We made a video depicting a scene of a Hamlet but in a modern version. My group included Lilliyana Navarrete, Susel Garcia, Antonia Arredondo, Mellany Cunningham, Alec McFarland, Ephraim Rodriguez, Eric Jackson, and me. Susel and I wrote the song and sung it, Lilly filmed and edited it, Antonia and Alec played the piano, and the rest of the members were the actors (Alec included!). Here is the link to our video. Hope you enjoy it! If you have any feedback or opinion, please comment below! Thank you!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Instead of us individually reciting "To be or not to be," we decided to collaborate and do the recitation as a class, but with a twist! What is the twist?? Find out!!
Friday, October 17, 2014
LITERATURE ANALYSIS # 2: A PASSAGE TO INDIA BY E.M.FORSTER
1) Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to elements of plot you've learned in the past courses. Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose.
a) Introduction/Exposition: The setting of the story is Chandrapore, British India (a fictional city). The book begins with the introduction of Adela and her elder friend Mrs. Moore, coming to British India. Dr. Aziz - an Indian Muslim - is introduced. He stops by a mosque (his favorite one) and witnesses an Englishwoman and gets upset at her. It turns out to be Mrs. Moore, who shares that she respects all customs. They soon become friends by chatting. Adela meets Mr. Fielding and he invites the women to a tea part, along with Aziz. Aziz, at the party, promises the women to take them to the Marabar caves.
b) Rising Action: Aziz takes the women to the caves. Mrs. Moore becomes claustrophobic and could not handle the echo and darkness. So Aziz and Adela are the only ones continuing. Adela angers Aziz, and he goes in a cave. After a while, he comes out and finds the guide to be alone and assumes Adela is lost. He finds her talking to another Englishwoman but they leave before talking to Aziz.
c) Conflict: When Aziz gets off the train, he's accused of raping Adela.
d) Climax: During the trial Adela starts having doubt of Aziz's guilt. She finally remembers she faced the same problem Mrs. Moore did and blamed Aziz in panic. She finally admitted that Aziz did not rape her.
e) Falling Action: Ronny Heaslop breaks the engagement with Adela. She explains everything to Fielding and left India, forever.
f) Resolution: Aziz was angry at Fielding for befriending Adela, and swears to never befriend a white person. Fielding comes back to India two years later, married to Mrs. Moore's daughter. Eventually, Aziz agrees to be friends with Fielding again.
The third person omniscient point of view allows the author to prevent the audience from being biased against Adela and for Aziz, which would take away the effect of the theme that the author was hoping to convey. With the readers reading and understanding each character's perspective, they could truly analyze the story, without feeling pity or anger.
2) Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.
There are many themes throughout the story: friendship, gender, power, justice, etc. One theme that stood out to me was race. The author uses the differences between the two races to highlight the possibility of uniting them. He used the friendship of Aziz and Fielding juxtaposing the relationship of Adela and Aziz to highlight the two possibilities of the two races bonding leaving the readers to think which one they should choose.
3) Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrates your points.
Forster philosophical but neutral. He's philosophical in terms of choosing the characters and highlighting their choices throughout the story. However, he's an objective and neutral author who doesn't let his point of view towards the issue in the writing.
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.
1) Foreshadowing: "Except for the Marabar Caves - and they are twenty miles off - the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary" (Pg: 1)
2) Symbols: Flames: "The two flames approach and strive to unite, but cannot, because one of them breathes air, the other stone." (Pg: 137)
3) Imagery: "The night was still dark, but had acquired the temporary look that indicates its end." (Pg: 138)
4) Irony: It's ironic how Adela was the one who was extremely eager to meet Aziz and was curious about him but she was the one accusing him of rape.
5) Allusion: Author used allusion to Persian inscription: "And near it, under a low dome, should be his tomb, with a Persian inscription." (Pg: 17)
6) Personification: The example provided for the metaphor can be considered as personification.
7) Metaphor: "A mirror inlaid with lovely colours divides the lover, delicate stars of pink and grey interpose, exquisite nebulae, shadings fainter than the tail of a comet or the midday noon..." (Pg: 137)
8) Simile: "Immediately another flame rises in the depths of the rock and moves towards the surface like an imprisoned spirit..." (Pg: 137)
9) Characterization: Direct Characterization: "They are dark caves. Even when they open towards the sun, very little light penetrates down the entrance tunnel into the circular chamber." (Pg: 137)
10) Point of View: "Abandoning his bicycle, which fell before a servant could catch it, the young man sprang up on to the verandah." (Pg: 6) The author refers to the protagonist as "the young man," third person point of view.
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?
"They are dark caves. Even when they open towards the sun, very little light penetrates down the entrance tunnel into the circular chamber." (Pg: 137) - Direct Characterization. "'Madam, this is a mosque you have no right here at all; you should have taken off your shoes; this is a holy place for Moslems'" (Pg: 18) - Indirect Characterization. "She accepted his escort back to the club, and said at the gate that she wished she was a member, so that she could have asked him in." (Pg: 21) - Indirect Characterization. "Chandrapore appears to be a totally different place. It is a city of gardens. It is no city, but a forest sparsely scattered with huts." (Pg: 4) - Direct Characterization.
