Sunday, September 23, 2012

Literary Analysis: The Awakening

1. The plot of the book has to do with Edna finding out who she is by "awakening". She learns how to express herself and her freedoms. She meets a young man, Robert, who helps her to love things again that she lost love for when she got married. Falling in love with this young man leads her to leave her family and become independent. Later she realizes she's done wrong and is still not happy so she goes to the place where she had first awakened herself and gives herself to the sea.

2. I feel the theme of the novel is to not be afraid to live and love life. Edna wasn't able to do this at first so when she discovered this concept it was too late and she had already started her life with things she wasn't absolutely happy with.

3. The author's tone started off as depressing for Edna and later turned into a more loving tone when she meets Robert. He set a tone that showed happiness around Robert and a bit of guiltiness and a gloomy tone around her husband. For example one day she spent it all with Robert and she said it was one of the best days of her life, but when she returned home to her husband she barely spoke.

4. One literary element in the novel is flashbacks. Edna experiences flashbacks of being on vacation where she met Robert and was at her happiest point in life. This is significant because it didn't include her husband just her independent self. Also the setting because it was at a period of time where women obeyed men and had no opinions or self expression. This leads to her not being able to be herself. Another element is symbolism. A symbol that seemed important was caged birds in the novel. This symbolized Edna being trapped and inescapable of her life to be free and happy. Also the dialogue used helped to show the theme. When she was around Robert, who made her happy, she was joyful and talkative, but around her husband she was aloof and barely spoke. Finally the actions of the characters lead to the plot and theme. For example when Edna would hangout with Robert long enough she'd try courageous things like learning to swim. When she was with her husband she was boring and would try to get away from him like going back to the house or would stay outside.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Vocabulary: Fall List #6

beatitude- supreme blessedness; exalted happiness
sentence- Even the richest man couldn't buy his way to beatitude.

bete noire- a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded
sentence- Soccer is the most bete noire sport for me.

bode- to be an omen of'; portend
sentence- This cloudy weather does not bode well for our picnic.

dank- unpleasantly moist or humid; damp; chilly
sentence- In old days people were threatened with getting put into a dank dungeon.

ecumenical- general; universal
sentence- The english language is fairly ecumenical around the world.

fervid- heated or vehement in spirit, enthusiasm
sentence- The fervid auctioneer brought life to the event.

fetid- having an offensive odor; stinking
sentence- The boy's locker room was very fetid.

gargantuan- gigantic, enormous, colossal
sentence- I had a gargantuan load of homework for the night.

heyday- stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success
sentence- I could tell of my grandparents heyday by looking at old pictures of them.

incubus- something that weighs upon or oppresses one like a nightmare
sentence- The guilt got to her the most in her sleep as of a relentless incubus.

infrastructure- the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization
sentence- The internet has become very common in our society's infrastructure.

inveigle- to entice, lure by flattery or artful talk
sentence- I inveigle my boyfriend to get him to take me to see a chick flick.

kudos- honor, glory, acclaim
sentence- He received kudos from everyone on his performance.

lagniappe- a gratuity or tip
sentence- We left a large lagniappe for our waiter.

prolix- extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy
sentence- Sometimes my rambling causes me to form prolix essays of ten pages.

protege- person under protection or care of someone interested in his/her career
sentence- The coach's protege was able to win an olympic medal which he was not able to do himself.

prototype- the original or model on which something is based on
sentence- Most rocket scientist form a prototype before actually building the rocket.

sycophant- self-seeking, servile flatterer
sentence- My sycophant friend only tells me what I want to hear and never the truth.

tautology- an instance of such repetition
sentence- I try to avoid tautology in my writing.

truckle- to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely
sentence- Don't truckle to unreasonable demands.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Vocabulary: Fall List #5

acumen- ability to make good judgments and quick decisions
sentence: It was through his acumen that he was able to solve his life problems.

adjudicate- to settle or determine
sentence: We had to ask the teacher to adjudicate which definition was correct.

anachronism- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time
sentence: Traveling by horse and carriage is no longer used and has become an anachronism.

apocryphal- of doubtful authorship or authenticity
sentence: The judge was presented with apocryphal information.

disparity- inequality
sentence: The constitution ended much disparity among its people.

dissimulate- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance
sentence: Spy's are very good at dissimulating themselves to hide who they are.

empirical- derived from or guided by experience or experiment
sentence:  Scientists are able to find chemical reactions due to empirical ways.

flamboyant- strikingly bold or brilliant
sentence: A prom dress should be the most flamboyant dress a girl buys in high school.

fulsome- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive; overdone or gross
sentence: The fulsome praise embarrassed her deeply. 

