole:      an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.
 
Imagery:          figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.
 
Implication:      a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author.
 
Incongruity:     the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.
 
Inference:        a judgment or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available.
 
Irony:               a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

LIT TERMS # 6

simile: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

 
Soliloquy:        an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.
 
Spiritual:          a folk song, usually on a religious theme.
 
Speaker:         a narrator, the one speaking.
 
Stereotype:     cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.
 
Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character's thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them
 
Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.
 
Style:               the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.
 
Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important structures of language.
 
Surrealism       a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the irrational aspects of man's existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.
 
Suspension of Disbelief:         suspend disbelief in order to enjoy something.
 
Symbol:           something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.
 
Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.
 
Synecdoche:   another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.
 
Syntax:            the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.
 
Theme:            main idea of the story; its message(s).
 
Thesis:             a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or disproved; the main idea
 
Tone:               the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the author's perceived point of view.
 
Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; also called "dry" or "dead pan"
 
Tragedy:          in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed
 
Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis
 
Vernacular:     everyday speech
 
Voice:              The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer's or speaker's pesona.
 
Zeitgeist:          the feeling of a particular era in history

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

STUFF FOR PROJECT. (project Idea still in progress)

Importance of reflection:
http://www2.bgsu.edu/departments/english/cconline/irvin/Importance.htm

Benefits of art  for high school students:
http://www.artsedsearch.org/students/research-by-age-level/high-school

http://jimkitzmiller.net/self-expression-benefits/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P07Fk1woCQI

LAUNCH/DRAFT

What am I passionate about?  What do I want to do?
I am passionate about all things cartoon, animated, or simply just drawn. Chemistry would have to be another one of my passions only because of the hand on experience and the chemicals. Simply I would have fun doing something related to art, not the history of it though.

  • How can I use the tools from last semester (and the Internet in general)?
  • Tools from last semester I can use would probably be the connections part and connect with all my peers online to have them all take part in my project. My peers would be able to help in the one big art project where they can express what senior year means to them.

  • What will I need to do in order to "feel the awesomeness with no regrets" by June?
  • I need to keep putting my best food forward and actually keep up and maintain doing my homework since I have been falling behind.


  • What will impress/convince others (both in my life and in my field)?
  • - not sure.. It would be cool to see all the comparisons of what people's take on senior year would be in an artistic way though.
  • How will I move beyond 'What If' and take this from idea --> reality?
  • Well I will have to get a reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllly Long piece of paper and Have people continue to fill it up throughout all my classes as well as have teachers willing to allow some time for students to do the art in a class period.
  • Who will be the peers, public, and experts in my personal learning network?
  • The peers will be everyone in their current senior year, as well as the adults remembering back to what their senior year was like. I don't think there would be any "Experts" In this project.

    Tuesday, February 4, 2014

    LIT TERMS #2

    circumlocution:   many words to attempt to be vague or evasive

    classicism:  a traditional style of literature, art, or music that is usually graceful and simple with parts that are organized in a pleasing way

    cliche:  an unoriginal saying, hackneyed.

    climax: The high point of a story.

    colloquialism:  a word or phrase that is used mostly in informal speech

    comedy:  dealing with drama of light amusing character and typically a happy ending

    conflict: the problem in a story

    connotation:  meaning beyond dictionary definition

    contrast: word   with another for emphasis or clarity

    denotation:  dictionary definition

    denouement:  loose ends tied up after the climax; ending; conclusion

    dialect:  the language specific to a certain region, or class of people

    dialectics:  formal debate

    dichotomy:  a split or break between two opposing things

    diction:   word choice

    didactic:  tending to instruct

    dogmatic:  rigid in beliefs and principles

    elegy:  song for the dead

    epic:  long narrative focused around a hero and his feats

    epigram:  a terse, sage, or witty or often paradoxical saying

     epitaph:   brief writing on a tombstone

    epithet:  an insulting word or phrase following a person's name

    euphemism:  the use of a mild word in the place of an offensive or blunt word

    evocative:  bringing forth emotions