Literature Analysis 3: Brave New World

1.  The novel takes place in the future where people have been grown in bottles and society is perfectly happy and perfectly stable. The story starts in one of these hatcheries and goes on to describe this new world that the audience finds themselves in. Eventually, the audience meets Bernard Marx, a man who is unhappy with society. He is unhappy with the way the world has turned out, so he secludes himself from society and searches for someone who feels the same as him. One day, he takes an Alpha woman, Lenina, to the Reservation, a place where those who were born, not decanted, live. There he meets a woman who had been decanted and forced to live in a society and give birth. This woman had become everything that she had been conditioned to hate; old age, fat. When they return to society, this woman takes a permanent soma holiday to escape the hatred she has for herself. Her son, John is unaccustomed to this society and for the most part he doesn't understand how people can drug themselves with soma and only worry about sex. When his friends leave him, John retreats from London and lives his life as a Savage to the rest of the world trying to purify himself.

2. This novel is satirical upon society. During this time period, industrialization was taking off to a point that it was hard not to see its prominence. Also, Ford's assembly line was taking off. Capitalism was on the rise as were material items. People would buy things to gain some sort of happiness and use drugs to escape the world they lived in, one of war. In the novel this is represented by soma. After the wars, society was in shambles; people want to buy and get what they want, but people have to work. The world has suffered so much that they yearned for and remedy to fix it. In this novel, Huxley approaches a remedy, one in which society s stabilized to only experience happiness while sacrificing all other emotion. In this society people are decanted and conditioned into a specific caste so that all members of society will work to achieve stability. In the words of the Controller "Because our world is not the same as Othello's world. You can't make flivvers without steel–and you can't make tragedies without social instability. The world's stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers or fathers; they've got no wives, or children, or lovers to feel strongly about; they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave. And if anything should go wrong, there's soma. Which you go and chuck out of the window in the name of liberty, Mr. Savage. Liberty!" He laughed. "Expecting Deltas to know what liberty is! And now expecting them to understand Othello! My good boy!"

3.

The author’s tone is dramatic and descriptive. The author talks in great length of events that are happening and usesshort descriptions in dialogue unless they are explaining things. For example, the author's description of the hatchery room is extensive. The hatchery is an extensive room, but in this description is of one part of the hatchery. " The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north. Cold for all the summer beyond the panes, for all the tropical heat of the room itself, a harsh thin light glared through the windows, hungrily seeking some draped lay figure, some pallid shape of academic goose-flesh, but finding only the glass and nickel and bleakly shining porcelain of a laboratory. Wintriness responded to wintriness. The overalls of the workers were white, their hands gloved with a pale corpse-coloured rubber. The light was frozen, dead, a ghost. Only from the yellow barrels of the microscopes did it borrow a certain rich and living substance, lying along the polished tubes like butter, streak after luscious streak in long recession down the work tables. "

"That's a charming little group," he said, pointing.

In a little grassy bay between tall clumps of Mediterranean heather, two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing, very gravely and with all the focussed attention of scientists intent on a labour of discovery, a rudimentary sexual game.

"Charming, charming!" the D.H.C. repeated sentimentally.

"Charming," the boys politely agreed. But their smile was rather patronizing. They had put aside similar childish amusements too recently to be able to watch them now without a touch of contempt. Charming? but it was just a pair of kids fooling about; that was all. Just kids. 

In this example, the author talks about a group of kids playing a "game". The author uses the extensive detail to portray this brave new world. Without these descriptions, this world would be left to much to the imagination and the author's theme would not come through.  "In the end she persuaded him to swallow four tablets of soma. Five minutes later roots and fruits were abolished; the flower of the present rosily blossomed. A message from the porter announced that, at the Warden's orders, a Reservation Guard had come round with a plane and was waiting on the roof of the hotel. They went up at once. An octoroon in Gamma-green uniform saluted and proceeded to recite the morning's programme. " Ironically, when the author is describing soma, a drug that is like water, the author is blunt and to the point. Yet he shows soma's ability to allow the user to escape reality.

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.)

Imagery- "on holiday in some other world, where the music of the radio was a labyrinth of sonorous colours, a sliding, palpitating labyrinth, that led (by what beautifully inevitable windings) to a bright centre of absolute conviction; where the dancing images of the television box were the performers in some indescribably delicious all-singing feely; where the dripping patchouli was more than scent–was the sun, was a million saxophones,"

Repetition- "O brave new world …" By some malice of his memory the Savage found himself repeating Miranda's words. "O brave new world that has such people in it."

Situational Irony- "Our library," said Dr. Gaffney, "contains only books of reference. If our young people need distraction, they can get it at the feelies. We don't encourage them to indulge in any solitary amusements." irony because of reading

Antithesis- Linda was dying in company–in company and with all the modern conveniences. The air was continuously alive with gay synthetic melodies.

Rhetorical Questions- Should she speak to him? Try to bring him back to a sense of decency? Remind him of where he was? Of what fatal mischief he might do to these poor innocents?

 Hyperbole-  Undoing all their wholesome death-conditioning with this disgusting outcry–as though death were something terrible, as though any one mattered as much as all that! It might give them the most disastrous ideas about the subject, might upset them into reacting in the entirely wrong, the utterly anti-social way.

Linda had been a slave, Linda had died; others should live in freedom, and the world be made beautiful. A reparation, a duty. And suddenly it was luminously clear to the Savage what he must do; it was as though a shutter had been opened, a curtain drawn back.