The author uses both of them to not only make the characters more realistic but also the setting of the story more realistic. Doing this, he allows the readers to connect with the story, the setting, and characters.
2) Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The author's syntax and diction usually stays constant throughout the story, no matter who the character is or what the situation is. The only thing that might change is when once or twice, one of the Indian characters would talk in Hindi, the Indian national language. This allows the author to make the situation and the character in the story more realistic, more believable for the audience.
3) Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist, Mr. Aziz, is a round and dynamic character. All of Aziz's beliefs, thoughts, actions were described through his actions, his dialogues, and his behavior with the other characters. Aziz is a caring, friendly, innocent doctor, who gets wrongly accused of rape by a woman whom he was showing around.
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.
I am an Indian myself, so reading a story related to the culture that I was most exposed to makes me feel as if I'm part of a story. Aziz fits perfectly with a "standard Indian individual." I definitely felt as if I'd met a person because the hardships that Aziz went through were extremely relatable. Everything that I learned in my history class in India was about the not getting along of Indians and British. It was nice to read that someone could and would and even did change the aspect of hating the entire British race instead of only those who were actually racists.;
a) Introduction/Exposition: The setting of the story is Chandrapore, British India (a fictional city). The book begins with the introduction of Adela and her elder friend Mrs. Moore, coming to British India. Dr. Aziz - an Indian Muslim - is introduced. He stops by a mosque (his favorite one) and witnesses an Englishwoman and gets upset at her. It turns out to be Mrs. Moore, who shares that she respects all customs. They soon become friends by chatting. Adela meets Mr. Fielding and he invites the women to a tea part, along with Aziz. Aziz, at the party, promises the women to take them to the Marabar caves.
b) Rising Action: Aziz takes the women to the caves. Mrs. Moore becomes claustrophobic and could not handle the echo and darkness. So Aziz and Adela are the only ones continuing. Adela angers Aziz, and he goes in a cave. After a while, he comes out and finds the guide to be alone and assumes Adela is lost. He finds her talking to another Englishwoman but they leave before talking to Aziz.
c) Conflict: When Aziz gets off the train, he's accused of raping Adela.
d) Climax: During the trial Adela starts having doubt of Aziz's guilt. She finally remembers she faced the same problem Mrs. Moore did and blamed Aziz in panic. She finally admitted that Aziz did not rape her.
e) Falling Action: Ronny Heaslop breaks the engagement with Adela. She explains everything to Fielding and left India, forever.
f) Resolution: Aziz was angry at Fielding for befriending Adela, and swears to never befriend a white person. Fielding comes back to India two years later, married to Mrs. Moore's daughter. Eventually, Aziz agrees to be friends with Fielding again.
The third person omniscient point of view allows the author to prevent the audience from being biased against Adela and for Aziz, which would take away the effect of the theme that the author was hoping to convey. With the readers reading and understanding each character's perspective, they could truly analyze the story, without feeling pity or anger.
2) Succinctly describe the theme of the novel.
There are many themes throughout the story: friendship, gender, power, justice, etc. One theme that stood out to me was race. The author uses the differences between the two races to highlight the possibility of uniting them. He used the friendship of Aziz and Fielding juxtaposing the relationship of Adela and Aziz to highlight the two possibilities of the two races bonding leaving the readers to think which one they should choose.
3) Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrates your points.
Forster philosophical but neutral. He's philosophical in terms of choosing the characters and highlighting their choices throughout the story. However, he's an objective and neutral author who doesn't let his point of view towards the issue in the writing.
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.
1) Foreshadowing: "Except for the Marabar Caves - and they are twenty miles off - the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary" (Pg: 1)
2) Symbols: Flames: "The two flames approach and strive to unite, but cannot, because one of them breathes air, the other stone." (Pg: 137)
3) Imagery: "The night was still dark, but had acquired the temporary look that indicates its end." (Pg: 138)
4) Irony: It's ironic how Adela was the one who was extremely eager to meet Aziz and was curious about him but she was the one accusing him of rape.
5) Allusion: Author used allusion to Persian inscription: "And near it, under a low dome, should be his tomb, with a Persian inscription." (Pg: 17)
6) Personification: The example provided for the metaphor can be considered as personification.
7) Metaphor: "A mirror inlaid with lovely colours divides the lover, delicate stars of pink and grey interpose, exquisite nebulae, shadings fainter than the tail of a comet or the midday noon..." (Pg: 137)
8) Simile: "Immediately another flame rises in the depths of the rock and moves towards the surface like an imprisoned spirit..." (Pg: 137)
9) Characterization: Direct Characterization: "They are dark caves. Even when they open towards the sun, very little light penetrates down the entrance tunnel into the circular chamber." (Pg: 137)
10) Point of View: "Abandoning his bicycle, which fell before a servant could catch it, the young man sprang up on to the verandah." (Pg: 6) The author refers to the protagonist as "the young man," third person point of view.
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?
"They are dark caves. Even when they open towards the sun, very little light penetrates down the entrance tunnel into the circular chamber." (Pg: 137) - Direct Characterization. "'Madam, this is a mosque you have no right here at all; you should have taken off your shoes; this is a holy place for Moslems'" (Pg: 18) - Indirect Characterization. "She accepted his escort back to the club, and said at the gate that she wished she was a member, so that she could have asked him in." (Pg: 21) - Indirect Characterization. "Chandrapore appears to be a totally different place. It is a city of gardens. It is no city, but a forest sparsely scattered with huts." (Pg: 4) - Direct Characterization.
