Thursday, January 30, 2014

lit terms # 4

-Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual.
ex when ever the event is going on inside the actors head.

-Inversion: words out of order for emphasis.
ex: Its so late, do you know what time it is?

-Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.
ex: "The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
      "Petals on a wet, black bough.  by Ezra Pound

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

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

-Metaphor(extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compare two different  things imaginatively.
ex: America is a melting pot.
         Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.
           ex: Plato's Allegory of the Cave
          Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work
        Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

-Metonymy:  literally “name changing” a device of figurative language in which the
 name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.
ex:  knowledge is power

-Mode of Discourse:  argument, narration, description, and exposition.

-Modernism:  literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology
ex: Modernist writing and influences

-Monologue:  an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem.
ex:The speech we remembered was a monologue.

-Mood:  the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.
ex: Books can have different feelings such as depressing, or happiness.

-Motif:  a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.

-Myth: .a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.
ex: Greek mythology, the Gods and Goddesses

-Narrative:  a story or description of events.
ex: Lots of books are narratives.

-Narrator:  one who narrates, or tells, a story.
ex: People want Morgan Freeman to be the narrator of their life.

-Naturalism: extreme form of realism.

-Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

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

-Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning.
ex: snap crackle pop

-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.
ex: thats a little big lie.

-Pacing:  rate of movement, the  tempo.
ex: abc, abc, ab, ab, bc, bc

-Parable:  a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

-Paradox:  a statement apparently self-contradictory, an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.
ex: deep down you seem nice, but on the surface I see something different

Literature Analysis #1 Kite Runner (second semester)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini:

1. This novel takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan from 1975-2001. The story is told from the point of view of Amir. Amir doesn't want to go to Afghanistan because of the events that happened in the past. After a death, Amir goes there, but then asks his half brother to come  back to San Francisco with him and his wife. They feel as if things between them has mended and they can start over. Things between the two are better and they fly a new kite with one another at the end.

2.  Guilt is a major theme in this novel. Amir feels guilt for the situation he was in when he is younger, which is why he has difficulties going back to Afghanistan, this is because he allowed Hassan to be raped many years before. Overcoming the guilt is also a huge factor of this novel.

3. The authors tone is realization from past situations, mournful
" I opened my mouth, almost said something. Almost. The rest of my life might have turned out differently if I had. But I didn't. I just watched. Paralyzed.” (page 73)
"But all I could manage was to whisper 'No. No. No' over and over again." (Page 219)
“I want to tear myself from this place, from this reality, rise up like a cloud and float away, melt into this humid summer night and dissolve somewhere far, over the hills. But I am here, my legs blocks of concrete, my lungs empty of air, my throat burning. There will be no floating away" (page )

4. Imagery: "The stench of something dank, like mildew, buldgened my nostrils that moment Karim opened the door that led down the creaky steps to the basement. (page 119)
Tone: " It was a smile, nothing more, it didn't make everything all right. It didn't make anything all right at all." (page371)
Symbolism: "We listen to what God says and we obey because we are nothing but humble, powerless creatures before Gods greatness" (page 270)
Characterization: "Come back home with me, they have doctors and with the technology today they can fix you up." (page 145)
Metaphor: "Hes like six million dollar man" (page 127)
Allusion:"The just like green that the green kite was spinning and wheeling out of control" (page 370)
Mood:" Whistles and applause broke out. The last time I had felt a rush like this I was in the winter of 1975.." (page 370)
Foreshadowing:" He led them toward us like he was the parent, like he had brought them here." (page 95)
Irony: " Which was ironic. Because that was the winter that Hassan stopped smiling." (page47)
Flashback:" I remebered the precises moment, crouching behind a crumbin." (page1)


Characterization:
1. The author uses both approaches of characterization because he wants the reader to get the physical appearance of the characters, but also wants the readers to get a deeper understanding of each character and their inner feelings and thoughts.

2. I think that like with many authors, he uses both when regarding to different characters. At times he will be very descriptive, but then be a little more settle when regarding to others.

3. yes, I felt as if I knew Amir and I felt the same emotions he did at times. I felt sorrow for him when he had to make decisions, and I also felt sadness when he was putting all the problems on himself. I get attached to many books in this way because I like to think of characters as my friends who I connect with on a really good level.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Lit terms #1

Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one; an extended metaphor.
ex- The Allegory of the Cave.

Alliteration: the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.
ex- Kendall kicks kind kangaroos. (each word starts with "k")

Allusion :is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
ex- She was acting like an Einstein.  (reference for being smart)

Ambiguity:   is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning.Ambiguous words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor.
ex- Teenage boys are hunting dogs. (its unclear whether the boys are hunting for dogs, or they are dogs)

Anachronism:  is an error of chronology or timeline in a literary piece.In other words, anything that is out of time and out of place is anachronism
ex- The lady always seems stuck in the past, she wears outdated clothes, rides her horse everywhere, and listens to the radio as a source of entertainment. 

Analogyis a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar.
ex- You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard. 

Analysis: detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation.
ex- After we read a book we do a literature analysis on the themes, characters, and plots. 

Anaphora: repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row.
ex- happiness is inspired, happiness is important, happiness is forever. 

Anecdote: brief story, told to illustrate a point or serve as an example of something; often shows character of an individual. 
ex- When you are telling your parents a funny story, but it turns into a lecture about how that isnt how you should be living life. 