Allusion- “Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about my ears and sometimes voices." Shakespeare’s The Tempest

Metaphor- Christianity without tears–that's what soma is."

Parallelism- "Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen to-morrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind."

CHARACTERIZATION

1. Direct-

Ladies and gentlemen," the Director repeated once more, "excuse me for thus interrupting your labours. A painful duty constrains me. The security and stability of Society are in danger. Yes, in danger, ladies and gentlemen. This man," he pointed accusingly at Bernard, "this man who stands before you here, this Alpha-Plus to whom so much has been given, and from whom, in consequence, so much must be expected, this colleague of yours–or should I anticipate and say this ex-colleague?–has grossly betrayed the trust imposed in him. By his heretical views on sport and soma, by the scandalous unorthodoxy of his sex-life, by his refusal to obey the teachings of Our Ford and behave out of office hours, 'even as a little infant,'" (here the Director made the sign of the T), "he has proved himself an enemy of Society, a subverter, ladies and gentlemen, of all Order and Stability, a conspirator against Civilization itself. For this reason I propose to dismiss him, to dismiss him with ignominy from the post he has held in this Centre; I propose forthwith to apply for his transference to a Subcentre of the lowest order and, that his punishment may serve the best interest of Society, as far as possible removed from any important Centre of population. In Iceland he will have small opportunity to lead others astray by his unfordly example." The Director paused; then, folding his arms, he turned impressively to Bernard. "Marx," he said, "can you show any reason why I should not now execute the judgment passed upon you?"
In this quote the author is using the DHC to characterize Bernard. the Director blatantly calls out Bernard as being different and a threat to the stability of civilization.

He won't find another Savage to help him out a second time," they said. Meanwhile, however, there was the first Savage; they were polite. And because they were polite, Bernard felt positively gigantic–gigantic and at the same time light with elation, lighter than air.

In this quote the author describes Bernard's egotistical growth due to people's insincere kindness. This kindness had arisen from his popularity from the Savage.

Indircet-

"The wren goes to't and the small gilded fly does lecher in my sight." Maddeningly they rumbled in his ears. "The fitchew nor the soiled horse goes to't with a more riotous appetite. Down from the waist they are Centaurs, though women all above. But to the girdle do the gods inherit. Beneath is all the fiend's. There's hell, there's darkness, there is the sulphurous pit, burning scalding, stench, consumption; fie, fie, fie, pain, pain! Give me an ounce of civet, good apothecary, to sweeten my imagination." Here the author characterizes the Savage by his values. He believes saving himself for marriage because that was what he had grown up with, something outside the norm of society. Here the Savage is angry at the temptations of the world he longed to be in.

"Often in the past he had wondered what it would be like to be subjected (soma-less and with nothing but his own inward resources to rely on) to some great trial, some pain, some persecution; he had even longed for affliction. As recently as a week ago, in the Director's office, he had imagined himself courageously resisting, stoically accepting suffering without a word. The Director's threats had actually elated him, made him feel larger than life. But that, as he now realized, was because he had not taken the threats quite seriously, he had not believed that, when it came to the point, the D.H.C. would ever do anything. Now that it looked as though the threats were really to be fulfilled, Bernard was appalled. Of that imagined stoicism, that theoretical courage, not a trace was left."
Here the author is characterizing Bernard. Bernard is the black sheep of London and nobody understands him just as he doesn't understand them. All of society drowns themselves in a sea of soma and he longs to feel something other than the numbness it brings. 

The author uses both approaches because it helps the reader understand how Bernard and John view society and how they speak in society. Bernard was seen as being reclusive, but in actuality his mind was busier than Los Angeles traffic. By using both techniques, the reader is able to gain a deeper understanding of the characters.

2.  The author uses syntax while describing an event or process, while in characters diction is used to display their level of intellect. For example, John has a fairly high level of intellect for someone who was born and not decanted as an Alpha. Also, whenever John speaks, he uses both syntax and diction to describe his feelings. In many of his descriptions, he alludes to classic authors such as Shakespeare and Othello by incorporating their work into his feelings. The syntax of the novel is very long in describing an event which fuels a dramatic tone. When character's speak, the syntax is short and to the point. The author uses the word surrogate to describe many of the new world's items. There is blood surrogate, beef surrogate, etc.. The use of this word helps to enforce the fact that this new world is grown in tubes. Nothing has emotions or family.

3. Bernard is a round and dynamic character. Initially, the audience knew that he would like to experience something more than soma and feel something other than just sex. He couldn't find anything until he brought John the Savage to London. Instantly he gained fame, sex and elation to his ego. He felt on top of the world and became everything he hated about society. In the end, he was forced to go away because he didn't fit into society. He is a round character because the audience would expect him to befriend John instead of using his fame as an opportunity to fuel his elation. He is a dynamic character because Bernard's personality changed. He became what he hated and drowned in soma like the rest of his peers.

4.

 After reading the book, I had come away with feeling like I had met a person. The author goes into such great detail about John’s feeling and curiosity that the audience gets to understand this new society better than it had the entire novel.

The Savage stood looking on. "O brave new world, O brave new world …" In his mind the singing words seemed to change their tone. They had mocked him through his misery and remorse, mocked him with how hideous a note of cynical derision! Fiendishly laughing, they had insisted on the low squalor, the nauseous ugliness of the nightmare. Now, suddenly, they trumpeted a call to arms. "O brave new world!" Miranda was proclaiming the possibility of loveliness, the possibility of transforming even the nightmare into something fine and noble. "O brave new world!" It was a challenge, a command.

