Monday, April 23, 2012

Me on "delivering the goods." step 1: the plan

Well my plan is simple. This particular phase of English has become something of a multitasking session. So on that note I will take the allotted time to prepare myself for the various tests I have on the way. So studying and reading will be a major part of my future.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Macbeth Quiz

Macbeth Quiz

1. Macbeth won the respect of King Duncan by A. slaying the traitor Macdonwald. 2. King Duncan rewarded Macbeth by dubbing him B. the Thane of Cawdor

3. In addressing Banquo, the witches called him which of these? "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater." (I) "Not so happy as Macbeth, yet much happier." (II) "A future father of kings." (III) A. I and II 4. When Macbeth said, "Two truths are told / As happy prologues" he was referring to C. the predictions made to Banquo and to himself. 5. "Nothing in his life / Became him like the leaving it" is a reference to A. the traitorous Thane of Cawdor. 6. Duncan's statement, "I have begun to plant thee and will labour / To make thee full of growing" is an example of C. personification.

7. Lady Macbeth characterizes her husband as being B. "too full of the milk of human kindness." 8. When Macbeth agonizes over the possible killing of the king, which of these does he say? A. I and III
9. Macbeth's statement to his wife, "Bring forth men-children only" signifies that he B. is concerned over the succession to the throne 10. As part of the plan to kill the king, Lady Macbeth would A. get the chamberlains drunk.

11. Trace Macbeth's transformation from a good man to an evil man. In the beginning Macbeth and Banquo kill Macdonwald who was an evil man. Macbeth was noble but became obsessed with power and the throne and eventually killed people for it.

12. What motivates Macbeth to take the evil path he chooses? I feel like the witches motivate Macbeth's evil path because they are the ones who gave him the idea to be king.. which started it all. 13. What influence do the witches have on Macbeth? The witches definately have a negative influence on Macbeth. They tell him his future or his fate. 14. Contrast Macbeth's response to the witches' predictions with Banquo's. Macbeth was tempted by the prophecies where Banquo was more cautious and warned about the witches false agendas. 15. Describe the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Trace how it changes over the course of the play. In the beginning Lady Macbeth seemed to almost bully Macbeth into doing things such as killing the king. By the end however, Macbeth is obsessed with becoming king.. where lady Macbeth has become consumed with guilt. They almost switch roles in a sense. 1. "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?" is a reference to the B. dagger. 2. Lady Macbeth confessed that she would have killed King Duncan herself except for the fact that B. he looked like her father

3. Shakespeare introduced the Porter in order to C. provide comic relief. 4. Malcolm and Donalbain flee after the murder A. because they fear the daggers in men's smiles.

5. Macbeth arranges for Banquo's death by telling the hired killers that A. Banquo had thwarted their careers.

6. Macbeth startles his dinner guests by A. conversing with the Ghost of Banquo

7. The Witches threw into the cauldron "Eye of bat and tongue of frog"(I) "Wool of bat and tongue of dog" (II) "Fang of snake and eagle's glare" (III) A. I and II

8. The three apparitions which appeared to Macbeth were An armed head. (I) A child with a crown. (II) A bloody child (III) C. I, II, and III

9. In Act IV, Malcolm is at first lukewarm toward Macduff because he B. suspects a trick. 10. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane when B. the camouflaged soldiers make their advance 11. What is the significance of the line "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (I, i, 10)?

It is basically trying to say that fair and foul can be different in different prespectives. Like a foul

for one can be fair for the other. especially in the wars lost for one would give victory to others.

It also connects to theme of appearnce vs reality as what seems to be fair can be foul. It is a

paradox that signifies that there is no significance of good and bad things as their role can be

reversed. It also develops the wicked and evil character of the witches

12. How does Macbeth function as a morality play?

It teaches a moral lesson and shows that by the end justice is served when macbeth dies and

Malcom can be king.

13. How does Shakespeare use the technique of dramatic irony in Macbeth?

Dramatic irony is when the audience knows more than the characters. One example of this is

when the audience knows that the witches have bad intentions but Macbeth doesn't know

that.

