Tone

Definition: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the author's perceived point of view. 

• The tone is the overall feeling that you get from the story. When describing the tone, use alot of descriptive words that tell what the author was trying to show.

Notes on Hamlet

Explain how your thinking about the play has evolved from the time we began reading to the end of Act III. Has anything changed your mind about the plot or characters since the ghost showed up at midnight? Where do you see things going from here?


As we read about the ghost in the beginning of the story I assumed that the play going to be serious and sad, maybe even a little scary. But never would I have guessed that there was going to be dark humor. The dark humor I detected in the play was when Ophelia was seen as crazy because of Hamlet. It would seem that the situation would be seen as horribly tragic but Shakespeare does not write straight forward, he writes so each reader can take the text the way they want. I took it as dark humor. Then there is Hamlet.  In the beginning I had assumed that Hamlet was a sort of hero, someone seen with much respect.  But as the play proceeded I realized that Hamlet was not seen the way I had assumed, not at all. As far as the ending goes, I don't believe it will be a happy one.  

Roy Christopher Conference

• "Program or be Programmed": Those of us that call ourselves Digital Natives need to become more aware of technology and how it works. Not paying attention to these new changes can significantly harm us if we do not take action to learn how these "improvements" work. The impact of our being naive can be extremely negative because the things that we do not understand have better chance of controlling us.  
• The old generation needs to trust the youth with how they grow up.  I find it rather disappointing that we aren't seen to our full potential. Most teens are judged upon the reputation that we are all lazy and insignificant because we can not act for ourselves. The thing is even though there may be teens that live with that lifestyle, that does not mean that all follow it. I have come to meet people of my own age who get more things done then your average adult and I don't think it is fair that we are stereotyped so awfully.
• We focus better doing one thing at a time. Multitasking does not work and many of us are easily fooled. I have realized that when I multitask I do not give half of the effort I would give if i wouldn't. We think that if we do many things at once we are being more productive and getting things done faster, but that isn't exactly the case. 

Thesis

Definition: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or disproved; the main idea. 

Theme

                                            

Definition: main idea of the story; its message(s).

Setting

Definition: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

Setting	Place	Time
As I carried my tray  piled high with burgers and fries, I realized, every table was full.  The only seat left was next to Billy Markum!	beach cafeteria   dentist	breakfast lunch dinner
I leaned back in the chair and shut my eyes.  When I heard the sound of the drill I slowly opened my mouth. "What a way to start a day!" I thought.	dentist     movies   hospital	evening afternoon morning
When I heard the crack of the bat, I knew it was coming to me.  I opened my glove and pointed it toward the sky.  The midday sun was blinding. "Please let me catch it!" I silently chanted.	beach     baseball game   movies	morning noon evening
Even though it was dark, I knew where we were.  I could smell the fresh cut hay and I could hear the animals  moving restlessly in their stalls.	house    garage barn	morning afternoon evening
Megan opened her notebook and turned to the next page. She reached into her desk for a pen.  "I hope I finish this assignment before recess?" she thought.	bedroom school garage	evening breakfast afternoon
"Please can't I watch one more show?" I begged.  "Not tonight," said Mom.  "Tomorrow you have a big day.  It's your first day of school!"	home    school camp	fall winter spring

Thinking Outside the Box

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.


Plato and Sartre both describe the limitations of our thinking through their writing but in different ways. Both authors express the mental limitations in a way where we as readers are able to relate to these boundaries, as we have also experienced them. Plato believes we must set our minds free so as not to experience hell from keeping away from our curiousity while Sartre believes we should maintain our thoughts so they don't lead to hell.  As we continue to understand these limitations more in depth we will also find solutions which will set us free. The authors use literary techniques such as allegory and extended metaphor to let their ideas come across with more emphasis.


In "Allegory of the Cave" Plato uses symbolism to show how closed in our minds are. The shackles physically limit the prisoners to the cave which also imprisoned the minds of these men from reality itself and kept them in illusions.  The allegory used in the story is the cave itself which is a symbol for the lack of knowledge and the fear that keeps the prisoners from experiencing new things, real things such as the sun and its heat. Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we percieve and believe in what is reality.


Although many nineteenth century philosophers developed the concepts of existentialism, it was the French writer Jean Paul Sartre who popularized it. Existentialism is a 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad. The thing is we as humans can only decipher what we believe in as much as our minds let us. Our thoughts go as far as our mental limitations go. Then we begin to look for someone else's opinion on ourselves. For example, professional physcologists are people we use when we ourselves are to afraid to go into the unknown. They slowly guide us to what most scares us and at some point we overcome that fear, which is a sense of freedom. The allegory used in Sartre is the room which represents the characters' own personal hell. Because in that room is what each character fears the most.  


