Project Progress and Other Stuff

I am using Windows Movie Maker to create a movie of my life. I have been gathering photos that my family has stored away in a box and dividing them into categories such as personal growth, my parents, my siblings, family, religion, school, and friendships. I need to gather many more photos and put them all in a specific order. I also need to add in music and color to the slides with the titles for each section. I might even add explanations off specific moments or little short stories. My work will benefit me in the matter that it will allow me to look back at my life and all the accomplishments and struggles that go along with it.
 

A Reflection on Unstructured Learning

The story seems to be about a man, a police officer who isn't as ordinary as he seems to be. The words "costumed adventurer", justice, and just the fact that he was trying to come up with a name to probably keep his identity safe made me think this guy is probably a superhero like Spider man. The theme seems to me uncertainty of who he really is and lack of self-confidence when it comes to his purpose in life.

This ties in with the lack of confidence many of us might feel going into not only taking the AP Exam but also going into all these new changes in life, revolving with this new chapter in education we are going to take in our lives, each one different from the other. 

Update on Getting Ready for the AP Exam

I've tried working through the 2004 release questions over the weekend and that worked well for about twenty minutes. But since I've been sick I have been working on getting rest. This upcoming week, hopefully feeling better, I will definitely be getting a move on studying the rest of the literary techniques and the release questions.

My Plan for the AP Exam

Using the resources Dr. Preston gave us is the what I'm using to prepare myself for the AP Exam. I will focus on understanding the literary terms. I will also practice writing the essays and multiple choice with the resources offered.

Macbeth Quiz Answers

Part I

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. B
8. C
9. C
10. A
11. Macbeth, to begin with, is very indecisive of what to do about the king. But once his wife begins to "persuade" him, Macbeth ends up killing the king and becomes a power-hungry murderer.
12. Macbeth is motivated to take the evil path by his ambition to become king and protect his crown. 
13. The prophecies of the witches influence Macbeth's actions. 
14. Banquo is definitely skeptical at first of the prophecy told of his children but then consumes his mind. Macbeth tries to ignore but then it is realized that he is following the prophecies without even knowing.
15. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem as equals throughout the beginning of the story. But then she begins to try and "persuade" Macbeth by offenses. Once Macbeth obtains the crown, he is seen as the more powerful  figure between the two.              

Part II

1. B
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. B
10. B
11. The line explains not everything is what it seems. Macbeth becomes King which leads to his death. 
12.  The difference between good and evil are seen in this play when Macbeth goes from being a hero of honor to a power-hungry tyrant. 
13. Duncan and his party arrive at Macbeth's Castle thinking they are to enjoy themselves but are really heading into their own death. 
14. Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth's manhood and on how he should kill Duncan. She finally persuades him to go through the act. 
15. Madcuff is deeply grieves for the loss of his wife and children. Macbeth on the other hand is too focused on protecting his crown to care or really show emotion about the death of his wife.  

Macbeth Notes

Macbeth: Act 1 Macbeth proves himself a hero at Scot's battle. The king then decides to give Macbeth a promotion. The prophecy: The witches come across Macbeth and tell him that the king has given him a promotion (thane) and that he will later become king. They tell his friend Banquo that he will not amount to much but that his children will. Banquo seems doubtful of the witches. Macbeth ponders about it.  King Duncan=father of Malcom Duncan shares with everyone that his son Malcom will be the heir to the throne. Macbeth wonders about this because the witches said he would be king.  Ominous weather = tragedy or disaster ahead.  Since he heard of the prophecy he yearns to become king....it may be a self-fulfilling prophecy Lady Macbeth is ambitious and wants to have Macbeth seize the thrown my any means necessary.  The king will join Macbeth and his wife for dinner. Lady Macbeth says they should kill the king then.  Macbeth: thinks things over and "chickens out" and decides not to kill Duncan. His wife is angered and disappointed. She convinces Macbeth to kill the king She is somewhat Macbeth's driving force....makes him appear somewhat weak. She is kind of like his "back bone"

 Macbeth: Act 2 Macbeth is feeling paranoid and guilty over killing Duncan....this is unusual. One of the only Shakespeare characters to feel this way. Macbeth finally kills the king but does not fully carry out their plan. He was frightened as he killed the king.  Lady Macbeth is again frustrated with Macbeths' cowardice and finishes off the plan herself (puts the daggers in chamberlains room so it seems like they killed the king). Macduff and Lennox come to visit the king and discover him dead. Macbeth claims he killed the chamberlains because they killed the king.  Malcom feels he is not safe since his father was murdered.  Foreshadowing: weather, animals behaving strangely. Macbeth is now to be crowned king. Malcom is suspect because he has fled. 

