" No Exit "

Jean Paul Sartre

Thinking Outside the Box

1- Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment?

- In my mind hell is full of flames and mountain high volcanoes filled with lava waiting to erupt on all the people who are stuck in hell. It does not appear torturous in having the style of instruments that are twisting and disturbing that will cause the people so much pain. I believe yes the mind can be a hell in a beautiful place. People in fact live lives that way everyday. A person can be living here on earth surrounded be their loved ones and by the beauty of life but inside they are sickly twisted and hold onto evil thoughts about life, friends, family members, ever day people, just anything ocurring in their life. A person can be in the middle of living a dark muggish life while the rest of the world is living life a little more happily compared to the other person. Peace can be found in a hellish environment, it just takes accepting of your wrong doings and be able to learn from it so you can move on with life and be able to grow as a person.



2 Could hell be described as too much of anything without a break? Are variety, moderation and balance instruments we use to keep us from boiling in any inferno of excess,' whether it be cheesecake or ravenous sex?

- Having life throw at you twist here and there prepares to grow as a person in order to enhance your knowledge of living. By adding change in someones life then we will have to learn to adjust to what has been thrown at us. This way we do not become accustomed with the familiar. We have to learn how to live with a healthy balance of everything that is around us. To much anything can always be harmful whether it be spiritually, mentally, physically, or emotionally. Being able to live a happy balanced life style is what we should strive for.


3. How does Sartre create a sense of place through dialogue? Can you imagine what it feels like to stay awake all the time with the lights on with no hope of leaving a specific place? How does GARCIN react to this hell? How could you twist your daily activities around so that everyday habits become hell? Is there a pattern of circumstances that reinforces the experience of hell?

- The characters strongly express their emotions about the surroundings. Garcin is curious to where the paraphernalia is located. In the eyes of the characters they appear to be over thinking things. Basically letting their minds play tricks on them and are slowly but surely becoming crazy in such a small confined room with other humans. I would have to take way all dance / music related things because with out then I would in fact go crazy rather then staying sane with myself.


4 Compare how Plato and Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem.
- In my opinion it is up to the individual to determine how they take in and let information be processed. It is the individual who controls themselves. If they allow others to influence in a good or bad way well that is up to the individual. We can choose to learn from others or let others to make decisions for us.

Lit Anal-        Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

GENERAL

 1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read, and explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

-Takes place in a small village at the edge of North Kent marshes, and the grater city of London. Pip is six years old and lives on the English marshes with his sister and his sister’s husband, Joe. His sister is mean but his brother-in-law Joe is pretty much the best thing that’s happened to Pip .One Christmas Eve, Pip meets a scary, escaped convict in a churchyard. Pip steals food from his mean sister (Mrs. Joe Gargery) so that the convict won’t starve (and so he doesn't beat Pip). Later on Pip meets Miss Havishman because he is Estella's playmate. Estella is Miss Havisham’s adopted child. She is a cold, snobby, and regal girl, but with beauty.Pip soon begins to have feelings for Estella, but knowing that she is the adopted daughter of the most richest woman in town, he knew that he couldn't have her. In that sense, knowing you can not have something, well the love grows fonder by the second. He grow older (early teens) and began to work with his brother-in-law in blacksmith in hopes of one day being able to marry Estella. Pip moves to London in his pursuit of becoming a gentlemen. Later on becomes best friends with Miss. Havishmans cousins son named, Hertbert Pocket. Eventually he becomes a frequent visitor to Satis House, located in the market town. Here signifies another great expectation for Pip. Later on in the novel he moves to Cairo. Throughout the novel, Pip travels between these three locations in pursuit of his great expectations.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
-The major theme would have to be ambition. Pip has ambition for all the great expectations he has for himself about life, love, and friends. No only does his ambition in pursuing a positive outcome for himself but ingratitude is expressed in portions of the novel as well.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
- Th tone is explained as Dicken's "grotesque tragicomic". It is mixed between a comedy and a tragedy. A good example would be in the beginning of the novel how Magwitch was 6 year old Pip's bully. But when Pip grew up and has already moved onto bigger an better things in life, well Magwitch is Pip's benefactor. Towards the fen ally of the novel it ended up that Magwitch was there to help him.

