Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thinking Outside The Box

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” he talks about a group of people who are chained together, stuck inside a cave and are starting at the shadows on the cave wall being casted by the fire. The people aren’t there out of their own doing. In Sartre’s “No Exit” he is talking about three people who are trapped inside a room with only themselves. The people are there due to their own doing.


 For Plato, the people represent everybody, society, who is content with not knowing anything except what they are given. People who don’t want to explore and question things for themselves, and find out about different truths. Plato talks about a philosopher during his story, this philosopher, is the one who escapes from the cave and goes outside to see all the different things that there are. When he comes back to tell everybody this, they don’t believe him and think that he is crazy. This is understandable since nobody else has seen the things that he was talking about.


For Sartre’s, the people don’t represent anybody, they are merely there to show a different idea of what hell can be. Instead of being the traditional room filled with instruments of torture, they find out that hell is other people. They demonstrate this idea by arguing with each other so much that one of them tries to kill the other. However they are already dead and they realize that they have to stay with each other in this tiny room.


They are similar because in both cases there are opportunities for the people to escape and leave where they are. However in both cases the people won’t leave. They choose not to leave for different reasons, in “Allegory of the Cave” it is because the people were to afraid to leave and see anything else, other than they already know. In “No Exit” it is because the people in the room were afraid of what the people would think of them.

Friday, November 25, 2011

AP Lit Term

An anecdote is a very short story that illustrates a point. The word came about from Procopius of Caesarea. He produced Anekdota, which is mainly a collection of short stories from the life of the Byzantine court. Over time anecdote began to be used for what it means today. An example of an anecdote would be the story of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree. The point of the story is to always tell the truth. Another example is “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” The moral of that story is to never tell a lie.  

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rmc/lowres/rmcn231l.jpg moral of the story is to always encourage someone to follow their dream.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1iKNUQPyUA-2XIg2vX7wEuufP8nNqAhezMQpsi_7Xy1PHwCU5LhrbUN2PnbG6ga4y-6DiWBR3go_1EKEg52PFYkVZ25g-t3UHyRypg7kqefCcLPlYveaeWC1Tg7vQ8B4Rlc2BwU3DhmKl/s1600/www.marekbennett.com-03-MI_Clusters.jpg moral of the story is to do what you are told.

The Big Question (Refined)

How does the world of dreams relate to our awakening expierence of being alive?

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Literature Analysis #3

 1. The plot of “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is of two workers, George and Lennie. Lennie has a mental disability and is taken care of by George. They go to a nearby ranch in search of work. George is the one who talks to the boss, to help hide Lennie’s disability. They are hired and then meet Candy, a fellow worker on the ranch, and Curly, the boss’s son. Later they meet Curly’s wife, who flirts with both George and Lennie. As the day goes by, the workers return back to the ranch, George and Lennie then meet Slim, another worker who has power over the ranch. The next day George tells Slim of Lennie’s problems, past things he has done to get into trouble. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of his newborn puppies to help comfort and distract him. Later that day Curly starts looking for his wife, he heads to the barn and starts to call out Slim on it. Slim scolds him as they return back to the bunkhouse and Curly now angry begins to start a fight with Lennie. Lennie hurts Curly’s hand in the fight, and is told by Slim that if he tells anybody he will be the laughing stock of the ranch. The next day Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn. Curly’s wife comes in and tries to comfort him; she lets Lennie touch her hair. When she begins to freak out Lennie tries to make her stop screaming and accidentally breaks her neck, killing her. Lennie runs to a designated spot set by George to return to if they ever got into trouble. When the men at the ranch see what happened they form a lynch party in search of Lennie. George goes to the spot where Lennie is at, and shoots him. When the party arrives only Slim is able to figure out what really happened.
2. A theme of the novel is the impossibility of the American Dream. Curly’s wife talked about how she wished she followed her dream and became a movie star. George and Lennie want to own a farm and can’t because they can’t hold down a job.
3. The author’s tone is tragic. Lennie always seems to end up killing everything he holds dear. In the beginning it was the mice, then the puppy and then Curly’s wife.
4. Five literary elements that helped me understand the story were foreshadowing, imagery, irony, symbolism and metaphors. An example of foreshadowing was the killing of Candy’s dog in order to end his pain. Imagery was helpful to imagine the scenes that things were taking place in.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Big Question

Why is it that when we wake up after we have dreamed, we can sometimes vividly remember what happened and sometimes we cannot remember anything?

