We spent the majority of this time studying Heart of Darkness and watching Apocalypse Now.
This novella combines symbols of the Garden of Eden and some of Dante's ideas, which asks how both of these can exist at the same time in the same place. We did not come up with an answer for this.
Metacognition: "knowing without knowing." This is something that could be seen as a kind of survival tool.
We discussed the roles of women in this book - the three main types are the Crone, Mother and Maiden.
The Crones are the three women in the office. Notice the 'magic number 3,' often related to witches. This actually reminded me of Macbeth because for some reason, whenever I think of the number 3 relating to witches, I remember the scene with the witches around the cauldron.
The Mother figure is the aunt.
The Maiden is Kurz's fiance.
These are only three of the women. Possibly the most important woman is the African woman that Kurz possibly is having an affair with. She represents the land, in a way, therefore showing that Kurz's relation with the land has caused him to forget about his life (his fiance) where he came from.
Kurz's last words, "Oh, the horror" could mean many different things. I took them to mean that now that he is dying, he realizes the futility of his life. He realized that no matter how much ivory he took, or how much work he did, or how much fear he instilled into people, none of it really matters. If somebody is a good person or a bad person, black or white, male or female, everybody ends with death.
Frame narrative: The narrator tells the story via another character.
At the end of this last week, we were watching Apocalypse Now, which is relatively disturbing.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sarah Kells Class Notes Jan 24-Feb 4
Medievalism and Allegory
Common Motifs include:
-Church/faith
-Values
-Allegory
-Salvation/damnation
-Life/death
Important info from the worksheet:
Literature is an embodyment of culture.
Allegory is something external to validate a text - something can be utterly unrealistic, but if there is a commonly told story or myth to "validate" it, this is allegory.
An Everyman is a character that represents culture as a whole - a "common man," often unnamed with very few characteristics. I am not sure, but I thought that the Lawyer and the Accountant at the beginning of Heart of Darkness were everymen - they were characterised by their careers, and they were merely listening rather than participating.
Trends in Western Literature
Classical --> Medieval --:> Renaissance --> Romantic --> Modernist --> Post modern
Protagonist: God/nobility -----------------------------------------> lower class/common man
Themes: God/nobility -----------------------------------------------> individualism, self, family
Motivations: Religion/fate ----------------------------------------> self, family, nothing
Forms: Epic/drama ---------------------------------------------------> essays, papers, novels
Techniques: 3rd person, all knowing ------------------------> 1st person, not all knowing
---------------------------------------power slips---------------------------------------->
Plot-------------------------------------------------------------------character driven--->
loyalty to Gods-----------------------------------------------------------------family---->
all knowing-------------------------------------------------------------------...not------->
nobility-----------------------------------------------------------------------everyman--->
---------------------------------------less formal----------------------------------------->
---------------------------------------less limited----------------------------------------->
------------------------------moves towards human narrators----------------------------->
Why do we need to know this? This enables us to make reasonable assumptions of when a piece was written.
Northrop Frye
First to develop the idea that all literature is based upon one story.
Start at a great place: if it goes down to trials and ends well, it is a quest.
if it goes to trials and does not return, it is a tragedy.
Start at trials: if it goes up to a great place, it is a comedy.
if it goes around and around in little circles, it is an irony.
When writing...
Capitalize a specific time if the person lived in that time.
Keep it lowercase if the person didn't live in that time.
Structure and Support
-Topic sentence
-clear, arguable claim
-sufficient evidence (3 pieces of evidence, 2 quoted)
-evidence relates to claim
-all required information included
Style and Usage
-Plain style (precise, clean)
-avoid first person
-include parallelism, repetition, sentence length
-no informal diction or usage
-correct syntax and diction
Common Motifs include:
-Church/faith
-Values
-Allegory
-Salvation/damnation
-Life/death
Important info from the worksheet:
Literature is an embodyment of culture.
Allegory is something external to validate a text - something can be utterly unrealistic, but if there is a commonly told story or myth to "validate" it, this is allegory.
