Fall Final Project

A project that a few classmates and I want to do to cover all the material we learned in class is a short video.  We thought it would be the best way because the video itself would be a remix. We would try and find examples of the important things Dr. Preston has covered in class and put it all together. It's difficult in the way that we have a short period of time, but can be accomplished if we work together to get it done.

Essay....

While Ichabod Crane and Young Goodman Brown faced out in their rap battle, Crane surprised everyone by throwing out some romanticism sense that's his expertise. Meanwhile Young Goodman Brown had to defend himself by rapping about Colonial dogma. That was easiest for him sense all his life he had been surrounded by religion.

Ichabod Crane had a magnificent entry when he amazed everyone by telling in such a unique way the great things about the artistic, literary, and intellectual movement of the late 18th century. He bribed the listeners to focus on him with such wonderful flown words he used. Everything he said made them fall in love with the time he was representing. Everyone present in the battle wanted to know more about the enlightenment and everything that occurred in the late 18th century. They were intrigued to learning about life in that time. They were anxious to hear Ichabod Crane rap all day. They were so anxious that they were furious when he stopped to give Young Goodman Brown a chance to try and win them over.

As soon as Ichabod Crane took the floor though, everyone was fascinated  They no longer remembered who Crane was. They even forgot he was there. They loved the fact how he combined his terrible experience in the woods with Dream within a Dream. He described to the audience how it felt so real he thought he was living it all. The devil made everything so realistic that life soon became a dream for him. He began to question everything. Goodman Brown could no longer tell life and a dream apart. H e began to think life itself was but a dream within a dream.

When both had rapped great verses for the people, everyone became confused. They were confused on who the winner would be. Their verses were so great that people didn't know who side to be on. They said their decision was so difficult that it reminded them of the myth, Earth on Turtle's Back. They found one another and made something new and unique they couldn't be apart. The raps put together was a new world. Both put together describe two completely different times and genres and it sounded so great once they were united in the rap battle.

In the end, they were both winners. They both describe different types of literature in such a great way. They help young readers like me see literature from different points of view. Both texts were confusing, but each has its own hidden message, you just have to figure it out. The hidden message i found in both is that people make mistakes and some hurt you really bad. You have to learn and speak up for yourself to be heard or its like being lost in the woods and being all alone because your idea or what you had to say will never be heard.

BIG Question!

Top choice:   If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?

Back-up:   Which is worse, failing or never trying?

The Medium is the Message

I found a cartoon type movie on YouTube of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and it's practically reading the story to you, but with pictures to follow along. It's so easy to comprehend. So if you're like me and had a hard time understanding the story no matter how many times people explained it to you, watch the video. ---->The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Presidential Debate....

So I only watched an hour of it but I was able to get quite a few fallacies out of it and many were repeated over and over through the time i watched the debate. Below the jump break is the list of fallacies and an example from the debate.

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Fallacies Found in Debate...

Argumentum ad misericordian ( argument to appeal to pity):

• Romney discussed how Libya is overcoming a tragedy and how it's great for them but wants people to recognize they're a threat.

Argumentum ad ignorantiam ( argument to ignorance):

• Romney tries correcting himself with having more soldiers in Iraq by saying Obama mishear him.

Argumentum ad hominem (argument directed at the person):

• Obama argued how the Cold War had been over for  ~20 yrs. and how Romney thinks there should be more troops in Iraq. He says that every time Romney offers an opinion it's usually wrong and that he's always sending mixed messages to troops and their allies. He thinks the state needs a stronger leadership.

Circulus  in demonstrando ( circular argument):

• When he's asked a question he always goes back and remembers other events instead of directly answering the question he was asked.
• Always keeps circling the main idea.

Nature, appeal to:

• Obama discusses how women in Egypt need better educations and how Egypt must follow their treaty with Iran. He mentions how they must rebuild their economy.

Non Sequitur ("It does not follow"):

• Romney jumps around in ideas like America must be stronger, to our economy, to jobs, to our military, and finally our allies.

Slippery Slope:

• Obama argued about Romney's plan to try and make the economy stronger wouldn't work.

Argumentum ad nauseam ( argument to the point of disgust; i.e., by repetition):

• Romney repeats over and over on how the U.S needs more troops in the Middle East.

