The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock is hardly a love song at all. In fact, it is more about despair than it is about love.

Working Together Group Remix

Ashlyn Bishop, Alyssa Oh, Brenissa Flores, Elizabeth Smith, Victoria Tonascia and I all put together a little powerpoint-type presentation to make understanding David Whyte's "Working Together" a bit easier.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BeodFHlvIF1ImNxliVaQdK6tjo4dCVFpveSCJslWUb4/edit#slide=id.p

Poetry Comparison: "Working Together" vs. "Out Beyond Ideas"

       Though both concepts of working together and having ideas are different, they also go together rather well. Both "Working Together" by David Whyte and Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi's "Out Beyond Ideas" have certain connections embedded within the works. They both contain aspects of interconnectivity as well as finding something bigger than oneself.
       "Working Together" is broadly about how different people and things come together for some greater purpose. But when it is further analyzed, it can also be said that the poem is about the unknown creating the unknown. It talks of shaping and imagining things in a matter of togetherness. This can be related back to Rumi's "Out Beyond Ideas."
       Although Rumi's poem is shorter and structured very differently, it still carries some of the points given by Whyte's poem. It, too, talks of how something is made of nothing, and how ideas can be formed, just not necessarily outright through working together. It has a certain vagueness about it that "Working Together" lacks, and is a bit more mysterious. Regardless, both poems loosely tell the same story, just in different ways.
       All in all, though the authors set out to get across different messages, the two poems highly correlate. Through working together, ideas can be combined to create something intangible. These things can then be uncovered to create something great.

Intro to Poetry

Working Together by David Whyte

Hamlet Essay: Method to the Madness

       If there is one thing that rings true of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," it's that the play is filled with twists and turns and craziness of all kinds that somehow ends up making sense in the end. Polonius says so himself with his line, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't." Though he is directing the line towards Hamlet, it is easy to connect it to the play as a whole.

Literature Analysis #3

The Stranger by Albert Camus

 

Hamlet Act IV

-Claudius wants to get rid of Hamlet because he fears he will eventually expose him
--Hamlet is outraged at Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; approaches them as a true king for the first time

Hamlet: Insane or Lucid?

       Though Hamlet may have several sporadic, "crazy" outbursts, he's far from being a madman. In fact, it could be argued that he's one of the sanest characters in the play. Not only does Hamlet prove to have a conscience from the start, but he also (for the most part) handles the situations that arise in a very mature and thought out manner. His parental figures and supporting characters involved, however, do not do the same. Now maybe Hamlet isn't exactly "sane," but he sure does seem that way in comparison with any other characters in the play.

The Performative Utterance in Hamlet/Class Notes

-The idea of saying something doesn't just describe it, but rather forms a reality in the world; moments and understandings
-Hamlet's soliloquies are him talking to himself in the moment and thus coming to expectations and realizations

Hamlet Act III Scene i, ii, iii and iv

-Characters: Queen Gertrude, Guildenstern, Roesencrantz, King Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia
-Devotions visage= outward show of devotion; by looking like they're doing the right thing, they can convince people they're doing good
-First time hearing of Claudius feeling guilty
-Hamlet's big "to be or not to be" soliloquy

Hamlet Soliloquy: Remix of a Remix done by Period 4

 Today in class we all collaborated and ended up putting this little video together to recite the Hamlet Soliloquy together as a class and veer away from the numerous, droning recitations we would've otherwise dealt with. I'd say we got an "A" for collaboration today. Maybe not acting or singing, but for collaboration.

Remix of Hamlet Acts I and II

Put together by Alyssa Oh, Courtney Reyburn, Hannah Hurd, Judith Lee, Sierra Sanchez, Elizabeth Smith, Shailynn Joseph, Victoria Tonascia, and myself. Directed, Produced, and Edited by Imanie Patel.

Hamlet Act II Scene i and ii

-Lord Polonius says to investigate Laertes and get a sense of his character
-Polonius is asking Reynaldo to elicit information through playing him

Hamlet Act I Scene iv and v

-The ghost appears to Hamlet
-Though Horatio and Marcellus don't want Hamlet to follow the ghost, he is determined

Hamlet Act I Scene iii

-Laertes is Polonius' son, Ophelia is his sister
-Hamlet is affectionate for Ophelia, "a toy in blood" is passion

Literary Fiction and Empathy

I've always heard that people who read are more likely to excel in school then people who don't, but I never really heard that certain materials help more than others, or that reading can help with understanding others. By reading literary fiction, one is able to analyze the characters and get more of a feel for how a character functions. This can then help people analyze and understand the actions of people in real life. It could also help one understand the emotions of others. This proves true in Hamlet because, even though we've only read two acts, we're already starting to develop a feel for who the characters are and how they think. Because literary fiction deals with giving identities to people and understanding them, there is a chance it could help translate to everyday life dealings with people. The next time I feel like going out, I may pick up a literary fiction book, just to test it out.

