WINTER BREAK ENLIGHTENMENT

Having some time away from school has been great and for me it's a chance to really focus on things that I don't do during semesters like take care of myself properly. Break so far has consisted of a lot of yoga, reading, cooking, hiking, and being outside which has been amazing. Here's an interesting article I found about enlightenment and really connecting with oneself. Check it out and use this break to focus on taking care of yourself!

LIFE AFTER THIS BLOG POST

In my letter to my future self I included the highlights of 2013. I made a running list of all the important things that happened in this last year of being a "non-adult". Everything from my first speeding ticket, to the death of one of the most important people in my life, to my journey to a third world country made it onto the list. I also wrote about high school in general since it's a place that I will soon be leaving. I included my goals so hopefully by the time I read my letter I will be well on my way to accomplishing those goals.

Big Question Final

Here is my original big question:

Why do some people have so much while others have so little? How can one person work so hard and still suffer while another person does very little work but can still have an easy life? Parts of the world are moving on and developing more and more complex things while other parts are left behind without even the ability survive past past childhood.The world is unfair and bad things happen to good people but why do we accept this unfairness? Instead of focusing so hard on moving ourselves forward maybe we need to look back at the parts of the world that are left behind and help them catch up.
Why is it normal for us to waste so much while we know there are people around the world struggling to survive off of so little?
Why is it such a priority to develop the Iphone 5 but not as much of a priority to develop solutions to world hunger?
Why is Congress spending ridiculous amounts of time and getting paid well doing everything in their power to oppose the opposite party instead of working together to help people in their county who have nothing?
Why am I allowed to go to school and live in a house and get a wonderful education while a person in a different country will never get those opportunities?
Why do we allow all of this to happen?

This was a pretty extensive big question and it contained many parts but essentially the question is: Why has it become the societal norm for the American culture to be so indulgent while others parts of the worlds don't have basic survival needs?

I asked a few people my big question and here are their responses:

I even sought some input from little kids. We grow up being told all about the importance of sharing yet we grow up to be adults in a country ridden with insatiable greed.

The country is fairly divided on this issue. If you ask people about giving international aid many people become defensive. We put up a defensive front because we know that what is happening is unfair and we don't like to acknowledge it. I found an interesting conversation on debate.org. You should definitely check it out because it shows the different opinions people have about this topic.

Children around the world have inadequate or no education at all. We want an educated global population but how did we let the world get so far behind? I think part of the problem is that we aren't thinking globally. We are thinking on a national level when really, we are all people and we are all citizens of the same Earth. I have done nothing in my life that makes me entitled to any better of a life than this little boy pictured above. It shouldn't be simple luck. Where I was born shouldn't determine my chances of life and success but unfortunately it does. Many people say that poor countries should help themselves; that is isn't our responsible, but it is. We are a world, not merely a nation and everything that goes on is our responsibility.

“We live in a completely interdependent world, which simply means we can not escape each other. How we respond to AIDS depends, in part, on whether we understand this interdependence. It is not someone else’s problem. This is everybody’s problem.”

- Bill Clinton

This unfairness shouldn't be the norm and the only way it will change is with a major change of mindset within first world countries. 

“Foreign Assistance is not an end in itself. The purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it is no longer needed.”

- President Barack Obama

PRACTICE ESSAY

Sartre vs. Plato Comparison

     Actions are how we judge people. What they do, what they say, and what they think are how we determine their character and make our judgments towards them. In No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre and The Allegory of the Cave by Plato we can infer a great deal about the characters by how they react to their situations.The prisoner who escaped in The Allegory of the Cave became enlightened and sought a true reality. Let's say that this "prisoner" belonged a family that he didn't fit into. This family had no desire for knowledge or outer compassion. This character was very different from the rest of his family and he felt that he could do more with his life. What would he do in this situation?

     As seen in the Allegory, the one prisoner has the courage to venture into the unknown or as Robert Frost would put it, took the road less traveled by. In the situation of the unfit family this prisoner would choose to take a different path. He would allow himself to be different and seek a different life rather than live the life he was expected to live. Since this prisoner sees more to life he would become an outsider within his family. They won't understand and they won't be willing to listen to his reasons for wanting a better life. He won't be able to go back to his old life. As Plato says "Yes, he would prefer any fate to such a life.". His response reflects the philosophy of Plato. Plato believed that many people would settle for a false reality and those who broke knowledge boundaries would discover a true reality. Plato would encourage the prisoner to search for a different life and discover a life that he wanted to have.

     Estelle from No Exit would choose a different path from the enlightened prisoner. Estelle would choose to stay in the situation and ignore the things that were wrong with it. She will do anything to convince herself that she is satisfied and allows herself to deep down stay angry and un-enlightened. She will accept her inner tortures rather than logically try to leave the situation. Sartre used a variety of characters to display a dark humor sense of tone. While Estelle was miserable, she came up with ways to make that misery livable.

     Both Plato and Sartre use their respective characters to show the path to enlightenment. Some characters like the escaped prisoner will become successful while others like Estelle will be forever locked in their own minds and never accept a true reality. The two writers really represent the dichotomy that society faces. To leave the comfort zone or stay. To understand the world around you or live in it blindly.

I CAN READ

So I made 5 mistakes in about 5 minutes and 15 seconds.

NO EXIT NOTES

Here are my "No Exit" reading notes. Props to you if you can make sense of this example of how my brain works! 

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

"No Exit" Jean Paul Sartre

1. Think about the place you have chosen as your hell. Does it look ordinary and bourgeois, like Sartre's drawing room, or is it equipped with literal instruments of torture like Dante's Inferno? Can the mind be in hell in a beautiful place? Is there a way to find peace in a hellish physical environment? Enter Sartre's space more fully and imagine how it would feel to live there endlessly, night and day:

-Hell would be a place where past mistakes and events constantly haunt you. This place can be ordinary or extraordinary but doesn't have to be equipped with literal torture instruments. It would be a place where all of the things that have happened to you that you've tried to forget are constantly being displayed in front of you and never disappear. The mind can be in hell in a beautiful place. It is the past that is haunting you regardless of the environment. The only way to find peace in a hellish environment would be to accept that there is nothing to be done about past events but even then peace would be difficult to achieve.

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

-Variety would make hell somewhat less hellish. Variety offers new experiences and keeps life interesting. We've all learned that there definitely can be too much of a good thing and having variety in our lives allows us to enjoy good things without overdoing one certain thing. Without variety we would overdo everything and enjoy nothing.

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

-The characters converse a lot and that's really all that they have available to do. Garcin is surprised by the room and has many questions and seems unwilling to accept his predicament. I would be easy for me to create my personal hell in my own life. Living in the past is something that unfortunately a lot of people do. It takes a conscious effort to not let past experiences run your present life. It would easy to relive past traumas and live in hell but I choose not to do that.

4. Compare how Plato and Sartre describe the limitations of our thinking and imply solutions to the problem. Be sure to analyze their literary techniques, especially their use of allegory and extended metaphor.