?14. How does Lady Macbeth overcome her husband's resistance to the idea of killing King Duncan?

Macbeth eventually gives in and kills Duncan giving Lady Macbeth what she wants.

15. Contrast Macduff's response to the news of his wife's and children's deaths with Macbeth's response to being told Lady Macbeth is dead

Macbeth was sad.. but still very focused on becoming king and he seemed to get over it faster.

Macduff was outraged and filled with anger. He was determined to seek revenge which is what

motivated him.

10. Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane when B. the camouflaged soldiers make their advance

1. "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight?" is a reference to the B. dagger. 2. Lady Macbeth confessed that she would have killed King Duncan herself except for the fact that B. he looked like her father

11. Trace Macbeth's transformation from a good man to an evil man. In the beginning Macbeth and Banquo kill Macdonwald who was an evil man. Macbeth was noble but became obsessed with power and the throne and eventually killed people for it.

12. What motivates Macbeth to take the evil path he chooses?

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Socratic Seminar Notes.

The internet creates a library for the world.

Q: How do you percieve the world around you?
-Strange and unfamiliar or something you can relate to.

-Does increased personal choice for each individual really lead to more happiness?

*Every effort to change the world... starts with people asking questions.

Q: How do/can we sit together and discuss what's important, and reach a solution.

"where is the vision of today's leaders?" - Joe Walsh

-Is communication becoming modernized?

- The human footprint.

"Come together as one to celebrate our diversity..."

The Serious Need For Play

-Free play is crucial for developement.

-"Free Play" as opposed to structural activities

-Free Play as a child can help you develope skills for:
-Coping with stress
-Problem solving

"The consequence of a life that is seriously play-deprived is serious stuff"

-why are structured games and free play that different?
A: It challenges the developing brain instead of following predetermined rules.

-Parents should let children be children.

"Curiousity, imagination, and creativity are like muscles: if you don't use them, you lose them."


-How can playing with a question create a learning experience?

"The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?"

-I think that when you think about or dwell on anything for a period of time, you learn something. sometimes the experience is just as valuable as the result. We learn stuff just by trying.

"There is glory in the attempt."

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley the RE RE RE RE REEEEMIX!!!

1) the speaker is Percy speaking about a conversation he had with traveler in an ancient landryhne
2) the structure of the poem used a strange ABAB rhyme scheme. The first and third lines of the stanza always rhyme but the second and fourth don't, but if they are supposed to it is a veeeery watered down slant rhyme.
3) the theme on the surface appears to be about the statue of an ancient king. Under that it could be that even in the destructive essence of time memory still lives on.
4) the meaning is about a statue and its impression on the memory of Ozymandias
5) the statute
6) important side words king, statute, visage, antique.
7) detailed, inquisitive,
8) ABAB rhyme scheme. Broken sentences.

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Road by Corman McCarthy

1. The Road is the story of a man and his son who are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The father keeps the son safe in this dangerous territory as they face scavengers and cannibals. The father feels that it is important to keep his son as sane as possible during this time so he won't end up like the crazy people around them. The son feels safe with his father as they venture until the father begins to grow ill. This illness causes the father to die and the son is left with a choice to join a colony. He decides to join this colony since they can keep him safe and he thinks of them as a new family. 2. The theme of the story is the power of family and love. The father loved his son and wanted to see him safe and unharmed. He gave his son morals to give him humanity in the inhumane times. Without the father's love for his son, the father would not have lasted as long through his disease and the son would have been lost. 3. The book has a depressing tone. The father and son must survive through these difficult times. They are constantly facing death without food or water. When they do have food and water, scavengers are trying to take it from them. The father is also trying to keep his son sane in this insane world. It is tough for the audience to watch this child grow up in this environment. 4. McCarthy uses setting, characters, and syntax to represent the theme and tone of his book. The setting is a desolate wasteland which immediately connects with the depressing tone and gives the reader a feeling of emptiness. His characters are constantly struggling to survive and face death often. His syntax shows how the characters connect with each other and the importance of family in these trying times.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

