After the Holiday's

The Holiday's have just passed and I am sure we all were left with a great feeling of satisfaction. Not only are most college applications in, but we are done with our first semester of our high school senior year. The hectic holiday season is also over (with New Years being the only "holiday" left) and for the first time in months we are able to breathe and relax.

That's all great but we are not 100% worry free...there are still scholarships to think about and those final Common Application deadlines and the tedious AP winter break homework. I just wanted to take a break and for a few minutes express my gratitude. I am grateful for having an amazing family who I was able to spend Christmas with. I am grateful for the lovely presents I received. I am thankful for being able to be awaiting a new year with my family and friends. I am thankful for all the great friends I have, who have been supportive and a breath of fresh air every time I spend time with them. I am thankful for all the great teachers I have had that have inspired in me academic curiosity. I am thankful for all the adults and counselors who assisted me during the university application season.

Specifically I'd like to thank my mother. My mother, who is probably the person who closest understands me. Her strength, courage and patience never failed to encourage me. Thanks to her I was able to make it through those all nighters. Seeing how hard she works every day and her incredible resilience have provided me with the best example of how to be a successful and productive woman in this country. Thank you mother for teaching me and helping me so much. I love you.

LIFE AFTER THIS BLOG POST

I wrote myself a letter here that I will get in about a year. I don't know what the future holds for me but I am definitely excited. In about a year I will be exploring my new college campus (hopefully) and adjusting to the college life, with all its perks and downfalls.

Writing a letter to a future me is something that I have done before. I remember doing it for Mrs. Byrne's Honors English 2 class. At the time I saw no value whatsoever in it and did it only because I had no choice. I received the email towards the end of my Junior year and it was quite an impact. I felt so emotional to hear from past me and read all that nonsense I said to myself. It's a good reminder of how unpredictable the future is because at the time I wrote the letter my life was going in a direction that had completely changed by the time I received it a year later. I'm excited to receive this new letter and see what new 360 degree changes my life takes.

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Plato believed in not being chained
He wanted us to use logic to be free
Our fears he wanted us to have tamed
He wanted us to turn around and beyond the shadows see

The Theory of Forms states that our senses deceive
What we see and hear is just a poor copy of what is real
Logic must enter and ignorance must leave
We must search for truth and often ignore what we feel

A Philosopher-King was Plato's ideal ruler
Only a wise man elected by wise people could be efficient
A smart and powerful ruler, nothing could be cooler
A ruler so wise he is almost omniscient

So the Allegory of the Cave is meant to illuminate
Truth must permeate

Brain With [insert here] Legs

For our literary circle we (Miranda, Erica and I) decided we would read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. There was no particular reason for why we chose this over the other two novels. All three books were books I had heard about but was unfamiliar with. To be completely honest, the title of the novel won us over because it sounded more interesting than the other two. All day today we have been communicating via email and discussing how to work this assignment out. The predominant way we will use for communication will be email because it is both practical and efficient. Upon computing the data (how many pages in the book divided by the amount of days we want to read the book over) we came to the conclusion that in order to finish on our planned schedule we will read 40 pages of the book per day.

Our idea for presenting our novel and demonstrating our mastery of it was creating a specific and separate blog that we will all have access to. In this blog we will post summaries as well as other interesting posts pertaining to the novel. We decided to do this because we thought it'd be cool if we could use our experience to create a tool that could not only help us and our peers, but other students who are studying the novel in other parts of the world. More details will be posted as the blog develops. Our goal is to have the blog up and running by Friday.

A mindmap could develop as a possible final 'project' for the novel where we show our knowledge of it in interconnected way.

Forbes: 100 Most Powerful Women

Forbes is famous for publishing their 100 Most ___ lists. My favorite of such lists is the 100 Most Powerful Women list. So how does Forbes find the worlds most powerful women and what system do they use to rank them? Well, they begin by dividing up certain women in high ranking positions into seven categories; billionaires, celebrities, business, media, philanthropists, politicians and technology. The women are then assessed on a money metric (such as GDP), a media metric (both traditional and social media) and an impact metric (such as their influence across industries, cultures, countries, how many people they influence and how actively they use that influence).

The top ten most powerful women of the 2013 list: 

1. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

2. Dilma Rousseff, President of Brasil

3. Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

4. Michelle Obama, First Lady of United States

5. Hillary Clinton, Personality/Philanthropist

6. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

7. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of International Money Fund

8. Janet Napolitano, Secretary-United States Department of Homeland Security

9. Sonia Gandhi, President of India's National Congress (political party)

10. Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo

Secrets of the Worlds Most Powerful Women

My Big Question

Seeing as how I forgot to post my big question..

My big question is simple and something that I have wondered for quite awhile.
We live in a world of experts...so why are there more problems than before? Is the complexity we have created better, or is the simple way we used to live better?

Hamlet Essay

Well, I wasn't 100% satisfied with my essay. I feel like there's more I could do. I definitely want to come back to it and work on it more because I liked the prompt and I feel like the essay could really go places.

Hamlet, Self-Overhearing and Performativity

     It is often said that actions speak louder than words. I disagree with this. I would say that such claim is erroneous because words are actions in themselves. Words have real world implications that can be seen in everyday life; we make assertions, promises, threats and judges hand down sentences that can condemn criminals to a life in prison. Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, shows us the impact of words as Hamlet’s performative utterances are not only describing his present state but also creating meaning for and changing the reality created within the play.

     We use words and language all the time. We use it in our physical world to convey ideas, opinions or ask for something. We also use it in our minds, in a self-overhearing way. We talk to ourselves in order to straighten our thoughts or debate an issue with ourselves. Despite no one else hearing our thoughts, we hear them and them being there makes them as real as if we had promised a loved one something. Much like so, Hamlet’s soliloquys constitute a self-overhearing like process in which his words constitute actions more than anything. In his soliloquies, he condemns Claudius for what he did to his father and convinces himself that killing him is the correct thing to do. His soliloquies have impact in the world of Hamlet, because they are the performatives that Hamlet uses to decide what to do and that in turn shapes the course of events.

     Performative utterances can only be successful if the receiving party infers the correct meaning behind the words. Hamlet often uses his words to act crazy, and fools almost every character into thinking he is mad. He uses words to try to shape the unfolding events in a way that would set up the success of his plans and that would help further his agenda. He successfully fooling almost all characters to believe in his madness though his performative shows us the success of it.

     Performativity impacts the world around, but can also be seen to impact the performer directly. Hamlet uses words to do a plethora of things within the play and to give meaning to the reality of it. Through his performativity, especially that seen in his soliloquies, his self-overhearing reveals to him a good deal about himself. He uses performativity to criticize himself and reflect on the reality that is unfolding around him. He also uses performativity to come to logical conclusions, which are revealing to him in terms of his agenda.

     Performativity is impactful, and can describe as well as create. Hamlet shows us that to be true, but apart from that we can see it in ourselves and in the real world around us. Performativity creates a sense of what’s true and our self-overhearing can reveal things to us we did not previously know.

Vocabulary #9

aficionado (n.): a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.

-Mark was a golf aficionado.