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Final Hamlet Essay


    In Hamlet, performance utterance and self-overhearing plays a large part throughout the story. It is what helps Hamlet think about what is happening to him and what he feels he needs to do. Hamlet shows his self-overhearing when he is saying his soliloquies. Discussing to himself what he could/should do.  Hamlet has nobody he feels that he could talk to, to discuss the situations he is in.
Hamlet’s performative utterance impacts the characters because of how Hamlet interacts with them. Hamlet chooses how he wants them to see him. He is the only one who really knows what is happening throughout the play and acts accordingly. The plot is impacted through this because the plot is dependent upon Hamlet’s choices. If Hamlet had chosen a different action, the plot could’ve been very different.
Hamlet’s self-overhearing compares to mine, in the sense that I also do what Hamlet did. I tend to talk things out, which can help me make a decision. Talking aloud can help you think, which can help you think of another solution. Hamlet did this many different times, and this was able to help him. The way that I reflect on my experience can create a sense of memory, because I can think back to what I was talking about and what it was that I said. This can help me remember different things that are possibly important.
In conclusion self-overhearing can help you discover new solutions, or reinforce your existing plan. For Hamlet, he knew what it was he had to do; it merely took him a while to figure out how he was going to do it. He was able to get there faster through performative utterance and his self-overhearing.

Monday, November 7, 2011

One Major Concept I Have Learned

One major concept that i have learned in this class is that you have to work hard and not procastinate. You need to be able to focus and really understand what is happening. Am example would be reading Hamlet, for me I had to focus and really concentrate in order to try to comprehend what was happening. If you don't concentrate and try your best, then you won't be able to fully succeed in the task.

Roy Christopher Notes

I thought it was interesting that Roy didn't have a smart phone. He would rather have the excitement of going home wondering if he has any messages waiting for him. Roy also said that the older generation are dependent on younger generations to grasp the use of technology and that they aren't growing up as the older generation has.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Literature Analysis #2

1.       The plot of Catch 22 by Joseph Heller is about a soldier named Yossarian who is stationed on the island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea. His squadron is put into horrible combat situations and bombing runs, where they have to take pictures of explosions. Their missions are continually being raised so that they can never be sent home. Yossarian’s story is the main heart of the novel and almost all events are put through his point of view. Yossarian takes the entire war personally, he is angry that his life is in danger even though he has done nothing. He wants to live and become immortal, because of this he spends a lot of time in the hospital, faking illnesses to get out of the war. Yossarian is constantly remembering his memory of Snowden, a soldier who died in his arms on a mission, when he had lost all desire to be in the war. Yossarian is put into extreme conditions, where he sees friends die and vanish. Yossarian claims that he is insane in order to get kicked out of the military service, however it doesn’t work. As Yossarian continues to stay alive, more stories unveil around him. His friend Nately falls in love with a whore from Rome, who falls in love back with him; however Nately is killed on the next mission. When Yossarian tells her this, she blames him and tries to stab him.  As the novel comes to an ending, Yossarian troubled by Nutley’s death, won’t fly anymore missions. He walks the streets of Rome, seeing every kind of human horror. He is eventually arrested for being in Rome without a pass, and his superior officers offer him a choice. Either to face a court-martial or be released and sent home with an honorable discharge. However in order to be released, he must approve of his superiors policy. He doesn’t however and deserts the army and flees to Sweden. Where he tries to gain control of his own life.
2.       A theme of the novel is that you can’t escape death. Yussarions goal is to become immortal or die in the attempt. This was why he tried to stay out of the war as much as he could, by faking the hospital visits. He can’t stop thinking about death and the way that it has affected him.

3.       The author’s tone is satirical and sarcastic. An example of this is when Yussarion is ordered to bomb a peaceful undefended village. They do this in order to have the village fall down the side of a mountain and create a roadblock of rubble. The mission was totally unnecessary and costly. Another example is when the chaplain is being interrogated in the cellar and the officer asks him whether he was guilty or not of said crimes. He then immediately marks him down as guilty without any evidence. A final example is when Doc Daneeka is reported as killed, even though he is alive. When he goes to get his temperature taken the doctors say “you’re dead, that’s probably why you feel so cold.”

4.       Five literary elements that helped me understand the theme/tone are satire, irony, similes, juxtaposition, and personification. Satire example is when Yussarion is ordered to bomb a peaceful undefended village. They do this in order to have the village fall down the side of a mountain and create a roadblock of rubble. The mission was totally unnecessary and costly.  An example of Irony is having to be crazy to fly the bombing missions, but you can’t be crazy in order to fly.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Tools That Change the Way We Think

Extensive Internet/media/technology use to me is that it is the most convenient thing to use to look up something. When it comes to remembering the information that I look up I don’t remember it unless I purposely try to. There is no reason to remember it because if I do forget it, it takes me about a minute to find out whatever it was again. Knowing that the internet is always going to be there, and that it is almost always easily accessible, there is no need to force myself to remember things. Concentrating on what I need to do is more difficult on the internet than if I was using an encyclopedia. When you using an encyclopedia there are no potential distractions, unlike on the internet. I think people who learned without any access to the internet, would have worked harder at remembering what it was they looked up, because it was not as easy to look and find something.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