The author uses both of them to not only make the characters more realistic but also the setting of the story more realistic. Doing this, he allows the readers to connect with the story, the setting, and characters.
2) Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
The author's syntax and diction usually stays constant throughout the story, no matter who the character is or what the situation is. The only thing that might change is when once or twice, one of the Indian characters would talk in Hindi, the Indian national language. This allows the author to make the situation and the character in the story more realistic, more believable for the audience.
3) Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
The protagonist, Mr. Aziz, is a round and dynamic character. All of Aziz's beliefs, thoughts, actions were described through his actions, his dialogues, and his behavior with the other characters. Aziz is a caring, friendly, innocent doctor, who gets wrongly accused of rape by a woman whom he was showing around.
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.
I am an Indian myself, so reading a story related to the culture that I was most exposed to makes me feel as if I'm part of a story. Aziz fits perfectly with a "standard Indian individual." I definitely felt as if I'd met a person because the hardships that Aziz went through were extremely relatable. Everything that I learned in my history class in India was about the not getting along of Indians and British. It was nice to read that someone could and would and even did change the aspect of hating the entire British race instead of only those who were actually racists.;
Thursday, October 16, 2014
LITERARY FICTION AND EMPATHY
I know I was only supposed to read the article but when I read about the research, I could not help but look it up and actually take the quiz. First of all, I had no idea humans' eyes could be so expressive. If all of our face is covered except our eyes, we can still have a legitimate and as important of a conversation as with words. My result came out to be 29 out of 36. The average result of an adult is 26 out of 36. The result also said that the light of the screen I'm using, and also the Caucasian faces could affect me because it might be hard to recognize the emotions. I like the idea of the research where they use the literary works and techniques used by both fictional and non fictional writers. I think along with society, school, and influential people - such as parents, teachers, or friends - the books that an individual reads also majorly affects or changes perspective. Since I'm reading Hamlet right now, I have a different definition of love, hate, sorrow, despair, betrayal, power, etc. and that affected me in choosing an answer. Along with that, my personal experiences going on in my life also affects the results. All in all, the exposure to the surrounding environment constantly changes a person's viewpoint.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
HAMLET ACT II SCENE II
Class notes:
- This is the first time Hamlet was introduced.
- Hamlet is upset with his uncle and mom because they got married only after a month of King Hamlet's death.
- Claudius was "yelling" at Hamlet to grow up, be a man, and he can't go to school - he has to stay with them.
- Hamlet's first dialogue: [Aside] "A little move than kin, and less than kind.
- Hamlet is extremely smart: almost acts like an investigative officer - questioning Horatio and Bernardo about the ghost of the King.
HAMLET ACT I SCENE I
My Notes:
- Bernardo, Francisco, and Marcellus are all guards - guarding the gate of the castle.
- Horatio is a scholar, who accompanied Marcellus. He's skeptical - only believes what he sees.
- All four of them see the ghost of the king and the three of the guards urged Horatio to talk to it.
- The ghost of the king - Hamlet Sr. - walked away without replying.
- All of them decided to talk to Hamlet Jr.
Class Notes:
- Shakespeare attracts the audience's attention by keeping them in dark in terms of what the setting of the play is and how, when, and where events happened.
- The castle is in Denmark.
- The king died after acquiring land from Fortenbras.
- Fortenbras Jr. now seeks revenge to get back what was rightfully his all along.
"THE ART OF HOSTING GOOD CONVERSATIONS ONLINE" - PUT TO ACTION!
I emailed two English professors in colleges, and one high school English teacher - all teaching Hamlet at one point or another in the course of year. I'm eagerly waiting for their response to my following questions:
- What can/should I do to make my studying and learning Hamlet more effective but at the same time enjoy the struggle in understanding the deeper meaning of it?
- What purpose does Hamlet serve in students' lives currently, when the world has turned so "modern" and so "smart"?
- What is it about Shakespeare and his technique of writing that makes him so important, even after generations?
I used "The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online" and its technique by doing the following:
- I introduced myself.
- I introduced Dr. Preston and the class.
- I explained Open Source Learning.
- I asked my question.
- And finally, I thanked the teacher/professor.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
UNPHOTOGRAPHABLE
So this is an Indian festival that we (my dad, aunt, uncle, cousin, and I) went to visit about 2 weeks ago. Usually, this celebration - where we dance to celebrate one of our goddess's victory over evil by dancing - lasts almost the entire night but here, it was only until about 11:30 to midnight. Try and spot me: it's not that hard. I apologize for the quality. Here is another one:
The previous one is faster than the latter. (The beginning of first one is a little too fast, I don't exactly know why)
I greatly enjoyed going there and this related to the unphotographable moment - where I chose to be in the moment and enjoy it by dancing my heart out until either my feet could not hold my weight, or my chest could not process the oxygen so fast, or until I sweated so much that I had to wait to take a breath. Even though I was celebrating the festival outside my birthplace, my homeland, I still felt at home, still felt connected. So I decided to share the moment. By the way, this festival is called Navratri. And I'm the one in the pink dress and black leggings.