Browbeat (v.): intimidate (someone), typically into doing something, with stern or abusive words

Commensurate (adj.): corresponding in size or degree; in proportion.

-His penetrating stare browbeat her into doing as he said without question.

Diaphanous (adj.): (esp. of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent.

-Her voice was diaphanous and very pleasing to listen to.

Emolument (n.): a salary, fee, or profit from employment or office.

-There was a protest outside the office because of employees complaining about their emolument not being paid in its entirety. 

Foray (v.): A venture or an initial attempt, especially outside one's usual area

-To foray into areas of life we are not keen of or good at can make one a better and more round individual.

Genre (n.): a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

-The magical fantasy genre is one I don't find interesting at all.

Homily (n.): a religious discourse that is intended primarily for spiritual edification rather than doctrinal instruction; a sermon.

-After disagreeing with my mom regarding religion, she called my priest uncles to deliver a homily to me on the importance of religion.

Immure (v.): enclose or confine (someone) against their will.

-Homework immures us in our room all day.

Insouciant (adj.): showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.

-President George Bush was very insouciant after Katrina.

Matrix (n.): an environment or material in which something develops; a surrounding medium or structure.

-Air is the matrix in which we live.

Obsequies (n.): funeral rites.

-Usually priests deliver the obsequies. 

Panache (n.): flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

-Kanye West walks on stage with a panache that makes us all either hate him or adore him.

Persona (n.): the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others.

-Sheldon's persona makes him beloved by us the television viewers, but hated by the show's characters.

Philippic (n.): a bitter attack or denunciation, esp. a verbal one.

-In his book he presented a philippic argument against gun control.

Prurient (adj.): having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters.

-Shakespeare's plays can be said to be very prurient.

Sacrosanct (adj.): (esp. of a principle, place, or routine) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with.

-Religion is seen as sacrosanct by many people. 

Systemic (adj.): of or relating to a system, esp. as opposed to a particular part.

-The human body is a system that is evolution's Mona Lisa.

Tendentious (adj.): expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, esp. a controversial one.

-I was given a tendentious flyer in which a man argued against gay marriage. I threw such paper away.

Vicissitude (n.): a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

-The recent vicissitude of luck has made him fall into a great depression.

tools that change the way we think

Technology has completely revolutionized the way we think. The thinking process has been made simpler in the sense that we can just go on Google and search for whatever we want and find 1,000+ links to 1,000+ different pages with 1,000+ different ideas and opinions. Our predecessors actually had to look up things in books, which I imagine was more time consuming. Now the part that is harder on us is trying to navigate the plethora of information that is given to us. We need to figure out what information is important and relevant to our work and which is not. For our predecessors, they had one encyclopedia and they took whatever information was on there and used that without having to navigate all the information we are given. Sometimes I feel like the Internet could be damaging to the thinking process. The Internet is a tool,yes but it can also be a distraction. When we go on the Internet with the mentality of writing a research paper, we could end up getting completely distracted because of the infinite possibilities the Internet has. For example, we're supposed to be researching an extinct animal but end up watching videos of dinosaurs on YouTube because when we typed in "extinct blah blah" that came up on YouTube and it looked interesting. All I'm saying really, is that the Internet is so good because it exploits out infinite curiosity.

FILTER BUBBLES

a) I learned from the video that the Internet is personalized in a way that cannot necessarily be classed as beneficial.
b) Previous to watching the video, I had heard some things about complex algorithms being used to personalize our search results and Facebook news feed so that we only received the information that was relevant to us. It seemed like a good idea, but not so much now as I think about it under the context of the information I just recently acquired. We should all have access to the same information, regardless of race, sex, gender, or economic background.
c) We use the Internet so much and it has become our main source of information...I now wonder if this could be used in a way that the web developers and the corporations that pay them could benefit from. For example, we are only given the information that those guys want us to know.
d) One way to improve the effectiveness of my search is to search for specific things and dive into the links that my search engine provides me, instead of just clicking on the first few links on the first page.

Hamlet- Act 3 Analysis

   Let's begin with the most obvious. In Act 3, Hamlet delivers his famous "To be or not to be"soliloquy, which just so happens to be the most famous soliloquy/speech in Western literature. If indeed the soliloquy does speak of Hamlet contemplating suicide ("to be or not to be" meaning "to live or to die"), the soliloquy seems to be placed at an awkward place in the play. Hamlet is about to execute his plan and attempt to avenge his fallen father, it seems he ought to want to be alive more than ever, yet he is contemplating suicide as a possible better alternative to life.
   In Act 3, we also see just how much revenge meant to Hamlet. Hamlet has the opportunity to kill the King while he is praying, begging for forgiveness for his sins (even though this is insincere, as he refuses to give up the objects of his sin- the throne and his wife) but holds back because he realizes that if he is to kill the King then he will go to heaven because he was praying at the time of his death. Hamlet then comes to the rational decision that he will kill the King but when he is committing a sin, so he may go straight to hell. If anyone at this point thought Hamlet was crazy then they can take that back. With his actions Hamlet shows us that he is in full control of his body and emotions. He is being overwhelmed by emotions, as his soliloquies demonstrate, but he can control every aspect of himself. Revenge meant so much to Hamlet that he was willing to challenge divine authority. We can see a bit of a Promethean plot here, with Hamlet attempting to play God and decide who is to be damned for eternity.
   In the previous Acts, Hamlet had been very respectful and composed with the Queen. In Act 3,we can see this shift for the first time. Rather than continuing to be the respectful son he had been, he insults his mother gravely in Scene 4 of Act 3, even going as far as to tell her that he wishes she were not his mother, as well as commanding her to stop having sex with Claudius and even subtly threatening her.Could this be because Hamlet is going to shift his character once more, as we have seen him continuously do throughout the play (going from depressed, to composed, to crazy) or is he simply excluding his mother from the act he is playing because he is not going to exclude her in the revenge?
   One very interesting moment in the Act was when Hamlet kills Polonious and claims that he mistook him for a rat. Throughout the story Hamlet had not liked Polonious (just as we grew to dislike him due to his very dishonest and selfish behavior) and it seems quite appropriate that he compares him with an animal so despicable as a rat. Polonious' death falls very short to what was expected. All throughout the play,his character is built up and it is almost as if Shakespeare forces us to dislike him, putting so many negative characteristics in one character, and then he dies a death that has no impact (other that producing some humor at he being compared to a rat). His death can be a reflection of his life. During his life, he lived hiding behind people and calling the shots anonymously, which can be represented by him instructing the Queen on what to do then hiding behind the curtain. He is then killed without any impact, much like how he tried to be significant all the time but accomplished nothing.