immolate- to sacrifice
sentence: Old societies would immolate people to the Gods.

imperceptible- very slight, gradual, or subtle
sentence: We approached an imperceptible slope of the road.

lackey- a servile follower 
sentence: Every villain has a lackey to help him.

liaison- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection
sentence: I acted as a liaison for my friends who weren't on speaking terms.

monolithic- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken 
sentence: The boat had a monolithic hull.

mot juste- the exact or appropriate word
sentence:  Mysterious was the mot juste to describe the woman.

nihilism- total rejection of established laws and institutions
sentence: The colonists agreed on nihilism that the government forced upon them.

patrician- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat
sentence: Who ran the country used to be based upon a patrician.

sic- to incite to attack 
sentence: I told my dog to sic on the intruder. 

sublimate- to make nobler or purer
sentence: I bought a new water filter to sublimate my water.









Translation

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.
Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye
Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;
Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.
Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.
Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;
Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"
Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp
Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."
Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson
Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen
Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,
Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."
Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.



Beowulf and Godsylla



Meanwhile, back at the hall, the monster lurked;
Full of few too many drinks, he lurked for a fight.
Then Hrothgar, son of Hrothgar
Asked the awful jerk to step outside, Phud! Bash! Crash! Boom! The big guy
All his bones broke, broke his nose off;
Wicked Godsylla fell on his ass
Monster mopped the floor with all the men in the hall.
Beowulf in backroom phone call back home was;
Hearing sound of ruckus said, "What the hell?"
Grabbing strong shield and sharp switch blade
Stand forth to fight the grim like foe. "Me," Godsylla said, "make me mince meat."
Hero quickly getting hold with famous half-nelson
And flying him like a frisbee back and forth
Beowulf belly up to the mead-hall bar,
said, "No foe beaten my fearsome kung-fu."
Ordering ice-cold coca-cola, the real thing.

Textbook Notes (pages 64-82)

Epic- long narrative poem that celebrates the adventures of legendary heroes

Hero- a role model in their time period

Gilgamesh


  • rear guard of army, strongest
  • in ancient Sumerian city called Uruk
  • a sumerian king
  • his duty is to protect his city 
  • Ishtar- babilonian goddess of love
  • he's both man and god
Iliad

  • Achilleus and Hektor battle (enemies)
  • Hektor is a Trojan warrior
  • Achilleus kills Hektor with no shame and no granting of Hektor's wishes
  • Athena ( Zeus' daughter) takes Achilleus' spear
  • God's mettle
  • Hektor asks to have his body taken back to his home
  • Achilleus says no and that he doesn't deserve that respect as his enemy
From a History of the English Church and People

  • Bede (monk)
  • researched about the world
  • monks write anglo saxon chronicle to write in english
  • Ireland (prosperous) 

AP reading choice/reason






I've selected The Awakening by Kate Chopin as my reading for the class. I wanted to read something that was pretty girly and interesting. The titles of most of the other books didn't exactly grab my attention as this book did. After some research of the book such as the summary I decided it sounded very interesting and it urged me to want to read more, which is why I'm reading it now.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Vocabulary: Fall list #4

Apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.
sentence: He was considered apostate because he gave up his faith in Christianity.

Effusive: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve
sentence: Famous people recieve effusive praise.

Impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape.
sentence: He became impasse when he entered the meeting.

Euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.
sentence: The mother was hit with euphoria when she found out her daughter was getting married.

Lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.
sentence: Characters on soap operas use lugubrious monologue.

Bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
sentence: Beowulf became known for his bravado in fighting the dragon.

Consensus: majority of opinion
sentence: The consensus of the group was to meet twice a week.

Dichotomy: division into two parts
sentence: A dichotomy is formed in our class room when there are different views on the subject.

Constrict: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink
sentence: Greed constricted the nation's cultural life.

Gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of architecture, originating in France
sentence: Much of Europe used gothic architecture in their buildings.

Punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.
sentence:

Metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation
raconteur to tell
sentence: I underwent a metamorphosis since when I was little from being shy to social.

Sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential
sentence: Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.

Quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable
sentence: Many girl readers are into to quixotic love stories, rather than realistic romance.

Vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention
sentence: There was a political vendetta.

Non sequitur: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.
sentence: The teacher's lecture was a ramble of non sequiturs and irrelevant observations.

Mystique: an aura of mystery or mystical power surrounding a particular occupation or pursuit
sentence: Some people sense mystique in nuclear science.

Quagmire: anything soft or flabby
sentence: We ran into a quagmire of mud.

Parlous: perilous; dangerous
sentence: Giving away your personal information can cause parlous situations.