Cracking Down on Hamlet

I feel like a lot of the time, internet "interactions" aren't very effective or beneficial to a single, or multiple parties. I'm not saying that they can't be, because they definitely can. I just prefer more personal, face to face interactions. That said, I think I'm going to try and consult with both other English teachers and my older friends who have already studied Hamlet for their help on processing and learning the materials.

Hamlet Act I Scene ii

-Characters: King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Hamlet, Polonius, Laertes, Voltimand, Cornelius, Horatio, Marcellus
-Hamlet's first line in the story is, "A little more than kin and less than kind"

Hamlet Act I Scene i

-Characters: Horatio, Mercellus, Bernardo, Francisco
-Scene begins with Bernardo and Francisco changing guard at a castle (Elsinore)

Vocabulary 6

A Picture I didn't Take

From the top of the Eiffel Tower
The people look so small
And the expanse of land looks so minuscule
But this is more of the world than I've ever seen
When really this isn't even an atom of the world I live in
And I want to see all of it
But when measured in places and faces
This moment is hardly even a moment at all.

Declaration of Learning Independence

IN LEARNING, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014.
The unanimous Declaration of Melissa Rose Sobczak

Vocabulary #4

obsequious - adj. attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
beatitude - noun one of the eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; in Latin each saying begins with `beatus' (blessed); a state of supreme happiness

Literature Analysis #1

A Lesson Before Dying- Ernest J. Gaines

What's the big idea?

Do you ever have those moments where you feel so unsure and confused, but then an idea just happens to suddenly hit you like a sack of bricks? Today in English, I had one of those moments. I've been stressing over my "big question" since before I was even involved in this class. I had endless possibilities in my mind, yet I was unable to formulate them into one single idea. But today I realized it didn't have to be like that. All this time I was thinking that my big question had to be extremely specific, and that it would need to involve some big project. But today as I read over the big question topics from the past year, and listened to Dr. Preston talk about endless possibilities, and how we could make it what we wanted, I began to feel a wave of relief. I realized that my big question could pretty much be anything, and didn't really have to be a single question after all. It could be an idea, a thought that I build on. And what better way to conjure up that question/idea than by thinking based off of what I'm passionate about? I'm finally beginning to figure out what my big question is and where I want to go with it. I can't exactly state the idea just yet, but it's definitely in the works. More to come on my big question in the near future!

Vocabulary #3

accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
attrition - noun the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy; sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation; the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice; erosion by friction

Masterpiece in Progress

I'm honestly so stuck with my masterpiece that I just don't know what to do. I feel like this should be easy, like there's some big idea that's just bursting to be put together, but I just can't quite figure it out. I can't think of just one single question that I would like to pursue. It's as if the entire year will revolve around this one idea, so it HAS to be perfect. I understand that the big question should be something you're passionate about, and I'm very passionate about writing and traveling and learning about people. But I just don't know what I can do with that, because I feel like my masterpiece is supposed to be some huge community service project or something and I just can't quite put my thoughts together to figure something out. It's like I've got all the glue in the world but no broken pieces to put together. Either that or a bunch of puzzle pieces that don't quite seem to come from the same puzzle. Either way, I seem to be in a bit of a rut with this idea and I just hope that I'm able to figure something out.

Beowulf Essay

There is no denying that a hero is a hero, but there are some stark differences between heroes of today and heroes of ye old times. A hero is, by definition, someone of distinguished courage or ability, who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. And while Beowulf certainly is a representation of that, he is no modern-day Superman, so to speak. Though they contain many of the same elements of heroism, there is an obvious difference in the way in which they exercise their power. Not only does the character of Beowulf differ from that of Superman, but the story of Beowulf differs from modern-day heroic tales as well. This is due to the time and place in which the story was written, expressing language usage and principles that are somewhat more foreign today than they were years ago. There is a purposeful way in which Beowulf was written, as well as how the character of Beowulf acts as a hero.

Will Study for Food

Ah, college. The inevitable destiny that has been chosen for most of us. Or if we're lucky, we actually want to go.

Vocabulary #2

1.accoutrements- noun: additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity; He wore the accoutrements proudly as he geared up for the big game.
2.apogee - noun: apoptosis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth; a final climactic stage; The satellite reached the point of apogee, almost invisible to the naked eye.