-Both Plato and Sartre focus on the significance of the ability to learn new things. In The Allegory of the Cave Plato showed that one must consciously leave the cave to gain knowledge. Sartre is essentially saying that in hell you cannot leave the cave of misunderstood knowledge and therefore if someone escapes the cave, going back would be their hell. Potential solutions would be to live your life in a way that you are able to learn and reflect on your experiences. The extended metaphors that both use show how people go from ignorance to understanding. Going back to the cave would be hell because you know too much and in ''No Exit'' hell the understanding that they now have doesn't make them happy.

So pretty much the "hell" in the play isn't a hell defined by physical torture, it is defined by the people. The characters are in hell because of the people they are stuck with.

Irony: The characters accuse each other of being torturers when really they all are.

BRAIN WITH [6] LEGS

My group chose to read Great Expectations for our literature circle. We will have to read about 41 pages a day to keep on schedule. We will be communicating through Facebook message and we each have designated jobs. I, for example, am the connector. We also intend to create a Facebook group for ourselves where we can post our work and collaborate and eventually publish the work we put on the group once we've completed the book.

ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE SONNET

The cave is place you don't want to be
Though some occupy that cave forever
your view of reality is severed
It is a dark place where you cannot see
Your view of the world is small in degree
You have no want for outside endeavors
Truly a place you want to go never
Escaping these mental chains is the key

Luckily for you there is a way out
You can choose to leave the confining cave
Knowledge is the answer to gain the truth
The light will give you answers beyond doubt
Choose your own path you don't need to be brave
Leave the cave and abandon the untruths

BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERY DAY

This video is awesome and can really change your perspective on life and happiness! Plus this old man is totally awesome! Watch it here.

PLATO'S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

1. According to Socrates, the Allegory of the Cave represents the chains that people allow themselves to be fettered by while others choose a life of knowledge.

2. The key elements of imagery are the cave, which represents the knowledge that is directly fed to us. The light which could represent the abundance of knowledge that we must search for. The sun is the knowledge that we must seek for ourselves and discover.

3. The allegory suggests that we sometimes allow our knowledge to be controlled. We often accept what we hear and don't question it and don't search for other possibilities. We can only be enlightened if we seek outside knowledge.

4. The image of shackles represents the narrow mindedness of the prisoners. They are essentially chained down by their limited knowledge. They are missing out on so much because they lack so much knowledge.

5. I think that traditions can shackle us in some ways. We are so used to doing one thing and believing what our parents believe that sometimes we don't go seek new knowledge to form our own opinions.

6. The freed prisoner is enlightened and understands the world on a different level while the chained prisoner doesn't even have enough knowledge to leave the cave.

7. Lack of clarity can occur from either coming out of the light or going into the light. If you come from the dark cave you will be blinded by the light (knowledge). If you come from the light into the darkness you will not be satisfied with the dark.

8. Prisoners become free when they decide to leave the cave. The knowledge outside the cave is readily available but the prisoner has to gain it.

9. I agree that their is a distinction between appearance and reality. Appearance can be influenced by personal judgments. Also, just because you can't see something it doesn't mean it isn't real.

10. If Socrates is incorrect, then people will continue to be shackled because they will continue to view appearances as reality without questioning it. People will draw false conclusions and have a narrow view of the world.

CHECK IT OUT

Over the summer I began an internship for the REACH Program which is a part of the Orfalea Foundation based in Santa Barbara. They decided to an article on their interns for their online magazine. It was a pretty cool experience so here is the finished product. The Orfalea family does a lot of great things with their wealth (Mr. Orfalea created Kinkos) so they're definitely worth checking out!

WE HANG TOGETHER

The Role of Interdependence in Strategic Collaboration Notes:

• Business world was previously focused on models of competition but later focus shifted to corporate strategy and association.
• Strategic alliances can be any kind of collaborative relationship or endeavor. Strategies of isolationism are falling out of favor.
• Pundit: (noun) a learned person, expert, authority; a person who makes comments or judgments
• "Only rarely does a company's vision focus on a competitor's failure."

SURVIVAL OF THE INTERDEPENDENT 

• Darwin's theory shows that the fittest are not the most self-sufficient, but they are the most adaptable and interdependent.
• Trust and communication play a significant role in successful interdependent efforts.
• Test alliances by conducting organizational audits to evaluate human factors. Must understand working relationships.

AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE FALLACY OF "GOING IT ALONE"

• Individual quests are encouraged from a young age.
• Self-sufficient human being is an unattainable goal.
• Successful presidents have had strong cabinets.
• A collaborator must be able to describe benefits of the partnerships or the unfavorable ramifications of a lacking partnership.

VALUES OF STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS

• The value of a strategic relationship is things like reduced costs and economies of scale. The values of a strategic relationship are more personal attitudes like integrity, quality, and trust.
• Medieval guilds are an example of relationships with trust and personal bonds.
• Social trend towards selfishness makes business relationship less loyal.

CAPACITY BUILDING AND COMMUNITY

• Perhaps companies would hold more trust if the people working for them were allowed to reach out and show the human side of the company.
• Successful companies have community projects.
• Altruism: (noun) the principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others.

THE TECHNIQUE OF THE MARKETPLACE

• We need each other! 

A POETIC INQUIRY

I am not making any changes to my Big Question because it still has relevance in my mind and I'm still looking for steps to the answer. My question was basically "why do we have so much and allow others to have so little". I found this sonnet that ties into my question:

Truth that is masked by the heart of a man

Can only explain the start of a lie

A lie so heavy, it spits on your plan

Left with emptiness, your soul on crows fly

Lost while still young, forgotten by the path 

Living with shame, that no longer gives pain 

Held at the throat by the questions wrath 

How dark was made, that ignorant stain 

Now you delve into knowledge left by the wise 

In order to uncover a truth that was hidden

Burdened with sorrow whilst the nurser cries

Hindered by usurpers who have want of no lesson 

Hold on to the railing, prepare a strong mind 

For never you know what's out there to find

I liked this sonnet because I think a lot of the time people will choose to ignore the truth. We know that bad things happen but we block them out and ignore them because they don't directly affect us. I've always wanted to know the truth about everything, whether it's good or bad and this sonnet seemed to summarize the strong mind I strive for. In my big question I ask why we put up with the unfairness and a reason is because we ignore the truth but we need to challenge ourselves to search for the truth. We don't have to be ignorant so we shouldn't choose to be. 

The sonnet is from Jordan Dickinson on this website.

SONNET ANALYSIS #1

Sonnet notes: 

HAMLET REMIX

Since I spend so much time in the studio and dance is something I really enjoy I made my essay into a dance. I did this choreography partially in my head as I was driving and the rest of it kind of just happened on the spot.
The song plays a lot this time of year and it reminds me of Hamlet for some reason. I'm not sure exactly why but if I was scoring a film adaptation of the play this song would probably make it in there. It just fits.
Our words can be more than words and our movements can be more than movements. Obviously I am focusing more on movement here. The movement displays the topic of the essay. I'm not just blindly doing movement, it means something. You can say words and have them mean nothing but when you say certain things they become action. I can do movement that people tell me to do, or I can my own story through my own sequence of movements. I was trying to show that at some points what you're expressing is slow and it isn't having much of an effect but at other, more intense moments, you have all of this meaning you're trying to express and turn into action.