In Search Of

A)     New information I learned was the fact that people with different interests can end up with different information when hey search a something on Google. Also Google takes into account 57 different things when you are searching something.
B)      This information makes me think differently about what I see online because it showed me what is happening anytime I search something. It takes that information, and tries to show me what it thinks I would find the most interesting.
C)      This video raises the question of whether or not we will be able to see what the internet does not want us to see.
D)     You can improve the effectiveness of your searches by using different ways to word what you’re looking for, or using somebody else’s computer.
To redo the Shakespeare search i searched used different search engines that i have never used before, yahoo and bing. The results i got on yahoo and bing were exactly identical to eachother. However they were both different from the google search i had done.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Notes on Hamlet

My thinking about the play has evolved by becoming more in tune with what is actually happening throughout the play. Nothing has really changed my mind about the plot or the characters. Going from here I see a dramatic ending.

Who Was Shakespeare?


We actually know very little about Shakespeare. We know at age 18 he became married and a few years later he moved to London, where he achieved credit for being an actor/playwright. I think Shakespeare is perceived by most students to be a pain to read/understand/comprehend. I get that to understand Shakespeare it requires a lot of focus and attention. What still causes me to struggle is putting in the time and effort to understand it.

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?

My initial impressions of facebook was that it seemed like a good idea to be able to communicate with people not only from your community but from anywhere in the world. The benefits of facebook are being able to talk to anybody else that has one, and being able to stay in touch. The risks are that anybody can see the information that you post or put on, and that your information could get hacked. The article and the class discussion helped me reach this conclusion because they both “showed the light” on many things unknown to the average facebook user. For example, when you take a picture on your smart phone and post it to facebook, if you haven’t disabled your GPS system, then your exact coordinates are posted as well as the picture.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

technology sucks

so for whatever reason nick i couldnt comment on to your blog so im doing it on mine.

1. What was Stephen's motivation for having his encounter with the prostitute? Did he realize what he was doing was wrong, when he heard the sermon? Was Stephen going to go with the seminary life-style until he saw the young girl?
2. The book I read the main character suffers from moral deprivation, but doesnt acknowledge it. Also the author uses a similar tone throughout the book. Finally at the end of the book the main character realizes his thoughts and comes at peace.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Literature Anaylsis #1

      1. The plot of "The Strangers" by Albert Camus is about a young man named Meursault, who finds out his mother, has passed. He attends the funeral and doesn’t feel any grief, or sadness. The very next day he goes on a date with a coworker, Marie. Later that day he is invited over at Raymond Sintes, his neighbor, and Raymond tells him how he beat up his mistress for cheating on him, which caused him to get into a fight with her brother. The next day they hear shouting from Raymond’s apartment, they see police, who say Raymond will be summoned to court. Meursault testifies on his behalf. The next day Marie asks Meursault if he will marry her, Raymond agrees. The next day Meursault, Marie, and Raymond go to a beach house owned by Raymond’s friend, Masson. That afternoon, Masson, Raymond, and Meursault walk along the beach and meet Raymond’s mistress’s brother and his friend. They all fight and Raymond gets stabbed. They leave, help Raymond’s injuries, and return to find them later. When they see them Raymond considers shooting them with his gun. Meursault convinces him not to and takes the gun away. Later that day Meursault returns alone, sees the brother and for no reason, shoots him. Meursault is arrested and put into jail. He meets an examining magistrate, while in jail, who tries to convince him to turn to God for help. Meursault refuses. He eventually gets used to jail life and is waiting for his court date. On the day of his trial, the discussion in the courtroom goes from the murder to Meursault’s character. People testify saying that he didn’t cry at his mother’s funeral, and that he is a monster. Meursault is eventually found guilty and is sentenced to death by beheading. He returns to prison and realizes that human existence holds no greater meaning. He abandons all hope, and he finally feels at peace.
2.      A theme of the novel would be the importance of the physical world. To not just focus on social or emotional aspects.
3.      The author’s tone is plain and ironic. An example for irony is that Meursault tells Raymond not to shoot the man, yet Meursault ends up shooting him. An example of the plain tone is that Meursault is very uninterested in anything, except the physical world. Finally he comes to peace with himself, by accepting that humans hold no greater meaning, and he abandoned all hope.
4.      The first literary element would be imagery. Meursault says the sun is too hot, so he goes towards the spring; this is where he meets Raymond’s mistress’s brother. Next is the tone, it’s very plain, and straight to the point. Next is setting, it’s set in the 1940’s and your character plays an important role in the law system. Raymond was able to get away with beating up his mistress because of it. Next is the symbol of the courtroom, the judge says what is what, the jurors are judging Meursault. This represents society’s way to rationalize the world. Finally allusion.