An Everyman is a character that represents culture as a whole - a "common man," often unnamed with very few characteristics. I am not sure, but I thought that the Lawyer and the Accountant at the beginning of Heart of Darkness were everymen - they were characterised by their careers, and they were merely listening rather than participating.
Trends in Western Literature
Classical --> Medieval --:> Renaissance --> Romantic --> Modernist --> Post modern
Protagonist: God/nobility -----------------------------------------> lower class/common man
Themes: God/nobility -----------------------------------------------> individualism, self, family
Motivations: Religion/fate ----------------------------------------> self, family, nothing
Forms: Epic/drama ---------------------------------------------------> essays, papers, novels
Techniques: 3rd person, all knowing ------------------------> 1st person, not all knowing
---------------------------------------power slips---------------------------------------->
Plot-------------------------------------------------------------------character driven--->
loyalty to Gods-----------------------------------------------------------------family---->
all knowing-------------------------------------------------------------------...not------->
nobility-----------------------------------------------------------------------everyman--->
---------------------------------------less formal----------------------------------------->
---------------------------------------less limited----------------------------------------->
------------------------------moves towards human narrators----------------------------->
Why do we need to know this? This enables us to make reasonable assumptions of when a piece was written.
Northrop Frye
First to develop the idea that all literature is based upon one story.
Start at a great place: if it goes down to trials and ends well, it is a quest.
if it goes to trials and does not return, it is a tragedy.
Start at trials: if it goes up to a great place, it is a comedy.
if it goes around and around in little circles, it is an irony.
When writing...
Capitalize a specific time if the person lived in that time.
Keep it lowercase if the person didn't live in that time.
Structure and Support
-Topic sentence
-clear, arguable claim
-sufficient evidence (3 pieces of evidence, 2 quoted)
-evidence relates to claim
-all required information included
Style and Usage
-Plain style (precise, clean)
-avoid first person
-include parallelism, repetition, sentence length
-no informal diction or usage
-correct syntax and diction
Monday, January 10, 2011
Class Notes: December 13-January 7
The majority of this time was used to cover "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and "Death of a Salesman." We also covered the "Lecture on Stoppard."
"R & G are Dead"
Theatre of the Absurd: confusing, no real sense of reality, loss of time, characters often forget themselves.
This is a humorous take off of "Hamlet," showing that drama can morph into a comedy.
"DOS"
Much about the American Dream and whether or not it should be pursued. Father/Son relationships, discovering who you really are - beyond your name - and finding a life for your own are all topics covered. Some of the main themes I found were:
Children/Childish behavior, dreams, time, death/suicide, ownership/selling, female vs male, forgiveness, confusion, true identity.
Many of these themes such as confusion and time are found in "R & G are Dead," and some of them such as female vs. males and forgiveness were seen throughout "Hamlet."
"Lecture on Stoppard"
This lecture went on for 12 pages to end up saying that there is no true meaning to this play, and that interpretation should be left up to the reader. There was some valuable information, though, such as Theatre of the Absurd, connections between this and "Hamlet," and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," as well as horizons of significance. Due to the length of this lecture, it is very difficult to sum the entire thing up. For more information, see this link:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=C78281C1-062B-4F17-8E55-405437731073
For info on the semester exam, see:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=F8F2E269-D85F-4C34-B9D4-412AD503F185
While annotating "DOS," I found many things that I would not have seen otherwise. Lesson learned: annotating might be absurdly aggrivating, but it actually turns out being helpful.
"R & G are Dead"
Theatre of the Absurd: confusing, no real sense of reality, loss of time, characters often forget themselves.
This is a humorous take off of "Hamlet," showing that drama can morph into a comedy.
"DOS"
Much about the American Dream and whether or not it should be pursued. Father/Son relationships, discovering who you really are - beyond your name - and finding a life for your own are all topics covered. Some of the main themes I found were:
Children/Childish behavior, dreams, time, death/suicide, ownership/selling, female vs male, forgiveness, confusion, true identity.