HAMLET ESSAY

       We spend a large part of our day speaking but we don't always realize the effects that our words have on ourselves and on others. In Hamlet, the conversations that he has and the soliloquies that he makes give us clues to his actions and feelings. Hamlet's words show the reader the kind of person he is. His soliloquies give us the opportunity to really understand what is going on in his head and his words with other people give us insight into his plans and schemes. This carries over to real life as well. Our words can be more than words. They are often a call to action that we don't even realize when we say them. Words have the power to be more than simply words and through Hamlets words we can see him develop his plans. This is similar to real life: The words that we utter can mean more than we think.

       Performative utterances are words that change things. They have actions behind them and behind Hamlet's performative utterances the reader see Hamlet's sense of action. In Act III Scene II Hamlet is giving the actors advice on how to portray the characters in his play. He is being somewhat harsh to the actors with his advice. He says "O, itoffends me to the soul to hear a robustious / periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to / very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who / for the most part are capable of nothing but /
inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would have such / a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant; it / out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it.". His advice to the actor has a double meaning. He is telling the player to make his acting realistic without overdoing it or not giving it too little attention. While reading this section I was wondering if Hamlet's advice was for the actor or if it was really for himself. Hamlet is doing some serious acting in this place and must have to work pretty hard to stay convincing. His words to the actor are more meant to convince himself to keep up his acting to make his sub rosa schemes successful. Hamlet's soliloquies offer us an insight into his mind. In the famous to be or not to be soliloquy, Hamlet deals with a lot of big life questions and these soliloquies show us the real Hamlet. In his conversations with other characters we can't always tell if he's acting or not or what he is really thinking but in his soliloquies we know exactly what he is thinking and feeling.

       I find examples of self-overhearing in my own life as well. I experienced it especially while memorizing to be or not to be. When I started memorizing it, the soliloquy sounded like a bunch a strange words clumped together that didn't really mean anything. As I read it out loud more and more times the words started to have meaning. I began to relate to different lines of the soliloquy and words were more than words. My life is fairly consumed with college applications right now and seems like endless pages of questions and personal statements. Things change though when I talk about it out loud. When people ask me where I want to go to school and what I want to do with my life my words become more than lines on an application. My words make me excited for the future and I can see it coming together when I talk about it. Hearing myself talk about the future makes it that much more tangible.

     The power of words bringing action is something we don't always realize even though it has large implications. Hamlet is an example of this power. His performative utterances give us insight into his actions and they help to convince Hamlet himself of his plans. The words that we speak can help us envision action and motivate us to bring those words to life.

TOOLS THAT CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)

Modern technology has changed the way I think; in good and bad ways. It has definitely made my patience shorter. When I want to know something I can type it into a Google search and get a plethora of answers in less than a second. The real world isn't like that and I think it has messed with my problem solving skills a little bit. In AP classes, we are constantly told to be critical thinking problem solvers. When trying to solve a problem, it's much easier to take the easy route and look up a solution, or a road to the solution, online. Instead of taking the time to sit with a homework problem for awhile and use problem solving skills to work it out, I find myself often going to the Internet for a quicker solution. My Iphone doesn't help my memory at all. I don't have any phone numbers memorized because I don't need to since they're all saved in my phone. Birthdays, deadlines, and other important calendar items aren't stored in my memory but are stored in my phone. I don't actively remember as much because my phone does that job for me. Multitasking is another thing that has changed with my use of the internet and technology. I'm usually always multitasking. I'm on social media while I do homework and I do homework on the computer while watching TV. Focusing on one thing at a time is a little more difficult.
Of course there are many positive effects as well. I am open to a world of information (or what's in my filter bubble at least) and I can learn about whatever I want. I can instantly learn the meaning of a word I don't know while reading on a kindle. I can participate in an open source learning course. I can have a broader view of the world because I can find every opinion on everything. Being a responsible technology holder is what's important. I can use Facebook for productive purposes or I can use it to waste time (maybe I do a little of both..). The Internet is a tremendously helpful resource but it's up to the individual how harmful or hurtful they make it. Using the Internet has made me more proficient in a lot of areas. If my mom doesn't know how to do something or fix something she will wait for someone else to do it. As a younger person, I know the resources that are available online and I will always try to fix something or figure it out on my own, using the internet before I ask for help.

VOCABULARY #9

aficionado: (noun) an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan

My friends aren't really aficionados of dance but they come to my performances anyways.

browbeat: (verb) to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully

You always see this in movies but in real life I never see bullies browbeat little kids into giving them their lunch money.

commensurate: (adj.) equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

Her promotion is commensurate with the hard work she put in all year.

diaphanous: (adj.) very sheer and light; almost completely transparent

I got dress code for wearing a diaphanous shirt to school.

emolument: (noun) profit derived from an office or position or from employment; a fee or salary 

The President lives on a comfortable emolument.

foray: (noun) a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field of endeavor; (verb) to make such a raid

The pirate's foray on the other ship was very successful.

genre: (noun) a type, class, or variety, especially a distinctive category of literary composition

He thought that the romantic comedy genre was stupid.

homily: (noun) a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing lecture or discourse

If I get one more homily from a teacher I will go crazy.

immure: (verb) to enclose or confine within walls; to imprison, to seclude or isolate

The strict parents immured their daughter in the house.

insouciant: (adj.) blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-go-lucky

I miss the insouciant days of childhood.

matrix: (noun) a mold; the surrounding situation or environment

The fossil was preserved in a matrix of rock.

obsequies: (noun) funeral rites or ceremonies

He couldn't stop crying at the obsequies for his close friend.

panache: (noun) a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly elaborate or colorful display

She always stood out in her classes because of her panache.

persona: (noun) a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes

His comical persona has made him a very likable person.

philippic: (noun) a bitter verbal attack

She broke up with her boyfriend because she was tired of the philippics he always gave.

prurient: (adj.) having lustful desires or interests

His prurient attitude was normal for someone his age.

sacrosanct: (adj.) very sacred or holy; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

The sacrosanct antique was not available to the public.

systemic: (adj.) of or pertaining to the entire body; relating to a system

I had a systemic breakdown halfway through finals week.

tendentious: (adj.) intended to promote a particular point of view, doctrine, or cause; biased or partisan

The tendentious campaign commercials are extremely annoying.

vicissitude: (noun) a change, variation, or alteration

After graduation, we will all undergo great vicissitudes.

THE PERFORMATIVE UTTERANCE IN HAMLET

"Hamlet is trapped in a kind of cognitive paralysis, convinced of his duty and yet unable to move that duty from the mental to the real." -Fredrik deBoer

• Locutionary force, illocutionary force, perlocutionary force = performative ability of language
• Hamlet has soliloquies that reveal his inner self because Shakespeare's works were meant to be performed onstage
• mimetic act is Hamlet's fake madness
• This paper answered one of my questions about Act III. I was wondering Hamlet was being so mean and specific towards the actors and now I know that his harsh advice to them was partially advice to himself on how to keep up his act of madness without overdoing it.

Deep down, Hamlet knows what his purpose is and whether or not he is always clear about it shouldn't be mistaken for real madness. 