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. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

-Figurative Language   - “No varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself.”  (100)

-Metafor    - “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”   (122)
- Personification  - "I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window for a pocket-handkerchief.”   (   222)

- Narrator   - “In a word, I was too cowardly to do what I knew to be right, as I had been too cowardly to avoid doing what I knew to be wrong.”  (77)

- Dialogue   -  "Itcan't be supposed," said Joe. "Tho' I'm oncommon fond of reading, too."
Are you, Joe?"
Oncommon. Give me," said Joe, "a good book, or a good newspaper, and sit me down for a good fire, and I ask no better. Lord!" he continued, after rubbing his knees a little, "when you do come to a J and a O, and says you, 'Here, at last, is a J-O, Joe,' how interesting reading is!”  (332)

- Climax   - " did really cry in good earnest when I went to bed, to think that my expectations had done some good to somebody " (257)
- Local Color   - Charles Dickens used London as one of his locations in the story, parcially because he grew there.
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 (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

- Direct Characterization-  It would have been cruel of Miss Havisham, horribly cruel, to practice on the susceptibility of a poor boy, and to torture me through all these years with a vain hope and an idle pursuit, if she had reflected on the gravity of what she did. But I think she did not. I think that in the endurance of her own trial, she forgot mine, Estella (378)
               
- Indirect Characterization   -  “I noticed that Miss Havisham put down the jewel exactly on the spot from which she had taken it up.”

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?
- Through out the novel the syntax changes when it is focused on the a certain character. The narration is in plain English but when a character speaks there English seems to be cut off and tend to sound unintelligent.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.
- Pip follows the qualities of a dynamic and and round character. He is presented as a small young young boy who doesn't will get very far in life. But come to realize he believes that by being given the opportunity then he will be able to grow from his experience to become wealthy and much respected. He grow as a person because he was able to rid the fear he had for the convict, later in the novel it turns out that the convict helps him escape.

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.
After reading the novel I had a feeling that I have met Pip. The love with in the novel gives Pip a human quality to him in such a way were we can relate to him. How he expresses his love for Estella is so cute to read. He truly is someone who fell in love deeply and wouldn't do anything to change his feelings for Estella.

Allegory of the Cave : Sonnet

In the dark, shadowy cave we kneel

What stands above we do not know

Secluded inside with such a muggy  feel

The world keeps on living while our life stays still down below

The shackles and chains restraining us from what reality holds up above

But we don't know any better but to stay in the familiar

Until it takes a leader to come show us higher knowledge from atop

One who has broken from the chain has been enlightened, he now mirrors his knowledge towards us

Unknowing the strength and weaknesses from what lay above the cave

We are hesitant whether to accept the challenge of reality

But we admire the freed prisoner for being brave

It just takes a simple enlightenment of knowledge to know that we do not live in a life of fantasy

Great change will occur when he who is enlightened 

But it is up to us whether we see the knowledge or choose to be frightened 

November 19, 2012

Journal

Compare yourself to the denizens of Plato's Cave. Describe something you learned during the mind map experience (about Queenan's article, about the process, about yourself) that will help you break the chains and see more than shadows.

- If I ever was in the position of the prisoners then I'd feel weak and small. I wouldn't feel as filled with knowledge like others are so informed and enlightened by reality. It would feel discouraging at first, but knowing myself I will put myself out there to try and learn something new. I am a strong believer in trial and error. You must learn how to fail a couple of times in order to improve until you finally get it right. During the whole process of the mind map, I figured out how to learn a new tool that i can use in the future. It was a struggle trying to understand the how mindmeister worked and just dealing with it. Must I say, in my opinion, that it wasn't the best of the best. But in the end it worked out and we all managed to collaborate and put out all the information of Queenan's article. By learning how to use a new tool to help our process of learning it was a good experience for every student that took part in it. We learned how to use something new and put it into action. Nothing better than learning something and finally putting it to work so others can learn from us.  Slowly but surely we are breaking the shackles that the school system has locked us in. We are discovering a whole new world that practices many different styles of learning. Now dare I speak the truth, but don't we all learn differently? Well why not show the different styles of learning so everyone can touch on their style of learning.

Plato's Allegory to the Cave !

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
-It would be the transitioning of ignorance in ones life to seeing and understanding knowledge and the truth. An example would be when the prisoners are not aloud to see reality because they are chained up. so the only "reality" that they perceive to be "reality" would be what they know from being inside the cave all there life.

2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
-The raging fire that stands behind them is the representation of the natural "sun". The shadows present themselves to be the images of or figures of animals, people, any outside living. The shackles/ chains represent the restriction of life that prevents us from seeing and knowing what is real. Darkness is the lack of truth/Knowledge that the prisoners know.

3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
- Shouldn't people accept the truth when they are exposed to it? The thing is that ignorance isn't so wrong when reality hasn't really been available to them. People should go and put themselves out there in order to seek the education, so they will become informed and have the knowledge of the truth rather than metaphorically living in darkness without the knowledge that is being given so close.