Monday, October 13, 2014
VOCABULARY # 6
Definitions:
abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
brusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
saboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
debauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
proliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
expurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
bellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
gauche - adj. lacking social polish
rapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
paradox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
conundrum - noun a difficult problem
anomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
rancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
churlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
precipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep;done with very great haste and without due deliberation
Sentences:
abase - When the student had a choice of either cheating by abasing her honesty and self respect or failing the test she chose the latter.
abdicate - So when she chose to fail the test, she did definitely abdicated her chance of becoming the valedictorian but she kept the trust in herself.
abomination - When the environmentalist heard about the individual's abominating act towards the trees by cutting them and using them for his own benefit, she was more angry than upset.
brusque - When she did not reply to my question, I was surprised at her brusque behavior because she was one of the nicest person I knew.
saboteur - My best friend and I were so close until one of the other girls in the group just became a saboteur and destroyed our trust and friendship.
debauchery - When I found out that there was a party thrown by seniors, as a freshman in college, I knew it was going to be a debauchery, so I refused to go.
proliferate - The business idea provided by the marketing manager of the company, the company proliferated as the buyers absolutely loved the scheme that the company provided.
anachronism - The minute I laid eyes on him, I could not help but think, "Is he an anachronism who accidentally landed in this time period?"
nomenclature - As his mom entered the room, he suddenly changed the nomenclature, so as to not get in trouble for using "that" kind of language.
expurgate - The editor of the newspaper basically expurgated half of her draft of her article.
bellicose - When he saw me with his best friend, he showed a bellicose attitude towards his best friend, as to prove to me that he's better.
gauche - When I first entered high school, I was the biggest gauche one could find in the world - filled with fear and anxiety.
rapacious - After hiking for 4 hours, I walked straight to the kitchen when I entered my house, I rapaciously gulped everything there was in the refrigerator.
paradox - The idea of having someone to always critic your work to guide you to success is the biggest yet the truest paradox one could find in life.
conundrum - For a preteen - entering high school - the biggest conundrum is to fit in.
anomaly - Being unique does not mean that a person is an anomaly.
ephemeral - My dad always says, "Success is ephemeral." You have to learn how to achieve it, then how to maintain it, and then how to cope once you lose it.
rancorous - Obviously you have rancorous hatred towards your archenemy.
churlish - You can't be churlish to others but at the same time expect others to be amiable to you.
precipitous - He is so talented that he doesn't think once before saying yes to mountain biking on a precipitous mountain.
abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
brusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
saboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
debauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
proliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
expurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
bellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
gauche - adj. lacking social polish
rapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
paradox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
conundrum - noun a difficult problem
anomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
rancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
churlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
precipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep;done with very great haste and without due deliberation
Sentences:
abase - When the student had a choice of either cheating by abasing her honesty and self respect or failing the test she chose the latter.
abdicate - So when she chose to fail the test, she did definitely abdicated her chance of becoming the valedictorian but she kept the trust in herself.
abomination - When the environmentalist heard about the individual's abominating act towards the trees by cutting them and using them for his own benefit, she was more angry than upset.
brusque - When she did not reply to my question, I was surprised at her brusque behavior because she was one of the nicest person I knew.
saboteur - My best friend and I were so close until one of the other girls in the group just became a saboteur and destroyed our trust and friendship.
debauchery - When I found out that there was a party thrown by seniors, as a freshman in college, I knew it was going to be a debauchery, so I refused to go.
proliferate - The business idea provided by the marketing manager of the company, the company proliferated as the buyers absolutely loved the scheme that the company provided.
anachronism - The minute I laid eyes on him, I could not help but think, "Is he an anachronism who accidentally landed in this time period?"
nomenclature - As his mom entered the room, he suddenly changed the nomenclature, so as to not get in trouble for using "that" kind of language.
expurgate - The editor of the newspaper basically expurgated half of her draft of her article.
bellicose - When he saw me with his best friend, he showed a bellicose attitude towards his best friend, as to prove to me that he's better.
gauche - When I first entered high school, I was the biggest gauche one could find in the world - filled with fear and anxiety.
rapacious - After hiking for 4 hours, I walked straight to the kitchen when I entered my house, I rapaciously gulped everything there was in the refrigerator.
paradox - The idea of having someone to always critic your work to guide you to success is the biggest yet the truest paradox one could find in life.
conundrum - For a preteen - entering high school - the biggest conundrum is to fit in.
anomaly - Being unique does not mean that a person is an anomaly.
ephemeral - My dad always says, "Success is ephemeral." You have to learn how to achieve it, then how to maintain it, and then how to cope once you lose it.
rancorous - Obviously you have rancorous hatred towards your archenemy.
churlish - You can't be churlish to others but at the same time expect others to be amiable to you.
precipitous - He is so talented that he doesn't think once before saying yes to mountain biking on a precipitous mountain.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
TRANSMEDIA: CANTERBURY TALES DRAFT
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I decided not to write anything out to experiment if my thoughts can be conveyed through just pictures and photos. As it has always been said, a picture is worth a 1000 words. Personally, I'm more of an imaginary individual who can picturize words written as text. But the technique of transmedia will allow me to learn something that I have never experienced before. Hopefully, I was able to convey it at least somewhat effectively compared to my writing.