My University

I suppose that my day with independent learning didn't exactly involve a lot of scholastic and academic talk, but I was learning nonetheless. I sat with a couple of my best friends and we decided to put our books and stress aside and simply talk about the random topics that managed to come up. We talked about our futures and birthdays and were able to just talk and laugh and take our minds off the stress that was put on by school and life's obstacles, and instead focus on the stress of the coming year and summer ahead of us. We were still stressed, but it was for a more worthy reason. We learned of each others trips ahead, each of us leaving the country. We talked of the trip we took together to Spain and France this last summer, and about how in the coming summer, Alyssa will be going to Italy, Imanie will be going to Uganda, and I will be going to both. We all have a lot on our plate ahead of us, but we're all very driven people who work hard for what we want. Class may not have been a structured academic facility today, but I think we all needed a "day off."

Beowulf Questions

Literature Textbook pgs. 31-60 and Beowulf Ch. 1-10

From Tristia, Book 10
-Exile: the condition of being cut off from one's homeland
-Set in the Pontus; he [Ovid] has been there three years; time is passing by very slowly and it seems even longer
-The people there fear war and stand ready to fight, as it is an everyday fear
-Ovid is an outcast, an exiled person from Rome, who is mocked by the Getae for his Latin speaking, understood by no one and seeming like a barbarian
-He believes he might deserve the exile, just not in such a place; seems as if he hurt Caesar and is a bit unsure of what he feels he deserves

Poetry #1

Literature Bookwork Pgs. 4-14

From Legend to History (A.D. 449-1485)

Historical Background:
-The Celts invaded the British Isles and settled into Britain (Brythons) and Ireland (Gaels)
-Julius Caesar and Rome invaded Britain years later, ruling for 300 years
-The Anglo-Saxons then took over from Germany, falling to barbarian tribes but allowing the Celtic Christian Church to remain
-Columba and some monks gained converts to Christianity, prior to the Danish invasion of the Vikings; Alfred the Great took the Wessex throne and became a national hero, keeping Danish civilization intact and preaching learning and education

My Opinion Isn't (A) Right

I understand the concepts that Jamie Whyte poses, but it doesn't always make things fair.

Reflections on Week 1

1. Honestly, I feel as though the only thing that is going to affect my participation or experience in this class is my own self. Yes, I have an EXTREMELY busy schedule with a lot going on and a lot of AP classes to tend to-not to mention the fundraising I need to do before summer to go on some world travel trips I really want to go on. But I've had a busy schedule and a lot going on since I was in elementary school-I'm one of those people that likes to try most things at least once, and it's easier for me to maintain a pleasant life when it's jam-packed with busy schedules and things rather than one where I remain stagnant. It's always been this way for me and has never affected me negatively, and I don't see this year being any different. The only thing holding me back would be my lack of desire to share things with others. When it comes to sharing things (especially writing) I'm more of a listener than anything else. It's not because I don't have plenty of my own thoughts and ideas because believe me, I do. It's just that I don't feel there's a strong motivation in me to share them, because people are going to believe what they want to believe and I honestly just don't really care what they think about what I have to say, because those are my words and no matter what others tell me, I believe in them. No one else's opinion really matters too much to me. That said, I do like to think I'm a very open-minded person. I like to listen and learn and hear what other people have to say; I like to hear and take into account their thoughts and ideas, which could ultimately contribute to the development of my thoughts and ideas. It's going to be a big step for me to put myself and my writing out there this year, but I suppose I had to get over it sometime.

Vocabulary #1

Thank you to Siera and Dr. Preston for making it a whole lot easier and less time consuming to find the definitions for the words in Vocab List #1!

1987 AP Exam

I found questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 26, 28, 30, 47, 49, 50, 53, 54, and 56 all relatively easy and straight forward. A lot of these questions focused either on literary/vocabulary terms, or implications right out of the texts and I managed to get them all right.

Montaigne/Austen Essay

Although Montaigne's Essays are lengthy and combine a lot of wise words from historical figures past into a few hundred pages, they don't even begin to touch on the depths of what he was trying to get across. True, Montaigne's Essays do combine a lot of prevalent thoughts of different people together to support several pressing ideas. And in retrospect, because of the array of people and examples used, most of the topics of the Essays cover a lot of ground and give a strong insight as to different thoughts and ideas that occur. But those thoughts are only of a certain handful of individuals which lived at the time or before, and do not begin to explore the ideas of other peoples of the time, or even today. With Montaigne using an array of quotes and examples from other people, the Essays show that he was well-read and had a "stream of consciousness" type of thinking, which he shared with Jane Austen, though in a different manner.