This quote was taken just after John had left London and made his new home near a light house. He felt the need to purify himself after being exposed a society that was deemed: happy and stable” The world had mocked him in the Reservation and now in this society because he was different. But now out in the wilderness he can finally repent and accept the rights he was given by the Controller. Out in his forest the mockery had ceased. John came to realize that even the dream can be turned to ash as quickly as it was set aflame.

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

1. Time serves as a broth for this poem. It allows the poem to have the back and forth movement that the reader feels when read. Eliot refers to mustard gas from WWI, he refers to contemporary society, and yet he refers to fictional characters from long ago. Time is not definitive in this poem. "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff." - Doctor Who
2. Eliot refers to the eternal footman because this poem is situated around death. Perhaps it is the moment of dying where life flashed before his eyes or maybe he is in Hell where he is reliving his life. As for Hamlet, Eliot is referring to Polonius not Prince Hamlet. Polonius was the Fool who chose to follow the orders of a man he envied. Maybe a reference to soldier life...
3.  The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening, Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains, Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap, And seeing that it was a soft October night,  Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

In this quote, Eliot is talking about the mustard gas from the war. He uses a lot of imagery to describe something in a gracious manner, yet almost as if it were a rabid dog showing its threats.This moment taken out of context could be seen as beautiful. yet with time mishmashed in this poem, one can see the insidious side of the fog.

Out beyond ideas remix

"Out Beyond Ideas" Remix: http://youtu.be/WLGwPMTyDnY

Out Beyond Ideas vs. Summons

 Out Beyond Ideas and Summons share a relationship about a place in which the world becomes more than just black and white, it becomes muddled with shades of grey. Perhaps this place is the after life, or perhaps this is a place in the mind. The two poems approach this place differently. The first approaches this place as being a field to meet someone, a place of waiting. The latter approaches this place by pleading someone to take them to this place, to show them this other world.

Out Beyond ideas is simple and to the point, yet there are varying levels of complexity. Outrightly, it talks of a field where nothing makes sense and that the author will meet someone there. If this place be the after life, then the author could be meeting up with someone that died a long time ago. If this is a place in the mind, he could be trying to show someone this field. In this poem the speaker is the "waker".

Summons is a little longer and portrays someone who is lost and wishes to find a place of enlightenment. This poem is somewhat reminiscent of the Allegory of the Cave. People are blind to their surroundings, Yeah maybe they've seen a little of what truly goes on but they have no clue what really is. But once they've awoken from their blindness they can see the muddled greys. In this poem, the speaker is the one asleep.

Both poems revolve around a topic of enlightenment. Some people choose to stay in a place that is dark and where they are comfortable. They choose to abandon this world and subject to their own reality. But, this leaves curiosity to take over the mind; about what the world has to offer. Summons portrays this curiosity to know something beyond what is known to them, they want to be shown the world. Out Beyond Ideas brings the sleeper to this world. It's almost as if the waker was initially summoned and then has taken on the role of the summoner.

Out Beyond Ideas

The title is significant because it talks of a place that escapes the one track mind that mankind tends to focus on. By going out beyond ideas, maybe we can experience something more than just simple descriptions. It also suggests that to reach a certain spiritual enlightenment, one must try to reach it and not just dream of it.

 The tone oof the poem is a double entendre. It has one side that looking on the surface has a very matter of fact tone. Yet, if we scratch the surface we can see that their is an optimistic tone of reaching this field away from everything.

My mood is optimistic. Maybe there is a place where I can  experience something that is more than something typical and petty. At the same time, I have a feeling of despair because I have no idea where this field is, possibly in my mind?

After the first two lines, the poem shifts from hesitation to in the words of nike "just do it" because here is a place where your mind can take flight.

The theme of the poem is to tell people to go to the place where their dreams take them. Yeah, this place may be confusing, but it will lead to some thing great.

Death in Hamlet

Death is considered final. This is because of it's relation to life, life is the beginning and death is the end. Life and death are opposites yet they go together because you cannot have one without the other. Since death is the end there is no wonder as to why it is seen with curiosity. Nobody has any clue what happens after so we make our amends and say our goodbyes. Death is considered the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate revenge. Hamlet wishes to get the ultimate revenge on his uncle after he has enacted such a horrible crime upon his family.

"No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither with
modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it: as
thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried,
Alexander returneth into dust; the dust is earth; of
earth we make loam; and why of that loam, whereto he
was converted, might they not stop a beer-barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay,
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away:
O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe,
Should patch a wall to expel the winter flaw!
But soft! but soft! aside: here comes the king."-- Hamlet

Death has been a reoccurring theme in Hamlet. It has caused the play to retain an ominous tone, one in which there is a tug of war between heart and mind. "to be or no to be.." Hamlet questions whether or not to enact revenge on his uncle in his mind, but he is bound by an oath to his father that burns a passion in him greater than morality. In Hamlet's soliloquy's, he comments on death through this ominous tone. He talks of the dread of the afterlife as an unknown country turning brave men into cowards as a result. Even in the quote above, Hamlet speaks in this ominous tone. Anyone and everyone no matter greatness will return to the earth and we become skulls, indistinguishable skulls that will degrade as everything does. Before this quote he spoke of an old jester he knew, who has lost his gibes and remains a skull of the earth. Hamlet sees several skulls and learns that these could be anyone from a lawyer to Alexander. In the last lines of this quote Hamlet wishes that this Earth would allow life to go on and expel the winter flaw, death. Perhaps the ominous tone that is so present throughout the play is a result of the looming threat of death.