 Macbeth: Act 3 Macbeth still feels extremely guilty. His wife as well Macbeth fears Banquo because he knows of the prophecy....he has hired some men to kill him.  The murderers kill Banquo but fail to kill his son Fleance. Fleance is now another threat to Macbeth...he is a potential heir to the throne. The prophecy said that Banquo's children would be king or something of that extent. During a dinner with their court, Banquo's ghost appears to Macbeth and Macbeth  talks to him and makes himself look crazy. Hecta the goddess of mischief and witchcraft tells the witches to keep Macbeth in confusion. Malcom has now sought help from King Edward.

 Macbeth: Act 4 Macbeth goes to see the witches and they tell him that Macduff is a threat. Macbeth sends murderers to kill him and his family. Macduff and Malcom become allies and together want to overthrow Macbeth. Macduff now swears to take revenge on Macbeth since he has murdered his family. 

Macbeth: Act 5 The English and Scottish army will now fight against each other. The English army is led by Malcom. Lady Macbeth kills herself from guilt.  Malcom's army are carrying pieces of tree to disguise the size of the army. Malcom sees this and remembers that this type of wood will mean his death. Macduff shows up with Macbeths head. Malcom is crowned king.

Macbeth Background Notes

• written by Shakespeare
• tone: dark
• first performed at Hampton Court Palace before James 1
• based on real facts
• witchcraft 
• Even though he murdered Duncan, Macbeth is still made king.
• "Macbeth"= "son of life"
• three witches= the three Fates of Greek mythology and the three Norns of Norse mythology
• 1950: decided that Macbeth was written to please King James
• Lady Macbeth= misogynist
• play full of ambiguity, double meanings, and prophecies
• deeper meaning of Macbeth: to show us our own lives and make us think
• Shakespeare used and twisted history to better the play and further please King James 1 
• main historical source used to create Macbeth: Holinshed's Chronicles of Scottish History
• during Dark Ages
• most spectacular elements: witches and ghost of Banquo
• Shakespeare invented to make play more dramatic and intense
• dramatic alterations serve three main purposes: 
• the dramatic purpose of producing a more exciting story than is found in sources
• the thematic purpose of creating a more complex characterization of Macbeth
• the political purpose of catering to the beliefs of the reigning monarch, King James the First

Top Three Video Remixes

1. Jessica Parra http://jpdrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com
2.Rebecca Patterson http://rprhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/
3.Kelli Carillo http://krcrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/

Literature Analysis Video Remix: Daisy Miller by Henry James

Remixing Lit. Anal Notes: Daisy Miller by Henry James

Literature Analysis #6: Daisy Miller by Henry James(Notes)