Antagonist: the character or thing opposing the protagonist. 
ex- In Batman, the Joker can be considered the antagonist. 

Antithesis:  literal meaning opposite, is a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence for achieving a contrasting effect.

Antithesis emphasizes the idea of contrast by parallel structures of the contrasted phrases or clauses i.e.  The structures of phrases and clauses are similar in order to draw listener’s or reader’s attention. 
ex- Speech is silver, but silence is gold. 

Aphorism: brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth. 
ex-The simplest questions are the hardest to answer.

Apologia:  a formal written defense of one's opinions or conduct.
ex- When students do wrong they rewrite what they did wrong over and over, this is an apologia for their bad conduct. 

Apostrophe:  A writer or a speaker, using an apostrophe, detaches himself from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech.
ex- during a soliloquy talks to someone not there. 

Argument:   is the main statement of a poem, an essay, a short story, or a novel that usually appears as an introduction or a point on which the writer will develop his work in order to convince his readers.
ex- “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

Assumption: something taken for granted, supposing something with out facts. 
ex- He always wears brand name clothes, his family must be very wealthy. ( he could of bought them from the thrift store) 

Audience: listeners assembled at a performance, for example, or attracted by a radio or television program. The readership for printed matter, as for a book.
ex- The audience listens to what the narrator has to say. 

Characterization: is used step by step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story. 
ex- Billy is kind, caring, and always willing to help people with their problems. 

Chiasmus:  A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.
ex- Learning to do, doing to learn. 









Thursday, January 9, 2014

Calvin Terrell: Diversity day

Today I went to a work shop with Calvin Terrell as the speaker, during this workshop I felt tons of emotions and it truly inspired me to become a better person. As a group we did several activities that allowed us to come out of our comfort zones and experience things with our hearts and not just our minds. Calvin's activities were meant to allow us to realize everything that is going on in the world, so we can be more conscious when we make choices that can affect other people.
I went into this workshop as a senior, and it was mainly filled with juniors so I knew hardly anyone, but at the end I felt like I knew them on a deeper level than how I know some of my friends. Going to this workshop made me realize that I am not the only one with certain struggles, and if I ever need anyone to talk to, others will always be there with an open ear and not judge. I think that was my favorite part about this workshop, knowing others are there for me if I need them. It was comforting to see how a complete stranger can relate to me, and how even if they don't have that same problem they will not judge me based upon my problems in the past, present, or future.
As I was walking out of the gym I felt emotional, comforted, at peace, and inspired to make my life different. This was the most moving workshop I have ever been to and I hope it effects my life forever.

Whats in it for me?

Its my last semester of high school, everyone always says senior year flies by, and it certainly is for me! I think my biggest goal for this semester is to stay motivated. I was very motivated at the beginning of the year, but stress began to wear down on me and I started to lack motivation. I feel that if I can give 100% for the rest of the year I will be golden, and it will help to make me more motivated for college. I don't think I have "senioritous" I just think that it has been a stressful year and I need an extra push to being this semester great and end it even stronger. There is no second chances when it comes to senior year and this is all just beginning to pop into my mind. From this AP course I hope to achieve many things, and to give it my all every single day !

AP PREP POST SIDDHARTHA

1.In paragraph 3, the phrase “where did he belong?” is referring to
A. Siddhartha’s mind.
b. Siddhartha’s body.
c. Siddhartha’s Atman.
d. Govinda.
e. Siddhartha as a whole.http://snobles.grads.digitalodu.com/blog/groups/ap-english-2012-2013/forum/topic/siddhartha-multiple-choice-questions/

2What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?
 http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html

3. What has caused Siddhartha "to feel the seeds of discontent within him"?
Siddhartha believes that he has obtained all the knowledge that his father and teachers
can offer, but it is not enough.

www.summit.k12.co.us/.../STUDY%20GUIDE%20QUESTIONS%20AN...

4. What realization gives Siddhartha the feeling of awakening from a long dream?
He realizes he has been afraid of being himself, and so he has tried to lose himself in the
teachings of others.
www.summit.k12.co.us/.../STUDY%20GUIDE%20QUESTIONS%20AN...


The Ap test is difficult and you have to think in detail for every question. These questions you cannot just find the answer you really need to dig deeper to find the actual answers. I think that these questions are AP standard and make you dig for the answer a little more then just regular tests do. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Hacking my education

What do I want to know in June that I don't know now?
-I want to know that I am choosing the right path for myself, and to be reassured that majoring in child development is something that will really make me happy. I would also like to know which career choice I am thinking about so I have a clear goal for college.

What experiences do I want to have as a result?
- I want to know my path and goals in June because I will be on my way to college shortly after that. I like to set goals, and know what I am shooting for in order to have a less stressful time trying to figure that out.

Who do I need in my..
Peers: I have worked with many other students interested with a career in youth education, this leads me to believe that I have supportive peers that I can always rely on. I hope that this support only begins to expand the more people I meet.
Network: I need teachers and councilors that can give me advice and pointers for my future. At this point in time I have both, and I have been working with both to try and figure out what career path I ultimately want later on.
Experts: These people are vital to me because ultimately my goal is to become an expert in what ever career I choose. I work with elementary school teachers (experts) and they give me all the advice they have, I feel that working with them will only allow me to get a better sense of the future and what I will be dealing with.