Hamlet speaks these lines at the end of the play as death is at his door, maybe even knocking. He learns that his revenge will cause him to lie in the ground a skeleton as any other man. Hamlet wishes life to go on as death is looming over him. As Hamlet understands this, he sees his revenge as being but nothing and loses his mad visage. His true feelings come out during Ophelia's burial, he watches his mother die and his anger comes to lite as he makes Claudius drink the poison he so swiftly dished out. As other character's see their end nearing, Gertrude and Laertes make amends and say their goodbyes as they are about too enter the undiscovered country. Even Hamlet finds himself tying up loose ends. He tells Horatio, the good man he is, to tell Fortinbras only of what happened here and avoid the beginning of the affair. Even though Horatio is not dying, he too makes his goodbyes with Hamlet. Both the living and the dying fear death.

Econ test

Nesper postponed the test to Friday. He says to direct people towards the blog. Notebooks will be graded in class tomorrow.

Overgeneralization in the US

I find that as Americans we tend to be lazy, yet all we do is complain about the system that we created. We have some of the lowest voter turnouts in the world, yet we complain when shit doesn't get done. The people that do vote quickly pick a side of an important measure before they know the true meaning of either side. When big measures appear on the ballot, both sides are overgeneralized. They are so overgeneralized that the true points in the measure are muddled by these simplifications. People see both sides as black and white , when in actuality they are varying shades of grey. This causes people to quickly jump to one side without fully understanding the other and the opportunity of change was gone as quickly as how people choose sides.
Politics is not the only place where Americans see things as being black and white. Unfortunately we carry a mentality that is You're either American or you aren't." To those people I ask you to define American. Please inform me on what race American is because if you haven't noticed we were a country founded on immigrants with various backgrounds. So American shouldn't be defined as one race. In the future, race is going to become irrelevant because of the increasing globalization, so maybe instead of defining ourselves based on this or that race, we can define ourselves as being a part of this world.

HAMLET (THE MADMAN?)

     "Screaming at the window  Watch me die another day Hopeless situation endless price I have to pay Sanity now it's beyond me there's no choice. " If mad is defined as being consumed with one thought to the point of bringing the thought to life, then yes, Hamlet is a madman. With the death of his father, Hamlet is consumed on getting revenge on the one that committed the crime. When he learns  the perpetrator is his uncle and his incestuous mother stands beside him, how can he not want avenge his father. After all, murder with a purpose is justifiable in the context of this play. His integrity is unquestionable and his actions are blunt. He purposely psychs out his mother and uncle with a play. This crime of passion is the result of a madman's attraction to avenge his father's death.

     Hamlet's most famous soliloquy is evident of his madness. To commit this crime or not to, once it is done it's done. This infection in his family has bared ill wills on him and to his father's name. But if Hamlet were to commit this sinful deed what will happen to him after in this life, or after this life? This is why relying on the ghost is risky. Hamlet knows the goes shows himself as his father but is it truly him? The ghost could be a representation of Hamlet's conscious telling him the right thing to do is to kill his uncle. The ghost represented as Hamlet's conscious is a result of the "manic depression that befriends" him. The ghost sits on hamlet's shoulder alone , a cross between and angel and a demon. Hamlet chooses to do the "right" thing despite what might happen to him in the afterworld.

    
    Hamlet creates an obsession for murdering his uncle that is so intense that it is like a person who is experiencing tunnel vision. Hamlet wants to rid his family of the guilt, of the corruption, and of the lies in his surrounding family. Hamlet becomes so focused on this that he has an x-ray vision that can see bullshit with just a look. He knows that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are playing him so he gave them no information to give to his uncle. This is one of the many reasons Hamlet acts insane, to get rid of any sense of threat, yet his uncle can sense it. As his uncle, Hamlet can sense that a storm is brewing even going so far as to say that "all but one will survive". He even tries to get Ophelia out of the way by convincing her he's a sinner and that she must get herself to a nunnery where she'll be safe.

     Hamlet knows with all his heart his uncle did it, but still he has to see the guilt on his face.  to confirm his uncle's guilt, Hamlet integrates a special part into "The Mousetrap" which is strikingly similar to how his father was killed. Hmm, maybe he was trying to trap his uncle like a mouse? With this confession Hamlet is ready to kill. His passion is set on fire and his obsession grows stronger. After the play, Hamlet is called upon by his mother. He explains to her the sins she has committed and tells her to save herself before it's too late but it is doubtful that she'll listen. At his most fervid moment, Polonius walks in and is killed by Hamlet, a casualty of a bigger crime.

     Hamlet's madness is very elaborate and focused. Once he had confirmation of his uncle's guilt, Hamlet is determined to kill him. But Hamlet does not just want justice. He wants his uncle to feel what he has done. Hamlet wants a revenge that is justifiable for the murder of his father. To be consumed with these thoughts of murder, Hamlet may have to give up more than he thought to get true revenge.