•  Setting: a hotel in the resort town of Vevey, Switzerland 
• Daisy Miller 
• represents innocent, unworldly American 
• talks too much about herself 
• Winterbourne
• American Randolph Miller  
• symbolizes freedom, no containment, opp. of Polish boys 
• resembles snobby American tourist, “the ugly American” 
• American values and social expectations 
• European values and social expectations 
• children should be seen and not heard 
• Mrs. Costello,  Winterbourne’s aunt
•  doesn’t want to meet Daisy (dislikes her, look down upon her)
• snobby, high society 
• Winterbourne takes Daisy to Chillon, un-chaperoned. 
•  When Winterbourne tells Daisy of him going back to Geneva, she makes him promise to go to Rome and visit her. 
•  In Rome, Daisy is ruining her reputation by spending her time with men who aren't only strangers but fortune hunters. Especially with an Italian man who goes by the name Giovanelli. 
•  Mrs. Walker 
• a wealthy, well-connected woman from Geneva
•  Daisy does not listen to Mrs. Walker or Winterbourne and chooses Giovanelli over her reputation. 
•  The book Paule Méré is put in this story to show irony because with a very similar plot, it is almost identical to Daisy Miller. This makes it humorous because snobby woman Mrs. Costello finds Paule Méré very entertaining. 
•  Mrs. Walker’s Party 
• Winterbourne talks to Daisy about how she really feels for Giovanelli (flirting/love?) and Daisy becomes very defensive… 
• Mrs. Walker turns her back on Daisy and Daisy is hurt! 
• Daisy may be engaged to Givanelli. 
•  Early spring, Winterbourne sees Daisy at Palace of the Caesars with Gionanelli. He asks her about her and Giovanelli. 
•  After a party, Winterbourne finds Daisy and Giovanelli at the Coliseum. She tells him that she has been out there all evening. This causes Winterbourne to worry because she could easily catch malaria. But when she is warned, Daisy does not listen. 
•  Daisy dies from malaria and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. 
•  The note Daisy wrote before dying showed she did care what he thought. 
•  Theme: Misunderstandings when it comes to assuming you know someone by what others tell you. Because of this neither Daisy nor Winterbourne were able to be happy.

Remixing the Remix

Remix the Textbook

Sonnet 69 by Pablo Neruda

Maybe nothingness is to be without your presence, without you moving, slicing the noon like a blue flower, without you walking later through the fog and the cobbles,without the light you carry in your hand, golden, which maybe others will not see, which maybe no one knew was growing like the red beginnings of a rose.In short, without your presence: without your comingsuddenly, incitingly, to know my life, gust of a rosebush, wheat of wind:since then I am because you are,since then you are, I am, we are, and through love I will be, you will be, we'll be.

• The sonnet is obviously between a man and a woman. I am assuming the speaker of the poem is the man due to the fact that the author is a man. 

• Sonnet, no rhymes. "'Without" constantly used. 

• Love of that person one can not live without. 

• Commas used to separate similes and metaphors. 

• sight is used as a sense, figurative

Important/Single Words:

• modern language

Tone: 

• adoration with a tad of romance

Literary Devices: 

• similes and metaphors

Prosody: 

• no rhyming, two stanzas

Sonnet 89 by Pablo Neruda When I die, I wish your hands upon my eyes:I want the light and the wheat of your beloved handsto pass once more their cool touch over me:to sense the softness that changed my fate.I want you to live while I, asleep, await you.I want your ears to go on hearing the wind.I want you to smell the sea's aroma we loved so together,and to go on walking the sands we walked.I want what I love to go on living.And you, whom I loved and sung above all else,for all that, flourish again, my flower,to reach for everything my love demands of you,so that my shadow is passed through your hair,so that all can know the reason for my song.


Dramatic Situation:Dramatic Situation:

• One male speaker

• four stanzas, repetition of "I want" 

Structure: 

Theme: 

Grammar/Meaning:

Images/ Figures of Speech: 

Structure: 


Theme: 

Poetry Analysis: Elements of Peotry

1. Dramatic Situation

• defined by speaker of poem (creates meaning)
• where, what, circumstances (context)

2. Structure

• different parts, relation
• pros (punctuation); new stanza
• syntax---> repeating a phrase
• has to do with meter/space on page
• grammar and meaning

3. Theme

• Example: LOVE
• love of what?

4. Grammar/ Meaning

5. Images/ Figures of Speech

• Senses:
• smell, taste, feel, see --> pattern?
• Figurative and Literal

6. Important/Single Words

• diction

7. Tone

• "Attitude author feels toward subject"
• territory of essay
• atmosphere: contextual, emotional feeling
• seen off of characters

8. Literary Devices

• metaphor, simile, personification. 