Sartre and Plato both speak of limtations in our thinking with diiferent thoughts in mind but with the same outcome. That outcome is us and what we are permitted to wonder.

AP Term- Imagery

Definition: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.

• Imagery involves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). An author uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses.

Example(s):  

             "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.  

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.  

The following pictures provide further examples of imagery:

Imagery lets the reader experience the sound of heels hitting concrete as the girl runs towards her destination, the smell of the flower the little boy has chosen for his mother, or the sight of another beautiful day filled with smiling faces as the children run across the yard.

the BIG Question

Many cultural traditions have beliefs about when a person dies. Is there any empirical evidence we can use to confirm or reject these beliefs? How does the mystery of death influence the way we live?

Literature Analysis #3

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

“The House on Mango Street” is a series of vignettes about Esperanza, a twelve year old Chicana girl, going through the phases of childhood. Esperanza has to cope with moving to a new home in a completely different neighborhood where she learns of the different lifestyles that could possibly be hers.  After Esperanza experiences the new friendships both good and bad, sexual assault, and the changes of her body as she grows into a woman she decides that she wants to leave the house on Mango Street and create a life where she has her own home that isn’t small or rundown but the way she wants it filled with a beautiful, happy family. Underneath this dream, though, she knows she can never fully escape this part of her life, her pas and those in it.

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

The theme of this story is “being the beholder of your own future”.  Throughout the plot, Esperanza serves us as a perfect example. Esperanza take the lives of those that surround her, such as neighbors, and this helps her form an outline of what her life could be. The characters that help her with this transformation are also beholders.

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

There are numerous tones found throughout the story. Each vignette/chapter is a different tone that goes along with the changes of point of view Esperanza goes through.

•      Disillusionment: “Sally, you lied. It wasn't what you said at all. What he did. Where he touched me. I didn't want it, Sally. The way they said it, the way it’s supposed to be, all the storybooks and movies, why did you lie to me?” Esperanza was disillusioned because she was expected “this” to be something out of a fairytale book but the fact that she was assaulted took it all away from her.
•       Denial: “He never hits me hard. She said her mama rubs lard on all the places where it hurts. Then at school she’d say she fell. That’s where all the blue places came from. That’s why her skin is always scarred. But who believes her…”  Sally seems in denial when it comes to her father’s physical abuse out of fear, probably.
•      Anxiety and Distress: “All brown around, we are safe. But watch us drive into a neighborhood of another color and our knees go shakity-shake and our car windows get rolled up tight and our eyes look straight. Yeah. That is how it goes and goes.” The fact that they are going through some where exceptionally dangerous, this causes anxiety and distress.

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

1.   Imagery is such a strong literary technique that without it the impact of the story would not have been as great. Imagery gives the reader the chance to experience the events Esperanza goes through at its fullest. For example, when the characters felt fear as they went through the neighborhood of another color, the reader was able to feel that same fear because of imagery.
2.  A literary element would be characters. The characters are a main part of the story; they pretty much are the story.  It’s because of the character that Esperanza decides what she wants and what she doesn't want.
3.  Symbolism is another literary element used in “The House on Mango Street”. For example, in the chapter “Hairs” each family member’s hair in Esperanza’s family represents their personality. Papa's hair is stiff and stuck up like a broom in the air, it actually means that he is stuck up, strict, stiff, etc.
4.   Motifs were also used in the book. A motif I found was the fear of falling. An example would be Angel Vargas and Meme who both fall from significant heights. These falls cause Esperanza to hope she would never have to experience “falling”.
5. The last literary element I found in the story was personification.  At the end of the novel personification was used when Esperanza speaks of Mango Street as if it were someone and not something. "One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever". The street represents what she is leaving behind. 

the Big Question

What happens after death?

Hamlet Essay 2

Hamlet’s use of language has a great impact on the characters in the play. Beowulf has also had a great impact but not in the same way; Beowulf affects his characters through his actions. Hamlet’s use of language is through his soliloquies, through the power of his voice. Beowulf uses past knowledge such as beliefs we are trained to believe. Take the term “epic hero”, which instantly makes you think “good guy”. There are all these things expected from this one person, such as the greater good. But with Hamlet we learn who he is, what his character is like through his use of language.