Many of these themes such as confusion and time are found in "R & G are Dead," and some of them such as female vs. males and forgiveness were seen throughout "Hamlet."
"Lecture on Stoppard"
This lecture went on for 12 pages to end up saying that there is no true meaning to this play, and that interpretation should be left up to the reader. There was some valuable information, though, such as Theatre of the Absurd, connections between this and "Hamlet," and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," as well as horizons of significance. Due to the length of this lecture, it is very difficult to sum the entire thing up. For more information, see this link:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=C78281C1-062B-4F17-8E55-405437731073
For info on the semester exam, see:
http://www.apelit-okemos.spruz.com/downloads.htm?a=&act=get&guid=F8F2E269-D85F-4C34-B9D4-412AD503F185
While annotating "DOS," I found many things that I would not have seen otherwise. Lesson learned: annotating might be absurdly aggrivating, but it actually turns out being helpful.
Outside Reading: Editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/l10pets.html?ref=opinion
"Good Dog. Good Health. Is There a Link?" by W. Ron DeHaven
Jan 10, 2011
This was a very intriguing editorial to read as it was actually a response to a different editorial. Written by the chief executive of the American Veterinary Medical Association, it clearly comes from a credible source. The editorial responded to a previous article which said that a dog is not a doctor, and therefore does not relate to health in any way. While DeHaven agreed that a dog cannot replace a doctor, he did say there a connection has been shown between a pet and good health.
DeHaven establishes a very strong point of view and a convincing argument right at the beginning by telling the audience that he is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and therefore proving his credibility. This creates a confident voice and a strong, formal tone throughout the article. A tone like this causes the reader to automatically assume that the author knows what he is talking about and take him more seriously, even if they do not know for sure that he really deserves being taken seriously.
One technique used by DeHaven is the mature, yet not incredibly complicated diction. Too much complexity in the diction makes a piece difficult for a reader to understand and is therefore more likely to be ignored, and very simple diction makes a reader believe that the author is not a very intelligent or trustworthy person. Diction such as "analyze," "contributions," and "research" gets right to the point of the article without confusing the audience, and allowing any reader to understand right off the bat what the point of the article is.
Another technique used is DeHaven's way of expressing every opinion of his in third person: as he chief executive, he makes it clear that he is speaking for the entire association. Many times within this article he mentions that "the association" believe this, and "we" research that.
This essay contains many strengths, as well as weaknesses. A definite weakness is the lack of actual evidence. Most of the information used in this editorial is heresay, and things that DeHaven wants the reader to believe. Very little evidence actually comes from research. The strengths of this essay include the appropriate level of diction and the mature, confidence voice. Overall, this is a very convincing article, mostly based upon the confidence that the reader can see between the lines.
Although this is a very well written article, I do not believe that it would work as an AP essay. The editorial is much too short, and the diction is not quite advanced enough to qualify it. Also, a reader for the AP test would be looking for definite proof.
"Good Dog. Good Health. Is There a Link?" by W. Ron DeHaven
Jan 10, 2011
This was a very intriguing editorial to read as it was actually a response to a different editorial. Written by the chief executive of the American Veterinary Medical Association, it clearly comes from a credible source. The editorial responded to a previous article which said that a dog is not a doctor, and therefore does not relate to health in any way. While DeHaven agreed that a dog cannot replace a doctor, he did say there a connection has been shown between a pet and good health.
DeHaven establishes a very strong point of view and a convincing argument right at the beginning by telling the audience that he is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, and therefore proving his credibility. This creates a confident voice and a strong, formal tone throughout the article. A tone like this causes the reader to automatically assume that the author knows what he is talking about and take him more seriously, even if they do not know for sure that he really deserves being taken seriously.