CANTERBURY TALES ESSAY - TRANSMEDIA REMIX/COMPOSITION
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But still, we're all
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Body Paragraph 2:
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Conclusion:
Thesis: Chaucer, while addressing every class of a population from wealthy to poor televises his writing (The Canterbury Tales) to the world in a way that is understandable to everybody, not just nobles. He achieves this by using a satirical tone and irony. By doing so he allows everyone to realize the basic characteristics of human nature, consisting of friendship and love, lies and deceit, holiness and spirituality, and competition and class all being part of each character - unifying all of them in one social class - humans.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
CANTERBURY OUTLINE
1) My group chose The Tale of the Cook. I liked the contradiction of the Cook's physical appearance and his responsibilities as a cook. The basic reason we chose Tale of the Cook is because we analyzed him when we had to do "What a Character."
2) The main character was the apprentice, Perkin the Reveller. He's described as a joyful individual, short, good looking, brown with black hair. A good dancer- full of love. He could play dice (could gamble) like a pro.
3) Chaucer's satiric and ironic tone is created through his diction and syntax, where he explains the characteristics of the apprentice and his actions through references, quotes, and detailed descriptions.
4) Chaucer uses direct and indirect characteristics to describe the apprentice. He describes his actions - indirect and his physical appearance - direct.
5) This take could be classified as a moral tale because the deeds that the apprentice does are morally wrong - being with women, playing dice, etc and so his master fired him.
6) The larger and overall theme of Canterbury Tales is the distinction in human personalities and characteristics and still be similar to each other. The apprentice was a unique individual, who danced, sang, and gambles way through - a distinction, separating him his from the rest of the world. But he also worked as an apprentice to earn knowledge, experience and money - a similarity with every character in the tales.
7) I would improve the Tale by adding the Cook's perspective about the apprentice to reveal the Cook's personality and beliefs.
8) If the apprentice were to be a woman, the tale would lose its effect of the "morally wrong deeds" performed by the apprentice wouldn't be as strong as it was, losing its purpose. Also, if the career were different, the class of the apprentice would change, hence changing the role and rule for him.
9) The idea that stuck with me was the quote, or rather saying, that we currently use: "Better a rotten apple kept out of a batch than one that rots the rest." I like how Chaucer referred to the apprentice as the apple who will "rot" the society, or even more basic - the rest of the master's workers - the batch - and how it's better to get rid of him and save the others rather than keep him and be in danger of "rotting" the others.
10) I can use Chaucer's approach of using another character as the protagonist while me being the narrator. I thought it was extremely interesting how it's called the tale of the cook but the main character is the apprentice.
2) The main character was the apprentice, Perkin the Reveller. He's described as a joyful individual, short, good looking, brown with black hair. A good dancer- full of love. He could play dice (could gamble) like a pro.
3) Chaucer's satiric and ironic tone is created through his diction and syntax, where he explains the characteristics of the apprentice and his actions through references, quotes, and detailed descriptions.
4) Chaucer uses direct and indirect characteristics to describe the apprentice. He describes his actions - indirect and his physical appearance - direct.
5) This take could be classified as a moral tale because the deeds that the apprentice does are morally wrong - being with women, playing dice, etc and so his master fired him.
6) The larger and overall theme of Canterbury Tales is the distinction in human personalities and characteristics and still be similar to each other. The apprentice was a unique individual, who danced, sang, and gambles way through - a distinction, separating him his from the rest of the world. But he also worked as an apprentice to earn knowledge, experience and money - a similarity with every character in the tales.
7) I would improve the Tale by adding the Cook's perspective about the apprentice to reveal the Cook's personality and beliefs.
8) If the apprentice were to be a woman, the tale would lose its effect of the "morally wrong deeds" performed by the apprentice wouldn't be as strong as it was, losing its purpose. Also, if the career were different, the class of the apprentice would change, hence changing the role and rule for him.
9) The idea that stuck with me was the quote, or rather saying, that we currently use: "Better a rotten apple kept out of a batch than one that rots the rest." I like how Chaucer referred to the apprentice as the apple who will "rot" the society, or even more basic - the rest of the master's workers - the batch - and how it's better to get rid of him and save the others rather than keep him and be in danger of "rotting" the others.
10) I can use Chaucer's approach of using another character as the protagonist while me being the narrator. I thought it was extremely interesting how it's called the tale of the cook but the main character is the apprentice.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
THE POINT OF CANTERBURY TALES IS...
Chaucer, while
addressing every class of a population from wealthy to poor, televises his
writing (The Canterbury Tales) to the world in a way that is understandable to everybody, not just the
nobles. By doing so, he allows everyone to realize the basic characteristics of human nature, consisting of friendship and love, lies and deceit, holiness and spirituality, and competition and class all being part of each character - unifying all of them in one class - as humans.
GREEN EGGS & HAMLET
a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
It's such a coincidence that one of my friends shared a video about the summary and analysis of Hamlet. I watched that video because I knew we were going to study Hamlet. I now know the basic summary of it but I'm not sure how credible the source (video) was for analysis, so I do not know the deeper meaning, the purpose, of Hamlet and also don't have enough information to characterize the characters.