LITERARY FICTION AND EMPATHY

What the article said about why fiction helps us understand others is something that I agree with. It claims that "literary fiction often leaves more to the imagination, encouraging readers to make inferences about characters and be sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity." In terms of Hamlet, this very strongly applies. From what I have researched about Hamlet, it is mainly about tough questions and moral dilemmas. Seeing people at their most vulnerable and at their strongest allows us to see them for what they actually are because at those two extremes, there is no concern for what you are showing the world due to other preoccupations. Hamlet would be a good insight into the human psyche because it allows for plenty of interpretation (for example, there is still debate on what "to be, or not to be" means, and there is no clear and concrete evidence on exactly what is it Shakespeare meant- it all depends on what the reader interprets) and it allows our mind to wonder and play with the material. Hamlet gives plenty of room for deep and higher level analysis that could then be translated into the real world. What we learn about motives and human mentality in Hamlet could then be used to either justify or condemn something, maybe of a lesser degree, that we see in our lives.

WHAT I MEANT TO SAY WAS

I'm still a bit shaky as to how exactly present my thesis in the best light possible.
I feel like this was a very straight forward prompt that did not allow for the sort of high level thesis creation that is expected from an AP perspective.

Here's my original thesis used on the mid-term essay exam:
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales had a very specific purpose because through careful characterization and a satiric tone, Chaucer was able to voice the voiceless during his time and satirize those who were too loud.

The re-do:
Through the use of a satirizing tone and intricate characterization, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is able to mock the flawed social structure of the time it was written in.

GREEN EGGS AND HAMLET

a) I don't know much about Hamlet. All I basically know is that it was written by Shakespeare. I have heard of Hamlet, but only by name. I have never received any formal education in it.

b) I know a few things about Shakespeare. I know that he is considered one of the most important figures in English literature and he was a master in the art of all that is written. I also know he was alive during the Victorian Era in England and that he wrote plays for the Globe Theater in London (I'm not 100% sure about that one). I've also read a few things online where people have debated the authenticity of his art. Many people doubt him because it is hard to believe someone as simple as he could have created works of literature that are considered as some of the most beautiful works of literature ever created. I have also read two of his works, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, which were requirements for previous English classes.

c) When in any English class the name "Shakespeare" is mentioned, it is almost always met with disapproving frowns and groans from the students. I believe this has to do with the fact that while Shakespeare wrote very beautiful literature, it is also hard for the average student to comprehend. I consider myself above average and it still poses a great challenge for me. I have to read over and over for the text to make sense, and even then I still have difficulties comprehending the basic gist of it.

d) What has always helped me when working with Shakespearean literature is finding tools online, like videos where his plays have been reproduced. Visually seeing the literature allows me to better understand, it is also preferable to the tedious task of having to read old British English and attempting to make sense out of words that to us (living in America in the 21st century) just don't make sense.

Our Story- Going to the Destination (plus vocabulary 7)

The more Alex spoke the more loquacious Quatro Quatro became. As the concert went on Dan smith and EEEE were up to some shenanigans that nobody wanted to join in. They were going around slapping girl’s butt and hiding in the crowd. In order to eschew getting hurt by the women they pretended to rock out to the music like everybody else. Ivy then gave them a huge harangue on why they should respect women. They stared blankly at her and took in her then garrulous personality. She was dressed in a purple tight mungo dress and had a capricious look to her. If she was not so up tight she would be one of EEE and Dan Smith slapping competition victims. Ivy’s disappointment in the boys was ephemeral, next thing you know she was dancing and shouting with them. The sweaty bodies briefly brushing against each other, the raspy screams making everyone deaf, it made the boys act so ebullient.

“Dang…” EEE exclaimed.

“What? Where?” Dan shouted.

A beautiful young lady was walking past them, she smelled of channel perfume and sweat. She was very aware of her beauty so for some fun she turned around and winked at the boys.

Dan could not contain himself and he screamed at the top of his lungs

“Bomb!”

People turned to all places, the music stopped, before Dan could explain himself there were people running chaotically and screaming

“Bomb! There is a bomb!”

The screams of fear could be heard ricocheting off everyone's ears. It was a powerful plethora of roars from the crowd. Before the crew knew it, there were hands holding on to them and leading them through the crowd. There was so much confusion in the air that they just allowed themselves to be lead. As everything began settling down they felt the arms jerk them and as if at the same time, they all fell onto a cold van floor. They looked around still dazed and confused, attempting to comprehend where they were. Suddenly, black bags fell over their heads. Their screams and struggle were fruitless. Eventually they felt the van start to move. The boys were showing calm now, afraid to show their weakness and being scared but Ivy was out of control screaming. 

"Where do you suppose they are taking us?" asked EEE, leaning in to the person next to him.

"I don't know but I think we have been kidnapped," answered Dan.

After an sesquipedalian amount of time driving, the van came to an abrupt stop and the gang was removed from it. 

They were all thrown into a room where their bags were eventually removed.
They looked around, they were in an empty and all white room, with three gentlemen in black suits.

"Well, lets talk about this bomb," said the biggest of the three suited men, slyly.

"There's been a terrible misunderstanding, you have your definitions juxtaposed" said Dan, "You see, I was calling a girl bomb, as in attractive. No explosive devices."

"Very funny, now tell us where the bomb is," demanded the man.

"There is no bomb!" exclaimed Ivy.

"Very well then, there is no room in this country for people like all of you," said the man with a blank expression.

Then it all went black. Quatro Quatro opened his eyes. The sun was beating down on him in a way he had never experienced before. It felt as if his skin was burning off his bones. His head felt wonky. As he looked ahead all he saw was sand for miles and miles. He turned his head slowly and painfully to his right, noticing his friends. He immediately jumped up and ran to them. He shook them all one by one and they began to wake up, dazed and confused. They all attempted to compose themselves and make sense out of the codswallop.

"Where are we?", asked Alex.

Dan, the perspicacious one, then reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, shocked it had not been taken.

"Uh guys, GPS says we're in Egypt," said Dan, looking at his friends with a ghastly face.

A man they had not seen before approached them from their left and uttered some sort of dipthong they did not understand. Looking at each other, they knew more than ever that interdependence would be the key to making it out of this one.


This work was created by me and Erica Marquez

2013 Nobel Prizes

So the scientific community right now is buzzing because on October 7th the 2013 Nobel laureates will be announced. Read this article on Scientific American to learn more about this years predictions. It's actually extremely interesting and inspiring to see these men and women who are at the top of their fields.

IF I JUST HAD MORE TIME

Well all throughout Friday, the periods who had already taken the midterm had fun terrorizing us and telling us that it was brutal, and they were 100% correct because it was. I thought Dr. Preston's midterm was difficult and challenging. I did study my vocab, but I was not prepared for the way he tested us. I guess I should begin to expect the unexpected. I knew the words, but I could not remember them off the top of my head. Especially due to the fact that I had this pressure of finishing my essay. So what I did was I first wrote my essay and as I remembered words I wrote them down. I felt pretty confident about my essay but not about the vocab. I didn't write down many words and I don't think the vocabulary section reflected my mastery of the words. Next time, I need to find new and creative ways to study my words so that they become more than an assignment. I was thinking about incorporating them into my day to day conversations so I can become more familiar and comfortable with them, also so that I can hopefully remember them better.

**This actually made me laugh during the SAT today because five of the vocabulary words we had worked with were on the test. I won't reveal anything specific because the College Board may hunt me down, but studying vocab helped me in an unexpected way. Today for the first time in four years of taking high school vocabulary tests, I saw the importance and value in them.