9. Prosody

• the structure of language that conveys the meaning of text and others intentions
• pattern of rhythm/sound used in poetry
• patterns of stress and intonation in a language
• theory or study of these patterns, or the rules governing them 

Dr. Tony Williams's Gresham College lecture on A Tale of Two Cities

• Manchester: Dickens first conceived the main idea of while acting Mr. Wilkie Collins' drama "The Frozen Deep w/ his children/ friends. -"As the idea became familiar to me it gradually shaped into present form, throughout its execution it has had complete possession of me. I have so far verified what has done and suffered through these pages..."
• 1857: Dickens assisted Collins in writing the drama "The Frozen Deep". 
• Dickens: "As the idea be familiar to me i gradually shaped into present form, throughout its executionit has has complete possession of me. I have so far verified what has done and suffered through these pages..."
• 1857: setting of "The Frozen Deep" was the Tabastock Square  inspired by 1845 Franklin Expedition. Turnis Family played "The Frozen Deep". Dickens fell in love w/ Ellen Turnis who portrayed Lucie on T.T.C. Dickens divorced his wife.
• 1858: April- Dickens did public readings for profit rather than for charity. Became the greatest reader/writer. May-separation w/ Catherine. June- separation made public. Nov.- started to wind up journal, separate from publisher. 
• 1859: April- new publisher, published T.T.C
• London= Posterity  Dickens saw connections of his writing about London. 
• T.T.c reminds readers of Persian Conquest
• 1870: Dickens Death 

My Vision Statement

Outline of Big Question

The Ten Guiding Questions of Great Expectations

First 10-15 pages of Great Expectations

Meaning of Great Expectations

Literature Analysis: The Poisonwood Bible

Literature Analysis Questions

Here is the initial set of questions for your literature analysis. We will refine this list and add to it after reading the first round of each others' analyses.

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
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.The Poisonwood Bible by: Barbara Kingsolver is a narration of 5 different point of views. 

Dickens Discussion Notes

We began our discussion of Dickens and his literature work by conversing his flaws and strengths. As we did this, my group realized the trouble we all had understanding the characterization of Dickens when we had not caught on to the fact that Mrs. Joe was Pip's sister and not a nun. This conversation led us to discussing the different literary techniques the author also uses. The literary techniques we ended up with was symbolism, theme, tone, point of view, imagery, diction, syntax, allusion, direct characterization, indirect characterization, and mood. We also talked about the book in general and how the characters had interesting names and if that told us something of Dickens personality, and if so what? The book, in my opinion, is rather interesting. The detail the author uses makes imagery a very strong technique because I can easily paint the picture in my head of what is going on. 

Big Question Introduction

The Afterlife

A Poem Worth Loving

The Poet Asks Forgiveness

BY FAY ZWICKY

Dead to the world I have failed you

Forgive me, traveler.

 

Thirsty, I was no fountain

Hungry, I was not bread

Tired, I was no pillow

 

Forgive my unwritten poems:

the many I have frozen with irony

the many I have trampled with anger

the many I have rejected in self-defiance

the many I have ignored in fear

 

unaware, blind or fearful

I ignored them.

They clamoured everywhere

those unwritten poems.

They sought me out day and night

and I turned them away.

 

Forgive me the colours

they might have worn

Forgive me their eclipsed faces

They dared not venture from

the unwritten lines.

 

Under each inert hour of my silence

died a poem, unheeded.

My thoughts:

This poem is a reminder of all those regrets, all those what ifs that we excuse with fear, anger etc.  

Big Question Section1: The Abstract

Social scientists have long been interested in the questions of how the similarities and the differences in the views of the afterlife and the social reactions to death of different cultures are explained, and the systematic order that can be found in these similarities and differences.  Death is an ineluctable personal experience, which remains outside of an individual's self-reflection throughout his or her entire life.  In order to locate the problem of death in the social construction of reality in a more or less reassuring way, and thus effectively abate the anxiety emerging from the cognitive ambivalence of death, every culture is bound to attribute to it some meaning. This meaning, accessible and perceivable by human individuals, involves constructing a unique concept of death and afterlife. Religions offer a variety of answers, some seemingly credible and some beyond belief. Their explanations often contradict one another, adding to the confusion and uncertainty about what happens after death. A very common idea is that people are born with immortal souls. Many believe that after death the soul is conscious and proceeds to a literal place or condition of bliss or torment. Others teach that at death the soul is absorbed into a "greater consciousness." Some expect to be reincarnated, coming back to earth as another person or as an animal.

http://www.deathreference.com/A-Bi/Afterlife-in-Cross-Cultural-Perspective.html

http://www.ucg.org/booklet/what-happens-after-death/mystery-death/