Naturalistic Fallacy:

• Romney assumes he knows how to create more jobs and make America better than the last four years.
• Romney states that he knows how to fix problems. He proposes he can get the U.S out of debt.

Emerson's Self-Reliance

1. Discuss the meaning of the verse preceding the essay.

• Seek no one besides yourself.
• everybody is their own person

2. Looking at the entire essay, what does Emerson mean by self-reliance? Objectively summarize Emerson's major points.

• It contains the most thorough statement of Emerson's recurrent themes, the need for an individual to avoid conformity and false consistency and follow his or her instincts and ideas.
• Each persons voice can be as strong as the great man of history.

3. Interpret the first sentence. What does every person realize at some moment of his or her education?

• Envy is ignorance.

4. Interpret the following quote, "The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray."

• What you're going to focus on and what you're not going to focus on.
• Where we put our focus is what we win.

5. What does Emerson mean by the "divine idea which each of us represents"?

• Each of us represents what we think is good.
• When we act like everybody else we're not owning up to ourselves.

6.  Explain the significance of the "iron string." Why do you think Emerson used iron and not silken, golden, or silver string?

• Iron is stronger and if you know who you are, you aren't going to break.
• It's stronger and its connecting yourself to you.

7. Define Transcendentalism.

• American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early 19th century.
• To go above and beyond in a rebellion and education.

8. Interpret this quote, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members."

• It tries showing that the majority of people deny and worry about their image to others that they never have the chance to live and be themselves.

9. Explain the quote, "The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion."

• People don't want to speak out what's on their mind because they're scared. This teaches them to face it.

10. Interpret the metaphor, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman and philosophers and divines."

• The more you do something and get results, you tend to stick to that and people with more power will use it against you.

11. Discuss the use of the simile, "Words as hard as cannon balls."

• To be strong and high powered.

12. Respond to the Essay. Write a paragraph expressing your reactions to the essay.

2nd Part of Vocab for Fall list #7

• Manifest: Display or show (a quality or feeling) by one's acts or appearance.
• Contemporary: A person or thing living or existing at the same time as another.
• Predominate: Be the strongest or main element, be greater in number or in amount.
• Transcendent: Beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience. 
• Benefactor: A person who gives money or help to a person or cause.
• Conformity: Compliance with standards, rules, or laws.
• Aversion: A strong dislike or disinclination.
• Suffrage: A right to vote in political elections.
• Inaudible: Unable to be heard.

Self Reliance....

So I was reviewing the test questions from earlier this morning and tried finding better answers and I found a page with the EXACT same test questions. Thought i might as well just share the link just in case anyone needed it. http://mrgunnar.net/english.cfm?subpage=348353

Vocabulary: Fall List #7

1)ad infinitum-endless, without limit

The midterm was ad infinitum.

2)apportion-to distribute proportionally

The apportion of our part in the project was fair to everyone.

3)bona fide-made, done, presented, true

Everyone bona fide their projects in front of the class.

4)buoyant-tending to float

The toy boat  is buoyant in water.

5)clique-a small exclusive group of people

My clique only consists of my good friends.

6)concede-to acknowledge as true

My parents never concede my brother has done his homework.

7)congenial-agreeable, suitable, pleasing in nature or character

Everyone was congenial to the blog idea.

8)lofty-extended high in the air

The road led in a south-eastern direction gradually upward to very lofty regions.

9)migration-the process or act of migrating

The animals which depended on migration are having their routes closed off by farmers.

10)perceive-to recognize, envision, or understand

I perceive that I have to try harder in all my classes.

11)perverse-intentionally determined

I am perverse about doing better on all my tests.

12)prelude-to go forward in an act of action

I don't want to prelude a hoard of zombies... because they will eat me.

13)rancid-having an unpleasant smell or taste.

Seafood has a rancid smell.

14)rustic-unsophisticated, rude, and artless

The little boy was rustic to his teacher.

15)sever-to separate from the whole

I predict that the zombies will sever many of our body parts.

16)sordid-dirty, filthy, and meanly selfish

Their sordid affair was kept secret for nearly 30 years.

17)untenable-incapable of being defended.

Nobody likes to be untenable when they're about to get beat up.

18)versatile-having or capable of many uses

You have to be versatile in language so you can communicate with others that don't know English.

19)vindicate-to upload or justify by argument.

There's always that one student that wants to vindicate with the teacher.