Food for thought

So today in class we talked about how our culture is seen as conservative. I think that our culture is not so conservative as we come off to be. Maybe compared to other nations we are considered conservative. For example, in Europe there are advertisements with models having half an ass cheek hanging out. Also, Europe seems to be more comfortable in the nude. Got to any nude beach in Europe and you'd understand. If you were to go to a nude beach here, its probably vacant because of what we've been taught. Our conservative nature is a result of past generations. Each day our culture erotisizes men and women through ads and yet we're considered to be conservative. Maybe this description of our culture is also a result of American tendencies to be so stubborn when it comes to introducing new ideas. Instead of evolving, we choose to stay stuck in ways that don't fit in this time period anymore.

The performative utterance in hamlet

• hamlet is unwavering in his duty
• trapped in a cognitive paralysis where he cannot make rel whats in his mind
• performative utterances influence reality instead of merely describing resality.
• this is seen in the language of Shakespeare
• characters overhear themselves so they realize their actions which causes them to change or individualize
• the oath between the boys when hamlet meets his father is an utterance
• hamlet's evolution is a result of faith, closure and acceptance

Act 3 notes

 

 

Scene 2 continued

•  the play commences and hamlet sees the guilt in his uncle and mother
• the play is called the mousetrap; the king reacts to the play
• h distrusts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he knows that they betrayed him
• speak daggers to his mother but use none

Scene 3

• the king feels guilty?
• wants to be free of sin
• has gone back to where he started
• why can't the king repent?
• h has the chance to kill the king but can't because of wanting a more horrid death
• (king) his words are not his thoughts, really is not guilty?

Scene 4

• kills polonius while he's spying
• mother is completely oblivious to why h is mad at her
• trys to knock some sense into his mother, but she still can't get it.
• he's hitting her with dagger words and he likes it
• ghost comes while h is chastising his mother
• tells h to do what he asked him to do and not get carried away
• h asks his mother to repent and keep secret stay away from the king
•  

What have we done

Atlas élémentaire D'Anatomie.: http://youtu.be/GE6ZUd2QBV4

To be or not to be

To be or not to be...: http://youtu.be/NhDG7xuz5Q8

Hamlet notes act 1-2

Literature Analysis #2: Civil Disobedience

1. Thoreau wrote this piece so he can tell people that the government has no authority over the people, if the government goes against the wishes of the people. Thoreau starts out with what he wants to see in the government, which is more power to the people. He then goes on supporting his idea by talking about his opposition to slavery. Because the people have the power in the government, they can rebel against it if the government does not follow what the people want.
2. This novel s a call for limited government. A government in which the individual has a conscious that will cause him to act in the self -interest of others. A majority form of government is one where the people's self interests are halted for individual success. Therefore this causes the government to be unbalanced in decision making so the people have the right to rebel against a government which does not promote the people
3. The author's tone is very matter of fact because he is trying to make a point about he government. At times, it is harsh because Thoreau is being critical of the government. The author wants to explicate that government is not a government without its people. It must be limited and have the consent of the governed, or the people can rebel against it.
"That government is best which governs least"
"Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience?"
It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual.""
4.Allusion- Alludes to the Mexican American War  "Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure." p.85
Metaphor- "The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. " p.85
Rhetorical Question- "Why do they not dissolve it themselves- the union between themselves and the State- and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury? Do not they stand in the same relation to the State that the State does to the Union? And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting the Union which have prevented them from resisting the State?" p.91
Fallacy- "After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. " p.86
Red Herring- " This, according to Paley, would be inconvenient. But he that would save his life, in such a case, shall lose it. This people must cease to hold slaves, and to make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people. " p.88
Metaphor- "All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it." p.89
Motif- government is bad "'That government is best which governs least'; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe- 'That government is best which governs not at all'; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.' p.85
Simile- ". They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs." p.90
Anecdote- " My civil neighbor, the tax-gatherer, is the very man I have to deal with- for it is, after all, with men and not with parchment that I quarrel- and he has voluntarily chosen to be an agent of the government. How shall he ever know well what he is and does as an officer of the government, or as a man, until he is obliged to consider whether he shall treat me, his neighbor, for whom he has respect, as a neighbor and well-disposed man, or as a maniac and disturber of the peace, and see if he can get over this obstruction to his neighborliness without a ruder and more impetuous thought or speech corresponding with his action."p.93

CHARACTERIZATION
1. I can't do this part because Civil Disobedience is a rhetorical piece in which the author explicates his ideas through an essay not a story so there are no characters.
2. The author mainly uses a highly educated level of syntax and diction. He does this in order to make his idea seem elaborate and not under-valued in places such as universities. Plus, the people who will be able to act and change the government will probably have some level of education so this document would appeal to those people.
3. Refer to #1.
4. After reading the book, I felt like I had come away knowing a person because Thoreau is explicitly stating his ideas, so you can see his personality in those ideas. "Practically speaking, the opponents to a reform in Massachusetts are not a hundred thousand politicians at the South, but a hundred thousand merchants and farmers here, who are more interested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity, and are not prepared to do justice to the slave and to Mexico, cost what it may." Thoreau is an opponent against slavery in a time where it's really prevalent so this excerpt represents him as a maverick in society. Throughout the piece, he is also very fervid in his passion for the right of an individual which is probably why he hates the government so much.

Literary Fiction and Empathy

How can reading fiction help you understand others?  Use Hamlet as an example to explore your own thinking process and reactions to a character's innermost thoughts/struggles.
Through reading fiction, the reader becomes the maker of theme. For each person, a novel's theme will change because each person has a different story that they've lived through and can relate different parts of a character to themselves. Hamlet is a teenager like us and his scheming is unparalleled to that of most people's. Hamlet has all this stress on him, with the death of his father, the betrayal of his mother, and the coming into power of a despicable uncle, how can he not want the weight of the world off his shoulders? Right no, that's what it feels like. We have applications, school, scholarships, this an that and it just keeps going on and on. Maybe Hamlet will teach us ways to release the prrssure without exploding.