THOUGHTS ON HAMLET (IN PROGRESS)

When we first started reading Hamlet I didn't think he was as complex as a character as I think he is now. I dismissed his weird, frenetic attitude as crazy. Now that I've read into his character a little more I think that he is actually quite smart. The intricate plans that he carries out are quite clever and the way he is able to fool the people around him shows that he is conscious and in control of his mind. Hamlet is a prescient individual. While he often lets his emotions get to him, he doesn't lose sight of his grander plans. He knows what he needs to do and he has keen insight about it. As for Gertrude, I'm still unsure about her character. Is she just stupid, or is she plotting as well? I feel like if I was her I wouldn't be so confused about why my son was upset: as a mother it should be obvious to her.
I think that Hamlet's need for revenge is only getting stronger as time goes on and soon something big will go down between him and Claudius. I don't what is coming for Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet did kill her father so she might be a little upset with him. I think that Gertrude will become disloyal to Claudius. I think that eventually she will listen to Hamlet and understand the stupidity of her actions.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Well...here it is! 

WHAT I THINK ABOUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT ACT III

• There is no way this can end well. There are too many secrets and back stabbing schemes going on.
• Why is Hamlet so mean to the actors?
• Is Hamlet insulting Ophelia or trying to protect her when he says "Get thee to a nunnery"?
• I wasn't really surprised by Claudius's reaction to the play. He has been very careful about keeping it a secret and making sure that Hamlet doesn't know about his crime so it makes sense that he was upset when he saw the play.
• Why is no one more worried about Polonius's death!? Hamlet and Gertrude just continue their conversation like nothing happened after Hamlet kills Polonius.
• Ophelia is going to have a lot to deal with. Will she be angry with Hamlet?
• Gertrude can't see the ghost but Hamlet's friends can?

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison 

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

Exposition: In the exposition, the reader is introduced to two African American sisters: Claudia MacTeer, 9-years old, and Freida MacTeer, 10-years old. It is the end of the Great Depression and the girls live in Lorain, Ohio. The MacTeer's don't live in poverty, but they're aren't rich either. They take in a couple boarders and one of them is Pecola Breedlove, a young girl who comes from a family with an alcoholic father. The MacTeer sisters are kind to Pecola while she stays with them.

Rising Action: Pecola eventually goes back to live with her family again. Pecola's mother and father do not get along at all. They fight constantly: physically and verbally. Pecola truly believes that she is ugly and that no one will ever like her because of her ugliness. She sees all of the little white girls with blue that teachers adore and accepts the fact that she will never get that kind of recognition. The reader learns the background stories of Pecola's parents. Pecola's mother, Pauline, feels ugly as well and encourages her husband's belligerence because it gives her something to fix and something to be a martyr over. She is a housekeeper for a rich white family and takes pride in their home and the white children but she treats her own home and children with bitterness and contempt. Pecola's father, Cholly, was raised by his great aunt because he was abandoned by his parents. He has a sad life and eventually just stops caring.

Climax: The climax is where Cholly rapes Pecola. He is feeling hatred and guilt as always and takes it out on Pecola. Pecola's mother does not believe her when she tells her about the rape but beats her instead. Pecola then goes to a man called Soaphead Church who falsely claims to grant wishes and be connected with the lord. She asks him for blue eyes and he says that if she follows his directions she will get them. 

Falling Action/Resolution: It turns out that Pecola was impregnated by her father but the baby dies from being born prematurely. Then it seems like Pecola goes crazy. She rambles on about how she has the bluest eyes of anyone else in the world. 

The author's purpose was to show the effects of racism. Not the brusque, outright effects, but the underlying ones. The author shows how the characters live their lives feeling worthless and like they don't deserve to be happy. Throughout the novel, the characters allow themselves to be put down because they are taught to believe that it is their place.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

The theme of this novel is beauty and the idea of beauty. White is the standard of beauty in the novel and black people just don't consider themselves able of beauty. This distorted idea of beauty causes a lot of problems. As a child, Pecola already believes that people are going to be mean to her because she is ugly. She believes that she can never be liked because she wasn't blessed with "beauty". She lives her life submissively because she lets the false idea of beauty control her life and happiness.

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

The tone of the novel is morose and hopeless. Nothing good happens at all. Every incident shows the oppression and hopelessness that the character's face. "It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights—if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different."(1994 edition, page 46).  Pecola couldn't picture beauty as anything accept blue eyes. "The Breedloves did not live in a storefront because they were having temporary difficulty adjusting to the cutbacks at the plant. They lived there because they were poor and black, and they stayed there because they believed they were ugly." (page 38). "Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty....A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles." (page 174).

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.)

Symbolism: The blue eyes were a symbol throughout the novel. They symbolized beauty and Pecola strove for them. Beauty was the key to happiness and acceptance and the blue eyes symbolize that unattainable want. "I, I have caused a miracle. I gave her the eyes. I have her the blue, blue, two blue eyes. Cobalt blue. A streak of it right out of your own blue heaven. No one else will see her blue eyes. But she will. And she will live happily ever after." (Page 182).

Repetition: The chapters are titled with a sort of broken record repetition. "MOTHERLAUGHSLAUGHMOTHERLAUGHLA" (Page 110) This repetition provides a theme for the chapter. This chapter gave the story of Pauline.

Contrast: The repetition at the beginning of each chapter contrasts with the content of the chapter. The strange titles describe a perfect family uses the kind of phonetics that a child learning to read would use. "HEREISTHEHOUSEITISGREENANDWHITEITHASAREDDOORITISVERYPRETTYVERYPRETTY." (Page 33) That chapter was not about a pretty house, in fact, it was a about the Breedloves torn up, poor looking house. This contrast shows the lives of African Americans versus the lives of a typical white family.

Tragedy: Tragedy is used in the novel to show the unfairness and bitterness of life. "Following the disintegration--the falling away--of sexual desire, he was conscious of her wet, soapy hands on his wrists, the fingers clenching, but whether her grip was from a hopeless but stubborn struggle to be free, or from some other emotion, he could not tell." (Page 163) Becoming impregnated by her own father was a disgrace for Pecola and it showed the terrible place that her life had come to. 

Flashbacks: Flashbacks are a really important part of the novel. Flashbacks are how the reader learns about Pecola's parents. The flashbacks provide insight into why Pauline and Cholly are so screwed up. "Abandoned in a junk heap by his mother, rejected for a crap game by his father, there was nothing more to lose. He was alone with his own perceptions and appetites, and they alone interested him." (Page 160).

Imagery: Imagery is used in this novel to convey the poverty that most of the characters live in and the appearances of people. "Keen but crooked noses, with insolent nostrils. They had high cheekbones, and their ears turned forward. Shapely lips which called attention not to themselves but to the rest of the face. You looked at them and wondered why they were so ugly." (Page 39).