Lit Analysis #2

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
**This is the third time I have read this book (fourth if you count the time I read it in Honors English ) and let me just say that if you haven't read it, you're missing out on a gold mine of literature.

1) This book revolves around the life of the ex convict, Jean Valjean as he attempts to run from his convict past and the lives of the people he comes into contact with along the way. All of that while the French Revolution is in its early stages. Young Jean Valjean was taken to prison as a young man because of a small infraction; facing starvation, he stole bread and was caught. Despite this minor infraction he was sentenced to a hard prison. He was also subsequently given more years after trying to escape from the prison unsuccessfully. When he is finally released he is experiencing a lot of emotional turmoil and is going through a bit of a moral crises because while he is a good man, he feels bad and he is distraught by the negative perception the world has of him for being an ex convict. Upon being released he makes his way to a town, where the people all after finding out he is an ex convict refuse to help him in any way. After several attempts at finding a place to stay, he goes to the church where a bishop opens up his home and gives him shelter. Valjean has been told so many times that he is a criminal and that he is a bad man that he gives in to this and steals from the bishop. Even though the bishop helps him, he steals from him. He himself does not even understand why. He leaves the bishop's house and the following morning a nun discovers the theft. She rushes to inform the Bishop and he does not pay much attention to it, even going as far as excusing Jean's actions. The police return Jean the that morning and inquire with the bishop about the silver he has. The bishop covers for Jean and tells the police that it is a gift from him. After that second chance, Jean leaves town and decides to change. In the new town he arrives at, he eventually changes his name to hide his identity and start over. He becomes M. Madeline, a wealthy industrialist and eventually mayor of the town. He employs many people at his factories, one of them being Fantine. At this point we are introduced to her character. Fantine was a poor and unfortunate woman who was in desperate need for money and bored an illegitimate child. Making her way back to her home town, she stopped at an inn where she asked the inn-keepers, the Thénardiers, to please take care of her daughter, as she had to go to her home town to work (she knows she could not find work if the people of the town found out about her illegitimate child) and she promised to send money. The inn-keepers agreed and Fantine said her good-byes to her daughter Cosette and left. Back at her home town, she had to work hard and send money to her daughter. Little did she know that the Thénardiers were using that money for themselves, giving Cosette nothing but leftovers and mistreating her. The Thénardiers began asking for more money from Fantine, who would send anything in order to keep her daughter comfortable. Fantine was sending all the money she had, leaving her with nothing. To her misfortune, her coworkers found out about her daughter and she was fired. Finding herself in such a bad financial situation, she was forced to turn to prositution to supplement her income. During one night, she was caught and was sent to the city jail. After hearing about that, Jean intervened and managed to get her released. He invited her to stay with him and shortly after she fell ill. Her health quickly deteriorated (frankly I suspect and STD) and in no time she was on her death bed. She had Jean promise her that he would bring her daughter Cosette. However, the officer who arrested Fantine for prostitution is a man who worked at the prison Madeline had been held in and recognizes him. Around this time, he also finds out that a man by the name of Jean Valjean has been captured and is going to be tried for his crimes. Madeline is then conflicted, does he come out of his hiding and reveal who he is in order to save an innocent man? He finally comes to a conclusion and at the trial of the man, he reveals that he is the real Jean Valjean. He then returns to Fantine's side. As Madeline is by Fantine's side, Javert comes and arrests him. This scene causes such an impact on Fantine that she dies from a a heart attack. Madeline becomes enraged at Javert, almost blaming him for her death. Valjean is sent to prison, and after briefly attending it, he saves a sailor who was near drowning and in the incident manages to fake his death and escape. He then visits the innkeepers where Cosette is being kept, attempting to keep his promise to Fantine that he would find her daughter. Upon arriving at the inn he basically steals Fantine and in order to escape from the Thénardiers he takes Fantine to Paris, where they live in a big secluded house. Jean becomes very attached to Fantine and he establishes a connection with her that is unlike anything he has ever experienced before. He sees her as his actual daughter and learns to treasure and love her and she begins to feel the same way about him, even though she was a bit hesitant at first. Just as they are getting comfortable they are forced to flee after Javert tracks down Jean. A running scene is presented in which Jean and Cosette are feeling from Javert, Cosette being very young at this point. After running away and just before being caught, Jean and Cosette find refuge in a convent where they are sheltered. At this point we are introduced to a new character. His name is Marcus and he is the grandson of a wealthy man. He has never met his father but has always been told by his family that he was a bad man. Upon learning about the death of his grandfather, Marcus decides to dive into his life and he discovers that his father truly loved him and he only left from Marcus' life because his grandfather threatened to disown him. Marcus discovers his fathers revolutionary ideas and identifies with them. Upon confrontation with his grandfather, Marcus leaves and while in Paris he gets involved with the revolutionary movement as a poor young lawyer. While strolling through the park one day he comes across Jean and Cosette, who at this point was now a gorgeous young woman. Marcus falls in love with her and attempts to court her more than once, only having every attempt stopped by Jean who does not want to lose Cosette to anyone. In order to further prevent them from ever meeting, they move homes. However their paths, as if intertwined by destiny, meet again when Jean goes to a poor neighborhood to help out the locals. This neighborhood also happens to be where Marcus lives. In a shocking turn of events, as Marcus peeps through a hole and spies on his neighbors he sees as Jean comes into their home and promises to help. His neighbors are the Thénardiers who have lost their inn. But since Jean stole Cosette at night, they do not recognize each other. Jean leaves their home promising to return and Marcus overhears how the Thénardier's plan to rob him when he returns. After that Marcus goes to the police and Javert comes to the scene. The Thénardiers are arrested and Jean avoids detection once more. At this point we are introduced to the lesser character of Eponine, who is one of the Thénardier daughters. She is madly in love with Marcus but despite that she helps him discover the new location of Cosette. Marius immediately rushes to her but upon realising the situation Jean decides that its time to move to a more safe and stable place, as Marcus has found them and the revolution is about to being. Marcus and Cosette know that they must act now before they move to England. Marcus seeks his grandfathers approval to marry Cosette but is met with a man who completely disapproves and only an argument is accomplished. When Marcus returns to Cosette he discovers that they have left. This shatters his feelings and without regard to his life he gets two weapons and enters the war. In battle, he is about to be killed but Eponine saves his life, however she dies after taking a bullet for him. As she is dying she gives him a note from Cosette. He reads it and writes back and immediately has it sent back. He continues fighting. During the fight Javert is captured because he was working as a spy for the government. Jean intercepts the note and reads it. He goes to the barricade where the rebels were. Here, he volunteers to execute Javert but he instead lets him go free. After this Javert attempts to arrest him but Jean begs him to at least let him take a dying Marcus who was wounded to his grandfather. Javert lets him and after is conflicted with what to do, let Jean go for saving his life or perform his job? He lets him go and commits suicide. Marcus gets better and marries Cosette after making peace with his grandfather. Everything is okay until Marcus discovers Jean's questionable past. He begins to forbid Cosette from seeing Jean and Jean falls into a deep depression. Marcus then finds out from Thénardier that Jean saved his life during battle. After hearing that, Marcus and Cosette rush to Jean's side. They find him on his death bed and he dies in peace after seeing his beloved daughter.