20)wane-a gradual decrease or decline in strength

After his accident he was very wane for a few months.

Midterm Reflection....

A.) What went well?
I don't think anything went well besides I was pretty confident in the first half of the vocab words.
B.) What didn't go well?
The whole other portion of the Midterm.): I should have studied more and focused a lot more of my time on the midterm instead of wasting my time.
C.) How much of the content will stick with you?
Hopefully as time passes more of it will. I need to increase my vocabulary because it's super low.
D.) What can you learn from this experience to improve for next time?
What I did learn is to STOP messing around half the time. To take this way more seriously next time. Something I definitely did learn for next time is to spend a lot more time time on the vocab I'm struggling with a lot. To somehow try and find a way to make them easy to memorize or literally ask others what made it easy for them to memorize the words.

Literary Analysis of LETHAL by Sandra Brown

General

1. The plot of the story was complicated in the beginning. I'm very slow at catching what's going on so it took me a little while to figure out what the author was doing in the novel. The novel had two perspectives. One was with Honor and what was occurring with her and the other jumped around with all the police that were looking for the so called "Coburn". It created a lot of suspense sense they'd jump around from one view to another and it just kept you want to keep reading and reading. Kept me wanting to know if the main character Honor was going to die.

2. The author was trying to point out a real event that has happened to people before and how they react. Us readers will think that the characters are stupid for doing certain things, but if we think of it, we would probably react the same way if we were in her place or maybe even worse. She let's us see the true fear that runs through the characters mind knowing that she may die and that her young daughter, Emily may be harmed by the murderer, Coburn.

3. The author expresses much tone throughout the whole book. The three that caught my attention a lot would be: "I'm prey to them so I've got nothing to lose.", "...rather than reveal the desperation she felt...", and "No loose ends, no mercy". Those are a few lines where the author, Sandra Brown, shows tone. She shows it in those excerpts because it was all said in threats and one on how she felt towards the situations.

4. Literary elements I observed in this story were foreshadowing when they would say what the officers discovered and later on Coburn re-tells it. A huge symbol that was throughout the whole book was the main characters name, Honor, because it notify's you that she is a good person based on her name.The whole book was written indirectly. The author never got to the point quick but always created suspense. There was flashback in the beginning of the story when Honor remembers a time of when her husband was alive. Schema was throughout the whole novel as well, when she created suspense of everything that was going to happen at one point. She let you try and figure out what would happen and maybe more than half the time you were wrong. 

Characterization

1.Two examples of direct characterization would be in the very beginning when Cobalt mentions that the cops are searching for him so he hides out in Honor's house by threatening her. It was obvious he was going to threaten her sense the moment he pointed the gun at her and demanded her what to do and when to do it.

The indirect characterization would be when Cobalt kept everyone wondering if he was going to kill Honor and Emily or not and if Honor and Emily were ever going to be able to get away from him without being harmed.

2.The author's syntax never changes because like I've said before she kept a lot of the important events in suspense. One moment she kept in suspense for a long time was what Coburn was looking for in Honor's House.

3. I think the protagonist is round because in the beginning all she showed was fear, but as the story went on the author mentions how she becomes brave and faces the bad guy not thinking of the consequences much. She eventually tries to escape to save her daughter, something she didn't have the guts to do int he beginning. 

4. After reading the book I felt like I had met a whole new person and they had told me a lot about their personal life. The story was written in such a way that it just made you feel like the character was just there telling you what happened to her. It didn't make you at all feel like you were just reading some boring book with normal characters. Everything about it felt so real. There were points where you might have even felt like  you were a part of it and there the same moment everything was happening.

Midterm Review/ Study strategy

My group and I plan  on studying for the midterm by making flashcards of every word with the definition and sentences in the back. When we have time available in class we plan on quizzing each other until we are able to get PERFECTION. While not in class we plan on studying on our own my having others quiz us if possible. It isn't anything difficult and it doesn't take much time to make the flash cards which gives us more time to practice them.

Thoreau's Walden

I was very endemic about life itself. I was adroit with the simple life in the woods. I wanted to fathom the purpose of my life. I extol life itself and am impervious with anyone and anything. I want to be potent of my life. I want to live a simple life and scrutinize every little detail of it. I expect to protrude on my journey through the woods. Unlike all the other people who are very meticulous about their life I am being very conclusive about what I want to discover on this journey.