Metaphor: In the end of the novel, Pecola's dead baby is compared to Claudia and Freida's attempt to plant marigold seeds. "And now I see her searching the garbage--for what? The thing we assassinated? I talk about how I did not plant the seeds too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, the land, of our town." (Page 206)

Parallelism: Parallelism makes the writing stronger and helps to illustrate the author's points. "Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health, her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent." (Page 205)

Allusion: When Soaphead Church is being characterized, he often alludes to the Bible but in distorted ways. "What makes one name more a person than another? Is the name the real thing, then? And the person only what his name says? Is that why to the simplest and friendliest of questions: What is your name? Put to you by Moses. " (Page 180)

Irony: Irony is used in the novel in regard to the blue eyes. Pecola thinks that blue eyes will bring beauty and happiness but in the end when she believes that she has them, she is really actually crazy. "So it was. A little black girl yearns for the blue eyes of a little white girl, and the horror at the heart of her yearning is exceeded only by the evil of fulfillment." Page 204

CHARACTERIZATION 

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

One example of direct characterization is Claudia's description of a white girl, Maureen Peal. "A high-yellow dream child with long brown hair braided into two lynch ropes that hung down her back She was rich, at least by our standards, as rich as the richest of the white girls, swaddled in comfort and care." Page 62. Another example is Pauline's description of her first impression of Cholly. "Cholly was thin then, with real light eyes. He used to whistle, and when I heard him, shivers come on my skin." Page 115. An example of indirect characterization is Pauline's reaction to the little white girl in the house that she cleans "we could hear Mrs. Breedlove hushing and soothing the tears of the little pink-and-yellow girl." Mrs. Breedlove's kind actions to the little girl show how even she is affected by the "beauty" standard of white children. Another example of indirect characterization is Cholly's reaction to Pauline's pregnancy. "When she told Cholly, he surprised her by being pleased. He began to drink less and come home more often." Page 121. This shows that Cholly wasn't always as bad of a man as he is now. The authors uses both approaches to develop the characters in a deeper way. Using both direct and indirect characterization allows the reader to form their own opinion of the characters because they have more resources and opportunities to do so. I feel like I understand the characters more because of this. I have more than a surface understanding of them. I know their own thoughts and what others think of them and I am able to judge their characters more completely. 

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?

The syntax and diction does change when the author focuses on character. The author will use the language that the characters use. "Nasty white folks is about the nastiest things they is. But I would have stayed on 'cepting for Cholly come over by where I was working and cup up so." Page 120. Because the spoken language changes from character to character, it's easier to understand the different characters.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

Pecola Breedlove is a dynamic and round characters. She experiences things throughout the novel that change her. She is not the same person she was at the beginning of the novel. Her innocence and childhood is taken away from her and this drastically changes her character.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction. 

By the end of the novel I felt like I had lost someone. Throughout the novel I had gotten to know Pecola and I felt for her as she experienced her emotional struggles. At the end when she becomes crazy and disoriented I felt sad because the Pecola that I knew was gone. "Don't go. Don't leave me. Will you come back if I get them?" By the end of the novel, the only thing Pecola talked about was her need to have the bluest eyes ever. I felt depressed by the direction that her life took. 

VOCABULARY #8

abase: (verb) to reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade
The president was abased after the decision he made turned out to be harmful for the country.

abdicate: (verb) to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, especially in a formal manner
Many parent's think it is acceptable to abdicate their responsibility to their children.

abomination: (noun) anything greatly disliked or abhorred
She was considered to be the abomination of the otherwise perfect family.

brusque: (adj.) abrupt in manner; blunt; rough
His brusque comment shocked the conservative audience.

saboteur: (noun) a person who commits or practices sabotage
We voted her off the island when it become clear she was a saboteur.

debauchery: (noun) excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance
The debauchery of the church group was quite shocking.

proliferate: (verb) to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively
The number of police officers in the city will proliferate due to the increase in crime

anachronism: (noun) something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time
The digital watch in the movie Titanic is an anachronism.

nomenclature: (noun) the names or terms comprising a set or system
The basic nomenclature of the computer system was confusing.

expurgate: (verb) to purge or cleanse of moral offensiveness
Her speech had to be expurgated before she presented it to the public.

bellicose: (adj.) inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; belligerent; pugnacious
His bellicose attitude eventually led to one to many fights and he got suspended.

gauche: (adj.) lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless
Having dinner at their mansion always made me feel like I had gauche manners.

rapacious: (adj.) given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed; inordinately greedy; predatory
The rapacious emperor didn't have much popularity among the people.

paradox: (noun) a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
I saw the paradoxical saying "The only thing constant is change" on a poster at school.

conundrum: (noun) anything that puzzles
He was seeking help for the difficult conundrum that he was in.

anomaly: (noun): a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form; abnormality, exception, peculiarity.
The doctor told him that his condition was an anomaly.

ephemeral: (adj.) lasting a very short time
Her initial feelings of joy were ephemeral.

rancorous: (adj.) showing resentment.
The teenager's parents were constantly calling her rancorous.

churlish: (adj.) boorish, rude, mean
The churlish boy didn't have any friends at school.

precipitous: (adj.) extremely or impassably steep
The precipitous mountain looked daunting.

DEAR OPHELIA

Dear Ophelia,
 Well, it sounds like you have quite the conundrum going on! You say that this prince says he loves you, but how do you feel? Do you feel the same or is this just an ephemeral feeling? Are you sure that this prince is sincere? I'm not trying to be brusque but the truth is men will lie. He will say that he loves you but guess what, he doesn't!! Sorry for that gauche comment, for this situation we will give your prince the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure that your father and brother aren't trying to be saboteurs. They must have their reasons for not liking this prince. I'm sure they're not just abasing him for no reason. Do they consider him some kind of bellicose abomination? You certainly don't want to marry someone that your family feels rancorous towards. Maybe they think that he has a churlish attitude and a life full of debauchery. You need to determine if the Prince's words are contradictory to his actions. If he says he loves you would he be willing to abdicate his thrown for you or is he too rapacious for that? You need to find out why your family despises him, then you can make your decision. Good luck!

LITERARY FICTION AND EMPATHY

Reading this article kind of amazed me at how much reading can affect how a person acts! I knew that reading usually makes a person more perceptive to emotions but I didn't know that the types of literature read had such a dramatic effect. I guess I have sort of noticed this in my own life. I usually feel more moved after reading literary fiction than when I read something like a Nicholas Sparks novel. Literary novels do make me feel more attached and involved with characters because I invest more time in them. Literary characters leave more open to interpretation, leaving the reader feeling closer to the character because he or she is involved in the characterization of said character. In Hamlet, the reader can feel closely connected to Hamlet because his soliloquies allow the reader to get a look into his inner thoughts and develop opinions as to what type of person Hamlet really is. Realizing these emotions in literary characters will make a person more successful at recognizing them in real life.

HAMLET LEARNING COMMUNITIES

The Hamlet Weblog 
This blog has a variety of Hamlet related information, and it's being kept up to date! It has a lot of videos about Hamlet which I like. There are videos with the different actors that have played Hamlet and the different ways in which the play has been adapted. The blog makes Hamlet and Shakespeare in general a little bit more interesting because it focuses on the acting and more entertaining side of Hamlet.

The Literature Network 
This site has a forum with conversations that are recent. It also has basic information about Hamlet, quizzes, and information about Shakespeare.

AP Hamlet Seminar Questions
This looks like it was a high school student's blog dedicated to Hamlet. It was a lot of good discussion questions that will be helpful as we read Hamlet. There is also a link to a blog dedicated to various Hamlet videos, which is pretty cool!

WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS...

New and improved thesis: In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses irony and characters to represent the different social classes and through this style, Chaucer is able to expose social flaws and show the interrelationships between classes to a general public audience.