One technique used by DeHaven is the mature, yet not incredibly complicated diction. Too much complexity in the diction makes a piece difficult for a reader to understand and is therefore more likely to be ignored, and very simple diction makes a reader believe that the author is not a very intelligent or trustworthy person. Diction such as "analyze," "contributions," and "research" gets right to the point of the article without confusing the audience, and allowing any reader to understand right off the bat what the point of the article is.
Another technique used is DeHaven's way of expressing every opinion of his in third person: as he chief executive, he makes it clear that he is speaking for the entire association. Many times within this article he mentions that "the association" believe this, and "we" research that.
This essay contains many strengths, as well as weaknesses. A definite weakness is the lack of actual evidence. Most of the information used in this editorial is heresay, and things that DeHaven wants the reader to believe. Very little evidence actually comes from research. The strengths of this essay include the appropriate level of diction and the mature, confidence voice. Overall, this is a very convincing article, mostly based upon the confidence that the reader can see between the lines.
Although this is a very well written article, I do not believe that it would work as an AP essay. The editorial is much too short, and the diction is not quite advanced enough to qualify it. Also, a reader for the AP test would be looking for definite proof.
Outside Reading: Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/books/review/Thernstrom-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2&ref=books
"The Memory Palace" by Mira Bartok
By Melanie Thernstrom
Jan 10, 2011
Melanie Thernstrom uses many unique techniques to describe Bartok's new book, a book about her schizophrenic mother. The description used in this book review makes the reader interested in reading "The Memory Palace," which is very impressive for a book review. It almost takes the reader into the book, especially by the use of diction.
A main technique used in this book review is diction. Thernstrom uses words such as "fable," "obsessions," and "striking" to allow the audience to feel the way that she read as she first read this book.
Another technique that is very helpful in this review is Thernstrom's use of direct quotes from the book. A quote said by the mother, "Value your own mouth, hate privately, and pray for yourself. When distressed, see if you can remember all the bones in the body. Recite them alphabetically by name. Stay calm and always watch you back" gives the reader some insight into the overall tone of this book. This quote is scattered and confusing, which brings about the idea of an instable family, and makes the reader wonder how all of this will play into the daughter's life.
Thernstrom also brings many different outside facts into this review. She points out the history of this story, and says that a negative of this book is that it does not delve into the science of the brain or of the mental disorder.
I saw a relationship between this book review and some of they essays that were found in the beginning of my copy of the "Death of a Salesman" play. This is because of the mature level of diction used in both, as well as the general understanding of background information.
Some of the definate advantages of this review have already been mentioned, such as the diction and quotations, but I also appreciated the formal writing style and the inexplainable way of bringing the reader into the world of the book in a very short essay. Even the best writings must have negatives, though, and this essay certainly did. It did not touch upon very many negatives of this book, the only one that I saw was that it did not include scientific research. I also prefer book reviews to be a little bit more opinionated rather than a simple summary of the book so that the reader can know what kind of reader the book appeals to.
Although there were negatives in this book, I believe that the writing style would work for an AP essay. It is written very formally and maturely, and the positives very much outweight the negatives.
"The Memory Palace" by Mira Bartok
By Melanie Thernstrom
Jan 10, 2011
Melanie Thernstrom uses many unique techniques to describe Bartok's new book, a book about her schizophrenic mother. The description used in this book review makes the reader interested in reading "The Memory Palace," which is very impressive for a book review. It almost takes the reader into the book, especially by the use of diction.
A main technique used in this book review is diction. Thernstrom uses words such as "fable," "obsessions," and "striking" to allow the audience to feel the way that she read as she first read this book.
Another technique that is very helpful in this review is Thernstrom's use of direct quotes from the book. A quote said by the mother, "Value your own mouth, hate privately, and pray for yourself. When distressed, see if you can remember all the bones in the body. Recite them alphabetically by name. Stay calm and always watch you back" gives the reader some insight into the overall tone of this book. This quote is scattered and confusing, which brings about the idea of an instable family, and makes the reader wonder how all of this will play into the daughter's life.
Thernstrom also brings many different outside facts into this review. She points out the history of this story, and says that a negative of this book is that it does not delve into the science of the brain or of the mental disorder.