We are all beguile to our true life but yet we manage to stay strong. As our obnoxious lives go on we grow stronger and smarter. Even though life is a misconstrue we try to be 'bigger' people to feel better about ourselves. Our life is a true jeopardy but we still keep trying no matter what. This is why I am averse about our life.

Thoreau's Walden Notes

First Paragraph

• He went to the woods to live a simple life and see what he would learn from it
• Wanted to discover his purpose in life
• Wanted to live life the way it was meant to be lived without distractions because life is precious.
• Wanted to make the best out of his life
• To live life with the basic essentials
• Experience all the right of things and really understand them
• He expects to be enlightened
• Nobody knows the purpose of their life

Second Paragraph

• We walk blindly but together, wanting to stay strong.
• As our fable(life) went on we grew stronger and smarter
• We try to be "bigger" people to get a better view of life
• It's mistake after mistake no matter what method we try

The Lonely Walk. . .

Taking a walk by myself with nobody to talk to, no music to listen to, and no phone to text was terrifying. Yes, it gave me time to think about my life and what's going on at the moment, but it's not the same as when I have somebody with me. I feel unsafe. Even though I was able to think about things, the thing that kept going through my mind was fear. Fear, of somebody seeing me. I hate being by myself. I might sound ridiculous saying it, but I really do hate it. Makes me wonder, how are others able to go on a long walk all by themselves with nobody to talk to? Don't they ever feel lonely and scared? How can they actually prefer walking by themselves then with somebody else to talk to?

Fall List #4!

Melancholy: A gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression. He didn't have a successful job, no type of education, and suffered from depression and melancholy all his life.
Exemplary: Serving as a desirable model; representing the best of its kind. Your history project of September 11 is exemplary.
Peculiar: Strange or odd; unusual. Don't you find it peculiar the the student never talks?
Dread: A fearful emotion. He was filled with dread at the thought of another night in the dessert.
Bough: Branch; limb; arm When the wind is strong, it can brake off the bough of the tree.
Pious: Devoutly religious.
Communion: An intimate encounter with Christ
Auditor: Prepare and examine financial records
Multitude: Large numbers of people
Eloquence: Fluent, forcible, elegant or persuasive speaking.
Despair: Loss of hope; hopelessness. He is the despair of his mother.
Hoary: Hving gray or white hair; aged.

Fall List #3!...

1. Encomium: A formal expression of high praise
2. Coherent: Logically connected; consistent
3. Belabor: To explain, worry about, or work at repeatedly or more than is necessary
4. Eschew: To abstain or keep away from; avoid
5. Acquisitive: Tending or seeking to acquire and own, often greedily; eager to get wealth, possessions, etc. 
6. Emulate: To try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass
7. Arrogate: To claim unwarranted or presumptuously; assume or appropriate to oneself without right
8. Banal: Devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed
9. Excoriation: censure severely
10. Congeal: To change from a soft to a fluid state to a rigid or solid state, as by cooling or freezing
11. Carping: characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding
12. Substantiate: To establish by proof or competent evidence
13. Temporize: To be indecisive or evasive to gain time or delay acting
14. Largesse: The generous bestowal of gifts, favors, or money
15. Tenable: Capable of being held, maintained, or defended, as against attack or dispute
16. Insatiable: Incapable of being satisfied
17. Reconnaissance: The process of obtaining information about the position, activities, resources, etc, of an enemy or potential enemy
18. Germane: Closely or significantly related; relevant; pertinent
19. Ramify: To divide or spread out into branches or branchlike parts; extend into subdivisions
20. Intransigent: Refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible
21. Taciturn: Inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation
22. Invidious: Offensively or unfairly discriminating; injurious