Pride would be a key theme that helps explain the difference between Hamlet and Beowulf. Pride is something mostly seen in a typical male figure, but then came women’s rights and now men better respect the equality between genders. In the time era of these two plays though things were still biased. The idea of a hero might start off as humble; to help the greater good but as time passes the respect that others have for this hero grows which makes the hero feel superior; this would be Beowulf. Hamlet on the other hand is “only human”. Humans can be strong or weak, and Hamlet is a weak human. Weakness can be seen in flaws and Hamlet’s flaw is indecisiveness. Indecisiveness is seen in Hamlet’s soliloquy “to be or not to be”. Because of hamlet’s flaws, especially his indecisiveness, we are able to understand and relate to his life much more than Beowulf.

Beowulf is a hero and Hamlet is set to be the future king. This has great significance because even though they are both high in society they are nothing alike. Something with more value than a social status would be reputation. You could be royalty but if your reputation has everyone thinking you are crazy no one is going to want to follow you, on the contrary they would want to be rid of any type of problem that you would cause. Hamlet wasn’t crazy; he was going through a tough time trying to get past the tragic events from his father’s murder to his mother remarrying the murderer.   

Not only his use of language but Hamlet himself differentiates from epic heroes such as Beowulf because the reader can relate more easily with Hamlet than Beowulf.  Beowulf kills monsters and Hamlet tells us what he is feeling and thinking through his soliloquies of thoughts.

               

Hamlet Essay

Performative Utterance has not only taken a big part in Hamlet but is also a main part of my thinking process. Taking performative utterance and the explanation of de Boer into thought we now know that the turn of events in Hamlet the play were constituted by the vocal power Hamlet possesses.  This is where “self-overhearing” also ties in because in this process you are forced to take all into consideration to produce a conclusion.  

As de Boer has stated, Hamlet was able to convince those around him he is mad, as in crazy. Because of this, his mother had feared him when they were in her room alone, shown when she called for help as if her life depended on it.  If Hamlet would have come off as a sane person who could be trusted, then his mother could have had a more stable, not to mention trustworthy, relationship. This would have caused her to realize, at some point, what Claudius was capable of and maybe even figure out what he had done to his brother. The performative utterance in this situation would be not that Hamlet is persuasive but what events his persuasion causes; the consequences. 

When we talk to ourselves, there is usually an idea being debated on.  Self- overhearing is a way to evaluate the decision we conclude with. Once we have come across this decision we become more assured of ourselves.  This could also be taken into another perspective. When we talk to ourselves, there can be a specific thought over-crowding our minds causing it to be all we think about. This causes us to let out steam when we have experienced something very dislikeable. Once we have let out steam we can think with a clear mind. The soliloquy of Hamlet, “to be or not to be” would be a great example of “self-overhearing”.

    Hamlet is a play that portrays performative utterance in a way where we can see decisions made throughout the thoughts and actions of the characters. Speech/vocal power is a key part of this idea. This key part had a great impact on the play. Another key part was “self-overhearing” which in a way goes with speech.

The Major Concept

One major concept that has stood out to me, because I can easily relate to it, is procrastination. I am a horrible procrastinator, well technically a great procrastinator; I do it too well. I am constantly told by my father that I always beat around the bush when it comes to getting something done. The thing is I easily get distracted. I have realized how social I can be when trying to get out of getting my work done. I have actually caught myself procrastinating; like when take a sec to check/update my Facebook or check my g-mail. I also tend to walk around the house a lot.  I am a “procrastaholic” and I need to be rid of this addiction before it is too late.

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Literature Analysis #2

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

                In Anton Chekhov's play Lyubov, a Russian woman returns from France to her family's estate in the 1900’s and discovers that the family fortune's been squandered. It seems the only way to save her beloved home is to sell the surrounding orchard land for development, but Lyubov cannot sacrifice any part of the property, and her despair grows as the mortgage date draws nearer. Lyubov did not save her estate. Instead, Lopahin bought the estate in the auction and decided to continue with the idea of a development to make money. The ones living in the estate all moved out.

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

                The theme of “The Cherry Orchard” would be overcoming the past. Each character have their own personal past to overcome. Lyubon has her past with the lover that cheated on her, Lopahin with his father that abused him all his childhood, Varya and the fact that she was adopted which made her feel out of place.     

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

                In “The Cherry Orchard” the tones the author uses would be humor, longing, and grieving. As I read I sensed much humor between some characters, especially Trofimov and Lopahin. They were always insulting each other but in a way that made the rest laugh. Lopahin always had something to say about the Trofimov and the fact that he worked his life. He would say he didn’t understand how Trofimov could get up early in the morning just to work the day away. But beneath this Lopahin was inspired by Trofimov’s ways.

·         Lopahin: He’ll soon be fifty, and he’s still a student.

Trofimov: Drop your idiotic jokes.

Lopahin: Why are you so cross, queer fish?

Trofimov: Oh, don’t persist!