Poetry #1

1. The commercial "borrows" the poem The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski.
2. The use of this poem by a corporation could be considered ironic because the poem is all about not being tied down by this world and being free to live your own life, while Levi's is advertising a material product, highly contradicting the non-materialistic poem.
3. The poem does reflect the reputation of Bukowski, especially in his later life. The first part of his life was spent being abused and criticized by not only his peers, but his family as well. He worked his way out of his "dank submission" (the life he lived in abuse from his father as well as being bullied by his peers) into a life of his own, one where he took chances both romantically and in his writing career. He lived his life in a way that would make him happy, escaping his prior state of darkness.
4. For #1, I listened to the first words of the poem and typed in, "Your life is your life," into the Google search box. I then clicked the first source that came up, because it seemed to be a reliable poetry source, (thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com) which gave me the entire poem with the title and the author. As for #3, I looked up "Charles Bukowski" and first read up on his information/life on Wikipedia. I then clicked on what I felt to be a more reliable link, bukowski.net. Both these links combined gave me the information I needed to answer #3.

Essay #1

The term "home" is often defined as a place where one lives. However, in today's age, many would beg to differ and argue that home is not necessarily a material place of birth, but rather where one feels secure. Whether that be in a concrete house or a lover's arms is up for interpretation. In the The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Leah Price is whisked from her birthplace in Georgia to travel on a mission with her family to a place foreign to them all: Africa. While at first Leah is excited for this new chapter in her life, and the opportunity to learn and explore, she quickly realizes that the African environment is not as comforting as was Sanderling Island, GA. That is until she meets someone who serves as somewhat of a substitute for her lack of a place to call home, a teacher in the village named Anatole. From her first encounters in Africa to starting a family with Anatole, Leah Price experiences both the positive and negative effects of exile and how it shapes her views on what "home" really is.

Essays (Montaigne)

In reading just the first passage of Montaigne's essays alone (titled "To the Reader") I was already beginning to plunge deep into thought. By the second to last line of Montaigne's introduction, I was questioning why I was reading the book at all. Montaigne concludes his preface with saying, "... I am myself the matter of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your leisure on so frivolous and vain a subject." Most people in life try to be as reasonable as possible. Therefore, continuing on reading this large book of different ideas of one man who lived so long ago, as Montaigne said, would be pointless and a waste of time. But of course I wasn't just going to not turn the next page, for two main reasons. One reason being the obvious one: I had to read the book in order to complete my summer assignment and get credits for my class. And two: If one short passage could make me put as much thought into it as the first page of Montaigne's Essays did, there had to be some worth in continuing on and reading what else he had to say. Because I figured even if I didn't agree with it, it would make me see things from another point of view other than my own, which I feel is necessary for growing and expanding in the world that we live in. So, despite my desire to be a reasonable person, my curious, rebellious side got the better of me, and I disregarded the author's advice against reading his thoughts and turned the page anyway.

Pride and Prejudice Notes

Volume I:
Characters:
-Mr. Bennet is the husband of Mrs. Bennet and father of their five daughters. He is a kind and loving person in general, and maintains a laid back persona throughout the story. Though he is the head of the household, he seems to somewhat stay out of social affairs as much as he can, unlike many of the other strong male figures throughout the novel. He loves all of his daughters but seems more so attached to Elizabeth, who he shares the same ideas with (they seem to be the wisest out of all the Bennets and are both more focused on happiness and their own personal desires than those of politics and money).
-Mrs. Bennet is the wife of Mr. Bennet and mother of the Bennet household. Unlike Mr. Bennet, she is more concerned with social status and money and is constantly pushing for her daughters to marry, despite their opinions on the situation. She is a very selfish person and not a good mother to her daughters, basically wanting to pawn them off for the social aspect of the marriages.

The Poisonwood Bible Notes

Book One: GenesisOrleanna Price begins narrating the story of her and her children trudging through a forest. She describes herself as, "Southern Baptist by marriage, mother of children living and dead." This implies that maybe her religious views aren't necessarily hers, but that of her husband. She is the mother of four girls who she is with in the forest. Kingsolver uses vivid imagery and many descriptive words to give the reader an accurate depiction of where the story is taking place, as if the reader were there as well. Orleanna switches throughout the first passage from a first person P.O.V (speaking of herself and her travels using "I") to a third person P.O.V (speaking as if she were watching the accounts, referring to herself as "she"). She also mentions how the passage is directed to "you", referring to her favorite child. Her interaction with the okapi seems important. The story is taking place in the 1960's, the time of Kennedy and space travel. Orleanna describes her husband as unloving. Contrary to her daughter's beliefs that their mother has no life of her own due to her controlling husband, Orleanna states that she very much so has a life of her own, she just chooses to keep quiet. The big question she poses is, "How do we aim to live with it [referring to one's own fortune]?" She replies that the answer lies within individuals (her daughters) and how they live throughout the story.