I saw a relationship between this book review and some of they essays that were found in the beginning of my copy of the "Death of a Salesman" play. This is because of the mature level of diction used in both, as well as the general understanding of background information.
Some of the definate advantages of this review have already been mentioned, such as the diction and quotations, but I also appreciated the formal writing style and the inexplainable way of bringing the reader into the world of the book in a very short essay. Even the best writings must have negatives, though, and this essay certainly did. It did not touch upon very many negatives of this book, the only one that I saw was that it did not include scientific research. I also prefer book reviews to be a little bit more opinionated rather than a simple summary of the book so that the reader can know what kind of reader the book appeals to.
Although there were negatives in this book, I believe that the writing style would work for an AP essay. It is written very formally and maturely, and the positives very much outweight the negatives.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Outside Reading: Reflective Essay
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/monologues/9kavner.html
"I Want to Defend Myself and this Shirt I'm Wearning Inside Out" by Lucas Kavner
January 9, 2011
Kavner had taken a very angry tone throughout all of this essay - somebody is making fun of his shirt! Or at least, he thinks that somebody is making fun of his shirt. He uses swear words, italics, and exclamation marks to emphasize his angry, so that everybody knows that he does not appreciate the people who are insulting him. But the reader never actually knows if anybody is insulting Kavner, or if it is all in his imagination. At one point, he says that a girl is checking him out, and he'll "BRB." A couple of lines later, he says "She has a boyfriend, alright? ...It wasn't because of the shirt. ...You are all being so ridiculous right now I can't even believe it." This brings about an overly defensive and insulted tone, and makes the reader wonder if anybody is actually making fun of him, or if it is all his imagination.
The angry and defensive tone gives me a mental picture of Kavner being a paranoid young man who believes that everybody wants to make him miserable, and is therefore making himself miserable. He is constantly making excuses for himself because he seems to think that he has to, while at the same time he is giving others an excuse to laugh at his shirt. Even in the title, the first thing he says is "I Want To Defend Myself" and then he tells the world that yes, he is wearing his shirt inside out. This is a social commentary upon whiners, and those who are insulted by everything.
The tone is this essay would not be appropriate for an AP essay at all because it is written in first person, the tone is quite casual and angry, the vocabulary used is immature and inappropriate in many cases, and the entire essay is written in a poor style of an AP essay. As a reflective essay, however, the tone works very well, and he succeeds at his goal of commenting upon society.
A strength of Kavner's essay is his ability to effectively tell the reader what he is thinking, and what the purpose of this essay is. There is no question in the readers head that the tone is angry, and that Kavner is showing a rather immature and easily offended man. The weakness goes hand in hand with the strength, though. In order to express his anger and his believe that he has been insulted, he had to use inappropriate diction and had to take a casual tone.
Kavner uses quite a bit of rhetoric in this essay. One of the most commonly seen is the punctuation - he poses many questions to the reader, and often uses exclamation points to get his point across. He also uses exaggeration, such as when he said "So sue me, alright? Sue me!"
"I Want to Defend Myself and this Shirt I'm Wearning Inside Out" by Lucas Kavner
January 9, 2011
Kavner had taken a very angry tone throughout all of this essay - somebody is making fun of his shirt! Or at least, he thinks that somebody is making fun of his shirt. He uses swear words, italics, and exclamation marks to emphasize his angry, so that everybody knows that he does not appreciate the people who are insulting him. But the reader never actually knows if anybody is insulting Kavner, or if it is all in his imagination. At one point, he says that a girl is checking him out, and he'll "BRB." A couple of lines later, he says "She has a boyfriend, alright? ...It wasn't because of the shirt. ...You are all being so ridiculous right now I can't even believe it." This brings about an overly defensive and insulted tone, and makes the reader wonder if anybody is actually making fun of him, or if it is all his imagination.