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
I don't have too much information about Shakespeare but I know very general and broad information. I know he wrote plays, I also know one of his themes has political aspect and another has social aspect to it, almost always. Freshman year, I read Romeo and Juliet and Sophomore year, I read Julius Caesar. Both of the plays had puns, irony, monologue, soliloquy, etc. as literary devices.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
So many students, me included, frown hearing Shakespeare's name and I think it's because Shakespeare's writing has an edge to it. The way he writes, with twists in plots, complicated characters, all the different literary devices, diction and syntax, and most importantly the deeper meaning behind every single character and plot twist tends to confuse the students. It's hard to understand what Shakespeare wants his readers to get out of his work.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
To understand Shakespeare better, I would like to do something completely different (not at all essays and assignments). For example, In Mrs. Byrne's class, while reading Dante's Inferno, we did a project where we somehow demonstrated the nine circles of hell that Dante created. There were no requirements except show the nine circles and your understanding. People burned CDs with music, made videos, games, posters, etc. and I think it helped me understand Dante more than any other literary piece that I read.
It's such a coincidence that one of my friends shared a video about the summary and analysis of Hamlet. I watched that video because I knew we were going to study Hamlet. I now know the basic summary of it but I'm not sure how credible the source (video) was for analysis, so I do not know the deeper meaning, the purpose, of Hamlet and also don't have enough information to characterize the characters.
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
I don't have too much information about Shakespeare but I know very general and broad information. I know he wrote plays, I also know one of his themes has political aspect and another has social aspect to it, almost always. Freshman year, I read Romeo and Juliet and Sophomore year, I read Julius Caesar. Both of the plays had puns, irony, monologue, soliloquy, etc. as literary devices.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
So many students, me included, frown hearing Shakespeare's name and I think it's because Shakespeare's writing has an edge to it. The way he writes, with twists in plots, complicated characters, all the different literary devices, diction and syntax, and most importantly the deeper meaning behind every single character and plot twist tends to confuse the students. It's hard to understand what Shakespeare wants his readers to get out of his work.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
To understand Shakespeare better, I would like to do something completely different (not at all essays and assignments). For example, In Mrs. Byrne's class, while reading Dante's Inferno, we did a project where we somehow demonstrated the nine circles of hell that Dante created. There were no requirements except show the nine circles and your understanding. People burned CDs with music, made videos, games, posters, etc. and I think it helped me understand Dante more than any other literary piece that I read.
Monday, October 6, 2014
VOCABULARY # 5
Definitions:
shenanigans - noun secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering; silly or high spirited behavior; mischief
ricochet - noun a glancing rebound; verb spring back; spring away from an impact
schism - noun division of a group into opposing factions; the formal separation of a church into two churches or the withdrawal of one group over doctrinal differences
eschew - verb avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
plethora - noun extreme excess
ebullient - adj. joyously unrestrained
garrulous - adj. full of trivial conversation
harangue - noun a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion; verb deliver a harangue to; address forcefully
interdependence - noun a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)
capricious - adj. determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; changeable
loquacious - adj. tending to talk a great deal; talkative
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
inchoate - adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
juxtapose - verb place side by side for contrasting effect
perspicacious - adj. acutely insightful and wise; mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
codswallop - noun nonsensical talk or writing
mungo - noun cloth made from recycled woven or felted material
sesquipedelian - adj. (of a word) polysyllabic; long; characterized by long words; long winded
wonky - adj. inclined to shake as from weakness or defect; turned or twisted toward one side
diphthong - noun a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another
Sentences:
shenanigans - When the parents found the kids doing shenanigans in their bedroom, they decided to ground them until they realize their mistake.
ricochet - The girl enjoyed when the bouncing ball ricocheted from the wall when she hit it against it.
schism - The leader of the gang felt betrayed when his most trusted member created a schism against him by using the tactics that he taught him
eschew - When both of my parents yell at me for something that I didn't do, I eschew away from having any conversation or interaction with them.
plethora - Apple likes to think that it has a plethora of new features in its new iPhone or the iOS8 update, but the truth is otherwise.
ebullient - When she discovered that she was suffering from Pancreatic cancer, instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for herself, she chose to be ebullient and saying, "Everyone has to die one day."
garrulous - One could tell that he was way over the limit for being drunk because he was being garrulous as he ranted on and on about his middle school crush.
harangue - When the teacher found out about the academic dishonesty in a test in an AP class, he delivered a harangue to the students, warning them of the consequences the next time something like this happens.
interdependence - For the modern society to move forward and that too, together, we all need to be interdependent on each other.
capricious - When the last overall grading student received the best grade in class, one could definitely conclude it was because of capricious answers to the test rather than his knowledge about the subject.
loquacious - The teacher would always have to make her sit separately on a test because she was so loquacious, she would disturb those around her.
ephemeral - My dad always says that success is ephemeral but the process of learning is continuous.
inchoate - The inchoate cure of cancer does exist and so gives hope to those who have it, making them think they have a chance.
juxtapose - Most of the stories and films in this modern age juxtaposes the cultural difference to convey the message of unity with diversity.
perspicacious - It's a very important quality for a judge to be perspicacious in order to be able to make a judgement and give justice either to suspect or the victim.
