Seventh reading

I decided to read Richard Cory because it's short, sweet, and to the point. It's by far the easiest poem to analyze because it starts off as a happy, cheerful poem and then you find out how unhappy he is because it is quoted in the poem that he literally shoots himself in the head.

Macbeth active reading notes. Act 2

I'm not exactly an expert on Shakespeare but this is what I got from the act. It may not be accurate at all but i tried..

-banquo and flea nice talk about how late it is.
-Macbeth runs into banquo late at night and banquo explains how he dreamt about three witches talking about "truths"
-Macbeth imagines a dagger hanging above him and he tries to grab it. As he continues to try for it he notices blood on it and it makes him think about Duncan's death.
-Macbeth confesses to lady Macbeth about the death.
- lady Macbeth gets mad when she realizes Macbeth hasn't left the daggers for the sleeping chamberlains to frame them for Duncan's death.
-Lennox figures out the king is dead and lady Macbeth pretends to be horrified.
- The chamberlains are framed for the murder and Macbeth wants them to be put to death for the crime they didn't commit.
- Ross is walking outside the castle and Mcduff comes and tells him that Macbeth is the new king.

Carrie passages

“People don't get better, they just get smarter. When you get smarter you don't stop pulling the wings of flies, you just think of better reasons for doing it.”
-This passage really stood out to me because Carrie kind of opens up and gets emotional. I can just hear a very distraught young girl saying it, I think that's why I couldn't get it out of my mind.


“They had become a fixed star in the shifting firmament of the high school's relationships, the acknowledged Romeo and Juliet. And she knew with sudden hatefulness that there was one couple like them in every white suburban high school in America.”
-Every school has a premadonna teenage girl that thinks she's better than very one else.


“She did not know if her gift came from the lord of light or of darkness, and now, finally finding that she didn't care which, she wad overcome with almost indescribable relief, as if a huge weight, long carried, had slipped from her shoulders.”
-When something good happens to us, or something benefitting us, we tend to not question it because whatever seems to be too good to be true usually is. So we ignore it.

AP practice test. Multiple choice questions

E
A
E
B
A
A
D
D
D
B
E
C
E
D
D
C
A
E
C
C
B
C
B
B
C
C
A
C
B
C
D
D
A
B
A
D
E
C
D
D
D
C
A
C
B
E
B
D
A
D
B
C
C
E

Brave New World

Honestly, I didn't take any Internet worthy notes about the book. Taking active reading notes has always been a struggle because I haven't quite figured out how to manage staying concentrated on the story but then seeking the important points to jot down.

First Quarter Review

well that went by pretty quick. i cant say I'm happy about that. it means were that much closer to graduation and that's a step closer to college and the real world and that scares the crap out of me. there really isn't much to say about my performance this quarter other than an embarrassment. i fell so far behind in this class and its by far my favorite class. ever. so I'm very embarrassed that i haven't challenged myself or put the work forward. i know my classmates are disappointed in me and i sure am too. everyone always says they re going to vhange and do this and that. no one really does though. i can honestly say I'm going to try. Ive faced so many mentally and physical struggles this first quarter and that's all handled now so i have no excuse to fall behind. Ive been lucky enough to have someone pick me back up and get me on my feet again so i need to repay the favor by doing my shit and getting my act together.

BOB 1

i personally think my blog is the worst in my class. everyone in 3rd period has their act together. i think I'm the farthest behind and that's my fault. but i think every ones blogs look pretty nice.

I am Here

I can honestly say this is the worst semester Ive ever had. I've never felt so lazy before. I definitely need to reevaluate my priorities and things need to change. its not so much about the grades that's motivating me to get back on track, its what my teachers opinions of me are and how they have changed severely because they know i haven't tried at all.

Lit Terms 82-108

Omniscient Point of View- knowing all things, usually the third person

Onomatopoeia- whose 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

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 argument; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing

Postmodernism- 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 doesn't 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

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 complication, advancement towards climax

Lit Terms 57-81

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 grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence

Hyperbole- an exaggeration statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point

Imagery- figure of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the sense

Implication- a meaning or understanding that is to be arrived 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 the 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

Interior Monologue- a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experiences 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  words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs to contrast with another near by

Lyric- a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author's innermost thoughts and feelings

Magical Realism- a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical

Metaphor- an analogy comparing two different things imaginatively; can be extended, controlling, or mixed

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 the thing

Mode of Discourse- argument, 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 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

Lit Terms 31-56

Lit Terms 31-56

Dialect- the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others

Dialectics- formal debates usually over the nature of truth

Dichotomy- split or break between two opposing things

Diction- the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words

Didactic- having to do with the transmission of information; education

Dogmatic- rigid in beliefs and principles

Elegy- a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting

Epic- a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, morals, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time

Epigram- witty aphorism

Epitaph- any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone

Epithet- a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone's character, characteristics

Euphemism- the use of an indirect, mild, or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offense or blunt

Evocative- a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality

Exposition- beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and characteristics in a detailed explanation

Expressionism- movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feelings

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

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- a 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 away

Free Verse- verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhym

Lit Terms 6-30

Lit Terms 6-30

Analogy- a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them

Analysis- a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

Anaphora- a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences

Anecdote- a very short story used to illustrate a point

Antagonist- a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

Antithesis- a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

Aphorism- a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

Apologia-  a defense or justification of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology

Apostrophe- a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

Argument-the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself

Assumption- the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true

Audience- the intended listener or listeners

Characterization- the means by which a writer reveals a character's personality

Chiasmus- a reversal in the order of words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order

Circumlocution- a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

Classicism- art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of Ancient Greece and Rome (tradition, clarity, reason, balance and order)

Cliché- a phrase or situation overused within society

Climax- the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved

Colloquialism- folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation

Comedy- originally a nondramatic literary place of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed to provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

Conflict- struggle or problem in a story causing tension

Connotation- implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

Contrast- a rhetorical device by which one element  is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

Denotation- plain dictionary definition

Denouement- loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

Lit Terms 1-5

Lit Terms 1-5

Allegory-a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point

Alliteration- the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words

Allusion- a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize

Ambiguity- something uncertain as to interpretation

Anachroism- something that shows up in the wrong place or wrong time

Spring Semester Plan 1

English goals: obviously to pass the AP test with at least a 3. I'm going to step up my game and do exceedingly better than last semester.

Eventual life goals: I'm going to be in the process of opening my first restaurant in exactly ten years.

AP Prep Post #1

1. If you were the river, would you be enlightenment or would you know enlightenment? In other words, what’s up with the river? What is it’s relation to enlightenment?

2. What does enlightenment look like in Siddhartha? Is it a feeling? An attitude?

3. What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?

4. What is it meant by knowledge and why can it be communicated while wisdom can not?

5. Is it good that Siddhartha fails to help his son?


Questions: From http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.htmlhttp://faculty.salisbury.edu/~jdhatley/101sidd.htm