4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
- The shackles represent that the prisoners are not completely ignorant, because the prisoners were born into  the darkness. They were just simply physically unable to seek the outside knowledge because of the restraint they were in. The cave is dark with a muggy feel to it, and  is very closed off. It personifies the ignorance as something unpleasant because of its dark feel to it. Turns out to be complete opposite of the feeling towards light and brilliance.

5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
- Technology plays a key role in our lives today. Ever since the invention of electronics we have relied on its advancements more and more. I would say that we are slowly loosing the rich knowledge of knowing how to depend on natural resources, learning how to work with nature to benefit ourselves or others, compared to the dependency of technology. Our minds are becoming shackled because you can see little babies playing with toys that are filled with technology to enhance the play for the kids. There are video games that will "enhance" the learning at an even earlier age. Children are being born into the "cave"  and are slowly shying away from the works of life.

6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
- The perspective of the cave prisoner was much more closed minded because they haven't had the chance to be enlightened like the freed prisoner. The cave prisoners are much more likely to shy away from the opportunity because it is out of their norm. That are already accustomed to what is comfortable for them and if it comes to adjusting to something new, then they'd feel outside of there "reality". For the freed prisoner who feels enlightened by what new world there is out there compared to being inside the cave. He feels that there is something new outside and is willing to learn about the reality outside the cave in order to enhance his knowledge of what the world has to offer.

7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
- You can either choose to accept the truth and enhance your knowledge about such things. Or you can also shy away from the truth and choose to now accept the truth. But by not accepting and learning from the truth then you will not become enlightened with knowledge.

8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
- Someone lead a prisoner outside in showing them reality. He was able to learn and adjust to something new. By learning from others he is able to teach others and share the knowledge he now holds. It is just like a teacher student relationship. The teacher shows his ways to the student and he learns off of them to soon lead for himself, and then lead others in teaching what he has learned. It is like a cycle.

9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
- . . .
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?
- . . .

Literature Anal # 3

The Color Purple  by Alice Walker

1. The Color Purple is a novel about an African American woman named Cecil who struggles throughout life. She had to take the part f her mother when she passed away, and during that time her father rapped. She had two children which she never met. Soon after that she is forced to marry another man who already has children. The children as well as her husband are cruel to her and do not respect her. After a couple of years she adjusts to the life. Her sister Nettie moved in with them for a while but when she refused to have a relationship with Cecil’s husband she was told she could no longer live there. When Nettie left the house she went to be a servant for an African couple and later became a missionary with them in Africa. Cecil not only morns with the loss of her sister but also with the fact that her husband cheats on her with a singer named Shug. After years of having Shug live with them Cecil begins to form a physical as well as emotional relationship with Shug. Together Shug and Cecil discover letters from Nettie to Cecil that her husband had been hiding from her. When Shug announces that she is leaving Cecil says that she will leave as well, she gets the courage to tell her husband how she really feels about him. Cecil begins her own store and becomes very successful. She goes back to the town to discover that her husband is a changed man and while there she is reunited with her sister.

2. The theme of this novel is that strength can be hidden in the people that appear to be weak. This theme mainly applies to Cecil because she started off as a push over and ends up being independent. She is pushed around by everyone at first and then comes out being strong. She dealt with her father abusing her and then with the abuse of her husband. Shug was the person that Cecil needed to push her to be strong.

3. The tone of the novel is serious and tragic. Though there are a couple of happy moments, it is mainly filled with saddness. Since the very beginning Cecil introduces the fact that she was raped and her tone was very somber. She had a very difficult life and spoke of it with a serious tone. The majority of her life was not very good and enjoyable for her. Even when Nettie sent the letters they always contained serious topics and a tragic tone to all she said. Toward the end of the novel it begins to brighten up a bit but Cecil still speaks with a tragic tone.

4. The literary elements in this novel were diction, zenith, and characterization. The diction was used with the slang that Cecil spoke in. It was effective by making this novel more realistic as well as making Cecil more realistic. The zenith occurred when Shug and Cecil found the letters from Nettie. This was a turning point for the way the story took place because Cecil’s attitude changed after this. The characterization added a better idea f the characters. It helped make sense of why they did what they did. For example the death of Cecil’s husbands ex wife explained his cruel attitude.

Sonnet Analysis ( part 1) 

Sonnet Characteristics

- 14 lines. All sonnets have 14 lines which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains.

- A strict rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG (note the four distinct sections in the rhyme scheme).

- Written in iambic Pentameter. Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, a poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.


- A sonnet can be broken down into four sections called quatrains. The first three quatrains contain four lines each and use an alternating rhyme scheme. The final quatrain consists of just two lines which both rhyme.