2) The theme of the novel is miserable people. He uses unhappiness to criticise French society at the time. The characters are all unhappy in this story because of something caused by society.

3) It's hard to describe his tone because there isn't much of one. Victor Hugo goes to great extents to make the book as little about him as possible and all about the characters. He describes more than anything and then tells their story in a tone that doesn't leave much room for interpretation. However if anything, the theme is negative because he's describing unhappy people.

4) * Situational irony: When the Thénardiers are living next door to Marcus and Jean Valjean visits, then Marcus calls the police and Javert shows up. All the characters are at the same place at the same time.
*Deus ex machina: Just as Marcus is about to die and it seems as if everything is lost, Jean comes in as if by divine intervention and saves the day.
*Satire: Victor uses his whole novel as satire. He tries to bring attention to all these social issues using Jean, Fantine, Cosette and Marcus as the martyrs.
*Stream of consciousness (sort of): I don't know exactly how to call this. But then Victor immerses himself in a character, the characters thoughts are playing as he is thinking them.
*Foil: We get to know characters through several different ways, but one of the best is through foil. For example, we get to know about Jean's bad and good natures through his interactions with others. He saves Marcus and the sailor but steals from the bishop.
*Symbolism: In two situations we see how Jean is saved by the church. First when he could not find where to stay and second when he is running from Javert and Javert is not allowed in to get him because it is a convent for women only (Jean sneaks in). The church symbolises Jean's salvation.
*Direct characterization: During several instances Victor directly tells us about a characters traits. At the beginning of the Jean book, he describes Jean's physical features.

CHARACTERIZATION
1) Two ways in which Victor tells us directly about our characters traits can be found in every book, when he physically describes our characters as well as describes their personalities. However, he also uses indirect characterization. For example, when he tells us about all the feats that Jean performs, such as climbing a tall wall and lifting a wagon. He does not directly tell us Jean is strong but we can infer from the text. I believe he does both because he wants us to go in to the book having a background about the characters, followed by examples of what he has already told us. (ex.telling us Jean is strong then giving us examples later on in the book.)
2) He has a dark tone through the book because it is a dark subject, but when he becomes the character he turns more lugubrious and dark than usual because he is telling the story of people who are miserable.
3) The main protagonist is dynamic. Throughout the book he is constantly changing. He goes from being a good man to bad after stealing bread, then he reforms and becomes good again and this becomes an ongoing trend throughout the book as he is being shaped by the events he experiences.
4) After reading the book I came away feeling like I met Jean. He was well described and I almost felt like I took on this journey with him. He was a great character and continues to be my favorite. I like his personality and the way he tries to be tough in a tough world, but his good nature always wins.

Tale of a Canterbury Tale

**This was my part of the assignment. For the other parts of it, please see the links under the summary.

Summary of The Miller's Prologue

The prologue takes part right after the Knight has spoken. I imagine they are all gathered, sharing their stories in order. It wasn't the Miller's turn but he intervenes and says that he has a story just as good as the noble stories of the Knight. They all protest, as it isn't his turn and he is miserably drunk. He then reveals that the story will revolve around a bad wife. Everyone gathered is shocked that he would speak badly about a wife. The Miller then argues that there are also bad wives, and that if the story is bad and too insulting they should blame the alcohol and if they find themselves too insulted by the story they should turn away and ignore it.



Summary of The Miller's Tale

There was a rich carpenter in Oxford who had plenty of guest rooms in his house. He rented one room to a student, who had switched major from liberal arts to astrology. He would predict the weather for the men who asked him. His name was Nicholas. Nicholas had a very active and secret love life. He had many herbs and other astronomical and mathematical tools in his room arranged in order, as well as books and other documents of the sort. He would spend his time playing the psaltery in a beautiful and graceful way. He would spend his time doing that while his friends paid his rent.

The carpenter had just recently married a very young wife. She was young and beautiful and out of jealousy he would keep her at arms lenght. The difference in age between he and his wife caused obvious problems.

The wife was physically beautiful, energetic and well dressed. She was the sort of woman that was desired by everyone in the land and that any man wished to have.

Once when the carpenter was away at Osney, Nicholas approached the wife and placing his hands on her hips began to flirt with her and make sexual advances upon her. Her response was defiant and she demanded respect from him. But he continued to insist and she finally gave in and warned Nicholas that her husband was so jealous, that he could kill them both if he found out about their affair.

We are then introduced to the parish clerk, Absalon. He was finely dressed and was a good dancer and musician. He would take his acts to several bars. Once while in church he saw the wife and was taken by surprise by her beauty. He was so amazed by her that he took his guitar and serenaded her at night while she was in bed with her husband, which awoke them both. Absolon continued to court her after the singing incident by sending her treats, making sure he looked nice for her and even going as far as to offer her money. Despite all his attempts, Absolon got nowhere with the wife, who's name is eventually revealed to be Alisoun.

Nicholas is getting tired of not being able to spend much time with Alisoun so he devices a plan that would allow them to spend more time together. He tells the carpenter that there will be a major drought. He tells the carpenter that there is a way for them to save themselves. He says that they must hang three buckets from the ceiling (one for each, Nicholas, Alisoun and John). They do this so that when the flood comes they will cut the ropes, causing them to float and be safe from the water. So John gets into his bucket thinking that Nicholas and Alisoun are doing the same thing, but in reality they are spending the night with each other.

During the night, Absolon comes again to Alisoun's window and begs for her. He begs so much that she eventually gives in and agrees to give him a kiss. Instead though, she sticks her buttocks out and Absolon kisses that. Upon realizing what had happened and that he had been fooled, Absolon gets full of rage.

Being so angry, Absolon goes and gets some sort of branding iron which he will use to brand Alisoun for what he did to her. He gets it and goes back to her window. When he does return, this time Nicholas sticks out his buttocks as a joke. Upon this happening, Absolon brands Nicholas. From so much pain and in an attempt to soothe it, Nicholas yells "water", which the carpenter hears. He thinks this is an indication to cut the rope that's holding his bucket. He does so and he and the water and bucket fall onto the floor. This creates plenty of noise and the townspeople rush to the house. The townspeople then see everything, Nicholas and Alisoun and John as a fool. He becomes the laugh of the town.



**The 5 examples of indirect characterization can be found here and here.
**Chauncer's purpose in writing this tale about this character can be found here.

Project Glass

I love technology and finding new forms of it. Recently I have come across a project that has been developed and is in its trial state. Its basically a weareable computer with an optical head-mounted display. Until recenly I had not even heard of it. Which is strange considering how revolutionary this project is. The idea of having high-tech glasses is not a new one but Google is bringing it to life in an efficient and revolutionary way. Despite all its possible security threats and all the other issues that can arise from this new technology, I think it has real potential. Check it out for yourself here.