GREEN EGGS & HAMLET

1. What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
I really don't know much about Hamlet. I know that in 7th grade in Mr. Pawley's world history class he told us we would be watching Hamlet on the last day of school, but instead he put on The Lion King. To this day I still don't understand the connection. There might be witches in it? Maybe? Or is that Macbeth? I'm probably thinking of Macbeth. Clearly I have quite limited knowledge about Hamlet.

2. What do you know about Shakespeare?
Well obviously Shakespeare wrote plays and wrote in iambic pentameter. I think he was also an actor? I know that he added many new words to the English language. High school students around the country are required to read his works, including Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Hamlet.

3. Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
Personally, there is a little bit of terror when hearing the name "Shakespeare" in school because usually it bodes an upcoming memorization. Teachers make a big deal out of reading Shakespeare and dedicate a lot of time to it so it seems quite intimidating. There's just a stigma that Shakespeare writes in some kind of language that is unable to be deciphered.

4. What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
For me, learning a new subject is really amazing when I actually understand it. Listening to things out loud helps me more than reading them from a book, especially things that are a little harder to understand, like Shakespeare. I also think that group conversations as a class work well to get different interpretations and understand ideas at a different level.

VOCABULARY #7

Because Miki was hiking more slowly than the rest of the group, she turned a corner and the group was gone.  Miki was lost and sat down on a rock, only to fall backwards through a wall of ivy.  She discovered a cave, which at the other end, opened up in view of a giant tree house.  Miki heard a noise in some of the trees, and Lindsey came swinging in on a vine, only to ricochet off a tree.  Miki was now involved in Lindsey’s shenanigans.  Lindsey was ebullient when she saw Miki, filled with a plethora of excitement.  She became loquaciously garrulous and asked Miki how she found her.  Then, suddenly, she burst into a harangue and started verbally attacking Miki.  Lindsey’s ephemeral happiness, then capricious attitude scared Miki.  Miki called her a dipthong, but secretly wished that they would get along and be interdependent with each other.  Lindsey’s sanity was at a point of no return; everything she muttered was undetermined codswallop, with the use of a sesquipedalian.  By the time the rest of the group arrived, they figured Miki had become wonky. 

            Meanwhile, the group’s inchoate plan to find Miki caused them to search along the trail for hours.  Finally, they found Miki’s water bottle by a rock and Rachel stumbled into the wall of ivy.  When they found Miki with Lindsey, the Lindsey they saw was juxtaposed to the one they knew in high school; she wore mungo clothes and her hair was messy.  When Lindsey saw the group, she tried to eschew them away from her hideout.  After talking to Lindsey and trying to see the composed and tame Lindsey they once knew, the group knew that they needed to get Lindsey back to civilization, but she refused any help from them, saying that the world was too stressful.  A schism formed in the group over whether to stay with Lindsey or leave her.  Then, perspicacious of this controversial decision, Melissa suggested that they compromise by taking turns to come visit Lindsey every so often.  Everyone in the group, besides Lindsey, agreed, and then, the group became uncertain as to what they should do next.  They didn’t see much of a need to continue hiking the Pacific Crest Trail when they had “found” Lindsey.  Then, Rebecca had an idea.  She was thinking of the times they had had in high school and remembered how they had all wanted to go to explore Egypt together.  She didn’t want this reunion to be over so she suggested this trip to the group.  After some hesitation, they seemed genuinely excited about the prospect of adventure.  They said goodbye to Lindsey, each of them promising to return, and headed back the way they had come so they could all travel to Egypt.

IF I JUST HAD MORE TIME

Obviously there isn't nearly enough time to do everything I want and need to do and I could have done better on the midterm if I would have had more time. I knew all of the vocabulary words pretty well but not as well as I could have. SAT studying was taking up a lot of my time last week so the midterm wasn't #1 on my to-do list. Also, between studying vocab words, SAT, and other homework, I wasn't even thinking about Chaucer so the essay prompt caught me by surprise when I walked into class on Friday. More time to actually take the test would have been ideal. If I would have had unlimited time I probably could written and defined 95% of the words and written a better essay but class periods are only 50 minutes..

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #2

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I would absolutely recommend this book! It is incredibly moving and enthralling. I was extremely captivated by the story and the characters. It's an amazing book but one caution, be ready to cry!

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.). Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).

Exposition: The story is told in first-person narration by Amir. Amir grows up fairly wealthy in Afghanistan in the 1970s during the heyday of Afghanistan's history, right before things went terribly bad. Amir begins his story in 2001 while living in San Francisco. He prepares to tell the reader a story about how a certain event from 1975 made him what is today. Amir describes his childhood best friend, Hassan, in the second chapter of the novel. Hassan and his father, Ali, are servants for Amir and his father. They are also Harzaras, which were considered a very low class race. Ali and Amir's father, Baba, had been friends for years and naturally, their sons grew up as friends. Hassan and Amir do everything together but even though they're friends, Amir sometimes treats Hassan like he is beneath him. Hassan is more social and athletic than Amir and receives positive attention from Amir's father. His makes Amir jealous because he always as though he didn't measure up to his father's expectations. Because of this, Amir often passively-aggressively attacks Hassan. In the exposition, we are also introduced to Rahim Khan, Baba's good friend who supports Amir's love of writing. The reader learns that Amir's mother died during birth and that Hassan's mother ran away after birth. Finally Amir gets to the event that changed him forever. After a kite competition that he and Hassan won, Hassan goes chasing after the last kite to fall, as is custom with the children. Hassan was very good at this but a group of boys is jealous of Hassan's ability. The leader of the boys, Assef is an purely evil person. They find Hassan and demand the kite. Hassan refuses to give it to them because he wants to present it to Amir. Assef rates Hassan and Amir sees the whole thing. Amir is conflicted. He wants to say something or do something but he can't; he just hides around the corner. He will forever be tormented by his cowardly actions from that evening. 

Rising Action: Hassan is never the same after the incident. Deep down he knows that Amir knew what happened and he feels ashamed. Amir can't stand to be around Hassan and the guilt so he places a large amount of money under Hassan's bed. He tells Baba that Hassan stole the money from him. Baba decides to forgive Hassan and let him stay but Hassan's father Ali insists that they leave because of the situation. Baba is deeply upset because Ali had been his good friend. Shortly after, things begin to go downhill in Afghanistan and Baba decides to take Amir and leave. They travel to Pakistan and from there, to America. Baba finds a job in a gas station in Fremont and they sell things at the flea market every week to make a living. Baba ends up getting diagnosed with cancer and dies after a few years in America. Before that though, he is able to see Amir get married to an Afghan girl, Soraya. They are very happy together, but unable to have children. One day, in 2001, Amir gets a call from his old family friend Rahim Khan. Rahim tell Amir that he is very sick and wants to see Amir.