codswallop - When the physics professor was giving her lecture, her speech seemed to be jargon to the students and so seemed completely codswallop.
mungo - When I touched the cloth, its thinness and transparency clearly indicated that the material was made of mungo.
sesquipedelian - One of the reasons it's hard for English speakers to learn Spanish is because Spanish words are sesquipedelian, requiring the learners to pronounce each and every one of the syllables - that too, correctly.
wonky - He definitely does come up with multiple plans for the company to make profit but all of them turn out to be wonky over time.
diphthong - It's easy for a bilingual to be able to pronounce diphthongs, as they're more used to variations required in sounds of words.
shenanigans - noun secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering; silly or high spirited behavior; mischief
ricochet - noun a glancing rebound; verb spring back; spring away from an impact
schism - noun division of a group into opposing factions; the formal separation of a church into two churches or the withdrawal of one group over doctrinal differences
eschew - verb avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
plethora - noun extreme excess
ebullient - adj. joyously unrestrained
garrulous - adj. full of trivial conversation
harangue - noun a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion; verb deliver a harangue to; address forcefully
interdependence - noun a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)
capricious - adj. determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; changeable
loquacious - adj. tending to talk a great deal; talkative
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
inchoate - adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
juxtapose - verb place side by side for contrasting effect
perspicacious - adj. acutely insightful and wise; mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
codswallop - noun nonsensical talk or writing
mungo - noun cloth made from recycled woven or felted material
sesquipedelian - adj. (of a word) polysyllabic; long; characterized by long words; long winded
wonky - adj. inclined to shake as from weakness or defect; turned or twisted toward one side
diphthong - noun a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another
Sentences:
shenanigans - When the parents found the kids doing shenanigans in their bedroom, they decided to ground them until they realize their mistake.
ricochet - The girl enjoyed when the bouncing ball ricocheted from the wall when she hit it against it.
schism - The leader of the gang felt betrayed when his most trusted member created a schism against him by using the tactics that he taught him
eschew - When both of my parents yell at me for something that I didn't do, I eschew away from having any conversation or interaction with them.
plethora - Apple likes to think that it has a plethora of new features in its new iPhone or the iOS8 update, but the truth is otherwise.
ebullient - When she discovered that she was suffering from Pancreatic cancer, instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for herself, she chose to be ebullient and saying, "Everyone has to die one day."
garrulous - One could tell that he was way over the limit for being drunk because he was being garrulous as he ranted on and on about his middle school crush.
harangue - When the teacher found out about the academic dishonesty in a test in an AP class, he delivered a harangue to the students, warning them of the consequences the next time something like this happens.
interdependence - For the modern society to move forward and that too, together, we all need to be interdependent on each other.
capricious - When the last overall grading student received the best grade in class, one could definitely conclude it was because of capricious answers to the test rather than his knowledge about the subject.
loquacious - The teacher would always have to make her sit separately on a test because she was so loquacious, she would disturb those around her.
ephemeral - My dad always says that success is ephemeral but the process of learning is continuous.
inchoate - The inchoate cure of cancer does exist and so gives hope to those who have it, making them think they have a chance.
juxtapose - Most of the stories and films in this modern age juxtaposes the cultural difference to convey the message of unity with diversity.
perspicacious - It's a very important quality for a judge to be perspicacious in order to be able to make a judgement and give justice either to suspect or the victim.
codswallop - When the physics professor was giving her lecture, her speech seemed to be jargon to the students and so seemed completely codswallop.
mungo - When I touched the cloth, its thinness and transparency clearly indicated that the material was made of mungo.
sesquipedelian - One of the reasons it's hard for English speakers to learn Spanish is because Spanish words are sesquipedelian, requiring the learners to pronounce each and every one of the syllables - that too, correctly.
wonky - He definitely does come up with multiple plans for the company to make profit but all of them turn out to be wonky over time.
diphthong - It's easy for a bilingual to be able to pronounce diphthongs, as they're more used to variations required in sounds of words.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
TALE OF A CANTERBURY TALE
Prologue of the Cook's Tale:
When the Reeve was talking, the cook - from London - tapped him on his shoulder. He tells him how a miller had experience in lodging for the night. He said Solomon's quote: "Bring not every man into your house." He also talks about being careful about whom to let in. He requests the Reeve that if he listens to him, then he will share a jest from his town. The host answered yes, referring him as Roger, and asks him to be gentle as one learns a lot from a jest. So, her should not be angry and remain calm. Roger replies by saying that the tale is about an inn-keeper and that he shouldn't be angry by his faith.
Here begins the Cook's Tale:
An apprentice joins a food-seller. He was known as Perkin the Reveller. He was a joyful individual, short, good-looking, brown with black locks (hair). He was a good dancer too, full of love. He used to sing and dance at every wedding. He went to see any procession at Cheapside and wouldn't return to the shop until he had seen all the singing and dancing there was to see. He would also take other men "of his own sort" and they would play dice. Perkin was a talented dice player, and so spent his money freely. With Perkin always playing dice and running after women, the master of the shop suffered.
The apprentice stayed with his master until he had to but he was reprimanded. When the master opened the apprentice's account, he remembered a proverb: "Better a rotten apple kept out of the batch than one that rots the rest." So the master decided to let him go - far less harm than keeping him. The master wished him bad luck and sorrow and he let him go. The apprentice now had nothing to play the dice with so he gave all his materials to someone like him, who had a wife running a show but just as a show - running the house as a prostitute.