It's going to come out for the general public in 2014 and will be anywhere from $300-$400. Google wants to make it the price of an average new smartphone to make it available for the common American. It will include many great features like Google translate, Google search, Google+, Gmail, Google maps, camera, and video recording. Many developers are working for apps for the device and there are plenty of apps that have already been developed. One that I cam across that was particularyly cool was an app that lets Google Glass users take a photo with a simple Wink! Thats amazing. This is going to be great.

**Google Glass can be used in so many productive collaborative ways. The first time Google Glass was used by a surgeon was a complete success. One surgeon in Europe was performing a knee replacement on a patient, while receiving assistance from an American surgeon through Google Hangouts. Thats collaboration at its best.

Something to Think About

When I saw this picture I had to stop and stare for a good five minutes. What do you make of it?

                                                                   Photo Courtesy of Tumblr

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

Let's be honest here, schooling doesn't prepare us for the real world. The system is just set up in a way that doesn't allow creativity and experimentation. Everything is pre-planned and arranged. This is how I pretty much summarize the last three years of high school: memorize, recite, forget, now repeat. In school, teachers have the duty of taking us down a path of knowledge by where they "teach" us how to think and expose us to new ideas, something that seems quite obsolete considering the fact that the Internet can also do that without having to wake up at 6:30am. In my path of self learning and knowledge, I will keep my eyes open because knowledge can be found in any corner. I will soak in whatever I can and feel will benefit me in my future. I will play by the rules but am divorcing myself from the traditional way of schooling and will keep my mind open for new possibilities.

NETVIBES DASHBOARD

One thing we are always looking for in our Internet experience is speed and the ability to multitask. The reason for why I particularly like dashboards is because they allow us to control several different aspects of our Internet life on just one page, which is much preferable to the tedious task of having several tabs opened and having to navigate through them. Netvibes has so far been one of my favorite dashboards for several reasons. First of all, making it was not time consuming in comparison to all the time of Internet navigation that it will save me. It is also highly malleable and allows the individual to customize it however he/she may want. I’m the sort of person who has to have everything organized and Netvibes really helps with that OCD in me. I also like that they have apps available for mobile and tablet. I haven’t had the chance to check out the app but I will soon. Having an app available is something I feel all companies should offer because it allows the consumer to consume more of the profuct and it becomes more convenient. We’re usually always on one device; if we aren’t hooked onto our laptops then we’re on our cellphones or tablets; so if we had the option between two companies and one offered an app then I’m sure most of us would pick the one with the app because having an account there would become so much more easy and convenient.

CHARACTER STUDY (I)

She was very nervous and uneasy about this. For a while now she knew about this event but had put it off and let it linger in the back of her mind. The event was always present but she would ignore it. Now it was staring at her in the face and she could no longer ignore it. As she walked through her room to gather her belongings she would stare at all the different items she had accumulated throughout the years and she couldn’t help but smile at the memories.

She was brave and ready to take on whatever was to come, but afraid at the same time because of the uncertainty. A small hint of curiosity could be seen in her but above all, fear. That could be smelt. She had never been away from her parents but now it was time. She would not allow herself to cry, although she knew it would be futile.

CANTERBURY TALES (I)

The prologue was very interesting and like no other prologue I have read before. Prologues are usually just boring and most of us skip over them but this one had so much richness to it. It showed us Chaucer’s creativity on a whole new level. Each of the characters appeared to be its own book because it was just that rich, even if most descriptions were just one paragraph or two long. I really enjoyed reading it and as soon as I began reading it and I processed the characters my mind was put to work and it was like a thought and creativity explosion. Throughout the prologue I kept thinking about the motives the characters had for going on the pilgrimage. Every time the author said something new about the characters I would ask myself "Why?" The character who most intrigued me was the hunting monk. I particularly liked the severity of the irony that enveloped him. I’m a Catholic girl who has several priests in her family and I have always wondered about the religious men and if they actually are holy and good or just put on a façade.

I found it really interesting how as Chaucer described his characters, he gave us so much insight into who he was as a person. He would allow his personal views to overcome him and we could see his biases and preferences in the way he would describe certain characters.
For this assignment I took digital notes and if anyone wants to take a look at them for whatever reason, look for me at school to let me know and I'll send you an email with the attachments :)

AN EVENING WITH TONY KUSHNER

If anyone is interested,

The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Angels in America and Screenwriter for Lincoln, Tony Kushner, will be hosting a talk/lecture at UCSB on Friday, October 4th at 8pm in Campbell Hall. It will be $25 per person and $15 for UCSB students. This is a really interesting opportunity for anyone to go see and possibly meet one of America's best current screenwriter/playwrights. Books will be available for purchasing and signing.

If anyone is interested call (805)893-3535 for more information

or

visit this website for more information on this and other cool lectures and performances offered by UCSB

　

Take advantage of these cool opportunities!

 

Photo courtesy of Google Images

WHAT A CHARACTER

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t enjoy reading because I often find myself at a stalemate when it comes to book choice. I don’t like contemporary books because I feel like many of them lack meaning. So my only other option is the classics and older books, but trying to read those gives me headaches. However, every once in a while comes a book I actually enjoy. One of the few has been Les Miserables. Curiously, this is a book I had to read for one of the literary circles we did for out Honors English 2 and I felt forced to read it and dreaded it because it was so long and I felt like it would be boring and dry. It was the complete opposite actually and after reading it once for that class, I have independently read it in two separate occasions. The character of Jean Valjean made a big impact on me. His story of how one small offense that you had to commit can alter your life completely truly touched me and made me realize just how vicious life can be to those who don’t deserve it. It seems a bit ironic really, that life is often most unfair to those who already have it bad as it is. Throughout the book, Victor Hugo provides us with quite a bit of direct characterization. That’s how we get to know Jean for the most part. He does also use foil when the events are told through the eyes of the other characters and they use their point of view to describe him and the events he is involved with. There is also extensive use of indirect characterization, which can be observed through Victor Hugo's extensive descriptions of feats and actions performed by Jean where he wont openly state "he is brave" but will imply it based on what he is describing. Apart from having and impactful story, Jean also embodies certain characteristics I find admirable. Jean is honest, hard-working, protective, morally strong and he isn't afraid to admit his mistakes and act human. What I mean by "act human" is that he isn't afraid of letting the negative emotions and feelings out. He openly makes it hard for Marius to court his daughter because he is afraid of losing her and being alone. Many times, we humans try to suppress our feelings because they make us look weak and bad . When we don't project what we feel it bottles up inside until it causes us to collapse internally.