Lopahin (laughs): Allow me to ask you what’s your idea of me?

Trofimov: I’ll tell you my idea of you, Yermolay Alexeyevitch: you are a rich man you’ll soon be a millionaire. Well, just as in the economy of nature a wild beast is of use, who devours everything that comes in his way, so you too have your use.

                                                              (All laugh.)

Then there is the longing of the past and how easy things were before.

·         Oh, my childhood, my innocent childhood! This is the nursery where I slept and I used to look out at the orchard from here! Look, Mother's walking in the orchard. In a white dress.

The last tone was grieving. Lyubov expressed grief when reminded of her deceased son.

·         Lyubov: My Grisha… my boy… Grisha… my son!

My boy was lost…drowned. Why? Oh, why, dear Petya...    

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

Five literary elements that strengthened my understanding of the theme and my sense of the tone were symbolism, imagery, allegory, 

Symbolism:
The  white orchard means different things to different people. It represents Lubov's heritage and her youth. For Gaev, it's a symbol of status. For Lopakhin the cherry orchard is complicated; his attachment to Lubov makes him want to save it, while his memory of a difficult childhood urges him to destroy it. It's also a financial opportunity. Trofimov sees the orchard as a symbol of injustice, because of the way the aristocrats treated the peasants before the emancipation of the Serfs, and Anya gives up her sentimental attachment to it for a new life.

Tools That Change The Way We Think

“Internet/media/technology use” has definitely made my life simpler, most of the time. Take our weekly list of vocabulary; the internet has always been there but before I personally learned how to use it vocabulary was the old fashion way. You grab a dictionary and look up the word. Now you go on to a search engine, type in define “the word”, and poof the definition instantly. I do believe the internet has made us a lot lazier though, and I don’t think that is a good thing. Now most of us have difficulty working for something or getting things done completely. Our expectations of ourselves have lowered much.  Maybe that’s why kids in Japan stand out more than American kids. For some people though, the internet is a way to be aware of what is going on that you may not have spare time to do specifically for that.  For example, when I sign in to my yahoo email account I get a quick glimpse of what is going on around the world.

“I can feel it, too. Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. My mind isn’t going—so far as I can tell—but it’s changing. I’m not thinking the way I used to think. I can feel it most strongly when I’m reading. Immersing myself in a book or a lengthy article used to be easy. My mind would get caught up in the narrative or the turns of the argument, and I’d spend hours strolling through long stretches of prose. That’s rarely the case anymore. Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. I feel as if I’m always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.”

After reading this article I realized something. Our generation might not see anything wrong with the internet because we have grown up with it. But with those who are wiser (older), they didn’t grow up with it. So for some this may be a new thing. For those people, they realize what the internet can do to you.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/

In Search Of.

Something I learned and kind of astounded me was the fact that once the internet realizes/thinks you are showing no interest in a certain thing it erases it or gets rid of it for you. In some ways that kind of sucks. It takes away your right to make decisions just because it thinks it knows you.  This informtion makes me aware of what I search for while using the internet. It makes me wonder if my research results are unbiased.
Right now, the internet gives us links that it thinks we want to see. But how far will this go? What if in reality we are seeing things the government wants us to see making us believe we choose to see it? From know on I will definitely have much more resources. I will also try to use search engines that are not biased such as duckduckgo.com.
My method was to open three tabs using the search engine duckduckgo.com. I used the same phrase for two and a different one for the third. they were all different. I noticed there were more links that finished with .org ,.edu, or .net. When I used the filter most of them ended in .com. After researching Shakspeare with the filter then without I have realized that with unbiased things you have a greater chance to learn because things aren't sugar-coated to your liking.

Who Was Shakespeare?

• Shakespeare was probably born on April 23, 1564, but this date is an educated guess because we only have a record of his baptism three days later. His parents, John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, were successful townsfolk who moved to a large house in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon from the surrounding villages. His father became a wealthy town official and his mother was from an important, respected family. It is widely assumed that he attended the local grammar school where he would have studied Latin, Greek and classical literature. His early education must have made a huge impact on him because many of his plots draw on the classics. At 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway from Shottery who was already pregnant with their first daughter. He was the creator of The Lord Chamberlain's Men.

• I believe most of us students struggle understanding Shakespeare. But when I do understamd, it is a beautiful thing.

duckduckgo.com
Who Was Shakespeare?"
http://shakespeare.about.com/od/shakespeareslife/a/Biography.htm

To Facebook or Not to Facebook?