1) Each quatrain should progress the poem as follows:
First quatrain: This should establish the subject of the sonnet.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: ABAB

2) Second quatrain: This should develop the sonnet’s theme.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: CDCD

3) Third quatrain: This should round off the sonnet’s theme.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: EFEF

4) Fourth quatrain: This should act as a conclusion to the sonnet.
Number of lines: 2. Rhyme Scheme: GG

Big Question ? ? 

It is saddening seeing someone not appreciate their culture and where the ancestors come from. Why do some people just push all that aside, in order to "fit in" with society? Why not take pride in where you come form and show society itself to love their heritage?
After all...this place we call earth is full of diversity, why not Love ourselves first before we can love others...

Vocab # 11

1. affinity- (n) a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristic

2. bilious- (adj) relating to an illness caused by too much bile, which can cause vomiting

3. cognate- (adj) describes languages and words that have the same origin, or that are related and in some way similar

4. corollary- (n) something that results from something else

5. cul-de-sac- (n) a short road which is blocked off at one end, a situation which leads nowhere

6. derring-do- (n) brave action taken without considering the danger involved

7. divination- (n) the skill or act of saying or discovering what will happen in the future

8. elixir- (n) a substance, usually a liquid, with a magical power to cure, improve or preserve

9. folderol- (n) a showy but worthless trifle, foolish nonsense

10. gamut- (n) the whole range of things that can be included in something

11. hoi polloi- (plural noun) ordinary people

12. ineffable- (adj) causing so much emotion, especially pleasure, that it cannot be described

13. lucubration- (n) laborious work, study, thought, etc.. especially at night.

14. mnemonic- (n) something such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something

15. obloquy- (n) censure, blame or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, especially by numerous persons or by the public.

16. parameter- (n) a set of facts or a fixed limit which establishes or limits how something can or must happen or be done

17. pundit- (n) a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and is therefore often asked to give an opinion about it

18. risible-(adj) not effective or useful; stupid

19. symptomatic-(adj) If something bad is symptomatic of something else, it is caused by the other thing and is proof that it exists

20.volte-face- (n) a sudden change from one set of beliefs or plan of action to the opposite

Sonnet!

Soneto XVII by Pablo Neruda

o te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio

o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:

te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,

secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.

Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva

dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores,

y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo

el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra.

Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,

te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:

así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,

tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,

tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.

Translation

Love Sonnet 17

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

AP HAMLET PLN

http://costelloaplit.blogspot.com/p/teacher-info.html

This blog is an AP English teachers which is some what similar to ours. But I am only posting his blog up because his students blogs give good information and they are structured very similar to ours. This way if anyone needs help with a book or anything then, his students should be a wonderful resource.

 http://lainhartfiles.blogspot.com/

This is another blog that I found with some helpful information. Check it out if your interested.

http://video.pbs.org/video/1473795626

Hamlet video! In case anyone was wanting the FULL understanding of the play. The movie helped me break it down more after reading the book.

Vocabulary #10

1) aficionado- (n) someone who is very interested in and enthusiastic about a particular subject

2) browbeat- (verb) to try to force someone to do something by threatening them or persuading them forcefully and unfairly

3) commensurate- (adj) in a correct and suitable amount compared to something else

4) diaphanous- (adj) describes a substance, especially cloth, which is so delicate and thin that you can see through it

5) emolument- (n) a payment in money or some other form that is made for work that has been done

6) foray- (n) a short involvement in an activity which is different from and outside the range of a usual set of activities

7) genre- (n) a style, especially in the arts, that involves a particular set of characteristics

8) homily- (n) a piece of spoken or written advice about how someone should behave

9) immure- (verb) to enclose within walls

10) insouciant- (n) a relaxed and happy way of acting without feeling worried or guilty

11) matrix- (n) the set of conditions which provides a system in which something grows or develops

12) obsequies-(obsequy -noun) A funeral right or ceremony

13) panache- (n) a stylish, original and very confident way of doing things that makes people admire you

14) persona- (n) the particular type of character that a person seems to have, which is often different from their real or private character

15) philippic- (n) a bitter or impassioned speech of denunciation; invective

16) prurient- (adj) too interested in the details of another person's sexual behaviour

17) sacrosanct- (adj) thought to be too important or too special to be changed

18) systemic- (adj) A systemic problem or change is a basic one, experienced by the whole of an organization or a country and not just particular parts of it

19) tendentious- (adj) (of speech or writing) expressing or supporting a particular opinion which many other people disagree with

20) vicissitude- (plural noun) changes which happen at different times during the life or development of someone or something, especially those which result in conditions being worse