 

 

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in the 2012 movie Les Miserables

Photo courtesy of Google Images

VOCABULARY #4

**This week's sentence theme will be coffee (the beverage)

accolade(n.)- an award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit.
-Starbucks Coffee Company has won many accolades for their gourmet coffee, though I myself have never been a fan

 acerbity(n.)- a sharp bitterness.
-Coffee has a delightful acerbity to it that makes it very pleasant for the taste buds.

attrition(n.)- the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or
something through sustained attack or pressure.
-As coffee is further grinded, the attrition causes it to lose its potency.

 bromide(n.)- a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate.
-Saying that drinking coffee in the morning helps a person wake up is a useless bromide. Coffee never has any effect on me!

 chauvinist(n.)- a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism.
-Chauvinist Columbians take great pride in being one of the worlds top quality coffer exporters.

chronic(adj.)- (of an illness) persisting for a long time or constantly recurring.
-There's never been any medical research that links high consumption of coffee to a chronic disease.

expound(v.)- present and explain (a theory or idea) systematically and in detail.
-Listening to my grandfather, an avid coffee drinker and lover expound how coffee is properly made is a great knowledge trip.

factionalism(v.)- The splitting of a group into factions; Conflict between factions.
-Factionalism between North America and South America could damage quality Columbian coffee bean availability.

immaculate(adj.)- (esp. of a person or their clothes) perfectly clean, neat, or tidy
-People who work at coffee shops must have immaculate expertise in measurement to make sure they always have the correct coffee to whatever ratios. 

imprecation(n.)- a spoken curse.
-The natives in Colombia began to think there was an imprecation placed on their coffee, for whoever drank it died.

ineluctable(adj.)- unable to be resisted or avoided; inescapable.
-Coffee is ineluctable for me.

mercurial(adj.)- (of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
-Caffeine in coffee can cause people to act mercurial, especially those who are not used to it.

palliate(v.)- make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause.
-In order to feel warm during the snow storm, I drank a cup of coffee to palliate the coldness.

protocol(n.)- the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions.
-When someone visits your house, it is protocol to offer coffee or another hot beverage.

resplendent(adj.)- attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous.
-I feel resplendent after drinking a cup of coffee.

stigmatize(v.)- describe or regard as worthy of disgrace or great disapproval.
-The British and their tea stigmatize Americans and our infatuation with coffee. 

sub rosa(adj. & adv. formal)- happening or done in secret.
-When my mom forbade me from having my third cup of coffee for the day, I drank it sub rosa.

vainglory(n.)- inordinate pride in oneself or one's achievements; excessive vanity.
-Whoever created the modern beverage we have now known as coffee should feel vainglory and not be judged, he/she created something great!

vestige(n.)- a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists.
-Coffee vestige left on the coffee cup after drinking the coffee always attracts ants if you leave it out. I learned that the hard way.

volition(n.)- the faculty or power of using one's will.
-Avoiding coffee for one whole day takes a lot of volition.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I have read almost every conspiracy theory about the events that happened on the morning of September 11th, 2001 in New York City. Out of all of them only one theory truly holds up; a group of men hated everything we are and everything we represent and they did everything in their wicked power to show us their hatred on that day. Now we may be a country full of faults, but no one deserved to die on that day. On this day, over a decade ago, a group of men hijacked four planes and one religion. Here's what I've got to say on the matter. I am sick of people claiming al-Qaeda did what they did because of religion. No, they did not. Their work was not the work of religion. They were a group of self-righteous men who thought they were more important than God. The biggest act of blasphemy a believer can do is assume to know what God wants. These men tore down a little piece of the American Dream with their ludicrous assumptions.

I remember the day faintly. I remember it was a school day and I was getting ready to go to elementary school. My mom had on the morning news and the shocking news of the terrorist attacks came on. My mom didn't say much and I was much too young to understand. I asked her what that meant and why that accident happened. I faintly remember her telling me it wasn't an accident and her trying her best to explain what had happened without popping the protective bubble she had build around me since I was born. I didn't go to school on that day.

There have been many songs that have been written about 9/11, but very little capture the essence of the pain and confusion brought on by the event like this song. Enjoy.

 

Photo courtesy of Google Images 

ALL OF THE ABOVE

Evaluation of my work on the 1987 AP English Literature and Composition Exam

For the most part I did well. I did well above average, as I always do in most English exams. I've always excelled at English over other subjects. However, the one thing I have always had complications with in English has been vocabulary. It isn't that I'm ignorant and cant infer from context clues what a word means and I read a sufficient amount to have been exposed to a wide variety of words. My issue is always that I second guess myself with vocabulary and I end up going the wrong route. I absolutely love the questions that are based on a read passage. Those are my favorite questions because the answers are provided for me in the text, all I have to do is identify them. I'm also a fast reader so I never have to worry about allocation of time; it just always works out for me, usually with time to spare (y). Another reason I love passage based questions is that I have an excellent memory and after reading something, I can retain a large percentage of the information. I just have to work on my vocabulary and I'll be good to go!

p.s. Last year on the AP English Language exam I did horrible (hint: 1+1). The issue I had was with the essays. I felt the multiple-choice part was fairly easy and I knew most of the answers. But for the essays, I ran out of time about three-fourths into my second essay. Hopefully this year I can receive training in writing at a faster pace so that I can receive the sort of score that better represents who I am as a student.

Beowulf Essay

Beowulf and Batman: A Comparison of Two Heroes

by Izamar Diaz

       