Climax: Amir travels to Pakistan to see Rahim Khan. He finds him very sick and poor. Rahim tells Amir about the troubles with Afghanistan and the Taliban. Rahim gives Amir a letter from Hassan. Hassan is well and has a child and a wife. Rahim explains that the letter was written months ago and Hassan and his wife had recently been killed by the Taliban. Hassan breaks down. Rahim explains that Hassan's son, Sohrab was placed in an orphanage in the dangerous city of Kabul. Rahim knew what happened years ago between Hassan and Amir and he says that saving Sohrab will make up for his past actions. Rahim then tells Amir a secret that had been kept for years. Hassan and Amir are half-brothers. Baba had an affair with Hassan's mother and that makes Sohrab, Amir's nephew. Amir now understands his fathers love for Hassan and he is angry that this has been kept from him for so long and he storms out of Rahim's apartment. After he calms down he goes back and agrees to rescue Sohrab. He travels with a man named Farid to Afghanistan on a very dangerous journey. They find the orphanage but Sohrab is not there. He had been bought by members of the Taliban. Amir finds him as some sort of child sex slave to a Taliban member, who turns out to be Assef, the man who raped Hassan that Amir never stood up to. Assef agrees to a fight; if Amir wins, he is free to go, but if not, he will be dead. Sohrab ends up blinding Assef during the fight with his slingshot. Amir and Sohrab escape but Amir is greatly injured and is taken to the hospital. 

Falling Action: After Amir somewhat recovers, the go back to Pakistan. Amir tries to find ways to adopt Sohrab and take him back to America but lawyers tell him it will be nearly impossible. The only way would be for Sohrab to go back into an orphanage for awhile until the papers go through. Amir had promised that Sohrab wouldn't have to go back and Sohrab is distressed when he hears the news. While Amir is sleeping, Hassan goes into the bathroom and slits his wrists. Amir finds him and an ambulance takes him to the hospital where he is saved.

Resolution: Soraya arranged a way for Sohrab to be taken back to States before an official adoption takes place. Sohrab becomes depressed as he yearns for his old life. He is silent most of the time and shows only sorrow until one day about a year after he is taken back to America. At a picnic, people begin flying kites and Amir buys one and encourages Sohrab to try. Sohrab shows little interest at first but begins to try. They are able to cut down the other kite and Sohrab smiles; for the first time in a year. Amir knows it's a small thing and it doesn't fix anything, but it is a positive sign that things are getting better.

The purpose of the novel was to show how common human instincts, problems, and feelings occur everywhere in the world. Amir grew up in a world different than anyone in America could imagine yet he deals with guilt, feeling inferior, and hate that we can all relate to. The problems that Hassan and Amir's friendship suffer and overcome show the basic reality of human relationships. Amir's insecurity about never making Baba proud are relatable issues. The setting is different than most people's, but the underlying issues and emotions are applicable to all of us. 

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

I think that the main theme of the novel is the journey of the search for redemption. The entire novel revolves around Amir's struggles to avenge his wrongs. The novel begins with Amir reflecting on an event from 1975 that changed his life. Throughout his life he struggles with not thinking he is worth anything because of his lack of courage. He finally gets a chance a make right what he did years ago by saving Hassan's son and he takes the opportunity. He couldn't solve the problem by sending Ali and Hassan away as a child. It is only when Amir learned to confront his past and make peace that he was able to move with his life. 

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

The tone is mostly mournful and remorseful. Many negative incidents occur in the occur and they really make the reader feel badly for the characters. Things never seem to go positive for the characters. Right as Amir and Baba get to America and start to rebuild their lives, Baba gets cancer. "I wanted to ask him how I was supposed to live with that word, 'suspicious' for two whole weeks. How was I supposed eat, work, study? How could he send me home with that word?" Page 154 first edition. Baba's death really hurts Amir and sets a depressing tone. When Amir finds out about Hassan's murder, he feels a range of emotions including despair, shock and mostly guilt. He can't help thinking that if he wouldn't have lied and made Hassan and Ali, that Hassan wouldn't be dead. "But all I could manage was to whisper 'No. No. No' over and over again." Page 219. The guilt that Amir feels really comes through the text and how he speaks. After Sohrab attempts suicide, Amir displays extreme guilt again. "Suddenly I was on my knees, screaming. Screaming through my clenched teeth. Screaming until I thought my throat would rip and my chest explode." Page 343. Amir faces one problem after another. He tries to make up for his mistakes but each time he faces a depressing event that sets him back. 

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.)

One literary element that is important to the story is irony. One example of irony was the day that Amir won the kite competition. It was the happiest day of his life in that his father was finally proud of him, yet the worst day because it was the day that Amir watched as Hassan was harassed. "I put the kite down and walked into his thick hairy arms. I buried my face in the warmth of his chest and wept. Baba held me close to him, rocking me back and forth. In his arms, I forgot what I'd done. And that was good." Page 79. This ironic day marked the happiest moment of Amir's life, and the moment that would haunt him forever.

Another device used was personification. Afghanistan was a crucial part of Amir's life. It was where he grew up and he has a lot memories from there. The author personifies the country to signify it's importance in Amir's life. "I sensed Afghanistan humming under my feet. Maybe Afghanistan hadn't forgotten me either." Page 241. Amir's ties to Afghanistan are strong, and going back there only calls back all of the memories that torment Amir.

There are small uses of foreshadowing in the novel. Before Sohrab attempts suicide, there are signs that it might happen. When Amir gets the call that he can take Sohrab to the U.S. right away, he is thrilled. He is too thrilled and things are going too good. Things hadn't worked out this well at any point in the novel so I was waiting for a foil and it finally came when Amir found Sohrab with slit wrists. There had been another foreshadowing event of this incident. "Poor Ray. He hasn't been the same since his daughter died. I raised an eyebrow. Suicide, she whispered." Page 332. The adoption lawyer Amir talks to recently had a daughter commit suicide; a foreshadow of what would come close to happening to Amir.

Flashbacks occur many times throughout the story and constantly plague Amir. "We are Hassan and Amir, famed adventurers and the world's greatest explorers, about to receive a medal of honor for our courageous feat." Page 261. Going back to his home in Afghanistan after years brought forth a lot of memories for Amir. Mostly painful memories including the deceased Hassan. These flashbacks showed how tormented Amir was, even as an adult, for his childhood cowardliness.

The epiphanies that Amir experiences really shape him as a character. After Baba's funeral, it finally hits Amir that he will have to live his life on his own, without Baba, the man who had shaped him. " Listening to them, I realized how much of who I was, what I was, had been defined by Baba and the marks he had left on people's lives. My whole life, I had been Baba's son. Now he was gone. Baba couldn't show me the way anymore; I'd have to find it on my own." Page 174. From here on, Amir reflected more on the feeling he had about how Baba shaped his life.

The point of view in this novel is a defining factor. Amir is telling the story through his own experiences and if it hadn't been told through Amir's voice, the reader wouldn't understand the depth and struggle of the guilt that Amir felt. "How could he have lied to me all those years? To Hassan? He had sat me on his lap when I was little, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, There is only one sin. And that is theft... When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. Hadn't he said those words to me? And now, fifteen years after I'd buried him, I was learning that Baba had been a thief. And a thief of the worst kind, because the things he'd stolen had been sacred: from me the right to know I had a brother, from Hassan his identity, and from Ali his honor. His nang. His namoos." Page 225. The first person pov really lets the audience feel exactly what Amir is feeling. 

Symbolism plays an important role in the story, and the title. Kite fighting is often mentioned and referred to, and it usually symbolized the few happy moments. Kite fighting was something that Hassan and Amir shared, it was something that made Baba proud of his son and ultimately, it was something that made the desolate Sohrab happy. "I looked down at Sohrab. One corner of his mouth had curled up just so. A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there." Page 371. Flying kites finally brought Sohrab some happiness and tied together kites with the the theme of happiness/hope.