Hamlet: Act I Scene II

Hamlet: Act I Scene I

• Horatio cannot believe that this is the king
• the ghost cannot speak, yet he looks like he wants to
• he's been expected  by the watch
• What could it mean if a ghost is showing up  in the natural world?

Vocabulary #6

abase - verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
When I lost the competition, I felt abased when the other team laughed at me.
abdicate - verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
When the king got old, he abdicated the throne to his son.
abomination - noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust
Having our enemies win the homecoming game is an abomination.
brusque - adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness
His brusque movements made him seem like a giant.
saboteur - noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
The undercover cop was a saboteur in disguise that made the bad guys get caught.
debauchery - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
A lot of times debauchery is involved in bachelor parties.
proliferate - verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly
Academic scholars have been able to proliferate at Righetti.
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
Cell phones being used in the sixteenth century is an anachronism.
nomenclature - noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
Biology has a nomenclature for naming species, it starts with the domain.
expurgate - verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
When an essay is very long and ranting, its good to expurgate it.
bellicose - adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
When guys fight over a girl, there is an unseen bellicose in the air.
gauche - adj. lacking social polish
His gauche table manners make me cringe, especially when he tries to talk with his mouth full.
rapacious - adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey
People who have starved themselves are rapacious around food.
paradox - noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
Turn off the lights so I can see it is a pparadox.
conundrum - noun a difficult problem
That physics problem was a conundrum.
anomaly - noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule
The white sheep is an anomaly among the black ones.
ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
Baking for hungry people , means that food will be ephemeral.
rancorous - adj. showing deep-seated resentment
Many girls have a rancorous attitude towards the bete noire of their class.
churlish - adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish
Having churlish table manners at your boyfriend's house is a bad reputation for the parent's to know you as.
precipitous - adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep; done with very great haste and without due deliberation
Mount Everest is a precipitous mountain range.

Trans-Media Canterbury Tales Final Essay

 

Just as the world does not belong to one specific culture, Canterbury did not belong to one specific class of people. Chaucer used a theme of unity in diversity in the form of various points of view to create a depth of intuition of social classes that was unknown during that time period. Irony was used to make societies stereotypes of varying classes seem hyperbolic. By transcribing the Canterbury Tales using a diction that could adhere to most people, he encouraged understanding and connections of different people. Through his use of multiple points of view, irony, and simple diction, Chaucer was able to place societal stereotypes out in the open for them to be challenged or honored.



 

 

Due to their social status, kings were seen as autocratic and selfish to those of lower classes. In a time period where social class can be envying, many rumors about who a king truly was were spread. In the Canterbury Tales, the Knight has the highest stature of the group. Most would think he is a complete, pompous ass but in truth, he is genuinely nice and his intentions are kind. Assumptions about how someone acts due to their social stature can often be wrong because they are based of a particular bad example that sticks through rumors and becomes a stereotype.

 

"She's just like you and me, but she's homeless." in this time period, many people were in the same situation financially, they just had different jobs. The Friar is supposed to be a pious man, but he can hardly live off what is provided for him. This ironically causes him to make choices that harm other people. For example, he extorted money from a helpless woman. In this tale, Chaucer showed the true character of friars, despite what their reputations deem them to be.

 

 

 

Had the Canterbury Tales been told in a sophisticated language that mostly was prevalent in the elite and literate, the stories would have never gotten far because most of the population wouldn't have understood the writing. Chaucer was able to use his situation to allow people from all walks of life to enjoy and comprehend the tales. He did this by  using a simple diction that has now been referred to as "Modern English". In turn, the appeal of the tales to everyday people allowed their to be a break in the stereotype of stories being strictly for the elite only.

 

Chaucer's masterpiece brought together people of all statuses in one book. Chaucer created a world that broke free of most stereotypes like the Knight, but also stayed true to some like the Friar. But this masterpiece would not have been a masterpiece had it not been for the diction that appealed to everypne. Chaucer's use of irony, diction, and multiple view points has allowed the Canterbury Tales to challenge and at the same time honor stereotypes that would have never been recognized in that time period.

Who to live by

   Chaucer used his position in life to discover the various walks of life in his time. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by differing people who are going to the same place, Canterbury.
Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales using a modern style of English to appeal to everyone. This ability to appeal to everyone allowed him to express a common hubris among humans when it comes between living by reputation or by character.
 "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is what you really are, and your reputation is merely what others think of you."- John Wooden.

Canterbury Outline

- uses irony to contrast reputation and character, uses satire to make fun of the inner battle
- sympathetic tones to connect the audience to the characters
- encourages characters to have tales that contradict their lives

Green eggs and Hamlet

A) the only thing I know about Hamlet is that Shakespeare wrote it.
B) I know that Shakespeare was somewhat the muckraker of his time. He had the freedom to express his ideas but had to do so in a way that was uncomprehended by the elite.
C) I think so many people frown at Shakespeare because it means that there is an obvious meaning to the work and a lot of times the teachers expect the students to decipher the meaning just by reading the text. Shakespeare is hard to decipher due to the language.
D) I think it would help to read the text aloud and if we don't understand a scene, we can act it out using modern English.

The point of the Canterbury Tales is...

Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales using a modern style of English to appeal to everyone. This ability to appeal to everyone allowed him to express a common hubris among humans when it comes between living by reputation or by character.

Vocabulary #5

Shenanigans- secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering

My brothers shenanigans nearly drove me crazy when I couldn't do my work. 

ricochet - noun a glancing rebound; verb spring back; spring away from an impact

 I drove a ball and it hit a tree and ricocheted back to the tee box.

schism - noun division of a group into opposing factions; the formal separation of a church into two churches or the withdrawal of one group over doctrinal differences

Catholics and Christians became two different sects which there was a schism in the church.

eschew - verb avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of

I try to eschew from the bete noire in my class.

plethora - noun extreme excess

When I was done baking, there was a plethora of cookies.

ebullient - adj. joyously unrestrained

The girl was ebullient when she got three birdies and won the match.

garrulous - adj. full of trivial conversation

A typical interview is garrulous because the employer wants to know you.

harangue - noun a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion; verb deliver a harangue to; address forcefully

Those that have a lot of pride use harangues to improve how they see themselves.

interdependence - noun a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)

There is an interdependence between teachers and students. Teachers teach and students learn. 

capricious - adj. determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason; changeable 

If I were to make a goal, it would be capricious not due to my skill.

loquacious - adj. full of trivial conversation

The loquacious conversation about colleges I like bores me.

ephemeral - adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form

Baking for hungry people , means that food will be ephemeral.

inchoate - adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

The belief in aliens is inchoate, most don't believe in them.

juxtapose - verb place side by side

perspicacious - adj. acutely insightful and wise; mentally acute or penetratingly discerning

I juxtaposed my red earrings with a white dress so they would stand out.

codswallop - noun nonsensical talk or writing

Babies typically have a codswallop that nobody understands.

mungo- A cheap fabric

I wished mungo wasn't used to ale this may because it's itchy.

sesquipedelian- long, characterizes by long words , long-winded

Playing eighteen holes of golf is seaquipedelian.

wonky - adj. inclined to shake as from weakness or defect; turned or twisted toward one side

Sometimes I have a random, wonky shiver when it's cold outside.

diphthong - noun a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another

Dipthongs have a stressed first syllable and then a second one.

Canterbury tale-esque narrative

It had been Danielle's first day as a college student, and after a long day of being welcomed
 into the crowd, she couldn't help but ponder life and where she was at right now. Danielle knew that she wanted to be a doctor ever since she was little. But something inside her had always been attracted to fighting for injustices. Starting here at UCSD, she knew that she was on the right path.
The next morning Danielle awoke to a news broadcast about race riots that had been happening all across the nation. "It's weird to think that this stuff still goes on." She told Alison, her new roommate. "Yeah, someone should do something about it." She said. "Yeah someone should" She thought. As Danielle went to class, she couldn't help but think about the scenes on TV. They were violent, almost remnants of the 60's when racial injustice was peaked. "How can people still think that way? It's such a backwards way of thinking" she thought before class started.
Later that day, she received a text from Erica. It was out of the blue. She was doing well at UCLA and they got on the topic of the national race riots. Danielle told her they should do something about it, and they talked for hours on what we should do. After that talk, Danielle decided they should actually do something. But what could two girls possibly accomplish? How can they change what people believe? And not only that, but what about her medical career? Should she leave it all behind in a wave of regret or should she do something more important. It took her weeks to decide what to choose. The volition of what to do haunted Danielle night and day until finally she saw another broadcast about the murder of a little, innocent child who got caught in a protest turned violent.

Tale of a Canterbury tale

My summary of the Friar's tala can be found
here dcadena314englitcomp.blogspot.com/2014/09/canterbury-tales-ii-what-character.html
 1. "Lady," said he, "God grant you a good life! 
You have here touched, as I may prosperous be,
Upon school matters of great difficulty;
You have said many things right well, I say;
But, lady, as we ride along our way,
We need but talk to carry on our game,
And leave authorities, in good God's name,
To preachers and to schools for clergymen.
But if it pleases all this company, then,
I'll tell you of a summoner, to make game.
By God, you could surmise it by the name
That of a summoner may no good be said;
I pray that no one will be angry made.
A summoner is a runner up and down
With summonses for fornication known,
And he is beaten well at each town's end." 

Here the friar wants to avoid talking about his own tale because he wants to keep his reputation of a benevolent friar. The host of the story telling sees this and tells him to tell his own tale.

This false thief, then, this summoner (said the friar)
Had always panders ready to his hand,
For any hawk to lure in all England,
Who told him all the scandal that they knew; 

For their acquaintances were nothing new. 

the friar talks of an archdeacon who is high in the church but chooses to steal. In reality, he is talking about himself. He considers himself false because he steals but is supposed to live a modest life.

This summoner, ever lurking for his prey, 

Rode out to summon a widow, an old rip,
Feigning a cause, for her he planned to strip.
It happened that he saw before him ride
A yeoman gay along a forest's side.
A bow he bore, and arrows bright and keen;
He wore a short coat of the Lincoln green,
And hat upon his head, with fringes black.
"Sir," said the summoner, "hail and well met, Jack!"
"Welcome," said he, "and every comrade good!
Whither do you ride under this greenwood?" 

Said this yeoman, "Will you go far today?"
This summoner replied to him with: "Nay,
Hard by this place," said he, "'tis my intent
To ride, sir, to collect a bit of rent 

Pertaining to my lord's temporality."
"And are you then a bailiff?"
"Aye," said he.
He dared not, no, for very filth and shame,
Say that he was a summoner, for the name. 