I was what you call a late bloomer when it came to Facebook.  When it first came out I wasn’t allowed to have one. I didn’t really want one either, thought it was a waste of time and wasn’t too sure about the privacy. But I also didn’t have a phone, still don’t actually. So I thought “what the heck, why not” and made myself an account. I have learned it is a great source when it comes to socializing. The way I see it, Facebook can have a good impact in your life but it can also have a bad one; this all depends on your “maturity” level.  A great impact would be bringing families closer. My experience with Facebook has actually brought me closer to my family. I can easily keep in touch with my cousins. It is as if we are living together but not really. I have recently started talking to a cousin of mine who before this we were not as close. We don’t live too far away either; definitely driving distance. Now, at a certain time of the evening we are both coincidentally logged on and we have the chance to ask each other things like how our day went. But there can be a negative side to Facebook; and it’s not even Facebook really but how it is used.  As Dr. Preston said “Facebook is a tool, it depends on how it is used. In class today, the article stated “that 7.5 million kids age 12 and younger are on Facebook”. Let’s be honest; children 12 and under are just that children. They are easily influenced to do anything because they are still in that phase where they absorb information like a sponge. There is too much responsibility with a Facebook account and if they can’t control themselves this social network could end up having a negative impact on their lives.  

“(Don’t) Be Hamlet”

                The definition of suicide: the action of killing oneself intentionally. Hamlet, I know you may be confused, but you should not act upon a moment of anger and grief.  Committing suicide is not to be taken lightly; it is not to be taken at all.  Suicide is not an idea to dwell on, not a choice.  No matter how big the problem may be, there is always a way out.

                Your father’s death is definitely not a light topic.  It is most certainly not on that you could get over any time soon. Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult things anyone will ever face. Death is a difficult thing to understand. But that does not mean you should kill yourself so you don’t feel any pain. Dealing with your father’s death is one thing, dealing with the fact that he was murdered and you know the killer is completely different. But if you die, you won’t solve anything. Instead, you would cause grief with others.

                Then there is the “all of a sudden” marriage between your father’s killer and your mother. This marriage must bring a lot of pain. But this marriage gives you that much more reason to live. Who is going to take care of your mother from your Claudius if you are dead? Now is the time when you really want to keep an eye on him.

                Hamlet, take suicide out of your mind because all it’s doing is blurring your chance to figure out what it is that Claudius has planned. Hamlet you need to beat Claudius at his own game. You need to figure out his weakness and hurt him as he has hurt you.              

Literature Analysis

1.      Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

·         Celie is the main character/protagonist who is telling the story through letters to God at first, then to her sisiter Nettie. Throughout the novel, we see Celie grow from an insecure fourteen year old girl into a woman, who in the end doesn’t let anyone step on her. While Celie overcomes her husdand and all those who looked down on her, Nettie also tells her story through letter to Celie. She tells her of her mission with God and all that follows. The story closes with Celie and Nettie seeing each other after years of separation.  

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

·         The main theme would be realizing your inner strength. In The Color Purple, not only Celie but most of the characters find and learn of their inner strength to do things they never thought possible. Celie found the strength to stand up for herself and her beliefs with much confidence. Another great example would actually be Mr. ____. As impossible as it may seem, in the end Mr. ____ found his own way of accepting Celie as a woman and not some slave. He accepted her as a human being. 

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

·         The tone of The Color Purple is a mixture innocence and disgust and hatred, but there isn’t much happiness… until the end that is. Innocence is portrayed in the beginning of the story very strongly by Celie. She tells God she does not see the male gender in “that” way (the way her father accuses her of).  Hatred is seen in all the characters throughout the story, main and minor. Celie expresses it toward Mr. ____. Sofia expresses is while in jail. Shug expresses it in general, sometimes toward Mr. ____ when she finds out how he treats Celie. 

4.      Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts that will help your reader understand each one.

·         A literary device used in the story is the use of motifs. The letters are strong motifs used because they express the hope that Celie and Nettie keep between each other.

·         There is also another motif, which would be the colors. When insecure, Celie uses colors such as brown, maroon, and navy blue. These, to me, are safe colors. They do not stand out. When Celie talks about finding her religion she mentions with great strength the color purple. When Mr.  _____ goes through his transformation; the color white is used to describe his neew way of seeing life.

·         The diction is a very major part of the story. Walker uses the diction to indirectly tell us about her protagonist, Celie. When I first began to read the letters Celie wrote to God, I realized that she was a person of low education and was very innocent.    

·         The imagery of the story is described in the letters to each sister or God. For example, in the letter of Nettie to Celie; Nettie describes journey as a missionary. To describe this she had to tell us of the condition of Africa.

·         The plot was a mixture of the past, the present and the future. As I read the letters sent I not only learned of the present of the story, but of the future and how it was being formed. The past was mixed in. I realized this when the story ended with the past.