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.