Characterization greatly shapes the way that the story unfolds. Since the story is told through the voice of Amir, the audience is able to see the different social levels. Amir explains in his innocent ways, why Hassan is treated differently as a Hazara. "Never mind any of those things. Because history isn't easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi'a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing." Page 25. Becasue Hassan was a Hazara, he would always be below Amir and this caused a lot of Amir's guilt. 

Conflicts are the heart of this story. There are many external conflicts but the most important ones are internal. The basis of the story revolves around Amir's inner conflicts about his past and these conflicts are what motivate his actions throughout the novel. "I flinched, like I'd been slapped. My heart sank and I almost blurted out the truth. Then I understood: This was Hassan's final sacrifice for me. If he'd said no, Baba would have believed him because we all knew Hassan never lied. And if Baba believed him, then I'd be the accused; I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. Baba would never, ever forgive me. And that led to another understanding: Hassan knew. He knew I'd seen everything in that alley, that I'd stood there and done nothing. He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to tell them all that I was the snake in the grass, the monster in the lake. I wasn't worthy of this sacrifice; I was a liar, a cheat, and a thief. And I would have told, except that a part of me was glad. Glad that this would all be over with soon. Baba would dismiss them, there would be some pain, but life would move on. I wanted that, to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate. I wanted to be able to breathe again." Page 105. Amir's inner conflicts prompt him to get rid of Ali and Hassan all together, so he can try to live with his mistakes. 

CHARACTERIZATION 

1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

One example of direct characterization is Amir's physical description of Hassan at the beginning of the novel.  "I can still see Hassan up on that tree, sunlight flickering through the leaves on his almost perfectly round face, a face like a Chinese doll chiseled from hardwood: his flat, broad nose and slanting, narrow eyes like bamboo leaves, eyes that looked, depending on the light, gold, green, even sapphire. I can still see his tiny low-set ears and that pointed stub of a a chin, a meaty appendage that looked like it was added as a mere afterthought. And that cleft lip, just left of midline, where the Chinese doll maker's instrument may have slipped." Page 3. Another example of direct characterization is Amir's description of his father. "It was Rahim Khan who first referred to him as what eventually became Baba's famous nickname, Toophan agha, or "Mr. Hurricane." It was an apt enough nickname. My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would "drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy," as Rahim Khan used to say. At parties, when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun." Pages 12-13. This description of Baba directly tells the audience that Baba is a forceful character. An example of indirect characterization is "The Russian soldier thrust his face into the rear of the truck. He was humming the wedding song and drumming his finger on the edge of the tailgate. Even in the dim light of the moon, I saw the glazed look in his eyes as they skipped from passenger to passenger. Despite the cold, sweat streamed from his brow. His eyes settled on the young woman wearing the black shawl. He spoke in Russian to Karim without taking his eyes off her. Karim gave a curt reply in Russian, which the soldier returned with an even curter retort. The Afghan soldier said some thing too, in a low, reasoning voice. But the Russian soldier shouted something that made the other two flinch. I could feel Baba tightening up next to me. Karim cleared his throat, dropped his head. Said the soldier wanted a half hour with the lady in the back of the truck." Pages 114-115. The way that people react to this Russian soldier show that he is a disgraceful man. Another example is "His [Assef's] blue eyes flicked to Hassan. "Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood." He made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. "Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That's my vision." Page 40. Assef words and vision allow the audience to infer that he full of hate and racism. 

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?

The author does vary his syntax and diction when he writes about different characters. He writes more descriptively and emotionally when focusing on characters. This also varies between different characters. When describing characters the narrator is fond of, he uses more descriptive, flowy language. When he focuses of character he hates, he uses short, terse language. "His word was law, and if you needed a little legal education, then those brass knuckles were just the right teaching tool." Page 38.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.

Amir is a dynamic and round character. He begins the story as a spoiled, selfish boy but by the end of the novel he learns to seek redemption, and he is truly sorry. The reader can see Amir change as he gets older and grows more mature. He is also complex. He has many internal conflicts and the author spends the most time developing him.

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction. 

After reading this book, I definitely felt like I knew Amir on personal level. After I finished reading, I found myself wondering how Amir was doing up in San Francisco. Then I had to stop and remind myself that Amir did not really live in San Francisco or exist at all because he is a fictional character. It was that real! I felt like Amir had told me his life story, and I felt as though I was a part of his life. "But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting. I ran. A grown man running with a swarm of screaming children. But I didn't care.I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the Valley of Panjsher on my lips. I ran." Page 371. In these last lines, everything really ties together. There is a sense of hope. Things aren't perfect but there is hope. I feel hopeful for Amir.

THE COMPARISON'S TALE

One thing that I noticed about nearly all of the stories was the use of irony. The story that my group read, the Wife of Bath's tale, was full of irony. The knight who was supposed to be noble and honorable was actually arrogant and a criminal. The merchant's tale also showed irony when the wife cheats on her blind husband. Another similarity is sin. The Wife of Bath's tale shows sin when the knight rapes a woman. In the Lawyer's Tale, Constance's mother slaughters everyone at her daughters wedding. These violent sins show the dark side of Chaucer's writing.

TALE OF A CANTERBURY TALE

The Wife of Bath
A knight in King Arthur's court rapes a woman on the side of the road and is sentenced to death by the king for his crime. The Queen pleads that the knight not be executed and the King lets her have her way. The Queen tells the knight that, in return for his life, he must find out what the one thing is that women really want and he must do this before a years time. The knight travels around the kingdom asking all sorts of women but they all give him different answers. Eventually near the very end of his years time, the Knight runs into an ugly old women. She is able to give him the correct answer; that women desire sovereignty over their husbands and loved ones. In order to get this information, the old women made the knight agree to fulfill a request for her. After the knight presents his answer to Queen and is freed, the old woman request to be the knight's wife. The Knight unhappily agrees and refuses to sleep with his new wife. The old woman asks if he would rather have an old, ugly but faithful wife or a young, fair wife who would attract other men. The Knight tells his wife to choose which she would rather be and since he was kind and gave her the power to choose, she agrees to be both. Then, they live happily ever after.

1.) The knight is very shallow because he bases his opinion of the old woman only on her looks. He doesn't bother to try to get to know her, he simply judges her because she is ugly. The Knight is also ungrateful. When the queen spares him he doesn't even thank her, he complains about the task she gives him. The Knight is somewhat intelligent though, because in the end he allows the wife to choose her fate, showing that he learned something from his experiences. He keeps his word by the way that we does successfully get an answer to deliver to the queen. He doesn't mess around, he spent that year looking for an answer. Lastly, the knight is arrogant and disrespectful. He rapes a maiden which is wrong and shows his lack of morals.

2) Chaucer's purpose was to expose flaws in society. As a knight, this man was supposed to be noble and honorable but he is actually neither of those things. Raping a woman and refusing to be with a woman because she is ugly are not honorable actions. The ugly wife even argues with the knight and explains to him how a person's class shouldn't affect how they are perceived. The story shows how men were perceived to have the power, even when they were wrong. The old wife was able to expose those flaws and teach the knight a little bit of respect.