Fall list #2 Definitions/Sentences

• Intercede: To act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleding or petition. The kindergarten teacher had to intercede between the argument of the children, soon they were friends again.
• Hackneyed: Lacking in freshness or originality. The movie would have been great if it wasn't for all the hackneyed scenes.
• Approbation: Approval; commendation. All the new kids want is the approbation of everyone else.
• Innuendo: An indirect intimation about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or derogatory nature. Nobody knew the innuendo about the drink problem.
• Coalition: A combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc. A coalition was assembled to fight against poverty in the U.S.
• Elicit: To draw or bring out or forth; educe; evoke. An ASB meeting was called to elicit a quick solution to the small problem.  
• Hiatus: A break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc. The crying child kept causing a hiatus for the workers.
• Assuage: To make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate. As time passed, we tried to assuage our pain of the terrible loss.
• Decadence: The act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state. There is great decadence of the Mexican culture.
• Expostulate: To reason earnestly with someone against something that the person intends to do or has done. A Christian tried to expostulate their beliefs to an atheist.
• Simulate: To assume or have the appearance or characteristics of. The little boy tried simulating what the reader with sight problems would do. 
• Jaded: Worn out or wearied, as by overwork or overuse. The student was jaded after a long day of practice.
• Umbrage: Offensive; annoyance; displeasure. My dad was full of umbrage after he realized I wasn't going to stop asking for money until I got it.
• Prerogative: An exclusive right, privilege, etc., exercised by virtue of rank, office, or the like. The seniors have a prerogative to leave school campus unlike the rest of us.
• Lurid: Gruesome; horrible; revolting. The food at the restaurant was lurid and they had terrible service as well.
• Transcend: To rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed. My little brother always tries to transcend in his work so the teacher will notice him and compliment him for it.
• Provincial: Belonging or peculiar to some particular province; local. My friend is so provincial, she won't appear in public without a hoodie.
• Petulant: Moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance. My uncle is very petulant when it comes to waiting in line.
• Unctuous: Characterized by excessive piousness or moralistic fervor, especially in an affected manner; excessively smooth, suave, or smug. The office had a very unctuous texture.
• Meritorious: Deserving praise, reward, esteem, etc.; praiseworthy. They received a gift for their meritorious work.

Socratic Seminar

The socratic seminar was based on why people argue and our right to our own opinion. The only purpose to arguing is to get closer to the truth or your just stubbern and always want to be right about something. When the class was discussing on the subject of the right to your opinion nobody really agreed on something because we all do have our own opinion.

Reflections on week 1

     I don't think there's anything that can affect my participation or experience in this class because I have a computer at home with internet access. If I didn't understand something at one point I always have my brother to help me, my neighbor who is an expert with computers and blogging, and of course a cellphone to contact my friends with anything I don't understand on the homework. If it ever had to do with staying after school or coming on weekends though, it'd be hard because I don't live near the school and it's difficult to get a ride.
     My awesome learning experience was way back in Jr. High. I went on a one week trip to Catalina Island with my classmates for a new and fun experience. I learned a lot about things that are around me, the ocean, and creatures living in it. We did many fun activities while there like night diving, kayaking, and disecting squids. It might seem like you can't really learn anything out of it, but you actually do. You're able to learn something new out of the smallest or non educational things too. This trip tought me how to truely work as a team. I used to be clueless because I was so used to working on my own. After this trip I realized that if you and your partner aren't on the same page then whatever you guys are trying to accomplish won't work or just won't be as successful.
      What I'm most excited about in this class is having the opportunity to try something new. I've never done class work on a blogger before and just the thought of it seems exciting. I'm kind of nervous though because maybe there will be a time when I don't know how to work something on my blogger. It'll make a big difference in my life though because now I'll know how to use the computer even more then I did before.

First week...

My first week of english was great. I expect my vocabulary to burgeon as time passes by as well. This form of doing homework is so much easier. We could be anywhere and easily do it on our phones if we have internet access. It's awesome how Dr. Preston isn't like those other common english teachers. He's willling to try new things and isn't a boring didactic teacher. I can easily adumbrate that this semester is full of new and exciting ideas and experiences. To me, Dr. Preston is a great apotheosis to what other teachers should be like. Fun and exciting and not afraid to let his ideas be known and out in the public. He influences us as students to try new things and not be afraid of it. Blogger is also a fantastic way for us to express our own opinions and not beguile on what other think.

Assignement #1

My reason for taking this class is because I need it to graduate. I'm glad I got to be a part of this class in specific because I'm finally going to get to try something new and exciting. It's exciting mainly because now we get to explore english in a way that we teenagers are more familiar with. We won't have to be carrying those heavy boring books to class every day. I guess the only thing that truely does scare me is not being able to understand a homework assignmewnt that i have to do online and not being able to find enough help to do it and succeed while i'm at it. My goals for this coarse is to learn something new and be able to interact with my classmates while i'm at it.