This tale is left unfinished.
Questions:
1) The central character of the tale is the apprentice, Perkin the Revller. 1) "That fond his maister wel in his chaffare." 2) "For whan ther any ryding was in Chepe, Out of the shoppe thider wolde he lepe." 3) "And gadered him a meinee of his sort, To hoppe and singe, and maken swich disport." 4) "Wel bet is roten appel out of hord, Than that it rotie al the remenaunt." 5) "Un-to a compeer of his owne sort, That lovede dys and revel and disport,.." All these actions or metaphors used to describe the apprentice allows readers to analyze him as a "rebel" of the society who neither fits in the noble class nor the moral class.
2) Chaucer is satirizing society because if an apprentice wants to dance, sing, and have fun with his companions, he has a right to, and so the behavior by the master of treating him as a "rotten apple" and firing him seemed a little of an overreaction. Chaucer's satirical tone allows readers to understand the contrary relationship between theological and biological aspects of life.
CHARACTER STUDY (III)
Flight to L.A. was rather long. Naiomi doesn't understand why she thinks this flight is long when she has taken a 22 hour flight to India; it's probably because it has been over 6 months that she has seen Jisu. She still remembers her from high school. A very bubbly, outgoing, yet still self conscious individual who loved to meet new people and get to know them. "Hey, aren't you going to be in AVID next year?" Jisu asked when Naiomi met her for the first time. At first Naiomi was confused as to how she came and just talked to her but then over the course of time they spent in AVID, she understood that Jisu is an eager to learn person who wants to learn and understand different perspectives of people around the world. "Ladies and Gentleman," the announcement from the pilot broke Naiomi's train of thoughts, "We have now landed in L.A. The weather is fairly nice here, it's 82 degrees." The announcement was still going on about directions on the airport but Naiomi zoned out. She was too excited to care what the pilot was saying.
After getting off the plane, Naiomi was waiting in the arrival area for Jisu to come pick her up. "Naiomi!" The voice was distant but she knew whose it was, she still recognized it. "JISU!!!'' She ran and gave her a tight hug. "Oh my god! It's been forever since I saw you. How are you? How's Davis? How's your roommate? Did you make any new friends? How are your professors? Oh my god, look at you - all grown up..." Naiomi was ranting on and on. "Naiomi! Calm down. We're actually getting late so can we talk while we walk?" "Yeah. Sorry."
Finally after the excitement lowered, Jisu starts describing the assignment. "You know one of the reasons I called you to help me is because I know how hard it is on you to not choose journalism as your major. So I wanted you to live your dream, at least for a couple days, you know?" "Thank you, Jisu. So, who are we going to research?" "They're football players: Quatro Quatro, Donkey Teeth, and Dan Smith." "Sounds good. Let's go." We interviewed the three individuals: Quatro Quatro, from San Jose State University, Donkey Teeth, from Boise's State University, and Dan Smith, from BYU. Quatro Quatro was a long haired, calm, confident individual with a beard and braces. He was extremely simple for a successful football player. Donkey Teeth was a bulky guy with his hair slicked back, a mustache and a beard and extremely determined. Dan Smith was a white, tall and serious individual, clearly caring a lot about his game.
"Alright, here you go," said Naiomi, handing the report to Jisu. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked. "Well, now we don't need to go east as we already found three individuals for your report." "OK, who said anything about going there for a report?" Naiomi understood Jisu's plans and they were on a mission, and the mission was to live their life freely - the way they want to.
After getting off the plane, Naiomi was waiting in the arrival area for Jisu to come pick her up. "Naiomi!" The voice was distant but she knew whose it was, she still recognized it. "JISU!!!'' She ran and gave her a tight hug. "Oh my god! It's been forever since I saw you. How are you? How's Davis? How's your roommate? Did you make any new friends? How are your professors? Oh my god, look at you - all grown up..." Naiomi was ranting on and on. "Naiomi! Calm down. We're actually getting late so can we talk while we walk?" "Yeah. Sorry."
Finally after the excitement lowered, Jisu starts describing the assignment. "You know one of the reasons I called you to help me is because I know how hard it is on you to not choose journalism as your major. So I wanted you to live your dream, at least for a couple days, you know?" "Thank you, Jisu. So, who are we going to research?" "They're football players: Quatro Quatro, Donkey Teeth, and Dan Smith." "Sounds good. Let's go." We interviewed the three individuals: Quatro Quatro, from San Jose State University, Donkey Teeth, from Boise's State University, and Dan Smith, from BYU. Quatro Quatro was a long haired, calm, confident individual with a beard and braces. He was extremely simple for a successful football player. Donkey Teeth was a bulky guy with his hair slicked back, a mustache and a beard and extremely determined. Dan Smith was a white, tall and serious individual, clearly caring a lot about his game.
"Alright, here you go," said Naiomi, handing the report to Jisu. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked. "Well, now we don't need to go east as we already found three individuals for your report." "OK, who said anything about going there for a report?" Naiomi understood Jisu's plans and they were on a mission, and the mission was to live their life freely - the way they want to.
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