9 Lit Elements: A Nauseous Nocturne by Bill Waterson

1. Structure: It is a little confusing at first if you are simply looking for the rhyme scheme, but the structure is AABAAB (with the two A's being separate sets of rhymes)
2. Theme: The theme of the poem is Calvin not being able to sleep because there are monsters under his bed. All night he hears them moan and growl hungry for child! But in the end his good ol' buddy Hobbes scares away the monsters and he can sleep.
3. Grammer/Meaning: Bill Waterson enjoys finding clever intricate ways to rhyme words. Often times he will displace the sound of a word to correspond with another.
4. Images: Waterson paints very lengthy, descriptive, nasty images of the monsters sounds and movement. This helps set the tone and create an atmosphere that any young child would be scared in. He does it in a way that is humorous and entertaining to read
5. Important Words: All of them
6. Theme: The fears every child goes through when their imagination runs wild.
7. Important Images: The images of the monsters and his fear of them are basically the ENTIRE basis of the poem. Like I said before, his lengthy, well thought out images of these monsters highlight the thoughts and wildly detailed fantasies children can create for themselves.
8: Literary devices: ......
9. Flow: With any poem you have no choice but to read it with a certain rhythm and pace. Only more so with this one. It's structure allows for the rhymes to easily be noticed and for the texture of the piece to be consistent.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

''AP Essay Questions'' Questions

Well, what was expected you ask? I expected to be writing an essay. That was the main one. From my experience the first question in an AP question is the easiest to address. It is basically a small description of an occurrence in the book. The second is usually more in depth. Such as ''Describe how this furthered the plot of the novel and how the author addresses.....blah blah blah.'' Something of that nature. Which is often the time where I stare blankly at the wall for a few minutes trying to gather my thoughts. I can write a solid essay given time. When it comes to the ''crunch time'' style it takes me a while. I constantly rethink my thoughts (I know thats slightly redundant but its what happens...) For the actual test, a pre-write will probably save my hide. It'll help me better organize my thoughts.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Pain is temporary....



Ignore the video itself. But listen to the words. Listen to the message. Then take it, and apply it to YOU. However that means to you. It could be a job, school, family, hell even life itself. 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Lit Analysis ''Lord Of the Flies''

Lit Analysis ?'s. Lord of the Flies
1. During the beginning of WWI a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of school children. At first the children are over joyed by their separation from civilization and order. They build a small society, (or a 7th and 8th graders equivalent of one). As their time on the island rolls on they begin to speculate of a ''monster'' that lurks in the surrounding woods. Their paranoia soon engulfs the clan and the turn on each other. Just as all hell is about to break loose, they are rescued by a passing navy vessel.
2. The theme of Lord of the Flies tackles the all to present human emotion of fear and paranoia. Both play an extreme roll in someone's ability to survive. In times of extreme isolation any little bump in the night can send a person into a downward spiral. Its about not letting your fear swallow and consume what makes you human to begin with. Your sense of reason, ability to discern reality from the imagination, and problem solving.
3. William Golding wrote in a dark underlying tone. On the surface it might seem like just another adventure/cast away story. But if you read deeper into it there is a very present sense of darkness. They boys on the island begin to worship a pigs head on a spear. They call it ''lord of the flies'' because of all the flies the severed head attracted. However ''lord of the flies'' translated into latin (Beelzebub) means Satan or Prince of demons. If that right there isn't a red flag, I'm not sure what is. The boys also speak of a monster they believe exists in the surrounding forrest. Their fear of this monster leads them to kill one of their own because they mistook him for it.
4. There were a lot of metaphors and similes in the story. I already mentioned the pigs head on the spear as a metaphor for the devil. The island itself was a representation of hell. Last but not least, the sailor who rescues them in the final chapter was described dressed in all white and standing on the beach as the morning sun finally brought light to the island. That could be symbolic of a salvation of sorts. With the sailor being God or an angle. The characterization of the characters (that sounds a little redundant) was fairly cryptic at times. One character was described as fat and wore glasses. His real name was never said. The rest of the children called him Piggy. This lends credence the tone being very dark and uncaring at times.

Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities

Already, Dickens begins the book with a quote that I've heard time and time again "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Which fits his m.o. of being the most quoted author in the English language next to Shakespeare. The first few pages don't reveal to must about the central plot but if i had to hazard a guess Dickens will use conflict to bring to light the human condition

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Title ''A Tale of Two Cities'' -Charles Dickens

Right of the bat, I would hazard a guess that this story is about two cities. Hang on, let me see if I'm right......I WAS!!! The novel compares London, England and Paris, France. He compares the two during the French Revolution. Highlighting the ways that London is both similar and different to Paris

Sunday, January 22, 2012

A Nauseous Nocturne by Bill Waterson

Another night deprived of slumber,
Hours passing without number,
My eye trace 'round the room. I lay
Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my life's short precious play.

From the darkness, by the closet
Comes a noise, much like a faucet
Makes: a madd'ning drip-drip-dripping sound.

It seems some ill-proportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is drooling poison puddles on the ground..

A can of mace, a forty-five,
Is all I'd need to stay alive,
But no weapon lies within my sight.

Oh my gosh! A shadow's creeping,
Ominous ans black, it's seeping
Slowly 'cross a moonlit square of light!

Suddenly a floorboard creak
Anounces the bloodsucking freak
Is here to steal my future years away!
A sulf'rous smell now fills the room
Heralding my imm'nent doom!
A fang gleams in the dark and murky gray!

Oh, blood-red eyes a tentacles!
Throbbing, pulsing ventricles!
Mucus-oozing porses and frightful claws!

Worse, in terms of outright scariness,
Are the suckers multifarious
That grab and force you in its mighty jaws!
This disgusting aberration
Of nature needs no motivation
To devour helpless children in their beds.
Relishing despairing moans,
It chews kids up and sucks their bones,
And disolves inside its mouth their li'l heads!

I know this 'cause I read it not
Two hours ago and then I got
The heebie-jeebies and these awful shakes.

My parents swore upon their honor
That I was safe, and not a goner.
I guess tomorrow they'll see their sad mistakes.

In the morning, they'll come in
And say, "What was that awful din
We heard last night? You kept us both from sleep!"

Only then will they surmise
The gruesomeness of my demise
And see that my remains are in a heap.

Dad will look at Mom and say,
"Too bad he had to go that way."
And Mom will look at Dad and nod assent.

Mom will add, "Still, it's fitting,
That as he was this world quiting,
He should leave another mess before he went."
They may not miss me first, I know.
They will miss me later, though,
And perhaps admit that they were wrong.
As memories of me grow dim,
They'll say, "We were too strict with him.
We should have listened to him all along."

As speedily my end approaches,
I bid a final "buenas noches"
To my best friend in the world.
Gently snoring, whiskers seeming
To sniff at smells (he must be dreaming),
He lies snuggled in the blackets curled.

HEY! WAKE UP, YOU STUPID CRETIN!
YOU GONNA SLEEP WHILE I GET EATEN?!
Suddenly the monster knows I'm not alone!

There's an animal in bed with me!
an awful beast he did not see!
The monster never would've come if he had know!

The monster, in his confernation,
Demonstrates defenestration,
And runs and runs and runs and runs away.

Rid of the pest,
I now can rest,
Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day.


(Not part of the poem at this point) I grew up on Calvin and Hobbes so its somethings that has always remained dear to my heart. Bill Waterson wrote the two of them to have a deep philosophical look on the world. Which translated over into my life more often then not. But to this day he is the only one who (in my mind) could so seamlessly blend the antics of a boy and his friend with long, deep universal questions about life. I always found his poems to be witty and well written. So this is my homage to someone I feel is a great writer.

Monday, January 16, 2012

La Pregunta Grande!!! (Abstract)

My question is basically to what extent is disease prevention political, and to what extent is it scientific. In that, if a specific disease that requires months or even years of follow-up exams and medication and procedures were cured, would it have such an impact on the economy that perhaps the government wouldn't mass produce it? Take cancer for example. If magically scientists found the cure tomorrow, would it be on the shelves within the following months? There are entire sections of hospitals devoted to chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Even specific fields of medicine for some of these ailments. Would the elimination of that disease cause such an impact on the economy that it would be easier for the nation to NOT cure it?