The angry and defensive tone gives me a mental picture of Kavner being a paranoid young man who believes that everybody wants to make him miserable, and is therefore making himself miserable. He is constantly making excuses for himself because he seems to think that he has to, while at the same time he is giving others an excuse to laugh at his shirt. Even in the title, the first thing he says is "I Want To Defend Myself" and then he tells the world that yes, he is wearing his shirt inside out. This is a social commentary upon whiners, and those who are insulted by everything.
The tone is this essay would not be appropriate for an AP essay at all because it is written in first person, the tone is quite casual and angry, the vocabulary used is immature and inappropriate in many cases, and the entire essay is written in a poor style of an AP essay. As a reflective essay, however, the tone works very well, and he succeeds at his goal of commenting upon society.
A strength of Kavner's essay is his ability to effectively tell the reader what he is thinking, and what the purpose of this essay is. There is no question in the readers head that the tone is angry, and that Kavner is showing a rather immature and easily offended man. The weakness goes hand in hand with the strength, though. In order to express his anger and his believe that he has been insulted, he had to use inappropriate diction and had to take a casual tone.
Kavner uses quite a bit of rhetoric in this essay. One of the most commonly seen is the punctuation - he poses many questions to the reader, and often uses exclamation points to get his point across. He also uses exaggeration, such as when he said "So sue me, alright? Sue me!"
Monday, December 13, 2010
Sarah Kells: Class Notes Nov 28 - Dec 10
Existentialism: idea that emphasises free will, responsibility and personal choice. It pretty much says that life is merely a bunch of choices, and that each individual can make their own choices, which will determine how their lives go. Not everything has a logical explanation.
Parts of existentialism:
Responsibility: Some necessary choices will cause suffering, but this is part of being responsible.
Scope: The larger the scope, or audience, the bigger effect every choice made will have. Often choices will have a negative effect on somebody, even if they help somebody else.
Restrictions: Ideally, a society should have as few restrictions as possible.
Free will: the ultimate free will means that one has the choice to sacrifice their life in order to protect others.
The freedom in existentialism often causes stress, because one has the ability to make so many choices that can affect their lives in so many ways.
Look for this idea in Death of a Salesman - do characters use free will to benefit themselves or the rest of society? Are they responsible with their freedom? How many restrictions are in their lives? Does their freedom cause stress?
People Important to Existentialism:
Kierkegaard: Founded the modern idea of existentialism, Christian, believed that human life is absurd and, to a degree, pointless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kierkegaard
Nietzsche: He questioned religion and the idea of truth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche
Heidegger: Although people can have goals and desires for their lives, they need to understand that the end is always death, and there is no escape from that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidegger
Sartre: Humans are constantly chasing purpose and reason, but there is none to find. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sartre
More info on existentialism: http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/wphil/lectures/wphil_theme20.htm
Final class discussions over Hamlet.
Parts of existentialism:
Responsibility: Some necessary choices will cause suffering, but this is part of being responsible.
Scope: The larger the scope, or audience, the bigger effect every choice made will have. Often choices will have a negative effect on somebody, even if they help somebody else.
Restrictions: Ideally, a society should have as few restrictions as possible.
Free will: the ultimate free will means that one has the choice to sacrifice their life in order to protect others.
The freedom in existentialism often causes stress, because one has the ability to make so many choices that can affect their lives in so many ways.
Look for this idea in Death of a Salesman - do characters use free will to benefit themselves or the rest of society? Are they responsible with their freedom? How many restrictions are in their lives? Does their freedom cause stress?
People Important to Existentialism:
Kierkegaard: Founded the modern idea of existentialism, Christian, believed that human life is absurd and, to a degree, pointless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kierkegaard
Nietzsche: He questioned religion and the idea of truth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche
Heidegger: Although people can have goals and desires for their lives, they need to understand that the end is always death, and there is no escape from that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidegger
Sartre: Humans are constantly chasing purpose and reason, but there is none to find. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sartre
More info on existentialism: http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/wphil/lectures/wphil_theme20.htm
Final class discussions over Hamlet.
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