Friday, October 24, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
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?
Monday, October 13, 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
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.
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