           Heroes and protagonists are often elevated to a high position in the societies they were created because we often put the best characteristics of our society into the hero. We feel proud that such a hero was born of our age because his glorious way of conquering any obstacle is a reflection of how we wish we could conquer our own personal struggles. These heroes live in immortality, as their stories and feats continue to enchant the ears and eyes of eager new listeners and readers. The hero Beowulf in the Danish poem of the same title exemplifies the traditional values that the people of the time valued, offering us an insight into their culture, much like the sort of insight an autobiography would provide. Much like that, the hero Batman from the several American comics, movies and video games exemplifies the sort of values we Westerners have and what we wish all people were like because we value people who take a stand against organized crime and madness. Both Beowulf and Batman share personality traits like courage and fearlessness and they both have an antagonist who opposite to them and what they represent; but despite their similarities they vary in their motive and ultimate goal.
          When I say courage I am referring to the Merriam-Webster definition of: Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty. Beowulf first hears of Grendel and immediately knows what must be done. He without debate begins to prepare to make the journey toward the place where Grendel is terrorizing the innocent. That was an act of courage on his behalf because he was aware no other person had been able to help before and he acknowledged that the battle could lead to his demise. Much like that, whenever a cry of help is sent in the form of the Bat signal, Batman rushes to help without asking what the challenge is or the level of danger and difficulty it may involve. Both heroes are no doubt selflessly and fearlessly courageous because they abandon their personal fears and safety to tend to the needs of others.
          Everyone has an agenda. We all do different things in hopes of accomplishing different goals. Much like so, our heroes both had drastically different agendas. Beowulf had his reasons for fighting, which I argue were fame. In the modern texts it says “So fame comes to the men who mean to win it and care about nothing else” after he slays the she-wolf and rises from the lake with Grendel’s bloody head in one hand and the sword he has used in the other. He simply wanted fame and recognition. Just by the act of rising like that after battle, it shows he wanted to put on a scene for the men watching. He was aware that Grendel was wicked and that no one before had been able to beat him but he took the challenge regardless. He took the challenge and risked his life for fame, which can be interpreted as he being superficial. Batman on the other hand is opposite to Beowulf in this aspect. While Beowulf wants to be seen for his acts of courage and valor, Batman hides behind a mask and takes on an alter-ego, rather than showing who he really is. Bruce Wayne. Batman also hides in the shadows, wishing to be anonymous and wanting what he does to be about the actions and the stand he takes against crime instead of the man behind the mask.
          There is always an opposite to everything. In physics, we have matter and anti-matter. In Beowulf, we have Beowulf and Grendel. In Batman we have Batman and the Joker. During the time Beowulf was written, a lot of parts of Europe were making the transition from paganism to Christianity. Hence for the several allusions made to Christianity in the book, such as “He was spawned in that slime, conceived by a pair of those monsters born of Cain.” An allusion to a Biblical antagonist is made and Grendel is said to be a descendant of him. Cain was the man who slayed Abel and the Bible’s first murderer. This shows us how bad Grendel was thought of by the Danish people, and how much they must have elevated Beowulf for being the savior. It could be said that Grendel represented the non-believers who at the time were still pagan and were strayed from the path of Christianity and destroyed good men along their path, such as how Grendel killed the good Christian men of Herot. Beowulf is then the opposite of Grendel. Beowulf represents the Christian religion itself and Beowulf slaying the she-wolf and Grendel represents how Christianity was destroying paganism at the time. In Batman, you can also see how the different characters have representations that go beyond the literal and help the stories plot. Batman’s nemesis is the Joker. The Joker is a name that alludes toward humor. However, in an antithetical turn, the Joker is anything but humorous. He kills for the purpose of killing and his sole goal is destruction. In the movie The Dark Knight he says “Madness as you know it is a lot like gravity, all it takes is a little push.” He goes around giving “little pushes” and driving people toward madness, such as how he turned a lawful man (Harvey Dent) into a psychopath. The Joke is the most pure form of madness and insanity; the Joker does what he does just to see the world burn. In the Dark Knight, he robs millions of dollars which causes a war between mobs and along the way involves civilians, only to just burn the pile of money later because he believed it was all about sending a message, a message of madness. Batman on the other hand represents order. Batman is a man who was forged in pain by crime when a robbery turned bad ended the life of his parents. He took that bad situation and harnessed it into something positive. Despite his strong hate for all things criminal, he refuses to use weapons and to kill. He has a strong moral code he lives by where he fights crime and protects the innocent. In a mini movie inside a the Arkham Asylum video game, Batman is running after Joker after he escapes, and in one situation, Joker gives him a free shot to kill him which would prevent him from killing many in his path of destruction but Batman does not allow himself to kill the Joker and instead allows him to continue his destructive path.
          Overall, heroes are more than fictional characters. Heroes come to represent a whole culture and can often be said to be a window into the culture they represent.  Since their appearance, Beowulf and Batman have been phenomena that have been enjoyed by many because of their intense cultural implications. Beowulf lives into the 21st century after years of oral tradition and finally having been wrote down. Batman is a man admired by many young boys (and girls) who dress up as him and pretend to be him. Beowulf and Batman are two heroes born in different eras, yet with many similarities as well as differences.

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

Well, its that time that we have all been waiting for. Since middle school, I'm sure we all remember talking about colleges and being excited about it. Now the time has come to apply to them and to apply to the scholarships that will help us pay for them. It is safe to say that we are all in a stressful situation because even though we all have great support from all our teachers, friends and advisors, we feel the weight of the adult life on our shoulders and its heavy- heavier than expected. I was advised by many past seniors that I should start my scholarship hunt during summer in order to get ahead of it and not be so stressed out during the year. I have primarily focused on scholarships offered to Latino students because they are the ones I feel I have the biggest possibilities of getting.

Colleges are always looking to diversify their campuses and so many scholarships are offered to minorities in order to encourage them to apply to a higher learning institution.

There is a website I found that has a good directory of many scholarships offered to minority students and you can visit it here.

VOCABULARY #3

**This weeks sentence theme will be the Big Bang Theory (television program on CBS)

apostate(n)- a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle.
-Growing up in Texas, Sheldon was raised Christian but once he moved out to California he became an apostate of his religion.

effusive(adj.)- expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.
-Whenever Leonard did any favor for Penny (e.g. going to get money from her six feet tall ex boyfriend) she always effusively thanked him, despite his usual failure.

impasse(n.)- a situation in which no progress is possible, esp. because of disagreement; a deadlock
-When Sheldon and Amy engaged in argument over whether physics was superior to neurobiology or vice-versa, their relationship reached and impasse and they decided to terminate it.

euphoria(n.)- a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.
-Whenever Wolowitz got a woman to notice him prior to being married, he would go into an euphoric frenzy resulting from an over-dramatic discharge of hormones.

lugubrious(adj.)- looking or sounding sad and dismal.
-Stuart the Comic Book Guy always speaks lugubriously about his life.

bravado(n.)- a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate.
-Sheldon can often exaggerate with his intellectual bravado.

consensus(n.)- general agreement.
-The group of friends came to a consensus that Sheldon is an emotionless robot.

dichotomy(n.)- a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.
-The dichotomy in Sheldon's and Penny's personalities makes their interactions humorous.

constrict(v.)- make narrower, esp. by encircling pressure
-Raj can only speak to women when he is intoxicated with alcohol, but that often constricts his ability to act with caution and gets him in more trouble than if he would just not speak at all.

gothic(adj.)- of or in the style of architecture prevalent in western Europe in the 12th–16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses, together with large windows and elaborate tracery.
-In order to pick up women, Raj and Wolowitz dressed up in gothic clothing and went to a gothic night club.

punctilio(n.)- a fine or petty point of conduct or procedure.
-Sheldon is often very strict with his observation of social conventions and punctilios.

metamorphosis(n.)- the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
-We can see the group of friends go though a metamorphosis as they interact with each other and together encounter many challenges and new experiences.

raconteur(n.)- a person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
-Sheldon's mom is an amusing raconteur when trying to lecture Sheldon's friends about Sheldon.

sine qua non(n.)- an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary.
-Penny is a sine qua non to the group of friends, despite being vastly different than them.

quixotic(adj.)- exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical.
-Sheldon's ideas about himself are quixotic.

vendetta(n.)- a blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's family.
-Wolowitz held a personal vendetta on Leonard after he caused an argument between he and Bernadette.

non sequitur(n.)- a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement.
-The group of friends will have a conversations that if often interrupted by Sheldon's bursts of non sequitur comments.

mystique(n.)- a fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power surrounding someone or something.
-Penny's mystique personality intrigued and interested Leonard since the day they met.

quagmire(n.)- a sticky situation.
-Leonard landed himself in a quagmire when he had to pick between Penny and Pria.

parlous(adj.)- full of danger or uncertainty; precarious.
-Wolowitz landed himself in a parlous when he got the Mars Rover stuck in a ditch on Mars while trying to impress a girl.

WHY THIS BOOK? (The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

In our popular culture, a lot of references are made to everything from literature, famous individuals to movies and songs. If we do not understand the reference then we miss out on the point the reference maker is trying to create. I have many times heard of allusions made to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and though I know the basic concept of the story, my understanding and knowledge is very limited and I wish to expand my knowledge base so that I am better informed and versed in Western literature. That is why I chose this book to read. Apart from all of that, it seemed like an intriguing choice because I have always preferred the books with a dark aspect to them.