The friar has done so much stealing that he knows exactly what to do to get paid. He pretends to be someone else so that his true greedy character can emerge without being forced down by his reputation.

This summoner, who was as full of words 

As full of malice are these butcher birds,
And ever enquiring after everything

The friar is a pathological liar. He has to come up with lie after lie to make a decent living. but his job as a friar has pushed him to this life so everything he does to live contradicts the way he's supposed to act.

"Brother," said he, "here lives an ancient crone
Who'd quite as gladly lose her neck as own
She must give up a penny, good or bad.
But I'll have twelvepence, though it drive her mad
Or I will summon her to our office;
And yet God knows I know of her no vice.
But since you cannot, in this strange country,

Make your expenses, here take note of me."
This summoner knocked on the widow's gate. 

The friar is so desperate for money that he'll take advantage of an old woman so he can live. It shows that survival is more important than benevolence for the friar. 

2. Chaucer told the friar's&m tale to show innate human nature. the friar is basically an animal trapped in a corner and has no choice but to fight back and survive. The friar decides to take on the persona of a bailiff and extort money from people like the cart man and the old woman. He does this to save his reputation as a friar, but as a result his true , basic human character emerges. But society and th elite have pushed him into this corner. societies expectations of a friar are to be benevolent and modest, but when one constantly sees others lives, how can one not be jealous? When the friar is is pushed into a standard of living that is conceived as poor, how can he not want to try and move up in stature.

CHARACTER STUDY (III)

It had been my first day as a college student, and after a long day of being welcomed
 Into the crowd, I couldn't help but ponder life and where I was at right now. I know I want to be a doctor, it's what I've wanted to be since I was little. But something inside me has always been attracted to fighting for injustices. Starting here at UCSD, I know I'm on the right path.
The next morning I awoke to a news broadcast about race riots that had been happening all across the nation. "It's weird to think that this stuff still goes on." I told Alison, my new roommate. "Yeah,someone should do something about it." She said. "Yeah someone should" I thought. As I went to class, I couldn't help but think about the scenes on TV. They were violent, almost remnants of the 60's when racial injustice was peaked. "How can people still think that way? It's such a backwards way of thinking" I thought before class started.
Later that day, I received a text from Erica. It was out of the blue. She was doing well at UCLA and we got on the topic of the national race riots. I told her we should do something about it, and we talked for hours on what we should do. After that talk, I decided we should actually do something. But what could two girls possibly accomplish? how can we change what people believe? And not only that, but what about my medical career? Should I leave it all behind in a wave of regret or should I do something more important. It took me weeks to decide what to choose. The volition of what to do haunted me night and day until finally I saw another broadcast about the murder of a little, innocent child who got caught in a protest turned violent.

CANTERBURY TALES (II): WHAT A CHARACTER!

The Friar

• friars were pledged to a life of poverty, so they aren't so pious
• Chaucer uses indirect characterization and allusion to the time period when the friar introduces himself as a yeoman because there was an anticlericalism
• Chaucer uses direct characterization by showing the deceit the friar has by thinking about scamming an old woman
• indirect characterization with how persuasive he can be.
• his character is the exact opposite of what we would expect so it is ironic and humorous. The friar is supposed to be pious and poor, but he wants to make money and live a luxurious life.
• Chaucer uses irony to portray a sense of humor
• there is a witty conversation between the Friar and Bath's wife which also shows humor

My Dashboard

So I tried the Netvibes organizer and I can't tell if I like it yet. I feel like it is an unnecessary step right now but I'm going to use it for a week and see how it goes. I also think that it acts as more of a hub for information rather than an organizer. To stay organized I typically keep a mental checklist and I use post it notes to remind me what to do and stick them on my binder. I try to be more organized with a planner, but every time I have used those, they get smashed at the bottom of my backpack.

Character Study 1

It is hard to explain the feeling of walking onto UCSD. All I know is that this is where I'm supposed to be; it feels like a second home. The campus is motley of several worlds, there's the beach, there's the art, there's this six different colleges. I love this place because it has so many differences within the university, yet they all come together make something amazing. It's weird to think that I'm finally here and that I can start my adventure.

PHONAR14 VIDEO

• who is a photographer? everyone? only a few?
• talks about what you need to be a photographer. I feel that all you need is a camera, any type, to be a photographer
• what is a photograph? a moment that is fixed in time, has meaning?, has experience
• what is an image? is matter of fact, no depth
• when everyone has become a photographer, there is a surplus of images and a shortage of photographs
• pictures are bound by a frame with edges, so the way it is displayed changes the meaning
• the mode of delivery has changed the mode of portrayal
• we travel by looking through a rearview mirror, we can only understand by adhering old terms to the new
• the authority of the single voice has changed, there is more than one voice and the role has changed?
• ask others for their stories to create a world, with no one particular voice to create connections
• by becoming a platform and a trusted source so that people can share their stories we can understand experiences we haven't experienced
• how are things going to be interpreted by other people?

Relaxing time

With everything going on this year, it can be kind of stressful. I recently learned about a form of meditation called "mandala". You basically start with a point and draw things around that point that come to you in silence. here's one I started yesterday

Recent Events

For those of you applying to Stanford, I am curious as to what you put for this question in the short question part. "What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, competitions, conferences, etc.) in recent years?" I'm blanking on all events right now.